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The DWJ Project: Enchanted Glass
Jan. 26th, 2012 11:12 pmWhen Andrew Hope's grandfather dies, he leaves Andrew in charge of his magical field-of-care -- with very little instruction as to what to do with it. And when a boy named Aidan Cain shows up on Andrew's doorstep, looking for safety from the inhuman things chasing him, the two of them have to work together to sort out just what is happening in the village of Melstone.
This is one of Jones' newest books, surpassed only by Earwig and the Witch, which is one of the only things of hers I haven't read at all. It's a splendid example of two of the things Jones did beautifully well, which are vivid characterization coupled with a dry wit. The opening pages, which describe Andrew trying to cope with the housekeeper and gardener for Melstone House, are just hilarious: slightly larger-than-life (quite literally, in the case of the vegetables Mr. Stock keeps dumping in the kitchen as punishment), but still grounded in something very real. And both of the protagonists, Andrew and Aidan, are the kind of sensible people I have always loved in her books. (It makes me wonder, in fact, how much of my preference for sensible characters stems from reading her work. Not all of it -- Cimorene from Dealing with Dragons deserves some credit, too -- but I suspect quite a bit.) First reading this book when I was thirty instead of thirteen means those characters will never occupy the deep place in my heart some of her others have, but I have very little to quibble with, where they're concerned.
My quibbles have to do with the world, which hints at all kinds of fascinating things, but never goes into enough detail to satisfy me. For an explanation of that, follow me behind the cut.
( Read more... )
The Game is up next (which, like this book, I first read in January 2011), and I may or may not finish off Unexpected Magic before the month's end. Then I get to read the rest of my second tier of favorites: Archer's Goon, Power of Three, and A Tale of Time City. I'm looking forward to them!
This is one of Jones' newest books, surpassed only by Earwig and the Witch, which is one of the only things of hers I haven't read at all. It's a splendid example of two of the things Jones did beautifully well, which are vivid characterization coupled with a dry wit. The opening pages, which describe Andrew trying to cope with the housekeeper and gardener for Melstone House, are just hilarious: slightly larger-than-life (quite literally, in the case of the vegetables Mr. Stock keeps dumping in the kitchen as punishment), but still grounded in something very real. And both of the protagonists, Andrew and Aidan, are the kind of sensible people I have always loved in her books. (It makes me wonder, in fact, how much of my preference for sensible characters stems from reading her work. Not all of it -- Cimorene from Dealing with Dragons deserves some credit, too -- but I suspect quite a bit.) First reading this book when I was thirty instead of thirteen means those characters will never occupy the deep place in my heart some of her others have, but I have very little to quibble with, where they're concerned.
My quibbles have to do with the world, which hints at all kinds of fascinating things, but never goes into enough detail to satisfy me. For an explanation of that, follow me behind the cut.
( Read more... )
The Game is up next (which, like this book, I first read in January 2011), and I may or may not finish off Unexpected Magic before the month's end. Then I get to read the rest of my second tier of favorites: Archer's Goon, Power of Three, and A Tale of Time City. I'm looking forward to them!
