Book Review: Strings

Title: Strings
Author: G. Miki Hayden
Year of publication: 2014
Summary: In Strings, Robert, an ordinary boy, finds himself in a newly chaotic world. Buildings move when and where they please, and time jumps around according to no known laws of physics. For Robert, getting to his regular school in the morning is impossible, and as for getting home... But Holden, a boy he and his friend Nila meet in a cave, offers them a string. No, not twine—a string of the kind that forms the universe. Teeny and tiny, and invisible to the naked eye, this string will take Robert and Mila to their homes and way beyond, to other dimensions.

Robert doesn’t intend to save the world or to do anything except get by as best he can. Yet despite his hope to remain uninvolved, those he meets and where he goes draw him to participate. Robert’s companions on the journey through the multiverses include: the boy genius, Holden, who will defeat the alien Flatlanders at all costs; Nila, the girl next door, who doesn’t live next door just yet; Mr. Marvin, the clueless physics teacher, who considers the discrepancies they encounter to have a logical explanation; and Alfred Einstein (no, not Albert), more a nemesis than a companion, who still spends a lot of time traveling with the others. Hop on board an elusive string and see what the higher dimensions have to offer


Review: **Copy kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review** Strings tells the whimsical tale of Robert, who lives in a chaotic world where the buildings move around as they please. It wasn’t always like this, six months ago everything was as it should be, but now…

Beautifully crafted and wonderfully strange, this book reminded me a lot of Coraline, by Neil Gaiman in the way that it was written. Sometimes it was a little confusing in the way that it was written, but I think it added to the unusual genius of the story. Although it was a fantasy, it was written with such confidence, as if the author had been there herself and firmly believed in the existence of the worlds visited.

In my opinion, this was definitely more a middle grade novel than a YA one, but readers of any age will be wonderfully entertained either way as this story has enough detail and depth to draw any dreamer in. The characters are fantastic, each with a distinct flavor of their own to get used to.

Highly recommended, fans of Lemony Snicket, Dianna Wynne Jones, and Madeleine L'Engle will be delighted with G. Miki Hayden’s debut novel. A great addition to anybody’s bookshelf, and well worth a read.

Rating: 4/5 stars
★★★★✰

Book Review: Turning on a Dime

Title: Turning on a Dime
Author: Maggie Dana
Year of publication: 2014
Summary: Two girls from two different centuries and the horse that brings them together.

Teenage equestrian Samantha DeVries wants to be the first African American to ride in the Olympics. Her father, a successful trainer, pushes Sam to excel, while Sam’s academic mother tries to instill a sense of heritage in her headstrong daughter who’d rather be riding horses than studying history. But Sam’s beliefs and her carefully constructed world shatter like a jelly jar when she travels through a time portal and lands in the canopy bed of an 1860s Southern belle.

Even more surprised by Sam’s unexpected arrival is Caroline Chandler. She’s a tomboy who wears breeches beneath her crinoline and rides horses bareback, much to the dismay of her critical mother.

But neither girl has time to fret over petticoats and prejudice. The Civil War is raging, and soldiers from both sides are stealing horses. At risk is Pandora, Caroline’s beloved mare. Without her, Sam’s future Olympic horse, Nugget, might not exist in the present.

Neither will Sam if the slave catchers grab her.


Review:  **Copy kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Maggie Dana delivers a smooth read, and a light story in Turning on a dime. It is more of a middle grade or childrens book than YA, and this is reflected in the prose and short chapters, but overall it is still a very good read.

The characters were well rounded and interesting - both girls were tomboys, which I appreciated. They also had fire in their blood, and fought back against the various antagonists at every turn, never taking no for an answer.

Sam’s room was legitimately my ultimate fantasy as an eight year old child. I was pretty much horse crazy and if my family had had the funds, it would definitely have showed.

I would have appreciated more about Sam’s dad, and maybe some more dialogue between them as at the beginning of the story it kind of led on that it would be about them and various issues to do with Sam’s Olympic training.

Another thing I thought the novel was kind of lacking in were scenes between the two girls. We missed a good chunk of their friendship developing, only to have the author give us snippets of things that had happened - like the two girls playing Angry Birds on Sam’s iPhone. Sometimes a lot of time passed between chapters, which was a little detrimental as I felt we missed out on integral development between the characters.

But overall, the story was light and charming, and would be a good addition to any middle schoolers bookshelf, especially if they love horses as much as the main characters do. Kudos, Maggie Dana, you’ve got a blue ribbon here.

Rating: 4/5 stars
★★★★✰