New releases of fantasy and science fiction for kids and teens--the first half of December, 2011 edition

Here are the new releases of science fiction and fantasy for kids and teenagers from the first half of December. There are a number of bloggers these days who feature the new YA releases, so those are just listed. My information, as ever, comes from Teens Read Too, and the blurbs are all from Amazon this time around.

Elementary/Middle Grade

ARTEMIS THE LOYAL: GODDESS GIRLS by Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams It's time for the annual Olympic Games, and the four goddessgirls are not happy--especially Artemis. Even though she's better at sports than most of the godboys, she can't compete because rules say the Games are boys-only. No fair!

Led by Artemis, Athena, Persphone and Aphrodite, the ladies of Mount Olympus hatch a plan to get Zeus to open up the games to everyone. Will they succeed--or end up watching from the sidelines again?

These classic myths from the Greek pantheon are given a modern twist that contemporary tweens can relate to, from dealing with bullies like Medusa to a first crush on an unlikely boy. Goddess Girls follows four goddesses-in-training - Athena, Persephone, Aphrodite, and Artemis - as they navigate the ins and outs of divine social life at Mount Olympus Academy, where the most priviledged gods and goddesses of the Greek pantheon hone their mythical skills.

BATTLE FOR EARTH: JOHNNY MACKINTOSH by Keith Mansfield People in London are being taken away in unmarked police vans, never to be seen again. While trying to keep up with his school studies and ensuring his football team stays top of the league, it's Johnny's job to safeguard planet Earth. Suspicious of the strange occurrences, Johnny investigates to find that alien enemies are feeding humans to their Queen on a nearby planet. He then discovers a more terrifying secret: the aliens are planning a devastating invasion of Earth. The battle for Earth will take all of Johnny's and his friends' strength and resolve. Can they win, and if they do, what price will they pay to save the world?

THE BATTLE OF RIPTIDE: A SHARK WARS NOVEL by EJ Altbacker Ever since Gray, Barkley, and their friends defeated Goblin, an infamous great white, at Tuna Run, life in the Big Blue has become murkier than ever for this young shiver of sharks. Food is scarce. Enemies lurk in every shadow. And Gray still doesn't know what has become of his family - of his mother, Sandy, and the rest of his Coral Reef shiver. Everywhere they swim, currents seem to whisper of a growing threat . . . of a shark who will stop at nothing until he has seized control of the entire ocean.

Now Gray must train with Takiza Jaelynn Betta vam Delacrest Waveland ka Boom Boom, a wise and mysterious fighting fish who has promised to teach his young apprentice the ways of the ocean and the secret of what it means to be a great warrior. That is, if Gray can learn to believe in himself, find the courage to trust his heart, and grow big enough to fight back!

BEFORE CARD-JITSU - THE NINJA QUEST: CLUB PENGUIN by Tracey West In a time when ninjas were still a myth on Club Penguin, Sensei chose the top penguins to go on a journey with him through the mountains. You have the power to discover the Dojo. This 80-page book features Sensei, one of the most popular characters on Club Penguin, and how he developed the ninja experience.




BESWITCHED by Kate Saunders A magic spell has spun Flora into the past. She's mysteriously swapped lives with a schoolgirl in 1935! No iPod? No cell phone? No hair products? How will she survive?
Now Flora's a new girl at St. Winifred's, where she has to speak French at breakfast, wear hideous baggy bloomers, and sleep in a freezing dormitory.
But lots of adventures in the past are amazing even if they are not forever. How will she find her way back to the 21st century?



THE FUTURE DOOR: NO PLACE LIKE HOLMES by Jason Lethcoe A mystery is afoot at 221 Baker Street, but will Griffin Sharpe be able to figure out the clues before the future catches up with the past?

When Sherlock Holmes moves out of Baker Street, a new tenant moves in-a mysterious woman named Elizabeth who has long been a fan of Holmes. When she discovers that Griffin and his uncle are also detectives, she becomes very friendly. So when Elizabeth goes missing along with a special invention, Griffin sets out to rescue her. But finding Elizabeth will take them on a race against the clock that bends time itself!

A KING'S RANSOM: THE 39 CLUES, CAHILLS VS. VESPERS by Jude Watson Amy and Dan are in a race for their lives . . . and the enemy may be even closer than they think.

When seven members of their family were kidnapped by a sinister organization known as the Vespers, thirteen-year-old Dan Cahill and his older sister, Amy, vowed they'd stop at nothing to bring the hostages home. But then the ransom comes in and the Vespers demand the impossible. Amy and Dan have just days to track down and steal an ancient map. The only catch? No one has seen the map for half a century.

Now Amy and Dan are on a desperate search that will lead them to the Nazis, spies, a mad king and some of history's dirtiest secrets. It's the race of their lives . . . and one misstep will mean certain death for the hostages.

PRIZE PROBLEMS: THE PONY WHISPERER by Janet Rising Being able to talk to ponies isn't all that it's cracked up to be!

Pia never thought anyone actually one magazine contests. So when her friend Beans wins a riding vacation for two, she's totally excited to go with her. A whole wonderful week riding new ponies and making fabulous new friends. But when things start to go missing around the ranch, Pia turns to the ponies to see what they have to say-and is shocked at what she hears!

Can Pia and her new pony pals solve the mystery before their vacation gallops to an end?

STORM WARNING: DOG WHISPERER by Nicholas Edwards Emily and her dog, Zack, have a special bond. But it’s more than that—they can read each other’s minds. Even more surprising, Zack knows when people are in trouble. Now, Emily and Zack are able to use their powers to save lives, though Emily is endangering hers in the process and making her parents worry. When a hurricane warning is issued, everyone in town starts preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best. What are the odds of a hurricane actually hitting a small town in Maine? Emily and Zack can’t see into the future, so they don’t know what’s going to happen, but if the hurricane does come and the worst does happen, are a girl and her dog enough to save a town from the destructive power of Mother Nature?


Young Adult

CLOCKWORK PRINCE: THE INFERNAL DEVICES by Cassandra Clare
CRY OF THE GHOST WOLF: A FORGOTTEN REALMS NOVEL by Mark Sehestedt
DEADLY LITTLE VOICES: A TOUCH NOVEL by Laurie Faria Stolarz
THE FIRE: WITCH & WIZARD by James Patterson & Jill Dembowski
ILLUMINATED by Erica Orloff
MELODY BURNING by Whitley Strieber
PLANESRUNNER: EVERNESS by Ian McDonald
SHATTERED DREAMS: A MIDNIGHT DRAGONFLY NOVEL by Ellie James
SHATTERED SOULS by Mary Lindsey
SISTERS OF ISIS VOL. 1 by Lynne Ewing
SURRENDER: HAUNTING EMMA by Lee Nichols
TRIPLE RIPPLE: A FABULOUS FAIRYTALE by Brigid Lowry
THE WATCH KEEPER by Reese Haller
WINDFALL: PHANTOM ISLAND by Krissi Dallas
WINGING IT: THE DRAGON DIARIES by Deborah Cooke

"I'm busy reading"

I was tickled just now to see that the most recent google search that led to my blog was someone typing in: "I'm busy reading." I'm the fourth result that comes up.

And it's true--I am busy reading. I have almost finished reading all the books I can get a hold of that have been nominated for the Cybils in my category of middle grade science fiction/fantasy (131 of them), but the problem with having read lots of them starting way back last October means I have to go back and read a number of them again--we are about to enter the difficult Winnowing of the Shortlists period, when the (many) books beloved to various of the seven of us panelists have to be shaken down to seven....

And then there's the small issue of Christmas presents. Not this year's, but the books I got for Christmas last year that I still haven't read. The sadness of this is a Heavy Weight on my spirit; however, since these are books that I'm still looking forward to very much, it's not as bad as it could be....

And then there's the small issue of wanting to use the down stairs bathtub (not salubrious enough to be used for bathing, at this point in our home restoration) for the storage of kindling. At the moment, it's storage for unread books.

And then there's the problem with the round table in the window of the living room, whereon many unread books are (naturally--it's a flat surface) piled. Our Christmas tree goes on that table, and soon the books, like mice in a hay field being mown, must scatter, and find new homes....preferably after being read.

So yes, indeed, I'm busy reading!

The Aviary, by Kathleen O'Dell

The Aviary, by Kathleen O'Dell (Knopf 2011, middle grade, 352 pages), takes place in that best of settings (as far as I'm concerned)--a mysterious old house, full of old treasures...The Glenodoveer mansion was once a happy family home, but now eleven year old Clara is the only child wandering its rooms. She is the daughter of the housekeeper, who keeps a close and loving eye on her, making sure that Clara never over exerts her weak heart, never allowing her to have friends, or go beyond the grounds of the old house. And this being the late 19th century (or possibly the early 20th), social services never comes calling to check on this odd situation....

Old Mrs. Glendoveer has been Clara's friend and teacher, but now she is dying. Her thoughts are fixed on the five birds who have lived in the aviary outside ever since her husband, a famous stage magician, passed away thirty years before--and Clara, though she finds the birds frightening, honors her friend's wishes that the birds be cared for after her death.

These are not just any birds. As Clara is forced to become more familiar with them, she begins to uncover the dark mystery of the Glendoveer family. What happened to the six Glendoveer children, lost many, many years ago? Why does Clara's mother keep her so closely confined to the house? And is it possible that old Mr. Glendoveer's magic was actually....real?

With the help of a new friend, a new girl in town, whom Clara must sneak past her mother to met, the mystery is gradually unravelled...but in solving the mystery, Clara brings new danger both to the Glendoveer house, and to the strange, mysterious birds.

The mystery is fairly straightforward--I guessed all the key points, which is rare for me! But that doesn't mean it wasn't engrossing. Tons of atmosphere, a touch of horror, and the slow realization on Clara's part that magic is at work combine for a great read. The birds are fantastic characters in their own right, and their story is a gripping one, with a twist of magic of a sort I've never encountered before.

Clara's gradually awakening to the fact that she is being kept a virtual prisoner is very nicely done--although she feels compelled to deceive her mother, their loving relationship is not destroyed. Her actions force her mother to become more truthful with her, and in return Clara becomes more honest with her mother (although still keeping secrets!). It would have been easy to make the mother an unsympathetic character, but O'Dell thankfully avoids this.

The Aviary has a classic, old-fashioned feel to it, and I think it will appeal lots to the young reader who has no interest yet in paranormal romance (and to adult readers of children's fantasy like myself!). The reader who finds the cover intriguing will almost certainly enjoy it. My only reservation with the book is nothing to do with the plot, but rather one of mechanics--there are several letters in cursive sprinkled through the story. These might prove stumbling blocks to today's cursively-challenged child (I'm pretty sure my own 11 year old would have a hard time reading a few of them). So this is definitely one to give to the young reader confident enough to tackle a bit of difficult reading, or at least confident enough to pick up the key bits of information and more on!

(read for the Cybils Awards)

Waiting on Wednesday--Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein

I've only read two books by Elizabeth Wein (The Sunbird and The Empty Kingdom), but they impressed me very much with the quality of their writing and the details of their historical setting, and I fully intend to go back and read the other books of her Arthurian/Aksumite series (the first one being The Winter Prince). So when I heard that she has a book forthcoming about World War II, I was most pleased (WW II is one of my favorite settings), and added it to my list forthwith.

It is called Code Name Verity, and comes out in February in the UK, May in the US. Here's the blurb:

"When “Verity” is arrested by the Gestapo, she’s sure she doesn’t stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she’s living a spy’s worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution. They'll get the truth out of her. But it won’t be what they expect.

As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage, failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from a merciless and ruthless enemy?"

It sounds fascinating and harrowing!

Waiting on Wednesdy is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Dark Passage, by M.J. Putney, for Timeslip Tuesday

If it's Tuesday, it's time travel in these parts (mostly). Today's book is a sequel to Dark Mirror, by M.J. Putney, which I reviewed back in August. In that book we met "the Irregulars," a group of young aristocrats from an alternate early 19th-century England in which magical talents are real, but considered an abominable taint in those of noble blood. Such young people are sent to a special institution for the eduction of the tainted...and there, despite the efforts of those in charge to squelch their magic, a group of students has banded together to practice their gifts, and, what is more, to use them to travel through through time to help Britain win World War II!!!!!

In Dark Passage (St. Martin's Griffin, 2011, YA, 320 pages) Troy, Cynthia, Justin and Jack head off again from the 19th century into war-torn France. Their mission--to rescue a scientist whose work Jack's premonitions have indicated will somehow avert a disater. But when Troy et al. arrive in the future, they are faced with an impregnable fortress, heavily guarded. Will their magical powers be enough to free not only one scientist, but all the prisoners held there?

And what will become of the forbidden love between Justin and Troy? Will he have to choose between the dukedom he loves, and stands to inherit, or his beloved? And what of Cynthia, proud and acid-tongued? Will she be able to set aside her bitterness and snobbish mindset, and acknowledge her feelings for Jack?

Romance, time travel, magical abilities, and World War II adventure combine to make this a fun read. I was especially pleased by the parts of the book that involved Cynthia--it's more fun (for me at any rate) to watch a difficult personality changing then it is to watch two people obsessed with their forbidden, passionate love. The adventure was just fine; it moved a nice pace and was plausible enough (allowing for the magic brought to bare on the situation) for it to convince, more or less. It was never all that tense, because it was pretty clear they would all rescue each other, but it gave the characters something to do.

I continued to be bothered by the anachronistic choice of names (Troy and Justin sound so 1980s to me), but it can't be helped, and since I knew I'd be bothered by it, I was able to ignore it. We don't get much sense of WW II France, or England, here, so the time travel falls into the "impetus for adventure" category, rather than the "chance to describe character's reactions to a different time" one.

I preferred the first book, simply because I enjoy learning about things for the first time more than revisiting them, and because I liked the school setting that was more prominently featured there. This is another reason why I liked Cynthia's story line best in Dark Passage- it had a nice thread of unpleasant school-girl becoming reformed character to it, that I, a fan of the British school girl genre, appreciated lots.

The third book, Dark Destiny, comes out next August--I'll most definitely be reading it!

This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and sci fi from around the blogs

Welcome to mg sff roundup post #105 in which I have compiled all the mg sff related things I found in this week's blog reading! This being mg sff roundup #105 means I have been spending my early Sundays in this fashion for over two years, which stuns me more than somewhat. Thank you, bloggers, for writing about mg sff, thank you blog readers for stopping by, and thank you writers and publishers for making it all possible!

You may have noticed that I don't have a logo for these round-ups. I have tried to come up with one, but all my troubled brain offers me is a picture of a rainbow unicorn kitten clinging to the back of a rocket, and I don't think we want that. If anyone feels like taking a stab at creating a single image that embodies all the goodness of mg sff, please do!

Anyway. Please let me know if I missed your link (I've been known to miss my own posts). And (she says shyly) if you like these round-ups, any mention on your own blog would be appreciated!

The Reviews:

The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True, at the excelsior file

Akata Witch, by Nnedi Okorafor, at Slatebreakers and Good Books and Good Wine

The Annotated Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie with notes by Maria Tatar, at The Children's Book-A-Day Almanac

The Apothecary, by Maile Meloy (audiobook review) at The Nocturnal Library

Between Two Ends, by David Ward, at Books Beside My Bed

Bless This Mouse, by Lois Lowry, at Books Beside My Bed

The Cheshire Cheese Cat, by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright, at Literate Lives

The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, by Chris Van Allsburg et al., at books4yourkids

Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, by L. Frank Baum, at Strange and Random Happenstance

Fly Trap, by Frances Hardinge, at Good Books and Good Wine

The Last Musketeer, by Stuart Gibbs, at The Fourth Musketeer

The Freedom Maze, by Delia Sherman, at Book View Cafe

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making, by Catherynne M. Valente, at Book Nut and Random Musings of a Bibliophile

Hades: Lord of the Dead, by George O'Connor, at Madigan Reads

The Hidden Gallery, by Maryrose Wood, at Good Books and Good Wine

The History Keepers: the Storm Begins, by Damian Dibben, at Charlotte's Library

Icefall, by Matthew Kirby, at The Book Smugglers

The Inquisitor's Apprentice, by Chris Moriarty, at Kirkus

Janitors, by Tyler Whitesides, at Geo Librarian

Liesl and Po, by Lauren Oliver, at Waking Brain Cells

Midnight Blue, by Pauline Fisk, at Seven Miles of Steel Thistles

A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness, at Stacked

The Only Ones, by Aaron Starmer, at Parenthetical

Princess of the Wild Swans, by Diane Zahler, at Small Review, continuing at Ruby's Reads

Reckless, by Cornelia Funke, at Library Chicken

A School for Villians, by Ardyth De Bruyn, at Nayu's Reading Corner

The Secret of the Magic Ring, by Karen McQuestion, at Karissa's Reading Review

Secrets at Sea, by Richard Peck, at Jennifer Rumberger

The Shadows (The Books of Elsewhere 1), by Jacqueline West, at Library Mama

Son of Neptune, by Rick Riordan, at Good Books and Good Wine

Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George, at Scattered Pages and LDS Women's Book Review

Wildwood, by Colin Meloy, at Guys Lit Wire

Three Norse fantasies (Troll Blood, Bracelet of Bones (YA), and Runemarks) at Fantastic Reads

Authors and Interviews

Delia Sherman (The Freedom Maze) is this week's Big Idea-er at Whatever

Merrie Haskell (The Princess Curse) at Small Review

Other Good Stuff:

Sherwood Smith on the "zing" of the Harry Potter books at The Book View Cafe

The New York Times Notable Children's Books of 2011 list is not one to delight the fan of fantasy for kids; there are only two "middle grade" books that might count--Secrets at Sea, by Richard Peck, and The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman, by Meg Wolitzer, and in one of these (Duncan Dorfman) the fantastical element is so small a part of the plot that it's being considered for the Cybils Awards as a straight middle grade. However, A Monster Calls (which is as much middle grade as it is anything else) is there in the YA section.

Kirkus was more fantasy friendly; here's what they picked:



















Deb Marshall will be hosting a Middle Grade Readathon January 2-8. More info. here!

And Erica at the Book Cellar is hosting a YA/MG Fantasy Book Challenge--here's the list of 2012 books she's gathered so far, and here's the sign up page.

Mary at Kidlit.com writes about books with animal characters, from the point of view of an agent. Very timely, given that this is the Year of the Middle Grade Mouse.

Boys Read is recommending two fantastic books by the late, much lamented Ben Boos--Swords, and Fantasy: An Artist's Realm

This coming Saturday will find me in Boston, at The Exquisite Conversation The Exquisite Conversation: An Adventure in Creating Books! with Katherine Paterson, MT Anderson, Natalie Babbitt, Susan Cooper, Timothy Basil Ering, Steven Kellogg, Patricia MacLachlan and James Ransome at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium, Dec 3, at 1 p.m. I'll also be attending the wine and cheese event after the presentations, a fundraiser for The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance. It sure would be comforting to know if any of you all are going, and might want to talk to me....

The Beachcomber spoofs the poems of A.A. Milne, for Poetry Friday

So there I was, peacefully reading my little one the poems of A.A. Milne, from When We Were Very Young and Now We are Six, and we were enjoying them very much. Of course I was only reading my favorites, such as "Once upon a time there were three little foxes, who didn't wear stockings and they didn't wear sockses..." (full poem here) and the incomparable "James James Morrison Morrison" (full poem here) and the soon to be seasonably appropriate King John's Christmas (full poem here) and we were having a happy time.

But all innocently happy times (in my family at any rate) end up tarred with the brush of cynical wit, and this was no exception. My husband pulled out his copy of The Best of Beachcomber, by J.B. Morton, and read us the following (found on page 57 of our 1963 copy):

John Percy
Said to his nursy,
Nursy," he said, said he.
"Tell father
I'd much rather
He didn't write books about me."
"Lawkamercy!"
Shouted nursy,
"John Percy," said she,
"If dad stopped it,
If dad dropped it,
We shouldn't have honey for tea!"

And then the even more mood-destroying "Now We Are Sick" (page 60)

"Hush, hush,
Nobody cares!
Christopher Robin
Has
Fallen
Down-
Stairs."

(which of course dear, dear Blogger won't let me format correctly. Grrr.)

These are poems from a volume J.B. Morton was working on, about which he says (on pages 51-52):

"There is a great vogue for what is called the Woogie-Poogie-Boo kind of children's book, and I am doing my best to get one ready. I don't know what it will be called, but I rather fancy Songs Through My Hat, or perhaps When We Were Very Silly. Here is a poem called "Theobald James".

I've got a silk-worm
A teeny-tiny silk-worm;
I call my silk-worm
Theobald James.
But nursie says it's cruel
Nursie says it's wicked
To call a teeny-tiny little
Silk-
Worm
NAMES

I said to my silk-worm
"Oh, Mr Silk-worm,
I'd rather be a silk-worm
Than anything far!"
And nursie says he answered,
Nursie says he shouted,
"You wish you were a silk-worm?
You little
Prig,
You
ARE!"

(once again, no thanks to Blogger viz formatting.)

At any event, I shall continue to enjoy those poems of Milne which I already enjoy. And if you are looking for a book to give to someone who appreciates English humor, you could do worst than The Best of Beachcomber. J.B. Morton wrote a witty column every day for nearly forty years for the Daily Express, and this book is a compilation of the best of his work. Here is how Chapter 1 begins:

"Mr Justice Cocklecarrot began the hearing of a very curious case yesterday. A Mrs Tasker is accused of continually ringing the doorbell of a Mrs Renton, and then, when the door is opened, pushing a dozen red-bearded dwarfs into the hall and leaving them there."

And now I go to work, to rest from the weary toils and vexations of life at home. Have a lovely Friday!

(The Poetry Friday round-up is at my juicy little universe today!)

More to be thankful (????) for

Although I have finished my glazing for the year (196 panes of glass in two years, and more to do when the weather gets warm again), I do not have a sense of peaceful accomplishment.

I am, instead, trying hard to be grateful to the woodpecker who pecked so many holes in part of the house that my husband had to take an entire board off, and, in so doing, found that we have termites (which might explain the woodpecker's interest).

Nothing like destructive pests to make any holiday a merry one.

A (somewhat) bookisly thankful post

I am hoping that I will feel more thankful after a day of hard work has mirculously transformed my home into something in which people can leave pleasantly (or at least made good progress in that regard). It is painfully slow to renovate a house while living in it, when both grown-ups work full time and the children are too young to weild power tools successfully. Set backs (the wrong hardware arriving with the two new storm doors, resulting in said doors decidedly Not helping with gracious living; tension regarding whether or not to polish the old light fixtures in the sunroom; the one remaining chicken deciding it wants to live in the boot room, and sneaking in every chance it gets, with distastful results, etc.) are not being offset by Remarkable Progress. But perhaps today will be the day to change all this, and I can be truly thankful ere the sun sets (which actually, this being winter, doesn't give me a heck of a lot of time).

I am trying very hard to be thankful that I am in no danger of running out of books to read. I hope to be even more thankful about this after the weekend is over, and there are fewer books piled up around the house waiting to be read, and that those books are the ones that make me feel all happly anticipatory (like the toothsome little arc of Sarah Prineas' new book, Winterling that made my day when it arrived at work some time ago. What a great cover!)

Viz the books read last year that made me thankful, the one that stands out most is The Demon's Surrender, by Sarah Rees Brennan, because I didn't have to feel sad for my beloved Alan any more.

And I feel very thankful for Tuesdays at the Castle, by Jessica Day George, not only for filling my mind with castle-ish wonderful-ness, but for reassuring me that my 11 year old, when given the right book, can be just an avid a reader as anyone else.

I'm thankful for the pleasure of having read many other great books this past year, but those are the two that stand out in my mind! (What books are you most thankful for?)

In short, I am somewhat less thankful than I was this time last year. But I am sincerly grateful that I don't have to go to work (and that I have a job), and I can go downstairs and have a second cup of coffee and then, oh joy, glaze the final six panes of glass that need glazing!

Finally, and very importantly, many thanks to all of you who read my blog, and those of you whose blogs give me so much happy reading! I hope you have lovely thank filled days of your own!

Waiting on Wednesday--Runelight, by Joanne Harris

I am somewhat surprised to find that I have never written a review of Runemarks, by Joanne Harris. Here's the crackerjack first line: 'Seven o’clock on a Monday morning, five hundred years after the End of the World, and goblins had been at the cellar again." And young Maddy Smith, marked by the runemark on her palm with magic, is off on a fantastic adventure in which the Norse gods play no small part.

I'll be going back to it for a re-read soon, because I just learned over at Seven Miles of Steel Thistles that its sequel, Runelight, is out in the world! Here's the blurb, from Amazon UK:

"The squabbling Norse gods and goddesses of Runemarks are back! And there's a feisty new heroine on the scene: Maggie, a girl the same age as Maddy but brought up a world apart - literally, in World's End, the focus of the Order in which Maddy was raised. Now the Order is destroyed, Chaos is filling the vacuum left behind... and is breaching the everyday world.

A chilling prophecy from the Oracle. A conflict between two girls. And with just twelve days to stave off the Apocalypse, carnage is about to be unleashed . . ."

I just might have to add it to my Christmas present list.

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

Goodbye, Anne McCaffrey

Anne McCaffrey has died, at the age of 85. I am teary eyed.

Menolly and the Harper Crafthall played a huge role in shaping my young mind, and to this day, whenever I sing I remember this bit from Dragonsinger:

"She had a brief notion of showing him that he wasn't the only one who cold fill the hall with resounding tones, but some fragment of advice from Petiron came to mind, and she concentrated on singing intensely, rather than loudly."

And whenever my sister and I play our four hand piano duets, almost inevitably one of us will invoke Menolly, who doubtless never forgot to check the key signature...unlike some of us.

When Anne McCaffery was at her best, as she was with Dragonsinger, she wrote books to treasure for a lifetime, or at least to treasure until they fell apart from constant re-reading....

Sniff.

The History Keepers: The Storm Begins, by Damian Dibben, for Timeslip Tuesday

Back before 2009 (more or less), time travel in children’s books was most often a solitary pursuit, with a single child slipping back (or forward) in time. Occasionally there was more than one time traveling child—a pair of siblings, perhaps, or best friends. And the time to which the children traveled was (generally) far away from their own period.

These days, time travel most often comes in two different forms—those in which protagonists visit/revisit parts of their own lives (recent examples include Alice in Time, A Year Without Autumn, Before I Fall),and those in which time travel is controlled by a mysterious organization, which often is struggling to keep history running as it should (The Missing series, Tomorrow's Guardian, TimeRiders). In these later books, an “ordinary” kid is generally plucked from obscurity and plunged into the thick of things, often finding his life in danger; like the reader, this kid will not quite understand everything that is happening, and must trust the organization/author that it will all work out in the end.

The History Keepers: The Storm Beings, by Damian Dibben (Doubleday, UK, 2011, 456 pages), is the most recent example of this subgenre I’ve read, and perhaps my personal favorite of lot (probably because the time travel involves going back to one period and staying there, allowing the story to be more of an immersive experience than books in which there’s lots of jumping back and forth--a personal preference). But more generally, this is one I highly recommend to fans of action-filled, adventurous, fighting-against-evil stories. It is light (almost bordering on farce in places), and seems a logical next step a reader might take after enjoying the middle grade over-the-top-adventures like We Are Not Eaten by Yaks, or Whales on Stilts. 7th and 8th grade boys in particular should enjoy this one.

It stars an ordinary (despite possessing “brave, intelligent eyes”(page 1), which almost made me put the book down*) English kid, named Jake, who is forcibly dragged into a secret organization of time travelers fleeing England in a great hurry (their reasons for both the kidnapping and the fleeing weren’t stated clearly enough for me to be able to tell you exactly what the point was, but I could easily have missed something). This organization is dedicated to foiling the plots of those who (because of innate, monomaniacal evilness) want to disrupt history.

Happily Jake turns out to be special—he is a natural-born time traveler. Happily the organization that has kidnapped him with inadequate explanation turns out to be the good guys, able to offer tasty snacks and nice wardrobe opportunities, as well as new friends—a brave girl, blessed with brains and beauty, a super-intelligent boy,and a foppishly comical, yet good-hearted and brave, other boy.

Unhappily, Jake’s parents turn out to be missing back in 15th-century Venice. Even more unhappily, the nascent Renaissance is in jeopardy! Unless, of course, the History Keepers can set things right.

So Jake and his new friends head off to save civilization, risking death by both standard weapons and less standard snake-bite (15 foot black mambas)…and all the while Jake is (quite understandably) distracted by thoughts of the beautiful girl (it’s hard to impress someone who knows more than you and is better at most things than you) and his lost parents…

Some things could have been more fully, or at least more clearly, explained, some aspects of the story could have been less cliched, the writing could perhaps have been pruned in places. But despite those complaints, it's a fine entertainment of a swashbuckling sort. In short: if I had a 12 year old boy who liked adventure stories, this is a book I'd seriously consider giving him for Christmas, but I'll be passing my review copy on to the library, instead of giving it a loving place in my home.

For more about the History Keepers series, visit its website.

(Disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher).

If any of you have reviewed a time travel book today, let me know and I'll add a link!

*and which led me to ask my husband if he thought I had "brave, intelligent eyes." He didn't even try to answer the question. I have decided that I would like to have "shy, yet sardonic eyes."

This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and sci fi from around the blogs

Welcome to this week's round-up of what I found in my blog reading of interest to us fans of middle grade science fiction and fantasy! I have a nasty feeling that I got careless this week, and went through my blog reader without extracting all the posts I should have, so do let me know if I missed yours!!!!

The Reviews:

The Adventures of Sir Gawain the True, by Gerald Morris, at The Brain Lair

Bella at Midnight, by Diane Stanley, at Finding the Write Way

The Bloomswell Diaries, by Louis L. Buitendag, at Jean Little Library and Madigen Reads

The Cheshire Cheese Cat at Geo Librarian

The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, by Chris Van Allsburg et al., at Great Kid Books and at Book Nut

Circus Galacticus, by Deva Fagan, at The HappyNappyBookseller and Charlotte's Library

The Crowfield Curse, by Pat Walsh, at Sci Fi Chick

Doc Wilde and the Frogs of Doom, by Tim Byrd, at Library Chicken

Floors, by Patrick Carman, at Literate Lives

Found, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, at The Accidental Novelist

The Freedom Maze, by Della Sherman, at Stella Matutina and at Tor

Galaxy Trotters, by Marie C. Lukic, at Fantasy Book Review

The Game of Sunken Places, by M.T. Anderson, at Mister K. Reads

Janitors, by Tyler Whitesides, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis, at The Fiction Enthusiast

Liesl and Po, by Lauren Oliver, at The Book Smugglers

The Lost Hero, by Rick Riordan, (audio book review) at Good Books and Good Wine

Magical Mischief, by Anna Dale, at Mom Read It

A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness (audio book review) at Good Books and Good Wine

The Princess Curse, by Merrie Haskell, at The Allure of Books

Secrets at Sea, by Richard Peck, at Charlotte's Library

The Shadows (Books of Elsewhere 1) by Jacqueline West, at Muggle-Born.net

The Son of Neptune, by Rick Riordan, at Book Nut

Return To Exile, by E.J. Patten, at Reading Tween

The Roar, by Emma Clayton, at Great Books for Kids and Teens

Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos, by R.L. LaFevers, at Small Review

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

The Unwanteds, by Lisa McMann, at GreenBeanTeenQueen and Geek Girl's Book Blog

We Are Not Eaten by Yaks, by C. Alexander London, at The O.W.L.

Young Fredl, by Cynthia Voight (audio book review) at Good Books and Good Wine

At Strange and Random Happenstance, Miss Eliza looks at the first three Oz books here, here, and here.

There's new blog in town, Time Travel Times Two, focused on time travel stories for kids! Here's this week's post, which looks at Charlotte Sometimes, by Penelope Farmer, and The Switching Well, by Peni R. Griffin

Ms. Yingling also has a two for one post--Double Spell, by Janet Lunn, and Wonkenstein: The Creature From My Closet, by Obert Skye.

Conn Iggulden is best known for The Dangerous Book for Boys, but he also has a great series (perfect for the eight year old set) about the Tollins, tiny beings who are Not fairies. Here's his list of his top ten books about tiny people.

Authors and Interviews:

C. Alexander London (We Dine With Cannibals) is interviewed at From the Mixed Up Files and at The O.W.L., and created a special video which you can see at Watch.Connect.Read

Deva Fagan (Circus Galacticus) at TheHappyNappyBookseller--part one, and part 2

Robin LaFevers (the Theodosia Throckmorton and Nathaniel Fludd series) at Small Review

Karen Cioffi (Walking Through Walls) at Seattlepi

Kat Heckenback (Finding Angel) on magic in Christian fiction, at Decompose

Other Good Stuff:

The Enchanted Inkpot asks--is that science fiction or fantasy?, and Rachel Neumeier (The Floating Islands, which I think is just find for mg readers) ponders the divide between mg and YA (and I now wonder why I put YA in caps, but not mg...)

Deva Fagan talks about the power of diverse science fiction at Diversity in YA Fiction

At Once Upon a Blog I found a dvd that's going on my Christmas present list-Re-enchantment. Here's the blurb: Re-enchantment is an immersive journey into the hidden meanings of fairy tales. Presented as an interactive multi-platform documentary project exploring why fairy stories continue to enchant, entertain, fascinate and horrify contemporary adult audiences.

The Re-enchantment DVD features a series of 10 x 3-minute animated documentaries (interstitials), which explore the themes at work in fairy tales. Each episode offers a rich visual design and presents a new way of thinking about these familiar and much loved stories.

And finally, muppets auditioning for the part of Yoda (found at Tor)

Two misc. things of a book buying nature

Holiday shopping time is upon us! (although some of us started shopping last summer, and now are somewhat anxiously wondering where exactly we hid what we bought....)

If you'd like to by a present for a needy school library, Guys Lit Wire is sponsoring a book drive for the Ballou High School in Washington, D.C. Thanks to the first round of book driving, the library is now up to four books per student--still not enough! And if you want to add a bonus to your shopping for Ballou, I'd love it if you could do it through my Powell's affiliate link--should I ever accumulate enough in that account to actually buy a book, it would be a book for my own little struggling public library. It's a few extra clicks--you have to click on wish list, then find friend's wish list, and then enter guyslitwire@gmail.com, but I'd appreciate it.

And if you are shopping through Amazon, please do so through the Cybils site! There's an Amazon ad in the sidebar that will take you there, and the proceeds are used to purchase the awards given to Cybils winners. The Cybils shortlists, by the way, are full of wonderful gift ideas! I can personally vouch for the middle grade sci fi/fantasy lists, but I've never been disappointed by a shortlisted book from any of the categories.

New releases of fantasy and science fiction for kids and teens--the second half of November, 2011 edition

A short list, but with some nice books....As is the case with all my new release posts, my information comes from the handy lists at Teens Read Too, and the blurbs are from Amazon, Goodreads, and the like.

Middle Grade (ages 9-12)

THE ALWAYS WAR by Margaret Peterson Haddix "For as long as Tessa can remember, her country has been at war. When local golden boy Gideon Thrall is awarded a medal for courage, it’s a rare bright spot for everyone in Tessa’s town—until Gideon refuses the award, claims he was a coward, and runs away. Tessa is bewildered, and can’t help but follow Gideon to find out the truth. But Tessa is in for more than she bargained for. Before she knows it, she has stowed away on a rogue airplane and is headed for enemy territory. But all that pales when she discovers a shocking truth that rocks the foundation of everything she’s ever believed—a truth that will change the world. But is Tessa strong enough to bring it into the light?"

BEYOND THE CODE: WARRIORS, SKYCLAN AND THE STRANGER by Erin Hunter "Leafstar was able to escape from the Twoleg’s home with the help of Billystorm and her Clanmates, but more trouble lies ahead. Sol has joined SkyClan’s ranks and, unbeknownst to Leafstar, may be leading her Clanmates astray. When Sol’s actions bring about a disaster for the Clan, Leafstar must determine whether or not to trust the stranger in her ranks—at the risk of jeopardizing SkyClan’s future."

CIRCUS GALACTICUS by Deva Fagan "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."

FALLING FOR HENRY by Bev Brenna "A 15-year old girl, lonely after the sudden death of her father, finds herself transported back to the days of Henry VIII's teenage years where she inhabits the body of Katherine of Aragon and has to deal with the increasingly fervent attentions of the young prince."

THE FORGOTTEN WARRIOR: WARRIORS, OMEN OF THE STARS by Erin Hunter "The end of the stars draws near. Three must become four to battle the darkness that lasts forever. . . .

With a divided StarClan driving a treacherous rift between the four warrior Clans, the spirits of the Dark Forest are gaining strength. Ivypool’s role as a spy is becoming more dangerous with each passing day. Dovewing is haunted by nightmares about the mountains and finds herself paralyzed by fear of what lies ahead.

Then an outsider appears in ThunderClan’s midst, spreading discord and pushing the Clans further apart. As tensions mount and Clanmates turn against one another, the warrior cats will be forced to choose whose word they can trust—before it’s too late."

THE FREEDOM MAZE by Delia Sherman "Thirteen-year-old Sophie isn't happy about spending summer at her grandmother's old house in the Bayou. But the house has a maze Sophie can't resist exploring once she finds it has a secretive and playful inhabitant. When she makes an impulsive wish, she slips one hundred years into the past, to the year 1860. Once she makes her way, bedraggled and tanned, to what will one day be her grandmother’s house, she is taken for a slave."

VISIONS by Eric Walters "Twin brothers Rob and Mark are helping their scientist mother with her institute's muskox-observing mission. No one can figure out why no muskox can be found - until Rob and Mark get some strange information that leads them to a mysteriously etched human bone and an old Inuit man who seems to have appeared from nowhere to entrance them with eerie folk legends. Then the brothers find themselves suddenly speaking fluent Inuktitut and having nightmare visions..."

Young Adult

DEATH WATCH: THE UNDERTAKEN TRILOGY by Ari Berk "They say the dead should rest in peace. Not all the dead agree. One night, Silas Umber's father Amos doesn't come home from work. Devastated, Silas learns that his father was no mere mortician but an Undertaker, charged with bringing The Peace to the dead trapped in the Shadowlands, the states of limbo binding spirits to earth. With Amos gone, Silas and his mother have no choice but to return to Lichport, the crumbling seaside town where Silas was born, and move in with Amos's brother, Charles.

Even as Silas eagerly explores his father's town and its many abandoned streets and overgrown cemeteries, he grows increasingly wary of his uncle. There is something not quite right going on in Charles Umber's ornate, museum-like house--something, Silas is sure, that is connected to his father's disappearance. When Silas's search leads him to his father's old office, he comes across a powerful artifact: the Death Watch, a four hundred year old Hadean clock that allows the owner to see the dead.

Death Watch in hand, Silas begins to unearth Lichport's secret history--and discovers that he has taken on his father's mantle as Lichport's Undertaker. Now, Silas must embark on a dangerous path into the Shadowlands to embrace his destiny and discover the truth about his father--no matter the cost.

Critically acclaimed folklorist Ari Berk explores the worlds of the living and the dead, and the relationships between parents and children in a novel steeped in lore, mystery and magic."

THE FUTURE OF US by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler "It's 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbors their whole lives. They've been best friends almost as long - at least, up until last November, when Josh did something that changed everything. Things have been weird between them ever since, but when Josh's family gets a free AOL CD in the mail,his mom makes him bring it over so that Emma can install it on her new computer. When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto their Facebook pages. But Facebook hasn't been invented yet. And they're looking at themselves fifteen years in the future.

By refreshing their pages, they learn that making different decisions now will affect the outcome of their lives later. And as they grapple with the ups and downs of what their futures hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right - and wrong - in the present."

IN THE FORESTS OF THE NIGHT: THE GOBLIN WARS by Kersten Hamilton "Teagan, Finn, and Aiden have made it out of Mag Mell alive, but the Dark Man’s forces are hot on their heels. Back in Chicago, Tea’s goblin cousins show up at her school, sure she will come back to Mag Mell, as goblin blood is never passive once awoken. Soon she will belong to Fear Doirich and join them. In the meantime, they are happy to entertain themselves by trying to seduce, kidnap, or kill Tea’s family and friends. Tea knows she doesn’t have much time left, and she refuses to leave Finn or her family to be tortured and killed. A wild Stormrider, born to rule and reign, is growing stronger inside her. But as long as she can hold on, she’s still Teagan Wylltson, who plans to be a veterinarian and who heals the sick and hurting. The disease that’s destroying her—that’s destroying them all—has a name: Fear Doirich. And Teagan Wylltson is not going to let him win."

KISS OF FROST: A MYTHOS ACADEMY NOVEL by Jennifer Estep "At Mythos Academy, teen warriors in the making train to take up their roles protecting humankind. With her snarky, self-deprecating voice and strange gift of psychometry - the ability to know an object's history just by touching it - Gwen Frost is an outsider both to the students of the Academy and the rest of the world. But now that she's taking private tutoring with the Academy's most notorious young Spartan, and has Nike's own sword to protect her, she's ready to make mark..."

LEGEND by Marie Lu "What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets."

LIGHTBRINGER by K.D. McEntire "Wendy has the ability to see souls that have not moved on—but she does not seek them out. They seek her. They yearn for her . . . or what she can do for them. Without Wendy's powers, the Lost, the souls that have died unnaturally young, are doomed to wander in the never forever, and Wendy knows she is the only one who can set them free by sending them into the light.

Each soul costs Wendy, delivering too many souls would be deadly, and yet she is driven to patrol, dropping everyone in her life but her best friend, Eddie—who wants to be more than friends—until she meets Piotr.

Piotr, the first Rider and guardian of the Lost, whose memory of his decades in the never, a world that the living never see, has faded away. With his old-fashioned charms, and haunted kindness, he understands Wendy in ways no one living ever could, yet Wendy is hiding that she can do more than exist in the never. Wendy is falling for a boy who she may have to send into the light.

But there are darker forces looking for the Lost. Trying to regain the youth and power that the Lost possess, the dark ones feed on the Lost and only Wendy and Piotr can save them—but at what cost?"

MANGAMAN by Barry Lyga "East meets West in this innovative and very smart graphic novel by Barry Lyga, illustrated by Colleen Doran. Sci-fi adventure meets love story—and East meets West—in Mangaman, an original
graphic novel for teens.
Ryoko, a manga character from a manga world, falls through the Rip into the “real” world—the western world—and tries to survive as the ultimate outsider at a typical American high school.
When Ryoko falls in love with Marissa Montaigne, the most beautiful girl in the school, his eyes turn to hearts and comic tension tightens as his way of being drawn and expressing himself clashes with this different Western world in which he is stuck in. “Panel-holed” for being different, Ryoko has to figure out how to get back to his manga world, back through the Rip . . . all while he has hearts for eyes for a girl from the wrong kind of comic book.
Barry Lyga writes a metafictive masterpiece as manga meets traditional Western comic book style, while Colleen Doran combines manga techniques and conventions with Western comic book"

OUT OF THE DEPTHS by Cathy MacPhail "In "Out of the Depths", Cathy MacPhail introduces her latest character, Tyler Lawless, who has an unusual and sometimes scary gift. She is able to see dead people. And sometimes they speak to her, asking for her help. When Tyler is sent to a new school because her so called 'storytelling' about seeing dead teachers gets her into too much trouble, she is hoping to make a fresh start. But it is very difficult to make a new start when boys who are supposed to be dead appear in your classroom, and statues in the school seem to move and point towards one part of school in particular - the chapel, where the dead boy, Ben Kincaid, was murdered ...Will Tyler be able to assist Ben with his pleas for help, or will she just be dismissed again as an attention-seeking teller of tall tales?"

THE PLEDGE by Kimberly Derting "In the violent country of Ludania, the language you speak determines what class you are, and there are harsh punishments if you forget your place—looking a member of a higher class in the eye can result in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina (Charlie for short) can understand all languages, a dangerous ability she’s been hiding her whole life. Her only place of release is the drug-filled underground club scene, where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. There, she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy who speaks a language she’s never heard, and her secret is almost exposed. Through a series of violent upheavals, it becomes clear that Charlie herself is the key to forcing out the oppressive power structure of her kingdom…."

SHATTER ME by Tahereh Mafi "The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now."

UNLEASHED: WOLF SPRINGS CHRONICLESby Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie "Katelyn McBride’s life changed in an instant when her mother died. Uprooted from her California home, Katelyn was shipped to the middle of nowhere, Arkansas, to her only living relative, her grandfather. And now she has to start over in Wolf Springs, a tiny village in the Ozark Mountains. Like any small town, Wolf Springs has secrets. But the secrets hidden here are more sinister than Katelyn could ever imagine. It’s a town with a history that reaches back centuries, spans continents, and conceals terrifying truths. And Katelyn McBride is about to change everything."

WHEREVER YOU GO by Heather Davis "A poignant story about making peace with the past and opening your heart to love. Seventeen-year-old Holly Mullen has felt lost and lonely ever since her boyfriend, Rob, died in a tragic accident. But she has no idea that as she goes about her days, Rob’s ghost is watching over her. He isn’t happy when he sees his best friend, Jason, trying to get close to Holly—but as a ghost, he can do nothing to stop it. As their uncertain new relationship progresses, the past comes back to haunt Holly and Jason. Her Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather claims to be communicating with the ghost of Rob. Could the messages he has for Holly be real? And if so, how can the loved ones Rob left behind help his tortured soul make it to the other side?"

Circus Galacticus, by Deva Fagan

It's so awfully nice when you read a fun, imaginative book that offers some of your favorite motifs! This just happened to me with Circus Galacticus, by Deva Fagan (Harcourt Children's Books, 2011, mg/ya, 304 pages), and so here, checkbox style, is why I liked it:

1. Trix, our heroine, is an orphan. We first meet her at an unpleasant boarding school, where a mean girl's taunting ("freak" is a word Trix hears a lot) ends with Trix being booted from the gymnastics team (I like stories with orphans who are outsiders. I'm not sure why).

2. Trix is a romantic at heart, dreaming that the universe holds wonders....dreaming that she will one day leave the mundane behind (like so many of us do, especially when contemplating the chaos of our homes). Happily for Trix, this chance comes when she is taken in by an intergalactic circus! How cool is that?

Sure, the whole "I dream of being special...." becoming "I'm special!" story might seem shopworn, but what I liked about Trix's journey through this process was that she actually isn't all that extraordinary. Sure, she has lots of gymnastics talent, and yes, her hair turned pink overnight, and (most specially) she has a magical artifact of unknown power that her parents left her. But mostly she accomplishes what she does through persistence and loyalty.

3. Trix has to find a place in the circus. She anxiously wonders if she will make friends, and worries about what contribution she can make as a performer. This part of the book reminded me lots of Noel Streatfeild's "shoes" books, which was very nice for me. It also reminded me of another favorite type of book, the New Girl at School, wondering if she will make friends (the answer almost always, as is the case here, being a resounding Yes, which I find very comforting, although there are always trials and tribulations that must be overcome, and I don't like those bits as much).

4. The setting of the story, the circus itself, was simultaneously a new and wondrous place (it has a life of its own, it travels through space bringing magic and wonder to the masses, it can make things for its inhabitants) and comfortably reminiscent of other marvelous edifices (most recently the castle in Jessica Day George's Tuesdays at the Castle).

5. Trix is fifteen, and the young Ringmaster of the Circus is dazzlingly charismatic. The possibility of romance electrifies their encounters. When I realized this was happening, I was at first a bit uncomfortable--I was reading along assuming Trix was 12 or so. But I went back, and saw that I had been told she was fifteen. I wish this had been stated more explicitly--it's told near the beginning in a "nine-years ago when she was six" way, and my mind didn't do the math as I was reading. Once I knew she was fifteen, I could enjoy the sparks between Trix and the Ringmaster, and I hope there's a sequel in which they actually get to be in love with each other for real! He is Haunted as all get out...which I find swoon-worthy.

There a plot to the story too, but I wasn't reading the book for its plot (In case you are wondering, it involves an ancient conflict between Conformity and Creativity, with a somewhat unsatisfying Bad Guy whose role was to mess things up for Trix. This was perhaps the least convincing aspect of the book). As is my usual shiftless wont, I skimmed the exciting Characters Heading Into Real Danger part. To heck with that--I was busily reading the book for the relationships between the characters and the wonderful setting.

I'm happy to have in my mind the lovely image of the Circus Galacticus, sailing onward through the stars, and I want more about Trix and the Ringmaster please!

Here's part one of an interview with Deva Fagan at TheHappyNappyBookseller, and you can read the first chapter here at Deva's website.

Note on age: This is one of those books that teeters between middle grade and YA--perfect for an eleven or twelve year old girl, especially one who hasn't read and fallen for Twilight etc. to the point where she wants the Romance to be capitalized in the books she reads. And even more especially recommended to the girl who, like Trix, feels like an outsider--it's total wish-fulfilment for such a reader!

Note on diversity: Trix's last name is Ling--which opens the possibility that her father is Asian. I didn't see any mention of this in the text (edited to add: I missed it! Deva Fagan commented to let me know that there's one sentence that makes it clear her dad from Taiwan), and here's how she's portrayed in the on-line character gallery. It's nice (and all too rare) to have a character who is not of European ancestry whose non-European-ness isn't a plot point. And Trix's best friend is described as having medium brown skin, as shown in her gallery picture! So Circus Galactics is joining Fagan's earlier book, The Marvelous Misadventures of Prunella Bogthistle, in my list (above) of multicultural sci fi/fantasy.

Disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher.

Secrets at Sea, by Richard Peck

Secrets at Sea, by Richard Peck (Penguin, 2011, middle grade, 256 pages)

Upstairs live the Cranstons--a nouveau riche American family with two unmarried daughters. As is the custom for 19th century American social climbers, Mrs. Cranston is determined to marry them off as well as she can. Downstairs live a family of mice, with a much longer lineage. Helena, the oldest sibling, and head of the family due to past tragedy, has done her best to bring up her two young sisters, dreamy Beatrice and skittish young Louise, and her heedless little brother, Lamont, making sure there is food on the table and their clothes are tidy (these mice wear clothes in the privacy of their homes). But she can't help but worry about the future of her little family.

When the Cranston's decide that the only way to marry off their older girl is to travel to Europe, Helena and her siblings join them, rather than stay in the empty house. And so a long sea voyage begins, filled with possibilities of romance (both human and mousian) and ending with Helena's happy realization that she can keep her family close, while letting them go their own way.

Here are the mouse sisters planning to attend a princess's reception on board the ship:

"I shall have to infest Camilla [the younger Cranston girl] and go to the reception on her," Louise decided.

"I don't mind going on Mrs. Cranston," Beatrice said, "as long as she doesn't wear her squirrels. I know my way around her."

And so, for once, Beatrice wasn't the problem. Evidently I was.

"Louise," I said. "I'll go with you on Camilla."

"Indeed you will not," she sniffed. "It will be hard enough to find a place for one of us to hide on her, let alone two. Besides, if Camilla should notice me somewhere on her person, she wouldn't be alarmed."

"Ha! Louise," I retorted. "she couldn't tell me from you at the lifeboat drill. 'Oh, Mouse!' she cried. She can't tell one mouse from-"

"She would certainly notice if there were two of us," Louise said. "She can count. Besides, Helena, Camilla is my human." (pp 140-141)

This feels very much like a Regency Romance (although it's set at the time of Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee). There is much detail about clothes, and fine dining, and social status, and love is in the air. Little Adventure happens, but the detailed descriptions of encounters and small happenings of shipboard life fill the pages happily. Human-Mouse interactions add some tension, and some comic relief, and the snappy dialogue and endearing characters keep the pages turning nicely. Helena makes a fine and sympathetic narrator, and I cheered for her as she realized that she could be her own mouse, with her own future, and still not relinquish her family.

Definitely one with more girl appeal, what with the descriptions of clothes and all. I'd particularly recommend this one to older sisters, who so often are burdened in fiction with responsibilities, and given little reward at the end while the younger siblings get to be the Special ones.

This was my first Richard Peck book--even though I'm pretty sure it's a departure from his previous work (what with mice and all) I enjoyed it enough so that I'll be seeking him out again, just as soon as I clear the tbr piles away....

Secrets of Sea is a Cybils nominee in middle grade sci fi/fantasy, one of several mouse books we have on our list!

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher