Thief's Magic

Thief's Magic
by Trudi Canavan

First published in Great Britain in 2014

Firstly, where is the year going??  I can't believe how quickly the months have flown by since I last posted and that I now have several books to blog about!

This book was on my 'to-read' list since I found out about it.  Having read several of Canavan's books now, I know I like her style and themes so I was fairly sure I'd like 'Thief's Magic'.  My plan was to wait until the paperback was released but then I was given the hardback by a friend so dived straight in.

It's the first in the new Millenium's Rule series and for me the first books are massively important in making me get into the story and thus the series. 'Thief's Magic' introduces us to two main characters who live totally different lives.  Tyen is a student at the Academy, which caters for people with magical talents.  Whilst on an archaeological study trip Tyen discovers a rare magical book.  The book is called Vella and 'speaks' to Tyen by making words appear on her pages.  Vella tells Tyen she used to be a human until an evil sorcerer turned her into a book.  He decides to secretly keep her, knowing that the Academy would lock her away in their storage centre if he showed her to them.  As Vella teaches Tyen more about her previous life and her life since becoming a book, he starts to believe in the ideas that people create magic and that there are lands that can be reached through magic - ideas that are hotly debated in the magic community.

Rielle is a young woman who lives in a land ruled by priests and faith.  She believes that to use magic is to steal is from the Angels, the highest power, but she knows she has a talent for it.  If a person chooses to learn how to use magic they are known as a 'tainted', and will have their soul ripped apart by the Angels when they die, so Rielle keeps her talent a secret.  After Izare, a painter, helps her after she is attacked by a 'tainted', she begins a relationship with him tears her apart from her family.  Rielle decides to seek magical help to prevent herself from becoming pregnant, but in doing so inadvertently makes herself infertile.  To reverse this she accidentally uses magic, and the fear of being discovered is suddenly very real.

Tyen's world is much more similar to the Sonea's in Canavan's 'The Black Magician' trilogy, in that the Academy is well-known and magic is accepted and it's study promoted.  Reading his story felt familiar to me which I liked, and I could easily picture his surroundings and fellow characters.  Tyen is a strong character who evolves quite a lot even just in this first book, and the way he interacts with other characters is relatable.  I particularly enjoyed reading the parts describing his adventures with Sezee and Veroo, two women he meets.

Rielle is in a very different land - hers is one ruled by religion and class.  Rielle's story is quite traditional, with the relationship between the upper and lower classes causing conflict, and her family life will feel familiar to most readers.  I found her a bit annoying at times because she has obviously been brought up well and expects her life to be a certain way, but this means she is very dependent on others and not very 'street smart'.  It is to Canavan's credit that just as I was starting to feel like all Rielle was doing was mooning around with Izare, the action suddenly kicked in.  Thinking back on it this is actually very clever of Canavan, as I was feeling safe in Rielle's story, as she was in her life, until it was turned upside down.

The story alternates between Rielle and Tyen, which some readers may like more than others.  Personally I liked this technique, as it meant I was constantly going along with both of them, however it did feel at times that I was reading two separate books.

Whilst reading I was waiting for Tyen and Rielle to meet, as I had decided that was the way the story was heading, and I had to keep reminding myself that this is only the first book in the series.  It'll definitely be one that I continue to read when the next books are released.

The book as a whole is really easy to get stuck into and I read it in a couple of sittings (sleep and work were the only things getting in the way).  The characters are well-rounded and easy to relate to, just as I have found with the other books by Canavan that I have read so far.  I would have liked a map included (I do love a good map) so I could follow where the characters were a bit easier, but I appreciate that the different lands might have made this difficult.  The descriptions are vivid and it is easy to get lost in one land and then another.

I'm excited for book two ('Angel of Storms', eeep) to see how and where we meet up with Tyen and Rielle - it's released on the 12th so not long to wait now!

To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

First published in Great Britain in 1960

To Kill A Mockingbird has been on my ‘to-read’ list for a very long time, but just never quite made it to the forefront of my mind when I’m stood in a bookshop.  I finally remembered to buy it and read it pretty quickly.  It’s not a long book anyway but it’s also pretty easy to read.  On the back cover of my copy is a quote from The Independent: ‘No one ever forgets this book’.  With this in mind I feel like I put quite a lot of pressure on it.  It’s definitely one of those classics that everyone is supposed to not only have read but also felt a deep connection to.

In the Deep South in the 1930s a black man is accused of attacking a white girl.  Atticus Finch is the lawyer defending Tom Robinson and Jem and Scout are his children.  Written from Scout’s point of view, To Kill A Mockingbird confronts the issues of race and injustice with smatterings of childhood innocence.

Scout is a young girl with a keen interest in the goings on of her town.  She is inquisitive and has an innocence that cuts through the harsh realities of the trial.  Jem is her older brother and I really liked him.  He and Scout are close friends who are inseparable as they have brilliant summers together with their friend Dill.  As they grow up he tries to explain things to Scout and always looks out for her.  I think a lot of present-day teenage boys could relate to Jem, which shows me how good a writer Lee is.

Atticus Finch is the hero of the story.  He tries to bring up his children with strong morals and I loved how he talked to them and took their worries seriously.  Atticus is well respected in his town, and the fact that he goes against the majority of people’s opinions about Tom Robinson brings him a lot of trouble.  To me, the way he continues to be a friendly person, even to people who are openly against him, says a lot about his character.  I haven’t yet read Go Set A Watchman and I have heard various things about Atticus’ character in in, but just from To Kill A Mockingbird I really liked him.

The townspeople are a strong mix of 1930s attitudes.  From the Finch’s closest neighbours to the black community everyone has an opinion on what is happening and each person is portrayed well enough that I could remember who was who (always important to me!)

The book starts when Scout is almost six and finishes when she is nine.  Jem is four years older, which allows him to sound believable when he advises his younger sister whilst still playing games with her.  Lee wrote the book from Scout’s adult perspective of her childhood experience, which makes her thoughts more organised than if her six year old self had ‘written’ it.  That being said, Scout was clearly a very observant child.  I liked the writing style as it was childlike in it’s innocence but not overly simplified.  It made a rather heavy subject readable, and the characters more relatable

The conversations are written as they were spoken, with slang and colloquialisms.  This takes a bit of getting used to but the voices were soon set in my mind and it helped to bring the characters’ strong personalities to life.

I enjoyed this book.  I always think it’s difficult to read or watch something which has a lot of hype about it, and for this reason I usually wait until it has died down a bit.  The hype was up again around To Kill A Mockingbird, probably because of the sequel being released, and so I was asked what I thought a lot as I read it.

The characters were very relatable and the story was really interesting.  As I’ve said, I read the book quickly and this is down to the writing grabbing, and holding, my attention.  I think Go Set A Watchman will definitely be on next year’s reading list (or maybe I’ll sneak it into this years) and I look forward to seeing if it changes my opinion.  I’m not sure if I’d say I’ll never forget this book, but it was definitely one I’ve talked about with people a lot.

A Lovely Way To Burn

A Lovely Way To Burn

by Louise Welsh

First published in Great Britain in 2014.

This book has been on my 'to read' list since it was in the Metro article I've now mentioned a few times in this blog.   It interested me because it seemed to be about a plague in modern times, in a similar vein to post-apocalyptic fiction.  I like reading post-apocalyptic fiction because I like wondering how society would function and how I would react to the situation (I'm aware I'd probably not do well!).

A Lovely Way To Burn is the first in a trilogy called 'Plague Times' and it does end with a fairly open way into the next book, I think.

Set in present ish day (described as 'a time that could be tomorrow) London, Stevie is the main character when a virus suddenly takes hold.  Soon there are more people dying than doctors can cope with and there doesn't seem to be a cure.  However, Stevie has had 'the sweats' and survived.  When her boyfriend dies and it looks more like murder than the virus she has to try to find out who killed him, whilst also fighting for her own life.

Stevie is a character that I kept changing my mind about; even as I write this I'm not sure if I like her.  Initially I found her annoying.  She was self-centred and in her own little London bubble.  As the story progressed she acted in ways I could understand.  As the story was set in the present day I found parts of it worryingly real, for example when Stevie sees a man die in the London Underground and the panic that ensues.

I think one reason for my going back and forth on Stevie's character was the fact that she was soon the only female surrounded by a lot of male characters, and as a female I wanted her to keep going and 'win'.  On the other hand I didn't relate to her personally very much, and so I wasn't really rooting for her at all.

The writing is very straightforward.  I thought Stevie was a bit over-dramatic at times but I was able to see this as a realistic reaction for her.  The story is written in the third person narrative, which I think was a big factor in my not fully connecting with the characters.  The narrator is limited to Stevie's feelings and emotions so she is the main character, however she wasn't one that I related to as much as characters in other books.

The medical lingo is used enough to illustrate how dangerous the virus is, without being too hard to understand, and as Stevie isn't a medical professional she asks for explanations when I needed them.

Overall, it was a decent read but I did get frustrated with Stevie and this had a big impact on my enjoyment of the book.  I know I'll read the next two in the trilogy just because I can't not know what happens when I start something.  I was considering not writing this review because it wasn't a brilliant read for me, but I didn't want this blog to sound enthused about everything all the time (unrealistic much?).  Ofcourse I may not like everything I read in the same way, but every book has something to give.  This one made me realise that I much prefer reading about the initial impact of post-apocalyptic events, for example how the virus affects people day to day, rather than the thriller aspect of Stevie trying the find her boyfriend's killer.  Maybe I'm just rather morbid!

The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz
by L.Frank Baum

First published in 1900.

I love the Wizard Of Oz film.  I watch it again and again and have long discussions about the evil Tin Man - watch the hot air balloon scene again - with my friend Jemma (of her cup of tea).  I sing along, I've attempted the yellow brick road dance and have even dressed up as Dorothy for a university night out.

This is starting to sound like an obsession, I promise it's not.

All of this being true, I have somehow never read the series.  A friend got me this lovely copy for Christmas and I really enjoyed it.  Story aside, the book itself is wonderful.  It is a copy of the first edition, complete with twenty-four colour plates and 130 two colour illustrations, which are interspersed with the text like this...

How beautiful is that?!

If you've seen the film you'll know the basic story.  I was expecting to read the film plot chapter by chapter but there are characters and whole sections in the book which didn't make it to the film.  It's a bit more like a collection of short stories within the over-arcing plot of Dorothy trying to get back to Kansas.

Dorothy is a young girl who ends up in Oz after a cyclone lifts her and her house from Kansas.  She meets the Munchkins and the Good Witch who tell her to go to the Wizard of Oz who will help her get home.  Along the way she meets the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion who decide to go with her to ask the wizard to help them too.  On their journey they come across Kalidahs, who have bodies of bears and heads of tigers, Quadlings who have no arms but necks that extend, and tiny people made of china who break if they fall over.  All in all it's a bit strange but it definitely paints a vivid picture as you read.

One thing that did make me laugh was the amount of washing Dorothy did.  Every time they stopped somewhere she washed herself in a stream or someone's house.  Clearly the author felt a responsibilty to gently tell the readers to look after themselves, and it's not in a lectury way, I just felt that in all the adventure that was going on, it was such a grounded thing to be doing.

The writing is straightforward enough for children but as a (slightly) older reader it didn't feel too simple or patronising.  This is possibly because I saw the film when I was younger so I felt quite nostalgic reading it, but I fully believe in the ability of a book to take you to another world and this one definitely does.

I appreciate this might not be one you'll rush out and buy because you think it's a kids book, but it will remind you of being young and carefree.  If everyone re-read their favourite book from when they were younger once a year I think we'd all be a lot happier.

What's your favourite book to re-read?

The Fault In Our Stars

The Fault In Our Stars
by John Green

First published in Great Britain in 2012.

The Fault In Our Stars is a book off my 'To Read' list for this year.  For a while after the film came out there was talk everywhere of 'Okay? Okay' - I even saw it on a tshirt in Primark.  I never got around to seeing the film but wanted to read the book once the hype died down (less chance of someone asking if I was up to 'the bit where......happens'?).  I did end up knowing certain plot points by the time I read it but not enough detail to have it ruined.

Hazel is a sixteen year old with terminal cancer.  Augustus Waters is a seventeen year old who has had osteosarcoma and is an amputee as a result.  The two meet at a Cancer Kid Support Group and are soon inseparable; Augustus even manages to organise a trip to Amsterdam for Hazel, her mum and himself to meet Hazel's favourite author.  As their relationship deepens and they help each other through hospital visits and a friend's issues, the backdrop of cancer is always there.  A plot twist eventually brings sadness to their love story.

Even though The Fault In Our Stars is a book mainly about teenagers it is one I believe a lot of adults would enjoy too.  The characters are maturely written, not made out to be your stereotypical high school kids.  The book is fairly concise; at only 313 pages it's short enough to read in a week or less (which I did) and then re-read before you have to give it back to the library.  

Although it is written from Hazel's point of view it is not childish and is at times emotionally quite hard.  Obviously cancer is horrendous, yet it is something which most of us will have some dealing with in our lives.  I have often heard that people who have cancer sometimes find a sort of humour in their situation, and this is definitely true for the characters in this book.  Cancer is the first link between Hazel and Augustus and continues to feature heavily in their story, from their friend dealing with losing his sight to Hazel's ever-present oxygen tank.  

The characters do not let it define themselves but they are also not cheesily optimistic all the time.  I think this is a much more realistic view; allowing the characters to scream and cry and shout that it isn't fair is a lot better (although emotional) to read than if they were these 'this won't affect me at all', unrelatable people.

I thought that Hazel was a well thought through character.  She wasn't just an angry teenager who has cancer.  I may be a bit biased because she loves reading and I know what it's like to feel obsessed with a book,  but I felt I could relate to her - I felt like we would have been friends in school if she were real.  She cares so much about the people in her life and says that she knows she is a grenade who will explode one day so wants to minimise the casualties.  I thought this was a very mature way of looking at her situation (plus it gave Augustus the chance to be all cheesy and sweet).  Hazel's matter of fact way of looking at her life is refreshing and makes it even more emotional when she is upset.

Augustus comes across as a bit of a cocky lad at first.  When he tells Hazel he is looking at her because she is beautiful at their first meeting I thought 'oh heck here we go with the over the top teen romance'.  I think because Hazel reacted the same way I did as I was reading, he grew on me the same as he grew on her.  He is similar to Hazel in that he understands the pain people can cause.  One of my favourite lines from the book is one of his: 'You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do have some say in who hurts you'.  As sad as this sounds, that pain is inevitable, I like the idea that you can decide to let it get to you or not.

I won't spoil anything if you haven't read this great little book, but I will say that I cried.  A lot (at one point I had to stop reading it on a bus because tears were threatening to fall and it was first thing in the morning).  I found that I cried at random parts that you wouldn't even think to be sad at.  To me, that was the best bit about The Fault In Our Stars.  Even though I sortof knew what was coming, the story still hit me harder than I thought it would and I felt sadness in moments that you wouldn't immediately expect, particularly between Hazel and her parents.

Don't let the 'young adult' label put you off this one, let it teach you a better way to look at life.  And maybe don't read it on public transport unless you have a heart of stone.

Wild

Wild
by Cheryl Strayed

First published in Great Britain in 2012.

Wild is wonderful.  I saw the film trailer and knew it was one I wanted to see.  When I learnt it was based on a book I went straight out and bought it.  Then I had that annoying time when you're still reading another book and so can't start the new one yet (thankfully the other book was Life After Life - see previous blog post - and I couldn't put it down so was finished pretty quickly).

I think I read Wild in about two weeks, it was another one that I really struggled to put down and go to work.  At the same time, because I was enjoying it so much, I didn't want it to end, so I sortof read it slower than I would otherwise have done.  That probably makes very little sense but I do it a lot with books, re-reading bits and so on to extend the reading time.

The story is of Cheryl Strayed, who at 26 decided to hike 1,100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail alone after her mother died suddenly.  Cheryl hikes through deserts, snow and forests meeting other hikers along the way but staying alone for the most part.  The story of the hike is interspersed with stories from Cheryl's childhood living with her mother and siblings, and her struggles after her mother's death when Cheryl was 23.

Cheryl is a strong, resiliant person but she doesn't realise it at first.  Her mother's death tears her apart and she turns to one night stands and drugs to try to cope.  She realises that she is damaging herself and those around her and makes the rather spontaneous decision to hike the trail.  Throughout the book she gains strength from seeing how far she has come and allowing herself to grieve for her mother properly.  A lot of people would say she is brave, and I agree but not in the sense that she is hiking this potentially dangerous trail alone.  To me, Cheryl doesn't realise the scale of potential danger and so is not afraid of this.  Her bravery comes from choosing to change her life from the depths it was sinking into.

The writing is straightforward and unapologetic, rather like Cheryl herself.  I found it very relatable as a 26 year old, even though I have definitely not hiked on my own (or much at all for that matter!).  It is so detailed in the descriptions of the trail that it is easy to imagine yourself there with Cheryl.  I laughed and cried with Cheryl.  She doesn't shy away from her emotions, especially when she is on the trail and feels safe in her grief.

There are parts which are very much about the technical side of hiking, for example when Cheryl is packing her rucksack, and when she faces snow for the first time.  These parts are detailed but because Cheryl hadn't researched or trained before the hike, the writing is understandable even if you have never worn a rucksack.  I felt as if I were learning along with Cheryl, and shared in her victories.  I so badly wanted her to reach the end of the hike that I was fully cheering her on at times.

When I first started reading it I loved that Cheryl's last name was Strayed, what with her 'straying' from her day to day life to hike and all that.  As it turned out she chose this last name herself.  At first I was disappointed to read this as I liked the idea that her name was more than just a name, that it was part of her personality that she would find as she grew up.  Looking back on it now, I admire Cheryl for carving her own identity by choosing a new name, particularly as the close bond with her mother is not one she discards with the old name.

I kept picturing Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl as I read the book, because of her looking at me from the cover every time I picked it up.  This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but I do think it stops you from imagining a character if a casting director has decided what you should be picturing.  I was glad to see that the book's descriptions of Cheryl and photos of actual Cheryl from when she did the trail are pretty similar to Reese.  I find it so unnecessarily annoying when a characters hair colour or something equally small is changed.

This book is obviously a great one for holidays, gap years and walking weekends (if you have time to read in your tent at night).  For me, it was an escape from the daily commute to the trail in North America.  The book made me want to up and travel somewhere far away with a massive rucksack (although this feeling soon stopped once I finished reading!).  It was made even better by the fact that it was real; Cheryl exists and really did hike the trail.

If you get itchy feet easily, get this book on your bookshelf.  I take no responsibility for it making you want to leave your day job and go travelling.

Life After Life

Life After Life
by Kate Atkinson

First published in Great Britain in 2013.

Ursula is born but dies minutes later.  Ursula is born and lives.  Second chances, the ability to change the future and deja vu are all themes of this story, set between 1910 and 1967.  It concentrates mainly on the 20s and 30s and has great detailed accounts of the second World War in both London and Germany.

I was given this book as a Christmas present by a friend and it is brilliant.  If you've ever wished you could change something in your past, or wondered how your life might be different had something been changed, then give this a read.  I could write a pages long essay on this book; it is full of events, characters and places so detailed I really felt like I was there in the story.  I know that sounds incredibly cheesy but I just got lost in this book. The ideas of dreams, deja vu and second chances are explored in a way that makes you think about your actions and their consequences, without being too heavy handed.  It made me think about my place in the world (cheese again!).

The story follows Ursula from her birth to her death.  She grows up in the English countryside with her mother, Sylvie, and siblings.  When she is young, Ursula tries to stop bad things happening in rather childish ways, for example pushing the maid down the stairs in an attempt to stop her going to London where she contracts Spanish flu.  As she gets older Ursula understands more the consequences of her actions but continues to try to protect the people she loves.  We see her go though several relationships and I was hoping that one in particular wouldn't be the lasting one (no spoilers!)  The relationships were very well written, with the different men bringing out different sides to Ursula's personality.

The only characters I didn't like were Derek (no spoilers so I won't go into it) and Sylvie.  She seemed cold and distant, even towards her children.  When I finished reading I did think that perhaps she also had the ability to go back in her life and change things like Ursula.  I thought it was hinted at that she had once had a fancier life with a gentleman in a hotel, but for some reason this didn't stay as her real life, so perhaps she was bitter about this.

There were several parts of the book which hinted at pretty dark, grim things happening.  Not enough to be graphically obvious straight away but disturbing when thought about.  I felt this gave the timelines a lot more depth, especially the smaller storylines.  I think that the fact that not everyone gets their 'happy ending' shows that whatever you do to help one person may end up backfiring, even if it is not immediate.

The account of the London Blitz is one of the best I have read; it is so detailed and realistic and certainly doesn't hide from the grimness of the time.  I found it really interesting to read and compare Ursula's experiences in London and Germany during the war and the fact that her different experiences were caused by the simple act of her returning to England or not was striking.

The ending is rather vague and at first I was unsatisfied because it didn't give a roundup of each character.  Looking back on it I think that, although I'll always find it frustrating because that's just who I am as a reader, everytime I read it I'll probably interpret it differently.

I know I'll be reading this book again and again, and I definitely want to do so with a notebook so I can try to keep track of the back and forth a bit more!