Teen readers are a tough audience, and these books are not for everyone, but you deserve a chance to consider them and see if they fit your particular adolescent.
Kate Thompson wasn't a familiar author, but the Head of Youth Services at the library system where I work rushed up to me with her advance-reading copy three years ago crowing: "You absolutely have to read this! All I could think about as I read it was how much you would love it."
The New Policeman? There were no clues on the cover, but I trust Starr completely, so I started reading. And, I can see why Starr would think of me -- as I read, I was thinking of all the other folks who needed to read that book right away. The New Policeman is the sort of book you want to share, a literary jam session that calls out to have others join in the fun, and I felt homeless when it ended. Lucky for all of us, Kate understood, and in 2007 she blessed us with a sequel, The Last of the High Kings.
Who will enjoy these books? Readers who love puzzles, who love seeing cleverness outwit logic, who love Ireland, magic, legend, myth, and fantasy -- and most especially those who love music.
Thompson is a fascinating woman, and I recommend reading her biography, although I was expecting to discover that she is also an accomplished musician and there is no indication of that. Why a musician? The New Policeman features a fiddle tune between every chapter -- some traditional tunes and some newly written -- and characters in the book include Drowsy Maggie and Delaney's donkey, which was inspired; musicians and Celtic music lovers will love her just for that trick. The rest of her readers will love how the mysteries are solved: just where does the time go, and was JJ's grandfather really a murderer?
Last of the High Kings is a little less playful, a little more wistful. Beginning with a superhuman sacrifice in prehistory, the book has death hovering over a lovable character, and archaeologists threatening to dislodge far more than an old barrow. Thompson explores love, trust, and honor without seeming to do so at all. We only realize after the book is finished that there was more than one moment when she winked the coin of the story from one hand to the other.
Astute young readers who followed the Harry Potter series or enjoyed Tolkein's trilogy will appreciate Thompson's books. There isn't a true age limit for readership, just a complexity to the storylines that might befuddle newcomers to the genre... a perfect excuse for parents to read along!
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 12
Faith, the books with bold black & white illustrations are excellent for vision training, while the ones with tactile features (like "Pat the Bunny") encourage page-turning. The trouble usually is making sure they aren't chewing on a book that has unsafe inks, so the good stuff has to wait for supervised enjoyment or after teething.
Tonia -- how old is Lili, and what subjects interest her?
Wurdz, if you like Celtic tunes at all, you might find yourself looking for recordings of some of the songs. In fact, the author's website is supposed to include some audio clips.
I absolutely love Megan Whalen Turner's Attolia series (I reviewed the first 3 books here a while ago) and most of us who love the series are certain there is one more story to be told. It's been years since the last book came out, but we're willing to wait for her because she doesn't publish until the story is told properly.
It was the same way waiting for Phillip Pullman to finish his Dark Materials series. Agonizing, but worth it. Speaking of which, I do hope there will be sequel movies to finish that series, too.