Fables

Night Country (the Hazel Wood series)

Linda J

How easy is it to dip into a series where you haven’t read the first book?

That’s what I had to attempt when I began reading ‘Night Country’ by Melissa Albert. Fortunately, there were prompts and explanations about the main characters and settings early in the story which didn’t seem out of place – more like recollections, which helped a lot without seeming out of place.

(Of course, I also had a look at online summaries of ‘the Hazel Wood’ to get a clearer picture of what preceded this tale.)

Thus, Alice’s adventures (no, not that one) and struggles made sense – caught between 2 worlds – Hinterland and the human world. But restless, she feels she doesn’t belong in either world, and has many unanswered questions.

It seems when Alice previously escaped the bleak world of the Hinterland (a world of dark and tragic fairytales in ‘the Hazel Wood’) she also made it possible for many others to escape as ex-Stories. Beacause of this, in the real world, there is an unease.  Murders of Hinterland escapees occur around her.  Macabre murders. With body parts removed. And one of which she is actually blamed.

This leads to Alice’s battle with Hinterland. She tries to unravel what is happening around her; things which are not allowing her to live a normal life in the real world.

It seems she can never escape Hinterland because she IS Hinterland. 

Back in Hinterland, her rescuer and past love interest, Ellery Finch, attempts to get back to her in the real world of New York.  A strange traveller guides him through many shadowy locations as the Hinterland world crumbles. It seems the traveller is interested in the many objects he had saved from the crumbling buildings of Hinterland. Some of these prove valuable to Finch.

I love that Finch communicates with Alice through letters in a book. After all, she occasionally works and refuges in a bookshop. And he is able to use a magical pen to write a love letter to her in the inside cover of ‘I Capture the Castle’ – the only book he’d taken from Hinterland. However, the intricate ways these letters are delivered to Alice are dependent on where she is.

There is a lot of fantastic and supernatural activity that happens in ‘Night Country’. Melissa Albert has not only built many different worlds but has created fantasy characters with their own stories to inhabit them. Creative supernatural inventions, connections, openings and ways to travel between the worlds are scattered throughout this story, along with poetry and grim fairy tales and endings*.

How will Alice and Finch reconnect?

Are they simply implements in a bigger story?

What happens when worlds collide?

Here’s a review of ‘the Hazel Wood’ to give you some details of the first book (which I should have seen before reading ‘Night Country’) which might compel you to read ‘the Hazel Wood’ first:

The Hazel Wood series is a dark modern-day tale with creepy fairytale creatures.

Recommended for lovers of intricate fantasy. 14+

* There is a short story collection set in the same world – eagerly anticipated by Hazel Wood fans – ‘the original stories of Althea Proserpine (Alice’s grandmother) called Tales from the Hinterland – due for publication in 2020/21.

## Some graphic violence & language throughout. 

Fairest of them all…

Linda J

imageIf you are expecting a retelling of Snow White from Sophie Masson’s ‘Hunters’ Moon’, then you will be disappointed.Though it refers to the ‘Fairest Lady’ and deals with a step-mother plotting her step-daughter’s downfall, it is far more than ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’.

The tale of Snow White explodes in Masson’s tale. It is full and detailed; with characters new and real; with familiarity and clever modern twists that make it her own.

Bianca is not a helpless Snow White waiting for a prince to rescue her, but an observant, resourceful young woman, ready to take action and seek out the truth behind her father’s demise.

The world Masson has created is alive with characters, alliances and mysteries that Bianca must sort through. At first, she is blessed with rescue in the Haven after her stepmother’s servant, Drago fails to kill her. Unlike Snow White, however, she plans to overcome her alluring stepmother’s plans to win over the adoring community, to help them see through her pretentious facade.

‘Hunter’s Moon’ weaves fantasy, fairy tales and traditions with a little bit of magic and steam punk (automata) to bring about a challenging tale. You can never be sure who is hanging around in the shadows – friend or foe.

This is the challenge Bianca faces throughout the tale – who can she trust? Who can she rely on? How can she expose Belladonna for who she really is? Does she have the strength to do it herself? Who is on her side in the end?

A fantastic twist on a traditional tale – another great novel from the prolific Sophie Masson.

Fabled flight – the Wishbird

Linda J

Wishbird-cover-for-website-425x649

When discussing reading with students over the past weeks, we have often referred to the ability of books to take you different places, on a journey and to put you in someone else’s shoes. After a busy week, that is exactly what I needed – and today’s mode of transport was The Wishbird by Gabrielle Wang.

The Wishbird and tales like it always take me back to the books I used to love as a young reader – of fables, legends and fantasy. Whether it be Greek myths and legends, or Arabian tales, I was wrapt in the possibilities of the heroes and anti-heroes portrayed within. Wang has again taken me to these places, though with her Chinese heritage, she has changed the location.

The tale is told from two viewpoints – that of Boy, a street urchin who survives with his light-fingered talents and answerable to Panther, the Fagin in this tale; and then we hear from Oriole, a waif raised in the wild, but destined to play an important future role in resurrecting a torn kingdom far away.

Though initially alternating between Boy and Oriole, the story entwines their lives, their destinies. Mysteries abound in the novel – what can be real or imagined, interplay. What things are possible, or mystical, or fantastical combine – as the players in the tale seek to find meaning in their own personal histories, and to overcome tragedies of their past within their current circumstances.

The fact that this all occurs within a magical tale, where anything might be possible, is the charm of the Wishbird. Wang narrates mystical events, which are confused by conflict and deception, to weave a tale of courage and strength and trust. The pictures within the story add to its charm, affirming how you ‘think’ you see her descriptions – which is nothing different from the days when I read an illustrated version of the Arabian Nights, way back when…

Imagine a world without music.

Imagine if all the singers and musicians disappeared, never to be seen again. Music is outlawed. Even birds are killed because they sing. And because birds live in forests then the forests all around are burnt to stumps. 

Music is an integral part of human existence. Every culture in the world makes music. Without it, the soul dies.

This is at the heart of The Wishbird.

Comment from: http://gabriellewang.com/books/the-wishbird

 

To find out more about Gabrielle, the other books she has written and her way of writing, visit http://gabriellewang.com/faq . There is much to inspire the writer within you, and excite the reader looking for more of Gabrielle Wang.

What are some of your favourite fables, fantasy worlds or myths?

How much do you think the character names add to the Wishbird tale? Oriole? Boy? Panther? Mellow?

Gabrielle is also a talented illustrator and has lots to say to encourage the artist within everyone –

Imagine if students were allowed to doodle all the way through school.
Skills with line work and visualization would increase and both sides of the brain would be exercised.
It might turn out to be a very interesting experiment. For more see: http://gabriellewang.com/archives/the-gift-of-doodling

So get out your writing pens and doodling pencils NOW – you never know what may happen.