Saturday, September 8, 2007

More is better when it comes to books... usually

I have some more book reviews for you.

I can't believe that I forgot to review The Wee Free Men back when I finished it!
Terry Pratchett, 375 pages or about 8 hours audio.

Tiffany isn't a very good name for a witch. But Tiffany decides that she'll become a witch someday anyhow. She doesn't realize just how soon someday will be, though, until her little brother Wentworth is kidnapped by the evil queen. Then it is up to Tiffany, with the help of the Wee Free Men to rescue him.

I listened to this fun one on audio. That's the way I would recommend it, just because the reader does a fabulous job and his accents are amazing. The book has some great messages, too. One of my favorite lines from it is "Just because you know how it happens doesn't mean it's not magic." Hey, that means that we could be surrounded by magic! And that is a fun idea for all of us, I think. Anyway, this book will have you laughing aloud, saying "cheep cheep" in a Scottish accent, and shouting "Krivens!"

Perfect for a car trip or to brighten up anything that takes hands and not brains (dishes, quilting, folding laundry, you name it).

And lets not forget River Secrets.
Shannon Hale, 290 pages.

The third of the "Bayern Books," River Secrets follows Razo on an important assignment to accompany the Bayern ambassador to the hostile southern country of Tira. When mysterious bodies start turning up Bayern depends on Razo's ingenuity to get to the bottom of the precipitous situation.

I'd say you definitely want to read The Goose Girl and Enna Burning before tackling this one, because there is quite a bit of background that you'll want. The Goose Girl is still my favorite of the three, but this one is a page turner. The pacing works really well and Hale gives boy readers plenty of action and her standard girl fans a little bit of romance. My biggest critique of the book is that some of the humor sticks out. It may be silly to say that the humor is too modern -- are any jokes really new? But that is how a few snippets strike me. However, I don't hesitate to recommend this book wholeheartedly.

The more books, the better. Unless you're talking about buying textbooks for the semester.

2 comments:

Hilary said...

The Wee Free Men in my pants.

River Secrets in my pants.

BAH HAHAHAHAHA!

Ransom said...

Book names in your pants? I prefer fortune cookies in the bathtub! :-)