Kari MaarenRezensionen

It’s called YA but just because the main characters are teenagers. The story is quite good and compelling

I enjoyed most of this book. Though I didn't connect with the main character or her family in the first section of the book, the mystery presented in the second section had me coming back to it every chance I got. I also enjoyed the way the author looped the time traveling, especially when it related to "present time." My sense of foreboding grew along with the main character, as the time travel played itself out. However, the ending of the book didn't deliver quite the punch I was expecting. I didn't follow some of it, and for the rest of it, I was a little out of my element regarding the fantasy elements. There was one moment that I really liked, that called back to the very beginning, but I can't say more than that. I appreciate Kari's mind toward continuity within a story.

Overall, I'd say this book is worth a read, especially if you enjoy fantasy, fairy tales, and mythology.

OK. I thought my brain melted during the denouement of this book, but I was wrong. It melted when I discovered the author is also a musician and has an album called Beowulf Pulled My Arm Off and another called Everybody Hates Elves. Also, her Ph.D. dissertation, (I’m pretty sure it’s her—right location and theme) Darkness inside: The role of the half-monster hero in the Middle English Romance tradition is listed on Worldcat, and she has a web comic too. I may have just found my new favorite person.

I’m not a stalker.

This was very different from any other book with time travel I’ve read, and although the chunk dedicated to time travel wasn’t my favorite part of the book, I admired the originality in the rules she created.
I loved her writing style, and Cuerva Lachance and Josiah made me laugh a lot. After checking out the the author’s website—I’m not a stalker—I wonder if the author is, in fact, Cuerva Lachance. I should probably quit accusing authors of being their characters. I already did that in an earlier review this year. Well, maybe authors should stop being their characters. Did they ever think of that?

I may have been infected by Cuerva Lachance’s nonsense and whimsy.

Anyway. The book. I enjoyed it, especially when all the characters were together. The time travel interlude went long, but I can see why she included all that she did. I’d read more by this author, and I definitely plan to check out the web comic.

I received this book free from the publisher via netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

Please see full reviews at www.coffeeandtrainspotting.wordpress.com.

One of the most compelling time travel books I've read in a long time ruined by a poor description of Deafness throughout. [Spoilers] The main character's stepbrother is Deaf from birth and throughout the book has the ability to read lips such that he can follow the conversation at all times, as well as being able to speak aloud well enough to be understood by everyone around him. This is, according to everything I've read by Deaf individuals, just not accurate and drastically underplays the difficulties that Deaf individuals can experience when interacting with a hearing world. Additionally, the main character refuses to learn ASL as part of her general animosity towards her changing family structure. Though she comes to realize that she is punishing her stepbrother for something that is not his fault, she never seems to fully understand the violence she has done by refusing to learn her stepbrother's language. Some aspects of Deafness, such as the stepbrother's rowdy and wonderful role-playing friends, are done well. This is all a pity, since this is otherwise a wonderful book but I cannot in good faith recommend a book that contributes further to misunderstandings of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people.

This was the most well written fantasy I have read in a while. I had a hard time putting it down. The characters I thought were very well developed and I love the way mythology and folklore was woven into it, as well as some cultural references relevant to today. I anxiously await Kari's next story.

Excellent concept with time travel, mystery, and a chosen one trope! A purely fun read. My only two complaints: the time travel transitions were super abrupt and, at times confusing. And, for most of the time travel, I was a little unclear on the ‘quest’, the purpose behind the journeying. Which I guess was true for Freddy too, but I never really got the sense that she felt the same.

Still! Fabulous book. And, I could hear Kari’s voice all the way through which was extra bonus awesome.

This reminds me greatly of Diana Wynne Jones, which is a wonderful quality in a book. I enjoyed it completely, to the extent that I was shocked to read (here) that some others didn't like it ... I can only assume they didn't read the back cover blurb (in my edition it says "a debut fantasy adventure for fans of Madeleine L'Engle, Diana Wynne Jones, and E. L. Konigsburg" and they weren't kidding!). If you're expecting passionate teen romance (maybe one of them's terminally ill, say) then This is NOT that book. It's very much a fantasy adventure for fans of MLE, DWJ, and ELK, though I found it especially Wynne Jonesian. If that's your jam, you'll adore it.

The book is divided into three acts, essentially. I usually hate when that happens--if it were a book I was enjoying--because the second act has new characters, or a shift in plot, and I lose everyone I enjoyed so much about the first part. But in this case the second act was just as interesting and compelling as the first, and when we came around to the final third everything from before paid off in new, unexpected ways.

My favourite book this year (so far). I'm hoping Ms. Maaren has a nice long career ahead of her, so I have more to read. (Now that I'm getting older, it's weirdly comforting to think that my new favourite authors will outlive me, and I won't ever run out of their books in my lifetime, so long as they keep writing).

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).

There's a lot to really enjoy in this tale of storytelling, time-travel, and best of all, using your brain, and your heart to work things out. Having grown up with books that suddenly launch children into other realities-- ones where the writer is more focused on telling a story, with twists and turns than some of the constructs that commonly are buzzed about in books of the last decade or two (why does the phrase "world-building" come to mind?) I was quite content to sit back and be Kari Maaren's audience as she unrolled her story across the pages. She gave me tools to unravel the mysteries, but I didn't realize that until well after she began to reveal the mechanics within the tale itself. And even then, I wasn't sure which way she'd take it, but was content to read on and enjoy the ride.

My one criticism might be with the pacing of the story. I found the chapters quite long, with a lot happening, but no chance for me to necessarily stop and dwell upon that, as is afforded by a chapter break. Then toward the end, when the reader enters the final timeline (trying not to give spoilers here) the pace quickened dramatically. The pacing wasn't a true deterrent, because I obviously kept reading, but I can see that it could bother some folks who need a quicker pace throughout a story. I am also a bit embarrassed I didn't recognize the literary source of the title until it slapped me in the face. My English teacher just rolled over in her grave that this happened, and that I admitted it.

One nice thing about this book was how it dealt with the issues inherent with both siblings and step siblings. Way back in another lifetime, I did my post grad thesis on stepfamilies, and included a bibliography for professionals to recommend to blended families. I would have, without hesitation, included this book on the list.

Thank you to Diana Pho, at Tor books, who sent me my copy of this book to read while recovering from a broken patella. With my leg unable to bear weight or bend, I had a lot of enforced reading time. Luckily, this book was part of my healing process.

I loved this. I thought I would after reading a review of it, and it's not very often I get that impression from a review -- That sounds interesting, that sounds like something I'd like, yes, but usually not a confident I am going to love this book. And then I started wondering if I was expecting too much.

Two extremely odd and mysterious people move in next door. Freddy’s sister wants to play detective, while her step-brother is weirdly insistent that they keep away from their new neighbours. However, when school goes back, Freddy finds one of the neighbours in all her in all classes, interfering with her high school survival plan of flying under the radar.

This reminded me of (some of) Diana Wynne Jones’ novels -- it's a very similar blend of eccentric characters, magical shenanigans, mythology, commentary on storytelling, a relatable portrayal of growing up (and character growth!) and of difficult family dynamics, and a modern-day setting. I can't think of another author who has a blend of those elements that’s so close to Jones’. I was delighted by this (I love Jones’ stories), but I also like that the similarities seem coincidental rather than deliberate imitation. Weave a Circle Round has its own style and its own narrative priorities. Such as a thoughtful and matter-of-fact inclusion of disabilities, and an interesting exploration of who is “chosen” -- and what being “chosen” in this sort of fantasy story looks like. (And I can’t say more without spoiling things.)

I was impressed with the way this has an epic scope -- involving time-travel, history and mythology -- yet at the same time, it remains tightly focused. Maaren makes every detail count, without relying on contrived coincidences. Weave a Circle Round is such a perfect title for this story on more than one level.

I am really interested to see what Maaren writes next.

She should have remembered that nothing could be worse than school.
She always forgot. She never truly wanted to go back to school in September, but the summer tended to mute the horror. The first day of school even seemed kind of exciting, a change of pace from the parade of Mel’s and Roland’s larger-than-life friends and the anger that was forever making her want to lock herself in her room and pull the covers over her head. But school was… well, it was school. There were black holes that caused, on a daily basis, less terror.

I didn't like this book at all. I thought about abandoning the book pretty early on and those thoughts seemed to pop up over and over with increased frequency. I don't know why I just didn't give up on this book and move on to something that I would enjoy more but for some reason, I kept pushing myself to keep listening for just a little bit more. I do think that this is a book that some readers will really enjoy but it wasn't the book for me and I should have stopped as soon as I started considering it.

I found this book to be rather confusing at times. As I was trying to get into the book, I often found myself having to back up the audio to listen to sections again in an attempt to make sense of the story. Things happen that really make little to no sense and the story shifts time and place without a lot of explanation. There were times that multiple versions of the same character were in a scene which just added to the confusion. I had a hard time following the storyline at times.

I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters. Freddy, Mel, and Roland were the most likable characters in the book but I never really felt any kind of connection to them. Mel and Roland play large roles in parts of the book but are absent in a large portion of the story. Josiah and Cuerva Lachance were incredibly strange. Cuerva Lachance may win the prize for the strangest character that I have read in all of her various forms. Josiah was hard to trust and it always seemed that he was hiding important things from Freddy. Freddy was the main character of the story and while we spend a lot of time in her head I still didn't feel like I truly understood her at the close of the book.

I did enjoy the narration. This was the first time that I have listened to Eileen Stevens and I thought she did a good job with the book. Honestly, her narration is probably the reason that I continued to listen to the book even when I realized it wasn't going to work for me. She did an excellent job with all of the character voices and her voice was very pleasant to listen to. I would not hesitate to listen to her narration again in the future.

I will not be recommending this book to others. There were parts of the book that I did like a lot more than others. I thought that the opening scene was well done and I generally liked all of the scenes with Freddy, Mel, and Roland a lot more than the parts of the book where the characters were twisting around in time. I do think that other readers may have a very different reaction to this book and may really enjoy it. I would say to give it a try if you think the concept sounds like something you would enjoy.

I received a review copy of this audiobook from Blackstone Audio, Inc. via Audiobook Jukebox.

I read this as part of the Nebula Award packet, as it is a finalist for the Norton Award.

Most books, I can pick apart much of the plot as I read along. This book? It's so zany and original, it completely hooked me. I had no idea what to expect.

Freddy is a teenage girl full of resentment. Her mom and stepfather are largely absent. Her step-brother is a deaf hulk and geek. Her little sister tries to make everything into a mystery novel. But when two bizarre people move next door, her life falls apart. Literally. This is a book about time travel, mythology, and the power of storytelling. Its twisty nature might be confusing for some folks, though I felt the author did an incredible job of explaining things at just the right pace.

Also, Trigger Warning for incidents of high school bullying. I really don't like reading/reliving that stuff but fortunately those scenes never went on for long. Just enough to get the idea across. But some people may not feel the same way.

Pros: interesting story, really captures the high school atmosphere

Cons: really captures the high school atmosphere, takes a while to get to the mystery aspects

Fourteen year old Freddy has enough problems in life - a neglectful mother and step-father, a deaf step-brother she resents, a genius little sister - the last thing she needs are crazy neighbours, Josiah and Cuerva Lachance. She’s worked hard to maintain social invisibility at school, but when Josiah starts talking to her, she becomes a target for abuse. She and her sister are convinced there’s a mystery with the neighbours, and intend to solve it, even as their step-brother warns them away from the pair.

This is a hard book to discuss without spoilers, but I’ll try. There’s a slow burn on the mystery of what’s up with the neighbours and you don’t really get more than hints until the half way point. Having said that, it’s a quick read (took me two days), so you’re not frustrated trying to figure things out.

There are some very realistic depictions of high school. I personally didn’t enjoy high school so that’s kind of a negative for me, especially since I straddled the not cool but not outcast social position Freddy’s in.

I really liked Freddy. She’s got some real issues and has a coming of age where she realizes that some of the things she did in the past weren’t that great. Her interactions with her step-brother felt honest given her circumstances.

I liked seeing a deaf character in an important role. I’d be interested in seeing what readers with more experience with this issue have to say about the portrayal.

It’s a fun, quirky, story.

Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley and Tor Books for this opportunity. All opinions are strictly by own. Weave a Circle Round is available from Tor Books on November 28th.

Freddy wants nothing more in this life than to be invisible.

This becomes horribly impossible when the eccentric Cuerva Lachance and moody Josiah move in next door. Cuerva has a way of producing the impossible, and Josiah? He manages to bring Freddy into the spotlight at every turn, especially at school where she's already a freak. If she could just shake him off... but no, she can't, and his presence is especially useful with Freddy is beaten up at school and gets a concussion.

Which is probably the most inopportune moment for Josiah to take Freddy on an extended trip through time, thanks to the fact Cuerva Lachance turned the back door into a time portal back to nordic Sweden. The two of them must ride resonance waves in time to find their way home while Freddy unravels the mystery of Cuerva Lachance and Josiah, and what exactly they want with her and her siblings.

I thought this book was absolute chaos.

It's not bad chaos, per se, but you really need to focus and keep up. I imagine this writing style was intentional, because it plays in beautifully with Cuerva Lachance's character. One minute, things are one way. The next they are completely different. Never trust what you are seeing, because in a moment everything can change. It's the type of story that tosses you around until you're not quite sure what's going on and you sort of wish they'd get to it already.

It's also a time travel book. This is the part where I had the greatest difficulty keeping up. Transitions between realities become practically non-existent. Josiah will start one sentence in the 92nd century, and finish it in the Victorian era. These quicker flashes feel less and less relevant to the story, and became sort of like filler episodes? Not bad necessarily, more of a "I'm not sure why this matters".

The characters are delightful.

No matter how messy I find a plot, I can usually stick it out if the characters are fun. And they are. Cuerva Lachance is wildly unpredictable, right down to playing an organ in the wee hours of night. Josiah's got that patented Angst that makes it impossible not to love him. Mel is adorably curious and Roland is this hulking protective step-brother who play D&D. Freddy, our main character, is a sad pile of goo before she meets Josiah and then becomes this tall, brave, reasoning soul. Not because of Josiah, but because of the adventure he causes. I enjoyed all of them.

Additionally, the characters we see through time are similar-but-different and without giving away much about the time periods and what not, I will say that they're also quite wonderfully fun.

I really liked this book, even though I was a bit frustrated at times.

Weave a Circle Round borrows its title from the poem "Kubla Khan". There's literary and mythological references galore throughout the novel. And it had such a strong feel to A Wrinkle in Time which was one of my childhood favorites. Freddy and Meg are by no means the same character, but they have the same feeling as you read and in some ways it was like visiting an old friend. Even Cuerva Lachance reminded me of Mrs. Who, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Which. Again, not in a copying-the-character sort of way, but in a wise, big, chaotic sense. I really, really loved the parallels.

I think this book would be a great fit for ages 12-16, but it's also readable if you're a bit older than that. I think that older readers will appreciate more of the literary references and layering put into this novel, while younger readers will be delighted by the time travel story.

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