9/15/15

Trapped Between the Lash and the Gun, by Arvella Whitmore for Timeslip Tuesday

There are time travel books whose point is to be didactic.  Trapped Between the Lash and the Gun, by Arvella Whitmore (1999), is written explicitly (I know this from the author's note, but I could have figured it out myself) to teach primarily about the horror of slavery, and secondly, to teach how the reverberations of slavery affect African Americans in the present. 

In the present, an urban black boy named Jordan is getting in over his head with the local gang; he is treading on very thin ice.  To get the money the gang leader wants him to produce, he steals the ancestral watch from his grandfather....but before he can pawn it, it takes him back through time to a plantation where he is assumed to be an errant slave.  Through Jordan's progressively more horrified eyes, the reader sees the human misery and evil of slavery, and he learns how the human spirit can triumph despite it all.   And he helps his ancestor escape, and comes back to the future having Learned Valuable Life Lessons, defies the gang, and ends up getting shot (but not fatally).  

He then learns that his missing dad is in prison for embezzlement, something his grandfather explains is a consequence of the systemic oppression of black people in America causing his father to give up on himself, linking this to reasons why boys join gangs (I feel there could have been a more powerful point made; this felt like a somewhat facile fizzle), and then Jordan moves out of the inner city.

I guess every kid should read at least one "this is the horror of slavery book" and the point of the past not just being past is one I think could be made more often, but there really wasn't anything about this particular book that transcended its didactic point.  Although the vivid descriptions were in fact extremely vivid, and gripping, and although several of the supporting characters were appealing, there wasn't quite enough to Jordan's character to make me care that much about him.  And so the book felt rather flat.  If you are looking for a quick intro to horrors of slavery from a modern kids perspective, it's not bad at getting its points across, but if you are looking for a really good book for middle grade kids I'd recommend instead, Delia Sherman's Freedom Maze, and for older readers, Zetta Elliott's A Wish After Midnight, or Octavia Butler's Kindred.  (All of these are time travel, and use the tension of that situation to much greater effect).

Here's the Kirkus review if you want another opinion.

Frankly, the most interesting part of the book was the author's note, in which she tells how she found out that she herself was not just white, as she'd always believed, but a descendent of slaves herself.   The true story of her ancestors was fascinating and emotionally more stirring than the book itself.

9/13/15

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

Here are my blog reading gleanings from the past week!  Please let me know if I missed your post.

The Reviews

The 13 Clocks, by James Thurber, at Pages Unbound

Alistair Grim's Odditorium, by Gregory Funaro, at Nerdophiles

Bloodguard, and The Glass Gauntlet, by Carter Roy, at Geo Librarian

Book of the Dead (Tombquest, book 1), by Michael Northrup, at Hidden in Pages

The Broken Spell by Erika McGann, at The Write Path

Confessions of an Imaginary Friend: A Memoir by Jacques Papier, by Michelle Cuevas at Jen Robinson's Book Page, Always in the Middle, and Teen Librarian Toolbox

The Copper Gauntlet, by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, at Buxton's Fantasy and Science Fiction Novels

Crenshaw, by Katherine Applegate, at Geo Librarian and Random Musings of a Bibliophile

A Curious Tale of the In-Between, by Lauren DeStefano, at Randomly Reading and Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf

Divide and Conquer (Infinity Ring Book 2), by Carrie Ryan, at Time Travel Times Two

The Galaxy Pirates by Zoƫ Ferraris, at On Starships and Dragonwings

Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invincible, by Ursula Vernon, at Books Together

Hoodoo, by Ronald L. Smith, at Cover2CoverBlog

Into the Dream, by William Sleator, at Views from the Tesseract

Jinx's Fire, by Sage Blackwood, at alibrarymama

The Jumbies, by Tracey Baptiste, at @homelibrarian

The Key to Extraordinary, by Natalie Lloyd, at Bibliobrit

The Last Changling, by Jane Yolen and Adem Stemple, at Read Till Dawn

A Nearer Moon, by Melanie Crowder, at Word Spelunking

Nightares, by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller, at Xpresso Reads

Nightmares!  The Sleepwalker Tonic, by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller, at Word Spelunking

Of Enemies and Endings (The Ever Afters), by Shelby Bach, at Log Cabin Library

The Pirate Code, by Heidi Schulz, at The Quiet Concert

The School for Good and Evil, by Soman Chainani, at Small Review

School for Sidekicks, by Kelly McCullough at Working for the Mandroid

The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner, at Log Cabin Library

Twist My Charm: The Popularity Spell, by Toni Gallagher, at Word Spelunking

Valiant, by Sarah McGuire, at Leaf's Reviews

Three at Ms. Yingling Reads--Crenshaw, by Katherine Applegate, Switch, by Ingrid Law, and Heroes of the Dustbin, by Tyler Whitesides

Other Good Stuff

Cressida Cowell presents a How to Train Your Dragon tour in pictures at The Guardian

A new issue of Middle Shelf Magazine is out, with plenty of good MG sci fi/fantasy content

Artemis Fowl is moving toward the big screen, with Kenneth Branagh set to direct it.

9/11/15

The Scorpion Rules, by Erin Bow

Erin Bow's YA books are not exactly comfy--the heroines of her stories (Plain Kate, Sorrow's Knot) must navigated complicated worlds in which contentment is precarious, and is balanced with darkness and loss.  The Scorpion Rules, her most recent book, fits this description to a t. 

In a future world, desperate for peace, a collective bargain was made.  An artificial intelligence known as Talis keeps watch over the various nations of Earth, enforcing peace with the threat of death.  Cities are destroyed when the peace is broken.  And hostage children, the dearest ones of the various rulers, are gathered together in an enclave, knowing that they will be killed if their nations go to war. 

One of these so-called Children of Peace is Greta, daughter of a queen of North America.  If she can make it to 18 years old, she will be free, and so she calmly goes about her life, being instructed by her AI teacher, working on the enclaves farm, keeping to the pattern of the days dictated to her.  She is so much the good hostage child that she doesn't even sneak off with the other teens to play "coyotes" (euphemism!)  in the dark night outside.   But then a catalyst from outside shatters the calm of her life.  Elian, son of a new American alliance that is threatening to make war with Greta's homeland, arrives, and he refuses to be a docile hostage.   He is tortured as a result, while the other Children of Peace watch.  And Greta knows that his people declare war on hers, which seems likely, the two of them will die.

Her  peace of mind is cracked both by the horrible implications of his presence, and by his stubborn defiance.   And a new Greta emerges from the structure of her controlled life, one who questions, who loves, who wants a future of her own making....But Talis is watching, always watching, and for him, death is not just an abstract threat.

So basically the book is about Greta growing from Good Hostage Child to strong, passionate, questioning young woman, and as this happens, there's a very gripping ratcheting up of the tension not just of her personal situation but of the lives of those around her, and the lives of thousands of strangers who Talis could kill at any time.  I was so afraid reading it that it would have a heartbreaking ending, and was glad that although tense as all get out, it wasn't all devastation and darkness....There is lots and lots of room for a sequel, but it ends at a good ending point, where there is hope (hanging fro a thread) for a different sort of peace to come.

I don't want to spoil things, but I do want to say, to help those who want to find such  books, that the teen romance at the heart of the book is LGBT, and this was an unexpected and tender romance that tightened the knot around my heart just beautifully!

In short, The Scorpion Rules isn't exactly a comfy kids at a farm school fooling around with each other sort of book, although almost it is (I put my boarding school label on it!); instead, it's that sort of book but with the very real threat of death, and no possibility of escape, hanging constantly over the kids, beautifully written and achingly engrossing.  I read it two months ago, and it is still crystal clear in my mind.


9/8/15

Katie and the Dinosaurs, by James Mayhew, for Timeslip Tuesday

This is the sort of Tuesday when I fall back on a picture book--Katie and the Dinosaurs, by James Mayhew (1991), because I am a pathetic reader in terms of what would make sense to read (instead of reading a nice time travel book over the weekend, I read some nice books that don't come out for months and months....

But in any event.

So Katie's grandma takes her to the museum to see the dinosaur bones, and promptly sits down to have a nap, leaving little Katie to explore on her own. Bad idea!  Katie, after happily viewing all the fossils, goes down a dark corridor, opens a forbidden door, and finds herself in Dinosaur-time!  There she meets and greets and sees from afar various dinosaurs, helps a hadrosaur find its family, and is chased by a T-rex.

It is an old book, so there are no dino feathers in evidence.  It's also dino stew--with dinos who didn't live in the same time period all running around together.  So though it feels written as a first guide to dinosaurs, it's better not read as science, but more as a merry little story for the very young (3 or 4) who won't become agitated by factual inaccuracies.   So should you bother at all with it?  There are many more accurate dino books around these days, I imagine, but the art here is rather charming, and the timesliping through a forbidden door is a magical twist of memorableness.  Here's a sample page:

9/6/15

This week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (9/6/15)

Happy Labor Day weekend!  Here's what I have for you this week; please let me know if I missed your link.

The Reviews

Alistair Grim's Odditorium, by Gregory Funaro, at Geo Librarian

Backyard Witch: Sadie's Story, by Christine Heppermann and Ron Koertge, at Books Together

Beneath, by Roland Smith, at Guys Lit Wire

The Copper Gauntlet, by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, at The Book Wars

Crown of Three, by J.D. Rinehart, at Log Cabin Library

A Curious Tale of the In-Between, by Lauren DeStefano, at Cracking the Cover

Diary of a Mad Brownie, by Bruce Coville, at Books Together

Fierce Winds and Fiery Dragons, by Nan Sweet, at Cindy Reads A Lot

The Glass Gauntlet, by Carter Roy, at Buxton's Fantasy and Science Fiction Novels

Heroes of the Dustbin (Janitors #5), by Tyler Whitesides, at Geo Librarian

Hoodoo, by Roland L. Smith, at Laurisa White Reyes

The House on Stone's Throw Island, by Dan Pobloki, at Charlotte's Library

The Ice Dragon, by George R.R. Martin, at Pages Unbound

The Irish Wizard, by Avril Sabine, at Nayu's Reading Corner

The Magic Thief: Lost, by Sarah Prineas, at Leaf's Reviews

A Nearer Moon, by Melanie Crowder, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

Nightmares! by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller, at Word Spelunking

Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creatures, by Jackson Pearce & Maggie Stiefvater, at Readaraptor

The Pirate Code, by Heidi Schulz, at The Daily Prophecy and Log Cabin Library

Redeemed (The Missing, Book 8), by Margaret Peterson Haddix, at Read Till Dawn

School for Sidekicks, by Kelly McCullogh, at The Reading Nook Reviews

The  Screaming Staircase, by Jonathan Stroud, at Sonderbooks (audiobook review)

The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow, by Jessica Haight and Stephanie Robinson, at This Kid Reviews Books

Seven Dead Pirates, by Linda Bailey, at School Library Journal

The Sixty-eight Rooms, by Marianne Malone, at Fantasy of the Silver Dragon

Space Hostages (Mars Evacuees #2), by Sophia McDougall, at The Book Smugglers

The Vanishing Island, by Barry Wolverton, at books4yourkids

Wild Robert, by Dianna Wynne Jones, at Charlotte's Library

Two at Ms. Yingling Reads:  Hoodoo, by Ronald Smith, and Took, by Mary Downing Hahn

And another two at Ms. Yingling Reads:  The Flintwood Factor, by Pete Hautman, and Shadows of Sherwood, by Kekla Magoon

Two at Postcards from La-la Land-- Bayou Magic, by Jewell Parker Rhodes, and The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp, by Kathi Appelt

Three at SLJ--Serafina and the Black Cloak, by Robert Beatty, The Nest, by Kenneth Oppel, and The Disappearance of Emily H., by Barrie Summy

Authors and Interviews

Roland Smith (Hoodoo) at Literary Rambles

Lauren DeStefano (A Curious Tale of the In-Between) at Nerdy Book Club and Fuse #8

Other Good Stuff

A Tuesday 10 of 2015's animal fantastic, at Views from the Tesseract and another of Fractured Fairytales

The deadline to apply to be a Cybils judge is the 9th of September, which is this Wednesday; all of you whose blogs appear in these round-ups might want to apply to be panelists in the best category of all (maybe)--Middle Grade Speculative Fiction.  Though there is also YA speculative fiction, where the books are longer and there are more to read (they get about 200 nominations in YA, we get about 150 in MG).  In particular, YA non fiction and Book apps could use a few more interested people.  More information from me can be found here, and here's where you apply.

9/2/15

Little Robot, by Ben Hatke

Little Robot, by Ben Hatke (First Second, Sept. 2015), is a lovely graphic novel for the young (1st or 2nd grade) reader, that can, like all of Ben Hatke's books, be enjoyed by older readers too.

A little girl, still in her white nightie, climbs out her bedroom window.  She's too little to be one of the kids getting on the school bus, so she heads out to explore.  In the junkyard she finds a tool belt, which she dons, and her lonely path takes her on to the edge of a stream.  There, in a cardboard box in the water, she finds a robot!  Now she has a companion, and she and the little robot explore nature together.

But the Big Factory of Robots has noticed little Robot is gone, and a scary bot is sent out to find and retrieve him.  And the little robot himself isn't sure about his own situation; he misses the company of others like himself.

When the scary bot seizes little Robot and takes him back to the factory, the girl follows....and with tons of gumption, she saves her friend. 

The nearly wordless story is an utterly charming story of ingenuity, friendship, and pluck!  I love Ben Hatke's art--his characters, whether robot or girl, all have such endearing personalities (unless they are scary hunter robots!), and this story is a particularly satisfying one for any kid who wants a best friend.  The little girl is also a great role model for anyone who's wanted to be a maker and a tinkerer with tools!  Her skills with a wrench and her confidence in her abilities are what makes the happy ending as happy as it is.  It's a good book to give emergent readers, to give them the habit of turning pages and becoming immersed in a story, without the possible stress having to read words might bring! 

What makes this book stand out (apart from the great pictures, great story, and appealing protagonists) is that the little girl is not only a kid of color, but she's from a family that isn't economically advantaged--she lives in a mobile home park, and the grown-ups in her life aren't helicopter parents lavishing her with round-the-clock attention and material possessions.  (The only thing that negatively impacted my enjoyment of the story was my very deep maternal concern that the little girl was going to end up with tetanus from wandering around the junkyard in bare feet, although I realize that the target audience won't share this anxiety).  But in any event, it's lovely to see the possibilities of fantasy adventure expanded to include kids like her!

Here's the starred Kirkus review.

disclaimer:  signed copy received at Book Expo America, but I was so excited to be meeting Ben Hatke and Gina Gagliano from First Second that I became overcome, and like a derp I left my signed copy behind at the signing desk.  Gina was kind enough to mail it on to me.  Thank you so much, Gina!

9/1/15

Wild Robert, by Diana Wynne Jones, for Timeslip Tuesday

Finally I have gotten hold of  a copy of Wild Robert, by Diana Wynne Jones (1989), the last full length book of hers I had never read (sigh).  I enjoyed it, but felt like it was half a story--I wanted it to follow the very intriguing open thread at the end!

Heather's home is the grand old historical estate of Castlemaine, where her parents are caretakers.  This is all very well, except in summer, when the place is overrun by tourists.  Desperately seeking a tourist free hiding spot, Heather retreats to the edge of the estate, to the strange little mound said to be the grave of Wild Robert, who lived and died most mysteriously 350 years ago.   In her frustration, Heather angrily calls to Wild Robert to do something about the tourists, and to her very great (and understandable) surprise, he appears before her, a handsome young man in period clothing, somehow brighter than everything around him, but very much corporally present (so not a ghost).

Wild Robert was a magician, and he still has considerable powers of magic.  During the course of his day with Heather, he works considerable magic and mischief.  But though Heather is consternated by tourists being turned into sheep and the like, as she learns more of his story, and empathizes with his reactions to seeing his home 350 years in the future (this is the part that makes this timeslip in my mind), her primary response is one of deep sympathy.  And the book ends with Robert returning underground, and Heather wondering if his heart can ever be returned to him....

And I really wonder that too, and want the next story really badly!  It is Heather's empathy for Robert, and the sadness of his story with its twisty magic and familial betrayal, that gives the book more weight than it would have it were just simply magical high-jinx worked on tourists (although that makes for fun reading in its own right!).  But because the story ends after that one day, we never get to explore that deeper part enough to make this a truly outstanding book. 

Sigh.

8/31/15

The House on Stone's Throw Island, by Dan Poblocki

Dan Poblocki is my go-to author when I need to recommend horror to an eleven or twelve year old, and his latest book, The House on Stone's Throw Island (Scholastic, Aug. 25, 2015) is another fine atmospheric and spooky story for that demographic.

Two kids, Josie and Eli, are thrown into each other's company when they head out to Stone's Throw Island, off the coast of Maine, where their older siblings are going to get married.   The house is big, the island is isolated, and as Josie and Eli start exploring it, it soon becomes clear that it is a very, very creepy place indeed.   Caves flooded at high tide echo with a voice crying for help in German, and Josie's room is haunted by the specter of a girl her own age.

And then things go really bad!  The ghosts of Stone's Throw Island are desperate for revenge, and they will possess the living in order to get it!  It is rather direct horror with lots of  omg is the really happening type terror; after the initial gentle creepiness, things explode.  If you want a book in which a ghostly Nazi submarine crewed by friends and family possessed by Nazi ghosts pursues the heroes, this is the book you have been waiting for! 

Josie and Eli add to the character side of things, especially Josie, from whose perspective we see the horror unfold.  The island setting and the historical mystery that Josie and Eli must solve, with the help of a diary written by a girl on the island in 1942,  also add elements that will appeal to those who find the ghost sub and its zombified ghost crew a tad over the top (which would be me). 

That being said, the premise of Germans in Atlantic waters is based on fact; they were here, within spitting distance of the Atlantic coast, sinking ships right and left.

Dan Pobloki will be at Kidlitcon 2015, as part of a panel on Middle Grade Horror! So come on down (or up) to Baltimore October 9th and 10th!)

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

8/30/15

This week's roundup of middle grade science fiction and fantasy (8/30/15)

Let me know if I missed your post!
The Reviews

Alistair Grim's Odditorium, by Gregory Funaro, at Buxton's Fantasy and Science Fiction Novels

Bayou Magic, by Jewell Parker Rhodes, at Akossiwa Ketoglo

Castle Hangnail, by Ursula Vernon, at alibrarymama

Cat in the Mirror, by Mary Stolz, at Charlotte's Library

Confessions of an Imaginary Friend, by Michelle Cuevas, at Book Nut

Crenshaw, by Katherine Applegate, at The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

Dandilion Fire, and The Chestnut King, by N.D. Wilson, at Dead Houseplants

Dark Whispers, by Bruce Coville, at Read Till Dawn

The Familiars, by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson, at Jean Little Library

Finding Serendipity, by Angelica Banks, at Becky's Book Reviews

Flunked, by Jen Calonita, at Leaf's Reviews and The Indigo Quill

The Gift of Sunderland, by Jeanne E. Rogers, at This Kid Reviews Books

The Girl With the Silver Eyes, by Willo Davis Roberts, at Log Cabin Library

Goblins on the Prowl, by Bruce Coville, at Buxton's Fantasy and Science Fiction Novels

Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invincible, by Ursula Vernon, at Abby the Librarian, Waking Brain Cells, and Word Spelunking

The Isle of the Lost, by Melissa de la Cruz, at Small Review

The Jumbies, by Tracy Baptiste, at For Those About To Mock

The Last Ever After, by Soman Chainani, at The Writing Hufflepuff

A Nearer Moon, by Melanie Crowder, at On Starships and Dragonwings

The Nest, by Kenneth Oppel, at Fuse #8

Nightbird, by Alice Hoffman, at The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow

Nightmares: The Sleepwalker Tonic, by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller, at The Book Monsters

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy, by Karen Foxlee, at Pages Unbound

Ratscalibur, by Josh Lieb, at SLJ (audiobook review)

Rose and the Silver Ghost, by Holly Webb, at alibrarymama

Saving Lucas Biggs, by Marisa de los Santos and David Teague, at Big Hair and Books

The School for Good and Evil, by Soman Chainani, at Fantasy of the Silver Dragon

School for Sidekicks, by Kelly McCullough, at Buxton's Fantasy and Science Fiction Novels and Teen Librarian Tool Box

Serafina and the Black Cloak, by Robert Beatty, at Fantasy Book Critic

The Sign of the Cat, by Lynne Jonell, at The Book Wars

The Sixty-eight Rooms, by Marianne Malone, at My Cozy Book Nook

Stolen Magic, by Stephanie Burgis, at Leaf's Reviews

Thor's Serpents, by K.L. Armstrong and M. A. Marr, at Breathless Book Reviews

Tom Thorneval – Dream Merchant Extraordinaire, by Cornelius Elmore Addison, at Candace's Book Blog and Cover2Cover

Author and Interviews

C. Alexander London shares the illustrations from The Wild Ones at Nerdy Book Club

Other Good Stuff

Jillian Heise ponders books with animal characters at The Nerdy Book Club

The magic of maps in middle grade fiction, at Mother, Daughter, and Son Book Reviews

A personal look at the Green Knowe books from Christopher William Hill at The Guardian

Dan Pobloki, middle grade horror maestro, is now on the kidlitcon roster! check out the Kidlitcon tumblr for more info.

There's still time to apply to be a Cybils Judge, in middle grade speculative fiction or another category.  Here are all the categories:

  • Book Apps
  • Early Chapter Books
  • Easy Readers
  • Fiction Picture Books
  • Graphic Novels

    • Elementary/Middle-Grade
    • Young Adult
  • Middle-Grade Fiction
  • Nonfiction

    • Elementary/Middle-Grade
    • Young Adult
  • Poetry
  • Speculative Fiction
    • Elementary/Middle-Grade
    • Young Adult
  • Young Adult Fiction

  • (YA non-fiction is most in need of applicants).

     here's where you apply.

    8/29/15

    Dearest, by Alethea Kontis

    Dearest, by Alethea Kontis, is the third book in a series about the seven daughters of a woodcutter, each of whom is magically gifted with the attributes of the seven days of the week in the old rhyme (Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child is full of grace, etc).  They are named for the days of the week too, and this third book is about Friday (loving and giving).  (aside--as a Wednesday's child, "full of woe," I was never fond of this rhyme.  We had to draw a picture of ourselves as our day of the week;  I drew stick figure me in a purple dress standing in the rain....but I don't hold it against the books!)

    When Sunday married a prince, Friday's world expanded likewise.  But all is not well in the realm--a magical ocean has flooded the land, bringing its people to the brink of famine.  And seven swan brothers have taken refuge in an old tower in the castle; they are being perused by their enemy, determined to make sure that the curse on them can't be broken.  And Friday, loving and giving, is determined to help them and their sister do just that.

    The seven swan brothers is one of my favorite fairytales, and this is a retelling that sticks pretty closely to the original.  There is also reference to the goose girl story, though not central to the plot, and a whif of Peter Pan.

    This is just pure escapist reading goodness for those who like fantasy where the bad things are clearly not going to be allowed to take over, and where there's a nice, fairly straightforward romance.  It does not make any particular demands on the reader, but simply sets the stage for the story and lets all unfold very nicely indeed.   Those who have read the previous two books (Enchanted, and Hero) will be pleased to see the sisters again, those who have not might be a bit confused, but not so much so as to be deterred.   

    On the slightly downside, Friday sure is loving and giving, so much so that she's not the most satisfyingly nuanced character ever.  And it was so clear that all would end well that there's not much tension to the swan story; the much more mundane possibility of famine and efforts to avert it was more interesting to me.   The first two books were twistier, and so more mentally engaging.

    That being said, younger teens, and older readers willing to relax into the story, can look forward to being enchanted!  I don't think I'll ever need to read it again, but I sure did enjoy it the first time around!

    8/25/15

    Cat in the Mirror, by Mary Stolz, for Timeslip Tuesday

    I remember reading Cat in the Mirror, by Mary Stolz (1975) twice when I was a child, lo these many years ago (about 36 years ago, give or take).  The first time I read it was either because I was on a stint of reading through the public library collection in backwards alphabetical order, or because the cat in the title appealed.   I didn't love it, but liked it enough to check it out a second time, at which point I decided I really didn't care for it as much as it seemed like I should have--girl, cat, time travel is supposed to equal a good book!  And now I have read it a third time, and I realize that I really don't like it because:

    1. The main character, Erin, is tremendously unappealing.  All she does is feel sorry for herself, and hate her mother.  Both are pointless, even though her mother is a pretty awful, unloving mother.  And if people go around pouching their faces up with air all the time, being nicknamed "blowfish" is only to be expected.  And if people loose their temper and start screaming hysterically at their classmates on a regular basis, they won't become popular.  I knew I was supposed to sympathize with her, and admire her modern ideas about slave labor, and relate to her introspective nature, but she is actually a whinny spoiled brat. She doesn't, for instance, bat an eyelash at the fact that her housekeeper, Flora, is totally oppressed (perhaps by choice, but still).  As an adult, I was shocked when Erin's parents leave her in the hospital, saying "Flora will stay with you" and Flora just smiles and nods. 

    2.  The time travel is pointless.  So Erin makes friends (!) with a new kid, who is not repulsed that she keeps blowing her cheeks up with air, and the new kid is Egyptian.   This is not deeply important to the plot, except for the new kid saying that she looks Egyptian, and adding a sort of "Egypt is important to the story" set up.  In any event, Erin whangs her head on a sarcophagus and finds herself (sort of) in ancient Egypt.  That is, an Egyptian girl, Irun, now has almost sort become possessed by Erin's memories, and sometimes the point of view is Erin in Egyptian girl body, but mostly it's not.  Erin does not learn valuable lessons, grow as a person, or change anything in the past.  She's just a partially embodied, thought to be demonic, observer (and to give Stolz some credit, it's a perfectly reasonable "lets take a tour through ancient Egypt" sort of story, nicely described, detailed, vivid, etc.).  But at least Erin stops blowing her face out while back in Egypt.

    3.  If I were to title a book "Cat in the Mirror" I would make sure that the cat presence/foreshadowing/magical implications of cat were part of the book from the beginning.  The cat comes into the story very near the end, and although it is the catalyst for the only interesting bit of something happening, it's not on stage enough to make the book deserve the misleading title.

    Really what I remembered most clearly about the book was the whole business of her masses of black bushy hair, which travels back in time to Egypt with her, and which is assumed by the Egyptians to be the result of demonic possession.  It gets shaved off pretty quickly, an image that has stuck with me.  When she gets back to her modern self, waking up in the hospital with her head shaved because of the accident with the sarcophagus, she comments that now she will have an afro, which struck, and strikes, me as odd, because tightly cropped head of hair, no matter how bushy it used to be, isn't my idea of an afro.  But the 1970s were different, so what do I know. 

    The clear descriptions of Erin make the paperback portrayal of her rather eyebrow raising; in a sense, she's been whitewashed (though can you be whitewashed if you are white to start with?)  to look less like an ancient Egyptian and more like an utterly ordinary white girl.

    In any event, I don't think I'll be reading it a fourth time. 

    8/24/15

    The Temple of Doubt, by Anne Boles Levy

    The Temple of Doubt, by Anne Boles Levy (Sky Pony Press, August 2015), introduces one of the most believable speculative fiction teenage protagonists I've read in a long time, a girl named Hadara, who finds herself unwillingly placed at the center of events that not only shatter the pattern of her own life, but will probably change her whole world.

    It starts with a shooting star, falling into the swampy heart of her island home.  Soon after, two high priests of the god Nihil and their military retinue arrive from overseas, taking over the place, and demanding help in finding what has fallen from the heavens, suspecting that instead of a harmless meteorite it is the vessel of a demon.  Hadara and her mother are the only locals familiar with the swamps; they've ventured there often, gathering plants to make forbidden medicine--magic from Nihil, not natural cures, are all that their religion permits.  And so Hadara and their mother find themselves guiding the preists and their guards into the dangerous realm of the nonhuman people, the lizard-like Gek, whose make the swamp their home. 

    And there Hadara confronts the mystery of the fallen star, and the threat it might hold...

    And in the meantime, Hadara is very much a teenage girl!  Even before the star fell, she was chafing against the strictures of her society; unlike her pious sister, she had no patience for learning religious dogma by route, but would rather be out and doing, held back by a society that gave little room for girls to do so.   She's a direct sort of person, saying what she thinks even when she shouldn't, and that doesn't exactly go over so well with the priests and their soldiers.   Basically, she's in a situation way over her head, that's she's not tremendously equipped to deal with.  And to add to the complications of her situation, she's fallen hard for one of the foreign soldiers in a very believable teenage crush sort of way (with indications that it might turn into more).

    We see the events of the story unfolding as Hadara does, and this both strengthens the story and limits it.  The material details of her world are clear and vivid, and the religion is well-developed, but her somewhat insular upbringing and limited point of view can be frustrating  The presence of two non-human races in her world is something she takes for granted, for instance, but it takes the reader by surprise, and the nuances and backstory of this part of the world is never, in this first book, fully explored.  And perhaps because (at least this is my impression of her) Hadara doesn't have the character or education to understand religious/political machinations and manipulations, there was a frustrating sense that lots was happening that the reader wasn't getting told.  And the focus on Hadara's day by day experiences, though it did bring her vividly to life, meant that the pacing was somewhat slow--the action and tension are at times overshadowed by her introspection and mundane reality.  So it won't be to everyone's taste.

    That being said, since I enjoy tight character focus, and since I was fascinated by the religion that shapes Hadara's world, and since I was hooked on the mystery of the space thing, I myself was not slowed down in my reading, but turned the pages briskly and with enjoyment.  Even though I wanted to shake Hadara occasionally, or draw her attention to things I wanted her to be thinking more about, I enjoyed spending time with her and look forward to her continued adventures! (and I think readers who are themselves teenage girls will not have the wanting to shake her thing but will simply be able to relate very strongly with her).

    And now comes the part where I have to stick a label on this post--part of me says science fiction, because this feels like a "planet with alien races" such as one finds in sci fi, but another part says it has to be fantasy, because the magic of the god Nihil actually is real.   So I guess I have to go with both...

    disclaimer: not only did I receive a review copy from the publisher, but I consider Anne a friend, having met her in real life and worked with her for several years on the Cybils Awards (which she founded), and I tried hard  not to let this affect my review of her book.

    8/23/15

    This week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (8/23/15)

    Here's what I found this week; enjoy!

    And let me know if I missed your post.

    The Reviews

    Alfie Bloom and the Secrets of Hexbridge Castle, by Gabrielle Kent, at The Book Zone (for Boys) and Middle Grade Strikes Back

    Bayou Magic, by Jewell Parker Rhodes, at Abby the Librarian

    Circus Mirandus, by Cassie Beasley, at Semicolon

    Crenshaw, by Katherine Applegate, at Sharon the Librarian

    A Curious Tale of the In-Between, by Lauren DeStefano, at Charlotte's Library

    The Emerald Atlas, by Jonathan Stephens,  at Buxton's Fantasy and Science Fiction Novels

    The Eye of Zoltar, by Jasper Fforde, at Sonderbooks

    The Fourteenth Goldfish, by Jennifer L. Holm, at Confessions of a Bibliovore

    The Glass Gauntlet, by Roy Carter, at Ms. Yingling Reads and Always in the Middle

    Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invicible, by Ursula Vernon, at books4yourkids

    The Jumbies, by Tracey Baptiste, at Welcome to my (New) Tweendom

    The Last Kids on Earth, by Max Brallier, at The Reading Nook Reviews

    Lilliput, by Sam Gayton, at Redeemed Reader

    Princess Juniper of the Hourglass, by Ammi-Joan Paquette, at Cracking the Cover

    Serafina and the Black Cloak, by Robert Beatty, at Cracking the Cover

    The Sleeper and the Spindle, by Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell, at SLJ

    A Snicker of Magic, by Natalie Lloyd, at Reading is my Escape from Reality

    Took, by Mary Downing Hahn, at Buxton's Fantasy and Science Fiction Novels

    The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones, by Will Mabbitt, at The Book Wars

    Villain Keeper, by Laurie McKay, at On Starships and Dragonwings and Charlotte's Library

    The Wrinkled Crown, by Anne Nesbet, at SLJ

    Two at Ms. Yingling Reads--Diary of a Mad Brownie, by Bruce Coville, and Hamster Princess: Harriet the Invincible, by Ursula Vernon

    Two by Kenneth Oppel at Boys Rule Boys Read--The Boundless, and Airborn


    Authors and Interviews

    Maile Meloy (The Apothecary series) at The New York Times

    Sherel Ott (Princess Janai and the Warrior Maidens of Ouinu) at The Haunting of Orchid Fosythia


    Other Good Stuff

    A Tuesday ten of male protagonists in 2015 fantasy at Views from the Tesseract

    A Birthday look at Diana Wynne Jones (sniff) at Tor

    A look at E. Nesbit at the Guardian

    You have until Sept. 9th to apply to be a Cybils Panelist.  Here are my top five reasons to apply (with specific reference to MG speculative fiction).  Book apps and YA non-fiction are in particular need of panelists (although there is lots of room in the other categories too).


    8/21/15

    Villain Keeper (The Last Dragon Charmer Book 1), by Laurie McKay

    Villain Keeper (The Last Dragon Charmer Book 1), by Laurie McKay (HarperCollins, middle grade, February, 2015), starts as if it is going to be a standard medievally boy on dragon-slaying quest story, but bang!  things take a surprising turn when our young hero, Prince Caden, finds himself magically transported to Ashville, North Carolina. How will he find a dragon to slay there in the mundane world?  And how will he ever get home again?  A young magic user, Brynne,  has fallen through with him, and though her magic still works, she has no clue how to get them back where they belong.  (Caden's beautiful white stallion ends up in Ashville too, adding bonus beautiful brave horse elements for the horse-loving kid).

    So Caden finds himself in foster care, enrolled in the public school system (where he is, later in the book, joined by Brynne).  But Caden's school has a very peculiar set up, one that makes clear why the book has the title it does.  And when Caden becomes determined to track down a missing girl, Jane Chan, who disappeared from his foster home a little bit earlier, he finds himself in the thick of dangers just as magical as those he might have expected to find back home.  And the lack of dragons proves not to be much of a problem after all! 

    Caden's character is initially defined by his all-consuming desire to reach Elite Paladin status, and win the respect of his father and numerous older brothers.  Elite Paladin aspirations and ideals fit somewhat awkwardly into the social norms of our world; as he realizes this, Caden gradually becomes a more developed character (which is good, because he starts the book as a cardboard sterotypical kid hero wanna-be), finding friends and a place in a family that, despite being a foster care placement, offers him more than his own royal family did.  I also enjoyed seeming him learning the potential of the magical gift bestowed on him when he was born; I like people finding out how to get mileage from seemingly not that thrilling magical gifts!  Brynne is obnoxious and not especially kind, but she brings an engaging sort of thumbing her nose attitude to the vicissitudes of the situation.  And Caden's new foster brother, Tito, determined to find out what happened to Jane, adds a nice counterweight on the good kid side.

    It's fun and engaging.  Kids will be amused by Caden's mis-steps with modern technology, and readers of all ages will find the titular "villain keeper" fascinating.  With its highly irregular fantastical set up, Caden's new school (where the lunch ladies might really be witches) makes for entertaining, seasonally appropriate (back-to-school-time), reading.

    Aside:  sometimes I think I read a lot more like the ten year old target audience than whoever reviews MG fantasy for Kirkus.  After writing this, I went and read their review, and am now scratching my head trying to figure out when "the characters frequently seem to know more than they should...."  This did not cross my mind; I guess I take it for granted when characters in books (also Real Life) know more than me about what's going on.  They have more invested in the story, for one thing, they have longer to think about it (the days they live through, as opposed to the hour and a half of reading time I get, and they are right there, able to pick up on nuance and detail, and they have existing knowledge that I don't have access to).

    disclaimer: review copy received from the author
     

    8/19/15

    Five reasons to apply to be a Cybils Judge (with particular referrence to middle grade spec fic)

    The call for Cybils panelists has gone out, and anyone who has a website where children's books are reviewed is welcome to apply!  If you are unfamiliar with the Cybils, the jist of it is that there are many categories of books (including middle grade speculative fiction, formerly middle grade science fiction and fantasy), and during the nomination period, everyone in the world is welcome to nominate their favorite books in each category.   Then comes the first round of judging, in which panelists read all (as far as is possible) the books nominated and come up with shortlists, and then comes the second round, in which a different set of panelists reads the shortlists and comes up with a winner.

    So in essence, the first round involves lots and lots of reading, and lots of emails exchanged with co-panelists, and the second round slightly less of each, but perhaps more intense.  Books are picked on the basis of good writing and lots of appeal for the target audience.

    Here are five reasons why you might want to apply to be a Cybils judge in middle grade speculative fiction!

    1.  The books are really really good this year.  I just scrolled through the Kirkus reviews back to October 16 (the beginning of this year's eligibility period) and there are about thirty mg spec fic books with stars (and others to which I'd have given stars).  And I just went through my own list o books read so far, and came up with thirty (!) books I'd be happy to see on the final short list of seven. Good books means good reading, and good, passionate discussion.

    2.  It makes fall a lot more fun when you are a first round panelist.   I love the excitement of the nomination period, the fun of marking books read in the spreadsheet, the wild placing of library hold requests and the packages that arrive full of books not obtainable through the library.  I love having a forum in which I can honestly share with no holding back what I really think about books. 

    3.  It will make you really really knowledgeable about the middle grade spec. fic. books of the past year.  You will be able to come up with a book for anyone!  It is something you can put on your resume.  It will bring you to the attention of authors and publishers.

    4.  You will make new blogging friends and quite possibly be inspired to blog more.

    5.  I'm the category organizer for middle grade speculative fiction, which means assembling the panels is part of my job, so this reason why you should apply is somewhat selfish.  I want lots and lots of people to apply so that I can have new participants along with reliable veterans, and so that the panels can have lots of different view points represented.  I take up one of the seven available slots in the first round, but that still leaves six, and five more for the second round....

    If you still have doubts, let me reassure you that it is less work than you might think!

    There will probably be around 150 books nominated in MG Spec Fic.  This might seem like a lot of books to read, but remember, you'll probably have read a fair number of them already (if you haven't, you must not like MG spec fic, so you wouldn't be applying).    Also each book only Has to be read by 2 panelists, and since I plan to read all the books, that takes pressure of others.   And also if it is clear to you before finishing a book that you could not support it being shortlisted, you don't have to finish it but can still mark it as read.   Though the nominating period ends October 15, you can start reading just as soon as you get the invitation email from me in mid September, giving you three and half months for reading (the shortlists must be assembled by the end of December).    On the other hand, if you are having a baby, starting a new job, planning on spending the month of December snowbound with no internet access, or moving house this fall, the second round might be a better fit for you!

    Things that I look for when gathering panelists:

    Obviously, I really want people who know and love MG Spec Fic; this is the most important thing to demonstrate when you apply!  (Do not include a link to a review in which you say "I don't really like middle grade fiction, but I liked this book" or some such, which really has happened a few times in the past).   I want a mix of parents, educators, librarians, and authors. I want a range of viewpoints.  And I want panelists who are able to think clearly (at least most of the time, she says, looking at self) and critically about what makes for a good mg spec fic book. 

    So here's the direct link to the application form; please apply!

    If you are on the fence about applying, please feel free to email me at charlotteslibrary at gmail.com with any questions or concerns! 

    8/18/15

    Amber House, by Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed, and Larkin Reed for Timeslip Tuesday

    Amber House, by Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed, and Larkin Reed (Scholastic, October 2012), has a great first line, that tells you right from the get go that strange things are going to happen with time--

    "I was almost sixteen the first time my grandmother died."

    Her grandmother's funeral is the first time Sarah Parsons has come to Amber House, the great Maryland estate that has been in her family for generations, full to the roof beams with family treasure, and family secrets (Amber House is a good name for it, because lots and lots of piece of the past have gotten stuck there...).  Sarah's mother wants to sell the house, and quickly--she'd become estranged from her mother, and doesn't have any desire to become the next chatelaine of Amber House.   But Sarah still has time to begin exploring, encouraged by another teenager, Jackson, who's grown up at Amber House, and who is in fact a distant cousin thanks to the rape of his several times great grandmother by one of Sarah's slave owning ancestors.

    And as Sarah explores, Amber House begins, literally, to show her its secrets.  The women in her family have the gift of slipping through time, to watch events from the past play out.  Past and present are tightly entwined, and Sarah finds herself desperately trying to fix the tragedy that changed her mother and drove her from home.  She's helped in her quest by visits through time with Jackson's African great, great grandmother, who offers council, and helped as well by her own pluck and determination, and Jackson's obvious caring.

    In the meantime, Sarah's mother is determined to have a grand party for Sarah's 16th birthday, and a rich young wasp boy of great attractiveness seems to be falling for her, and Sarah wonders if she is falling for him, and she also finds herself drawn to Jackson.  The party planning elements seemed excessive even for an excessive party, and the wasp boy was kind of a pointless distraction (I didn't feel he added much to the book in terms of plot; he felt more like a cute rich boy accessory).   These parts of the book, though, might well appeal much more to the target teen audience.

    I myself was more interested in the house, but though I really like old houses full of treasures in my fiction, there just seemed (again) to be a bit Too Much.  Too much melodrama, too many secrets, both architectural and familial, basically just an overly lavish hand that kept individual elements from shinning as brightly as I would have liked.   Yet the twists and turns of the secrets as they were uncovered, and the character of the House itself, kept me turning the pages eagerly... All those who like teenage romance with family complications, opulence, and historical mystery thrown in will doubtless enjoy Amber House lots!

    My main complaint is that everything gets Set Right at the end of the book; Sarah has fixed things so that her mother is a completely different person, the one she was meant to be, and so her parents marriage is saved, the house is saved, and everyone is happy.  It was a bit too much to swallow, and seemed to me to retrospectively weaken the emotional tension of the whole rest of the book.  I'm kind of glad to see that the sequel shows that happy ever after isn't necessarily the best idea!

    It turns out that although the immediate problems are solved, more have been created--the whole course of American history is changed!  In Neverwas, Sarah and Jackson work together again to set things right...and I liked them both enough that I have added that one to my library holds list!

    disclaimer: Amber House was received from the publisher a long, long time ago, and fell curse to the "I'll probably enjoy this one so I'll set it on the shelf and save it for a bit" trap that resulted in its being saved much too long. 

    8/17/15

    A Curious Tale of the In-Between, by Lauren DeStefano

    A Curious Tale of the In-Between (Bloomsbury, Sept 1, 2015) is YA author Lauren DeStefano's middle grade debut, and it is a good one!

    Pram was orphaned before she was even born when her mother killed herself.  Her mother's body was found before it was too late for Pram, and so she was taken in by her aunts, determined to protect her as they hadn't been able to do for her mother.  The aunts named her Pragmatic, in a hopeful wish for future grounded-ness in reality, and homeschooled her in the home for the aged that they ran.

    But Pram's reality was not that of her aunts, because Pram could see ghosts, even the ghosts of insects.  Her only real friend was a ghost boy named Felix, and that was enough.  But her somewhat isolated peace was shattered when she was 12, and her aunts could no longer fight the command from Authority that Pram attend regular school....and that's when the story really gets going

    At school, Pram becomes friends with Clarence, who's own mother recently died.  His desire to make contact with her again leads the two of them to the attention of a medium, who senses Pram's ability to see ghosts.  The medium wants to use Pram's powers for her own sinister purposes...and the story takes a dark turn toward supernatural evil when Pram is kidnapped.

    But though there are horrific elements, and times of great tension (making for vigerous page-turning), Pram, with her goodness of heart and essential calm, serves as an anchor keeping the book from being too dark.  This is a book for those who enjoy stories of unlikely friendships, kids learning about who they are (in Pram's case, this involves learning about her parents, as well as learning about what she herself is capable of as friend to both the living and the dead; in Felix's case, it involves gathering the strength to move on from his life as a ghost, and in Clarence's case, it means dealing with his mother's death) and, most obviously,  it's one for those who like ghosts as people, not just as spectral menaces!

    It is really rather charming, and very gripping, not least because Pram is a dear.

    Review copy received from the publisher.

    8/16/15

    This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and science fiction from around the blogs (8/16/2015)

    Here's this week's round-up; please let me know if I missed your post!

    Bayou Magic, by Jewell Parker Rhodes, at alibrarymama

    Beast Keeper, by Cat Hellisen, at alibrarymama

    Blaze, by Ginger Lee Malacko, at The Musings of a Book Addict

    The Blood Guard, by Carter Roy, at Always in the Middle

    Brilliant, by Roddy Doyle, at The Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia

    Crenshaw, by Katherine Applegate, at SLJ

    A Curious Tale of the In-Between, by Lauren DeStefano, at Hidden in Pages and The Quiet Concert

    Echo, by Pam MuƱoz Ryan, at BookDragon

    Fire Girl, by Matt Ralphs, at The Book Zone (for boys)

    The Glass Sentence, by S.E. Grove, at The Write Path

    Goblin Secrets, by William Alexander, at Confessions of a Bibliovore

    The Golden Specific, by S.E. Grove, at On Starships and Dragonwings and The Reading Nook Reviews

    The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley, at Hope is the Word

    Hook's Revenge, by Heidi Schulz, at Fantasy of the Silver Dragon

    Hopper's Destiny (Mouseheart #2), by Lisa Fiedler, at Fantasy Book Critic

    The House on Stone's Throw Island, by Dan Pobloki, at Ms. Yingling Reads

    The Imagination Box, by Martyn Ford, at The Book Zone (for boys)

    The League of Beastly Dreadfuls, by Holly Grant, at The Book Wars

    Lucky Strike, by Bobbie Pyron, at Always in the Middle

    Magic in the Mix, by Annie Barrows, at Jen Robinson's Book Page

    The Map to Everywhere, by Carrie Ryan & John Parke Davis, at Fantasy Literature

    Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creaters, by Jackson Pearce and Maggie Stiefvater, at The Book Monsters

    The Pirate Code, by Heidi Schulz, at Snuggly Oranges

    School for Sidekicks, by Kelly McCullough, at Read Love

    Serafina and the Black Cloak, by Robert Beatty, at WinterHaven Books

    Shadows of Sherwood, by Kekla Magoon, at The Compulsive Reader

    The Sleeper and the Spindle, by Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell, at SLJ

    Two at Ms. Yingling Reads--Hunt for the Pyxis, by Zoe Ferraris, and Valley of the Kings, by Michael Northrup


    Authors and Interviews

    S.E. Grove (The Golden Specific) at The Reading Nook Reviews

    Bruce Coville (Diary of a Mad Brownie) at The Book Cellar

    Dianne K. Salerni (The Eighth Day) talks suspension of disbelief at Project Mayhem


    Other Good Stuff

    A Tuesday 10 of great mg spec fic female protagonists of 2015 at Views from the Tesseract

    A gorgeous celebration of the life and works of Joan Aiken in pictures at The Guardian

    The applications for this year's Cybils judging open tomorrow!  If you would like to be part of this great experience, please apply!  Here is my take on offering more explanation and encouragement. 

    8/11/15

    The Walls Around Us, by Nova Ren Suma, for Timeslip Tuesday

    I am pretty sure in my own mind that there's an element of time slip-ness in The Walls Around Us, by Nova Ren Suma (Algonquin Young Readers, March 24, 2015, YA) but in order to discuss it, I have to spoil everything, and this is a book that's well worth reading unspoiled.  So when I get to the part where I explain why I think there's timeslips happening, I shall helpfully insert the word "spoiler" and if you haven't read the book, you can stop reading there.

    Locked inside Aurora Hills, a juvenile detention facility, is Amber, a teenage girl convicted of murdering her abusive stepfather.  Outside is Vee, an aspiring ballet dance, whose life seems to be proceeding exactly how it should.  But Vee's best friend and partner in dance Ori, isn't there any more.   She's gone to join Amber at Aurora Hills.   We learn about Ori through Amber and Vee's two very different perspectives, Vee's told in flashbacks from three years after Ori was convicted of a horrible crime, Amber's told in the time just before and just after Ori's arrival as her new cell-mate. 

    It's a story of guilt and innocence and surviving.  And it's a gripping, twisty, incredibly vivid story, that kind of zings electrically across the pages, and I recommend it lots!  Ori is a lovely character, Amber is a fascinating one, and Vee is more than just a pretty face and blistered feet.

    Spoiler!!!! (this is the helpful insertion part, because I really am about to ruin the whole book for those who haven't read it.  I mean it!)

    But in any event, the description above makes it sound a lot more linear than it really is. In one early scene in the book, Amber sees the institution as it will be three years in the future, when it's been abandoned after a terrible tragedy (although at that point the reader has no clue what's going on), and sees Vee, and then later we learn that in Vee's present timeline, she does in fact visit Aurora Hills, and sees all the same graffiti and abandonment that Amber had seen.    But Vee isn't just visiting, she's kind of traveling back in time, and Amber sees her for what she really is (not a nice person, to say the least), and in a bit of messing with temporal reality, Ori, who has now been dead for three years, isn't dead any more but now Vee is, and Ori goes free while Vee joins the ghosts of the guilty.   My main problem with this (other than confusion) is that Ori has been dead three years and it's not clear whether she's alive in the post-gap present, not having aged, or possibly now three years older, or whether she's gone back in time enough to have a more complete do-over.  And what will the grown-ups say when she shows up again?

    I feel pretty certain that at least one slip in time (when Amber first sees Vee), possibly two (when things really go wild during the Swap of the Guilty and Innocent, has happened.   School Library Journal calls it "magical realism" which I think is something of a cop-out.  When a girl who died three years ago is now alive again, this is more than magical realism.  Others call it a ghost story, and I agree there are ghosts involved.  But there are also people who aren't dead (yet), but who simply exist in different times,  crossing paths, and I don't think ghostly visions of past and future are enough of an explanation.  If you've read it, do you agree that there are time slips happening?



    8/10/15

    Two fun Adventures in Cartooning tales--Sleepless Knight and Gryphons Aren't So Great

    Adventures In Cartooning, by James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost introduced Edward the Horse and the knight who is his companion in adventure.  Now Edward and the knight have their own stories, stand-alone graphic novels for the young.  Sleepless Knight and Gryphons  Aren't so Great are top notch books to offer the 5 to 8 year old whose just getting going with the fun of graphic novel reading!


    In Sleepless Knight (FirstSecond, April 2015)  Edward and the knight head off on a camping trip.  But though the knight's teddy bear was carefully packed, when bed time comes, it can't be found.  A helpful bunny tells the knight where bear is....but the bear in question isn't stuffed!  All ends well, though, with Edward bringing out his ukulele to sing with the bear and bunny by the campfire, while the knight snoozes with the real teddy.




    In Gryphons Aren't So Great (FirstSecond Sept 15 2015), the knight finds a Gryphon who's willing to fly her around.  Poor Edward is left earthbound while the knight whoops it up in the sky.  But gryphons aren't reliable, and Edward has to make a daring leap to save the knight when things go wrong.   And the knight realizes that she'd been thoughtless, and she and Edward decide that jumping into the moat from the castle towers is great fun they can have together.  (You can get a sneak peak here at FirstSecond).

    So nice, simple stories little kids can relate too, told in simple language and told with really  charming pictures of great kid friendliness.  Don't expect much instruction in cartooning--the inside front and back covers have instructions on how to draw the characters, but that it.  Do expect young readers to be charmed (I was!), and to look forward to more about Edward and the knight!

    NB:  I had defaulted to assuming the knight was male, since gender was never specified, but the publisher's blurb makes it clear that the knight is actually "she." 

    Here's my 2010 review of The Adventures in Cartooning Activity Book--I still think Edward is my favorite graphic novel horse ever!

    disclaimer: review copies received from the publisher

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