Nevermoor by Jessica Townsend

Christmas is just a few days away now. The traffic has increased, the shopping malls are overflowing and here in New Zealand the days are getting longer and warmer. I’m squeezing in my own Christmas shopping in between finishing up my last duties at work and ferrying my grown children to and from airports. The excitement is building!

Strangely, even though I’m surrounded by books all day, on entering the mall I still find myself drawn towards the bookshops. If I’m near Glenfield mall, a wee visit to my friend Sherill at Paper Plus is always called for. Visiting Sherill is like therapy, she always has me in fits of laughter as we discuss the books I’m looking for and I always end up coming away with a stack of wonderful new items on my wish list.   

As those from the country of Iceland have known for many years, books make the best of Christmas gifts. So, even though I’ve bought my gift list items I’m also throwing in a book for each family member this year. To me books are by very nature the essence of long summery (or Wintry!) Christmas holidays. They are your permission to sit and relax for hours on end.

In this post I’m recommending a wonderful middle grade novel that has to be one of the best stocking fillers you could find. 

The book is Nevermoor: the trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend. 

Nevermoor is a thoroughly captivating fantasy novel that will be heartily devoured. Children who enjoyed the world of Harry Potter will find Morrigan Crow’s adventures engaging and exciting.

Here’s a link from the publisher talking about Jessica Townsend's recent tour in New Zealand.

https://www.hachette.co.nz/news--events/nevermoor-jessica-townsend/

If you have a tweenie or middle school* aged person in your life, grab one of these gems to throw in the Christmas stocking. You can’t go wrong!

Merry Christmas and happy reading over the holidays!

Michele

*my reference for  Middle School stretches to year ten– up to age 14 

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

On the front cover, prolific YA author E. Lockhart describes this book as ‘Magical realism at its most magical’. I couldn’t agree more and was quite taken with this unfamiliar term ‘Magical Realism’. I believe it describes my very favourite genre.

Last year I blogged about the book A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty. This became my favourite YA book of the year. I recommend it to students regularly but find it hard to describe its style. Since reading of the term in relation to Bone Gap, I can see that A Corner of White is perfectly Magical Realism!

Why do I love the genre? I love its exploration into the idea that in the realities of life there just might be something a little bit magical going on. That, in some of life’s most dreary and downright depressing moments, if we look a little bit deeper - lean in a little closer - something mystical may also be happening in that moment. I love the thought that in the swishing of the tall yellow corn there may be a message to be heard or that out in large open fields it might be possible to hear the prairies calling out your name.

Of course, works of fiction have the licence to take this to wonderfully extravagant levels. But in real life there can also be the opportunity to see beauty in very tragic spaces, especially when we allow ourselves time to pause, look deeper and absorb something bigger than ourselves. Idealistic much? Yep, thap, pt’s me.     

Bone Gap is the name of a small rural town surrounded in corn fields. Nothing much happens there but every now and then people unexpectedly leave and do not return. This happened to Roza, the beautiful migrant girl who had made a home with the O’Sullivan boys. Years before, the O’Sullivans’ mother had also left the boys behind - to begin life with a new partner - leaving older brother, Sean, to care for young Finn and the family farm. Love and trust have long been missing from their world.

Finn is the main protagonist of the story. He is known for being weird and quirky and often finds himself in the path of the local bullies, who harass and beat him up. Finn believes he knows what happened to Roza, but his inability to describe her abductor or the events around her disappearance make him an unreliable witness and moreover, a potential suspect.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the corn, parallel worlds seem to be converging. It appears that Roza may be trapped out there beyond the corn. Stray animals, including a goat, some kittens and a black horse make an appearance - each has a part to play in directing Finn on his journey.

Finn’s search for answers leads him to the beekeeper’s house where he gets to know the reclusive Petey. Petey has also been ostracised by the community who refer to her as ‘ugly’. Petey and Finn begin to fall in love, connected through their pain and rejection. 

The mysteries begin to mount and suspense builds as Finn tries to connect the links between all h betweene is sensing.

You’ll find the need to turn the pages in flurry now! This is wonderful story telling. Highly compelling and recommended for older teens as there is some sexual content.

Five stars ✷✷✷✷✷ 

The One Memory of Flora Banks

We meet Flora Banks for the first time at a farewell party. 

Flora scans the room, feeling uncomfortable. She struggles to remember where she is and is unable to identify any of those present. The names of several party-goers are written on her hand.

The other young people at the party seem to know her so she follows the social cues offered and tries her best to fit in and act normally.

I knew very little about the plot when I started to read this novel, but instantly felt intrigued by the scene building before me and began to wonder……. is this an Apocalyptic/Sci Fi novel? Is Flora going under cover, a spy with a false identity? What exactly is happening here? However, we soon learn that Flora has anterograde amnesia. Each day when Flora wakes her memories of the previous day have gone. Flora has not been able to retain a new memory since she was ten years old. 

On the evening of the party things change forever. Flora is kissed by a boy on the beach and wakes the next morning to find she still has this memory. Flora decides she must be brave and leave the carefully constructed life that allows her to manage her condition. She follows the boy, Drake, to Norway, where he has gone to study.

By Emily Barr

Flora’s story is told in the literary style known as the unreliable narrator. Her reality is skewed by her amnesia and limited understanding of what is happening in the world around her. This causes her to act and respond in some very bizarre ways. Red flags begin flying everywhere for the reader as Flora leaves her home and country and flies off to icy, dark Norway – but worse, Flora finds she has also left her medication behind.

This novel is a gripping page turner that keeps heart-in-mouth waiting to see what on earth will become of sweet Flora as her search for Drake goes from bad to worse.

A highly recommended unique teenage read. Would work well for a NCEA level one Making Connections text. I give it 4  .5 stars.

The Book of Pearl by Timothee de Fombelle

I do believe in fairies                                          

A delightful story about a boy, shunned from his own kingdom and expelled to earth just as the darkness of World War Two is beginning to unfurl. Rich in mystery and history, The Book of Pearl follows the life of Joshua Pearl as he experiences the harshness of this human life and draws on the wisdoms of his own ethereal way of being to bring meaning to his time trapped on earth.

This human life

On his arrival in Paris, Joshua is taken in by a grieving couple who embrace him as their own son. They adopt him into the family business, the little confectionery shop, Maison Pearl.

The years pass and slowly Joshua builds a new life on earth. All the while he continues to search for a way to return home and be reunited with his sweet fairy love Olia, who he believes was left behind when he was thrown to earth.

 They must have tokens of proof

Sensing the presence of Olia around him, Joshua Pearl, or Ilian as he is known in his own land, spends his later years travelling the world seeking out treasures and keepsakes. The valuable commodities Ilian collects are magical fragments mistakenly left behind by those who have been able to traverse the two worlds. Using these as tokens of proof of another life, Ilian hopes they will one day provide a way for himself and Olia to be together.

There is a third voice in the story, another boy who accidentally crosses the paths of both Ilian and Olia and becomes the unwitting go-between of the two lovers. This character (the voice of our narrator, we eventually learn) grows up to become an author and researcher. Charged with writing the story of the fragments, will he be the key to unveiling the tokens of proof so that Ilian and Olia may one day be reunited?

                 Highly suitable for younger readers and enjoyable for any age group.

The Book of Pearl is written by French author Timothee de Fombelle and translated by English language specialist Sarah Ardizonne. De Fombelle is also the author of the highly acclaimed Vango series. Read more about the author here:

http://www.walker.co.uk/contributors/Timothee-de-Fombelle-7291.aspx  

Wild Frontiers

I've seen a bit of a trend of late, a theme popping up in some of my latest reading choices: YA books with strong, independent female characters set in the American West, out on the range or working the family farm. 

It’s a refreshing change that opens up the scope for multi-genre story lines filled with intriguing dramas, historical insights and admirable leading ladies. I list a few that I’ve come across recently:

The Mirk and Midnight Hour by Jane Nickerson 

The spooky cover suggests it's more Vampire Diaries than Little House, however, The Mirk and Midnight Hour is a good ol' country girl's tale, gripping and full of surprises. 

Violet Dancey has been left to run the Mississippi family farm while her father fights with the Confederates in the Civil War. Historical fiction lovers will enjoy this period drama involving complex extended family relationships, a forbidden romance with a wounded Union soldier and some mysterious folk practicing Hoodoo in the forests.

Highly Recommended: 4.5 Stars.

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson 

Lee Westfall has an unusual gift—she has the ability to sense when gold is present. Lee has discreetly managed to support her family with her Gold-Witching  gift, but when her father & mother are brutally murdered and her uncle turns up to take over their claim, Lee realises his intentions are devious. Lee decides to disguise herself as a young man and join a wagon trail to the Californian Gold Fields.  

Once on the trail the fantasy side of this novel fades into the background and the story mostly focuses on the hardships of the trail to California - wonderful historical fiction. 
Recommended: 4.5 Stars

Bullet Catcher by Joaquin Lowe

As little kids, Imma and her brother Nikko dreamed of learning the skills of the Bullet Catchers, and escaping their dusty town. Now Nikko is gone, presumed dead, and Bullet Catchers are only myths in the stories of old timers. 

Imma is an orphan, living out her wretched life cleaning up after the drunks in the local saloon in the desert town of Sand. On one dry and lonely day a scarred man enters the saloon. Convinced he is a Bullet Catcher, Imma decides to risk everything and begin a pilgrimage to follow the Bullet Catcher to his refuge in the hills.

Gun slinging & sharp shooting in a West like you’ve never imagined, Bullet Catcher is a wonderful meandering through rugged adventures and soul-searching alliances. 

I thoroughly enjoyed all three of the unique novels I've micro-reviewed in this post, but Bullet Catcher was my favourite. 

                     Lovin' the cover too! Bullet Catcher is an all round winner: 5 stars.