With this post, it’s a Happy Hodgepodge Day! What have you
been reading this year?
Chain of Iron (Mar.
2, 2021) by Cassandra Clare.
Fantasy/supernatural
young-adult fiction.
*This is the middle novel in a trilogy.*
It should be a life that glitters. Cordelia Carstairs is
engaged to James Herondale, whom she’s secretly loved since childhood, and he’s
a handsome Shadowhunter to boot. She’s living her life in London alongside her
best friend, Lucie Herondale, her father will soon reunite with the family, and
she enjoys the company of the Merry Thieves. In addition to James, the charming
group includes Matthew Fairchild, Thomas Lightwood and Christopher Lightwood.
But the truth is not dazzling.
Cordelia’s marriage is a sham, as James is in love with the beautiful but
mysterious Grace Blackthorn and whose brother, Jesse, died years ago when his
rune ceremony did not take. Cordelia’s brother (Alastair) abhors their father,
and their father has become a bitter, angry man. Cordelia’s sword, forged by
the famed weapons maker Wayland the Smith and christened Cortana, is reacting
against her (it burns) and a serial murderer is targeting London’s
Shadowhunters. Cordelia, James, Lucie, the Merry Thieves and others of the
London Institute follow the trail of the killer and try to keep watch over the
streets once darkness has fallen each night. They all do their part even as
they each have their own secrets to harbor: Cordelia’s dangerous oath to an
entity that is not who she thought, Lucie’s plan to raise Jesse from the dead
(necromancy is a no-no) and James’ fear that he’s the one doing the killing at
night. There are chains of iron, and they are heavy.
The second
in The Last Hours trilogy is full of
magic and mayhem and is contained in a tome-like novel. Obviously my own
opinion, but the novel doesn’t need to be as long as it is. There do not need
to be so many dramatics – to be fair, I’ve never been into soap operas, even in
book form – and tangents from the main plot. That said, regular fans of Clare’s
Shadowhunters’ novels will have long read this one and added it to their
collections. Yes, there’s drama over love, but there’s suffering and plenty of
bloodshed, which means there’s lots of action, adventure and the sorts of
struggles that come with unrequited love. So, for a fantasy/supernatural YA
novel featuring romance, pretty standard stuff. Now, go grab your seraph blades
and other impressive weaponry and get rid of the demons. It’ll make for a
stinking mess of ichor, but sometimes life is messy.
Book One:
Chain of Gold
Granny Bricks a Bandit (Feb. 18, 2019) by Julie Seedorf.
Humor/adult
fiction/easy reading.
*This is the sixth book in a series.*
If there is a dead body to be found in Fuchsia, Minnesota,
one can be certain that Hermiony Vidalia Criony Fiddlestadt Crickett, better
known as Granny, will find it. And find one she does … while waterskiing, of
course! Sleuthing radar on high alert, Granny is ready to identify the “soggy
sap” and catch the killer. Granny teams up with her usual cronies, including
her best friend, Mavis, and twin sister, Amelia. Her husband, Silas, wants her
to keep her nose out of the investigation, but Granny listens to no one but
herself. A side excursion takes Granny and company to the Mall of America (via
the shoulder of the road), where they hear of another dead body, and the victim is (was) a Fuchsia resident!
Along with a rising body count, Mavis’ fiancé, George, goes missing, but Mavis
is sure she sees him at the Mall of America, sneaking through the backdoor of
Granny’s house and exiting the Go Belly Up Casino, while, another time, Granny
thinks she sees him sneaking into the mausoleum. Is George evading the law and
everyone else because he’s played a part in the murders? What does he know?
A local author,
Julie Seedorf creates another tale featuring “sleek, unique, quirky and perky”
Granny. A simple mystery, it is nonetheless filled with humor and cheekiness.
For anyone wanting a story with grand world-building, weighty issues and a
complex plot, you’ll want to seek another book. Mavis, perhaps predispositioned
to be dramatic with her love of making her own reality TV shows, is often
overly dramatic, and Granny’s won’t-listen-to-anyone-else bulldozer antics got
on my nerves after a time. If it’s possible, future installments should be
proofread before publishing. Still, for fans of Seedorf’s Fuchsia, Minnesota series, I’d expect this one to be met with many
grins and perhaps laughter, too.
Favorite
quote: “He will corrupt this town with sameness.” -- Granny, despairing over
what will happen if her brother, Abraham, becomes mayor of Fuchsia
Inspirational/historical
fiction.
*This is the first
novel in a series.*
In this tale of two Elizabeths (for real, there are two),
Lady Elizabeth “Libby” Sinclair has fled to the Isles of Scilly (primarily the
islands of St. Mary’s and Tresco). She’s defying her brother and summering
there with her lady’s maid, Mabena Moon, who hails from the Scillies. Libby is
unlike other ladies of her station. Instead of whiling away her days at
parties, she’d rather spend her days in nature, sketching flora and fauna and
studying slides under her microscope. She is considered eccentric within
society. She’s also been mistaken for Elizabeth “Beth” Tremayne, whose
whereabouts are unknown and secrets are possibly endangering to her/others.
Beth’s brother, Oliver Tremayne, a gentleman and a clergyman who loves botany,
is determined to find his younger sister and learn what she’s been up to. He’s unprepared
to find that the Elizabeth letting the cottage on St. Mary’s isn’t his sister,
but a Lady Elizabeth he met years previously, one who shares his love of
botany, and whom he didn’t at first realize was the young lady of the house,
sitting in the dirt as she was. The hunt for Beth will involve more than nature
walks for Oliver, Libby, Mabena and Casek Wearne (he’s smitten with Mabena and
lets her know it), as Oliver also worries about Mamm-wynn (Grandma), whose memory isn’t what it once was, though
she is so attuned to her “spiritual lens.” Libby and Oliver will uncover a
legend surrounding a pirate wreck, but the most interesting thing they will
uncover is the mysterious phenomenon known as love.
The first
in The Secrets of the Isles series
takes place in 1906. If you make the mistake of judging the book by its pretty,
serene cover, you’ll miss out on the adventure of the story. Tas-gwyn (Grandpa) Gibson may be good at
telling tales, but his story about the vice admiral of a pirate fleet perhaps
isn’t as make-believe as others presume. While there is appreciation of nature,
love and faith, there, too, is secrecy, threatening intimidation and actual
danger. The beauty of the story reads like soothing breezes on a warm day,
while the intensity within the story is rollicking like a boat in active,
possibly angry, waters. It is not a frivolous story, but one with depth
complementing lightness … and a bit of mayhem thrown in.
Fun fact:
Per the author’s Instagram account, she shared that her model for the character
of Oliver was Ben Barnes. Like the author, I’ve been a fan of Ben Barnes since
watching him portray Prince/King Caspian in the “Narnia” movies.
The Night Before
Groundhog Day (Dec. 24, 2019) by Natasha Wing.
Amy Wummer, illustrator.
Children’s picture
book.
*The author has numerous books in her Night Before series.*
Anticipation builds as Groundhog Day nears. The class makes
its predictions, and the day comes as a celebration. There’s music and a news
reporter; revelry is in the air. One child wants spring to come early and
another loves snow. Will the groundhog see his shadow? Will there be six more
weeks of winter?
Told in the
vein of “’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” Wing’s book is expectedly adorable
in its rhyming scheme while maintaining youthful simplicity. It’s a story meant
to be enjoyed and not toiled over for deep, meaningful or hidden lessons.
Middle-grade mythology/fantasy.
*This is a standalone novel.*
Yá’át’ééh (Navajo hello)! Welcome to Dinétah. Is it totally normal to be a seventh grader that can now
detect monsters? No? Well, Nizhoni (pronounced Nih-JHOH-NIH) Begay can, and
she’s got her sights set on a pale man with thin blond hair wearing a black
suit and tie (monsters wear human skin fairly often). Nizhoni is trying to
focus on her basketball game at Intertribal Community Charter School (ICCS and
pronounced icks), but red monster
eyes are distracting. It turns out that the monster goes by Mr. Charles, and
he’s the new boss for their dad. Their
also includes her brother Marcus (Mac) (they’re only 10 months apart). When
their dad gets a secret message onto an apple telling the kids to RUN!, they take
the train. Nizhoni’s best friend, Davery Dallas Descheny, goes with them, as
does her once-a-stuffed-animal horned toad named Mr. Yazzie (short for Theodous
Alvin Yazzie). He talks. He explains that the siblings are the latest
incarnations of the Hero Twins (they get that from their mom’s side of the
family). This means they are the descendants of Changing Woman and have her
sons’ powers: Nizhoni is Monsterslayer and Mac is Born for Water. They must
visit the Four Sacred Mountains, gathering an item from each place, and find
Spider Woman (no relation to Peter Parker). And then they must reach the House
of the Sun (Jóhonaa’éí = the sun) by
way of enduring the trials of the Rainbow Road in order to procure weapons to
defeat ancient monsters. Will Nizhoni become the monsterslayer she’s supposedly
destined to be? Or will she wind up in the Lost and Found?
I read that
the author turned to her husband’s Navajo (or Diné) heritage for this story, and it is undoubtedly a thrilling
adventure. The antagonists fell a bit flat for me, but it’s easily overlooked
with the novel’s steadfast blend of humor, fast-paced writing, and, of course, the
presence of a strong female protagonist. The theme of family and culture are
vital to the story. It’s as educational as it is entertaining. Should I someday
visit the southwest, as is on my bucket list, you better know I’m going to seek
out Navajo Nation. How intriguing it’ll be to speak with a Navajo culture
keeper to hear traditional stories! All ages should be reading this story; it
should be in all of the libraries, especially school libraries. A tale of heart
and magic like this should not be ignored. Native stories of all kinds NEED to
be known and shared.
One of the
many things I learned while reading this story is that the Navajo people like
to know who you are, even if you’re not Navajo. So, in introducing herself to
Rock Crystal Boy (RC), Nizhoni says, “Yá’át’ééh. My name is Nizhoni Begay. My
mother’s clan is Towering House. My father’s clan is Bitter Water. My maternal
grandfather’s clan is the Mud People clan, and my paternal grandfather’s clan
is the Crystal Rock people.”
P.S. I want
a plate of Spaghettini Macaravioli. (That is spaghetti, macaroni and ravioli
covered in red sauce.)