| "13 Treasures" by Michelle Harrison (Reviewed by Cindy Hannikman) |
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| Books & Stories - Books | |||
| Written by Ares | |||
| Thursday, 15 April 2010 05:12 | |||
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Author Introduction: 13 Treasures won the prestigious Waterstone's Children's Book Award, an award by one of the world's largest book suppliers in the UK. It is Michelle Karrison's debut novel. Overview: Tanya experiences something that other 13 year olds do not. She sees many little creatures that are virtually unknown to others. She can see evil fairies, goblins, brownies, and other creatures. No matter what Tayna has tried to do these evil creatures won't leave her alone. When she mentions their existence to anyone who doesn't have this second sight, the fairies come in the middle of the night and torment and torture her so she will learn a lesson. One evening the fairies have come to pay a visit to Tayna. They have caused her to create such a mess and disturbance that her mother has had enough. The family has recently been dealing with the recent divorce and Tayna's mother believes she is acting out in an attempt to get attention. To resolve this issue Tanya is sent away to stay at her grandmother's old estate for a weeks. This estate is filled with hundreds and thousands of fairies and other creatures. In a small town not far from the estate there has been a major increase in missing children. What the town does not know is that they are actually dealing with the issue of changelings that is causing these children to go missing. Tayna soon finds herself wrapped up in the mystery of events in the town, and even further involved with a mystery that has been haunting Tayna's grandmother and the game keeper of the estate. Tayna will find herself looking to try and enter the fairy realm and get the answers to some of the town's most talked about mysteries. Format: 13 Treasures is a YA fantasy mixed with a bit of mystery. It stands at 368 pages. It is being released in the US April 12, 2010 by Little Brown Books for Young Readers. It was released in the UK in 2009 by Simon & Schuster Children's. The sequel 13 Curses is currently released in the UK, with a release date in the US to be announced. Analysis: Any book that wins a major award instantly grabs the attention of any reader. When it was announced that 13 Treasures won the Waterstone's Children's Book Award I was curious to see what it held. When it was announced that Little Brown Books for Young Readers would be bringing it to the US I was really excited. 13 Treasures is a fantasy and mystery wrapped up into one. There are some areas that make this book stand out from the rest but there are also some areas that suffer from the traditional debut novel/author syndrome. These fairies in this book are evil. There's no other way to describe it. For children this is probably their first encounter with evil creatures. These fairies punch, kick, bite, burn, and hurt people. This whole concept was handled very nicely and even as a veteran reader of fantasy I was amazed at the amount of creativity and time that was spent to develop these creatures' personalities. This story is grime and very dark for a children's book. It was a nice change of pace from the happy little tinkerbell fairies that seem to be popping up for children. Adult readers might find it a bit of a new twist but nothing overly different from what they've read before. The problems with this novel pop up in the pacing of the writing. It sometimes comes across as very choppy. The events felt a little uneven a sometimes a bit forced to make them fit into the time frame of the book. This is fairly classic of a debut novel and wasn't overwhelming but it did seem to drag the novel down a bit. There is also an issue in that it takes a good 150 pages before anything of the mystery is revealed. There is plenty of world building and fairy encounters but it caused me to wonder what the mystery was and what the point of the novel was. After the half way point the book picked up pace and was really captivating. The slow start took a bit to get through but I finally understood why this novel was so well liked. The main characters in the book, Tayna and Fabian (a boy who lives on Tayna's grandma's estate) are a bit of the typical YA characters that one would expect to encounter in a children's novel. I wasn't overly impressed with Tayna as a character, and really the characters aren't the best part of the book. I had a hard time understanding how she could figure out certain things and at the same time take so long to piece anything of this mystery together. Although the characters aren't overwhelming, 13 Treasures is definitely a great little read. The use of a world where evil fairies live in existence with humans was brilliantly done. The world building and fairy aspect of this novel are it's strongest points. As a debut novel there are a few issues with writing that needs to be ironed out but overall it was an impressive read. Young readers will enjoy this first look into a darkish fantasy while adult readers will find it a fast enjoyable read. I definitely can't wait to see how this story continues in 13 Curses, and how Michaelle Harrison grows as an author because there is a lot of talent and imagination there. 
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Fantasy Art Is A Genre Of Art That Depicts Magical Or Other Supernatural Themes, Ideas, Creatures Or Settings
In literature, fantasy is a form of fiction, usually novels or short stories
Perhaps the most common sub-genres of fantasy--or at least most commonly associated with the term \"Fantasy\"--are sword and sorcery and high fantasy Further blurring the definition, some suggest there is a distinction between \"Fantasy\" proper as a genre, and \"the fantastic,\" the latter being a fantasy-like element in other fiction.
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Bar jokes, beer, booze and fun!A small balding man storms into a local bar and demands, "Gimme a double of the strongest whiskey you got. I'm so mad, I can't even see straight." The bartender, noticing that the little man is a bit the worse for wear, pours him a double of Southern Comfort. The man swills down the drink and says, "Gimme another one." The bartender pours the drink, but says, "Now, before I give you this, why don't you let off a little steam and tell me why you're so upset?" So, the man begins his tale. "Well, I was sitting in the bar next door, when this gorgeous blonde slinks in and actually sits beside me at the bar. I thought, "Wow, this has never happened before." You know, it was kind of a fantasy come true. Well, a couple of minutes later, the blonde leans over and asks if I'd like to come back to her hotel to have dinner and talk for a while. I couldn't believe this was happening, r and I hadn't had a good meal in quite a while. I managed to nod my head yes, so she grabs my hand and starts walking out of the bar. This seemed just too good to be true." He continued, "She took me down the street here to a nice hotel and up to her room. She said to relax, watch some TV, and that she would be ready to go down to the restaurant in a few minutes. But, as soon as I put my feet up and reclined my chair, I heard some keys jingling and someone starts fumbling with the door." "The blonde says, 'Oh my god, it's my boyfriend. He must have lost his wrestling match tonight, he's gonna be real mad. Quick, hide!'" "So, I opened the closet, but I figured that was probably the first place he would look, so I didn't hide there. Then I looked under the bed, but no, I figured he's bound to look there, too. By now, I could hear the key in the lock. I noticed the window was open, so I climbed out and wa s hanging there by my fingers, praying that the guy wouldn't see me." The bartender says "Well I can see how you might be a bit frustrated at this point." "Well, yeah, but I hear the guy finally get the door open and he yells out, 'Who you been with now, you witch?' The girl says, 'Nobody, honey, now calm down.'" Well, the guy starts tearing up the room. I hear him tear the door off the closet and throw it across the room. I'm thinking, 'Boy, I'm glad I didn't hide in there.' Then I hear him lift up the bed and throw it across the room. Good thing I didn't hide under there either. Then I heard him say, 'What's that over there by the window?' I think, 'Oh God, I'm dead meat now.' But, the blonde by now is trying real hard to distract him and convince him to stop looking. Well, I hear the guy go into the bathroom and I hear water running for a long time; I figure maybe he's gonna take a bath or something, when all of a sudden, the jerk pours a pitcher of scalding hot water out of the window right on top of my head. I mean, look at this, I got second degree burns all over my scalp and shoulders!" The bartender says, "Oh man, that would have gotten me mad for sure." "No, that didn't really bother me. Next, the guy starts slamming the window shut over and over on my hands. I mean, look at my fingers. They're a bloody mess. I can hardly hold onto this glass." The bartender looks at the guy's hands and says, "Yeah, buddy, I can understand why you are so upset." "No, that wasn't what really got me so angry though." The bartender then asks in exasperation, "Well, then, what did finally make you anger?" "Well, I was hanging on the window, and I turned around and looked down--I was only about six inches off the ground."
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Principal Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.BILLY MADISON
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