Ah, normalcy. It allows me to actually get back to what I really enjoy. 🙂 I gave our library’s “hold” system (what they call inter-library loan) a whirl; for 25 cents a book I could have whatever I want from any library. And so, for one whole dollar, I came home with four books which are mine for a month. Not bad. Especially when you factor in that I spent NO time wandering the stacks with a two-and-a-half year old and an almost-five month baby. Sounds like money well spent to me.

So, Enna Burning, by Shannon Hale. While I like Hale’s writing, this one just didn’t quite gel for me. The basic plot picks up where Goose Girl left off, and develops on some of the ideas Hale played with in the first book. Enna — Princess Isi’s friend — returns home to the forest. After her mother dies, her brother — Liefer — comes home with a piece of vellum and some new-found abilities with fire. Soon, Bayern is at war, Liefer dies, Enna discovers how to work fire, and the rest of the book is spent with her dealing with it. Some of the ideas are interesting: if one could speak a “language” of nature, what would happen? Would it totally overwhelm you? What would it demand from you? What would it take to control it? Especially something like fire.

In the end, though, Enna just didn’t captivate me like Goose Girl did. I can’t really put my finger on it; Hale is an excellent storyteller, and it’s not a bad story. Maybe it just wasn’t all I was hoping it could be.