Light & Dark: The Awakening of the MageKnight by D.M. Fife

Date: 2011
Publisher: self published by Daniel. M. Fife
Pages: 309
Genre: YA fiction, fantasy, adventure
ISBN: 0985324708
Rating: 2.5/5

This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. When I heard the synopsis, I thought it sounded really interesting and I was in the mood for another fantasy, so I accepted. :)

Here is the synopsis from the back of the book:
"Danny Firoth is an average thirteen year old who finds himself at the beginning of his eighth-grade year, struggling with some of the more common concerns that plague a boy of his age: bullies, homework , and his mother. Sabrina Drake is the new girl. She is beautiful and spellbinding, but carries a fantastic secret.
Accepted into the White Rock Academy of Illumination, a school for young Squires destined to become Knights of the Light and battle the forces of the Dark with magical weapons called Bondeds, Danny joins his five closest friends in the training of their lives. Honed in the techniques of blade work by an Elvin swordmaster and educated by a colorful assortment of knightly instructors, Danny and his friends are placed on the path to becoming knighted members of the Light. However, the Dark may have other plans as they unveil a sinister plot in this fantastic tale of dragon-riding adventure, sword-wielding action, and coming of age drama."

Check out my video review here:

The Forgotten Land: Liman Prince of Egypt by Josephine Kelly

Date: 2013
Publisher: Josephine Kelly
Genre: Young adult, fantasy, Egypt
Pages: 276
ISBN: 978-1484853757
Rating: 3/5

Disclaimer: This book was provided for me in return of an honest review. I was not paid to do this review, except for receiving a copy of the book.

When the publicist pitched the synopsis to me I was really intrigued and agreed to read and review the book. It was described as a book with comedic and dramatic elements, and most of all, featured an Egyptian theme. I haven't read too many books with Egyptian themes, so I was really interested in giving this one a try. This was one genre of fantasy I wasn't familiar with, and that prospect excited me. This book also has illustrations, which were quite detailed and provided me with the opportunity to get more immersed into the story.

I think I would categorize this book as being either middle grade or young adult. The writing was very descriptive and blunt, so it was clear to me from the start that this is a book about the story, not the art of writing. However, the writing was still quite descriptive and I really got a great sense of each character and mood for the specific scene. It was one of those books that I had absolutely no trouble visualizing in my mind, so it was quite a relaxing book to read. Sometimes books can be too dense and can be more stressful than relaxing to read, but this one was the opposite. It wasn't dense, but there was still a lot of action and excitement - it was just portrayed in a way that felt like I was sitting back and watching a movie, instead of picking apart the details to write an essay about. There was a great mix of action and humour, and although the humour wasn't my style, it was still appreciated. I did find the jump from scene to scene to be a bit jarring at times, and the influx of characters was a bit overwhelming. However, the illustrations were an enjoyable way to help me keep it all straight.

This is one of those books that I did enjoy, but wish I had when I was younger when my interest in Egypt was just blossoming. As an adult, I do have a general basis of ancient Egyptian culture under my belt, so although I did pick up on a few references, I was hoping there would be more. The first book in any series is all about the world-building and character introductions, in which there were plenty of both but still room for more to layer on. Some of the characters did meddle together in my mind, but I found the illustrations really helped keep most people distinct and they were also very well drawn.

Overall, I feel this is a good book for a parent to read out loud to a child at bedtime. The protagonist goes on an adventure to both find his place in the world and to possibly help his people so it is full of action and humble characters. I wished there were more prominent Egyptian features and a bit more clarity on the cast of characters, but that didn't hinder me from enjoying the story too much.

Video review to be added soon. :) 

If you are interested in purchasing this book, there are different versions available depending on your preference. Available are the black and white illustrated edition, colour illustrated edition, and the colour illustration for the e-reader for Kindle.

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

Date: October, 2012
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 321
Genre:  Adult fiction, Cultural, Mystery
Rating: 2/5

For me, this one was just ok. It is part mystery and part "coming of age" of a boy living on a reservation. A terrible crime occurred and the boy feels compelled to seek justice. In addition, he is growing up and faces hard truths about First Nations relationships with Caucasians, and how flawed in general the world really is when it comes to justice and other important things.

As for the mystery, there wasn't much to it. It was fairly clear to me who was responsible and the ending was also something I predicted soon in the novel. 

The coming of age aspect was more interesting, but it didn't hit the mark for me. Some of the stuff I could relate to, like the countless dick jokes and jam sandwiches, but I didn't feel like there was anything new to discover. 

There is some spirituality in the book, in terms of First Nations culture, but it was such a tease. Is this because the old ways are being forgotten by the younger generations? The Round House is explained but not much beyond that is looked into. 

This author also chose to not use quotation marks in the writing. It did make the flow more jagged because I kept stopping to consider if something was a thought or something said, which did make a difference. It was hard to immerse myself into the conversations when I was so uptight about the grammar. Here is an example of what I mean:
He was down by the river, Joe said. Just like yesterday.
"He was down by the river," Joe said. Just like yesterday.
Those two phrases could have completely different meanings, and it was annoying trying to figure out what the author intended. In the example, is Joe informing the person that it is a repeat occurrence  or is he secretly keeping that to himself? Motives are important to a reader!

My opinions might be due to my own bias of growing up next to a reservation and having my own life be a blend between "Caucasian life" and "Native life" in terms of home dynamics and the such. My aunt is an elder on the tribal council, for example. If someone has no clue what happens on a reserve, then they would probably enjoy this book. But for me, it was nothing new. It was like reading about the neighbour down the street. It sucks, but that is the way it is. I think a certain type of person would really enjoy this book, but not me. I was looking for something more, something I didn't already know and I didn't find it. Yet, I want to be clear that if you are new to this sort of thing, you may really enjoy the book.

If you want to give this one a try, check out the link below:

Firestarter by Stephen King

Date: 1981
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 401
Genre: Adult horror
Rating: 4/5

This is a story about secret government experiments and a young girl with an extraordinary power - a psychic ability that allows her to set things (and people) on fire. Her father is frantic in trying to protect her from those that would use her as a weapon, so the book opens with the two of them on the run.

This is a shorter King novel, which is good for a change from his usual 700+ page beasts. The other short novel I read of his was Misery, in which I absolutely loved. Similar to Misery, the focus on here is only on a small handful of characters instead of a mural of people. We are constantly zoomed in on what happens between Charlie and her father and it really pays off. One of the things I love about King is his way to really make the characters feel real, no matter how many there are. I find myself feeling interested and intrigued in all characters, even the so called "bad guys."

Sometimes, King's prose is amusing and I find myself chuckling at the words he chooses or weird things the characters say. That didn't happen as much in this novel, but it was still a pleasure to read. It was fast paced, exciting, suspenseful, and had a satisfying ending. I loved Charlie's development as a little girl and as a little girl in this terrible situation, and felt it was both appropriate and engaging. It isn't as strong of a book as Misery, but it is still a great read and I would recommend it to King fans that are looking for a fast paced, action read.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette? By Maria Semple

Date: August 14, 2012
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Pages: 336
Genre: Adult fiction, humor, women's fiction
ISBN: 978-0316204262
Rating: 5/5

Bernadette Fox is a mother to a gifted daughter, Bee, and a wife to a Microsoft employee. Her family has relocated to rainy Seattle and she is trying to make a new life for her family, but mostly for herself. This book is full of wit, humor, and social commentary on American culture. Bernadette says what we all think, and the consequences are often hilarious.

This book is written in an interesting way. There are no chapters, but the book is divided in about three parts. The perspectives vary and it includes Bernadette, Bee, Bernadette's husband, and also multimedia sources such as emails, newspaper clippings, reports, etc. I thought it was interesting that Semple chose to use different forms of communication in order to communicate to us the problems of American society, especially given that Bernadette is a bit of an awkward recluse herself.

This book is just filled with drama and people I would hate to meet in real life - yet, somehow it works as an addicting and enjoyable read. All the drama snowballs on poor Bernadette and her family, and the outcome is hilarious and touching. This is the type of book that, despite being filled with annoying people, you put it down feeling content and happy. It isn't all drama - there is an engaging plot that revolves around our inability to really see or know people for who they are, behind the facade of society.

To emphasize, this book is filled with drama but it is also incredibly insightful in the problems of American society. I think that a wide audience can enjoy this book, so I would suggest it for anyone!

N0S4A2 by Joe Hill

Date: April, 2013

Publisher: William Morrow

Pages: 689

Genre: Adult horror

ISBN: 0062200577

Rating: 5/5!

What an amazing book! This is Joe Hill's first clunker of a book and it was well worth the effort. Where does a story go that contains a little girl that can ride her bike over a bridge and end up wherever she needs to be in order to find something, and a deranged man named Charlie that takes children for rides in his Rolls Royce Wraith (fueled by souls) to a disturbing place called Christmasland? Everywhere.

Not only does Joe Hill take a comforting, familiar holiday (Christmas) and turn it into something terrible (Christmasland), he offers an incredible amount of insight on trust and parenthood. In particular, his commentary towards motherhood is nothing short of amazing and is a great example of how this classically defined horror novel is more than just adrenaline fueled turn pages. Tough issues such as drug abuse, death, and psychological states are handled with finesse, and the result is a book filled with empathy and hope. These characters feel like real people and you can't help but root for all of them, even the terrible Charlie Manx. 

This is by far, Joe Hill's best one yet. 

If you are interested in reading this book, there is a link below that you can click to buy. :) 

Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan

Date: September, 2011
Publisher: Picador
Pages: 336
Genre: Adult historical fiction, African-American
ISBN: 1250012708
Rating: 3/5

I'm not 100% sure how I feel about this book. On on hand, I absolutely loved the writing and dialogue. On the other hand, the plot was unsatisfying.

As a book about half-Black/half-German jazz musicians, I was hoping to learn more about that perspective. I didn't feel I learned anything new, which was a bit disappointing. My family is part German, and my grandfather served in the war. He told me some tidbits of history that are left out of general knowledge*, and I was hoping to learn something like that from this book. Instead of having the characters be part Black, I imagined them to be Jewish at points and found it difficult to draw the line on how they would have been different. The jazz music was the exception and I loved that aspect of the novel. It made me want to listen to some olden times jazz, just so I could better imagine how these characters could have felt. I also felt like I did care enough about the characters to want to learn more, especially Hiero. He was so mysterious for so much of the novel and I was really intrigued by him. I felt like I was more interested in him than the main characters, Chip and Sid. But perhaps his mysterious intrigue is what Esi was going for and perhaps it says something about Hiero that otherwise couldn't have been stated. What that is, I haven't figured it out yet. 

Even with these faults, I loved the writing so much that it was still a great book to read. I was completely absorbed in the nuances of the dialogue and the overall slang used by the characters. There is history involved here, and I wish I knew a bit more about this period because I feel like I missed some very important references to historical places/situations. For that reason, I think this book would be a good one to re-read later, once I have learned more about Nazi Germany. It is also an amazing book to be heard read out-loud, which I had the privilege of listening to Esi read at an event. 

I think if you are interested in Nazi Germany but want a slightly different spin on it via half-Black/half-German jazz musicians, then give this one a try. It emphasizes friendship and the love of music - two things you often don't associate with Nazi Germany! Despite the few things I didn't like about the book, I am still very happy I read it and I look forward to reading Esi's other novel soon.




* One of the things he mentioned was how German soldiers took over towns. The soldiers didn't want to do it but they had to follow orders or they would be shot in the head by a higher up German general or whatever.