Day: May 28, 2008

Hans Christian Andersen's Never-Ending Bedtime Story?

| Tasha

I found myself unable to stop reading this Times article on a visit Hans Christian Andersen paid to Dickens in England.  The two had been mutual admirers and then correspondents, but then Andersen came to stay for what was meant to be a fortnight and stayed for five weeks!  Dickens never corresponded with Andersen again.

Here is my favorite quote from the article:

To Andersen, the visit was timeless Elysium, a holiday, a fairy tale come true. To Dickens, his wife, and particularly his children it was eternal torment, a holy hell, a horror story made real.

Anyone else enjoying this the way I do?  There’s some sort of vicarious pleasure in reading this.

Atherton: Rivers of Fire

| Tasha

Atherton: Rivers of Fire by Patrick Carman.

I was lucky enough to review the first book in this series for School Library Journal.  You can see my review here on Amazon.  Just scroll down.  As you can see, I loved it.

And while I really liked this second book about Atherton, it didn’t quite capture me the way that the first book did.  We return to the world of Atherton which is in the process of changing.  The Highlands are falling and the Flatlands are rising.  Horrible creatures called Cleaners are suddenly able to reach the human towns, and our hero and his friends find themselves right in the thick of danger as they venture deeper into the Highlands to discover the secrets of Atherton and its creator. 

Readers really have to have read the first book to understand what is happening here.  The book has a breakneck speed throughout as the main characters rush from one disaster to the next, barely staying ahead of the cataclysmic changes.  I missed the introspective nature of the first book that made it rather gem-like and special.  Those same themes are present in this novel, but are secondary to the adventure and action.

Fans of the first novel will consider this a must-read and any library with the first book must have the second.  Recommended for readers of the first book.