This book is as thick as a brick. And yet, one can read it in a matter of hours.
Brian Selznick, best known for his book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, has done it again. This time, he mixes two stories, set decades apart. Ben is a boy growing up on Gunflint Lake, Minnesota and dealing with a tragic loss. Rose lives just outside New York City and fights the restrictions that are imposed upon her due to her deafness. Rose's story is told in pictures, Ben's story is written.
Sitting alone in a quiet house and reading Wonderstruck, I almost forgot I could hear. The parallel stories pulled me along from the very beginning; Selznick wastes no time introducing us to the conflict. Elements of mystery combine with themes of parentlessness and finding home in striking simplicity. And I was so happy about the ending.
Speaking of the end of the book, I loved Selznick's acknowledgments. WHEN you read this book, don't skip the pages after "the end."
***
This book is a Cybils nominee in the Graphic Novels category. The above review represents my own opinion, and not the assessment of the Cybils round one panel.
After Sleeping Beauty is cursed at her christening, her parents are taking no chances with her little sister. They consult a fairy with a good reputation before Annabelle is very old at all and she is given a strange gift: magic cannot touch her, for good or for bad.
Of course, this has interesting consequences when Gwen's curse comes true, putting everyone (except Annie) in a deep sleep for 100 years. Annie sets off to find Gwen's true love and happens to find her own as well.
This was a very fun book -- just what I needed when I picked it up. It has an easy humor and likeable lead characters. Some of the other characters were a bit two-dimensional, but the book was very much plot-driven, so that doesn't stand in the way of a good time. In general I prefer character-driven fiction, so in the midst of all the action I occasionally wondered "but what does she think of that?" Still, a fast paced and fun read.
There's a scene near the beginning that I think is my favorite: Annie's first encounter with a witch in the woods, who ends up chucking Annie's lunch into a bush. Cracked me up.
Recommended to fans of fairy tale retellings -- the book touches on more than just the sleeping beauty story.
A blast from the past. . . My review from March 21, 2008:
The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex, 423 pages, 2007. Winner of the SF/F Elementary/Middle Grade category of the Cybils. There is a great description of it there. Basically, it is hilarious. But what do you expect with a girl named Gratuity, a cat named Pig, and an alien named J.Lo? Their illegal hovercar is only the start! Recommended to fans of The Hitchhiker's Guide and/or humans ages ~10+. A must-read.
I recently re-read this one. I had forgotten just how funny it was! Not only are there really funny things happening, but Tip's voice is so snarky. On top of that you get to see Tip and J.Lo's relationship change as they come to understand one another better. I think it's a very relevant story as far as living in these crazy times.
Also, I heard that Adam Rex is writing another novel, however this new one will be sans illustrations. I'm looking forward to it!
I have just now officially come back to life as we know it—year 2008—not a dragon, elf, or magical sword in sight. Where have I been for the past few days? Buried deep in the latest installment of Christopher Paolini’s “Inheritance” trilogy-that’s-now-a-quadrology. I know, I’m a little late on the draw. The book’s been out for a few months, but such is its popularity that my name just came up on the library’s reserve list for Brisingr a few days ago. So tonight I finished reading. My assessment: Good. Yep. Just good.
My quarrels with the book are these: Sometimes the writing is too self-conscious. You know, when you’re reading a book and you’re suddenly picturing how the author came up with that particular turn of phrase to describe that scene instead of living in the scene itself? That’s self-conscious writing. It’s a semi-jarring experience that authors should avoid submitting their readers to.
Quarrel number two: way too much violence. But that’s just my opinion. And it’s the opinion of a girl who, when she saw the first Lord of the Rings, thought she was physically going to die, right there in her theater seat, it was so scary. But still, all the mention of “gore” and “grey matter” and “smearing/dripping/spurting/squirting/drenching/etc. blood” and “smashing/crushing/etc. bones” and all the limb severing was a little more than I could stomach. I mostly let my eyes drift over those parts, of which there were many. This is definitely not a book I’d recommend to anyone under the age of fifteen or so. In my case, under the age of twenty-four.
Quarrel number three: If I was really in love with this series, I probably would’ve lapped up all the extra detail and all the extensive information about, well, everything. But since I just like the series, it felt a tiny bit excessive to me. The first thirty-plus pages of the book (I lost count at thirty) were just a conversation between Eragon and his cousin Roran. No action, just talking. As an editor, I can tell you that I’ve been trained to hack and slash when authors do that. But since he’s an established author and it’s an established and well-loved and much-anticipated series, he definitely has the freedom to do some rule bending, no doubt about it.
Aside from that, and if you’re still even reading my own TMI post, it was a good, enjoyable, fantasy-thriller book. I’m excited to see how it ends, but I guess I’ll just put that one on the back burner, since I and all the other “Inheritance” fans probably have a couple-year wait ahead of us.
How does someone go up, and not come down? Salim got on the London Eye, in a sealed capsule that took a half hour to view London. When the doors opened, he couldn't be found.
This was a very cool mystery. Part of what made it cool was the mystery itself, which has a fabulous twist near the end that confirms (or disproves) your theories and then throws them all out anyway. The other part of what makes it cool is the protagonist. Ted is a kid whose brain works with a different operating system, and it's just cool seeing the world through his eyes a little bit. Oh, also cool because it is an international book, being set in London and written across the pond and such.
The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd is a Cybils nominee, and I recommend it to mystery lovers of all ages and especially Lydia.
Rapunzel's Revenge Shannon and Dean Hale, illustrated by Nathan Hale, 2008, 144 pages.
Let me start off by saying I just can't get enough of Shannon Hale. This is her seventh book (not counting her addition to the compilation First Kiss then tell) and I've devoured every one. So, I had really really high expectations for this book.
Wow! Expectations met and exceeded! I haven't read many graphic novels (which are comic book style publications), only about four if you are counting the Babymouse series as one. But this one is the best graphic novel I have read.
Why do I love it? Great plot -- Rapunzel has escaped from the tower unaided and decided to put an end to the witch's evil doings. Great characters -- Rapunzel has spunk and heart, Jack has guts and gentility, and they both have hilarious wit. The villains and monsters of the story are memorable and formidable. Great illustrations -- one of my favorites is of young Rapunzel when she thinks she has won an argument with the witch. The illustrations are also full color and a true treat for the eyes.
Things I didn't like: Hmmm, thinking. . . nope. I got nuthin'.
Read it! Love it! Great for people 8+ of both genders.
Wonderstruck by Brain Selznick
