The kids
Posted: April 27, 2010 Filed under: Dangerous Book for Boys 6 Comments
Uno.
Dos.
We may or may not be having a happy Thanksgiving this year – it depends on if I have to be in the hospital, not eating! For now numero dos will be referred to as the Oeuf. New name coming in late June.
Loss
Posted: April 20, 2010 Filed under: Dangerous Book for Boys 3 CommentsMy sophomore year of college (which I think, technically, is still going), I took a class called Literature of the American West. At the time I was an English major (for an entire semester), and I figured the class would be more interesting than modern poetry or something. (I’m so, so sorry, but poetry is just not my thing.)
Believe it or not, one of our “texts” was a debut cd from a Utah-based country singer. Our small class (maybe 15 students) divided into groups and each presented a lesson on one of the texts; I remember the group who talked about the country cd started by saying that the #1 theme in country music – and, by extension, western literature – is a sense of loss. You can feel loss for a person or relationship, of course, but the students suggested that much of what we studied communicated a sense of loss for the way things used to be.
That’s how I feel today.
Gone is the Bwun’s adorable two-toothed grin.
Yes: he is finally (finally, finally, finally!) cutting a third tooth. It’s coming in on the top and is about halfway out. Can he eat apples now? And toast and crackers and interesting things? I sure hope so!
In other news, the Bwun has moved on from dogs and is now obsessed with sticks. Video coming soon.
Lirael
Posted: April 10, 2010 Filed under: Book of Sand Leave a commentby Garth Nix
{ 2001 | HarperTeen | 496 pgs }
I’ve waited a long time to read this second book in the Abhorsen trilogy (the first being Sabriel). In fact, it’s been almost a year since I read Sabriel.
Because it has been such a long time, I was worried that I wouldn’t remember enough of the storyline to follow along. Nix does a wonderful job of keeping the reader up-to-speed, reintroducing important themes and characters.
This book follows Lirael, a young woman born to the Clayr, the women of the bloodline who are able to See the future. By age 14, Lirael has still not received the Sight which comes to most Clayr years earlier, and she feels left out – not only by her lack of Sight but by her appearance, distinctly different from the other Clayr. The first half of the book is about Lirael finding her place and growing in her power.
The book then suddenly switches to a story about Sameth (Sabriel’s son), the prince of the Old Kingdom. It gets really interesting, even though it still almost feels like a different book altogether. In the final third of the book, Lirael and Sameth’s stories join together, and it gets really interesting.
Then it ends.
Thank you, middle book in a trilogy. There was absolutely no conclusion, no resolution, and no sense of ending. While I absolutely loved Lirael, it was only half a book. Sabriel stood on its own, but there is no way I can say that Lirael is worth reading without having the final book (Abhorsen) standing by. Unfortunately, I don’t have it, and my plan is to read all 26 of my books for this year before moving on to any others. That means I still have 21 books in my way before I’ll read Abhorsen.
By all means, read Sabriel and then Lirael, but make sure you have immediate access to Abhorsen as well.
Jarom
Mika
hilleries 