11/7/11

Welcome to Non-fiction Monday!

Welcome to this week's Nonfiction Monday! Please leave your link in the comments, and I'll update periodically.
My own contribution is a book that would make the perfect gift for the young math aficionado on your list--Algebra & Geometry: Anything but Square!, a Basher Science book written by Dan Green, and illustrated in true Basher style (Kingfisher, 2011).

This, like all the Basher books, is a small but solid, square paperback--which I mention because I find it a very appealing size and shape! And like all Basher books, the concepts are illustrated by very cute, manga-esqe personifications of what is being described.

In Algebra and Geometry, a gang of enthusiastic math concepts--ranging from the simple Zero (a happy bubble of a fellow) to the more esoteric imaginary numbers (represented by a pirate) explain themselves to the reader. I have to confess this is the first time anyone has ever bothered to explain binary to me (or perhaps the first time I paid attention!). I especially liked the little angles doing their exercises, and the coordinates rocketing around the graph!

This isn't one for the kid just beginning math--some concept of negative numbers, graphing, and basic geometry helps one appreciate the zany characters and their role in math. But for the 11 year old (or so) math geek--great fun!

And now, the round-up!

Ms. Yingling looks at In the Bag! Margaret Knight Wraps it Up! by Monica Kulling--a biography of a 19th century inventor.

Zoe at Playing by the Book has The Fabulous Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont, by Victoria Griffith.

At NC Teacher Stuff, you will find Earthquake in Haiti, by Miriam Aronin.

And at Shelf-employed, you can find Franklin and Winston: A Christmas That Changed the World, by Douglas Wood.

The Nonfiction Detectives
offer If You Lived Here: Houses of the World
by Giles Laroche.

Balloons Over Broadway: the True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade, by Melissa Sweet is reviewed at Jama's Alphabet Soup, and Melissa Sweet stops by to chat (there's also a giveaway)

I was so taken with this picture of the Nantucket Sea Monster balloon included in Jama's post that I had to share it:


Amanda, at A Patchwork of Books, also loved Balloons over Broadway!

And so did Lynn and Cindy at Bookends! (I am now determined to get a hold of a copy myself.....)

Abby, at Abby the Librarian, has America is Under Attack: September 11, 2001: The Day the Towers Fell, by Don Brown

The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery, by Steve Sheinkin, can be found at Wrapped in Foil

And Jean Little Library is host to On Parade: the Hidden World of Animals in Entertainment, by Rob Laidlaw.

At Check it Out, there's Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People by Monica Brown

And at A Curious Thing you can find two short and simple ones-- Gator or Croc? by Allan Fowler and Koala by Edana Eckar

Flesh and Blood So Cheap, by Albert Marrin, is today's non-fiction pick at Reads for Keeps, and you can also find it here at Chicken Spaghetti.

The Fourth Musketeer features Brother Sun, Sister Moon: Saint Francis of Assisi's Canticle of the Creatures, by Katherine Paterson

Gathering Books has Harlem, a poem written by Walter Dean Myers.

Doret, aka TheHappyNappyBookseller, has Black & White, by Larry Dane Brimner.

At Books Beside My Bed you'll find Elephant Talk, by Ann Downer

And Stuff that Scares the Pants Off You, by Glenn Murphy, can be found at Geo Librarian

Wild About Nature features African Animal Alphabet, by Beverly and Dereck Joubert.

Two books by Hugh Brewster --Dieppe: Canada's Darkest Day of World War II, and Prisoner of Dieppe: World War II, Alistair Morrison, Occupied France, 1942 are featured today at Apples With Many Seeds.

Shirley at Simply Science looked at 3-D Theater Rainforest, and 3-D Theater Ocean.

At Biblio File you can take a look at The Many Faces of George Washington, by Carla Killough McClafferty

At Picture Book of the Day is Arlington: The Story of Our Nation's Cemetery, and at Chapter Book of the Day is Secret American Places: From UFO Crash Sites to Government Hideouts.

Do I Need It? Or Do I Want It? : Making Budget Choices, is the featured book at All About the Books With Janet Squires.

11/6/11

My Chronicle Books Happy Haul-idays list!

I have just done my Christmas shopping--in a manner of speaking!

Chronicle Books has just announced that Happy Haul-idays is here again, and that means I just spent 500 imaginary dollars, filling my shopping cart. Such fun! And maybe I will be the lucky blogger who wins....and I'd get to pick a lucky commenter to win them too!

But wait, there's more! If I win, a charity of my choice gets $500 worth of books too! That's a hard one, almost as hard as picking the books...so many good ones. But I think I would have to go with the E*** S**** Public Library, right down the street from me (name cleverly disguised so stalkers (such as there are) can't find me). I am, after all, the president of the Friends, and work hard for every $500 we raise (three more book sales till solar panel planning starts!)

Here's my list. Only four of the books are for me, because I am beautifully unselfish, even when spending money that isn't real! :)

A Butterfly Is Patient

A Butterfly Is Patient






Animal Rummy

Animal Rummy






<span class=

Blinkybugs!






Animals Marco Polo Saw

Animals Marco Polo Saw






Animals Charles Darwin Saw

Animals Charles Darwin Saw






The Truth about Dangerous Sea Creatures

The Truth about Dangerous Sea Creatures






<span class=

Paleo Sharks






<span class=

MoMA My Museum






Dan Eldon: Safari As a Way of Life

Dan Eldon: Safari As a Way of Life






Show and Tell

Show and Tell






Vincent's Colors

Vincent's Colors






Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site






Somewhat Stationary Cats: A Cat Stationery Collection

Somewhat Stationary Cats: A Cat Stationery Collection






Le <span class=

Le Japon Artistique






Everything Flowers

Everything Flowers






Drawing Nature: A Journal

Drawing Nature: A Journal






Sis Boom <span class=

Sis Boom Flexi Journal






<span class=

Moleskine® Classic Hard Cover Plain Extra Small






<span class=

Moleskine® Sketchbook Large






This Is NPR

This Is NPR






Farm Together Now

Farm Together Now






The Beatles Anthology

The Beatles Anthology






Handheld Pies

Handheld Pies







Dawn of the Bunny Suicides

Dawn of the Bunny Suicides






The Conductor

The Conductor






Little Owl

Little Owl






Snow Baby

Snow Baby

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

Some of us (ie, me) have been distracted this week by all the necessary tasks that must be accomplished ere winter arrives to stay (windows with glass in them make a house so much more cozy). Happily, others have been busily posting away, and here are the middle grade sci fi/fantasy posts that I found in my blog reading this week! Please let me know if I missed yours; please feel free to let me know during the week when you've posted something!

The Reviews:

The Aviary, by Kathleen O'Dell, at Good Books and Good Wine

Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu, at Libri Dilectio

Celia's Robot, by Margaret Chang, at Library Chicken

The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, by Chris Van Allsberg et al., at 100 Scope Notes

The Death of Yorik Mortwell, by Stephen Messer, at Project Mayhem (also a giveaway)

Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost, by Cornelia Funke, at Just Deb

Goliath, by Scott Westerfeld, at Fantasy Literature

Guys Read: Thriller, edited by Jon Scieszka, at Literary Asylum

Icefall, by Matthew Kirby, at BC Book Talk

Keeper, by Kathi Appelt, at Library Chicken

The Last Dragon, by Jane Yolen, at Wandering Librarians

The Last Dragonslayer, by Jasper Fforde, at Beyond Books

Liesl and Po, by Lauren Oliver, at The Reading Date

Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes, by Jonathan Auxier, at Great Kid Books

Return of the Dapper Men, by Jim McCann, at the excelsior file

Son of Neptune, by Rick Riordan, at Reading Vacation

The True Meaning of Smekday, by Adam Rex, at slatebreakers

A True Princess, by Diane Zahler, at Charlotte's Library

Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George, at Bookworm1858

The Unwanteds, by Lisa McMann, at One Librarian's Book Reviews

The Wikkeling, by Steven Arntson, at Challenging the Bookworm

Wildewood, by Colin Meloy, at books4yourkids

The Wonderful Garden, by E. Nesbit, at Tor

A Year Without Autumn, by Liz Kessler, at books4yourkids

Zita the Spacegirl, by Ben Hatke, at Sonderbooks

Authors and Interviews

Anna Staniszewski (My Very UnFairy Tale Life) at From the Mixed Up Files, Literary Rambles, and at The Enchanted Inkpot

John Flanagan (Ranger's Apprentice) at Cracking the Cover

Carmen Deedy (The Cheshire Cheese Cat) at James Preller's Blog

Dawn Larimore (Ivy and the Meanstalk) at Kitchentangents

Other Good Stuff:

Vintage covers of the Phantom Tollbooth, at Flavorwire

Stacy Whitman (editor of Tu Books) talks about the villain point of view

At Deva Fagan's website you can find a lovely character gallery of the folks who populate her forthcoming book, Circus Galacticus.

For Halloween, Barnes and Noble created a video for Neil Gaimen's reading of part of The Thirteen Clocks, by James Thurber.

I'd love to hop over to London to see this exhibit at the Museum of Childhood, on the relationship between fold tradition and childhood.

Not related to mg sff in particular, but still a fun thing--the sign-ups for this year's Book Blogger Holiday Swap are up and running!

11/3/11

A True Princess, by Diane Zahler

A True Princess, by Diane Zahler (Harper Collins, 2011, middle grade, 182 pages)

As far back as she can remember, Lilia has never had a good night's sleep. Because of this, and because of a tendency to day dream, she adds little value to the household of the farmer who took her in when she she was found as a baby, floating down the river in a curious basket.

But the farmer's own two children (Kai, close in age to ten or eleven year old Lilia, and Karina, who's five years older) love her, and so, when the farmer's new wife decides to send Lilia to work for the brutal miller, the three children run away together, on a quest to find Lilia's true family.

Their journey takes them into a mysterious woods, where the fairy king holds court, and there, through an unfortunate mischance, Kai attracts the attention of the king's daughter. And there in the enchanted woods he will remain, unless Lilia can find the lost cloak clasp of the leader of the Wild Hunt, hidden somewhere in the castle of the human king.

Lilia and Karina happily have no trouble getting work as servants in the castle. There the king and queen are trying to find a true princess to marry the prince...and fortunately for all concerned, Karina is beautiful enough so that he falls in love with her, and Lilia is lucky enough to have friends of her own--the royal falcons--who help her in her time of need, and all ends happily with a true princess being found, Kai being freed, and Karina's beauty winning her the prince.

It is a pleasant fairy tale retelling, one that should please nine and ten year old lovers of princess tales very much. That target audience will doubtless be pleased as all get out by the romance and fortuitous happenstances and happy ending, and enjoy the elements of the fairy tale, and added fantastical elements like the Wild Hunt, the household elf, and the mysterious falcons.

It's not so much one for grown-up readers, though. I thought Zahler did a good job making the inherently absurd princess and the pea story into something readable (although the royal sleep pickiness wasn't exactly explained). The element of the Snow Queen--the human boy needing to be rescued from enchantment--worked less well, mainly because the fairy princess was simply spoiled and petulant, and not a force of numinously terrifying power.

What bothered me most, however, was that the prince--so kind, helpful, and friendly--was never asked for help in finding the lost clasp. It would have made things a lot simpler ! And it was awfully convenient that Karina was so beautiful that she attracted the prince's attentions (although she seemed like a nice person, too, in a not particularly fleshed out way).

So--yes for the young reader, but not one that I'll add to my own collection.

11/2/11

Tomorrow's Guardian, by Richard Denning, for (this Wednesday's) Timeslip Tuesday

Tomorrow's Guardian by Richard Denning (Mercia Books, 2010, middle grade/YA, 361 pages).

Tom Oakley wonders if he is going mad when time begins to play tricks on him, replaying small bits of his life, and the nightmares--of an English army officer dying in the Zulu War, a woman burning in the Great Fire of London, and a British soldier drowning in a U-boat battle in WW II--start haunting his sleep. But the truth is stranger than he could imagine. Tom is no ordinary 11 year old English school boy; instead, he is a time walker of potentially phenomenal ability. And the mysterious Hourglass Institute wants to recruit him.

Tom is given a choice. He can join the Hourglass Institute's struggle to keep time safe from those who would destroy it, or, after doing three small jobs, he could renounce his powers and go back to normal life. The three small jobs, however, are rescuing the people whose deaths he had been dreaming of, and bringing them back to the present, where their own time bending talents can be put to use.

Not only is this a rather dangerous undertaking, but a sinister man is bent on stopping him. Because of this man's machinations, when Tom does accomplish his tasks, going home is no longer an option. Instead, his is given the choice between saving his parents from an impossible tragedy that killed them before he was born, or saving our reality from one in which the Nazis won WW II...a reality that exists side by side with our own.

It's not the most original plot line (especially to those who've read TimeRiders, by Alex Scarrow, which also features characters saved from death, and an alternate Nazi world), but it is original enough in detail so that I didn't find this a problem (and I think Denning does a much more convincing job with the whole difficult, paradoxical business of time travel!). By the time Tom was enmeshed in his struggle with the alternate Nazis, I was hooked. That being said, it took me a while before this happened--I found the beginning somewhat awkward, and, like Tom, wasn't sure what was happening, or if I cared. In the end, however, I most certainly did!

I think my reservations come from a feeling that the book could have been more tightly edited. Mercia Books appears to have been created to publish Denning's books, which is fine, and although there weren't any of the typos and blunders that are sadly found in many self published books, I did feel that the heavy hand of an outside editor would have been useful. The writing didn't always work for me, and the same points are made a bit too often. Likewise, I wasn't convinced by Denning's characterizations of the three individuals Tom saved from the past; they seemed like stereotypes. For instance, here's the Victorian army officer:

"Indeed, I have not met him either," said Edward, "but from what little Mary told me just now, he does seem a villain. Not sure what his game is, but it does not sound as if he would play fair." (page 220)

Even though my feelings about the book are mixed, as I said above, by the last hundred pages, I was gripped by the excitement of all the disparate threads coming together; I found Nazi-victorious alternate reality particularly compelling. I'd hand this to a fan of TimeRider in a second!

Tomorrow's Guardian is the first book of The Hourglass Institute trilogy. Book two, Yesterday's Treasures came out this year, and book three, Today's Sacrifice, is set to be released in the spring (2012).

Other thoughts, which I'm giving in more detail than usual, because of my own ambivalence:

The Bookbag: The major success here – and it is a really major one – is that author Richard Denning, after a slightly slow first few chapters, keeps the action fast and furious for the other 400 or so pages of the book....The other thing that really impressed me about the book was the way the time travel was handled"

At Blogcritics: "There is danger and cunning inherent in each incident, keeping the action sharp and engrossing."

At SF Site: "There is something winningly ordinary and decent about Tom. Denning does not fall into either trap of over-sophistication or over-sentimentalisation, or trying to be self-consciously cool or down with the kids. This ordinariness is a great strength. This book is at times rather ploddingly written and will not change the face of books, whether children's or time-travel literature, but it will beguile a young mind for some hours."

At The Squee: "The bits I think I prefer most of all, though, were the visits to historical events. Denning clearly knows his stuff, and manages to set the scenes very well. It's particularly in these parts where the book excels."

At Confessions of a Bookworm: "One of the things that immediately caught my attention when reading this book is how quickly the storyline progressed beyond the initial plot. As I began reading, I had assumed the book would focus entirely on the rescue missions, drawing them out into lengthy adventures that would fill the book. That, however, was not the case and the storyline progressed into an even larger plot before I was even halfway through the book."

New releases of fantasy and science fiction for kids and teens--the first half of Nov. 2011 edition

Here are the new releases of fantasy and science fiction for kids and teens coming out from the first to the fourteenth of November. My informtion comes from Teens Read Too, and the blurbs from Goodreads/Amazon.

ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE GRADE


AT FIRST BITE by Ruth Ames "Ashlee Lambert, the queen bee from THIS TOTALLY BITES, has had a tough time ever since she became a full-fledged vampire. But now that she's moving from New York City to sunny Los Angeles, she's excited to make a fresh new start.

But Ashlee never counted on a clique of popular mean girls or awful sunburns. Keeping her huge secret is suddenly harder than ever. And when something -- or someone -- starts attacking people at her school, Ashlee realizes she's not the only vampire in town. It's up to Ashlee to figure out who's behind the attacks before her cover is blown forever!"

THE CHALLENGE OF SAMUKAI: NINJAGO GRAPHIC NOVEL by Greg Farshtey "The “Masters of Spinjitsu” come to Papercutz in their first graphic novel appearance written by Greg Farshtey, the hit force behind the LEGO BIONICLE series. Under the tutelage of their master Sensei Wu, the “chosen four” ninjas Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane must learn to use their elemental powers of fire, ice, lightning and earth. Their mission: defeat Sensei Wu’s evil brother Garmadon and his army of skeleton warriors before they can take over the world!"

THE CURSE OF THE PONY VAMPIRES: FETLOCKS HALL by Babette Cole "Young girls who love ponies and magic will not be able to resist the exciting adventures of Penny Simms. Set in an equestrian boarding school, Penny and her best friend Pip encounter a group of pony vampires. Can Penny manage to rid the school of unwelcome guests?"

THE DEAD GENTLEMAN by Matthew Cody "The dead are up and walking, and the Gentleman is at the door...

Featuring a kid hero, time travel, and otherworld portals in unexpected places (maybe there are monsters under your bed), The Dead Gentleman is a wild ride between parallel New York City timestreams—1901 and today. Eleven-year-old Tommy Learner is a street orphan and an unlikely protege to the Explorers, a secret group dedicated to exploring portals—the hidden doorways to other worlds. But while investigating an attercop (man-eating spider) in the basement of an old hotel, Tommy is betrayed—and trapped. And it's then that his world collides with that of modern-day Jezebel Lemon, who—until the day she decides to explore her building's basement—had no bigger worries than homework and boys. Now, Jezebel and Tommy must thwart the Dead Gentleman—a legendary villain whose last unconquered world is our own planet Earth, a realm where the dead stay dead. Until now. Can two kids put an end to this ancient evil and his legions of Gravewalkers?"

THE ENCHANTED PONY: FETLOCKS HALL by Babette Cole "Young girls who love ponies and magic will not be able to resist the exciting adventures of Penny Simms. Set in an equestrian boarding school, Penny and her best friend Pip encounter a world of mystical horses. Can Penny manage to save Pip's parents from an enchanted spell?"

EXTRATERRESTRIAL COMPENDIUM by Pat Lee "Just in time for the approach of the reputedly transformative year 2012, a comprehensive collection of extraterrestrial life-forms as visualized and vividly-rendered by Pat Lee of Transformers, DC, and Marvel comics fame. Within the UFO and exopolitics communities, there is both debate and consensus about many of the "known" extraterrestrial races, but seldom have they been revealed in this level of detail. To the believer, the curious, or just open-minded, the Extraterrestrial Compendium provides fuel for thought."

FELINE CHARM: POCKET CATS by Kitty Wells "The third Pocket Cat has come to life, and this time the problem that needs solving is in Maddy's ballet class. Ollie's tingling whiskers tell him that Maddy's best friend is about to give up on ballet, even though she loves it. When Maddy uses her new magic power to boost Rachel's confidence, Rachel lands the star part in the ballet school's big show . . . and Maddy is desperately jealous. On opening night, Rachel needs the cat magic more than ever, but is Maddy strong enough to put her best friend first?"

THE GRAVE ROBBERS OF GENGHIS KHAN: CHILDREN OF THE LAMP by P.B. Kerr
"Djinn twins John and Philippa are off on another enchanting, and dangerous, adventure in the last book in the bestselling Children of the Lamp series. As volcanoes begin erupting all over the world, spilling golden lava, the twins must go on a hunt for the wicked djinn who wants to rob the grave of the great Genghis Khan. Can the twins stop this latest disaster before the world is overwhelmed?

Join John and Philippa, their parents, Uncle Nimrod, and Groanin as they must defeat an evil more powerful than any they've ever faced before. . . ."

HAILEY TWITCH AND THE WEDDING GLITCH by Lauren Barnholdt "The next installment in this hilarious and heartwarming series featuring a seven-year-old mastermind who tries really hard not to blame her invisible friend for getting her into heaps of delicious trouble. Hailey's magic sprite, Maybelle, has finally gotten control of her magic! Does that mean that Maybelle no longer needs Hailey? As if that's not enough to worry Hailey, now she's got her hands full being a flower girl in her aunt's wedding."

HOW TO BREAK A DRAGON'S HEART: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON by Cressida Cowell "Stranded on the exceptionally dangerous, and possibly haunted, Beach of the Broken Heart, Hiccup must face Ug the Uglithug and complete the Impossible Task--or die trying. Along the way, he'll have to battle Berserks, dodge Scarers, and save Fishlegs from being fed to the Beast, all while being hunted down by an old enemy with a dark secret about the mysterious Lost Throne. With Toothless by his side, and time to stage his rescue running out, what's a Hero to do?"

LITTLE WOMEN AND ME by Lauren Baratz-Logsted "Emily is sick and tired of being a middle sister. So when she gets an assignment to describe what she'd change about a classic novel, Emily pounces on Little Women. After all, if she can't change things in her own family, maybe she can bring a little justice to the March sisters. (Kill off Beth? Have cute Laurie wind up with Amy instead of Jo? What was Louisa May Alcott thinking?!) But when Emily gets mysteriously transported into the 1860s world of the book, she discovers that righting fictional wrongs won't be easy. And after being immersed in a time and place so different from her own, it may be Emily-not the four March sisters-who undergoes the most surprising change of all. Lauren Baratz-Logsted's winning confection will appeal to fans of Little Women as well as anyone who enjoys a modern twist on an old favorite."

MADAME PAMPLEMOUSSE AND THE ENCHANTED SWEET SHOP by Rupert Kingfisher "Set in Paris in the wintertime, beloved bakers Madeleine and Madame Pamplemousse return in a deliciously sweet, fairy tale-esque adventure. Madeleine is thrilled to make a new friend, Madame Bonbon, owner of an enchanted sweet shop where the candy itself has magical powers. But Madame Bonbon is actually someone else in disguise—an old enemy from Madame Pamplemousse’s past who has come to Paris seeking revenge…"

MOUSENET by Prudence Breitrose "When ten-year-old Megan helps her uncle invent the Thumbtop, the world’s smallest computer, mice are overjoyed, and they want one for every mouse hole.

The Big Cheese, leader of the Mouse Nation, has orders: follow that girl—even if it means high-tailing it to Megan’s new home on the other side of the country. While Megan struggles as the new girl, the mice watch, waiting for their chance. But when they tell Megan the biggest secret in the history of the world—mice have evolved, and they need her help—she isn’t sure anyone will believe her. With all of Mouse Nation behind her, Megan could become the most powerful girl alive, but just how will she create a Thumptop for every mouse?"

MY VERY UNFAIRY TALE LIFE by Anna Staniszewski "You know all those stories that claim fairies cry sparkle tears and elves travel by rainbow? They're lies. All lies." Twelve-year-old Jenny has spent the last two years as an adventurer helping magical kingdoms around the universe. But it's a thankless job, leaving her no time for school or friends. She'd almost rather take a math test than rescue yet another magical creature! When Jenny is sent on yet another mission, she has a tough choice to make: quit and have her normal life back, or fulfill her promise and go into a battle she doesn't think she can win."

THE OUTCASTS: BROTHERBAND CHRONICLES by John Flanagan "They are outcasts. Hal, Stig, and the others - they are the boys the others want no part of. Skandians, as any reader of Ranger's Apprentice could tell you, are known for their size and strength. Not these boys. Yet that doesn't mean they don't have skills. And courage - which they will need every ounce of to do battle at sea against the other bands, the Wolves and the Sharks, in the ultimate race. The icy waters make for a treacherous playing field . . . especially when not everyone thinks of it as playing. John Flanagan, author of the international phenomenon Ranger's Apprentice, creates a new cast of characters to populate his world of Skandians and Araluens, a world millions of young readers around the world have come to know and admire. Full of seafaring adventures and epic battles, Book 1 of The Brotherband Chronicles is sure to thrill readers of Ranger's Apprentice while enticing a whole new generation just now discovering the books."

SET ME FREE: TOMORROW GIRLS by Eva Gray "In a terrifying future world, four girls must depend on each other if they want to survive.

Maddie is ready for action. Louisa, Evelyn, and Rosie helped rescue her from the Alliance's grasp, and she's learned an enormous, game-changing secret: her mother is the leader of the Resistance!

But reuniting with her long-absent mother is not going to be easy. As Maddie and her friends set out to find the Resistance headquarters, they are relentlessly pursued by the Alliance. Worst of all, members of their group have gone missing in the middle of rubble-strewn Chicago.

Maddie and her friends have earned their battle scars, courage, and strength. But at this darkest hour, will they be able to make it back to their families . . . and freedom."

SNOW IN SUMMER: FAIREST OF THEM ALL by Jane Yolen "With her black hair, red lips, and lily-white skin, Summer is as beautiful as her father's garden. And her life in the mountains of West Virginia seems like a fairy tale; her parents sing and dance with her, Cousin Nancy dotes on her, and she is about to get a new baby brother. But when the baby dies soon after he's born, taking Summer's mama with him, Summer's fairy-tale life turns grim. Things get even worse when her father marries a woman who brings poisons and magical mirrors into Summer's world. Stepmama puts up a pretty face, but Summer suspects she's up to no good - and is afraid she's powerless to stop her.

This Snow White tale filled with magic and intrigue during the early twentieth century in Appalachia will be hard to forget."

SOUND BENDER by Lin Oliver & Theo Baker "After their parents' plane goes down over the ocean, Leo and his brother Hollis are forced into the custody of their rich and enigmatic uncle Crane, a dealer of rare and probably illicit antiques. But almost as soon as he's settled--or as close to settled as he can get in the bleak Brooklyn mansion, surrounded by his uncle's dubious staff--Leo receives a mysterious package his father put together long ago, to be opened on his 13th birthday. With the package, Leo discovers he has an amazing ability. He can hear the history of any object by touching it. But when Leo finds a strange helmet buried among his uncle's artifacts, and hears a pained cry coming from it, a mystery unravels as to its origin."

SUCKED UNDER: MONSTRUM HOUSE by Z. Fraillon "Jasper McPhee pulled himself over the top of the icy wall. He landed lightly on his bare feet and rolled across the snowy ground, just dodging the swinging blades that whooshed from the tree tops. That was close, he thought. He shot a quick look at his watch. He had two minutes left to finish the combat course. He might just make it.

It's exam time at Monstrum House, and the top students in Jasper's year will be rewarded. They'll get to hunt a monster that lives at the bottom of the lake and likes to drown people for fun—so, maybe it's just as well that Jasper hasn't studied. Life's never easy when you're a student at the Monstrum house."

TAKEN OVER: MONSTRUM HOUSE by Z. Fraillon "It was a stupid thing to do. A very, very stupid thing to do. Jasper McPhee wished he hadn’t done it. He wished he hadn’t even thought about doing it. But he had. The stupid thought had scuttled into his head, and before he had a chance to shoo it back out, he had done it. And now he was in serious trouble.
Jasper has not had a good start to the year—the prefects are out to get him, he hasn't done his homework, and a bunch of vicious monsters are laying their eggs all over his school. Jasper and his friends need to stop the monsters' eggs from hatching before it's too late and they take over, but hunting these monsters is more dangerous than Jasper realizes. The hatchlings need to eat something, and it could be him!"

THE TWILIGHT CIRCUS: WOLVEN by Di Toft "Werewolves, vampires, furry little monsters: It's a three-ring circus of spooky!

After dodging mutant werewolves and mad scientists all summer, Nat and Woody have joined the Twilight Circus of Illusion, hoping it might bring them closer to Nat's fugitive dad or, just maybe, any surviving members of Woody's long-lost Wolven clan. But instead they end up in a stinking pile of peril! A pair of strange secret agents is sniffing out their every step, while underneath the big top the boys meet a brand-new batty batch of evil: a black widow vampire and her horrifying hive! Will they escape her sticky web so that they can search for the noble Wolven? And now that Nat has Wolven blood, too, how -- when?! -- is HE about to change?"

WE DINE WITH CANNIBALS: AN ACCIDENTAL ADVENTURE by C. Alexander London "When we last saw Oliver and Celia Navel, they had fallen into the clutches of Sir Edmund S. Titheltorpe-Schmidt III and were doomed to spend their entire summer vacation doing his deadly bidding.

In their second unwanted adventure, We Dine with Cannibals, Oliver and Celia will travel from the ruins of ancient temples to the shadowy forests of the Amazon. They'll need all their reality TV survival skills when they ride a llama, race the rapids, and even fly an airplane! If that's not enough excitement for you (it is decidedly too much excitement for Oliver and Celia Navel), they'll be forced to learn the proper etiquette for a cannibal feast and confront the strangest and most brutal rite of passage ever devised by human imagination: dodgeball."

THE WITCH'S REVENGE by D.A. Nelson "Two months after she saved the Eye of Lornish, a large white stone that prevents the magical kingdom of Mor from being discovered, Morag is adjusting to life in the secret northern kingdom. But dark dreams trouble her, and a series of unsolved robberies proves that even with the protection of her friends—Shona the dragon, Bertie the dodo, and Aldiss the rat—Morag is still not safe."

YOUNG ADULT

BRIMSTONE ANGELS: A FORGOTTEN REALMS NOVEL by Erin M. Evans
CROSSED by Ally Condie
DARK EDEN by Patrick Carman
DARK INSIDE by Jeyn Roberts
DARKER STILL: A NOVEL OF MAGIC MOST FOUL by Leanna Renee Hieber
DON'T EXPECT MAGIC by Kathy McCullough
EXTRAORDINARY*: THE TRUE STORY OF MY FAIRY GODPARENT, WHO ALMOST KILLED ME, AND CERTAINLY NEVER MADE ME A PRINCESS by Adam Selzer
FIRST DAY ON EARTH by Cecil Castellucci
IBOY by Kevin Brooks
LAST BREATH: THE MORGANVILLE VAMPIRES by Rachel Caine
LIAR'S MOON by Elizabeth C. Bunce
MIND'S EYE by Gillian Philip
THE PACKAGE: NOVE'S CURSE by Lisa Naraine
PAST CONTINUOUS by K. Ryer Breese
PRIZED: BIRTHMARKED by Caragh M. O'Brien

RECKONING: A STRANGE ANGELS NOVEL by Lili St. Crow
THE RIPPER: THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, STEFAN'S DIARIES by Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec
RISING TIDE by Anne Rooney
THE SPACE BETWEEN by Brenna Yovanoff
TIGER'S VOYAGE: THE TIGER'S CURSE by Colleen Houck
TOUCH: A DENAZEN NOVEL by Jus Accardo
UNISON SPARK by Andy Marino
WITCH HAZEL: VOODOO ISLAND by Kevin Buell







Waiting on Wednesday--Little Women and Me

I am always looking out for time travel stories, in as much as I post about one every Tuesday (or sometimes Wednesday, as will be the case this week). Here's one that's coming out in just a few days, that I'm really looking forward to:

Little Women and Me by Lauren Baratz-Logsted (Bloomsbury, November 8, 320 pages)

"Emily is sick and tired of being a middle sister. So when she gets an assignment to describe what she'd change about a classic novel, Emily pounces on Little Women. After all, if she can't change things in her own family, maybe she can bring a little justice to the March sisters. (Kill off Beth? Have cute Laurie wind up with Amy instead of Jo? What was Louisa May Alcott thinking?!) But when Emily gets mysteriously transported into the 1860s world of the book, she discovers that righting fictional wrongs won't be easy. And after being immersed in a time and place so different from her own, it may be Emily-not the four March sisters-who undergoes the most surprising change of all. Lauren Baratz-Logsted's winning confection will appeal to fans of Little Women as well as anyone who enjoys a modern twist on an old favorite."

This seems to be one written with fans of Little Women in mind, and since I can practically recite it from memory (favorite line, just because I like Amy best--"I'm glad mine's blue"), I fit the bill beautifully. I enjoyed seeing the March sisters from the perspective of twentieth century kids in The Time Garden, by Edward Eager...and I'm looking forward to meeting them again!

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

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