Happy Friday!

One of my booksellers, Sarah, from Mosaic Books

in Kelowna, BC sent me a couple of book reviews. She

had written one and her daughter Carolyn another.

Here’s Sarah’s review of I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora:

“Perfect summer (or anytime) read for bookworms! Set over the

course of one summer, three friends hatch a clever plan to get

everyone reading To Kill a Mockingbird as a tribute to their

beloved teacher.  Creating a movement through social media

will inspire and empower young social activists.

9781250068088     $7.99 pb   Square Fish (Raincoast)

Here’s Carolyn’s fantastic review of The Girl Who Fell Beneath

Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne Valente:

When reading a sequel, you must ask yourself two questions:

how does this book function as a separate story from the

previous installments, and how does it function within a series?

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There is

a delightful book on its own as well as a novel that pulls the

reader deeper into Valente’s crafted world and expands what

we thought we knew of its mechanics.

In this lovely story, we learn of a Fairyland-Below, a new country

that lies beneath Fairyland-Above, where the first book took place.

We meet new creatures, old enemies and old friends (and shadows

of old enemies and old friends.) We also get a taste of September

in the ‘real’ world, in Nebraska. In the first book, she is whisked away

on the first page, leaving behind her home and thinking little of it

once in Fairyland. We see more of her in Nebraska in this book,

an interesting element introduced by Valente to anchor the story

to a tangible place and give it credibility and believability. September

mature more in this book, and the third book in the series seems

to lead towards even more maturity and understanding of the

cruelties and realities of her world and Fairyland. The most magical

thing that Valente does in this book is the reversal of characters.

Some friends are not true friends while enemies reveal themselves

to be allies in the end.

An important lesson for young readers to learn, that history does

not always dictate future behaviour.

Because The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own

Making was written serially online, this sequel feels different in its

construction and organization. Plot lines are more likely to play

out over multiple chapters rather than in an episodic nature like

that of the first book. I found the first book to be more whimsical

and dreamy than the second, which is darker and more mature

and mysterious. The only place I felt this was less enchanting

than the first book was its loss of the fanciful, charming tone. This

was replaced of course with a deeper, darker feeling, which I

enjoyed, but a bit less than the whimsy.

Themes of longing and wanting, consent, and regret are

prevalent in the text, other significant points that the author

presents to young readers. September is of course strong and

independent but also shows her loneliness and vulnerability

when her friends betray her and it seems she has no one to

trust in the Underworld. If you have read The Girl Who

Circumnavigated Fairyland and are on the fence about

reading further in the series, get your head checked!

The first installment was a beautifully crafted masterpiece

and this sequel does not disappoint!

9781250034120   $8.99 pb  Square Fish  (Raincoast)

Have a great weekend!

Dot