What’s on My Shelf: March-April

I’ve been home sick the past couple of days, using this cold to my advantage to just relax, and I realised I haven’t done my “monthly” book review since February. Thus, since I have such an abundance of free time, here’s what I’ve been reading as of late.

(Also, before we dive in, if you want to read a more broad overview of all the books I’ve read recently, or if you’re into reading people’s soapboxes, then check out this post where I rant about the lack of romance in teen fiction. Ironic, right?)

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

This book jumped out at me because it’s based on a Russian fairy tale. I love Russian/Slavic folklore and literature, and I wish I studied it more. It’s so dark and brooding and vast like their landscape, and this tale is no less grand in scope or imagination.

I found the author’s use of reinterpretation as well as integration of Russian folklore in creating her world stunningly breathtaking. Of course, Arden is a specialist in Russian literature, and her years of collegiate study are apparent in her effortless grasp of the ethos woven throughout this tale.

In short, the events of the book begin with the untimely death of a mysterious woman, who is the daughter of the mysterious queen, during childbirth to her daughter endued with her supposed hereditary powers. The people of Rus’ are wary of such gifts, and prefer to shun those different than themselves.

As such, the young girl, Vasilisa, grows up unaware of her magical inheritance, and it is not until an anonymous icy figure approaches her father, strange happenings begin plaguing their quaint village life. Soon, Vasya finds herself in the midst of a battle with Death, or Morozko, for the survival of the world.

If you want to read something equally exotic and enchanting, I highly recommend The Bear and the Nightingale. Though I will warn you, as you trek deeper into the story, it gets a bit spooky, and I myself had moments where I thought, “Maybe I shouldn’t be reading this after dark…”

Wintersong and Shadowsong by S. Jae-Jones

I hesitantly checked out this duology because my library has an online rating system, of course, and I caught a glimpse at the reviews; which I hate because I feel like it tainted my opinion of the novels, thus corrupting my objectiveness as I read them.

Initially, I was interested because the description read like a retelling of Jim Henson’s epitomical Labyrinth. The Goblin King steals sibling of protagonist, who has to travel underground to his domain to steal her back, protagonist finds herself in a battle against time –– sounds like a complete recapitulation of the film if you ask me.

And it was. Mostly. At least the first book began to read like fan-fiction of the film, and then it got weird. Now weird is fine, and the author pulls it off. However, it went in an unexpected direction, of which I’m still ambivalent.

As I said, the first book is like a retelling of the film, Labyrinth, but it goes beyond the film, showing what would have happened if the Goblin King and the protagonist became lovers. I enjoyed that. What I didn’t enjoy was their actual relationship. It read more as codependency and not actual romance. (Hence my soapbox.) And then in the second novel, the codependency continues, but with the protagonist and her younger brother.

I had a difficult time with accepting these narratives because I felt the characters never developed, never achieved true transformation, but rather accepted their flaws and became their darkness instead of overcoming their weaknesses. Only why I think that’s an issue is well beyond the boundaries of this particular blog post.

Though, I’ll ask you this, “Name me a hero you admire who does not have a redemptive arch or quality in their story.” I say this because heroes, protagonists are the archetypes of ourselves, and do we not look for redemption, rescuing from our darkness? To overcome and conquer it? And thus inspiration we too can achieve such seemingly impossible success?

And perhaps this particular author was exploring what it would be like if there was no redemption. Maybe in her eyes, her characters were redeemed. For me, though, it wasn’t enough. I wanted more.

It’s too difficult to explain the nuances of it all, to articulate and encapsulate my own reckoning, or lack thereof, with her themes and characters. And that’s my problem. It’s also just my opinion, not fact.

In spite of whatever discrepancies I may or may not have with this duology, I did find the overall story fascinating. And perhaps my grappling with the minutia of this story was the effect the author hoped for in her readers. I’m definitely intrigued, just…not in a way I enjoy. It’s like eating something delicious only to feel slightly sick afterwards: you question if the delight was worth the discomfort.

The Traitor’s Game by Jennifer A. Neilsen

I don’t know what I was expecting when I chose this, but it sounded intriguing enough I’d give it a chance. Unfortunately, as sometimes happens with teen fiction, your characters act like teenagers. This definitely happened in The Traitor’s Game. I hated it.

Now the overall story was gripping, daring, and almost like reading a mystery novel at times. However, when your three main characters are three bickering teenagers, you get really bored really fast. What was the most annoying was the protagonist and deuteragonist, who become each other’s romantic interests, never trusted one another. Never. Not until the last twenty pages of the book. It was infuriating.

Here’s why: there’s nothing to be gained or lost, challenged or supported by mistrust. Mistrust is a result of isolation. Isolation is vile. Trusting is when you put your heart on the line, you allow vulnerability, and through the circumstances which test said trust, a person is either empowered or corrupted. Thus, if this is teen fiction, we are setting our children up for failure by merely teaching them, subconsciously, to be successful you must isolate yourself by not trusting anyone.

And I know, I’m reading teen fiction. You might argue it has to be this way because authors have to write characters which correlate to teenagers and their problems, appealing to their sense of self-identification. I counter this argument with, “No; we shouldn’t have to accommodate teenagers. We should be giving them examples of fearless characters who transcend their problems, their circumstances to become better individuals.”

It’s this theme within the narrative which made enjoying the book so difficult for me because otherwise I would have wholly enjoyed this novel. However, the lack of trust between the two main characters, which is never redeemed, in my opinion, embitters the entire story for me.

Again, just my opinion. I’m still going to read the next book in this series whenever it comes out just because the drama in this plot is that good.

Also, the way the author flips back and forth between the perspectives of the two main characters is brilliant. At first, it was unnerving, but after a few pages, you don’t notice. Additionally, her capability of revealing significant details through the eyes of the opposing character, which might otherwise be missed, was astounding. It was this device which gave the story a mystery novel essence.

Honourable Mentions

I mention these novels because I’ve read them, but not the entire series they are a part of, which is why I have not included them in this final review. Meaning, I’ll discuss their contents after concluding the series. I find that’s easier\ not just to write, but for readers to follow.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Temeraire Series by Naomi Novik, including: