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Tag Archives: coming of age
Noughts & Crosses
I wriggled my toes, enjoying the feel of the warm sand trickling like fine baby powder between them.
Callum and Sephy have grown up together, best friends, and now in their teens maybe their friendship is developing into something more. But there is a problem, Callum is a Nought, and Sephy is a Cross, and the two don’t mix, not in this world. But there are moves towards progress and integration, or at least hopes of that in the future; for the first time noughts will be allowed into Sephy’s school, and Callum is one of the four that managed to pass the entrance exams. He will be allowed in, but he knows that it will be difficult, Sephy is more innocent. She’s just glad they’ll be able to spend more time together. Neither knows just how hard it is going to be, and all that is before the bomb goes off.
Posted in Books
Tagged 9 Stars, boy meets girl, British author, coming of age, multiple narrators, Noughts & Crosses, powerful, prejudice, racism
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River secrets
by Shannon Hale
Razo hopped up and down, but he could see only backs of heads.
At the end of Enna Burning was had come to an end, but, as in reality, that doesn’t mean it is the end of all hostility between nations. River Secrets begins with an attempt on both sides to figure out if peace is really possible. There is a lot of bad blood, Bayern has in the past inflicted a lot of damage on Tira, not to mention how the war ended. Tira believes that Bayern was once part of Tira and still should be. And there are war-mongers in both countries. So a diplomatic exchange is arranged, and heading off to Tira is a group that includes Enna, Finn, & Razo.
Enna Burning
This is the second Book of Bayern so it does help if you have read the first book, The Goose Girl but it is not entirely necessary as the story itself is quite separate. Hale expands on the world she created in the first book, using a secondary character. In The Goose Girl Enna was one of Ani’s “forest friends”, important as friend and helper. In this book Enna is the main character. After the events of the first film she returned home to the forest, her mother died, and she moved back home with her brother. As this book begins he has found a mysterious vellum parchment in the forest and begins to change, becoming hot-headed and rash. At first he begins to argue against the king, saying the forest folk have been too harshly treated and deserve better, but as soon as word comes of a possible war he swings in behind Bayern and becomes a loyal subject, desiring to go to war on his country’s behalf. And then there is the fact that he can control fire.
The trumpet of the swan
Author: E. B. White ; Ills. Edward Frascino
Sam Beaver is eleven years old when out exploring a Canadian swamp he comes across a bird’s nest, a Trumpeter Swan’s nest to be specific, and in it are 5 eggs. Sam is delighted; he loves nature and keeps a careful watch being careful not to upset the swans. He even saves the nest from a fox attack. And when the eggs hatch he is even more entranced by the cygnets. But one of them has a problem, Louis has been born without a voice, and so Sam decides to help him out. He takes him to school and helps him learn to read and write, now he can communicate through a slate & chalk. Then his father gets him a trumpet and Louis learns to play it, so he can win the love of Serena. Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged 8 Stars, animal POV, coming of age, Edward Fracino, nostalgia, swans, The trumpet of the swan, US author
4 Comments
The goose girl
by Shannon Hale
One of my favourite fairy tales is the story of The Goose Girl, although before beginning this book I had only the vaguest of memories about the story. I knew it featured a princess who was given gifts from her mother before being sent off to marry a foreign prince, and I could quite clearly recall the maid who betrayed her and took her place as princess, forcing the princess to become a goose girl. And there was no way I wasn’t going to remember the talking horse who was killed for his loyalty and whose head hung over the archway reminding the princess that “If your mother only knew, her heart would surely break in two”. I couldn’t quite recall how it all got sorted in the end, but I knew it ended most unpleasantly for the maid. Continue reading
Monsters of men
Author: Patrick Ness ; Bk 3 in Chaos Walking trilogy.
The final book in a series can often be a tough one to read and enjoy. On the one hand you want it to end happily ever after for the characters. Especially is you are at all invested in them. But at the same time you also want it to be truthful. By which I mean you don’t want the author to duck the difficult decisions and have some quick get out of jail clause. And I’m happy to say that Ness manages it all, with some brilliant writing along the way. Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged 813.6, 9 Stars, brilliant, British author, Chaos walking, coming of age, Monsters of men, US author, war
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The dead-tossed waves
Author: Carrie Ryan
Sequel to The forest of hands and teeth
All her life Gabrielle has grown up sheltered by the Barrier. It protects the town of Vista from the Mudo, the zombies, or the unconsecrated. But one night she allows herself to be persuaded that sneaking out, just once, couldn’t do any harm. That there are so few of the Mudo around that they’ll be fine. And Catcher is there, the boy she fancies. But that decision costs the teenagers dear. Some are killed, others turned or infected, and the rest face punishment for risking the whole town. Apart from Gabry, she wasn’t caught, at least not physically, but now she has to face up to the reality of her situation. Continue reading
Whip it!
Dir: Drew Barrymore
Writ: Shauna Cross, based on her novel
Bliss Cavender works at a typical American diner, under her mother’s guidance she does pageants, and she goes to school. It isn’t an ideal life. She wants out. One day, while out shopping she sees some local roller derby girls and wants to investigate. Herself and best friend Pash pretend to be going to see the local football team but instead head for the roller derby, and before you know it Bliss is trying out for a team.
Can I just say that I loved this film. It was teh awesome!
Leviathan
It is 1914 and Europe is on the brink of war. In Austria-Hungary young Prince Aleksander’s life is suddenly in turmoil. His parents have been murdered and he is on the run and in disguise. His once-upon-a-time allies have turned out to be enemies and there are very few people he can trust. In England Deryn Sharp wants nothing more than to be an airman. The only problem is, she’s a girl, and airmen are.. well, male. In disguise she gets accepted and is soon serving as a Midshipman aboard the Leviathan. A huge airship built around a fabricated beast. Continue reading
Blankets
This is one I picked up because I’d seen positive mentions on a few blogs, I think Nymeth’s post was the one that prompted the purchase. So it came with a little bit of hype. That being said, I don’t really read reviews before I read a book, just skim the opening paragraph for a sense of what the reviewer thought of the book, so I wasn’t all hyped out. And Blankets did live up to those positive reviews. Continue reading
