Within the Whispering Shadows Comes A Wonderful Novel

Author: D.E. Night 

Title: The Girl with the Whispering Shadow

Genre:  YA Fantasy

Source: Paperback

Rating: 4 out of 5 paws

Ivy has just saved the world from the Dark Queen and has found out she fulfills a prophecy.  She is quickly whisked away from her school to the town of Belzebuthe.  Belzebuthe is a secret town for only those with magical blood, if you don't already know where the town is you will be unable to be able to find it.  Ivy sets out on a new quest to find the second piece to the Kindred Stone while hiding from the Dark Queen. While she is supposed to be safe within Belzebuthe, something seems to be looming over her head.  She needs to find the magic within herself and more as she beigins the battle of her life.  Will she find the next stone and return the Halls of Ivy before it is too late?

This is the second book in the Crowns of Croswald series and it remains a wonderful series.  This is a series for anyone who enjoys reading whimsical fantasy.  The book picks up right where the last one left off with Ivy learning more nd strives to find the rest of the stones.  D.E Night builds a world that is so imaginitve and unique.  In this series readers see a world where learning, sketching, word usage, imagination and discovery are all important parts of magic.  D.E describes everything in way that it is easy to see the world being painted in front of you as you progress through the book.  In this series magic users (or scrivinist) use quills instead of wands and some partake in a game called Quogo where opponents do battle using quills from former scrivinist.  She has so many creative ideas that makes me want to see where night takes the series.

One thing that I love about the series is while there is a budding romance between Ivy and Fin, that is not the sole focus.  They build their friendship first, the most we've seen between the two characters has been a blush and some flirting.  It is fantastic for a young adult book to show the friendship building side of a relationship rather than jumping into a relationship.  Readers also see a character struggling with finding her place in the world, dealing with feelings of inadequacies, and how she copes with all of the things she faces with the help of her friends, her knowledge, and her own power.  Ivy is a powerful role model that I think young girls need to have.

I have refered to this a young adult novel, but I would recommend it middle grade readers as well.  I lump it as YA because Ivy is a 16 year old girl.There is so much in Ivy that readers of all ages would benefit from.  If you are looking for a good fantasy read, I would give Crowns of Croswald as a series a try.  you won't be disappointed.

Local Legends: The Mothman: Harbinger of Doom

 Myths and legends touch upon the unknown, intriguing us of what is beyond the things we can see.  Many cultures have legends or folklore that shows who they are, their beliefs and values..  Other myths and legend evolve from stories, true events, dreams, revelations and any combination of those things. Anywhere you go, you will be sure to learn of a legend centered in that area.  For West Virginia, the legend of the Mothman is such a tale that accompanies the area.  The tale of the Mothman is such an interesting story, that there was a movie produced in 2002 staring Richard Gere: The Mothman Prophecies which presents the tale and raises questions of what is the Mothman?

The Mothman legend started in November 1966 in the town of Point Pleasant, when a couple of gravediggers claimed to have seen a massive brown humanlike creature moving rapidly from tree to tree.  With that sighting, the legend begins.

Three days after the initial sighting, two couples report another sighting where they describe seeing a grey-winged beast standing 6-7 ft tall in front of their vehicle.  It had bright red glowing eyes, with a 10 ft wingspan.  It is possible the creature is sensitive to light as it seemed to have avoided the headlights of the car.  The couples tried out run the beast, but it had a flight speed of an estimated 100 mph, but was much slower when it ran.  

Several days later comes yet another sighting.  This time a man heard strange sounds outside while strange patterns appeared on his television.  When he looked outside with a flashlight, he seen what appeared to be 2 red eyes reflected back at him.  Oddly enough his dog went missing around this same time, which people have attributed to the Mothman.  One of the last recorded sightings is that of a young woman walking into her house with her baby when she observed the creature emerging from the shadows.  She ran inside only to have the creature peer in through the windows from the porch.  Then he suddenly disappeared.

In December 1967 after some of the last sightings, tragedy struck in the form of a bridge collapsing.   Forty Six people died from the incident, from either drowning in the river or being crushed among the wreckage.  There have been reports of the Mothman being seen just before the incident.  This has caused the theory that the Mothman is a harbinger of doom.  There is no census, however, on whether or not Mothman is trying to warn humans of impending doom or if he is the cause of the doom.  All together in West Virginia there have been over 100 reports sightings of the Mothman.   

Even though Mothman remains a West Vrignia myth, there have been other incidents of Mothman sightings outside of the West Virginia area.  Just before the disaster of Chernobyl, there are reports of Mothman sightings, even as recent as within the past couple years when a pilot in Chicago reported seeing the creature in August of 2019.  The pilot recounts riding on a shuttle to the terminal and seeing a large humanoid with wings sitting on a railing. Watching him with red eyes.  The creature kept his wings open, slowly moving them as it watched the shuttle. His account others can be read an the article by Tobas & Emily Wayland on the Singular Fortean website (link at the end of the post).

While it is unknown of what Mothman could be there are some theories that he is an alien stuck on earth, some sort of mutated bird, or even a vengeful curse.  Regardless of what the Mothman is or what he represents he is a legend that is revelant today as people continue to report sightings of the creature whether in West Virignia or not.

He has garnered enough intrigued that the town of Point Pleasant hosts an annual Mothman festival generally held in September.  For information on the festival visit the Mothman festival homepage. Not only has the Mothman been brought to life on the screen, there are several books about him as well you can check out:

The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel

Mothman: The Facts behind the Legend: by Jeff Wamsley

Beyond the Prophecies of Mothman by Andrew Colvin

Monsters of West Virginia by Rosemary Ellen Guiley

Other Articles of Note:

Second Pilot Reports Sighting of "Mothman" at Chicago's O'Hare

The Terrifying tale of West Virginia's Spectre: The Mothman

  

Beautiful, Lyrical Novel of Family Legacy: The Mountains Sing Review

Title: The Mountains Sing

Author: Nguyen Phan Que Mai

Genre: Historical Fiction, Family Legacy

Source: Paperback - giveaway win

Rating: 4 out of 5

Houng is a young woman awaiting the return of her parents who have gone off to fight in the Ho Chi Minh trail conflict.  She is unsure if they will ever return as she and her grandmother find a new normal.  Tran Dieu Lan and her children were forced to leave her land during the Land Reform in the 1950's. Together grandmother and granddaughter share an experience that bonds them closer together as they struggle and overcome hardships they face within their lives.

I was lucky enough to win this book through Goodreads' giveaway; and I couldn't be happier that I have gotten the chance to read this book.  A lot of the historical fiction novels I have read have focused on World War 2, this one focused on two historical events we aren't taught much about, the Vietnam Land Reform and the Ho Chi Min Trail. Mai Nguyen has such a poetic voice that both transported me to Vietnam, but also made me want more from her.  I ended up buying her book of poetry as well which is just as beautiful.

The story is told in alternating view-points between Tran and Houng, and reflects on two points in time, but show similarities between the struggles and strength each woman finds.  In the heart of the story, I found a story of beauty, strength, and determination that is inspiring to read and think about.  It honestly makes me want to learn more about Vietnam.  The culture, language, history, and even folklore.  It is not everyday you find a novel that touches your heart and mind, and The Mountains Sing is a novel that does just that.

I honestly hope Mai writes more novels, she definitely gained a huge fan in myself and I think she will find more.

Making History and Paving The Way for A New Generation

Title: The Flight Girls

Author: Noelle Salazar

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Paperback

Rating: 5 out of 5

Audrey Coltrane dreamt of flying all her lift.  Her life belonged in the sky.  That is why she begged her dad to teach her to fly.  It is alway why she signed up to train military pilots in Hawaii.  Then she suddenly finds herself in the air over Pearl Harbor as the bombs dropped, and now nowhere seems safe.  Audrey joins the WOmen Airforce Service Pilots program.  While in the program she bonds with her fellow pilots.  Giving her hope in the face of turmoil until the handsome Lieutenant James Hart goes missing in action.  Now she finds herself on the front lines fighting not just for her country, but for the man she loves dearly.

I recently began reading historical fiction, it normally isn't my type of genre.  But there are a few novels that speak out to me and when I read them my heart aches for the characters.  The Flight Girls was that kind of novel for me.  It was a novel that made me want to learn more about the Women Airforce Service Pilots which paved the way for women in the Airforce, how cool is that.  This wasn't something I learned about in school so of course I wanted to learn more about them.

The way Noelle Salazar writes her story puts readers right into the story.  I cannot tell you how many times I cried throughout this book and even told my mom she needed to read it and prepare herself.  This was a book that gets you excited, and breaks your heart.  You keep thinking things will go one way and then they don't.  Noelle Salazar writes a beautiful novel that honestly touches your soul.  The way she writes draws out all your emotions and leaves you raw.  The characters seem like someone you could be friends with, in fact, I could see my best friend as the main character and that is something that helped this novel hit home for me.

Upon finishing this novel, readers will crave more from Noelle.  Once in a while a novel comes along that drives you wild, one that you say should be read and The Flight Girls is one of those novels.  It is a WW2 novel unlike any other novel I have read in this genre and actually makes me want to read more.  If you like historical fictions, check this book out.  If you never read historical fiction still read this book, it will change your mind, it did mine.