_The Luck Uglies_ by Paul Durham

Luck Uglies, Bog Noblins, Harmless, Mud Puddle Lane, River Drowning. With names like that, why wouldn't you want to read this new book by Paul Durham? This fantasy book follows 11-year-old Rye O'Chanter as she learns about her family and the world around her while fighting evil in the form of Bog Noblins and Earl Longchance.

While both my son and I struggled a bit at the beginning with getting into the world of The Luck Uglies, we soon fell head over heels. He immediately asked for the next in the series (which isn't supposed to come out until 2015), and I simply enjoyed turning the fun names and phrases over in my mind (because I'm odd that way). My 10-year-old son is now reading it a second time, but only after my 8-year-old finished his first time through.

I picked The Luck Uglies randomly off the library bookshelf, and I was more than pleasantly surprised. This may not be a great "literary" masterpiece, but I would say it's a pretty good book. With good models for friendship and characters with character (despite the fact that some of the good guys are outlaws), it meets my moral standards. With excellent descriptions, cool characters, and a well-developed plot, it gets my English-teacher stamp of approval.

Now is the time for the parts that some parents may find objectionable. There is a part in which characters give their opinions about what happens after death. It isn't religious. It doesn't acknowledge God. There are parts that hint at a bit of pagan/mystical or something-or-other. But, hey, this is fantasy. It really wasn't pushing a world view.

Another head's up. If you're child has no idea about where babies come from, this might possibly prompt questions because Rye's father is out of the picture. Nobody knows who her sister's father is. The mystery is solved eventually, but it does allude to the fact that little sister came about because of a visit from Dad. There's nothing sexual or anything at all my prudish mind might find risque. Just a warning if your kid is in the dark and curious about what it all means because none of us want to be surprised by the "where do babies come from" question.

I sort of hated writing those last two paragraphs because I really don't think this book should be avoided. With all the crappy kids' "literature" out there, well, this one isn't. If my comments scared you off, please read it yourself before nixing this as an option for your children.

_The Ninja Librarians: The Accidental Keyhand_ by Jen Swann Downey

"Wow! What a cool title for a book! Certainly boys will like this one."

That's what I thought when I picked this book randomly from the library bookshelf.

When I opened the The Ninja Librarians and started reading, I was put off a bit at first by the author's "busy" writing style. While description and detail I like, there can be too much of a good thing, and it distracted me from getting into the story. On top of that, Downey used a fair number of parenthetical asides and other diversions from the main idea of sentences, so I found myself having to backtrack to the beginning of sentences several times to remember what they actually were about. Once I met the characters and became engaged in the plot, this busy-ness was easier to handle.

Who are these characters and what is the plot, you may ask. The main character is Dorrie, a 12-year-old gal, who, along with her older brother, Marcus, is sucked into the fantasy realm of Petrarch's Library where highly specialized librarians train in self-defense and time travel, as well as card catalog-y types of skills. The librarians goal is to save writers in various times and locations from persecution and their writing from being wiped into oblivion. This book definitely champions freedom of speech; that's a plus.

While I'm not sure a book about librarians is something many children (let alone boys) would pick up and be excited about right off the bat (with all sorts of intellectual and historical and sometimes-obscure references), if you stick with it through about the first 100 (of 350+) pages, you just might enjoy it. It is fun.

In addition to sticking up for free speech and being fun, The Ninja Librarians is a good example in the importance of telling the truth, trusting adults in charge, and family.

Now for what some parents won't like. The author seems to have a beef with Christianity. Early on I was caught off-guard when Dorrie's quirky mother (and all of her family is quirky) said, "Oh, praise Nataero!" when a lost library book was found. Evidently, Nataero is the Roman god of lost things, but I was surprised because I felt then that it seemed to be poking fun of those who might exclaim, "Praise God," when something good happens.

Later Mathilde, the ultra-feminist character, teases another named Saul for having the same name as "Saul. Of Ye Olde Tarsus." She then quotes First Timothy 2:12. The character Saul says, "I'm obviously not THAT Saul. I would never write that and you know it!"

Also, in the appendix/glossary at the end of the book (called a guide to Petrarch's Library), we are given information about many of the historical figures mentioned in the book. Many of these characters were those persecuted in history for speaking out on one thing or another. I felt that the author included a disproportionate number of victims persecuted by those acting in the name of Christianity (as compared to those persecuted by other groups of people, either religious or secular).

The entry for Petrarch himself perhaps is the most telling. Here we have the old dude the cool fantastical world is named after, and what does Downey choose to write about him? "Historians out in the later wherens* consider Petrarch the father of 'Humanism'--a system of values and beliefs that people are basically good and that problems can be solved using reason instead of religion. If they only knew the half of it."

In the end, I did enjoy the book--at least the parts of it that were central to the plot and not slapping me in the face for my faith. I don't know if the author plans to make it into a series, but she certainly has plenty of room to do so. Will my sons be reading this book (or any that may come after it)? That's undecided. I think I could easily point out the things I think they should be aware of, but is it that good that they need to read it? Not really. Nor did they express any interest in reading it at any point during the two weeks it resided in our library tub.

*Wherens is the made-up world in this book that combines "where" and "when".

Ranger's Apprentice books (continued)

Well, I've continued reading the series, and I've made it through the sixth book.  My previous decision still holds, but I have different reasons for the decision now.

The violence isn't so intense in books 2-6. Yes, there's violence, but since knights and Skandians (Viking-like characters) are featured, there's bound to be fighting.

The romance continues, but I'm no longer terribly concerned about it. It's not too mushy or gratuitous. I don't think it's so much romance as to make a boy not want to read these books.

Language, however, is rough at times. I suppose that's what you get when you follow around some adult warriors through all sorts of adventures. Words that begin with "d" and "h" are scattered throughout, albeit not liberally (not every page or anything).

Are these books literary masterpieces? No. They are fun books. They are adventure books. From my point-of-view, there's no underlying agenda being pushed.

On a side note, the fantasy world seems based on a Europe from history, modern ideas do creep in here and there. An enameled pot here. A wire there. Amusing to me and my husband, but not a deal-breaker.

_Ranger’s Apprentice Book One: The Ruins of Gorlan_ by John Flanagan

My mother-in-law, who has reared 10 of her own boys, highly recommends the Ranger’s Apprentice series. We were recently on the receiving end of a few of the books, and my oldest two boys (ages 10 and 8) gobbled up the first two books and were begging me to find the others at the library. They also insisted I read them, too.

I complied. 

Eventually.

Things have been quite busy around here lately, and I tried picking up the first book, The Ruins of Gorlan several times. But my eyelids were just too heavy. Sleep won the day.

Finally I had a chance to begin reading. While the book is set in a fictional realm which is usually a minus for me, I just didn’t want to put it down. I could see why the boys liked the books so much. The story of fifteen-year-old Will figuring out his new life as the ranger’s apprentice is filled with adventure. As gripping as the arduous training and battles are, Will’s inner struggles had me on the edge of my seat and cheering for him to make (what I thought) the right decision.

I’ve only had a chance to read this first book, but I heartily recommend it.

However.

It’s a little late now since both boys read the first two, but I do think I’ll hold off on letting them read more for a bit. Why? Because it’s a little more intense than I think they are ready to handle. There is some violence which is to be expected in a tale with knights and castles, bullies and monsters. While I wouldn’t call the violence gratuitous, it was fierce enough to make me feel uncomfortable. I do think some 10-year-olds might be okay with it, but it’s something that a parent should judge. If you have concerns, preview chapters 21 and 22 for what I considered to be the harshest of the violence.

For those who want to shield their children from all romance, there is a kiss at the end of chapter 31. While only 3 sentences of the entire book were devoted to it, it made quite the impression on both the receiver and me. Again, it was not gratuitous and it also wasn’t trashy. It was intense because of Flanagan’s writing style that brings words to life. I might have even blushed while reading it. There. Now you think I’m a total prude, and that’s okay. I can handle it.

The book is recommended for ages 10 and up, and that is probably a good starting range. Perhaps my 10-year-old can handle it just fine, but I’m still waiting (mostly because of the violence). I recommend giving it a perusal before you hand it to your boy if he is younger than 10. 

If any of you have read beyond the first book and have more insight about the series, please let the rest of us know in the comments.

Guardians of Ga'hoole Series by Kathryn Lasky

This series is about owls. Talking, thinking owls. Owls that have friends and enemies. Owls that fight pure evil.

I've only read through the first five books, but if they are any indication, these are clean books. I think those who object to the magic in Harry Potter might find these books okay. I don't think the specialness of these owls would be considered magic; it's just the kind of special powers that fantasy characters have.

I must warn you, however, there are bad words used--but they are owl bad words, made up ones. If your child uses them, people will just look at them strangely.

The battle between evil and good is pretty intense. These are not just fun feathery owls. There are real bad guys, and if your son can't handle that, these aren't the books for him. What I liked is that the bad guys were clearly bad, and the good guys were good. And because the owls battle, there is violence, too.

Now you must realize that fantasy stuff is not high on my list of likes, but once I got into the first few chapters of The Capture (the first in the series of 15), it wasn't so bad. By that point, I had figured out the basic jargon that is unique to many fantasy books, and these owls do have special words and phrases we must conquer.  After the first book, I wanted to read more, and more importantly, both of my boy readers did, too. My oldest has read the first 10 books over and over.

I would guess 8 might be an appropriate beginning age for these books (though the reading level on the back cover says RL4), but if you have a different perspective (perhaps you've read all the books), please comment and let us know!