Tag Archives: ya

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Posted by melydia on September 21, 2012 2 comments

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (unabridged audiobook read by Graeme Malcolm; 3.5 hrs on 4 discs): Despereaux is a small mouse with large ears who loves music and falls in love with a human princess. Roscuro is a dungeon rat who loves light. Miggory Sow is a slow-witted, half-deaf serving girl who longs for more. Their stories intertwine to form one lovely little fairy tale. I think my favorite part was how involved the narrator was, constantly talking directly to the reader as if you’re there in the room with them. This is the sort of book I would have enjoyed as a kid.

A note on the audio: Malcolm was fantastic. I’ll have to be on the lookout for other books read by him.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Posted by melydia on September 18, 2012 2 comments

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (unabridged audiobook read by Hope Davis; 6 hrs on 5 discs): Meg Murry is an ordinary girl in an extraordinary family: her parents are scientists, her baby brother is a prodigy. One day they are visited by the mysterious Mrs. Whatsit, who takes them on an amazing adventure to combat evil personified. I read this before, back in college, and I’d forgotten how overtly religious it is. Sure, there’s plenty of science, but also quite a bit of talk about faith and god. Which is fine, as it manages not to be too preachy. As with the first time I read it, I wasn’t all that excited about it. I mean, sure, it was fine, and maybe I would have loved it as a child, but as an adult it came across as just kind of strange. That said, I still intend to read the rest of the Time Quintet, which I haven’t read before, to see what further adventures lie in store for the Murry family.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Stuart Little by E.B. White

Posted by melydia on September 14, 2012 None comments

Stuart Little by E.B. White (unabridged audiobook read by Julie Harris; 2 hrs on 2 discs): Perhaps I would have felt differently growing up with this book, but as an adult this book struck me as profoundly weird. First off, a human couple give birth to a mouse, and no one seems to think this is at all strange. Their first son is human; their second son is a rodent. What? Anyway, this is basically a collection of Stuart’s various adventures, including boating, substitute teaching, and courting a 2-inch tall human girl. I don’t even know. The ending is left completely open, which I suppose could be inspiring for a young imagination, but I didn’t know it was coming so I was a little confused at the end. Oh well. It was fine, and there were parts that were funny just because they were so strange.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke

Posted by melydia on September 11, 2012 None comments

Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke: I do not read all that quickly, but I managed to inhale all 660 pages of this book in three evenings. I simply could not get enough of the Inkworld. Everybody’s here and everything’s falling apart. Mo may or may not be the Bluejay, Meggie’s heart is conflicted, Fenoglio has lost the power of words, and Orpheus is screwing everything up. I’m actually looking forward to re-reading this trilogy so I can savor it, rather than obsessively reading just one more chapter because I just have to know what happens next. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so completely sucked into a story and I loved every moment of it. Highly recommended.

A note on the trilogy: I read Inkheart and Inkdeath, but listened to Inkspell, read by Brendan Fraser. The other two books had different narrators, but this way I was able to hear Inkdeath with Fraser’s amazing narration in my head.

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke

Posted by melydia on August 28, 2012 3 comments

Inkspell by Cornelia Funke (unabridged audiobook read by Brendan Fraser; 18 hrs 46 min on 16 discs): Meggie and Farid enter the Inkworld in search of Dustfinger and find it much changed from the lands described in Inkheart. A new reader, Orpheus, has started reading people into and out of books. Meanwhile, Mortola and Basta are still on the hunt for Mo. Unlike the previous book, this story takes place almost entirely within the Inkworld, and it is a fantastic place. I wanted so badly to visit, even with all the danger involved. And I fell a little bit in love with most of the characters, most especially the impulsive Farid. And oh, I was so happy to already have the third book on hand to start immediately after this one. Some may find Inkheart a little slow, but Inkspell is anything but. So much fun.

A note on the audio: Fraser made this book come alive. I knew he was a talented narrator, but he made me want to stay in my car longer just to hear what happened next. I laughed, I cried, I squealed in delight. Now I’m sad because he’s only read two books and I’ve listened to them both. I guess I need to watch more of his movies.

Hey Canada! by Vivian Bowers and Milan Pavlovic

Posted by melydia on August 10, 2012 None comments

Hey Canada! by Vivian Bowers and Milan Pavlovic: Alice, Cal, and Gran are taking a road trip across Canada, visiting every province. Their journey is documented primarily by Alice (“reporting from the backseat”) with tweets, poems, and other interjections from Cal and Gran interspersed. I loved the often subtle humor (especially Gran’s selective deafness) and I found the brief overview of each province both informative and enticing. Aside from a quick trip to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls almost two decades ago, I’ve never visited our northern neighbors, and this book made me want to. I don’t know how much a Canadian child would get out of this text, but this ignorant American thought it was just delightful.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Posted by melydia on July 17, 2012 None comments

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke: Meggie lives with her father Mo, a gifted bookbinder. One night, a stranger named Dustfinger appears at her window, prompting Mo and Meggie to flee to the home of Elinor, a bibliophile of the highest order. This is a story for storylovers, for people who wish they could bring books to life outside their imaginations. Though the pacing is arguably a touch slow at first, the characters are charming and I had fun not quite knowing whom to trust. I look forward to the rest of the trilogy.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Posted by melydia on June 15, 2012 1 comments

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (unabridged audiobook read by Kate Rudd; 7hr 19min on 6 discs): I never expected to laugh so much during a story about teens with cancer. Our narrator, Hazel, is on oxygen all the time due to the fluid in her lungs, and her condition is undeniably terminal. One day at support group she meets the charming Augustus Waters; this is the tale of their relationship. And it is absolutely amazing, a story I treasured every instant of. Did I cry? Of course I cried. But I also left feeling so grateful to have known these characters for that brief time. This is also one of those books with a lot of reread value: lots of foreshadowing and symbolism that I look forward to spotting the second time around. Highly recommended.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Posted by melydia on June 12, 2012 2 comments

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (unabridged audiobook read by Michael Maloney; 5 hrs on 4 discs): Usually I like to have a sentence or two of synopsis to start off with, but the only thing I knew going into this was that it had something to do with the Holocaust. And honestly I think that was probably the best way. Bruno captured my heart, and frankly the end was a little traumatizing. While I can’t say that I necessarily liked this story, it was incredibly moving and a very important story. Definitely one to read by all, and a very good way to open the door to a conversation with children about the Holocaust. Definitely something that will stick with me for a long time.

A note on the audio: Maloney was quite good, being funny or sensitive as the situation required. This particular version also had a brief conversation between Boyne and his publisher, which was interesting but not strictly necessary. That is, I liked hearing about the book’s reception but I didn’t feel it added anything to my overall experience.

The Silent Boy by Lois Lowry

Posted by melydia on May 29, 2012 None comments

The Silent Boy by Lois Lowry (unabridged audiobook read by Karen Allen; 3 hrs 57 min on 4 discs): I was kind of disturbed by this tale. It is told by Katy, a young girl at the turn of the century, about a boy named Jacob, the titular “silent” boy. He is what modern folks would refer to as mentally challenged, speaking no words but able to accurately replicate the sounds he hears, such as a grindstone in motion or a horse’s whinny. This is not a light read, and may be one that haunts me for quite a while. I can’t really say why without giving away the ending, but if you’ve read it, you probably understand what I mean. There’s no happy ending, and from the start Katy warns the reader that most would find this tale “too depressing”. And it’s not that, exactly, but it’s definitely sad. Well written, but very sad.

A note on the audio: I am often wary of movie actors as narrators, but Allen was fine. She didn’t really do any character voices, but her soft and husky voice lent itself quite well to the general tone of the story. That said, I think this book would be better read traditionally, as it was written based on a series of real photographs which appear at the beginning of each chapter. Being able to see those would, I imagine, add quite a bit to the realism.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

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