Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo

Title: Midnight for Charlie Bone
Author: Jenny Nimmo
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

I purchased this ebook and chose to do an honest and unbiased review.  Jenny Nimmo and Orchard Books neither requested nor are associated with this review.

Goodreads Description:            

A magical fantasy that is fast-paced and easy-to-read. Charlie Bone has a special gift- he can hear people in photographs talking!

The fabulous powers of the Red King were passed down through his descendants, after turning up quite unexpectedly, in someone who had no idea where they came from. This is what happened to Charlie Bone, and to some of the children he met behind the grim, gray walls of Bloor's Academy.

His scheming aunts decide to send him to Bloor Academy, a school for geniuses where he uses his gifts to discover the truth despite all the dangers that lie ahead.

Here's What I Thought:

I frequently read YA and really enjoy a lot of those books.  I don't, however, normally read middle grade.  My reason for choosing to read this series is that the books were first released around the time that I would have read middle grade, but the series wasn't complete until I was well past reading this level of book.  I kept pondering the series and needed closure.  Hence, I will be throwing in a book or two of the series every now and then to find out how it all ends.

As I don't typically read middle grade, it's hard for me to fairly review it.  The plot was simplistic. The prose was clunky. Everything happened at a breakneck pace without much explanation of how we got from point A to point B. But as it's a middle grade book, this is exactly what I would expect.  The target age group doesn't have the attention span for a lot of detail. I mentioned in my review for The Dragon Reborn that I never use to have the patience for those lengthy descriptions and elaborations and it wasn't until I got much older that I truly had an appreciation for it. So these complaints make sense.

The other thing that I found myself doing that I just kind of think was funny was that I was identifying more with the adults and critiquing their reactions to children doing incredibly dangerous things.  Like, "Sure! There is nothing wrong with your 10 year old son running around town investigating an eight year old mystery of a stolen baby... That's totally legit parenting!" Or in Benjamin's case, "Yes, it's completely normal that you are pretty much living on your own at 10 years old because your parents seem to work literally 24/7." Needless to say, I did not have that reaction my first time reading this book when I was 11. This isn't so much an issue with the book itself, but just a note on how we really do grow up!

Despite these things, I really did enjoy the book. The magic system is interesting and I really wish it would take more of a center stage.  Those that are endowed with gifts are all descendants of the Red King, a magician with many talents--although his descendants only seem to inherit one gift. Charlie can hear photographs, Billy can talk to animals, Gabriel can feel emotions in clothes, Manfred can hypnotize, and so on. I think the concept of hearing pictures is so interesting because I really haven't seen it anywhere else.  I really hope that future books will expand on this magic system more. I also enjoyed the plot and solving the mystery of what happened to the baby that was traded for a suitcase.

I do think that there were several elements that were borrowed from other popular series such as Harry Potter. Bloor's Academy is essentially Hogwarts that allows muggles as long as they are geniuses. The Matron is a female version of Filch. Although Charlie does have his mother and nice grandmother, Grandma Bone and her sisters treat Charlie similar to how Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia treat Harry.  The only difference here is that Grandma Bone and her sisters treat Charlie like they do in the beginning because they believe him to be normal, whereas Harry is treated the way he is because he is not.  In both series, it boils down to the families not thinking Charlie or Harry are fit to be considered a member of the family (even after Charlie discovers he's endowed). I'm sure there are other similarities as well, but that's what I could think of off the top of my head and I am not trying to do an in-depth analysis.  So, there ya go! There are similarities between the two series. 

I give this book three stars because, although there are some elements that seem to be very Harry Potterish and it seems immature with a simplistic plot, it was exactly what I expected it to be with the bonus of an interesting magic system. And I did enjoy the story itself, as well. Take my review with a grain of salt as I don't normally read middle grade books.  I would recommend it as either a nostalgia read (us 90s babies seem to be all about the nastalgia don't we?) or as a book to read with your kids.

 

Any Thoughts?

What are your favorite nostalgia reads? Is there any book that you will be sure to read to your kids or future kids? I would love to hear what it is! Make sure to drop a comment below!          

About The Author:

Jenny Nimmo was born in Windsor, Berkshire, England and educated at boarding schools in Kent and Surrey from the age of six until the age of sixteen, when she ran away from school to become a drama student/assistant stage manager with Theater South East. She graduated and acted in repertory theater in various towns and cities: Eastbourne, Tunbridge Wells, Brighton, Hastings, and Bexhill.

She left Britain to teach English to three Italian boys in Almafi, Italy. On her return, she joined the BBC, first as a picture researcher, then as an assistant floor manager, studio manager (news) then finally a director/adaptor with Jackanory (a BBC storytelling program for children). She left BBC to marry a Welsh artist David Wynn Millward and went to live in Wales in her husband's family home. They live in a very old converted watermill, and the river is constantly threatening to break in, as it has done several times in the past, most dramatically on her youngest child's first birthday. During the summer they run a residential school of art, and she has to move her office, put down tools (type-writer and pencil, and don an apron and cook! They have three grown-up children, Myfawny, Ianto, and Gwenwyfar.

 

Links:

 

http://www.jennynimmo.me.uk/

The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan

 Title: The Dragon Reborn
Author: Robert Jordan
Genre: High Fantasy

I purchased this ebook and chose to do an honest and unbiased review.  Tom Doherty Associates neither requested nor are associated with this review.

Goodreads Description:            

The Dragon Reborn—the leader long prophesied who will save the world, but in the saving destroy it; the savior who will run mad and kill all those dearest to him—is on the run from his destiny.

Able to touch the One Power, but unable to control it, and with no one to teach him how—for no man has done it in three thousand years—Rand al'Thor knows only that he must face the Dark One. But how?

Winter has stopped the war—almost—yet men are dying, calling out for the Dragon. But where is he?

Perrin Aybara is in pursuit with Moiraine Sedai, her Warder Lan, and Loial the Ogier. Bedeviled by dreams, Perrin is grappling with another deadly problem—how is he to escape the loss of his own humanity?

Egwene, Elayne and Nynaeve are approaching Tar Valon, where Mat will be healed—if he lives until they arrive. But who will tell the Amyrlin their news—that the Black Ajah, long thought only a hideous rumor, is all too real? They cannot know that in Tar Valon far worse awaits...

Ahead, for all of them, in the Heart of the Stone, lies the next great test of the Dragon reborn....

Here's What I Thought:
I think these books just keep getting better! Seriously! I love this book more than the last two and I am so excited to start The Shadow Rising, but first I have a couple other books to read, sadly... (Not really, I'm excited to read those books too. There's just no Mat.)

My big complaint of The Great Hunt was there was so much Rand. Well, this book made up for that.  There was no more than a few appearances of our young Dragon, but they were definitely interesting to say the least. I don't think he has gone mad with the Power yet, but I think he may be teetering on the edge.

For this book, my big complaint is Perrin.  I loved Perrin in the first book. Even in the second book, I really liked him. He is just... I don't know... Solid, maybe? Plus the wolf thing is super cool, which is why he was so bad in this book.  Almost every single minute of his POVs was focused on first shutting out the wolves and then, when they weren't there, how lonely it was.  Pick a side man! You can't have it both ways.  Embrace and accept or shut it out and accept. Then, by the end of the book, when he wasn't fixated on shutting out the wolves, he was fixated on a certain "falcon" (who I wanted to throat punch, honestly.) Overall, he just fell out of rank as one of my favorite characters, which I was really disappointed about.

But...

I have a new favorite character.  In this book, I got my first POV from Mat.  My heart! Ugh, I do love that boy! I had to wait for his POV for about a third of the book, but it was worth the wait.  He is no longer tainted by that blasted dagger and he gets to show how amazing he is.  And what makes him even more amazing is that he doesn't see it at all. He sees himself as a selfish prankster because that how everyone else sees him.  But he's not! He is probably the most loyal friend our band of young would-be heroes have. His luck is also shaping up to be a very intriguing part of the magic system Jordan has been building. He has absolutely insane luck and it's definitely not natural. I hope there will be more light shed on it in the next book. Plus, he is really good with a stick. He puts Galad and Gwayne with their fancy swords in their place with nothing but a quarterstaff--one of the best scenes in the book, imo. I could go on and on about how great he is, but I won't.

Nynaeve, Egwene, and Elayne are still great, but they were very catty in this book.  I guess it's to be expected.  Egwene is no longer a child and Nynaeve doesn't accept that.  They did have some total kickass, girl power moments though, which was awesome.  Despite their cattiness, the thing that actually made me scream the loudest at them was how they treated Mat.  They don't deserve him as a friend. They just don't. 

I was also excited to see a few more interactions with Lan, Moiraine's Warder.  He doesn't speak often, but when he does, he has quick wit.  He is about the only one that not only talks back to Moiraine, but I'm okay with him talking back to Moiraine. Some of his comments to her had me dying of laughter and she would just be like, "Really?" Yes, Moirane. Really.  Lan might be bonded to her, but he ain't about to take any sh$!.

In this book, I finally got some solid encounters with the Aiel. They definitely deserve all the hype. They are not only fierce warriors, they have a super interesting culture.  I remember when I was younger, I hated lengthy descriptions. I was impatient and would internally scream, "I get it! Their clothes were... The setting is... They spoke like... Move on with it already!" As I have gotten older, however, I have really come to appreciate solid world building. At this point, I don't think many could beat Jordan at world building with his attention to detail and vast and diverse cultures. I'm excited to have more encounters with the Aiel, as well as other cultures that have yet to make an appearance. 

I hereby give this book four stars.  I absolutely loved it and I am now confident that this series will go down as one of my all time favorite series.  What held me back from giving it five stars was Perrin's non-stop internal monologue of "I can't give in to the wolves" to "It's so lonely without the wolves."  It really did become repetitive and detracted from not only his story, but his likeability.  He just seemed mopey and depressing. Now I'm off to start a Mat fan club! Not really, but that boy really does deserve one! Stay tuned for my next review for Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo.

Quote:
"I am no bloody hero."

            -Mat Cauthon              

About The Author:

Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the names Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reilly.

Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina. He served two tours in Vietnam (from 1968 to 1970) with the United States Army as a helicopter gunner. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star with "V" and bronze oak leaf cluster, and two Vietnamese Gallantry Crosses with palm. After returning from Vietnam he attended The Citadel where he received an undergraduate degree in physics. After graduating he was employed by the United States Navy as a nuclear engineer. He began writing in 1977. He was a history buff and enjoyed hunting, fishing, sailing, poker, chess, pool, and pipe collecting.

He described himself as a "High Church" Episcopalian and received communion more than once a week. He lived with his wife Harriet McDougal, who works as a book editor (currently with Tor Books; she was also Jordan's editor) in a house built in 1797.

Responding to queries on the similarity of some of the concepts in his Wheel of Time books with Freemasonry concepts, Jordan admitted that he was a Freemason. However, "like his father and grandfather," he preferred not to advertise, possibly because of the negative propaganda against Freemasonry. In his own words, "no man in this country should feel in danger because of his beliefs."

On March 23, 2006, Jordan disclosed in a statement that he had been diagnosed with cardiac amyloidosis, and that with treatment, his median life expectancy was four years, though he said he intended to beat the statistics. He later posted on his Dragonmount blog to encourage his fans not to worry about him and that he intended to have a long and fully creative life.

He began chemotherapy treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, in early April 2006. Jordan was enrolled in a study using the drug Revlimid just approved for multiple myeloma but not yet tested on primary amyloidosis.

Jordan died at approximately 2:45 p.m. EDT on September 16, 2007, and a funeral service was held for him on Wednesday, September 19, 2007. Jordan was cremated and his ashes buried in the churchyard of St. James Church in Goose Creek, outside Charleston.

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid

 Title: I'm Thinking of Ending Things

Author: Iain Reid

Narrator: Candace Thaxton

Genre: Psychological Thriller, Suspense

I purchased this audiobook and chose to do an honest and unbiased review.  The author and Simon & Schuster Audio neither requested nor are associated with this review.

Goodreads Description:
You will be scared. But you won’t know why…

I’m thinking of ending things. Once this thought arrives, it stays. It sticks. It lingers. It’s always there. Always.

Jake once said, “Sometimes a thought is closer to truth, to reality, than an action. You can say anything, you can do anything, but you can’t fake a thought.”

And here’s what I’m thinking: I don’t want to be here.

In this deeply suspenseful and irresistibly unnerving debut novel, a man and his girlfriend are on their way to a secluded farm. When the two take an unexpected detour, she is left stranded in a deserted high school, wondering if there is any escape at all. What follows is a twisted unraveling that will haunt you long after the last page is turned.

In this smart, suspenseful, and intense literary thriller, debut novelist Iain Reid explores the depths of the human psyche, questioning consciousness, free will, the value of relationships, fear, and the limitations of solitude. Reminiscent of José Saramago’s early work, Michel Faber’s cult classic Under the Skin, and Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk about Kevin, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is an edgy, haunting debut. Tense, gripping, and atmospheric, this novel pulls you in from the very first page…and never lets you go.

 
Here's What I Thought: 

I am obligated to start this review by issuing a content warning for discussion related to suicide and serious mental illness. Also, this review will contain spoilers.  I  don't usually like to spoil books, but this one is an exception.

I listened to this book on audio and was immediately hooked.  I think I listened to most of it in one sitting alone.  It starts off with an unnamed narrator driving with her boyfriend, Jake, to meet the parents on his childhood farm.  Their conversation shifts from intellectual, thought provoking topic to an even more intellectual, thought provoking topic.  The narrator reminisces on how her and Jake met--at a bar on trivia night.  He was a genius. She describes a near perfect relationship, but yet... She is thinking of ending things. Oh, and she also has a stalker calling her leaving the same voicemail.

In between chapters, there were these short little blurbs of two unknown people talking about a suicide.  Nothing else is known about these little excerpts.

Back to the main story.  Boy brings home girl to meet the parents.  Boy suddenly becomes withdrawn.  Parents are beyond odd. Stalker is continuously calling.  Girl explores boy's childhood home and makes some odd discoveries. 

This is the part when things really start to get interesting and why I say there will be spoilers.  As I have mentioned before, I am a psych nurse.  By nature, I pick up on little behavioral cues and start to make deductions.  It's literally what I do for a living.

So the narrator notes that mom has odd behavior.  She changes her clothes unexpectedly, smiles at inappropriate times, talks of hearing voices but blames it on tinnitus. The narrator asks Jake about a really old photo, and he explains that it's some long dead relative with a severe mental illness. Her phone dies. Then while the narrator was exploring the house, she comes across a photo that she swears is of her, although Jake claims it's him. She eventually makes her way down to the basement and comes across some very bizarre paintings.  In Jake's room she sees some old photographs as well of Jake when he was younger and then has a very odd conversation with his dad about how it wasn't his mom's fault--her behavior--and it's so good that Jake found her. She is so good for him. (Already my nurse brain is in overdrive with a couple theories.) 

Back in the car, Jake starts questioning the narrator about what she thought of his parents.  He started talking about his brother and how he was sick, but now he was better.  Then he insisted on getting Dairy Queen in the middle of a snow storm and one of the workers told the narrator that she was scared for her and she should get out. Creepy. After they half finished their Dairy Queen he was absolutely insistent that they dispose of the cups now at school in the middle of nowhere.  I don't know about you, but I don't make a special stop just to get rid of a little bit of trash. Here, some major red flags had jumped up. Jake was suddenly unreasonably defensive and almost erratic. (My nurse brain made note of this.)  

At the school, there is an old pick up truck parked that is assumed to be the janitor. Jake throws the cups in the trash and then he starts making out with the narrator.  Well this is another change of pace.  She was resistant, but went along with it. Suddenly Jake freaks out and claims the janitor was watching them. He goes into the school to confront him.  Again, from what we know of Jake, very out of character. 

The narrator eventually follows as it's getting cold in the car.  While in the school, she feels as if the janitor is following her.  She thinks about her stalker again.  Suddenly the doors are chained shut, and Jake's car is gone. 

By this point, I am thinking it will go one of two ways.  It will either play out to be a dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality) plot twist or schizophrenia.  I hate it when authors try to play the dissociative identity disorder card. Absolutely hate it.  It is technically in the DSM-V (the diagnostic manual for psychological disorders), but most mental health professionals are on the consensus that it does not exist.  I would be very excited to see it be a schizophrenia twist, however, as that is something you rarely see.

As this is playing out with the narrator, the snippets between chapters reveal that the man that committed suicide was troubled and they found him in a closet. He did not associate much with anyone and he could have a temper. Our narrator eventually ends up in a closet and the janitor finds her.  Now, as I was listening to the audiobook, I really enjoyed this transition. "What are you waiting for." This is repeated again and again as the narrators voice is first joined and then replaced by a male voice.  He realizes he has no other option.  He goes back to that night at the bar and the girl that talked to him, but he was too afraid to give her his number. He thinks about how things may have been different.  He thinks of how he left his job at the lab, how his parents have been gone many years, and how he became a janitor.  And then he uses a hanger to commit suicide.

A lot of reviews that I have read that are negative seem to be because they don't understand what happened. This is why I decided to do a review with spoilers, that way I could explain it.  Although Reid never said a diagnosis, I am confident that the narrator had schizophrenia.There is a highly genetic component. People with this disorder typically don't socialize well, have labile moods, and become fixated on things.  My theory is the janitor suffered from schizophrenia and, as a coping mechanism, developed a delusion that it was his brother who was sick and he had this happy life with his girlfriend, but like most delusions, there were holes in it and he couldn't handle it any more. When the narrator, Jake, and the janitor merged, we were seeing him come back to reality.  From my experience, this is a very well done portrayal of this devastating mental illness that has such a poor prognosis.  

Another thing that I did find really unnerving early on is how much the narrator's inner monologue matched my own regarding thoughts toward self, relationships, life, everything.  It's very off-putting to have your own inner thoughts told to you by someone else. 

All this put together lead to a very satisfied five star rating.  I am usually hyper critical when anything comes close to psych, but I thought Reid did an outstanding job and I really don't have any complaints. 

Any Thoughts?

I would love to hear what you think! If you have any additional thoughts or want to talk more about the book, be sure to leave a comment or send me an email!

About The Author:

 

 Iain Reid is the author of two critically acclaimed, award-winning books of nonfiction. His debut novel, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, was an international bestseller, and was translated into more than a dozen languages. Oscar-winner Charlie Kaufman is writing and directing the film adaptation for Netflix. Foe is Reid's second novel.

Links: 

reid_iain

Peter Darling by Austin Chant

Title: Peter Darling

Authors: Austin Chant

Genre: Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retelling, LGBTQ+

I read this book as an epub book on Nook. Austin Chant neither requested nor is associated with this review.

Goodreads Description:

Ten years ago, Peter Pan left Neverland to grow up, leaving behind his adolescent dreams of boyhoodand resigning himself to life as Wendy Darling. Growing up, however, has only made him realize how inescapable his identity as a man is.

But when he returns to Neverland, everything has changed: the Lost Boys have become men, and the war games they once played are now real and deadly. Even more shocking is the attraction Peter never knew he could feel for his old rival, Captain Hook—and the realization that he no longer knows which of them is the real villain. 

 
Here's What I Thought:
I began the month with a decent sized TBR for September.  It is now the 19th and I have yet to post another review.  Don't worry! I'm chipping away at it.  I just haven't gotten writing reviews as I had tested positive for COVID-19.  Fortunately, I had no symptoms, but when you are in isolation for several days, you have little motivation to do anything. Also, forgive the weird picture placement... Blogger did a sucky update and will no longer allow me to revert back to the old version. 

I'm going to start this review off with a confession.  I have never read a book that was specifically classified as LGBTQ+. I mean, I have read books with side characters that are, but I have never read a book that it was one of the primary aspects.  I mentioned earlier this month that I joined a book club site called Caravan and I will fully give the good folks there the credit for expanding my horizons and turning me on to this book.  Peter Pan has always been one of my favorite fairy tales and after reading Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook, I wanted more. This book provided just that. 

The main character is obviously Peter.  In this retelling, Peter and Wendy are actually the same person.  Wendy was transgender and as his family was not accepting, he escaped to Neverland where he could be his true self.  Honestly, that caught me off guard as I missed it in the synopsis.  I read "with" Wendy Darling instead of "as" Wendy Darling.  A few other people missed that as well, so I didn't feel bad. 

Chant's Peter is pretty typical: selfish, a tad anti-social (I'm talking real anti-social traits, not "I don't like people"), and narcissistic. But his character was inconsistent.  He went back and forth between displaying these traits and seeming empathetic and caring of the Lost Boys.  Now, he is ten years older, so it can be argued that he is simply growing up.  I'll accept that.  The inconsistencies in his character wasn't a huge issue for me.  

Neverland was also a carbon copy of every other Neverland.  Again, not a lot of originality.  Chant tried to put a weird spin on it with his description of fairies.  In his Neverland, fairies are insect like creatures complete with antennae, many eyes, fur, and everything.  Um... I have always been under the impression that fairies were beautiful creatures.  Even in Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter world, fairies are described as grotesquely beautiful. I'm ok with that.  But insects?

So, the set up was fairly unoriginal.  Peter Pan returns to Neverland and resumes his war with Captain Hook and finds the Lost Boys relatively the same, but a little older with a new leader, Ernest, who is the opposite to Peter in pretty much every way.  Peter does have flash backs to his life as Wendy that was slightly interesting, but overall, I was unimpressed with the staging of events.  I'm still trying to figure out what the point of Ernest was.  It's hinted at that he escaped to Neverland because he was gay and he eventually feelings for Peter, but, as the book is only 164 pages and we already know that the love interest is Hook, this is never really explored even from the dreaded love triangle aspect.

We do get some POVs from Hook, and you quickly find out that he gay and finds himself attracted to Peter.  It takes quite a while for Peter to have this realization for himself. Eventually, Hook and Peter find themselves trapped together in a cave and they need each other to survive.  This is when Chant really starts to make Neverland his own.  It was Hook's revelations with Peter that the Neverland lore was finally expanded on.  Without going into a lot of details, Hook reveals to Peter that Neverland is real place, but many aspects of it are what Peter and Hook desired for themselves.  It's basically a paradise to lose yourself in to escape the real world.

Well, we can't just ride off into the sunset with Peter and Hook realizing their feelings, right? That would be boring.  Of course there is a blow up, rejection, and a very heartfelt and loving make-up.  It's a cliche love story, but I loved it.  I am not big into romances, but I think Chant was able to spin a tale with such real chemistry that I was totally enthralled with the romance of Peter Pan and James Hook. 

Overall, I think that the book was fairly unoriginal in initial setup, but Chant eventually does find his groove and is able to make this world his own.  By doing so, he was able to produce a love story that I didn't even know that I wanted, let alone needed. I was set on giving this book a two star rating, but the last half saved it and now I am happily giving this book a solid four stars. My biggest issues were with the slow build to an original story, lack of character development for Ernest that still just seems like someone that is completely out of place--like the kid that gets invited to a birthday party because the whole class gets invited,--and the odd depiction of fairies. Unfortunately, this book is out of print and is not available on Kindle or Nook. I came across an e-pub of it, so if you want to give it a go, you may have to do some digging to find it. 

Any Thoughts?

I would love to hear what you think! If you have any additional thoughts or want to talk more about the book, be sure to leave a comment or send me an email!

About The Authors:

 

Austin Chant is a bitter millennial, a decent chef, and a queer, trans writer of romance and speculative fiction. He co-hosts the Hopeless Romantic, a podcast dedicated to exploring LGBTQIA+ love stories and the art of writing romance. He currently lives in a household of creative freelancers who all spend too much time playing video games.

Links: 

 

http://austinchant.com

 

austinchanted