The Cat and Mrs. Cary, by Doris Gates

The Cat and Mrs. Cary, by Doris Gates (1962), came into my home last weekend when my sister was visiting.  Every visit she sends me a list of a few books to check out of the Rhode Island library system (less ruthlessly weeded than those of many other states) for her, and this was one she'd read as a child and wanted to revisit.  So of course I read it too, and enjoyed it very much.

It's the story of an oldish woman, Mrs. Cary, a widow who has bought herself a little house by the sea, where she lives alone in perfect order.  Then one day a cat enters her life, a cat who can talk to her, and only her.  She'd never wanted a cat, but The Cat is a force to be reckoned with, and he has decided to stay.  Soon after she finds herself agreeing to  host her nephew, who's been badly ill, so that the sea air can revive him, even though she's very doubtful about this.

Brad, the nephew, is doubtful as well, but when he turns out to be a bookish, good-natured boy, Mrs. Cary is much relieved (as Brad is too when he finds out the same about her).  And Brad likes cats very much, so he and The Cat get along like a house on fire, even though they can't speak to each other.  Brad finds Mrs. Cary's one-sided conversations vastly amusing, though some of the neighbors have been startled by them....

The author clearly felt that Plot was needed, so into this gentle story comes Danger and Suspense, in the form of a (small) ring of....wait for it...Parakeet Smugglers!  Brad, Mrs. Cary, The Cat, and a girl also visiting the town foil the smugglers, and all ends well, with The Cat and Brad going home together and Mrs. Cary getting three kittens.

Although ostensibly a children's book, Mrs. Cary is definitely the main character (perhaps the children's book-ness is why her first name is never given), but this story of a woman more lonely than she admits to herself finding companionship has as much, if not more, appeal for grown-ups. Prefect reading when you need something companionable and undemanding, with bits of humor, if you can cope with/more or less ignore parakeet smuggling as a plot point.  I'll be returning it tomorrow, if any fellow Rhode Islanders are in the mood for such a book....

Riders of the Realm: Across the Dark Waters, by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez--tackling slavery and colonialsm with flying horses

It was a hard week of Library Booksale work coming at the end of a busy, busy April, so it is nice that is over with, and I can settle down to reading and reviewing (and maybe yardwork....).   I did get a fair amount of reading done while working at the library, but it was mostly oddments that were for sale, and not the books here at home that need reading.  So for my one and only review this week, here are my thoughts on Riders of the Realm: Across the Dark Waters, by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez.

This is the first book of a continuation series of Alverez's Guardian Herd books; it's not a direct sequel, but takes existing characters from those books and sets them on a new path.  Echofrost is one of the leaders of a group of winged horse who decide to abandon their homeland and the battle between two legendary stallions that is raging there, and which threatens to overwhelm all the clans of winged horses. Storm Herd, as they call themselves, plans to settle on another continent, keeping their kind from the threat of extinction.  So they fly across the dark waters, to a far-off land of jungles.

To the surprise of Storm Herd, there are already flying horses in this place, but they don't fly free.  Instead, they serve the landwalkers (humans), part of a great military force in which each stead is paired for life with a human rider.  This force sets off to pursue the wild herd, and one wild mare is captured.  Echofrost goes back for her friend, allowing herself to be captured too, thinking she can save the both of them.  To her horror, her feathers are immediately cut so she can no longer fly.  With escape impossible for the moment, she finds that she has just volunteered, in essence, for slavery (about which more after the plot summary).  Only one young boy, Rahkki, wins a small measure of her trust.

Rahkki is the other point-of-view character, and though he has a complicated backstory that means he has no hope of being a Rider himself, he is able to get to know the wild mare.  Their relationship ends up being crucial not just to the trajectory of their individual lives, but to the fate of both the realm and of Storm Herd. The jungle queendom is threatened by a race of giants (about which more below).  War has begun, and Storm Herd has been caught in it.   And Echofrost is faced once again with a terrible choice--friends or freedom?

The Guardian Herd series was lovely fodder for kids who enjoy animal epic adventures with magic.  This series takes the world into much more complicated territory, and for me at least the moral and ethicial questions posed were more interesting than the plot (although the plot is perfectly fine and I see no reason why kids who like animal adventures won't love it).  For starters, there's the whole slavery of sentient beings. This is a troubling part of the book, because slavery is troubling.  The reader is not allowed to see the winged horses as domesticated animals, because clearly Echofrost is a sapient protagonist, but the pegasi of the realm have had generations of brainwashing, and do not realize that "freedom" is something they should want.

Echofrost learns that obeying her trainer's commands means she will not be hurt, and has to walk a delicate line between cooperating on the outside and keeping the flames of rebellion burning on the inside.   She tries to convince the enslaved pegasi to seek freedom, but  they sincerely love the riders they are paired with, and it is hard to make them see that they are not equal partners.  Alverez certainly made me feel uncomfortable with this set-up, and I think she is forthright enough in her portrayal of Echofrost's thoughts young readers will also be made to think about the ethical implications of the relationship between pegasi and their riders (which is a good thing).

Alverez also throws another thought-provoking twist into the story.  The race of giants are the "bad guys."  They are rumored to eat pegasi.  They are the aggressive, uncivilized attackers. However, Alverez makes it clear, fairly obviously, and quickly enough to make it possible to keep reading without flinging the book away because of this harmful trope of barbarians vs civilization, that there is more to the story.  Right when the giants are first introduced to the plot, the reader is told that the farmlands carved from the jungle were originally the giants' homeland, from which they were driven away.  The reader also learns that the giants are not necessarily brutish at all--they can communicate in sign language.   The reader must make of this what she will, but when Rahkki concludes that the giants' final attach of the story is motivated by a desire for a bargaining chip to exchange for the return of their land, the point  that there was injustice done to the giants is underlined emphatically.

I am encouraged by Alverez's forthrightness in setting up this world to hope that the end of the series will involve some sort of justice for the giants, and a clear acknowledgement that they are not savages.   And I assume that the winged horse will be recognized as well as sentient beings deserving of freedom.  These two pertinent, social-justice questions made what could have been just an entertaining flying horse and plucky orphan boy making friends story into something that I was intellectually interested in reading, and so I look forward to the next book.

Cucumber Quest: the Ripple Kingdom, by Gigi D.G.

I have a soft spot for the graphic novel series Cucumber Quest because my little one (now not so little) was very fond of it when it was still a webcomic....Now it is a book series from FirstSecond, and the second book, The Ripple Kingdom, has just been released (the first book, The Doughnut Kingdom, came out last fall).  Those wise grownups who realize that reading kid-friendly graphic novels is a great way to get kids reading, especially when it's a series that's fun and bright and both a bit silly and quite a bit exciting, should be happy to have it to offer any young readers (7-10 year olds) who they might have kicking around the place.

Cucumber is a young rabbit boy whose plans to study magic got derailed by a quest to save the world.  His little sister, Almond, goes with him, and she's thrilled to have her fighting skills put to the test on their quest to find the fabled Dream Sword and defeat the Nightmare Knight.  Cucumber is much less thrilled, and his thrill level goes down even more when misfortune at sea strands him on a lonely beach.  Almond and their companion, the rather hapless Sir Carrot, are no where to be seen.   But on the beach, Princess Nautilus is being menaced by a gang of crab bullies, and Cucumber is able, to his own astonishment, to use his magic to save her.  The two join forces to rescue Almond, Carrot, and Queen Conch from the giant tentacled Splashmaster, and manage, improbably, to succeed.

It's lots of fun, with colorful illustrations that have touches of silliness, and little bits of random story (like a pop-in visit from the superhero Captain Caboodle, Champion of Justice).  And though the perspective hops around from Cucumber to Almond, the adventure is easy to follow, and quite gripping!  A more serious thread runs through it too--can the Nightmare Knight, who makes an appearance at the end of the book, ever really be defeated when there are always evil, power-hungry folk who will call him back to life????

Cucumber and Almond, and the hapless Carrot, must do their best, and so it's onward to their next adventure in the Melody Kingdom, coming this May!

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

Granted, by John David Anderson

John David Anderson's latest middle grade book, continues a pattern--a pattern of not writing the same book twice; he's written sword and sorcery fantasy, superhero stories (with twists) realistic middle grade,  and realistic middle grade mixed with fantasy.  Granted isn't like any of those other books, though it is fantasy.  It is a book about fairies making wishes come true (the little magical type fairies with wings), and the problems (more like near disasters) that one fairy, Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets, encounters when she sets off into the human world to grant what seemed like a simple wish.

Sadly, it didn't work for me personally, although this is absolutely a matter of taste (Kirkus gave it a starred review), and I am absolutely certain that other grown-up readers of middle grade fantasy will love it, and that lots, though not all, kids will too.

The book begins by setting up the world of the fairies--they live separate from the human world, busily training themselves to go forth and grant wishes, or go into other fields such as making and healing and technology....It didn't break any particularly new ground for fairy enclaves, but it was fine.  And the problem facing the fairies--that there were fewer wishes every day for them to go forth and grant, and a worrying, interconnected decline in magic in general, was interesting.

The heroine fairy, Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets, did not appeal to me--she's a bossy pants perfectionist type, and although the edges of her sometimes abrasive personality soften during the course of the adventure to come, she's still not my favorite strong fictional girl character.

But the main reason the book wasn't one for me is that I do not like too much to go wrong.  When Ophelia is of on her mission to grant a wish, which should have been straightforward, and she should have had not trouble, it becomes a series of disasters one after another.  Too many times she got close to doing what she had to do, only for yet another thing to go wrong.  Not my personal cup of tea.

And finally,  I am not a dog person, and a large licky smelly dog plays an important roll in the story. Admitedly, the relationship between the fairy and the dog is the most powerful part of the story, so I was glad the dog was there, but still.

On the other hand, the ending is heartwarming, the story is memorable and even thought provoking, and Anderson's writing can be counted on to make clear pictures in the mind.  So basically, if it sounds at all interesting to you, and you love dogs--go for it.

The Adventurers Guild, by Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos

The Cybils Awards* shortlist for Elementary/Middle Grade speculative fiction has been announced, and though we are proud of the lovely books we chose, there were many others that were excellent as well, and which I am behind on reviewing (my long Christmas break from blogging has created a backlog). One of the books I most enjoyed reading was The Adventurers Guild, by Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos (Disney-Hyperion, October 2017).  As well as being a fun fast read for me, it is a true treat for the young reader who enjoys magic monster slaying adventure in a fantasy realm!  In particular, if you have a young Dungeons and Dragons player of 11 or 12, offer them this book right away.

It's set in a world overrun with monsters.  A few beleaguered cities, walled and warded by magic, are all that remain.  Around them are monster-infested forests.  Two kids, Zed and Brock, are about to come of age in one of these cities, and it's time for them to be chosen by one of the city's guilds (if all goes well).  Brock's a shoe-in for the Merchants Guild (thanks to his father's position there), but Zed's future is more uncertain.  As a half-elf, the only one in the city, he's always been an outsider, but he hopes desperately the Mage's Guild will take him.  Neither wants to be chosen by the Adventurers Guild, whose men and women go hunting for monsters outside the city walls, and who don't live awfully long.  But it's the Adventures Guild that picks Zed, and Brock, in a moment of when loyalty to his friend overrides sense, volunteers to join them too.  With them is Liza, a girl from the leading family of the city, who, though brought up with privilege, is tough as nails, and Jett, a dwarf boy who dreams of being a great craftsman.  Though the main characters are boys, Liza gives girls who want to slay monsters a place to hang their hats very nicely too!

The four immediately start their monster hunter training, and just as quickly, things start to go wrong.  There are dangers afoot more subtle than the deadly monsters outside the walls, and the four kids are soon trying to figure out just what these are and how to save their city from falling.  This is me cleverly avoiding specific plot spoilers--the basic point is that the plot gets more complex and interesting than just slaying techniques and dangers.

It is a bright sort of book, very sensory, with clear sharp pictures in the mind, and characters each with their own flavor, and like I said, I enjoyed it lots.  It doesn't exactly break new ground, or take great risks in story or narrative style, which actually added to my enjoyment--I wasn't challenged to do more than just briskly turn the pages, and sometimes that's what I need and want most as a reader!  Which is not to say there weren't unexpected twists to the story, and there's interesting backstory of characters and world that provides substance.  I am looking forward very much to the next book!

And now I go to read the Kirkus review......and see their review liked it even more than I did!  "A dazzling adventure sure to become a classic...."

thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy for Cybils Award consideration.

*being a Cybils judge is something you can be too if you review books on line!  Please consider joining the fun next year--we welcome new folks!  Look for the call for panelists next August.

Cover Reveal for The Lost Books: The Scroll of Kings, a new middle grade fantasy from Sarah Prineas!

I am a huge fan of Sarah Prineas; in particular I love her middle grade Magic Thief series!  And so I am just thrilled as all get out that she has a new middle grade fantasy coming next year, and honored to host its cover reveal!

The Lost Books: The Scroll of Kings (HarperCollins Children's) will hit shelves June 26.

Here's the blurb:

For years, all the libraries in the kingdom have been locked up. 

Is it to keep the books safe from readers?

Or...is it to keep readers safe from books?

Alex is an apprentice librarian, and he is certain that books have a secret, powerful history.  Unfortunately, his elderly master is a lot more interested in bug poop than in teaching Alex anything useful.  When the old man dies under extremely suspicious circumstances, Alex travels to the palace and impersonates his master so he can take up the position of royal librarian—a job that is far more dangerous than he ever imagined. 

The young queen, Kenneret, is pretty sure this scruffy, obnoxious boy is not who he claims to be, and she doubts he’s really a librarian, either.  But she has other things to worry about, so she agrees to give Alex fifteen days to prove himself.  That’s enough time for him to discover that he was only partly right—books aren’t just powerful, they’re alive.  Even worse, some of the books possess an ancient, evil magic that kills librarians, and now they are coming after Alex.  A book about the weather attacks him with lightning bolts; a book about vines tries to strangle him; a book about explosives is ready to blow up, and the book about swords...

...well, you know.  It’s a good thing Alex knows how to fight. 

With the help of the queen and her illiterate brother, Alex has to figure out who, or what, is controlling the books and their power.  If they can’t, the entire kingdom could be at risk. 

Doesn't it sound great!  And it the description weren't enough to entice you, here's the gorgeous cover:

(This could be me, trying to cope with all the books plotting world domination in my own home)

Thank you, Sarah!  I can't wait.

This week's round up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (10/15/17)

Another week, another round up.  Please let me know if I missed your post!

First--today is the last day for public nominations for the Cybils Awards!  Show a favorite author some love!  Here's a collection of links to lists of the as yet unnominated, including one for Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction.  I've put stars next to books reviewed this week that are eligible and haven't been nominated yet....Nominate here today!

The Reviews

Akata Warrior, by Nnedi Okorafor,  at alibrarymama

Clash of the Worlds by Chris Columbus, Ned Vizzini, and Chris Rylander, at Say What?

*Code Name Flood, by Laura Martin, at Jen Robinson's Book Page

A Crack in the Sea, by H.M. Bouwman, at alibrarymama

The Creeping Shadow, by Jonathan Stroud, at Say What?

Elizabeth and Zenobia, by Jessica Miller, at Falling Letters

The Farwalker’s Quest (Farwalker’s Quest, Book 1) by Joni Sensel, at Hidden in Pages

*Guardians of the Gryphon's Claw, by Todd Calgi Gallicano, at Charlotte's Library

Impyrium, by Henry Neff, at The Write Path

Last Day on Mars, by Kevin Emerson, at Fuse #8

The List, by Patricia Forde, at B and N Kids Blog

Lumberjanes: Unicorn Power, by Mariko Tamaki, at Book Nut

*The Many Worlds of Albie Bright by Christopher Edge, at Proseandkahn

Race to the Bottom of the Sea by Lindsay Eagar, at Puss Reboots and Log Cabin Library

The Taster's Guild, by Susannah Applebaum, at Leaf's Reviews

*Timeless: Diego and the Rangers of the Vastlantic by Armand Baltazar, at From My Bookshelf

*Tumble and Blue, by Cassie Beasley, at Semicolon

The Seventh Wish, by Kate Messner, at That's Another Story

*A Single Stone, by Meg McKinlay, at Semicolon

Spirit Hunters, by Ellen Oh, at This Kid Reviews Books

The Wolf Hour, by Sara Lewis Holmes, at By Singing Light

The World's Greatest Adventure Machine, by Frank Cole, at Always in the Middle and The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

Authors and Interviews

Sara Lewis Holmes (The Wolf Hour), at Charlotte's Library

Frances Hardinge (Face Like Glass) at The Guardian

Garret Weyr (The Language of Spells) at Fuse #8

Other Good Stuff

"Fantasy is the Realm of Idealism": Tamora Pierce in Converaation with the Female Fantasy Authors She Inspired" at  Torl

Two great book lists of scary stories, at SLJ and Book Riot

This week's round-up of middle grade science fiction and fantasy from around the blogs (10/8/17)

Welcome to this week's gathering of middle grade sci fi/fantasy goodness!  Please let me know if I missed your post.

First--nominations for the Cybils Awards are open.  Any kids book published in the US or Canada between Oct 16 2016 and October 15 2017 is eligible, and anyone can nominate. There are lots of great mg sci fi/fantasy books that haven't found their champions yet! I've made two lists-a long list here, and one that specifically lists diverse books here.  I've also starred the books reviewed this week that are eligible and haven't been nominated yet.

The Reviews

*The Adventurers Guild by Zack Loran Clark and Nick Eliopulos, at Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers and Book Briefs

Brave Red, Smart Frog, by Emily Jenkins, at  Sharon the Librarian and Waking Brain Cells

The Case of the Cursed Dodo, by Jake G. Panda, at Log Cabin Library (audiobook review)

Cry of the Icemark, by Stuart Hill, at Sydne Marie Gernaat

The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart, by Stephanie Burgis, at alibrarymama

Elizabeth and Zenobia by Jessica Miller, at Waking Brain Cells

The Empty Grave, by Jonathan Stroud, at Hidden in Pages

*A Face Like Glass, by Frances Hardinge, at Semicolon

Fortune Falls, by Jenny Goebel, at The Shannon Messenger Fan Club

*Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford, at Charlotte's Library and BooksForKidsBlog

The Girl Who Drank the Moon, by Kelly Barnhill, at Alexa Loves Books

A Handful of Time, by Kit Pearson, at Time Travel Times Two

*Into the Shadowlands (book 2 of Monsters or Die) by Cynthia Reeg, at Always in the Middle

*The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street, by Lindsay Currie, at Ms. Yingling Reads

*The Ship of the Dead, by Rick Riordan, at B. and N. Kids Blog

Sorcery for Beginners, by Matt Harry, at Geek Mom

Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth, by Frank Cottrell Boyce, at Redeemed Reader

*Thornhill, by Pam Smy at proseandkahn and The NY Times  

 *Toto-The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz, by Michael Morpurgo, at Always in the Middle

The Trials of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor book 1) by Jessica Townsend, at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books and divabooknerd

Wildwood, by Colin Meloy, at Leaf's Reviews

Wishtree, by Katherine Applegate, at Lu and Bean Read

*The Wizards of Once, by Cressida Cowell, at B.and N. Kids Blog

*The Wonderling by Mira Bartok, at Mrsreadsbooks

*The World's Greatest Adventure Machine by Frank L. Cole, at The Write Path

Three at Ms Yingling reads-- Sven Carter and the Trashmouth Effect, by Rob Vlock, The Empty Grave, by Jonathan Stroud, Ship of the Dead, by Rick Riordan

Authors and Interviews

Nnedi Okorafor (*Akata Warrior) at the NY Times 

Laurie McKay (Villain Keeper series, most recently *Realm Breaker) at Boys Rule, Boys Read

Other Good Stuff

A great list of spooky MG for Halloween at Batch of Books

A look at some new fantasy in the UK at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books

The Terror of Trees, at Seven Miles of Steel Thistles

"A Wrinkle in Time star: 'It means everything to be a girl of color' and play lead role" at EW

"Giant straw animals invade Japan" via Bored Panda