Her name is Martine Leavitt, though I believe she published several books under Martine Bates. She writes these weird, haunting books for young adults, and maybe it's because I've been reading a lot of crap lately, but I am completely in love with her stuff. Unfortunately I have only been able to get hold of three of her books, but I am asking for the others for my birthday!
Heck Superhero was the least good of the three I've read so far, though it wasn't bad by any means. It's about a young boy whose mother goes sort of AWOL, and he's trying to track her down and he has a very rich sort of superhero fantasy life with rules he has to follow if he wants to get her back. Quite good.
But. Not as good as the other two:
I read Keturah and Lord Death first; it's the one that other people seem to have read. Keturah goes out of her village into the forest and dies there, but she strikes a bargain with Death: If she can find her true love by the end of the next day, she doesn't have to die. I was so impressed with this book, and how Ms. Leavitt manages to make it so haunting and still so light-hearted and charming.
Then yesterday I read The Dollmage, which is harder to describe but actually I may have liked it even better. Basically a woman is telling the story of a girl's life before she gets stoned to death for breaking an unspecified promise. It's mighty good.
These last two are both told a bit like fairy-tales, so if you're not a fairy tale fan, you might not like them. But I am as happy as a clam. I haven't found a new author that I adore since Salman Rushdie.
Anyone else heard of this author?
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Salman Rushdie? Sure I have.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :