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50books_poc#8: Laurence Yep, Dragon of the Lost Sea
On a quest to recover the magical gem that contains her lost ocean home, the dragon princess Shimmer encounters a boy, Thorn. When he saves Shimmer's life in a fight, she rather reluctantly decides that he may accompany her as they pursue her enemy Civet. Though Shimmer doesn't originally feel that Thorn is her equal, because he's so much less powerful than she, she finds that they may have more in common than she thinks and that they can work together to achieve her quest.
The characterization is excellent. The relationship between Shimmer and Thorn is particularly nicely done; overtly, one is powerful and one is comparatively weak, but they develop an equal, helping relationship. It's mostly from Shimmer's viewpoint, since she's the one whose quest it is and who has to change more in order to perceive Thorn as an equal, but there are some passages from Thorn's point of view which show how he sees himself as taking care of her, rather than the reverse. The villain, Civet, is also more three-dimensional than she at first appears, which made the final confrontation more complex and less predictable.
I really liked the setting. I've always had a weakness for fiction based on fairy tales and mythology, and this hit me in that spot, especially since it's a mythology that I've not read much of. I should read more Chinese mythology and folklore, really; I'd would be interested to see exactly what Yep did use of the tale he started with, about the Old Mother of the Waters, since he says his story grew and changed a lot from there.
This is the first in a series of four (I think), and I'm already tracking down the other ones to read them.
#9: Sherri L. Smith, Sparrow
When Kendall was five, she walked away from a car crash that killed her parents and younger brother. Since then, she's lived with her G'ma, and lately she's been struggling to balance school with taking care of G'ma, who's increasingly frail after a stroke. When G'ma dies, Kendall is left on her own and sets out to find the only family she knows of, her aunt Janet, who lives in New Orleans and hasn't seen Kendall since her family's funeral. Sparrow has a nice setup, but the ending is a little too pat and rushed. I liked it in a quiet way, but I preferred Flygirl, which is more complex in plot and especially in characterization. I'm trying to decide now whether to go back and read Lucy the Giant or wait for her next book.
On a quest to recover the magical gem that contains her lost ocean home, the dragon princess Shimmer encounters a boy, Thorn. When he saves Shimmer's life in a fight, she rather reluctantly decides that he may accompany her as they pursue her enemy Civet. Though Shimmer doesn't originally feel that Thorn is her equal, because he's so much less powerful than she, she finds that they may have more in common than she thinks and that they can work together to achieve her quest.
The characterization is excellent. The relationship between Shimmer and Thorn is particularly nicely done; overtly, one is powerful and one is comparatively weak, but they develop an equal, helping relationship. It's mostly from Shimmer's viewpoint, since she's the one whose quest it is and who has to change more in order to perceive Thorn as an equal, but there are some passages from Thorn's point of view which show how he sees himself as taking care of her, rather than the reverse. The villain, Civet, is also more three-dimensional than she at first appears, which made the final confrontation more complex and less predictable.
I really liked the setting. I've always had a weakness for fiction based on fairy tales and mythology, and this hit me in that spot, especially since it's a mythology that I've not read much of. I should read more Chinese mythology and folklore, really; I'd would be interested to see exactly what Yep did use of the tale he started with, about the Old Mother of the Waters, since he says his story grew and changed a lot from there.
This is the first in a series of four (I think), and I'm already tracking down the other ones to read them.
#9: Sherri L. Smith, Sparrow
When Kendall was five, she walked away from a car crash that killed her parents and younger brother. Since then, she's lived with her G'ma, and lately she's been struggling to balance school with taking care of G'ma, who's increasingly frail after a stroke. When G'ma dies, Kendall is left on her own and sets out to find the only family she knows of, her aunt Janet, who lives in New Orleans and hasn't seen Kendall since her family's funeral. Sparrow has a nice setup, but the ending is a little too pat and rushed. I liked it in a quiet way, but I preferred Flygirl, which is more complex in plot and especially in characterization. I'm trying to decide now whether to go back and read Lucy the Giant or wait for her next book.
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