Graceling, Fire and Bitterblue

As an artist and aspiring author, I admire the world that Kristin Cashore has created. Her characters breathe on the page and face struggles of emotion and task that every normal human being can relate to on an elemental level. Having just finished reading Graceling and Bitterblue, I decided to pull out an old read (Fire) and perhaps start an interesting conversation somewhere about the series.
In the land of The Seven Kingdoms, most kings are tyrannical, petty and self-centered. Only the king of Lienid, the island kingdom in the west, and the king of Monsea, an isolated kingdom in the east, seem to rule their own kingdoms with some form of justice and sanity. Among the peoples of the seven kingdoms are special individuals, marked by brilliantly mismatched eyes, who have gifts and abilities far beyond the natural. They are called "gracelings" and while one may have only the ability to swim like a fish, another might be graced with the ability to read minds.
Katsa is a graceling and the protagonist of the story with that title. The book follows her on her journey of self-discovery and liberation as she struggles to make right the wrongs her uncle, the king Randa, has forced her to do in his name.
Katsa's story flows almost seamlessly into Bitterblue's. The daughter of former King Leck, Bitterblue is on a mission to help her kingdom, Monsea, recover from the bizarre and monstrous rule her deranged father visited on the country. As she begins to desire to meet the needs of her people, she discovers there is a conspiracy opposing those who would uncover the whole truth of the past. Struggling to balance the need to know and her own desire to heal, Bitterblue must untangle a web of deceit and lies, some leftover from her father's reign, some being woven by those who wish to forget the past ever happened.
Fire does not take place in the Seven Kingdoms, but rather in a land to the east called the Dells. There are no gracelings in the Dells, but there are monsters. Fire herself is a monster in the form of a human being. She must cover her brilliantly colored hair to protect herself from both predators and other human beings. While predators would merely attack her as choicest prey, humanity rejects her because she has a monster's supernatural ability to overpower the mind and exert her will over others. Fire is drawn into the a plot to overthrow the king of the Dells and must reconcile herself to her own nature before anyone else will be willing to accept her.
While the trilogy might seem a little disjointed at times, Cashore does finally tie all three books together with a neat and tidy theme. Her characters struggle for independence of thought and the self-confidence to make the world a better place.

A Blog Repurposed

Reading and talking about books is something of a passion for me... if you hadn't already gathered that from the previous posts. Unfortunately, there are just way too many books out there for me to read them all. I'm going to narrow the field so to speak and start reading books that have been written for an audience ages 13-21. That's a wide age range, and unfortunately, it's the one where it's most difficult to find something appropriate for the youngest readers. Everything from Laura Ingalls Wilder to the Seven Realms series to who knows what might pop up next on the bookshelf is likely to pass through this genre.
I'm going to be approaching these critiques from two angles... one... I'd like to interest as many young readers in picking up a great book as often as possible. That DOES NOT mean I'll be endorsing every book I post about. I'm going to be reading a wide variety of books because I know there are a wide variety of readers looking for new material.
The second angle is for the parents. I read hundreds of books as a teenager, and I know my parents were often on the lookout for something wholesome that wouldn't destroy my morals and my mind... so... I'm going to be completely open about content. This will eventually be a good place for parents to come if they want to know exactly what that book their fifteen year old is reading is all about. I don't expect to have many followers at first, but if you're reading this and you know someone with an avid reader... let them know it's here... oh... and feel free to post comments and questions. If there is one thing I do love... it's a good conversation about a book.

The Demon King

 

All right, before all you overprotective parents freak out on me for even posting a review of this book... hear me out: There are no demons in the book. There is a passing reference to dark magic, but no mention of satanism or anything closely resembling it. So... with that said... I'm going to review the book.

Set in the fantasy kingdom of the Seven Realms, The Demon King is the first in three book series that takes several young people on a journey toward adulthood during a time of political intrigue, injustice and warfare. Raisa, the princess heir, struggles with her place in government and the decisions she faces as she learns that she is not free to do as she pleases. Her life must be lived for the good of her people and their future.

Han Alister, former streetlord, has survived sixteen years in the impoverished streets of the city of Fellsmarch, often taking refuge with the clans who live in the mountains. He is searching for answers, some sort of destiny since he chose to leave his place as gang leader, but destiny chooses to find him, and with it, trouble.

The Queendom of the Fells has lived in an uneasy peace since Alger Waterlow was defeated 1000 years ago. Now, the queens of the Gray Wolf Throne rule under the peace agreement set forth by the clans: the Naeming. Wizards have limited power; the High Wizard himself is magically bound to serve the reigning queen, and the clans control the use of amulets, the magical instruments that conduct "high magic."

Raisa is a noble, and Han is a peasant, but both have heard the tale of the "Demon King" the wizard who tried to force the brave queen Hanalea to be his wife. She defied him, so the popular story goes, and eventually killed him... but as the two young people begin their journey, they quickly discovery that history is often a matter of forgetful remembering, and the truth must often be something we find for ourselves. 

I enjoyed reading the first of this series, and greatly look forward to the next installation (which is sitting on my desk as I'm writing this.) The characters are alive with emotion and Williams gives the reader a look into thought processes and logic that make every action believable. Some moments, the emotions seem a little thin, Han's grief near the end of the book seems somewhat a matter of fact than of his heart, but all in all, what is discussed in detail is true to each character.

Sometimes it's a little difficult to keep track of everything, direction from one kingdom in the realm to the next can be somewhat overwhelming, but thanks to the map within the front sleeve of the book I was able to sort most everything out. 

I would recommend you begin this book when you have plenty of time to finish. Once you hit the middle... there's no turning back... the fate of the kingdom hangs in the balance.

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

To be perfectly frank, I was expecting to be bored out of my mind reading a biography for two weeks. After all, there's only so much you can say about a person before the details start to numb your brain. But I was pleasantly surprised by this biography. I can't lie and say there were not some sections I had to slog through to get to the end of the chapter, but overall, the author used a good balance of facts and narrative to help the reader get acquainted with Benjamin Franklin, "the most approachable of our founding fathers."

Most people know Ben Franklin for his frugal, witty sayings that are supposed to lead to a successful, happy life or because he was the first to figure out how to tame lightning. We all remember that story we were told in elementary school about the frazzled old man running around in a thunder storm with a kite. What we seldom remember by the time we reach our twenties is that Benjamin Franklin was only forty-five when he did that experiment, and he had already led an utterly successful career. By the age of 18 he was writing a column in his brother's newspaper. By 21 he was a successful printer and knew how to get the attention of the reading public. He went to London for a time, still working as a printer, and published what would be the first of many, many pamphlets that persuaded the public to understand his point of view. (Granted, his first pamphlet was a disaster and he burned as many copies as he could buy back.) When he returned from London, he established his own printing shop, managed to get a job as the postmaster in Philadelphia, started a library, started a volunteer fire fighting unit, organized a militia to defend the town against the French, who were raiding colonies along the Hudson River, started a public university, a hospital and a "think tank" for all the great minds of science and philosophy to come together and share their ideas. (And before you start to be too impressed, let me remind you that this was all BEFORE he was 45 years old.)

After he retired from printing, having set up a nice little agreement with the young man who bought his business, Franklin threw himself whole-heartedly into politics. He loved the American people and wanted to see them  band together into a collaborative body that would serve the English commonwealth on equal terms with their brothers in England. (What we don't learn in school is that until war with England was inevitable, Benjamin Franklin was staunchly loyal to the King. He had his differences with Parliament, but he wanted the colonies to remain part of the British Commonwealth.) Franklin served as Postmaster General for Pennsylvania, was a member of the continental congress, served as the American liason to Britain before the revolution and then to France when war broke out.  Although most of his political ideas were too much ahead of their time to be accepted, Benjamin Franklin's spirit of tolerance and compromise was perhaps the key factor in the famous meetings of Constitutional Convention when the 13 colonies sat down together to write the American Constitution.

Walter Isaacson's insightful biography makes the argument that Benjamin Franklin is our most approachable founding father because his spirit was so entirely that of a typical American. He knew the value of hard work, rose up from the middle class, and carved his name in the annals of American history. Franklin's life was perhaps the earliest example of the American dream, and we like to think that perhaps we can achieve some of the same success he did. While some would condemn Franklin because his nature tended to be frugal and materialistic without a hint of romance, there will always be those who take his example to heart. A dream is nice to have, but the only way to achieve it is through consistent hard work.

Well, it seems I may have bitten off a little more than I can chew. My apologies to the nice people who might have been waiting to find out about Owen Meany or Artemis Fowl. Unfortunately, they have fallen to the very bottom of my to-do list as my husband and I prepare to move. Hopefully I'll have some time to catch up, but until then the reading will continue as scheduled. February will be Benjamin Franklin's biography. (Which I'm actually excited about.)

Proposed Reading Schedule 2013

My apologies to the reading audience. I've been very busy the last two weeks getting married. But things have settled and returned to some semblance of normality, and I'm ready to present my reading list for the next twelve months.

January 11: A Prayer for Owen Meany

January 25: Artemis Fowl

February 8: Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

February 22: A Game of Thrones

March 8: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

March 22: Fall of Giants

April 5: The Silver Cup

April 19: The Perfect Prince

May 3: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

May 17: The Lincoln Lawyer

May 31: Catch-22

June 14: The Maze Runner

June 28: The Player of Games

July 12: A Beautiful Blue Death

July 26: The Hornet's Sting

August 9: Moloka'i

August 23: Relic

September 6: Daughter of the Sword

September 20: Clockwork Angel

October 4: Killshot

October 18: Wars of the Roses

November 1: Stormdancer

November 15: North and South

November 29: Paradise Lost

December 13: The Spies Who Never Were

December 27: The Book Thief

Histories, science fiction, young adult fiction, suspense and crime. A little bit of everything. So, no matter what you like to read, just stay tuned, reviews and recommendations are scheduled and on their way.

Life of Pi

       

         "A story that will make you believe in God," or so claimed the elderly gentleman that pointed the drifting young narrator in the direction of Toronto.

                Life of Pi is a story told by two narrators, the first unnamed and perhaps supposed to be the author himself, and the second, Piscine Molitor Patel, now a middle-aged man, recounting the tale of his misbegotten adventures at sea. The narrator introduces the story, tells us how he discovered it,  and occasionally interrupts Pi's narration to inform the reader about the man telling his own story. Pi, on the other hand, launches into recounting his life story without any mind of personal detail. After all, when you are sharing a story with someone over a cup of tea, you don't stop to tell them what you look like or who you are currently living with.

                The first third of the book is largely concerned with Pi's history: where he was born, how he came to be called "Pi," and his early conversion to all three major Indian religions- Islam, Hinduism and Catholicism. Pi also tells much of his father's zoo in Pondicherry and includes a lot of information about animal behavior and care that seems superfluous. After all, we're waiting to hear about the boy trapped in the lifeboat with the tiger. We don't care so much that goats make good companions for lonely rhinoceros. 

                The boat sinks, and Pi begins the second half of his story with a narrative scramble of events that speaks to his confusion- the confusion that led him to rescue a drowning tiger and make it his sailing companion. 

                At first, there are other animals- a wounded zebra, an orangutan and a hyena- but as time passes and the tiger recovers from seasickness, their numbers dwindle until only Pi and the tiger remain. Pi tells us how he managed to survive the first few weeks in such close quarters with such a fierce beast, how he trained it to stay away from his territory and eventually how he convinced "Richard Parker" that he was the super-alpha and his orders were to be obeyed. (At this point in the tale, one begins to see the significance of all the animal information packed into the first thirty chapters... Pi needs us to understand that the story he is telling is perfectly plausible.)

                 As with most books that win literary prizes and recognition, there is more to Life of Pi than the story of a boy adrift in a lifeboat with a tiger. The story is an entertaining contemplation of faith and reason, religion and reality, human and animal. Pi, whose religious faith helps him to cope with the overwhelming loss of his family and 227 days of suffering on a lifeboat, encourages us to examine the evidence that life places before us, follow the steps of our reason until we come to a place of decision, and then, if we truly wish to live to our full potential, we must leap to a conclusion. We must be willing to believe something we will never be entirely capable of proving in this life. After all, in the end, it's faith that sets humankind above the animals, the ability to believe something we cannot see and the desire to value other lives because they share this ability with us.

Reading Level: High school

Recommendation: The book itself is very clean, no sexual innuendo or foul language. Due to the strenuous circumstances, some of the descriptions are rather graphic and violent. As a Christian, I do not agree with some of the religious ideas the book purports, but some of the things Pi says are thought provoking in their own right. Definitely a great read if you're looking for something with an interesting twist.