14. A book set in a made-up place

[Sarah]

I just finished Gutter Child by Jael Richardson.
It was amazing!
It would also work for a book about race or race relations (week 24).

The book is set in a future where the indigenous population (the gutter) is made to work off their debt to the privileged settlers (the mainlander). The main character was adopted by a mainlander mother who dies, sending the child back into debt.

5 stars!

It was on my TBR, this week I noticed an upcoming author talk at my library and bought a copy. No regrets.
I teach upper elementary but if I taught high school, I would read it to my students.

[Joan]

1. What are you reading for this category? Beneath the Sugar Sky
2. What is the setting for this book? How did it play a role in the story? The setting is in made up worlds. There were two of them that they had to visit. They were very detailed and it was a fun quick read.
3. What is a book you'd recommend for someone looking to travel to a made-up place? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows of course!

[Joanne]

I read Child of the Prophecy by Juliet Marillier which is part of the Sevenwaters Trilogy, set in Sevenwaters, which seems like a historical Ireland.

[Marie]

I read The Lost Island of Tamarind by Nadia Aguiar

It's about some children who find a hidden island, Tamarind, somewhere south of Bermuda, after a storm that washes their parents overboard. They explore the island and meet it's inhabitants whilst looking for their parents, so the location plays a big part in the story.

As always, I'd recommend Terry Pratchett's Discworld and Martha Wells' Murderbot, but if you're looking for something closer to home Sue Grafton's Santa Teresa is a fictional town in California.

[Suzanne]

1. What are you reading for this category?
The Deal

2. What is the setting for this book? How did it play a role in the story?
This book was set at a fictional college in Massachusetts. The author was able to create a college with all of the characteristics she wanted to advance the story.

3. What is a book you'd recommend for someone looking to travel to a made-up place?
I am not a big fan of fantasy but I have enjoyed many stories that take place in a realistic, but made-up place. I also recommend the series starting with A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton that takes place in Santa Teresa, a fictious town in California.

[Jill]

What are you reading for this category?
I read I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley

What is the setting for this book? How did it play a role in the story? The book is set in a fictional place called Bishop's Lacy, which is the home town of the main character, and where a murder is committed.

[Lizzy]

Just finished The Starless Sea, can’t get much more made-up than rhat!

[Hannah]

1. What are you reading for this category?
I read The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin.

2. What is the setting for this book? How did it play a role in the story?
This book is set on earth, but in the very far future where the continents have shifted and where there are frequent natural disasters due to seismic activity. The setting is an extremely important part of the story, because pretty much all of human civilization is now designed around these "seasons" of destruction and living through them.

3. What is a book you'd recommend for someone looking to travel to a made-up place?
So many books fit! If you're looking for a made up world, I'd recommend one of my favorite books: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin. It's set on an alien planet called Winter and the location is a very important element of the story. Another science fiction option I loved is Hellspark by Janet Kagan, which is about a team of surveyors on an alien planet who are trying to determine whether the native species are intelligent or not. Final sci-fi option is Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks, which is part of the Culture series, but works well as a standalone. It takes place in a number of fascinating made up locations, including many virtual worlds. A key element of the story is the existence (and ethics) of virtual reality "hells" and other kinds of afterlives.

I also always like to take the opportunity to recommend The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, which would be perfect for this prompt. The made up world of this story is full of clever twists and linguistic puns and is genuinely so delightful.

[Nancy]

Nancy wrote: "I'm thinking a Flavia de Luce for this one, since Bishop's Lacey is not a real place."

Yep, I read Flavia #6 - The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches. Enjoyable as always, though not as good as some of the earlier books.

[Angie]

1. What are you reading for this category?
Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner
2. What is the setting for this book? How did it play a role in the story?
Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a fictional county that is the setting for many of his books. I'm just at the beginning of the book, but in previous Faulkner books, the county is almost a character in and of itself. It certainly helps readers to understand the motivations and developments of the characters.
3. What is a book you'd recommend for someone looking to travel to a made-up place?
So many. Faulkner's book, in general, are wonderful, I highly recommend. Stardust by Neil Gaiman. Any of the Harry Potter books. Anything by J.R.R. Tolkien.

[Pam]

1. What are you reading for this category?
Judenstaat by Simone Zelitch
2. What is the setting for this book? How did it play a role in the story? The location is real (Saxony territory) but the designation of it being the sovereign state of Judenstaat is not.
3. What is a book you'd recommend for someone looking to travel to a made-up place? Dune

[Stacey]

1. What are you reading for this category? The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
2. What is the setting for this book? How did it play a role in the story? A spooky, haunted house on the edge - literally - of a fictitious town. It's the star of the show!
3. What is a book you'd recommend for someone looking to travel to a made-up place? Middlemarch, Circe, Jurassic Park, The Girl Who Drank the Moon and The Secret History.

[Anna]

1. What are you reading for this category?
I read Fatal Isles by Maria Adolfsson

2. What is the setting for this book? How did it play a role in the story?
The setting is an islands in the middle of the North Sea in between Denmark and UK, the island nation Doggerland. These islands do not exist but is made up by the author.

3. What is a book you'd recommend for someone looking to travel to a made-up place?
I would recommend The Fellowship of the Ring

[Dana]

1. What are you reading for this category?
I read The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson.
It also has a gorgeous map!

[Elizabeth]

1. The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
2. Opium, which is a poppy field that's supposed to be located between the US and what was once Mexico. It's essentially a place where the people that end up there never really leave and work there forever.
3. Any Harry Potter books, Tolkien, Sarah J Maas, The Lunar Chronicles

[Dubhease]

1. What are you reading for this category? I read Treasure Island

2. What is the setting for this book? How did it play a role in the story? The island is the obsession of many characters in the book.

3. What is a book you'd recommend for someone looking to travel to a made-up place? I love Middle Earth, Narnia, and Hogwarts more than any other fictional places.

[Andrea]

I completed Deeplight by Frances Hardinge for this prompt. It takes place in the island chain of the Myriad, once home to a merciless group of gods.
Reading books that take place in fictitious realms generally requires additional acclimation time before the plot grabs me, but such circumstances generally lead to a stronger reluctance to let go of the story once I finish reading it.

[Jenni]

What are you reading for this category?
I read The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow.

2. What is the setting for this book? How did it play a role in the story?
I can't say too much about it without giving away more than I want to, so I'll just say that (view spoiler)[January finds a way to access doors that take her to places that don't exist on maps. (hide spoiler)].

3. What is a book you'd recommend for someone looking to travel to a made-up place?
Circe by Madeline Miller


reply | flag *