BookPikks

A sweet story about Livy Two Weems, her mother, father and eight siblings.  Together, they’re struggling to survive in their North Carolina home.  Livy’s father, although he doesn’t earn much money, has big dreams of becoming a famous song writer.  Livy’s mother somehow manages to keep the family fed and the kids out of trouble.  And Livy, who writes songs of her own, dreams of traveling to see the world and of teaching her blind sister Gentle to read.

I’ve always loved a good “survival” story.  When I was younger it was The Boxcar Children, Swiss Family Robinson and My Side of the Mountain.  Later, it was The Postman; Into the Forest; Memory Boy; Tomorrow, When the War Began, and many others.  There’s just something about people defying the odds and thriving in the midst of tragedy and disaster that makes for great reading.  And the minute details about how the characters gathered food/made shelter/found clothes?  I love those parts!

I was hoping that The Compound would be another great survival story to add to the list.  Well it did have the minute details about food, shelter and clothing that made me happy.  But the story overall wasn’t great.  In the face of a nuclear attack, Eli and his family are quickly moved underground into a state of the art shelter, prepared by his billionaire father.  After 6 years of living underground, Eli has grown from a scared 9 year old boy to a questioning teenager.  He starts to suspect that his father isn’t telling him the truth about everything, and goes searching for answers.  It’s an interesting premise, but the rest of the story is convoluted and strange.  The ins and outs of why the “bad guys” did what they did just don’t make much sense.

After reading the fabulous Dragon Slippers and Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, Dragon Flight was a let down.  It was still an entertaining sequel to Dragon Slippers, but it didn’t have the magic of George’s first two books.  There were no real new characters introduced, and we didn’t learn anything new about, or see much growth in the old characters.  It kind of seemed like the same people doing more of the same thing.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Sumiko and her family are forced to abandon their thriving flower business, and are sent to live in an internment camp on an Indian reservation in the Southwest.  In the dry desert sand, Sumiko feels lost.  It is only when she plants a garden and makes a friend that hope for the future grows again.

After absolutely loving the first book I read by George - Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow - I had high hopes for Dragon Slippers, and I was not disappointed.  Dragon Slippers targets a slightly younger audience (late elementary/middle school), yet is such a phenomenal story that readers of all ages will enjoy it.

Creel and her brother are orphans, being reluctantly cared for by their poor aunt and uncle.  When Creel’s aunt devises a scheme to get Creel a dowry and a rich suitor, Creel feels she has no choice but to go along with the plan.  Unfortunately, the plan involves a dragon.  Creel doesn’t get either a dowry or a suitor from her dragon encounter.  What she does get is a pair of shoes, a trip out of town to seek her fortune, and a chance to save her country.  Creel is a fabulous heroine, and can proudly take her place among the great heroines of fantasy literature such as Ella,  the Goose Girl, and Miri.  I’m eagerly awaiting a chance to read the sequel, Dragon Flight, and I expect that it won’t be long before we see George’s movies appearing on the big screen.