Katherine Harbour's Blog - Posts Tagged "fiction"

The Shadow of the Wind
An intricately wrought Gothic story set in 1945 Barcelona. The protagonist is Daniel, a book dealer's son whose journey begins at The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, after he finds a novel that enchants him and becomes fascinated by the history of its mysterious author. But this isn't just Daniel's story--each eccentric character involved has a tale to tell; stories of revenge, intrigue, romance, angels and devils. There's the young blind woman Daniel falls in love with when he's only a boy. And a tragic and funny character who was once a former policeman and becomes Daniel's confidante. And there's the beautiful young woman Daniel comes to love above all, and her story. There's a haunted, abandoned mansion that might hold the answers to a past injustice. At the heart of this labyrinth is a young man and his ruined life, the author of the book that Daniel learns is being sought by a man who might be a devil. This is a rich, vivid narrative fueled by surprises and complex characters, a ghost story told with literary flair.

Special Topics in Calamity Physics

Blue Van Meer and her urbane professor father Gareth are constantly moving. Blue, intelligent and perceptive, has come to rely on her father as a best friend. Her father, who has left a trail of broken hearts after his wife's death, is funny, sarcastic, and vain.
When they move again, Blue meets Hannah Schneider, a beautiful and mysterious teacher who has acquired a group of young people like a goddess collects worshipers. Blue is soon transformed by this interesting group the school calls the Bluebloods.
Then Hannah commits suicide--Blue's world falls to pieces. But Blue, as intrepid and imaginative as Nancy Drew, does not. And, whether her eventual conclusions are true or "The materials Blue used for her boat, in order to pass without serious injury through a harrowing path of sea," it is Blue whose funny, heartbreaking, and suspenseful journey navigating her final year of high school that drove me through this detailed story. At the end I thought, Oh no, it's over. Loved this book.