"Haroun and the Sea of Stories"

I know, this is technically two posts on the same day. "The Giver" post had been sitting in my draft box all week, and I was going to do a double post with "Gathering Blue". I just didn't quite get around to writing everything I wanted to say about it. And, yes, it appears backdated.
So, here's another book instead.

"Haroun and the Sea of Stories"
Salman Rushdie
Granta Books, 1990
ISBN 0-14-015737-9

Rashid Khalifa is the Ocean of Notions, a storyteller with the ability to captivate audiences, who tells his son Haroun that his amazing stories come from the sips of the mythical Sea of Stories. When the Shah of Blah loses his gift of the gab, Haroun must come to his father's rescue and reconnect him to the Sea of Stories, as well as save the whole Sea of Stories and the city of Gup from the awful silence that threatens it.

This is technically an adult book, but I can easily see it as a YA book. It's very well written, without being too prosey, or too florid. I do love Rushdie's use of language and words. Every name means something (and there's a handy appendix in the back for it.) While reading this book, I like to just whisper some of the words aloud: Kahani, Abhinaya, Khattam-Shud. There's so much importance placed on words, it makes it a lovely read.
The plot is easy enough to follow without being boring. And Haroun is a sensible main character, which fits him perfectly as Gup City, and most of Kahani, seems to be populated by over-excitable characters who make him seem at times both foolish and wise.

And, my personal favorite part is that the army of Gup City is headed by a "librarian", as the army is made up of "pages" divided into "chapters". :)

"The Giver"

The 13-year old in my house is reading "The Giver" for class, which inspired me to check for it on my shelf. It's there...and now it's here.

"The Giver"
Lois Lowery
Bantam Doubleday Dell 2003
ISBN 0-440-90079-4

Jonas has a life with structure, purpose, and peace. His worries are small, except for the anxiety over what Assignment he'll have at the start of his twelfth year. But it turns out, Jonas is not assigned anything. Jonas is Chosen. All the structure and peace in his life is discarded as Jonas begins to learn from The Giver, the man who holds the memories for an entire world. And Jonas will never be able to see his world the same way again.

Lame summary, yes. But, awesome book. When I first had to read "The Giver" (special note...had to ), I rejected it. I thought the premise was stupid, the ending was stupid, and Jonas was stupid. But, I was also in the sixth grade and clearly too smart to fall for any book they made us read for class. But, like a lot of books I had to read for school, it's actually an amazing book. When I reread it, I got more and more caught up with the sinister air of the community. The whole regimented idea. Lowry's descriptions are just spot on. Everything appears to be totally normal, totally acceptable. And everything is so vivid. Discovering color for the first time is one of my favorite moments. I will say my biggest gripe with the book is the ending, but, read on. I know I'll review "Gathering Blue" at a later date.

"The Supernaturalists"

So, I know I made some sort of promise about doing four YA books and two adult books a week. I'm going to have to break that one.
Here is one more post to bring our total this week to three YA and one Adult. In the future, just look for two YA and one Adult a week.

"The Supernaturalists"
Eoin Colfer
Scholastic Inc., 2004
ISBN: 0-439-70182-1

Cosmo Hill, non-sponser and orphan in the middle of the falling-apart Satellite City, manages to escape from the Clarissa Frayne Institute and fall into the hands of the Supernaturalists. This misfit band of vigilants fight a war against the mysterious Non-Specs, which suck the very life out of the injured. When they get caught up in the politics of the failing city, will they be in over their heads? And when will their battle against the Non-Specs end?

I always recommend this book before I recommend Colfer's moderately successful "Artemis Fowl" series for two reasons.
1.) It isn't plagued by the burden of a massive series.
and 2.) Cosmo Hill is a likeable and sympathetic main character. A bit more likeable than Artemis Fowl.

Although I do really like the Artemis Fowl books, I think that Colfer lost a bit of the magic around the fourth book. The Supernaturalists, however, keeps it fresh with just one book. The action starts and stops a lot, but there is enough of a plot to keep you invested in the characters. And the cast is very likeable. Besides hero/orphan Cosmo Hill, there's the snappy ex-gang member Mona, the revenge-bent Stefan, and Ditto, a Bertoli Baby who looks four but is really twenty-eight. Each voice is distinct and interesting, with just enough history on each of them for a decent backstory without suffocating you with details. And, like other Colfer books, the writing flows. The futuristic setting is in interesting, if a little bit bleak. It's not quite a dystopia, but it makes the fight against the non-specs that much more interesting. Cosmo Hill is a much more thoughtful and likeable character than Artemis, who seemed a little too glib and sharp for a kid his age. I know that's part of the premise of the Artemis Fowl books, but I found myself identifying and sympathizing with Cosmo, the strangeness of the world he finds himself in, and the way he fights through truth and lies in Satellite City.

"American Gods" and "Heir Apparent"

Twofer today.

"American Gods" {Adult}
Neil Gaiman
Harper's Perennial 2001
ISBN 9978-0-06-055812-3

Shadow left prison with nothing to return to. But an encounter with Mr. Wednesday brings him a job, a new life, and a journey into the world of the gods. A storm is coming.

Yes, I know it's not a very good summary, but there is so much to the book, I didn't really want to give too much away. This was my first Neil Gaiman book ("Good Omens" excepted), and it is by far my favorite. The characters in the book are so real, so believable. And, if you know anything about any kind of mythology (well, maybe not so much Greek and Roman), you'll find something that will speak to you. I went through a huge mythology phase in middle school, so this book really delighted me every time something mythological would show up. If the mythology isn't enough to interest you, the book is plot-driven. You'll get caught up in Shadow, and what he has to do to keep on going. It's a great read.

"Heir Apparent" {YA}
Vivian Vande Velde
Harcourt, Inc. 2004
ISBN 0-15-205341-7

Giannine just wanted to play a simple virtual video game. And Heir Apparent had everything she was looking for: Dragons, castles, intrigue, cute princes. But now, she's not just trying to beat the game: She's playing for her life. And if she doesn't beat the game soon, it's really going to be Game Over. Permenantly.

I've always liked Vivian Vande Velde books, and one of her strong points is the female lead. She has a great tradition of books with strong femal protagonists who, while maybe not always being the bravest or the brightest, certainly make the book more interesting. Giannine is a bit harder to connect to than some other leads, but she has you rooting for her as she goes through the trials of "Heir Apparent". The narrative style is interesting, because it is in first person, but there's the duality of Giannine outside the game, and Janine inside the game. There's also the matter of Giannine losing one way and having to restart again and again. At first, it seems like that would get old really fast, but Vande Velde changes up the pathway every time. It's actually interesting to start trying to figure out the game as Giannine plays it. Not necessarily the best YA book I know, and not Vande Velde's best, but definitely worth a look.

"Hank the Cowdog: The Case of the Killer Swirling Tornado"

I've been carting boxes of books back and forth from Gettysburg to my shelf unit here in Pittsburgh. After so many miles, I think it's finally time to start reviewing them. So, every week I'll try to do four YA/Children books and two adult books.
*All the YA books are a holdover from last semester (and the last several years), but this should make it fun.*
So, to start, a goofy book.

"Hank the Cowdog: The Case of the Killer Swirling Tornado"(Vol. 25)
John Erickson
Puffin Books 1995
ISBN: 0-14-130401-4

Hank the Cowdog must protect the ranch yet again, but what's chance does the head of ranch security have against a huge, angry, killer, swirling tornado? Joined by his loyal sidekick, Drover, Hank must face an attack by the Charlie Monsters, the dark pull of Sally Mae's House of Horrors, the lure of raw bacon, and the storm itself. Will he save the ranch? Or will he be punished for destroying the screen door?

Dun- Dun- Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!

Over the years, I've tried to read more Hank the Cowdog books because they're immensely entertaining and fairly easy-reads. But I've never really gotten inoto the rest of the series like I did with "The Case of the Killer Swirling Tornado", and part of this is because I listened to it as a book on tape first. I've actually memorized a large chunk of it, because the tape was hysterical. but Erickson just has so much working for him. The narration style of a self-important and slightly oblivious cow dog is clever and very funny. The following conversation is just one of the many great moments between Hank and Drover. Both dogs are on 'high alert" while resting their eyes (Trans: Sleeping).

Hank's in red, and Drover's in blue.

I couldn't help chuckling to myself. I mean, to who or whom did he think he was speaking? Whittlewheelbarrowing fodder-fiddle whicker-bill.
Mugg wump tree trunk. Norking smurk whifle feathers on Tuesday.
I donkey that. Horse hoof jellybean bonk woofer clock spring.
Rubbard pillowfight?
Omelet.
Yeah, but cornbread highway?
Tell your spaghetti leaves to double-clutch the peanut butter.
Beanstalk bird nest horizontal chicken pox.
All at once it occurred to me that this conversation was going nowhere. Drover was making very little sense and I was a busy dog. I didn't have time to listen to his foolishness.
I cracked my other eyelid and beamed him a look of purest steel. Drover, if you're going to talk to me, the least you can do is snork mirk the posthole digers.
His head came up. His eyes drifted open and moved around in, little circles. Who ate the trees?
I can't answer that. The point it... I blinked my eyes several times and slowly Drover's face came into focus. Perhaps I had been asleeper than I thought. The point is that I don't know what you're talking about.
Oh. Then what about the spare tire?
I still don't know what you're talking about.
He gave his head a shake, stood up, and walked around in a circle. Gosh, I don't know what I've been talking about either.

I still love rereading this book. And, yes, I know all the words to 'The Tornado Safety Song'

Happy trails!