Recently Read

Sapphique by Catherine Fisher.

Sequel to Incarceron. Not as thrilling as the first. The ending was twisted to make it as happy as possible, and there was a niggling sense that if I remembered every detail of both books I would find she had done things that were inconsistent. Still, a good read with some great characters and plenty of food for thought about what we value and why.







Infernal Devices by Philip Reeve.


Next after Predator's Gold, I could not put it down. Better written than it's predecessors, though perhaps not as good a story as the last. An impressive ending that has me scrambling to get hold of A Darkling Plain, last in the Hungry City Chronicles. Municipal Darwinism rolls on as Hester and Tom take an idyllic break in the now static city of Anchorage. But when their daughter leaves in search of adventure, they follow and catch up with the world.

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool.


Newbery award winner. The book takes place during the Great Depression and is parts A Long Way from Chicago, Nowhere to Call Home, and The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate,  though not as good as Peck or Kelly. Although it was a pleasurable read, I could not get the title of the article, "Has the Newbery Lost Its Way?" out of my head as I read it. I can't see this appealing to many kids.





Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce.


I trudged through about half of this before abandoning it. It never drew me in or engaged me at all. The characters seemed stilted and unreal, the setting similar. And the plot? Yawn. So disappointing after that great cover.