The Witch's Daughter

The Witch's Daughter.  Paula Brackston. Thomas Dunne Books.  December 2008. 305 pages. Source: Audio library.

First Sentence: Bess ran.  The clear night sky and fat moon gave ample illumination for her flight.

Plot: My name is Elizabeth Anne Hawksmith, and my age is three hundred and eighty-four years. Each new settlement asks for a new journal, and so this Book of Shadows begins.
In the spring of 1628, the Witchfinder of Wessex finds himself a true Witch. As Bess Hawksmith watches her mother swing from the Hanging Tree she knows that only one man can save her from the same fate at the hands of the panicked mob: the Warlock Gideon Masters, and his Book of Shadows. Secluded at his cottage in the woods, Gideon instructs Bess in the Craft, awakening formidable powers she didn't know she had and making her immortal. She couldn't have foreseen that even now, centuries later, he would be hunting her across time, determined to claim payment for saving her life.

In present-day England, Elizabeth has built a quiet life for herself, tending her garden and selling herbs and oils at the local farmers' market. But her solitude abruptly ends when a teenage girl called Tegan starts hanging around. Against her better judgment, Elizabeth begins teaching Tegan the ways of the Hedge Witch, in the process awakening memories—and demons—long thought forgotten.

My thoughts:  I enjoyed this story of a young girl who was put in a position to either "become a witch" to escape burning or die for being one even though she was not.  

She lived saving lives working with herbs and medicines then into actual operating rooms and working as a Doctor in the earliest of times when this was not the norm for a woman to be practicing surgical procedures.  She tired to do nothing but good and not to use "magic" for crazy selfish things.  All her life as a witch was spent trying to hide from the warlock Gideon Masters.  Gideon loved her (or so he said) and pursued her for centuries.

Elizabeth (Bess) spent a lot of lonely years because she could not get close to anyone.  A life of mostly solitude.  

This is not a book promoting witchcraft.  I would recommend it to young adults as there are some light suggestive situations over the centuries.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Ann Brashares. Delacort Press. 2001. 294 pages. Source: Audio library

First sentence: Once upon a time there was a pair of pants.

Plot: armen got the jeans at a thrift shop. They didn’t look all that great: they were worn, dirty, and speckled with bleach. On the night before she and her friends part for the summer, Carmen decides to toss them. But Tibby says they’re great. She'd love to have them. Lena and Bridget also think they’re fabulous. Lena decides that they should all try them on. Whoever they fit best will get them. Nobody knows why, but the pants fit everyone perfectly. Even Carmen (who never thinks she looks good in anything) thinks she looks good in the pants. Over a few bags of cheese puffs, they decide to form a sisterhood and take the vow of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants . . . the next morning, they say good-bye. And then the journey of the pants — and the most memorable summer of their lives — begins.

My thoughts:  I enjoyed this story.  It was light read about four teenage friends and their summer.  I say light in that it wasn't a classic novel! :)  But the issues they each faced as teenagers was not necessarily light. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.  

I Heard The Owl Call My Name

I Heard The Owl Call My Name. Margaret Craven. January 1980 (first published in 1967) Laurel. 159 pages. Source: Betterworldbooks.com

First sentence: He stood at the wheel, watching the current stream, and the bald eagles fishing for herring that waited until the boat was almost upon them to lift, to drop the instance it had passed.

Plot: Amid the grandeur of the remote Pacific Northwest stands Kingcome, a village so ancient that, according to Kwakiutl myth, it was founded by the two brothers left on earth after the great flood. The Native Americans who still live there call it Quee, a place of such incredible natural richness that hunting and fishing remain primary food sources. 

But the old culture of totems and potlatch is being replaces by a new culture of prefab housing and alcoholism. Kingcome's younger generation is disenchanted and alienated from its heritage. And now, coming upriver is a young vicar, Mark Brian, on a journey of discovery that can teach him—and us—about life, death, and the transforming power of love.

My thoughts: The cover of this book actually drew me in however this isn't the version that I actually read.  A white man, a vicar, goes to live among the Natives.  He has a lot to learn of their customs/traditions but he does well.  The Natives send their children to the white man schools to be educated.  They are quickly forgetting their native tongue and the old stories.  They are "Americanized" if you will.  It's really kind of sad to see this happening.

Mark, the vicar, finds himself letting go of the white mans traditions and ways of thinking.  He can see the changes coming in the tribes he serves and it saddens him.  It didn't have the ending that I expected but it was a good one nevertheless.  

The Book of Deacon

The Book of Deacon.  Joseph R. Lallo. Createspace. 322 pages (Source: Audio book)

First sentence: The end of an era is always a time of great importance. 

Plot: The tale of Myranda Celeste, a young woman orphaned by a century long war, and her chance discovery of a fallen soldier's priceless cargo. The find will change her life, sending her on an adventure of soldiers and rebels, wizards and warriors, and beasts both noble and monstrous. Each step will bring her closer to the truth of her potential, of the war, and of the fate of her world. (Goodreads)

My thoughts:  I have a hard time describing these fantasy books but here goes...  Myranda is a wizard but doesn't know it.  If that's possible.  She has powers that weren't ever developed.  But while running from the people who are trying to capture her for what reason she doesn't know she escapes to a land that is full of wizards of various types.  Because her powers are exceptional, without much effort, each wizard wants to train her first.  She passes each test with flying colors, she must be one of the chosen!  The Chosen have the abilit to stop the war that has raged for 150 years but refuses to do so because he makes his money as an assascin.

Deacon... The reasoning to this title didn't hit until Myranda arrived in the land that the wizards resided in.  Deacon was a record keeper of sorts.  The ending left us hearing from Deacon as he had been writing all these events and leading us into the next book.

It was good and I am looking forward to The Great Convergence (The Book of Deacon #2).