A failing abbey’s one hope is the golden apples in its orchard. Unfortunately, a herd of unicorns devours the apples each year. The abbot calls for heroes, but to no avail. No one can stop the creatures. When the duke’s son James is sent to the abbey for further education, he troubles all he meets with his constant questions. But his bravery and ingenuity may be just the right combination to banish the unicorns from the orchard forever.
Great characters populate the story, from the monks to James and his family members. While unicorns are often heroes or forces for good in other stories, this time they cause all the problems. I found this refreshing and unexpected. Yolen’s usual mastery of storytelling keeps this simple tale spinning. Though we first begin with the monks and a short history of the abbey, the tale quickly becomes entertaining – especially once we meet James, the boy with the insatiable curiosity.
This is a relatively short tale, just under 200 pages. Younger readers – probably second grade to fourth – would most enjoy the book.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Sexual Content None.
Spiritual Content Many characters are monks at a monastery. There’s some mention of prayer and the task of copying and illustrating Biblical texts.
Violence Unicorns and heroes face off, and often the heroes end up the worse for wear. No graphic details. Battles are only briefly told and descriptions are sometimes comic.
Drug Content
None.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. A product of the greatest engineering minds, the Icarus luxury spaceliner unexpectedly drops out of hyperspace. Wealthy passengers and military personnel race to escape. Lilac LaRoux, daughter of the wealthiest man in the universe finds herself trapped aboard an escape pod with Major Tarver Merendson, a charity case who clawed his way up military ranks the old-fashioned way. When the pod crash lands on the planet, Tarver is determined to keep himself and the helpless Lilac alive. As they face the unforgiving challenges of survival together, they will need to trust one another and depend on each other’s strengths to stay alive long enough to be rescued.
My favorite thing about this book was that both Tarver and Lilac had skills to contribute to the success of their survival. It wasn’t another retelling of the cliché old tale about the man knowing all about surviving and the helpless lady kind of tagging along at his mercy. Lilac is smart and knows things about the ship’s operation because of growing up around it. Tarver has had a lot of experience surviving on a hostile planet. Together, they make a formidable team.
The romance is definitely more of a clichéd element. The rich aloof girl and the hero who comes from nothing. She blows him off to save face. He takes her at face value. She thinks he hates her. He thinks she despises him. But she secretly likes him and he secretly likes her, etc. I felt like that 180 degree turn happened kind of fast. It was definitely intense, though.
The story took a bit of a weird turn as Tarver and Lilac investigate some strange life forms they find on the planet. It definitely reminded me of an old Star Trek episode – in a good way.
The ending was a bit abrupt for me. Through the whole book they’ve been wondering how to solve this big problem, and it’s going to be so terrible if they can’t do something. Then Lilac basically has a stern conversation with the head of her problem and it’s all fixed, no worries at all. I had hoped for a little more complexity there.
Over all, I did enjoy the story of the romance and especially Tarver’s memories of his family. I loved that they had this equal partnership where they both had skills essential to one another. Each chapter begins with these snippets of debrief interviews between Tarver and (we assume) a superior officer. Brilliant. Definitely added suspense and intrigue to the story.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Moderate profanity used with moderate frequency.
Sexual Content
Brief scenes leading up to and referencing intercourse. While the acts aren’t graphically described beyond brief references to nudity, the reader is left in no doubt of what happens.
Spiritual Content
Lilac and Tarver encounter strange beings at first mistaken for ghosts or hallucinations. It appears that these other beings have powers far beyond human abilities and can change the way things appear.
Violence
There is some description of the ship coming apart and being destroyed and some mayhem and injury which result from that. On the surface of the planet, Tarver and Lilac find the remains of the ship. A few descriptions of what they find are pretty icky.
Blue and her Raven Boys (Adam, Gansey and Ronan) continue their quest to find Glendower, the Welsh King who will grant them a wish for waking him. Leaving behind only a cryptic note, Blue’s mother Maura disappears on a quest of her own. Blue worries and grieves, turning to Gansey for solace. This is forbidden.
They just talk. But it’s clear both want more, a more she can’t allow herself to give. She’s seen his death, seen his departed soul marching along the ley line. She knows if she kisses her true love, he will die, and she can’t bear to be the cause of Gansey’s death.
Adam learns more about serving as the hands of Cabeswater. It’s not always easy for him to understand what it wants, but Persephone, one of the psychics at Blue’s home teaches him. She warns Adam that there are three sleepers. One is not to be awakened.
Told in sharp prose worthy of mythic tales, this third book in Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle is a commendable addition to the series. The characters are well-developed and the dialogue tight and emotive. This book definitely weaves together some of the loose threads from its predecessors but raises some new questions left for the next tale.
The whole psychic theme really doesn’t appeal to me personally, and I would be willing to guess that a lot of Christian readers would object to the content. I’ve read the first two books in addition to Blue Lily, Lily Blue and really enjoyed Stiefvater’s style of storytelling.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme word choice, moderate frequency.
Sexual Content Blue believes if she kisses her true love, he will die. So she doesn’t kiss anyone, though she wants to…
Spiritual Content Blue lives in a home with several women who work as psychics. They perform tarot card readings, use mirrors or bowls for scrying, communicate with dead spirits, etc.
The main characters are on a quest to wake a king from sleep. In return he is supposed to grant them a wish.
Ronan has the ability to remove objects from his dreams and bring them into existence in the real world.
In an earlier book Adam agreed to serve as hands for Cabeswater, a ley line or part of one with a lot of energy or power. (This power fuels Ronan’s ability.)
Blue, while not psychic herself is like a power boost to anyone psychic near her.
Noah is the ghost of a boy murdered in a scheme related to the quest in the first book. He comes and goes throughout the story.
Violence Adam encounters a mortally wounded boy. It’s pretty quick, but pretty grim. A few scuffles between Greenmantle and Mr. Grey et al. Not too much as far as details and gore there.
Quin is proud of her family’s legacy. She comes from a line of Seekers, warriors who protect the weak and bring justice to the world. Along with two other initiates – her best friend and the boy she loves – she prepares to take an Oath that will brand her a Seeker forever.
Upon her initiation, she discovers that nothing is what she thought. Now it’s too late to escape the fate she’s chosen.
The balance between the three central characters – Quin, Shinobu and John – worked well. All three characters share in the telling of the story. Each viewpoint adds something the others lack. Quin bears the greatest guilt and emotional turmoil. John’s perspective shows the dichotomy between his intentions and his actions and what that means to the others. Shinobu’s point-of-view adds a lighter element (with one exception) and even splashes of humor.
The story was a bit darker than I expected. Even apart from the drug use and the corruption of the Seekers, there were a lot of dark elements: John’s grandfather’s condition, the Young Dread’s treatment by her mentor, the relationship between Quin’s parents.
Despite its heaviness, the story has a great message. At one point, the Old Dread, the wisest of the three tells his young protégé, “Great minds are not what’s wanted. Only good hearts. Good hearts choose wisely.” This theme presents itself among the Seekers as well as the Dreads. When what was once a good, pure venture has been deeply corrupted, it’s difficult to see the way back to that purity. Only good hearts will be able to accomplish such a task.
Language Content
Very mild language used infrequently.
Sexual Content Brief, sometimes intense kissing.
A woman works as an escort, and while all that entails isn’t specified, it’s definitely implied.
Spiritual Content Quin, Shinobu and John aspire to become Seekers, warriors who use powerful artifacts to transport to other places where they are tasked with bringing justice and protecting the innocent.
Quin’s mother can hear the thoughts of others.
Three people called Dreads stand apart from the Seekers acting as judges. They can step out of time and stretch themselves, meaning they live for hundreds of years without aging.
A girl uses her Seeker abilities as a healer, focusing in on the body’s energy and coaxing bad energy patterns back into good ones.
Violence Several battle sequences in which characters use swords, knives and a vicious weapon called a disruptor. (The disruptor essentially causes fatal madness.) In one scene, new Seeker initiates receive a brand on their arms.
Assassins kill John’s mother and other members of his ancestors. He views photographs taken of their murdered bodies.
A young man tries but fails to commit suicide. The attempt serves as a wake-up call, leaving him energized and determined to help his friends.
There are hints and brief descriptions of abuse by the Middle Dread on the Young Dread. In the worst instance, he tears her garment, exposing her body and cruelly pinches one of her breasts.
Drug Content
Quin’s mother is an alcoholic. She’s clearly using alcohol to numb out, it’s unclear at first what she’s trying to escape. A boy falls victim to several different forms of drug abuse. Some scenes depict his drug use or the effects of it. It’s never portrayed in a positive light, and consequences to his actions are pretty serious. He nearly causes a loved one to overdose.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Today on The Story Sanctuary, John Davidson, author of Bricks, is here to give us some behind-the-scenes information about the development of his thought-provoking debut novel.
A story is often inspired by a question. What question inspired you to write this novel?
What a great question. For BRICKS, I think it would be: When the pieces of your life are shattered, where do you begin to put them back together? I think the answer for me was family, but what if your family wasn’t who they said they were? All stories are about questions asked and (sometimes) answered.
Were there things about your favorite character which couldn’t be included in the novel?
I didn’t really put a lot about Slim’s mother in the book, but part of that was because not going into too much depth allowed for the greater unspoken sympathy for him. I watch my wife mother our kids, and I know what lengths she would go for them, so to have a mother that abandoned you. Nothing in life can shape and scar you as much as that.
Is there a scene or moment in your novel that really sticks with you? Can you tell us a little bit about it?
I like the scene in Slim’s trailer where Cori realizes what all Slim has been going through, but I really enjoyed building the individual characters stories—helping them recover the things the storm stole from them. In the Wizard of Oz, a culminating scene reveals how the characters had what they’d gone looking for all along. But I wanted to give each of the characters their own scene where they fully appreciate what they lost—each of those scenes are the ones I had the most fun writing.
What do you most hope that readers take away from your novel?
That life is a journey. It’s not necessarily about building or rebuilding, it’s about something more basic, keeping on. It’s about depending on your family and learning that the truest way to feel better about yourself is to do as the Bible says in Philippians 2:3: Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
I recently read Torn Away by Jennifer Brown, also about the aftermath of a vicious tornado. Are you familiar with this story? If so, how is your novel similar or different? (Do you think Brown’s readers would also enjoy Bricks?)
Yes! I definitely think there are similarities. The biggest being the loss of family and how the idea of family doesn’t necessarily have to fit inside a preconceived notion. While Jersey, the MC in Jennifer’s book, physically loses part of her family in the storm, my MC—Cori, finds that the tornado reveals things that force her to redefine what she always thought family was. I do think they would enjoy it—hope they would, at least.
If you can share, can you tell us a little bit about a new project you’re working on?
I’ve just finished up a YA fantasy/fairy tale that falls somewhere between The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and The Princess Bride about a princess whose parents divorce has broken true love’s bonds. As a result a divorce court curse is placed on their daughter. To replace what her parent’s broke, she must now find her own true love before she turns eighteen–only she’s pretty sure true love is just a fairy tale. It’s comedic absurdity—Monty Python or maybe even like Galavant.
I love writing, and I write a lot. My biggest problem is I love stories first and foremost which means I don’t really stick to any one genre. I love thrillers, sci-fi, fantasy, contemporary and any mish-mash of sub-genres mostly in the middle-grade or young-adult age group. For now, I just plan to enjoy writing and let the rest of the stuff work itself out.
Is there an up-and-coming author you’re following with interest right now? Can you tell us about an author or novel you think deserves a greater spotlight?
I had been writing quite a bit of sci-fi, dystopian, post-apocalyptic stuff so I was reading several titles from those genres. One author that did a really nice job of matching style with setting was Mindy McGinnis. She has a new novel coming out soon—her third, so I’m interested to see if she uses the same style or varies it. I know my writing still is mostly all over the map, so I like to keep an eye on that.
More about Bricks by John Davidson
Sixteen-year old Cori Reigns learns that not all tornadoes take you to magical places. Some take your house, your school, and life as you knew it. Struggling to put the pieces of her life back together, Cori learns to rebuild what the storm destroyed by trusting a family she didn’t know she had and by helping friends she never appreciated.
This collection features more than a dozen stories penned early in Pratchett’s career. Readers will discover carpet people bravely journey from their homes among rug fibers to discover strange new settlements, including one high on the leg of a table. A bus travels back in time, nearly trapping its inhabitants in long ago days. A curious tortoise escapes his lawn and saves woodland creatures from a deadly snake. An enterprising young lad teams up with a wizard to rid a castle of its dragon inhabitants.
Each imaginative story features charming characters and light, often bizarre, humor. Father Christmas gets an ordinary job, but can’t help bringing Christmas cheer wherever he goes. A city mayor decides to increase tourism by creating rumors of a monster in its lake. Things never go quite as the main character expects, and there’s always a bit of a funny twist. It’s easy to see the author’s talent and creativity even in these early pieces.
The humor will be most appreciated by adults as it’s often clever word-plays. The whimsical nature of the stories and out-of-the-box approach that many of the characters have make it a great pick for reading to smaller children.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Sexual Content None.
Spiritual Content None.
Violence None.
Drug Content
None.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
