88.
Author: Terry Pratchett
Title: I Shall Wear Midnight
Publication: Hardback
Pages: 355
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Acquisition:
Date Completed: November 21, 2010
Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Tiffany Aching of the Chalk is no longer wielding iron pans against mythical creature, but she is still driven by the same fire that has always existed in her soul. She is now The Witch, and the Hag of the Hills, and she's damn good at it. Too good at it, at times, as her past actions bring her to the attention of a demonic soul intent on seeking revenge on a memory.

While I have enjoyed all of the Tiffany Aching books, I Shall Wear Midnight is undoubtedly my favorite. Pratchett's wit and keen eye for social criticism and satire are on full display, and the story itself will take readers on a wild and magical ride.

87.
Author: Joseph Bruchac
Title: Code Talker
Publication: Paperback
Pages: 231
Genre: YA, ALA Best Book for Young Readers
Acquisition: Teaching text for 8th grade
Date Completed: November 21, 2010
Rating: 5 stars out of 5

In the early days of World War II the American military is starving for a way to protect transmitted intelligence - an Unbreakable Code. One man, the son of a trader who sells goods to Native Americans, provides the answer the military is looking for, and before long Marines are found on Navajo reservation to find native speakers. As a language with no alphabet, and a language almost impossible to master unless one learns it from birth, the Navajo tongue provides a code that finally defeats Japanese intelligence. Once their worth is proven, the Code Talkers are in high demand, and their importance in WWII cannot be exaggerated.

In Code Talker, Joseph Bruchac tackles a story that is suppressed for the government for over three decades. Having produced a treasured government secret, the Navajos who develop the Unbreakable Code are forbidden to share their important role in the war, and for years remain unrecognized by anyone other than their fellow Marines.

Ned Begay is one such Marine. Having attended missionary schools from a young age, he is an ideal candidate for the role the Marines seek to fill, and once he is sixteen he convinces his family to allow him to lie about his age and join the military. Once shamed by bilagaanaa for his culture, Ned finds that that very culture is what allows him to serve his homeland.

Bruchac's narrative is haunting; Ned's quiet grade highlights both the horrors of war and the horrors of racism in the land he helps to protect without delving into alienating anger. His dignity moves the reader, and allows anyone with a soul and a conscience to relate to Ned, regardless of race or culture.

With no intimate knowledge of the cultural and historical events, I was quickly drawn in to Ned's story, and found myself mesmerized by his voice and moved by his experiences. I highly recommend this book to all readers.

86.
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Title: Hex Hall
Publication: Kindle E-book
Pages:
Genre: YA Fantasy
Acquisition:
Date Completed: November 13, 2010
Rating: 2 stars out of 5

Hex Hall is the story that every young teenage girl scrawls in her history notebook to escape reality. Rachel Hawkins' novel adds nothing to the genre that hasn't been developed a hundred times before. The characters are underdeveloped and inconsistent, and, while the conclusion presents an interesting twist, the pacing is so terrible that all entertainment is lost in the rush to the end of the chapter. Not recommended.

85.
Author: Madlyn Alt
Title: [Hex Marks the Spot]
Publication: Kindle E-book
Pages:
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Acquisition:
Date Completed: November 8, 2010
Rating: 3 stars out of 5

Hex Marks the Spot is the third installment in Madlyn Alt's Bewitching Mysteries series, which follows Maggie O'Neill as she works in a marvelous antiques shop, explores faith and spirituality, and helps figure out a dead body or two. Alt's series is light and fluffy, and just what I was looking for in the midst of my semester-crunch.

However.

I have always had two small problems with Alt's series, and the second is severely highlighted by the subject of the third book. My first problem is Liss' "accent," and the second problem is ...Eli. I am perfectly willing to believe that my own ignorance is getting the best of me at the moment, but Alt's representation of the Amish seems so far out of my own understanding that I have a difficult time concentrating on the story itself. The accents (and frequency of Ja) are bad enough, but ... Amish men using gas-powered saws? Working in modern factories? Carrying cell phones? Ah ha! My faith in Ms. Alt is restored! It looks like she does do her research (as I hoped), and my problem is really my own making. Here's an article from Wired on the Amish and their use of technology, specifically cell phones. Excellent work, Ms. Alt.

This season my grandmother and I subscribed to the Washington Ballet, and yesterday we attended the opening show - Septime Weber's translation of Romeo and Juliet.

My response to the ballet is, as usually, fractured. Weber himself left a sour taste in my mouth when he introduced the play and proclaimed that the story of Romeo and Juliet had nothing to do with fate (ok), and that they were instead "young people who were very much in love" yet faced a number of opposing forces.

And my usual problem with the play kicked in: Very much in love. After meeting once. Real love, between a thirteen-year-old girl and a twenty-year-old young man.

The ballet itself was amazing. Weber's choreography was breathtaking, and Sergei Prokofiev’s score is perfectly haunting. As usually, Mercutio and Tybalt were my favorite roles (Tybalt was performed by the man pictured above with Juliet), but Romeo himself (Brooklyn Mack) was powerful and honest, and mesmerizing. Initially, I was not pleased with the seemingly-shallow and emotionally-devoid performance by Juliet, but as the ballet continued my opinion changed, and I think the ballerina perfectly captured the emotions of each scene, while reflecting on the youth and circumstances that lead there.

In the end, I have to say that the Washington Ballet's production of Romeo and Juliet is highly successful, and I can't wait to return for "The Nutcracker."

84.
Author: William Shakespeare
Title: Othello
Publication: Paperback
Pages:
Genre: Drama
Acquisition: Work text
Date Completed: October 28, 2010
Rating: 5 stars out of 5

The second of my paired yearly readings. A perfectly sinister and despicable villain, lies, manipulation, and a protagonist that is redefined on every page. I love this play.

83.
Author: Algernon Blackwood
Title: The Damned
Publication: Kindle E-Book
Pages: 116 pages
Genre: Gothic
Acquisition: Can't remember for the life of me
Date Completed: October 23, 2010
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

I have no recollection of why I downloaded Algernon Blackwood's The Damned onto my Kindle, but I have a feeling I found it during one of my batch-downloads of free gothic texts. I'm sure the title caught my eye, and I know the author sparked my interest, because the name Algernon Blackwood is simply perfect for an author of horror and gothic literature.

According to Wikipedia, that fount of immeasurable wisdom, Blackwood is an English fiction author who is born in Kent in 1869, and dies in 1951. The Damned is a haunted house tale published in 1914, and it explores not only the classic elements of haunting tales, but also the implications and consequences of specific religious beliefs.

The Damned is very satisfying for fans of the Gothic; the tale is creepy yet subtle, and the narrator's voice is perfectly suited to the material. The religious overtones of the story are intriguing, and the criticism gives the reader much more to consider than a "simple" haunting.

Thanks to such a positive introduction, I will certainly seek out more Algernon Blackwood in the future.

82.
Author: Euripides
Title: Medea
Publication: Kindle E-Book
Pages:
Genre: Classical Drama
Acquisition: Intended to read it for years and years
Date Completed: October 16, 2010
Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

While my experience with Greek theatre is far from extensive, I feel comfortable proclaiming a general interest in and enjoyment of the genre. I find the level of bawdiness in the satyr plays and comedies extremely entertaining, and I find myself moved and repulsed by the tragedies in such a way that I would never deny their literary superiority.

That is, until reading "Medea." Rarely do I come across a protagonist so static and repulsive in her inability to invoke emotion; Medea's actions, rather than her words or character, propel the plot, and the presentation of those actions is wooden at best. As a reader I felt myself moved only for the fate of her sons, and for that I credit my own maternal state over the development of the text.

As always, I am willing to shift some blame to the particular translation, because no translator can help but influence the text in his work. My desire to read Euripides has been sated. I'll return to Sophocles and Aristophanes with pleasure.

81.
Author: Louise Penny
Title: The Brutal Telling
Publication: Paperback
Pages: 400 pages
Genre: Mystery
Acquisition: Michael bought it for me. He insisted.
Date Completed: October 14, 2010
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

I am having a very difficult time reviewing this book without spoiling the plot for future readers. All I really feel I can say is that I never really expected Penny to go where she does. I kept waiting for a different conclusion to arise, and so in a way I feel both delighted and disappointed.

80.
Author: Howard Greenfeld
Title: After the Holocaust
Publication: Hardback
Pages: 141 pages
Genre: Nonfiction
Acquisition: reviewed by Whisper1
Date Completed: October 7, 2010
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Howard Greenfeld's project is an engrossing and heartbreaking look at the lives of young people who survived the Nazi regime, only to be forced to endure countless further hardships as they try to gain some sort of "normal" existence. After the Holocaust carefully balances research with first-person accounts, so the history itself becomes personal, and the book is all the more moving for the stories and photos shared by the participating survivors. I appreciate Greenfeld's attempts to move beyond the initial horror of the war and concentration camps to show contemporary readers the continued plight of an abused people. Likewise, I appreciate Greenfeld's attempts to widen the scope of victims; while the personal accounts are all related by Jewish survivors, Greenfeld's analysis frequently refers to the other ostracized and victimized peoples who fall victim to the same prejudice and horror. Recommended for everyone.