Freaks, by Kieran Larwood

Freaks, by Kieran Larwood (Scholastic, middle grade, March 2013)

Kept in cage in a dingy sea-side town, and exhibited to the gawking, jeering, 19th-century English public, Sheba knows there's no place for her in the real world.   She is a "wolf-girl"--more than just being covered with fur, strong emotion causes wolfish changes to her body.

When she is nine or so, her world expands.  She is bought by a travelling freak-show proprietor, a bloated, unpleasant tyrant, as a nice addition to his collection of human oddities.  Although her new life is still that of a freak, dependent on a harsh master, at least she is not so alone.   Plumpscuttle's Peculiars--the rat tamer (Mama Rat), the exotic young Japanese woman fighter (Sister Moon), the giant, the monkey boy may all be strange (and, in the case of Monkey boy, rather revolting, viz personal hygiene and disgusting pastimes involving poo and snot), but they are her first friends.

And when the freak show arrives in London, Till, a poor urchin girl, sneaks in to see the show.  She and Sheba form an instant bond.  When Till never returns from a stint of trash picking in the tidal cess-swamps of the Thames, the Peculiars take on the case.

Turns out a steam-punk robotic octopus is rising from the mud to grab hapless children....and the master-mind behind its operations wants the children for Darkly Sinister Purposes (!).  Gradually the Peculiars piece together the clues that lead them to Prince Albert's Crystal Palace at midnight to confront the villain head on--but can they foil the evil plot in time to save the children?

I found it a lot more engaging than I thought I might--I don't like 19th-century London, freak shows, or stereotypes of the Exotic (the broken of English of the lovely but deadly Sister Moon got on my nerves tremendously).   And in this particular case, the plot seemed somewhat flimsy--the bad guys didn't seem competent or sensible enough to be worthy antagonists.  However,  I did like the story arc of the lonely girl finding an unexpected type of family, the steam-punk octopus grabbing children scenes were creepy, and the trained rats of Mama Rat were most excellent.

I also appreciated the way in which Sheba grows to realize that the other Peculiars are actual people too, with names, and histories, and possible futures, and that she herself had a mother who loved her.  Though the story ends with the crew preparing to put on another show, I couldn't help but feel hopeful that life might have more in store for them.

Just as an aside--it's rather interesting to read a speculative fiction book in which the central child character is not actually the person who saves the day.  Sheba, though appropriately plucky, actually does little that is useful--the adult Peculiars are the ones who come up with plans, take down bad guys, track people down, etc.    This is another thing I appreciated!

But what will kids think?  I really don't know.  I have a vague sense that 19th-century is a hard sell to ten- and eleven-year olds, but the cool cover, promising action and adventure, and the appeal of the bizarre, might draw in kids both genders....and then, having met Sheba, they might well be happy to see how her adventures play out.  The first chapter can be read at the author's website, if you want to try it out....

Final thought:  I really could have done without Monkey Boy being so constantly gross. 

Final-er thought:  trying to label this, I can't decide on sci fi (the mechanical octopus and the reliance of the nefarious plot on Faraday's electrical fun) or fantasy (Sheba is a wolf girl in more than fur, and rats are preternaturally talented).   So I will put both.

Freaks won The Times/Chicken House Publishing Children’s Fiction Competition 2010, and was published in the UK in 2011.  Here's the UK cover, which, as Tanita points out in her discussion of this one at Finding Wonderland, is more than a bit misleading:

Disclaimer:  review copy received from the publisher.

International Women's Day, book reviewing, and raising the next generation of male book reviewers

So in this post, written in honor or International Women's Day,  I do two things--look at the gender of the authors I read and review, and reflect on raising boy readers today who might grow up to be the male reviewers of tomorrow.

I have Ana at Things Mean a Lot to thank for this post, as it was inspired by her link to the VIDA Count for 2012.   This project basically tallies up the stats for gender in book reviewing, broken down by publication--the number of book reviewers who are male or female, and the number of authors reviewed who are female or male.   The heavy, heavy tilt of the scales to men on both counts is depressing.

Part 1:  My own stats from 2012, for the genre I read and review most often--middle grade (ie, for readers 9-12) science fiction and fantasy (give or take a few counting errors):

27% of the mg sff fantasy books I read were written by men.

In 2012, I read 312 books in their entirety. 173 were mg sc fi/fantasy, and 47 of these were written by men (two more were co-authored by a man and a woman), which is about 27%.   I think this particular tilt toward me reading female authors is mostly because more women than men write mg sci fi/fantasy, and partly because I am not drawn as much to some of the more popular male authors (like John Flanagan).

But then I ask-- do my percentages of male authored and female authored books actually reviewed reflect this same gender imbalance?

25% of the mg sff fantasy books I reviewed were written by men.

I reviewed 105 mg sff books in 2012.  26 were written by men, which is about a quarter.  So it's more or less the same--I am not guilty of privileging one gender over another when it comes to reviewing, given the pool of books from which I chose to read.

Conclusion:  I will continue to think about gender with regard to my own reading, but not sweat it. 

Part 2:  Looking at my nine year old voracious reader as a future book reviewer, and thoughts on raising the male book reviewer of tomorrow

I have been enjoying doing my best to raise my two boys to be aware of disparities and injustices.   I'm not exactly sure how well I'm doing, but both my boys, for instance, are now aware of white washing (characters shown on the cover as white, when they aren't).

They are not aware of any gender disparities when it comes to books, except to acknowledge that some books are aggressively marketed to girls, and some to boys.  To them, the gender of the author, and (I'm pretty sure) the gender of the main character on the cover (as long as it doesn't have a sparkly dress on) are immaterial.  Which I think is the way it should be.

For instance, my nine-year old has done five major book report projects so far this year. The books he chose were:

The Magic Thief, by Sarah Prinesas
Eldest, by Christopher Paolini
Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George
Jinx, by Sage Blackwood
The Lost Heir, by Tui T. Sutherland

4 out of 5 of the authors are women, 2 of the 5 had central female characters.

It seems to be perfectly natural for him to read books by and about girls/women.  My hope is that it will always seem so.

 It's really easy for me as a parent to raise a mg sff-loving boy to read in this way; I simply have piles and piles of good mg sff that fits the bill.  Which leads too....

Thoughts on how, as a blogger, I can encourage boys who aren't my own boys to read books by and about girls

--I am going to stop talking about girl books and boy books in my reviews; however, noting the book is being marketed to one or the other is different and perfectly acceptable.  Observing that a book might have limited appeal to one gender in general is also acceptable;  for instance, I think books featuring potty humor have more boy appeal than they do girl appeal.

--A lot of parents or other gatekeepers use google to search for lists of books for kids of various ages.  And just about every one of these searches specifies the gender of the kid.  For instance, I get lots of people looking for "good fantasy for a nine year old girl" and almost no-one looking for "good fantasy for a nine year old."  Recognizing that this is the case, I will (at some point) create lists of books for boys of various ages, that will include books by women, starring girls, and showing girls.

Edited to add:  I feel rather silly for not remembering that just a few months ago, not thinking at all about the gender of authors, I compiled a list of fantasy books for a nine-year old boy.  Of the 13 authors I mention, 12 of them were women.  I am rather taken aback by this....

Any other suggestions on how to raise boy readers today to become balanced book reviewers of tomorrow?

And finally, the Amelia Bloomer project (a fine resource for those looking for feminist fantasy for the young) is currently accepting nominations from the general public.   As soon as I have a minute, I'll be nominating these fine mg sff books.

Unlocking the Spell, by E.D. Baker

Unlocking the Spell, by E.D. Baker (Bloomsbury, October 2012, ages 8-11), is the sequel to The Wide-Awake Princess, in which the titular princess, Annie, is the only one who doesn't fall asleep when her big sister falls under the magic curse ala Sleeping Beauty.   It's up to Annie, the only person in all the kingdoms who magic has no effect on, to find a prince to come kiss her sister...which she does, with all sorts of fairy-tale mash-up adventures along the way.

However, the prince that Annie comes up with has one little issue--he's a bear.  A prince enchanted into bear form, true, but still a bear.

So Annie, her sister, the bear, and Liam (Annie's friend from her first adventure) set out to find the dwarf who worked this malicious magic.  And what follows is a pretty entertaining, though somewhat dizzying, whirl of a journey through fairy tale snippet after snippet--from Puss in Boots to the Three Little Pigs, to the Bremen Town musicians to Snow White and many, many, more....and in all these encounters, Annie's gift (?) of magic-suppression plays a part.

So basically it's a show-case of fractured-fairy tale set pieces, amusingly woven into a pretty coherent whole, but it's somewhat light on the character development (although Annie does wonder about the relationship between Liam and herself....).  Annie's spoiled and ultra-beautiful sister, for instance, never becomes much more interesting or agreeable than she was at the beginning, despite all the shared adventures and dangers.   So for younger readers who want fairy tale fun, it's great; for older readers, it might not have quite enough depth.

disclaimer:  this one was received from the publisher ages ago, and has been languishing in my home far too long...

Waiting on Wednesday--The Whatnot, by Stefan Bachmann

One of my favorite books of last year was The Peculiar, by Stefan Bachmann--alternate history with fairy war and a cliffhanger ending of great cliffishness.  So I was very pleased to find that the sequel is on its way--The Whatnot will be published September 24, by which time I will of course have read all c. 300 books currently in my tbr piles/shelves and will be able to comfortably enjoy it hot off the press!

I couldn't find a blurb at this point in time. but here's the cover:

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

Sapphire Blue, by Kerstin Gier, for Timeslip Tuesday

Sapphire Blue, by Kerstin Gier ( Henry Holt and Co, 2012, YA), is the sequel to Ruby Red (my review), and you absolutely have to read the first one first, or you won't have much clue what's going on.  However, Ruby Red is lots of fun, so there's no reason not to read it!

The basics of the plot:  There's a secret cabal of time travellers whose genes whisk them back in time--to prevent surprise temporal whisking, they have to "elapse" in controlled time travel quite often.   Gwen thought that her snotty cousin Charlotte (one of the most objectionable fictional Charlottes going) was destined to be the one who got the gene in her family...an assumption shared by all the other members of the society.  So when it turns out to be Gwen instead, it comes as a shock....

There are lots of secrets to this mysterious organization that Gwen isn't being told, and a backstory of betrayals and intrigues that she's becoming ever more involved with (rather relevant backstory, because the thing with time travel is that the characters can go back themselves and become part of it).   Gwen is supposedly destined to bring about some sort of milestone viz the secret cabal, and there are, apparently, rouge time travellers who left the cabal who don't want this to happen.

And then there's the complication of Gwen falling hard for Gideon, a young time traveller who might, or might not, have been involved with vile cousin Charlotte--incredibly handsome, full of secrets, and kind of a jerk, what with all his blowing hot and cold.

Keeping Gwen sane as she come to terms with all of this, and travels to the 18th century to meet with the sinister head of the cabal, is her good friend Lesley--sharp as a tack, an ace at  Internet searches, and less preoccupied than Gwen (whose mind is full of her Gideon dilemma, she takes on the Mystery Solving aspects of the story.   There's also James, the 18th century ghost lurking around Gwen's school, whose good for a few quick lessons in 18th-century life skills.  And in this book, Gwen is adopted by the demonic spirit of an ex-gargoyle that only she can see-- a useful, though tricksy, companion....

So all this takes place in just a few days, with the result that the books are full of detail and conversation and many happenings, and a tad short on overall plot advancement.  Fortunately, I found it all very enjoyable, so the lack of progress toward actually getting any clear answers to much of anything didn't bother me in the least! 

The time travel, in terms of experiencing the past, is not actually a central element in the book--yes, Gwen travels back to the past, most memorably getting so tipsy at an 18th-century soiree that she entertains the guests with a song from Cats, but the time travel mostly serves to introduce Gwen (and the reader) to various characters and plot elements.   So this is one to read for the entertainment value of its central character struggling to solve the mystery of a. her destiny, and the whole secret society thing and  b. her relationship with Gideon, and not one to read for educational visits to the past....which, of course, is just fine.

(Just as an aside--Sapphire Blue was originally published in German, and translated by Anthea Bell, the go-to girl for German to English YA fantasy translation. I have read a number of her translations, and I think she must be very good, because each different book she's worked on has a different feel....)

The Runaway King, by Jennifer Nielsen

So last night I re-read The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen, and enjoyed it as much, if not more, this time around.  And then this morning I started its sequel, The Runaway King.  I wanted to like it just as much, but was anxious--the first book depended on a plot twist that couldn't carry over into this one, a twist that tugged on my maternal heart something fierce, and I loved the quasi-school setting, and the fact that the plot was mostly small happenings woven into something bigger than the sum of the parts.

None of those things were in The Runaway King, a book whose plot goes galloping madly from one danger and excitement to the next, with bandits, pirates, assassins, daring escapes, twisted loyalties, friendships sorely tested, and improbable sword duels..... And in the end, it was a book I enjoyed, but didn't love.

In this book, Sage is now King Jaron, king of a country on the brink of war, with a piratical empire of the sea allied with a hostile neighboring country.  But the kingdom's council don't agree, don't thing Jaron is ready to be king in anything but name, and refuse to take his perception of the threat seriously.   So rather than becoming a puppet, protected for his own safety, he decides to meet the threat head on.

Step number one--bring down the pirates.

Cunning, well-thought out plan with which to do so--non-existent.

Jaron is used to relying on his wits, instincts, and abilities as a thief and a swordsman.   But can one boy (for he is still young) really have any hope of destroying a ruthless pirate king and his powerful piratical conglomerate of murderers?  Or even escaping alive once he's reached them?

There were many, many times when I had to suspend disbelief in this story.   Many things just seemed too improbable, both physically and in terms of character reactions (and, more specifically, the whole pirate society set up, which seemed as unlikely and impractical as all get out), and as these piled up, my ability to peacefully accept and enjoy the story diminished.    And then once that happened, I started to read the words qua words more critically, and noticed a few places where the writing kind of disappointed me.  Sigh.

I do still care a lot about Jaron, and the cast of supporting characters (with specific reference to Mott, who is totally awesome and who isn't implicated in any way shape or form with any of the improbable stuff that grated on me), and I'll be anxiously awaiting book III.  But this book just felt a messier, and not as fully thought out, as the first, and I just couldn't quite warm to it.

But then again, I almost never like any book that has pirates in it, so it might be just me! 

Here are two reviews from people who did like it lots--Random Musings of a Bibliophile, and The Book Smugglers, and another review at Ms. Yingling Reads

disclaimer:  review copy received from the publisher

This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy, and yes science fiction too!

Welcome to the 168th round-up of what I found in my blog reading/hunting this week of interest to readers of middle grade fantasy and science fiction.  I hunted harder than usual, because early on I had book title for some of the harder letters (Q, I'm looking at you) and I thought that maybe this would be the week where I had a full alphabet of mg sff goodness! (I even got a trial subscription to Booklist to find more titles to search for).  Alas, it was not to be.

And it was a little depressing to find so few reviews of mg sff books after so much looking.  Conclusion:  mg sff doesn't get reviewed all that much.  Or else bloggers are really good at disguising their mg sff book reviews as something else.

In any event, let me know if I missed your post!

(And perhaps think about reviewing books that begin with difficult letters of the alphabet next week--it would make me so happy to have a complete set all in one week.)

The Reviews

Bliss, by Kathryn Littlewood, at Barbara Ann Watson

The Cats of Tanglewood Forest, by Charles de Lint, at Bibliophilic Monologues

The Colossus Rises (Seven Wonders, Book 1) by Peter Lerangis, at Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books and I Have Lived a Thousand Lives

Cosmic, by Frank Cottrell Boyce, at Mister K Reads

Dark Days, by Derek Landy, at Original Content

Doll Bones, by Holly Black, at Fuse #8

Dragon Run, by Patrick Matthews, at Whatchamacallit Reviews and Charlotte's Library

The Fellowship For Alien Detection, by Kevin Emerson, at Ms. Yingling Reads
and A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust

Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities, by Mike Jung, at alibrarymama

Icefall, by Matthew Kirby, at Middle Grade Mafioso

Jump Boys: SOS, by Alex Banks, at Heather McCorkle

My Very UnFairy Tale Life, by Anna Staniszewski, at Akossiwa Ketoglo 

The Princess Curse, by Merrie Haskell, at The Book Smugglers

The Queen at War, by K.A.S. Quinn,  at Nayu's Reading Corner

The Runaway King, by Jennifer Nielsen, at Nerdy Book Club, Justin's Book Blog, Random Musings of a Bibliophile, Book Sake, Bookishness, and The Book Smugglers

The School For Good and Evil, by Soman Chianani, at Books and Writers JNR

A Tale of Two Castles, by Gail Carson Levine, at 300 Pages

A Tangle of Knots, by Lisa Graff, at Candace's Book Blog, Bookends, Becky's Book Reviews, and For Those About to Mock, and as an audio book at Good Books and Good Wine

Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George, at alibrarymama 

Whatever After: Fairest of All, by Sarah Mlynowski, at Kid Lit Geek

You Only Die Twice (The Genius Files), by Dan Gutman, at The Write Path

Zombie Kid (Case File 13), by J. Scott Savage, at Geo Librarian


Authors and Interviews

Kevin Emerson (The Fellowship For Alien Detection) at From the Mixed Up Files

K.A.S. Quinn (The Queen at War)  at Nayu's Reading Corner

Ally Malineko (Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb) at A Thousand Wrongs  (giveaway)

Greg Fishbone (Galaxy Games) at Authors for Earth Day

Anna Staniszewski (My Epic Fairy Tale Fail) at Ghenet Myrthil

Patrick Matthews (Dragon Run) at Left-handed Spoons


Other Good Stuff

Tunnels, by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams, is to become a movie 

The second annual DWJ March has begun at We Be Reading

And, finally, these cool socks! Which I like mostly because of the name.  Like sporks, but better.

The Demon Catchers of Milan, by Kat Beyer

I enjoyed The Demon Catchers of Milan, by Kat Beyer (Egmont, August 2012, YA) lots.  I don't remember why I decided to request it from the library, and when I saw the cover, and began reading, I was afraid I was in familiar paranormal romance territory--beautiful girl threatened by demonic possession thinks she isn't pretty and admires the prettiness of the boy she's just met.

But I kept going, and was rewarded by a really entertaining story--Mia, now in Milan, is being protected from the demon who had possessed her by her demon-hunting Italian family (demon hunters of Milan since Milan got going).   And the story is mostly:

--lots of Italian food
--a generous cast of Italian family members, with Histories
--some interesting family interactions with demons, etc.
--a bit of conflict between church and demon hunters

with considerable elements of Mia (who seems like she might be kind of special, but who, at this point, isn't all Special in the reader's face) trying to figure out how to:

a. speak Italian
b. go outside without the demon pouncing on her
c. find out more about demon hunting (her family isn't telling her much, because, you know, the demon might succeed in possessing her again and then learn all their secrets).

and a small element of Mia thinking about boys, but not getting entangled in any real romance (she isn't the sultry vixen shown on the cover)

Bonus reference to ancient history (Greeks vs. Persians) which will probably be important in the next book.

So there isn't all that much Action, Adventure, or Excitement (apart from a few possessions of Mia and a few other people), and it's not a Romance, but there is a most enjoyable sense of place and people and family history with enough of the supernatural to keep things very interesting indeed.

And the food is great.  Lots of wine is drunk too.  I want to go stay with Mia's grandparents and eat and drink.

Short answer:  I truly liked it, read in a single sitting (it's only 288 pages, which I appreciated), and am looking forward to the sequel (and though this stops at a good stopping point, many many many things are unresolved, because, you know, five months isn't really enough time to learn how to vanquish a real bad-ass demon once and for all).

The Lost Girl, by Sangu Mandanna

The Lost Girl, by Sangu Mandanna (Balzer + Bray; August, 2012, YA, 432 pages)

Eva has lived in cozy cottage in northern England all the sixteen years of her life, with her beloved foster mother, and caring guardians dropping in to visit lots.  She looks on the outside like a normal, attractive, Anglo-Indian girl.

Eva has been in danger all her life.  There are people who think she is an abomination, a monster who must be killed.

Because Eva doesn't just look like an Indian girl--she is a direct copy of one.   She was made by a sinister organization of genetic tinkerers to be the exact echo of a girl named Amarra,  a girl growing up in far-away Bangalore.  If Amarra should die, Eva will be sent to take her place, and perhaps, even to serve as a vessel for Amarra's very essence.  Every week the letters from Amarra, full of the details of her life, arrive.  When Amarra gets a tattoo, Eva must get one also, so their bodies match.

Eva doesn't want to be an echo.  She wants to be "Eva," a name she chose for herself.  But those that created her will kill her if she tries to live a life of her own.

Then Amarra dies.

Eva does her best to be Amarra....but there are things that Amarra never told her.  And even the best echo cannot truly take the place of a lost child, and Eva is much more than a good little shadow....

At which point, things surge from being a fascinating speculative fiction character study to a life or death drama with stakes just as high as they can get! (with bonus  forbidden romance).

Yes, this is one for the lover of character (me).    And the lover of Themes being Explored (identity, and the rights we have to our own lives, and whether the created life is inherently monstrous (with many references in the book to Frankenstein) and how grief and love plays out for different people).  There was action, too, especially toward the end (our girl Eva and her love fighting the Powerful Bad Guys).

And it was a really darn good read.   An all in one evening, great gulping glass of water on a hot day read.   Three and a half hours of all absorbing prose.  Oh yeah.

It wasn't all rainbows and happy reading, though.  For instance, I would have liked more richness to the Indian part of the setting, when Eva is living Amarra's life--I never felt as though I was there. 

More critically, the actual premise--that echoes can take the place of a real person--is rather ridiculous; I can't imagine an echo ever successfully filling the void of the dead person.  Nor does the whole set-up of the echo creators seem reasonable (even for speculative fiction).  Much salt is required to swallow the central point of the story.  If that's the sort of thing that bothers you, this might not be the right book for you.

(thanks to Margo Berendsen, whose review of the book inspired me to get a hold of it!)

Waiting on Wednesday--Hammer of Witches, by Shana Mlawski

I didn't think I had a particular book for this week's edition of Waiting on Wednesday, but doing a quick blog browse before supper I came across this post at Lee and Low's blog on the cover of one of their forthcoming Tu titles, Hammer of Witches, by Shana Mlawski.  And wham, onto my tbr list it sprang.

Via Amazon:

"Baltasar Infante can weasel out of any problem with a good story.

But when he encounters a monster straight out of stories one night, Baltasar faces trouble even he can't talk his way out of. Captured by the Malleus Maleficarum, a mysterious witch-hunting arm of the Spanish Inquisition, Baltasar is put to the question. The Inquisitor demands he reveal the whereabouts of Amir al-Katib, a legendary Moorish sorcerer who can bring myths and the creatures within them to life.

Now Baltasar must escape, find al-Katib, and defeat a dreadful power that may destroy the world.

As Baltasar's journey takes him into uncharted lands on Columbus's voyage westward, he learns that stories are more powerful than he once believed them to be--and much more dangerous."

What the blurb doesn't say is that one of Baltasar's primary companions is a girl who's half genie....

Coming April, 2013.

The Hero of Little Street, by Gregory Rogers, for Timeslip Tuesday

Did you ever read The Boy, the Bear, the Baron, The Bard, by Gregory Rogers?  It's a  wonderful wordless picture book, involving time travel back to the age of Shakespeare, that I really must review as a Timeslip Tuesday book someday, because it is truly excellent.   In any event, the titular Boy returns in The Hero of Little Street (Roaring Brook Press, March, 2012).  This time around, the boy inadvertently provokes a gang of boys, and must flee.   A handy art museum offers a refugee,  and there magic again enters his life when the little dog from this famous painting --

 -- comes out to play with him.

The little dog jumps into another picture, the boy follows... and finds himself, via Vermeer--

 --back in 17th century Holland.   More than a little mayhem ensues, as boy and dog hurtle through Delft, until at last the boy saves a pack of caged dogs from become sausage meat.  He then heads home to the present, with the grateful dogs close at hand to save him from the bullies.

Told with no words whatsoever, it's a story to savour with a child at hand, enjoying the details, and laughing at the humor of the various situations in which the boy finds himself.   And as well as being utterly engaging as a graphic story, it's a nice introduction to the world of 17th-century Holland!

I myself can't help but prefer The Boy, the Bear, the Baron, the Bard, because I do like the bear awfully much, but dog lovers and Vermeer lovers might like this one more!

Dragon Run, by Patrick Matthews

Dragon Run, by Patrick Matthews (Scholastic, March 1, 2013, but on shelves now, middle grade) is a just fine fantasy adventure for the 9-11 year-old set.  It's an "if they like the cover they'll like the book" book -- boy, sword, dragon, with a title that promises action.

In an alternate, quasi-medieval world, all twelve year-olds are tested to determine their rank in life.  Al dreams of getting the highest rank mark--a seven--tattooed on his neck...but instead, he is found wanting.  All his ambitions go up in smoke when he is pronounced a zero, something virtually unheard of.   Ones are beyond the pale, but absolutely no-one wants anything to do with a zero...except the Cullers, who want to kill them for eugenics purposes. 

Fortunately Al gets some help escaping from the castle keep where he's been tested...but how will he survive, despised and alone, pursued by the ruthless killers who want to cull him?

But there is more to his story than that.   For Al's world is one ruled by dragons, though they pay little attention to the humans crawling beneath them.   As Al flees from the Cullers, he begins to learn that his world is a much more complex and scary place than he had imagined.   The dragons are much more than they seem...and Al is forced to confront their power, head on, to save not only himself, but his people...

It's a great story, with a great premise--I give it very high marks for Plot.  Seeing how the whole eugenics bit played out was particularly interesting.   Though Al and his two good friends (boy and girl) don't rise to memorable heights of characterization, they're just fine, and it's nice to read about a hero who's special because he has nothing going for him but his own pluck and stubborn-ness.  Interest is added by several not-quite-human races that co-exist with regular people.  The writing isn't exceptional, being your standard, occasionally stilted, quasi-medieval fantasy writing, but I'm so used to that that it didn't bother me.

However, world-builidng-wise this fell short for me.  It's not till around page 194 that the reader learns what the whole point of the cast system is, how magic is important to this world, and why the dragons care, and it's not till page 223 that I realized that "Lord Archovar," who had been mentioned several times, was in fact a dragon.  It seems to me that if you are going to have overlord dragons and a world with magic, you should make it patently obvious from the beginning.

Just to show that it wasn't (at least, not entirely, my dimness as a reader), here's where we hear of Lord Archovar for the first time:

"A tall man stood in the opening.  His black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and his tabard bore the purple and yellow flower of Lord Archovar.  He raised a long brass horn to his lips and blew three short bursts.  A hush rippled through the crowed, and the man dropped gracefully to one knee, bowing his head.  On either side of him, the men at the gates echoed his gesture, as did the guards on the wall above.

The people in the field dropped to their knees as fast as they could, bowing their heads and closing  their eyes.  Al went to one knee, but kept his eyes open, staring at the dead leaves on the ground.

Glancing sideways , he noticed that Wisp also had his eyes open.  The boys shared a look, then watched the dragon's shadow soar across the field and disappear behind the castle." (page 5)

It totally went over my head that Lord Archovar and the dragon were one and the same; when I got to page 233, and his dragon-ness was made clear, I flipped back through to see if I had missed anything, and didn't find any statements of obvious dragon-ness I had overlooked.  (However, on page 9 it's clear that another lord is a dragon, so perhaps I should have made the connection....).

And I think that if you have a variety of not quite human races, you shouldn't keep introducing them abruptly, but mention early on that they might be expected.  It's less jarring that way, when suddenly you meet people with webbed hands, or white fur.

So though I did appreciate the story, the book as a whole didn't quite work for me because the world wasn't solidly built enough for me, and the characterization and writing weren't quite enough to compensate.   It's not one I'd urge grown-up readers to seek out, but kids in the market for a rather exciting "boy becomes hero" story, for whom plot is most important, may well enjoy it lots.

Here's the Kirkus review, which provides details I didn't.   I do not agree the ending was predictable, as the Kirkus reviewer opined--I liked the ending, and found it very interesting and surprising (maybe because the Kirkus reader figured out long, long before me who was a dragon, and what the dragons were up to....).  I do agree, however, that it "went down pretty easy."

(disclaimer:  review copy received from the publisher)

This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and sci fi (2/24/2013)

Welcome to this week's (wet and cold) round-up of middle grade fantasy and science fiction book reviews, author interviews, and interesting (d.v.) miscellanea from around the blogs!

In case you wonder how I find the links, here's how.   I follow about 500 blogs on google reader (which doesn't mean I read them.  Just the post titles, mostly.  So it doesn't actually take too long).  On Sunday morning, I do a blog search on "middle grade fantasy."  I have been known to go through the books recently reviewed on Kirkus, so I can do some specific title searches, and I search for books I myself know about.  Occasionally people send me links.

Which leads gracefully to my next point--more people are welcome to send links directly! (charlotteslibrary at gmail dot com). This includes authors and publicists.  That being said, I do reserve the right to decline to link to posts I don't find valuable.  People are also welcome to leave links in the comments. 

Onward.

The Reviews:

The Alchemyst, by Michael Scott, at books4yourkids

The Book of Doom, by Barry Hutchison, at The Book Zone

Case File 13: Zombie Kid, by J. Scott Savage, at Book Nut 

The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, by Claire Legrand, at Lust for Stories

Demonkeeper, by Royce Buckingham, at Known to Read

Down the Mysterly River, by Bill Willingham, at BooksYALove 

Drizzle, by Kathleen Van Cleve, at GreenBeanTeenQueen 

Emily Windsnap and the Land of the Midnight Sun, by Liz Kessler, at theawseomeadventuresoflulu

The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen, at Kristen Evey

The Fellowship for Alien Detection, by Kevin Emerson, at Charlotte's Library

Freaks, by Kieran Larwood, at Finding Wonderland

Herbert's Wormhole, by Peter Nelson, at Maria's Melange

In a Glass Grimmly, by Adam Gidwitz, at Karissa's Reading Review 

The Lost Heir (Wings of Fire) by Tui T. Sutherland, at Ms. Yingling Reads 

On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave, by Candace Fleming, at Log Cabin Books

The Runnaway King, by Jennifer Nielsen, at Stacked and Bookshelvers Anonymous

The Shadows (The Books of Elsewhere), by Jacqueline West, at Middle Grade Ninja

The Space Between, by Kiki Thorpe, at Sharon the Librarian

Spirit's Princess, by Esther Friesner, at Charlotte's Library

The Strangers (Books of Elsewhere 4), by Jacqueline West, at Log Cabin Library 

A Tangle of Knots, by Lisa Graff, at Bookalicious and Literacious, and as an audiobook, at The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

The Time Paradox, by Eoin Colfer, at Fyrefly's Book Blog

The Time-Travelling Fashionista, by Bianca Turetsky, at Time Travel Times Two

Authors and Interviews

Jennifer Nielsen (The Runaway King) at The Enchanted Inkpot

Mike Yung (Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities) at The Enchanted Inkpot

Anna Staniszewski (My Very UnFairy Tale Life) at Readatouille

Jasmine Richards (The Book of Wonders) at The Brown Bookshelf (as part of the wonderful 28 Days Later series)

The middle grade members of the Lucky 13s (debut authors of 2013), many of whom have written sff books, share their thoughts on why they write middle grade fiction.

Other Good Stuff

Shortlists!  The Andre Norton Award, the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, and the Diagram Prize (for quirkiest book title).  Here are this year's contestants for that one:

Goblinproofing One's Chicken Coop by Reginald Bakeley
God's Doodle: The Life and Times of the Penis by Tom Hickman
How Tea Cosies Changed the World by Loani Prior
How to Sharpen Pencils by David Rees
Lofts of North America: Pigeon Lofts by Jerry Gagne
Was Hitler Ill? by Hans-Joachim Neumann and Henrik Eberle

I think I like the peaceful simplicity of "How to Sharpen Pencils" the best.  What I'd really like, though, is a book on how to keep pencil erasers fresh, or at least, how to restore them to eraserability.

Children's Book Week (May 13-19, 2013) is on its way, and this year's bookmark is nicely mg sff!  Plus it has a hidden letters challenge.

The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap, by Wendy Welch

...was perfect Friday night in front of the fire comfort reading.  Anyone who loves used bookstores and/or stories of people leaving their ordinary jobs to follow idiosyncratic dreams will probably also enjoy it.

In a nutshell:  a couple stakes all their economic hopes on turning an old house in a small town into a used book store.  After initial tension (will they find enough stock to make all the new shelves look less pathetically empty?) it works out for them.  They make friends.   There are cats.   Tea and coffee are served.  Homemade gifts are exchanged.  Books are sold.  Customers are interesting--humorous, moving, difficult.

As one who is collecting stock (antiquarian and out of print children's books) for her own bookstore, I appreciated the practical side of things very much.  As a lover of bookstores, I appreciated it even more.

Quibble:  I wish Wendy Welch had put in a map, showing how to get to her store! 

The Fellowship for Alien Detection, by Kevin Emerson

Oh yay, it's a middle grade science fiction book, oh yay....sorry.  It's just that there are so very few solidly middle grade sci fi books, and every time I do a Sunday round-up of "middle grade sci fi/fantasy" I want to apologize for not actually having any sci fi in it, so there you go.

So in any event, The Fellowship For Alien Detection, by Kevin Emerson (Walden Pond Press, Feb 26, 2013) is true blue sci fi, one to which I can comfortably apply the shopworn, but sincere, adjectives "exciting" and "fun."  Albeit with a slight reservation.

Haley thinks aliens have been kidnapping people.   Dodger hears a radio station in his head, broadcasting from a town that doesn't exist.    When Haley and Dodger both get summer grants from the mysterious Fellowship for Alien Detection, they're off on two separate road trips to find out the truth.  Haley and her dad head south and west from Connecticut, and Dodger and his go east and south from Washington.  And when their paths converge, they find that the truth is even stranger, and much scarier, than they had ever dreamed.

Each kid's journey to that convergence point is told as a distinct story.  I was not expecting this--there I was,  happily following Haley (smart girl, would-be reporter) on the track of her interesting mystery (involving missing time and missing persons),  and things were getting excitingly tense....then suddenly Haley is left on a metaphorical cliff and the story jumps to  Dodger's journey.   Haley's story and Dodger's are rather different in mood (Dodger's being darker), and this added to my uncertainty about narrative coherence.   And then there were small extracts from the very mysterious life of a third character, another kid....I enjoyed them, and they added suspense, but I was confused.

However, everything does fit together, and very nicely too.   All three narrative strands conjoin, and everything becomes very exciting indeed.  

My only reservation is that the author spends considerable time making sure that the reader really Knows the characters, which is fine, except that it throws the balance off a tad--there's a lot of character development before Haley's true adventure starts, and then we go back and have lots of character development before Dodger's gets going.   I found this made the book less of an all-absorbing read than it might otherwise have been (perhaps because it also made the book longer).  And so I'd recommend it to kids who already are strong readers, rather than annoyingly picky ones like some children I live with.

My only other slight reservation about the book is that the cover makes it look a tad younger than is accurate--I think it's one for eleven-year olds, rather than nine-year olds.

That being said, it was great fun to see all the different little mysteries and clues that had filled the first three hundred pages converging into a whole, and I think this one has as much appeal to the mystery loving kid as it does to the reader of speculative fiction.  Although if you have a kid on hand who is fascinated by Roswell, you should definitely offer them this book.

Here are two other review (both glowing) from  Maria's Melange and This Kid Reviews Books

And for those in the Seattle area--there's a launch party on March 5 at Mockingbird Books...

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

Two awesome shortlists--the Andre Norton Award, and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize

The list of the books in the running for the 2013 Andre Norton Award have been announced-- here's what's in the running:

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy
Iron Hearted Violet, Kelly Barnhill (Little, Brown)
Black Heart, Holly Black (S&S/McElderry; Gollancz)
Above, Leah Bobet (Levine)
The Diviners, Libba Bray (Little, Brown; Atom)
Vessel, Sarah Beth Durst (S&S/McElderry)
Seraphina, Rachel Hartman (Random House; Doubleday UK)
Enchanted, Alethea Kontis (Harcourt)
Every Day, David Levithan (Alice A. Knopf Books for Young Readers)
Summer of the Mariposas, Guadalupe Garcia McCall (Tu Books)
Railsea, China Miéville (Del Rey; Macmillan)
Fair Coin, E.C. Myers (Pyr)
Above World, Jenn Reese (Candlewick)


A lovely, lovely list!  I've read all but three, and even though I didn't myself like every single one of the books, there's a nicely diverse tasty-ness to the ensemble.

Here's the full list of Nebula shortlists.


I take a keen interest in the shortlist for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, given over across the pond to new and emerging talent in three categories--picture books, fiction for ages 5-12, and teen books.   I like to have new UK authors to track down.  So I was a tad disappointed that the sci fi/fantasy side of this year's short list is a tad heavy on books I already knew...but I am rather intrigued by The Wolf Princess....

I figured the Norton books didn't need much introducing, but I copied the pictures and links for this list from the Waterstones site, because of some of them being ones I'd never heard of.

For Ages 5-12:

The Secret Hen House Theatre by Helen Peters

The Wolf Princess by Cathryn Constable

Chronicles of Egg: Deadweather and Sunrise by Geoff Rodkey

Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Barry Loser: I am Not a Loser by Barry Loser

Atticus Claw Breaks the Law by Jennifer Gray

 

Teen Books:

Insignia by S. J. Kincaid, et al.

Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Skin Deep by Laura Jarratt

Geekhood: Close Encounters of the Girl Kind... by Andy Robb

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Spirit's Princess, by Esther Friesner

Spirit's Princess, by Esther Friesner (Random House, April, 2012, middle grade/YA) tells of the childhood of Himiko, daughter of the chieftain of the small Matsu clan.  By around 238 AD, Himiko was a queen, but before she reaches that point (which will presumably happen in the sequel to this book), she has lots of growing up to do....and so this is a book for the reader who has patience, one who is interested in the small things of life, and who doesn't demand happenings (in this, the cover is misleading--Himiko looks like an Action-Oriented princess, but that part of her life is yet to come).  It's also a good one for the reader who likes historical fiction that explores the lives of little known women--the author's note at the end explains that Himiko's story is based on fact, which pleased me very much.

Himiko is the only daughter of her father, and so is the "princess" of her village.  It is a narrow life, as her father distrusts all outsiders, and Himiko is not permitted to follow her dream of become a great hunter like her older brother (and even if she had been encouraged to follow this path, a fall in childhood leaves with a permanently lame leg).   Slowly she realizes that her path lies elsewhere, as a shaman for her people.   And so, interspersed with various family dynamics, we are told of her apprenticeship to the village shaman, which is kept secret from her dictatorial, xenophobic father, who simply wants to see her nicely married off.

There are shadows of a danger to come, which finally does arrive right at the end of the book.  But until then, there's lots of family dynamics, with nicely drawn secondary characters, some interesting descriptions of Himiko's rather restricted life, some magical encounters with spirit world (although not quite enough for my taste--just barely enough to make this fantasy), and hints of more story to come.

I myself rather enjoyed it, though at first I was doubtful--- I felt that it wasn't quite necessary to spend so much time with five-year old Himiko (adolescent Himiko becomes more interesting).   But even though I did read it avidly, appreciating the different culture, appreciating Himiko's various dilemmas and her growing familiarity with the spirit world, and hoping that it would all work out, I couldn't help but feel that this story is simply the prologue to a more exciting one to come.

And indeed, this is a good time to have read the book, because I am very much looking forward to its sequel, Spirit's Chosen, which comes out this April, and will not have as long to wait!

note on age: I'd be most likely to give this one to a ten or eleven year old girl, although it is described as being for ages 12 and up.  There is nothing in the book that would give your typical middle grade pause, and I think older readers are more likely to be put off by the fact that Himiko is a little kid!

Growing Disenchantments, by K.D. Berry, for Timeslip Tuesday

Anyone in the market for an entertaining fantasy read, one that's lightly fun and amusingly inventive, should consider Growing Disenchantments, by K.D. Berry (2012, Bluewood Publishing, labeled YA, but suitable for adults).  It's not, you know, a World Altering reading experience of Emotional Power, but it is a fine way to spend a snowy day.

It was on such a day that I entered the world of Ragonnard, the new wizard in town, just as the young thief Ganfrey (a girl, and no unskilled) was about to break into his house.  Unfortunately for Ganfrey (although it all worked out in the end), Ragonnard's home proved hard to burgle, and she ended up being caught.  But he made a deal with her--steal a particular portrait from the king's castle, and all would be forgiven. 

That particular portrait, a prison painted to hold a long gone evil wizard, was one Ragonnard had been searching for with a particular passion.  Painted along with with the wizard is an amulet of particular power, and Ragonnard's plan is to extract the amulet, bringing it back to real world while leaving the wizard in painted place.

Things don't work out according to plan, and the evil magician is freed.  Ganfrey finds herself caught up in chaos as his magic take over the castle, sending the optimistically incompetent king out on to the streets, and freeing the stone gargoyles and animating the statues of long dead kings.

But there are things more serious afoot than the deposing of kings and the philosophical conversations of gargoyles.  The magician is bent on revenge on those who imprisoned him 500 years ago, and he won't let time stand in his way.  Unless Ganfry and Ragonnard, with the help of a time travelling agent from the future, the court illusionist, Dewdop, and the head of castle security (who spends his free time reading mysteries, and trying to apply them in real life), can stop him, all of time's coherence will be shattered!

Entertaining stuff.   I found the characters amusing, although not desperately three dimensional, and the more I read, the faster the pages turned as the excitement of the story grew.  The reader has to have a certain tolerance for a bit of slapstick, almost cartoonish in places, and some awful puns (the sentient broom, for instance, is described at one point as a "heaving besom"), and a certain tolerance for plot elements that don't necessarily seem as tidily integrated into the whole as they might have been (time travelling agent from the future, popping up naked every now and then, and not actually doing much that's helpful, I'm looking at you).   But if you just sit back and relax and enjoy the ride, it's lots of fun.  Not quite up to the level of the Discworld books, which are my current gold standard of amusing fantasy, but a good time nonetheless.

The book is the second in a series (the first being Dragons Away), but is perfectly fine as a stand alone.  It's published in New Zealand, but it's available from Amazon as both a book and a kindle edition.  Disclaimer:  I received a copy courtesy of the author (or at least, courtesy of half the author, since this was a team effort).

The Crystal Tree, by Jennie D. Lindquist

Sometimes the thought of trying to write a serious post about a book received for review makes one feel tired...like right now.   So instead I offer a quick look at a book that required no effort to read, and little to write about--The Crystal Tree, by Jennie D. Lindquist  (Harper & Row, 1966), a lovely comfort read.

This is the third book about a girl named Nancy who goes off to live with her grandparents in New Hampshire when her mother falls ill.   Almost a year has passed, her mother is now better, and soon Nancy and her parents will move into a little old house in the country...and Nancy and her friends and cousins are all tremendously excited about it, and try to find out as much as possible about the family who first lived in it.

The Crystal Tree has many excitements--Nancy and her friend pick out wall paper and curtains!  Nancy orders seeds from a catalogue!  A cat has kittens!  Some cakes are made!  An attic is explored, and something found in it!   And of course they find all sorts of historical clues about the family who built the little house, including the mysterious crystal tree of the title.

I am one hundred percent sincerely interested in reading about such simple happenings.  It was just the right sort of thing to read during a busy weekend.  And sure, I didn't have much clue about who all the kids were (there are lots of them, and though I read the first book in the series, The Golden Name Day, I'd forgotten who they all were, and more apparently appeared in book 2, The Little Silver House, which I think I have to get a hold of), but I didn't try to keep everyone sorted out in my head, which made it much more peaceful.

Spoiler--Nancy's wallpaper has yellow roses.  Sigrid finds a white paper, with little sprays of bluebells, that would have been too expensive, except there wasn't enough for a grown-up size room, so the clerk lets them have it at half price! 

Simple pleasures for simple minds, as my mother is fond of saying.

Oh my gosh, I just looked at the prices on Amazon--used copies are at almost $100! (except for two ex-library copies which are cheaper).   There are, however, two copies still in the Rhode Island library system....I found my copy in a bin of discards the school librarian was going to trash.  She thought I was, perhaps, a odd.  I dove into the bin and started rescuing book after book; it was a happy day.  But I wish there had been a copy of book two as well.

I found it amusing that the cheapest copy on Amazon is described as "fully functioning."  I guess the seller is more used to e-readers than real books!

me reading grown up fantasy

I am still busily doing this thing of reading fantasy books written for grown-ups, although the nice little run I had of actually writing review of them every Sunday night has hit a snag.  Last week's book is going to show up on Tuesday, because it involves time travel, and this week's book, Wyrd Sisters, by Terry Pratchett, has only now been finished and it was great fun to read but I feel unable to comment any more cogently than that at the present time.

And just by way of note--I've changed my comment setting, because I was getting inundated with anon. spam junk, so it's now set to "registered user", and though I will probably lose the comments from kids doing book reports (things like "can you tell me the point of this book?"), I hope I don't lose anything more than that....