Category Archives: American Literature

The Dragon of Trelian–A Wing of Dragons

American Literature 6 Comments

Today is Day 3 of the blog tour for The Dragon of Trelian by Michelle Knudsen, a book I thoroughly enjoyed. My husband is not an aficionado of fantasy literature. He’s fond of saying, “How do you write a book about a dragon, anyway? Is it like, ‘There was this dragon?’” My poor impoverished dear. Anyway, I love books with dragons. Here are some links to a few other dragon-featuring books I’ve reviewed. For even more, check out the dragons tag. George RR Martin’s Dreamsongs…

Read More »

Interview With Michelle Knudsen (The Dragon of Trelian)

American Literature 2 Comments

This is Day 2 of the blog tour for The Dragon of Trelian, and I’m delighted to offer an interview with author Michelle Knudsen! Her blog can be found here, and here’s her bio: Michelle Knudsen is the author of 40 books for children. Her best-known title is Library Lion (Candlewick Press), which was a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into several languages. Her latest book is a middle-grade fantasy novel called The Dragon of Trelian. Formerly a full-time children’s book editor,…

Read More »

The Dragon of Trelian by Michelle Knudsen

American Literature 3 Comments

Synopsis: A mage-in-training and a princess psychically linked to a dragon must work together to save the royal family from an evil sorceress. Review: The Dragon of Trelian has a lot of familiar elements, but fortunately it manages to feel fresh. Princess Meglynne is feisty and hot-tempered and imperial, but she’s not just tempestuous. She’s got a core of true courage that’s really appealing. Apprentice mage Calen struggles with feelings of inadequacy, but he’s also prone to an arrogance that tempers his naivete. The dragon…

Read More »

Mating Rituals of the North American WASP by Lauren Lipton

American Literature

Synopsis: Upon waking up married after a whirlwind night in Vegas, Peggy discovers that her uptight WASP “husband” might be the answer to her prayers–if only they can put up with each other for just one year. Review: The setup of Mating Rituals of the North American WASP couldn’t be more contrived. You’ve got a fake marriage, an aging dowager with capricious will-rewriting tendencies, and an odd couple that are so wrong for each other that they’re meant to be. The story unfolds along a…

Read More »

Santa Olivia by Jaqueline Carey

American Literature 1 Comment

Synopsis: Loup Garron’s father was a genetically engineered superman, but she’s just a street kid–until she turns a group of orphans into vigilantes. Review: I thought Santa Olivia was going to be a werewolf book, and it wasn’t. It’s an ambitious yet intimate character portrait of a girl born without fear. I was unfamiliar with Jacqueline Carey’s work, and I gather that Santa Olivia represents a bit of a departure. I really admired her command of character and plotting, even if I didn’t totally connect…

Read More »

How Children Fail by John Holt

American Literature 4 Comments

Synopsis: The journals of a teacher reveal how the mistakes that children make reveal a lot about how they are failing to learn–and how schools are failing to teach. Review: How Children Fail was riveting reading. I loved how John Holt paid attention to the kids he encountered so that he could help them learn. He came to realize that teachers were seeking to impose structural forms on the minds of children, where children are best served by being led to develop those forms for…

Read More »

Wings of Wrath by CS Friedman (The Magister Trilogy)

American Literature

Synopsis: With the return of the monstrous Souleaters, the inheritors of a lineage of Protectors must go to war. Review: I was only “eh” on Feast of Souls, book 1 in CS Friedman’s Magister Trilogy. Wings of Wrath, book 2, left me kind of cold as well. I really had to motivate to finish it, and I’m not sure if I’ll care to pick up book 3 when it comes out. I just did not connect emotionally with any of these characters. Everyone is so…

Read More »

The Dark Planet (Atherton, Book 3) by Patrick Carman

American Literature 4 Comments

Synopsis: Edgar must leave Atherton, the only home he’s ever known, to finish his creator Dr. Harding’s work on the poisoned Dark Planet. Review: The Dark Planet, a stirring conclusion to the Atherton trilogy of science fiction adventures for middle grade readers, finds Edgar heading off his home planet towards the Dark Planet, where children like him are worked as slaves tilling a despoiled earth. It’s his own journey into Mordor–except the plot of the Atherton trilogy owes more to “Lost” than Tolkien. The world…

Read More »

Rivers of Fire (Atherton, Book 2) by Patrick Carman

American Literature 1 Comment

Synopsis: With Atherton inverting, a young boy with a penchant for climbing and his friends go on a journey of a lifetime through the hidden corridors of the only world they’ve ever known. Review: Rivers of Fire, being the middle book in a trilogy, concerns itself with questions of war and evolution. Everything on Atherton is in flux, from society to the ecosystem to geology itself. I don’t want to give too many spoilers for book 1; suffice it to say that our heroes remain…

Read More »

The House of Power (Atherton, Book 1) by Patrick Carman

American Literature

Synopsis: Atherton is a world with three levels, which have always remained apart; however, when the top level begins to sink the entire society is threatened and a young boy may be the only one with the key to survival. Review: I was glad that I knew very little about The House of Power before reading. The dust jacket is deliberately, thankfully obscure, and the story doesn’t yield its treasures readily. I love the pacing of the exposition, which kept me in suspense but not…

Read More »