OK, here is my review.

The short version is that I loved this book in the end.

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED IT!

:yeah: :yeah:

I did have a bit of a tough time getting there, though.

I said yesterday that NavPress seemed to be just missing on their fiction by a hair. The truth is that I’m really excited about Nav’s YA fiction. I think it’s better than most of the CBA is doing. I still think it misses by a hair. There were a lot of little, niggling things in this book that could have easily been fixed with a good edit. There was one bigger issue that could have been fixed without too much trouble. I’m scratching my head trying to understand why a publisher would take a story as good as this one, with characters as adorable as these, and a writer as talented as Briggs, and settle for almost when spectacular was within its grasp. It’s a little frustrating.

Even more because I have always loved NavPress, have always trusted their theology, and have always appreciated their excellent magazines and nonfiction books. (Just as an aside, in case any NavPress people are reading this–are you sure you want to keep “bugger” in the book?)

And yet, The Book of Names rose to greatness, despite it’s rough beginning, making me ravenous for the next step in the Barlow boys’ adventure. So I have high hopes for the trilogy.

If you want more, read my full review.

So we come to the second day of our CSFF blog tour for D. Berkley Briggs and his YA fantasy novel, The Book of Names .

Today I’d like to call your attention to a wonderful interview of Briggs. I found it over at Window to My World (by way of this post from A Christian Worldview of Fiction).

Kim asked Briggs some really great questions, such as the following:

You do a masterful job of capturing the struggle taking place in today’s society. It seems many are like the nameless, “beckoned to the numbing lure of forgetfulness.” (p, 226) You describe what many long to wipe from their world with drugs, alcohol, entertainment, etc… “As the hues of a living world fell into gloom, gladly would they surrender the emotional burden of hope (and with hope responsibility) for the numbing comfort of insignificance.” (p231)

Go read the interview if you want to see his answers.

It’s so encouraging that we have Christian men (and women) fantasy lovers, wanting to give great truths in the form of story. I think this is a wonderful thing and I applaud NavPress for what they’re aiming at with their fiction line. They are aiming at, if I’m interpreting them correctly, moral stories, Christian worldview stories, but not gospel tracts.

I’m seeing a pattern in the NavPress books I’ve started though.

The truth is that I’ve started several of their novels and only managed to read one all the way through (Sharon Hinck’s The Restorer). The Book of Names will be my second. Most of them I put down by the halfway point. If you’ve not grabbed me by then, I move on to another book. Every single one I’ve started with excitement because the quality of the prose is very good. I open their books thrilled at the thought of getting a gem, with fine writing and deep themes. I put them down because I don’t care about the characters. NavPress is this close to doing it right. But they miss by a hair every time, I think. (At least with the ones I’ve tried. I’ve not started all their novels, by any means, so it may be that they are succeeding with many novels, and I’ve just picked up the ones that are falling a tad short.)

So are they still missing, or is The Book of Names their breakout novel? I’ll give you my opinion tomorrow.

In the meantime, check out what others are saying:

• First of all Becky, our fearless leader, has, as usual, a great discussion going on her site. This time it’s on how dark is too dark. It starts here and continues here. Go join in.
• Then we have Brandon Barr talking about motivations.
• Keanan Brand has a interview with his niece who read the book, in parts one and two.
• Melissa reports that a quarter of the way into the book, she’s completely swept up in the story.
• Valerie Comer speaks of the author’s motivations here and here.
• Amy has fallen in love with the characters
• Shane, I think, wanted a clearer understanding of what the characters wanted.
• Jason I. has a great interview.
• Jason J. loved the scene setting
• Timothy remarks on the view of religious extremes in the world and in the novel.
• Carol loved the story world
• John found a rich world with fun characters here, and discusses mixing Christianity with myth here.
• Chawna had some reservations
• Rachel looks at motivation.
• Fred gives a balanced review telling us what he likes and what he doesn’t.
• Phyllis gives a review in part one and in part two.

:::::edited to add:::::

I have read another NavPress book all the way through. I read Demon: A Memoir. I reviewed it here. Another great effort–wonderful writing, but with a light plot and poor character motivations.

Today marks the start of the CSFF blog tour for D. Barkley Briggs’ novel, The Book of Names.

I’ll write a review of the book on Wednesday, but for today I’d like to call attention to these fun videos Mr. Briggs has put out for us. I think it’s obvious that the man is having all kinds of fun with this story-telling business. I’m happy to call attention to his work.

The Book of Names is the first in a three books series. The second, Corus the Champion (is that a cool cover, or what?) is scheduled to release in April, 2009, according to the author’s website (July of 2009 according to Amazon).

The third? The Song of Unmaking. Great title. No cover art or release date available on it, yet.

This looks like it is going to shape up to be a great new fantasy series for young adults.

Check out my sidebar for a list of other bloggers participating in this tour.

Susan Patron weighs in on the value of Newbery books.

I heard Susan speak at SCBWI LA last year and she and I are not looking at the world from the same set of glasses. But after reading about her experience with Charlotte’s Web and other Newbery books, I think it’s utterly cool that she grew up and won the award.

What strikes me as totally unfair about the Newbery criticism is that on the one hand the committee is being taken to task for picking books that are too serious and depressing (“Of the 25 winners and runners-up chosen from 2000 to 2005, four of the books deal with death, six with the absence of one or both parents and four with such mental challenges as autism. Most of the rest deal with tough social issues”) and on the other hand they are getting hit for not having books with more single-parent families (“Newbery Medal winners also depict disproportionately fewer characters living in single-parent households than the norm, the study found. About a quarter of all U.S. children now live with one parent, compared with 7 percent of the Newbery protagonists in the past 27 years.”)

Disney has agreed to a sequel for the bear of very little brain. I’ll be looking forward to this–I’ve always loved Pooh.