Tag Archives: YA

Book Review of The Wizard of Crescent Moon Mountain: Elven Resurrection

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Oldman Brook (or his representative) sent me a beautiful copy of The Wizard of Crescent Moon Mountain: Elven Resurrection. I say beautiful because I really love the cover.

Description from Goodreads:
Elven boys Finn and Beezle enter a time portal just before their race is wiped out by an otherworldly warrior and his goblin army. Travelling 3,000 years into the future and arriving in snow-filled lands, the boys are saved from the cold by two shape-shifters sent by Greybeard, the wizard of Crescent Moon Mountain. Out of their time and depth, Finn and Beezle are enlisted to join Greybeard and his friends on a quest to save the world of Everlast from the very same otherworldly warrior….

Warning: Minor Spoiler

The Wizard of Crescent Moon Mountain: Elven Resurrection is an epic adventure very much in the style of Tolkien. Humans, elves, shape-shifters, dwarves, wizards, dragons, goblins and more vie for power and survival in the land of Everlast. Most of which contribute at least one colourful character to the cast of the book. I really found the characters themselves enjoyable, though I found their mannerism and flippant lack of sentiment toward their enemy equally disturbing. Let me elaborate (hopefully without spoilers). Greybeard and his crew set out on a quest to save the world essentially. Who is friend and who is foe is fairly clearly delineated. Warrior and his goblins are bad, Greybeard and his army are good. However, both sides treat the lives of the enemy with frightening disregard. This is, perhaps, to be expected in a dehumanised enemy, but not in those that are presented as the representative of the morally superior. An example: at one point the ‘good guys’ callously joke and laugh as they watch the enemy being incrementally and, almost certainly, painfully burned alive. Not funny and more to the point not appropriate in a children’s novel.

If  The Wizard of Crescent Moon Mountain was written for adults, who can be expected to think deeply about such things, I might find this ubiquitous callousness an interesting addition. It might prompt readers to remember that histories are written by victors, who have a tendency to gloss over the cruelties of their own. In a children’s novel, however, I find it dangerously close to suggesting that it is ok to kill another as long as they are an enemy, which is of course a subjective classification, making the actual lesson ‘it’s ok to kill just so long as you think you are on the right side.’ I have no doubt that the Hitler Youth were taught a very similar lesson along the way somewhere.

This is my only real complaint though. A whole host of varied and interesting characters are introduced in an unusual narrative. It is told in present tense, which takes some getting used to, but I liked it once I had. The writing is clean and uncluttered for easy reading, and though the first in a series, the book wraps up nicely so there aren’t any unbearable cliffhangers. Its well worth a read.

Brunswick

Interview with Ann Haines and review of her novel Brunswick

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Joining us today is Indie YA author Ann Haines.

Thanks for being here today. Why don’t you start off by telling us a little about yourself and your book?

First of all, thanks Sadie for the interview and the review. Both are greatly appreciated.

Well I’m a debut Indie Author finding her way slowly but surely through the self-publishing world and enjoying it as I go. I have been writing since I was a young girl, even illustrating my younger works too. It took me two and a half years to finish my first novel but it was actually ten years in the making. So I guess you could say I’m patient too!

Brunswick is my debut novel. It’s a YA Fantasy, I think it would fit in the Tween genre as well though. It follows the story of a teenage boy who wakes up in a strange place bleeding and scared. He has no idea that when he meets the people who have been looking after him, that he will then be asked to save the land he has woken up in. With people trying to kill him left, right and centre his journey becomes perilous and the allies he meets along the way are not the kinds he is used to. In the final epic battle he must become more of a man than he has ever needed to be to conquer the hooded figure that has been haunting him. What will he do when the hood comes down and he faces his biggest challenge yet?

Brunswick has a certain appealing innocence despite the characters’ darkish mission. Was this purposeful?

Oh absolutely. Our innocence is something that we lose so quickly as we grow up. I am a strong believer in the fact that we all have an innocence about us at every age. There is always something new to learn and so every age should be enjoyed for what it is. No matter how old we get I think we all are able to feel the joy we had when we were teenagers, that’s something we should never let go of or stop reminiscing about. Even the tough bits! Jonathan’s journey is one that I think we can all enjoy and understand at some level.

The book is dedicated to the real-life Jonathan. How much alike are he and the character?

Very! Jonathan is my son and he is a little younger than the Jonathan in the book but other than that, they are peas in a pod. He is very creative and has no problem being himself. He’s brave and very down to earth, he loves his friends too. Oh and he is a great big brother to our daughter Annie!

Do you see yourself in any of your characters?

Actually I kind of see myself in Sebastian. I realise he is a Dog Lycanthrope but his personality and his outlook on things is very me. I try to be the voice of reason and see things from both sides and also I don’t have a ‘stand by and watch’ attitude. When I was writing Sebastian’s character and his dialogue I found myself writing exactly what I would say in that moment. There is a special place in my heart for Sebastian.

Do you remember where the initial inspiration for the story of Brunswick came from?

Oh yes, again it was my son. I used to watch him play and I was fascinated by the way he created a whole world from just his bedroom. When he was about 4 years old he used to bring me in to the game and I just loved it. It got me thinking that what if these things were really real, I mean who are we to say they aren’t? Just because we can’t see them doesn’t make them any less real, especially in the mind of a child. I ran with that idea until Brunswick was born.

What does your writing day look like? Are you a morning, afternoon, or night person?

Well there are days when I start working during the day but sometimes the flow isn’t quite there so I’ll go away and come back to it when I’ve got the blood pumping to my brain more. Sometimes I’m lucky to have a really good flow going and I will write until the flow is broken or until I just can’t keep my eyes open.

Of course, I am a mother of two so I will only write while the kids are at school, asleep or any other reason they might not be with me. I am also a cake designer, a job I do to help fund my self-publishing journey, so I have to fit it in around that too.

Do you generally read one or multiple books at the same time? What are you currently reading?

I love to read! I will read as much as I can whenever I can. However, when I am writing I stick to one book at a time, brain overload is no good for me and obviously I will always want to focus more on my own work. I am editing my second novel at the moment so I am at a one book limit and I am reading Angel Evolution by David Estes.

What is next for you? Do you have a new project you would like to tell us about?

Well my second novel ‘Mary’ is being released on 6th July. It’s a YA Paranormal novel based on the Bloody Mary urban legend. I love urban legends so I decided to put my own little twist on my favourite one.

Do you have any last words for the readers, advice, admonitions, reminders, requests?

Read what you love, but give everything a chance. An open mind will keep you young and stops boredom. Lastly the most important thing, thanks. A writer without readers is like a garden without sunshine…… it just can’t grow. So thanks for reading my books and supporting me through my growth. I am as always so very grateful.

Thank you for answering my questions Ann and I just have to add that I love the new cover. It’s a big thumbs up from me. 

–Review–

Synopsis: When Jonathan wakes up beside a lake bruised and bleeding, he has no idea how he got there or where “there” really is. Taken from his life and asked to save a land he knows nothing about, from a menacing hooded figure, Jonathan must learn quickly to survive. As he struggles to stay alive long enough to get home he is faced with a deadly choice, Join It or Die. And when it becomes clear that so many would do anything to kill him he must stay close to those who would kill for him. To stay alive and get home he must face the one thing he never wanted to, the figure in black. And when the hood comes down Jonathan is faced with a revelation that could break him and destroy everything he has fought for.

Brunswick put me in the mind of The Never Ending Story or maybe a modernized Narnia. I’m fairly sure I’m not the first person to make the comparison, but that just further supports the similarities. Jonathan and his family are about as ideal as you can imagine, everyone loves each-other and is comfortable expressing it. So it isn’t surprising that Jon’s overriding desire is initially to get home. But because he comes from a strong, loving family that has taught him to do the right thing he can’t turn a blind eye to the suffering around him. It is easy to see the influence of his home-life in the decisions he makes, and this serves to make his emotional transition believable.

He meets a whole host of interesting characters in the new land of Brunswick. This is my favorite aspect of the book. Haines really lets her imagination go wild. The variety of species is a lot of fun. That they are initially reluctant to combine their resources serves as an allegory for the manner in which racial or cultural segregation weakens a society or cause.

The story does tend to leap periodically. I would have liked for it to have progressed a little more smoothly, but I didn’t find this so jarring that it put me off in any manner. If you are looking for a story with a contagious innocence that reminds you of what is good in the world, this is probably the one for you.

You can find more about Ann here:

Blog

Goodreads

Smashwords

Twitter

You can find more about Brunswick here:

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Smashwords

Angel Evolution

Book Review of David Estes’ Angel Evolution

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Author David Estes kindly sent me a digital copy of Angel Evolution, book one of the Evolution Trilogy.

When Taylor meets Gabriel at college, she is in awe of the subtle glow that surrounds him. No one else, not even her best friend, seems to notice. Something about him scares her.
Is all as it appears? While Taylor struggles for answers, she finds herself in the middle of a century old war centered on one miraculous revelation: evolution.

Review:

**minor spoiler alert**

Let me say up front that I did like the book. I want to say that up front because I also have some complaints, gripes, criticisms. For one, Taylor and her best friend, Sam, have a certain innocence that appears contrary to their age. They are university freshmen, but Sam still interrogates Taylor excitedly over whether she is going to kiss her new boyfriend or not. I remember being a freshman, and a kiss was simply pase — 0r maybe I just hung out with the wrong type of girls. Either way the point is highlighted by the fact that, though Estes handles it delicately, Taylor quickly moves beyond kissing Gabriel. No one makes a big deal of this though. I belabor this rather small point for a reason. As is fairly common in YA books, the progress of Taylor and Gabriel’s relationship takes center stage in this book, largely eclipsing the danger threatening the entire human race.

Estes works hard to present Taylor as a quirky, knows her own mind, individual that most modern girls will identify with. I know I did. He also goes to some length to establish the strength of her gut instincts, how rare they’re wrong, and how she has learned to listen to them. She they goes right ahead and ignores them completely for the sake of a pretty boy. That she is aware of her own actions only makes it less believable. Unfortunately I feel like I could say the same sort of thing for both Gabriel and, his nemesis, Chris too.

Gabriel is presented as a smart, dedicated, goal oriented ‘angel’ on a mission, but with almost no provocation he falls in love and willingly throws away everything important to him. The problem is that it feels like this was a very sudden decision. There was no build up, and very little questioning of his situation or values before the decision is made.

Similarly, Chris is a clever, strong ‘demon’ trusted with an important mission that he doesn’t appear to actually complete, or even try to complete. Despite the risk to Taylor and all of humanity he doesn’t even try to engage or warn her, not even once. He takes the stance of an observer and suddenly against his (and Gabriel’s) very nature develops a peaceable, wait and see relationship with his enemy.

Now to end on a positive note, what I did like was the Carollian focus on the importance of names and titles. Should you trust someone simply because he has  a name that you’ve been taught is innately good and inspires positive feelings, despite all evidence to the contrary? Could you learn to trust someone who bore the title of an evil, despicable individual? How many kindnesses would it take before he could come out from under the shadow of his name? The whole scenario forces the reader to question their own beliefs.

Estes’ writing is also crisp and clear. It is a pleasure to read. While I have some serious complaints about the character development of Angel Evolution, it is still a story worth reading and I would recommend it for teenagers.