This Week's Middle Grade Fantasy and Sci Fi Round-up!

Happy Fourth of July weekend! My town had its fireworks on Friday (why?) so all is anti-climax hereabouts, but mg sff rounding up must go on.

Apologies in advance if I missed your review! During the week, I fill my two email accounts with links mailed back and forth between them, and sometimes (most weeks) things fall through the cracks.

Here's what I found in my blog reading this week:

The Reviews

Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity, by Dave Roman, at Back to Books

Bloodline Rising, by Katy Moran, at Just Booking Around (older mg/ya)

The Boy at the End of the World, by Greg van Eekhout, at Becky's Book Reviews

Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu, at Fuse #8

Bubble in the Bathtub, by Jo Nesbo, at the excelsior file

The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens, at Challenging the Bookworm (audio book review)

Fire and Flood, by Emily Diamond, at Eva's Book Addiction

How to Train Your Dragon, by Cressida Cowell, at Giraffe Days

Kat, Incorrigible, by Stephanie Burgis, at One Librarian's Book Reviews

Knightly Academy, by Violet Haberdasher, at Beyond Books

The Owl Keeper, by Christine Brodien-Jones, at Reading Vacation

The Search for WondLa, by Tony DiTerlizzi, at Becky's Book Reviews

Season of Secrets, by Sally Nicholls, at Charlotte's Library

The Secret Spiral, by Gillian Neimark, at There's a Book

Starcrossed, by Elizabeth C. Bunce, at One Librarian's Book Reviews (one of those tricky books balanced between mg and YA...)

Tomorrow Girls: Run for Cover, by Eva Gray, at Rebecca's Book Blog

You'll Like it Here (Everybody Does) by Ruth White, at Eva's Book Addiction

and The Queen Must Die is on Blog Tour --here's a post at My Favorite Books where you can find the stops (I need to get this one!)

Authors and Interviews

Steve Arntson (The Wikkeling) at Candace's Book Blog

Nathan Bransford (Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow) at Cynsations

Cornelia Funke, on "Who Is Jacob Reckless" at Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books, and also at My Favorite Books (where you can find the blog tour schedule--this just came out in the UK)

Other Things of Interest (I hope)

I've put up a page of all my reviews of fairy tale retellings...which I though would give me a sense of Accomplishment, but has mainly served to make me keenly aware of how many of these I've read but haven't reviewed....If you have a favorite that isn't up there, please suggest it!

For us readers of the middle grade--My Favorite Books is dedicating July to "Under 14's Only." (and I've been meaning to mention for ages that at somewhere in the middle you can find (almost every week, except of course this one--typical of the way things work for me) a most excellent round-up of posts of interest to readers and writers of mg).

I've also been meaning to mention that, in response to the WSJ article of YA Darkness, Jennifer over at From the Mixed Up Files of Jennifer Bartman has started The Light and Round Project, gathering reviews of YA books that are not dark and edgy.

And for what its worth, here's my own response to that article about the darkness of current YA: It all started when a mother was looking for a book for her 13 year-old in the YA section. She couldn't find one that wasn't too dark and edgy. So why, for goodness sakes, didn't she mosey on over to the children's section? To heck with the limiting, false restrictions of Age Categorization. Just because someone is 13, or (naming no names) 44 (sigh), doesn't mean they can't find books they want to read in places that are officially not their reading level. And they don't have to be ashamed about it.

For a very insightful discussion of this very point, and other, even better points, here are Greg van Eekhout (The Boy at the End of the World) and Carrie Vaughn (Steel, which is YA, but I plan on reading it even though it might be too dark for me) talking about the mg and YA "genres" at Tor.

There's a new blog in town, The History Girls, covering historical fiction from kids to adults

Here's a chance to show your favorite fictional world some love--nominate it for inclusion in If You Lived Here: The Top 30 All Time Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Worlds. I haven't done it yet, because mine is the world in Patricia McKillip's Riddlemaster trilogy (if you haven't read these books, please do--here's my post on them), and I haven't taken the time to go see it it actually has a name....

New Releases of Fantasy and Science Fiction for kids and teens, the beginning of July, 2011 edition

Here are the new releases of fantasy and sci fi for kids and teens from the beginning of July (three posts this month, instead of the two I've been doing). As usual, my info. comes from Teens Read Too, with the blurbs lifted from Amazon, and as usual, I haven't actually read these, so I can't quite guarantee they are all sci fi/fantasy! (sorry, mg books, for not putting all your covers in, but I ran out of time).

My picks from this lot would be Beasts: The Mystic Files for middle grade, and Shadows on the Moon for YA...But I am Not Buying Any More Books until I read what I have! (I haven't even bought the new Sarah Rees Brennan book....sob).

Middle Grade:

BACK TO THE BLITZ: HISTORY SPIES by Jo Foster "A seasoned history spy, Charlie Cartwright teaches kids how to survive in WWII England—from learning to survive air raids by identifying enemy aircraft to blending in with the locals in speech and dress

It's Liverpool, 1940. The war is raging, and the Department of Historical Accuracy needs a brave and daring History Spy to uncover the truth. Your mission: disguise yourself as an evacuee, make spitfires out of saucepans, and learn to do the jitterbug. Find out how people spoke and what they ate, and become a champion at marbles!"

BEASTS: THE MYSTIC PHYLES by Stephanie Brockway "Abigail Thaddeus is aware of her borderline geek status--which only keeps her secretly yearning for a life of fame and adventure. But as an eighth-grader in the tiny town of Westbrook, tucked away in her grandparents' ramshackle old mansion, her chances for glory are slim. That is, until she discovers a mysterious letter that launches her on an undercover quest to research mythical beasts.

With the help of her best friend, Charley, Abigail unearths little-known facts about mythical creatures, from the familiar unicorn to the bizarre bonnacon. The more she learns, the more she finds that all is not as it may seem. When a threatening letter arrives, the lines between fact and fiction and excitement and danger begin to cross. Pop, her overly-strict grandfather, and Ninny, her nutty grandmother, may both be part of a reality more complicated and mystical than Abigail ever imagined.

Will Abigail pursue top-secret knowledge at all costs or choose a path of safety? Her decision could bring eternal glory . . . or certain doom! In this scrapbook-style journal, Abigail's quest to investigate mythical beasts is full of adventure, mishap, spunky humor, colorful sketches, and historically based research."

THE CAT-ASTROPHE: B MAGICAL by Lexi Connor "B's magical adventures will cast a S-P-E-L-L on middle-grade readers in this funny, fast-paced series!

B's favorite band, the Black Cats, is coming to town, and B and her best friend George have tickets to the show! Meanwhile, the two friends meet a mysterious new girl at school. Trina is shy and secretive ... could she be a witch, just like B? And maybe even ... a S-T-A-R?"

CROOKEDSTAR'S PROMISE: WARRIORS by Erin Hunter "Two healthy kits have just been born in RiverClan—Oakkit and Stormkit. The whole Clan rejoices, and no cat is more pleased than their mother, who immediately recognizes her kits’ innate skill and bravery.

But when tragedy befalls Stormkit and he is permanently disfigured, his mother renames him Crookedkit and casts him aside.

As the young cat grows in strength, he dreams of becoming Clan leader. Then a mysterious cat appears in his dreams, whispering of prophecies untold and destinies undiscovered. She proclaims that Crookedkit will have all that he desires—but he must pledge his undying loyalty to RiverClan.

No cat could ever have imagined the terror and destruction that would lie in one hastily made, seemingly harmless, promise."

EMMY AND THE RATS IN THE BELFRY by Lynne Jonell "Emmy was not an ordinary girl. She could talk to rodents. She could shrink to the size of a rodent. And just a few weeks ago, she had even become a rodent to defeat her evil former nanny, Miss Barmy.

Emmy’s parents, unaware of their daughter’s other life, ship her off to visit two elderly aunts in Schenectady. Emmy figures her life will be ordinary at last, if rather boring. But she didn't count on her friend Ratty, whose search for his long-lost Ratmom brings him more than he bargained for.

Here is the third book in the acclaimed Emmy series, complete with a flip book feature (bats!)."

EQUINUS THE SPIRIT HORSE: BEAST QUEST, AMULET OF AVANTIA by Adam Blade "Fight the Beasts. Fear the magic!

Equinus the Spirit Horse crashes through the forests of the Forbidden Land, stealing the life force of other creatures. Tom must dodge the Ghost Beast's flying hooves and take the fragment of Amulet that Equinus guards- or Tom's father will remain a ghost forever!!!!"

ESCAPE FROM ZOBADAK by Brad Gallagher "When Uncle Gary mysteriously disappears, all he leaves behind is a mountain of sawdust and a nighstand that his eleven-year-old nephew, Billy, inherits. When Billy is awakened at night by noises from inside the nightstand, he takes a closer look and discovers a hidden panel that opens to an antique maze of wooden corridors. He and his sister Sophie believe that Uncle Gary is hiding somewhere in the nightstand. As Billy, Sophie, and their two friends, Chris and Maggie, begin to explore the ancient hallways they discover far more than they expect. Billy must make a terrifying choice: let the police handle things the conventional way, or escape to the nightstand and try one last time to find Uncle Gary before it's too late."

THE FIVE MASKS OF DR. SCREEM: GOOSEBUMPS HORRORLAND, HALL OF HORRORS
by R.L. Stine "Welcome to the Hall of Horrors, HorrorLand's Hall of Fame for the truly terrifying.

It's Halloween and Monica Anderson is out Trick-or-Treating with her younger brother. They knock on the door of an old, creepy house and are met by a strange woman who pleads for their help. Every year she must battle for the control of five sacred masks with the evil Dr. Screem. These artifacts have the power to manipulate the world around them. Monica doesn't want to help at first but then Screem bursts in and steals the masks. This sets her and her brother off on a Halloween mission that will change their lives forever!"

THE GREAT EXHIBITION MISSION: HISTORY SPIES by Jo Foster "Charlie gives kids all they need to know to travel Victorian London incognito—dapper disguises and the lowdown on Sweeney Todd, telegraphs, and common diseases

It's London, 1851, and Queen Victoria is on the throne—the year of the Great Exhibition. The Department of Historical accuracy need a bold and adventurous History Spy to get the facts. Your mission is to learn how to walk, talk, and dress like a Victorian, and go and explore the streets of London. With Charlie's help, you will find out about the fearsome factories, dinosaur bones, and incredible inventions that made the Victorian age so exciting. "

IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL...FOREVER! by R.L. Stine "On the first day of school, Artie falls out of his bed and hits his head. Hard. He tells his mom he’s dizzy and she says: “You’re just worried about your first day in a new school.”

At breakfast, his little brother, Eddie, splashes syrup in his hair, and there’s no time to wash it. Artie has to go to school with syrup-hair. And then, on the way there, he gets splashed by a puddle that makes him look like he wet his pants. It’s not just the first day of school; it’s the worst day of school.

On the second day of school, Artie falls out of bed and hits his head. Hard. He tells his mom he’s dizzy and she says: “You’re just worried about your first day in a new school.”

Huh? Today is just like the day before. Can Artie find a way to change it, before it’s the first day of school…forever?"

THE ICEGATE OF SPYRE: SUNDERED LANDS by Allan Frewin Jones "Was there ever in the whole of the Sundered Lands an island more extraordinary than Spyre? From the swampy, beast-infested jungles at the bottom to the snowy mountain monastery at the top, the place is full of wonders...and dreadful dangers. It is on the frozen peaks that Trundle, Esmeralda and Jack must search for the fourth lost crown of the Badger Lords of Old: the Crown of Ice. And as if this wasn't trouble enough, they also have to deal with their new companion - a wild and crazy hare by the name of Ishmael March!"


SIDEKICKS by Dan Santat "Look up in the sky! It's a BOLD new graphic novel about SUPERHERO PETS!

Captain Amazing, superhero and savior of Metro City, is getting old. He's out all hours battling arch-villains, catching thieves, and helping little old ladies cross the street. He doesn't even have time for his house full of pets. He needs - a SIDEKICK!

Captain Amazing's four pets agree. But each one of them thinks HE should get the sidekick spot - and a chance for one-on-one time with the Captain. Get ready for sibling rivalry royale as pets with superpowers duke it out for the one thing they all want - a super family."

SPIDERS ON THE CASE: THE DEADLIES by Kathryn Lasky "Can Jo Bell spin a web big enough to catch . . . a criminal? The world's friendliest spiders take center stage in bestselling author Kathryn Lasky's latest book about The Deadlies!

They're sweet and friendly . . . but they just happen to be super toxic. The Deadlies are the world's most misunderstood family of spiders. Kicked out of home after home, all the Deadlies want is to settle down in a cozy web with no exterminators around.

Now they've found the perfect place - the Rare Books room at the Boston Library. The librarian isn't afraid of the Deadlies, and they have lots of lovely books to explore. But their peace is threatened when a thief starts targetting the library. Can the Deadlies spin a web big enough to catch a crook - or is it back on the road once more?"

YOUNG ADULT

20 YEARS LATER by E.J. Newman "LONDON, 2012: It arrives and with that the world is changed into an unending graveyard littered with the bones, wreckage, and memories of a dead past, gone forever.LONDON, 2032: Twenty years later, out of the ashes, a new world begins to rise, a place ruled by both loyalty and fear, and where the quest to be the first to regain lost knowledge is an ongoing battle for power. A place where laws are made and enforced by roving gangs-the Bloomsbury Boys, the Gardners, the Red Lady's Gang-who rule the streets and will do anything to protect their own.THE FOUR: Zane, Titus, Erin, Eve. Living in this new world, they discover that they have abilities never before seen. And little do they know that as they search post-apocalyptic London for Titus' kidnapped sister that they'll uncover the secret of It, and bring about a reckoning with the forces that almost destroyed all of humanity."

CONSPIRACIES: SHADOW GRAIL by Mercedes Lackey & Rosemary Edghill "Spirit and her friends Burke, Loch, Muirin, and Addie have managed to defeat the evil force that has been killing students at Oakhurst Academy for the past forty years—or so they think. When a series of magical attacks disrupts the school, Doctor Ambrosius calls upon alumnus Mark Rider to secure the campus—and start training the students for war. The only student without magic, Spirit doesn’t trust Mark or his methods. She knows that Oakhurst isn’t safe. And if Spirit and her friends want to live long enough to graduate, they have to find out what is really going on—before it’s too late."

ICE SHOCK: THE JOSHUA FILES by M. G. Harris "Though he knows about the secret Mayan prophesy that his father and grandfather were a part of, Josh still hasn't solved the mystery surrounding his father's death. But when Josh learns that a special artifact, the Bracelet of Itzamna, is the key to both that and the mystery of the codex, he must return to the hidden city of Ek Naab. Only this time he must do it alone-because as the stakes rise, Josh can no longer trust even his closest allies.

This second installment of the action-packed Joshua Files series brings readers back to the secret world of the Mayan civilization, where the mysterious 2012 prophecy still threatens the world. Does Josh have what it takes to make it out alive once again?"

LOST VOICES by Sarah Porter "Fourteen-year-old Luce has had a tough life, but she reaches the depths of despair when she is assaulted and left on the cliffs outside of a grim, gray Alaskan fishing village. She expects to die when she tumbles into the icy waves below, but instead undergoes an astonishing transformation and becomes a mermaid. A tribe of mermaids finds Luce and welcomes her in—all of them, like her, lost girls who surrendered their humanity in the darkest moments of their lives. Luce is thrilled with her new life until she discovers the catch: the mermaids feel an uncontrollable desire to drown seafarers, using their enchanted voices to lure ships into the rocks. Luce possesses an extraordinary singing talent, which makes her important to the tribe—she may even have a shot at becoming their queen. However her struggle to retain her humanity puts her at odds with her new friends. Will Luce be pressured into committing mass murder?"

MOMENT OF TRUTH: THE LAWS OF MAGIC by Michael Pryor "Aubrey has a difficult choice to make to save his friends when Albion erupts into war—and it could cost him his life

The war that has been looming for so long finally erupts, sending Albion and the continent into chaos. Aubrey, George, and Caroline are brought into a top-secret espionage unit and sent on a mission to investigate a mysterious magical facility on the Gallia–Holmland border. There they uncover a factory that is about to unleash an unstoppable horror that could win the war within weeks. The only way to save hundreds of thousands of lives could cost Aubrey his friends, his family, his reputation—and even his life."

ORIGINAL SIN: PERSONAL DEMONS by Lisa Desrochers "Luc Cain was born and raised in Hell, but he isn’t feeling as demonic as usual lately—thanks to Frannie Cavanaugh and the unique power she never realized she had. But you can’t desert Hell without consequences, and suddenly Frannie and Luc find themselves targeted by the same demons who used to be Luc’s allies.

Left with few options, Frannie and Luc accept the protection of Heaven and one of its most powerful angels, Gabe. Unfortunately, Luc isn’t the only one affected by Frannie, and it isn’t long before Gabe realizes that being around her is too…tempting. Rather than risk losing his wings, he leaves Frannie and Luc under the protection of her recently-acquired guardian angel.

Which would be fine, but Gabe is barely out the door before an assortment of demons appears—and they’re not leaving without dragging Luc back to Hell with them. Hell won’t give up and Heaven won’t give in. Frannie’s guardian exercises all the power he has to keep them away, but the demons are willing to hurt anyone close to Frannie in order to get what they want. It will take everything she has and then some to stay out of Hell’s grasp.

And not everyone will get out of it alive."

RUN FOR COVER: TOMORROW GIRLS by Eva Gray "In a terrifying future world, four girls must depend on each other if they want to survive.

Now that best friends Louisa, Rosie, Evelyn, and Maddie know the truth -- or at least the danger they're in -- the girls have run away from their "safe" country retreat. But life is riskier than ever, and Rosie still doesn't know who she can trust.

Rosie's survival skills are top-notch. But how well can she keep her own secrets?"

SECRETS OF TAMARIND by Nadia Aguiar "It’s been four years since Maya, Simon, and Penny Nelson left the lost island of Tamarind. For Maya, the island is a nearly forgotten part of her childhood; for Penny, it’s a secret place she can’t remember, but longs to see; and for Simon, it’s an adventure waiting to happen. An evil group called the Red Coral Project is lurking around the Nelson’s home in Bermuda, and the children discover that the project has moved into Tamarind, and are desiccating it to ruin. Only the Nelson’s can save the island.

In Tamarind, there is the mystery of the magical mineral ophalla that Red Coral is greedily mining, their old pirate ship, the Pamela Jane, and the secret of their friend Helix’s parentage. This time, it is up to Simon to put the clues together, and save his sisters from the island and the nefarious Red Coral Project—and defeat Red Coral before the magnificent island is put to ruin.

Nadia Aguiar’s sequel to The Lost Island of Tamarind, crafts a vivid story reminiscent of such classics as Peter Pan, full of adventure, magic, and haunting beauty."

THE SERPENT'S COIL: PROPHECY OF DAYS by Christy Raedeke "After discovering that Uncle Li betrayed her and the Fraternitas Regni Occulti burned down her family’s house, Caity Mac Fireland retreats to a boarding school that allows her to travel around the globe. With the murderous Fraternitas hot on her heels, Caity continues to mobilize the planet’s young people as she attempts to fulfill the Mayan prophecy. Helping—and sometimes hindering— Caity in her quest are her best friend Justine, boyfriend Alex, and new classmate Jules D’Aubigne, an intriguing French boy.

Can Caity end the devastating global reign of the Fraternitas and save the world?"

SHADOWS ON THE MOON by Zoe Marriott "Trained in the magical art of shadow-weaving, sixteen-year-old Suzume is able to recreate herself in any form – a fabulous gift for a girl desperate to escape her past. But who is she really? Is she a girl of noble birth living under the tyranny of her mother’s new husband, Lord Terayama, or a lowly drudge scraping a living in the ashes of Terayama’s kitchens, or Yue, the most beautiful courtesan in the Moonlit Lands? Whatever her true identity, Suzume is destined to capture the heart of a prince – and determined to use his power to destroy Terayama. And nothing will stop her, not even love."

THE SIREN'S CRY: THE OTHERWORLDLIES by Jennifer Anne Kogler "Not just an Otherworldly...an Unusual.

Fern is not like other girls. She has strange and vivid visions and has the ability to teleport—anywhere, anytime. Fern is an Otherworldly, a special kind of vampire that lives in the human world. What's more, Fern is one of the Unusual Eleven, a group of Otherworldlies all born on the same day with extraordinary powers, prophesied to change the fate of Otherworldlies and humans alike.

On a school trip to Washington, DC, Fern has a dramatic vision that reveals another Unusual in grave danger. Now it's up to Fern to put together the pieces of where he is and why he's been taken. Can Fern solve the puzzle and free the boy in time to defeat the darkness that threatens?

In this gripping and fast-paced tale, the world of vampires has never been more compelling."

SIRENSONG: A FAERIEWALKER NOVEL by Jenna Black "When Dana is invited to Faerie to be officially presented at the Seelie Court, it’s no easy decision. After all, everyone knows Titania, the Seelie Queen, wants her dead. But Titania claims not to be the one behind the death threats; and her son, Prince Henry, makes the decision a whole lot easier when he suggests Dana might be arrested for (supposedly) conspiring with her aunt Grace to usurp the Seelie throne. So she and her father better do as they're told…

The journey through Faerie is long – and treacherous. Dana thought it would be a good idea to have friends along, but her sort-of-boyfriend, Ethan, and her bodyguard’s son, Keane, just can’t seem to get along, and Kimber’s crush on Keane isn’t making things any easier. When a violent attack separates Dana from their caravan, the sexy Erlking saves her just in the nick of time… and makes it clear that he hasn’t given up on making her his own.

Arriving at Titania’s beautiful palace should be a relief. But Dana is soon implicated in an assassination attempt against Titania’s granddaughter, and is suddenly a fugitive, forced to leave her father behind as she and her friends flee for their lives. Will she be able to prove her innocence before the forces of the Seelie Court – or, worse, the Erlking – catch up with her? And will she save her father before he pays the ultimate price in her stead?"

THE SPOOK'S BESTIARY: THE LAST APPRENTICE by Joseph Delaney
"How to deal with the dark

1. Conquer your fear.
2. Clear your mind, so that dark magic cannot take hold.
3. Fill your pockets with salt and iron, and always carry a rowan staff with a silver blade.
4. Never forget your silver chain for binding a witch.
5. A spook’s best weapons against the dark are common sense, courage, and the skills and knowledge he learns as an apprentice.

The Spook’s Bestiary is the complete guide to becoming a spook. Learn how to battle the dark, the demons, the witches, and all the things that go bump in the night. Lavishly illustrated and told in the Spook’s own voice, this is a companion to the best-selling Last Apprentice series."

TAKEN: THE QUEST FOR TRUTH by Brock Eastman 'Five Four Three Two One!'
'We re out of here!'

Suit up! Jump into hyper flight with the four Wikk kids! Forced into a high stakes hunt for their missing parents by the sinister Cpt. Vedrik, the siblings' only hope is their parents' Archeos e-journal. Can Tiffany decipher the clues within it? As time runs out, it's all up to Oliver and his Federation training to fly the Phoenix and protect his crew. But twins Mason and Austin endanger the mission when they unexpectedly meet . . . the blue boy!

The Quest for Truth series unfolds as the four Wikk kids are thrust into a desperate race to find the mysterious planet Ursprung and stop the Ãœbel renegades from misusing its long-lost secrets. Ancient cities, treacherous villains, high-tech gadgets, the Phoenix encounter all of these and more on this futuristic, interplanetary adventure!

WHITE CROW by Marcus Sedgwick "Some secrets are better left buried; some secrets are so frightening they might make angels weep and the devil crow.

Thought provoking as well as intensely scary, White Crow unfolds in three voices. There's Rebecca, who has come to a small, seaside village to spend the summer, and there's Ferelith, who offers to show Rebecca the secrets of the town...but at a price. Finally, there's a priest whose descent into darkness illuminates the girls' frightening story. White Crow is as beautifully written as it is horrifically gripping."

Season of Secrets, by Sally Nicholls

Season of Secrets, by Sally Nicholls, (2009 UK, 2011 US--cover shown at left, Scholastic, middle grade, 225 pages).

Molly and her older sister Hannah have been taken in by their grandparents after the death of their mother; their father, depressed and working odd hours, can't look after them. The girls hope that he hasn't abandoned them in this small town in the north of England forever--someday, surely, they can come home. But as the days pass, Hannah gets angrier, pushing against her new life as hard as she can, and one cold rainy night she decides that she and Molly will run away.

That night Molly, alone in the dark, sees the Wild Hunt sweeping after its prey with savage ferocity, and finds the hunted man--bloody from the teeth of the hounds. But when she brings her family back to help him, he is gone, and no-one believes he was real, except for Molly herself. As the seasons change, she will meet him, and the Wild Hunt, again....

The central story is that of a child coping with the death of her mother, but the tension and unhappiness of the day-to-day is broken by Molly's encounters with this strange man, who has stepped into her life from the old, old stories of England. He is part of a struggle that plays out every year, as the seasons change--cold versus warmth, light versus darkness, life versus death. When summer comes again, the broken and bloody stranger comes into his own, and Molly's family begins to come back together too.

Some people have suggested that Molly's stranger is a coping mechanism, a sublimated metaphor for her grief and healing. I like metaphors just as much as, if not more than, the next person, but I see no reason not to believe that Molly has, in fact, really met the Green Man aka the Oak King aka the ancient personification of the force vitale of Summer. Whichever way the reader wants to go with it, this fantasy part of the story adds depth and thought-provoking-ness to the small tight world of Molly's grief.

Although the mix of the realistic and fantastic worked beautifully for me, it might not be to every reader's taste. I can imagine that some of those who like sad family stories might find the fantasy intrusive, and those whose ears prick up at the mention of the Wild Hunt might feel disappointed that there wasn't more to that part of the story (it pretty much stays in the background like a tapestry on the wall, as opposed to actual unicorns or what have you trotting through).

Here's another anxiety I have about recommending this book, that I want to make clear. I loved Molly (not least because she is an avid reader!), and wanted to hug her, and thought she was a beautifully written character, yet she never actually does anything, in either the real part of the book, or the fantasy part. Actually, no-one really Does anything--all are moving forward, but not via brisk and vigorous action (with the possible exception of those whose progression includes a bit of wild hunting....). So I think that this is one for those readers who would, if they had to pick either Character or Plot to be marooned with on a desert island, would go with Character.

That would be me, and I thought it was a lovely book. The writing, the characters, and mix of fantasy and reality, and the mix of sadness and hope make this one of my favorites of 2011.

Here's Sally Nicholls talking about her struggle writing about the unreal at Strictly Writing. Her first book was horribly unbearably all to real (a boy dying of cancer) and never have I cried more over a book than that one. But even though I put it down every two pages to cry (Nicholls should have asked for a kickback from the makers of Kleenex), I kept reading because it was really good...

And here are some other reviews of Season of Secrets, at Fuse #8, Bloggin' 'bout Books, Madigan Reads, and at The Guardian

Akata Witch, by Nnedi Okorafor

Akata Witch, by Nnedi Okorafor (Viking 2011, YA, 349 pages)

Twelve-year-old Sunny was born in America, but when she was nine, her parents moved back to their homeland, Nigeria. Not only is she neither American nor Nigerian, she is also albino, African in her features but with pale skin. In other words, Sunny doesn't fit in.

And she has just seen the end of the world in a candle flame.

When Sunny makes friends with three other kids from the margins of her world of school and home, she finds out just how different she really is, but at the same time, she finds a community. She is one of the Leopard people, whose talents for the deep, rich magic of juju sets them apart from the non-magical Lambs who make up most of the world's population.

Together Sunny and her friends must learn to use their varied magical gifts--because they are about to be pitted against a dark and fearsome enemy, hell-bent on raising a spirit that would bring chaos to the world.

(Sorry for the facile comparison, but I can't help it- Harry Potter in Nigeria).

For the setting, the cultural details, and the shear refreshing difference of an African magic, I recommend it highly. It is utterly fascinating to read about an African system of magic--the way it is taught, the stories behind it, the many details of its particulars that Okorafor includes. Much of the book concerns the four main characters finding their Leopard Person mentors, and learning the ways of their magic, and this sort of thing always appeals to me! I especially enjoyed Okorafor's inclusion of excerpts from Sunny's first rough guide to being a Leopard Person--"Fast Facts for Free Agents." It added a nice touch of wry humour.

On the not so plus side, the final confrontation came on too abruptly and passed too quickly--it was a bit of a let down.

Still, this was an engaging book. I didn't quite fall hard for it--I kept wanting to like this more than I was. Okorafor spends so much writing time on showing details of what is around the characters that there doesn't seem to be much space in the story for them to truly flower in my mind. Sunny is an exception to this--she's the focus of the story, and I did feel that I knew and liked her at the end of the book!

This is a "young adult" book," and I kept waiting for the characters to behave in young adultish ways--for their relationships to be developed, for introspection, for emotional tension. But although the characters uses YA language "what a bitch" "I don't need my ass kissed" and "damn," it didn't quite move into the emotional territory of teenage life.

In short, it's a fast and refreshing read, and if you're looking for new imaginative territory in the genre of kids discovering their magical abilities, this would be a book to try.

Other reviews can be found at What Kate Reads, Blogging for a Good Book, Color Online, and The HappyNappyBookseller

Ruby Red, by Kerstin Gier, for Timeslip Tuesday

Ruby Red, by Kerstin Gier (Henry Holt 2011, YA, 336 pages)

16-year-old Gwyneth lives with her mother and siblings on the top floor of the family's ancestral home in London. Living beneath them in grand style are her grandmother, her aunt, and her polished and beautiful cousin Charlotte, the special one, the one the family assumes has inherited the family ability to travel through time.

But it is ordinary Gwyneth who finds herself time-travelling, and who finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy stretching back centuries--a secretive organization of Guardians wants Gwyneth to fill a crucial role in their machinations. Plunged into mysteries, caught between two different factions among her time-travelling kin, and accompanied in her time-travelling by the insufferable (but very handsome) Gideon, Gwyneth must decide (with too little information to make it easy) just whom she can trust.

This is great fun! The twists and complexities of the plot make for fast reading--along with Gwyneth, the reader has little clue at times what's happening in the larger scheme of things, but things roll along nicely before too much doubt creeps in (sometimes I have doubts when reading about centuries-old mysterious cabals of mystic-ness, but not here; at least not until I closed the book). And in large part this momentum comes from Gwyneth. She's a great narrator--matter-of-fact, observant, and entertaining.

Those who read time travel stories for the excitement of exploring the past won't find that emphasized here. Time-travel, in Gwyneth's world, is controlled by a device operated by the mysterious society. Her first few solo timeslips are the classic "gah I'm in the past and totally unprepared and what the heck do I do experiences," but once her family finds out what's happening, the Guardians determine the location and time period of her travels (giving the wardrobe folks the opportunity to prepare suitable clothes). It also helps make time travel less awkward for her that she's mainly meeting her own family, or members of the organization--no pesky explanations needed!

Anyway. Like I said, it's great fun, it's fast, and and it will (probably) leave you wanting the sequel (it had something of the same feel to it as, for instance Paranormalcy, by Kiersten White). It may also leave you annoyed with the sexist pig Guardians and doubtful about the way Gideon's eyes are described (I am tired of boys with exceptionally lovely eyes).

Ruby Red was written in German (that's what I thought was the German cover at right, but it's actually the Norwegian one...). The translator, Anthea Bell, is the same one who did such a good job with Inkheart (she's also the translator of Asterix--here's an interview with her in which she talks about that).

I don't know if I would have picked up on it if I hadn't known the author was German, but Gwyneth reminded me strongly of a German girl who was my best friend years ago, more than she reminds me of my English friends and relations. Did anyone else feel the same thing?

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

Welcome to today's round-up of the blog posts I found over the past week about middle grade (ages 9-12, give or take) science fiction and fantasy books! Please let me know if I missed your post, and please feel free to email me links any time during the week!

The Reviews:

13 Treasures, by Michelle Harrison, at Random Musings of a Biliophile

Attack of the Ninja Frogs (Dragonbreath) by Ursula Vernon, at Library Chicken

The Boy at the End of the World, by Greg van Eekhout, at The Book Smugglers (you can read the first two chapter for yourself at Tor).

City of Ice, by Laurence Yep, at Charlotte's Library

Double Spell, by Janet Lunn, at Charlotte's Library

Entwinned, by Heather Dixon, at Liri Dilectio

The Gift, by James Patterson, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Catherynne Valente, at Charlotte's Library (where I am one of a number of people giving away a copy!)

Haunted Houses, by Robert D. San Souci, at BC Book Talk

Juniper Berry, by M.P. Kozlowsky at Charlotte's Library

No Passengers Beyond this Point, by Gennifer Choldenko, at Middle Grade Mafioso

The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic, by Jennifer Trafton, at Becky's Book Reviews

The Rumplestiltskin Problem, by Vivian Vande Velde, at Becky's Book Reviews.

Savvy and Scumble, by Ingird Law, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

Say Cheese, Medusa, by Kate McMullan, at T.F. Walsh

Sir Gawain the True, by Gerald Morris, at Jean Little Library

A Tale of Two Castles, by Gail Carson Levine, at Page in Training and YA Bibliophile

The Throne of Fire, by Rick Riordan, at Beyond Books

The Time Travellers, by Linda Buckley Archer, at Shannon Whitney Messenger

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin, at Libri Delectio

Wolf Brother, by Michelle Paver, at My Brain on Books

A World Without Heroes, by Brandon Mull, at Taking a Break

Authors and Interviews:

Nathan Bransford (Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow) at Literary Rambles

Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams (The Goddess Girls) at somewhere in the middle

Greg van Eekhout (The Boy at the End of the World) is a Big Idea poster at Whatever

M.L. Welsh (Mistress of the Storm) at Nayu's Reading Corner, and you can enter to win the book at this post on her blog.

Christine and Chrisopher Russel (Warrior Sheep) at Manga Maniac Cafe

Katie Hines (The Guardian) at Lindsay's Ramblings

Other Good Stuff:

Here's J.K. Rowling talking about Pottermore:



And not, strictly speaking, middle grade, but it's interesting to see that Neil Gaimen seems to be seriously contemplating writing a sequel to American Gods (via Galley Cat).

The Locus Awards were announced yesterday; here are the results from the "Young Adult" category:

• WINNER: Ship Breaker, Paolo Bacigalupi (Little, Brown)
• Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
• Enchanted Glass, Diana Wynne Jones (HarperCollins UK; Greenwillow)
• I Shall Wear Midnight, Terry Pratchett (Gollancz; HarperCollins)
• Behemoth, Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse; Simon & Schuster UK)

And finally, this is, more or less, the story of my life this time of year--books and flowers (although there's also family and work of course). From the gallery of Su Blackell:

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Catherynne M. Valente (2011, Feiwel and Friends, middle grade/young adult, 256 pages).

In this lovely fairy tale, a twelve-year old girl named September is whisked off from Omaha, Nebraska to Fairyland by the Green Wind. Accompanied by a most charming Wyverary (child of a library father and a Wyvern mother), September journeys in classic fairyland adventure style from one wondrous encounter to the next (the herd of wild velocipedes, the marvellous baths of the heartbroken soap golem, the land where it is always autumn, and much more).

But as she travels, things get darker. This fairyland is a place where things have gone badly awry under the rule of the Marquess, she of the fabulous hat and seemingly absolute power. The Wyverary's wings, and those of all flying creatures, have been chained, and this is just one of the Marquess' oppressive edicts.

Each choice September makes leads her deeper and deeper into an adventure with Consequences. She is not a Chosen One, but when, toward, the end of the book, she is offered the chance to simply say goodbye to the story she's become part of (a story that's going not well at all), she has to decide if she will choose to stay, to fight for her friends, and for fairyland itself...

This is a lovely book for those who love words, who love pictures made in their minds of wonderful things. Those who crave the toothsome joy of thought-provoking escapism will find themselves well satisfied.

"...September read often, and liked it best when words did not pretend to be simple, but put on their full armor and rode out with colors flying." (page 51) And this makes September, the titular Girl of this story, the ideal reader for her own adventure, for this is what Valente's words do, as she tells a story that is at once as simple as can be, but which has a tremendous sweetness of depth and caring.

On the other hand, those who find intrusive narrators vexing might well be a bit put-off, because such intrusions do happen here, and they do underline the fact that one is Reading a Story. This makes the experience one of engaged consciousness, as opposed to one of unbroken readerly immersion (does that make sense?). I didn't have a problem with it here, although with other books I've found it annoying.

The Girl Who... is evocative (as others have pointed out) of other classic journeys in fairyland (Alice, The Phantom Tollbooth, The Wizard of Oz); I think it might be closest in feel to The Neverending Story (but I like this one lots more--it has much more zest). It is being marketed as YA, but for no particular reason that I can think of, other than that Valente is known for her adult books, and those readers might balk at being asked to read a children's book.

There are illustrations at the start of each chapter by Ana Juan, but I think they are scary. I don't like oversized heads. You can look at the art in more detail via Macmillan, where there's lots of bonus material.


And finally, here's a particular small thing I appreciated: September's mother (who works in a WW II airplane factory, while her father is fighting in Europe) is very much present in her daughter's thoughts (not excessively, but enough to make her part of September's story). Even though we don't meet her till the very end, she became very dear to me--I can't find the exact quote, but there's one brief mention of the very brave and cheerful face she puts on to friends and neighbors, so brave, despite how tired she is, that they do not offer casseroles. I find this immensely piquant.

Thanks to the publishers and to Zeitghost Media, I have the opportunity to give away a copy of this book-- please leave a comment by noon EST on June 30 (North America only). Do enter to win (here and at all the other blogs giving it away this week) --it is really a lovely book.

It is also the only book to win the Andre Norton Award (the young readers version of the Nebula) before it was published--Valente wrote it first as an on-line book, which was then picked up by its current publisher.

For fans of Daddy-Long-Legs--her two Patty books are free for Kindle readers

A public service announcement for kindle users:

Just Patty, and When Patty Went to College, two lovely school stories by Jean Webster (author of Daddy-Long-Legs) are currently available in free ebook editions for kindle users. These are both excellent reading, although not as brilliant as D.L.L. Her Jerry books are also available for free, but these are eminently skip-able.

The Diversify Your Summer Reading Challenge (from the fine folks at Diversity in YA)

Straight from the Diversity in YA website:

"Now that the Diversity Tour is over, Diversity in YA is moving on to our next big DiYA endeavor: the Diversify Your Summer Reading Challenge!

This summer, we’re challenging readers to read books that feature a diverse world, to read beyond their comfort zones, and to just plain dive into some wonderful stories. Our challenge will have two components: one for libraries, one for readers and book bloggers. At the end of the summer we’ll be giving away some wonderful book prizes donated by publishers."

For more details, head on over here.

I already make an effort to read diverse sff (there's a list up at the top of my blog with links to the seventy books I've posted about to date), but I'm thinking that I might challenge myself to do some reading outside my comfort genre...even going so far (gasp) as to read some books for grown-ups...I'll be musing about this further as I quickly read the 151 (give or take 100) books on my tbr pile in the next few days, and quickly write reviews of the books I've read that should be on the list (Silver Phoenix and Fury of the Phoenix, I'm looking at you in particular).

And I'm think also of roping my older boy (turning 11 this summer) into the challenge as well--he is, after all, the reason I started actively looking for diverse middle grade books (and he's been neglecting his own blog of late). And revisiting that post of two years ago, I see (somewhat to my chagrin) that there are marvellous recommendations in the comments that I never (hangs head) followed through on.

Juniper Berry, by M.P. Kozlowsky

Juniper Berry, by M.P. Kozlowsky (Walden Pond Press, 2011, middle grade, 240 pages)

Juniper used to have a happy life, before her parents became famous, before they moved to the splendid isolation of a mansion behind locked gates. And now her parents have no time for Juniper, or even any interest in her...

"Juniper just never thought she would be kept out as well. But indeed, everything was at a distance. The world outside might as well have been the moon or Mars or the event horizon of the blackest of black holes. She had, by now, grown accustomed to her isolation, carrying her binoculars everywhere, spying from afar, searching for what she was missing. There was a telescope on a tripod in her bedroom, a monocular of some age that she always kept tucked away in a convenient pocket, goggles for underwater adventuring, a microscope and magnifying glass for that world even smaller than hers. Discovery and exploration were her salvation; if she couldn’t go out into the world, she could bring the world to her: the stars, the insects, the unsuspecting distance. Everything but her parents." (pp 2-3)

More sinister than just her parents neglect are the strange physical manifestations of wrongness they are exhibiting. When Juniper makes her first friend, a boy named Giles from a neighboring mansion, and learns that the same sort of thing is happening to his parents, she's determined to solve the mystery and set things right.

The two children venture through a doorway in an old and sinister tree, and there they find both terror and temptation. They, like their parents, are offered the dearest wishes of their hearts by the hideous denizen of the tree...but the price is one that no-one can pay...at least, if they want to keep their souls.

This is a story that evokes fairy tales and myths--the descent into the dark other realm, the temptation by the evil being, the dangers of wishes coming true. And it's a gripping story, especially in the first half when the exact nature of what's happening is still a mystery, and the suspense grows most delightfully. It's clear that something is afoot, but it's still very much a lonely child story, and getting to know Juniper in this part of the story was my favorite part of the book!

The actual mechanism through which wishes are granted, and the sinister set-up under the tree, didn't work as well for me-- too much suspension of disbelief was required, a few too many questions left unanswered, and I felt the bad guy talked too much. In short, the whole under-tree world didn't coalesce for me into scarily wondrous evil of great emotional punch.

Still, there is an appealing dreamlike quality to this, not happy day dreams but darker ones, where the fears of childhood come true. And this quality serves the book well, and should win it friends.

Other reviews at The Book Yurt, The First Daughter, The Book Smugglers, and The HappyNappyBookseller

NB: Walden Media is celebrating the release of Juniper Berry with a really nifty writing contest for kids, with a July 1 deadline. Details here.