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Review: By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson

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By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson

By Darkness Hid
Jill Williamson
Marcher Lord Press
Published April 1, 2009

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About By Darkness Hid

Achan has known nothing but the life of a stray, lower even than that of a slave. When a mysterious knight, rumored to have once been a stray himself, makes an offer to Achan to train him as his squire, despite laws that should prevent it, Achan finds himself trapped between two lives. In this midst of this, a strange gift seems to wake inside him. But isn’t bloodvoicing just a myth?

When an evil prince seeks her hand in marriage, Vrell hides behind the orange tunic of a stray and masquerades as a boy to conceal her identity. At the same time, her own newly discovered gift brings her to the attention of those in power despite her disguise. As they seek to exploit her gift, they draw dangerously close to uncovering her secret. As the prince’s coronation approaches, Achan and Vrell’s troubles only increase. Will Achan’s gift uncover his true identity? Can Vrell quell her gift to protect hers?

My Review

BY DARKNESS HID, the first novel in Jill Williamson’s Blood of Kings trilogy, is fast-paced, intriguing, and full of clever characters. I loved both Achan and Vrell (though their names are a little tough to say) and the story world contains some really different elements. I’m always a sucker for political intrigue, and By Darkness Hid had a little bit of that happening, too, which kept me guessing. This is one of those books you need to own two copies of: one for yourself and one to lend out to others. Great summer read!

Content Notes for By Darkness Hid

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Er’Rets is a kingdom half in darknes. The people worship many gods, but some believe there is one god, Arman, the creator, above all others.

Violence
Some battle scenes, but gore is minimal.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: Over a Thousand Hills I Walk With You by Hanna Jansen

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Over a Thousand Hills I Walk with You
Hanna Jansen
Carolrhoda Books
Published April 1, 2006 (Orig. published 2003)

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Jeanne’s family and home are destroyed when the radical Hutu group, the Interahamwe, begin a nationwide massacre of the Rwandan Tutsi population. As Jeanne and others struggle to flee the Interahamwe soldiers and simply survive each day, a black hole yawns inside of her, a grief and rage that threaten to swallow her whole. But something else changes. She finds within herself an unyielding strength and will to survive.

It is a before-and-after story, told by Jeanne’s German adopted mother. Each chapter opens with a behind-the-scenes look at the events and the healing that unfolded even as the story was told, as Hanna Jansen walks over a thousand hills with her daughter.

Honestly, as I read Over a Thousand Hills I Walk with You, it wasn’t until about the third chapter that I really felt myself captured by this book. But by the middle, I couldn’t put it down. I became entranced by the parallels between mother and daughter, despite their differing backgrounds, and the struggles that Jeanne endured as a child on the run in a very dark time juxtaposed against her battle for inner healing, and the woman who never stopped fighting for her. Over a Thousand Hills I Walk with You is raw, painful… and yet ultimately a beautiful and powerful tale of healing.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Spiritual Content
None.

Sexual Content
Contains some references to rape.

Violent Content
Contains some references to the massacre of the Tutsi people in Rwanda.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: In Between by Jenny B. Jones

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In Between
Jenny B. Jones
Sweet Pea Productions
Published March 25, 2014 (Originally published 2007)

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Sixteen year old Katie Parker is not too excited when she discovers she’s moving to a new foster home in In Between, Texas, home of the Chihuahuas. And to top that off, her new “dad” is the pastor of one of the local churches. Not exactly consistent with Katie’s formerly religion-less life. At her new school, she finds herself at home with the other outsiders. At least, so she thinks. When one late night stunt turns to trouble, Katie finds herself sentenced to time with her new nonGrandmother– Mad Maxine. Could things get any worse? And does the God thing really work?

Jenny B Jones tells Katie’s story with just the right mix of tenderness, humor, and sarcasm. It was an entertaining read, one I didn’t want to put down from the minute I read the first page. Katie is lovable and endearing– and even Mad Maxine really gets to your heart. She’s a trip.

There are three books in the Katie Parker Production series. So Not Happening, the first book in a new series by Jenny B. Jones, will be released in May 2009. Can’t wait to check it out!

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Katie wrestles with finding her a place in her new family– and her new faith. The God thing is a unfamiliar and a little uncomfortable at first. Katie wrestles with doubts and a tenuous new hope. Her view as an outsider coming into a pastor’s family and her questions about faith seemed really authentic.

Violent Content
One scene of vandalism pretty early on in the story. Pretty mild.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: Jerk California by Jonathan Friesen

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Jerk California
Jonathan Friesen
Speak
September 4, 2008

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Sam Carrier can’t sit still. He jumps and blurts and twitches almost constantly. That’s the nature of the beast. Tourette’s Syndrome. The only solace he finds and the only time his limbs obey comes when he runs. But after his embarrassing graduation ceremony, everything changes. His angry step-father expects a large monthly sum for rent, and an unorthodox neighbor hires Sam, but only on the condition that he can use Sam’s real name, the name his real dad gave him. Jack.

Everything is complicated further by the recurring appearance of the beautiful Naomi, who always leaves Sam feeling like he’s not sure which way is up. When the new mentor in Sam’s life sends him on a bizarre quest, and Naomi decides to tag along, Sam finds himself wondering what the catch is. They take off, not knowing where they’re going or why, but trusting that it will unravel as they go.

Sam is funny and lovable, even in his anger. His search for the truth about his own past and for connection with other people is real, endearing, heartfelt. I read the book in just over 24 hours. I read parts aloud– the butter part was hilarious!

Jerk California is a great story. In reading it, I felt like I could identify with and understand the struggles Sam faced, not just in his life, but with Tourette’s. Really well done. A story to read more than once.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Light profanity.

Sexual Content
There is one scene in which two characters intend to have sex but are interrupted before they get very far into preparing.

Spiritual Content
As Sam seeks to unravel the mystery of the man his father was, he wrestles with doubts and anger toward God. Through the story he meets several compassionate Christians who speak into his life about spiritual things. Sam’s spiritual journey felt very organic– just a guy struggling to understand his past and his place in the world really asking natural spiritual questions.

Violent Content
Mild. Some references to his step-father’s violent temper, etc.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Once Upon a Marigold
Jean Ferris
HMH Books for Young Readers
Published October 1, 2002

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Christian is a young inventor living in the forest with his foster father, a troll named Ed. Life is pretty sweet until the day Christian discovers the lonely Princess Marigold and decides to send her a message via carrier pigeon (p-mail). To Christian’s surprise, the princess replies to his message and the two become best friends.

When Christian uncovers a vicious plot to kill Marigold, he can’t sit by and do nothing. But how can a commoner do anything to save the princess?

Once Upon a Marigold is a spunky, cute fairy tale type story about having courage to do what’s right to protect the people important to you and the meaning of true friendship. The characters are sometimes goofy and silly – Christian’s guardian is a troll who often mixes up common sayings. Marigold’s father reminded me a little bit of the king in The Princess Bride – he’s very gentle and sweet. While anyone would probably enjoy this story, it really is perfect for middle elementary aged readers. My daughter and I have read it together more than once as well as having read the subsequent Marigold books.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None

Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
The princess is under a curse of uncertain origin: when someone touches her, she knows their thoughts. She and Christian briefly discuss their astrological signs, and the fact that they share the same sign is viewed as a confirmation of their relationship.

Violent Content
A flying machine crashes, causing some minor injuries. A character is struck with an arrow that must be removed. Nothing graphic.

Drug Content
None

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So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld

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So Yesterday
Scott Westerfeld
Razorbill
Published January 1, 2004

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When Hunter meets a girl with a whole different way of doing her shoelaces, he has no idea the strange adventure that’s about to begin. Through her, he winds up invited to a secret meeting at which he stumbles onto a pair of amazing shoes, and the possibility that his cool-hunting boss has been kidnapped. Hunter and his new friend pursue the shoemakers, trying to discover what’s become of his boss, Mandy. Full of quirky characters and with Hunter’s off-the-wall sense of humor and irony, So Yesterday was a worthy read. Go Hunter, the Mighty Penguin!

This was such a fun story. I read and loved the Uglies series by Westerfeld, and when I saw this, I had to pick it up. So Yesterday is a lot lighter than Uglies, but still packs great characters and a thought-provoking message about trends and how sometimes we get used by companies in their pursuit of a bottom line.

The more I read by Scott Westerfeld, the more respect I have for him. I guess I’m a little old-fashioned, but I like YA that is cleaner, at least that doesn’t brazenly plaster sexual situations across its pages. Scott Westerfeld handles these situations elegantly, acknowledging them without overstating them. I like that and really enjoy knowing I can recommend these stories to younger teens with confidence.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity.

Sexual Content
While Hunter is attracted to a girl, not much happens between them physically through the course of the story.

Spiritual Content
None

Violence
Very light– some scuffles between good guys and bad guys.

Drug Content
Alcohol is served to guests at a product launch party. Underage characters drink juice cocktails– it’s not totally clear whether they expected the juice to be spiked, but hard to believe it came as a surprise. There’s not really any clear remorse for consuming alcohol under age.

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