Tuesday Book Review

 

Five-star review of Once by Morris Gleitzman

This is a sad story but also a funny one because it’s told from the naïve viewpoint of ten-year-old Felix, the son of Jewish bookstore owners in Poland who was left in a Catholic orphanage three years and eight months before. He interprets all that’s going on around him in terms of his life with his parents and is desperate to get back to them. His voice is one of the strong points of the book. It’s 1942 and he doesn’t understand why three men in suits come to the orphanage and burn books. His descriptions of everything that happens to him is so poignant, because we don’t have to be told what’s really happening. This is a wonderful book for pre-teens and younger teens. Highly recommended for everyone. I’m eager to read the sequel.

Tuesday Book Review

 

Five-star review of The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia, translated by Simon Bruni

 

A slow, beautifully written story about two boys growing up in northern Mexico between 1910 and 1920, during civil war, a world war, changes in major crops and the Spanish flu. From the moment Simonopio is found as an infant with a deformed mouth and bees lighting all over him, to his incorporation in the Morales-Cortes family, to the birth of Fernando Jr. several years later and Simonopio’s efforts to teach him all he knew, to the tragedy on Fernando Jr.’s birthday, we see how Simonopio and his bees helped his adoptive family. The lyricism of the translation must reflect on the original Spanish magical realism. The story is told from multiple viewpoints but ultimately from that of Fernando Jr.  

Tuesday Book Review

 

Five-star review for The Light from Far Below by Simon Williams

 

In the sequel to Summer’s Dark Waters, Joe and Amber are separated to protect them from the Order. Joe’s new friend Dean is a son of a member of the Order and inadvertently gives away Joe’s location. Meanwhile, Amber and her dad are found and separated. The kids travel through the Nothingness separately and find themselves in a maze controlled by the Order. Aimed at middle-grade and older readers, this is a great series to introduce kids to darker science fiction and fantasy. The writing is very good and is illustrated by drawings.

 

Four-star review of Legend by Marie Lu

 

A fast-paced, quick read about two fifteen-year-olds from different sides of a future Los Angeles. The Republic is in charge in the area and rules with an iron hand. June is a soldier for the Republic and, if you can believe a fifteen-year-old can be one, the most wanted criminal. In the belief Day killed her brother, June sets out to find him, and he finds her. Yes, it’s one of those kinds of stories. Trite at times and containing characters drawn with broad strokes, it was an enjoyable, easy read. I’ll probably wait until I’ve made a sizable dent in my TBR pile before I read the sequel, but I do what to learn what Day, June and the others do next.

Five-star review of Babylon's Ashes by James S.A. Corey

 

In this continuation of the Expanse saga, Earth is trying to recover from the militarized meteors the Free Navy under the leadership of Marcos Inaros bombarded it with, Mars from the loss of people and ships, and factions of the Belt from being stripped by the Free Navy. Medina Station and the gates have been closed to new colony ships. And the Roci crew plus Bobbie and Clarissa can’t stay out of the action. Told from different viewpoints, the story increases in intensity from beginning to end. Telling it this way helps to emphasize how each of the sides feels, that they each have their concerns for the future. The continuing war between all the sides is central with a handful of people making efforts to create peaceful alliances including Avasarala and Michio Pa. I enjoyed this as much as all the books in the series. 

 Five star review of Uprooted by Naomi Novik

This fantasy showed me why Naomi Novik is so beloved by fans of the genre. Her lush descriptions accompany Agnieszka on her transformation from clumsy village girl to respected spell-weaver. The setting in a land similar to Poland touched something inside me. It’s based in part on the Polish fairytale about Baba Yaga, but it’s an enchanting fairytale in itself. Tension never let up, whether it was between Nieszka and the Dragon, between two armies or between the humans and the Wood. Through it all, the themes of family and friendship shine through. I particularly loved the early scenes where she first learned magical spells, and it was magical when she and the Dragon intertwined their spells.

The Silk Thief

 Cover Reveal for Claire Buss's latest Roshaven novels:

The release date for the novel is June 4th, 2021

Here's a link: mybook.to/SilkThief 

This is the next story about thief-catcher Ned Spinks and Jenni the sprite.