The Graveyard Book (Neil Gaiman)

Nobody Owens lives in a graveyard where he is cared for by all the ghosts of the graveyard. Not only that, he can do things that ghosts can: he can Fade and Haunt and strike Fear into the hearts of living. Despite these abilities, Bod cannot leave the graveyard. If not, he will be killed by the man who killed his family when he was a baby. Over the course of the book, Bod becomes more determined to leave the graveyard and experience life as a living person.


At first, I wasn't sure the book would live up to my expectations for Gaiman's work. However, my concerns were quickly evaporated--The Graveyard Book has Gaiman's charm and cleverness. I really liked the way he set up the graveyard as a contained world and gave it almost its own mythology. Because it's geared for younger audiences, the writing is not as elaborate as Gaiman's usual style, but it is enjoyable even for an older--yes even adult--reader. Definitely check it out, particularly if you're trying to find something to read with a younger family member or student.

The Wise Man's Fear (Patrick Rothfuss)

It's difficult to write about a sequel, especially one as excellent as Patrick Rothfuss' The Wise Man's Fear. The companion to The Name of the Wind continues the story of Kvothe, an extraordinary young man who grew up to become a living legend in his own time. In the present time, Kvothe runs an inn, playing the role of mild-mannered innkeeper. A man called Chronicler comes in and demands Kvothe's true story. So, Kvothe tells of his birth into the Edema Ruh--a group of traveling troupers--and his eventual journey to the University and his adventures. This chronicle began in The Name of the Wind and continues in this book.

Both The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear are fantastic. The world is engaging, with rich details. The culture of the places are incredible and well-thought out. I greatly enjoyed the characters in the beginning, and I loved the development of some of the secondary characters--mostly Kvothe's friends--in this book. Even though both of these books are impressively lengthy epics, they are utterly engaging. I found myself staying up far later than I should have just so I could read a few more pages. Unfortunately, perhaps staying up until 3 a.m. was not prudent. The loss of sleep was totally worth it. I can't wait for the third book.

My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me (ed. Kate Bernheimer)

A middle-aged woman tries to get water for a dear old friend. A boy-disguised as a cat-works to avenge his witch-mother's death. Half of Rumpelstiltskin walks in this world. These are just a few of the fairy tales that await the reader in My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me, an anthology of fairy tales put together by Kate Bernheimer. Written several well-known authors including Neil Gaiman and Joyce Carol Oates, these stories are inspired by fairy tales from all over the world, including but not limited to the tundras of Russia, Denmark (as manifested by H.C. Andersen), and even Japan. With some stories, it is easy to divulge their origin, but, in many cases, it is difficult to determine what fairy tale inspired it. That is not to say that these unfamiliar stories are not enjoyable--on the contrary.

This anthology, while it does provide a fresh outlook on these old, familiar tales, provides fairy tales that are not really for children. That is not to say that there are not stories in here for children--there are-- but many of the stories' protagonists are adults dealing with situations that might be out of the range of a child's comprehension. As an adult, I thoroughly enjoyed most of the stories in the book. They were creative and well-written, and I liked the discussion of certain adult topics. Many of these stories are not necessarily traditional fairy tales--there's one based on a Bluebeard tale that is about an older couple trying to work things out that does not fit the traditional fairy tale mold. That isn't important to me though, and I enjoyed this anthology.

The world goes on...but I do not: Revolution (Jennifer Donnelly)

Andi Alperes is really screwed up---she blames herself for the death of her younger brother Truman. She is failing all of her classes at her special Brooklyn prep school, and her mom has gone crazy. All that's keeping her grounded is her music and guitar, and even those things are not helping like they should. As things start to come down around her, her father drags her to Paris so that she can work on her senior thesis. During her stay, Andi finds a diary written by Alexandrine Paradis during the French Revolution. The journal describes Alex's experiences as a player caring for Louis-Charles, the young boy prince imprisoned and the horrors that befell him and the rest of France during the Revolution. As she gets sucked into Alex's story, she begins to make connections to her own life and looks for answers through Alex's words.

This book floored me--it only took me two days to read this book. Donnelly sucked me into both Andi and Alexandrine's stories. Both characters are extremely relatable and have beautifully expressed voices. Additionally, the book hits some fairly hard subjects--drugs, party culture, and Revolution horrors--and does a wonderful job of addressing them without necessarily beating the reader over the head. Andi's revelation, at the end, is spectacular, and I think something people need to hear. I love it, and I will not spoil it for you. Just go read it.

A Peek at God's Notebook: The Housekeeper and the Professor (Yoko Ogawa)

The Housekeeper and the Professor follows the remarkable story of a relationship that develops despite great odds. The protagonist, a young housekeeper, becomes employed by a highly intelligent professor of mathematics. The Professor, however, has a problem: he only has eighty minutes of working memory, and all of his memories stop in 1975 as a result of a tragic car crash. Despite these difficulties, the Housekeeper and her son Root form a strong relationship with the Professor.

This book is very sweet. The prose is simple, but it is well-crafted, and the story takes a nice meandering pace. Math plays a big role in the story, but it is not beyond the mathematically inclined, and it does not prevent one from getting something out of the book. I occasionally felt like I would have appreciated more of the book if I understood more of the mathematical conversations, but I would not let an unfamiliarity with math deter one from reading it. At the very least, read it because it is so charming.

Double Feature: The Fade and Retribution Falls (Chris Wooding)

That's right, ladies and gentlemen--two book reviews in one entry! Anyways, I'm such a fan of Chris Wooding that I am looking forward to writing two reviews at one for you.

The Fade:
Beneath the surface of a hostile moon, a war rages between the Eskarans and the Gurtans and has been for several years. Orna is an Eskaran Cadre--an elite, borderline supernatural warrior who does the will of the clan she serves. However, the Gurtans capture her, and, out of concern for her son, she breaks out to save him, even if her actions mean turning against her masters.

This book was a shift from Wooding's usual story-telling style. For one thing, he uses first person, and mixes past and present tenses as he switches in and out of Orna's flashbacks and the current action. I also liked the backwards chapters (30 to 0) because it added to the sense of a countdown. The mix of flashbacks and current situation really pulled me in. As I read it, I gradually came to realize just how much this war had destroyed Orna's life. The twist at the end is fantastic--didn't see it coming, and it definitely makes the plot play out in a non-stereotypical way.

Retribution Falls:

All that matters to Darian Frey, captain of the Ketty Jay, is enough riches to keep his craft in the air and his pockets lined. So, when he's offered a job to bring down a craft and take a chest of rubies in exchange for 50,000 ducats, the temptation is too great. However, the job goes horribly wrong, and Frey and his misfit crew are forced to flee the law. As they try not to get arrested or blasted out of the sky, they work to work out the messy intrigue they've gotten themselves into.

This book is fun--I'm not sure it's as well-crafted as some of the other books by Wooding I've read. The world doesn't feel quite as fleshed out as, say, The Fade or The Braided Path trilogy, and most of the characters have a deep, dark secret (I'll let you guess who does and who doesn't). That being said, the deep dark secrets are interesting, and there is intense airship pirate battles, so it's great for light pleasure reading for both the steam punk and non-steam punk inclined.