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*new*Cat's Random List of Recommended Authors
*new*Cat's Recommended Booklist Cat's Recommended Summer Reading *new*Cat's Recommended Picture Books For Grownups |
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Looking for books where the heroine isn't a damsel in distress or just a female version of Conan? Here's a list of authors and books that I consider have innovative heroines:
(The first book is On the Basilisk Station, so you know which one to start on.) ...to name a few... phew! Okay, most of these are big names, and I intentionally left out some other big names. They're personal preferences, so if you don't agree, too bad, but if you do share some favorite authors and see some that you haven't read, go ahead and give them a try. |
| Title | Author | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| The Dark Is Rising Sequence | Susan Cooper | Synopsis: A five book sequence about the six who are involved in the fight between the Light and the Dark. The first book, a great summer reading titled Over Sea Under Stone, introduces the 3 Drew children and their great uncle Merry. Simon, Jane, and Barnabas are invited to spend their summer vacation with their Great Uncle Merry. They are renting a house that belongs to a ship's captain, and when they go exploring, they find a really old map that might be a treasure map! The next day, the house is broken into, but nothing valuable was stolen except some of the maps on the wall. Obviously the thieves were looking for the map that the children found, but how did they know? As they start to explore the mystery of the map with some help from their Great Uncle Merry, the Drew children are inexorcibly drawn into the fight between the Dark and the Light.
The second book, The Dark Is Rising is a Newberry Award Winner, and it introduces Will Stanton, the key figure in the fight against the Dark. This book is a great winter holiday reading because the story takes place around Christmas time. It is also around Will's birthday, and strange things are happening around Will as his birthday nears. Why are the rooks attacking him and what will happen on the night of his birthday? The third book, Greenwitch brings Will Stanton and the Drew children together. In this very short book, Jane plays a key role in helping the Light regain what has been lost. In the fourth book, The Gray King (another Newberry Award Winner) Will Stanton is recovering from a illness that has befuddled his mind. He is sent off to Wales where he can recuperate. There he will discover the words that he has lost despite the threat of the Gray King who is one of the lords of the Dark. The fifth book, Silver on the Tree concludes the sequences with the final battle between the Light and Dark. The Dark is rising. Will the six be able to raise the Light so that they can defeat the Dark for once and for all? Cat's Comments: Over Sea Under Stone is probably the very first fantasy that I knew in English. I don't say "read" because I didn't read it. My fourth grade teacher read it to us. Of course, that was only my second year in the U.S., so I probably missed a lot, but even then, I greatly enjoyed the book. So much so that I later collected the whole series and read it...probably in high school. I don't remember. I reread the whole thing again this summer just because, and I've reconfirmed my love for the characters. What I really like about this sequence is how all the characters are so very real, humane, yet lovable. I like how Jane, the heroine, actually has some active roles and does not fade away as Susan did in the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. Greenwitch is still a favorite of mine, and I also like The Silver on the Tree with its realistic yet cute ending. Although the sequence can be read by children 10 or older, I definitely recommend these books to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy. The characters are usually very mature, so it shouldn't be difficult to step into their perspectives. Date Added to List: 05.08.31 | Genre: Young Adult Fantasy |
| The Bitterbynde Trilogy | Cecelia Dart-Thornton | Synopsis: The trilogy follows the tale of the heroine who is, in the first book, under a curse and is mute. She has no memory of her past. The trilogy is her journey of recovering her past and at the same time finding out the mystery of who is hunting her down so mercilessly.
Cat's Comments: There are several fascinating aspects to this trilogy and author. First of all, the language is fabulous. The turns of phrases that she uses in her descriptions are quite beautiful, and with them, she creates a fully three dimensional world for the reader. Further more, this trilogy is spattered with so many folktales about the other kind (ie, the fair folk, the faerie, what have you) so that you are regaled not only with the main story but all these sub-stories. It's a ton of reading, I have to admit, but the trilogy is a must read, especially if you enjoy Celtic folktales and authors like Marion Zimmer Bradley and Patricia A. McKillip. Date Added to List: 05.07.27 | Genre: Fantasy |
| Howl's Moving Castle | Diana Wynne Jones | Synopsis: The heroine, the eldest of three daughters is sure that she must fail in all of her endeavors, because it's only the youngest who is always successful whether in love or adventure. She knows she's bound to fail, but that doesn't mean she gives up. Whether she fails or not, she has to try, doesn't she?
Cat's Comments: A quick light reading for anyone who enjoys a good fairytale. The targeted audience is young adult, so the content is a bit too flighty for my taste; nonetheless, it makes for a worthwhile reading. If you're looking for a gift for a teenage girl who enjoys fairytales, I recommend this one. It's a story about gaining self-confidence, in a way. Further Commentary: This is the novel on which Miyazaki Hayao based his movie, Howl's Moving Castle. Date Added to List: 05.07.27 | Genre: Young Adult Fantasy |
| The Wizard Hunters | Martha Wells | Synopsis: Ile-Rien is underattack, and the heroine's just had enough of her life, when a visitor necessitates her on a trip that turns out to be a far bigger adventure than anticipated.
Cat's Comments: The backcover of this book completely did not reflect the content, I have to say. I like the heroine for her odd sense of humor and a firm sense of responsibility. Aside from good solid characters, the setting is fascinating. The heroine and the hero are from different cultures, to say the least, and it's darn funny during the first part when they can't communicate very well with each other because neither speak's the other's language. There's magic, a suspicious government agent, a magical sphere that seems to be sentient, and perhaps a touch of romance. What more can you ask for? I can't wait to read the next book. Date Added to List: 05.07.27 | Genre: Fantasy |
| Title | Author | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| The Things They Carried | Tim O'Brien | I read this once in high school for regular lit class, and then in college for Vietnam War Literature course. It's like a fictional memoire based on the author's experience during the Vietnam War. It is emotionally intense, so I wouldn't recommend it for younger children, but otherwise, it's a good reading, especially right now with the wars that the U.S. is involved in. It makes you think about war, the people who have to go, because even though there is no draft right now, it isn't as if the people who were in the army at the time war started wanted to go to the war. There wasn't any choice for them to back out of it, especially since their living may depend on the job.
Any other of O'Brien's books is a good read as well as other Vietnam War literature. I forgot the authors that we've read in that class, but they really made you think about the war, before, during, and after. The after part is important too. Soldiers expect to come home to a hero's welcome, yet they definitely won't be coming home to an unmixed reaction right now. The situation may be better than it was in Vietnam, but I bet things haven't changed so much that the government would take care of their soldiers that they sent out to kill and maim. Date Added to List: 05.07.27 | Genre: Literature /Fiction |
| Night | Eli Wiesel | I hope I spelled that name right. This one is about the Holocaust, and I've read it only once, unfortunately, back in high school, so I don't remember too much about it, but I remember enough to know that it is definitely another good reading. Again, this is emotionally intense, but what war novel would not be?
This novel gives you the perspective from the victim's side and hopefully make people realize that it isn't "we" and "they" but all human beings. People are different, but they deserve equal and fair treatment, and equal is not the synonym for same. Date Added to List: 05.07.27 | Genre: Literature /Fiction |
| Title | Author | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| The Alphabet Tree | Leo Lionni | A very short picture book by the same author as Swimmy and Frederick, and just like those other two books, The Alphabet Tree has a very sharp point to make. It is almost like a political commentary, and children would not understand the ending. They would probably ask "why?" at the end, making the reader think about it, if they haven't already.
A very cute and timely book. Date Added to List: 05.08.31 | Genre: Children's Picture Book |
| The Name Jar | Yansook | A fellow coworker recommended this book when I was looking at another picture book called My Name Was Hussein. As you can guess from these titles, the book, The Name Jar is about names. A young Korean girl has moved over to the U.S., but on the first day of her class in the U.S., she says that she has no name.
To find out why the main character made this claim, drop by the local library and read the book! Hopefully it will make you think twice! Date Added to List: 05.08.31 | Genre: Children's Picture Book |