The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley was my last book read in 2012. After reading the neurotic cat humor book that I found somewhat less than humorous, I felt like I needed to quickly read something I loved to end my year. I figured that The Folk Keeper was a good bet, since Chime by Franny Billingsley was one of my favorite books in 2011.
The style in both books is very similar; both are fantasy and in both cases, Billingsley doles out clues slowly and sparingly so that it takes a while to figure out where you are and what's going on . . . but in a good way. You know how sometimes it can be terribly frustrating to have an author keep too many secrets from you, but at other times it feels more like a mystery is slowly unfolding and it's more of an adventure? The Folk Keeper was the latter.
I am so impressed with Franny Billingsley. The Folk Keeper is a middle-reader about a girl masquerading as a boy to get the job of Folk Keeper -- a person who keeps the harmful Folk at bay. Taken from the foundling home by a dying Lord, she is transported to a manor where she will continue her job as Folk Keeper in the cellar. But, there are new dangers near the seaside and there is much that Corin/Corinna doesn't know about herself. Scary and original enough to compete with a Gaiman, with a bit of magic and even a tiny touch of romance.
Highly recommended - a dark, mysterious, atmospheric book, beautifully written and deliciously creepy. The Folk Keeper was the perfect read to end 2012 and would make an absolutely wonderful read for the annual R.I.P. Challenge.
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder is actually Kiddo's book. I noticed Snyder has a more recent series and since Kiddo has read two of her series and enjoyed them, I bought him the two newer titles for Christmas then asked if I could read one. Instead, Kiddo shoved Poison Study into my hands. Here's what Isabel has to say about Poison Study:
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Obviously, she missed some key discussion points. Poison Study is about Yelena, a woman who is reprieved from a death sentence for murder when there's an opening for the job of food taster to the Commander of Ixia. Not only must Yelena take her chances with the potential for poisoning (because there is no escape), she must also keep her eyes out for the people who want to kill her for the murder she committed. Plus, she's got a little bit of a magic problem -- a touch of magic in a place where magical ability alone is a death sentence -- and she's haunted by the ghost of the man she killed, a very nasty man who deserved to die. Just so you know Yelena is a cool chick.
There were things I disliked about the world of Poison Study, but once I became accustomed to it I loved the story, even though I thought it bore some similarities to the only Snyder novels I've read: Inside Out and Outside In. A super-tough heroine who sometimes doubts her own strengths and abilities and gets beat up quite a bit, plus a very evil bad guy and at least one character who is not what he or she seems were the common denominators I recognized. Regardless, I loved Poison Study and actually had a little trouble switching gears when I picked up the next book. Poison Study was my first read in 2013.
Highly recommended - A very entertaining read with numerous dilemmas, a touch of magic and an action-heavy plot.
I am so impressed with Franny Billingsley. The Folk Keeper is a middle-reader about a girl masquerading as a boy to get the job of Folk Keeper -- a person who keeps the harmful Folk at bay. Taken from the foundling home by a dying Lord, she is transported to a manor where she will continue her job as Folk Keeper in the cellar. But, there are new dangers near the seaside and there is much that Corin/Corinna doesn't know about herself. Scary and original enough to compete with a Gaiman, with a bit of magic and even a tiny touch of romance.
Highly recommended - a dark, mysterious, atmospheric book, beautifully written and deliciously creepy. The Folk Keeper was the perfect read to end 2012 and would make an absolutely wonderful read for the annual R.I.P. Challenge.
1222222222222222222222
Obviously, she missed some key discussion points. Poison Study is about Yelena, a woman who is reprieved from a death sentence for murder when there's an opening for the job of food taster to the Commander of Ixia. Not only must Yelena take her chances with the potential for poisoning (because there is no escape), she must also keep her eyes out for the people who want to kill her for the murder she committed. Plus, she's got a little bit of a magic problem -- a touch of magic in a place where magical ability alone is a death sentence -- and she's haunted by the ghost of the man she killed, a very nasty man who deserved to die. Just so you know Yelena is a cool chick.
There were things I disliked about the world of Poison Study, but once I became accustomed to it I loved the story, even though I thought it bore some similarities to the only Snyder novels I've read: Inside Out and Outside In. A super-tough heroine who sometimes doubts her own strengths and abilities and gets beat up quite a bit, plus a very evil bad guy and at least one character who is not what he or she seems were the common denominators I recognized. Regardless, I loved Poison Study and actually had a little trouble switching gears when I picked up the next book. Poison Study was my first read in 2013.
Highly recommended - A very entertaining read with numerous dilemmas, a touch of magic and an action-heavy plot.
In The Garden of Happy Endings, minister Elsa's world is rocked when a young girl from her church is murdered. Unable to help her church family through their grief because she is having her own crisis of faith, Elsa leaves Seattle to spend time with her sister, Tamsin, and her former fiancee, Joaquin (aka, "Father Jack") in Pueblo, Colorado.
In Pueblo, Elsa stays busy helping build a neighborhood garden and serving in Father Jack's soup kitchen while helping her sister through a crisis of her own. There are a lot of personal crises in The Garden of Happy Endings, some really scary trouble with gang members, a few poignant moments with parishioners and a bit of a romance.
I liked The Garden of Happy Endings but I didn't love it and I can't quite put a finger on why. There was just something about the writing style that bothered me a bit, I suppose, or perhaps it was a little too predictable. Regardless, The Garden of Happy Endings is an engrossing story that explores some deep topics and which contains a surprising amount of conflict of both the internal and external varieties -- stuff happens, in other words, and yet there is a nice balance of darkness and light. While the book addresses God and faith, it's not a preachy book.
Recommended - A nice, light read about life, love and faith that is very difficult to put down. I'd recommend The Garden of Happy Endings for beach reading.
In other news:
- We went to Les Miserables for the second time, this weekend, and loved it just as much on the second viewing as the first. I really, really need to read the book. But, mostly I just walk past my copy and sigh.
- I read about a study in which diet soda was implicated for causing higher incidences of depression in regular drinkers. Huh. In the same study, they found that regular coffee drinking reduces depression. So, I bought a coffee maker. I need all the help I can get.
- I've photographed some recent arrivals but a "book box" has just arrived at my house, so I've got a few more to snap. I'm in an online group that holds group swaps, you see. We just pass a box around. Each person removes a few books and replaces those removed with an equal or greater number of books -- usually ARCs, but not always. Fun!
- Isabel got her shots recently. She weighs 9.1 pounds. That makes her the smallest cat I have ever been owned by. I was wondering if Vans (she's a rescue and obviously not a breed but a distant relative of the long-haired Turkish Van) are unusually intelligent because she is also the smartest cat I've ever owned. So I read up a bit and, sure enough, she fits the description perfectly. Vans love water, are very energetic explorers, play hard and sleep hard, are people cats and are fiercely intelligent. One of Isabel's favorite games keeps me running to change her water frequently. She likes to drop her dry cereal in the water bowl, just so she can fish it back out.
- It's cold and rainy, perfect reading weather. Happy Monday!
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