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Having no prior knowledge of the myth of Angus, I didn’t have much footing going into this retelling. And I found the book so different from my usual fare that I’ve discovered it to be rather difficult to read about. In some ways it reminded me of Francesca Lia Block with the language.
Intertwined with the story of Angus, his birth to the tricked Boann, his being stolen from her by his father Dagda, his realization of who his true parents are (as he was raised by one of Dagda’s sons as his own), are stories of everyday people. A newlywed couple. A pair of brothers. An animal handler. A divorcee. All touched in some way by the mysterious hand of Angus.
Any myth-lover ought to enjoy the book. Along with any fan of dreams and love, or McCall Smith.
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Ingrid Levin-Hill’s life has taken a turn for the dreary. Her brother, Ty, has started bulking up for the football team, and his attitude has taken a turn for the worse. After being called to help him spot one day (not a fun deal–he was lifting way too much weight for Ingrid to actually assist with), Ingrid also notices his back is covered in acne–not usual for him–but doesn’t know what to make of it.
Her father, the handsomest dad in Echo Falls, has changed into a shadow of himself. Working all the time, never really hearing what she says, dark around the eyes, cranky. She’s sure it has something to do with the paper that was hidden in the trash–the one announcing a new hire at the Ferrand Group, where he works, but since she’s not supposed to know about that she can’t bring it up.
Meanwhile, their assistant soccer coach has taken off to Europe and has been replaced by the rather sinister Julia LeCaine, who nails Coach Ringer in the head with a ball and afterwards feigns innocence. As Ingrid was the only girl to see her hit said ball, she keeps her mouth shut. Her mind is silently putting together pieces.
Add in a mysterious Mexican pill bottle found in her childhood treehouse, a missing DVD player in Ty’s room and new one at Sean Rubino’s, a shifty orderly at the hospital, and a kidnapping Ingrid can find no proof for though she knows it happened to her, and you’ve got more than enough for anyone to handle, let along a middle school sleuth. But Ingrid calls on her mind, and her memory of The Complete Sherlock Holmes, and slowly but surely puts it all together.
A really fun read. Any mystery/detective story fan should definitely pick this up.
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Picking up where we left off in Once Upon a Curse, all is relatively well with Princess Emma’s life. She’s cured the family curse, she’s now the Green Witch, her Aunt and her sweetheart Haywood are reunited, and she has her own true love, Eadric. Her only remaining problem is trying to winner over his parents, who are not at all fond of magic, and therefore not at all fond of her.
On her mother’s orders, the two take a caravan to Upper Montevista, Eadric’s Kingdom, Emma trying her best to seem normal along the way. Easier said than done, when your traveling companions are a bat and a crab and your friend Ralf the dragon drops by to give you some news. Still, they make it to Upper Montevista in one piece and without many mishaps. Whereupon they find that Eadric’s brother Bradston has been kidnapped.
Using her far-seeing ball, Emma is able to conclude that the Troll’s have Bradston. And while his mother is loathe to have anything to do with magic, she must admit that Eadric will need Emma’s help. And so the two set off.
Along the way they encounter the trolls themselves, cockatrices, a banshee, a town of vampire bats, and some more trolls. Needless to say, not the easiest adventure they’ve set off on. But they do manage to retrieve Bradston, and return home to find that their wedding has been approved and will be happening the next day. Happily ever after, after all?
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