Animal fantasy fun

My reading is currently outstripping my posting, so, even though I really do like to do things one book-one post, today I am clearing the decks of a few of animal fantasies that were nominated for the Cybils in middle grade sci fi/fantasy.  I've organized them by animal type.

Dogs

There are not that many fantasy dogs. possibly because dogs are not traditionally associated with the mysterious, dark, night, or possibly because dogs have such open and transparent personalities (compared to cats) that they lend themselves less well to magical intrigue (wolves and foxes, of course, are a different story).

In my Cybils reading to date (83 out of 151 books nominated) I have encountered only one book featuring dogs-- Pipper's Secret Ingredient, by Jane Murphy and Allison Fingerhuth, and even this one is not a fantasy because it has magic, but it's a fantasy because dogs are doing very human things.  The heroine of the story is a dog named Pipper who has an incredibly popular cooking blog...and a case of writer's block.   At last, with the help of her doggy  friends (introduced in an info-dump early on) inspiration strikes, and she sets off on a trip around the world, searching for the secret ingredient that makes for a perfect treat.

It's charmingly illustrated,  and I enjoyed the inclusion of pages and snippet's from Pipper's blog.   It is, due to the nature of the plot, somewhat episodic--Pipper in Egypt, Pipper in Paris, Pipper in Peru, but there is a subplot that links things together involving a dastardly food tycoon's efforts to find out what Pipper might discover.  He sets a bumbling dog spy on her trail, adding humor and a bit of excitement to the story. 

This is one to give to readers who like cooking and dogs; I'm not sure it has much more general child appeal, especially since the dogs are grown-ups. 

(review copy received from the author for Cybils purposes)

Pigeon

Ravens and crows seem to be showing up everywhere on covers these days, but the humble pigeon has a place in fantasy as well. 

Signed by Zelda, by Kate Feiffer, is the story of a New York pigeon and its three human friends--Lucy, who's been dragged unwillingly away from Georgia by her parents, Nicky, the boy who lives in the room above hers, spending lots of time jumping off his bed while he's in time-out (which is often), and Nicky's Grandmother Zelda, who lives even further up the building.

This is fantasy because Pigeon actually communicates with the humans, but really it's a mystery that revolves around Lucy's expertise in handwriting analysis, and the disappearance of Grandmother Zelda under shady circumstances.  Definitely more appeal for mystery lovers than for fantasy lovers.

I myself liked the handwriting analysis aspect of the book lots (there are little snippets of handwriting analysis instruction),  and Pigeon added interest, but the family dynamics that are at the heart of the book didn't work for me.   I couldn't believe in the choices Nicky's father makes (they are bad ones), and the sudden forgiveness that happens at the end. 

This is a multicultural one--Lucy's family is from India, and though she's small on the cover, she's convincingly depicted:

Bunnies

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny--Detectives Extraordinaire!, by Polly Horvath, is really truly animal fantasy (though there is also a mystery, it's not a mystery to the reader, who sees everything unfolding).  Human girl Madeline is the practical member of her family--her parents are hippies, living a live of spiritual vegetarian flakiness, and she's the one that changes the light bulbs.  When her parents are kidnapped by evil foxes (it's a long story),  Madeline is fortuitously taken in by two eccentric bunnies, who, though scattered in their thinking, and operating primarily by instinct, have decided to become detectives.    Clearly their first case must be to find Madeline's parents....

The world of the bunnies mirrors the human world, and Mr. and Mrs. Bunny are tremendously appealing (perhaps more so for an older reader, who finds the bickerings and humorous accommodations of old married couples more easy to relate to!).  Though the humor was slightly one-note, it was still very diverting. 

(Goodness--I just checked the Amazon reviews of this one, and it managed to upset a number of people who take deliberate, over-the-top caricature to be deliberate propaganda against all that is decent.  Many were upset that Madeline's hippy father uses the word "crap" early in the book (I didn't register it), and indeed, it's a word I wish wasn't in my own kids' vocabulary, and I'm a bit surprised the editors let it pass).

Mountain Lion  

Wobar and the Quest for the Magic Calumet, by Henry Homeyer has an ancient mystery--a lost Native American silver peace pipe (the calumet of the title); a ghost--the Revolutionary War soldier who was supposed to give it to George Washington; a foundling boy named Wobar who was born with a mustache, and a mountain lion named Roxie with whom he communicate telepathically.

Together, Roxie and Wobar must make their way from upstate New York to New Orleans to find the calumet and set it off on its path to bringing about world peace.

The adventures of the mountain lion and the boy are interesting--in particular, the logistical difficulties of being a small boy (with a moustache) travelling with a mountain lion are enjoyably explored.  But I was never able to suspend my disbelief enough to thoroughly enjoy this one.  I'll say straight up that the mustache threw me off lots--it didn't advance the plot, and I found it grotesque.  Likewise, I didn't see why the main character had to be called "Wobar"--it's never explained why he's named that, or who he really is.  On top of that,  the calumet was very much a MacGuffin.  This sort of thing makes it hard for me to suspend disbelief enough so as to enjoy a book. 

I think this is a case where if you like the cover, with all the strange and exiting things that happen depicted in a somewhat unsophisticated style, you might well like the book.

(review copy received for Cybils purposes)

Snow In Summer, by Jane Yolen

What if Snow White wasn't a princess, but just a girl, named Snow in Summer, loved by her papa and mama and growing up good and beautiful in the mountains of West Virginia in the mid-20th century?  And what if her mama died, and her papa was so grief stricken he couldn't spare a thought for his little girl anymore...but was ensnared by the magic of a wicked woman, who became the poor child's evil stepmother?

Snow in Summer, by Jane Yolen (Philomel, 2011) is that story, and these twists of time and place and character make for a fascinating retelling.   It's a dark one, starting off right away in sadness with the death of Summer's mother, and working its way slowly and inexorably into horror, as Summer's evil stepmother cuts the girl off from the rest of the community, punishes her horribly, and finally, plans to kill her.  For the stepmother's magic is dark indeed, and it's a greedy, hungry magic that feeds on young life....

Summer herself is aware that things are horribly wrong, but can't seem to find any way out of the maze of cruelty that's been woven around her.  It's not until she runs for her life that she finds a refugee--in the home of a family of small German immigrant brothers-- and that isn't until page 195.  

It wasn't one I loved.  I found Summer a somewhat distant, unemotional narrator, and I never connected quite enough with her to care all that much.  On top of that,  I couldn't help but feel that the last bit of the book was rushed (we don't get enough time to really get to know the Seven Dwarf equivalents), and the romance at the end (not even a romance) was unsatisfactorily tacked on.   But I did appreciate the freshness of  Jane Yolen's reworking, and can recommend it to fans of fairy tales on that basis--it made a lovely change from the faux medieval that's so ubiquitous in retellings (though I think I'll always love those medievally ones best!).

Those looking for fairy tale retellings with pretty dresses should look elsewhere (they will find the pretty cover has deceived them), but older middle-school kids (seventh graders or so) who are almost ready to move on to darkish, more Young Adult books may well enjoy it.  

Note on age:  The lust (verging on attempted rape) of the teenaged boy who has been charged with killing Summer pushes this, in my mind, out of the range of younger readers.

A sample of other reviews:  Semicolon, Leaf's Reviews, and Book Aunt

Fairy Tales From the Brothers Grimm, retold by Philip Pullman (plus giveaway)

Fairy Tales From the Brothers Grimm: a New English Version, by Philip Pullman (Viking Adult, November 12, 2012).

This is the first time I've ever written in a happy spirit about a book I haven't finished, and I feel absolutely no shame at all about not having read to the end!  I'm in no rush to hurry up and read it cover to cover--instead, I'm enjoying revisiting all my old friends, reading my favorite stories out loud to my children, and relishing Pullman's fresh and friendly story-telling.

He is an author who isn't afraid to translate "pisspot" (Pißput) as "pisspot," one who isn't afraid to let the players in the stories speak with contractions (though he plays it fairly straight--he doesn't use a specifically local speech, or the repetitive formulae of oral storytelling, as Alan Garner, for instance, does in his retellings).  And my children are enjoying the experience very much as well, much more so than the stiffer versions in my own childhood Grimm.

I didn't have enough enough books as a child living overseas, so I was forced to re-read those (relatively) few books I had  and that included Grimm.  Though I would periodically force myself to read straight through, I had my favorites, of course--The Golden Bird, Jorinda and Joringel, The Goose Girl...stories I knew pretty much by heart. 

Reading Pullman's retellings was like coming home to find the walls of my house repainted--fresh and bright and like new again, with the added bonus of some new rooms that I'd never been in before.

 This isn't a book specifically for children--there are no illustrations, no sanitization--though many children will enjoy reading it; instead there is lots of fascinating commentary on the stories.  This isn't one to put on the kids' bookshelf, in their room upstairs, but it's one that I'd shelve happily in the living room library, and not be at all ashamed of adult visitors seeing it there!

Giveaway:  To win your own copy of this one, leave a comment (with a way to get a hold of you if you don't have contact info. on your own blog) by next Wednesday, Nov. 14, at 11:59pm.  (US and Canada)

And the winner is...ILuvReadingTooMuch

(disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher)

13 Hangmen, by Art Corriveau, for Timeslip Tuesday

I'd thought that eventually I'd run out of time travel books for kids to fill my Timeslip Tuesday slots, but, happily, more keep coming!  13 Hangmen, by Art Corriveau (Amulet Books, April, 2012) is one of this year's crop.

The story begins when Tony DiMarco's great uncle dies, and leaves him number 13, Hangmen Court, an old row house in Boston (along with the first baseball cap Ted Williams ever owned).   The house comes with two conditions--not only must Tony and his family live there, but that Tony must sleep in the attic room.   Though the family are thrilled at first to have a home of their own, the house turns out to be in an awful state of repair.  Tony's annoying older twin brothers get two of the more decent rooms, but Tony's stuck up in the dump of the attic.

But in the attic is a stone with a spiral carved into it...and that stone marks a portal through time.  One by one, each of the five boys, all just turned 13, like Tony, who lived in that room before Tony are called together.  Each one shares his own story of how, despite poverty and prejudice, they were able to pass the house on to the next boy in the chain, keeping it from falling into the hands of the mysteriously rapacious Hagmann family next door.   These boys-- the children of Italian, Jewish, and Irish immigrants, a boy who escaped slavery and is being sheltered in this house by the Underground railroad, and finally, last in the chain, Paul Revere's apprentice-- all tell their other stories up in Tony's attic room.

And in the meantime, Tony is frantically trying to put all the clues in these stories together, to solve the mystery of what is hidden at 13 Hangmen Court, why the Hagmann family are so desperate to get the house, and how he can save the house itself from being condemned.   Even more pressingly, the current Mr. Hagmann has accused Tony's father of murdering Great Uncle Angelo....but it's clear to Tony that Mr. Hagmann himself is much more likely to have done so.

And even more in the meantime, Tony is struggling to lose weight (a small side plot that I found a bit distracting), struggling with his brothers, and working on finding his own place in the world.

The various historical narratives are fascinating, and quite boy friendly.  Though this is certainly an educational book, the pacing is fast enough, and the stories (both the past adventures of the boys, and the murder mystery of the present) are exciting enough, to keep the reader's interest.  I especially enjoyed how the various boys can only see what's in the attic room from times current with, and prior, to their own--this adds a nice dose of humor.

The author includes notes at the end that describes small liberties he took with the historical record, and I have no objection to authors of historical fiction adding details and motives and small events that aren't actually part of recorded history. However,  as a reader who knows something about the Native peoples of New England (because of being an archaeologist in New England), I was distressed by the liberties Corriveau took in appropriating and reshaping Native American culture to provide the mechanism for the time travel--to wit, using spiral petroglyphs, called "pawcorances", apparently (in this fictional world) quite commonly found in the Boston area, as portals to the past

Corriveau credits Myles Standish (as explained in the notes at the end of the book) with Captain John Smith's description of the concept of the "pawcorance"--which Smith translates as alter stones--transporting this mid-Atlantic word to New England.  To these stones Corriveau added on his own carvings of spiral petroglphys, and says that they marked "where the tribe's thirteen-year-old-braves held their vision quests" (page 87).   Although there are certainly many extensive and varied sacred stone landscapes in New England, some of which include petroglyphs,  I have never seen any spirals up here (New York state, and further south, there are spirals).  And please, can we just all agree to stop using the word "braves" like this?

On a smaller scale of irksomeness, the word "pawcornce" might well mean some type of small bird, but Corriveau's decision to translate it as "mocking-bird" was troublesome.  Mocking-birds have been extending their range north in the past decades, and were very uncommon hereabouts in the past, and they didn't play any documented role in any of the stories I know of from this region.

Corriveau then falls into a distressing anthropological stereotype, that of the Timeless Native -- "Nor did [the Native peoples of the region] have any concept of past or future.  For them, everything happened--birth, manhood, marriage, death--in one long, never ending now." (page 89)  Although there may well be no word for "time" in the various Algonquin languages,  it doesn't mean that there was no concept of past or future. 

I've detailed my unhappiness with this aspect of the book because it carried through the whole thing, and colored my reading experience--I wasn't able to trust the accounts of the later centuries I was given.  If it hadn't been for that, I'd recommend it highly as a fun and fascinating, historically rich, mystery, with specific appeal to boys who are Red Sox fans.

Other blog reviews at Hippies, Beauty, and Books...Oh My!, Semicolon,  In Bed With Books, and books4yourkids.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There

You might think from the title of The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There, by Catherynne M. Valente (Feiwel & Friends, October 2012, ages 10 and up), that young September's second visit to Fairyland is all fun and parties.  It's not.  Yes, there are revels...but this journey is a rather serious quest through Fairyland Below--one with Consequences.

In September's first adventure (The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making), she parted with her shadow.   And her shadow went down below, and became ruler of a land of wild revels, drawing ever more shadows down to her kingdom, and, in so doing, fatally weakening the magic of the land above.   So September decides to set things right (feeling somewhat responsible) and sets of to wake the missing prince of Fairyland below, and somehow bring the shadows back up above, to restore the missing magic.  In her travels, September meets the shadows of old friends, encounters many strange and magical beings (including lovey new friends, like the Night Dodo), and is sorely tested...but, being stubborn and determined, she never gives up. 

Like the first book, this is a somewhat episodic story, but here, because September (and the reader) know what's at stake pretty early on, it's a more clearly focused journey (which I appreciated).   The rich panoply of images and descriptions, and the unforgettable persons and places, full of marvellous detail, still comprise the bulk of the story telling, but the more serious focus, and September's greater self-awareness, make this one richer and deeper.

I enjoyed it very much (despite the fact that the Intrusive Narrator claimed to be my friend at one point, which I thought was presumptuous).

Note on age:  although this is one that is just fine for all ages, 13 year old September is very much the upper-middle-school-aged archetype--she does get her first kiss, but the YA themes of romance and separation aren't here.  Instead, it's a book about finding oneself in the context of friends and family (while having fantastical adventures).

Disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

The Nov. 3 Round-up of what I found in my blog reading of interest to fans of middle grade sci fi/fantasy

 Happy Daylight Savings Time, fellow USians! May today's extra hour bring you joy (or whatever).   Here's are the middle grade sci fi/fantasy book related posts I found this week (middle grade being roughly 9-12 years old); please let me know if I missed your post!

The Reviews

13 Hangmen, by Art Corroveau, at Semicolon

The Bad Apple, by T.R. Burns, at Secrets & Sharing Soda

Benjamin Franklinstein Meets Thomas Deadison, by Matthew McElligott and Larry Tuxbury, at Semicolon

Beauty and the Beast: the Only One Who Didn't Run Away, by Wendy Mass, at Charlotte's Library

Dead City, by James Ponti, at Book Sake

The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens, at Madigan Reads 

Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities, by Mike Jung, at Book Nut

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

Goblin Secrets, by William Alexander, at Book Nut
and Fuse #8

Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms, by Lissa Evans, at Challenging the Bookworm

In a Glass Grimmly, by Adam Gidwitz, at Book Nut

The Jewel of the Kalderash, by Marie Rutkoski, at alibrarymama

Keeper of the Lost Cities, by Shannon Messenger, at Michelle Mason

The Last Dragonslayer, by Jasper Fforde, at Sonderbooks 

The Legend of Ghost Dog, by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Mapmaker and the Ghost, by Sarvenas Tash, at Semicolon 

The Mark of Athena, by Rick Riordan, at Lit Princess, Zezee's Link, Consuming Books Bloggery!,  mylittlechateau,  Girl With a Straight Face, (and lots more....)

The Mythical 9th Division: Operation Robot Storm, by Alex Milway, at Jean Little Library 

Neversink, by Barry Wolverton, at Semicolon

Once Upon a Toad, by Heather Vogel Frederick, at Sonderbooks

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

The Peculiar, by Stefan Bachmann, at vikki vansickle

The River of No Return (Jaguar Stones Book 3), by J & P Voelkel, at Charlotte's Library

The Savage Fortress, by Sarwat Chadda, at The Enchanted Inkpot

The Secret Prophecy, by Herbie Brennan, at Julie DeGuia  (giveaway)

Seven-Day Magic, by Edward Eager, at Tor

Splendors and Glooms, by Laura Amy Schlitz, at Ex Libris

The Spy Princess, by Sherwood Smith, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile and Semicolon

Storybound, by Marissa Burt, at Geo Librarian

The Unwanteds, by Lisa McMann, at That's Another Story

A Warlock in Whitby, by Robin Jarvis, at Fantastic Reads

What Came From the Stars, by Gary Schmidt, at Semicolon 

The Wishing Spell, by Chris Colfer, at Lit Princess

The Wide-Awake Princess, by E.D. Baker, at Geo Librarian

Ana at The Book Smugglers looks at three classic mg horror stories


Authors

Catherynne M. Valente talking fairytales at BookYurt

Adam Gidwitz on fairytales (dark and grimm) at BookYurt

And continuing the theme, Marie Brennan talks about what makes a folk tale at Book View Cafe

Lana Krumwiede (Freakling) at Cynsations

Marissa Moss (Mira's Diary: Lost in Paris) at The Elliott Review (giveaway)

More Good Stuff

Ursula Le Guin is always Good Stuff-here's a review of her two just published short story anthologies at Slate -- lots of interesting thoughts on genre

Kid-Lit Cares--an auction to help those affected by Sandy (of particular interest to aspiring writers)

Tony DiTerlizzi's Top 10 Books for creeping out kids at Wire
and at Project Mayhem, scary stories for the non-horror reading kid.

At Scribble City Central, it's "S is for Slaugh" with Lucy Coats.

Something to keep in mind as we eat left-over Halloween candy--chocolate makes snails smarter 

 But the best thing of all that I saw this week has to be the WW II message capsule found on the leg of a long-deceased homing pigeon (here's my take on it)

Beauty and the Beast: The Only One Who Didn't Run Away

Way back in 2005, Wendy Mass published the first in her Twice Upon a Time series--Rapunzel: the One With All the Hair. The second book, Sleeping Beauty: the One Who Took a Really Long Nap, followed in 2006. And then Mass left fairy tales for the next few years (though she didn't leave off magic). This year Mass returned to Twice Upon a Time, with Beauty and the Beast: the Only One Who Didn't Run Away (Scholastic, middle-grade, June 2012).

And, um, it didn't work for me.  Not in a horribly negative way--I have no hostile feelings at all toward it.   I didn't mind reading it, and was diverted--all the things I like about the story as it exists in my mind (the bookish little sister who cares about important things, the Beast with a backstory--likable, even lovable, under the fur, the castle with books) are there.  A younger reader might well enjoy it lots, what with its likable heroine, and its mix of humor and a serious, life-or-death, story.

But it felt a bit off to me.  For one thing, Beauty doesn't arrive at the castle until page 212 of 282 pages, so Beauty and the Beast getting to know each other is a lot less important than it often is, and since that is my favorite part of the story, it was a disappointment.   And what comes before The Meeting doesn't make up for it.  Before we get there, we have lots of kind of inconsequential stuff, along with two main sub stories (told in the alternative perspectives of Beauty and the Beast), to wit:

1.  A quest adventure that Beauty has on her own, the point of which doesn't become at all clear until quite close to the end of the book (and even when it's clear it doesn't seem like much point).  It was a really implausible sort of quest too, involving a girl who is kind of fairy-like wanting to find something her mother lost years ago, and it doesn't have much umph to it and it beats me why anyone thought that Beauty, just cause she didn't have much else better to do and was reasonably bright and spunky, and had travelled a little, would be the perfect travelling companion for this mysterious little girl.  But the baker's apprentice is going too, and pleasant, intelligent young bakers with no skills beyond baking are awfully useful on quests (?). 

2.  The story of how the Beast came to be a Beast, and how his invisible parents and older brother and him in Beast form all live together in the castle hoping for a girl to come marry him.  This part made more sense, although the logistical details of the invisible family (they were keeping their presence secret) bothered me, and the older brother was incredibly annoying and the parents not much better.

So those two stories get the reader to page 212, when the Meeting happens, and then Beauty, being really special, manages to fall in love with the Beast at an unrealistic speed (though they share a keen interest in alchemy, which is nice for them).  This disappointed me, because I like people to fall in love with slow, inexorable subtly.  And then the bad witch who cursed the beast gets what she deserves.

In both these substories, the tone felt unbalanced to me--there was considerable humor, of an almost teetering on farce type, but then the reader was asked to take the story seriously regardless.   Perhaps if the Beast hadn't been named Riley I would have liked it more, but Riley seems to me so 21st-century a name that from the moment I read it (page 6) I was distrustful, and it underscored the disjuncture I felt between the book's "relatable fun" and its moments of "serious historical fantasy." (The cover makes me similarly uneasy--that dress looks much more modern than I think it should, suggesting a contemporary romance).

In short, this re-telling didn't hang together in a cohesive way, but felt like piece-work, kind of randomly joined at the seams. Of course, for this fairy tale, Beauty, by Robin McKinley, set so very high a re-telling bar that nothing else really comes close for me....

"Christmas won't be Christmas without any [dead pigeon bones]"

Bonus points if you recognize the quotation (Amy in Little Women). Even more bonus points if you realized I was talking about the very deceased homing pigeon from World War II that was just found in an English chimney, message capsule still intact.

From The Huffington Post:  "Martin said he and his wife Anne "were stunned it was like Christmas had come early. The chimney was full of hundreds of twigs and rubbish and then I just started finding various bits of a dead pigeon."

Obviously I have been doing the gift giving thing all wrong.

The other thing that struck me about the story (apart from the sad poignancy of homing instincts gone terribly wrong) is that it's taking so long to decode the message.  Surely somewhere the British Government still has "A Handy Guide to WW II Codes" or some such.   However, it seems like it might have been a tough nut to crack even then:

"Whatever it was, it must have been "highly top secret," said Colin Hill, curator of Bletchley Park’s ‘Pigeons at War’ exhibit and a volunteer for the Royal Pigeon Racing Association. He told the Mail that of more than 30 messages from WWII carrier pigeons in the collection, not a single one is written in code."

What will it say??!!!

The Publishers Weekly list of Best Books--with four mg sff books making it on

 Best Books of the Year season is here, with Publishers Weekly presenting their list.   I of course zoomed in on the children's books, and here are the middle grade fantasy books that made it on.  (The links take you to what PW says about them in the Best Books list)

 The Peculiar, by Stefan Bachmann    Yep, I agree wholeheartedly.  This is one that impressed the heck out of me too!

In a Glass Grimmly, by Adam Gidwitz   I can get behind this one too.  For reasons that I'm not at all clear about, A Tale Dark and Grimm left me cold, but I enjoyed this one lots.

Starry River of the Sky, by Grace Lin     I enjoyed it, it's a beautiful book, and I'm happy to recommend it enthusiastically.

Yay!  The next mg sff book on the list is The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen.  Yay!  One of my personal favorites of the year.

I was also pleased to see Bitterblue, a book I'm very fond of.  But you know, I really don't think Wonder was all that great.  It seems to me that the message has more appeal than the writing...

Why I vote

Back in 2008, a group of bloggers organized a day on which they gathered together posts about why voting matters.   They're doing it again this year, and again I'm taking part.  (Here's the round-up post, at Chasing Ray).

So here's why I'm voting.

I'm voting because there is more at stake than just who becomes president--the local elections are going to have an immediate impact on my life in my small New England town, and I have been busily trying to find out which local candidates share my concerns--it's hard, because (strangely (not)) no one candidate completely agrees with me (as I have explained to my boys, I myself would be utterly unelectable). 

But I'm going to be studying the candidates carefully, because the choices that the people who win in these local elections make are going to affect my life almost immediately (what, for instance, will happen to the large piece of land, teetering on the edge of vast commercial development, up at the end of my street?  Will having legalized gambling help my state's economy, or should I vote against it because of the fact that our federally recognized Indian tribe cannot legally have a casino? Will voters approve bond issues giving us better colleges and more open space?  Will my  friends get to marry each other?).  

In short, voting matters, at a purely pragmatic, practical, local level, to everyone.  Almost immediately.

But in my heart I vote because I'd feel ashamed if I didn't.  Here's what I wrote back in 2008 (now slightly edited), that explains why:

On Tuesday morning, my boys and I are going to go vote (my husband would be voting too, if he were a citizen). It's a short drive to the elementary school just up the road, but it's long enough for me to tell them stories.

This year I'll be reminding them of the Arab Spring--with all its hope and horror and repercussions that are still being played out.

I'll tell them about the monks of Burma taking to the streets in peaceful protest five years, and how we might never know how many disappeared or died. About Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, locked in her house for years. About the military dictatorship that killed and imprisoned anyone who tries to make their voice heard (my eyes get a little teary).   (note to self:  see what's up in Myanmar these days: World Bank approves first aid in 25 years--good; ethnic violence imperils reform--bad).

Then I'll tell them how I watched, back in 1989, a young man in China block the path of a tank, simply by standing still. I'll tell them of people who risk everything for the rights we take for granted.


At this point we'll be pulling into the school parking lot. Sniffing hard, I'll tell my boys that it is to honor these people around the world, who would die to have our rights, that I vote every chance I get. That if I let my voice be silenced, out of laziness or inertia, I would be failing them.

And I'll tell my boys that maybe my one little vote, here in our small state, won't make or break the national election. But if we throw away the chance to vote, as if it were of no importance, we dismiss the struggles of people past and present to get that chance.

We'll walk past the people holding signs for their various candidates (who aren't afraid of being dragged away by evil government agents), we'll walk to the nice folks handing out ballots (our friends and neighbors, who are doing their best to run a good and careful election), and I'll have to sniff again before being able to say my name.

"Voting always makes me cry," I'll explain, with my best attempt at an insouciant shrug. Because, darn it, it does.

And my children, being older and more adolescent than they were four years ago, will probably be hideously embarrassed.  Tough.  

The River of No Return (The Jaguar Stones, Book 3)

For those who are not familiar with The Jaguar Stones series, by J & P Voelkel, its the story of what happens when the Mayan Death Lords seek to get their greedy little supernatural hands of death on the five Jaguar Stones that will let them unleash an apocalypse of doom on humanity. Two kids, Max from Boston, the child of archaeologists who are experts on Mayan culture, and Lola, who is Mayan, are basically all that's standing in their way, desperately keeping the fifth of the Jaguar Stones safe.

In The River of No Return, the third book of the series, Max and Lola return to the jungle...and find the Death Lords eager as all get out to get their little undead hands on the fifth stone.   In a series of harrowing, yet humorous, adventures (mainly set in a hotel of Mayan Death Doom), Max and Lola find themselves cast as the divine twin heroes who long ago defeated the Death Lords.  However, in as much as Max and Lola are not divine hero twins, things get a bit tricky....rather gruesomely!

Oh gosh.  How to "review" this without resorting to adjectival cliches? (such as:  action packed, thrilling, gripping, rip-roaring,  laugh-out-loud,  kid/boy-friendly).   Fortunately for my own reading taste, all these cliches come in a story that has narrative coherence  and interesting characters, and although it perhaps tilts slightly too much toward the farcical for my taste (tapir pee for the win!), I still enjoyed it lots.   Not, you know, enjoyed it in a "this is a life-changing book of transcendent beauty" way, but more "that was a fun read."

And it's always a nice change to read a (cliche being used alert) rip-roaring, action packed fantasy that draws on a non-European tradition.  Quick--how many other Mayan inspired fantasy adventure stories for kids (written in English) can you think of?  Answer:  arguably Summer of the Mariposas.  Arguably Sea of the Dead.  Then silence from me (if you can think of others, let me know!). 

Additional bonus points:

1.   I like the pro-environment message. I think cutting down the rainforest is sub-optimal. 
2.  I like the educational glossary.  Learning is good.
3.  Though the story is told from Max's point of view, Lola is a worthy heroine of the Strong Girl type.  That being said, Max is less annoying in this book, which is good, but Lola is still the brains of the team (this isn't all that hard, though Max is making progress).
4.  A nice jaguar, for readers looking for nice jaguars.
5.  (Possibly a bonus) disgusting food and gore, for readers looking for disgusting food (both man-made--pizza gelato, and supernatural--Death Lord cuisine) and gore (of a festering kind, rather than characters getting gorily disemboweled or what have you).

Here are my reviews of book 1:  Middleworld (which I called (sigh) "a fun, fast read") and book 2: The End of the World Club ("exciting reading"). 

disclaimer:  review copy of this thrilling page-turner received from the publisher at BEA

Diverse Energies--an anthology of stories from Tu Books

Diverse Energies, edited by Tobias S. Buckell and Joe Monti (Tu Books, Oct. 2012), is an anthology of short strories (most new, some rediscovered) describing futures full of a diverse set of characters from a group of authors who are basically the stars of diverse speculative fiction--Ellen Oh, Daniel H. Wilson, Greg van Eekhout, Malinda Lo, Paolo Bacigalupi, and more.   There's also a reprinted story by Ursula Le Guin, the grand dame of diverse futures.

It's a pretty fierce collection of stories--happy endings are in short supply.  The heroes and heroines are almost all in desperate, dystopian circumstances--kids and teens living on the margins, in poverty or slavery.   The imagination of the authors is here in full force, with wild creations, such as Paolo Bacigalupi's living architecture in "A Pocket Full of Dharma", robots running amok in "Freshee's Frogurt" by Daniel H. Wilson (not a good one for those of us with tooth anxiety--bad things happen to teeth), and robot miners controlled by the minds of enslaved children, in What Arms to Hold, by Rajan Khanna.

And there are dystopias, with miserable and desperate children and teens, struggling to stay alive, and to love (when love is still possible).   The collection starts with one of these--Ellen Oh's memorable story of the effects of a totally senseless war on one starving boy (not for the faint of heart), and that beginning warns the reader that this anthology is no romp with multicultural unicorn kittens.

As with any anthology, there were some stories that appealed more to me than others.  The story by Ursula Le Guin--Solitude--, though one I had read before, is so fully real and so powerful, that I'm always happy to read it again---it takes place on a planet of culturally-imposed introversion, where there are only persons, and no people.   Again as always the case when I read short fiction, I often found myself wanting the story to go on!   If K. Tempest Bradford, for instance, continues the story of Iliana, caught in a stream of time slippages and forced to live a kaleidoscope of disparate futures, I will be right there in line waiting for it.  

So, in short, this anthology is pretty dark, very memorable, and very gripping.   Too dark, really, for my personal taste (though I do have a mind above rainbow kittens), but one that should appeal lots to those who enjoy their futures both diverse and murky!

Here are Tanita's thoughts, at Finding Wonderland

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

Waiting on Wednesday--Elemental, by Antony John

Always there are more books that I want, though I have so very, very, many to read...Today I'm looking forward to Elemental, by Antony John, author of Five Flavors of Dumb, which I've heard many good things about, and which I want to read too!  With his new book (coming November 21 from Dial), John has turned to sci fi/fantasy, and it sounds great:

Here's the Amazon blurb: "In the near future, most of the population of the United States has been destroyed by the plague. The few remaining survivors live in colonies on the barrier islands off the East Coast. In one colony near Cape Hatteras, almost all the members have elemental powers and can control wind, water, earth, and fire. All but sixteen-year-old Thomas. When the Guardians, the powerful adult leaders, are kidnapped by pirates seeking to take over their colony, it is up to Thomas and a small group of teens to save them and preserve the mysteries of the island.

Fast action, strategy, and mystery churn together into a bold and fresh fantasy from an award-winning author."

And here's the Goodreads blurb:  "Sixteen-year-old Thomas has always been an outsider. The first child born without the power of an Element—earth, water, wind or fire—he has little to offer his tiny, remote Outer Banks colony. Or so the Guardians would have him believe.

In the wake of an unforeseen storm, desperate pirates kidnap the Guardians, intent on claiming the island as their own. Caught between the plague-ridden mainland and the advancing pirates, Thomas and his friends fight for survival in the battered remains of a mysterious abandoned settlement. But the secrets they unearth will turn Thomas’ world upside-down, and bring to light not only a treacherous past but also a future more dangerous than he can possibly imagine."

I'm always intrigued by sff that involves the elements...

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

Giveaway deadlines extended thanks to Sandy

We came through Sandy unscathed--just one tree down in the woods--but lots of people are without power, and the coast got pretty hard hit.   I know there are lots of folks in dire straights, with much more to think about than entering giveaways (and of course my thoughts are withe everyone badly affected), but just in case there are a few more would-be winners, I'm extending both my on-going giveaways till midnight on Friday.

So, leave a comment here to win a copy of Mira's Diary: Lost in Paris (great for your middle grade girl reader), or enter here to win a bundle of elementary/middle grade fun from Penguin (and now I myself am off to enter to win that very bundle at the other participating blogs! and to fix the formatting that Blogger decided to play with on my Penguin giveaway post...)

And now we must carve our pumpkins.  And I must help my son put together his costume--he wants to be an Internet Troll.  I find this a difficult cotume concept....

A Wrinkle In Time: the Graphic Novel, for Timeslip Tuesday

Hope Larson has done a magnificent job bringing Madeline L'Engle's classic story, A Wrinkle in Time, to graphic novel form (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Oct., 2012).  All the words that I remember so very, very clearly from my multiple re-readings are there--the thoughts and words of the characters that I can almost quote verbatim--and the descriptive elements are captured very nicely indeed by the straightforward, blue/black/white illustrations.   A Wrinkle in Time is certainly a story that deserves a wide audience, and it's great that it's now accessible to those who prefer to read graphic novels.  It could not be more faithful to the book--here is Meg's whole journey, from the storm that begins things, with all the little details still there, continuing on through to her rescue of her little brother from a dark, alien planet with nothing left out (at least, nothing I noticed).

This close adherence to the original is reflected in the length of the book--389 pages--so those who have young readers reluctant to tackle long books that are all words can feel comfortable that lots of actual reading will be done.  Making it even more reluctant read friendly is that just about every word is either dialogue, or Meg's thoughts--everything else is told in the pictures.  One exception I just found in leafing through was on page 19, when Meg is coming down from her attic room.  The creaking seventh step that she steps over is labeled "creaking seventh step," which tickled me very much, and which reassured me that this would be beautifully true to the original!  And the other exception is the opening-- "It was a dark and stormy night," which I would have been sad to have seen cut!
  

Despite the sound of the story, it does not, to me, have the taste of science fiction.  It feels more like a quest fantasy, with the three chosen children heading out into danger, with powerful guardians helping them as much as possible, but ultimately sending them on alone to meet the Dark Power.   The fact that the adventure takes place on alien planets, and that the mechanism for travel between them is "scientific" (because scientists are doing it) isn't enough to counterbalance the magical force of the three guardians, and the utterly unscientific gifts, located deep within the characters themselves, that make the story happen.

Likewise, several people over the years have suggested A Wrinkle in Time as one to include on my list of Time Slip books, but I've been reluctant to do so.  For me, this isn't most truly a time travel book (it's space travel).  But reading it again, I found a little snippet of conversation that I hadn't ever focused on before.  "We made a nice little time tesser," [says Mrs Whatsit], "and unless something goes terribly wrong we'll have you back about five minutes before you left.  Nobody will know you were gone at all" (page 147).  Which I guess is the titular wrinkle, and it's enough to convince me to give it a slot on my list!

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher.

Magisterium, by Jeff Hirsch

Magisterium, by Jeff Hirsch (Scholastic, October 1, younger YA, 2012)--a good one for the younger YA reader who enjoys sci-fi and magic mixed together to form a high-stakes thriller.

It's the year 2153; over a hundred years have passed since the cataclysmic formation of the Rift divided Earth into two distinct parts.  On one side, a girl named Glenn has grown up in a high tech world, living at the edge of the Rift, with no desire to explore its forbidding, and forbidden, wastes.  But when a government raid on her father's workshop ends up with her father imprisoned and no where else to run, Glenn, along with her friend Kevin, flees across the border.

There she finds a world of magic--a place where she is taken under the protectin of a sentient feline warrior, known as Aamon, a place where those with Affinity can feel the magic, and bend it to their own ends.   And no one can control the Affinity more powerfully than the sinister figure known as the Magistra, who rules with an iron hand.

Glenn is shielded from the force of the Affinity by the bracelet her father had made, a marvel of magic and technology that is the reason for the government's all to fierce interest in her family.   But Kevin becomes drawn into the world across the rift, sharing his memories with a boy cruelly executed by the Magistra.   And Aamon (Glenn's own cat) was the one responsible for bringing her to power.

As the secrets of this new and blood-soaked land gradually reveal themselves, Glenn is forced to determine where her loyalties lie...and what will happen to her when she takes the bracelet off, and all the wild magic of the Affinity threatens to consume her, just as it did the Magistra.  And the arrival of a high tech attacking the people of the Magisterium forces Glenn to decide if she will use her power...or watch people die.

It was a gripping and interesting story, with revelation following on revelation, danger following danger.   It's one I'd recommend to the younger YA reader looking for a high-stakes science ficitony/fantasy adventure, especially the reader who isn't drawn to stereotypical other-world-with-magic fantasy--there are strange creatures here, to be sure, but no unicorns or wands!  I say younger YA because Glenn presents as being young--she's resisting Kevin's romantic nudgings in a very prickly adolescent not wanting things to change way, her plot arc is still focused on family, as opposed to her own life, and she has not become the fully "strong teen protagonist" type that I be she'll be in later books.  And this isn't a criticism--just an aspect of the book that might make it appeal more to a 12 year old than to a 17 year old.

The story is told in  tight third person perspective--we see what Glenn sees, and understand what she does.   Since she's in a situation that is as confusing as all get out, at times I myself was confused, especially with regard to minor characters.   The fast progression from one dangerous encounter to the next allowed little time to fall back and regroup, which was somewhat off-putting to me personally.  I like to spend peaceful time with characters, getting to know and care about them when they aren't in danger/disagreeing vehemently with each other/totally self-absorbed, and I get muddled if too much World Building Extravaganza is heaped on top of itself.

However, the tight concentration on Glenn's perspective allows the emotional tension of her situation to come through with vivid clarity, adding intensity to the story.  The relationship between prickly Glenn, desperate for order and things that makes sense, and Kevin, busily introducing the disrupting force of romance into her life, and a fine character in his own right, is very nicely done indeed.

Conclusion:  I found it an absorbing read, not quite to my own personal taste, but one that I would happily offer to a seventh or eighth grade girl who wants a good speculative fiction adventure (especially the girl who is really fond of her cat.  The Girl-Beloved cat relationship is important here).   For those concerned about such things, there's quite a bit of violence, but no sex--just one passionate kiss (with Kevin, not with the cat, just in case anyone was confused).


Other reviews:  The Book Smugglers, The Cozy Armchair, and YA Litwit

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

This week's middle grade fantasy and sci fi round-up (October 28, 2012)

Welcome to another week's worth of my middle grade fantasy/sci fi blog gleenings!  Please let me know if I missed your post.

First:  I have two giveaways going on right now, and it would make me happy if more people entered.  First, Mira's Diary: Lost in Paris, and second, an awesome prize pack of middle grade goodness from Penguin.   Please enter.

The Reviews:

Be My Enemy (Planesrunner), by Ian McDonald, at The Intergalactic Academy

The Book of Three, by Lloyd Alexander, at alibrarymama

The Book of Wonders, by Jasmine Richards, at Semicolon 

The Cloak Society, by Jeramey Kraatz, at Charlotte's Library and Ms. Yingling Reads and also at Book Aunt (scroll down)

Deadweather and Sunrise (The Chronicles of Egg, book 1), by Geoff Rodkey, at Book Nut

The Diary of B.B. Bright, Possible Princess, by  Alice Randall and Caroline Randall Williams, at Parenthetical

Earwig and the Witch, by Diana Wynne Jones, at Semicolon

The Fairies of Nutfolk Wood, by Barb Ullman, at Jean Little Library

The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen, at That Blog Belongs to Emily Brown

Freakling, by Lana Krumwiede, at My Precious

Gathering Blue, by Lois Lowry, at Becky's Book Reviews

Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities, by Mike Jung, at Book Aunt (scroll down)  

The Giver, by Lois Lowry, at Becky's Book Reviews

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Catherynne M. Valente, at janicu's book blog, Book Harbinger,  and Chachic's Book Nook

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There, by Catherynne Valente, at The Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia

Gobbolino the Witch's Cat, by Ursula Moray Williams, at Nayu's Reading Corner

Goblin Secrets, by William Alexander, at A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy

The Golden Door, by Emily Rodda, at Sharon the Librarian

The High Skies Adventures of Blue Jay the Pirate, by Scott Nash, at books4yourkids 

House of Many Ways, by Diana Wynne Jones, at The Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia

Iron Hearted Violet, by Kelly Barnhill, at BooksYALove and Charlotte's Library

The Iron Ring, by Lloyd Alexander, at Quirky Bookworm

Kat, Incorrigible, by Stephanie Burgis, at Fantasy Literature

Liesl and Po, by Lauren Oliver, at Akossiwa Ketoglo

The Mark of Athena, by Rick Riordan, at Book Nut and Kid Lit Geek

Mira's Diary: Lost in Paris, by Marissa Moss, at Charlotte's Library (giveaway)

The Ninnies, by Paul Magrs, at Strange and Random Happenstance 

Once Upon a Toad, by Heather Vogel Frederick, at Charlotte's Library

Ordinary Magic, by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway, at Sonderbooks

Peaceweaver, by Rebecca Barnhouse, at Semicolon

The Peculiar, by Stefan Bachman, at One Librarian's Book Reviews

Renegade Magic, by Stephanie Burgis, at Book Nut 

The Rock of Ivanore, by Laurisa White Reyes, at Semicolon

The Secret Prophecy, by Herbie Brennan, at Book Aunt (scroll down)

Small Change for Stuart (aka Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms), by Lissa Evans, at The Book Smugglers

Snow in Summer, by Jane Yolen, at Semicolon and Becky's Book Reviews

The Spindlers, by Lauren Oliver, at Book Nut

The Storm Makers, by Jennifer E. Smith, at alibrarymama

Stout Hearts and Whizzing Biscuits, by Daniel McInerny, at Middle Grad Mafioso

Summer and Bird, by Katherine Catmull, at Great Imaginations

The Supernaturalist, by Eoin Colfer, at Maria's Melange

The Tilting House, by Tom Llewellyn, at By Singing Light

Time Twister: Journal #3 of a Cardboard Box, by Frank Asch, at Time Travel Times Two

The Undertakers--  Rise of the Corpses, and Queen of the Dead, by Ty Drago, at The Book Smugglers

The Voyage of Lucy P. Simmons, by Barbara Marionda, at Book Nut

The Whispering House, by Rebecca Wade, at Good Books and Good Wine


Authors and Interviews

Morgan Keyes (Darkbeast) at The Enchanted Inkpot

William Alexander (Goblin Secrets) at Nerdy Book Club

Katherine Catmull (Summer and Bird) at Adventures in YA & Children's Publishing

Jeannie Mobley (Katerina's Wish) at The Children's Book Review (I think this might well be historical fiction with a fantasy-esque side story nestled inside it, but it's still of interest

Ty Drago (The Undertakers) at The Book Smugglers

Shelby Bach (Of Giants and Ice) at Literary Rambles (giveaway)

Jacqueline Kelly (of Calpurnia Tate fame) on her new book, Return to the Willows (as in, Wind in the...), at the NY Times

Anne Ursu (Breadcrumbs) at the New York Public Library Blog


Other Good Stuff

Click-Clack the Rattlebag, a short story written and performed by Neil Gaiman, free at Audible until October 31.

Harry Potter and The Quiet Book--a cute as all get out interactive felt version from Julie's Blog (thanks to Finding Wonderland for the link)

S is for Satyr, with Philip Womack, at Scribble City Central

Cool author chat today: 

FANTASTICAL WORLDS:

In Conversation with Rachel Hartman,

Stefan Bachmann, and Christopher Paolini

10/28/12 2PM - 3PM 2012

 Tor has a piece on horror stories for children, and also offers this comparison of Dwarves then and now (I love that original Dutch cover to pieces):

Once Upon a Toad, by Heather Vogel Frederick

I have always appreciated the story of the two sisters who are rewarded/punished for their behavior with flower and jewels, or reptiles and amphibians, coming from their mouths when they speak.  It was a very unambiguous story--the good child is rewarded, the bad child punished.  End of story.  Clearly spraying those around you with flowers and jewels is better than drooling toads.

Or maybe not. 

Once Upon a Toad, by Heather Vogel Frederick is a retelling of this fairytale, set very much in the present day, but with a magic that makes no concession to modernity!  It's the story of two girls--stepsisters--who loathe each other.  One of whom, Cat, is blessed (?) with a fairy godmother, her Great Aunt Abyssinia, who leaps in to set things right (?).  Suddenly Cat finds herself speaking toads, and her mean girl stepsister, Olivia, speaks in diamonds and flowers (the species of flower changing depending on her mood, which I thought was a nice touch).

Of course, this being the 21st century, a secret branch of the government becomes keenly interested when Olivia's gift becomes public knowledge (Cat manages to maintain a charade of laryngitis).  And diamonds, being diamonds, attract the interest of would-be profiteers....When Cat and Olivia's mutual little brother is kidnapped by these bad guys, the two girls head off to find Great Aunt Abyssinia, desperate to get him back, and to have their "gifts" rescinded.

It's an entertaining retelling, nicely fractured and reassembled into a coherent adventure.   There are Issues dealt with--coming to terms with family relationships that are forced on you, learning to get along with, and even appreciate,  people very different from yourself --but though these issues are very clearly present, even underlined, they don't take over the story (much).   This is a fantasy that might well appeal to  middle school girls who would generally prefer realism, and who think they don't like magic.  And for those who do like magic, the contemporary setting makes a nice change.  Not necessarily a deep or powerfully moving change (it's not subtle or profound enough for that), but fun nonetheless.

Iron Hearted Violet, by Kelly Barnhill

Iron Hearted Violet, by Kelly Barnhill (Little Brown, Oct. 2012, middle grade) is a moving and memorable story of a brave girl confronting a terrible darkness.

(That's me deciding that I should start every review with a little teaser sentence so that people will keep reading.  This is me thinking my teaser sentence is somewhat banal.  Oh well).

Violet is the princess of a land that lies beneath a mirrored sky lit by two suns, one of many worlds in a multiverse of all the possibilities the creator gods imagined.  She is not a beautiful princess, but she is beloved, and as the only child of the king and queen, she is her country's hope and heart.   She is a child of stories, listing to all the tales the old story master shared with her, and making up her own spellbinding sagas.  And she and her friend Demetrius, the son of the stable master, grow up in happy exploration of the castle...untrammeled (through deliberate avoidance on Violet's part) of social and situational expectation (which is to say, Violet isn't exactly a docile pupil).  And though she knows that she isn't beautiful, as a true princess should be, Violet is happy.

But one day, in their explorations of the mysterious, miniature labyrinth of panelled passageways, secreted within the castle walls, the two children come across a hidden chamber.  In it was imprisoned a dark secret...an ancient power of evil, desperate to be free, that latches onto Violet with wily tendrils of mental malevolence.

And then everything goes wrong.  Horribly, sadly, wrong...except, as is always the case in the best sort of stories, there is hope--hope that Violet can stay true to herself, hope that Demeterius will be a stalwart friend and defender, hope that the stories of the ancient gods are true...and hope that the last of the dragons might find his hidden heart...and take up, once more, the burden of love.

Iron Hearted Violet was a book that held my attention raptly, but one that made me so sad and discouraged in its middle section that it was painful to keep reading.   But that was never an option, because I was so interested I needed to go on...

It was a book that made pictures in my mind (which is important to me), and looking back on it, I find that the pictures are clearest of the two places on which the book hinges most deeply....the two places where the heart of the matter lies--the hidden room deep within, and the enclosure outside in which the last dragon is imprisoned (for his own good--the king does not wish him ill).   It's a book full of stories told and lived and changed....and I am always a sucker for books in which such stories are key to the change that must happen for there to be a happy ending.

It's a book that I won't give to my nine year old, because it is too sad.  But it's a book that I think will be just right for the right reader--the dreamy 11 or 12 year old girl, or the grown-up who still appreciates "children's books" without getting all critical because of them not being written for adults.  Except, that is, for those like me who don't like it when things go deeply wrong for young protagonists.   It's a book I think I might like much more the second time around, knowing that it will be ok!  (That being said, the black and white illustrations by Iacopo Bruno were rather warmly comforting in their small details, which was a help to me).

One very personal thing that kept me from loving this one is that Violet, under the influence of events, becomes rather unsympathetic for much of the middle.  So not only are things going wrong in general, but instead of rooting for Violet, I found myself wanting to shake her somewhat.  Edited to add: happily, she throws off the enchantment while there is still much of the book left to read and enjoy, and I became able to root for the new, heroic Violet whole-heartedly.  A second thing I didn't care for (and again, this is personal)-- there's an intrusive narrator, the court storyteller, who didn't add much value for me. 

Still, it was thought-provoking, and magical, and strong...and I really hope that some of you who are regular readers read it too and tell me what you think!  I'd recommend it in particular to anyone who enjoyed Reckless, by Cornelia Funke (though this skews slightly younger).

disclaimer:  review copy received from the publisher.

My stop on Penguin's Halloween Tour of fun and prizes, starring Undead Ed!

I'm thrilled to be part of Penguin Young Readers Halloween blog tour of awesome! At participating blogs, you'll find a variety of fun books highlighted, each with a costume idea, and each with a giveaway of the books being featured! My book is:

Undead Ed by Rottertly Ghoulstone"When Ed Bagley wakes up in a yucky sewer --and discovers he's a zombie-- things can't get any weirder! That is, until his evil arm scurries off his shoulder and into the town of Mortlake to cause all sorts of trouble.

Un-armed and dangerous, Ed teams up with his werewolf buddy Max Moon to track down his rogue limb and save Mortlake from the evil at the center of it all.

This formerly unlucky kid is out to prove he really is all guts! But when he's faced with gross ghouls, wormy wraiths, freaky fat babies, and some seriously sinister clowns, will Ed and his undead friends have enough skin on their bones to save the day? Or will this arm-y prove too tough to hand-le?

Hilariously illustrated zombie antics make this the perfect next book for fans of Zombiekins!"
The Costume:

If you you want to take Undead Ed as your inspiration, and zombie it up, here are some ideas:

1. Grab an old t-shirt and pants and use a pair of scissors to create tears and frayed edges.
2. Use some black, white and brown make-up (either bought at your local halloween store or even borrowed from mom!) to hightlight your cheekbones and give you that zombie paleness. You can even use some red lipstick to create gashes and blood stains!
3. Make sure to practice your zombie moan before heading out the door! (I've also noticed my own young zombies shambling around muttering Brains!  Brains!)
4. This next one is my very own idea, inspired by Undead Ed's arm--cut the sleeve of an old shirt.  Sew an old mitten or glove on one end, with some bent clothes hanger tucked in the finger area, so that it can serve as a bag holder (until your bag gets too heavy).  Put a stick, or something else straight and rigid in your sleeve (make sure it's a bit longer than the sleeve), then stuff it.   Use food color to dye some cotton balls red.  Sew up the end of the sleeve (with the stick poking out), and allow the red cotton balls to kind of ooze out of your seam.  Then you can keep one arm hidden inside your shirt, and hold your detached arm, using it to offer your bag to whoever answers the door!  When your bag gets to heavy for your undead arm, simply carry it in your concealed hand...

Purchase Undead Ed here!
Amazon, Barnes and Noble IndieBound

Blog Tour Schedule 
Mon 10.22 MundieKids  IN A GLASS GRIMMLY 
Tues 10.23 Green Bean Teen Queen GUSTAV GLOOM 
Thurs 10.25 Shelf Elf  CHRONICLES OF EGG 
Fri 10.26 Bookalicious  CREATURE FROM THE 7TH GRADE
Mon 10.29 Book Chic WEREWORLD 
Tues 10.30 Books Together BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE 

And now, the Giveaway--one lucky commentator will win all the books featured!  Just leave  comment with enough info. to allow me to get in touch, by the stroke of midnight on Halloween! (which is to say, 11:59 EST, Oct. 31).  DEADLINE EXTENDED till Friday, 11: 59 EST

Wereworld: Shadow of the Hawk, by Curtis Jobling 
In a Glass Grimmly, by Adam Gidwitz
The Creature from the 7th Grade, by Bob Balaban
Books of Elsewhere, by Jacqueline West Gustav Gloom and the People Takers, by Adam-Troy Castro
Undead Ed, by Rotterly Ghoulstone Deadweather and Sunrise: Chronicles of Egg, by Geoff Rodkey