Two Junior/Children's Novels: The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place and Number the Stars

 You guys know that I like to read children's lit.  I love the straightforwardness of it, the speed of plot development, and the immediacy of any action from the characters.  Children's authors know their audience has a shorter attention span than many of their elder counterparts...

...so what's my excuse?

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling, by Maryrose Wood

Earlier this year, I recalled a series of books that a friend had recommended for my daughter, The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling, by Maryrose Wood.  (What a name!  What a title!)

I must confess, the language the author uses is fairly highbrow for younger readers but, after a short period of acclimation, clever kids can handle it.  Without divulging too much, we begin this first novel of the series (of six books, I believe) with our protagonist, young Miss Penelope Lumley, who has just left her beloved school behind to become the governess to three children at Ashton Place.  Only it seems that these children are not ordinary in the least; they are positively feral.  As Penelope seeks to both teach and understand these "incorrigibles", she begins to discover that it is not only their past that is entirely mysterious, but that Ashton Place itself holds a treasure trove of secrets.

I listened to this novel as an audiobook rather than reading a hard copy.  What a treat!  Upon finishing it, I immediately placed the five subsequent titles in the series under my "To Read" tag on Libby (my preferred library app).  The mystery, humor, colorful language, and premise itself are sure to delight readers (or listeners) of any age.

Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry

Many, many years ago -some time in the late 90s- I read the book Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry.  This 1990 Newbery Award Winner didn't disappoint when I read it then, and it certainly didn't disappoint when I re-read it this past winter.

Lois Lowry masterfully crafts a concise -yet very poignant story- based on the life of a fictional young Danish girl named Annemarie.  Our heroine is growing up in Denmark under Nazi occupation.  The German soldiers situated all around her neighborhood are intimidating, often bullying those they stop to "question", so Annemarie and her sister have been instructed to avoid them as much as possible.  It isn't until Annemarie's Jewish best friend Ellen catches their attention that things get too close to home.

A fictional retelling of the Danish resistance's success in smuggling nearly the entire population of Jewish citizens out of the country to Sweden, Number the Stars is a story that lingers for its veracity.  I don't wish to ruin the ending for you, but the absolute ingenuity of this silent resistance is nothing short of incredible.  A short novel, yes, but one that reminds us that humanity can indeed be found anywhere.

Two great books for the kids in your life, but certainly don't let them have all the fun.

Happy reading!

Dark Water Daughter, by H.M. Long

Fantasy.  Adventure.  Mystery.  Magic.  Pirates.  Swords.  Ethereal creatures.  Cold AF weather.  

This book has it all.

Enter a strange and magical world of ghistings (ghost-like creatures who inhabit mystical forests), stormsingers (women whose voices have the power to conjure and calm storms on the seas), and swashbucklers (come on, you know this one).  

From the dust jacket:

Mary Firth is a Stormsinger: a woman whose voice can still hurricanes and shatter armadas. Faced with servitude to pirate lord Silvanus Lirr, Mary offers her skills to his arch-rival in exchange for protection - and, more importantly, his help sending Lirr to a watery grave. But her new ally has a vendetta of his own, and Mary's dreams are dark and full of ghistings, spectral creatures who inhabit the ancient forests of her homeland and the figureheads of ships.

Y'all, this book is weird.  And I liked it.  Despite some major lulls in the story, author H.M. Long creates an exciting world to lay the foundations for the first novel of The Winter Sea series.  Some of her characters are likable; some of them are deplorable; some of them fall in between; some you think you'll like/hate, but end up hating/liking.  Set on a series of islands in a frigid sea, the fantasy world Long has created recalls images of the northernmost islands of Scotland, Scandinavia, and even a few locations within the Arctic Circle.  It was a great winter read by the fireplace.

As I mentioned, there were a few major lulls in the story.  I finished it in January (roughly three and a half months ago, at the time of this writing) so, while I cannot recall specific dull points in the novel, I do remember finding it rather long in some parts.  Overall, the book did seem to drag more than I personally would have preferred, though I know that some people really get into the world-building thing.  There were also a few annoying tropes (e.g. What is Mary going to do in this precarious situation?  What about THIS one?  Oh yeah?  How about NOW?) that I felt really took away from the story's progression, but it wasn't bad enough for me to put the book down.  It was mostly just an annoyance until the next good part.

So, will I continue the series?  Sure.  It's not a top priority, per se, but I could see myself completing it.  Ultimately, I feel that any subsequent novels in the series would be better audio books for me.  That way, I can at least be doing dishes while I enjoy a good story in my ear.

Death Comes to [all the places], by Catherine Lloyd

Summer 2023.  I casually picked up a copy of Death Comes to Kurland Hall for less than $1 at my local library's used bookstore.  After I began reading this book, I realized that it was the third in a series of eight.  No matter, it was a simple read -a hot dog book- and the context of the characters in the story was well explained.  It's the type where you could start in the middle of the series and not be too lost.

Later that year, I picked up the next book in the same series, Death Comes to the Fair.  Same story of a purchase for chump change at the library bookstore.  After reading this fourth installment, I figured that would be enough for me - no need to continue the series.

Fast forward about a year, to fall 2024.  I decided, what the heck?  Let's just read the entire series.  They're easy enough and I enjoy them.  So I read the first book, Death Comes to the Village.  I was planning to have surgery and knew I'd be laid up for awhile...might as well enjoy my forced convalescence with the rest of the hot dogs.

I actually ended up having two surgeries since last fall, giving me enough time to finish the series.  And although I started with books #3 and 4, I went back and read them in order: #1, 2, (skip 3, 4) 5, 6, 7, 8.  They are as follows (complete with links to my previous reviews):

#1. Death Comes to the Village

#2. Death Comes to London

#3. Death Comes to Kurland Hall 

#4. Death Comes to the Fair

#5. Death Comes to the School

#6. Death Comes to Bath

#7. Death Comes to the Nursery

#8. Death Comes to the Rectory

This post will review books #2 and #5-8.

While I could individually write up a review for each of the remaining five novels in the series, I feel that would be redundant.  To be completely honest, my reviews for every book in this series of eight would be nearly identical, checking every one of the following boxes:

• Quintessentially English
• Rainy
• Presence of sheep
• Bonnets
• Dressing for dinner
• Someone gets murdered
• Usually a second murder takes place that is linked to the first murder
• Subterfuge of non-murderers-but-still-characters-with-something-to-hide
• Mention of spectacles
• More bonnets
• Copious amounts of tea and brandy
• Portly gentlemen
• Bad editing and a plethora of typos (e.g. A character in one book is named Marjory, but sometimes her name is spelled Marjorie.  It flip-flops back and forth throughout the book.)
• Pampered bitches with delusions of grandeur
• Sensible shoes
• So many goddam bonnets
• Horses
• Dogs
• Ale
• Potatoes
• And more...

While the books become steadily more predictable, I truly did not mind.  They are an easy escape from the mundane, a welcome way to pass the time, and have no pretensions at being great works of literature.  Each one is a story within itself, though reading them in order certainly is preferable for inter-novel character development.  Certainly there is action and murder, but without being overly grotesque or gratuitous, making this -The Kurland St. Mary Mystery Series- the perfect "cozy mysteries" for fans of the genre.  

Hot dog books to the max.