Review – The Subtle Knife

The Subtle Knife – Philip Pullman

published 1997, 235 pages

 

 

From Amazon.com -

The Subtle Knifeoffers everything we could have wished for, and more. For a start, there’s a young hero–from our world–who is a match for Lyra Silvertongue and whose destiny is every bit as shattering. Like Lyra, Will Parry has spent his childhood playing games. Unlike hers, though, his have been deadly serious. This 12-year-old long ago learned the art of invisibility: if he could erase himself, no one would discover his mother’s increasing instability and separate them.

As the novel opens, Will’s enemies will do anything for information about his missing father, a soldier and Arctic explorer who has been very much airbrushed from the official picture. Now Will must get his mother into safe seclusion and make his way toward Oxford, which may hold the key to John Parry’s disappearance. But en route and on the lam from both the police and his family’s tormentors, he comes upon a cat with more than a mouse on her mind: “She reached out a paw to pat something in the air in front of her, something quite invisible to Will.” What seems to him a patch of everyday Oxford conceals far more: “The cat stepped forward and vanished.” Will, too, scrambles through and into another oddly deserted landscape–one in which children rule and adults (and felines) are very much at risk. Here in this deathly silent city by the sea, he will soon have a dustup with a fierce, flinty little girl: “Her expression was a mixture of the very young–when she first tasted the cola–and a kind of deep, sad wariness.” Soon Will and Lyra (and, of course, her dæmon, Pantalaimon) uneasily embark on a great adventure and head into greater tragedy.

As Pullman moves between his young warriors and the witch Serafina Pekkala, the magnetic, ever-manipulative Mrs. Coulter, and Lee Scoresby and his hare dæmon, Hester, there are clear signs of approaching war and earthly chaos. There are new faces as well. The author introduces Oxford dark-matter researcher Mary Malone; the Latvian witch queen Ruta Skadi, who “had trafficked with spirits, and it showed”; Stanislaus Grumman, a shaman in search of a weapon crucial to the cause of Lord Asriel, Lyra’s father; and a serpentine old man whom Lyra and Pan can’t quite place. Also on hand are the Specters, beings that make cliff-ghasts look like rank amateurs.

Throughout, Pullman is in absolute control of his several worlds, his plot and pace equal to his inspiration. Any number of astonishing scenes–small- and large-scale–will have readers on edge, and many are cause for tears. “You think things have to be possible,” Will demands. “Things have to be true!” It is Philip Pullman’s gift to turn what quotidian minds would term the impossible into a reality that is both heartbreaking and beautiful.

My thoughts -

Another great installment in this highly acclaimed trilogy.  I’m very happy that I’ve exposed myself to these stories because they keep getting better.  The Subtle Knife dives deeper into Lyra’s story, exposing the reader to more characters, more worlds, and more details as to what this series is really about.  I don’t know much else to say about these books since I’m pretty sure most everyone on the planet has read them, but I really am enjoying this series and am looking forward to the third and final book!

Also reviewed by: Charley at Bending Bookshelf.

Review – Leftovers

Leftovers – Laura Weiss

published January 2008, 232 pages

 

From the back cover -

Blair and Ardith are best friends who have committed an unforgivable act in the name of love and justice.  But in order to understand what could drive two young women to such extreme measures, first you’ll have to understand why.  You’ll have to listen as they describe parents who are alternately absent and smothering, classmates who mock and shun anyone different, and young men who are allowed to hurt and dominate without consequence.  You will have to learn what it’s like to be a teenage girl who locks her bedroom door at night, who has been written off by all the adults around her as damaged goods.  A girl who has no one to trust except the one person she’s forbidden to see.  You’ll have to understand what it’s really like to be forgotten and abandoned in America today.

Are you ready?

My thoughts -

I really, really liked this YA novel, much better even than Weiss’s first, Such a Pretty Girl.  Blair and Ardith (love that name, btw) just seemed so real, such truthful portrayals of teenage girls, that their story seemed heartbreakingly common.  They both were raised in abusive homes, although the abuse both suffered was of two completely different types.  Blair lived in a home where every single thing she did was controlled by her parents, the image they were trying to uphold was more important than her personhood or their family’s happiness, while Ardith lived in a home where she was basically invisible – drunk parents, parties all the time, and a brother who both ignored and tortured her at the same time.  The sad thing about this story is that I know these kinds of families are not that unusual in today’s world – I knew plenty of girls who have suffered similar teenage years, in one way or another.  Just reading Blair and Ardith’s stories was very emotional, I was sucked into their lives from the first words, and to be honest, I didn’t much care about the conclusion, about the “unforgivable act” they committed together.  Yes, what they did was pretty terrible.  But set against the backdrop of their heartbreaking lives, I wouldn’t call it unforgivable by any means.

I’d definitely suggest reading this book for yourself, even if you are not typically a YA fan, this one will get you.  It’s very well written, and such a crazy good portrayal of teenage girls living in pain.  Such a great one.

Also reviewed by: Becky at Becky’s Book Reviews

question…

So I’m playing with my blog, thinking I’ll finally attempt this 3 column thing… and I can’t figure it out!  Can anyone explain to me how to put buttons or pictures in the sidebars?  For example, in my left sidebar I really want to put in buttons for all the challenges I’m participating in, but I don’t know if I’m supposed to use a text box and copy the links and paste them (actually, take that back – I KNOW that’s not the right way to do it, because that’s what I did, and it did not work), or how else to do it.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks peeps.

An award & some giveaways!

Thanks SO much to Nicole from Book Escape, for this award:  

I really appreciate receiving this, and now I will take the time to nominate 7 other bloggers who also deserve to be recognized for their blogging awesomeness!

1. Chartroose from Bloody Hell, It’s a Book Barrage!  – I have no clue how she found my blog, but somehow she did, commented, and I’ve been reading and loving her ever since.

2. Lisa at Books on the Brain - Lisa was the first book blog I found when I started doing this in January, and it still reamins one of my favorites.  She writes great reviews and has similar taste to my own.

3.  Eva at A Striped Armchair - Eva’s reviews are incredibly thorough and insightful.  She always introduces me to books I’d never have heard of otherwise, and even though she gets upset over my hatred for Jane Austen, I know that deep down she is ok with it and loves me anyway.

4. Girls Just Reading - These three ladies write fabulous reviews, and they usually write about either books I’ve already read or books I’m interested in for future reading.  Plus, I just love the idea of teaming up to do a book blog with some friends!

5. Becky at Becky’s Book Reviews - This girl reads crazy amounts of books, and reviews all of them.  Seriously, she posts at least once a day, sometimes up to 3 or 4 times in a day, and the books she reviews ALWAYS sound interesting to me.  She’s introduced me to a lot of YA books, and I previously didn’t have much of an interest in that genre.

6. Kristen at Book Club Classics - Kristen also writes really great reviews about books that I’m interested in.  She also has a very well-organized blog with lots of resources for book clubs (which coincidentally, I do not have a book club, but I still love her blog).

7. Cara at The Curvature - Cara is so kick-ass.  I cannot ever resist an opportunity to plug the amazingness of her feminst thoughts and writings.  She actually most likely does not even know I exist, since I rarely ever comment, but I still love reading her blog and always learn from it.  Go check out her stuff immidiately – I’m telling you, this girl is amazing.

Thanks again, Nicole, this award is truly appreciated.

******************************************

OK, now on to some giveaways.  First, Natasha at Maw Books is doing a very important giveaway in preparation for her possible future project to help the citizens of Darfur.  I am actually not going to be entering this one myself, simply because I’ve read almost every book she’s giving away, but it’s a good one and you all should go check it out. 

Trish is giving away a copy of Far World.  Unfortunately, blogging about this contest is not grounds for extra entries, so I’m letting you all know about this one out of the kindness of my heart… that’s how much I love you people.

Check out Devourer of Books for a chance to win Queen of the Road.  This book looks really good and I think a lot of you would enjoy the chance to win!

Stephanie at The Written Word has a copy of The Wednesday Sisters up for grabs.  I’ve had my eye on this one for a long time now, so this giveaway definitely excites me.

Finally, Julie at Booking Mama has a copy of Stone Creek that she’ll be giving away.  This book looks pretty good too, I highly recommend checking that one out too.

Ok everyone, good luck… let me know if you win anything!