Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater

   Title: Shiver
   Series: Mercy Falls, Book 1
   Author: Maggie Stiefvater

   Publisher: Scholastic Press
   Year Published: 2009
   Pages: 390

“I could still smell her on my fur. It clung to me, a memory of another world.

I was drunk with it, with the scent of her. I'd got too close.

The smell of summer on her skin, the half-recalled cadence of her voice, the sensation of her fingers on my fur. Every bit of me sang with the memory of her closeness.

Too close. I couldn't stay away.

Shiver is hardly a new book, and I've seen it around for a while, knowing it was quite popular, but I never quite seemed to get to it. This week, however, while getting to know the new batch of year 7 readers, one girl borrowed the last in the trilogy and talked to me about how much she had enjoyed it. That was all the prompting I needed to tick this one off my list.

Shiver is the first book in a trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater. It is a love story between a girl named Grace and a boy named Sam - but Sam is no ordinary boy. Every year, during winter with the temperature drops, Sam becomes a wolf. A wolf among a pack of wolves who live in the forest behind Grace's house. The very same pack that attacked Grace when she was a little girl. This is a story about growing up, about love, about danger, and about sacrifice.

fanart by connorose

Grace is seventeen years old, very practical and responsible. She looks after herself, her family, and her friends. She likes numbers and things that make sense. Sam, on the other hand, is dreamy and creative. Eighteen years old, he has spent a large portion of his life shifting back and forth between being a wolf and a human. He likes music, and poetry, and above all, Grace.

I particularly enjoyed the way this story was told. These days, first person narratives that jump back and forth chapter to chapter between characters are very much the norm. But unlike some other YA romances in this format, the voices where clear and and distinctive, even when the pattern of changes shifted. (To be fair, I did listen to an audiobook which made this impossible to miss, but I still feel the characters were clearly separated).

fanart by finncollins

I found Stiefvater quite lyrical in her writing, very fond of descriptive passages romanticised imagery. That being said, overall the novel wasn't overly sappy or cheesy, due in no small part to the character of Grace being relatively practical and stoic. 

I would like to say this book was a must read, as I truly found it pleasant and, at places, even a beautiful novel - but it's not groundbreaking. At it's core it's a paranomal YA romance, like the many written at the same time. It is certainly well written, and has rounded enough characters that I'm quite happy to suggest it to a wide range of students at school, but it doesn't have anything all that new.

fanart by dearbrigan

Recommended Age Group:

I'll be steering to the 15+ crowd based on the age of the characters and some hints towards sex (though nothing at all graphic). It would be acceptable for mature readers a little younger if you felt they were capable. All the covers I've seen have been very girl oriented, but it has it's share of action and quite a believable male voice, so it might be worth extending a suggestion to some of the boys also.

Content Warnings:

- some mention of sex (not graphic or lewd)

- some violence

- trigger warning for suicide backstory

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Sensitive Creatures - Mandy Ord

Sometimes I’m a little slow to see the huge benefits of any given situation, but when I get there I sure do enjoy it. I started my new job as a Teacher Librarian (finally, yay!) at the beginning of the school year and, until now, have been so busy trying to get my feet under me and figure things out that it wasn’t until today, five weeks in, that it clicked to me that hey, it’s Friday, and grabbing a nice little pile of books on the way out the door for some weekend reading is pretty much going to be a standing arrangement. So yes. Bring on the good times.

Title: Sensitive Creatures

Author: Mandy Ord

Published: 2011

Pages: 296

It’s nice when a randomly selected book turns out to be a pleasant read. I grabbed this one off the shelf as I left work today and spent quite the pleasant afternoon flicking through it on the lounge.

Australian artist, Mandy Ord, uses her quirky artistic style to paint a portrait of the everyday. With no over-arching plot, Sensitive Creatures is a collection of comics that celebrate life’s daily minutia – walking the dog, people who drive too fast, weird smells. Peppered throughout, however, is a sense of anxiety and the ways in which it can permeate a life. While far from the key theme of the collection, it was true and honest and, for me, was what made the novel.

I found Ord’s art interestingly unlike any other graphic novel I’ve ever read. I’m not sure if it’s actually lino-print or just highly reminiscent of them, but it added a strange grittiness that added to the everyday feel of the collection. It was a quick read, but an enjoyable one and I’d recommend it for anyone who’d like a gentle meander through some relatable moments. 5/5

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The Storyteller - Jodi Picoult

Title: The Storyteller
Author: Jodi Picoult
Published: 2013
Pages: 460
First Line: My father trusted me with the details of his death.

Fiction is like that, once it is released into the world: contagious, persistent. Like the contents of Pandora's box, a story that's freely given can't be contained anymore. It becomes infection, spreading from the person who created it to the person who listens, and passes it on.

It's been awhile since I read any Jodi Picoult novels, a realisation that surprised me as I never fail to enjoy them. 'Enjoy', however, is a word that I find so hard to use in reference to this particular novel.

Following her trademark move of picking hot button issue around which to revolve her story (capital punishment, organ donation, religion), The Storyteller introduces the character of Jozeb Weber, a more-than-model citizen in his nineties who, after befriending Sage, young local baker, confesses to being a Nazi soldier during World War II. What's more, he is asking Sage, the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, to forgive him before helping him die. No small ask.

The Storyteller is a layered, multi-generational story, weaving in the narrative voices of Jozef, Sage, her grandmother Minka, and Leo, the DOJ attorney from whom Sage is seeking counsel. The reader experiences the atrocities of WWII and life (and death) at Auschwitz, not only through the eyes of Minka, a then nineteen year old girl, but also through the eyes of the Jozef, a high ranking the Nazi officer at Auschwitz. These overlapping stories are, in turn, heart wrenching and sickening, tear inducing and angering. And through it all you cannot help but feel for Sage and the role she must play in drawing out these stories and finding herself in a position to pass judgement.

I make no claims to be a WWII historian, nor do I descend from family on either side of the war. I say this because I am aware that books dealing with narrative voices from the holocaust often provoke strong reactions in those with real life connections to events. I read this from a point of view of interest and as such, found the book to be a compelling and emotional read. There were points in the book that I had to put it down and walk away because it had upset me so.

I would have to say this this is one of Picoult's best works. While I find all of her novels moving, The Storyteller, undoubtedly because of the subject matter, carried a weight that I was not expecting when I started it.  5/5

Read if you enjoyed:

• The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

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To be or not to be…

Sucks to be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire (Maybe) Kimberly Pauley
293 pages; published 2008

My parents are trying to ruin my life. Oh yeah, I know that every teenager says that, but I  really mean it. they want me dead. Or actually, undead.

My parents are vampires. Some people might think that sounds cool, but I’m not talking about those romanticised bloodsuckers, like in novels where everybody walks around in ruffled white shirts and can quote poetry. I don’t know where people get that stuff. Nothing could be further than the truth. My dad couldn’t quote a nursery rhyme if somebody paid him. He likes to watch football and CNN. He wouldn’t know (or care) who Stephenie Meyer was if she came up and bit him. (1)

Mina Hamilton is a normal 15 year old girl. She goes to high school with quirky teachers, she has a best friend she adores, and a speechless-rendering crush on the cutest boy in school. Oh yes, and her parents are vampires.

That’s right, vampires, members of the Northwest Regional Vampire Counsel. It’s not so cool as you might think however. For starters, she can’t actually tell anyone (and who’d believe her if she did?), then there’s the fact that they have amazing hearing, so there’s absolutely no sneaking anything past them, and now (how wonderful) Mina has to decide if she wants to be a vampire too – ah, no!

Turns out he wasn’t really supposed to know about her parents at all, and now she has to go to vampire lessons to help her make an informed decision about her life (or should that be her death?). Her choices: 1) become a vampire and *gulp* drink blood for the rest of her life, or 2) face the possibility of never seeing her family again. What on earth can she do?

I’m curious to see exactly how long the vampire book fixation is going to last. I’m good for a while yet, but the end must be coming soon, right? Still, the parents being the vampires was a nice twist. It was new to me at least – anyone know of others?

I found Mina to be a realistic narrator. I felt sorry for the poor girl. I particularly enjoyed her interruptions of the narration to insert varying pro/con lists or lists about why it “sucks to be her”. What can I say? I can appreciate a character with a list obsession.

Pauley’s take on vampirism was an interesting one – blood bars and vampire pamphlets and ‘sponsoring’ – though I’m not sure how I feel about her transformation process (read it and see). Not the most reinvented I’ve see so far though, that would probably have to be the House of Night series).

All in all a pretty good read. Recommended to any YA vampire lovers. 3.5/5

The Lady of Shalott

Song of the SparrowLisa Ann Sandell
394 pg; published 2007

What place does a woman
have here, in this
realm of men?
I wonder.
But I do have a place.
I belong here, with these men.
They are my family.
I mend their clothes,
I mend their bodies.
I grew up wild like a boy
here.
How could she possibly belong here,
to this camp?
Her clothes are far too
clean for these dusty soldiers,
dusty tents.
Yet, I always dreamed of a girl
coming to live here, of a girl
who would be my friend. (182-183)

Sixteen year old Elaine, with a temperament as fiery as her red hair, is the only female in a battle camp of over three hundred and fifty men. Growing up with this band of brothers and no mother to guide her in the ways of ladyship, Elaine has lived and grown as a boy, wild and free.

Now that she is older, however, things aren’t quite as they used to be… and she’s not even sure that she wants it to be. While her ‘brothers’ look to her for friendship, advice and, and always, the mending of their clothes, they leave her behind when they go off to war. She is quick, fast, and knows medicine – she could be of help to them, she’s no longer the little sister they coddled.

She does not want her friends to get hurt while she’s not there to help them, especially her best ‘playmate’, the brave and handsome Lancelot. She yearns to tell him how she fells, to have him tell her she’s beautiful and loved. Her plans for love are interrupted, however, when Lancelot returns to the camp with Arthur’s new bride: the beautiful Gwynivere, with whom he is already “enchanted”.

Elaine’s hopes for a new friend are crushed when Gwynivere’s haughty, almost cruel nature is made clear. And her presence does nothing to help her plans where the war, and her involvement, is concerned.

I’d admit it, I got sucked in entirely by the cover on this one – it was just too pretty to resist. As such, I was surprised to get it home and actually realise that it a verse novel; not what I had expected. I’ve read a few verse novel’s this year, but I’d have to say that this one is my favourite. Sandell’s verse swung between absolute straight forward practicalities and beautiful descriptions.

As a character somewhat overlooked in most tellings of Arthurian legend, I was looking forward to seeing Sandell’s treatment of Elaine. She was an honest and endearing character, and this came through quite strongly through her voice. Sandell took a few liberties with Tennyson’s poem, but it was done respectfully and, I feel, to great effect.

Overall, a lovely book that I’d recommend to any fan of Arthurian legend. 4.5/5

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Storm Front

Jim Butcher

341 pages; published 2000

My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure by it at your own risk. I’m a wizard. I work out of an office in midtown Chicago. As far as I know, I’m the only openly practicing professional wizard in the country. You can find me in the yellow pages, under ‘Wizards.’ Believe it or not, I’m the only one there. My ad looks like this:

HARRY DRESDEN – WIZARD

Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations.

Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.

No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties, or Other

Entertainment.

You’d be surprised how many people call just to ask me if I’m serious. But then, if you’d seen the things I’d seen, if you knew half of what I knew, you’d wonder how anyone could not think I was serious. (2-3)

When I come across a review of a book I find interesting it goes on a list (one that gets a little on the long side from time to time) until I can it down. As such, a lot of the time I borrow a book from the library no longer remembering why it was I wanted to read it in the first place – Storm Front, the first book of Jim Butcher’s ‘Dresden Files’ series, was one such book.

As soon as I started reading however, it came swooping back.

Harry Dresden is a professional wizard, hiring himself out as a private detective and police consultant to pay his rent and make his way in life. At the start of the book, Harry is somewhat lacking on the monetary front and takes in two assignments – one tracking down a quiet wife’s missing husband, and another consulting on magical murder case with the Chicago P.D.

It is with the murder case that most of the book is concerned, especially when Dresden himself becomes a suspect.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish – attracting many a strange look for my outright laughter. Told entirely in the first person, Harry’s voice is frank, honest, and downright hilarious.

Paranoid? Probably. But just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean that there isn’t an invisible demon about to eat your face. (9)

I did feel, in parts, that this book was trying to set up a lot for the future books, and as such didn’t guy into the depth I would have liked – but as there are several books to follow, this is natural and forgivable.

Purchase Storm Front (Dresden Case Files) here.

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• Lightheaded at Everyday Reads

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"Toot streaked out over Lake Michigan's waters again, a miniature silver comet, and vanished in a twinkling, just like Santa Claus. Though I should say that Santa is a much bigger and more powerful faery than Toot, and I don't know his true name anyway." (75)

The Dresden Files, Book 1: Storm Front

Jim Butcher

Sword of the Rightful King
Jane Yolen
351 pages; published 2003

"I am careful with everyone," Arthur said. "It is part of what High King is all about, being careful. I am careful because everyone - even you, my dear brother - would be king in my place."

Kay had the grace to look embarrassed and once again blushed red. "Not I, Arthur," he said, but they both knew it was a lie.

"Everyone wants the throne," Arthur repeated and walked back up the steps to the high wooden seat. He sat down on it heavily [...] "Everyone wants it but me." (p 45)

Everyone knows the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Everyone knows of noble Arthur, beloved king of Camelot. And everyone knows of Merlin, his ancient and wise advisor. There has, of course, been countless books and films on the subject. Jane Yolen's YA novel, however, doesn't merely retell the legend, but recreates it.

Young Arthur, barely 23 years of age, is the High King of Britain, so titled because of the power and influence of the man who put im there, his advisor and former tutor Merlinnus. However, he is far from the figure found in Arthurian legend. While kind, generous, and a natural-born leader, he does not have the confidence and support required to make him the great king he has the potential to be. His place in this position is, if not widely protested then at least widely questioned - by everyone including even himself.

His greatest rival and contender for the throne is Morgeuse, the North Queen, who desperately desires to rule through one of her one sons. When she sends four of her sons to court, including the upstanding Gawain and his aggressive brother Agravaine, their arrival coincides with several other arrivals: firstly, the rumour of as assassin coming to remove Arthur from the throne, and secondly, a young boy, Gawan, whose suspiscious intelligence and unknown background cause Merlin to keep him close to himself.

Deciding that the best thing to do the face of such uncertainty is to solidify Arthur's claim on the throne once and for all, Merlinnus sets about to do just this. His plan includes the removal of a sword, Caliburnus, from a strategically placed bit of stone. But will it be enough? Will the people accept Arthur as the rightful king?

I quite enjoyed the careful reworking of the well-known legend. It was just a careful shifting of the story, seeing everything in just a slightly different position. While enjoyable throughout, however, the story itself wasn't terribly exciting. It was more Gawan's story than Arthur's and the biggest mystery was in trying to decern Gawan's background. I'd recommend it to a fan of Arthurian legend, but for a newbie I'd probably recommend something a little more mainstream. 3.5/5

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Catch a Falling Star...

Stardust
Neil Gaimen
198 pages, published 1999

Neil Gaimen is an author I have been intending to read for some time but had never quite managed to get to, so when the new Stardust movie came out, I thought I’d take the opportunity to get in and read the book before I saw the movie.

A lovely book, that read more like a fairy tale than I had anticipated, Stardust tells the story of a young man who sets off into the magical world beyond the village confines to retrieve a fallen star to impress the young woman he wishes to love. Of course, as is want with fairy tales, all is complicated when the star herself assures him that she has no intentions of being retrieved. 5/5