Back again!

Haven't found anything that has made me happy, but it might be the weather. Looked through several longish fantasy books that just didn't reel me in. I've read some good ones this summer, so I should look at these again, but for now I will pass.

Lyn Gardner's Into the Woods was too Lemony Snicketesque in that the writing was high flown and the situations over-the-top and unbelievable. It might be good for die-hard Snicket fans, but it was a long book. The best part was the Mini Grey illustrations.

Avi's Traitor's Gate was reminiscent of some of the older Avi work that I've deaccessioned because no one read them. Oddly, these works were the only ones listed in the "Other books by" section in the front. Should have known. For die-hard Dickens fans. We get so many in middle school.

Trent Lee Stewart's The Mysterious Benedict Society also involved an orphan and dire/mysterious circumstances in somewhat precious language, and was also very long. However, my son deemed it his 9th favorite book.

All three books certainly have something to recommend them, but they are for larger collections or perhaps older readers.