Her Book Self

Lights, music, motion, animals - what is there not to love about a merry-go-round?  As a child, I remember being enamored by carousels, and as an adult, I still see a bit of magic in them.  I'm never surprised when the local carnivals come to town; and even with the Ferris wheels, fun houses, bumper cars and kiddie roller coasters, the longest lines always seem to form in front of the carousel.  It is this wondrous appeal of a carnival contraption that lies at the center and forms the heart of a great new debut book I had the privilege to read and review this year.  

The Carousel by Stefani Deoul tells the story of a woman on the road who wearily stumbles into a small town and is captivated by a group of carousel horses at the local scrap yard. The horses seem to call out to the broken stranger; and she soon finds herself embarking on a project to restore the animals and gift the town with a brand new carousel, as well as a community project. The mysterious woman, who becomes known simply as the merry-go-round lady or the boss, acts as a catalyst to bring the town together and she finds herself pulled into friendship with several of the local residents, despite her secret past.

Overall, this was a really interesting story. I loved Deoul's descriptions of the horses that the townspeople carved and restored - each one unique and individual. However, I wish more of the protagonist's mysterious past had been revealed bit-by-bit throughout the book, rather than all at once at the end of the story. Without even learning her name, I never truly connected with her as a character, but I did like that she was the one who brought the other characters together. The supporting cast in the story was very extensive and they felt like a real community. The magic of the carousel brought new life to the town, and as a whole, The Carousel is a great story about restoration in both art and life.

Were you fascinated by merry-go-rounds as a child?  Was there another aspect of carnivals or fairs that captivated you?

And stay tuned this week for my interview with author Stefani Deoul!

Fourteen-year-old Billy Harriman knew his life would be turned upside down when his father died, but what Billy didn't know was that there was more to his dad's life than anyone really knew. Everyone called his father a hero for working as a presidential adviser, but soon Billy finds out just how appropriate the moniker is - and that superhero is an even more accurate description. Eventually Billy discovers that he's inherited his dad's special talents, but alongside that birthright comes a host of enemies too.

Hero was a fantastic book. Mike Lupica does a great job of creating believable young adult characters - filling their vocabulary with sports analogies and pop culture references and populating their lives with schoolwork, bullies, concerned parents, and caring friends. Though Billy turns out to be far from ordinary, he and his friend Kate are everyday teenagers and young readers will instantly connect with and invest in them.

Filled with excitement, action, and suspense Hero is a novel that is as much about growing up as it is about saving the world. Lupica invaluably fills a niche market in literature writing books geared towards young boys. Though adolescent males interested in sports will happily devour his earlier works (such as Heat and Travel Team) Hero will likely draw new fans to Lupica, perhaps from fantasy or graphic novel markets. Yet, regardless of age, gender, and typical genre preference, Hero is an enjoyable work. The book tells a complete story but readers may be left with crossed fingers - or gripping a lucky coin - in hopes that Lupica has more adventures in store for Billy Harriman, the new fourteen-year-old superhero.

 ReCOVERy Friday is a meme hosted by Miss Page-Turner's City of Books.  Since I've had the type of week that very much calls for some recovery, I've decided to chime in with this fun artwork based meme.

This is how it works:

1. Think of a book cover you like (e.g. because of its cover art, model, author, title etc.) Doesn’t matter if it’s an old or new one, you just have to enjoy it!
2. Create a ReCOVERy Friday post for your blog and post it with the whole wonderful weekend ahead
3. Maybe add some sentences and explain why you like the cover…
4. Then add your ReCOVERy Friday post to the link list on Miss Page Turner's site so everyone can enjoy it
5. Check out other ReCOVERy Friday posts if you like to compare them, chat about them, get inspiration and just have fun! 

The cover I want to spotlight is a book that I just finished reading and will be reviewing next month as part of The Bookish Type's Fall Into Fantasy event.   You'll have to wait to read my thoughts on this novel, but for now take a peek at the cover of Sophie Jordan's Firelight.

As much as I keep telling myself not to be influenced by cover art, I know this one caught my eye in the bookstore long before I really decided I wanted to read it.  I know I've got a weak spot for red headed heroines (let's hear it for the gingers!) and the slitted pupil plus creepy skin thing going on piqued my interest.  If not for this cover, I may not have looked deeper to find out that this book was going to be a different take on dragon mythology that definitely sounded like something I would enjoy.  And, as weird as this may seem, I also really like the font.  It's a small detail, sure, but I like the wispy letters with combined with the sharp hooks, and the dots on the "i"s even look like little flames - definitely adds to the dragon and fire theme.  Does this cover catch your eye?  What do or don't you like about it?

Welcome back to Fairy Tale Fridays, a weekly meme hosted by Tif of Tif Talks Books!

Since last week's story The Old Grave-Stone sounded like a Halloween tale but was actually quite sweet and sentimental, I think the opposite can be said of The Brother's Grimm story The Juniper Tree.  Click on the title to read the story in its entirety, but be warned, this isn't a story for a safe little bed time.  In fact, it's probably not a story to enjoy near meal time either.  To give you a small preview, the tale follows a young child "red as blood and white as snow" whose mother dies with delight at his birth.  In case that's not your limit for a bad beginning, his stepmother decapitates him and shamefully blames it on his younger sister.  Had enough?  I didn't yet get to explaining how he is then cooked into a meal which is eaten by his father, his bones are carried off by his younger sister and buried under a juniper tree, only to have a bird carry his story throughout the land. The bird's song goes:


I suppose you could argue that The Brother's Grimm should have borrowed from Lemony Snicket a more appropriate title for this tale and called it A Series of Unfortunate Events!  If you haven't yet lost your lunch, you'll be pleased to know that the rest of the story is slightly more pleasant and the evil stepmother does get her comeuppance in the end.  I'm still worried about why people would listen to a song about being killed by a mother and eaten by a father and have little other comment than "nice song" and "play it again, birdie".  Even reading the tune, I was more than a little grossed out by it and had little desire to have it repeated.

I'm not sure how fitting this fairy tale is as a bedtime story but the gruesome and macabre fable does seem perfect for a spooky campfire tale this time of year.  I think I even remember a scary story from my childhood about a decapitated girl with a kerchief around her neck holding her head on that probably has it's roots in the opening portion of The Juniper Tree.  Regardless of whether you find the stories of the Grimm Brothers to be delightful or demented, there's no denying the far reaches of their influences.  

Are you familiar with The Juniper Tree or other stories with similar elements?  Do you like creepy, gross-out, spine-chilling tales on Halloween?

Share your thoughts here or link up your own Fairy Tale Friday post on Tif's site!

In case there aren't enough reasons that I love book blogging, one more to add to the list is that I love discovering new titles from other book bloggers.   Shadow Hills is a tile that I knew nothing about until Casey over at The Bookish Type brought it to my attention.

 Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus tells the story of L.A. teenager Persephone "Phe" Archer who enrolls in a Massachusetts boarding school after the death of her older sister. Her new home is in the town of Shadow Hills and she soon discovers strange things about the local students - including that they're all descendants of survivors of a plague that hit the town in the 1700's. Of course, even aside from her strange classmates, Phe has enough oddity to deal with due to her ongoing nightmares that seem a little too realistic to ignore.

I love the suspense and the mystery that was drawn into this novel. Hopcus easily could have created another vampire or werewolf story, but instead takes a fresh and original approach to supernatural abilities. She even manages to ground the paranormal aspects of the story in solid science, lending an air of believability to the fantasy elements of the book. The story was well told and the ending is solid - Hopcus could easily write a sequel, but the book lacks nothing as a stand alone work.

I really enjoyed the writing style also, and felt that Hopcus did a wonderful job creating deep characters and a vividly detailed setting. Phe is a multi-faceted protagonist and she has a solid narrative voice. Her emotions are realistic and her backstory, complete with mistakes she admits and learns from, was well-developed. Shadow Hills was a great novel and easily stands as one of this year's most unique and intriguing young adult urban fantasy books. 

The more I read blogs and connect with other readers on the web, the more I value hearing about new titles from other people.  With so many new books hitting the market every day it's impossible to keep track of everything that sounds read-worthy.  Who do you usually hear about new releases from?  Bloggers?  Librarians?  Bookstore employees?

Shauna Niequist, author of Cold Tangerines, returns to writing and her signature style of simple but poignant observations on faith in everyday life in her latest book Bittersweet. Subtitled thoughts on change, grace, and learning the hard way, Niequist does not shy away from discussing her own personal struggles and pain. Her candid honesty and conversational tone connects the reader to her words and her life making her message stronger, clearer, and more profound.

Each of the small chapters works as a stand-alone essay, but they all tie together smoothly. Whether reading one passage at a time or several in one sitting, the book has a smooth pace. Niequist is ultimately quotable, too; and I found myself dog-earring multiple pages knowing that there were several lines I wanted to come back and reflect on at a later time.

The title of the book comes from Niequist's idea that a full life requires both bitterness and sweetness. She says, "When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate. And when life is bitter, say thank you and grow." In a later chapter about friendship and the trap of always trying to appear perfect she explains, "We slip into believing that it's better to strive for perfection than to accept and offer one another grace." And among many brilliant thoughts on writing she offers the insight, "Writing wakes me up, lights me on fire, opens my eyes to the things I can never see and feel when I'm hiding under the covers, cowering and consumed with my own failures and fears."

Niequist is not ashamed to share her "failures and fears" with the reader but it is obvious that what she states about writing is true. In the written word she truly does shine, and her words are perfectly chosen and powerful, creating a work to be reread, reflected on, and ruminated over long after the final page is turned.

Fall is in the air and along with colorful leaves, apple cider, and all things pumpkin, it's time to consider NaNoWriMo.  For those unfamiliar with the strange abbreviation word, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month and takes place in November.  The goal is to write approximately 1,667 words every day resulting in a 50,000 word novel by the end of the month.  And I'm participating.  Again.  Am I crazy?  Yeah, probably.  But then I have to stop and ask myself,

How could I say no to this year when they finally decided to include monkeys on the participant badges??? 

This will be my fourth year participating in the competition, and surprisingly, I have three "wins" under my belt from '07, '08, and '09.  (Disclaimer: In NaNoWriMo, "win" is defined as reaching the 50K mark and does not indicate the accomplishment of having composed anything remotely readable.)  Of course, even though I'll be embarking on this crazy journey of fast paced novelling, I don't want anyone to fear that I'll be abandoning my blog.  Granted, Her Book Self is the main reason I almost decided against another year of NaNo, but I found a way to keep this blog flowing while still devoting my writing energy to a crazy novel project.

Most of my posts are scheduled in advance anyway, so I'm pleased to give you a sneak preview of what to expect from this blog next month.  To start with I have two advance reviews to share.  These are books I read and reviewed this summer, but seeing as how both are books that will be released in November, I've held the reviews to post closer to the time when the books will hit the shelves of stores.  I also have two great upcoming author interviews!  If you've seen my author interview index, you'll have a multiple choice of which talented writers will be gracing me with their presence.  And I'm taking part in a very exciting YA book release event called Fall Into Fantasy hosted by one of my favorite book blogs, The Bookish Type.  I'll be reviewing Sophie Jordan's Firelight ...with a special swag giveaway!  Stay tuned for all of that as well as my NaNoWriMo updates (my user name is elbakerone for anyone who wants to follow my daily progress). 

Wishing Everyone a Happy Soon To Be November!

The Old Grave-Stone by Hans Christian Andersen is not a story with which I was familiar, but seeing as how the title evokes a plethora of Halloween images, I happily read through it for this week's edition of Fairy Tale Fridays!  (FTF is a weekly meme hosted by Tif of Tif Talks Books.)  The fable is a relatively short one and recounts the story of a house in a provincial town with a large stone in front of it.  The rock has become a fixture of the landscape and children play on it, but the tale goes on to reveal that it is actually a grave marker relocated from an old cemetery.


The story proceeds with an old-man recalling some details of the lives of the man and woman - Preben and Martha Schwane - whose graves the stone was on.  Sadly, the repeated sentiment is, "Forgotten! Ah, yes, everything will be forgotten!" but in the midst of this, the very act of talking about the lives of the Schwanes passes their story on to younger generations.  At the end of the story, a young boy who has been listening to the old man hears the following words in his heart:

“Preserve carefully the seed that has been entrusted to thee, that it may grow and thrive. Guard it well. Through thee, my child, shall the obliterated inscription on the old, weather-beaten grave-stone go forth to future generations in clear, golden characters. The old pair shall again wander through the streets arm-in-arm, or sit with their fresh, healthy cheeks on the bench under the lime-tree, and smile and nod at rich and poor. The seed of this hour shall ripen in the course of years into a beautiful poem. The beautiful and the good are never forgotten, they live always in story or in song.” 

This is a beautiful way to end the story as it brings the hopeful and beautiful to light the sadness of  forgotten life.  It extols the virtue of oral traditions as the way to honor and remember those that have come before us.  I love the line, "they live always in story or in song."  Interestingly, this ending brought to mind a trip I took in high school to Salem, Massachusetts.  One of our stops was the church and graveyard that was the site and burial ground of many people involved with the Salem Witch Trials.  I remember how several of the crooked, dilapidated grave markers had barely legible inscriptions, and yet because of the history passed down - and likely because of Arthur Miller's The Crucible - family names such as Williams, Corey, and Proctor had a much greater significance to our group of travelers seeing them hundreds of years after they were inscribed. 

What are your thoughts on this story?  Have you ever traced a family genealogy or a lineage of a historical figure through tombstones?  Have you ever shared stories of friends or relatives no longer living with a younger generation?