Admittedly, Tanith Lee has written better stories, but this may simply be my preference toward her adult work. Writing from the perspective of a young girl who resents her older sisters, who apparently hit puberty and became just awful, makes it seem a lot more immature than it probably should have. That aside, there's all the trademark fancifulness you'd find in her other work. Dragons and fantasy worlds with a mix of futuristic sci-fi thrown in for good measure. I'd definitely recommend this to a young audience and anyone who considers themselves a collector of Lee's work. ( )

Indigara is a cute little story about a girl named Jet and her dog Otis. They discover a world where old movies come to life and are stuck there while copies of them run around in the real world. I quite liked this story. It doesn't go into much detail about a lot of things, but its fun for a quick read. Its imaginative and the world that the main characters are thrust into is something I would like to read more about. I would recommend this to someone that just wants a quick story that they don't have to invest themselves in. ( )

Jet Latter and her robo-dog Otto are dragged by the family to Ollywood, city of dreams, when her sister's film career takes off. Jet is bored and feels ignored, so she sets off to explore the city alone (well, except for Otto, of course) and finds the strange underworld of Subway. But Jet and Otto soon discover, there's another city, even deeper than Subway, where the magic of film becomes a reality.

I've been neglecting my quest to read more Tanith, so on impulse I grabbed this off my shelf. What fun! I'm not sure if this is considered middle-grade or young adult, as Jet is fourteen and there's no love interest (not that all YA fiction revolves around a love story, but let's face it, many do), but there is a bit of spicy language and it has a sort of coming of age theme. The writing is simplistic and the story short, yet Tanith packed in a technology-ridden future world and a vast, fantasy realm.

The story is told from both Jet and Otto's points of views, interspersed with movie-like cut scenes, outtakes and set descriptions. The latter sections were mainly used to capture moments where Jet and Otto weren't present or to set the scene for a new location, and they gave a lot of depth to the story, while also providing a writing device I've never encountered before (at least, not that I can remember). Jet is a quick-witted girl and I liked the humanity (er...dogmanity?) Tanith infused into Otto.

I read this in a day, chuckled a few times, and was once again fully immersed in the rich, bright world Tanith created. I love her fantasy works, but I have to say, I enjoy her sci-fi work just a bit more. There's something about the different ways she presents the future that I really enjoy being a part of.

Tanith fans can certainly spare a moment to read this book, and I think pre-teen and teen readers with an interested in a sci-fi/fantasy blend will love it as well. ( )

So, this is a book about movies. Maybe. Or maybe its about dreams. Or maybe its a science fiction story - whatever it is, I found it to be a bit disjointed, meaningless and with characters that aren't very likable. Its like Cinderella meets the Movies. I don't know where this book is going - it has a very solid science fiction beginning, but then very quickly turned into a dream/unreal world that didn't have a reason to exist.

Take the main character, Jet. The youngest of three sisters, a bit angsty, rather moping, spends most of her time complaining about her sisters and life. Take Jet's sisters. The oldest one got a minor part in a movie, isn't nice, isn't likable. The second oldest is a flirt, falls in love with a much older man - Parents, largely ineffective.

The only reason I finished it was that it was short, and I was hoping for explanation for the world Jet fell into. Outside of a few old movie plots, nothing was explained. ( )

Personal Response:
Oh my! This book is terrible. It starts off interesting, the setting being an alternate Earth, but the plot is so thin in places and it seems to jump around so much that nothing is ever really developed. The story also appears to be going in one direction and then, without warning, shifts over into a completely different direction that is far less entertaining. Jet and Otis do have the opportunity to meet different types of cultures throughout there journey and it is at first interesting to be on the deciphering end as Jet and Otis try to put their new companions into perspective. This quickly looses all novelty as Jet and Otis jump around quite a bit and, I imagine due to length limitations, they don't go through quite the same process with each group that they meet. The beautiful cover drew me in, but the terrible story had me looking for a way out.

Grade 5 - 8

Curricular Comments:
I could not see someone utilizing this book for any specific curricular purpose. It would be fine to use it to provide diversity in assigned readings for a Reading class. The book does offer a different perspective than the classic narrative as the layout style is diary format, though this isn't done very well. ( )