Two Book Reviews and Reccomendations!

  Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

Though I had not heard of this book before, after hearing Ashlee Willis's high recommendation (whose writing I respect and admire), I decided to give it a shot.

Indeed, this book was beautifully written, bringing the world of Faerie to life in vibrant but comfortably familiar ways. Though a story all of its own, it also brings in strong themes of The Twelve Dancing Princesses and The Frog Prince. The characters were unique and special, and I felt them all come to life.

Despite the fey world, there was little magic or casting of spells, unless you include fey power and law. There is a strange character known as the Witch of the Wood whose hand throughout the story is pivotal and often seemingly cruel, yet turns out to be an almost providential guide to a happy ending.

My main concern about this novel was its inclusion of the Night People--vampires. And the fact that one of the main characters falls in love with one. Let me be clear. I consider vampires evil and the fascination of them to be disturbing. That said, I didn't mind them in this novel. For one, they were appropriately EVIL as they should be. Oh yes, the author said she tried to keep their true intent mysterious, but they were BAD. And while their seductive behavior was present, the author really kept it out of the reader's head (at least in my opinion).

Which brings me to Sorrow, the fellow who one of the girls falls in love with. I didn't want an Edward and Bella story. Well, here is a spoiler that I included because it was extremely important to allow me to enjoy this story.

Sorrow is not a vampire! He's their slave, a human boy who was stolen from our world and has become more and more fey with time, but still desperate for freedom and true love. So long as you accept that you aren't going to get a sensible reason for their love at first sight, Sorrow and Tati's romance is shown as pure, beautiful, and totally sincere, if a little otherworldly in their devotion. And it's not selfish either. Their self-sacrifice for each other, especially Sorrow's at the end, is touching. Though I do wish Tati had paid a bit more mind to her sisters during her whole "love sickness." End Spoiler

Dramatic me could have had the stakes go a little higher at the end if some certain character had actually been caught instead of hunted for, but everything turned out so beautifully I really didn't mind. I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

My one problem with this tale is that it is based in Transylvania which is a real place with big problems. So long as you accept fantasy as fantasy, fine, but there are severe consequences to searching for "fey" (demonic) things in this world. 

 East by Edith Pattou

After reading another version of this fairy tale that I wasn't particularly impressed with, I wondered if I would enjoy this one...and I did!

I was really impressed and caught by the unique and beautiful style of the author's writing and her attention to detail and research. She weaves different threads throughout the story, tying them all together in the original tale.

Early teens on up can easily enjoy this story. Despite the awkward situation the original tale puts our heroine in, there is absolutely no sexual content to be worried about here.

I think I could have used a little more development of the hero's character and a better climax, but still, this story and the journey it took was a true breath of fresh air.