Short & Sweet: The Light-Keeper's Daughters

The Light-Keeper's Daughters by Jean E. Pendziwol

Seriously, so good. The storytelling style really reminded me of Kate Morton's books (which is a huge compliment), complete with tragic storylines that are dramatic but grounded in characters that feel real. I did find some of the events/connections rather convenient, and the explanation for the mystery at the end a bit of a stretch that raised some questions (spoiler, highlight to read: Emily and Elizabeth were old enough to talk by the time the illness came along; wouldn't Emily have been super confused when she was suddenly being called "Elizabeth" instead?), but overall, I was just captivated by this slow unraveling of a mystery set by the icy waters of Lake Superior. This is the kind of story that just hurts your heart.


4.5 shooting stars. 

Beatrice and Benedick: A Rambling Review

Beatrice and Benedick by Marina Fiorato

As a story I found it quite rich and immersive; as a retelling/expansion of Much Ado I found it less satisfying. Benedick’s voice was believable as the original character, but this version of Beatrice did not capture the wit and energy of Shakespeare’s heroine. I also did not get the same sort of humour from it as the original play; there is far more tragedy than comedy here, and although both protagonists kept mentioning their “witty banter” I didn’t feel like we actually saw it. Their relationship starts and proceeds rather oddly, with an initial attraction on both sides which quickly becomes somewhat antagonistic for no clear reason. The misunderstandings that serve to separate the couple are truly Shakespearean in style, though.

That said, I liked how elements of Othello and Romeo & Juliet were woven into the story, enriching it with characters and plot points from these other Shakespearean works, which lent this expansion some authenticity. The writing allows the reader to easily visualize the settings, from the dunes of Messina to the despair-filled days on the open ocean. The hints in Shakespeare’s original play about Beatrice and Benedick’s history make this a storyline just waiting to be explored; however, this realization of that mystery is not what I had expected (or probably would have chosen, to be honest.) 

The afterword sheds some light on one of the side characters and informs the reader of an intriguing theory about Shakespeare that I had never heard of! This also helps to clarify some of the choices made in this retelling.

4 shooting stars.

 

The Woman in Black: A Snapshot (Adult)

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

"Proud and solitary, Eel Marsh House surveys the windswept reaches of the salt marshes beyond Nine Lives Causeway. Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, the house's sole inhabitant, unaware of the tragic secrets which lie hidden behind the shuttered windows. It is not until he glimpses a pale young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, that a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of the woman in black - and her terrible purpose." (from Goodreads)

The subject: a house shrouded in mystery and whispers, and a town scared to death of its secrets.

The setting: England, more specifically Crythin Gifford, most specifically Eel Marsh House. Not sure of the exact year but it had an early 1900s feel to it. (They were using both pony-and-traps and motor cars, after all.) The atmosphere the author instills in her descriptions, particularly those of the marsh and the foreboding house, was by far one of my favourite aspects of this book. Ghost stories thrive on cultivating the right mood, and Susan Hill excels at that. I could see the desolate scene she paints clearly in my mind's-eye.
 
Shutter speed: slow, but that suits the nature of the story. (And it's a short book, anyway.)

What's in the background? A whole lot of unanswered questions relating to the backstory of some of the characters. The narrator Arthur Kipps is telling his own ghost story, so we get it entirely from his perspective...and we don't ever really find out what the ghost has to say on the matter.

Zoom in on: Spider, the adorable little dog that Arthur befriends. I hate most spiders, but I loved this one.
 
Anything out of focus? While there's certainly an unsettling element to the situation Arthur finds himself in, the whole supernatural side of things isn't all that scary, really. And the mystery behind the haunted house is hardly surprising; I'm not sure if it was intended to be. Given all the clues leading up to it, the "reveal" is not really a reveal as much as it is a straightforward and more thorough explanation. The ending, though – now that gives the reader more of a sickening jolt.

I did find the end rather abrupt; I thought it would spend more time wrapping up, coming full-circle back to Arthur and his family in the present day.

Ready? Say... "Shhhh...did you hear that?"

Click! 4 shooting stars. For readers who like their ghost stories free from violence and gore, but not free from a spooky setting, some supernatural creepiness, and a fantastically spot-on early-1900's-British tone and writing style (even though this book was actually published in 1983).

Cross My Palm: YA Fantasy

This is a series of posts I'm doing discussing current trends in YA genres and what might be in store for the future. This is just based on my own observations of books and what I've seen publishers/authors/other bloggers talking about.


Sorry it's been so long since the last post in this series! You can catch up on all the previous posts here (contemporary, sci-fi/dystopian, historical, and paranormal YA have already been covered), but this time it's YA fantasy trends.

• Time travel is the next "hot" topic. I think time travel stories hold a lot of potential for creativity — and apparently publishers think so too, with offerings such as the Hourglass series by Myra McEntire, the Ruby Red series by Kerstin Gier, the River of Time series by Lisa Bergren, and Tempest by Julie Cross. Not always "fantasy" in the strictest sense, I know, but time travel books kind of fit into several genres...

• Retellings — both fairytale and mythological — are holding their own. On the fairy tale side of things, we've got books like the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, Jackson Pearce's fairy tale companion books (Fathomless is releasing this year), Queen of Glass by Sarah J. Maass, and Enchanted by Alethea Kontis. In terms of mythology, there's a whole subsection just for "the underworld" stories, like Meg Cabot's Abandon trilogy, the Sirenz series by Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman, the Everneath series by Brodi Ashton, and The Goddess Test series by Aimee Carter. Other mythological retellings (or stories with mythological aspects) include the Starcrossed series by Josephine Angelini, the Medusa Girls series by Tera Lynn Childs, Starling by Lesley Livington, and the Gods & Monsters series by Kelly Keaton. And there are even a few upcoming fantasy retellings of classic tales like Jane Eyre (Ironskin by Tina Connolly) and the Ugly Duckling (The Sweetest Spell by Suzanne Selfors).

On a related note, fairytale retellings seem to be popping up in TV and movies as well! Any of you who have not yet tuned into the TV show Once Upon A Time, you guys are missing out. And I haven't watched Grimm but I know that it's a CSI-style show based on the Grimm fairytales. Also, be on the lookout this year for the movies Snow White and the Huntsman (yes, it stars Kristen Stewart – but seriously, check out the cool trailer!) and Mirror Mirror (which has Julia Roberts in it, even though the trailer makes me think a lot of the comedy might not be my style). 

• Here be dragons — well, a few, anyway. Dragons are no vampires in YA, at least not yet. But there seems to be the start of a renewed interest in these fire-breathing monsters, with books like Sophie Jordan's Firelight series, Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, Incarnate by Jodi Meadows, Prophecy by Ellen Oh, and Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey.

• Faeries are in, but elves and dwarves are not. Tolkien-esque fantasy does not yet seem to have made its way back into popularity, but faeries still hold an allure for readers. (Note the spelling there: by and large these are the unpredictable, can't-always-be-trusted "fey," not the Tinkerbell type of fairies.) Examples of upcoming faerie releases include Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier, The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long, The Wood Queen by Karen Mahoney, The Falconer by Elizabeth May, The Torn Wing by Kiki Hamilton, and Luminance Hour by Ryan Graudin.

• Thieves and assassins are stealing readers' hearts. In a way, I think this is kind of the fantasy version of the trend in historical YA for secret agents and spies. I guess there's something about the seedy underbelly of a city that draws readers in... Recent or upcoming books that fit into this category are Thief's Covenant by Ari Marmell, Mastiff by Tamora Pierce, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maass, Grave Mercy by R. L. LaFevers, and Liar's Moon by Elizabeth C. Bunce.

• Oddly enough, "touch" seems to be an important theme in fantasy (and paranormal) YA these days. I don't know if this is just a fluke or what, but with books like Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder, Touched by Corrine Jackson, the A Touch trilogy by Leah Clifford, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, the Clarity series by Kim Harrington, and the Curse Workers series by Holly Black...it seems like this idea is becoming popular. What do you think?

• Unusual settings (for fantasy) and PoC characters are making an appearance. I wouldn't say yet that either of these aspects are common in YA fantasy, but hopefully others will follow these authors' leads and make it happen. We're talking books such as Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff, the Wildefire series by Karsten Knight, the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series by Laini Taylor, Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst, The Chaos by Nalo Hopkinson, and Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson.

So, what are your thoughts on trends in YA fantasy? Is the "power of touch" something concrete or just coincidence? Will we keep seeing more PoC characters and different settings in the future? Will there be a return of the elves? Let me know what you see for the future of YA fantasy!

Find the Gap: Setting

Let's face it, despite the fact that YA has really exploded over the past several years and so many more YA books are being published, there are still some topics that just don't seem to get covered. I've noticed other bloggers sometimes mention that they'd like to see more YA books with characters with quality x or settings in time period y or what-have-you. So I thought I'd run a little "Find the Gap" series through February, with a different aspect of YA each week that we can discuss.

First up is setting. We've all read the typical 'high school' contemporary YA read, and the traditional fantasy world where there be dragons. And if it's historical YA there is a better-than-average chance it's going to be set in the Victorian era (which I do love, don't get me wrong). But what's missing? What places or time periods do we never get to travel to in a YA novel?

Here are a few to get things going:

- Colleges and universities: there have been a few more of these popping up in YA recently, but still not nearly as many as I'd like. College students like to read too, you know, and often they like to read about students like themselves!

- Countries other than the United States: there are so many interesting places around the world you could give your story as a setting...so why always go with the U.S.? The novel's relatability won't entirely vanish just because it's not set in an American city. I'd say "outside North America" but actually, I haven't read very many YA novels set in Canada or Mexico. More of those would be nice too!

- Small towns: not everyone lives in a large city. I know there have been some YA books written where the whole point was either big-city-girl-meets-farming-community (or conversely, country-dweller-lands-in-the-big-bad-city), but how about some that just *happen* to be set in a small town?

- Parallel universes: these seem to crop up more in movies than in books, for some reason. But there's so much potential in that kind of concept, and I think it would be particularly appealing to the older YA set.

- The sixties: this was such a hugely important time period on just about every level (politically, socially, etc.) And it was very much a time for young people. Why are there not more YA books about it? No idea.

What other settings spring to mind for you? And are there any books you've come across that do address some of the gaps above?