The Castle Behind Thorns

by Merrie Haskell

Story summary: Sand wakes up in the nearby castle, in which every single item has been torn asunder, with no memory of how he got there. Stuck behind the wall of living thorns surrounding the castle, he builds a blacksmithing forge and begins to slowly mend all the broken items, setting up a life in the castle, and surviving. But he discovers he may have more of a talent for mending than he thought when the princess buried in the castle crypt comes to life.

Why You Might Like This Book:

• The theme of forgiveness is excellently done, especially for a children's book.
• It actually makes me want to take up blacksmithing. And that's saying something.

And Why You Might Not:

• It's a quiet sort of book, and not fast. This is a good thing for this book, but it does mean that it can seem like nothing much is happening for the first half of the book.

Handbook for Dragon Slayers

by Merrie Haskell

Story summary: I left this review way too late. It's been about two months since I read this, and I forget most relevant details. So I'll just quickly say that it's about a lame princess and some dragons, and then point you to the Goodreads summary.

Why You Should Read This:

• Disabled princesses!
• Plucky young heroines with a passion for writing!
• A positive portrayal of a priest!
• And last but not least: Dragons!

And Why You Shouldn't:

• It is a children's book. Although I love children's books, this has the kind of writing that I think is a bit more exciting when read at a younger age. (Not that it's juvenile by any means. In fact, almost the opposite--sometimes in my ancient age of mid-twenties, my brain is too tired to grasp the slower sublties of Middle Grade novels. Seriously. C.S. Lewis even wrote an excellent essay on something like this.)