From the archive:
After a blogging hiatus (and for hiatus, please read “I’ve been slack”) I wanted to spend some time telling you about the last three books I have read.
I’ve had a somewhat lucky streak as these three titles have each been brilliant in their own way. Here’s the first of three reviews I’ll fire off in quick succession. Today, let’s look at Lian Tanners first installment in her new The Keepers series – The Museum of Thieves.
I’ve had the good fortune of meeting Lian and, as it happens, helped prepare the Tasmanian launch event for this book, at the museum where I worked at the time.
Beyond the Harry Potter series, I’ve not really investigated young adult fiction before. (At least, not since I was a young adult.)
I’m not sure exactly why I decided to make time for The Keepers: The Museum of Thieves. Was it my interest in reading Lian’s work? My love of museums? The superb jacket illustrations by Sebastian Ciaffaglione? A combination of all of these things? Who knows. What I do know is that having read this gem of a novel, I am encouraged to try more young adult fiction.
Lian’s book introduces us to Goldie, an independently minded child biding her time until her pending, ceremonial release from the control of a society which values ‘safety’ over everything else. When ‘terror’ strikes and her ‘blessed’ guardians tighten their for Goldie’s safety (of course) she is forced to flee, taking refuge in the bowels of a neglected museum. Naturally, this is the start of her adventure, not the end.
What impressed me most about this title (remembering that I’ve admitted I really only have Harry Potter to compare it to) is that it doesn’t take its target audience for fools. Lian’s book tackles enslavement, injustices and death (cold, hard, rough death) in everyday language without softening or disguising anything that might, perhaps, usually be tucked away.
I highly recommend The Keepers: The Museum of Thieves and look forward to the second and third books in The Keepers series. For those interested in learning more about Lian and her writing, check out this Bookyurt.com Q&A
That sounds great! I put this on my to-read list when I saw you were reading it and glanced over the description.
I generally adore the young adult genre; I’m not quite sure why—something to do with the pace of adventure and storytelling, plus the coming-of-age protagonists, and often a dose of fantasy without being “too fantasy”. I think (good) young adult stories tend to have a nice balance of tackling the tough subjects but not getting diverted from telling a story.
Hey Maz.
I’m pleased this is now on your to-read list. It’s well worth it and I can’t wait for the second and third books in this trilogy to be released. I’d welcome any tips you might have for other decent young adult titles.
Keep well,
M
Hmm! I have recently finished reading The Hunger Games trilogy (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2767052-the-hunger-games), which is quite addictive and action-packed (set in a dystopian future). It reminds me a little of the Tomorrow When the War Began series, if you might have read those as a teen (another action series, set in Australia). Both have teenage protagonists and have themes of war.
Neither of them are quite as mature as The Museum of Thieves sounds, though—I think mainly because they’re action/thriller. They both have a good cast of characters and tackle some interesting themes, though. And they’re hard to put down 😉
Ooh—GoodReads reminded me of The Golden Compass (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119322.The_Golden_Compass), which was made into a middlingly-good movie a few years ago. The protagonist is younger and the story is more fantasy, with some interesting themes (spirituality being one).
The first listed (top rated) GoodReads review has an interesting quote from the author:
“There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children’s book.”
I like this quote Maz and thanks for those recommendations.
There’s a full set of the Tomorrow series on our selves so I really have no excuse for not checking them out now.
Cheers,
M!