January Reads

1.) Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren.  This is the first book in a trilogy.  The story is a sort of "G" rated teen romance.  The main character, Gabriella, is in Italy with her sister and mother who is an archeologist studying the Etruscans.  Gabriella and her sister enter the Etruscan tomb that is unearthed and fall backward into the 14th century where she falls in love with a noble who is already betrothed.  Apparently this is supposed to be Christian Teen romance fiction.  I was surprised to read that because the mention of God seemed pretty sparse.  Maybe the main character's relationship with God is further developed in the 2nd and third books of the series.

2.) Ogre of Oglefort by Eva Ibbotson. A cute juvenile fiction book set in what seemed like an alternate post World War II England where ogres, hags and other sorts of magical creatures live and co-exist with regular folk.  This is one of those fairy tales where the princess only needs rescuing from those who are have ordered her to be rescuedt.  It had a nice ending that could have lent itself to a sequel, unfortunately, the author passed away in 2010.  Her writing style reminds me a bit of Roald Dahl.  I think I'll have to check out more by this author. 

From: Light and Shade

3.) Liesl and Po by Loren Oliver.  This was a really unusual work of juvenile fiction, especially considered it is for 3rd-7th graders.  A girl is locked away in the attic by her step mother after her father passes away.  She begins to be visited by Po, and his pet, spirits from the "other side".  Liesl's main goal is to take her father's ashes and bury them next to her mother's, but there is a mix up with some other magical ashes.  Now Liesl has more than just her stepmother searching for her. The story is quite dark and the concepts of loss might be a bit too deep for the younger set this book is target towards.  I found it helpful, and liked the book a lot more, when I read that the author had written this book as a way to cope with the loss of a close friend.  Definitely not a book to read when you are sad and gloomy.

4.)Tiger's Voyage by Colleen Houck.  This is the third book in the Tiger's curse series. The main character, Kelsey, is still torn between the two brothers, Kishan and Ren, who have been cursed to live as tigers.  In this book they complete another task, this one involving dragons.  I've enjoyed this G-rated teen romance series up until this point.  I find the writing style humorous, as it is similar to how I wrote as a young teenager, describing in great detail what everyone wore and ate.  I can see how this could eventually become too much of a distraction from the actual storyline.  What drove me nuts was Kelsey's indecision between the two brothers.  First she is in love with one, then no, wait, she is really in love with the other one.  No, is it a Tuesday? Then she is in love with the first one again.  Make up your mind already girlfriend.  I think there is one final book in the series. I'll read that one when it comes out (in the fall?) just to see who the main character winds up with.  Personally, if I were one of the brothers, once the curse was lifted, I'd pitch her for someone who didn't jerk me around.