Snow + Book Recs - The Death Collector and Drift House
Wow, so it's both snowing and sticking. Rare occurrence indeed.
Bit of a tiring week. Stuff got done, but not as much as I wanted to get done. One of those weeks where I wondered how the days passed.
Book Recs
The Death Collector
Description: "In Victorian London, Albert Wilkes returns home for tea four days after his funeral. While his shocked and terrified wife rushes to prepare it, Wilkes takes the family dog for a walk and is abducted. His kidnapping is witnessed by young pickpocket Eddie, who becomes embroiled, along with an assistant at the British Museum and a clergyman's daughter, in a deadly plot involving the fragments of a diary, a secret department at the British Museum, and a dinosaur-like creature roaming the streets. Oh, and there are some zombies."
Verdict: This book was *so* much fun. It was the equivalent of reading a Saturday matinée, the kind full of Adventure and Danger and Dinosaurs and British People. I'm surprised it hasn't been made into a movie yet (and I checked IMDB, no luck.) The adventure and set-up is just so cinematic. And the main characters were great. The chick wasn't useless nor was she a man in a dress. And Eddie the pickpocket's disgruntled realization that he always got the worst jobs out of the bunch was hilarious. Highly recommended for a fun YA read. (It also had one of the more confusing editing errors that I've seen in a pro book. Normally, I don't notice mistakes, but this one was glaring enough to throw me out of the book for a minute.)
Drift House: The First Voyage and The Lost Cities
Description of the first book: "After the events of 9/11, Mr and Mrs. Oakenfeld send their three children from New York City to Uncle Farley's home on the Bay of Eternity, somewhere in Canada. Uncle Farley and his often-sassy parrot, President Wilson, inhabit a strange, shiplike home called the Drift House. A flood sends the Drift House (and the children) into the bay and then beyond into the Sea of Time, where they meet mermaids, pirates, a talking frog, and Pierre Marin, the builder of the Drift House."
Verdict: I'm mixed on these two.
Pro: They're actually very fun "Adventure!" reads for kids. The characterization is well done, the settings interesting, and the story moves along nicely. It's full of the fantasy stuff that people like- lots of interesting things happen, and you never have to worry about not having food because whatever you want will zip right up in the mysterious dumbwaiter. Uncle Farley is enough of a useless adult to allow the kids to have the lay of the land, and the most interesting twist happens to Murray the youngest. The books really reminded me of older fantasy adventure books like Dr. Dolittle or the Narnia books, and were surprisingly enjoyable as a whole.
Con: The 9/11 stuff inserted in the beginning and at several points is totally needless. The author of the books has even said that he was inspired by the books about kids during WWII in England, when the Blitz was going on, but 9/11 is totally not random and recurring firebombing of London. The kids are shipped off to the Uncle's house for potentially *months* because their parents are feeling that the city is too unsafe to live. (Allusions of kids being shipped off to the country in England during the war or Canada, etc...) I didn't feel like this was a similar enough situation that warranted such measures and when 9/11 popped up, it felt inappropriate. I think it's actually a disservice to kids to give them an overly fearful feeling of 9/11. It's an awful event caused by terrorists, but it shouldn't be put in the same category as months or years of bombing. Maybe if these kids live in Baghdad, it would make more sense for them to get shipped off to their irresponsible uncle in Canada, but not if they live in NYC. The kids didn't know anyone in the Towers, they weren't personally affected outside of living in a posh part of town and having things interrupted. I think if all that stuff was taken out, the books would still be strong and it wouldn't have this odd historical context that wasn't used very well.
Bit of a tiring week. Stuff got done, but not as much as I wanted to get done. One of those weeks where I wondered how the days passed.
Book Recs
The Death Collector
Description: "In Victorian London, Albert Wilkes returns home for tea four days after his funeral. While his shocked and terrified wife rushes to prepare it, Wilkes takes the family dog for a walk and is abducted. His kidnapping is witnessed by young pickpocket Eddie, who becomes embroiled, along with an assistant at the British Museum and a clergyman's daughter, in a deadly plot involving the fragments of a diary, a secret department at the British Museum, and a dinosaur-like creature roaming the streets. Oh, and there are some zombies."
Verdict: This book was *so* much fun. It was the equivalent of reading a Saturday matinée, the kind full of Adventure and Danger and Dinosaurs and British People. I'm surprised it hasn't been made into a movie yet (and I checked IMDB, no luck.) The adventure and set-up is just so cinematic. And the main characters were great. The chick wasn't useless nor was she a man in a dress. And Eddie the pickpocket's disgruntled realization that he always got the worst jobs out of the bunch was hilarious. Highly recommended for a fun YA read. (It also had one of the more confusing editing errors that I've seen in a pro book. Normally, I don't notice mistakes, but this one was glaring enough to throw me out of the book for a minute.)
Drift House: The First Voyage and The Lost Cities
Description of the first book: "After the events of 9/11, Mr and Mrs. Oakenfeld send their three children from New York City to Uncle Farley's home on the Bay of Eternity, somewhere in Canada. Uncle Farley and his often-sassy parrot, President Wilson, inhabit a strange, shiplike home called the Drift House. A flood sends the Drift House (and the children) into the bay and then beyond into the Sea of Time, where they meet mermaids, pirates, a talking frog, and Pierre Marin, the builder of the Drift House."
Verdict: I'm mixed on these two.
Pro: They're actually very fun "Adventure!" reads for kids. The characterization is well done, the settings interesting, and the story moves along nicely. It's full of the fantasy stuff that people like- lots of interesting things happen, and you never have to worry about not having food because whatever you want will zip right up in the mysterious dumbwaiter. Uncle Farley is enough of a useless adult to allow the kids to have the lay of the land, and the most interesting twist happens to Murray the youngest. The books really reminded me of older fantasy adventure books like Dr. Dolittle or the Narnia books, and were surprisingly enjoyable as a whole.
Con: The 9/11 stuff inserted in the beginning and at several points is totally needless. The author of the books has even said that he was inspired by the books about kids during WWII in England, when the Blitz was going on, but 9/11 is totally not random and recurring firebombing of London. The kids are shipped off to the Uncle's house for potentially *months* because their parents are feeling that the city is too unsafe to live. (Allusions of kids being shipped off to the country in England during the war or Canada, etc...) I didn't feel like this was a similar enough situation that warranted such measures and when 9/11 popped up, it felt inappropriate. I think it's actually a disservice to kids to give them an overly fearful feeling of 9/11. It's an awful event caused by terrorists, but it shouldn't be put in the same category as months or years of bombing. Maybe if these kids live in Baghdad, it would make more sense for them to get shipped off to their irresponsible uncle in Canada, but not if they live in NYC. The kids didn't know anyone in the Towers, they weren't personally affected outside of living in a posh part of town and having things interrupted. I think if all that stuff was taken out, the books would still be strong and it wouldn't have this odd historical context that wasn't used very well.