Review of "Alistair Grim's Odditorium"

“The odd was the ordinary at Alistair Grim’s.”

     When it comes to Gregory Funaro’s Alistair Grim’s Odditorium, truer words have yet to be written. Meet Grubb, an orphan whose adopted mother is dead and whose adopted father, a chimney sweep named Mr. Smears, makes him do all the work while he drinks away their wages. Grubb’s life is hard at best, but he makes the most of it. One day, when he’s twelve or thereabouts and working on a particularly difficult series of chimneys, a pair of rascals gets him in big touble. Terrified of Mr. Smears’s reaction, Grubb stows away in a rich man’s trunk. Before he knows it, he’s indentured to Mr. Alistair Grim, an eccentric collector whose specialty is Odditoria—that is, anything living, inanimate, or otherwise that possesses magical properties. When a talking pocket watch accidentally summons Mr. Grim’s arch-nemesis to his Odditorium, it’s up to Grubb to set things right—and earn a permanent place in the Odditorium family.

     Grubb is a fascinatingly complex hero. In some respects, he’s a typical orphan with fears and insecurities about the people he considers family. He loves Mr. Smears even when the man mistreats him, and misses Mrs. Smears terribly. Despite this, he possesses an inner strength that’s unheard of for boys in his age group, yet fits him like a glove. He’s as sharp as a knight’s blade and clever to boot, plus humble enough to own up to his mistakes and try to change for the better. Combine this with his wit and desperate longing for a place in the world, and he becomes incredibly charming and likeable.

     The worldbuilding is just as fantastic as the cast. From the empty little cottage where Mr. Smears lives to the slick black walls of the Odditorium and the bustling London streets, every scene and setting overflow with an abundance of life. By the magical way it’s described, almost anything could be Odditoria, be it menacing castle walls or the simple joy of being part of something big. Adding to the effect is the fact that a great many things that appear ordinary are actually Odditoria themselves, so that the reader is constantly on the lookout for magical people and objects.

     This being a children’s tale, there is little content worth a warning. Although Mr. Smears is a harsh man who mistreats and occasionally beats Grubb when things go south, it’s evident that he truly does care for the boy, at least a little bit. Characters swear in the most fun of fashions, exclaiming, “Great poppycock!” and “Good heavens!” on a somewhat regular basis. While there’s a lot of gasping and sighing, and a tad too much information-dumping, the content is clean and respectable. The villain of the piece is a cruel Odditoria-collector with an army of monsters at his back, so there are battles, duels, and other things of that sort, though nothing graphic. One character recounts the tale of the time his brother was framed for murder and lost contact with his daughter. Grubb notices that a couple of girls are beautiful, but, being twelve or thereabouts, does not pursue them.

     I would recommend this book to kids and kids at heart who yearn for a bit of adventure in their ordinary lives. Grubb is a fascinating boy in a beautifully-written world, and embarks on a marvelous adventure that’s sure to keep readers on the edges of their seats. Even a few instances of info-dumping don’t slow the pacing down for long. This might be a good one to read aloud to one’s child, or it could just as easily be read to oneself; either way, Alistair Grim’s Odditorium is a must-read. Congratulations, Gregory Funaro: this beautiful piece definitely deserves five stars.

Review of "A Thousand Splendid Suns"

"It happened on a Thursday."

     Khaled Hosseini is back with A Thousand Splendid Suns, a novel centered entirely around the lives and trials of two fictional Afghani women. When Mariam was a child, her father would visit her once a week at the little kolba where she and Nana lived. He would sit her on his lap and tell her stories about the city where she'd been born, and for the rest of the day she would glow with the knowledge that he loved her. Now Mariam is fifteen, and for her birthday she wants nothing more than to watch Pinocchio at her father's cinema. When he doesn't show up, she goes to his house, where he lives with his wives and legitimate children. Before she knows it, a sudden tragedy and betrayal lands her a miserable marriage to a cruel man she doesn't love. Years later, a girl named Laila loses the love of her life to shifting Afghani politics. When their lives intertwine, these women discover they can build a better future, but at the steepest price imaginable.

     In true Hosseini fashion, the tale of Mariam and Laila is full of extraordinary details that make it very true-to-life. The settings are rich with vivid descriptions that breathe life into every scene, from the dried-out grasses around Mariam's kolba to the tight-knit community that Laila calls home. Supporting characters are fleshed-out reasonably well, with distinctive voices and strong opinions that make them stand out in any crowd. The cast is small, though, and while this the development of each internal arc is more obvious, few secondary characters hold the spotlight long enough for us to truly get to know them.

     The plot of this piece revolves around the tribulations in the everyday lives of two mistreated young women, so action and agency aren't all that common. Most of the emphasis is placed on what happens to them, how they respond, and the ways in which this changes who they are and how they view the world. This is both intriguing and disappointing, as it provides a deeper insight into the minds and culture of these women, yet also slows the plot almost to a standstill for quite some time. Still, it's nice to have a story that isn't about chasing the bad guy or fixing things before the stakes grow worse.

     Throughout the story, several questionable things take place of which readers and pre-readers alike should be forewarned. The English vocabulary utilized is generally clean, with perhaps a few curses slipping between the cracks; characters speak Farsi now and then, and call Mariam a cruel name in Farsi in the opening chapters. Islam makes its own appearance, but the perspective is mainly negative, as Mariam and Laila suffer at the hands of men who force harsh religious customs upon them. Perhaps the biggest factor to consider is our heroines' personal relationships. Mariam is young when she marries, and her much older husband is physically demanding and, later, rather unkind. Laila, on the other hand, knows love briefly. While the physical side of these areas is not explicit in the moment, there's enough detail that younger readers might want to put this one off for a while. Despite the slow pacing, there is a bit of somewhat graphic violence.

     I would recommend this book to older readers looking for a glimpse into the life of women in Afghanistan. While the premise obviously does not reflect the background of every Afghani lady, the hardships Laila and Mariam go through are enough to win the sympathy of any reader. The settings are overflowing with beautiful descriptions that truly set the scene, and the few recurring characters support the plot nicely. However, aside from that of our heroines, there is little in the way of internal development, and it doesn't help that the slow plot is the primary method of moving this story along. Add in violence, a broken marriage, and romance with a touch too much detail, and Kholed Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns doesn't quite live up to its initial promise. Still, it's got an interesting premise and strong protagonists, so it deserves three stars.

Review of "Two Moons in August"

"Your mom away somewhere?"

     In Two Moons in August, Martha Brooks explores what it's like to lose someone close to the heart. Ever since her mother passed away almost a year ago, Sidonie's life has been awful. Dad is rarely home anymore, Bobbi has organized the kitchen drawers, and the only person she can talk to is her eight-year-old cat. Any friendship she and her sister once had has vanished, especially now that Bobbi is spending so much time with her strictly-best-friend Phil. When a new boy moves in across the street and wrecks her book, all Sidonie can think of is her mother's signature dripping down the front page. And the fact that this boy, Kieran, is cute. And that she really, really needs to fix her family before things get even worse. But relationships can't be fixed with a hammer and nails, so if she's going to make things right, she has to start with herself--and all the baggage that entails.

     From the first page, it's evident that Sidonie has only just begun to heal after her mother's death. She's still raw over the birthday sweater she refused to try on when asked. It doesn't help that it happened the day she turned fifteen, forever linking the two events in her mind. Bobbi's temper has turned sour now that she's taken over as unofficial housekeeper, and without her dad around to help her grieve, Sidonie's only escape is through books. Her emotions are so prominent in the writing that even readers whose families are intact should have little trouble connecting with her. The others are a little harder to relate to, given their slightly less pleasant personalities, but overall the effect is the same.

     The writing style used throughout this tale is somewhat curious. On the one hand, it's rich with emotion, making clear how Sidonie's world works and exactly what she feels about it. The downside, though, is that this is somehow achieved with a passive narrative voice. Even with a thousand churning waves of turmoil clearly visible in every word, the audience is kept at a distance, able to empathize with the characters yet not quite able to submerge completely within the setting. This has the unfortunate effect of reducing the urgency of the climax and generally reducing the tension, even when things start getting crazy.

     This depiction of Sidonie's summer is a mixed bag of highly clean and slightly questionable content. Overall, the language is relatively clean, with only a few curses dropped here and there. There's no violence to speak of, though at one point two characters find their lives in danger. The biggest factor to consider is the romance. Even in 1959, the year our story takes place, social restrictions on physical contact are few and far between. Kieran and Sidonie's first kiss quickly escalates, but she puts a stop to it before things get out of control. Bobbi, on the other hand, is not so conservative. Thankfully, descriptions of her romantic adventures are thoughtfully skimmed over. They do, however, play a big part in her own private plot line.

     I would recommend this book to readers fifteen and up who want a short read with lots of heart. While the writing style keeps readers at a short distance, Sidonie and her family deal with a tangible sense of grief and enough realistic problems to retain a strong hook. Although there's a bit of romance, the bigger story is about Bobbi, Sidonie, and their father figuring out how to move on after an enormous tragedy. For intriguing characters and a good plot, Martha Brooks' Two Moons in August deserves three stars.

Review of "Monument 14"

"She smashed the bus right through the glass doors of the Greenway."

     In Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne, ordinary kids from all walks of life are thrown together in the most intense survival situation they could have imagined. Dean and his fourteen-year-old brother have been looking out for each other ever since the world started going downhill. Sure, they have their parents, but Mom and Dad can't watch over them around the clock. When a freak storm of giant hailstones destroy Dean's school bus and lands Alex's in the local Greenway superstore, they're on their own. And when Mrs. Wooly, Alex's driver, leaves the two buses of kids alone in the Greenway so she can get help, there are no other grown-ups to calm people down or maintain order. Dean knows he isn't a leader, and so does everyone else. However, as time goes by and conditions grow steadily worse, a leader may not be what this group needs. What they need is glue to keep them together--and that is something Dean can provide.

     As far as apocalypses go, there's something to be said for Laybourne's straightforward approach. By the time the first chapter is through, enormous hailstones have destroyed one school bus, injured a handful of students, and forced a kindly driver into hardcore survival mode. Every few days, things outside the Greenway grow progressively worse, leaving the store's unlikely inhabitants to deal with the consequences. Sometimes this means setting up a work schedule or boarding up a door; other times, it means tying people up to protect the group. There's little explanation of why everything is going downhill, and that's what makes this story so realistic.

     Dean's narrative style is very direct. He tells us what happens, when it happens, and why it happens--at least, as far as he can tell. His personality bleeds through every page, grounding the fantastical work in what could easily pass for reality. Rather than repeatedly note how long they've been living in the Greenway, each page keeps track at the bottom, making narrative jumps to later events far less confusing than they might have been. It also plunges readers directly into the moment, filling them with sights, sounds, and scents that flesh out the setting and characters in a matter of sentences. Every emotion is conveyed convincingly, from heartbreak to sheer terror or even brotherly love. And because the cast is so diverse, finding relatable characters to cheer for is relatively simple.

     Unfortunately, there are a lot of things in this little story that pre-readers should look out for. Language can get heated, and though the strongest terms replace key letters with hyphens, plenty of the medium-level vulgarity is reported as-is. Violence, too, is mildly graphic; while there's no gore, characters pull no punches and leave a bit of a mess after each fight, which they have to clean up later. There's also the minor fact that the apocalypse isn't over when the hail stops falling, and the disasters that follow are extremely dangerous. However, the primary focus is on the Greenway kids rather than the outside world, so this threat is toned down immensely in favor of the more interesting interpersonal drama.

     The biggest factor, though, is romance. From the start, Dean has a crush on a pretty girl he's certain doesn't know he exists. Even with the world falling apart around him, he's excited to think that he'll be spending time near her until everything is set to rights. And he isn't the only one with these kinds of thoughts. Shortly into their stay, a girl from the local middle school decides it's time to spice things up by dressing uncleanly. While Dean views this as a sad sign of immaturity, some of the other boys find this intriguing. At one point, our protagonist walks in on a very private moment that, while not described in detail, is laced with dialogue that fills in most of the blanks. Later, one person tries to take advantage of another. While I'd hesitate to call the latter a trigger scene, potential readers should be wary.

     I would recommend this book to older teenagers looking for a survival tale about smart kids doing their best in a world that's falling to pieces. It features an unusual setting, a highly diverse cast, and a myriad of complicated relationships that contribute just as much to the tension as the catastrophes beyond the Greenway doors. The writing style ties everything together and holds on tight, while the extraordinary intelligence of the characters makes following along an intriguing journey. If it weren't for the heap of flag-worthy content and Dean's never-ending fixation on his crush, this might be a brilliant novel. As it is, Emmy Laybourne's Monument 14 is a great book deserving four stars.

Review of "Timebound"

"I've never seen you this young."

     As far as Rysa Walker's young adult novel Timebound is concerned, you don't have to be from the future to travel through time and space. Prudence Katherine Pierce-Keller, commonly known as "Kate", is an ordinary girl with two ordinary divorced parents. She spends half her time at Dad's and half at Mom's, attending a prestigious private school thanks to her father's new position as a math teacher. When Mom's mother, also named Katherine, appears from the woodwork with news that she has cancer, Kate quickly agrees that spending time with the old woman is a good idea. What she doesn't know is that Katherine has a secret--and it's tied to the medallion around her neck, the one Mom swears doesn't glow blue. It has to do with the stranger who mugs her on the Metro, and his friend, who acts like he's been in love with her for years. If Katherine is right, someone from the future has been messing with the timeline, and if Kate doesn't stop them, the people she loves won't die. They'll have never existed.

     Kate's adventure is not the average time-travel story. Her grandmother is a historian from CHRONOS, a company in the future which sends observers to experience and take notes on the most crucial points in history. They don't change anything--or they aren't supposed to. Ever since she was stranded in the past, Katherine has been fighting to bring the timeline back on track. The only problem with that plan is that she can't travel through time without going to the future first...and, as far as her medallion is concerned, that's now impossible. Kate, on the other hand, has a strong, second-hand strain of the time-travelling gene, which means she can jump whenever and wherever she wants. Her only mentors are an old woman and her roommate, while her enemy has an army at his back. The only person she can confide in is a boy who won't know she exists if she succeeds. Win or lose, someone is going to get the short end of the stick. Kate can only hope it isn't her.

     There is no single time and place Kate has to visit in order to save the world. For now, her main focus is the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, where an assassin from the future and a serial killer are both about to strike. The setting is beautifully done, with so much detail and historical context that readers may lose themselves in this vivid glimpse of the past. It isn't just the backdrop, either. The people Kate encounters are well-rounded and dynamic, no matter how long or brief their acquaintance might be. They feel like people on a fundamental level whether they're from the past, present, future, or some strange blend thereof. And that makes Kate's world authentic.

     Like many of its YA counterparts, this story boasts an impressive love triangle. First in line for Kate's hand is Kiernan, a boy from the past and her alternate future, who is irrevocably in love with her. He's also the grandfather of Katherine's roommate, which should be weird but somehow isn't. Even with his Kate absent from this new timeline, Kiernan is devoted to the cause of righting the wrongs of the wayward time travellers who are destroying history. Then there's Trey, a boy from the present who quickly falls in love with Kate, but who stands to lose everything once she sets things right. Both boys are startlingly realistic and essential to the plot, which is deliciously refreshing. The romance doesn't proceed beyond kissing, though two characters plan to change that once the timeline is stable. Foul language is kept to a minimum, and the violence is kept carefully PG-13.

     I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fascinating novel about love, time travel, and the lengths someone will go to in order to keep their family safe. There's action, romance, and a great deal of American history that hasn't made it into modern history books. The characters are realistic, lovable, and dynamic, full of subtle idiosyncrasies that make them stand out. With high stakes on both a personal and world-wild scale, readers will be glued to the edges of their seats for every page. For a relatable cast,  expansive worldbuilding, and a breathtaking plot, Rysa Walker's Timebound more than deserves five stars.

Review of "Another Faust"

“I’m looking for an unattainable soul…a soul that’s not for sale.”

     From Daniel and Dina Naveri comes a new kind of fairy tale: Another Faust, a cautionary story about the consequences of giving into our darkest desires. Victoria, Christian, Belle, and Valentin were only children when Madam Vileroy offered to sweep them away to another life. Now they are teenagers—and ready to cash in on their deal. At Marlowe, an elite preparatory school in Manhattan, they will be surrounded by the smartest, most talented youth in the state, along with countless opportunities to prove their superiority. Whether they desire power, beauty, sports prowess, or a good laugh, Madam Vileroy is more than willing to accommodate their wishes...for a price. When Belle’s sister begins to ask probing questions about Vileroy’s deals, the governess decides it’s time to step up the game. Bicé is the only one who hasn't sold her soul for her powers--and while this makes her a target, she could also be the key to their salvation.

     The relative obscurity of the Faustian Deal legend makes this an intriguing premise. Though it’s obvious from the start that Madam Vileroy is wicked to the core, her “adopted” children choose to overlook that fact. For Victoria, the most important thing in the world is political and academic success, and she’ll sacrifice anything to get it. In return for a few far-from-harmless practical jokes and whatever else her governess desires, she is given the gift of Cheating, which allows her to read minds and stay ahead of her opponents. Valentin cares more for flexibility in life, and uses his ability to Lie to skip back in time and change the immediate future, often many times over. For Belle, nothing is worth more than beauty, even if it comes from pain or means the love she receives is merely an illusion. Christian, on the other hand, has grown to hate his ability to Steal the life force of others, preferring to win sports games without supernatural assistance.

     Then there’s Bicé, Belle’s formerly-identical twin. Bicé has been given the art of language, but unlike her so-called siblings she uses it to brighten everyone’s day. As the plot continues and the other Faust children Cheat, Lie, and glamour their way to success, she Hides in infinite folds of time, spending countless days learning different tongues. All this changes when she sees the black spot on Christian’s chest--the same spot Belle has, right over her heart. Only Bicé’s skin is clear of the stain, while Christian’s is on its way out. The minute they begin investigating why, their enemy makes her move. Meanwhile, Belle, Valentin, and Victoria fight ever harder to reach the pinnacle of glory in their respective circles. If Bicé and Christian defeat Vileroy, the other’s will finally be free of her dark magic. The only problem is that they might not want to be freed.

     Unfortunately, despite the drama and trickery that each teen faces, something is missing from the writing. This may be an unfortunate side effect of the narrative style, or it could be that the overarching plot is lacking in coherence. So much time is spent on the individual struggles of the Faust children that the importance of the greater conflict is often lost or diminished, leaving Bicé’s mission to free herself and her family unfairly dry. The voice used in relating the adventures of these young people is also somewhat passive, lessening the effect of the more major plot points.

     Despite the subject matter, there isn’t much questionable content within the Nayeris’ novel. Belle’s Faustian Deal grants her beauty at the cost of self-inflicted pain, and she uses it to snag the most popular boy in school. Unfortunately, her ability also leaves her with a disgusting scent that keeps him from kissing her. Meanwhile, Valentin uses his ability to Lie to toy with a girl who is quickly falling in love with him. This results in a single kiss for amusement's sake. He also briefly mistreats another girl to discover what she finds attractive. Christian’s aptitude for Stealing is at constant odds with his kind spirit, and rarely results in someone getting hurt. Madam Vileroy tries to change him by providing a live training dummy, but he refuses to Steal from it. Victoria, on the other hand, has no problem brawling another student to get what she wants, though the fight is not graphic. While rare, moderately vulgar language is occasionally exchanged between enemies.

     I would recommend this book to teens looking for an engaging story where the heroes have to decide what kind of people they want to be. There’s just enough of a connection to the old legend of the Faustian Deal to count this as a fairy tale, yet the modern setting and relative obscurity of the original make this version mysterious and compelling. Even though the writing style detracts somewhat from the plot, each character’s internal arc is intriguing enough to hold a reader’s attention on its own. Together, they weave a tapestry of love, hate, twisted desires, and damaged moral compasses. Daniel and Dina Nayeri did a great job with Another Faust, earning it four stars.

Review of "The Wizard of Oz"

“There's a cyclone coming, Em."

     L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz is a fairy tale in which one young girl changes a magical realm forever. Dorothy Gale lives with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry on their faded little farm in Kansas, but life with the Gales isn’t as exciting as she’d like. The sky is gray, the fields are gray, and the only happy thing around is her pet dog, Toto. When a cyclone sweeps Dorothy and Toto to a world full of color and magic, it seems at first that things have taken a turn for the better. That is, until she realizes that she’ll have to abandon all hope of seeing her family again if she wishes to stay. Determined to find a way home, Dorothy sets course for the City of Emeralds at the center of Oz, where a great wizard lives. But the Wizard of Oz doesn’t do things for free, so even if she makes it to the City alive, she’ll have to do something in return. It will take trust, friendship, and a great deal of kindness to send Dorothy back to Kansas, which means she’ll need friends to do it…friends who must sacrifice who they once were if ever they are to succeed.

     Some old-fashioned fairy tales feature cruel villains, terrifying beasts, and unsavory endings for those on the side of evil. Not so with The Wizard of Oz. In this charming adventure, what stands out most is a sense of wonder. Oz is a breathtaking place with an unimaginably diverse landscape, which a multitude of equally diverse peoples and cultures call home. From the china-people with their fragile bodies to short men whose heads spring forward to repel invaders, no one is too strange or incredible to settle in this world. The villains, meanwhile, are wicked yet one-dimensional, and can do no harm to Dorothy, who early on is given a good witch’s kiss for protection. Since all of her travelling companions are either intimidating or feel no pain, little permanent damage is done to them, either.

     However, do not think this means nothing bad can happen to our young heroine and her friends. The Scarecrow wants brains, the Tin Woodman a heart, the Lion some courage, and Dorothy to return home—and with every passing adventure, it becomes less and less certain that they can find what they desire in the Emerald City. Indeed, they might not even make it there. For while malicious villains may hesitate to harm Dorothy, nature is not so particular. Fields of poppies, great ravines, and hungry animals all do their best to keep the foursome from their destination. So while there’s nothing graphic within these pages, there is always the fear that they may be wrong. They may not make it to the City, after all. And even if they do, who is to say the Wizard of Oz can grant them their wishes—or that he’ll want to?

     There is no foul language, romance, or violence. Even the defeat of the Wicked Witch of the East is an accident, and mentioned in passing rather than described. The primary antagonist, however, takes a bit more effort to defeat, and the epic battle between heroine and enemy is shorter and clean. More important to the essence of this book is the sense of wonder that such a place as Oz exists, and the worry that Dorothy may never get home.

     I would recommend this book to children and tweens looking for a fun adventure in a world full of marvelous people, places, and achievements. Teenagers and adults might like it as well, but the tale is most definitely directed toward children. Dorothy is a lighthearted character who possesses a great deal of kindness and curiosity, while her friends each exhibit unique traits and quirks which alternate between causing conflict, saving the day, and making the reader feel as though they were walking right alongside the four heroes. Though it’s a little simple, many fairy tales are, and L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz makes up for it with interesting characters and a world made to dazzle. It deserves four stars.