Continuing my catch-up on my summer reading, earlier in the summer I read David Almond's Clay. Like his Michael Printz award-winning Skellig, this book is a mostly-realistic character driven study with a dusting of the supernatural. In this case, an English altar boy becomes the reluctant accomplice of a troubled newcomer to the town, whose intricate clay sculptures may (or perhaps not) come to life.
A couple of quick reads came next. Mrs. Dole is Out of Control is part of a series of early "chapter books" by goof-master Dan Gutman. Essentially a silly little dessert book, I'm sure it's good fun for those just starting their novel-reading careers. I have a few of the series heading into my class this fall for that reason.
Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman is a bit more sophisticated as a work of writing, but also taking a mere hour or so to read. Essentially this novella is a folktalesque little adventure featuring Norse gods and a plucky little hero named Odd. While it's nothing to be compared with Coraline or The Graveyard Book, it's a decent little read. Apparently it was written for World Book Day, originally.
Continuing (completely out of the order in which I read these books), I whipped through Thomas Lakeman's Chillwater Cove. Early on, I realized that this was preceeded by a first novel (The Shadow Catchers), but apart from establishing a few relationships which aren't particularly integral to this story, it was clear that this could be read on its own. I'm at a bit of a loss to write my thoughts. It kept my interest and had a lot going on, but perhaps it had a bit too much going on. Ever read something where the plot twists and turns seem a bit forced, as if the author was throwing too many socks into the laundry? I felt quite a bit like that once I reached the two-thirds point in the book. I still wanted to see where it all lead, but I was less interested in the landscape of the story along the way. Decent, but not exemplary.
Thus endeth this episode of Reading Catch-Up. I've still got a few more to chronicle before I'm caught up, but I'm getting there.
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