by Naomi Novik
New York : Ballantine Books, 2010.
If you haven't read the first five books in the Temeraire series, this is a **spoiler warning** for those titles.
Temeraire and Laurence have been convicted of treason and transported to New South Wales, Australia. Arriving, they find that the political situation at the penal colony is in disarray - the troops staged a coup and overthrew the governor, who wants to be in power. Both sides want Laurence's backing, and he's not sure how best to navigate through the political turmoil without giving up his own high standards. Temeraire also has dragon eggs brought along to attempt the creation of a colony, and he only hopes that one won't open for the wrong sort of person.
I have been looking forward to Temeraire and Laurence's continued adventures ever since I finished Victory of Eagles a couple of summers ago. To be entirely fair, my expectations for this story were extremely high, so when I say that the story did not live up to them, this is not as harsh a judgment as it might otherwise have been. I like the relationship between Temeraire and Laurence as it has developed, and I love Iskierka and her banter with Granby or Temeraire. These are characters I love to spend time with, even when I was less than enthralled with the plot. I wished there were more interactions between the dragons, because that was my favorite part. Even the weakest in this series is a worthwhile read, and I'm already looking forward to the next.
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Australia. Show all posts
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
YA Through the Decades: 1990s
Looking for Alibrandi
by Melina Marchetta
New York: Orchard Books, 1999.
Josephine Alibrandi knows what it's like to deal with labels. She never felt like she fully fit in, because she was born in Australia but had Italian roots, and has a single mother. Now she's a scholarship student and a senior at a Catholic high school, still struggling to know herself. Josie has to navigate relationships with her mother, her Italian grandmother who seems to find nothing good to say about her daughter, and her father, Michael Andretti, who shows up out of the blue after abandoning her mother eighteen years ago. She wants to break free of everyone's rules and expectations, but does Josie even know what she expects of herself?
Written in an almost-diary format, Josie has a compelling and authentic voice of a seventeen-year-old. Each chapter is written in first-person past tense, but comes across as if the events she relates just happened. It's not quite a diary, however, as there are no dates heading up each chapter, and weeks can go by between the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. Almost an entire year is covered, as Josie learns about herself, her family, and her dreams. The story covers a lot of ground in terms of her relationships with friends, boys, her father, and her grandmother, but the theme holding the story together is Josie's coming of age and growing to know herself. Realistic teen fiction doesn't always age well, but the only elements that date the story are brief references to Doc Martens and a tape deck. Josie's search for identity certainly continues to have currency and I would still recommend it to today's teens.
by Melina Marchetta
New York: Orchard Books, 1999.
Josephine Alibrandi knows what it's like to deal with labels. She never felt like she fully fit in, because she was born in Australia but had Italian roots, and has a single mother. Now she's a scholarship student and a senior at a Catholic high school, still struggling to know herself. Josie has to navigate relationships with her mother, her Italian grandmother who seems to find nothing good to say about her daughter, and her father, Michael Andretti, who shows up out of the blue after abandoning her mother eighteen years ago. She wants to break free of everyone's rules and expectations, but does Josie even know what she expects of herself?
Written in an almost-diary format, Josie has a compelling and authentic voice of a seventeen-year-old. Each chapter is written in first-person past tense, but comes across as if the events she relates just happened. It's not quite a diary, however, as there are no dates heading up each chapter, and weeks can go by between the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. Almost an entire year is covered, as Josie learns about herself, her family, and her dreams. The story covers a lot of ground in terms of her relationships with friends, boys, her father, and her grandmother, but the theme holding the story together is Josie's coming of age and growing to know herself. Realistic teen fiction doesn't always age well, but the only elements that date the story are brief references to Doc Martens and a tape deck. Josie's search for identity certainly continues to have currency and I would still recommend it to today's teens.
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