After looking at the list I decided to do so by breaking it out a bit. The list breaks down into three categories which divide my reading into roughly thirds: Young Adult Fiction, Fiction, and Non-Fiction.  So below are my favorite reads in each of those categories.

Young Adult Fiction

Cover of Leepike Ridge

Yes, I’m a grown man and I read young adult fiction. As I have explained a few times, I do this because I find the YA fantasy fiction genre creative and entertaining. Some of them are just fun relaxing reads (admittedly quick and easy as well) but some of them are complex and imaginative in ways that make the label superfluous. They are just great books.

The List (in no particular order):

1. Factotum (The Foundling’s Tale, Part Three) by D. M. Cornish (If you love epic fantasy that is a mix of Tolkien and Dickens you will enjoy this series.)
2. Boom! by Mark Haddon (A great little story – action, adventure, intrigue and humor all in less than 200 pages.)
3. The Necromancer by Michael Scott (An enjoyable fantasy thriller where you race to read the book only to be forced to wait for the next release to dive back in again.)
4. Leepike Ridge by N.D. Wilson (“An original mix of Robinson Crusoe, King Solomon’s Mines, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and The Odyssey”)
5. Wild Magic by Cat Weatherill (A creative and intelligent mix of myth, mystery and coming of age stories.)

“Adult” Fiction and Non-Fiction below.

Fiction

Despite my enjoyment of YA I haven’t fully embraced the niche idea and so still read “adult” fiction. A couple of my favorite authors had new books out and I found a couple of new authors as well.

The List:

1. The Queen of Patpong by Timothy Hallinan (Hallinan offer not only the tension and suspense of a thriller but the human insight of a more literary novel)
2. The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors by Michele Young-Stone (… skilfully captures both the time periods and ages involved as well as the variety of ways humans can find tragedy)
3. Peter and Max by Bill Willingham (a creative and entertaining twist on the story of the Pied Piper and a nice introduction to the work of Bill Willingham)
4. Imaginary Jesus by Matt Mikalatos (walks the fine line between slapstick comedy and insightful spiritual commentary – and in my opinion manages to pull it off for the most part)
5. The Last Christian by David Gregory (blends suspense and philosophical and spiritual issues into an entertaining mix)

Non-Fiction

I didn’t read a lot of non-fiction this year and most of the focus was on faith and spiritual issues.  I hope to read more non-fiction this year but focus is likely to remain the same.

The List:

1. Somewhere More Holy by Tony Woodlief (a glimpse into how grace and faith can overcome the darkest tragedies and how love can overcome more than you can imagine)
2. William F. Buckley (Christian Encounters) by Jeremy Lott (a quick and well done introduction to this larger that life figure in American politics)
3. Radical by David Platt (Quite simply Platt asks his readers to think about how they might live if they really believed what they read in the Bible)
4. Gripped by the Greatness of God by James McDonald (an engaging and challenging study based on the book of Isaiah)
5. Abraham Lincoln: A Presidential Life by James M. McPherson (The usefulness of a book like this is that its succinctness can be perfect for a variety of readers.)

So there you have it. Fifteen books that I enjoyed in 2010 and that I recommend to you in 2011.

It is creative and again clearly influenced by oral storytelling but if feels a bit more like episodes tied together rather than a seamless story. The hook – an orphaned wooden boy seeking to find his place in the world – was interesting, and the story has some well done ingredients, but it just never quite “took off” for me.

Here is the teaser from the publisher:

One silver-starry night, a shiny, wooden egg falls from a flying machine high in the air . . . down, down, down through the midnight sky . . . down to the small village of Pumbleditch, where Barkbelly is born. Where he’s the only wooden boy. And where he’s the cause of a tragic accident.

Suddenly, Barkbelly’s only choice is to flee for his life—to run. As he tries to escape his haunting past, he faces extraordinary adventures and dangers. Every wooden step leads Barkbelly toward the dark and startling truth about where he comes from and the burning question of where he really belongs. With deliciously imaginative storytelling, Cat Weatherill creates an utterly magical world—and one wooden boy who’s sure to melt readers’ hearts.

More of my take below. (Some spoilers involved)

I don’t want to give the impression that I hated the book or something. As noted above, the basic hook for the story is captivating: a race of wooden people who hatch after being placed in the fire. Barkbelly is a compelling figure as well; even if the orphan trope is rather common (alone and different than everyone else, etc.).

Many of the ingredients are well done; the pieces and parts of the imaginary world Weatherill creates. But the story seems to flow in fits and starts. Barkbelly grows up in his adopted family – tragedy forces him to flee – he exists in a strange town but is again forced to flee – he seeks out his real family only to be disappointed – he returns home to eventual triumph.

Rather than each of the above components feeding the tension and adding to the mystery some of the feel just like little vignettes added for color – interesting but not directly connected to the larger story. And so in the middle the story gets bogged down a bit.

To her credit, Weatherill adds a twist that pushes off the happy ending and changes the nature of that happiness to a certain degree. The real ending feels a little to easy in some ways (the magic involved is only vaguely established earlier) but it keeps the story interesting for longer.

It could be that what Kirkus calls an “episodic read” just didn’t work for me. It could also be that the limits of YA storytelling combined with this style to make the story feel less than it was for me. For whatever reason, Wild Magic worked as a whole a lot better than Barkbelly did.

School Library Jounral noted:

Weatherill is a performance storyteller, and there is an oral storytelling feel to the characters and their reactions, as well as to the circularity of the plot. This does not translate wholly successfully to the longer chapter-book format, and independent readers might find the characters rather one-dimensional.

This might be a part of it as well.

But I think the creativity and imagination involved makes this book worth checking out for those young readers looking for unique YA fiction.

The problem with this is that it only leads to trouble on my part (as if I don’t already have a book problem, right?). And it can be frustrating too. Standing there in the Children’s/Young Adult section one is tempted by the ever more creative and interesting books that are out there for young people. And the kids always beg to stay longer.

It was on one such trip that I noticed Wild Magic by Cat Weatherill on an end-cap and made a note to put it on the wish list. Due to financial constraints that we – like so many – are feeling I avoided the temptation to buy it and instead checked it out from the library (sorry B&N, publishers & authors).

Having read it, however, I can cheerfully suggest you purchase it should you have the necessary discretionary funds to do so (yikes, starting to sound like a lawyer here). It is a creative and intelligent mix of myth, mystery and coming of age stories.

Here is the publishers blurb:

The Pied Piper had his reasons for enchanting the children of Hamelin and stealing them away—ones rooted in a deep history of wild magic. Mari and her brother Jakob are among the children who followed the piper’s song, and they are now trapped in a beautiful but cruel world inhabited by a horrid Beast. They must remain there until he finds the right child, the chosen one, who can lift his century old curse. But the price of breaking the curse is a terrible one. This fast-paced, richly fantastical continuation of a familiar tale is a powerful story of a family torn apart by tragedy, and the magical adventure that heals them.

More of my take below.

Having just read an “adult” – albeit comic inspired – take on the Pied Piper it seemed like a good time to read a YA approach. And Weatherill does a great job tweaking the old myth and adding some great elements to it.

In this twist, as noted, the Pied Piper leads the children of Hamelin away not to their death but to a magical place called Elvendale. The Piper did this because of an ancient curse and promise of how that curse might be ended.

The children are tragically caught up in his quest to find relief from the burden and punished when the initial plan fails. It is Jakob, despite his deformed legs, that is the child he seeks but it is those very deformed legs that prevent Jakob from getting to the gate and into Elvendale and able to break the curse. The children pay for the Piper’s anger.

When Jakob goes searching for his sister, however, he manages to find a way in. And in seeking his son their father Moller soon joins the children in the magical land. All three become bound up in Piper’s search for an end to the curse.

While the hook for this story is the classic tale of the Pied Piper the real meat of the story centers on family and the choices we make.

The Piper’s story is one of regret after one very foolish choice that had life changing repercussions. Weatherill creates a fascinating back story that explains how the Piper came to be leading all those children from Hamelin.

The basic ingredients are there: the flute, the rats, the town, the children, etc. But the why is different.

And this why makes the Piper an interesting character. Isolated from his family and burdened with a tragic secret he seeks relief wherever he can find it and is willing to do anything to break the ancient curse. What he wants more than anything is to be able to return to his family and his people.

In this way he becomes something more than a villain and more like the people you find in Irish folklore; friendly and playful in many ways but also very dangerous and untrustworthy.

The other family is Marianna, Jakob and Moller. Troubled by their father’s turn to alcoholism and anger after his wife’s death, the children dream of a paradise where these troubles don’t exist. But the Piper’s enchantment brings them not paradise but entrapment.  But as is often the case circumstances force them to work together if they are to survive.

And it is in these family dynamics that the story become deeper than just a magical adventure. Each member of the family must decide what is really important to them; must move past failures and weaknesses and seek to keep the promises they made (to others and to themselves).

Jakob turns out to have the most magical powers but each of them plays a part in their eventual triumph. And in doing so they remember why their family is so special and why being together is really all they wanted. When given the choice they choose “normal” rather than magical (albeit with a little help from magic).

Some critics complained about the different points of view and the lack of a systematic magic or worldview for Elvendale. But I don’t think it was that kind of story. Weatherill is more C. S. Lewis than J.R.R. Tolkien in that she uses pieces and parts from a variety of mythologies (and adds her own) to tell a story rather than building a world or alternate universe. And she also cleary brings a oral storytelling tradition to her writing.

I found the different perspectives interesting and enjoyed the way Weatherill weaved it all together. The result was an enchanting and entertaining reworking of the Pied Piper with one family at the heart of the story.

So if you find yourself hanging out in the local book store or library check it out. You will be glad you did.