I read a lot of junior and young adult books, not only for my job but because I really enjoy reading them, and I have finished a couple of great ones lately that are quite different from each other but which I liked equally.
The books were "The Ghost Child" by Sonya Hartnett and "The Palace of Laughter" by Jon Berkley.
I adore the way Sonya Hartnett writes - her prose is exquisite and she is not wasteful with words - and the apparent simplicity of her stories belie the insightful and essential truthfulness of her observations about humankind. That sounds really earnest but when I finish a book of hers I find myself thinking about it days later at unexpected times.
Jon Berkley is an illustrator turned author (rather like D. M. Cornish of "Monster Blood Tattoo" fame) and I must say I was quite impressed with his first effort. The hero character is an orphan, there is an evil circus impressario, villainy, despair, tribes of street kids who inhabit a festering industrial underworld, a tiger, eccentric elderly mentors, and an angel who saves our hero and by doing so becomes earth bound forever. Familiar themes but with a twist.
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2 comments:
I agree totally with you about Sonya Hartnett, but I could not have put it as good as you did.
Have you read any of Meg Rosoff's books? I find her similiar to Sonya Hartnett and her second book, 'Just in Case' is one of my faves.
I may have to give Meg a go. There are just too many good books out there! One of my book clubs is reading "The Bastard of Istanbul" by Elif Shafak which I thought was going to be another tale of oppressed muslim women but is actually turning out to be a compelling inter-generational and multi-racial saga with really strong female characters. I am enjoying it a lot.
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