We're more than half way through our six weeks summer holidays, and I've had the last two weeks off on leave. So what have I been reading?
I've enjoyed Crusade by Elizabeth Laird, which is a historical novel set in the time of the Second Crusade. It's a timely read in many ways as the blurb explains. "Two boys" (Adam and Salim), "Two Faiths" (Christian and Muslim), "One Unholy War" (the second crusade for Jerusalem). At it's most basic, it's an exciting war story, but at a more complex level, there are no clear cut answers about the rights and wrongs of the war, and both boys come to realise that many of their assumptions about their 'enemies' are wrong. I especially enjoyed the fact that even the minor characters are really well rounded and interesting. Dr Musa, Salim's Jewish mentor is a great character, as is Jenny, Adam's friend who find's herself in a man's world on the battlefield.
And an even better read was The Book Thief. So many people told me I should read this book by Markus Zusak and I'm glad I finally did. It's been published, in the UK at least, as a cross-over novel for both adults and teens, and I can see why. Set in Nazi Germany, our heroine is Liesel, but our narrator is Death himself. It's a straightforward story in many ways (because we all know what is going to happen historically), but the writing style is totally original. The reader gets little asides from Death about what is going to happen, there are parts of the story that are told in pictures, and the language is complex. It was one of those books that I desperately wanted to finish so I knew what was going to happen to Liesel, but didn't want to finish because I was enjoying the process of reading it so much. Highly, highly recommended.
I've read other stuff as well, but those are my highlights so far.
