August Book #3

Book: The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
Age-range: 16 and up

It's no secret that I adore Ms. Allen's books. The Sugar Queen is one of my favorite gifts and Garden Spells is everything I had wanted Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman to be, but it wasn't. Her books were my first foray into the genre of magic realism and I will be forever grateful to her for that.

This book came out earlier this year and I have literally been trying every week to check it out from the library. Yesterday I FINALLY lucked out. I actually squealed when I saw it on the shelf. The boys were cooperative enough to let me finish it all in one day. I would have loved to read it all in one sitting, but that was just not realistic.

As always, there is magic laced throughout the story. Superstitions that are real. Women and men who don't realize what they really want or need out of life. And, as always, its set in the south in North Carolina. I love her books and this was no exception.

In case you are wondering, here are her books in order of how much I love them:

The Sugar Queen

Garden Spells

The Peach Keeper

The Girl Who Chased the Moon

Happy reading!

August Book #2

Book: The Secret History of Tom Trueheart by Ian Beck
Age-range: 8 and up

This book was recommended to me by a friend and I'm so glad she told me about it. I may never have come across it otherwise. And, incidentally, I think it's a book that my nieces and nephews would love.

It's a little hard to explain the plot, but I'll try. There's a Land of Stories where all of the stories written about in books are actually played out before they are written. The Trueheart family is one of the last great adventuring families. The family has 7 boys, 6 of them have names that are variants of Jack, after their father, and the youngest one is named Tom. There's no explanation as to why this is. Anyway, each of the older brothers goes on an adventure into tales that you will undoubtedly recognize. But something happens and they disappear before their stories can be finished. Tom, who has just turned 12, is sent out to rescue them.

It's a cute, clever story that is great for a younger audience. I love the idea and I just found out there is at least one other book set in this world. So, if you read it let me know what you (or your kids) think. Happy reading!

August Book #1

Book: Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater
Age-range: 14 and up

This is one of those books that has been on my to-read list pretty much since it came out. I just now had the opportunity and the time to read it and I'm glad that I did. There was a lot of fairy lore in this book that I hadn't heard of before. I'm not sure if that's because the author made it up or because it was out of my realm of research. Either way I really loved it and found it interesting.

I always like when modern fairies stay true to the way they were viewed in, say, Shakespeare's day. They aren't sweet, wish-granting women; they're vindictive, spiteful, trouble-makers.

And, I hope I won't spoil anything by saying this, but I really love realistic endings. This book didn't try to make sure that everyone got everything that they needed/deserved. Instead it ended the way it was supposed to end. I liked that.

Also, I think there's a lesson to be learned from the female protagonist. In the book she realizes that if she just believes she can do something she can. I think that's true 90% of the time in the real world. Confidence goes a long way to encouraging talent.

Happy reading!