{Carrie} My Favorite Book

We are so excited to get going with this blog! I'm working with Nicole to bring you a fun and interactive blog about all things books. Check out the About RWL page to learn more, but for now, let's go.

Nicole and I want to start this all out with a bang and dive right in by sharing our favorite books with you. As we go, there will be more about books and the writing of them, both things near and dear to our hearts.

Picking a favorite book is more difficult than I thought. Up until the moment I opened up this post, I knew which one I was going to pick and why - even had it drafted out a bit.

But then, but then ....! There are so many good books!

Magic's Pawn by Mercedes Lackey - the book that got me interested in writing and introduced me to gay love as something other than a 'bad thing' for the first time.

The Jigsaw Woman by Kim Antieau - the story of a woman pieced together from three other different women, and in this joining regained the soul that had lived through many lives - each of which we get to visit as she tries to piece together who she really is, and what that means.

Black Star, Bright Dawn by Scott Odell - The story of a teenage girl running in the Iditarod. Need I say more?

The Farthest-Away Mountain by Lynne Reid Banks - A village girl is awaken by the voice of the mountain, and then the mountain nods to her, calling her to it's slopes. After that, it's a wonderful adventure of a girl who has to outwit her way to the mountain and free it from a witch's spell so it's inhabitants can return to their normal forms. This one was a really close pick for me, as well.

Which one have I chosen in the end?

Juniper by Monica Furlong. I'm not sure what reading level this is, but it's around middle school age. Juniper is named Ninnoc by her family, but Juniper by her godmother. This is the story of a medieval princess who goes to learn herbs from her strange godmother. She leaves her comfortable life for a hard one on a farm. She is made to do things she never thought to do, like slaughter a pig. When she
gains the courage to slaughter that pig she has fed and cared for for weeks, her family shows up on a surprise visit to see her embarrassingly covered in the grime of the deed. Then comes the real threat to Juniper's family. Juniper discovers she needs to use her new-found powers to protect her family, carving her own path for a future she chooses that may not be what has been expected of her.

I loved this story. Monica worked with this girl's emotions throughout so well, it deeply resonated with me at that age. I still have the book on my shelf along with it's sequel and like to read it just to remember myself at that age and enjoy the story once again. Wise Child (the sequel), which was not as gripping for me as Juniper is now grown. This was probably a fault of my expectations. I didn't realize Juniper would be grown in Wise Child and the disappointment of not knowing Juniper longer as a child interfered with my connection to Juniper's apprentice in this follow up story. (This opinion seems to be swapped by a reviewer who had read Wise Child first, FYI.)

Except for Magic's Pawn, female empowerment is the theme of the day. Magic's Pawn still deals with self-empowerment, so it fits right along as well. It was something that really appealed to me, the oldest daughter of a single mother who struggled just to make ends meet. I wanted to be able to do something more, to believe in something more, and these books helped me do that. It also translated into being a main theme in my own writing, once I started the practice.

So there you go. My favorite book(s). Of course, there are so many more, but this is the list that pops into my head without searching my bookshelves - the special ones.

What are your favorite books? Any rhyme or reason, or is it just for the joy?