Deception, by Lee Nichols

Deception, by Lee Nichols (Bloomsbury,2010, YA, 304 pages in ARC form)

Emma is on her own after her antique-dealer parents set off on a business trip, and the manager of their antiques store abruptly quits. She's doing just fine....except that she is seeing things. Spooky things. And then her new friend Natalie plans a party in Emma's home, things get out of hand, and Emma ends up in the custody of child services. Fortunately (?) a family friend appears to save her--Bennet Stern, a very handsome college student, and her new official guardian. He whisks her off to New England, installs her in a historic home, and enrolls her in a private school that's very high quality indeed. And then leaves her, apart from brief visits, to her own devices.

The school part goes remarkably well (Emma is lucky to fall in with the elite kids of the already elite school), but every day Emma's haunting visions seem to grow stronger. Gradually she realizes that she is surrounded by ghosts...and not all of them are friendly. And gradually she realizes that there are secrets her family has been keeping from her--including secrets, not just about ghosts, but about a series of gruesome murders.

Life as a teenage girl is tricky enough--Emma fantasizes about Bennet, while at the same time the golden boy of her new school falls in love with her. Throw in a bunch of ghosts, an international ghost keeping secret society, a love story gone wrong from far in the past, and a murderer who isn't alive, and life really gets interesting.

It's a fun, fast read, sure to be enjoyed very much by its target YA audience. And that being said, there's enough suspense (the dangers here are very, very real, and Nichols isn't afraid to make them immediate), combined with interesting living characters and engaging ghosts (some of my favorite characters were un-living) to hold the interest of the, um, older reader as well. Emma is neither a passive victim, but neither does she too quickly become a super-competent bad ghost fighter--she copes believably, but makes mistakes. I do think, however, that the romance aspect of the story will be enjoyed a lot more by teenagers than by me--Bennet leaves me cold. I'm curious, though, to see where his character will go in the sequel--it is almost certain that there is more to him than we see here--this book is not called Deception for nothing!

Other reviews at Persephone Reads, Book Crazy, Mindful Musings, Ellz Readz, and Novel Reaction.

(disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher)

The Suburb Beyond the Stars, by M. T. Anderson

The Suburb Beyond the Stars, by M. T. Anderson (Scholastic, 2010, middle grade, 223 pages). Warning: This is the sequel to The Game of Sunken Places (2004, new paperback edition released this May), and my review spoils that first book more than a little. Sorry.

So don't read further if you don't want spoilers. To occupy the spoiler space, here's a short movie/trailer for The Suburb Beyond the Stars:

The Suburb Beyond the Stars from Sang Lee on Vimeo.

Ok. That takes care of that. On with the review.

After Brian won the Game of Sunken Places, he and his friend Gregory inherited the responsibility of designing the next Game--a challenge whose outcome would help decide which of two supernatural races would win the right to inhabit the earth. But their peaceful work on a noir detective mystery is disrupted when a demonic monster baby creature tries to kill Brian on the subway. A handy electrified third rail takes care of that little problem, but much worse is ahead.

Up in Vermont, where the two boys had played their own Game (designed with medieval flair by Gregory's cousin, Prudence) things have gone haywire. When the two head up north themselves to find out why Prudence has dropped out of touch, they find a sinister suburb has suddenly sprung up in the woods around her home. And it soon becomes clear that this suburb (which is a really, really sinister place, worse than the one in A Wrinkle in Time) is the work of the Thusser. They are the bad guys in the great Game, and they've decided they don't want to play anymore. They want the world. Now. And the new suburb is the launching place for their plans.

Brian and Gregory, reunited with their troll friend Kalgrash (my favorite troll!), slowly figure out what's happening. But stopping the Thusser is pretty darn tricky--they're your basic incredibly powerful, superhuman-type bad guys. The only beings capable of putting them in their place are the incredibly powerful, superhuman-type "good" guys--the Norembegans, the elven-esque race who are the opposing team in the Game. Unfortunately, the Norembegans are playing by the rules, and aren't on earth anymore, so it's hard to get a hold of them....

The Suburb Beyond the Stars combines genuinely disturbing, occasionally icky, creepiness with levity and interesting characters. There's never a dull moment, but yet the story doesn't feel rushed. I wouldn't recommend this one to fantasy fans seeking moments of numinous filled beauty, but I would press it into the hands of those who want well-written adventurous boys being brave in the face of fantastical danger.

It's a better book, I think, than the first in the series, The Game of Sunken Places (here are my brief thoughts on it). That one reads a tad like a fantasy role playing adventure, although it is not unenjoyable; I found this one is less cliched, much creepier, and much wittier. Anderson is maybe a tad too self-conscious of the witty parts in places, but it manages to stay on the straight side of farce. And because this second book focuses almost exclusively on Brian, the more interesting of the two boys, I felt less distanced from the characters than I did with book one. It's not absolutely necessary to read the first book first, but I think it's a good idea, in part because that's where you meet Kalgrash for the first time. And for those who dislike serieses (serii?) be warned--the ending of The Suburb Beyond the Stars is a pause, not a conclusion....

In general, I do not give positive reviews to books that use the word "eldritch" with a (more or less) straight face. This book, however, is an exception.

I am rather curious, though, about the thinking behind the cover. It looks very old-fashioned (brave boys in danger in the late 1950s/1960s), and doesn't give much obvious clue about what the book is about.

Other thoughts at Kids Lit and Wandering Librarians.

Once a Witch, by Carolyn MacCullough, for Timeslip Tuesday

I have heard that there are people out there who don't like time travel stories. A quick google search confirmed this impression--time travel books are "unreliable" "inconsistent" and "unrealistic." "I don't like time travel stories," writes one reader google found for me here, who then goes on to say, "Aside from that, no complaints."

So I feel a little awkward labeling Once a Witch, by Carolyn MacCullough (Clarion, 2009, YA, 292 pages) as such, and turning all those readers against it. To them I say, there's very little time traveling, you'll hardly notice it, the time travelling is every bit as realistic as all the other fantastical stuff that happens....but it's Tuesday, and I needed a book for Timeslip Tuesday, so here we are. And for those who really love time travel books qua time travel books, you might enjoy it too. Even though there are only 47 pages (give or take) set in the past...

Tamsin belongs to a clan of witches, and has grown up in an enclave of magic, surrounded by aunts and uncles and cousins who can all work enchantments of one kind or another. One of the most powerful of her generation is her own sister, Rowena, who can mesmerize others...but Tamsin has no talent, and feels like a fish out of water. When an absent-minded professor comes to the bookstore where she's working, and asks her to find a lost clock, in that special way members of her family can do, her frustration comes to a head and she finds herself taking the job.

Now, back at school in New York, Tamsin is stuck with a job she can't do--but fortunately, her cousin Gabriel is back in her life, and he is a Finder par excellence. Together the two travel back to the 19th century, to find the clock before it was lost...but in taking it back to the present, Tamsin has unwittingly tampered with the very magic that keeps her family safe. For the absent minded professor is not at all what he seems to be. And neither, for that matter, is Tamsin herself.

It's a very entertaining story--not too tremendously deep, and at times perhaps too self-consciously YAish with its little touches of clothing angst and the like--but a good, fast read. Tamsin's magical family provides a fun backdrop for her adventures, and her own journey of magical self discovery, and her re-discovery of Gabriel, held my interest. Danger, Romance, Magic, Family Secrets, a Big Sister who's too much to take, and a smidge of Blood. And there's the time travel bit, to add even more interest...so all in all, a fun book.

The time travel is all plot device, and not a thing of interest in itself, in the way some time travels are--the cultural disconnects and self-discovery through alien time immersion sort of thing (that make those of us who love T.T. love it) aren't here. But it is used very crisply to move the story along in an interesting way, and that's just fine.

Just because it's nice not to feel alone, I add that Leila at Bookshelves of Doom had much the same reaction (and I think it was her review, now that I read it again, that made me put this one on my list).

The Winners of the Mythopoeic Awards -- congratulations, Grace Lin!

Via the trusty Science Fiction Awards Watch blog, I learned this morning that the winners of this year's Mythopoeic Awards have been announced:

Adult Literature: Jo Walton, Lifelode (NESFA Press)

Children’s Literature: Grace Lin, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Little, Brown)

Inklings Studies: Dimitra Fimi, Tolkien, Race, and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009)

Myth & Fantasy Studies: Marek Oziewicz, One Earth, One People: The Mythopoeic Fantasy Series of Ursula K. Le Guin, Lloyd Alexander, Madeleine L’Engle and Orson Scott Card (McFarland, 2008)

Alexei Kondratiev Student Paper Award: Michael Millburn, “Art According to Romantic Theology: Charles Williams’ Analysis of Dante Reapplied to J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘Leaf By Niggle’”

This Sunday's Middle Grade Sci fi/Fantasy round-up

A little late today, because of house guests come not just to visit but to help us repair various elements of our home and garden (it will never be finished. Never. But the house did just get listed on the National Register of Historic places, which is cool), here is today's round-up of middle grade science fiction/fantasy stuff from around the blogs. Middle grade being books for 9-12, kind of fuzzy at the top end....

Please let me know if I missed your post, or the posts of your loved ones!

The reviews:

Candleman, by Glen Dakin, at Nayu's Reading Corner.

Hunter Brown and the Consuming Fire, by Christopher and Allen Miller, at Clive Staples Award for Christian Speculative Fiction.

Ivy's Ever After, by Dawn Lairamore, at Welcome to my Tweendom.

Knights of the Sea, by Paul Marlowe, at Fantasy Literature.

Magic Below Stairs, by Caroline Stevermer, at Kids Lit.

Many Waters, by Madeline L'Engle, at Guys Lit Wire.

Middleworld, by J. and P. Voelkel, at GreenBeanTeenQueen.

Peter and the Sword of Mercy, by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, at Becky's Book Reviews.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet, by Madeline L'Engle, at Charlotte's Library.

Seven Spells to Sunday, by Andre Norton and Phyllis Miller, at Randomize ME.

Smells Like Dog, by Suzanne Selfors, at Jean Little Library.

Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos, by R.L. LaFevres, at Becky's Book Reviews; Becky also reviews Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris here.

The things that aren't reviews:

M. T. Anderson has created a tourist guide to deepest, darkest Delaware, the setting for the third book in his Pals in Peril series, Jasper Dash and the Flame Pits of Delaware (the series begins with Whales on Stilts).

It's Steamboyz Week at vvb32 reads, and although "SteamBoyz = YA steampunk stories with YA male protagonists," there's some middle grade crossover in the books included.

Katherine Langrish continues her series on Other Worlds at her blog, Seven Miles of Steel Thistles.

And here's one I missed when it came out--an article from Daily Finance about the publishing history of the Percy Jackson books.

Alchemy and Meggy Swann, by Karen Cushman

I wondered, when I first saw the title of Alchemy and Meggy Swann (2010, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, mg, 176 pages) if this might be fantasy...it's not, but it is my favorite of all of Karen Cushman's historical fiction to date. Set in Elizabethan England, it tells of a young girl summoned by the father she's never met to join him in London. When she arrives, however, she is given a cold greeting. Her father wanted an able-bodied boy to work for him. Meggie is a girl, and needs sticks to lean on when she walks.

Neglected, angry, and uncertain, Meggie scowls at the world. But gradually, her friendship with Roger, a player's boy, grows (mainly because he is incredibly patient with her), and she finds herself on cordial terms with a few of the tradesfolk in her new London neighborhood, although there are others who still hold the the medieval beliefs that lameness like Meggie's is a sign of sin. But up on the top floor of her new house, her father is busily trying to turn base metal into gold. To do this, he needs money....and alchemy can be put to more sinister uses. Like murder and treason....

Cushman strikes just the right balance here between historical accuracy and a lively story of contemporary interest. The dialogue is particularly zesty, managing to be Elizabethan-esque while still fun to read. Here's an example, picked more or less at random:

"Of a sudden the door banged open. "Come, Meggy Swann," Roger called. "We are off to the river in search of a breeze."

She looked up, hiding the joy she felt at seeing him, and said, "Pray sir, pardon me. For a moment I mistook you for someone I did once knew. Someone who swore he was a friend and then abandoned me to sink under my afflictions in this--"

"Nay, Meggy, be not spleeny. I was occupied with drilling the apprentices and learning a new part myself." (page 95)

Meggy is at first not the most likable of characters (she is indeed very spleeny), but she sure has reason to be more than a bit prickly. I found it a pleasure to watch her gain confidence, and realizing that she actually does have the power to change her own circumstances. The story of how she finds a place in the world is both moving and believable (well, pretty believable. In all likelihood, she would have ended up begging in the gutters, but I'm glad she didn't).

Recommended to those who like detail-rich historical fiction or books featuring characters with disabilities, and in particular to those interested in alchemy, Elizabethan theatre, and the difficulties of keeping a pet goose in 16th/17th London on a limited budget!

(nb: review copy received from the publisher, via The Picnic Basket, where you can read the thoughts of many others in the comments on this post)

Toads and Diamonds, by Heather Tomlinson

Toads and Diamonds, by Heather Tomlinson (Holt 2010, YA, 276 pages)

The story of the two step-sisters rewarded and punished by a fairy disguised as an old woman was always a favorite of mine. It was a pleasure to read it reimagined in Tomlinson's Indian-esque setting, a detailed and colorful (literally) world that added interest to the story (to me at least) by virtue of its non-European-ness. Tomlinson makes it clear in her afterword that her world is not a carbon-copy of India, and she has tweaked the geography and the main religions considerably. That being said, there is so much cultural detail about the day to day life of this place that it certainly feels, to me at least (who doesn't know all that much about it), like a convincing portrayal of 17th-century India.

In that place that never quite was, a jeweler died, leaving his widow and his two daughters to begin a gradual descent into poverty. Now Diribani, beautiful, kind and happy, and her step-sister, Tana, more practical, and less conventionally lovely, must fetch the household's water from the communal well. One fateful day, that chore brings them face to face with a goddess. And the goddess chooses to give each sister her soul's desire.

Diribani is given the beauty she craves--whenever she speaks, jewels and flowers fall from her lips. The greatest wish of Tana's heart is to protect her family...and she, too, receives a gift. When she speaks, snakes, toads, and frogs appear. In Tana's world, toads and frogs are lucky, and snakes useful and desirable in their role as rodent catchers, so it is not a terrible thing. Yet Tana is sure that the goddess has judged her unworthy of the beauty and grace bestowed on her sister.
The gifts of both girls soon come to the attention of their province's governor, and the young prince of the realm, both followers of the monotheistic religion practiced by their conquering ancestors. And this attention is not at all desirable, for either girl--Tana becomes a hunted outcast, Diribani a prisoner in the gilded cage of the prince's retinue. As they struggle to understand what the goddess intended them to do with their gifts, their hearts and their strength of will are sorely tested. Neither knows if they will be able to make a happily ever after for themselves...or if they will end up worse than before.

Toads and Diamonds is told in alternate chapters from the point of view of each sisters, and Tana's increasingly miserable circumstances provide a nice contrast with Diribani's claustrophobic life of luxury. Tomlinson succeeds in making each sister a distinct character, with whom the reader can become invested in, although Tana, probably because she is more conflicted, more introspective, and more intelligent, is by far the more interesting of the two. Although each sister's story has a rather firmly-written moral, Tomlinson allows the characters, for the most part, to convey to the reader the changes in their ways of thinking, so the morals don't stand in the way of the story.

My only substantive quibble with the book is the ending Tomlinson implies awaits the sisters. It seems to me that, despite the goddess' gifts, with their character-developing consequences, the two sisters are about to become dependent again on the world of men, with no chance of actually creating futures for themselves. The classic fairy tale ending of the handsome prince/male rescuer seems to be the best the two sisters can hope for. Sigh.

Here's Tomlinson discussing at Tor how this book came to be, and some other reviews at Bookish Blather, Reading in Color, and Bibliofile.

Throwing my hat into the Book Blogger Appreciation Week ring

Book Blogger Appreciation Week is coming up in September, and the celebration includes awards in various blog categories. One of these is "Best Speculative Fiction Blog," and so I'm putting my blog forward for that.

My blog focuses on middle grade and younger YA speculative fiction, although I do review some adult books as well.

Here are my five representative posts:

Middle grade: my review of The Shadows, by Jacqueline West
Young adult: my review of The Demon's Lexicon, by Sarah Rees Brennan
Adult: my review of Blackout, by Connie Willis (most Tuesday's I review time travel books, and this post serves as an example of that)

Every week I round-up posts from around the blogging world about middle-grade science fiction and fantasy--here's an example.

Here are my thoughts on gender and writers of middle grade and young adult science fiction/fantasy.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet, by Madeline L'Engle, for Timeslip Tuesday

I've known for over a year that the time was going to come when I would re-read A Swiftly Tilting Planet, by Madeline L'Engle (1978), for a Timeslip Tuesday post. But I've been putting it off. This is a book that I loved when I read it back the year it came out, and for the next five years of re-reading. It's also a book that I knew I would have problems reading again as a grown-up, and I was right.

In A Swiftly Tilting Planet (the third of L'Engle's series that began with A Wrinkle in Time), the mad dictator of a Latin American country is about to plunge the world into nuclear war. Fortunately, the forces of good in the greater universe don't want our world destroyed, and so a time-travelling unicorn is sent to Charles Wallace, who is now a teenager. As he travels, courtesy of the unicorn, into the past to change the might-have-been that led to the dictator's rise to power, his big sister Meg follows along telepathically, providing a narrative framework in the here and now for his adventures.

The unicorn carries Charles Wallace back to the primordial Eden that is L'Engle's vision of Native North America. There he is first inserted into the mind of a person from the past, and finds it an easy and pleasant experience. Gradually, though, as unicorn and boy come closer to the might-have-been, the evil forces of chaos work against them more strongly...and the emotional intensity, both good and ill, experienced by Charles Wallace grows...

On the plus side--it's a riveting story, with lots of emotional heft. It was the first book I read in which the consequences of nuclear war were portrayed--L'Engle's time-travellers make several unwanted detours to "projections" of possible futures, and my young self was profoundly disturbed by them, and consequently very much invested in hoping for a hopeful outcome for the story. Another section, in which L'Engle portrays a 20th century family falling apart, which includes an abusive stepfather and a brain-damaged boy, was also a powerful experience for my child-self reader.

And boy, did that self love the scene in which the baby unicorn hatched.

Fast forward to the present. The baby unicorn leaves me cold (sigh. Not L'Engle's fault). But much more importantly than that, L'Engle's version of the native people of New England leaves me infinitely colder. She clearly wanted an idyllic, fantasied people (they frolic, for instance, with fantastical creatures), and so historical/cultural accuracy, or even an approximation thereof, goes out the window. Here's her very inaccurate description of New England village life around 1500 years ago:

"Between the rock and the lake were strange huts of stone and hide, half house, half tent, forming a crescent at the lake's edge.

In front of and around the dwellings was activity and laughter, men and women weaving, making clay from the lake into bowls and dishes, painting the pottery with vivid colors and intricate geometrical designs." (page 58)

(there wasn't weaving, we have no evidence that pottery was painted, and the "strange huts" are strange indeed)

Also disturbing is the arrival of a Welsh prince and his entourage into New England long before 1492. This bothers me not only because it is a set piece of peaceful, environmentally friendly native peoples vs white people with the potential for violence, but because the intrusion of Celtic romantic-ness strikes me as naive wish fulfilment (and goodness knows, in my line of work I have grown sick of people telling me, with great fervor, about all the Celtic dolmens scattered around New England).

And I was also bothered by the whole bit about blue eyes. You see, the Celtic prince brought over the gene for blue eyes...and it his descendant, via the Native American princess, who becomes the Latin American dictator, or, if Charles Wallace changes things, the Latin American peace loving democrat. Both have blue eyes. Why the heck L'Engle thought blue eyes were just the thing to make her characters special beats me; as may be the case with the Celtic Prince bit, it seems like she was trying to make her history of the Americas one comfy for (blue eyed) Europeans.

Time-travel-wise, it's rather an odd one, because the time traveller is always contained within a host body. So although Charles Wallace can reflect on what he's experience, he's not actually there himself, and the time-travel is more a tool for the plot, than the point itself. Not necessarily a bad thing (it works of the story), but it does mean that this book isn't one I'd recommend to fans of time travel stories as such.

So now I've re-read it, and I probably never will again...and I sigh, because I did love it so...

Physics: Why Matter Matters --science made fun for Non-fiction Monday

Physics: Why Matter Matters! created by Simon Basher, written by Dan Green (Kingfisher, 2008, 128 pages)

One of the highlights of my recent foray to the ALA exhibit hall was discovering a series of non-fiction books that seemed tailor-made for my boys (aged 7 and 9). In their books, Basher and Green have collaborated to bring science to life with utterly charming characterizations of scientific principles-funny little cartoon dudes--who explain, in simple terms, just what they are and what they do.

I was very happy to get a copy of Physics to bring home with me (thanks, Kingfisher!), and it was greeted enthusiastically by those waiting at home for Mama. Each dude included in this book (and there are many, ranging from the Old School friends like Gravity to the cool far out there ones like the Beta Particle) gets a page of text, with a full color picture facing it. A few introductory descriptive facts set the stage for a monologue by each physics principle, followed by a few more specifics, like the date of its discovery. There's also a helpful glossary and an index. The result is a book that can be enjoyed enthusiastically and repeatedly, and which may cause some tension as the dear children try to snatch it out of each other's hands.

I particularly enjoyed reading out loud what Entropy had to say for itself (in as much as Entropy is my nemesis)--"I always increase, and I work in one direction only--things NEVER get neater unless you put some effort in" (page 36). The seven year old liked Gamma Ray best -- "mean, lean and full of beans--I travel at the speed of light and cut right through any material as if it wasn't there" (page 74); the nine year old's favorite was Black Body Radiation--"A ninjalike shadow who swallows and slays the Light Crew" (page 40).

I'm still not entirely sure I understand really truly what a Bosun Particle is, but I am very sure that this book has both entertained and educated all of us.

Here's the list of all the books in the series. My sons want them all, and I'm pretty sure that they will indeed be getting them. Edited to add: for more fun, here is the Basher website.

Today's Non-Fiction Monday Round-Up is at 5 Great Books.

This Sunday's Middle Grade Fantasy and Science Fiction Roundup

Hello, all! Here is another week's worth of what people have been writing about middle grade science fiction and fantasy. Please let me know if I missed your post, or the posts of your loved ones!

Adventures in Cartooning Activity Book, by James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost, at Charlotte's Library (I love this book)

Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse, by Kaleb Nation, at The O.W.L.

The Entomological Tales of Augustus T. Percival--Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone, by at Book Aunt.

Magic Below Stairs, by Caroline Stevermer, at Fantasy Literature. (This one is a spin off of the world created by Stevermer and Patricia Wrede in a series that begins with Sorcery and Cecilia, reviewed at Book Aunt this week. That series isn't middle grade per se, but it is a perfect book for the seventh or eighth grade girl who loves both magic and Pride and Prejudice).

Middleworld (The Jaguar Stones Book 1), by J&P Voelkel, at The Reading Zone.

Moonshadow: Rise of the Ninja, by Simon Higgins, at Charlotte's Library.

The Prince of Fenway Park, by Julianna Baggot, at Book Nut.

Scumble, by Ingrid Law, at Eva's Book Addiction.

A look at Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series, at Guy's Lit Wire.

Other things of interest:

Peter Dickinson is interviewed at Scribble City Central, as part of an ongoing "mythic Friday" series there.

There's a post full of mythical beast goodness over at the Enchanted Inkpot.

And for all of us who are really really curious to see what multicultural fantasies for kids and teens Tu Publishing will bring us, here's what Stacy Whitman is seeing in the submissions pile thus far...and what she hope to see.

A week of summertime fun, or why I haven't posted all that much this week

A week of happy summertime fun just ended with the arrival of a Car from Tanita's publisher, come to pick up her husband and her and whisk them on their way back to Glasgow. We had a happy time of reading and talking and laughing and playing jacks and gathering around the piano to sing and catching up on our blog reading and playing ping pong and reading some more and eating delicious cake and cinnamon rolls made by T. and D. and much more family fun in the same vein. Basically, after the excitement of the American Library Association meeting, we were all in the mood to lie low, which we did with great aplomb.

Summertime fun will continue without them, but it sure was lovely to have their company these last few days...

Adventures in Cartooning Activity Book!

Adventures in Cartooning Activity Book, by James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost (First Second, 2010).


Adventures in Cartooning, published last year, introduced young illustrators to an un-named knight and his trusty steed, Edward. The first book didn't have much story, qua story--it was clearly a book designed to build cartooning confidence, which it did with much delightful humor. Although this sequel sounds like it should have less story, in as much as it is an "activity book," the activity sections are embedded into a coherent cartoon narrative, that tells of an adventure the young knight (and Edward) find in their own castle one rainy day (there are robots! a cookie monster! a giant!). Even once all the pages of activities are filled, this is a book that will be read again and again. It is the just the sort of fun, easy reader to give to your 1st or 2nd grader.

The tips for cartooning are both useful and clearly presented, and the knowledge gained is not only applicable to creating comics, but also to reading them (the types of speech balloons, for instance, are all explained, and neither my house guests, my children, or I knew that a dashed line balloon meant a whisper).

Of all the books that I brought back from ALA, this is the one that brought most happiness home with it. For the past few days, my seven year old has spent hours (literally) absorbed by this slim yet tightly packed paperback (63 pages of the book proper, then several pages of blank comic boxes to draw in). By extension, I love it too, but even if I hadn't had a seven year old to hand it over to, I would be writing a glowing review of it for its own sake...(well, actually, in large measure for Edward's sake, because he is my favorite graphic novel horse ever).

New Releases of Science Fiction and Fantasy for Children and Teenagers--the beginning of July edition

Here are the new releases of fantasy and science fiction for kids and teenagers; my information comes from Teens Read Too, and the blurbs come from the publishers, via Amazon. The Grimm Legacy is up next on my reading list...Which one would you pick?

Middle Grade:

FREQUENCY FREAK-OUT!: IGNATIUS MACFARLAND by Paul Feig When Iggy's transporter makes a crash landing in an even weirder frequency than before, he's sure of one thing: There's no place like home. Putting up with middle-school bullies was nothing compared to battling larger-than-life-sized trees and ferocious plant creatures!Luckily, Iggy's partner-in-crime, Karen, boasts kung fu skills that are impressive even to the extraterrestrials. But when frequency feuding goes from bad to worse, the two begin to wonder if kung fu kicks and sweet talk will be enough to fuel their escape. There's only one way to find out...

GHOSTOPOLIS by Doug TenNapel. "Imagine Garth Hale's surprise when he's accidentally zapped to the spirit world by Frank Gallows, a washed-out ghost wrangler. Suddenly Garth finds he has powers the ghosts don't have, and he's stuck in a world run by the evil ruler of Ghostopolis, who would use Garth's newfound abilities to rule the ghostly kingdom. When Garth meets Cecil, his grandfather's ghost, the two search for a way to get Garth back home, and nearly lose hope until Frank Gallows shows up to fix his mistake."

THE GRIMM LEGACY by Polly Shulman. "Elizabeth has a new job at an unusual library— a lending library of objects, not books. In a secret room in the basement lies the Grimm Collection. That’s where the librarians lock away powerful items straight out of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales: seven-league boots, a table that produces a feast at the blink of an eye, Snow White’s stepmother’s sinister mirror that talks in riddles. When the magical objects start to disappear, Elizabeth embarks on a dangerous quest to catch the thief before she can be accused of the crime—or captured by the thief."

HOW TO RIDE A DRAGON'S STORM: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON by Cressida Cowell. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, everyone's favorite reluctant Viking hero, has three months, five days and six hours to discover America, get back to Berk, save his father, battle Polarserpents and win the annual Inter-Tribal Friendly Swimming Race. Can he do it?"


KAYMON THE GORGON HOUND: BEAST QUEST, THE DARK REALM by Adam Blade The Good Beasts of Avantia have been taken hostage by the Evil Wizard Malvel. Each is being guarded by a new evil Beast in the Dark Realm. In order to rescue Tartok, Tom must go against Kaymon the Gorgon Hound, a Beast unlike any he has faced so far on his Quest. Kaymon prowls the ruins of a forgotten castle. Will Tom be able to defeat this menace and come one step closer to stopping Malvel forever?

SILENCE AND STONE: THE FAERIES' PROMISE by Kathleen Duey. "A continuation of National Book Award finalist Kathleen Duey's chapter book series, The Faeries' Promise, a companion to her popular Unicorn's Secret."

SUB-ZERO SURVIVAL: RIPLEY'S BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION by Robert Ripley Join the Ripley's Bureau of Investigation - a group of teen agents with special gifts - as they embark on a series of action-packed adventures, travelling the world in pursuit of extraordinary events and tales. These wonderful new stories are perfect for adventurously minded children between the ages of 7 and 11. In "Sub-Zero Survival", the culmination of the first "RBI" series, the team begin to link together the hidden clues that they have found on their last few missions and the results point them toward Antarctica and an ancient ice station. However, terrible blizzards, floating pack ice, and a creature that swims with the seals make their hunt for a lost artefact anything but easy!

WINGS OF FEAR: RIPLEY'S BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION by Robert Ripley Join the Ripley's Bureau of Investigation - a group of teen agents with special gifts - as they embark on a series of action-packed adventures, travelling the world in pursuit of extraordinary events and tales. These wonderful new stories are perfect for adventurously minded children between the ages of 7 and 11. In "Wings of Fear", sightings of something strange soaring through the skies over London send the RBI on a mission to the capital city. Soon the team find themselves caught up in high-speed car chases, gliding high above the river Thames, and tackling a gang of jewel thieves as they try to track down the mysterious flying creature.

Young Adult:

BITES: SCARY STORIES TO SINK YOUR TEETH INTO edited by Lois Metzger. "Are you ready for spine-tingling tales by some of today's best writers? Just keep in mind a few simple warnings:
-Some vampires don't want just your blood . . . they want something even more valuable.
-Werewolves, once dead, don't always stay that way.
-Some dogs and coyotes may look normal--but don't get too close.
Remember...what you don't know can bite you."

FORBIDDEN SEA by Sheila A. Nielson. "When Adrianne comes face-to-face with the mermaid of Windwaithe Island, of whom she has heard terrible stories all her life, she is convinced the mermaid means to take her younger sister. Adrianne, fierce-willed and courageous, is determined to protect her sister from the mermaid, and her family from starvation. However, the mermaid continues to haunt Adrianne in her dreams and with her song. Yet, when the islanders find out about Adrianne's encounters with the mermaid she is scorned, for this small and superstitious community believes the mermaid will bring devastation to the island if Adrianne does not give herself to the sea."

LEGACIES: SHADOW GRAIL by Mercedes Lackey & Rosemary Edghill. "Who—or what—is stalking the students at Oakhurst Academy? In the wake of the accident that killed her family, Spirit White is spirited away to Oakhurst Academy, a combination school and orphanage in the middle of Montana. There she learns she is a legacy—not only to the school, which her parents also attended, but to magic. All the students at Oakhurst have magical powers, and although Spirit’s hasn’t manifested itself yet, the administrators insist she has one. Spirit isn’t sure she cares. Devastated by the loss of her family, she finds comfort with a group of friends: Burke Hallows, Lachlann Spears, Muirin Shae, and Adelaide Lake. But something strange is going on at Oakhurst. Students start disappearing under mysterious circumstances, and the school seems to be trying to cover it up. Spirit and her friends must find out what’s happening—before one of them becomes the next victim…"

MAJIX: NOTES FROM A SERIOUS TEEN WITCH by Douglas Rees. "My name is Kestrel.
Kestrel Murphy. Never call me Susan. Who ever heard of a witch named Susan?
A year ago, I was on the white-magic side. Lately, I've been leaning toward the black. I blame the universe. What's the point in being a nice little white witch in the universe I've got? If I could choose my own universe, I'd be a white witch in it. But black makes a lot more sense in this universe. Not that I'm complaining. A witch never complains. But if I did, I'd have a lot to complain about. For instance: Richard Milhous Nixon High. What's a teen witch to do when she's stuck in the most unmagical high school in the universe? Create her own "majix." Take notes. And above all, avoid nasty classmates, heartless grown-ups and boys who may prove a little too distracting for a serious teen witch to handle…."

THE MOONSTONE LEGACY by Diana de Gunzburg & Tony Wild. "In a sacred cave high in the mountains of northern India, a white-haired hermit sits cross-legged, and signs his final testament: "George Abercrombie, 1874 . . . ." In present-day England, 14 year old Lizzy Abercrombie’s mother dies in a tragic accident on the full moon. But was it really an accident? Lizzy discovers that her death may be linked to a mysterious family curse. Determined to solve the mystery, her quest takes her from a doomed Anglo-Indian mansion on the Yorkshire moors to India where she uncovers the terrible truth about her ancestor and a stolen inheritance—but her discoveries put her in mortal danger from a ruthless enemy."

OTHER by Karen Kincy. "Gwen Williams is like any other modern teenager with one exception: she's a shapeshifter. Never having known her Pooka-spirit father, Gwen must struggle with the wild, wonderful magic inside of her alone—and in secret. While society may tolerate vampires, centaurs, and "Others" like Gwen, there are plenty of folks in Klikamuks, Washington, who don't care for her kind. Now there's a new werewolf pack in town, and Others are getting killed, including Gwen's dryad friend. The police are doing zilch. In the midst of terrible loss and danger, Gwen meets a cute Japanese fox spirit who's refreshingly comfortable with his Otherness. Can Gwen find the courage to embrace her true self and find the killer-before she becomes the next victim?"

VAMPIRE BEACH 1: BLOODLUST/INITIATION by Alex Duval. "Jason Freeman is the new kid in DeVere Heights, Malibu. Everyone at his posh new high school is surprisingly friendly, and pretty soon Jason's part of the in-crowd. Not to mention that he's also already fallen for the hot-but-unattainable Sienna. But not all is right in DeVere Heights. When a girl washes up on the beach with strange bite marks on her neck, Jason learns that his peers are not what they seem--vampires are real and Sienna is one of them."

WITCH BREED: HELL'S UNDERGROUND by Alan Gibbons. "When Paul arrives in 17th century London, he expects to be thrown into a life or death struggle for the three gates that imprison the ancient King Lud. But the battle doesn't come. Instead, Paul roams alone, learning how to survive in a city where all the talk is of the savage civil war that rages beyond its ramparts. Somewhere underground, Lud is waiting in his crypt, preparing to rise again. War, fear and want are his tools. But Paul too has his own weapons and is gaining strength and losing inhibitions about using it. Meanwhile, beyond the city, innocent women are being killed for it is so easy to claim that they are witches. One woman - whether innocent or guilty - possesses the only power available that can help Paul in his quest."

Moonshadow: Rise of the Ninja, by Simon Higgins

Moonshadow: Rise of the Ninja by Simon Higgins (Little Brown, 2010)

As the medieval period of Japan draws to a close, Moonshadow, a young member of the Grey Light Order, passes the final test of his ninja training. He has learned the arts of various types of combat, he's studied tactics, he can "walk" on water, and he's even been taught to link his mind to animals, so that he can see through their eyes. But is he ready to go on the mission he's been assigned--to capture secret plans from a power-hungry man who plans to destroy the whole warrior code of Japan in his bid for domination? A man who has hired a warrior known only as "The Deathless" to make sure no-one succeeds in stopping him?

Snowhawk too is a young ninja, sent on the same mission. But for her, the price of failure is even greater than shame (and the end of a way of life). If she can't bring the plans home to her own shadow clan, she will be killed.

Moonshadow and Snowhawk are rivals. But the enemies they face are too powerful for either to defeat alone...

In their adventures they demonstrate non-stop ninja fighting skills and sneaking skills and climbing skills (and more) that should prove delightfully entertaining to fans of such ninja-ish things. This is a book I would give in a second to a young fan of martial arts, with ninja dreams...

Which doesn't describe me. There are many, many pages describing violent encounters, and traps, and wall climbing, etc, and I, um, skimmed some of the fight scenes, after the second or third shuriken throw...Yet the book is not without some character development. Moonshadow's training is seen in flashbacks, making him more than just a ninja warrior machine. Not tremendously much more, but enough so that I was engaged enough in his story to keep the pages turning. I would have been even more engaged had Snowhawk gotten more page time; she never quite came alive for me.

(so one walks away from the computer and, lo! The house guest finishes it!

What Charlotte really means to say: If you have a boy reader who wants to read action scenes, give him this novel - and watch him enjoy it!

If your tastes run toward more emotionally dense ninja fiction with fewer fight scenes and more characterization, you may want to give this one a pass.

Here's another review, at The Fourth Musketeer.

(ARC received from the publisher at ALA Midwinter)

After ALA...given added interest by the YA winners

I went back to ALA on Monday...all a quiver to fill my bags with books and to meet folks. And indeed, I came home with just as many books as I could manage--one more and I would have ended up whimpering in the Metro corridors (though there were still books that I would have liked, that chance didn't send my way. And there weren't any ARCs of the new Bartimaeus book...). I didn't get a chance to meet many people (sigh), but I sure enjoyed seeing the people I did manage to hook up with (Pam, Tanita, Kelly, and Laura). And Tanita will be staying here at my mother's with us for two days, which will be lovely.

Now I just need to get reading, which is easier said than done, mainly because of the distractions of summertime fun with the boys here at grandma's house, which make for a certain lack of concentrated quiet time...

Here's the added interest part--the short lists for Canada's Sunburst Award (Canada's big juried sci fi award) have been announced, and here are the YA books in contention:

Megan Crewe, Give Up the Ghost (Henry Holt)
Maureen Garvie, Amy By Any Other Name (Key Porter)
Hiromi Goto, Half World (Penguin)
Lesley Livingston, Wondrous Strange (HarperTeen)
Arthur Slade, The Hunchback Assignment (HarperCollins)

Of which I have read just one (Wondrous Strange). And never even heard of two (Amy and Half World). Oh well.

(thanks to Science Fiction Awards Watch for the heads up)

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

Greetings, all, and welcome to this week's gleenings of posts from around the blogs that are relevant to middle grade science fiction and fantasy. If I missed you, let me know!

Just by way of a starter, check out this post-apocalyptic lego diaroma (via io9)--fun with dystopia! (it actually looks a lot like my living room floor).

Breaking News: The date for this fall's KidLit con is Saturday, October 23, 2010. More here, at the Kidlit Con 2010 blog...

Reviews:

The Celestial Globe, by Marie Rutkoski at IMCPL Kids

Chantel's Quest for the Enchanted Medallion, by Oliver Neubert’s at Alita.reads

Dark Life, by Kat Falls, at A Year of Reading and Bending Bookshelf.

The Familiars, by Adam Jay Epstein and Adam Jacobson, at Bookworming in the 21st Century.

Maddigan's Fantasia, by Margaret Mahy, at Charlotte's Library.

Moonshadow: Rise of the Ninja, by Simon Higgins, at The Fourth Musketeer.

Nieve, by Terry Griggs at Critique de Mr. Chompchomp.

The Owl Keeper by Christine Brodien-Jones at Throwing Up Words.

The Pyramid of Souls (Magickeepers, book 2), by Erica Kirov, at Lori Calabrese.

The Queen Elizabeth Story, by Rosemary Sutcliff, at Charlotte's Library.

The Red Pyramid, by Rick Riordan, at Beyond Books.

The Secret Lives of Princesses, by Philippe Lechermeier, at A Year of Reading.

Slime Squad, by Steve Cole, at The Book Zone (for boys)

Space Crime Conspiracy, by Gareth P. Jones, at Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books

The Water Seeker, by Kimberly Willis Holt at Kid Lit and at Becky's Book Reviews (I asked Tasha of Kid Lit if this was fantasy, and she answered thus "It does have a fantasy element, less about the dowsing and more about the continued presence of the dead mother in many people’s lives and through flocks of birds. It is subtle but there."

The Witches Guide to Cooking With Children, by Keith McGowan at Welcome to My Tweendom.
The World Above, by Carmeron Dokey, at The Compulsive Reader.

At Books4yourkids it was Doll Week! Here are the books that took part, with the links taking your to the post on that particular book: The Doll's House, by Rumer Godden, The Doll House Fairy, written and illustrated by Jane Ray, Big Susan, written and illustrated by Susan Orton Jones, Fanny, written and illustrated by Hollie Hobbie, The Doll People, by Ann M. Martin and Laura Goodwin, Hitty, Her First Hundred Years, by Rachel Field.


Interviews: Deva Fagan (The Marvelous Misadventures of Prunella Bogthistle) at The Enchanted Inkpot. Katie Hine (Guardian) at Jane's Ride.

And other fun things:

Hilary Wagner (Nightshade City) writes about writing creepy for kids at Teresa Frohock

Katherine Langrish offers more of her nice fat posts--this time a two part series on fantasy worlds. Here's Part 1 (three classics), and here's Part 2 (modern writers)


Nick James grades kid's fantasy book to movie adaptations at The Spectacle


Jenny (of Jenny's Books) will be celebrating Diana Wynne Jones Week August 1-7, and invites us to join her!

The Locus Awards--Leviathan wins best YA

The Locus Awards, for books published in the previous calendar year, have been announced-- And the best young adult novel is: LEVIATHAN, by Scott Westerfeld

The others on the short list:

The Hotel Under the Sand, Kage Baker
Going Bovine, Libba Bray
Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins
Liar, Justine Larbalestier

This award is determined by a poll of Locus Magazine's subscribers....I think that I would have picked Leviathan too, if these books were all I had to choose from. But my favorite YA sci fi/fantasy of last year (to the best of my recollection) would probably be The Demon's Lexicon, by Sarah Rees Brennan. Leviathan was very good indeed (here's my review), but didn't quite fill me with the joy of being alive and having more pages left to turn, the way one's favorite books do...

Which one of the short list would you have voted for?

In which an INFP goes to ALA

I am a rather extreme example of an INFP (according to the Myers-Briggs personality type scheme of things), and truly, my life is just one long stream of INFP-ness. Including my day yesterday, in which I left home for Washington DC and the summer meeting of the American Library Association.

I is for introvert. Introverts tend to become very tired when they spend lots of time with other people...by the time I actually got to the Exhibits at ALA, I had spent six hours travelling with my Dear Boys (we're staying at my mother's house). Six hours in which both of them essentially wanted to sit on my lap, so by the time we arrived, crawling into a corner and hiding seemed like an excellent idea. But instead, the moment we got safely to Arlington, my mother drove back into DC, to get to the last twenty minutes of the exhibits, and then I went over to the SCBWI get together. A large group of strangers is not introvert heaven, and I questioned my sanity, but happily I met some old blogging friends, and met some new ones, and so was glad I went.

N is for intuitive. As opposed to S people, who rely on facts, common sense, and past experience, N people trust vaguely that their intuition will direct them. N people tend to arrive at exhibit halls having left their lists and maps at home by accident, and trust to the fates that they will be led in the direction of the books they want. This doesn't work very well, because sometimes one forgets the name and publisher of the book one really wants (the new Baritmaeus one) and feels futile. However, I did come home with a nice little bag of arcs, including Pegasus, so that was ok.

F is for feeling vs thinking. Which is to say, I am not so very good at approaching situations with calm logic (see above). More crazed, emotional squirrel than calm, thoughtful book reviewer. I tried to hide this--because what publisher wants to give ARCs to crazed squirrels? But I don't know if it worked.

P is for perception. The main distinction in this fourth category is whether a person values closure, or open-endness; the realization, or the expectation. I have spent the past week in just a giddiness of happy anticipation, and so, even if I hadn't gone last night, and hadn't gotten any books or met new people, I would have gotten my money's worth just from how much I looked forward to it.

I don't know when I'll make it back into town...My mother has a full weekend of bird banding, and although I'm very proud that my mom is an ace bird bander, it does mean that she isn't home to keep an eye on the kids. And, trying hard to think logically, based on past experience, it probably would be Very Stressful to take the boys into town with me today....so I'll probably just spend the day anticipating tomorrow afternoon, when I'll be able (d.v.) to go back....maybe even with a list (ha ha--sarcasm laugh).

Neil Gaiman has just become the 1st author to win the Carnegie, the Newbery, and the Cybils

The little Graveyard Book that could has done it again, winning Britian's prestigious Carnegie Medal -- read more about it here in the Guardian.

The longer it becomes since I've read it, the less sure I am just why it is so hugely awarded (it also picked up a Hugo for best novel, which was a pretty tremendous nod to a book written for children). I remember clearly not liking the bad vulture-type spirit things with presidents' names (what did they add?) ; I remember liking very much the bit where the ghosts go out to dance, and I remember liking Bod, and the "boy growing up in graveyard" part of the book, but I don't quite remember it as being so very, very good as all that....Oh well. Maybe it's time for a re-read...