Moon Called by Patricia Briggs ★★★★☆

This book more than kept up its side of the contract.

Fiction – Urban Fantasy/Paranormal

288 pages

Publication Date:  January 1st 2006

Mercy Thompson #1

When the half-starved kid Mercy Thompson was trying to protect ends up on her front porch dead, and her next door neighbor Adam Hauptman, the local werewolf pack’s Alpha, is on the brink of death from the same attack Mercy knows she can no longer stay on the fringe of the supernatural world.  Pulled back in she is forced to return to the werewolf community, that raised her and rejected her, for help opening up old wounds that never healed properly.  

Okay to start out with the cover is a little ridiculous, but it does serve to grab your attention and as a child of the marketing age I can only fault it so much.  Please do not hold this against Moon Called, try instead to treat it as quirk of the series.

This book was easy to like and I quickly fell into the rhythm of the story from page one.  Briggs unravels this fascinating story at just the right speed to keep me interested, but not overwhelmed with detail and mythology.  I found myself pulled into Mercy’s world without really knowing when I agreed to fully enter it.  I mean I know when you start a book there is almost a contractual agreement between reader and story, but it is really so much easier when I can like something without a huge effort on my part.  The caliber of this story is higher than usual for this genre as well as the main character, Mercy.  Mercy Thompson is independent, intelligent strong, but reasonable, and not perfect.  I like the Tri-Cities as a location out of the norm, and appreciate the Washington State flavor Briggs adds to the story (whoo hoo for the Northwest, holla). 

The plot was fun to follow as well as the emotional journey, with an excellent balance between the two.  The politics between species and even within the hierarchies of the species were interesting and I can’t wait to further understand Mercy’s world.

PS  I have been reading the rest of the series and I have to say I like them more than the Sookie Stackhouse novels.  Sure it’s missing the element of horrific fun, but I personally prefer the story construction, mythology and Mercy.  Oh, and don’t worry the parade of ridiculous covers continues.

Divergent by Veronica Roth ★★★★☆

What would your choice be?

Fiction – YA –Dystopia

Reading level: Ages 13 and up

487 pages

Publication Date:  April 28^th 2011

Divergent Book #1

Literary awards: ALA Teens' Top Ten Nominee (2012), Children's Choice Book Award Nominee for Teen Choice Book of the Year (2012), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2014), DABWAHA Romance Tournament for Best Young Adult Romance (2012), Goodreads Choice for Favorite Book of 2011 and for Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2011)

Beatrice Prior lives in divided society where each faction holds a particular virtue above all others.  Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent).   At the age of sixteen each person takes a test and then must decide which faction they wish to join and support.  Torn between her own desires and choosing the faction of her family, she must decide where she belongs and she hopes the test will help her make the decision.  But Beatrice’s results are both unique and deadly beyond her understanding.  With no help from the test, and told to keep the results a secret, she makes a choice that is even surprising to her. 

Renaming herself, Tris, she throws herself wholeheartedly into the competitive initiation trying to live up to the life and future she has chosen.  But Tris’ perfect world is unraveling around her and the conflicts between the factions are intensifying.  Tris’ greatest secret may have the power to save if it doesn’t get her killed first.

Okay I admit I am a writing style snob as any of you can attest to if you’ve read my posts.  I have very definite ideas of what I like and if you gave me a description of writing as straight forward and no frills I would immediately and passionately dislike it until my better sense of fairness caught up with me.  But in Divergent the straight forward style is a virtue.  I immediately took to this book from page one.  The writing was raw and not real big on detail, but the action and emotion was so absorbing I didn’t even notice and had no time to critique the writing with my usual vim and vigor. 

I had this book for about two weeks before I started it.  I was really nervous about reading another depressing dystopia book, but I shouldn’t have been.  Roth was cunning little spider weaving her web around me and reeling me in page by page, development by development.  I became so enthralled with the story as I read I really hated putting it down to go to sleep.  Sleep at that point seemed a waste of time compared to what was happening to Tris.  I fell in love with Tris and connected with her from page one.  Her vulnerability and yearning coupled with her strength was something I could identify with.  I felt like I could really understand her and her motivations.

Veronica Roth is a true talent.  Divergent was polished, deliberate and refined and all the more amazing for being a first book.  Roth has a real understanding of character development, storytelling and creation of a book world.  I see great things in her future and know this will not be the only series she does.  Now all I have to do is track down Insurgent, because my library doesn’t have it!

ISBN 0062024027 (ISBN13: 9780062024022)

Invictus: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation by John Carlin ★★★★★

Masterful

Non Fiction – History – Politic/Sports

(sorry if you disagree with my labels, I had a real difficult time putting  this book in a proper category)

288 pages

Publication Date:  January 1st 2008

Original Title:  Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation

After Nelson Mandela had been released from prison and won South Africa’s first free election he faced his biggest challenge; putting together a broken and divided country.  Latching onto the idea of rugby as his nation building tool, Mandela used a previous symbol of apartheid – the Springboks – and the chance to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup to pull off his greatest and most miraculous triumph.  “One Team, One Country”

This is book is about more than a sports story.  This is a story of human depravity and greatness.  As well choreographed as any truly great Hollywood film (and incidentally turned into a movie with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon) or magnificent epic novel.  Beautifully written and told with heartfelt sincerity this book completely captivated me even though I already knew the ending.  I was riveted with each turn of the page, waiting in eager anticipation to see how the final triumph was brought into fruition.

With the effortless flow of the narrative Carlin delicately unfurls the story like a blooming flower with each page coming together to create a colorful and deliciously scented bloom.  Carlin masterfully orchestrates the different firsthand accounts and different viewpoints to put a together a fairly complete picture of the lead up to the South African hosted Rugby World Championship and the crowning jewel of Mandela’s presidentship.  He lays out enough background to help us understand how incredible this turn of events were and gives enough individual stories to get the real impact of the situation.  His compassion for all sides allows him to understand the differing viewpoints and pass that understanding onto us. 

Mandela is sketched as a clever, deliberate, politically savvy man raised up for just such a time in his country’s history to help it navigate the choppy waters of fear and impatience. Mandela is a genius; he knew where he wanted to take his country, found a means to get there, and convinced people from very fragmented groups to help implement a plan of action.  “One Team, One Country” was not only the motto for the Springboks, but for every South African.   Now granted the road from there has been bumpy for the country, but that should not take away from what it has accomplished and can accomplish in the future.

ISBN  0143117157 (ISBN13: 9780143117155)