This past week's new releases of science fiction and fantasy for children and teenagers

Here are the middle grade and YA science fiction and fantasy books that came out this past week, taken from Teens Read Too.

Dodger for President (Dodger and Me), by Jordan Sonnenblick. From Booklist: "Picking up where Dodger and Me (2008) left off, Sonnenblick continues the story of friends Willie and Lizzie and the magical blue chimp, Dodger, that only they can see. The formula is much the same—dorky kid helped out by invisible ally—but here it’s applied to a school election that has Willie and Lizzie facing off against a superpopular jock and his tough-guy sidekick. And again, Dodger spends most of the book bouncing off the walls, espousing zany schemes that mostly serve to hamstring the kids’ campaign."

Grk Takes Revenge, by Joshua Doder. "Tim and Natascha realise to their horror that Max has gone to Paris to confront their first adversary, Colonel Zinfandel, the dictator of Stanislavia. They rush after him, with their intrepid dog Grk. Will Max overstep the mark and do something dangerous? Will Colonel Zinfandel be a ruthless and violent as he is has been before? And how can two children and a dog do any good? All will be revealed when they reach Paris!"


The Kingdom of Carbonel, by Barbara Sleigh. This is the second book of a series beloved by many that is being brought back into print by the New York Review Children's Collection (and if you haven't visited them to see the great list of books they are bringing out, do! "Night falls and Cat Country comes to life: town walls turn into roads, roof and treetop become mountain and field. The black cat Carbonel and his consort, Queen Blandamour, have long reigned over this magical place, where humans are scarce, cats roam freely, and the rivers flow with cream. But the wicked Grisana, a beautiful gray Persian who makes Lady Macbeth look like a lap cat, has plans of her own for Cat Country, and Carbonel and his children, Prince Calidor and Princess Pergamond, are all that stand between her and the throne. With the backing of Carbonel’s old foe, the witch Mrs. Cantrip, and her apprentice, Miss Dibdin, Grisana may be unstoppable. Luckily, Carbonel can count on Rosemary and John, his young friends from Carbonel: The King of the Cats, to come to his aid. Together with the good creatures of Cat Country—and with the help of a few magical spells—the children confront Grisana and her nasty crew. It is a battle for the future of Cat Country and only the strongest magic will prevail."

The Magic Mirror of the Mermaid Queen, by Delia Sherman. "Neef, the official Changeling of Central Park, has survived a life-threatening quest, but that’s nothing compared to her first experiences at Changeling school. At Miss Van Loon’s, she meets her counterparts from all over Manhattan, learns the basics of diplomacy, and, of course, gets in trouble. This time Neef must recover the Magic Mirror, or else New York Harbor’s Mermaid Queen will turn all of the city’s fresh water to salt—and everything will die."

Mike Stellar: Nerves of Steel, by K. A. Holt. "Things are not so stellar for Mike Stellar. He is stunned when his parents inform him that he has only eight hours to pack before they move to Mars. Despite the fact that he suspects his parents are involved in a major sabotage plot; that the only person who believes him is a girl who won’t shut up; and that his mother’s assistant seems to be spying on Mike’s every move, Mike is dealing with the same things that every eleven-year-old deals with: bad cafeteria food, a strict limitation on his electronic use, and a teacher who is so old-fashioned she must be from the year 2099."

Septimus Heap: The Magykal Papersby Angie Sage. A collection of miscellanies, including the private journals of Septimus, Jenna, and Marcia Overstrand, the best—and worst—places to eat as described in The Egg-on-Toast Restaurant Guide, Sirius Weazal's Speedy Guides to the Palace, the Wizard Tower, and Wizard Way, excerpts from the Pigeon Post Biography series and the Heaps of History series, and more.



Young Adult:

Alyzon Whitestarr, by Isobelle Carmody. "Alyzon Whitestarr doesn't take after her musically talented father or her nocturnal, artistic mother. In fact, she’s the most normal member of a very eccentric family . . . until the day that an accident leaves her more unique than she ever could have dreamed. Suddenly colors are more vibrant to Alyzon; her memory is flawless; but strangest of all is Alyzon’s sense of smell. Her best friend smells of a comforting sea breeze. She registers her father’s contentment as the sweet scent of caramelized sugar. But why does the cutest guy in school smell so rancid? With Alyzon’s extrasensory perception comes intrigue and danger, as she becomes aware of the dark secrets and hidden ambitions that threaten her family. In the end, being different might be less of a blessing than a curse. . . .

Fairy Tale, by Cyn Balog. "Morgan Sparks has always known that she and her boyfriend, Cam, are made for each other. But when Cam’s cousin Pip comes to stay with the family, Cam seems depressed. Finally Cam confesses to Morgan what’s going on: Cam is a fairy. The night he was born, fairies came down and switched him with a healthy human boy. Nobody expected Cam to live, and nobody expected his biological brother, heir to the fairy throne, to die. But both things happened, and now the fairies want Cam back to take his rightful place as Fairy King. Even as Cam physically changes, becoming more miserable each day, he and Morgan pledge to fool the fairies and stay together forever. But by the time Cam has to decide once and for all what to do, Morgan’s no longer sure what’s best for everyone, or whether her and Cam’s love can weather an uncertain future."

Prism, by Faye & Aliza Kellerman. Prism is set in "a slightly alternate universe in which medicine and health care do not exist, and in which sick people are allowed to die without any care. Set in New Mexico and California, the novel features three teens who fall through a cave at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico while on a field trip. They are plunged into a frightening parallel universe—seven weeks in the past, in which their "normal" worlds of family and high school remain the same…except for the fact that no medicine exists and when people die in the street they are picked up and disposed of.

Chaos - Graphic Novel (The Lost Books) and Renegade-Graphic Novel (The Lost Books), by Ted Dekker. From Publishers Weekly: "At the beginning of the series, four young people are given the mission of finding the seven missing Books of History to secure the continuity of reality. In Renegade, the hotheaded Bilios uses a forbidden book to transport himself to a small Colorado town, where a dark stranger convinces him that the people aren't real so that it's okay to kill them. In Chaos, young Johnis and Silvie are transported to Las Vegas, into the middle of a scheme by a monstrous Shataiki bat to unite the books and bring his mate into this world so they can spawn."

And finally, here's a book that (despite the title) isn't science fiction or fantasy, but that I enjoyed very much (review to come very soon):

Nothing but Ghosts, by Beth Kephart

Wings, by Aprilynne Pike

Wings, by Aprilynne Pike (Harper Collins, 2009, 290pp).

Homeschooling had suited Laurel just fine for the past ten years, and so had the tiny town up in the hills where she had grown up. Now her family's moved to a much larger town, and she's starting her sophomore year of high school. She's not surprised to find that the other kids dress differently and eat differently (Laurel is a vegan), but she does not initially realize just how different she is. Until she begins to blossom. Literally.

From her back, a winglike flower grows, and Laurel learns that she is a fairy. Soon she meets the incredibly attractive Tamani, a guardian of the boarder of the land beyond. And soon she and her new human friend David, whose calm, scientific mind helped her figure out what was happening to her, are embroiled in a battle to safeguard one of the last gates to fairyland, and the life of her human father.

This is one of the primeval plots-- a beautiful girl discovers she is someone magical and special, and that she has a true birthright beyond the realm of her mundane family. Add to this plot two cool and incredibly attractive boys vying for her attentions, and you end up with a book that has great appeal to many readers.

Pike brings enough unique elements and characters to the story to make it fresh--David, in particular, is a charmer (I'm rooting for him in the "who will Laurel end up with" sweepstakes), and I rather liked Laurel (although I think her emotional reaction to all the things that are happening could have been brought out a tad more). I enjoyed Pike's voice very much, most particularly when the story focused on small things of daily life, especially all the little things about Laurel that make her different, and I look forward to reading more of her books (this is her first).

But although I enjoyed Wings plenty as a light read, and I'll happily read the sequels (three more are planned), I'm not entirely hooked. I think this is because this first book only peripherally introduces us to the world of the fey, and the fairy element never became real enough to me to move it from plot device to embodiment of mystery and magic. I think I will also be more interested in the love triangle in future books--at the moment, one boy is "lust" and the other "like," and I hope that more nuance will come as the story progresses.

On the other hand, this would be an excellent book to give to girls who are asking for Twilight but are perhaps too young for it (it is very apt that the front jacket blurb--"A Remarkable Debut"--comes from Stephanie Meyer). Although Wings is being marketed as YA, it is clean as a whistle, and although there is violent conflict, it is not the rather disturbing conflict of many of the darker urban fantasies found in the YA section. If I were looking for books for an eleven or twelve year old girl, Wings would definitely be on my list.

Here's a smattering of other reviews: So Many Books, So Little Time, The Book Zombie, The Book Muncher, It's All About Books, Melissa's Bookshelf, The Story Siren, Green Bean Teen Queen.

And in the interest of full disclosure, my copy came from the publisher.

Fantasy books for a nine-year old girl, who likes a bit of scary stuff, and a giveaway

Today is Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Day (well, why not?), and I would like to thank all the writers of science fiction and fantasy whose books I like for writing them. And I would like to thank the public library, the publishers and the writers who send me review copies, my friends and family (at least the ones who give me presents) and my employer, for making it possible for me to read them.

To celebrate today, I have a list to offer.

In my boy's third grade class, there is a girl who reminds me of my 9 year old self. She walks down the halls to class, late, her nose deep in a book (it was a Nancy Drew the day I saw her), and she exaggerates her weekly reading report (her mother had to point out to her that it was not possible for her to have read 15 hours in one day, even though it might have seemed like that much). I struck up a chat with the mother a little while ago, at Ocean/Cultures of the World museum day (after I had dutifully admiring my son's flour paste angler fish sculpture), and promised I would make a book list of fantasy books that are a bit scary for her.

This is part one of that list--books that I loved when I was that age (aka, the late 1970s). Part two, modern slightly scary fantasy books, that I wish I had had when I was young, will come soon (or whenever). When I was nine, we lived in the Bahamas, and so my list has some English books on it, that sadly never became popular over here in the US. So it is not an entirely useful list for my son's friend...but they are all such good, good books.

The Little White Horse, by Elizabeth Goudge.
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, by Joan Aiken.
Moominland Midwinter, by Tove Jansen (my favorite in the series, although my son suggests Comet in Moominland)
The Talking Parcel (aka The Battle For Castle Cockatrice), by Gerald Durrell.
The Phoenix and Carpet, The Enchanted Castle, and The Story of the Amulet, my favorite E. Nesbits
Seven Day Magic, by Edward Eager (Half Magic, says my son).
Fog Magic, by Julia Sauer
The Ghosts, by Antonia Barber
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, by Julie Edwards (I love this book. And I feel like I might be the only person who does).
101 Dalmations, and its sequel, The Starlight Barking, by Dodie Smith. (Forget Disney--these are great books).
The Cuckoo Clock, by Mrs. Molesworth
Marianne Dreams, by Catherine Storr (so beautifully scary....those terrifying stones....)
A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L'Engle
Green Smoke, by Rosemary Manning

And finally,

The Little Broomstick, by Mary Stewart. If you haven't read this one yet, please do! It's about a lonely girl who finds herself with a magic broomstick, that takes her off to sinister school for magic. Here' s a review I wrote about it a while back.

I love The Little Broomstick. So much so, that I buy extra copies when I see them. So in honor of all the great science fiction and fantasy authors out there, I am giving one away--please leave a comment by Tuesday, June 30th, at midnight!



Does anyone else have recommendations for great fantasy books for a nine year old girl that would have been available in the late 1970s? (Like I said, I'll move forward in time with my next list...)

Here at Tor, you can find 100s of recommendations offered in response to the question “I’m thirteen, I’m a girl, and I like fantasy and some science fiction. What should I be reading?” I really am put out that I had to read the same books over and over, while kids today have so many great books to choose from.

And coincidentally, Anamaria at Books Together is looking for recommendations of "scary magical adventure books" for an almost nine-year old. I'd like to hear what people say too! I was writing my list with a girl that age in mind, but the only one that I wouldn't press on my son is The Little White Horse--I don't think he would appreciate all the lovely descriptions of clothes....

City in the Lake, I'm rooting for you!

I am very happy that in the on-going Nerds Heart YA tournament of books, The City in the Lake, by Rachel Neumeier, which I love, has advanced to the second round, winning over Pretty Monsters, by Kelly Link, which I liked very much.

However, neither Becky nor Kailana, the two judges for this bracket, share my enthusiasm for City, and it seemed like it was, to them, the lesser of two evils. And indeed, City is not a book that I would recommend to many people, especially if I didn't know them well. Basically, I would only recommend it to people who I know are fans of Patricia McKillip (and actually, I can't think of anyone I talk to in real life who is). So if you are a fan of McKillip, do go read this. Or if you think you have the time and patience to savour a book of beautiful and intricate imagery and plot, perhaps you might try it...

Here's the review I wrote last fall.

The Immortal Fire, by Anne Ursu

The Immortal Fire (Cronus Chronicles), by Anne Ursu (June 2009, Simon and Schuster, 528 pp).

Twice before Charlotte and her cousin Zee have thwarted the evil supreme-diety-wanna-be Philonecron--once in the gloomy realm of Hades, and once on the high seas, on Posiden's private yacht. But Philonecron is back--and now he has Posiden's almighty Trident to back up his quest for Olympion domination. He just needs one last thing...

Undaunted by the havoc wrecked by the mythological creatures unleashed by Posiden's fall from power and Philonecron's machinations (like the chimera that sets fire to their school and carries Charlotte off to its den), the two mortal children head to Greece, to Mount Olympus itself, where they must face Zeus in all his glory (such as it is) and power (considerable), to stop Philonecron once and for all....

In the past two months, I've read all three of the books in the Chronus Chronicles*, and find them very entertaining--exuberantly over the top, but always a few steps away from utter farce. The Greek gods, for instance, are not treated kindly (Apollo is let off lightly, simply making a cameo appearance on roller skates. Others are not so lucky). Ursu has taken all the characer flaws that were in the original myths (lots of material to work with here) and run with them; at times this felt stretched a bit thin, but the real-lifeness of Charlotte and Zee, by way of contrast, refreshed the story.

The Immortal Fire suceeds in being a very entertaining book, but it is not subtle about it--Ursu is an archly present narrator. In some books, I don't like this, but here it works well to highlight the absurdity of the plot premise-- mortal children take down Greek gods--and the ridiculousness of the divinities, who are powerful overlords of creation simply because they have power.

I liked Charlotte and Zee quite a bit, and found it refreshing that they were not Chosen Ones, with a Great Destiny and Magical Gifts etc. (although the Fates may have been pulling strings behind the scenes). They have no arcane powers, and although they have some intelligence, they mostly get by on determination and loyalty.

This series might be the answer for those who are grieving for Percy Jackson and want more of the Greek gods. Or just a good read for any somewhat older middle school kid looking for humor and adventure. The page count might appear daunting, but this is a book with generous font size and line spacing, and so is a faster read than it might seem at first.

Here's my favorite quote:

"Will the mortal who freed the sacrificial cows please report to floor thirty? Mortal to floor thirty, please."

*Book 1 of The Chronus Chronicles is The Shadow Thieves, book 2 is The Siren Song.

Note of for those interested in diversity:  Zee is half black, which the cover shows.

ARC received from the publisher.

Many miscellaneous things of great interest, including contests, utopias, and the circumnavigation of fairyland

At least I hope they are of interest. I have had little time for original content this week (library booksale, aka moving 5000 books two or three times each).

Item 1: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is a fantasy book that you can read online, paying the author what you think the book is worth (new installments every Monday. The author, Catherynne M. Valente, says here that this story "began as a book-within-a-book in my adult novel, Palimpsest, a part of the protagonist's childhood, a strange novel for children written in the 1920s, about a young girl spirited away to Fairyland by the Green Wind, and her adventures there, battling the wicked Marquess, befriending outlandish creatures, and growing up. As I traveled to promote the book, readers asked me one question more than any other:
Is it real?And I said no, no, it’s fiction, just part of the world of the novel. And then, every time, the next question would come:
Are you going to write it?And again, I said no. It’s impossible—a YA book hidden in a very much not-YA novel. No one would publish it. "

So she is offering it on line, trusting that readers who enjoy it will support her hard work.

Item two: here's a blog (that I'm adding to my list later today) which has been delighting me for several weeks with its offerings of illustrations from children's fantasy books.

Item three: I just learned (via Finding Wonderland) of a contest at Diamonds and Toads to retell "Sleeping Beauty" in 1,000 words or less. It starts July 1, 2009 and ends at midnight, July 31, 2009. The prize is a one-of-a-kind box featuring a fairy tale theme.

Item four: Imaginator Press (the imprint of my blogging friend Sheila of Wands and Words) is also having a writing competition. From their website:

"In celebration of the fifth anniversary of the award-winning fantasy The Dark Dreamweaver, Imaginator Press is sponsoring a creative writing contest for children and teens up to age 14. The Dark Dreamweaver is the first book of The Remin Chronicles, about a land literally powered by dreams. Imaginator Press invites children to write a creative story on the theme of “Dream Power,” for a chance to win an 8 GB iPod Touch. Four second prize winners will receive $25 iTunes gift cards, and five third prize winners will receive $10 iTunes gift cards. The winning stories will be published in a "Dream Power" anthology."

Item five: Carrie (of Carrie's YA bookshelf) has a great June giveaway going on for three books, one of which is one I covet (Eyes Like Stars). And at The Shady Glade, you can enter to win a contest for Catching Fire!

Item six: And don't forget to enter today for my own give away of an ARC of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon--the post below this one.

Item seven: Usula le Guin has offered up for public dissemination the following essay at her website:

Calling Utopia a Utopia
Ursula K. Le Guin

Writing about the death of J.G. Ballard for the New York Times (21 April 09), Bruce Weber spoke to Ballard’s American editor at Norton, Robert Weil. Mr Weil said of Ballard: “His fabulistic style led people to review his work as science fiction. But that’s like calling Brave New World science fiction, or 1984.”

Every time I read this sentence it suggests more parallels:
“But that’s like calling Don Quixote a novel.”
“But that’s like calling The Lord of the Rings a fantasy.”
“But that’s like calling Utopia a utopia... “

It is shocking to find that an editor at the publishing house that had the wits to publish J.G. Ballard (as well as the Norton Book of Science Fiction) can be so ignorant of what Ballard wrote, or so uninformed about the nature and history of the science-fiction genre, or so unaware of the nature of literature since the 1980’s, that he believes — now, in 2009! — that to say a writer wrote science fiction is to malign or degrade his work.

To define science fiction as a purely commercial category of fiction, inherently trashy, having nothing to do with literature, is a tall order. It involves both denying that any work of science fiction can have literary merit, and maintaining that any book of literary merit that uses the tropes of science fiction (such as Brave New World, or 1984, or The Handmaid’s Tale, or most of the works of J.G. Ballard) is not science fiction. This definition-by-negation leads to remarkable mental gymnastics. For instance, one must insist that certain works of dubious literary merit that use familiar science-fictional devices such as alternate history, or wellworn science-fiction plots such as Men-Crossing-the-Continent-After-the Holocaust, and are in every way definable as science fiction, are not science fiction — because their authors are known to be literary authors, and literary authors are incapable by definition of committing science fiction.

Now that takes some fancy thinking.

If Mr Weil allows H.G.Wells’s stories any literary quality or standing, he’d have to declare that “The First Men in the Moon” and “The Time Machine” are not science fiction — invoking, I suppose, their “fabulistic style”.

Knowing those stories differed in certain respects from other fiction, and having a scientific mind and training, H.G.Wells himself sought a classification for them. He called them “scientific romances.” The term “science fiction” hadn’t yet been invented and adopted.

When I read such nonsense as Mr Weil’s, I could wish it never had been.

But “science fiction” is the term we’re stuck with. And in any reasonable definition, it is an accepted literary category, usefully and adequately descriptive of such works of literature as Brave New World, 1984, The Man in the High Castle, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, and all J.G. Ballard’s major stories and novels.

Editors, critics, and others who use it not as a description but as a negative judgment are wrong to do so. And they do wrong. They are gravely unjust both to the science fiction of literary value that they refuse to admit is literature, and the science fiction of literary value they refuse to admit is science fiction. Mr Weil owes Aldous Huxley, and George Orwell, and his own author, J.G. Ballard, an apology beyond the grave.

Copyright © 2009 by Ursula K. Le Guin
Permission is granted to reproduce this essay, with attribution: by Ursula K. Le Guin http://www.ursulakleguin.com/


And finally, I've been asked to promote the Fresh Air Fund's current fundraising effort: until June 30th, any gift you make to The Fresh Air Fund will be matched dollar for dollar by a group of generous donors. If you can give $25, that means $50 for inner-city children. $50 becomes $100!


Getting this together took about as long as it would have to create original content. Oh well.

Win an ARC of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Next Wednesday, June 24, (at Little Willow's place) the blog tour of Grace Lin's lovely middle grade fantasy, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, kicks off. I'll be talking about the book on the 28th.


The book comes out July 1st, but if you'd like to read it right now, I have an ARC to give away--leave a comment by midnight tomorrow (Friday the 19th), and I'll send it out to you on Saturday!

And the winner is: Paradox!

Sideshow: Ten Original Tales of Freaks, llusionists and Other Matters Odd and Magical

Sideshow: Ten Original Tales of Freaks, Illusionists and Other Matters Odd and Magical, edited by Deborah Noyes (Candlewick, coming July 14).

Here's an anthology for those who like their fantasy mixed with the odd, the curious, the peculiar--in this case, the sideshow persons at whom people have gawked for centuries. With stories by authors including Ceci Castellucci, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Margo Lanagan, and David Almond, and three stories in graphic form, there is much here to entertain and disturb. Sideshows are fundamentally disturbing--sticking a person in a sideshow, where their self becomes a source of entertainment to the masses, is about as objectifying as it can get. When the differences that lead to someone becoming a sideshow are combined with magic, mystery, and mayhem, there's a lot of room for great writers of fantastical fiction to make gripping and memorable stories.

Which is what happens here. Not all the stories are set in the circus setting I expected (although some are) but all explore the edge of reality, where freakishness becomes part of life. All the stories are well worth reading, but there were some that I will remember always. In particular, "Those Psychics on TV," by Vivian Vande Velde, hit me like a ton of bricks (but I shan't spoil it by saying anything more). And there's also the most disturbing fictional bread dough I've ever encountered (this story, Castelllucci's contribution, stretches the "sideshow" theme somewhat, but it was such a good, Joan Aikenish story that I'm glad it's here), a mummy who is both an antiquity and a mummy in the maternal sense, shapeshifting, a visit from "God," and more...

(disclosure: ARC received from the publisher)

Contest: Win paperbacks of Harry Potter #5, #6, and the soon to be released #7!

And the winners are.....Heather, Silverheart Girl, Katie, Social Ghost, and Robin Titan!!!!!! I'll email you all for your addresses, and then send them on to the publisher.

Remember how exciting it was when Book 7 of Harry Potter came out? I was rather sad that my children were too young to go to the bookstore at midnight to get the book and stay up all night reading it...and I remember how sad I was to have finished it, knowing that it was the Last Book.

Now Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is about to come out in paperback, and Scholastic is having a giveaway of the paperbacks of books 5, 6, and 7!

From the publisher: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a breathtaking finish to a remarkable series. The final chapter to Harry Potter’s adventures will be releases in paperback July 7th! It all comes down to this - a final face off between good and evil. You plan to pull out all the stops, but every time you solve one mystery, three more evolve."

(I myself didn't bother to try to solve any mysteries. I just read and enjoyed!)

Five Winners will receive a paperback prize pack:

* Book 5 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
* Book 6 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
* Book 7 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!

Please leave a comment by July 6th (making sure there's a way to reach you) to enter!

When the Whistle Blows, by Fran Cannon Slayton

Of all the books that I read for the 48 Hour Reading Challenge last weekend, When the Whistle Blows, by Fran Cannon Slayton (Penguin, June 2009, 162pp), was the only one that made me cry.

Jimmy is the third, and youngest, son of a railway man in a small West Virginia town. It's the 1940s, and Jimmy is fascinated by the steam trains that roll through daily, hoping rides on them even though that's a dangerous business: "...there's always a right decent change of getting killed. Second, and about ten thousand times worse, my Dad might find out" (page 1). Jimmy wants to be a railwayman himself someday, but his father is against it, saying that the days of the steam train are numbered. The trains have a big part in the story--they are the lifeblood of the town, bringing work, and hope, and sometimes tragedy. They are the reason why Jimmy lives where he does.

The book follows Jimmy as he grows up, from 1943 (when he's about 11) to 1949, with the story of what happened to him on the same day of each year--the day before Halloween, the day of his father's birthday. The stories tell of small town boy things, like football (one of the most interesting fictional football games I've read about), mischief in spooky graveyard, and the start of hunting season, and at first they seem independent of each other--a series of vignettes of West Virginia life long ago. But as one reads, the story arc become clear--a boy finding out who his father is, and, in the process, learning about himself and what his place in the world might be.

As the reader is learning this, so is Jimmy. As he grows up, he begins to think about his father more, allowing Slayton to tenderly and deftly create an unforgettable portrait of father and son. Here's one of my favorite bits (although so as to not type a whole page and a half, I left some paragraphs out...)

"Happy birthday, Dad."

He turns around and looks at me. The deep creases around his eyes soften for a moment. He snorts again."
.......

"Understanding what his snorts mean has always been a [hard] question to figure. When I was younger, I always thought he snorted at me because I was bugging him. But lately I've realized that he doesn't just snort when he's bothered. Heck, he snorts all the time. He snorted at me last year when I finally got up the courage to tell him how bad I wanted to quite school and go to work on the railroad. I thought he was liable to kill me after that snort. But then the next semester when I showed him a report card full of A's and B's- even in Mr. Kaylor's chemistry class-he snorted the exact same way. "
------

It was when he snorted at the news that Mike and Viv were getting married that I finally figured out you couldn't tell what the heck my father was feeling from his snort. It just tells you that he's feeling something. I figure it's kind of like the whistle on an old Mallet engine: if you hear it, you know a train is coming" (pp 109-110).

When the Whistle Blows manages to be both exciting, and unrushed and thoughtful. It is a moving story, beautifully written. It might well become a classic coming of age story, capturing as it does a time and place long gone, while dealing in an engrossing way with the classic theme of growing up.

I almost want to recommend this book as a father's day gift, because it is such a lovely portrayal of a father/son relationship. But, like I said, it made me cry, so read it first, just in case it wouldn't be quite the thing.

Here are other reviews, at Jen Robinson's Book Page, 100 Scope Notes, and Becky's Book Reviews.

(source of book: arc from the author)

Two misc. things: Paris Pan Takes the Dare--Show You Care Launch Party, and ways to win Mare's War

Paris Pan Take the Dare, a middle grade book by Cynthia Liu, came out yesterday, and she is having a fabulous launch party to celebrate and raise money for a Title 1 school in Oklahoma. Head here, to Take the Dare, Show You Care for a chance to win prizes and help a worthy cause!

Here's the interview with Cynthia Liu at Cynsations where I found out about this!

I took the triple dare, so I should have a review of Paris coming soon....

Want your own copy of Mare's War, by Tanita Davis? I did, very much, and now that I've won my own copy (kidding), I can tell other people that she is giving them away in a series of fun contests at her author blog.

A blog recommendation for those who like science with their science fiction, plus today's new releases

I've added a new blog to my list, and vexingly, it's not showing the current post. So I wanted to just point it out a bit, because I think it's fascinating: Biology in Science Fiction.

Here are today's new releases in science fiction and fantasy for children and teenagers:

Dragonbreath, by Ursula Vernon. This is a comic book/text mix that is on my shopping list: "It’s not easy for Danny Dragonbreath to be the sole mythical creature in a school for reptiles and amphibians—especially because he can’t breathe fire like other dragons (as the school bully loves to remind him). But having a unique family comes in handy sometimes, like when his sea-serpent cousin takes Danny and his best iguana friend on a mindboggling underwater tour, complete with vomiting sea cucumbers and giant squid. It sure beats reading the encyclopedia to research his ocean report..."

Paris Pan Takes the Dare, by Cynthea Liu. "So what if it’s a rite of passage for every seventh grade girl in town to spend a night in the woods? Paris Pan only just moved here, the woods are super creepy, and she has enough weirdness to deal with in her own family. Finding out a girl died mysteriously years ago while on the Dare—right near Paris’s new house, no less—is bad enough, but the unmistakably ghostlike noises coming out of the broken-down shed at the edge of the Pan’s property? Definite deal breaker."

Simon Bloom: The Octopus Effect, by Michael Reismann Simon Bloom, The Gravity Keeper, Simon Bloom and his friends used the Book of Physics to narrowly defeat villainess Sirabetta. Now Simon’s nemesis, stuck as a helpless thirteen-year-old, wants revenge. In this exciting sequel, Simon and company must enter the mysterious undersea realm of the Order of Biology to find Sirabetta before she can restore her powers. Aided by old allies and some new ones, the kids struggle with fierce beasts, dangerous enemies, and their own evolving abilities.

YA:

Goddess Boot Camp (Oh.My. Gods), by Tera Lynn Childs. I enjoyed Oh. My. Gods considerably, and am looking forward to this sequel: "...teenage Phoebe continues to adjust to her new life on Serfopoula, the island where her stepdad runs a boarding school for the descendants of Greek gods. Phoebe still hasn’t learned to control her newly discovered divine powers, so she enters a remedial Goddess Boot Camp program. Fans of the first book will recognize the same chick-lit elements here: snappy dialogue, picture-perfect mean girls, and misunderstandings and reconciliations with a dreamy boyfriend. A mystery about Phoebe’s dad’s fate adds to the lighthearted, magic-packed fun that provides enough background for series newbies."

Me, My Elf & I, by Heather Swain. "It’s not often you see an elf in the middle of Brooklyn, let alone a tall, blond, gorgeous elf in the middle of one of the most prestigious performing arts high schools in the country. And yet, that’s just where Zephyr Addler finds herself: smack dab in the middle of a bustling New York City school, worlds away from the secluded woodland community she knows so well. But Zephyr knows that she has to figure out how to live in the world. And dress in the world. Thanks to a little friendly advice from her new friend Mercedes, Zephyr starts to get the hang of Brooklyn. That is, until Zephyr snags a role in a commercial, beating out the most popular girl in school, Bella Dartagnan. Now with Bella and her friends out to get her, can Zephyr out-maneuver the mean girls (and catch the eye of a certain cute boy) without losing herself?

Prada and Prejudice, by Mandy Hubbard. Here's one to add to my timeslip wants list. "To impress the popular girls on a high school trip to London, klutzy Callie buys real Prada heels. But trying them on, she trips…conks her head…and wakes up in the year 1815! There Callie meets Emily, who takes her in, mistaking her for a long-lost friend. As she spends time with Emily’s family, Callie warms to them—particularly to Emily’s cousin Alex, a hottie and a duke, if a tad arrogant. But can Callie save Emily from a dire engagement, and win Alex’s heart, before her time in the past is up?"

And here's one that not sci fi/fantasy, but that I have read and enjoyed and, I hope, will be reviewing tonight: When the Whistle Blows, by Fran Cannon Slayton

Waiting on Wednesday--A Conspiracy of Kings, by Megan Whalen Turner

Squee! Megan Whalen Turner's new book not only has a release date (this spring), but a Title, a Cover, and a Blurb!

Edited: the offical blurb is now available, and even better!

If you want to see what it really says (and how could you not want to?), head here to keestone's live journal, where the small blurb from Harper Collins' list of books from the Bologna Book Fair has been screencapped into a viewable form. Or you can just click on it...




SO exciting. Squee.

A Game of Catch for Timeslip Tuesday

The great thing about imaginary time is that it is malleable. And so I am going to back post this to 11:59 last night, so that it counts for Timeslip Tuesday!

Browsing in my library for books for the 48 hour reading challenge (not that I needed any more, exactly, but it's good to have a big pond to go fishing in), I picked up a slim book by Helen Cresswell, an English author with whom I have a nodding acquaintance--A Game of Catch (1969, American edition MacMillan 1977, middle grade, 44pp). I'm glad I did, not so much for my own sake (I'm too old to fall completely in love with a 44 page book), but because this is a book I want to recommend. This is one of those books, I think, that if you read it young, will become part of you the way that those very special books do, stunning you on first read, and their images and echoes coming back to you throughout your life.


"Hello!" cries Kate from the walls of the old castle she and her brother Hugh are exploring, not dreaming that there is anyone to hear. "I'm Kate!" and the echoes pick up her name....and she hears children laughing, and calling her name back to her.

The old caretaker also hears her, and warns. "...echoes is best left be."

"They stared at him. "Best left be?" repeated Kate.

"Echoes is funny things Best left where they belong. Particular in an old place like this. I don't believe in rousing up echoes, myself."

Kate shivered and pulled up her scarf around her throat." (page 3)

Out skating with her brother, a little while later, she finds the children who were calling her--a brother and a sister, two 18th-century children whose picture she had seen at the castle, caught for ever in a game of catch. And now they want her to play with them too, skating across the twilight ice to join her.

It is magical, understated, and riveting without being scary.* It makes pictures in the mind that are crystal clear and haunting (helped by the very atmospheric pen and ink illustrations by Ati Forberg). If you have a nine year old, or something like that,** who's looking for a short but somewhat challenging book, do look this one out.

A Game of Catch was re-issued in 1999, with this cover, which I don't exactly care for. I'm not sure if the original illustrations were included...and it would be a shame if they weren't.





*As I was typing the previous sentence, a line from The Shinning was going through my head--when the two ghost children say "Now you will play with us forever!" or something like that. Totally different. These are nice children.

**On Amazon it says 4-8. Ignore that, unless your child is one of those 8 year olds who is reading anything and is not thrown by new words. The vocabulary is too sophisticated (mullioned, anyone?) for a very young reader.

News-ish stuff

First News Item: Harper Collins is having a Supernatural Summer promotion, and why not, given the lovely little cluster of supernatural books they have on offer right now--Fragile Eternity, Wings, Once Dead Twice Shy, The Awakening, and Stargazer. There's a sweepstakes, blogs, videos, and more. I am reading Wings right now with much enjoyment.

There's also a Melissa Marr (author of Fragile Eternity) video contest!

Second News Item: Here's the short list for the British Fantasy Award for Best Novel:

Memoirs of a Master Forger, by William Heaney/Graham Joyce
Midnight Man, by Simon Clark
Rain Dogs, by Gary McMahon
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
The Victoria Vanishes, by Christopher Fowler
Thieving Fear, by Ramsey Campbell

Guess which one I've read.

Third News Item: I'm a random winner of the 48 Hour Reading Challenge! Hooray for randomness! And congratulations to the other winners, both the driven four who stayed awake the whole time, and to my random companions. And here, at last, are the pictures that show what I accomplished.

My to-be-read pile before:

My to-be-read pile after: Obviously, I am prepared to do the challenge again this weekend. One reason I like summer more than winter is that the wood stove becomes available as a place to pile books.

New releases of science fiction and fantasy for kids and teens, June 9th edition

Here are today's new releases of science fiction and fantasy for children and teenagers, taken from the list at Teen's Read Too, with help from Amazon, Booklist, and Powells.

9-12 year olds:

Warriors: Code of the Clans, by Erin Hunter. This seems to be a guide to the the secrets behind the warrior code. Things explained include:
"An ominous sign from StarClan that signaled the need to patrol borders
The unexpected help from a warrior ancestor that cemented the importance of elders
A secret coup that led to a deputy's new role
A medicine cat's pleas that stopped a spree of interClan bloodshed."

There are new stories, five full-color interior tip-ins, and black-and-white art.


Green Dragon Codex (The Dragon Codices), by R.D. Henham. "When ten-year-old Scamp Weaver finds a locked chest in a forest clearing, he feels like his life is finally about to change for the better. But he doesn't bargain for just how much change the chest will bring. Inside he finds a dragon egg and a mysterious ancient scroll, which set Scamp and his best friend Dannika off on a harrowing adventure, chased by dragon hunters who want the contents of the chest for themselves. Life gets ever more complicated when the baby green dragon hatches. Will this cute, mischievous hatchling really grow up to be an evil green dragon?"

The Immortal Fire (Cronus Chronicles), by Anne Ursu. "After surviving the perilous Underworld and barely escaping a murderous Poseidon, cousins Charlotte and Zee know better than to expect their lives to return to normal. After all, vengeful gods do not like to be foiled by mere mortals...especially when those mortals are thirteen.So when a fire-breathing Chimera descends on their middle school, Charlotte and Zee are determined to fight -- not only for their lives, but for humankind. With nothing but a mysterious map and hints of a powerful weapon to guide them, the cousins journey to Mount Olympus, home of Zeus himself. But they're not alone. Their arch-nemesis Philonecron dreams of taking Zeus's place at the throne of the universe -- and now he has Poseidon's trident to help him do it. The only thing he needs now is a little help from Charlotte and Zee..."

The Outlandish Adventures of Liberty Aimes, by Kelly Easton. "Liberty Aimes has spent all of her ten years captive in her parents' crooked house on Gooch Street. Her spry father, Mal Aimes, is a crook who sells insurance, while her overweight mother sits at home in front of the TV, demanding that Liberty cook nonstop. Liberty’s only knowledge of the outside world comes from the secret stash of children’s books and fairy tales she discovers beneath the floorboards. One day, Liberty enters her father’s forbidden basement laboratory. There she discovers a world of talking animals and magic potions. With the aid of one such potion, Liberty escapes into the world in search of her destiny."


Phoenix Rising #3: World's End (Phoenix Rising Trilogy), by Erica Verrillo. "Elissa used to daydream about being a princess. Now the reality of what it brings is clear: stiff, courtly manners, dresses like cages, tortuously high shoes, and betrothal to an aging duke to secure her father’s kingdom! Elissa wants no part of it and makes her escape to be with her devoted friends, who the King has no use for. But the unseen hand of the Ancient One once again guides Elissa toward a fate she does not wish to acknowledge—the culmination of the prophecy of the Phoenix!"

Sisters of the Sword 3: Journey Through Fire, by Maya Snow. "Sometimes a samurai's most dangerous opponent is herself. Ever since their father's murder, Kimi and Hana have honed their fighting skills and prepared for vengeance against their vicious uncle Hidehira. They have become true warriors with the hearts of samurai. Now their fight has become more than just a personal vendetta. As Hidehira's quest for power continues, he is destroying the province and is poised to invade the rest of the kingdom. After both girls are nearly killed in a fire while fighting their uncle's soldiers, their mother insists on attempting to enlist the support of the Shogun. But at the Shogun's court, the sisters are torn apart by their differences, especially when they rediscover an old friend with a shrouded past. Danger lurks in the most elegant circumstances—behind the smiling face of an aristocrat as well as behind the mask of a ninja—and true peril awaits the sisters where they least expect it. . . "

Young Adult:

Assassin's Apprentice: Oathbreaker Part I, by S R Vaught & J B Redmond. "A murderer shoves a prince to his “death.” An assassin legally kidnaps a terrified boy. A ruling lord orders an atrocity so devastating it will change the course of history. So begins this highly original and engaging epic fantasy, a story of love, family trust, sworn promises and hard-earned friendships, in which two boys must put aside their childhood understanding of the world and accept their own incredible power to do right. "

Gifted: Better Late Than Never, by Marilyn Kaye. "Goth girl Jenna Kelley has the ultimate tool to stage a teenage rebellion: she can read people’s minds without even trying. When her alcoholic mother is hospitalized, a stranger shows up who says he’s her long-lost dad and promises a better future. Too good to be true? Her gifted classmates think so, but Jenna is so determined to have a real parent around and a somewhat normal life that she might have lost her ability to listen."




The Frost Child (Navigator Trilogy), by Eoin McNamee. From Booklist: "This concluding volume of the Navigator series begins 10 months after Owen killed the Harsh king, and the villainous Harsh are preparing their revenge. Mounting a mighty invasion, they plan to turn Earth into an icy wasteland, and once more, the Resistors must be awakened to defend the world."

Guinevere's Gamble (The Chrysalis Queen Quartet), by Nancy McKenzie. The second book in the Chrysalis Queen Quartet. "Much has changed over the last few months in Gwynedd, but Guinevere is still uncertain where her future lies. She recently made the unsettling discovery that she has been guarded all her life by a pagan tribe who believes she is destined to save them—they believe she and the great king will one day wed. But this prophecy is so at odds with her inferior position in the castle as Queen Alyse and King Pellinore’s lowly ward, she can’t believe it’s true. Now more complications arise as Guinevere and her cousin accompany Alyse and Pellinore to a meeting between Welsh kings, presided over by one of the High King Arthur’s knights. While there, Guinevere discovers she has a powerful enemy: King Arthur’s sister, Princess Morgaine. But why would Morgaine hate her?"

Gifted: Out of Sight, Out of Mind, by Marilyn Kaye. "Queen of Mean Amanda Beeson, 13, gets the shock of her life when she wakes up one morning to find herself in the body of one of her victims, Tracey Devon. Amanda discovers that Tracey, ignored at home and school, has the ability to become invisible. When Amanda finds herself in a special class that Tracey usually attends, it becomes clear that at Meadowbrook Middle School the definition of “gifted” has a whole other meaning. Can Amanda rescue her one-time target from obscurity and get her own life back on track? In order to do so, she will have to reveal her own startling gift and take her rightful place among Meadowbrook’s very secret clique."

Here's one originally scheduled for today, that snuck out early:

Cirque Du Freak: The Manga, Vol. 1, by Darren Shan. I am rather curious about this one.








And here's another contender in the most beautiful dress of 2009 category (here's the gallery at Jacket Whys:

A Sweet Disorder, by Jacqueline Kolosov. It's not science fiction or fantasy, being a historical romance set in the court of Elizabeth I, but it is a pretty dress!






Finally, here's a book that's not science fiction or fantasy, but it's written by a blogging friend, and I like WW II books very much, so I'm looking forward to it:

Mare's War, by Tanita S. Davis. "Octavia and Tali are dreading the road trip their parents are forcing them to take with their grandmother over the summer. After all, Mare isn’t your typical grandmother. She drives a red sports car, wears stiletto shoes, flippy wigs, and push-up bras, and insists that she’s too young to be called Grandma. But somewhere on the road, Octavia and Tali discover there’s more to Mare than what you see. She was once a willful teenager who escaped her less-than-perfect life in the deep South and lied about her age to join the African American battalion of the Women’s Army Corps during World War II." Congratulations, Tanita!

Non-fiction Monday Roundup!

Welcome to today's Non-Fiction Monday! Please leave your link in the comments, and I'll add them throughout the day.

Here's mine.

A long time ago, deep in the wild woods of northern RI, I was out looking for an archaeological site that I had heard of once. I didn't find it, but I did find a treasure--a lovely, cleanly sunbleached skunk skull. My youngest boy took it to his heart, and wanted to take it to his bed instead of a stuffed animal, but really, there are limits. Sadly, skunk skull is no longer with us. It probably fell out of the car at some point. And it is still missed.

But last week, the husband of a co-worker was out on a construction site, and found us a new skull! Clean and beautiful.

I offered it to my son..."SKULL!!!!!!!!" he cried, in total rapture.

If anyone finds any clean small mammal skulls, please think of us. We have room for more.

The best skull book for children (not that there are many to choose from) is The Skull Alphabet Book, by Jerry Pallotta, illustrated by Ralph Masiello. It is a clever and cunning book--they don't tell you what the animal is whose skull is pictured! You have to figure it out, based on a fun mix of visual and verbal clues. The visual clues come not just from the bones themselves, but from the amusing backdrops against which they are painted. for instance, C is for cat, and the cat's skull is posed outside a mousehole, next to a mousetrap. This makes it fun for little skull lovers like my boy (he's loved this since he was three), but also good for older kids who might be more interested in the variation of the bones themselves. And it's an excellent introduction to paleontology, even though the skulls are all from animals who are still with us, because palaeontologists have to learn to spot and interpret clues from the bones in much the same way.

So, in the spirit of The Skull Alphabet Book, can you guess what animal our new skull is? (It's about 10 centimeters long)

Update: another archaeologist friend has promised us a mouse, and, very excitingly, was talking to a wildlife biologist about my boy, who was so moved by the lost skunk skull story that he promised us a beaver!!!

Here are today's other Non-Fiction posts:

Heidi Bee Roemer reviews Visiting Volcanoes with a Scientist at The Wild About Nature Blog (a blog I'd not been aware of before, and that I look forward to re-visiting).

Lori Calabrese lets us know that today is World Ocean Day, and shares the news that her short story, Ocean of Caring, has been published this month. Congratulations, Lori!

At Wild Rose Reader, there is a book that instantly went on my "must buy for older son" list--What's Inside? Fascinating Structures Around the World, by Giles Laroche.

At the ACPL Mock Sibert blog (the Sibert being the ALA award for non-fiction) Darwin: With Glimpses into His Private Journal and Letters, by Alice B. McGinty, is up for discussion. Another one I want!

Shirley at Simply Science has Animals Christopher Columbus Saw by Sandra Markle. That looks rather good too...

Andrew Karre takes a look at high school athletes and concussion at the Carolrhoda blog. Mercifully irrelevant to my life right now, but very interesting.

It was another great week at INK: Interesting Nonfiction for Kids -- "Creative Nonfiction At Its Best" by Kathleen Krull; "Two Roads Diverged" by Sue Macy; "Let's Give 'Em Something To Talk About" by Linda Salzman; "Why 'Hands-On' Anyhow?" by Vicki Cobb; and "The Law of Unintended Consequences" by Rosalyn Schanzer.

Amanda at A Patchwork of Books looks at Extreme Scientists: Exploring Nature's Mysteries from Perilous Places, and I have yet another book for my list...

And at Wendie's Wanderings, you'll find that Even an Ostrich Needs a Nest (good-- now I have a book for my 6 year old's list!)

Another book for the birds, Cuckoo Haiku and Other Birding Poems, by Michael Rosen, illus. by Stan Fellows, can be found at Bookends.

At Books Together, there's a look at Mozart, the Wonder Child.

As for the skull shown above--I'm pretty sure it's a cat!

The Books I read in the last 48 hours

Mother Reader has posted the finish line roundup for the 48HRC, and my hopes for third place have been dashed. Oh well. I blame Edward and Bella. They put me to sleep last night, when I still had hours and hours left on my clock...

So my time was: 34 hrs and 53 minutes.

I will be posting pictures of my before and after tbr pile tomorrow, so come back and see all the books I can look forward to reading....there are still rather a lot of them.

Here's what I read:

The Magic Nation Thing, by Zilpha Keatley Snyder 164pp
Once a Princess, by Sherwood Smith 278pp
A Game of Catch, by Helen Cresswell 44pp (this will be this Tuesday's Timeslip book)
Ballerina, by Nada Curcija-Prodanovic 255pp
Thief! by Malorie Blackman 256pp
Check by Jowl: talks and essays on how and why fantasy matters, by Ursula Le Guin 135pp
Once Dead, Twice Shy, Kim Harrison 232pp
When the Whistle Blows, Fran Cannon Slayton (the only book of the lot that made me cry...) 162 pp
Royal Harry, by William Mayne 158pp
Isabelle's Boyfriend, by Caroline Hickey 184pp
Silksinger, by Laini Taylor 441pp
The Siren Song, by Anne Ursu (from 272pp to 430pp, which is 158 pages)
Faery Rebels--Spell Hunter, RJ Anderson 327pp
Alice in Wonderland (32 pages, read out loud)
Pocahontas: Medicine Woman, Spy, Entrepreneur, Diplomat, by Paula Gunn Allen (305pp)
Bodies Politic: Negotiating Race in the American North, 1730-1830, by John Wood Sweet (I only got to page 47)
Goose Chase, by Patrice Kindl 214pp
Oh. And Twilight. 314 pages of Twilight.

and finally, I listened to The Time Detectives: The Princes in Terror Tower, by Terry Deary

That's 14 books, and four parts of books (two large, two small), plus one audiobook. There are still 3o something books in the to-be-read pile. I need to do this for two more weekends.

Now I'm going to try to add up the pages. I got 3706.

Here a sample of my reading life this weekend: Saturday morning I read from 7:08 to 7:34. break to give child food. Read from 7:37 to 8:03. Break to give child milk (I can't pour and read at the same time, which is a weakness). I ended up with two sheets of paper and one envelope covered not only with this sort of thing, but with earlier attempts to add it up....

Here's what I'm most proud of: I didn't misplace a single book! I didn't have to waste any time staggering around looking under sofas etc!

Happy reading, everyone who still has time on their clock!

Twilight (48HRC)

As my 48 hours come to an end, I am reading Twilight. For the first time (haven't seen the movie either). I feel as though, even in my tiredness, I am Accomplishing something (and I didn't want to read a book that I might really want to think about and like. Although I guess I might fall hard for Twilight...)

It is rather fun to be reading a book for the first time but still to know everything.

I chuckled, for instance, when Bella arrives for the first day of school and says to herself, "Nobody's going to bite you!" (page 14).

I am paying close attention to the quality of her relationship with Edward, since I feel I know so much about it (I guess it's a bit like a wildlife biologist, having read about lions for years, finally seeing her first live ones). So far (p. 200) Edward hasn't done much that's objectionable, besides existing--just the dragging her by her jacket to the car so forcibly that she knows that if she falls over he'll just keep dragging. Bad Edward.

Update: I am at p. 278 now. I am feeling that whole pages of this part of the book (Edward and Bella emotionally and physically wallowing around in the woods) could have been replaced with a few well chosen words that subtly implied what is spelled out in far too many. However, I'm beginning to see double, so perhaps it just looks like too many words.

Update 2: It is now 1:42, and I have reachd p 314. Edward and Bella are not enough to keep me awake, so this is it for the 48HRC for me! I will tally my time tomorrow.

Good night!

Once a Princess, by Sherwood Smith (48 HRC)

For crying out loud. Here I am, approaching the end of the reading marathon that is the 48 Hour Reading Challenge, and desperately trying to clear the reading decks (13 books read, 32 or so to go) and I read a book that make me wants its sequel NOW. The book I just read is Once a Princess, by Sherwood Smith (Samhain Publishing, 278pp, YA), the first of the Saharia en Garde! duology. The book I want is Twice a Prince. If I was next door to a store that sold it, I would go buy it now (although it's not available in stores).

(The neighbors are setting off fireworks. Lots of fireworks. Big booming up in the sky ones. But they can't get me to stop my reading/blogging clock to go look. Ha!)

So anyway. Once a Princess has everything I love about Sherwood Smith--smart, strong, kickass girls, and intelligent people who obviously know things that I, and the narrator, don't know, and a beautiful balance between drowning the reader in too much information about it all and creating a very nicely detailed world, and fictional characters who are really hot.

This one has, as well, something new--a heroine who is a kick ass, beautiful, smart, tough woman who is over fifty.

Sasha and Sun, her mother, traded Khanerenth (another world place) for the states years ago, when she was a child. Her father didn't make the crossing with them, and they don't know his fate. For ten years, mother and daughter moved from place to place, living in fear that they would be pursued by their enemies.

Ten years later, Sasha is tricked into going home. There she's a princesses, caught in a web of political and magical machinations, not sure what the heck is happening (I'm not sure, exactly, either. Sometimes I found this bothersome, mostly I simply let it go over my head). And there she finds herself fighting for her life (very successfully), becoming an unwilling passenger on the vessel of privateer, while the king's chief enforcer hunts for her, and she wonders how to find her father, all the while finding the more than somewhat attractive privateer a serious distraction. (Side note: there is no bodice/pirate shirt ripping in this book. Book 2 might well be a different story...)

In the meantime, her mother, Sun, has followed her, and kicked some butt of her own. Sun finds herself the "guest" of the king, caught in a battle of wits, and (like Sasha) struggling to make sense of what is going on and who to trust.

A lot happens, lots of characters appear on stage and most of these become very real, no matter how small their part, and Sasha (and her privateer companion) become great folks to cheer for both politically and personally. Sun seems to be fading a bit out of the story by the end, as things on Sasha's side heat up--I hope we hear more about her in the next book.

Here is the cover. You may ignore it, but I just want to clarify that Sasha's tee-shirt does not say "Got Booty?" That is an unfortunate printing illusion. It says "Got Books?"



And I do. 32 more of them, calling from below...

48 hour read challenge second Saturday update

I have no exact idea how long I've read--I have just started my third piece of paper, with notes like 2:37 to 2:54, 2:57 to 3:46, etc. Four minutes being how long it takes to get drinks and snacks for children. I'm home alone with the boys for the day, which is fine, and they are being very self reliant, but they just can't yet successfully manipulate a gallon of milk/reach the snacks they want/make their own nutritious lunches. Oh well. Thank goodness for the audio book option--we played outside for an hour, while we listened to a Time Detectives book....

My six year old has been trying to read lots today too, thinking that I could add his minutes to my own....sweet.

Book highlight so far today: Silksinger. What exciting fun.

Best first chapter: "A New Girl Comes to the Ballet School." I love ballet school books, and this one is an obscure older one--Ballerina, by Nada Churcija-Prodanovic, about the state ballet school of Yugoslavia in the 1950s. I got it this past Christmas, and am glad to finally be reading (and enjoying) it now.

48 hour reading challenge check in

At 9:23am, Saturday, I hit 20 hours. It would have been ten minutes more if it hadn't been raining yesterday when I was waiting for the bus. I don't mind getting rained on myself, but I can't have that happen to a book.

Dissapointingly, I have only read 8 and a bit books....thanks mainly to reading a longish and thought provoking non-fiction book yesterday. I had warned my c0-worker in advance that I would doubtless be interrupting him all day, as thoughts were provoked. It proved to be the case, and slowed the reading down. This is discouraging, I still have over forty (give or take) in my to be read pile. And the to be read pile is on the wood stove, and if it keeps on being cold and wet we might need a fire, and then where will I put all the books? The obvious answer--in the fire-- is not an option. The floor is not an option either. It is covered at the moment in blocks and legos. Since I am walking around reading (exercise is so important ha ha), this is a nice little challenge for me.

I will be providing page count and book list after I read....

Isn't it fun to see so many different blogs taking part! Good for us! I'm glad I started early, so that I'll have Sunday to go visiting.

Thief, by Malorie Blackman (adding color to my son's bookshelf, also 48 HRC)

Good morning, everyone. I was up at ten to four today, to keep reading for the 48 hour reading challenge. This morning's book: Silksinger! It arrived yesterday, which was perfect timing.

Here's one I read yesterday--Thief!, by Malorie Blackman. This was recommended to me when I was searching for fantasy/sci fi books for young middle grade readers that had people of color in/on them.

Lydia's family has just moved from London to the north of England, and she is having a pretty darn darn rough time at the school she's just started. A malicious girl has set her up to look like a thief, and now stories are spreading that Lydia has done something even worse. Full of hatred and despair, she takes a desperate bus trip to nowhere in particular, and finds herself out on the moors, watching as a strange swirling storm approaches.

Ten minutes later, the Night Guard are firing at her for breaking curfew. The storm has swept her 37 years into the future, and her town has become a dystopia, under the rule of a cruel dictator.

In order to change the future, she must confront her own past-or she can never go home again.

This one is a good First Dystopia for 4th-6th graders It is a fairly simple story with lots of action, fairly simply told. I found it a tad didactic myself (hatred is bad, anger can have terrible, long lasting consequences), but I don't think I would have minded that when I was 9 or 10.

Viz diversity: the cover is the only thing that establishes Lydia as a person of color (sorry it's  crummy picture). This is, I think, good --inside the book, she is simply a person. But it led me to a thinking point about race. Racism is not given as a reason for the antagonism of her schoolmates, not even hinted at as a possibility, which seemed to me (not that I know squat about racism in the north of England in 1995) to be (perhaps?) wishful thinking...but I also am thinking it is a good thing to have people being mean to a person of color, and making false accusations about her, just because they are mean people, with nothing to do with race.

It is also 5 in the morning, and my mind is fuzzy. I decide I don't know if its wishful thinking or not, and that without any shadow of doubt Malorie Blackman knows infinitely more, because she is a black Brisith woman, and so I leave it in her capable hands.

Speaking of hands. Here is the current UK cover. You will notice that the black girl has been replaced by an ambiguous hand (uncolored, ungendered, unembodied).



Sigh.

Blackman is best know in the US, perhaps, as the author the Noughts and Crosses series (now up to 4 volumes).