I seem to be reading thematically of late because the book for this post, like the last one, deals with dark, emotionally disturbing subject matter. However, unlike Living Dead Girl with its chilling realism, Tender Morsels uses fantasy and fairy tale to explore issues like abuse and violence.This Printz Award Honor winner by Australian writer Margo Lanagan is a compelling revamping of the fairy tale “Snow White and Rose Red.” The novel begins with a short scene narrated by a vulgar and earthy dwarf in a setting that resembles the Dark Ages of Europe. This is a prologue of sorts and the story line quickly shifts to the story of the mother of Snow White and Rose Red…a dreadful story as Lanagan reveals with great subtlety and drawn out suspense.
Just when you can’t take any more of the cruelty the girls’ mother endures, the tone lightens and she and her daughters find peace and loveliness in a magical “other” world. Snow White and Rose Red grow up, and of course, begin to explore the forbidden, the world which their mother would do anything to protect them from. At this point, the sense of inevitability pervading the novel had me by the throat…that delicious sense you get in a horror movie that something bad is about to happen. But I definitely didn’t foresee the twists and turns the story would take as it spun out and in this way the novel proved its maturity…it is literary and complex and worth the effort. It reminded me a little of reading Toni Morrison or Louise Erdrich.
Though this is based on a fairy tale, the story telling is original and innovative, using fantasy to explore how violence and ugliness exist along side innocence and love. Fairy tale or no, this is a most human story.
I write this post still feeling emotionally devastated by the experience of reading Elizabeth Scott’s Living Dead Girl. This terrifying novel is the account of 15-year old “Alice,” a young woman who has been in the clutches of a sexual predator since he kidnapped her at age 10. Ray has named her Alice…the same name he gave his last victim. Now Alice is nearing the age when Ray tired of the previous girl, and despite the fact that he starves her to keep her looking like a child, Ray grows angrier with her every day. She longs for the release of death, but Ray has something much more sinister, much more sadistic in mind.
The prose in this novel is so sparse and lyrical it feels like poetry. The author convincingly portrays not only the physical but the psychological damage Ray inflicts on Alice; Alice seems barely human at times, incapable of any but the basest instincts.
I usually avoid this type of book, put off by the “movie of the week” feel of the plot description, but this one just drew me in despite (or maybe because of) my intense feeling of horror on reading the inside cover. I feel wrung out having finished this novel, and still slightly nauseated…but I can’t deny it was a powerful reading experience. Certainly a must read for those who liked The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.
Well, late 2008 brought us another take on the concept of “fairy” in How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier. The novel takes place in a world that isn’t, according to the author’s note, “Australia or the United States of America but in an imaginary country, perhaps a little in the future, that might also be an amalgam of the two.” Specifically in a city called New Avalon “the greatest city in the world” according to the residents, who never would want to leave…why would you when, as you in learn in school, New Avalon is graced with the highest mountains, the deepest oceans, the most famous artists, the best sports stars…you get the idea. But best of all, here in New Avalon people have their own personal fairies–unseeable charms that help you excel at something. There are loose-change fairies, good hair fairies, never-drop-a-ball fairies…but 14-year old protagonist Charlie (Charlotte Adele Donna Seto Steele) has a fairy she hates–a parking fairy. Charlie can’t drive yet, but she is constantly being used by family and classmates to get prime parking spots. Why couldn’t she have gotten a shopping fairy like her best friend she wants to know? And though there is no scientific proof that you can get rid of your fairy, Charlie sets out to do just that.
When I saw the cover of this book, I thought it was going to be a fluffy bit of romance, nothing more (I know, I know…never judge a book…). I’m glad I went ahead and read it because there’s more going on here than that. Yes there is a romantic interest with a boy from outside New Avalon, but when an all-the-boys-like you fairy starts making trouble, some interesting ethical questions arise. Plus, his outsider status allows him to speak for the reader and ask why are all you people so arrogant? Larbalestier also likes to play with language and the New Avaloners have a whole range of words that outsiders don’t use (you may find yourself turning to the glossary yourself on occasion). There’s also interesting tension built around the prestigious sports school that Charlie attends, where life is regimented and rule-driven…and all the kids love it?
All told, this fairy tale is a modern story of love, friendship, and choices with elements of science fiction sprinkled throughout–and a tale with several subplots left unfinished so be looking for a sequel to come. Fans of Maureen Johnson and E. Lockhart will especially want to check this out.
Anne Green wakes to pitch blackness. She can’t move or speak or even open her eyes. The last thing she can remember is walking up to a scaffold to be hanged for the murder of her baby. Is she in purgatory? Or has she been buried alive?
So begins this chilling and fascinating tale based on the real-life story of a British serving maid convincted and hung for infanticide in 1650. The story begins with Anne regaining consciousness and shifts back and forth between her recollections of how she got to her current state and the perspective of Robert Matthews, a young medical student originally assisting with the dissection of Anne’s body and later with its resuscitation. Even though you know what will happen, the creepiness of the circumstances and the horrorific details concerning Anne’s seduction, labor, and jailing give the book a nice tension and suspense. The historical details are fascinating, though the book remains accessible to those not used to the historical fiction genre. All in all, Mary Hooper has crafted a creepy, bewitching tale perfect for a long car trip or airplane ride.
There’s a great book trailer by the publisher at YouTube as well:
Setting: Gracetown, North Carolina; Christmas; massive snow storm. Three popular young adult authors write three separate but interconnected romances.
In the first, Maureen Johnson tells the story of Jubilee Dougal stuck on a train to Florida and her grandparents because her parents have been arrested as part of a riot over collectible Christmas decorations. Parted from her perfect boyfriend, things go from bad to worse when the train gets stuck in snow in Gracetown. Jubilee decides to make a break for the Waffle House across the interstate rather than get trapped on the train full of hyperactive cheerleaders. There she meets Stuart, who invites her to stay with he and his mom for Christmas. Stuart is sweet and cute, a good listener, who unfortunately asks a lot of uncomfortable questions about just how perfect her boyfriend really is. The question is, is Jubilee ready to face the answer?
John Green brings the second tale of Tobin, who is happily watching a Bond marathon with his best friends The Duke and JP while his parents are stuck in Boston with the snowstorm, when his other friend Keun calls from his night shift at Waffle House demanding they come immediately with a Twister board–for THERE ARE CHEERLEADERS here! Tobin and JP are instantly convinced it is a brilliant idea to go out in the storm for the sake of cheerleaders…the “Duke” however, their lone female friend, is less than enthusiastic…though she is convinced with the promise of Waffle House hash browns. The three friends face one crazy obstacle after another on their quest for the Waffle House, but as they near their destination, Tobin becomes uncomfortably aware that he is less and less interested in cheerleaders and more and more distracted by an unlikely source.
The third story comes from Lauren Myracle and involves the romance, or rather break up, of Addie and Jeb. Addie and Jeb have been dating for the last year, until a week before Christmas, when Addie makes a choice that may have destroyed their relationship forever. Addie is mired in her own misery and begins to feel worse as her friends help her see that it may not be Jeb who needs to change. Is it too late for Addie to start fresh and win Jeb back?
All in all, a cute collection of holiday romance, nothing too deep, but fun to kick back with on a weekend…especially if it ever gets cold enough for snow!
