book reviews

Summer's a slow blogging time, apparently! And a slow reading time. Glad to finally have a short stack to review. (And it's been so long, I've forgotten how I usually format these things. Egad.)

Fog Magic, Julia L. Sauer - This is an oldie but a goodie - a simple story of a girl who finds the past come alive on foggy days. I enjoy the story, the carefully built worlds of the past and present and the girl who bridges them both.

Blue Moon Rising, Simon Green - One of Lou's recommendations when I decided I should read more fantasy. This one was particularly good. The tension wound tighter and tighter, the world darkening both figuratively and literally, but it wasn't oppressive. The characters themselves kept the world lit for the reader. There were some plot holes, some threads left hanging, and the identity of the final villain was obvious from the get-go, but overall it was a tightly and interestingly written book with a lot of action and great characters.

Mayflower, Nathaniel Philbrick - The complete story of the lives of those who came over on the famed ship. Not just what awaited them on land in the first year, where most tales stop, but in the years following as they developed their homes and dealt with those who were here first. It was tightly written but not overly dense. I didn't find a lot of depth, and the characters weren't particularly vivid, but I found it an informative and interesting read.

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, Margaret Sidney - Truthfully, the Peppers don't translate into the modern age. The children are both far more capable and far more innocent than children of today, so many of their actions and reactions are nigh unbelievable. Minor incidents such as a stubbed toe are treated as the worst of disasters, while major incidents, such as the near death of a character from measles, are glossed over within a page. Still, there's always something fresh and attractive about these whole-hearted, sincere children and their refusal to be daunted by any challenge.