I liked this novel although the subject matter was a deviation from what some people would consider children's book subject matter as it is about The Holocaust, I wound up realizing that many children's books I have read are about the Holocaust or even adult movies seen through the eyes of a child so I considered why many people after reading this book wonder about its inclusion in children's literature. I decided it is that childish tone of the book that is absolutely adhered to until the very end. There are no grown-up, quick realizations from an adult perspective for the kids to grasp the horrors - just childlike innocence with which to analyze their circumstances. I think its strict adherence is the difference in the tone - not that it is a book written for children. All ages is a better classification of this book than children's. If you read it to your children, be prepared to answer some difficult questions - as they will probably be very open, honest questions which is why they might be difficult to answer, as is with the questioning at the end of the book if this is material for children, particularly because there are no adult viewpoint summations of the horrors, no classifying 'bad' and 'evil'. The boys in the book go right on assuming that they are in childhood, period. As children do.
Watch as me and my boys (almost in their pajamas) go to brunch and then make
Story Runes - an easy craft to inspire storytelling and better bedtime stories.
Deciding upon the craft to go along with this book review was mind boggling. What I did was go to brunch with my children and then, after stumbling into the best neighborhood craft store, I decided to make Story Runes and keep them in a little bag, and hang them from the moon. (A hanger made in the shape of a crescent moon.) I hope you will enjoy it and even make story runes for you and your children. What are story runes? You can make up how to use them, that is part of the fun, or you can adhere to the rule that each person - or the designated story teller of the evening - reaches into the bag and pulls out a rune, stone, charm, or ball which might have a word, picture, letter, or just be a shape and color. The storyteller then makes up a story depicting some aspect of the rune - for inspiration and added challenge. Brunch was delicious. We went to Pine State in Portland, Oregon, and I show you as much of the brunch as I can. :) I shot this video myself.
The boy who isn't in the striped pajamas, in the book, often thinks about eating a sandwich and sharing one with his friend - in the pajamas. I think we've changed sides, and I put all the stories to rune - to rest? - something like that. If you read the book, leave a comment, tell me what you think. Is it a children's book to you or is it all ages?
This book is based in Portland, Oregon - where I am blogging this review - and San Diego, California. It is based on several historical events and weaves a paranormal romance in as the basis of the plot during the depiction of the events. Sounds boring - but it definitely isn't boring. There is quite a bit going on in fact that the paranormal plot nearly takes a backseat to the interesting facts that slowly emerge - as ghosts in their own right - throughout the book. They lurk in the corners and even take the forefront, and I got the impression that Cat Winters was rather 'haunted' by the information she was depicting as the time period and catalyst to the main characters.
First, without giving any spoilers, the existence of the blackbirds and the shadows they cast on the main characters' lives is quite creepy - and real. It was a real part of war on European shores and this does not come out all at once, but unravels like a mystery. The main character's love is sent off to war and suffers the very real shadow of the blackbirds phenomenon. Also, the outbreak of influenza and how it was dealt with in the history of the Western U.S. presents an obstacle for the characters, both alive and in their para-normal romantic involvement. The book's main topic is the photographic 'proof' that charlatans of the day would coax loved ones of the dead to a sort-of seance before taking their photographs. With the help of double exposures and probably light leaks and blooms, the patrons found their deceased in the photos with them. The main character of the book's photo is not a fake, however, and the mysteries about the death of the man she was to marry is solved through para-normal photography and activity.
I liked this book. 4-stars from me. Ghost story, para-normal romance, fiction with historical background information, and a strong, female, main character.
The craft for this review is more like a FREE printable to create your own craft, or draw your own raven, and even a skull, from basic shapes and angles. Watch the videos, or download Raven & Skull, here!
This is a review of the book and the audio
reading. The first few pages of this
audio book, maybe even the first few chapters, the disaffected - almost
apathetic - tone Parker Posie takes while reading makes one wonder if her agent
set her up to read a kids book, unannounced.
However, as the story unfolds, and near the book's end, its impossible
not to be awed by Parker's genius at conveying the teen sense/attitude/approach
as one of the cool kids. Definitely
cool. There is no way not to be drawn in
to caring if she likes your hair, even if you don't like her at all. You almost wear your high tops, or goth
t-shirt the next day for Chapters 10 through 12. Very silly, very fun, this audio reading with
Parker makes the book even more of an experience in Ghost Girl high school,
dead girl brilliance.
The book is 5 star YA to MG for plot,
characterization, hilarity without even cracking a smile at times, wit and even
heart-felt charm. From the dead? Charm?
Yes, you begin to care that the obsessed girl gets her kiss from her
high-school hottie fascination without even feeling stupid about it. Dead or not, fashion does matter and
possessing another 'out' girl with a closet full of goth - not to mention a
great guitar - helps her get to the dance with one good eye on her man. A great read for any kid who is contemplating
their first kiss on up to adult. And, I
recommend the audio book version.
Seraphina, by Rachel Hart, Audio book narrated by Mandy Williams
I have read the book, and this time listened to
the audio book while painting. It is
also considered YA, but this book could easily be read by kids younger than
12. The plot is imaginative and
draconic: dragons entering society in their human forms. The author writes the book in an intellectual
tone, symphony terminology, wine discussed as vinters would, and even clothing
mentioned in historical terms. Its not a
swamp monster dragon morphing into a t-shirt and going to a bar. It is historical, high-society dragonry with
princes and footmen. I liked it as an
audio book and loved it as a novel. Mandy Williams did a great job reading aloud
to me while I painted, but something was lost along the way in all the
interruptions and replaying of chapters when some part got skipped. This plot is also a bit over-the-edge. Its not boy meets girl, boy saves girl, but
boy meets dragon who he thinks is a girl, boy is a prince, dragon flies over
the city - nothing gets burned to the ground that leads to scores of deaths or
anything, but it is necessary to stay with the intensity of the plot to keep up
with the writing and get the whole point of the story. If I had only listened to the audio book, I
might not have gotten the sublties in the plot that I got from reading the
book.
In several parts I am ashamed to say that I loved
The Darkest Part of the Forest, but I loved this book. I think it is because of its traditional YA
excursion into what the author in her acknowledgments calls writing over the
cliff. It does go over, but most fae
legends do, and I think she was influenced by her knowing more than just a few
tales from ancient faerie lore.
That's why it was something I should not love. She so skillfully grounds the imagined fantastic with truths about love, lust, friendship, high school parties, the
difficulties of growing up, and even adds alternative lifestyles to the tumult (like bohemian
artist parents and bi-sexual relationships) all while taking the reader through with her
particularly grounded insights. Sort of like clinging to her arm at a high school party, you know everything will turn out okay if you just stick with her and her Hazel, her very empowered yet very mixed up heroine.
I liked
this book's fae mystery allure, drawing the reader literally deeper and deeper
into her forest of faerie folk and happenstance - by choice, even eagerly - awaiting the next jaunt
into the forest with Ben and Hazel Evans leading the way. Ofcourse, you should NOT listen to me. I live next to a faerie possessed land and I
never, ever should have gone 'into the forest'.
You shouldn't either, but this book WILL take you there and it is to the
author's credit that we follow so willingly into the darkest and most mystical parts.
As a parent, I would have
suggested this book to my kids at 16, but that's because I am a mother and an
author of books for younger readers.
Holly Black, also the author of the Spiderwick Chronicles, has a handle
on what Young Adult literature readers demand and I can imagine she has grown
up along with readers of the Chronicles as to still be a favorite author in times when YA is being read earlier and earlier. There is sexual reference, lots of kissing,
beer parties and a little Elderberry wine.
The faerie legend is alive and well and living in Fairfold, the small
town setting of the novel, which seems to be begging for a horror film plot as
tourists and townspeople love the horned boy in his coffin as sort of a city landmark, complete with late
night beer parties and dancing on top of his coffin.
I got so pulled in by her characters and plot, stayed
with her when she wrote us over the cliff, and didn't hate her when it all
pulled together at the end. On Goodreads I gave it 5 stars! At home, I crafted my monthly vlog content for The Faerie Project after Severin, the horned boy, the Dark Forest's Faery Prince. Watch video 1, below and find parts 2 and 3 at the links, here:
- Audiobook.
