Review: The Naming by Alison Croggon

Review: The Naming by Alison Croggon

My Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Summary (from Goodreads):
Maerad is a slave in a desperate and unforgiving settlement, taken there as a child after her family is destroyed in war. She is unaware that she possesses a powerful gift, one that marks her as a member of the School of Pellinor. It is only when she is discovered by Cadvan, one of the great Bards of Lirigon, that her true heritage and extraordinary destiny unfold. Now she and her new teacher must survive a journey through a time and place where the forces they battle stem from the deepest recesses of otherworldly terror.




                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Oh my goodness.  THE EMOTIONS.

I seriously have nothing bad to say about this book.  I have never read a journeying book that has impressed me so much as The Naming.   Croggon did an absolutely lovely job writing this book.  Oh, where to begin?

When Cadvan finds Maerad, she has no idea that she's a Bard.  He helps her to find her way to the city of Innail, where she can begin her lessons in Barding.  But travelling there, Cadvan begins to see that Maerad may be far more important than she appears.  Together, they start a journey that could effect both of their futures, as well as the fate of all of Annar.

Maerad is a character that you get quite attached to from the very beginning.  I love her.  She is such a strong character, though she has had a daunting past.  With Maerad, Croggon managed to capture the delicate balance that a female lead should have: the right amount of strength mixed with the right amount of vulnerability.  She has all the feelings of a teenage girl, yet she neither whines nor complains incessantly (as you see quite a lot with some other lead females).  Maerad is a truly relatable character that makes you fall in love with her from the start.

Cadvan.  Thank you, Mrs. Croggon.  Cadvan is awesome.  He is an extremely interesting character, and personally, I am just as intrigued (if not more) by Cadvan as I am by Maerad.  Croggon does a beautiful job of giving the right amount of background information of Cadvan so that the reader is not ceaselessly plagued with curiosity, but she still leaves room for us to wonder about his past.

Also, not to forget, this novel was beautifully written.  Croggon speaks with a beauty that is quite hard to match.  For example, there is a scene when Cadvan gets into some trouble and Maerad does not know what to do.  An excerpt from the scene: "Suddenly the torrent of grief became an all-consuming anger, and as if her anger tore aside a veil, a new awareness blazed inside her.  Despite her extremity, she was possessed by a fierce, wild joy.  Her blood sang through her veins like a silver fire.  At last she understood her power, and she knew, with a clarity like that of a dream, what she had to do. (Page 353)."  I've seen many different kinds of writing, and Croggon's is among my favorites.  She never failed to impress me.

The Naming allowed me to fall in love with Croggon's writing.  I felt as if every aspect of this story was completely beautiful and eloquent, and few books leave me feeling as such.  From the plot, to the diction, to the characters, this book will meet few matches in its genre.  Croggon did an absolutely wonderful job, and she left me begging for the sequel.

Favorite quote from the book: "She had thought hope was dead inside her, but now she realized that it merely slumbered, like ash-gray embers that held yet a glowing heart, which the merest breath might fan into flame."

Teaser Tuesday (#1)

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a meme held by MizB at Should Be Reading.  Here, bloggers take a couple of "teaser" sentences from the book that they are currently reading and post them to the blog!

My teaser this week comes from The Naming by Alison Croggon! 

Teaser:

"Maerad was still to young to have given up hope of escape, although as she approached adulthood and began to better understand her own limitations, she understood it to be a childish dream.  Freedom was a fantasy she gnawed obsessively in her few moments of leisure, like an old bone with just a trace of meat, and like all illusions, it left her hungrier than before, only more keenly aware of how her soul starved within her, its wings wasting with the despair of disuse."  -Page 2

Guys.  HOW FREAKING BEAUTIFUL IS THAT?!  I have fallen in love with Croggon's writing. Enough said.  

Back to School

Back to School

Alright guys, for those of you who are students, this is by far the most fun part of the year.... back to school! (If you can't see the sarcasm, I promise you, it's there.)


So, that being said, reviews are going to be a bit more slow-coming because I can't sit around and read all day (no matter how much I wish I could).   Between school and Cross Country, I happen to be quite busy now.  But, never fear! I will definitely still be holding the blog and reviewing books, it just may not be quite as fast as normal.  I've been really excited about the growth of my blog-25 followers now.  You guys are amazing!  So, hopefully, I will continue to grow.  I don't know how quickly I'm going to be able to read and review books yet, but I should hopefully work out a decent system or schedule in the near future.  I just need to get the feel of how busy I'll be with schoolwork.

I am currently reading a book, The Naming by Alison Croggon, for those of you who are wondering, and I should hopefully have the review up sometime between the end of this week to mid-week next week.  I would like to have it up by Sunday, but alas, this is not Burger King.  And I may not "have it my way".  But I should hopefully get it up by then.

So, anyways, I still love you guys, and you're all still a big bunch of awesomeness, but I have less time on my hands.  Keep being awesome.   And I'll do my best!

Waiting On Wednesday (#3)

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that asks bloggers to feature books that they are ever-so-eagerly waiting for.

Top of my to-read list this week:

Tiger's Destiny by Coleen Houck 

Publication Date: September 4, 2012
Snippet from Goodreads:
With three of the goddess Durga's quests behind them, only one prophecy now stands in the way of Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan breaking the tiger's curse. But the trio's greatest challenge awaits them: A life-endangering pursuit in search of Durga's final gift, the Rope of Fire, on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal.  It's a race against time--and the evil sorcerer Lokesh--in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the bestselling Tiger's Curse series, which pits good against evil, tests the bonds of love and loyalty, and finally reveals the tigers' true destinies once and for all.

GUYS.   I've been waiting for this book for what seems like ageeeeeesssssss. 
I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS.  The suspense is going to kill me.   But anyway, I can't wait to see what Colleen is going to make me emotionally torn over in this one.  I guess I'll find out soon.  Less than a month away! 

What are you guys waiting for this Wednesday?

Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

My Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Summary (from Goodreads):
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.  Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

THIS. BOOK.  It is seriously intense, my friends.

Thomas arrives in the Glade with no memories.  He knows how to speak, how the world works, and what things are, but when it comes to specific people, places, or memories, he has nothing.

The day after Thomas arrives, a girl shows up in the Glades, the first ever.  She says one sentence before passing out, "Everything is going to change."  In her hand, the Gladers find a note that says, "She's the last one.  Ever."

Thomas doesn't know the girl, but he can't help feeling that he has some sort of connection to her, somehow.  The same sort of feeling he gets when he first sees the Runners.  The Runners are the group of Gladers that run out into the maze every day, always searching for a way out.  They've been running for two years and find nothing different, but still they continue to run.  As Thomas watches them go into the depths of the maze, he can't help but feel as if he should be one of them.

Then, one day, when he helps one of his friends out as a Griever is chasing him in the maze, Thomas gets offered the chance he's been waiting for: he's allowed to train as a Runner.  Not exactly sure what he's searching for, but glad to begin, Thomas eagerly accepts and begins training, searching for a way out of the endless maze before time runs out.

Okay guys, I'll admit.  The first few chapters or so of this book seriously got on my nerves.  I felt like nothing was happening and it was really confusing because none of the Gladers would elaborate on the world that Thomas had been thrust into, leaving readers just as bewildered as Thomas.  But, once Thomas started getting a few answers and some of the lingo was decoded, the story got much better.  

And on a side note, I don't think that James Dashner has ever truly been on a long run.  Because his characters all eat full-blown meals and then go run for hours.  I run all the time, and I feel slow and groggy if I eat even 3 or 4 hours before I run, much less 15 minutes before.  Or maybe it's just me.  Who knows?  It just cracked me up a little bit.

But, in all seriousness, The Maze Runner was fantastic.  After you get past the first few chapters, the story is completely enveloping.  I mean, I seriously think I took my copy everywhere I went on Friday and Saturday.  It's a good story, and Dashner told it well.

The book was very fast-paced and really interesting.  And once the action starts (though it does take a couple of chapters to get there,) it never stops! And the ending.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  It left me pretty much begging for the sequel.

Favorite quote from the book:

" 'We can do it,' she said in a quiet voice.

Hearing her say that only made him worry mroe.  'Holy crap, I'm scared.'

'Holy crap, you're human.  You should be scared.'

Thomas didn't respond, and for a long time they just sat there, holding hands, no words spoken, in their minds or aloud.  He felt the slightest hint of peace, as fleeting as it was, and tried to enjoy it for however long it might last."