Tag Archives: books

Miss You Like Crazy, Pamela HallThe illustrations and sentiment in this book are sweet.  I really like the way mother squirrel gives in to exploring fantasy when she can’t wave a wand and change that she goes to work when her son Walnut would rath… Continue reading →

Nanette’s Baguette, Mo WillemsTHIS IS A MASSIVE HIT AT OUR HOUSE.  We are all fans.  When I first read this aloud to the girls, I was mistakenly thinking (like the ridick over-analyst I am), “This is setting a precedent for my girls’ mishbeha… Continue reading →

I have just discovered that I am missing a Hummingbird Bakery cookbook from my collection. Don’t worry, I have fixed things and ordered Home Sweet Home. These books are the most amazing, mine are full of bookmarks. Everything I cook comes out fabulous and they are an enjoyment just to look at when you need […] Continue reading →

The Light Fantastic, Sarah Combs
“The Light Fantastic is a tense, shocking, and beautifully wrought exploration of the pain and pathos of a generation of teenagers on the brink—and the hope of moving from shame and isolation into the light of redemption.”
That’s good jacket copy.  It’s also accurate.  The subject matter and countdown format necessitate tension; the story is an overt waiting game.  The curated historical details and grim reveals supply steady shocks to the system, like small pushes as you read rather than electrifying lines.  But the truest of the copy’s promises is that this tale is beautifully wrought.  Here is one of my favourite, non-spoiling excerpts:

Shame. It weighs more than sorrow, and much more than regret. Delaware can’t even say what it looks like, because that’s the thing with shame: After a while you might dare to open your eyes, thinking maybe you’ve managed to forget about it this time, just for a second — but no. There it is. Always there. It might once have been attached to whatever it was you said (or didn’t say), whatever it was you did (or failed to do), but it is now its own dark creature, separate from and larger than the thing that gave it life. It keens its high, silver scream in your ears, the sound of echoing mirrors. It feeds and hungers and preens, and it will not go away.

Combs can certainly weave those words.  I think the text also succeeds in making palatable truly dark and current themes through serving hope for dessert.  The scales teeter at times though. 


The Light Fantastic is also a fragmented, at times over-said, highly American work which will disappoint readers seeking closure or a tight story.

There are seven characters who narrate their consciousness and action.  Yup, you read it right; seven.  At least 5/7ths of this works.  I could have done with a relationship tree on the overleaf, but I made do.  I appreciated how these vignettes united to create an overall picture of a troubled sector within a generation instead of adhering to any one individual’s story.  That didn’t make it easy, nor do I think it will sit well with all readers.  I would be more enthusiastic about the interwoven narratives if there had been even one less (if you’ve read it, please let me argue for my chosen character’s cut).  Thankfully the voices were different enough that I could usually orientate myself fairly quickly each chapter, but there were definitely some chapter opening-re-reads.


The text is allusion-rich (even the title is a quote), and while these inclusions are pertinent, some came a little too often and too awkwardly.  I could buy that a considerable cross-section of people could have a common word string running on repeat in their mind, but I also tired of its repetition continuing beyond this point being established.  90% of the time I felt I was given credit to join the dots, but the remaining 10% I was pointed back to the source texts even though the connection was obvious. 

[Partial spoilers in this paragraph:] I have sadly spent too long down shady rabbit holes lined with the search results for American school shootings; I’m prone to horror-tinted curiousity in short bursts before I virtually slap myself back.  As a result I entered this book primed for the telling.  It also meant I was a step further removed than many readers — those who attend/ed American schools — for whom living through drills and shut-downs would have experienced an intensity I could not.  This story was other.  I was still looking in on a world that felt far removed.  The desperation and depression plaguing the teens wasn’t foreign, but the machinations explored to cope decidedly were.

Free from sex scenes and sensuality.  
Swearing.  
Minimal violence (crimes are reported rather than described).

The”beautifully wrought exploration” made up for the lack-lustre narratives, which together served their purpose in telling a shared story.  I wasn’t completely satisfied with the ending, but I was with the overall message and impact. 

Bonus: the cover is gorgeous.

Review copy received from Walker.
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I was lucky enough to review this book, thanks to Hachette NZ, Hachette Aus and via NetGalley. It is due to be released at the end of January. Calling Major Tom by David M. Barnett This book made me laugh, cry, giggle and gasp. It isn’t in my nature to write spoilers but I will […] Continue reading →

The Land of Nod, Robert Louis Stevenson and Robert HunterThe matte finish and muted palette of this cover really draws me in.  The stars on the hardback edition shine in silver contrast.  The poly-chromatic illustration style makes me feel li… Continue reading →

The first book of The Djinn Wars series. Chosen follows the story of Jessica Monroe, who sees her family die in moments when the Heat, a mysterious virus sweeps across the world, killing 98% of the population in just a few days. As her family turns to dust, a voice in Jessica’s head assures her … Continue reading Chosen–Christine Pope Continue reading →

The Light Fantastic – Sarah Combs”Seven tightly interwoven narratives. Three harrowing hours. One fateful day that changes everything.”It’s been a little while since I read some YA Contemporary and I was so ready for this.  The Light Fantastic pro… Continue reading →

How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen, Joanna Faber & Julie KingA small proportion of parenting books resonate with me.  This is one of my favourites.  I’ve consulted it after frustrating days, during inspired intentional mornings like a… Continue reading →

Who’s Afraid Too? Maria LewisSome time ago I read the first installment in the Tommi Grayson series.  It wasn’t Briggs or Stiefvater, but it was fun.  Quite.    It was a fair tie-over if you were missing werewolves — and I’ve recom… Continue reading →

Let me open by confessing, I’m not a Maisy fan.  Those books have never done it for me.  But when these two new releases made my January sampler box, I gave Cousins the benefit of the doubt.  It turns out the bright, thick-bordered illus… Continue reading →

This weeks planner layout, already to go. I used stickers from Victoria Thatcher called Mahalo Beaches. Victoria has some of the nicest free planner stickers I have come across. The bottom stickers I  made myself from images I got off the internet. I don’t like the standard quote stickers you get everywhere so I found … Continue reading January Week Two Planner layout Continue reading →

Runemarks – Joanne M. Harris Published by Hachette New Zealand, 2016 In a world where magic and mystery are outlawed, Maddy has always been an outsider. With the strange marking on her hand and her unusual abilities, she’s mistrusted and … Continue reading → Continue reading →