Monday, January 19, 2009

Hale, Pratchett, and Westerfeld

Princess Academy, Shannon Hale, is a cute story with another medaeval mountain maiden in a magic world, but had a few problems and wasn't as enjoyable as Book of a Thousand Days. ETA: I also read Goose Girl, which I like almost as well as Book of a Thousand Days. I love fairy tales, and this is a creative, sweet retelling.

Eric, Terry Pratchett, enjoyable as always and I enjoyed the satiric take on some literary classics, like Faust and the Oddesey, but it was a bit clunky compared to some of his other work.

The Last Days, but Scott Westerfeld, is actually a sequel to a book I haven't read but worked really well without the prior story. Basically, [SPOILER!] vampires are taking over the world but it's all for a good cause. Lacked the surprising depth I appreciate in some YA lit. ETA: Read Peeps, the book that Last Days follows. It's OK, an interesting take on vampirism. And parasites. Not for those with a phobia of germs.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Book of a Thousand Days - Shannon Hale

I have a soft spot for fairy tales. My mom owned one I stumbled across and read several times as a child, and I love reading about the history and origins and such. This was based on a lesser known Grimm tale, and I love 95% of what she's done with it. Even the other 5% was enjoyable, it just stuck out a bit when her medieval Mongolian characters behaved a little too 20th Century American (getting down on one knee to propose, for example). Very sweet, highly recommend.