Past Shelfari Reviews: Messenger by Lois Lowry

*Note*- Past Shelfari Reviews may not be written in the same language as regular postings due to being intended for a different audience in its original context.

Messenger (Book 3 in The Giver Trilogy)

by Lois Lowry

available for purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Half Price Books

This is the third book in the "Giver" trilogy. This book takes the first took books and finally brings them together. At the beginning of the book it appears Lowry doesn't want you to fully understand that we are dealing with the characters from the first books and then she suddenly opens it up that these are those characters. This story focuses largely on Matt (Matty here) from the 2nd book in the series. This book is my favorite of the three because of how Lowry blends the three characters from the books together. She does so seamlessly. There is no moment in this book that you feel that she is trying to force characters into actions that make no sense, which sometimes happens in a book that is part of a trilogy because the author wants certain characters to end up somewhere together. Lowry is able to make it seem organic that they all meet because of the stories that she has told in the previous volumes. 

I admire the social commentary aspect of these books because Lowry is able to tell the reader that as a society we need to care for each other without necessarily beating us over the head with it. She does so in a subtle fashion that makes you almost think it is your idea to want to change the world while reading this book. Lowry often in the series shows us that we have to have our feelings, skills, and desires, but that we should use these things to help other people that we come across. She does all this while creating a fantastical world that one wishes that they could explore. I admire Lowry for creating a book series that can teach young readers that values are important and that each life has an importance regardless of age or ability. 

Until next time... Stay Optimistic!!!

Past Shelfari Reviews: Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

Gathering Blue

by Lois Lowry

Available for purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Half Price Books

This is the second book in the "Giver" trilogy. Most trilogies have a very specific connection through every single book, but this book seems like it does not connect to the original book "The Giver", but that does not make it a bad book. In my opinion this book is actually in many ways superior to the other because this has more approachable characters. The characters here seem to be genuinely nicer and not as melancholy as the characters in "The Giver", but this is largely due to the differences between the two cities that are the focus points of each. In this one we are in a more wooded, secluded type of town than what is in the other.

Lowry is able to create a world of secrets, intrigue, lies, and hope that seldom is fully expressed by lesser authors. Here she is able to make us believe every single moment and we feel we are taken on the journey with Kira into becoming the caretaker of the robe. I also love the character of Matt in this book. He is a fun character and one that is full of heart. I admire him in the story because he is obviously someone that shows a lot of love and concern for his friends. He is something that I hope to be in all of my encounters with people.

Gathering Blue is a book about discovering your true talents and how you can change the world. It is also about learning that not everyone that you think tells you the truth does and that sometimes you have to look under the surface to discover what someone truly is. This book truly showcases the human experience and would be a great read for anyone that takes it on.

Until next time... Stay Optimistic!!!

Past Shelfari Reviews: The Giver by Lois Lowry

*Note*- Past Shelfari Reviews may not be written in the same language as regular postings due to being intended for a different audience in its original context.

The Giver

by Lois Lowry

available for purchase from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Half Price Book

This was one of those books that I had heard about for some time but never got around to reading until now. I had read Lowry's "Number the Stars" for the Holocaust Literature course I was in during the 2012 Spring semester at Ball State University and found it to be a great read. This book, however, was far superior to that book. What Lowry is able to create here is a world that simply could be the future. She makes us believe that it is possible without being overly fluffy with her words. She choices small feelings to give to the main character through most of the story, which makes it approachable for children. It also has some rather big concepts in it about war, being the same, and other stuff that an adult would also be able to enjoy.

This book is part of a trilogy of books, which I intend to read the other two as well. This book sets the stage for a wonderful world of dealing with emotions, dealings with differences, and dealing with the humanity in all of us. Any reader who takes on this book will be challenged to look at their own belief system because they will wonder if parts of them are "sameness".

*Note*- Past Shelfari Reviews may be written in different language than other blogs as these were written before the writer started blogging officially. These were originally written for friends on the shelfari site.

Until next time... Stay Optimistic!!!

Bracken Library Book Review: The Gift by Peter Dickinson

The Gift

by Peter Dickinson

4 Faerie Points

The title and cover of this book are a little misleading because one instantly thinks that the book is going to be a heavily fantasy-based book, but once you get into it you discover it is more about growing up in a time where parents didn't always stick around and you go shoved off on family members (yes this happens today as well, but as I understand it even more frequently because parents would shove kids on grandparents then come back and then do it again.)

When you read this book you discover pretty quickly that it is a children's novel about a boy growing up in a dysfunction family and the boy has a rare gift, the ability to read into people's minds. This ability is described to him by his grandmother as being the cause of grief for his family. The gift doesn't appear as prominent as one would think though. It appears only sporadically throughout the book and the focus tends to be more on the people that he interacts with. 

One of the largest components of this story is the fact that his dad frequently moves the family and that they all really want to settle down finally, except for perhaps the father which is explained in the book. This causes the father to take part of a rather large plot that is the main story of the book, which I won't go into details as you should pick up the book and give it a chance for yourself. 

For me I enjoyed going in expecting one thing from this story and discovering it was more of a down-home charmed type of book instead. I enjoy when a book doesn't meet my expectations, but at the same time exceeds them because it does something better. Here it definitely fit the better category because I felt like I saw how someone of a different time period would have grown up. It wasn't high-brow literature by any means, but it was interesting to see the dynamics of each family member play out. My favorite relationship has to be between the main character and his grandmother. This relationship seems a bit stilted until you understand the story that she has been holding back. She has a reason to be hard-edged and you understand everything that makes their relationship what it is. Families didn't always look like what we have today with the running around to soccer games, meeting appointments, and etc. This book really reflects that, in my humble opinion. 

Overall I recommend reading "The Gift" by Peter Dickinson and finding a simpler time. It got deducted one Faerie Point because there are times where you will feel like, "Does this story have a point?", but it still keeps a certain bit of charm the entire time thus making it a great read for a lazy afternoon. 

Bracken Library Book Review: Surrender by Sonya Hartnett

Surrender

by Sonya Hartnett

4 Faerie Points

There are some books that you read that you don't necessarily like, but that you think really speaks volumes. This is one of those books. This book focuses on Anwell, also known as Gabriel throughout, and his childhood and then his adult life. The book journeys through the friendship he forms with another boy named Finnigan. Through twists and turns in this book you get to the startling revelation at the end of the book. 

Sometimes a book tries to be more high-brow than it should have been. This is one of those books. It was a pleasant book to read, but it also left something to be desired because you are never fully aware of what is really going on within it. This starts to make sense as the mystery in it starts to finally unravel though. It doesn't make it a 5 star book though. There is a basic understanding of life that is missing from this book within the vast majority of its pages. It isn't until that ending that you finally see some humanity in the story, which would have greatly helped this book. 

The biggest reason that this book speaks volumes is that it shows the power of life being the family that you are born into. People have some control over their lives, but a lot of it does come down to whomever your parents are and what their lives are like. While it never directly states this you get this feeling. The reader starts understanding if poor Anwell had just been born into any other family that his life may have been greatly different. 

There are moments in this book that are interesting, which is why that it still gets 4 points. It isn't an easy to read book by any means, but it leaves a taste in your mouth that sometimes you need to have as a reader. This is an award winning book for a reason and everyone should read it at least once, but past that I am not sure it is one of those books you can go back and reread at a later date. The once that you got through it is more than enough. You will however understand the baseline of humanity after reading this book and I think that is something worthwhile here. 

Bracken Library Book Review: Rinkitink in Oz by L. Frank Baum

Rinkitink in Oz by L. Frank Baum
4 Faerie Points

Baum has definitely refound his footing as an author when it comes to the Oz books. He has found a formula that allows him to tell other stories, but still have them take place in the world of Oz. Some of his issues it appeared to be previously is he didn't want to continue Oz stories, but didn't recognize that he could tell stories about other countries by just including the last part of the book taking place in Oz, which is what he has done in the last few books. In this one it appears for the majority of the book oz will not be seen at all, but then finally in the final few paragraphs we see Dorothy and many of the other favorites of the series.

This story is one of his better stories as well because it is a mystical adventure where he created magic items that are simplistic in nature but also are ingenious. In this story the Prince of Pinagree (Inga) inherits three magical pearls that give him various powers. This allows him to complete many feats that others could not and as a result he works to free his family and rebuild his own kingdom. Baum created a story of friendship between countries, people, and how one can have a simple adventure story without blood and gore.

Parents would find this series to be ideal for their children because it keeps the imagination active for a child, but also teaches them various lessons about not being mean to others, not being envious, and other important lessons that children need to have. As an adult you will take some things away from it as well, but you will take less away morally and probably be like me where I just enjoyed a great adventure story that was a quick read. I highly recommend this book for anyone just wanting some good pleasure reading.

Bracken Library Book Review: The Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum

The Scarecrow of Oz
by L. Frank Baum
4 Faerie Points

Baum's "The Scarecrow of Oz" sees two of his creations from another book finding their way to the land of oz. I personally had never been introduced to these other characters as I have never read the other book. This fact does not take away from the joy of reading this book though. In many ways it can add to it because after you are finished if you desire you can find another adventure containing them.

This book, out of all the oz books I have read to date, is probably my favorite of the series because it felt that Baum was comfortable with his own writing and also what he wanted to convey with this story about the land of oz. I have stated in my other reviews of the Oz books that there have been times that you could tell that Baum was over telling stories of this other world, but you can tell in this book that he was having fun. It seemed like a switch had finally went off in his head that he could still create wonderful characters regardless of them eventually ending up in Oz. This made this book very strong in my opinion.

The creatures while fantastical in nature, which is the point of new characters in these books to be larger than life, seemed to also be rooted in a more "real world" understanding of what a character is. The Ork is something that you would think you would see at any zoo you went to but you realize it was not a real bird ever. This contrasts to some of the creatures in the previous books that you felt could never exist in any capacity. Also these creatures seemed more geared towards a bit older generation, not adults but slightly older than a child, because he actually spends time describing things in a manner that he didn't do in the previous books that give the creatures/characters a different type of life. One that seems to again contrast with some of the other characters like the Woozy that was introduced in a previous volume that felt it was geared specifically for small children.

Baum has found himself as an author in my opinion in this book and as a result produced a book that is really wonderful to read. His books are never high literature by any mean nor do they have any particular deep message most of the time, but they are fun reads full of adventure and intrigue that are worth reading.