FIC Halpern, Jake and Peter Kujawinski. Dormia, 506 pgs. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009.
After learning that he is a descendant of Dormia, a hidden kingdom in the Ural Mountains whose inhabitants possess the ancient power of "wakeful sleeping," Alfonso sets out on a mission to save the kingdom from destruction, discovering secrets that lurk in his own sleep. Traveling with Bilblox, Hill, and a magic-inducing plant, Alfonso has some wonderful adventures fighting off killer plants, competing in a relay race on a pair of decaying ships, sailing across the frozen seas, following a haunted forest path, withstanding winter storms, and entering Dormia. Once there, he must help defeat those who have infultrated this hidden world and are set on killing the founding tree that keeps them alive. Final pages include selected Dormian hieroglyphs and the national anthem of Dormia. I found the adventures creative and well written. However, personally, I just don't find very exciting the possibility of having great abilities that exhibit themselves only when you're sleeping. Alfonso has to go to sleep before he can perform at the level needed to outwit and defeat his opponents. That just seems wrong, somehow.
MS - ADVISABLE.
FIC Malley, Gemma. The Declaration, 301 pgs. Bloomsbury, 2007.In 2140 England, the drug Longevity has eradicated old age a century previously, but as the death rate plummeted, resource shortages became critical and children became an insupportable luxury. By 16 years of age, all people have to either sign The Declaration, allowing the use of Longevity but forbidding children, or Opt-Out. This story begins as Surplus Anna finally starts writing in the journal she received from Mrs. Sharpe last year after working for her for a few weeks. Accepting gifts isn’t allowed by Surpluses, and writing is strictly forbidden, but she can’t resist. She has a perfect hiding place for it and feels both heady and incredibly guilty as she periodically writes down some of her thoughts. Anna is living at Grange Hall and training to become a house servant. She is usually obedient, trying to earn her release as a Valuable Asset where she’ll work for a Legal to make up for the resources she has no rights to but is using up nevertheless. Anna has been taught to hate her parents for breaking the law and to accept that she has no rights to any resources or personal freedoms, since she shouldn’t exist in the first place. When a new Pending Surplus arrives, Anna’s world view is challenged. Peter claims to know her parents and insists that they love her and want her back. When she overhears House Matron Mrs. Pincent speaking about her with disgust and planning to kill Peter, she realizes that Peter is right, and that they must get out before it is too late. With the sadistic catchers, the bitter and revengeful Mrs. Pincent, and a little-used escape clause in The Declaration, this story is a believable glimpse into a troubling future as well as an examination of the meaning of love.
MS, HS – ESSENTIAL.
FIC Berry, Julie. The Amaranth Enchantment, 308 pgs. Bloomsbury, 2009.Lucinda’s loving and wealthy parents died when she was five, taking with them most of the love and all of the wealth from Lucinda’s life. Now fifteen, she is being raised by her cruel aunt and henpecked uncle and her life at her uncle’s jewelry shop mostly resembles that of an unpaid servant. Three unusual visitors in one day – the beautiful woman Beryl with the incredibly enormous and perfectly round gem needing a new setting, the initially unrecognized crown prince Gregor looking for the perfect gift for his soon-to-be betrothed, and the pickpocket Peter who enters her room’s window late that night looking for a hiding spot – and the death of her uncle the next morning send Lucinda’s life in a new direction. With some elements reminiscent of Cinderella, this fairy tale-like story is great fun, always moving, with a great mix of twists, romance, and extraterrestrial powers to keep the reader turning pages.
MS – ESSENTIAL.
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