Book: Oblivion

“The earth has almost been destroyed by the forces of darkness. Those who have survived are barely human, drifting in a world ruled by famine, terrorism and war. Any last hope now rests with five extraordinary teenagers: the Gatekeepers.

The Five must find each other and make a final stand against Chaos, King of the Old Ones … but Chaos is everywhere. He calls to them from Antarctica where he is gathering his forces, preparing for a last battle in the frozen wasteland of Oblivion. And one of the Five has turned traitor. The others know that without him they cannot win.

Chaos beckons. Oblivion awaits.“

Four years of waiting, and this is where it ends. With 668 pages–and with me not knowing what to say.

Did I like how it ended? Yes… and no. I enjoyed the book, the journey that each Gatekeeper took, and I really liked the vibe the book emanated–that no one was safe, and that there’s a possibility the story would end sourly for our heroes. Midway through the book, we already know the fate of one of our main characters–and it’s not disappointing.

What I really, really didn’t like though was the end.

There’s a reason why Holly, a character who first appears in this book, is the one telling the story of the last battle. And while I appreciate the effort author Anthony Horowitz makes in telling a good story, there was also a feeling that the bookenders did not come out naturally–that it was forced to start with Holly, and end with Holly.

I especially did not like the epilogue. Of how we find out what happens after the war. That last few pages really spoils my enjoyment for the whole book.

This is why I both liked and disliked the last book off The Power of Five series. Anthony Horowitz delivers a finale that really gives us readers what we want (and liked) from the series. But, at the same time, he gives us an ending that is just too clean.

I would have preferred it had author Horowitz ended the book without the epilogue. And then, maybe, release a companion book later on to detail what happened after the war. But without the epilogue we got

I really, really wish the epilogue did not exist.

And I still can’t move on from my extreme dislike of said epilogue. So let’s just cut away to what other people wrote about the end of The Power of Five series:
The Book Zone
Empire of Books
366 Books: My Year of Reading

Book: The Face on the Milk Carton

“No one ever really paid close attention to the faces of the missing children on the milk cartons. But as Janie Johnson glances at the face of the ordinary little girl with her hair in tight pigtails, wearing a dress with a narrow white collar—a three-year-old who had been kidnapped twelve years before from a shopping mall in New Jersey—she felt overcome with shock. She recognized the little girl—it was she. How could it possibly be true?

Janie can’t believe that her loving parents kidnapped her, but as she begins to piece things together, nothing makes sense. Something is terribly wrong. Are Mr. and Mrs. Johnson really her parents? And if not, who is Janie Johnson, and what really happened?“

Sometimes, I ask myself, what makes me like a book? I have, long ago, nixed the idea that a beautiful cover would get me to buy a book. Sure, a nice cover still lures me in—but I pay more attention to the back cover: where the text is. And since I started paying for my own books around a decade ago, I’ve been very picky about the books I buy.

So what made me buy The Face on the Milk Carton?

Reading the back cover, I have to admit that I was intrigued about the concept of a missing child photo being recognized by the missing child herself. And then, reading the author’s introduction, I started to get into the story: what do we know about the missing? What happened before and after they were taken? Before or after they went missing? It’s a treasure trove of stories, each one different from the other. And author Caroline B. Cooney has a very interesting story to tell.

I didn’t know The Face on the Milk Carton was the first of four books when I bought it. This means I’m going on another quest for books that’s probably going to take me forever to find. But that’s all right, because I fell in love with the world that Caroline Cooney made in the Janie books.

We get a conflicted main character in Janie Johnson, and while I understood what she was going through, agreeing with her actions was a different matter. My mind knew that her problem, of having two set of parents, one who might have kidnapped her when she was a child, was very tricky. Especially since the parents she did grew up with loved her. Deeply. And she loved them too. Her story wouldn’t be as easy as trading one set of parents with another. If it was, there wouldn’t be a book—much less, four.

But reading through Janie’s story, I found myself remembering childhood days when I thought I was adopted. Back then, I looked nothing like my parents and I acted nothing like anyone in our large family. Growing up, I was an outcast from my own family. I didn’t share anyone else’s interests. The sport I liked to watch was football—not the basketball my male cousins love to play; and my head has always been stuck in storytelling mode. I never showed interest in the family business of electronics, or the male side’s joy in procuring as many girlfriends at one time. I didn’t even have the business-savvies that my sisters had.

As a kid, these things were enough to make me think that I was adopted. As a child, I’ve always wondered what my real parents were like: if they were nicer than the ones I had, or if they were stricter; and I’ve wondered what I would do, had they decided to take me back. Of course, I’ve since accepted that these thoughts were just flights of fancy. I was different because I was brought up different. It had nothing to do with genetics at all.

But it was a memory to go back to while reading The Face on the Milk Carton. That was enough to give me a sense of what the main character, Janie, was going through. How do you turn your back against the people who raised you, and loved you? And the answer is, you don’t.

Still, if you knew that you real parents are alive and worried about you—have been worrying about you for the past twelve years—can you just ignore them, and try to live as if they never existed?

If you had been in Janie’s shoes—what would you do?

I’ll reserve my reaction to the story until after I’ve found and read all the Janie books. But if you’re already looking for reviews and recommendations, here are a few I found online:
Reeder Reads
Teen Space
Book Journey

the chamber of ten

my first exposure to christopher golden was through media tie-in books of BUFFY, THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and ANGEL. but it wasn’t until THE LOST SLAYER series that i actually started actively looking for other christopher golden books.

the first book i found was STRANGEWOOD–but it was not the first book of him i’ve read. of course, discounting the fact that i’ve read the media tie-in books. STRANGEWOOD was also my introduction into the harsh life of being a christopher golden fan in the philippines–of how hard it is to look for books by him in this country.

thank goodness for FULLY BOOKED.

of course, that’s a story for another day. for now, i will talk about the latest release from christopher golden and tim lebbon: THE CHAMBER OF TEN.

THE CHAMBER OF TEN is the third book of the HIDDEN CITIES series, but each book stands alone on its own. which is a good thing, since i’ve yet to find a copy of the first book.

a little backgrounder: the HIDDEN CITIES series of books all rely on cities around the world that are rich in culture, and have histories of magic. the first one was set in london, the second in new orleans, and THE CHAMBER OF TEN was set in venice.

i admit to being caught a little off-guard when i started reading this particular book. i guess it’s because i’ve been reading a lot of non-fantasy books lately (and while FEED is fantastical, it was given a biography-like treatment). in any case, the first chapter gave me a bit of a jolt.

one character is a mind-reader. or a psychic. anyway you want to put it, he’s sensitive to psychic links. and the character tries to write it off as something that can be scientifically proven (in the second or third chapter), but you know immediately it’s not science-based. it’s magic.

so that was a little jarring how another character just mentions it in passing in ther first chapter.

that aside though, christopher golden (and tim lebbon) definitely delivers another page-turning adventure.

i’ve always been amazed at how two authors can co-write and produce one good book. GOOD OMENS by neil gaiman and terry pratchett certainly comes to mind when speaking of great books that were collaborated on. and in the two HIDDEN CITIES books i’ve read, i’ve never been able to distinguish between christopher golden and tim lebbon.

granted, i’ve yet to read a book by the latter. but i like to think that i have a grasp of christopher golden’s voice as a writer, having read most of the books he’s published (through thorough combing of many bookstores in the city). so i really admire how the two were able to spin THE CHAMBER OF TEN and make it seem as if only one person was telling the story.

but would i recommend this book? to those who are into mysteries and fantasy, yes. but unlike STRANGEWOOD which i recommended to everyone i know (i still do, actually), i don’t think THE CHAMBER OF TEN is for everyone.