Texting the Underworld, by Ellen Booraem--review, interview, and giveaway!

Texting the Underworld, by Ellen Booraem (Dial, Middle Grade, Aug. 15, 2013), deserves the star it got from Kirkus--this is a smart, funny, fantasy, set primarily in the real world, but with a most diverting excursion to the Underworld!  It's the story of what happens when a (relatively) young and inexperienced Banshee, Ashling (who once was an Irish girl from the Dark Ages), shows up at the Boston bedroom of a somewhat timorous 12 year old Conor.   The arrival of a Banshee means that someone is going to die...a frightening thing for anyone, but for Conor, to whom the world already seems dangerous and difficult, it's especially distressing!  And to complicate matters further, Ashling is in no hurry to scream and leave; no, she wants to stick around in 21st century Boston, as a sort of supernatural exchange student, quite visible, quite audible, and quite difficult to explain to friends and family and the school principal.

Ashling doesn't particularly want to be a harbinger of death, and Conor most emphatically doesn't want anyone in his family to die, so the two of them (with help from Conor's grandfather and his little sister) hatch a plan.  They'll visit the Underworld from whence Ashling was sent, and try to sort things out there....But the Underworld is a twisty and dangerous place, more so even than middle school, and Conor, deeply reluctant even in real life to visit places that aren't mapped,  has to find the bravery and determination to face the supernatural challenge of  lifetime.

The story zips along zippingly, the premise and its various ramifications are fascinating and fun (and even chuckle out loud funny at times), and there's lots of engrossing detail in both the characterization and mythological mayhem!  Added to this is a thought-provoking subtext about living  life in the face of death that gave it depth, and the author doesn't shy from delivering an appropriatly powerful emotional punch at the end.  In short, I liked it lots, would recommend it to both kids and MG SFF reading grownups, and was very happy to have the chance to ask Ellen questions about it!

The Interview (with me in bold)

I adore the title. Was it there from the beginning as part of your whole conception of the story, or did it come to you at some later point in a flash of inspiration?

I didn’t realize how big a role texting would play until I was well into the story, so the title was more of a last-minute endeavor. And I can’t take credit for it, except that I knew I wanted to combine the mundane with the otherworldly. (At one point I wanted to call it Death & Jelly Beans.) I emailed ideas back and forth with my editor, Kathy Dawson—we had lists and lists and LISTS of possible word combinations—and she’s the one who came up with the winning combination. 

Conor is a scaredy cat, and somewhat neurotic—not your typical hero (which, of course, is the point—this lets him have a character arc). I found that he teetered just on the brink of being too unheroic at the beginning of the book, and felt you walked a fine line between making him realistically an anti-hero and making him so much so that he becomes unsympathetic. How did you approach this conundrum? Was this something that caused difficulties in the writing of the book? 

It’s always a problem making sure your characters are realistically flawed and yet likeable. Fortunately, fearfulness is a more likeable trait than obnoxiousness, which was the problem I had to overcome with Conor’s predecessor,  Mellie in SMALL PERSONS WITH WINGS. Being afraid of things is such a familiar feeling to all of us that we usually can empathize with it. Also, most of Conor’s fears are also mine, so I definitely was on his side when I was writing him!

There are so many zestily entertaining aspects of the book. I especially loved Nergal (one of the denizens of the Underworld--a Babylonian god of death). Was there any part or character who gave you special enjoyment?

I’m fond of Nergal, too, and I was so glad when he showed up—he’s a nice, sensible guy, compared to most of the others who help run the Underworld. I like that he’s eager for knowledge and not content with the status quo the way so many in the Underworld are. 

I came up with him after I realized that my afterlife could not be just Celtic—I mean, the Irish aren’t the only ones who die, are they? So I started looking into death deities from other cultures, and there was Nergal, the Babylonian Lord of the Dead. He’s half lion, and for some reason in my mind that meant dignity and kindness.

I enjoyed writing the Underworld scenes in general. Another favorite character was the Cailleach, the unpleasant, black-robed portal guard, who is based on a Scottish/Irish goddess of winter but actually turned out as a weird combination of dementor, Ghost of Christmas Future, and every ill-tempered old lady I’ve ever met.

How did you come to write middle grade, as opposed to YA or adult, books? I'm wondering, for instance, if you assayed attempts at those older type books and found they just didn't work for you, or if you always knew you wanted to write MG. 

In my twenties I concentrated on short stories for adults (none of which ever got published, thank heavens). I started writing for younger readers because of characters my partner, Rob Shillady, a painter, had developed on a whim in art school. He put Medford (his alter-ego) and his sidekick the Goatman in paintings he did for friends, and I decided in my mid-30s to write a picture book based on them. It stopped being a picture book almost immediately, and over the next 20 years years (15 of them spent in a desk drawer) it finally turned into THE UNNAMEABLES.

I don’t have a specific age group in mind when I start books—they turn into middle grade all by themselves. The voice and the themes that resonate most with me apparently lend themselves to that “tween” age, when we’re first struggling with the issues of who we are and where we fit in the world.

I am sitting here trying to think of a comparable book to T. the U.--one that has a contemporary setting, and an ordinary hero (ie, not the son of a god), and one in which the stakes are personal, or at least familial, but which has fully flowering mythological/fantasy mayhem. My mind is blank. Can you think of any?

The ones that first come to mind are some books by Diana Wynne Jones, whose work I just love. Many of her heroes are of the Harry Potter variety—normal kids who discover they have supernatural powers—but she also has some protagonists who are just regular kids in a fix of some kind. EIGHT DAYS OF LUKE’s David Allard, for example, is dealing with unpleasant relatives as well as a bunch of Norse gods, and the children in THE OGRE DOWNSTAIRS are contending with a new stepfather and the effects of a magical chemistry set.

But you’re right—it’s far more common that the hero in a “domestic” fantasy like mine turns out to be supernatural in some way.

Easy one next--what were your favorite books as a child? Were you any that you feel have exerted an particular influence over your writing?

To my constant surprise and chagrin, no one’s ever heard of the formative book of my childhood. It’s THE DAUGHTERS OF THE STARS, published in 1939 in England by an American author, Mary Crary. It ran afoul of World War II, and was rushed to publication before the country ran out of paper and ink. As a result, it only has two of a planned set of Edmund Dulac illustrations, which are utterly gorgeous, of course. My copy was a ninth birthday present from an elderly lady in my neighborhood (definitely not one of the models for the Cailleach).

The story is about the bureaucracy that runs the natural world, meaning the stars, the wind, the rain, the oceans, and so forth. Astrella, the younger Daughter of the Stars, is named Luminary of Two Continents and has to transfer from one post to the other for a time. She takes her young daughter, Perdita, on a hazardous journey across the heavens. In the second half of the book, Perdita has adventures of her own.

In a foreword, the author complains that she’s sick of reading stories in which the mother is dead, so she created one in which the mother is the only parent in evidence. The heavenly bureaucracy, moreover, is pretty much run by women, usually in their own right but also as the power behind the throne. Astrella and Perdita are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves with no knight in shining armor coming to their rescue. 

I loved all that, and as well as Crary’s sense of humor.  Her book has been important to me both personally and professionally. I realized after the fact that my concept of a bunch of bureaucrats running the Underworld probably owed something to THE DAUGHTERS OF THE STARS.

 (Me:  I shall add it to my Christmas list!  It sounds great, and I love Dulac).

And finally, another easy one---what are you working on now?

I have two middle grade books and one for younger kids in various stages of development—and the one farthest along might never see the light of day so I probably shouldn’t talk about it.  Suffice it to say that I’m always working on something!

Thanks for the interview, Charlotte—this was fun!

 Thank you, Ellen, for writing both the book and your answers to my questions! 

The Giveaway

Penguin is offering two copies of Texting the Underworld to two winners (US only); please leave a comment to be entered!  Ends next Wednesday (August 14) at midnight.

And if you want even more, Ellen has shared the scene in which Conor and Ashling meet for the first time here at Scene 13ers!

The next stop on Ellen’s blog tour for TEXTING THE UNDERWORLD is YA Books Central. See you there!

 

New releases of sci fi and fantasy for kids and teens-the second half of January 2011 edition

Here are the new releases of sci fi/fantasy for kids and teenagers from the second half of January; I'm not even going to try to put pictures in today because it is one of those days when the computer is not being Good. My info. comes from Teens Read Too; the blurbs come from Amazon, Goodreads, or, in one case, the book's web page, and any oddness of formatting comes courtesy of Blogger.

And just in case anyone should, by any dim chance, be wondering if there will be a Timeslip Tuesday post--Timeslip Tuesday will fall on a Wednesday this week, because I haven't finished the book yet (All Clear, by Connie Willis).

Middle Grade:

ANIMAL CRACKERS by Scott Christian Sava "From the creators of Gary the Pirate comes the incredible tale of Animal Crackers. When 10 year old Owen and his little sister Zoe go to the Zoo with their Uncle Doug, they're looking for excitement and laughs. Little did they know that they would be drawn into an adventure where Magic Animal Crackers give them the power to turn into any animal they want! Suddenly the Ringmaster of the circus and all of his minions, Petunia the bearded lady, Stabby the tiniest ninja, and even the acrobatic group of the Flying Zuccinis, all want to take the children away and use them for their own profit. But with the help of a bunch of Circus clowns and a kindly old gypsy woman, Owen uses the magical box of animal crackers to turn into Lions, Tigers, and even Bears (...oh my!) to defeat the evil Ringmaster and rescue the stolen animals from captivity."

GOBLIN AT THE ZOO by Victor Kelleher "When Gibblewort wakes up at the zoo, he thinks he's in deepest, darkest Africa. So he squeezes his way into a nice, safe cage—only to find he's become the object of affection for a female chimpanzee. Every time Gibblewort manages to escape her clutches, he finds himself being thrown, kicked, tossed, shaken, and even electrocuted back into the chimps' enclosure . . . and Daisy's long hairy arms. How is everyone's favorite nasty little goblin going to get himself out of this one?"

GOBLIN IN THE RAINFOREST by Victor Kelleher "Gibblewort the goblin is filled with joy when he crawls out of his postbag to find damp earth, falling rain, and the sound of the wind through the trees. He's made it home to Ireland at last. Except it's not Ireland, it's the Australian Rainforest, and Gibblewort soon finds himself being stung, squeezed, sucked, nipped, and pecked by all sorts of strange and unusual creatures."

LONGFANG: DRAGON ORB by Mark Robson "Kira and her dusk dragon, Longfang, must find the third orb to save the Oracle, leader of all dragonkind. Following a path beset with dangers and traps, the four dragon riders must reach the twilight world of the Castle of Shadows. Kira knows enough to be anxious. What twisted sacrifice will this orb demand?"

RAJAH: KING OF THE JUNGLE by Balraj Khanna "Classic Indian folk tale brought to life with an exciting new story and wonderful illustrations."

THE CHILDREN OF THE LOST: THE AGORA TRILOGY by David Whitley "Cast out of the city of Agora where they were left at the end of The Midnight Charter, Mark and Lily must now survive in a dense forest. The strange villages, terrifying nightmares, and powerful witches they find there are even more frightening than Agora with all its slums and secrets. In an adventure that expands with every turn of the page, David Whitley delivers a novel as thrilling and horrifying as his characters' darkest dreams."

GENIE IN TRAINING: TWEENIE GENIE by Meredith Badger "Poppy is just an ordinary girl. In fact, the only slightly strange thing about her is that she's great at squeezing into small spaces. So it's a pretty big shock when Poppy finds out that she's a genie! Suddenly she has to get used to wearing weird clothes and high ponytails, riding magic carpets and granting wishes. At least squeezing into a tiny genie bottle is one thing that comes naturally..."

THE RENDERING by Joel Naftali "Thirteen-year-old Doug narrates in a series of blog posts (many interrupted by either his best friend, smart girl Jamie, or the artificial intelligence who mothers him, the avatar) how he came to temporarily save the world and to be branded a terrorist and a murderer. He was innocently playing video games in the employee lounge of the biotechnology center where his aunt was a director when an insane genius ex-employee broke in, stole the equipment to digitize anyone and make his own biodroid army, killed Doug's aunt, and blew up the center (and soon the nearby town). Doug managed to escape, accidentally creating three super-powered creatures, and gaining a electronics-destroying superpower of his own with which to fight the evil Dr. Roach."

SMALL PERSONS WITH WINGS by Ellen Booraem "Thirteen-year-old Mellie Turpin once declared to her kindergarten class that she had a fairy living in her bedroom. But before she could bring him in for show-and-tell, he disappeared. Years later, she is still trying to live it down, taunted mercilessly by classmates who call her “Fairy Fat.”

Her imagination got her into this. She’s determined to keep it turned off.

When her parents inherit an inn and the family moves to a new town, Mellie sees a chance to finally leave all that fairy nonsense behind. Little does she know that the inn is overrun with...you guessed it. Oh brother.

There's no such thing as fairies, she keeps telling herself. And if there were, they wouldn’t hurt a fly.

Right?"

YOUNG ADULT

BLESSED by Cynthia Leitich Smith "Quincie P. Morris, teen restaurateuse and neophyte vampire, is in the fight of her life -- or undeath. Even as she adjusts to her new appetites, she must clear her best friend and true love, the hybrid werewolf Kieren, of murder charges; thwart the apocalyptic ambitions of Bradley Sanguini, the seductive vampire-chef who "blessed" her; and keep her dead parents’ restaurant up and running. She hires a more homespun chef and adds the preternaturally beautiful Zachary to her wait staff. But with hundreds of new vampires on the rise and Bradley off assuming the powers of Dracula Prime, Zachary soon reveals his true nature -- and a flaming sword -- and they hit the road to staunch the bloodshed before it’s too late. Even if they save the world, will there be time left to salvage Quincie’s soul?"

THE CHARMED RETURN: THE FAERIE PATH by Frewin Jones "By the light of the pure eclipse, two worlds will be as one . . .

She was once a princess of Faerie, the seventh daughter of King Oberon. But sixteen-year-old Anita Palmer has no memory of the Faerie Realm; her true Faerie princess identity; her love, Edric; or her quest to save Faerie from a deadly plague that ravaged it. With the help of an unexpected ally, Anita must figure out a way to reawaken Tania, her Faerie self—but how?

Now Anita—or is she Tania?—doesn't know who, or what, to trust, including her own memories. With no time to spare, Anita must act. A thrilling final battle is soon to be waged that will affect not only her destiny but the fate of both Faerie and the Mortal World. Loyalties will be tested, true love questioned, and nothing is what it seems"

DARK BEGINNINGS: THE PHANTOM DIARIES BEGINNINGS by Kailin Gow "Love in Paris During the Time of Napoleon's Reign... Veronique, arrives in Paris to be groomed into a fashionable noble lady. As soon as she meets the aristocratic Philippe Aragon and his darkly attractive cousin Martin Aragon, her life is changed. Romance, magic, intrigue, and action follows in this lush historical paranormal romance between the Aragons and the one woman who would be the greatest influence on Eric, known as the Phantom in Leroux's Phantom of the Opera. A stand alone novel, Dark Beginnings, is also a prequel to The Phantom Diaries."

DARK GODDESS: DEVIL'S KISS by Sarwat Chadda "New enemies, new romance, and new horrors. Billi's back, and it seems like the Unholy just can't take a hint. Still reeling from the death of her best friend, Kay, Billi's thrust back into action when the Templars are called to investigate werewolf activity. And these werewolves are like nothing Bilil's seen before.

They call themselves the Polenitsy - Man Killers. The ancient warrior women of Eastern Europe, supposedly wiped out centuries ago. But now they're out of hiding and on the hunt for a Spring Child -- an Oracle powerful enough to blow the volcano at Yellowstone -- precipitating a Fimbulwinter that will wipe out humankind for good.

The Templars follow the stolen Spring Child to Russia, and the only people there who can help are the Bogatyrs, a group of knights who may have gone to the dark side. To reclaim the Spring Child and save the world, Billi needs to earn the trust of Ivan Romanov, an arrogant young Bogatyr whose suspicious of people in general, and of Billi in particular."

DROUGHT by Pam Bachorz "Ruby dreams of escaping the Congregation. Escape from slaver Darwin West and his cruel Overseers. Escape from struggling to gather the life-prolonging Water that keeps the Congregants alive--and Darwin rich. Escape from her certain, dreary existence, living as if it's still the early 1800s, when the Congregation was first enslaved. But if Ruby leaves, the Congregation will die without the secret ingredient to the Water: her blood. So she stays, and prays to their savior Otto, who first gave Water to the Congregants... and fathered Ruby before he vanished.

When the Congregants discover Ruby's forbidden romance with an Overseer, they beat Ford to stop her from running away with him. Ruby steals their store of Water to save Ford's life and is banished. Ruby has everything she's dreamed of: a modern life with Ford. But the modern world isn't what she thought it would be, and Ruby can't forsake the Congregation. Love and loyalty push Ruby to return and fight for her family's freedom...at a terrible price."

THE FALSE PRINCESS by Eilis O'Neal "Princess and heir to the throne of Thorvaldor, Nalia's led a privileged life at court. But everything changes when it's revealed, just after her sixteenth birthday, that she is a false princess, a stand-in for the real Nalia, who has been hidden away for her protection. Cast out with little more than the clothes on her back, the girl now called Sinda must leave behind the city of Vivaskari, her best friend, Keirnan, and the only life she's ever known.

Sinda is sent to live with her only surviving relative, an aunt who is a dyer in a distant village. She is a cold, scornful woman with little patience for her newfound niece, and Sinda proves inept at even the simplest tasks. But when Sinda discovers that magic runs through her veins - long-suppressed, dangerous magic that she must learn to control - she realizes that she can never learn to be a simple village girl.

Returning to Vivaskari for answers, Sinda finds her purpose as a wizard scribe, rediscovers the boy who saw her all along, and uncovers a secret that could change the course of Thorvaldor's history, forever."

HERE LIES BRIDGET by Paige Harbison "Bridget Duke is the uncontested ruler of her school. The meanest girl with the biggest secret insecurities. And when new girl Anna Judge arrives, things start to fall apart for Bridget: friends don't worship as attentively, teachers don't fall for her wide-eyed "who me?" look, expulsion looms ahead and the one boy she's always loved—Liam Ward—can barely even look at her anymore.

When a desperate Bridget drives too fast and crashes her car, she ends up in limbo, facing everyone she's wronged and walking a few uncomfortable miles in their shoes. Now she has only one chance to make a last impression. Though she might end up dead, she has one last shot at redemption and the chance to right the wrongs she's inflicted on the people who mean the most to her.

And Bridget's about to learn that, sometimes, saying you're sorry just isn't enough…."

THE IRON QUEEN: THE IRON FEY by Julie Kagawa "My name is Meghan Chase.

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back."

MYSTIFY: A MYSTYX NOVEL by Artist Arthur "Sasha Carrington has grown up feeling like an outsider, and her parents are too concerned with scaling the Lincoln, Connecticut, social ladder to even notice her. They'd be really horrified to know about the supernatural abilities Sasha and her friends Krystal and Jake possess. But as part of the Mystyx, Sasha has found her place.

Now her parents have suddenly taken an interest in everything she does, and their timing couldn't be worse. Sasha's father wants her to become BFFs with snooty Alyssa Turner, who hates Krystal for stealing her boyfriend. Then there's Antoine Watson, the boy Sasha has liked forever, the boy her parents would never approve of. But with the dark side getting more dangerous by the day, and the Mystyx's own powers growing in unexpected ways, Sasha is facing choices that could affect her friends, her love life—and even her destiny…."

PARADISE LOST by Steven L. Layne "The highly anticipated sequel to This Side of Paradise-which Kirkus heralds as an "an entertaining, suspenseful thriller"-Paradise Lost delivers the same chilling scenarios and head-scratching secrets that fans expect from author Steven L. Layne. After a summer break, former wallflower Chase Maxfield returns to school with a new found confidence to match his sudden, yet classic, good looks. But Jack Barrett suspects something sinister is behind Chase's unexpected transformation, and his skepticism only grows as other eerie events occur. When Jack's grandmother is mysteriously poisoned, his brother disappears, and his girlfriend soon develops an interest in someone else, Jack becomes even more determined to discover the truth. Packed with action and off-the-wall incidents, this fast-paced novel invites readers on an adventure that builds momentum until the very last page."

RED RIDING HOOD by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright "The body of a young girl is discovered in a field of wheat. Her flesh mutilated by telltale claw marks. The Wolf has broken the peace.

When Valerie learns that her sister has been killed by the legendary creature, she finds herself at the center of a dark mystery, one that has plagued her village for generations. It is revealed that the werewolf lives among them, and everyone in the village immediately becomes a suspect. Could her secret love Peter be behind the attacks on her town? Is it her betrothed, Henry? Or someone even closer to her?

As the men in the village hunt for the beast, Valerie turns to her grandmother for help. She gives Valerie a handmade red riding cloak, and guides her through the web of lies and deception that has held her town together for so long. Will Valerie discover the werewolf's identity before the town is ripped apart?

This is a dangerous new vision of a classic fairy tale, the happy ending could be hard to find."

SUBJECT SEVEN by James A. Moore "Years ago, scientists began developing the ultimate military weapon: deadly sleeper assassins housed within the bodies of teenagers. Now, Subject Seven, the dangerous alter-ego living inside a 16-year-old boy, has escaped the lab and is on a mission. His objective? To seek out others like him and build an army capable of destroying their creators.

Hunter, Cody, Gene, Tina, and Kylie: five teenagers leading typical lives, until the day they each receive a call from a mysterious strangerÑand learn that their destinies are intertwined. Subject Seven holds the key that connects them all. And a vicious, bloody battle for their lives is just beginning."

THROAT by R.A. Nelson "R. A. Nelson takes us on a supernatural thrill ride, a modern-day vampire story set on a NASA base and filled with space-and-science intrigue. Seventeen-year-old Emma feels cursed by her epilepsy—until the lost night. She's shocked to wake up in the hospital one morning, weak from blood loss. When her memories begin to return, she pieces together that it was a man—a monster—who attacked her: a vampire named Wirtz. And it was her very condition that saved her: a grand mal seizure interrupted Wirtz and left Emma with all the amazing powers of a vampire—heightened senses, rapid speed—but no need to drink blood. Is Emma now a half-vampire girl? One thing soon becomes clear: the vampire Wirtz is fierce and merciless, feared even by his own kind, and won't leave a job undone."

VESPER: A DEVIANTS NOVEL by Jeff Sampson "Emily Webb is a geek. And she’s happy that way. Content hiding under hoodies and curling up to watch old horror flicks, she’s never been the kind of girl who sneaks out for midnight parties. And she’s definitely not the kind of girl who starts fights or flirts with other girls’ boyfriends. Until one night Emily finds herself doing exactly that . . . the same night one of her classmates—also named Emily—is found mysteriously murdered.

The thing is, Emily doesn’t know why she’s doing any of this. By day, she’s the same old boring Emily, but by night, she turns into a thrill seeker. With every nightfall, Emily gets wilder until it’s no longer just her personality that changes. Her body can do things it never could before: Emily is now strong, fast, and utterly fearless. And soon Emily realizes that she’s not just coming out of her shell . . . there’s something much bigger going on. Is she bewitched by the soul of the other, murdered Emily? Or is Emily Webb becoming something else entirely— something not human?

As Emily hunts for answers, she finds out that she’s not the only one this is happening to—some of her classmates are changing as well. Who is turning these teens into monsters—and how many people will they kill to get what they want?"

WARRIOR: DRAGONS OF STARLIGHT by Bryan Davis "The Dragon Prince Has Hatched In book two of the Dragons of Starlight series, the stakes are raised when the foretold prince is crowned. While Koren and Jason race to the Northlands of Starlight to find the one person who can help them free the human slaves, Elyssa and Wallace strive to convince the captives that freedom is possible. Soon, all four discover that the secrets of Starlight extend much further than they had imagined. Meanwhile, Randall and Tybalt have returned to Major Four and struggle against the dragon Magnar, who has arrived to manipulate the governor. No one knows how the prophecy will be fulfilled, but one thing is clear: more than ever, the survival of the dragons depends on humankind, and they will do anything to prevent the slaves from escaping."

This Sunday's Middle Grade Fantasy and Science Fiction Round-up

Happy daylight savings time (Maybe. I'd like to keep falling back myself, with lots more light anyway).

Here's another weeks worth of blog posts carefully (?) gleaned by me relating to middle grade science fiction and fantasy--please let me know if I missed your post, or the posts of your loved ones etc.

The Reviews:

Another Whole Nother Story, by Dr. Cuthbert Soup, at Charlotte's Library

The Bloomswell Diaries, by Louis L. Buitendag, at Charlotte's Library

The Clockwork Three, by Matthew Kirby, at Karissa's Reading Review

The Deadly Conch, by Mahtab Narsimhan, at Back to Books

The Door in the Forest, by Roderick Townly, at Eva's Book Addiction and Ms. Yingling Reads.

The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens, at Dog Ear

Johnny Mackintosh: Star Blaze, by Keith Mansfield, at Charlotte's Library

Kat, Incorrigible, by Stephanie Buris, at BookLust

No Passengers Beyond This Point, by Gennifer Choldenko, at One Librarian's Book Reviews and Great Kid Books.

Priscilla The Great, by Sybil Nelson, at The O.W.L.

Running from Secrets, by Stephanie Void, at My Precious

The Thirteen Clocks, by James Thurber, at Charlotte's Library

The Thirteen Secrets, by Michelle Harrison, at Ex Libris

Well Wished, by Francis Hardinge, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, by Alan Garner, at Teach the Fantastic

A World Without Heros, by Brandon Mull, at Reading Fairy Tales, Milk and Cookies, and Reading at Dawn

Authors and interviews:

Ellen Booraem (Small Persons with Wings) at Cynsations

Katherine Langrish (West of the Moon) has been on blog tour this week--lots of fantastic posts about story writing and mythology and more. She has links to the various stops at her blog, Seven Miles of Steel Thistles.

Joanne Levy (Small Medium at Large, coming summer of 2012 ) at Book Junkies

Danika Dinsmore (Brigitta of the White Forest) at Just Deb

Other stuff:

As part of Share a Story Week, two authors (Mitali Perkins and Tanita Davis, and an editor, Hannah Ehrlich of Lee and Low) talk about reading (and writing) diversity at Scrub-a-dub-tub.

And the authors who blog at The Enchanted Inkpot offer their best advice for writing fantasy.

Zoe at Playing By the Book has announced a new twitter forum for adults who want to talk about children's books--up and running later today (3:00 pm EST)

Those who want their Shannon Hales to match can now be happy--here's the new hardcover edition of Forest Born that matches the earlier books in the series (at left)! (I like it lots better than the old version. I never liked the sleeves on the old one. In fact, I would go so far as to say that they are my Least Favorite Ficitonal Sleeves of all time).

Middle grade science fiction and fantasy--this week's round-up for your reading pleasure (and mine)!

Here are all the middle grade fantasy and science fiction related blog posts etc. I found this week; please let me know if I missed your!

The Reviews:

The Apothecary, by Maile Meloy, at Eva's Book Addiction

The Bassumtyte Treasure, by Jane Louise Curry, at Charlotte's Library

Beasts (The Mystic Phyles) by Stephanie Brockway and Ralph Masiello, at Charlotte's Library

Blue Fire, by Janice Hardy (Healing Wars book 2) at books4yourkids

The Cheshire Cheese Cat, at Books of Wonder and Wisdom

The Crowfield Curse, by Pat Walsh, at Bookish

Darkfall, by Janice Hardy (Healing Wars book 3) at books4yourkids

Dragon Castle, by Joseph Bruchac, at Fuse #8

Elliot and the Pixie Plot, by Jennifer A. Nielsen, at Boys and Literacy

Galaxy Games, by Greg Fishbone, at TheHappyNappyBookseller

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland...., by Catherynne M. Valente, at Reads for Keeps

Ghostopolis, by Doug Tennapel, at Karissa's Reading Review

Goliath, by Scott Westerfeld, at Karissa's Reading Review and Biblio File

Jake Ransom and the Howling Sphinx, by James Rollins, at Becky's Book Reviews

Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow, by James Rollins, at Becky's Book Reviews

Kevin's Point of View, by Del Shannon, at Nayu's Reading Corner

Lair of the Bat Monster (Dragonbreath) by Ursula Vernon, at Good Books and Good Wine and Jean Little Library

Liesl and Po, by Lauren Oliver, at Ex Libris

The Magic City, by E. Nesbit, at Tor

Masterwork of a Painting Elephant, by Michelle Cuevas, at Book Dragon

Monstrum House: Locked In, and Creeped Out, by Z. Fraillon, at Cracking the Cover

The Mostly True Story of Jack, by Kelly Barnhill, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile and Paige in Training

The Orphan of Awkward Falls, by Keith Graves, at My Favorite Books

Pilot and Huxley, by Dan McGuiness, at Jean Little Library

The Princess Curse, by Merrie Haskell, at The Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia

The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic, by Jennifer Trafton, at Good Books and Good Wine

Small Persons With Wings, by Ellen Booream, at slatebreakers

A Tale Dark and Grimm, by Adam Gidwitz, at The Book Smugglers

Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George, at Sonderbooks and Random Musings of a Bibliophile

The Wikkeling, by Steven Arntson, at Becky's Book Reviews

Wildwood, by Colin Meloy, at My Reading Frenzy

Kate aka Book Aunt compares and contrasts this year's trio of mice books.

In the spirit of the season, at Great Kid Books you can find a compilation of truly creepy stories.

And I also want to mention the Animorphs Re-Read that's ongoing at the Intergalactic Academy

Authors and Interviews

James Riley (Half upon a Time) at Cynsations

Roderick Gordon at The Guardian on self-publishing Tunnels, and how it became the start of a successful series.

Greg Fishbone (Galaxy Games) shares his experiences on "surviving the sophomore outing" at Cynsations, and talks about "making the jump from writer to author" at Adventures in YA and Children's Publishing.

Leonard Marcus annotated the fiftieth anniversary edition of The Phantom Tollboth, and stops by Educating Alice to chat about it.

An interview with M.P. Kozlowsky (Juniper Berry) at From the Mixed Up Files

Other Good Stuff:

NPR's Kids' Book Club kicks off with Neil Gaiman and The Graveyard Book.

Alice in Wonderland fans must read this article in The Guardian, and consider visiting Liverpool.

You've probably already seen the official trailer to The Secret World of Arrietty--but if you haven't, here at The Book Yurt is one of the many places you can watch it. I tried to read The Borrowers to my boys, but the beginning is slow, and it didn't take sigh sigh.

A giant lego figure washes up on a Florida beach--


I'd suggest not reading the news story; it's more fun to imagine one's own! My mind immediately rewrote The Iron Giant, by Ted Hughes....

And if you're looking for something to add a little rainbow sparkle to your holiday table:

You can actually buy this--visit ThinkGeek to see what's really in the can!

And finally, never before seen illustrations for the Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien, can be seen at The Mary Sue:

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

Happy New Year, all readers and writers of middle grade science fiction and fantasy, and welcome to the first mgsff round-up of 2011. If I missed your post, or that of your best friend, or anything you happened to see, please let me know! And thank you, all of you in the past year who have mentioned on your own blogs that I am doing these round-ups--I appreciate it, and you are welcome to do it again, not because I want the visitors qua visitors so much, but for the Sake of the Books, because the whole point of these round-ups is to bring attention to them.

What mg sff book are you most looking forward to in 2011? I, myself, am having trouble immagining a world beyond January, so I'll go with Small Persons With Wings, by Ellen Booraem.

First, the big/already probably old news:



What do these books have in common?
A. I like them all lots
B. Little pink was used in the cover art, and as far as I know, there are no sparkles*
C. Good writing and tons of kid appeal
D. They all include vampire yetis
E. All of the above

*I haven't seen the finished cover of the Shadows. Are there sparkles???

Answer: (mostly) E. They are the finalists in the Elementary Middle Grade Science Fiction/Fantasy category of the Cybils Awards (for which I was a panelist), and they show beautifully the range of mg sff today. They include horror, humor, reimagined fairy tales, tragedy, wondrous inventions, ghosts, evil, magic...They are girl books and boy books, books perfect for younger readers, and books perfect for grown-ups! I wish we could have shortlisted more books--there are several I'm still very wistful about...

I think my favorite cover is The Dead Boys--the Evil Tree tickles my fancy lots. But I can't decide which is my favorite book, and I pity the judges of the next round who have to pick just one winner!

This week's reviews:

Beauty, by Robin McKinley, at Nayu's Reading Corner. If I were to pick just one book to give to an eleven year old girl, this would be it. Beauty, incidentally, just got a very new and sharp looking cover over in the UK, shown on the far right. My own version, read in the 1980s, looking very 1980s indeed, leads the parade:







Behemoth, by Scott Westerfeld, at Boys Rule Boys Read

The City of Ember, by Jeanne DuPrau, at Reading Vacation

The Good Little Devil, by Ann Lawrence, at Charlotte's Library

Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London, by Keith Mansfield, at Charlotte's Library

The Jumper Chronicles--Quest for Merlin's Map, by W.C. Peever, at Eating Y.A. Books

A Matter of Magic, by Patricia C. Wrede, at The Book Smugglers

Ninth Ward, by Jewell Parker Rhodes, at books4yourkids

Shadow, by Jenny Moss, at Reading Vacation

The Shadow Hunt, by Katherine Langrish, at Eva's Book Addiction

Theodosia and the Eyes of Horus, by R.L. Lafevers, at TheHappyNappyBookseller

Melina at Reading Vaction takes a look at the Suddenly Supernatural series -- Book 2--Scaredy Kat, and Book 3--Unhappy Medium

and Gregory Breen takes a look at the Artemis Fowl series at Suite 101.

Interviews:

Greg Van Eekhout (Kid vs Squid) at Spookycyn

Susan Fletcher (Ancient, Strange, and Lovely--Book 4 of the Dragon Chronicles) at Euphoria

Other Stuff:

I thought it would be but the work of minutes to pull together a list of all the mg and ya dragon books published in 2010. It wasn't. You can find the long long list that resulted here!

The Nebula Awards have a category (the Andre Norton Awards) for YA books, and now the Hugo Award folks are thinking of doing the same, with an award for YA books including "those for younger children" (read more at Cheryl's Mewsings)

And finally, for the little bon mote I like to offer at the end of these round-ups, here is a selection of "Ancient Robots and Victorian Androids" at Dark Roasted Blend. Really cool stuff! I am something of a fan of Marie Rutkoski's books (The Cabinet of Wonders and The Celestial Globe), and so was immensely tickled to learn that John Dee, Elizabethan Alchemist, devised a wooden beetle that could fly:

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

Welcome to my fifty first (!) round-up of middle grade science fiction and fantasy fun! If I missed your post, let me know--charlotteslibrary @ gmail dot com, or leave a comment.

The Reviews:

The Adventures of Nanny Piggins, by R.A. Spratt, at Booked Up.

Brains for Lunch, by K.A. Holt, at Coffee for the Brain

Celia's Robot, by Margaret Chang, at Ms. Yingling Reads and Charlotte's Library

Dragonbreath, by Ursula Vernon, at Maura Bishop

Fever Crumb, by Philip Reeve, at Booked Up

Haint Misbehavin', by Maureen Hardegree, at Bibliophile Support Group

The Hole in the Wall, by Lisa Row Fraustino, at Ms. Yingling Reads

How Mirka Got Her Sword, by Barry Deutsch, at Madigan Reads

Imaginalis, by J.M. DeMatteis, at The Musings of a Book Addict

The Lightning Thief (graphic novel), by Rick Riordan and Robert Venditti, at Manga Maniac Cafe.

The Limit, by Kristen Landon, at Ms. Yingling Reads (with bonus quick look at Haunted Houses, by Robert San Souci)

Mixed Magics, by Diana Wynne Jones, at Stella Matutina

Ninth Ward, by Jewell Parker Rhodes, at Great Kid Books

The Perilous Gard, by Elizabeth Marie Pope, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

Power of Three, by Diana Wynne Jones, at Fantasy Literature

Raider's Ransom, by Emily Diamand, at Coffee for the Brain

Reckless, by Cornelia Funke, at Guys Lit Wire

Sabotaged, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, at Charlotte's Library

Sky Island, by L. Frank Baum, at Tor.

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

The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner, at books4yourkids

Under the Green Hill, by Laura Sullivan, at Book Aunt.

Zahrah the Windseeker, by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu, at Charlotte's Library

A three for one at Ms. Yingling Reads-- The Grimm Legacy, by Polly Shulman, The Inside Story, by Michael Buckley, and The Wyverns' Treasure, by R.L. LaFevers.

The Edge Chronicles, by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, at books4yourkids

The Interview (Did I miss any? There are usually more than one)

Lisa Row Fraustino (The Hole in the Wall) at Ms. Yingling Reads; Fraustino also visits The O.W.L. to share how her book came to be.

The Interesting things to read:

An article about the "portal fantasy" (a trope very relevant to mg sff) at io9

A look inside Tu Books (multicultural sff for kids and teens) at io9

An obituary for Eva Ibbotson, by Laura Amy Schlitz, at The Horn Book

Fairytale Reflections #8, featuring Sue Purkiss, at Katherine Langrish's Seven Miles of Steel Thistles.

The Holiday happenings:

Sign ups are now open for the Read in Color Holiday Book Exchange, being organized by Ari at Reading in Color and The Book Blogger Holiday Swap.

One last good thing:

And finally, for just a dollar a ticket, you can enter to win an ereader and give your support to the Carl Brandon Society's Ocatavia Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund, which sends two emerging writers of color to the Clarion writers workshops annually. Five are being given away, and "they will come pre-loaded with books, short stories, poems and essays by writers of color from the speculative fiction field. Some of the writers include N. K. Jemisin, Nisi Shawl, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Terence Taylor, Ted Chiang, Shweta Narayan, Chesya Burke, Moondancer Drake, Saladin Ahmed, Rochita Loenen-Ruiz, and there will be many more."

p.s. anyone who wants to know about the workings of my little mind viz these roundups can read all about it here

This Sunday's Round-Up of middle grade sci fi/fantasy related posts from around the blogs

Hi. Here's another week's worth of the mg sff posts I found. I posted this yesterday, so if you had a post of your own on Saturday I might have missed it--let me know! And feel free to let me know of other blog posts I didn't find (or remember to link to).

Edited to add: I am back, and have added the additional links! Thanks. We were off in western Massachusetts, and visited the Eric Carle museum for the first time; there was a lovely exhibit of the original art from a number of Jane Yolen's books that I especially enjoyed (and would have enjoyed more if my boys hadn't been with me--the art is hung at a comfortble height for grown-ups, and they grew restless).

The Reviews:

The 13 Curses, by Michelle Harrison, at Ex Libris

Bless This Mouse, by Lois Lowry, at GreenBeanTeenQueen

Bone, by Jeff Smith, at Stacked

The Call, by Michael Grant, at books4yourkids

Charmed Life, by Diana Wynne Jones, at Read in a Single Sitting

The Crowmaster (Invisible Fiends) by Barry Hutchison, at Bart's Bookshelf

The Dead Boys, by Royce Buckingham, at books4yourkids and Challenging the Bookworm

Dragonbreath, and Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs, by Ursula Vernon, at One Librarian's Book Reviews

Fever Crumb, by Philip Reeve, at Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia

Foiled, by Jane Yolen, at Great Kid Books

The Giver, by Lois Lowry, at Middle Grade Ninja

House of the Star, by Caitlin Brennan, at Charlotte's Library

Kat, Incorribable (UK title A Most Improper Magick) by Stephanie Brugis, at Book Aunt

The Last Olympian, by Rick Riordan, at Beyond Books

The Little White Horse, by Elizabeth Goudge, at Ex Libris

Museum of Thieves, by Lian Tanner, at BSCKids

Reckless, by Cornelia Funke at Book Dragon and books4yourkids

The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic, by Jennifer Trafton, at Book Aunt

Season of Secrets, by Sally Nichols, at book bits

Small Persons With Wings, by Ellen Booraem, at Fuse #8 and Becky's Book Reviews

A Tale Dark and Grimm, by Adam Gidwitz, at the excelsior file and Guys Lit Wire

Till Death Do Us Bark (43 Old Cemetery Road) by Kate Klise, at It's All About Books

Tom's Midnight Garden, by Philippa Pearce, at Books Under Skin

Tortilla Sun, by Jennifer Cervantes, at Charlotte's Library

A World Without Heroes, by Brandon Mull, at Ms. Martin Teaches Media

Interviews and Guest Posts

Barry Hutchison (Invisible Fiends) at Bart's Bookshelf

Janice Hardy (The Healing Wars) at Working Writers

Chelsea M. Campbell (The Rise of Renegade X) at Cynsations

Lois Lowry at Middle Grade Ninja

Other good stuff:

Topless Robot offers a list of "14 Great But Lesser-Known Fantasies for Lil' Nerd" - some I think are rather well-known, but others were new to me (this list skews a tad older then middle grade, but still well worth checking out)

And I have nothing else as an extra today....next week will be better.

EDITED TO ADD: I have a good thing!

Here's Jewell Parker Rhodes, reading from Ninth Ward, courtesy of White Readers Meet Black Authors.

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

Greetings, middle grade science fiction and fantasy friends, and welcome to another week's worth of what I found from around the blogs that of interest to us mg sff fans (please let me know if I missed your post--things were more scattered than usual this week!). If you are new to these round-ups, here's the full story.

But first, a Giveaway. At Book Expo America, I found three extra mg sff ARCs, and brought them home to give away here. And I'm not announcing it elsewhere, or putting it in the header, because you who read these round-ups are the people to whom I want to give these books (technical details at the bottom the post).


Here they are:

(although the ARC
of The Orphan of
Awkward Falls has a
different cover)




And now the reviews:

The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley, at Steph Su Reads

The Cabinet of Wonders, by Marie Rutkoski, at books4yourkids

Day of the Assassins, by Johnny O'Brien, at Charlotte's Library

The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens, at Candace's Book Blog and The Fringe Magazine

Kat, Incorrigible, by Stephanie Burgis, at Waking Brain Cells

Knightly Academy, by Violet Haberdasher, at A Backwards Story

The Lost Conspiracy, by Frances Hardinge, at By Singing Light (which should have gone in last week's round-up, but ended up in a draft post all by itself)

The Midnight Gate, by Helen Stringer, at The O.W.L. and at Wicked Awesome Books

No Such Thing as Dragons, by Philip Reeve, at books4yourkids

Small Persons With Wings, by Ellen Booraem, at Geo Librarian

The Society of Dread (Candleman) by Glenn Dakin, at Nayu's Reading Corner (and she has a give-away here)

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin, at Reading Vacation

The Wikkeling, by Steven Arntson, at The Book Smugglers


Authors and Interviews:

Janice Hardy (The Healing Wars series) at The Compulsive Reader

Stephanie Burigs (Kat, Incorrigible) at The Enchanted Inkpot

Glenn Dakin (Candleman) at Nayu's Reading Corner

Helen Stringer (The Midnight Gate), at The O.W.L. (includes give away)

Nathan Bransford (Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow) at From the Mixed Up Files

Eric Nylund (The Resistors) at Random Acts of Reading

Matthew Kirby (The Clockwork Three) at From the Mixed Up Files

Other Good Stuff:

The Book Smugglers (it was great to meet them in person at the Book Blogger Convention!) showcase the mg sff books they took home with them.

Here's Alan Rickman's good-bye to Snape, from Empire Magazine, via Bookshelves of Doom

Giveaway Details:
There will be three winners (ie, one book each). Leave a comment to enter, make sure there's a way to contact you, and let me know the order in which you want them. International friends are welcome to enter too! I'll pick the winners just before I post (d.v.) next week's roundup.

This Sunday's round up of middle grade fantasy and science fiction

Here's what I found in my blog reading this week--if I missed your post, let me know! (and if you are a new visitor to these round-ups, here's more info. about how I compile them).

The Reviews:

Bloodline Rising, by Katy Moran, at Charlotte's Library (older mg)

The Broken Citadel, by Joyce Ballou Gregorian, at Just Booking Around (older mg, or possibly even just plain old YA)

The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens, at Booking Mama

Falling In, by Frances O'Roark Dowell (audio review), at Book Nut

Invisible Inkling, by Emily Jenkins, at Book Dreaming

Kat, Incorrigible, by Stephanie Burgis, at Fuse #8

Keeper, by Kathi Appelt, at Challenging the Bookworm

The Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan, at Challenging the Bookworm

The Magnificent 12: The Call, by Michael Grant, at One Librarian's Book Reviews

The Mask Wearer (Amos Daragon, Book 1), by Bryan Perro, at Kiss the Book

The Shadows (Books of Elsewhere 1), by Jacqueline West, at Books & Other Thoughts and an audio review at The O.W.L.

Small Persons With Wings, by Ellen Booraem, at Narrative Investigations

My Sparkling Misfortune, by Laura Lond, at Reading Vacation

The Spellcoats, by Diana Wynne Jones, at Becky's Book Reviews

The Museum of Thieves, by Lian Tanner, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

Ravenwood, by Andrew Peters, at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books

Shimmer, by Alyson Noel, at Reading Vacation and The Bibliophilic Book Blog

Theodosia and the Eyes of Horace, by R.L. LaFevers, at Strange and Random Happenstance

Theodosia and the Last Pharaoh, by R.L. LaFevers, at Strange and Random Happenstance

The Time-Travelling Fashionista, by Bianca Turetsky, at Reading Everywhere

Uncommon Magic, by Michelle Scott, at Reading Vacation

Under the Green Hill, by Laura L. Sullivan, at Eating Y.A. Books

A Year Without Autumn, by Liz Kessler, at I Was a Teenage Book Geek (where you will also find the first chapter of the book)

Zeus: King of the Gods, and Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess, by George O'Connorat at Book Nut

Ms. Yingling reviews a trio of sci fi boy books, and at Nayu's Reading Corner you'll find some fun books by Steve Cole (author of the Astrosaurs series and more)

And finally, Anne at Black and White has a post about first read-aloud fantasy chapter books!

Interview and authors:

Nathan Bransford (Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow) at Anita Laydon Miller's Middle Grade Blog

Greg Van Eekhaut (The Boy at the End of the World) writes about "Tarkin’s Jodhpurs and Dystopia for Kids" at Tor

Other Good Stuff:

The authors over at The Enchanted Inkpot offer tributes to Diana Wynne Jones.

Grace Lin is celebrating the paperback release of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by giving away to eight people the free print of their choice from her etsy shop! Here's the one I would like:


My best friend in seventh grade had a series of recurring dreams in which Anne MacCaffery's Dragon Riders of Pern came to the big screen, with dead chickens (painted appropriately, if such a thing can be said of a dead chicken) being used for the fire lizards. That was long, long ago---and now her dream (sans chickens) is becoming a reality-- the dragons are actually coming to the big screen!

And finally, Peter Jackson has posted video diary entries from
The Hobbit on his facebook page (and you can watch it here at Suvudo)