Book 8 - 9
Drowned Wednesday by Garth Nix
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Still hampered by Goodreads lack of half stars. This is a 3.5 read, would have been higher except for one reason. I did actually enjoy this one more than #2 but for that one thing. Arthur didn't get much time to recover from his badly broken leg in book #2. Drowned Wednesday sends a ship to Arthur's earth-bound hospital to take him back to the house or at least the Border Seas but it ends up swamping his room washing him and his friend Leaf out to sea. She's picked up by the ship sent to deliver him, the Flying Mantis while Arthur nearly drowns before finding a buoy.
But that's just the beginning of his issues. He's rescued by a salvage team, the crew of the Moth, but they're marked with the red hand of a thief by the pirate Feverfew's magic. Arthur learns that like so many denizens these were repurposed by the trustees. They used to be accountants and such for Wednesday (except Sunscorch) now reluctant sailors for centuries.
Wednesday herself was interesting. She had second thoughts about betraying the architect and the will and was cursed by the others. Denizens/trustees are magical and don't really need to eat much but Wednesday was cursed with insatiable hunger to the point she turned into a leviathan a huge whale and that was my issue. I could handle her being a whale but the one time she's human, she can't stop eating, her one time beauty is all lumpy with fat rolls and she gets fatter and fatter until she's a whale again and it smacked of fatphobia hard. Uncomfortably so. I rather wish she had just been a talking whale. That would have been better, certainly preferable to her jaw unhinging so she can scoop entire buffets down her throat at once.
Feverfew the pirate was interesting as well because he could be what happens to Arthur at the end. Arthur's great fear is he'll use the keys and their power too much and end up losing his humanity and becoming an immortal denizen. Feverfew has done just that and his real form is horrific.
Another interesting secondary character was the mage, Dr. Scamanderous. I really liked him and his magic along with the Raised Rats (thanks to the Pied Piper, yes that piper). I would have liked to see more of Leaf but she's been kidnapped by pirates through 95% of this.
It ends on a very strange epilogue that doesn't bode well for Arthur. I am very much looking forward to what comes next.
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Bob by Wendy Mass
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I picked this one up for a challenge to read a palindrome but was pleasantly surprised by this middle grade story. First off, the illustrations were lovely. It's a sweet story set in Australia. Livy has returned to her grandmother's home after five years with her mother and baby sister Beth Ann. Her father remained in the States. Livy hasn't been here in those five years and a) fears she's forgotten something important b) saddened by the run down state of her grandmother's farm.
In the five years that's gone by this part of Australia is in a serious drought and this is the one part of the story that might go past the younger readers but it's hinted strongly that Grandma and most of her neighbors are in danger of losing their homes because there's no water for farming (which speaks to a larger problem in this world).
Ten year old Livy learns that she did in fact forget something very important to five year old Livy :Bob. He's a green creature who has spent the last five years in a makeshift chicken suit inside the closet of her bedroom (it gets explained later how Granny hasn't noticed this). Bob adores Livy even if he is angry she forgot him. He believes she saved her life.
For her part Livy can't imagine how she forgot him until she sees she forgets him whenever he's out of sight. Realizing Bob must be magic, Livy tries to make good on the promise her five year old self made. She will find out what Bob is and get him home.
The story does a good job in doling out the hints a little at a time. It does end well for Livy and Bob and they are an adorable duo. I really enjoyed this book.
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