Fairest, Corbenic
#38: Fairest
Gail Carson Levine
Library book. Was wandering through the YA section, and saw this book was by the author of ELLA ENCHANTED, a movie I enjoyed, so I picked it up.
Aza's exceptional voice in a realm of singers make up for her less-than-lovely looks. She even teaches herself how to illuse--that is, to throw her voice and to imitate other voices and sounds. A chance encounter with a duchess raises her from her life as a maid at an inn and she ends up as the queen's chambermaid, and her desire to be pretty and her talent for illusing soon gets her into a world of trouble.
This was a fun, lighthearted, enjoyable book, although the ultimate moral of the tale is fairly obvious. It took some great twists and turns along the way. I liked this one, and would read ELLA if they had it, but they don't.
#39: Corbenic
Catherine Fisher
Another YA book I found while wandering that section in the library. This is a retelling of Parsifal (which I had to look up on Wikipedia, because I didn't know anything about it) who was one of the knights of the round table who searched for the holy grail. So there's a lot of Arthurian stuff here.
It's set in modern-day Wales, and is written by a Welsh author, which was cool. It's also a coming-of-age tale for Cal, who's had a miserable childhood with his alcoholic mother and who leaves to stay with his uncle, hoping that money will be his way to rise above his past.
I liked this one; I'm generally not one for Arthuriana, because there's a lot of it out there and I'd rather read something else, so what I pick up is by accident (hello, Susan Cooper), but this one had enough other plot stuff going on to keep me interested until the end. Overall, an enjoyable book.
Gail Carson Levine
Library book. Was wandering through the YA section, and saw this book was by the author of ELLA ENCHANTED, a movie I enjoyed, so I picked it up.
Aza's exceptional voice in a realm of singers make up for her less-than-lovely looks. She even teaches herself how to illuse--that is, to throw her voice and to imitate other voices and sounds. A chance encounter with a duchess raises her from her life as a maid at an inn and she ends up as the queen's chambermaid, and her desire to be pretty and her talent for illusing soon gets her into a world of trouble.
This was a fun, lighthearted, enjoyable book, although the ultimate moral of the tale is fairly obvious. It took some great twists and turns along the way. I liked this one, and would read ELLA if they had it, but they don't.
#39: Corbenic
Catherine Fisher
Another YA book I found while wandering that section in the library. This is a retelling of Parsifal (which I had to look up on Wikipedia, because I didn't know anything about it) who was one of the knights of the round table who searched for the holy grail. So there's a lot of Arthurian stuff here.
It's set in modern-day Wales, and is written by a Welsh author, which was cool. It's also a coming-of-age tale for Cal, who's had a miserable childhood with his alcoholic mother and who leaves to stay with his uncle, hoping that money will be his way to rise above his past.
I liked this one; I'm generally not one for Arthuriana, because there's a lot of it out there and I'd rather read something else, so what I pick up is by accident (hello, Susan Cooper), but this one had enough other plot stuff going on to keep me interested until the end. Overall, an enjoyable book.