The Nebula Awards long list

Here’s the recently announced list of books in contention for this year’s Nebula Awards:

A Betrayal in Winter (The Long Price Quartet) by Daniel Abraham (Tor, July 07)
One For Sorrow by Chris Barzak (Bantam, September 07)
Territory by Emma Bull (Tor, July 07)
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor, April 08)
In War Times by Kathleen Ann Goonan (Tor, May 07)
Powers (Annals of the Western Shore) by Ursula Le Guin. (Harcourt, September 07)
Cauldron (Priscilla Hutchins) by Jack McDevitt (Ace, November 07)
Brasyl by Ian McDonald (Pyr, May 07)
Making Money (Discworld Novels) by Terry Pratchett (Harper, September 07)
The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicle) by Patrick Rothfuss (DAW, April 07)

I find it fascinating that Little Brother is on this list. To me, this book is not fantasy. It is too close to real life—only a few little steps separate our lives from the book’s dystopian governmental oversight of each and every keystroke.

It’s also interesting to see books that were marketed as YA (Little Brother, Powers) included on the list. There seems to be a constant hum of doubt/appreciation/dislike about books that might appeal to grown ups being put into YA, and many readers of adult fantasy don’t seem to take YA fantasy all that seriously (based on my recent perusal of a freshly compiled list of science fiction/fantasy review blogs). But although the idea of YA books taking their place as equals in the fantasy cannon is a nice one, it hasn’t happened yet--both Le Guin and Doctorow had reputations on the other side of the bookstore before writing these books. Incidentally, I glanced at the Nebula lists back through 2005, and the only other “non-adult book” that I recognized was, no surprise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I myself like having lots of fantasy/science fiction titles in the YA section of bookstores, simply because I am more likely to enjoy them than the books in the adult section. Perhaps this is because I like reading about children and teenagers, who are more often found in MG and YA books. That being said, One for Sorrow is the story of two teenaged boys (one of whom is a ghost), which seems to me to have been a natural for YA, and The Name of the Wind (which I haven't read, but which looks like a good one) seems in large part to be about the childhood and growing up of an orphaned boy, so generalizations seem to be futile.

The thing that really and truly struck me most deeply while creating this post, however, is how very tricky it would be to start a collection of first edition Nebula winners-look at how many came out in 2007!

Waterstone's Children's Book Prize Shortlist

Here are the books shortlisted for the 2008 Waterstone's Childrens Book Prize, which honors new and emerging authors in the UK:

How Kirsty Jenkins Stole the Elephant by Elen Caldecott (Bloomsbury)
Zelah Green Queen of Clean by Vanessa Curtis (Egmont)
Changeling by Steve Feasey (Macmillan)
Thirteen Treasures by Michelle Harrison (Simon and Schuster)
Gnomes Are Forever by Ceci Jenkinson (Faber)
The Lady in the Tower by Marie-Louise Jensen (Oxford University Press)
The Mapmaker’s Monster by Rob Stevens (Macmillan)
Numbers by Rachel Ward (Chicken House)

This page at the Waterstone's site displays them all with clickablness in regard to blurbs. Mapmaker's Monster and Numbers sound the most appealing to me...

Last year's winner was Ways to Live Forever, by Sally Nicholls, which is a brilliant book but one I do not think I could ever stand reading again. Waaaahhhh. But, while over at the Waterson's site, I found out that she has a new book, Season of Secrets, coming out this spring, that sounds right up my alley--sisters moving to their grandparents' house in the country, strange man fleeing from ghostly hunt....

Do my sons have a date with Dr. Evil?

A couple of days ago there was an article in the Times Online about books and boys and reading, introducing a new series. It brings out the usual "data" about boys not wanting to read as much as girls, and offers a new series as a solution.

The new series, Project X, features three boys, Max, Ant and Tiger, and a girl, Cat, who is something of a tomboy. The four friends are pitched against Dr Evil, a wicked scientist who wants to shrink the world.

Sophie Quarterman, of the Oxford University Press, said the books had very fast-moving plots, plenty of computer-generated images and stories involving teamwork: this has been shown to appeal most to boys.

"Not really," says my son. "I like loners." That's my boy!

I also think it strange that computer-generated images are apparently a Good Thing. Um, Diary of a Wimpy Kid seems to be doing rather well. And I don't see why girls in boy books have to be "tomboys." Can't today's definition of "girl" include classic tomboyish behaviors?

And I am wondering in general about this whole Boys as Reluctant Reader business. It seems to me like it's becoming a oversimplified marketing ploy. I'm not an educator, and so I have little data of my own, but so far there has been no drop off in the reading enthusiasm of any of the eight year old boys I know...and the boys in my son's class are impressive readers. Yet I feel nervous, and anxious, and as though I should buy the Dr. Evil books right now, lest I doom my boys to a future with no books. Oh well. Maybe they are good in their own right.

The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage Family Stories

When I was about nine, I was given my first anthology of Joan Aiken stories- A Harp Of Fishbones and Other Stories. Included among the treasures therein was "Mrs. Nutti's Fireplace," my introduction to Mark and Harriet Armitage, two typical British children whose lives are infused with whacky magical-ness. Here's how that story starts:

Mark, who wished to get rid of the space-gun his great-uncle had sent him, and acquire something more useful, brought home a copy of Exchange and Mart.

'"Princess-type boiler fireplace exchanged for gent's bicycle,"' he read aloud consideringly.

"But we don't want a fireplace," Harriet pointed out. "And we haven't a bicycle."

"Or there's five gross jazz-coloured balloons, a tiger's head, and two whale teeth. Offered in exchange for go-kart or griffin's eggs."

"The balloons would be nice," Harriet swallowed her last bite of cake-they were having Friday tea-and came to hang over his shoulder. "If we had a go-kart."

I was hooked. The Armitage stories are a brilliant melange of the ordinary and fantastical, and with each subsequent anthology came my way, I always read the stories about Mark and Harriet early and often.

So front and center on my Christmas book wish-list was The Serial Garden: The Complete Armitage Family Stories (Big Mouth House, 2008). This book brings together all the previously published Armitage stories, with four new ones (hooray!), with interesting introductions by Joan Aiken's daughter and Garth Nix. Such reading pleasure. The title story, "The Serial Garden," is particularly unforgettable, beautiful, sad, exquisitely written, funny, etc.

I have been reading Mark and Harriet to my boys, 5 and 8, for the past week or so, and they have been greeted with enthusiasm. I am rather fond of short stories in general for reading aloud, partly because longer books get put in piles unfinished, and it is sometimes hard to find them again. But a good short story can be read in one fell swoop. And these are good fun for both children and grownups.

From "Broomsticks and Sardines":

"I say, Shepherd, I'm terribly sorry-my children have changed yours into sheep. And now they say they don't know how to change them back.'

"Oh, don't apologize, old chap. As a mater of fact, I think it's a pretty good show. Some peace and quiet will be a wonderful change, and I shan't have to mow the lawn." He shouted indoors with the liveliest pleasure,

"I say, Minnie! Our kids have been turned into sheep, so you won't have to put them to bed. Dig out a long frock and we'll go to the Harvest Ball."

A shriek of delight greeted his words.

The Serial Garden was just named a 2008 Smithsonian Notable book--here's what they say about it: "In a singularly important publishing event, the first complete collection of Aiken's 24 beloved Armitage cycle of stories appears here for the first time. The family who dwells in and out of magical worlds transcends fantasy and enters the world of classic, entrancing literature. Belongs on every child's bookshelf. For all ages."

And as a proud member of Team Unicorn (in the great Zombies vs Unicorns Debate), I'd like to point out that Mark and Harriet have a very nice example of the species (shown on the cover) who is not in the least bit twee.

Children of the Stones

Coming January 20th, from Acorn Media, who are bringing us the best of British TV on DVD:

" Children of the Stones - A cult hit of late 1970s British television, this eerie drama has lost none of its powers—to intrigue, entertain, unsettle, and scare. The beloved British fantasy series that spooks children and adults alike. Debuting on North American DVD, this classic sci-fi thriller tells of paranoia and the paranormal in a sleepy English village. With shades of Doctor Who, The Watcher in the Woods, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the seven-episode series aired on Nickelodeon's paranormal anthology program The Third Eye in the early 1980s. Filmed on location at the Avebury stone circle—older than nearby Stonehenge—each episode builds relentlessly to a harrowing climax in what becomes, literally, a race against time."

I must have been doing something else in the early 1980s, because I never saw it...but I want to!

Books of 2009 I am looking forward to, Part II

I vaguely felt last week, when I was posting my list of 2009 books to which I am looking forward, that I was missing something. And in fact, I was--several somethings. To wit:

Shelter Me by Alex McAulay. I don't have long to wait for this one, since its release date was yesterday...which is good, because books that combine WW II and boarding school make me happy.

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George (January 20). We were lucky enough to have two of her books to read for the Cybils--Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, and Dragon Flight, and I enjoyed them both.


Betraying Season (Leland Sisters, Book 2) by Marissa Doyle (May). The sequel to The Bewitching Season, which I read for the Cybils with great enjoyment (my review).

Of course I'm looking forward to the sequel to Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins (fall), but before that comes out, I think I hope to be reading her new book 12, coming out in May from Feiwell and Friends. Although don't ask me what it is about, because I can't find any information about it.

And another book I don't know much about, other than that it is YA- Gateway, by Sharon Shinn (October).

Finally, here's one I'm looking forward to more for my 8 year old's sake than my own:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney (Jan 13)


And I think that is it, although I am probably wrong.

Timeslip Tuesday -- Black Hunting Whip

Timeslip Tuesday took a break while I was reading for the Cybils, but it is back now! With a caveat--the book I'm posting about today is much less timeslipy than I remembered it as being before I picked it up to re-read yesterday. In fact, no timeslipping happens until page 155 of a 157 page book. So if you want to stop reading in disgust right now, go ahead....

Black Hunting Whip, by Monica Edwards, begins when the mother of a family of four children comes home to announce that she has bought a farm at action-- Punchbowl Farm, old and decrepit, far out in the countryside with no mod. cons. But it does come with a mystery. Dion, the oldest boy, exploring the foundation of the old wing of the house that burned long ago, finds a way into its cellar. And there he finds the diary of a boy who lived there long ago, who was driven from the farm before achieving his dream of riding his pony to victory in the local show, carrying the black hunting whip that his dead father had cherished.

Life at the farm for the modern children, two girls and two boys, is busy enough, what with exploring the countryside, getting new ponies and other animals, and fixing up the house. But the search for the hunting whip, buried by the long-ago boy before he left home, is always at the forefront of their minds. At last Dion finds it, and sets his mind on riding with it to achieve the victory that the dead boy never saw. It is a somewhat forlorn hope, as his pony-nothing like the fiery black pony from the past- is too small, and he as almost no chance of even placing.

And then, at the horse show, two pages before the book ends, past and present meet...and there's so little of it I don't want to describe it, lest I give it all away (although the astute reader can probably guess what happens).

So alright, it isn't much of a time slip. But it's a great book for people who love ponies, and old houses, and winter in the English countryside, with a bit of mystery thrown in...and it is the start* of a great series (there are lots more books about the family at Punchbowl Farm), by a classic author of British children's books. I'd also recommend it to fans of books like Elizabeth Enright's Four Story Mistake, where the small doings of family life in a new old house delight the reader (only with more ponies).

*I use "start" somewhat loosely, because there is another book, No Mistaking Corker, that comes first. But it isn't as good, and it isn't about the farm, so I shan't count it.

A Posse of Princesses

A Posse of Princesses
by Sherwood Smith (2008, Norilana Books, more middle grade, I'd say, than young adult).

Rhis is the third child of the king and queen of a small, but very wealthy, mountain country. But even though she is left pretty much to her own devices, she is still a Princess, and thus eligible to receive an invitation to the coming of age party of the Crown Prince of Vesarja, a much more important and central kingdom. Rhis is not thrilled at the prospect of being surrounded by an inundation of princesses, and unlike some of the bevy of royal maidens, she doesn't have her sights set on snaring the heart of the Crown Prince. That is, until she sees him...yet strangely, it is a young scribe whose company she finds herself enjoying much more.

Then Iardith, the most perfect of princesses, and not in a good way, is abducted. Rhis and her new friends decide to escape the politics and intrigue of the royal birthday bash and head off to the rescue themselves. And in so doing, they find adventure, some danger, a mysterious and horribly powerful enchanted gem stone, and they also learn the small but important fact that princesses are rather valuable themselves, and will be missed, and pursued, when they set off into the hills...

Maybe the plot sounds a bit frivolous, but this is a truly fun book about girls from very different backgrounds coming together to form friendships, learning to take the responsibilities of their lives seriously, and learning a bit about luv as well. I enjoyed it lots, in a light read way. I would, for instance, enthusiastically recommend it to the 12 year old girl who loves Princess Academy, by Shannon Hale.

A big reason why I like this book is that I think I could be friends with Rhis, the heroine--bookish, musical, unconcerned with being a Princess. Here's a description from the beginning of the book of her room, which is high in its own stone tower, where she is left in peace:

Rhis loved the lookout. It was cozy, and had a nice fireplace (with a magical firestick in it that burned evenly all winter long), a comfortable cushioned chair, a desk, a small case containing all her favorite books, and a tiranthe- the twenty-four-stringed instrument that Elda insisted only lowly minstrels played. Here Rhis could practice and not disturb, or disgust, anyone. Here she could sit and read and dream and watch the ever-changing weather and seasons over the tiny mountain kingdom. She could also write wonderful ballads.

I got a copy of this book from the publishers, as it was nominated for the Cybils Awards in Science Fiction/Fantasy. I try hard to give most of my Cybils books to the public library, but some I know I'll want to re-read, when I need a pleasant escape from reality. I'm keeping this one for that reason.

Incidentally, I think whoever picked the cover art missed the mark--it would have been so easy to get a bit of diversity going here, what with portraying princesses of many lands. But they all look European, and not that particularly princess-like.

Science Fiction/Fantasy coming from debut authors in 2009

I have never before taken part in any of the various blog organized book challenges, because I figure I am going to read just fine on my own. But this year I'm going to join the '09 Debut Authors Challenge, organized by The Story Siren. As I said a few posts ago, I want to focus on reading and reviewing MG and YA science fiction/fantasy books in 2009. So I perused the list of 2009 Debutantes here, and pulled together the following list of 18 forthcoming titles that looked interesting. I've copied the blurbs as they are given there.

Spring 2009:

Ellen Jensen Abbott WATERSMEET. Marshall Cavendish, April 2009
Fourteen-year-old Abisina flees the prejudice and hate of her village and heads north in search of her father, accompanied by the dwarf, Haret. On their journey they face mythic creatures, benevolent spirits, challenges to their survival, their own prejudices, and dreams that look like nightmares

Susan E. Connolly DAMSEL Mercier Press When Annie Brave's famous hero father goes missing, presumed eaten, she takes his manuscript "How to slay dragons - and other advice for the hero in training" and sets off to get him back--but can a damsel ever do the rescuing?

Deva Fagan FORTUNE'S FOLLY (Holt) A girl who survives by telling fake fortunes must make one of them come true to save her father's life--to succeed, she'll have to procure a wicked witch, recover a pair of enchanted slippers, and, worst of all, find a princess to marry the prince she's falling in love with herself.

Stacey Jay YOU ARE SO UNDEAD TO ME (Razorbill) A sixteen year old zombie settler must put the dead to rest and thwart a black coven's attempts to kill her before they harness enough renegade zombies to ruin Homecoming.

Saundra Mitchell SHADOWED SUMMER (Delacorte) 14 year old Iris Rhame conjures the ghost of a boy missing for decades and decides to solve his disappearance, never realizing that in a town as small as hers, every secret is a family secret.

Carrie Ryan THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH (Delacorte) In an isolated village generations after the zombie apocalypse, a 16-year-old struggles with the town's religious order until the village walls are breached and the only chance of survival is to escape into the forest beyond.

Michelle Zink PROPHECY OF THE SISTERS (Little Brown) After finding an ancient tome entitled the Librum Maleficii et Disordinae, or the Book of Chaos, in her dead father's library, sixteen-year-old Lia Milthorpe discovers she's the key to a legendary biblical prophecy.

Summer 2009

R. J. Anderson SPELL HUNTER HarperCollins A fierce young faery must save her people while fighting to keep secret her forbidden friendship with a human.

Cyn Balog FAIRY TALE Delacorte A teenage oracle whose boyfriend slowly turns into a fairy goes to great lengths in order to keep him human.

Sarah Rees Brennan THE DEMON'S LEXICON Simon & Schuster Two brothers are hunted throughout England by a powerful magician's circle after their mother steals a charm, and when the eldest is marked by a demon, the younger uses swords and dark arts in an effort to save him but unwittingly uncovers the darkest of secrets.

Sarah Cross DULL BOY Dutton A YA novel about teens with superpowers.

Mandy Hubbard PRADA AND PREJUDICE Razorbill A modern teen ends up in Regency England where she must learn to navigate high-society--and her growing attraction to the nineteen year old Duke of Harksbury.

Lisa Mantchev EYES LIKE STARS, the first book THE THÉÂTRE ILLUMINATA (Feiwel & Friends) Where real fairies fly on wires and pirates sail the painted seas, Beatrice Shakespeare Smith will have to take Center Stage so that the next curtain call won't be the last.

Aprilynne Pike WINGS HarperCollins An ordinary girl discovers she is a faerie sent to guard the gateway to Avalon in the mortal world, and when she is thrust into the midst of a centuries-old battle between faeries and trolls, she's torn between a mortal and a faerie love, as well as her loyalties to both worlds.

Cindy Pon SILVER PHOENIX Greenwillow/HarperCollins When Ai Ling leaves home to find her father, she has no inkling she begins the journey to complete a task promised by her former incarnation.

Fall 2009

Pam Bachorz CANDOR Egmont In a town where his father brainwashes everyone, Oscar Banks has found a way to secretly fight the subliminal Messages, but when he falls in love, he must choose whether to let Nia be lost to brainwashing—or to sacrifice himself.

Megan Crewe GIVE UP THE GHOST Holt A teen outcast who sees ghosts and uses the secrets they dig up to expose her fellow students' deceits must choose between revenge and compassion when the popular student council V.P. comes to her for supernatural help.

Teri Hall THE LINE Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. In the near future, an invisible barrier exists between the Unified States and "Away."

Jackson Pearce AS YOU WISH HarperCollins. High school student Viola Cohen inadvertently summons--then falls for--a young jinn after her boyfriend tells her a life-changing secret.

Malinda Lo ASH (Little, Brown) From the 2009 Debutants website:
"Pushed into indentured servitude in her stepmother's household, Ash is consumed with grief after the death of her father and mother. Her only joy comes from the brief, stolen walks she takes in the nearby woods with the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean. Ash's single, unspoken hope is that someday he might steal her away, as fairies are said to do.

But when she meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Kaisa teaches Ash to ride and track, and as their friendship grows, Ash's desire for life and for love is reawakened."

Why I Love The Explosionist

The Explosionist, by Jenny Davidson (Harper Collins, 2008), was one of the books my fellow sci-fi/fantasy panelists and I just shortlisted for the Cybils. Set in a very different version of Edinburgh in the 1930s (Napoleon won the battle of Waterloo), 15 year-old Sophie finds herself drawn into a chaotic mystery involving terrorist bombings, a murdered medium, and her own growing abilities to communicate with the dead, as well as sinister government machinations that have immediate and horrifying ramifications for Sophie and her school friends.

Many have praised the excitement of the story, with its fast pace and engrossing alternate history details, and its great central character (Grow Wings, Teen Book Review, Of Books and Bicycles, and the Ya Ya Yas, to name a few). But I have a reason of my own for loving this book, one that I haven't seen mentioned before.

You see, I am an inveterate reader of British school girl stories, and in many ways The Explosionist is heir to one particular sub-genre of these books--the plucky school girl who foils the Enemy Plot. The majority of these books are set in World War I and World War II, and often strain the bounds of credulity (see footnote). The Explosionist, however, takes this story line and in its fantastical, alternate history way, makes it convincing and wonderful. I loved the interactions of Sophie and her boarding school friends, I appreciated the elements common in many school stories--the intelligent and attractive boy next door to the school, the stern aunt charged with bringing up an orphan girl, and the fact that Sophie, like so many of my favorite school-story heroines, is bad at games. And Sophie is just the type of school girl I like best--smart and interested in learning, uncertain at times but capable of learning from mistakes, plucky without being obnoxiously unbelievable.

I asked Jenny Davidson if she was, in fact, a fan of the genre--her answer was "Yes!" So although I am happy to recommend this book to anyone who likes great adventure, strong characters, and a wonderfully imagined alternate world, I am even happier to recommend the book to readers like me, who love the British school girl.

Footnote on School Children Foiling the Enemy: Some, like The Marlows and the Traitors, by Antonia Forest, Nicolette Detects by Magaret Locherbie-Cameron, and The Denehurst Secret Service, by Gwendoline Courtney, which all involve children thwarting the Germans, are good reads. Others, not so much. The most ridiculous, perhaps, is the Australian book With Wendy at Winterton School by Dora Joan Potter, in which the school girls capture Japanese spies disguised as nuns.

Books I'm looking forward to in 2009

I woke up early this morning, as usual, but for the first time since October there was no compelling reason to leap out of bed and start reading. I felt lost. Directionless. (And cold--it is freezing here in New England today). Fortunately, I have a stack of books I got for Christmas and more to come on my birthday this weekend (I also have a stack of laundry to put away, but that's not the point). And there are many books coming out in 2009 that will help give some purpose to my post-Cybils life.

My 2009 list seems to be mainly new books by Cybils authors:
Fade, by Lisa McMann, which is the sequel to 2008 shortlisted Wake (February).

Once a Princess, by Sherwood Smith (April). I really enjoyed discovering this author during the Cybils (two of her books were nominated, and I liked them both lots).

Fragile Eternity, by Melissa Marr, a continuation of the story begun in Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange (late April).

The Magic Thief-Lost, by Sarah Prineas (May 1st) I, um, rather like The Magic Thief, another 2008 shortlister, so I am excited at all get out about this.

The Sorceress, the third book in the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flannel series, by Michael Scott (May again)

Sacred Scars, by Kathleen Duey, which is the sequel to 2007 Cybils finalist Skin Hunger (August). I have almost never been so anxious to go to the next book as I was when I finished Skin Hunger, so this will be a great relief!

Fire, by Kristin Cashore, a prequel to Graceling, another of our 2008 finalists (coming in October).

And here are two I can't wait to read that aren't sci fi/fantasy:

The Indigo Notebook, by Laura Resau (coming in the fall)

Nothing But Ghosts, by Beth Kephart, (coming in June, but which I have in hand already--thanks Beth!)

Finally, I am really really really looking forward to Jellaby, Monster in the City, by Kevin Soo. Jellaby Vol. I ended in a terribly unresolved way (April).

There are doubtless many more that I would be looking forward to if I knew about them. Of course, the book I am waiting for most waitingly isn't coming out till 2010--Megan Whalen Turner's new one. But 2010 is now less than a year away...

And here is Part II of the list--more books that I remembered I want!

THE FINALISTS

Here are our beautiful books, in all their finalist glory!

And if you haven't read any of them, please go out and buy them, to show the publishers the dramatic effect the Cybils Awards have on sales, preferably using the Cybils widget to the right so that the finalists can get Great Prizes!

Elementary/Middle Grade:

Cabinet of Wonders
written by Marie Rutkoski
Macmillan

Petra Kronos lives in a small Czech village with her father, an artisan who can move metal with his mind and work with invisible tools. When her father is commissioned by the prince to build a marvelous clock, he goes off to Prague--and comes back blinded. The prince has stolen his eyes. Even worse, the prince now has control of a clock that has the power to control the weather. Petra sets off to Prague, determined to steal back her father's eyes. She has help-from her tin pet spider Astrophil, and from Neel, a Roma boy with fingers that extend into invisible ghosts that can pick locks. But it will still be a treacherous journey--and at stake is the fate of all of Europe. Packed with character, humor and adventure, Cabinet of Wonders is a novel lush with detail and beauty, a full literary meal that will leave readers hungry for the next book in the Kronos Chronicles.
--Summary by Nettle

Graveyard Book
written by Neil Gaiman
HarperCollins

Bod is not your usual boy. He lives in a graveyard. Having been raised by the graveyard's ghosts, Bod has learned a few, shall we say, tricks of the trade, like walking through walls and fading so that no one sees him. The Graveyard Book is pure delight from start to finish. To me, the thing that was most indicative of Gaiman's mastery was the fact that this story is unabashedly scary. The world isn't always sunshine and playgrounds and Gaiman isn't afraid to give kids a darker reality. This book is full of humor, loveable characters, and a top-notch ending for our brave, orphaned hero.
--Summary by Em of Em's Bookshelf

Lamplighter
written by D. M. Cornish
Penguin USA

The second book in the Monster Blood Tattoo series continues the adventure of young foundling, Rossamund Bookchild, as he joins the Lamplighters, a branch of the Emperor's service sworn to keeping the lamps lit on all the far-flung, monster-hunted roads of the land. The stunning imaginative achievement of D.M. Cornish's world-creation is, to my mind, unparalleled. He has dreamed the monsters and monster-hunters of the Half-Continent into being fully fleshed. Rossamund is a character to love and follow, and the dark secrets and conspiracies that unfold in this story make a 600-page book a lightning read. I can't wait to read it again.
--Summary by Laini Taylor-Di Bartolo

Magic Thief
written by Sarah Prineas
HarperCollins

This fast-paced, fun, and engrossing story tells of a young thief who has survived on the strange streets of Wellmet alone, thanks to his quick hands and quick wits. But when Conn picks the pocket of the wizard Nevery, and pulls out the stone that is the locus of Nevery's magic, his life changes. As the wizard's new apprentice, Conn has only thirty days to find his own locus magicalus, or lose his new status. Much worse is the fact that someone, or something, is sucking the magic out of Wellmet, and Conn has to use every bit of his quickness, and every bit of his new found magic, to defeat the Magic Thief. A great adventure, with great characters!
--Summary by Charlotte Taylor

Savvy
written by Ingrid Law
Penguin USA

Mibs Beaumont is anxiously awaiting her 13th birthday because, in her family, 13th birthdays bring about big changes. The Beaumonts always get their savvies--their supernatural powers--on their 13th birthdays. But this year, Mibs' dad is in the hospital and it looks like her savvy isn't coming. Ingrid Law has written a tale that is sure to appeal to kids of all ages. I loved the idea that all kids have their own savvy, even if it isn't as splashy as the ability to move mountains.
--Summary by Em of Em's Bookshelf

Young Adult:

Airman
written by Eoin Colfer
Hyperion

Conor Broekhart love of flying started when he was born in a falling hot air balloon at the 1878 Paris World Fair. Conor dreams of inventing the world's first airplane, a dream that is interrupted when he is accused and jailed for a crime he didn't commit. But Conor's not about to let the person truly responsible get away with it. A rousing adventure story with a sensible hero, with a dash of Jules Verne and The Count of Monte Cristo, Eoin Colfer's Airman will satisfy readers young and old alike.
--Summary by A. Feller

Curse Dark as Gold
written by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Scholastic

Charlotte Miller is struggling to keep Stirwaters Mill--the livelihood for everyone in the town of Shearing--running after her father's death. But one spate of bad luck after another fouls all her plans and labors, until she must face the terrible possibility of failure. And that's when the mysterious Jack Spinner shows up, with the power to spin straw into gold and the ability to rescue Charlotte and Shearing from despair. But at what cost? When Charlotte learns the true price of Jack Spinner's aid, she will have to fight to protect her town, her home and her family. Elizabeth C. Bunce spins a dark gorgeous retelling of Rumplestiltskin that takes the bones of an old fairy tale and gives them fresh new life against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution. A flawed heroine, a genuinely creepy ghost story and a stunningly beautiful use of language are woven together in the fabric of this book, and will make A Curse Dark as Gold linger in your mind long after you've turned the last page.
--Summary by Nettle

Explosionist
written by Jenny Davidson
HarperCollins

An "alternate-history supernatural mystery" set in 1938 Scotland, the world of The Explosionist hinges on a crucial incident in history: suppose Napoleon had won at Waterloo. Jenny Davidson has created a fascinating tale set in the Europe that grew out of that victory. Young Sophie and her Danish friend Mikael try to unravel a murder mystery, and while they're at it, figure out who's behind the terrorist bombings in Edinburgh, which have very high political stakes, not just for Scotland but the world. All this with the help of the dead and the sort-of dead, through the respected science of supernatural divination, while the country ramps up for war. A great, fun read, with a sparkle of romance and much to discuss.
--Summary by Laini Taylor-Di Bartolo

Graceling
written by Kristin Cashore
Harcourt

Katsa is a Graceling--a person who has been blessed with a Grace. However, Katsa isn't a normal Graceling. Her Grace gives her the power to kill a man with her bare hands, a power she's possessed since she was eight years old. Rather than giving her a life of ease, her Grace means Katsa is forced to use her powers for a scheming king. When Katsa meets Po, another Graceling, she doesn't realize just how much of an influence Po is about to have on her life. Katsa is a strong heroine, overcomes her personal struggles with how her powers are used to become as comfortable with herself as she is with her Grace. With a brisk plot, plenty of adventure, and a little romance, readers will be rushing to finish Graceling.
--Summary by A. Feller

Hunger Games, The
written by Suzanne Collins
Scholastic

In Suzanne Collins' futuristic and controlled society, Katniss Everdeen passes her days working hard for her family's survival. When her younger sister is chosen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live television with 23 other teens, Katniss wastes no time in taking her place, even though she knows it mean near certain death. The Hunger Games is a novel full of peril, adventure and action, and a dash of romance, making it highly appealing to teens, but also possesses a very serious side that is as thought-provoking as it is entertaining.
--Summary by The Compulsive Reader

Wake
written by Lisa McMann
Simon & Schuster

Since Janie was eight she has been forcibly pulled into others' dreams. Now at seventeen, she is tired of being bombarded by her classmates' anxiety dreams and their sex dreams as they doze in study hall. She hides her ability carefully until she finds herself attracted to former bad boy Cabel whose dark nightmares hint at a scarred past and a mystery she must unravel. The book is told in quick snippets marked with a time and date making the plot race forward in spurts. Romance and suspense combine to create a satisfyingly fast-paced read.
--Summary by Amanda Blau

Here's who I think will win: Graveyard Book and Hunger Games. Here are my two favorites, which totally dosen't reflect the panel as a whole: Magic Thief and Explosionist.