Category: 4 Star

Excellent

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The Final Paladin by T.J. Akers

T.J. Akers describes The Final Paladin as “urban fantasy.” I would amend that to historical urban fantasy given that its real-world setting takes place at the turn of the 20th century.

Filled with crusaders, murders, a mysterious key, and a host of fantastical creatures, I recommend this YA novel for older readers of the genre. While no explicit blood and gore is splashed on the pages, the tensions and the complicated twists of the plot will appeal to adults as well as teens.

SYNOPSIS

(from the back cover): Life for Peg Bowman is rough in the infamous slums of Five Points, New York, but her brother’s murder changes everything.

Thrust into incredible worlds beyond any story she’s ever heard, Peg meets Sir Godfrey, an eleven hundred year old knight from Charlemagne’s court, trainer of Paladins. He reveals to Peg her family’s ancient obligation to protect the Key of Apollyon, a relic of immense power. She is the last descendant of the Paladins and his only hope for keeping it safe.

When Godfrey confides her brother was murdered because of the Key, Peg rejects her calling and demands revenge, a luxury she can ill afford as otherworldly creatures seek her death to claim the Key’s power for themselves.

Can Godfrey and his faithful retinue–Chim the Hobgoblin, Rebecca the Jewish maven and healer, and Jack the sometimes human and sometimes seven-foot black dog–keep her safe and convince her that her calling is worth pursuing? Or will she succumb to the Key’s lure and wield it for revenge?

I don’t usually go for the “tantalizing final question” on a book jacket blurb, but this one is good. It’s not rhetorical, and I really didn’t know the answer before reading the novel.

PROS

1. Plenty of action in a fantasy world keeps readers on their toes.

2. Akers challenges the readers’ deductive skills as they try to unravel the clues which could help Peg fulfill her duty as the final Paladin.

CONS

Some parents may not want their teens exposed to legendary creatures of darkness. I find the story too dark for my taste, which is why I’ve recommended it for older readers.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Define “Paladin.”

2. Why is Jack sometimes in human form and sometimes in dog form?

3. What happened in Peg’s early childhood that allowed her to meet the challenges presented by Sir Godfrey?

CONCLUSION

If you or your child like dark fantasy with Christian values camouflaged within the plot, you’ll like The Final Paladin.

 

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Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead

Because I loved Rebecca Stead’s novel, When You Reach Me, I picked up Bob, hoping I would like it just as much.  Yes and no.

By page 11, ten-year-old Livy is talking about zombies. Hmmm. I don’t do zombies. I don’t like dark, ugly, creepy stories.  But the cover was so cute. It didn’t seem to be about the walking dead. I soldiered on.

And I’m glad I did.

Bob is a sweet, fantastical fairy tale and well worth the read as we follow the theme of searching for home and family.

Synopsis

Livy has returned to visit her grandmother in Australia after not seeing her for five years. All she remembers is that something important is in her bedroom closet.

Bob is… I don’t know how to describe Bob. Sort of like ET in a chicken suit? He has remained in the closet, waiting for Livy for five long years. When the two meet again, he must teach her all the things she forgot, and now that she’s older, she may be able to help him find his mom.

As they search for clues together, Livy realizes no adults ever see Bob, even when he’s caught out in the open. Unlike other stories, though, the authors leave it up to the reader whether he is a figment of children’s imaginations or absolutely real.

Pros

  1. The theme. Everyone loves a story where the main character is trying to get home.
  2. Livy’s and Bob’s voices. While Livy is always respectful of others, the voice inside her head has an appealing sassy style. And Bob is analytical. He’s had plenty of time to think.

Cons

  1. Other reviewers have found the story confusing, and I agree there are elements that made me stop and go back and make sure I understood what happened ten pages previous.
  2. While the ending is satisfying and logical (for a fantasy), it still falls a little flat. I love the last line though.

Discussion Questions

  1. Who or what is Bob?
  2.  Why can’t grown-ups see Bob?
  3. What is the connection between the drought and Bob?
  4. Do you think Bob and Livy will meet again?

Conclusion

As you can see, even with a couple of “cons,” I’m still willing to give this a 4.5 because the main characters are so endearing.  Definitely worth getting to know them!

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Pirate’s Wager by Kathrese McKee

Pirates. Life on the high seas. Betrayal. Held for ransom. Pirate’s Wager fulfills the dream of every reader who loves swashbuckling adventure.

SYNOPSIS

Thirteen-year-old Samazor struggles to find shelter and food in Port Azor, but when his father loses a bet with an infamous pirate captain, Samazor loses his freedom. Life on a pirate ship is full of danger. Who can the boy trust? Any mistake will be costly. As Samazor struggles to survive, he learns about brotherhood.

PROS

1. Pirate’s Wager is a novella, a prequel to McKee’s Mardan’s Mark series, so it’s a short, easy read.

2. Every chapter is filled with adventure. The story rarely slows down for the reader to catch a breath.

CONS

1. This is my own personal pet peeve. When a novella is written and a series follows, I hate the “carrot” that is dangled in front of me. I finish the story, and I know there is more—just buy the next book. But I want the book now!

2. Again, for me, I want the depth of detail in a full-length novel, but for many young readers, they will be satisfied with the surface action of a good adventure story.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Samazor’s father was not a good parent. Why do you think Sam loved his father in spite of all his imperfections?

2. Did any of the pirates have some good character qualities? If you think so, who can you name, and why did you choose him?

3. Would you have made the same decision as Samazor at the end of the book?

CONCLUSION

If you enjoy epic fantasy adventure, Pirate’s Wager along with its companion Mardan’s Mark series is a good choice for you.

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Of Sound Mind by Jean Ferris

Third in a series of reviews about deaf characters and their siblings, Of Sound Mind zeroes in on the burdens a CODA (child of deaf adults) carries when his parents cannot or will not connect with the hearing world.

Synopsis

Theo, a senior in high school, learned sign language before he learned to talk.. His mom is a famous artist—with a stereotypical temperament to match—and his dad is a carpenter. Both are deaf and rarely speak, which means Theo is their live-in interpreter. He hates the never-ending responsibility.  Then there’s Theo’s little brother Jeremy, who is also deaf.

A loner, Theo takes refuge in mathematics until he meets Ivy. Ivy lives with her deaf father, also serves as his interpreter on occasion, but she embraces the world with a vitality that Theo has never witnessed before. He’s smitten.

As he spends more and more time with Ivy, he meets her dad and the people she serves in her after-school catering business. She welcomes Theo’s family into her circle, especially Jeremy, who is one lonely little kid. Theo begins to dream he can break free of the family chains and actually attend MIT next year. Then his dad has a stroke, and the dream disintegrates. It’s Ivy who provides a solution to the dilemma, at which point Theo must come to terms with the flaws in himself.

Pros

  1. Jean Ferris provides the best view of Deaf Culture at home that I’ve ever read. She has Theo point out where hearing people commit errors in etiquette, from turning away while you’re speaking to grabbing a person’s hands who is signing.
  2. In life, people make choices as to how they will respond to the situations that come up. Ferris demonstrates how a hearing child living with deaf parents reacts in a variety of ways. Theo started to look at his life more optimistically with Ivy’s help. Ivy also had to face some of the negatives in her life, things she had repressed, covering them with an almost-manic desire to nurture others.

Cons

For some younger readers in this overlapping category of middle grade and young adult, the life issues that come up might be overwhelming. Theo’s mother is not in the least bit motherly, and his father dies. Ivy’s mother abandoned her.

Discussion questions

  1. If you were the only hearing person in your family, would you resent being given the job of interpreter for your parents and brothers and sisters, or would you be happy to help out every day?
  2. Why did Theo’s mother refuse to talk in public (and hardly ever at home either)?
  3. Why did Theo resent other people coming in to help his dad, even when they knew sign language?
  4. Theo decided to attend MIT in spite of everything that went wrong. Why did he make that decision?

Conclusion

With the best of intentions, people often fall into the trap of needing to be needed. Of Sound Mind teaches us how to climb out of that trap.

 

 

 

 

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…and now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold

The “coming-of-age” story. When a boy becomes a man.

…and now Miguel is a great read for boys ages nine through thirteen. Joseph Krumgold really gets into the head of a kid during that in-between age, wanting to be respected as a man yet child enough that he’s not quite ready for a man’s responsibilities.

Synopsis

Set in the Korean War era, the heart’s desire of Miguel Chavez is to be allowed to join the men when they take the sheep to the mountains. During his twelfth year, he meets every challenge to prove he is old enough to go with them. But his father says, “Not yet.” So Miguel prays to San Ysidro for a miracle allowing him to join the men. And his prayer is answered—only not in the way he would have desired.

Pros

  1. The novel peeks into the Hispanic-American culture giving children new insights.
  2. Krumgold teaches his readers all kinds of details about life on a sheep ranch. I learned a lot!

Cons

As a child, I might not have been interested in finishing the book because there is so much narrative. Dialogue exists, but not in the abundance of a modern novel.

Discussion Questions

  1. What is the difference between Pedro and Miguel?
  2. Why does Miguel respect his father? His grandfather? Gabriel?
  3. What is your opinion of Faustina?
  4. Name two ways that Miguel has begun to grow into a man by the end of the book.

Conclusion

Miguel’s moment of ultimate reality is this: we spend minutes upon minutes anticipating desired change. Change happens—for maybe one whole minute. After that, we live our changed lives minutes upon minutes.

This lesson is central to life, which is why …and now Miguel is a classic. For life is complicated. Even when you get your heart’s desire (glad), it may not be what you wanted (sorry). As Miguel’s father told him, “Always two things.”

 

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Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John

When Antony John’s wife challenged him to write a book about rock music and its personalities from a deaf person’s point of view, Five Flavors of Dumb was the result.


Synopsis

Eighteen-year-old Piper Vaughn lost her hearing in fifth grade, so her speech is pretty clear, and she’s mastered the skill of reading lips. Communicating to others is so much easier for her if she uses sign language, but only her brother and mom have learned it. Dad is ashamed of his imperfect daughter. However, Piper’s baby sister, Grace, who is also deaf, has just received expensive cochlear implants—paid for with Piper’s college fund. It doesn’t take much imagination to know how she feels.

The chip on her shoulder gets her into the sticky situation of managing, and getting a paying gig for, a high school rock band, Dumb. (That’s the name of the band, not my opinion of Piper!) The five personalities in the band range from arrogant to oppositional to placating, and Piper has her hands full getting them to listen to each other, both on instruments and in life. How can she do that when she can’t even hear the music properly? She depends on her feet to feel the rhythms through the floor, but her hearing aids only give her vague clues on the harmonies.

With the help of an aging ex-rock singer, Piper fumbles her way through the maze of rehearsals, public relations, and contracts. She gains a better understanding of her family while on the journey, learns to accept the hand of friendship as well as extend it, and is stunned by the discovery of romance.

Pros

1. I love a complicated story! With one main character and eight supporting roles, the opportunities for complex relationships abound. Antony John does a masterful job of building the relationships between Piper and her family and Piper and the band. He keeps those relationships true to life, too. She doesn’t succeed with everyone.

2. While the novel is set in the twenty-first century, the author adds wonderful nuggets of rock and roll trivia of the Eighties.

3. Piper gives the reader a good sense of Deaf Culture and what it’s like to be deaf in a hearing world.

Cons

Since Five Flavors of Dumb is not a Christian YA novel, the language can get pretty salty, so I don’t recommend the book for younger readers.
Discussion Questions
1. Why does Piper think her father is ashamed of her? Is she right or wrong? What makes you think so?
2. How does Piper’s opinion of her brother change over the course of the story?
3. How does Piper judge each of the band members at first? List what she thought about each of them. When was she right and when was she wrong? What does she learn about them as individuals?

Conclusion

Directly after the first chapter and directly before the last chapter, Piper creates a list which reveals how she looks at the world. When I compare both lists, I can see how much she’s grown in maturity and in loving others, a great lesson for all readers!

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Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright

Set in the late 1930s, Thimble Summer captures the era’s atmosphere of farm life in  Wisconsin. Elizabeth Enright wrote this while people were just beginning to recover from the Dust Bowl further south, and the book gives an excellent sense of the Depression years through a child’s eyes.

Synopsis

Garnet Linden, ten years old, gets herself into a different scrape every chapter. The story starts with the silver thimble she finds half buried in the river bank, and Garnet decides it will bring her good luck. All her adventures through the rest of the summer “prove” it. Life isn’t always easy, and she knows her father worries about the bills, but as the season comes to a close, she can look back on adventures that brought so many treasures to hold close to her heart for a lifetime.

Pros

 

  1. Children who love a gentle, happy story with enough challenges to keep them interested will love the book.
  2. Enright provides wonderful details teaching today’s readers what farming was like in the twentieth century before World War II, such as how neighbors teamed up to get everyone’s harvest in and how farm machinery was relatively new.

Cons

 

Children who love action and adventure, or adults who deem no story is a good story without building toward a strong climax will not like Thimble Summer.

Discussion Questions

  1. What chores did Garnet help out with?
  2. Would you prefer to be Eric, who lived on his own for over a year, or would you prefer to be part of a family like Garnet’s? Why?
  3. How was it possible that no one missed Garnet when she ran away for the whole day?

Conclusion

I write reviews for Vintage Reads for the sole purpose of pointing readers to great books of yesteryear. This is the second book by Elizabeth Enright that I’ve reviewed. You can find my opinion of The Saturdays here. She has ten more books for children, and each one paints a beautiful picture of Americana.

 

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Rocky Road by Rose Kent

My local library had the foresight to carry several novels with deaf characters for children and teens.  Rocky Road is one of them. In the coming months, I will be including additional reviews as part of a “Deaf Series.”

Synopsis

Tess Dobson has always rolled with the punches that make up her life. Her dad left years ago,  her little brother, Jordan, is deaf, and her mom is a bit wild and crazy. Take, for instance, their sudden move from San Antonio, Texas, to Schenectady, New York.  Mom thinks the schools up north can help Jordan. The family has no money, but Tess’s mother plans to start up an ice cream shop in the middle of the winter. And they’re living in a run-down, old people’s community.

Tess manages to start some new friendships in the middle of seventh grade, keep up with her ASL practice for her brother, get to know some of her elderly neighbors, and help her mom with the preparations for the ice cream parlor. As Mom’s bipolar behavior intensifies, Tess learns that the family’s survival doesn’t depend on Tess.

Pros

  1. All the characters, no matter how quirky, are lovable and to be admired.
  2. With the main character’s southern personality, the down-home, Texas sayings that come out of her mouth make for a fun read.

Cons

While I think of this story as realistic fiction, it’s really not. The characters are almost caricatures. I have never met real people like Tess, her mom, and her friends. That said, there’s nothing wrong with making characters larger than life when the author wants to point out specific traits or actions that readers are encouraged to emulate. In Rocky Road’s case: be a friend and accept individual differences in the people around you.

Discussion questions

  1. Tess knows she can’t talk her mom out of moving, so she decides to make the best of a bad situation. How would you have reacted in the same circumstances?
  2. Why did Mom want to move?
  3. At what point in the story could you tell Mom probably needed medical help?
  4. If you had a brother or sister who was deaf, would you learn sign language?

Conclusion

The book jacket’s final line encapsulates the novel: “This moving story of family, community, and ice cream proves that with a little help from the people around us, life really can be sweet—and a little nutty—just like Rocky Road.” Which is why I loved this book.

 

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The Crescent Stone by Matt Mikalatos

The Crescent Stone by Matt Mikalatos

Power has its Price…

Synopsis

Madeline Oliver is dying from lung disease and there’s no cure. Jason Wu, after tragedy strikes, is left grief stricken and promises to only speak the truth from that point on. When a mysterious stranger name Hanali appears to Madeline and offers to heal her in exchange for one year of service to his people, Madeline and Jason are swept into a strange land where they don’t know the rules and where their decisions carry consequences that reach farther than they could ever guess.

Pros:

  • great writing
  • rich world building
  • plot line that kept me engaged
  • unique characters
  • original folklore

Cons:

  • once in awhile I caught the author “preaching” about societal issues which I found a little off putting (I like things to be a little less on the nose)
  • I did not find Madeline’s character made a big impression on me

This book took me a bit to get into but I really enjoyed it once I got further in! I really loved Jason’s character and his sense of humour. The story line is intriguing and full of just enough twists and turns to keep you turning to the next page. The characters in the Sunlit Land are unique and full of life and it was a wonderful place to visit. I’m looking forward to book 2!

*This book releases today! So you can now get your copy of it on Amazon!*

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Sun and Moon by Desiree Williams

Sun and Moon by Desiree Williams is a good, summer romantic fantasy  appropriate for middle grade and young adult readers. It’s short, easy to digest, and has an assured happy ending, like a bag of popcorn at the movie theater.

Synopsis​

Eighteen-year-old Zara has been a slave since her parents were killed when she was only eight. She serves as the companion and bodyguard for a princess, and together, they plot escape from the princess’s despotic father, King Melchior.

There’s only one catch; she was chosen from birth to fulfill a much larger destiny, and the time arrives before she is ready. (No spoilers.)

Pros:

  • This is a clean romance suitable for all ages. Zara and Jaedon are both wonderful, easy-to-like characters.
  • The cover is beautiful.
  • The pacing keeps the reader engaged.
  • The world-building is great.

Cons:

  • For a demanding, older reader, this book tends to be too perfect, too sweet, and too predicable. By the end of 227 pages, not one, but three couples have managed to reach their happy endings.
  • Some readers may be uncomfortable with the idea of an assigned life mate and the use of symbols (like tattoos) that come to life to help the characters find each other.
  • The evil king is a little too evil to be believable.

Personal Thoughts

Sun and Moon was too sweet and easy for my taste. I don’t think the author intended this book to be a Young Adult book, but the female lead’s age is ripe for this market. Certainly, the content is appropriate for this age group.

The novel had the potential to be much better if only the author had included grittier conflict and not so many happy endings. For lost opportunity, I will give it four stars, but as a “popcorn” romance, it’s a perfect summer read.