What I've Read This Week Part I

What I've Read This Week Part I . . .

Belladonna by Mary Finn -- Young Adult Historical Fiction

Sent back home to his native village after failing school, Thomas Rose finds a girl hidden in the grass. Curious, Thomas seeks her out. The girl's name is Hélène but in England she goes by Ling, for in 1757 France and England are at war (as usual). Spirited Ling has run away from her home in a traveling circus in search of her beautiful white horse, Belladonna on whose back she rode and did tricks. Belladonna is Ling's best friend and family and the loss of her horse tears Ling apart. She's determined to find Belladonna and steal her back and enlists Thomas's aid. Thomas, besotted with the lively French girl, agrees to help. Their search for Belladonna brings them closer together and introduces Thomas to new people and new ideas. I expected to read a fun adventure tale but this novel is exactly the opposite. This is a coming-of-age novel for young Thomas as he learns to open his heart and his mind to love and acceptance. The prose is written in a lyrical, almost poetic way. I found it difficult to read and others may have a There are many characters and situations described so thoroughly that it sometimes bogged down the action of the story.  hard time understanding the author's descriptions of things that are unfamiliar to Thomas. There is also quite a lot of French dialogue which the reader can guess by the context and some Romani (Gypsy) words too. The story is slow moving and there is not a lot of action. Thomas tells the reader of his feelings for Ling but I didn't feel there was much real chemistry between them but he was besotted by the exotic young woman. I'm not sure this book would appeal to the target age market but adults might enjoy it.

The Book of Story Beginnings by Kristin Kladstrup -- Middle Grades Fantasy/Adventure

In 1914 young Oscar lives on an Iowa farm with his family. He dreams of adventure and becoming a writer. When he finds a mysterious old book locked in his mother's trunk, he can't resist writing down his ideas for story beginnings. One night the sea appears on the Iowa bluffs and Oscar rows away never to be seen again. Many decades later, his great-niece Lucy and her parents move to the same Iowa farmhouse Oscar's younger sister bequeathed to them. Oscar's sister spent her whole life trying to figure out what happened to Oscar. She was certain it was something magic and experimented with alchemy. Lucy's father, a chemist, can't resist trying his hand at Great-Aunt Lavonne's experiments while Lucy tries to solve the mystery of the missing boy. When she discovers the book of story beginnings and jots down her own story beginning, she begins an adventure she never dreamed of. This is a cute, charming fantasy story along the lines of E. Nesbit's turn-of-the-twentieth-century classics. The adventure is a lot of fun though mostly predictable. The scary factor is very minimal. The bittersweet ending has a bit of a heavy-handed message. I think the timeline of events from 1914 to Lucy's time is a lot off but I'm very nitpicky about that sort of thing. I think middle grades children and children at heart will enjoy this book.