Memory Monday: The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving (for you U.S. folk). We stuffed ourselves with pie and turkey and gravy and...oh man was it good!
Today we have a fabulous Memory Monday for you - a classic no matter what kind of books you like to read:




















The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien
Adult, 1937

Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy preludes with a book that can stand on its own two feet - a feat that is incredibly rare for an author. The journey of Bilbo Baggins and his adventures, particularly the finding of the "one ring" is a tale for everyone, and a rereadable one to boot.

Bilbo Baggins is a quiet hobbit who spends his days eating, smoking and doing nice normal things like hobbits do. Until one day Gandalf the Grey Wizard changes everything with a mark on his door, and before he knows it he's whisked off to adventure. With giant spiders, hungry trolls, angry dragons, and plenty of treasure, it's a tale you won't be able to put down.

I must confess this was my favorite of Tolkien's books to read as a teenager, and I read it over and over justifying that reading The Lord of the Rings trilogy once or twice was enough. Years later I find that while I still love the Hobbit, I've grown into the rest of the trilogy and find myself wanting to read that over and over instead! For those that have read or watched the movies, go back and read The Hobbit! You'll find yourself completely delighted with Bilbo's adventure.

Graded an A-.

By Royal Command, by Mary Hooper

By Royal Command, by Mary Hooper
Young Adult, 2008
At the House of the Magician series, Book 2

from fantasticfiction.co.uk:
Lucy has become a firm fixture in the household of Dr Dee, a real-life figure who was court magician to Queen Elizabeth 1. Lucy, in return for saving the queen's life, has been told that she is to work as a spy for Her Grace and that she is to remain with the Dee family and await further instruction ...And then Lucy hears unexplained cries in the Dee house, and finds a young girl imprisoned there. What is Dr Dee doing? Lucy means to find out. This is a thrilling historical story, full of intrigue and royal plots and counter-plots, from the acclaimed Mary Hooper.

Mary Hooper is one of those authors you can always count on for a fun and well-written read. While I prefer some of her other books, (At the Sign of the Sugared Plum or The Remarkable Life and Times of Eliza Rose), this series still holds up to her name and has been an enjoyable read. Lucy is one of those characters that's real - you don't love her too much for her to be unrealistic as you spend chapters with her shaking your head when she messes up or rooting her on when she finally succeeds. I like Tomas too, although sometimes he feels a bit distractive, but then boys usually are.
What I also love is Hooper's ability to take a risque topic and make it squeaky clean. You can always recommend any of her books to anyone without worrying, although I recommend most of her works for around age 14 - 16. (This is, of course, a recommendation - my husband in his late 20s is enjoying this series as well!)
Don't forget, of course, to start with At the House of the Magician, book 1 in the series.
Graded a B.

(I don't have trackgeek's grade yet - he's busy reading Dune, by Frank Herbert, a first for him.)

Book to Movie: The Little White Horse, by Elizabeth Goudge

The other day I found this hiding in the shelves at my library:

The Secret of Moonacre, 2009
with Dakota Blue Richards

Based on The Little White Horse, by Elizabeth Goudge, this is a sweet little fairy-tale. If I had to guess what prompted it's conversion to the cinema, I'd say it was J. K. Rowling commenting that it was one of her favorite books.
After her father's death, Maria Merryweather goes to live in Moonacre with her Uncle Benjamin and Miss Heliotrope her faithful companion. There she quickly overcomes her 'fine airs' and learns to ride, explores the dangerous forest, and quickly realizes her fate as the current Moon Princess.
While there are many discrepancies between the book and the movie (making it frustrating to those of us that have read the book), it was a cute story. The acting wasn't particularly good, and while there were a few laugh-out-loud moments, they were awkwardly placed.

Graded a C+. (By both Raspberry and Trackgeek.)


The Little White Horse, by Elizabeth Goudge
Juvenile, 1946

from fantasticfiction.co.uk:
The beautiful valley of Moonacre is shadowed by the memory of the Moon Princess and the mysterious little white horse. When Maria Merryweather comes there on a visit she finds herself involved with an ancient feud. She is determined to restore peace and happiness to the whole of Moonacre Valley. And Maria usually gets her own way.
This sweet story has the authenticity that many of those 'old school' stories have. The writing is well done and the characters enjoyable. While it wasn't quite the gem that The Secret Garden is (for example), it held up on it's own feet and has a rightful place on our shelves.
I highly recommend the book over the movie and suggest that fans of The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, and other classics would enjoy this fairy tale.

Graded a B.

Shutterfly

I'm not big into advertising here - after all, we all come to talk books, right?! But Shutterfly has a fabulous promotion where they give you 50 free holiday cards to write up a post about them.

The truth is, I actually use Shutterfly quite a lot. I've made photobooks for Grandparents, who beg for them each year for Christmas. I've ordered pictures, and played around with a few of their other projects like calendars and baby announcements.

They're easy to use - at least I've found them a whole less complicated than their competition, and there is always a coupon or two to help alleviate the cost. So hop on over!

Want to get your own free holiday cards? Check that out here.

Scarlet Moon, by Debbie Viguie

Scarlet Moon, by Debbie Viguie
Young Adult, 2004
Once Upon a Time series

From fantasticfiction.co.uk:
Ruth's grandmother lives in the forest, banished there for the "evil" that the townsfolk believed she practiced. But if studying the stars, learning about nature, and dreaming of flying is evil, then Ruth is guilty of it too. Whenever Ruth took food and supplies to her grandmother, she would sit with the old woman for hours, listening and learning.
When she wasn't in the woods, Ruth was learning the trade of her father, a blacksmith, now that her brother would never return from the Crusades.
Amidst those dark days, a new man enters Ruth's life. William is a noble with a hot temper and a bad name, and he makes her shiver. But the young man is prey to his heritage, a curse placed on his family ages ago, and each male of the family has strange blood running in his veins. Now Ruth must come face-to-face with his destiny at Grandma's house.

Raspberry:
Ok, that last line? Had me on the floor laughing. A little Red Riding Hood tale? uh...
But I was pleasantly surprised by Viguie's plot ideas and the twists scattered throughout. Fans of werewolves would enjoy this story - while it's definitely predictable, it's comfortably so, making it a light easy read. It's not one of my favorite of the Once Upon a Time series, but for those that like a sweet fractured fairy tale, it fits the bill.
Graded a B-.

Friday Finds

There's a variety of memes out there where people show the latest 'finds' they've added to their TBR list. So basically I'm telling you I didn't start it - I want to give credit where credit's due, but I'm very much copying because Friday Finds is such a great way to find new reads!

Just 3 today:



On The Volcano, by James Nelson
April, 2011





The Revenant, by Sonia Gesler
June, 2011




Between the Sea and Sky, by Jaclyn Dolamore
June, 2011

At The House of the Magician, by Mary Hooper

My wonderful husband brought back books from the UK for me, including:

At The House of the Magician, by Mary Hooper
Young Adult, 2007

While this has been available through the UK for a couple of years, the US barely just got around to publishing the first of the series, with more to follow. I, however, will be ordering the other two books from Book Depository so I don't have to wait.

from fantasticfiction.co.uk:
Lucy has been forced to run away from home as she fears for her safety from her drunken father. She is taken on as a maid at the house of Dr Dee, court magician, upon whom Elizabeth I relies heavily, even down to advising the date of her coronation. The household is strange and sinister, and Lucy has a nose for intrigue ...And she has more than enough to satisfy her: Lucy stumbles across a plot to assassinate the queen and has to find means to warn her...

Raspberry: Interesting plot, with plenty of potential for the sequels (By Royal Command and The Betrayal). It isn't my favorite of hers, but it lives up to expectations. Lucy is precocious and curious, but with a head on her shoulders that makes her lovable instead of annoying. The ideas are interesting, and my only complaint is that I didn't have the rest of the books there to finish at once.
Graded a B.

Trackgeek: Graded a B+.

I'm (Raspberry here) an absolutely HUGE fan of Mary Hooper. No one does YA/Juvenile historical fiction better than her. At the Sign of the Sugared Plum is a favorite and a good starting point for you newbies. One of her latest, Newes From The Dead was oddly intriguing, and even a modern story about internet friends - Amy - is well told and creepily accurate. The fact is, the woman can write.

For those of you that are fellow faithful followers of Mary Hooper and are crying for more, may I recommend:
Marie-Louise Jensen
The Lady Grace series

Memory Monday: Caught in Crystal, by Patricia Wrede

I love Patricia Wrede. She is an author I remember as being one of the first to introduce me to a world of make-believe like no other. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Sorcery and Cecelia...she just keeps hitting the nail on the head. We found this for mere cents on Amazon and decided to try it out. I slogged through it as well as I could but ended up setting it aside knowing full well that I'd just wasted a bookmark. The only thing is...this is the 4th in the series. Technically, though, it's first chronologically, so we figured we'd try it first. Let this be a lesson to all readers - read the books in the order they were published!
I handed it off to Trackgeek and his review follows:


Caught in Crystal
Lyra series, Book 4
Young Adult / Adult, 1987

from fantasticfiction.co.uk:
There stands a twisted tower.. hidden in the Windhome Mountains. Something is imprisoned there - the Sisterhood of Stars does not know precisely what, but something is bound tight with a wizard's spell so that it can never escape again. Kayl is one of the few to have looked upon the Twisted Tower. She has no desire to see it again - she left the Sisterhood long ago, settling down to a quiet life. Her sword lies unused in a secret place beneath the stones of her hearth. But something evil is leaking from the Tower. And now a sorceress and a wizard have appeared on Kayl's doorstep, demanding she take up the sword again.

Trackgeek:
It was fun for us to finally get our hands on a copy of one of Wrede's Lyra series. While still a good book it definitely moved at a different pace than most of her other novels. Another interesting twist is that the main character is an adult, whereas in most of the rest of her work that I have read that characters definitely fall in the juvenile or teen demographic.
Graded a B.

The Lyra Series:
1. Shadow Magic (1982)
2. Daughter of Witches (1983)
3. The Harp of Imach Thyssel (1985)
4. Caught in Crystal (1987)
5. The Raven Ring (1994)

The Looking Glass Wars

The Looking Glass Wars, by Frank Beddor
Looking Glass War Series
Young Adult, 2004

from fantasticfiction.co.uk:
Alyss, born in Wonderland, is destined to be a warrior queen. After a bloody coup topples the Heart regime, Alyss is exiled to another world entirely, where she is adopted into the Liddell family, renamed Alice and befriended by Lewis Carroll. At age 20 she returns to Wonderland to regain her sceptre, battle Redd and lead Wonderland into its next golden age of imagination.

Trackgeek:
While a tad silly on the premise of the story, I can appreciate twisting Lewis Carrol's original storyline. It seems only fitting considering how off the wall Carrol's imagery and writing is in the first place. The writing was very descriptive and the plot moseyed well, keeping me engaged, even while reading in a laundromat.
Graded a B-.

The Accidental Sorcerer, by K. E. Mills

The Accidental Sorcerer, by K. E. Mills
Rogue Agent Series
Adult, 2009

from fantasticfiction.co.uk:
Gerald Dunwoody is a wizard. Just not a particularly good one. He's blown up a factory, lost his job, and there's a chance that he's not really a Third Grade wizard after all. So it's off to New Ottosland to be the new Court Wizard for King Lional. It's a shame that King Lional isn't the vain, self-centered young man he appeared to be. With a Princess in danger, a talking bird who can't stay out of trouble, and a kingdom to save, Gerald soon suspects that he might be out of his depth. And if he can't keep this job, how will he ever become the wizard he was destined to be...

Trackgeek:
This was a really interesting plot idea. I enjoyed the characters and the twists on magic and the commentary on bureaucracy. The plot moves along nicely and sets up what promises to be a good series.

Graded a B+.

Faithful, by Janet Fox

Faithful, by Janet Fox
Young Adult / Adult, 2010

from School Library Journal:
It's May of 1904, and 16-year-old Maggie Bennet should be planning her debut into Newport society. Unfortunately, her father has other plans. He takes her to Yellowstone National Park, following a lead on Maggie's mother, who disappeared the year before and is presumed dead. Upon their arrival, Papa reveals that they are broke and he has taken a job as architect at the park. As Maggie tries to start a new life and piece together the mystery of her mother's connection to Yellowstone, she is torn between her conflicting desires. She longs to take her proper place in society, something offered by George Graybull, the rich and powerful but arrogant and shallow older man who is courting her. At the same time, she wants freedom and true love, represented by Tom, the kind but poor son of a geologist. The story follows Maggie's struggle to overcome her own prejudices and society's limitations. The wilderness of Yellowstone, which is lovingly and beautifully depicted, reflects her inner turmoil and yearning for freedom, deemed madness in her bohemian mother.

I have been wanting to read this forever - a historical fiction novel set in Yellowstone? The geologist in me was delighted. I loved the different scenes of Yellowstone, the paintings her mother captured of the raw beauty, and the change that Maggie made in her own self. I thought the plot overall was a bit of a dramafest, and the inconsistencies in some of the characters was very distracting. The romance was cute, but not overbearing, and I felt that while the book fell short of expectations, it was still a sweet little read.

I put YA and Adult, because even though it's a YA book, I think many adults (at least of the female variety) would enjoy it.

Graded a B-.

Shadow of the Dragon, by Kate O'Hearn

We're back! Yay! Shout hooray! And I'm THRILLED, because my husband brought me back a huge load of books from the UK that aren't published in the US yet. So, awesome.
Expect some more Marie-Louise Jensen, and Mary Hooper for starters!

Shadow of the Dragon, by Kate O'Hearn
Juvenile / Young Adult, 2008

from fantasticfiction.co.uk:
Under no circumstances are girls EVER to be allowed anywhere near dragons. The penalty for any girl caught breaking the first law is DEATH. Kira is twelve, and strong willed. The daughter of a retired dragon knight, she yearns for adventure and dreams of following in her father's footsteps astride her own magnificent mount. But this can never happen. According to the 'stupid laws' of the kingdom, she must be married by thirteen. Kira hates it, but being a girl she has no choice. Then Lord Dorcon arrives, in a whirl of destruction and fire and Kira knows the real fight is just beginning. To stand a chance of seeing her family again, and to protect the life of her younger sister, she will need every bit of willpower she can find. Let the battle commence.

On a whim I checked this out of my mother's local library while I was a-visiting. While in the teen section it definitely had more of an older juvenile feel, which is why I've put it in both labels. Kira is an interesting girl...I have a hard time imagining a 13-year-old being quite that mature, but it was a sweet story about two sisters and all that they fight for. I highly recommend it to jr. high age girls, although again, it is in teen and there's plenty of boys to root for in it too.

Graded a B.