A Gaggle of Book Reviews

The Third Eye, by Mahtab Narsimhan is a beautiful story that intertwines village life, religion, and magic in India. The young adult genre is filled with books that fit into specific niches, and I wasn’t quite sure where The Third Eye would fit - its description of Hindu Gods, fantasy, and rural Indian village life seemed very unusual.

Once I opened The Third Eye, I didn’t care what niche it fit, I just cared what happened next! There is really no way to do justice to such a unique, beautiful, intense, and mysterious novel except to strongly suggest that you read it. Mahtab Narsimhan has created a world of wonderful characters who leap off the pages. In her Acknowledgments, she thanks her son and his group of book-loving friends for reading her book - if it could pass muster with a group of adolescent boys, it has already passed the most impressive impressive test!

The Third Eye starts as a man from a village named Morni is trying to escape something that is chasing him in the forest outside the village. He doesn’t make it back to the village alive, and his body is deformed by whatever had hidden in the shadows.

In Morni, there is a lot of uncertainty - they lost their healer a year ago, along with his daughter, who left her two children. Tara and Suraj are left with their father, who is now a very different, quiet man who doesn’t say anything when his new wife Kali mistreats his children. Tara is an older sister very devoted to her family, and makes sure she takes care of the house, her step-mother, and spoiled step-sister so that she will be able to keep her brother from being beaten or losing a meal.

During the New Year celebration of Diwali, Tara and Suraj sit on the edges of the excitement, watching the villagers. A new healer arrives named Zarku, and while he seems to be able to know what is in the hearts and minds of the villagers, he makes Tara and Suraj very uncomfortable. Tara feels that Zarku’s black eyes are evil - all three of them. His third eye is what gives him his evil powers, and through those powers he can control more and more of the village. The number of signs that something is wrong in the village increase as time passes - men who disagree with the healer go missing, there are rumors of Vetalas (ghosts) wandering the forests, and life gets wore for Tara and Suraj.

Tara and Suraj leave the village on a quest to find their mother and grandfather, the powerful healer, so they can help the villagers. As they journey through the forests and around villages they have many challenges, several of which would make adults turn back. Tara does not give up, she prays to Ganesh, and finds help. She bargains with Yuma, the lord of death, as she faces one hurdle after another. Will Tara gain the courage and self-confidence to help herself?

I love novels with female lead characters, especially novels aimed at the young adult fantasy set. Like Max in Maximum Ride, Tara has put the burden of caring for others on her own shoulders, and she pulls on her own inner strengths to overcome challenges - even when she thinks the challenge is too great. The Third Eye shows women and girls in varying levels of power - heading a household, healing illnesses, helping others, and yet also shows the old custom of Sati, pushing a young widow toward her husband’s funeral pyre.

The Third Eye is a beautifully written look at rural life and mystical powers, and should appeal to most tween/young adult readers. There are several scenes which might be too intense and violent for younger tweens, however - I would suggest it for ages 12+ at least. I am going to hang on to my copy for a couple years so that my daughters can read such an inspiring story of a teenage girl’s courage as she tries to save her family and her village from evil.

I highly recommend The Third Eye for anyone with an eye for adventure. Add in mysticism, and magic, mix with the world of rural India, and you have a novel even adults can’t put down!

This book was received from the publisher, The Dundurn Group for review

This is a book I received from the publisher, Dundurn Press.

The Ruby Kingdom - Passage to Mythrin is a Young Adult novel and/or tween novel by Patricia Bow. I chose to read The Ruby Kingdom to myself for the first reading, as I wasn’t sure how much violence, suspense, and other Young Adult material there was. I prefer to know a book before I read it to my kids - even my 9 year old, who is somewhat sensitive about violence. After reading it to myself, I started reading it to my daughters.

The Ruby Kingdom starts when a girl named Ammy has arrived to live with her grandmother and cousin for six months when her parents are in South America. Simon and Amelia are both in eighth grade, but otherwise they are quite different. Simon has grown up with his grandmother, Celeste, in the small town of Dunstone. He remembers Ammy from two years before, and how much fun they had together.

After being re-introduced to his now-quiet cousin who arrives dressed in all black and with neon red hair tipped with “ballpark mustard yellow”, Simon wants to walk away. However, his grandmother gives him the mission of making Ammy feel at home, so he takes her out with his best friend Ike to show her around.

Ammy, or Amelia as she now wants to be known, wants to see something cool, and for a kid who lived in Vancouver, a small town two hours from Toronto isn’t cool. The boys brave the frigid temperatures to take her to the gorge, and “upside down mountain” with caves. When they are standing, overlooking the gorge, they see a bright blue flash of light, and then they see something coming out of the cave with the blue light - but what is it, and what is the ring that they discover in the cave?

Patricia Bow packs a lot of action and interest into The Ruby Kingdom from the first chapter. My kids were quickly sucked in, and were annoyed when I wouldn’t read a second chapter. They were still talking about what had happened the next day, and waiting to see what would come next. This is especially great because a lot of fantasy as well as a lot of tween/YA/read-aloud books start slow. They end up great, but you have to push through the first chapter or two. In The Ruby Kingdom, you are drawn in right away.

By using the third person, Bow is able to switch perspectives without confusing her readers. Simon is a reserved, somewhat geeky kid, and he will clearly do anything for his grandmother, including accepting the challenge of making Amelia feel at home. Meanwhile, Amelia is disgruntled at being left by her parents, and wants to do anything exciting. She is the one taking the risks, and pulling him along with her as they begin their adventure. As a mother of young girls, any book that starts with the girl leading the boys into adventures is one that has my vote from the start! Most fantasy involves main characters who are orphaned boys, and while Simon is an orphaned boy, Amelia is the one who leads. The difference between what Amelia is thinking and what Simon is thinking is profound, and the story is wonderfully told by looking into both of their heads.

The cousins and Ike learn that the blue flash is a type of gate that allows passage between a cave in Dunstone and the magical world of Mythrin. There is unrest in Mythrin, and the three teens need to figure out what is wrong, as well as what they need to do. Like normal teens, they quarrel about what they should do with what they have discovered - I especially enjoyed this because there are too many novels where the kids are instantly in accord with each other because of their new circumstances. In real kids, stress can bring about a lot of bickering, and The Ruby Kingdom actually dares to show that side of the three young teens.

As the story continues and they learn about the mysterious strangers who appear in Dunstone, the “people” of Mythrin, and the politics involved, the differences between Amelia and Simon become even clearer. Simon is hesitant, and slow to become involved. Amelia is brash, and leaps into things with both feet. Even as they are taking different approaches to the mysteries that surround them, they are pulled together. The cousins were put together by circumstance at first, but then they feel a bond between them.

Each of the characters in the book is really brought to life in The Ruby Kingdom- I can picture my older daughter exploring along with Simon, Ike, and Amelia. When they discover the first mysterious stranger, Mara, you can visualize her as she appears to them. You can understand why Amelia is drawn Mara’s uniqueness, and why Simon is distrustful. The next stranger is unsettling, and Patricia Bow describes his eyes as he watches the teens in such a way that it is haunting. Even the grandmother, Celeste, is brought to life - she could easily be a caricature, but you see her love for her grandchildren as well as her own personality.

The Ruby Kingdom gets high marks from me, and while we haven’t finished it as a read-aloud book, it has gotten the attention of all 3 listeners (9, 7, 4). It completely enchanted me, and kept me wondering what would happen next in the magical and perilous worlds - ours and Mythrin. Each chapter unlocks the world a bit, and I am really looking forward to reading as Patricia Bow continues the Mythrin series! I would recommend this for kids about 8-16, as well as adults who enjoy reading about fantasy - a great book for those who enjoyed Harry Potter, and it’s less violent. This is a book that is vividly brought to life, and my only complaint is that the sequel is not yet available!

Addendum: When we finished the series, the girls thought that Book 2 becoming available in May for BG’s birthday was perfect. They also said that it was the best book I had read to them - even better than Harry Potter! They now want to become shape-shifters when they grow up…

This review was written as part of a MotherTalk blog tour, and books were received from the publisher for review. Please also check out my review of book 4 - The Final Warning!

James Patterson’s third Maximum Ride book, Maximum Ride #3: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports, is just as thrilling and engrossing as his first two books in the series, (reviewed below). How could you not want to read about the lives of 6 kids with wings who are trying to escape evil scientists and save the world? It’s engaging, exciting, and impossible to put down - you need to know what happens next! As soon as you start, you’ll be sucked into the lives of Max, Fang, Total, Nudge, Iggy, and Gassman.

As with the first two books in the series, Maximum Ride #3 is about teenagers Max (a girl) and Fang (a boy) trying to save their “flock” of four other children who have been genetically engineered to fly. These kids have real wings! They are trying to keep away from the general media, as well as from scientists bent on destroying them. In this third book, Max and Fang have some disagreements about how to lead the flock, and also how to save the world. Unlike many series, this one pulls you in more and more with each successive book.

Max wants to keep a low profile as the kids fly to different places to save the world from the scientists. Fang, however, wants to get some grassroots support for their cause. Fang creates a blog, and tries to get kids around the world to help him. The flock splits in two over the disagreement, but nothing can cut the ties between the flying kids. They are forever tied together in a fight against the Erasers (creatures and robots engineered just to “erase” someone’s existance), and because they are all flying kids.

I love that Max is a girl, and that she is the leader. Girls in charge and kicking butt (quite literally in this case, destroying horrible creatures set to eliminate them) are something I love in teen/tween books, especially as the mother of 3 girls! There are a ton of fantasy books with boys as the main characters, but not very many with girls who are taking charge of everything! The world needs more people like Max - she’s a great role model for tween/teen girls! (It’s a good read for anyone else who needs a bit of female empowerment - Maximum Ride 3 isn’t just a great young adult book, it’s a great book, period.)

I recommend reading the whole Maximum Ride series - if you’re in the 10-100 age range, go along for a great ride! (and make sure you have all 3 near you - you want to read them all at once!) While you’re reading them, make sure you check out the website for the series - it’s incredibly cool, and it will definitely lure you into the world of Max, Fang, Angel, and the other bird kids.

In the first book, the eponymous Maximum Ride is a 14 year old girl who was genetically modified (along with 5 other kids) to be an avian/human hybrid. They are tall, lean, have super-fast metabolisms - and they can fly! Max and her “flock” (3 girls/3 boys) are being hunted by the Erasers - a human/lupine (that’s wolf) hybrid that were built to kill.

In James Patterson’s first book of the series, Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment, the Flock is living in a home together when the youngest, Angel (6) disapears. Max divides the flock - 2 stay home in case Angel comes back (Gazzy (8yo boy) and Iggy (14yo boy, blind and good cook)) while Max, Fang (14yo boy), and Nudge (11yo girl) go to the School where they had been kept in cages to rescue Angel. The story flips between Max’s first person storytelling, and third person from the members of the flock separated from her, but it flips seamlessly.

The Angel Experiment is a fast moving book - there isn’t a lot of break in the action! You find out all different exciting things about each of the members of the Flock, and you quickly become an enthusiastic supporter. The characters stay true to themselves, a clear sign that James Patterson’s success with adult books didn’t fly away in the night when he started writing for the Young Adult audience! The chapters are very short - only 2-5 pages, so they are great for reluctant readers, as well as for folks who can only read in short bursts due to multiple interruptions (oh, like Moms for example!).

Maximum Ride: School’s Out Forever continues the story of Max and her flock. The flock is continuing in their attempts to evade the Erasers and save the world. The flock gets a few weeks rest and are able to attend a “normal” school, where Fang gets kissed and Max goes on a date! They also search for their parents, using files they have stolen from the people who changed them and experimented on them.

It’s really interesting to see the Flock try to integrate into a regular school - Iggy and Gazzy still like to try to explode things, Max is still twitchy about being anywhere for too long, Fang is still not very talkative, and Nudge is talkative enough to make up for several people. At one point, a Max, phase 2 is introduced - could she really take the place of Max? School’s Out Forever succeeds where so many other books fail - you aren’t sure which is better, the original or the sequel! An absolutely engrossing, page turning book.

Maximum Ride #3: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports is the third, wonderful book. It absolutely keeps up with the pace and quality set by the first two books.

Don’t let this series’ classification as Young Adult keep you from reading it - it should be engrossing to anyone. The level of death/scariness of being followed is too high for my 9 year old daughter, but many kids her age or a bit older would be just fine with it. It really does qualify as a 10-100 age range book!

Make sure you check out MaximumRide.com for updates on a movie, a video of Max soaring over New York City, and a lot more. Don’t forget to check out Fang’s blog!

Update: The Final Warning: A Maximum Ride Novel, book 4 is now available for pre-order. Check out our review!

We reviewed two lovely picture books in which Death is a main character. Death is also a main character in The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, but that is the only thing the three books have in common.

The Book Thief is a thick (550 pages), dark, intense read. This is a story about a German girl in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The book begins with her on a train with her mother and brother, her mother is planning to leave them in foster care for a reason that is not disclosed. Her younger brother dies on the train, and when they are burying him in the cold, snowy earth, the gravedigger drops a book, and Liesel steals her first book - The Gravedigger’s Handbook. As the book goes on, her brother’s death haunts her, and she has her foster father (Papa) teach her to read the stolen book.

Markus Zusak writes a wonderful book, with amazing character development and a vivid use of imagery - you can picture yourself walking down the dingy streets of the poorer section of town where Liesel lives. Death continues to narrate, coming up with amazing quotes like “sometimes it kills me, the way people die”. He “holds their souls”, and he talks about how overworked he is in Nazi Germany. But he still finds time to go back and watch Liesel, as she has fascinated him.

This book is listed as young adult, but it would really require a very special young adult to get through this book. If a teen has been fascinated by Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, and Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, then this book might be a good next book.

While this book is fiction, it does have some bases in reality - several real events have been fictionalized as a part of the book. The realistic feel of the book makes it a good companion to The Diary of Anne Frank, as they are both about girls about the same age living in Nazi Germany. Anne is Jewish, Liesel is not, but her family does hid a Jew for a time, and she and her Papa try to help the Jews walking through their town on the way to Dachau.

A note - this book is narrated by Death, so it should come as no surprise that the last 30-50 pages require a goodly amount of tissues. If a young adult has issues with Death, this would not be an appropriate book.

However, if a young adult or adult is interested in WWII and Hitler’s Germany, and wants to see the war through a different perspective, this is a well written, amazing book. I highly recommend it, but I would also recommend reading a lighter book before/during/after.

I’ve been talking to friends with 10-12 year old boys, and there is both an overabundance and a dearth of good reading material for that age group. If the boy is interested in sci-fi/fantasy, there is plenty to read: Harry Potter, Diana Wynne Jones, James Patterson’s “Maximum Ride” series, and many other. However, if he isn’t interested in that, it gets more difficult to find good books.

Dundurn Press in Canada is publishing many fabulous novels, including these two with boys as the main characters. They are not historical (another big subgroup), nor are they fantasy - they are about tween/early teen boys living their lives in today’s world. I was so excited to read these books, and I’m passing them on to the tween-age boys I know.

Speechless is a novel by Valerie Sherrard. This first-person story is told by Griffin, a quiet boy who is easily overshadowed by his sister at home and other kids in his class. Griffin had to do a speech the previous year, and was pushed by his mother into doing a very embarrassing speech. When he learns that his English class is requiring a speech this year, he decides to not speak for the rest of the year.

This seemingly small decision makes huge changes for Griffin. When he is Speechless, he finds out that his choice has major repercussions. He realizes that he needs to have a reason for being silent, and comes up with a human rights cause. Griffin ends up doing more and more in the public spotlight than he would ever have done with his speech, all because he chose silence. This is a fabulous book for boys and girls who are nervous about public speaking or just kids who want to read about other kids their own age.

Ms. Zephyr’s Notebook is a novel told in the third person by kc dyer that looks like it is a notebook. Inside, there is a story told through notes to the hospital’s teacher (Ms. Zephyr, or Abby) from a teenage rugby star with leukemia, Logan; a younger boy in kidney failure named Kip; and a teenage girl named Cleo who has an eating disorder. The story starts with Logan sneaking into the hospital to find out where Cleo is, as she has gone missing. Logan and Kip go through the essays and notes in Ms. Zephyr’s notebook to find clues to where Cleo has gone and how to find her.

While we see the story unfold, we watch the characters grow up, from angry and immature to sensitive but troubled. The characters develop so well within the book that it is almost impossible to put down. We begin to learn and care about why Logan is angry, why Cleo is acting out, and learn how grown up Kip can be due to his own health problems. The hunt for Cleo brings everyone closer, and the story keeps you guessing about what wil happen next. The memos and notes inside the notebook show the best and worst of everyone, and make it fascinating reading. What I found really unusual is that the title character (Ms. Zephyr) is not in the story, she is only seen through the eyes of the 3 teens/tweens.

I know that just like some teens and tweens will dismiss the Maximum Ride series because it is sci-fi/fantasy, others will dismiss these two novels as being to touchy-feely. I think it’s good to have both types of books available for whomever wants to read them, and applaud Dundurn Press for publishing so many great books for the young adult age group!