Book Review: Albert of Adelaide

Author: Howard L. Anderson

Title: Albert of Adelaide

Description: This book is about a platypus, Albert, who escapes from the zoo in Adelaide and sets out to find the platypus paradise. He’s not quite sure how to get there, but he starts out nonetheless. Along the way, he meets the wombat Jack, the raccoon TJ, and an assortment of good guys and bad guys.

Review source: netgalley

Plot: I had this book in my to-read list. I can’t imagine what it was about a description or a review that would have made me want to read it. Basically, it was a western, with gambling, drinking, outlaws, and wanted posters.

Characters: Albert seems innocent and naïve at first (think the Madagascar crew set loose in the jungle), but he’s quick to want to punch, shoot, and pull out those poison spikes. The quick recourse to violence is not my style, but I suppose it fits with the western idea.

Writing style: Seen from Albert’s point of view, everything that happens is a new surprise. So there’s this naïveté joined with linear reporting (“Albert noticed that they were playing some kind of game with dice. He felt lucky.”)

Audience: ? People who like westerns about Australian mammals?

Wrap-up: This book was just a little too innovative for me. That, plus the idea of killing people as the solution when you can’t get along made this book not quite my cup of billabong tea. 3/5*.

Book Review: Paper Angels

Author: Billy Coffey

Title: Paper Angels

Description: Andy awakens in the hospital and gradually remembers the accident that put him there. His personal angel, the Old Man, seems to have left him at this worst time in his life. A hospital counselor asks him to talk through his box of keepsakes. Each keepsake is linked to a memory of a lesson Andy learned. As he reviews his life, Andy faces the question of where to go from here.

Review source: ALA

Plot: Short stories form vignettes of Andy’s past life, but are connected by the overarching narrative of his keepsake box.

Characters: Andy is a loner, having grown up orphaned. The angel that dogs his footsteps prevents him from forming lasting relationships (he doesn’t want people to think he is talking to himself). Other characters drop in and out of the story.

Writing style: The book kept me interested, but I would say it crossed the line into sappy more than once. The final “surprise” is pretty obvious from the beginning of the book. And I’m starting to get really tired of that kind of foreshadowing where the author drops in a name and a looming disaster but refuses to say what has happened until the end of the book. Wearying. Also, lots of preaching going on here. For every story, there is a lesson learned. Thunk.

Audience: Christian fiction, though it’s more that “life lesson” kind of thing than overtly Christian. Also the protagonist is a man, so if men are looking for Christian fiction, I'd recommend Coffey as the kind of author who won't overwhelm them with chick lit.

Wrap-up: Mildly enjoyable. 3/5*

Book Review: In Darkness

Author: Nick Lake

Title: In Darkness

Description: In the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, a teenaged boy lies trapped beneath the rubble of a destroyed hospital. As he lies there, he remembers the events that have led up to his hospitalization, caused by a gunshot wound. He also has memories of another life—not his, but that of his country’s liberator, Toussaint L’Ouverture.

Review source: I think I picked up at ALA.

Plot: I was disoriented for a good while until I figured out what was going on with the flashbacks, etc. There are two plots running parallel: the modern day story of Shorty the teenage gangster in Cite Soleil and Toussaint’s story of liberation.

Characters: In Cite Soleil, teenage boys (and younger) are the drug lords’ henchmen, mostly because the young men die off so quickly that rarely does one make it to his twenties. In both modern and historical Haiti, there isn’t much room for idealism; even people who try to do good have to make some big compromises along the way.

Writing style: Shorty uses a lot of creole or Haitian slang, but it can be figured out.

Audience: I get the impression that this was meant to be a YA novel; if so, it’s got major profanity issues and would be a fairly difficult read for under-16. Totally works as an adult novel.

Wrap-up: Every once in a while I get fascinated by a topic, and Haiti is one that I can’t let go. I did some research on Haiti for grad school, now this book—and after I read this one, I just wanted to go out and read more about Haiti. So Mountains Beyond Mountains is on its way, and I’m going to read some Danticat as well, as a start. I know Julia Alvarez has a new Haiti book out as well.  Back to this one, though—4/5*

Book Review: The Homecoming of Samuel Lake

Author: Jenny Wingfield

Title: The Homecoming of Samuel Lake

Description: Samuel Lake is a pastor who is just a little too controversial for the southern churches he serves. After his denomination tells him they just don’t have a church for him, he and his family—wife Willadee and kids Swan, Noble, and Bienville—end up at Willadee’s parents’ house. There Samuel wrestles with his vocation, Samuel’s ex-fiancee tries everything she can think of to get him back, Swan tries to befriend her uncle Toy, and the family becomes involved with young Blade, who will change their lives.  

Review source: netgalley

Plot: yes. All of the plots and subplots were interesting.

Characters: The book was not as much about Samuel Lake as the title makes it out to be. It’s probably more about Swan and Toy. But all of the family members were well-drawn characters. The villain was truly scary. I felt like a part of this family by the time I had finished the book.

Writing style: I never knew quite what was going to happen here, and the action keeps moving, but it doesn’t preclude character development. In terms of style, the book sort of made me expect magic realism, but there wasn’t any—there was, however, one miracle. I liked this book in the same way that I liked A Grown Up Kind of Pretty.

Audience: I confess, I could look up the publisher, but I don’t know if off the top of my head. That said, I don’t know whether or not this book is being marketed as Christian fiction. Which makes it just the kind of Christian fiction I like. Very much in the tradition of Peace Like a River.

Wrap-up: I loved this book. I wasn’t thrilled with the ending—I can think of two or three endings I would prefer. But that doesn't take away from the overall impact the book had on me. 5/5*

Book Review: Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing

Author: Melissa Bank

Title: The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing

Description: A collection of short stories centering around Jane Rosenal (except for one about her aunt’s neighbor).

Source: yup, Penguin.

Writing style: A little disorienting—some first person, (including when the neighbor narrates), some second person.

Audience: Definitely literary fiction; more women than men, I’d guess.

Major ideas: The stories are about love. Or at least dating relationships. Jane’s brother, Jane, Jane’s aunt’s neighbor’s son’s.

Wrap-up: It was an easy one-vacation-day read, but I’m not sure that it’ll stick with me for long. A lot of New York publishing scene type stuff. 4/5*

Book Review: Pledged

Author: Alexandra Robbins

Title: Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities

Description: Robbins spends a year following for sorority sisters on a college campus. The sororities were worried about publicity, so she had to go “undercover.” The picture that emerges is not a flattering one for most mainstream sororities.

Writing style: Excellent narrative non-fiction. The four girls’ stories are tracked through the school year, but in each chapter, Robbins also widens her focus to discuss the national picture regarding sorority issues such as sex, body image, drinking, and charity work.

Audience: If you like narrative non-fiction, this book is for you.

Major ideas: Sororities could be a force for good (witness most minority sororities), but are instead social clubs and money-making ventures.

Wrap-up: I brought six other books on vacation but finished this one first. 4/5*

My Favorite Reads: Books Based on Fairy Tales

Something I haven’t done for a while: a list post.

I love fairy tales, and fiction based on fairy tales in some of my favorite. Here are some of my five star reads that are at home in the world of fairy tales.  These are in no particular order; all of them have five stars from me.

The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley. Robin McKinley is probably my favorite writer who keeps coming back to the fairy tale genre. She’s very well known for her takes (yes, more than one) on the Beauty and the Beast story, so I picked this book of short stories which is less well known.

Shadow Castle by Marian Cockrell. This was my very favorite book as a kid. I’ve probably read it more than fifty times. Here’s the review from my most recent reading.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman. Maybe my single favorite fairy tale book. Some people were disappointed by the movie, but its soundtrack by Ilan Eshkeri is one of my very favorites.

The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block. I reviewed this one a few months back, too.

Enchantment by Orson Scott Card. I was sort of surprised to come across this one by Orson Scott Card, but he makes nice use of the Russian setting to bring in the ultimate fairy tale baddie, Baba Yaga.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clarke. I don’t count her better-known book Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell as a fairy tale, even though it is about fairy land. (I do love it better, too). But this book has short stories based on fairy tales and it still worth a read.

The Book of Lost Things by John Conolly. Sometimes the land of fairy tales is a scary and creepy place.