Norwegian by night

Norwegian by night / Derek B. Miller, 292 pgs.

Sheldon leaves NYC after his wife dies at the urging of his granddaughter who lives with Lars in Oslo.  He is struggling to find his way and fit in.  He may be suffering from a little dementia.  He is certainly reflecting on his life and mistakes he has made.  He witnesses a murder and is thrust into a caretaker role of a young boy whose mother is the victim.  Sheldon and the boy go on the run with nothing more in common than their experience and a few dollars.  Sheldon doesn't hesitate as he makes his plan and protects his charge.  Can this old man win against a brutal gang?  Can he keep the boy safe and make his way to the hunting cabin that he has never seen?  A touching story beautifully told.

Lady Knight/Tamora Pierce

Lady Knight (Protector of the Small, book 4), by Tamora Pierce; young adult; 464 pages (about 11 1/2 hours, listening)

The conclusion to this series was just as much fun as the rest of it. Kel's finally a full knight, just in time for a war with the country to the north. But instead of being on the front lines of battle, Kel's stuck running a refugee camp far from actual combat. Of course, trouble finds her before the book is out, so there's lots of action to entertain. There's no love interest for Keladry, which was also a refreshing change from previous Pierce series. As if to make up for that, we do get updates on characters from each of the previous two series, and their ongoing lives. This book was definitely scarier than some of the others, and the battle scenes more graphic, but I felt like it balanced it well with scenes of life outside of battles, and the aforementioned relationships. I loved this series, and can't wait to dive into the next one!

Squire (Protector of the Small, book 3)/Tamora Pierce

Squire (Protector of the Small, book 3), by Tamora Pierce; young adult, fantasy; 399 pages

Still loving this series. I expected to know how this volume would play out, having read quite a bit of the girl-who-becomes-a-hero brand of YA fantasy, but was I pleasantly surprised by unexpected twists in several places. I know I keep gushing about how I like each of Pierce's books more than the last, but it's true! She does wonderful things with her characters and keeps the stories moving at a brisk pace. Here, of course, Kel finally wins her knighthood, but not before going through four years of hard work and lots of danger as a squire. There's some romance thrown in too, of course, which was also pleasantly realistic, not glossed over with a fairy tale glow. Very fun, and quick.

Page/Tamora Pierce

Page (Protector of the Small, book 2), by Tamora Pierce; young adult; 257 pages (about 6 1/2 hours on audio)

This book covers the remaining three years of Kel's education as a page, culminating in her exams to become a squire (subsequent books are titled Squire and Lady Knight, so there's no mystery as to whether or not she passes). As I said before, the conflicts in this series don't seem to be quite as earth-shaking as in the Alanna and Daine quartets--here, Kel's main challenge is proving herself as a warrior, and protecting her servants from harassment. I did notice that this book tackles some more mature issues, like social classes and sexism, that the other books have glossed over. Also, the conflicts seem to be more shades of grey rather than black and white; by the end of this book I still don't know who the bad guy is, because there are simply too many possibilities. I find I'm enjoying these books more as a result, though that may simply be that I'm closer to the intended audience's age than the previous entries.

The First Test/Tamora Pierce

The First Test (The Protector of the Small, book 1), by Tamora Pierce; young adult, fantasy; 240 pages (about 5 1/2 hours, listening)

This is another series about a girl training to become a knight, and I was worried that it would be too similar to the Song of the Lioness quartet. But Pierce does a good job of making Kel into her own character, with a very different personality from Alanna. As with most of Pierce's books that start a new series, most of this story of character development, with no epic battles or kingdom-threatening plots (there is a battle, but it's a relatively minor skirmish in the overall picture). There were cameos from the two main characters from the last series, which kept me reading when the story got slow. I think I'm going to like Kel as a character, but I need to see her in a more involved story first.