The Infamous Ratsos Are Not Afraid, by Kara LaReau, illustrated by Matt Mayers

Brothers Ralphie and Louie return for more early chapter book fun in The Infamous Ratsos Are Not Afraid, by Kara LaReau, illustrated by Matt Mayers (Candlewick, September 2017).   The rat brothers are faced with twin challenges in this outing.  The first is to build their own arcade in a vacant lot near their home, which involves moving lots of junk, a lot of ingenuity, and a lot of cooperation from their various animal friends.  And of course it involves lots of fun!

The second type of challenge is a tougher one.  Louie, the older brother, has to confront his fear of the "haunted" house next to the lot.  When part of one of the games flies off and breaks the window of the house, Louie screws his courage to the sticking point and rings the doorbell.  Much to his relief, instead of a ghost there's a lonely old squirrel gentleman, who becomes a friend.

Ralphie must be brave too, when a sticky social situation develops at school.  Ages ago he gave a classmate a mean nickname that stuck and made her life miserable, and now that he and Louie have given up cultivating tough, mean personas (as described in The Infamous Ratsos) he realizes how very wrong this was.  So he has to find the courage to admit his fault and make things right by speaking out in public.

So yes, there's a moral point at work alongside the fun of building the arcade.  But it is a fact that kids have to confront fears all the time, and to see two boy rats doing so, and living through it, will be both comforting and inspiring for young readers.  Big Lou, the boys' dad, who's as tough as they come, admits to being afraid sometimes himself, and gives pithy advice on working through fear and coming out the other side that's both wise and useful.

My own early reading is the source for many of the life lessons that rattle around in my brain as verbatim quotes, and  I'm all in favor of early chapter books like this one, that nest such lessons into fun and charming stories.

My only personal regret with this one is that I would have loved to spend much more time in the vacant lot cleaning the junk up and making the games etc.  It's a lovely premise and sounds like tons of fun.  Which actually has made another thought occur to me--it's nice to see a book about not well-off (at least they don't seem to be, and the neighborhood, with dilapidated houses and vacant lots full of junk, supports this assumption), urban kids making their own fun and having a loving supportive parent.

Disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

This week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (9/10/17)

Welcome to this week's round-up; pleae let me know if I missed your post!

First--the window for applying to be a Cybils Judge closes tomorrow.  If you don't already know, the Cybils are awards given by children's book reviewers in a variety of categories, one of which is Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction.  There are two rounds of judging.  The first round panelists spend the fall reading the nominated books (anyone can nominate) and select a shortlist of seven, which then go on to a second panel of judges.  Reading and talking about elementary/middle grade fantasy and sci is a lovey way to spend a bit of time (clearly if you are reading this you are interested in it) so do apply!  It's a great way to make friends with other bloggers. I'm the category organizer, and I'd love to welcome new folks to the fun.

The Reviews

The Adventurer’s Guide to Dragons (And Why They Keep Biting Me) (The Adventurer’s Guide 2)m  by Albert White Wade, at Nerdophiles

The Apprentice Witch, by James Nicol, at Killin' Time Reading

Darkness of Dragons, by Tui T. Sutherland, at Kitty Cat at the Library

The Door in the Alley, by Adrienne Kress, at Pages Unbound Reviews

The Dragon with the Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis, at Pages Unbound

The Empty Grave, by Jonathan Stourd, at Playing by the Book

Guardians of the Gryphon's Claw, by Todd Calgi Gallicano, at Middle Grade Minded

The Glass Town Game, by Catherynne M. Valente, at Tor and Bibliosanctum

The Hollow Bettle, by Susannah Appelbaum, at Leaf's Reviews

Knife, by R.J. Anderson, at Rachel Neumeirer

The Last Ever After, by Soman Chainani, at A Reader of Fictions

Lucy and Andy Neanderthal: The Stone Cold Age, by Jeffrey Brown, at The Reading Nook Reviews

No Place for Magic, by E.D. Baker, at Puss Reboots

Orphan Island, by Laurel Snyder, at Book Nut

Prisoner of Ice and Snow, by Ruth Lauren, at Bart's Bookshelf

A Properly Unhaunted Place, by  William Alexander, at Charlotte's Library

The Raven God by Alane Adams, at Confessions of a Serial Reader

Realm Breaker, by Laurie McKay, at Boys Rule, Boys Read

Ring of Fire by P.D. Baccalario, at Say What?

The Shadow Cipher (York Book 1), by Laura Ruby, at Log Cabin Library

Wishtree, by Katherine Applegate, at the NY Times

The Wonderling, by Mira Bartok, at Read Till Dawn and Millibot Reads

Two at Literary Hoots--Beyond the Doors, by David Neilsen and The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart
Stephanie Burgis

Authors and Interviews

Alexandra Bracken (The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding) at B. and N. Kids Blog

Other Good Stuff

The Middle Grade Magic of Stranger Things, at Thinking Through Our Fingers

C.S. Lewis and Flags, at Mere Inkling

A Properly Unhaunted Place, by William Alexander

A Properly Unhaunted Place, by William Alexander (Margaret K. McElderry Books, August 2017)  is a properly good book that's a great pick for the 9-11 year old readers still firmly in middle grade territory, that entertains with its surface adventures while holding emotional depths for the perceptive reader.

Rosa Ramona Díaz's mom is a librarian who specializes in ghost-appeasement--a valuable skill in a world where ghosts are ubiquitous, and libraries are dense with spirits.  But her mom has taken a job in the small town of  Ingot, the only town in the world that's utterly unhaunted, and she absolutely does not want to be there.  For one thing, she'll have no chance to practice her own ghost appeasement efforts.  Given the choice about being sad about her father's recent death (he was also a ghost appeaser, but bad at it) and being angry about being stuck in a basement apartment below an unhaunted library, she choses to be angry.

Then she meets Jasper, who's always lived in Ingot, and whose father is a knight at the local Renaissance Festival, where his mother plays the queen.  Jasper, his father's squire, has never seen a ghost, but this changes suddenly when the Renaissance Festival is attached by angry spirits.   Rosa's ghost-appeasing and containing skills come in handy, but she can't cope with the sudden influx of ghostly mayhem.  Even her mother is not strong enough to face the onslaught, and  a ferociously powerful ghost steals her voice.

Now Rosa and Jasper must race to find out why there is a barrier around Ingot that keeps the ghosts away, and why it starting to fail.  If the ghosts break through all the way, it will be a catastrophe.  But if the balance between the living and the dead can be restored before that happens, Ingot will be properly haunted, just like the rest of the world, and disaster will be averted.  The mystery lies deep in Ingot's past (and its "passed"--pun intended), and will require all Rosa and Jasper's courage and perseverance to solve it and to lay a dark past to rest.

It is a short book, by the doorstopper standards of much middle grade fantasy (adding to its suitability for the younger middle grade set), and it is a book that doesn't spell everything out.  For instance, there's an environmental disaster entwined with ghost problem (copper mining), that's alluded to but not underlined.  Rosa's grief for her father is a key part of her character and her choices, but again (partly because Rosa tries to squash it), isn't made a focus of the story.  Her grief ties to the larger message that underlies the whole story that the past, with its sadness, should be accepted, and that desperate efforts to banish ghosts and memories bring more harm than good.  That being said, some things are made obvious to the reader, and add lots to texture of the story, like Jasper's black father being a Moorish knight, bringing diversity to the Renaissance portrayed in the town's festival.

In short: a gripping, engaging mystery/fantasy with diverse characters set in a fascinating alternate reality.

And now I treat myself to reading the Kirkus review (starred) and find I am in total agreement:

"Though it’s a perfectly enjoyable tale on a purely superficial level, readers who choose to dig deeper will find an engrossing exploration of complicated grief and what damage may be wrought when negative emotions are barricaded away rather than addressed.  A fun and fast-paced supernatural mystery with secret depths for those who dare explore them."

Final thought-- a special yay for a book that gives black kids the chance to see themselves as part of medieval pageantry!

Mighty Jack and the Goblin King, by Ben Hatke

Mighty Jack and the Goblin King, by Ben Hatke (FirstSecond September 2017) is the second half of an adventure begun last year in Mighty Jack. It is even more exciting and stirring an adventure than the first, and though it could be read on its own, there's no earthly reason not to enjoy both books back to back.  Especially since the first book ends on a cliff hanger, with Jack's little sister Maddy being kidnapped by a giant.

The second book starts with Jack and his friend Lilly climb up a magical vine to rescue Maddy.  They have with them some magical seeds that give them a considerable boost in size and strength, but no particular plan, other than "pursue giant and save Maddy."  Lilly is injured battling the guardian of the bridge into the giant's realm, and when the stalk she's holding onto breaks, she falls onto a platform below the path Jack must take to follow the giant.  She urges Jack to go on without her, and reluctantly he does, finding himself faced with an castle that's sealed tightly shut.

So pretty dire straights....

But the giants aren't the only ones up in the beanstalk land.  At the castle, Jack is helped by little sewer creatures, and makes it inside, though he is no match for the giants planning on eating Maddie. Fortunatly, Lilly has been rescued by goblins, and healed with a taste of goblin blood (not her choice of medicine, but she wasn't given one!).  Though the goblins are friendly, and the little goblins cute, the goblin king has unpleasant plans for her.  Lilly is no passive damsel in distress, though, and in a brave fight she foils him and take his place as king, and sets off with her goblin followers to the rescue!

It continues to be somewhat touch and go, but the kids get home safely in the end.

All of Ben Hatke's books are bright and vibrant and full of exciting adventures vividly portrayed, with characters to love and cheer for, and this is no exception!  The stakes are high, but Jack and Lilly rise to the challenge most beautifully.  Both have their battles, both internal and external, and both emerge victorious.  This is the perfect series to give the kid who likes to swing a sword around, chopping imaginary monsters (or the now somewhat older middle grade kid who doesn't do that anymore but still won't let you give the swords away).  Even if they aren't avid readers they'll be drawn in to the adventure and the pages will turn very nicely indeed.

And in a special treat for Hatke's fans, the end of the book promises an even more magical set of adventures to come with familiar friends from the Zita the Spacegirl books!

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

The Door that Led to Where, by Sally Gardner

I have read enough time travel books in my life that I feel pretty confident in saying that The Door that Led to Where, by Sally Gardner (Delecorte, November 2016), is one of the best recent YA time travel books.  I'll skitter around my confidence by saying that what I like in a time travel book is a character-driven point to the whole enterprise, preferably a point that isn't a love sundered by centuries or some such (I am Done with romance time travel for the moment...).  So you might disagree with me regarding this one, and indeed there are those reviewing it on Amazon who found it "too confusing" and such.  I was not confused, or if I was, I trusted the story to see me through safely to the other side, and it did.

London teenager AJ hasn't done well in school, except in English.  Not because he was unintelligent, but because he spent school in the library reading (Dickens, for instance.  Also Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, which was an instant bond, because I read it too when I was his age).  So it's rather a miracle to him that his mother gets him a job as a junior clerk at a decent law firm.  It's a double miracle, because his mother has clearly loathed him all his life (his father was never in the picture).  But there he is, employed. And there are his two best friends, also done with school, and getting deeper and deeper into murky, illegal waters....

Then AJ is given a key by a mysterious professor who talks in riddles.  And AJ finds the door the key unlocks, and it takes him back in time to 1830, plunging him into a murder mystery.  His own father was one of the victims, and the murderer is still at work....Also there is a snuff box smuggling ring operating (they are a good think to buy in the past to sell at profit in the present).  Possibly this part is confusing.  It was the part of the plot that interested me least, so I didn't try to hard to Think about it, and so was not at a loss for understanding.  As my favorite Salada teabag saying went, "if you don't try you can't fail."

More interesting to me was that AJ took his two friends through the door to the past, giving them a second chance that suited them both tremendously.  This was the really good time travel part--how two good-hearted boys, who were loyal brother figures to AJ, had gone wrong in the present, but could make new lives for themselves in 19th century London.  And there was a nice dose of time travel tourism, with great descriptions of London back in the day.

AJ is a courageous boy, trying to do the right thing for those he cares for.  This group includes an 1830s girl, Esme, who's adopted father is one of the poisoner's victims.  But his growing tender feeling for her is not the point of the plot; it's something of a nice romantic extra that complicates things a bit, and gives AJ a reason to keep pushing through the difficulties of the past.

So I enjoyed it lots, and was happy to keep cheering for AJ, and am happy to recommend it!

And now a game of comparing my own opinions to those of the Kirkus reviewer....

Kirkus:  "The convoluted time-travel mystery has verve, but readers will encounter some bumps. AJ’s fondness for Dickens (he excelled at English if nothing else) prepares him somewhat for life in the early 19th century, though the ease with which the characters adapt to different centuries strains credibility. Too, many of the large cast of characters add nothing to the plot beyond a thicket of complications."

Hmm.  My credibility was not strained; I think that if you are desperate for a place to start over, the past is as good as anywhere.  I am, however, confused by the reference to the "large cast of characters."  I would not call it large and I was able to keep everyone I needed to keep straight in my head.  And seriously, this wasn't all that complicated a book!  Boy time travels.  Solves poisoner mystery with help of friends.  Meets some people in past and present. Worries about friends in past and makes sure they are settled.  Returns home with new girl friend.

Whatever.  I liked it.

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

Welcome to this week's round-up; please let me know if I missed your post.

First--the program for Kidlitcon 2017 (Hershey PA Nov 3 and 4) is now up!  There is lots of middle grade fantasy and sci fi goodness to be had!

Second--come join the Cybils Awards fun!  Reading elementary and middle grade fantasy and science fiction for the Cybils is a lovely way to spend your fall.....

The Reviews

Camp So-and-So by Mary McCoy, at Jean Little Library

The Cat Who Went to Heaven, by Elizabeth Coatsworth, at Leaf's Reviews

The Creeping Shadow, by Jonathan Stroud, at Pages Unbound Reviews

The Crowfield Demon, by Pat Walsh, at Fantasy Literature

The Firefly Code, by Megan Frazer Blakemore, at That's Another Story

Guardians of the Gryphon's Claw, by Todd Calgi Gallicano, at Always in the Middle

The List, by Patricia Forde, at Laurisa White Reyes

The Lost Stories, by John Flanagan, at Leaf's Reviews

Monsterland, by James Crowley, at Say What?

Podkin One-Ear (Longburrow) by Kieran Larwood, at BooksForKidsBlog

A Properly Unhaunted Place, by William Alexander, at Say What?

Realm Breaker, by Laurie McKay, at Boys Rule Boys Read

Rules for Thieves, by Alexandra Ott, at Susan Uhlig

Tumble and Blue, by Cassie Beasley, at Proseandkahn

The Unicorn in the Barn, by Jacqueline Ogburn, at Charlotte's Library

Authors and Interviews

Cassie Beasley (Tumble and Blue) at the B. and N. Kids Blog

And a happy Labor Day weekend to you all!

The Unicorn in the Barn, by Jacqueline Ogburn

In The Unicorn in the Barn, by Jacqueline Ogburn (HMH Books for Young Readers, July 2017), the fantastical world of magical creatures meets a realistic story of family and loss in a story that is simple but  poignant and memorable.

11 year-old Eric Harper's family have owned their piece of wooded land for generations.  Now his grandfather is dead and his grandmother is in a nursing room, and their house has been sold.  But the Harper family still own the woods, a place where people over the years have reported seeing a strange white deer...And one day, Eric sees the "white deer" for himself, and realizes she is a unicorn.

She's an injured unicorn with a bad hoof, and Eric, entranced, follows her to his grandparents' old house, now transformed into a veterinary clinic.  It's not an ordinary clinic; the vet, assisted by her daughter, Allegra, treats magical creatures alongside ordinary ones.  The unicorn is expecting twin foals, and agrees to stay with the vet until her babies are born (she is able to make herself understood, though she doesn't directly speak with humans).  Eric, since he's already in on the magical secret, is hired to help out caring for her and other creatures, giving him a chance to spend time in the soothing magical presences of beautiful creature (and a chance to shovel manure....)

Allegra is Eric's age, and she is  snippy and unwelcoming.  As Eric proves himself a decent worker and caring person, who is trusted by the creatures, she thaws, and even helps him when he dreams of using the unicorn's healing powers to bring his beloved grandma home.  Obviously the unicorn can't visit the nursing home in person, but even her shed hairs have healing magic, and Eric's grandmother is given a reprieve from pain by the bracelets Allegra makes from them.  Allegra's hostility gives a nice touch of acerbity to a story that might otherwise be too sweet, and by the time she has become more friendly, the sweetness is giving way to sadness.

The story builds to an anticipated mix of loss and wonder, when Eric's grandmother dies and the baby unicorns are born.  The sadness Eric feels is profound, and can't be magically healed, but healing does come from his grandmother's last words to him, which link him to generations of his family who have cared for this piece of land and its magical creatures.

It's  a story that works very well, and I found myself liking it more than I thought I would, and I find myself now thinking even more highly of its pacing and structure.  It's obviously a very good choice to give to any reader who loves magical vet books, and it's one of my favorites of that sub-genre, because the main character and his arc don't get lost in the fur and feathers of the creatures.  This makes it one that's also good for readers who like books where magic pushes its way into ordinary life.  It's Jacqueline Ogburn's first middle grade book, and I look forward to seeing what she will write next.

Crafty Cat and the Crafty Camp Crisis, by Chairse Mericle Harper

Crafty Cat and the Crafty Camp Crisis, by Charise Mericle Harper (First Second, August 2017) was the first Crafty Cat book I've read (it's a sequel to The Amazing Crafty Cat), and I found this graphic novel for the young (6-9 year olds) utterly charming.

Birdie is a little girl who loves crafting, and when she assumes her alter ego as Crafty Cat, there's no stopping her clever paws!  She's thrilled to be going to a day long Crafty Camp at her school along with her somewhat reluctant best friend Evan....but her hopes for a perfect day are dashed when mean girl Anya shows up at camp too.  Anya appropriates Birdie's pencils, and thrusts herself into Evan and Birdie's partnership, spoiling everything.  The last straw is a game of dodgeball (why would there even be recess during Crafty Camp, thinks Birdie?) when her new monster crown gets wrecked.  Dark depression and anger settle over Birdie, but she is still Crafty Cat, and crafting is still her passion, she has her cloud friend to talk to about it all, and Evan is a good friend. So all is not lost.

The illustrations are tremendously appealing, and Crafty Cat/Birdie is a character to love. This particular story of a perfect day almost wrecked by tension was emotionally intense, hitting almost too close to home,  but the illustrations, and the assumption that it would all work out in the end (which it does) kept me going.

If you have a young child at hand who loves making things, offer the Crafty Cat books!  Even my 14-year-old son was almost, but not quite, drawn to pick up the book because of its appealing cover and title.  If this second book is anything to go on (and why would it not be), they are delightful and inspiring, and kids still getting comfortable with the whole reading thing will find them friendly and accessible.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

The program for Kidlitcon 2017 is up!

For the past two months, I've been busily working on the program for this years KidLitCon in Hershey, PA Nov. 3 and 4, and at last it is done (barring unforeseen complications) and is ready to be seen!

Here it is.

It is a pretty swell program, a really gorgeous program in fact, with 29 fantastic authors and illustrators joining librarians, bloggers, and teachers in conversation about all manner of children's books!  There just might be a slight bias toward middle grade (coughs) but I tried hard to make the program varied.

KidLitCon is more than just a learning and thinking opportunity; it is also my favorite social event of the year.  I go to every KidLitCon looking forward to good times with my children's book friends, and every year I come home again having made new ones.  It is the only conference I go to where even though I'm an introvert I feel energized and happy on the way home.

Lots of conferences have authors, but at KidLitCon you will actually have the chance to make friends with them. Lots of conferences have people talking, but at KidLitCon we hope the audience will jump into the discussions too.  Lots of conferences have books to buy; we will too, and we will also have piles of ARCs because it is a good chance to move the piles of ARCs one has read out of the house and into someone else's! It is quite possible that publisher will send things too, as is generally the case.  This year, being at Hershey, we will also have chocolate.

Here's a testimonial from Jen Swann Downey, who came to KidLitCon for the first time last year in Wichita, and who'll be in Hershey with us again (yay!):

"I crawled out of my solitary writing shell to attend KidLitCon16, and was richly rewarded for the choice. The organizers and attendees of the event are passionate committed appreciators, evaluators, and disseminators of fiction for young people. Panels and talks addressed kid lit matters seminal, philosophical and practical. In the spaces between these official events, attendees forged friendships, had enthusiastic discussions about the role of stories in kid’s lives, and explored possibilities for collaborations on various projects. The net effect of the event was to renew my belief in the power of children’s literature to help kids navigate, and when necessary or desirable, reimagine life; and feel encouraged in my efforts as a writer."

And here's another from Kristi Bernard:"

"I was thrilled to attend the 2016 KidLitCon event. And to be a presenter only added to my excitement. I didn't know what to expect but I was welcomed by everyone. The event was informative and engaging. All attendees were enthusiastic and ready to chat about all things books. I had so much fun and made so many wonderful friends."

So do come to Hershey this fall!  Here's the registration link.  If you want a hotel room-mate, let me know and I will do my best to find you one.

And if you have any questions, please let me know!

This week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (8/27/17)

Welcome to this week's round-up!  Let me know if I missed your post.

First--the 2017 Cybils Awards are seeking judges!  I hope lots of you apply; it is really fun.  I'm the category organizer for Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction, so feel free to ask me if you have any questions.  I love the veterans who have worked with me in MG Spec Fic in the past (and the fact that they are still eager to be part of it shows they had a good time!), but it would be great to have new folks join in!  Here's a post I wrote a while back with more info. about what you can expect.

The Reviews

The Arctic Code (Dark Gravity #1), by Matthew J. Kirby, at Say What?

Attack of the Not-So-Virtual Monsters, and Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind (both Gamer Squad series) by Kim Harrington, at Bookworm for Kids

Beast and Crown, by Joel Ross, at Charlotte's Library

The Bone Snatcher by Charlotte Salter, at Jean Little Library

Castle Hangnail, by Ursula Vernon, at Sloth Reads

A Face Like Glass, by Frances Hardinge, at Bibliobrit

The Gauntlet, by Karuna Riazi, at alibrarymama

Ghost Ship (The Sunken Kingdom Book 1), by Kim Wilkins, at Say What?

Greenglass House, by Kate Milford, at Log Cabin Library

Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel by Megan Morrison, at Pages Unbound Reviews

The Inquisitor’s Tale by Adam Gidwitz, at Leaf's Reviews

Island of the Sun (Dark Gravity #2), by Matthew Kirby, at Say What?

Joplin, Wishing by Diane Stanley, at Redeemed Reader

Long Live the Queen, by Gerry Swallow, at Pages Unbound Reviews

The Lost Kingdom, by Matthew J. Kirby, at Say What?

The Magician’s Key by Matthew Cody, at Fantasy Literature

Miss Ellicotts School for the Magically Minded, by Sage Blackwood, at Finding Wonderland

Orphan Island, by Laurel Snyder, at This Kid Reviews Books

Pi in the Sky, by Wendy Mass, at Puss Reboots

The Rouge World (Dark Gravity #3), by Matthew J. Kirby, at Say What?

The Song of Glory and Ghost, by N.D. Wilson, at Semicolon

Thornhill, by Pam Smy, at The Book Nut

Worlds Collide (Land of Stories) by Chris Colfer, at Kitty Cat at the Library

Other Good Stuff

A very useful post at Pages Unbound that gathers book blogging resources you may not know about
 
Information about Lee and Low's New Visions Award

A very fun guide to cat sitting as a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, via Tor.

Beast & Crown, by Joel Ross

Beast & Crown, by Joel Ross (HarperCollins, August 2017)  is one I was looking forward too (I liked his first book, Fog Diver, lots), and so I was happy when a copy came my way from a friend.  And I was happier to actually read it, finding it fun and fast and thought-provoking.

Ji is a boot boy, toiling away for the privileged nobility.  His mother hopes that one day he'll rise to the ranks of butler.  Ji hopes that he can keep squirrelling away enough valuable shoe decorations to buy his stable hand Sally's little brother from slavery in the city.  But then the son of the noble family he serves is chosen to be a contender for the Summer Crown.  The Diadem Rite will chose the next heir, giving the chosen one the magical power that was gathered from all the people in the land years ago by the first Summer Queen so that she could keep the country safe against monsters.

Ji gets the chance to travel in the entourage of the young lordling, along with Sally and another friend, the bookish sister of the ex-governess, kept on as charity.  He plans to somehow save Sally's brother...but then he and his friends realize, while it is happening, that the Diadem Rite has a horrible dark side to it.  And this society being what it is, it isn't the young nobles who pay the prices for the transfer of power.  It's their servants.

In a world where goblins and children are enslaved, and "monsters" threaten to invade, the nobles will do anything to keep their power.  But Ji and his friends find themselves on the side of the monsters, poised to bring the status quo tumbling down.  If they live long enough....

It's a satisfactory story in a fairly standard friendship-focused fantasy adventure way, but the really interesting twist is Ji's gradual realization that monsters, like the goblins, are not easily dismissed as worthless folk.  Because to the consequences of the rite, Ji and company are themselves forced to directly confront what it means to be different, and Ji, who was already something a revolutionary, now finds himself questioning, with even greater urgency, just where his loyalties lie.

Ross seems to have made an effort to set his fantasy world apart from standard medieval tropes by calling the noble's houses "haciendas" instead of manors, and including non Northern European foods, but this ended up feeling more arbitrary than organic.  Ji and his friends appear racially diverse, based on mentions of skin color, but this isn't explored in any further way.  On the other hand, in what was a rather refreshing twist, one "monstrous" friend that joins the group adds both a humorous non-human point of view and a non-standard construction of gender.   And when one character is physically transformed into a human/troll hybrid, Ross takes the opportunity to make it clear that external appearance has no bearing on inner character, which is a welcome point.

Those who like things settled when a book ends will not be happy, but middle grade fantasy fans who don't mind waiting for the sequel will enjoy this one lots.

Landscape with Invisible Hand, by M.T. Anderson

Landscape with Invisible Hand, by M.T. Anderson (Candlewick, Sept. 12, 2017), is a sci fi satirical parable that's both thought provoking and entertaining.  The vuvv, an alien race, have come in "peace" bringing gifts of wondrous technology and parking themselves in low orbit around earth.  In this case, though, peace has not meant plenty for the majority of people on earth, who now have no jobs, no money, and property that's no longer worth much.  The vuvv, however, are happy to consume the best that Earth has to offer them--human culture from the 1950s, the period when we first sent the wavelengths of our ingenuity out into space.

A teenager named Adam and his girlfriend Chloe decide to make money (badly needed) by feeding the vuvvs desire for 1950s human romance, by recording each Tender Moment in a pay-per-view format.  It goes sour pretty quickly, though, when the two of them realize that they aren't in love after all, and though they tough it out as long as possible, it's hellish for them.

Adam's other chance for a better life is winning an art competition the vuvv are running.  But with vuvv taste running to the banal (still lives of fruit), his own more edgy paintings might not succeed....

And then a third chance comes, and Adam must convince his family to take it, and wipe the slate clean.

So it's sort of a parable about colonialism and its concomitant exploitation of indigenous cultures, about human creativity shackled to meaningless consumerism, or maybe about the individual discovering the value of being true to himself when there's no good external yardstick for human worth.  But though it is parablish, Adam's story is an interesting personal journey (I liked reading about his art very much, I appreciated his caustic thoughts on the vuvv, and I sympathized with his embarrassing illness that he could not afford to have treated with the vuvv's technology).  It's not just a moralistic, satirical allegory (although if you are allergic to allegory and/or satire you will not enjoy this).

Here's what I'm wondering, though--what is the Invisible Hand of the title?   I'm thinking something along the lines of the choices people make that they don't consciously realize they are making, although I am finding myself thinking as I write that the wavelengths of cultural transmission are literally invisible puppet masters of humanity.   I'm also thinking that you could use this book, very nicely, in a high school English class....

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

On vacation today, so no round-up

My family is down in South Carolina this weekend for the eclipse, so no round-up today! (We plan to go to Magnolia Gardens in about an hour, if we can get the boys up......)


Tune in next week for the next gathering of middle grade goodness.....

Cleopatra in Space: The Golden Lion, by Mike Maihack, for Timeslip Tuesday

Young Cleopatra, whisked into an intergalactic future from her home in ancient Egypt, is back for the fourth installment of her adventures in The Golden Lion, by Mike Maihack (Graphix, June 2017).  The Golden Lion, a legendary star of immense power (and small size) has been tracked to a snowy planet far away.  It is part of the prophecy of Thoth that sent Cleopatra off into her destined role as Galaxy Savious, and she's determined to go find the Golden Lion herself.  Also determined to find it is her nemesis Octavian, who has sent a powerful minion to the planet.  Cleo crash-lands in the snow, and her technology fails her; were it not for the fortuitous arrival of young Antony, a young treasure hunting adventure also on the trail of the Golden Lion, she would probably have perished.

But Antony and Cleo fall into an underground chamber that leads to a tropical world beneath the snow, inhabited by a race who speak in algebraic equations, and who prove to be fierce fighters when Octavian's forces attack.  But Antony is not necessarily to be trusted....and the fate of the Golden Lion is uncertain.

There's lots of action in this installment--pages of fight scenes excitingly portrayed.  There also, more pleasing to my mind, some character development.  Cleo, whose main characteristic is to plunge into danger without thinking it through, has some introspective moments, and her awareness of herself as being out of her own time is shown, as is her growing fondness toward Antony.  The addition of an utterly adorable snow otter adds considerable charm!

I feel good progress was made in this fourth book to advancing the plot to the ultimate fulfillment of the prophecy, and that's a relief, because it's not the most rapid fire journey to resolution ever.  That being said, I don't object at all to adventuring through the galaxy with Cleo!  The diverse cast of characters and the fascinating premise, not to mention the council of sentient cats, make this a charming series, with excitement, adventure, and cool tech to spare! It's an excellent graphic novel series to offer the "reluctant" reader of 8-12 or so.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

this week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (8/13/17)

Here's what I found in my blog reading this week; please let me know if I missed your post!

The Reviews

A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting, by Joe Ballarini, at Geo Librarian

Bad Magic, by Pseudonymous Bosch, at Kitty Cat at the Library

Chaos Descends (Darkmouth #3), by Shane Hegarty, at Say What?

The Countdown Conspiracy, by Katie Slivensky, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Daybreak Bond (Firefly Code #2), by Megan Frazer Blakemore, at Jen Robinson's Book Page

Dragon's Green, by Scarlett Thomas, at Charlotte's Library

The Emperor of Mars, by Patrick Samphire, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

Fridays With the Wizards, and Saturdays at Sea, by Jessica Day George, at Tales from the Raven

Gamer Squad: Attack of the Not-So Virtual Monsters, by Kim Harrington, at Mom Read It

A Girl Called Boy, by Belinda Hurmence, at Time Travel Times Two

Hunt for the Hydra (Jupiter Pirates #1), by Jason Fry, at The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

Journey Across the Hidden Islands, by Sarah Beth Durst, at Sonderbooks

Journey From Skioria, by Kandi J. Wyatt, at Cierra's Heart of Books

The List, by Patricia Forde, at The Story Sanctuary

Orphan Island, by Laurel Snyder, at books4yourkids.com

Quest Maker (Villain Keeper #2), by Laurie McKay, at Boys Rule Boys Read

Room of Shadows, by Ronald Kidd, at Mom Read It

Ruby Lane, by R.J. Simon, at When I Grow Up I Wanna Write a Kids Book

Spirit Hunters, by Ellen Oh, at Charlotte's Library

The Thief of Always by Clive Barker, at Fantasy Literature

Wandmaker, by Ed Masessa, at Say What?

York: The Shadow Cipher, by Laura Ruby, at Redeemed Reader

Authors and Interviews

A.P. Winter (The Boy Who Went Magic) at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books

David Neilsen (Beyond the Doors) a chat with Aunt Gladys, at The Children's Book Review
Other Good Stuff

Other Good Stuff

Back to the Future: Seven Middle Grade Novels that Look Ahead, at B. and N. Kids Blog 

Not Middle Grade, but still of interest--the 2017 Hugo Awards were announced this weekend

(and on a personal note, about the horror that unfolded in Charlottesville--there's not much I can do except donate to worthy causes, like African American Teaching Fellows, who work to increase the terribly low numbers of African American teachers in the Charlottesville  and Albemarle County school system).
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Spirit Hunters, by Ellen Oh

Spirit Hunters, by Ellen Oh (HarperCollins, July 2017), will be one of my top go-to books from now on if I am ever asked for recommendations of middle grade horror that is scary but not scarring for life scary.

Harper's family has just moved from NY city to a big old house in Washington D.C., bought cheaply because it needs work.  And also, though they don't know it, because it is a house where horrible tragedies have happened over the years.  Even before she knows about its past, Harper doesn't like it. Though she's not aware of the extent of her gifts, Harper can communicate with ghosts, and she is about to have ample opportunity to exercise that ability when her little brother becomes possessed by an evil spirit of another little boy who lived, and died, in the house, and who turns out to be only a cat's paw for a much more powerful and malevolent being.

The evil possession of her little brother is creepy, and builds nicely to full on horror as the story progresses, and the final confrontation with the more powerful spirit was full of bloody ectoplasmy ickiness such as horror fans enjoy (at least I think they do, and I think it was; I tend to skim descriptions of ick because otherwise they will revisit me forever.  But what I grasped didn't seem too unbearable.*)  And there's more horror here than just what's happening in the new house.  Harper has had troubles with ghosts before, that have left her badly injured and unable to remember what happen, and as current events unfold, so do her memories of these past traumas. So for kids who want horror, there's plenty of it.

What made this one I personally enjoyed so much, though, is the fact that it is also a family and friendship story.  Harper makes a new friend, Dayo, a lovely and helpful companion in adversity, and that was nice.   Less nice are family tensions, with her mother's mother shut out of the family (Harper inherited her gifts from her grandmother, who is a shamanic Spirit Hunter, and her mother can't stand this "superstitions nonsense"), and her mother isn't able to accept that Harper might really be seeing ghosts.  Her big sister blames Harper for the move to D.C. and is not the friend she once was, which happens to many seventh-graders with big sisters...So there are personal, character development things happening alongside the story that makes Harper real and someone to care about.

In some middle grade books, the kids are so wonderful and Chosen that they are able to defeat the Evil by themselves, but I like books like this one better.  It is up to Harper to find the strength in herself to win the final confrontation, but she's not entirely alone.  Her grandmother has helped get her to that point, and the ghost of an African American medium and Dayo  are their to provide support.  Even her little brother has to be an agent in his own escape from possession.  This to me is much more satisfying than extreme kid heroics.

It's also satisfying to see the diversity here, diversity that's central to who the characters are without defining them as just that--Harper's mother is Korean American, and Dayo's family is Jamaican.

One final thing that struck me--it was driven home to me that I really truly am no longer the target audience, because the thing I found most relatable is that Dayo's mom makes the same type of cookie as me--cranberry white chocolate oatmeal.

In short, I highly recommend both the book and cranberry white chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.

*for instance, I have Jonathan Stroud to thank for the fact that every time I go up the stairs, I think of the dark greasy smear left by the cannibal killer of the last Lockwood and Co. book.

Dragon's Green, by Scarlett Thomas--fantasy for bibliophiles

Life has been too busy of late, and I find myself wishing that some day I will say to myself "wow that took less time to complete than I thought it would" instead of saying other things not fit for young ears.

But though I have not been blogging much, I have been reading, and today I finished Dragon's Green, by Scarlett Thomas (Simon & Schuster, May 2017) , a charming middle grade fantasy.  It is not, as the title suggests, all about a dragon, although there is a dragon in one episode within the main story.  It is not entirely, as other reviews might suggest, about a group of children who find they have magical powers and learn to use them and work together to defeat a bad magical guy. Although this does happen, and they are a pleasantly interesting group of kids, each of whom has their own magical object that plays to the strengths of their personality and inclinations (so the athletic one gets a sword, the one who is interested in learning things gets magical glass, Effie, the central character, gets the hero's ring, etc.).  And although no dramatic new ground is broken in their adventures, it was fine reading.

Here's where this book is different--though the kids are in danger from the villain, who never quite manages to kill them, it is really a collection of rare books that it is in the greatest danger!  The books belonged to Effie's grandfather, who dies near the beginning of the story leaving them to her in his will,  Her father will only let her keep one. And now the books have been bought by a villainous "antiquarian book seller" who in fact is hellbent on using the magic of the books to achieve (basically) world domination, which involves destroying the books!  The danger to the books was clear by page 30, and I had to turn to the end to see if the books would be safe.  Scarlett Thomas is a nice author, and she carefully wrote her ending so that a quick glance lets you know the books are ok without giving away anything else of much importance (the kids are ok too, but whatever. It was safe to assume they were.  But in a world where some authors (naming no names) kill puppies, one can't assume the books will make it....)

So in short, I enjoyed it, and appreciated the book tension very much!  The magical gifts of the kids and the magical otherworld were a bit to magically special, but that's probably just me being a grown up and not a problem the target audience will  have.  I think the target audience should love it all just fine.

Kirkus is more enthusiastic than me, perhaps because Kirkus hasn't just spent weeks doing hard labor, assorted thankless tasks, and a wide variety of cat-herding activities while holding down a day job-- "In vivid, inviting prose, Thomas deftly evokes an original, intriguing post-technological Earth looming with evil where 'books are magic' and memorable misfits become heroes. A compelling new fantasy series with an unlikely heroine, quirky helpers, dragons, portals, witches, and wizards."

This week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (8/6/17)

Here's what I found this week; please let me know if I missed your post!

The Reviews

Akata Witch, by Nnedi Okorafore, at books4yourkids.com

The Apprentice Witch, by James Nicol, at Charlotte's Library

The Balance of Power (Zodiac Legacy #3), by Stan Lee, Stuart Moore, and Andie Tong, at Say What?

Beyond the Doors, by David Neilsen, at Pages Unbound Reviews  and Ms. Yingling Reads

The Boy Who Went Magic, by A.P. Winter, at Book Murmuration

The Bronze Key, by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, at Say What?

The Dragon's Return (Zodiac Legacy #2), by Stan Lee, Stuart Moore, and Andie Tong, at Say What?

The Dragon With a Chocolate Heart, by Stephanie Burgis, at Sonderbooks and Book Wars

A Face Like Glass, by Frances Hardinge, at The Zen Leaf

The List, by Patricia Forde, at Cracking the Cover

Lodestar, by Shannon Messenger, at Pages Unbound Reviews

Loki's Wolves, by K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr, at On Starships and Dragonwings

Shipwreck Island by S. A. Bodeen, at Redeemed Reader

Spell Robbers (The Quantum League 1), by Matthew J. Kirby, at Say What?

Shipwreck Island by S. A. Bodeen, at Redeemed Reader

Spirit Hunters, by Ellen Oh, at books4yourkids.com

Thornhill, by Pam Smy, at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books

The Time Fetch, by Amy Herrick, at Middle Grade Mafia

Upside-Down Magic by Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, and Emily Jenkins, at Completely Full Bookshelf

Two at Ms. Yingling Reads--The Girl with the Ghost Machine, by Lauren DeStefano, and The Many Worlds of Albie Bright, by Christopher Edge

Five spooky campfire books at Barnes and Noble Kids Blog

Authors and Interviews

Jessica Haight & Stephanie Robinson (The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow) talk about writing sequels at Project Mayhem

Ammi Joan Paquette, agent for Kate Silvensky (The Countdown  Conspiracy) at Emu's Debuts

Gail Carson Levine is featured in a post on Ella Enchanted--feminist nostalgia, at The Huffington Post

Other Good Stuff

The 2017 Golden Kite Award for Middle Grade Goes To Eugene Yelchin for "The Haunting of Falcon House" More at SCBWI Blog

The Apprentice Witch, by James Nicol

I enjoyed The Apprentice Witch, by James Nicol (Chicken House/Scholastic, July 25 2017, 2016 in the UK), very much--it's a solid, traditional feeling fantasy that, though it didn't break any wildly imaginative new ground, nevertheless offered a solid few hours of pleasing diversion (and it wasn't even a matter of me feeling cynical because of having read so very much mg fantasy; it was just me enjoying a nice read).

The story begins with teenaged Arianwyn flunking her witch's assessment.  That means she won't get a posting as a professional witch, though her country badly needs witches for defense against threats both external (foreign enemies) and internal (dangerous native magic turning ugly).   It turns out though, that the need is so very great that even though she is still ranked as a lowly apprentice, she gets an assignment to serve as the witch to the remote little town of Lull.  Though off the beaten track, Lull proves to have its own challenges and excitements.

Banishing minor magical beings is perfectly within Arianwyn's competence, but when she inherits, along with the previous witch's accommodation, a dangerous and forbidden glyph, that offers power with a dark price, things begin to get a little bit to exciting...

The fact that Arianwyn's former classmate, a mean, snooty girl who's always been a despising pain, shows up for an extended visit to her family in Lull complicates things.  Gimma, though she set herself up as Arianwyn's rival, turns out to be a magical liability, and a nasty piece of work. Fortunately, Arianwyn turns out to be much more gifted at magic than her test results might have shown, and with the support of the witch running the regional magical bureaucracy (nice to see good civil servants in fantasy), and with her own witch grandmother swinging in to lend a hand, Arianwyn finds her way to becoming confident in her own abilities and is able to bring a resolution (for now) to the dangers threatening Lull.

Young readers will be delighted (an even though Arianwyn is a teenager, keeping house for herself, this definitely is a middle grade book that kids as young as 8 or 9 may well enjoy).  Many of the magical creature encounters are amusing, and additional kid appeal comes in when Arianwyn is adopted by a magical moon hare (cuteness points!), and thought the mean girl vs. the heroine story is not new, it is pleasantly reworked here and will be nicely familiar and comforting to readers who want encouragement in their own middle school social lives.  My favorite bit, me being me, is Arianwyn moving into the old witch's house (I like house details!).

So yes, a very good read, even if it doesn't break any particularly new ground.  This is the author's debut, and I will be paying very keen attention to his future books.  Especially if they are set in this world, which has lots of room in it for more adventures!

Just checked the Kirkus review; they agree with me, except I don't see why they put the age of reader as 11-16.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

The Autumn People, by Ruth M. Arthur, for Timeslip Tuesday

Ruth M. Arthur (1905-1979) was a Scottish author who I have always thought I should like better than I do.  Many of her books are real-world fantasy, of a time-slipping, ghostly, sort, and I have enjoyed reading those that I have, but none has really convinced me that I should spend real money to collect her complete oeuvre (though I do look for her at library book sales.  I think she's mostly been deaccessioned though; even the Rhode Island library system, which is very good at keeping old books, has only two of her books left....).

The Autumn People (1973) is my most recent Ruth M. Arthur, and it comes the closest to being a book I really enjoyed.  I'm counting it as this week's Timeslip Tuesday, even though it's a bit arguable as to whether there's time slipping back to the past (my opinion) or visits with ghosts in the present (the opinion of the 1997 Encyclopedia of Fantasy)  But the main character says 'I had stepped back into her time..." and that's good enough for me!  Plus I think when there are hot drinks and warm fires involved, you've gone back to the past because ghosts don't usually come with all their furniture etc.

In any event, here's the story--teenaged Romilly and her grandmother are going to travel together to the Scottish Island where the family used to vacation; a cousin now lives in the family house.  Romilly's great-grandmother visited there when she was a girl, and never went back.  There was a tragedy, and Rodger, one of her cousins, died.  Having set this scene up, the book gives an account of the great-grandmother Millie's summer on the island, and how she fell in love with Jocelyn.  But Rodger wanted Millie for his own, and he was evil, and could work dark magic....it ended sadly for Millie.  And now Romilly, following in the footsteps of her namesake, is caught in the unfinished web of Rodger's malevolence.  She finds comfort with "the Autumn people" of the title, Jocelyn's family, come to stay in their old home....and at last, with the help of a local wise woman, is able to lay the curse to rest, and escape Rodger.

So it's a bit ghosty how other islanders can see the lights of the Autumn people, but Romilly goes right inside and it is all how it was years ago, so I call it time travel.

Rodger is a tad overblown in his evil malevolence and torture of small animals; his family just accepts that he's evil and tries to pretend it's not happening.  There is no nuance to his psychopathic behavior, nor is there nuance to the goodness of Jocelyn who is rather colorless as a result.  But the thread of the story tying together past and present is very gripping, and Romilly's horror as she comes under Rodger's sway in the present is nicely done.  I almost liked as much as I hoped I would, but not quite--the fact that all the story is spelled out in the detailed account of the great-grandmother's time on the island removes a lot of the suspense when reading about  Romilly in the present, and there just isn't as much subtlty and atmosphere as the story really calls for.