Chapter Two Hundred Forty-Seven: Silver in the Wood & Drowned Country

About a month ago, my hold on Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh finally became available, and as soon as I was done, I regretted not having put the sequel on hold at the same time.  (I think I've finally learned that lesson, though.  I can always cancel the hold on the sequel, after all...)  This week, the sequel, Drowned Country, finally became available to me, and I devoured it as eagerly as the first book in this duology.  There are so many good things to say about Silver in the Wood  and Drowned Country that I'm going to go ahead with a list.

• Each book is short--less than 200 pages in print.  They're really more like novellas.  These days, I really appreciate a shorter read.
• The plot is engaging without being too fast-paced or stressful.  I don't want more stress from anywhere these days, especially not from my leisure reading.  Anything that can both hold my interest and not stress me out is huge for me right now.
• The writing is lovely.
• They're steeped in the natural world and folklore related to it.  While I'm generally into nature and plants and the outdoors, I think the nature-oriented setting and magic of these books has particular appeal for me at the moment, when it feels harder to safely enjoy the outdoors because of overcrowding at local parks and on local trails.
• There is romance, but it's not the only plot, and it's fairly subtle.  It's also between two male characters, which I appreciate in my general quest to read a variety of books about a variety of people.
• Finally, the covers are beautiful.  I know this isn't really a major thing, but it's an added bonus, even when reading the e-books, as I did.

There are probably other aspects to these books that I enjoyed and have already forgotten.  They really drew me into their lush, green, wild world.  They're fantasy, yes, for there is magic, but it's not overpowering... it feels more like folklore than fantasy, but folklore with character development and a modern feel to it.  If you truly don't enjoy elements of the fantastic, then these are likely not for you, but if you do at all enjoy fantasy or folklore, these are too short and wonderful not to read.

Chapter Two Hundred Forty-Six: In the Waves

Since I spent the last few days re-reading an old favorite--The Blue Castle, by L.M. Montgomery--because I needed something happy with an ending I already knew, I'll take this time to promote an audiobook that I really enjoyed a couple of months ago: In the Waves: My Quest to Solve the Mystery of a Civil War Submarine by Rachel Lance.

This is a work of nonfiction, and it follows Lance's PhD research into the sinking of Hunley, a Confederate submarine.  She manages to convey her fascination with the Hunley, believed to be the world's first successful combat submarine, without glorifying the Confederacy or what it represented.  

Given that this is an investigation of the sinking of a submarine and its crew during war, this book does have its fair share of... gore might be too strong a word, but not by much.  There are lots of explosions and plenty of the science behind them.  (If Mythbusters were based on a book, I suspect it would read very much like In the Waves.)  These more action-packed aspects are tempered by the reality of life as a PhD candidate, but even sections about funding and policies and procedures manage to be interesting.  In short, this is narrative nonfiction at its best.  It made for great listening and would likely be fun to read, too.  If you like Mythbusters or science writing or mysteries from history, this is worth a look.

Chapter Two Hundred Forty-Five: Light Changes Everything

Since I haven't yet finished a book since the last one I posted about, I'll use this opportunity to catch up on posting about one of the books I read during this blog's dark period.  Last winter, shortly before everything shut down, I read a book that I still sometimes think about: Light Changes Everything by Nancy E. Turner.  This is historical fiction, set in Arizona Territory (before statehood), starting in 1907.  This setting is part of what caught my interest, since I don't think I've read a single book set in Arizona Territory.  (Possibly I haven't read any books set in modern Arizona, either, though I've visited once or twice about two decades ago...)

Anyway, Light Changes Everything follows Mary Pearl Prine, the 17-year-old daughter of a small farmer who manages to gain acceptance to Wheaton College in far off, glamorous Illinois, by virtue of her drawings.  She turns down a wealthy suitor to pursue this opportunity, though life at college is not as she imagined it would be.  However, when she returns home for Christmas vacation, she's faced with some surprising changes there, too.  In fact, Mary Pearl is faced with rather more than her fair share of challenges and difficulties, but she has character and grit and self-respect to guide her way.

So far, I maybe haven't done justice to this book--the disadvantage of writing about it so long after having read it.  But I'm still thinking about it all these months after reading it, which says a lot.  I don't read a lot of historical fiction, but this one has really remained in my mind.  If you like historical fiction or novels with strong female protagonists, it's definitely worth a look.

Chapter Two Hundred Forty-Four: Witches of New York

Spurred on by the looming deadline of when my library e-book would return, I spent most of last night and this morning finishing up an enchanting novel: Witches of New York by Ami McKay.  Unfortunately, the sequel (Half Spent Was the Night) has a long waitlist, but I guess it's something to look forward to!  Possibly I'll even read some of McKay's earlier novels, though I decided a change of pace was in order for my next read.

Anyway, Witches of New York follows three young women--Eleanor, Adelaide, and Beatrice--as one becomes a witch, one learns to embrace her powers, and another uses her knowledge to guide them.  These are a trio of distinct characters, each with her own personality, motivations, faults, fears, and desires.  Plus, there's a benevolent magical raven on hand.  At no point did I have trouble keeping track of the main trio, or of the many and sundry side characters who populate the pages of this novel, which is wide in scope and perspective, being variously narrated by the three witches as well as by a few secondary characters.

The atmosphere is spot-on, with the writing style reminiscent of 1880s New York without feeling overly affected or stylized.  It both reads naturally and immerses the reader in the energetic, anything-is-possible feel of late nineteenth-century America.  Of course, the book is not purely optimistic; there's maybe even a little more than a fair share of grittiness, misery, and evil within these pages.  After all, there's no story without some conflict!

As for the witches' magic, it's far more herbal than Hogwarts.  There are no wands, though there are talismans, and herbs and traditions, dreams and intuition figure prominently.  It feels authentic, time-tested, and accessible.  If nothing else, I want to try harder to grow an herb garden and keep my own bees (as Eleanor does), though I don't truly expect any magic to come of it.  Anyway, the magic is more lore than high fantasy, so for readers who don't typically stray into speculative fiction but are open to it, Witches of New York could be a great entry-point, and for those who enjoy fantasy already, particularly historical fantasy, it's definitely worth reading for both its magic and its heroines.