The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

 I may have found a new favorite YA author. (Need to try a couple of her books before I'm sure, but it's looking likely) I really have no idea where or when I got this book. Usually I remember picking things up, but this one just appeared in a stack. Maybe we have book gnomes.

I'm not usually much of a fan of zombie stories. They can be fun, diverting anyway, but there's not usually much to them plot-wise. Zombies just aren't that interesting. Ultimately, they are a kind of metaphor for an implacable natural force like disease. The rotting human corpse angle just makes it more horrifying. However, there's something tedious about a mindless hoard of rotting corpses. In less time than one would expect, the zombies just becomes part of the scenery and it's just a survival story. 

However, a zombie story where there's something else going on can be fun. The Bone Houses is one of those. The actual bone houses are really just zombies animated by a curse, but they aren't mindless. Inscrutable, maybe. They can't talk and they sometimes attack, but that isn't quite the same thing as being mindless. From the beginning, it's clear that there's more to them than just mindless attacking corpses. The main character, Ryn, treats them with compassion even as she dismembers them with her ax which makes for a different kind of zombie story. 

The whole world of the novel is deeply reminiscent of Welsh and Celtic story traditions complete with an immortal race that packed up their castles and left the world taking their magic with them. Just like so many of the traditional stories, some things got left behind and they cause problems which is how Ryn, who makes her living as a gravedigger, gets pulled into an adventure which a somewhat mysterious mapmaker named Ellis.  They are also accompanied by an undead zombie goat. Their goal is to find the broken cauldron of rebirth and end the curse. 

I think what makes this so much better than the typical zombie story is the layered stories. There's the mythological level of the other king and his people. Followed by the story of the breaking of the cauldron. Mixed in with that level is the story of Ellis being found as a child and the story of the disappearance of Ryn's father. The final layer is the story of Ryn and Ellis meeting. Each layer is woven together in the narrative which makes for some interesting reading. 

Generally, a good read. Not too scary, and the love story bits are all solidly PG. 

Queen Charlotte by Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes

 Queen Charlotte is a prequel to the overall Bridgerton series. One of the interesting things that happened to the series when it was adapted for TV was that a fairly standard (albeit quite fun) historical romance series was cast with a great deal more diversity than was in the original books. Doing this added an interesting complexity to the stories and turned it from historical romance to alternate history.  My understanding was that it was all done with the author's blessing which is cool. 

One of the many changes made was that Queen Charlotte was cast as black. There's apparently some historical basis for this, yet she would have been considered Caucasian at the time. It's a definite change that sets the series apart. The change made the somewhat domineering queen of the Bridgerton series quite the intriguing figure. It's not surprising that the author and producer decided to put together a prequel. 

The prequel is definitely written after the launch of the show as it reflects the more diverse cast. If you've seen the prequel series, the book follows pretty close. In fact, it's unclear which was written first. There are a few details that are better explained or more clear. There's also a few additional scenes included. My absolute favorite aspect of the novel is getting to hear Brimsley's voice. Somehow as much as I love the story of Charlotte and tragic mad George, Charlotte's manservant is my favorite character.                                    

September List

August was a wash reading-wise. I barely read anything at all, but that's ok. I felt like I got a lot of other things done. The year started will with my students and my last semester of grad school is well under away. Because I can't resist fiddling with things, I'm going to assign a random order and go from 1 to 20 in order (with the exception of my textbooks and the book I read with Thomas which will get done when they get done.)

1. Atlas of AI by Kate Crawford (professional Reading) - 12
2. Choice Theory by William Glasser (Professional Reading) - 4
3. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (class novel) - 11
4. Strategic Communications for School Leaders by Vicki Gunther, James McGowan, and Kate Donegan (Grad School)
5. My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows - 16
6. A Really Big Lunch by Jim Harrison - 15
7. YouSpace Series by Tom Holt (Fantasy)
1. Doughnut (Finished 3/5/2024)
2. When It's A Jar (Finished 7/6/2024)
3. The Outsorcerer's Apprentice (Finished 1/15/2024)
4. The Good, the Bad and the Smug - 5
8. The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones (Finished 9/22/2024)
9. Spider Gwen, Ghost Spider (Marvel Universe - Graphic Novel) - 6
10. Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor - 10
11. A Stroke of the Pen by Terry Pratchett - 13
12. The Discworld Graphic Novels by Terry Pratchett - 17
13. Queen Charlotte by Julia Quinn & Shonda Rhimes (Finished 9/4/2024) 
14. Cover Story by Susan Rigetti (previous TBR) - 14
15. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan (Thomas Book)
16. The Algorithm by Hilke Schellmann - 2
17. The Principal's Guide to School Budgeting by Richard D. Sorenson & Lloyd M. Goldsmith (Grad School)
18. The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma - 7
19. Reimagining Writing Assessment by Maja Wilson (Professional Reading) - 9
20. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu (Science Fiction) - 8

Added in at the last minute:

1. Navola by Paolo Bacigalupi (Library Book)
2. The Bezzle by Cory Doctorow (Library Book) - Finished 9/29/2024
3. Those Pink Mountain Nights by Jen Ferguson (New TBR)
4. Her Night with the Duke: A Novel by Diana Quincy (New TBR)
5. You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo (New TBR)