The Blue Fairy's Bookshelf

Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 1 Kevin Hearne, 2011 Premise: A nigh-immortal druid gets into trouble with some gods and other supernaturals in modern-day Arizona. This was another one of the books that had lingered on my shelves for ages. I think we may have won this copy in a raffle or part of some online contest? Something like that. I honestly don't recall. So I finally read it, and it's (drumroll)... fine.  Good, even. Perfectly adequate and enjoyable urban fantasy. Smooth, readable writing, funny characters and scary villains, twisty plot with a strong ending. Very workmanlike and well-done. Had I read it when it came out in 2011, I might have read more in the series. And that's not a slight on the book, that's a look at how different my life is now, with a full-time job and a young child. If book one is enjoyable, but not outstanding, there had better be some compelling reason to pick up another. If I were particularly drawn to the protagonist, or the w...

The Song of the Lioness Series Tamora Pierce, 1983-88 Premise: Four YA books about a young woman who disguises herself as a boy to become a knight. This is awkward, because these books were a staple of many of my contemporaries' childhoods. But not of mine.  I have read, and enjoyed, later books by Tamora Pierce, so I had this series on my shelf, snapped up some time ago at 0.50 cents a book. But I'd never read it. Until now.  These books are not, largely, bad books. They are fine, even good books burdened with bad/painful/awkward/dated parts.  My quick reactions: Alanna: The First Adventure (1983) This is fun. Some of the character introductions are clunky or weird, but it's easy to overlook. The characters are mostly fun, the structure of the story works. The gender-bending is fairly well done, although there's a bit much of "she'll always be a girl" for today's audience. It's fine if she's a girl despite pretending for specific reasons to be...

She Who Became the Sun Shelley Parker-Chan, 2021 Premise: As a child, Zhu was told her fate was nothing, while her brother's fate was greatness. When circumstances give her the chance to change that, she steps onto a path that leads to the future. I read this book to take a break from reading older books that had been on my bookshelf forever; I wanted to sort of recalibrate my brain with something current. And this was a great choice.  This is based loosely on the life of the Hongwu Emperor in the 14th century. We assume that he was not, in historical fact, AFAB, but Zhu is, and she struggles throughout the book with the tension of this secret. Zhu assumes that if anyone discovers that she "stole" her brother's identity, that she will not achieve the greatness she burns for.   And she does burn. (Side note: I waffled briefly between using "she" or "they" for Zhu, as she feels somewhat beyond gender by the end, but the narration uses "she"...