The Adventures of Benny, by Steve Shreve

The Adventures of Benny, by Steve Shreve (Marshall Cavendish, 2009, 159 pages, ages 7-10)

First, the description. In the five stories that make up this book, a boy named Benny has various fantastical adventures, encountering Big Foot, a mummy named King Butt, a giant squid, the Booger-man, and some nervous monkeys. The stories are relaxed, over-the-top, and occasionally gross; they also are very easy to read, with relatively few words per page and lots of illustrations (you can get an idea of the book here at its website).

"They started back toward the door, but it was too late--they heard a noise outside.

"Now what?" asked Benny, "King Butt has caught up to us!"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about that," said Uncle Howard. "The snakes will probably finish us off long before he gets in." (page 55)

Second, the personal experience part.

Is your emergent boy reader uninterested in the Magic Treehouse books? Obsessed with Diary of a Wimpy Kid (but too young for it, really)? The Adventures of Benny is an easy to read, copiously illustrated, kind of gross, chuckle producing, alternative. The short chapters, each of which stands on its on, make the book particularly friendly for the young reader.

Is your nine year old boy reader driving you absolutely mad by refusing to read any of the books you carefully find for him, after hours of blog reading to find possibilities, chats with the librarian, etc etc? Leave The Adventures of Benny casually draped on the sofa, and he will read it eagerly. In about ten minutes flat too, proving that he can read after all, which you might have been wondering.

If you are an adult reader, reading The Adventures of Benny with an eye toward a blog review, you might not find it a life-changing experience, and you might find smelly socks, farts, eating snakes, etc . don't in fact make you chuckle. But you might also acknowledge that the stories and pictures are not without amusing charm, and the reactions of your children will dispose you fondly toward the book. And it was a nice touch to name the Egyptologist uncle "Howard" (as in Howard Carter, of King Tut fame).

The Adventures of Benny is on the short-list of the Children's Choice Book Awards (chosen by kids), in the 5th and 6th category.

Here's the full list for those grades:
The Adventures of Benny by Steve Shreve (Marshall Cavendish)
Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renee Russell (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster)
Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca (Atheneum/Richard Jackson/Simon & Schuster)
Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood by Tony Lee, Sam Hart, and Artur Fujita (Candlewick)
Zoobreak by Gordon Korman (Scholastic Press)

The link above shows all the lists. Kids can vote for their favorite until May 3, at libraries, book stores, schools, and at BookWeekOnline.com.

(disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher)

The Sixty-Eight Rooms, by Marianne Malone, for Timeslip Tuesday

The Sixty-Eight Rooms, by Marianne Malone (Random House, 2010, middle grade, 265 pages)

Ruthie had never been to see the Thorne Rooms before the field trip that took her class to the Art Institute of Chicago. They entrance her--sixty-eight tiny rooms filled with the most exquisitely detailed miniatures imaginable, depicting settings from a medieval castle to a Puritan home in New England. Her best friend Jack is not quite so interested, until the discovery of a tiny key in the service passageway behind the exhibit (where the two children were not, technically, allowed to be). Because when Ruthie holds the key, she shrinks to the scale of the miniatures, and sixty-eight rooms of enchantment await...

When she is holding onto both Jack and the key, Jack shrinks too. Together they explore the rooms, while coping with the difficulties small size entails--giant cockroaches, perilous exhibit ascents, and the like. But the true magic lies within the Rooms themselves, which are not just static boxes. Each one actually opens up into its time period, and so Ruthie and Jack find themselves in France just before the Revolution, and visit Massachusetts just as the witch trial are gaining steam. To add to that magic, it seems like they are not the first children to have found the secret of the Thorne Rooms--there are clues that another girl has been there, and they lead to the unravelling of a modern mystery.

The premise of this book is utterly delightful. I was entranced by the miniature rooms, and envious of Jack and Ruthie as they explored them. Malone doesn't skimp on her description of the miniatures, and I was grateful to her for this--she did an excellent job bringing them to life. Their expeditions to the museum--fraught with logistical challenges--were magical journeys reminiscent, almost, of Edward Eager's stories of magic meeting everyday life (although Malone doesn't quite match the snappiness of Eager's characterization. But then, who does?).

The time-travel element promised, I thought, a bit more than it delivered. Although I very much enjoyed the two ventures into the past, they didn't tie into any larger Plot, and so lacked a certain emotional umph. The actual elements of the plot that needed resolution were both in the present, and one of these had nothing to do with the Thorne Rooms at all. I am hoping that in future books (and room is, happily, left open for these) that the magical ability of the rooms to open into the past will be explored more fully.

I myself hope there are more books to come, because I do so love these rooms, with all these beautiful things, and I want to see more of them!

Time Travel Wise: The experiences of Jack and Ruthie in the past are very interesting vignettes, but are of brief duration, and didn't strike me as being essential to the plot or to the characters' development. But I am hopeful that in future books, we might get more time in the past--the premise is so beautifully laid out for many future adventures....

Other reviews at Book Aunt, Fantasy Literature, and Read Now, Sleep Later.

And here's one of the Thorne Rooms:



More pictures here. Longing sigh on my part. I never particularly wanted to go to Chicago before now...

Global Warming, by Seymour Simon, for non-fiction Monday

I am a rather ardent environmentalist, busily bringing home other people's discarded recyclables etc. And rising sea levels are something I worry about in my professional life--many significant archaeological sites are on the coast, and are under threat. Not to mention the huge human cost.

I've told my children the story of Global Warming as I see it...but still I welcomed a new picture book on the subject, that I hoped would interest them, and educate them further-- Global Warming, by Seymour Simon (Harper Collins, 2010, for ages 5-9 with full-color photographs).

This is a very handsome book--it's something of a coffee table book for children, in that it has lots of large full page pictures, and none of the sidebars and little fact boxes that appear in so much non-fiction for the young. And, as far as the main points go, I thought it a fine introduction to the causes and effects of global warming.

I was in full agreement with Simon's points, which touch on such topics as the retreat of the glaciers, the melting of the polar ice, the risks of flooding, etc., but I had a hard time with his prose style, which seemed a bit stiff. Of the polar bears, for instance, Simon writes: "If the ice melts, their food supply will be cut off and this will impact their survival" (page 15); I myself think "impact" should be used this way only in bureaucratic writing (I use it all the time at work), and that in a kid's book, the bears should simply be allowed to "go hungry," or possibly even "starve to death."

And I know that the effects of human actions on global warming are still hotly debated, so I don't expect Simon to make every sentence a statement of fact, but there was some uncertainty where none was needed. Simon, for instance, writes "Atmospheric warming can cause a rise in ocean temperatures and place coral reefs in jeopardy" (page 20). I don't think, myself, that that "can" is necessary.

So although I applaud the existence of this book, with its helpful list of "things we can do" at the end, it's not all I had hoped it would be. Still, I think it would be a good one for parent and child to read together, with the parent explaining and elaborating, and making clear the connections between the text and the (mostly caption-less) photographs.

Other reviews at Eco-Libris and A Patchwork of Books

(disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher)

The Non-Fiction Monday round-up is at Check It Out today!

This week's middle-grade fantasy and science-fiction round-up

Here's this week's round-up of reviews and sundry other things relevant to middle-grade science fiction and fantasy ("middle grade" being books for 9-12 year olds).

The Reviews:

Calamity Jack, by Shannon and Dean Hale (2010), at Fantasy Book Critic.

The Celestial Globe (The Chronus Chronicles Book 2), by Marie Rutkoski, at The HappyNappyBookseller, Fantasy Book Critic, and Charlotte's Library.

Amulet, Vol. 1: The Stonekeeper, and Vol. 2: The Stonekeeper's Curse by Kazu Kibuishi, at Book Nut.

The Boy who Climbed into the Moon, by David Almond (2010) at Madhouse Family Reviews.

Brigitta of the White Forest, by Danika Dinsmore (2010), at Lori Calabrese

Crossing Over (Suddenly Supernatural Book 4), by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel (2010), at Beyond Books

Foiled, by Jane Yolen (2010), at Book Dragon and Book Aunt.

The Halfmen of O, by Maurice Gee (1982) at Once, oh marvellous once

The Midnight Curse, by L.M. Falcone (2010) and The Magic Hat of Mortimer Wintergreen, by Myron Levoy (2000), at Suite 101.

The Magic Pudding, by Norman Lindsay(1918, reprinted 1985) at Giraffe Days.

The Owl-Keeper, by Christine Brodien-Jones (2010), at Typing with My Toes, and Searching for a Good Read.

Princess of Glass, by Jessica Day George (2010, a YA/Mg cross-over) at Becky's Book Reviews.

The Sixty-eight Rooms, by Marianne Malone (2010), at Fantasy Literature.

Tollins, by Conn Iggulden (2009), at Pickled Bananas.

Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus, by R.L. LaFevers (2010), at Book Aunt.

The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner, at Becky's Book Reviews (and Becky goes on to talk about the next two books in the series, which are more YA, in subsequent posts)

Thomas and the Dragon Queen, by Shutta Crum (coming this summer), a Galley Talk at Publisher's Weekly.

A Wizard of Mars, by Diane Duane, at Charlotte's Library.

N.D. Wilson's trilogy (The 100 Cupboards, Dandelion Fire, and The Chestnut King), at Book Aunt.

Interviews:

Megan Whalen Turner, author of The Thief et al., at Publisher's Weekly.
Danika Dinsmore, author of Brigitta of the White Forest, at Lori Calabrese.

Misc. Cool Stuff:

Nymeth answers "A fantasy reader's frequently asked questions" at Things Mean a Lot, and The Spectacle poses the question "Why are scary books popular?"

Book Scout has an interesting post on the thoughts of a Percy Jackson fan considering The Goddess Girls.

The short list for the Carnegie Awards includes a few fantasy books (I myself am very eager indeed to read Fever Crumb):
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
The Ask and the Answer, by Patrick Ness
Nation, by Terry Pratchett
Fever Crumb, by Philip Reeve

And finally, the folks at The Enchanted Inkpot are having a fabulous Birthday Giveaway! And so is Cleverly Inked (it's a realy WOW of a giveaway!!!)

And I think that's it for today...let me know, please, if I missed your post, or if you saw something in your own blog reading that I should include!

A Wizard of Mars, by Diane Duane

A Wizard of Mars, by Diane Duane (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010, upper middle grade/YA, 546 pages in ARC form), is the ninth book of The Young Wizards series. And it's most better read after the earlier books; indeed, much of the first 100 or so pages is essentially a reunion of characters met in previous books. Which is fun in its own way...but then things get really exciting.

Because up on Mars, the Young Wizards--Kit, Nita, and co.--are part of a team investigating a Martian "message in a bottle." In this case, it's a mysterious egg-like object, that may hold the clues to the mysteries of Mars' past. Because once upon a time, there were Martians...

Kit heads off to Mars on his own, and sets off the opening of the egg. All Martian magical hell breaks loose, in a chain reaction that brings the Young Wizards face to face with imagined versions of Mars for the boys of the group, and a revelation of the history of Mars for the girls. This gender division doesn't happen by chance. Both groups are being set up as part of a plan hatched thousands of years in the past, when Mars was truly a planet of war. And if Kit and Nita aren't clever and determined enough to figure out what's going on, the Martians might come to life again, and set their sights on Earth.

Kit and Nita are growing older, with all the concomitant baggage that entails. This shapes their encounters with the ancient inhabitants of Mars in a much more YA ish way than was the case with their previous adventures in the series (which is to say, the question of their feelings for each other is part of the plot). Even though the story qua story was fascinating (once it really got going), I was most particularly interested in the relationship of these two characters whose story I have been following since So You Want to Be a Wizard, the first book, was published way back in 1983 (yoiks!), and I wasn't disappointed in this regard (and now I really want the next book to come soon!).

Duane delivers her trademark plenitude of fun detail, with heaping servings of wizardry, folks with various special talents, a fascinating alien race, and considerable humor. Although I was put off a tad by the slow start, once things got going, I was deeply absorbed. One of my favorite books, I think, in the series.

Here's a fun and detailed recap at araine's writings and stuff.

(arc recieved from the publisher at ALA midwinter)

The 2010 Carnegie Medal Shortlist, or Someday there will be lists that don't include The Graveyard Book

The Carnegie Medal is essentially the UK equivalent of the Newbery here in the US--prestigious as all get out, and awarded by library professionals. One difference is that the Carnegie announces a shortlist in advance of the final selection:

Chaines, by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden, by Helen Grant
Rowan the Strange, by Julie Hearn
The Ask and the Answer, by Patrick Ness
Nation, by Terry Pratchett
Fever Crumb, by Philip Reeve
Revolver, by Marcus Sedgwick

(for the UK cover pictures and brief blurbs, click here)

In case anyone else wonders why "older" books like The Graveyard Book are on this list, here's the eligibility requirement: "To be eligible for the 2010 Awards titles must have been first published in the UK between 1 September 2008 and 31 August 2009 or co-published elsewhere within three months."

The Kate Greenaway shortlist has also been announced.

Shapeshifter's Quest, by Dena Landon

After reading Mistwood, by Leah Cypess, and loving it, I vaguely set out to read other shapeshiter books. And happily, Shapeshifter's Quest, by Dena Landon (Penguin, 2005, older middle grade/younger YA, 182 pages) was close at hand in my local library.

Syanthe has grown up imprisoned in a forest, where all her shapeshifting kind have been trapped by the king and the powerful, magic wielding, priesthood that serves him. But for Syanthe, the imprisonment is illusory. She alone was hidden before she could be tattooed with the magical mark that kills any shapeshifter who tries to escape. Now the forest is dying, and her own mother is deathly ill. And Syanthe is the only one who can venture into the world beyond, to find a cure.

It is a dangerous journey. The priesthood is powerful, evil, and determined that the only magics in the realm should be under their control--death, or worse, awaits if she is caught. But fate is kind to her, and soon her path crosses with that of Jerel, a young man who is much more than he seems. He, too, has a mission--and a magic--of his own.

Shapeshifter's Quest is a lovely fast read, and I enjoyed the characters and their magics considerably. Syanthe is a nicely brave and compassionate heroine, and the story flows briskly and coherently. It's only main flaw is that it rather lacks subtlety--a huge suspension of disbelief is required to swallow Jerel's appearance in Syanthe's life. It's a tremendous coincidence that he should be the one to find her curled up by the side of the road--not only is he the perfect person to help her achieve her own goals, he is also soon to become more than just a helpful acquaintance...It made it a bit hard for me to really believe this story.

That being said, this is one I'd give in a sec to my 12 year-old self. I would have loved it to pieces. My adult self, however, loves Mistwood more--more tricksy, and more emotional punch. Like Mistwood, this was a debut novel; I went looking to see if Landon had any more books, because I enjoyed this one, but she doesn't seem too...

(The cover makes Shapeshifter's Quest look a lot older (reader-wise) than it is--there's some violence, but nothing dire, and the romance is understated).

Anyone have any favorite shapeshifter books to recommend for me to read next?

I love these books, and said so--a look back on 1001 posts

In honor of having written 1001 blog posts, I did a little bit of searching here, to see which books I loved so much that I couldn't restrain myself when writing about them. Here are the results of my searches on various permutations of "I loved this book."

The Night Fairy, by Laura Amy Schlitz
The Museum of Mary Childe, by Cassandra Golds
What Darwin Saw: The Voyage that Changed the World, by Rosalyn Schanzer
Blackbringer by Laine Taylor
Glass Slipper, Golden Sandal, by Paul Fleishman
Ludo and the Star Horse, by Mary Stewart
The Spell Coats, by Diana Wynne Jones
The Ghosts, by Antonia Barber
Hannah's Winter, by Kierin Meehan
Shark and Lobster's Amazing Undersea Adventure, by Viviane Schwarz
Mail Harry to the Moon, by Robie H. Harris
The Happy Hockey Family, by Lane Smith

But now I am having a very hard time playing fair, because I know I reviewed lots of other books that I loved. And it was hard not to go back and find their reviews, and sneak that phrase into them....sigh. I shall have to be more mindful of this in future, and when I love a book, I will say so openly and proudly, casting aside the shackles of dispassionate reviewer mindset etc etc.

I myself like it when people I know and trust say they love a book, and will not even take the time to read their review too closely if the L word is in it--I'll just add it to my list. How do other people feel? And how many books have you told the world you loved?

Rules of Attraction, by Simone Elkeles

And now for something completely different, a YA romance! Rules of Attraction, by Simone Elkeles (Bloomsbury, 2010, YA, 304 pages), is a companion book to Perfect Chemistry, a lovely little confection of teen love that I enjoyed very much last year (my review).

Rules of Attraction tells of Carlos, a Mexican teenager with a big attitude and a past tied to drugs and gangs, who moves to Colorado to live under the watchful eye of his big brother Alex (the hero of Perfect Chemistry). Alex arranges for Carlos to live with one of his professors...and there Carlos finds himself under the same roof as the professor's daughter, Kiara.

Kiara is a mountain climbing, car fixing, independent girl. Carlos is determined not to fall for her, but to keep his a***** persona firmly in place. But behind that facade, he's actually a caring, loving person.

And the two of them fall hard for each other. But can Carlos put his past behind him? And can he finally believe in love? Yes, well, it all sounds a bit stereotypical romancy. But it is pleasantly diverting as all get out, with Elkeles creating characters that one can care about, and I found it an enjoyable read, even though I couldn't exactly believe in the story qua story...Added interest comes from Kiara's best friend, who's gay, and some reflection on what it means to be a Mexican teen aged boy in America.

It is not at all necessary to have read Perfect Chemistry before reading this book, but I'd recommend it, simply because that is a stronger book. With that one, I had to check the ending multiple times to make sure it was happy; with this one, there was never much doubt....

(Rules of Attraction gets rather hot and heavy, so although younger teens might well enjoy reading it (it's not quite as explicit, say, as Forever, but there is sex), it might not be quite "suitable").

At Green Bean Teen Queen, you can enter to win (through April 28th) a copy of Perfect Chemistry, a copy of Rules of Attraction and a Perfect Chemistry/Rules of Attraction bookmark!


(disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher)

The 2010 Locus YA finalists

Here are the Young Adult novels under consideration for this year's Locus Award (a list that is the result of a poll of Locus readers)

The Hotel Under the Sand, Kage Baker (Tachyon)
Going Bovine, Libba Bray (Delacorte)
Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic; Scholastic UK)
Liar, Justine Larbalestier (Bloomsbury; Allen & Unwin Australia)
Leviathan, Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse; Simon & Schuster UK)

Winners will be presented during the Science Fiction Awards Weekend in Seattle WA, June 25-27, 2010

I wonder if this is the first time a married pair (Larbalestier and Westerfeld) have been nominated in the same category. Looking for more information on this award, I learned that in this case, it's the publisher who gets a certificate, not the author. So perhaps it won't effect their marriage...and I bet it goes to Catching Fire anyway.

And I guess I really do have to read Liar now. I'm surprised that it is sff enough to be on this list...I had the impression that it was pretty straight YA.

Blackout, by Connie Willis, for Timeslip Tuesday

Blackout, by Connie Willis(Ballantine Books, 2010, 491 pages)

In previous novels --Doomesday Book (1993), and To Say Nothing of the Dog (1999), Connie Willis sent history students travelling back in time from a future Oxford. Blackout is set in this same universe, a few years down the line. Things are getting a little harried at the time travel control center, what with people popping in and out of time and space, demanding accents and golf lessons and era-appropriate clothing and props. Schedules are being changed with little notice, there are temporal slippages, and one theorist is warning that there might be issues, as it were, with time travel...

Three students of history are busily studying aspects of World War II. Merope is embedded as a maid at a country house full of evacuees, Polly is off to London to work as a shop girl during the blitz, and Michael is studying "heroism," and plans to interview a sample of Dunkirk rescue participants. All are pretty confident that the boss of time travel operations, Mr. Dunworthy, won't let anything bad happen to them. After all, he's been very particular in his insistence that they not stay in particular places that are going to be bombed, and that sort of thing.

But then things go wrong. The war seems to be progressing as it should. But Michael shouldn't have been able to actually take part in the evacuation of Dunkirk. Merope shouldn't have been trapped by a measles epidemic. And Polly's way home has been bombed... Surrounded by the chaos and death of WW II, the three young time travellers being to wonder if there is a glitch in time...one that might result in a more in-depth experience of the past then anyone would ever want.

This is a book that demands the attention of the reader, and then rewards it tremendously. In many ways, it is like being part of a series of nightmares--the chaos and the confusion experienced by the protagonists (not just in WW II, but in Oxford of 2060, as they try to prepare for their missions) was almost too much for me. The short chapters that jumped between the character's point of view added to my difficulties.

As the book progressed, however, and I got more of a handle on the three main stories I was being told (and the protagonists got more of a handle on their own circumstances), I became fully absorbed in Willis' utterly gripping portrayal of the fall of 1940. During the last two hundred pages or so I might not have blinked, I was so lost to the real world. Willis manages to combine emotional depth with bright surface detail, making for very good reading indeed.

But then came the cliffhanger of an ending. The second book, All Clear (coming this fall) really is, it seems, a continuation, not a sequel. There is NO closure to this book, and nothing is explained. And in consequence, I think I might have read Blackout too carelessly in my riveted state, and missed Important Clues. For instance (not a spoiler), on page 454 a character thinks: "Unless...oh, God, she hadn't even thought of that possibility. She'd assumed...but that was even worse..." And I have no idea at all what this person is thinking....and then the book ended soon after. Argh. I wonder if I am now assuming worse-er things than the character is, or if there are Horrors that haven't crossed my mind.

Blackout is a fine example of the sort of time travel story in which the immersion of the characters in the past is central--it is almost more historical fiction than sci fi/fantasy. But because the characters are from the future, and know what happens, their perceptions of the past that they are living have a certain type of poignancy to them that straight historical fiction doesn't. To be friends with someone you know is dead, to see a cathedral you know will be bombed, is to see the world in a whole different light, and Willis conveys this beautifully.

But you might want to wait a few months more before reading this, until All Clear is out and ready to hand!

The Celestial Globe, by Marie Rutkoski

The Celesital Globe, by Marie Rutkoski (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 304 pages, YA/Upper Middle Grade).

Back in 2008, I enjoyed Marie Rutkoski's first book, The Cabinet of Wonders, very much; so much so that I helped shortlist it for the Cybils that year. So I opened its sequel, The Celestial Globe, with much hopeful anticipation....and was very pleased indeed to find it even more enthralling than the first book. It includes attacking monsters, imprisoned elemental spirits, treachery, nautical adventuring, friendship, fencing lessons, a murder mystery, and my favorite fictional mechanical spider, all in a well-written package.

In The Cabinet of Wonders, Petra and her gypsy friend Neel, with help from a mechanical spider friend, had thwarted the plans of the twisted Prince Rudolfo of Bohemia to take over the world. Neel rejoined his Gypsy kin, Petra returned to her village, and for a brief span it seemed that all was well again.

But as The Celestial Globe begins, the prince has sent monsters to attack Petra and her father. Her father is captured, but Petra escapes, saved by John Dee, the Elizabethan magician with whom she had forged a mind link in the first book. Trying to save her, her village friend Tomick plunges through a hole in space, and finds himself a prisoner of the same gypsies that Neel had joined...

Petra in London chaffs against her virtual imprisonment by the powerful and enigmatic Dee. She is caught up in a web of murder and intrigue, developing her own magical skills under Dee's tutelage. Meanwhile, Tomick's fate hangs in the balance--will he be sold into slavery by the Sea Gypsies, or will he be able to continue his search for Petra? The Gypsies are searching themselves for the Celestial Globe, a magical artifact that would give them the ultimate freedom of travel, and an escape from persecution. And all signs point toward London...where Petra is already at work solving the mystery.

The Celestial Globe is simultaneously epically sweeping and pleasingly detailed. Magics large and small fill the adventures of both Petra and the boys, but do not dominate the plot. Rather, it is the mystery in which the characters are caught that drives the book, a mystery the characters are figuring out along with the reader. And it's a beautifully complex, satisfying tricky story, that doesn't make anything too obvious (although that being said, sometimes I can be rather dense).

I don't think it absolutely necessary to have read The Cabinet of Wonders before reading this one, but, since that is a fine book itself, there's no reason why you wouldn't want to read it first anyway.

(note on age: I was surprised to see this one described as YA over at Amazon; the publisher has it as Grades 5-9, ages 10-14, which I'd say was spot on--there's no sex, although romance might be coming, some growing up but that's not the main point, some violence but not tremendously so).

Another week's worth of middle grade fantasy and science fiction from around the blogs

Here are the reviews, interviews, and a few etcs of interest to fans of middle grade science fiction and fantasy that I've found during my blog reading this past week. Please let me know if I've missed your post, or if you've seen something that I've missed!

13 Treasures, by Michelle Harrison, at Fantasy Book Critic and Jean Little Library

The Birthday Ball, by Lois Lowry, at Everyday Reading and Abby (the) Librarian.

The Dark is Rising, by Susan Cooper, a joint review at The Written World and Book Nut.

Gold Dragon Codex, by R.D. Henham, at Jean Little Library.

Gregor the Overlander (et seq.) by Suzanne Collins at Bibliophilia-Maggie's Bookshelf.

Knightly Academy, by Violet Haberdasher, at Ms. Yingling Reads.

Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld, at Charlotte's Library (labeled YA, but I think it's a good upper mg read too)

Lord Sunday, by Garth Nix, at A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy.

The New Brighton Archaeological Society, at A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy.

Ninth Ward, by Jewell Parker Rhodes (August, 2010), at Welcome to My Tweendom

The Owl Keeper, by Christine Brodien-Jones at Wicked Awesome Books and at Cleverly Inked (where there's also a fabulous birthday giveaway in progress)

The Robe of Skulls and The Bag of Bones, by Vivian French, at Jean Little Library.

The Shifter, by Janice Hardy, at Eva's Book Addiction.

The Stones of Green Knowe, by Lucy M. Boston, at Fantasy Literature (the concluding review of a look at the whole series)

Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus, by R.L. LaFevers, at Jean Little Library, Strange and Random Musings, and Wicked Awesome Books.

Wings (The Mysterious Mr. Spines Book 1) at Better with Books.

Other interesting things:

At Book Aunt, there's a lovely long post about Trickster Fiction, that looks at a variety of books, including some mg fantasy.

Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter by R. J. Anderson, was selected as one of two Honour Books for the Canadian Library Association's 2010 Children's Book of the Year Award.

The ninth book of Diane Duane's Young Wizards Series, A Wizard on Mars, was just released; here's a letter from Duane about it over at Amazon.

A bunch of Interviews:

R.L. LaFevers at The Enchanted Inkpot, whose new book, Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus, was just released (which is a lovely thing, but I'm waiting for her next Nathaniel Flood-Beastologist book....). And head over to her Live Journal site to win for your library a copy of The Eyes of Horus, and the second book as well! (here's Theodosia's own site, btw)

Megan Whalen Turner, author of the Queen's Thief series, at Shelf Awarness.

At Headdesk, there's an interview (and giveaway) with Christine Brodien-Jones, author of The Owl Keeper.

At Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind, there's an interview with Grace Lin, author and illustrator of Where the Mountain meets the Moon

At Boy Lit.com, there's a rather teasing interview with Rebecca Barnhouse, author of The Book of the Maidservant, about her forthcoming book The Coming of the Dragon (a teaser because it doesn't come out till October!)


and finally, Greenwillow has a fun little post about what would happen if some of their favorite characters (including Eugenidies and Howl) took up tweeting...

(even more finally--don't forget that there are still fantasy books that can be bought for the kids at two schools on the Navajo Nation and the White Mountain Apache Reservation. Go to Powells, click on wish lists, and enter the email address guyslitwire at gmail dot com to see what books are still wanted....the shipping addresses (and more info) can be found here).

To-Be-Read/To-Be-Bought challenge update!

Yesterday I posted a challenge--read the names of the books on my tbr list, and I'll buy books for some kids who need them badly!

Thanks to your deciphering efforts, the following are on their way to the Ojo Encino Day School, located twenty-five miles west of Cuba, New Mexico on the Navajo Nation:

Jason and the Golden Fleece
Flying With the Eagle Racing the Great Bear
Hollow Kingdom Trilogy #02: Close Kin
Hollow Kingdom Trilogy #03: In the Coils of the Snake
A Wolf at the Door: And Other Retold Fairy Tales

And I've added this last one to my own (freshly re-copied) list!

There's more deciphering still to come...I'm standing by to place my next order on behalf of the kids at Alchesay High School, in the White Mountain Apache Reservation, Arizona.

Thanks for playing!

Looking for Luna, by Tim Myers, a picture book in verse

Looking for Luna, by Tim Myers, illustrated by Mike Reed (Marshall Cavendish 2009)

"We're after a cat,
a soft-stepping cat,
I'm walking with dad and we're after a cat.
With me out in front and Dad close behind,
there's a wandering kitty we need to find."

And so the hunt for Luna beings...all over the neighborhood, a little girl and her father search and search for the lost kitty. There are many places for a cat to explore here, and many cats busy (or not so busy) going about their feline days.

"We pass a rickety wooden house,
where a yellow cat's just caught a mouse
a cat we rarely see, who creeps
through canna lilies, pauses, leaps
up to the top of the garden wall,
then shadows away like mist in fall."

As the search goes on, and girl and Dad great more and more familiar cats, it becomes clear that they have done this many times before...but at last, there is Luna! Not far away, and happy to be held again. So there's little anxiety here-looking for Luna is more a familiar adventure of daily life then a dreadful worry.

And in fact, the book ends with another hunt "for a soft-stepping, shining-eyed, milk-lapping cat" beginning...giving a reason for father and child to set off on a quest together, on a warm sunny day.

A lovely one, both picture-wise and word-wise, for the cat loving child.

(disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher)

For more poetry, please visit the Poetry Friday Roundup at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast!

My to-be-read list, a to-be-bought list of much more importance, and a challenge that beautifully combines the two

Thanks, everyone, who took part in this challenge! I bought seven books, which is more than I would have bought otherwise, and that was the point....

Before Blogging, I was a peaceful re-reader. Sure, I'd try new books occasionally, but I wasn't adventuresome in the least.

After Blogging, I am an overwhelmed reader, with more books I want to read than I know what to do with! It is still awfully exciting to open new books, but, really, it's verging on madness....

My working to-be-read list (which doesn't include the four pages in my Amazon shopping cart) has outgrown its page, and is about to be neatly recopied. Here it is (and I'm sorry it runs of the side of the page--the scanner couldn't cope):

I'm lucky--I live in a state with a brilliant, and free, interlibrary loan service, and my library is four doors down from my house. The hard part is not getting greedy, and requesting too many at once...and even if a book isn't in the library system, I'm able to buy books I want...or even gratefully receive them from the publishers.

I'm lucky.

So, with my own list in front of me, waiting to be re-written, I'm thinking of two other wish lists of books, for kids who don't have the wild and crazy book access that I do. Guys Lit Wire is spearheading a book drive for two reservation schools, where each book received will be incredibly welcomed and valued. (read more here at Chasing Ray).

I am going to be heading over to Powells, and entering "guyslitwire@gmail.com" in the wish list slot...but I don't know how many books I'll buy yet. (btw--I have a link to Powells here on my blog, and anything I make from it helps my own public library)

So, anyone reading this, here's a challenge--for every ten books that can be deciphered on my to-be-read list, I'll buy a book from the wish list! I don't actually expect a lot of people to play this little game with me (which is fine :) and my feelings won't be hurt, much :)), so if you can recognize any book titles, just leave them in the comments, and I'll add them all up at the end.

Here's what's been found so far, now nicely alphabetized:

13 Days to Midnight,After Ever After,Bad Girls Don't Die,The Anubis Gate,Before I Fall, Before the storm, Betraying Season, Between Two Seas, The Bone Doll's Twin, Botany of Desire,The Boys Are Back in Town, The Chestnut King, The Comet's Curse, Dark Isle, The dragon keeper, The Dreamer, The Einstein Girl, Evermore, Falling Up, Fever crumb, Geektastic, The Golden Age, Heart's Blood, The Hunter's Moon, Inside Out, The Legend of the Wandering King, Living Hell, The Lost Children, The Lost Garden, The Magicians, The Mapmaker's Monsters, The Margarets, Mira, Mirror, Mockingbird, A Most Improper Magic (sic- should be "Magick"), Off World, The Owl Keeper, Prime Baby, The Prince of Mist, The Princes of the Golden Cage, Raven's Gate, The Red Pyramid, River boy, Sorcerer's Letter Box, Stardust, Save the Best for Last, Shapeshifter, Still She Wished for Company, Stuck on Earth, The Summer I Got A Life, Sunset Valley, Toads and Diamonds, Troll Fell, The Vinter's Luck, Voices of Dragons, Warriors in the Crossfire, When the Hip Chicks Went to War, Wild Things, Will Grayson Will Grayson, Wolf Hall, World Shaker, Year of the bomb.

For my own interest, a year later these are the books I still haven't read:
13 Days to Midnight,Bad Girls Don't Die,The Anubis Gate, Before the storm, Between Two Seas, The Bone Doll's Twin, Botany of Desire,The Boys Are Back in Town, Dark Isle [should be Darkisle], The dragon keeper, The Dreamer, The Einstein Girl, Evermore, The Golden Age, Inside Out, The Legend of the Wandering King, The Lost Garden, The Magicians, The Mapmaker's Monsters, The Margarets, Mira, Mirror, A Most Improper Magic (sic- should be "Magick"), Off World, The Princes of the Golden Cage, Raven's Gate, Sorcerer's Letter Box, Stardust, Save the Best for Last, Still She Wished for Company, Sunset Valley, The Vinter's Luck, Voices of Dragons, Warriors in the Crossfire, When the Hip Chicks Went to War, Wolf Hall, World Shaker.

36 still unread...

Update: Eyes like Stars is not actually on the list! I was recopying it this morning (so as to catch mistakes on my part such as this) and realized it is a different book, and indeed, I was wondering why Eyes like Stars was still on it when I had read it a while ago....

Thank you all so much for playing! We are up to 61 (out of about 84)! It is strange typing them-I don't remember why I wanted about a third of them. What, for instance, is Before the Storm about?????

I am surprised that no-one got this one yet--even though it was cut off by the Bad Scanner, the Clues are there.

(btw, this book buying project ends Wednesday, April 21, so I'll close this on Tuesday)

New releases of fantasy and science fiction for children and teenagers--the middle of April, 2010 edition

Here are the new releases of middle grade and YA of fantasy and sci fi from the middle of April, taken from the Teens Read Too list, with blurbs from Amazon and Booklist. My to-be-read list has just grown...would that my book buying budged and free time would grow as well.

Middle Grade:

13 TREASURES by Michelle Harrison. "No one else can see the evil fairies that rouse Tanya from her sleep, torturing her at the slightest mention of their existence, but they are as real to the 13-year-old as anything she's ever known. She cannot rid herself of them, nor can she ignore them. But it is her insistence on responding to them that has her banished to her grandmother's secluded countryside manor. There is much to explore and even more to fear in the woods surrounding the estate. But, the forest isn't the only source of dark secrets, and Tanya soon finds herself entangled in a mystery that could trap her in the fairy realm forever."



THE BIRTHDAY BALL by Lois Lowry. "Princess Patricia Priscilla is bored with her royal life and the excitement surrounding her sixteenth birthday ball. Doomed to endure courtship by three grotesquely unappealing noblemen, she escapes her fate--for a week. Disguised as a peasant, she attends the village school as the smart new girl, "Pat," and attracts friends and the attention of the handsome schoolmaster. Disgusting suitors, lovable peasants, and the clueless king and queen collide at the ball, where Princess Patricia Priscilla calls the shots. What began as a cure for boredom becomes a chance for Princess Patricia Priscilla to break the rules and marry the man she loves."



THE BOY WHO CLIMBED INTO THE MOON by David Almond. “Urban daily life meets magical realism in this quirky tale of a boy overcoming shyness. Young Paul “simply didn’t like school, and school didn’t seem to like him.” Perhaps this is because of his unusual ideas. For example: Is the moon really a hole cut into the sky? A morning spent wandering his high-rise leads to meeting Molly, a wacky artist who drags him and his parents to see her brother, a recluse whose war experiences led him to hatch the same theory. If only there was a way to reach the moon to find out! Though rarely laugh-out-loud funny, Almond employs all manners of amusements (a flying dog, an obsessive elevator inspector, the truth behind the moon) while never losing sight of some refreshing realities: Paul’s parents are a real presence, and the city feels appropriately dense. Almond even pulls off one unforgettable, cinematic scene involving the high-rise denizens reaching from their windows to help lift a ladder to the building’s roof.” From Booklist.



THE CELESTIAL GLOBE: THE KRONOS CHRONICLES by Marie Rutkoski. "When Prince Rodolfo's monsters attack her, Petra Kronos is spirited away to London. As she struggles to escape, Neel and Tomik sail the high seas, in search of her. Though separated by many miles, the three friends draw closer together in this sequel to The Cabinet of Wonders, called “astonishingly accomplished” by Publishers Weekly. Readers will not be disappointed in this adventure-filled novel that includes man-made monsters, the unraveling of a murder mystery, and the hunt for the Celestial Globe, which the prince of Bohemia will do anything to own."



FLESH OF THE ZOMBIE: SCREAM STREET by Tommy Donbavand. "Deadstock, the world’s greatest zombie rock festival, is coming to Scream Street! Too bad Sir Otto Sneer is not in the mood for dancing—and when he banishes the concert’s headliners, the fleshmetal band Brain Drain, to the evil Underlands, he causes a riot. Now if Luke and his pals want to restore peace to the neighborhood (and find the fourth relic they seek), they have no choice but to follow the band . . . into the darkest depths of the earth."



FOILED by Jane Yolen. "Aliera may have listened too well to her fencing coach’s advice: “You must always protect your heart.” Besting competitors twice her age in tournaments, and keeping to a strict routine of fencing practice, homework, and role-playing games, Aliera is a loner and likes it that way—until she becomes lab partners with the cutest boy in school. She initially resists his charms but is won over when he asks for a date. Turns out her new ruby-handled foil is the key to his interest in her, and to the yet-unseen magical dimension she must keep in balance. Yolen’s first foray into the graphic format is a success precisely because she incorporates the best weapon in her arsenal—fantasy. In Aliera she has created a strong, conflicted, and relatable girl hero who wields her wariness for protection. Cavallaro’s artwork suits Aliera’s monochrome existence, but bursts to life when she finally sees (in color!) the faerie beasties cheering her on. The explanation and source of Aliera’s status as a protector of worlds will have to wait for further volumes to be revealed." (from Booklist)

OUT OF THE WOODS by Lyn Gardner. "The fun fair is in town! With its clouds of pink candy floss and whirling big wheel, what child could resist such temptation? Little do the Eden sisters know that they are being lured into a wicked witch’s lair. . . . Belladonna wants Aurora’s heart and Storm’s all-powerful musical pipe, and she will stop at nothing to get them. Driven by vanity and greed, she makes a truly formidable adversary. After escaping from a deadly game of hide-and-seek in the enchanted fair, our three heroines flee through the woods, with several ravenous wolves and a sweet-toothed lion hot on their heels. Now they face their biggest challenge yet: a treacherous journey into the Underworld. For only when the pipe has been safely returned to the land of the dead will the Eden sisters truly be out of the woods..."

THE OWL KEEPER by Christine Brodien-Jones. "Maxwell Unger has always loved the night. He used to do brave things like go tramping through the forest with his gran after dark. He loved the stories she told him about the world before the Destruction—about nature, and books, and the silver owls. His favorite story, though, was about the Owl Keeper. According to Max’s gran, in times of darkness the Owl Keeper would appear to unite owls and sages against the powers of the dark. Gran is gone now, and so are her stories of how the world used to be. Max is no longer brave. The forest is dangerous, the books Gran had saved have been destroyed, and the silver owls are extinct. At least that’s what the High Echelon says. But Max knows better. Maxwell Unger has a secret. And when a mysterious girl comes to town, he might just have to start being brave again. The time of the Owl Keeper, Gran would say, is coming soon."

PRIME BABY by Gene Luen Yang. "Eight-year-old Thaddeus Fong is insanely jealous of his baby sister and exploits his intelligence as a weapon against his social insecurities. Politics ranging from those of the family to those of state are explored and sent up as Yang unfolds a rich and spirited story that lays bare psychological and social truths, a parable in which ever-forgiving space aliens play a major role in advancing not just the plot but also character development. Using the flat, cartoony style of his award-winning American Born Chinese (2006), Yang pulls us in from the first page and packs in several surprises as well as clever asides within its 56, multi-paneled, single-strip pages, allowing plenty of white space to force readers to note the finest details of the action in counterpoint to Thaddeus’ attempts to interpret every interaction as a personal slight. The color palette employed is soft, subtly contradicting Thaddeus’ emphatic evil-versus-good outlook with its relative gentleness. Sf readers who value humor and humanity (not just slam-bang action), Christians, newcomers to graphic novels, and fans of Yang’s simultaneously childlike and sophisticated ability to create and maintain tension should all be satisfied by his new book." (Booklist)

THE SONG OF THE WHALES by Uri Orlev. "In this spare, swift novel, readers are introduced to a young boy named Michael right before his family moves to Israel. There, he is called Mikha’el, and he creates a tight bond with his grandfather, Raphael, an antiques dealer who knows all about the soul of things. One night, Mikha’el falls asleep next to Grandpa and is astonished to join in on his dream. Soon, the boy spends every night on fantastical journeys with the old man, sometimes having exhilarating adventures, sometimes setting out to sweeten or repair the dreams of others that have faded or become poisonous: When Grandpa was done with each dream, Mikha’el loved to handle it and smell it before returning it to its owner. As his health fails, Raphael bestows his gift upon the boy, so that he may become a dream master in his own right. Washed with a wonderful sense of magical realism and potent lyricism, the narrative is also instilled with delicate family dynamics, many of which Mikha’el is able to recognize, while others hover just outside of his full comprehension."

THE TIME PIRATE: A NICK MCIVER TIME ADVENTURE by Ted Bell. "Bell continues the heavily promoted Nick McIver Adventures through Time series with this sequel to Nick of Time (2008), that begins in 1940. As the Channel Islands brace for the coming German invasion, 12-year-old Nick’s sister is kidnapped by a time-traveling pirate, and Nick’s pursuit turns the plot back to colonial America, where the Revolutionary War is brewing. Readers will need to check their plausibility meter from the start of this rip-roaring time-warp tale. An unnecessary prologue, confusing dream scenes, and excessive nautical details may deter some, but the breakneck pacing and wild plot will keep readers hanging on to the end." (Booklist)


THEODOSIA AND THE EYES OF HORUS by R. L. LaFevers. "Being able to detect black magic isn’t all tea and crumpets—and for Theodosia Throckmorton, it can be a decidedly tricky business! When Sticky Will drags Theo to a magic show featuring the Great Awi Bubu, she quickly senses there is more to the magician than he lets on, setting in motion a chain of events she never could have bargained for. Meanwhile, back at the Museum of Legends and Antiquities, Henry is home for the spring holidays and makes an accidental discovery of an artifact that alchemists have been hunting for centuries. Soon, every black-cloaked occultist in London is trying to get their hands on it..."



A WIZARD OF MARS: THE YOUNG WIZARDS by Diane Duane. "In the hotly anticipated ninth installment of the Young Wizards series, Kit and Nita become part of an elite team investigating the mysterious "message in a bottle," which holds the first clues to the secrets of the long-lost inhabitants of Mars. But not even wizardry can help them cope with the strange events that unfold when the "bottle" is uncorked and a life form from another era emerges. Though the Martians seem friendly, they have a plan that could change the shape of more than one world. As the shadow of interplanetary war stretches over both worlds, Kit and Nita must fight to master the strange and ancient synergy binding them to Mars and its last inhabitants. If they don't succeed, the history that left Mars lifeless will repeat itself on Earth."

Young Adult:

ATHENA: GREY-EYED GODDESS by George O'Connor. "Greek Gods as you’ve never seen them before! The strong, larger-than-life heroes of the Olympians can summon lightning, control the sea, turn invisible, or transform themselves into any animal they choose. Superheroes? No! Greek gods. The ancient pantheon comes to explosive life in this new series where myth meets comic books. Epic battles, daring quests, and terrible monsters await readers within the pages of these books. Volume 2, Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess, is the tale of the goddess of wisdom and war, recounting her many adventures."



THE CLEARING by Heather Davis. "In this bittersweet romance, two teens living decades apart form a bond that will change their lives forever. Amy is drawn to the misty, mysterious clearing behind her Aunt Mae's place because it looks like the perfect place to hide from life. A place to block out the pain of her last relationship, to avoid the kids in her new town, to stop dwelling on what her future holds after high school. Then, she meets a boy lurking in the mist--Henry. Henry is different from any other guy Amy has ever known. And after several meetings in the clearing, she's starting to fall for him. But Amy is stunned when she finds out just how different Henry really is. Because on his side of the clearing, it's still 1944. By some miracle, Henry and his family are stuck in the past, staving off the tragedy that will strike them in the future. Amy's crossing over to Henry's side brings him more happiness than he's ever known--but her presence also threatens to destroy his safe existence."

FINDERS KEEPERS: GIFTED by Marilyn Kaye. "Dead people don't make great companions - something cute, athletic Ken finds out the hard way when, following an accident on the football field, he starts hearing ghostly voices. It's not the kind of gift he would have asked for, but there's nothing he can do about it, until an anonymous note invites him to a seance. Completely convinced by the medium he meets, Ken tries to tell her about his secret. Only his gifted classmates can save him from revealing the truth - and finding himself in terrible danger . . ."




THE KING COMMANDS: TALES OF THE BORDERLANDS by Meg Burden. "The Northlands are in turmoil, divided by those who support King Alaric's decrees welcoming the Southlings and their magic, and those who will stop at nothing to send them back to the Southland where they belong. But the Southland, too, is being torn apart as the Southlings with mental gifts and healing magic are hunted by the mysterious Guardians, captured and never heard from again. As the legendary peace of the Southland crumbles and the throne of the Northlands is challenged, Ellin Fisher, the powerful young Southling who befriended the Northlands royalty, must make a terrible choice. Is it her destiny to fight for equality in the Northlands, or to embrace her calling as a Healer and help other True Southlings escape from the Guardians who killed her family? In the midst of this, while the home she's chosen and the land she left behind both stand poised on the brink of civil war, Ellin must choose where her heart lies, as well. She loves King Alaric, but will Princess Nathalia, another newcomer to the Northlands, stand in the way?"

THE LIGHT: MORPHEUS ROAD by D. J. MacHale. "#1 NYT bestselling author D.J. MacHale's Morpheus Road trilogy brings readers down an ethereal pathway between the worlds of the living and dead."

LIVING HELL by Catherine Jinks. "All is well on the spaceship Plexus. Decades into a journey that has left earth far behind, the couple thousand residents live a life of insulated security. Their social interactions are sensitive and enlightened, their meals prepared instantaneously, and a serene aura of peace makes their slow search for an inhabitable planet a tranquil one. But what’s that up ahead? A radiation field? Soon after the ship passes through, 17-year-old Cheney finds himself in the middle—literally—of a nightmare. (Warning: somewhat of a first-act spoiler ahead.) With shocking rapidity, the ship begins turning into a biologic organism: the walls become muscle, cables become veins, and simple devices like transport vehicles become equivalent to cellular defenders out to devour viruses—and the viruses are the humans. An unbelievably tense first half plateaus after a time, but that hardly diminishes the gooey, sticky, mucus-covered fun. Jinks’ well-thought-out environs and rational characters help ground this otherwise out-of-control interstellar thriller." (Booklist)

RADIANT SHADOWS: WICKED LOVELY by Melissa Marr. "The fourth in Marr’s Wicked Lovely series focuses loosely on Devlin, the High Queen of Faerie’s advisor-assassin, and Ani, the half-mortal daughter of Gabriel, leader of the Wild Hunt. Characters from other books play roles of varying importance as Devlin and Ani meet, fall in lust/love, and foil another attempt to create unrest in both worlds. This is a convoluted story, and despite frequent interruptions detailing character backstories and the inner workings of Faerie courts, it is utterly dependent on the rest of the series. Though the story ends with balance restored to Faerie, an ominous sense of precariousness leaves room for more."



SEBASTIAN DARKE: PRINCE OF EXPLORERS by Philip Caveney. "Sebastian Darke; his snarky buffalope, Max; and fierce fighter Cornelius are off on another hair-raising quest after being hired by a rich merchant to seek out the legendary lost city of Mendip. Not only must they find it, they must bring back valuable proof of its existence. Sebastian doubts they’ll reach their destination after trudging through miles of jungle filled with warrior beasts and terrifying tribes. But then he meets the beautiful Keera, whose people believe he’s the Chosen One sent to free their tribe from their brutal enemy. Little do they know that Sebastian is definitely not the hero type. He just wants to bring back valuable proof of the lost city. But will the price they must pay outweigh the rewards?"


THIRTEEN DAYS TO MIDNIGHT by Patrick Carman. "You are indestructible. Three whispered words transfer an astonishing power to Jacob Fielding that changes everything. At first, Jacob is hesitant to use the power, unsure of its implications. But there's something addictive about testing the limits of fear. Then Ophelia James, the beautiful and daring new girl in town, suggests that they use the power to do good, to save others. But with every heroic act, the power grows into the specter of a curse. How to decide who lives and who dies? In this nail-biting novel of mystery and dark intrigue, Jacob must walk the razor thin line between right and wrong, good and evil, and life and death. And time is running out. Because the Grim Reaper doesn't disappear. . . . He catches up."