strange and random happenstance

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
Published by: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: September 18th 2007
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy(different edition than one reviewed)

Dashti's mother has died on the steppes. Leaving the other muckers behind, she takes refuge in the city of Titor's Garden. Dashti's ability to read and write makes her a valuable servant, not to mention her knowledge of the healing songs of the muckers. She is trained to be a serving maid to Lady Saren, the illiterate daughter of the city's leader. Dashti's first day of work is more than she could ever have bargained for. Arriving at Saren's home, the house is in an uproar. Lady Saren is to be locked up in a tower for her refusal to marry Khasar, the leader of nearby Thoughts of Under. Whence her lady goes, there goes Dashti, even if they just met. The days pass slowly in the tower. But with food for seven years, Dashti feels more secure than she did starving on the steppes wondering where her next meal was to come from.

But her lady is not well. Dashti sings to her and tends to her every need to no avail. Saren is holding onto a dark secret to do with Khasar that nothing can relieve. Their only hope comes one day when Khan Tegus secretly arrives. He is the leader of nearby Song for Evela and Saren's secret fiance. He brings them news from the outside world, even if Saren refuses to talk to him and Dashti must pretend to be her mistress, for which she hopes the Gods won't strike her down. They communicate night after night through the little hole in the base of the tower, till one night, Khasar attacks. They hear no more of Tegus, no more of their guards, and their food supply is in danger. The rats have found them. Which is not so big a worry as Saren's overeating.

Facing a slow death or finding a way out of the tower are the only options left to them. But the outside world has changed. Khasar has started a war with all the eight realms. Titor's Garden is no more. The two girls slowly make their way to Song for Evela, hoping that Khan Tegus can protect them. But once their Saren refuses to make herself known and asks Dashti to once more pretend to be her, despite there being a new fiance from Beloved of Ris. There is more war on the horizon. Dashti is but a mucker faced with hard decisions and a Lady who she is respecting less and less. Could a lowly mucker save all the eight realms and get the prince? Or will evil win?


The fact that our heroine is locked in a tower should be the first hint that this is a tale from the Brothers Grimm. Those brothers sure did like their maidens bricked up in out of the way locales. Shannon Hale writing it is another good sign. Shannon Hale has made her name with her retelling of fairy tales written by the Brothers Grimm, from The Goose Girl to Rapunzel's Revenge, she has taken the weak, put upon women, and strengthened them and given them new life. The retelling of Fairy Tales is a popular pastime in fiction, especially in young adult fiction. Fairy Tales are the building blocks we all played with as children. They are simple stories to teach us right from wrong. They are stories that, as we age, we see the flaws and the wrongs. But still, they resonate with us. Book of a Thousand Days is based on one of the lesser known stories by the Brothers Grimm, "Maid Maleen." The story of "Maid Maleen," unlike the title suggest, is not about a maid at all. We follow the brave princess locked in the tower who one day escapes and flees to the country of her beloved. Once there, she finds work in the kitchens and as begged by the ugly fiance of the king to pose as her during the wedding ceremony, the rightful princess and the rightful prince are reunited and cue the happily ever after.

Here we see the themes that Hale will employ in her retelling, disguises, imprisonment and resolution of woes. But what of the actual maid? What of "Dashti"? In the original story there is but one mention of the maid being locked into the tower with her mistress. Shannon Hale latched onto this simple line. To be imprisoned for a crime that is not yours, to be locked up with someone you don't know. Someone who is illiterate and woebegone. The day to day life that Dashti narrates, with the good as well as the bad, the growth as well as the set backs are what make this book so wonderful. While it is said that it takes a thousand days to know someone, by reading this book you know Dashti. A simple story about obedience from hundreds of years ago has brought forth a story of one girl's struggles to find herself and her place in the world. And it's totally empowering. Sometimes the old needs to infused with the new to make it relevant in today's world. Retelling a tale is all it takes.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Book of a Thousand Days, Brothers Grimm, Dashti, Fairy Tale Fortnight, Goose Girl, Khan Tegus, Lady Saren, Rapunzel's Revenge, Shannon Hale

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Published by: Doubleday Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 528 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Dan Brown’s new novel, the eagerly awaited follow-up to his #1 international phenomenon, The Da Vinci Code, which was the bestselling hardcover adult novel of all time with 81 million copies in print worldwide, will be published in the U.S. and Canada by Doubleday on September 15, 2009.

THE LOST SYMBOL will have a first printing of 5 million copies, and it will once again feature Dan Brown’s unforgettable protagonist, Robert Langdon. Brown’s longtime editor, Jason Kaufman, Vice President and Executive Editor at Doubleday said, "Nothing ever is as it first appears in a Dan Brown novel. This book’s narrative takes place in a twelve-hour period, and from the first page, Dan’s readers will feel the thrill of discovery as they follow Robert Langdon through a masterful and unexpected new landscape. THE LOST SYMBOL is full of surprises."
Dan Brown’s popularity continues to grow. The film of The Da Vinci Code was a #1 box office smash when it was released by Columbia Pictures in May 2006 with Ron Howard directing and Tom Hanks starring as Robert Langdon. Box office receipts were $758 million. The same team will release Angels and Demons theatrically worldwide on May 15, 2009."

Yeah, so this book just screams No. 1 New York Times Bestseller. Even if you won't admit it you've probably read The Da Vinci Code and will probably pick this one up. Though in good news, this book will probably save Doubleday from declaring bankruptcy.

Forest Born by Shannon Hale
Published by: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: September 15th, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Order

"Rin is sure that something is wrong with her…something really bad. Something that is keeping her from feeling at home in the Forest homestead where she’s lived all her life. Something that is keeping her from trusting herself with anyone at all. When her brother Razo returns from the city for a visit, she accompanies him to the palace, hoping that she can find peace away from home. But war has come to Bayern again, and Rin is compelled to join the queen and her closest allies—magical girls Rin thinks of as the Fire Sisters—as they venture into the Forest toward Kel, the land where someone seems to want them all dead. Many beloved Bayern characters reappear in this story, but it is Rin’s own journey of discovering how to balance the good and the bad in herself that drives this compelling adventure."

The newest Bayern book by Shannon Hale is also finally released. While not my favorite in the series (read my review), I'm happy to see my favorite characters return once more.

Shannon will also be making appearances for this book, so make sure to go a check her out if you have the chance, she's an awesome public speaker!

September 19, 2009
* forest born release party!
The King's English
1500 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, Utah

September 26th
National Book Festival
National Mall
Washington DC

September 27th
Northshire Books
4869 Main Street
Manchester Center, VT

September 28th
Flying Pig
5247 Shelburne Road
Shelburne Falls, VT

September 29th
Porter Square Books
25 White Street
Cambridge, MA

Brookline Children's Book Shop
237 Washington St
Brookline, MA

Barnes & Noble
99 Middlesex Pkwy
Burlington, MA

September 30th
Wellesley Booksmith
82 Central Street
Wellesley, MA

October 2nd
R. J. Julia
768 Boston Post Road
Madison, CT

November 16th
ChildrenÕs Bookshop
737 Deepdene Road
Baltimore, MD

November 17th
Politics & Prose
5015 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington DC

Barnes & Noble
7851 Tyson's Corner Center
McLean, VA

November 18th
ChildrenÕs Bookworld
17 Haverford Station Rd
Haverford, PA

November 19th
Barnes & Noble
210 Commerce Blvd
Fairless Hills, PA

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran
Published by: Crown
Publication Date: September 15th, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Order

Also not to be forgotten, Michelle Moran's highly anticipated book, Cleopatra's Daughter, is released today as well! What a week for new books! Michelle was kind enough to stop by my blog last week and answer a few questions and hold a contest, the least we can do is go out today and buy her book! So go, go now...go buy...can't get out today? Amazon? There's a link right there for you, go buy!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:02 AM 1 comments  

Labels: Bayern, Cleopatra's Daughter, Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, Enna Burning, Forest Born, Goose Girl, Michelle Moran, River Secrets, Robert Langdon, Shannon Hale, The Lost Symbol, Tuesday Tomorrow

Forest Born by Shannon Hale
Published by: Bloomsbury
ARC Provided by a Friend
Publication Date: September 15th, 2009
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Preorder

"Rin is sure that something is wrong with her…something really bad. Something that is keeping her from feeling at home in the Forest homestead where she’s lived all her life. Something that is keeping her from trusting herself with anyone at all. When her brother Razo returns from the city for a visit, she accompanies him to the palace, hoping that she can find peace away from home. But war has come to Bayern again, and Rin is compelled to join the queen and her closest allies—magical girls Rin thinks of as the Fire Sisters—as they venture into the Forest toward Kel, the land where someone seems to want them all dead. Many beloved Bayern characters reappear in this story, but it is Rin’s own journey of discovering how to balance the good and the bad in herself that drives this compelling adventure."

Shannon Hale has been a very busy writer, since her last Bayern book was released in 2006. She has written two adult books, another adaptation of a fairy tale and a graphic novel. But with Forest Born she finally gives us readers what we have been waiting for, a return to Bayern. In this book we follow Rin, Razo's little sister. Her abilities are far different to any of the "fire sisters" we have seen before, which also leads to a new more free flowing, train of thought writing when we are in Rin's mind. We see all the characters we love and learn what has been happening in their lives. But I had problems with Rin as the focal point of all these intertwined lives. Rin is such a non-character, in the beginning, and she was obviously written as such. She is quite literally a shadow who eventually takes form. But it is hard to befriend a shadow. It is hard to identify with a wraith. It is hard to take a girl into your heart who you aren't sure who she is. But then again she doesn't know who she is either, and therefore your unease with her mirrors her own feelings about herself very well. I found Rin and her powers fascinating, but I think her progress could have been more rapid in parts. It takes awhile to face your demons, but sometimes narratively they should be faced faster.

The journeys contained within the book, both of body and mind lead our characters to Kel. There they do valiant deeds and Rin discovers more about herself than she originally bargained for when she followed Razo to the great city. I will not spoil anything as per the author's request, but I felt that Shannon Hale relied too much on a few cliched conventions in this book then her previous ventures. When I went to WisCon back in May I attended a panel entitled "Kick Ass Moms" wherein the authors discussed the habit of when you have a mother the cliched thing to do is to put that child in danger. Baby jeopardy is a big theme which is overused, and Shannon Hale does use this in Forest Born. She does handle it better than I was expecting, but still, I'm not sure it works as a driving plot force for a teen book. Also she uses the old trick of old enemies always return for the sequel. It felt a bit like that last scene in Bruce Campbell's film, My Name is Bruce, where they have just defeated Guan-Di, and then the sequel set-up is literally two seconds later. While the end result is great, it still felt a little worn.

But in the final analysis I loved seeing where our friends in Bayern have ended up and even if I wasn't wild about Forest Born the first read-through, it got the same rating I gave Enna Burning the first time, and I now love Enna! So Forest Born might grow on me to be a four star review, now that I know Rin more I'd be willing to give it another chance. But it is strongly recommended for all those who love the denizens of Bayern.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 1:40 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bayern, Book Review, Bruce Campbell, Enna Burning, Forest Born, Goose Girl, My Name is Bruce, River Secrets, Shannon Hale

River Secrets is the third book in Shannon Hale's popular Bayern series. If Goose Girl was about discovering your hidden power, and Enna Burning was about learning to control your power, then River Secrets is more an acceptance and dealing with the consequences of your power. The war between Tira and Bayern is at an end and a shaky alliance exists between the two countries. In order to forge a lasting peace Bayern sends an ambassador to Tira to sway the assembly's vote for peace instead of resuming the war. Among Bayern's Own chosen to escort the ambassador is Razo. Razo is so alive and fully formed the little runt of a forest boy jumps off the page and into your heart. Unlike the two previous books we are following someone with no magical powers and who does not think very highly of himself, despite all the things he's good at which he is blind to. River Secrets is also unique because unlike the first two books that were almost purely a journey of the central character, here we have a journey wrapped around a tangled web of a mystery.

Upon the Bayerns arrival in Tira, Razo discovers a burned body, the first of many. Trying to find out who the burner is and why they are burning is the mystery Hale presents us with. We are offered many likely suspects, from the cute red-headed ambassador's daughter Dasha, to the more nefarious of Tiran's, even to Bayern's own Enna. Talone, the Bayern's head of security assigns Razo to route out the pyro, because even if Razo hasn't noticed, he happens to be a very good subconscious observer, and therefore the perfect spy. Razo eventually saves the day, and not just by uncovering the burning consipicy, but just by being his wonderful food loving, life loving self and showing the Tiran's that the Bayern aren't all bad baby eaters, some are cute spiky haired forest boys who used to herd sheep. Also Enna learns that though her power is destructive by nature, her own nature can help to control it and heal the wounds she inflicted on others.

Like Enna Burning, the first time I read this book I did not like it as much as I did Goose Girl, but again I have surprised myself with loving it the second time around. Razo is so wonderfully lovable and is able to make the best of a bad situation, plus as a personal prejudice, he used to take care of the sheep, how awesome is that!?! Also the lush and very Venetian Tiran capital of Ingridan is such an interesting city of white buildings and tile work, you get lost in the lush descriptive city with its oppressive heat. But what I find draws me to this book most is the mystery. Readers love a mystery, it propels us to finish, reading late into the night, way past the time we should have turned out the light. While in Goose Girl we wait with baited breath to see how Isi will get what is rightfully hers and with Enna we hope she survives but with River Secrets, we have to know the hidden depths the book contains. Who is burning? Why? Will Razo stop them in time? Will he ever be the one to get the girl? It's a page turner, no doubt!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 3:16 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bayern, Book Review, Enna Burning, Goose Girl, Razo, River Secrets, Shannon Hale

Enna Burning by Shannon Hale
Published by: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: August 2004
Format: Paperback, 317 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Enna Burning is Shannon Hale's follow up to her successful Goose Girl. While Goose Girl does stand fully on its own, the second installment of the Bayern series delves deeper into the surrounding characters and also the consequences of the first book. As we left our cast of characters, Isi had reclaimed her name, stopped a war, met and was going to marry the man of her dreams and had developed the power to hear and coerce the wind. Since then two years have past and we pick up in the forest with one of her fellow animal watchers and her best friend, Enna, the former chicken girl. Enna has left the palace because her mother was ill and has now died and she is helping her older brother Leifer in the forest. She is also seeing a lot of Finn, the son of the woman who took in Isi when she was escaping Selia's masacre. One day her brother Leifer finds a parchment and he gains the ability to talk to fire. The fire starts to consume him and he lashes out in fits of uncontrollable anger, during one outburst Enna is badly burned. Enna at a loss heads to the castle to talk to Isi because with her wind talking she is the only one who might understand what Leifer is going through. But Enna finds a far changed Isi, the wind is wearing her down, she has no rest or respite and does not look as if she can go on. But everything is forgotten because war breaks out with Tira, the country to the South East. The forest born all head to war and Leifer burns, so big and so bright he saves the day, only he dies in the process. Enna is distraught and she finds the parchment on his corpse and she becomes a fire speaker as well.

Enna resolves to not be like Leifer, she will not loose control, she will stick to three key rules: tell no one, kill no one and never submit to the desire to let it consume her. She secretly starts carrying out night raids on her own and setting fire to the Tiran camps, but she is frustrated that the Bayern aren't hearing about this. After killing a man she asks Razo, fellow forest born and scout, for help to keep the final rule she made for herself. With Razo and eventually Finn's help they are able to better target the Tiran from within their own camps. But when they are almost caught Razo and Finn say that they want to stop but Enna hearing of a gallows being erected in own of the towns heads there on her own and is captured by the trap the Tiran's set to get this "fire-witch". After this Enna is drugged and held in the Tiran camp by the charismatic people speaker Sileph. She is conflicted and falls for Sileph, yet when her country is at stake she breaks free and saves Bayern. Only something breaks inside her when she burns that big and that bright.

Isi decides that her and Enna must travel south to find out about the land where fire witches come from, hoping that these desert monks can teach them balance and save Enna from the fever that is killing her from the fire within. They learn that if they each teach the other their gift they could create balance, by both being fire talkers and wind talkers the fire will keep the wind away while the wind will burn off the heat of the fire. Not only is Enna saved but so is Is. With balance restored they all head back to Bayern with a very pregnant Isi and all is well.

The first time I read this book I did no really like it as much as The Goose Girl, but I have since come around. The book delves deeper into the abilities these characters posses and shows that while something may seem great and wonderful there are cons with the pros. I especially liked how the interaction of the wind and fire flows through the entire book yet it is not until the end that we see they must be combined. Also this book is far more psychologically complex, with Enna being a prisoner of war we see first hand Stockholm Syndrome and see how easy it would be to fall for a charismatic tyrant. The fire is also an interesting difference to the wind in the previous book. Fire is so much more of a consuming force, and the feeling to make what was once dead alive again for a brief instant of flame is compelling. You could really see why a pyromaniac might sympathize with Enna's dilemma of need versus restraint and control.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 2:18 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Bayern, Book Review, Enna Burning, Goose Girl, Shannon Hale

I don't think there is a way to tell a truly original story. All stories have been told in some form or other at sometime. The key to a good story is how you tell it, how you make it your own, how you make it original. From Bridget Jones being a retelling of Pride and Prejudice to the simplest bedtime story being rewoven for you. Re-imaginings of preexisting texts and stories happen all the time. But the question remains, who does it best? I love Shannon Hale. Her books are imaginative and always entertaining. What I find fascinating is that several of her books' genesis are fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm. But these are definitely not your grandparents fairy tales! She often turns the story on it's head, changing the underlying theme or moral without destroying the basic structure, creating a far richer and more interesting world. Instead of stories of obedient and subservient girls we read about strong willed girls, able to take care of themselves, and not waiting in the tower for some prince, especially in the case of Rapunzel. She believes Fairy Tales are wonderful in that they are stripped down of everything superfluous, and what remains after countless generations is the pure, true essence of storytelling, in other words, the best outline to start with. As Shannon Hale said when I saw her speak in Milwaukee promoting Book of a Thousand Days, she doesn't feel a need to retell her favorite stories, she feels a need to retell those that piss her off. She then went on to say that she was working on a new story based on Rapunzel (Rapunzel's Revenge released last August) mainly because she felt Rapunzel needed a refashioning because of her being helpless in a tower and her wanting to dig up Jacob and Wilhelm to slap them around and demand to know what they were thinking. The Goose Girl is based on the tale of the same name...but what does it really share in common with the original?

As written by the brothers Grimm, old Jacob and Wilhelm, a young princess is sent with her waiting-maid on her talking horse Falada to the next kingdom where she is to wed the prince. The princess is weak and subservient, so the maid in waiting takes advantage of her and assumes her identity, relegating the princess to help with the castle's geese upon arrival to the kingdom where the princess would have one day been queen. The waiting-maid, not being an idiot, has Falada killed so the horse won't talk. The princess spends her time with the geese and Curdken, another servant. Curdken thinks the princess is weird because she talks to Falada's head where it's been mounted outside the city, and also because when he tries to tease her she is able to summon the wind to blow his hat away so she can play with her hair in peace. Obviously Curdken thinks this is weird so her goes to the king, who figures out that the goose girl is the real princess. So the king has a banquet where the waiting-maid and the princess sit on either side of the prince. The king then tells the tale of the princess and asks the false bride what she would do to the imposter. She suggests rolling in a cask with nails till death, so off she goes to her death and they are all happy. The prince especially so because he has the prettier of the two and she is nice and meek and patient.

As written by Shannon Hale we have all the plot elements above, we have the Princess, Ani, going with her maid in waiting, Selia, to the country of Bayern to wed a prince she's never seen. On the way the hired men divide into two factions, those for Ani and those for Selia. Selia's men revolt and kill everyone against Selia. Ani escapes and takes refuge in the very German forest while Selia goes onto the capital of Bayern and claims she is Ani. The true Ani heals with the help of some Forest Born and eventually heads to the palace in disguise to claim what is hers. Once she gets there she realizes the extent of Selia's treachery and for fear of her life goes into hiding taking care of the King's geese till her time comes, and cozying up to the King's guard, Geric. Ani spends her time planning to get her horse, Falada, back and then once she has saved up enough money she will buy her way back home amongst some traders heading to Kildenree. Not all goes to plan, Falada has been driven mad and it breaks her heart when they kill him. She requests that the butcher give Falada a proper burial, to which he sticks his mounted head above the Goose Gate, which sickens Ani to the very core. The rogue Kildenreans finally find Ani and she escapes with her life back to the Forest Born who sheltered her. She then finds her top guard, Talone, is still alive and they form a plan to get Ani the hand of the prince. Because Selia is so clever, she has lied about an impending war between the nations so that anyone who could identify her as an imposter will die. Ani now must save her country, and this prompts her to come out of hiding. She rides to the lakefront estate where the army is massing and gets an audience with the King claiming to be her younger sister. She confesses all and it looks like Selia will win, but Selia gets cocky and overplays her hand and the bad guys all die, and Ani gets to marry Geric, because it turns out he is really the prince.

As interpretations go, the summery above shows the basic structure is intact, and little details like the horse being named Falada, and the manner of Selia's death and other little things here and there are one and the same but fleshed out. But several more supernatural aspects of the original story need to be addressed: Falada talks, Ani does as Selia says, Selia oozes self-confidence and it appears that the princess has the power to control the wind. Shannon Hale chose to quickly address these concerns within the mythology of the world she created. There are ancient legends in Kildenree that speak of people who can talk to animals, and it is said that if you are at the birthing of a foal they are born with their true name on their tongue and speak it only once and if you are present and speak the name back to them, you are forever bonded. Ani did this with Falada, so they can speak (only to each other I might add). But further legends say that not only are there animal speakers, there are people speakers, usually kings and queens who have the ability to sway people to their wills. Ani's mother is a people speaker and uses it justly to rule her kingdom. Unfortunately for Ani, Selia is also a people speaker, and this is Ani's downfall, because Selia is able to talk to people and use her words to weave a spell of her choosing, mainly she should be queen. Even further legends speak of those who could speak to the elements, water, fire and earth, nature speakers. These are the tales that truly fascinate Ani. In her grief over Falada she strains to hear him speak her final word to her "Princess" and instead she hears another voice, the voice of the wind. She slowly realizes she can persuade it and learn from it, using it to help escape and finally defeat Selia. By creating this mythology Shannon Hale has made something that was weird and implausible, plausible within the realm of her book. And Ani is weak at the beginning because she has never had to do anything for herself, she has never had to stand up for anything or anyone, by striking out on her own she becomes the woman who can stand up to Selia and is worthy of being Queen. A worthy re-interpretation, a goose girl becomes queen by her own hand not because she is weak and will do as she's told but because she is strong willed and will rule justly.

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Published by: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: August 2003
Format: Hardcover, 383 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Posted by Miss Eliza at 2:02 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Bayern, Book of a Thousand Days, Book Review, Brothers Grimm, Goose Girl, Rapunzel's Revenge, Shannon Hale