2008 Books: Tithe by Holly Black

[linthornhill]

I bought this book for SnarkyWench's younger daughter as a Christmas gift, and then realized I should probably read it first. I liked the title, and with my background, titles are a big deal to me. I've been known to purchase books or films on the basis of title alone. My secondary reason for picking it up was that I've been following a

Comments

[lifeasanamazon]

That was a narrow escape then!

Have you ever read any Michael Morpurgo? Both my daughters have loved his work, though they're not fantasy based so may not interest you or be suitable.

http://amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_w_h_?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=michael+morpurgo

[linthornhill]

It really was. I'm so pleased to have avoided that misstep. If she were older it wouldn't have been nearly such a problem, but thirteen is a particularly impressionable age, I think.

Thanks so much for the recommendation. I hadn't heard of Michael Morpurgo before, but I looked at the link and I'll definitely pick up one of his books. They look perfect.

[scifichick774]

Yikes! A good one to stay away from, then. What a good thing you decided to read it before sending it off! Thanks for letting us know to take a pass on it.

[linthornhill]

::snicker:: You're so subtle, my friend. Nice icon choice.

If one is looking for a gritty, seamy underbelly type of book this would be fine, but not in this case. It would've been really inappropriate.

[scifichick774]

I'm afraid I've never been good with subtlety. (Unless it's in fic-form.)

And I'm a bit surprised that Tithe was so poorly written. Isn't Holly Black one of the co-authors of The Spiderwick Chronicles? My daughter loves those books. I'll make a point out of steering her toward other works, though, if Black's single efforts are so vastly different.

[linthornhill]

LOL! I think you manage subtlety quite well, my friend.

I think you're quite right about Holly Black, and she may just be a better collaborative writer than an original one. You're perfectly welcome to read Tithe on your own -- I'd love to see what you think -- but I just don't think it's a good choice for a girl (including the sexual references ... which border on coercive.)

[redvelvetcanopy]

I've not read Holly Black, but she's been on my list of to-reads for awhile. Hmm. Wonder if any of her other stuff is good? Do you think she's popular as a YA author because of the goth stuff?

[linthornhill]

SnarkyWench has an older daughter as well, and she read all three of the Black books, thinking only the final one was redeemable in any way at all. That's not to say she liked them.

I think the author writes deliberately choppy sentences in order to create an edgy mood, but it doesn't quite deliver. Her story arcs are truncated and unresolved with the exception of the superficial story line ... she leaves the relationship issues hanging ... and none of her protagonists are particularly admirable.

I think she's become popular for the same reasons Laurel K. Hamilton is popular. Her work allows middle class girls take a walk on the wild side and think Oh, I don't want to live there, and I'm so much safer here at mom and dad's, I'll never do any of this stuff. It also appeals to those teens who are dissaffected by pretending to be real. It is to some degree ... the teens are aimless, homeless, isolated cast-offs, who band together something like feral animals in order to survive, but the underlying hopelessness of the stories leave

[chanteur_dombre]

EEP! I love love love Lineage!! And, yes, Kris is well aware of that - I squee over every update. :D

Thank you for your thoughts on Black's work. I was interested for a while, mainly because I enjoyed the first few Anita Blake stories (til they got weird), and I'd heard good things from another source... but I kind of forgot about it for a while.

And I trust your judgement. If I do decide to read it, I'll probably pick it up secondhand so it doesn't cost the earth, plus then I can trade it. :D

PS. Happy Birthday! ♥

[linthornhill]

Lineage is, like all of Kris' work, inventive and clever, and it really made me consider reading something else faerie-related.

I was extremely disappointed in the Anita Blake stuff (which I know I ranted about last year,) but this was more disappointing because it's an author who is writing 'down' to her audience.

Definitely don't waste the money on this one. If you can borrow it from a library it would even be better.

Oh. Thanks!

[chanteur_dombre]

I am in LOVE with anything that includes the fae - faeries, elves, the works. So Lineage makes me happy. :D

Yeah, the Anita Blake stuff had promise, I thought, but then it all went to crap after about three books.

Library it is, then!

And you're welcome. *dimples*

[linthornhill]

I've always thought there had to be something really intriguing about the fey ... but none of the current crop of fantasy novels make them anything but vermin. Kris manages to do more than that while allowing them to maintain their arrogance and infighting.

[snarkywench_64]

Just thought I'd pop in here and add my two cents.

I read the first two books of Holly Black's series, Tithe and Valiant, on my older daughter's recommendation following a discussion we had regarding urban fantasy. Unfortunately, as a writer and as a mother, I have to concur with ciphre on this one ... and I'm most grateful that she chose not to gift my little one with Ms. Black's writings, although having read them, I don't think my younger daughter would have gotten far before deciding she didn't care for it.

Tithe was indeed gritty and coarse. A young girl finds out something shocking about herself amidst a backdrop of violent magical bloodshed and mayhem. Many of the magical creatures in the book possess a blood lust that can only be slaked by violent killing or maiming, and it's in this realm of gratuitous cruelty that our "hero" resides. Yes, he's disturbed by what he sees around him, but it isn't until he meets our young lady that his conscience gets the better of him. I won't give away any of the details, but it ends a bit

[linthornhill]

::snicker:: Of course I still love you, and you even know which parts made me laugh and which ones made me snicker.

You're rather scathing in your opinion, but I don't disagree with you about the first book at all. While we have been known to disagree about stories and books on occasion, I would probably agree with you about the second book as well.

[chanteur_dombre]

Dude, I love you - now I don't need the library!! :D