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Fathom Five
by James Bow
Reviewed by Melissa Fox, Book Nut
Peter seems to have a good thing going: he's best friends with Rosemary (though he'd like to be more), he's getting good grades at school, he's on the
basketball team. Yet, his life feels empty. Perhaps it's because he never really got over his parents' death nine years before; perhaps it's because his
guardian, his uncle, is never there. Whatever it is, Peter's feeling a bit...disconnected. Then one day, Fiona—his former nanny—appears. She
tells him that he's not really a human, but rather a siren changeling child, and that it's time for him to come home. Sounds plausible, even interesting.
It explains a lot of things. Except Rosemary doesn't believe that Peter really is a siren, and follows him to the siren underworld to convince him that he
belongs above ground, with his family, with her.
Fathom Five works well as a stand-alone, although it's technically a sequel to Bow's first novel, The Unwritten Girl. There were references to the
earlier book, but not so much that it was necessary to have read it in order to get the story in this one. The story itself is an interesting one, drawing
on everyone's fears and uncertainties of being alone and exploring the lengths a person will go to in order to feel accepted. It also draws upon the
strength of friendship and love and the power they have. It's always nice to see the girl doing the rescuing; Rosemary has a lot of strength and drive, and
isn't willing to wait or take no for an answer, all of which get her both into and out of somewhat dangerous situations. And while Peter's fairly passive
during the most of the book (in the beginning it's because he's depressed, then it's because he's under a spell), it works within the nature of the story.
The Gorgon's Gaze
by Julia Golding
Reviewed by Bill Capossere
The Gorgon's Gaze is the second volume in The Companions Quartet, but while being familiar with book one would be helpful in
understanding the few references to past events as well as the urgency of some of this book's actions, The Gorgon's Gaze stands fine on its own.
The book's storyline is self-contained from beginning to end, while there are enough quick recaps of book one that the overall series arc is clear.
Connie Lionheart is an extremely rare "universal" who can bond with any of the mythical creatures living secretly among us, helped by the Society for the
Protection of Mythical Creatures, whose members can each bond with a single species. The Society is opposed by the shape-shifter Kullervo, leader of the
creatures who don't like that humans dominate the world. At the start of Gaze, Connie is whisked away from home by her great-aunt and uncle at
her parents' request (they're in the Philippines) and away from the "bad influence" of the Society, which the great-aunt treats as a delusional cult.
Connie's attempts to escape her aunt's tight control while figuring out why her aunt is so adamant is one of the major plotlines of The Gorgon's Gaze.
Another plot strand involves the Society's attempts to protect a local wood that is home to a number of mythical creatures, including the last Gorgon,
whose Society companion is the mother of Coll, Connie's best friend. Meanwhile, Kullervo continues to try and capture Connie and use her powers for his
own means—the storyline for the series as a whole.
The book moves along at a good pace and the intertwining storylines are handled smoothly. There are several moments of good tension and the movement toward
the finale ratchets up that tension nicely. The grey status of several characters is another strength, as we see decent characters doing bad things and bad
characters with surprisingly good traits. For instance, it's never quite clear where Coll's mother's loyalties lie, while at one point Connie has a
jolting discovery about Kullervo.
Sometimes resolutions come a bit too easily. This is especially true of the storyline involving Connie's great-aunt, whose character isn't mined for the
richness it could have had. Other side characters vary—some are merely serviceable as plot points while others have nice small touches to them—her
great-uncle for instance. A greater sense of the mythical world would have enhanced the book's effect—we only get a real look at its breadth toward
the end—and while the world doesn't ever feel derivative, it also doesn't quite have that sparkle of originality. There are none of those "how did
she come up with that" moments that make fantasy such a pleasure. Then again, the young readers the book is aimed at won't necessarily find wood sprites,
pegasi, references to Merlin, or the idea of bonding with another creature overly familiar as those more versed in fantasy might.
Overall, it's a quick, pleasant YA read with likable characters, fast-paced events, and a decent amount of complexity in its characterization and theme—a
good introduction to the genre.
Kaimira: The Sky villiage, Book One
by Monk Ashland and Nigel Ashland
Review by Allison Fraclose, The Unnamed Forest
Decades after the devastating Trinary Wars—when humans, beasts, and the intelligent machines known as meks fought each other for control over the
Earth's territories—humans all over the globe have adapted to their precarious new position on the food chain. In China, 12-year-old Mei's village has
been destroyed by a troupe of meks, and most of the inhabitants, including her mother, taken prisoner. While her father has gone off to battle the meks and
recover his wife, he has sent Mei to live in her mother's birthplace—the floating community known as Sky Village, which shies from the events taking
place on the ground.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe deep in the ruins of Las Vegas, where beasts prowl the streets, 13-year-old Rom struggles to provide for himself
and his sister. When the father who abandoned them suddenly returns and tells his children to retrieve a hidden book, Rom's sister, Riley, is taken hostage
by gangsters who live in an affluent underground city. In a desperate effort to free her, Rom agrees to fight in a gladiator-like battle where "demons"
comprised of both beast and mek qualities are summoned and controlled by one's own will.
Both Mei and Rom find a connection through the Tree Book, one of which has been entrusted to each of them by their parents. Each remembers their parents
reading them stories of other children from this book, and is amazed to find that the other is an actual person and not just a story. Through the book, and
the strange entity called Animus which claims to be trapped within, they can communicate to each other and share their ordeals. The mysterious kaimira gene
that they seem to have inherited ties them to the beasts and meks in ways that no one fully understands, and they will both need to gain control of their
abilities before they manage to destroy the people around them.
The new Kaimira series opens with an exciting first book that pulls you directly into the world of the Kaimira Code, and I am eager to find out what
happens in the next installment, which is due out in the fall of 2009.
The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Shadow
by Fuyumi Ono
Review by Kimberly Hirsh, lectitans
Yoko Nakajima is the picture of a perfect daughter and high school student. She is always obedient, always completes her schoolwork, is kind to others,
and generally leaves no mark on the world around her. She is average in every way except for her bright red hair, which leads some to believe she has a
secret wild side. Her dreams, however, are anything but average. In sleep, Yoko flees from a pack of bloodthirsty creatures bent on her destruction.
About a month after these dreams begin, a strange golden-haired man appears at her school, insists that she accept something, though he doesn't say what,
gives her a jeweled sword, and takes her away on the back of a leopard-beast.
Yoko falls off the beast and into unconsciousness. When she awakens, she finds herself in a strange land, and does not recognize her own reflection. Yoko
must journey across this land to discover where she is, why the golden-haired man brought her here, and her own identity.
The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Shadow is the first installment of a very popular Japanese series of novels which was later made into an anime series.
It is steeped in Japanese folklore and Chinese myth. Fans of anime and manga will recognize many conventions of those forms as they read the book,
including illustrations in the manga style. While the story is slow to start and spends a lot of time on Yoko's solo journey, her inner struggle with her
true identity drives the book forward and brings it to an intriguing climax, revealing a world with complex politics and showing that even Yoko's own
estimation of her character may have been wrong. Yoko's transformation from meek-mannered schoolgirl to self-sufficient warrior will resonate with readers
who prefer strong female protagonists.
The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Shadow is a promising beginning for a series that already has a strong following in Japan. Tokyopop's English
translation brings this epic to a new audience in America.
Books Reviewed:
Fathom Five, by James Bow. The Dundurn Group, 2007. ISBN: 1-5500-2692-5.
The Gorgon's Gaze, by Julia Golding. Oxford University Press, 2007. ISBN: 0-1927-5461-0.
Kaimira: The Sky villiage, Book One, by Monk Ashland and Nigel Ashland. Candlewick Press, 2008. ISBN: 0-7636-3524-3.
The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Shadow by Fuyumi Ono. Tokyo Pop, 2008. ISBN: 1-4278-0257-2.
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