Greetings, fellow readers! With the end of summer rapidly approaching, I thought I'd try and squeeze in one last Summer Reading blog post. This one's kind of short--I've been working full-time hours at the bookstore, so most of my reading lately has been squeezed into my lunch break. I have managed to keep up with my ever-growing TBR, however; I feel like I need to do as much as I can before school starts again and I don't have time to breathe. Here goes:
NW by Zadie Smith. Pronounced "northwest," this novel about an ordinary corner of London is one I've anticipated greatly, given how much I've enjoyed Smith's other work. That being said, I'm finding this novel a disappointment. I'm about halfway through it, and it seems like it was written by a totally different person. Neither the story line nor the characters move with any purpose, and the narrative seems fractured and unfocused. More than once I've found myself thinking, where did the real Zadie Smith go? I've put this one aside for now in the hope of finding a better book.
Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R. A. LaFevre. This book was so good; I got it free through my Kindle Unlimited trial, and I finished it in a couple of days. The protagonist is an eleven year old girl who lives in an Egyptology museum in Victorian England. She can sense which artifacts possess magical qualities and knows how to thwart the ancient curses they contain. When her archaeologist mother brings home a trove which inflicts plagues on London, Theodosia takes matters into her own hands to avert chaos and restore peace and order to the world.
I found Theodosia witty and acerbic, and I relished the descriptions of Egyptian artifacts--I was obsessed with Ancient Egypt as a kid, and reading this book was like revisiting my childhood. I'm glad this is the first in a series because now I have a whole new set of adventures awaiting me!
The Giver by Lois Lowry. Somehow I missed having to read this one for school, but what with the movie coming out soon and all the kids coming to the bookstore to buy it for summer reading, I felt I had to. This book does not disappoint; it lives up to the name "classic." I don't want to give away too much and spoil the story, but I will say this: this book is about a young boy named Jonas who lives in a society where individual free will is all but eradicated. Each stage of life is planned by those in power, from the occupations citizens practice to the clothes they wear.
When the time comes for the children to be assigned jobs, Jonas is singled out for the job of Receiver, which is both a great honor and a burden. He gets the chance to see life as it would be if people had free will and shared their memories, and this experience changes him forever. I'll say no more, except that if you haven't read this yet, get thee to a library and read it posthaste!
I am also rereading Jane Eyre, my old favorite, which never fails to cheer me up. And now I will say farewell, and happy reading!
Until next time,
Anna
No comments:
Post a Comment