Tag: young adult reading

The Kite Rider by Geraldine McCaughrean

This young boys journey through many changes of fortune in China is an imaginative and delightful adventure. Gou Haoyou witnesses much as fate drags him from the small life he’s always known and he joins the circus.

I enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting and the landscapes and view into Chinese culture is always fascinating to me. This was set in 13th Century China. I also love kites, which as the title suggests feature in this great story.

It was the winner of the Carnegie Medal.

The Killers Tears by Anne-Laure Bondoux

This little book exposes the power of love in a most gentle and efficient way. Set in Chile, which is one of the countries that holds the most fascination for me, it begins at an extreme end of Chile in an isolated household perched in a harsh landscape. The story unfolds to shock and amaze with it’s innocence and simplicity.

The young boy, Paolo is introduced to the world alongside the murderer and they lift each other from their different kinds of isolation. Paolo is introduced to many delights and his pure enjoyment of things as simple as the luxury of a bank, reintroduced the abundance of our lives to me. He feels these pleasures fully. The murderer Angel is similarly reacquainted with beauty and innocence and this is a great insight into how your perception can change the world.
It was originally written in French. The story stayed with me and impacted on my interactions with others. A powerful story about redemption, I would recommend it. I loved it.

Brilliance of the Moon by Lian Hearn

‘Brilliance of the Moon’ is the final book in the Otari series. It completes the saga. It wasn’t my favourite of the series because it had that ending sadness and the events occurring in it were often quite dark and horrible.

Another book has been written by Lian Hearn called ‘Heaven’s Net is Wide’, it goes back to the beginning, therefore ending the collection at the start. I look forward to reading that, but not for a while.

They are such thick books and with the Japanese culture and names, seem to require more concentration from me than the usual books I flit through. I am glad to have completed it. I hope I can fly through a few more on my shelf as my reading stack is piling up. I had to return a pile to the library today as I heard kids talking about books they were waiting for and felt guilty they were just sitting next to my bed.