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The Cup and the Crown by Diane Stanley

Dec13

Yawn.

I really like Diane Stanley’s beautifully written and illustrated picture book biographies of famous historical figures such as Joan of Arc, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Peter the Great and others. And Brown Bear Daughter and I both enjoyed her fairy tale fantasy Cinderella story, Bella at Midnight. But The Cup and the Crown, a sequel to The Silver Bowl (which I haven’t read), just wasn’t up to snuff in comparison to the biographies or to Bella.

Molly’s friend King Alaric asks her to find a Loving Cup for him, a magical cup with the “power to bind two souls together for life, to bless their children and their children’s children down through the generations.” He needs the cup to make a neighboring princess fall in love with him and thereby gain a strategic alliance for the kingdom. Strike one against this story. I didn’t care if Molly ever found the cup or not, given the rather mercenary purpose of her quest.

Molly, accompanied by several friends and companions, travels to the north in search of the cup, and lead by a magical raven, they discover a hidden city where no one is allowed to enter lest they give the secret location of the rich and powerful city of Harrowsgode. But Molly is allowed in by an inhabitant who should know better, and then she is imprisoned so that she can never leave and give away the secret. Strike two. Why did Master Pieter let Molly in? Even more to the point, why did Master Pieter let her friend Tobias in when he knew that Tobias’ life would be forfeit?

Then, by hard work and a little magic, Molly and Tobias manage to escape, someone makes them a Loving Cup, and they all live happily ever after—maybe. Strike three. I made it all the way through the book, but I was not rewarded with a very satisfying ending. I think there’s a third book in the series yet to come.

Beauty and the Beast: The Only One Who Didn’t Run Away by Wendy Mass

Dec11

Do you know that game where you sit in a circle and tell a story, each person breaking off at a critical moment to let the next person add to the story? This book felt like that kind of round robin story, only incorporating two stories in alternating chapters instead of just one. Maybe imagine two concentric circles and the story-telling, of two separate stories, goes around the circles in opposite directions–nah, that’s too confusing.

Wendy Mass wrote 11 Birthdays and Finally, two books I really liked. And she’s written some other fairy tale take-offs in the Twice Upon a Time series that includes this version of Beauty and the Beast. I haven’t read the others in the series, but I just couldn’t enjoy this one very much. I kept wondering when the “Beauty” chapters and the “Beast” chapters were going to converge, and then when they finally did about three-fourths of the way through the book, I just didn’t believe.

SPOILER, I guess. We have a wicked witch in this story who turns people into insects (and other animals). The insects, an ant and a grasshopper, then live for many, many years. I looked it up. Ants and grasshoppers don’t live that long, although I suppose enchanted insects could be different.

Tag line: The story of Beauty and the Beast like you’ve never heard it before.

That’s a true statement, but my problem is that I liked the way I heard it before better.
There’s Beauty or Rose Daughter both by Robin McKinley or Beast by Donna Jo Napoli or even the Disney movie of the story. This version just feels impromptu and implausible.

Other voices:
It didn’t work for Charlotte either.
Angie at Bibliophile Support Group was bored.
I didn’t find any other reviews. If you have a different take, please let us know in the comments.

Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities by Mike Jung

Dec10

Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities is a parody of super-hero comics and books and movies. In Copperplate City, Captain Stupendous is a fact of life, a very helpful and convenient fact of life. He’s the reason there haven’t been any abductions in Copperplate City in the last twenty-some odd years.
Captain Stupendous always, always shows up whenever any Super-Villain tries to take over the world or wreak havoc in the streets. And as president of the real Captain Stupendous Fan Club, Vincent Wu is the person who knows more about Captain Stupendous than anyone else in Copperplate City.

Several things annoyed me about this tale of a geeky super-hero fan club and the super hero they are sworn to adulate:

First of all, the boys in the fan club and other characters in the book have a tendency to YELL A LOT, INDICATED BY DIALOG WRITTEN IN ALL-CAPS. This typographical convention is not something I want to encourage in the writing and publishing of children’s books.

Secondly, there is a fair amount of barfing and burping and farting and freaking and sucking going on in the pages of this super-hero obsessed story, and since I’m not an eleven year old boy I could have done without all of that nonsense. I mean, you know, the book didn’t totally suck or make me barf or freak me out. It just felt as if the author said to himself, “Boys like to talk about barfing and farting, so I’ll put lots of that in here.” Yuck.

Third, I found the boys in the story–Vincent , Max, and George–just generally annoying. They picked at each other a lot, and I hear enough of that around my house with three teenagers in the family. Putdowns and insults ceased to make me laugh long ago. And Polly, the main girl character, wasn’t much better. She’s very concerned that the boys all realize that she knows karate and can kick bu– with the best of them. Again yuck.

Maybe it just wasn’t the right time, or I wasn’t in the right mood for the geeky, slangy kind of humor.

I liked the Oxford comma in the title.

Deadly Pink by Vivian Vande Velde

Dec9

Deadly Pink is a book about sisters and virtual reality games and forgiveness and persistence in doing what’s right. I kept thinking of Winston Churchill’s famous dictum: “Never, never, never, never give up.”

Grace Pizzelli is the traditional average younger sister. Her sister, Emily, who works as an intern for Rasmussem Games is the brilliant, talented one. And mostly Grace is OK with that because in addition to being intelligent and gifted, Emily is also kind and helpful to her younger sister. In fact, Emily is almost perfect, as older sisters sometimes tend to be.

That’s why it’s such a surprise when the officials at Rasmussem come to Grace’s school to get her to help Emily. It seems that Emily has been beta-testing a virtual reality game for young girls called Land of the Golden Butterflies, and she refuses to come out of the game. Unfortunately, the games are only made for thirty minutes of game play at a time, not for living in the game world forever, and no one knows what will happen to Emily’s body and mind if she doesn’t come out of the game. Grace must persuade her older sister to leave the fantasy world before her time runs out.

I was anxious to turn the pages in this virtual reality story to see what would happen next, why Emily is determined to stay in game land, and how Grace will save the day and rescue both Emily and herself from death by virtual reality game. The suicide theme may be a little heavy for some middle school readers, but I didn’t find it overwrought or too distressing.

The relationship between the two sisters is what makes the story really shine. Grace is annoyed and irritated by the way Emily treats her when Grace comes into the virtual reality world to save Emily. Emily basically tells Grace to get lost. But Grace doesn’t give up on her sister. I’m not explaining too well, but these are real sisters who love each other in spite of imperfections and mistakes on the part of each of them. Here, let me give you a few quotes to illustrate:

“A cranky part of my brain kept repeating that we were in this bad situation because of Emily, and it was hard not to let my irritation spill over. The last thing I needed was Emily feeling sorry for herself. It infringed on my feeling sorry for myself.”

“That was it. My patience snapped. I wanted to shake some sense into her, some sibling loyalty. I settled for grabbing her arm to get her to stop dancing.”

“Mean? Mean was eating all the chocolate Easter eggs and leaving the stale Peeps. Mean was making fun of a bad hairstyle. Mean was letting someone else take the blame after you tracked mud onto the clean floor. Mean didn’t begin to cover what Emily had put me through.
But she was rocking me, making gentle comforting noises as though I were once again the six-year-old who’d fallen off our backyard swing trying to fly too high. ‘Everything will be okay.'”

I also liked this book because it was a contrast to all the kids-save-the-world books that I’ve been reading for the Cybils Middle Grade Fantasy judging. In Deadly Pink, one girl, Grace, tries to save her sister, Emily, and it’s hard and suspenseful and engaging. But we’re not asked to believe that a group of twelve year olds or one thirteen year old is the only possible resource to rescue the entire world from imminent destruction. What a relief!

Grace and Emily Pizzelli, the Pizzelli Sisters, are some wonderful sisters to get to know. And their story is suspenseful and funny, both. From the author blurb, I learned that Ms. Vande Velde has written two other books about virtual reality games created by the (fictional) Rasmussem Corporation, Heir Apparent and User Friendly. Has anyone read either of them? I’m not fan of video games, but I liked this book well enough that I’m willing to go find the two other books set in the same fictional world and try them out –especially if I can get a recommendation. Anyone?

In the meantime, Deadly Pink is worth your reading time, especially if any of the motifs in the opening sentence of this review pique your interest.

Christmas in Kobe, Japan, 1912

Dec8

Lottie Moon was born into a comfortable life on an antebellum plantation in Virginia. She died on Christmas Eve, 1912, on board a ship off the coast of Japan, some say of sickness due to malnutrition, after a life of ministering to and suffering with the Chinese people she loved. Between her birth and death, she met the power and love of Jesus Christ who forgave her, redeemed her, and sent her to teach the people of China about Jesus and the “great tidings of great joy.”

From her letters:

“Here I am working alone in a city of many thousand inhabitants. It is grievous to think of these human souls going down to death without even one opportunity of hearing the name of Jesus. How many can I reach? The needs of these people press upon my soul, and I cannot be silent.”

“Our hearts were made glad last Sabbath by the baptism of an individual who has interested us by his firm stand under the persecutions of his … family. They fastened him in a room without food or water, and endeavored to starve him into submission. Providentially, they did not take away his Christian books. He studied these more closely than ever. The pangs of hunger he satisfied by eating some raw beans he found in the room, and when he wanted water he commenced to dig a well in the room in which he was confined. Chinese houses are built on the ground and do not have plank floors as with us. When the family discovered the well-digging they yielded. They had no wish to ruin their dwelling. The man has shown that he is made of stern stuff, and we hope he will be very useful as a Christian.”

“Recently, on a Sunday which I was spending in a village near Pingtu city, two men came to me with the request that I would conduct the general services. They wished me to read and explain, to a mixed audience of men and women, the parable of the prodigal son. I replied that no one should undertake to speak without preparation, and that I had made none. (I had been busy all the morning teaching the women and girls.) After awhile they came again to know my decision. I said, “It is not the custom of the Ancient church that women preach to men.” I could not, however, hinder their calling upon me to lead in prayer. Need I say that, as I tried to lead their devotions, it was hard to keep back the tears of pity for those sheep not having a shepherd. Men asking to be taught and no one to teach them.” February 9, 1889.

“How many there are … who imagine that because Jesus paid it all, they need pay nothing, forgetting that the prime object of their salvation was that they should follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ in bringing back a lost world to God.” September 15, 1887.

“Is not the festive season when families and friends exchange gifts in memory of The Gift laid on the altar of the world for the redemption of the human race, the most appropriate time to consecrate a portion from abounding riches and scant poverty to send forth the good tidings of great joy into all the earth?” September 15, 1887.

You’ll find these quotes and many more from Lottie Moon’s letters in Send the Light: Lottie Moon’s Letters and Other Writings, edited by Keith Harper, published by Mercer University Press.

“When Moon returned from her second furlough in 1904, she was deeply struck by the suffering of the people who were literally starving to death all around her. She pleaded for more money and more resources, but the mission board was heavily in debt and could send nothing. Mission salaries were voluntarily cut. Unknown to her fellow missionaries, Moon shared her personal finances and food with anyone in need around her, severely affecting both her physical and mental health. In 1912, she only weighed 50 pounds. Alarmed, fellow missionaries arranged for her to be sent back home to the United States with a missionary companion. However, Moon died on route, at the age of 72, on December 24, 1912, in the harbor of Kobe, Japan.” Wikipedia, Lottie Moon

Freakling by Lana Krumwiede

Dec8

Taemon’s brother, Yens, calls him “freakling”, a not-so-affectionate term that expresses Yens’s jealousy and cruelty. So the story begins as a Cain and Abel tale in which the older brother and the younger compete for their parents’ affection and for the attention of others.

Then, the story morphs into a dystopian novel about a society in which everyone uses “psi”, the psychic ability to manipulate objects, to do the most mundane of daily tasks. In Taemon’s city of Deliverance psi is necessary for everything, to feed oneself, to open doors, to work and to play psiball. Because Taemon is afraid of misusing his psi, he loses his psychokinetic abilities completely. Then, he must cover up his inability to use psi because the “powerless” in this society are scorned and sent into exile.

The premise of this middle grade novel is well-conceived and well-executed. The characters are not as developed as I might have liked, but Taemon and the people he meets along the way are likable enough. I especially liked Taemon’s friend Moke. Taemon himself is very much a “Special Chosen Child” who of course doesn’t realize his own specialness, but even though that’s an overused trope, the setting and world were intriguing enough to bring me along to accept the coming of age by realizing that you are the Chosen One theme. The ending was somewhat obvious to me, but it might not be as predictable for younger readers.

Overall, it’s a good debut novel that will appeal to boys and girls who enjoy dystopia, hero tales, and stories about psychic abilities.

If you want to check it out for yourself, you can read the first three chapters of Freakling on you Kindle for free.

The Savage Fortress by Sarwat Chadda

Dec5

Not exactly my kind of book. The Savage Fortress was inspired, writes the author, “by the real Savage Fortress–a maharajah’s palace near Varanasi, India–as well as his life long fascination with the goddess Kali.”

So, this Hindu goddess:

'Goddesses' photo (c) 2008, LASZLO ILYES - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

And this rather medieval looking maharajah’s palace:

'India - Varanasi - 010 - one of the Maharaja palaces' photo (c) 2007, McKay Savage - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

And the tag line is: Heroes aren’t made. They’re reborn.

If you’re interested in a reincarnation story in which an British teen of Indian ancestry must fight to keep Ravanna the evil god of the rakshasas (demons) in his place of exile so that Ravanna won’t take over the world and make it into a place of (more) chaos and suffering on a grand scale, then The Savage Fortress is your book. To me, it just felt evil and confusing, although I will admit to a certain train-wreck fascination. The writing certainly ranged from adequate to good, but I’m just repelled and bewildered by Hindu mythology. If everybody is going to come back after death and fight the same battles all over again, what’s the use?

Then there’s the Kali motif that I found deeply disconcerting in this story for middle grade readers:

“Kāli is the Goddess of Time and Change. Although sometimes presented as dark and violent, her earliest incarnation as a figure of annihilator of evil forces still has some influence. . . The figure of Kāli conveys death, destruction, and the consuming aspects of reality. As such, she is also a “forbidden thing”, or even death itself.

Can mercy be found in the heart of her who was born of the stone?
Were she not merciless, would she kick the breast of her lord?
Men call you merciful, but there is no trace of mercy in you, Mother.
You have cut off the heads of the children of others, and these you wear as a garland around your neck.
It matters not how much I call you “Mother, Mother.” You hear me, but you will not listen. From a poet named Rāmprasād Sen in Wikipedia article on Kali.

And our hero, Ash, ends up defeating Ravanna with the power of Kali, the goddess of Darkness and Death. Ewwww. (I’m not too fond of zombies or vampires, either.)

Christmas in Norway, c.1330

Dec5

“It was the custom for all priests at Christ Church to give supper to the poor. But Kristin had heard that fewer beggars came to Gunnulf Nikulausson than to any of the other priests, and yet–or perhaps this was the very reason–he seated them on the benches next to him in the main hall and received every wanderer like an honored guest. They were served food from his own platter and ale from the priest’s own barrels. The poor would come whenever they felt in need of a supper of stew, but otherwise they preferred to go to the other priests, where they were given porridge and weak ale in the cookhouse.
As soon as the scribe had finished the prayers after the meal, the poor guests wanted to leave. Gunnulf spoke gently to each of them, asking whether they would like to spend the night or whether they needed anything else; but only the blind boy remained. The priest implored in particular the young woman with the child to stay and not take the little one out into the night, but she murmured an excuse and hurried off. Then Gunnulf asked a servant to make sure that Blind Arnstein was given ale and a good bed in the guest room. He put on a hooded cape.
‘You must be tired, Orm and Kristin, and want to go to bed. Audhild will take care of you. You’ll probably be asleep when I return from the church.’
Then Kristin asked to go with him. ‘That’s why I’ve come here,’ she said, fixing her despairing eyes on Gunnulf. Ingrid lent her a dry cloak, and she and Orm joined the small procession departing from the parsonage.
The bells were ringing as if they were right overhead in the black night sky–it wasn’t far to the church. They trudged through the deep, wet, new snow. The weather was calm now, with a few snowflakes still drifting down here and there shimmering faintly in the dark.” ~Kristin Lavransdatter, Mistress of Husaby by Sigrid Undset, translated by Tina Nunnally.

Kristin Lavransdatter is one of my very favorite books, so realistic and yet encouraging. Kristin is a real person: warts, and passions, and good intentions, and stupid decisions, all wrapped up in the life of one fourteenth century woman.

The scene I quoted above takes place near Christmas-time when Kristin is visiting her brother-in-law, a priest, because she is having marriage and family conflicts. She goes to the church to think and pray about all her sins and her life. Orm is her step-son.

I would highly recommend Kristin Lavransdatter as a gift for the wife/mother/reader in your family.

Christmas at Queens Crawley, Hampshire, England, 1823

Dec3

“Christmas at the Hall was the gayest which had been known there for many a long day.

On Christmas Day a great family gathering took place. All the Crawleys from the Rectory came to dine. Rebecca was as frank and fond of Mrs. Bute as if the other had never been her enemy; she was affectionately interested in the dear girls, and surprised at the progress which they had made in music since her time, and insisted upon encoring one of the duets out of the great song-books which Jim, grumbling, had been forced to bring under his arm from the Rectory. Mrs. Bute, perforce, was obliged to adopt a decent demeanour towards the little adventuress—-of course being free to discourse with her daughters afterwards about the absurd respect with which Sir Pitt treated his sister-in-law. But Jim, who had sat next to her at dinner, declared she was a trump, and one and all of the Rector’s family agreed that the little Rawdon was a fine boy. They respected a possible baronet in the boy, between whom and the title there was only the little sickly pale Pitt Binkie.

The children were very good friends. Pitt Binkie was too little a dog for such a big dog as Rawdon to play with; and Matilda being only a girl, of course not fit companion for a young gentleman who was near eight years old, and going into jackets very soon. He took the command of this small party at once—-the little girl and the little boy following him about with great reverence at such times as he condescended to sport with them. His happiness and pleasure in the country were extreme. The kitchen garden pleased him hugely, the flowers moderately, but the pigeons and the poultry, and the stables when he was allowed to visit them, were delightful objects to him. He resisted being kissed by the Misses Crawley, but he allowed Lady Jane sometimes to embrace him, and it was by her side that he liked to sit when, the signal to retire to the drawing-room being given, the ladies left the gentlemen to their claret—by her side rather than by his mother. For Rebecca, seeing that tenderness was the fashion, called Rawdon to her one evening and stooped down and kissed him in the presence of all the ladies.” ~Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

Brown Bear Daughter (age 17) has been reading Vanity Fair for her senior English class, and she is not impressed with Miss Becky Sharp nor with the near-perfect Amelia Sedley. I find it interesting that the characters of Gone With the Wind’s Scarlett O’Hara and her sister-in-law Melanie Wilkes are based on Thackeray’s characters, written so many years before. “Adventuresses” and simpering young ladies and hypocrites and the like never go out of style. But Christmas does sometimes make us all behave ourselves for a while and if not remember our better selves, at least act as if we do.

“I mean the baronet and the rector, not our brothers—but the former, who hate each other all the year round, become quite loving at Christmas.”
~ William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair.

Christmas in Rheims, France, 496 AD

Dec2

A battle was fought at a place called Tolbiac, not far from the present city of Cologne. In this battle the Franks were nearly beaten, for the Alemanni were fierce and brave men and skillful fighters. When Clovis saw his soldiers driven back several times he began to lose hope, but at that moment he thought of his pious wife and of the powerful God of whom she had so often spoken. Then he raised his hands to heaven and earnestly prayed to that God.

“O God of Clotilde,” he cried, “help me in this my hour of need. If thou wilt give me victory now I will believe in thee.”

Almost immediately the course of the battle began to change in favor of the Franks. Clovis led his warriors forward once more, and this time the Alemanni fled before them in terror. The Franks gained a great victory, and they believed it was in answer to the prayer of their king.

When Clovis returned home he did not forget his promise. He told Clotilde how he had prayed to her God for help and how his prayer had been heard, and he said he was now ready to become a Christian. Clotilde was very happy on hearing this, and she arranged that her husband should be baptized in the church of Rheims on the following Christmas day.

Meanwhile Clovis issued a proclamation to his people declaring that he was a believer in Christ, and giving orders that all the images and temples of the heathen gods should be destroyed. This was immediately done, and many of the people followed his example and became Christians.

Clovis was a very earnest and fervent convert. One day the bishop of Rheims, while instructing him in the doctrines of Christianity, described the death of Christ. As the bishop proceeded Clovis became much excited, and at last jumped up from his seat and exclaimed:

“Had I been there with my brave Franks I would have avenged His wrongs.”

On Christmas day a great multitude assembled in the church at Rheims to witness the baptism of the king. A large number of his fierce warriors were baptized at the same time. The service was performed with great ceremony by the bishop of Rheims, and the title of “Most Christian King” was conferred on Clovis by the Pope. This title was ever afterwards borne by the kings of France.
~Famous Men of the Middle Ages by John H. Haaren.