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Novella Review : My Sanctuary

Apr 182012

Sarah-Jane Lehoux is the author of one of my favourite series of fantasy books so when I heard she had a YA novella being released I was excited to say the least.

My Sanctuary, however, is not fantasy; it’s a heart-rending depiction of life for unwanted children living in a fictional 1960s orphanage, St Jerome’s. Dot, the young orphan girl who narrates the story, is believable in her matter-of-fact resigned acceptance of the situation coupled with yearning dreams of a better life in her future.

This novella is very different from Sarah-Jane’s fantasy novels, even so her writing ability shines through yet again in creating believable characters and settings that evoke grief, despair, hope and anger. While the subject matter could be termed ‘uncomfortable’ it is also thought-provoking and honest in its depiction. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, I hope you do too.

My Sanctuary will be released by Vagabondage Press in May 2012.

The Author

Sarah-Jane resides in Southern Ontario with her husband, and her ever growing horde of Machiavellian cats. For more information, please visit www.sarah-janelehoux.com.

A side look into the Dresden Files: Backup

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Jun 242011

While Backup is definitely not the story to start with if you are interested in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series, it’s an excellent addition to the series from a new perspective.

[Here there may be spoilers for some.]

Harry Dresden’s half brother, Thomas, is having a difficult time of it lately. Because of this, he has thrown himself into his work as a stylist because it helps him feed his very particular “Hunger” as a vampire and it keeps him from becoming a danger to people he loves.

Harry and Thomas share a mother. Thomas and Lara Raith share a father, and Lara Raith is the current head of the White Court. Thomas is doing his level best to have nothing to do with his brother or his sister these days, but when Lara sends him an email with the subject line of “Re: Ob.11.v1.0n.” He realizes that his ability to detach from his family isn’t going to last. The Stygian Sisterhood is after Harry, and they have targeted Harry’s weaknesses: women and children who need help.

It’s not that Thomas doesn’t think his little brother can’t protect himself. He has this to say about it:

Harry’s a wizard. A genuine, honest-to-goodness wizard. He’s Gandalf on crack and an IV of Red Bull, with a .44 revolver in his pocket. He’ll spit in the eye of gods and demons alike if it needs to be done, and to hell with the consequences – and yet somehow my little brother manages to remain a decent human being.

Thomas has every reason to doubt his sister’s good intentions, but the information she sends him leads him to believe that Harry is in danger, and he’s the one best placed to help. This is a difficult thing to do when you’ve cut yourself off from most of the people who care about you.

With a cameo appearance from Mouse the Foo dog (see the stylized version of Mouse below) and a little help from Bob the skull, Thomas manages to provide the help Harry needs without Harry ever realizing he was involved.

How did he do it? Check the book out! It’s well worth it.

In light of last week’s column on how we read, I’m going to note how I read books for the columns I write for a while. Today’s book was a hardcover Subterranean Press edition, first published in 2008.