Book Review: "May Bird Warrior Princess" by Jodi Lynn Anderson

SPOIL FREE SUMMARY

Years after returning home, May finally makes it way back to the Ever After. There she realizes that they still need her and have hope in her. But she doesn't know if she can defeat Bo Cleevil.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

May is now older and has tried to move on with her life. Basically she has tried to fit in. She no longer talks about what happened to her (after telling everyone the truth and being laughed at).

Pumpkin is the first person May finds in the ever after. He is still upset at her for leaving. But their relationship is easily repaired. Pumpkin still has his childlike behavior but he is useful, informing of her of the whereabouts of her other friends.

Lucius has a role to play as well. He keeps the group from being spotted by vampires in the city and comes up with an idea to sabotage the bad guys. Also he causes Pumpkin to be jealous of him. Thereby causing May to reassure Pumpkin of her affection to him.

Bo Cleevil makes a cameo in the story, as well as appearing near the end. He is interesting and very chatty with May. He appears to no one else.

PACING

The pacing is slower, but for obvious reasons. We get a recap of what happened when May came home and how she lives now, with her new school and her relationship regarding her mother.

We don't get back to Ever After until 33 pages in, at chapter 5. Everyone is reunited until halfway through the book. There are some cliffhanger chapter endings that help push the story forward.

MAY & HER MOM

It's interesting to note that things have only improved between mother and daughter because they don't talk about what May thinks happened to her. May goes to an all goes school and keeps her head down. I suppose it would have been un-moving if they had resolved things as it would have happened all in the past tense (May explaining what had happened, instead of the reader watching it happen in real time).

But May's mom just feels incompetent. Her daughter really believed she went to another world. Doesn't she need help? Like some therapy or something? Not talking about it doesn't solve the problem. If anything, I could have seen that happened to the point where the relationship between May and her mom was brought to a breaking point. Instead it is just similar to their relationship at the beginning of book one. May keeps her head down.

MAY'S LIFE

So May has kind of become a celebrity because of her crazy story. The other girls are nice to her. So I guess that resolves her issue of not having any friends. But they don't feel like friends, not in any real sense. They have no bearing on the story and May certainly doesn't frame them as important.

In reality I would expect they would treat her like she was a freak, who got kidnapped and abused but made up a stupid story that no one believes. But perhaps that would be too dark for a kids' book? Although I don't think so.

CLEEVIL'S NOTE

May finds a note from Bo Cleevil shortly after she returns. I thought it should have helped the pacing, by putting some sense of urgency to the story. But I didn't really feel it. Or that much panic from May. But to be fair her emotions are put into turmoil soon after, when she learns about the death of a friend.

THE TWIST-SPOILERS

May finds out something less than halfway through the book that shocks her. Turns out she has passed away. I would think this would deeply depress her and make her question going on to attempt to fight Bo Cleevil. But she gets over it quite fast. Although later on when she is angry, she mentions the fact that she is dead to shut everyone up. So it's possible she is just keeping her anxiety inside. It would make sense, since that is how she functions back home.

PROBLEM FIXED-SPOILERS

You would think dying would be a permanent situation. After all, throughout all of the books, no one has even spoken of anyone returning back to life after death. Not even a rumor or something to set up the aftermath of the story.

Basically May's new friend, Bertha, says she has some special potion that will make her alive again. I know there would probably be a way for May to go home (staying dead would be too dark for this series). But it felt unreal.

Like, wait, that exists? And no one said anything? Did no one know? Wouldn't the existence of such an item be hard to attain or hard to keep a secret?

Hinting at it's existence may have motivated a distraught May to carry on. But perhaps the author thought keeping it from her but showing her fight would reveal her true growth as a character. Either way, it was rather hard to believe.

SEND FOR HELP-SPOILERS

May hopes that all of her allies will come to her aid. But everyone abandons her, making her angry and hopeless. But this doesn't last long, when Lucius puts in a suggestion of his own on how to fight back.

THE MAN IN THE GARDEN

After May is forced to go to a fancy party, she meets a strange man outside in the garden. They have a philosophical conversation about never feeling you belong, about returning home. He says that May looks lost and she asks him about the Bridge of Souls (a place where no one returns from). She asks if you cross it, you stop being afraid. And he inquires to what she is afraid of. He then tells her that she will never be afraid with him before vanishing.

This kind of conversation had depth that surprised me. It reminded me of their previous meeting. And although I liked it, it did feel out of character in a world where most characters are quite cartoonish, including the tactics of the villain. Obviously Cleevil believes he is doing right, as we all do. But if that were so, wouldn't he have some loyal band of followers? Wouldn't there be more convincing propaganda than Cleevilville signs?

I almost felt like the villain they had been describing thus far was not this man. Not that I expected May's friends to know of him much. But perhaps they should have met someone who didn't completely fear him.

THE LADY-SPOILERS

The Lady says May will fail.

Wait, didn't she say that last time? Perhaps I got the two books mixed up. Most likely.

Either way, May gets more mad but the Lady always seems rather uncaring. She is certainly no mentor. But something comes out of the meeting, as May wishes she had lived more and asks the Lady about the Bridge of Souls. Which indicates the Ever After isn't a permanent afterlife, but more of a limbo. And there is something else beyond. But no one knows what.

BROKEN UP-AGAIN

Somber Kitty and May get separated again. Which is beginning to feel repetitive.

UNLIKELY ALLIES-SPOILERS

In the beginning, May is kidnapped. Her kidnappers actually come back to help her near the latter portion of the story. They fill the gap her older friends left when they sent letters of rejection.

MAY'S ROLE

May takes the role of leadership again. Three years have passed, but she still remembers how to be bold (even if she isn't back home) and she is the one who comes up with the idea on how to rescue her friends. As well as directing Pumpkin to help her.

She still has growing up to do, as she gets angry at everyone and snaps at Pumpkin in one scene. She even runs off alone to see the Lady (she is hoping for help).

She is certainly the hero of the story, even being the one to figure out how to open a hidden door.

CLIMAX

May ends up alone, with all of her friends no longer able to help her. So she stands up to Bo Cleevil on her own but not before another conversation where he tries to persuade her to join him.

This would have been more convincing if she hadn't seem him do so many bad things, but it was still interesting, as he says he feels empty. He calls her unique and says she will never feel small if she sides with him.

In the end though, she gets help from a friend and Cleevil is finally vanquished. And to bring things full circle, she uses balloons, like she did as a child.

BO CLEEVIL'S PLAN-SPOILERS

Turns out Bo Cleevil wants to send people back to earth to take it over. He actually succeeds partly. It would be interesting to see a world where May is proven right. People would certainly look at her differently. But instead we see that no one really cares about her, now that ghosts have been proven to be real. I was kind of disappointed at that.

CONCLUSION

May wrestles with her feelings of anxiety but still takes risks for her friends. In this, she develops but I still feel her relationships were lacking. Fabbio and Bea don't feel important. And her relationship with her mother is something that resolves itself outside of the pages. Or so I assume.

Surprisingly, Bo Cleevil could have had a very interesting relationship with May, had he been given the chance. He was certainly the most interesting character in the series. A shame he is presented so cartoonish through his minions. But the story basically follows the same trajectory of the other two. So if you liked it, you should like the conclusion. I give “May Bird Warrior Princess” three stars.

Book Review: "May Bird Among the Stars" by Jodi Lynn Anderson

SPOIL FREE SUMMARY

May and her friends continue on to seek out the help of the Lady. Once they do, they attempt to send May back home, even if that means having to go the heart of danger to do so.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

May is still the leader of the group, although she still doubts herself. As well as the abilities of others (particularly Pumpkin). And her doubts are not at all illogical or just her feeling sorry for herself. You can't help but feel for her when she finally meets the Lady.

Pumpkin is still rather cowardly. But he does want to help, just like before. He even surprises everyone one time.

Bea doesn't' seem to play a big role, but she is important to the story as she gives May a reason to be bold and develop as a character.

Fabbio doesnt' have much of a role. Although he does help coax Pumpkin into leaving his horse behind.

The Bogey has elements of humor (which isn't hard when you think of 'boogy' and disco music). But he still feels threatening.

PACING

There are many chapter endings that cut off at the right time. For instance, May and her friends get carried away by poltergeists. In another they fall through a trap.

FABBIO & BEA

We get a short portion of the story where we learn when Bea met Fabbio. He was crying over his men's death and she ended up asking for him to come along and find her mom. It was a short paragraph and I was hoping for more. It was probably just a recap from the first book that I barely noticed the first time around.

AN OUTSIDER?

When May and her friends meet Zero and other poltergeists, they stay for a few days, enjoying a rest. But it's said that May still feels like an outsider, because she always has been. But I feel like this kind of just inserted there, to remind us how she had no friends back home.

She made friends with Bea instantly, proving that she simply hadn't met the right person. And she clearly has an important role in the group by the end of the first book. I wish her role as an “outsider” had been more obvious, spread out with hints all over the first book and into this one.

BEA AND HER MOM-SPOILERS

May takes on another role of leadership when she discovers where Bea's mom may be. She eventually inquires about her and takes Bea to see her. I like how bold May has become. And she doesn't seem to realize it.

I like how no one had to point it out and it was a natural progression.

THE LADY

When May meets the lady she is surprised by her strange manner. She was the one who asked for May's help but her diagnosis is grim. And although she gives May directions on how to return home she doesn't seem to care that much about May, personally.

I wasn't sure what I was supposed to think of her, except for her diagnosis (which I expected to be either deceitful or something that motivated May to thwart).

Although I thought her description of Bo Cleevil was interesting and rather philosophical (which I wasn't expecting).

THE RETURN OF LUCIUS

Lucius returns and eventually forgives May. He plays an important role as he teaches May a skill that helps her in a crucial moment.

He is not really a love interest, as May is still young and has other things to worry about. But their interactions are often charming as they clash and obviously have little experience with the opposite sex.

A BIG SURPRISE-SPOILERS

May discovers that she is not the only live on in the Ever after, there are actually lots of them. And they have hope that May will help defeat Bo Cleevil. But she isn't so sure and wrestles with her own doubts by this time.

THE USELESS GIFT-SPOILERS

May uses the bow and arrow she received from the Lady only to have the arrows limp uselessly to the ground, like flowers. It's not her lack of skill, as she can shoot them just fine.

THE STRANGER

May ends up being separated from the group and meets a strange man. Later on it's revealed who this was, and I wasn't surprised. But I was still pleased. Because the conversation she had with him was both interesting and ambiguous, I just wish it had been longer. It was obvious who he was but I didn't mind that much.

COMMANDER BERZERKO

A new villain who is cat-like is sent after the so called the “wild hunters” to hunt down May. Unfortunately she is kind of cheesy. I didn't really feel entertained by her even though I think her existence may have supposed to have been kind of humorous (since she becomes aware of Somber kitty, and cats are supposed to be extinct).

A MYSTERY-SPOILERS

When May and her friends get separated in a cave, May ends up seeing an older version of herself. Its interesting as we don't know why. And May doesn't share it with anyone else. Although when Arista shows up out of the blue to explain it, it felt kind of awkward.

Although it served another purpose, mainly Arista revealing that the Lady knows about everything (including the disastrous events that May has gone through). May gets upset that the Lady hasn't helped at all.

DEATH OF A VILLAIN

When Bo Cleevil realizes one of his servants failed him, he kills him, right in front of everyone, including May. But it isn't violent or gross (which is expected as this a childrens' book) but I felt like it was kind of anti-climatic. And other dies, too, but I didn't really care. I guess because this character was so cartoonish.

CLIMAX

May approaches her exit only to find it doesn't seem to exist. She ends up escaping the Bo Cleevil with the help of all her friends and figures out the truth about her doorway home. But she debates about if she should leave, which is probably the climax of her character development (more so than her bravery and leadership roles).

CONCLUSION

May is still likable and develops at the climax. It feels natural and not rushed, as May has fought with her self doubt throughout the entire series.

The pacing is decent and the story is full of strange and silly characters (sometimes to its detriment, like the villains).

I actually feel like it is slight improvement on the first story. Although there are some of the same problems (mainly side stories I don't really have any interest in).

I thought the Lady added some interest by being such an ambiguous character and appreciated her description of Bo Cleevil.

I give “May Bird Among the Stars” three and a half stars.

Book Review: "May Bird and the Ever After" by Jodi Lynn Anderson

SPOIL FREE SUMMARY

May has her own problems to deal with, like fitting in. But when she accidentally gets transported to the land of the dead, called the “Ever after” she discovers she is in danger. And she has to get home as soon as possible. But this is harder than she thinks.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

May is a quiet, introverted girl who would rather spend time with animals than people, or in the woods than at the mall. She has little confidence in herself and knows that other kids think her weird. She is set up pretty early as a victim, not just of the teasing of other children but the attempts of her mom to help, which harm more than anything.

Pumpkin is a house ghost who has lived in May Bird's house for a long time. He is called so for his weird shaped head. He is rather dramatic and cowardly. Even so, he does seem to want to be friends with May and attempts to help her.

Fabbio is a dead soldier who has taken it upon himself to look after a young girl named Bea.

Bea is a young girl who has spent her afterlife trying to find her mother. This is of the utmost importance to her.

Somber Kitty is May's only friend. She originally didn't like him, as her previous cat had died and she didn't wish to try and replace him. He is protective of his owner.

Lucius is a young boy that May meets. She works hard to encourage him when she learns about his circumstances.

WHAT'S WRONG WITH MAY?

May's mom spends most of her time worried about May, and I didn't quite get why. The main problem is that she has no friends. But her mom never thinks that its the other children who may be the problem.

Maybe some are bullies; Maybe she generally has nothing in common with them. Perhaps she is a tomboy in a school of girlie-girls? She does live in a small town after all. Her mom's concern didn't seem warranted until later when May starts having very strange behavior (which she has never had before).

May's mom says something about May needing to be somewhere more “average” and May thinks she means she wants her to be more “average”. Just why does May's mom not like her daughter's eccentricities? I wish this had been delved into more.

MAY'S DAD, WHERE IS HE?

May is raised by her single mom. But there is no reference to a dad, not one. I found that odd, seeing how no child is unaffected by the loss of a parent. It needn't have been a big part of the book, just a simple sentence, referencing that he had passed away in an accident, or they had divorced when May was still a baby. Or something. The complete ignoring of such an important topic (again, it didn't have to be, but it could as least clarify the matter).

If this had been mentioned, it could have added dimension to May's character. Maybe her mom was much more feminine, as opposed to May's boyish characteristics. Or maybe it's not that, it's the fact that her mom is much more practical and routine, while May is whimsical and imaginative.

May could easily dream of a father she had never met and idealize him, thereby putting a wall between her mom's attempts to help her.

FRIENDS NOW?

There is a moment where May almost touches some water, only to have Pumpkin stop her by yelling at her. He says touching it will transfer you to another place, a dangerous one. He admits he was supposed to tell her about it. It was such a dramatic reveal that when he asks for a hug afterwards, I just thought it was awkward. Like Pumpkin was mentally slow. I didn't know what to feel about him.

PACING

The pacing isn't the fastest. But the story doesn't take too much time to explain May's problems about fitting in and her Mother's worries. We see them evolve, becoming much more extreme until we know something must happen. And before that, we get a short history of the house, and how people have disappeared.

To be fair, after the story gets into full swing, many of the chapters cut off at exciting parts. This does help push the story forward at certain points.

A GUIDE FOR MAY

Both Pumpkin and Arista (his master) serve as guides to May. Pumpkin helps her get to Arista and escape those chasing them. While Arista informs May about the danger she is in and why.

MAY AND BEA

When May meets Bea, she realizes she is nothing like all of the girls she knows. And that she already feels comfortable with her. I felt like this was lazy. May was young and had been hurt before. She had never had a real friend, so most likely she would be defensive, detached, or hesitant to trust anyone.

HOPE FOR MAY-SPOILERS

The main goal of the story is to get to the Lady, the one who sent May the letter asking for help. Apparently only she can help get May home and all of her hopes rest in her. Only she sounds kind of scary, or at least intimidating.

But before that we have another task, which is the main thrust of this story, to attain a book.

ARTISTIC DIFFERENCES

This is a subjective note, and has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the story. It was just something strange that I noticed. The art on the cover and throughout the book does not match. Not even close. The cover art features a cartoonish, big eyed May, who looks anxious, with her arms crossed. Her hair is loose and wild.

However, in the book, the art is rather serious looking. May has straight black bangs and a straight bob, reminiscent of a Japanese school girl.

It was just such a contrast. Every illustration looked serious and eerie. While the cover art is whimsy and childish. I only mention it because it was so incongruous. It seemed to represent a completely different interpretation of the story. More in line with Coraline than May Bird.

KITTY'S STORY-SPOILERS

The story is mainly on May, but there are a portion of short scenes where we see where Somber kitty is and what he's doing. Turns out he was worried about May, so he followed her.

To be honest, I didn't have much interest in his stories. Some of the humor was odd to me, and I kept wondering why we needed this cat at all. I just didn't care what happened to the cat, as bad as that sounds.

HUMOR

The story, in general, doesn't take itself too seriously. Yes, May is in serious danger, but the story never gets too dark. And it doesn't deal with too serious issues (this can be a strength or a weakness). There were plenty of moments that made me smile. And the humor was original and inserted at the right parts, for most of the time.

THE BETRAYAL

Turns out a character that May meets ends up betraying her near the end of the book. I wasn't shocked, as this character didn't seem completely caring. He hadn't put on a big act, so I wasn't taken aback at this reveal. There were a few hints, but nothing overwhelming I suppose.

FORESHADOWING

There is a good use of Somber kitty, that reveals why he was so important. Even if his story portions were rather dull to me. Also, May has a piece of quartz in her pocket that is revealed to be of use. Sure enough, May gets to use it, allowing her to show initiative and bravery. And letting her happen to the story, and not the story happen to her.

MAY THE HERO

In the beginning of the story, May gets a letter, asking for help. She is surprised and intrigued that anyone would think she could be of use. But when she enters the Ever after this only adds to her anxiety. She is no hero. She isn't remotely brave. She can't even get herself to be bold and make friends.

So an inner conflict is set up already. We wonder how May will change, if it will be hard and if she will fight it.

A SECRET-SPOILERS

May doesn't tell Pumpkin that she got a letter from the Lady, asking for help. I thought this was presented in order for him to find out later, and his trust in May would evaporate. Or it would at least cause some tension. But this doesn't materialize. Maybe it was just supposed to show May's hesitation at being seen as some sort of hero.

THE VILLAINS

The villain of the book is Bo Cleevil. But the Bogey, a creature that works for him is in charge of hunting down May. We don't really see either of them and sometimes they are talked about with some humorous aspects. Which kinds of detracts from taking them seriously.

CLIMAX

With our group fully formed, they are hunted down by dogs, only to have the day saved by a surprising ally. They continue on to meet the Lady and plans are made for May to escape which wont happen until the sequel.

CONCLUSION

May is a likable character and the world that Anderson creates is original and full of humor. The pacing is slightly slow at first but doesn't bother me. My main problem is the lack of depth in relationships, mainly being between May and her mother, but also between May and Bea. There wasn't really time to form a relationship with Lucius.

I give “May Bird and the ever after” three stars.

Book Review: "Spellfall" by Katherine Roberts

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

Natalie is a normal girl until she gets involved with a crazy group of people who believe magic is real. The only one who can help her is the son of a member, a boy named Merlin. But he seems far too afraid to do anything, so it's up to Natalie to convince him. But is the group crazy, or a real threat?

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Natalie is a young girl living in a small town. She is rather ordinary and has a stepmother and stepbrother. She is portrayed as being easily bullied.

Merlin is the young son of a powerful caster. He isn't very good at magic himself though. His only friend is his familiar, a rat and he spends most of his free time playing computer games. Because he has spent his whole life being verbally abused by his father, he isn't confident or brave. Most of the story he is portrayed negatively.

Lord Hawk is Merlin's father, named so for his familiar. He constantly abuses his son and named his as a joke. He is uncaring and cruel.

Jo is Natalie's only friend. Because of her size she isn't easily bullied, as she is rather tall. And she is more bold than her friend. She ends up being quite clever and helping develop a plan.

Tim is Natalie's stepbrother. He is rather nasty to her. He doesn't seem to like having a stepfamily and doesn't like referring to his stepfather as his dad. After an experience with magic he plays a more important role.

Mr. Merlin has a secretive past but currently spends most of his time being unemployed and drinking. He may have been close with Natalie at one time, but we don't learn about their past relationship much. He explains about the Boundary between this world and Earthhaven, so he serves that purpose as well as helps Tim figure out how the tree of Oq might be destroyed.

PACING

There are multiple stories going on at once. The main being Natalie's story, the second being Jo's and Tim's story. But their are not many cliffhanger endings that push the story, nor do the separate stories feel like puzzle pieces that must end up together.

FORESHADOWING

There aren't a lot of hints of what's to come. Not where Tim's negative feelings come from. Not as to how close Natalie was to her mother and how she used to be close to her father. Not that Merlin has potential.

Jo mentions that Natalie's dad used to sell weird stuff; Tim mentions Natalie's mother's death; Natalie is the only one who sees the sparkles on a spell.

It just doesn't feel like puzzle pieces begging to come together. Or curiosity and suspense urging the reader on.

AN IMPORTANT TOPIC-SPOILERS

There is a scene were Tim mentions that Natalie's mother died by drowning. It's done in an offhand way and feels out of the blue. I was shocked. I kept thinking, maybe they should have hinted about her mom dying dramatically. But not given the details. How can I shocked by a revelation if I don't even know there is a secret?

VICTIM COMPLEX?

In the beginning of the book, we get hints that Natalie's life is unfair. Her stepbrother is seen bullying her (and it's implied this is the norm). And her father drinks far too much, so she rarely talks to him. I was annoyed at first, but to be fair, this isn't brought back throughout the story. Tim does say something quite nasty and rather unbelievable. But later on he changes. Her father might have neglected her, but he changes. And this isn't even emphasized.

RELATIONSHIPS

The relationships between the characters don't seem that deep. And they don't all have to be. I didn't expect the relationship between Jo and Natalie to be that deep, because they spend most of the book apart.

But what I did expect was a closer relationship with her father. Maybe some recollections of how their relationship used to be. And how she felt abandoned by him since her mother died. I mean, Tim is the only one who reveals to be upset with the marriage. What about Natalie? Maybe she had some hopes it would cure her fathers alcoholism. But it didn't. Did she like her stepmom right away, or did it take time?

I know how difficult remarriages are for children, but we take almost no time plumbing this issue. And even when we do, it's just Tim blurting out his feelings in one, long paragraph.

I do like when characters share their feelings but it was all exposition (as opposed to hints throughout the story where we figure out his true feelings). And with a character he barely knew, someone he probably wouldn't confide in. Perhaps it should have been revealed that they had talked some in the past, and that Jo secretly had a crush that motivated her to try and talk to him.

TIM AND JO

Tim and Jo eventually end up working together to look for Natalie. Although we learn about Tim throughout this time and his character grows, we learn next to nothing about Jo.

We still only know that Natalie was bullied awhile back, and Jo protected her. And that's how they became friends. What the two have in common is that both believe they are responsible for what happens to Natalie. I thought this confession was good, because it kind of bonded to characters, that otherwise, don't know anything about each other.

NATALIE AND MERLIN

Merlin and Natalie's relationship starts out rocky. Merlin is too scared to help her and Natalie thinks he is crazy for believing in magic. Not to mention being party to her kidnapping.

Eventually he helps her but I never really felt like he earned her respect. Even though she sometimes worries about him, Natalie still says and thinks rather mean things about him. She bullies him into coming with her and comes off as annoying. Even later on, when witnessing a death, she thinks Merlin was just being wimpy by warning her about unicorns.

Also, he almost dies and right after she jokes about it, asking what it was like to watch himself go under water (since he can see through his familiar's eyes). That was just strange.

NATALIE AND HER MOM-SPOILERS

Eventually, Natalie gets reunited with her mother. Turns out that dead Spell ladies and lords end up going back to the tree called Oq. The reunion is shocking and overwhelming for Natalie, who knew her mom to be dead.

But the problem for me was that we don't learn anything about their relationship. Like how old Natalie was when she died. Or what her mother was like. Or how her mom's relationship with her dad was. We don't even learn that Natalie's mom was blind until Mr. Marlin mentions it to Tim. It just felt like no effort was put into it. I mean, I get that her mother is barely in the story, but she was a crucial part of it. And probably a big motivating factor to Natalie.

NATALIE & HER DAD-SPOILERS

Natalie and her dad's relationship is nonexistant. So I expected to learn more about their past relationship at least. But not only don't we learn about that but we don't even see Natalie reunite with her father. At the end of the book, there is no scene with them seeing each other for the first time. Not even a conversation with them later on. Instead, the author emphasizes Natalie's relationship with a talking dog she has known for a few days.

MERLIN'S SKILLS & DEVELOPMENT

In the beginning, we learn that Merlin loves computer games. This doesn't seem important, and it's not talked about through most of the story. Until we near the climax and suddenly it is shoved in, to finally make use of Merlin. It felt kind of like a last ditch effort to make him important. Not that he didn't do anything throughout the story. He helps Natalie in two other instances. It just feels played down by Natalie, like he barely helps. Or he does but he's still a wimp.

Also, when he sees his dad again, Merlin explains he has learned about computers so he can cure Oq, because she is like a computer. But this doesn't really make sense, as he is still terrible at magic and never improved his skills throughout the story. He is suddenly just better. I get that having him defeat his father would be poetic, but it also should be believable.

NATALIE'S DEVELOPMENT

Natalie starts the story rather ordinary and kind of scared. She has only one friend and that was made from being protected from a bully. The height of her strength is her anger expressed at her captors. And her ability to make Merlin help her escape. By the end she is brave and bold, willing to do anything to protect Oq. So what's the problem, exactly?

There just doesn't seem enough moments where she struggles, or even fails, and has to try again. Or when she gives up and needs encouragement. Yes, she does show courage and stand up to the council. That is an important scene. But after that she is pretty much done with developing. She is the one who wants to escape. She is the brave one while Merlin is still the weak one.

SORRY ABOUT THAT-SPOILERS

Mr. Marlin actually leaves his stepson to have his memory erased. It was so sudden and shocking that I couldn't believe it. I disliked the man before but now I loathed him. It didn't feel like the intent was to the reader to hate him, because there doesn't seem like any attempt to redeem him later on.

And when he and Tim get reunited later on, he makes a weak apology. And Tim seems fine with it because his stepfather looks pathetic. There. End of that problem.

K'TANAQUI

K'tanaqui is a magehound that has human intelligence. She communicates telepathically with Natalie. I assume this is because of the relationship that she had with Natalie's mother. And the dog is helpful, serving as a guide. She is also brave.

But I didn't like her. The simple reason being the way she speaks. She sounds strange, her “r” sounds being rolled. So everything is like “brrreak” and “thrrrall stone”. It was obnoxious and never absent. I would have tolerated it if it was much less frequent.

There was a part in the story where Natalie has to leave the dog behind and is upset. But I couldn't care less.

IF YOU HAVE TO SAY IT

When Jo and Natalie are reunited Jo eventually says that Natalie has changed. There is no acknowledgment from Natalie and no introspection. That might have been nice. But I don't like when a character has to point it out. I want the reader to slowly see the transformation for themselves. Having to point it out, makes it seem like it's not obvious enough. The author is making a neon sign: “look here, in case you didn't notice!”

Also when Tim and his stepfather are reunited, Tim forgives his father and is kind to him. He remembers what his mom said about crises bringing families together. Again, don't say it. Just show it.

EARTHHAVEN

The world of Earthhaven is full of details. We learn a lot through Mr. Marlin, how he used to find old spells that were still “live” (meaning working) and sell them. He was called a Thrall.

And through the council we learn about the tree called Oq, and why it is so important. Also about the fate of Spell ladies and Spell lords.

We meet unicorns, who are more than what they seem. And we learn some about the type of government they have. It's not Diana Wynne Jones level detail, but it's enough to make the world feel real.

We also learn that every caster has a familiar, and they can see through their eyes.

THE COUNCIL OF OQ

When Merlin and Natalie meet the council it is interesting to eventually learn that we cannot trust them. Their treatment of Merlin makes this obvious, as they want to torture him. Perhaps it would have been more interesting if they had been deceptively charming (like many politicians are).

On a separate issue, when a woman puts moon flowers in Natalie's hair that make her sleepy, her mom explains she probably meant well, because Natalie was so distraught. But Natalie takes it to mean she cannot trust the woman. She completely ignores her mother's words.

CHANGE OF HEART-SPOILERS

A woman who is a member of Lord Hawk's spellclave ends up turning on her master. I didn't really know her so was I was surprised. Although in the few scenes she is in, she seems hesitant to use Natalie, since she is so young. I would have liked to get to know her so her decision to help Natalie would have meant more.

NATALIE'S DAD

I don't really feel like there is enough development in Mr. Marlin. Yes, he stops drinking and goes out searching for Natalie. And then he promptly abandons his stepson.

Yes, he apologizes but he doesn't seem to change that much. There is no gradual realization on his part that he has been a horrible father and husband. No awe of his change or forgiveness of his past sins by Natalie. He should be important, as he does play a part in the plot. But not enough thought went into him.

THE IGNORANT COUNCIL

When Natalie gets to talk to her mother, she asks her daughter for help. Turns out the council is rather insulated and not realistic. Basically their a bunch of lifetime politicians who don't think they can ever be wrong about anything. And it's the job of the little people to obey them unquestioningly.

Certainly this is believable, as politicians tend to surround themselves with people who worship them. But there were a few scenes with them that were rather cartoonish. I would rather have seen how manipulative they could be, and see regular people in Earthhaven being fooled.

CLIMAX

Nat and Jo learn about what the spellcave intends to do to the tree. Merlin is requited by Oq to help protect it. A war breaks out between the council and the Spellclave when the spellclave attacks. Merlin confronts his dad and then gets a teaching job. Natalie is reunited with an old friend.

CONCLUSION

Most of the characters are likable, Mr. Marlin being the exception. Although Natalie is mean to Merlin for too long.

The world is detailed enough and the story, while not too fast paced, is still interesting and moves fast enough.

Although attempts are made at depth for some characters (such as Tim) for others not so much. And I wish I could have learned more about Natalie's past relationship with her mother and father. And perhaps even some more about Jo.

I give “Spellfall” three stars.

Book Review: "The Blue Sword' by Robin McKinley

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

Harry is settling into a new, quiet life with her relatives when she is swept into a strange world of the highlanders. She is suddenly forced into a new role she doesn't understand. And a strange new ability.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Harry is supposedly a tomboy who isn't that close to anyone. Her parents have passed on and she barely knows her brother. She has an interest in the land she now lives but doesn't seem to have many other interests besides that. I wasn't sure what motivated her. With no close family members, I expected her to feel adrift, without any real idea of what she should do. Perhaps depressed or confused. But she seemed bored at the most. Once in a while they would show her angry, or think about being angry.

Corlath is the young king who kidnaps Harry. We don't learn much about him. In the beginning, we only get a hint. Turns out he has had many lovers in the past (so they think he has romantic feelings for a foreigner and are appalled.) Much later on we learn he has no siblings and his parents are dead. He is close to his men. There are few short scenes with his perspective, but we learn nothing of importance about him.

Mathin is Harry's teacher. His family has bred horses.

Colonel Dedham is an older man that Harry meets in the first part of the book. He seems to be the only person she has any real relationship with. But he only seems to be there to give her information about the countries history. And of course, so he can come back later and be useful.

PACING

Probably the weakest part of the story. I read fifty-eight pages before Harry was kidnapped. And although I wanted to believe I had read crucial information before then, I found it doubtful. Maybe the stuff where she leaned about the country's history and wars.

I get the author was trying to show us that Harry really had nothing to cling to. Her parents were dead. Her brother barely knows her. She doesn't have any deep friendships. But they could have told us that in a only a few pages.

KIDNAPPED...I GUESS

If you woke up to find yourself being kidnapped you would probably freak out. And then maybe calm down when they threatened you and refused to tell you why they took you. They might just kill you if you're not worth the trouble, right? You would probably still feel terrified, and think up all kinds of reasons as to why they would want you. Maybe prostitution. Or slavery. Maybe you're a hostage for money?

Luckily Harry only cares about not being made a fool of. She shows she can sit up and withstand long rides on a horse. That'll show those kidnappers! And then she worries about getting their respect when she finally gets to ride a horse herself. And she doesn't bother trying to escape. Or thinking of trying to escape. Or asking what they plan to do with her.

When she eventually does ask why she gets war horses and a sword, the story is almost halfway done. Shouldn't she have been concerned to why she was kidnapped, I don't know, slightly more?

AN EMOTIONLESS HEROINE

I never understand Harry's motivation. Nor what tied her down. She seemed to have no real history and no real past relationships. She felt like she was just made up and born at the beginning. I wanted to know more about her parents and her childhood. But her references to her relationship with her brother were vague and uninspiring.

I guess its good that she isn't overly portrayed as a victim. She has no inheritance because she is female, but the story doesn't go out of its way to make her seem helpless. She doesn't seem angry. But she doesn't really seem like anything. She is supposedly smart, since her friends seem shallow and dumb. That's pretty much why they are there, I guess. Also, she is revealed to be plain looking. So I guess, she must be smart. And athletic.

Whenever she showed emotion, it came out of the blue and felt fake. Like her crying about a story; her anger at her brother; or her anger at Corlath's stubbornness. I feel like the author was trying hard to show she had spirit, but only because he forgot about it in the previous eighty pages.

NO GREAT REVELATIONS-SPOILERS

Harry learns some things, but never anything important. When she learns that was lied to about her heritage, it doesn't really matter. When she learns why she was kidnapped, it doesn't make her angry or scared. Even when she learns Corlath loves her, there is no disblief (since he never showed any affection for her other than sympathy, and that was once).

Even when she learns a man named Tom previously liked her, she seems disconnected.

ANOTHER CULTURE

Harry goes from living in one culture, to another that is supposed to be completely different. It's ruled by a king and believes in magic. And yet there aren't any real differences.

There are no cultural misunderstandings; no practices that seem superstitious (its all backed up by real magic), silly, old fashioned, bigoted, or sexist. Although there is a reference to Coriath seeming kind of bigoted, it's never really brought up. And he is certainly never called out for it. Since his people were the indigenous race, I guess racism towards Harry's race is acceptable.

I felt this was unrealistic, as we all have things we learn about other cultures, often cultures we love, that are sexist or racist. And yet Harry notes no real problems.

A TEACHER

The only other character that Harry gets to know is Mathin, her teacher. He is an older man and we don't learn much about him until much later. Turns out his family has bred horses for generations. I think he has a family. But that's basically it. The usual archetypal relationship is just not there. He isn't loving and full of wisdom. He isn't mysterious with secrets to tell. He is just there so Harry can magically (rather easily) transform into an amazing warrior.

A HORSE & A CAT

Harry ends up with her own horse and a large cat as a friend. For some reason the author goes back and forth, calling the horse by his original name and his translation. It confused me, and for a moment I wondered who she was talking about. Took a few more switches to realize she was referring to the horse.

I love animals in stories because they almost always make the main character likable and sympathetic. But I didn't feel that in this case. I didn't really get the point of the cat. Although he was slightly amusing at times.

A WARRIOR-SPOILERS

After Harry gets a vision of war, she learns she has kelar, which means her ancestors were in common with Coriath's people. She is trained to use a sword and ride a horse while using it. But she is all very indifferent to it. She just says she learned to use it and rely upon it, but not love it like her heroes in children's books. But I never felt her frustration. She should have demanded to know exactly why she had to learn. But she just goes along without a care in the world. And after struggling to mount her horse, everything comes easily. She even admits to being “amazed at her own agility”.

EARNING A SASH

After training with her teacher for six weeks Harry has to fight to earn her sash. It's what proves you have the right to carry a sword. Harry barely has to try in order to win. Eventually she gets annoyed, and then she wins. I just felt like everything came easy for her. She does mention how surprised she was is at how athletic she has become. But none of it feels real.

RELATIONSHIPS-SPOILERS

There are only two people in the entire book that Harry has the chance to have any relationship with. Her teacher, and the king. This makes sense at first, after all she cannot speak their language. But soon she is fluent (another task that seems to come quite easy to her) and there is no excuse for the lack of characters for her to have a friendship with.

Any pretense of relationships are completely unbelievable. Harry hears a story told and bursts out crying and Corlath holds her. It felt completely inconsistent with Harry's character, which is rather stoic and uncaring about being kidnapped. And Corlath seemed to feel nothing at all when it came to Harry. At most he felt annoyance.

They literally have one scene were Corlath shares something about himself. One.

DEDHAM-SPOILERS

When Harry see's Dedham again, he kisses her on the mouth. We don't know why. He had no romantic relationship with her and is much older. It was random and had no effect on Harry or the story.

THE BLUE SWORD

Harry meets a random man who asks how she feels. Which is odd since he is a stranger. She had previously had no real relationships where someone could ever ask her this. So perhaps the author threw this in so Harry could reflect on her feelings. Then he gave her a sword. Also we learn slightly about Corlath, but not much.

CLIMAX

Harry sneaks off and some others come with her (she had no relationship with them prior). I didn't understand why they came. She eventually meets Dedham and defeats an army. The pacing is slow. Corlath shows up and they admit they love each other, besides the fact they have had barely any conversations and barely know anything about each other.

CONCLUSION

The idea is interesting, although not original. But Harry isn't likable, consistently portrayed, or shown with any real flaws. She has no real struggles, and when the author remembers, she suddenly inserts a sentence about her being terrified. Even though she never showed it previously.

The pacing is far too slow and even the battle scene at the climax dragged on too long.

The so called romance between Harry and Corlath was non-existent. Forget romance, they weren't even friends. But to be fair, I found it interesting sometimes. I just got fed up near the climax.

I give “The Blue Sword” one and a half stars.

Book Review: "The Silver Crown" by Robert C. O'brien

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

After Ellen loses her home, she decides to make her way to her aunt. But she lives far away in Kentucky. All she has is the money in her pocket and a strange silver crown that was her birthday gift. But soon she realizes something strange is going on, and the crown is more than it seems.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Ellen isn't that distinctive of a character. She is likable, but I didn't feel very connected to her. Mainly because of the lack of interaction with her family. She is rather naive at first (in fact I kind of thought she was an idiot due to one thing she does) but eventually she becomes smarter and braver near the second half of the book.

Otto is a boy that was adopted by his mother. He lives in a secluded house and is very knowledgeable of the woods. He ends up being a great help to Ellen, providing food and a fire for her as well as many other talents such as discerning an animal print is actually a man's as well as finding a secret path for them to take.

Mr. Carver is a wood carver. Yes, it's not very imaginative. He lives in the woods alone, and ends up becoming an ally to the kids.

THAT WAS FAST-SPOILERS

In the beginning of the book, Ellen wakes up, gets dressed and takes her new crown to the nearby park. I am assuming this park is only five-ten minutes away (or else her parents probably would never let her go there and she wouldn't have been familiar with the way).

She plays ball for a short time, it seems like only five or so minutes. And yet when she rushes back home her entire house in engulfed in flames and everybody is presumed dead. My first thought what was, “Wow. That was fast.” It was a silly thing but it bothered me.

THE TRUTH ABOUT OTTO-SPOILERS

We get little hints that Otto might have a secret or two. But when we find out the truth it's truly bizarre. Turns out that he thinks his mom is poor and helpless so he tricks trucks of food into crashing nearby. She tries telling him that she is not his real mom but he gets too upset.

So...he is kind of mentally ill. Or else I am guessing his mom would have told him not to ever do that again and he would have been disciplined. She says leaving and living with “younger, stronger people” will help him forget her. Somehow I doubt that.

But we don't know why she doesn't simply parent him. Or why she thinks that sending him off with Ellen will help him. Yes, he does turn out to be her guide and she does completely rely on him. I got that, but I thought there needed to be a more thought out reason as to why a mother would let her child go off alone with another kid, that he just met. Especially since she seems to understand that Ellen is in danger.

MRS. FITZPATRICK

When Ellen finally tells Mrs. Fitzpatrick about her crown and how she received it, as well as what has happened to her so far, she instantly believes her. I didn't understand why.

Ellen just lost her family (if she was telling the truth, which a stranger would have no way of knowing). More likely she would believe that Ellen had been abused at her home and ran away. Then concocted a story about them all being dead, and perhaps too earnestly, threw in some details about a cult of green hoods.

But here's the real issue, when Ellen shows her crown Mrs. Fitzpatrick instantly recognizes that it's magic. Because I guess most people believe in magic, or something?

Ellen's story is backed up by the fact that a strange man shows up looking for her, and isn't very friendly. But the rest is quite unbelievable.

A LONG AGO CULT

Mrs. Fitzpatrick ends up being a teacher figure to Ellen and providing her with information about her crown and an old cult she thinks its related to. She mentions she needs a book, so we can assume she got the information from there. The problem is that all of this completely relies on coincidence. Ellen finds Otto in the woods, who takes her to his mom, who happens to have a book about a certain cult that happens to be about her crown.

It would have been better if perhaps Otto had been a classmate of hers, who had mentioned his mom was a professor of cults or something. Although being this was the 1960s and most mothers raised their own children, it would have made more sense to have his father be the one to know this.

CABIN IN THE WOODS-SPOILERS

Ellen and Otto end up meeting an older man named Mr. Carver. Turns out he lives alone with his dog. He ends up defending them from the stranger who is looking for Ellen which isn't unbelievable. After all, the man is rather aggressive and has a gun. Not exactly a father looking for his child.

But what is unbelievable is that he fully realizes that these kids are in trouble...so he sends them away. I get that he says he will guard the road so the stranger cannot come back. But wouldn't it have been wiser to tie up the stranger? Apparently he has no phone, so they cannot call the cops. And no car, so he cannot take the criminal to the cops, or the kids to escape. He could have held him there and let the kids leave. Or better yet, take the man's gun and go with the kids. He could have been a guide.

Also I thought it was strange that we heard something about a “king” and Mr. Carver's dog was named King. Couldn't the author have chosen a different name?

THE GREEN HOODS

There is some planting of an evil group in the beginning of the book. A cop that tries to bring Ellen to the local station has to chase a thief off and he happens to have a green hood. Ellen learns that a lot of crimes have been occurring lately with people wearing these hoods.

There is also another hint, as a man who tries to kidnap Ellen says something about a “king”. So we do get the feeling rather fast that something strange is going on. Just not why Ellen should be involved.

THE SECRET-SPOILERS

Eventually near the end of the book, we start learning about what is actually going on. We learn about children being brainwashed in a secret school, after they are kidnapped.

I actually thought the idea was an interesting one, and the machine that was used was original. Unfortunately is was completely overwhelmed by the cringe-inducing elements that were the methods of brainwashing. If it had just been the machine...but instead we get school lessons where children are taught to be evil by perverted fables.

THE RACE RIOTS

To put things in context, this book was originally written in the 1960s. I didn't know that when I bought it, nor when I read it. There really aren't any overt references to the time period.

Yes, there is lack of mentions of modern technology like the internet and cell phones, but Ellen is a kid. She most likely wouldn't have either of things available to her as she is on the run. Perhaps one can point to the fact that she is rather helpless though most of the time with Otto. In our modern feminist climate, this would probably never occur.

Then enter the brainwashing. We are told that many (maybe even all) of the violence and racism that is taking place now is thanks to the machine.

I thought something as serious of an issue as racism and violence would be dealt with delicately, or perhaps not at all in a childrens' book. I know as a child I hated so called “educational” books where you were preached a message about some incident in the past. The author avoided being preachy...but he just came off as inappropriate. Like he was downplaying the issue and making it silly.

The villains even seem dumb, like when one says if the government restrict firearms they have to learn to use knives. Because crazy cult members bent on destruction can't break laws and just get guns illegally.

CLIMAX

Ellen attempts to rescue Otto and has to face a dangerous machine. She meets the king and learns how it works. She attempts to escape and get the crown but fails. She ends up saving the day another way.

HOW IT WORKS-SPOILERS

Ellen learns about a substance called malignite. I guess because it's malignant. It makes people easy to control for some unknown reason. We also learn about a black crown made of the stuff, that's the twin to Ellen's crown. It's tied back to the figure of St. Jerome but just in a vague way. Apparently some of his followers had cults and studied magic and stuff.

Ellen thinks that the crown is controlling the king, and the machine as well (the machine was discovered from long ago). So the material is rather magical. I do think the idea of a substance that influenced you or possessed you would be interesting to read about. Unfortunately not enough time is given to the subject and it all feels very vague.

REUNITED-SPOILERS

Ellen is told about people kept in a basement. She seems to hope they are who she thinks they are. Turns out there are her parents. Besides the fact that I never saw her parents interact with her or had any flashbacks with them, I didn't understand why Ellen thought they were alive. Why had they been kept alive?

There is no mention of them being used to blackmail Ellen into cooperating with the King. That would have made sense. Or perhaps there should have been a hint that they were alive. Like the fireman revealing that no bodies had been found yet. Or something.

TWO CROWNS

Turns out Ellen's crown is the less evil of the two. I kind of wished it had been just as evil. It would have been interesting for her to have to fight it. And to slowly realize that maybe the crown wasn't all good. Maybe something was off about it. And that would make parting with it all the more hard.

TWO ENDINGS

The book reveals two endings were made, one for the original and one for American readers (who apparently thought clarity would be needed about the crown). In the original ending, no one give any information about the crown and neither Otto nor Ellen seem to care (which feels strange, considering the danger they were both put in because of it). We simply learn that her aunt sent it to her after finding it in Spain. And she doesn't know how the cult found out about it.

In the American ending, there are six pages of information. It does say a lot about the author, that he originally didn't think he needed to explain anything. Questions are asked, like if the machine sensed Ellen, and if it wanted to destroy the other crown. We learn that the crown placed in her house by the cult members and was not from her aunt (making the coincidence of the original ending vanish). And we learn that Ellen had an unusual mind and could use the crown (explaining why the machine did not work on her) but she had to use it willingly and could not be kidnapped.

All of this is essential information and would have been great if hints had been given throughout. Like the fact that Ellen's mind was unusual; Did she have a high IQ? Was she very artistic and talented in some amazing way? Anything. Or the fact that it's mentioned the jewels glowing near the machine like it was interacting with it. It could have made Ellen wonder.

CONCLUSION

Ellen is a likable character that does develop, as she goes from a character that is naive and needs to fully rely on others, to one that ends up doing the rescuing and saving the day. But she doesn't really go through any self-doubt. Nor does she realize when she makes a mistake and chide herself, like when she trusts a stranger (in fact she keeps trusting strangers, but just gets lucky).

Otto on the other hand is the perfect guide and likable as well. But his backstory is ridiculous and is never resolved. He never realizes his mom is not his mom and admits to his past mistakes.

And the villains' plans are cheesy and based on vague concepts that we don't have time to dive into. I actually enjoyed a lot of it, even with all of these faults. Mainly because I found Ellen and Otto's journey through the woods rather interesting and well paced. It was just the cult that did me in. As well as the lack of logic and details. I give “The Silver Crown” two stars.

Book Review: "Silvertongue" by Charlie Fletcher

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

George has brought something back with him from when he went to rescue Edie. Something evil. So it's up to him and his friends to stop it. Meanwhile Edie unravels the mysterious past of her mother.

PACING

The pacing is not really slow, I just felt that parts pertaining to side characters that were just introduced were kind of boring. Even if many of them were short parts, I felt they dragged the story down slightly. George still has plenty of action while Edie's story pulls us along by its suspense.

EDIE'S MOM-SPOILERS

We learn about how Edie's stepfather died finally. While Edie learns some surprising things about her mom. This does help her gain closure. She forgives her mom and realizes she only wanted to protect her daughter. It was tragic event to witness but it was nice that Gunner was there for her.

THE QUEEN'S WARNING

In the beginning of the book, the Queen confides in George. Turns out she is worried about Edie. She says dying has changed her. And yet I don't think Edie actually changes at all. She is the same stubborn girl, going off on her own and doing whatever she wants.

I almost felt like this was a plot point that was forgotten. Everything that comes from her mouth seems vague. Like how George and Edie are connected and something about ancient magic...or something. And she also mentions having lost girls before who were glints. But we never learn of them. So it felt empty.

VAGUE HISTORY

We get to learn a history lesson about where the ice devil came from. It's evil, and it was put away long ago, and now it's free. That's the gist.

BALANCE IN THE UNIVERSE

There is a running theme of balance having once existed in the universe. George is told he ruined the balance when he destroyed the dragon statue. And later on, he is told for every George there is a dragon. It sounded great when it was yelled by George later on but I didn't understand any of it.

Why did there need to be balance? Balance between good and evil I assume, but good and evil have been interpreted differently since humans have existed. Do we decide if things are balanced because of our idea of good and evil? And if its not us (since there are hints that there are goddesses and other forces at work) who decides what's good and evil?

And most of the explanation is given directly to the reader, and not even to George. Who doesn't seem to care to know why and how this so called “balance” exists.

GEORGE'S MOTHER

George randomly reveals that he has forgiven his mother for neglecting him and basically leaving him all alone after his father's death. He doesn't give any real reasons. He just says after the WWI experience, where he inexplicably felt better about his dad's death, he felt better about his mom.

I found this a lame attempt at wrapping up his problems. It just doesn't make any sense. He babbles about that's just how she is, maybe because she is an actress? In comparison to Edie, it was as if the author wasn't even trying. Like he decided Edie would get a long mystery full of suspense and George would get action scenes. So he better just throw that thing in there about his mom.

If there had been a few flashbacks where he realized the bad relationship wasn't all his mom's fault, that would have been better. Better yet, have involved her in the story somehow. She is in one scene throughout the entire series, and it's just a short phone call.

MORE STATUES

There are some other statues that make an appearance and help George. There is a scene between ones called “young soldier” and “old soldier” as well as the Clocker and the Queen of America. I think there was someone named Shack. I didn't care about any of them to be honest.

SPOUT

Gunner and Edie meet Spout, and George admits he is a friend. And he named him. The Queen doesn't seem surprised, saying the naming made him a special gargoyle. And Gunner just goes with it.

He barely even bats an eye. The fact that he has been at war with taints for so long and never heard of one changing sides was rather unbelievable. He should at least showed some skepticism. I mean, wasn't this an anomaly? In the first book, when Gunner tells George about taints and spits, he draws a firm line between them.

Also, we never learn more about how naming is so important. We just assume it is because the Queen says so.

EDIE & GEORGE

Edie does learn a lot in this book and it causes her to reevaluate her mother and the negative feelings she had for her. Basically she forgives her and lets go of the anger that has been with her for so long.

The problem is...she never really gives George any of the details. She only mentions one thing she learned that has to do with him.

Once again, they are apart for most of the book, just like last time. So there isn't any development between them. I was disappointed, because I knew this was their last chance to actually further develop their relationship. Especially when Edie says she has to find her Mom, basically implying that she is alive. And yet there is no conflict between her and George. He doesn't' worry that she is wrong and is setting herself up for heartache.

WHAT IF?

I mentioned I had wished that George had regretted his choice to choose the “hard way” or at least doubted himself. He finally does it in this book. But it lasts for about a page and a half and Edie doesn't even respond.

I ONLY BELIEVE IN ME

Edie reveals how a bird saved her in her dream. And yet she tells the Queen she doesn't believe in goddesses or anything. Only herself. It just feels laughable, like she is being stubborn for no reason.

Statues can talk and move, she can see the past, travel through mirrors and George has a mutating arm. But when the Queen says the Raven that Edie freed is from Norse mythology she doesn't believe her. And to make it worse, the Raven decides to stay with Edie on her shoulder. The whole scene was funny, but in a bad way.

THE BLACK FRIAR

The friar returns and plays a crucial role involving Edie. But I was honestly disappointed in his character. When we first met him, he seemed mysterious and we didn't trust him. We were told not to. And yet we were never betrayed, or led to believe we were betrayed only to reveal it was all just a misunderstanding. I suppose we were supposed to be shocked when instead she was betrayed by someone else, but this character was a minor one and I couldn't say I was surprised. It's not as if we knew him well.

I liked how he protected Edie in the last book, but I still don't know why he did it. I almost wish they had made the Black friar go into the memories, instead of Gunner. So maybe Gunner could develop his relationship with George, and Edie with the friar. And maybe she could trust him, but George didn't and this could have added conflict to the story.

THE DRAGON

Turns out there is a statue of a dragon and he is the only one who is not evil. So he decides to help Gunner and George fight. I think the idea was an interesting one but the explanation is kind of vague. The dragon says he was the only one who wasn't corrupted.

DICTIONARY JOHNSON

Johnson is back in the story and he ends up protecting George in a fight. I know I was supposed to be shocked and sad at the outcome, but I wasn't. I just didn't feel like there was that close of a relationship between the two of them. The only statue he is close to is Gunner. The others are just minor characters.

CLIMAX

George and Edie work together to defeat the ice devil. The world starts moving again and then they head home to start their new lives together.

THE WALKER'S END

After defeating the Ice Devil, George manages to kill the Walker. I think it was supposed to comic relief after the serious fight. But I thought it was kind of lame. I get that Walker wasn't the main villain in this book, but he was seriously evil in the last two. And to make his ending the butt of a joke seemed to disrespect a character they had built up in the last story.

CONCLUSION

By far the best part of the book is Edie. Her story is a mystery full of suspense and tragedy and I was never bored.

Unfortunately, many of the same mistakes of the last book were made again, mainly Edie and George lacking any real relationship development by not having much time together. And George being neglected regarding his family problems. While I found his healing over his dad confusing (since his sacrifice would have seemed to bring him closer to Gunner) his healing over his absent mother was completely illogical.

Also, I didn't care about any of the side characters or understand their motivation (such as Dictionary when he protects George or the Queen who wants to protect Edie). Many new characters felt like they were thrown in for no reason.

I give “Silvertongue” two and a half stars.

Book Review: "Ironhand" by Charlie Fletcher

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

George and Edie need to rescue the Gunner but they don't know where to start. Things get complicated when they get separated. Not to mention the Walker is busy sending taints after them.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

George decided to take the hard way. But he didn't know exactly what that meant. Since he spends most of his time away from both the Gunner and Edie we don't see much in the way of relationship development. He still cares about both of them, but his attempt to sacrifice for Gunner falls flat. I kind of wish he had debated if his idea to follow the “hard way” had been a mistake. Or at least realized he had been ignorant about the consequences.

Edie shares some of her past with George, but since she spends most of the story away from him, their relationship still feels lacking. Especially in comparison to the first story. But I do feel like she is much more the focus of this story than George.

Gunner has for the most part, his own story. He doesn't reunite with George and Edie until near the climax. We do see how emotional he gets, regarding the fates of the glints. Also how resourceful he is regarding his escape.

Walker is still the main villain, but he isn't in the story much. We get little snippets of him in many short chapters. It sets up some suspense, but other times I just felt bored by it.

Queen is a statue that seems to see the importance of Edie and her gift. I didn't really like or dislike her.

THREE STORIES

The Gunner has his own story for most of the book. While Edie and George end up separating half way through. So they both get different stories which I suppose helps the pacing.

I think Edie's story is quite important, as we learn about her mother and her past. As well as some of Edie's past. But except for the discovery about how evil the Walker is, I wasn't really interested in his story.

And George's story may have been fast paced, but I don't feel like I got much crucial information to the plot. But to be fair, it was really action packed in the chase scenes. And rather original as well.

EDIE & GEORGE

Since they don't spend lots of time together, there wasn't necessarily a lot of development between their relationship. They do clearly care about each others fates in the climax.

And before that they do argue about their feelings. Edie says she feels cursed and asks if he does. George thinks of his father and the cruel words he said. He eventually reveals this, and Edie laughs at him. So there is some tension between them. But after Edie reveals the truth about her father, the tension deflates.

NAMING A SPIT

George ends up getting attacked by a spit he named “Spout”. Mistakenly, he believes that the spit wants the broken head of the statue. Turns out he just wants his spout, and he wants to be fixed. George suspects that Spout is special because he was named.

But this isn't really explained. I like the idea of him having an ally, but the fact that the spout spoke strangely was kind of annoying. I would have rather he couldn't speak, or he spoke more simplistic, but clear words.

A DUEL TO THE DEATH-SPOILERS

George accidentally agrees to take part in three tests. The first is the face the statue of a knight on horseback.

FOR THE GUNNER-SPOILERS

George's second task turns out preventing the Gunner from dying. He learns that if he heads to the plinth and stands on it before midnight, he can save his friend. But by doing so he will experience what the Gunner experiences: the memories of a WWI soldier. I liked the idea of him having to do something for the Gunner, since no one actually rescues him.

But when George experiences this, he still retains his old memories. So he knows that essentially none of this is real. I felt like that completely missed the point. If he knew he had no risk of dying, going to war for a few hours wasn't terrifying at all.

GEORGE'S FATHER-SPOILERS

George ends up meeting a soldier who has his father's face. Because of this, after the event, George explains that he feels better about his father. This made no sense to me and just felt lazy. Yes, he has matured, by deciding to risk his life for others. And that could translate to realizing the mistake he made as a child had nothing to do with his father's death.

EDIE'S PAST

Probably the most important aspect of the book, we dive into the past of her mother, as Edie learns all sorts of secrets. I found this the most interesting and most suspenseful. Edie learns to let her mother go, as well as to forgive and respect her. It was almost like all of the time was spent on Edie's mother so that George's father was ignored.

THE BLACK FRIAR-SPOILERS

When Edie ends up in trouble, the Black Friar ends up risking his own life. It was surprising to wonder what his motivation is. But I hoped that she would develop a relationship with him that was similar to the Gunner's. Either way, I was glad to see Edie surprised at his kindness.

THE ORIGINS OF THE UNIVERSE

Edie is betrayed and ends up with a strange woman who used to be a glint. She ends up spinning some story about the origin of the universe that seems kind of vague at first. As though little thought went into to it. Just the basic, darkness versus the light.

But it evolves into the idea that the pagans moved from sacrificing people (they thought killing people would make it easier to make a statue) to only asking for a spot of blood (that was nice of them) when they made their statues. Sounds logical.

But the first time a spot of blood was used the boy dies (because the dagger was flint so it was evil. I guess) and the bond between maker and statue was forever made.

It was interesting but also kind of awkward. It left me with a lot of questions that Edie doesn't bother to ask. I do felt that some thought went into it, just not much. And I didn't add “spoilers” because this seems to have no effect on the story. Edie never tells George because she doesn't seem to think it's important either.

A BETRAYAL

George ends up being saved by a statue of woman, named Ariel. She is rather strange, but seems harmless. But she ends up taking George to the knight and then not allowing him to leave. George is shocked at her behavior, because she seems so nice. But we only knew her for a few minutes. So I didn't feel anything real shock, maybe just annoyance.

GEORGE'S HAND

George learns from the knight about his ironhand. He tries to worm out some information about it, but he doesn't learn that much.

TIPS FROM DAD

While trying to escape the knight, George remembers him and his dad and how they used to play rugby. I thought it was sweet, and a nice effort to incorporate it into the story. But in the end, with the addition of his father as a soldier, it just felt half-hearted.

CLIMAX

Gunner and George are reunited. Edie tries to escape the Walker but ends up being confronted by him. When George realizes what the Walker did to Edie, he goes after and tries to kill him. But the Queen stops him.

CONCLUSION

My favorite part of the first story is the relationship between Edie and George. So what I dislike is that for a large portion of the story is that they spend time apart. But to be fair, we do learn a lot about Edie and her past.

I just feel like there is no part where Edie takes George aside in confides in him about what everything the reader has just learned. And while we learn about Edie that helps her develop her character (or at least push her to where she has to decide what she really wants) we don't resolve anything with George. He just gets over his dad's death like that and we move on.

And I wasn't that interested in Gunner's story. And We still don't learn anything about the Walker (remember the flash of history that we got from Edie last time?).

I give “Ironhand” three and a half stars.

Book Review: "Stoneheart" by Charlie Fletcher

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

While on a school trip, twelve year old, George Chapman breaks a statue and suddenly becomes aware of statues that can move and talk. And hurt him. Suddenly he is dragged into another side of London he has never seen with a statue called “Gunner” to guide him. And a young girl named Edie with secrets of her own.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

George is a loner without any friends. He doesn't seem to have any goals other than staying out of trouble. And when he discovers the truth about the statues, he rightly freaks out. My main draw to him was sympathy at first. We learn about his father and eventually his neglected relationship with his mother.

Gunner is a statue of a soldier. He ends up being George's guide and protector. He isn't delicate in his manner and doesn't do much to calm George at first. But it becomes obvious he cares for the boy.

Edie is a mysterious and stubborn girl. She is rather bold and a little rough around the edges which causes friction between her and pretty much everyone. Eventually we learn the truth about her abilities and her circumstances. But I felt sympathy before that because of her obvious desire for truth and her being accused of being bad luck.

The Walker seems to be the villain in the book. He is introduced in small portions, getting his own chapters but not revealing much about who he actually is until the end.

The Black Friar provides knowledge about the mysterious “stoneheart” that the sphinxes tell George about. But he also seems overly eager to know about the whereabouts of George's part of the broken statue.

PACING

The pacing is fast throughout most of the book. There are small portions of rest, such as the beginning, the rest period when George goes home, and the rest period for George and Edie. But in between is mostly action.

And all of these rest periods are where we learn important information. The beginning is an introduction to who George is; When George returns home we learn about his relationship with his mother; When George and Edie recover from being wet, they learn important information about the Stone Heart.

Although there are scenes with action that multi-task, such as when George and Edie are running and she confronts him about his abandoning her.

SUSPENSE

There are various cliffhanger endings for chapters. As well as cliffhanger endings for paragraphs. We witness the death. We see someone being sneaked up on and taken away. And Edie even reveals a surprising truth to a George who thinks he is safe at home. This suspense helps keep the pace fast too.

FAMILY TIES-SPOILERS

George's parents have split up and he never gets to see his dad. All the while his mom is busy with her new career as an actress. We see that he spends a lot of time alone, while the neighbor lady checks in on him sometimes. This is his routine, and its obvious he feels like no one cares. But he doesn't want to talk about it. He admits everyone asks how he is but he refuses to talk.

POV SWITCHES

After Edie is introduced, George and her separate. We see parts of the story from her perspective, but when she and George stay together, the perspective becomes omniscient. We are in George's head, but we suddenly switch to Edie's.

I didn't necessarily mind it. Sometimes it helped us get to know the characters better. Sometimes it didn't.

Also, there are secrets involving both George and Edie. So it was interesting that we still got to go in their heads, and yet not learn too much about them.

THE MARK OF THE MAKER

After being attacked by a monster, George discovers a mark on his hand. He doesn't understand what I means. Eventually we learn it's the mark of the “maker” but not much is clarified. But it somehow makes George special.

THE WORLD

George learns about different types of living statues, some are called “spits” like the Gunner, and others are called “taints”. As well as how they can die, and how the maker's intention create their personalities. So the Gunner has all the memories of one that fought in WWI.

The creatures that populate this world are unique, scary and some are even creepy. Some are helpful, even saving the main characters' lives. While others are helpful but suspicious. My only complain was feeling like I knew too litle (especially about the walker, who we just get little snippets of for a long time). I mean we do learn new things throughout the book, but I was dying to know more. But perhaps since this a series, I can forgive it for that.

EDIE & GEORGE

The two main characters compliment each other as they both have been hurt greatly in the past. But neither want to reveal this for fear of showing their weakness.

The two of them are at odds for at least half of the book. It doesn't help that Edie is naturally defensive and aggressive. And when George learns what Edie is, and the reputation of what she is, it doesn't help.

They eventually learn to respect each other, even opening up about their lives. George starts to understand why she acts so angry, and what it is hiding.

THE HEART OF EDIE

Edie ends up lending an important item of hers to George. But when he loses it, she is furious. Her reaction seems overblown to George. Until Gunner explains that is a part of Edie because of her gifts.

I understood then, but I felt like Edie should have explained it to him. Or maybe she didn't know? But if not, then why was her reaction so strong? I wish she would have realized how dumb it had been to give to George. Instead of just getting mad at him.

NOT A VICTIM

George is portrayed rather sympathetic from the start. He just wants to avoid trouble; He misses his dad but wont talk about it. And when he gets in trouble on a school trip he feels so overwhelmed that he almost cries. This kind of reaction could be annoying if it happened all throughout the book (we get one other reference to him crying).

And although George does wrestle with the idea of fighting or running away all the way up to the climax, the book doesn't paint the whole world against him. Yes, his teacher was a jerk. And his relationship with his mom is neglected. But his lack of sharing his feelings about his dad and his mom are his own fault. And what happened to his dad was not an evil scheme against him. It just happened.

Because of this George is likable. And he feels real. He has flaws, some that he won't admit. He blames himself for things that are not his fault. He is too afraid to confide in his mom. He fears getting hurt more than anything so he doesn't even try to make friends.

He isn't a generic hero who never really seems to have flaws, who doesn't make mistakes and who doesn't get scared (there a surprising amount of these).

THE WAR

I was confused about how George breaking a statue at the begininning of the book was so bad. We finally learn from someone called the “Clocker” that there has been a tentative peace between the spits and the taints and his breaking a statue just destroyed it. I wondered if any other statues had ever been destroyed though. Had any other person ever gotten involved. But this issue isn't addressed.

EDIE'S VISIONS-SPOILERS

Edie has the ability to see the past. Because of this she is distrustful and we do eventually learn just how this ability affected her greatly in the past. She can also sense moods of places, as she recalls one area of the city is full of death.

Also, she sees a vision of the Walker's past. But I didn't really feel like I learned anything earth shattering from her. And sometimes I was more confused what her visions had to do with anything, instead of intrigued.

USE OF HUMOR

Although the book is mostly serious, there are various uses of humor throughout. Edie tends to be sassy and she made me smile on more than on occasion. The kids meet a statue that is called Dictionary Johnson and is so wordy that he is hard to understand. The Gunner is blunt and often jokes.

CLIMAX

Edie and George face a Minotaur and meet the Walker for the first time. George uses his unique skill to defeat the minotaur, but he doesn't do it alone. And then he has to make an important decision for the future.

EDIE'S REACTION-SPOILERS

When George is ready to return the stoneheart, he learns some hard truths about what will happen. He feels bad for Edie, as he remembers she will still be here in this mess. Still seeing spits and taints. And he will be free to return to his regular life. In fact he has no chance to ever see her again.

There is a running strain of Edie hating the pity that George has on her. You can tell she is closed off and and starts to respect and like George even though she doesn't want to. She reacts to his debating about whether or not to even return to stoneheart by hitting him. I suppose this wasn't par from the course, but I was kind of annoyed with her.

She had been angry and violent for a while, and I thought it was time that she reacted differently. Perhaps the author thought that would have been too big of a change. But I kind of wish she had revealed her being upset and surprised, rather than just angry. Maybe confused, that someone she had known for two days was unwilling to leave her behind.

CONCLUSION

Fletcher creates an original story with likable characters with secrets and layers of feelings that we learn about the more we read. George and Edie's relationship grow from dislike, to respect, to friendship. But it's not an easy ride. The story is fast paced while the world is detailed and full of mysteries. I give “Stoneheart” four stars.