Chapter One Hundred Fifty Eight: Year of the Griffin

So, after trying and failing to become interested in Bone Gap, which was this year's Printz award winner (for excellence in writing for young adults), I decided to give it up and read something I knew I'd enjoy, Year of the Griffin, sequel to Dark Lord of Derkholm which I reviewed only a few posts previously.  I have not yet gone wrong with a book by Diana Wynne Jones, and Year of the Griffin was no exception!  I enjoyed it at least as much as Dark Lord of Derkholm, and possibly more.  I was only sad that it ended so soon!  But enough in that vein.  As for the book itself, it takes place eight years after the events of Derkholm, focusing on Derk's youngest griffin daughter, Elda, now 18, in her first year at the Wizards' University, which is in financial and magical chaos due to poor (and somewhat corrupt) administration.  Elda and her friends at university add a good heap of excitement to the campus, intentionally and not, making this another novel in Jones's excellent tradition of stories with deliciously complex, multi-layered plots with lots of dynamic and slightly mysterious characters.  If you enjoy fantasy novels and complex plots, this is definitely the book for you--though do read Dark Lord of Derkholm first.