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

Here's what I found in my blog reading this week of interest to fans of middle grade sci fi (not there's ever much of that) and fantasy! I am thinking less clearly than usual--sleep-over birthday party last night, and as I type five small boys are having a pillow fight of much loudness...so do let me know if I misspelled your name or missed your post!

The Reviews:

The Battle of the Labyrinth, by Rick Riordan, at Fyrefly's Book Blog

Chronal Engine, by Greg Leitich Smith, at BooksYALove

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

The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Ghost Knight, by Cornelia Funke, at Charlotte's Library

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, by at Emily's Reading Room, There's a Book, and A Backwards Story

Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms, by Lissa Evans, at Cracking the Cover

The Humming Room, by Ellen Potter, at A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Teacozy (arguably not fantasy, but I've been counting it...)

Icefall, by Matthew Kirby, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

Legends of Zita the Space Girl, by Ben Hatke, at That Blog Belongs to Emily Brown!

The Mapmaker and the Ghost, by Sarvenaz Tash, at That's Swell

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny-Detectives Extraordinaire, by Polly Horvath, at GreenBeanTeenQueen

Neversink, by Barry Wolverton, at Good Books and Good Wine, Bunbury in the Stacks, and books4yourkids

The Ogre of Ogglefort, by Eva Ibbotson, at Library Chicken

Ordinary Magic, by Caitlin Rubino-Bradway, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Peaceweaver, by Rebecca Barnhouse, at My Precious

Priscilla the Great: the Time-travelling Bullet, by Sybil Nelson, at Finding Wonderland

Renegade Magic, by Stephanie Burgis, at Patrick Samphire's Blog

The Secrets of Ordinary Farm, by Tad Williams and Deborah Beale, at Nayu's Reading Corner

The Storm Makers, by Jennifer E. Smith, at The Blog on the Hill

Twice Upon a Time, by James Riley, at Shannon Messenger

A World Without Heroes, by Brandon Mull (part 1) at The Brain Lair

Authors and Interviews:

Christopher Healy (The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom) at Literary Asylum and Kid Lit Frenzy

Sarvenaz Tash (The Mapmaker and the Ghost) at Bookyurt

James Kennedy (The Order of Odd-Fish) at Neverendingsearch (a post on author visits)

Other Good Stuff:

Those who, like Guardian columnist Tim Lott, want to escape from the cliche of pinkness in girls book, should check out this list at Fantastic Reads

The movie rights to The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom have been picked up by Fox Animation

Kate Coombs talks Ogres and Trolls at The Enchanted Inkpot (and also shares her own Diana Wynne Jones tribute at her blog).

Here are the YA books in the running for the Locus Awards, which include the older middle grade/YA Akata Witch:

• Planesrunner, Ian McDonald (Pyr)
• Akata Witch, Nnedi Okorafor (Viking)
• Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs (Quirk)
• The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, Catherynne M. Valente (Feiwel and Friends)
• Goliath, Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse; Simon & Schuster UK)

I've never been entirely sure what I think about Le Petit Prince (mainly because the logistics of the prince's life on his his tiny planet seemed undeveloped to me), but it's still interesting that two pages that didn't make it into the final version have been discovered (sadly, neither of them are concerned with planetary logistics).

And finally, next Saturday my boys and I will be going (d.v.) to the Watch City Seampunk Festival, in Waltham, MA. It is the first steampunk festival for us. Here's one event that I'm looking forward to:

M.T. Anderson, Gavin J. Grant and Kelly Link read from their stories in Steampunk! An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories (children’s & young adult event). 3:30 PM at Back Pages Books, 289 Moody Street, Waltham, MA.
http://www.backpagesbooks.com/steampunkanthology

So if you see me, with my two impeccably dressed (ha ha) and well-mannered (more likely) boys in tow, do say hi!

Cat Girl's Day Off, by Kimberly Pauley

Cat Girl's Day Off, by Kimberly Pauley (Tu Books, April 2012, 336 pages, middle grade/YA)

Natalie Ng suffers from invisible middle-child syndrome in spades. Sure, she can talk to cats (she lives in fear of her high school peers finding out and tormenting her with meows), but her talent seems a paltry one compared to the lavish gifts her two sisters have, and her parents (both with impressive paranormal talents of their own) barely seem to acknowledge her existence, let alone pay any attention to her science fair projects, etc.

But Natalie's gift is about to force her into the limelight. A movie is being made at her school (a Ferris Bueller's Day Off tribute), and her two best friends are star struck. When they force her to watch a clip of a celebrity blogger in action (with pink cat and little toy dog in tow), Natalie is shocked by what the cat is screaming:

"This is not my person! Save us! Stop barking and bite her, Fergie! Do I have to do everything myself? Stop laughing, you cretins! You there, fat man, drop the camera! Help us! She'll kill us all!" (page 22)

Nat's friends take her translation of the cat's desperate plea for help seriously...and the three of them are off to downtown Chicago! Kidnapping the cat from the swanky hotel where the false blogger is staying goes fairly smoothly (they leave the dog behind--Natalie doesn't, after all, speak dog). But that's just the first step in a wild race to uncover the Dark Truths of stolen identities, kidnapping, and even attempted cat murder! And all the while, the film must go on...and classes must be attended, parents deceived, and cats smuggled to school...and Natalie's glimmer of romance with the cute boy from trig class trig class seems to be doomed. The only hope for a happy ending is for Natalie to reveal her true self--Cat Girl.

The world of the book is very much our world, except that some people have paranormal gifts; this is taken for granted, and no explanations/detailed descriptions are offered. Although I'm curious about that side of things, I think this was a wise choice--it's not the point, and would have slowed things down.

As it is, Cat Girl's Day Off is fast and funny, with the spot-on cat comments that liberally sprinkle the pages being especially entertaining. Though Natalie is a well-developed character with genuine teenager-ish concerns, and people's lives actually are in danger, it's not a book that takes itself too seriously, which makes it a very pleasant break from reality.

Note on diversity: Tu Books publishes diverse sci fi/fantasy for kids and teens, and as is apparent from Natalie's picture on the cover, she's half-Chinese. One of her two buddies is gay, and half Asian himself, and although his character doesn't go much beyond wacky best-gay-guy friend, it's nice to have this additional bit of diversity.

Note on age of reader: Cat Girl's Day Off is ostensibly YA--it's a high school book. But it is one that a middle school kid could read without blushing--no sex, and only a bit of cat-fighty violence. In fact, it's a perfect one for the eleven or twelve year old cat-loving girl whose not quite ready for the steamy romance of most YA paranormal--this, instead, is a light-hearted mystery with a paranormal premise. Then in two more years (give or take) that reader can move on to Holly Black's Curse Workers series...

(disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher)

Kepler's Dream, by Juliet Bell

Those who have been reading my blog for a while might have noticed that I often gush about the appeal of books that feature big old houses full of stuff. Books in which a young central character (most often a girl) must explore the old house, optionally making a new friend/solving a mystery/becoming a happier person/reading some books herself along the way. Just such a book is the forthcoming Kepler's Dream, by Juliet Bell (Putnam, May 10, 2012, middle grade, 256 pages).

Eleven-year-old Ella is facing the most difficult summer of her life. Her mother is going a last-hope cancer treatment, and while she is hospitalized, Ella is to stay with her father's mother, an eccentric woman who is a stranger to her. Ella's parents divorced long-ago, and her father, a professional fishing guide, can't/won't taker her himself.

So Ella arrives at her grandmother's home in the middle of a south-western no-where. Ella's grandmother is not welcoming, nor is the rambling old house is full of Things...and the library full of precious and valuable books, located in its own separate building, is not a place where Ella is encouraged to spend time.

Heartsick with anxiety over her mother, lonely and unwanted, Ella is not a happy child. But as the days pass, she makes friends with the daughter of her grandmother's groundskeeper, Rosie, gradually learns how to get on with her grandmother, and thinks evil thoughts about a most unpleasant bibliovore who's come to admire the library. Still, she is bored and at loose ends.

But when the heart of her grandmother's book collection, an astronomically rare copy of Kepler's Dream, vanishes, Ella and Rosie are determined to solve the mystery, and through themselves into detective work. In so doing, not only do they learn the reason why this book is so precious, but they uncover the truth of a long-ago tragedy that affected both their families, and set the stage for healing.

So very much the sort of book that is my cup of tea. I appreciated the descriptions of the house, empathized with Ella's pain, and loved the library! It's a slowish sort of read, in that Events don't happen with Great Rapidity--instead there's lots of description, lots of introspection, lots of past events being thought about, some nice metaphor action. Even the mystery doesn't build to a Climax of Exciting Face-down with bad guys, being more a sort of after the fact realization. Which is more than just fine with me, but it won't be everyone's cup of tea. (I think this is one of those books whose cover will do an excellent job atracting those who will like it, and detering those who won't).

That concludes the impartial part of this post. I now move on to my own emotional reaction.

I liked the book very much, and enjoyed reading it, but didn't quite love it...and I've had to give considerable thought as to why. My reasons are all very personal, and don't count as measured critical thoughts about the book, but for what it's worth, here they are.

1. I have never been to the southwest. The books with big houses full of stuff that I love most are set in the sorts of foresty/gardeny places that are so familiar to me personally, and I love that part of them, maybe even more than I like reading about cabinets of curiosities. I don't feel at home encountering more arid fictional landscapes (and I think this is one reason why I've never been quite sure I know what I think about The Velvet Room, by Zilpha Keatly Snyder, which also takes place on a western ranch). I realize that this is most definitely my own (pathetic?) problem, and not the book's.

2. I wanted to find Ella more of a kindred spirit than she turned out to be. She is apparently a reader...so I was expecting her to be a READER, like young me. Sure, she reads, she's impressed by the library, she thinks Kepler's Dream is a beautiful book, but she never convinced me that she actually was happy to spend time finding comfort in books, that she needed books, especially given her mother's situation. This too could be my problem--I could have created false expectations viz reading-ness where none were intended.

3. Ella's grandmother was a complete jerk to her son (Ella's father) when he was a little boy and I cannot forgive her. She could try harder with Ella too. In her favor, she's quirky and interesting, and thaws a bit toward the end, but really? She's not nice. I know, intellectually, that there are people in the world who are not nice, but when I'm given a happy ending that includes someone who is supposed to be a newly-emergent sympathetic character, but one that I can't like because she was so mean to her little boy, I'm not going to love the book. This might not have bothered me so much when I was Ella's age, and didn't have little boys of my own.

4. The ultimate fate of Kepler's Dream gives book-collector me shelfware/insect damage anxiety.

In summary:

Did I enjoy reading it? Yes, lots. Did it make me want to read Kepler's Dream myself? Yes! Would I recommend it to fans of The Velvet Room in particular? Most certainly. Will I re-read it? Quite possibly someday I will.

Did I love it? Not quite, but I bet others may.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

Ghost Knight, by Cornelia Funke, for Timeslip Tuesday

Ghost Knight, by Cornelia Funke (Little Brown, May 1 2012, middle grade).

When 11 year old Jon Whitcroft is packed off to boarding school in Salisbury, England (a consequence of having made himself utterly disagreeable to his mother's boyfriend, aka "the Beard"), he is naturally hurt and angry. But soon Jon realizes that boarding school will bring a more pressing problem that will make the possibility of a new stepfather the least of his worries. And it's not the boarding school food, the close quarters, or the boring drone of his teachers.

Nope. Jon's new problem is a ghostly medieval warrior, Lord Stourton, who wants to kill him. Turns out Jon's ancestor was instrumental in getting Stourton hung (deservedly) back in the 16th century...and revenge is still sweet 500 years later.

Jon's classmates and teachers can't see this murderous ghost and his horrible henchman. But one person believes him--a girl named Ella, who has grown up with the ghosts of Salisbury. She leads him to the tomb of the one ghost who might help him--William Longspee, a knight from the 12 century who must atone for his own wrongdoings by helping those in need.

But can Longspee truly be trusted? He did some terrible things in life himself...and possibly in death as well. Faced with the vivid possibility of death at Strouton's ghostly hand, Jon and Ella have little choice--they must call Longspee to aid them. Or else.

It's a zipping, ghost-filled story. There are moments that made hair on the back of my neck stand on end, in perfect spine-tingly fashion, and I can imagine young readers utterly on the edge of their seats once the threat of ghostly violence enters the picture! There's a bit of a mystery to be solved, which takes some breaking of school rules on the part of Jon and Ella, and quite a bit of exploring Salisbury and environs (including Stonehenge and the must-visit ruins of the castle of old Sarum. There are also lovely descriptions of Salisbury cathedral, which is a lovely place to visit too).

And on top of that, it's a story of friendship (Ella's and Jon's, which maybe kind of might end up with young love in a very believable way), and coming to terms with unasked for and unwanted changes in life ("the Beard" turns out to be Ella's uncle, and not nearly the totally black villain Jon had painted him as). Sure, Jon's happy acquiescence at staying at boarding school at the end of the book might seem a tad abrupt, but Ella is there to sweeten the pot...I liked Ella lots--she's a strong-minded, free-thinking type, and she makes a good friend.

So story-wise, it's all very kid friendly, and the design of the book re-enforces this--lots of pictures (by Andrea Offermann) and fairly small amount of text per page. I read the ARC, so I don't know what the final pictures look like, but they look promising! Here's one I found on-line:


I like the look of them, but the paintings by Friedrich Hechelmann in the original German edition are even more stunning:

But in any event, this is one I'd highly recommend to the 9 or 10 year old reader of fantasy, but the confident 8 year old or the older reader in need of fun, light reading will enjoy it too (this would be me). I am willing to bet that this is a book that will stick in the young reader's mind all his or her life, and am thinking about getting a copy of it for my own soon to be nine year old--although I'm worried that it might be too scary. The dead evil dudes might be a bit much for him. Maybe I will just buy a copy in a general sort of way, and see what happens...

I'm counting this as a time travel book, a category that doesn't include straight ghost stories, no matter how firmly the ghosts interact with our reality. It's a bit of a stretch in this case, but Jon does on several occasions enter into the memories of ghosts, experiences flashes of their past lives:

"I felt my body grow. Now I was strong and tall, but there was even more blood. And even more pain. There were swords, many swords, lances, knives, and horses. I fought. This time the sword was so long, I had to hold it with both hands. I felt my arms ram it into another body. I heard my own breath, labored and much, much too fast....I slipped in the mud and fell to the ground. Something dug into my leg. An arrow. I screamed with pain, or was it rage? There was blood in my eyes. Was it my own, or another man's?" (page 136)

And that's about the extent of the time travel...I wish there had been more!

I am also faced with slightly conundrums regarding other categories--it's a boarding school story, which is part of the point, but not nearly THE point, and it's historical fantasy-ish, in that the events of the past are a large part of the narrative, so you almost feel that you've read historical fiction, but it's not actually set in the past, so I don't think I can count it...at least I can label it with certainty "book with ghosts."

Other thoughts can be found at Ms. Yingling Reads; if you've reviewed it, let me know and I'll add you!

(disclaimer: ARC received from the publisher)

Here's a bonus picture of Old Sarum, which truly is a great castle to take your kids too:

Bitterblue, by Kristin Cashore (Giveaway!)

Bitterblue, by Kristin Cashore, needs little introduction--sequel to Graceling, and companion to Fire, it's one of the most anticipated books of the year, and will be released tomorrow, May 1. I was awfully happy to have the chance to read it a tad early, and to offer a copy from the publisher as a giveaway today (see end of post). And happiest of all, it proved to be my favorite of the series. Bitterblue is part mystery, part political intrigue, and a little part romance, but mostly its the powerful story of how remembering past atrocities is a vital step to moving beyond them.

Bitterblue's childhood was a nightmare of violence. Her father, King Leck of Monsea, was an insane sadist, whose hideous proclivities for systematic torture and casual violence were made worse by his ability to bend anyone's mind to his will. He forced those around him to hurt, and kill, others, and then (if he wished) he could wipe their memory of it clean (though memories might linger).

Mercifully, as is told in Graceling, he was killed when Bitterblue was ten. Eight years later, she is the Queen of Monsea, carefully sheltered by her advisory, and terribly ignorant of many, many things. It is not only the day to day workings of life of in her country that she knows little of, but the dark truths of her father's evil.

Bitterblue is not going to stay ignorant for long, trusting that the blanket pardon to all involved in her father's atrocities means Monsea is all better now. Surreptitious night-time visits outside the confines of the castle lead her to a meeting with a small band of individuals who force her to re-examine many things she's taken for granted. And once Bitterblue starts pulling on the threads they give her, her world unravels...presenting both danger, and great opportunity.

Those who loved the first two books will be pleased to see those characters reappear. Katsa and Po, in particular, get considerable page time--which is a good thing for Bitterblue, because they are just about the only people she truly trusts (so many, many people in her life have secrets; some will even betray her). But she cannot rely on her old friends to solve all her problems, and during the course of the book she grows greatly in confidence, knowledge, and maturity. And I think one reason this book is my favorite is that, unlike Katsa and Fire, truly extraordinary people, Bitterblue has no special gift. She is just a smart and caring girl, doing the best she can. So it was easy as all get out to empathize with her, and cheer for her, and to watch anxiously as she struggled with the terrible past, so very much part of her present.

I can imagine that some might find it slow--there aren't wild, far-ranging adventures of sword fighting and survival (although violence still is very much a threat in Bitterblue's castle). But for those, like me, who love tightly place- centered, and character driven intrigue, the book works beautifully. And the issue at the heart of the book--the recognition that it is crucial to understand and remember the past, resisting the urge to forget its horrors--is one that I think is truly important.

And just as as addendum, I loved Cashore's descriptions of the bizarre art that surrounds Bitterblue, and appreciated her inclusion of literacy as an important sub-issue!

You can watch the trailer and find other extras here at the Graceling Realm website, and read part of the prologue here.

Thanks to the publishers, I have two copies of Bitterblue to give away (US only). Just leave a comment by midnight Monday, May 7.

(If you feel like it (but it's not required), you can include in your comment any recommendations of other books of of place- centered, and character driven intrigue--I'd like to see them! The two that occur to me of the top of my head are King of Attolia, by Megan Whalen Turner, and Star Crossed, by Elizabeth Bunce. Or if anyone has recommendations for other fantasies that deal with societies confronting difficult pasts, I'd welcome those too!).

(disclaimer: ARC received from publisher)

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

Welcome to this week's round-up of the blog posts etc. I found in my reading that pertain to middle grade sci fi and fantasy. Please let me know if I missed yours!

The Reviews:

11,000 Years Lost, by Penni R. Griffin, at Charlotte's Library

The Aviary, by Kathleen O’Dell, at The Lupine Librarian

Bigger Than a Breadbox, by Laurel Snyder, at Finding Wonderland

Blitzed, by Robert Swindells, at The Children's War

The Book of Wonders, by Jasmine Richards, at Sprout's Bookshelf

E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth's Core! by William Joyce. at Back to Books

Erak's Ransom, by John Flanagan, at Karissa's Reading Review

Eye of the Storm, by Kate Messner, at Page in Training

The Eyeball Collector, by F.E. Higgins, at Library Chicken

The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile and Waking Brain Cells

The Familiars, by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson, at GreenBeanTeenQueen

Fangbone! Third-Grade Barbarian, by Michael Rex, at Jean Little Library

Ghost Knight, by Cornelia Funke, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Giants Beware! by Jorge Aguirre, at The HappyNappyBookseller

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, by Chistopher Healy, at Karrisa's Reading Review and Ms. Martin Teaches Media

The Last Olympian, by Rick Riordan, at A Librarian's Library

Liesle & Po, by Lauren Oliver, at My Precious

Magic Below Stairs, by Caroline Stervermer, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, at There's a Book

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny--Detectives Extraordinaire! by Polly Hovarth, at That Blog Belongs to Emily Brown

Princess Academy, by Shannon Hale (audio book review), at Bunbury in the Stacks

Remarkable, by Lizzie K. Foley, at Presenting Lenore

Renegade Magic, by Stephanie Burgis, at Charlotte's Library

Scary School, by Derek the Ghost, at Muggle-Born.net

The Storm Makers, by Jennifer E. Smith, at Charlotte's Library

The True Meaning of Smekday, by Adam Rex, at The Accidental Novelist (Writes Again)

Wildwood, by Colin Meloy, at Supratentorial

Authors and Interviews

Sue Cowing (You May Call Me Drog) at The O.W.L.

Sarvenaz Tash (The Mapmaker and the Ghost) at The O.W.L.

E.J. Patten (Return to Exile) at Project Mayhem

Christopher Healy (The Hero's Guide to Saving the Kingdom) at Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing

John Dickinson (the forthcoming Muddle and Win) at Scribble City Central

Todd Harris (illustrator of The Hero's Guide to Saving the Kingdom) at A Backwards Story

Philip Womack (The Other Book) at The Periscope Post


MG sff Giveaways (Please let me know of others!!)

The Magic Warble, by Victoria Simcox, at The Book Bag

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, at The Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia


Other Good Stuff

Icefall by Matthew Kirby (my review) has won the Edgar Award for best juvenile mystery!

Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book to become a Disney Movie...

The deadline for vote casting in the Children's Choice Book Awards is May third; mg sff is represented (although not exactly the books and authors I would have picked!

And finally, in the sub department of good stuff I never did, check out these photographs Jason Lee created of his kids (found at io9). Here's my favorite:

Renegade Magic, by Stephanie Burgis

I enjoyed, in a mildly diverted way, A Most Improper Magick (US title--Kat, Incorrigible), in which Stephanie Burgis introduced young Kat--a Regency child whose titular abilities wreck havoc when she tries to use them to assist her sisters' with their romantic entanglements. It was one of those books, though, that Everyone was gushing about when it came out in the US, and I didn't feel I had anything compelling to add to the conversation.

However, I just had the pleasure of reading its sequel, Renegade Magic (Atheneum, April, 2012, UK title A Tangle of Magicks), enjoyed it very much, and haven't seen that many blog reviews of it (did I miss them?).

Short summary: The mean streets of regency Bath (mostly mean because of the vicious gossips) are honored with the presences of Kat, her older sister Angeline, dissolute brother Charlie, Stepmother, and Father. The point of the visit, orchestrated by Stepmama, is to get Angeline married off before the scandal of her magical abilities wrecks her chances.

What really happens is that Kat is plunged into a plot to awaken the old wild magic of Britain that lies at the source of Bath's healing springs. Except that the Guardians no longer want her as a member--her headstrong temper has not endeared her to those at the top--and they refuse to take her suspicions seriously. Even the possession of Kat's new accomplice, Lucy, by an Roman goddess spewing wild magic right and left is somehow attributed to Kat's wild ways...but unless the magic can be controlled, dreadful things will happen!

Even more so than the first book, it's full of zesty details and snappy dialogue. There's real danger to be faced within a larger plot canvas than the primarily familial concerns of the first book, so the stakes are higher and the suspense greater. Because of this, and also because of the particular social situation in which she finds herself, Kat, whose Incorrigibleness was a bit much for me in book one, has every right to every bit of the headstrong temper and willfulness she displays! I was able to cheer for her wholeheartedly. There's also more nuance to the familial relationships--Kat seems to be growing in her ability to understand other points of view, which is all to the good (she even, at one point, speaks up on behalf of her stepmother, and though she was lying through her teeth, I was still proud of her).

And I liked it more than the first because the stage is set from the get go (as is so often the case in second books). Kat is not longer in the process of being chosen to be part of a secret cabal of guardian magic users, so we can just accept the fact that she is special, and move on.

In short, I was very pleasantly diverted, and I have decided that it's currently my 2012 pick for the book I would give as a present to a nine or ten fantasy-reading girl for whom I had already bought Giants Beware!* It stands alone nicely (so no worries about the first book having been read or not), and it is zesty without being overwhelming.

*I think a lot about giving books as presents (I think a lot about getting books as presents too, but that happens less often. sigh). However, the only ten year old girl I buy books for is my niece in Holland, who doesn't really like to read long books in English...so she gets things likes the Dragonbreath books and Zita the Spacegirl, and, of course, Giants Beware!

The Immortal Rules, by Julie Kagawa (GIVEAWAY!)

The Immortal Rules, by Julie Kagawa (Harlequin Teen, 2012, YA) is a story set in a nightmarish future. The countryside is teeming with humans who have been infected with a horrible virus that turns them into savage zombie things, known as "rabids." The cities are, for the most part, enclaves of powerful vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. And the few humans who fall into neither of those two categories eek out desperate lives trying not to be killed or infected by the "rabids," and not having their blood drained on a regular (and sometimes fatal) basis by vampires.

17 year old Allison Sekemoto has managed to avoid both fates, scrapping together a hand to mouth existence in the fringe area of a vampire city, hating the bloodsuckers, and allowing herself to dream of a human renaissance. But all that changes when she's savagely attacked by rabids, and given a choice by the vampire who finds her. Either she can die, or she can be turned into a vampire herself.

She chooses the later. Now Allison must negotiate not only the logistics of life as a nocturnal, inhuman bloodsucker, but she must struggle not to turn into one of the monsters she has always despised. Chance leads her outside the city, where she meets a quixotic band of human travellers, searching for a fabled haven of humanity. But can she travel with them, without being driven by desperate hunger to prey on them? Can she keep from falling in love with the charismatic Zeke, when she knows that if he finds out who she truly is, he will hate her? And will she be able to keep him and his companions alive in a world of monsters?

I do not think I have reviewed a vampire romance YA novel before today. Heck, I think I have only read about two and a half in my whole life. So I approached The Immortal Rules somewhat uncertainly, and indeed, for a time I was awfully worried that it would turn into a romance between Allie and the aloofly brooding vampire (clearly with lots of Darkness in his Past) who turned her, and she would be super powerful and make everything ok. I was pleasantly surprised--the story was a heck of a lot more nuanced and tangled than I had expected!

For one thing, the practicalities of daily living, both as a human scavenger and as a vampire, are given lots of page time. And I, for what ever reason, like being excited along with the characters when tinned foods are discovered! I like reading about people's coping methods when trying to survive in disastrous situations.

For another thing, Allie's story is one of struggle--she does not want to be a monster, yet if she does not drink human blood, she'll become a ravaging death bringer. It's a paradox that haunts her, as she tries to make her undead vampire self a person she can live with. I sympathized with her regarding her feelings for Zeke--although nothing is hopeless, this romance is certainly not one where a happy outcome is guaranteed, and so it is more interesting than one that seems pre-destined.

And for a third, the journey that Allie embarks on gives a geographical spaciousness to the story, that lets this horrible new world emerge in rich detail.

In short, I found it an engrossing read, one that nicely blends the paranormal and the dystopian (though I did skim some of the violent fighty bits--vampire Allie has mad fighting skillz, which certainly come in useful, but which I didn't find quite as interesting to read about (and this probably is over sharing--sigh) as the smaller excitements of canned goods. Or the more substantial, but similar, appropriation of a working motorcycle.)

I am most certainly intrigued enough to be looking forward to the next book in the series! This one stops at a good stopping place, but there is certainly lots more to Allie's story that needs to be told.

However, the cover is yet another sad example of white-washing (portraying a non-white character as Caucasian). Allie is clearly of Asian extent (you can find the exact quotes that demonstrate this in Leila Roy's blog post at Kirkus, and Sekemoto seems, from cursory web searching, to be a variant of a not uncommon Japanese name, Sekimoto). You would not know this from the girl on the cover. Despite the cover, this counts as a multicultural fantasy, and I'm adding it to my list, hoping that the paperback will show Allie as the Asian girl she is.

note on reader age: This is most definitely Young Adult; not one I'd give to a middle school student. There's quite a bit of bad language, and lots of scary violence. No sex, though there is threatened rape.

GIVEAWAY! Thanks to the publisher, I have a hardcover of The Immortal Rules to give away--just leave a comment by midnight on Wednesday, May 2nd, with some way to contact you. (US and Canada only)

A re-reader's appreciation of Diana Wynne Jones

Like so many others, I am still mourning the loss of Diana Wynne Jones. But though there will be no new books to look forward to, I still take comfort from the sight of her books on the shelves next to my bed, because, more than almost any other author I know, Diana Wynne Jones rewards re-reading.


I've been re-reading The Spellcoats now for thirty years...9th grade, it was, when I first met it. That copy fell apart long ago. I still vividly remember reading it the first time--swept up by the story of a family's escape down a flooded river that took them into the heart of a horrible magic, I didn't mind that my understanding of just what the heck was happening was, at times, shaky. (I also tried not to look at the cover much. Mr. Cloud offended my aesthetic sensibilities). Hexwood took me three times through to figure out, and I still have hope that if I re-read Fire and Hemlock often enough, the ending will make sense to me!

Indeed, it seems to me as though Calcifer's words in Howl's Moving Castle apply perfectly to DWJ--"If I give you a hint, and tell you it's a hint, it will be information." Like all (?) re-readers, I take comfort in knowing where the hints are, so the second (or third, or fourth) time through her books is often more enjoyable than the first! I also am an end-reader, but, in general, reading the end of a DWJ first doesn't help (hint-wise) in the least.

I have the sense that the stories were so complicatedly vivid in Diana's imagination that words are barely enough to hold them. The reader is challenged to surrender herself to the flow, trusting that what is completely baffling will someday make sense. I remember having this same feeling with many books I read as a child--that I was going into new places, rich and strange, and that understanding in a logical way wasn't the point--the stories and their characters were, and I was privileged to go forth and meet them. To have that same feeling as a grown-up reader is rare indeed.

I'm re-reading The Merlin Conspiracy right now. When it came out in 2003, I had a new born baby, so wasn't, in general, thinking that clearly, and I never seem to have found the time to pick it up again. Though I have a sense of how things play out (or perhaps because of this), I'm finding it utterly satisfying to re-read. In the first forty pages, the reader is plunged into a strangely magical, alternate Britain (with at most two sentences of an explanatory sort), whisked to our world (where we get to meet Nick from Deep Secret), and then tossed into a totally unexpected cricket match in an alternate France, where Nick (among other things) meets a magical panther. It's not one I'd recommend as anyone's first Diana Wynne Jones (because it really helps to have read Deep Secret), but as a re-read, it is great! I'm sure I'll understand it much better this time around.

Even her most recent book, Earwig and the Witch (my review), written for younger children than me (!), give the sense of being a glimpse into a larger world of story beyond the book, one that the reader, along with Earwig, is only beginning to comprehend.

Obviously, some books are easier to understand first time through than others. For those who have never met Diana, I'd suggest starting with Howl's Moving Castle, or perhaps Charmed Life. Both are fun and complicated, but not dauntingly so. (I wouldn't recommend starting with Spellcoats, as I did, because when you find out it's the third of a series, and read the first two books, you might be crushed that they aren't about the same characters).

If you will excuse a tortured metaphor, and not even an original one, to me her books are like the stars--bright holes punched through the darkness, promising that there is more Story out there. I wish she'd had time to punch a few more holes for us, but I sure am happy with what I have. And they are going with me to the nursing home, if that fate befalls me--she will be just what I will need to keep my mind sharp, and forty years from now, I'll have re-read them all so many times that all the hints will be old friends.

It looks like I'll be adding to my shelf--Firebird has released reissues of Dogsbody (with intro. by Neil Gaiman, A Tale of Time City, with intro. by Ursula Le Guin, and Fire and Hemlock, with intro. by Garth Nix. The latter also features the essay "The Heroic Ideal," which DWJ wrote about the writing of F&H.

This post was written as part of a DWJ appreciation blog tour; here's the list of stops on the tour, and you can find all the appreciations here.

11,000 Years Lost, by Peni R. Griffin, for Timeslip Tuesday

11,000 Years Lost, by Peni R. Griffin (2006)

Esther's chance find of Paleoindian artifacts near her Texas school sets in motion events that culminate with her traveling back in time 11000 years, to the very end of the Ice Age. There she is taken in by a group of Native Americans, who, because Esther just happened to be in the right place at the right time, brought them good luck. She quickly learns enough of their language to communicate (a rather remarkable thing), and gradually learns some of the skills they use to survive in a landscape where rising temperatures are about to bring their old ways to an end. Throughout her months in the past, she's confronted by two major problems--most pressingly, how to get home, if she ever can, and secondly, how to cope with the belief of many of her new community that she possesses powerful good luck.

I don't recall that my archaeologist hackles were raised at any point (although I am by no means a Clovis expert). I felt that the author did a perfectly reasonable job with the details of the nomadic life led by these "Clovis people." She focuses on the physical world (hunting logistics, tool making, plants gathered), steering clear, for the most part, of efforts to portray their world view--which would, indeed, have been difficult to write without being possibly offensive, or overly imaginative/romanticizing. But the down side of this is that though there are some glimpses that these people have a rich culture of spirit, it doesn't quite come through enough to make them completely three-dimensional. Griggin also, again wisely, avoids discussion of where these people came from within the story itself -- its a controversial topic, as she mentiones in the author's note at the end.

On the other hand, the particular individuals she meets came across as very real, three-dimensional people, who loved, and fought, and had back-story that effected how they reacted to Esther. They weren't just cardboard cutouts of stereotypes. So that was good.

Esther is no Ayla--she doesn't revolutionize Paleoindian technology with her knowledge. She doesn't even seem to think about this, which I found a bit hard to believe (I would be so tempted to invent the wheel, or something....) She does, however, get into some hot water when she reveals that she knows the Ice Age megafauna will go extinct, which is obviously upsetting news to those who depend on them.*

But with a certain suspension of disbelief, it was a perfectly serviceable portrayal of a time and place that seems as strange to many of us modern folk as of course it does to Esther. It held my interest just fine, and although it didn't delight me in any deep way, I don't begrudge at all the time spent reading it.

*when I first heard as a child that there were giant beavers kicking around America, I pictured behemoths 20 feet tall. I later saw one in a museum, and they are more like "really big, but not giant, beavers," about the size of black bears. Ditto giant armadillos. Sigh.

Literary tarot decks--what books would make the best cards?

So Edward Gorey's Fantod tarot deck popped up in my blog reading here and there....which I own (I collect Gorey, in a mild way)



which then led me to dig out my husband's Alice in Wonderland deck (he collects Alice, also in a mild way),


and that in turn led to a conversation with my sister, who was the one who gave them to us (on separate occasions), about which other books would make good tarot decks.

Harry Potter is the obvious candidate (and I'm not the first to think so), so I set to work at once. Here's my first card, based on the classic Rider Waite picture, shown at left.:


The Lord of the Rings would also make a nice deck....and possibly Dragonriders of Pern....What do you think?

The Storm Makers, by Jennifer E. Smith

Those on the lookout for good American rural fantasy should immediately get their hands on The Storm Makers, by Jennifer E. Smith (Little, Brown, 2012, middle grade, 384 pages, illustrated by Brett Helquist). It's the story of two twelve year-old twins, Ruby and Simon, relocated from the suburbs to ten acres of midwest farm land by their idealistic (and quite possibly over-optimistic) parents. Ruby and Simon had always been very close, but in their new home, they began to go their separate ways, much to Ruby's regret, and she wonders if "maybe they'd never really been inseparable so much as they hadn't ever had room to separate" (page 10). For Ruby (from whose perspective the story is told), books, and science, and helping her dad with the invention that will bring the family some much needed money are most important; for Simon, its baseball and his new friends.

Now the first year of school has passed, and the long, hot summer stretches away from them--no rain has fallen, and the wheat is in danger. Ruby almost wants it to fail, so the family is forced to go back "home;" Simon is so moody that Ruby doesn't know if he feels the same.

But then the weather starts acting up--strange twists of wind, leading to a massive storm that seems linked to Simon's sudden fever. And a stranger, a tall lanky man named Otis, appears in the barn...bringing the news that Simon is a Storm Maker, one of an elite cabral that can actually control the weather.

Though the Storm Makers have traditionally been more along the lines of storm alleviators, working to help gentle severe weather, the new official leader, Rupert London, has a different agenda. According to Otis, London wants to let the weather take its toll on the people who are destroying the planet. Otis, however, isn't telling the kids the whole truth--one that is even darker and more destructive. A plan that involves setting up the long draught...setting the stage for an epic disaster.

If Simon can learn to control his powers, and if Otis can convince him to work against London, there might be chance to stop it. But Simon has no clue how to get the weather to obey him, and Ruby, though she can understand the weather intellectually, lacks his raw, magical talent.... I found this a nice twist--Ruby isn't the Special One, and so is in a rather complicated position that's unusual in middle grade fantasy.

The story builds slowly to faster and ever more gripping events, as Ruby and Simon struggle to decide who they should believe...and what, if anything, two twelve year old kids can do. The distance between them lessens as they realize that, when working in harmony, magic and science can work wonders.

This is a great one for the younger end of the middle grade set (the nine to ten year olds), and even upper elementary kids of eight or so. It has some powerful emotional weight to it (the back story between Otis and London has some darkness to it), but not of a profoundly disturbing nature. The kid who appreciates a good, powerful summer storm should, in particular, enjoy this one!

I myself appreciated the carefully-written changes happing in Ruby and Simon's relationship as the sometimes painful process of growing-up threatens their closeness. It was very pleasing that in the end, although they're still on different paths, they are once more a team. The workings of the Storm Makers, with their myriad intriguing gadgets and devices (mostly created from the love of creating small, not necessarily useful, weatherish contraptions) are fascinating.

I also appreciated that there is nuance to the story--London has clearly gone of the deep end, but he's not a one dimensional egomaniacal nutcase. Smith doesn't use her story as an opportunity to preach one way or the other about global warming, but she does leave the reader pondering the relationship between people and weather.

And the midwest setting--flat and beautiful and huge and kind of scary in the way that hope depends on the weather, is brought vividly to life.

In sort, it's a fine read for the grown-up--not one that will necessarily knock the socks of the adult reader, but still a good one, and a most excellent one for its target audience!

(It's also a very attractive book, with raised detailing on the cover, and black and white illustrations that enhance the story. At least, for those who chose to take time away from reading to look at illustrations, which, in a case like this one where I am engrossed in the story, isn't me).

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher.

Edited to add: A commenter asked if this book was similar to Savvy, by Ingrid Low--short answer, not so much. Savvy, and its sequel, Scumble, are very much books that take place within families. The threats and dangers are mostly inside those families, and to overcome them requires dealing with real world issues. They have a folksy, real-world feel to them. The Storm Makers is much more traditional in its enemy--the bad guy who threatens the world, and so it has a more epic fantasy flavor to it, with the children having to confront that external, magically powerful threat directly. Which isn't to say that The Storm Makers goes all out epic--it's firmly rooted in our world, which I appreciated.

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

Here's what I found in my blog reading this week. I've added a new Giveaways of mg sff section--please do let me know by email anytime if you are having one! And do feel free to let me know of any posts I've missed!

The Reviews:

Airborn, by Kenneth Oppel, at Nerdy Book Club

Bye For Now, by Kathleen Churchyard, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Changeling, by Delia Sherman, at The Book Smugglers

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again, by Frank Cottrell Boyce, at Back to Books

Circle of Cranes, by Annette LeBox, at A Backwards Story

Eye of the Storm, by Kate Messner, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen, at Bibliophilia-Maggie's Bookshelf

Giants Beware! by Rafael Rosado and Jorge Aguirre, at Slatebreakers

The Grimm Legacy, by Polly Shulman (audio book review) at The Reading Date

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, by Christopher Healy, at Poisoned Rationality

Into the Wild, by Sarah Beth Durst, at Books Beside My Bed

Kat, Incorrigible, by Stephanie Burgis, at Books & Other Thoughts

Medusa the Mean (Goddess Girls), by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams, at Somewhere in the Middle

The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate, at Anita Silvey's Book-a-Day Almanac

Peaceweaver, by Rebecca Barnhouse, at Charlotte's Library

The Prince Who Fell From the Sky, by John Claude Bemis, at The Intergalactic Academy

Quests and Kingdoms, by K.V. Johanson, at Carole Anne Carr (this is a non-fiction book for adults, from 2005. Have any of you all read it? Should I read it?)

Remarkable, by Lizzie K. Foley, at Waking Brain Cells

Renegde Magic, by Stephanie Burgis, at Sonderbooks

The Rock of Ivanore, by Laurisa White Reyes, at Project Mayhem

Seeds of Rebellion, by Brandon Mull, at Guys Lit Wire

Storybound, by Marissa Burt, at A Backwards Story

The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner, at Susan Dennard

Whisper, by Alyson Noel, at Urban Fantasy

Winterling, by Sarah Prineas, at books4yourkids

Two time travel books at Time Travel Times Two--The Book of Story Beginnings, by Kristin Kladstrup, and Time for Andrew, by Mary Downing Hahn

Two from Ms. Yingling-- A Greyhound of a Girl, by Roddy Doyle, and Chronal Engines, by Greg Lietich Smith

And three from Kate (aka The Book Aunt)--Robbie Forester and the Outlaws of Sherwood St. by Peter Abrahams, The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy, and Storybound, by Marissa Burt.


Giveaways:

Return to Exile, by at Middle Grade Maffioso

Neversink, by Barry Wolverton, at A Thousand Wrongs

The Rock of Ivanore, by Laurisa White Reyes, at Project Mayhem

Scary School, by Derek the Ghost, at Young Readers

The Battle Begins, by Tony Abbott, at The Write Path

The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict, at Charlotte's Library

And I've extended my giveaway of The Time-Traveling Fashionista on Board the Titanic another day, till midnight tonight.

Authors and interviews

Sarvenaz Tash (The Mapmaker and the Ghost) at My Brain on Books

Sarwat Chadda (Ash Mistry and the Savage Fortress), at The Book Zone

Barry Wolverton (Neversink) at A Thousand Wrongs

Jennifer Nielsen (The False Prince) at From the Mixed Up Files

Christopher Healy (The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom) at Muggle-born.net

Richard Ungar (Time Snatchers) at Cynsations

Stephanie Burgis (Renegade Magic) at The Enchanted Inkpot

Liz Kessler (A Year Without Autumn) at Cynsations

Other Good Stuff:

The winners of the E.B. White Read-aloud Award have been announced, and the winners in the middle grade category are two fantasies (by a sister and brother!):

• The Apothecary, by Maile Meloy, Ian Schoenherr (Illus.) (Putnam Juvenile)
• Wildwood, by Colin Meloy, Carson Ellis (Illus.) (Balzer + Bray)

It's Fairy Tale Fortnight, and although I haven't been able to contribute myself, here's Joanne Harris talking about the Pied Piper at Seven Miles of Steel Thistles

Holly Black and Cassandra Clare have teamed up to write a 5 book middle grade series! The Iron Trial comes out in 2014, which seems a long way away...

Here's the blurb: "...twelve-year-old Callum Hunt has grown up knowing three rules by heart. Never trust a magician. Never pass a test a magician gives you. And never let a magician take you to the Magisterium. Callum is about to break all the rules. And when he does, his life will change in ways he can’t possibly imagine."

The movie rights have already been picked up.

Another collaboration of note--the grandchildren of Tolkien and Dickens are teaming up to write two fantasy books...

A miniature book from Queen Mary's dollhouse-- a story by cartoonist Fougasse about a fairy called Joe Smith--is to be published (in an edition large enough to read)

Don't forget to check out the stops on the Diane Wynne Jones blog tour! Here, at Greenwillow, for instance, is what Megan Whalen Turner has to say.

And finally, not exactly mg sff related, but important, Guys Lit Wire has organized another book fair for Ballou Sr. High School--these kids need books!

Giveaway reminder!

Just reminding you all that I have two give-aways going, both for excellent middle grade books of a fantastical sort

The Time-traveling Fashionista on Board the Titanic (ends Saturday night)

and

The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (ends Monday night)

I wish I could stay home and read and blog and work in the garden today, but sadly, duty calls and I'll be at a work-related conference all day instead. It will be interesting (especially the question of whether or not I have prepared sufficiently for my own talk, in as much as my innate optimism gets me into trouble more than I would like), and perhaps it will even be enjoyable, but it's not the same, somehow, as a nice quiet day at home....

Peaceweaver, by Rebecca Barnhouse

Peaceweaver, by Rebecca Barnhouse (Random House, 2012, middle grade/YA, 336 pages)

At the end of The Coming of the Dragon, a retelling of the story of Beowulf, a new character was introduced --Hild, a high-ranking girl from a neighboring kingdom, sent to be the bride to the new king of the Geats, hopefully weaving peace as a consequence of her marriage. Even though Hild had very little page time indeed, she was an incredibly compelling character, and I know I'm not alone in putting down that book with a desperate need to find out more of her story.

Happily, the author obliged--Peaceweaver is Hild's story.

Hild was an honored member of her community. She was the new mead bearer the hall of her uncle, the King of Shylfings, secure in her position, and determined to use her influence to foster peace between all the various small kingdoms of her part of Dark Age northern Europe.

But then a few hours of playful sword practice with her younger cousin, the king's son, goes horribly wrong. Possessed by a supernatural force, Hild drives her sword into a visiting warrior from another kingdom--somehow she knew that he was about to murder her cousin. Now Hild is persona non grata, isolated in small cell, waiting for her fate to be decided by her uncle, and the poisonous, war-hungry bard who has his ear.

When emissaries of the Geats, Beowulf's people, come seeking peace, Hild is sent away with them, to be a Peaceweaver through marriage between the two kingdoms. But Hild knows that she is to become a living lie--her uncle has no intention of letting the peace last.

In the course of her journey to the kingdom of the Geats, Hild must decided who, and what, she will be. But she must also come to terms with the supernatural gift that seizes hold of her when there is danger...and there is danger aplenty on the road to her new home. For Grendal and his mother, of Beowulf fame, are not the only such monsters...

And then finally we get to see Rune (from The Coming of the Dragon). I, for one, loved him already....but will Hild????? And then after that, all too soon, the book ends....Now that we have the backstory for both Rune and Hild, please let there be a third book about the both of them!!!

Peaceweaver, like The Coming of the Dragon, is absolutely top notch historical fantasy. The fantastical elements (the monsters, the intervention of deities, Hild's strange gift) don't in the least make the book feel less plausible, less truly set in the dark ages of Europe; the world-building happens organically and convincingly, with lots of details woven into the story, and not just flat-out told. Rebecca Barnhouse has proven herself to be an author of historical fiction who I feel I can read with the relaxed confidence that comes from trusting that no nasty little anachronistic bits are going to kick me out of the story.

Hild is a most excellent character. From the beginning of the book, she is sympathetic, but she grows up during the course of events, become more thoughtful about her world and her place in it. For instance, she's forced to question somewhat her assumptions about the slavery that's part of her culture--and although she doesn't repudiate it on moral grounds, which would be ridiculously anachronistic, she does have a moment of truth in which she realizes that there is more to the lives of those who are enslaved than their service to their captors.

She's a strong character, in that she isn't afraid to act, but her abilities don't strain credulity--she knows how to use a sword (that scene on the cover really happens), but she's no Valkyrie. Likewise, she wants to do the right thing, but she's no holier than thou, unselfish martyr about it, and she also wants for things to work out nicely for herself!

Peaceweaver can perfectly well be read on its own, but since it includes spoilers for The Coming of the Dragon, that one really should be read first. That being said, I think Peaceweaver is the more statisfying of the two in its pacing and its plot...

Note on age of reader: Hild is 16, so "young adult," but there's nothing in her story that makes it unsuitable for young readers. I'd be happy to hand this to a ten year old (which I see the publisher thinks too!). There's a bit of violent death here and there, but not so violent as to be traumatic. The arc of the story--happy young person's life is disrupted, a journey must be made and a fate chosen--is more, to me, a "middle grade" story than a "young adult" one. But boy, do I ever want the young adult story of what happens next!

Here are other reviews, at The Book Smugglers, and at Random Musings of a Bilbiophile.

And here's an interview with Rebecca Barnhouse at The Enchanted Inkpot.

(disclaimer: review copy very gratefully (there might have been a squee) received from the publisher)

Waiting on Wednesday--THE KAIROS MECHANISM, an experiment by Kate Milford

Kate Milford is the author of The Boneshaker (2010)--a sort of historical fiction/vaguely steampunk real-world fantasy that pits a young girl named Natalie against dark supernatural forces.

Her second book, The Broken Lands, comes out this September from Clarion, and I'm looking forward to it, it's not about Natalie (who's a great character). And it's not what I'm waiting for today. Instead, I was very pleased to see that Kate has written a novella companion, The Kairos Mechanism, that's a self-contained Natalie story, which will be released in conjunction with TBL this fall.

Here's what Kate has to say about it:

"The novella, The Kairos Mechanism, will be a bridge between The Broken Lands and The Boneshaker. I'll be publishing it in three editions:

• Paperback, using McNally Jackson's self-publishing services and Espresso Book Machine. This edition will have a cover illustration by Andrea Offermann, the artist behind The Boneshaker and The Broken Lands.
• Digital, via Google Play.
• and Super-Special Reader-Illustrated Digital, via my website,www.clockworkfoundry.com. This edition will be enhanced by the work of ten to twelve tween and teen artists, each of whom will be given a chapter and commissioned to create an illustration of his/her choosing in the style of his/her choice. That edition will be priced "pay what you like."

The goals of the project are these:

• Experiment with self-publishing in support of traditional publishing.
• Use resources that are supportive of independent booksellers.
• Experiment with extra content that supports the "big story" as it is being told.

I'm funding this excitement through Kickstarter. Here's the link to my project:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/3548813/the-kairos-mechanism-arcana-1

You'll see that the goal is to raise $6500 to pay for printing and compensation of the contributors. If we raise more, the first thing we do is bump up the teen artists' paychecks. I'll also be keeping a blog journal about the project throughout the summer at my website,www.clockworkfoundry.com.

Any support you are moved to provide, including social media chatter and blog appearances and that sort of thing, would be tremendously appreciated. It's my hope that I'll discover there's enough enthusiasm for this project to repeat it alongside future books beyond The Broken Lands."

Sounds good to me!

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

In Darkness, by Nick Lake, for Timeslip Tuesday

I read In Darkness, by Nick Lake (Bloomsbury, 2012, YA), in short bits over the course of several months. My lack of absobtion came not from the quality of the writing, or the intensity of the story, because both were there; rather, the story itself is so dark that I couldn't bear to lose myself in it.

It tells of the harrowing days that "Shorty," a Haitian boy, spends trapped in the ruins of a hospital after the earthquake of 2010 sends his world crashing into ruins. Trapped in the darkness, with the constant torture of thirst and hunger and pain, he hopes against hope for rescue.  All the while he is haunted by memories of violence, and loss, and choices that went wrong.
But Shorty isn't entirely alone in his prison. Half of his spirit has travelled backwards to the past, to join with the spirit of one of the great heroes of his country--his ancestor, the slave Toussaint L'Ouverture, who became the leader of the revolution at the end of the 18th century that feed the slaves and drove out the invading British. Toussaint dreams of Shorty...and Shorty of Toussaint, as each relives their lives up to the point where the darkness came.

For Toussaint's story didn't end in light and hope, and Shorty fears that his, too, will end with in the darkness.
The stories of the two protagonists are clear and distinct, Shorty's told in the first person, and Toussaint's in the third. Their spirits may overlap, and Toussaint in particular has real glimpses of Shorty's present, and magically learns to read via their contact, but there's no time travel in tangible form. Toussaint might feel the presence of Shorty, but Shorty seems much less aware of him--I kept waiting for this awareness to happen, but it never quite reached that point. Still, the connection between the two is fundamental (in a somewhat vague way that I never quite grasped--I think I would have to read it straight through more clearly and coldly to fully comprehend it) to the struggle against the darkness that both face. At the end, however, it is the travel of Toussaint's spirit from the past that gives Shorty the strength to make a last effort.

Both stories are dark. Toussaint's is the less crushingly awful story--for a time, there is hope that he has managed to achieve his dream of a free country for free men. It reads like harrowing historical fiction. Shorty's story, on the other hand, is immediate and painful. For Shorty, a life of utter poverty, where squalor and hopelessness are unremarkable realities, has left little room for hope; his time as a violent member of a drug gang was not happy reading. Yet still he hopes to escape from the destruction of the earthquake.

But I am left not at all hopeful that anything has changed for the better, that this experience of souls meeting over the centuries will actually change anything enough for Shorty's life to materially improve. Yes, he learns to regret the path he took, and emerges with a rekindled love for this mother, but I don't know that that will be enough. Toussaint himself, after all, could not, in the end, fight the darkness that overcame his country and himself.

Still, it's a powerful book, and a memorable one. It doesn't flinch from graphic violence, and so it convinces in a way that sugar-coating reality would not have done.

(disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher)