Yay! Archaeology!

The Tomb of Zeus

By Barbara Cleverly

Okay, so technically this book isn’t a YA novel, but close enough. The Tomb of Zeus caught my eye because:

a) It’s a murder mystery,
b) It’s about a female archaeologist in the 1920s, and
c) It’s set in Greece (okay, Crete) with Greek mythology.
I’m sorry, but how could I pass that up?

In The Tomb of Zeus Laetitia Talbot goes to stay with an archaeologist and his family and quickly becomes embroiled in the family’s drama. Laetitia befriends the archaeologist’s young wife, Phoebe, and his son George but when Phoebe is found, hanged, in her bedroom, and George drives his car off a cliff, Laetitia takes it upon herself to find the murderer and bring him or her to justice. You have to imagine her with a hardcore super-sleuth voice when she says "A coward and an adulterer. Yes but are you a murderer?"  And to add on that, Laetitia is working at a dig site that could reveal one of the island’s darkest secrets.

It turns out The Tomb of Zeus is actually the first book in the trilogy, I was under the impression that it was the third. Around the middle, the story gets a bit harder to understand, which I attributed to the book not being the first in the series, but I guess I was wrong.

The Tomb of Zeus is written well, and Laetitia (or Letty as she’s called) is a strong and feisty character, armed with plenty of witty retorts to sexist comments. The fact that it’s set in the 20s doesn’t really impact the story; it seems to be there purely for the conceptions of what a woman’s role should be during that time period and to provide Letty with another obstacle she has to deal with. Letty is a very well-drawn character and her personality and her character is revealed throughout the course of the book. I reckon the one problem with the writing was that Barbara Cleverly sometimes went off on tangents, slowing the story down, but otherwise The Tomb of Zeus is really good.

"If ever a man had the ability to stir up storm clouds its [SPOILERSPOILERSPOLER]" Sorry, I guess you'll just have to read it now.

Feisty chick-o-meter: 9/10

Age rating: 15+

Rating: 8.5/10

Stand alone or series: Series

Book or audiobook: Book

Last word: Hooves

Dolphins. Aw Yeah.

A Ring of Endless Light

By Madeline L'Engle

It’s been a while since I read a book that left me with a book hangover. I’ve read plenty of really good books lately but A Ring of Endless Light was different. Turns out, it’s actually the fourth book in a series of five, The Austin Family Chronicles, although it could be a stand-alone book.

In A Ring of Endless Light, almost sixteen year old Vicky moves, with her family, to The Island, for the summer to spend what might be his last summer with her grandfather. During this time she finds herself dealing with unimaginable loss and sadness, as well as incredible beauty. Vicky says at one point “I’m practically never entirely sure about anything.”

While she’s on the island Vicky gets tangled up with three boys: The Old Friend, The Dangerous One (aka The Jerk) and The One You Know She’ll Choose Because No-one Ever Chooses the Other Two. Now I’m not going to go into detail on the love triangle or square thingy, because that makes it sound like any other fluffy teen romance novel and it isn’t. Not by far. And, added to all this there are dolphins. In fact, the most beautiful parts in this book are definitely when Vicky is in the water with the dolphins.

I came to A Ring of Endless Light not knowing what to expect. To be honest, the blurb made it sound a bit fluffy but a friend highly recommended it.  It’s beautifully written, and Vicky is a nice, believable character. Reading it made me wish I could crawl inside the book and live Vicky’s life (minus the whole death and sadness part). The one criticism I have is that I wanted to smack Vicky when she stuck around with the aforementioned Jerk, but eventually she tells him to take a hike and it’s all good.

I highly recommend A Ring of Endless Light and will definitely reread it multiple times. Now I just have to read the other four books…

Feisty chick-o-meter: 10/10
Age rating: 12 +
Rating: 10/10
Stand alone or series: Series
Book or audiobook: Book
Last word: Close

Does my head look big in this?

Does My Head Look Big In This

By Randa Abdel-Fattah

I have just spent two days at a model United Nations, debating, among other things, women’s rights. And, while technically the topic was on violence against women, what came up a lot was women being forced to wear hijabs or burkas. What no one really thought about though, was the women who choose to wear the hijab purely of their own volition. This reminded me of one of my favourite books - Does My Head Look Big In This? - about a girl who chooses to wear the hijab full time, without pressure from anyone.

Amal, a sixteen year old Australian-Palestinian-Muslim, faces considerable opposition when she decides to wear the hijab full time; her school’s administration, her classmates, people on the streets, even her parents are dubious, but Amal is confident in her decision. This book is about Amal’s journey, navigating between open discrimination from random people, to her principal “suggesting” she not wear her hijab in school. She also has to deal with other people’s issues with her having friends of different religions. Does My Head Look Big In This? is narrated by Amal with sarcasm, humour, and wit.

Does My Head Look Big In This? is extremely well written and funny, Amal, along with every other character, is well rounded and believable. Amal, especially, is someone who you wish you had as a friend, she has an endless supply of witty retorts, and isn’t afraid to use them at any given time. One thing I especially like is that Amal never regrets her decision, and she never feels like her faith is confining her. She is perfectly comfortable with who she is, and isn’t afraid to speak out.

Does My Head Look Big In This? is a great story about self-confidence, discovering yourself, and above all friendship. If more people read books like this perhaps we'd have a more balanced debate. If only I could have quoted this book last week!

Feisty chick-o-meter: 10/10

Age Rating: 13+

Rating: 10/10

Stand alone or series: Stand alone

Book or audiobook: Book

Women at war

Girl In Blue

By Ann Rinaldi

Although the US only just allowed women to serve in combat, women have been fighting in wars for years in books. One of my favourites is Girl in Blue.

It’s 1861 and when sixteen year old Sarah Weedlock discovers her father’s plan to marry her off to the horrible widower next door, she runs away from home. Under the alias, Neddy Compton, she signs up for the Union Army. Starting as a (male) nurse, she works every day to keep her identity a secret and eventually is fighting on the frontlines. Then her identity is discovered and, making use of her disguise skills, she is sent to become a spy with Allan Pinkerton, and that is when the main action begins. Her first mission - to find the diary of a fierce confederate spy - proves to be harder than Sarah ever imagined.

I was really impressed with Girl in Blue. It was fast paced, full of action and mystery and overall, really well written, the fight scenes especially. Sarah is a very well-drawn character, and not once did she have to use her “feminine wiles” (THANK YOU). She is a strong character, and when her gender is discovered, she doesn’t become a girlish sop, as is the case with many books and films, she just carries on as before and doesn’t require anyone else’s help.

I really enjoyed  Girl in Blue, and it is most definitely on the rereads list.


Feisty chick-o-meter: 8/10
Age rating: 12+
Rating: 9/10
Stand alone or series: Stand alone
Book or audiobook: Book