Drift House: The First Voyage

Facts:
Date finished: 10-30-08
Author: Dale Peck
Category: Children's fantasy
Published: 2005
Pages: 424
Rating: 4/5

Basic Plot:
In the wake of 9/11, three siblings are sent to live with their uncle on the Bay of Eternity in Canada. But what their parents thought would be safe haven turns out to be a fantastical (and often dangerous) adventure when the Drift House floats out onto the Sea of Time. Susan, Charles and Murray run into pirates, mermaids, talking parrots and extinct species in their quest to return the Drift House back to its original location.

My assessment:
This story is exactly why I love children's fantasy stories. No one thinks a story weird because you can talk to a whale or fly on a carpet. Now, the kids find the Sea of Time a strange place, but they quickly adapt and the reader can enjoy the ride as well. There are all kinds of fantastical creatures to meet and a new world to explore. As is typical with children's fantasy, the adults are either out of the picture, useless or incapacitated, thus requiring the kids to save the day. (I'd like to think with Uncle Farley that it was only the later as I rather liked him and hope he'll have more of a role to play in future installments than just semi-absent caretaker.)

Hey, big surprise - Susan is a practical girl. And Charles is a geek. And Murray is just an annoying little kid. OK, so the characters fortunately prove to have more depth to them than that, and the POV does shift between Susan and Charles nicely, so you get multiple courses of action and thought. These are kids I started to care about and was eager to spend time with.

All in all a great time and I'm looking forward to the next voyage, which is already in my book stack.

Get The Drift House: The First Voyage at Amazon.com.

Wicked

Facts:
Date finished: 10-25-08
Author: Gregory Maguire
Category: Fantasy
Published: 1995
Pages: 406
Rating: 3/5

Basic Plot:
Dorothy and Toto landed with a boom in Oz, but the real whirlwind in Oz had been going on for years before the pair arrived. Just how did the wicked witch become the wicked witch? Is she even a witch? Is she even evil? It's the "real" story of Oz and the Wicked Witch of the West.

My assessment:
Let's start right here - this is not (not, not, not) a book for children. Don't get fooled by the connection to the Frank Baum books into thinking so. There are adult (very adult) situations and discussions that you don't want to get into with your child. Proceed with caution if you are a prudish reader.

Second caveat - The storyline is only marginally like the Broadway stage production (which has some of the best music ever!), so if that's you're sole exposure to Wicked, again, proceed with caution and make sure your expectations are in line with what will be a new experience.

OK, now that that's out of the way, I had been wanting to read this story long before I ever saw Wicked. (Adore!) And having recently read another book by Maguire, I was eager to tackle this one. Wow. One the one hand, great; on the other, way more than I think I want from my entertainment. The premise of the book arose from discussions Maguire had with others about the nature of evil - where it comes from, what it really is, is it just misunderstanding at the root - and that is a prevalent theme. Reminds me of the children's book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, a reminder that there are two sides to every story and truth is in the eyes of the teller.

That's a lot of philosophy for one piece of literature. So let's ignore that for a minute and just talk story and characters. Maguire gets amazingly creative in building an adult version of the world of Oz - complete with political intrigues and religious confusions. It's fascinating to see him work backwards from the characters and world we "know" (most likely from the movie) and build an explanation for everything. Outside of Boq, I found none of the characters redeeming or even that likeable. They were still intriguing, but very one-dimensional in their selfishness, shallowness or earnestness. Add to that some slightly jarring story-telling at times (wait, how'd we get here?) and it's hard to say it's the bestest thing ever.

My favorite part? The reality of Oz - the unrest of populations, the political takeover of the wizard, the policies around the Animals, the conflicts with religions. The environment proved to outshine the characters, hands down.

Get Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West at Amazon.com.

Declaring Independence

Facts:
Date finished: Didn't
Author: Douglas Schoen
Category: Non-fiction, political
Published: 2008
Pages: 272

Basic Plot:
Non-fiction book about the rise of the independent voter and how it can change politics.

My assessment:
Didn't even bother finishing this thing. I _thought_ it was going to be about the rise of a third party since the subtitle is about the demise of the two-party system. But Schoen barely even acknowledges that there are any parties outside of the Dems and Reps. The only reference to the biggest (Libertarians) was a brief mention that Ron Paul was the Libertarian candidate for president in 1988. During a discussion of campaign organizing. Schoen makes sweeping assertions and generalizations with no data or references or footnotes to back him up. All in all, a rather pathetic (and transparent) attempt at political boogeyman tactics. Which, since he's a political consultant, was probably the point.

Don't even want to talk about it more than this. Waste of time. Sigh.