WWRW: Back to Book Reviews

Bo at Ballard Creek by Kirkpatrick Hill illustrated by the amazingly talented LeUyen Pham is the tale of a young orphan girl raised by two miners in Alaska circa 1920.  Bo is a delightful character. Her guardians and her neighbors in this tight-knit community are by and large good people. However Bo was abandoned by her mother, Mean Millie.  Mean Millie, as well as two other, kinder characters are "good-time girls."  Make of that what you will.  Bo's guardians kept her rather than deposit her at the Catholic orphanage as they were charged to do because the nuns "looked as mean as Mean Millie."

Also, as both School Library Journal and an Amazon reviewer point out, there are some instances of strong language.  The Lord's name is misused a few times.

Despite these details, Bo at Ballard Creek is just as the back cover stated, "Like Little House in the Big Woods...but more rambunctious."

With grizzly bears, eskimos, airplanes, and caterpiller tractors, Bo's world is revealed with excitement and charm.  Much of the charm comes from the pictures.  LeUyen Pham's adorable illustrations are what attracted me to this book. It's the perfect story for winter, for as the book points out "everyone in Alaska likes winter best."

Will in Scarlet by Matthew Cody follows in the footsteps of many young-disenfranchised-hero stories that I've loved like The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen and Clyde Robert Bulla's The Sword in the Tree.

Young Will Shackley kills deadly wolves in Chapter One, but his troubles worsen when he finds himself on the run, his guardian murdered, his father kidnapped overseas with King Richard, and traitors taking over his estate.  He flees to Sherwood Forest and is captured by the Merry Men bandits.

Much the Miller's son saves his life. The youngest, smallest, most unlikely bandit has a secret to keep.  Much is a girl in disguise.  With treasure to steal, castles to reclaim, and secret identities to conceal, Will in Scarlet is an adventure story that any boy or girl will enjoy.

Amazon says ages 10 and up for this one, and I find no reason to disagree.

Jinx by Sage Blackwood also an adventure tale about a young boy. However, unlike  Will in Scarlet, Jinx is an poor orphan boy who is rescued from certain death by Simon Magus. Their world is the Urwald, a magical forest filled with dangerous creatures such as trolls, vampires, werebears, and more.  Simon Magus, Jinx's new guardian or employer, is a wizard.  Are wizards good? Or bad? Or both?  Or does it depend on the wizard.

Jinx feels that Simon must be good. After Simon performs a spell on Jinx trapping his life-force and his ability to see people's thoughts in a bottle, Jinx concludes Simon must be evil and sets out to find someone who can reverse the spell.

Jinx learns that not everything is as it seems in the Urwald, as he faces dangers and even death.

Amazon gives this book an 8-12 age range.  Well, I'm in my forties and I enjoyed it and am getting the sequel. Also, 8 may be a little young for Jinx, what with the incredibly evil Bonemaster and his bridge made out of human thigh bones and his cellar full of dead bodies trapped in glass bottles. This scary book is not for the faint of heart. It's definitely darker than Magyk by Angie Sage but not as horror-filled as The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney. Proceed with caution.

Whelp. There's the first What We're Reading Wednesday post of the year.  Is anyone interested in doing the WWRW link-up?  I'm thinking it could be a first Wednesday of the month kind of thing.  Let me know if your interested.  And thanks for sticking around through the chaos.