I first saw this book recommended over at Bluestocking (not by Laura, but by someone else posting a comment), but then someone else mentioned it on the Fiction Book thread at Times and Seasons. I checked it out at Amazon; the description lent me to believe it was a comic Celtic epic fantasy. And given all that, I figured I ought to read it.

I finished it Saturday evening, and I spent most of the day Sunday trying to figure out what I thought of it. It’s a good book — a Tolkein-esque Journey by two children to save the world from Evil. They meet lots of fun and interesting people along the way, the evil Goddess Morrigan (prounounced More-ree-an) was sufficiently terrifying and evil, and while I think I missed out on the “comic” parts, it was enjoyable to read. But, as I went along, something bugged me: the kids — Pidge and Brigit — never did anything. They walked, and things happened to them. They walked and a donkey lead them into faery land. They walked and someone else showed them on the way. Their pursuers — the hounds of the title — got to close and the Dagda (the great God) resuced them. They got in a jam, and an earwig they were nice to got them out. Get the picture? These kids never did anything but walk. And it bothered me.

That, and I don’t think Pat O’Shea spent enough time with the hounds. I think she was building up some sort of betrayal of Morrigan by the hounds, but she never quite got there. Now, that would have been an interesting, exciting and somewhat fulfilling ending. The ending she wrote was nice, but not exactly fulfilling.

That said, Frodo’s journey consisted mostly of walking, too, and people consider Lord of the Rings to be a classic (as do I). So, maybe action is overrated. I did enjoy the book. I just wish the kids would have done more.

I can’t remember how this made it on my “gotta read” list; chalk it up to “old” age and kids, right? Anyway, I wasn’t disappointed. This book, written by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler, is geared toward middle-age readers, but that didn’t stop it from being incredibly interesting. It’s set in 18th-century Japan, the age of the samurai and the shogun, and is a great Sherlock Holmsian mystery. A 14- year-old boy, Seiki, the son of a tea merchant, longs to be a samurai. But, because he’s the son of a merchant, it’s not possible. That is, until he witnesses a “ghost” perform a theft at an inn he and his father are staying at. Seiki falls in with Judge Ooka (who was actually a real person), and assists in solving the crime. It’s an engaging book, with lots of great detail on samurai life and life in Japan at that time in general. A good book.

This book , the story of author Jung Chang’s family history, is very long, but very engrossing and fascinating though in a very morbid sort of way. It’s the story of Jung, her mother and her grandmother, spanning nearly a century of China’s history. The book moves from the Manchu empire and Japanese occupation, through the revolution by the Kuomintang and then the counter-revolution by the Communists, and finally the whole of Mao Tse-tung’s reign/rule. Fascinating Chinese history, if you’re interested in that sort of thing. But, above that, it’s a story of three women and their struggle to survive. I wasn’t that interested in the grandmother or the mother (except it paints a very interesting portrait of life as a woman Communist official, and it isn’t pretty). What fascinated me most was the intellectual journey Jung took from a child worshipping Mao, to a staunch disbeliever in Communism in general, and what Chinese communism has become. This book reminded me a lot of a couple of great movies by Zhang Yimou: To Live and The Story of Qiu Ju; all three deal with every day life under the Communists, and paint very interesting personal stories. The parts about the Cultural Revloution give and interesting comparison (from what I can remember) to Life and Death in Shanghi. And makes me very interested to read Chang’s new book, Mao: The Unknown Story. Good read.

A quick review: This book, by Cynthia Voigt, is one that I can credit my obsession with youth fiction to. I was given it by an old friend about 10 years ago, and was hooked. I finally went out and bought myself a copy (and discovered that Voigt has turned it into a series, need to read the other two —On Fortune’s Wheel and Elske). I’m not sure if I liked it as much as I remembered, but I still was thoroughly captivated by the story. In short — Gwyn, a peasant, loathes the inequity among the people (and between the people and the Lords) and discovers the costume of Jackaroo, a folk legend among the people. She decides to become Jackaroo, to help those in need. Yes, it is a female Robin Hood character. It’s not an action-adventure book, though. It’s much more thoughtful and introspective, dealing with issues of class and worth and deserving. It’s a good read, though.