BIRD -- Rita Murphy

Delacorte Press -- hc

New York -- 2008 -- 150pp

ISBN: 978-0-385-73018-1

A young girl, deposited by the wind on the doorsteps of a sad and lonely house, looks to the wind to take her away to her freedom.

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There is something very appealing about this book -- partly it's Rita Murphy's writing style, partly it's the just slightly off-kilter characters and story (aptly depicted by the artist of the hardcover version). But at the same time, there's something definitely lacking here. There was no sense of accomplishment; no big "hurrah" for the young girl at the end, and that says to me that we didn't care for her enough.

I've been talking to my theatre class about 'dramatic conflict' and while I know the difference between a book and theatre, even a book needs to have some conflict (an obstacle). Here is where the focus gets a bit muddy. Is the obstacle in the girl's way the house itself? Wisteria (her guardian)? The legend of the missing fortune? Of herself? It's a little bit of all of them, which is why it isn't as clean as it could be.

The story of the missing fortune is not really necessary. It's a subplot that doesn't really go anywhere.

An interesting book that reached for more but didn't quite get there.

GREEN LANTERN: SLEEPERS - BOOK TWO -- Christopher J. Priest & Michael Ahn

iBooks, Inc. -- pb
©2005 -- 304pp
ISBN: 1596871350 (isbn13: 9781596871359)

Alan Scott enters World War II to fight a 17th-century supervillain named Malvolio, an anti-Green Lantern who wants to take over the world.


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Ah, another comfort book, this one actually more comforting than the last because this seemed to have a little meat to it.

Although 'Book Two,' it really had little to do with Book One. There was some tie-over, but this book was more of a 'prequel' to Book One and could easily be read first. This book deals with the origin of the first earth Green Lantern superhero. This was not a story I was familiar with -- although a fan of the Green lantern comics, and knowing that Alan Scott was the first Green lantern, I did not know his story. ANd not knowing the comic originstory, I don't know how accurate this is to that tale, but I found this to be easily acceptable.

This book was a good study in character, showing us more of the growth of the person, Alan Scott, rather than the actions of the Green Lantern superhero. It manages to create some nice dramatic conflict in a variety of ways, and is easy to read as well.

I don't know if there's a 'Book Three' out there or not, but if so, I'd surely pick it up. Christopher Priest has done a fine job of storytelling and really kept my interest.

Recommended for fans of comics and sci-fi/fantasy.