Mini Reviews: The Patchwork Girl of Oz, The Bat, & The House of Hades

 

The Patchwork Girl of Oz
by L. Frank Baum
★★★☆

After the The Emerald City of Oz, Baum was planning on ending the Oz series. Public demand and financial reasons prompted him to continue the books with The Patchwork Girl of Oz. Knowing that it wouldn’t be surprising if the story felt forced, but that’s not the case.

Ojo and his uncle, Unk Nunkie are Munchkins that live in the land of Oz. While visiting their magician friend, Dr. Pipt, they see him use the Powder of Life to bring a patchwork girl to life. She’s originally created to help the Doctor’s wife clean their home, but she’s accidently given too much cleverness. The feisty girl often speaks in rhyme and stands up for her friends without thinking of the consequences.

This story reunites readers with all their old favorites. Ozma, Dorothy and the Tin Woodman are all back and the Scarecrow is particularly smitten with the Patchwork Girl. The story follows Ojo as he embarks on a crusade to gather some strange items to help Dr. Pipt save his wife. Also, there’s a funny glass cat in this story that reminded me a bit of Dorothy’s bossy hen. The original illustrations are one of my favorite elements of the books and this installment is just wonderful.

BOTTOM LINE: A great addition to the series, this book combines fan favorites with new characters in an excellent way.


The Bat

by Jo Nesbo

★★★

 

I’ve been hearing about Jo Nesbo for quite a while now and decided to read the first book in his Inspector Harry Hole series. It was fittingly set in Sydney, Australia and so it quickly became a priority for me.

 

The novel follows a relatively formulaic path. A dead body is found, it’s a Norwegian woman and so Hole is sent from Norway to assist the Sydney authorities in the investigation. The murder mystery is interesting, but it’s definitely not what kept me hooked on the book. I loved hearing about the culture and history in Sydney. They talk about specific locations, cultural traditions and racial struggles.

 

The novel reminded me of The Cuckoo’s Calling a bit. The troubled detective has a complicated history and is an alcoholic. The plot lost me a little bit at a few points, but I was reading it more for the location and the lead character so that didn’t bother me.

 

BOTTOM LINE: A great book to read if you’re interested in Australia and a good mystery novel. I’ll definitely check out the next one in the series to see what happens next for Harry.

 

 

The House of Hades

by Rick Riordan

★★★☆

 

At the end of the last book Percy and Annabeth fell into a pit that dropped them into Tartarus, the horrible prison for the Titans. They are own a dark journey to find and close the Doors of Death and restore balance to the world. Traveling through Tartarus is exhausting and I felt weary right alongside them.

 

Meanwhile their friends encounter a strange bandit named Sciron, who kills his victims by making them wash his nasty feet and then kicking them off a cliff. They also travel to Venice to continue the work of the quest. One of the major plot points in this book is a big reveal from Nico, which explains quite a bit about his distant personality. I’d already heard about that part, so there was no surprise, but I still appreciated the importance of the revelation. I also loved the role that Cupid plays in this book.

 

BOTTOM LINE: As I’ve noted with almost all of Riordan’s books, I enjoy reading them, particularly on audio, but there’s never too much that sticks with me. I absolutely love learning more about the Greek and Roman mythology and seeing it worked into modern day situations, but I never find as much depth with the characters as I would like. I will definitely be finishing the series when it’s released.

Kid Lit Mini Reviews: Charlotte's Web, The Emerald City of Oz and The Penderwicks

Charlotte’s Web

by E.B. White

★★★★★

Bittersweet and incredibly powerful, this tale of friendship on a farm is a classic for a reason. The first time I read this book I was so young and though I loved it, I’m sure I didn’t catch all the wisdom, re-reading it as an adult is a different experience.

A young girl named Fern saves the runt of a litter of pigs from death. She names him Wilber and he forms an unlikely bond with a spider named Charlotte. I adore their sweet relationship and all of the eccentric animals who populate the story.

BOTTOM LINE: An absolute must in every child’s library. Read it to your kids or nieces and nephews, then re-read it for you. It is a book for children, but it doesn’t shy away from the reality of the world.

The Emerald City of Oz
by L. Frank Baum

★★★☆

Oz is under attack. The Nome King Roquat the Red wants his magic belt, which was taken by Dorothy and is now with Ozma in the Emerald City. He rallies all of the evil entities in the kingdom to join his quest to conquer Oz.

It reminded me a bit of the end of The Hobbit with the Battle of the Five Armies, but without the battle. The Phanfasms (a ghostly people led by The First and Foremost), Whimsies (stupid people), and the Growleywogs (a strong race) join together, but none of them truly have loyalty to the others.

"All of these allies are dangerous people, and they may demand more than you have promised them. It might have been better to have conquered Oz without any outside assistance."

At the same time, Dorothy moves permanently to Oz and bring her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em along with her because they’ve lost their farm in Kansas. For the first time they are able to see all the characters she’s told them so much about and they finally believe her stories.

They travel through the kingdom meeting half a dozen interesting groups. The Cuttenclips are a community made up of paper dolls; even a sneeze is dangerous to them. Then there is a group made up of pastry people in Bunbury. In an Alice in Wonderland style section Dorothy is shrunk to the size of a rabbit to visit the rabbits in Bunnybury. The world of Utensia is made up of utensils. There’s a spoon brigade and a limit opportunity for fantastic puns!

"I'm a lawyer," said the corkscrew, proudly. "I am accustomed to appear at the bar."
"But you're crooked," retorted the King, "and that debars you.

BOTTOM LINE: I wish I’d read this when I was little. How wonderful to be able to visit all of those creative worlds with innocent eyes. I even had fun reading them as an adult!

“People often do a good deed without hope of reward, but for an evil deed they always demand payment.”

"It's the thing we don't expect, Billina that usually happens."

**From the way the book ended it felt like the final book in the series. I wonder if Baum planned on stopping the series here but then had to write future books for some reason, maybe financial?

 

The Penderwicks

by Jeanne Birdsall

★★★★

Four sisters and their father rent a summer home for their vacation. Along with their dog Hound, the Penderwick family settles into Arundel, a big drafty house in rural Massachusetts.

The four girls have vastly different temperaments. Rosalind is the eldest at 12 and she’s responsible and sweet, trying to make up for the loss of their mother a few years before. Skye, 11, is a loud-mouthed, contentious tomboy. Jane, at only 10, has decided she is an author and lets her romantic imagination get the better of her occasionally. Battie is the youngest, a four-year-old who never leaves the house without a pair of wings on her back.

Their landlady is a snobby woman named Mrs. Tifton. The girls become fast friends with her son Jeffrey. He wants to become a musician, much to the chagrin of his mother, who has planned out a life in the military for him.

The girls run into one problem after another and the episodic style of the book works well. There’s a great supporting cast of characters including their father, who randomly spouts advice in Latin and Churchy, the friendly housekeeper who works for Mrs. Tifton.

BOTTOM LINE: A sweet coming-of-age story featuring sisters, one I would recommend for kids around 8 to 12 years old. It would also be a particularly good one to enjoy during summer vacation.