Review: The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson

Title: The Dragonfly Pool
Author: Eva Ibbotson
Genre: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Adventure
Publisher: MacMillan Children's Books
Pages: 416

Tally Hamilton is furious to hear she is being sent from London to a horrid, stuffy boarding school in the countryside. And all because of the stupid war. But Delderton Hall is a far more" "unusual and " interesting" place than Tally ever imagined, and she soon falls in love with its eccentric staff and pupils. Now she's even organizing an exciting school trip to the kingdom of Bergania . . . although Tally never expected to meet the "prince."

Prince Karil hates his life at the palace and he is only truly happy when he escapes to the dragonfly pool, a remote spot in the forests of Bergania. Then Karil meets a feisty English girl who brings the promise of adventure. But his country is under threat, and the prince soon looks to his new friend Tally for survival as well as friendship... (More from Goodreads)

I had this book for a while, and never got around to it until I realized it would be perfect for one of the 2015 Reading Challenge categories. It just gave me more of an excuse to read it. The first Eva Ibbotson book I read, almost a decade ago, was The Star of Kazan, and I really liked it. I think I should re-read it because I can't remember anything that happened within! That said, I was also planning on getting Journey to the River Sea as this is her book which garnered most fame, but it's all a matter of time. Onward to the review!

Fulfilling Friday: One-Twelfth Around the Sun

Fulfilling Friday is a feature where I talk about the happenings of the week, focusing on the positives, and plan for the upcoming days- on a Friday, of course!

In the blink of a eye, the curtains begin their descent on January in preparation for February's act.

What have I done in this month?

Book-related

Well, first of all I completed my targets for the first month of this blog's existence. Two book reviews per week at least, and now scheduled posts are still bidding their time until February. I am one month closer to being ready to publicize this space.

Review: Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Title: Revolution
Author: Jennifer Donnelly
Genre: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Supernatural
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 496

Andi lives in New York and is dealing with the emotional turmoil of her younger brother's accidental death. Alex lives in Paris and is a maid to the royal family as the French Revolution rages. They're both struggling with their responsibilities and their places in the world. (More from Goodreads)

I picked this book up because the cover caught my eye. I found it gorgeous, and as you can see at the bottom of the cover, it touts the author as having written a best-selling novel. I looked at the back cover and it talks about a curious girl in a very vague, single sentence paragraph. The first thing that crossed my mind was romance. Probably historical, by the looks of the book. Revolution? Only one historical time period, in one particular region, came to mind.

Of Art, and Other Life-Altering Moments

I interrupt my usual flow of reviews to bring you this delightful piece of news.

By some series of serendipitous events, I stumbled upon a Deviant (is that what you call them? I'm not so sure ^^;) whose work moved me to tears.

It started a few days ago, with Garth Nix's facebook post of a Deviant who made artwork of all the Nine Gates of Death. They were marvelous and featured in many other collections of the Abhorsen series' artwork made by Deviants, which I began to explore. Many clicks and other Deviants later, I found this truly beautiful work of Lirael, Sam, Mogget and The Disreputable Dog sailing to Abhorsen's House that I could not peel my eyes from for several minutes. Naturally, I visited this artist's gallery- and was blown away by all of her work.

They were ethereal.

And wondrous.

And tranquil and enthralling and purely magical.

+ Other words that cannot begin to describe her masterpieces.

One work, in particular, captured my attention more than the rest. It was titled 'A Cozy Evening (Detail)', and I felt a sense of familiarity with the work even though I have never been in a snowy country before, let alone that particular scene. Then I discovered it was part of a bigger masterpiece, and was even more bewitching as a whole! I had tears in my eyes and Thijs could attest to this- he laughed at me for being so emotional, but agreed all the same that her work was, indeed, beautiful.

I had to speak to the artist; had to convey how moved I was by her work. So I made a Deviant Art account to do just that. It wasn't until I was writing the first few sentences that I realized... That very work would fit in perfectly as this blog's header. I spent so much time admiring it that I didn't think of it until a few hours later!

I decided to ask her permission to use it, although it felt selfish at the moment... Believe me, if there was a digital print of it on her Etsy site I would have purchased it as long as I had enough money in my bank.

She replied.

And, well... the header picture now is proof of how awesome this person is!

I enjoyed sketching, back when I was younger and had more free time, but I knew I wasn't the most artsy of people. I can't keep my hand steady enough; can't convey my mind's eye to paper; can't focus on the details, and all the other things that matter to make beautiful artwork. But Kundry's Inner World seem to speak to me. The pieces all have a heart and soul, and I spent many hours just admiring their beauty and tranquility. I was mesmerized as I have never been by art.

Visit her Deviant Art account, and be enchanted.

More importantly, the person behind these beautiful pieces is just as genuine and charming as her work. I can't wait until she has more stuff on her Etsy that I can purchase, particularly large prints of her work for me to put in my living space!

EDIT: OMG THEY ARE THERE! Now I must wait torturously for next month's allowance to purchase them :(

Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

Title: Room
Author: Emma Donoghue
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Adult
Publisher: Picador
Pages: 321

Jack is five, and excited about his birthday. He lives with his Ma in Room, which has a locked door and a skylight, and measures eleven feet by eleven feet. He loves watching TV, and the cartoon characters he calls friends, but he knows that nothing he sees on screen is truly real - only him, Ma and the things in Room. Until the day Ma admits that there's a world outside...

Told in Jack's voice, Room is the story of a mother and son whose love lets them survive the impossible. Unsentimental and sometimes funny, devastating yet uplifting, Room is a novel like no other. (More from Goodreads)

Room is a book that keeps popping up everywhere and remained within the periphery of my vision, untouched and unwanted- at least by me, and at least at that time. This is because (as I have probably mentioned before) I am kind of a book snob and would rarely indulge in buying contemporary fiction in place of a good young adult and/or fantasy title. That is until one fine day, I find someone raving about how good it was and decided, 'Why not? It has been available in the bargain bookstore for a while.'

Fulfilling Friday: Family First

Fulfilling Friday is a feature where I talk about the happenings of the week, focusing on the positives, and plan for the upcoming days- on a Friday, of course!

This week has been an off-week of sorts. I did not manage to do much revision of my own, and a few classes were brought forward. But I did have quite a few free days to unwind and relax, and though it's not enough for me to have finished a single book by Friday, I am currently near to finishing Eva Ibbotson's The Dragonfly Pool, which I will (hopefully!) review next week.

Review: Lirael (Abhorsen #2) by Garth Nix

Title: Lirael (Abhorsen #2)
Author: Garth Nix
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Publisher: Harper
Pages: 705

Lirael has never felt like a true daughter of the Clayr. Now, two years past the time when she should have received the Sight that is the Clayr’s birthright, she feels alone, abandoned, unsure of who she is. Nevertheless, the fate of the Old Kingdom lies in her hands. With only her faithful companion, the Disreputable Dog, Lirael must undertake a desperate mission under the growing shadow of an ancient evil.

In this sequel to SABRIEL, winner of the Aurealis Award for Excellence in Australian Science Fiction, Garth Nix weaves a spellbinding tale of discovery, destiny, and danger. (More from Goodreads)

As should be apparent, this is the second book in the Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix- perhaps the best series of books ever written by him, and the very series that made me start reading his work. I started re-reading Sabriel a while back when Rinn was doing re-reads sometime last year, and I figured I should continue to finish the trilogy again- because at the time, the new prequel Clariel was coming out soon. At the time of writing, Clariel has been out for a few months now and I still haven't got it yet because I'm... waiting for the right time (and price).