modern fantasy book reviews

7/30/2019 Modern Fantasy Book Reviews

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Brittany H

Modern Fantasy

Lucy Dove by Janice Del Negro

This was a supernatural tale about a man who is told by a fortune teller that if he can

get a pair of trousers “sewn by the light of the full moon, in the graveyard of old St. Andrew’s

church, the trousers will bring him good fortune”. The only problem is St. Andrew’s is haunted

by something no one dares speak of, however that isn’t enough to stop seamstress Lucy Dove

from accepting the challenge for a much needed sack of gold. When she enters the graveyard

and begins sewing under the full moon, everything is fine and she starts to let her guard down

until a horrific monster with long pointy teeth awakens from a near grave! However, LucyDove is very brave and continues finishing the trousers even under the threat of the monster!

Through the plot we can easily see how this book falls under the modern fantasy

category. It is a fun children’s ghost story about ghoulish monsters and we can see that an item

is personified in this story, that being the lucky trousers. I would also like to mention that the

situation of sewing trousers in a graveyard by the light of the full moon is much exaggerated

for the purpose of making it into a more fantastic event for children. None of these

characteristics are something we come across in reality, so we can easily determine that this is a

modern fantasy novel!

Del Negro, J. (1998). Lucy Dove. New York, NY: DK Publishing Co.

Dust Devil by Anne Isaacs

This is a modern fantasy story (sequel to Swamp Angel ) about a girl named Angel

Longrider who is growing up in the 1800s. The first thing the reader will notice is how very

large Angel actually is. In fact, Angel has grown so large since the last book that she outgrew

the state of Tennessee and had to move to Montana. In Montana, she rides a dust devil like a

bucking horse and creates the Grand Canyon! You can see through this example how this

story fits into this genre, because saying that an oversized little girl riding a storm created the

Grand Canyon is just something so outrageous! While in this new state she meets a gang of



ornery bandits, who fly around on humongous mosquitoes! This is not possible in reality so

again it is an example of how it falls into the modern fantasy category. In this story I like the

fact we really get to know the character Angel, because you easily realize how brave, spunky,

and caring she is in many ways. For example, when she locks up the bandits and everyone’s

gold teeth get returned to the rightful owners!

I really enjoyed this story and think it would be so fun to use in a social studies class to

introduce all the beautiful landscapes in Montana. However, I would have to be sure and let

them know the Grand Canyon and geysers were not caused by a giant young girl and her

enormous horse! After the book you could make a list and integrate into science about how

these landscapes actually formed and how long it actually took.

Isaacs, A. (2010). Dust Devil. New York, NY: Schwartz & Wade Books.

Part Two

What characterizes this genre as being different from Traditional Literature or Fantasy?

o Traditional Literature is based upon stories that have been passed along orally, so the

original authors are unknown. These stories are often just retold and the versions vary.

In modern fantasy, we know who the original author is.

o In traditional fantasy and literature the characters usually aren’t well known and

developed to the reader; it is more based upon some kind of theme or message. In

modern fantasy, we do know the characters very well and we know the world the

characters are in!

What characterizes this genre as being similar from Traditional Literature or Fantasy?

o Traditional Literature and Fantasy are both similar to this genre because they are all

stories that are about situations we don’t encounter in real life. Also, all three of these

genres are stories that are untrue.

modern fantasy book reviews

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