{Review} Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Published by HarperCollins, 2002

Softcover, 162 pages

ISBN 0439576881

Genres: adventure, children's fiction, fantasy, horror, paranormal, science fiction, YA

2/5: The movie Coraline has been a favorite of ours ever since it was in theaters. The Mr took me, pregnant at the time with Gabriel, to see it on Valentine's Day and it was great fun. Now the wee one loves it as well for its "spookiness", as he says, and awesomely quirky characters. It has just the right proportions of action, drama, dialogue and story progression, and the animation! Absolutely stunning and so very interesting you can't tear your eyes away. Needless to say, Gabriel and I were very excited to pick up a copy of Coraline at our favorite used bookstore and start reading it as soon as we finished Dahl's The Witches. We would have been disappointed anyway, but right on the heels of a hilarious and imaginative Roald Dahl book? With Quentin Blake illustrations?? I'm not sure it's possible to have moved on to a more anticlimactic selection than Gaiman's Coraline. It plods along, as flat and colorless as the Other Mother's misty landscape, with an awkward storyline in which developments feel haphazard, superficially planned, and make little sense. The characters promise a lot but, once again, lack any real uniqueness with which to interest the reader, much less charm or entertain. Coraline is well written, and therefore mechanically a very good piece. However, that cannot whatsoever make up for the tepid nature of the content. Gabriel and I were very glad to finish this book and return to the marvelous Dahl and Blake. While it wasn't a terrible reading experience, I can't recommend Coraline very highly. This is, in fact, a rare time I would suggest simply enjoying the movie.

Mary Beth

{Review} The Mysterious Howling (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #1) by Maryrose Wood

The Mysterious Howling (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #1) by Maryrose Wood
Published by HarperCollins, 2010
Hardcover, 267 pages
ISBN 0061791059
Genres: adventure, children's fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, humor, mystery, YA

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Found running wild in the forest of Ashton Place, the Incorrigibles are no ordinary children. Luckily, Miss Penelope Lumley is no ordinary governess. Penelope embraces the challenge of her new position. But mysteries abound at Ashton Place.

My review: Maryrose Wood has a charming writing style, similar to that of Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket), though not so close that it seems... suspicious, if you know what I mean. She has created an awesome heroine in Miss Penelope Lumley, a no-nonsense yet kindly young lady who takes a position as governess to the "Incorrigibles", three children the master of Ashton Place found in the forest on one of his frequent hunting trips. While the children, around 10, 8 and 5 years of age, are obviously siblings nothing more is known about them, and if their manners and language skills (or lack thereof) are any indication they have been living in the forest for a very long time. Lady Constance Ashton, the mistress of Ashton Place, is a self-centered and spoiled young woman of around 20 who recently married Lord Ashton. While she tolerates the presence of Miss Lumley and the Incorrigibles she would be more than happy for them to go straight back from where they came. Miss Lumley has other plans, however, planning on keeping the children safe in her care for as long as possible, even if it means getting put on Lady Ashton's least-favorite-persons list. She frequently bolsters her fortitude with the pithy sayings of the headmistress at the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, where she received an excellent education and much practical training. She frequently gives herself serious little pep talks worthy of L.M. Montgomery's heroine Anne Shirley, and I'm sure they would have found each other to be kindred spirits. The children, dubbed Alexander, Beowulf, and Cassiopeia by Lord Ashton, adore Penelope and have great dramatic flair, reveling in reciting and performing such literary pieces as Longfellow's "The Wreck of the Hesperus".

This was an extremely fast read and I'm looking forward to reading The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #2 and #3: The Hidden Gallery and The Unseen Guest respectively. A fourth in the series is slated for publication in 2013 as well! I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley, Skellig by David Almond, or simply likes quirky writing with lots of literary references, precocious children, and fun illustrations. Thank you so much for dropping in & I'd love to hear your thoughts on the Incorrigibles below!

Mary Beth

{Review} Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary || {Update} Fight Club & more

A mini-review, just for you.

Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary
Published by HarperCollins, 1990 (originally published 1950)
Paperback, 160 pages
ISBN 0380709120
Genres: children's fiction, YA

My review: From page one, with his gloomy outlook on life and case of third grade ennui, you can't help but love Henry Huggins. His extreme propensity for accidents, combined with complete obliviousness, firmly cement Henry as one of the most memorable characters from children's lit... at least as far as I'm concerned. I remember reading about him in grade school, wishing I had a friend like him, and asking my mom for pet guppies just like Henry's. She said no. Fast forward a few years and now I'm a mother identifying with my own mom and Henry's (I giggled every time the poor woman said, "Oh, Henry." and Henry asked, "What? It was an accident..."). I was so happy when I discovered there are a total of six books about Henry and Ribsy, a couple of which I haven't read. I can't wait to read them with my son soon, and again when he's old enough to ask for pet guppies. I already know what I'm going to say.

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This has been an awesome day (even with SOPA hanging over our heads). Last evening Brooks from Forever Overhead told me that a book I've been really wanting to read is on NetGalley, so I hopped on over there quick as a bunny to get registered and submit a galley request. While over there I found several other books I'm interested in reading and reviewing from a variety of genres and sent a few more requests.

This morning I got into my e-mail and discovered a bunch of galley request approvals as well as an email from Dana at Let's Book It notifying me that I won her What wasn't under your tree? Giveaway!! Eeeeeehh! The point of this giveaway was to enter to win a book you'd requested for Christmas but didn't end up receiving. Well, I've been wanting a copy of Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk for two Christmases running now, but to no avail, so I'm sure you can figure out what I requested. Now by this point I was extremely excited-- NetGalley membership, galley approvals, my own beautiful copy of Fight Club on its way. But that wasn't all. As I was emailing Dana with my mailing address the UPS man dropped off a package. I had no idea what it could be, so I quickly tore it open and discovered this...

A gorgeous hardback copy of The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey! I requested this book from Anna, an Online Marketing Associate of Little, Brown and Company, through this post at Book Blogs, a large online community of book bloggers and blog readers. I am so excited to read it and, well, a bit in shock that it simply showed up on my doorstep!

I was so thrilled I called my husband at work to tell him, and then I called my mom (hey, it's the little things). Apparently I was so excited my voice rose by about two octaves and while my husband is quite used to this phenomenon, my mom is not. She thought something was wrong. Really wrong. And she about started freaking out. I had to take a few breaths and tell her that no, nothing was wrong. I had just gotten some brand-spankin' new books. While she was happy for me I have a feeling it was a little anti-climactic, ha. Ah well, I'm still doing the happy dance in my head and feeling quite giddy. I'll share a couple more images with you to celebrate :)

Exquisite. I have heard so many great things about The Snow Child, and I simply can't wait to read it.

I hope you have a wonderful evening filled with books and other simple joys.

Mary Beth