Audiobook version was good, but I was a bit bummed that the narrator of "The Eyre Affair" didn't come back for the sequel. Pickwick the Dodo never getAudiobook version was good, but I was a bit bummed that the narrator of "The Eyre Affair" didn't come back for the sequel. Pickwick the Dodo never gets old. *plock plock*...more
I thinkGracelingis the stronger novel overall, but I did see a continuation of theme in Firewhich I enjoyed, particularly the theme of young women takI thinkGracelingis the stronger novel overall, but I did see a continuation of theme in Firewhich I enjoyed, particularly the theme of young women taking charge of their sexuality and reproductive health choices.
I think Kristin Cashore takes a largely unaddressed topic - whether due to taboo or controversy - and folds it expertly in to the narrative. I've seen other readers here suggest that she is anti-child and pro-casual sex because of this approach, but I think that is a rather superficial interpretation of what is going on here. What Cashore gives us are not two characters (Katsa and Fire) who are anti-child and pro-casual sex. She gives us two characters that, in the course of their challenging lives, have opted to define and explore their own sexuality, and have determined that parenthood isn't a path they want to pursue. These are two HUGE questions that any teen girl will have to face as a young woman, and in my mind, certainly makes it appropriate questions to explore in YA literature.
I think it's also worth pointing out that nowhere is Cashore's world-building (not that I remember, anyway) does she suggest that there is a stigma against women taking sexual partners outside of a sanctioned marriage. More than anything, it seems that the readers here critical of Cashore are most likely projecting a Western view of pre-marital sex upon Cashore's world where it doesn't belong. A stigma that we know to adversely affect women far more than men in our own culture.
Fire didn't engage me to the level that Graceling did, but I certainly admire Cashore's writing of young female characters and I will certainly be reading Bitterblue....more
Pierce shows a wonderful mastery of mythology. Reminds me of the magic that seemed to lie just under the surface of Greek and Roman myths I studied inPierce shows a wonderful mastery of mythology. Reminds me of the magic that seemed to lie just under the surface of Greek and Roman myths I studied in grade school. Makes her books a pleasure to read....more
In "Wildwood Dancing", Juliet Marillier creates a lush world that blends beautiful fairytales and real-world struggle in the wilds of historical TransIn "Wildwood Dancing", Juliet Marillier creates a lush world that blends beautiful fairytales and real-world struggle in the wilds of historical Transylvania. It was a very moving story and the characters were very well-written.
I loved the protagonist, Jena, and her longtime frog companion, Gogu. To be so young and to carry so much responsibility on your shoulders - and to fight for that responsibility in a time when women were considered little more than decorative homemakers - impressed me. I often wished that I could defend her to the men in her world that sought to push her down and set her aside.
Lauri Owen scores another winner with the second in this series set in an alternate Alaska. Plenty of strong and feisty female characters who deliverLauri Owen scores another winner with the second in this series set in an alternate Alaska. Plenty of strong and feisty female characters who deliver well-beyond the typical roles we see women cast in. Keira develops more fallibility and humanity, and her nephew, Alex, really starts to come in to his own - which I like quite a bit.
Laszlo needs to back off with his "Me Caveman" protectiveness of Keira, or I may be forced to punch him in the nose.
I'm looking forward to the last installment of the trilogy!...more
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