Classics Corner: The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell; The Definitive Work on Mythology and Hero Tales

Classics Corner: The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell; The Definitive Work on Mythology and Hero Tales

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews


Chances are when you hear the word “myth” eventually you will come to the name Joseph Campbell. The literature professor of comparative literature and religion of Sarah Lawrence University was considered the ultimate scholar of mythology and wrote what many considered the definitive work on the subject, The Hero With A Thousand Faces.


The Hero With A Thousand Faces is probably the closest Key to All Mythologies found in the 20th century. Campbell took several stories from different religions, pantheons, and traditions and discovered what they had in common. All of these myths seemed to be several stories but in reality they all told one story, that of the world and the people in it most notably the hero. In this brilliant landmark book Campbell compared the variations of the hero tale in its many forms and found the tropes, motifs, and archetypes that they shared.

Campbell brilliantly used the various tropes as chapter heads and finding the links that the various myths share. For example the chapter “The Call to Adventure” recalls the many ways that heroes began their journey usually receiving some sort of a lead or request from another party. Campbell begins by describing the fairy tale, “The Frog Prince” in which a princess is asked by a frog to allow him to sit at her table and sleep in her bed. He also includes King Arthur's encounter with the Questing Beast and the story of the prince Gautama Sakayume, the future Buddha who encounters for the first time old age, illness, and death and seeks enlightenment. He also wrote about dreams some people had of encountering people who guided them to solutions to their problems. In tracing the various beginnings of myths and dreams, Campbell reveals how these heroes identified problems in their societies and strive to overcome them.

Various other tropes are identified such as “Supernatural Aid, “The Road of Trials”, and “The Meeting With Goddess” and so on. Campbell cites figures from myths and religions as varied as Judeo-Christian, Buddhism, Celtic, Norse, and Native American lore to show that these stories and by extension the people who tell, write, and listen to them are really the same people who value courage, wisdom, diligence, and kindness in their heroes and hope that they can provide answers for their problems.

As the Reader goes through the book they may find comparisons between these myths and modern literature, film, video games, and TV. They may think of works like Game of Thrones, Legend of Zelda,and Harry Potter as modern hero tales. After all Harry Potter, John Snow, Link and others receive the Call to Adventure (Join the Watch, go to Hogwarts, save Princess Zelda), receive aid from others (Sam Tarley, Hermione Granger and Ron Wesley, and Navi) and encounter various trials to achieve their goals. (Getting killed and brokering peace with the Wildlings, facing Lord Voldemort and his minions, traveling through time and battling Ganendorf), to be remembered as great heroes (King of the North, an Auror, and Hero of Hyrule).

These patterns are intentional whether the creators are aware of them or not. Some creators such as George Lucas (whose Skywalker Ranch was the location of The Power of Myth, Campbell's series of interviews with PBS commentator, Bill Moyers) cited Campbell's book as an inspiration for their works. Others particularly fantasy authors like George R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the current bumper crop of epic fantasy authors (such as the ones that I have been reviewing lately) use variations of the Hero story.

That's not to say they are all copying each other. Instead these stories are so ingrained in our psyche that we see it everywhere.

While Campbell himself believed that people lived more internally and did not seek higher causes and commitments to heroism, people can also recognize the hero tale in reality. We can also see them in real people too particularly figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, Mahatma Gandhi, George Washington, and others that aspire to change the world around them. Of course real people are not the perfect heroes of legend and they don't always succeed or at least not in their lifetime. However, they do respond to the call, face many trials, share their talents and abilities, and take on larger than life personas that people follow and may admire. Many such as Diane Wilson, former shrimp boat captain and environmental activist cite Campbell's book as leading to their own Calls to Adventure, Roads of Trials etc. to their own paths of heroism.

Joseph Campbell's book reminds us that hero tales are inside all of us and manifests itself through stories, popular culture, and dreams. Maybe we can take it into our lives and become those heroes ourselves.

Weekly Reader: The 13 Original Clan Mothers: Your Sacred Path To Discovering The Gifts, Talents, and Abilities of The Feminine Through The Ancient Teachings of the Sisterhood by Jamie Sams; A Beautiful Book About Discovering The Feminine Aspects Inside All of Us

Weekly Reader: The 13 Original Clan Mothers: Your Sacred Path To Discovering The Gifts, Talents, and Abilities of The Feminine Through The Ancient Teachings of the Sisterhood by Jamie Sams; A Beautiful Book About Discovering The Feminine Aspects Inside All of Us




By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




The Kiowa tribe of the Great Plains showed a lot of respect for the Feminine Spirit. Many of their teachings centered around 13 figures that represent different aspects and personality traits of womanhood.

These teachings are gathered in Jamie Sam's book The 13 Original Clan Mothers in which the figures are described and are featured in stories in which they (and the Reader no doubt) are taught a lesson, also called medicine, which helps aid them on their paths in life.

The Clan Mothers are a diverse group of women that cover various careers, traits, and stages in life. They are:

Talks With Relations (The Mother of Nature)-One with nature, she communicates with animals and plants and develops the strongest bond with the natural world.

Wisdom Keeper (The Protectress of the Sacred Tradition)- The resident scholar, teacher, and historian, she collects and shares the oral and written traditions with others.

Weighs the Truth (The Keeper of Equality and Guardian of Justice)- A lawyer and judge, she sees through accusations and determines rewards and punishment based on justice and fairness.

Looks Far Woman (Keeper of the Golden Door and Crack in the Universe)- An oracle, dreamer, and prophet, she uses her psychic abilities to see into the future and to help others prepare for it.

Listening Woman (The Mother of Tyoweith aka The Stillness and Inner Knowing)- She has the ability of listening to things unheard like the sounds of nature, music in the distance, and thoughts unspoken to find out what is hidden.

Storyteller (The Guardian of the Medicine Stories)- The actress and comedian of the group, she shares oral stories to entertain and teach lessons to her listeners.

Loves All Things (The Mother of Unconditional Love and All Acts of Pleasure)- She is the guardian of different kinds of love such as parental, spiritual, and romantic love.

She Who Heals (Keeper of the Healing Arts)- She is the one who heals the sick and is a midwife for childbirths.

Setting Sun Woman (The Guardian of the Needs of the Next Seven Generations)- A teacher, she guides and leads the younger generation to become the next leaders and thinkers.

Weaves the Web (The Mother of Creativity)-She is the artist who encourages creativity through art, textiles, sculpture, music, dance, and other aspects.

Walks Tall Woman (The Guardian of Leadership and the Keeper of New Paths)- She is the most athletic and active member of the clan, as well as a staunch warrior and protector.

Gives Praise (The Mother of All Acts of Thanksgiving and Keeper of Abundance)-She leads celebrations that honor births, namings, harvests and other important gatherings and always reminds others to give thanks for what they receive.

Becomes Her Vision (The Guardian of Transformation and Transmutation)- She is in charge of the major transformations in the physical and natural world such as birth, life, and death and the change in seasons. She also appears to be the leader of the Clan Mothers since hers is the only story where all 13 make an appearance.

The Clan Mothers are described in text that refers to their functions. Then each chapter branches off in telling a story about the Mother and how she uses her ability to solve a problem usually as she begins her path as a Mother.
For example, Weighs the Truth learns about her abilities as a judge. She learns to observe details and trust her instincts so she can resolve a case between two feuding tribe women.

These women are not perfect and they aren't meant to be. Much like the people who the stories are meant for, the Mothers stumble, make mistakes, and are impatient, insecure, and confused. The medicines help smooth out their rough edges to become better women and leaders.
While Walks Tall Woman is a consummate athlete and wins most races and competitions, she has to learn to pause in her activities, hold back so she doesn't overexert herself, and accept defeat graciously.

The stories also focus on the Mother's connections with animals guides and the people around her.
Every one of the Mothers has one or several animal guides and the guides provide the Mothers a skill that helps them in their chosen path.
In gathering information, Wisdom Keeper learns from Pig to use intelligence and reasoning ability, Mouse to pay attention to detail through scrutiny and how to keep herself from becoming overwhelmed, Chipmunk to respect the smallest part of nature through interrelationship and equality, and Turtle Dove to nurture dreams of peace and find peace within herself. The medicines the animals teach Wisdom Keeper helps her in her attempts to study, learn, write, and gather information to provide her people with their history.

The stories are filled with beautiful description that captured the various sensory images experienced by the Mother. The Reader is bombarded with lovely description of running water, tranquil forests, and personified animals and plants as each nature being is bound with a spirit that watches over these Mothers and their tribe. During her first morning Talks With Relations observes nature around her:

“Talks With Relations marveled at the luxurious green of the Earth Mother's verdant forests and valleys. The Great Ice Mountains had not yet traveled this far south and so parts of the only land mass, Turtle Island were given a short reprieve. Life was teeming amid the books and crannies of every inch of the sunlit soil and plant growth that spread before her. She stretched and raised her arms to the light of Grandfather Sun. 'Oh what a pleasure it is to be alive,’ she whispered to herself.”
These lovely descriptions not only create wonderful mental pictures but serve as reminders of the large world of which the Clan Mothers and the people they care are parts.

The final chapters reveals Sams’ meditative encounters with the Clan

Mothers as well as tips and advice on how the Readers can accept the Mothers in their lives as well. Like many figures in legends and myths the Mothers leave legacies for us to learn from them and not just women. Men and Women could learn from these female figures on how to be thinkers, judges, parents, artists, nurturers, warriors, and people.

New Book Alert: Resurrecting Cybele by Jenifer Mohammed; A Brilliant Satire About the Dangers of Cults and the God(dess) Delusion

New Book Alert: Resurrecting Cybele by Jenifer Mohammed; A Brilliant Satire About the Dangers of Cults and the God(dess) Delusion

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Spoilers: From Charles Manson's Family to Nixivm, cults are a scary bunch. They are mesmerizing, seductive, and incredibly violent. They may start with good intentions to heal the world and teach others. However, the members and leaders get caught up in the delusion that they have a direct pipeline to God and discover the road to Hell (or their version) is paved with said intentions. The weak willed followers under them become susceptible to filling out their most dangerous violent and sexual urges and then the trouble really begins. Jenifer Mohammed's insightful novel, Resurrecting Cybele, is a thought provoking look at the dangers cult produce from their Genesis to their Revelation. This is what Paulo Coelho's Brida and The Witch of Portobello would be like if they were written in a more cynical manner.

Cybele Moondragon and her best friend, Janus Styx are bored with preparing their master's theses, concerned about the state of the world heading towards violence and prejudice, and short of money so they do what any bright idealistic cash poor young adult would do in such circumstances: create their own culture of goddess worshipers.




The cult is created to worship the Phrygian nature and Mother Goddess, Cybele and pull the world out of its patriarchal destruction or at least that's Cybele's intention. Mohammed wrote a memorable deeply flawed protagonist. She sells New Age trinkets like crystals, herbs, and amulets that she hopes will empower every recruit. She also leads courses that are variations of yoga which will lead followers to communicate and meditate to the Goddess. Like those who began religions before her, Cybele sees a need and aspires to fill it.




Which is the opposite of the intentions in Janus her associate. Mohammad cleverly brings out the contrast in the two leaders and their intentions towards the cult and their followers. Besides the fact that Janus has one of those names to run away from really fast because he is named after the Roman two-faced god, Janus is also a psychiatric counselor who could probably use some counseling himself. He works at a soup kitchen but sees it's residents as vermin particularly four dumb guys who serve as Janus’ lackeys that do whatever he forces them to like playing pranks on an ex boyfriend. It becomes clear to the Reader though not to Cybele that Janus sees a financial benefit to heading a cult as well as a lot of gullible people that he can use to do his bidding.




While Resurrecting Cybele is a book that takes a strong look at the dangers of cult worship, it also has time to project other emotions. It also provides its Readers with an underwritten triangle between Cybele, Janus, and Gabriel, an investigative reporter turned administrative assistant for the cult. The triangle is played out in a way that is short on high school romance and theatrics and long on motive as Gabriel is not only attracted to Cybele but shares her ideals to guide the cult in a positive direction. Janus is gay and has no such designs on Cybele but feels that Gabriel is a threat on their friendship and Janus’ influence on his female friend.




Besides romance and drama, Resurrecting Cybele is also a clever satire. Before their friendship implodes, Cybele and Janus are TV addicts and often quote references to their favorite science fiction programs back and forth. When starting the cult, the duo compare the beginnings to the feuds between the Bajorans and Cardassians of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. To shake a depressed Janus after being dumped, Cybele reminds him of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode in which one character said that people are so caught up in their own problems that they don't notice when someone else needs help. Tellingly as the two protagonists end up on opposite sides of the cult debacle, the TV references stop as if to remind the Reader that satire is over and the world is no longer funny.




Using these conflicting emotions of humor, romance, and drama allow Mohammed to open up the conflict on a wider scale so that the resolution towards the cult is less predictable and doesn't follow the particular destructive patterns that real-life forbears had led.

Classics Corner: The Vicious Circle: Mystery and Crime Stories Written By Members of the Algonquin Round Table Edited by Otto Penzler; A Witty Dark Collection From Some of America's Funniest And Most Notable Writers

Classics Corner: The Vicious Circle: Mystery and Crime Stories Written By Members of the Algonquin Round Table Edited by Otto Penzler; A Witty Dark Collection From Some of America's Funniest And Most Notable Writers

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews


Chances are if you are a frequent Reader of early 20th century American Literature, then you probably wondered what it must have been like to be a member of the Algonquin Round Table. This was a group of intellectuals, writers mostly but also actors, musicians, comedians, and producers who met from 1919-1927 at the Algonquin Hotel in New York City to drink, argue, discuss, drink some more, curry favors, hook up, write, and no doubt to drink again.


While people hovered in and out of the group, some of the known members included some of the brightest of 1920’s society including columnist, Alexander Woollcott, humorist, Robert Benchley, critic and author, Dorothy Parker, playwrights, Robert Sherwood, Edna Ferber, and George S. Kaufman, and comedian, Harpo Marx among others. The group would meet to prank or trade clever barbs and comebacks with one another. (One example involves Woollcott observing the normally tweed-suit-wearing Ferber in a gown. Woollcott: My dear, you almost look like a woman. Ferber: So do you.) Even in modern times, the Algonquin Round Table members are known for their caustic wit and one-liners, but they also served a more serious purpose by inspiring one another's writing talents, collaborating on works, and becoming involved in various mostly liberal causes.


The Algonquins were heavily criticized as sophisticated elitists who traded comments but did very little (sort of a precursor to the so-called “Liberal Elite” stereotype), but in reality were very involved in labor union disputes, civil rights, and anti-censorship movements. (They didn't just talk the talk either. After her death, Dorothy Parker bequeathed her estate to Martin Luther King Jr. who then bequeathed it to the NAACP. The NAACP dedicated a memorial garden to her outside their Baltimore office.)


While their works were often clever and funny, the Algonquins weren't unaware of the dark side of human nature. They were aware of hatred, prejudice, envy, and death. That dark side often appeared in their writings so the Algonquins were naturals to write crime and mystery stories.


Otto Penzler, proprietor of the Mysterious Bookshop in New York City gathered the Algonquin's mystery and crime stories to create The Vicious Circle (a nickname for the Algonquins), a collection that displays the Algonquin's clever wit and love of the dark side of life. Many of the stories aren’t whodunits in the traditional sense and the emphasis is not on the plot angles of solving murders. Instead the focus of the stories is mostly on sharp wit and dramatic irony usually involving characters in criminal illegal situations all while providing clever barbs and commentary.The characters in these stories might stab someone in the back but not before delivering a clever bon mot beforehand.


The five best stories that display the Algonquin wit in deadly situations are:


“Coroner’s Inquest” by Marc Connolly- Pulitzer winning playwright, Connolly wrote this short story which could be the inspiration for the “Twilight Zone-Tales-From-The-Crypt-M.-Knight-Shyamalan” twist ending. In a dialogue heavy story, a witness recounts the deaths of a friend, Jimmy, a Little Person and his brother-in-law, Robel. The situation is grotesque as Jimmy becomes obsessed with the thought that he is growing (therefore no longer marketable as a Little Person). The story builds to a climax that is dipped in irony and farce, making the story a dark comedy-mystery turned into a revenge tale.


“Farewell, My Lovely Appetizer” by S.J. Perelman-Readers who are familiar with the hard boiled detective works by Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Jim M. Cain, would enjoy Perelman’s parody story. Perelman, a frequent writer for the New Yorker magazine and collaborator of the Marx Brothers sent up the clichés of the world-weary cynical detective, the bright but not too bright female assistant, and the gorgeous femme fatale who hires the shamus to solve her case or be her fall guy. The story particularly skewers Hammett’s classic, The Maltese Falcon by offering us a main character whose resemblance to Hammett's Sam Spade is no doubt entirely intentional. To add to the parody, the femme fatale who is not-supposed-to-be-but-really-is Falcon’s Brigid O'Shaughnessy, tells her hard luck story and makes a casual reference to a golden spintria in her story of murder and betrayal. In contrast to the Maltese “stuff that dreams are made of”, when asked about what the spintria has to do with her story, the Fatale responds: “It doesn't. I just thought it added glamour to the story.”



“Haircut” by Ring Lardner- Sports columnist, Lardner's short story is an excellent example of dialect storytelling. In the story, a barber tells a customer about a love triangle that resulted in a murder. What makes the story stand out is the tone and style that brings the narrator to life. Through the Narrator's account, Lardner expertly captured those verbal tics that we all recognize in storytellers like constant repetition, subject changes, and endless digressions. We all know someone like that: a Big Talker who will ramble on and on leaving his listeners glancing at their watches and watching the outside skyline get lighter while they sit there intensely fascinated. The Reader hovers between telling Gardner's protagonist, “Please continue” and “Get to the point!”


“The Great Warburton Mystery” by George S. Kaufman and Howard Dietz- If Perelman's story brilliantly mocks the hard-boiled mystery, then Kaufman and Dietz's one-act play is a clever send up of the drawing room mystery written by the likes of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Ngaio Marsh. A detective solves a murder at a fancy dress party using solutions that mock the deductive reasonings of Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot. Instead of using logic to come to his conclusion, Inspector Cartwright appears to pull solutions out of his ass, once almost literally. (He insists that no two chair impressions are alike so starts measuring the sitters). He moves his way through a party of bizarre suspects, particularly an irritating heiress who insists on becoming the center of attention by inserting herself into the investigation and claiming to be linked to various characters.


“Big Blonde” by Dorothy Parker- If the kingdom of the Algonquin Round Table had a queen, she would be Dorothy Parker. Parker was certainly the most well-known of the Algonquins particularly for her wisecracks, witty poems and screenplays (including the original, A Star is Born), and caustic book and theater reviews. She also wrote plenty of short stories that were filled with ironic situations and dry humor that characters used to get through life’s troubles. These weren't gut busting hilarious stories but Parker's characters were often caught up in difficult situations which they faced with sarcasm, cynicism, and a brazen “what the hell" attitude. Dorothy Parker's characters laugh, so they don't cry.


Parker's story, “Big Blonde” captures not only the wit and irony of Parker's writing but it perfectly encapsulates the division between humor and darkness found in the Algonquin's stories making this the best story in the anthology and Parker the best writer of the Algonquin Round Table.


On the surface nothing seems remotely funny about Hazel Morse's life as she moves from one unhappy relationship to another and ultimately attempts suicide. Parker's narration provides some sharp contrast to this sad situation with witticisms about Hazel's life. Before her marriage, Hazel weighs out potential suitors by their locations: “She could not regard as serious proposals that she share a western residence.”


Some of the darkest passages offer humor that is wry, sarcastic, and sometimes uncomfortable such as when she weighs out the different methods towards suicide. Hazel dismisses various means such as guns (“Too noisy.” She always turned her head during shooting scenes in plays), knives (“Hurts like hell.”), and poison (“They wouldn't sell it to you because of the law.”). Similar to Parker’s terse poem, “Resume”( Razors pain you, Rivers are damp, Acids stain you, And drugs cause cramp. Guns aren't lawful, Nooses give, Gas smells awful. You might as well live”)., the narrative provides an ironic gallows humor that could be summarized by saying “I can't kill myself. I might get hurt!”


There is also something empathetic in Hazel (and in turn Parker who attempted suicide several times in her lifetime) in her cynicism in the midst of despair. She is someone who faces life's hardships with a smirk, a good stiff drink, and saying “Here's mud in your eye” (sort of the Jazz Age version of flipping the bird) before her attempt. She may feel down but Hazel will give the world an earful before that happens. Hazel is like the comedian giving a monologue about their mental health issues while inside a psychiatric ward recovering from them.


While Dorothy Parker is the best writer of the Algonquin Round Table, all of the writers provided their Readers with clever original ways of looking at the world of crime and death. They allowed their Readers to see that world with a chuckle or a smirk along with the firm grimace.

New Book Alert: Stories From The Vale: Path of the Dragonfly by Kathy Trueman; Powerful New Fantasy Novel is Aided By Four Memorable Leads That Form A Family

New Book Alert: Stories From The Vale: Path of the Dragonfly by Kathy Trueman; Powerful New Fantasy Novel is Aided By Four Memorable Leads That Form A Family

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Spoilers: If I were to take a poll over what is the most popular genres for new writers, I would bet Epic Fantasy would be number one. So far three of the new books that I read and reviewed were right in that genre. What is it about this genre that so many budding authors want to experience? Perhaps it is the highest level of creativity; the author not only has to create characters, plot, and conflict but they have to build worlds. They have to consider the sociopolitical structure, the flora and fauna, the races, religion and how these characters fit in their world. Perhaps it is personality. Authors are by definition largely introverted imaginative people so they are often attracted to Epic Fantasies, like Lord of the Rings, The Shannara Chronicles, The Dragonriders of Pern, and so on. They want to write the stuff they like to read. Then again it could just be marketing. Many Epic Fantasy Series have been bestsellers like Harry Potter, Song of Ice and Fire, and Lord of the Rings and have made box office success. Authors often put their fantasy novels into series, requiring the Reader to buy more volumes. Either way it's a genre in which many love to play and fortunately for me, many do a good job.




Case in point: Kathy Ann Trueman’s Stories From the Vale: Path of the Dragonfly. Trueman's book is your standard fantasy road trip filled with Lords, ladies, cheerful inns, magic users, and fantasy creatures like elves and dragons. However, what makes this book stand out is the rich characterization in which she provides four brilliant leads that form a family in times of trouble.




Shak, a retired soldier has had enough of bloodshed. He is haunted by memories of his deceased wife and scenes of brutality such as the time when after a battle he abandoned two children inside a temple. He is only motivated by one thing: to kill Lord Sefal, a former childhood friend turned enemy whom he blames for his wife's death.

Shak's magical grandmother gives him a request: He must find two orphaned children and take them to a magical place called the Vale where they will find their families. Shak agrees and meets two children: Falin, a boy who has the ability to freeze time and was raised as a thief and Celia, a human girl with telepathic abilities who was raised by elves to learn magic. It doesn't take long for Shak to realize-small world-these are the same two kids that he abandoned at the temple.




Most of the book is centered on the journey that Shak, Falin, and Celia take and also with Lord Sefal's attempt to follow him with as equal a vengeance mindset as Shak's. While the journey could be a typical one, Trueman's writing provides deep characterization that keeps the book from being too formulaic.




Shak is a memorable protagonist. While sometimes he comes across as the standard “gruff soldier/hero softened by a child’s love,” he is never written to be hard hearted in the first place. He is someone who was fond of children but never got the chance to father any of his own. As soon as Falin and Celia are in his life, Shak goes into protective father mode. He rescues them from danger when they are kidnapped by bandits. When the elves’ magical training caused Celia to suffer what amounts to a near breakdown, he is there to comfort her. He tries to straighten out Falin's behavior so he isn't so impulsive and headlong. He is a warm father figure and his moments with the kids are truly touching and heartfelt.




Shak is not a character without flaws. He is very stubborn and persistent particularly in his hatred for Sefal. He blames the Lord for his wife's death based on circumstantial evidence that most would question, but as far as he is concerned only certifies his already growing hatred for him. Shak takes the two kids out of their way so he can mount his revenge in a mano-y-mano fashion at first without realizing that if he fights Sefal and gets killed, then he will leave those kids abandoned anyway. It takes well into the book before he realizes the truth about his wife's death and even longer still before he can forgive Sefal or himself for it.




Falin and Celia are also terrific characters. At times they come across like a comedy team such as when the proper literal Celia acts like a Lady when they visit an inn and the feisty argumentative Falin is irritated with playing the part of her servant. Other times they act like loving siblings like when they protect each other after getting captured and display their unusual talents-Falin's ability to freeze time and Celia’s mental communication with a dragon- to escape. Even though they are about thirteen, Trueman's tactfully avoids any romance between the two allowing them to emerge as friends and family.




Some of the more gripping moments involve Falin and Celia's pasts and their returning memories of what happened to them. They both reunite with long lost family members and feel love and acceptance for the first time in their lives whereas before Falin was an abused thief with no purpose and Celia was manipulated and controlled to follow her sinister elvin guardians’ orders. Once they emerge from the journey, they not only find their families but Falin finds a new direction in his life that allows him to grow into a better person and Celia finds a calling in which she doesn't have to be a puppet for other's machinations.




Trueman's talent for writing believable characters is not just limited to her protagonists. It's also seen in the way she writes her antagonists, most notably in Lord Sefal. While Shak hates him and is filled with vengeance and vice versa, Sefal is never written as an irredeemable character. Instead he is sort of like a Medieval Yuppie, a poor boy made wealthy by making powerful alliances and an advantageous marriage but realizes too late how lonely he is at the top. His marriage is crumbling and he is grief stricken over the loss of a child. As the book goes along, it’s clear that he envies what Shak has: friends, family, and two children who look up to him.




Sefal also goes through a transformation especially when he finds out about Falin and Celia's identities. He becomes driven to protect them almost as much as Shak and redeems himself in a way that isn't phony or overdone. Instead it is true to a character who is surrounded by wealth and power and realizes almost too late how lonely he really is.




The plot moves along as revelations are made which make sense to the characters and their world. The climactic final battles at the Vale fit the overall style and tone of the book particularly when Falin and Celia play key parts in taking down their enemies. Kathy Ann Trueman is a brilliant author in the Epic Fantasy genre and if this book is any indication, I look forward to another trip to the Vale.

New Author Alert: A Good Girl by Janice Magerman; Debut YA Novel Is A Brilliantly Characterized Look At High School Cliques, Teen Suicide, and Pregnancy By Julie Sara Porter

Weekly Reader: A Good Girl by Janice Magerman; Debut YA Novel Is A Brilliantly Characterized Look At High School Cliques, Teen Suicide, and Pregnancy

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Spoilers: YA Novels are difficult sometimes for adults to read the way the teen years were difficult to experience. It's hard to recall those times of raging hormones, romances that changed every other day, and the constant questioning of their roles and how to live up to them.

Janice Magerman's debut novel, A Good Girl captures those feelings of teenage insecurity and emotions by writing brilliant characters that deal with the pressures of high school cliques, suicide, and developing hormones.




Aaron, a bullied teen is driven to suicide after being pushed around one too many times by the wealthy school clique, The Elite. Aaron is a member of The Losers, a clique made up of poorer outcast students. Shortly after Aaron's suicide, his chief tormentor, Wade dies in a car accident. The two deaths send many of their friends reeling particularly Charlotte, a girl who was an Elite and Wade's friend but was growing tired of the Elite’s bullying.




Charlotte is the best character in the book because she is able to transcend the role dictated to her by her peer group. Even though socially she hung around with Wade and knew him as her boyfriend's best friend, she was not blind to his bullying ways and grieves more for Aaron. This realization affects the passages between her and Aaron's friend, Justin as she goes from offering casual sympathies to becoming a friend.




Justin and Charlotte befriend each other as he takes her around “Loserville,” the poor side of town. Justin is a very sweet character who helps Charlotte through her grief over Aaron and Wade's deaths, and is able to talk one on one with Charlotte as friends instead of members of opposing peer groups. The two share dreams, childhood memories, and the Reader prepares for a romance between the two.




Unfortunately, in the books only weak spot, Charlotte gets involved in a romance with Dillon, the requisite bad boy. Dillon is a potential juvenile delinquent who at first behaves obnoxious and misogynistic towards Charlotte. He is prejudiced against Charlotte because of her Elite status because he too has been a victim of their bullying. While he becomes a more likable character later on, the romance between Charlotte and Dillon seems more forced than anything else. It could have been just as effective for Dillon to accept Charlotte as a friend and who is happy with the relationship between his buddy, Justin and Justin's new girlfriend. Unfortunately, once Charlotte and Dillon starts to develop feelings for each other, Justin gets pushed aside and a more interesting and likeable character becomes Friend Zoned in favor of the classic Rich Good Girl/Poor Bad Boy pairing.




Some revelations get revealed in the book that changes the book's course and Charlotte's behavior. Some of the revelations appear abrupt and out of the blue but are subtly foreshadowed and lead to stronger character developments.They also allow Charlotte to challenge the hypocrisy of the Elites as people who display a wealthy successful facade while inside the homes are not successful or particularly happy.




A Good Girl is one of those novels that takes us inside the roles that teens play in cliques and shows how teens limit themselves when they join a clique. But when they confront those cliques and stereotypes, they can instead grow into better people.