The Light-Bearer's Daughter by O.R. Melling

This is the third book in Melling's excellent "Chronicles of Faerie" series.  The first is The Hunter's Moon and the second is The Summer King.  All three stories are connected, but the characters reoccur only peripherally.  I read somewhere that all will be rejoined in the fourth and final book, so I can't wait for that one.

In this book, Dana, who is being raised by her father in Ireland, is tapped by the Queen of Faerie to go on a special quest.  Melling does a fabulous job in all three books of capturing a real feel for Ireland as well as for the Faerie realms.  All of her characters have depth and passion, and it's easy to care for them.  Some parts could have been developed further and allowed to gain more impact, but perhaps it's my fault for not lingering longer.  I admit that I rushed through in my eagerness to devour it.  If you're paying attention, you'll make some of the critical connections well ahead of time, but the outcome is satisfying either way.

I highly recommend this series to anyone who has enjoyed Susan Cooper or C. S. Lewis, or who simply likes fairies and Ireland.  It is well-written, engaging, and fun.

 

(PG rating: no bad language, young adult pov more accessible to 6th grade and up)

Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata

I just finished this great dog book.  I'll give it 4 out of 6 stars (or maybe I should make that cookies).  Five cookies would be "I can't wait to read it again," and six would be, "I'm soon going to have the opening paragraph tatooed on my leg."  (I don't read many sixes.)

Anyway, it was recommended at a young adult book seminar I go to almost every year, and it mostly lived up to the buzz.  It's about a dog handler and his German Shepherd and what they go through during a small part of the Vietnam war.  Particularly well-done were the parts from the dog's point of view.  Normally, I'd shy away from anything told in an animal's pov, but this is neither mushy nor hokey, and it's pretty much what you were figuring your dog was thinking anyway.  ("Should I bite that guy on the nose?  No?  Well I could if I wanted to.")  Another plus is that I didn't know anything about dogs being used during the war, so it was also interesting in that regard.

This next part might be a little bit of a spoiler, so stop here if you don't even want a hint about the ending.  (Why are you still reading?)  I have to admit by about page ten I had already decided that I couldn't stand it if this turned into the

 kind of "classic" where the dog gets killed off to add pathos and drama to the story.  And since Cynthia Kadohata is a Newberry winner for the very sad (I've heard) Kira Kira, I was wary.  So I did something I never, never do.  I read the last five pages first.  And then I kept reading the book.  I'm not saying nothing bad happens at all, but I kept reading.  And I'm glad I did. 

(PG-13 rating: only mild language, some violence--hey, it's war)