The Blue Sword

Author: Robin McKinley
Number of Pages: 248
Reading Level: 6th grade and up
Series: Damar #1
Reading Time: 8 days

After the death of her parents, young Harry Crewe is sent to live in the far-off Istan at the edge of the Homeland border with her older brother. Harry has always been different, but she finds herself becoming more so as she continues to be attracted to the generally despised landscape of her new home.

Rumors abound in the Homeland border about the mysterious Hillfolk, Old Damarians who possess kelar, a kind of magic, and speak a strange language. Rumors come to life, though, when the king of the Hillfolk, Corlath, shows up in Istan wanting to meet with the General. The meeting is unsatisfactory for both parties, but Corlath leaves with more than he came with - Harry. Spurred into taking her by his uncontrollable kelar, Harry is whisked away to the Hillfolk, where she discovers more of herself than she bargained for.

Having just read Hero's Song and Fire Arrow, my expectations for The Blue Sword were low. I'd read too many fantasy novels lately that were unoriginal and played off of other writers' work. I was pleasantly surprised by Robin McKinley's novel. While the strong female protagonist is something of a stereotype today, I found myself rather enjoying Harry. Though she is much like other female protagonists, she is also different in that all she wanted was to fit in. She belonged to two places and so felt torn between the two. All the characters, actually, were very well-written and wonderfully lifelike. I especially loved Corlath, the king of the Hillfolk. He seems wise beyond his years, but you realize over the course of the novel that he is, in fact, not much older than Harry and sometimes acts thus.

More than any of the characters or individuals, though, the setting really pulled me in. I loved the different cultures of the Hillfolk and the Homelanders or Outlanders. The stark beauty of the desert was beautifully written, and the fascinating language and culture of the Hillfolk was pleasantly foreign and yet slightly relatable at the same time.

The plot itself was gripping for, though you know that good must win, you do not know how or when or who will fail to make it to the end. I read the last fifty pages with urgency, and did not stop even for dinner. I commend McKinley, though, for her ending. Not only was it satisfactory to the reader, tying up all the loose ends, she gave us a picture of what happened years after the end of the novel, for no apparent reason other than that the reader would want to know. I found myself giggling like a child, I was so pleased with the ending.

This is definitely a book that I want on my shelf to read again and again.

A Note to Parents:
In the fantasy genre today, preteens and teens are flooded with the paranormal. Vampires, werewolves, demons. I do not think these things are to be taken lightly in a spiritual sense; our culture is trying to normalize and glorify that which has been considered dark and evil for centuries. That being said, this book provides a wonderful alternative. There is magic in it, so if you object to your child reading anything with magic or sorcery than this book would obviously not be recommended. However, other than the magical element, this book had next to nothing inappropriate in it. A few mentions of d--n. A slight reference to the kings of old sleeping with many women. All in all, I'd say it was a wonderful fantasy read for any preteen.

Hero's Song

Author: Edith Pattou
Number of Pages: 333
Reading Level: 6th grade and up
Series: The Songs of Eirren #1
Reading Time: 6 days

Collun has lived peacefully with his family in the kingdom of Eirren for his entire life. A shy, quiet young man, he prefers tending his garden to swordplay or fighting.

But Collun must leave his comfortable world behind when his sister Nessa is kidnapped. Joined on his journey by an aspiring bard, a mysterious archer, and a mystical Ellyl (the equivalent of an elf), Collun must traverse the kingdom, uncovering dark secrets and facing even darker forces.

When I first started reading this book, I did not like it one bit. To me, it was the stolen world of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth. And, indeed, that didn't change throughout the story. There were Ellyl (elves), morgs (orcs), and the old wizard guide Crann (Gandalf). However, as I kept reading and resigned to the fact that this world was going to be uncannily similar to that of Lord of the Rings, I began to be able to appreciate the story.

Collun, himself, was actually one of my favorite parts. He strays for the normal archetype of the hero. He wasn't brave or strong, impulsive and hotheaded. Collun was shy, scared, and unsure of himself. He loved gardening and reading. One of the most fantastic journeys of the story was Collun learning how to be brave.

The writing was fair, and I enjoyed Hero's Song on the whole. I would suggest, though, that if you are to read any of Edith Pattou's books, it be East. I thought her writing and storytelling in that book was far better than in this one.

A Note to Parents:
This book was completely clean. Given the plot, it wasn't very gory or violent. The characters often drink mead or wine and get lightheaded (although, that is very common in fantasy world settings). For parents that don't like their children having anything to do with witchcraft or magic, though, I will warn that this book did have both a wizard and the equivalent of an evil sorceress.

Fiddler's Green

Author: A.S. Peterson
Number of Pages: 323
Reading Level: 9th grade and up
Series: Fin's Revolution #2
Reading Time: 4 days

It is the middle of the Revolutionary War and all Fin Button wants is to go home. Unfortunately, she is wanted for piracy by the British and for mutiny by the Americans. The American congress, though, is prepared to offer her a deal: rescue a kidnapped French countess to spur the French into fighting with America, and get a full pardon for all crimes committed.

Determined to be pardoned so that she can go home, Fin and her crew set off for the Barbary Coast, where they face more dangers than ever before. And, in the midst of all this, Fin is forced to realize that she has changed drastically.

I didn't think this book could possibly be better than The Fiddler's Gun, but I was mistaken. Fiddler's Green was more exciting, more touching, more beautiful, more rollicking, and more fun to read than even the first book.

I truly loved it. Fin is a character everyone can relate to - she's sometimes scared, she doesn't like that she's changing, she sometimes lets her anger get the better of her, and she can fall prey to pride. Fin is human, and that's why she's so appealing.

There are lots of new characters in the second book. Some wonderful, some confounding, and some that you just love to hate. My personal favorite of the newcomers was Jeannot, a Frenchman Knight of Malta, sworn to protect the Mediterranean from pirates and rescue those who are slaves to them. In fact, I wish there was an entirely different book just about Jeannot's life.

I've said it before for The Fiddler's Gun and I'll say it again for Fiddler's Green - A.S. Peterson's prose is phenomenal. He has a power over words that most people only dream of. His descriptive language is mind-blowing, and the pictures he draws of characters, places, battles are so very lifelike. This book deserves to be read if only to experience the beauty of Peterson's writing.

I'm saddened that there are only two books in this series. All the easier to reread, I suppose. And I certainly will be rereading this.

A Note to Parents:
Like The Fiddler's Gun before it, Fiddler's Green is not a children's book. But, as far as teenager/young adult novels go, this one is relatively clean. There are cuss words interspersed (well, they are pirates). There is the occasional mention of whores or a brothel. The biggest standout for me, though, as far as parental guidance goes, would be the gore of it. This book is not for the weak of stomach. A man has to have his leg sawed off, another gets whipped until his back is a bloody mess, and still more are emaciated and grotesque from years of slavery. Overall, though, I would say it's one of the more appropriate books for teens these days.

The Fiddler's Gun

Author: A.S. Peterson
Number of Pages: 293
Reading Level: 9th grade and up
Series: Fin's Revolution #1
Reading Time: 3 days

Seventeen-year-old Fin Button is fed up with orphanage life. She's tired of the old sisters bossing her around and telling her to act like a "lady." She's tired of the monotony. She misses her fiancée Peter, who left the orphanage to establish a home for them. In fact, the only good thing about the orphanage is her growing relationship with the old cook, Bartimaeus.

But when an incredible turn of events lands her on a privateer's ship, running from the law with a dark secret, she's scared that her life will never be how she wanted it to be.

I've been reading so many children's books lately that it was nice to get into a book that was geared toward adults. A.S. Peterson's writing is phenomenal. I found myself getting pulled along by the lull of the language. It was almost poetic. When he writes, you can feel the ocean surging underneath you, hear the clang of swords in battle, and smell the smoke from freshly shot cannons.

More than the story itself though, I loved the protagonist. Fin Button is an incredible character. She's one of those characters that feels like a friend right off the bat. In a world where feminism has taken off, I was afraid that Fin would be just another tomboyish, never-getting-married, take-care-of-myself girl that has become all to stereotypical these days. She wasn't though. Fin desperately wanted to get married. She was tough and confident without coming off as feminist.

The other characters were just as endearing. In fact, one of my favorites was Armand Defain, the Frenchman of dubious intent and even more questionable roots. You really know nothing about him, but you love how suave he is, how gentlemanly on the outside when you know from the glint in his eye that he is not all he seems.

I don't read a lot of historical fiction, but A.S. Peterson's book really pulled me in. I can't wait to read the next one.

A Note to Parents:

Most likely, by the time your kid's in high school, they can choose what they want to read, and choose wisely. This book, while it does have cussing, drinking, murder, treachery, and mention of rape, is far preferable to many of the other choices your teen has. The romance is wise and pure and beautiful. The writing is elegant and lyrical. The only iffy thing about it would be that Fin decides midway that God doesn't care about her, and is described as not being "on good terms with the Lord." All this set aside, though, I'd say this is one of the cleaner choices one can make in a book these days.

The Throne of Fire

Author: Rick Riordan
Number of Pages: 452
Reading Level: 5th grade and up
Series: Kane Chronicles #2
Reading Time: 10 days

If you've ever in your life found Egypt or Egyptian mythology remotely interesting, this series is for you.

The second book in Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles picks up about three months after The Red Pyramid ended. Carter and Sadie are running the Twenty-First Nome with their Uncle Amos, where they have recruited many kids both older and younger than themselves to follow the path of the gods. The most notable of the new recruits being:

a) Walt - An attractive young man (according to Sadie) and her new crush, since her old flame Anubis is, after all, the god of the dead.

b) Jaz - A girl following the path of Sekhmet, the goddess of causing and healing disease.

c) Felix - A young boy, only nine years old, whose main use for magic is summoning penguins from Antarctica. Alright, so he's really not that important (at least not yet), but I thought he was hilarious.

The premise of the book is Sadie and Carter's journey to find the book of Ra and then awaken the sun god. This causes much controversy within the House of Life (who are still trying to deny the path of the gods), which makes the Kanes' mission that much harder. Even the gods are unsure of it.

The danger is that Ra could be old and senile - not brilliant characteristics for the leader of the movement against Apophis, lord of chaos. Nevertheless, Sadie and Carter embark on their journey.

Meanwhile, Zia is still missing. I must say, I really missed Zia. She was sort of cold and haughty (well, she was a fake clay figure) in the last book, but I liked her all the same for it. It's sad to have your favorite character missing.

Overall, it was a pretty good book. Not as good as the first in the series. And, let's be real, not nearly as good as the Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus series. But it was a solid second installment, and it did leave me wanting to read the third, though not with the sense of urgency that... ahem... The Son of Neptune did.

A Note to Parents:
I'd say that this book is a clean read, as long as you're okay with your child reading books in which Egyptian gods are "real." Sadie sometimes thinks about the physical attractiveness of Walt and Anubis. There is mention of a shirt coming off. There are also a few instances of God's name being taken in vain.