What we read as adults should be read, I think, with no warnings or alerts beyond, perhaps: enter at your own risk.  We need to find out what fiction is, what it means, to us, an experience that is going to be unlike anyone else's experience of the story ... There are stories I read as a child I wished, once I had read them, that I had never encountered, because I was not ready for them and they upset me ... but they also taught me that, if I was going to read fiction, sometimes I would only know what my comfort zone was by leaving it; and now, as an adult, I would not erase the experience of having read them if I could. (Introduction, pages XVI-XVII)     

It's time again for my favorite weekly bookish meme: Top Ten Tuesday.  It's hosted, as always, by the lovely ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish.  Today, they want to know what's at the top of everyone's summer TBR list.  Mine looks a little something like this:

I never figured Neil Gaiman for a Newbery Medal winner. Apparently, neither did he. I just read an article in which he says:

Joe Harker - star of Interworld by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves - never set out to be a hero. All he wants to do is survive high school. If he somehow manages to earn a glance from pretty Rowena Danvers, well, that will pretty much take care of his life goals. Transforming from an average kid into an intergalactic warrior just plain isn't on his to-do list. But, here he is straddling all the dimensions of time and space to keep balance in the great, wide Alti-verse.


His adventure begins on an ordinary day that turns extraordinary pretty fast. Joe's Social Studies teacher, the eccentric Mr. Dimas, has dropped him and two others (the aforementioned Rowena and a jerk named Ted Russell) in an unknown section of town. Their assignment is to find their way back to the school within a certain time frame and without using a map. Oh yeah, and this is their final project. The test is not a good one for Joe, who gets lost in his own house. The challenge gets even more difficult when he discovers not only that he is lost - nothing new there - but more lost than just lost lost. In fact, he doesn't even seem to be in his own world anymore.

When Joe "cheats" and pays for a bus ride home, he stares out the window at the passing scenery. Everything has changed. Including his home and family. Then, a man in a mirrored mask steps out of the mist, creatures on flying disks appear out of nowhere, and Joe is running for his life from a seductive witch and her tattoo-covered henchman. It is only after Jay (the masked man) rescues Joe that Joe gets the truth: Joe is a Walker, a unique individual who can travel between worlds/dimensions. As such, he is hunted by enemies who want to harness his powers. His particular talents are also desired by the good guys of InterWorld Prime - the organization with which Jay works - who help maintain the balance between magic and science on all worlds.

Soon, Joe joins the good guys, landing in a sort of superhero training camp, where:

It was like being a new kid in a school you hated. Only worse.
It was like being a new kid in a school you hated that was run by the army on
vaguely sadistic principles, where everyone was from a different country and
they had just one thing in common.

They all hated you.

Once again, he's fighting for survival ... in school. And, once again, his "final" is taking him to places unknown. This time, it's a training mission in a (supposedly) controlled environment. When everything goes wrong, however, Joe is left to question his own heart, his own abilities, and his own courage. He must choose between a safe existence on his own Earth or a dangerous life Walking between worlds, a career path that is already paved with failure and death. For a guy who "had difficulty getting to the store on a two-dimensional grid life Earth's surface"(119), it's a decision that will change his life and those of all the various lifeforms on all of the Multiverse's various earths.

Although this book doesn't have the most original plot (an average kid learns he is anything but when his ordinary life goes all weird on him - even a sci-fi novice like me knows this one has been done before), but it has some really fun elements. The main character, for instance, is the kind of helpless underdog you can't help but love. He, and all the variations of himself he finds out in the Multiverse, are interesting although not always likeable. The book makes countless allusions to sci-fi classics like Star Trek (the retiarii's warning will sound familiar to anyone who's watched at least one episode), Lord of the Rings, and The Twilight Zone. Parts of it even reminded me of Stardust, my favorite Gaiman novel. For me, the most fun part was the character of Scarbarus - I love the idea of him being able to bring his tattoos to life.

Interworld offers a fun, if chaotic, mixture of magic, science and space exploration. It didn't wow me, but I enjoyed the story. If you like the Harry Potter books, The Lightning Thief and others, you will probably like this one about another ordinary boy who really ... isn't.

Grade: B

Don't you hate it when you love a book, and Hollywood announces it's making a film based on the story? You wonder if the writers/actors/producers will do justice to the words and characters that swept you away when you read the book. You cringe to think of the many, many ways Hollywood could alter - or even destroy - the work you love so dearly.

This is why I watched Stardust (the movie based on Neil Gaiman's novel of the same name) with so much anxiety. I loved the book. It was charming, magical and sweet. I hoped the movie would be the same, and that I would adore it as much as I did the book. But, I just ... didn't. Don't get me wrong - I didn't hate the film, I just didn't like it as much as I wanted to. Somehow, it lacked the magic of the book.

On the Plus Side: I did like Charlie Cox as Tristran. I thought he was loveable, with the right mix of vulnerability and inner strength. I also thought Michelle Pfeiffer was well cast as Lamia, the hag. Also, the movie, on the whole, succeeded in being whimsical and lighthearted, which was one of the reasons I enjoyed the book so much.

On the Other Hand: For some reason, I wasn't impressed with Claire Danes as Yvaine. She just seemed awkward in her role. I also think she and Charlie lacked chemistry. Some of the minor characters irritated me as well, especially the dead princes. However, I loathed what the filmmakers did to the kindly pilot, Captain Alberic. They turned him into Captain Shakespeare, a blubbering, cross-dressing fool (Robert DeNiro's most humiliating role since Jack Byrnes in Meet the Parents/Fockers). Ugh.

In general, the movie was disappointing. I really, really thought I would love it and I think I would have if Hollywood had stuck closer to Gaiman's original words and characters. Taking the Gaiman out of the story just took away the magic for me. What did the rest of you think?

If you know me, or if you read this blog with any regularity, you know I'm not a big sci-fi/fantasy fan. Still, Neil Gaiman's Stardust has gotten so much press, I knew I had to read it. And, guess what? I LOVED it. I mean, I liked Gaiman's Anansi Boys, but Stardust made me worship this writer on a whole new level.

The book stars Tristran Thorn, a young man living in the walled city of Wall. At one end of his city is a hole, through which lies the land of Fairie. This opening in the wall is guarded every night by men who are charged with allowing no one passage through the hole. Like all residents of Wall, Tristran has observed strange shadows lurking on the Fairie side, but he has never had any real desire to cross the boundary. At least, not until one fateful night, when he accompanies the beautiful Victoria Forester home and the pair see a falling star. Teasingly, Victoria promises that she will marry Tristran if he brings her the star that has fallen. Hopeful, the boy sets out on a journey that takes him beyond his home to the strange land of Fairie, a place where magic abounds and nothing is as it seems. Here, a fallen star does not resemble a "diamond or a rock"(109) like Tristran expects; instead, he finds himself dragging an ethereal young lady back to his city. Soon, Tristran discovers that he is not the only one seeking the star - there's a power-hungry lord searching for its power; an evil hag intent on removing its heart and any number of creatures willing to do harm to Tristran and his prize. Confronting the many dangers in the strange - but oddly familiar - land requires all of Tristan's strength and wit. It also forces him to face the truth of his birth, his heritage and his heart.

This "fairy tale for adults" is simple and enchanting. It lacks the depth of some classic stories, but it captures the imagination as aptly as anything written by C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien. Gaiman writes exceptionally well - his word choice is always apt, always laced with his trademark wit. He sculpts his characters with care, creating a memorable cast of various creatures. Tristran makes a likable, if unlikely, hero, who captured my heart with his humility and goodness. I loved Yvain - the fallen star - as well, and thought her character unique and interesting. Mostly, I loved this story because it is saturated with heart. Despite dark spots, Stardust is essentially a warm tale about one boy's quest to find adventure, love and, ultimately, himself.

Note: I stuck this book on my list for the R.I.P. Challenge, knowing only that it had something to do with magic. It probably wasn't the best read (theme-wise) for this challenge, but I'm not apologizing since I loved the book so much and I wouldn't have gotten to it this year if I hadn't put it on my R.I.P. list. So there!

Fat Charlie Nancy has a problem: his father. According to Charlie, his dad "[was] the most embarrassing person on God's Green Earth" (7), an attribute he "had elevated ... to an art form, and he rejoiced in it..."(4). After a childhood of humiliation at the hands of his father, Charlie moves to England, where he feels relatively safe. Until his fiancee suggests inviting the man to their wedding. Rosie, Fat Charlie's bride-to-be is so kind that Charlie cannot say no to her, so he dutifully phones the U.S. in search of his father. A phone call to Mrs. Higgler, an elderly friend of the family in Florida, results in this news: Fat Charlie's father is dead. When he travels to the U.S. for the funeral, Fat Charlie gets a double shock: according to Mrs. Higgler, his father was actually Anansi, the African spider god of trickery; and he has a brother he never knew about. This confirms his sneaking suspicion: Mrs. Higgler is insane. The old woman insists, however, that if Charlie wants to see his brother all he has to do is whisper his request to a spider. Shaking off the whole crazy business, Fat Charlie returns to the U.K. hoping to resume his nice, normal life.

One night, while shooing away a spider, Charlie jokingly asks the creature to send his brother to him. Much to his shock, the arachnid delivers. Charlie's brother, Spider, is suddenly standing on his doorstep. Spider explains that he, not Charlie, got all of the magic in the family and is, in fact, half god. Like the mens' father, Spider is looking for three things: wine, women and song. Basically, all he wants is a good time and he soon sets about getting it, dragging a sputtering Charlie along with him. After one whirlwind evening with his brother, Charlie awakes to find a woman in his bed who is not Rosie; Spider impersonating him at the office; and himself a stranger in his own home which Spider has magically transformed into a rockin' bachelor pad. In short, Spider has taken over his life. Charlie finds himself on the outside while Spider seduces Rosie, intimidates his boss, and generally makes a mess of his careful life. Desperate, Charlie flies back to Florida to beg Mrs. Higgler's help in being rid of his brother. His request propels him into a strange world where a host of animal/human beings offer him little help. As a trickster, Anansi made a whole lot of enemies, not too many friends. Finally, Charlie begs a sinister Bird Woman to help him get rid of Spider. In exchange for the ruination of Anansi's bloodline, the creature agrees.

Returning to England once again, Charlie is hoping for a quick, quiet resolution to his problem. That is not to be. The Bird Woman has sent her minions - in the form of pigeons, larks, even penguins - to deal with Spider. Aghast, Charlie realizes that he has formed an alliance with a dangerous being. Now, the brothers must run for their lives from their father's ancient enemies. With the help of a pretty policewoman, four withered old ladies, a duppy, and a lime (yes, a lime), Charlie must save himself and his brother, the last of Anansi's line. To do so, Charlie must find his inner strength, confront a bloodthirsty tiger and come to terms with a father he never really knew or understood.

It's difficult to describe this book in all its complexity. On the surface, it's a fun, magical story about a man taking on enemies as old as time. At its heart, however, Anansi Boys is the story of a man and his father, two men who refuse to see eye-to-eye until it's too late. Its moral is one of loving despite differences and, most of all, about embracing what is unique in each of us.

Despite the story's common father v. son theme, this book is anything but ordinary. The writing is spectacular - fun, sarcastic and hilarious - as are the characters. The plot moves quickly, with enough wacky stories to keep you reading. In short, it's just a fun romp, although a romp with a timeless, endearing message about brothers, fathers, humans and the hidden strengths in all of us.