New releases of fantasy and science fiction for kids and teens, the second half of Feb, 2011 edition

This list of new releases from the second half of February is much more manageable than the one from the first half of February (thank goodness)! As usual, my information comes from Teens Read Too, the blurbs come from Amazon and Goodreads (since I haven't read the books, I can't write my own), and the decision to put the books in this list comes from me--several of the middle grade books might well not be considered fantasy by those that have read them! (But I've always considered The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place fantasy...)

The Middle-Grade Books (ages 9-12)


RIO by Lexa Hillyer. "Blu, a rare blue Spix's Macaw, has everything he needs—heart, attitude . . . feathers—but he's afraid he may never soar. That's all about to change in the magical city of Rio, where Blu has incredible adventures and makes new friends who show Blu he's always had what it takes to make his dreams come true."

THE BLACK BOX: A CASSANDRA VIRUS NOVELby K. V. Johansen "Something is cutting off Spohrville's communication with the outside world. The phones don't work. There's no radio, no TV -- no internet. Are eco-terrorists trying to shut down the Mars Relay satellite? That's what the government says, but Jordan and Helen and the sentient virtual supercomputer Cassandra don't believe a word of it. The town is overrun with "birdwatchers" who can't tell a hawk from a heron. Jordan's old enemy, Harvey Number Two of the spy agency Bureau 6, is sneaking around pretending to be a cop on holiday. And archaeologist Uncle William has dug up a very strange black rock while excavating an Acadian settlement. With no land-lines to the site of the dig and wireless communication impossible, Jordan and Helen have no back-up from Cassandra. They've taken on corrupt government agents and industrial spies before, but they've always had Cassandra behind them. It's the twenty-first century. The bad guys have night-vision goggles and interference triangulators. How did Jordan and Helen get stuck with a bunch of musket-toting historical re-enactors as their only allies?"

THE COLOSSAL FOSSIL FREAKOUT: SPLURCH ACADEMY FOR DISRUPTIVE BOYS by Julie Gardner Berry & Sally Faye Gardner "Headmaster Farley's back and he's ready for revenge, but an unexpected visit from his estranged sister brings monstrous results as she takes over Splurch Academy. Forced to retreat to his laboratory, he hatches a plan to reclaim the school. Meanwhile, Cody Mack and the other boys are pitted against their new classmates--the girls of Priscilla Prim Academy for Precious and Proper Young Ladies."

THE HIDDEN GALLERY: THE INCORRIGIBLE CHILDREN OF ASHTON PLACE by Maryrose Wood "Of especially naughty children it is sometimes said, "They must have been raised by wolves."

The Incorrigible children actually were. Thanks to the efforts of Miss Penelope Lumley, their plucky governess, Alexander, Beowulf, and Cassiopeia are much more like children than wolf pups now. They are accustomed to wearing clothes. They hardly ever howl at the moon. And for the most part, they resist the urge to chase squirrels up trees.

Despite Penelope's civilizing influence, the Incorrigibles still managed to ruin Lady Constance's Christmas ball, nearly destroying the grand house. So while Ashton Place is being restored, Penelope, the Ashtons, and the children take up residence in London. Penelope is thrilled, as London offers so many opportunities to further the education of her unique students. But the city presents challenges, too, in the form of the palace guards' bearskin hats, which drive the children wild—not to mention the abundance of pigeons the Incorrigibles love to hunt. As they explore London, however, they discover more about themselves as clues about the children's—and Penelope's—mysterious past crop up in the most unexpected ways. . . ."

KINGDOM OF TROLLS by Rae Bridgman. "Spin Wil's black medallion - and you'll find the medallion's silver arrow and triangle turn into a five-pointed star. With each new adventure, another tiny gold symbol glimmers on the magical medallion. What do the symbols mean? All cousins Wil and Sophie know is that an ancient and nasty secret society - none other than the Serpent's Chain - wants its black medallion back. A prize trip to Iceland, land of history, danger, and galdur - magic - sends Wil and Sophie on another quest to unravel the mystery of the Serpent's Chain. Meanwhile, someone is tampering with fortune-telling crystal balls and their friend Mr. Bertram has been imprisoned, falsely accused of murder and the theft of a precious manuscript. When the cousins are captured by trolls, it looks like they and their adventures might end up in the soup!"

THE TIME TUNNEL: A STORY FOR ALL AGES by Donald Walters, "While exploring in Rumania, two boys discover a ruined laboratory with a mysterious tunnel. Entering, their bodies shrink. They emerge into a beautiful countryside and meet Hansel, whose father invented the time-tunnel. Hansel shows the boys how to encase themselves in time-light spheres. The trio journeys through time, visiting the Middle Ages, ancient Greece and Egypt, and forward into a surprising future. Along the way the boys gain valuable lessons about history and human behavior."

WE ARE NOT EATEN BY YAKS: AN ACCIDENTAL ADVENTURE by C. Alexander London "Eleven-year-old twins Oliver and Celia Navel do not like adventures--in fact, they would have preferred it if they had been left out of this story altogether. But, alas, they had no choice in the matter. Unfortunately for the twins, they live on the 4-1/2th floor of the Explorers Club with their parents who are world-famous adventurers and daredevils, and so have been dragged from continent to continent their entire lives. Even worse, their mother has gone missing, and their father has bet the evil Sir Edmund S. Tithletorpe-Schmidt III that he'll find her and make one of the greatest discoveries in history. And the stakes of his bet? Oliver and Celia will be his servants until they graduate from high school. Which, when you have only just finished fifth grade, is a long way off. So, the twins must give up their summer of television and head to Tibet where they fall out of airplanes, battle Yetis, discover secret caves, fly over waterfalls, and ride one very large yak. If they can survive their ordeal, if they can decipher the clues, and if they can outwit Sir Edmund, they might just reunite their family, save the world . . . and get cable television. We shall hope, for their sake, that they do."

The Young Adult Books (ages 12 and up)

ANGELS AND HUNTERS: THE STOKER SISTERS by Kailin Gow. "Torn... Between two sisters...mere rivalry has become deadly. Between two loves...one will be the key to redemption, the other will destroy them. The battle has begun... Angels and Hunters."


DARKEST MERCY: WICKED LOVELY by Melissa Marr "The Summer King is missing; the Dark Court is bleeding; and a stranger walks the streets of Huntsdale, his presence signifying the deaths of powerful fey.

Aislinn tends to the Summer Court, searching for her absent king and yearning for Seth. Torn between his new queen and his old love, Keenan works from afar to strengthen his court against the coming war. Donia longs for fiery passion even as she coolly readies the Winter Court for battle. And Seth, sworn brother of the Dark King and heir to the High Queen, is about to make a mistake that could cost his life.

Love, despair, and betrayal ignite the Faery Courts, and in the final conflict, some will win . . . and some will lose everything."

DARKNESS BECOMES HER by Kelly Keaton "Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.

Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.

She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.

Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed."

FROST KISSES: FROST by Kailin Gow (sorry-couldn't find a blurb)

HAVEN by Kristi Cook "One month into her junior year, sixteen-year-old Violet McKenna transfers to the Winterhaven School in New York’s Hudson Valley, inexplicably drawn to the boarding school with high hopes. Leaving Atlanta behind, she’s looking forward to a fresh start--a new school, and new classmates who will not know her deepest, darkest secret, the one she’s tried to hide all her life: strange, foreboding visions of the future.

But Winterhaven has secrets of its own, secrets that run far deeper than Violet’s. Everyone there--every student, every teacher--has psychic abilities, 'gifts and talents,' they like to call them. Once the initial shock of discovery wears off, Violet realizes that the school is a safe haven for people like her. Soon, Violet has a new circle of friends, a new life, and maybe even a boyfriend--Aidan Gray, perhaps the smartest, hottest guy at Winterhaven.

Only there’s more to Aidan than meets the eye--much, much more. And once she learns the horrible truth, there’s no turning back from her destiny. Their destiny. Together, Violet and Aidan must face a common enemy--if only they can do so without destroying each other first."

THE IRON THORN: THE IRON CODEX by Caitlin Kittredge "In the city of Lovecraft, the Proctors rule and a great Engine turns below the streets, grinding any resistance to their order to dust. The necrovirus is blamed for Lovecraft's epidemic of madness, for the strange and eldritch creatures that roam the streets after dark, and for everything that the city leaders deem Heretical—born of the belief in magic and witchcraft. And for Aoife Grayson, her time is growing shorter by the day.
Aoife Grayson's family is unique, in the worst way—every one of them, including her mother and her elder brother Conrad, has gone mad on their 16th birthday. And now, a ward of the state, and one of the only female students at the School of Engines, she is trying to pretend that her fate can be different."

RESOLVE: WICKED LOVELY, DESERT TALES by Melissa Marr "The conclusion of Melissa Marr's manga series set in the world of her bestselling Wicked Lovely novels!

Hidden away from the concerns of the faery and mortal worlds, Rika has treasured the solitude of the desert. But now a threat imperils her desert home—and as a new romance blossoms, so does Rika's determination to face that threat head-on. The time for hiding is over."

TORTALL AND OTHER LANDS: A COLLECTION OF TALES by Tamora Pierce "Collected here for the first time are all of the tales from the land of Tortall, featuring both previously unknown characters as well as old friends. Filling some gaps of time and interest, these stories, some of which have been published before, will lead Tammy's fans, and new readers into one of the most intricately constructed worlds of modern fantasy."

A TOUCH MORTAL by Leah Clifford. "Eden didn't expect Az. Not his saunter down the beach toward her. Not his unbelievable pick up line. Not the instant, undeniable connection. And not his wings. Yeah. So long happily-ever-after. Now trapped between life and death, cursed to spread chaos with her every touch, Eden could be the key in the eternal struggle between heaven and hell. All because she gave her heart to one of the Fallen, an angel cast out of heaven. She may lose everything she ever had. She may be betrayed by those she loves most. But Eden will not be a pawn in anyone else's game. Her heart is her own. And that's only the beginning of the end.

UNNATURAL: ARCHANGEL ACADEMY by Michael Griffo "Michael Howard and Ronan Glynn-Rowley meet at Archangel Academy, an all-boys school in Eden, a rural town in north western England. Both are outcasts and decried as unnatural, Michael because he's gay, and Ronan because he's a hybrid vampire. But when Ronan, afraid to reveal his true self to Michael, turns him into a vampire against his will, both become drawn into a dangerous new world, where traditional vampires plot to destroy hybrids, and where fellow students, teachers, even their own families have unexpected secrets..."

For those who have asked--Activities to go along with The Green Book, by Jill Paton Walsh

Actually, it was only one person who found me by doing a google search on "activities for the green book by jill patton walsh," but just one person is enough to make me want to be Helpful.

The Green Book, for those who haven't read it, tells of a colonising expedition to a planet where life is silicon based. When all their crops start turning glassy, and their rabbits die from eating the grass, it's not clear at all whether the new colonists will make it....It's a great book, and here's my full review.

Activity One:

Each colonist gets to take only one book. Pick your book. Read it over and over again. Bonus points if you can find a copy of The Pony Club Rides Again.

Activity Two:

Research what happens when people eat ground glass. Do not try feeding it to your rabbit.

Activity Three:

Dig a garden patch in your back yard, preferably in New England to maximize stone moving fun. Stone moving can be repeated every spring.

Activity Four:

Get blank book with a green cover. Write a story in it. Call your story "The Green Book." Daring children could experiment with other colors.

Apologies to the original poser of the question--if you come back, do let me know if you thought of any more, um, activity-esque activities!

The Folk Keeper, by Fanny Billingsley

The Folk Keeper, by Fanny Billingsley (Simon and Schuster, 1999, upper mg/YA, 162 pages)

Only boys can be Folk Keepers, those who tend to the hunger of the Folk and keep them safely subterranian, so that they don't wreck unchecked havoc on human affairs. So Corinna, seeing the role of Folk Keeper as a better one than Floor Scrubber, disgused herself as a boy, and made a place for herself down in the celler of the Rysbridge Home for orphans, recording in her diary the record of her keeping.

"February 2--Candlemas

It is a day of yellow fog, and the Fold are hungry. They ate the lamb I grought them, picking hte bones clean and leaving them outside the Folk Door.

The lamb was meant for Matron's Sunday supper. She'll know I took it, but she will not dare say anything. She can keep her tapestreis and silks adn Sunday dinners. Here in the Cellar, I control the Folk. Here, I'm queen of the world."

But then the tenor of Corinna's world is shattered when she summoned by Lord Merton to be the Folk Keeper on his grand estate, on an island miles away. It's not by chance that Lord Merton sought Corinna out. He knows something about her....a secret that he soon takes to his grave. And Corinna, charged with keeping quiet more of the Folk then she's ever dealt with before, and caught up in a power struggle between the lord's heir, a young man named Finian, and a distant cousin who wants the estate for himself, has little time for speculation. But when it begins to seem as though someone wants her out of the way, forever, she begins to unravel the mystery of her past, discovering secrets that she had never dreamt about in a world where the fey are all too real, the bones of the last keeper lie moldering in the cellar, and the sea pulls on her heart.

(All is not danger and darkness--the young heir to the house becomes her friend, seeming to see through her disguise to the real Corinna within....and there's a happy ending).

Corinna is a fiercely independent heroine--smart, and fierce, and determined as all get out. Pitted against not just the hungry Folk, but human machinations, she almost meets her match...but her stubbornness stands her in good stead. But there is much more to her character than fierceness. Her conversations with Finian, faithfully recorded in her journal, show her more reflective, emotional side, buried deep under layers of survival instinct, gradually coming to the surface...

The Folk Keeper is a paranormal romance, written well before vampires etc burst into the YA literary scene, and it's subtle in its paranormalcy (one doesn't find out all until near the end, although one can guess quite early on), with the romance also not front and center (although it's a very nice romance based on friendship). It reminded me lots of Elizabeth Pope's The Perilous Gard-- a girl from "historical times" thrust into a mysterious situation involving powerful and hostile paranormal forces; and both books have a quality of real magic, dark and deep, that's hard to do justice too.
The Folk Keeper is much darker and stranger, and much more YA, than the cover would have you believe! Bloomsbury is reissuing this one (April 2011), and here is the new cover



Other reviews at Things Mean a Lot, The Scholar's Blog, and The Black Letters

Billingsley's newest book Chime (her third book) will be released in March. I'm looking forward to it! And I've added her first book, Well Wished, to my library holds list....

Small Persons With Wings, by Ellen Booraem

You'll notice that Small Persons With Wings, by Ellen Booraem (2011, Dial, middle grade, 302 pages) isn't called anything along the lines of Happy Flower Fairies of the Spring. S.P. with W. hate being called Fairies, and will express their displeasure in no uncertain terms.

13 year old Mellie Turpin has experienced this displeasure first hand. Until an ill-advised plan in kindergarten ended it, she shared her life with a S.P. with W.--but although he was willing to make her My Pretty Pony gallop around the room, he didn't want to be a show and tell exhibit. And so he took off, leaving Mellie to deal with the social fall out of having promised to bring a real live fairy to school.

And it was bad fallout; being dubbed "Fairy Fat" was the least of it.

So Mellie isn't unhappy when her grandfather's death means that she and her parents will move to the seaside town where he kept an inn, with plans of fixing the place up and selling it for great profit. Little does she know that the S.P. with W. are about to enter her life in full force, for Mellie's family history is intricately tied to the magic of the fairies. To her surprise, she learns that their magical way of life is under threat....the glamours they have been practicing are sapping their strength. The only way for them to survive is to turn back to an older magic, one based not on illusion but on skill. But there are those who reject that path....and though small, the Small People with Wings are formidable when crossed....and much mayhem results!

Initially I was unsure. Poor Mellie has it hard, and I was afraid that this might be a book where everything goes wrong in unhappy ad nauseum-ness. Happily, although many things did not go smoothly, to say the least, the light and zingy tone of Booraem's story telling kept me pleasantly diverted, and I was reminded of the sort of humour that permeates some of Diana Wynne Jones' books for kids.* And as is sometimes the case with DWJ, the characters here aren't always likable (at times I wanted to shake Mellie), and unpleasant things happen, but the power of the imagination and the verve of story carry the reader along swimmingly.

This is one I'm happy to recommend not only to its intended audience, but to grown-up readers as well. That being said, I'd say the intended audience here is upper middle grade on--it's not all fairy fun and games; Mellie has to cope with years of bullying and years of being taunted for being fat, not to mention having an alcoholic (dead?) grandfather who got turned into a clock. However, Mellie does have well-intentioned and supportive parents, which is a nice change, and she does (slightly unbelievably, given how prickly she is) make friends with a nice boy her own age....

Other thoughts at Eva's Book Addiction, Young Adult Books Central, and a nice long post over at Book Aunt.

And here's an interview with Booraem at Sarah Laurence Blog, and another at The Enchanted Inkpot.

*I'm not alone--Monica over at Educating Alice had the same thought

Brigitta of the White Forest, by Danika Dinsmore

Brigitta of the White Forest, by Danika Dinsmore (en theos press, 2011, middle grade, 211 pages) is a fairy book for those who are ready to leave behind those first fairy chapter books of the Rainbow Magic ilk, and move on to something more substantial. It's the story of how a faerie girl, Brigitta, must save her people when they are turned to stone by malevolent magic. Brigitta and her little sister, Himalette, are the only ones left still alive of their whole community, and so it is up to them to seek out Hrathgar, the only faerie who might be able to reverse the magic. But Hrathgar was cast out beyond the pall years in the past for working malevolent magic of her own, and she is probably the very one who cast the stone spell...

The two faerie sisters set out in the wild unknown, with only luck and courage to guide them...and Himalette's lively curiosity proving something of a handicap. Fortunately they enlist the help of a mysterious wise-woman and her giant rodent-esque companion, but can the be trusted, and will their help be enough to defeat Hrathgar? Especially when it turns out that Hrathgar is much more complex a force than they had reckoned with?

The greatest strength of the story is the relationship between the two sisters, with Brigitta constantly torn between concerned affection and exasperation--I'd particularly recommend this to readers with little sisters of their own! The story telling is full of small touches of world building that make it clear the story is set in an enchanted other-place; a veteran reader of fantasy might not find this world wildly original, but the young audience for whom it is intended should be fascinated by the munshmins, sand petals, shadowflys, and all manner of other curious plants and creatures. I myself liked the nice attention Dinsmore pays to the destiny markings that appear on faerie wings when they come of age. And the narrative flows smoothly and briskly, leading to an interesting (although slightly confusing) conclusion, which comes with a generous dollop of danger and adventure.

I wouldn't particularly recommend this one to adult readers of middle grade fantasy, mainly because I didn't think it brought anything remarkably new and powerful to the table, but as I said above, I think this would be a fine choice for the nine year old-ish girl who loves stories full of fairy magic and who is just beginning to find her reading feet in the world of longer fantasy books.

Technically this isn't being released till March, but it's available now. And Book 2, The Ruins of Noe, is on its way....

(Review copy received from the publisher)

Pathfinder, by Orson Scott Card, for Timeslip Tuesday

In Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card placed an incredibly intelligent boy in an almost unbearable science-fiction scenario; the brilliantly character-driven action and the meticulously crafted tension of the world-building made this a book to remember. It set a pretty high bar.

In Pathfinder (2010), Card brings his considerable intelligence to bear on a new world (a colony planet of earth). It's a story that combines "magic" with science fiction, and introduces a new Really Smart Boy character placed in an untenable situation. And although it's no Ender's Game, it is a very good read.

Usually I sum up the plot of the books I review, but to do so in this case is tricky to do without spoilers, so I'll keep it very minimal. A boy, Rigg, grows up alone with his father, who educates him with a passionate intensity in all imaginable disciplines. Unfortunate circumstances lead to his setting off at a young age, accompanied by Umbo, a friend from home who's in a similar predicament) to find his sister in a far away town...but things are complicated by political intrigue, betrayal, and most of all by the strange gifts that Rigg and Umbo possess...

And it is these gifts that introduce timeslippiness into the story (I'm not saying anything else). Card spares no words in describing the confusion experienced by his characters as time becomes their tool, perhaps in an effort to make the reader feel less inadequate for not quite understanding it. However, I soon learned that I was not interested in the discussions of possible paradoxes and contradictions, and allowed my eyes to float gently past these sections, which weren't essential to the story (it worked, and I didn't care how).

The story of the boy's journey is interspersed with short glimpses of another story that occurred far in the past, when the planet was first being settled, and this story, too hinges on time travel, but of the science-fiction fold-in-space/time variety. Gradually, as this second story unfolds, the backdrop of Rigg's life (and destiny) become clear....

The world-building is complex, the paranatural abilities of various characters fascinating, and the unravelling of the mystery at the heart of Rigg's situation gripping. It is a long book, and an unhurried one, and yet it defied my efforts to read it quickly (which is praise, because that means I was too interested to skim). At times I felt Card lingered too lovingly on elements (there's a lot of banter, for instance) that didn't advance the story. And at times I took issue with decisions made by the characters, both on their own merits (which adds to the interest of reading), and with the author's decisions (with regard to one choice in particular, I felt that Card let me down, and I wasn't convinced). But on the whole I was pleased with the story, finding it interesting and cohesive.

This is not a book for those who want strong female characters front and center; it is 98% a book dominated by boys; I'm generously giving Rigg's sister 1.5%, his mother 0.2%, an inkeeper named Leaky 0.2%, and a really cool female biologist 0.1%. And it is not a book for those irritated by boys who are Very Smart and Preternaturally Poised. However, Pathfinder will probably prove to be a pleasant diversion for those who like the same books I like. It's the sort of book I was perfectly happy to have read, yet don't feel the urge to press into the hand of all and sundry. I think that the reason for my tepid enthusiasm is that Rigg is no Ender. Ender was vulnerable, and almost broken; simultaneously flawed and sympathetic; I cared deeply about him. Rigg seems emotionally untouched by events, lacking in empathy (except empathy of an intellectual variety), and although not unlikeable, not someone I cared about, and his sidekicks didn't fill the emotional gap. (Also, and this is petty, "Rigg," "Umbo" and "Loaf" (sidekick number 2), are hard names for me to swallow. Especially poor Umbo).

My own issues aside, the time travel elements provide a nice added bonus of intellectual puzzle...and I did read the book eagerly and with enjoyment.

Note on age: This is categorized as YA, and there's some violence, and complexity to the plot that might loose young readers. However, there's no sex; Rigg and Umbo never even think about it (exept for one teensy smidge of blushing on Umbo's part). I'd say that anyone who likes Rick Riordan's books (especially his later ones) would be just fine with this. So I'm sticking a middle grade label on it too.

Congratulations to The Shadows, winner of the 2010 Middle Grade Sci Fi/Fantasy Cybils Award!

The Cybils Award winners have been announced, and the winner of my own category of middle grade sci fi/fantasy is THE SHADOWS, Books of Elsewhere 1, by Jacqueline West! Of all the books on the shortlist, this is the one I would have loved most as a child. Here's what I said back when it came out last summer:

"Olive's new home is huge and old and neglected, filled to the brim with all the furniture, clothes, paintings, and miscellany of its previous owner. Her mathematician parents, living in their own world of number-fill fun, thinks its a perfect place (the library the size of a small ballroom was a definite selling point). But as eleven-year old Olive begins to explore, she finds that it is a house with secrets--dark ones--painted into the many pictures that are fixed immovably onto its walls. A house that came with remarkable cats who serve an agenda of their own--one they aren't telling Olive. A house with gravestones built into its basement walls.

When she realizes that the old glasses she found tucked away into a drawer actually let her enter the paintings, and met the painted people within them, Olive finds herself in the midst of a mystery that defies logic. Step by step she begins to unravel the dark secrets behind the paintings...but the cats aren't being as helpful as they might be (are they even on Olive's side?) and as Olive's understanding of her new home's secrets grows, so to does her understanding that she is in terrible danger from an evil force that she may unwittingly be bringing back from the dead.

This is an absolutely lovely read for the connoisseur of fantasy for the young. There's the wonderful setting--I'm a sucker for an old house stuffed chock full of Stuff. There's Olive, who's an ordinary child. Not a scrap of magical ability. Smart and self-reliant and very likable, but not so as to be Special. Not a Chosen One--just a kid stumbling into magic, and trying to figure it out--giving the sense that this story could happen to any of us. And Olive doesn't meet a boy whose older and smarter and braver, with whom romance in the future is a possibility. Instead she meets a boy who's younger and needier and not immediately appealing. Another ordinary (well, in character, at least) kid.

Then there's the story itself, with all the mysteries of the paintings for the reader to explore along with Olive. West's writing carries things along just swimmingly, with enough description to make things come alive in vivid detail without hindering the build-up of tension. I enjoyed it tremendously, and recommend it highly, and eagerly anticipate the next book (although, for those tired of series-es (serii?) this ends nicely and is self-contained). In essence, it's Return to Goneaway, by Elizabeth Enright (a great favorite of mine), with a fascinating dark fantasy element.

Age range: It's scary, but not graphically violent. No "YA" content. So just fine for fourth graders on up, including other grown-up lovers of mg fantasy.

Note on animals: although the cats are front and center (which pleases me, as I am on Team Cat, there is also a dog, who, if you like dogs, is a very nicely dog-like one)."

I was one of the panelists who created the shortlist, and I'm glad I didn't have to choose!

Please head over to the Cybils website to see the other winners, and perhaps order them, to show publishers that the Cybils Awards help promote great books!

A kiss from the past year, in honor of V Day

My favorite kiss of the past year takes place on page 185 of The Demon's Covenant, by Sarah Rees Brennan--it's the kiss that made me melt the most of just about any fictional kiss I've read. But knowing now a little more of that story I can't feel quite as I once did about it....it seems that those two kissers are not Meant to Be. So instead, here's a kiss that comes earlier in the book:

"Alan curled his fingers around the demon's neck and pulled her closer.

Then he let her go. They stood in the electric air with eyes locked instead of mouths.

"What price would I have to pay," Liannan whispered, "for you to let me out?"

"If I loved you," Alan said, "I'd do it for free."

"And what does it take to make you love someone?"

Alan smiled then, a small, rueful smile. "I don't know," he said. "Nobody's ever tried." (page 154)

Oh poor dear sweet Alan, taking on the burden of loving Nick all on his own, and (from what S.R.B. has let fall) facing Cruel Tortures in the next book....I almost wouldn't mind (well, I'd mind less than I might otherwise) if he died in book three, as long as he truly knew he was loved back (and got to kiss someone he really loves).

Changing books now--here's my favorite kiss that never happened.

My mind has kept returning to my V. Day post from 1999, and, because I love this book and want others too as well, and in the past two years I've gotten lots of new readers, here's part of what I wrote back then:

Here, taken from page 218 of The Cygnet and the Firebird, by Patricia McKillip (1993), is the fictional romance that frustrates me most, because I can't stand that there isn't any more of it. The first speaker is a prince caught by an enchantment that transforms him each day into a firebird. The second speaker is a young woman with the most insatiably curious mind for magic of any heroine I know, who is determined to break the spell.

"You used to look like a mage."

"What does a mage look like?"

"Like a closed book full of strange and marvellous things. Like the closed door to a room full of peculiar noises, lights that seep out under the door. Like a beautiful jar made of thick, colored glass that holds something glowing inside that you can't quite see, no matter how you turn the jar."

"And now?" she whispered. He came close; the light at their feet cast hollows of shadow across his eyes, drew the precise lines of his mouth clear.

"Now," he said softly, "you aren't closed. You're letting me see."

He slid his hand beneath her hair, around her neck. She watched light tremble in a drop of water near the corner of his mouth. He bent his head. The light leaped from star to star across his face, and then vanished. She closed her eyes and he was gone..."

Oh, I was so hopeful when this book, and its prequel (The Sorceress and the Cygnet), were recently republished as one volume (entitled Cygnet). It must, I told myself, mean that a third book is coming out, and they will actually get their kiss....but no joy yet.

Anyone else have a favorite frustrating fictional romance?

This Sunday's round-up of middle grade fantasy and science fiction postings from around the blogs

Welcome to another round-up of posts about fantasy and science fiction books for children! Every Sunday I gather here the posts about "middle grade" sci fi/fantasy books that I found during the week, to share them with like-minded folks in a celebration of the books and their authors (makes rude face at Martin Amis). If I missed your mg sff post, please let me know!

The big mg sff news of the month comes tomorrow when the CYBILS WINNERS are announced! Which of these fine books will win? Which do you think will?

The Reviews:

The 13 Treasures, by Michelle Harrison, at Ex Libris

The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True, by Gerald Morris, at Pink Me

Bubble in the Bathtup, by Jo Nesbo, at Back to Books

Dandelion Fire, by N.D. Wilson, at The O.W.L. (audio book review)

The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens, at Kidliterate

Fantasy: An Artist's Realm, by Ben Boos, at Madigan Reads

Half-Minute Horrors, by Susan Rich, at Reading Tween

House of Dolls, by Francesca Lia Block, at A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy

How to Slay a Dragon, by Bill Allen, at Reading Vacation

The Magician's Elephant, by Kate DiCamillo, at Book Nut

The Midnight Curse, by L.M. Falcone, at Jean Little Library

Reckless, by Cornelia Funke, at Red House Books

The Snowstorm, by Beryl Netherclift, at Charlotte's Library

A Tale Dark and Grimm, by Adam Gidwitz, at books4yourkids

Time Riders, by Alex Scarrow, at Ms. Yingling Reads

A True Princess, by Diane Zahler, at GreenBeanTeenQueen and There's a Book

The Underneath, by Kathi Appelt, at Middle Grade Ninja

When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead, has reached the UK (couldn'd resist, sorry), and was shortlisted for the Waterson's Children Book Prize. Here's a review from Bookwitch.

The Wide Awake Princess, by E.D. Baker, at Kidliterate

Zita the Spacegirl, by Ben Hatke, at 100 Scope Notes, Charlotte's Library, Pickled Bananas, and Triple Take.

Interviews:

Kathi Appelt (The Underneath, Keeper) at Middle Grade Ninja; Diane Zahler (A True Princess) at The Cazzy Files and at Mother Daughter Book Club.

And Ellen Renner (Castle of Shadows) is this week's Fairy Tale Reflector at Seven Miles of Steel Thistles.

Other things of great interest:

Missed this one last week-- Zetta Elliott has compiled a list of speculative fiction for kids by US based authors of African descent, and here are the thoughts of Haitan-American writer Ibi Aanu Zoboi on the subject

GeekDad has turned his attention to Stories about Girls, including lots of fantasy books. Here's the link to part 4, because that has links to the earlier parts.

Here's the Guardian's obituary for Brian Jacques.

(I don't usually publicize other peoples' giveaways, but I make exceptions when I feel like it. So if you want to win all three Nathanial Fludd, Beastologist, books, visit First Page Panda)

And finally:

I am a huge fan of Wallace and Grommit. So although the adventures of a lamb headed off to preschool doesn't, in itself, make me squee, knowing that it's made by the same folks makes me pleasantly anticipatory. Timmy Time: Timmy Steals the Show, will be making its US debut later this month.

The Other Side of Dark, by Sarah Smith

In one of the odd congruities that happens from time to time, life and fiction intersected for me today. At work a visiting archaeologist talked about how she worked alongside the descendants of the men and women on board the last slaver to reach Alabama (in 1860!), excavating the past of the place where they had made new lives for themselves (you can read more about that project here). I didn't know that the slave trade had continued to so late a date.

On the way home my mind was full of horror of the slave trade, the memories that accrue to places, and the importance of telling the stories of these memories. And I couldn't have chosen a better book from my pile to continue this line of thought--The Other Side of Dark, by Sarah Smith (2010, Atheneum, YA, 309 pages)-- though I couldn't remember when I reached for it why I'd gotten it from the library, or what it was about.

Katie has been seeing ghosts since her mother's death the year before, obsessively drawing the darkness of what she sees, almost without her own volition. One day in the park she meets a boy named George, a friendly kid with down's syndrome, living with his grandfather in the old house that belongs to the park. But to her horror she relizes he is dead, his grandfather gone for over a hundred years, and the old house is a condemned wreck.

Law is interested in the house too--he loves old buildings, and how they hold the lives of the people who once lived in them. His mother is leading a crusade to save this particular old house--Pinebank, once the family estate of one of Boston's great merchant families, great public benefactors (and a real place, recently demolished; shown at right). But old Mr. Perkins, George's grandfather, was guilty of unspeakable evil (literally unspeakable--it was excised from history). Because of that, Law's father, professor of Harvard, descendant of slaves, and angry spokesman for reparations, wants to see Pinebank raized to the ground, and so he brings into the light of day the dark secret of the Perkins family....

Down in the cellar of the condemned house is a chest that George promised his grandfather he would protect; a promise that cost him his life. Katie and Law think it might hold treasure that would save the house from demolition, but instead, their search for the chest takes them into a nightmare of unquiet ghosts, and into a story of a crime against humanity whose repercussions have spanned the centuries. And the ghosts know that Katie can hear them...and insist that she listen, spilling out into her drawings and threatening her sanity.

And in the meantime Katie (white) and Law (biracial) are falling hard for each other, trying, with all the angst of teenagers in tricky circumstances, to make sense of their identities and feelings.

It's an immensely powerful, eye-opening story that packs both emotional and educational punches; for that I recommend it.

But I do have a slight feeling of reservation about the story telling. One the one hand, there is the very heavy, extraordinarily heavy even, and utterly disturbing weight of the past and the reverberations of slavery in present day America. On the other, there's the story of two kids getting to know each other, figuring out a mystery, interacting with ghosts....narrated by each one in turn. It's a tricky balancing act, and I was so invested in the story after the first hundred or so pages that I became sad when the balance went off kilter for me.

It began to seem like this second story of Law (pressured by unbearable parental expectations and struggling to find his own identity) and Katie (still profoundly grieving for her mother, and now wondering if she is going insane) was being flattened by the weight of the author's intent focus on the telling of the Big Story. Law, in particular, progressively became a less believable person. He is wracked with introspection, to the point that it felt almost as though things were occurring to him for the very first time so that they could be included in the story (although that being said, being a teenager is the time when you do start really questioning and wondering, so it might be that I just wasn't feeling charitable toward him). I wondered what this rich kid was doing at a public school, and (this is very, very minor, but it bugged me) it jarred that his parents, who'd already given him his own car, gave him a wii for Christmas. I didn't quite see the point of Katie's backstory either, and no-one from the supporting teenage cast ever became three-dimensional.

So the end of the book saw me caring considerably about the very-well researched historical elements of the book (and doing lots of googling, and being appalled, but not surprised, by gaps in what's available on line), and it saw me more educated (always good), but by the end I wasn't quite as invested in Law and Katie as people as I would have liked to be.

That being said, The Paperback Princess wrote -- "Katy and Law are just wonderful characters, 3 dimensional, flawed, scared, real." So maybe it was me.

Other reviews can be found at Eusinian Mysteries, Mark Bernstein, and The Reculsive Bibliophile.

Zita the Spacegirl, a graphic novel by Ben Hatke

Zita the Spacegirl, by Ben Hatke (2011 in paperback form, First Second Books), came home with us from the bookstore on Monday. By close of play that evening, my ten year old son had read it three times through. On Tuesday he read it twice more. I have only read it once myself, but that was enough to fall hard for it.

Zita and her friend Joseph find an enigmatic device deep in a mysterious crater. There's a red button on it, and Zita, being an adventurous type (unlike the more cautious Joseph) presses it....and a portal opens, out of which comes a monstrous tentacled being that grab her friend! Zita blames herself, so she presses the button again, leaps through, and finds herself on a very alien planet, full of all manner of strange alien beings.

Daunted, but undeterred, Zita sets out to find Joseph, meeting friends, enemies, and things in between...but will her rag-tag bunch of companions (a giant rodent, a know-it-all battle bot, a squeaky robot, and the alien Strong-Strong), a bit of magic courtesy of the enigmatic Piper, and the courage of her convictions be enough to save Joesph from the aliens who captured him, and bring the two kids back home to Earth?

Here's a group shot from Zita's website (Strong-Strong is the big brown one; I dunno why their white cards aren't labeled).
It's fun, fast, and inspiring, scary enough to grip the reader while not being the stuff of nightmares. Hatke's illustrations (which you can preview in the trailer) are charming (except for the scary creatures, which aren't). Zita is my favorite heroine of the year to date (not only is she cute as a button, she is fiercely caring), and if you want your boy to read a book with a strong girl front and center, here's the book you're looking for.

Zita's been around for a while; I'm so glad she got her own book and a chance to make new friends! And I'm glad that there seems to be another book on its way...

Zita the Spacegirl: Trailer from Ben Hatke on Vimeo.

Happy belated blog birthday to me, and a link to the first post I wrote that I think is worth reading

I started blogging on the first of February, 2007....if you can call it blogging. Re-reading my early posts, I am not all that impressed. But as I relaxed and became more used to writing book reviews, things improved. And now I am addicted, and no longer am anxious about having enough readers (although I am rather addicted to having more readers, in a computer game addiction kind of way--every level beaten just leads to another level. Comments are gold pieces, and links back to my blog remind me of the mangos that one would occasionally receive in the 1980s computer game Doom--"My, that was a yummy mango," the computer would say).

Regardless of my personal issues, I looked back through my early posts to find the first review I wrote that I think is worth reading, so here, in honor of my four years of blogging, are my thoughts on Rules, by Cynthia Lord.

The Snowstorm, by Beryl Netherclift, for Timeslip Tuesday

Some books seem tailor-made for me. For instance, The Snowstorm, by Beryl Netherclift (1967, aka The Snow Ghosts) includes:

Three siblings (two girls and a boy), whose parents go abroad, leaving them with an eccentric aunt they've never met...

Who happens to live in an old house deep in the English countryside...

A house where a mysterious snow globe opens the way between past and present, and allows them to befriend a boy from the 19th century...

Who helps them (rather indirectly) find the lost treasures that will save the old house from falling into ruin...

And then, as a piece de resistance, the children are trapped alone in the house for several days by a fierce snowstorm, and must deal with domestic details of food and firewood on their own.

Added bonus features: a secret passage, a remarkable dog, tasty-sounding food, selling domestic produce to raise money, and rummaging in trunks in an old attic.

Sadly, the execution was not quite as delightful as the plot. Although it came close to being a perfect book, the dialogue was at times stilted ("Let us go in the garden out of the way" p 115) and the author much too concerned about overusing "said," with the result that the children are constantly conceding, reflecting, affirming, apologizing, denying, beaming etc etc and as a result much of the dialogue felt a tad forced, and not at all relaxed. It was bad enough so that it bothered me while I was reading, which is pretty bad; mostly I'm reading so fast I don't notice much if people are scowling or grinning when they say something. The servile gardener likewise jars a bit on one's modern sensibilities (surely by the 1960s such things were already dated?)

More to the point, I didn't understand at all why, when the modern kids traveled back to the past and met Michael, their distant cousin, they didn't pepper him with questions--it took until page 120, when they'd met Michael quite a few times, before they even asked what year he was from. Time Travel Fail, if you ask me. And he showed no curiosity whatsoever about modern times, except a little with regard the decrepitude of his ancestral house. I think Netherclift let me down here--a bit more excitement about the time traveling on the part of the participants would have ramped up the excitement considerably.

Still, you can't have everything in this imperfect world, and The Snowstorm is one I'd happily add to my permanent collection. "But I do not think that I will hurry to seek out her other two books," sighed Charlotte, ruefully. "Her style was simply not to my taste."

I wasn't able to find any useful information about Netherclift on line, besides the fact that she has two other books that no one seems to have reviewed anywhere....has anyone else read anything of hers, or know who she is?

Goodbye, Brian Jacques

Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall books, has died at the age of 71. Here's the BBC article. I myself have never been a Redwall fan, but despite that, Jacques certainly was a huge part of my mental conception of the realm of fantasy literature for kids, and it seems sad and hard to believe that someone so There now isn't.

The next Redwall book, The Rogue Crew, will be released this May. Here's the summary from Penguin, via the Redwall Wiki:

"Redwall Abbey has never seen a creature more evil or more hideous than Razzid Wearat. Captain of the Greenshroud, a ship with wheels that can sail through water as well as the forest, this beast is a terror of both land and sea, traveling Mossflower Country, killing nearly everything—and everyone— in his path. And his goal? To conquer Redwall Abbey. From Salamandastron to the High North Coast, the brave hares of the Long Patrol team up with the fearless sea otters of the Rogue Crew to form a pack so tough, so rough, only they can defend the abbey and defeat Razzid Wearat once and for all."

This Sunday's Middle Grade Science Fiction/Fantasy Round-Up

Welcome to another week's round-up of the blog posts I found that pertain to middle grade fantasy and science fiction! Let me know, please, if I missed yours.

The Reviews:

Athena: the Grey-Eyed Goddess, by George O'Conner, at Library Chicken

Fever Crumb, by Philip Reeve, at By Singing Light

Fused, by Kari Lee Townsend, at Writers' Ally

The Hotel Under the Sand, by Kage Baker, at Fantasy Literature

Kat, Incorrigible, by Stephanie Burgis, at My Love Affair With Books

Middleworld, by J & P Voelkel, at Maltby Reads

Scumble, by Ingrid Law, at Books & Other Thoughts

Season of Secrets, by Sally Nicholls, at Fuse #8 and My Brain on Books

The Search for WondLa, by Tony DiTerlizzi, at A Year of Reading and at Great Kid Books

The Shifter (Healing Wars Book 1) at books4yourkids

Small Persons With Wings, by Ellen Booraem, at Eva's Book Addiction

A Tale Dark and Grimm, by Adam Gidwitz, at Bookish Blather

The Time Travelers, by Linda Buckley-Archer, at Teacher Girl's Book Blog

True Princess, by Diane Zahler, at The Brain Lair, Jean Little Library, Galley Smith, Write for a Reader, and The Compulsive Reader (full tour schedule here)

The Witch's Guide to Cooking With Children, by Keith McGowan at Becky's Book Reviews

The Weaver, by Kai Strand, at The Story of a Writer

Zita the Space Girl, by Ben Hatke, at Kids Lit.

Two mice books at Book Aunt (Bless This Mouse, by Lois Lowry, and Young Fredle, by Cynthia Voigt)

Two Grimm books at Random Musings of a Bibliophile (A Tale Dark and Grimm, and The Grimm Legacy)

It was a Fantasitical Middle Grade Monday last week over at From the Mixed Up Files--Shannon Messenger shares some of her favorite mg fantasy books, and offers three chances to win one!

Author Interviews and Guest Posts, and other things:

Ellen Booraem (Small Persons With Wings) at Sarah Laurence Blog
Diane Zahler (A True Princess) at Galleysmith and The Cozy Reader

Locus Magazine gives awards every year determined by votes from fans (the votes of fans who are subscribers are weighted more heavily). They've put up some lists of recommended reading, although books that aren't on the list can be voted for too. Here's their "YA" list, which strays into "MG" territory:

• Ship Breaker, Paolo Bacigalupi (Little, Brown)
• The White Cat, Holly Black (Simon & Schuster/McElderry Books)
• Pathfinder, Orson Scott Card (Simon Pulse)
• Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press)
• Factotum, D. M. Cornish (Omnibus Australia; Fickling UK; Putnam)
• Thresholds, Nina Kiriki Hoffman (Viking)
• Enchanted Glass, Diana Wynne Jones (HarperCollins UK; Greenwillow)
• The Boneshaker, Kate Milford (Clarion)
• Monsters of Men, Patrick Ness (Candlewick Press; Walker UK)
• The Keys to the Kingdom, Book 7: Lord Sunday, Garth Nix (Scholastic Press; HarperCollins UK)
• I Shall Wear Midnight, Terry Pratchett (Doubleday UK; Harper)
• Fever Crumb, Philip Reeve (Scholastic)
• Kid vs. Squid, Greg van Eekhout (Bloomsbury)
• Behemoth, Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse)

It's a nice list, I think--a few surprises, such as Thresholds, which I haven't read, but will now, and Kid vs Squid, a fun book that flew under the radar somewhat.

and finally, via Buzzfeed: ducks wearing dog masks. Just in case you hadn't seen it yet.

No Passengers Beyond This Point, by Gennifer Choldenko

No Passengers Beyond This Point, by Gennifer Choldenko (Dial, 2011, middle grade, 256 pages)

The three children are appalled when their mother abruptly tells them that their house has been foreclosed on, and that they must leave the next day for their uncle's in Colorado, on their own. 12 year old Finn and his sisters, teenaged India and young Mouse, are packed onto an airplane, their future suddenly uncertain. And when their plane lands unexpectedly in a deserted airport, and they are met not by Uncle Red but by a boy driving a taxi that's covered with feathers, things become even stranger.

Their new destination is the town of Falling Bird, where they receive a welcome of incredible warmth, and each child is taken taken to a new home, perfectly tailored to their daydreams...a place where happily ever after seems to have come true. But memories of their mother, and their dead father, intrude, and the houses collapse around them after the first night. Like many places that seem too perfect to be real, Falling Bird soon shows, to Finn and Mouse in particuarl, a different, darker face.

Each child has been given a clock, that's ticking down the time until they must stay there forever. Each child has a piece of a puzzle that must be joined before they can leave. But to find the way out, clues must be deciphered, and obstacles overcome...or they will never be a family again.

Told in the alternating points of view of the three children, it's a complicated and twisty story where the stakes are high, and both the protagonists, and the reader, only gradually realize what is going on. Each of the children comes across clearly as an individual--not necessarily likable, all the time, especially prickly, self-centered India, but each quirkily distinct, and, in the end, someone to care about.

Falling Bird is a place of classic fairy tale ensnarement--a place where the unthinking can find themselves trapped, a limbo where a person can be lost forever. Fortunately for India, Finn, and the precocious Mouse, their will to find their way out proves stronger than its wiles and machinations. The place is never Explained, but it does become clear what has happened...and the ending, mercifully, is a happy one.

No Passengers Beyond This Point could be described as Heck meets Departure Time meets The Kneebone Boy....combining the surreal, very busy afterlife of the one with the wistful surreal melancholy of the other, with the siblings in confusing circumstances of the third. Despite the fantasy that underpins the story, and provides the basis of the action, it's primarily a character driven book, with lots of emotional turmoil. Those who don't like introspective stories might become impatient, and want the fantasy explained and explored in greater depth, but those who do like such stories, who are content to go along with the ride, and who like quirky kids, should enjoy this one lots.

I'm pretty sure I did like this one myself (I read it with fixed, engrossed, even thoughtful and absorbed attention, and I liked Choldenko's smoothly snappy writing lots)...but I can't be certain whether others will or not, because, I, um, read the ending quite soon after the kids arrived in Falling Bird. I was growing a tad vexed by the incomprehensible turns of events, and had to know if there was a point. Turns out there was, and it colored my reading experience rather dramatically...for the better, but so much so that I can't begin to comprehend what a reader who doesn't know what has happened will make of the story. (Incidentally, the clues are there pretty early on, for those who are good at clues, but I am not. For those who like clues, and don't mind possible spoilers, I have put the two most obvious ones at the end).

Other thoughts, that might well prove more useful than my own, can be found at Ms. Yingling Reads, Collecting Children's Books (scroll down quite far), and My Brain on Books.

Disclaimer: ARC received from the publisher.

Spoilerish clues:


(ample spoiler space)


(clues are in italics, to make them harder to read)


The place is called Falling Bird, and the kids have to find a black box.

The False Princess, by Eilis O'Neal

The False Princess, by Eilis O'Neal (Egmont 2011, upper middle grade/YA, 336 pages)

For sixteen years she was a princess, and then, with no warning, Nalia's identity was stripped from her. She was simply a substitute for the real princess, who had been hidden away for safekeeping. Her true name is Sinda, she's a commoner, and the people she thought were her parents don't seem to give a darn about her. Before she can register what's happened, she's whisked off to her aunt's village, to somehow make some sort of life for herself...

But Sinda is still tied by the magical spell cast on her when she was a baby to the fate of the true princess. With the help of her old friend Keirnan, and magical gifts she never knew she had, she uncovers a plot to put yet another false princess on the throne. The mastermind behind this plot has already killed to make sure it happens, and is ready to kill again...

In short, it's an entertaining tale in which magic and intrigue are spiced with a nice dash of romance.

There are books that seem tailor-made for the 11 or 12 year old girl just beginning to make their way into YA fantasy--books that provide very gratifying wish fulfillment (Keirnan is more than just a friend, and Sinda discovers she has untapped magical powers), and which aren't Dark, even though bad things might happen. This is a book that I'd give in a second to a girl who loved Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine, or Brightly Woven, by Alexandra Bracken. I bet that girl would find this riveting.

Although I myself enjoyed Sinda's story, and found found the plot fascinating, I'm not that eleven year old girl anymore, and it wasn't quite a book that I fell in love with. Partly this is because the things I wanted more of (Sinda's life with her aunt, a dyer and weaver in a small village, and her subsequent apprenticeship with a very eccentric old magician) weren't that important to the story O'Neal wanted to tell, which is no fault of the book's. And partly this is because I felt the Bad Character was Badder than really necessary, which strained my credulity--this is also a matter of personal taste, I think!

But these things would not have mattered if I hadn't been vaguely dissatisfied with Sinda's character. Sinda, narrating the story, constantly shares what is going on inside her head, but despite knowing her thought-processes in detail, I was never entirely convinced by her. Although she does grow as a character, become stronger and more self-confident as the book progresses, I didn't quite find the bravery and determination the plot required her to show toward the end believable. And introspection and self-doubt are fine, but she takes it too far-- an interior monologue with eight unanswerable questions on just one page (ie, "Was the king alive or dead?") is perhaps a bit much (p 248).

That being said, I'm going to pass this one on to the young reader to whom I gave my review copy of Brightly Woven (also from Egmont). She loved it, and asked for more...The False Princess should hit the spot very nicely!

Here's a sampling of other opinions: Bookyurt, WORD for Teens, and the Book Pixie

(ARC received from the publisher)