Wishful Thinking, by Alexandra Bullen, for Timeslip Tuesday

Wishful Thinking, by Alexandra Bullen (Alloy Entertainment, 2011, YA, 243 pages)

The woman who had adopted Hazel died soon after she brought the baby home, leaving Hazel to a miserable and unsettled childhood. But she left a sealed envelope for Hazel to open when she turned eighteen, and inside was the answer to the question Hazel had been asking her whole life --the name of her real mother. A name distinctive enough to be google-able (Rosanna Scott).* And so Hazel decides to drop by a fundraising event hosted by Rosanna Scott, to try to meet her....and for that she needs to get her one fancy dress, a thrift store bargain that had called to her, mended.

When she gets it back from the seamstress, it is a different dress. The seamstress has worked magic (literally) and it is now a dress that will make Hazel's wish come true, with two more dresses, and concomitant wishes, in store as well.

At the fundraiser, Hazel is devastated to learn that Rosanna Scott had recently died. And so her first wish, made with all her heart, is that she could meet her mother....

The next thing she knows, Hazel is on the ferry bound for Martha's Vineyard, 18 years and eight months (give or take) in the past. She's about to meet the woman who will be her mother, she's about to fall in love, and she's about to make friendships that will strengthen her and change her life for ever. When she returns to her own time, not only will she know where she came from, but she'll know where she wants to go (for a start, art school in New York).

As time travel experiences go, Hazel's is the most idyllic I've ever read about. Not only does she meet a Really Cute Boy Who Fancies her within minutes of her arrival, Rosanna Scott immediately offers her a cushy and not un-interesting job, that comes with a place to stay and lots of cast off clothes. Despite the job, there's lots of time to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Martha's Vineyard, hang out at the beach, and eat tasty food. The only thing that stands in the way of Hazel's happiness is her prickly room-mate, who doesn't seem to want to be friends....even the mystery of why Hazel was given up for adoption seems not desperately pressing now that she has been taken to meet her mother and it has all turned out so well.

But the story of her birth is considerably more complicated than Hazel imagines, and it's always tricky to fall in love with someone eighteen years before the time when you belong. Fortunately, Hazel has two more dresses/wishes waiting for her...

So its a pleasantly light, romantic read, with sufficient inclusion of serious subject matter (giving up one's baby for adoption, growing up in foster care, searching for one's place in the world) to keep it from being all sweetness and light. Bullen does a nice job with Hazel's emotions, and makes her a person to care about. It's a companion novel to Bullen's first book, Wish (same dress, same magical seamstress); that book explored the death of a sibling, and packed considerably more emotional punch, but this one is more fun to read, what with the time travel and the mystery....

Here's what I like best about the series--the wonderful daydream of finding a dress that is absolutely perfect for me, not once, but three times; a dress that changes all by itself to give you just the look you need.... (note on cover--Hazel's third dress has "elegant golden flowers" embroidered on it. I think the cover designer's could have tried a bit harder to achieve that).

Here's what I'm wondering--how far back in time can you go before it's clear you are from the future? Hazel never once puts her foot into it by saying anything that dates her; like "Oh, Pluto isn't a planet" or what have you. 18 years isn't all that long ago, but surely there have been some changes in slang, style, and general way of being in the world that might be noticeable? (pause for thought...18 years ago was the tail end of my competitive bridge period, just before the competitive pool playing period....if I could look the same again (sigh), I don't think anyone back then would notice anything different about me if I were to travel back in time. Except that my both my bridge and my pool playing are not what they used to be).

*being nothing if not thorough I tried; the results are somewhat clouded by reviews of the book, but it seems reasonable, given that there are only 14 Rosanna Scotts in the US; 588 people have my name, which irks me.

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

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

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

The Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens, at Dog Ear

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

Kat, Incorrigible, by Stephanie Buris, at BookLust

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

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

Running from Secrets, by Stephanie Void, at My Precious

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

The Thirteen Secrets, by Michelle Harrison, at Ex Libris

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

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

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

Authors and interviews:

Ellen Booraem (Small Persons with Wings) at Cynsations

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

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

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

Other stuff:

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

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

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

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

Johnny Mackintosh--Star Blaze, by Keith Mansfield

Science fiction for the upper middle grade reader (especially the sort that takes place out in space) is thin on the ground these days. Happily, Keith Mansfield is busily filling that gap with Johnny Mackintosh.

Back in December, I reviewed Johnny Mackintosh and the Spirit of London. It tells of the titular character's wild journey both through the galaxy and far back in time, a journey that begins when he's abducted by aliens, and ends with him back on earth, a bit wiser, and with the friendship of the galactic emperor, and his own spaceship (the Spirit of London) only a small shuttle trip away.

This next paragraph is spoilery. Feel free to skip it.

In Star Blaze (Quercus, 2010, 324 pages), Johnny faces a multitude of even more serious problems. A rouge army of aliens is approaching our solar system, planning to make our sun go super nova, and Johnny's long lost brother appears to be in cahoots with them....the emperor's authority is being undermined by power-hungry aliens who want him deposed, but he doesn't seem to be doing anything to stop them....an alien prince and princess, rescued from death in an encounter out in space, prove to have their own agenda...the Galactic Council is convinced Johnny's an enemy spy....and, to make things even worse, the Spirit of London has been hijacked....

End spoilers.

This is one of those books where there is so much going on that the story seems to run forward faster and faster. The plot twists and turns, the details of the setting and character and different alien races build up an ever more elaborate fictional universe...and I was almost (but not quite) overwhelmed, and sometimes (but not terribly so) confused.

I myself tend to like books where people stay put for most of the time (or at least some of the time), and where character is front and central, which can't really be said for this series. And my favorite character is Clara, Johnny's little sister, and she is a bit off to the side in this book, so that was disappointing.

That being said, this series is one to give to the kid who likes his books with plenty of excitement, cool technology (a star ship of one's own...), and intergalactic heroics!

There are plenty of big, unanswered questions about Johnny, Clara, and their brother, not to mention the swirling alien plots that fill their universe. The next book in the series, Johnny Mackintosh and the Battle for Earth, comes out in September.

I put these books comfortably in middle grade--they are classic mg action-packed, wish-fulfillment adventure--but they are long, and meaty, more suited, I think, for fast, confident readers than for the younger part of the middle grade age bracket. I would definitely give these to any fan of P.J. Haarsma's Softwire series, which has much the same frenetic energy to it. (The only other mg space sci fi I can think of, Mike Stellar: Nerves of Steel, by K.A. Holt (which I enjoyed very much) is one I'd recommend to those who require slightly less of the frenetic energy side of things!)

Here are other reviews, at The Book Zone (for boys) and M/C Reviews.

(disclaimer: review copy received from the author)

The Thirteen Clocks, by James Thurber

"Once upon a time, in a gloomy castle on a lonely hill, where there were thirteen clocks that wouldn't go, there lived a cold, aggressive Duke, and his niece, the Princess Saralinda."

So begins The Thirteen Clocks, by James Thurber, a book I loved when I was a child and which I just finished reading, to our great mutual pleasure, to my ten year-old boy. It tells of the brave prince who comes to rescue Saralinda, despite the fact that all others who tried ended up being slit by the Duke from guggle to zatch, and then fed to the geese (he's not a nice Duke at all. "We all have flaws," he said, "and mine is being wicked." page 114).

But this prince has the help of the Golux, a strange little person, child of incompetent magic using parents and uncertain about reality. He knows the story that will save the prince and Saralinda...if the Duke can be tricked into setting a particular impossible task.

To win the princess, the prince must find a thousand jewels in three days, and start the thirteen frozen clocks again. The way is dark, and getting darker, and there is little hope, as the task is, as the Duke had planned, impossible.

But the impossible is achieved, and time begins again...

I do so utterly enjoy Thurber's language. It is funny, and scary, and macabre and delightful, and I wish I could quote the whole book! He makes up words that I love, and his sentences have a swinging cadence that makes it a pleasure to read out loud (although you have to be careful not to hit the many rhyming words in the dialogue too hard). My son laughed at one point till he cried, and our eyes got very big indeed at times...If you haven't read it, do!

The book is generously illustrated, with pictures that are variously scary, funny, and beautiful. At right is Saralinda, who when I was seven or so I thought was the most beautiful princess ever. The picture of the Duke below, however, is more typical.

I can't retype the whole book, but here are some samples:

"The cold Duke was afraid of Now, for Now has warmth and urgency, and Then is dead and buried. Now might bring a certain knight of gay and shinning courage--"But no!" the cold Duke muttered. "The Prince will break himself against a new and awful labor: a place too high to reach, a thing too far to find, a burden too heavy to lift." The Duke was afraid of Now, but he tampered with the clocks to see if they would go, out of a strange perversity, praying that they wouldn't." (page 19)

And:

"A purple ball with gold stars on it came slowly bouncing down the iron stairs and winked and twinkled, like a naked child saluting priests.

"What insolence is this?" the Duke demanded. "What is that thing?"

"A ball," said Hark.

"I know that!" screamed the Duke. "But why? What does its ghastly presence signify?" (page 95)

hee hee.

Warning: I didn't include my seven year old in this reading experience; he is Sensitive, and would probably have been disturbed by the gleeping Todal and the thing without a head, as well as other unpleasantnesses.

The Hunter's Moon, by O.R. Melling

The Hunter's Moon, by O.R. Melling (first published in Ireland in 1993, published in the US in 2006 by Amulet Books, YA, 305 pages)

American Gwen and her Irish cousin Findabhair have been friends all their lives, despite the distance between them, drawn together by their shared fascination with tales of magic and fairies (not the sparkly pink kind, but the other sort). Now that they are both sixteen, Gwen and Findabhair have decided to travel throughout Ireland together, visiting all the old and ancient places, with the hope of finding a bit of magic for themselves...

They do. More than a bit. All it took was a night spent camping inside a burial chamber at the hill of Tara for Findabhair to be lost in fairy land, with Gwen, still in the real world, determined to get her back. So Gwen sets off on a wild journey across a truly magical Ireland, facing fairy trickery and deadly dangers at every turn. It soon becomes apparent that there is much more at stake then Findabhair's life, and the story becomes more and more epic as it rushes toward the sacrifice that takes place at the time of the Hunter's Moon....

It's a very wish-fullfilly book. Gwen, a plump girl who dreams of Middle Earth finds herself in the starring role of an epic of her own, and finds love (just about at first sight) with an extraordinarily desirable boy who happens to be the heir of ancient kings. Her cousin manages to win the heart of the Fairy King himself, in just a few short days. So it stretched my credulity more than just a tad, in that regard.

But if you can suspend your disbelief, it's a good story. There are entertaining magical adventures galore, and Gwen is a character to whom many girls will doubtless relate strongly (Findabhair, offstage with the fairies for most of the book, doesn't get a chance to become as real). And as an added bonus, the reader gets a nice introduction to the geography of Ireland...

In short, pretty much perfect for the 12 to 13 year old girl, but perhaps not a book grown-ups will love as much! That being said, I'm pretty sure I'll be looking for the next book in the series (The Summer King)-although it's not a direct squeal, it sounds good (that link, incidently, leads to the Green Man review of the first two books)...and perhaps even continue onward up to The Light-Bearer's Daughter and The Book of Dreams. The Book of Dreams is the most recent of the series, published in the US in 2010, and it was the reviews of this book that led me to go back and find book one!

What to do with used padded mailing envelopes

If you get books in the mail on a regular basis, you, like me, might have a build-up of used padded envelopes. I will not throw them away...but what to do with them (I get more books then I send, and they build up fast)

At last, I have an answer--my local public library system wants them very, very badly indeed! They use them to send interlibrary loans of dvds and cds. I happened to be hanging out in the library the other night (as is my wont), watching the librarian making do with scraps of very old packing material....this evening, I brought her a whole armful of the envelopes, and she was thrilled!

So do check your local library! If they aren't needed there, save them up until you have a few box fulls, and offer them on Craig's List or Freecycle. This is what I've been doing until now.

(My next gift to the library is going to be organic apple twigs, to be offered as gifts to those attending the Care and Keeping of Your Rabbit talk).

Waiting on Wednesday--Circus Galacticus, by Deva Fagan

Here's another book coming out this fall that I'm looking forward to lots, this time from Deva Fagan. Deva's most recent book, The Magical Misadventures of Prunella Bogthistle, was great fun.

Here's the blurb for the new one, Circus Galacticus, coming November 14th:

"Trix can deal with being an orphan charity case at a snotty boarding school. She can hold her own when everyone else tells her not to dream big dreams. She can even fight back against the mysterious stranger in a silver mask who tries to steal the meteorite her parents trusted her to protect.

But her life is about to change forever. The Circus Galacticus has come to town, bringing acts to amaze, delight, and terrify. And now the dazzling but enigmatic young Ringmaster has offered Trix the chance to be a part of it.

Soon Trix discovers an entire universe full of deadly enemies and potential friends, not to mention space leeches, ancient alien artifacts, and exploding chocolate desserts. And she just might unravel the secrets of her own past if she can survive long enough."

I love cover--I hope it's kept!

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

In honor of the women of the Ivory Coast, for International Women's Day

I had a light hearted post in mind for this evening in honor of International Women's Day, which is today....but then I read the news.

Last Thursday, in the Ivory Coast, thousands of women marched peacefully to protest the dictatorship that has clamped down on their country. They were met by the army, and were fired at. Seven women were killed.

From the Associated Press article I read: "The brutal slayings last week occurred when soldiers in armored personnel carriers opened fire on a crowd of female demonstrators who were armed with nothing more than tree branches, symbolizing peace."

Since then, fear of the army has kept the women from marching again, until today. Today, International Women's Day, they took to the streets again, knowing that they would be facing the guns that had fired on them last week.


Four more people were killed.

I am in awe of their bravery, and my heart goes out to them. The photo above is by Thierry Gouegnon, for Reuters. Here's the full AP article, and here the story that ran in the Guardian.

And my thoughts and hopes are also with the women of Egypt, whose recent protest for equal rights met with vicious heckling (here's that article).

It is a scary world.

Another Whole Nother Story, by Dr. Cuthbert Soup, for Timeslip Tuesday

Today's Timeslip Tuesday book is a wild and wacky ride back to 1668--Another Whole Nother Story, by Dr. Cuthbert Soup (Bloomsbury, Dec. 2010, middle grade, 304 pages). Warning--this is the second book of a series, and this review contains spoilers for book one, a Whole Nother Story.

In that book, Dr. Soup introduced readers to the Cheeseman family, consisting of three "smart, polite, and relatively odor-free children" (two boys and one girl), a psychic, hairless dog named Pinky, and their father, a brilliant inventor who is putting the finishing touches on a time machine. He's building the time machine so that he can go back and save his wife from being murdered by evil corporate thugs who wanted to get their hands on the invention.

Along the way, in that first book, the Cheeseman family encountered an odd group of side-show performers, who turn out to be pirates from the 17th century, who made the mistake of pirating a cursed chalice from a castle in Denmark. The curse sent them forward in time, and inflicted a variety of ills on them. But with the help of Mr. Cheeseman's time machine, they hope to return the grail. Since this group of pirates saved the day in book 1, the Cheesemans are happy to make 1668 the time machine's first stop.

They arrive safely, apart from a bit of crash landing that damages the machine. But they are on the wrong side of the ocean, in New England, and so the pirates set out to find a ship, and the Cheesemans set out to find a town and buy what's needed to fix the machine....and things begin to get Interesting. Another scientist has come back to the past to find Dr. Cheeseman, bringing with him the very bad guy who caused the family so much grief in book 1. Wild adventures with witch hunters and pirates ensue before everyone makes it to Denmark...which isn't, of course, where the Cheesemans had wanted to go.

This is a funny book. The author works really hard to make sure that the reader isn't going to take it seriously (lots of short section of humours authorial interjections, lots of farce and over-the-topness), and he succeeds--I didn't laugh out loud, but I was entertained. It's not meant to be an accurate portrayal of the past, and it isn't (which was extremely tricky for me as a reader, because in my real life, 17th century New England is kind of important, and I know a lot about it). I had to swallow very hard when the Cheesemans met a girl named "The Big Little" in the woods, who happened to be half Mowhawk, half English, and a cracking good shot with a bow, and I swallowed hard again when powdered wigs showed up, and I couldn't swallow at all the French witch hunter named Bon Mot (not that the author meant him to be swallowed). In short, I was very, very glad when everyone sailed away from New England and I could just go along for the ride.

This sort of ridiculousness isn't really my cup of tea, but despite that, I did come to care about the fate of this odd family. I think that it's intended audience (kids looking for a fast, funny read, with lots of ridiculous adventure) will appreciate it lots, and will wait anxiously for the third book...

(disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher)

The Bloomswell Diaries, by Louis L. Buitendag (a slightly steampunkish adventure for the young reader)

The Bloomswell Diaries, by Louis L. Buitendag (Kane Miller, 2011, middle grade, 272 pages)

Young Ben Bloomswell is used to his parents going off on business of their own; they always come back. But this time is different. This time, they've taken him from England to stay with his uncle in New York, while his sister is sent to a boarding school in Switzerland, part of his parents' plan to keep them safe.

And this time, his parents might not be coming back for him. A newspaper article claims they're dead. His uncle warns him that his parents have made powerful and ruthless enemies--men who would love to have young Ben as a hostage. But his uncle proves powerless to keep him safe, and disappears under mysterious circumstances.

With evil men who's motives he doesn't understand at all pursuing him, Ben sets off on his own to try to get back to Europe--first to find his sister, and then to find his parents. But to get there, he'll have to escape from the kidnappers who have imprisoned him in an most unpleasant orphanage, become a stowaway on board a ship (carrying very unusual passengers indeed) and face an army of metal automatons....all the while not knowing who to trust, and desperately seeking the answers to his questions about his parents--what have they been doing, to acquire such fearsome enemies, and more importantly, where are they now?

The Bloomswell Diaries is a very nice take indeed on the Child Fleeing from Mysterious Bad Guys story, and I enjoyed it lots. Here's why.

1. The story moves briskly in a series of swoops from one perilous situation to the next, but not so briskly as to be dizzying, and the relatively peaceful ocean voyage in the middle provided a nice break from the swooping. I like things to be brisk, but I also don't want to be overwhelmed--I thought Buitendag's pacing was just right.

2. The writing pleased me lots (my inner editor was beautifully quiet throughout); it was neither too verbose or too terse, and there was a lightness to it that made the reading of it fun. Lots of the explaining is done with very natural sounding dialogue, and although we are privy to some of Ben's thoughts, we are not overwhelmed by the author spelling them out for us in too great detail.

3. Ben is very much an Every Boy--there's not much to his particular character that made him distinct in my mind--but his normalcy worked well here. He's anxious, uncertain, and not gifted with special gifts--smart enough, and sharp enough, to make it through, but not so much so as to be unrealistic.

My one substantial complaint concerns the metal automatons. I have nothing against them, per se, and, in general, like the added interest they can bring. But I think that they need a bit more historical depth and assorted cultural reverberations than Buitendag gives them. The book would have been essentially the same story if they had been flesh and blood...and so I was jolted from my acceptance of the story when they were on stage.

But perhaps in the sequel (surely there will be one, because although one ending is reached, there's lots more that needs to happen), the world building will become clearer and I'll enjoy the story even more!

This Sunday's round-up of middle-grade science fiction and fantasy posts from around the blogs

Good morning! Here's another week's worth of what I found in my blog reading. Please do let me know if I missed your post! And thanks, everyone who has mentioned these roundups over at your own blogs--I appreciate it lots, because the more people who read these the more worthwhile it is.

The Reviews:

The 13 Secrets, by Michelle Harrison, at Beyond Books

Can I Get There by Candlelight? by Jean Slaughter Doty, at Charlotte's Library

The Clockwork Three, by Matthew Kirby, at One Librarian's Book Reviews

Dealing with Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens, at The O.W.L., and here's a gathering of ringing endorsements for it at Random Acts of Reading.

Hazel Wetherby and the Elixer of Love, by Bill Defelis, at Nayu's Reading Corner

The Goblin Brothers Adventures, by Linday Buroker, at MotherLode

Princess Academy, by Shannon Hale, at Bookie Woogie (if you've never visited this blog, do! It's three (sometimes four) kids and their dad, discussing books)

Priscilla the Great, by Sybil Nelson, at Reading Vacation

Robot vs Gorilla in the Desert, by Nikalas Catlow and Time Wesson, at The Book Zone (For Boys)

The Search for WondLa, by Tony DiTerlizzi, at ComaCalm's Corner

The Trouble With Chickens, by Doreen Cronin, at A Patchwork of Books

The Witches' Kitchen, by Allen Williams, at P.S. I Love Books

Young Fredle, by Cynthia Voight, at Eva's Book Addiction

Zoolin Vale and the Chalice of Ringtar, by Craig Smith, at Nayu's Reading Corner

Kristin at Bookworming in the 21st Century has gathered four great "middle grade shorts," all sff.

Kidsread has gathered their February reviews here, including Spirits in the Stars, by Erin Hunter, No Passengers Beyond this Point, by Gennifer Choldenko, Bone: Quest for the Spark, by Jeff Smith, Young Fredle, by Cynthia Voight, Season of Secrets, by Sally Nichols, and The Fiend and the Forge, by Henry H. Neff.

From the Mixed-Up Files (of middle-grade authors) offers a lovely list of fantasy books.

Authors doing stuff:

Katherine Langrish is on tour to celebrate the reissue of her troll books in single volume, entitled West of the Moon. Katherine has been keeping track of all her stops at her own blog, Seven Miles of Steel Thistles (this link goes to the introduction; keep reading her blog for particulars). Enter to win one of four copies at Scribble City Central! (which is a beautifully unselfish link for me to put in, cause I want one myself!)

Barry Deutsch talks about Hereville at The School Library Journal.

At GeekDad, Mark Andrew Smith talks about why Kickstarter may save independent comic books, like his own New Brighton Archaeology series.

Adam Rex (The True Meaning of Smekday) is interviewed at A Foodie Biblophile in Wonderland)

Pat Walsh (The Crowfield Curse) is interviewed, and the book reviewed, at Deranged Book Lovers.

Much excitment:

The Suvudu Cage Match, in which fantasy characters battle to the death, is great fun. This year's line-ups have been announced, and carrying the middle grade (or close enough) flag are... Percy Jackson! Severus Snape! Martin the Warrior! and, since I just read the Hobbit to my seven year old, I'm counting Gollum.

There is no overlap between these books and those featured in another exciting event, School Library Journal's Battle of the Kids Books, whose brackets are also up, and whose judges have been announced. Lots of good mg sff. I've said before that I'm rooting for Bartimaeus (Ring of Solomon), and if he were in the Suvudu Cage Match, I'd root for him there too.

The ABA 2011 Indies Choice books have been announced, and in the E.B. White Read Aloud group for middle readers are several mg sff titles:

Because of Mr. Terupt, by Rob Buyea (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)
The Familiars, by Adam Jay Epstein & Andrew Jacobson (HarperCollins)
Penny Dreadful, by Laurel Snyder, Abigail Halpin (illus.) (Random House Books for Young Readers)
The Sixty-Eight Rooms, by Marianne Malone, Greg Call (illus.) (Random House Books for Young Readers)
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, by Tom Angleberger (Amulet Books)
A Tale Dark and Grimm, by Adam Gidwitz (Dutton Juvenile)

And Kate, aka Book Aunt, has created her own delightfully idiosyncratic Pistachio Awards, giving nods to several mg sff books.

Finally, just in case you wanted to spend more time on the internet reading about books, instead of actually reading books: The Guardian has a new section of their website that's exclusively for children's books.

Thanks for stopping by!

Shapeshifter, by Holly Bennett

The ancient Irish tale of the great hero Finn mac Cumhail tells how he chased a white deer and found the love of his life. For the deer was a woman named Sive, one of the Sidhe, the fairy folk, who had been trapped in the shape of a deer by the dark magic of an evil druid. Inside the shelter of Finn's holding, she is safe, until trickery draws her out again, and once again she must live as a deer; but this time, she has Finn's baby at her side.

And in that story, Finn finds his young son eventually, but never sees Sive again....

Shapeshifter, by Holly Bennett (Orca, 2010, YA, 237 pages) takes the bare bones of Sive's story and makes them come alive. She gives it a beginning--the story of Sive as a young girl, with a magical voice whose songs can persuade anyone who hears them to do whatever she asks. This gift is the reason why the dark druid to wants to possess her...to use her power for his own nefarious purposes.

But Sive has another gift--she can transform herself into a deer, and while she is in that shape, the druid cannot find her or compel her to his will. So for lonely years she lives in exile, until she finds her way to Finn...and human love. As in the original story, it doesn't last, but it is Finn's son, raised by his mother in fleeting human moments snatched from the hateful power of the druid, who will ultimately save her. And so Sive's story gets a bittersweet ending--she is saved from her curse, but will never be able to return to Finn again.

On the one hand, this is a dreamlike, rather lovely, and rather moving story. On the other, it's told with a slight distance to it, that kept me from finding it completely absorbing and convincing. The narrative is primarily from Sive's third-person point of view, with occasional alternate perspectives, also third person, which is fine--I don't mind that. But, in a series of interjections, various characters (primarily Sive) look back on events, and tell in the first person how they felt at the time. I'm not sure it did anything that omniscient third person couldn't have done--it didn't make me feel closer to the characters; in fact, it did the opposite, because of throwing me out of the world of the story.

A similar feeling of distance gradually builds as the story progresses, because of the faster passing of the years. We see Sive's earlier adventures in great detail, but once she's become a deer, time moves rapidly, so her life with Finn, and her life with her son, are not given in great detail. Obviously, there are limits to what the author could include, but it still felt as though the characters were moving away from the reader, back into a distant story.

With regard to shapeshifting, however, Bennett has done a lovely job! Sive's dual life as woman and as deer is beautifully and convincingly explored. Although this is not a book I'd call a must read, I do recommend it to those who like shapeshifting tales and retellings of legends--it has a lovely fairy tale feel to it.

Waiting on Wednesday--Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu

I had the pleasure of meeting Anne Ursu, whose Chronus Chronicle series I like lots, at last fall's kidlit con. She mentioned that her new book was a middle grade fantasy inspired by Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen, at which point I naturally added it to my mental wish list....

Anne just shared on twitter that it now has an official catalogue listing-- "From the acclaimed author of the Cronus Chronicles comes a story of growing up, wrapped in a modern-day fantasy inspired by the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale “The Snow Queen” --as well as an official cover (at left), and title (Breadcrumbs), and publication date (9/27/2011)! It looks lovely.

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

Saraswati's Way, by Monika Schröder

If you are looking for a book to give your 12 year old (ish) boy (especially if he thinks of himself as rather good at math) that will open his eyes to the unhappy reality of life for a kid like himself in the slums of an Indian city, Saraswati's Way, by Monika Schröder (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010, 240 pages), is the book you are looking for!

12-year old Akash has always loved numbers--his daydreams are full of patterns and progressions. But he's learned all the village school master can teach him, and there's no money to pay for more education. His father tells him that the future is in the hands of the gods...but Akash can't help but feel that Saraswati, goddess of knowledge, might not mind him doing his best to help himself.

His hopes are dashed when his father dies, and he's sent to work in a stone quarry--it's essentially slavery, and he'll never earn enough to be free. Unwilling to give up hope, he escapes to New Delhi. There he becomes one of the multitude of slum kids, begging and scrounging for a living. Surrounded by kids whose lives are going horribly wrong, Akash realizes that indeed, the path to knowledge won't just fall into his lap--Saraswati's way requires that he learn patience and wisdom before he can achieve his dreams.

Happily, fate does seem to favour him, and the book ends on a hopeful note.

I had wondered from descriptions I'd read if Saraswati might actually play a role, pushing the book fantasy-wards, but she doesn't. Still, with her rich descriptions of Akash's two Indias, the rural and the urban, Schröder brings to life a world that might well seem unbelievable to an American kid, and this I felt was the greatest strength of the book.

Despite the possibly overwhelming setting, there is a simplicity to Schröder's storytelling that works to keep it accessible to a younger reader. The narrative unfolds along an unhurried, linear-path--harking back to fantasy again, the hero faces trials, overcomes them; faces temptations, and realizes that they would lead him from his path, and eventually receives the goddess' favor (or at any rate, is rewarded for his choices). The older reader might find it not entirely believable...but still will cheer for Akash in his struggle!

On the down side, at times Schröder's dialogue felt somewhat stiff, as though she were using it more to talk to the reader than for the characters to talk to each other. And perhaps because of this, I never quite lost myself to the fictional characters. But I think this is something that might be more an issue with grown up readers than with the intended audience (especially the math-loving boys), who might well find this directness works in the books favor.

Speaking of which--although this is a book that could be read by a ten-year old, and Akash feels like a kid, as opposed to a full-fledged teenager, there are difficult and painful things described--drug use, including kids getting high by sniffing glue, homelessness, and the general struggle of life as a slum kid, and one nasty episode in which an older man tries to lure Akash into his home (it's subtle, though, so it would probably go right over the head of many young readers). On the other hand, the book stays clear of the truly, horribly gut-wrenching--Akesh is very lucky indeed--and so it is not the stuff of nightmares. School Library Journal says grades 5-7, Booklist says grades 4-7, and it's listed on Amazon as Young Adult (which means 12 year and up). I say 6th-8th grade; my own math-loving fifth grader isn't ready for it this year, but next year I'll offer it to him....

Other thoughts at Musings of a Book Addict, Tahleen's Mixed-Up Files, Middle Grade Ninja, and Book Aunt

Disclaimer: my copy of the book was gratefully received from its author.

Can I Get There by Candlelight? by Jean Slaughter Doty, for Timeslip Tuesday

So there I was last week, jammed into the book sorting closet at the library, going through the latest round of discards in preparation for our next book sale, when I met a book I had enjoyed nigh on thirty years ago--Can I Get There by Candlelight? by Jean Slaughter Doty (1980, Macmillan, middle grade, 112 pages). JSD wrote scads of pony books, but in this one she added an element of fantasy to the mix. Remembering that this was a time travel book, I took it home with me....

How many miles to Babylon?
Three score and ten.
Can I get there by Candlelight?
Yes, and back again.

JSD uses this old rhyme as the basis for her story. Candlelight is the name of a pony belonging to a rather lonely girl named Gail, whose family are staying for the summer in an old coachman's house that had once been part of a grand 19th-century estate called Babylon. And it's Candlelight, the pony, who takes Gail back into the past, when Babylon was still a home (get it? "Can I get there by Candlelight?")

Gail and Candlelight (aka "Candy") discover an old path through the woods, that leads to the beautiful gardens, and there they meet a lonely girl, Hilary, left for the summer in the care of a governess while her parents are abroad. Gail gradually picks up on the subtle clues (sarcasm alert--they are screamingly obvious) that every time she visits Hilary she travels back in time, but being more interested in horses than history, she's content to spend her summer learning to ride side-saddle, and doesn't want to bother about the strange and magical experience that is happening to her.

But when, at the end of the summer, Hilary takes off with Candy, leaving Gail stranded on foot in the past, Gail is forced to confront the fact that time travel can be a scary thing....(this exciting bit only lasts seven pages, which is too bad).

It's a book that I think would please the pony aficionado more than the true lover of time travel, mainly because that's where the interests of the two main characters lie. Hilary seems either utterly oblivious to fact that Gail is from another time or determined not to question it (she notices that Gail is wearing "cowboy" pants, but that's about it). Gail has the advantage of having found Hilary's riding gear old and moldering in the loft above Candy's stable, and knows that in her real life Babylon crumbled into ruin years ago, but she too is determined not to let any strangeness disturb her friendship with Hilary.

I do think that it would seem lovely and enchanting to the imaginative girl who loves horses...so if you have such a girl reader in your life, you might well do worse than to offer her this book (there are lots of reviews on Goodreads and Amazon corroborating this). But it all ends up a bit disappointing to me as an adult reader--it's a neat premise, and a nice description of two pony loving girls and their beautiful pony being happy together, but it's not one I think I will ever need to re-read again.

Especially since I am really annoyed that JSD never tells us what happens to Hilary. Spoiler Alert--the last we see of her, she's lying, possibly dead, next to the wreckage of the pony cart in which she had galloped off with Candy into the night. How hard would it have been for Gail to have found out the end of her friend's story?

New releases of sci fi/fantasy for kids and teens--the first half of March 2011 edition

Here are the new releases of sci fi and fanasy for kids and teens from the first half of March! My information comes, as always, from Teens Read Too, and the blurbs are from Amazon/Goodreads/the publishers.

Enjoy!

Middle Grade

AURORA: DRAGON ORB by Mark Robson. "In this final installment four dragon riders are on a mission to save their world. Elian and his dawn dragon, Aurora, lead the search for the fourth and final orb. Pursued by night dragons and helped by a World War I airman, the four dragon riders are drawn into a huge aerial battle between all the dragon enclaves. The ultimate fate of dragonkind hangs by a thread. To restore order, a terrible price must be paid."

THE BLOOMSWELL DIARIES by Louis L. Buitendag. "Benjamin Bloomswell is pleased to be staying with his uncle in America while his parents are off on another business trip. It's like a vacation. But when a series of newspaper articles, telephone calls and mysterious disappearances result in his being sent to - and having to escape from - a sinister orphanage and the criminals who run it, he knows he's somehow got to find a way back to Europe. He has to get to his sister's boarding school before anyone else does. And somehow, he has to find his parents, who are also in trouble. But how..."

CLAWS!: GOOSEBUMPS HORRORLAND, HALL OF HORRORS by R.L. Stine "The Hall of Horrors is open. Step into the nightmare! Mickey and Amanda are put in charge of their vacationing neighbors' cat, Bella. All they have to do is make sure she has enough to eat and doesn't destroy the house. Seems simple enough. But Bella escapes from the house and disappears. Mickey thinks she may have been hit by a car but there is no body. Amanda has an idea to replace the cat with a look-alike from the local pet store Cat Heaven. They find a cat that looks exactly like Bella, but the clerk won't sell it to them, so they decide to steal it. Big mistake! These cats are more than they seem to be."

DRAGONWORLD: SECRETS OF THE DRAGON DOMAIN by S. A. Caldwell. "Dragonworld: Secrets of the Dragon Domain is a richly illustrated volume showcasing a comprehensive look at the fantastic mythological world of dragons-- without the danger of being scorched. Ignite the imagination with the painstakingly detailed, gallery-like approach of illustrations that present more than you could ever imagine. The lavish artwork engages readers to look at every corner of the page, which includes dragon profiles, maps, diagrams, and inventive memorabilia. The illustrations are so detailed that little text is required to explain each unique quality of these ornate creatures."

THE FAERIE LOCKET: THE COMPANION NOVEL TO A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO FAERIES by Susan Morris. "When Jadenia finds a locket hidden in a tree, she slips into a world of faeries—and the adventure of a lifetime. The locket opens a door to a magical forest rimed in frost. Jade soon learns that the Winter Queen has escaped her prison and waits at the edge of the feywild, plotting to turn the faeries’ world and everyone in it to ice. The faeries are counting on Jade to help them for it is prophesied that the locket will push back the tide of winter. There’s just one catch. Whoever wears the locket becomes a faerie—forever. Can Jade find a way to stop the Winter Queen and go home again?"

FIRE OVER SWALLOWHAVEN: SUNDERED LANDS by Allan Frewin Jones. "Trundle, Esmeralda and Jack are racing across the skies of the Sundered Lands, in search of the nest of the wondrous phoenix bird. There they will surely find the Crown of Fire, third of the six lost crowns of the ancient Badger Lords. Well, that's the plan, but first they must survive a terrible battle in the skies over the city of Swallowhaven, with Captain Grizzletusk and his pirate fleet.

And if they do live to tell the tale - can they be sure in the end that the extraordinary phoenix will choose to help them?"

GHOSTS OF THE TITANIC by Julie Lawson. "A teenage boy finds himself caught up in a century-old mystery aboard the Titanic! Kevin and his family are enroute to Halifax to check out a house they have mysteriously inherited from a man named Angus Seaton -- mysterious because none of them have any clue who he was or why they would be named in his will. While at the house, Kevin does his own investigating and discovers some old artifacts hidden behind a wall, including enigmatic photographs dating back to 1911, which show a young woman and her baby. This puzzling discovery leads to troubling dreams for Kevin -- haunting dreams and a voice that plagues him, a voice he cannot escape. Someone -- somewhere -- needs his help. One night he tries to answer the call, and finds himself in another reality, another time, in a flooded corridor... ...aboard the ship Titanic. In this ghostly new mystery by award-winning writer Julie Lawson, the terror, anxiety and reality of the sinking of the Titanic comes to life, as a teenage boy tries to right the wrongs of the past and put some troubled souls to rest."

JIGGY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: JIGGY MCCUE by Michael Lawrence. "What would you do if you were attacked by vampires? Edwardian butcher's son Jiggy Offal-Trype knows what he'd do. Run. But he can't. He has to fight back. Luckily, he has these killer new skills...

A fang-tastically funny new story from a bestselling author."

LOST & FOUND by Shaun Tan. "A collection of three jaw-dropping stories: THE RED TREE, THE LOST THING, and THE RABBITS, by New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Shaun Tan

A girl finds a bright spot in a dark world. A boy leads a strange, lost creature home. And a group of peaceful creatures loses their home to cruel invaders. Three stories, written and illustrated by Shaun Tan, about how we lose and find what matters most to us. Never widely available in the U.S., these tales are presented in their entirety with new artwork and author's notes."

MADELINE THE MERMAID by Anna Fienberg. "Some people tell stories about mermaids and their wild, wicked ways, but Madeline is the friendliest mermaid anyone could meet She lives in a conch shell, and when she sings, a golden light flashes from her tail. Still, not all the creatures under the sea are friendly, and Madeline faces some bad ones in these four tales. Will Madeline be swallowed up by the monster Kraken or be bored to death by the talkative Pufferfish? Can she escape the Sea Harpy with her hair of hissing snakes? Can she prevent a war of magic between the rival Sea Witches—a war that would mean the end for all sea creatures?"

MASTER OF MIRRORS: A MAGIC REPAIR SHOP BOOK by Amanda Marrone. "Maggie has discovered a kobold—a creature similar to a house brownie but with an evil bent. Her grandfather trapped a particular kobold thirty years ago to keep it away from Maggie’s father, but the creature has escaped and is out to punish Maggie's family. Narrowly escaping the creature in her house, Maggie and Hasenpfeffer head to Mr. McGuire’s Magic Repair Shop to repair the spell and end up in a tricky spot thanks to Milo the Magnificent. Milo may still be trapped in the magice mirror, but he's trying to get out, and in the kobold he may have found someone to help him--even if that includes kidnapping Fiona and Mr. McGuire! Can Maggie foil Milo's plans, stop the kobold, rescue her friends, and escape the mirror maze? Or will she be stuck inside forever?"

THE SECRET OF ROVER by Rachel Wildavsky. "The Secret of Rover follows the clever and resourceful twins Katie and David as they race across country in their attempt to outwit an international team of insurgents who hold their parents and baby sister captive in a foreign land. Held hostage because they invented a spy technology called Rover that can locate anyone in the world, Katie and David’s parents are in grave danger. Now, it’s up to Katie and David to rescue them. But first they must find their reclusive uncle, whom they have never met—the only person they know who can help them."

THE TROUBLE WITH CHICKENS: A J.J. TULLY MYSTERY by Doreen Cronin. "J.J. Tully is a former search-and-rescue dog who is trying to enjoy his retirement after years of performing daring missions saving lives. So he’s not terribly impressed when two chicks named Dirt and Sugar (who look like popcorn on legs), along with their chicken mom, show up demanding his help to track down their missing siblings. Driven by the promise of a cheeseburger, J.J. begins to track down clues. Is Vince the Funnel hiding something? Are there dark forces at work—or is J.J. not smelling the evidence that’s right in front of him?"

Young Adult

AFTERLIFE: EVERNIGHT by Claudia Gray. "Destiny awaits Bianca and Lucas . . .Bianca and Lucas have always believed they could endure anything to be together. When a twist of fate not only transforms Bianca into a wraith but also turns Lucas into a vampire—the very creature he spent his life hunting—they are left reeling. Haunted by his powerful need to kill, Lucas can turn to only one place for help . . . Evernight Academy. Bianca is determined to remain with him. But with the vampire leader of Evernight waging a war against wraiths, her former home has become the most dangerous place she could be, despite the new powers her ghostly transformation has given her. A battle between wraiths and vampires looms, and Bianca and Lucas face a terrifying new reality. They've overcome every obstacle life has thrown at them, but is their love strong enough to survive the challenges after life."

AFTERWAR by Gloria Skurzynski. "There’s only one thing more deadly than disease, more destructive than the forces of nature: jealousy. It’s been years since the world was nearly destroyed by natural disasters, but even the biggest earthquake couldn’t shake the evils of mankind. Of course, Corgan and Brigand are not normal human beings. Brigand is the product of a cloning experiment gone wrong and Corgan was conceived and raised in a sterile environment, conditioned to be a hero for the Federation’s virtual wars. They aren’t typical humans, but they are still flesh and blood. And their virtual competition spills over into the real world when the beautiful, rebellious Sharla comes between them. Corgan’s adventure, which began with Devastation, continues as Brigand launches an attack to eliminate his rival. Corgan is about to see that even battles fought with mind controlled avatars can have very high personal stakes."

BETRAYAL: HAUNTING EMMA by Lee Nichols. "Emma Vaile is the most powerful ghostkeeper in centuries. Which is great when she's battling the wraith-master Neos, but terrible when she's flirting with fellow ghostkeeper (and soul mate) Bennett. When ghostkeepers fall in love, the weaker one loses all power, and that's not something Bennett can handle. Heartbroken and alone, Emma tries to lose herself in school with fellow ghostkeeper, Natalie. When a new team of ghostkeepers arrive-one a snarky teen boy, the other a British scholar-Emma finds solace in training for the battle against Neos. But as the team grows stronger, they are threatened by an unknown force. One they thought was good. As chilling and page-turning as Deception, this sequel will grab readers and hold them to the last page. No one is safe from suspicion as Emma closes in on the traitor."

BLOOD & FLOWERS by Penny Blubaugh. "Three years ago, Persia ran away from her drug-addict parents and found a home with the Outlaws, an underground theater troupe. This motley band of mortals and fey, puppeteers and actors, becomes the loving family Persia never had, and soon Persia not only discovers a passion for theater but also falls in love with Nicholas, one of the other Outlaws. Life could not be more perfect. Until an enemy with a grudge makes an unfair accusation against the group and forces them to flee the mortal world and hide in the neighboring realm of Faerie. But in Faerie, all is not flowers and rainbows—with bloodthirsty trolls, a hostile monarchy, and a dangerous code of magic, the fey world is not quite the safe haven the Outlaws had hoped for. And they must decide what’s more important: protecting their right to perform or protecting themselves."

BLUE BLOOD: PULSE by Kailin Gow. "With an early acceptance to Yale, Kalina is set to graduate from Rutherford High School and becoming a Yale Blue student, putting behind all the tragedies of her past. But on a visit to Yale, Kalina makes a discovery that will change her destiny. In this pivotal book to the PULSE Vampire series, Blue Blood, everything you knew about Life's Blood will change as Kalina meets her maker. One of her vampire loves will die, another will be turned, and another will break her heart forever."

THE CHAOS: NUMBERS by Rachel Ward. "The curse of the NUM8ERS continues in Rachel Ward's CHA0T1C, earth-shattering sequel!

Adam has more than inherited his mother's curse: When he looks in someone's eyes, he not only sees the date of their death...he feels the searing, shocking pain of it. Since Jem died, Adam has lived by the sea with his great-grandmother, Val. But when rising tides flood the coast, they return to London. The city is an alien, exciting, frightening place. Most disturbing of all, Adam can't help but clock how many people's numbers are in January 2027; how many are on New Year's Day. What chaos awaits the world? Can he and Sarah stop a catastrophe? Or are they, too, counted among the "twenty-sevens"?"

CLARITY by Kim Harrington. "When you can see things others can't, where do you look for the truth? This paranormal murder mystery will have teens reading on the edge of their seats.

Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It's a gift. And a curse.

When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case--but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother--who has supernatural gifts of his own--becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?"

CYBER TERROR: JORDAN STRYKER by Malcolm Rose. "Bionic agent Jordan Stryker returns with a new mission, new foe and even greater danger. When planes start falling from the sky with no warning and even less explanation, Unit Red has no option but to send out their top recruit - Jordan Stryker, cybernetically-enhanced secret agent - to uncover the truth. In a race against time, Stryker is drawn deep into the hidden world of the Dark Web - the digital catacombs of websites long since abandoned, replaced by newer, better technologies, and unreachable by any search engine. Using these hidden channels, a criminal mastermind is wreaking havoc in the skies using electromagnetic bombs that burn out circuits and render any electronic device unusable, including those in Stryker's implants. Jordan is going to need every ounce of cunning to track down this deadly foe in a mission where his cyber-enhancements are less of an advantage and more of a liability. Fast-paced, action-packed and all too believable, 'Jordan Stryker' is a gripping thriller from the best-selling author of 'Kiss of Death'."

DARK MIRROR by M.J. Putney. "Lady Victoria Mansfield, youngest daughter of the earl and countess of Fairmount, is destined for a charmed life. Soon she will be presented during the London season, where she can choose a mate worthy of her status.

Yet Tory has a shameful secret—a secret so powerful that, if exposed, it could strip her of her position and disgrace her family forever. Tory’s blood is tainted . . . by magic.

When a shocking accident forces Tory to demonstrate her despised skill, the secret she’s fought so hard to hide is revealed for all to see. She is immediately exiled to Lackland Abbey, a reform school for young men and women in her position. There she will learn to suppress her deplorable talents and maybe, if she’s one of the lucky ones, be able to return to society.

But Tory’s life is about to change forever. All that she’s ever known or considered important will be challenged. What lies ahead is only the beginning of a strange and wonderful journey into a world where destiny and magic come together, where true love and friendship find her, and where courage and strength of character are the only things that determine a young girl’s worth."

DEMONGLASS: A HEX HALL NOVEL by Rachel Hawkins. "Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch.

That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.

Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world—the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will destroy her powers.

But once Sophie arrives she makes a shocking discovery. Her new friends? They’re demons too. Meaning someone is raising them in secret with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they’re using Acher to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?"

EVERCROSSED: KISSED BY AN ANGEL by Elizabeth Chandler. "It’s been a year since Ivy’s boyfriend, Tristan, died. They’ve both moved on—Tristan to the other side of the afterlife, and Ivy to sweet, dependable Will. Now Ivy’s heading to Cape Cod, hoping to leave the horror of last summer behind. She wants nothing more than to lie on the beach, sip lemonade, and hang out with her friends. But then a car crash ends Ivy’s life.

As she floats to the beyond, looking down on the life she’s left behind, Tristan breathes life back into her with a passionate kiss. She wakes up in the hospital, surrounded by Will and her family, but all she can think about is the love that she lost. But memories aren’t all that’s come back from the past. And this time, Ivy’s not sure love will be enough to save her."

EXCALIBUR: THE LEGEND OF KING ARTHUR by Tony Lee Arthur Pendragon was raised in obscurity, but fate will not leave him to the shadows. In a moment of desperate need, he draws a legendary sword from its stonebed and commences the life he was born to lead. A series of adventures sparked by the elusive wizard Merlin launches Arthur through love and betrayal, domination and defeat, and toward the prophesied end awaiting him. Merging a faithful retelling with dynamic illustrations, EXCALIBUR invites long-time fans to relive the legend and those new to the story to experience it up close in a vivid graphic adventure.

FALLING UNDER by Gwen Hayes. "Theia Alderson has always led a sheltered life in the small California town of Serendipity Falls. But when a devastatingly handsome boy appears in the halls of her school, Theia knows she's seen Haden before- not around town, but in her dreams.

As the Haden of both the night and the day beckons her closer one moment and pushes her away the next, the only thing Theia knows for sure is that the incredible pull she feels towards him is stronger than her fear.

And when she discovers what Haden truly is, Theia's not sure if she wants to resist him, even if the cost is her soul."

A FLICKERING FIRE by Alexandria Cramer. "Join Fiammetta, a young traveling entertainer, as she embarks on a journey that will change the course of a kingdom. An outcast among her own people, she possesses the power to create and control fire; it is this power that embroils her in the plot of the cruel King Nicholas, who as killed his brother and usurped the throne. Framed for the murder, Fiammetta must buy her family's freedom by accepting the King's quest to find the Gavino Claw. With her cursed companion, Paolo, she must endure an arduous journey that will either bring her face to face with destiny, or end her life."

HUMAN.4 by Mike A. Lancaster. "Kyle Straker volunteered to be hypnotized at the annual community talent show, expecting the same old lame amateur acts. But when he wakes up, his world will never be the same. Televisions and computers no longer work, but a strange language streams across their screens. Everyone’s behaving oddly. It’s as if Kyle doesn’t exit.

Is this nightmare a result of the hypnosis? Will Kyle wake up with a snap of fingers to roars of laughter? Or is this something much more sinister?

Narrated on a set of found cassette tapes at an unspecified point in the future, Human.4 is an absolutely chilling look at technology gone too far."

THE HUNT OF THE UNICORN by Chris Humphreys. "Elayne thinks the old family story that one of her ancestors stepped through a tapestry into a world of mythical beasts makes a great fireside tale. But she lives in the real world. In New York City. And she's outgrown that kind of fantasy.

Until she finds herself in front of a unicorn tapestry at the Cloisters museum and sees her initials woven into the fabric. And hears a unicorn calling to her. And slips and falls—into that other world.

Suddenly the line between fantasy and reality isn't so clear. But the danger is real enough. Almost before she can think, Elayne is attacked by a ferocious beast, rescued by a unicorn, and taken prisoner by a tyrant king. Each of them seems to have an idea about her—that she's a hero, a villain, dinner!

But Elayne has a few ideas of her own. She wants to overthrow the king; she wants to tame the unicorn. She wants to go home! And she's willing to become both hero and villain to do it."

THE LIMPING MAN: THE SALT TRILOGY by Maurice Gee. "In this compelling final volume of The Salt Trilogy, Hana narrowly escapes Blood Burrow after her mother chooses to swallow poison rather than die in the great witch-burning in People's Square. Deep in the forest she meets Ben, son of Lo, and Hawk, who becomes her silent protector and guide. But even in the forest there is no peace. When they learn of the advancing armies that will wipe out all those who have sought refuge in the wilderness, they realize they have no choice but to return to the city and confront the terrible power of the Limping Man head-on. The problem is they know that, unless they discover the secret to his power, none of them—alone or together—is strong enough to fight the evil the Limping Man embodies."

MAY: DAUGHTERS OF THE SEA by Kathryn Lasky. "May feels her life drying up. The sea calls to her, but her parents forbid her from swimming. She longs for books, but her mother finds her passion for learning strange. She yearns for independence, but a persistent suitor, Rudd, wants to tame her spirited ways. Yet after her fifteenth birthday, the urge to break free becomes overpowering and May makes a life-changing discovery. She does not belong on land where girls are meant to be obedient. She is a mermaid-a creature of the sea.

For the first time, May learns what freedom feels like-the thrill of exploring both the vast ocean and the previously forbidden books. She even catches the eye of Hugh, an astronomy student who, unlike the townspeople, finds May anything but strange. But not everyone is pleased with May's transformation. Rudd decides that if can't have May, no one will. He knows how to destroy her happiness and goes to drastic measures to ensure that May loses everything: her freedom and the only boy she's ever loved."

MY SO-CALLED PHANTOM LOVELIFE by Tamsyn Murray. "When fourteen-year-old Skye Thackery meets Owen Wicks, it’s not exactly love at first sight. She’s getting over a broken heart and he’s — well — a ghost. But as Sky gets to know him, she can’t help wondering what it would be like to kiss him. Dating a ghost isn’t easy, and things get worse when Owen declares he’s found a way to stay with Skye forever. His plans make her uneasy — the shadowy organisation which claims to be able to help him is bad news, and it seems Nico, her ex, is involved too. As Owen prepares to risk everything, Skye begins to wonder if she really has a future with him, or if his desire to be more than just a ghost will cost them everything."

PERCIVAL'S ANGEL by Anne Eliot Crompton. "Lili, an apprentice of the Lady of the Lake, is the childhood friend of Percy, the boy who will become one of Arthur's greatest knights. But as they grow older, Lili begins to see their differences. She has otherworldly magic while he has the magic that lives within the Human Heart. Lili dreams of knowing human love while Percy dreams of finding the Holy Grail. Neither can succeed without the other."

SUMMER: BEAUTIFUL DEAD by Eden Maguire. "It's been months since Darina has seen her undead boyfriend and her heart is breaking all over again. The wait is slowly driving her crazy. All she wants to do is be with Phoenix, to feel his arms wrapped around her. But to earn the pleasure of that embrace, Darina must track down the crazed killer that shot Summer Madison. Was it a random shooting? Or was the gifted singer the victim of an obsessive fan? As time runs out, Darina will risk her own life to discover the truth. But if she solves Summer's murder, Darina knows it only brings her one step closer to losing Phoenix forever..."

THE VERSPERTINE by Saundra Mitchell. "It's the summer of 1889, and Amelia van den Broek is new to Baltimore and eager to take in all the pleasures the city has to offer. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset—visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. However, a forbidden romance with Nathaniel, an artist, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own—still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia's world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she's not the seer of dark portents, but the cause."

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

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

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

The Reviews:

The 13 Curses, by Michelle Harrison, at Ex Libris

Bless This Mouse, by Lois Lowry, at GreenBeanTeenQueen

Bone, by Jeff Smith, at Stacked

The Call, by Michael Grant, at books4yourkids

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

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

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

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

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

Foiled, by Jane Yolen, at Great Kid Books

The Giver, by Lois Lowry, at Middle Grade Ninja

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

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

The Last Olympian, by Rick Riordan, at Beyond Books

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

Museum of Thieves, by Lian Tanner, at BSCKids

Reckless, by Cornelia Funke at Book Dragon and books4yourkids

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

Season of Secrets, by Sally Nichols, at book bits

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

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

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

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

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

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

Interviews and Guest Posts

Barry Hutchison (Invisible Fiends) at Bart's Bookshelf

Janice Hardy (The Healing Wars) at Working Writers

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

Lois Lowry at Middle Grade Ninja

Other good stuff:

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

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

EDITED TO ADD: I have a good thing!

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