Bogormen

Title: A Suitable Boy
Author: Vikram Seth
Genre: Cultural, fiction
Rating: 7/10
# pages: 1379
Date read: November, 2008

Summary: Vikram Seth's novel is, at its core, a love story: the tale of Lata's--and her mother, Mrs. Rupa Mehra's--attempts to find a suitable boy for Lata, through love or through exacting maternal appraisal. Set in the early 1950s in an India newly independent and struggling through a time of crisis, A Suitable Boy takes us into the richly imagined world of four large extended families and spins a compulsively readable tale of their lives and loves.

Review: I seldom struggle this much with a book, but while not exactly boring, it wasn't a page-turner either, making it a very slow read. Also there were so many different characters, that it was difficult to keep them all straight, and there were 4 or 5 different plotlines - only two of which I was interested in. The summary is woefully inadequate, but I guess trying to summarize almost 400 chapters and 1400 pages into one or two sucinct paragraphs is too daunting a task for anybody to attempt.

I'm glad I've read it, because I think it can easily be considered a modern classic, but it's not a book I'm very likely to reread, nor is it a book I'd recommend to others unless they're very interested in the Indian culture and politics in the early 1950s.

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Title: Shadowmagic
Author: John Lenahan
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 7/10
# pages: 280
Date read: November, 2008

Summary: To his great surprise Connor discovers that his father isn't the eccentric professor he always thought he was, but rather a prince of "The Land" who escaped to the "Real World" because a prophecy had said that any son of his would lead to the destruction of "The Land" unless he was killed before he came of age. In order to save his son from this fate, he gave up his immortality and escaped to the "Real World" to live here side by side with us. Nothing lasts forever though, and inevitably Connor's evil uncle discovers where he's hiding and sends his sister to bring Connor back to "The Land" and kill him.

Connor's mother - whom he'd always thought dead as she stayed in "The Land" - discovers the threat to his life and helps him escape. Now Connor is part of a hectic race to find an escape from the prophecy, before his uncle has the chance to kill him.

Review: I was a bit hesitant at first as the writing style really didn't appeal to me. It was much too immature, and it seemed as if Lenahan couldn't make up his mind as to the level of detail he wanted to go into. The latter improved through the book though, and as the story is told with Connor's "voice", once you get to know him, the immaturity of the writing style actually fits very well. I liked the book and the fairytale-ness of the plot and characters - especially Mother Oak. My one complaint is the ending, which came as a complete surprise and seemed very sudden. This isn't a problem if it turns out that "Shadowmagic" is the first in a series, but if it's meant to stand alone, it's both unexpected and unsatisfying.

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Title: An Old-Fashioned Girl
Author: L.M. Alcott
Genre: Classic
Rating: 10/10
# pages: Audiobook, read by Jennette Selig for Librivox
Date read: November, 2008

Summary: Polly's friendship with the wealthy Shaws of Boston helps them to build a new life and teaches her the truth about the relationship between happiness and riches.

Review: One of my favourite books as a child, and I still prefer it over most of Alcott's other books. She tends to preach quite awfully in her books, but there's not too much of that in this one, and what there is comes natural. It's a very sweet story and perfect for a "comfort" book.

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Title: Peaches
Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson
Genre: YA
Rating: 8/10
# pages: 320
Date read: November, 2008

Summary: Three Georgia peaches are in for one juicy summer...
...but Birdie would rather eat Thin Mints and sulk in the A/C.
Leeda would prefer to sneak off with her boyfriend, Rex.
And Murphy would much rather cause a little mischief.

Together these three very different girls will discover the secret to finding the right boy, making the truest of friends, and picking the perfect Georgia peach.

Review: Sweet YA fiction, very similar in style to "The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants", only this book lets us see the beginning of a friendship. How three very different girls, thrown together for a summer by circumstances, can become the most important people in each other lives. Mostly aimed at girls age 13-18, but well enough written that I'd recommend it to anybody who enjoys YA.

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Title: The High Lord
Author: Trudi Canavan
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 9/10
# pages: 642
Date read: November, 2008

Summary: Sonea has learned much since she was but a penniless urchin possessing an awesome untapped ability. She has earned the grudging respect of her fellow novices and a place in the Magicians' Guild. But there is much she wishes she had never learned - what she witnessed, for example, in the underground chamber of the mysterious High Lord Akkarin... and the knowledge that the Guild is being observed closely by an ancient fearsome enemy.

Still, she dares not ignore the terrifying truths the High Lord would share with her, even though she fears it may be base trickery, a scheme to use her astonishing powers to accomplish his dark aims. For Sonea knows her future is in his hands - and that only in the shadows will she achieve true greatness... if she survives.

Review: A fitting end to the trilogy. I loved how Sonea grew to trust Akkarin and am pleased to have been right about him :) The book included some interesting moral dilemmas, but I thought they were well handled, and Trudi Canavan managed to tie the threads nicely together. One of the best fantasy series I've read in quite awhile.

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Title: The Novice
Author: Trudi Canavan
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 9/10
# pages: 577
Date read: November, 2008

Summary: Alone among all the novices in the Magicians' Guild, only Sonea comes from lowly beginnings. Yet she has won powerful allies - including Lord Dannyl, newly promoted to Guild Ambassador. But Dannyl must now depart for the Elyne court, leaving Sonea at the mercy of the lies and malicious rumors her enemies are busy spreading... until the High Lord Akkarin steps in. The price of Akkarin's support is dear, however, because Sonea, in turn, must protect his mysteries - and a secret that could lead a young novice mage deep into the darkness.

Meanwhile, Dannyl's first order to resume High Lord Akkarin's long-abandoned research into ancient magical knowledge is setting him on an extraordinary journey fraught with unanticipated peril - as he moves ever-closer to a future both wondrous... and terrible.

Review: A great sequel to The Magicians' Guild. This second book in the trilogy got started much faster and had me hooked right from the beginning. I have to admit I was a lot more interested in Sonea's story than Dannyl's though, so I'm glad the plot skipped back and forth so often to give me a nice mixture of both. I'm thinking that all is not necessarily as it seems, and am looking forward to seeing whether I'll be proven right in The High Lord.

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Title: Your Roots Are Showing
Author: Elise Chidley
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 8/10
# pages: 366
Date read: November, 2008

Review: Every married woman has experienced it at some point in life. No matter how much we love our husbands, there will be situations where we are just plain tired of him and would like nothing better than to get some time off. Not for real mind you. Not by a long shot. It's just one of those things we vent about to our girl friends or sisters and then forget all about again.

Unfortunately that wasn't the case for Lizzie Buckley. As her sister lives in Australia, she had to do her venting by e-mail, and by accident - and because the two of them shared initials and the e-mail program's autofill couldn't read her mind - the e-mail got sent off to Lizzie's husband instead. Being a proud man and not understanding how women work, James figured there was nothing left for him to do but pack his bags and move out.

So now Lizzie's in a pickle. Saddled with divorce papers she does not want, but can't convince her husband she doesn't want, she has to pick up the scraps of her life, and fit them back together again… moving to a new neighbourhood with inquisitive neighbours, trying to find a job, coping with her 3-year-old twins and generally pulling herself back together. And all the time, James is constantly lurking in the background.

Elise Chidley presents us here with an amusing yet poignant tale of a woman who's suddenly had the rug pulled from underneath her and needs to reinvent herself. Her characters are vibrant and colourful, and her writing passionate and personal. I kept getting confused by the third-person narrative, because I got so sucked into the story that it felt like Lizzie was telling it directly to me.

Your Roots Are Showing clearly shows the dangers of not communicating, and how easily things can go awry when both parties are too proud, stubborn or just plain blind to share their issues with each other.

At times heart-wrenching, the reader knows from the start that there's a happy ending in sight, ensuring that the book at no time becomes too bleak to fulfil its job of being the perfect comfort read.

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