New Releases of Fantasy and Science Fiction for Children and Teens--the end of May edition

Here are the new releases of fantasy and science fiction for kids and teenagers from the end of March. Unless otherwise noted, the blurbs are from the publishers. My list comes from Teens Read Too. It's too nice a day to spend any more time on this, so the formating is yucky, and there aren't pictures for the YA books....sorry! (not all that sorry. Maybe a tad rueful).

Of the ones I don't already have, I'd pick The Summer of Moonlight Secrets....

Edited to add: I also very much want to read Necromancer, the new book by Michael Scott, adn so I've just entered a giveaway that requires creating a link....here is the interview and contest, at Cleverly Inked!

THE BONESHAKER by Kate Milford Thirteen-year-old Natalie Minks loves machines, particularly automata—self-operating mechanical devices, usually powered by clockwork. When Jake Limberleg and his traveling medicine show arrive in her small Missouri town with a mysterious vehicle under a tarp and an uncanny ability to make Natalie’s half-built automaton move, she feels in her gut that something about this caravan of healers is a bit off. Her uneasiness leads her to investigate the intricate maze of the medicine show, where she discovers a horrible truth and realizes that only she has the power to set things right.

DODGER FOR SALE: DODGER AND ME by Jordan Sonnenblick When Willie, his best friend, Lizzie, and his pal Dodger (a hyperactive blue chimpanzee with strange powers) learn that the nearby woods is about to be sold for development, they marshal their resources to save this literally magical place and its inhabitants. Meanwhile, Willie’s sister, Amy, is captured by leprechauns. The book is strongest when rooted most firmly in reality and weakest soaring into fantastic realms. Still, fans of the earlier two Dodger and Me books have never lacked the ability to suspend disbelief. They will find this volume, evidently the last in the series, amusing and satisfying (from Booklist)

THE DRAGON IN THE LIBRARY: DRAGON KEEPERS by Kate Klimo Dragon keepers Jesse and Daisy need help! Emmy, their rapidly growing dragon, has become a real grouch, saying she's missing "something," and the cousins don't have a clue what that something is. Jesse and Daisy go online to ask Professor Andersson, their favorite dragon expert, for help and end up seeing him being kidnapped! The kidnapper is none other than Sadie Huffington, the girlfriend of their enemy, St. George the Dragon Slayer. She has hatched a wicked scheme to use the professor to both find St. George and capture Emmy. Now the dragon keepers and their dragon must storm Sadie's castle and rescue the professor from the witch and her pack of vicious dog-men!

FOUND: THE MAGIC THIEF by Sarah Prineas Never turn your back on a dragon! Sneaking out of prison isn't easy, unless you are a thief, or a wizard. Luckily, Conn is both! Trouble is, once he's out, where does he go? His home is a pile of rubble since he blew it up doing magic. His master, the wizard Nevery, is not happy with him. Worst of all, Conn's been exiled, and staying in the city will mean his death. But Wellmet is in danger from an evil predator coming to destroy the city, and Conn must set off on a quest to fight it. Suddenly, a huge shadow looms over him and he is swept away by something more awesome than his wildest imaginings. Is Conn brave enough to answer magic's call, or is he really just a thief at heart?

FREE REALMS BK. 1 by J.S. Lewis SONY teams with WildStorm and best-selling fantasy author J.S. Lewis (the Grey Griffins series) for an exciting adaptation of Free Realms, their exciting, all-ages virtual world! This family-friendly series mirrors the nonstop action of the game, offering thrilling adventures, battles with vicious monsters and, of course, the allure of gorgeous fairies! The story begins when a young boy is abducted and dragged into a darkened forest teeming with twisted monsters. It's up to a relic hunter and a pixie to save him, but their mission is cut short when a horde of troll-like creatures captures them.

FROZEN IN TIME by Ali SparkesRachel and Ben are resigning themselves to a long, wet summer stuck at their uncle's house in the English countryside, until they discover the underground vault at the bottom of the garden, and the amazing secret inside - two children from the 1950s who they awaken from a sleep that's lasted for decades. But when Rachel and Ben "unearth" Freddy and Polly, they also uncover a mountain of questions. What will their new friends think of the 21st century? Will they ever fit in? How will their bodies hold up after being frozen for so long? How is cryogenic freezing even possible? Why doesn't the world know about the process fifty years later? And why does it feel like they're all suddenly being followed . . . ?

KEEPER by Kathi Appelt To ten-year-old Keeper, this moon is her chance to fix all that has gone wrong...and so much has gone wrong. But she knows who can make things right again: Meggie Marie, her mermaid mother who swam away when Keeper was just three. A blue moon calls the mermaids to gather at the sandbar, and that's exactly where she is headed -- in a small boat, in the middle of the night, with only her dog, BD (Best Dog), and a seagull named Captain. When the riptide pulls at the boat, tugging her away from the shore and deep into the rough waters of the Gulf of Mexico, panic sets in, and the fairy tales that lured her out there go tumbling into the waves. Maybe the blue moon isn't magic and maybe the sandbar won't sparkle with mermaids and maybe -- Oh, no..."Maybe" is just too difficult to bear.

THE KINGS OF CLONMEL: RANGER'S APPRENTICE by John Flanagan Mankind puts its faith in many things—gods, kings, money—anything for protection from the world’s many dangers. When a cult springs up in neighboring Clonmel, promising to quell the recent attacks by lawless marauders, people flock from all over to offer gold in exchange for protection. But this particular group, with which Halt is all too familiar, has a less than charitable agenda. Secrets will be unveiled and battles fought to the death as Will and Horace help Halt in ridding the land of a dangerous enemy. The worldwide phenomenon is back with a gripping new adventure. Yet for these Rangers, the peril is only beginning . . .

MAGIC CARPET by Scott Christian Sava Kevin lives in a small house with his three brothers and sisters. He has no room of his own. No privacy. All he wants is a little space to himself. One day, Kevin gets his wish when he inherits a Magic Carpet and embarks on an adventure of a lifetime that takes him to far off lands fraught with magic, danger, monsters, and even a princess!

THE MAGICAL MISADVENTURES OF PRUNELLA BOGTHISTLE by Deva Fagan All Prunella wants is to be a proper bog-witch. Unfortunately, her curses tend to do more good than harm. When her mixed-up magic allows a sneaky thief to escape her grandmother’s garden, Prunella is cast out until she can prove herself. It’s hard enough being exiled to the unmagical Uplands, but traveling with the smug young thief Barnaby is even worse. He’s determined to gain fame and fortune by recovering the missing Mirable Chalice. And to get what she wants, Prunella must help him, like it or not.

MY INVISIBLE SISTER by Beatrice Colin & Sara Pinto Ten-year-old Frank and his family have moved nine times in eleven years, and Frank has had it. This is the last move. No more new schools and new friends. This time he's going to make his sister love the place so much she never wants to leave. Because, you see, when your sister is invisible, she can do pretty much whatever she likes. And if she gets unhappy…

THE SUMMER OF MOONLIGHT SECRETS by Danette Haworth At The Meriwether, Florida’s famous antebellum hotel off of Hope Springs, nothing is quite as it seems. Secret staircases give way to servants’ quarters and Prohibition-era speakeasies make for the perfect hide-and-seek spot. Allie Jo Jackson knows every nook and cranny of The Meriwether—she’s lived there her whole life—and nothing surprises her, until the first time she spots the enigmatic and beautiful Tara emerging from the springs. Tara’s shimmery skin, long flowing hair, and strange penchant for late moonlight swims disguise a mysterious secret—and once Allie Jo and her friend Chase discover Tara’s secret, nothing will ever be the same.

WINDBLOWNE by Stephen Messer Every kite Oliver touches flies straight into the ground, making him the laughingstock of Windblowne. With the kite-flying festival only days away, Oliver tracks down his reclusive great-uncle Gilbert, a former champion. With Gilbert's help, Oliver can picture himself on the crest, launching into the winds to become one of the legendary fliers of Windblowne. Then his great-uncle vanishes during a battle with mysterious attack kites—kites that seem to fly themselves! All that remains is his prize possession, a simple crimson kite. At least, the kite seems simple. When Oliver tries to fly it, the kite lifts him high above the trees. When he comes down, the town and all its people have disappeared. Suddenly the festival is the last thing on Oliver's mind as he is catapulted into a mystery that will change everything he understands about himself and his world.

WORLDSHAKER by Richard Harland Col, among the elite on the juggernaut Worldshaker, learns the terrible truth about the nature of his society

Young Adult

ANGEL STAR by Jennifer Murgia Seventeen-year-old Teagan McNeel falls for captivating Garreth Adams and soon discovers that her crush has an eight-point star etched into the palm of his right hand-the mark of an angel. But where there is light, dark follows, and she and Garreth suddenly find themselves vulnerable to a dark angel's malicious plan that could threaten not only her life, but the lives of everyone she knows.

THE BATTLE OF THE SUN by Jeanette Winterson Jack is the chosen one, the Radiant Boy the Magus needs in order to perfect the alchemy that will transform London of the 1600s into a golden city. But Jack isn’t the kind of boy who will do what he is told by an evil genius, and soon he’s battling to save London in an epic and nail-biting adventure featuring dragons, knights and Queen Elizabeth I.

CLAIRE DE LUNE by Christine Johnson Torn between two destinies? Claire is having the perfect sixteenth birthday. Her pool party is a big success, and gorgeous Matthew keeps chatting and flirting with her as if she's the only girl there. But that night, she discovers something that takes away all sense of normalcy: she's a werewolf. As Claire is initiated into the pack of female werewolves, she must deal not only with her changing identity, but also with a rogue werewolf who is putting everyone she knows in danger. Claire's new life threatens her blossoming romance with Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt. Now burdened with a dark secret and pushing the boundaries of forbidden love, Claire is struggling to feel comfortable in either skin. With her lupine loyalty at odds with her human heart, she will make a choice that will change her forever?

THE DEMON'S COVENANT: THE DEMON'S LEXICON TRILOGY by Sarah Rees Brennan The Demon's Covenant is the sequel to The Demon's Lexicon. Mae was always in control, but suddenly everyone she trusted is lying--and in danger. [I guess the publishers didn’t wan’t to have spoilers]

EARLY TO DEATH, EARLY TO RISE: MADISON AVERY by Kim Harrison Fans of Once Dead, Twice Shy (2009) won’t be disappointed by this more-of-the-same sequel, which follows Madison—the newly minted dark timekeeper of the afterworld—as she tries to stave off unnecessary reaper scythings. The plot this time revolves around a dangerous computer virus, but the story’s primary concerns are the rocky relationships between the rogue’s gallery of supernatural characters (and a few human ones, too). Harrison’s afterworld rules remain rather exhausting, but her theme of fate versus choice is more finely tuned here than in the first book. If this is your kind of thing, you already have it on order. (Booklist)

FLIGHT OF SHADOWS by Sigmund Brouwer Looming buildings rise into the sky of a near-future America, shadowing the desperate poverty of the soovie parks, death doctors, and fear bombs. In this world of walled cities, where status matters most, Caitlyn Brown is desperate to remain invisible, wrongly believing what she needs to hide is the deformity on her back. The powerful want her for so much more. She’s forced to take flight again, relying on the help of Razor, a street-smart illusionist she can’t trust. Her only hope is to reach friends already tracked by government. With a twisted bounty hunter in full pursuit, she and Razor begin to learn the unthinkable about her past and the unique gifts of her DNA. It leads Caitlyn to a choice between the two men who love her, and whether to keep her freedom or sacrifice herself to change human destiny.

FRENZY: DREAMHOUSE KINGS by Robert Liparulo When you live in a house that's really a gateway between past and present, you have to be ready for anything. It's a painful fact the Kings have faced since moving to Pinedale eight days ago. Desperately trying to rescue their mother from an unknown time and place, brothers Xander and David have lunged headlong into the chaos of history's greatest--and most volatile--events. But their goal has continually escaped their grasp. And worse: Finding Mom is only a small part of what they must do, thanks to the barbaric Taksidian. His ruthless quest to sieze their house and its power from them has put not only the family, but all of mankind, in grave danger. Somehow, the key to it all hinges on Uncle Jesse's words to the boys: "Fixing time is what our family was made to do." But how can they fix a world that has been turned updisde down--much less ever find their way home?

THE GARDENER by S.A. Bodeen. Mason has never known his father, but longs to. All he has of him is a DVD of a man whose face is never seen, reading a children’s book. One day, on a whim, he plays the DVD for a group of comatose teens at the nursing home where his mother works. One of them, a beautiful girl, responds. Mason learns she is part of a horrible experiment intended to render teenagers into autotrophs—genetically engineered, self-sustaining life-forms who don’t need food or water to survive. And before he knows it, Mason is on the run with the girl, and wanted, dead or alive, by the mysterious mastermind of this gruesome plan, who is simply called the Gardener.

GLIMMERGLASS: FAERIEWALKER by Jenna Black It’s all she’s ever wanted to be, but it couldn’t be further from her grasp…Dana Hathaway doesn’t know it yet, but she’s in big trouble. When her alcoholic mom shows up at her voice recital drunk, again, Dana decides she’s had enough and runs away to find her mysterious father in Avalon: the only place on Earth where the regular, everyday world and the captivating, magical world of Faerie intersect. But from the moment Dana sets foot in Avalon, everything goes wrong, for it turns out she isn't just an ordinary teenage girl—she's a Faeriewalker, a rare individual who can travel between both worlds, and the only person who can bring magic into the human world and technology into Faerie. Soon, Dana finds herself tangled up in a cutthroat game of Fae politics. Someone's trying to kill her, and everyone seems to want something from her, from her newfound friends and family to Ethan, the hot Fae guy Dana figures she’ll never have a chance with… until she does. Caught between two worlds, Dana isn’t sure where she’ll ever fit in and who can be trusted, not to mention if her world will ever be normal again…

INFINITY: CHRONICLES OF NICK by Sherrilyn Kenyon At fourteen, Nick Gautier thinks he knows everything about the world around him. Streetwise, tough and savvy, his quick sarcasm is the stuff of legends. . .until the night when his best friends try to kill him. Saved by a mysterious warrior who has more fighting skills than Chuck Norris, Nick is sucked into the realm of the Dark-Hunters: immortal vampire slayers who risk everything to save humanity. Nick quickly learns that the human world is only a veil for a much larger and more dangerous one: a world where the captain of the football team is a werewolf and the girl he has a crush on goes out at night to stake the undead. But before he can even learn the rules of this new world, his fellow students are turning into flesh eating zombies. And he’s next on the menu. As if starting high school isn't hard enough. . .now Nick has to hide his new friends from his mom, his chainsaw from the principal, and keep the zombies and the demon Simi from eating his brains, all without getting grounded or suspended. How in the world is he supposed to do that?

THE LAST WORDS OF WILL WOLFKIN by Steven Knight It's funny. If you're born a certain way, you don't really understand how it is to be any other way. So it has been for Toby Walsgrove—paralyzed since birth, unable to move or talk, with no known family, he has spent his entire life at a Carmelite convent in London. That is, until the day that his cat, Shipley, starts talking to him. Shipley has been watching over Toby his whole life and tells him they must go to Langjoskull, a city of exiles buried deep below the surface of Iceland. Because Toby is no ordinary boy—he's a descendant of the great king Will Wolfkin, and his kingdom needs him. Toby has never wielded a sword that can stop time. He has never shifted into his kin creature. He has never even walked on his own two legs before. Ready or not, though, he has a destiny, a responsibility, even a family—and not all of them are happy to meet him. . . .

LOVE BITES: VAMPIRE KISSES by Ellen Schreiber As a mortal girl dating a vampire, Raven knows that love isn't always easy. Now that Alexander's parents have returned to Romania, Raven and her dreamy vampire boyfriend are happy to resume their cryptic romance. But soon another visitor comes knocking: Sebastian, Alexander's best friend, arrives for a stay at the mansion. At first Raven is wary, then thrilled—this is the perfect chance to learn more about her darkly handsome boyfriend and his past. Raven has been wondering whether Alexander will ever bite her and make their love immortal, and Sebastian could be her guide to the love habits of Alexander and his kind. But when Sebastian falls for a particular Dullsvillian, will another mortal beat Raven to the bite?

PUCKER UP by Rhonda StapletonIn this irresistably romantic trilogy, Felicity discovers that she's no ordinary teen matchmaker...she's a cupid! Felicity can't believe her luck. Her longtime crush is now officially her boyfriend, and just in time for prom. Felicity isn't just smitten with Derek, she's head-over-heels in love. So when she learns that her boss at Cupid's Hollow used cupid magic to make Derek fall for her, Felicity is devastated. What will happen when the magic wears off? Felicity has only two weeks to win Derek's heart for real--no matter what it takes!

THE NECROMANCER: THE SECRETS OF THE IMMORTAL NICHOLAS FLAMEL by Michael Scott San Francisco: After fleeing to Ojai, then Paris, and escaping to London, Josh and Sophie Newman are finally home. And after everything they've seen and learned in the past week, they're both more confused than ever about their future. Neither of them has mastered the magics they'll need to protect themselves from the Dark Elders, they've lost Scatty, and they're still being pursued by Dr. John Dee. Most disturbing of all, however, is that now they must ask themselves, can they trust Nicholas Flamel? Can they trust anyone? Alcatraz: Dr. Dee underestimated Perenelle Flamel's power. Alcatraz could not hold her, Nereus was no match for her, and she was able to align herself with the most unlikely of allies. But she wasn't the only one being held on the island. Behind the prison's bars and protective sigils were a menagerie of monsters-an army for Dee to use in the final battle. And now Machiavelli has come to Alcatraz to loose those monsters on San Francisco. Perenelle might be powerful, but each day she weakens, and even with Nicholas back at her side, a battle of this size could be too much for her. Nicholas and Perenelle must fight to protect the city, but the effort will probably kill them both. London: Having been unable to regain the two final pages of the Codex, Dee has failed his Elder and is now an outlaw-and the new prey of all the creatures formerly sent to hunt down Flamel. But Dee has a plan. With the Codex and the creatures on Alcatraz, he can control the world. All he needs is the help of the Archons. But for his plan to work, he must raise the Mother of the Gods from the dead. For that, he'll have to train a necromancer. And the twins of legend will make the perfect pupils. . . .

PERCHANCE TO DREAM: THEATRE ILLUMINATA by Lisa Mantchev When Nate is kidnapped and taken prisoner by the Sea Goddess, only Bertie can free him. She and her fairy sidekicks embark on a journey aboard the Thèâtre’s caravan, using Bertie’s word magic to guide them. Along the way, they collect a sneak-thief, who has in his possession something most valuable, and meet The Mysterious Stranger, Bertie’s father—and the creator of the scrimshaw medallion. Bertie’s dreams are haunted by Nate, whose love for Bertie is keeping him alive, but in the daytime, it’s Ariel who is tantalizingly close, and the one she is falling for. Who does Bertie love the most? And will her magic be powerful enough to save her once she enters the Sea Goddess’s lair?

PRINCESS OF GLASS by Jessica Day George Hoping to escape the troubles in her kingdom, Princess Poppy reluctantly agrees to take part in a royal exchange program, whereby young princes and princesses travel to each other's countries in the name of better political alliances—and potential marriages. It's got the makings of a fairy tale—until a hapless servant named Eleanor is tricked by a vengeful fairy godmother into competing with Poppy for the eligible prince. Ballgowns, cinders, and enchanted glass slippers fly in this romantic and action-packed happily-ever-after quest from an author with a flair for embroidering tales in her own delightful way.

REIGN CHECK: DEMON PRINCESS by Michelle Rowen Fresh from finding out she is a demon princess and meeting her father for the first time, Nikki Donovan is looking forward to getting back to her regular high school life. But then Rhys, the handsome teenage king of the faery realm, enrolls at her school as a "foreign exchange student." Her conflicted feelings for Rhys and her boyfriend are getting in the way of her new relationship with the Shadow-creature Michael. But this love triangle from hell isn't even Nikki's biggest problem: There's a new prophecy that claims she will destroy all the demon and human worlds. Her best friend Melinda just might be a demon-slayer-in-training. Throw in a field trip to none other than the Underworld itself . . . and Nikki's going to be hoping for a rain check on more than just her homework!

THE SONS OF LIBERTY by Alexander & Joseph Lagos Graphic novels are a revolution in literature, and The Sons of Liberty is a graphic novel like no other. Visual and visceral, fusing historical fiction and superhero action, this is a tale with broad appeal-for younger readers who enjoy an exciting war story, for teenagers asking hard questions about American history, for adult fans of comic books, for anyone seeking stories of African American interest, and for reluctant readers young and old. In Colonial America, Graham and Brody are slaves on the run-until they gain extraordinary powers. At first they keep a low profile. But their mentor has another idea-one that involves the African martial art dambe . . . and masks. With its vile villains, electrifying action, and riveting suspense, The Sons of Liberty casts new light on the faces and events of pre-Revolution America, including Ben Franklin and the French and Indian War. American history has rarely been this compelling-and it's never looked this good.

SPIRIT BOUND: A VAMPIRE ACADEMY NOVEL by Richelle Mead Dimitri gave Rose the ultimate choice. But she chose wrong... After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri's birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir's-and to her best friend, Lissa. It is nearly graduation, and the girls can't wait for their real lives beyond the Academy's iron gates to begin. But Rose's heart still aches for Dimitri, and she knows he's out there, somewhere. She failed to kill him when she had the chance. And now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and now he is hunting her. And this time he won't rest until Rose joins him... forever.

TALES OF TERROR FROM THE TUNNEL'S MOUTH by Chris Priestley The third installment of the spine-tingling trilogy. A boy's first solo train journey turns out to be more of a challenge than anyone could have imagined as the trian stalls at the mouth of a tunnel and a mysterious woman in white helps the boy while away the hours by telling him stories—ghost stories with a difference.

The Magical Misadventures of Prunella Bogthistle, by Deva Fagan

The Magical Misadventures of Prunella Bogthistle, by Deva Fagan (Henry Holt, 2010, middle grade, 263 pages in ARC form).

Poor Prunella is a failure. Though she was born into a powerful bogwitch family, her curses lack even the least bit of bogwitch-ery to them. And so she is consigned to watching her grandmother's garden. Although it's so warded already that watching is redundent, Prunella still manages to let a thief get through--an upland boy.

She has one last chance--if she can curse him, she can take her place in the bottom lands. But until then, her grandmother has cast her out.

So Prunella and the upland boy, Baranaby, find themselves fellow travellers. Baranby claims to be looking for the Mirable Chalice, stolen from the queen of the uplands...and Prunella just happens to know where it is--in the keeping of the fabled bad guy Lord Blackthorne. Lord Blackthorne also has the lost grimoire of Esmerelda, the most famous bog witch of them all. If she can get a hold of it, perhaps Prunella can go home.

First she has to take the chicken foot out of her hair before Baranaby agrees to be seen in public with her. And that's the least of her problems. Something strange and sinister is happening in the uplands. Since the chalic was stolen, people have been falling into a strange sickness, and even though the uplands was never as magical as the boglands, still, folks had once had enough magic to keep dark things at bay. But this isn't the case anymore...

Fagan has written a delightful story with all the requisite adventure, humor, and creative fun that makes for a good middle grade fantasy read. Prunella and Barnaby both became real to me as I read (Prunella especially, with her angst-ful longing to become a bogwitch). And, although I by no means want to imply that Fagan has written a preachy book, there's a rather nice message to it, about finding one's own path in the world--more specifically, just because your family curses people doesn't mean you have to yourself, and they may well end up appreciating you for who you are, even if you can't charm warts onto yourself.

It's the perfect sort of book to give to a nine or ten year old who isn't ready for the more densly fraught type books you find in the upper reaches of middle gradeness. And there's the added bonus, of course, that Prunella, with her "clear brown skin," is a character of color--a central character, a brave character, a character with whom anyone can relate.

I hope Deva Fagan gives us another Prunella adventure! I'd read it in a shot.

To which Deva responded: "I would very much like to write more books about Prunella and Barnaby, but that will probably depend on how well this one does. My fingers are crossed!"

Here's another review at The HappyNappyBookseller.

(review copy provided by the publisher).

Armchair BEA--The Kidlitosphere

Today Armchair BEA morphs gently into Armchair Book Blogger Convention--those of us not lucky to be in NY are sharing blogging conventionish posts today.

I thought that so many of the bloggers taking part in this event are new to me, they might also not be familiar with that part of the blogging world in which I make my mental home--the Kidlitosphere (whose logo is shown at left). In a nutshell, the Kidlitosphere is a conglomeration of bloggers whose passion is books for kids and teens. Here's the website, with news, links to members, and various resources. There is also a Yahoo kidlitosphere group, where bloggers frequently ask each other blogging questions, support each other in times of blogging crisis, share news, and celebrate. Information on joining this listserve can be found at the above website.

Lifted shamelessly from that website, here are some of the regular things that Kidlitosphere members do:

The KidLitosphere Conference

An annual gathering of the movers and shakers in the kidlit community

The Carnival of Children’s Literature

A monthly roundup of the best in kidlit blogging, organized around a central theme--here is this month's edition, at Homespun Light

Nonfiction Monday

Giving bloggers a chance to share nonfiction books for children and teens.

Poetry Friday

A weekly assortment of poetry-themed musings and original content

The Kidlitosphere is also the driving force behind the Cybils Awards. These awards, given in a variety of children's/YA categories each year, are chosen by panels of bloggers from long lists of books nominated by anyone who has books they feel passionately about. The first round panelists read fiercely during the fall to come up with short lists, which are then sent to judging panels. The criteria are excellence of writing (and illustration when applicable), and kid appeal.

If you are looking for succinct lists of excellent books in the various categories covered by the Cybils (like mg non-fiction, YA sff etc) there are no better lists than the Cybils shortlists.

The call for readers for the upcoming Cybils will probably go out in August--so if you are a blogger who talks about children's or YA books on a reasonably regular basis, do think of throwing your name in the hat! The Cybils organizers determine who goes on what panel (sadly, there's not room for everyone), balancing experience with freshness.

And I'd also like to put in a plug for the Kidlitosphere Conference--I attended last year's, in DC, ably organized by the fabulous Pam (aka Mother Reader) who is the driving force behind the Kidlitosphere. It was a fantastic event, and I'm going again (I hope) this fall!

Pam is also going to be hosting a 48 Hour Reading Challenge the first weekend in June--fun! prizes! reduction in size of tbr pile (never enough reduction, but every bit helps)!

Nieve, by Terry Griggs

Nieve, by Terry Griggs (2010, Biblioasis, older mg/younger YA, 250 pages)

Nieve lives in the ordinary, sunlight world of a small town in Canaa. True, there are some oddish things about her life--her parents, for instance, are professional weepers. But the signs of the trouble to come were subtle, and easy to overlook in daylight-- horror is entering Nieve's world.

Here is a bit from Nieve's meeting, quite early in the book, with the Weed Inspector, a strangely creepy man growing nasty black plants from larvae....

"Are you from the city?" Nieve asked ....

"The City," he agreed. "The Black City. You're not as stupid as you look."

"I'm not stupid!" Talk about rude.

He gazed down at her, green eyes burrowing into her head as if he were X-raying her brain. "You will be. Soon. Very soon." Dribbles of mist had begun ot leak out of the seams of his coat." (page 21 of ARC)

Soon a perpetual gloom covers the town, the normal shops are being replaced by grotesquelly unwholesome establishments, and, worst of all, people have begun to disappear. Those who are left, including Nieve's parents, seem possessed. Monsters and vile creatures, straight out of the darker Celtic myths and legends, prowl the dark streets. And Nieve and her grandmother seem to be among the few people immune to the curse that has fallen on their world.

Nieve has apparently inherited the gifts of magic that will help stand against the darkness. But she doesn't have a clue what her mysterious abilities might be, and she's not at all sure she should trust the fey boy, Lias, her grandmother has provided her as a companion. However, for lack of any other options, Nieve and Lias set off to find the heart of the nightmare, into the dark undercity itself, where the hideous imaginings of a dark spirit have been brought to life (or, more accurately, death).

It is a truly nightmarish story, with vividly lurid descriptions of both the evil creatures and the horrible things being done to their human victims. It's not gore all over the place sort of horrid--more subtle evil manipulation is at work--but it still horrendous. For the horror fan, probably great stuff, for the faint of heart, possibly a tad disturbing.

And it is nightmarish in another way, too--both Nieve, and the reader, have no clue what is going on or why, and Lias, who might know more, isn't telling. For the first half of the book, this growing mystery works well, slowly building up the tension...but then, the book becomes almost non-stop action, with the clues about what is happening somewhat lost in a welter of panic. In Lias' defense, regarding explaining things--he doesn't have much chance too, what with being chased by a bevy of horrors. A few too many horrors, for my taste--there weren't quite enough still spots, where characters could get a chance to breath and develop.

Even though there was Explication at the end, I still am not sure of the Why of it all. I'm still not sure of the extent, and limitations, of Nieve's magic. And I think that page 241 out of 250 is a tad late to introduce the fact that this surface world, which I assumed was an unmagical place, actually has paranormal police officers. Sequels are in the works...but this book stands complete in itself (apart from the bigger questions, there are no dangling bits of plot qua plot).

There was, however, a rather delightful quirkiness to Griggs' writing that surfaced pleasingly at odd moments, and the black and white illustrations (some of which can be seen here) help bring the nightmarish-ness into the realm of the fascinating--it's always less scary, I think, to see things, as opposed to imagining them.

Although it wasn't quite to my taste, the fan of fast-paced, horror-filled fantasy would probably enjoy this one lots.

other reviews-Parenthetical.net and One Librarian's Book Reviews.

(disclaimer: ARC received from the publisher)

Armchair BEA--a giveaway of three books!

One of the most delirium inducing parts of going to BEA would have to be the ARCs up for grabs--the thought is dizzying.

So in the spirit of Armchair BEA, I'm offering three ARCs of middle grade/YA books coming out in July and August from Bloomsbury. (Bloomsbury is kind enough to send me books en masse, which I appreciate, but these three aren't a good fit for my blog, so I'd like to send them off to people more likely to enjoy and review them!). I'll pick three winners, so let me know which one you want in the comments, and I'll enter you for that one! This is a special Armchair BEA giveaway, imitating the quick, um, snatching of books I imagine one would find at the real thing, so I'll close this at midnight (EST) tonight! (It's open to anyone, regardless of Armchair BEA participation)

They are:

What Momma Left Me, by Renee Watson (July 2010, Mg) --a young girl starting life over at her grandparents' house after her mother dies.




Good Behaviour, a Memoir, by Nathan L. Henry (July 2010, YA)-- "a year in jail and the life that led there."






No and Me, by Delphine De Vigan (August 2010, YA) --"How far would you go to turn a homeless person's life around?"







The random number generator has spoken--Darlyn is getting No and Me, Miss Attitude is getting What Momma Left Me, and Bianca is getting Good Behaviour. Thanks to all who entered!

Armchair BEA-- an interview with Emily, of Emily's Reading Room

Today is interview day at Armchair BEA, the next best thing to being in New York City, getting to meet each other in person. Today I'm honored to bring Emily of Emily's Reading Room to my blog!

Can you please tell my readers a little about your blog, and possibly a little about yourself? Does your non-blogging life have anything to do with books?

I have been a life-long reader. I learned to read before I was in Kindergarten and never stopped. I often got in trouble in school for hiding a book in my desk during Math and Science. I have very poor eyesight also due to the fact that I spent so much time reading at night under a blanket. Once I got to college my reading habits changed a little and I didn't have time for any other reading other than my required reading. But, once I finished college and got a job, I realized that I missed the escape that came from reading fiction. So, I got a library card and started reading again.

(me: that is exactly what happened with me too!)

My friends and family would ask me for book recommendations, and I found that I couldn't really remember a lot of the books that I had been reading. So, I started my blog in June 2009 as a way for me to remember what I had been reading, and also to give recommendations to my friends. But then I discovered that I loved the blogging community and got much more involved in that. We also have a wonderful community of book bloggers in Utah. I have met up with them several times, and I love it! My non-blogging life has very little to do with books. My full-time job is an office manager for a member of Congress. Now you see why I need the escape of fiction!

Truly you all are blessed to have such a great blogging community in Utah! I am envious--I live in spitting distance (a bit less than an hour) of Boston, but somehow it seems to far to travel there for book events. Also Utah looks lovely--some day I will go there, and meet bloggers and authors, and see mountains!

My next question--did becoming a blogger change your reading habits? For instance, do you pick books to read because they seem like they'd be fun to blog about? Have your reasons for blogging changed since you began?

Blogging has changed my reading habits immensely! When I started I had never heard of Advance Review Copies, and I had no clue about what new books were out. Now I know about all the newest and greatest books, and sometimes I even have a chance to read them before they come out. Getting review copies isn't a real motivator for me though, and most of my books I still get from the library.

Do you find yourself able to strike a nice balance between the life of work and home, and the life of books and blogging? If the sink were full of dirty dishes, and a new book came in the mail, which would you do first, read or wash?

I just had a baby girl in March of this year. (Me: Wow! Congratulations!) That really threw me for a loop at first. Because she's not going to wait for me to finish a chapter before I feed her. I'm fine with reading and book blogging taking a back seat to my family though. I wouldn't be able to do read and blog without the support of my husband, however. Together we tag team our chores and we both have time for our hobbies. (He does illustration and web/app design). I get most of my reading done in the evening after the baby goes to bed. (From about 7 pm to 10 pm)

I saw that a co-blogger is joining you--congratulations! Does it feel strange, to give up part of your blogging life to someone else? You say that your co-blogger is going to be bringing more contemporary fiction in, as opposed to your own tendency toward fantasy/science fiction... to quote your post about it: "This means that the reviews here are going to get a lot more diverse. Which is always a good thing." And I'm wondering if that plays out in your own blog reading habits-- do you, in fact, seek out blogs that have a tight focus, or do you like to be surprised by the books reviewed by your favorite bloggers....

Bringing on a co-blogger was really a natural transition. Julie is my neighbor (We actually live in different sections of the same house), and we both are advisers for a youth reading and writing group called the Literati. We discovered that we both love reading, but we have very different tastes in what we like. Julie also has the expertise of being an English teacher so she knows a lot about the mechanics of writing. As for my blog reading habits, I stay pretty focused on Young Adult book blogs. I like reading reviews of all types of books within that genre, even if they aren't science fiction/fantasy. But, some of my favorite blogs read a very wide variety of books. I have always envied their diverse reading taste.

Speaking of which, who are a couple of bloggers that are at the top of your reading list, who might not be getting the readers they should?

I'm going to plug our Utah Bloggers group. We have such a fantastic community of readers and writers here, and I love getting together with them. Some of my favorite blogs are Angie from Angieville (she has the best written reviews of any blogger I've ever read), Natasha Maw from Maw Books Blog (She has such diverse reading taste, I always find something new), and Suey from It's All About Books. A non-Utah blog I love is The Little Bookworm. Her reviews are great, and her blog design is so cute!

Those last two are new to me--thanks for the recommendations!

Emily is also a fan of science fiction/fantasy, and so it was especially fun for me to explore her blog! I noticed that she had just gotten The Demon's Lexicon...so of course I asked -- Did you like it? I just read The Demon's Covenant, and enjoyed it immensely! And while I'm at this level of specificity, have you read Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series yet?

I have not read The Demon's Lexicon yet. I just bought it last week, and it's on my list. Angie from Angieville recommended it very highly and I'm excited to get started on it in a week or two. I haven't read Megan Whalen Turner's Thief series yet either. I have it requested from the library though, and I'm on the list for it.

(both of us dislike the puffy lips in this incarnation of Nick...I strongly prefer the UK version, at right)

I read with great interest that Emily got to go to one of those exciting Utah-ian book events, so I asked--Did you have a great time meeting Shannon Hale and Mette Ivie Harrison a few weeks ago (is jealous)? Were there copies of Mette Ivie Harrison's new book (The Princess and the Snowbird)?

I had a wonderful time meeting some fantastically talented authors at the Children's Book Festival in Provo. Shannon Hale was so nice. She came out to do a signing even though she is pregnant with twins and feels pretty sick. She was so unbelievably nice. Even though there was a really long line, she spent a good 15 minutes talking to me about her books and tolerated my fan-girlness. I am so glad that I was finally able to meet her.

Mette Ivie Harrison was the same way. She asked me if I liked Princess and the Bear better than Princess in the Hound, and we discussed the different types of relationships found in Young Adult fiction. It's clear she is very educated and knows a lot about literature. And yes, I got a new copy of The Princess and the Snowbird signed. I haven't read it yet, but I can't wait to!
(you can see pictures at Emily's blog here!)


And lastly, have you ever been to BEA? Or one of the big ALA meetings, or a blogging conference? Would you like to?

I have not been to any of the big publishing or blogging conferences. I started blogging last year right as BEA ended, and I swore I would go the next year. But, this year funds were tight since I took some unpaid time off for maternity leave. So, I had my husband sign a paper saying that I could go in 2011. I did go to Life, The Universe and Everything which is a writing conference held at a university here in Utah. It has some really neat panels on science fiction and fantasy. That's where I first met Brandon Sanderson, who is awesome by the way!

Thank you so much, Emily! It was great getting to know you!

(and if anyone wants to know more about me, it was my great pleasure to be interviewed by Jennifer, aka The Introverted Reader).

Armchair BEA: The Value of a Book

At the real life BEA, publishing CEOs took part in a panel on "the Value of a Book."

From the Publisher's Weekly overview of the panel: "Getting back to the panel’s official subject—what the value of a book is in today’s market—Newberg [an ICM executive] mentioned a new Steve Martin novel that Grand Central is publishing this fall, An Object of Beauty. With its vellum pages and high-quality jacket, Newberg said the book must have cost Hachette a fortune to produce. Yet she was confident that “if you make a beautiful product, they will come.” Prichard [Ingram CEO] disagreed. “People around books care [about that sort of thing], but the vast majority of readers don’t.”

Um, Mr. Prichard, aren't the vast majority of readers "people around books" too? I dunno exactly who the "vast majority of readers" are, but I do know that, when I buy books for children and grown-ups for presents, I buy beautiful ones (unless I have specific instructions). Like the -ology books, for instance. They look like presents.

I have bought myself new books just because they are beautiful. Not very often, but sometimes. Last fall, for instance, I bought us a copy of Odd and the Frost Giants, by Neil Gaiman, in large part because it was such a nice book qua book.

And I'm all in favour of the shinny bits and the embossed bits and the pretty bits on the covers of so many fantasy books for kids, and the nice thick paper being used--what better way to send the message that books are important and special?

Anyone else bought any books recently because they beautiful?

(for more Armchair BEA participant posts, visit A. BEA Central here!)

Welcome to Armchair BEA, and my take on blog branding

For those of us unable to attend Book Expo America this week, and the Book Bloggers Convention that follows it, all is not entirely lost. A brave band of bloggers has set up Armchair BEA, and for the next few days, those of us taking part will be creating a alternate experience online.

Here's the official schedule:

• Tues. May 25th - BEA Related Posts
  


• Wed. May 26th - Blogger Interviews
  


• Thurs. May 27th - BEA Related Posts & Giveaways on Participating Sites
  


• Friday May 28th - BBC Roundtables

For the BEA related posts, we were encouraged to discuss some of the topics to be addressed in real life. I chose "blog branding," because that's something I decided to focus on a year and a half ago. I'm defining "branding" as creating a unique blog with a distinctive feel to it, so that when the name of your blog comes up in conversation, people will know who you are, and nod wisely.

If you're just starting out in blogging, I'd suggest not fretting to much about branding. It's not until you've been doing this for a while, I think, that you know what sort of books you most enjoy talking about, and are able to relax into your own unique style (unless you are a remarkable person with Clear Goals from the get go).

But at some point, you might want to concentrate on making your blog distinct. Before the fateful day when I decided to brand myself, "Charlotte's Library" was a scattered collection of children's and YA books--whatever struck my fancy, without much rhyme or reason. There was a heavy concentration of sci fi/fantasy, because of me having taken part in the Cybils, but it wasn't something I was doing on Purpose. And my stats were not stellar--around 3000 a month, and only about 100 people following me on various readers.

So I decided to specialize, to make Charlotte's Library a unique place. I decided I wanted to be a reliable, well known blog where people automatically went to find fantasy and science fiction for younger readers, and I took three steps to move in that direction.

Step 1. I established a Target Audience. I wanted to be a Resource for three different (but overlapping) audiences--people like me who like reading sff for kids, people considering adding books in that genre to library collections, and parents looking for recommendations. I dunno if having a target audience materially effects the words I type, but it gives me people to write to, and I make an effort to say things they might find useful.

Step 2. I created a distinctive look. I (finally) put up header art (with a nebula orange space snail to serve, in my own mind at least, as a mascot), and tweaked the settings. I can't think of any blogs that look much like mine. Part of this was putting a tag line in my header art, so that it was clear immediately what my blog was about: "fantasy and science fiction books for children and teenagers."

Step 3. I blogged about the books I though would best serve my target audience. I put a lot of effort into making helpful posts about new releases of sff for kids and teenagers, and, more recently, started rounding up middle grade sff posts from around the blogs. I had been frustrated by how hard it was to reliably find such posts--reviews of mg sff tend to be very scattered. Every reviewer I found who every reviewed such a book got added to my google reader (more or less--I am not a systematic person), and my round-ups have reached a rather nice bulk.

So I now am Branded. I think my blog has become synonymous with sff fiction for younger readers (I review both middle grade and YA books, but not, in general, the darker, older books). And my readership has grown by leaps and bounds. I still have lots of progress to make--I'd like to do more thematic posts and create more thematic lists; I'd like more people to know about me, and I'd love more comments (thank you, dear hardcore band of commenters. You know who you are). But I feel much more certain of my own identity in the blogging world, and I find that is a great motivator.

That was my own path. Specialization was a large part of that for me, but it doesn't have to be for everyone--a joyous eclecticism can also make a blog a unique place (off the top of my head, Colleen at Chasing Ray, Melissa of Book Nut, and Becky of Becky's Book Reviews come to mind). And when I think of the blogs that stand out in my own mind, it's not the crisp categories of style and book selection that set them apart. It's the fuzzy, intuitive-ly realized, consistent feeling that each one gives me that makes each one clear to me (logical, rational thinking not being how my mind works). And those distinct feelings come, of course, from the distinct voices of bloggers just being themselves, which I can kind of hear in my mind, even if I've never met them in person.

Fire Will Fall, by Carol Plum-Ucci

Spoiler Warning: Fire Will Fall (Harcourt, 2010, 485 pp in Arc, YA) is the sequel to Streams of Babel, which most definitely should be read first. Streams of Babel is a real humdinger of a suspenseful page turner, which I highly recommend (a great one, for instance, for Mother Reader's 48 Hour Reading Challenge). So don't read this review if you don't want to know the ending to the first book! Once you've read that one, you are going to want to read Fire Will Fall.

At the end of Streams of Babel, the three high school kids and one young man who had survived the terrorist attempt to poison them via the public water system have been moved to a "safe" house to complete their recovery from the mutated virus with which they have been infected (or not). The two hacker genius kids who helped crack that particular plot are ostensibly safe as well in New York city, recovering from their own nasty terrorist inflicted virus.

But not all the scientists behind that first plot were captured. As Shazad and Tyler, quarantined in New York, continue to apply their computer skills to finding them, it becomes clear that an even more horrible plot is being being hatched, with a virus more vicious than before. And the "safe house" isn't looking quite so safe anymore.

Meanwhile, the other four young people, all falling in and out of sickness as their original takes its course, are marooned together. Tensions build, friendships are strained, and new feelings for each other emerge in a hothouse of emotional intensity. As the terrorists move closer and ready their new designer virus, the tension grows...until their ostensible victims find in themselves what it takes to confront their own demons, and those lurking outside.

It's gripping and exciting stuff; a real page turner. The story is told in chapters from the points of view of the six young characters, which I think enhances the sense of tension--the reader never relaxes into a particular character, but is instead shunted briskly through differing perspectives. The drawback to this approach is that I found some characters more interesting and more convincingly drawn than others, so to some extent I was never fully engaged. And because, unavoidably, there is less mystery to the plot than there was in Streams of Babel (the cast of characters are, for the most part, known quantities), it's not quite as enthralling a book as that was.

Despite those caveats, Streams of Fire is an engrossing read, both a coming-of-age story and a fast paced thriller. I'm labeling it science fiction, because the hideously bio engineered virus aren't, I sincerely hope, in existence yet...but it is all disturbingly possible.

Note on age appropriateness--sexual content and violence make this a book for older readers.

(review copy received from the publisher at ALA Midwinter)

Middle Grade Science Fiction and Fantasy from around the blogs--this week's roundup

Welcome to yet another Sunday of middle grade fantasy and science fiction reviews and news from around the blogs. Although every day I toil for hours, neglecting all other commitments to scour the blogging world for mg sff goodness, I'm sure I am missing stuff, and would love to be given more links! (it's actually not really all that toilsome--and I like doing it). So anyway, here it is again.

Just one more note: I'm defining the upper limit of "middle grade" these days as anything I'd give to an eleven or twelve year old, which includes things labeled "YA."

Reviews, reflections, and remarks:

Athena the Brian (Godess Girls) by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams at Welcome to My Tweendom.

The Boneshaker, by Kate Milford (2010), at BoingBoing and BSC Kids.

Clair de Lune, by Cassandra Golds (2004/2006), at Charlotte's Library.

Dark Days (Skulduggery Pleasant), by Derek Landy (2010) at Books & Other Thoughts.

Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld, at The Antick Musings of G.B.H.Hornswoggler, Gent., and at Eva's Book Addiction.

Middleworld, by J. & P. Voelkel (2010), at What to Read.

Night Fairy, by Laura Amy Schlitz (2010), at Great Kid Books

Plain Kate, by Erin Bow (September 2010), at Abby (the) Librarian.

The Red Pyramid, by Rick Riordan (2010), at Bellaonbooks Blog.

The Sixty Eight Rooms, by Marianne Malone (2010), at Literate Lives.

The Time Bike, by Jane Langton (2000), at Charlotte's Library.

Vampirates: Tide of Terror, by Justin Somper (2009) at Nayu's Reading Corner.

Wiff and Dirty George: the Z.E.B.R.A. Incident, by Stephen Swinburne (2010) at Fuse #8.

Fantasy Literature is a site that aspires to review just about every children's fantasy book every--this week's new addition to their archives is a look at Eulalia, by Brian Jacques.

Ms. Yingling offered a smorgasboard of goodness this week, in these posts--Viking Aliens go Hunting, Horses and Unicorns, and Emperors, Queens, and Pharaohs!

Katherine Langresh (author of the The Shadow Hunt, aka Dark Angels in the UK, which is up next on my reading pile-yay!) is one of those bloggers who writes the sort of long and thoughtful topical posts I never seem moved to write, but wish I did :). Here's her take on Fairytale Heroines.

If you aren't familiar with Bookie Woogie, you are missing a fun and funny blog, where a dad talks with his kids about the books they read--here are Dad (Aaron Zenz) and Isaac (11 years old) talking about Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and other fantasy as well.

Here's Greg Van Eekhout talking about his new book, Kid Vs Squid, on John Scalzi's Whatever.

I also just wanted to mention a blog that's new to me--KinderScares, which features a wide variety of horror for the young, like yesterday's look at The Big Book of Horror.

Author Interviews:

Christine Brodien Jones, author of The Owl Keeper, at The Enchanted Inkpot.

Jennifer Cervantes, author of Tortilla Sun, at La Bloga.

Jennifer Finney Boylan, author of Falcon Quinn and the Black Mirror, at Fuse #8

Kate Milford, author of The Boneshaker, at Chasing Ray.

And finally, here are The Hazerdous Players, creators of Knightime, interviewed at Finding Wonderland.

One last thing. I don't generally talk about movies, but this involves a favorite author of mine (Ursula Le Guin):

Tales from Earthsea, a 2006 anime film directed by Gorō Miyazaki, will be released in the US this August. It is not to be confused with the Sci-Fi Channel's mini-series. For more on the horror that was, here is Ursula Le Guin's article at Slate, entitled "A Whitewashed Earthsea: How the Sci Fi Channel Wrecked My Books."

Formed by the pen of Michael Morpurgo from the last drops of steel of London's Olympic stadium....

And now for something completely different--here are the two mascots for London's 2012 Olympic games!

From the AP article --"London Unveils One-Eyed Mascots" --"We've talked to lots of children and they don't want cuddly toys," London 2012 organizing committee chairman Sebastian Coe said. "They want something they can interact with and something with a good story behind it." The two mascots are based on a story by Michael Morpurgo, "in which they are formed by a welder from the last drops of steel from the girders of the Olympic Stadium in east London" (from the AP article).

Um. I can't really think of any children of my acquaintance who would want to interact with either of these. Yet, the more I stare at them, the more they grow on me....and in their computer generated form they are less disturbing....(unless I have now been starting at them for Too Long, and have lost my mind).



More pictures can be found here, or you can watch the official video at the London 2012 site.

Clair de Lune, by Cassandra Golds

No, this isn't the werewolf Claire de Lune, by Christine Johnson, that's just been released. This Clair de Lune is by Cassandra Golds (2004, 2006 in the US, Random House, middle grade, 197 pages), who is the author of one of my favorite books last year (The Museum of Mary Child).

Clair de Lune is young girl living in an old apartment house that is home to a famous ballet school. Her mother was a ballet dancer, who died tragically young while dancing, and her stern, unloving grandmother is steering Clair de Lune toward becoming a ballerina too. Clair de Lune cannot speak, but her grandmother finds this rather pleasing than otherwise--without words, it will be harder, if not impossible, she thinks, for the grand-daughter to become ensnared by love, as happened to her mother.

In the same building lives a mouse who dreams of dancing. Bonaventure has set his heart on creating the first mouse ballet, setting up his own mouse size studio in the wainscoting. Clair de Lune becomes his friend and confidant, and he shows her that this strange old house contains other mysteries--there is a door, far down, that opens up onto a beautiful monastery set by the ocean. And there Clair de Lune meets a monk who has dedicated his live to listening...and for the first time, she thinks that it is possible that someday she might be heard.

So Clair de Lune confronts the reasons why she cannot speak, Bonaventure begins his mouse ballet classes, and all seems to be going well....but then the ballet company decides to honor her mother by performing the ballet in which her mother died. And Clair de Lune must play her mother's part...

Bonaventure is one of the most charming fictional mice of my acquaintance--I loved his mouse ballet endeavours to pieces! Rather than distracting from the central arc of Clair de Lune's journey to full personhood, it complemented that story with its concrete example of how to make a dream come true. Frankly, it was the mouse element that deterred me from reading this book when it first came out--I don't generally like my ballet stories peopled with animals. But, having read it, it would be a much poorer story with out Bonaventure and friends, so don't make the same assumption I did!

Clair de Lune herself is a child to whom my heart went out. The other girls in her class don't realize she cannot speak--they just think she's a snot. Her grandmother is so warped as to be cruel. I found her journey toward speech, and toward love, profoundly moving.

Clair de Lune is a magical fairy-tale of great charm. It requires the reader to accept the fantastical elements at face value, not so much "suspending disbelief" as simply "believing," because obviously if you think about it too much, a door to a sea side monastery in the basement can't be swallowed--it must be simply enjoyed. The dream-quality of the book worked for me beautifully, but I'm not sure it's everyone's cup of tea....

Here are some reviews, at Big A little a (we miss you, Kelly!), at Kidsreads, and at Laina Has too Much Spare Time, and here's an interview with Golds at Behind Ballet.

Rough Magic, by Caryl Cude Mullin

Rough Magic, by Caryl Cude Mullin (2009, Second Story Press, YA, 264 pages) is a powerful reimagining of the story of The Tempest. It is a story not just of characters from that play--the witch, Sycorax, and Caliban her son, Prospero and Miranda, Ariel the spirit--but also tells what happens next, when two young girls from the next generation meet on the same enchanted island where The Tempest takes place.

The story begins with Sycorax, the witch. At first she is a girl full of love and hope, with magical gifts greater than anyone has known. But Sycorax throws her life away for love, a terrible choice that will drive her into madness, and shadow the life of her son, Caliban. Banished by her prince to a barren island, Sycorax thirsts for revenge. The island has its own strong, rough magic, and Sycorax craves it. But in seizing its power, she seals her terrible fate....

Caliban, left alone when his mother dies, rejects the staff into which she had poured the island's magic, giving it to the next castaway to arrive--Prospero, with young Miranda in tow. But the twisted hatred of Sycorax lives on, and it falls to Miranda's daughter, Chiara, to find her own power, and bring peace and healing to the island, its restless spirits, and Caliban himself.

Rough Magic is told from several points of view, and spans decades--two things that make me wary. I'm never quite sure whether I'll loose interest or not when so much time passes, and characters come and go. But I found myself absorbed from beginning to end. There was thematic cohesion, and there was cohesion to the plot--it was necessary that time should pass, and new characters to emerge.

One the other hand, the long passage of time did mean that there was a certain amount of "time passing just because," where little story development happened...and periods, as well (like Prospero's time on the island) that seem somewhat perfunctorily told (in a sort of "it has to be there, but it's not the central story" way) and this does drag the book down somewhat. And the new characters introduced in the book's second half never got quite enough page time to become fully real to me.

But for me, the power of this book (and I did find it rather powerful) came from the character of Caliban. It is Caliban's voice, his life (twisted, but not without love) and his choices, that are at the heart of the book. Yes, Chiara's a strong character who finds her own magical powers (as is Sycorax, for that matter), but Caliban is a figure both pitiable and strong. (Prospero, on the other hand, is a jerk).

Here are some other reviews of Rough Magic, at Steph Su Reads, and Feminist Review. I'm curious now--I liked this one, and found it a gripping read; these two reviewers didn't like it. Anyone else read it and have an opinion?

(disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher)

Light Beneath Ferns, by Anne Spollen

Light Beneath Ferns, by Anne Spollen (Flux, 2010, YA, 206 pages) *more spoilerish than my reviews usually are*

Elizah, telling the story of what happened to her that fall, begins with finding a bone at the edge of a graveyard. The graveyard is Elizah's new home--her mother has taken her to New York, to the small town where she had lived when she was a girl. She is the new caretaker of a historical cemetery, looking desperately to make a New Start. And Elizah is the new girl in the local school, a girl who does not want to talk to anyone. A girl who is happiest left alone in silence...because what, really, is she supposed to say? Her father, a compulsive gambler wanted by the law, has skipped out on them, and now she's supposed to start a new life....

Then she finds a bone, coming out of the mud at the edge of a river. Fascinated by bones, she brings it home....and realizes that it is human, and keeps it, safely shut away in her room...

At home and at school, she is pressured to be Normal. To be friendly, and even encouraging, to the other girls and to a boy who fancies her. But exploring off by herself by the river, she meets someone she thinks could be a real friend--a boy named Nathaniel, who seems to live outside the everyday world. A charismatic boy more real to her than anyone else in her life, he takes her upriver with him, showing her the strange world in which he lives...and gradually unfolds to her, as fall changes to winter, the reason he has sought out her company.

It is not that hard (even for a reader as un-thinking when reading as myself) to guess pretty quickly that Nathaniel and the bone that Elizah is keeping are somehow connected....yet even though it is easy to see where the plot is going, Elizah's beautifully drawn life as a rather desperate introvert, trying to make sense of difficult things, carries the story to its moving conclusion.

As paranormal romances go, it is subtle and understated, as the title, Light Beneath Ferns, suggests--small glimpses of strange and magical things, filtered through reality. Recommended to those who like their ghosts magically other, rather than front and center, and to those in the mode for a romance more along the lines of things that dreams are made of, rather than the blatant wish fulfillment of Young Love.

Here's a review from some who loved it: Book Crazy, and here's a review from someone who didn't: Books at Midnight.

I myself really empathized with Elizah (she made the book for me), thought the supernatural elements of the plot included some random bits that weren't quite developed enough to make sense to me (which I found vexing), wished for a bit more of the romance (Nathaniel was cute, with lots of paranormal romance potential that was never quite realized....oh well), and ultimately found it rather haunting....

Personal postscript:

There was one issue that I personally had with this book that spoiled my enjoyment of it somewhat. As an archaeologist, I was very put off by Elizah's cavalier appropriation of human remains. In my own line of work, I get calls every so often from people who have unwittingly found human bones, and sometimes it's my job to be the one to pick them up, carefully and respectfully, to try to figure out what to do with them--reburial, preferably with the next-of-kin located, being the desired outcome. So the idea of a teenager keeping a human bone in her bedroom rubbed me the wrong way--this is just not right. If you should ever find human remains, you should call a. the police b. the state archaeologist (every state has one, as part of their state historic preservation office).

The Time Bike, by Jane Langton, for Timeslip Tuesday

The Time Bike (Harper Collins, 2000, middle grade, 176 pages) is the fifth book in Jane Langton's series about the Hall family of Concord, Massachusetts. The first is The Diamond in the Window, published way back in 1962, the eighth, and most recent, is The Dragon in the Tree, published in 2008.

The Hall family, brother and sister Eddy and Eleanor and a scatter of relations, are the sort of people to whom magical things happen. In the case of this book, the magical thing is a bicycle that arrives from India one day. A very old-fashioned, out-of-date bicycle, that no self-respecting boy would want to ride. But when hiding the bike out of sight in a nook next to the coat closet, Eddy notices that it is, in fact, rather extraordinary.

"It trembled slightly under his hands as he propped it upright, almost as if it were alive. Little sparkles flickered around the rims of the wheels. And there was a sound, a kind of whispering murmur." (page 29). But most extraordinary of all are the two dials, one labeled Days, the other Years. And then, just to make things completely clear, Eddy notices the label saying "TIME BIKE."

It is, indeed, a bicycle that allows its user to travel through time....and Eddy, and his sister Eleanor, use and misuse its magic in the traditional way of these things, very Edward Eager-esque. But despite misadventures and lost opportunities, it is thanks to the bicycle that the children are able to save their beloved family house.

Story-wise, it's lots of fun in an old fashioned feeling, summer-adventurish way. Timeslip-wise, it's disappointing, because the time the two kids spend in the past doesn't really seem of great interest to the author. She doesn't linger in it--it gives more a whisking feeling than a true immersion (if that makes any sense)--only 6 pages out of the first 95 are set in the past, and nothing much happens.

And the result is that the present, with the charming eccentricities of Aunt Alex and Uncle Freddy (obsessive devotees of Theroux) is much more engrossing. In a nutshell, this isn't one to read for Time Travelness, but rather for charming every-dayness spiced with magical fun.

It's not necessary to have read any other books in the series before reading this one, but it's not the most emotionally resonant or powerful of the series, and so isn't the best place to start, because you might not want to keep going. And there's also no good reason why you wouldn't want to treat yourself, if this sounds the sort of book you like, to the whole shebang, read chronologically. I myself prefer Eager, for the somewhat snappier dialogue, but there are many passionate devotees of Langton's books, in particular of The Diamond in the Window (I have linked to its Amazon page as proof of this!).

Forget-Her-Nots, by Amy Brecount White

Forget-Her-Nots, by Amy Brecount White (Greenwillow, 2010, YA, 365 pages).

One might say it began with the small cluster of flowers outside the door of Laurel's room at boarding school, on the very day she was to give a class presentation on the Victorian language of flowers. That was the first day on which fourteen-year old Laurel felt the first touches of her magical ability to send messages with flowers--messages that could really effect people's lives.

Or one might say it began years ago, with a long chain of flower lovers gathering knowledge, and passing it on to the children who inherited their gifts, teaching them as they came into their power. But Laurel's mother has died, and there is no-one, it seems, to teach her...and yet the flowers are calling to her. Armed with an antique handbook on the language of flowers, Laurel begins to work magic on the lives of her classmates and teachers.

But soon she finds herself in somewhat over her head. Still grieving for her mother, uncertain in the social realm of her new boarding school, falling in crush with a cute boy--there's a lot on Laurel's plate without being pressured by her classmates to produce with magically efficacious bouquets for every occassion. Fortunately, the gardens of Laural's school, and the woman who tends them, have a history entwined with that of Laurel's family...a history that will help Laurel recover from her grief, and claim her birthright of flowers.

The premise that the language of flowers is actually magical is a lovely, imaginative one, especially delightful to a flower lover such as myself. The language of flowers is an integral part of the text, and the meaning of each flower, and how those meaning played out their parts in the social melange of high school made for reading that was fun, a little zany, and occasionally poignant. The drawback of the heavy reliance on the flowers was that Laurel's growth as a character seemed to me somewhat occluded by the character traits induced by her botanical choices...

Forget-Her-Nots is not a fantasy in which where the magical powers of the heroine involve her in a matter of life and death. The stakes are the ordinary difficulties of high school (will prom be wrecked by floral magic gone awry?), the outcome sweet, rather than earthshaking. I'd recommend this to the 12 or 13 year old who isn't quite ready or willing to plunge into darker fantasies, who might well find it a lovely and satisfying journey.

Other reviews at Presenting Lenore, Unsearchable Riches, Green Bean Teen Queen.

And just in case anyone is looking for more books in which magic meets the language of flowers--one of E. Nesbit's lesser known books, The Wonderful Garden (1911) tells of two children who are convinced they are working magic with their floral undertakings....Not my favorite Nesbit, but quite fun.

(disclaimer: my copy of Forget-her-nots was sent by the author)

This Year's Andre Norton winner, nestled into this Sunday's Round-up of Middle Grade Fantasy and Science Fiction from around the blogs

Welcome to yet another week's worth of gleanings--the reviews, interviews, news, etc. pertaining to middle grade science fiction and fantasy that I have hunted down. Please let me know if I missed yours!

That being said, here's a piece of news that isn't middle grade at all: the Andre Norton Award (the Nebula for childrens/YA books) has gone to The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Catherynne M. Valente. This book has a most interesting history. It started life as a children's book mentioned in another of Valente's books, Palimpsest. Then Valente actually wrote it, posting it a chapter at a time, inviting readers to pay her what they thought it was worth. Feiwel and Friends picked it up, and it's scheduled to be published as a book next spring (unless they move its publication date forward, what with it having already won a major award!) But in the meantime, here it is on-line. (and here's the full list of the 2010 Nebula winners).

Now for the Middle Grade Reviews:

Alien Encounter, by Pamela Service, at Jean Little Library.
The first two Alison Dare books at Books and Other Thoughts (I missed this last week, but since others might share my curiosity about this series, which looks more than a little cool, here it is today...)
Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer at Fantasy Literature.
Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies, by Andrea Beatty, at Jean Little Library.
The Billionaire's Curse, by Richard Newsome, at Book Aunt.
The Boneshaker, by Kate Milford, at Fantasy Literature.
Celia's Robot, by Margaret Chang, at The HappyNappyBookseller.
Dark Life, by Kat Falls, at The HappyNappyBookseller.
Dot Robot: Atomic Storm, by Jason Bradbury, at Nayu's Reading Corner.
Enchanted Glass, by Diana Wynne Jones, at Books and Other Thoughts
Foiled, by Jane Yolen, at Eva's Book Addiction.
The Forgotten Door, by Alexander Key, at Bellaonbook's Blog (a look back at an old favorite)
Hidden Boy, by Jon Berkeley, at Jean Little Library.
Little Sister, by Kara Dalkey, at Charlotte's Library.
Monster Slayers, by Lukas Ritter, at Star Shadow.
My Rotten Life (Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie Book 1), by David Lubar, at Zelda Del West.
Pyramid of Souls (Magic Keepers Book 2), by Erica Kirov, at Booking Mama.
The Red Pyramid, by Rick Riordan, at Becky's Book Reviews, Book Aunt, and My Reviews.
The Sixty-Eight Rooms, by Marianne Malone, at Semicolon.
Stuck on Earth, by David Klass, at Charlotte's Library (labeled YA, but great, I think, for a 12 year old boy....)
Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris, by R.L. LaFevers, at Bookshelves of Doom.
Timekeeper's Moon, by Joni Sensel, at One Librarian's Book Reviews.
Troll Fell, by Katherine Langrish, at Charlotte's Library.
The Wide Awake Princess, by E. D. Baker, at Jean Little Library.

Massimiliano Frezzato's Keepers of the Maser comic, at Tor.

And there's also a look at the Shadow Children Series, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, at The O.W.L.

Interviews:

An interview with Hilary Wagner, author of Nightshade City (coming in October) at Dreams Can be Reached.

An interview with Molly (a dog), who is one of the characters in Mary Cunningham's fantasy/mystery middle-grade novel, The Magician's Castle, at Pets and Their Authors.

And speaking of interviews, the Summer Blog Blast Tour kicks off tomorrow. The full schedule is here, and includes an interview with Kate Milford (The Boneshaker) tomorrow at Cashing Ray.

Other News:

Booklist Online has posted its 2010 Top 10 SF/Fantasy books for Youth ("2010" meaning the last 12 months...so Catching Fire, for instance, is there...)

Those of us unable to eat in a civilized fashioned at our dining room tables, because said tables are being used to store books, will welcome Mother Reader's 5th 48 Hour Reading Challenge! The weekend is June 4-6, the prizes awesome, the fun very fun.

Anything I missed?????? Let me know!

Stuck on Earth, by David Klass

As soon as I read the blurb for Stuck on Earth, by David Klass (2010, Farrar Straus Giroux, YA, 227 pages), I added it to my list. As the only blogger (as far as I know) who features an orange space snail (if you look at it just right) in her header art (edited to add: the snail is no more. I have moved on....), how could I pass on a book that was actually about a space snail?

Ketchvar, the space snail in question, has been sent to planet Earth to make a determination about the future of the human species--will humanity end up destroying their home, or is their hope for them? If the former, then it's bye bye homo sapiens, because another alien race is about to loose their own planet through no fault of their own, and they have their hearts set on moving to a (humanity free) Earth....

So Ketchvar carefully inserts himself into the brain of a randomly chosen 14 year old boy, Tom Filber, and begins to observe life on Earth. But his mission is less straightforward than he had hoped. From one of his transmissions back to mission control:

"Revered Elders, I fear we may have randomly selected a family that is not representative of the human condition. I suggest a team of GC analysts immediately go to work on the question of whether all human families are this miserable and dysfunctional, or if I had the bad luck to hop off our spaceship into a loony bin of a household." (page 117)

Truly Tom's life is terrible. His mother is volatile and abusive, his father is unemployed and drinking too much, his sister hates him, and (even before the arrival of the Space Snail) he was nicknamed Alien at school, and bullied something fierce. It wouldn't be surprising if a boy like Tom, imaginative, sensitive, and pushed over the edge, began to fantasize that he really was an alien...and gradually Ketchvar, lost in the unhappiness of Tom's life, begins to wonder if he himself is real, or simply a coping mechanism.

But, whether Ketchvar is real or not, he is a different person than the Tom of a few days before. He is a Boy/Space Snail who is able to take risks with the people around him (including the girl next door) and who may actually be able act heroically (with help from Ketchvar's alien abilities), taking on the mega-company that is poisoning his town's river.

Ketchvar's unique perspective on teenage life in America is by turns poignant and humorous, and the story is given further punch by the element of doubt that gradually creeps in. I generally prefer to know it if the narrator is a delusional figment or a real entity, but here the uncertainty worked beautifully, underlining the lack of hard and fast solutions to the problems of Tom's life. As Michelle (the girl next door) puts it: "I'm starting to like you," she confesses, "and I"m not sure whether I'd rather have you turn out to be a crazy boy or a perfectly sane snail creature." (page 175)

In the end, Ketchvar's gone, Tom's still stuck on Earth, and the reader is free to believe or not. But regardless Klass has managed to bring the misery of the Tom's life in the first part of the book to a satisfying place of hope.

Science-fiction fans may feel a bit betrayed that they can't quite believe in Ketchvar (or maybe they will choose to ignore the possibility that he is unreal). But I can't imagine this book not striking a chord with the young reader who feels like an alien navigating a hostile planet...and wondering if it is worthwhile to Try...

Little Sister, by Kara Dalkey

Little Sister, by Kara Dalkey (Penguin, 1996, upper mg/YA, 192 pages)

In Japan, around 900 years ago, 13 year old Mitsuko lived the life of a typical noble girl. Sheltered from all outside trouble, modestly hiding her face behind her sleeve, she joins her sisters in writing poems, and dreaming vague dreams. But when trouble comes, and her household is endangered, Mitsuko and her sisters flee to the family's mountain lodge. On the way, they are attacked by brigands, and the husband of Mitsuko's beloved older sister is slain.

Now her sister sits like a souless shadow facing death. When the local warlord threatens to take in her family by force, Mitsuko drags her sister off into the forest, desperately looking for a way to save her. Taking shelter in a shinto shrine, Mitsuko prays for help...and help comes, in the form of Goranu, a tengu--an immortal, shape-shifting demon.

Goranu takes pity on Mitsuko, and leads her off on an adventurous quest to find her sister's lost spirit. It is a quest that takes them into the realms of dragons, gods, and demons, to the land of the ancestors, and to the sheltering home of a poor family she had once looked down on. And as Mitsuko learns first-hand the wonders of this world and the worlds unseen, she comes to realize that, even if she saves her sister, she can never return to the life of stifled privilege she had once led. Nor can she give up her shapeshifting, tricksterish, loyal friend, Goranu...even if he is a demon.

Shinto and Buddhist folklore mingle to make a magical journey of a book, one with beautiful images and wondrous happenings to spare. It is a beautiful journey character-wise too, as Mitsuko learns and thinks and grows...she is a worthy heroine indeed, determined and thoughtful. And Goranu is a most intriguing character in his own right, and the relationship that develops between them is tremendously interesting, and not without lightly humours touches.

Their relationship is not entirely satisfying, though...there's a gap of several years between the end of the quest and the end of the book, before the last conversation between the two that we are given. I really would have liked some more of these missing years of their friendship--as it was, the ending came as something of an abrupt surprise that hadn't been foreshadowed.

(oh my gosh--I just found that there is a sequel--The Heavenward Path. I Must Read it Now! Pause while I go place library hold on it....Done)

Dalkey's prose seems, at first, somewhat stiff and measured (the book's School Library Journal reviewer called its rhythm "choppy and unnatural," with some justification), and I was somewhat doubtful initially, but soon I wasn't thinking about style at all--just about the story. In the end, I was entranced, and I'd recommend this to anyone with a fascination for historical Japan, brave girls on magical journeys, or shapeshifters.

Age wise--nothing happens that isn't upper middle grade appropriate (a bit of violent death, but not too much), but I think the somewhat off-putting formality of the narration might make this more accessible to a YA audience. Publishers Weekly put at 10-14, Amazon has it as 9-12, and it's catalogued in my library as YA....My own call is 11 on up. And it's one that grown up readers of juvenile fantasy, like me, might well enjoy lots.

Thanks, Heather, for the recommendation! Here's part of Heather's comment (on another shapeshifter review): "Not only the best shapeshifter book by far I've ever read (I haven't read Mistwood yet), but one of the best Asian fantasies as well." I'm not quite sure I'd go that far, but I did like it lots! (and I can't wait for the sequel!)

Voices of Dragons, by Carrie Vaughn

Voices of Dragons, by Carrie Vaughn (HarperCollins, 2010, YA, 309 pages), is a rather unusual fantasy, in that it combines contemporary YA-ness--the heroine's best girl friend who is putting the pressure on her to grow up, the developing relationship with the cute boy-- with Dragons. And the result is a rather fun, rather interesting, and more than somewhat memorable story.

The dragons had reappeared in the world just after WW II, setting fire to a couple of towns up in Alaska. War raged between dragons and humans, until at last a truce was established. A large chunk of Canada, some of northern Asia, and a bit of the American Rockies was carved out to be Dragon Territory, and no human was allowed past the border. Kay lives right up against the frontier, and has taken the law seriously all her life; after all, her mom works in border enforcement, and her dad's the sheriff. And Kay didn't mean to cross the line, that day she went rock climbing on the edge of dragon territory...

But when Kay falls into a deep, fast-flowing stream, she is rescued by a dragon. The first she has ever really seen, and the first dragon anyone has talked to for decades. Artegal is young and curious, just like Kay, and they agree to keep meeting secretly, to learn about each other. And they become friends.

There are those in the military, however, who are uncomfortable with potentially dangerous enemies controlling a large swath of former US territory. While Kay and Artegal are peacefully exploring dragon/human history, war is being planned. US planes, designed to mimic the superior maneuverability of dragon flying, have invaded dragon airspace. And the dragons are retaliating, setting Kay's town alight. Kay and Aregal realize that their friendship might be the only way to bring peace back...if they are willing to follow the clues in an ancient book of dragon lore and risk being seen as traitors to their own people.

And as this all is building up, Kay's worried about what to wear to the school dance, her best (boy) friend, Jon, is become more than a friend, and Kay's anxious and uncertain about that (although happy, too), and her best (girl) friend, Tam, is pushing her to go further and faster....

The alternate history is intriguing, with enough detail given about how things ended up this way to be satisfying, while allowing for unexplored mysteries to remain (it's a bit odd, for instance, that all human/dragon communication was cut off so aburptly). This is the first of a series, and although it ends at a good point (in a "the first chapter is over" type way), it also is clear that Kay and Artegal are about to plunge into a new adventure. Will Kay and Jon ever get a chance to actually go as far as Tam thinks they should??? Is peace possible??? And just who are these dragons, anyway???

Voices of Dragons might well appeal to steampunk fans, with its playful alternate history; it has definite appeal for dragon fans; and, in addition, has enough sort of chick-lit YA to it to (perhaps) reach even those who like their YA romances sans fantasy. It doesn't have tremendous depth of character, nor did it evoke tremendously strong feelings for me, but it was a fast, entertaining, read.

(note on age-appropriateness: it's very YA in the (minor) subplot about having sex (or not), but although there's chatter, nothing actually happens).

Here are some other reviews, at Fantasy Magazine, Steph Su Reads, and Book Crazy. And the first chapter's up at Carrie Vaughn's website, if you want to check it out for yourself....