The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

16 Oct 2018 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Fantasy Tags: , , , , , ,

Published: June 29th 2000 (print)/1st April, 2013 (audio) Goodreads badge
Publisher: Harcourt, Inc. /Bolinda Audio
Pages: 93/1 hours 59 minutes
Narrator: Humphrey Bower
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Fiction
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

Moral allegory and spiritual autobiography, The Little Prince is the most translated book in the French language. With a timeless charm it tells the story of a little boy who leaves the safety of his own tiny planet to travel the universe, learning the vagaries of adult behaviour through a series of extraordinary encounters. His personal odyssey culminates in a voyage to Earth and further adventures.

It’s time for another installment of ‘This Classic Was Underwhelming, Why Do People Rave About It?’ I’ve given it a four but that is because it started out as a sweet story and I was open and willing to explore the universe with this little prince. I enjoyed the strange planets and the different people, and it was cute to follow the prince around the universe. Then it becomes heavy handed and weird. I was intrigued having never really heard about the plot, just that it was filled with inspirational quotes and filled with the allegory about life. I didn’t hate it, I was just underwhelmed.

I understood what de Saint-Exupéry was trying to do, but it didn’t grab me. I was interested in his approach and I managed to enjoy the story, but I got to the end and went ‘ok?’. So obviously I missed the grand impact that he was after. It’s not that I didn’t get it, I understand the big meaning of life that was being expressed but I didn’t care. The last part of the story ruined the magic of the first part, even though I know they were trying to tell the same story.

I’m glad I went with the audiobook because I think I might have disliked it more if I read it. Bower does a great job telling the story and even though I missed out on the pictures, it didn’t really impact on the story too much. Perhaps I wasn’t connected enough to the prince given his journey. Without that emotional attachment perhaps the impact of it was lost on me. At least I can say I’ve read it now.

You can purchase The Little Prince via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository | Audible

Amazon | Amazon Aust | Wordery

Angus & Robertson | Dymocks

 Fishpond | QBD

 

Long Lost Reviews: Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

11 Oct 2018 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Junior Fiction, Long Lost Reviews Tags: , , ,

Long Lost Reviews is a monthly meme created by Ally over at Ally’s Appraisals which is posted on the second Thursday of every month. The aim is to start tackling your review backlog. Whether it’s an in-depth analysis of how it affected your life, one sentence stating that you only remember the ending, or that you have no recollection of reading the book at all. 

Published: 1st July 1996Goodreads badge
Publisher: HarperTrophy
Pages: 298
Format: Paperback
Genre: Junior Fiction
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

Harriet M. Welsch is determined to grow up and be a famous author. In the meantime, she practices by following a regular spy route each day and writing down everything she sees in her secret notebook.

Then one morning, Harriet’s life is turned upside down. Her classmates find her spy notebook and read it out loud! Harriet’s in big trouble. The other sixth-graders are stealing her tomato sandwiches, forming a spy-catcher club, and writing notes of their own — all about Harriet!

I reread this book so many times as a kid. I had the movie tie-in cover which is now much loved as evidence by the very crinkled cover. I don’t remember a lot of the little details, but I have always had an affection for this book. This was probably reinforced by the movie, but to be honest, it was a great movie.

Harriet wants to be a writer, therefore she must practice. She writes down everything in her notebook, everything she sees and everything people say and do around her. I’d never thought about whether it was Harriet who subconsciously got me interested in becoming an author, I award that honour to John Marsden, but maybe she put a small seed in my head as well which started the idea growing.

Since I was a kid when I saw the movie and read the book, the movie has imprinted itself on me much more. The movie got me interested in The Walrus and the Carpenter poem, despite the fact I probably would have seen Alice in Wonderland first. I remember loving this book, and I definitely think I have blurred the movie and the book together in my imagination, but it was a great book to show what happens when you write about other people and put your opinions on paper in full detail.

I remember the book being a lot more serious than the blurb makes it sound like. As a kid I guess these things are more dire and I just remember the feeling I experienced when the others find Harriet’s notebook. The second hand mortification I felt stays with me now. It was the most intense and climactic thing I had read since being stressed about Bastian in The Never Ending Story.

Doing these Long Lost Reviews has made me reminisce about some wonderful books I know I’ve loved but have long forgotten. They also spark a strong desire to reread them, even when I can barely read the books I haven’t read yet. I may have to find some room though to revisit this little gem.

Stories for Boys Who Dare to be Different by Ben Brooks

10 Oct 2018 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Non Fiction Tags: , , , ,

Published: 3rd April 2018Goodreads badge
Publisher: Quercus
Illustrator: Quinton Winter
Pages: 208
Format: Hardcover
Genre: Junior Non-Fiction
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

Prince charming, dragon slayer, mischievous prankster… More often than not, these are the role-models boys encounter in the books they read at home and at school. As a boy, there is an assumption that you will conform to a stereotypical idea of masculinity. But what if you’re the introvert kind? What if you prefer to pick up a book rather than a sword? What if you want to cry when you’re feeling sad or angry? What if you like the idea of wearing a dress?

An extraordinary compilation of 100 stories of famous and not-so-famous men from the past to the present day, every single one of them a rule-breaker and innovator in his own way, and all going on to achieve amazing things. Entries include Frank Ocean, Salvador Dalí, Rimbaud, Beethoven, Barack Obama, Stormzy, Ai Weiwei and Jesse Owens – different sorts of heroes from all walks of life and from all over the world.

This is not connected to Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, which is misleading given the cover, format, title, and style. But Brooks has nevertheless made a great book about boys who dared to be different. Alongside Winter’s illustrations the lives of boys and men from around the world and through time are celebrated.

I was surprised by some of the men who were included in this. But I guess the point of it was to tell boys that there is more than one way to be a man, and men are made up of a variety of different types. From Galileo to Louis Armstrong, John Green and Jorge Munoz, Brooks tells the story of men who did it their way and changed the world for the better.

I wasn’t as inspired by it as I was Rebel Girls, fully aware that my own gender is going to inspire me more than another one. But I was still proud of these men, and I was intrigued by their stories that I had not known or knew little about. There were a lot more men I knew, because they’re men, so we know their stories. But their one page bios also provided a few new details about their lives, outside their famous discoveries or achievements. There are also a lot of unsung heroes which is why this book is so wonderful, it shows the men who are out there changing the world and doing things their own way, no matter what people expect of them or tell them they can’t do.

As Brooks writes, “it takes a true hero to go against the grain, to show kindness where others won’t, and to stand up for what’s right when others can’t.”

You can purchase Stories for Boys via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository

 Wordery | Audible | Dymocks

Angus & Robertson | Fishpond

QBD | Amazon Aust | Amazon

Dorothy Must Die (#1) by Danielle Paige

08 Oct 2018 4 Comments

by Amy in 4 Stars, Fantasy, Young Adult Tags: , , , , ,

Published: 1st April 2014 (print)/1st April 2014 (audio) Goodreads badge
Publisher: Harper Collins/Bolinda Audio
Pages: 452/14 hours 12 minutes)
Narrator:  Devon Sorvari
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Young Adult
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t ask to be some kind of hero. But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado – taking you with it – you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I’ve read the books. I’ve seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little bluebirds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can’t be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There’s still a yellow brick road – but even that’s crumbling.

What happened? Dorothy. They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm – and I’m the other girl from Kansas. I’ve been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.

I’ve been trained to fight.

I have finally gotten around to reading this book and it is brilliant! This isn’t quite a reimagining of a classic, what it is instead is a look at what happened after the story has finished and the original narrative comes to a close.

There is so much to love about this story. I think Paige has been very clever in playing with the known story of Dorothy and Oz and she has transformed it into a new story in its own right while still connecting to its origins. It is dark and funny and fascinating to read about just how far Oz has fallen since we last saw it and what happened to the golden girl who saved a world.

Set in the present day we are introduced to Amy Gumm, a girl who lives in Kansas in less than ideal circumstances with her neglectful mother. When a hurricane hit their trailer, Amy is transported to Oz where you soon discover things are not quite right. Originally you think this is a simple reference to how Dorothy first got to Oz, but as the story goes on you learn it may not have been entirely an accident which adds more questions and theories to a story already filled with them.

I enjoyed Amy’s character, she knows the story she has entered into but she doesn’t know it inside out, she also doesn’t fall into the frustrating trap of accepting her surroundings instantly where after a day or two gets the hang of things. Paige retains the part where Amy is out of her comfort zone, and while she is adaptable, at times she also defies rules and logic to do what she things is right based on her real world knowledge.

There are some repetitions and some moments where Amy’s character frustrates you, but these moments are few and for the most part not too disruptive. I enjoyed her exploration of the world and how we’re never sure who we are meant to trust. Everyone has their own motives and with Amy a newcomer, she has often no choice to trust who she can or trust no one.

The pace is gradual but the story moves along with ease. Paige doesn’t jump time unnecessarily and each day plays out but never feels drawn out or boring. No part of this book felt boring; the surprises are unexpected and there are numerous mysteries to keep your mind turning over. I loved how twists came from nowhere and I never found myself predicting things, or if I did I was so far off base it didn’t count.

I loved the contrasts between the characters we know and love and what they have all become in Dorothy’s new Oz, and I love the exploration of the surrounding Oz area and the new characters we interact with. This is one reason to drive you into the rest of the series because I need answers about how this happened and what happened to end up with the world we’re introduced to. If you have been thinking about reading this book I promise it will be worthwhile, and if you love classic stories getting reimagined then this story is for you.

You can purchase Dorothy Must Die via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository | Audible

Amazon | Amazon Aust | Wordery

Angus & Robertson | Fishpond | QBD

Boy by Phil Cummings

28 Sep 2018 2 Comments

by Amy in 4 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: , , , , ,

Published: 1st May 2017Goodreads badge
Publisher: Scholastic
Illustrator: Shane Devries
Pages: 32
Format: Hardcover Picture Book
★   ★   ★   ★  – 4 Stars

The kings battles with the dragon were always mighty and loud… CLING CLANG CLONG! ROAR!

Boy lived in a silent world and couldn’t hear the fighting. But Boy could see the fear around him… and how everyone would be much happier.

Boy is deaf and he communicates through sign language Cummings calls “dancing hands”. Some of the villagers think he is strange but his parents love him and he tells stories by writing on the ground.

Cummings has written a very good book. This is not a book about Boy being deaf, his deafness does not help the problem, instead it acts as a means to get him in the situation where he can help the battle between the dragon and the king in his own way. I half expected the dragon to understand sign language to be honest and have Boy be the one to save the day by calming the dragon, but no. What Cummings has done is made a story where not only can anybody defeat a dragon regardless of who they are, but they can defeat it by being kind and understanding, and still be classed a hero.

This book was shortlisted for the 2018 CBCA awards and it didn’t win, but it could easily have come close. It’s a wonderfully sweet story with beautiful illustrations that bring out the heart and compassion to the story and mixes it with the fairy tale style of knights who battle dragons.

You can purchase Boy via the following

Booktopia | Book Depository

Angus & Robertson | Fishpond

QBD | Amazon Aust | Amazon

Image result for cbca shortlist logo

 

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