This week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy (4/21/13)

Welcome to another week of links from my blog reading of interest to fans of middle grade sci fi and fantasy!  Please let me know if I overlooked your post; I have been known to forget to include my own....

The Reviews

Cloneward Bound, by M. E. Castle, at Akossiwa Ketoglo (with giveaway)

The Colossus Rises, by Peter Lerangis, ongoing joint review at Maria's Melange and The Brian Lair

The Cup and the Crown, by Diane Stanley, at The Book Smugglers

A Dash of Magic, by Kathryn Littlewood, at Ms. Yingling Reads 

The Dragon's Tooth, by N.D. Wilson, at Word Lily

The Drowned Vault, by N.D. Wilson, at Semicolon

Fyre, by Angie Sage, at Lunar Rainbows

Goblin Secrets, by William Alexander, at One Librarian's Book Reviews 

The Grimm Legacy, by Polly Shulman, at Becky's Book Reviews

Gustav Gloom and the People Taker, by Adam-Troy Castro, at Stratton Magazine

Hollywood, Dead Ahead, by Kate Klise, at Geo Librarian

Jinx, by Sage Blackwood, at For Those About to Mock and By Singing Light

The Menagerie, by Tui T. Sutherland and Kari Sutherland, at Karissa's Reading Review and Good Books and Good Wine

My Epic Fairy Tale Fail, by Anna Staniszewski, at Sharon the Librarian

The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate, at alibrarymama 

Professor Gargoyle, by at Middle Grade Ninja

The School For Good and Evil, by Soman Chainani, at Reading Rumpus

The Secret Prophecy, by Herbie Brennan, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Story's End, by Marissa Burt, at Bibliophilic Monologues

Tanglewreck, by Jeanette Winterson, at Time Travel Times Two 

Time Tangle, by Frances Eager, at Charlotte's Library

Teacher's Pest (Tales from Lovecraft Middle School), by Charles Gilman, at Bookish Way of Life

The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

The Trap Door (Infinity Ring Book 3), by Lisa McMann, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop, by Kate Saunders, at Ms. Yingling Reads


Authors and Illustrators and Interiviews

The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle artwork reveal and giveaway, at Bunbury in the Stacks and There's a Book

Marissa Moss (Home Sweet Rome) at The Book Cellar

Charles Gilman (Tales from Lovecraft Middle School series) at Middle Grade Ninja

Liesl Shurtliff (Rump) at Daydreaming Bookworm


Other Good Stuff

An op-ed about violence in fantasy books at Adam Callaway's Senswunda.  Which inspired me to go take a look at the Cybil's shortlists for mg sff...and indeed, most of them center around violence in various forms (although of course they are about many other things as well).   The most peaceful sub-genre of mg sff I can think of is time travel--there you have a conflict set up that doesn't require violence.  Which might, now I think of it, be one reason why I like time travel books so much!

It's time for the annual spring book fair for Balou High School!  I enjoy perusing the wish list lots--I can't by every book I'd like to, so I spend quite a bit of time choosing.  Can I find an author I know personally and support them? Is there a book so good I think every library should have it?  Do I put my money where my mouth is, and buy a book showing, front and center, a main character who isn't white?  Such fun.  (My final choice this year--Awakening, by Karen Sandler, supporting the publishing of diverse YA sci fi/fantasy)

And finally, I just learned (here) about the sport of Extreme Ironing.  Not one I'm going to take up, for many reasons....