The Farthest Shore is possibly the most complex book so far of the Earthsea cycle, and probably the most challenging. The first two books examined the search for the truth within oneself: Ged embraces his darkness, Tenar her light. Both had to forgive themselves and find their absolution while dark worldly powers sought to use their fears against them. For a change of pace, The Farthest Shore sees its protagonists more or less at peace with themselves, but the world around them is collapsing because […]
“Either way you win. And either way you lose.”
At first I was doubtful about If I Stay, figuring it was going to be some overwrought teenage melodrama. (The moody cover with the girl on it didn’t help.) Boy was I wrong – it turned out to be this lyrical, deeply moving book about life, death, and love. This is a very introspective novel with little to no plot. Mia’s body was seriously injured in a car accident, but her essence seems to be hovering in limbo. She will have to decide whether she wants […]
My big fat gay high school musical
The Fault in Our Stars is the first John Green novel I ever read. It is also the only John Green novel I ever enjoyed. After finishing it, I hunted down his other books and was soundly disappointed. They all had some variation of a dull male protagonist, his quirky unobtainable love interest, his far more interesting friends, and his oddly lenient parents. I couldn’t take it anymore after Paper Towns. But that was a year ago, long enough for me to recover, and I am so happy I gave this […]
A quietly impressive redemption story with magic and a dangerous religion
The first book in the Earthsea cycle, A Wizard of Earthsea, offered a nuanced take on the fantasy trope of the wizard who comes of age into his power and learns that universal axiom “with great power comes great responsibility.” This second entry into the cycle shifts momentarily away from Ged’s story toward Tenar, who at birth is selected as the First Priestess of the Tombs of Atuan. Her story neatly deconstructs the equally common-in-fantasy Chosen One trope and also serves as a lesson about […]
I really could use a pair of magic jeans myself sometimes
Four fifteen-year-old girls, life-long best friends, are about to spend their first summer apart. On the night before three of them go away, they discover a pair of second-hand jeans that Carmen, the original owner, was planning on getting rid of. They discover that despite their varying heights and body types, the jeans look awesome and super flattering on all four of them, and decide to use the jeans as a device to keep in contact throughout the summer. They make a pact that they […]
If you go into the woods today…
In the little town of Fairfold, people know that faeries are real. You need to be careful and not call too much attention to yourself, like the tourists frequently do, or the faeries may play dangerous or even deadly pranks on you. One of the things that lures tourists to Fairfold is the glass coffin, deep in the woods. In it, there is a horned boy, sleeping eternally. He is a thing of otherworldy beauty with the tips of his ears sharp as knives. He’s […]
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