BBAW: Obscure Favorites

It's day four of Book Blogger Appreciation Week, and time to pimp some obscure books!  When I started writing my Best Authors You Aren't Reading feature, I didn't intend for it to be sporadic.  But I quickly figured out that defining obscurity was tough.  What if the book won an award but has few reviews on Amazon or Goodreads?  What if you can find lots of reviews but the book is out of print?  And how do you define "lots" of reviews?  How do 115 reviews of a book released in 2010 compare to 115 reviews of a book released in 2002?  So I don't want to pimp just one under the radar book, because it might not be so under the radar.  So here are three books I love, that as far as I know aren't well known.  All three are out of print, but copies are available for cheap through secondhand bookshops.

THE CHINA GARDEN by Liz Berry

THE CHINA GARDEN made YALSA's Best Book for Young Adults list in 1997.  I first read it in 2001.  I'd noticed it on the shelf in the bookstore for years.  I was entranced by the cover, a ghostly figure moving down a sunlit path.  (I would, once I owned the book, realize it was a silhouette of a couple kissing.)  Then I found a copy for twenty-five cents in the library's book sale.  I eagerly bought it, but didn't read it immediately.  I read it for the first time in the car, moving from Houston to a Fort Worth suburb in the wake of my parents' divorce.

I then proceeded to read it everyday for a month, if not longer.

I don't know why THE CHINA GARDEN is what I needed.  It's a romance, about a good girl and a bad boy.  It's a story of family secrets - turns out the heroine Clare didn't even know her mother's real name.  (For that matter, she didn't know her own middle name.)  It's a tale of magic and things worth protecting.  It's delightfully English and incredibly sensual.

Or maybe I do know why I needed it.  It's about a girl whose mother takes her from everything she knows and moves her out to the sticks.  Clare had her life planned and suddenly she doesn't understand what's going on and why everyone knows things she doesn't.  It spoke to me, even if I wasn't at the age to want a boy with a motorcycle to come along and sweep me off my feet.

THE TRICKSTERS by Margaret Mahy

New Zealand author Margaret Mahy died this year, at the age of 76.  She left behind quite a legacy.  My three favorites, of the many books she wrote, are THE CHANGEOVER, MEMORY, and THE TRICKSTERS.  But THE TRICKSTERS is my absolute number one favorite.

I wrote about it here for Angieville's Retro Friday.

Don't want to follow the link?  That's fine.  I can list a few of the best things about the novel: a dreamer heroine, sinister strangers, unexpected twists, and conflicting, passionate desires.  It's not a simple novel, but one that rewards the careful reader.

TELL IT TO NAOMI by Daniel Ehrenhaft

I have a soft spot for TELL IT TO NAOMI because it's one of the first books I read as an ARC.  (The very first was Sara Manning's GUITAR GIRL.)  I've always had a soft spot for it.  It's just a simple, cute novel about a guy pretending to be his older sister in order to write an advice column, as one does.  I only learned Daniel Ehrenhaft has written other books a year or two ago, and I still need to read them.  (He also writes under the name of Erin Haft.)

But I want to read his other books because TELL IT TO NAOMI has such a strong voice.  I can still remember details of the music Dave's family listened too.  Also, it was one book I know I like that counts as obscure under any definition you can think of.

Retro Friday Review: The Tricksters by Margaret Mahy

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! Angie includes roundups from participating bloggers in her post every week.

I first became aware of Retro Fridays almost a month ago. Several of the participants were reviewing THE CHANGEOVER by Margaret Mahy. The recent popularity of THE CHANGEOVER can probably be linked to Sarah Rees Brennan's wicked funny review and Justine Larbalestier's equally enthusiastic review. I'm pleased as punched that people are reading about Laura Chant and Sonny Carlisle, because they are an amazing couple. But Margaret Mahy has written tons of books. While some of them don't work for me, THE TRICKSTERS may be even better than THE CHANGEOVER.

That's right.  I like THE TRICKSTERS better.

How much do I like THE TRICKSTERS?

• I once owned four copies.  One for me, three to constantly loan out.  I think I'm down to one loaner copy.
• Before I owned these copies, I lent mine to a friend who lived five hours away because it was that important that other people read it.
• I wrote an essay on it.  This essay was for admission to the academic program I'm now in.  The subject can be whittled down to "Why Reading THE TRICKSTERS Is Just as Important as Reading Plato."
• No, really.

Harry, real name Ariadne, is the seventeen-year-old bookish, quiet daughter lost in a large family.  Most of her excitement comes from secretly writing a torrid romance.  One day on holiday, she jokingly marries the sea to entertain herself and her brother.  The next day, three mysterious brothers show up at the house, using names that clearly came from the bookshelf (Ovid, Hadfield, and Felix).  Notably, they all look like characters from her story.  Also, the three men may all be the ghost of the same person, Teddy Carnival - the mysteriously dead son of the original owner of the vacation home.

As Harry and Felix fall in love, Harry begins to realize her own power.  "I can seem beautiful," she tells someone who dares to threaten her.  Felix gains power from their love as well - and neither of his brothers want that to happen.

THE TRICKSTERS is sexy.  Harry and Felix only have implied sex, but a book doesn't need an explicit scene to be sexy.  Margaret Mahy knows that, and this coming-of-age tale is all about human sexuality without ever being crass.

Mahy also pulls off a Megan Whalen Turner worthy twist when it comes to the family saga side of things.  She hides secrets so well that you don't even know you should be looking for them until they're revealed.  This makes subsequent readings richer, as you realize how Mahy shaped the novel, dropping numerous hints while using Harry's narration to direct your attention elsewhere.

Best of all, Mahy trusts her reader's intelligence.  THE TRICKSTERS is sometimes confusing, as Mahy rarely explains exactly what's going on.  You have to put it together yourself.  Often, you have to make your own decision about what happened.  Her writing is heavy on character and atmosphere, which keeps things moving smoothly even at the parts when you know you don't understand everything yet.  Mahy's best works are rich and decadent feasts.  The themes and action of THE TRICKSTERS demand your attention, and if you give it you will be rewarded.

If you're looking for a sexy and intelligent coming-of-age story cum family saga, look no farther than THE TRICKSTERS.  If that's not what you're looking for, you should read it anyway.