Sabriel - in honour of it's birthday

Today the first in The Old Kingdom series, Sabriel, turns 20 years old. There are a few books I can point back to as being so very influential on my life.

The first was Howl's Moving Castle; I wasn't an adventures reader during my younger years. I didn't have a great grasp of spelling or grammar, a trait I'm happy to say I still am unable to escape... wait... happy's not the right word. However it was How'ls Moving Castle that was the first ever chapter book I read, and I couldn't put it down. I don't know if it was the magical world, characters or just how endlessly creative it was but I couldn't put it down. It was the first book that was ever threatened to be confiscated from me, but certainly not the last.

From then on I was a very avid reader, a huge fan of Tamora Pierce, Diana Wynn Jones and Margret Clark''s Web Watchers... which is so incredibly dated in hind site that I have to laugh, although lovingly.

One of the book made a very lasting impression on me without ever having a chance to read it, this was Lireal. I borrowed the book but didn't have a chance to read it before I had to return it, although my father did. When the Librarian asked what I was planning to read next I said Lireal, and was then promptly told that I couldn't. Lireal was apparently too adult for me, and I should never have been able to borrow it in the first place. I'd never been told that I wasn't able to read something before and that set something off inside me.

It was in the high school library that I finally was able to get my hands on Lireal, to this day it is still my favorite book. It's the only book I've ever re-read and re-read and re-read.

There was only one other book that opened up another word for me as well, the first ever tome fantasy that I read. Sword of Shannara,  was the first time I'd challenged myself when it came to length.

However this isn't really a great birthday for Sabriel, as I've spent so long talking about how I like it's younger sibling more. While it's considered a trilogy, I see it a bit more like The Hobbit and then LOTR. Sabriel is set around twenty or so year before Lireal and Abhorsen.

So Sabriel, a happy twentieth birthday to you, one of the few books I'll re-read, part of my favorite series of all time and a truly great book.

When We Wake - Review

So this year I've decided to try the AWWC (Australian Women's Writers Challenge) in which I will be reading and reviewing five books by Australian Women; conveniently I have had one sitting on my too read list since September.

When We Wake is a, say it with me everyone, young adult dystopia. Actually that isn't really fair, its the future, it's not perfect as it's dealing with the consequences their past but it's real and it's very human. There is no secret experiment where young able bodied teenagers are forced to run mazes... for reasons.

Let's start with a bit of a spoiler free talk over the plot; Tegan is our main character; living in Melbourne's near future. Her life is awesome until it is suddenly cut short and she wakes up in the future from an experimental cyro system. Propelled into the life of a celebrity by the fact she is the first person to be successfully revived Tegan has to deal with having suddenly lost everything in her in edition to the disillusionment that the future may not be as perfect as her and her friends had protested for,

What the authors wants to look at is laid out right into the first few pages as Tegan is off to a climate change protest rally. Karen Healy keeps the focus nice and tight by having the 'future' only be 100 years forward, allowing some major changes to have taken place but for a lot of society to be recognisable. The book does feature a number of some distopic ideas with warring countries, limited resources, human rights abuse but there is no evil villain. There are a few antagonists but they are all humanized to a degree and none of them sit in a total seat of power.

There is a lot that could be dissected in this book, the author clearly had a lot she wanted to explore. The effects of climate change, Australia's treatment of immigrants, autonomy and how our technology or the future could impact that autonomy. Although she doesn't really go into the last one as much; it's more a plot device to ensure Tegan is controlled by the state.

I really enjoyed how Healy clearly takes her audience seriously enough to understand a lot of the issues themselves, although sometimes the exposition hammer is wielded and the big secret of the government is fairly easy to guess. I'd say it's on the young end of YA with the writing style and the dialogue is probably one of my least favorite parts as it feels forced. The characters however are all a lot of fun and have their own motivations, yes the main characters are all a little too good. I was getting a bit of a Power Rangers vibe of 'these can't be real teenagers cause no teenage is that good'. Tegan is the only one who is perhaps a bit more selfish then that, Healy makes a point of us knowing that while she does care about the social issues she is protesting but is more happy to be spending the time with her friends. Which makes sense, Tegan is our audience stand in and is the one who needs to learn about caring for the issues over her own personal drama.

I suspect if young me had of picked up this book it could easily have been one of the ones that blew my mind; there is a lot in this book and it means sometimes they only get the opportunity to scratch the surface of the issues. I'm interested enough to read the next in the series and see where Tegan's adventure continues.

If YA is your bag then this is a really good quick read, and if your in the target audience this could really be something that speaks to you.

So far, a really strong start to the AWWC; although it has been pointed out to me that this may be a cheat since Karen Healy is in fact a citizen of New Zealand, however she spent a lot of time in Australia and the story is set there so I'm going to count it.

Oh it is also fantastic, and yet somehow hilarious, to be reading a book where the future relationship between Australia and New Zealand is in anyway important.