Book Review: Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

Book: Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

Genre: Fantasy/fairytale retelling

Length: 300+ pages

General Setup: Aza is a girl with a beautiful voice, but a not so beautiful face in a kingdom where both are highly valued. She grows up as an innkeeper's daughter, but life soon changes when, through a chance happening she attends the King's wedding and is blackmailed into becoming the new queen's lady in waiting.

Characters: The book is told through Aza's limited perspective. The characters are well fleshed out, but some intrigue is kept - sometimes I wonder what other characters are thinking. I liked (and also hated) the main antagonist. The author does a good job of making you hate them, but also feel sorry for them because they have to live with themselves.

Plot: The book is based loosely on the tale of Snow White, although the world and culture are entirely the author's. I say based loosely, because while all the main characters of the story are present (a girl with raven hair and red lips, a queen, a magic mirror, a prince, a huntsman, and dwarves, or in our case gnomes) the story of the book less follows the plot of Snow White and more incorporates it's elements while adding other devices and structures to tell a unique story. One of the elements the book relies on to set itself apart are the songs written in the book (no music, just lyrics). These add to the world building and help the reader to imagine the setting the author is working to create. One of the main themes of Fairest is how it touches upon body image and beauty standards. 

Ending: The ending of Fairest ties the book up pretty well. I appreciated the small, but adequate glimpse into the future the epilogue gives the reader. Not everything is divulged, be we get enough to get a picture of what will happen. The falling action of the book itself had a few sudden events that I was not expecting, but I have nothing to complain about.

Other Media: Gail Carson Levine has written many other fairytale-esque books (even a book on how to write books!). All of them are worth checking out, especially "Ella Enchanted," a companion book to "Fairest." 

Similar Books: If you are interested in fairytale retellings where the heroine defies society's standards, check out "Golden" by Cameron Dokey. It is a retelling of Rapunzel, expect Rapunzel has alopecia and no hair!

Book Review: Prisoner of PSI by Annabel and Edgar Johnson

Title: Prisoner of PSI
Author: Annabel and Edgar Johnson
Genre: 80's dystopian literature
Pages: 149

General Setup: As with most of their works, PSI is written in the 1980's, set in the near future (early 2000's) and based in Denver, Colorado. The title has a dual meaning as there are actually 2 prisoners in this book. The first is Emory Morgan, a psychic who is captured by terrorists. The second is his son Tristan, who while trying to rescue his father is held captive by his own psychic capabilities.

Characters: The point of view for PSI switches occasionally. Mostly it stays with Tristan, but it also changes to the terrorist's point of view. This allows the reader can see the other side of the coin. Most of Tristan's pov is recorded in the form of a journal. In this way, the reader is able to get inside his head. He is an entertaining and fleshed-out character. Although only 17, he is mature beyond his years and quite self-aware. In addition, the authors do a good job of incorporating the other characters with all their quirks.

Plot: The epistolary nature of the method of storytelling has the chance to be confusing, but the authors have a good handle on the story and avoid this plot hole, for the most part. I paticularly enjoy the Johnsons' way of phrasing things. Their prose is unique and they are creative in coming up with inventive ways of expressing common ideas.

Ending: The end of the book is not entirely what I expected and a few strings are left untied. However, the main points have been resolved and the reader is left with a positive outlook for the character's futures.

Things to Watch Out For: Some language. Some exploration of the psychic realm and supernatural powers.

Other Media: The Johnsons have written other books, such as A Memory of Dragons and The Burning Glass. A lot of their work is set in the Denver area in Colorado, with a futuristic twist.

Book Review: A Memory of Dragons by Annabel and Edgar Johnson

Title: A Memory of Dragons
Authors: Annabel and Edgar Johnson
Genre: 80's dystopian literature
Pages: 170

     For as much emphasis put on it in the title, there are surprisingly few dragons in this book, sorry to disappoint. Instead you get a wonderfully written tale set in the present future. This book was written in the 1980's, looking into the future of the early 2000's. It is interesting to compare the world proposed in these pages with the one we have today.

General Setup: In trying to recover his lost memory Paul Killian stumbles into a world of espionage, double agents, and a stage set for war. The only problem is, he doesn't know which side he is on.

Characters: The cast of characters is sizable and varied, but not so large that it is impossible to keep track of everyone. As a main character, Paul is intriguing, with a self-deprecating sense of humor. I liked him, but at only 18 he does seem to be a bit more mature beyond his years than would warrant. This isn't a bad thing necessarily, but it is kind of strange when you think about it. I like Paul and all, but the Bucket of Bolts (Paul's bike) is the true MVP in this story!

Plot: For a spy book, things seem to move rather slowly. This isn't your standard high stake adrenaline rush, although some of that does come in the end. It takes Paul a little bit to figure out what exactly is going on. However, the slower pace allows the authors to explore some interesting sub plots, like the American Civil War and other character developments, as well as Paul rediscovering his own backstory. The prose of the book is really what won me over. The authors have a sense of expressing themselves in ways that are new and fresh, especially in their descriptions. If you have ever watched Orlan Rogers and heard some of his descriptions (For example: He had a head shaped like a vertical watermelon and the agility of a of a hammock....He was odd.) then you might have a sense of what I am talking about.

Ending: The last few chapters of Dragons are exciting and a bit more action-packed, with several plot points coming to resolution. There is a bit of confusion at the very end as to where the ending fits with the rest of the narrative (the book is written in various stages of retrospect, similar to Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley). Despite that, the end feels resolved and polished - there is even a title drop on the last page to bring things full-circle.

Other Media: The Johnsons have written other books, such as Prisoner of PSI and The Burning Glass. A lot of their work is set in the Denver area in Colorado, with a futuristic twist.

Things to Watch For: Deals with war and child abuse.





 

Book Review: Dead Men Don't Crochet

Book: Dead Men Don’t Crochet
Author: Betty Hechtman
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 278 pages

General Setup: Molly Pink works at a bookstore as the event curator and is involved in a local crochet guild. When a member of the guild becomes a suspect for the murder of a local business owner Molly jumps in to solve the crime.

Characters: This book has a large cast of characters - too large, in fact. As I was reading through I had trouble keeping all of the characters straight. Some seem to be holdovers from the prequel, but there were too many and I thought some of their roles could be combined to lighten the cast. Molly is unique, if not particularly memorable. She seems to be a middle aged housewife with mad cooking skills who is not afraid to ask strangers investigative questions or follow them on the way home. I did like how the author made her very real and down to earth in her snooping tactics - no James Bond hijinks for Molly Pink!

Plot: For this being a mystery novel, I was surprised at how slow the plot proceeded. Days didn’t have clear definitions, so I’m not entirely certain how many in-book days it took for Molly to find out ‘who dun it’. What kept me reading were the crochet references, some interesting subplots, and a morbid curiosity of, what social construct will Molly break next?

Ending: I am happy to say that I did not expect ‘who dun it’ and was surprised to discover the identity of the culprit. On the upside, everything came together and made sense. However, this isn’t a mystery that the reader could solve on their own because all of the clues didn’t come in until the very end. This doesn’t necessarily detract from the story, so I wouldn’t pay it too much mind.

Things to Watch For: Some adult themes are referenced.

Other Media: Betty Hechtman has written several other mysteries involving yarn and needle arts, including an ongoing series with Molly Pink and the Tarzana Hookers. As of this writing, Dead Men Don’t Crochet is the 2nd of 12.

Book Review: Kashka by Ellen Kindt McKenzie

Book: Kashka by Ellen Kindt McKenzie
Genre: Fantasy, adventure
Rating: Old family favorite

Other Media: Starting a review with a category out of order? Unheard of! Kashka is actually a prequel to a book we previously reviewed - Taash and the Jesters. With that in mind, I will be doing some comparisons between the two. That isn’t to say that the books aren’t strong enough to stand by themselves. Each is able to stand independent of the other. However, as a set I would recommend reading Taash first because even though it comes later chronologically, things are revealed in Kashka that would spoil certain plot points for the reader.

General Set up: That being said, I’m not going to go too much into the basis for this book. It is set in the same world as Taash and the Jesters and essentially tells the story of the two jesters, Piff and Kashka, in their youth and ‘how it all began.’

Plot: The pacing for this book is slightly different than it’s sequel. The pace is still overall sprightly enough to keep your attention, but there are a couple time skips and the events themselves are spread out over a longer period of time. Also, the author occasionally leaves details that need to be inferred in order for the reader to 100% understand what is going on.

Characters: One of the things I appreciated about this book was the way the author handled the characters of Piff and Kashka. In some cases, as the series goes on and characters grow their personalities tend to warp and they don’t seem to be the same characters you fell in love with in the original. In Kashka the author does a good job of keeping the essence of the characters the same. I also enjoyed getting to know some of the minor characters from Taash better and seeing little Easter eggs from the story to come. The author bounces back and forth from different character’s perspectives to tell the story, but is still able to keep the flow of the story and keep it a continuous whole.

Ending: Obviously, the end of the book is just the beginning of a whole other story. However, despite the daunting task ahead of them, the books ends on a light note with the two main characters seemingly ready to take on the world.

Things to Watch For: I mentioned this in my other review for this series. This book contains elements of witchcraft. Compared with Taash, Kashka has a darker feel to it, overall. Again, I won’t be taking time at the moment to discuss in depth the topic of witchcraft in literature, I just want to let you know that it is present.

Book Review: Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Book: “Just Ella” by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Genre: Fairy tale retelling with a little romance, action, and plenty of sass thrown in there for good measure
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Times I have read this: At least 6

General Setup: A retelling, of sorts, of Cinderella - except this story begins after the ‘happily ever after’ starts. And it isn’t quite as happy as they said.

Characters: I really enjoyed Ella as a character. She had a lot of spunk that brought the story to life and made it unique. Haddix does a great job with the other characters as well. The only character that seemed flat was the prince, but I think that was the point.

Plot: Even though “Just Ella” is based off of a pre-existing storyline, it has enough original elements that it becomes its own story. For example, there is a war going on. These new elements add to the story and shape it so that is can stand alone from the original material. Another thing I enjoyed were the use of flashbacks. Often, flashbacks can be annoying and interrupt the natural flow of the story. However, with “Just Ella,” Haddix places the flashbacks well so that they add important information and do not interrupt the flow of the narrative.

Ending: With the addition of unique plot elements, this story heads in an entirely different direction. The book certainly ends differently than the fairytale. However, I still liked the ending. It gave a good sense of resolution and really showed how much Ella had grown as a character.

Other media: Margaret Peterson Haddix is the author of many other books, including a two companion volumes to “Just Ella.” These are “Palace of Mirrors,” and “Palace of Lies.” Together the three books make up the Palace Chronicles series.

Ideal audience: I would recommend this book for readers middle school age and up. Some adult themes are touched on lightly.

Guest Book Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Thanks to "L" for writing this review!

Title: The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Genre: Historical Fiction
Length: 552 pages (the pages are not very long)

General setup: Death has a story to tell. It’s about Liesel Meminger, a German book thief living in Nazi Germany during one of the busiest times for Death: World War II. In Death’s words: “It’s just a small story really, about, among other things:

• A girl 
• Some words 
• An accordionist 
• Some fanatical Germans 
• A Jewish fist fighter 
• And quite a lot of thievery” (Zusak 5) 

Characters: Death is the narrator of The Book Thief, and I feel that I got to know Death because of little passages he would insert about himself. In The Book Thief, Death is not the traditional idea of the Grim Reaper but is more human like.
     Liesel, the main character is a girl given up for adoption along with her brother who dies on the way to their adoptive parents’ house. Shortly thereafter, Liesel steals a book called “ The Gravedigger’s Handbook”. I would say that Liesel is a dynamic character because she becomes stronger in the face of difficulties and begins learning the power of words when she learns to read.
     Hans Hubermann a.k.a. Papa is the adoptive father of Liesel. He mostly is a static character, but he provides much needed support.
     Rosa Hubermann a.k.a. Mama is the adoptive mother of Liesel. She is a strict, foul-mouthed woman, but she is also a round character and shows a loving side.
     Rudy is the love interest and best friend of Liesel. He is a very lovable and fun character.
     Max is the Jew that the Hubermanns decide to hide. He has many physical and emotional struggles. He is a companion to and changes Liesel.

Plot: This story is not a suspense or quest sort of story, but it is a recounting of events. The author will focus on a specific event and then skip several months. This didn’t bother me because it is how someone telling their own story would write: important events are recounted and many daily activities are skipped. Also, I could tolerate the time skips because they happened constantly. The plot revolves around Liesel surviving and finding meaning in life in Nazi Germany. Another big part is Liesel discovering the power of words beginning with learning to read. Although not particularly suspenseful, I still found myself reading The Book Thief at an alarming rate.

Ending:The ending did not come as a surprise because Death had forewarned the readers several times. However, I still had my heart ripped in shreds and cried for a while when I read the ending. While the ending is not a surprise, it is still just as, or even more, effective than if it was a surprise. In summary: “I laughed, I cried. It moved me, Bob.”

Other media: There is a movie. It is rather good for a movie adaptation, but I think that the book is better.

Things to watch out for: There are quite a few curse words used throughout the book, but I felt like swearing was not overused and fit the characters. This book takes place in Nazi Germany, so there is also the cold realities of life. Some of the material might be disturbing, but I would argue it is necessary to remember the atrocities committed to prevent repeating them.

Who should read: Many of my friends, my dad, and I have all read this book and loved it. Anyone high school age or older should read this book, regardless of whether they are an avid reader or not.

Check it Out! - Review of Radical by David Platt

    As mentioned in our book review preview video Kay is breaking down the book "Radical" by David Platt chapter by chapter.

     To find out more about the book and read her reviews visit her blog: If To Live is Christ

     I may be biased, but I really enjoyed her most recent post, titled "The Radical Experiment." It was really good! Go read it!

Book Review: Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck

Book: Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck

Genre: Teen fiction, action, adventure, romance, Indian mythology

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Times I have read this: 1st time

General Set-up: Kelsey has just graduated from high school. Eager to earn some money to help pay for college she hires on as a temporary worker for a travelling circus stopping by. Among her duties at the circus, she assists the animal handler in taking care of the star of the show; a white Bengal tiger. Kelsey becomes fascinated with the tiger and spends her free time in his presence, often reading to him. When her time at the circus is almost up a man approaches the circus master about buying the tiger and returning him to a reserve in India. He finds out that Kelsey has become accustomed to the tiger and invites her to travel with them to India to ensure that the tiger has a good transition. Kelsey has become attached to the tiger and wants to spend some more time with him before leaving, plus being paid to travel to a foreign country for a few weeks is a deal she can’t pass up.

Characters: Kelsey may have just graduated from high school, but she has also been orphaned recently. Her parents were killed in a car accident a few years previous. Because of this she pushes her emotions deep inside and hasn’t had the chance to truly grieve for her parents’ death. Currently, she lives with a foster family who cares for her. Ren (short for Dhiren) is a centuries old Indian prince who suffers from a curse (think Beauty and the Beast with a twist). To be honest, I didn’t connect with the main characters that well.  

Plot: The plot for Tiger’s Curse takes a little while to get going. This is both a good and a bad thing. The bad thing is that the reader has to progress 80+ pages into the book before getting introduced to the main conflict. The good thing is that this allows for a smooth transition from ‘student looking for a summer job’ to something I would expect to find in an Indian version of the Percy Jackson series. Once things got going, the action and tension continue to build until the end. I would say that the author leans too heavily on romantic tension in the last ⅓ of the book, but maybe that’s just me getting disillusioned by teen fiction.

Ending: To be honest I was somewhat frustrated with the ending of the book. Part of this was due to the romantic tension going on and wanting to hit the main character over the head with the book. However, aside from this, the ending is well done. The pacing slows to an acceptable halt at an appropriate place. Even if I did not completely agree with the main character’s decisions, resolution is given and some potential threads are hinted at to set up for the sequel.

Things to Watch For: This book deals with Indian mythology and presents a different religion with various deities. Also, some of the scenes between Kelsey and Ren get a little steamy.

Other media: Tiger’s Curse is the first in a currently on-going series. The author, Colleen Houck, has also published several other books of similar genres.

Length: 400 pages (about)

Eragon (book) Review

Title: Eragon (Book 1 of the Inheritance series)

Author: Christopher Paolini

Genre: Fantasy, action, adventure, magic

Length: 500 pages
3.5 out of 5 stars

Notes: Eragon is the first book of four in the Inheritance series. It is also the first book that I read over 150 pages. It introduced me to the world of reading: a journey I have never looked back on. Eragon is the first book that showed me all that books can be. Because of this, I recommend that everyone read Eragon. Like thousands of readers, this book shows us that reading is an adventure.

General Setup: While hunting, Eragon finds a strange polished stone. It is soon revealed that the stone is actually a dragon egg. He is faced with two choices: join the empire he hates, or become like the dragon riders of old, risking his life. Eragon is thrust into a world with new rules he doesn’t understand.

Characters: Although I feel like I say this a lot, characters are very often what makes or breaks a book. The evolution of Eragon throughout the book is drastic at times and non-existent at others. At first, he appears to be nothing more than the stereotypical fantasy character. As the book Eragon progresses, he slowly changes, his emotions, beliefs, and convictions change as matures. Eragon is a coming of age story, and we quickly see Eragon go from a naive country boy to a battle-hardened warrior.  

The other character of consequence is Brom. Admittedly, I was rather disappointed when he was introduced. Of course the young protagonist has a wise, old mentor! But much like Eragon himself, Brom’s character evolved in the story. He began as a simply story-teller, but was really so much more. On the surface, Brom appears to be an Obi-Wan-like character, Eragon being very similar to Luke Skywalker. But as the story progresses, each character has their own presence that stands apart from the works they were based on.

Plot: What can I say about the plot? From the get-go it seems obvious that Paolini takes his cues from books in the same genre. Orcs--I mean Urgals (how could I ever mix those up?) are introduced in the first pages. Many of the different races bear uncanny similarities to much of Tolkien's work. Not that imitating Lord of the Rings is bad, but Eragon lacked originality in the beginning. But much like the character development, the further you read in Eragon, the more original the story becomes. And considering that Eragon is not only Paolini’s first work, but also how young he was when it was written, I can hardly find this a fault. I know of authors far more experienced that are far less original than Eragon! While ignoring the similarities to Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, the plot itself is sound.

The writing style itself is something that takes some getting used to. At times the writing is very flowery, and rather pretentious. This can make it difficult to understand for younger (and even older) readers. One of the most unique characteristics to Paolini’s writing is the many tangents that the books explore. Some see this as a flaw, but I see it as a strength. It retains a life-like quality. Many conversations with people are random, much like Paolini’s writing tangents. It gives the book a feel of a conversation, something I greatly enjoyed. But be warned, just because something comes up in conversation doesn’t mean that it will be talked about later on in the book.   

Ending: As I mentioned before, Eragon is the first book of four. The actual ending for Eragon is not a cliffhanger. It brings to an end most of the conflicts built within the book, but not anything like the end for the series. Many things are left undone, and the King still sits on his his throne.

Other media: Eragon was adapted into a movie, but we all try to forget that it happened. Think worse than the adaption of Dragon Ball Z and the Hollywood version of Ghost in the Shell combined. Or even worse. Seriously, that is two hours of my life that I will never get back.  

Things to watch out for: There is some brief language in the book, and some of the battles are gory.
The other topic I wish to address is the magic within the book. Some Christians believe that if any book has magic it is "witchcraft" and should not be read. (Although that logic breaks down when you realize the most read Christian fiction books are The Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings, both of which have magic.) I believe there is a difference in a book having magic as a plot device and a book promoting the use of witchcraft. Eragon falls into the previous category, as magic is used as a tool within the series. I believe that Paolini is not encouraging anyone to try and curse anyone else. Magic is simply part of the world of Alagaesia, not evil nor good. Magic is an amoral force.

Book Review: Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley

Book Review: Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Genre: Fantasy

Times I have read this: 3+

General Setup: Jake Mendoza isn’t your average 15 year old. For one thing, his dad is the head director at Smokehill National Park, a wildlife reserve for dragons. Dragons are a slowly disappearing species and it is a federal offense to kill one. Ironically, it is an even bigger crime to aid in saving a dragon’s life. But when Jake stumbles upon a dying mother dragon he doesn’t hesitate to rescue the last of her just-born brood. Not only is this action loaded with political implications, but it marks a turning point in human-dragon relations.

Characters: Dragonhaven is written from the perspective of Jake, after the events have taken place. This means that we see everything through Jake’s eyes. So, things can be kind of limited to what Jake experienced, as opposed to what else is going on that he is unaware of. However, hindsight allows for clarification. Because of this Jake’s voice comes through the pages quite clearly. He has his own peculiar way of describing events and people around him. His use of metaphors and similes can be quite amusing. Throughout the book you can definitely see Jake’s character change. Having grown up on Smokehill his childhood differs vastly from most kids. What is more, the death of his mother and dog at a young age affects him deeply. Also, I thought that the dragons (yes, there are dragons) were well-written in this book. They are sufficiently alien, while retaining some human qualities.

Plot: There’s a lot of stuff in Dragonhaven, a lot of words, a lot of stories, and a lot of worldbuilding. Sometimes it just bogs you down. Plus, Jake likes to talk a lot. However, his rambles and rants are fairly well interspersed between bits of action and more interesting parts of narrative.

Ending: The ending is a bit drawn out. For example, the epilogue is roughly 50 pages long. That’s a long epilogue! On the bright side, most of the threads are pretty well tied up, but it’s still pretty long. Of course, at that point you’re pretty well invested in the book, so it's more of a blessing than a burden.

Things to Watch For: Mild profanity.

Other media: Dragonhaven is a stand-alone book, but Robin McKinley has written a lot of other fantasy-genre books.

Length: 342 pages

Book Review: Poppy

It's our first book review guys!

Book: Poppy by Avi

Genre: Children’s novel

Rating: This book is the essence of my childhood, so I cannot in good faith come up with a numbered rating for this book without being biased. Feel free to read the rest of my review and judge for yourself.

General Setup: This book starts out with a description of the villain. Now, this guy is bad to the bone. He is evil, he is despicable, and he kills without mercy. One night he is looking for his next mark and he spots a couple on a top of a hill: a skater dude and his home-schooled girlfriend. The villain strikes, killing the skater instantly and grazing the girl.

That is pretty much how this book starts out, except I have omitted one detail: All the characters are animals!

Characters: The villain I mentioned before is an owl named Mr. Ocax who rules over an area called Dimwood Forest. He keeps his subjects in line by requiring them to ask permission before leaving their immediate territory. In exchange for this he promises to protect them from the menacing porcupine. Enter Ereth the porcupine, a crotchety, foul-mouthed and generally grumpy sweetheart. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the biology of porcupines, they are herbivores. So the fact that Mr. Ocax promises to protect the mice from porcupines is somewhat ridiculous (something I missed out on when I first read this book in second grade). Something else I didn’t pick up on right away is that Ereth’s full name (Erethizon Dorsatum) is actually the Latin name for porcupines -> fun fact! And finally, we get to Poppy, our main character! Throughout the book she grows past her timidness and benefits from venturing beyond her home. We get to see her grow as a character and join her in her first adventure!

Plot: To be honest, this book is only 160 pages. And it is aimed for an elementary-aged audience (kids 8 -12 to be exact). Those two factors could potentially lead to the plot being watered down, but that did not happen. Granted, the plot is not as intricate and complex as other books that are aimed for older audiences. However, Avi did really well with this book in that the characters drive the plot and the plot doesn’t drive the characters. What I am trying to say is that the plot advances because of decisions made by characters and how those decisions affect other characters, not because things happen for the benefit of things happening. Also, the little details that Avi inserts into the story really help it to come alive. Like, the side characters have personality! And Avi carefully chooses his words to present the best image with his words.

Ending: On one hand, I feel like Avi could have ended the book at the end of the second to last chapter. Like, Poppy is back home, Ereth has been reunited with the love of his life, and the conflict is resolved. However, the last chapter (which is all of six paragraphs) ends the book on a nice note and not Poppy’s father awkwardly jumping on the bandwagon at the last second.

Things to Watch For: Some characters die, but it isn’t really graphic. I read this in 2nd grade, okay?

Sights: Since this was a book you weren’t expecting to see this section, were you? Well, Poppy includes illustrations scattered throughout the pages by Brian Floca. They really add to the experience of the book, so I’m just gonna take a minute to talk about them.

First of all, the illustrations did not inhibit my ability to enjoy the book as a work. While reading the book I was able to form my own mind pictures that were independent from what the illustrations looked like. Also, the illustrations and the text really blended well together. This includes not only how the pictures illustrate the text, but how they were placed on the page.

Secondly, Brian Floca is a very talented illustrator. He has a large body of work varying in style and genre. For the illustrations in Poppy he works in graphite, and let me tell you they are beautiful in their attention to detail and composition!

Other media: I’ve gotten this mixed up before, but technically Poppy is the second book in a six-book series, even if it was written first chronologically.