The Demon King, by Cinda Williams Chima

A student (thanks Stephanie!) recommended this to me.  I'm hooked!  In fact, I had to exert a great deal of self-discipine to drive past the library this morning.  I badly wanted to pick up the next book in the series, but have four other library books stacked up that I need to read first.  (As well as mountains of papers/projects to read.)

I figured out much of the plot as I was reading, but Chima's story telling skills got me through to the end.  I now want to know what happens next as the two main characters, Han Alister, and Raisa ana'Marianna are drawn together toward what appears to be a disastrous attempt to escape the dangers facing them.  The characters in the book are given enough depth to move this book beyond the simple popular series format into something substantial that can be read as a parallel or entry level book into more classic books.  It will appeal to readers who like the Lord of the Rings.  I would use it as a companion piece to The Odyssey.

I think I had best wait until the end of the semester to pick up the next title in the series.  

Chine, by Franny Billingsley

This was a reading accident!  My local independent book store had it up on the end of an aisle.  As I was waiting for a book discussion group I picked it up and began reading.   In the 20 minutes before the discussion I got hooked and put it on my "to read" list.

The book is a sophisticated read.  It was a finalist in the National Book Awards competition this year (for young adults).  It is well deserving of the honor but won't be for every reader.  The main character, Briony, is the narrator.  Set in a bizarre rural England setting, Briony has suffered some sort of trauma that makes her first person narration quite unreliable.  I was able to predict the resolution, but not all the details.  Even so, I was captivated by the language and tone of the book.

Billingsley writes almost poetically.  Readers have to be sensitive to her use of unexpected terms and willing to expend the intellectual power to infer her meanings.  It is not a simple book to read.  For a sophisticated reader however it is a book that will haunt you during the day.  I found myself eager to return to the story each evening.  I developed quite an attachment to Briony and will be eager to read the next book.

The Lexile rating of this book (600) is prefaced with an "HL"--meaning high/low--and easy reading book that will appeal to older students.  They recommend it for ages 13-17.  I can easily see Billingsley becoming a favorite author of many late middle/early high school readers.

The Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss

The second book of in the Kingkiller Chronicles is almost as compelling as the first.  We get two stories in one--the current tale of Kote, the inn keeper at the Waystone Inn, his assistant Bast, and the Chronicler who has come through looking for good tales.  In this "real time" story the world is a dangerous place with some sort of impending doom.  Kote and Bast have what appears to be some secret roll in fighting off the forces of evil.

In the other story, Kote is narrating his history as Kvothe to the Chronicler.  In this book we take up his story after his first years at the University (a school for magicians).  During this portion of the story we learn more about his education, the political intrigues at he University and in the world at large, and travel with him through various adventures.  The story told is indeed worthy of an epic.  There is one rather lengthy episode that I might have edited for "mature" content.  As it stands I will hesitate to recommend the series to high schoolers--at least not in an official capacity.  I might recommend it to students outside of school who I know are mature enough to handle some mature content.  Rothfuss' decision to include this is unfortunate.  I don't think it was necessary for the story.  (I worry that I'm becoming a prude--or just old, but I become impatient when a good story is spoiled by unnecessarily explicit sex/romance.)  Sometimes it feels as if authors believe they need to include it to get market share.  It could also be that I'm underestimating the importance of sex/romance to the average reader.  I'd love feedback on this.

That aside, the book kept me reading devotedly--missing sleep and neglecting other duties.  I should know better than to pick up a 1,000 page book at the beginning of a semester.  There is a twist at the end that would have me going out for the next book, but Rothfuss hasn't published it yet.  I'll have to be patient and fill in the time with other books.  If it were available I would be buying it.