The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, by David Kertzer

Thanks to this year's 48 Hour Reading Challenge (of which I have two hours left...) I have finally finished a book I have owned unread for about eight years, if not more-- The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, by David Kertzer (1997; a National Book Award Finalist). It's an outstanding example of social history, and was one of the most gripping books, including all the fiction I read, that I've encountered this year. I am now a much more educated person. So total win.

Here's the story: One evening in Bologna, in June of 1858 two officers of the Inquisition knocked on the door of Momolo Mortara, a Jewish businessman. They had come to take, by force if necessary, Mortara's son, little Edgardo. Unbeknownst to the Mortara family, a Catholic servant had baptized him some years before, transforming him into a Christian. As such, the six year old boy could not remain with his Jewish family, but must be raised as a Catholic.

The kidnapping of Edgardo launched a media firestorm, and became a cause célèbre. The mid 19th century was a tumultuous time for Italy--liberals pushed for unification of its desperate states and for constitutional government, and the Catholic church fought to preserve its absolute power over the Papal state (a considerable territory, surrounding Rome). Each side put their own spin on Edgardo's story, in a way very reminiscent of the media today--were Edgardo and his family victims of an enlightened, cruel institution that clung to the past, or was the Catholic church doing its duty in saving the soul of an innocent child, whose heart (according to their accounts) soon turned with love toward the Catholic faith?

Kertzer vividly brings to life the antisemitism of 19th-century Italy (who knew the Inquisition was still going strong, and that Blood Libel was still unquestioned by the many? Not me). Using direct quotes from historical sources extensively, he allows the protagonists in the drama to tell their own stories, guiding the reader through the maze of political and legal intrigue. The cast of characters ranges from the statesmen, rulers, and revolutionaries that I'd heard about (Garibaldi, Napoleon III, President Buchanan), to uneducated peasant girls whose court testimony gives them a voice.

Though I sometimes got a bit confused with all the mad welter of events of Italy's path toward unification, Kertzer kept coming back to Edgardo and his family enough so that the human interest of their story was never lost.

I was appalled, educated, and entertained (and have become determined to read more social history for grown ups).

But for now, back to science fiction and fantasy for the young.

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

Welcome to another week of what I found in my blog reading of interest to readers of middle grade fantasy and science fiction! Please let me know if I missed your link, and any publishers/publicists/authors out there who have seen reviews of their books that I missed, do feel free to send them my way! I'll take links at any time during the week--just email me at charlotteslibrary at gmail dot com.

The Reviews:

13 Hangmen, by Art Corriveau, at books4yourkids

Bad Island, by Doug TenNapel, at Books Beside My Bed

The Boneshaker, by Kate Milford, at The Book Smugglers

Broxo, by Zack Giallongo, at That Blog Belongs to Emily Brown

The Cabinet of Earths, by Anne Nesbet, at Books Beside My Bed

Children of Morrow, by H.M. Hoover, at Jen Robinson's Book Page

Deadweather and Sunrise (The Chronicles of Egg, book 1) by Geoff Rodkey, at Imagination in Focus

Down a Dark Hall, by Lois Duncan, at Jen Robinson's Book Page

The Dragon of Trelian, by Michelle Knudsen, at Kid Lit Geek

Earwig and the Witch, by Diana Wynne Jones, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen, at Stacked

The Game of Sunken Places, by M.T. Anderson, at Book Adventures

Giants Beware! by Rafael Rosado and Jorge Aguirre, at A Year of Reading

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, by Christopher Healy, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Horton's Miraculous Mechanisms, by Lissa Evans, at Book Aunt

Into the Land of Unicorns, by Bruce Coville, at Fantasy Literature

The Mapmaker and the Ghost, by Sarvenaz Tash, at Books Beside My Bed

The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate, at Sonderbooks

ParaNorman, by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel, at The Book on the Hill

The Princess Curse, by Merrie Haskell, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

The Rock of Ivanore, by Laurisa White Reyes, at The HappyNappyBookseller and Children's Atheneum

The Secret Spiral, by Gillian Neimark, at Cracking the Cover

The Serpent's Shadow, by Rick Riordan, at Book Nut, and (audio book) at Karissa's Reading Review

Super Zombie Juice Mega Bomb, by MJA Ware, at Geo Librarian

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin, at The Book Smugglers

The Wrath of Zozimos (Stickman Odyssey) by Christopher Ford, at Book Nut

Two at Time Travel Times Two--This Isn't What it Looks Like, by Pseudonynous Bosch, and Back to Before, by Jan Slepian.

And, at io9, a look at the two WondLa books, by Tony diTerlizzi.

(no authors and interview section this week--perhaps because of BEA?)

Other Good Stuff:

The unpublished prologue for Palace of Stone, by Shannon Hale, at squeetus

Hero vs Villain, by Sherwood Smith, at Book View Cafe (hear, hear, I say)

Katherine Langrish explores "The Perilous Seas of Fairyland" at Seven Miles of Steel Thistles

The Great Wide Sea, by M.H. Herlong

There I was about an hour ago, ready to launch back into reading for the 48 Reading Challenge after sundry distractions, when I realized to my dismay that I was downstairs, and all three books that I was in the middle of were upstairs. So of course I started a new book.

The Great Wide Sea, by M.H. Herlong (2008, Viking, YA, 288 pages), is the story of three boys and their father on a boat in the Bahamas. They are on the boat because the mother died in a car accident (sniff) and the father sold their house and decided to spend the year sailing in the Bahamas. But he didn't ask his sons how they felt about this.

Here's how they felt--the two younger ones (11 year old Dylan and 5 year old Gerry) were sad and unenthusiastic. The older boy, Ben (15), was furious.

And so there they are on the boat, with Ben hating his father, and his father being unhelpfully unsympathetic (being grief-stricken), and little Gerry missing his mama so badly (sniff), and then one day the father is no longer on the boat. He has gone overboard. Almost immediately after that, a storm drives the boat onto a deserted island. The boys manage to survive for a time, but when Dylan is terribly injured, Ben must make a horrible decision...

The emotions of the characters throughout the whole book were pulled just as tautly as they could be--stuck on the boat together, they had no way to escape from each other, so there was no chance of distance bringing diffusion. Ben's feelings of hatred toward his father, and his father's inability to put his own grief to the side to cope with it, made for painful reading, but not (since of course I am a mama to my own boys) as painful as poor sad Gerry and his blankie... I wept.

Even though plot type stuff happens (father overboard, shipwrecked on desert island, terrible accident), it happens mostly in the second half of the book, so this isn't an Action Packed survival adventure, which is what I had been expecting. Instead, it is character driven all the way, even when the disasters are being dealt with. I was utterly engrossed (read it in a single sitting in under an hour type engrossed), but I don't think I'll be reading it again. The emotions of Ben and his family were too painfully real for me to want to revisit it...(and I would have liked more soothing "everything is ok now" at the ending...)

The Blue Cat of Castle Town, by Catherine Cate Coblentz

A while back I made a list of fantasy cat books for kids, and an anonymous commenter enthusiastically recommended one I'd never heard of -- The Blue Cat of Castle Town, by Catherine Cate Coblentz (1949--a Newbery Honor book the following year). So I requested it from the library forthwith.

The story of the titular blue cat begins when he is just a little blue kitten, born under blue moon long ago in a meadow by a river in Vermont. His anxious mother knows that blue kittens can hear the song of the river, and follow that song to strange fates. But despite her efforts, the kitten hears. The song praises the power of the individual to create beauty--"all that is doing, do well"-- and the river sends blue kitten on a quest to Castle Town, to sing that song to the people there who might have ears to hear. There is one man in Castle Town, though, that the river warns blue kitten against--Arunah Hyde, whose own song is all about moving quickly through the world racking up more and more money and power...

And so the kitten sets off. He finds in Castle Town that the songs of its great artisans have been stifled by Arunah's distorted priorities, but with his purring, encourages a pewter smith, a weaver, and a carpenter to create beauty. Arunah almost gets a hold of him, but the kitten (now a cat) escapes. His hardest task of all, though, is to bring the river's song to a girl who thinks she's ugly and unloved and worthless, encouraging her to create one of the most beautiful works of art in the whole town...a beautiful embroidered carpet.

The Blue Cat of Castle Town is a magical fable, with a beautiful message (and lots of nice descriptions of artisans at work!). I imagine that if idealistic, self-consciously pious (from time to time) little me had picked up this book I would have loved it, and striven to live up to its moral.

Even now that I am Hardened and Cynical, I still can feel its pull...and I want to go out myself and create something of lovely wonderfulness...(well, actually right this minute, I want to go get my last potatoes planted, but gardens count somewhat, even though no one I know has ever looked at some potato plants and been hit over the head by their stunning beauty). That being said, as a grown-up, I felt that the Message trumped the story to such an extent that I don't think I'll be re-reading it, though it will most certainly linger vividly in my mind!

I will offer it to my nine year old, who is reading cat books at the moment. He will love the beginning cute little kitten part, but I am not entirely certain he will appreciate the fable aspect...

The best part of the book, I think, is that the stories of these craftsmen are based on real people, who actually made the things described. The book was inspired by a trip the author took to Castleton, Vermont, where she heard of this rug, now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the blue cat is down at the bottom):


And she visited the Castleton church, and saw the famous pulpit (which I can't find a picture of, which I find hard to believe, and so I am now planning to go there myself (it's 3 hours and 49 minutes away) and take one....). I looked for a nice example of the pewter by the craftsman in the book--Ebenezer Southmayd--and (somewhat ironically, but not surprisingly) found that it is indeed lovey, and really, really expensive!

Here's the full text of the song of the river (page 16)
"Sing your own song, said the river,
"Sing your own song.
"Out of yesterday song comes.
It goes into tomorrow,
Sing your own song.
"With your life fashion beauty,
This too is the song.
Riches will pass and power. Beauty remains.
Sing your own song."
"All that is worth doing, do well, said the river. Sing your own song.
Certain and round be the measure,
Every line be graceful and true.
Time is the mold, time the weaver, the carver,
Time and the workman together,
Sing your own song.
"Sing well, said the river. Sing well."

And if anyone wants to sew their own little bit of this rug, there are kits...

Seventh annual 48 Hour Reading Challenge!!!!

I've officially started my 48 hours of reading as of 6:15 pm when I arrived at my bus stop and cracked open my first book....Here is my stack (making my stack is always one of my favorite parts of the whole challenge. Beginnings are always so full of promise and frisking optimism....

I like looking at other people's stacks too. Not that I'm competitive or anything (la la la), but it's fun to see what other people are reading!

I do think mine is aesthetically pleasing, although I take points off myself for having some upside-down books (and I think it's bad form to have a book with no title on the cover--that tapestry-esque one in my pile is a book called The Broken Thread, for those who were wondering).

Here's what I'd like to see--a gallery of before and after pile pictures. In my after picture, the petals of the rose will have fallen onto the remaining books, lending a tired, gentle melancholy to the whole ensemble.

This year I'll be contributing to Reading is Fundamental, as requested by Mother Reader--either one dollar per book, or one dollar per hour, whichever is greater.

Do join the fun, even if you can't (like me) promise to spend all that much time reading! It's a lovely way to feel all comradely in our reading.

Forsaken, by Katherine Langrish

Just sneaking in one quick review before I plunge into the 48 hour reading challenge...

I am an avid reader both of Katherine Langrish's books (such as The Shadow Hunt), and her blog, Seven Miles of Steel Thistles (which is a rich feast for fairy tale lovers). So when I saw that she had a new book out in 2011--Forsaken--, which is a retelling of Matthew Arnold's poem, The Forsaken Merman (which is sad and lovely) I added it to my mental tbr list...and on impulse, I ordered if from the Book Depository last month (cause it's not out in the US). And it came, and I read it, and found it good. But I am not the intended audience, and so this one isn't one I can evaluate on the basis of whether or not it worked for me.

Forsaken is part of the Rivets series, from publisher Franklin Watts. These are books that are "Perfect for readers who want to enjoy a book by a bestselling author, but who lack the stamina for a full-length novel," with a reading age of 8-9 years, and an interest range of 8-14 years. What we would call in the US "high-low." It's a really, really hard category of book for me to review--I'm not lacking in reading stamina myself, and I'm not an educator of struggling readers. So as an individual, such books will never be best beloved to me (because of being too short!), and I have to make a slight effort to judge them on whether or not they succeed in telling a compelling story in a condensed, clear, manner.

On to the book.

Forsaken tells of the daughter of the Mer King and the human woman who gave up the land to live with him beneath the sea. This woman is unique among the merfolk, not just because she has legs, but because she has an immortal soul. Though she loves her husband and children, one day the call of the church becomes to strong for her to bear, and she returns to land. It was to be just a holiday...but she doesn't return.

And her baby is crying and starving, and her ten-year old daughter, Mara, cannot stand it. So she goes in search of her mother, up the noxious river, onto dry land, and into the church itself. It is a painful journey

"Hand over hand I pulled myself uphill, digging my elbows into the sharp white gravel. My fingers bled and my eyes filled with stinging grey dust. My delicate tail fins became tattered and curled" (page 27).

And so Mara's mother is faced with a choice--does she jeopardize her soul, and return to the sea, or deny her family, and stay on land?

It is a tightly told little story with a big emontional punch. Mara is a forthright narrator, and her pain comes through clearly. The conflict facing Mara's mother is likewise addressed directly. It's rare to see a character in a fantasy book for younger readers confronting a fundamental religious dilemma, and those who believe in a loving God will appreciate her final choice.

So there's the story, and the question is--does this succeed in being one that will hold the interest of a reader up to fourteen years old? I think, for the most part, that it would--it's thought-provoking and compelling, and it's easy to empathize with Mara's painful journey onto dry land. My one reservation is that Mara is only ten years old, which I think would off-put readers older than that. However, I'd give this one in a heartbeat to the seven or eight year old girl who isn't ready as a reader for the long tomes that comprise much of today's middle grade fantasy--the girl who's ready to be challenged by a story, but doesn't quite have the stamina (to use the publisher's word, and why not), for the longer books.

So I'm not at all sorry to have bought it, even though it only took me ten minutes (possibly less) to read it. But I'd really like Katherine Langrish to write another book for me....

Here's another review, at Awfully Big Reviews

Preping for the 48 Hour Reading Challenge...with bonus pictures of my (former) book bathtub

So this weekend is Mother Reader's annual 48 Hour Reading Challenge, which I look on as a much needed push to get books out of the tbr clusters and into permanent homes, be those homes the library book sale, the library shelves, or hard-won real estate on my own shelves....I am glad that this falls during the warmer months, because I can use the woodstove as my display area:

(Isn't the puffin nice? My older son made it in art this year, and I feel that it has a lot of personality.)

My pile is a carefully chosen mix of library books, review copies, and tbr pile books, with a bit of non-fiction livening up the sci fi/fantasy. It would be awfully nice if they all proved to be gripping fast reads, or, failing that, books whose first ten pages will let me know that I don't want to read anymore.

(The pink rose is from our thriving rose bush of unfortunate pinkness, that bloomed even more prolifically and pinkly this year. The rose bush of beautiful redness would require a ladder if I wished to pick beautiful red roses.)

There are many books that could be on this pile but aren't. For instance, there are all the books that were in the downstairs bathtub:


The family that owned our house before us didn't let little things like walls stop them from installing this bathtub in what was once the pantry--it stuck out half a foot into the dining room, inside a cupboard-like structure. Their towel cupboard stuck out a good foot, built in the space where the door used to be, blocking the way from the dinning room to the kitchen. So in any event, there was this bathtub, not being used, and of course I put books in it and all was well (?).

However, all good things come to an end. We are going to add on a new downstairs bathroom at some point, but first we are demolishing this one, and the tub is now just a memory. The demolition in progress:

(If you look closely you can see the original dining room wall paper (large leaves on a raspberry background). I assumed at first it was Victorian, but now, after having done a quick bit of research, I'm thinking perhaps 194os. Regardless, we aren't going to try to find it again).

Happily, it being summer, the woodrack inside was empty, so:

But this is clearly a temporary solution, and only a third of the books fit, and the rest are on the floor of the hall. Of course, once the dinning room and ex-bathroom walls are rebuilt (and why, I ask myself, has our nice contractor not contacted us for weeks?), there will be, for a while, all that lovely ex-bathroom space where the washer and dryer will go eventually, but for the moment, I clearly just need to read. 48 hours will help, but it is never enough....

An introvert went to BEA (final BEA post before launching into a mad whirl of reading and reviewing)

I am home, and aching more than some what--I cleverly (?) and deliberately self-sabotaged myself at BEA this year by not bringing a suitcase with wheels, so that I would only take books that I really truly wanted. There were thirty seven of them--one more would have made it intolerable to stagger from the bus to the train--and so I am happy on that count.

My final tip for introverts at BEA is to go for a second year! It is so much more comfortable to be in a familiar setting, and though my spot outside where I could be alone was off-limits due to construction, I found a nice secluded doorstep that I had all to myself. Knowing what you are doing, in a purely practical, physical sense, makes any situation easier for an introvert, and, you know, probably for extroverts too! (Waves to extroverts).

My confidence as a blogger increases every year, and I engaged in several meaningful and interesting conversations with not only fellow bloggers and line-mates, but with publishers, which was pleasing.

It was lovely seeing all of you who I saw, though I am sad that there were people I didn't see who I wanted to.

I saw no signs of bloggers behaving badly this year, perhaps because there weren't that many piles of arcs! Every line that I was in behaved well, and the only person I saw doing something naughty was a quite old man, not a blogger, who jumped with surprising nimble-ness over one of the chains that had closed off a signing line.

Here is a useful thing that I learned at the Book Blogger Convention that I will apply to my blogging:

When tweeting a review, tweet at the publisher. There's a good chance your tweet might be picked up by them, increasing your review's reach, and it's a nice way to make sure the publisher knows about it (especially if you don't have an email address for them that you are confident about).

The question then becomes--is there a Master List of publishers and their myriad imprints with twitter handles???? If so, could I get it?

And here's the book that made my children happiest: Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers (coming August 2012), which was the last book I took, as I passed the Scholastic booth on my way out the door:


And here's the book that I had never heard of before that I was happiest to get an ARC of--Passion Blue, by Victoria Strauss (November 2012, from Amazon Children's Publishing). Here's the blurb:

"When seventeen-year-old Giulia, the orphaned, illegitimate daughter of a Milanese nobleman, learns she’s to be packed off to a life behind convent walls, she begs an astrologer-sorcerer for a talisman that will secure what she’s certain is her heart’s desire: true love and a place where she belongs. But does she really know the compass of her heart? The convent of Santa Marta is full of surprises, including a workshop of nuns who are creating paintings of astonishing beauty using a luminous blue mixed from a secret formula: Passion Blue. As Giulia’s own artistic self is awakened she’s torn: should she follow the young man who promises to help her escape? Or stay and satisfy her growing desire to paint?"


And on the back there is this: "A lovely read." -- Megan Whalen Turner. If MWT told me a Captian Underpants book was a lovey read, I'd believe her.

Did you know that the Marshall Cavendish line of books has metamorphosed into Amazon Children's Publishing? I didn't. So there, along with forthcoming books, were old friends like Chalk, and Amazon books like Zetta Elliott's A Wish After Midnight, and the Cybil's first shortlisted self-published book, available first only as an ebook, but now "officially" published --Angelfall, by Susan Ee.

Whoever is doing their covers is doing a bang up job!

Deep Thoughts From Bea (not really)

Don't you just hate days when you wake up and realize that you are going to fail your children? You'll notice that I am not in line outside the Javits Center, waiting in line for a ticket to see John Green so that I can get his autograph for my boys. I also kind of liked the look of the Good King Wenceslas advent calender that was being given away at a ticketed signing (Christmas is just around the corner)...but not enough to drag my weary self out of the house just yet. (I only had one (generous) cocktail at Little Brown's lovely party last night, so it can't be that.....).

I have noticed no bloggers behaving in anyway other than pleasant attendees. The only person I saw behaving badly was an older man who was not a blogger jumping nimbly over the white chain that had closed a signing.

I found one of the books I really wanted discarded in the mail room--What Came from the Stars, by Gary Schmidt. The nice person at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt had looked for one for me, but didn't have one....so it was rather pleasing to encounter it, sad and abandoned, and give it a good home.

I have been, however, very good about not ending up with books I won't read. Since I self-sabotaged myself on purpose by not bringing a wheeled suitcase, I can only take what I can get from the Javits Center to Penn Station.....

Greetings from New York

Of course I meant to have reviews scheduled for the days I was at BEA, but although I successfully did almost everything on my pre-BEA task list (see the bottom of this post) this didn't happen. Oh well.


What did happen is that I went to the Book Blogger Convention at BEA. I count it a success, because I chatted to almost all of the people on my list of people to see that would be there: Sheila, and Angie, and Cecelia, and Cat, and Maggie, and Janicu, and said hi to a few more people I hope to see more of later, and hope to see more today.

Viz the conference: I think that blogger conferences are almost at the point when they need to break it up by experience--to have a track for people new to blogging, and a track for those of use who no longer need to hear "You don't have to review every book you get." So although it was not unenjoyable, I didn't actually learn much.

That being said, I would have been happy to listen to the lawyer talking about libel for longer. He involved us in his presentation--we got to vote on what we considered potentially actionable language from real book reviews. Basically, don't say things that aren't true as if they were statements of fact. Fine: It appears as though this author has not completed elementary school. Not fine: The author is a fascist (if there is no factual evidence the author is). Since I rarely make bold, declarative statements, I think I am safe. But it is good to know that there is an organization called Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, who might be able to help if I did get a threatening letter....

Then I went to an event at Scholastic, in which eight great writers with books coming out late summer/fall performed extracts from their books in ensembles of four. All did a great job, but perhaps most memorable was James Dashner, channeling Downton Abbey in his role as Maggie Stiefvater's malevolent aunt, in a scene from Sharon Cameron's The Dark Unwinding... Thank you, Scolastic and the authors involved, for a great evening!

And today, the exhibit floor and another wild evening of publisher fun...

The June 3 round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy posts from around the blogs

Welcome to another round-up of the middle grade sci fi/fantasy posts I found in my weekly blog reading! Let me know if I missed yours!

The Reviews

Albrek's Tomb (Adventures Wanted #3), by M.L. Forman, at The Write Path

At the Firefly Gate, by Linda Newbery, at Charlotte's Library

Battle of the Zombies, by The Beastly Boys, at Back to Books

Castle in the Air, by Diana Wynne Jones, at HumbleIndigo

The Council of Mirrors, by Michael Buckley, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Dandelion Fire, by N.D. Wilson, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

The Door in the Forest, by Roderick Townley, at Bibliophile Support Group

Dragon Castle, by Joseph Bruchac, a joint review at Maria's Melange and The Brain Lair

Earwig and the Witch, by Diana Wynne Jones, at Reads for Keeps

The Emerald Tablet, by P.J. Hoover, at Raising Boys World

Eye of the Storm, by Kate Messner, at The Reading Zone

The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen, at Beyond Books and To Read or Not To Read

Liesl and Po, by Lauren Oliver, at Thoughts of an Endless Dreamer

The Ninnies, by Paul Magrs, at The British Fantasy Society

Ordinary Magic, by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway, at A Backwards Story, Charlotte's Library, and My Precious

The Paradise Trap, by Katherine Jinks, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Serpent's Shadow, by Rick Riordan, at The Write Path

Song, by Jason Lethcoe, at HumbleIndigo

The Unseen Guest, by Maryrose Wood, at A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea-Cozy and Sharon the Librarian

A two for one at Ms. Yingling Reads-- Zac and the Dream Stealers, by Ross MacKenzie, and The Color of Bones, by Tracy Edward Wymer.

Authors and Interviews

Jennifer E. Smith (The Storm Makers) at There's a Book

Caitlen Rubino-Bradway (Ordinary Magic) at A Backwards Story

Derek the Ghost (Scary School) at The Book Pixie

Anne Ursu (Breadcrumbs) at Novel Novice

A character interview with the princes from A Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, at Small Review

Other Good (?) Stuff

Harry Potter, Seriously--at Nine Kinds of Pie

Question: can you think of any mg sff titles that are quotations from famous poems? At Tor, there's a post that plays one of my favorite type cocktail party games--how many spec fic titles come from Blake’s “The Tyger” and how many from Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress.”

Another interesting question--Would a unicorn be qualified to be president? Some people think not...and have raised questions about what exactly is hiding beneath Mitt Romney's hair... (I myself think that just because someone might have a horn doesn't mean they shouldn't be president. And have now spent far too long trying to imagine a unicorn wanting to be president).

And now, before I go off to BEA on a 4:30 bus, I must
a. dig up and pot lots of plants from the garden as a present for my son's teacher who has a new house with no plants in the garden yet
b. go to Staples to print out and mount two posters for a public meeting on underwater archaeology at one o'clock this afternoon
c. attend said meeting, and give a brief talk (mercifully already written)
d. write a blog post for Monday
e. plant tomatoes and potatoes (I am awfully late on planting this year)
f. go to the bank

If you are going to BEA, and might want to say hi, this is what I look like (give or take a cat and a blanket):

Haunted Waters, by Mary Pope Osborne

So there I was browsing in my local used book store with about forty dollars of trade-in credit to spend, and I saw on the shelf a signed first edition copy of Haunted Waters, by Mary Pope Osborne (Candlewick, 1994, YA, 153 pages), a retelling of the story of Undine. My eyes lit up, and I pounced on it....because I WAS CONFUSED. I though this was a rare book by Elizabeth Marie Pope (author of The Perilous Gard), and I was ever so so happy...

Still not knowing what I had done, I began reading. Right at the beginning, in a short prologue, we are told that the sea king has delivered his niece to a human family, to liven up the merfolk gene pool. So when a medieval knight, lost in a demonic wood, meets an improbable fisherfolk family--kind old man, insane old woman, and beautiful but mysterious girl who swims really well--we can guess who this girl is! Especially since her name is Undine.

A storm of supernatural strength kicks up, forcing the knight to stay with the fisher family. For no good reason (other than animal attraction) he falls for Undine (since she is virtually monosyllabic it can't be for her wits, although in fairness, since she's apparently never seen another person in her whole life (evil demonic spirits don't count) she hasn't had much chance to develop that part of her personality). The Undine falls for him too (for even less clear a reason--she was getting tired of swimming all day, I guess, and having demonic spirits looking through the windows), and a handy priest washes ashore who marries them.

The knight, however, hasn't thought things through all that well viz the demons that lurk around the girl and her general mysteriousness, and she hasn't thought things out either (although how would she know that not everyone likes swimming as much as she does? But still I would have liked her to be a tad more aggressive in trying to find out answers, instead of being all mysterious and inarticulate) and things don't go well.

And as I read all this, I kept waiting for the fine writing of Elizabeth Marie Pope--for the characters to leap of the page and become people I cared about, and it didn't come. Instead I got what felt like overly careful writing, and overly conscious story-telling, all from the point of view of Lord Huldbrand, who never became a particularly sympathetic character. Here's a random example of the prose style:

"Lonely music wafted from a shepherd's flute. I looked back at Undine. She clutched her shawl and stared at the barley field. Did the rippling silver-gold grain remind her of her ocean waves? Was she yearning for the sound of the fisherman's pipe? For a terrible moment, I regretted having stolen her from her old life.

Then the fisherman's words came back to me. He had begged me to take Undine far away from the inhuman force haunting their shore. Revived by the memory of his charge, I began leading my horse through the swelling fields." (page 56)

In a nutshell, it's a doomed relationship: Huldbrand needs to talk to Undine more than he does; she needs to try to answer him.

In a second nutshell, it's all very medieval fantasy Gothic, but without enough emotional heft behind the gothic-ness to make it work for me.

In a third nutshell, I wish it had been an Elizabeth Marie Pope book instead.

But yet I was interested enough to want to see how the story played out, and I read the book in a single sitting (it's short). So if you have patience with narration that is unrelentingly Narrated, and if you like retellings, especially those with Dark Mysteries at their core (which unfortunately aren't mysteries to any reader who's read the prologue), you may well enjoy this one more than I did.

For anyone put off by the cover, on which Undine looks like she's having a shower, Candlewick released a new edition in 1996, with a different, and much more beautiful cover, that looks like the sort of handsome book that one might like just for the handsomeness of it...

The paperback cover, however, goes off in a different direction entirely--not one I particularly care for.

How to leave home (to go to BEA) if you are an introvert

I was very happy to see that my post of tips for introverts attending Book Expo America was pleasing! Today, the day before I leave for New York, I thought that I would write a post about the introvert's perspective on leaving home to go to BEA, and how to make this a happier thing. This one is, even more so than the first, written for my own peace of mind, because I found it soothing (although I am not entirely sure how tongue in cheek I am being).

From my own experience, it's very easy to happily sign up to go to large exciting events (like BEA), but then, as the day approaches on which you will actually leave home, it becomes all too clear that it was Bad Idea. The safety and comfort of home is never so dear to the introvert as it is on the day before she has to leave it, especially if she is going somewhere new and strange filled with lots of people.

But a stressed introvert is one who is burning through her precious emotional reserves before she even leaves home. This is not good.

Issue #1: Denial

-- The introvert might expend great quantities of energy in a desperate attempt to deny the fact that she is actually going away the next day.

Relax. Tempting though it might be, don't try to start a major renovation project in your house. It will still be there when you come back. Instead of deciding that you must clean out the insides of your cupboards, either do soothing tasks--like dusting your books, which will bring back happy memories, and remind you of why you are going to BEA in the first place, or do tasks that provide quick gratification--tidy up the place next to the door where the mail gets dumped.

-- if you are both a procrastinator and an introvert, you might also put off packing, because once you've packed, you no longer have days and days in which to quietly putter around your house and it is Undeniable that you really are leaving home.

Don't fall into this trap, tempting though it is. Allow the process of packing to soothe you by focusing on the really interesting question of what book you will take to read on the bus/train/plane that will a. hold your interest satisfactorily b. be one you will not mind leaving behind once you get there.

Don't look on packing clothes as something tedious. Introverts sometimes worry that no one will care about them. Demonstrate to yourself that you, at least, care, by taking the time to make sure that you are not packing one of the (many) black tee shirts that has white paint paint on it. Important: Find your party shoes today, not half an hour before you need to leave. If you are an introvert, you might not have worn your party shoes for a year or so, and you may well have no clue where you carefully put them (the top shelves of the closets all have books on them, so at least I know where not to look). Once you have managed to find them successfully (d.v.), you will have a boost of self-esteem.

Issue #2-- Social Anxiety

You may well be fretting about socializing, and you may well be utterly sick of fretting about socializing, and be finding it all very tedious. So stop. Now.

--make a list today of the people that you know already who will be there, and who you are really pretty sure will be glad to see you. Email these people today, if you haven't already (I've actually done this!). Get their cell phone numbers (if you are me, consider going out to actually buy a cell phone today). Even if this list has only two people on it, you now have something tangible with which to bolster your social courage.

--remember that you are going because there are people you have been wanting to meet in real life for ages! It might help to find pictures of these people, so that you can get some sense of what they look like--you can then start to imagine talking to them, and you might be able to recognize them.

--tell yourself to just grow up and get over it. Adopting this sort of tough persona is useful not just mentally, but physically--if you hold yourself in a confident way, you will actually feel more confident. And if you are thinking hard about your posture, you will have less room in your head for other, more weakening, thoughts.

--stop over thinking it all, for crying out loud, and just go have fun!

sigh (although I do actually feel better now myself, which is all to the good!)

An introvert's guide to having a good time at BEA

I am going to BEA, and the book blogger convention, and two night time book events. And I am anxious.

Not because of being shy--there will be lots of people there who I already know and can't wait to see again, plus blogging friends who I can't wait to meet in real life!

But I am anxious because I am an introvert, and I wilt easily in a hothouse environment of excitement and gaiety and noise and chatter. So I thought that, in case there were others of the introvert persuasion who were similarly anxious, I would offer some advice, based on my experiences last year (and encourage myself, in the process!).

General Advice:

Yes, you are going to want to meet people and talk to people. But you do not have to talk to everyone! It is much less tiring to have a few in depth conversations than many excited ones.

It is not a competition. You do not have to prove anything to others. You are going because you love books, and love talking to people about books. Allow yourself to enjoy that, without fretting about what other people are thinking about you! Chances are, they aren't, anyway. They are probably thinking about books.

Drink lots of water. Finding water fountains and spending time drinking can give pointfulness to idle minutes during which you might feel that you aren't Doing Enough.

On the exhibit floor:

--when you are on the exhibit floor, don't spend all your energy being diffident at the big and busy publishing booths, where folks are trying to talk to lots of people. Seek out the smaller, though equally interesting, publishers. Last year, my best publisher conversation was at the Kane Miller booth--nicely one on one.

--If you want to get some conversation with larger publishers, or publishers you don't know about, find an extroverted friend who will do the ice-breaking. I had a nice few hours last year riding the coat-tales of Pam, aka Mother Reader.

--it can be hard for the introvert to initiate a conversation. In the heat of the moment, the introvert might nervously find herself saying "I blog about middle grade science and fiction and fantasy what books do you have coming out are there arcs I can have." This is Bad, and will not happen to me this year! Instead, I will be Prepared! I will have a little cheat sheet for each publisher, so that I can say, "Oh, I really enjoyed book x. And I'm really looking forward to book y." This will be both honest, and pleasingly friendly.

--lines are the introvert's friend. There is a peacefulness to just sitting there, waiting for a signing to begin. You may, if you wish, chat in an idle way with line-mates, but it is not necessary. Do not waste physic energy being vaguely jealous of groups of people who all know each other and who are sitting in a closed circle laughing and chatting! You will have plenty of opportunities to socialize; take advantage of the peace of queueing to regroup.

--you do not have to spend every moment of your life on the exhibit floor or in the cafe, talking and networking and being excited! The Javits center does not offer much in the way of restful retreats--I explored it pretty well last year, looking for one. But I did snatch some down time all by myself sitting outside around the corner from where the buses come, just having a little snack and enjoying the sun. Totally unscenic, but calming (although you will look pretty eccentric sitting all by yourself on the curb). There are also conference rooms off to the left of the exhibit hall. Some will be in use, but others will be empty. Use these empty rooms as a place to sit and look at the books you've acquired, and, as you gradually feel more peaceful, you'll be better able to make sane decisions about whether or not to keep them.

Off the exhibit floor

The introvert might feel that everyone else already has friends they want to talk to, and may be anxious that no one wants to talk to her. Let's just assume, for the sake of peace of mind, that this is false. There will be people who will be too busy with others to talk to you, but that is not your problem. Look for those standing on the outskirts. Say hi. They will either be friendly, or, if they are hostile, not worth talking to anyway.

If you are going to an after hours event, be aware that you might not have much energy to throw yourself into a wild and noisy fray. Allow yourself to be a spectator. There is nothing wrong with spectating. (Dark, comfortable clothes can give a sense of security when spectating, although they should be livened with sparkling accessories to show that you are a scintillating person once approached).

Although it might be tempting, I suggest not taking a break from humanity during the hour or so you may have on your hands between the daytime events and the evening events--the danger in doing this is that you might completely run out of steam and just want to go home before the evening event gets going (and then you will kick yourself). Instead, I'd advise (and hope I'll be able to take my own advice) finding a few safe friends (ie, ones you can just be yourself with), and maybe finding a peaceful cafe (if such a thing exists in Manhattan) where you can hear yourselves talk.

When you are tired of being at the evening events, which will probably be before others are, congratulate yourself for having gone, and leave.

In conclusion, remember the words of Eeyore: "We can't all, and some of us don't." And it's just the way we are, and we can still have a good time.

(here is Part II--How to leave home (and go to BEA) if you are an introvert)

Ordinary Magic, by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

The story of Abby Hale, the hero of Ordinary Magic (Bloomsbury, May 8, 2012, middle grade) by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway, is, in one significant respect, the opposite of Harry Potter's story. Harry, of course, finds out that he's a wizard, and is sent off to a magical boarding school. Abby, on the other hand, has grown up in a world full of magic, and is confident that when she is tested (as all 12 year olds are), she will be proven to be a magic user like all the rest of her family.

But Abby fails the test. She is a despised "ord," and to many people, ords are less than human. Ordinary children are shunned as if they were contagious, not welcome in school, discarded by their families. An ord's only use is to be used as a tool by adventurers on magical quests--spells that would zap a magic user to bits have no effect on ords; unfortunately for the ords, however, there are many other dangers on such quests that do prove almost inevitably fatal. So ords are valuable possessions, very much in demand, and Abby's family could have sold her off for a considerable chunk of change.

But Abby's family refuses to abandon her to such a fate. Instead, her oldest sister, an incredibly powerful magic user who is a confidant of the king, arranges for Abby to attend a special boarding school--one for ordinary kids. The primary point of the school is not to educate the children (although there is that) but to keep them safe, and teach them to defend themselves. Not only are adventurers eager to kidnap them, but supernatural creatures see ords as easy prey....as Abby and her new friends learn to their horror, when the defenses of their school are breached.

It's a very fun twist of the standard magical kid tropes. Abby is a likable main character, and the school and the dangers that beset its students make for truly entertaining reading. The world-building is done well, I thought, with all the magical-ness dropped into the story in a pleasantly casual way, with no awkward information dumping.

Perhaps more could have been made of Abby's feelings about being ordinary--only passing mention is made of what is surely a more traumatic experience for both Abby and her family, and so there's not a lot of emotional punch to it. But the plight of the ords in general--pariahs and possessions--added depth to the story. Though the grown-up reader might have to work a bit to suspend disbelief about the premise of kids being cast aside, I think the target audience won't have this trouble. And I think the whole idea of shunned children is one that has a visceral appeal to the anxious young. That being said, the fact that Abby's own family continues to be loving and supportive lessens the trauma, so sensitive young readers shouldn't be too distressed!

I'm looking forward to the next book--especially because I'm more than somewhat interested in the hints of romance viz Abby's big sister!

At the Firefly Gate, by Linda Newbery, for Timeslip Tuesday

Most time travel stories take a person back, or forward--they are still themselves. More rarely, the central character becomes part of someone else's life, thinking that person's thoughts, seeing what that person saw. At the Firefly Gate (2004) by Linda Newbery, uses that later sort of time travel, and mixes it, very gently, with a bit of ghost story.

Young Henry is cross at the world, but in particular with the parents who moved him from his happy life in London off to a village cottage in Suffolk--the summer ahead seems lonely and pointless. But although Grace, the slightly older girl next door, lives up to his expectations and is hostile, Henry's first weeks in his new home are not at all what he expected. There's Grace's old aunt, Dotty, slowly dying but full of life. There are friendly kids in the village, who take Henry into their world.

And then there is the man who stand by the gate outside Henry's house in the late evening, smoking, and waiting...while all around him flash the lights of fireflies (and the author actually does make clear that these are glow-worms, this being England, just in case you were worried about that point).

Henry feels drawn to this mysterious man, who no one else seems to see. And stranger still is that, from time to time, Henry finds himself briefly living bits that man's memories....of life as a young man in the air force, in World War II.

In the garden next door, Dotty still wonders what happens to the Henry she lost long ago, when his plane never came home. The modern day Henry's memories of the past hold the answer, if he can bring himself to talk to her about what he has seen.

And by the fire fly gate, the other Henry is waiting...

I first read about this one over at The Children's War, where you can find a more detailed synopsis, if you are so inclined. I heartily agree with what Alex says about this one--that the main characters, Henry, Grace, and Dotty, are believable individuals, who, more to the point as far as my reading pleasure is concerned, I found likable and interesting (even prickly Grace!). And it was just simply nice to read about a moving, unforced and unpreachy friendship between a boy and an old woman.

The timeslipiness and ghost-ness added just the right amount of poignant magic, and if I never was that much the wiser for why Henry in the present was able to channel Henry from the past, I didn't care.

So all in all, a very satisfying mix of the mundane life of kids in an English village with memories and mysteries from World War II. Strongly recommended to people who like the same books I like,* who will find it pleasantly diverting.

*which is totally different from recommending a book to all and sundry. This is why I dislike giving stars--this one, for instance, I feel is a solid 4.3381 (I thought about that number for a long time; it is not meant to be funny) on the scale of my personal taste, but yet I hesitate to press it wildly and extravagantly into the hands of all comers, because it is driven by character and emotion, with not much that happens, and it has a dream-like quality that some might find chaffing (and Henry's blossoming social life would be hard for a cynic to swallow). In short, it's all very Difficult, this reviewing thing.

But I'm glad that Alex recommended it strongly enough so that I picked it up.

Another week's worth of middle grade sci fi/fantasy postings from around the blogs

Welcome to this week's roundup of posts relating to middle grade fantasy and sci fi that I found in my blog reading; please send me your link, or leave it in the comments, if I missed it!

Sad news, first. Peter D. Sieruta, who wrote the incomparable blog, Collecting Children's Books, has died. This is just really a sad, huge loss for the world of children's books, and of course my heart goes out to his family, and real life friends. I myself never had the pleasure of meeting Peter, but knowing that he was in the world, able to share his vast knowledge of children's books at the drop of the hat, was a great thing. Jules of Seven Impossible Things has more.

The Reviews

Always Neverland, by Zoe Barton, at A Room With Books

Amulet: The Last Council, by Kazu Kibuishi, at Book Nut

Bigger Than a Breadbox, by Laurel Snyder, at Library Mama

The Boggart, by Susan Cooper, at Book-a-Day Almanac

Deadly Pink, by Vivien Vande Velde, at Book Aunt

Giants Beware! by Rafael Rosado and Jorge Aguirre, at Library Mama and Wandering Librarians

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Catherynne M. Valente, at Slatebreakers

The Girl Who Owned a City, by O.T. Nelson, at Wandering Librarians

A Greyhound of a Girl, by Roddy Doyle, at Waking Brain Cells

Grimalkin, the Witch Assassin (The Last Apprentice), by Joseph Delaney, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Gustav Gloom and the People Taker, by Adam-Troy Castro, at Shannon Messenger

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, by Christopher Healy, at books4yourkids and Random Musings of a Bibliphile

Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms, by Lissa Evans, at books4yourkids

Knight's Castle, by Edward Eager, at Hope is the Word

Lawn Mower Magic, by Lynne Jonell, at Secrets & Sharing Soda

The Mapmaker and the Ghost, by Sarvenaz Tash, at Bookworm1856

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny-Detectives Extraordinaire, by Polly Horvath, at Oops...Wrong Cookie

Once Upon a Toad, by Heather Vogel Frederick, at Book Aunt

Ordinary Magic, by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway, at Small Review and at Book Aunt

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, by Jonathan Auxier, at Parenthetical

Phoebe Alleyn and the Quantum Sorcerer, by S.P. Brown, at Nayu's Reading Corner

The Prince Who Fell From the Sky, by John Claude Bemis, at My Precious and Bunbury in the Stacks

Remarkable, by Lizzie K. Foley, at Charlotte's Library

The Rifts of Rime, by Steven Peck, at The Write Path

Searching for Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede, at Book Nut

Seeds of Rebellion, by Brandon Mull, at One Librarian's Book Reviews

Spaceheadz, by Jon Scieszka, at Wondrous Reads

Snivel, by Dale E. Basye, at Back to Books

Storybound, by Marissa Burt, at Carina's Books

The Wizard of Dark Street, by Shawn Thomas Odyssey, at Sonderbooks

A two for one, at Candace's Book Blog--The Thief Lord and The Magician's Elephant

Authors and Interviews

Marissa Burt (Storybound) at Literary Rambles (plus giveaway!)

James Mihaley (You Can't Have My Planet, But Take My Brother, Please!) at From the Mixed Up Files and at Project Mayhem

Alyson Miers (Charlinder's Walk), at A Thousand Wrongs (plus giveaway!)

Other Good Stuff:

For those of us interested in books out in the UK, the Bookbuzz 2012 list has just been posted (and includes some mg sci fi/fantasy books that I had never heard of before and now want to read....)

A meditation on Fakelore vs Folklore, by Jane Yolen, at Seven Miles of Steel Thistles

"It's Complicated" a blog dialogue hosted by CBC Diversity (an orginization "dedicated to increasing the diversity of voices and experiences contributing to children's literature -- encouraging diversity of race, gender, geographical origin, sexual orientation, and class among both the creators of and the topics addressed by children's literature.")


And having nothing to do with mg sff, here's a poignant image I felt compelled to share (via Jenny Davidson). "The ordeal left him with minor wounds...." More at the BBC

Remarkable, by Lizzie K. Foley

Remarkable, by Lizzie K. Foley (Dial, April 2012, middle grade)

In the town of Remarkable, where "the air was always fresh and the weather was always pleasant" (page 1), just about every resident lives up to the high-standards of remarkability. The adults are world-renowned practitioners of their various vocations, and there's even a most remarkable sea monster living in the town's remarkable lake (about which more later). The children are so extraordinary that they all go to the school for the remarkably gifted...all, that is, except for Jane Doe.

She is the only ordinary child in the whole town, and the only pupil at the public school.

But Jane's life is about to become extraordinary, when two twins with a remarkable talent for mayhem arrive in town and manage to get themselves expelled from the school for the remarkably gifted, joining Jane's class. Under the chaotic influence of the Grimlet twins, Jane's teacher casts aside the cloak of normalcy--and begins instructing her three students in the ways of piracy.

And this is not the only intrusion of piracy into Remarkable. A stranger has come to town, clearly a former pirate himself...and he is being hunted by other pirates.

Suddenly Jane finds herself at the center of events as piracy threatens the peace of Remarkable (in mildly absurd ways). But there is a bigger problem. The town's lake monster (the most remarkable one in the world, of course, though a shy and retiring creature), is threatened by the construction of a new (utterly remarkable) bell tower. And Jane's grandfather, a man even more normal than Jane (so much so that people forget he's even in the room), is the only one who knows what must be done to keep the monster safe.

It's a light and funny story. The extremes of specialness exhibited by the townsfolk, not least of whom are Jane's siblings, make for entertaining reading, as do the shenanigans of the Grimlet twins and the over-the-top piraticisms of Jane's teacher. Foley keeps a somewhat wry and humorous tone throughout--even when she's detailing the remarkable things that make her fictional town special, it's clear that she's enjoying the over-the-topness of it all, which made me enjoy it myself.

That being said, I must confess I wanted to shake sense into most of the town's inhabitants, and wish Foley had stirred them up considerably more than she did! As an adult reader, the arrogance of the people of Remarkable is more distasteful than I think it would be to a child reader. I think that the average child is, perforce, more used to not having all the knowledge and abilities of the grown-ups around them, and more used to wanting to be special--to be seen, heard, and appreciated (although goodness knows some of us (ie me) have moments (hours, days...) of wanting to be Special Snowflakes). In short, though, I think this is one with much more child appeal than appeal to grown up readers of middle grade fantasy.

However, something I did appreciate about the book is that the author stays true to her central character. Jane never does develop some miraculously special gift of her own (although she does end up happier at the end of the book). It becomes clear to the reader (although not to the majority of the remarkable characters themselves) that being extraordinarily gifted isn't enough to bring happiness, that sometimes you have to take control of your own life (and run off to sea in a piratical way, if that appeals, as two character's did with mixed results).

And in a similar vein, Jane's Grandfather, the most ordinary character of them all, proves himself a hero through a very ordinary (though slightly illegal) course of action (though his bright and sparkling townsfolk don't really realize what he's done, which is fine with him).

A good one for the child who appreciates tongue in cheek humor of a light and fun kind, especially one who has, like Jane, always wanted a dog. Or wanted to run away to sea, or sing to a lake monster....or who simply is tired of being ordinary.

Other thoughts at Mother Daughter Book Reviews, Humbleindigo, and Book Nut

And here's an interview with the author at Presenting Lenore

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

Transcendence, by C.J. Omololu, for Waiting on Wednesday

Browsing through new and forthcoming YA fantasy covers over at The Enchanted Inkpot, I found a book that I knew I had to buy, based on the cover alone. I can't, at this point in my life, support diversity in books for kids and teens by actually writing them myself, but I do have a credit card, and I know how to use it. It is also nice that it sounds like a book I'd have been interested in, regardless (but when and why did Cole become a girl's name??? For how much of the book will this bother me?)

Transcendence, by C.J. Omololu (Walker Books, June 5, 2012, Young Adult)

"When a visit to the Tower of London triggers an overwhelmingly real vision of a beheading that occurred centuries before, Cole Ryan fears she is losing her mind. A mysterious boy, Griffon Hall, comes to her aid, but the intensity of their immediate connection seems to open the floodgate of memories even wider.

As their feelings grow, Griffon reveals their common bond as members of the Akhet—an elite group of people who can remember past lives and use their collected wisdom for the good of the world. But not all Akhet are altruistic, and a rogue is after Cole to avenge their shared past. Now in extreme danger, Cole must piece together clues from many lifetimes. What she finds could ruin her chance at a future with Griffon, but risking his love may be the only way to save them both.

Full of danger, romance, and intrigue, Transcendence breathes new life into a perpetually fascinating question: What would you do with another life to live?"

I find the placement of the male and female characters on the cover interesting too--I can't decide if the dude is the passive one, with the girl being in charge, or if she is hiding behind him. I think she looks too fierce for the latter...

(Those interested in writing diversly for kids and teens might want to visit this week's series at CBC Diversity. And anyone interested in the representation of divesity on YA covers should check out this post at Kate Hart's blog)

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Why I didn't post a time travel review today-- Macbeth, performed by ensembles from 18 schools

Just got back from watching a performance of Macbeth, performed by kids from 18 different schools from around my city. There were at least 30 different Macbeths, sometimes as many as five on stage at once....and some scenes were funny, and some moving, and some (like my son's scene--he was McDuff's son) were utterly brilliant. Or would have been, had he not had his back to the audience for one key line. Still, he did an excellent job being a smart alack to his mother.... almost as if he had had practice.

Happily, the Edwardian news boy hat we bought at a Steampunk festival a little while back was perfect for his role, and he was smothered by it most realistically at the end of the scene.

It's been about thirty years since I read or saw Macbeth, and (bringing this post on to bookish topicness), I was pleased to hear two quotes I recognized from books--"thou cream-faced loon" and "What, all my pretty chickens and their dam?" (although I don't remember the character quoting the later using "pretty.") I'm not saying what books they're from, in case anyone wants to play along at home...

Unraveling, by Elizabeth Norris

Unraveling, by Elizabeth Norris (Balzer + Bray, YA, April 24, 2012) is a sci-fi romance thriller, that I found a gripping (though perhaps overly busy) read.

When we first meet seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner, she's finishing up a day as a lifeguard at a San Diego beach, making plans with her new almost boy friend, and finding her car tires slashed by bitchy jealous girls.

My thoughts: Nothing unusual. She seems nice enough, the boy seems nice enough, the girls are bitchy.

But then Janelle decides to jog home...and is hit by a pickup truck and killed...except that the one person on earth who can bring her back to life just happens to be there--Ben Michaels, a high school classmate from the stoner fringe, a boy who Janelle had barely noticed. And Ben heals her broken body.

My thoughts: is Ben an angel???? (this isn't the vibe I got from the cover--there's nary a feather in sight--but you never know).

Being killed and brought back to life is strange and disturbing, but worse is to come. Janelle knows her Dad, a high-up guy in the FBI, will have started a file on her accident--finding out who the driver was, and the circumstances. But when she starts snooping through his files, she opens a can of worms.

My thought: lax security, Dad.

Here's what her Dad is investigating--bodies of unidentifiable people turning up, hideously, horribly burned by radiation, and an extraordinarily high-tech countdown clock. Both Janelle and her father reach the same conclusion--that there is a bio-terror assault on its way. Janelle enlists her best friend, a guy named Alex, to help her find out more.

My thoughts: ok, an interesting FBI-ish mystery/plot to be unravelled by clever teens. Fine.

And meanwhile, at high school, J. is (naturally--the dude brought her back from the dead) drawn to Ben. He is More than he Seemed. We see J.'s mom, caught in the grips of horrible depression, and see her trying to look out for her younger brother--she is the caretaker of her family.

My thoughts: I liked the high school bits, where Ben and J. spar in English class and conduct physics experiments, lots. He is showing no signs of being Angelic--but obviously there is something up with him (like, the ability to bring people back from the dead).

Then someone close to Janelle is killed. The darkness grows. The clock is ticking...

My thoughts: I am interested in this book, but there is still lots and lots of it left to read! The bioterrorism plot doesn't seem to be advancing much. Ben is still not an angel.

THEN. A twist! An unexpected leap into sci fi! A sudden game changing revelation, that ups the stakes (both in terms of Ben and J.'s romance, and the fate of the world).

My thoughts, on reaching the end of the book: Goodness. What a lot just happened. It all makes sense now...but I think I liked it best when we were just concerned with horrible dead bodies and the threat of bioterrorism...the sci fi part was not so gripping, plus the romance plot begins to take up a lot of room...

My general thoughts about Janelle: All her life J. has been the person who saved others--even as a kid, she was pulling kids out from under waves; as she grew older, she had to save her family when her mom became depressed (and her little brother is only three years younger--she is way too over-protective).

Added to that, she is (understandably) disturbed about having been (possibly? she doesn't know) date-raped at a party a few years earlier. This is only tangentially relevant.

Now, as a seventeen year old, she has to help save the world. By the end of the book, she has fallen hard in love, she has lost loved ones, and her city has been devastated by horrible earthquakes. Yoicks.

A more believable, though possibly less interesting, story would be one in which J. cracks under pressure, tells her little brother to help more with the household tasks, and gives voice to the anger she feels towards her father viz. dumping the burden of her mother on her, and possibly runs screaming out of the house.

But no, she decides to play Girl Detective.

Thoughts on J.'s best friend, Alex--Alex is basically the guy next door, the only person who is consistently there for J. He is half-Asian, has a controlling mother, and seems to have no point in life (or the story) except being there for J., and being a voice of reason. Spoiler: highlight to read--I never like it when a minority side-kick gets killed for no good reason, as is the case here. Adding to J.'s burden of grief is unnecessary, plot-wise, at this point in the book.

Final thought about the book: a brisk read with lots of X-file-esque appeal. Some suspension of critical disbelief required. Perhaps too full of minor bits of story that don't advance the plot directly enough.

Note on sex: yes, there is
Note on graphically described dead people: yes, they are.

Disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher