9/30/18
This week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (9/30/18)
Welcome to this week's round-up; please let me know if I missed your post!
big thing--tomorrow nominations for the Cybils Awards open, and will remain so until October 15. Show your favorite books love, and nominate them! Last year c. 150 books were nominated in Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction...let's make sure all the really great books published from October 16, 2017- to October 15, 2018 make it onto the list this year!
The Reviews
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge, by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin, at Mom Read It
The Collectors, by Jacqueline West, at Log Cabin Library
Dactyl Hill Squad, by Daniel Jose Older, at Waking Brain Cells
The Darkdeep, by Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs, at Book Nut
Falling In, by Frances O'Rourke, at Tales from the Raven
The Ghosts of Greenglass House, by Kate Milford, at Leaf's Reviews
The Girl with the Silver Eyes, by Willo Davis Roberts, at alibrarymama
La Belle Sauvage (Book of Dust 1), by Philip Pullman, at Magic Fiction Since Potter
Nightbooks, by J.A. White, at Imaginary Friends
Otherwood, by Pete Hautman, at Mom Read It
The Shadow Thieves, by Alexandra Ott, at Say What?
Skyborn (Thrones and Bones 3), by Lou Anders, at Say What?
Small Spaces, by Catherine Arden, at Ms. Yingling Reads and Abby the Librarian
Spirit Hunters, by Ellen Oh, at Millibot Reads
The Storm Runner, by Jennifer Cervantes, at A Backwards Story
The Third Mushroom, by Jennifer L. Holm, at Jen Robinson's Book Page and Middle Grade Mafioso
Toaff's Way, by Cynthia Voigt, at Redeemed Reader
The Train to Impossible Places, by P.G. Bell, at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books
Upside-Down Magic, by Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, and Emily Jenkins, at The Write Path
Authors and Interviews
Andy Briggs (Drone Racer) at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books
M.T. Anderson (The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge) at Cynsations
Jonathan Auxier (Sweep) at Nerdy Book Club
9/28/18
My Plain Jane, by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
I never liked Jane Eyre, the character--I thought she was a bit of a drip. I bravely re-read the book several times though as a teenager (at least it was better than Wuthering Heights....). So the idea of a reinvention of Jane's story with ghosts and humor, both of which were lacking in the original, appealed. My Plain Jane, by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows (Harper Teen, June 2018), improves on the original by adding those elements, and also by not making Jane the central heroine.
Instead, the honor goes to a girl equally small, plain, and susceptible to romance--Charlotte Bronte, a school friend of Jane Eyre. The destinies of the two school friends become entangled when Jane choose to become a governess in Mr. Rochester's household instead of a professional ghost hunter, and Charlotte, who'd love to hunt ghosts but can't see them, follows her there. She's determined to persuade Jane to change her mind at the behest of the book's hero, the young and attractive (though neither tall, dark, or conventionally handsome) Mr. Blackwood. Charlotte is busily writing Jane Eyre, the gothic romance, in scattered moments of peace between alarms and excursions, while Jane is falling hard for Mr. Rochester....and in the meantime there's a Sinister Plot afoot that involves the safety of the whole kingdom....
It is a lot more fun than the original, but fans of that book won't, I think, mind the gentle fun poked at it. And it stands alone rather nicely as historical fiction with ghosts and authorial asides to liven things up. Charlotte is a strong enough character that the book is able to power through its (slightly one note) premise, and this Jane is less of a drip than the original. The ghosts are good plot elements, and the evil plan that must be foiled is a perfectly adequate plot point.
So basically, I didn't personally love it, but I did enjoy it lots; it diverted me very nicely!
9/24/18
The Black God's Drums, by P. Djèlí Clark
It is a few years after the Civil War ground to a stalemate; New Orleans is a free city, but there are still slave states in the south. One night Creeper hears information that changes her life, information that she can trade, she hopes, for passage on a Haitian airship, the Midnight Robber. Captain Ann-Marie is appalled to hear the news--a terrible weapon, the Black God's Drum, built a few years back in Haiti, is about to fall into the hands of men who will use it to bring the end they wanted to the Civil War, possibly destroying the whole country (literally) in the process. Reluctantly, the Captain takes Creeper on the mission to recover the weapon, the scientist who was coerced into handing it over, and his kidnapped daughter....They are outnumbered, and the weapon is being primed for use, but the two women have remarkable allies--each is giving house space to a powerful West African orisha (goddess), ready to unleash their rage....
I was impressed as all get out. It is a cracking good story, which was nice, but not a remarkable feat. What was remarkable is that in only 122 pages the reader gets a detailed alternate history with rich world building, plenty of backstory for the main character, plenty of mythological magic and almost magical spookiness, a soupcon of steampunk, magical tough as nails black nuns (I loved the nuns!), and quite a bit of smart alecky humor tossed in. The beginning made me a bit doubtful, as it seemed gritty--dark urban decay-ish, with someone named Creeper as the main character--but it turns out not to be gritty in that way at all, and I really liked it and I sure do hope she gets another story!
This isn't marketed as a Young Adult book as far as I can tell, which means it isn't eligible for the Cybils Awards, which is too bad because it absolutely is YA by any measure other than how it was published.
9/23/18
This week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy (9/23/18)
Here's this week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (please let me know if I missed your post!)
The Reviews
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge, at Charlotte's Library
The Apprentice Witch, by James Nicol, at The Biblio Life
Aru Shah and the End of Time, by Roshini Chokshi, at prosenkahn
Bad Mermaids Make Waves, by Sibéal Pounder, at Pages Unbound
City of Ghosts, by Victoria Schwab, at Charlotte's Library
Dactyl Hill Squad, by Daniel José Older, at The Book Wars and Shelf Awareness
A Hint of Hydra, by Heidi Land and Kati Bartowski, at Pages Unbound
How I Became a Ghost, by Tim Tingle, at From the Mixed Up Files
The Last Kids on Earth and the Cosmic Beyond, by Max Brailler, at The O.W.L. and Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
The Nebula Secret (Explorer Academy 1) by Trudi Trueit, at Mom Read It
The Once and Future Geek (Camelot Code 1), by Mari Mancusi, at Rajiv's Reviews
The Phantom Files: Twain's Treasurem by William B. Wolfe, at Locus
The Pool of Fire, by John Cristopher, at Leaf's Reviews
Rules for Thieves, by Alexandra Ott, at Say What?
The Snow Witch, by Rosie Boyes, at Log Cabin Library
The Storm Runner, by Jennifer Cervantes, at Mom Read It and Owl Always Be Reading
Sweep, by Jonathan Auxier, at Waking Brain Cells and Fantasy Literature
Thrones and Bones (Nightborn 2), by Lou Anders, at Say What?
An Unexpected Adventure, by Kandi J. Wyatt, at Kitty Cat at the Library
Wizardmatch, by Lauren Magaziner, at Semicolon
Two at Ms. Yingling Reads--The Storm Runner and The Last Kids on Earth and the Cosmic Beyond
Authors and Interviews
Daniel José Older (Dactyl Hill Squad) at Publishers Weekly
Rob Vlock (Sven Carter and the Android Army) at Middle Grade Book Village
Jennifer Cervantes (The Storm Runner) at The Children's Book Review
Other Good Stuff
Here's a look at "The Luck of Edenhall" which sounds like something you'd find in a mg fantasy...
And for Lego enthusiasts, here's the most amazing Helm's Deep that probably will never be surpassed; 1700 mini figures....(via Rachel Neumeier)
9/21/18
City of Ghosts, by Victoria Schwab
Cassidy Blake's parents are famous ghost hunters, and they've been offered a TV show that will take them around the world searching out hauntings. What they don't know is that ever since her nearly fatal drowning, Cassidy herself can see ghost, and in fact her best friend, Jacob, who saved her life that day, is a ghost himself.
When the Blake's arrive in Edinburgh to film the first episode of the show, Cassidy is overwhelmed. She can cross the veil that separates the living from the dead, in in Edinburgh, there are lots and lots of ghosts, dragging her into the supernatural realm. In her experience, ghosts are uninterested in the living, but here in Scotland she meets a formidable ghost, who is very interested in the living indeed--dragging living children into her supernatural realm. And she also meets another girl who can cross the veil, and who does so in order to put ghosts down, which Cassidy finds disturbing, because of her loyalty to ghostly Jacob. But the immediate threat of the murdering ghost takes precedence, and Cassidy, with help from Jacob, must find a way to put this evil ghost to rest, or loose her own life, for real.
The spooky atmosphere of Edinburgh is wonderfully done, and the ghost stories are interesting and deliciously macabre. There's nothing particularly fresh about it, but it's a fine fast read for kids who like ghosts!
(I myself was a little creeped out by Jacob; I wouldn't want my own adolescent daughter being constantly haunted by an adolescent boy who isn't great at privacy boundaries).
minor note--the family brings their cat from the US to Scotland, and I was all "but what about rabies quarantine?" and felt distrust towards the whole book as a result, until I looked up current law and found the quarantine regulations have been relaxed. So don't worry about that!
If this is the sort of story you like, try the Suddenly Supernatural books by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel (daughter of a medium starts seeing ghosts and lays them to rest) and Michelle Schusterman's Kat Sinclair series (dad has ghost hunting tv series, daughter gets involved in spooky mysteries). And if you like your ghost hunting really spooky, try Ellen Oh's Spirit Hunter books.
9/18/18
Gregory and the Gargoyles, by Denis-Pierre Filippi, for Timeslip Tuesday
Gregory is put out as all get out when his father moves his family to a new city. He doesn't want to make new friends and start at a new school. But that night, he finds a medallion on which is a drawing of the church next door, and so he decides to go exploring.....when he reaches the top of the church, the medallion begins to shine brightly, and Gregory is hurled back in time to the 17th century!
There he meets the church gargoyles, come to life, and finds that they defend of the city and its magical creatures against dark magicians, and they need his help. Gregory's life in the 17th century parallels his real one--same annoying sister, same getting into trouble at school, same parents trying to corral him, same horrible Aunt Agatha. But there's a big difference--Gregory discovers he has magical talents, and that his Aunt Agatha isn't just annoying--she's the leader of the bad guys!
In a swirl of magical adventures and encounters with magical creatures, including meeting up with a girl who's gifted with magic as well, Gregory tries to help the gargoyles....but the end of this particular mission is ambiguous, setting the stage for more to come. I've said before that I'm not a great graphic novel reader; I have trouble slowing down to look at the pictures, and have a hard time not skimming speech bubbles. And I was even more confused than usual here-it really is a brightly colored, madcap swirl of adventure and I had trouble keeping the story straight.
But I was still entertained, and feel confident that graphic novel/fantasy/magical creature fans (with younger eyes and more tolerance for intense visual stimulation) will love it! It's fun time travel-wise--I really liked Gregory's plunge into his 17th century alternate reality. That part I understood perfectly, and thought it was very well done. There are other time travel hops later in the book, but they are more bubbles of adventure and less integral to the plot.
The target audience really will enjoy this one lots, and will be glad that the 2nd and 3rd books are already out there in English and ready to read!
In case, like me, you were not familiar with Humanoids, here's a recentish article from Publishers Weekly about their kids/YA graphic novel imprint.
9/17/18
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge, by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
Brangwain Spurge, a scholar in Elfland (aka The Weed to his old classmate, now the Elfland's spymaster) is chosen to deliver a magnificent gift to the goblin king. He will be the first Elf diplomat to travel to the Goblin realm in centuries; for a thousand years the two lands have been at war, with many atrocities and casualties. His goblin host is Werfel, an archivist who does his best to offer magnificent hospitality and show off the best of goblin culture.
Things don't go well. Brangwain Spurge is a horrible guest, and is blinded by his prejudices against the goblins; he sees them as the savage creatures he had in his mind before he met them, totally ignoring the bedside chocolates Werfel has set out with such care (jerk). And he's more interested in spying then he is in having the historical conversations Werfel had looked forward too with innocent pleasure, which in any event would have been tricky, because goblins and elves have such very different ideas about the "truth" of their past hostilities.
And then Brangwain betrays Werfel's hospitality utterly, and the two become targets of the goblin secret police, and must flee for their lives, and Werfel's lovely, lonely home (his fiancé was a warrior, killed a while back), full of small items of great personal meaning, is destroyed (and my despising-ness of Brangwain, and sadness for Werfel was great). However, as is so often the case, fleeing for your life is a great way to get things out in the open, and talk more openly, and in this case, come to appreciate prejudice for what it is and start moving past it (good!), and they finally have interesting discussions about history (good!). However, as is also often the case, fleeing for your life means that people are trying to kill you (bad.).
Final however--this being a fantasy book for young readers, it doesn't end badly, and instead there is hope for cross-cultural reconciliation, and new stories, shared by both kingdoms (very good!).
This is a fine plot, very thought-provoking and emotionally involving (Werfel....so poignant!). Those who like somewhat whacky espionage stories, and those who like thinking about conflicting histories and those who like goblin archivists with endearing tentacled pets of great loyalty (such as Werfel has) who do their best, damn it, to give difficult guests a good time (with bedside chocolates), will enjoy it lots.
What lifts it to the tour de force level is the way the story is told. There are black and white picture sequences, many pictures, that show Brangwain's spy mission point of view. They are complicated, detailed, and make more sense after you read the book (this could be my own particular problem, since when I'm reading I have trouble stopping for picture looking....).
There is Werfel's third person narration of his point of view. And there are letters from the elven spymaster to his king, giving us a whole nother story brewing under the main adventure.....and it all works to make a cohesive, gripping whole!
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge is on the National Book Award Young Readers long list, the only fantasy there this year. It is indeed a book for young readers, but it is not a book for every young reader. 10 and up into YA..., I guess, but if pressed I'd put it more in Middle Grade than YA, because the adventure and intrigue has that pure immersive excitement of MG adventure (or something), and even though it might seem that YA readers would be more likely to appreciate the Weighty Themes, MG readers should not be underestimated....
Kirkus liked the book lots too...
but gee, nothing gets me more than good people trying to do the best they can in all the small things because that's what needs to be done and really trying and it all going to hell and all the personal things that reminded them of their dead beloved being trashed. Werfel and Brangwain are friends at the end, but still. The adorable tentacled pet makes it safely to the end too, thank goodness.
disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher
9/16/18
this week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and science fiction from around the blogs (9/16/18)
Here's this week's round-up; let me know if I missed your post!
The Reviews
The Afterwards, by A.F. Harold, at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books
Akata Witch, and Akata Warrior, by Nnedi Okorafor, at The Children's Book Review
Argos: The Story of Odysseus as Told by His Loyal Dog, by Ralph Hardy, at Middle Grade Mafioso
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin, at Waking Brian Cells
Begone the Raggedy Witches, by Celine Kiernan, at Word Spelunking and Charlotte's Library
City of Ghosts, by Victoria Schwab, at Browsing for Books
Dactyl Hill Squad, by Daniel Jose Older, at Great Kid Books
Escape to the Above, by Adam Jay Epstein, at Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Ghost Boys, by Jewell Parker Rhodes, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile
The Inventors at No.8, by A.M. Morgan, at Semicolon
The Wells Bequest (Grimm Legacy 2), by Polly Shulman, at Say What?
The Last of the Lost Boys (Outlaws of Time 3), by N.D. Wilson, at Semicolon
The Legend of Greg, by Chris Rylander, at Always in the Middle
The Phantom Tower, by Keir Graff, at Say What?
The Poe Estate (Grimm Legacy #3), by Polly Shulman, at Say What?
A Rat's Tale: The Adventures of Wilhelm, by Maria Ritter, at The Children's Book Review
The School for Good and Evil, by Soman Chainani, at Say What?
Skulduggery Pleasant (1), by Derek Landy, at Jen Robinson's Book Page
Spindrift and the Orchid, by Emma Trevayne, at Semicolon
The Storm Runner, by Jennifer Cervantes, at Fantasy Literature and Take Me Away
Swallow's Dance, by Wendy Orr, at Log Cabin Library
The Third Mushroom, by Jennifer Holm, at The O.W.L.
Voyage of the Dogs, by Greg van Eekhout, at Fantasy Literature
Two at Ms. Yingling Reads--The Golden Tower, by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, and The Lost Continent, by Tui T. Sutherland
Another two at Ms. Yingling Reads--Otherwood, by Pete Hautman, and The Red Fox Clan (Royal Ranger 2), by John Flanagan
Authors and Interviews
Zetta Elliott (Dragons in a Bag) at The Horn Book
Krista Van Dolzer (Earth to Dad) at Michelle I. Mason
nat book awrds
Other Good Stuff
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin is bearing the middle grade fantasy torch on the National Book Award longlist for young people's literature
"25 Adventurous Books Like Percy Jackson" at Book Riot
"To mark three decades since Roald Dahl’s heroine first appeared, her illustrator, Quentin Blake, has imagined her life now" at The Guardian
I always enjoy Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books' looks at what's new in the UK; here's today's post
The Reviews
The Afterwards, by A.F. Harold, at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books
Akata Witch, and Akata Warrior, by Nnedi Okorafor, at The Children's Book Review
Argos: The Story of Odysseus as Told by His Loyal Dog, by Ralph Hardy, at Middle Grade Mafioso
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin, at Waking Brian Cells
Begone the Raggedy Witches, by Celine Kiernan, at Word Spelunking and Charlotte's Library
City of Ghosts, by Victoria Schwab, at Browsing for Books
Dactyl Hill Squad, by Daniel Jose Older, at Great Kid Books
Escape to the Above, by Adam Jay Epstein, at Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
Ghost Boys, by Jewell Parker Rhodes, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile
The Inventors at No.8, by A.M. Morgan, at Semicolon
The Wells Bequest (Grimm Legacy 2), by Polly Shulman, at Say What?
The Last of the Lost Boys (Outlaws of Time 3), by N.D. Wilson, at Semicolon
The Legend of Greg, by Chris Rylander, at Always in the Middle
The Phantom Tower, by Keir Graff, at Say What?
The Poe Estate (Grimm Legacy #3), by Polly Shulman, at Say What?
A Rat's Tale: The Adventures of Wilhelm, by Maria Ritter, at The Children's Book Review
The School for Good and Evil, by Soman Chainani, at Say What?
Skulduggery Pleasant (1), by Derek Landy, at Jen Robinson's Book Page
Spindrift and the Orchid, by Emma Trevayne, at Semicolon
The Storm Runner, by Jennifer Cervantes, at Fantasy Literature and Take Me Away
Swallow's Dance, by Wendy Orr, at Log Cabin Library
The Third Mushroom, by Jennifer Holm, at The O.W.L.
Voyage of the Dogs, by Greg van Eekhout, at Fantasy Literature
Two at Ms. Yingling Reads--The Golden Tower, by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, and The Lost Continent, by Tui T. Sutherland
Another two at Ms. Yingling Reads--Otherwood, by Pete Hautman, and The Red Fox Clan (Royal Ranger 2), by John Flanagan
Authors and Interviews
Zetta Elliott (Dragons in a Bag) at The Horn Book
Krista Van Dolzer (Earth to Dad) at Michelle I. Mason
nat book awrds
Other Good Stuff
The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin is bearing the middle grade fantasy torch on the National Book Award longlist for young people's literature
"25 Adventurous Books Like Percy Jackson" at Book Riot
"To mark three decades since Roald Dahl’s heroine first appeared, her illustrator, Quentin Blake, has imagined her life now" at The Guardian
I always enjoy Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books' looks at what's new in the UK; here's today's post
9/12/18
Begone the Raggedy Witches, by Celine Kiernan
Mup had no idea her mother came from a world of magic until the night her great-aunt died, and the raggedy witches stole her father away. Her father was the bait that would pull her mother back into that world to save him, so that the queen of the witches, Mup's own grandmother, could eliminate her as a rival. This comes as a surprise to Mup's mother; her great-aunt had decided to raise her in mundane Ireland, with no knowledge of her magical heritage.
Mup, her little brother (transformed into a puppy), the ghost of the great-aunt, and her mother cross the boarder into a place where the witch queen has clamped down on all magic that is not part of her cabal of evil, raggedy witches. Mup's mother comes into her inheritance of magic. And, this being a good, proper, middle grade fantasy, it turns out that Mup has a magic of her own that she must learn to draw on if she is to get them safely home again. But will her mother want to leave, now that she knows she is the heir to this place of wonders?
It is a really satisfying story, with a nice balance of internal anxiety for family and new friends and external anxiety about formidable magical opponents. The initial journey through the magical world that sets things in motion gives the reader, and Mup, time to figure out what's happening, and introduces Crow, a shape-shifting boy, with his own desperate need for family, who both helps Mup with her quest and becomes another person for her to care for. Mup isn't interested in saving the world; she's interested in saving those she loves, and so, though there's plenty of vividly described fantasy-type adventuring and battling against evil magic (with Mup manifesting fascinating magic of her own!) there's plenty of emotional heart here too.
This was first published in Ireland, and remains un-Americanized; Mum is not corrected to Mom, for instance, making it even more interestingly foreign to American readers.
There's scary stuff (the raggedy witches, though their name makes them sound, perhaps, a little silly, are very nightmarish), and there's one rather no-punches-pulled death, but all in all I'd be happy to give this to a fantasy fan at the younger end of middle grade--the magic-loving 4th grader. And I'd also be happy to give it to the magic loving upper end kid--the 7th grader feeling pressured by controlling grown-ups (like Mup's Great-aunt) and wanting to escape the mundanity of middle school,
I enjoyed it lots, and am very happy it's the first book of a trilogy! There's lots of work to be done in the world of the raggedy witches, and it will be a pleasure to see Mup and her family set to it!
and now I go see what Kirkus thinks...and although theirs was a metaphor that did not occur to me, I am happy to see we ended up in the same place.
From their starred review:
"Kiernan has
crafted something at once familiar and delightfully surprising with this
fantasy quest. Like biting into an unassuming brownie to discover it has a
heart of Nutella, Mup’s narrative has all the hallmarks of a traditional
misadventure with the fairy folk, but the unusual deployment of the “chosen one”
trope, a plot-driving interweave of magic and family tension, and ineffably
Irish elements of worldbuilding and characterization deliver readers an
unexpected twist of richness.
It’s fortunate a trilogy is planned, for readers
will surely demand more of Mup."
disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher.
9/9/18
This week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (9/9/18)
Here's this week's round-up; please let me know if I missed your post!
First--today's the last day to throw your name into the hat to be a Cybils panelist! It is really fun, and really rewarding, and there are lots of great categories besides middle grade speculative fiction! YA speculative fiction could use a few more applicants, for instance....
The Reviews
Begone the Raggedy Witches, by Celine Kiernan, at Whispering Stories
The Cat at the Wall, by Deborah Ellis, at Millebot Reads
Escape to the Above, by Adam Jay Epstein, at Say What?
A Festival of Ghosts, by William Alexander, at Charlotte's Library
The Five Sisters, by Margaret Mahy, at Fantasy Literature
The Nebula Secret, by Trudi Trueit, at Always in the Middle, Word Spelunking, and Charlotte's Library
Otherwood, by Pete Hautman, at Waking Brain Cells
The Splintered Light, by Ginger Johnson, at Semicolon
The Storm Runner, by J. C. Cervantes, at Word Spelunking
Storm Witch, by Ellen Renner, at A little but a lot and Book Murmuration
The Third Mushroom, by Jennifer Holm, at The Winged Pen
The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery, by Allison Rushby, at Geo Librarian
The Wide-Awake Princess, by E.D. Baker, at A Backwards Story
Willa of the Wood, by Robert Beatty, at Sharon the Librarian
Two at Ms. Yingling Reads--The Voyage of the Dogs, by Greg Van Eekhout, and The Third Mushroom, by Jennifer Holm
Authors and Interviews
Greg Van Eekhout (Voyage of the Dogs) at Whatever
Ginger Johnson (The Splintered Light) at Nerdy Book Club
Josh Levy (Seventh Grade vs the Galaxy) at MG Book Village
Other Good Stuff
What's new in the UK, at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books
8 cold middle grade books (many of them fantasy) in case you are still suffering in the heat, which is not the case today here in Rhode Island....gathered by me at the B. and N. Kids Blog
First--today's the last day to throw your name into the hat to be a Cybils panelist! It is really fun, and really rewarding, and there are lots of great categories besides middle grade speculative fiction! YA speculative fiction could use a few more applicants, for instance....
The Reviews
Begone the Raggedy Witches, by Celine Kiernan, at Whispering Stories
The Cat at the Wall, by Deborah Ellis, at Millebot Reads
Escape to the Above, by Adam Jay Epstein, at Say What?
A Festival of Ghosts, by William Alexander, at Charlotte's Library
The Five Sisters, by Margaret Mahy, at Fantasy Literature
The Nebula Secret, by Trudi Trueit, at Always in the Middle, Word Spelunking, and Charlotte's Library
Otherwood, by Pete Hautman, at Waking Brain Cells
The Splintered Light, by Ginger Johnson, at Semicolon
The Storm Runner, by J. C. Cervantes, at Word Spelunking
Storm Witch, by Ellen Renner, at A little but a lot and Book Murmuration
The Third Mushroom, by Jennifer Holm, at The Winged Pen
The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery, by Allison Rushby, at Geo Librarian
The Wide-Awake Princess, by E.D. Baker, at A Backwards Story
Willa of the Wood, by Robert Beatty, at Sharon the Librarian
Two at Ms. Yingling Reads--The Voyage of the Dogs, by Greg Van Eekhout, and The Third Mushroom, by Jennifer Holm
Authors and Interviews
Greg Van Eekhout (Voyage of the Dogs) at Whatever
Ginger Johnson (The Splintered Light) at Nerdy Book Club
Josh Levy (Seventh Grade vs the Galaxy) at MG Book Village
Other Good Stuff
What's new in the UK, at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books
8 cold middle grade books (many of them fantasy) in case you are still suffering in the heat, which is not the case today here in Rhode Island....gathered by me at the B. and N. Kids Blog
9/8/18
A Festival of Ghosts, by William Alexander
In A Properly Unhanted Place, by William Alexander, link goes to my review) young Rosa Diaz was instrumental in dismantling the dangerous barrier that that had been constructed around the town of Ingot to keep the dead away. But now that the town is properly haunted again, will the living be able to cope?
A Festival of Ghosts (Margaret K. McElderry Books, August 2018) picks up right after the first book ends. Rosa is forced to go to the local school, where she must act as a semi-official ghost appeaser; and her role in the whole ghost business has not made her wildly popular with many of the other kids, so there's social as well as spooky tension!
The school is not the only supernatural hot-spot--Ingot is in danger of being overwhelmed by the influx of unsettled spirits, and its inhabitants have lived without having to deal with the dead for so long that they don't know how to cope. Rosa herself is troubled by the possibility that she herself is being haunted by the ghost of her dead father, and her best friend Jasper and his family are troubled by the haunting that's taken over the grounds of the town's Renaissance festival--spirits of Renaissance re-enactors and the minors of Ingot's past are at war over the site. And the haunting of the school proves not to be a case of ordinary restless dead, but part of the tragedy at the heart of Ingot's troubled past....
So basically, there's a lot on Rosa's plate! She and Jasper continue to be a great team, and the details of ghost appeasement make for entertaining reading. The larger struggle of recognizing history and past wrongs, and making places for those wrongs to be remembered in the landscape of the living, adds a profound and thoughtful depth.
The first book was great spooky fun, this book is perhaps less fun, but possibly even better.
Note--illustrations by Kelly Murphy, one of my favorite middle grade fantasy illustrators, add lots....for those who are better than I am at noticing that there are pictures. I have to go back and look at the them once I finish the book, because I get so fixed on the reading that I don't even see pictures. I had not even realized that there were pictures until I started writing this. This blindness, and my sadness that I have this failing, is why I have organized a panel on "illustrated middle grade" for Kidlitcon 2019, with Kelly Murphy as one of the panelists. I would like to be able to think more intelligently about the pictures!
The school is not the only supernatural hot-spot--Ingot is in danger of being overwhelmed by the influx of unsettled spirits, and its inhabitants have lived without having to deal with the dead for so long that they don't know how to cope. Rosa herself is troubled by the possibility that she herself is being haunted by the ghost of her dead father, and her best friend Jasper and his family are troubled by the haunting that's taken over the grounds of the town's Renaissance festival--spirits of Renaissance re-enactors and the minors of Ingot's past are at war over the site. And the haunting of the school proves not to be a case of ordinary restless dead, but part of the tragedy at the heart of Ingot's troubled past....
So basically, there's a lot on Rosa's plate! She and Jasper continue to be a great team, and the details of ghost appeasement make for entertaining reading. The larger struggle of recognizing history and past wrongs, and making places for those wrongs to be remembered in the landscape of the living, adds a profound and thoughtful depth.
The first book was great spooky fun, this book is perhaps less fun, but possibly even better.
Note--illustrations by Kelly Murphy, one of my favorite middle grade fantasy illustrators, add lots....for those who are better than I am at noticing that there are pictures. I have to go back and look at the them once I finish the book, because I get so fixed on the reading that I don't even see pictures. I had not even realized that there were pictures until I started writing this. This blindness, and my sadness that I have this failing, is why I have organized a panel on "illustrated middle grade" for Kidlitcon 2019, with Kelly Murphy as one of the panelists. I would like to be able to think more intelligently about the pictures!
9/6/18
Seafire, by Natalie C. Parker
I very much enjoyed the all female, found family of the crew. Since there were 52 of them, we don't get to meet them all personally, just those who are close to Caledonia, but the ones we meet are interesting and unique, and contribute to the functioning of the ship and its missions each according to their strengths. At times reading this I was reminded a little bit of classic naval warefare fiction (like the Hornblower books)--tricks and guile and strategy are more important than brute force of arms. Yet Caledonia is no Hornblower--she doesn't rise to that level of brilliance, and it is her crew that comes forward with the ideas and initiatives needed (which is fine-go crew!).
Tension specific to the story (as opposed to the evil bad guy they have to fight tension) is provided when a young Bullet soldier begs for sanctuary. Caledonia has his life in her hands, and it is hard for her not to kill him outright. As well as providing moral and ethical struggle to the plot, this provides a romance sub-thread....a pleasing one, that I did not object to, though I found the relationships between the women, including one murmur of a lesbian relationship, more interesting because less predictable..
I didn't think this was the greatest book since sliced bread, mostly because I was frustrated by a fuzziness to the worldbuilding (I like more history, more backstory to how the bad guys came to power, the sort of thing that lets one imagine how they can be overthrown), and I was also frustrated that the women weren't thinking about end goals (being pirates is all very well, but where does it get you?), but this certainly leaves the story wide open for sequels!
9/5/18
Explorer Academy: The Nebula Secret, by Trudi Trueit
The first book, The Nebula Secret, is out today. It introduces the young hero, Cruz Coronado, a 12 year-old Mexian-American surfer dude from Hawaii whose mom used to work as a scientist at the Academy before she died in an accident there (a mysterious sort of accident....). Cruz is accepted into the Academy (a place sort of like Hogwarts for science), and is thrilled to start training as an explorer with his diverse classmates from around the globe. At first his days there are full of ordinary school-for-the-brilliant sort of happenings, and full of science-y goodness, but then Cruz starts picking up clues that his mother's death wasn't just a sad accident.
And so after this set up first volume, Cruz is launched into a dangerous hunt for the secret she hid from everyone but him...putting his own life in danger!
It's fun, fast, geeky, has lots of full color illustrations that help move things along briskly, and it should be a hit with its target audience. Here's the book's website if you want to learn more!
nb--I stuck a science fiction label on it, because a lot of the tech is not exactly mainstream yet, but I have reservations about this because, as explained in a note at the end, it is within the realm of near-future possibility (4-D printing, for instance.....)
9/2/18
This week's round-up of middle grade sci f and fantasy from aroudn the blogs (9/2/18)
Here's what I gathered this week; please let me know if I missed your post!
But first--apply to be a judge for the Cybils Awards! Spend your fall in a beautiful orgy of reading the children's/YA book genre of your choice, and discussing it frankly and lovingly with others! One especially fine category is Middle Grade Speculative Fiction, but there's also YA speculative fiction, which could use a few more applicants.....it might seem daunting to be given a list of 150 or so YA speculative fiction books to read in three months, but fear not! Not every panelist has to read every book (every book is read by a minimum of 2 people, and with a panel of 7 readers, this cuts down the reading load tremendously), and if it becomes clear to you that a book is not one you're falling in love with, you don't have to force yourself to read it till the bitter end! Plus if you're interested in the category, you've probably read a bunch of the books that will be nominated already.
The Reviews
Beggone the Raggedy Witches (Wild Magic 1), by Celine Kiernan, at Mom Read It
The Book of Boy, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, at Book Murmuration
The Boy, the Bird and the Coffin Maker, by Matilda Woods, at Magic Fiction
Since Potter
City of Ghosts, by Victoria Schawb, at Fansided, Avid Reader, NJ Family, and Hypable
City of Islands, by Kali Wallace, at Charlotte's Library
Dealing With Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede, at Howl's Moving Library
Dogsbody, by Diana Wynne Jones, at Fantasy Literature
A Festival of Ghosts, by William Alexander, at Bookworm for Kids
Frostborn, by Lou Anders, at Say What?
The Girl in the Locked Room, by Mary Downing Hahn, at Ms. Yingling Reads
The Missing (Shadow House 4), by Dan Pobleki, at Ms. Yingling Reads
The Rose Legacy, by Jessica Day George, at Locus
The Scroll of Kings (The Lost Books 1), by Sarah Prineas, at Redeemed Reader
Sweep: the Story of a Girl and Her Monster, by Jonathan Auxier, at proseandkahn and Reading Rumpus
The Third Mushroom, by Jennifer L. Holm, at My Brain on Books
The Wild Robot, and The Wild Robot Escapes, by Peter Borwn, at The Whispering of Pages
The Wizard's Dog, by Eric Kahn Gale, at Susan Uhlig
Authors and Interviews
Rebekah Stelzer (The Queen and the Knights of Nor) at Chanticleer Book Reviews
Ginger Johnson (The Splintered Light) at Nerdy Book Club
A look at Joan Aiken's life and books at The New Yorker
Other Good Stuff
The latest news from Rick Riordan presents! Lots of new books announced; basically a series of squees.
How to design a trashy mg book cover at YouTube
But first--apply to be a judge for the Cybils Awards! Spend your fall in a beautiful orgy of reading the children's/YA book genre of your choice, and discussing it frankly and lovingly with others! One especially fine category is Middle Grade Speculative Fiction, but there's also YA speculative fiction, which could use a few more applicants.....it might seem daunting to be given a list of 150 or so YA speculative fiction books to read in three months, but fear not! Not every panelist has to read every book (every book is read by a minimum of 2 people, and with a panel of 7 readers, this cuts down the reading load tremendously), and if it becomes clear to you that a book is not one you're falling in love with, you don't have to force yourself to read it till the bitter end! Plus if you're interested in the category, you've probably read a bunch of the books that will be nominated already.
The Reviews
Beggone the Raggedy Witches (Wild Magic 1), by Celine Kiernan, at Mom Read It
The Book of Boy, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, at Book Murmuration
The Boy, the Bird and the Coffin Maker, by Matilda Woods, at Magic Fiction
Since Potter
City of Ghosts, by Victoria Schawb, at Fansided, Avid Reader, NJ Family, and Hypable
City of Islands, by Kali Wallace, at Charlotte's Library
Dealing With Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede, at Howl's Moving Library
Dogsbody, by Diana Wynne Jones, at Fantasy Literature
A Festival of Ghosts, by William Alexander, at Bookworm for Kids
Frostborn, by Lou Anders, at Say What?
The Girl in the Locked Room, by Mary Downing Hahn, at Ms. Yingling Reads
The Missing (Shadow House 4), by Dan Pobleki, at Ms. Yingling Reads
The Rose Legacy, by Jessica Day George, at Locus
The Scroll of Kings (The Lost Books 1), by Sarah Prineas, at Redeemed Reader
Sweep: the Story of a Girl and Her Monster, by Jonathan Auxier, at proseandkahn and Reading Rumpus
The Third Mushroom, by Jennifer L. Holm, at My Brain on Books
The Wild Robot, and The Wild Robot Escapes, by Peter Borwn, at The Whispering of Pages
The Wizard's Dog, by Eric Kahn Gale, at Susan Uhlig
Authors and Interviews
Rebekah Stelzer (The Queen and the Knights of Nor) at Chanticleer Book Reviews
Ginger Johnson (The Splintered Light) at Nerdy Book Club
A look at Joan Aiken's life and books at The New Yorker
Other Good Stuff
The latest news from Rick Riordan presents! Lots of new books announced; basically a series of squees.
How to design a trashy mg book cover at YouTube
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