Title: Mystery of the Witches' Bridge aka The Witch's Bridge
Author: Barbee Oliver Carleton
Published: Scholastic, 1967
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 305
Total Page Count: 498,360
Text Number: 1775
Read Because: reviewed by![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rachelmanija, borrowed from Open Library
Review: An orphaned boy is taken in by his closest living relative, his reclusive uncle, who carries the burden of a local feud that began with a witch trial. This is a fascinating little book. The actual plot is an adequate if unremarkable classic MG adventure story: family secrets, local feuds, a hammy antagonist, and a wealth of tortured miscommunication made bearable by a quiet internal focus which centers the protagonist's frustrated need for friendship and family.
But, line by line, the writing is phenomenal. The setting is ridiculously evocative -
- and that tone often touches the character work, especially in the darker, moodier sections:
It's a pleasure to read, and elevates an otherwise-okay book to something special. The bulk of the reviews of this are from readers who imprinted on this as children, and I can see why it left that mark.
Title: The Ten Thousand Doors of January
Author: Alix E. Harrow
Published: Redhook, 2019
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 385
Total Page Count: 498,755
Text Number: 1776
Read Because: reviewed bymrissa, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: The ward of a wealthy collector opens an improbable doorway and begins a journey of discovery into her own past and into portal worlds. I found this mildly annoying and justifying that feels like nitpicking, and probably is, because my prior exposure to Harrow was "A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies," which I kind of hated, so I was predisposed to be a grump. But there's legitimate things to be grumpy about!
Same-voice plagues the inset narratives. The writing and themes are twee, and I say this as someone who loves both books-within-books and meta portal fantasy: it's a lot of self-congratulatory rhapsodizing on the power of stories, doctored up with language that tries hard to be poetic but mostly lands on forced. The handling of race, privilege, and social change has a similar vibe: patently well-intended but very talky and not especially nuanced. The antagonist and romances combined overshadow the exploration of portals. It's not bad. It's fine. But I'm a sucker for what this is trying to do, I should have loved it, but mostly I see missed potential.
Title: Goddess of Filth
Author: V. Castro
Narrator: Stacy Gonzalez
Published: Tantor Audio, 2022 (2021)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 155
Total Page Count: 498,910
Text Number: 1777
Read Because: personal enjoyment, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Inverting the usual possession narrative, a group of high school grads summon an indigenous female spirit who brings violent transformation to one of their number. The audio narration of this is bad, injecting an overacted quality that amplifies the clumsy elements of the writing. I would have liked this more in print. Irreverent, honest, on-the-nose but still doing interesting things particularly in the intersections of race/colonialism with pop feminism. It's not subtle, and the revenge fantasy elements and antagonist veer towards hot mess. But it's fun, and the dirtier moments of female sexual empowerment and the more restrained elements in the evolving dynamic between possessor/possessed are engaging.
Author: Barbee Oliver Carleton
Published: Scholastic, 1967
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 305
Total Page Count: 498,360
Text Number: 1775
Read Because: reviewed by
rachelmanija, borrowed from Open LibraryReview: An orphaned boy is taken in by his closest living relative, his reclusive uncle, who carries the burden of a local feud that began with a witch trial. This is a fascinating little book. The actual plot is an adequate if unremarkable classic MG adventure story: family secrets, local feuds, a hammy antagonist, and a wealth of tortured miscommunication made bearable by a quiet internal focus which centers the protagonist's frustrated need for friendship and family.
But, line by line, the writing is phenomenal. The setting is ridiculously evocative -
With each step the island, solid and safe, fell behind. The salt marsh gradually became the whole world, half land, half sea, wide and bright and windswept, and threatening.
- and that tone often touches the character work, especially in the darker, moodier sections:
Dan's mind rocked. His uncle believed! In spite of what he had said about superstition, his uncle believed in the witch's curse! The floor beneath Dan's feet became suddenly like the marsh, unsure, tremulous.
It's a pleasure to read, and elevates an otherwise-okay book to something special. The bulk of the reviews of this are from readers who imprinted on this as children, and I can see why it left that mark.
Title: The Ten Thousand Doors of January
Author: Alix E. Harrow
Published: Redhook, 2019
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 385
Total Page Count: 498,755
Text Number: 1776
Read Because: reviewed by
mrissa, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County LibraryReview: The ward of a wealthy collector opens an improbable doorway and begins a journey of discovery into her own past and into portal worlds. I found this mildly annoying and justifying that feels like nitpicking, and probably is, because my prior exposure to Harrow was "A Witch's Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies," which I kind of hated, so I was predisposed to be a grump. But there's legitimate things to be grumpy about!
Same-voice plagues the inset narratives. The writing and themes are twee, and I say this as someone who loves both books-within-books and meta portal fantasy: it's a lot of self-congratulatory rhapsodizing on the power of stories, doctored up with language that tries hard to be poetic but mostly lands on forced. The handling of race, privilege, and social change has a similar vibe: patently well-intended but very talky and not especially nuanced. The antagonist and romances combined overshadow the exploration of portals. It's not bad. It's fine. But I'm a sucker for what this is trying to do, I should have loved it, but mostly I see missed potential.
Title: Goddess of Filth
Author: V. Castro
Narrator: Stacy Gonzalez
Published: Tantor Audio, 2022 (2021)
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 155
Total Page Count: 498,910
Text Number: 1777
Read Because: personal enjoyment, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Inverting the usual possession narrative, a group of high school grads summon an indigenous female spirit who brings violent transformation to one of their number. The audio narration of this is bad, injecting an overacted quality that amplifies the clumsy elements of the writing. I would have liked this more in print. Irreverent, honest, on-the-nose but still doing interesting things particularly in the intersections of race/colonialism with pop feminism. It's not subtle, and the revenge fantasy elements and antagonist veer towards hot mess. But it's fun, and the dirtier moments of female sexual empowerment and the more restrained elements in the evolving dynamic between possessor/possessed are engaging.
