I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest

Title: I Am Princess X

Author: Cherie Priest

Pages: 227

Finished: October 26, 2017

First Sentence: Libby Deaton and May Harper invented Princess X in fifth grade, when Libby's leg was in a cast, and May had a doctor's note saying she couldn't run around the track anymore because her asthma would totally kill her.

Summary: May's life is thrown into turmoil when her best friend dies after a horrible accident. Until three years later when she starts seeing the character she and Libby made up together all around Seattle. What follows next is a race to find her friend and bring Libby's kidnapper to justice before he finds them.

Thoughts: Meh. I know that's lazy, but that's pretty much how I felt about this one. Really fun to read while reading it - I got through it incredibly quickly. But in terms of actual quality? Meh.

The Good: Strong female characters in a vaguely real world life. May was pretty smart, and she did figure a lot of things out. Libby was clearly strong. No romance plot which was refreshing for a YA novel.

The Bad: I'm sorry, how can Patrick be such a computer genius and not know about a VPN? I mean, I get that they're all of 17 or 18, but some of the mistakes were so completely boneheaded.

Read for my Caudill challenge. 

Once Upon a Winter's Night by Dennis McKiernan

Title: Once Upon a Winter's Night

Author: Dennis McKiernan

Pages: 380

Finished: October 25, 2017

First Sentence: They lived in a one-room stone cottage on the edge of Faery, there where the world ends and the mystical realm begins, there where golden sunshine abruptly becomes twilight all silver and grey, there where night on one side instead of the other is darkness, sometimes absolute, sometimes illumined with a glorious scatter of bright stars and silvery moonlight, sometimes illumined by small, dancing luminosities atwinkle among hoary trees, there where low, swampy lands and crofters' fields and shadowed forests on this side change on that side into misty fens and untilled meadows and deep, dark, mysterious woods.

Summary: The Prince of the Summerwood proposes marriage to Camille, the daughter of a poor farmer who lives on the edge of Faery. His scheming, unhappy wife accepts for her, and thus Camille travels to fairy on the back of a giant bear. There she spends her days with her bear and nights with her prince, though she never sees his face. Upon traveling back home, her mother convinces her to light a candle to see his face. When she does, a giant wind carries Camille's prince and the entire household away. It's up to Camille to travel through Faery to the place east of the sun and west of the moon where she can hopefully free the Prince of the Summerwood from a curse.

Thoughts: This is an adult retelling of East of the Sun and West of the Moon, set against a backdrop of a larger series. I liked that Camille actually built a relationship with Prince Alain. It made the idea of going to find her true love that much easier.

But Camille herself bugged me. I had no problem with her being so clever earlier in the book. Her ability to beat him at chess, her ability to solve riddles. All very good. However, it seemed like all her cleverness left her when she went on her quest to save Alain.

I wasn't a huge fan of the writing either. The author was trying to sound like he was writing a bardic tale, only the lilt didn't really work in prose writing. That being said, I'm interested in how the rest of this series turns out and will probably find reason to read the other four.

Read for my Fairy Tale Challenge.

11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass

Title: 11 Birthdays

Author: Wendy Mass

Pages: 267

Finished: October 17, 2017

First Sentence: The oddest thing about Angelina D'Angelo was that no one could remember a time when she didn't live in Willow Falls.

Summary: Amanda and Leo were best friends. The did everything together including celebrating their birthdays. But on their 10th birthday, Leo said something unforgivable, and he and Amanda have been fighting ever since. She's relieved when her 11th birthday is finally over, until she wakes up the next day and has to relive it.

Thoughts: Groundhog Day meets middle grade fiction. Sweet enough story. Typical fifth grade life events with the addition of the magic/scifi element. Quick read. Not really my wheelhouse though.

Read for Bluestem Challenge.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

Title: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Author: Grace Lin

Pages: 278

Finished: October 15, 2017

First Sentence: Far away from here, following the Jade River, there was once a black mountain that cut into the sky like a jagged piece of rough metal.

Summary: Minli lives with her mother and father in a little gray village in the shadow of Fruitless Mountain. They have little to eat and hardly any money to spake of, a fact that causes her mother no end of grief. Minli's father, however, tells stories that seem to sustain Minli. In an effort to change their fortune, Minli decides to find the Old Man in the Moon. On the way she has many adventures and learns many more stories.

Thoughts: I think this definitely counts as a frame story. The frame being Minli's journey. I really enjoyed this. I was also surprised at how little I remembered from reading this a couple years ago. I don't know my Asian folktales as well as I do my western European tales. Grace Lin adjusted the tales for her own purpose in the book, but she also added a bibliography for those who wish to read more.

I really like books with female protagonists. Particularly ones as lovely as Minli. Definitely a great role model for young girls reading this book.

Book read for Bluestem Challenge

The Once and Future King by T. H. White

Title: The Once and Future King

Author: T. H White

Pages: 677

Finished: October 14, 2017

First Sentence: On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays it was Court Hand and Summulae Logicales, whil the rest of the week it was the Organon, Repetition and Astrology.

Summary: The story of King Arthur from his childhood to his death. It's all there - The Wart's education with Merlyn as his master. His experiences as different animals. His ascension to King of England as he pulls the sword out of the stone. His attempt to civilize England with his Round Table and the idea of Might for Right. His love triangle between him, Lancelot, and Guenever. And his ultimate downfall.

Thoughts: Wow. Last time I read this was the summer before I started high school. It kicked off a four year obsession with the Arthurian Legends, and I read so many of them.

I got so much more out of this book this time around. And it is indeed kicking off a new King Arthur love.

The Sword in the Stone was funny in a way I don't remember it being before. I chuckled more than was probably warranted, but was also charmed by Wart's lessons. I wish we had seen the geese lessons in Disney's Sword and the Stone, but I suppose it wouldn't have been quite as fun as the squirrel and Madame Mim...

The Queen of Air and Darkness set up the Orkney Clan in a way that was super dark. Darker than most of what I remember reading in other books. This is also the chapter that talks a lot about anti-war. There was a quote that I really want to chuck at our leader's head right now about sending the leaders to war rather than the citizens etc. Morgause was a rather horrific lady. I also thought it was rather interesting how all her boys really loved her. Agravaine (and I believe later Mordred) in a way that was incestuous. The image of the "tape" that she used to seduce Arthur was really memorable too. I remember reading it as a teen and not really understanding what was happening.

The Ill-Made Knight is the bread and butter of the book. Everything seems so good, and then it's all dashed to pieces. I did not remember much of this book - and I found it a little boring too. Guenever was very unlikable. Jealous to a fault, and flaunting her relationship with Lancelot in a way that Arthur would have had to really turn a blind eye to ignore. Interestingly enough, as I read the book, I was reading Lancelot as bisexual. I was starting to feel like perhaps I was reading it with modern sensibilities, but upon further research, I found out that T.H. White was a closeted homosexual and that he had toyed around with actually making Lancelot gay. Mostly though, I don't think any of our main three characters came out looking all that good in this chapter. Arthur tried, but his constant turning a blind eye was difficult.

And then came The Candle in the Wind. Oh my heart. Mordred? I despise him. I understand he was brought up by the hateful Morgause, but it seemed not only did he want to hurt Arthur as best he could, he wanted to just set the world in a tailspin. Hateful man. But then again, none of our main three came out looking all that much better. Most heartbreaking though, was Arthur remembering his lesson as a goose at the very last minute. Also, the image of the candle in the last chapter was one that remained with me since my freshman year of high school, and that made much more sense than it had before.

Geeze this is a long review. I loved this book. I loved it even more than I did 15 years ago because I understood so much more about it. T.H. White was a conscientious objector in World War II, something that came out so clearly this time around. I somehow didn't get that last time, and it's not like it's deeply hidden. I think I was just reading for the plot points of King Arthur. I'm interested in seeing how this one goes in 30 more years.

Two minor things: the author does not use the Oxford comma, and the edition has two spaces after a period. Found it mildly irritating.
Read for Back to the Classics AND Retellings Challenge.

October Reads

Rinkitink in Oz by L Frank Baum - Wizard of Oz
I Am Princess X by Arthur A. Levine - Caudill Challenge
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin - Bluestem Challenge
Eleven Birthdays by Wendy Mass - Bluestem Challenge
Once Upon a Winter's Night by Dennis McKiernan - Retelling Challenge
Last in a Long Line of Rebels by Nancy Paulsen - Caudill Challenge
The Once and Future King by T H White - Back to the Classics

This is a significantly easier month for me. I was supposed to read the Caudills and Bluestems last month, but that obviously didn't happen. Once and Future King might take some time. My goal is to finish it by mid-month which means averaging 45 pages a day. I already started The Once and Future King. It's so much funnier than I remember.

The Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Title: The Scarecrow of Oz

Author: L. Frank Baum

Pages: 291

Finished: September 30, 2017

First Sentence: "Seems to me," said Cap'n Bill, as he sat beside Trot under the big acacia tree, looking out over the blue ocean, "seems to me, Trot, as how the more we know, the more we find we don't know."

Summary: Trot and Cap'n Bill get caught in a Whirlpool that takes them to wondrous lands. There they meet plenty of new characters including the Ork and Button Bright as well as the people of Jinxland. They fall on the bad side of King Krewl, but with the help of the Scarecrow, everything turns out right again.

Thoughts: So the interesting thing about this book and the last one we read is that Baum is introducing many of his characters from other books to the land of Oz. In this example, Trot and Captain Bill were part of a series that he had intended to carry on after he finished the Oz books. However, they never caught on, and kids instead asked that Trot and Captain Bill be brought to Oz. Thus this book. It also explains why they know Button Bright. He apparently showed up in that other series and talked to them. His character has definitely changed.

Overall, I didn't find this one quite as ridiculous as the others have been (though I did read that it was not well received). Trot was just as sweet as Betsy and Dorothy both are, so she'll fit in with the group quite well. Apparently Baum had a type. The Ork's tail works as a helicopter rotor which I found interesting as the helicopter hadn't been invented yet.

I find myself wanting to read some of Baum's other books. While this book was a step above some of the more recent Oz books, it does at times feel as though he's phoning it in.

Read for the Wizard of Oz Challenge.