Review: Tamsin

Title: Tamsin


Author: Peter S Beagle

Why I read it: There was a cat on the cover ^_^

Summary (from Goodreads) Arriving in the English countryside to live with her mother and new stepfather, Jenny has no interest in her surroundings, until she meets Tamsin. Since her death over 300 years ago, Tamsin has haunted the lonely estate without rest, trapped by a hidden trauma she can't remember, and a powerful evil even the spirits of night cannot name. To help her, Jenny must delve deeper into the dark world than any human has in hundreds of years, and face danger that will change her life forever.

Opinion: This was one of my favorite books as a teenager. I first read it when I was about fifteen and I've read it twice since. It's a story of friendship, adventure, danger, ghosts, and the lovely English countryside. Perfect for October!

Ratings
Girl Power: 5 (Jenny is a strong, realistic, narrator who makes for a charming protagonist who stirs up trouble as much as she gets out of it)
Writing Style: 4 (First person is difficult to pull of, but it worked here. Peter S. Beagle managed to balance a believable voice by having an (slightly) older Jenny looking back on the strange events of her adolescents.)
Plot: 5 (It's not just a ghost story. It's mysterious. Funny. Heart-wrenching. Jenny's struggle of self-discovery and adventure in a new country is nicely interwoven with the tragic and romantic storyline of the ghosts.  It sucked me in at fifteen and it still sucks me in today.)

Overall: 5

Overall: This is one of my favorite books. I think Peter S. Beagle is one of the most under-appreciated authors I've ever read. 

Baseline For Book Reviews

In order to help you understand this blog's review system better, I'm going to share with you my thought process in reviewing books. Here is what I'm looking for:

Girl Power: Is the main character (or significant supporting character) female? Is she strong? She doesn't have to be Lara Croft, but she has be able to stand her ground (be it through strength, intelligence, compassion, etc). Basically, this is about how much girls drive the story (not just the off screen princess waiting to be rescued).

Writing style: Did it read seamlessly? Did it leave me thinking "wow, that was an amazing quote" or "that scene was so vivid, I can visualize it months after setting down the book?"  

Plot: This where my personal preference comes in. Was it engaging? Did it keep me turning the pages to find out what happened next? How much did I enjoy reading this book?

Sample Reviews
I thought I might review a few Popular series for you to use as a baseline:

Hunger Games
Girl Power: 5 (Katniss, our heroine, does the saving. Strong, defiant, conflicted, standing up for the weak: she's the definition of a hero. Only female.)
Writing Quality: 3 (The appeal of this series isn't in the language, but the plot. I've heard some readers complain of the choppy, short, direct sentences, but for me they worked with Katniss' mental state. Also, present tense is difficult to pull off for an entire novel, but again I think it worked fine).
Plot: 4 (I was sucked in from the first chapter and read most of the book in one sitting. While the last book got a little overly fast-paced for my taste, it was a solid consistent plot that kept my interest.)
Overall: 4

Harry Potter
Girl Power: 4 (while HP has some of the strongest female role-models in literary history, they take a back stage to our hero, Harry).
Writing Quality: 4 (this is the difficult in rating a series, for the quality of writing improves significantly from book 1 to book 7)
Plot: 4.5 (ok, it's nothing out of the ordinary--boy is faced with evil villain he must stop in order to save the world and all that's dear to him--but the sub-arcs, side-plots, and creation of the Wizzarding World make it feel unique and engaging)
Overall: 4

The Lord of the Rings
Girl Power: 1 (with the exception of Eowyn, the kick-ass warrior and devoted niece, women are pretty much nonexistent from these otherwise wonderful books)
Writing Quality: 4 (though his writing can be tedious at times, the vivid details and descriptions fully immerse us in another world)
Plot: 5 (purely because this is my favorite story ever told)
Overall: 3

Twilight
Girl Power: 1 (yes, our main character is female, and yes, she does have her moments, but for the most part she is very much a damsel in distress and that's not what I'm looking for)
Writing Quality: 2 (The words are there. They make sense. They tell a story. That's about all I can say).
Plot: 2 (Boy meets girl. They fall in love. Oh and there are vampires).
Overall: 2

Remember, the higher reviews are not necessarily the books I like best, but books I feel are most well-written female-character driven (because, after all, that's what this blog is about!)

What do you think of the ratings for these particular books? Do they seem fair or would you care to argue differently?

Review: Gates of Ivrel

Title: Gates of Ivrel

Author: C.J. Cherryh

Why I picked it up: My mother recommended it as one of her favorites (great taste, Mom!)

Summary (stolen from Goodreads): Scattered about the galaxy were the time-space Gates of a vanished but not forgotten alien race. In their time, long before the rise of the native civilizations, they had terrorized a hundred worlds—not from villainy but from folly, from tampering with the strands that held a universe together. Now the task was to uproot these Gates, destroy their potency for mischief, take horror out of the hands of the few who hungered for power by misuse of the Gates.

Opinion: Alright, so the main protagonist isn't female in this one, but the story revolves around a woman (and not in the usual lovestruck way). Morgaine, taking it upon herself to seal the Gates though it may very-well kill her, is a classic hero. Strong, powerful, persuasive, altruistic. And a woman! What more could you ask for?

Ratings
Girl Power: 5 (Morgaine is kick-ass)
Writing Style: 5 (very Tolkien-esque, if you like that).
Plot: 4.5 (unique, suspenseful, a little confusing at times)
Overall: 5

If you're a fellow Tolkien fan, but want want to see more tough females amongst all those heroes, this is for you.