Review: The Secret Zoo

The Secret Zoo is the first in a middle grade series by Bryan Chick. It tells the story of 4 children who discover there is more to their local zoo than meets the eye. Megan is in her treefort one night and sees monkeys on the roofs of surrounding homes. She tells her brother Noah but he doesn't believe her. Shortly after this she disappears. Her brother Noah and their friends Ella and Richie are determined to find her. Their search is fruitless until one night a bird arrives at Noah’s window- a bird with a message. The message tells Noah to go to the zoo where he will find more clues. Once there he receives another message- this time a page from Megan’s journal.

It appears that Megan was investigating some odd occurrences at the zoo. Noah receives several pages from her journal, all from different animals, and he begins to realize this zoo is more than it appears. As the kids investigate the zoo they see some strange goings-on. They have an encounter with a polar bear named Blizzard and continue to receive clues as to Megan's disappearance. The animals seem to watch them and before long they run afoul of zoo security, who waste no time in evicting them.

They soon find there’s another world and a secret society and a wondrous place called the City of Species where humans and animals live together in harmony. The City of Species is a neat place. The descriptions are lush and whimsical, and the author really lets his imagination run wild here (pardon the pun). I particularly liked the Forest of Flight, an immense aviary in the City that holds a multitude of birds of all kinds. The kids flee into the Forest and there is a running battle of sorts as the kids and their animal friends Blizzard, Podgy the penguin and a bunch of prairie dogs try to escape a band of overzealous police- monkeys. One of the better sequences in the book.

I enjoyed the first two thirds of the book a great deal, however after everything is explained at the City of Species I started to lose interest. The backstory and the villain were just not compelling for me. There is a battle at the end with mild violence, and some of the later events strain credulity even in a book this whimsical. But overall it's fun and lighthearted.

There’s no shortage of imagination in The Secret Zoo. The book is charming and whimsical, and it reads fast. There’s a lot of humor as well, and the animals who help the kids are adorable. Who wouldn’t want a ferocious polar bear friend? The Secret Zoo is the first in a series. I don't feel compelled to rush out and get the second one, but I may continue with the series at some point. This one is self- contained enough that you can enjoy it as is. It's a great middle grade book.

"Waiting on Wednesday" #2: Dangerous Women

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick is Dangerous Women an anthology edited by George RR Martin and Gardner Dozois.
Publication Date: December 3rd, 2013


From Goodreads:

The Dangerous Women anthology contains following stories:
- Introduction by Gardner Dozois
- “Some Desperado” by Joe Abercrombie - A Red Country story
- “My Heart is Either Broken” by Megan Abbott
- “Nora’s Song” by Cecelia Holland
- “The Hands That Are Not There” by Melinda Snodgrass
- “Bombshells” by Jim Butcher - A Harry Dresden story
- “Raisa Stepanova” by Carrie Vaughn
- “Wrestling Jesus” by Joe R. Lansdale
- “Neighbors” by Megan Lindholm
- “I Know How to Pick ’Em” by Lawrence Block
- “Shadows For Silence in the Forests of Hell” by Brandon Sanderson
- “A Queen in Exile” by Sharon Kay Penman
- “The Girl in the Mirror” by Lev Grossman - A Magicians story
- “Second Arabesque, Very Slowly” by Nancy Kress
- “City Lazarus” by Diana Rowland
- “Virgins” by Diana Gabaldon - An Outlander story
- “Hell Hath No Fury” by Sherilynn Kenyon
- “Pronouncing Doom” by S.M. Stirling - An Emberverse story
- “Name the Beast” by Sam Sykes
- “Caretakers” by Pat Cadigan
- “Lies My Mother Told Me” by Caroline Spector - A Wild Cards story
- “The Princess and the Queen” by George R.R. Martin - A Song of Ice and Fire story

This looks like a great anthology with a lot of well- known authors. It's a little ways out yet, not releasing until December, but I'm looking forward to it. The biggest draw for me, of course, is the new Ice and Fire background story by George RR Martin. With such a long wait between books it's nice to get a little tide-me-over once in a while...

Review: Glow

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan is the story of Kieran and Waverly, teenagers on a worldship called the Empyrean that is headed for New Earth after an apparent environmental catastrophe on Earth. Kieran is the captain’s protégé and Waverly is the oldest girl onboard. They are expected to marry and produce children for the colony and seem to be in love, although Waverly has doubts. She feels she is too young to marry and needs time to explore her feelings; at the same time she feels an attraction for the dark and brooding Seth. Seth is the son of the ship’s pilot and pretty much the opposite of Kieran. He has a thing for Waverly as well, so there’s our love triangle.

We get a sense from the outset that something is wrong- there is a sister ship called the New Horizon that is supposed to be light years ahead of them, but has inexplicably appeared nearby and no one is sure why. It appears the captain knows but he’s not telling, and tensions are high on the Empyrean. We soon find out that the long voyage through space made it difficult for the colonists to get pregnant- the Empyrean’s fertility labs were able to solve the problem but the New Horizon was not so fortunate. The New Horizon doesn’t have any children- so they decide to take the Empyrean’s girls for breeding purposes.  

There are chilling clues interspersed throughout the book, and that’s one of the things I liked. For example early on Waverly thinks that the New Horizon must have decelerated years ago to allow them to catch up- so immediately you get the feeling that whatever is going to happen, it has been in the works for a while. The poor people on the Empyrean just have no idea what is coming.

The story is told from the alternating viewpoints of Kieran and Waverly. After the attack they are separated and go through all kinds of trauma as Waverly struggles to survive on the New Horizon and Kieran attempts to save the Empyrean. Tensions quickly boil over between Kieran and Seth, and when Kieran is betrayed he must somehow fight back from the brink of death. Waverly meanwhile has to adjust to life aboard the New Horizon, and when she discovers that her mother and some of the other parents from the Empyrean are being held onboard, she resolves to rescue them and get off the ship. As the story progresses we realize that not all is as it seems. There are revelations about the Empyrean and its captain that shake Waverly’s confidence at a critical juncture.

If you’re like me you’ll hate some of these characters by the end, and others you won’t be sure about. That’s a testament to the skill of the author. This is not one of those books where you have to wait for things to get going- we learn right at the outset that the New Horizon is nearby and the attack happens very quickly, so the tension is high almost from the outset. Towards the end Waverly is faced with some tough choices, and I mourned  her loss of innocence even as I found myself hoping she would exact vengeance.

I found the portrayal of religion to be interesting. We learn early on that the crew of the Empyrean are mostly secular, whereas the New Horizon has a more religious crew. Kieran has a religious background as well, and later in the book when he’s imprisoned he hears a voice in his head. We are left to wonder if this is God speaking to him, or is he hallucinating? The choices he makes change the situation aboard the Empyrean dramatically, and also affects his relationship with Waverly. To be honest I wasn’t crazy about this development, but it does explore themes of faith, forgiveness and leadership.

I was impressed with Glow. It’s a gripping story that doesn’t let go, and I found myself wondering more than a few times “how are they going to get out of this one?”. Having said that, I do think it gets a little unrealistic towards the end. I mean the distances between the two ships are just so great, the kids are so inexperienced and it just wasn’t really plausible to me that everything would fall into place the way it did. Still it’s a thrill ride and highly recommended.

Glow is the first in the Sky Chasers series. The second book is Spark and I look forward to seeing where the story goes.

Sunday Spotlight: Tides

I purchased Tides by Betsy Cornwell over the weekend and look forward to reviewing it soon. I've always been fond of merfolk and selkies are an intriguing concept. This appears to be a love story mixed in with selkie lore. Early reviews seem to be pretty good and I look forward to taking the plunge.

Sunday Post

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer

A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

June 11th Teaser Tuesday

June 11th Teaser Tuesday

June 12th Waiting on Wednesday

June 14th Old School Friday review: Bear Island

June 15th Review: The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester

Review: The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester

The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester by Barbara O’Connor is the story of Owen, a young boy whose family has to move in with his grandfather after his father loses his job. Their next door neighbor is Viola, a know-it-all girl who Owen can’t stand. Owen has a frog he just caught- “the biggest, greenest, slimiest, most beautiful bullfrog ever to be seen in Carter, Georgia”. Owen names him Tooley Graham and is very proud of him- and he doesn’t appreciate it when Viola tells him in no uncertain terms that Tooley would be better off free.

One night Owen is in bed listening to the train go by. He hears a crashing sound and realizes something has fallen off the train. What could it be? He resolves to find out, and recruits his friends Travis and Stumpy to help. They find more than they bargained for however. It seems that a small submarine has fallen off the train, and the boys decide to use it in the local pond! Of course they want to keep this a secret from Viola, who naturally turns up at the most inopportune times.

Finding a submarine is one thing, but getting it to the pond and figuring out how to work it is something else. And that’s where Viola comes in. Viola is smarter than the three boys or at least better read, and she loves to irritate them by pointing out things they have not thought of. Viola wants to be part of the group but they don’t want anything to do with her. Until Owen realizes he needs her help…

Throughout the story Owen wrestles with not only finding the mysterious something, but also with whether or not he should free Tooley. His frog increasingly seems despondent and he starts to realize that Viola may have been right about the frog… 

The dialogue between the kids is funny and authentic, I felt like I was listening to real kids talking. The relationship between the three boys seemed natural, but the best parts of the book are when Viola shows up. I felt a little sorry for her at first, the boys aren’t very nice to her, but she comes through for them at the end. There’s a moment towards the end where Owen and Viola share a moment of triumph that was touching. 

This book is a great summertime adventure. The idea of something mysterious falling off a train in a remote Southern town seemed to me like something that would happen in a Spielberg movie. That’s the vibe I got anyway, and is what initially drew me to the book. It’s fairly short at 168 pages and has a Q&A with the author at the end.

The Youtube trailer is here.

Review: Bear Island

Bear Island tells the story of a film crew aboard a fishing trawler en route to an isolated island in the Arctic Circle. Of course, it will come as no surprise that the film crew (or at least some of them) are more than they appear to be. Written in the first person style from the viewpoint of a Dr. Marlowe, we quickly learn that not all is well with this movie production. There are several murders onboard the ship, and as Marlowe investigates he finds himself pulled deeper and deeper into a morass of deceit and intrigue.

As the story progresses so does the body count, and when the ship’s radio is mysteriously smashed it becomes impossible to call for help. The captain must decide between continuing on to Bear Island or making for port in Norway. The decision is made to proceed and the crew arrive on Bear Island about halfway through the book. Once they are there, the trawler doesn’t stick around and they are essentially marooned with one or more killers in their midst.

This is where the story becomes more of an espionage tale as secrets are revealed and perhaps no one is who we thought they were…including our narrator Dr. Marlowe. There’s plenty of twists and turns as the murders resume on the island and things really get desperate. Why is Marlowe really on board? What secrets are the film crew hiding? And what does this have to do with hidden Nazi gold from World War II?  

Bear Island is a gripping tale of blackmail, hidden treasure and international intrigue. It is written in an old- fashioned, wordy style that just wouldn’t fly today, and to be honest there were times when the wordiness and long sentences were tedious. At the same time it’s well written wordiness, and there were times when it really worked for me. He has a wry tone, often ironic, that elicited chuckles more than a few times. The story started off slow but I stuck with it, mainly because I just love the concept. A mystery at sea, murder and intrigue, a remote island… what’s not to like?

Bear Island is also a very atmospheric story. Most of the story takes place in stormy conditions at sea and blizzard conditions on the island itself. I thought things were  wrapped up too neatly and there is no way to make sense of it all without a lot of exposition at the end, but it was satisfying. The hiding place for a stash of buried loot was, I thought, ingenious.