Dead Girl in Love, by Linda Joy Singleton

In Dead Girl Walking, by Linda Joy Singleton (my review), a wrong turn at a local cemetery almost sent Amber on her way up and out of life. But with the help of her dead grandmother, she became instead a Temp-Lifer, inhabiting the body of another girl while that one's soul got a chance to rest. In Dead Girl Dancing, she did it again--this time becoming her boyfriend's older sister. Now, in Dead Girl In Love (Flux, 2009, 282pp, YA), Amber's assignment is a person even closer to her--her best friend, Alyce. When Amber wakes up as Alyce and finds herself in a coffin (fortunately still in the funeral home display room), she starts off on a journey into Alyce's life that shows her things about the person she thought she knew so well that she had never dreamed of. Two bad dates in Alyce's life later (and what will Alyce say when she knows!), Amber realizes what it is that Alyce is really looking for--the answer to a dark family secret.

In the meantime, Amber is getting into hot water on her own accord. The Dark Lifer who was out to get her in the earlier books is back, seeking Amber's help to find redemption. But although Amber is enthralled and attracted, what about her own boyfriend?

This series is smart and funny, with the light humor of the language and its wry portrayal of the potential pitfalls of being in someone else's body enough to thoroughly entertain, while touching on genuine problems and emotional issues.

This is a excellent series for kids at the beginning of adventuring into the YA section--it's not dark, violent, or relationship obsessed, but still has tang (zest? zip?). Having said that, I want to make it clear that hardened veterans of YA fantasy (me being a case in point) should enjoy it too, as a pleasantly diverting read.

Here's one of my favorite quotes:

"Walking among rows of flowers, shrubs, and trees with a dead guy who spouted poetry and stole bodies was weird, but finding out that he wanted me to save his soul was weird squared to infinity." (Page 88)

And here's the story, at Beside the Norm, of how the Dead Girl series took twenty years to come to life. And here are other reviews, at Jen Robinson's Book Page and at Sharon Loves Books and Cats.

(finished copy of the book received from Flux)

New Releases of Science Fiction and Fantasy for Children and Teens--the middle of August edition

Here are the new releases of science fiction and fantasy for kids and teens from August 6 to 18th. Actually, there is no science fiction on the list, but if there had been any released I would have included it (why isn't more sci fi for kids being written/published?)

The list is taken as usual from Teens Read Too, and the blurbs are lifted from Amazon, unless otherwise noted.

For 9-12 year olds:

THE ARCTIC INCIDENT: ARTEMIS FOWL GRAPHIC NOVEL by Eoin Colfer & Giovanni Rigano. "Now, in this second graphic novel installment of the series, fans can follow along as the world's youngest criminal mastermind rushes to save a man who has been kidnapped by the Russian Mafiya: his own father."




THE BLACK CIRCLE: THE 39 CLUES (Book 5) by Patrick Carman. "WHERE ARE AMY AND DAN CAHILL? The two kids were last seen in Egypt, hunting for one of the 39 Clues that could make them the most powerful people on earth. But no one has seen the siblings since. Has the ruthless Irina Spasky finally tracked them down? Or worse . . . the Madrigals?"



THE CURSE OF THE ROMANY WOLVES by S. Jones Rogan. "The creatures of Porthleven are suffering from a mysterious illness that looks like Febra lupi, the curse of the Romany wolves, which has no known cure. The dashing apothecary fox Penhaligon must find a cure or risk losing everyone he holds dear! Penhaligon uncovers a fragment of parchment that just might be a recipe for a cure—and it includes ingredients found only on the haunted Howling Island. But the obstacles Penhaligon must face on his quest for the cure make ghosts seem friendly: Pirates! Sea serpents! Double-crossing ferrets! Can Penhaligon make it back in time to save his village?"

THE HANGING HILL by Chris Grabenstein. "After narrowly escaping a malevolent spirit in The Crossroads, Zack and Judy are hoping to relax during the rehearsals for a show based on Judy’s bestselling children’s books. Little do they know that the director is planning to raise a horde of evil specters from the dead, and to accomplish this, he needs a human sacrifice . . . and Zack fits the bill perfectly."


JOURNEY TO ATLANTIS by Philip Roy. Sequel to Submarine Outlaw (2008), "Alfred, the intrepid young submarine outlaw, once again sets out to sea in his homemade submarine. In Journey to Atlantis, Alfred and his crew (his dog Hollie and his second mate the seagull Seaweed) sail across the Atlantic and enter the Mediterranean in search of the fabled lost island of Atlantis."

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO VAMPIRES by Lisa Trumbauer. "How old is a vampire fledgling? Why do vampires avoid mirrors? What's the best way to slip into a vampire's home? New York Times best-selling author Lisa Trumbauer illuminates the twilight world of vampires in the next edition in the Practical Guide family of fantasy essentials."



THE POISONS OF CAUX by Susannah Appelbaum. "There's little joy left in the kingdom of Caux: the evil King Nightshade rules with terrible tyranny and the law of the land is poison or be poisoned. Worse, eleven-year-old Ivy’s uncle, a famous healer, has disappeared, and Ivy sets out to find him, joined by a young taster named Rowan. But these are corrupt times, and the children—enemies of the realm—are not alone. What exactly do Ivy and Rowan’s pursuers want? Is it Ivy’s prized red bettle, which, unlike any other gemstone in Caux, appears—impossibly—to be hollow? Is it the elixir she concocted—the one with the mysterious healing powers? Or could it be Ivy herself?"

RAGTAG by Karl Wolf-Morgenlander. "Warring birds battle over the city of Boston in an action-packed fantasy. In this engrossing story for older middle-graders, hundreds of birds of prey have been driven out of the Berkshires by encroaching human development. They head toward Boston, which is already occupied by the birds of the city—but that won’t stop the raptors. Soon the Talon Empire and the Feathered Alliance are at war, and as the battle ensues, an unlikely hero emerges to defend his home: a young swallow named Ragtag."

ROSE by Holly Webb. "Rose is an orphan, who has lived at St Bridget's Home for Abandoned Girls for as long as she can remember. One afternoon, a thin woman in a smart black coat comes to the orphanage looking for a maid-of-all-work, and chooses Rose. Rose is delighted. Miss Bridges looks stern, but she is surprisingly pleasant as they walk to Rose's new home -- a tall, thin town house in a smart square. When she's inside and being shown her small attic bedroom, Rose realises that the house is drenched in magic! Rose knows this because she has a certain amount of magic herself. She can tell thrilling stories that transform themselves into pictures on shiny surfaces as she speaks, and she rescues her alchemist master's apprentice from a mist-creature he has mistakenly conjured up. It is this magic that she will call upon in times of dire need, for children are going missing across the town, and none of them show any signs of returning..."

SYLVIE AND THE SONGMAN by Tim Binding. "Sylvie Bartram lives alone with Mr Jackson the dog and her eccentric composer father who invents strange and wonderful musical instruments. One day she returns from school to find a message left in toothpaste on the bathroom mirror; her father has been kidnapped. Later that night, the house is visited by a terrifying apparition - a half-man/half-creature who is searching for something and will not rest until he has found it . . .Sylvie uncovers an underground world of magic and evil, and with help from her friends, she must hold off a power that threatens the lives of all beings in the world. The Songman is at large, and is determined to steal music and use it for his own evil ends . . . " (from the Random House website).

Young Adult:

EMPIRE OF THE SKULL: ALEC DEVLIN by Philip Caveney. "Mexico, 1924. At his father's hacienda, restlessly waiting for adventurer Ethan to arrive, sixteen-year-old Alec and his faithful valet Coates head out into the wilderness in search of an ancient archaeological site...only to discover that Mexico is every bit as perilous as The Valley of the Kings. Pursued by ruthless bandits, involved in a plane crash in the middle of remote rain-forest and finally an unwelcome guest in a lost Aztec city where the inhabitants still practice rituals of human sacrifice, once again Alec must use all of his skills and stamina to survive."

HEAVENLY by Jennifer Laurens. "I met someone who changed everything. Matthias. My autistic sister's guardian angel. Honest. Inspiring. Funny. Hot. And immortal. That was the problem. What could I do? I did what any other girl would do-I fell in love with him. Zoë's sister darts in front of cars. Her brother's a pothead. Her parents are so overwhelmed; they don't see Zoë lost in her broken life. Zoë escapes the only way she knows how: partying. Matthias, a guardian sent from Heaven, watches over Zoë's autistic sister. After Zoë is convinced he's legit, angel and lost girl come together in a love that changes destiny. But Heaven on Earth can't last forever."

FAIREST OF ALL: A TALE OF THE WICKED QUEEN by Serena Valentino. "For anyone who's seen Walt Disney's Snow White, you'll know that the Wicked Queen is one evil woman! After all, it's not everyone who wants to cut out their teenage step-daughter's heart and have it delivered back in a locked keepsake box. (And even if this sort of thing is a common urge, we don't know many people who have acted upon it.) Now, for the first time, we'll examine the life of the Wicked Queen and find out just what it is that makes her so nasty. Here's a hint: the creepy-looking man in the magic mirror is not just some random spooky visage-and he just might have something to do with the Queen's wicked ways!"

MERIDIAN by Amber Kizer. "Sixteen-year-old Meridian has been surrounded by death ever since she can remember. As a child, insects, mice, and salamanders would burrow into her bedclothes and die. At her elementary school, she was blamed for a classmate’s tragic accident. And on her sixteenth birthday, a car crashes in front of her family home—and Meridian’s body explodes in pain. Before she can fully recover, Meridian is told that she’s a danger to her family and hustled off to her great-aunt’s house in Revelation, Colorado. It’s there that she learns that she is a Fenestra—the half-angel, half-human link between the living and the dead. But Meridian and her sworn protector and love, Tens, face great danger from the Aternocti, a band of dark forces who capture vulnerable souls on the brink of death and cause chaos."

NEVER SLOW DANCE WITH A ZOMBIE by E. Van Lowe. "On the night of her middle school graduation, Margot Jean Johnson wrote a high school manifesto detailing her goals for what she was sure would be a most excellent high school career. She and her best friend, Sybil, would be popular and, most important, have boyfriends. Three years later, they haven't accomplished a thing! Then Margot and Sybil arrive at school one day to find that most of the student body has been turned into flesh-eating zombies. When kooky Principal Taft asks the girls to coexist with the zombies until the end of the semester, they realize that this is the perfect opportunity to live out their high school dreams. All they have to do is stay alive...."

SLEEPLESS by Thomas Fahy. "Emma Montgomery has been having gruesome nightmares. Even worse, when she wakes up, she isn't where she was when she fell asleep. And she's not the only one. One by one the students of Saint Opportuna High start having nightmares, and sleepwalking. And the next morning one of their classmates turns up dead. Something is making them kill in their sleep. Emma and her friends need to band together, to keep themselves awake until they can figure out what's behind the murders--before anyone else dies."

And here's one that's historical fiction, but sounds like it would appeal to readers of fantasy:

TROUBADOUR by Mary Hoffman. "A story of persecution and poetry, love and war set in 13th century Southern France. As crusaders sweep through the country, destroying all those who do not follow their religion, Bertrand risks his life to warn others of the invasion. As a troubadour, Bertrand can travel without suspicion from castle to castle, passing word about the coming danger. In the meantime Elinor, a young noblewoman, in love with Bertrand, leaves her comfortable home and family and becomes a troubadour herself. Danger encircles them both, as the rising tide of bloodshed threatens the fabric of the society in which they live."

A list of fantasy books with which I disagree, and a better list of my own

So this guy who writes for the New Yorker online sneers at the fantasy he's read to date (written at a fourth-grade level, he says), but for unknown reasons he wants a list of what he should read next ("I doubted whether the genre had more to offer adults—literary adults, adults who enjoy reading bonafide novels"), and his friend makes such a list for him, and you know what? It's not the list I would have made. There are good books here, but in general, the choices are too close to stereotypes, that probably will not sway the sneering reader of "real" books.

My own list (edited to add: of books that I would suggest to someone who reads bonafide adult novels, and sneers at fantasy; all though I like many of these, this is by no means a list of my own favorites, which are doubtless at a fourth-grade reading level).

I'm not exactly sure what a reader of bonafide novels likes (since clearly I'm not one), so I have created sub categories of possible readers.

1. For the reader who wants to be made vaguely unhappy by the reading experience, distrusts clear prose, and wants ambiguous complexity, here's a list of very well-respected, even beloved, fantasy novels that I would recommend:

Red Shift, by Alan Garner Miserable as all get out, but those who love it rave about the beauty and power of it. I found it not dissimilar to what I imagine being flayed by scorpions would be like.
Little, Big, by John Crowely. It's been a while since I read this, but I remember it being rather long, and me being not at all sure that I really cared. Many bonafide novels make me feel this way.
Fire and Hemlock, by Diana Wynne Jones. I have read it four times, and still am not clear what happened and why.
Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan. It's a beautiful book, and I enjoyed it lots (and so thought hard before including it in this list), but the violence, faint sense of detachment, and "feel" (she said articulately) give it a "bonafide novel- ness."

2. The reader who really likes beautiful prose and doesn't mind being confused

Ombria in Shadow, by Patricia Mckillip

3. The reader of bonafide novels who is a simply looking for another good book, regardless of genre, to read (these are the books I'd recommend to my mother):

Years of Rice and Salt, by Kim Stanely Robinson, The Yiddish Policeman's Union, by Michael Chabon, The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss (the one book I have in common with the original list).

I haven't put any Ursula Le Guin on the list because the books of hers that I most recommend I would call Science Fiction.

And finally, I'd also like to defend the fourth-grade reading level. For pure enjoyable story-- magical, wonderful, stories that stay in the mind forever--fourth-grade reading is about as good as it gets.

David and the Phoenix, by Edward Ormondroyd

A mention by Jennifer, over at the Jean Little Library, lead me to seek out David and the Phoenix, by Edward Ormondroyd (1957). This is one of those books that I wish I'd found as a child.*

When David and his family move to a new house, David is drawn to the "mountain" that rises above it. As soon as he can escape from the unpacking, he is climbing it. There he meets the Phoenix, a somewhat elderly bird with a great sense of his own wonderfulness. The two become friends, and the Phoenix promises to take David under his wing, and further his education in matters mythological. First, however, the Phoenix must get his wing muscles back in shape.

But while David and the Phoenix visit griffins, race a witch, and call on a retired banshee, danger is coming closer. A Scientist is hot on the trail of the Phoenix, fiercely determined to shot and stuff him to further the cause of science....

This is one of those gentle, engrossing, magical books that a 9 year old might fall for hard. I will boldly go so far as to say it is timeless. The Phoenix is funny, it is easy to imagine oneself in David's shoes, and the points the book makes--that fantasy is worth caring about, and that some things are more important than science, are ones that it is hard for me to argue against. And as is the case with many older fantasy books, there's an episodic structure to the plot that makes it a great one for reading aloud.

I'd especially recommend this one to fans of Rosemary Manning's Green Smoke, which probably won't mean a thing to American readers, but those in the UK will know what I mean. It's about a girl who becomes friends with an elderly dragon, and coincidentally was also published in 1957.

It can be downloaded for free, but was reprinted recently and is readily available.

So now I know of two books in the phoenix sub-genre of children's fantasy--this one, and E. Nexbit's The Phoenix and the Carpet. Any others?


*(mainly these seem to be by authors in the middle of the alphabet, because I would start every summer at the As and the Zs in my quest to read every book in the children's section).

Completely Dark Cover of Meaninglessness and more: the chart of 2008 fantasy cover art

At Bookshelves of Doom, I found a link to a chart at The Publisher Files of all the elements used in fantasy cover art in 2008. Unicorns had a bad year.

It's an amusing chart, but sadly doesn't seem to include YA...let alone children's fantasy. If I happen to find ten free hours this weekend (ha ha ha) I might make a stab at it.

Dragonbreath, by Ursula Vernon

Dragonbreath, by Ursula Vernon (Dial, 147 generously fonted and illustrated pages, young middle grade)

Danny's a lot like any other grade school kid--trying to live up to his parents' expectations, trying to defend his lunch from the school bully, trying to write a report on "the ocean" on his fifteen minute bus ride. But, since Danny is a dragon, attending a school for reptiles and amphibians, things are a little different. Mom and Dad breathe fire, Danny can only produce ashy belches. The bully is a vicious komodo dragon. And when he has to re-write his report, he turns to Cousin Edward for help. Cousin Edward is a sea serpent.

So Edward takes Danny and his best friend, a charmingly nerdy iguana named Wendell, down into the ocean. Provided with "breath mints," the two friends don't have to worry about breathing underwater as they explore a coral reef, a shipwreck, and descend into the dark depths--where danger (!) awaits...

Told with copious illustrations (in shades of green and black), with interludes of comic book style sections, this is a great independent read for a seven or eight year old, and a great read aloud for a younger child. It's extremely entertaining for the adult whose reading it out loud, too, although this example perhaps resonated more with me than with my children:

"Mrs. Dragonbreath looked up from her coffee, focused her eyes with some difficulty, and hissed like a cobra. (Cobras are also traditionally not morning people)." (p 12).

I was somewhat surprised that, after some time following Danny through the travails of school life, the book took an educational twist--although the undersea adventures are exciting, they have a more than somewhat "let's all learn about the ocean" feel. Which is fine, and gives added value, although it seems to me that most children these days know all the species of shark before they give up sippy cups. I don't think my kids noticed this aspect of the book at all. They were too busy being engrossed in Danny and Wendell's adventures.

The point of view shifts midway from Danny--eager and overconfident--to Wendell, anxious and overthinking. I love Wendell.

"Wendell pawed the last of the sea cucumber's guts out of he ears. "What? You want even weirder fish? It wasn't enough getting nearly eaten by a shark and barfed on by a- sea - slug- thing-"

"Actually, sea slugs are something else again," said Edward helpfully. "That was a sea cucumber, which is an invertebrate--"

"I don't care!" Wendell tried to throw his hands in the air, realized too late that he was underwater, and flailed rather aimlessly instead. Danny had to grab his tail to haul him back down to the reef. "There could be all kinds of monsters down there!"

"Well, of course there could be," said Danny. "What's wrong with that?" (p 62)

I am very much looking forward to the next Dragonbreath adventure--Attack of the Ninja Frogs. So are my boys. (Coming February, 2010. Sigh. I want it now! Not so much for myself, but because it makes me so happy to see my boys so enthralled by a book...)

Other reviews can be found at The HappyNappyBookseller, Pink Me, 100 Scope Notes, A Year of Reading, and Kid's Lit.

Timeslip Tuesday: Ravine, by Janet Hickman

Ravine, by Janet Hickman* (2002, Greenwillow, 215 pp). In the Dark Ages in northern Europe, Ulf toils for an evil queen, a foreign slave without hope in a harsh world. In present day America, Jeremy and his best friend Quinn play with their model warriors, still enjoying childhood. Jeremy's mother is engrossed in her work--translating an early medieval tale, and has little time to keep an eye on him, warning him to stay out of trouble.

But trouble comes. Jeremy's collie, Duchess, disappears down a forbidden ravine...and wanders into Ulf's time. Ulf is delighted to have the companionship, however brief, of the beautiful dog, but his need of her widens the path between past and future. Soon Jeremy and Quinn, with Quinn's unwilling big sister following, climb down the ravine themselves, looking for Duchess. In the dark and violent world where Ulf lives, where he is living through the very tale that Jeremy's mother is retelling, survival is a sometime thing, and getting home might prove more dangerous, and heartbreaking, than Jeremy had ever imagined.

This is a rather charming adventure story. It's not tremendously complicated, it's not a very good history lesson (I found it a bit vexing that I wasn't sure where in Europe I was, and if everyone was Germanic, or possibly some were Viking), and the magic isn't explored to any sort of conclusion. Yet the characters are real and worthy of the reader's care, and the story moves along an exciting and engrossing path. I wouldn't rush to recommend this one to adults, but I will be giving it to my boys in a year or two.

*best known for her 1994 book, Jericho.

Summer holiday quiz from the Guardian

Summer is here with a vengeance in Rhode Island, and, coincidentally, yesterday The Guardian ran a quiz on the best summer holidays in books.

Here's the one I missed--I'd never heard of the book before:

7. Why are the children in Ian McEwan’s The Cement Garden left unsupervised over the course of one long, hot summer?
They run away
Their mother dies
They kill their parents
They are shipwrecked on a desert island where they find buried treasure

I have just looked it up on Wikipedia (edited to add: and was very taken aback by the adult content in the description. Not jolly school children on holiday). I do not think I shall be seeking it out any time soon. However, fans of Flowers in the Attic might be interested...

On a more wholesome note, my favorite summer holiday book is Return to Gone Away, by Elizabeth Enright.

The Princess and the Bear, by Mette Ivie Harrison

The Princess and the Bear, by Mette Ivie Harrison (HarperCollins, 2009, YA, 327 pp) picks up exactly where The Princess and the Hound left off. Prince George and Princess Merit are happily married, and the hound who had once been a princess and the bear who had once been a king have found each other in the forest, and are slowly forming a bond of great affection and mutual need. But all is not well--the forest they love is under threat from a horrible Unmagic, that drains the life and goodness out of whatever it touches.

The Wild Man, who had lead the animals against the Bear when he had been a foolish and selfish young king, is the only being powerful enough to stand against this evil force, so Hound and Bear set off to seek him. When they do, they find that their path will take them back in time--the Bear can become the King again, and the Hound can become a human woman, fighting at his side.

Together they must understand their own magic, and the magic of the land in which they live. Without the magic, they cannot stand against the Unmagic force, and defend the kingdom from the human greed and hunger for power that is tearing it apart. And in the processes, they must also learn to understand each other...

The Princess and the Bear does not have the strongest beginning. George and Merit are pushed abruptly and drastically off stage in order to get the plot going, and that jarred a bit. It seemed to me to take Harrison a while to demonstrate that she was in writerly control of her two animal/human characters, and there was quite a bit of telling what they were feeling that didn't quite fit smoothly into the story. However, as the story progress, frequent flashbacks to the previous lives of the main characters work well to add depth to characters and to explain how they (especially the Bear) ended up where they are.

When this unlikely couple travels back in time, setting forth as human companions to reclaim the kingdom, the story gets cracking nicely, and becomes an exciting, page-turning, magic-filled adventure. Chela, as the hound now calls herself (it's houndish for woman), is a particularly fascinating character, and Harrison does an excellent job making her dual nature present and convincing. She is a pretty darn fierce and loyal fighter, a worthy addition to the gallery of kick-ass heroines.

This is one that will be much enjoyed by animal loving readers--not only are the two main characters animals themselves for much of the book, but the magic of this land intricately binds humans with the animal kingdom. Although it's YA, there is nothing blush worthy or terribly disturbing violence-wise, so it's suitable for voraciously reading middle-school kids (that is, girls. It is a rather lovely dress on the cover, isn't it? But since half the story is told from the male lead's point of view, and there's lots of swordfighting and hunting, boys might like it too...)

What I am now wondering is what effect the actions of these two in the past will have had on George and Merit's time. Perhaps there will be a third book...

There is a third book! I just visited Harrison's webpage to get the link, and found:

"The Princess and the Snowbird , the sequel to The Princess and the Bear will be available in 2010. It is the story of Liva, the daughter of the hound and the bear, and Jens, an ordinary boy with no magic at all who does extraordinary things, and of course, a mythical creature called a snowbird who returns to help save magic at the end of the world."

I'm looking forward to it!

Other reviews can be found at Books Your Mother Would Approve Of, and One Librarian's Book Reviews.

The Graveyard Book has Won the Hugo

The Hugo Awards were announced last night, and The Graveyard Book won the best novel category! For goodness sakes. I liked it lots, I helped it win the Cybils Award, I was pleased when it won the Newbery, but was it really the best of all best science fiction/fantasy books of last year???

Here's the slate of finalists:

* Anathem by Neal Stephenson (Morrow; Atlantic UK)
* The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins; Bloomsbury UK) (Winner)
* Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (Tor Teen; HarperVoyager UK)
* Saturn’s Children by Charles Stross (Ace; Orbit UK)
* Zoe’s Tale by John Scalzi (Tor)

Shadowed Summer, by Saundra Mitchell

Shadowed Summer, by Saundra Mitchell (2009, Delacorte, 180pp, middle grade/young YA), is an excellent book for reading in August, when summer has gotten old.* Hot, and brown, and nothing much happens...And two fourteen-year old girls in Ondine, Louisiana, a tiny dot on the map, are kicking their heels in a cemetery. Iris and her best friend Collette are trying to make their own excitement by pretending to contact the dead.

"The air felt hot and wet but far away, like the warmth thrown off a campfire. Laid out on Cecily's slab, I should have been sweating and ready for some lemonade, but all I had in me was cold.

***

I managed to turn my head, but Collette didn't seem me. She looked peaceful, floating on a stone that was as still as her body. For a moment, I was sure she was dead. My chest ached, bound with a scream I couldn't get out, and that was when someone touched my hair.

A creamy flash flash passed in front of me, leaving the shadow of a face made up mostly of dark eyes. Wind kissed my ear, cool and soft, and I heard a voice. It sounded like clover tastes, green and new and sweet.

"Where y'at, Iris?" (page 6)

The game has become real. Years ago, back when Iris' parents were teenagers**, Elijah Landry disappeared. His body was never found, and most folks assumed he just had run off. Now Iris knows different. The ghost of Elijah is stalking her, his friendly greeting gradually giving way to frightening violence.

What happened to Elijah, and why is he haunting Iris?

This is a delightful creepy story. The supernatural and everyday elements are beautifully balanced. Iris, Collette, and Collette's maybe/kind off new boyfriend Ben come to life engagingly as they work out their relationships (in a spot-on 14 year old kid way), and try to solve the mystery. They are never overshadowed by the ghost of Elijah, although the spookiness of the haunting, and the ghost's escalating violence as they come closer to solving the mystery, keep the plot going at a brisk pace. There's a strong sense of place, and the long, hot summer becomes very real. This perhaps makes this a better book for winter reading...but regardless, it is a fine one to give at any time to a 6th-9th grader who likes a good mystery.

Other reviews can be found at In Search of Giants, Malinda Lo, and Juiciliciousss Reviews.

*I am pretending, for the sake of my review's introduction, that this was a normal summer where I live, as opposed to a cold and wet imitation.

**way back in the eighties, when I was a teenager too...

Spell Hunter (Faery Rebels 1), by R.J. Anderson

Spell Hunter (Faery Rebels 1), by R.J. Anderson (HarperCollins, 2009, middle grade/ YA, 327pp).

In an ancient oak tree, shut off from the human world around them, lives a beleaguered bastion of the faery realm. Their magic has faded, and their numbers dwindling. But one young fairy rejects that possibility that they have no future. No floral faery name for her--she is Knife, fighting in the outside world, facing down the animals that prey on her people.

"Knife plunged through the hedge and leaped into the air, wings whirring. She drew her knife, wishing fervently that she had brought her bow and quiver instead.

The crow raised its head, and she recognized the limp form dangling form its beak: Linden. A soft-spoken faery, whose shyness and drab coloring made her easy to overlook--but she could carry twice her own weight in chestnuts, and the Gatherers could ill afford to loose her.

At first Knife feared she might already be too late to save her, but as she flew closer Linden roused and began to struggle. The crow's grip on her was cruel, but he had not killed her yet. Gathering her strength, Knife put on a final burst of speed, flashed up to him, and hacked wildly at his tail." (page 89).

Knife is determined to journey as far as she must in order to discover how to regain the magic her people have lost. She has no instructions, only a few clues to add to her instincts.

When instincts lead her to a forbidden friendship, the deepest she has ever known, Knife must weigh the feelings in her heart against the fate of her people. Her friend, her more than friend, is a human, a teenager named Paul who is slowly recovering from a terrible accident that has left him dependent on a wheelchair. She can help him, just by being who she is, but will he, in turn, help or hurt Knife?

It's a great story. All other aspects of the book aside, the relationship between Knife and Paul is nuanced and heartfelt (one of the most interesting love stories I've read for a while). It is a dangerous, moving, and tender journey that they take together, with a cliffhanger at the end. It definitely overshadowed, in my mind, the other half of the plot--the unravelling of what has gone wrong with the magic. This is ostensibly a middle-grade book (adventures of a young faery girl), but, what with the relationship being so front and center (although there's nothing blushworthy), it seems more young YA to me. Like, 12 and 10 months on up.

Before reading this book, I was worried that it might be a bit "fairies at the bottom of the gardenish" --twee, in other words, and I was very glad to find myself in a place that was not twee at all. The world of faery that Anderson creates is one that reminded me of the detailed ethnography of the Gnomes book*, rather than the Celtic-ish faery realms. These are small faeries, magical yet with mundane concerns, and Anderson has made them a solid fictional place to live.

And Knife is a kick-ass heroine, a point made much more clearly in the UK edition, the artwork of famed fairy illustrator Brian Froud. The American faery is wearing too much lip gloss for my taste.

Other reviews and comments can be found at Grow Wings (Laini Taylor's blog), Reader Rabbit, and My Favorite Author.


The sequel to Spell Hunter comes out in the UK in the January of 2010 as Rebel. I found on Goodreads that the North American edition, titled Wayfarer (Faery Rebels 2), will be coming (in Canada, at least), in the spring of 2010. This one Goodreads entry was from R.J. Anderson herself, so she should know...(she gave herself five stars, because of being rather fond of her book).







*This Gnomes book, and I mean the comparison in a complementary way--small magical denizens of the woodland risking their lives to gather things from outside. But it's really completely different.

Bookstore bingo, the best hotel ever, and a book and hotel related announcement

We are back from our holiday journey, with a little less money and quite a few more books. Our itineraries are strongly influenced by the locations of used bookstores, and today our path through Connecticut passed through two that were new to us. It's always so exciting to enter a new used bookstore, with hope-filled heart and eager eyes, although it's often a disappointment (like today was)--same old, same old. My sister and I once came up with "bookstore bingo," where each player's card features books to be found in almost any New England used bookstore (although I was surprised to see no copies of Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch today).

Since our children came on the scene, used bookstore visiting became a heck of a lot more stressful. The worst public tantrum my eldest ever threw was on a sad day when he was two and became convinced that life would not be worth living without "Practice Your Way to SAT Success." I wasn't spending $10 on it, and we had to leave the bookstore before I finished browsing. Today my husband found himself forking over $5 for Blitz, by Hetty Burlingame Beatty, an oldish book (1961) about a mistreated horse that won the heart of my six year old. He will probably never read it, but at least it might hold its value.

Continuing the travel line of thought, here is a hotel that we did not stay in, but which sounds like a dream come true (although they probably don't have as many children's books as they should).



The next hotel I shall be visiting might not have an immense library of antiquarian books that can be taken back to your room, but it will be filled with kidlitosphere bloggers, which will probably be much more fun. It will be the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, Virginia, site of the Third Annual Kidlitosphere Conference!!!!!

From the official announcement (where everything was much more nicely formated--sometimes blogger really peeves me):

The Kidlitosphere Conference is an annual gathering of the Society of Bloggers in Children’s and Young Adult Literature. The 2009 conference will take place in Washington, DC, on Saturday, October 17th. While sessions are not scheduled for Friday, a Library of Congress visit is currently in the planning stages. An informal outing in DC will be scheduled for Sunday as well.

The sessions go from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and will cover:

1. The Blog Within: An Interview With Your Inner Blogger
2. Building a Better Blog: Best Practices, Ideas, and Tips
3. Split Reviewer/Author Sessions:
It’s All About the Book: Better Book Reviews
It’s Not About Your Book: Writing Ideas for Blogging Authors
4. Split Reviewer/Author Sessions:
Social Networking for Fun (and Profit?)
5. Authors, Publishers, Reviewers (and ARCs): A Panel Conversation
6. Coming Together, Giving Back: Building Community, Literacy and the Reading Message (KidLitosphere Central/PBS/RIF/Literacy)
7. Meet the Authors

A pre-session meet-and-greet breakfast is offered from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. A fun dinner to mix and mingle is scheduled for 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. The registration fee for the conference — including the breakfast and dinner — is $100. The fee for dinner only (for spouses or guests) is $50.

I hope (a tad selfishly) that lots of people come! I was rather jealous the past two years, reading on everyone else's blog how much fun it all was.

Mother Reader has selflessly taken the lead on this (thanks Pam!), and you can read more about it here at her blog, and see who is committed to being there so far...

Pride and Prometheus--Mary Bennet meets Dr. Frankenstein

Forget Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. In "Pride and Prometheus", by John Kessel (a nominee for this year's best novelette Hugo Award) Elizabeth's younger sister, the bookish and socially inept Mary, meets Dr. Victor Frankenstein...

"HAD BOTH HER MOTHER AND her sister Kitty not insisted upon it, Miss Mary Bennet, whose interest in Nature did not extend to the Nature of Society, would not have attended the ball in Grosvenor Square."

You can read the rest here at Fantasy and Science Fiction. You can also download (for free!)John Kessel's The Baum Plan For Financial Independence and Other Stories (including "Pride and Prometheus") at Small Beer Press.

(thanks to Biology in Science Fiction for the heads up!)

So, Frankenstein, Zombies, Vampires have now been done. A while ago I suggested Pride and Prejudice and Unicorns, in which Lydia gets gored. Or Mr. Darcy could be a Faïryieee (original spelling to add "freshness" to the plot) King. Or Wickham a werewolf...

New Releases of Science Fiction and Fantasy for children and teenagers, the 1st week of August edition

Here are the new fantasy and science fiction books for kids and teens released the first week of August, taken from Teens Read Too, with help from Amazon. (Actually, none of them are science fiction, but had there been any, they would have been put on this list).

For 9 to 12 year olds:

Billy Bones: The Road to Nevermore by Christopher Lincoln. Sequel to Billy Bones: Tales from the Secrets Closet. "Billy Bones and his cousin Millicent are ready to explore the world beyond the Biglum mansion. When Uncle Grim and Millicent are captured and taken to the hidden world of Nevermore, Billy begins an adventure bigger than even he could have asked for. As Billy searches for his loved ones, Millicent discovers that some secrets are too big for any Secrets Closet to hold-and may be too dark for any skeleton to overcome.""

The Extra-Ordinary Princess by Carolyn Q. Ebbitt. "Amelia, the fourth sister in a line of princesses, is sure her red hair and non-princessy ways–not to mention being the last-born–will mean an easy life of never being queen. But when an ancient curse comes to life, an evil uncle tries to take over their peaceful kingdom, and her three sisters are turned into a tree and two swans, Amelia and her best friend Henry must gather the forces of her magically blessed family, and save Gosling from complete destruction."

A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons by Cressida Cowell. "It's Hiccup's birthday, but that's not going to keep him from getting into trouble. To save his dragon, Toothless, from being banished, Hiccup must sneak into the Meathead Public Library and steal the Viking's most sacred book. But the Vikings see books as a dangerous influence, and keep them locked up and under heavy guard. To save his friend, Hiccup must brave the Hairy Scary Librarian and his dreadful army of Meathead Warriors and face off against the formidable Driller-Dragons. Will he make it out and live to see his next birthday? "

My Rotten Life: Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie by David Lubar. "Ten-year-old Nathan Abercrombie is having a really bad day. First, Shawna Lanchester, the prettiest girl in his class, doesn’t invite him to her party. Then he gets picked last in gym class. Things couldn’t get any worse…until he gets doused with an experimental serum that turns him into a half-dead zombie! Nathan soon discovers that being half dead isn’t all bad. He doesn’t need any sleep, so he can stay up all night and play games online. He doesn’t feel any pain, so there’s no need to worry about Rodney the bully anymore. Still, Nathan would rather be human. Will he find a cure? Or will Nathan be half-dead forever?"

The Riverboat Phantom: Haunted by Chris Eboch. "Jon and Tania are back and tracking down more ghosts, this time on the Mississippi River on an antique river-boat. With them are their mother and stepfather, producers of a hit TV show about "real-life" ghosts -- a topic no one on the crew seems to take all that seriously. But Tania has a gift -- she can see and communicate with ghosts, and this time she's in touch with the spirit of a riverboat captain who accidentally caused the boat to catch fire, and he's making trouble for everyone. Will Tania be able to help this troubled spirit find peace before disaster strikes again?"

The Secrets of the Cheese Syndicate by Donna St. Cyr. "Robert Montasio did not think his day could get any worse until his sister drinks a bizarre soda that causes her to start shrinking. Robert's only hope is a mysterious organization known as the Secret Cheese Syndicate. Unfortunately, they cannot help without a special cheese that has been lost for years. Now, with a tiny little sister in his pocket, Robert has to travel the world to find the Mystic Cheese of Eliki and, perhaps, discover secrets from his family's past."

The Siege of Macindaw: Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan. "...Will is now the protector of his first fief. Not long into his service, everything that can go wrong does: Keren, a renegade knight, has taken over Castle Macindaw, a strategic gateway to the North—poisoning the royal family in the process—and is holding Will’s friend Alyss captive. The situation grows direr when Will uncovers Keren’s secret alliance with the Scotti, who have plans to plunder Araluen. Time is of the essence, and Will must recruit a motley crew to rescue Alyss and reclaim Castle Macindaw—before the Scotti can make it their own."

The Ghost on the Stairs: Haunted by Chris Eboch. "Thirteen-year-old Jon and his eleven-year-old sister, Tania, are typical kids -- except for the fact that Tania can communicate with ghosts. Their mom and stepdad are producers of a ghost-hunter reality television show, but they have no idea that Tania possesses this ability -- and Tania wants to keep it that way.
While filming at an old hotel in Colorado, Jon and Tania find themselves trapped in a ghostly love story that happened more than a century ago. Local legend has it that a ghost bride still wanders the hotel, waiting for her lost husband. Can this fearless brother-sister duo reunite a newlywed couple -- and put these ghosts to rest at last?"


Young Adult:

Cirque Du Freak: The Manga, Vol. 2 by Darren Shan. "In The Vampire's Assistant, Darren returns to the old-fashioned freak show where, thanks to Mr. Crespley, he became a "half-vampire." Darren once again struggles against the urge to feed upon the human blood his health requires."




Dead Girl in Love by Linda Joy Singleton. Third in the "Dead Girl"series. "Oh, wow—I'm my own best friend. Or at least, I'm in her body! Okay, this assignment will be quick and easy. Thanks, Grammy! See, my dead grandmother keeps finding people who have big problems and then I have the freaky experience of stepping into their life—and their body!—to provide help. This time, I'm in the body of my BFF, Alyce. Since Alyce and I know everything about each other, I won't have to do a lot of detective work, which is a definite plus. But, as Alyce, I've got some really pressing questions to answer—starting with, What am I doing in this coffin?

Evil by Timothy Carter. (my review)."Book of Stuart, Chapter 1:10: 10 And, yea verily, Stuart did commit the Sin of Onan in the shower. And this was witnessed by his own brother who did cry out unto their mother. And there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth. 11 And the townspeople rose up against him and all Onaners, calling upon one another to tear the youthful sinners limb from unclean limb. And there was much pants wetting.12 And lo, Stuart did join forces with the demon, Fon Pyre, and together they did set forth to discover the cause of the town's trouble. 13 And, hark! A pair of fallen angels would plant seeds of hatred unto the townspeople. And on the seventh day, Stuart did vow to rip the fallen angels a new one and layeth upon them an epic smacketh-down."

Ghost Mysteries: Unraveling the World's Most Mysterious Hauntings by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld. A "trip though the history of ghosts and their place in literature, movies, and television."





Immortal by Gillian Shields. "Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies, housed in a Gothic mansion on the bleak northern moors, is elite, expensive, and unwelcoming. When Evie Johnson is torn away from her home by the sea to become the newest scholarship student, she is more isolated than she could have dreamed. Strict teachers, snobbish students, and the oppressive atmosphere of Wyldcliffe leave Evie drowning in loneliness. Evie's only lifeline is Sebastian, a rebellious, mocking, dangerously attractive young man she meets by chance. As Evie's feelings for Sebastian grow with each secret meeting, she starts to fear that he is hiding something about his past. And she is haunted by glimpses of a strange, ghostly girl—a girl who is so eerily like Evie, she could be a sister. Evie is slowly drawn into a tangled web of past and present that she cannot control. And as the extraordinary, elemental forces of Wyldcliffe rise up like the mighty sea, Evie is faced with an astounding truth about Sebastian, and her own incredible fate."

Immortal: Love Stories with Bite edited by P.C. Cast. ''In Immortal: Love Stories With Bite, edited by New York Times bestselling author of the House of Night series P.C. Cast, seven of today's most popular YA vampire and contemporary fantasy authors offer new short stories that prove that when you're immortal, true love really is forever."

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent. "She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally. Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next… "

Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink. "Twin sisters Lia and Alice Milthorpe have just become orphans. They have also become enemies. As they discover their roles in a prophecy that has turned generations of sisters against each other, the girls find themselves entangled in a mystery that involves a tattoo-like mark, their parents' deaths, a boy, a book, and a lifetime of secrets. Lia and Alice don't know whom they can trust. They just know they can't trust each other."

Ruined by Paula Morris. "Rebecca couldn't feel more out of place in New Orleans, where she comes to spend the year while her dad is traveling. She's staying in a creepy old house with her aunt. And at the snooty prep school, the filthy-rich girls treat Rebecca like she's invisible. Only gorgeous, unavailable Anton Grey seems to give Rebecca the time of day, but she wonders if he's got a hidden agenda. Then one night, in Lafayette Cemetery, Rebecca makes a friend. Sweet, mysterious Lisette is eager to talk to Rebecca, and to show her the nooks and crannies of the city. There's just one catch: Lisette is a ghost. A ghost with a deep, dark secret, and a serious score to settle. As Rebecca learns more from her ghost friend - and as she slowly learns to trust Anton Grey-she also uncovers startling truths about her own history. Will Rebecca be able to right the wrongs of the past, or has everything been ruined beyond repair?"

Sacred Scars: A Resurrection of Magic by Kathleen Duey. The eagerly awaited sequel to Skin Hunger. My copy is waiting for me back at home...

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. "For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again. "Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever."

Timelock: The Caretaker Trilogy, Book 3. by David Klass. "Jack Danielson has spent the last year saving the oceans and the Amazon, attempting to fulfill a prophecy that was written before his birth. Now he’s more than ready to get back to life as a typical teenager and spend some quality time with his girlfriend, P.J. Too bad the world has other plans. Wrenched away once more from those he knows and loves, Jack is thrust through time to the fiery deserts of the future and the frozen tundra of the Arctic, battling cyborgs, zombie warlocks, and scorpions the size of tanks. At least he has Gisco—everyone’s favorite surly telepathic canine—to keep him company, not to mention the Ninja Babe, Eko. And he will finally be reunited with the parents who abandoned him so long ago, in order that he might save their dying planet. But it isn’t only a race to save Earth. As the clock ticks down before the final confrontation with the dreaded Dark Lord, Jack must decide once and for all who he really is—prince of the future or humble human of the present—and choose between the two women who love him."