In this tale of Ankh-Morpork, William de Worde, estranged and independent son of Lord de Worde, stumbles upon dwarves with a printing press and transforms his petty newsletter into the first major newspaper for the largest city in Discworld. In the midst of an investigation of the alleged attempt of murder by Lord Vetinari of his clerk, The Ankh-Morpork Times in its newest stages is carving a niche for itself, setting precedents for a free press, and learning to balance the ideas of justice and openness with the realities of what people are actually willing to read and the danger of stepping on the wrong people’s toes.

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This month’s selection is a little quirky. The artwork is lively and unique. I picked Ten Rowdy Ravens by Susan Ewing and Evon Zerbetz, because I so enjoyed the illustrations and the relevant text is handled better than the usual counting books.

REVIEW

Current Pick and Previous

Christina Meldrum had her debut novel released in May-Madapple. I was very excited to read it, since it is different than anything else I’ve read and probes serious and stimulating concepts. I immediately had questions, and Christina Meldrum graciously answered them.

Thank you, Christina, for your great responses. I hope other readers will enjoy your book as much as I did.

INTERVIEW

How do you have a normal life when your younger brother is autistic and family life revolves around him? Catherine specifically wants a chance to make friends without David’s interference. She’s taught him rules she thinks are important to minimize embarrassing moments, but he only seems to remember the rules afterwards.

This summer Catherine hopes to have a new next-door-neighbor friend, but out in the world her embarrassment rules her behavior.

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Conor Broekhart, born to fly, born flying in a hot air balloon exhibited at the 1878 World’s Fair in Paris, is given an exceptional education and training due to his parents’ status in the Kingdom of the Saltee Islands (off the Irish coast) and his own daring exploits. Proclaimed a hero at age 9, he is trained by the King’s friend and aeronaut enthusiast, Victor Vigny. A few years later he is caught in the crossfire of the Marshall Bonvilain’s political manipulation and sent to rot or die on the prison island of Little Saltee. To survive he becomes a new person and collaborates with criminals. To escape will require using all of his knowledge and skills.

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I just finished my Reading Dangerously book for May, Race: A History Beyond Black and White by Marc Aronson. (Yes, I know I’m behind, but I already started my June selection.) I found it enlightening on some points, provocative, and quite readable-and this is an issue that has been side-stepped too much since the explosiveness of the 1960s.

REVIEW

The book of the Month selection was tough this month. I had set aside a book from last month, Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Muñoz Ryan. I also read 2 other exceptional books-The Eye of the World, 1st of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, and the new Eoin Colfer book, Airman. As much as I enjoyed all of these, this month’s selection I found far more exciting – MADAPPLE by Christina Meldrum.

Christina Meldrum’s debut novel is an eye-opening, thought-provoking mystery. Going beyond the mystery, Meldrum delves into questions regarding faith, religion, science, and life. Madapple is outstanding in its depth and uniqueness. It has been published as a young adult book, but is definitely adult level as well.

Unique is certainly the word for it considering the different plot and concepts and the masterful meshing of plant lore with the story. A certain amount of open-mindedness is recommended as a reader. For myself, my first question is: how much was based on actual study-both the biology and the religious theory? My interest is piqued, and I want to learn more.

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Words-we take them for granted, but the normal way of thinking (not just communicating) is with words. Some people have more visual thinking than I do. Sometimes we think in sound or pure emotion, but all of us think with words. Can you imagine what it would be like to try to communicate without having learned words? Or to communicate with someone else who hasn’t? That is what this whole story hinges on. Helen was just starting to learn a few words at six months when she became so ill that she lost her sight and hearing.

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I finally finished The Eye of the World, 1st of The Wheel of Time series. It is long and drawn out, as are the other books, but fascinating. Books to take your time reading. I’ve heard that other books in the series refer back to the first, that the seemingly needless detail becomes important later in the series. I can already tell there are some stories told in passing I want to know more about.

REVIEW

Great news! Just found out Ken Oppel finished the sequel to Skybreaker and Airborn-an alternate history/fantasy/sci fi series. Starclimber will be published in Canada in September 2008. In the U.S. in January 2009. In the U.K. in May 2009.

In Starclimber, Matt Cruse and Kate de Vries participate in the first expedition to outer space.

Review of Skybreaker

Ken Oppel news