A Fan's Playground

Some time ago a kind soul (heckofabecca) gave me a brief run-down of the events of chapter 9's dinner party, in preparation for the day when I'd finally get to this book in my read-through of the Vorkosigan Saga. And I am so very grateful, because it means I could just skip that entire chapter to miss all the embarrassment-squick, while still being able to understand the fall-out.

Other than that one chapter (and, okay, a couple pages' worth of misunderstanding in an earlier chapter...and watching Miles make terrible choices in his plans to secretly court Ekaterin), this book is a delight!

( I guess these things are spoilers? )

But also: Byerly! Ivan! The Koudelka sisters! Gregor and Nikki! More Ekaterin! Lots of great stuff in this book.

This book is first in a series of children's novels about an Anishinaabe girl living in the Lake Superior region during the time of colonial westward expansion in North America. I gather it was written in conscious reaction to the way the Little House series portrays the westward movement by white people as being into empty, unpeopled land. I loved the Little House books growing up, but the racism inherent in them is definitely not great, so I was happy to hear about The Birchbark House.

And it does not disappoint! It's a genuinely good book, engaging and emotional and interesting. It has a strong sense of the importance of the characters' traditional life, and the worries brought up by the westward encroachment by white people. But also it's just a really nice look at a young girl named Omakayas and her family and broader community, all lovingly portrayed as interesting and varied characters with real-feeling relationships with each other. I cared a lot about Omakayas and everyone she loves!

(And there's sequels, which are...in my to read pile...after too many other library books)

I haven't reread the Emelan books in forever and I was in the mood so I reread the five that I own! Which are the four Circle of Magic books plus The Will of the Empress, since I was never as into the Circle Opens books (possibly because they're all about serial killers). At any rate it works very well to read just these five books as a complete set.

( thematic spoilers only )

So here's the problem with not writing up my thoughts immediately after finishing a book: I FORGET WHAT THEY ARE. So here, have some extremely abbreviated book thoughts. Sigh.

( Captive Prince book 1 )

( As Wide as the Waters: The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution it Inspired, by Benson Bobrick )

( Mike & Psmith, and Psmith in the City, by P.G. Wodehouse )

( First Test, and Page, by Tamora Pierce )

( The Annotated Secret Garden (The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the annotations by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina) )