Book Review: Plain Kate by Erin Bow

Plain Kate by Erin Bow

I was afraid to read this book because of the heavy themes introduced even just in the synopses I read on Goodreads and Amazon, but I’m glad I got over it (on the recommendation of a friend) and decided to check it out from the library. I was drawn right away into the fairy tale quality of the writing, which kind of reminded me of Neil Gaiman.

The story is about a young girl named Kate, the daughter of a carver who dies from a sickness that falls over her town. Left to fend for herself, Kate is accused of being a witch because of her odd-colored eyes and uncanny skills with her carving knife. But when she encounters a real witch, she makes a bargain she soon learns was more deadly than she realized.

Erin Bow is a masterful writer and her rich, crisp prose was a delight to read. From the beginning, the terrible tragedy of Kate’s father’s death was heart-wrenching, but was so masterfully balanced by Kate befriending a ridiculously cute cat (who as part of the bargain is given the ability to talk! awesome!). However, there was a certain…predictability that didn’t quite sit right with me. There were puzzles that Kate should’ve figured out from the beginning, things she should’ve known were going to happen from the get go, but characters and the writing were so beautiful (and yes, there were plenty of things I never saw coming) that I almost forgave all of that. The more difficult problem for me was the pacing. I found myself skimming a bit toward the end of the book. But the ending was well worth continuing and the author handled strong emotions so well that I would still highly recommend this book to anyone.

I can’t wait to read whatever Erin Bow comes up with next.

#bookreview #erinbow #middlegrade #neilgaiman #plainkate #cats

Agent News and a Silly Goose

First things first, I have news on the writing front: I have an agent! I’m now being represented by the Sheldon Fogelman Agency. Very exciting!

It’s been a while since one of my Friday Library Trip posts, so I thought I’d mention my daughter’s favorite book that we’ve checked out recently : Silly Suzy Goose by Petr Horacek.

Silly Suzy Goose is about a goose named Suzy (you’re welcome! I know you’d never have guessed!) who wants to be something else. She imagines herself as many different animals–with a hilarious consequence.

The illustrations in this book are lively, colorful, and fun. Perhaps the text isn’t for grammar purists with a recurrent was/were mistake (check out other blogs for some ranting), but my daughter loves the book and so do I. We’ve actually checked this book out TWICE from the library because she requested it again, and I might just have to buy a copy because she keeps asking for it (okay, I just did). I’ve been a big fan of Petr Horacek’s illustrations (and Suzy!) ever since I picked up a copy of Look Out, Suzy Goose on sale at Porter Square Books. That book is just as fun, and even a little bit creepy. We also have Butterfly Butterfly which I think is a gorgeous book (it even has a colorful pop-out butterfly!) but for whatever reason, my daughter doesn’t love that one as much. Maybe because it doesn’t feature waterfowl.

#bookreview #picturebooks #agent #fridaylibrarytrip #sheldonfogelmanagency #blogseries #petrhoracek

Book Recommendation: Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness

The Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness is a YA dystopia series about a planet where men’s thoughts can be heard out loud by everyone due to an alien virus. This series is amazing. The strangeness of the premise (and the obvious statement about our information-overloaded society), the break-neck pacing, and the violence made it hard for me to connect all the way with the main character, Todd, in the first book–but by the end of the third book, I loved the series even more than The Hunger Games (gasp!).

The series begins with The Knife of Never Letting Go, in which Todd is violently torn away from his family only to discover that he has been lied to his whole life about the planet he lives on. Every rule he has been taught proves to be a lie and he can’t even read the journal his mother left him explaining what’s happened. As the series progresses, we find out more and more about Todd, the story becoming more complex, fast-paced, and yes, violent as the series continues. Patrick Ness’s writing style is at times spare, but still engaging, and his characters are all compelling.

I did have a a few quibbles about the series. For example, I wasn’t completely convinced of why the main character was supposed to be so important (or how the evil antagonist knows he’s so important).  I also didn’t completely buy into the peaceful “I can’t kill anyone” theme for the main character in the midst of terrible danger and warfare, but this was a central theme and obviously an important one to the author.

In any case, this is a definite must read for Hunger Games and YA dystopia fans. Just don’t expect any fun makeover scenes. :P

#hungergames #patrickness #dystopia #YA #scifi #chaoswalking