Archives - July 2009 archives -- index by author -- index by category -- favorite books -- links

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• Cindy Pon, Silver Phoenix: Ai Ling is supposed to be getting married, as a good daughter should. But at the dinner that's meant to seal her betrothal, her prospective mother-in-law publicly rejects her, ruining her chances for a good marriage. In order to escape a bad one, Ai Ling journeys to the Emperor's court at the Palace of Fragrant Dreams to seek her father. Along the way, she meets Chen Yong, who is on a quest of his own. Their quests are made more challenging by the new and mysterious power emerging within Ai Ling and by the evil forces which seek to destroy her and Chen Yong.
  
  I loved Ai Ling's rich world: the Chinese gods and creatures, the delicious food, the sights and sounds and colors and textures, all beautifully described. The plot is fast-paced but meanders a little; Ai Ling's encounters are so fascinating, though, that I didn't mind the meandering much. Ai Ling is a wonderfully real heroine, neither beautiful nor always brave, but always fighting for what she wants. She has a temper and she doesn't always make the right choices, especially when it comes to using her strange mind control powers. Chen Yong and other male characters support her and help her, but when it comes down to the climax of the book, she fights her own battle and wins, though at a cost. I wasn't entirely satisfied by the ending, which was oddly open-ended as regards the book's romance, but I've heard (I hope correctly) that Pon is working on a sequel, which I hope will be as much fun as this book was.
  
  
• Jenny Han, The Summer I Turned Pretty: Every year, Belly (short for Isabel, and, I'm sorry, worst nickname EVAR) looks forward to spending her summer at the beach house her family shares with her mother's best friend Susannah and her sons Conrad and Jeremiah. Conrad and Jeremiah alternately gang up on Belly with her brother Steven and act big-brotherly toward her, and for years, Belly has had a quiet crush on the moody Conrad. This summer, things are a little different; Belly is turning sixteen, and suddenly the boys are aware of her as a girl. An added complication is Susannah's precarious health, which makes Belly feel as though the adults are keeping secrets from her, secrets that perhaps Conrad, more moody than usual, knows and hates.
  
  Han adds complexity to the story with frequent flashbacks to Belly's previous summers, so that we slowly see the history of her relationships and how they've developed over the years. I liked Belly's narrative voice, which sounds authentically teenaged, and the depth of the characterization, both elements which reminded me strongly of Sarah Dessen's books (which I love). The various strands of the plot are well balanced and work together to form an emotionally complex whole, as Belly's summer becomes that essential time in which she begins to grow out of childhood.
  
  
• Laurence Yep, Dragon Steel, Dragon Cauldron, Dragon War: It took me a while to get to these after reading Dragon of the Lost Sea back in March, because I wanted to collect all three of the remaining books before reading them.
  
  Anyway, these continue the story of the dragon princess Shimmer and her human companion Thorn in their quest to restore Shimmer's lost ocean home. When Shimmer returns to the dragon High King for help, she discovers that her entire clan have been enslaved by him, and now she must save them all in addition to saving their home. Shimmer and Thorn pick up more companions along the way: the witch Civet, the human Indigo, and most wonderfully, the trickster Monkey, who narrates the last two books. I especially loved Monkey's narration, because he's funny and entertaining in his own right, but he also provides an outside POV on the books' key relationship, between Shimmer and Thorn. All in all, although they skew a little younger than most of the children's and young adult books I read now, I really liked the series' blend of excellent characterization, great use of Chinese mythology, and fast-paced action.
  
  

• children's and young adult:
  • Kage Baker, The Hotel Under the Sand: I was a little worried at the beginning, because the tone felt a little off: too self-conscious. But that settled down, and I ended up liking the book very much: charming, inventive, excellent girl protagonist.
  • Sarah Cross, Dull Boy: a lot of fun: really cool superpowers, interesting origin story, good teenage voice. I look forward to the sequel.
  • Elizabeth Scott, Love You Hate You Miss You
• fantasy and science fiction:
  • Jacqueline Carey, Santa Olivia: I really liked Santa Olivia, and was a little surprised that I did, because I'm not usually that into near-future dystopia-type settings. Heck, I even thought the boxing stuff was neat, though maybe only because I liked the characters (especially Loup) so much. I only wished there had been more about the outside world, or that Carey were planning a sequel or something, because I'd have loved to know more about the whole U.S. vs. Mexico situation.
  • Brandon Sanderson, the Mistborn trilogy: The rather clunky writing style left something to be desired, I thought, but the really good worldbuilding and cool magical system and tight plotting made up for that.
• general fiction:
  • Noel Streatfeild (writing as Susan Scarlett), Poppies for England, Clothes-Pegs
  • Elizabeth von Arnim, Vera, Fraulein Schmidt and Mr. Anstruther
  • E.H. Young, Jenny Wren, The Curate's Wife
• historical fiction:
  • Alan Brennert, Honolulu
  • George MacDonald Fraser, The Reavers
  • John Harwood, The Séance
  • Sarah Waters, The Little Stranger
• mystery:
  • Kate Atkinson, One Good Turn
  • Ruth Rendell, Adam and Eve and Pinch Me
  • Barbara Vine, The Chimney Sweeper's Boy
• romance:
  • Jo Beverley, An Unwilling Bride, Christmas Angel
  • Georgette Heyer, Charity Girl
• non-fiction:
  • Anne Somerset, Unnatural Murder: Poison at the Court of James I
  • Elizabeth Usborne, "Elizabeth": The Author of "Elizabeth and Her German Garden
• rereads:
  • Jennifer Crusie, Welcome to Temptation, Faking It
  • Robert Jordan, A Crown of Swords, The Path of Daggers
  • Laura Kinsale, Flowers from the Storm
  • Elizabeth Scott, Bloom

Total books read this month: 36
Total books read this year: 237

Last updated 10 December 2009. All text and photographs © George Mitchell and Margaret Johnston, unless otherwise noted Comments, questions, suggestions to margaret@lonelymountain.net.