Welcome!

Dear Book Lovers, Welcome! I am delighted that you have found The Through the Looking Glass blog. For over twenty years I reviewed children's literature titles for my online journal, which came out six times a year. Every book review written for that publication can be found on the Through the Looking Glass website (the link is below). I am now moving in a different direction, though the columns that I write are still book-centric. Instead of writing reviews, I'm offering you columns on topics that have been inspired by wonderful books that I have read. I tell you about the books in question, and describe how they have have impacted me. This may sound peculiar to some of you, but the books that I tend to choose are ones that resonate with me on some level. Therefore, when I read the last page and close the covers, I am not quite the same person that I was when first I started reading the book. The shift in my perspective might be miniscule, but it is still there. The books I am looking are both about adult and children's titles. Some of the children's titles will appeal to adults, while others will not. Some of the adult titles will appeal to younger readers, particularly those who are eager to expand their horizons.
Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts

Monday, September 29, 2008

Book Book Tour with Jeanne DuPrau

For the next three days I will be featuring a Blog Book Tour for Jeanne du Prau's new book The Diamond of Darkhold. Today you can read my review of the book.



The Diamond of Darkhold
Jeanne DuPrau
Fiction (Series)
Ages 12 and up
Random House, 2008, 978-0-375-85571-9
Nine months have passed since the people who once lived in the underground city of Ember made their way to the surface. The refugees from Ember are now will settled in the town of Sparks but life is far from easy. Winter is approaching and food is scarce. The Emberites are not used to cold temperatures, to thunder and rain, and to the dangers of ‘normal’ life. Sometimes a few of them even think of their life in Ember with nostalgia. One of these people is Lina. Surely her life was easier when she was living in Ember than it is now?
One day a roamer comes to Sparks and Lina buys an old book from the woman for her friend Doon. Though most of the pages in the book are now missing, Doon quickly realizes that the book was left for the people of Ember to find. He is sure that the book contained instructions or directions of some kind so that the people of Ember would be equipped to deal with the world above ground when it was time for them to emerge. Doon cannot tell what the “Instructions for Use” are for, because so little information remains in the book, but he is determined to find out. Doon thinks that the instructions describe how some kind of “machine” or tool should be used, and he believes the machine - whatever it is - could very well make life in the town of Sparks a lot easier.
There is only one thing that Doon can do – he has to go back to Ember to try to find more information about the book or the special tool that was left for the Emberites to use. He askes Lina to go with him, and though she is afraid of what they will find and of the journey that they have to make, Lina agrees to go with her friend.
In this fourth and final title in the Books of Ember series Jeanne DuPrau takes her readers on a fascinating and exciting journey back underground to the city of Ember. All kinds of surprising events take place, and connections with the past that have been lost over the course of time are reestablished. Lina and Doon, who worked together to lead their people out of the city of Ember, have new challenges to face, and readers will be intrigued to see how these two young people face their fears and overcome the trials that they encounter.
Through this book, and indeed the entire series, Jeanne DuPrau encourages her readers to think about their world and their place in it. What would it be like if there was a global nuclear war? What would we need to do to survive? If we change our outlook and behavior could be prevent such a terrible thing from happening?

The other books in this series are The city of Ember, The People of Sparks, and The Prophet of Yonwood. You can find my reviews of these books on the Books of Ember page on the Through the Looking Glass Book Review website.

Please visit the other blogs that are participating in this tour. They are:

01 Charger, the 160acrewoods, A Childhood of Dreams, A Christian Worldview of Fiction, All About Children’s Books, And Another Book Read, Becky’s Book Reviews, Book Review Maniac, Cafe of Dreams, Comox Valley Kids, Dolce Bellezza, Fireside Musings, Homeschool Buzz, Hyperbole, Never Jam Today

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Vampires, Werewolves and teenage love

For those of you who can't resist tales peopled by magical, and often dark, creatures, the Mortal Instruments series is a must. For the June issue of Through the Looking Glass Book Review I reviewed the first book in the series, City of Bones. I have just finished reviewing the second book , City of Ashes. the review will be posted in the July issue of the journal. This second book continues the story of Clary, a teenage girl who discovers that she is a Shadowhunter, a human destined to rid the world of demons. Both her parents are Shadowhunters and to Clary's horror she discovers that her father is the kind of person you would really rather disown. Valentine was not a part of her life until recently and she dearly wishes he wasn't a part of it now. Alas, this is not to be. Valentine is here to stay and he is determined to make everyone's life miserable.

Clary's life is complicated further when she discovers that the boy she rather fancies, Jace, is none other than her long lost brother. The problem is that one can't just switch one's heart into reverse when you make a discovery like this. Desperately Clary tries not to feel anything special for Jace, with very little success.

The characters are amazingly credible considering the fact that so many of them are creatures you would not like to meet after night falls. Vampires, werewolves, and crafty faeries abound and blood and body parts splash the pages frequently.
I am sure that this series is going to do very well and can't wait for the third book to come out.
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