The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

It's 1871, Queen Victoria is on the throne, and in an abandoned building near Charing Cross Station in London, Tiki and her adopted family of street orphans are just trying to get by picking pockets.  Then one day, Tiki hitches a ride on the back of a cab and ends up in gorgeous house, where she sees a compellingly beautiful gold ring.  Tiki can't resist and she pockets the ring.  However, it turns out that her cab went to one of the most important residences in the country and the ring Tiki's just stolen belongs to the royal family.  Even worse, the ring is the key to maintaining a very important treaty--an agreement to keep peace between the human world and hidden realm of Faerie.  Now that treaty is on the verge of collapsing and it's up to Tiki to fix it.  With the help of the mysterious thief Rieker and curious Prince Leopold, Tiki must try to save the treaty--and her family--in time.

A unique little subgenre of fiction combining either actual historical facts and setting or strong historical elements with magic appears to be emerging from the sometimes overwhelmingly diverse area of fantasy novels.  I've taken to calling books that fall into this group, 'historical fantasy'--a name I'm blantantly borrowing from wonderful author Elizabeth C. Bunce, whose first novel A Curse Dark As Gold fits into this category quite nicely.  As a huge fan of both historical fiction and fantasy, I'm thrilled to see more novels coming out that manage to meld these genres.  The Faerie Ring, Kiki Hamilton's debut novel, is a delightful and thrilling addition to this growing subgenre!

Blending together elements from fairy tales like Cinderella with Dickensian street orphans and a unique take on darkly powerful fairies, Kiki Hamilton has created a throughly original and enjoyable tale.  Tiki is an appealing heroine: a spunky, sturdy survivor with quick wits and big heart.  She's tough yet vulnerable and she will do anything to protect the family of other orphans that she holding together.  The supporting characters are also interesting, especially the mysterious Rieker.  From the gritty streets of Victorian London to the glitter of the royal residences, the historical setting is rich with detail and deeply enjoyable to get lost in.  The magical elements blend well into the world of Victorian England, where superstitions and fairy stories exist alongside emerging technological and social change.  The multiple mysteries surrounding the ring and both Tiki and Rieker's identities are full of exciting and unexpected twists and turns and although the novel's plot winds to a satisfying conclusion, Hamilton definitely leaves enough interesting loose ends to keep the way for a sequel wide open.   I definitely look forward to the possibility of reading more of Tiki's adventures.

The various takes on fairies/faeries, such as the Wings series by Aprilynne Pike, have been popular among my 7th and 8th graders recently and in my first post-Winter Break booktalk to the 7th grade, The Faerie Ring was one of the most demanded options.  This enchanting debut can appeal to fantasy fans, faerie tale fanatics, and historical fiction lovers of a wide age range and I look forward to seeing more from Kiki Hamilton!

4 1/2 STARS

That Other Egyptian Princess: Cleopatra's Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter

Good historical fiction can be hard to come by.  A great piece of historical fiction manages to walk a delicate balancing act, combining a solid, well-researched historical framework and a rich, engrossing story.  In good historical novels, the authors manage to transport the reader into another time, place, and culture through accurate historical details and good old-fashioned character development; they must delicately craft a good, readable story out of historical facts, keeping just the right amount of 'history' and 'fiction' to satisfy a diverse group of readers. Since great historical fiction can sometimes be rare, it is especially satisfying when you stumble upon a great new historical novel like Cleopatra's Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter!

Cleopatra Selene has always known exactly whom she was: princess of Egypt, daughter of the brilliant Queen Cleopatra and General Marcus Antonius, and a great queen in the making.  Growing up within the palace in the culturally and intellentually diverse city of Alexandria, Cleopatra Selene and her brothers learn multiple languages, chase eachother through the stacks of the great Library, attend special celebrations and dinners, and play Roman and Egyptian games.  But then Octavianus, new leader of Rome, decides that he wants Egypt's many riches for his own developing empire and begins a fresh war against Cleopatra Selene's parents and beloved country.  Suddenly everything and everyone Cleopatra Selene has ever known and loved is destroyed and she and her young brothers are shipped off to Rome, to live as prisoners in the household of Octavianus, the very man who ruined their family.  However, although she's living a disgraced princess in exile, Cleopatra Selene refuses to forget her destiny: she will be queen of Egypt and fulfill her duty to the goddess Isis and to the people of Egypt--no matter what the cost.  Living in the heart of enemy territory, Cleopatra Selene must endure heartbreak and confusion as she struggles to choose between romance and power in her quest to live up to (and perhaps beyond) her mother's example.

Cleopatra's Moon fits my personal definition of good historical fiction perfectly; Shecter has seamlessly combined historical facts, cultural details, and good old-fashioned storytelling to create a rich and addictive novel.  Using Cleopatra Selene's very aware and distinct voice, Shecter brings to life the varied worlds of ancient Alexandria and Rome, clearly displaying a vast amount of research but never overburdening the plot with dry facts or trivia.  The characters, especially the determined and unsinkable Cleopatra Selene, are full developed and incredibly interesting; you might start this novel because of an interest in ancient history or epic drama but you will stick around for the rich characters.  The story is a excellent balance of action, romance, and emotional highs and lows that will keep you turning pages.  Shecter also provides a helpful character directory at the beginning and a fascinating "Facts Within The Fiction" section that summarizes the historical facts about real situations and people on which she based the novel.   A great read for lovers of historical fiction, especially those with an interest in Ancient Egypt!

4/5 STARS

The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt

The Children’s Book

A.S. Byatt

SUMMARY: Spanning the Victorian era through World War I, this novel follows a large interconnected cast of characters through the tumult of the large-scale cultural, political, and social changes sweeping Britain and the world. The novel begins with Olive Wellwood, a famous children’s book author, and her oldest son’s meeting with an artistically talented runaway in the corridors underneath the South Kensington museum later known as the Victoria and Albert Museum. The reader follows the young man back to the Wellwood home where both become immersed in the passionate world of the unconventional family and its equally unusual network of friends.

ONESMARTCUPCAKE THINKS: I was very excited about this book; I am a big fan of Byatt in general and her earlier novel Possession is one of my favorite novels of all time. My expectations were generally not disappointed; I really enjoyed this book. It is a great but occasionally flawed novel.

As with her other works, Byatt immerses the reader in the time period and culture in which the narrative is set through the use of intricate and beautifully drawn details. Here, the amount of information packed into the narrative can be overpowering or distracting. As a history buff and a person particularly in love with 19th century Britain, I very much enjoyed her historical detail and didn’t mind the occasional interludes of pure socio-political background information too much. However, some readers might find such passage uninteresting; even I prefer the history to be incorporated into the plot and character development.

I continue to admire and enjoy the intimate portrayals of individual characters Byatt achieves, especially in this novel, which contains at least 10 to 20 characters of some significance. She manages to juggle the multiple storylines and characters quite well generally but the sheer numbers can become overwhelming at times. Certain characters disappear and reappear from the narrative and for the first few chapters I had a little difficulty keeping track of them. Certain characters remain underdeveloped in comparison to others—an almost inevitable result of a narrative following so many characters over such a lengthy period of time.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Byatt impeccably crafts a detailed and fascinating world for the reader to become completely engrossed in. For such a long and in-depth novel, The Children’s Book hits some beautiful emotional notes. The final sections dealing with WWI are especially poignant and the portions describing the young women’s, especially Dorothy’s, struggle to find a life that balances intellectual fulfillment and the world’s expectations. I was also completely fascinated by the novel’s exploration of the side roads of history; Byatt delves into puppetry, theatre, the women’s suffrage movement, children’s literature, women in medicine, and women’s education. I found myself reading this novel into wee hours of the morning and for me, that is one of the key signs of a good book.

4/5 STARS