Entries Categorized as 'Fiction'

At the Back of the North Wind

Our rating: ***

When Diamond, a little boy, meets the North Wind, he goes on several adventures with her, riding safely in her arms or her hair. (Yes, you read that right, in her hair. She has lots of it.) At one point, Diamond even gets into the place at the back of the North Wind, where everything is wonderful. In his everyday life, Diamond soon becomes friends with a little orphan girl and does what he can to help her. He and his family go through several ups and downs and, unfortunately, the book ends sadly.

Well, actually, it wasn’t too sad when I re-read it for this review. I will warn you, though, that this is not the kind of book you can skim through! Unless, of course, you’ve read it half-a-dozen times and almost know it by heart. (Which I haven’t.) If you skip around in this book, you will most likely end up either Clueless and Baffled, or Mixed-up and Puzzled. Take your pick. Anyway, this is another almost nonsense book, a lot like The Garden Behind the Moon, (Do I sense a title theme here?) and it is very fun to read. Oh, and there’s also some poetry in it, too.

Snow Dog

Our rating: ****

Link Stevens is a trapper in the Gander mountains. He comes to his small cabin every year with his five dogs. This year, his new dog Queen runs away to have her puppies. However, she and all but one puppy are killed by a ferocious black wolf. The one surviving puppy stays in the wilderness and grows up wild. Meanwhile, Link wonders what happened to his dog. Not until a year later does he find the puppy and name him Chiri. But Link wonders if Chiri will stay with him, or go back to the wild.

Hmm, what do you think? Snow Dog is quite predictable, but the story is exciting. Kjelgaard makes up for being predictable with a breathless, can’t-put-the-book-down-for-the-suspense type of ending. The sequel, Wild Trek, is better, but you’ll understand it more if you read Snow Dog first.

A Nose for Trouble

Our rating: *****

Tom Rainse has just returned to Tanner’s Mountain, and things are much different from when he left. New game laws limit how much hunting you can do, and poachers are everywhere. Threatened by a poacher named The Black Elk, Tom becomes a game warden. Along with Smoky, the bloodhound his friend Bill Tolliver gave him, Tom must track down The Black Elk and stop the poaching once and for all.

Here’s a thriller with something for everybody. The mystery has several twists and turns, the ending is unexpected, and the characters are great. For those of you who won’t read A Nose for Trouble unless I say so, this book is far from being about the dog! It’s very much about the people in the mountains, and their choices to obey or disobey the new hunting laws. Sadly, this book is out of print, but your local library may have it.

Little Men

Our rating: ****½

When Jo inherits Plumfield from her gruff Aunt March, she and her husband, Professor Bhaer, set up a school for young boys. The following story is about the various adventures at Plumfield concerning the orphaned Nat, wild Dan, mischievous Tommy, and many others.

As the sequel to Little Women, this book certainly lives up to its expectations. A great book. Plumfield is a happy home where pillow-fighting and banister-sliding is allowed, but when it comes to matters of the heart, genuine love is to be found in all.

The Foundling and other tales of Prydain

Our rating: ***

This is a collection of short stories about Prydain. It’s very helpful for learning a little bit of the “background” history of Prydain, including the story behind Dyrnwyrn and how Orddu, Orgoch and Orwen found Dalben. There’s a fun story with Doli and several others.

I enjoyed this one. It’s a quick read, and there’s not a lot to it, but you could consider it a “nutritional supplement” for the Prydain Chronicles. I would recommend that you read the Chronicles first, then this one, not that it gives anything away, but it might make more sense. It’s a nice mix of six stories, (that’s a tongue-twister!) and it works great for a “quickie” while I’m waiting for something or other. Enjoy!