Bookfoolery

"So we're in London," Gertie said, looking around at the men in dark suits and women in tall feathery hats. "Have you been here? Where is it?" 

"It's in far western Europe, capital city of an island that's known for bad weather, horrible food, and people who are exceedingly polite--when they're not trying to invade your country." 

~p. 145

***This review may contain some spoilers. Please skip down to the rating if you're concerned!!***

I've read several middle readers, lately, and I have to tell you I'm impressed with the quality of the reading material. Gertie Milk and the Keeper of Lost Things by Simon Van Booy is the most adventurous of the books I've read, lately, and if you've hung around my blog for any length of time, you know I love a good adventure. It's also a little bonkers - such an imaginative world!

Gertie Milk doesn't know where she is or where she came from. She doesn't even know her own name until she sees it embroidered on the gown she's wearing. All she knows is that she's on a beach and needs to get to high ground before the ocean swallows her. It's a challenge climbing to the top of the island she's on, but once she gets there she is taken in by a man named Kolt, who lives in a very strange house that is both filled with and surrounded by things that have been lost. He is a Keeper of Lost Things and the Keeper's job is to care for these lost items and return them when needed, as directed by a large, dusty, magical book. He is the last of the Keepers but he's not sure why, although the Keepers have an enemy called the Losers.

When Gertie discovers a key in her pocket, Kolt tells her she is a Keeper, as well. To return items, she and Kolt will travel through time and face all sorts of challenges, meet a new friend called Robot Rabbit Boy, and glimpse history. But, the Losers are out to stop the Keepers from doing their job, forever. And, Gertie will be torn when she finds out the truth about her past.

Highly recommended - What a crazy and fun adventure! As I was reading Gertie Milk and the Keeper of Lost Things, I kept thinking to myself, "I would have loved this as a child and would have read it over and over again." As an adult, I appreciated learning a little history that I was unfamiliar with (I'd never heard of Mercedes Gleitze, who swam across the English Channel). And, I love a book with a young heroine. Adventurous children's books tend to skew male in the hero role; the more female protagonists making decisions, the better. I also loved the fact that Gertie is both in charge and emotional, brave but afraid, smart but flawed. Not everything is wrapped up but I don't recall it being such a cliffhanger that it put me off. Gertie Milk and the Keeper of Lost Things is the first in a series and I'm looking forward to the next book.

Cover thoughts: I love the cover of Gertie Milk and the Keeper of Lost Things! It not only contains elements of many of the interesting things about the book (so the cover image is relevant to the content), it's gorgeous and eye-catching and even looks a little three-dimensional from certain angles. Very cool!


©2017 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Oona Lee goes to Sand Dancer Academy but she feels out of place. Clumsy in a way her big sister never would have been, she struggles to keep control of her aniform (dancing sand figure) but it always gets away from her. When she's sent out of class to retrieve her sand after losing control of her aniform, Oona overhears a conversation that disturbs her. The Five Worlds - interconnected moons - are dying. The only way to save them is for the chosen sand dancer to light the five beacons on Beacon Day, which will create harmony. Then it'll all be copacetic. Or, so they hope.

But, last year's Chosen One not only didn't perform the proper rites to light the beacons on Beacon Day, she ran away. That Chosen One just happened to be Oona's sister, Jessa Lee. Oona doesn't have anywhere near the confidence or ability that her sister had and neither does the new sand dancer, this year's Chosen One. But, Jessa has written to Oona, instructing her to take a ship to Moon Yatta. That will mean missing Beacon Day but Oona is prepared to leave. Maybe her sister can help her work out how to save the Five Worlds.

Instead, when Oona shows up for her flight, chaos ensues. Her world is attacked by the people of another moon, the Toki, who plan to steal the queen's bones to help them become powerful. The Toki have been conquered and enslaved by Oona's people but the Chosen One is one of them. Oona is confused but still thinks Jessa can help light the five beacons, if only she get to her. But, with her world at war, is that even possible?

From the attack onward, 5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior becomes an adventure so intense that I found myself gripping the book, sitting up straighter, absolutely immersed. The Sand Warrior is a quest and Oona is the unwitting heroine. On her adventure, she meets a young boy named An Tzu, who suffers from a disease that's making him slowly disappear but who has special abilities. She also meets Jax Amboy, a star ball player who is not quite what he seems. Her team gathered, they go looking for help. But, in order to get to their goal, they'll have battles to fight and prejudices to overcome.

Highly recommended - 5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior is a graphic novel for middle graders that starts a little slow as it introduces Oona but then her quest gradually comes into focus. From the moment Oona meets the current Chosen One and begins her quest, she realizes that she may have more natural ability than she could have guessed. Regardless, she is determined to make sure the interconnected worlds survive.

There are hints of various Earth concepts. The light from the beacons, for example, is what keeps the five worlds in balance. What's happening to them is basically climate change. And, to restore balance, the worlds - which contain entirely different peoples (some blue-skinned, some basically animated plants) must overcome their prejudices and work together. Oona has never had many friends because of her awkwardness but her willingness to take help where it's offered not only enables her to gather the strength of others but also leads to the creation of a second family, of sorts. My favorite kind of book!

I've never been a fan of graphic novels, although I do occasionally read and enjoy them (I just don't go out of my way to seek them out) but I'll be on pins and needles till the next book in this series comes out. It's easy to read but also requires thought; and the quest is so gripping I stayed up to finish, even though I got a very late start on my reading. I closed it in the end and thought, "I want to reread this!" Seriously, it's that good. I loved the adventure, the growth of the characters (especially Oona), the meaning behind the story, and the denouement. There's a surprise about Oona's sister at the end, also, that leads to an epic good vs. evil battle. I just can't tell you enough how fun 5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior is. Recommended for middle graders, as it was intended, but if you like a good adventure and you're an adult, you might want to sneak this one into your basket for when you need a light, adventurous read. I was honestly shocked at how much I loved it. I will definitely reread it and I can hardly bear thinking about how long it will take for the second book to come out.

My thanks to Random House for the chance to read and review 5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior!

And, it's Friday; time for a Fiona Friday pic (starring Isabel). Isabel is attracted to fresh laundry and this pile of laundry hadn't been on the bed more than a minute before she showed up and began tunneling into it. My plan was to fold the laundry immediately, but after she'd tunneled for a bit, Izzy made herself a nest and, I suppose, told herself, "The laundry is clean and I must be, also" because she took a lengthy bath and then settled into the middle of her nest and fell asleep. I did the only thing available to me. I picked up the closest book and read, instead of folding.



©2017 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

I suppose scorn makes one feel more clever, in the same way that indignation makes one feel more moral. 

~p. 197

Emmeline Truelove was the personal secretary to the Duke of Olympia, till his recent death. Now, a young man by the name of Maximillian Haywood has inherited the duchy. But, he has gone missing. At the behest of the newly widowed duchess, and with the charming and dashing Lord Silverton accompanying her, Miss Truelove must head for the Mediterranean to unravel the mystery of the future duke's disappearance.

A Most Extraordinary Pursuit contains a wild, almost bizarre blend of adventure, mystery, characters who may or may not be entirely what they seem, potential for romance, ghosts, time travel, magic, and some very informative history paired with mythology.

The vast majority of the book follows Truelove and Silverton as they pursue clues to Haywood's whereabouts. Somewhere along the way, they pick up another man, a gentleman and scholar by the name of Mr. Higganbotham. Silverton is a gorgeous spy and a cad, Higganbotham an, at times, slightly daffy intellectual. After finding a fresco that appears to be fake in the palace of Knossos, which is being dug up and preserved, and repeatedly facing danger, the myth of Ariadne takes on a deeper meaning. But, what does the myth have to do with the missing duke? And, will either of the men pursue an understanding with Truelove or are they toying with her?

Recommended with postscript - I was absolutely immersed in A Most Extraordinary Pursuit, all week. It's only about 430 pages long (technically, that meets my old definition of "chunkster" from the days when I came up with the Chunkster Challenge, but it's not far over the line) but there's so much happening that it took me a long time to get through the book. I love the fact that A Most Extraordinary Pursuit has interesting characters but is plot-heavy. I love the Edwardian time period and the language. I really love-hated Lord Silverton. I pictured him with the face and hair of Luke Norris (Dr. Enys in Poldark) but with a wicked twinkle in his eye, Edwardian clothing, and a bit of a swagger.



There were portions, however, that didn't work for me. There are two ghosts: the ghost of Queen Victoria and Truelove's father. Both visit Miss Truelove but it's Queen Victoria who tries to guide Emmeline and the ghost of her father contributes little. There are two men who may have romantic interest in Truelove, but one is known for enticing and abandoning women. The other is a either an enigma or exactly what he seems. Higganbotham almost completely fades away within the last 100 pages; he's there, but he's no longer key. Are we to distrust Higganbotham or simply dismiss him? Has his interest waned for good or will he appear in the next book? Because, herein lies another issue. A Most Extraordinary Pursuit is not a stand-alone. Although it's mostly wrapped up, at least one bright red thread is left dangling; clearly the story will continue.

Also, toward the end of the book, the mythology became extremely confusing. I thought the author did a fairly good job of interspersing bits of the tale of Ariadne and Theseus between chapters and explaining the characters (I'm not knowledgeable about mythology) till that last 50 pages or so. Then, it became suddenly overwhelming, to the point that I began to skim over the mythological portion. I didn't mind the craziness -- there is even a paranormal aspect, a magical touch -- but the author nicely warned her readers that she'd asked permission to take the book to extremes and it was granted. Well, she certainly did that. The book is wildly adventurous but it's also rather strange.

In the end, I gave the book 4 stars and I would, in fact, like to see where Juliana Gray (more commonly known as Beatriz Williams) takes Miss Truelove in future installments, but I also felt a slight bit let down and perplexed after the last 30-50 pages. And clearly I need to bone up on mythology.

There was also one particular feature of the book that I believe could have been minimized, if not left out entirely, and that was Truelove's repetitive seasickness. It was neither important to the plot, nor necessary for character development at any time, in my humble opinion, although perhaps it was meant to show us that Silverton could display compassion and kindness. I would have preferred that the author minimize those scenes; they were not fun to read at all.


©2016 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

[Emma Edmonds] knew she deserved a military pension, but she also knew it would be difficult to convince the government she truly had fought in the war (even though it's probable that nearly four hundred women were active in the Civil War). So she did the most dramatic thing possible: at a reunion of her Michigan Infantry division, she showed up in full skirts and was like, "Hey guys, it's me, Franklin!" Everyone was utterly confused until her colonel admitted, "I recall many things which ought to have betrayed her, except that no one thought of finding a woman in a soldier's dress."

~ fr. p. 112 of Wonder Women, Advance Reader Copy (some changes may have been made to the final print version)


Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History by Sam Maggs is packed full of mini biographies of women for whom the term "kick-ass" is maybe a little mild. Going back as far as hundreds of years, author Sam Maggs tells stories of women with amazing skills and talents who refused to hide their abilities or let them die away for the sake of the menfolk.

Told in a breezy, modern style, Wonder Women describes the challenges each of these amazing women faced and how and why most of these historical powerhouses have fallen into obscurity. The short reason: men like taking credit, if not outright stealing, the work of people they consider inferior.

Each small chapter opens with an illustration and a quotation. The opening chapter, for example, describes Wang Zhenyi, a Chinese astronomer, mathematician, and poet who was active in the 18th century. Her quote:

"It's made to believe Women are same as Men; are you not convinced Daughters can also be heroic?"

The contents are divided into the following sections:

• Women of Science
• Women of Medicine
• Women of Espionage
• Women of Innovation
• Women of Adventure

At the end of each of these sections is a Q & A with a living woman who has experienced or is currently working in a male-dominated field:

• Dr. Lynn Conway - Computer Scientist, Electrical Engineer, and Science Educator
• Dr. Buddhini Samarasinghe - Molecular Biologist, Cancer Researcher and Founder of STEM Women
• Lindsay Moran - Author, Journalist, and Former CIA Operative (I reviewed her book: Blowing My Cover)
• Erica Baker - Engineer
• Mika McKinnon - Field Geophysicist, Disaster Researcher, and Science Writer

Highly recommended - Wonder Women is the kind of book that ought to be required reading for both sexes -- girls, so they know they can do whatever they choose if they're willing to put out the effort, boys so they don't go around thinking girls are inferior. I don't know the age range -- although, admittedly, I'm actually skeptical of age ranges, anyway, knowing that some children are into adult novels and nonfiction well before adulthood -- but I know I would have enjoyed it around the age of 10-12 and I wouldn't limit it to pre-high schoolers. The writing style is very modern. Sometimes that bothered me (particularly when the author said "skillz" rather than spelling the word "skills" properly) but I do think that style makes Wonder Women particularly accessible to the younger crowd and that is, of course, its intended audience.

Quirk Books is having a pre-order promotion. Included in the offer is a set of wallpapers for phone, tablet, and desktop (free with purchase) and a drawing for signed, framed prints. Click through this link to read about it and find the sign-up widget:

Pre-Order Offer: Wonder Women by Sam Maggs

The Quirk Books website is an awfully fun place to hang out, by the way. I highly recommend bookmarking it for future fun.

©2016 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
by C. S. Forester
Copyright 1948
Reissued by Back Bay Books, 1998
310 pages

A little background as to why I read this book. My husband and I got a boxed set of "adventure movies" by the A & E network for Christmas and the first 4 of the Hornblower movies (there are 8) were included in that set. We watched them on laundry-folding nights. Seriously, that's what we do. We make huge mountains of clean laundry and then spend an evening folding and watching a movie. I had only seen bits and pieces of the series, in the past, when my husband watched them. He's seen them all and read most of the books.

Well . . . Ioan Gruffudd, Robert Lindsay, Jamie Bamber, Paul McGann . . . seriously, the movies would have had my approval if you'd just held up a photo of those guys in costume. Hornblower has an awesome cast and the movies are beautiful, adventurous, impressively acted. I just loved them. This is funny because my husband always thought they'd be far too violent for my taste.

After we'd watched the first 4 movies, I went in search of the next 4. Meanwhile, having discovered that I don't just find the stories tolerable but I'm, in fact, wild about the adventure, I went in search of Mr. Midshipman Hornblower. We had a copy, but who knew where it had disappeared to? My husband, as I've mentioned before, is Mr. Chaos and the Hornblower books are his.

He gradually located most of the books -- 8 out of 9 of them -- but never did manage to find the first in the series (by order of Hornblower's experience, not the order in which they were written, as they weren't written from Midshipman to Admiral in timeline order).

I got online and found a copy was available at PaperbackSwap. Then, I had to wait for its owner to dig out from under the snow because he was stuck at home (in Washington, D.C.) during the big blizzard and the book was at his office.

Finally, I got my hands on the book and read it. And, it is every bit as wonderful as I'd imagined and then some. I found myself wanting to quote entire pages. C. S. Forester was a witty man and some of the lines in the movies are taken straight from the pages of the books.

A handsome young man in a plum-coloured coat with a lace stock greeted Hornblower when he stepped on the deck.
"Welcome, sir, to the Pique," he said in French. "I am Captain Neuville, of this privateer. And you are--?"
"Midshipman Hornblower, of His Britannic Majesty's ship Indefatigable," growled Hornblower.
"You seem to be in an evil humour," said Neuville. "Please do not be so distressed at the fortunes of war. You will be accomodated in this ship, until we return to port, with every comfort possible at sea. I beg of you to consider yourself quite at home. For instance, those pistols in your belt must discommode you more than a little. Permit me to relieve you of their weight."
He took the pistols neatly from Hornblower's belt as he spoke, looked Hornblower keenly over, and then went on.
"That dirk that you wear at your side, sir. Would you oblige me by the loan of it? I assure you that I will return it to you when we part company. But while you are on board here I fear that your impetuous youth might lead you into some rash act while you are wearing a weapon which a credulous mind might believe to be lethal. A thousand thanks. And now might I show you the berth that is being prepared for you?"

Don't you love the language? Even more impressive and lovely are the manners.

"Mr. Hornblower!" said Eccles. "My respects to the captain, and we're ready to get under weigh."
Hornblower dived below with his message.
"My compliments to Mr. Eccles," said Pellew, looking up from his desk, " and I'll be on deck immediately."

Of course, there are plenty of light moments in between adventures at sea and on land.

Midshipman Hornblower was walking the lee side of the quarterdeck, as became his lowly station as the junior officer of the watch, in the afternoon, when Midshipman Kennedy approached him. Kennedy took off his hat with a flourish, left foot advanced, hat down by the right knee. Hornblower entered into the spirit of the game, laid his hat against his stomach, and bent himself in the middle three times in quick parody ceremonial solemnity almost without trying.
"Most grave and reverend signor," said Kennedy. "I bear the compliments of Captain Sir Ed'ard Pellew, who humbly solicits Your Gravity's attendance at dinner at eight bells in the afternoon watch."
"My respects to Sir Edward," replied Hornblower, bowing to his knees at the mention of the name," and I shall condescend to make a brief appearance."
"I am sure the captain will be both relieved and delighted," said Kennedy. "I will convey him my felicitations along with your most flattering acceptance."
Both hats flourished with even greater elaboration than before, but at that moment both young men noticed Mr. Bolton, the officer of the watch, looking at them from the windward side, and they hurriedly put their hats on and assumed attitudes more consonant with the dignity of officers holding their warrants from King George.

5/5 - Sparkling dialogue, exciting seafaring adventure, rock-solid descriptions of Hornblower's emotional state and straightforward, exceptional writing flair.

Yeah. That means I loved it and I plan to read the entire series. Highly, highly recommended to any and all. There are plenty of nautical terms but I had no problem with them, although the occasional scene only partially made sense. That's because I didn't bother to retrieve our nautical lexicon (which I gave to my husband when he was reading Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey/Maturin series). They didn't last long and don't dominate the book; the stories are very readable. I can't say enough positive things about this series, even after having read only the first in a series of nearly a dozen.

I was very, very distracted whilst writing this post because I kept looking up photos of the cast. If you haven't seen the movies, I also highly recommend them. There's plenty of graphic violence (lots of screaming and moaning during battles and a good bit of blood) so you might want to watch them after the kids are in bed, but they make laundry-folding a bold adventure.

The Sword and the Flute (Matterhorn the Brave #1) by
Mike Hamel
Copyright 2007
Living Ink Books - Fiction/Ages 9-12
181 pages

Matthew Horn is a 12-year-old boy who loves to read. While browsing the books in his school library, he notices one book is sticking out farther than the others and tries to shove it back into place. The book resists his efforts, so Matthew's curiousity is piqued. He picks up the book and flips through. There are no words on the pages but the book opens up a time portal and Matt is sucked inside. Renamed Matterhorn and given the sparkling Sword of Truth, Matt is sent on a mission to retrieve a missing flute with a companion who is also a regular guy when not traveling through time and space.

In Medieval Ireland, Matterhorn and Aaron the Baron face their challenge with bravery and determination -- and find out that not everything is as it seems. The first in a series, The Sword and the Flute is a rollicking fine adventure for mid-to-YA readers.

3.5/5 - Very good! Action-packed, quick-paced and surprising.

I made the mistake of reading Holly's review before I wrote my own. Her review is so good, I felt a little at a loss for words, but I must say I think this is a great book for boys who love a good adventure.

Just walked in:

My Custom Van by Michael Ian Black - From Simon & Schuster, via Twitter. I'm not actually familiar with this comedian, but I'll always jump all over the opportunity to read something funny. If I recall right, I believe Black is the humorist who recently had a Twitter battle with Levar Burton to see who could lure more followers.

Half Moon by Douglas Hunter - From Bloomsbury, via Shelf Awareness. A Biography of Henry Hudson. I love reading about explorers and this release is scheduled to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson's discovery of the river that bears his name. It says he was a "rogue" explorer. Oh, fun. I just love a rogue in a ruffled shirt, don't you?

A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi - Sent by the author. A psychological thriller with a paranormal aspect (a young girl's nightmares become the only clues to a brutal murder), I must admit it was the word "paranormal" that grabbed my attention. The author wrote a nice note in the book and tucked in a recipe from Spice Up Your Life by Bindu Grandhi, as well as a few cards to pass around.

In other news . . .

If you follow me on Twitter, you've probably already heard this, but I can't shut up about the good news. My son proposed to his girlfriend and she said "yes"!! I'm so excited that our little family will be growing!! And, she's an avid reader!!! How cool is that?

Also, it rained today. Everything just pales in comparison with the news of a future wedding, doesn't it? Next up will be my review of Shimmer by Eric Barnes.