A quick heads up for Diana Wynne Jones fans

I love the books of Diana Wynne Jones, and miss looking forward oh so eagerly to her next one... and I am not alone. I'll be one of a passel of bloggers celebrating DWJ days-- APRIL 12-26. Here's the schedule, and if you'd like to join in, there's still time (see the bottom of the schedule linked to above).

And here's the DWJ tumbler collection of goodness! Including instructions on how to crochet your own Calcifer!

Waiting on Wednesday--The Brixen Witch

I sure do miss the Books by Release Date Calender at Teens Read Too (why, why did it go dark?), my primary source for Waiting on Wednesdays, but it occurred to me this morning to check Kirkus, and I found a book which I am happy to anticipate: The Brixen Witch, by Stacy DeKeyser, illustrated by John Nickle. Kirkus gave it a star, and it does indeed sound good.

Here's the Amazon blurb, with my thoughts added:

"When Rudi Bauer accidentally takes a witch’s coin, he unleashes her curse. [you don't see curses much these days in mg sff. A good curse can drive a plot nicely]. Accident or not, he knows he’s got to fix things [yes! Good role model for my boys!], so he tries to return the coin, only to lose it on the witch’s magic mountain just as the snows come [this sounds like something that would happen to me...]. Plagued all winter by terrible dreams, Rudi tries to find the coin again in the spring, but it has vanished—and a plague of rats [I'm not desperately drawn to rodent plagues, since I'm living that particular dream (old house and all that) but I don't mind a few rats] has descended on his village. [At this point my eyes prick up (or whatever the ears pricking up equivalent for eyes is) when I realize this is a Pied Piper retelling. Fairy tale retellings = books I want.]

Then a stranger arrives and promises to rid the village of rats—for the price of the missing coin. Desperate to get rid of the rats, the villagers agree [silly villagers--bad role models for my children]—but when they cannot pay, the stranger exacts a price too terrible for anyone to bear. Now Rudi is going to need all his courage—and some help from his savvy grandmother [yay for savvy grandmothers!! We need more of them in mg sff] and a bold young girl [can't go wrong there, although I also am fond of shy young girls]—to set things right in this fast and funny adventure." [hmm. Funny sometimes doesn't work for me; it becomes silly all to easily. But hope on, hope ever...]

Back in the day (ie, 2007) before I started specializing in sci fi/fantasy, I was on the YA panel for the Cybils along with Stacy, which was a pleasure. So I'm looking forward to her new book with personal interest, as well as just because it sounds good.

It comes out June 26, from Margaret K. McElderry Books.

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

you can vote for me in the Goodreads thing if you feel like it

Yeah well, so I threw my name in to the Goodreads win a trip to BEA competition, because I enter lots of things (like the Dorito Art competition 25 years ago, for which I made a mosaic of the Venus de Milo from dorito crumbs) and because my optimism is such that it's easy to imagine, for a few minutes at least, that I stand a chance (sadly, one of the criteria in the dorito art competition was marketability, and I don't think there's much of a market for dorito crumb mosaics in general, let alone Venuses. It didn't win. But it was a freaking awesome work of art. Too bad it grew mold before a picture was taken of it).

So anyway, if you feel like voting for me, feel free to! This link will take you to the page of self-identified middle grade book bloggers, and if you see someone who you'd rather vote for (maybe because they live all the way across the country from NYC, instead of two states over, for instance, or maybe because you think they are more likely to interact with others in a less neurotically introverted way then me), please do so!

The Obsidian Blade, by Pete Hautman, for Timeslip Tuesday

For those who want a sci fi time travel book that's thought-provoking, twisted, provocative, and riveting, look no further than The Obsidian Blade, by Pete Hautman (Candlewick, 2012, YA)! Join 14 year-old Tucker, a normal American teenager, as he encounters his first disko (diskos being portals that allow passage through time and space, made by an artist far in the future as entertainment) and begins a time-travelling journey. His itinerary includes alternate future realities of great strangeness, and a trip back in time to witness the Crucifixion of Christ. Share Tucker's confusion as he encounters people he's met before (like his father), strangely altered by time travelling circumstances! Watch as bizarre religious fundamentalism warps reality! Relish the intriguing asides from alien manipulators of the future!

If that sounds good, visit these other blog reviews for confirmation: The Intergalactic Academy and Leila's blog review at Kirkus. Consider the fact that Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus have all given it stars. Enjoy the book!

If it sounds doubtful, read on.

The first half of the book was fine. There was almost a folksy feel to it--like Fannie Flagg writing sci fi. The reader is gently introduced to the first disko, and it's easy to follow the first strange changes in Tucker's father when he reappears after passing through it, bringing back a girl called Lahlia who's clearly not a local. And all was still going well for me as a reader when Tucker's parents disappear, and he has to go live with his uncle. He learns to cook a bit, rides a motorcycle and crashes it, and then finds himself on the top of the World Trade Center on 9/11, in desperate need of a ladder. I was interested, intrigued...and this took me to page 132 of ARC.

And then I got confused.

I don't particularly like books that confuse me, especially when my confusion mirrors that of the main character. If I'm confused all by myself, I'm willing to blame myself and let it slide off, but when the main character (in this case, Tucker) is floundering also (with good reason, in Tucker's case), I feel rather hopeless. Especially since the time travel keeps changing things, and there seems to be no solid ground anywhere.

I'm sure there will be answers forthcoming in the next book, but in particular I find it unpleasing that I still have little clue as to the point of the mysterious girl Tucker's dad brought back from his first disko excursion, who keeps enigmatically showing up and not being all that helpful.

An example:

"You will not be welcome," Lahlia said...."They may attempt to kill you."

"Who will?" Tucker asked.

"The priests. You will know them by their yellow robes." [or their violent actions]

Tucker looked from Lahlia to the disk.

"Priests in yellow robes? So there's a church or something on the other side?"

"There is an altar atop the pyramid at the center of Romelas, the great city of the Lah Sept."

Her words made no sense." (p 141 of the ARC).

No-one in the whole book seems to know how to communicate clearly and effectively, and no one seems all that inclined to volunteer information. Which I'm sure is deliberate, but it doesn't appeal to me.

So. It's fascinating, and thought provoking (especially the parts of the story that deal with religion) and some people really like it. And I didn't mind reading it, myself...because I expected things to get less confusing, instead of more so! I might have to read the next one, just to see how it all does work out in the end.

Note on religion, for those who might be concerned: religious faith is seriously and respectfully addressed, so although some of the religious fundamentalism is repugnant, it's by no means negative toward Christianity in general.

Note on age: There's no sex, but there is some disturbing stuff. A middle grade kid could read it just fine, and would probably be less confused than me. But it felt much more YA in style than mg, so I'd go with 12 and up, as does the publisher.

(review copy received from the publisher)

Meme of 7--my seven most recent book purchases

Jenna at Meandering in a Field of Words tagged me for the Lucky 7 meme, and, since it seems to be whatever one wants it to be, I thought I'd share my seven most recent book purchases! Not that I needed books, but sometimes one can't help it...

Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: With Artwork by Yayoi Kusama There's a blog responsible for this one...but I can't remember who. This is going to be a birthday present for my husband, who's an Alice aficionado, and who doesn't read my blog unless I ask him to. It might take up to two months to get here, so I decided to order early....

Which meant that I needed another book for free shipping, so I preordered Ordinary Magic, by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway, which I knew I had to have after reading about it at Paige in Training.

Fortunatly it won't get here till May, which will give me time (d.v.) to enjoy Banner of the Damned, by Sherwood Smith, which I am just twitching to read, but it's long, and it is a ways till the weekend. I can't enjoy long books on homework nights.

With that order came Far Away Across the Sea by Toon Tellegen, illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg, which I have been wanting for over a year because I LOVE Letter to Anyone and Everyone (my review) with a mad passion. Happily, it is short, and if all goes well and I don't run screaming into the street etc. I will peacefully be reading it to the boys later tonight.

(pause while I am inadvertently made part of my son's sixth grade diversity reading group blog. Never accept an invitation to join a group blog when someone else's blog is open on your computer, which is what my son just did. SIGH. Hi anyone from that particular sixth grade who happens to be reading this! edited to add: I extricated myself after a brief panic...so much for all the new readers I might have gotten...)

Back to books.

The fifth book I recently bought was Vodnik, by Bryce Moore, a new one from Tu (multicultural sci fi/fantasy). Ironically, a review copy arrived the same day as my purchased book did, but I'm enjoying it lots, and am happy to have one for me, and one for my local library!

The sixth book I went to the bookstore for, because the library was closed and my little one had to have it right away (fortunately, the bookstore is just up the road)--Warriors #3: Forest of Secrets by Erin Hunter. I don't plan on reading it myself, but it sure made me happy to see him happy! (and quiet. As opposed to swinging a baseball bat around inside the living room, as was the case this evening. He said he had to do it for homework. I didn't feel strong enough to ask why).

And the seventh new arrival was only a quasi purchase, inasmuch as it was from Paperback Book Swap (but I still had to pay the postage for Magic Puppy Paws, or whatever the book scrounged from the rejects at the end of the last library booksale was)--Contested Histories in Public Space: Memory, Race, and Nation, which is work-related.

Now all I need is the time to read them all, plus the other fine and tasty books in my piles!

Above, by Leah Bobet

Above, by Leah Bobet (Arthur A. Levine Books, 2012, YA, 368 pages)

Apart from brief trips to the city above, Matthew has lived all his life in Safe, an underground sanctuary. He is the Teller of his community's history, keeping safe the stories of the strange band of freakishly different people with whom he lives--the leader, crab-claw armed Atticus, Whisper, who speaks with ghosts, Jack, who channels electricity, and others. Some can Pass briefly above, as Matthew can (his scales can't be seen beneath his shirt), and some who cannot. But Safe is a fragile place--there is a lie at the heart of the histories that Matthew tells, lurking like a time-bomb ready to destroy all that Matthew holds dear.

Dearest of all to him is the newest refugee from above--Ariel, who morphs into a bee when angered or distressed. Matthew loves her, and tries to heal her deep psychological wounds; he tries to learn her story, and keep her close in Safe. It doesn't work.

When the worst happens, and Safe is invaded by dark shadows, Matthew, Ariel, Whisper, and Jack are driven above ground. Their survival, and hope of recreating a sanctuary for themselves, and others like them, depends on finding out the dark truth behind the story of Safe.

Like Safe itself, Above is carefully built up of bits of story, layer upon layer. It is absorbing, and emotionally intense. Like a dream, it requires suspension of disbelief. At first I found Matthew's voice--slightly awkward, slightly alien, and unschooled--off putting, and I was confused, and skeptical of the logistics of Safe, and wanted some explanation about why all these mutations happened.

But I read on, and found the story so carefully particular in its construction of character and detail, and the progression toward "truth" so inexorable, that I was carried easily first into acceptance, and then into intent, almost desperate, interest. And now, having read it, my questions are much more philosophical--what price is safety worth? and how does the telling of the past shape the present? It became, in my mind, as much an extended metaphor as a straight story, and although I probably won't re-read it, it will stick in my mind just fine regardless. This was Leah Bobet's first book, and I'll definitely be reading her second!

It's not a fun, fast, cozy read. It was gripping and intense. It's not a stereotypical YA paranormal novel, in which beautiful, extraordinary people fall in love, and you know they'll end up together. Matthew and Ariel are, indeed, extraordinary, and not unbeautiful, but their painfully fragile relationship is not an escapist fantasy. If you are looking for a memorable, though-provoking read, give this one a try.

note on age: There isn't any sex or bad language, but the plot is achingly intense at times, the themes are for older readers, and there's some violence. Though the girl with wings on the cover might suggest a fairy story, it isn't, so I wouldn't give this to a pre-teen reader. On the other hand, it would be a good crossover to adults who shy away from YA books. Fans of Margaret Atwood, for instance, might enjoy it. That being said, my husband looked at the wings when I pressed him to read it and did not immediately pounce on the book.

(ARC received from the publisher)

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

Hi everyone. Here's this weeks round-up of all the middle grade sci fi and fantasy posts etc. I found in my blog reading this week! Please let me know if I missed yours.

The Reviews:

Above World, by Jenn Reese, at The Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia

Between Two Ends, by David Ward, at Lisa is Busy Nerding

The Cheshire Cheese Cat, by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright (audio book review), at Abby the Librarian

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again, by Frank Cottrell Boyce, at Becky's Book Reviews

The Devil's Arithmetic, by Jane Yolen, at The Children's War

Entwinned, by Heather Dixon, at Read in a Single Sitting

Explorer: The Mystery Boxes, Kazu Kibuishi, ed. at The HappyNappyBookseller

The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen, at Geo Librarian, The Book Smugglers, The Reading BookWyrm, Reading Between Classes, BooksYALove, Fantasy's Ink, and Charlotte's Library

Giants Beware! by Jorge Aguirre, at Waking Brain Cells

The Humming Room, by Ellen Potter, at Tor

Icefall, by Matthew Kirby, at YA Sleuth

The Mouse and the Motorcycle, by Beverly Cleary, at Middle Grade Ninja

Neversink, by Barry Wolverton, at The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia (giveaway) and The Write Path (also a giveaway)

The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

Paperquake, by Kathryn Reiss, at Charlotte's Library

Project Jackalope, by Emily Ecton, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Quest for the Secret Keeper, by Victoria Laurie, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Remarkable, by Lizzie K. Foley,in the New York Times Sunday Book Review

Return to Exile, by Eric Patten, at Geo Librarian

The Rise of the Darklings, by Paul Crilley, at Books Beside My Bed

The Ruins of Noe, by Danika Dinsmore, at Book Twirps

Seeing Cinderella, by Jenny Lindquist, at Nye Louwon

The Song of the Quark Beast, by Jasper Fforde, at Bart's Bookshelf

Spirit Fighter, by Jerel Law, at Sharon the Librarian

The Storm Makers, by Jennifer E. Smith, at Ms. Yingling Reads (scroll down)

Sword of Light, by Katherine Roberts, at Rebecca's Book Blog

The True Meaning of Smekday, by Adam Rex (audio book review), at Good Books and Good Wine

Tom's Midnight Garden, by Phillipa Pearce, and The Doll in the Garden, by Mary Downing Hahn, at Time Travel Times Two

The Wind of Life Series, by Oliver Neubert, at The Musings of a Book Addict

You Can't Have My Planet, But Take My Brother, Please, by James Mihaley, at Ms. Martin Teaches Media

Young Fredle, by Cynthia Voigt (audio book review) at Library Mama

The Zombie Chasers, by John Kloepfer, at Ms. Yingling Reads (scroll down)

Authors and Interviews:

Eric Patten (Return to Exile) at From the Mixed Up Files...

Barry Wolverton (Neversink) at There's a Book, The Other Side of the Story, The National Children's Book Examiner (giveaway), Lori Calabrese Writes!, (giveaway), and Another Gray Day (giveaway)

Marissa Burt (Storybound) at The Lucky 13s and A Thousand Wrongs (giveaway)

Other Good Stuff

Narnia in the eyes of a young Muslim reader, in the Huff Post religion blog, thanks to Educating Alice

Kate Coombs (aka Book Aunt) brings us the Second Annual Pistachio Awards

At Geo Librarian, there's a smorgasbord of mg sff goodness in a two posts on favorite chapter books.

The Hugo Awards, whose nominees were just announced, don't exactly tilt middle grade, but I was pleased to see that Ursula Vernon, of Dragonbreath Fame, has a book nominated in the graphic novel category. Digger is one of those rare books, a wombat fantasy, and it's been on my wish list for ages.

Continuing in the cute critters vein, check out this poignant kiwi staring in a short animated film which I found at The Secret Adventures of Writer Girl.

On the fairy tale side of things--Sue Purkiss has a guest post on The Wild Swans at Seven Miles of Steel Thistles, Ruth Sanderson is talking 12 Dancing Princesses at Cynsations, and Kate Forsyth shares her favorite Rapunzel retellings at Read in a Single Sitting (she's just published a new one herself, but for adults--Bitter Greens).

You've probably seen this picture of President Obama and Lieutenant Uhura (aka Nichelle Nichols) but I had to post it because I think it is utterly swell.


And if you want something more seasonally appropriate, I found this cake picture from 1941 at The Children's War, where you can also find a lovely advertisement for the ham of yesteryear. Note the staked, earless bunny faces on the top of the cake:

Spell Bound, by Rachel Hawkins

Warning: This review of Spell Bound, by Rachel Hawkins (Hyperion, 2012, YA 336 pages) is, perforce, a tad spoilery for the first two books in the Hex Hall series (Hex Hall, and Demonglass). In any event, those are both very entertaining books, and there's no reason not to read them first.

Spell Bound continues the story of Sophie, part-demon teenager and reluctant participant in a no-holds-barred war involving demon-raisers (very, very bad), rabid crusaders against magical people (bad), slightly less rabid crusaders (not all bad?) and herself and her best friends--2 cute magical boys, and 1 cute vampire girl (very good) and her dead frenemy (good enough to help out lots, in a ghostly way). In short, the bad side is way more powerful, especially since Sophie's own demon powers have been locked up inside her.

But her powers aren't gone for good--if she can a. recover them b. stay alive, and help her friends stay alive c. not run screaming from a literal pit of hellacious magic, good might defeat evil! And she might figure her way out of the love triangle she's caught in, which would also make her life more peaceful.

I love how Sophie and co. rather desperately use humor and snarkiness to keep from buckling under the weight of their horrible situation. If I had to fight bad demons, I'd most definitely want to be fighting with them--how could you not want comrades who shout "holy hell weasel!" when things go bad? Yet even thought they do their best to banter, it's clear that they are taking things seriously (as well they should)--their situation is never trivialized. Add to that lots of surprising plot twists, and the result is a book that's both entertaining as a light, fun read, and emotionally gripping as all get out.

Sure, the love triangle thing was perhaps a smidge too much of a love triangle thing (I personally prefer the romantic tensions that happen before full-blown tirangularity, as was the case in the first book, Hex Hall), and one aspect of the ending was a bit like lightning coming from a clear blue sky ("No! no!" I thought. "This cannot be happening!") but those reservations are minor.

Sophie's story is wrapped up tidily, but Rachel Hawkins has not ruled out (as far as I can tell from her FAQ page) the possibility of more books set in her world...

A quick sample of other thoughts at So Many Books, So Little Time, Knight Reader, Obsession with Books, and Ms. Yingling Reads.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen

I have just finished reading my favorite book of the year to date, the sort of finishing that involves desperate, gulpish page-turning, with the pleasure of reading fighting the need to know what happens. The book in question is The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen (Scholastic, 2012, ages 10 up, 352 pages), and I read it in a single sitting.

The story starts when a guttersnipe named Sage, and three other boys, are plucked from the various orphanages of a medieval-eque kingdom by Connor, an ambitious nobleman. The royal family has just been murdered, and Connor plans to keep the kingdom from descending into anarchy by producing the younger prince, lost at sea four years earlier. Sage and co. have been carefully picked for their resemblance to the vanished prince...but only one will be chosen as Connor's impostor, and it's pretty obvious that he won't scruple to kill the runners-up.

Two weeks of princely training at Connor's estate aren't enough to make Sage the tool that Connor needs. Especially since Sage has no intention of ever being owned by anyone...

Sage, a mischievous, conniving, intelligent thief/orphan boy, tells the story from a beautifully unreliable first person point of view. There's a huge emotionally charged story embedded in this unreliable narration, that flashes to the surface every now and then with aching intensity. And this made Sage not just another pretty thief boy, but a real, believable, intense character, unwilling to compromise on his core values. It's easy to imagine a ten year old girl crushing on Sage, and he's worthy of it, but my own reaction was that of a mother--my heart ached for him.

The whole unreliability bit was at exactly my level (so not that high a bar)-- I figured out exactly what I was supposed to, and reacted accordingly. Enough was told the reader so that they could appreciate things, but enough was kept secret, both internally in the world of the book, and externally, from the reader, to make it all very tense.

In short, it was a really, really good book. If you like the same books that I like, do try it. Especially if, like me, you are a fan of Megan Whalen Turner's books--Sage is, in many, many ways, a lot like Gen (although his story and his character are his own). The False Prince is the first of a trilogy--of course I'm glad to have more books to look forward to, but I willing to bet that, inasmuch as the secrets and plottings and lies of this one can't continue easily into subsequent books, it will always be my favorite of the series!

Note on age of recommended reader: Sage is 14 or 15, just at the point of his life where there's some hint that, when he's not preoccupied with small things like staying alive, preventing wars, etc., he will be interested in girls. Although there are two girls who will almost certainly be in the next book, romance is is still to come. This makes this a fine book for the ten to eleven year old or so, and, judging by my own reaction, there's enough to keep the interest of older readers. There's one sudden murder, and a smidge of torture, but not so much as to be the stuff of nightmares.

Note on "fantasy": this is one of those books that's clearly fantasy, because it takes place in an alternate version of medieval reality, but nothing magical at all, not one little bit, ever happens. It's much more a mystery/adventure story, which might broaden its appeal.

Disclaimer: hardcover review copy received from the publisher, to which my initial reaction was pleasure that I could pass it along to the library, but that ain't gonna happen. It's staying on my bookshelf.

Paperquake, by Kathryn Reiss, for Timeslip Tuesday

Paperquake, by Kathryn Reiss (Harcourt, 1999, midde grade, 272 pages)

Violet has always been the baby of her family, even though she's technically the same age as her two triplet sisters--she was the only frail one, and needed heart surgery as a child, so she's always been protected and hovered over. She the odd one out in looks as well, as her sisters are identical, and operate as a team. She's determined to take her full place alongside her sisters...but how can she get them to take her seriously?

When her parents by a dilapidated building in downtown San Francisco, a small earthquake dislodges an old letter, written to a girl called Baby V. in 1906, whose life seems to mirror Violet's own. This letter is just the first in a mysterious paper chase-- more and more information about Baby V. comes Violet's way, almost as if it is meant. And like Violet, V. in the past was haunted by the fear of earthquakes.

And in one of the last letters, V.'s nightmare is described, and Violet realizes to her horror that it is a warning:

"The bridge was a fabulous golden bridge that spanned the entire bay....slowly I became aware that there was a dark-haired girl at my side. She did not speak. Then suddenly the bridge was shaking, and I grabbed the golden girder for support. But unlike real gold it was not solid, and seemed to melt away under my hand. Fire shot up around me, and through the smoke I saw three shadows reaching out their hands to me. Then we were falling, and falling around us, too, were strange vehicles, like horseless carriages or automobiles, but sleek and smooth and all shiny colors. There were people trapped inside, men, women, children--all screaming as we plummeted toward the churning water" (page 180).

All the pieces of the puzzle from the past come together to give Violet the information she needs to save the victims of the earthquake that's about to happen in the present...and she rises to the occasion in truly exciting climax.

Violet's struggle to stop being the baby of her family is easy to empathize with, as are her relationships with her sisters, best friend, and new almost-maybe boyfriend. And the story of V. in the past--one of thwarted romance-- is interesting in its own right. The paper chase relies heavily on coincidence, but is absorbing none the less, and since it gradually seems as though there's a reason why the letter keep falling into Violet's hands, the coincidence is more palatable than it might otherwise have been.

This is one for young middle grade readers (girls more than boys, I'd say) who have patience with a slow-buildup of suspense and mystery, who are able to suspend disbelief. Judging from the considerable number of five star reviews from kids on Amazon, this is one that seems to work well for the right reader! That wasn't me, exactly--I enjoyed it just fine (although I wanted to shake Violet's parents for babying her), but I never cared all that much for the characters (past and present).

And I would personally have preferred that the time slip element was made more present (instead of just being dreams and premonitions), which I think would have added more umph, but this wasn't truly necessary to the plot. I'm calling this time travel to our present, even though no-one actually travels; just two characters in the past dreaming of the present earthquake and somehow transmitting that warning through time.

(unrelated thought on the cover--I found it interesting to see that Violet is shown on the original hardcover wearing a hoodie, which is now, after the death of Treyvon Martin, so charged a garment in the US; it's charged elsewhere as well. I just learned via wikipedia that in 2011, police in Brisbane, Australia, "launched a 'Hoodie Free Zone' initiative, with shopkeepers encouraged to ask hoodie-wearers to leave." I wonder if we will see such innocent hoodies as Violet's on book covers again. And in fact on the paperback cover, shown at right, the hoodie is gone).

Hex Hall, by Rachel Hawkins

When Hex Hall, by Rachel Hawkins, (Hyperion, 2011, YA, 352 pp) first came out, I, like many bloggers, read it with great enthusiasm. But there were so many reviews of it, I never felt a pressing need to add my two cents. Now, however, I have a new page dedicated to fantasy and sci fi school stories, and I can't not include Hex Hall on that list. Especially since I just re-read it, in preparation for diving into the third, newly released book of the series, Spell Bound!

In Hex Hall, we meet young Sophie, a high school student whose attempt to work a well-intentioned love spell at prom goes horribly wrong. So wrong that the governing council of the Prodiguium (folks with paranormal powers--witches, shapeshifters, fairies, and werecreatures) insist that she go to an isolated school where every student has an episode in their past similar to Sophie's own disaster.

But Hecate Hall is not the most gently nurturing of environments. From the Publisher blurb (time is short, and the gist of things is well-expressed): "By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect."

By the end of the book, Sophie is in seriously hot water. Unless she can solve the mystery, and make it through the final showdown, her stay at Hecate will come to an awful end...

Sophie is a gem. It's not that common for a paranormal heroine to have a sense of humor and a smart mouth, and I loved it. Here's Sophie addressing the headmistress, for instance: “I’m experiencing some teenage angst, Mrs Casnoff,” I answered. “I need to, like, write it in my journal or something.” If I had to go to a magical boarding school, I'd want Sophie as a room-mate. Her relationship with Jenna, her vampire room-mate, is based on delightful banter--they both use humor to buoy each others spirits when things go wrong (which they do, in spades!). Her romance (a hopeless...or maybe not...crush on a truly hot dude) is spot on in its tension and teetering hope, and because Archer, the dude in question, is also a smart-aleck, it's great fun to read their scenes together.

And on top of that, the mystery is gripping, and the ensemble cast full of intriguing characters (Lord Byron makes a cameo appearance as a vampire, teaching English).

I enjoyed it just as much the second time around--it's a truly fun, fast read that makes the reader eager to pounce into the sequel as quickly as possible.

(disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher)

How my bloggiesta weekend went

In a word: fail. Not total fail, but still ever so clearly on the fail side of the scale, mainly because I lost yesterday to Science Olympiad. My son's Rube Goldberg machine came in third! Yay! (Sometimes I feel that my life is a Rube Goldberg machine; the simplest tasks become hideously complex. I know, on paper, what efficiency looks like, but, like string theory, I can't find tangible evidence of it in reality).

My goals and what became of them:

1. graze through the various mini-challenges. I am going to be on a vacation of sorts (away from house and job and children!) for three days next week, spending time with my mother....I am going to go back and revisit them then.

2. Tidy my links. This was easy, and I did it.

3. Expand my fairy tale retelling page to include retellings of myths; possibly create one or two new pages (ghosts and fantastical schools come to mind). Actually, I did that one too! I have a new page on sci fi/fantasy school stories, and all though it is still raw, it does exist.

4. Write four reviews to have on hand. Yeah, right. This one bombed.

5. Find the unfinished book that I lost somewhere in the house. Sigh. I shall have to go sit in a bookstore and read it there.

6. Add a few more reviews to Amazon and goodreads. Nope!

7. Make sure that I've emailed the publishers who have sent me books that I've reviewed. There was actually only one (I think) I needed to do this for, and I even kept the little card that came with the book, which had a nice handwritten note but--- no email address!!!!! So, fail.

8. Create a domestic atmosphere more conducive for reading and blogging by thoroughly cleaning the house (see Goal 5) and getting the garden completely ready for spring. Build stone retaining wall and put up stockade fence to keep loud neighbors from bothering me while I try to read and blog.

Well, the house is a lot cleaner (I even scrubbed behind the bathroom fixtures), and I filled five buckets of weeds, but there is still plenty, so much plenty, to be done. I did not move any stones for my wall. So I give myself a half point for this.

Total: 2.5 out of 8.

But on the plus side, it was really nice to see that my make-a-page challenge was useful!

Here's the Bloggiesta finish line post over at It's All About Books. Thank you very much, Bloggiesta organizers!

They made pages! A Bloggiesta mini-challenge update

I'm awfully pleased that my Page Making mini-challenge for Bloggiesta was helpful! It challenged participants to organize blog contact in permanent pages, and here, as promised, are the results so far. I'm going to keep up-dating this for today, of course, and a few days into next week so far; I'll be doing the drawing for the giveaway first thing tomorrow morning, though, so don't delay if you want to be entered for an ARC of Unbreak My Heart, by Melissa Walker (YA) or an ARC of Above, by Leah Bobet (YA).

(please let me know if I missed your page in the comments on the original challenge page!!!!)

There's a new page on Books and Food at libbysbookblog

And there are pages on Game Reviews, In Depth Characters, and more at Zeronic's Gamers Lounge!

Here's a fun page of Hunger Games Trivia at YA Romantics

A Bloggiesta page at Zara Alexis

A new review archive at Books and Beyond

A page for Art and Art History at Truth, Beauty, Freedom and Beyond

Lots of cool page action when you click on the Reviews tab at Creativity's Corner!

Rainy Days and Mondays has new pages too!

Here's a page of Book Club Picks at Book Journey

There's a new page of Middle Grade Books at Oh My Books!

And a revamped Guest archive at One a Day Y.A.

Carina at Reading Through Life made theme pages within her "Reviews" page

A page of BEA posts at Alexia's Books & Such

Parenting Books, at SMS Book Reviews

A policies page and a book tour page at A Daydreamer's Thoughts

There are 4 new pages at MyRandRSpace!

And a 2012 book challenge page at A Room With Books

Romance Reads is a new page at Book Geek Diaries

Continuing the luv, here's a new page on Romantic Reading at BooksYALove

Finally, I made a new page myself! Fantasy and Sci Fi School Stories is up, but needs some tweeking still, and lots more books read and added to it!

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 of interest to us fans of middle grade (ages 9-12, give or take) fantasy and science fiction. Clearly the letter "c", which dominated the reviews the past few weeks, has become passe; the cool letter these days is "s."

Please let me know if I missed your post!

The Reviews:

100 Cupboards, by N.D. Wilson, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

The Bad Apple, by T.R. Burns, at Shannon Messenger (giveaway)

Bliss, by Kathryn Littlewood, at Good Books and Good Wine

Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu, at literary_mama

The Cabinet of Earths, by Anne Nesbet, at Books of Wonder and Wisdom

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again, by Frank Cottrell Boyce, at Charlotte's Library

The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen, at Emily's Reading Room, Karissa's Reading Review, Mudie Kids, and Small Review

The Haunting of Nathaniel Wolfe, by Brian Keaney, at Charlotte's Library

The Last Musketeer, by Stuart Gibbs, at Ms. Yingling Reads

A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, at Book Nut

The Mysterious Howling, by Maryrose Wood (audio book review), at Good Books and Good Wine

The Shark King (a Toon book), by R. Kikuo Johnson, at Jean Little Library

Ship of Souls, by Zetta Elliott, at Finding Wonderland

Sidekicks, by Dan Santat, at Stacked

The Silver Crown, by Robert C. O'Brien, at e.c. myers

Snow in Summer, by Jane Yolen, at Books Beside My Bed

Spellbound, by Jacqueline West, at Library Chicken

A Stitch in Time, by Penelope Lively, at Charlotte's Library

The Unseen Guest, by Maryrose Wood, at Educating Alice and Good Books and Good Wine

Winterling, by Sarah Prineas, at The Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia

Authors and Interviews:

Jenny Lundquist (Seeing Cinderella) at Cynsations

Anne Nesbit (The Cabinet of Earths) at Literary Rambles (giveaway) and at A Thousand Wrongs (also a giveaway)

Other Good Stuff:

At Seven Miles of Steel Thistles, I found fairy tale jewelry. Click through to read an interview with its creator, Iris Schamberger (and to see more pictures!)

ARCs of Palace of Stone, by Shannon Hale, the squeel to Princess Academy, are in the world--and she's giving four away.