A Drift of Quills love to read as much as we love to write. Books help us relax and take us other places. Books inspire us. They introduce us to new ideas, cultures, and places. What’s not to love about reading?
Join us as we uncover a few gems in another installment of Books We Love…
I so enjoy doing our regular “Books We Love” posts! Do I pull one of the (usually older) books off my library shelves? Or do I choose something (usually newer) from my e-reader? I love revisiting my favorite books—and I love exploring new ones! Decisions, decisions…
You’ll be happy to know I made one.
I am delighted to spotlight A Hero’s Curse by our very own P.S. Broaddus. The book is a wonderful middle-grade/young adult fantasy-adventure about a twelve-year-old blind girl and her talking cat.
I have a confession to make… I’m not much interested in talking animals (with a few narrow exceptions), but this particular cat is haunted by the question of why it can talk. It is not exactly common.
The writing itself is vividly descriptive. Even if Essie can’t see, the reader can. Essie’s world is one of sound, smell, and touch, except for a single brilliant memory that both gives her comfort and anchors her to the world she cannot see. The story is full of interesting people and dangerous situations. Essie wants more than anything to be independent, yet she must learn how to rely on others and accept not only their help but their support and friendship. It is a complicated process and a complicated concept well supported by the notion that such relationships go two ways.
PATRICIA REDING
Author of Oathtaker and Select
Patricia’s website
In truth, posts about “books we love” are a bit difficult for me. This is due to two oddly co-existing—yet seemingly entirely contrary—truths: (1) there are so many I love; and (2) it is so difficult to find one that I love. How is this possible?
There are numerous changes going on in the publication world, which means that one cannot always have a sense of certainty in advance as to whether a book will be worth the time and expense. Still, there is so much out there to read! So, I’m going to step back in time… (Find out what Patricia has to say about the book she chose!)
P.S. BROADDUS
Author of A Hero’s Curse (The Unseen Chronicles Book 1)
Parker’s website
Today our group is writing about books we love. I had to wrestle with what to recommend. I just finished Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt and the ever phenomenal Sarah Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan. But today I’m especially excited to get to recommend Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner. (See what Parker has to say about “Stone Fox”!)
Click on these links to find The House of Mirth and Stone Fox on Amazon.
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Have you read something you’ve just GOT to share? Tell us in the comments!
So fun Robin! Thanks for your kind and thoughtful words regarding A Hero’s Curse. I think I agree with you regarding talking animals. The Wind in the Willows, Winnie the Pooh, and Tig are rare exceptions.
It was my pleasure! Thanks for writing a good book—and I agree with your exceptions to the Talking Animal Rule and want to throw in Wilbur from “Charlotte’s Web.” I can’t think of a single book written for adults that used talking animals as well as those did!