The books I gave, and the books I got

I was rather surprised (although I shouldn't have been) to find that I didn't have any time to write long and thoughtful reviews etc in the last few days....t0o many children all under one roof (six, aged 9-5, all but one boys), and trees fallen on the house (well, just one, but it was enough), and all the snow to play in and cookies to make and all the other Christmas stuff...

But now things are a bit more peaceful, since there is nothing left to Do (although I still lack the focus that reviews require). So here is a simple list of the books that I gave, and the books I was very glad to get.

Books I gave:

For my six year-old boy:
Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci, by Gene Barretta
Hot Hot Hot, by Neil Layton (a picture book about woolly mammoths Oscar and Arabella)
The Squirrel's Birthday, and Other Parties, by Toon Tellegen
The Riddle of the Floating Island, by Paul Cox (a book in a series about the adventures of Archibald the Koala on Rastepappe Island).


For my 9 year-old boy:

How to be a Genius: Your Brain and How to Train It, by John Woodward
The Case of the Botched Book, by Paul Cox (another Archibald the Koala book)
Tollins: Explosive Tales for Children, by Conn Iggulden
The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook, by Eleanor Davis

For my husband:

Leavings, by Wendell Berry (a lot of people must have gotten this for Christmas, because it's now out of stock at Amazon).
Gentlemen of the Road, and Maps and Legends, by Michael Chabon

For my mother:
Kaleidoscope, by Dorothy Gilman

For my father:
Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris

For my little sister:
The Encircled Heart, by Josephine Elder (a novel for adults by a British Girls' School story author).

For my big sister:
A Brief History of Montmaray, by Michelle Cooper

Books I got:

All Summer Through, by Malcolm Saville (1951). The summer vacation of a group of English children.

Rescue in Ravensdale, by Esme Cartmell (1946). English children strike a blow against the Nazis (I think). The jacket makes a point of describing it as "A girl's story, from a boy's point of view," I guess so that readers like myself, who like "girl's stories,"aren't put off by the boy narrator...

Wishing for Tomorrow, by Hilary McKay (just published!) The sequel to A Little Princess, which I know by heart...I am looking forward to this one very much! I got the British edition, (because it doesn't come out here in the US until January).

Waterslain Angels, by Kevin Crossley-Holland (2009). Angels are missing from the roof of a church in Norfolk; two children must solve the mystery.

Fire, by Robin McKinley and Peter Dickinson (2009), and Chalice, by Robin McKinley (2008), which I only had an ARC of. Robin McKinley is one of the rather small number of authors whose books I have to have all of.

Aren't they nice books to get?

This Week's Roundup of Middle Grade Science Fiction and Fantasy

Here are the middle grade science fiction and fantasy related reviews posts (that I found, at any rate) from around the blogosphere this week! I would be very happy to add more links, so please leave a comment or email me if you have anything more to add.

Reviews:

Oceanology, at Charlotte's Library.

The Serial Garden, by Joan Aiken, at Eva's Book Addiction.

Toby Alone, by Timothee de Fombell, at Eva's Book Addiction

When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead, at Biblio File.

Here's an interview with Donna St. Cyr, author of The Secrets of the Cheese Syndicate, at Cynsations.

At 3T reviews, you can find this list of book suggestions for spirited girls, which includes some fine fantasy, and I compiled this list of the fantasy books my nine-year old son liked best this year.

Spending the day at home with books, Christmasy and otherwise

I did not travel today, as I had hoped to do, because the Baltimore airport was shut down. So instead I sat in front of the fire and read. I now have three fewer books to take with me, which will make life easier. And I read Olive the Other Reindeer out loud twice, and other assorted Christmas books.

Here's what they (the children) like--books about the twelve days of Christmas. Me, not so much. I feel like I got the point years ago. On the other hand, there's a rather lovely new edition of The Twelve Days of Christmas, by Gennady Spirin, that has lovely, lovely illustrations. I am gracefully working this particular book into this post because I got a review copy of it from the publisher, Marshall Cavendish, and even though it is not On Topic for my blog, it's a book worthy of mention because it is so pretty. Their favorite 12 Days book is Hilary Knight's take on it, which is fun, but after the 20th time I felt I had picked up on all the amusing details in the illustrations.

My favorite version is The Thirteen Days of Christmas, by Jenny Overton (1987), a retelling of the song as a funny and ultimately rather moving romance, set in an olde English town (Regency, I think). It makes a lovely Christmas read-aloud for older children. It almost qualifies as a fantasy, of the absurd sub-genre type, in as much as the gifts are of such unbelievably epic proportions, difficult to cope with in real life. I do not want that many swans, swimming or otherwise. And two boys jumping on the beds is plenty of leaping.

Anyway. I sat rather close to the fire (as noted above) because our boiler was not working and there was no other heat (I thought a lot about Life As We Knew It, as I always do when we don't have the heat on--in case you haven't read it, the folks in that book have no heat either, because of desperate catastrophe). Fortunately a. children don't feel the cold as much as grownups, so weren't competing with me for prime real estate and b. the plumber was able to solve the problem. When our new hot water heater was installed, that plumber must have thought that the water pipe leading to the boiler was a decorative accessory, and took it away with him. Sigh. But at least, since it was the same company, we didn't have to pay anything.

I still have tomorrow morning to read and blog peacefully, but I do hope the airport here isn't shut down. I don't think I'll run out of books to read, but it would be nice to be at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Even though a tree just fell on it. Through the roof (but mercifully not the ceiling) of the guest room.

Travelling with books

Tomorrow I am flying down to Virginia, where twenty inches of snow might be waiting. I'm on the first plane of the morning, so we should make it at least to the metro stop where my mother picks me up...but tomorrow, will I have to walk the last mile in the driving wind through the deep snow?

I wouldn't mind so much, but, as usual, I am travelling with my too-be-read pile. Little do my sweet little boys know that Mama is going to slip hardcover books of her own into their carefully packed backpacks...If Mama had been planning, back when she started her Cybils reading, she would have read all the heaviest books first, and saved the paperbacks for last, knowing that Christmas was just around the corner. But no.

So our path from the subway stop to Grandma's might be marked by a trail of abandoned books, as our strength fails and night comes one...

However, some progress is being made. One mistake I am not ever ever ever going to make again is the brown paper shopping bag mistake. Even the sturdiest of paper bags gives way before the power of the hardcover book. I am very grateful to the green movement for providing us with a multitude of canvas bags. Much better.

Fantasy books my nine-year old boy loved this past year

My nine-year old is a picky reader. When he has a book that he wants to read, he reads it, deaf to the world. But in between those books are days upon days when nothing suits him. Like someone taming a wild animal, I leave books scattered around the house, hoping that one or two will be acceptable offerings....

So for parents of children such as mine, who love reading fantasy but aren't quite ready for the big-time tomes such as Harry Potter, here's a quick list of some of the books that truly clicked for him this past year.

The Last Dragon (Dragon Speaker, 1), by Cheryl Rainfield. A medieval adventure that is purposfully written to combine high interest with a low reading level (my review).

Keyholders #1: This Side of Magic, and its three sequels, by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones. Two ordinary kids get caught up in a world of magic (my review).

The Daring Adventures of Penhaligon Brush, by S. Jones Rogan. The story of a brave fox (my son's thoughts at his own blog.)

Flight of the Phoenix (Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book I), by R.L. La Fevers. A young boy finds that he is one of a long line of beastiologistis, and sets out with his aunt on a fantastic quest. A fun and fascinating read, with a tremdously appealing cover to boot.

Odd and the Frost Giants, by Neil Gaimen. A brave boy faces a frost giant who has transformed the most powerful of the Viking gods into animals (my review).

Rapunzel's Revenge, by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale, and Nathan Hale. Rapunzul's free at last--and she wants revenge! A great graphic novel.

And most recently, and rather surprisingly, the three volumes of The Chronicles of Kendra Kandlestar, by Lee Edward Fodi. Volume three of this series, Kendra Kandlestar and the Shard From Greeve (Brown Books, 2009, 328 pp) was nominated for the Cybils, and a review copy came my way. Of the multitudes of middle grade fantasy books that filled our house this fall, this was the one that attracted my son's attention the most. So I got him the first two books (Kendra Kandlestar and the Box of Whispers is the first one)....and he was hooked. These are indeed beautiful books as physical objects--substantial, slightly oversized, illustrated. And even though I would not have gotten them for him myself (because they look like girl books) he loves them. I've read the third book (for the Cybils); come January I'll try to write a real review....

In the meantime, I have to get back to my own reading....twelve more books to go for the Cybils! (and speaking of which, the Amazon links here are set up to benefit the Cybils).

Oceanology, a Fantasy Book for Non-fiction Monday

Just about everyone looking for Gift Books for the Young has probably considered, or even bought, one of the "-0logy" books--Dragonology, Piratology, Monsterology, etc. For the most part, these are fantasy in the guise of non-fiction--the imaginary presented as if it were real.

Oceanology: The True Account of the Voyage of the Nautilus (Candlewick 2009) is slightly different. It is a gorgeous presentation, both in words and in lovely faux 19th-century illustrations, of facts about the ocean, embedded within a fantastical narrative.

The information (touching on such diverse topics as types of coral, the movement of the planet's plates, and the installation of the transatlantic telegraph cable) is presented as sidebars to the journal of a young boy who finds himself voyaging with Captain Nemo (of Twenty thousand Leagues Under the Sea fame). It is a rather gripping story (although I don't think it's quite enough of one to work as a stand-alone). The boy's wonder at all the strange things he sees, and his excitement as the ship explores uncharted realms below the waves, gradually gives way to terror as he realizes that the Captain is insane, and has no plans to return to dry land.

There's a lot here for the reader who has a fondness both for fantasy and science, whether child or adult. Of all the -ology books, this is the one I think has most appeal for the adult reader (and not just the Jules Verne fan). It's a beautiful book, with lots to look at and learn from.

My only caveat is that for younger readers, this might have to be a read-aloud, because it's written in cursive...but, having read it aloud myself, I can promise that it is a rather pleasantly engrossing experience for the adult as well as the child. The narrative tends to get lost in the excitement of flaps to lift and strange sea creatures to read about, but the story can wait till later, when they are old enough to read it for themselves...

And then they will want a copy of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

Oceanology has been nominated for the Cybils in the middle grade science fiction and fantasy category, for which I am a panelist, and my review copy was generously supplied by the publisher.

The Non-fiction Monday Roundup is hosted by In Need of Chocolate today!

This Sunday's Roundup of Middle-Grade Science fiction and fantasy, with bonus Squid!

Here is this week's round up of middle-grade fantasy and science fiction review and sundries from around the blogosphere. Please let me know if I missed anything!

Damsel, by S.E. Connolly, at Charlotte's Library.

The Entertainer and the Dybbuk, by Sid Fleischman, at the Owl in the Library.

I So Don't Do Spooky, by Barrie Summy, at TheHappyNappyBookseller, and also an interview with the author.

Raider's Ransom, by Emily Diamond, at Fuse #8.

The Secret of Zoom, by Lynne Jonell, at Charlotte's Library.

Spellbinder, by Helen Stringer at the Owl in the Library.

Kate at Book Aunt has compiled a most excellent list of the best middle grade fantasy from the past 110, including her top ten for the 2000s-- lots of fantasy!

At Boys Rule Boys Read! you will find Kringle, Lost Worlds, Frost Giants and the Incredible Power of Reading.

At Cynsations, here's an interview with K.A. Holt, author of Mike Stellar: Nerves of Steel. (Mike Stellar is that very rare sort of book--space-based science fiction for kids, and is a darned good read).

And here's an interview with Kate DiCamillo at Reading Rockets.

Finally, Small Beer Press became one of my favorite publishers when they brought out The Serial Garden, a complete collection of the Armitage stories by Joan Aiken (here's my review). They are currently having a special sale, where a dollar from every book sold goes to the Franciscan Children's Hospital, so now would be an excellent time to buy this absolutely wonderful book!

And even more finally, anyone who might find the juxtaposition of squids and Victorian Christmas cards interesting please do go read this fascinating article on sugarplum steampunk!

The Secret of Zoom, by Lynne Jonell

The Secret of Zoom (Henry Holt, middle-grade, 2009, 291pp) by Lynne Jonell (author of Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat).

Ten-year old Christina lives a boring and lonely life in an old stone mansion on the edge of a hill. Looking down, she can see school children playing games she's never had a chance to join in on. Looking up, she can see the hills and forests that hide Loompski Labs, where her father works. It was in one of those labs that an explosion claimed her mother's life, and since then she's been kept Safe by her well-intentioned but distant father.

But one day an orphan boy named Taft snatches a few precious moments from his work as a trash collector to ask her a question, and her life changes.

"Have you found the tunnel yet?"

So Christina hunts for the tunnel that is supposed to lead from her home up toward the hills. And when Taft makes a daring escape from the mysterious compound full of orphans where he has lived for years, he seeks refuge with Christina, and the two begin a perilous journey of adventure and discovery below ground...

What sinister fate awaits the orphans, carted up into the hills inside garbage trucks by sinister Lenny Loompski? What is the explosive secret of Zoom, the strange, magical metal with which Lenny is obsessed? Can the two plucky children turn the Zoom to their own purposes in time to foil Lenny and save the orphans?

The Secret of Zoom is reminiscent of Joan Aiken's books-- it's an entertaining adventure with a plucky heroine, and has a plot that, while not exactly absurd, goes well beyond what is credible and common-sensical (as the cover art suggests). School Library Journal named it one of their best 100 books of 2009; I personally wouldn't go that far (perhaps because I think it has more kid appeal than grown-up reader appeal). But I can easily imagine this somewhat charmingly eccentric story captivating younger readers--it's a fast, relatively easy read that offers an interesting take on the familiar plot of parentless children bravely thwarting the bad guy.

You can read an excerpt of the book here.

Harper Collins has made the first two chapters of Conspiracy of Kings available!

Here at the Harper Collins website are the first two chapters of Megan Whalen Turner's new book, A Conspiracy of Kings.

(Now I sort of wish my ARC wasn't in the mail heading off to the west...I sort of want to read it all again....)

But as it happens, I'm reading another conspiracy book that's very good--The Lost Conspiracy, by Frances Hardinge.

And just for the heck of it, another fun one is The Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones.


Both of these might well be enjoyed by MWT fans!

Damsel, by S. E. Connolly

If you are looking for a fun, fast book to give to a nine or ten-year old who loves fairy tales and quests, Damsel, by S.E. Connolly (Mercier Press, 2009, 156pp), is a good choice!

Annie's father is a hero. After Annie's little brother was born, he'd promised his family that he'd give up his hero-ish ways, and settle down, but that was before the wizard Greenlott started terrorizing the kingdom. A shortage of heroes meant that he had to set off again...but now he hasn't come back.

Ten-year old Annie knows she's no hero. Many's the time her father had said she'd make an excellent damsel someday. But even a damsel-to-be has to take action when things get desperate, so Annie takes off to save her father, his big book of hero tips under her arm.

"A hero is a man who continues to try, even when all hope seems to be gone," the book advises (page 12). Annie knows she's "just" a girl, but still she has the guts to try.

And almost before she knows it, she's saving young Roger, a putative prince, from death by giant spider, and escaping (with Roger's help) a nastily amorous frog prince. Then the two of them, both determined to be as heroic as a servant boy and a damsel can be, must work together to face down a dragon...and foil the evil wizard.

Annie's bold quest is a humorous and engagingly written journey of adventure and self-discovery. It's not a book I'd recommend to the adult reader of middle grade fiction, who might not find the story sufficiently deep or original for their own reading pleasure, but it's a very good one for its intended audience. The younger reader who dreams of days of yore when knights were bold should enjoy it a lot, and might also find it delightful to learn that damsels can do more than toss their hair and shriek prettily.

Parents of girls defying gender stereotypes, or parents of servant boys who long for greater things, might want to put this one in their children's hands.

Note--the giant spiders are a bit scary, and the frog prince a bit disturbing, but there isn't anything that should be troubling to the savvy 8 or 9 year-old. Here's the spider gore:

"Annie!" roared Roger. "Look out for the..."

Annie brought the sword down sharply and it slid right in between the spider's head and midsection.

"Goo!"

As the spider screamed and slumped down, a fountain of green and brown slime erupted from the wound Annie had made and covered her from head to toe.

"There was a warning on the next page of the book," said Roger quietly. (page 43)

Damsel has been nominated for the Cybils Awards in the middle-grade science fiction and fantasy category, and the publisher graciously sent review copies all the way from Ireland! Thanks.

postscript: "I could see it happening," my nine-year old son commented. "There are tons of tomboys running around." And now I am wondering if this is good (he finds it plausible) or bad (is the "tomboy girl" a stereotype of its own that needs to be defied? Which this book does, in fact, do-- Annie is not particularly "tomboyish," just smart and gutsy. Likewise Princess Meg, in Kate Coombs' Runaway Princess and Runaway Dragon, which I also just read for the Cybils (my review).

A list of book recommendations by and for fans of Megan Whalen Turner

When I gave away my ARC of A Conspiracy of Kings, by Megan Whalen Turner (coming out this March), I asked that everyone who entered recommend books for us fans of the Queen’s Thief series to read while we waited for spring...and beyond (d.v.).

Here is the list that resulted from those comments, organized by author. There’s lots of fantasy, some historical fiction, a bit of sci fi, and a bit of straight young adult, and a smidge of adult fiction. There are authors I love, authors who have been on my own to-be-read list for years, and authors I've never heard of. In these books you have been promised great characterization, great political intrigue, great writing, and quite a few thieves….

Lloyd Alexander
"The Westmark Trilogy....deconstructs fantasy tropes magnificently, and it's full of court intrigue, revolutionaries, infighting, war, betrayal, and realistic well thought out political maneuvering. It gets at the philosophical heart of much high fantasy in the same way MWT's books do with the Gods and Goddesses. There's also no magic, so it has a similar feel to the Thief books."

Isabella Allende
Ines of My Soul "a spectacular read"

Avi
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Pam Bachorz
Candor

Ellen Booraem
The Unnamables. "It's not quite as complex as Turner's stuff, but it still gives the reader a whole lot to think about while defying her expectations."

Libba Bray
A Great and Terrible Beauty

Sarah Rees Brennan
The Demon's Lexicon. "Which is the only other book for which I belong to an LJ community that I don't write fanfiction for. Well written, witty, fast paced, and with a punch to the gut ending with just the right amount of foreshadowing. Brennan is like Turner, one of the few writers who can really pull off a surprise ending."

Patricia Briggs
“[The] Mercedes Thompson series, about a skinwalker who shifts into coyote form, puts me in mind of Gen as well. Mercedes has a flexible mind, like Gen.”

Lois McMaster Bujold
“The Miles Vorkosigan books….are my favourite books along with MWT's. She writes such awesome characters.” And another commenter opined that the Vorkosigan books "have an amazing cast of characters, intriguing plots, and amazing writing. Miles' forward momentum often reminds me of Gen." A helpful commenter adds: "Several people have suggested newcomers to the Vorkosigan books to start with Cordelia's Honor, but I would suggest starting with Young Miles."
"The Curse of Chalion....(along with its sequel, Paladin of Souls, not to mention the Sharing Knife series)" "The gods in this book and their relationship with humans are particularly well done."

Meg Burden
Northlander. "Great debut novel with a sequel (The King Commands) coming out shortly."

Orson Scott Card
Ender's Game.

Kristin Cashore
"An author who writes great female characters...Her books Graceling and Fire are both excellent."

Susanna Clarke
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell-"an exhausting, exhaustive book but truly well worth the time invested. If Jane Austen was badass enough to write gutsy fantasy, this would be it."

Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games and sequel Catching Fire

Alison Croggon
The Pellinor series

Sarah Dessen
Keeping the Moon a.k.a. Last Chance, The Truth About Forever, Just Listen, Lock and Key

Diane Duane
So You Want To Be A Wizard series (Wizard's Holiday & Wizards at War being by far the best).

Clare Dunkle
The Hollow Kingdom trilogy. "It's a delicious, fast read, with a strangely charismatic main character!"

Dorothy Dunnet (MWT is herself a fan of Dunnet)
“The Lymond Chronicles….my favourite books of all time featuring a brilliant but tortured hero and plenty of political intrigue. They're a challenging read but I can't rec them highly enough.”

David Anthony Durham
Acacia

David Eddings
'The Belgariad' "just a really great, fun read - followed by 'The Malloreon' which isn't as good but you just HAVE to keep reading because you love the characters so much."

Nancy Farmer
A Girl Named Disaster and The Eye, The Ear and The Arm "for readers who like historical elements with a bit of supernatural intervention." Also House of the Scorpions--a "spectacular read"

Lorna Freeman
Covenants

Catherine Fisher
"Incarceron....has a good mix of political intrigue, action, and excellent world-building. For me, MWT is all about the characters and about providing a story that is much deeper and twistier then it initially appears, and this book fits in that mold."

Lynn Flewelling
The Nightrunner series. "That's one of my favourites for fantasy/politics/thievery rolled in one."

Phil and Kaja Foglio
The Girl Genius series. "The series itself is a webcomic though it does have collected volumes, which currently numbers eight. The main character is a lovely blend of strong sympathetic heroine and mad scientist. The main romance especially reminds me of MWT as the lovers in question have both political obstacles and trust issues."

Neil Gaiman
"....especially Anansi Boys- about the son of a trickster god." "Any and all works by Neil Gaiman ('American Gods' is very dark, 'Anansi Boys' is lighter but still somewhat dark, 'Neverwhere' is just a fantastic romp in underground London)."

Jessica Day George
Dragon Slippers trilogy

William Goldman
The Princess Bride. "I think Gen and Wesley are quite similar."

Joanne Harris
Runemarks [I second this one-a complex story involving the Norse gods]

Shannon Hale
The "Books of Bayern" (several recommendations came in for the Goose Girl et seq)

Frank Herbert
"Turner's genius for excellent characters is what keeps me coming back for more and another book that does that for me regarding great characters is Dune."

Robin Hobb
The Assassins Trilogy and Tawny Man Trilogy "both star Fitz, who has some Gen-like qualities, and happen to be amazing sets of books. The Liveship Trilogy goes in between them, and is also fantastic."

Tanya Huff
The Valor books (Valor's Choice, The Better Part of Valor, Heart of Valor, Valor's Trial and a fifth book to come). They're sci-fi and a great deal more "genre-y" than MWT's stuff, but lovely none the less. They have interesting plots that include action, intrigue, romance, and one of the best main characters of all time. I don't know if I want to be Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr or marry her.

Diana Wynne Jones
"Howl's Moving Castle is the obvious one, but I think MWT's fans would enjoy the Dalemark Quartet and Deep Secret as well." "Howl's Moving Castle. Sometimes Howl reminds me of Gen when he's in his moody phases. :D"
"Dianna Wynne Jones is an author that MWT herself recommends (In the extras in the back of The Thief, if you have the right edition.) All of her books are unpredictable and original. Nothing is ever what it seems. Everybody has heard of Howl's Moving Castle, but she has written other stuff besides our beloved Howl, including sequels: Castle in the Air, and House of Many Ways. Both of which are just as clever and hilarious as the first Howl. One of the funniest she's ever written is Tough Guide to Fantasyland...."

Patrice Kindl
Goose Chase. It's an interesting twist on typical fairy tales, and the voice of the main character reminds me of Gen.

Laurie R. King
The Mary Russell series "for wit."

Kate Klise
Letters from Camp. "It's one of those books that sucked me in when I first read it, and still hooks me every time."

Kate and Sarah Klise
"Regarding the Fountain: A Tale In Letters of Liars and Leaks. I'm recommending it because of the way the plot fits together in the end of all of the books in this series."

Steve Kluger
Last Days of Summer. "It isn't fantasy, but it has an extremely unreliable narrator (read: compulsive liar) whom I love to bits."

Stephen Lawhead
The King Raven trilogy--Hood, Scarlet, and Tuck. "The legend of Robin Hood set in Medieval Wales, it's a really wonderful retelling that follows the basic plot while adding a new insight into the legend. Every so often this Robin Hood (Rhi Bran in Welsh) reminds me of Gen."
And also The Song of Albion Trilogy.

Harper Lee
To Kill A Mockingbird. "I usually like fantasy better, but I loved this one."

Ursula K. LeGuin
The Earthsea trilogy--"a good deal more philosophical and painstaking in its plot progression than the usual fantasy fare but haunting and beautiful." [to which I add a recommendation for Four Ways to Forgiveness--beautifully written character-driven political intrigue]

C.S. Lewis
Till We Have Faces "This one would be for the older fans. It seems like a straight forward enough story, until the twist at the end. There are gods and queens and small kingdom politics."

Margaret Lovett
The Great and Terrible Quest

Barry Lyga
Any of his books

Scott Lynch
'The Lies of Locke Lamora' and its sequel 'Red Seas Under Red Skies'. "The main character, Locke, is a similar thief to Eugenides but due to his upbringing (and not having a Eddis or father) is a much rougher and dangerous sort. The worldbuilding is fantastic in these novels, the politics rich and intriguing and the characters are vividly drawn that you can't help but want to desperately know what happens to them next."

Margaret Mahy
"Changeover, because it's also very well written. (It's an early, superior example of a YA paranormal.)"

Anything by Melina Marchetta

Juliet Marillier
Wildwood Dancing. "Beautiful prose, an unconventional love story, a sensible heroine, and a villain who will make you want to scream with anger." [to which I add--the sequel, Cybil's Secret, is even better and has gods and and tricksy people and is thus more MWTish]

Yann Martel
"My favorite part of [MWT's] books is her ability to weave twists and turns into the plot that are both unexpected and yet entirely plausible. With that in mind, I'd recommend Life of Pi...."

George RR Martin"A Song of Ice and Fire" series "if you're nuts enough to start an unfinished series set in a world where no one is safe and few people are as easily defined as they might at first seem."

Patricia McKillip
The Riddle-Master trilogy. “Or, frankly, anything else by her. Winter Rose (a variation on Tam Lin) and In the Forests of Serre (inspired by the Firebird legend) are two of my favorites.”

Robin McKinley
The Blue Sword and The Outlaws of Sherwood.

L.A. Meyer
The Bloody Jack adventures. "....while none of the characters overtly reminds me of MWT's characters, nevertheless reminds me overall of her genre by consisting of historical fiction (though in this case, it's real Napoleonic history, not alternate universe), intriguing and well-developed characters, adventure, a measure of international politics, and of course good writing."

Walter Miller
A Canticle for Leibowitz

Catherine Gilbert Murdoch
Dairy Queen, Off Season, and Front and Center. "Wonderful, wonderful characters."
Princess Ben. " I enjoyed the witty voice, the complex characters, and the fairy tales turned on their heads."

Garth Nix
especially The Abhorsen/Old Kingdom Books (start with Sabriel) and the Keys to the Kingdom series (start with Mister Monday).

Naomi Novik
The Temeraire series. "The Napoleonic Wars--with dragons! Great, relatable characters in amazing situations, more political intrigue, fun history revisionism, superb and exciting character development for everyone involved, and tactical/warfare scenes written in a way that is suspenseful and engaging (not usually my cup of tea, so this is really saying something).

Patrick O'Brian
The Aubrey-Maturin series--"some of my favorite books."

Kenneth Oppel
Airborn, Skybreaker, and Starclimber

Edith Pattou
East

Michelle Paver
"The Wolf Brother series...has great characters, a marvelous extended plot, and a bit of magic."

Sarah Prineas
The Magic Thief. "Fun and smart middle-grade fiction with a great thief."

Tamora Pierce
"Any of her books." And, more specifically, the Tortall books-- “I'm particularly fond of the original Alanna quartet, but the closest to MWT in terms of content is probably the Trickster duo, with spies, thieves, court politics, and interfering gods.”

Elizabeth Pope
The Sherwood Ring. "The main character has always reminded me a little of Gen."

Terry Pratchett
Night Watch. Of course it's better if you've read the other City Watch books first, but it also works beautifully on it's own. There's some political machinations, but the story is primarily about Sam Vimes (one of my all time favorite characters) dealing with a city poised to explode into violence."
Seconded, and a third person wrote "there are a LOT of books in this series but each book is a pleasure to read, and 'Nightwatch' is the crown jewel that makes you feel privileged to have read something so utterly great. If you find his eclectic, frenetic style a little distracting then you can start out with the Tiffany Aching series to warm up before diving into the deep end with 'Color of Magic' (the first book)."

Pullman, Philip
I rather enjoyed the His Dark Materials trilogy, mostly because it was so character-driven (especially The Subtle Knife).

Mary Renault
The King Must Die "held MANY echoes of the Queens Thief series for me. (It's a re-telling of the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur). The Hellenic setting, and Theseus's relationship with his gods, and the fall of Crete... actually the echo is probably the other way: perhaps this is one of Turner's influences. Theseus's experience of religion is fascinating!!"

Riordan, Rick
"Percy Jackson and the Olympians would very much appeal to Sounisians, I think."

Ellen Raskin
The Westing Game "I...enjoyed the plot twist, though it's definitely written for younger readers."

Amelia Atwater Rhodes
Hawksong. "It's a lovely story about two monarchs coming together (in marriage for the sake of their kingdoms)"

Patrick Rothfuss
"The Name of the Wind. Much longer than Turner's books, and it's the first book of a yet-to-be-finished trilogy, but the main character is remarkably similar to a young, cynical Gen. There is some thievery, and it's one of the most impressive books I've read in ages."

Mary Doria Russell
The Sparrow and its sequel. "So moving and substantial."

Dorothy L. Sayers
The Lord Peter Whimsey books. "It's a fantastic series, with twists and turns, a lot of comedy, and fantastic characters - I suspect anyone who loves Gen would also love Peter!"

Kate Serendy
The Chestry Oak. "The story of a little prince living in Hungary before and during the Nazis invasion. Well written, unforgettable characters, and a lot of love."

Sharon Shinn
Summers at Castle Auburn. "Her books are a bit hit and miss with me, but Summers at Castle Auburn is the one book of hers I adore, and which everybody seems to love as well - well, I would not recommend it to somebody who loves military sf or something, but anybody who might be charmed by a story about princesses (though really it is not about that..)"
Also Mystic and Rider "a story about adventure, friendship, and true love!

Sherwood Smith
"Crown Duel, which isn't quite as well crafted as Turner's books, but whose plot and characters carried me happily along."
"Crown Duel is fabulous—battles, misguided heroine, mysterious marquis, political intrigue, a hint of magic... Pretty much everything you could ever want in a novel. :-)"
And also Wren's Quest, Wren to the Rescue, and Wren's War, and the Inda series.

Wen Spencer
Tinker, and "her Ukiah Oregon books, which [are] SF and wonderfully addictive too."
Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner. It's a fairly simple story following the friendship that forms between two couples over four decades. Stegner's prose is beautiful and he has such great insights into life, especially about friendship. If you're wanting something different, you should give it a try.

Robert Louis Stevenson
Kidnapped. Alan Breck and Gen are long-lost relatives (down to the Scottish accent!) [me--Gen has a Scottish accent????!!]

Caroline Stevermer
A College Of Magics and A Scholar of Magics--"great reads."

Mary Stewart
The Merlin Trilogy ("The Crystal Cave," "The Hollow Hills," and "The Last Enchantment")....are excellent. Like Megan Whalen Turner, their (more overtly historical) setting feels very real, but also mythic. If you enjoyed Gen's interactions with the Gods, you might be interested in Merlin's experience of power."

Maggie Stiefvater
Shiver (My fourth favorite book after MWT's!)

Jonathan Stroud
The Bartimaeus Trilogy. "Delightfully snarky humor, magic, political intrigue, and dynamic characters who make sometimes unpredictable choices."

Rosemary Sutcliff'
"I read The Shining Company, which was good but dark; I'm pretty sure her other books have got to be good as well. The prose was well-crafted and the characters were complex, though the plot wasn't as twisty as an MWT plot."
"I can highly recommend Rosemary's Sutcliffe's Mark of the Horse Lord. In the beginning of KofA, Costis echoes a line from the end of this book and it's a lot of fun to run into it."
Other Sutciff recommendations: The Eagle of the Ninth, The Lantern Bearers, The Shield Ring, Warrior Scarlet, and Knight's Fee

Kate Thompson
The New Policeman.

Hannah Tinti
The Good Thief. "It obviously involves thievery which I must admit is what attracted me to it in the first place, but it turned out to be excellent. The writing beautiful and witty."

Terry Trueman
Stuck in Neutral and Cruise Control

Joan D. Vinge
The Snow Queen "which is a science fiction rewrite of the traditional Norse fairytale of the same name. Again, deep characters and good writing, but this time in a different genre. It's one of my favorite books."

Cynthia Voigt
The Tillerman Cycle

Brent Weeks
The Night Angel Trilogy, starting with The Way of Shadows. “His world-building is fantastic, he delves into the complicated politics like MWT, but also like her, the characters are core. The main character actually is a street urchin (instead of pretending he was one ;) ) and it's about assassins rather than thieves, but who doesn't love assassins?”

Elizabeth E. Wein
“The Winter Prince reminded me of the Turner series, with political intrigue, beautiful prose, and nuanced characters.” And another commenter seconded this, recommending the whole series: The Winter Prince, A Coalition of Lions, The Sunbird, The Lion Hunter, The Empty Kingdom. I myself have read the last two, and agree that, in as much as they have character driven political trickiness, they are a good fit for us!

Martha Wells
(anything)

Scott Westerfeld
Leviathan. "Clever plots, brilliantly lovable characters. . ."

Ellen Emerson White
The President's Daughter, White House Autumn,Long Live the Queen (Winner: ALA Best Book for Young Adults), Long May She Reign

N.D. Wilson
100 Cupboards and Dandelion Fire. "Fantastic stuff!"

Patricia Wrede
"The wondeful books she wrote in tandem with Caroline Stevermer. Sorcery and Cecilia, The Grand Tour and The Mislaid Magician. Also Mairelon the Magician. And from another commenter: "I especially like Magician's Ward, about a pickpocket in a magical period London, and Snow-White and Rose Red, a retelling of the fairy tale."

David Wyndham
The Chrysalids--"amazingly well-written."

Marcus Zusak
The Book Thief. "Similar to Turner's work in that the prose is gorgeous. (And there is some thievery...)"

So there you go. I hope you find something here to enjoy!

The winner of my Conspiracy of Kings ARC giveaway

The winner of my ARC giveaway is Free Narnian! (please contact me to let me know how to get it to you!)

Stay tuned for the compilation of the comment suggestions into a reading list for Megan Whalen Turner fans.

In My Mailbox--great holiday happiness thanks to Kristin Cashore

This is the first time I have ever taken part in the "In My Mailbox" meme. But some things are just so special that they have to be shared: Today I got home-made cookies from Kristin Cashore.


And signed copies of her books. Because this year I took part in the Blogger Secret Santa gift swap, and Kristin Cashore was my Secret Santa!!!!! Am I not lucky?

I feel especially lucky because Fire was on my Christmas wants list (see post below). And no one had gotten it for me, and I would have cried at Christmas. I haven't read it yet--although I did win an ARC at one point, it seems to have gotten lost in the mail, and by the time it was actually released, I was reading for the Cybils, so I am very happy.

And the cookies are very, very good!

Thank you Kristin!

Just a side note: today is the last day to enter my giveaway of my ARC of Conspiracy of Kings, which feels nicely symmetrical to me--balancing my happiness of today with another reader's happiness tomorrow. (And I guess, being extremely unselfish, that I could send the winner of my giveaway a few of my Kristin Cashore cookies, too...).

My Own Just Before Christmas Read-the-Books-I-Got-Last-Christmas Mini Challenge, plus my Wants List for this year!

Many of us get lots of books for Christmas. Books we have asked for, books we have been longing to read, books that we are thrilled to receive.

But then some of us end up with a sad little pile of books we got as presents that we know we want to read, and know we are going to enjoy, and which we are saving for that perfect moment...

I have three of these books, and I am going to read them before Christmas, perfect moment be danged.

I know that I have obligations. There are books that I got from publishers that I need to finish reading (waves apologetically to publishers). There are 24 books still to be read for the Cybils (waves cheerfully to fellow panelists). I have to tend my children off and on (does nothing that might attract the attention of children), go to work, etc.

But. In the next ten ten days, I am going to read: Ballet on Tour, by Nada Curcija-Prodanovic, The Bell at Sealy Head, by Patricia McKillip, and A Wind in Cairo, by Judith Tarr (I had a copy of this ages ago, read the first few chapters, and lost it....I wonder if I will like it!).

Because this Christmas, I am pretty sure I am getting more books. Here is the wants list I shared with my family (which is not the same as my "books I want to read list," in that these are ones I can't get from the library or am pretty sure I want to have forever).

New to list:

The Indra books by Sherwood Smith
Twelve, Jasper Bull (UK)
Hardcover of Chalice, by Robin Mckinley
Holiday Summer Decie Merwin
Margaret Mayhew's The Little Ship
Fire Kristin Cashore
Fire by Robin Mckinley and Peter Dickinson
The Golden Shore by Elinor Lyon
Robina Beckles-Wilson A Time To Dance
A Wind is Blowing, by Monica Edwards

On list last year:

Katherine of Feather Ghyll Anne Bradley
Margo Benary-Isbert The Wicked Enchantment
Monica Redlich Jam Tomorrow
Philip Turner Dunkirk Summer
William Mayne Words and Music,
Noel Streatfeild The Children on the Top Floor, The Bell Family.
Stevenson, D.E. Spring Magic, Four Windows, hardcover of The Four Graces, hardcover of The Tall Stranger
Saville, Malcom All Summer Through, Christmas at Nettlefield, Ewing,
Juliana Mary’s Meadow and Other Tales of Fields and Flowers
Jean Estroail Drina Ballerina
Cartell, Esme Rescue at Ravendell

Anyone who wants to join me in this particular challenge is more than welcome to!

Middle-grade fantasy and science fiction round-up!

Welcome to this week's round-up of all things middle-grade science fiction and fantasy from around the blogsphere! If I missed your post, please let me know in the comments or via email (at right).

Here are this week's reviews:

Blackbringer, by Laini Taylor, at Tempting Persephone.

The Brain Finds a Leg (2009), by Martin Chatterton, at Critique de MrChompChomp.

The Doofuzz Dudes and the Blood Tree (2009), by Roslyn J. Motter, at Charlotte's Library.

Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninga Frogs (2010) at The HappyNappyBookseller. (oh gosh, I want this one for my kids, but it doesn't come out till February!)

Fablehaven, by Brandon Mull, at Owl in the Library.

The Green Bronze Mirror (reissued 2009), by Lynne Ellison, at Charlotte's Library.

Highway Cats (2008), by Janet Taylor Lisle, at Becky's Book Reviews.

The Lost Conspiracy (2009), by Frances Hardinge, at Eva's Book Addiction.

Mike Stellar: Nerves of Steel (2009), at Eva's Book Addiction.

Odd and the Frost Giants (2009), at Eva's Book Addiction.

Raider's Ransom (2009), by Emily Diamond, at Eva's Book Addiction.

The Runaway Dragon (2009), by Kate Coombs, at Charlotte's Library.

Syren (Septiums Heap Book 5) (2009), by Angie Sage, at Book Aunt.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (2009), by Grace Lin, both at Book Aunt and from a young reader who blogs at c16km. Excitingly, Grace Lin was a guest on the Today Show on Friday--if you missed it, you can watch it here at Blue Rose Girls.

At Boys Rule Boys Read! you can find Incredible Danger, Intrigue, Stupidity, and Lost Worlds.

Here's an interview with Simon Rose at The Story of a Writer, that added several books to my to be read list!

And here are some lists:

At The Reading Zone, you can find a tween book buying guide for mythology buffs, and I have a round-up post of my own about all the middle-grade ghost stories (that I'm aware of) of 2009!
The Telegraph over in the UK has a nice list of book recommendations for kids for Christmas, that includes several fantasy books.

Finally, and this is of great interest to all of us who want more multi-cultural sci fi/fantasy for young readers, here's something I read about at Cynsations:

"Tu Publishing, a multicultural fantasy and science fiction press for children and young adults, needs your help to get started. In order to launch the press, Editorial Director Stacy Whitman has set up a kickstart funds drive to raise money from contributors. In order to help her reach her goals, this community has been formed to auction off items, services, crafts, and other various and sundry offerings, with all the proceeds going to the Tu kickstart page. We hope to help Stacy and Tu reach the goal of $10,000 by Dec. 14." Here's the direct link to the auction.

That's it for this week-- please feel free to send me links during the week (charlotteslibrary at gmail dot com) for next Sunday's round-up!

Thanks for stopping by!

Give the Gift of Ghosts--spooky books from 2009 for middle-grade readers

Nothing says "Happy Holidays" like a ghost (well, maybe not, but if ghosts at Christmas were good enough for Dickens, who am I to argue). It's not surprising that after the success of The Graveyard Book last year, there was a slew of fun and entertaining spooky stories for kids published the past year. And here they are.

The Boy Who Fell Down Exit 43, by Harriet Goodwin (Stripes Publishing, 2009, 253pp, available in the UK). It has been raining for weeks, and the weather matches the gloom young Finn has felt since the sudden death of his father, and his mother's decline into depression. To escape the tension of his home, Finn sets out for a joy-ride in his mother's car. Out on the moors, in the driving rain, he loses control. By chance, he is flung from the car through the thin veil covering Exit 43, one of the passages through which the dead return to visit the land of the living. There he befriends Jessie, a young Victorian girl, newly aware that she is dead, who grieves for her own lost family.

But the seal protecting the opening to Exit 43 has been dangerously weakened both by the rain and by Finn's passage, and now the water is pouring in, threatening to extinguish the fires that keep the ghosts alive. And it's up to Finn and Jessie to release the Firepearl that is the only thing that can save the spirits of the dead, and Finn's own life.

By turns exciting and poignant, which a cast of great ghosts, this is definitely one I'd recommend to anyone who loved The Graveyard Book!

Spellbinder, by Helen Stringer (2009, Feiwel and Friends, 372pp) is another spooky story from the UK (although it's available here in the US). Young Belladonna can see ghosts, and, even though she has to worry about talking to people her classmates can't see, it's a darn good thing that she can. Because, even though her parents are dead, they are still home, taking loving care of her. Then all the ghosts vanish, dragged out of our world. And Belladonna and Steve (a tricksy boy from school, not yet a friend) are off to find out what has happened...even if it means travelling to the land of the dead, where they are pitted against the ominous forces of darkness raised by a wicked alchemist. Lots of ghostly fun, with a mysterious dark dog, the Wild Hunt, and a plucky Edwardian schoolgirl who has haunted the school since a nasty incident on the tennis court, and who keeps a stiff upper lip throughout.

An enthralling new take on the plot of chosen children facing Evil.

Suddenly Supernatural: Scaredy Kat, by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel (Little, Brown, 2009, 256 pp). Like Belladonna, Kat is a school girl who can see dead people. But for Kat this means following in the footsteps of her mother, and helping the ghosts find peace. Not how she wants to spend her life, necessarily, but she has no choice. In this sequel to School Spirit, Kat must help the spirit of a boy trapped in an abandoned old house. And in the meantime, in an engagingly un-spooky sub-plot, her best friend Jac is wrestling with her own demon--her mother's incessant demands that she be a world-famous cello player.

This series is great for the younger end of "middle grade" (4th and 5th), as it's lighter and easier than the two above. I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed these two books (one reason might be my fondness for plots (or, in this case, sub-plots) about musical prodigies).

The Ghost on the Stairs (Haunted), by Chris Eboch (2009, Simon and Schuster, 169 pp) is another one for that age range, but it features a boy, 13 year old Jon, as the central character. His 11 year old sister, Tania, can see ghosts, but Jon is the only one who knows this. The last thing Tania wants is for their mom and stepdad to find out--they run a ghost-hunting reality television show, and Tania wants no part of it. But when the show takes the family to a haunted hotel, Tania begins to get to know the ghost who haunts it, and to know that there is more to her story than meets the eye...and Jon and Tania become involved in a tragedy that ended over a hundred years ago.

It's a fun one for kids, and it's an interesting take on the challenges of communication with spirits (Cybils review copy gratefully received from the publisher).

The Hotel Under the Sand, by Kage Baker (Tachyon Publications, 2009, 144 pp). Here's one I'd recommend to anyone older than nine. It tells of an orphaned girl and the old hotel that rises up from the sands of a lonely beach to shelter her. It isn't exactly a ghost story, but it does feature the very charming ghost of the hotel's head bell-boy. Here's my full review. (Cybils review copy gratefully received from the publisher).



I So Don't Do Mysteries, by Barrie Summy (Delacorte, 2009, 272 pp). Seventh-grader Sherry is not looking forward to her trip to San Diego. She's being shipped off to stay with her great-aunt while her father and new stepmother are off on their honeymoon, which is bad enough. But the ghost of her mother, a police officer killed in the line of duty, is complicating things. She needs Sherry's help with her efforts to succeed at the Academy of Spirits--her assignment is to solve a mystery at the San Diego animal park. So Sherry has to turn detective, whether she likes it or not...

The twist in Summy's approach to ghosts adds interest to a reasonably pleasant comedy/adventure that ecologically-minded girls might well enjoy lots.

Dying to Meet You: 43 Old Cemetery Road, by Kate Klise, illustrated by M. Sarah Klise (Harcourt 2009, 147 pp). This one is an epistolary story, copiously illustrated. It tells of an author with a desperate case of writer's block, the Victorian house he rents for the summer, and the boy and his best friend (the ghost of an author famous for the number of her rejections) who come with it. When the story begins, the author is a grumpy curmudgeon, but by its end, boy, ghost, and author are happily co-authoring best-sellers, and have formed a somewhat unlikely, but charming, family.

I'm not exactly sure how interesting kids would find the relationship between a sixty-something author and a ghost, but I found it a nice read. It would also make an excellent gift for a writer who has just conquered their own writer's block (or who has found new love with a ghost). The sequel, Over My Dead Body, came out this fall, but I haven't read it yet.

Hannah's Winter, by Kierin Meehan (Kane/Miller, 2009, 228 pp). A twelve-year old Australian girl, visiting Japan, finds herself enmeshed in the fantastical mystery surrounding the ghost of a long-dead boy. This was one of my personal favorites of 2009--here's my full review. Give this one to the girl of any age (fantasy reader or not) who loves all things Japanese. (Cybils review copy gratefully received from the publisher)


If I missed any middle-grade 2009 ghost stories, please let me know! And here's the list I compiled of 2008 ghost books last Christmas season...

(any commissions earned through the Amazon links will benefit the Cybils)

The Runaway Dragon, by Kate Coombs

In The Runaway Princess, Kate Coombs introduced us to a young princess named Meg, who refuses to be shut up in a tower while princes quest on her behalf. Instead, she sneaks down to save the dragon, and warn the witch and the brigands that the princes are out to get them...and in the process, she befriends the little dragon child, Laddy.

Now, in The Runaway Dragon(2009, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, middle grade, 285pp), we get to hear what happens to Meg and Laddy next.

When Laddy decides he getting to be too much of a grown-up dragon to hang around a farm, with just one measly bit of gold, he sets off on his own to make his way in the world. Meg, anxious for his safety, goes off to find him, accompanied not just by the men-at-arms her father insists on, but by her friends from the first book--Cam, the young palace gardener, Dilly, her maid-in-waiting, and Lex, a young wizard with a penchant for hot chocolate.

And a wild and wonderful quest awaits them, through a dark wood haunted by the tropes of fairy tales past--the diminutive and surly guide, the white stage, the damsel with magically growing hair, and the giant...All but one of the men-at-arms are ensnared by the spell of the stag, and Cam, Dilly, the remaining young soldier, and the hair-endowed damsel are kidnapped by the giant and taken home for his little giant girl to play with. But how can Meg and Lex save them, when they find themselves prisoners of the wicked would-be empress of the dark castle? And what of young Laddy? Will he still want to be friends with Meg, now he has a hoard of his own?

It is a most entertaining read, one I'd recommend in a second to anyone with a fondness for fairy tales and plucky girls. Meg might not be that great at magic (although she's good at raising sneezing fits and the most charming magical scarf I've ever read about), and she's still working on her swordsmanship, but she is tough, and smart, and determined, persevering in the face of difficulties. In short, a true hero.

And Coombs' writing is sharp and funny, and interesting--it's clear that she's having fun with her words, and that makes it fun for the reader too! It's not the most wildly original plot, described in its bare bones, but what Coombs does with her story, and its characters, makes for a fresh and fast read. (I especially liked the scenes in which the prisoners of the giant are forced to be dolls for the little (big) girl. Guess whose super-long, magical hair is a big hit).

It's not necessary to have read the first book first, although it makes this one more engaging--it is always nice to be reunited with characters that one likes. There is some scariness in the dark castle, but nothing gory or drastically violent. There are hints of possible future love, but nothing is made explicit. The spacing of the lines is generous and easy on the eye (without overdoing the wide margin bit), and the vocabulary is neither patronizingly simple nor overly erudite. In short, middle-grade at its most perfect middle!

To steal Mother Reader's idea of pairing books with sundry related items, this would be an excellent book to pair with fencing lessons, so your own girl can cast off gender stereotypes and become a heroine-in-training! But even without the fencing lessons, it would make a great present.

The Runaway Dragon has been nominated for the Cybils, who will (if I did it right) receive any commission made from sales through my Amazon links (which is not as unselfish as it might sound, because I live in a state where I can't do it for myself!).

Three fun picture books in verse

Just for fun, and a change of pace, here are three rhyming picture books in honor of Poetry Friday (a weekly roundup of poetry related posts, hosted today by Wild Rose Reader). All three passed my fairly critical test for rhyming stories--reading them aloud, I didn't feel the need to change any of the words in order to make things scan better!

Cool Dog, School Dog, by Deborah Heiligman, illustrated by Tim Bowers (Marshall Cavendish, 2009). "Tinka is a fun dog, a sun dog, a run-and-run-and-run dog." But when her boy goes off to school, leaving her behind, there is much sadness. There only one thing to do--head off for school herself! Now "Tinka is a cool dog, a school dog, a breaking-all-the-rules dog." Crash down the halls she runs, breaking into her boy's classroom. But even though she's going to have to go home soon, the kids have a great time reading to her, and want her to come back again! The verse gives energy and verve to the charming story--it's a lot of fun!

The Busy Tree, by Jennifer Ward, illustrated by Lisa Falkenstern (Marshall Cavendish, 2009) is more peaceful. It is a gently instructive story, told by an old oak tree--"I'm a tree, a busy tree...come and see." And, indeed, in the world of the tree all manner of things are happening. For instance, "Here is my trunk, where busy ants scurry, searching for food as they march in a hurry." And another example--"Hear my green leaves as they shake in the wind, breathing out air for all to breathe in." The verse gives impetus and interest to the descriptions of the world of the tree. Highly recommended for the nature loving, squirrel-fond child (like my six-year old, who does not want me to pass this one on to the library).

And finally, Swamp Song, by Helen Ketteman, illustrated by Ponder Goembel (Marshall Cavendish, 2009). This is a swingingly fun, toe-tapping extravaganza of swamp critters letting loose.


Ibis stands
at the cattail hedge.
flappin' her wings
at the water's edge.

With a flip, flap, flippity-flap
FLIP, FLAP, FLAP.

Within the verses are nestled instructional nuggets, telling of life in the swamp:

Black Bear claws
at a cypress tree,
markin' his space
for all to see.

With a scritch, scratch, scritchity-scratch.
SCRITCH, SCRATCH, SCRATCH.

And the dressed-up animals (so perhaps this does count as fantasy?) all join together at the end for a burst of swampy song. Fun, and educational to boot!

(disclosure: all three books were received as review copies from Marshall Cavendish)

A Conspiracy of Kings, by Megan Whalen Turner

A week ago tomorrow, an advance reader's copy of A Conspiracy of Kings, by Megan Whalen Turner (Harper Collins, 2009, YA, 312pp) entered my life. In keeping with the season, I was very thankful.

Here's how my reading went: "Sophos!" (huggles Sophos) "Magus!" (hugs Magus) "Eugenides!" (too shy to hug Gen) "Attolia!" (too shy to even call her by her real name, let alone hug her) etc etc.

Needless to say, I love the characters Turner created in her Queen's Thief series (The Thief, Queen of Attolia, and King of Attolia), and reading the fourth book about them was a pleasure, although not unmixed with anxiety about them.

In large part the anxiety comes from problems facing the three contiguous countries involved--Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis. Somehow these traditionally waring realms must join together to face the threat of the Medes, a nation more powerful than any of them separately, that has fixed its greedy eyes on them. In the meantime, the Queen of Eddis has been warned by the gods that a volcanic eruption will destroy her city.

And young Sophos, heir to the kingdom of Sounis, is in rather dire straits, and it is unclear just what will happen to his country (and to him).

And that's all I'm saying about the plot, because I don't want to spoil it.

I will say, though, that Turner has produced another masterfully intricate book, one that demands re-reading and discussing and careful analysis of just about every word. Her incredibly intelligent writing challenges the reader to exercise her* own intelligence, and that's a lovely thing. I need to re-read it a few more times so as to get it all fixed in my head!

I do want to share one non-spoilery quote from the Magus with you all, because it is something that he might have posted to Sounis, the livejournal fan community for these books. It is just the sort of detail we delight in noticing (generally in retrospect):

"That lying little monster complained about everything: the food, the horses, the blankets, the company. He even found fault with the stories I told by the fire, but I cannot recall that he ever once complained about the climbing." (page 117)

To which the next character replies: "So many things are obvious in retrospect, aren't they?"

*It strikes me that every passionate MWT fan I know is of the female persuasion. My own dear husband, currently reading the book, admires them a lot too, but can't be called passionate. He had forgotten who Sophos was (shock horror).

Important announcement:

I feel that it would be too greedy to keep my ARC when I know so many other people want it. I'll be buying the hardcover of course when it comes out in March (word on the street is that there will be a map!). So, please visit the next post down so as to find out how to enter to win my ARC.

(disclaimer: ARC received from the publisher, for which I say "Thank you so much!" And now I guess I will have to keep blogging another three or four years, so that Harper Collins will consider me worthy of an ARC of book 5....or, alternately, I could become a Harper Collins author ha ha)

Win an ARC of a Conspiracy of Kings, by Megan Whalen Turner!

This contest is now closed--the winner is Free Narnian! (please contact me so I can send it off to you!)

I am giving away my ARC of A Conspiracy of Kings. To enter, please leave a recommendation for a book that us fans of Megan Whalen Turner would enjoy, and at the end, I'll compile them (unless I won't, because of their being too many), and we'll have a nicely tidy list of things to read while we wait for March, and to fill the empty years while we wait for Book Five...

I will leave this contest open until next Monday, December 7th (which should give my husband time to finish reading it, and me to read it again). The contest will close at the end of day, 11:59 pm.

And I will ship internationally.

My seasonal header art: charmingly festive, or simply grotesque?

Does the alien snail look too weird with his little santa hat? I'm not sure I actually put it on his head, but with alien snails, it's hard to tell. (The snail, by the way, is really a genuine piece of super-nova, and not my own creation!)

A Gift Suggestion--pair the Graveyard Book with EAU DE GHOUL

Mother Reader just posted a lovely list of 105 Ways to Give a Book, matching books with sundry other gifts that go beautifully with them.

Now from Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs come the perfect sundry items to give with a Neil Gaiman book. They have created a line of perfumes inspired by his stories.

With The Graveyard Book, perhaps you'd like to give GHÛLHEIM, inspired by this passage:

Ghouls do not build. They are parasites and scavengers, eaters of carrion. The
city they call Ghûlheim is something they found, long ago, but did not make. No
one they call knows (if anyone human ever knew) what kind of creatures it was
that made those buildings, who honeycombed the rock with tunnels and towers, but
it is certain that no-one but the ghoul-folk could have wanted to stay there, or
even to approach that place.

Even from the path below Ghûlheim, even from miles away, Bod could see that all of the angles were wrong -- that the walls sloped crazily, that it was every nightmare he had ever endured made into a place, like a huge mouth of jutting teeth. It was a city that had been built just to be abandoned, in which all the fears and madnesses and revulsions of the creatures who built it were made into stone. The ghoul folk had found it and delighted in it and called it home."

A dark and disjointed scent: smoke and black musk, bladderwrack, opopponax, galangal, and pepper.

New releases of fantasy and science fiction for children and teens--the beginning of December edition

Here are the new releases of fantasy and science books for children and teenagers from the beginning of December. A short list, but not without interest. As usual, my source is Teens Read Too, with help from Amazon. And, if you were, by any chance, to shop through the Amazon links, you'd be benefiting the Cybils!

9 to 12 Year Olds

The Midnight Masquerade with Princess Emma and Princess Jasmine (The Tiara Club), by Vivian French. "Princess Emma and Princess Jasmine are visiting the Tiara Club Academy to determine if they would like to become members. Together with the other princesses, they early await the Midnight Masquerade, a huge party complete with masks and ice skating! But will someone try to spoil the fun, and who will win the chance to be taken to the ball in style on a dog-driven sleigh?"


Raiders' Ransom, by Emily Diamand. "It's the 22nd century and, because of climate change, much of England is underwater. Poor Lilly is out fishing with her trusty sea-cat when greedy raiders pillage the town--and kidnap the prime minister's daughter. Her village blamed, Lilly decides to find the girl. Off she sails, in secret. And with a ransom: a mysterious talking jewel. "If I save his daughter," Lilly reasons, "the prime minister's sure to reward me." Little does Lilly know that it will take more than grit to outwit the tricky, treacherous piratical tribes!"


Young Adult

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl. "Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything."

Blood Ninja by Nick Lake. "Is Taro, a fisherman's son, destined for greatness? In the course of a day, Taro's entire life changes: His father is murdered before his eyes, and Taro is taken by a mysterious ninja on a perilous journey toward safety. Someone wants Taro dead, but who -- and why? With his best friend, Hiro, and their ninja guide Shusaku, Taro gets caught in the crossfire of a bitter conflict between rival lords for control of imperial Japan. As Taro trains to become a ninja himself, he's less and less sure that he wants to be one. But when his real identity is revealed, it becomes impossible for Taro to turn his back on his fate."

What I Wore to Save the World, by Maryrose Wood. "Senior year's coming up fast and Morgan still has no clue about college, or a career-the whole rest of-her-life thing is basically a blank. Maybe it's because she spent her junior year obsessing about Colin, the hot Irish guy she fell for last summer (that was right around the same time she discovered she's a half- goddess from the days of Irish lore... you had to be there). She even saved Colin from a nasty enchantment, but he doesn't know that. Colin doesn't believe in magic, not even a little. But then a mysterious message reunites her with Colin, who turns out to be caught up in the biggest faery-made disaster ever. We're talking the end of reality-not just reality TV. To save the world, she's going to have to tell Colin the truth about her half-goddess mojo. But if he doesn't believe in magic, how will he ever believe in her?"

The Green Bronze Mirror, by Lynne Ellison, for Timeslip Tuesday

The Green Bronze Mirror, by Lynne Ellison (CnPosner Books, 2009, younger YA, 117pp), was first published when the author was just 14, back in 1966. It has recently been republished in a new paperback edition, with new illustrations by Philip Smiley, and I was offered a review copy. Time travel back to Roman Britain and Rome itself--how could I say no?

What follows is a mixed review. But since I so almost liked this a lot (and I am certain I would have liked it more when I was 12, perhaps even loved it), and I think that others (in particular 12 year-old girls who love Rosemary Sutcliff) may enjoy it more than me, I decided to go ahead with it.

I was captivated by the story's beginning. Fifteen-year old Karen is on a sea-side holiday with her family, but spurning the dubious attractions of tourist shops, she makes her way alone along the beach, reveling in her solitude, pretending a little to herself.

Here's a bit I particularly liked, that I'm putting in because it made Karen come quite real to me:

"She went slowly down to the sea again, and finding a piece of wood brought in by the tide, she drew a horse in the firm wet sand; a good horse, because she'd been drawing them a long time, galloping along the ground with its legs in an interesting position. The position was correct, though; she had studied photographs and knew just how a horse's legs behaved when it galloped" (pp 6-7).

And when Karen finds a green bronze mirror, and looks into its polished surface, and travels back in time to Roman Britain, I was prepared to lose myself in the story.

Indeed, it was a tremendously interesting read, for the most part. Karen, now a slave, is taken to Rome to be sold, where she finds herself a nanny to two somewhat spoiled Roman children. She is appalled by the (graphically described) spectacle of the Roman games, joins a community of secret Christians, and falls in love with a handsome young man who is a slave like herself. But this is Nero's Rome, and it's not a safe place for anyone when it starts to burn. Particularly not safe for Christians....

There are parts of the story that sing, parts that enthrall and excite. Time travel-wise, it's good stuff--an excellent picture of Rome and the Romans seen through modern eyes.

But it's very much a fourteen year old's book. Things happen with a suddenness that is disconcerting--there's no skilled writerly build up to Karen's romance or her meeting with the Christians, and by the time she's ready to head back to England and find the mirror again, with the help of a magical druid a Roman witch has told her to find, I was no longer sure I cared that much.

The introverted, imaginative girl I had fallen for had become lost in a sea of events.

Karen accepts her lot as a slave with a disconcerting matter-of-factness. Surely it would be an introvert's nightmare to be in her position, but it doesn't seem to bother her. There are jarring awkwardness in the writing--as when suddenly, although we are told Karen was not particularly religious in the present, she is proclaiming things like "One day the whole world will be converted to our way of thinking" (p 68). Um. Not so, actually, and this spoiled, for me, the lovely bits about her experience with the small community of the faithful. Her relationship with her young man is also unevenly written. One moment they're in each others arms, and then, when she tells him she wants to go back to the present, his response "It's a pity, though" (p 94) lacks a certain emotional umph. This sort of choppiness spoils what could have been a swoon-worthy relationship. I could go on in this vein...

Then there is the copy editing, or, more accurately, the lack thereof. We all are guilty of typos (some of us more than others), but this book really exceeds the excusable with its misplaced and missing bits of punctuation, odd formatting, and whole words left out (although an errata note for the worst page is provided). The text, incidentally, is very small, which I thought would bother me, but didn't.

So I am disappointed--I wanted to like this book so much, and it could have been so very good, if, in the republishing, some of it had been tweaked a little by the author. Incidentally, Lynne Ellison never went on to write another book. This is a pity--I would love to read more by her, especially now that she's no longer fourteen!

At Historical Fiction, there's a guest post by Ellison and a giveaway of the book.

(disclosure: as mentioned above, I received a review copy of this book from its publisher).

The Year's Best Fantasy and Science Fiction for kids and teenagers, according to School Library Journal

School Library Journal has posted its Best Books 2009. Here are the fantasy and science fiction books they picked, to wit:

The Lost Conspiracy, by Frances Hardinge
The Secret of Zoom, by Lynne Joneel
When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead

Fire, by Kristin Cashore
The Carbon Diaries 2015, by Saci Lloyd
Creature of the Night, by Kate Thompson
Leviathan, by Scott Westerfield

There aren't any criteria given for what constitutes "bestness" but I'm sure that they are all fine books. Although I have only read three of them, and so don't know for sure.

And that annoys me a bit, because lord knows I have done nothing in the past year but read fantasy and science fiction for children and teenagers, and now I feel somehow that I should have read more more more....

On a happier note, I am rather pleased that The Secret of Zoom is getting some attention--I just finished it and enjoyed it (review to come), and I know from personal experience that this hasn't made it into many libraries yet and it really should. Although I think its title works against it.

All of these books, incidentally, have been nominated for the Cybils....the shortlists for which will appear at the beginning of January (I have 27 more books to read).

A phone box becomes a library

Just because, here's a rather nice story from the Guardian. The folk of Westbury-sub-Mendip faced a double loss. First, their local library closed. Second, their iconic red telephone box was threatened. The solution was beautifully simple--make the phone box into a free, honor-system, library!

Isn't it typical, though, that the children's books end up in a box on the floor....

Pick Me Up, a book of non-fiction goodness from DK

Kids these days have it so easy. When I was I child, I had to read the encyclopedia to learn non-fictiony interesting things, and the problem with that is that encyclopedias also have non-fictiony boring things, but everything is all mixed up so one losses interest sooner rather than later (which is why I know more about things that begin with A than, say, T).

But anyway. Kids these days get really cool books like Pick Me Up: Stuff You Need to Know (DK 2009, 333 pp, middle grade on up). The sort of book that is full of things anyone with the least bit of curiosity wants to learn about. Take sleep, for instance--a two page spread with little paragraphical fact-filled nuggets about reasons we sleep, sleepwalking, dreaming, working the night shift...told in the signature DK style of snappy writing with tid bits of humor. You read the two pages, and voila, you know more about sleep. Or dinosaurs. Or money. Or photo-retouching. Or feminism.

I would have loved it (she says, peevishly). And I bet that if, like me, you leave this book lying around your house, your nine year old will, in fact, pick it up.

The non-fiction Monday round-up is at The Book Nosher today!

(disclaimer--I received a review copy of this book from the publisher)

The Doofuzz Dudes and the Blood Tree, by Roslyn J. Motter

A year and a half ago, an Australian writer, Roslyn Motter, asked if I might be interested in reading a series of children's fantasy books that she'd written. And so the first four volumes of the Doofuzz Dudes arrived at our house, and my son loved them. Here's what I wrote about them back then.

Last month we received the most recent instalment in the series, The Doofuzz Dudes and the Blood Tree (2009, White Hawk Publishing, ages 7-9is, 121 pp). My son was thrilled...

In this adventure, the four dudes, two brothers and their friends, are once more called back to the magical kingdom of Moondor to face another emergency caused by a greedy creature who's determined to hold all of Moondor in his capitalist grasp. This time he wants to chop down the mysterious Moon Tree, a tree that serves as a portal to the past.

And this time, there's a girl joining forces with the Dudes...Will Hillary throw off the balance of the boys' teamwork, or will she (with the help of her ferret) be the one who knows how to solve the problem? And where will the Moon Tree take the Dudes (and Dudette) the journey they must make back in time?

It's lightly written fantasy, with infinitely much more kid appeal than adult appeal. Adults, for instance, might not find Motter's trick of distinguishing her characters from each other through reiterated expressions appealing, and, more generally, there's not a whole of emotional depth.

But for kids who are reading the book for over-the-top adventure, where wild things happen just for the fun of it, might well (like my son) enjoy the story lots. And it is hard for me to think too critically of a book that holds my son's attention from start to finish, keeping him lost in the world of happy reading...

(disclaimer: review copy for me, and signed copy for my son, received from the author)

New Releases of Science Fiction and Fantasy for Children and Teenagers--the end of November edition

Here are the new releases of fantasy and science fiction for children and teens from the end of this November. It's a rather short list, and December is not exactly full of books either...the beginning of January, on the other hand, will be a nice long one! My list comes from Teens Read Too; the blurbs are courtesy of Amazon.

THE FOURTH APPRENTICE: WARRIORS, OMEN OF THE STARS by Erin Hunter "Four warrior Clans have shared the land around the lake as equals for many moons. But a prophecy foretells that three ThunderClan cats will hold the power of the stars in their paws. Jayfeather and Lionblaze know that they are two of the cats in the prophecy. Now the brothers must wait for a sign from StarClan to discover the identity of the third cat. Meanwhile, Dovekit and Ivykit—kin of the great leader Firestar—are poised to become ThunderClan apprentices. Soon one sister will have an ominous dream—and will begin to realize that she possesses mystical skills unmatched by any other cat. In the midst of a cruel season that threatens the lives of all four warrior Clans, bonds will be forged, promises made, and three young cats will start to unravel the secrets that bind them together."

MINERVA'S VOYAGE by Lynne Kositsky. "Robin Starveling, aka Noah Vaile, is scooped off the streets of seventeenth-century Bristol, England, and dragged onboard a ship bound for Virginia by the murderous William Thatcher, who needs a servant with no past and no future to aid him in a nefarious plot to steal gold. Starveling fits the bill perfectly since he lives nowhere and has no parents. Aboard the ship, Starveling makes friends with a young cabin boy, Peter Fence. Together they suffer through a frightening hurricane and are shipwrecked on the mysterious Isle of Devils. They solve the ciphers embedded in emblems found in Thatcher's sea chest, which has washed up with the wreck. The two boys make their way through gloomy forests and tortuous labyrinths to a cave on the shore that houses a wizard-like old man. Beset by danger and villainy on every side, they finally discover the old man's identity and unearth a treasure that is much rarer and finer than gold."

THE SILVER ANKLET by Mahtab Narsimhan. Sequel to The Third Eye. "What if the only way to get rid of your worst enemy was to sacrifice your brother? When hyenas snatch Tara's brother, Suraj, and two other children from the local fair in Morni, Tara and her newfound companions decide to rescue them on their own. Tara soon discovers that Zarku, her nemesis with the third eye, is back and intent on revenge. A deadly game of hide and seek ensues, and Tara and her companions must work together to survive. But it is soon clear that Zarku is only after Tara; the others are dispensable. Should Tara risk the lives of her friends? Or can she once again defeat Zarku and save her brother, armed only with belief in herself and a silver anklet?"

Young Adult

HOW TO DATE A VAMPIRE by Sophie Collins "For any girl looking for a boy who's more Cullen than caveman, this book is your helping hand to a happy ending. A vampire boy is smart, he's sexy, and he's waiting to discover someone a little bit different; so use this little lifesaver to show him what's so special about you and set his pulse (if he had one) racing. Of course, if like Bella or Buffy, the man of your dreams is more than just a high school crush, you won't find help in the problem pages. Luckily for you, this book is packed full of quizzes, charts and failsafe advice, from finding out if the guy giving you sleepless nights is a real vamp or a fanged faker, to great date ideas that don't involve Type-O milkshakes. With space to write about your own close encounters, plus style advice and beauty tips that are sure to slay him on sight, this is the only guide you'll ever need to spotting a vampire and knocking him (un)dead."

A PRINCE AMONG KILLERS: OATHBREAKER by S.R. Vaught & J.B. Redmond. "The second half of the Oathbreaker story opens at the assassins’ stronghold, Triune, as Aron and his sworn comrades try to find peace in a world on the brink of war. Dari and Stormbreaker grow closer as they search for Dari’s missing twin; Nic and his captors find it harder to conceal their secrets; and Aron must decide whether the bond he keeps to his family will prove stronger than the oaths he has sworn to his closest friends."

THE SEVEN RAYS by Jessica Bendinger. "You are more than you think you are. That is the anonymous message that Beth Michaels receives right before she starts seeing things. Not just a slept-through my-alarm-clock, late-for-homeroom, haven't had-my-caffeine-fix kind of seeing things. It all starts with some dots, annoying pink dots that pop up on and over her mom and her best friend's face. But then things get out of control and Beth is seeing people's pasts, their fears, their secrets, their desires. The images are coming at Beth in hi-def streaming video and she can't stop it. Everyone thinks she's crazy and she's pretty sure she agrees with them. But crazy doesn't explain the gold envelopes that have started arriving, containing seeing keys and mysterious tarot cards. To Beth, it all seems too weird to be true. You are more than you think you are? But here's the thing: What if she is?"

This Sunday's Middle Grade Fantasy and Science Fiction Roundup

Here are this week's reviews of middle grade (9-12 year olds) fantasy and science fiction books from around the blogosphere (click on the book title for the review).

11 Birthdays, by Wendy Mass, at Fantasy Book Critic.

The Blue Shoe: A Tale of Thievery, Villainy, Sorcery, and Shoes, by Roderick Townley, at Enchanting YA Reviews.

The Castle Corona, by Sharon Creech, at Owl in the Library.

City of Fire, by Laurence Yep, at the Jean Little Library.

G-Man: Learning to Fly, a story told in comics form, at Oz and Ends.

The Hotel Under the Sand, by Kage Baker, at Eva's Book Addiction.


Imagia and the Magic Pearls, by Monroe Tarver, at Dad of Divas.

Lost Worlds, by John Howe, at Shelf Elf.

The Mysterious Benedict Society, at One Librarian's Book Reviews.


Night of the Living Lawn Ornaments, by Emily Ection, at Charlotte's Library.

Odd and the Frost Giants, by Neil Gaiman, at Tor.

The Patchwork Girl of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, at Tor.


The Revenge of the Itty-Bitty Brothers, by Lin Oliver, at Charlotte's Library.

Sent, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, at Charlotte's Library.

The Shifter (the Healing Wars, Book 1), by Janice Hardy, at Charlotte's Library.

The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner, at Fantasy Literature...Frankly.

At Boys Rule Boys Read, you can find Norse Gods, King Arthur, and Kick-Butt Superheros!

Here's an interview with David Lubar (author of Cybils nominee Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie) at Cynsations.

And finally, here are the thoughts on middle grade fantasy from Brian, aka MrChompChomp, fellow mg sff Cybils panelist.

Did I miss anyone? Please let me know in the comments! And if you review or write about middle grade science fiction and fantasy during the week, feel free to drop me an email--charlotteslibrary at gmail dot com.

And come back in a week for more mg sff fun!

The Shifter (The Healing Wars Book 1), by Janice Hardy

The Shifter, by Janice Hardy (Balzer and Bray, HarperCollins, 2009, upper middle grade and beyond, 370 pp) is one of those books that just goes to show that fascinating ideas are still out there, waiting to be written about. That is to say that, I, at least, have never before encountered the magical idea at the center of this book.

In Nya's world, a place of conflict and conquest, Healers can shift pain, sickness, and injuries into a magical type of metal called pynvium. But there is a dark side to this seemingly benign process. Nya's city was conquered by a foreign people when she and her sister were young, in a war that killed her parents, and more war seems close at hand. And in this world pain can be used as weapon. Literally.

Nya's twelve-year old sister was accepted by the Healing Guild, and is safely housed in their headquarters. Fifteen-year old Nya, on the other hand, lives a hand to mouth life on the streets, scrounging for odd jobs, kicked at by the foreigners who are now in charge. Because although Nya can heal too, taking other people's injuries into herself, she can't transfer the pain into pynvium. But she can, however, push it into other people.

Now unscrupulous practitioners of pain and intrigue want to use Nya and her seemingly twisted gift. And dark and unpleasant things are happening back at the Healer's Guild, where the apprentices are falling "sick." Nya and her friends must figure out what's going on, and put a stop to it. In so doing she must find out how to use her gift for good, and, while saving her sister, maybe set in motion a way to save her city...

It's an exciting story, one that raises interesting ethical questions while entertaining the reader with interesting characters and situations. It starts a tad confusingly, but that feeling soon fades as the plot kicks into high gear. Nya is a stubborn and conflicted narrator, in pretty desperate circumstances, and it is a pleasure to cheer her on.

This book is marketed as a middle grade (9-12 year olds)--there are hints of possible future relationships, but no real "young adult" issues. There are some pretty heavy descriptions of injuries and pain, but nothing horribly disturbing, and I think it's fine for confident, older readers in this age group. It felt to me more like a young adult novel, though--Nya is older than most middle grade protagonists, and is engaged in a fairly complicated struggle--complicated ethically, politically, and in terms of day to day survival. And although romantic relationships are only hinted at as possible on the horizon in this book, it seems quite possible that the next book in the series will be moving YA-ward in that regard. At least, I hope it will...the young man in question is rather sweet, although maybe too good to be true.

The UK title of The Shifter is The Pain Merchants, and here's its cover over there. I like the UK title, but the US cover!

Finally, and somewhat tangentially, one thing that added to the book's appeal in my mind is that it is about two sisters. Being a sister myself, I am fond of books in which that relationship is a key motivating factor for the characters , as it is in The Hunger Games, Charlotte Sometimes, and, um, doubtless many other books...so if you have any other recommendations of fantasy books in which the relationship between a little sister and a big sister is important, let me know!

Here's an interview with Janice Hardy at The Enchanted Inkpot.

The Shifter is a Cybils nominee in the Middle Grade Science Fiction and Fantasy category, for which I am a panelist.

Of interest primarily to hard-core Megan Whalen Turner fans

Over at Sounis (the lj MWT community), there has been some discussion over the cover of Megan Whalen Turner's new book, A Conspiracy of Kings--does the character on the cover, who is presumably Sophos, have a moustache?

Today I held in my trembling hands an ARC of COK. I am not able to read it right now (alright, I read some of it. Only a few pages...)

But I did scan the cover and zoom in on the area in question. I think it's just the dark shadow cast by Sophos' still boyishly rounded but becoming more manly by the day cheeks.

Two randomly grabbed co-workers agree it's a shadow. But it's hard to be sure...anyone know the artist?

Two Whacky Middle Grade Fantasies--The Revenge of the Itty-Bitty Brothers and Night of the Living Lawn Ornaments

There's a sub-genre of middle-grade fantasy that embraces the over-the-top and runs with it. These are the sort of books where silliness rules, where characters are caught in situations that break all the rules, books that set out to entertain their intended audience and keep them turning the pages. They are the sort of book that you might give to the child who loved the Captain Underpants books back when they were learning to read, and who might still be re-reading them.

Here are two examples, from my recent Cybils reading--both of these have been nominated in the middle grade science fiction and fantasy category.

Revenge of the Itty-Bitty Brothers, by Lin Oliver, illustrated by Stephen Gilpin (Simon and Schuster, 2009, 159pp) is the third book of the Who Shrunk Daniel Funk? series. But it's not necessary to have read the first two to enjoy this one. A (moderately gross) encounter with a taco leads Daniel Funk to a breakthrough--through the explosive expulsion of digestive gasses he can control when he shrinks! This is great news for his tiny twin brother, Pablo, who lives a semi-secret life among the detritus of Daniel's room. Now the two can be tiny together, sharing the joys of marshmallow trampolining, soap surfing in the bathtub, and, as the grand finale, shooting into space in model rockets over the La Brea tar pits...

It's straight-forward, light-hearted fun, told in crisp, clear sentences. There are hints that future books in the series might explore some of the intriguing questions that aren't answered here--what happened to the Funk family dad, who disappeared while off on a scientific expedition? Will Pablo always be small? Will his mother and sisters ever get to meet him??? I'd love to know more about these aspects of the story, and less about what it is like to wallow in an ice-cream sundae...but the intended readers who aren't me (fourth and fifth grade boys, I'd say) might well disagree!

Night of the Living Lawn Ornaments, by Emily Ecton (Aladdin--Simon and Schuster, 2009, 229 pages), is a notch up age-wise (seventh grade-ish, I think), and not so much a Boy book--it's narrated by a girl, and there is less burping. That being said, there is a sheep-shaped pepper shaker who has come to life and who is having major digestive issues:

"Eunice patted me on the hand with her little hoof. "We'll be quiet. But if you get a chance?" She did a little hip swivel. There was no sound at all from her insides. "I'm very clumpy," she whispered.

I nodded. "I'll see what I can do." Nothing like adding "find a good sheep innard substitute" to your list of things to do." (p 139)

And the pepper shaker is not the only inanimate thing to come to life. When Arlie and her friend Ty find a mysterious dragonfly pendant, and playfully drape it over the necks of various lawn ornaments and sundry knick knacks, stuffed animals, and Mr. Boots' favorite toy (Mr. Boots being a neurotic Chihuahua), little do they know the mayhem they are about to unleash...

It is non-stop insanity--no quite moments of tranquil beauty and intricate character development here (although I like the "just friends for now" relationship between Ty and Arlie very much)! But Ecton has a way with words that makes the reading fun for all ages, even if it is all, perhaps, just a bit too crazy for my own taste.

Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for supporting the Cybils by sending us panelists review copies!

Sent, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, for Timeslip Tuesday

Sent, by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Simon and Schuster, 2009, middle grade, 308pp), is the second book of The Missing. It's not entirely necessary to have read Found, the first book of the series, before reading Sent, but it will spoil Found considerably if you read this one first....so consider this whole review a spoiler for Found.

Jonah, Katherine, Chip and Alex were ordinary 21st century kids. It's true that three of them were orphans, found as babies on a mysterious airplane that appeared out of no where, but other than that, life was normal. But then they learn that all those babies were rescued from certain death back in various pasts, and that the time has come for them to be sent home again to meet their destinies and fix the wrinkles that have formed in time. If, like Chip and Alex, you are the Princes in the Tower, supposedly killed by your wicked uncle Richard III, the smooth course of history might be the last thing on your mind.

When Chip and Alex are sent back to 15th century, Jonah and Katherine travel with them, much to the dismay of JB and the other mysterious time guardians of the future, who are working to Fix things. Chip and Alex gradually take on their medieval identities, caught up in a perilous contest over the crown of England. But Jonah and Katherine are determined to bring them safely back to the present, even if it means donning medieval armor and joining in the Battle of Bosworth Field...

It's a fast, fun read. Haddix is an excellent story-teller, and keeps things swinging along.

Despite the engrossing action, however, there's not a whole lot of emotional wallop to the story. Partly this is because the mechanisms of plot are given more prominence than the subtleties of characterization and emotional response--although the kids have distinct personalities, they are painted with a rather wide brush.

In larger part this lack of emotional punch is due to the fact that these kids have it very easy, time-travel wise. They are in touch with JB for most of their time in the past, and can be pulled out at any moment, and, even in the final battle, there is no immediate sense that they will come to any harm. And they are never modern children forced to act convincingly in the past. Chip and Alex have ready made identities to slip into, and Jonah and Katherine are handily made invisible by a futuristic gizmo that translates for them. Even when they have to leave their translator in the present, after a brief break from the middle ages, they get an injection of linguistic elixir that solves the language problem...

But although this isn't the most powerful story I've ever read, it is a lovely history lesson packaged in adventure, one that (for the most part) steers clear of obvious didacticism. In this aspect of the book I give Haddix high marks. Her Richard III is not a monster, and the princes in the tower are clearly caught in a complex situation for which there is no easy answer. I loved the way she brought Shakespeare's version into the picture, raising the issue of literary propaganda!

In short, this is a good, kid-friendly read that's also a great introduction to the trickiness of the historian's craft. I'll be looking forward to the next books in the series...

Sent has been nominated for the Cybils in middle grade science fiction/fantasy, and its publisher, Simon and Schuster, very generously provided us panelists with review copies--thanks.

This week's round-up of middle grade science fiction and fantasy reviews

Here's the second installment of my weekly roundup of middle-grade (ages 9-12) science fiction and fantasy reviews of books old and new from around the book blogs. Here's what I've found so far, but please leave me a comment if I've missed yours, and I will add it to the list! (and feel free to spread the word about this too).

At One Librarian's Book Reviews, you can find Found (ha ha), by Margaret Peterson Haddix.

Kate at Book Aunt looks at Spellbinder, by Helen Stringer (2009).

Fuse #8 reviews Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin (2009)

At A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy, Liz has The Witch's Guide to Cooking With Children, by Kevin McGowan, a modern re-telling of Hansel and Gretel (2009).

Jennifer, at the Jean Little Library, talks about Violet Wings, by Victoria Hanley (2009). And at Children Come First, Olgy has another Victoria Hanley book, that's at the top end of my definition of middle grade-- The Light of the Oracle.

At Fantasy Book Review (UK) there's Tales of Terror from the Tunnel's Mouth, by Chris Priestley (2009).


The Curse of the Spider King, by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper (2009), is currently on a huge blog tour of Christian Science Fiction/Fantasy blogs--here's one of its first stops, at The Christian Fantasy Review, and there a long list of the other participating blogs.

At Emeraldfire's Bookmark there's a look at The Taker and the Keeper, by Wim Coleman and Pat Perrin (2009), a Cybils nominee that I reviewed a few weeks back here. And it's also reviewed by Anastasia here at BirdBrain(ed) Book Blog.

Eva at Eva's Book Addiction is currently the middle-grade science fiction and fantasy book reviewing champion. Here she has Silksinger, by Laini Taylor (2009), here she has Ottoline Goes to School, by Chris Riddell (2009), and here she has The Last Olympian, by Rick Riordan (2009), all Cybils nominees.

Critique de Mr. Chomp Chomp takes a look at When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead (2009), another Cybils nominee.

I myself only reviewed one book this week (here), being rather busy with other things. It was Lost Worlds, by John Howe (2009), a lovely non-fiction book.

This past week saw the Winter Blog Blast Tour of author interviews organized by Colleen at Chasing Ray, where you can find the full schedule. Here are the interviews with mg sff authors:

Derek Landy, of Skulduggery Pleasant fame, at Finding Wonderland.
Frances Hardinge (The Lost Conspiracy and more) at Fuse #8
Patrick Carman (Skeleton Creek) at Miss Erin
Laini Taylor (the Dreamdark Books) at Shelf Elf
Jim De Bartolo (illustrator of the above) at Seven Impossible Things
R.L. LaFevers (the Theodosia books, and also Nathaniel Fludd, Beasteologist) at HipWriterMama
and, because The Thief is middle grade, even if the next two books more YA-ward, there's Megan Whalen Turner at HipWriterMama.

(did I miss anyone?????)

Notes from the world of the library book sale

Our sale is still ongoing....my sale, really, even though I have some helpers. I have moved 6,000 books at least 3 times each.

Library book sales are frustrating things. The preview night is horribly stressful, for small sales like ours--we need the dealers to come, since they are the biggest spenders, but they can be very hard to deal with, making nasty remarks about the quality of the books offered, leaving messy piles for us to put away, and generally being demanding. They weren't bad this time around, but, on the other hand, they weren't buying many books. Sigh.

And the local newspaper put in wrong information about the days the sale was open, just saying Monday, instead of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, so business is way down. A couple of people have said to me that they think the newspaper did it on purpose, because (they say) the paper supports the other, bigger, library, which is located in the more affluent part of town, and, they say, that library wants our library to close so they can have the totality of the town library budget (which might well be true). I really, really, don't want to think that the newspaper would be so mean, but I am pretty sad.

On a lighter note, a copy of Twilight showed up in the donations for the First Time! Harry Potters showed up within months of their releases, so I guess the people of my town love Bella more, in that they are so unwilling to part with her...

And I did already get to spend $350 of the dollars buying legos for the library's new lego club, which was fun.

But still. I am thinking of making my oldest dress in a book costume and dance at the intersection tomorrow, to bring in more traffic. If only I had a book costume on hand...Ninja, yes, but that is not Useful...

Passing the buck to Laini Taylor over at Shelf Elf

Because I have a library booksale to run, starting tonight, and because it is mostly all being done by me, I am passing the buck (or book ha ha) to an interview with Laini Taylor over at Shelf Elf, which makes much better reading than anything I am capable of right now! And then I pass the buck some more, to an interview with Laini's husband, artist Jim Di Bartolo, at Seven Impossible Things, where there is much wondrous art of a fantastical sort to admire.

And even though Laini's book, Lips Touch, didn't win the National Book Award for Young People's Literature (the winner was Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, by Phillip Hoose , it is still incredibly cool that it made the short list!

And, speaking of awards, The Graveyard Book won another one--the prestigious UK Booktrust Teenage Prize, and you can read Gaiman's thoughts on all his winning-ness, and some loosing-ness, here at the Guardian. I think that the Cybils (hooray for us!) was the first major award he won, so that at least should have had its first fine freshness...

New Releases of Fantasy and Science Fiction for Children and Teenagers--the middle of November edition

Here are the new releases of fantasy and science fiction for kids and teenagers from the middle of this month! As usual, my info comes from Teens Read Too, and the blurbs are lifted from Amazon.

For 9-12 year olds:

Celia's Robot by Margaret Chang. "Ten-year-old Celia is messy and disorganized, so her father builds her a robot to turn her life around. High-tech Robot is part nanny, part housekeeper, and all friend, but Celia worries that Dad build Robot because he and Mom are too busy to take care of her. Then Robot goes missing, and Celia wonders if she's lost her father's love as well."

Claim to Fame by Margaret Peterson Haddix. "It was a talent that came out of nowhere. One day Lindsay Scott was on the top of the world, the star of a hit TV show. The next day her fame had turned into torture. Every time anyone said anything about her, she heard it. And everyone was talking about Lindsay: fans, friends, enemies, enemies who pretended to be friends....Lindsay had what looked like a nervous breakdown and vanished from the public eye. But now she's sixteen and back in the news: A tabloid newspaper claims that Lindsay is being held hostage by her father. The truth? Lindsay has been hiding out in a small Illinois town, living in a house that somehow provides relief from the stream of voices in her head. But when two local teenagers try to "rescue" Lindsay by kidnapping her, Lindsay is forced to confront everything she's hiding from. And that's when she discovers there may be others who share her strange power. Lindsay is desperate to learn more, but what is she willing to risk to find the truth?"

Clay Man: The Golem of Prague by Irene N. Watts. "It is 1595, and the rabbi’s son Jacob is frustrated with having to live in the walled ghetto known as Jewish Town. Why can’t he venture outside of the gates and explore the beautiful city? His father warns him that Passover is a dangerous time to be a Jew and that the people from outside accuse the Jews of dreadful deeds. But one night, Jacob follows his father and two companions as they unlock the ghetto gates and proceed to the river, where they mold a human shape from the mud of the riverbank. When the rabbi speaks strange words, the shape is infused with life and the Golem of Prague is born."

Everwild (Skinjacker Trilogy) by Neal Shusterman. "There was the rumor of a beautiful sky witch, who soared across the heavens in a great silver balloon. And there were whispers of a terrible ogre made entirely of chocolate, who lured unsuspecting souls with that rich promising smell, only to cast them down a bottomless pit from which there was no return. Everlost, the limbo land of dead children, is at war. Nick the "Chocolate Ogre" wants to help the children of Everlost reach the light at the end of the tunnel. Mary Hightower, self-proclaimed queen of lost children and dangerous fanatic, is determined to keep Everlost's children trapped within its limbo for all eternity. Traveling in the memory of the Hindenburg, Mary is spreading her propaganda and attracting Afterlights to her cause at a frightening speed. Meanwhile, Allie the Outcast travels home to seek out her parents, along with Mikey, who was once the terrifying monster the McGill. Allie is tempted by the seductive thrill of skinjacking the living, until she learns a shocking secret: Those who skinjack are not actually dead."

The Giant-Slayer by Iain Lawrence. "The spring of 1955 tests Laurie Valentine’s gifts as a storyteller. After her friend Dickie contracts polio and finds himself confined to an iron lung, Laurie visits him in the hospital. There she meets Carolyn and Chip, two other kids trapped inside the breathing machines. Laurie’s first impulse is to flee, but Dickie begs her to tell them a story. And so Laurie begins her tale of Collosso, a rampaging giant, and Jimmy, a tiny boy whose destiny is to become a slayer of giants. As Laurie embellishes her tale with gnomes, unicorns, gryphons, and other fanciful creatures, Dickie comes to believe that he is a character in her story. Little by little Carolyn, Chip, and other kids who come to listen, recognize counterparts as well. Laurie’s tale is so powerful that when she’s prevented from continuing it, Dickie, Carolyn, and Chip take turns as narrators. Each helps bring the story of Collosso and Jimmy to an end—changing the lives of those in the polio ward in startling ways."

Grk Smells a Rat by Joshua Doder. "Tim Malt; his parents; his dog, Grk; and his friends Natascha and Max Raffifi have just arrived in India. They are all set to see the famous sights and watch Max compete in a tennis tournament. But after meeting a boy named Krishnan, they learn about the Blue Rat Gang, a group that enslaves children. Krishnan needs help to rescue his sister from a cruel life of forced labor, and Tim and Grk are up to the challenge. Racing against time, Tim and Grk are chased through dark alleys only to find themselves face-to-face with the infamous leader inside the Blue Rats’ headquarters. Can they foil his evil plans before it’s too late?"

Lost Worlds by John Howe. "From the world of Aratta and Mohenjo-Daro to Atlantis and Camelot, this visually stunning book is a window with a view that takes readers on an historical, archaeological, and mythological journey through lost worlds, those abandoned in time, buried and forgotten, and the ones that live in the imagination. Attempting to put the most plausible pieces of history together, John Howe, concept artist for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, begins the journey that will move readers to explore these lost worlds even further."

The Luckiest Boy by Scott Christian Sava. "13 year old Russell Ranger is the unluckiest boy in the world. Nothing ever seems to go his way. Nothing good at least. One day, though, he meets a real, honest to goodness Leprechaun, who grants him a wish... just one wish. So he wishes to be the Luckiest Boy in the World! Suddenly, his family wins the lottery, gets to meet his favorite football player, and even discovers Bigfoot. He's a worldwide celebrity. But something's not right. All of the good luck is going to Russ. But, that means all the bad luck is given to the rest of the world! Now, earthquakes, stock market crashes, and a deadly asteroid threaten the existence of everyone on Earth, and only Russ can stop it... if he can find the Leprechaun to give his good luck back!"

Olivion's Favorites (Marvelous World) by Troy Cle. "When Louis Proof collapsed in pain in front of his uncle's store, he thought he was going to die. Instead he awoke in Midlandia, a place of the impossible. Almost as soon as he arrives, three eNoli -- people who look human but are otherworldly -- try to kill him. In fact, it seems as if everyone in Midlandia is trying to kill Louis and the other two human teens, Cyndi Victoria Chase and Devon Alexander. The three are Favorites. If they survive Midlandia, they will have great powers. That's a big "if," though. Louis must find Cyndi and Devon, who've been flung to different parts of Midlandia. Only when the three are together will Olivion's Gate appear. Then they will be able to cross the Gate, meet the Olivion, and return home. The three teens must also pay attention to everything on their journey. It is not enough to be a Favorite; they need to learn how to use their newfound abilities. Tremendous challenges await them at home. But as they're about to learn, those challenges are only the beginning. A threat is coming that is greater than anyone -- human or eNoli or iLone -- can imagine...."

Scurvey Goonda by Chris McCoy. "In Book One of this two-part story, an endearing misfit embarks on an amazing adventure in search of his friend Scurvy Goonda, an outrageous invisible pirate with an insatiable love for bacon. Part friendship story, part madcap adventure, readers who love stories in which almost-ordinary kids travel to fantastical lands and become heroes will revel in the imaginative landscape and characters featured in this original debut. While adventure-loving vegetarians will find much to savor, this is a must-read for all who love bacon—which plays a key role in the story’s sizzling climax!"

Versus: Warriors by Steve Stone. "Ten of the greatest warriors of history meet for the first time. From Viking vs. Aztec Warrior and Samurai v. Gladiator to Medieval Knight vs. Zulu, Versus explores who would triumph and why, if these fiercest warriors were to engage in deadly battle against one another. Data files compare and contrast weaponry, armor, tactics and codes of honor, while eye-catching background scenes of arenas provide historical and cultural context. With the computer-gamer in mind, designs brings history's warriors into the 21st century and readers will be treated to large, gate folded pages that enhance the experience of each battle In the end, only one can be crowned history's ultimate warrior. Who will it be?"

Young Adult:

Angel in Vegas: The Chronicles of Noah Sark by Norma Howe. "Who is Noah Sark, really? And what is he doing in the men’s room at Angelo’s Donut Shop in Las Vegas, Nevada? No use asking him; he doesn’t know. But he’s gambling that an assignment from above will shed some light — after all, a life depends on it! Only master satirist Norma Howe could craft a provocative meditation on free will from blending one (or maybe two) budding teen romances, a psychic fair, a dead frog, a headful of blond curls, and Las Vegas in all its glitz and kitsch (hello, Elvis!) with the dramatic backstory of Princess Diana in Paris. The jackpot? A wild and witty portrait of an unlikely guardian angel on a desperate mission to save a certain unknown girl from a certain unknown disaster."

Betrayals: A Strange Angels Novel Lili St. Crow. "Poor Dru Anderson. Her parents are long gone, her best friend is a werewolf, and she’s just learned that the blood flowing through her veins isn’t entirely human. (So what else is new?) Now Dru is stuck at a secret New England School for other teens like her, and there’s a big problem— she’s the only girl in the place. A school full of cute boys wouldn’t be so bad, but Dru’s killer instinct says that one of them wants her dead. And with all eyes on her, discovering a traitor within the Order could mean a lot more than social suicide. . ."

The Magician of Hoad by Margaret Mahy. "Heriot Tarbas was born with a gift. Visions wake him in the middle of the night, and others' thoughts invade his head. Heriot's mind already feels torn apart when the King of Hoad decides to tear him away from his family. Heriot quickly discovers that life in the royal court is much more difficult and complex than life on the farm. Being at the beck and call of a King who expects him to read friends' and foes' minds alike is no small challenge, but neither is being caught in a power struggle among three princes and an intimidating Hero of Hoad. As Heriot hones his skills and grows into the role of the Magician of Hoad, the number of people he can trust becomes smaller. Loneliness threatens to engulf him until a chance encounter brings a street urchin named Cayley into his life. Heriot feels inexplicably drawn to Cayley, someone he sees so much of himself in, yet at times feels like he does not understand at all. But even amidst the turmoil, Heriot is certain that his ever-developing power is the key to his destiny...if only he could figure out exactly what that destiny is supposed to be."

Dr. Sigmundus: The Resurrection Fields (The Promises of Dr. Sigmundus) by Brian Keaney. "Beginning where Book 2, The Cracked Mirror, left off, this finale to the Promises of Dr. Sigmundus trilogy takes readers into bizarre realms with fanciful creatures, continuing its signature exploration of the price of freedom and self-determination. Focusing on the ongoing struggles of its teenaged protagonists, Dante and Bea, it is a journey at once thrilling and thoughtful, with plenty to offer for pure reading enjoyment and book discussion."

The Shadowmask: Stone of Tymora, Book II by R.A. & Geno Salvatore. "Though robbed by a masked spellcaster and left for dead by a demon, twelve-year-old Maimun refuses to give up the magic that rightfully belongs to him. After reuniting with dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden and Captain Deudermont's crew, Maimun sets off on a sea-faring chase that will test both the strength of his spirit and of his friendships. As perilous storms rock Sea Sprite and vicious pirates bombard its decks, a mysterious force gathers in the Moonshaes, determined to bring Deudermont's ship - and Maimun's quest - crashing to an end on its shores."

Winter's End by Jean-Claude Mourlevat. "Escape. Milena, Bartolomeo, Helen, and Milos have left their prison-like boarding schools far behind, but their futures remain in peril. Fleeing across icy mountains from a terrifying pack of dog-men sent to hunt them down, they are determined to take up the fight against the despotic government that murdered their parents years before. Only three will make it safely to the secret headquarters of the resistance movement. The fourth is captured and forced to participate in a barbaric game for the amusement of the masses — further proof of the government’s horrible brutality. Will the power of one voice be enough to rouse a people against a generation of cruelty?"

Shadowland: The Immortals by Alyson Noel. "Ever and Damen have traveled through countless past lives—and fought off the world’s darkest enemies—so they could be together forever. But just when their long-awaited destiny is finally within reach, a powerful curse falls upon Damen…one that could destroy everything. Now a single touch of their hands or a soft brush of their lips could mean sudden death—plunging Damen into the Shadowland. Desperate to break the curse and save Damen, Ever immerses herself in magick—and gets help from an unexpected source…a surfer named Jude. Although she and Jude have only just met, he feels startlingly familiar. Despite her fierce loyalty to Damen, Ever is drawn to Jude, a green-eyed golden boy with magical talents and a mysterious past. She’s always believed Damen to be her soulmate and one true love—and she still believes it to be true. But as Damen pulls away to save them, Ever’s connection with Jude grows stronger—and tests her love for Damen like never before…"

For all ages:

Fairie-ality Style: A Sourcebook of Inspirations from Nature by David Ellwand. "Photographer David Ellwand’s eye for natural beauty has brought him international renown. In this stunning new volume, a follow-up to FAIRIE-ALITY: THE FASHION COLLECTION FROM THE HOUSE OF ELLWAND, he uses the same gorgeous array of natural elements — feathers, flowers, stones, shells, and more — to explore the limits of imagination in home design as well as haute couture. Partly an inspirational sourcebook for imaginative DIY projects, partly a showcase of unique fantasy fashion, FAIRIE-ALITY STYLE is an eco-designer’s dream — the ultimate exploration of truly organic materials."

Lost Worlds, by John Howe, for Nonfiction Monday

There are some books which, the moment you see them, invite you to open them. The opening is accompianied by appreciative murmurs, and thoughts of gift giving. Lost Worlds, by John Howe (Kingfisher, 2009, older middle grade on up, 95 pp), is just such a book. Mysterious looking. Engaging. Alluring. And with great content inside!

In his introduction, Howe (who was the concept artist for the Lord of the Rings movies) writes:

"There are two kinds of lost worlds: Those abandoned in time, buried and forgotten, like Aratta or Mohenjo-Daro, and the ones that live in the imagination, from Atlantis to Camelot. The first ones we might call real, since they once had streets filled with people. The latter are real, too, but in a different way; they embody our need for symbols and meaning." (page 9)

And so he sets out to offer a tour of the lost worlds (both real and fantastical) that have captured the imaginations of people for millennia. Howe takes his readers from the Garden of Eden, to Thebes, to Cahokia, Shambhala, Avalon and the Hollow Earth (and many more magical places--24 in all), offering, like a good tour guide, much clearly presented information about each one. Alongside the words are pictures--both beautiful original art, and also photographs of the real places and artifacts from them. The detailed, colorful illustrations bring the places to life--the reader can imagine, for instance, walking the streets of Mohenjo-Daro, or arriving at Timbuktu...

The imaginary places included are skewed toward a European world-view, and even some of the places that aren't in Europe are discussed from the point of view of European eyes. There is, however, considerable cultural and geographical variety. The one striking geographical omission from the lost places featured is East Asia--there are no lost worlds of China or Japan (although there is Shambhala, high in the Himalayas). A few are included in the Appendix at the end, which gives tantalizingly brief descriptions of more lost worlds. Although there's a glossary and an index, I would really have appreciated a map--many of the places described are real, and it would be useful to know where they are.

That being said, this is a beautiful book, one that educates as it entertains. It would a great gift for the middle-school kid (maybe 5th grade up) who is fascinated by archaeology and mythology (and who loves the "ology" books). It would also make a good gift for an older fantasy loving teenager, or even an adult lover of fantasy. And, as an added bonus, there's a forward by Ian McKellen (aka Gandalf).

Review copy received from the publisher.

Today's Non-Fiction Monday is at Tales from the Rushmore Kid.

Interview with Megan Whalen Turner at HipWriterMama, and more Winter Blog Blast Tour goodness

If you are at all a fan of Megan Whalen Turner, you must not miss today's interview with her at HipWriterMama! (there was something in it that made me squee like the fan girl I am). This interview is part of the Winter Blog Blast Tour, organized by Colleen over at Chasing Ray, where you can find the whole schedule.

Here are today's other offerings of particular interest to us fans of speculative fiction/sff:

Derek Landry at Finding Wonderland
Frances Hardinge at Fuse Number 8
Mary E. Pearson at Miss Erin

Introducing the Middle Grade Science Fiction and Fantasy Roundup!

Looking for reviews of middle grade science fiction and fantasy (sf/f) can be something of a hit or miss proposition. Books in this genre are often reviewed at blogs that have a general children's book focus, but you never know when that's going to happen, and middle grade books seem to show up only sporadically (if at all) at blogs whose focus is sf/f. So, inspired by Sherry at Semicolon, who hosts a review round-up every Saturday, today I'm introducing a similar, but more focused, weekly feature here, one that I hope will happen every Sunday.

I'm inviting everyone who's blogged about middle grade science fiction and fantasy (new or old) in the past week to leave me a link to their reviews, responses, reminiscences or remarks (as many as you want from the past week). Then, at the end of the day, there will be a lovely consolidation of mg sff posts that will be a nice and tidy resource for folks looking for the books, and all of us who like to read about them!

Middle-grade generally means books for children 9 to 12 year old, but if you have reviews of books that skew a bit younger than that, that's fine with me (but any older, and you are getting into YA territory, which is a whole different thing....). And, for future weeks, links to reviews can be emailed to me at any time, if you think you might not be commenting on that week's roundup Sunday itself.

So. Here we go!

This Week's Middle Grade Science Fiction and Fantasy Reviews (alphabetical by blog)

At Boys Rule Boys Read:

Salt Water Taffy: The Seaside Adventures of Jack and Benny - The Truth about Dr. Truth by Matthew Loux (a graphic novel) As an added bonus, this link also gives a review of The Monstrumologist...(YA)

Carl has a whole bunch more links that aren't from this week in his comment below--do check them out! But I couldn't resist linking to his review of The Roar, by Emma Clayton (2009), because it is next up on my Cybils reading list...

Here at my place (Charlotte's Library):

The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance (The Candle Man, Book 1), by Glenn Dakin (2009)
A Walk Through a Window, by kc dyer (2009)
Mike Stellar: Nerves of Steel by K.A. Holt (2009)

At Eva's Book Addiction:

Darkwood, by M.E. Breen (2009)
Sent, by Margaret Peterson Haddix (2009)

At The Excelsior File:

When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead (2009)

At Fantasy Book Critic, Cindy has:

The Hotel Under the Sand, by Kage Baker (2009)
Nine Pound Hammer (The Clockwork Dark Book 1) by John Claude Bemis (2009)
The Softwire: Virus on Orbis 1, by PJ Haarsma (2008)

At Fantasy Book Review:

Return to the Hundred Acre Wood, by David Benedictus (2009)

At Jean Little Library:

The Runaway Princess and its sequel, The Runaway Dragon, by Kate Coombs (2006 and 2009)

At Owl in the Library:

Powerless, by Matthew Cody (2009)

Please let me know if I am being unclear about anything, and please leave me your links!

THANKS!

The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance (Candle Man, Book One)

The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance (Candle Man, Book One) by Glenn Dakin (Egmont, 2009, Middle Grade, 300 pages)

Theo has lived all his life a prisoner, shut away in miserable confinement by his guardian (the head of the "Society of Good Works) to keep him from contaminating the outside world with his mysterious illness. But on a birthday outing to a nearby deserted cemetery, he finds a mysterious birthday gift--someone out there knows who he is.

Turns out the Society of Good Works are not good at all. Pitted against that society is another, the Society of Unrelenting Vigilance. And Theo might be just the hero they are looking for. But the Dodo, another mysterious bad guy with legions of extinct creatures at his command, wants Theo too...

Theo finds himself swept into a London of sinister underground tunnels, villains large and small, and creatures that he never dreamed existed (the smoglodytes are especially fun, in a polluted sort of way!). It's all a bit much for a boy whose barely even been outside, but with the mysterious powers of the Candle Man to help him, maybe Theo and his new friends can prevail...

This is an action-packed adventure, that takes the familiar trope of orphaned boy with special powers and runs with it like crazy! There are hints of steam-punkishness that add interest--such as infernal machines down in a dark underworld that never existed. It's definitely middle-grade, in that the darkness is leavened with a bit of silliness, and though there is violence, it is not disturbingly wrenching. It's a great one for readers who enjoy rather frenetic pacing, brisk shifts in the point of view from hero to various assorted secondary characters, and a densely packed canvas of villains, good guys, and assorted fantastical creatures.

The problem with all that, though, is that it doesn't leave much room for strong relationships to develop among the characters, or between the reader and the characters, for that matter. I wish there had been a bit more quite time to spend with Theo when he wasn't in mortal peril. He's a rather wonderfully neurotic character (blame it on his peculiar upbringing), and I hope he brings his quirkiness with him into the next book of the series (The Society of Dread, coming Fall 2010). I'm also hoping to find out more about Chloe--the young agent of the Society of Unrelenting Vigilance who plays a pivotal role in guiding Theo to his confrontation with the bad guys.

Here's one of my favorite passages from the book:

"I would be glad to meet anybody," Theo said eagerly. "There have been thirteen so far if you count a skeleton and don't count--what does Sam call those flying things?" Theo asked Chloe, remembering the garghoul.

"Birds," snapped Chloe." (page 84)

But it really was a garghoul, as Chloe well knows....

The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance has been nominated for the Cybils in the Middle Grade Science Fiction and Fantasy category, and the publisher generously provided review copies for us panelists (thanks Egmont!)