Anne Ursu

Amendment: I happened upon another (4-star) review of this and got to thinking. It is true that this book is a bit of a challenge. I can almost see why some think it a 'drag.' But as that other reviewer implied, all readers need their own books. And that goes double for children. Reluctant readers shouldn't have to resort to Leveled Readers or Wimpy Kid, and advanced readers shouldn't have to resort to books that are meant for older children.
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I'm torn. Do I read it again immediately, or wait a few months? I need to do so at some point, because reading for the adventure & character dev. wasn't nearly enough.

I love Oscar, and Callie, and the cats. I love the way Oscar (who seems slightly autistic) has an understanding of himself and the world that unfolds at the same pace for him as it did for me. I'm truly spellbound by the poetic language and mysterious atmosphere. (Opening the book at a random early page finds Oscar in his master's library: "The shelves were so very much taller than he could ever dream of being, and Oscar firmly believed people shouldn't go any higher than they already were.")

Like [b:Breadcrumbs|10637959|Breadcrumbs|Anne Ursu|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1300592738s/10637959.jpg|15546655] it's not a book for everyone. But it's brilliant. Imo, Ursu (so far) writes with almost as much grace & power as [a:Sonya Hartnett|138742|Sonya Hartnett|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1203041513p2/138742.jpg] and her stories are a lot easier to stomach. I will definitely read more by the author.
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Reread because I just had a craving to do so. I think that I'll be doing that regularly to all of Ursu's stand-alone books. Maybe I'll have to buy them to have on hand....… (more)

This latest Anne Ursu story may be the best. It doesn't have the sort of magic that I appreciated in Breadcrumbs and in The Real Boy, rather, it reads *at first* more like a typical fantasy adventure, the kind that fans of Harry Potter want.

However, it doesn't take long for the reader to realize that it's even better, not only because is it a compelling story, but also because it avoids common clichés such as a stereotypical Chosen One, 'mean girls' and hazing, and other burdens of the usual fantasies. Instead, it gracefully integrates girls and women as the main characters, fighting to gain their powers, with a thrilling mystery set in an original world w/ a fresh take on a magic system.

Speaking of it being a thrilling mystery, that's the reason that I can't say anything else!

Highly recommended to all feminists and to all boys, girls, and parents & other educators of them.… (more)

"In the woods where the woodsmen told lies, maybe it was the wolves who told the truth."

Eerie, literary, rich. Recommended. I listened to the audio a few years ago and felt that I was missing something, but it turns out that's a good way to read it at least for me, as I don't do audio much, and so there was the cachet of 'something special' associated with the experience. And of course I missed the pictures, which are nice but not critical (though it would have helped if I'd caught on more quickly that Hazel was of East Indian descent). In a way I missed almost nothing; in another way I missed almost everything. Brilliant book.

I could read it again. There's *so* much going on here beyond the plot. For example, why does Hazel think of herself as hollow, especially when she's meeting with the school counselor? Is she rescuing Jack for his sake, or for hers? Is she going to go back to school the same girl she was when she left, after this adventure? What *is* the point of plastic flowers? I'd love to discuss it with a group, or listen in as children discuss it.

And, perhaps just as importantly, has Ursu written anything else like it?

Another reread. I definitely get more out of this every time. I'm going to keep this paper copy I found in a LFL. Poetic, resonant, thoughtful.

"I believe that the world isn't always what we can see. I believe there are secrets in the woods. And I believe that goodness wins out."

Btw, Ursu's The Real Boy and The Lost Girl are also very much worth reading if, like me, you can't get enough of this kind of writing.… (more)

Of course you know already that I love Ursu's stories. So well-crafted that even when the first 2/3 or so is more about the beautiful writing and the interesting world-building than it is about the characters or themes, I know to push on... and then I say Oh! Oh! the hidden truths, oh! the allegories exposed, oh! so *that's* what that is all about....

I particularly love the crows, in both their literal and symbolic roles. And the cat. And the mystery of just who the narrator is. And the other characters who were all so real, even the bully and the scary teacher and the bad parents actually weren't those things, really....

Bookdart to remind me to try [b:Bunnicula|281235|Bunnicula (Bunnicula, #1)|James Howe|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348802537s/281235.jpg|1142982] again.

Bookdart about a traditional zoo:

"[A]nimals trapped in small iron-and-concrete cages serving life sentences for the crime of being interesting, ... waiting for the occasional little girl or boy with the big heart who would look into their eyes and see the sadness there and take a little bit of it away with them."

I will reread this, and continue to read more by the author.

Breadcrumbs is probably her best book, but this one is likely to be a bit more accessible to a wider audience.… (more)