The Thief of Always by Clive Barker

Ten year old Harvey Swick is as bored as only a kid can get.  The dullness of February is eating at him, and he doesn't know what to do. Whether it's school or home, Harvey is bored beyond belief and nothing anyone can do, can make it better. Or so he though.

When a strange looking man, going by the name of Rictus, appears at his window, promising to fulfill his wish for fun, he jumps at the chance.  Rictus takes him to Holiday House, where all four seasons take place in a day; and Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas all happen within 24 hours.  It's a place where dreams come true, every gift is available, and everyone is just a tad bit creepy.

If Harvey was just a little older, and wiser for that matter, he may have realized that if something is too good to be true, it probably isn't, and that everything has a price.  The question is, will Harvey be able to figure that out before it's too late. 

I've talked about this before, but one of the worst aspects of book blogging has been my inability to go back, and reread some of my favorite books. Preblogging days, there were books I would read at least once a year, never getting tired of them.  The characters were long term friends, and getting another chance to delve into their worlds, was like a homecoming for me.  The Thief of Always by Clive Barker has been one of those books for me for a very long time, and it's one that I've sadly neglected since I've started blogging.

Don't get me wrong, it's not one I've forgotten about.  It's actually appeared on the blog twice now. The first time was in 2012, when I chose to examine the main villain of the piece, Mr. Hood, as part of my Favorite Fictional Characters feature.  One day, young Harvey Swick will be joining him in that feature.  The second time was in a post I did last year, where I looked at how some of my ex-boyfriends have influenced my reading.

When I decided to come back to blogging, I made a promise to myself, that I was gong to start rereading some of my favorites.  And this was the first one I felt I needed to pick back up.  Being able to escape along with Harvey to Holiday House once gain, was so much fun.  I reveled in his playing, lazing in the hot summer sun, dressing up for Halloween, gorging on all his favorite foods, and opening his Christmas presents.  I felt his desire to get lost and embrace the culture that Holiday House seemed to offer.  I shared in his growing sense of distrust, as he realized that things weren't quite as good as they seemed.  My heart broke, along with his, when he realized the full price he has to pay for his freedom.  And I cheered for him as he fought back against Mr. Hood, to reclaim his life, and the lives of so many others.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Bastian Balthazar Bux

The 1984 film adaptation of Michael Ende's The Neverending Story was a huge deal to me the first time I saw it. It was a movie that changed my imagination for the rest of my life.  How cool was it  that there was a place, Fantasia, where every legend, every fictional creature ever dreamed up by man, had a place to live.  Who wouldn't want to live there?

Can you imagine a place where Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, Eeyore, Buffy Summers, Mame Dennis, Zeus, and Isis, all had a place to mingle and coexist?  They would all band together to fight against Trollocs, Orcs, Sauron, Ursulla, Michael Meyers, and others of their ilk.  And yes, I do still play this game in my head.  Every time I read a book, watch a movie, or get sucked into a TV show, every single character is sorted in this imaginary land in my head; the good guys on one side of the planet, the bad guys on the other.  At one point in time, I kept lists, had the characters divided into guilds, and had them forming governments and businesses.  I'm no longer that obsessed with the idea, but I can't totally let it go either.

As great as the idea of Fantasia was for me, the best part of the me, was who the real hero was.  It wasn't the obvious choice, the young warrior Atreyu.  In the end, the real hero was the nerdy, bullied kid, who just wanted to escape his feelings of  neglect and displacement.  Bastian Balthazar Bux just wants to escape his existence.  He has no real friends, he's not getting the attention he needs at home, and he's being bullied in school.  When he gets lost in the story of Fantasia, it's not long before he realizes that he's not just reading a book, that he is in fact witnesses to, and to a degree, participating in, something far greater than himself.

It's this young boy, this junior bibliophile, who has the key to saving Fantasia. Its on his tiny shoulders, and it's his imagination that must save the day.  This is a case where all it takes for the hero to save the day, is to use his mind.  For a nerdy, junior bibliophile watching this movie for the first time, it was life affirming.  It gave me hope that I didn't need to be some super strong athlete, to make a difference.

I own this movie, and I still watch it from time to time.  My heart still beats faster as Bastian struggles with the truth.  I still cheer, sometimes out loud, when he accepts the idea that he can make a difference.

Scavenger Hunt by Christopher Pike

Synopsis From Back Cover:

School was almost over.  A secretive club on campus had organized a scavenger hunt for the entire senior class.  In small groups, and with the help of cleverly planted clues, the kids are led throughout the city, and then deep into the nighttime desert.  The sponsoring club has promised a wonderful prize for the first group to reach the goal of the hunt.

But for Carl Timmons, a troubled young man who has recently lost his best friend, the hunt will become a nightmare. Led astray by his love for a strangely beautiful girl, he will wander far from the other, and back into a haunted past, where the line between the living and the dead is blurred and broken.

The other day I was wanting something easy, quick, and fun to read, but I didn't feel like hunting something down in a bookstore or browsing through the NOOK store.  So I went to the greatest resource every bibliophile has, my own bookcases.  To tell you the truth, I almost forgot I owned this book, especially since I was never a huge Christopher Pike fan.  I think this is the only book of his I've owned, let along kept all these years later.

It's probably been at least ten years since I've picked it up, and it was exactly what I was needing at the time.  It had been long enough that I forgot some of pertinent details of the plot and found myself engaged from the get go.  I still really enjoyed Carl and his friends, and the journey they were forced to undertake was suspenseful enough to keep me interested.

If you are familiar with Christopher Pike's books, and a lot of you should be, you know he was good at plotting, and was decent at character development.  I think Scavenger Hunt is one of his best, and I know I'll be picking it up again sometime in the far future.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Part Of The Synopsis From Back Cover:

A mysterious island.  An Abandoned orphanage.  A strange collection of peculiar photographs.  

As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.  As Jacob explores its decaying bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that Miss Peregrine's children were more than just peculiar.  They may have been dangerous.  They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason.  And somehow - impossible thought it seems - they may still be alive.

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned it before, but I'm really good at ignoring those books that everyone else seems to be reading.  I will probably never read The Night Circus, Water for Elephants, or The Hunger Games books.  I'm the same when it comes to movies and even a lot of the music that comes out anymore.  I'm not sure it's something I've ever really done on purpose, but I tend to avoid them like the plague.  I think it helps that for the most part, they never sound like books I would want to read anyway.  I'm really bad when it comes to most YA titles that I see being reviewed all over the place.  I hate to say it, but I think I actually turn my nose up on most of it.  I'm not proud of that last fact, but it's an instant reaction anymore.

All that being said, when Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children first starting showing up, I'll admit that I was a bit intrigued by the cover and the premise of the book.  It does fit into my rather odd tastes, despite it being a YA book.  The last time a YA book knocked my socks off, was when I read Rotters by Daniel Kraus.  It blew me away, and while the two books have widely different concepts, they both explore some of the darker aspects of human behavior and the lengths we will all go through to find home.

I wish I could tell you that this book blew me away the way Rotters did, but I can't.  And honestly, I'm not really sure any YA book really stands a chance of matching the way I reacted towards that one.  That's not to say I didn't enjoy this book, because I had a lot of fun reading it.  It just won't be life changing or all that memorable to me.  I do want to say, that I enjoyed it enough to want to read the next book in the series once it comes out.  It was an interesting look at what it means to be human, and how appearances are rarely what they appear to be.

Now granted, all that exploration is done through some rather fanciful and contrived character exploration  The whole premise, of writing a book around a set of pictures, is a little too forced at times.  It stilts the action in places, and I'm not sure it really serves any sort of character development.  It seems as if some odd choices were made in order to fit the story around a certain pictures, instead of trying to find a picture to fit where the author wanted to take the story.  I think it hurt the way I felt about the characters, which never really allowed me to invest in any of the secondary children, and barely kept me interested in Jacob.  It's really the themes and undercurrents that saved the book for me, and allowed me to enjoy the book despite it's inherent flaws.

Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann (Plus Giveaway)

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

The tale of the Nutcracker, written by E.T.A. Hoffman in 1816, has fascinated and inspired artists, composers, and audiences for almost two hundred years.  It has retained it's freshness because it appeals to the sense of wonder we all share.

Maurice Sendak designed brilliant sets and costumes for the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Christmas production of Nutcracker and has created even more magnificent pictures especially for this book.  He has joined with the eminent translator Ralph Manheim to produce this illustrated edition of Hoffmann's wonderful tale, destined to become a classic for all ages.

The world of Nutcracker is a world of pleasures.  Maurice Sendak's art illuminates the delights of Hoffmann's story in this rich and tantalizing treasure.

Believe it or not, I have never read Nutcracker before, I've never seen the ballet, nor have I ever seen the various TV productions that have come out over the years.  Despite all of that, I still had a vague idea of what it was all about.  I knew it was about a young girl who loved her Nutcracker and how that Nutcracker battled the evil Mouse King.  

What I didn't know, was all the stuff that happened in between.  I didn't know that there was this rather creepy godfather who was a genius clockmaker and would make her and her brother magnificent Christmas present every year.  I also didn't know that on one particular Christmas, the young girl, despite her lovely dolls and pretty dresses, fell in love with a little Nutcracker, a gift for the entire family.  I didn't know the legend behind the Mouse King or why he was so bent on destruction.  I didn't know of the magnificent battles the toy soldiers, lead by the Nutcracker, fought against the hoards of mice.  I never would have guess the real identity of the Nutcracker and how he came to be cursed in such a way.  I didn't know how action packed, romantic, and plain fun this would be to read.  Having illustrations by Maurice Sendak, was icing on the cake.  

Thanks to the lovely people at Crown, I have a copy of this book to giveaway.  All you need to do to enter, is leave a comment telling me your favorite Christmas story.   You also need to leave a valid email address so I can contact you if you are the winner.  You must be a US resident, sorry guys.  The giveaway will run from now until 11:59 pm CST, on 12/5/12.  I'm cutting this one short in order for the winner to get it by Christmas.  I will use random.org to pick the winner.

Challenges: CS

These Things Happen by Richard Kramer

Part Of The Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

Set in Manhattan and told through an ensemble of endearing voices, These Things Happen is not the quite coming of age story about a modern family.  Fifteen-year-old Wesley, a tenth grader, has moved from his mother and stepfather's home to live for a school term with his father and his father's partner, George, so that father and son might have a chance to bond again.  But when Wesley finds himself unexpectedly at the center of an act of violence, everyone around him must reexamine themselves, their assumptions and attitudes.

I went three whole years with only one review book that I could not finish, then 2012 happened.  With These Things Happen, I have now tripled that amount.  I feel horrible about it, I have no desire to even be sitting at the computer right now, typing these words.  I would rather be doing anything else, including building a replica of the Acropolis out of marshmallows.  I don't like having to admit I've given up on a book, it doesn't feel good.

So needless to say, this won't be a review, and I give you permission to exit out of this window,  and go about your day.  I do want to explain my reaction to the book, so if you are a bit curious but don't need a lot of details, then you may want to finish reading this post.

I think most of us have that one friend, who just tries to hard.  They want to be all things to everyone.  They strive to be funny, but normally fall flat.  They will spout of facts, normally incorrectly, in order to appear smart and worthy of deep conversations.  They wear clothes appropriate to someone 20 years younger than them.  They want to be cool, witty, and fun, but the harder they try, the worse the results.  Since they are your friend, you can forgive it.  I just wish I could have forgiven it with this book.

Now I'm not saying These Things Happen fit that mold perfectly, but it's the closet analogy I can come up with.  The entire time I was reading it, and granted I gave it less than 50 pages, I was grinding my teeth in frustration.  Nothing I read felt real or personal to the characters I was wanting to like.  The dialogue felt forced and unnatural, trying to hard to be witty and current.  And that's my hang up with the book, I hated the way the characters talked, I couldn't get over it, and because of that I closed the book and have no desire to pick it up again.

I know that not giving you all that much detail, but that's all I have in me right now.  I wish I had the energy to  give you some examples of what I'm talking about, but that would require me to reopen the book and pick a few to share, which I just don't care enough to do.  I wish I had more to say, either positive or negative, but I don't.  So I'll leave you with this thought, I do think this book will appeal to readers who enjoy YA more than I do.  I think These Things Happen is marketed towards the adult market, but I think it would fit in better with YA readers who are used to unnatural dialogue coming out of the mouths of teenagers.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book.  Please visit the tour page to read other reviews.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Mr. Hood

I can never put my finger on it, but there is something about the month of October that has had me in it's spell as long as I can remember.  It could be the cooler temps, which I wait all summer for.  It could be the leaves on the trees first turning color, then falling to the ground with the wind.  It could be the nights that get longer, the days that get shorter, and the sun that isn't so bright.  It could even be the fact that I somehow give myself to indulge in horror movies, ghost stories, and the general creepiness that Halloween brings to the mix.  I have a feeling it's a mixture of all that, plus a little something extra.  When I figure out how to describe that extra little bit that makes October my favorite month, second only to December, I'll let you know.  

What October means for Wordsmithonia, is the idea that I get to play a little more than usual.  I'll be posting some extra posts during the month, featuring some of my favorite Halloweenish topics, plus my Favorite Fictional Character posts will be presenting some of my favorite characters this month makes me think about.    Today's character, Mr. Hood was a villain I was introduced to in the first Clive Barker book I ever read, The Thief of Always.  

The Mr. Hood you see in this picture, is not the Mr. Hood we are introduced to in the beginning.  That Mr. Hood is the mysterious benefactor of the Holiday House, a retreat for kids to escape their boring lives at home.  He is the invisible presence that runs the house and allows it's magics to work.   I guess you could even call Mr. Hood a dream catcher.  He hears the daydreams of kids who want nothing else but to escape the day by day routine of their lives.  He sends out "recruiters" to introduce the idea of Holiday House to the kids, a place where all their dreams will come true.  It's with the arrival of Harvey Swick to the Holiday House, that the action of the book begins.

Harvey is a bright lad, one that Mr. Hood takes a close interest in.  Harvey, like the rest of the kids, quickly become enraptured in the house and all the delights it has to offer.  Every day, brings all four seasons to the house.  The mornings are taking up the spring.  The afternoons are full of the laziness that summer brings. The  early evenings bring the delights of fall, including Halloween every night.  The nights are taken up by winter, and all the joys that Christmas can bring.  Mr. Hood does everything he can to make sure the kids are happy every moment of day.  The get every toy they could ever dream of for Christmas.  They get to dress up, and sometimes turn into, any monster their fevered minds dream up for Halloween.  They are given everything they could ask for, but have no clue the price they are paying.

You see, Mr. Hood isn't doing this out of the goodness of his heart.  In actuality, those poor kids are having the lives sucked out of them to feed Mr. Hood.  It's not physical hunger that Mr. Hood is sating, since he has no real body.  It's time that this creature needs to feed upon, time stolen from the kids he lures to the house.  You see everyday that goes by in Holiday House, is a year in the real world.  Years are stolen from them before they even begin to realize something is wrong.  Once they do, it's almost always too late.  Before they know it, they are joining the others in the bottomless dark lake, no longer human.  

If you hadn't notice, I threw in that almost always for a reason.  You see, Harvey Swick is about to be Mr. Hood's downfall.  What started off as a unlimited feast for Mr. Hood, is about to test him in a way he never thought possible.  Harvey and friend, managed to escape from Holiday House, only to find out the horrible truth once they returned home.  Their parents were old and, years ago, had given their sons up for dead.  Harvey, the strong willed young man that he is, understands the only way to get back what was stolen, was to return to Holiday House and confront the man who stole it from them, Mr. Hood.

Mr. Hood, the greedy individual that he is, understands what he has in Harvey.  He is willing to do whatever it takes to make Harvey stay at Holiday House, even tempting him with an apprenticeship of sorts.  He wants to train that mind to be what he is, but Harvey had other plans.  He overwhelms Mr. Hood with wishes, straining the powers that hold Mr. Hood and his house together.  Once the pressure become to much, it shatters the house and leaves Mr. Hood an automaton made up of the remnants of his home.  Let's just say that taking a body, wasnt' the best idea Mr. Hood had.  It makes him easier to kill, which Harvey proceeds to do with only a limited amount of trouble.

I must admit that after reading this post, you may be wondering why I chose to focus on Mr. Hood and not Harvey.  It's simple really, even though Harvey is the hero of the tale and wins the day in the end, Mr. Hood is the ultimate villain.  He is the perfect predator that all parents should fear.  He is the man who can lure our kids away with the promise of fun and excitement.  Forget the stranger in the van offering a kid a piece of candy, this is the creature that can lure the kid away with the promise of their own unlimited supply of toys and candy.  He is the individual that stalks our kids and uses their own dreams against them.  Despite his defeat at the end, he causes untold damage and sucked the lives out of countless kids.  He robbed them of their youth to feed his own cravings.  He is the predator we will never see, the ultimate bogeyman.  And for that, he deserves our respect and our fear.

Lydia's Favorite Fictional Character --- Anne Shirley

One of the most pleasant aspects of the book blogging world is the sense of community and how quickly another blogger can feel like an old friend.  You may never talk about the latest love of your life or how much you just paid for that new pair of jeans, but you share something more than that, a love of books and everything that entails.  Lydia of The Lost Entwife is one of the bloggers for me.  She is one of those reviewers to whom I look to before I buy a new book.  If I see a book at the store I'm not familiar with, I go to her blog to see if she has read it.  If she has, and did not like it, I will probably not buy it.  I trust her taste and her ability to put her reaction down in words, in such a way as to make me understand what my own reaction to it would be.  She is a gifted blogger, writer, and she is someone I hope to have around for many years to come.  Bloggers like Lydia, make the all the work worth it.  So go on by her blog, say hi, and I know you will be sticking around for a long, long time.

Hi folks!  My name is Lydia, and I blog over at The Lost Entwife, and about a year ago I discovered Ryan and his fantastic feature of Favorite Fictional Character and have loved reading each and every one of them.  So I was honored when Ryan asked me to contribute a guest post - and then the next day freaked out as I tried to pick one, JUST one, character I could talk about.  I mean - my latest favorite has definitively been Tyrion Lannister of Game of Thrones fame, but everyone loves that little dude, so I went to my bookshelves and looked and looked.  But then I realized there really is just one answer.

One of the first books I remember getting from my Aunt for Christmas is Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.  I've read the book, and all its sequels, and watched the movies so many times that for every event, small or big, that happens in my life, I can give an Anne quote to bolster my spirits or get me settled back on solid ground.  This is the book I give my nieces to read, it's the book that comforts me when it's raining outside and I feel as if the world is a dark and dismal place.  Gilbert was my first crush and when I was younger, raspberry cordial sounded like it would be the thing to drink.

Anne taught me what it was to be patient, to be kind.  She is a character who struggles with her temper and with saying the wrong thing, but she also is able to swallow her pride and seek forgiveness for her brash actions.  She struggles with her red hair (and boy could I relate to having things about me I didn't like), but ultimately comes to accept that hair and how much it sets her apart and makes her Anne-with-an-E.

Through Anne I experienced loss the first time when Walter Cuthbert passes away.  I cried into my tissues, and still do to this day.  I learned what it means to be a "bosom friend" to someone, how to love Tennyson and the spoken word in the form of poetry, and how important imagination is.

I'm going to finish this post with a few of my favorite quotes from the various Anne books, and I hope that if you haven't experienced the story of Anne's life that you seek it out and introduce yourself.  Trust me, she's been a good friend to me all these years and I'm sure she will be the same to you.

“We should regret our mistakes and learn from them, but never carry them forward into the future with us.”

“Perhaps, after all, romance did not come into one’s life with pomp and blare, like a gay knight riding down; perhaps it crept to one’s side like an old friend through quiet ways; perhaps it revealed itself in seeming prose, until some sudden shaft of illumination flung athwart its pages betrayed the rhythm and the music; perhaps . . . perhaps . . . love unfolded naturally out of a beautiful friendship, as a golden-hearted rose slipping from its green sheath.”

“I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens, but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.”

“Dear old world', she murmured, 'you are very lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you.”

Listen to Anne's Theme here.

The Secret Garden by Frances H. Burnett

When Mary Lennox is left an orphan, stranded in India, she is shipped off to a distant uncle who lives amongst the moors in Yorkshire.  For a girl who was used to getting her way in everything, servants to dress her and obey her every command, the lonely house is a great change.  She is a bratty child, though that's the result of neglect more than anything else.

When she learns of a secret garden, shut up since the death of her uncle's late wife, she seizes on the idea to discover it for herself.  With the help of an ancient gardener, the younger brother of a house maid, and her long hidden cousin, Mary brings the garden back to life and as a result discovers a new life for herself and her cousin.

Back in July of 2010 I bought a few classic books from Barnes & Noble for $1.79 per book.  I bought five of them, have read two of them, and the rest have been languishing on my shelves ever since.  One of those books, waiting to be read, was The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  I'm going to admit, right up front, that even though I bought it and planned on reading it someday, I was never in a hurry to do so.  If it hadn't been less than two dollars for a hardcover, I probably would not have purchased it that day.  I guess I could make some sort of unbiased excuse, but the real reason I didn't feel a fire to read it, I always thought of it as girl's book.  Now what that actually means in reality, I have no frickin clue.  I know that's not a valid reason to not read a book that many consider a classic, but it's the only one I got.  So when Sheila at Book Journey suggested a read-a-long when some of us mentioned on one of her posts hat we haven't read it, I figured I might as well get it over with.

I will even have to admit to finding my line of thinking validated about a third of the way through the book.  I even remember telling a friend of mine who loves this book that I felt like such a "girl" while I was reading it.  I will even have to go as far as saying, part of me was a little embarrassed to tell anyone I was reading it.  Then something a little strange happened.  I started to relax and allow myself to put all my preconceived notions behind me.  I wish I could tell you what triggered that change in my thinking, but I can't.  All I can say is that once I allowed myself to really take in what I was reading, I started to fall in love with Mary and her quest to discover the hidden garden.

I found myself utterly fascinated with the change in temperament and behavior that Mary was undergoing as she started to realize the life may actually be interesting if she gets out and does something about it.  With nobody around who was willing to coddle her and tolerate her bad behavior, Mary started to grow in ways that only her changed environment would ever allow.  Now granted, the book over simplifies the changes show goes through, giving a lot of the credit to physical exercise in the outdoors.  Don't get me wrong, I love being outside. As a kid, I was truly happy camping in the great outdoors, swimming in the lakes of Northern Minnesota, and climbing trees.  I understand the benefits of being outside, I just think Mary's behavioral changes are a little bit much for the catalyst that kicked started it.

The other aspect I truly loved was the discovery and transformation of her cousin.  Much like Mary, Colin starts off as a whiny brat.  His mother died during childbirth and ever since then, he has been coddled and babied in such a way that has left the household in terror of him.  He blames himself, but most importantly, thinks everyone else for the death of his mother.  He thinks he is going to to die young and has a bag that is deformed.  While everyone in the community knows about him, nobody really talks about it.  He is hidden in a separate wing of the house, a wing Mary is told to never visit.  Because of some mysterious crying, Mary discovers her cousin and sees in him, her past behavior.  Because of the friendship that develops between the two of them, they both awaken into the children they should have been given different circumstances.

Now while I really enjoyed and could even say I loved this story, I'm not going to be very good at getting across the way it made me feel.  This was a affirmation for me of the magic of childhood and what it means to be accepted by those around you and how important "home" is to your identity.  It's a celebration of nature and the benefits of being in sync with your environment.  I will also have to admit that had I read this as a kid, I would have loved it, and never admitted to reading it.  Now as an adult, I will proudly proclaim that not only have I read The Secret Garden, but I fell in love with it.

The copy I own is filled with wonderful full color illustrations by Tasha Tudor.  I wish I was able to share all of them with you, but I hope the ones I picked gave a good overall impression of the magical world she was able to capture.

I would like to thank Sheila for the excuse to read the book and share my experience with others who were reading it around the same time.  Please join us for the discussion.  So join us for the garden party over at Sheilas.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Frank & Joe Hardy

When I first decided that I was going to pick The Hardy Boys for this weeks feature, I wasn't sure what direction I was going to go in.  At first I thought I would be all intellectual about it.  I was going to delve into the hidden meanings and racial controversies that have sprung up over the years.  I was going to examine, in minute detail, the cultural significance they have come to symbolize.  Then I realized I have no frickin clue about any of that, most of which I think is dreamed up by people who have nothing better to do with their time.  So instead I'm just going to explain why I liked, and still do, them so much.

I don't quite remember in what grade I first discovered The Hardy Boys series.  I'm going to assume, for the sake of argument, that it was around the same time I first came across Nancy Drew.  And while I loved the Nancy Drew books, I fell in love with Frank and Joe Hardy.  You could probably say that as a little kid, I had my first literary crush on them.

Here were these two young men who not only had a great family life, but got to live out these amazing adventures that most of us could (and still do) dream about. They have a world famous detective for a father.  A father that encourages them in their capers, and always seems to need their help.  Because of that the boys kinda get the best of both worlds.  They get to show their father up a bit and earn his approval at the same time.  Their mother is that paragon of virtue, the content housewife and mother.  She stays home and makes sure that all three of the men in her life are taken care of and supported in whatever fashion they need.  She has no problem packing a picnic lunch for her boys to take out on a case and will even throw in extra food for their friends.  It would be impossible to not love a mother like that.

But it's those adventures, some of which take them far from home, that makes Frank and Joe Hardy childhood icons.  They get to do things that and visit places that I could only experience through their eyes.  Now of course, as I've gotten older, I've come to understand a few things about those adventures.  For starters, the boys never seemed to be in school, despite attending Bayport High School.  So I'm not sure if their principal was that understanding or that they were such excellent students, that they always made their work up.  The other aspect I've come to understand is that I can't imagine the money it would have taken for these two young men to do what they do.  So the only assumption you can come away with is that Fenton Hardy was such a world class detective, that he made killer money.  It's either that or they just got everything for free.

The major realization, the one I actually understood to an extent at the time, was that no matter what their adventures, the two boys were going to come out of it just find.  No matter how scary or unpredictable the situations they found themselves in, no real danger was going to land on their doorsteps.  They were never going to be shot through the end by the thief they were trying to expose.  They were never going to have their dead bodies dropped into the river because they got to close to solving a case.  It's that almost sterile sense of "danger" that made the books so hospitable to my young mind.  I don't think I would have enjoyed them as much if these adventures were really that dangerous.  Even in the world of fantasy, my young mind needed massive safety nets.

As an adult, I still value the cleanness of it all.  There are time, as a mystery lover, that I don't want to read something dark and somber.  I need that little bit of lightness to bring me out of that funk that a truly dark book can put you into.  As a father, I rejoice in the idea that there are still fun books out there for younger readers that don't explore the seedier sides of life.  I love the fact that I can turn these books over to my son and know that he will get just as much enjoyment out of them that I did, without his psyche being traumatized.

Odd And The Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman

Synopsis From Back Cover:

In a village in ancient Norway lives a boy named Odd, and he's had some very bad luck:  His father perished in a Viking expedition; a tree fell on him and shattered his leg; the endless freezing winter is making villagers dangerously grumpy.

Out in the forest Odd encounters a bear, a fox, and an eagle -  three creatures with a strange story to tell.

Now Odd is forced on a stranger journey than he imagined - a journey to save Asgard, city of the gods, from the Frost Giants who have invaded it.

It's going to take a very special kind of twelve-year-old boy to outwit the Frost Giants, restore peace to the city of the gods, and end the long winter.

Someone cheerful and infuriating and clever...

Someone just like Odd....

When I first sat down to write this review, all I was going to say was "I loved it."  Then I was going to finish the post with "Everyone should read it."  That's all folks.  Though I doubt that would really excite you, or would it?  Well either way, I'll never know.  There is no way I could leave a review at two lines, though I'm sure some of you would prefer that over my longer, rambling ones.

Ever since I was a little kid, I have loved mythology.  It doesn't even matter what pantheon of gods we are talking about.  Greek, Roman, Norse, Celtic, Babylonian, Egyptian, even American Indian; they were all fair game to a young boy that could never get enough of those stories.  So when I saw this book reviewed last year (maybe the year before) by a blogger I know I trust, Tasha of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Books, I knew this one would be for me.  I'm so glad that I listened to myself.

For such a short book, one that I ready pretty quickly, it packed one of the biggest escapism punches of the year for me.  For that brief amount of time, I was lost in another world.  A world that was ruled by gods who weren't really as powerful as they thought they were.  A world where a tricky Frost Giant can trick the trickster god himself into doing something really stupid.  A world where three of the most powerful gods to ever walk the Earth, can be turned into animals.  It's a world where those same animals get into trouble and have to have a crippled, twelve-year-old boy get them out of it.  It's a world that I really want to know for myself.

Odd, the young hero of the tale, is one of those boys that is way too clever for his own good, and he knows it.  He knows how smart he is.  From what I can tell, he has know problems letting everyone else know it too.  But he isn't that smarty pants kid that you couldn't stand in 5th grade.  You know the kid I'm talking about, we all had one in class.  Instead, Odd is the kid that you wanted to have as your best friend.  He is the resourceful one, the kid you can count on to get you out of trouble.  I figure if Odd can get Odin, Thor and Loki out of trouble, he should be able to do the same thing for the rest of us.

I really want Odd to make another appearance someday.  I would love to find out how he got along with the other Gods or how he settles into the lands of his mother.  He is one of those characters that deserved to have more than one book written about him.

Staci's Favorite Fictional Character --- Charles "Pa" Ingalls

What can I say about Staci of Life In The Thumb.... Well I can start with the fact that she is obsessed with Mr. Darcy, though I still can't quite figure out why.  The vlog she did, calling me out on the subject, gave me a little inkling but it wasn't enough.  Maybe I need a little more, I dont' know, but I have to respect anyone who likes a character as much as she does him.  I can also say she is a fabulous blogger, writer, and all around class act.  She has made me feel welcome from day one, and I can never tell her how much I have appreciated it.  She has been encouraging, even when she didn't realize.  She is a truly special person and I'm glad I've gotten to know her, even if just a little bit.  She has also added to my wish list on more than one (WAY more occasions, so hers is a blog I go back to on an almost daily basis.  If any of you don't know her please stop on by and say hi.  I'm sure you will be made to feel at home.

When Ryan asked me to write up a post for his Favorite Fictional Character Wednesdays I immediately thought of Mr. Darcy! One, because Ryan just can't get enough of my love for Darcy and two, because I seriously do love Darcy. But then I really sat down and thought about a fictional character that made an impact on my life and came up with Pa Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie. 

When I was in first grade, Mrs. Wilson read Little House in the Big Woods to our class. It was then and there that I fell in love with Pa and Little House on the Prairie. I loved that Pa would get out his fiddle and play music to entertain the family at night. I was also drawn into how safe he made his family feel. 

Then when Little House on the Prairie came to television my little heart swelled to ten times it size! Here was Pa, bigger than life, and with such an infectious laugh. I adored Michael Landon as Pa and felt that he belonged to me. Every week my family gathered together to see what would happen next in the Ingall's little house. Without fail, Pa always treated his children with love, patience and tenderness. I felt safe and secure when I was lost in their world. It was nice to see that my Pa was so much like Laura's Pa. Boy, did I feel special. 

I remember when Michael Landon passed away ...I felt as if a piece of my childhood had died and I wept. I honestly don't believe any fictional character has had such an impact on my childhood as Pa Ingalls. 

Note: I do understand that Mr. Ingalls was a real person, but there is a part of fiction wrapped up in those books and TV shows!!

Cecelia's Favorite Fictional Character --- Suzy Turquoise Blue

Cecelia of Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia has a great taste in books.  She is one of those bloggers that always seems to be reviewing a book that I have never heard of before.  After reading her reviews though, I tend to find myself really, really wanting to read them.  I don't think I have picked up a book she recommended without liking it.  That and I can never get enough of her baking posts.  I'm not much of a baker myself, so seeing her handiwork makes my salivary glands go into overdrive.  It doesn't help that I would never be able to replicate her accomplishments.  If you don't believe me, go over and see for yourself.  I can guarantee that after saying hi, you will stay for a while reading all about the great books and food.

If Suzy Turquoise Blue’s name is familiar to you, we just became instant friends.  No, you don’t have any say in the matter (aren’t I charmingly forceful?  ha!)  Any fan of author Garth Nix is automatically a friend of mine.  And if Suzy Turquoise Blue sounds like the grownup child of hippies somewhere in New Mexico (and you really have no idea who she is) – then goodness, you’ve got a whole wonderful world to discover, and I envy you the fun you’ll have!

Suzy Turquoise Blue is an ink-filler, sixth class, when the reader meets her in Garth Nix’s middle grade fantasy Mister Monday, the first of seven Keys to the Kingdom books. And her first words are “Hey! Idiot! Up here!”  Anyone with that tone is liable to make me laugh uproariously, and Suzy DOES.  She can’t help it – she’s irrepressible and direct and curious and altogether too much fun.

Suzy helps the hero of the Keys books, Arthur, to get out of a scrape, and that’s just the first of many adventures that she and Arthur land in.  Suzy leaps over rooftops, flies with a pair of wings, jimmies anything locked, closed, or generally meant to be NOT open, open.  She’s also loyal to the point of death, a wonderful friend, and the first person to pick to guard your back.

I was reading along innocently, quietly enjoying Mister Monday, and then BOOM!  I was hijacked by the force that is Suzy.  She is the reason I loved these books – truly.  I don’t know that I’ve ever met a character with such verve.  Or if I have, it’s very likely that I forgot them because they didn’t have something that every great character needs – an unforgettable name.  And you have to admit, Suzy Turquoise Blue as a name is a mouthful, descriptive, AND straight-up awesome. 

Oh, and I should mention something else – Suzy speaks in vernacular when she’s not paying attention.  As far as I can tell, it’s Cockney/Aussie/something-or-other, but I could be wrong.  It’s not hard to figure out, but it makes her bits of dialogue utterly delightful when read aloud.

And now that I’ve completely fangirled about Ms. Blue, might I interest you in Garth Nix’s Keys to the Kingdom series?  That’s where you’ll find out more about Suzy and all of her (and Arthur’s) adventures in this and other assorted worlds.  Thanks for having me, Ryan!

Simcha's Favorite Fictional Character --- Tom Sawyer

I'm going to sound like a schmuck now, but today's Favorite Fictional Character is not one I've ever met for myself.  I know who he is of course, who doesn't, but I've never taken the time to read about him.  I'm sad to say that it's taken Simcha of SFF Chat to remind me of that oversight.  Simcha, who I think is an absolutely fabulous, is based in Israel.  Her blog is one that I visit on a daily basis and I can always count on her to let me know about the new fantasy/scifi releases and reviews.  So go on over and tell her hi, stay for a while, and I know you will never leave.

I first encountered Tom Sawyer when I was thirteen years old and I was immediately captivated by this mischievous boy with the wild imagination.  I was in awe of his clever tricks and easy ability to beguile others (the fence whitewashing trick was classic!)  and I loved to imagine myself by his side, participating in each of his adventures.

After finishing Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, I got a hold of several other books featuring Tom and I read through them all again and again.  he became the best-friend that I always wanted and all my real-life friends pale in comparison.  I longed to transport myself into his stories so that we could run around together barefoot, getting into trouble by concocting new adventures.  though now and than I think about it, I probably had more in common with Tom Sawyer than I realized at the time (a particular recollection just floated into my head of the time I convinced my friend to put all her belongings into a shopping cart and sell them to passersby along a busy Boston street.)  Together we would have been a real terror.

It's been a while since I last visited Tom Sawyer, but he still remains one of my favorite book characters.  Thinking about him now reminds me of my own childhood and of the delight of being young, carefree and rich in imagination.

The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon

When Frank and Joe Hardy are almost ran off the road by a speeding car, little do they know that it's just the beginning.  Being the sons of a famous private eye, mysteries are nothing new to the two boys.  They have just never tried to solve one on their own.  When the father of a friend is accused of stealing thousands in jewels, the boys are determined to find out the truth.  When it becomes clear that the speed demon who almost killed them is involved, everything comes full circle.

Unlike the Nancy Drew books, which I devoured as a kid, I never read all that many Hardy Boys mysteries.  I don't remember if it was because I didn't like them or if it had to do with the fact the library I used didn't have as many.  I'm thinking it's the former, because I don't see how I didn't like these as a kid.  Especially when I loved this book so much as an adult.

I had this one sitting around for a few weeks now, sitting unread.  I had already read the Nancy Drew book that I bought at the same time, but since I wasn't feeling the same sense of nostalgia, I wasn't in a hurry to read it.  The other night though, Father's Day actually, I was missing Aidan and none of the other books were keeping my attention.  I know him spending time with his great-grandparents for the summer is a great thing, but it takes me a while to get used to not having him around.  Anyway, I picked it up on the off chance it would do more for me, and it did.

It grabbed and held my attention from the start when the boys are forced off their motorcycles when a speeding car almost takes them out.  That is followed quickly by a stolen car, a holdup, stolen jewels and a crazy hobo.  What made it even better though was I knew two different things.  First, this book was aimed at young people so I knew that despite whatever action was taking place, nobody was in any actual danger.  Secondly, there are 58 books in the original series.  That means I have a lot of fun ahead of me.  I'll be waiting for Aidan to come home so I can sucker him into reading these with me.

Challenges: M&S, VM

The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene

What started off as a routine favor for her father, ended up with Nancy Drew having her first case.  A chance encounter with a moving van and the little girl it almost hits, sets Nancy on an adventure she won't forget anytime soon.  Missing wills, greedy relatives, and furniture thieves are just some of the dangers facing Nancy as she sets out to find a missing clock that holds the key to everything.


Can I say how excited I was to read my first Nancy Drew book since about the 5th grade.  I devoured these book throughout the school year and I really think Nancy gets some of the credit for my lifelong love affair with mysteries.

Underneath that excitement was just a small amount of fear.  I haven't read this book in 25 years so I was scared that it wouldn't live up to the memory.  It wouldn't be the first time that I reread a book I loved when I was younger only to find out that I really didn't care for it as an adult.  What if that were to happen now?  Would I suddenly find myself ditching mysteries and take up historical romance?  I shuddered at the thought then and now, it's just not pretty to think about.

On the other hand I knew it wouldn't be the same, and it wasn't.  Compared to the mysteries I read now, this was pretty tame and simple.  It was a fast and easy read.  It wasn't bogged down in complicated plots involving more characters than you can count.  Nobody was killed and despite a few scares nobody was really ever in danger.  I loved it almost as much as I did in the 5th grade.  It was for different reasons though.  As a kid I was caught up in the mystery.  I had to know where the will was hidden and that the bad guys would be punished.  I wanted to know that the good relatives would get their inheritance so they could live happily eve rafter.

As an adult, this book served as a palate cleanser.  It was just the thing I needed to reset my brain and get me out my more serious frame of mind.  It was pure escapism.  I was able to read simply for the pleasure of it.  I didn't have to think about or analyze what I was reading.  I didn't have to deal with emotionally complex characters that left me drained at the end.  I got to read a story that was simple and fun, a story that left me happy at the end.  I can't wait to do it again.

Challenges:  A-Z, M&S, VM

Rotters by Daniel Kraus

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

Grave robbing. What kind of monster would do such a thing? It’s true that Leonardo da Vinci did it, Shakespeare wrote about it, and the resurrection men of nineteenth-century Scotland practically made it an art. But none of this matters to Joey Crouch, a sixteen-year-old straight-A student living in Chicago with his single mom. For the most part, Joey’s life is about playing the trumpet and avoiding the daily humiliations of high school.

Everything changes when Joey’s mother dies in a tragic accident and he is sent to rural Iowa to live with the father he has never known, a strange, solitary man with unimaginable secrets. At first, Joey’s father wants nothing to do with him, but once father and son come to terms with each other, Joey’s life takes a turn both macabre and exhilarating.

Since I started book blogging back in 2009, I don't think I've ever been happier to not be a paid reviewer.  If I were, I think I would be racking my brain for days for something to say about this book that would be worthy of being paid for it.  I'm not sure I'm capable of ever expressing how much I loved this macabre blend of my childhood fears of being buried in the ground along with all the adolescent pain and longing for home that so many of us experience.

When Joey's mother dies in a freak accident, he is cast aside by the state and forced to go live with a father he never knew he had, let alone wanted.  He is set adrift in a new town, without his best friend, and forced to deal with a father that seems to be not only cold but just so happens to be the town pariah.  Unfortunately for Joey, this is one case where the sins of the father comes crashing down on the son.  When the kids in his new school find out who his father is, he is never allowed to know a day of peace ever again.  Relentlessly bullied, he is forced to withdraw further and further into himself in order to not feel the pain the building isolation is forcing upon him.  When he does take that all too painful step of reaching out, even in the smallest way, those who reached back are punished by his tormentors.  This causes Joey, like so many others, to continue to pull within himself in order to deal with the pain.  He is a young man who has lost his home and his identity which is enough explanation for what comes next.

Part of Joey's problem is the way he smells.  For weeks, he has been living in what can be called a shack, if you want to be generous about it.  He can't wash his clothes or from what I could tell bathe all that often either, there is such a cloying stench of decay in the house, that it seeps into his pores and never really leaves.  The stench and stigma that comes with it though are fitting, it's almost like the outward symptom of what is happening inside of him.  Between the horrific changes that ripped him away from the only home he knew and the constant pressure squeezing him at all times of the day, the slow decay of his soul and spirit match up with the sweetish, pungent odor of death.

Is it any wonder that when Joey discovers his father's secret, he grasps at that world with all the strength he has left.  Maybe in the world of rotting corpses, long nights, and constant death; Joey will be able to find a place to call his own once again.  His father, reluctant at first, takes Joey under his wing and starts teaching him about the world of grave robbing.  His father, like many before him, view the life in an almost noble, romantic way.  By the time he is done with him, Joey feels the same way.  They are serving a higher purpose by what they do, even it it's misunderstood by the general populace. 

Now if this book was just about grave robbing, as seductively written as it was, I'm not sure I would have loved it as much as I did.  The world of grave robbing though served a bigger purpose.  It served as a comparison for what happens, all to often, when life rips away someone's identity and sense of self worth.  This was a book about a young man who loses everything and through some rather unconventional ways discovers more about himself and his family than he ever wanted to know.  By the end of it, and there is some great action I never even hinted about in the middle, he has picked up the pieces and has maybe found that balance within himself once again.

Now if 6 months ago you would have told me that I was going to read a YA book about grave robbing, written by an author I never heard of before, I would have told you to go away.  It wasn't that I would be turned off by the idea, instead I wasn't sure a YA author could pull it off.  It sounds more like something Poppy Z. Brite would do, and better than anyone else.  Now that I've read Rotters though, I can happily say that Daniel Kraus holds his own against Brite, who was really the first author I read that could make this type of topic both seductive and mesmerizing to the point I would not be able to stop myself.  I don't think she could have told this story any better. 

Rotters is a story of the desire we all have to be somewhere we feel "at home."  It just happened to be told in such a way to keep me up at night with nightmares of a digger in the future bringing up my body and mutilating my corpse for the treasure buried with me.  I've always wanted to be cremated, this book cemented that decision in stone.  This was a world of pain, yearning, and rotting flesh that I would never hesitate to visit again.

Bandits by LM Preston

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Daniel’s father has gotten himself killed. A thief and a mercenary, Daniel is now determined to find the treasure his father snatched. Being a Zukar is all he knows and wants for his future. Up until his father’s murder, his father’s faltering loyalties to the Zukar hung heavy as a rift between them. But now, with his father's blood on his hands, his time is running out to find his father’s killer, the missing treasure… and to save his world.

He wants to go alone to retrieve his father’s stolen treasure, but he is accompanied by his flight school dropout cousin Faulk, his best friend’s stubborn little sister Jade, and his own younger brother Nickel. Jade is off limits since her brother is his best friend, but unfortunately, Jade’s set on changing his mind. Daniel just can’t decide if she’s worth the beating he’ll get from his friend in order to have her.

They’re on the run from the king’s officials and an unknown killer. The king desires to kill any Zukar child who is unprotected and will stop at nothing to get them. Who’s more dangerous, Daniel doesn’t know. All he knows is someone is bent on killing him and taking the treasure he thinks his father died foolishly to protect.

Through the islands of Merwin to an unknown planet, they seek to find the treasure that changed his father’s life – all for a price that is too high. To claim the treasure, Daniel will have to test everything he knows and everything he is or will ever be in order to earn the right to save their lives and the home of those he loves.

This is the third LM Preston book I've reviewed and I must say that I'm really happy with the results.  She is an author that I've come to appreciate and am really enjoying her growth as a writer.  When I read her first book, Explorer X-Alpha, while I enjoyed it, I wanted it fleshed out a bit more.  I felt there was so much in it, that I wanted it explained and detailed more.  When I read her second book, The Pack, I was still wishing the book was set in a fantasy series, though I understood the reasoning of what that would not work.  Now I know that the author wasn't paying all that attention to one reviewers opinions but I must say that Bandits seemed to fulfill both of my issues with the first two books.

Don't get me wrong, this is still a sci fi book set on a alien world, but it almost had a fantasy feel for me.  I think creating the Zukar as an almost futuristic version of pirates, just a little more deadly, is what did it for me.  I have always associated pirates (in literature anyway) as an almost fantasy like element in the same way I would do with dragons.  I know that make absolutely no sense, but what does anymore.  As a kid I was a sucker for pirates and to explore that world again, with a slightly different twist was a lot of fun. 

The other aspect that made this more like a fantasy book compared to something that was strictly sci fi (not that I have a lot of experience with that genre) was the quest aspect of the book.  After Daniel and Nickel's father is killed they set off on a fast paced journey to discover the secret of their father's treasure and why someone would be willing to kill for it.  In typical fantasy tradition they are joined on the quest by their cousin Faulk, a flight school drop out who wants nothing more than to break away from his parent's control and live his own life, and Jade, the younger sister of Daniel's best friend and a possible future love interest.  Their journey takes them off their world of Merwin and into uncharted space to find the origins of the treasure, a treasure that could destroy the planet and all those trapped on it.  Once they arrived on the planet that the treasure came from they are all tested to see if they are worthy to control the secret and save Merwin from destruction.  The fact that this story happens in outer space, far into the future, and involves space craft and aliens; didn't make it any less of a fantasy novel for me.

The other aspect I felt the author did better in this novel was in how she was able to make the characters and plot three dimensional enough to appeal to an adult audience, without writing above the heads of her target audience.  I had some difficulty in relating to the first two books for that reason.  While they were fun and engaging to read, I couldn't connect to characters as much as I would have liked, because they seemed to be more like stock characters instead of fully realised individuals.  That was not the case in this one, though not perfectly written, they were well rounded characters that anyone should be able to get behind and be engaged by their story.  

The same is true for the storyline itself.  This book takes the action, which the author has never been bad at, and blends it within the plot in such a way that I didn't feel as if I was reading two different stories.  The author blended the two in a better fashion than what took place in the first two books.  The story itself wasn't predictable and it kept me on my toes wanting to know what happens next.

I've really enjoyed reading LM Preston's writing grow and mature through each subsequent book.  I'm really excited to read what she comes up with next.