Summer's almost here. If you're looking for a few light, fun reads that will make you feel like a kid again, try these out! {Couldn't find my copy of #4}
1. Eragon {Paolini, 2003}
I discovered this one, the same way I discovered #3 - on a road trip with my best friend and his parents across the US of A {from West Chester, PA to Paradise Valley, Montana} in 2002. Little did I know, a young writer from Paradise Valley was just months away from a re-release with Knopf Publishing of his fantasy book Eragon. Paolini was the local celebrity.
Plus a book about a young boy who discovers a dragon egg in the forest that hatches for him was more than enough to send my best friend and I on a scavenger hunt across the local book stores for a copy. Unfortunately, we couldn't find one from the first print so would have to wait a few months.
What I loved about this book and its 3 sequels, was the sense of familiarity - the classic hero's journey, the sagely old man with a secret, the new world unraveling before the farm boy after a touch of magic enters his life, the adventure, the trials and triumphs. But also it felt fresh and new. The rules of magic, the landscape of Alagaesia itself, and the colorful cast of magical characters.
Plus a book about a young boy who discovers a dragon egg in the forest that hatches for him was more than enough to send my best friend and I on a scavenger hunt across the local book stores for a copy. Unfortunately, we couldn't find one from the first print so would have to wait a few months.
What I loved about this book and its 3 sequels, was the sense of familiarity - the classic hero's journey, the sagely old man with a secret, the new world unraveling before the farm boy after a touch of magic enters his life, the adventure, the trials and triumphs. But also it felt fresh and new. The rules of magic, the landscape of Alagaesia itself, and the colorful cast of magical characters.
2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone {Rowling, 1997}
It's Harry Potter. It's the stuff my friends and I all talked about, wanted to be real, anticipated the book releases and movie premieres, debated over which House was the best. Because we all wanted that magic in our own lives - the friendships, Quidditch matches, and yes even Hogwarts homework.
I recently reread Books 1 - 6 and had all sorts of nostalgic feels. My favorite is #3 & #4. #7 is still tough for me to get through. It's not that it was bad, but for me I felt the pacing was off and the Horcrux dilemmas a bit too easy.
I recently reread Books 1 - 6 and had all sorts of nostalgic feels. My favorite is #3 & #4. #7 is still tough for me to get through. It's not that it was bad, but for me I felt the pacing was off and the Horcrux dilemmas a bit too easy.
Fire Bringer {Clement-Davies, 1997}
Picked this up on that roadtrip I mentioned in #1. I had just finished books 3 & 4 of the HP series and wanted to find something new but in the fantasy genre. The cover was what grabbed my attention. Growing up on two acres of woods and creeks next to a farm meant lots of white-tail deer roaming around, which I would sometimes watch {and chase} at dawn and dusk. They always held a certain ethereal quality the way they would emerge from the trees and then melt into them.
The story is about a young stag born on the night his father is killed by a rival. His hero journey across ancient Scotland with his loved ones brings him in contact with all sorts of animals - and even man. What I love about the story is what I love about Watership Down, the Redwall series, and Aesop's Fables: they're stories about animals that have much to say about what makes us human.
Clement-Davies' command of language enchanted me for the rest of that road trip {I don't think I looked up once from it for the entire length of Kansas!} Since then, I've read it twice, and plan to dive into his other novel, The Sight, about a pack of Transylvanian wolves.
The story is about a young stag born on the night his father is killed by a rival. His hero journey across ancient Scotland with his loved ones brings him in contact with all sorts of animals - and even man. What I love about the story is what I love about Watership Down, the Redwall series, and Aesop's Fables: they're stories about animals that have much to say about what makes us human.
Clement-Davies' command of language enchanted me for the rest of that road trip {I don't think I looked up once from it for the entire length of Kansas!} Since then, I've read it twice, and plan to dive into his other novel, The Sight, about a pack of Transylvanian wolves.
The Bad Beginning {Snicket, 1999} & the rest of A Series of Unfortunate Events
Lemony Snicket's wit, satire and weirdness are what I always looked forward from these books. The three Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny find themselves in one bad caretaker after another, as they search for answers to their parents' death. There's secret societies, ankle tattoos, flesh-eating slugs, and lots of loose ends, but it's so much fun.
