A W O L...R
Away Without Leave...Reading
After discovering the pleasures of Holly Black's YA novels during our recent vacation to Los Angeles, I've been able to do little beyond read, sleep and, on occasion, attend to crucial domestic duties. Note that I'm referring to Black's "modern faerie tales" aimed at youth slightly older than readers of The Spiderwick Chronicles, of which Black is co-author with Tony DiTerlizzi.
If you happen to have any teenagers in the household—the back cover of Tithe categorizes the fiction as appealing to ages 14 and up—do give Holly Black's books a try. Faeries are dark in this modern tale, the worst of the lot motivated by greed, revenge, even downright sadism, and the majority are no fans of humans; however, that doesn't stop an angst-ridden teen (in Valiant) and a half-human/half-pixy (in Tithe and Ironside) from falling head over heels in love with (respectively) a fierce but gentle-hearted troll and a goth faery knight.
The trilogy is dark, frightening, and, best of all, wildly entertaining. Featuring heroines that are flawed, vulnerable, and yet, when push comes to shove, utterly courageous, these novels top my 2008 best-book list.
After discovering the pleasures of Holly Black's YA novels during our recent vacation to Los Angeles, I've been able to do little beyond read, sleep and, on occasion, attend to crucial domestic duties. Note that I'm referring to Black's "modern faerie tales" aimed at youth slightly older than readers of The Spiderwick Chronicles, of which Black is co-author with Tony DiTerlizzi.
If you happen to have any teenagers in the household—the back cover of Tithe categorizes the fiction as appealing to ages 14 and up—do give Holly Black's books a try. Faeries are dark in this modern tale, the worst of the lot motivated by greed, revenge, even downright sadism, and the majority are no fans of humans; however, that doesn't stop an angst-ridden teen (in Valiant) and a half-human/half-pixy (in Tithe and Ironside) from falling head over heels in love with (respectively) a fierce but gentle-hearted troll and a goth faery knight. The trilogy is dark, frightening, and, best of all, wildly entertaining. Featuring heroines that are flawed, vulnerable, and yet, when push comes to shove, utterly courageous, these novels top my 2008 best-book list.
Labels: Book review, Eva, Young adult fiction
posted by Eva at 4:57 pm
3 Comments:
Thanks for this, Eva. I'm always on the lookout for YA stories with a slightly dark and different take for The Teenager (why can't that Amanda Ashby write a bit quicker?) and this sounds ideal.
Your current routine of reading and sleeping sounds perfect. Long may it last! (though if I know you there's more than a little bit of work going on too...)
Wow! K, this is definitely going on my TBR pile--and being pushed to the top of the list!
So glad you guys are game! I can't recommend the books highly enough - you probably got that already...
As for work, yes, it's crazy. Escaping to a dark world of gamine girls and brooding other-worldly men is just what I need!
Post a Comment
<< Home