Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star
Brandon Mull
Release Date: 5/1/2007

Intended for readers twelve and up, Brandon Mull’s new book is a fairly quick and easy read, with a few laugh-out-loud scenes.

I didn’t read the first one, but the sequel didn’t leave me confused; it stands on its own while picking up the threads of the first book and laying down the tracks for the next book in the series.

There are challenges and life-or-death mythic battles a lá Harry Potter towards the end of the story, but Fablehaven doesn’t feature a “chosen one” – unless you count Kendra, whose “fairystruck” state is more complicated than it seems. Mythical creatures abound in the book since Fablehaven Ranch is one of the last bastions of mythic and magical creatures. The plot revolves around Kendra, her brother Seth, and their grandparents trying to keep Fablehaven’s magical relic out of the hands of the evil Society of the Evening Star while ferreting out a traitor in their midst. As to whether they are wholly successful at either of these tasks, well, you’ll have to read the book to find out.

If you’re looking for some summer candy – an entertaining and light read – then whether you’re twelve or twenty-five, this is a book to pick up.

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Un Lun Dun, released February 13^th of this year, is the newest novel by China Miéville, acclaimed author of King Rat, Perdido Street Station, The Scar, and Iron Council. This novel is his first foray into the young adult book scene, but its YA status doesn’t preclude adults from enjoying it.

The story starts out with two young girls, best friends named Zanna and Deeba, in the city of London. Strange occurrences abound until finally, one night, they accidentally transport themselves to an alternate world filled with puns (though not as prolific, obvious, or painful as those of Pierce Anthony’s “Xanth” series). They discover that a menace looms that must be defeated, and can only be defeated by the Chosen, for whom the weird residents of Un Lun Dun have been waiting all this time.

The tale is beautifully fabulous, with the majority of the action taking place in Un Lun Dun. The strange world abounds with irrational characters and ideas usually not found in adult literature, even in adult fantasy: one has a bottle of ink for a head, in which it dips a pen to write. Another literally speaks words into existence: absurd, beautiful, grotesque, beings crawl from its mouth when it speaks (and even these living words become functional characters in the novel). Trash is capable of sentience, giraffes are dangerous carnivores, and various other normal things from the real world are twisted and reappropriated for weird and different use in this other-world.

A highly entertaining and well-paced adventure, it also contains enough subtext to intrigue any reader who likes delving beyond the surface.

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