Fire Arrow

Author: Edith Pattou
Number of Pages: 332
Reading Level: 6th grade and up
Series: The Songs of Eirren #2
Reading Time: 4 days

Fire Arrow starts off where Hero's Song ended, this time focusing on the young archer that journeyed with Collun to defeat the Firewurme.

Brie has been living happily at Cuillean's home, planting gardens with Collun, but there is still a hunger in her for revenge on her father's murderers.

Unable to let this drive rest, Brie leaves Cuillean's house to track down her father's killers and destroy them. Along the way, she discovers a magical fire arrow that is as driven and focused as she herself is, and it is perhaps making her even more so.

Family secrets and the strange pull of the fire arrow lead her to the strange and reclusive Northern country of Dungal, where she finds herself more at home than ever. Her biggest challenge, though, will be letting go of the hatred that she has grown in her heart.

I liked Fire Arrow better than Hero's Song, but it was still not the best fantasy novel I've ever read of its type. The plot was much more original in this second book, and used much less of the Lord of the Rings archetypes. Similar to Hero's Song, I liked the focus on the inner life of the main character. By the end of the novel, you've come to know Brie very well, her faults and her strengths, likes and dislikes, struggles and hopes. The culture of Dungal, especially the Sea Dyak sorcerers and the fishing villages were wonderfully interesting. In fact, one of my favorite parts of the book was when Brie attends a "binding ceremony," which is the Dungalan equivalent to a wedding. It was so intriguing to read about their traditions.

The villains were vile, the heroes took courage when it seemed their was none, friendships grew, there was even a tiny bit of romance. All in all, Fire Arrow was a fairly good book. My biggest complaint would be that I felt there were a lot of loose ends. When does Brie return to Dungal? What happens to her and Collun? Queen Medb is still out there, no doubt making devilish, evil plans; what happens? Who defeats her? Does anyone? Where does Cuillean fit into all this? Will he and Collun ever meet? This would all be acceptable if there was a third book in the making, but, alas, there is not. How very unfortunate.

A Note to Parents:

This book was very clean. Not very gory, hardly anything that could be taken as even remotely inappropriate. Characters do drink wine or mead occasionally. If you object to your children reading anything with magic or sorcerers, I would steer clear of this series.

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.

Rules

Author: Cynthia Lord
Number of Pages: 224
Reading Level: 4th grade and up
Reading Time: 2 days

Chew with your mouth closed.

If someone says "hi," you say "hi" back.

Not everything worth keeping has to be useful.

Sometimes people laugh when they like you. But sometimes they laugh to hurt you.

These are all rules that Catherine has written down for her little brother, David, who has autism. She loves her brother dearly, but sometimes she wishes he could just be normal.

As the summer starts out, Catherine makes two new potential friends. There's Kristi, the new girl who moved in next door, and Jason, the boy she sees at Occupational Therapy with David. Jason is in a wheelchair, and can't talk, so he uses cards with pictures and words on them to communicate.

Catherine, living in a world that most people will never fully understand, wrestles with how much she loves her brother and how she's embarrassed of him at the same time. She is frustrated that, in her family, it always has to be about David, never about her. And most of all, she asks herself the question: What is normal?

This book was phenomenal. As a girl who has two little siblings with special needs, one with autism, Catherine's story really resonated with me. I've felt the frustration that Catherine has felt in David never being "normal." I've experienced everyone getting invited except us. I've had times when I felt it was all about my little brother and nobody thought that I mattered. This is a brilliant book to read for anyone who knows someone with special needs or knows someone who has a family member with special needs. It gives you this tremendous sense of not being alone.

I would also recommend this book to people who have had little or no contact with special needs. Sometimes people do things as jokes or say things in passing that hurt. Maybe they didn't mean to be mean or hurtful, but they were. This book gives you a glimpse into what a family member of someone with special needs goes through and feels when someone, knowingly or unknowingly, insults their sibling or child.

This was a beautiful, touching book. One that I would say everyone needs to read.

A Note to Parents:
I found nothing remotely inappropriate in this book. In fact, I would say make your kids read it.