Night on the Milky Way Railway (1934) by Kenji Miyazawa #JapaneseLitChallenge19

🚅 Giovanni (a strange name for a Japanese boy, by the way) is a poor boy who is usually so tired after his part time job, that he doesn't do good at school. This makes him seems to be a dreamy and weak, that even his friends leave him out when they are playing or having fun. They also ridicule Giovanny because he had said once that his father would come home soon and buy him otter-skin coat. It isn't clear what or where his father is - whether on fishing trip (a prolonged one), or else in prison. I suspect the latter. That is how Giovanni is feeling towards the upcoming Star Festival, or Milky Way festival. Feeling left alone, that even his closest friend Campanella is having fun in the festival (and looks at him with pity), Giovanni suddenly finds himself on board a steam train, after he goes on top of nearby hill and gazes above at the Milky Way.

🚅 But the train isn't a usual one; it's a dream train on a dream track. The train passes some stations, named after the constellations. It embarks from Northern Cross, and on the track are Swan station, then Scorpio, and some other names I forgot. Campanella is on board the same train, which pleases Giovanni, and also some others strange men. One of them is a bird catcher, who catch bird so easily, just by lifting his hands above, and then eats them as it is, which strangely tastes like chocolate cakes.

🚅 Along the journey, we were entertained with more and more strange and magical occurrences, that in the end it doesn't feel very special anymore. It feels more like a long and incoherent dream that we remember nothing after waking up. I could see why it has become a children classic, but for me personally, this is just a confusing story. The galactical theme is a pretty attractive tool for educating children about our galaxy. And the end might be good to preparing children of the frailty of human's life, but I feel it's too dark for children.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Read for: 

Japanese Literature Challenge 19

hosted by Dolce Bellezza

Genderang Perang dari Wamena (1972) by Djokolelono: An Indonesian Children Fantasy #NovNov25

🥁 I have unexpectedly found this treasure while idly browsing through Google Playbook titles. It's a children fantasy novella by an Indonesian writer: Djokolelono. It has never been translated, so if you don't understand Indonesian, I can give you only my loose translation of the title. Genderang means drum; perang is war, and Wamena is a district in Papua. The story is told from point of view of two eleven-year-old boys: Adi and Yun (short of Yunanto). It's not clear where they live, but it is set in the 1970s. My guess is that they live in a small town. Adi has been living in the Netherlands; his father worked in a Dutch museum, and the family have only recently moved permanently to Indonesia. 

🥁 Yun is playing at his new friend Adi's, and it is a gloomy rainy day. They can't play outside, so Adi suggests they rummage at the backyard shed. One might find interesting stuffs in the shed - don't we know it! And they do! Opening a box in which Adi's father kept stuffs from the museum, they found a little drum. It's a traditional music instrument from Papua which is usually called tifa. Playfully one of them starts to beat it, and a strange thing happens. The player can't stop beating the drum, his hand goes faster and faster, while the other can't stop dancing on the tune. Then a white mist fills the shed, and the shed suddenly turns into a jungle. The boys are time-travelling to the jungle of Wamena in Papua, in the 18th century, following a Dutch expedition consisting of four white men and some locals.  

🥁 One of the Dutch men who was called Tristan van Allen, had stolen a drum, or tifa, a precious thing belonging to the chief of the tribe. The expedition leader told him to return it, as it would put the whole expedition in danger, but Tristan was adamant. Adi found from his father that the tifa came to his possession after being found years later by another group visiting Wamena, while the faith of the expedition itself was never revealed; they had just vanished. And now Adi and Yun are about to solve the mystery, as the tifa slowly reveals its history whenever the boys playing it. But it's not just a mystery, there's something menacing inside the tifa....

🥁 It was an exciting adventure to read! I kept forgetting that Adi and Yun are just elementary school students, they somehow sound more mature to me - like 17 or 18 years old boy, perhaps? Anyway, I was more interested in their one quarrel (the tifa foreshadows what's about to come; on the day the expedition members quarreled for instance, Adi and Yun quarrel too). The topic is about Dutch colonialism over Indonesia. Yun is expressing his hatred to the greedy Dutch, but Adi, who had been brought up in Netherlands, is saying that not all Dutch people are greedy, and that colonialism happens only when the locals aren't smart enough to detect their false politeness. This infuriates Yun, as his friend's implying that Indonesian are dumb. Well, I couldn't but pondering a lot about it afterwards, because it makes sense. And why the writer put it as the cause of quarrel? It might be a boyish quarrel (they are friends again the day after), but that was too serious a topic for a children read, don't you think? Anyway, this has been a fun read for me, and I can't wait to read more of the series. This novella is the sixth book from Weird and Wicked series, by the way.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

Novellas in November 2025

hosted by Cathy and Rebecca

The Upside Down River (2000) by Jean-Claude Mourlevat #ParisInJuly2025

 

🚣 While searching for an audiobook of Garlic, Mint, & Sweet Basil - an essay by Jean-Claude Izzo - I've planned to read for #ParisInJuly2025 (it's a satisfying essay to read, by the way), I came across this audiobook by another Jean-Claude - a middle-grade fantasy story. And it turned out to be a gem, I loved it! The Upside Down River is a two-parts story. The one I listened to is the first, which is subtitled: Tomek's Journey. 

🚣 Tomek is a seventeen year old orphan boy who runs a store that sells everything. By everything, it means everything you can name. One day, a girl of his age came to the store, buying some barley sugar. When the girl asked for a drop of water from river Qjar, Tomek realized three things: one, that his store doesn't sell everything after all; two, that he's actually been bored for a long time, and longed for an adventure; and three, that he's fallen in love with the girl, whom he didn't have chance to ask the name.

🚣 From an old man whom he always calls grandfather, Tomek learned more about river Qjar - it's a magical river; an upside down river that runs from sea, up to the mountain. And drinking a drop of water for that river is believed to make the person immortal. Tomek was intrigued, he wanted to meet the girl, whom he knew would be on the quest of river Qjar, and he also wanted to bring the old grandfather a drop of its water. So, off he went for his journey one fine day. And what a journey and adventure it would proof to be, and what interesting characters he would meet on the way! My favorite is Marie, a widow who travels with her cart and a donkey that farts a lot :)). He met her just at the edge of Forest of Oblivion, inside which one would forget everything that happened before entering, but right after leaving, the memory would return. Not mentioning the colony of huge bears that lived in the forest, and who were blind, but had sharp hearing. Marie was a good travel company, and it's she who give Tomek encouragement to go on his journey.

🚣 But the most exciting of all, is perhaps when Tomek finally met Hannah - the girl who bought barley sugar - and they'd go together to the river Qjar. But not before Tomek went into a sort of comma after smelling a poisonous big blue flower, and got rescued by a group of farmers; and several others strange adventures. But would Tomek and Hannah succeeded to find the river Qjar? And would they get the drops of water from it, up on the summit of the mountain, to bring home? Hannah wanted to save her most beloved bird, I forgot to mention. 

🚣 All in all, it's a short read, but packed with fun adventures. Jean-Claude Mourlevat is, surely, a great fairy tale, fable and fantasy books writer! I might perhaps get to read (or listen) the second part of this book someday (Hannah's Journey), but for now, it's my last read for #ParisInJuly2025, and a very satisfying one to wrap it up! Thank you for Emma for hosting it this year. Au revoir!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read for:

Paris in July 2025

hosted by Emma @ Words and Peace

Three Different Genres I've Enjoyed Recently: Mini Reviews

I have successively enjoyed three books from three different genres: one is a young-adult fantasy, the other a Golden Age mystery. The last one is a book from the middlebrow collection of Dean Street Press. I loved them all, and here's why...

Book of a Thousand Days (2007) by Shannon Hale

💙 This story was reimagined from a Grimm's fairy tale (an obscure one, which I doubt you've ever read - I haven't even heard of it). It becomes a sort of fairy tale, set in medieval Mongolia. Young Dashti is an orphaned commoner girl, who's brought up in steppes. After her parents died, she got a job as a lady's maid of Lady Saren, whose father is imprisoning her for seven years in a tower, for refusing to marry a wicked and cruel Lord Khasar. When Dashti agreed to serve her lady in imprisonment - for seven years, no less - I instantly loved her character. Serving here isn't just in the ordinary way, Lady Saren asked Dashti to pretend to be her, whenever Khan Tegus - Lady Saren's betrothed - came secretly to the tower. Thus I learned that Lady Saren isn't just a spoilt or lonely gentry girl, there's something dark and mysterious lurking in her heart. The mystery revealed when they have been out of the tower. Another thing revealed is that the Titor's Garden, the Realm whence they came, had been destroyed by Lord Khasar. Homeless and fearful, Dashti must save and protect her lady. But where could she go? And how could she do that by herself?

💙 All in all, it's a wonderful tale. There's enough of everything for everyone - the romance, the humour, the battle, the exotic background. And the story is told from Dashti's point of view, as a diary. When you read a diary of a pleasant and interesting character, it's bound to be entertaining. Add that with a medieval realm in Mongolian, well... like I said, a wonderful tale, is what you'll get.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Crook o' Lune (1953) by E.C.R. Lorac

🧡 Derived from the idyllic rural village in England, Lunesdale, E.C.R. Lorac presented a mystery set in High Gimmerdale, in the same dale. Chief Inspector Robert Macdonald is on holiday, and aiming to learn more about farming - an occupation of his dream after future retirement. However, when an arson and sheep-stealing cases took place, he couldn't say no when the local constable asked him to co-investigate. The fire was aimed to destroy Gilbert Woolfall's - the current owner of Aikengill - study. But his housekeeper was also found dead because of the fire. Who would have the motive? Was it the vicar, who resented the lose of a stipend; or the shepherd and his bethroted, who were promised by Gilbert Woolfall to stay at Aikengill if the housekeeper handed in her notice? Or was it only a decoy to smoothen a sheep-stealing scheme? 

🧡 I have realized from quite the beginning of the story, that its main attraction wouldn't be the mystery itself, but the vivid description of the beautiful countryside, the farming's hardship, and the people, which Lorac made live with her wonderful penmanship. You'd feel as though you yourself are making a holiday in Lunsdale, and breathing its countryside air. The result is a refreshing novel with an entertaining mystery. For once, I didn't try to guess the whodunnit or howdunnit, but just flowed with the story.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ten Way Street (1941) by Susan Scarlett

🤎 I have enjoyed some of Susan Scarlett's (pseudonym of Noel Streatfeild) novels before, and this one is no different. Number ten of Way Street is the the abode of an actress called Margot Cardew, with her three children. And that's where Beverley Shaw had landed her first job as governess right after finishing the training, provided by the orphanage school, where she had come from. Beverly is a spirited young woman with positive attitude, ready to bring the three unruly children to their better selves. Peter Crewdson, Margot's admirer and friend to the children, saw Beverley as Joan of Arc. You know the drill... a governess to work her way to the children's heart that they're afraid of losing her, again. Then a handsome guy fell in love with her, triggering jealousy, not only from the children, but their temperamental narcistic mother too.

🤎 As were with all Susan Scarlett's, though the premise is predictable, the story was woven skillfully, and the characters are perfectly drawn. The result is a delightful story and a page turner - I knew how it will end, but still, there'd be little surprises along the way - that in the end, I sighed contentedly after "the end". What more would you ask?

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Greenglass House (2014) by Kate Milford

❄ It's few days before Christmas, and twelve year old Milo had expected a quiet holiday with his parents (foster parents, since he was adopted) at their inn, the Greenglass House. But to his great dismay, one guest arrived, then another, then another, until there are five guests staying in the house, plus the cooks who are helping. Christmas holiday is practically ruined. Or so thought Milo, before he found a strange map, and a girl his age, the cook's daughter Meddy, who invites him in a role play game.

❄ Greenglass House is not a regular inn. It had belonged to a famous smuggler, and to that day, smugglers are among the inn's frequent guests. The building itself is a unique one. Five stories high, with colorful glass windows, and located on top of a steep hill. To reach it from the bottom, the guests must use a rail car. I have been to Paris in the 2000, and I imagined this rail car is like more rustic model of funicular I took to reach Sacré Coeur in Montmartre.

❄ Milo found an usual map, like a navigator's one but with strange pictures, on the snowy ground, that one of the guests must have dropped. But whose is it? And what is the map about? It was to solve this mystery that Milo and Meddie started the game in the first place. Then some guests belongings begin missing, and one of them is seen entered another's room suspiciously. Is there a thief in the house? They also notice that the guests seem secretive; their reasons of coming to Greenglass House aren't for holiday, but for their own, which are related to the house's history. What's happening? Who's the thief, and what's the motive?

❄ This story has everything you'd want to read during the season - adventures, mystery, snowy nights, smugglers, big house with attic full of interesting stuffs, and a tiny touch of gothic (which I won't reveal so as not to spoil the story). And last but not least... the surprise. It is so unexpected, yet I should have known from the first - the clues are there from the start. Anyway, this is the only Christmas-themed story I'd read this year, and I'm glad I had. It's satisfying, heartwarming, and full of fun. I loved how Milford delving into a mildly serious issue of  Milo's insecure related to his being orphan. It added a bit of depth into the already satisfying read. This will also be my last reviewed book of this year.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Comet in Moominland (1946) by Tove Jansson #MoominWeek #WITMonth #20booksofsummer24

"You must go on a long journey before you can really find out how wonderful home is."

☄ That is the essence of this book, the second one - in term of publication date - to the Moomin series created by the inimitable Tove Jansson, and translated from Swedish by Elizabeth Portch. Moomintroll feels the urge to take on a journey far away from home, to see the world, to take on challenges, to do good things for others. But when he has had all these, the one thing he was longing most were... home and family. Isn't that what we all experience?

☄ This book picked up where we left in the first book: The Moomins and the Great Flood. The Moomins family had decided to stay on the valley where the house Moominpappa had built up ended during the flood. Now the family are settling in Moominvalley, with the addition of Sniff (the little creature they encountered in first book) who is living with them now. Sniff finds a beautiful cave while he and Moomintroll are following a path in the forest, and Moomintroll goes pearl-fishing in the sea. The next day they find the pearls, which they have hidden inside the cave, now are arranged in the shape of a star with a tail. The Muskrat, a philosopher who's also living with the Moomins, tells them they are shaped like a comet. So Moomintroll and Sniff are taking a journey to the Faraway Lonely Mountains, where the Professors at the Observatory will tell them more about it.

☄ Long story short, after a long and challenging journey, the Professors tell them exactly when a huge comet would hit the earth, in a few days. Now Moomintroll and Sniff need to go back home ASAP to.... well, they don't know exactly what to do, but Moominmamma would surely know what to do then. If only they could arrive just in time. Can they do that? Will the comet destroy their beloved Moominvalley?

☄ Along the adventure, some new characters were added to spice up the story up. We were introduced first to Snufkin, a nomad who loves playing music with his harmonica, and defies rules and authority. Then there's the Hermulen, who is an avid stamp collector, and ignorant of anything elese. One particular character gives Moomintroll a distraction from his mission - a beautiful Snork Maiden whom Moomintrol had saved from poisonous bush. This made me reflect on Moomintroll's actual age. He seemed to be of earlier age of five or seven years old back in the first book (where Moominmamma told him to wear dry sock after he wetted his feet in the swamp) but here he's having a crush - albeit a childish one - on Snork Maiden. Maybe the Moomins are ageless?

☄ Overall, Comet in Moominland is much more entertaining and complex than its predecessor. What I love most about it is the level of trust showed from Moomintroll and his parents, particularly Moominmamma. Even when the danger was near, Moominmamma and Moominpappa refused to evacuate with hteir neighbors, because they believe Moomintroll would come home. They never considered the possibility of their son going somewhere safer without them. No, they just knew that Moomintroll was coming home. Likewise for Moomintroll, he repeated many times to his friends that Moominmamma would know what to do. He never thought his parents would have evacuated with their neighbors. No, he just had to get home, and everything would be okay. That's a huge amount of confidence and a strong bond of love. I am so lucky to have the same kind of family! We were able to get through hardship and sorrow because we did it in love and trust of each other. This is a book with a fun adventure, that will warm you heart through.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

Moomin Week #MoominWeek

hosted by Mallika @ Literary Potpourri & Chris @ Calmgrove

Women in Translation Month #WITMonth
hosted by womenintranslation.org

20 Books of Summer 2024 #20booksofsummer24
hosted by Cathy @ 746 Books

The Moomins and the Great Flood (1945) by Tove Jansson #MoominWeek #WITMonth #20booksofsummer24

👜 The Moomins are tiny creatures created from the Finnish author Tove Jansson's imagination. The Moomins and the Great Flood is the first book in the series, and the one that introduces us to the main characters: the Moomins family. We learn here that Moomins are house trolls who used to live behind kitchen stoves. It was translated by David McDuff from Swedish, its original title is Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen.

👜 Moominmamma and her only son Moomintroll are on a journey to find Moominpappa. He has been travelling with the Hattifatteners to look for a place to build a house. Hattifatteners are white tiny creatures who are always on the move and usually traveling through the sea in groups.

👜 The Moomins' journey is quite eventful, and they get to meet some new friends. "The Little Creature" is the one they first meet - a helpless, whinny creature who likes sparkling gems. Later on he will be named Sniff. Then they also meet Tulippa, a pretty young girl with shining blue hair who's been staying inside a tulip. She saves the Moomins and the little creature from a giant serpent while crossing a swamp. The four of them then continue their journey together.

👜 Later on they are joining a group of Hattifatteners who are crossing the sea by boat. But a storm strikes, and a sea troll helps them to navigate safely to an island, where they meet a boy who has seen Moominpappa. They are on the right track, then!

👜 A rainstorm seems to check their progress, but during the flood they find a message in the bottle floating their direction from Moominpappa, and by the help of a stork, they finally find him - safe and sound! Not only that, they later on find the house Moominpappa has built, which the flood has been floating intact to a valley, and where they finally decide to live.

👜 Considering this novella is the first of a series, it is quite an interesting introduction, although there isn't much 'substance' in the story if you read it as standalone. My favorite character is Moominmamma, she is just a typical wonder mom who always knows what her children need, and is always prepare for everything. I loved how, when Moomintroll's feet became wet from the swamp, she just takes a pair of dry socks out of her handbag for him. This handback is actually becomes a trademark for Moominmamma, as she always brings it everywhere she goes. To me it's also a symbol of a loving and caring mother (hence, the handbag emojis I use in this post ;)).

👜 The story is not overly fantastic, but it gets better on the next one (I have moved on to Comet in the Moominland, which I loved - review's following! 😉)

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read this book for:

Moomin Week

hosted by Mallika @ Literary Potpourri & Chris @ Calmgrove

Women In Translation Month 2024 #WITMonth
hosted by womenintranslation.org

20 Books of Summer 2024
hosted by Cathy @ 746 Books

Howl's Moving Castle (1986) by Diana Wynne Jones #MarchMagics2024

💙 Fantasy genre is never my cup of tea. Excepting the Harry Potter series, I rarely enjoy fantasy novels as much as, say, crime or literary fiction. But people have been praising Diana Wynne Jones' classic Howl's Moving Castle, and when Chris @ Calmgrove announced the upcoming of March Magics 2024, I thought this is a good time to try it. It is also my choice for the 1986 entry for A Century of Books. Did it exceed my expectation? Not really...

💙 The story is told from the perspective of Sophie Hatter, a 18-year-old eldest girl of three sisters in a magical kingdom of Ingary. Accustomed to the "rule" that an eldest will never succeed, Sophie accepts her dull existence as a hatter in the family shop, with no bright future ahead. Until the Witch of Waste finds her and turns her into an old woman, apparently with no reasonable motive - but that will be part of the mystery.

💙 Ashamed of her condition, Sophie runs away from home, and finds herself in Howl's Castle. Howl is a wizard with notorious reputation as young girls' heartbreaker. He lives in a "castle" which constantly moves, and has several doors which are portals opening to various places. They are bewitched by Howl's fire demon Calcifer. The latter was bound to a contract with Howl, and longs to break it.

💙 Enter poor Sophie, who needs someone to lift the Witch of the Waste's curse, and thinks that Calcifer might do that if she helps him break his contract. She pretends to be a cleaning lady to get to stay in the castle. And thus, the unsophisticated Sophie, who doesn't realize her own magical power, becomes member of the household, which, besides Howl and the fire demon, also consists of an apprentice boy called Michael. A lot of hilarious adventures spring up from these unlikely gang, as the mystery around themselves is slowly unfolding, and the need to conquer their enemies grows.

💙 I wonder whether I'd enjoy this more had I read it as a child - maybe. But I felt like wanting to know a lot more about the character's struggle than the writer permitted. I might have compared this to Harry Potter. The latter swept me to its universe so easily, but I felt none about this one. It is a nice fantasy story, but not as impressive as I would've expected.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Read this book for:

March Magics 2024

hosted by Chris @ Calmgrove

The Cryptid Files: Loch Ness by Jean Flitcroft #WitchWeek23 #NovNov23

🦕 It's been four years since Vanessa's mother died, and unlike her twin brothers Luke and Ronan, who's getting on with life nicely, Vanessa's heart is still gripped with anger and grief she's unable to cope with. Her father's growing intimacy with his girlfriend Lee doesn't make it any easier. Now her father's proposing a family holiday in Scotland, which Vanessa would've accepted gratefully, if his father hadn't mentioned that Lee is coming too. Not only coming along, she realized later on that they are staying at her house! What a preposterous idea!

🦕 On the other hand, visiting Scotland would be exciting for the twelve year old Vanessa. She might be able to complete her mother's search about Nessie, the Loch Ness monster. Like her late mother, Vanessa is fascinated with this Cryptid creature. She has even met Nessie in her dream when she's fainted near the bank of the loch.

🦕 When she's taking the boat to the loch alone (her father and Lee, who had promised to take her, don't show up), the boat overturned, and Vanessa is drowning into the deep dark water. When she's awake, she finds herself lying in a sort of cave. Inside her head she hears a soothing voice telling her to scrape moss from the wall under the cave, and eat it! Strange as it is, Vanessa eats the moss anyway, and just like the voice said, it makes her stronger, and enable her to swim deep in the water without breathing air: "Swim down deep enough and you'll find me" said the voice. And she swims on.

"She was aware now of a large shape glowing at a distance beyond her.... A huge object moved slowly towards her.... As it approached her, the glow grew more intense and the water warmer... She found herself face to face with large real-life eyes, only a couple of inches away from her. [...] 'Put your arms around my neck and I'll show you my Loch.'"

🦕 Vanessa did as she's told, and with that, a strange unlikely friendship between two creatures is cemented. Like Vanessa, Nessie had lost her mother when they came through the lock-gate many years ago. They were stuck, and couldn't come out to the sea. Nessie's mother crushed by boat when they swam under it while the water got shallow. That is what draws them together - that, and the fact that Vanessa believes in Nessie. And that believe, in turn, saved her from death. But how about returning up the land, back to her family? Could Nessie help Vanessa one more time?

🦕 This was unexpectedly a poignant and heartwarming novella. I have just lost my father three months ago, and I can imagine how hard it would have been for a twelve year old girl to cope with losing her mother. The safety and comfort of having a mother is too acute for teenage girl at that age. Though it is a fantasy story, I'm so relieved that Vanessa found Nessie's presence soothing. It might not replace a mother's love, but at least it might soothe her wounded heart a little. From then on Vanessa would be able to accept the lost of her mother, but from time to time she might perhaps relapse into sadness when something reminds her of her mother. Well, at least that's what I've been having with my late father...

🦕 I loved how each chapter starts with snippets of articles about Nessie's history and sightings. It helps elevating Nessie into the spotlight. Unlike some stories where Nessie are indicated in titles or subtitles only but her role is insignificant, this story keeps a nice balance between the humans and monster. Nessie here isn't a cute childish creature, but graceful and elusive, worthy of its legendary status.

🦕 On the whole, it is a middle grade fantasy that also touches a sensitive issue of grief, told poignantly to remind us about the true value of love, family, and friendship. It is short but wholesome, fantastic but down to earth.

Favorite quotes:

   "Life without adventure is no life at all."

   "There's nothing like imagination to get you through life."

Rating: 5 / 5

I read this book for:

Witch Week 2023 (Cryptozoo)

hosted by Chris @ Calmgrove & Lizzie @ Lizzie Ross

Novellas in November 2023

hosted by Cathy @ 746 Books & Rebecca @ Bookish Beck

RIP XIII: The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

Like any child on Halloween night, eight boys in this fantasy-horror story put their costumes and were ready to go for trick-or-treating. But when the little mummy, the ghost, the gargoyle, the skeleton, and the others had gathered at the appointed place: the Haunted House, they did not find Pipkin. Pipkin is sort of the chief of the gang; and without him Halloween would not be fun. Instead of their friend, they found, near the house, a huge tree with branches, laden with Jack-o-lanterns: The Halloween Tree! Inside the house they met a cadaverous looking man wrapped in black, who introduced himself as Mr. Moundshroud.

Pipkin finally showed up, but he was immediately snatched from the boys, and vanished into the air. To find and save Pipkin, Mr. Moundshroud led the eight boys to search through the past, to teach them the history and real meaning of Halloween they celebrate every year.

So, by magic they travelled across time and space to Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, Celtic, Medieval Paris, and Mexico. They went inside the Pyramid to find mummies, flew on brooms and met witches, walked inside the catacomb, and adored the Gargoyles at Notre Dame Cathedral. At each place they visited, they always saw glimpses of Pipkin, before he eluded right before they got chance to save him. Through these eerie adventures, the boys learned about the origins of Halloween; why death is scary, the fact about mummy, the origin of trick-or-treat, and whether witches have really existed.

At the end of their journey, the boys realized that the only way to save dear Pipkin was by agreeing to sacrifice one year each of their lives.

The Halloween Tree for Halloween, is what A Christmas Carol do for Christmas. You celebrate the holiday each year, get yourself surround by the atmosphere, the ornaments, foods, costumes, and rituals. You gather with friends and families to celebrate... what? What is that that you are celebrating—the day itself? As with A Christmas Carol, The Halloween Tree also reminds you of the real values behind ornaments and the celebration itself.

This was my first Ray Bradbury. I still had not the courage to read Fahrenheit, and so wanted to take a taste through this tale. It was a fun read; fast moving with beautiful prose, and a perfect read for Halloween mood. Bradbury wanted us to remember our dead relatives (the real purpose of Halloween), but also to realize the value of life. I loved how Bradbury made the eight boys giving up one year of their lives to save a friend. There is always love behind every holiday!

4 / 5

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

I read the e-book version

Right after I closed the last page of LOTR, I said to myself: "Finally... I have conquered thee!!" Indeed, LOTR has been one of books I dreaded most because of its length; but most of all, because fantasy is not my cup of tea. Someone told me to read it as myth, not fantasy; but even myth is my less favorite genre. Then too, people praised it so much that I felt I must at least give it a try. In fact I have tried years before, reading the Indonesian translation, but only after the first pages. I got bored, and gave up. So this time I 'forced' myself to read all the three books from first page to the last. And I did, yay!

As everyone seems to have read LOTR, I need not taking effort to write the summary. In short, a group of nine delegations was assigned to destroy a dangerous ring, lest the Dark Lord, who was rising in power, found and used it to rule the Middle Earth. Curiously, from the nine members, the fellowship composed of four hobbits—creatures that were famous of being weak and lazy (they were also called 'halflings'), one wizard, two men, an elf, and a dwarf. Trusting a job so crucial against such powerful enemy to some hobbits seems absurd. That Frodo is the ring bearer—because his uncle, Bilbo Baggins, was the latest owner and has bequeathed the ring to him—it was understandable that he was one of the delegations. Sam Gamgee is his esquire, so he too must go. But Merry (Meriadoc) and Pippin (Peregrin), why must they? But that is one of the most important points that lay behind this adventurous epic: minority and diversity.

While there was a wizard and a valiant knight and Lord (Aragorn), yet in the end, the greatest heroes were these halflings, who often hindered them during the journey, while complaining about food or pipes, aka the hobbits! I am glad that though people regarded them as "nobody", Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli treated and respected them equally. That is why, I think, Boromir must go very early, because he was no team player; he was too much into himself.

Of the four, my favorite is Sam Gamgee. Here is a simple, warm, and honourable man.. err... hobbit. Heroism is when you face terrible danger, you are horrified and hopeless, yet you force yourself to go through, for the sake of something (or someone) dearest to you. And Sam is simply the highest hero here!

My favorite part is everytime Merry or Pippin was around. I enjoyed the comical or emotional side of their journeys, and how they fit completely with each other. Frodo, on the other hand, is too dreamy and felt a bit unreal to me. At least his hundred-years-old uncle Bilbo was much more vigorous (in The Hobbit) than him.

Finally, of the three books, I liked Book 3 (The Return of the King) the most. Book 1 (The Fellowship of the Ring) is full of flat narration on Middle Earth and its people, and it instantly bored me. The names of the houses, mountains, lands, country, and I don't know what else, overwhelmed me from the first, that I neglected them altogether since Book 1. Book 2 (The Two Towers) was more enjoyable, but the best was Book 3. Overall, LOTR is the modern version of epic fantasy written in poetic prose. Despite my satisfaction of finally reading it, the journey has been rather a struggle—I skipped most of the songs and description of woods or lands. Again, fantasy is not yet my cup of tea (Harry Potter is the only exception), and through the book I have longed for ordinary lives!

And for all that...

3,5 to 5 is my fairest verdict