Puzzled . . . and Undecided. .

This was a re-read -- I first read it in 2011 and even blogged positively, if briefly, about it. But this time around, I found myself not so sure of how I felt.

The first part -- all about Brakebills, a school for magicians -- was enjoyable and compelling -- a grown up Harry Potter with a fair amount of teenage angst.

But the trip to Fillory  -- a very Narnia-like place -- bothered me. Grossman is a fan of C.S. Lewis's Narnia and, like Lewis,  is challenging the notion of fantasy as pure escape.  Indeed, in both Narnia and Fillory the protagonists learn that no matter where you go, you take yourself and all your baggage with you. If you're not happy in this world, there's no guarantee that another world will be better.

I agree with the premise . . . and if I hadn't grown up absorbed in Narnia and loving every minute I spent there, perhaps I could enjoy Grossman's novel more. But, for me, Fillory seemed like an obscene caricature or, at best, a heavy-handed spoof of Narnia, turning the sylphs and fauns, the talking animals and walking trees into silly, cynical things. 

Despite that reservation, I found myself engrossed in the characters and (since I didn't remember how things turned out) eager to keep reading. 

The NYT review HERE is pretty much spot on, in my opinion.

Now I have to decide if I want to keep going with the trilogy. I think I'll check my library -- I'm pretty sure I won't buy the next two for my Kindle.

What's strange is the difference in my reaction now and six years ago.  A good reminder to always give a book another chance because my attitudes may have changed.

Reading YA

 YA is the publishing term for novels aimed at Young Adults -- though in actuality, the age range of the readers is fairly elastic -- from preteen to early twenties -- or, in my case, late sixties.  The protagonists, however, are almost always in their late teens and the story is often that of a coming of age.


Recently I've been wandering in this genre. Jo Walton's Among Others is a quietly charming novel about Mori,  a young girl who has run away from her mother in Wales to England and the father she hardly knows. Set apart from others at her boarding school because of a crippled leg, she spends much time reading -- and a great part of my enjoyment of this books was that she reads many of my childhood favorites.


Oh,  and Mori's mother is a witch - an evil one -- and Mori herself can do magic and . . . well, there's a detailed review HERE. I really loved this book

 

 Another YA that I recently enjoyed is Lev Grossman's  The Magicians. It's a kind of  American and more grown up  Harry Potter and there is, I might warn you, Language, as well as Adult Situations. (Not surprising for this late teen, early twenties age group.) I also caught quite a few nods to Narnia. This is another fantasy meets real life. I was completely engaged by the characters and would like to read a sequel. 

Not a YA,  Live Wire is the tenth in Coben's  NYT bestselling Myron Bolitar series.  I've written here before of my total fascination with this wise-cracking, sweetheart of a protagonist as well as his psychotic preppy ninja sidekick, Win. (In this outing Win has two Asian girlfriends, named Mee and Yu, affording the opportunity for a lot of punning.)

And there's another new character -- Myron's nephew Mickey. He's a wonderful, conflicted teen with serious family issues. All of which makes him perfect to be the protag of his own YA novel. 

Shelter, with Mickey in the starring role, is just out. I haven't read it yet but I will, I will!