Category: Book Review
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
(Cover picture courtesy of The Oubliette.)
Ponyboy can count on his brothers. And on his friends. But not on much else besides trouble with the Socs, a vicious gang of rich kids whose idea of a good time is beating up “greasers” like Ponyboy. At least he knows what to expect—until the night someone takes things too far.
Warning: I am about to criticize another classic novel. But before you begin writing your hate mail, at least hear me out.
S. E. Hinton was sixteen when she wrote most of the novel and the quality of writing reflects her inexperience. I mean, sixteen is young no matter how you look at it and most sixteen-year-olds are barely mature enough to shut up and pay attention in school, let alone write a novel. I truly admire her for writing and publishing a novel so young, but The Outsiders is a poorly written novel. Hinton did not have the maturity to write as well as she would have if she wrote it as an adult. If only John Scalzi’s advice to teenage writers had been around at the time…
Ponyboy feels like a girl to me. When I say this, I mean I can tell his first person point of view was written by a woman. Some women writers like Mira Grant can change their voices very well (see Deadline), but Hinton could not pull it off. Yes, I know Ponyboy is supposed to be sensitive, but there is a fine line between sensitive and obviously written by a woman.
The plot of The Outsiders isn’t bad, but it’s not great either. Nowadays it would be considered cliché (the class warfare between the socs and the greasers), but one has to take into account when it was written. In 1967, this wasn’t cliché; it was reality. As for the characters…meh. They’re not really terrible, but none of them are memorable, despite their weird names. Ponyboy? Sodapop? Give me a break.
I give this book 1/5 stars.
An Earthly Knight by Janet McNaughton
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
The year is 1162. Sixteen-year-old Lady Jeanette Avenel has always enjoyed her freedom as second daughter of a minor Norman nobleman in Teviotdale, Scotland. But after her sister, Isabel, disgraces the family, Jenny is suddenly thrust into the role of eldest daughter. Now Jenny has been chosen as a potential bride to the heir of the king of Scotland. While learning the customs of the royal court, Jenny is drawn to a mysterious young man rumoured to have been kidnapped by fairies, not knowing his past holds a secret that threatens everyone close to him—including Jenny.
An Earthly Knight is one of those books that stays with you, even years later. I decided to re-read it a few weeks ago and it was just as good as I remember.
Based off the ballads Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight and Tam Lin, it is both a mixture of historical fiction and fantasy. Since I have never read either of these ballads, I will not comment on how close An Earthly Knight sticks to them because I have no idea. However, I do recognize many fairy tale elements, like evil fairies and false love, so readers who love fairy tales will also enjoy this book.
Lady Jeanette, usually called Jenny, is the wonderful main character of this novel. She is three dimensional, strong for a woman of her time and does not fall instantly in love with Tam Lin. Her sister Isabel is actually my favourite character because although she is only a secondary character, Janet McNaughton did not neglect her character development. Or the character development of any other secondary characters, for that matter.
An Earthly Knight may be a bit slow-paced for some readers because of the descriptive writing style, but I still enjoyed it. Janet McNaughton draws her readers into a world where history and myth collide, where love and loyalty are put to the test and traditions are challenged. If you like fairy tale re-tellings, fantasy, and/or historical fiction, this is the book for you. As long as you don’t mind a little cliché, that is.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Kristina: The Girl King by Carolyn Meyer
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads. Although when I try to link to the exact location I get an error message.)
August 3, 1638
Papa Matthiae arrived last evening, accompanied by Jacob Henrik Elbfas, the court painter. I feared this meant I should have to pose for another official portrait. They dress you in wretchedly uncomfortable gowns and make you stand perfectly still for hours, holding something in your hand—a large feather, or a glove, or some symbolic object. When you think you cannot bear it for another minute, the thing is finished, and you are expected to say how splendid it is!
In truth if I am not with Papa Matthiae and studying a serious subject, I prefer to be outside and on horseback, if possible. Or with a fencing sword.
Even though in her historical note Carolyn Meyer says Kristina of Sweden is one of the most talked about female monarchs in history, even more popular than Cleopatra, I highly doubt this. There is no doubt in my mind Cleopatra—to name one example—is more popular than Kristina will ever be. I had never heard of Kristina until I read this book (which actually belongs to my little sister), which is kind of sad because she really is a woman worthy of admiration.
In a world dominated by men and when only males could inherit the throne, Kristina is proclaimed heir to the throne of Sweden by her father. Kristina: The Girl King follows Kristina’s young years as she is trained like a prince, not a princess. She eschews romance, rides horses, practices archery, fences, learns battle strategies and studies classical Greek and Roman literature. Queen Elizabeth I has nothing on Kristina!
Kristina has a very powerful voice that readers will love, especially tomboys like myself. She is very sympathetic and three dimensional, as are all of the characters, even though we only glimpse them through her writing. Readers will love her and remember her for years to come, which is a good thing because the plot is not exactly fast-paced. However, it is an enjoyable read.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versailles by Kathryn Lasky
(Cover picture courtesy of Fantastic Fiction.)
June 13, 1769
It has come at last—the marriage proposal! King Louis XV’s personal envoys arrived this morning. I was called immediately to Mama’s summer house, The Gloriette, where she works on the hottest days. I did not know what I was being called for. Indeed, I thought maybe Luisa had told Mama about our picnic and I was to be reprimanded for hill rolling! But as soon as I set foot in the cool marble receiving room, Mama was out of her chair behind the desk and running toward me. She crushed me to her bosom and whispered, “Antonia, you are to be married! You are to be the Queen of France!” Her cheeks were wet with tears and soon mine were, too!
When my mother told me people used to urinate on the floors of Versailles, I laughed at her and chaulked it up to either hyperbole or myth. Sure, Europeans weren’t the cleanest bunch back then, but to relieve oneself indoors on those magnificent palace floors? That’s crossing the line between truth and fiction, right?
Wrong.
For all of their protocol, manners and customs, the French nobility apparently acted like dogs who have not been properly house trained. Enter Marie Antoinette, an Austrian princess who has been married off to Louis XVI, the Dauphin of France. Can you see why she rebelled against their ridiculous customs? I knew a little bit about the customs of the French court before reading this, but learning the extent of their stupidity was shocking. You learn something new every day, I guess, especially when you read historical fiction like this.
Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versailles is written for ages 10-12 and focuses mainly on Marie Antoinette’s life before her marriage. We get a little bit of her life after marriage, but most of the novel focuses on the time before she became Dauphine. This is not exactly my favourite book in the Royal Diaries series because of its incredibly simplistic style (especially at the beginning), but young readers will love it. They will be able to identify with Marie Antoinette, enjoy a well-written book and learn quite a bit of history without even realizing it. What more can you ask for in historical fiction?
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
The Land of the Silver Apples by Nancy Farmer
(Cover picture courtesy of Fantastic Fiction.)
Jack is amazed to have caused an earthquake. He is thirteen, after all, and only a bard-in-training. But his sister, Lucy, has been stolen by the Lady of the Lake; stolen a second time in her young life, as he learns to his terror. Caught between belief in the old gods and Christianity (AD 790, Britain), Jack calls upon his ash wood staff to subdue a passel of unruly monks, and, for his daring, ends up in a knucker hole. It is unforgettable—for the boy and for readers—as are the magical reappearance of the berserker Thorgil from a burial by moss; new characters Pega, a slave girl from Jack’s village, and the eager-to-marry-her Bugaboo (a hobgoblin king); kelpies; yarthkins; and elves (not the enchanted sprites one would expect but the fallen angels of legend). Rarely does a sequel enlarge so brilliantly the world of the first story.
First off, let me say that the ‘AD 790, Britain’ part of this blurb is complete nonsense. If you’ll recall, the first book apparently takes place in 793 AD. So either the blurb writer is confused about the timeline or does not know that AD goes forward while BC goes backward. If you’re really picky, let’s just say that this book takes place 3 years later, in 796 AD.
I love this book because we finally learn why Lucy is such a brat. That may seem like a lame reason to like a book, but I really, truly hated her in the first book and she’s even more obnoxious in this book. But Nancy Farmer has an excellent reason for adding what seemed like the token cute character at first and a seemingly unimportant event sets off a series of events in motion that will change Jack’s future forever.
Of course old favourite characters like the Bard, Thorgil and Lucy reappear, but we’re introduced to many new ones: the slave girl Pega; Brutus, a descendant of Lancelot himself; the Bugaboo, king of the hobgoblins; Ethne, a Christian half-elf and many others. My personal favourite characters include the charming and unpredictable Brutus, the Bugaboo and the Nemesis, who is a hobgoblin whose duty is to keep the Bugaboo from getting an inflated head. Now if only all leaders had someone like the Nemesis…
With amazing characters, a fast-paced plot and extraordinary world-building, The Land of the Silver Apples is a fitting sequel to The Sea of Trolls. readers will lose themselves in Nancy Farmer’s fascinating world where the old religion collides with the new rising religion, Christianity. I can’t think of an author who puts a better spin on old fantasy clichés than Nancy Farmer while still staying true to the time period.
I give this book 5/5 stars.