books

Okay, I've gotten behind on my book reviews that I said I was going to start doing this year. Swan Thieves=still working on it. Deal. So I bring you these two reviews:

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta.

It's been ten years since the five days of the unspeakable and Finnikin and his mentor, Sir Topher, have been traveling the land surrounding their home of Lumatere, recording information in Finnikin's Book of Lumatere from fellow Lumaterean exiles. While asleep, Finnikin was called to the Cloister of Sagrami in Sendecane, where he and Sir Topher meet a novice named Evanjalin who claims the rightful heir to the Lumaterean throne is in hiding in Sorel. Bringing her with them, Finnikin and Sir Topher begin a journey that takes them to the prison mines of Sorel, the warring country of Yutlind, and to Belegonia, where they gather exiles in the hopes of returning to Lumatere. But will they be able to lift the curse that has kept Lumatere closed to the outside world for the last ten years?

This book was pretty much awesome. I read during my lunch breaks at work, and while I was reading this, I didn't want lunch to be over. I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened. I wanted to know if they got home. I wanted to know if Lady Beatriss was really still alive. Most importantly, I wanted to know if Balthazar was really still alive! If you like fantasy, give this a try. According to Amazon, it comes to the US on February 9th. (I think it's been available in Australia since 2008.)

Blue Jasmine by Kashmira Sheth

Seema's father has been offered a research job in Iowa City (guess why I read this!) and decides to take it. What's the problem? The job means moving the family (father, mother, 12 year old Seema, and 4 year old Mela) from their home in India. Seema initially is completely opposed to the idea, but when the option of staying in India with her uncle, aunt, grandparents, and cousins comes up, she changes her mind and decides she wants to go with her parents. Her cousin Raju gets angry at her for leaving and stops talking to her for a while before the move.

Then there's Mukta. Oh lord, Mukta. Seema had to sit by Mukta in school and complained about how stinky she was and made fun of her and her little stubby pencils. Then, shortly before she moves, Seema sees Mukta while she's at the market and gets invited to Mukta's home. She goes and sees that Mukta lives in the snack shop her family owns and that's why she always smells. The family is obviously not wealthy, and Seema realizes that Mukta couldn't help wearing the same school uniform and having tiny pencils--it's all her family could afford. Before she leaves, Seema wraps up her school uniforms, since she won't be needing them any more, and gives them to Mukta. After the move, Mukta is the only friend who writes to Seema more than one time. No lie, every part about Mukta broke my heart a little.

After the family moves, Seema makes a couple of friends before she starts school, which helps her fit in. Unfortunately for her, they are not in her class at school. Then in the middle of the year, a new girl arrives who taunts Seema and makes fun of her mercilessly. That makes Seema think about how she made fun of Mukta, and whenever she writes or talks to Raju and he makes fun, Seema sticks up for Mukta. After one of her grandparents gets sick, Seema and her family go back to India to visit. She learns that as much as she misses her home, Iowa City has become her home and the relationships she had in India won't be the same every again.

It was a cute book, and I enjoyed it. It was a nice look at what it's like for someone to move here from another country and basically start all over. Plus, the author knows what she's writing about--she moved to the US from India as a child as well.