Charlotte's Library

In which I get, pehaps, a bit carried away in my discussion of the Murry parents for the Wrinkle in Time blog tour

2012-02-02T06:45:00.003-05:00

It was an honor to be asked to take part in the 50 years/50 blogs tour for the new commemorative edition of A Wrinkle in Time. I still have my childhood copy of the book, and it is well read, and much loved (although I never wanted to be at all like Meg...), and it was a treat to read all the extras (see below) in the new edition.

This week, the participating blogs are featuring the characters. I ended up picking two—the Murry parents. Off-stage for most of the book, they are nevertheless, practically and metaphorically, integral to the story. And the more I thought about the Murry parents, the more I extended the whole idea of “parenting” to the other adults, and started thinking about the parent/child relationship as the driving force of the book as a whole. It's possible I got carried away...

First, the Murry parents.

The Murrys love their children. This is made clear right at the beginning of the book, when Calvin pays his first visit: "You don't know how lucky you are to be loved." And Meg is somewhat startled, and answers "I guess I never thought of that. I guess I took it for granted." (page 38). This is what children do--but as they get older, and more reflective, they (hopefully) learn to appreciate unconditional love.

Meg’s mother is brilliant and beautiful. She is kind and loving, and clearly appreciates her children as individuals. Even though when she’s heating up dinner for the kids in the lab (which L’Engle seems to find amusingly shocking… me, not so much) she’s in control, and rational.

She is also useless—never at any point does she actually do anything that helps anyone, whether in regard to saving the universe or helping her kids get along at school. "...I don't think I can do anything till you've managed to plow through some more time. Then things will be easier for you. But that isn't much help right now, is it?" (page 12).

To Meg, very much not together, very conscious of not being beautiful, a very hot person emotionally, the idea that she will somehow become the type of grown-up that her mother presents is ludicrous. And this, I think, is one of the great sources of tension in her life just before the events of W. in T.—how to reconcile the impossibility of growing up with the fact that it’s going to happen….

Meg’s father gets more page time to actually say and do things. He’s the one that actually started the whole mess, by putting his obligation to "the government" and the chance to try out a new scientific discovery ahead of his family (another harsh fact of growing-up--realizing your parents are people with lives of their own!). He ends up trapped; Meg has to save him. Likewise, when Meg sees her mother through the Medium's magic, she realizes that her mother is weak--Mrs. Murry thinks no one is watching her, and allows herself to give into the weakness of grief and loneliness....rousing in Meg a fierce protectiveness.

This is a reversal of the “natural” order of things. Parents are supposed to save their children! "Her father had not saved her" (page 163) and two pages later "She had found her father and he had not made everything all right" (page 165). And Mr. Murry drives this point even further home when he admits, flat out, that he cannot do a gosh darn thing to save his youngest son, Charles Wallace. Parents are fallible. They are not saviours. They don't have the power to make everything all right.

As I was re-reading, I found that the Murry parents play a much larger role than I expected in shaping the whole emotional arc of Meg's story. And the importance of parent/child relationships plays out in the roles of the other "adults" in the story.

Mrs. Whatsit – the playful, “relatable” (gosh I hate that word) parent, but the fun times don’t last long as she isn’t actually there when times are tough
Mrs. Who—the parent who is always telling you things and expecting you to work them out for yourself
Mrs. Which -- the authority figure. Does not communicate clearly, but must be obeyed, somehow gives the impression of safety.

Yet none of them can save the day.

"Mrs Whatsit, you have to save him!"
"Meg, this is not our way," Mrs Whatsit said sadly (page 186).

Then there's Aunt Beast—the parent who makes you want to be a child again, held safe in a warm embrace, and this relationship is made clear in the text: "As though Meg were a baby, Aunt Beast bathed and dressed her" (page 179). But Aunt Beast, by the monstrous strangeness of her form, evokes the jitteriness of adolescence makes you recoil from that infantile physicality. And she too cannot bear any of Meg's burdens.

The final “adult” who plays an important role in the series is IT: not a parent type, but rather representing all the pressures of conformity. Yet even IT is presented directly as a parental alternative--instead of the (desirable) messiness of love, and human emotion, IT offers the dubious comfort of being just like everyone else.

"Father? What is a father?" Charles Wallace intoned. "Merely another misconception. If you feel the need of a father, then I would suggest you turn to IT." page 132

Incidentally, when Charles Wallace is part of it, he plays the confrontation child very nicely--"You're not the boss around here" he says to his father (page 147).

Often in adventure stories for children the parents are absent. In fact, there are often no adults worth a fig exercising any kind of influence on the characters or the plot. A Wrinkle in Time, however, is strikingly full of adults. The amount of page time in which there are no adults present, and pretty actively involved, is relatively small. L’Engle doesn’t send Meg and co. out alone on a grand adventure—they are sent on an adventure that is orchestrated by those much older than they are. The whole book can be read as Meg reacting to grown-ups, and learning to think of herself not as a child, but as a puissant actor, moving from wanting grown-ups to save her, to realizing that "...it has to be me. It can't be anyone else" (page 188).

And so, thinking about this off and on for the past week, my conclusion is that the title “A Wrinkle In Time” can be taken as a reference to adolescence, a metaphor for the child’s experience of growing up (no time is as wrinkly as seventh grade). Every adult (human or otherwise) is a parent-type with whom Meg must play out the central conflict of adolescence--the need to be loved and protected child vs the need to grow up, to push parents away.

Meg and co. are not on a quest to defeat some Ancient Darkness by means of magic. They are there to save her father (not defeat IT), and the only weapon Meg has is her ability to Love. Which leads me to what I think is the central point L’Engle is making: that a huge part of growing up is learning unselfish love, leaving behind the needy, possessive love of the child.

I’ve seen a number of people comment on how surprisingly un-dated A Wrinkle in Time feels. Maybe this is because changing state from child to grown-up is just about as utterly timeless a part of the human condition as can be.

It was great fun exploring A Wrinkle in Time in such depth, and I hope the fiftieth anniversy commemorative edition finds new readers for it! As well as the story, it contains:

•Frontispiece photo*†
•Photo scrapbook with approximately 10 photos*†
•Manuscript pages*†
•Letter from 1963 Caldecott winner, Ezra Jack Keats*†
•New introduction by Katherine Paterson, US National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature †
•New afterword by Madeleine L’Engle’s granddaughter Charlotte Voiklis including six never-before-seen photos †
•Murry-O’Keefe family tree with new artwork †
•Madeleine L’Engle’s Newbery acceptance speech

* Unique to this edition † never previously published

Here's The Wrinkle in Time Facebook page, and here are my fellow week three character bloggers:
Anna Reads
Bewitched Bookworms
Regular Rumination
Things Mean A Lot
Novel Novice
The Book Smugglers
Coffee and Cliffhangers
S. Krishna’s Books
Lisa the Nerd

Happy Blog Birthday to me!

2012-02-01T06:39:00.002-05:00

Charlotte's Library is now five years old. I have posted 1725 times; I wish I knew how many books I reviewed, but that would take too much counting. My most searched for book review is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (although about a third of the searchers think she's a Mrs., which possibly says something about our society's expectations for women, or not)--3822 searches. Second is The Green Book, aka Shine, by Jill Paton Walsh, which makes me happy, because it is the most perfect book going to introduce young kids to science fiction (2267 pages).

The blogisphere (sp? it looks weird) sure has changed from where it was when my blog began--there are so many, many more YA bloggers; when I started, it was possible to visit them all in a day! But the core group of children's book bloggers that were there when I began is, for the most part, still going strong, and I feel very lucky to have strengthened my friendships with these lovely comrades in book love.

I'm pretty happy about where my blog at the moment--I'm reading and reviewing books I love, and the number of visitors keeps going up (which I care about, because I want all the effort I put into this to be useful to people--it makes me awfully happy, for instance, when I look at my stats and see that someone has found one of my list, and opened 15 or so of the reviews), and I get just the right number of review copies in the mail--not so many as to overwhelm, but enough to feel validated (thanks publishers!).

I had one of my most thrilling book blogging moments just last month, when Ursula Le Guin linked to my review of Lavinia on her webpage (UKL read my review!!! And thought it worthy of linkage!!!! Swoon!!!)

I just wish I had more time to write more reviews--I only review about a third of what I read, and that gets a bit stressful. I also wish I made fewer typos. But since I have never been able to schedule posts, and often hit publish at the last possible minute before the kids have to be gotten up and taken to school (like now- argh it is 6:55 and we have to leave in 20 minutes and no one else is up), it is kind of inevitable. Sorry.

Thank you all who visit here--and thank you, other bloggers, for making it fun!

Waiting on Wednesday-Range of Ghosts, by Elizabeth Bear

2012-01-31T21:03:00.005-05:00

Back in 2010, I read a slim little YA book that I adored--Bone and Jewel Creatures, by Elizabeth Bear. Here's what I said:

"I shall start by saying flat out that this is a book for fans of Patricia McKillip (like me). Which is to say--this is a book where language and description and things hinted at in the shadows and old histories hanging between characters are of paramount importance, and plot and character motivations aren't spelled out in obvious ways. I loved it."

It was a book full of untold backstory, and I wanted to stay in the world for pages and pages more....

Yesterday I saw a mention of 2 forthcoming books by Elizabeth Hand, and I had to check to see if this was the Elizabeth with Monosyllabic Surname whose book I had liked so much, and of course it wasn't.* But happily for me I found that E. Bear has a new book coming out, set in the same world as Bone and Jewel Creatures!

It is called Range of Ghosts (Tor, March 27) and here is its blurb:

"Temur, grandson of the Great Khan, is walking away from a battlefield where he was left for dead. All around lie the fallen armies of his cousin and his brother, who made war to rule the Khaganate. Temur is now the legitimate heir by blood to his grandfather’s throne, but he is not the strongest. Going into exile is the only way to survive his ruthless cousin.

Once-Princess Samarkar is climbing the thousand steps of the Citadel of the Wizards of Tsarepheth. She was heir to the Rasan Empire until her father got a son on a new wife. Then she was sent to be the wife of a Prince in Song, but that marriage ended in battle and blood. Now she has renounced her worldly power to seek the magical power of the wizards. These two will come together to stand against the hidden cult that has so carefully brought all the empires of the Celadon Highway to strife and civil war through guile and deceit and sorcerous power."

But in the meantime, do try Bone and Jewel Creatures!

*There also Elizabeth Moon, and Elizabeth Wein (who I don't get confused with the others, because her last name isn't a noun in English). There is also Elizabeth Goudge, but she isn't a contemporary writer of sci fi/fantasy, so that's ok.

Waiting on Wednesday (which I always think of as Waiting, on Wednesday) is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

The Jewel and the Key, by Louise Spiegler, for Timeslip Tuesday

2012-01-31T05:37:00.007-05:00

The Jewel and the Key, by Louise Spiegler (Clarion Books, 2011, YA, 464 pages)

When an earthquake hits Seattle, it sets in motion a chain of events that gives sixteen-year old Addie, stage struck but shut out of the high school drama clique, the theater experience of her dreams. But this comes at a price that Addie could never have expected. While helping her father fix the earthquake damage to his bookstore, she finds a silver mirror, tucked among vintage clothes in a hidden storage room. When she looks in the mirror, she finds herself transported back to 1917 Seattle...where the dilapidated old theater of her own time, the Jewel, still has all its glory.

There, in the company of the vibrant theater people of the past, Addie learns to love the Jewel, and one young actor, named Reg, in particular. But the mirror shuttles her back and forth between times, and the future, both for the people of 1917, and in her own time, is clouded by war. For Reg, it's WW I; for Addie's best friend, and kind-of foster-brother, Whaley, it's the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the present, the owner of the Jewel is hoping to restore it--if the preservationists, with their grant money, can be convinced that enough is known about its original appearance. Addie's mirror might be the key that is needed...but saving the theatre, and saving Whaley and Reg from being swallowed by war, might be too much for her to pull off.

The Jewel and the Key is a book that carefully builds its story--as the cover image suggests, there are no mad rushings into headlong action. Addie is given time to come to terms with her time-travelling, the reader is given time to get to know the supporting cast, and, most importantly, there is time for Siegler to build a beautifully convincing picture of Seattle on the brink of WW I. The social history of the time is crucial to the story, and Siegler does an excellent job making it meaningful.

Addie herself is equally convincing--her relationships, both in the past and the present, rang true. The romance element of the book gave it poignancy on an intimate scale; the reality of war gave it a more universal emotional power.

It was a book I read somewhat slowly, feeling no need to rush (yet feeling, just a tad, that things could move on a bit faster...). I savored, along with Addie, the life of the early 20th century theater, I fretted along with her as she hunted in the present for the information that could restore it to its former glory, and my heart ached for her as she tried to keep safe those she loved.

At its best (in my opinion), time travel books use the past in powerful ways to change the lives of the characters from the present, forcing them to grow up, and change; putting them, essentially, through an emotional wringer, while shinning light on what was never considered before (and not annoying the picky reader with anachronisms). The Jewel and the Key does all this very nicely--Addie isn't the same person at the end, and I, as the reader, wasn't quite either, in the small, but cumulatively important ways that a book can change and educate its reader.

That being said, it wasn't a book that I loved. I think the deliberate pacing of the book diluted the emotional intensity somewhat, but this could have been just me. I held back from investing myself in the relationships formed in the past, having learned, through bitter fictional experience, that WW I and happily ever don't always go hand in hand (which isn't a spoiler for this book in particular, just my perspective reading it). I did, however, enjoy it very much, and do heartily recommend it, to fans of historical fiction and the theatre in particular.

Note on the mechanics of the time travel--sure, the mirror serves as a connection between past and present, and it's a special mirror, but there's no reason why it should act as a time travel device. If lack of explanation bothers you, you might well be bothered.

Note on age: It's YA in theme and age of heroine, but not inappropriate for a younger reader. The romance is understated, and though there are disturbing depictions of the reality of war, and police brutality, the violence isn't as nearly as graphic as The Hunger Games, which all the 11 year olds I know have read....

Here's another review, at Jen Robinson's Book Page (who incidentally found it a fast read, leading me to wonder if my reaction would have been different if I had read it under more peaceful circumstances that those that transpired. Last night was not a shining star in the annals of my 11 year old's homework)

This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and sci fi from around the blogs

2012-01-29T08:05:00.002-05:00

Hi. Here are the middle grade (ages 9-12) fantasy and science fiction focused posts that I found I found in my blog reading this past week. Please let me know if I missed yours, or anyone elses!

The Reviews:

The Book of Wonders, by Jasmine Richards, at Cracking the Cover

Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu, at My Favorite Books

The Dragon's Tooth, by N.D. Wilson, at Karissa's Reading Review

Elliot and the Goblin War, by Jennifer A. Nielsen, at The Introverted Reader

Emily Windsnap and the Monster from the Deep, by Liz Kessler, at Nye Louwon-My Spirit

Fairy Tale Detectives: The Sisters Grimm, by Michael Buckley, at Mister K Reads

The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (a new, beautifully illustrated edition from Taschen) at Books of Wonder and Wisdom

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, at Bookie Woogie

Icefall, by Matthew Kirby, at RoeSpot--More Coffee, Please... and Book 'em Benj

Jellaby, by Kean Soo, at Back to Books (graphic novel)

Liesl and Po, by Lauren Oliver, at Adventures of a Book Wyrm and Bunbury in the Stacks

A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, at Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia and Something Different Every Day

My Very UnFairy Tale Life, by Anna Staniszewski, at Geo Librarian

Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble, by D. Robert Pease, at Charlotte's Library

Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson, at Fyrefly's Book Blog

Revenge of the Horned Bunnies (Dragonbreath book 6) by Ursula Vernon, at Charlotte's Library

Secrets at Sea, by Richard Peck, at Reads for Keeps

Stealing Magic: a Sixty Eight Rooms Adventure, by Malorie Malone, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George, at Good Books and Good Wine

Ms. Yingling looks at several fantasies in one post--Bigger Than a Breadbox, by Laurel Snyder, The Rock of Ivanore, by Laurisa White Reyes, and Replication: The Jason Experiment, by Jill Williamson.

Authors and Interviews:

Jasmine Richards (The Book of Wonders) at Cracking the Cover

Here's Neil Gaimen's Mythcon Guest of Honor Speech from 2004, which he's just put up on his website. It's a look back at his childhood reading of Lewis and Tolkien and Chesterton...

Other good stuff:

At SF Signal, many authors share the books that introduced them to fantasy and sci fi (of particular interest, perhaps, to those raising the next generation of fans!)

Here's an article from last week I forgot to put in--at the Guardian, Imogen Russell Williams talks Alternate history lessons for children's fiction (including, among other good things, Ellen Renner's Castle of Shadows which has been on my wants list for ages, so I was thrilled to find it's coming out here in the US in March!)

At Seven Miles of Steel Thistles, Lucy Coats reflects on Baba Yaga

Wrinkle In Time aniversery celebratory postings continue--Amy's Library of Rock takes a look at Meg Murry, and you can find this week's participants in the 50 years/50 blogs event (this weeks theme-Sharing A W in T) here at the event's facebook page
. And at the NY Times, there's "'A Wrinkle in Time' and its Sci Fi Heroine."

I have a post up about the Amelia Bloomer List, from a middle grade fantasy perspective

And finally, thanks to Queen's Thief Week, organized by Chachic, of Chachic's Book Nook, this past week has been one of my most favorite blog reading weeks ever! Wonderful interviews, guest posts, and tons of great comments (including lots from MWT herself! Chachic has also included links to posts elsewhere--lots of good reading there too.

My contribution to Queen's Thief week--MWT speaks

2012-01-28T08:16:00.011-05:00

Chachic (of Chachic's Book Nook) had the brilliant idea of organizing a love fest of awesomeness to celebrate Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series, and I decided to make a small contribution, because I am a fan (in a passionately intense way). Megan Whalen Turner's books get the third best shelf space in my bedroom* and King of Attolia is in my top five favorite books of all time (I'm not sure which the others are, but they are probably good ones too).

I've had the happy fortune of meeting MWT in person twice now (here's a picture from the first meet-up in 2007, at the Niantic Book Barn--that's my husband, obviously thinking hard about whatever intelligent thing MWT is saying, along with a bit of a fellow Sounisian that I cropped because I wasn't sure she'd want to be on my blog):

As my Useful Contribution to Queen's Thief Week, I thought I'd gather all the bits of MWT talking I could find. Many of these links are on MWT's own website, but some aren't, so I thought it might be of interest to make a more complete list--let me know if I missed any!

2007 Shannon Hale interview MWT in three parts--here's the first

October, 2007 --Cheryl Rainfield was lucky enough to hear MWT at the Particles of Narrative Conference, and took detailed notes.

2009--a podcast interview at the Mount Kisco Library (via The Serpentine Library)

Nov. 2009 "Plotting with Megan Whalen Turner" at HipWriterMama

March 201o The Enchanted Inkpot and Chersti Nieveen

April 2010 Q&A with MWT at Publishers Weekly and an interview at Shelf Awareness

April 2010 At Damsels in Regress

June, 2010 MWT is one of several authors discussing "morals and values and lessons" at Shannon Hale's blog, Squeetus

May, 2011 LA Times Festival of Books interview

January, 2012 At Chachic's Book Nook for Queen's Thief Week!

And, just as a coda, my proudest MWT fan moment ever:

MWT (over at Sounis, on 4/16/08): "Charlotte, YOU are my Buffalo Film Festival. You and no other"

How could any fan not swoon?

* Here are the books in my bedroom (it's two pictures adjacent to each other, which is why the chimney is cut off)--MWT is to the right of the chimney, third shelf up. Diana Wynne Jones gets the best slot--the entire bookshelf right by the bed, but that's just because she's written more books than MWT. If MWT were to write as many books as DWJ (a girl can dream), I'd put MWT there. Urusula Le Guin (second best shelf space--above MWT, fourth and fifth shelves) has to stay where she is, because those books are shared with my husband.

The Amelia Bloomer Project's 2012 list--a mg fantasy perspective on feminism

2012-01-26T18:55:00.010-05:00

The mission of the Amelia Bloomer project is to "create an annual booklist of the best feminist books for young readers, ages birth through 18." They've just announced the 2012 list of books whose "women and girls reflect the complexities of the female experience and the increased awareness of strong women and girls throughout history and around the world." There are three age groups--Young Readers, Middle Readers, and Young Adult, and there is both fiction and non-fiction in each.

Here are the "middle reader" fantasy books (which goes from a low of second grade grade to a high of 10th, and is thus more flexible than my understanding of "middle grade," ie, ages 9-12):

Zita the Spacegirl, by Ben Hatke. Yay for Zita!

The Floating Islands, by Rachel Neumeier. Yay Floating Islands! This was a favorite of mine from last year.

I Shall Wear Midnight, by Terry Pratchett. Um, this was published in 2010, so it seems odd to see it here. But regardless, yay for I Shall Wear Midnight!

(I would have talked about the YA books too, but there were more of them, and more I hadn't read....)

And immediately upon reading the lists, I began to wonder what my own list would have looked like.

Here are the criteria:

1. Significant feminist content
2. Excellence in writing
3. Appealing format
4. Age appropriateness for young readers

Obviously criteria one is the trickiest, and because I'm interested, here's a big chunk of how this criteria is defined. I have enboldened the line I think is most telling.

"....feminist books show women solving problems, gaining personal power, and empowering others.... These books explain that there is a gender issue; they don’t leave the reader to guess. A book with a strong female character that does not demonstrate that an inequality exists may not be a feminist book. Strong female characters may be plucky, perseverant, courageous, feisty, intelligent, spirited, resourceful, capable, and independent–but the book’s presentation may still not be feminist."

I'm running into few problems. I can see why, for instance, the young heroine of Tuesdays at the Castle isn't "feminist": she's plucky, and an agent in shaping her destiny, but she's not a game-changer for the girls in her world. But Zita is troubling me. The text and illustrations don't, as far as I remember, explain that there is a gender issue. I can't remember gender being specifically an issue at all. It seems to be that Zita might be "feminist" just by the fact of her existence (?).

And I'm having a hard time deciding if gender is an issue for Hazel, the heroine of Breadcrumbs (this is a book I'd have put on the list)--I think it is, but again, I can't remember that being explained. I also don't recall any "others" in the book being empowered, but I'm not sure I like that criteria--when your journey is a solitary quest, like Hazel's, who is there to be empowered by it but yourself, and your readers?

But I've thought of one that meets the criteria, I think, rather well--Icefall, by Matthew Kirby. Gender is most definitely an issue, and the heroine refuses to let herself be confined by stereotypes. And I think The Floating Islands is an excellent choice.

What fantasy books from 2011 for "middle readers" would you have added to the list?

Update: Just wanted to say that I heard from Beth Olshewsky, the Amelia Bloomer Project C0-Chair from 2010-2012. She noted that the awards are given by consensus, so there's lots of debate and discussion about what books will make the list! (here's looking at you, Zita!)

She clarified the issue of which books are eligible: "books are eligible if they are published in the last six months of the preceding year (so the span is really 18 months), as you noted for I Shall Wear Midnight. The form for field nominations should be up by the end of February, so check back on the Amelia Bloomer blog http://ameliabloomer.wordpress.com/ to field nominate this and any other books that you think may qualify."

I'm rather thrilled to know that one can field nominate, because I do think highly of this list and am eager to play a small part in its formtion! You can bet I'll be putting Icefall forward, and Circus Galacticus, by Deva Fagan, and The Book of Wonders, by Jasmine Richards and The Freedom Maze, by Delia Sherman...and quite possibly others!

Revenge of the Horned Bunnies--Dragonbreath, book 6, by Ursula Vernon

2012-01-26T07:21:00.005-05:00

Revenge of the Horned Bunnies--Dragonbreath, book 6, by Ursula Vernon

The Dragonbreath books are mind candy for the young reader, and rather fun for the grown-up, as well. Mixing text dominated pages with graphic novel-esque spreads, they are easy, friendly, and fast books to read. The stories about Danny, a young dragon with fire issues, and his pals, are strange and suspenseful (and often very funny), the illustrations are utterly brilliant in their simple humor and charm. And as an added bonus, there is now a central girl character--a lizard named Christina, who is smart and skeptical as all get out.

But when the gang (Danny, Christina, and Wendell) head off to cowboy camp, along with Danny's annoying little cousin, Spenser, not even Christina's skeptical mind can deny that the creature Spenser secretly befriends is a jackalope!!!!! Yes, horned bunnies are real...but this one seems to be the last of its kind. All its friends and family have disappeared....

And it's up to Danny and co. to solve the mystery, and foil the nefarious plot that threatens the survival of the jackalopes!

This book has one of my favorite Dragonbreath pictures ever--Danny grooming his horse. And the jackalope is cute as all get out (even cuter than the picture on the cover). The story has swing, and made me chuckle (poor smart Christina, stuck with a camp counselor determined to apply nail polish!), and a message about protecting endangered species from mankind's greed that I liked lots.

A fine addition to a truly stellar series with just tons and tons of kid appeal, one of the few series for which I will I will go to the bookstore on release day. Give these books to your reluctant elementary schooler, or, like me, to your confidently reading middle schooler, or, also like me, to young Dutch cousins....they won't disappoint.

Here are my posts about the other books:

Book 1: Dragonbreath
Book 2: Attack of the Ninja Frogs
Book 3: Curse of the Weir-Wiener
Book 4: Lair of the Bat Monster
Book 5: No Such Thing as Ghosts

Help the Lorax speak for the trees

2012-01-24T17:45:00.003-05:00

UPDATE: thanks to commenter Katie DeKoster, I've learned that this petition seems to have worked! There's a Go Green button right on the front page, that takes you to "The Lorax Project."

Yay!

The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss, is brilliant, and doubtless contributed to making me the tree-hugger and frenzied recyler that I am today. I dunno if the live action movie coming out in March will be brilliant or not, but I hope that it will reach some kid, and make them think twice about buying over packaged food, or littering, or all the other small yet helpful things all of us can do.

Since the movie has a website, don't you think that website would be a pretty good place to put some information about how we can try to stop messing up our planet? Mr. Wells' 4th Grade Class, in Brookline, MA, thinks so, and they've created a petition at change.org:

We were excited for The Lorax movie to come out in March, but when we went to the movie website, there was absolutely nothing about saving the Earth which is what Dr. Seuss wanted us to learn. The site is more about selling tickets. The trailer did not include much about the environment, either! We think Universal Pictures needs to “green up" this website.

Our world, like the Lorax’s, is facing major environmental problems like pollution, global warming, oil spills, littering, a Great Pacific Garbage Patch, deforestation, and loss of animal habitat. These problems will affect our future.

The Lorax movie, with its millions of dollars in advertising and massive audience has the potential to help heal the Earth. This movie can show the world we should not take our sky, water, trees, and animals for granted. It could inspire more and more people to treat Earth with the same respect you would give a child.

Please consider signing their petition, asking Universal to "green up" the Lorax website.

Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble, by D. Robert Pease, for Timeslip Tuesday

2012-01-24T06:40:00.001-05:00

Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble, by D. Robert Pease (Walking Stick Books, 2011, upper middle grade, 320 pages).

Time travel that's solidly science fiction for young readers is thin on the ground. With his series about a boy named Noah Zarc, a time traveller from the future whose family's mission is to restore the damaged earth to a thriving ecosystem, Pease endeavors to fill that gap. The ethical/moral point raised concerning the needs of humanity vs the needs of the planet, is certainly an important one, and it's good to see it being addressed head on.

Twelve-year old Noah is the youngest of his family, born without the use of his legs, and happiest when piloting a spacecraft. Technology enables his chair to move over any surface, but still flight gives him more freedom than anything else. Still, with the help of his chair, Noah is a full participant in his family's mission--to fill the giant, timetravelling spacecraft that is their home with extinct animals from long gone eras.

When his parents fail to return from a routine mission back in time to the Ice Age, Noah heads down himself--only to find that his mother has been kidnapped by a powerful man who has no patience with Noah's family's dream of restoring the damaged earth. Along with a stowaway--a girl from the Ice Age, Noah sets of back to thirty-first century Mars, to save his mother, and all the esoteric scientific secrets that she holds. In the process, he discovers other secrets, about himself and his family, that will shake him to the core...

It's a fascinating premise, and a fast-paced adventure, that should please young readers who enjoy technological adventures, and who are fans of animals!

Unfortunately my own enjoyment was thrown somewhat by the introduction of the girl from the Ice Age, who adapted, it seemed to me, all to well and much to quickly to the wonders of the future. I wasn't able to suspend my disbelief, and my reservations regarding her were compounded by the fact that she does little to advance the story, as she is essentially shunted off stage for much of the action. I felt this was a pity, as the cultural dislocation of time travel fascinates me, and a lot more could have been done with this character's situation.

And there were, here and there, small details that bothered me--at one point, for instance, Noah is "walking" with the help of a special suit that responds to his thoughts, but still is out of breath after a "scramble" up a hill (pp 206-207)--if it was his thoughts moving the machine, there was no physical exertion. Small things like this, but they threw me out of the story.

On the other hand, there's lots of exciting action, cool technology, and the giant spacecraft filled with biomes is fascinating. Looking through the reviews on Goodreads, it seems that this book worked extremely well for many readers, although it wasn't quite a good fit for me personally.

Noah Zarc has been blog touring--here's a list of the stops. And here's the website for the book, where you can read excerpts and find other reviews.

(disclaimer: review copy received from the author)

Learning geography via Google Analytics, with bonus Hedgehog Fun!

2012-01-23T17:21:00.002-05:00

There will be hedgehogs! But first....

My sons and I enjoy the map feature of google analytics lots. It allows you to zoom in on a particular country, and see every municipality where visitors have come from. We pick towns that sound interesting, find images of them, and then decide if we want to visit. Thank you, International Visitors, for helping us learn about where you live!

For instance, the coastline around Simferopol in the Ukraine (2 visitors in the last month) looks like it would be fun to explore:

As does the countryside around Guwahati, India (1 visitor):

The boys have decided that Elk, in Poland (1 visitor), would be a peaceful place to go:

And our trip to Romania will include a stop in Suceava (2 visitors) to see this castle:

(The hedgehogs are coming!)

In visiting Romania, I found something I'd like to see even more than the castle. While looking for pictures of Oradea, we came across these very very cute pictures of baby hedgehogs:Hedgehog lust!

Which in turn leads to this fun bit of hedgehog-ness found at Once Upon a Blog, a "Hans My Hedgehog" story poster by Yael Albert:

Although this hedgehog is not all that cute.Which finally leads to a book, making it all on topic:

Hans, My Hedgehog, by my blogging friend Kate Coombs, is released tomorrow! Congratulations, Kate! Here's Kate talking about how the book came to be at The Enchanged Inkpot.

My dark horse pick for the Newbery--Where Do You Stay, by Andrea Cheng

2012-01-23T08:43:00.004-05:00

Edited to add: Nope! not even an honor....the full lists can be found here.

In just a little while, this year's Newbery winner will be announced, and I quickly want to go on record with the book I think should win today--Where Do You Stay, by Andrea Cheng (Boyds Mills Press, 2011, 136 pages). It's not the book I enjoyed most this past year, but it's the one that packed the most emotional punch per word of any book I read (with the possible exception of A Monster Calls), the one whose brilliant writing has stuck with me, so that now, months after reading it, I still think about it.

Where Do You Stay tells of Jerome, come to live at his aunt's house after his mother dies of cancer--it is not home. There is no piano, there is not even a bed for him yet--his aunt and uncle are doing the best they can, but money is tight. There wasn't enough money to pay the movers to bring his piano from his old home. Soon after his arrival, he becomes friends with Mr. Willie, who does odd jobs for people in exchange for food, and who lives as a squatter in the old carriage house of the big ramshackle house next-door.

Over the course of the summer, Jerome and Mr. Willie talk a bit, and become friends...both are pianists, and both, for very different reasons, want the old house to be saved from demolition. And both are asking themselves the question posed in the book's title--where do you stay? Where is home, when the person who made it so isn't there anymore, where is the center of yourself, when everything around you has collapsed....

Cheng creates a wealth of rich back-story with amazing subtlety, and creates three dimensional characters with the exquisite economy. This isn't one for readers who want to zip along from event to event--it's more a painting of its people....There are bits that are warm and moving, there are bits that are heartbreaking in how well they convey regret, and deep loss.

It's not a book with tremendous, in your face "kid appeal" (the cover, also, does little to sell the book to young readers, in my opinion). Many things (the concept of "white flight" for instance), aren't explained, and there's a lot of reading between the lines required (especially in Mr. Willie's backstory). But still, for the quality of the writing, for the memorable characters and the beautifully described, small but significant events of their lives, this is my Newbery pick.

Middle grade fantasy and science fiction--this week's round-up

2012-01-22T07:55:00.004-05:00

Here's what I found in this week's blog reading! Enjoy, and let me know if I missed anything.

The Reviews:

Above World, by Jenn Reese, at Wandering Librarians, So I'm Fifty, and Amy's Book Den

The Aviary, by Kathleen O'Dell, at Literate Lives

Bigger Than a Breadbox, by Laurel Snyder, at Good Books and Good Wine and at Jean Little Library.

The Book of Wonders, by Jasmine Richards, at TheHappyNappyBookseller, Mundie Kids, Rex Robot Reviews, and Charlotte's Library

Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu, at Readatouille

Casper Candlewacks in the Claws of Crime, by Ivan Brett, at The Book Zone

The Cabinet of Earths, by Anne Nesbet, at Charlotte's Library, Read Like Good Readers Do, Kindle-aholic's Book Pile, and twenty by jenny

Dragon Castle, by Joseph Bruchac, at Page In Training

The Fathomless Fire, by Thomas Wharton, at Back to Books

The Fire King (Invisible Order book 2), by Paul Crilley, at Beyond Books

Forbidden Sea, by Sheila A. Neilson, at Geo Librarian

The Girl Who Cicumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Catherynne Valente, at Adventures of a Book Wyrm

Ivy's Ever After, by Dawn Lairamore, at Library_Mama

Liesl and Po, by Lauren Oliver, at Musings of a Book Addict

The Mysterious Howling, by Maryrose Wood, at Madigan Reads

Princess of the Wild Swans, by Diane Zahler, at Rebecca's Book Blog

Snow in Summer, by Jane Yolen, at Jean Little Library

Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George, at Literary Lunchbox

Winterling, by Sarah Prineas, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

A Two for One Time travel post at time travel times two--11,000 Years Lost, and Switching Well, both by Peni R. Griffin

And a Two for One graphic novel post at Guys Lit Wire -- Sidekicks by Dan Santat and Bad Island, by Doug TenNapel

Authors and Interviews:

Jasmine Richards (The Book of Wonders) at TheHappyNappyBookseller

Sarah Prineas (Winterling) at The Enchanted Inkpot

Laura Lond (My Sparkling Misfortune), with bonus giveaway, at Geo Librarian.

Lauren Oliver (Liesl and Po) at Jason's Bookstack

Sue Perkins (Reva's Quest) at Across the Shinning Plain of Books

More Good Stuff

It is Queen's Thief week over at Chachic's Book Nook this week! If you've never read The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner, do!

Kate Coombs (aka Book Aunt) offers a lovely collection of Beauty and the Beast retellings.

And speaking of fairy tales, Mary Hoffman reflects on the Fisherman and His Wife, at Katherine Langrish's blog, Seven Miles of Steel Thistles.

Two mg fantasies that I like very much are in the running for the Edgar Awards for best juevenille mystery--Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby, and The Wizard of Dark Street by Shawn Thomas Odyssey. The other three are Horton Halfpott by Tom Angleberger, It Happened on a Train by Mac Barnett, and Vanished by Sheela Chari (which also has a slight touch of fantasy...)

At The Nerdy Book Club, Tom Angleberger proposes a new award, named for Lloyd Alexander, to be bestowed on a series after its last book is completed....lots of room for sci fi/fantasy there!

And speaking of awards, will a fantasy book be announced tomorrow as the winner of the Newbery? Here are those that did in the past:

2010 When You Reach Me
2009 The Graveyard Book
2004 The Tale of Desperaux
1999 Holes (do others consider this fantasy???)
1994 The Giver
1985 The Hero and the Crown
1976 The Grey King
1972 Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
1969 The High King
1963 A Wrinkle in Time
1948 The 21 Balloons
1947 Miss Hickory
1945 Rabbit Hill
1938 The White Stag
1931 The Cat Who Went to Heaven
1930 Hitty, Her First Hundred Years
1925 Tales from Silver Lands (does this count? It's a collection of folk tales; I've never read it)
1923 The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle

(I've read all but four)

And here are those I think stand the best chance tomorrow-Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu, The Cheshire Cheese Cat, by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright, and (if it's eligible/deemed age appropriate A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness).

And speaking of A Wrinkle in Time, don't forget to check out the latest posts in the 50 Years, 50 blogs celebration! The full list is here.

Lavinia, by Ursula K. Le Guin

2012-01-21T14:46:00.006-05:00

Lavinia, by Ursula K. Le Guin, has been sitting in my to-be-read pile ever since it was published, way back in 2008 (eep!). But, as of 1:00 pm, I can now say I have read all of her novels...and I can finally put Lavinia in her place on the special shelf of Le Guin books (shown here--front and center, at eye level; Le Guin is actually occupying two shelves, and there actually isn't space for another book, but there it is.).

Lavinia, a Bronze Age princess of a small Italian kingdom, appears at the end of Vergil's epic poem, the Aeneid. When Aeneas, after years of wandering, finally arrives in the place where he plans to found a new homeland for his band of exiles, Lavinia gets to watch her countrymen and the Trojans kill each other, with her hand in marriage as the prize to the victor. After much bloodshed, she gets to marry Aeneas. What she doesn't get, in Vergil's poem, is much screen time. And Ursula Le Guin, coming late in life to the Aeneid, was struck by this, and decided to give Lavinia a voice.

From a Kirkus interivew quoted here: “In the Aeneid, Lavinia is a mere convention, the blond maiden, a background figure barely sketched. Yet this is the woman the hero is commanded by the gods to marry. She so evidently has a voice, and Vergil knew how to listen to women; but he didn’t have time to listen to her. He’s in the war part of his story and has to get all the battles fought. So all Lavinia gets to do is blush. I felt it was time she got to tell her view of things. Inevitably this is also an interpretation of the hero’s story, in which I think Vergil shows the price of public triumph as personal tragedy."

Lavina is the autobiographical reflections of a character who knows that her existence is contingent (as she puts it) on her place in Vergil's poem. But, as she makes clear to the reader, there is more to her than is found in his words. She tells of her girlhood, running free in the woods, of her family, and the local people--small things of no great import, except to the people involved. She tells of her discomfort with being courted, and the distasteful thought of being married off, and being moved away from her place in the world. And then she tells of the arrival of Aeneas....and the blood that spilled, and the city that was built, and the love that she had for him.

Much of the book reads as straight historical fiction, the good type, that explores gender, and religion, and power, and how people make themselves who they are (Le Guin is especially good at the last in general, and does a particularly fine job with it here!). Although I enjoyed these aspects of the story, and although I liked the first part, about Lavinia as a girl, quite a lot, there were, quite frankly, too many people killed in the middle of the book (blame Vergil). I skimmed this part, and wish Le Guin had too, even though the dispassionate side of my brain realizes that the bloodshed is an integral part of the characters' story....

Here's what she said about that aspect of the Aenead, in a 2009 Time interview: "It’s pretty gross in the Aeneid. It’s ugly. And that too struck me as part of what the book is about. I think Vergil wrote that book partly to tell Augustus, OK, you made it, you won, you’re on top. This is the cost of winning, of getting on top. Enough is enough. I see it as kind of an anti-war story. Vergil doesn’t enjoy battles the way Homer does." And nor does Aeneas, which is why he is a hero so much easier to care about than any of Homer's!

Lavinia (the book) is more, however, then the simply telling of the life of Lavina (the woman) in her historical context. Alongside that story, Le Guin explores Lavinia's understanding of herself as a creation of Vergil's writing. Few characters get to meet their creator; Lavinia, however, meets Vergil's spirit quite early in the book--she hears his doubts, and regrets, and learns more than she might want to know about her future, and her own actions and emotions are tempered by this. It adds a rather poignant, meditative note to the book, and it left me with an aching empathy not just for Lavinia, but for all who try to be their true selves, and for all those who powerful, beautiful stories have been lost to master narratives. (At least that's what I think I was feeling).

It was not the death of Aeneas that made my eyes briefly blurry, but this passage at the end of the book--

"I was fated, it seems, to live among people who suffered beyond measure from grief, who were driven made by it. Though I suffered grief, I was doomed to sanity. this was no doing of the poet's. I know that he gave me nothing but modest blushes, and no character at all. I know that he said I raved and tore my golden tresses at my mother's death. He simply was not paying attention: I was silent then, tearless, and only intent on making her poor soiled body decent. And my hair has always been dark. In truth he gave me nothing but a name, and I have filled it with myself. Yet without him would I even have a name? I have never blamed him. Even a poet cannot get everything right." (p 263).

In any event. If you are a fan of Le Guin's fantasy and science fiction, you might be disappointed--it's not much like her other books. Except that it is, in its thoughtful, graceful exploration of what it means to be a person, like so much else that she has written.

You can find lots of links to other, more detailed, reviews of Lavinia and interviews with Le Guin here at her website.

The Book of Wonders, by Jasmine Richards

2012-01-19T06:35:00.003-05:00

The Book of Wonders, by Jasmine Richards (HarperCollins, 2012, middle grade, 416 pages)

Thirteen-year-old Zardi longs to see the great wide world beyond her town. She loves the stories of adventure and magic that she manages to hear--not as many as she likes, because the sultan has banned all magic, and even all talk of it, from the kingdom of Arribitha. Disobey, and die. But Sinbad, the sailor, dared risk the sultan's wrath to tell his tales...and Zardi was there in the crowd along the waterfront, entranced.

So far Zardi has escaped the sultan's men, who are quick to break up crowds such as that, but since she is thirteen, a new danger looms. The sultan has a nasty habit of taking unmarried young women to be his praise singers, for a short term--and then killing them. It is not Zardi, though, who is taken, but her sister...

And so Zardi chops off her hair, dresses as a boy, and sets out into the world to find out if it the stories of an army of resistance to the sultan are true. With her goes her foster brother, Rhidan (abandoned as an infant), on a quest to find out the mystery of his own past. And fate leads them to Sinbad--storyteller, rouge, pirate, and charismatic leader of men. Whose mother just happens to be the daughter of a djinn, and a magic user in her own right.

When Zardi and Rhidan meet Sinbad's mother, Rhidan's own innate magic, the heritage of his mysterious father, is woken. And so, when Rhidan launches Sinbad's ship into a magical whirlwind to save it from the Sultan, a magical adventure begins, drawing on the adventures of Sinbad as told in the Arabian Nights, but combining them with the quest story of two young people seeking the magic and knowledge they need to set everything to rights.

The Book of Wonders is a good title for this--like the Arabian Nights, once things get going, the episodic adventures fall one after another like beads on a string, and just when seem things settled, another perilous encounter appears! If you are a reader who delights in one magical, dangerous, imaginative adventure after another, this is a book for you.

"The light bent and twisted. It grew arms and then legs, and Zardi gasped as a figure flickered into life beside her. It was a man who looked as if he were made out of green-tinted glass. He wore spectacles and had a neat, curling mustache and was no taller than her knee. A breath lodged in her thought. Could it be? Is he a djinni?

"You rubbed?" the man said in a dour voice, hovering up to eye level." (Page 220)

I myself would have liked a bit more, though--as readers of my blog have heard me say before, I prefer character to plot, and character here is definitely not as front and center. Although Zardi was reasonably real to me--brave, smart, and determined in the true middle grade fantasy way, Rhidan never came at all alive to me at all, and Sinbad, after a promising start that indicated interesting complexities of character, essentially faded out of the story.

By way of observation--sometimes, in fantasy books for "children," the writing and vocabulary can be complex and demanding. This is not the case here--Richards underlines her points, and keeps her sentences, for the most part, short and to the point. Which is either a good thing, or not so much of one, depending on the age, taste, and mood of the reader! But it does give the story a slightly younger vibe than some "middle grade" sff. And indeed, although there are some tense episodes of monster confrontation (those who don't like snakes, be warned--they play a scary role at one part), there's nothing here that pushes the story Young Adult-ward.

Although this story comes to a satisfying conclusion, many questions about Rhidan in particular are left unanswered--lots of room for a sequel!

Here's what I want to read next, though--Sinbad's original stories! I enjoyed picking up on many Sinbadian references, but I want to go back and see what I missed!

Other reviews can be found at Mundie Kids, The Book Monsters, The Book Cellar, and Michelle and Leslie's Book Picks

Edited to add: Here's an interview with Jasmine Richards at TheHappyNappyBookseller, who also has this review.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

Misfit, by Jon Skovron

2012-01-18T17:13:00.002-05:00

I was intrigued as soon as I heard that the premise of Misfit, by Jon Skovron (Amulet Books, 2011, YA), was a half-demon girl at a Catholic school. Then Misfit was shortlisted for the Cybils in YA sci fi/fantasy, and I was convinced. And I was also ready to read a nice YA book, after several months of middle grade...a kiss or two, or even more, is sometimes nice.

So I read Misfit. And it is more than just "demon girl has trouble fitting in at Catholic School." Jael, the titular misfit, actually was fitting in just fine. She had a best friend, a boy who might be become more than friend, and finally, after years of moving suddenly and too often, she'd been in the same place for two years. But then the necklace that belonged to her dead mother is handed over to her when she turns sixteen, triggers the demon side of herself, and all hell breaks loose (in a rather literal sense).

Turns out there was a lot of backstory to her parent's lives that Jael hadn't known about. The sort involving epic demonic power struggles of a tumultuous, and deadly, kind...Now that Jael is coming into her own, she's the target of demonic hatred. And the reader is left wondering (along with Jael, her father, and the cute boy mentioned above), if there is any hope....

Gosh, this was fun! Those who want good times with the paranormal, but are sick of Tortured Romance, should seek this out (that being said, I did get as much YAish romance I was hoping for). The telling alternates between Jael's brisk first person present and third person flashbacks to her parents' past, and the result is a nice narrative balance. The main characters were great (with a special nod to Jael's demon uncle--I can't wait to hear the story about how he ended up in his current, um, fishy state). The plot was just right too--exciting enough to be gripping without overwhelming me in violent action.

Quite a bit of suspension of disbelief is called for viz Jael and her demonic powers (which almost crossed the line of being Too Much to swallow), and I can imagine that some readers might be thrown out of the story if they stop and think about things too much. But I was careful not to, and so enjoyed it immensely!

This is one I'm putting on my list of multicultural sci fi/fantasy: Jael's mother is most definitely not Caucasian (more North African/Middle Eastern/South Asian), and Jael is described as "maybe Middle Eastern or something" and says that her hair is like a "giant black cotton ball." So I'm counting her as non-white.

Note for those who might have doubts about the demon element: Skovron doesn't use the framework of Christianity as the fixed template for his story, although it is, in the world he's created, a real and powerful force against demons. The demons themselves, drawn from ancient myths and stories, predate it, though they were involved in the events of the Old Testament (I found the story of Sampson and Jael's mother especially fascinating). The "Hell" here is not the Christian place for damned souls; it is more a paranormal alternate realm. There was nothing that struck me as disrespectful of Christianity as a religion (although some practitioners are not portrayed in a positive light).

Waiting on Wednesday--Ship of Souls, by Zetta Elliott

2012-01-18T08:24:00.002-05:00

A new book by Zetta Elliott! I love bird-watching, math whiz kids, and the magical element sounds most intriguing.

Ship of Souls (AmazonEncore, February 28, 2012, 132 pages)

"When Dmitri, an eleven-year-old bird-watcher and math whiz, loses his mother to breast cancer, he is taken in by Mrs. Martin, an elderly white woman. Unaccustomed to the company of kids his own age, D struggles at school and feels like an outcast until a series of unexpected events changes the course of his life.

First, D is asked to tutor the school’s basketball star, Hakeem, who will get benched unless his grades improve. Against the odds, the two boys soon realize they have something in common: they are both taunted by kids at school, and they both have a crush on Nyla, a beautiful but fierce eighth-grade girl. Then Nyla adopts D and invites him to join her entourage of “freaks.” Finally, D discovers an injured bird and brings it home from the park.

D is stunned when the strange bird speaks to him and reveals that she is really a guiding spirit that has been held hostage by ghost soldiers who died in Brooklyn at the start of the American Revolution. As Nuru’s chosen host, D must carry her from Brooklyn to the African Burial Ground in lower Manhattan, but the ghost soldiers won’t surrender their prize without a fight."

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Little Women and Me, by Lauren Baratz-Logsted, for Timeslip Tuesday

2012-01-17T08:05:00.003-05:00

Little Women and Me, by Lauren Baratz-Logsted (Bloomsbury, upper middle grade/YA, 320 pages)

The March sisters, the titular "little women" of Louisa May Alcott's classic--Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy--have loomed large in many the young reader's mind. As Emily, the freshman protagonist of Little Women and Me, puts it:

"Girls without any sisters want to have sisters like them. And girls like me, ones with sisters who always make you feel like the least important people in your own families--those girls really wanted to have sisters like them!" (page 13)

And Emily gets her wish one evening while writing an essay about what she would change in Little Women (a difficult choice between saving Beth, and hooking Jo up with Laurie). WHOOSH! [sic] Emily finds herself the middle March girl, living the story along with Meg and co.

And from then on, all the familiar scenes from the book play out, with Emily right there in the thick of things...more or less. The newest March sister has, understandably, a rather vague place in her new family, something that puzzles even the other girls from time to time. But as the seasons pass, jumping from scene to scene from the original story, Emily becomes more and more one of the family...which only increases her determination to change things for the better.

Bartz-Logsted writes with loving affection for the original, mixed with loving fun-poking at the original! And I appreciated this, and enjoyed many parts of it lots.

Little Women (counting, as is the case here, the sequel Good Wives as the same book) is something I can quote chunks of from memory. I do not know how many times I have read it. So on the one hand, I am the perfect reader for the book--I got all the jokes, and enjoyed many of the twists. Except, on the other hand, I'm the most critical type of reader, because of course I would have done things differently, and some of the twists I downright loathed.

And I am also a bad reader for the book because I think Amy and Laurie are the right match for each other. Darn it, I like Amy! She grows up! She changes! Sure, she's a self-centered brat for much of the story, but she's a realistic kid! I must confess that, though I am of course far less self-centered, vain, and concerned with material things than Amy, once I was a teenager and in my twenties (yes, I was still re-reading the book at that point) she was the March sister I felt was most like me...Since Beth dies, she of course was not an option, obvious though my similarities to her are (ha ha). And I re-read that bit on the lake with Amy and Laurie especially often, savoring the romance of it.

So I didn't agree with Emily that the romance part needed to be changed.

But back to Emily's story, and the rather difficult question--does this book work, and for whom? I think you have to be more than a little familiar with the original for it to make any sort of sense, but if that is the case, than sure, it's fine entertainment, even thought-provoking at times when Emily starts questioning the norms of 1860.

I would have liked it more had Emily been a more sympathetic character. She is more self-centered than I would have liked! But this aspect of her personality made the sparks fly between her and Jo, which was fun, and she does become a somewhat improved person (in true Little Women fashion) by the end of the story.

Final word: Don't expect any rational sort of explanation for Emily's experience...the time-slip/reality-slip has to happen for the book to exist, and that's all there is to it!

Note on age: Emily is definitely a modern young teenager, pushing the book YA-ward, but, apart from some competitiveness with Jo to attract the attentions of Laurie, there is nothing content-wise that makes this any less suitable for younger kids than the original!

Not directly related to the book at hand: At one point (in both the original and her) Beth is busily engaged in sorting pine cones, her version of virtuous industry, with some craft in mind (those crazy Victorians!). Never in my life have I said to myself, "Oh how I would like some sorted pine cones," and overcome with curiosity, I turned to google. Perhaps Beth plans to make this, which I found here:

Select good clear cones, and dissect some which have handsome, large scales, and brush them clean; lay nice white putty, or a similar adhesive substance, smoothly on your frame; set into this putty whole cones, large and small, in such figures as suit your taste, and fill the entire groundwork with the scales, lapping one neatly over the other.

Cut oval and round frames for light pictures, from bookbinder's pasteboard, and cover with the scales in layers or rows. Scallop the edges with small whole cones, set in large cones surrounded by little ones equidistant, if the frame be broad, and fill in with the scales. When dry, take out those which are not firm, and replace. Add acorns ad libitum.

Varnish the whole once or twice. If you wish something nice, go over every part with a fine brush, and leave no varnish standing in drops. Cones can be found by almost anyone in an hour's walk through pine woods. Indeed, if one has a taste for the beautiful, and is quick in perception, it is impossible to ramble through woods and fields without finding many curiosities in the shape of mosses, grasses, cones, etc.

I find it hard to imagine actually wanting the final result.

Probably, knowing Beth, she is making cute little pine cone dolls for the poor. I wish Alcott had told us....

New releases of fantasy and science fiction for kids and teens--the second half of January, 2012 edition

2012-01-16T19:37:00.002-05:00

Here are the new releases of fantasy and science fiction for kids and teens coming out in the second half of January, 2012! My information comes from Teens Read Too, with blurbs (for the middle grade books, because the YA books get more attention elsewhere) from Amazon.

Middle Grade (ages 9-12)

ANGEL OF THE BATTLEFIELD: THE TREASURE CHEST by Ann Hood "While exploring The Treasure Chest, Felix and Maisie are transported to a Massachusetts farm in 1836. Disappointed that they have not landed in their beloved New York City, they wonder why they were brought to Massachusetts to meet a young girl named Clara Barton. Perhaps Clara has a message for the twins? Or maybe they have one for her?"

THE BOOK OF WONDERS by Jasmine Richards "Sorcerers, Cyclops, Djinnis...Magic. Thirteen-year-old Zardi loves to hear stories about fantastical beings long banned from the kingdom of Arribitha. But anyone who is caught whispering of their powers will feel the rage of the sultan—a terrifying tyrant who, even with his eyes closed, can see all. When her own beloved sister is captured by the evil ruler, Zardi knows that she must risk everything to rescue her. Along with Rhidan, who is her best friend, and an unlikely crew of sailors led by the infamous Captain Sinbad, Zardi ventures forth into strange and wondrous territory with a seemingly impossible mission: to bring magic back to Arribitha and defeat the sultan once and for all."

CHASING THE WHITE WITCH by Marina Cohen "Teased by her older brother, bullied by the popular girls at school, and plagued by a blistering pimple that has surfaced on the tip of her nose, twelve-year-old Claire Murphy wishes she could shrivel up and die or spontaneously combust. But when a mysterious book appears at her feet in the checkout aisle of a grocery store, Claire is confident all her troubles are over. Following the instructions carefully, Claire dives nose-first into reeking remedies, rollicking rituals, and silly spells. It's only when she recklessly disregards the Law of Three that the line between good and evil blurs and Claire must race against time to undo all of the trouble she's caused."

HADES, LORD OF THE DEAD: OLYMPIANS by George O'Connor "Hades: Lord of the Dead tells the story of the great God of the Underworld and one of the most famous of all Greek myths: Hades’ abduction of Persephone and her mother’s revenge. Be prepared to see a new side of Persephone in this dynamic adaptation of the story of the creation of the seasons."

THE ISLAND HUNTERS: THE LEGEND OF BROWN EYED JAMES by N.E. Walford "The legend is real and the man was named James Baako, a merchant, a coppersmith, and voyager turned Treasure Hunter. The key to the Hunter family legacy has been found. But he s not where anyone would expect. And as the Hunter boys find this latest mystery revealed, little do they know who else is looking for him. Now, the journey of a lifetime has turned to chaos as all of their enemies converge in one place. And the knowledge of the past has already begun to bestow power upon the wrong people."

JOURNEY TO MARS: PHINEAS AND FERB by Ellie O'Ryan "Phineas and Ferb's friend Baljeet is working on an awesome project for the summer school science fair—he's building a giant portal to Mars! But when Phineas and Ferb's sister, Candace, accidentally goes through the portal and lands on the barren planet, it's Phineas and Ferb to the rescue! Readers will love this fun 112-page chapter book filled with exciting black and white screen grabs from the show."

LITTLE LION: THE TREASURE CHEST by Ann Hood "Now that the twins have begun to settle into their new lives at Elm Medona, they delve deeper into The Treasure Chest and uncover more about the Pickworth family, including the disappearance of their great-uncle Thorne and the theft of priceless family artifacts.

In this adventure, The Treasure Chest transports Felix and Maisie to tropical St. Croix in 1772. There they meet a young man named Alexander Hamilton who is about to embark on a journey to New York. Felix and Maisie aren't sure why The Treasure Chest has brought them to meet Alexander, but they are determined to not let him out of their sights . . .even if that means stowing away on the very ship he is sailing off on!"

THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN by Katherine Applegate "Ivan is an easygoing gorilla. Living at the Exit 8 Big Top Mall and Video Arcade, he has grown accustomed to humans watching him through the glass walls of his domain. He rarely misses his life in the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it at all.

Instead, Ivan thinks about TV shows he’s seen and about his friends Stella, an elderly elephant, and Bob, a stray dog. But mostly Ivan thinks about art and how to capture the taste of a mango or the sound of leaves with color and a well-placed line.

Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant taken from her family, and she makes Ivan see their home—and his own art—through new eyes. When Ruby arrives, change comes with her, and it’s up to Ivan to make it a change for the better."

POPULAR CLONE: THE CLONE CHRONICLES by M.E. Castle "Meet Fisher Bas: 12 years-old, growth-stunted, a geeky science genius, and son of the Nobel Prize-winning creators of the Bas-Hermaphrodite-Sea-Slug-Hypothesis. No surprise: Fisher isn't exactly the most popular kid in his middle-school, tormented daily by the beefy, overgrown goons he calls The Vikings. But he senses relief when he comes upon the idea of cloning himself--creating a second Fisher to go to school each day while he stays at home playing video games and eating cheetos with ketchup. It's an ingenious plan that works brilliantly, until Fisher's clone turns out to be more popular than him--and soon after gets clone-napped by the evil scientist Dr. Xander."

PRINCESS OF THE WILD SWANS by Diane Zahler "Princess Meriel's brothers have been cursed. A terrible enchantment--cast by their conniving new stepmother--has transformed the handsome princes into swans. They now swim forlornly on a beautiful heart-shaped lake that lies just beyond the castle walls.
Meriel will do whatever it takes to rescue her beloved brothers. But she must act quickly. If Heart Lake freezes, her brothers will be forced to fly south or perish.
With help from her newfound friends Riona and Liam--a pretty half-witch and her clever brother--Meriel vows to finish a seemingly impossible task. If she completes it, her brothers may be saved.
But if she fails . . . all will be lost."

STEALING MAGIC: A SIXTY-EIGHT ROOMS ADVENTURE by Marianne Malone "Ruthie and Jack thought that their adventures in the Thorne Rooms were over . . . until miniatures from the rooms start to disappear. Is it the work of the art thief who's on the loose in Chicago? Or has someone else discovered the secret of the Thorne Rooms' magic? Ruthie and Jack's quest to stop the thief takes them from modern day Chicago to 1937 Paris to antebellum South Carolina. But as more items disappear, including the key that allows them to shrink and access the past worlds, what was once just an adventure becomes a life and death race against the clock. Can Ruthie and Jack catch the thief and help the friends they meet on the way before the magic—and the rooms—are destroyed forever?"

The Young Adult books

ALBRECK'S TOMB: ADVENTURERS WANTED by M. L. Forman

THE ASYLUM: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, STEFAN'S DIARIES by Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec

DAUGHTER OF THE CENTAURS: CENTAURIAD by K.K. Ross

THE DEAD OF WINTER by Chris Priestley (new release in the US)

DESTINY AND DECEPTION: A 13 TO LIFE NOVEL by Shannon Delany

EVERNEATH by Brodi Ashton

FORBIDDEN by Syrie & Ryan M. James
FRACTURE by Megan Miranda
HALFLINGS by Heather Burch
HALLOWED: AN UNEARTHLY NOVEL by Cynthia Hand
HAVOC: A DEVIANTS NOVEL by Jeff Sampson
IN DARKNESS by Nick Lake
INCARNATE by Jodi Meadows
LENOBIA'S VOW: A HOUSE OF NIGHT NOVELLA by P.C. & Kristin Cast
LIFE ETERNAL: A DEAD BEAUTIFUL NOVEL by Yvonne Woon
MESMERIZE: A MYSTYX NOVEL by Artist Arthur
STOLEN AWAY by Alyxandra Harvey
THE SURVIVORS by Will Weaver
TANGLED by Erica O'Rourke
TEMPEST by Julie Cross
THERE IS NO DOG by Meg Rosoff
THE WAY WE FALL by Megan Crewe

The Cabinet of Earths, by Anne Nesbet

2012-01-16T13:54:00.002-05:00

The Cabinet of Earths (HarperCollins, middle grade, 272 pages) is the debut novel of Anne Nesbet.

68 years ago, a little boy living in France was fed to the beautiful, terrible magic of the Cabinet of Earths his grandmother had built. A shimmering glass Cabinet that promises near eternal life to those who entrust their years to its glass bottles.

60 years ago, the children of a certain Paris neighborhood began to vanish. Or so it seemed. And the strange Society of Philosophical Chemistry, dedicated to combining magic with science, began to attract its clients.

In the present, the twisted genius who leads the Society hungers for control over the Cabinet of Earths. And a 12 year old girl, his distant relation, arrives unwillingly in Paris, and sees the salamander door handle of the Society's headquarters turn and look at her, flicking its little bronze tongue.

When her parents broke the news that the family was moving to Paris for a year, Maya tried to be brave (James, her cheerful little brother, didn't have to try). After all, when your mother has just come through cancer, and you are hoping she'll manage to stay alive, you want (if you are like Maya) to be a Good Sport about it, even if leaving friends and familiarity is a terrible prospect.

The salamander is the first sign that Maya's life is about to become a lot less familiar than she had ever dreamed. As she slowly uncovers the secrets of her family, and the beautiful, mysterious Cabinet of Earths, she comes to realize that her brother, so charismatic and full of force vital, is in terrible danger. And so is she.

This is no magical romp through enchanted Paris. Despite the youthful cheer of the cover, Maya's journey is a dark and rather creepy one, that builds slowly but inexorably to a final confrontation.

On the everyday level, not only does the hideous possibility of her mother's death loom large, but she's confronted with the unpleasant-ness of being the new, non-French speaking American girl at a school filled with beautiful snots. The painless adjustment of James, her little brother, charismatic and loved by all who meet him, casts her own unhappiness in an even harsher light.

Happily, Maya is befriended by a kind, intelligent, and interesting boy who also doesn't fit in (which is awfully nice for her, although perhaps a bit much, especially since he does little to further the plot). And her French improves, thanks to the diligent tutoring of Cousin Louise...who's pleasant enough, but so lacking in force vital that people truly have trouble seeing her.

The virtual invisibility of Cousin Louise is not natural, and it is, indeed, tied to the larger picture of magic gone wrong in the hands of Maya's French family. There are hard ethical and philosophical questions posed by the magic of the Cabinet, and Maya's loyalty and love for her family comes into harsh conflict with her principles of what is right. Fortunately, the reader is not left hanging too long in these suspenseful bits (the truly tenterhookish parts was short enough so that I didn't have to read the end of the book, which I appreciated).

Writing all this summarizing stuff, I'm realizing this is actually a horror story. It's atmospheric as all get out, there are terrible, nightmarish things afoot, and the fate of the lost children is truly disturbing....gripping stuff, and I wouldn't give this to a younger child who is easily haunted. That being said, it's certainly a more subtle horror than, say, the Goosebumps books, and a lot more measured in its pacing, enough so as to please those of us who do not seek out Goosebumps books, and dislike horror in general.

Other good things: I found Maya to be a very nicely real character, and Nesbet's writing made clear pictures in the mind--two things I value highly in books, which I was very pleased to find here. And it's also nice that it's a satisfactory stand-alone, though with room for a sequel.

Here's another review at The Book Aunt and an interview with Anne Nesbet at The Enchanted Inkpot.

This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and sci fi from around the blogs

2012-01-15T08:11:00.005-05:00

Welcome to this Sunday's round-up of what I found in my blog reading this past week of interest to us fans of middle grade (ages 9-12) science fiction and fantasy! Let me know if I missed your link.

The Reviews:

The Apothecary, by Maile Meloy, at Fuse #8

The Bassumtyte Treasure, by Jane Louise Curry, at Oz and Ends

Bigger Than a Breadbox, by Laurel Snyder, at The Intergalactic Academy

The Book of Wonders, by Jasmine at Rebecca's Book Blog and The Book Cellar

Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu, at Story Snoops

The Cabinet of Earths, by Anne Nesbet, at Book Aunt

The Cheshire Cheese Cat, by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright. at Becky's Book Reviews and at Great Kid Books

Come Fall, by A.C.E. Bauer, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

Cosmic, by Frank Cottrell Boyce, at Book Love

The Death of Yorik Mortwell, by Stephen Messer, at Children's Books and Reviews

The Flint Heart, by Katherine and John Paterson, at Read in a Single Sitting

The Freedom Maze, by Delia Sherman, at Charlotte's Library

The Girl Who Cicumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Catherynne Valente, at Library Mama

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman, at Read in a Single Sitting

Icefall, by Matthew Kirby, at Tripping Over Books

Ivy and the Meanstalk, by Dawn Lairamore, at Charlotte's Library

The Jewel of the Kalderash, by Marie Rutkoski, at Charlotte's Library

Kat, Incorrigible, by Stephanie Burgis, at Beyond Books

The Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan, at Bookshelves of Doom

A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, at Read in a Single Sitting

The Memory Bank, by Carolyn Coman and Rob Shepperson, at Challenging the Bookworm

The Mouse Guard: Fall of 1152, at Karissa's Reading Review (graphic novel)

My Sparkeling Misfortune, by Laura Lond, at Geo Librarian

My Very Unfairy Tale Life, by Anna Staniszewski, at Cracking the Cover

The Mystic Phyles: Beasts, by Stephanie Brockway and Ralph Masiello, at Wandering Librarians

The Orphan of Awkward Falls, by Keith Graves, at Readtouille

The People of Sparks, by Jeanne DuPrau, at Read in a Single Sitting

Ravenwood, by Andrew Peters, at Book Aunt

The Skeleton's Knife, by Joni Sensel, at Charlotte's Library

Snow in Summer, by Jane Yolen, at Book Aunt

Stealing Magic: a Sixty-Eight Rooms Adventure, by Marianne Malone, at books4yourkids

Wereworld: Shadow of the Hawk, by Curtis Jobling, at A Dream of Books

Winterling, by Sarah Prineas, at Book Aunt

Who Cut the Cheese, by Jo Nesbo, at Back to Books

There's a two-for-one post at Fantastic Reads--Tensy Farlow and the Home for Mislaid Children, by Jen Storer, contrasted with A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L'Engle.

At My Reading Frenzy, one of my fellow mg sff Cybils panelists looks back at some favorite.

Authors and Interviews

Anne Nesbit (Cabinet of Earths) at The Enchanted Inkpot

M.L. Welsh (Heart of Stone), at Nayu's Reading Corner,

Jasmine Richards (The Book of Wonders) shares her top ten fairy tail retelings at The Book Monsters (giveaway) and is interviewed on video at tall tales & short stories, and at Michelle and Leslie's Book Picks

Curtis Joblin (Wereworld: Shadow of the Hawk) is on tour--here's a guest blog post/review at Nayu's Reading Corner, and another guest post at The Book Addicted Girl.

D. Robert Pease (Noah Zarc: Mammoth Trouble) is also on tour--here's an interview at Ritesh Kala's Book Reviews (and here's the list of tour stops).

More Good Stuff:

A Wrinkle in Time turns fifty this year, and a special commemorative edition is being published. I'm a proud participant in the multi-blog extravaganza--

A Wrinkle in Time: 50 Years, 50 Days, 50 Blogs Celebration!

For 50 days, starting Monday, January 16, 50 different bloggers will be celebrating with original content. On February 2, I'll be talking about the Murry parents...

Here's the full list of blogs taking part!

But in the meantime, Amy (of Amy's Library of Rock) explores the vexing question--"What the heck is a Tesseract, anyway?"

Ivy and the Meanstalk, by Dawn Lairamore

2012-01-13T18:34:00.002-05:00

Ivy and the Meanstalk, by Dawn Lairamore (Holiday House, 2011, mg, 227 pages), was one of the books I received for Cybils review (I'm trying to get all these reviewed, or at least mentioned, before the end of January!). It's the sequel to Ivy's Every After, but I think it can be read just fine as a stand-alone.

Ivy is the princess, and heir, of a small kingdom of little international importance. She cares little for learning her responsibilities--she's much rather be off flying with her dragon friend, Elridge, or spending time with her other best friend, the stableboy Owen.

Then disaster strikes, in the form of an angry giantess whose magic harp was stolen long ago. The giantess holds Ivy's kingdom responsible (even though it was a guy named Jack who actually took it) and vows to rain giant boulders on it until she gets her harp back! It's up to Ivy to face her duty to her kingdom, and to go to the island nation Jack established after his adventures up the beanstalk, and get the harp....

So Ivey, Elridge, and Owen set off, in a hopeful spirit--surely Jack's heirs wouldn't mind returning stolen property? Turns out, they would, very much indeed. The cult of Jack, and the love of gold, are the only two important things to the king of the volcanic island nation Jack established. And although the king is bound to offer Ivy sanctuary (since her own kingdom is being destroyed by boulders), he's not about to give up the harp. It's up to Ivy and her friends to use their wits to make off with the harp themselves...breaking through all the layers of protection that have been placed around it.

It's a book that's fun on the surface--the high jinks of the mean-stalk and the giant's realm in the sky, the golden improbability of Jack's island, and such like--but there are also themes within it that make for interesting pondering. Who, for instance, gets to make history--is Jack a great hero or a selfish thief? Is it ethical to steal something, when by doing so you save lives? Why shouldn't a princess be friends with a stable-boy? And if you are a fun loving girl with a dragon friend, who is also the heir to a kingdom, when is it time to start growing up and become responsible?

Because of these questions, I enjoyed Ivy and the Meanstalk more than I did Ivy's Ever After (my review) although that is a perfectly fine, fun book. This one is more directly a fairy-tale reimagining, and so interested me more on that count as well--I had never really thought about what happened to Jack after the whole beanstalk business, and I enjoyed seeing where he ended up!

I probably won't be re-reading them for my own pleasure, but I'd happily recommend them to eight to ten year olds. There's nothing particularly violent or disturbing--just good fantasy fun.

The Skeleton's Knife, by Joni Sensel

2012-01-11T16:52:00.006-05:00

Earlier this week I reviewed The Jewel of the Kalderash, third in a series whose first book I helped shortlist for the Cybils in 2008. By sheer coincidence, today's book, The Skeleton's Knife, by Joni Sensel ( Dream Factory Books, 2011, 270 pages) is also the third in a series whose first book, The Farwalker's Quest, was shortlisted in middle grade sci fi/fantasy back in 2009.

This series as a whole is excellent fantasy/science fiction that I don't hesitate to recommend to upper middle grade (and older) fans of adventure stories, especially ones who do not want anything medievally (ie, castles), or paranormal. It's both thought-provoking and entertaining. I'd recommend starting with the first one, not because this can't be read alone, but there is no particular reason to. Here's my review of The Farwalker's Quest, and my review of the second book, The Timekeeper's Moon.

When The Skeleton's Knife begins, 14 year old Ariel hopes to find peace after a series of adventures that helped bring the beginnings of civilization back to her post-apocalyptic world. But peace is not what she finds. Not only is she torn between her loyalty to old friend, Zeke, and the romantic tension that is building between her and her new friend, Nace (yes, a love triangle....), but the ghost of a man who kidnapped her and almost killed her is troubling her spirit. Gifted with the ability to travel to where she needs to go--she is a "farwalker--Ariel is led to the man's skeletal body, and finds his knife.

Instinctively she knows that she must return the knife to the place where it was made. And so, accompanied by her mentor Scarl, and by Zeke (but not by Nace), Ariel head out on another quest. This time her feet take her to the ocean, where, in a remnant fishing community, she meets new friends, who have dark secrets of their own. To free herself from the curse of the skeleton's knife, and to bring these new friends peace, Ariel must take her darkest journey yet, to a place from which no living person has ever returned.

It's always a lovely thing, to travel again with old friends! This journey did not disappoint. The fine characterization and interesting story made this just as compelling a read as the previous two books. I particularly liked the world-building in this one--the dying community where Ariel travels is a fascinating place. And, in as much as I consider Ariel, Scarl, and Zeke old friends, I was glad that they all got happy endings. True, there was the small issue of the love triangle, but it was handled well, and didn't become a nagging distraction! In fact, this one might be my favorite of the series--the story is smaller in scope, which allows for more concentration on character and slower ratcheting up of tension.

Note on age: there are dark elements in the series as a whole, and some violence, as well as the turn toward romantic entanglements (still fairly nascent, but well on their way to being more). I wouldn't rush to give these books to anyone younger than elevenish.

The first two books in the series were published by Bloomsbury, who (I'm guessing) declined to continue with this one. Thank goodness there are other options available to authors these days-- I'm awfully glad to have been given the opportunity to find out that Scarl, in particular, got a happy ending! I'm mentioning this because I don't want anyone to be deterred by worries that The Skeleton's Knife is anything less than polished and professional.

Over at The Write Path, you can find another review, and a giveaway!

(disclaimer: a copy was sent to me by the author--thanks!)

And final note--Joni Sensel is also the author of The Humming of Numbers, a historical fantasy set in early Medieval Ireland. It was think about this book last night that made me decide to create my historical fantasy list, because I wrote my review of it ages ago (here), and it's a book that many of you all who read my blog today might be glad to know about.

Waiting on Wednesday--Heart of Stone, by M.L. Welsh, and Legends of Zita the Spacegirl, by Ben Hatke

2012-01-11T08:20:00.001-05:00

So just a few days ago I posted about my fondness for Mistress of the Storm, by M.L. Welsh, and lo! I then read this post at Nayu's Reading Corner about the sequel, just released over in the UK (from Random House)!
Here's the publisher's summery:

After a wonderful summer sailing, Verity Gallant just wants life to stay the same forever. But as she should know by now, not everything in life turns out as we would like.

The land is shifting beneath the ancient harbour town of Wellow, causing mysterious caves to appear in cliff faces, terrifying rock falls and dangerous landslides. And the earth isn't the only thing crumbling...Verity is thrilled that Jeb has returned, but their feelings for each other threaten her friendship with Henry and Martha.

Once again Verity and her friends are embroiled in a tale of evil, intrigue and lost love, as a powerful force works its way towards Wellow, hell-bent on putting an end to all happiness. The Heart of Stone is the key, and the race is on to find it.

And now I am waiting anxiously for such time as I feel the number of unread books in my house has diminished enough to go on a UK book buying spree courtesy of the Book Depository. I hate having my birthday right after Christmas--I have already, in the past week, amassed enough of a wants list for several birthdays between now and next December!

And I don't usually make my Waiting on Wednesday posts more than one book, but I can't resist--Ben Hatke has just published the wonderful cover of the second book about Zita the Spacegirl:You can see the full wrap around at his blog. My boys and I loved the first Zita book (which made the Cybils shortlist in graphic novels), and I am so looking forward to this one, which comes out September 4th from First Second.

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Historical Fantasy--a new list up at the top of my blog

2012-01-10T19:14:00.004-05:00

I have a new list--all my "historical fantasy" reviews in one handy place.

It was trickier than I thought. As I went through all 1,700 blog posts I've ever written, looking for "historical fantasy," I tried to pull out the books that were "historical fiction set in our world with magical elements." Other things--alternate histories, fantasies that seem like they are set in the past of our world, but not definitively--crept on. I did firmly exclude a number of "medievalish" fantasies that don't specifically take place in real history, which was painful, but necessary. (For instance, although Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series reads like historical fantasy, it isn't because it's not our history).

Additionally, I ran into problems of geography and time periods. My education has a distinct European bias, and so there are several European categories, labeled nicely, there's one category for "historic Japan;" likewise, the one Mongolian book and several set in India are together under "historical India." This makes me feel as though I have fallen into an Orientalist trap. Perhaps as more historical fantasies set in these places come my way, I'll be able to give these places and histories a distinctness comparable to the European side of things.

Additionally, there are books that don't say, in a helpful spirit, "It was 1883, and little Lucy...." but are clearly "historic." Also, some of us seem to have been sloppy at times making it clear when the book we were reviewing was set. So I have had to use the 19th century as a reasonable default for some of these books.

Please let me know if you see problems or mistakes, and please feel free to send me recommendations for more historical fantasy!

Just to clarify--this list doesn't include the time travel books, which have their own page.

The Freedom Maze, by Delia Sherman, for Timeslip Tuesday

2012-01-10T12:37:00.002-05:00

The Freedom Maze, by Delia Sherman (Big Mouth House 2011, upper mg/YA, 258 pages)

Sophie is not happy at the thought of spending the summer with her aunt and old-fashioned, demanding, grandmother in the family home in Louisiana. It's 1960, her parents have gotten divorced, and her mother is going back to work--and thirteen year old Sophie is sure she will be bored and lonely. Even though she's brought some of her favorite books, like Edward Eager's The Time Garden, with her, there's only so much re-reading a girl can do...

But much to Sophie's wonder, she finds magic in her grandmother's garden when she meets a mysterious and mischievous creature. "I wish I wasn't me!" cries Sophie to this creature. "I want to travel through through time and have grand adventures and brothers and sisters and have everybody love me" (page 53). And so the creature sends Sophie back in time to 1860, when her family's plantation house is still standing, surrounded by sugar cane fields.

The last bit of Sophie's wish, however, doesn't come true quite so easily. Tanned and frizzyhaired, bedraggled and uncouth, with the family resemblance plain to see, Sophie is assumed to be a by-blow of the family's black sheep, and a slave. She is not exactly embraced with loving arms by her ancestors, but instead a place in the work of the plantation is found for her. For the next months, Sophie spends her days waiting on her great, great etc. grandmother, while living in the close community of the plantation's enslaved families. As one slave among many, Sophie must learn to keep her head down when necessary. But when Sophie must act to prevent a tragedy, passive resistance is not longer an option...

It's hard to read fiction about slavery. The injustices and cruelties, both the casual kind and the truly hateful, are not comfortable reading. Making this book even more uncomfortable is that Sophie arrives in the past with the prejudices of a girl from a 1960s racist family--this aspect of her character and upbringing was especially jarring, because I, as the reader, both identified with her, and had trouble remembering that she wasn't from the same present as me.

Fortunately, once Sophie is actually thrown into the community of the plantation, her prejudices are melted by human contact, and individual people became more important than skin color. And fortunately for me as a reader, these people, seen through Sophie's eyes, became people to care about myself, drawing me into the story despite this being a place I didn't particularly want to go.

Sherman has a pretty tight line to walk--she is making a clear statement about the evils of slavery, and must write about horrible things, but at the same time she is writing a book for younger readers. The general darkness--the violence, the cruelty, the evil of slavery--would probably not be too much for the upper middle school kid, and despite all this, it is not a depressing book. Sophie, although unhappy, knows she doesn't belong, and is confident (most of the time) that she won't have to stay, which makes it easier for her to endure her situation, and for the reader to feel a slight protective distancing from the characters of 1860. And it also makes the book more cheerful that the slaves with whom Sophie spends here time are not reduced to the sum of their oppressions, but are allowed to be living, laughing, angry, resisting people who are not depressing in and of themselves.

However, I did have one parental-guidance type concern. Rape is very much part of this world, not just in the casual assumption that this is why there are pale-skinned slaves, like Sophie, but in an actual attempted rape of one of Sophie's friends on the plantation (not graphically described, but quite clear as to what was happening). So some discretion is advised--I don't particularly want to chat with my own 11-year old about the Quadroon balls of New Orleans (mentioned in passing as a possible future for Sophie) and what happened to those women next, let alone have a discussion of what constitutes rape.

So there's a bit of a disjunction here. One the one hand, it's an excellent time travel adventure with a powerfully developed historical setting (lots of great detail, such that the time and places came fully alive) and great characters with whom both Sophie and the reader form powerful relationships. A young reader who loves Eager might feel, at first, that they were right at home, but reading something even more satisfying. Until they aren't--and they find themselves reading something that might shake them, might stretch them, might make make them think.

On the other hand, a reader ready for the darker side of things might feel put off by the "childish" beginning of the petulant girl escaping in children's books, and not ever get to the powerful stuff that will sweep them along into the troubling and moving reality of life as a slave.

That being said, I hope this book finds readers! I am very much in favor of books as pathways to learning--about history, about injustice, about the different forms power and gender relationships can take, about how people can change for the better...etc.! When you have a book, like this one, that is such a pathway, but is also a truly absorbing read in its own story, that's a great thing.

Here's one bit that made me stop and think:

"There ain't no such thing as a good mistress, on account of mistress ain't a good thing to be....Old Missy maybe taught you to read and write and speak as white as her own children. But she ain't set you free" (page 147).

Here's Delia Sherman talking about her book at Diversity in YA.

The Jewel of the Kalderash, by Marie Rutkoski

2012-01-09T06:41:00.002-05:00

The Jewel of the Kalderash, by Marie Rutkoski, was one of my most anticipated books of 2011. It was one of the reasons I braved Book Expo America...(where I happily found an arc when the event was all over, left abandoned in a meeting room). I enthusiastically recommend this series to fans of historical fiction, and I helped shortlist the first book, The Cabinet of Wonders, to the Cybils. I gave the second book, The Celestial Globe, a glowing review. The quality of writing, the delightful detail of the world-building, and the engaging characters made these two books favorites of mine.

And yet I didn't read the third book till last week, despite the fact that it came out in October.

I blame the Cybils--there I was in October with 100 books to read in 10 weeks. But I also blame the psychosocial syndrome in which knowing you'll like a book makes you put off reading it, especially when it's the last of a beloved series, and you hold in abeyance because you don't want to stop having it to look forward too (if that makes sense?). But in any event, I have now read it.

The Jewel of the Kalderash is the third book in a series, and so I'm not going to attempt a summary, because it would take too long. Suffice to say, this book, set around 1600, pits young Petra and her steadfast companions, Tomick, Neel, and Astrophil, a mechanical spider, against the evil Prince whose machinations and power-hungry, bloodthirsty madness had plunged the four of them into adventures beyond their wildest dreams.

This isn't my favorite book of the series. The relationship between Petra and the two boys has become a love triangle (sigh), and the conflict with Prince Rudolpho and his army of monstrous Grey Men is, by the end of things, not one of sneakiness and wits, but all out battle; not my preferred state of things! And worst of all, at the end of the book, Petra, for whom I cheered, with whom I suffered and worried, finds herself in the position of having her future defined by her relationship to others, instead of a future where she, as a character of action and abilities, will shape her own way.

However, I did very much enjoy Neel's story arc (which runs parallel to Petra's), in which he finds himself confronted with an unexpected and unasked for position of power! I think it would not be going to far to say that in this book he is very reminiscent of Eugenides, of The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner, and that is high praise indeed, coming from me.

So I continue to recommend this series for those who love magical wonders woven into their historical fiction, and for those who enjoy the adventures of brave girls defying the odds. Although I didn't love this third book, I still found much to enjoy in it, and I'm glad to have had the chance to complete my journey with Petra and co.

Middle grade read-a-thon wrap up

2012-01-08T19:20:00.002-05:00

Deb (of Just Deb) was kind enough to host a middle grade read-a-thon this past week. I happen to read middle grade science fiction and fantasy in much the same way as I brush my teeth--ie, early and often, so I took this read-a-thon as a challenge to try to move off my list a few mg books that weren't for review.

Here's what I read:

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, by Jeanne Birdsall, which I had been eying hungrily over at my local library for ages. I enjoyed just fine. I especially liked the en passant mention of a book that's a favorite of mine--Bilgewater, by Jane Gardam (whose name was used for the Penderwick's home street)--and I agree that it is too old for Jane. But it is not too old for many of you all, and there are used copies on Amazon for 1 cent....It's about an ugly duckling of a girl growing up as the only girl at an English boy's boarding school, and her misadventures with life and love, and even though I do not like books that are straight misadventure, there is enough hopefulness here to make me love it. Plus she is a math genius, and I do very much like books where the main character is passionate about something.

I did enjoy the Penderwicks, too, but not so much.

Shakespeare's Secret, by Elise Broach. I picked up a used copy of this years ago, and it's been languishing in the downstairs bathtub of tbr shame for far too long (just as a reminder, in case anyone is worrying, the upstairs bathroom has all mod. cons.). I enjoyed it lots (as I suspected I might, when I got it....). A nice mystery with a historical twist, and engaging heroine, and an overgrown garden. Some weeding is done, but not enough to fully please me (I do enjoy books with gardening).

One of the problems I have with my tbr is library discards. The discards all get passed along to me for the Friend's booksale, and sometimes the older children's books don't make it until after they have spent a while in the aforementioned bathtub (I dunno what I'll do when we get around to bathroom renovation). Yesterday I read one of these discards--The Mystery of the Cuckoo's Call, by Gertrude Dowds (1963). It's an implausible mystery/suspense story involving kids in Ireland and a fortune in diamonds and I cannot recommend it....back to the book sale it goes. Possibly straight onto the Free Book Cart.

I did read some fantasy, including a book from the books-I-think-I-will keep tbr pile (which lives in the dinning room at present)--The Kingdom of Carbonel, by Barbara Sleigh, the second in a series about a magical, royal cat and the two children who become his friends. I enjoyed it just fine. I hate it when people say "I didn't like this book because it was for kids," but sometimes one does run into books that one would have loved back in the day, that aren't quite solid enough (or whatever) to suit a grownup. Sadly, I felt this way about this one. But if you have a young cat loving reader, get this series!!!!

And I read Earwig and the Witch, by Diana Wynne Jones (my review), and finished The Dead Gentleman, by Matthew Cody (my review), finished The Jewel of the Kalderash, by Marie Rutkoski (review to come), read Fairy Lies, by E.D. Baker (review to come), and am about to start The Book of Wonders, by Jasmine Richards, for review next week.

Just to finish my weekly reading summary for the heck of it, I also read The Scorpio Races, but it was too depressing for me to like it all that much, and the first few chapters of A Papa Like Everyone Else, by Sydney Taylor, which I put down when the robbers came...too depressing (back to the library book sale for this one too!).

Thanks, Deb, for the fun read-a-thon!

2012-01-08T10:31:00.002-05:00

Welcome to this week's edition of the middle grade sci fi/fantasy roundup, in which I find all the mg sff blog reviews, interviews, and etcs., I can, and share them! Please let me know if I missed your post, and please feel free to send me anything you think is of interest at any time!

The Reviews:

The Appothecary, by Maile Meloy, at Literary Lunchbox

Archer's Quest, by Linda Sue Park, at Book Nut

The Beast, by Barry Hutchison, at The Book Zone

The Borrowers, by Mary Norton, at Book-a-day Almanac

The Cheshire Cheese Cat, by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright at Literate Lives

The Dead Gentleman, by Matthew Cody, at Fuse #8 and Charlotte's Library

Dragon Castle, by Joseph Bruchac, at Book Nut

Dragon Keeper, by Carole Wilkinson, at living peacefully with children

The Dragon's Tooth, by N.D. Wilson, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Earwig and the Witch, by Diana Wynne Jones, at Charlotte's Library

Fangbone! Third-Grade Barbarian, by Michael Rex, at Original Content

The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman, by Meg Wolitzer, at Readatouille

Floors, by Patrick Carman, at Good Books and Good Wine and The Book Swarm

The Invisible Tower, by Nils Johnson-Shelton, at More Than True

Janitors, by Tyler Whitesides, at Readingunky's Reading Roost

Juniper Berry, by M.P. Kozlowsky, at Good Books and Good Wine

Liesl and Po, by Lauren Oliver, at Story Snoops

Little Women and Me, by Lauren Baratz-Logstead, at Ms. Yingling Reads

A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, at Pass the Chicklets

The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate, at Karissa's Reading Review and Ms. Yingling Reads

The Princess Curse, by Merrie Haskell, at Slatebreakers

Sir Gawain the True, by Gerald Morris, at Literate Lives

Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George, at Bloggin' 'bout Books

The Wide Awake Princes, by E.D. Baker, at Puss Reboots

Winterling, by Sarah Prineas, at Charlotte's Library and Jen Robinson's Book Page

At Time Travel Times Two you'll find two elevator stories--Time at the Top, and A Year Without Autumn

Authors and Interviews:

Sarah Prineas talks Winterling in a Big Idea post at Whatever, and is interviewed at The Book Cellar and Read, Write, Repeat

Jasmine Richards (The Book of Wonders) at The Book Zone

Mark Griffiths (Space Lizards Stole My Brian!) at Wondrous Reads

The Horn Book has published an adapted edition of a keynote address Richard Peck (Secrets at Sea) gave at a colloquium this fall

Other things of interest:

Those looking for more books, and blogs, to read might want to check out the YA/MG fantasy challenge hosted by Erica at The Book Cellar.

At Once Upon a Blog, you can admire the illustrations to The Zen of Oz, by Cathy Pavia:

The ones that got away--four mg sff books that didn't make the shortlist

2012-01-07T08:59:00.007-05:00

Although I'm very fond of the books on the middle grade fantasy/science fiction shortlist for the Cybils, there were (as is always the case) books that I myself loved that didn't (sniff) make it. Here are four that would have made my own personal best list of the (Oct-Oct) year.

The Ring of Solomon, by Jonathan Stroud. I am a huge fan of the demon Baritmaeus, and loved this book to pieces. From my review:

"Oh my gosh I enjoyed this one so very much. Not, so much, the first hundred or so pages, which were mostly Bartimaeus annoying various beings and getting into trouble, because I found Bartimaeus is hard to like when he is just one demon among many. But once Bartimaeus and Asmira get together, the sparks begin to fly! With her to provide a foil for him, Bartimaeus pushes the boundaries of standard cold-hearted demon-ness, and Stroud does a beautifully teasingly tantalizing and oh so engrossing job of making Bartimaeus sympathetic (while still demonic). And he was just the companion Asmira needed to push her out of her box of blind duty and into independent thinking. From kick-ass knife thrower without much personality, she progresses to strong young woman one can really root for."

Season of Secrets, by Sally Nicholls, which tells of a grieving girl who finds herself caught up in the age old magical violence of the changing seasons of the year. Here's what I said about this one: "I think that this is one for those readers who would, if they had to pick either Character or Plot to be marooned with on a desert island, would go with Character.

That would be me, and I thought it was a lovely book. The writing, the characters, and mix of fantasy and reality, and the mix of sadness and hope make this one of my favorites of 2011."

The Ogre of Oglefort, by Eva Ibottson. This book, her last, is my favorite of all Ibottson's books. It all hangs together just ever so delightfully, and is basically the perfect, lightly-diverting younger middle grade fantasy for me in particular. Here's my review, where I explain this in more detail.

And finally, I'd like to give a nod to Mistress of the Storm, by M.L. Welsh. This one was on my anxious list of books that hadn't yet been nominated, along with Season of Secrets; I went with Season, and was very sad that this one didn't find a champion. From my review: "There's a lovely, old-fashioned feel to this book. It's set neither firmly in the past, or in the present--there's no technology, but Verity "feels" like a modern child. The setting has a lovely solidness to it--it's a slightly not quite real place, but real in the story sense, and many of the characters are likewise reminiscent of people one might have met in other stories long ago--in an evocative, rather than an imitative, way (if that makes sense?). Verity is a classic example of the bookish outsider making good, and as such many of us will empathize with her, and cheer her on."

Earwig and the Witch, by Diana Wynne Jones

2012-01-06T17:39:00.005-05:00

It was rather bittersweet on my birthday to unwrap Earwig and the Witch, by Diana Wynne Jones (June 2011 in the UK, HarperCollins, 144 pages) as it the last book she published. But I bravely enjoyed it, nonetheless, despite the fact that it is very much a book for children younger than me, which is to say elementary school kids of eight or so.

Earwig was left on the doorstep of St. Morwald's Home for Children as an infant, with the following cryptic note:

"Got the other twelve witches all chasing me. I'll be back for her when I've shook them off. It may take years Her name is Earwig."

And although the matron of the home decided that Earwig was not a suitable name, and changed it to Erica Wigg, Earwig she remained. No one ever came back to claim her, and she grew up in great contentment amoung the other orphans, particularly enjoying the company of her best friend Custard (aka John Coster). Her preternatural powers of persuasion ensure that everything runs exactly as she plans it, and so, when grownups come to visit with an eye for taken children home with them, Earwig does her best to be unappealing.

But alas for Earwig, her fate is sealed one day when a very strange couple comes to the orphanage. A couple not in the least little bit nice or ordinary, who are not in the least deterred by her efforts to appear unloveable, and who take her away with them. The woman is Bella Yaga, a witch, and the "man," known as the Mandrake, is something even more scary and powerful, so much so that even Bella Yaga is careful not to disturb them.

Trapped in her new home, and forced to slave away for Bella Yaga, grinding bones into powder and such like, Earwig wonders if she will ever get her own way again. But thanks to her indomitable spirit, and her gift for reshaping circumstances to suit herself, along with the help of Bella Yaga's familiar (a rather nice talking cat), Earwig manages to pick up just enough magic to change things for the better.

It's diverting and appealing and engaging as all get out, once one recovers from the disappointment of the largeness of the font and the generous spacing of the lines. It is classic DWJ, and I enjoyed it. In particular the character of the Mandrake was a delight--I didn't know what to make of him at all, and found him quite as frightening as Earwig did, but by the end I liked him almost best of all (though I do so wish we got to find out more about him!).

Here's a typical supper at Earwig's new home:

"And what have the demons brought us today?" Bella Yaga asked in the bright, wheedling voice she always seemed to use to the Mandrake.

"Pie and chips from Stoke-on-Trent Station Buffet," the Mandrake growled without looking up.

"I hate Station pie," said Bella Yaga.

The Mandrake looked up. His eyes were like dark pits. A spark of red fire glowed, deep down in each pit. "It's my favorite food," he said. The sparks in his eyes flickered and grew.

Earwig quite understood then why she was not to disturb the Mandrake. She was glad that he did not seem to notice she was there." (pp 47-49, with a full page illustration in between).

Whether you are a DWJ fan or not, this is a great one for any young readers, with enough zest and fun in the storytelling to make it diverting for us older fans (even though I did want more....there are many unanswered questions).

Viz the illustrations--there are lots of black and white drawings by Marion Lindsay in the UK version, which is what I read; they are fine, I guess, but I tend not to notice them when I read, and then when I go back to them, I've already made my own pictures in my mind. The U.S. version, which comes out Jan. 31, 2012, will be illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky, and I'm curious to see what he makes of it all! Based on the US cover, shown at right, I'm thinking I made the right choice (for me at least) in getting the UK edition. Zelinsky's Earwig looks kind of scary herself....and she's not. I liked her lots!

My life as a reader--a birthday retrospective, with never before seen pictures!

2012-01-04T11:38:00.021-05:00

Today is my birthday, and I will be getting books, as I have for every birthday. To celebrate, here's a look back at my life as a Reader.

I have suffered all my life from people bothering me when I was trying to peacefully read. This is me at the age of two, being rudely interupted while reading Fox in Socks.

I was lucky to have grown-ups in my life who read to me (my grandfather, my mother, my father), although my father liked reading us scary books just to tease us. (I am the thumbsucker on the left).

Soon I was an inveterate bookworm, reading desperately whatever was at hand. This is me, age seven, in Portugal, reading a Ladybird biography of Lord Nelson. Why did no one buy this poor child more non-fiction? I had to re-read Lord Nelson about twenty times, and am bitter to think of all the knowledge I could have painlessly absorbed. The cat is named Mitzi.

Here's another picture from Portugal, to give Satchel, the dog, a place here too, even though it looks like my big sister is the one reading.

Then we moved to the Bahamas...where I bravely ignored the garish fabrics of the 1970s and managed to get in quite a bit of peaceful reading. Mostly Enid Blyton. I am ten in this picture, and I so badly would have loved an enormous box of the middle grade fiction of today.... there was no good library, and the one bookstore had a limited selection.

We spent our summers at my grandparent's house, and I looked forward lots to going to Arlington Central Library, where I would immediately pick out my favorite re-reads. Here I am, in the top bunk, during one of those summers.

And then we moved back to Arlington ourselves, and I became a sullen adolescent reader. This is me at the age of 13 celebrating Christmas with my family, clearly throwing myself enthusiastically into the fun of it all (not). It was the early eighties by then, but textiles hadn't improved much.

I spent much of the next few years reading to escape the trauma of growing up. The book I am reading here is Nobody's Garden, by Cordelia Jones ("Two very different girls become friends and share their secrets in a deserted garden that they discover among the blitzed houses of post-war London."). I have my own copy now, and still quite like it.

Then I went to college, and read as much I could to escape having to do the work. Here I am reading Gerald Durrell's How to Shoot an Amateur Naturalist.

No one bothered to take any pictures of me reading when I was in my twenties, although I did do lots of it....mostly re-reading. I would wander into bookstores, and nothing new would appeal...very sad.

In my thirties, I began to read aloud to my two boys (note: that's just a curl, not a dead rodent, on my cheek in the picture on the left, and we know longer have Thomas stickers on our living room wall, as shown at right).

But I have still managed to find time to read lots to myself (despite someone, naming no names, saying things like "I guess, Mama, you love that book more than you do your own little child....")

Here is a picture of me last night, reading The Jewel of the Kalderash, by Marie Rutkoski, well wrapped up in blankets and woolly sweater (our house is cold) with our current cat (Kitty) on my lap:

And that is my life with books. Thank you to anyone who has ever read me a book, given me a book (with a particular nod of thanks to my dear husband, for the books of this birthday!), sat with me peacefully to read a book, or, perhaps best of all, left me all alone to read in peace....

The Dead Gentleman, by Matthew Cody, for Timeslip Tuesday

2012-01-03T08:33:00.001-05:00

The Dead Gentleman, by Matthew Cody (Knopf, 2011, mg, 288 pages)

In 1901, an eleven year old New York street urchin named Tommy Learner steals an unexpected prize--a mechanical bird. The bird was about to fall in the hands of the Dead Gentleman, an undying villain bent of the destruction of all living beings...but when Tommy makes off with it, the Gentleman's plans are (for the moment) foiled. And Tommy attracts the attention of the Explorers Guild, a secret society dedicated to the explorations of portals between a myriad of worlds, and begins a life of monster hunting, steampunk-esque submarine excursions, and mystery.

But one day, in the basement of an old hotel, a simple monster hunting mission goes horribly wrong. And Tommy is trapped....until, over a hundred years later, Jezebel, a bored and lonely modern-day girl living in the hotel, decides to explore the basement of the hotel, and sets in motion a chain of events that frees him. Now the two children, traveling through time and space, must keep the bird from the Dead Gentleman and his minions of Grave Walkers. No members of the Explorers Guild survive to help them. Fortunately, time is on their side (along with some nifty gadgets!).

I was sold on the premise--steampunk science-fiction time-travel adventure with kids! And I was not disappointed.

At first Tommy and Jezebel have separate stories (they are, after all, in different time periods), and it's not at all clear how Tommy's life as street urchin turned explorer's apprentice, and Jezebel's life as vaguely unhappy modern child, made infinitely more unhappy when her closet becomes a portal that disgorges monsters, are going to intersect. But I had no objection to this separation--I enjoyed getting to know each of them individually before the Big Adventure really got going. And Cody does a nice job with them--their personalities are nicely developed, and their struggles with friendship, loyalty, and escaping terrible death are convincing!

The science fiction elements (cool gadgets, travel to other worlds, supernatural undead villains) are certainly front and center, but not in a pushy way; not so much as to put off the kids who think they like their adventure stories science fiction free (edited to add: although certainly the ideal reader has to have a tolerance for the wildy fantastical!). The villain is, perhaps, a tad too utterly horrible to be swallowed without a pinch of salt, but he's not out of place in a book that clearly sets out to enjoy the impossible (although I must say legions of undead minions aren't really my thing).

The cover does a really nice job of capturing this spirit--note in particular the skulls in the goggles. If the cover appeals, you'll probably enjoy this lots. I'd give it to fans of Artemis Fowl, and Matthew Kirby's The Clockwork Three, but am not entirely satisfied that those are the best read-alikes--strangely (sarcasm font) I am not coming up with anything else in the way of middle grade steampunk sci fi adventure involving travel through both time and space!

It's a satisfactory stand-alone, but there's an opening left for a sequel, absolute evil being tricky to defeat absolutely. Although this isn't my own personal favorite type of book (what with aforementioned legions of undead minions), I myself wouldn't say no to more adventures for Tommy and Jez!

Winterling, by Sarah Prineas

2012-01-02T19:19:00.000-05:00

In Winterling, which comes out tomorrow (Jan 3, 2012) from Harper Collins, Sarah Prineas has done something very nice indeed. She's taken a story whose elements might seem old hat to many of us adults, and made it into one that I can imagine will be a touchstone for young readers beginning their own enchanted journeys.

Fer, short for Jennifer, is happiest out in the woods beyond the snug safety of her grandmother's house...at school, with its taunting classmates and the muzzy-headedness that overwhelms her, she is an outsider, and even the coziness of the small house where she lives, with its beehives and herbal workroom, is confining.

And then one day, wandering into the dark woods just as winter seems to be giving way to spring, Fer rescues a strange boy from the savage attack of three wolves...and magic enters her life. Her grandmother had been keeping secrets from her; secrets that will change everything.

“We live here, my girl, because it is close to the Way, and echoes of its magic are felt in our world. The Way is a path leading to another place, where the people are governed by different rules. Magic runs through them and their land.”

But that land is cursed by the dark power of the Mor, who promises to bring an end to a winter that has lasted too long...with blood of those pursued by her wild hunt. Fer, all unwitting, has opened a way into this land, and when she learns that her parents were lost there long ago, she sets out to find them. In a land of magical creatures (not least of whom is the "boy" Fer had rescued, whose fate becomes tangled with hers), Fer must confront the evil beguilement's of the Mor, and find her true self...or doom the land to never ending winter.

Basically, here's an orphan girl with a magical destiny, aided and thwarted by magical creatures, pitted against a dark queen of a fairy-esque realm where the natural order of things has gone badly awry. As I said, it isn't all that "new" a story, on the face of it.

There were moments where the pictures made in my mind--of Fer riding through the winter sky, the "wilding" of the land's people, slipping unwilling into animal shape as the blight grows stronger, of the blood shed by the wild hunt, when I forgot I wasn't the target audience, and simply enjoyed it for my own sake. Questions thrice asked and oaths thrice sworn, a seeing stone that reveals truth when you look through it, and the shapeshifterish magic of the land's inhabitants were a great pleasure to read about. Being me, I especially liked the herbal healing elements! And I liked Fer as a central character just fine, with her hair that keeps getting untidy and her pluckiness and her willingness to do the right thing.

That being said, there were also moments when I found Fer and her magical destiny almost too much to swallow, probably because I could guess where things were headed....

But oh, to be ten and to read this! To be given such an escape from the stifling confines of school and growing up, to lose oneself in the story and become Fer, magical and meaningful and able to stand up for what is right against dark powers (with the added bonus of a cool horse friend)...that would be something wonderful indeed.

I think ten is just the right age for this (or even a tad younger)--there's a reader-friendly, companionable feel to the writing, the darkness is enough to thrill and chill without being too disturbing, and the magic should delight.

New releases of fantasy and science fiction for kids and teens--the first half of January, 2012 edition

2012-01-02T07:16:00.005-05:00

Here are the new releases of fantasy and sci fi for kids and teens from the first half of January, 2012. My information comes from the handy release date calendar at Teens Read Too, and the blurbs (sorry, only had time for middle grade), from Amazon/Goodreads (a few I didn't find blurbs for).

I myself am tempted to rush out to buy the new Dragonbreath book...

Elementary/Middle Grade

ALIEN by Tony Bradman "Jake's squad have now joined forces with the Krell in the war against The Old Ones and The Krell Elders. Will they ever manage to beat the grown ups and end the war? This is a final instalment in a thrilling sci-fi trilogy. Barrington Stoke specialise in books for reluctant, struggling and dyslexic readers."

BEAST CHILD: VOYAGES OF THE FLYING DRAGON by Ben Chandler "Lenis and Missy Clemens have found their freedom aboard the airship Hiryu, but are they ready for the responsibilities that come with determining their own fates? Hard on the trail of the mercenary Karasu, the man who holds the keys to unlocking Suiteki's power, the twins face the realities of their own growing abilities. Their search for Karasu takes them to Heiligland, where Missy has to decide which is more important—the safety of an entire nation or her own sense of right and wrong. As she relies more and more on the powers of the Quillblade, her brother grows distant, shunning the bizarre connection that binds the Clemens twins together. When they meet Kanu, a young boy from the distant past who just might hold the key to who they are, the twins must decide whether to embrace their destiny or be torn forever apart."

BELLE THE BIRTHDAY FAIRY: RAINBOW MAGIC by Daisy Meadows "Birthdays are special days -- thanks to Belle the Birthday Fairy! She makes sure that birthdays are filled with happiness and magic. But icy Jack Frost can't even enjoy his own birthday! He's determined that no one else will enjoy it either, so he steals Belle's three magic charms. Now it's a very unhappy birthday to . . . everyone! Can Rachel and Kirsty help save birthday bashes everywhere? Or is Belle's magic lost forever? Find the magic items in all three stories inside this Rainbow Magic Special Edition and help save birthdays!"

THE CABINET OF EARTHS by Anne Nesbet "On their first day in Paris, Maya and her little brother, James, find themselves caught up in some very old magic. Houses with bronze salamanders for door handles, statues that look too much like Maya’s own worried face, a man wearing sunglasses to hide his radiant purple eyes . . . nothing is what it seems. And what does all that magic want from Maya?

With the help of a friendly boy named Valko, Maya discovers surprises hidden in her family tree—grandmothers who walked in magic, a cousin so unremarkable she’s actually hard to see, and a terrible family habit of betraying one’s brother. And now the shimmering glass Cabinet of Earths, at the heart of all these secrets, has chosen Maya to be its new Keeper. As she untangles the ties between the Salamander House, the purple-eyed man, and the Cabinet of Earths, Maya realizes that her own brother may be in terrible danger. To save him, Maya must take on the magical underworld of Paris . . . before it is too late."

CENTAURS: GRAPHIC MYTHICAL CREATURES by Gary Jeffrey

COLE - NINJA OF EARTH: NINJAGO by Greg Farshtey "The next chapter book in the Ninjago series! Cole is the leader of the team. As the Earth Ninja, he is (perhaps unsurprisingly) the most grounded of the four. And the strongest. There is no physical challenge Cole cannot overcome. Now is his chance to use his skills to save the world!"

DESIRABLE by Frank Cottrell Boyce "George is a social reject - but the mysterious bottle of aftershave means women can't resist him! How will George cope with his new-found popularity? A laugh-out-loud comedy. Barrington Stoke specialise in books for reluctant, struggling and dyslexic readers."

DON'T SCREAM!: GOOSEBUMPS, HALL OF HORRORS by R.L. Stine "Welcome to the Hall of Horrors, HorrorLand's Hall of Fame for the truly terrifying. Jack Harmon finds a cell phone on the school bus. He raises the phone to his ear and hears a girl's voice: "Hi, Jack. Don't scream. I've been waiting for you. I'm your new friend." Jack thinks it's a joke. He tries to end the call, then turn the phone off, but the girl's voice won't go away: "Don't make me angry, Jack. I'm warning you." Jack is puzzled and a little frightened. He must obey her every wish. She appears in all sorts of electronic devices-he can't escape her. "Don't scream, Jack. I'm just a voice. But you're going to be my body." She begins to force him to do dangerous things like stealing a laptop from school. But Jack finally outwits the voice when she jumps into his wristwatch. The school bully has been after that watch all year, so Jack finally lets him have it."

FIREBIRDS: GRAPHIC MYTHICAL CREATURES by Gary Jeffrey

THE GHOST BOX by Catherine Fisher "Sarah finds herself responsible for freeing the soul of a frustrated ghost, who will punish her severely if she fails. Everything depends on her unlocking the strange silver box that appeared in her room one night. But will freeing the ghost turn out to be a huge mistake? And why is Matt, her weird Goth stepbrother, so interested in the box? Supernatural tale that will make readers want to leave the light on - A cracking ghost story."

GENIE SCHOOL: TWEENIE GENIE by Meredith Badger "Having passed Stage One of her training with flying colors, Poppy is eager to return to Genie School and see all her friends, especially her trainer, Lexi. But Stage Two of genie training holds some serious surprises for Poppy. Only one of her friends is in her class, and her new mentor is jealous of her success. When a forbidden carpet race threatens to get her expelled from the genie world forever, Poppy has to wonder: Is she destined to be ordinary after all?"

GOBLINS: GRAPHIC MYTHICAL CREATURES by Gary Jeffrey

IMMORTAL WAR: VAMPIRATES by Justin Somper "A bloody war is raging across the oceans, with the Pirate Federation and Nocturnals in alliance against the renegade Vampirates, led by Sidorio and Lola. Nothing will stop either one from making their presence dangerously known in battle.
Connor and Grace Tempest each have important roles to play in the war - he as a pirate warrior at the heart of the fight; she as a powerful healer working with the war-wounded. As the twins face their greatest challenges to date, old allies and foes return to play their part in the ultimate battle of Pirate versus Vampirate."

THE INVISIBLE TOWER: OTHERWORLD CHRONICLES by Nils Johnson-Shelton "Part of the spell has already been broken. The first stones have begun to crumble. In Artie Kingfisher’s world, wizards named Merlin, fire-breathing dragons, and swords called Excalibur exist only in legends and lore—until the day his video game Otherworld springs to life. You are special, Arthur, Says the mysterious message in his game. "

JAY - NINJA OF LIGHTNING: NINJAGO by Greg Farshtey "The next book in the Lego Ninjago Chapter Book series! Jay is much like the element he represents: fast and full of energy. Always good in a fight, always up for a laugh, and always, always inventing. Even if those inventions don't always turn out the way he wants!"

KILLER GENES: AN ARCTIC6 ADVENTURE by C T Furlong "The US President is fighting for his life! Mysterious lights, an inexplicable illness and a deadly plague plunge the ARCTIC6 into another exciting adventure. When the friends stumble across a research facility hidden deep in the Suffolk countryside, they discover an insane plot in which the lives of millions are at stake. As they work to unravel the secrets of the facility, a deadly countdown is ticking. Can they prevent a global disaster? Do they have time to save the lives that hang in the balance? Will they even have time to save themselves??"

KILLER STAR: AN ARCTIC6 ADVENTURE by C T Furlong "With oil and gas reserves running out, and nuclear fission contaminating the planet, Nuclear Fusion seems like a good option for our future energy needs. Scientists at a nuclear fusion facility are about to create a star on earthA". The only problem is - the scientists have made a flaw in their calculations, which means the star could supernova. The ARCTIC 6 are contracted by an undercover government agency to infiltrate the facility and sabotage the experiment. Captured during their mission, they are told that their information is false. If they continue with their sabotage plans, they will set the clock back thirty years. And the world doesn't have thirty years of oil reserves. Who do they believe? Who would you believe? Would you be able to make that choice?"

LUNA THE MOON WOLF: BEAST QUEST, AMULET OF AVANTIA by Adam Blade "Tom must battle the most dangerous Ghost Beasts yet! At night, the Dead Wood comes alive with wild animals made ferocious by the spell of Luna the Moon Wolf. To save his father, Tom must collect the pieces of the Amulet of Avantia-which means battling Luna's murderous magic..."

THE MAD MASK: ARCHVILLAIN by Barry Lyga "Things haven't been going well for Kyle since Mighty Mike became the new town hero. He's pretty sure he could fix this disaster if he could expose Mike's secret (he's an alien), but to do that Kyle would have to admit he is the Azure Avenger -- the unintentional town archvillain. One night a new masked hero, aptly named the Mad Mask, arrives, boasting to the Azure Avenger of an off-the-charts IQ and superior superpowers. Yet the Mad Mask has come seeking intellectual assistance in building Ultitron (the robot of all robots). In exchange he offers to allow the Azure Avenger to use the awesome Ultitron to rid the world, or at least Bouring, of Mighty Mike. Forging alliances isn't usually Kyle's style, but it seems he has no choice. While Kyle agrees to help, he also has another plan: finding out who the Mad Mask is and how he got his powers. Because the last thing the Azure Avenger needs is another mindless archvillain hanging around town!"

MERMAIDS: GRAPHIC MYTHICAL CREATURES by Gary Jeffrey

MUTANT by Theresa Breslin "There's something strange going on at the Genetic Clone Unit - but can Shaun find out what? A timely and chilling story about cloning. Barrington Stoke specialise in books for reluctant, struggling and dyslexic readers."

REVENGE OF THE HORNED BUNNIES: DRAGONBREATH by Ursula Vernon "Ride 'em, cowboy! Danny's off to summer camp! Danny Dragonbreath is counting down the days to his awesome western summer camp . . . until he gets the terrible news that his annoying younger cousin Spencer is going too. Good-bye, Danny the Cowboy; Hello, Danny the Babysitter. But when Spencer befriends a mythical jackalope (or horned bunny) and then uncovers a diabolical jackalope-napping ring, things start looking up again. After all, if you need a math problem solved, you call a nerd. But if you need a villainous ring of horned-bunnynappers broken up, you call Danny Dragonbreath. The sixth book in this laugh-until-smoke-comes-out-of- your-nose series is perfect for Wimpy Kid fans everywhere."

ROTTEN RULES: DIARY OF A ZOMBIE KID by Fred Perry & David Hutchison "As a reward for being S-Mart''s most efficient (and scariest) security guard ever, Bill Stokes'' zombified mother wins "Employee of the Month" and a free trip to the Diamond Lake Summer Camp for her zombified son! But when the older kids decide to scare the beetles out of the junior campers by bringing to life the tale of "Rotten Rod" and his "rotten rules", the worm turns, and their fun becomes a series of zombie night frights!"

SCIENCE FICTION: FACT TO FICTION by David Orme What is science fiction? Who invented it? What kinds of science fiction stories are there? Are aliens science fiction, or are they real? Then find out about some amazing science fiction inventions, such as robots and matter transmitters. Is time travel possible, or is that just science fiction? Then read The City: a science fiction story set in the future. It's a world of half-people, half robots, where the Control Zone is in charge of everything. This is one of a series on books on popular non-fiction topics. As with other books in the series, a full colour non-fiction section is followed by a fiction story based upon the topic. The story appears in two formats: one with simple texts for poor or reluctant readers; the facing pages contain an illustrated "speech bubble" version for those who are just starting to read.

SECRET OF THE PRINCE'S TOMB: THE IMAGINATION STATION by Marianne Hering & Marshal Younger "Cousins Patrick and Beth accidentally push the Imagination Station’s red button. They land in Egypt, where they befriend two children who are second cousins: a boy named Gilead and a girl named Sherah. The family is in turmoil because Gilead and Sherah’s great-grandfather has just died. Their grandfathers are arguing over who gets control of the family palace. Patrick and Beth witness the grand Egyptian burial, help Gilead and Sherah learn to get along better, and explore the city of Aramis with its ancient wonders and Egyptian customs. All the while Patrick and Beth are trying to figure out how to get back to Whit’s End. As they are leaving Egypt, they realize that the funeral they attended was for the biblical Joseph."

SHOWOFF by Gordon Korman "The fourth SWINDLE book, centering around a dog show that goes horribly awry! The heroes of SWINDLE, ZOOBREAK, and FRAMED are back - and this time, things have gone to the dogs! When Luthor goes berserk at a mall dog show, he's accused of ruining the career of the three-time best-in-show beagle. Griffin always knew that Luthor's viciousness was simmering just below the surface - so why does he feel bad enough to spring him from the pound? Griffin and his team have a new plan. This one involves New York City, a sinister saboteur, a reclusive dog-trainer who's quit the business, an international dog show, and a whole lot of red dye. But if they pull it off, no one will even notice their sting operation...right?"

SLUDGMENT DAY: THE ZOMBIE CHASERS by John Kloepfer "The maul of America! It’s been two days since a zombie virus turned Zack Clarke’s parents, neighbors, and most of the country into brain-munching fiends. Zack and his crew of Zombie Chasers—Rice, Madison, Ozzie, and Zoe—are ready to end this nightmare once and for all! With the antidote in hand, the gang sets off on a wild cross-country road trip to defeat the evil genius behind the zombie apocalypse. After battling undead Elvis in Memphis, ghoulish tourists at a rest stop, and a crew of zweenyboppers at the Mall of America, the Zombie Chasers are still only halfway there! Will Sludgment Day be the dawn of the dead?"

THYME RUNNING OUT: THE TARTAN OF THYME by Panama Oxridge "As the threat of the Thyme Curse closes in on Justin's family, his life is once again thrown into complete turmoil. Will he finally unmask Agent X and his spy? Has Evelyn Garnet stolen his wristwatch? What's making Eliza the gorilla act so aggressively? Why is Sir Willoughby planning a secret trip in the time machine? And where has Justin's sister, Robyn, mysteriously vanished to? Only Nanny Verity knows the truth - but can she be found before it's too late?"

TOP 10 MYTHICAL CREATURES by Lori Polydoros

UNICORNS: GRAPHIC MYTHICAL CREATURES by Gary Jeffrey

VAMPIRES: GRAPHIC MYTHICAL CREATURES by Gary Jeffrey

WHO CUT THE CHEESE?: DOCTOR PROCTOR'S FART POWDER by Jo Nesbo "This time the adventure includes aliens, disappearing socks, an American Idol style talent show, and a plot to takeover the world . . . nothing that some well-timed farts can't help fix."

WINTERLING by Sarah Prineas “We live here, my girl, because it is close to the Way, and echoes of its magic are felt in our world. The Way is a path leading to another place, where the people are governed by different rules. Magic runs through them and their land.”

With her boundless curiosity and wild spirit, Fer has always felt that she doesn’t belong. Not when the forest is calling to her, when the rush of wind through branches feels more real than school or the quiet farms near her house. Then she saves an injured creature—he looks like a boy, but he’s really something else. He knows who Fer truly is, and invites her through the Way, a passage to a strange, dangerous land.

Fer feels an instant attachment to this realm, where magic is real and oaths forge bonds stronger than iron. But a powerful huntress named the MÓr rules here, and Fer can sense that the land is perilously out of balance. Fer must unlock the secrets about the parents she never knew and claim her true place before the worlds on both sides of the Way descend into endless winter.

WOLF by Tommy Donbavand "Adam thinks today is going to be like any other. When his fingers start to ache, he thinks he's been playing the computer too long. He's wrong. When he grows claws, fur and a tail he realises he's turning into a werewolf! And he soon realises his parents aren't animal lovers! Particularly suitable for dyslexic, reluctant and struggling readers."

THE WRATH OF DARTH MAUL: STAR WARS by Ryder Windham "The most anticipated Star Wars biography yet! One of the most feared villains of all time. One of the most iconic characters of the Star Wars saga. One incredible story. Features new, never-before-told secrets about Darth Maul!"

ZERO TO HERO: GHOST BUDDY by Henry Winkler & Lin Oliver "Billy Broccoli is new to the neighborhood, and wants cool friends and a spot on the baseball team more than anything. But the one thing he never wanted is his own personal ghost. So imagine his surprise when he ends up sharing a room with Hoover Porterhouse, a funny ghost with a whole lot of attitude.

When an obnoxious school bully sets out to demolish Billy, the Hoove comes up with a plan for revenge. It’s all in the Hoove’s Rule Number Forty-Two: Stay cool. And like it or not, Billy and the Hoove have to stick together if Billy ever wants to get in style, get even, and conquer the school."

YOUNG ADULT

THE ALCHEMY OF FOREVER: INCARNATION by Avery Williams
ALIENATION: A C.H.A.O.S. NOVEL by Jon S. Lewis
BLOODROSE: A NIGHTSHADE NOVEL by Andrea Cremer
CHARMFALL: A NOVEL OF THE DARK ELITE by Chloe Neill
CINDER: THE LUNAR CHRONICLES by Marissa Meyer
DARKNESS FALLS: IMMORTAL BELOVED by Cate Tiernan
DRAGONSWOOD by Janet Lee Carey
DREAMING AWAKE: FALLING UNDER by Gwen Hayes
FANGTASTIC by Lucienne Diver
FATED by Sarah Alderson
THE FIRES OF NEW SUN: A BLENDING TIME NOVEL by Michael Kinch
THE GATHERING STORM: THE KATERINA TRILOGY by Robin Bridges
HUSH, HUSH: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL by Becca Fitzpatrick
JESSICA RULES THE DARK SIDE by Beth Fantaskey
MEMORY BOY by Will Weaver
A MILLION SUNS: AN ACROSS THE UNIVERSE NOVEL by Beth Revis
THE NEXT FULL MOON by Carolyn Turgeon
PANDEMONIUM by Chris Wooding
REVEALING EDEN: SAVE THE PEARLS by Victoria Foyt
RUN: A SUBJECT SEVEN NOVEL by James A. Moore
SHADOW'S EDGE by Maureen Lipinski
SWITCHED: THE TRYLLE TRILOGY by Amanda Hocking
UNDER THE NEVER SKY by Veronica Rossi

My New Year, so far

2012-01-01T21:17:00.006-05:00

Number of books read in 2011: 1 (Winterling, by Sarah Prineas. Very good)

Number of books that I was really enjoying reading until it got lost somewhere in the house and the only way to find it (since obvious wandering around looking behind radiators didn't work) is to read all the loose books in the house: 1 (Blue Skies and Gunfire, by K.M. Peyton; WW II. The girl had just been evacuated to the countryside and was learning about Rural Life, and then I went and lost it. Snarl).

Home renovation tasks completed: 0

Home renovation tasks worked on in a dilettantish sort of way: 5 (including two bags of trash from the barn. Every New Year's Day we try to throw things from the barn away. It was packed to the gills with horrible mounds of junk, and although we sprang for a dumpster back in Year 1, it only scratched the surface. And none of it was valuable treasure; even the tin trunk of books was disappointing (the only book of any interest was Brenda Starr: Girl Reporter).

New Year's Resolutions:

To comment more on other blogs without suffering great angst over whether I sound sane or not.

To put away one book a day, whether on a shelf or in the sadder sense, ala aged animals (we did find several boxes of bullets (!!!!) in our barn cleaning today. We showed them to the boys (They've watched Mythbusters, so they've heard of them). I didn't see my first bullet until I was 18 and learned how to shoot on an archaeological dig in Alaska (shooting skills required because of bears). But in any event we have no gun, and I do not think I could ever shoot any book I've let into my house).

To keep track of the books that I read (I am looking into goodreads for this) so that for once in my life I will finally know how many books I read a year, and then the next year I can get all competitive with myself and try to read more.

Wish me luck, and good luck to all the rest of you with your own 2012s! Now I have to go find a book to put away...

The Happy New Year edition of my weekly round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy

2012-01-01T07:48:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year!

The most exciting news of the week (mg sff book wise) is the announcement of the Cybils shortlists! I hope you all are pleased with the books us mg sff panelists chose--we could have made the list ever so much longer, what with all the great books published this year, but we managed to bringing it down to the following seven:

Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu
Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George
Icefall, by Matthew Kirby
A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness
The Cheshire Cheese Cat, by Carmen Agra Deedy
Dragon Castle, by Joseph Bruchac
The Inquisitor's Apprentice, by Chris Moriarty

As usual, I am glad I am not a final round judge. I do not know which one I would pick. The full list of all short-listed books can be found here.

On a much sadder note--before getting into the real round-up, I wanted to take a moment to say goodbye to three friends of mg sff who left us in 2011--Diana Wynne Jones, Anne McCaffrey, and Ben Boos. Ben Boos, for those who might not know, was the author and illustrator of two beautiful books--Swords (my review) and Fantasy: An Artist's Realm (my review). His loss is especially sad, because he was so young.

The Reviews (a longish list, because I didn't do a round-up on Christmas day; please let me know if I missed yours!)

Bliss, by Kathryn Littlewood, at Book Aunt

Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu, at Book-A-Day Almanac, One Librarian's Book Reviews, and Fantasy Literature

Dog Whisperer: Storm Warning, at TheHappyNappyBookseller

The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens, at Jean Little Library

The Flint Heart, by Katherine Paterson and John Paterson, at books4yourkids

The Grimm Legacy, by Polly Shulman, at books4yourkids

Icefall, by Matthew Kirby, at Good Books and Good Wine

The Inquitior's Apprentice, by at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

The Jewel of the Kalderash, by Marie Rutkoski, at TheHappyNappyBookseller

The Magic Cake Shop, by Meika Hashimoto, at Book Aunt

Nicholas North and the Battle of the Nightmare King, by William Joyce and Laura Geringer, at Wicked Awesome Books

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, by Jonathan Auxier, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

The Seige of Macindaw, by John Flanagan, at Karissa's Reading Review

Seven Sorcerers, by Caro King, at Charlotte's Library

Sidekicks, by Dan Santat, at Literate Lives

A Tale of Two Castles, by Gail Carson Levine, at Jean Little Library

The Unwanteds, by Lisa McMann, at Page in Training and The Musings of a Book Addict

Winterling, by Sarah Prineas, at Good Books and Good Wine and Ms. Martin Teaches Media

The Wizard of Dark Street, by Shawn Thomas Odyssey, at books4yourkids

A two for one post at Postcards from La-La Land: Sir Seth Thistlethwaite and the Soothsayer’s Shoes, by Richard Thake, and Canadian Flyer Adventures: Beware, Pirates! by Frieda Wishinsky.

Authors and Interviews:

Sarvenaz Tash (The Mapmaker and the Ghost) at Stacked

Other good stuff:

Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu, at NPR's Backstreet Book Club

Starting tomorrow, Deb at Just Deb is hosting a week long Marvelous Middle Grade Readathon. I'm giving away two ARCs to one participant--The Book of Wonders, by Jasmine Richards,
and Fairy Lies, by E.D. Baker.

And finally, may we all find happiness, wonder, wisdom, and refugee in the books we read in 2012! (art by Guy Laramee, found at Paranthetical).

New releases of fantasy and science fiction for kids and teens--the second half of December, 2011 edition

2011-12-31T15:12:00.006-05:00

The poor new releases of middle grade and YA sci fi/fantasy from the second half of December slipped my mind until now... but since nothing was published from the 15th to the 20th (why? what did the publishers have against that week?) it makes slightly less difference than it might have done.... It's a pretty sparse list too. But January 1 has enough books to (almost) warrant a post of its own. My information comes as always from Teens Read Too, with blurbs from Amazon/the publishers.

(by way of explanation: I only find the mg blurbs; lots of blogs seem to cover the YA, and it just takes too much time to do both)

The Middle Grade Books:

ALIENS V. MAD SCIENTISTS UNDER THE OCEAN: MEGA MASH-UP by Nikalas Catlow & Tim Wesson "These books take great subjects for boys and combine them into short, bonkers, and funny stories that are incredibly easy to read. The illustrations are bold and crazy, and there's plenty of space left on each page -- together with suggestions for how to fill it -- so kids can add their own drawings. The books read as hilarious, zippy stories that look a lot like novels but are terrific doodle books as well.

The earth is in peril! Aliens are trying to stop it from spinning so that everyone will fall off and they can take over. Mwa-ha-ha-ha! But fear not! The Mad Scientists are building a genius underwater machine to save the day. If only the Aliens would stop zapping them with their Frazzelizers. . . . "

PIECE OF MIND: EMILY THE STRANGE by Jessica Gruner & Rob Reger "Emily’s Strange To-Do List: 1. Lose (and regain) mind 2. Reprogram golem 3. Locate secret book vault 4. Commune with Dead Dark Aunts 5. Rescue Cousin Jake 6. Redecorate souvenir kiosk 7. Thwart Thought Thief 8. Endure hero worship 9. Grant ancestral enemy’s deepest wish 10. Save cat-napped kitty 11. Summon black rock 12. Defeat Shady Uncles 13. Guard family legacy & claim inheritance!"

ROBOTS V. GORILLAS IN THE DESERT: MEGA MASH-UP by Nikalas Catlow & Tim Wesson "Deep in the desert, Gorillas trade oil for bananas grown by hi-tech Robots. But then they have a big falling-out and decide to have a race to settle their differences. Which side will get slimed by the garlic burp-breath sand slugs? Which will fall for the banana sundae mirages? And when will they realize that the race has no finish line?"

ROMANS V. DINOSAURS ON MARS: MEGA MASH-UP by Nikalas Catlow & Tim Wesson "The Romans and Dinosaurs live together in a huge glass dome called Romasauria. They race their rocket chariots and feast on moon-cow and chips until life on Mars is threatened by a giant asteroid spotted by Augustus Astronomus through his giant telescope. Will a wooden catapult and some Dinosaur poop save the day? The Romans and the Dinosaurs are going to have to work together or it's KAPOW for life on Mars."

SUMI'S BOOK: THE FAIRY GODMOTHER ACADEMY by Jan Bozarth "Sumi Hara loves fashion. She always looks beautiful, and always wears the perfect outfit. When she arrives in Aventurine, Sumi is thrilled to learn that she's a shape-shifter.

Unfortunately, she's not very good at shape-shifting yet, so she's given a guide named Kano—who's distractingly gorgeous in his human form. But right away they get off on the wrong foot; Sumi can't understand why this boy doesn't seem to like her. When they find out that an evil fairy queen holds the final mirror shard needed to complete their mission, Sumi will have to discover what true beauty and perfection are, or she could lose Kano and her chance to become a fairy godmother."

THERE'S SOMETHING OUT THERE: YOU'RE INVITED TO A CREEPOVER by P.J. Night "Jenna Walker has always been fascinated by the legend of the Marked Monster, the scarred half-bird, half-beast creature that is said to roam the forests around her hometown. Is the Marked Monster real or is it just the stuff of myth? Jenna decides to find out once and for all with a campout at her house where she and her friends can search for the legendary beast. But as Jenna starts to learn more about the Marked Monster, she realizes that this legend might be more than just myth, and more sinister than she ever could have imagined. Will Jenna meet the Marked Monster face to face and will she be marked for life?"

THE US CAPITOL COMMOTION: FLAT STANLEY'S WORLDWIDE ADVENTURES by Jeff Brown "Stanley’s been chosen to receive a medal of honor in the nation’s capital! But once in Washington, DC, Stanley gets swept away by a crowd and separated from his family. Now he’s on the run in a city filled with monuments—and with shadowy figures on his trail. What’s a flat boy to do now?"

A VALENTINE'S SURPRISE: CANDY FAIRIES by Helen Perelman "Raina wants to make a very special birthday treat for Berry. She's even asked Lyra, the unicorn who looks after the Fruit Chew Meadow, to grow a special flower for the surprise. But when Raina and Dash go to visit Lyra, they are in for a sour shock! All the flowers in the meadow arewilting and Lyra's sick! Her horn is dull and she can't stand up. Something--or someone--is hurting the gentle unicorn and the meadow, but who? And what about Berry's birthday?

All the Candy Fairies will have to work together if they are to solve this mystery, cure the meadow and Lyra, and make sure that Berry has the sweetest birthday ever!"

ZOMBIE TAG by Hannah Moskowitz "Wil is desperate for his older brother to come back from the dead. But the thing about zombies is . . they don’t exactly make the best siblings.

Thirteen-year-old Wil Lowenstein copes with his brother’s death by focusing on Zombie Tag, a mafia/capture the flag hybrid game where he and his friends fight off brain-eating zombies with their mothers’ spatulas. What Wil doesn’t tell anybody is that if he could bring his dead brother back as a zombie, he would in a heartbeat. But when Wil finds a way to summon all the dead within five miles, he’s surprised to discover that his back-from-the-dead brother is emotionless and distant."

The YA Books:

BLEEDING HEARTS: THE DRAKE CHRONICLES by Alyxandra Harvey
BLOOD WOLF: A WERELING NOVEL by Steve Feasey
FLYAWAY by Helen Landalf
LEGACY by Molly Cochran
STILL WATERS by Emma Carlson Berne
TORN by Cat Clarke
VAMPIRE ACADEMY: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE by Michelle Rowen & Richelle Mead
BLOOD SUN: DANGER ZONE by David Gilman
EVERY OTHER DAY by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
LIVING VIOLET: THECAMBION CHRONICLES by Jaime Reed
MAGIC OF THE MOONLIGHT: A FULL MOON NOVEL by Ellen Schreiber
REPLICATION THEJASON EXPERIMENT by Jill Williamson

DAME Penelope Lively!

2011-12-31T11:05:00.002-05:00

Penelope Lively has just become a Dame of the British Empire (the female equivalent of being knighted). Although she's perhaps best known for her adult fiction, such as Booker Prize winning Moon Tiger, for me she will always be a chidren's author. Her books for children include The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, Astercote, A Stitch in Time, The Driftway (my review) and The House at Norham Gardens (my review).

How nice to see her recognized! And now I am feeling a great urge to read (and write about) more of her books....

The Hawk of May, by Ann Lawrence

2011-12-30T17:01:00.005-05:00

I'm busily reading my Christmas present books--this year I am determined not to have a sad little pile of them looking reproachfully at me come June! So when I got home today, I successfully ignored the distressing clutter that takes up far too much of my home, and curled up with The Hawk of May, by Ann Lawrence (Macmillan, 1980). Ann Lawrence is the author of one of my favorite books as a child (Tom Ass), and it's only in the last year or so that it occured to me that maybe she'd written more books, and maybe I'd like them! Fortunatly for me, she did, and I do (here are two others I've reviewd--Between the Forest and the Hills, and The Good Little Devil).

The Hawk of May is a retelling of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, mixed with the story of the Loathly Lady, and for an hour I was lost to the world, as I journeyed with Gawain through an imaginary medieval England as he sought to find the answer to the question "What do women really want?" Making the quest rather tense for Gawain is the small detail of loosing his head if he gets the answer wrong.

It's surreal, and beautiful, and thought-provoking, combining lovely world-building detail with touches of humor. There's magic, and intrigue, and the threat that all Arthur has build could come tumbling down...and there's Gawain himself, who means so well, and yet has much to learn (he's not the brightest hero going, but so likeable)*. It's somewhat meditative in its pacing, with many longish bits in which little Happens (don't expect battles and deeds of daring), but the slow and steady unfolding is shot through with beautiful flashes of the fantastic.

If you are at all a fan of Arthur retellings, seek this one out! It's not exactly a "kid's book," what with its focus on the relationships between men and women; rather, it seemed to me more like that rare thing, a fairy tale for grown ups that is written with the precision and sense of wonder that characterizes the best children's books.

*although why, I wonder, was his having fathered a child that he didn't know about thrown into the story, and then abandoned almost instantly? I was left wondering if it were true or not, and was somewhat vexed.

Seven Sorcerers, by Caro King

2011-12-29T19:37:00.002-05:00

Yay! I'm back to writing reviews, and (surprise!) I have a lovely middle grade fantasy to write about tonight--Seven Sorcerers, by Caro King (first published in the UK in 2009, published here in the US by Simon and Schuster in 2011).

I was very pleased when Seven Sorcerers was nominated for the Cybils--I'd been wanting to read it for ages, and it wasn't in my library system or local bookstores (I am trying not to buy books on line for myself). Happily Simon and Schuster sent review copies...and after a small false start in which I received a copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Mom instead by accident (why, I wondered bemusedly, before I thought to check the packing slip, did anyone think that was a good fit for my blog???), they kindly tried again (thanks, S. and S.!), and I dove into a beautifully enchanted world (so engrossing that it competed successfully with Christmas-time for my attention, which is saying a lot!).

All that is left of Nin's little brother Toby is his sock monkey, and Nin's memories. Nothing else--her parents no longer even know they once had another child. But one person believes Nin's version of reality--a mysterious boy named Jonas, who suffered a similar fate--he, like little Toby, was kidnapped by a bogeyman, and taken to a magical land known as the Drift, to be offered up to the sinister master of the Terrible House. But unlike Toby, Jonas escaped...only to find his family had forgotten him.

Nin is determined to find Toby, and bring him home, and Jonas agrees to help. So they set off, into a land of magical creatures and dangerous pitfalls, a land where Seven Sorcerers worked strange enchantments in a desperate effort (that hasn't worked all that well) from slowly loosing all its magic. As if the dangers of the Drift aren't enough, they are pursued by Bogeyman Skerridge, the one that took Toby, who has set his sights on Nin. And though, time after time Nin's good luck saves her from disaster, luck alone is no match for what Nin finds when she finally reaches the Terrible House....

I was very pleasantly surprised by just how interesting I found Nin and Jonah's adventures. On the face of it, the bare bones of the plot don't sound wildly original, but I found the particulars of their encounters with various strange things to be very tasty, fresh, reading. Not only was the world-building enticing, but there was nuance to the bad guys and assorted minions that made the story delightfully tricksy. Oftentimes I loose interest when the "good" characters are running away from/fighting with the "bad" characters--and I was very happy that to find I didn't have to face that problem here.

I especially liked the fact that this isn't "a quest by the chosen child of Light." Nin's motivations are personal, and there's nothing (at this point) that makes me think she's been Chosen (although she is awfully lucky....). She is arguable perernaturally self-controlled (as opposed to being, more realistically, an emotional mess about her situation), but she is also self-aware, not just doing things, but questioning, and reflecting, wondering who to trust; wondering, at times, if her pride is going to be enough to keep her from screaming. And I also enjoyed the fact that the action also doesn't stick entirely to the magical realm--trips are made back to our world, which has the somewhat counterintuitive effect of making the Drift more real, by contrast.

In short, the only thing I didn't like about the book was that it stopped too abruptly....I wanted to stay with Nin, and Jonah, and Toby, and even Bogeyman Skerridge, just a little while longer. Truly it was one of the most jarringly sudden ends I've read in ages. Happily, there's a sequel, Shadow Spell, already out in the UK, and coming here in May 2012. Oh would that my birthday weren't next week, and my presents already asked for and bought....

Some of the violence is very violent indeed, and I think I would have been troubled somewhat by it, and by the whole disturbing premise of Vanishing from one's family, at the tender age of nine or so, so I'd give this one to the tougher ten year old, or better still, the eleven year old.

Here's another longer review, at books4yourkids, that goes into more detail about what makes this a fine mg fantasy.

(disclaimer: as stated above, I received a review copy from the publisher for Cybils purposes, and I wouldn't have said anything about the packing mistake if I hadn't been amused by the book I got instead...)

Greetings from exit 8 of the NJ turnpike

2011-12-28T06:50:00.002-05:00

I am writing from the Hampton Inn, off exit 8 of the NJ turnpike. We like this hotel because guests are greated with origami towels--this time it was a peacock. We moved it to the top of the tv, where it became a dead peacock (the neck sagging forward off the edge), but still a nice touch. I'm headed home, and looking forward, after the wild festive gaiety of Christmas at grandma's, to peaceful unpacking of presents and catching up on blog reading and the looming backlog of reviews I need to write (strangely, large intervals of peaceful time in which to write reviews was lacking at grandma's, although I did get lots of books read).

My Cybils work is done, just about--us mg sff panelists have had our chat, and come up with a gem of a list (I hope you all approve of our choices!). The announcement of the shortlisted books will be made on the first of January.

And now I go off to get more hotel coffee...and rouse my family for the last desperate charge northward....

The dangers of biscuits, with a few etcs

2011-12-24T11:05:00.006-05:00

Everyone, please Play it Safe this Christmas. Cookies, aka biscuits, can turn ugly on you, as reported today in the Telegraph:

More than half of all Britons have been injured by biscuits

I particularly like the story of a man who waded into wet concrete to retrieve a stray biscuit, and got stuck. I am not being entirely tongue in check when I say that I find this a rather moving testimonial to the power of the human spirit, defiant and persevering in the face of terrible odds, committed beyond rational belief to all that is worth saving, etc. Although it's a pretty dumb thing to do.

So far today I have eaten two date dreams, a florentine, and a gingerbread man (the soft kind, not the dangerous rock hard kind). I am uninjured--for the moment. And mercifully, our holiday assortment includes none of the most deadly cookie of them all--the custard cream.

I'm off now to Barnes and Noble, where I am going to buy:

The Cat's Table, All of My Friends are Dead, Press Here, and the new Oliver Sacks book.

Then I am going to the National Geographic Museum, to see an Anglo Saxon hoard (happily, I've just re-read Coming of the Dragon, by Rebecca Barnhouse).

Then I am going to just be at home, making sure the children don't poke themselves in the eye with sugar cookies, and hoping I don't fall asleep before they do....

I hope that none of you has been injured by cookies this holiday season, and that everything else is conspiring to make things pleasant and happy for you!

Thank you, Blogger Secret Santa!

2011-12-23T08:35:00.006-05:00

I arrived at my mother's house yesterday, and found a surprise--my package from my Book Blogger Holiday Swap Secret Santa! It was a surprise because I had forgotten I had used her address...and I had left home feeling sad that I hadn't gotten it. But there it was! Yay!

My Santa, Gaskella, picked out two books that made me very happy--The Dead Gentleman, by Matthew Cody (time travel parallel New York, by the author of Icefall), and The Nightwood, by Robin Muller (a beautiful picture book retelling of Tamlynne [sic]).

Thank you very much indeed, Gaskella!!! And thank you to all who worked behind the scenes, organizing the book blogger holiday swap ! It was such fun sending off my own present, and receiving books I wanted in turn!

Witchlanders, by Lena Coakley

2011-12-22T07:21:00.001-05:00

Witchlanders, by Lena Coakley, (Atheneum, 2011, YA, 416 pages) is a lovely high fantasy for a cold winter's day, especially for those who like intrigue, fascinating magic, and dogs (there's a great one), and one I'd particularly recommend, despite what the cover might suggest, to boys (more on this later).

It's the story of two young men, whose countries have a history of bloody war. Ryder is from the Witchlands, where all his life his mother taught him to scorn the magic of the witches praying to the goddess and casting bones to tell the future, and his father taught him the hard work of farming. Now his father is dead, and his mother has turned back to witchcraft, and the prophecies she claims to see in her frenetic bone castings are terrible. If it is magic, and not madness, all that Ryder loves is in danger.

Falpian is a Baen, son of a noble family, who failed his father by not having magic, and who has been sent to the boarder of the Witchlands...to wait out the long snowy months alone (except for his dog) until his father's mysterious plan for him becomes clear.

But magic is about to enter their lives--the singing magic of Baen and the prophesies of the witches both. If Ryder and Falpian can overcome the hatred between their two peoples, and work together, despite their different religions and languages and prejudices, they can defeat the rot of old hatred that threatens to spark another war.

It's a fascinating world that Lena Coakley has created here, with its strange magics and harsh landscape lyrically described, and atmospheric as all get out. The tension builds very nicely indeed, in the alternating stories of Ryder and Falpian, as they begin to unravel the lies and treachery in which they have become entangled, and I found it hard to put down.

I found it especially fascinating that neither boy is especially likable for a good way into the book, and yet I, who generally prefer to like, if not love, at least one character per book, was captivated enough by the story not to mind (too terribly much). Happily for me, I did warm somewhat to Falpian, who is the warmer and more open of the two (although, and this is just my problem, I know--"Falpian" sadly didn't work for me as a name). I do feel, though, that the characterization of the two main characters was the weak point of the book--Ryder, for instance, tells his sister something on page 313 that, if the reader can believe him, sheds a completely new and unforeshadowed (or else I missed something, which is quite possible) light on him.

I was a tad let down by the (gorgeous) cover, which I took as a promise that there would be a main girl character. The girl shown (if she is who I think she is) is important, but not central...it's definitely the story of the two boys! Which is fine, but not what I was expecting.

I think that the YA designation of the book also lead me to expect more development of the complexity of relationships between the characters. Witchlanders, and this isn't in a way a criticism, seems to me like a rather young YA (as opposed to an old YA, like, say, Finniken of the Rock, which I would Not recommend to the younger reader), one that would be a most excellent book to give to the boy who loved, perhaps, the Ranger's Apprentice series, and who wants magical adventure without getting into any messy romantic entanglements. One could imagine the two teenaged boys a few years younger, and voila! An excellent middle grade book about brave boys using their new found gifts of magic to change their world.

(Getting somewhat sidetracked, and going back to the cover--obviously this book isn't being marketed to 12 or 13 year old boys who enjoy high fantasy adventure (which I'm using to mean books set in a self-contained magical other world). It seems to me that this is a rather under served demographic. Looking quickly over the lists of books nominated for the Cybils in both middle grade and YA, there isn't much high fantasy with boys). Nothing in the 130 middle grade books quite fits my definition--the closest I get is The Dark City series, by Catherine Fisher, Dragon Castle, by Joseph Bruchac, and A World Without Heros, by Brandon Mull. In YA, there's Pathfinder, by Orson Scott Card, the Seven Realms series, by Cinda Williams Chima, and arguably The Floating Islands, by Rachel Neumeier, although I think of that as the somewhat more cozy "school fantasy"rather than the epic "high fantasy.")

Back to Witchlanders--it's also one I'd recommend to any reader looking for a change from paranormal romance! Witchlanders received starred reviews from Pubishers Weekly, Kirkus, and School Library Journal. It's a cold, clear read of a book, that made lovely pictures in my mind. I liked the moral too, being all in favor of age-old hatreds being overcome....and I hope there is more about the Witchlands to come!

To give you an idea of the writing, here's an excerpt from Chapter Four, in which Falpian finds his magic:

"The world was swollen with color now, blinding and bright. This must be magic, he thought with a shiver, or something like it. Below him, the birds in the trees grew restless, agitated by his song. They rose up in front of him in a great spiral, dazzling him. He could see everything so clearly now, as if a veil that had been in front of his eyes all his life had finally been lifted. He shifted his song slightly, and one of the birds stopped in mid air. He was amazed that he could do it, amazed by how effortless it was. The bird hovered right before his eyes, flapping uselessly, making no headway, as if flying against a strong wind. Falpian marveled at its green iridescence, and he laughed, making his laughter part of his song. No wonder he had frustrated his tutors; this was so easy. For the first time he understood what he had always been taught: the world was made of music. All the things that seemed solid—the trees, the birds, his own body—were really just vibrations in the great God Kar’s endless song." (pp 60-61)

Disclaimer: review copy received (very gratefully) from the author

Waiting on Wednesday--House of Shadows, by Rachel Neumeier

2011-12-21T06:36:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite books of 2011 was The Floating Islands, by Rachel Neumeier (my review). Its combination of wonderful world building, and not one, but two (!) nifty, magical schools won my heart. I liked the characters too. And I also loved her first YA book, the very Patricia McKillip-esque The City in the Lake (my reivew).

So I am as anticipatory as all get out over her upcoming release of House of Shadows (July 10, 2012):

"Orphaned, two sisters (me: Yay! orphaned sisters!) are left to find their own fortunes.

Sweet and proper, Karah's future seems secure at a glamorous Flower House. She could be pampered for the rest of her life... if she agrees to play their game (sounds like a sinister boarding school, which is a yay, if so....)

Nemienne, neither sweet nor proper, has fewer choices. Left with no alternative, she accepts a mysterious mage's offer of an apprenticeship (yay! character learning magic!). Agreeing means a home and survival, but can Nemienne trust the mage?

With the arrival of a foreign bard (yay! bards imply music, and I like music in my fantasy!) into the quiet city, dangerous secrets are unearthed, and both sisters find themselves at the center of a plot that threatens not only to upset their newly found lives, but also to destroy their kingdom."

And by July I will be all caught up with my reading, and there won't be any books left in the downstairs bathtub, and so I'll be able to leap out and buy it with a clear conscience (in an ideal world, a new downstairs bathroom will be build, but I think I'll stick with the more realistic goal of reading three hundred or so books in six months la la la.

Waiting on Wednesday (or, as I think of it, "Waiting, on Wednesday") is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Kendra Kandlestar and the Crack in Kazah, by Lee Edward Fodi, for Timeslip Tuesday

2011-12-20T07:20:00.002-05:00

Kendra Kandlestar and the Crack in Kazah, by Lee Edward Fodi (2011, Brown Books, lower middle grade, 294 pages)

Back in 2009, when I was serving as a sci fi/fantasy panelist for the Cybils, a book called Kendra Kandlestar and the Shard from Greeve was nominated. Of all the many books that came into my house that Cybils reading period, this one was just about the only one that called to my nine year old son. I was pleased (since he was at that time a very picky reader), and more than a little surprised (it looked to me very like a "girl" book, which goes to show how pointless such distinctions often are). It was, however, the third of the series, and so, both to please him and so as not to read the books out of order myself, I bought the first two (K.K. and the Box of Whispers, and K.K. and the Door to Unger), and my boy had a lovely reading orgy.

This year the fourth book in the series was nominated. My son is now eleven, but still he was very happy when it arrived. He got to read it first, and then my turn came....and I was happy to find it was a time travel book (because of always being anxious that I won't have one ready come Tuesday).

So on to Kendra Kandlestar and the Crack in Kazah.

Kendra is a young Een girl (the Eens are an ancient race of fairy-like beings), who, in her previous adventures, found herself faced with one magical and dangerous quest after another. Together with an assortment of odd companions (a warrior grasshopper, a raccoon who aspires to be a wizard, her Uncle Griffinskitch, who is in fact a powerful one, and her best friend, a mouse named Oki), Kendra is now off on a quest to find her brother, transformed into a fearsome Unger.

But Kendra's quest is violently interrupted by the arrival of an old enemy...and when he is captured, Kendra finds herself in possession of his ring. It's cracked, and cold, and grey, and Kendra has no inkling of its power. It is made of magical kazah stone...and it is about to take her on a journey through time. Finally she will meet her mother--when her mother was still a girl--and she'll learn about the secret past of her family. But time travel also brings dangers, and Kendra's present Een world is threatened by its changing past....

The choices that Kendra makes, not just in the past, but in a future that might not happen, will determine not just her fate, but the fate of (sorry for the melodrama, but sometimes I can't resist) all she holds dear!

It's a rather fascinating time travel experience. Not only does Kendra have the rare chance to see her mother as a person her own age, but she gets to see a future version of herself grown old, something that rarely turns up in time travel stories. The paradoxes and perils of time travel all hang together to make a cohesive whole, that keeps the reader (me and my son, at least) briskly turning the pages.

And in large part this is because I was genuinely interested in what happened to Kendra. She's a plucky, believable 12 year old, confronted with thought-provoking problems that are almost too much for her to solve, but managing, with the help of her friends, to make it through.

This series is one that makes a nice next step for the young reader ready to move on beyond easy readers; a seven to nine year old, say, who's just about to become a confident reader. The numerous, and appealing, black and white illustrations by the author, the engaging characters, and fast paced adventures, make the books a friendly read. Which isn't to say these aren't substantial books--the font and margins are the same size as your basic middle grade book, and the page counts up in the 200s. But in feel, they seem to me more likely to please the elementary school set, and also good ones to read out loud to an even younger child. (At the left is the first page of Crack in Kazah).

I enjoyed this fourth book in particular (because of the time travel), but as an older reader, I could have done without the authorial intrusions that start the chapters. It's not one I'd urge all you grown-up readers of my blog to leap up and find, but I do think that many children, especially those that enjoy the whimsical fantastic, will appreciate it.

I couldn't find any other blog reviews of this one, but here's the podcast that the folks at Just One More did about book 1. For more information about the books, here's their website.

Disclaimer: review copy provided to me by the publisher for Cybils consideration

Kids of color in the middle grade fantasy and science fiction books of October 2010 to October 2011

2011-12-18T17:28:00.029-05:00

I have read around 130 middle grade fantasy and science fiction books published between October 16, 201o and October 15, 2011. 130 books were nominated for the Cybils, for which I am a first round panelist in mg sci fi/fantasy, and I've read all but 15 of them. When I add to that the books I've read that weren't nominated, I have a nice and fairly comprehensive database.

And one of the things that interests me is the extent to which kids who aren't white get shown and included in this particular genre.

These are the eight books I know of whose main characters are not of white, northern European descent, and who are shown as such on the cover. Darwen Arkwright is stretching it a bit, because he's a silhouette, but his buddy Alexandra is shown as the African American girl she is, so I let Darwen be part of this cluster.

I read two books which included non-white characters in supporting roles, and showed them on the cover.

And I read five books with non-white characters (all clearly of African ancestry, or described as having dark, or brown, skin), that showed them on the cover, but in a somewhat ambiguous way.

Edited to add: I had meant to include The Boy at the End of the World, by Greg van Eekhout, in this category, but that picture got lost in my struggle with Blogger. Here's the author talking about the portrayal of the main character on the cover. Thanks for the reminder, Doret!

Additionally, there was one book, Zinnia's Zaniness, by Lauren Baratz-Logsted, whose protagonist looked to me as though she could be Hispanic, although I didn't see any mention of ethnicity in the text.

I can think of only two other book that didn't have a Northern European protagonist-- Laurence Yep's City of Ice, and Jenny Nimo's The Secret Kingdom. And I cannot think of a single other important supporting character of color in a book not already mentioned, but I could easily have missed many....especially in books I was really enjoying.

It was, sadly, easy to pull this list together (apart from Blogger being difficult viz formatting). I was not tempted to say "oh goodness there are too many" and throw up my hands.

19 out of circa 130.

Please tell me I missed lots????

This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and sci fi from around the blogs

2011-12-18T07:31:00.000-05:00

Here's what I found in my blog reading this week, rounded up for your middle grade sci fi/fantasy reading pleasure! Let me know if I missed your post.

The Reviews:

The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket (audio book review) at Good Books and Good Wine

Bigger Than a Breadbox, by Laurel Snyder, at Book-a-day Almanac

Darwen Arkwright and the Peregrine Plot, by A.J. Hartley, at Charlotte's Library

The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens, at Classroom Talk

The Flint Heart, by Katherine Paterson and John Paterson, at Flunking Sainthood

Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins, at Library_Mama

The Horse and His Boy, by C.S. Lewis, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

The Inquisitor's Apprentice, by Chris Moriarty, at Guys Lit Wire

Monster Hunters, by Dean Lorey, at Project Mayhem

The Moon Coin, by Richard Due, at whnbstihwsoft

Nicholas St. North, by William Joyce and Laura Geringer, at Great Books for Kids and Teens

Noah Zarc--Mammoth Trouble, by D. Robert Pease, at Book Addict

Poor Tom's Ghost, by Jane Louise Curry, at Charlotte's Library

The Princess Curse, by Merrie Haskell, at Charlotte's Library

The Son of Nepture, by Rick Riordan, at Jason's Bookstack

Thresholds, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, at Books & Other Thoughts

The Unwanteds, by Lisa McMann, at Writings, Workouts, and Were-Jaguars

Vampirates: Empire of Night, by Justin Somper, at Reading Tween

Winterling, by Sarah Prineas, at My Brain on Books

Zinnia's Zaniness, by Lauren Baratz-Logsted, at Charlotte's Library

A collection of dinosaur fantasies for the young at Words and Pictures

And finally, Ms. Yingling takes a look at two time slip books--A Year Without Autumn, by Liz Kessler, and Through Her Eyes, by Jennifer Archer.

Authors and Interviews:

D. Robert Pease (Noah Zarc) at Susan Kaye Quinn

Rick Daley (The Man in the Cinder Clouds) at Writer's Ally

Victoria Simcox (The Magic Warble) at Manga Maniac Cafe

Other Good Stuff:

Why We Invented Monsters, by Paul A. Trout, at Slate

And here, to inspire those of us who have not yet begun our Festive Bakeing, a gingerbread Star Wars assult vehicle (which I found here, where you can also find this assortment of modern gingerbread houses, for those to whom the cottage has become passe):

The books my boys are getting for Christmas

2011-12-17T13:41:00.010-05:00

Twice in one day I have hit publish post by mischance!!! Argh! So for all those who follow me on google reader (thanks) I am quickly covering up the most recent one, a sneak peak at tomorrow's mg sff round-up, with a post I meant to do later today on the books my boys are getting for Christmas.

By way of background: my boys are 11 and 8. The 8 year old is currently reading Battle of the Labyrinth, the 11 year old is reading The Chamber of Secrets (he came late to Harry Potter; I'm not sure why). In a nutshell, they both like reading pretty well (not as well as their mama did when she was their ages); although they like fantasy, they read across genres.

There lists of book presents include very little regular fiction (1 out of 11). Our house is so full of middle grade sci fi/fantasy that they have enough of it to read (lucky children!), and I also find it very difficult to predict what they will actually pick up and read, let alone truly enjoy. So their book presents tend to be random grab bag of non-fiction and graphic novels.

For the eleven year old:

The Last Dragon, by Jane Yolen and Rebecca Guay (so beautiful!)

The Dragon of Hong Kong (Yoko Tsuno book 5) by Roger Leloup (this will make him very happy)

The Acme Catalog (Quality is Our #1 Dream)

The Way We Work, by David McCauley

The Magic of Reality, by Richard Dawkins

All of My Friends are Dead (he saw it in a store, and wants it really badly...I think the title is the funniest thing, and it goes downhill from there, but whatever.)

For my eight year old:

The Mythbusters science fair book

A Greyhound of a Girl, by Roddy Doyle (I hope he likes it; I haven't read it myself yet, but he loves The Meanwhile Adventures et seq. so he should be pleased. Unless he's disappointed because it doesn't have Rover in it)

Eric, by Shaun Tan (An expended story from Tales from Outer Suburbia. Eric is pictured at right)

Gon, Vol. 4 My boy sees a lot of himself in Gon, the dinosaur that time forgot--both are loyal, determined, and very fierce.

The Fog Mound book 1-- Travels of Thelonius (a post apocalyptic fantasy with mice that's part graphic novel. I picked this one up used, and haven't read it myself, but I tested it on his brother, and it was approved)

If you were to be given one of these books, which would you like?

The Princess Curse, by Merrie Haskell

2011-12-17T12:58:00.004-05:00

The Princess Curse, by Merrie Haskell (HarperCollins 2011, mg, 336 pages), is two fairy tale retellings in one package--12 Dancing Princesses plus Beauty and the Beast, with a dash of mythology and history thrown in for good measure.

13-year old Reveka is the herbalist's apprentice at a castle in a eastern European kingdom precariously poised between the Ottoman Empire and larger principalities to the north. There is a curse on the castle--the prince has successfully fathered 12 daughters (the majority of whom are illegitimate, which I though was a very clever way to make them close in age, something that makes the story more believable), but efforts to marry them off are being thwarted by dark magic. The princesses dance their slippers to rags each night (metal slippers are tried, with horribly bloody results), and any attempt to remove them for the castle results in cataclysmic disaster. Those who try to spy out what happens each night fall into an enchanted sleep, from which they never awake.

Reveka doesn't care much for the princesses, but she does find the reward offered for breaking the curse most intriguing. It would allow her to buy her way into a nunnery, and become its herbalist. So she sets to work, using her knowledge of plants, and odd scraps of magic that come her way, to find a way to follow the princesses down to another realm....

And that is the first part of the book, generally good humoured (apart from bloody feet, and a hall full of sleepers, some of whom are slipping into death, and sundry hints of dark magic), lively retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses. But then, suddenly, the story becomes a dark and rather scary retelling of Beauty and the Beast!

Reveka finds out the secret of the princesses, and to save them, she agrees to marry the lord of the underworld. There she that the curse of the dancing princesses is only the tip of the iceberg--there are layers of dark magic that lie beneath it. If Reveka is to have any hope of happiness (and restore the balance of the worlds) she must embrace a strange and terrible fate....one that could threaten her immortal soul.

And this part got a little strange. Reveka is only 13, and a youngish thirteen at that, and she must play Beauty, as it were, to a very strange Beast indeed; their marriage strongly echoes that of Hades and Persephone. The stakes have become much, much higher, and the tone much darker. It disturbed me, somewhat, to find the thirteen year old girl I'd come to care suddenly thrust into a much more mature story--even though the marriage isn't consummated, she is married to an inhuman (literally) person much older than her with whom she has only a passing acquaintance. Sure, he's not a villain, but he is guilty of using pretty dubious tactics to achieve his goals.

I'm a fan of historical fantasy--stories that blend details appropriate to the time period (in this case, late Medieval Christianity) with fantasy elements. But in this case, I'm not sure that Haskell went deeply enough into this part of the story to make it convincing--references to Saint Hildegard, for instance, aren't quite enough to make me believe that Reveka's mindset is really that of a fifteenth-century Eastern European Christian. I think if you are going to pin your story down to such a specific place and time as this one is, you risk building up expectations for the reader that might prove tricky to meet. Especially if you then surprise the reader with a totally fantastical and non-Christian underworld....

A reviewer at Amazon was reminded of Elizabeth Marie Pope's The Perilous Gard and Clare Dunkle's The Hollow Kingdom; I agree, especially with regard to the later. I enjoyed it lots myself (and I do recommend it to those of you who read my blog looking for books for yourselves!) despite the fact that I couldn't help but feel I was reading two different books. I think I would have enjoyed if more if it had come right out and been a young adult book.

Despite the very young looking cover and the very "middle grade-ish" beginning, this is one I'd give to kids 11 and up--they'll be able to better appreciate the references to mythology and history, and the botanical details (I liked these lots, myself), as well as finding the second part of the book less disturbing.

Darwen Arkwright and the Peregrine Pact, by A. J. Hartley

2011-12-16T06:25:00.000-05:00

Darwen Arkwright and the Peregrine Pact, by A.J. Hartley

Eleven-year old Darwen Arkwright is an unhappy transplant from northwest England to Georgia, come to live with his aunt after the death of his African American mother and English father, and sent to an ultra expensive boarding school where he is a fish out of water. But Darwen is confronted with something even stranger than an elite American middle school when he spots a strangely horrible flying creature in the local mall, and begins a journey that will take him to another world.

"There was one more shop, right at the end of the corridor beside the exit sign, a tiny ramshackle place that looked like it had been lifted out of an entirely different location and dropped in... It looked like a shop from another age. Above its door, suspended from two chains, was a faded wooden sign with gold lettering:

"Mr. Octavius Peregrine's Reflectory Emporium: Mirrors Priceless and Perilous

"Clinging bat-like to the sign, its head cocked in Darwen's direction, was the little winged beast. It blew a raspberry at him, then hopped onto the wall of the shop and through a half-broken diamond of leaded window glass.

"Darwen ran to the door but hesitated as he put his hand on the tarnished brass handle. There was something odd about this place. He could feel it. The window displays were dusty, full of antique mirrors in ornate frames, many of them faded, speckled, and scratched, some with obvious cracks.

And how, he wondered, could mirrors be "priceless and perilous"?" (pp 11-12 of ARC)

Darwen is about to find out. The owner of the shop, Mr. Peregrine, gives him a small mirror. And much to his amazement, Darwen finds that he can travel through it, to Silbrica, a magical and beautiful place filled with wonders, and populated by strange and magical creatures.

Unfortunately, not all of them are friendly. Some are so unfriendly, in fact, that they are seeking to take over our world...and destroying Silbrica in order to do so.

With two new friends, Rich, an aspiring archaeologist, and Alexandra, whose irrepressible spirit the heavy weight of their school can't squelch, Darwen must solve the mystery of the mirror world creatures, and figure out how to foil their evil plans.

Darwen's magical mirror is no wardrobe leading to Narnia. Although he does pass through, what happens to him there is only a minor part of the story. The important events take place in the real world, with Darwen's life at school and at home getting the bulk of the page time. His grief and loneliness gradually become ameliorated by his somewhat unlikely friends and the shared challenge before them, and this is as crucial to the book as the actual confrontation with the evil bad guys coming through from the mirror world.

It's a somewhat slow moving book--there is not one pivotal moment where the Adventure Begins, and then never lets up. Instead, the tension increases gradually, mirroring the tension inside Darwen as he lets himself hope that somehow the fantasy realm and the dangers it poses was related to the death of his parents--making their deaths more than just a random accident.

It's not a book for those seeking escapist fantasy--the problems of the real world are too much in the center of things for that! And it wasn't one that I personally loved--the juxtaposition of the real world and the fantasy realm felt jarring, with aspects of the later not quite as well developed as I would have liked, and I found it rather hard to read about Darwen's loneliness and grief, and his wretched time at school. But those who want real-world emotional resonance mixed with their fantastical creatures, and who are willing to spend time in a truly unpleasant school along with poor Darwen, should find it a rewarding read.

A note on age--this one felt at the upper end of middle grade (11 to 12 year olds) to me, not because of the content (there's no sex or bad language, that I noticed--"Chuffin' 'eck!" is as strong as it gets), but because it is a somewhat weighty book, that requires patience from the reader.

Explore the world of Darwen Arkwright further at the book's website, which includes an illustrated bestiary of its mysterious creatures of Silbrica.

Zinnia's Zaniness, by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

2011-12-14T19:34:00.004-05:00

Anyone looking for a fun, age-appropriate fantasy series for a girl in third or fourth grade should seriously consider the Sisters 8 books, by Lauren Baratz-Logsted (with Greg Logsted and Jacki Logsted). I can't make that "definitely consider", because Zinnia's Zaniness, the eighth, and penultimate, book of the series (Sandpiper, 2011, 128 pages), is the only one I've read. It was nominated for the Cybils Awards in middle grade sci fi/fantasy, for which I am a panelist. New to the series though I was, I found Zinnia's story to be a pleasantly diverting read.

The Sisters Eight are eight-year-old octuplets, each of whom develops in turn a magical power, and receives a special gift. But there's a catch. Their parents are missing--and until each girl gets her power and her gift, they won't know what's happened to their mom and dad. Annie, Durinda, Georgia, Jackie, Marcia, Petal, and Rebecca have all had their turn. Poor Annie, the oldest, has the gift of being able to think like an adult, but the other sisters have more interesting powers--freezing people, invisibility, super speed, etc. Now the girls are waiting for the youngest and the smallest sister, Zinnia, to manifest her own power.

And in the meantime, kindly neighbors are taking the family on a seaside vacation. There, in a somewhat dingy vacation cottage (hotels aren't an option, since not only are they are rather large group, they've brought their kittens with them), they'll bicker, play, worry, and meet a mysterious boy....and Zinnia will reveal her own special gift.

The adventures and the magic aren't all that Exciting--it's the relationships between the sisters that gets the most page time (which is fine with me, sisterly relationships being something I have my own considerable experience with!). That being said, the characterization of the sisters in general isn't all that deep--each has a few trademarks that are brought forward in turn; enough so that they can be distinguished, but not so as to make them come alive to a new reader of the series. But Zinnia, in this, her own book, had the spotlight shown on her, and became quite real to me--probably this happens to the other sisters in their own books.

This isn't a series I'd recommend to the grown-up readers of my blog, but for eight year old (or so) girls who love mysteries and magic and kittens, I think it's a pretty safe bet.

Disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher for Cybils consideration.

Waiting on Wednesday--Peaceweaver, by Rebecca Barnhouse

2011-12-14T04:49:00.004-05:00

When I reviewed Rebecca Barnhouse's retelling of the story of Beowulf and the dragon last December here, I tried to make clear just how much I appreciated this well-told historical fantasy full of fascinating characters. One of these characters was introduced right at the end--a girl named Hild, sent to Beowulf's kingdom to marry his heir and become a Peaceweaver between her people and his. It was clear, even though she made only a brief appearance, that there was a lot more to Hild and her story then we were shown here. And so I am as pleased as all get out to have a whole book about Hild to look forward to!

Peaceweaver comes out from Random House, March 27th, 2012 (for ages 10 and up). Here's the Amazon blurb:

"Sixteen-year-old Hild has always been a favorite of her uncle, king of the Shylfings. So when she protects her cousin the crown prince from a murderous traitor, she expects the king to be grateful. Instead, she is unjustly accused of treachery herself.

As punishment, her uncle sends Hild far away to the heir of the enemy king, Beowulf, to try to weave peace between the two kingdoms. She must leave her home and everyone she loves. On the long and perilous journey, Hild soon discovers that fatigue and rough terrain are the least of her worries. Something is following her and her small band of guards—some kind of foul creature that tales say lurks in the fens. Will Hild have to face the monster? Or does it offer her the perfect chance to escape the destiny she never chose?"

I'm hoping that, as well as Hild's own adventures, we get to see how she settles into her new home...I want to see my old friends from Coming of the Dragon again!

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Poor Tom's Ghost, by Jane Louise Curry, for Timeslip Tuesday

2011-12-13T05:59:00.005-05:00

Poor Tom's Ghost, by Jane Louise Curry (Atheneum, 1977, 178 pages)

Thirteen year old Roger pinned great hopes on the old house near London his Aunt Deb left his father. He imagined that it would actually be a home--for years his life has been full of uncertain strain, as his actor father Tony moved restlessly from place to place. Roger hopes that having a house of their own will make his stepmother Jo, his little step-sister, Pippa, Tony, and himself, into a safe, secure, family with a place to belong. But when they see that Aunt Deb's house is a stuccoed monstrosity that's barely habitable, his hopes fade.

Then the family set to work, ripping off strips of sagging wallpaper, tearing out moldering paneling...and gradually they unveil the Elizabethan house that had had been hidden for years. And other, darker, secrets begin to surface too.

Roger is awakened on his first night by the wild grief of restless ghost. Tom Garland, an actor at the Globe Theatre, haunts the house...and as the days pass, his spirit begins to merge with Roger's father, Tony. Tony's performance of Hamlet reach a new level of wonderful authenticity, but the dark side of Tom Garland's story threatens to shatter Roger's hopes for peace in the present.

Gradually Roger himself finds himself drawn into the past, to 1603, living within Tom's younger brother as a centuries-old tragedy is played out in plague stricken London. Unless Tom can set things right in the past, Tom Garland's ghost will never rest.

This is just quite simply a lovely time travel story. The past comes gradually into the story like an incoming tide...slowly pulling the characters in the present back into time. The ghost story aspects of the present and Roger's experiences back in 1603 are both delightfully spooky and full of tension.

I love just about any old house fixing-up story, and this part of the book was a real treat, but what makes this book stand out is the finely drawn characterization of young Roger. He's a lonely, tense, and apprehensive boy, desperately hoping for peace and stability, and Curry does an excellent job using the events of the past to push Roger (and his family) into a new, safer place.

In short, this is one of those lovely books that I not only would have loved as a child, but enjoyed very much reading for the first time as a grown-up! Although it was written 35 years ago, it doesn't feel dated--Roger's emotions are timeless, and, since the old house has no modern conveniences anyway, they wouldn't have been able to go online and look up its history anyway. Instead they have to look through the parish registry by hand, as it were. (Which makes me wonder how many Elizabethan parish registries are available online....which in turn leads me to wonder if anyone has written a time travel book in which google searches are important).

And now I must go back and re-read The Black Canary, which was a prequel, written several years later, to this one.

This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and sci fi from around the blogs

2011-12-10T19:46:00.006-05:00

Hi, and welcome to this compilation of what I found in my blog read of interest to fellow fans of middle grade sci fi/fantasy. Please let me know if I missed your post!

The Reviews:

Aliens on Vacation, by Clete Barrett Smith, at Good Books and Good Wine

The Aviary, by Kathleen O'Dell, at King County Library System Book Talk

Blackbringer, by Laini Taylor, at Misfit Salon

The Boy at the End of the World, by Greg van Eekhout, at Intergalactic Academy

Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu, at Ms. Yingling Reads and Slatebreakers

The Cheerleaders of Doom, by Michael Buckley, at Charlotte's Library

The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, by Chris Van Allsburger et al., at The Compulsive Reader

Dark Eden, by Patrick Carmen, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Dragon's Tooth, by N.D. Wilson, at Shannon Whitney Messenger

The End of Time, by P.W. Catanese, at Diary of a Text Addict

The Fiend and the Forge, by Henry Neff, at J. Keller Ford

Liesl & Po, by Lauren Oliver, at Book Nut and My Books. My Life. (audio book review)

The Mostly True Story of Jack, by Kelly Barnhill, at Good Books and Good Wine

The Ogre of Oglefort, by Eva Ibbotson, at Cracking the Cover

Princess of Glass, by Jessica Day George, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

Princess of the Midnight Ball, by Jessica Day George, at Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

The Quest for the Scorpion's Jewel and its sequel, Escape from Riddler's Pass, by Amy Green, at Geo Librarian

A String in the Harp, by Nancy Bond, at Things Mean a Lot

The True Meaning of Smekday, by Adam Rex, at Abby the Librarian (audio book review) and Books & Other Thoughts

The Unwanteds, by Lisa McMann, at Challenging the Bookworm
Wildwood, by Colin Meloy, at Girls in the Stacks (audio book review) and Dreaming in Books

Winterling, by Sarah Prineas, at Karissa's Reading Review

The Animorphs re-read continues at Intergalactic Academy
Authors and Interviews:

Suzanne Williams and Joan Holub (Godess Girls: Artemis the Loyal) at Reading Tween

Kai Srand (The Weaver) at Mayra's Secret Bookcase

And a moving account of author Edward Ormondroyd's (David and the Phoenix) surprise school visit.

Other Good Stuff:

At io9, you can find a handy chart detailing the Rules of Magic according to the greatest fantasy sagas of all time. Although "greatest" is subjective, and I would have included Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea books.

And also from io9 comes the ultimate futuristic gift guide for 2011, with many not to be missed things you didn't know you wanted (or not). Like this:

Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins

2011-12-09T20:02:00.004-05:00

Sometimes, even though one has overdue library books and a pile of Cybils books and a (small but substantial) pile of ARCs, not to mention books received as Christmas presents last year, waiting to be read....one finds oneself in the bookstore buying a new book. A book that promises to be utterly untaxing, different in genre and subject from one's usual fare.

This happened to me on Wednesday, and so tonight, with a sigh of relief that a difficult week was over (thank goodness older son's two week study of sheep and wool, which required extensive essay writing and journal keeping, which in turn required substantial parental enforcing, is over), I settled down in front of the fire and read Anna and the French Kiss cover to cover.

And though Anna's nervousness at starting her senior year at a boarding school in Paris made for a gripping beginning (I'm being sincere--I'm a fan of boarding school stories), it was, not unexpectedly, it was the growing romantic tension and sweetly taut frisson of her relationship with her hot classmate Etienne that kept the pages turning rapidly. I could, though, have done without all the part in the final third of the book when things not going smoothly, and skimmed many bits of unhappiness. A book entirely comprised of sweet frisson might not be quite substantial enough in the long run, but it would have been more soothing.

My own particular mental state aside, it was good reading, but it wasn't a perfect book. It requires a certain suspension of disbelief, not just in regard to the relationship between Anna and Etienne. The Mean Girl, for instance, was an almost ridiculous stereotype--I couldn't believe in her. And on a very minor note, how could Anna, film aficionado that she was, have arrived in Paris ignorant of its cinema scene? Wouldn't she, as I just did, have googled it before getting on the plane? (in three seconds ,I found this: "With over 300 films playing per week around the city, Paris is the place to be for film lovers. You'll find everything from arty retrospectives in intimate old theaters to blockbusters with surround-sound in ultramodern multiplexes. Here's a guide to the city's best spots for the seventh art.")

Still. Anna and the French Kiss kept me nicely occupied, and I am sure I'll be impulse buying its companion novel, Lola and the Boy Next Door, next time I find myself in a similar mood! (I could, of course, order it from the library....but the problem with that is that then it would be Demanding Attention. Not the same feel at all).

The Cheerleaders of Doom, by Michael Buckley

2011-12-07T06:10:00.005-05:00

N.E.R.D.S: The Cheerleaders of Doom, by Michael Buckley (Amulet Books, 2011, upper elementary/middle grade, 288 pages)

The N.E.R.D.S are a band of technologically enhanced kids, agents of a secret organization that has taken each members nerdy weakness, and made it into a super super power. In this third instalment of the NERDS series, asthmatic Matilda, aka Wheezer, gets a chance to shine when a new disaster threatens to destroy not just the earth, but the whole multiverse. But Matilda isn't being asked to put her mad fighting skills and arsenal of super inhallers to work. Something much worse is in store for her--she has to become a cheerleader, infiltrate a crack cheering squad, and find the rouge NERDS agent responsible for the impending disaster...a girl named Gertie, once known as "Mathlete."

Gertie, desperate for the money she needs to create a new, beautiful, cheerleading self, has invented a device that allows her to travel to alternate versions of earth, and pilfer them at will. Now she is no longer a homely nerd; she is that wonderful, beautiful, bubbly thing--a top notch cheerleader. For Matilda to infiltrate the cheerleading squad, and crack Gertie's disguise, she's going to have to do the hardest thing she's ever done in her live--shuck her tough, grungy persona to become a smiling, perky, pompomed girl who whoops.

But in the meantime, there's another young mastermind at work--a criminal one. Former NERD Heathcliff "Choppers" Hodges doesn't really want to live the rest of his life in a mental institution for the criminally insane. He wants to take over the world (in an evil way)...and Gertie's invention might be just what he needs.

This is the first NERD adventure I've read, and I found myself nodding in agreement as I remembered all the reviews of the series recommending the books highly for the 8-10 crowd. There's humor, action, suspense, delivered in snappy style; there are cool gadgets and neat technology, such as would delight even young readers who aren't nerds themselves, and best of all, there are actually interesting characters giving weight to the somewhat goofy story.

In this case, Matilda is forced to confront questions of identity--the process of becoming a cheerleader requires her to consider why she had created her own tough girl identity, and challenges her preconceptions of cheerleaders. The result is a more tolerant, self-aware (but still tough) Matilda! It's a subtle enough message so that it doesn't grate on the reader's nerves, but it's enough to make this more than just fun fluff.

As an added bonus, the kids who comprise the N.E.R.D.S are, as you can see from the cover, a diverse bunch. Matilda, for instance, is Korean-American.

Here's what I'm wondering--the first two books were told from the point of view of boy team members, and seem to be popular with boys. Now we have a girl central character, and Cheerleaders, no less! The (very doubtful) assumption that boys are reluctant to read about girls is all too prevalent...but I think the whacky zest of the series will have successfully captured it's young male readers, making that issue irrelevant in this case.

Here's another review at TheHappyNappyBookseller.

Thanks very much to the publisher, Abrams, for sending me a review copy for my Cybils middle grade fantasy/sci fi reading! There were so many holds on this one at my library that it might have proved difficult for me to get my own hands on it otherwise!

The Future of Us, by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler, for Timeslip Tuesday

2011-12-06T05:28:00.005-05:00

The Future of Us, by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler (Razorbill, 2011, YA, 356 pages).

Back in 1996, Emma gets her first computer and an America Online CD-ROM. She goes on-line...and finds her Facebook account from fifteen years in the future. Suddenly she has a window on what life has in store for her--who her friends will be, where she'll live, and who she'll marry. And her first reaction is to share this strange and mysterious phenomenon with her childhood best friend, Josh.

But a while back, Josh had shown Emma that he wanted to be more than friends, and things grew strange between them. His facebook page is right there online too--showing him an alternative to Emma he'd never considered.

Now Josh and Emma find themselves in a dance with their futures. Every small choice they make in the present changes their facebook lives...and Emma, in particular, is determined to try to improve what she sees on the screen. And their choices not only effect their future selves, but their relationship in the present.

It's a fascinating premise! Facebook, as Emma finds, is a strange thing, with its members' lives shown in short sentences, full of subtext; with old friends appearing to comment, or, sometimes, not being on your list of friends at all. Flipping between the viewpoints of Josh and Emma, the reader watches the ripple effects of decisions the protaganists make in the present...and the ramifications of how all of this effects their real lives in the here and now.

It was gripping reading, full of food for thought for the modern user of social media (perhaps especially the historical fiction of it all, in as much as it takes the reader back to the time when the brave new world of the Internet was still young....).

The premise, and the rather voyeuristic pleasure I took in exploring Emma's future selves along with her, were the best part of the of the book. The present day story line was less engrossing for me because I never found Emma all that likeable. She is certainly a believable character, busily experimenting with relationships, and learning, the hard way, the difference between attraction and friendship, but she has a lot of growing up to do! Which is one of the points of the book, but still, I wanted to shake her on at least one occasion. Josh, on the other hand, is a sweetheart, and I hope Emma keeps growing up enough to be worthy of him....

I found it interesting to see the paradox of time travel played out in this way--generally, people in time travel books worry about traveling backwards, and effecting the present in unintended ways. Because their futures haven't, of course, happened, Emma and Josh can play with tweaking future events to their hearts content, without worrying about creating circumstances in which they were never born!

I myself have no desire to take a look at my facebook page fifteen years hence. I found it rather poignant, in a somewhat disturbing way, to see the future children of Josh and Emma drifting in and out of existence, and I wouldn't want to see that happen to my unborn grandchildren (Gah. A scary thought).