Review: The Apprentices

The Apprentices
The Apothecary, Book 2

Author: Maile Meloy
Pages: 432
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Read: June 4-6, 2013
Source: Publisher for review

Description from Goodreads:
Two years have passed since Janie Scott last saw Benjamin Burrows, the mysterious apothecary’s defiant son who stole her heart. On the other side of the world, Benjamin and his father are treating the sick and wounded in the war-torn jungles of Vietnam. But Benjamin has also been experimenting with a magical new formula that allows him to communicate with Janie across the globe. When Benjamin discovers that she's in trouble, he calls on their friend Pip for help. The three friends are thrown into a desperate chase around the world to find one another, while unraveling the mystery of what threatens them all.

Acclaimed author Maile Meloy seamlessly weaves together magic and adventure in this breathtaking sequel with stunning illustrations by Ian Schoenherr.

Previous Book in Series:
1: The Apothecary

First Sentence: "The space between the stone library of Grayson Academy and the red brick science building created a ferocious wind tunnel, in any decent wind."

Review:

Oh, the joys of an unsolicited ARC that turns out to be the sequel to a book you enjoyed. Prior to the arrival of this book on my doorstep, I had no idea that there would be a sequel to The Apothecary, nor did I have a specific hankering for one. However, since I did like the first, I was excited to discover what would transpire in this installment. Well, lucky me, The Apprentices is an even better read than The Apothecary, maturer in plot, writing and characterization.

Where The Apothecary was very much a middle grade novel, clearly skewing to a younger audience, The Apprentices could really have been published for either middle graders or young adults. Two years have passed since the ending of The Apothecary, bringing Janie from fourteen years old to sixteen. Janie, Benjamin, and Pip have all grown up in the gap between the two novels, still their charming selves but a bit wiser.

Despite the maturer tone, The Apprentices retains the  magic of The Apothecary. Once again, evil forces are at work, attempting to do evil things involving atomic bombs and it's up to the apothecary, his son Benjamin, and Benjamin's friends to save the day. Using a book called the Pharmacopoeia, they can create potions that make the improbable possible. For example, they can become birds, much like in The Sword in the Stone.

On top of that, The Apprentices is also historical fiction. In the first book, Janie's parents had moved to England to escape the Red Scare, as they worked in the entertainment industry. The Cold War is still going strong in The Apprentices. In fact, Meloy even touches on tensions in Vietnam, China and North Korea. I love how she weaves the historical elements in, without beating the reader over the head with them.

Meloy's characters are a lot of fun. Janie is brilliant and determined, more concerned with figuring out how to desalinate water than boys. Though she does have fond memories of Benjamin, who left her alone for two years, and another potential suitor in the handsom Raffaello, romance stuff really isn't at the top of her mind. In fact, Benjamin actually spends more of his time thinking about her, worrying that she might have found another boy in his absence. He, too, is incredibly clever, becoming the heir to his father in apothecral (this does not appear to be a word, but I shall make it so) talents.

Pip doesn't spend much time on screen (on page?) in The Apprentices, but he still manages to steal the show. Now a television star in England, he's got a posher accent than before, but he's still the same short, cheeky lad. Enlisted to go find and save Janie in America, he gets cheap passage on a cruise ship in exchange for keeping the daughters of the wealthy entertained. The contacts he makes turn out to be hilarious plot points. No one can resist Pip's exuberant charm.

If you enjoyed The Apothecary, you will not want to miss Meloy's follow up, which exceeds its predecessor, a rarity in sequels. There's action, a bit of romance, history and humor. The Apprentices is a great read for children, teens and adults alike.

Rating: 4/5

Favorite Quote: "'Your capacity to be bored is the stuff of legend.'"

Run Through the Jungle by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Red Flags:
A Novel of the Vietnam War

Author: Juris Jurjevics
Pages: 320
ARC Acquired from: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
Erik Rider does his best to get away from the past, which is why he is not particularly eager to talk when Celeste Bennett comes to his door. She never met her father and is on a quest to understand something about his life and his death. To do so, she has been seeking the men who were stationed with him in Vietnam. This trail has lead her to Erik, who tells her his story, after a warning that it won't be pretty.

Review:
Red Flags hooked me in the opening and then quickly lost me again for quite a while. The premise of the girl wanting to learn about the father she never knew was compelling, particularly given Rider's hesitancy to speak. Knowing all the awful things that occur in any war, and the especially unique and terrible things that transpired in the Vietnam conflict, it set my mind spinning and prepared me for serious drama.

Instead, the novel is not propelled forward by any real plot or constant action. There is some action, of course, but there's also a lot of boredom. Soldiers spend a lot of time standing around or watching for attackers only to have none come. There were also some places where the story seemed to jump awkwardly, which could be due to Rider's own memory of the events. All of this combines to make Red Flags a better novel, I expect, but did not always make it incredibly readable.

What I really liked about Red Flags was that it focused on some elements of the war that I never previously learned much about. For one thing, I never knew about the Montagnards, the tribes in the highlands of Vietnam, and the way they were used by every side. Additionally, I knew quite a bit about the corruption of the South Vietnamese government, but the corruption within the ARVN was completely eye-opening. Some of the stuff they were doing was just...well, awful and dumb. Why would you help the enemy kill your side?

Red Flags is a slow burner, but really makes you think. While not my favorite Vietnam War book, this is a solid read with an interesting focus.

"Better run through the jungle,
Whoa, Don't look back to see."

Ants Marching - Dave Matthews Band

Everybody Sees the Ants

Author: A. S. King
Pages: 190
ARC Acquired from: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers via NetGalley

Brief Summary:
Lucky Linderman has been bullied by Nader McMillan since they were 7 and Nader peed on his feet in a public restroom. Lucky tried to get help, but no one would act, not his parents, not other student and not the school. Nader's father is a high-powered lawyer and bystanders would rather risk one boy's sanity and happiness than risk a lawsuit. Lucky's parents are distant, his mother retreats to the pool where she does endless laps and his father, a chef, retreats to the kitchen. Lucky retreats to his dreams where he attempts to rescue his grandfather, a POW/MIA in Vietnam. After yet another awful attack from Nader, Lucky and his mom take off to visit his aunt and uncle in Arizona where Lucky will need to do some soul searching.

Review:
This is my first experience with A. S. King, whose books I have wanted to read ever since I read a glowing review of one of his books on Presenting Lenore. I can now see why she received such high praise. King does not shy away from confronting seriously tough truths. She captures just how harsh children can be and does not sugarcoat anything.

Bullying: Nader McMillan is a classic bully, the whole school afraid to piss him off. The fact that he has it out for Lucky, for no reason so far as I could tell, means that Lucky cannot really make friends, since no one wants Nader's attention. In fact, others pick on Lucky to earn Nader's approval. Undoubtedly the most intense scene in the book is a memory of what Nader does to snitches. Let's just say that this cannot be explained away with "boys will be boys." Perhaps even more terrifying is that no one will do anything to stop this. Just imagine what an awful person Nader will grow into if he learns that he has the right to do anything he wishes.

Family: Just because your parents give you everything you need physically and do not beat you does not mean that the relationship is healthy. Lucky's parents are somewhat neglectful, trying to recover from their own past damage. They love their sun, but do so completely ineffectually. Much as teens may pull away, parents need to be there for them. King also considers the fact that just because someone is a little crazy does not make them unlovable; nor does the fact that someone acts really cool mean that they're actually a good person. Basically, everything is complicated when it comes to family.

The Vietnam War: This may actually be my favorite aspect of the book. It is rife with statistics on and references to the Vietnam War, which is one of my favorite historical periods to study. Lucky's grandmother, his dad and he himself are all really into the POW/MIA movement, since Lucky's grandfather was one of the men never to return. This element to warfare, all of the families who never know if their father/husband/son is still alive or dead, is one not focused on very often, as authors tend to focus on the more exciting aspects, rather than the effect the war has years down the line.

The Dreams & the Ants: Honestly, the ants were weird. They, along with the dreams of his grandfather, are really strange. The ants are a metaphor for victimization and standing up for oneself, which I get, but I do not really understand why. The dreams are totally magical realism, because Lucky brings something tangible back from every dream.. I love some well done magical realism.

Everybody Sees the Ants is seriously hard-hitting and entertaining. Lucky makes a great main character, growing in confidence and learning to be himself. Plus, he reads Catch-22, which automatically makes him totally cool. If you like dark humor and truly realistic fiction, give Everybody Sees the Ants a read.

"He wakes up in the morning.
Does his teeth, bite to eat and he's rolling
Never changes a thing.
The week ends, the week begins.

She thinks, we look at each other
Wondering what the other is thinking,
But we never say a thing.
And these crimes between us grow deeper.

Take these chances
Place them in a box until a quieter time.
Lights down, you up and die."