Jane of All Trades

Jane of Lantern Hill

-L. M. Montgomery

Jane is an awkward eleven year old living with her mother and grandmother in a old house in the city of Toronto. Jane's pretty but spineless mother can't stand up to her grandmother and Jane's life is dull and restrictive. One day Jane has the shock of her life when she is told that her father is not dead, her parents are only separated and her father is living on Prince Edward Island. Shock follows shock and Jane is told she has to spend her summer with the father who abandoned her. 

I found it surprising how this book focused on divorce which was still a scandalous issue in the 1920's. Words that jump to mind with LMM's writing are usually homey, cosy, pleasant and not scandalous! This didn't put me off though and I mainly enjoyed the book except for one frustrating issue.

What aggravated me was how as soon as Jane landed on Prince Edward Island she suddenly became this domestic goddess and neighbourhood succor. In Toronto, Jane doesn't excel at anything but on P.E. Island Jane can do everything and at blue ribbon level. The only thing described that Jane cannot do is bake doughnuts. Also she is afraid of cows for a short time but she manages to quickly overcome this fear - Amazonian woman that she is. In the space of one short summer Jane goes from having never done any house work or cooking to being able to; keep house for her father, cook every meal, entertain guests, have a flower garden that is the envy of the island, grow vegetables that are superior to all the neighbour's vegetables, polish the silver and scrub the floor weekly, swim in the ocean daily, spend countless hours playing, have a clutch of devoted friends, be the best friend of every adult and even - I kid you not - coach the local lonely bachelor in writing his love letters. 

At one point in the book Jane's father asks her the question that every reader is asking themselves,

Who taught you how do all these things? 

Jane opens her eyes wide and coyly says, Who taught me? why no one! I just seem to know what to do.

At which point the reader curls their lip sardonically. 

But putting aside unrealistic eleven year old's this was another solid L.M. Montgomery book and I rated it 3.5 Stars. 

"Could she possibly be in ignorance of the fact that Jane's pick peonies, were the talk of the community?"

A Trustworthy Hero

Thief's Magic
-Trudi Canavan

I decided recently to try a new fantasy series and 'Millennium’s Rule' seemed an appropriate choice on many levels. The author has good reviews, she is Australian (supporting the home land) and the last book in the trilogy is set to come out at the end of this year. Brilliant, I thought, I shall devour the first two books become completely addicted and then I will join the screaming, slathering crowds waiting outside the book store on the release date. Alas, it was not to be.  

My rating - 3 Stars 

Setting - I really liked the steampunk setting of this book. It had an old worldly feel to it while there are still machines and robotics. In this world system, magic is common but it is possible to use up the magic in a particular space. Say you wanted to magic some Turkish Delight out of the air, you could do that but a stain or smear of blackness would appear where you stood to show that the magic had been used up. To get more Turkish Delight you would have to take a step to the side and use that magic or wait the time it would take for the magic to replenish itself and the stain to disappear. 

Rielle's story line - Rielle is a teenage girl living in a world where magic is feared. Only the priests are allowed to use it and if other people use it or can see the magic stain they are considered 'tainted' - barred from paradise after death. Rielle can see magic stain but she has kept it a secret all her life until things get complicated when she falls in love with a poor artist called Izare. 

I didn't find this story line very interesting, while there were moments of suspense it was generally very predictable and I was never sure if I was supposed to trust Izare. I didn't trust him as a character but I was unsure if that was my cynicism or the author's intention. Some of his actions were far too Pimp like and controlling for me to like him.

Tyen's story line - This is the story line that kept me interested. Living in a different world to Rielle, Tyen is at university studying magic. At the beginning of the novel Tyen reluctantly steals a magical book from the university and then has to try and evade capture. I say he reluctantly steals the book because Tyen is incredibly honourable. To Tyen the rules are there to be kept and he will put himself in harm’s way to keep the rules and not hurt others. This at times seemed like strength of character and at other times foolish naivety.

If your treacherous professor asked you to go for a walk and then suddenly suggested you both stroll down a deserted, secret passage would you be wary? Tyen wasn’t. He wouldn’t do anything as underhanded as attack someone so why would his professor?

Overall - I found Tyen’s story line interesting but slow and Rielle’s quite yawn. With this book not capturing my attention and being over 500 pages I don’t think I am willing to give up the time to finish the series. However I will probably look up how it ends when the third book comes out. 

"His pulse quickened as he caught the object... and his heart sank a little. No treasure lay in his hands. Just a book. Not even a jewel-encrusted, gold-embellished book."