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Some quick thoughts on books I’ve read recently:

Popco by Scarlett Thomas. Alice is singled out by her large children’s toy company to create a new fad for teenage girls. While trying to understand her new task Alice is also trying to solve the mystery of a locket left to her by her grandfather, a coding genius. Scenes of scary insights into marketing for children are interspersed by Alice’s memory of herself as a young girl and teenager.

There were many great elements to this book but overall I don’t know that it really worked for me. I loved the whole code breaking aspect (I would have been a sucker for the children’s spy kit described in the book), Alice’s teen experiences rang true and there were lots of intriguing side stories. But I think some of the suspense in the book was let down by the various ensuing events. I also wasn’t convinced by Alice’s sudden conversion to understanding the evils of mass marketing/mass meat production etc. But I know other people found the story meaningful, so I might have been a bit hard on old Alice. I think rowana recommended this book to me – thanks Ro!

All seated on the ground by Connie Willis. Aliens have landed on Earth, but they just stand around looking disapproving. This was a fun novella by one of my favourite authors, with Christmas carols playing a large role, so I enjoyed reading it. But I admit I’m glad I hadn’t bought the expensive hardback as a lot of the themes and storytelling methods were reminiscent of other Willis stories and I’m hungry for something new.

Flora Segunda: Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass- Gazing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), a House with Eleven Thousand Rooms, and a Red Dog by Ysabeau S. Wilce. Everyone has written about this book extensively over the last year so I won’t write too much (hee, that’s a good excuse isn’t it?). As the wonderful title suggests, Flora Segunda is set in a fantasy world crowded with colourful names and magical beings. Unfortunately things aren’t going so great for Flora – her mum is absent, her dad depressed and the magical butler that is supposed to look after Flora’s house has diminished and the whole place is collapsing around the family. But in the best tradition of a penny dreadful, the plot soon picks up and Flora is having adventures all over the place. I thought it was great fun. At times the characters seemed two-dimensional, but this might have been in comparison to the flamboyant setting and plot. I look forward to reading the sequel!