Tithe November 24, 2007

Black, Holly (2002). Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale. NY : Simon and Schuster. 331 pages.

Kaye redefines weird – she doesn’t go to school, she doesn’t quite look like everyone else, and – oh yeah – she gets visits from faeries that no one else can see. Or at least she did, before she moved to Philly with her mom. But when an unexpected attack sends both Kaye and her mother back to the Jersey shore, she gets pulled into the world of faerie – a world, it turns out, that she belongs to more than she’d ever guessed.

Usually I can steamroll right through books, but I had to put this one down more than a few times, for various reasons – none of them were bad reasons – they were just… well, here they are:

1. omg, yaoi fanboy, what?!

Corny. One of the more important side characters, Corny (short for Cornelius), is ethically challenged, a genius, and gay. He’s also an avid reader of shonen ai manga (translation: homoerotic japanese comic books, generally written by and for women). Well, he calls it shonen ai, but as Kaye helpfully describes some of the scenes in said manga, I’m actually guessing it’s yaoi, which is basically the same thing, plus more porn.

Let me be clear: I did not need to put the book down because I have a problem with people who are queer, intelligent, or fans of pornography.  Rather, I had a problem with the way the book used these aspects of his character to portray him as a person who has no regard for the lives of other people, or would be receptive to getting raped and brutalized.  It’s a valid and consistent character portrait, but it’s also an extremely offensive way to portray a specific group of people, in that it implies that one’s taste in porn could predispose a person to want to be raped.  Or that being smart means you want to gun down your classmates.

I’m relatively sure that the author didn’t intend her character to be offensive, but in my case, I was a little taken aback.

2. tortured hero? srsly, pls…

Roiben. Roiben is a faerie knight of the Seely Court (the relatively good and nice group of faeries), who is traded to the Unseely Court by his queen. In the Unseely Court, he is forced to carry out his new queen’s horrible orders, and is thus traumatized into becoming a brooding, dark anti-hero. And Kaye falls for him like I fall for chocolate donuts. I’m not saying I don’t sympathize – back in the day, I myself liked a platinum blond tortured hero or two. And Roibin is far from the worst incarnation of this little archetype, but… really…

3. Jersey shore, land of hidden magic?! XD

This time, I put the book down because I had to pause and savor my smug glee that yes, someone else sees the dirty, glittery, and wildly natural Jersey shore the same way I do. And, for once, the faeries (angels, demons, winged monkeys, etc…) don’t live in Central Park, NY, but a place I actually know and care about – and let me tell you, it is the perfect setting for this book. It sets the mood, reflects Kaye’s character, and foreshadows the nature of the faerie courts. Just – wow, I had so much love for the setting.

Alright. Now, putting all that aside, I really did enjoy this book. This is one of the better things to come from the faery/fairy stories that are becoming popular recently, and there was a lot of sensitivity and depth in all the characters. And after all, I may have put the book down more than once, but I always, always picked it up again.

Booktalk Hook: Did you ever think that you just couldn’t possibly be related to these people who are pretending to be your parents?

If you like this book: You’ll probably want to read the sequels, Valiant and Ironside. Or you might want to try testing out the shallow end of the pool of manga that this book is referencing, both in the text, and thematically – titles like Seimaden, Angel Sanctuary, or Alichino.

The Warrior Heir November 15, 2007

Chima, Cinda Williams (2006). The Warrior Heir. NY: Hyperion Books for Children, 426 pages.

Jack is an ordinary teenager living an ordinary life in ordinary Ohio. Until he forgets to take his necessary-for-living medicine and realizes that, not only does he not immediately die, he’s actually become much better at soccer – and a few other things. Because Jack’s “medicine” was actually a drug intended to suppress Jack’s latent super powers and hide him from a secret society of people who want to use him as a pawn in an old and violent political game.

This book was excellent – the only thing I didn’t like was Jack. Actually, I didn’t hate him either, he’s just a sort of “everyman” character that it was hard for me to get behind (seriously, his name is “Jack” – you can’t get more everyman than that). He has a fabulous array of conflicts that work really well to enhance the suspense of the novel, but… I just couldn’t connect with him. The other characters, however, won me over immediately, from his overly charismatic aunt to his befuddled friends.

The book is also well plotted – strong action scenes work side-by-side with a complicated weave of emotional and political conflict. The history of the secret society is worked in deftly, so that you don’t feel like you’re getting smacked in the face with EXPOSITION the way you do in some fantasy novels. However, that could be because the magical society doesn’t really feature much in the book except to create narrative tension. Jack doesn’t even really experience it until the very end, and the only part he really interacts with is the Tournament o’ Death. So while the author does an excellent job of making the presence of the society felt, it doesn’t really exist other than peripherally in the narrative. And, unlike the magical otherworld that exists in many novels, this otherworld has seemingly no redeeming features. The citizens are focused on a bloodthirsty struggle for political domination, and very little else. Hopefully this will be expanded on in the sequel, The Wizard Heir.

Narratively, the book worked very well, expect for a slight lull in the middle where Jack is training. While there are some interesting character conflicts that are building at this point, it isn’t clear how important they are until the end of the novel. However, once the ending begins, the book really hits its stride. All the plot threads come together, and there are some very suspenseful moments – and a LOT of surprises. The conclusion was unexpected and perfect. I won’t give too much away, but it included a poignant and well foreshadowed deus ex machina.

If you liked this book: Why not try out the Percy Jackson series, starting with The Lightning Thief? I hesitate to call it a Harry Potter knock-off, but it really is – however, this series has it’s own merits, especially in the way it looks at those with disabilities.

City of Bones September 25, 2007

Clare, Cassandra (2007). City of Bones, the Mortal Instruments series. NY: Margaret K. McElderry Books. 485 pages.

Clary Fray is your average teenager – if you don’t count her fabulously beautiful, mysterious, genius artist mom. Unfortunately her fabulously beautiful, mysterious, genius artist mom DOES count, and when she goes missing, Clary’s search for her ends up drawing her into a world of demons, angels, hot boys, and mortal peril.

Reading this book was sort of like eating cheesecake, I liked it for the first two bites and then everything after that was too much and gave me a stomach ache. I usually dig these supernatural romances, with all the angst and drama – but this book had about three love triangles too many. Well, there were only three total, but I’m not particularly fond of love triangles, so that was a major turn-off.

For those who are familiar with Cassandra Clare’s earlier net-published works, there are no surprises here. Draco Jace, shadowhunter and bad boy, is sexy and morally conflicted. Ron Xander Simon is a wonderfully witty and under-appreciated side character. And Clary – Clary is a Mary Sue. Cassandra Clare, while she can create interesting and compelling characters, has a very hard time here realistically depicting the details of her protagonist’s life, from her artistic talents (overly and obnoxiously romanticized) to her curly hair (never frizzy!) As a curly haired artist, there were points during the novel that I was actually offended by the level of, how shall I put it? Artistic license.

Booktalk Hook: If you’ve ever wanted Buffy the Vampire Slayer to have babies with His Dark Materials, you’re in luck: you can find the best of both fictional worlds in Cassandra Clare’s dark and sexy Mortal Instruments series.

And if you liked the book: You might want to try Winter Sonata, which has a lot of the same angsty, romantic flavor.

And remember kids, double check your family tree before you go after the hot new boy on the block.