#Philomel Books

[ahb-writes]

Book Review: ‘Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix’

Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie C. Dao My rating: 3 of 5 stars From monastery to palace. From forest to desert to mountain. The path taken in this fantastical rendering of the hero's journey pulls readers into and through all sorts of places and lands and realms whose beauty and danger intersect and overlap. KINGDOM OF THE BLAZING PHOENIX is a fun and engaging sequel, but the novel's scope treads a wholly different narrative curiosity than its forebear. Princess Jade, raised as a monk, is summoned to the palace by the widely revered (and widely feared) Empress Xifeng, sly sovereign and dark sorceress of Feng Lu. Jade is in her middle teens, enjoys peaceful folktales, and delights in life's simplicities. She is not made for palace intrigue. She is not made for rancorous statecraft. She is not made for puzzles wrought by restless guardians of sacred relics. Or is she? Xifeng is a poison, slowly killing Feng Lu and its people. If anyone has a claim to the throne, to stop her, it's the pious young princess who closely resembles the woman Xifeng replaced to assume her power. But if Jade is to challenge Xifeng for the throne, if she is to save her people, she's going to need some help. A lot of help. KINGDOM OF THE BLAZING PHOENIX is a heavily layered and deeply threaded hero's journey: Jade rises from an unlikely station, discovers her call to action, yields to myriad setbacks, and finds her courage in successive moments of danger and difficulty. For readers who desire a tome of Asian fantasy within this rubric, this novel is downright absorbing, but the novel may also feel all too conventional, for readers seeking something more. This book's predecessor (Forest of a Thousand Lanterns) deliberately inverted this custom by sympathizing with the villain and provoking good characters into making bad decisions (and encouraging them live with the consequences). The current novel seemed content to balance the scales. And to that end, it's a good book. Jade is a strong girl; she's not always strong and she's not always brave, but she learns to be strong and learns to be brave according to the demands of her journey and the needs of her friends. Highlights of the novel are explicitly twofold: the author's compressed but effective worldbuilding, and the supporting cast. Of the first, the author composes a handful of highly immersive if briefly visited landscapes. Mountains inhabited by rumored bands of assassins; bramble death-mazes in the middle of nowhere; underground caverns haunted by a cast-out desert god; solemn temples made echoic by the humble chanting of bald monks. The novel jaunts through these places in accordance with Jade's quest to acquire or retrieve certain relics, but however short the visit, the experience is worthwhile. Of the second, the author resoundingly fulfills a familiar decree of the genre's expectations. Strong secondary characters are essential to the hero's journey, and in KINGDOM OF THE BLAZING PHOENIX, Jade makes specific mention of this essentialness. Wren, a scullion who dreams of adventure, is the muscle. She's also the granddaughter of Jade's nursemaid and also holds some jealousy toward the princess. Wren is not classy, but she is always honest ("We may be servants, but we still deserve dignity," page 65). Other meaningful supporting characters include Amah, said nursemaid, as well as a handful of ghosts and ambassadors. Magic and sorcery duel for attention in this story, but contrary to the previous novel, good magic abounds. The image of Empress Lihua bestows grace and wisdom: ("Those hungry for power are as flawed as they like to appear strong," page 277), whereas the apparition of Fu, a man killed under speculative circumstances, yields caution ("Emperors play fast and loose with all of their children. Son or daughter, prince or princess. We are pawns in their game. That is the way of a ruler," page 284). KINGDOM OF THE BLAZING PHOENIX occasionally risks stewarding readers with too much convenience, as the tangle of opportunity driving Jade's story rolls from adventure to adventure. For example, after fleeing the Serpent God, a dark river just so happens to speed her westward, toward the Kingdom of Dagovad, her next destination. Quite convenient. But such is the nature of this type of novel. The book successfully invests in a protagonist who learns from her mistakes and likewise knows when to set aside humility and step into a challenge. Jade's experience in fantastical heroics is more than an effort to save her struggling kingdom, it's an education in the diversity of resourcefulness and integrity required to be a good person.

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[jewishbookworld]

The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum

The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum

The Chosen meets Adam Silvera in this irreverent and timely story of worlds colliding in friendship, betrayal, and hatred. Hoodie Rosen’s life isn’t that bad. Sure, his entire Orthodox Jewish community has just picked up and moved to the quiet, mostly non-Jewish town of Tregaron, but Hoodie’s world hasn’t changed that much. He’s got basketball to play, studies to avoid, and a supermarket full of…

[kanaiow]

Begging asagiri to make Agatha Christie's ability based on Philomel cottage and not Death on the Nile or another one of her more famous books

I can accept And Then There Were none but NOT Death on the Nile.

[mzannthropy]

I re-read Agatha Christie’s short story Philomel Cottage again (it’s one of my favourites) and I got a thought, damn, this would have made a great Alfred Hitchcock film!

Agatha should have written more domestic thrillers, she’d absolutely slay that genre. Read it for free here.

[justforbooks]

Twelve tantalizing cases… the curious disappearance of Lord Listerdale; a newlywed’s fear of her ex-fiance; a strange encounter on a train; a domestic murder investigation; a wild man’s sudden personality change; a retired inspector’s hunt for a murderess; a young woman’s impersonation of a duchess; a necklace hidden in a basket of cherries; a mystery writer’s arrest for murder; an astonishing marriage proposal; a soprano’s hatred for a baritone; the case of the rajah’s emerald.

This selection of mysteries, some lighthearted, some romantic and some very deadly all have one thing in common: the skillful hand of Agatha Christie.

This collection was published in 1934 in the UK. The collection includes the first book appearance of the story 'Philomel Cottage', which was turned into a highly successful play. It was later adapted into two feature films and has been televised in the UK.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[bookcoversonly]

Title: The Cat from Hunger Mountain | Author: Ed Young | Publisher: Philomel Books (2016)

[lindoesntwin]

PHILOMEL THE FAKE

A princess finds a book of prophecy in her garden that details the demise of her, the villainess, which leads her to devise an escape plan after seeing one of the events in the book come true.

Alternate titles: No place for the fake princess; There is no place for fakes

[auxiliarydetective]

The OC Halloween Challenge - Day 17

You can find the challenge here!

Today's prompt was...

Death is a Mystery and Burial is a Secret

Cemeteries and tombs are the places we put our loved ones to rest, but in horror movies we find that final resting places are not so restful after all. Whether it’s ghosts, zombies, psychotic gravekeepers, or grave robbers ensuring no witnesses; how do your ocs go from mourning to trying to survive until morning?

Once again, I did a poll where you guys could decide who should go through the horrors. The losers of the poll were:

Philomel, who was supposed to be faced with the statue of Gabriel

Vicky Brandt, who had a fantastic time visiting her (ex-?)husband's grave after the war

Aether S Luna during her visit to Thriller Bark

Akaito Coraline during her visit to Thriller Bark

Kassandra Hargreeves with Klaus's powers

And now, your winner:

Claire Frollo, always fascinated by anything related to magic and witchcraft, had decided that regular old magic just wasn't interesting enough. So, she searched the deepest pits of the Isle of the Lost for something truly bone-chilling... and she found it. A book on necromancy. Young and excited, she quickly headed to the next best spooky graveyard she could find to try out her newly attained knowledge. There was only one issue: Claire was impatient and thus ignored the extensive warnings before the spells.

Now, there is no way back for her. Having accidentally tethered herself forever to the world of the dead, instead of strengthening the dead's connection to the light, her own bond to the living is fading away. How long does she have left to find a counterspell until she falls into the grave she has been unconsciously digging?

[auro-cyanide]

Have you read Philomel the fake on tapas at all? Not a traditional/truly and isekai but I feel like it's worth a look Trying not to spoil but villain as a kid finds a book telling the story and tries to find a way to get out and not die, and while the story hasn't confirmed it yet it looks like the hero has been replaced by someone isekaied. So far done very well in a "I have purposefully isolated myself and assumed people don't like me based on this book that I have allowed to shape my whole life" and "something is wrong with the hero why doesn't she know her mother's name" sorta way

Oh I haven't yet, but I've had a couple people bring it up so now I'm very intrigued! Count it as added to the list!

[alchemistdetective]

@bigbanghoes

It's really not everyday that Eri gets to go to Starbucks, and mostly just makes instant coffee for himself, so he decides to actually treat himself this time! But… ah, is she interested about the book?

"Oh, this? S-Sorry, you know about it? 'Her Golden-Haired Devil', written by… umm… 'Rika… Hebigami. Rika-san." The last name is a bit hard to say, and he's looking at the book cover for her name- "I know it's kind of meant for young adult girls, but a friend of mine reccomended it! I could talk a bit about the book, but… ah well, there could be spoilers, so-…"

"Ah right, sorry! My name is Eri Philomele, but you can just go ahead and put 'Eri' in there. I don't want to bother you too much at work, unless you're fine?"

[blackchildrensbooksandauthors]

✍🏿Debut You 2023

Meet Alana Tyson, author of My Red, White, and Blue

My Red, White, and Blue follows a young Black boy as he learns about patriotism in his community. With the help of his grandfather, he learns some lessons about what it means to have your own voice and to choose how he relates to the American flag, which means so many things to so many people.

Read more from Alana Tyson HERE

📖My Red, White, and Blue

Alana Tyson

London Ladd

Philomel Books

Picture Book

January 17, 2023

Available for pre-order👉🏿Amazon | Bookshop 

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[ahb-writes]

Blood and death is a price we women pay every day. Why not those who deserve it? We have reclaimed our destinies and are helpless creatures no more. Perhaps murder is not your idea of a respectable profession, but we do the work as we find it.

The Crimson Queen (Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix by Julie C. Dao)

[kate-graphicdesigner]

Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller

Philomel Books, 2024

Art direction by me, design by Lucia Baez

[kathleencorbett]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Long Shot Comeback Kids novel Mike Lupica captivating story explores basketball

[mzannthropy]

If you're familiar with Agatha Christie books, you know she sometimes wrote espionage thrillers. They're usually not beloved by her readers (nor are they, I think, very acclaimed critically), they're not my faves either, although I support her in writing them--you want to write your young spies catching sinister international crime organisations? Indulge yourself, girl! (I mean, I would have supported her then, as she's obvs been dead for a long time, lol.) But what I wish she wrote instead, in addition to her typical murder mysteries, is--domestic thrillers! She was brilliant at writing tension and she has, in fact, written that--the short story Philomel Cottage is a textbook perfect example of a domestic thriller. (It would have made an amazing Hitchcock film, that's a loss humanity doesn't know.) Another example is part of the chapter at the beginning of The Hollow (Poirot mystery) where Gerda is waiting for her husband to come down to dinner and can't decide whether to have the mutton heated up or not. And--getting a tiny bit spoilery here--A Caribbean Mystery written from the POV of Molly would have made an excellent domestic thriller.

It's not surprising with her real life experience, having been left by her first husband for another (younger) woman and going missing for eleven days. I always insist that Gone Girl was inspired by that.

[childrenslitbookreviews]

The Day the Crayons Quit

Title 4: The Day the Crayons Quit

Genre: Bluebonnet Winner 2015, Humor

Target Age Group: 3-6

Summary: 

One day Duncan finds letters from his crayons saying how tired they are of being used in particular ways and not used in others. Duncan listens to his crayons’ complaints and creates a beautiful picture using the colors unconventionally. 

Justification: I have enjoyed reading the other books in this series for storytime and wanted to see where it all started with The Day the Crayons Quit. They have all been humorous and very enjoyable to try out different voices for each of the crayons and their quibbles with Duncan’s usage of them. 

Evaluation:

First, the illustrations are whimsical, but they are quite simple and may be a little boring for young readers. While books like Elephant and Piggie can get away with very simple illustrations, usually only having the two characters with an occasional prop, this book has long letters on one page accompanied by few drawings on the opposite page. 

Second, the writing is humorous and enjoyable. Each color has very understandable and reasonable complaints like Purple wanting to stay inside the lines or white wanting to be used more often. I especially enjoy telling the audience Peach’s complaint of losing its wrapper and feeling naked! Along with each color’s unique complaints, they each present them in a unique voice as well which lends itself to the storyteller’s ambition of becoming a voice actor. 

Third, my only other critique would be that the characters can have similar complaints to each other. The book could combine a few colors into a group to complain about the same thing like red and gray both feeling tired from overuse. This repetition can get boring for the listener and challenging for the storyteller to assign a different voice for the same complaints. I would recommend for the author to either come up with new complaints or conflicts between the crayons or to combine a few into a group.

References:

Daywalt, D., & Jeffers, O. (2013). The Day the Crayons Quit! Philomel Books.