Christian Reader - Book lists, discussion, writing

A Book by Mordicai Gerstein - Meta picture book about a girl trying to find her story. This book had been soooo hyped to me through job stuff that I suppose it was almost inevitable that it fell short of the hype. I like the drawings, but the story wasn't quite what I had expected from the reviews. Okay book, not one I'd look to reread or recommend to kids.

The Lost Summer by Kathryn Williams - When Helena becomes a counselor at the summer camp she's been attending for years, will it change her friendships and even herself? Okay, first of all, they should have called this The Last Summer, since the girls keep going on about it being the last summer in various ways. Second of all, this book was okay I guess until it took a really weird and bad turn near the end. Not a good resolution.

Gateway by Sharon Shinn - Daiyu, an adopted Chinese teenager living in St. Louis, travels to an alternate world where most people are Chinese. After reading a friend's ravings about Sharon Shinn, I finally found one of her books at work. I liked it a lot - it uses a few familiar fantasy tropes (e.g. passing through a magical gateway to another world), but not so many that the story seems tired or cliche. I liked Daiyu's adventure, and even her mistrust, and how it all ended very nicely.

The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson - A gateway between worlds that only opens once every nine years leaves a boy accidentally on the wrong side; a wizard, an hag, a giant, and a fairy are sent to rescue him. Is it requisite of British fantasy fiction that a subway platform lead to a magical world? Kidding, although I have seen that one a time or three. I think someone in this comm had recommended this author previously. This book was fairly decent, though it was also really predictable. But it's also for kids, so maybe if you hadn't read too many fantasy-type books, it wouldn't be as predictable. A cute little story.

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett (reread) - With the Hogfather (think Santa Claus) out of commission, it's up to Death and his associates to save Hogswatch (Christmas) - and possibly the human race. Why yes, I do read this one practically every Christmas. So much fun stuff here, with spoofs on pretty much every Christmas song and tradition you can think of. (Like this year, I realized this one part of the book was a spoof on "Good King Wenceslas". You don't hear that song much here in the States, is how I missed it previously). This book is Exhibit A in Why I Love Terry Pratchett.