Wednesday, June 4, 2008

The Eagle has landed

I'm so psyched! The book I'd placed a hold on at the library is finally ready, after way too many weeks. When I placed the hold, the book hadn't even hit bookstores yet, but six people had already placed a hold on it before I did.

Oh yeah, which book: it's the final installment of the Five Ancestors serieus by Jeff Stone, Eagle. http://www.readjeffstone.com/ These books tell the story of five young monks whose only home they knew was burnt down and their beloved Master killed. Each monk is trained in a Kung-Fu style fashioned after an animal: Tiger, Monkey, Crane etc. I loved the first book and devoured it in a single reading. Its opening is one of the best I've read and the rest of the book was brilliant as well.

Why would a woman my age get so excited about a Kung Fu book directed at middle grade boys? The first obvious reason is that I write middle grade, so I read a whole bunch of middle grade.

But the real reason is that Kung Fu holds a nostalgic place in my heart. My childhood is filled with many Kung Fu movies--cheesy or artsy, badly or well-made. The violence was never real enough to bother me and the choreography of the fight scenes and the stunt doubles who performed them rivaled the choreography and dancers anywhere. Yes, I'm comparing Kung Fu to dance, and all the aficionados can hate me, but I don't care! Eagle is mine to devour very soon!



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