Reviews for Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card

found on Amazon.Com

From School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up–Card's latest work of speculative fiction twists together tropes of fantasy and science fiction into something fine indeed. Rigg and his father are trappers by trade, but Rigg has been instructed throughout his 13 years in languages, sciences, history, and politics. The teen is therefore somewhat mentally prepared for the quest that his father thrusts upon him with his dying breath–to go to the capital city and find his sister. Both Rigg and his friend, Umbo, have a special ability that aids them–Rigg can see the paths of all living things, regardless of intervening obstructions or even time, and Umbo can seemingly change the movement of time itself. Needless to say, the two meet various friends and foes and can't always tell which is which as they journey onward. Juxtaposed with this main story is an entirely different narrative, told in a page or two at the beginning of each chapter. This is the tale of Ram Odin, human pilot of a colony ship from Earth, traveling to a new world with the use of space-folding technology. The combination of science fiction and fantasy as well as a surprising revelation at the end harken back to genre classics like Robert Silverberg's Lord Valentine's Castle (HarperCollins, 1980) and Roger Zelazny's Nine Princes in Amber (Doubleday, 1970). This novel should appeal to Card's legion of fans as well as anyone who enjoys speculative fiction with characters who rely on quick thinking rather than violence or tales of mind-bending time-travel conundrums.–Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* The first in a series, Card’s latest title has much in common with his Ender Wiggins books: precocious teens with complementary special talents, callously manipulative government authorities, endlessly creative worlds, and Card’s refusal to dumb down a plot for a young audience. Here he takes the notions of folding space and time, embracing paradox, “adopting a rule set in which . . . causality . . . controls reality, regardless of where it occurs on the timeline.” Thirteen-year-old Rigg is a Pathfinder, one who sees the paths of others’ pasts. Rigorously trained and thoroughly educated by his demanding father, Rigg is horrified when Father dies unexpectedly after a final order to find the sister he never knew he had. Rigg is accompanied on this journey by a small group of friends who have powers of bending and manipulating the flow of time. Card also skillfully twines a separate story line into the plot, featuring earth’s colonization of distant planets, led by the idealistic young pilot Ram Odin. Fast paced and thoroughly engrossing, the 650-plus pages fly by, challenging readers to care about and grasp sophisticated, confusing, and captivating ideas. As in L’Engle’s Time Quartet, science is secondary to the human need to connect with others, but Card does not shy away from full and fascinating discussions of the paradoxical worlds he has created. Grades 8-12. --Debbie Carton

Summer Books -- Drift House

I'm enjoying this book about three children from New York City who after the September 11 terrorist attacks are sent by their parents to live with  an eccentric uncle in a very strange house located on the Bay of Eternity.

Summer Books -- Patricia C. Wrede

Summer Books -- Patricia C. Wrede

I just finished reading Thirteenth Child by Wrede.  It was a fun read.  Imagine the United States in the 1800's with settlers braving the unknown  and known dangers of leaving civilization.  Now add magic as an everyday part of life, change the name of the nation to Columbia (as in "Columbia the Gem of the Ocean"), and add to the dangers our pioneers faced creatures such as mammoths and saber-toothed cats, and dragons and other magical creatures that threatened crops and livestock and human lives.  Go along with the main characters -- a girl who is a thirteenth child (thought by most of her relatives to be extremely unlucky), and her twin, the seventh son of a seventh son -- (thought to be the most powerful and lucky of magicians) as they move with their family to a town barely  inside the confines of civilization. 

I've read Patricia's Wredes Dealing with Dragons series, too, a while back, and enjoyed it very much. 

Summer Books -- Scott Westerfeld

     I'm reading Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, the author of The Uglies series.  This fantasy/adventure, based very loosely on real history, takes place on a variation of our world at the time of the beginning of World War I.  In this story, Darwin has discovered not only evolution, but has also discovered DNA and how to manipulate it to create fabricated beasts to take the place of polluting machinery.  England and some European countries have built their military as well as industrial might with these creatures. Germany and its allies have, on the other hand, rejected Darwin and focused on created advanced machinery, including huge walking machines of war. 

  The main characters are a girl masquerading as a boy so she can join the British military, and the young prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire whose parents have been murdered, and who must keep on the run to avoid the same fate. 

    I'm enjoying the story and the illustrations.  Here are some examples of the illustrations for this 428 page book.

Summer Books -- Jessica Day George

Here is another review by Ms. Staheli:

06/01 LuAnn Staheli gave 5 stars to: Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George
bookshelves: middle-grade
status: Read in May, 2010

Despite the fact I wasn’t familiar with the fairytale used as a basis for Princess of the Midnight Ball, I loved that book and have already recommended it to many of my students. This time, youngest sister, Princess Poppy, is back in a tale of her own that is woven into the more familiar Cinderella story which made for a delightful read.

It is no wonder that Princess Poppy doesn’t want to dance with the many potential suitors she meets in the royal exchange program her father and some neighboring kings have devised, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t interested in the handsome prince who promises her friendship . . . and perhaps more. But when the penniless servant Eleanora enters the picture, Poppy must unravel where the other girl gets those fine gowns she wears when she is somehow invited to the ball.

Princess of Glass speaks to the romantic in us all, and I know it will be a favorite with my 7th grade girls next year as well.

Summer Books -- Richard Peck

This is a review on Goodreads from another teacher in Utah Valley.  Because I have enjoyed Richard Peck's other books about Grandma Dowdel so much (A Long Way From Chicago and A Year Down Yonder), I very much want to read this one. 

06/01 LuAnn Staheli gave 5 stars to: A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck
bookshelves: christmas, middle-grade
status: Read in May, 2010

Watch out readers—Grandma Dowdel is back, and her feisty spirit and creative way of dealing with trouble makers hasn’t gotten old, even though Grandma herself has.

In a story told through the eyes of 12-year-old Bob, the son of the new preacher and his family just moved to town, readers will enjoy yet another series of tales set in 1958 Southern Indiana.

Bob and his parents have plenty of trouble of their own, without adding Grandma Dowdel to the mix. Bob is harassed by a bunch of bullies; his older sister, Phyllis, is obsessed with Elvis, or anyone who might remind her of the King; and his younger sister, Ruth Ann, isn’t quite sure she still believes in Santa Claus, despite Grandma Dowdel’s efforts to offer proof to the contrary.

Like A Long Way from Chicago and A Year Down Yonder, this story will make you laugh, it may make you cry, and it will definitely touch your heart. This one will be a great read aloud for teachers to share with their students and parents will want copies for their own children as well.