Canada Reads (2015) Finalists Announced

The Language of Hoofbeats by Catherine Ryan Hyde (book review)

The Language of Hoofbeats

Author:  Catherine Ryan Hyde

Published: December 2014

Publisher:  Lake Union Publishing

Pages:  342

Genre: Fiction 

Edition:  Trade paperback

Source:  A complimentary copy was provided by the publisher and TLC book tours in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. 

From the bestselling author of Pay It Forward comes a story of the heartbreak and healing power of family. New to a small town, Jackie and Paula envision a quiet life for their kids: a young adopted son and two teenage foster children, including the troubled Star. However, they quickly butt heads with their neighbor, Clementine, who disapproves of their lifestyle and is incensed when Star befriends her spirited horse, Comet. Haunted by past tragedy and unable to properly care for Comet, Clem nevertheless resents the bond Star soon shares with the horse. When Star disappears with Comet, the neighbors are thrown together—far too close together. But as the search for the pair wears on, both families must learn to put aside their animosity and confront the choices they’ve made and the scars they carry. Plumbing the depths of regret and forgiveness, The Language of Hoofbeats explores the strange alchemy that transforms a group of people into a family.

My Thoughts:

The Language of Hoofbeats is a tender slower read that explores family and relationships in a story where a lesbian married couple with an adopted son and two foster children move to a small town where Paula practices large animal veterinary care and Jackie is an artist who works out of their home.  One of their foster children, Star, hasn't been with them long enough for either Paula nor Jackie to really get to know but she comes from a home of neglect with a mother who was institutionalized with mental illness which brought Star into the foster care system.

Moving can be difficult and each member of this family has their struggles with the adjustments to rural life.  Star especially has a hard time of it until she meets Comet, the horse who lives in a small corral across the road from their new house.  Star and Comet take to each other instantly but Clementine, the horse's owner objects strongly to having "that girl" interfering with her horse. There's a long history behind Clementine's bitterness and it evolves through the book in chapters told in her voice alternating with chapters told in the others' voices.  

When Clementine refuses to sell Comet to the family, Star takes action and during the night sneaks out to set Comet and herself free.  Their disappearance is the point from which the novel evolves.

The Language of Hoofbeats explores the love of a girl for a horse and just how far one is willing to go to find that which they seek.  It's a story of love, acceptance, understanding and sorrow and is sure to touch your heart and draw a tear.  Catherine Ryan Hyde, as in Pay it Forward, reaches into the very soul of the characters whom she writes about and for whom she writes in this new novel, The Language of Hoofbeats. 

Catherine Ryan Hyde is the bestselling author of twenty-four novels, including the 1999 smash hit Pay It Forward,which has been translated into more than two dozen languages, and was made into a major motion picture starring Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, and Haley Joel Osment. In addition to her novels, Hyde is the author of more than fifty short stories and is founder and former president (2000–2009) of the Pay It Forward Foundation. During her years as a professional public speaker, she addressed the National Conference on Education, met with AmeriCorps members at the White House, and shared a dais with President Bill Clinton.

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Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz (book review)

Moriarty

Author:  Anthony Horowitz

Published: December 2014

Publisher: Harper Collins

Pages: 304

Genre:  Mystery

Source: A complimentary copy was provided by the publisher and TLC book tours in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

The game is once again afoot in this thrilling mystery from the bestselling author of The House of Silk, sanctioned by the Conan Doyle estate, which explores what really happened when Sherlock Holmes and his arch nemesis Professor Moriarty tumbled to their doom at the Reichenbach Falls.

Internationally bestselling author Anthony Horowitz’s nail-biting new novel plunges us back into the dark and complex world of detective Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty—dubbed the "Napoleon of crime" by Holmes—in the aftermath of their fateful struggle at the Reichenbach Falls.

Days after the encounter at the Swiss waterfall, Pinkerton detective agent Frederick Chase arrives in Europe from New York. Moriarty’s death has left an immediate, poisonous vacuum in the criminal underworld, and there is no shortage of candidates to take his place—including one particularly fiendish criminal mastermind.

Chase and Scotland Yard Inspector Athelney Jones, a devoted student of Holmes’ methods of investigation and deduction originally introduced by Conan Doyle in “The Sign of Four”, must forge a path through the darkest corners of England’s capital—from the elegant squares of Mayfair to the shadowy wharfs and alleyways of the London Docks—in pursuit of this sinister figure, a man much feared but seldom seen, who is determined to stake his claim as Moriarty’s successor.

A riveting, deeply atmospheric tale of murder and menace, Moriarty breathes life into Holmes’ dark and fascinating world.

Available Now: “The Three Monarchs”, an e-original Sherlock Holmes short story from Anthony Horowitz, including a preview chapter from Moriarty (on sale: December 9th). In “The Three Monarchs”, Sherlock Holmes and James Watson come together once again to uncover the motive behind a robbery gone awry. When an elderly man shoots an intruder he finds in his home, it seems like a clear case of self-defense. What’s not so clear is why the robber was there….Get your copy now!

My Thoughts:

Who doesn't love Sherlock Holmes?  So if you do, you know that Moriarty is his chief enemy... the criminal mastermind Holmes is determined to see behind bars.  In Horowitz's tale, Holmes and Moriarty are both dead after a struggle at a cliff's edge.  With Moriarty's death, the way is clear for other criminal elements to make a stronghold in London and America is not too far a departure point for one such criminal.

A few short days following the demise of Holmes and Moriarty, Pinkerton agent Frederick Chase arrives in Europe on the trail of an American criminal whom he was assigned to bring back to America to face charges.  Chase soon meets Scotland Yard Inspector Athelney Jones, a "student" in the ways of Sherlock Holmes, and together they scour London in search of the wanted criminal. 

Horowitz is a phenomenal writer!  I was drawn in from the start and let me just say, the climax is a jaw dropper!!!  It's been a long time since a book has had that effect and I was taken off guard by the twist that took my breath away!! That's a sure sign of success.

I highly recommend Moriarty to all detective, mystery, and Sherlock Holmes fans.  You will not be disappointed.  5/5!!  Let me know if your jaw drops.  ;)

Meet the Author:

Anthony Horowitz is the author of the international bestseller The House of Silk and the New York Times number one bestselling Alex Rider series for Young Adults. As a television screenwriter he created both Midsomer Murdersand the BAFTA-winning Foyle’s War, both of which were featured on PBS’s Masterpiece Mystery. He regularly contributes to a wide variety of national newspapers and magazines, and in January 2014 was awarded an OBE for his services to literature. He lives in London.

Find out more about Anthony at his website and connect with him on Twitter.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - Success or Disappointment?

We went to see the final instalment in The Hobbit trilogy last night.  It was good but I am conflicted and I'll tell you why in a bit.  

This instalment ties The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings quite well.  Before it, there seemed to be quite a gap between the two but The Battle of the Five Armies ties them together nicely and the ending was perfect in achieving this.  The sketches displayed in the closing credits were incredibly lifelike and revealing of each character's attributes.

The music score, well I love it!  Particularly the last song to play during the credits,  The Last Goodbye by Billy Boyd.  It's incredibly beautiful.  As is the song that plays during the trailer below.

It's been several years since I've read The Hobbit, as in junior high school, so I'm vague on details, but I recall it being more focused on Smeagol and Bilbo Baggins.  Jackson has done a phenomenal job bringing the book to life thus increasing Tolkien readership and fandom.  The cinematography in all three films was phenomenal, the special effects always astounding even if unrealistic.  But this is fantasy, right?   The casting agent should be applauded!  Each character was genuine and believable as the actors portrayed them.  My biggest conflict lies with the plot of this particular film. The movie is certainly enthralling, I'll give it that; however, the creative license that took The Hobbit, a children's novel, and brought this incredible work to an enormous audience, also included a battle which never occurred in The Hobbit, the book.  I know it's titled The Battle of the Five Armies; it just seems superfluous and the entire book could easily have been a two film adaptation. Was an enormous battle scene the best way to tie The Hobbit to the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings?  Perhaps it was, but it still irks me that this film strayed so far from the original inspiration for the series, the book The Hobbit. Opinions?

Oh, and wasn't the original title to be "There and Back Again"? I rather liked that.  I guess that's the romantic in me.

Happy Birthday J.R.R. Tolkien, January 3.

#TheBattleoftheFiveArmies  #TheHobbit #PeterJackson #songscore #ThereandBackAgain #LordoftheRings