The first book I am reviewing is a new version of a picture book that will be published in March. A Kissing Hand for Chester Raccoon will finally be published in board book form, so younger children can enjoy this story. This is a story that has been used for kindergartners for about 20 years...and it developed into a number of other stories featuring Chester. I love the story, and think toddlers will enjoy the pictures, and hearing the story too.
The second book is by an author I have enjoyed. Patrick Ness wrote A Monster Calls, which received rave reviews from me in a previous post. His latest, More Than This, is pretty incredible. A young man drowns, and ends up in a world that he tries to make sense of. The beauty of this story is threefold. It draws you in during the drowning scene..incredibly vivid....it then keeps you going as you try to figure out what is going on. It ends in an interesting way, that some readers might object to, but I found particularly wonderful. The writing is just wonderful. There wasn't any section that wasn't beautifully developed. Throughout various philosophical points are raised, in an interesting manner, about life, love, family, tragedy, and how we all handle our own life stories. It will be hard to stop reading, once you start this incredible book.
The third book is also by an author I have enjoyed. This is her second book, and it was amazing. She has some incredible tie ins, that make you think the characters are truly real. The book is Night Film by Marisha Pessi. A young woman commits suicide; she is the daughter of an infamous director, and a former journalist investigates the suicide. He encounters two enjoyable side-kicks who help him for varied reasons. I enjoyed the interactions between the main characters, and the suspense throughout was pretty tight. The ending in this book received some complaints from other readers, but once again, I found the ending satisfying. There were a couple of weak plot lines, where it isn't merely being led one way to find out something different occurred, but where I felt the path to the new conclusion didn't quite add up...but overall, it was a nicely developed story, that was truly presented in a very original manner.
