Book Review of “Wet Magic” by E. Nesbit 

 

I am especially excited to do a review on this book because it is a favorite tale of mine from a favorite author. Edith Nesbit wrote books about a century ago, but they still hold entertainment for readers of all ages today. She was the fantasy writer who inspired C.S. Lewis in his writing of “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.”

In her books she contains the proper amount of unrealistic fun and enchantment, as well as the delightful everyday details spun in between that make even the magical essence of her writings seem real. I find Nesbit’s works extremely stimulating to the imagination. Anyone who loves fantasy has got to read one of her books.

 

Wet Magic is about 4 siblings who are going on a trip to the beach for the very first time. What they find there is more entrancing then even the seaside: a mermaid being displayed at the circus. The siblings are determined to rescue her, for they have been told that all mermaid’s die in captivity. As a result, they are invited on a magical underwater adventure that rivals their wildest imaginings. On the way they have run-ins with swordfish and other sea creatures who fight as soldiers for the mermaid kingdom, enemy sharks, and the ominous clan of Under Folk, the mermaid kingdom’s sworn foes. Join them on this delightful escapade that is sure to charm readers of every age.

 

What I love about this book is the underlying theme that people (or mermaids) aren’t always what they seem on first impression. Secret identities and unexpected meetings give the story a rapid pace. Nesbit also seems to have deep insight into the mind of children and how they view things. Characters in her books, such as nasty aunts or crabby cooks that cannot comprehend how children see things, are vividly described in the way a younger person might view them. A child’s thirst for magic and adventure can be seen and her stories would draw a like audience. But that audience does not have to be limited to children: teens and adults will also be able to appreciate the suspense, depth, and innocence of E. Nesbit’s fairy tales.

 

Story Starter Ideas:

• Create a fairy tail in which ordinary children with ordinary lives run into magic. Do they go to another world? Or is magic encountered in our own world, such as happens in “Wet Magic?”
• Be detailed. Imagine how its like to be in the shoes of your children characters. How do they view life and the people they encounter?
• Be original. Be inspired by authors such as Nesbit, but don’t copy the distinct elements found in their literature. For example, Lewis was inspired by her to have some sort of link between our world and another world, but the wardrobe idea was his own. Come up with something different and imaginative!  

Flame Over Tara

Book Review of “Flame over Tara” by Madeleine Polland

In the year 432 A.D. St. Patrick arrived in Ireland to perform missionary work among the people. According to tradition the druids, who supposedly could practice magic, foretold his arrival and the very clothes that he would be wearing.
Madeline Polland stays true to this tradition as she recounts the epic tale of St. Patrick’s work in Ireland from the viewpoint of Macha, a thirteen-year-old foster daughter to the chieftain. Macha’s life is apparently laid out before her. Her mind is filled with the plans that have been set to send her back to Tara to live with her birth parents once more and to eventually marry her off to a man of her father’s choice. But Macha’s foster brother Benen feels unsure about what life has in store for him. With the unexpected arrival of St. Patrick, Benen remembers the prophecy of the druids and finds himself drawn to this man and his teachings about God. With his father’s blessing he decides to follow Patrick wherever he goes. Macha listens to Patrick as well, and vows to herself to pursue Patrick’s God. To her, this means leaving behind her family and her fiancé to follow Patrick along with Benen. This dynamic saga narrates how through a series of intertwining events Macha comes to discover God’s will for her life.
I love the depth of Polland’s writing and its descriptiveness. She transports you to another time and place. You live through the legends that you have heard told about Patrick. As far as I know, she was mainly historically accurate when it comes to the details of Patrick’s missionary strategies.

One of the well-known legends about St. Patrick that is told in “Flame over Tara” is of how he used a three-leaved shamrock plant to explain the Triune nature of God. I find that whenever anybody attempts to fully describe this truth about God it is easy to veer off into your own thinking; simplifying something that is unexplainable. What does the Bible say about the Trinity? Shouldn’t we test everything against God’s word?
What else about the way St. Patrick communicated to the Irish people about God do you agree with or disagree with?  


Story Starter Ideas:

• Imagine you are a person witnessing the arrival of St. Patrick or listening to him teach. What are your thoughts and emotions?
• Research his life in Ireland further. Reconstruct one of his experiences into a piece of historical fiction.   

Book Review of “A Parcel of Patterns”

Though this book by Jill Patton Walsh appears small, each page is a bounty of rich words that spin a true story in Puritan times, told from the viewpoint of Mall, a fictional character in the 1660’s.
Mall lives in the small village of Eyam, located in Derbyshire England. Her life is fairly simple, the most complex facets it contains being when a ewe in her flock of sheep has birth complications, and her fear that her father will not approve of the man she has fallen in love with. Then when an innocent appearing parcel of patterns appears on the doorstep of one of the village residents, the whole village is plunged into a traumatic experience beyond what they would have dared conceive, even in their nightmares. For the innocent parcel of patterns purchased from London had carried with it that terrible disease, the plague. It spreads rapidly through the village, people falling sick with it and dying at an appalling rate.

The two parsons of the village hold opposing views of the reasons why people fall sick with the plague. One believes that people are struck ill by the wrath of God, a punishment for concealed wickedness of heart. The other believes that we cannot comprehend why God does what He does, but that it is not punishment that people are dying. He thinks that exposure to the plague is why villagers are becoming sick. But in his attempt to get as far away as possible from the Puritan idea that if you are righteous, God will protect you from all calamities, he seems to be implying that God won’t protect you at all.
Out of fear, most of the villagers’ side with the parson who tells them that repentance will protect them from harm.
What view would you hold, if you were a villager of Eyam? Would you agree with either parson?
I would definitely not recommend this book for children, but rather for young adults about age 13 and up. The details of the plague are so gruesome that I had to take a break from reading it at one point. I had grown sick of people falling sick. It was gripping enough however, that I soon picked it up where I had left off and completed it. It held my attention to the very end and is a well wrought piece of informative historical fiction.

Story Starting Ideas:

• Research Puritans in the 1660’s and Puritan beliefs.
• Write a story from the first-person viewpoint of a resident in a Puritan village. Does this person agree or disagree with the teaching of the village parson?
• Write a simple story of everyday life in a Puritan village.
• Go deeper and research Quaker’s beliefs and how Puritan’s treated Quakers in 1666. Not pretty, is it? Perhaps you can write about a Quaker in exile because of his/her beliefs.

You can purchase this book on Amazon

Johnny Tremain Book Review

This book by Esther Forbes is a masterpiece of American literature that I feel successfully combines historical facts about the 1770's with compelling fiction.  Johnny Tremain is a 14-year-old orphan, growing up in Boston Massachusetts during the verge of the American Revolution. An extremely talented apprenticed silversmith, he is desired by such masters in the trade as Paul Revere. Then one day a crippling accident occurs that shatters his dreams of becoming a master silversmith and will change the course of his life. Johnny finds himself swept up in the political affairs of his day. But will he ever be given another chance at his dream of becoming a silversmith?

Esther Forbes creates an aperture into the heart and mind of Johnny. Whether intentional or not, she demonstrates how the hero of her story is not perfect; Johnny does struggle with pride. He domineers over other boys not as talented as he is when he could easily have made friends with them instead. When he encounters a boy that he suspects is better liked then he is, he in turn becomes jealous. At the beginning of the book Johnny's master tries to cure Johnny of pride by openly pointing out his faults before others and making him swear to stop being prideful. But something that his master fails to realize is that no one can improve themselves apart from God. Inevitably his attempts at improving Johnny, and Johnny's own attempts at obeying, fail. I think Johnny has incredible gifts that ought not to be closeted. He is a leader and could easily become an incredible silversmith. I encourage you to read the book to find out how the course of Johnny's life takes shape. It is well worth reading.

Inspired by this book and its story-line?
Here's some writing steps to get you started on writing some historical fiction of your own:

• Research the times of the Revolutionary War or right before it. (It's the small historical details that will make your story believable.)
• Plan who and what you're going to write about. For instance, you could write a gripping account of a spy in the Revolutionary War; or perhaps a story from the viewpoint of a British soldier occupying Boston. Don't forget to think about a story behind the facts of how women were involved in the war occasionally as spies, or how they supported the patriots by simply refusing to buy goods from Britain. The possibilities are endless!
• Feel free to share your comments about this book or your ideas for historical fiction stories!