79. The Hotel Balzaar

The Hotel Balzaar. Kate DiCamillo. Illustrated by Julia Sarda. 2024. [October] 160 pages. [Source: Library] [illustrated chapter book; magic realism; j fantasy] [4 stars]

First sentence:  In March of that year, Marta and her mother arrived at the Hotel Balzaar. They were given an attic room that contained a bed, a sink, and a battered chest of drawers. The small room had a round window that faced east, and the sun, when it rose each morning, shone into the room with a beguiling brilliance--lighting up the bed frame, the porcelain of the sink, and the faded flowers on the wallpaper.

My thoughts (preview): I was NOT a fan of the first book in the "Norendy Tales" series). My expectations were low. Would I love it? Would I hate it? Would I be bored? Charmed? I can say that personally I liked it BETTER than the first book in this series. And that as far as I could tell, there was no real connection with the other book.

Premise/plot: Marta, a young child, lives a quiet, sheltered life. She's the daughter of a maid at a hotel. She's to be invisible, quiet and inoffensive. But one guest--an elderly woman (a countess) with a parrot--arrives and notices Marta, welcomes her, encourages her. Marta and the countess become friendly. Every day of her stay, Marta goes to her room to listen to a series of stories--fantastical stories. Marta hopes that there is some truth in these stories. That somehow, someway these stories will bring her father back to them. 

My thoughts: I liked this one. The writing was good. The story had me intrigued. I wanted to keep reading. There were some great quotes. 

Quotes:

Life always wins. Life and its crooked lines will always win.

Marta, I want you to know that war destroys everything, always. That is its intent, its only intent.

"It takes no courage at all to doubt, Marta," she said. "And we are not beyond rescue. We are never beyond rescue."

"The parents," said the countess, "loved the boy beyond all reason. They lived in fear of losing him. They were happy. They were terrified. This is what it means to love.

 

© 2024 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

1. The Rat Queen

The Rat Queen. Pete Hautman. 2022. 400 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Annie was swinging by herself when she noticed the curly-haired boy two houses down. She dragged her feet to stop the swing.

Premise/plot: The Rat Queen is one of those books where the less you know about the plot, the more you'll be drawn into the story. Still, I have to give you something. 

Annike Klimas [Annie] is about to turn ten. On her birthday, her father gives her initiation of sorts to a [deep, dark] family secret, a ritual of sorts. Every day she's to write her "regrets" and "mistakes" onto a piece of paper, roll the paper up, and feed it to a hidey-hole in the floor of the study. This ritual is called "nuodeema burna." Her conscience will remain pleasantly numb and burden free so long as she feeds the "sin eater." Her father has been feeding it for years.....

But Annie begins to slowly but surely doubt the morality of this family secret. It is so very mysterious, weird, odd, strange. 

Annie yearns for life....but barely lives. Her father keeps her mostly at home; she's raised by people hand-selected by her father from their home country of Litvania [fictional European country]. She loves stories, but can't help yearning for more, more, more than the fairy tales she's been raised on.

My thoughts: The world-building is excellent. The story-telling is excellent. It's got stories within stories--a handful of original stories that feel like they should be in the fairy tale canon. There are one or two stories that are traditional fairy tales included. The characters are limited--just a handful--but mostly complex. The book oozes atmosphere. It abounds in spookiness. The action--when it happens--is plenty intense. But this isn't action-packed. It's more MYSTERY and suspense than action and adventure. The mystery unfolds like Russian nesting dolls. 

Who is it for???? That's what I'm wrestling with. Is it one of those books that adults will absolutely gush about and push on children??? Maybe. Maybe not. I know there are plenty of children's books that adults tend to love way more than the intended audience. But maybe there are middle graders who will love this one too. 

I will say this one probably isn't for everyone. It is unevenly paced. It is driven by premise, then character, last of all action. When the action starts, its intense because the build-up has been long in coming. But I could easily see some might call it too slow.

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews