Entries Categorized as 'Fiction'
Posted by Ruth
Categories: Fantasy, Fiction, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Animals, Diana Wynne Jones
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Sophie Hatter runs the hat shop in the town of Market Chipping. That is, she does until the spiteful Witch of the Waste casts a spell on her, turning Sophie into an old lady. This decidedly unlooked-for event leaves Sophie with few choices but to go and seek her fortune—which she does—and ends up as a cleaning lady in the moving castle of the disreputable wizard Howl (other occupants include the apprentice Michael and the fire demon Calcifer). Life there is far from simple, and Sophie is swept into adventures involving a missing prince, a dangerous contract, and an impending curse.
This is the first book I’ve read by Diana Wynne Jones, and for one thing, I greatly enjoyed all the references to the old fairytales (Brother Grimm and the like), such as Sophie being sure it would be useless to seek her fortune because she’s the eldest of three sisters. Sophie herself is quite a fun character, and her spunky attitude toward life makes her interactions with Howl all the more amusing. I must say, though, that the structure of the story was considerably more rambling than I’d expected. There are several plot threads running through it, some of which I failed to see the point of, until they tied up quickly at the end. Altogether, Howl’s Moving Castle is an enjoyable book, but it doesn’t go very far beyond entertaining.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Adventure, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mysteries, Older Readers, Review
Tags:French Revolution, Julia Golding, nobility, stage plays, thieves
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Catherine “Cat” Royal is a streetwise orphan who lives in the theatre at Drury Lane. As London is in an uproar over the French Revolution, Cat is thrust into dangerous political intrigue when Mr. Sheridan, the owner of Drury Lane Theatre, entrusts Cat with the secret that a diamond is hidden in the theatre. If that wasn’t enough, a London gang finds out and will stop at nothing to make Cat reveal the diamond’s location.
This book has a plot full of intrigue and mystery that will keep you turning pages until the final twist. Julia Golding masterfully describes both the gentry and commoners and their feelings about the rise of liberty. Though I did figure out the main plot thread before it was revealed, I was quite surprised by a number of places in the story. One little warning: The Diamond of Drury Lane takes place mostly on and around the streets of 18th century London. The very dirty streets of 18th century London. Get the picture? Other than that (and it’s really quite minor), this one’s a definite keeper.
Posted by Becca
Categories: Fiction, Review, Younger Readers
Tags:Animals, Dogs, Elizabeth Enright
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Every Saturday, the four Melendy children receive their allowance, but each child never has enough to do what he or she really wants to do. Mona, Rush, Randy (short for Miranda), and Oliver decide one rainy day to pool their resources, and the Independent Saturday Afternoon Adventure Club is formed. Each child gets a turn to use all the allowance money for whatever he or she wants. This arrangement is satisfying to everybody and the Melendys plan what exciting things they will do on their Saturdays.
The first of four books about the Melendys, The Saturdays is similar in style to The Moffats. I found The Saturdays to be not quite as good as the Moffat books, but still enjoyable to read. Later events in The Saturdays shift a little towards the unbelievable, almost as if the author wanted to put in some adventure and it didn’t quite fit. Nothing weird happens; the events just seem to get a little too coincidental. Overall, a good, simple story of four children growing up during the early 1940s.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Advanced Readers, Fiction, Incredibook!, Review
Tags:atheism, Bryan Davis, contemporary, joy, Sad
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Two fathers, one an atheist, the other a former pastor, must deal with the reality of death. This book explores how they respond to suffering, and how each of them is ministered to by a young girl’s passionate faith in God.
The story contained within these pages will not fail to move you. As Bryan Davis brings this touching narrative to a close, you will be hard put to keep your eyes from brimming with tears of sadness and joy. Curl up with this powerful book and discover why the angels dance — and come away with a desire to make them dance again.
Posted by Becca
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Arthur C. Bartlett, Bootleggers, Dogs, Good Read Aloud, Out of Print, Sled dogs
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More than anything, 16-year-old Peter Riggett wants to be considered a man, so he finds it an affront to his pride when his father won’t let him a buy a very good sled dog that was offered at a ridiculously cheap price. Mr. Riggett had good reason to be suspicious of the seller’s honesty, but he fails to tell Peter his reasons. Peter, frustrated by what he sees as unfair treatment by his father, runs away from home. Too proud, and secretly too ashamed, to go back home, Peter joins a group of men, finding out later that the men are rum-runners. Peter is finally thrown out of the group when he stands up to the leader, who is the man who tried to sell Peter the dog earlier. Feeling that he must redeem himself for his past actions, Peter joins two police officers and another man named Pewee Ledoux in the hopes of catching the gang he has just escaped.
There is much more to this book than can be put into a summary. It would make a good read-aloud, though some characters talk in broken English mixed with the occasional French that could be difficult to read out loud. The Runaway Dog Team is written in an late 1920s style, so there are a few places where the author gets a little wordy. Other than that, this is a great story of a self-centered boy learning to dump his pride and finding what it really means to grow to manhood.
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