This Sunday's round-up of middle grade fantasy and science fiction reviews etc from around the blogosphere

Welcome to another compilation of reviews of middle-grade fantasy and science fiction from around the blogosphere. Please let me know if I missed yours!

Attack of the Ninja Frogs, by Ursula Vernon, at the Jean Little Library.

Barnaby Grimes: Curse of the Night Wolf, by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell at Once Upon a Bookshelf.

Blackbringer, by Laini Taylor, at The Book Smugglers.

Forest Born, by Shannon Hale, at Teacher Girl's Book Blog.

The Hanging Hill, by Chris Grabenstein, at Jen Robinson's Book Page.

The Museum of Mary Child, by Cassandra Golds, at Eva's Book Addiction.

The Navel of the World, by P.J. Hoover, at Charlotte's Library.

The Night Fairy, by Laura Amy Shlitz, at Charlotte's Library.

Odd and the Frost Giants, at Bibliophile

Powerless, by Matthew Cody, at A Year of Reading.

The Secret of Zoom, by Lynne Jonell, at Eva's Book Addiction.

Spellbinder, by Helen Stringer, at Books and Movies.

The Thirteenth Princess, by Diane Zahler, at Rebecca's Book Blog, and at Charlotte's Library.

Trail of Fate, Book 2 of The Youngest Templar series, by Michael P. Spradlin, at Fantasy Book Critic.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin, at Book Nut.

From Boys Rule Boys Read come an assortment of capsule reviews of fun stuff--here and here, including Copper, Missile Mouse, The Glitch in Sleep, Only You Can Save Mankind, and more.

More Princessly goodness: Kate Coombs of Book Aunt takes a look at retellings of the 12 Dancing Princess, including The Thirteenth Princess. And in the newest issue of Hunger Mountain (the Vermont College of Fine Arts Journal) there's an article by mg sff author Deva Fagan (Fortune's Folly and the forth-coming The Magical Misadventures of Prunella Bogthistle) on Proactive Princesses.

The Night Fairy, by Laura Amy Schlitz

Imagine, if you will, a book that's The Flower Fairies meets Hatchet (Gary Paulson), but a book that's much more character driven and with much more lyrical writing than either. That's the feeling I got from The Night Fairy, by Laura Amy Schlitz (Candlewick, Feb. 23, 2010, 117 pp in ARC form).

I loved it, and I highly, highly recommend it, particularly for 8 or 9 year old girls who are still gaining confidence in their reading. It's simple, yet engrossing (and beautiful, with full color illustrations by Angela Barrett).

The Night Fairy tells of Flory, a fairy child still growing into her wings. One night when Flory (being a night fairy) is out and about a little brown bat makes a mistake that costs her dearly. With her wings crunched up by bat teeth, Flory is trapped, alone and terrified of the bat-bringing dark. So she decides to be a day fairy, fiercely determined to survive alone in a strange and alien world.

And that includes becoming a part of it--making an alliance, of sorts, with a squirrel (who's motivated by his constant desire for tasty snacks), and then, in a rather lovely coming of age experience, saving two little hummingbird eggs when their mother is ensnared by a spider's web.

"She pressed her palms flat against the shells and began to sing. She sang a spell of comfort for small living things. As she sang, she thought of the warmest things she knew....

By the time she finished singing, the two little eggs hummed with life. Flory pushed them together and tucked the grass quilt over them. "Now," she said, "you must stay warm until your mother comes home." She stopped down and kissed the quilt twice. "I'm going to bring her home soon," she added, "but you'll be warm through the night."

She felt to make sure her dagger was still at her side. Then she wrapped both hands around the nearest barberry twig, kicked off from the nest, and swung herself down through the branches." (pp 72-73 in ARC form).

Sweet, yet tough (she makes her own dagger! Takes on insect monsters!), vulnerable, yet self-reliant--Flory is a superb addition to the fairy repertoire of younger middle grade readers. I can't wait to see the book in its finished form, with its final illustrations.

One reason why I am particularly curious to see the final illustrations is to be certain that I can legitimately promote this book as a Reading in Color title. I think that Flory, as shown on the cover and interior illustration available in this online excerpt, looks like she is Black. Doret, of The HappyNappyBookseller, thought the same. So I'm going with it...

Other reviews: As well as Doret's comments linked to above, Betsy at Fuse #8 has a review of the final book.

(disclosure: I received an arc from the publisher)

D.A. by Connie Willis

D.A., by Connie Willis (2007, Subterranean Press, 76pp) is a short, snappy, and funny science fiction novella for teenagers. When I first got my copy back in the day, I put off reading it for a while because I vaguely thought D.A. stood for District Attorney. Happily, it does not.

A Special Assembly is called at Theodora's high school. It appears that a student has been selected for the incredibly great honor of becoming an IASA space cadet--one of the chosen few who will head off beyond the earth...Theodora isn't too interested--she has no interest in space travel, and was deliberately rude and provocative to the recruiter. But then her name is called.

Frantically Theodora tries to tell someone it was all a mistake. But before she knows it, she's one of a happy band aboard a space craft.

She's not going to take it lying down. And fortunately she has a friend back on earth who's one of the best computer hackers around....

I already called this short, snappy, and funny. I'll add smart, fast, and fun as all get out. Willis is on top of her form here, and I just wish the book had been longer....

Thanks to Colleen for mentioning this in the comments of a post over at Finding Wonderland--I'd read it when it came out, and was glad to be reminded of it again.

To heck wth unicorns--here's the cover of Pegasus

Lifted shamelessly from Robin McKinley's blog--isn't it cool!



Coming this fall...with a sequel (assuming all goes well) in the works.

(minor quibble: I myself would wear something a little less trailing for meadow rambling)

The Thirteenth Princess, by Diane Zahler

The Thirteenth Princess, by Diane Zahler (Harper Collins 2010, middle grade, 256 pp)

What if, instead of only twelve princesses, there was a thirteenth sister born to a king who desperately wanted a son? What if her mother, adored by the king, died giving birth to her?

In Zahler's revisiting of the familiar tale of the Twelve Dancing Princess, Zeta is that child, pushed from the royal family into life below stairs with the servants. Brought up by the cook, Zeta watches her royal sisters from afar...until she finds out that she is a princess too, and a clandestine affection grows between the 13 of them.

But then the twelve princesses fall mysteriously ill, until they are too weak to leave their beds. They never leave their room, and yet their slippers are worn to shreds each morning. Zeta is the only sister unaffected, and it's up to her, with the help of a stable boy, a soldier, and a friendly witch, to foil the dark magic that is draining her sisters' lives away...

This is a lively retelling of the familiar story that sticks closely to the original while making it very middle-grade girl friendly. Zeta is an engaging young scullery maid/princess, and her strange situation makes for fun reading. The enchantment doesn't kick in until about half-way through the story, giving the reader time to get to know her before she must follow her sisters on the path to their midnight revels. (Separating Zeta from her sisters also lets the author avoid, to some extent, the problem of having so many girls to characterize--we mostly see the princesses from a distance).

I enjoyed Zahler's story telling--she has brought an old chestnut of a story to fresh and vigorous life. Her take on it is mysterious enough to be interesting, without being so dark as to disturb younger readers. I'd strongly recommend this one to young readers who loved Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine, The Runaway Princess, by Kate Coombs, or Fortune's Folly, by Deva Fagan -- all fairy-talish stories of resourceful girls beating the odds (both magic-wise and society-wise) against them.

For the older reader (ie, me), there's some disbelief to suspend. At the specific level, I wondered, for instance, how Zeta, let alone her stable boy friend, learned to read and write. At a more general level, the relationship between Zeta and her father the king was on the one hand complex and interesting, and, on the other, not entirely convincing.

That aside, this is a book that I think will be loved by fourth and fifth grade girls (who are, after all, the target audience)--there's mystery, magic, a bit of romance, and quite a few beautiful dresses...

Here are some other reviews (all glowing) at Rebecca's Book Blog, Bloody Bad, and A Sea of Pages.

(disclosure: I received an ARC from the publisher)

In a Heartbeat, by Loretta Ellsworth

In a Heartbeat, by Loretta Ellsworth (2010, Bloomsbury, YA, 208 pp)

One heartbeat is all it takes for sixteen-year old Eagan to make a mistake while performing a difficult jump in an ice skating competition. A mistake that ends her life.

Each painful heartbeat might be the last for fourteen-year old Amanda, waiting for someone to die and give her the gift of a new chance at life.

Amanda receives Eagan's heart. But Eagan is not gone. She lingers in limbo, reflecting on her life--her intense focus on skating, her difficult relationship with her mother, and the growing love she had for her first boyfriend. And Amanda finds that she has changed--more than just her new found strength, she feels that the heart inside her has given her part of another personality. She dreams of figure skating, snaps at her own mother, and becomes convinced that she must find out more about the girl whose heart now beats inside of her.

The story alternates between the viewpoints of the two girls, one living, one dead. Eagan's story is the more detailed of the two, told in a series of lengthy, detailed flashbacks (it's almost enough to be its own YA book). In contrast, Amanda's past is essentially left out of the story--we meet her just as she is heading to the hospital. This works rather nicely, because it is Eagan's past that is going into creating the new Amanda. Eagan is older than Amanda, in attitude as well as age, and so, in several senses, Amanda's coming of age is a legacy from Eagan.

The intersection of their two lives makes for a fascinating book--how much of Eagan is in fact still alive in Amanda, and how will this change Amanda's life? Yet the fantasy element, although very essential to the story, doesn't overshadow their individual situations; it drives the plot, but doesn't distract from the familiar YA themes of growing up, separating from parents, and deciding who you want to be that are at the center of the book. Which means that this is one that will probably appeal more to readers of YA who like fantasy on the side than it will to readers of Fantasy who like YA, if you know what I mean. I am almost tempted not to label this fantasy at all, in fact (and the cover is totally YA), but feel I can't not, in as much as it is....kind of.

This is a rather young YA--even though I think Eagan gets more page time, it is the younger girl, Amanda, whose point of view dominates. And the romance aspect of the plot is Suitable for Younger Readers.

You can read an interview with Ellsworth here at Elizabeth Dulemba's blog, where you can also see the trailer for the book, and find the links to the other bloggers taking part in her book tour.

(note: ARC received from the publisher)

A more anthropologically minded post than I usually write, inspired by Diana Wynne Jones' new book

Diana Wynne Jones' new book, Enchanted Glass, arrived yesterday. From the jacket: "When Andre Hope's magician grandfather dies, he leaves his house and field-of-care to his grandson..."

I haven't read more than a few chapters, and I'll be writing a real review later. But I just wanted to share how tickled I was to find that Jones and I have both been thinking about the same thing. My own work as an archaeologist is very much concerned with the concept of "fields-of-care," as discussed in the brilliant, and very readable, Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience, by Yi-Fu Tuan (1977).

“A house is a relatively simple building. It is a place, however, for many reasons. It provides shelter; its hierarchy of spaces answers social needs; it is a field of care, a repository of memories and dreams" (Tuan: 1977: 164).

It's harder to pin down the memories and dreams held by an archaeological site than it is to dig up the post holes that show where the houses stood. But if you want to tell a story that matters, I think you have to try.

Here's another favorite quote of mine from Tuan that should appeal to writers and readers of fantasy: “Countries have their factual and their mythical geographies. It is not always easy to tell them apart, nor even to say which is more important, because the way people act depends on their comprehension of reality, and that comprehension, since it can never be complete, is necessarily imbued with myths.” (Tuan 1977: 98).

And now I am toying with the idea of the book blogosphere as a field of care, where the lived experiences (aka the blog posts) of the inhabitants change and shape the geographies of the book reading worlds in which they live. An example of such a post is Colleen's recent column on diversity at Book Slut.

The Navel of the World, by P.J. Hoover, for Time Slip Tuesday

When I started my Time Slip Tuesday series, the books I had in mind were fantasy time travel stories, the sort where there is no real explanation of how and the time travel actually works. But my choice today-- The Navel of the World, by P.J. Hoover (Children's Brains are Yummy Books, 2009, upper middle grade, 284 pages)--is a science-fiction story, in which the mechanisms of time travel and its concomitant paradoxes are rather more central than is the case with books of the fantasy sub-genre.

In The Navel of the World, Book 2 of The Forgotten Worlds (book 1 being The Emerald Tablet), a tightly-knit group of friends returns to the summer school where they had met the year before--a summer school where they had learned that they belonged to a race of telegens, whose civilization was almost a million year old. And the kids had learned that this civilization was locked in a struggle with the false gods (telegens gone bad) who were kept imprisoned in Atlantis.

That summer, Benjamin had discovered that he was implicated in an ancient prophecy. He was one of triplets, and he had to find his lost brothers, or risk the escape of the Atlantians, would-masters of humanity. So now, with the help of devices that augment the innate skills of telegens, Benjamin and his friends are off travelling from time to time to find his brothers...before too much time passes. And in the meantime there are classes to go to, typical middle-school feelings of rivalry and hormonal type stuff to deal with, and some really bad cafeteria food.

Book-wise: Having got the backstory out of the way in The Emerald Tablet, Hoover is free to give her characters more room. They come alive in this book, and the exploration of their various mental powers is more integrated into the actual story line than was the case in Book 1. And the jostlings of middle-school life that Benjamin and his friends endure are a refreshing counterpart to the extraordinary side of things, which includes a fascinating melange of places real and imagined, although the story is weighted toward the Greek mythology end of things (adding to its cross-over appeal with the Percy Jackson books).*

Time Travel-wise: Hoover uses time travel to further a plot that remains firmly fixed in the present, as opposed to it being the end in and of itself. So there is no richly immersive experience of the past here--more a five minutes at the Trojan War, meet Achilles briefly, and off they go again sort of time travelling. So I would recommend this to kids who are looking for the science fantasy adventure side of things, rather than to readers who enjoy loosing themselves in the strange differences of the past.

*although I do think that Percy Jackson fans might enjoy this series, I'd like to point out, just so as to avoid possible disappointment, that these books are, so far, devoid of bloodthirsty monsters that require heroic slaying. The adventures here are much more cerebral, involving mental, rather than physical, prowess.

Other reviews: Lori Calabrese Writes, Jen Robinson's Book Page, and The Book Muncher.

Note: I received copies of both The Emerald Tablet and The Navel of the World from the publisher to read for the Cybils Awards--thanks, Children's Brains are Yummy Books!

New releases of science fiction and fantasy for teenagers and kids, the beginning of February, 2010 edition

Here are the new releases of fantasy and science fiction books for kids and teenagers for the beginning of February. My information comes from Teens Read Too, and the blurbs are lifted from Amazon.

The Teens Read Too list includes the links from Amazon, so I have been using those to make life simpler for myself. But because Amazon is still not playing nice with Macmillan, I have gone through all the books to link any Macmillan titles to Powells instead.

ATTACK OF THE NINJA FROGS: DRAGONBREATH by Ursula Vernon. "Danny Dragonbreath knew girls were trouble. But the new foreign exchange student, Suki the Salamander, is beyond trouble. Not only has she reduced his best friend, Wendell, to a blithering, lovesick tadpole, but she’s apparently the object of an elaborate ninja frog kidnapping plot. Danny is never one to pass up an adventure (especially one involving ninja frogs), and so he and Wendell and Suki set out on a dangerous quest through the mythical Japanese bamboo forests to find out what these fearsome frogs want. Danny may not be able to breathe fire like a normal dragon, but he and Wendell have watched lots of kung fu movies and can totally take on a bunch of ninja frogs. Or, um, so he hopes..."

BETTER THAN OK: THE OK TEAM by Nick Place. "Focus and his team are Level D, Third Grade Heroeswho are finding their feet. But the bad guys have a new secret weapon—the Serum That Overly Magnifies Powers. And Focus has agreed to a Knighthood Pact without checking the fine print. Can the OK Team overcome the effect of S.T.O.M.P and survive the Knighthood Pact? Or has Hazy lost his focus for good?"

BONE HANDBOOK by Jeff Smith. "This is the ultimate handbook for every BONE fan! Includes character profiles, a timeline of events, interviews with creator Jeff Smith and colorist Steve Hamaker, a showcase of cover art from the original BONE editions, a behind-the-scenes look at how the Scholastic editions were colorized, and other fun stuff!"

DARKSOLSTICE: LYONESSE by Sam Llewellyn. "Not long ago twelve year old Idris Limpet was just an ordinary schoolboy. That was until he was taken from his home and taught to tame monsters from another world. Then he pulled a sword out of a stone. Now, he is Idris House Draco, Rightful King of the Land of Lyonesse. Rightful kings have their problems, however, and Idris has his fair share. He is an exile - hunted from his country by the evil regent Fisheagle and her wicked son Murther. Moreover, Idris's dear friend and sister Morgan has been carried off as a slave to the distant land of Aegypt.And before he can return to fight for his throne and his people, Idris must make the treacherous journey to rescue Morgan. . . . But Idris is never on his own, for as he travels, he meets a company of friends. Friends who shall become Idris's faithful Knights of the Round Table, who will raise armies and return with Idris and Morgan to challenge Fisheagle's monstrous armies and reclaim his Kingdom of Lyonesse unless it is already too late."

EXPLORER X - ALPHA by LM Preston. "For most kids, a trip to space camp is the trip of a lifetime for Aadi it was life altering. After receiving a camp immunization needed for travel to Mars, Aadi finds that the immunization is the catalyst of an insidious experiment. He realizes what is happening too late for a change of fate. The full experiment is set in motion when he and his co-pilot, Eirena, crash in a distant galaxy called Shrenas, where they change and realize the full extent of their power. This turn of events forces him to grow up quickly, accept his change, and to decide to save a world, or to do what he was trained to do dominate it. His power is coveted by the warring leaders of Shrenas, and he is forced to choose sides a decision that may prove just how much humanity he has left."

FREEFALL: TUNNELS by Brian Williams & Roderick Gordon. "DEEPER sent Will and Chester into FREEFALL-- tumbling through the subterranean Pore with the evil Rebecca twins in hot pursuit, both toting phials of the lethal Dominion virus. When, where, will they ever land?! Just when the drop seems infinite, the boys hit bottom, and find themselves in a realm of near-zero gravity atop a giant spongy fungus stuffed with artifacts from some lost golden age. But they are not alone. And above ground, black-clad Styx are sprouting like poison mushrooms, dead-set on spreading their plague!"

HAMSTER MAGIC by Holly Webb. "Eleven-year-old Lottie's magical adventures continue! She's still enchanted with her uncle's magical pet shop and loves chatting with all of the animals that live there. Her own magical abilities are growing as well. A new neighbor is in town, with magic stronger than Lottie's and a mind to make trouble. Fortunately, the pet shop's newest resident, Giles the hamster, is ready to help. Lucky for Lottie, he's bold, bossy, and incredibly brave!"

THE HIDDEN BOY: BELL HOOT FABLES by Jon Berkeley "When the Flints win the trip to Bell Hoot, they board Captain Bontoc’s Blue Moon Mobile with the expectation of a grand holiday. Then something terrible happens: Bea Flint’s little brother, Theo, disappears on the journey, and the peculiar Ledbetter clan of Bell Hoot, who call Theo the Hidden Boy, is more desperate than even Bea and her family to find him. Bea will have to trust herself and the weird and wise words of an old man called Arkadi in order to find Theo. In her search, she’ll discover that Bell Hoot is more than a vacation destination, a wish is no good unless you give it legs, and Mumbo Jumbo is much more than nonsense—it’s hidden potential that she can find within herself."

JACK: SECRET CIRCLES by F. Paul Wilson. "When his five-year-old neighbor goes missing, Jack can’t help feeling responsible. He should have taken Cody home when he found him riding his bicycle near the Pine Barrens. And then a lost man wanders out of the woods after being chased all night by...something. Jack knows, better than anyone, that the Barrens are dangerous—a true wilderness filled with people, creatures, and objects lost from sight and memory. Like the ancient, fifteen-foot-tall stone pyramid he, Weezy, and Eddie discover. Jack thinks it might have been a cage of some sort, but for what kind of animal, he can’t say. Eddie jokes that it could have been used for the Jersey Devil. Jack doesn't believe in that old folk tale, but something is roaming the Pines. Could it have Cody? And what about the strange circus that set up outside town? Could they be involved?."

THE KING IN RESERVE: THE CHRONICLES OF KRANGOR by Michael Pryor. "Queen Tayesha's plan to rule all the saur is tormenting the land itself. Earthquakes, volcanoes, and vast crevasses are threatening to tear Krangor apart. To halt the queen's plans, Adalon and his friends must rescue a young king in exile. Their mission is thrown into turmoil, however, when the mysterious and terrible A'ak redouble their efforts to return from their magical banishment. Adalon, Targesh, and Simangee must rise to challenge after challenge as their lives hang in the balance and the fate of the world rests in their claws."

KNIGHTS OF THE RUBY WAND: SECRETS OF DROON by Tony Abbott. "Oh no! The secret of Droon is a secret no longer. Eric's mother knows about the rainbow staircase . . . and what's worse, so does Gethwing. The Moon Dragon has sent his minions to the Upper World to search for a magical object that could give him power over all of Droon. Now no place is safe from Gethwing's dark magic. . . "

THE THIRTEENTH PRINCESS by Diane Zahler. "Zita is not an ordinary servant girl—she's the thirteenth daughter of a king who wanted only sons. When she was born, Zita's father banished her to the servants' quarters to work in the kitchens, where she can only communicate with her royal sisters in secret. Then, after Zita's twelfth birthday, the princesses all fall mysteriously ill. The only clue is their strangely worn and tattered shoes. With the help of her friends—Breckin the stable boy, Babette the witch, and Milek the soldier—Zita follows her bewitched sisters into a magical world of endless dancing and dreams. But something more sinister is afoot—and unless Zita and her friends can break the curse, the twelve princesses will surely dance to their deaths."

Young Adult:

CITY OF CANNIBALS by Ricki Thompson (ETA--straight historical fiction, although it's not clear from the description, but it sounds like a good one for readers of fantasy...). "It’s 1536, and Dell lives on an isolated hillside with her bitter auntie and drunken father. Father has warned Dell never to venture past her mother’s grave to the City of Cannibals. But unanswered questions plague Dell. Why did her parents leave the court of Henry VIII? Was her mother’s death really an accident? And what about the mysterious Brown Boy who leaves sacks of supplies for her family? Dell risks traveling to the City of Cannibals. Once inside London, she is not eaten alive but is confronted with a different horror—the Oath of Allegiance. If she and the Brown Boy don’t sign, they could be executed. Dell has good reason not to sign. But who can defy King Henry VIII and live?"


THE CLONE CODES by Patricia C. & Fredrick McKissack. "The Cyborg Wars are over and Earth has peacefully prospered for more than one hundred years. Yet sometimes history must repeat itself until humanity learns from its mistakes. In the year 2170, despite technological and political advances, cyborgs and clones are treated no better than slaves, and an underground abolitionist movement is fighting for freedom. Thirteen-year-old Leanna's entire life is thrown into chaos when The World Federation of Nations discovers her mom is part of the radical Liberty Bell Movement. After her mother's arrest for treason, Leanna must escape as she is chased by a ruthless bounty hunter. Soon Leanna finds herself living among the Firsts, and nothing will ever be the same again. But what does The World Federation want with the daughter of a traitor? So much is uncertain. Danger hides everywhere. Fear takes over. With help from unlikely sources, Leanna learns the origin of The Liberty Bell Movement and how its members may have answers about her past-and her new reality. As family secrets are revealed, Leanna must face startling truths about self-identity and freedom. Through time travel, advanced technologies, and artificial intelligence, this exhilarating adventure asks what it means to be human and explores the sacrifices an entire society will make to find out."



IN A HEARTBEAT by Loretta Ellsworth. "When a small mistake costs sixteen-year-old Eagan her life during a figure-skating competition, she leaves many things unreconciled, including her troubled relationship with her mother. From her vantage point in the afterlife, Eagan reflects back on her memories, and what she could have done differently, through her still-beating heart. When fourteen-year-old Amelia learns she will be getting a heart transplant, her fear and guilt battle with her joy at this new chance at life. And afterwards when she starts to feel different—dreaming about figure skating, craving grape candy—her need to learn about her donor leads her to discover and explore Eagan’s life, meeting her grieving loved ones and trying to bring the closure they all need to move on."

THE IRON KING: THE IRON FEY by Julie Kagawa. "Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart."

LEX TRENT VERSUS THE GODS by Alex Bell. "Law student Lex Trent’s world is inhabited by fearsome magicians, ageing crones and a menagerie of Gods and Goddesses. And while Lex is seemingly dedicated to his legal studies he’s always enjoyed a challenge – which is why he leads a double life as the notorious cat burglar ‘The Shadowman’ who has been (luckily) evading capture for years. But Lex’s luck is about to run out because the Goddess of Fortune has selected him to be her player in the highly dangerous Games. Losing is not an option for Lex (particularly as it so often involves dying) but can he really win each of the perilous rounds? Given that the reward for doing so is money, fame and glory – all things that Lex is quite keen on – he’s going to do whatever it takes to make sure he will... and he’s certainly got good experience of cheating."

LIGHT BENEATH FERNS by Anne Spollen. "Elizah Rayne is nothing like other fourteen-year-old girls. More interested in bird bones than people, she wraps herself in silence. Trying to escape the shadow of her gambler father, Elizah and her mother move into an old house that borders a cemetery. All her mother wants is for them to have "normal" lives. But that becomes impossible for Elizah when she finds a human jawbone by the river and meets Nathaniel, a strangely hypnotic boy who draws Elizah into his dreamlike and mysterious world.Only by forgetting everything she knows can Elizah understand the truth about Nathaniel—and discover an unimaginable secret."

NUMBERS by Rachel Ward. "Ever since she was child, Jem has kept a secret: Whenever she meets someone new, no matter who, as soon as she looks into their eyes, a number pops into her head. That number is a date: the date they will die. Burdened with such awful awareness, Jem avoids relationships. Until she meets Spider, another outsider, and takes a chance. The two plan a trip to the city. But while waiting to ride the Eye ferris wheel, Jem is terrified to see that all the other tourists in line flash the same number. Today's number. Today's date. Terrorists are going to attack London. Jem's world is about to explode!"

THE POISON EATERS AND OTHER STORIES by Holly Black. "In her debut collection, New York Times best-selling author Holly Black returns to the world of Tithe in two darkly exquisite new tales. Then Black takes readers on a tour of a faerie market and introduces a girl poisonous to the touch and another who challenges the devil to a competitive eating match. These stories have been published in anthologies such as 21 Proms, The Faery Reel, and The Restless Dead, and have been reprinted in many “Best of” anthologies. The Poison Eaters is Holly Black’s much-anticipated first collection of stories, and her ability to stare into the void—and to find humanity and humor there—will speak to young adult and adult readers alike."

POSSESSED by Kate Cann. "Rayne can't wait to start her summer job at a remote country mansion, far from the crowded, noisy London she so desperately wants to escape. But the retreat soon turns into a nightmare -- the mansion is creepy, the legends of ghosts keep Rayne up at night, and she doesn't feel safe anywhere. Can Rayne figure out why she's so freaked -- before she becomes a ghost story herself?"

RENEGADE: HELL'S UNDERGROUND by Alan Gibbons. "Paul has met his most audacious - and powerful - ancestor yet, Samuel Rector, who seemingly has the entire East End in thrall to him in the 1830s. His legion of 'rat boys' use terror and menace ordinarily, but with the demon seed inside them, their powers know no end. Their only match is Paul, the renegade, the one member of the Rector clan determined to strike each poisoned generation from the family history. But nobody is stronger than Lud, the King of London, struggling against imprisonment in his cell where the city's five gates meet."

SAVANNAH GREY: A HORROR STORY by Cliff McNish. "It's a difficult time for fifteen-year-old Savannah Grey - she's settled into her latest foster placement, but her body is acting strangely. Then other strange things begin to happen: nature, it seems, is exerting an overpowering force on the world. Birds behave erratically; gusts of wind blow leaves so fiercely they seem to lure people away. And Savannah discovers she has supernatural powers. Meanwhile, she feels drawn to the new boy Reece whose life is even stranger than hers. Quickly Savannah and Reece realise that nature has a purpose for them both. For they are on course to meet the vile and evil Ocrassa, who wants to destroy the world by corrupting nature. And it wants Savannah Grey to help realise its savage intent."

SECRETS OF THE DRAGON RIDERS: YOUR FAVORITE AUTHORS ON CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI'S INHERITANCE CYCLE

The Book of the Maidservant, by Rebecca Barnhouse

The Book of the Maidservant, by Rebecca Barnhouse (Random House, 2009, middle grade/young adult, 224 pp), is a tale of a pilgrimage from England to Rome in the fifteenth-century, and the girl who had to scrub the pots all the way there.

Johanna is the serving girl of Dame Margery Kempe, a woman of extraordinarily vocal and incessant piety. Dame Margery's tender feelings for the sufferings of Christ, which move her to tears at every turn, don't translate into tenderness for Johanna, who never gets so much as a kind word.

So when Dame Margery sets off on a pilgrimage to Rome, taking Johanna along to wait on her, Johanna doesn't expect it to be fun. But it is worse than she had imagined--not only does she have to tend to her ungrateful mistress, but the entire company with whom she is journeying expect her to work for all of them. So her days are spend trudging through Europe, her evenings cooking and washing and mending...

The only bright spark is the young student, John Mouse, who fills her mind like no-one she has ever met before. But abandoned outside Rome by Dame Margery and separated from the rest of the rag tag band of travellers, she's not at all sure she'll ever see him again. Let alone get back to England.

It's a good story, although Johanna's tribulations become, perhaps, a bit repetitive. It's the sort of historical fiction for kids that nicely shows what life would have been like "back then," without attempting archaism of language or shining too glaring a spotlight on the unfamiliar. And it's a sub-genre of historical fiction that I like lots--the sort that takes a real person, who is only briefly mentioned in history, and brings her to life.

Dame Margery Kempe, incidentally, was real, as was her servant Johanna, and although Barnhouse tinkered a bit with the sequence of events, she sticks closely to the story that Dame Margery actually told of her pilgrimage (the Book of Margery Kempe is the first autobiography written in English).

Some kids might ask for more Action than this book provides--it focuses on the interactions of the travellers, and Johanna's particular situation, so there aren't any Epic Medievally bits (although there are some tense moments). But for kids who like historical fiction that's character driven (such as The Midwife's Apprentice, by Karen Cushman), this one would be a good choice.

A note on the age level--this is marketed as Young Adult, but I would argue that it is much better for older middle grade kids. There is no explicit YA type content, and Johanna reads young in my mind--more like an eighth grader than a tenth grader. I think I would have enjoyed this lots at around 11, the age I was when I started on Rosemary Sutcliff.

Here's a great interview with Barnhouse at The Paper Wait.

Macmillan books are back on Amazon, wait, no they're not...what are they doing?

The struggle between Amazon and Macmillan continues. I checked my chosen Macmillan book (The Runaway Dragon) on Amazon at 7:05 ish this morning, and all looked to be as it was before, with a buy button and everything...but I just checked it again (8:35 am), and the buy button is no longer there! WHAT?????

And author John Scalzi reports that although he had a buy button for a while on Old Man's War, when clicked on, it offered used copies of the books. And there's no buy button there at his book at all now--I just checked.

Powells is looking better and better.

Amazon has caved, but hasn't put Macmillan's books back yet

Upstaging my own introspective blog birthday post--Amazon has caved to Macmillian's price demands viz eBooks (from John Scalzi's blog, here's a Washington Post article).

But Amazon hasn't put links back to Macmillan's books (I just checked The Runaway Dragon, by fellow blogger Kate Coombs--not there).

As Scalzi says, "The longer you wait, the more I’ll have to think you’re just being petulant and foot-stompy about it."

In the meantime, anything bought through the Powell's link to the right and down a ways benefits a small but worthy New England library...

An introspective post on the occasion of my blog's third birthday

As of today, I have been blogging for three years, and I am beginning to think I almost know what I am doing.

Here's what I did this past year:

I decided to focus on my favorite genre---fantasy and science fiction, with a particular emphasis on middle grade books. Having this focus made blogging seem more pointful; it gave me an identity in my own mind, a little niche that I could fill. I've enjoyed blogging more than I ever had before. And my blog hits doubled.

This past May I made a choice to look for more books that featured characters of color--this is an ongoing process.

This year I added two new regular features--announcements of new releases of science fiction and fantasy (sff), and weekly roundups of blog posts about middle-grade sff. These are huge time sinks, but I like doing them 1. because I like to feel helpful 2. because they are interesting to me. Thanks to everyone who has left me comments saying that these are, in fact, interesting and helpful posts!

I added header art, featuring a nebula in the shape of a mysterious orange space snail, which helped give me a Distinct Brand, at least in my own mind....I think I am the only blogger with a mysterious orange space snail in their header art.

But despite my new focus, I still feel a tad schizophrenic, because I write for three audiences.

There is the audience of people who like the same books that I do, for whom I write posts that essentially say "go read this book right now because it is really good." Those posts are the most fun to write, because I don't have to think much at all, and because it is so very satisfying to urge others to read beloved books. I'm also thinking of this audience when I write reviews that say why a book I thought I'd love didn't work for me, which is not quite so fun...

Then there is the audience of adults who might be buying the books, or putting them into the hands of kids. This is a harder group to write for, because I have to justify to a greater extent why I think a book works, or doesn't work. This is the audience I am thinking of when I review books I've gotten from publishers, and so the stakes are higher and I try (with mixed results) to be more professional.

The third audience I have in mind is parents of nine year-old boys who are picky readers. I don't write for this audience all that often, but it sure is satisfying when I am able to type: "and my son sat down and read this cover to cover."

But in the end, I'm writing for myself. As much as I want to be a Useful Resource, of a Source of Good Books (and I do want to be these things, very, very much indeed), I also want to enjoy the process of blogging. Which means trying to stifle the voices in my head with their messages of what I Should be doing (ala Liz's post today at Tea Cozy), and just doing the best that I can.

And part of that includes continuing to work on my spelling and proof-reading, which is very hard for me. Here is the comment I got on my very first college paper: "There are so many typographical errors that it is difficult to assess the severity of your spelling disorder." This, very sadly, continues to be the case. Even with Spellcheck, bad things happen, and I quite often hang my head in shame....It is especially sad that post titles live forever with their mistakes in them (and I can't believe I just did it again with this post. SIGH). It is also very sad indeed that Technorati doesn't let people edit the descriptions of their blogs, and so I am stuck blogging forever about fantasty and sciene fiction :) - that is a brave smile.

But thank you everyone who reads the blog despite everything--readers and bloggers and publisher and writers and all, and thank you especially to those of you who have left encouraging comments, the sort that lets me know that there is a point!

And if anyone has any Useful Thoughts about things I could do to make my blog a better place, I'd be happy to hear them (if they are tactfully phrased....).

Goodbye, Kage Baker

Kage Baker, fantasy/science fiction writer extraordinaire, died early this morning. There are details here at The Green Man Review.

One of the most memorable books I read this past year was her first foray into writing for children. The Hotel Under the Sand is a strangely marvellous story about a girl washed ashore on an abandoned beach, and the old hotel that rises up out of the dunes and shelters her.

I hope that Kage Baker has come to a safe haven of her own.

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

Welcome to another week's worth of middle-grade fantasy and science fiction reviews and comments from around the blogosphere. Please let me know if I missed your post!

11 Birthdays, by Wendy Mass, at Dwelling in Possibility.

The Blue Shoe, a tale of Thievery, Villainy, Sorcery, and Shoes, by Roderick Townley, at Green Bean Teen Queen.

The Chestnut King, by N.D. Wilson, at Where the Best Books Are.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, by Ian Fleming, at Becky's Book Reviews.

Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs, by Ursula Vernon, at Charlotte's Library.

Erak's Ransom (Ranger's Apprentice) at Bookends

Everwild, by Neil Shusterman, at Ink and Paper (Amazon says this is for 7th-9th graders, so I count it as the upper limit of middle grade)

The Farwalker's Quest, by Joni Sensel, at Brenda Loves Books.

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaimen, at The Book on the Hill.

Green, by Laura Peyton Roberts, at Charlotte's Library.

Grim Hill: The Secret Deepens, by Linda DeMeulemeester, at Doodle Reads.

Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon, by Melissa Anellie, at Once Upon a Bookshelf.

How to Train Your Dragon, by Cressida Cowell, at Young Adult Literature Review.

Odd and the Frost Giants, by Neil Gaiman, at Stella Matutina

The Prometheus Project: Trapped and its sequel, Captured, by Douglas E. Richards, at Charlotte's Library.

When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead, at Jen Robinson's Book Review.

The Wish Stealers, by Tracy Trivas, at Blogging Mama and Five Minutes for Mom.

The Wizard of Rhondo, by Emily Rodda, at Eva's Book Addiction.

At The Christian Fantasy Review are reviews of Book 1 of the Wingfeather Saga, On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, and Book 2 North! Or be Eaten, by Andrew Peterson.

At Scrub A Dub Tub, Terry looks at Dragon Wishes, by Stacy Nyikos, and The Last Dragon, by Cheryl Rainfield (the later is straight fantasy, the former more ambiguous).

And finally, at Ink Spells, Susan asks Where are the Science Fiction books for kids?