October 25, 2013

Review: Rose

Rose First in the Rose series
By Holly Webb
Available now from Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Review copy

Rose is a young orphan who experiences a rise in fortune when she's hired as a maid since she's the most sensible girl her orphanage had.  Her new employer is an alchemist, and in his strange house, Rose quickly starts to realize that she has magic too.  But first, she has to figure out why so many children are disappearing.

Originally published in England, ROSE is the beginning of a series, but it stands on its own quite well.  (That's the American quite, not the Queen's one.)  It's a common story - the orphan, the magic, the daring rescue - but the whimsical elements are so nicely tempered by sensible Rose.  Of course, she's still a child, but she's one who thinks things through. 

I liked Rose quite a bit, especially her insistence on keeping her job.  Employment is economic freedom, and she's free to get another job if she prefers.  Rose grew up depending on other people's kindness, and she does not want to go back.  At the same time, there's a real sense that she doesn't want to get above her station.  These are slightly adult concepts, but Rose's perspective on them felt like a child's, albeit a mature child's.

I find that a lot of British books, particularly ones set in vaguely ye olde times, have a lot of assumptions about class that might go over the heads of younger readers.  I like that ROSE grapples with it pretty explicitly.  Street children are missed less than rich children.  Isabella and Freddie, the privilegedros children in the house, are both brats, but the servants have no power to curb their behavior.  (And it certainly reflects badly on Isabella's father - I wonder if that will be addressed in future books.)  At the same time, both children are shown to have their good sides.  Or, at least, their useful sides.

There's also a talking cat.  I'm a sucker for slightly snarky, know-more-than-they're-telling talking animals.

I thought ROSE was a terrific fantasy story for young readers, and I'm quite excited that my library has the UK editions of the sequels.  I know what I'm checking out once I'm done with my CYBILS reading.

12 comments:

  1. Sounds cute! I love that there is a talking cat.

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  2. Oh, I'm glad you like this one! I saw the whole series in a bookshop in Ireland and thought about picking them up, but I think the American cover is actually better than the UK covers.

    And now that I think about it, this one's on the hold shelf at the library. I'll make sure to pick it up and make it one of my weekend reads.

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    1. Yeah, I think I prefer the American cover too. The UK covers remind me of the UK covers for R.J. Anderson's books (which I love), making me think of fairies.

      Yeah, I'll have to pick up some holds myself soon.

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  3. I might have to check this one out for the snarky cat. I'm a sucker for those as well. Of course I'm just checking it out for a recommendation for my cousin's kids... ;)

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    1. If they like magic stories, this would probably make a good gift! (I also recommend Jinx and The Real Boy if you wanted to make up a whole pack of books about apprentices/trainee magicians.)

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  4. I was already looking forward to this one, and now more so!

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    1. Glad I could whet your appetite! I have review titles through Nov 8, but then I really get to focus on my Cybils reading. But I'm slipping a few in already.

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  5. I love talking animals too, and like that the themes in this one are a bit more mature. I'll make sure to check this one out. Thanks for the recommendation!

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    1. Oh, I wouldn't call the *themes* mature. The themes all struck me as standard kidlit themes, which do tend to be similar to adult lit themes.

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  6. I like the sound of this one-I'll need to see if my library has it as I think I would be utterly charmed by it.

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