The Chosen Prince, by Diane Stanley

The Chosen Prince, by Diane Stanley (HarperCollins, January 27, 2015, middle grade) -- a nice one for the young romantic.

Alexos is a prince of a people who have offended Zeus, and who are cursed with a never ending war against the other kingdom with whom they share an island.  But the people have pinned their hopes on Alexos--the auguries read when he was a baby showed he might be the chosen one of Athene, the tool she will use to bring peace and plenty back to the island.

Alexos does his best to be a good prince, though he can never please his stern and distant father. But though he may (or may not) be Athene's chosen one, fate is unkind--when he is twelve, he is stricken with a polio-like illness that leaves one leg all but useless and the other weak.   Just as he begins to recover his strength, learning to walk again with brace and cane, he hears his father deciding to make his younger brother Teo the heir.  And then Alexos finds himself betraying Teo, committing an act for which he can never forgive himself.  All the years that follow he tries to do good for his people....but always there is pain, both of the body and of the mind.

Yet to Athene, Alexos is not broken at all.  He is but one of the pieces she is moving in her game against Zeus, a game that will take him and his companions to a magical island, where ghosts must be confronted and enemies faced....

You may read in other descriptions of the book that there is a girl involved, but she is not exactly "the heroine." Though her role is important, she herself is a minor character who enters the main story toward the end.  She is brave/smart/beautiful for her small number of pages and then gets to have (rather sweet) romantic attachments of the insta-love sort to Alexos.

You may also read that The Chosen Prince is a take on the Tempest--and yes, there is the magical island with the above-referenced girl and her father, and yes, a shipwreck brings strange men...but that's about it, so don't be expecting a Tempest retelling as such.

[End of plot summary part]

So. I read this in one day, and enjoyed the reading, but alas, I kept comparing it to The Thief, by Megan Whalen Turner, which is totally unfair, but there it is, and as a result I am somewhat tepid in my feelings.    I can imagine this book being loved, though (especially by people who aren't already fans of The Thief), and so my thoughts aren't entirely positive, I don't want to be utterly off-putting.
Therefore I will quickly start by sharing the positive thoughts of others:

"Alexos is a strong character, capable of accepting and adapting to change, even as he struggles with heartbreak and almost insurmountable odds. The language is lyrical and accessible, and the end is satisfying in the extreme." (School Library Journal (starred review))

“Stanley’s storytelling infuses each character and hardship with distinct purposes that coalesce and become clear to readers by book’s end for a tidy finale that leaves no unanswered questions.” (Publishers Weekly)

Percy Jackson fans will not be put off: Stanley uses short sentences, an immediate present tense, and basic vocabulary, and the plot races along. Alexos is a touchingly relatable character, and his relationships make the plot meaningful. (Horn Book Magazine)

Why it didn't quite work for me--

The Chosen Prince is very much a character driven novel, and the reader has to care about Alexos for it to work.   He's a very sympathetic character, certainly, and his situation is interesting---but he didn't quite sink his claws into me, as it were-- I never cared that passionately about him.   Possibly this is because he is so very worthy--no snark at all, bravely accepting his disability, determined to be good.   Possibly it is because the book is written in the third person present, which gave it a rather cinematic effect; I felt I was watching a movie (in large part because Diane Stanley is a masterful describer) as opposed to being inside his story.  (The third person present is not my favorite tense, and I'm not sure it was the best choice for this story).

I was also somewhat disappointed by the generic-ness of Stanley's ancient Mediterranean, which seemed more a generic past of standard palaces, mud, and peasants than a truly realized classical era in which the Olympian gods were worshiped.  The gods are real, but the reader doesn't get much sense that the characters truly think about them much.

Who I think it might work really for--

In my mind, the perfect reader for the book is any 10-12 year old who might want to crush on a sweet, sensitive boy who is all but broken by fate but is still trying (and succeeding) to be a good person.   I would not suggest it as a Percy Jackson read-alike (Greek gods do not a P.J. read-alike make).  I would not suggest it to anyone who likes their fantasy brisk and magic-filled; the plot here is a slow-burning fuse.   But that young, romantic reader who dreams of strange places and beautiful boys and the magic of the gods making everything all right in the end may well love it lots.



(My copy of The Chosen Prince came to me when I was a weekly winner in the sci fi/fantasy round-up at On Starships and Dragonwings that goes up every Friday--thank you, Anya!)

Superheroes Anonymous, by Lexie Dunne

After focusing so much on middle grade speculative fiction for the Cybils these past few months, it was nice to turn to a fun, fast adult book--Superheroes Anonymous, by Lexie Dunne (Harper Voyager Impulse, Nov. 2014) .

No-one calls Gail by name anymore, not even her boyfriend--instead, she's just known as "Girl," short for "Hostage Girl."  Over and over again, Gail is abducted by super-villains, and over and over again, her own personal superhero Blaze saves her.  He never speaks, just saves...and though Gail is tired of being a hostage ad naseum, she's at least got her role down pat.

Then her boyfriend (who everyone--media, co-workers, and, it seems, super villains) moves to Miami...and the kidnappings stop--if Blaze isn't going to be there to save her/be lured to villainous traps, there's no point.  But one villain doesn't get the message.  He kidnaps Gail, and in his lair of evil insanity he inadvertently bestows superpowers on her.

Now Gail isn't going to be the victim anymore....but when she's taken to the headquarters of the superheros, she becomes virtually a prisoner there.  Her body is now strange to her, and her days are spent having her new-found powers honed (with a focus on her fighting ability) with little discussion of what her future might hold.   But on the bright side- now she gets to meet the man who inhabits Blaze's costume, and romance blossoms.  On the less bright side, there's a whole Plot of Evil going on outside headquarters, and Gail's past has implicated her in how it's going to play out....

So yeah, fun and fast.  It's an entertaining set-up of superhero/villain high-jinx, and the pages turned quickly.  I couldn't help but be annoyed by how the Superhero folks treated Gail-sticking her in a windowless room, giving her standard issue workout uniforms to wear, and not explaining details like food or future or anything and not giving her books or electronic devices.   And I was annoyed at Gail, for not being more bothered--sure, she's used to being a passive victim, but she could question things just a tad more proactively.   On the other hand, I enjoyed her relationship with "Blaze" very much (he's rather attractive in personality as well as appearance), and on the strength of that, I can recommend this with conviction to fans of romantic spec. fic.  It's one I think YA spec fic readers, used to sharing adventure with romance, would enjoy in particular.

This is the first book in a series, and it literally ends with "to be continued..." just as the action/tension side of things has really been ratcheted up.  It almost reads as an extended prologue, which might be off-putting for some.  For me, used to this happening all the time in middle grade spec fic, it was not troubling at all....

(minor thing that's troubling me--what the heck happened to Vicki in the bit at the end?  I re-read it to see if I'd missed something, but didn't see anything about what was up with her.....odd).

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

Children of Winter, by Berlie Doherty, for Timeslip Tuesday

Children of Winter, by Berlie Doherty (middle grade, 1985, reissued in the UK in 2007; that's the cover shown at left), for Timeslip Tuesday-- the cold of winter and the horror of plague combined make for a gripping read.

On what should have been an easy hike in the Peak District, three children are separated from their parents.  They take shelter in an old barn.....and there the oldest, Catherine, finds herself living the life of another Catherine--a girl from the 17th century.  That Catherine, also with two younger siblings, was sent to the isolated barn when plague came to their village--their parents hoped that if the children could survive the winter alone, they would be safe from the sickness.

What follows is a tale of cold and hunger, and longing for home, as the three children eek out their food supply as best they can, all the while fearing the worst for those left behind in the village.   (That being said, for the historic children, I'm not sure if life in the barn was a dramatic reduction in their standard of their living!)  The pain felt by the children, and their mother, is vivid, and the descriptions bring all the details of the past vividly to life.  It's rather a nice survival story--and being a fan of that genre, I appreciated the small triumphs of mushrooms and fleeces and such that kept the children alive.

Modern Catherine is totally immersed in the past--there's no reflection here of any dissonance between past and present.  As a result, it reads more like historical fiction with little end pages of modern times, and not much like a timeslip at all, except right toward the beginning, when Catherine in the present feels the pull of Catherine in the past.  This separation is especially clear at the end, when the modern parents return to the barn and the family is reunited--suddenly the children are back in their own time, and there's no attempt to wrap up the loose ends of the past.  

Did historic Catherine's little brother, who was sick (possibly with plague) at the end of the book, live, for instance?  Did the boy back in the village who Catherine fancied live? I would have liked a coda in which modern Catherine finds something out about what happened to the children in the past.  The abrupt ending was an emotional let-down, especially coming at it did after moments of acute emotional pain when the children were forced to isolate themselves from the very real, horrible, suffering of others.   This is the dilemma that really raises the emotional tension of the story-if someone is suffering, and if to help them means you might die as well, do you put yourself in harm's way and break the promise made to your mother, who might already be dead?

Kids who enjoy learning through historical fiction, enlivened by a touch of the fantastic, will probably enjoy it lots.  It's based on the true story of the village of Eyam in Darbyshire, which cut itself off from the rest of the world when the plague came in 1666--here's more historical background at the author's website.   And those who like stories of kids surviving on their own in harsh circumstances will like it also.  Those who love time travel stories, though, might be disappointed--the story would have been  much the same if the modern children had been cut out altogether.

Elephantastic! by Michael Engler, illustrated by Joelle Tourlonias

I don't often review picture books these days....but a little while ago, one came unasked, unlooked for, unexpected, in the mail-- Elephantastic! by Michael Engler, illustrated by Joëlle Tourlonias (Peter Pauper, Jan. 2015).  And I enjoyed it (in as much as a klutsy person can enjoy reading an unbound galley--there were droppings and muddlings of pages) and I shall now try to review it, unpracticed though I am in the gentle art of the picture book critique.

The rich, warm tones of Tourlonias' illustrations invite the reader to go on a journey far from the confines of an urban apartment deep into an imagined Africa....or something.

Basically, an imaginative boy opens a large box that wasn't meant for him and inside is an stuffed elephant who is alive.  Boy and elephant play games of African exploration and adventure...but then, Sadness!  The elephant must go to its intended recipient, the girl in the apartment upstairs....tears are shed.

Happily, the girl and the elephant come back down to play with the boy, and all is well.

The elephant and the kids were drawn all friendly-like, with a pleasingly skritchy line quality.  The story was a good one of imaginative fun.    The pedant in me questions the idea that Mount Kilimanjaro is "so high only elephants could climb it" but since elephants can't talk either, I let it pass; just don't go to this one expecting to learn Valuable Information about Africa/elephants.  Do expect romanticized stereotypes offered uncritically--lions roaring on the savannah, a rain dance, a dense dark jungle...

I now go to check what the pros (in this case, Kirkus) had to say.

My eyebrows shoot upward at their leading line-- "Inattention results in a potential domestic tragedy in this German import."   This is more sturm und drang-ish than I think is warranted.  I do, however, agree that the type is rather small (reading it aloud in dim bedrooms with inadequate light might be tricky) and more happily, I can agree that it is "a sweet celebration of the imagination" (although with reservations viz portrayal of Africa...).

My TBR pile and me

Which of these is the reason why I have so many unread books in my house?

a.  Once I was a girl who didn't have enough books to read.  I read the encyclopedia for fun.  And deprivation in childhood leads to hoarding....(which is of course not to say that book deprivation is the worst thing that could have happened.  Sometimes, for instance, I was forced to play outside because of not having anything to read).

b.  A library nearby was relocating and they were selling their entire collection of YA and kids books for ten cents each or 15 for a dollar.  And on top of that, I run the library booksales at my own library and they keep deaccessioning books I want (mercifully, I think this is going to end soon).

c.  I feel that I should support local bookstores/authors I like/genres I support and so I buy books that I know I won't have time to read

d.  When I need cheering up at work, I use my break to place library holds, which means I get further behind at home.

e.  I get books to review

f.  I never read anymore, but people still keep giving me books and I wish they would stop. 

If you answered f, you are wrong.  I am looking forward to unwrapping my birthday presents later this evening, and they all look like books..........

But in any event, I'm trying to Face my Problems this year, and so I thought I should know how many unread books I should be feeling guilty about.   I stopped counting at 200, figuring that running away from the menacing silhouette of this particular Problem was almost as good as having faced it.

Resolutely clinging to the idea that being proactive is a Good Thing, I am seriously trying to read down the piles (5 tbr books read so far this year).  And in order to strengthen my resolve, I'm joining two challenges:

The Official 2015 TBR Pile Challenge, hosted by Roof Beam Reader, and the TBR Double Dog Dare, hosted by James Reads Books.

The former requires a list of 12 books, and I went deep into the shelves to find books that have been languishing for years:

The Privilage of the Sword, by Ellen Kushner
Dragonfly, by Julia Golding
Dodger, by Terry Pratchett
Amber House, by Kelly More et al.
The Diary of Pelly D. by L.J. Adlington
The Doom Machine, by Mark Teague
Bansi O'Haa and the Edges of Hallowe'en, by John Dougherty
The Boy From Ilysies, by Pearl North
Radient Darkness, by Emily Whiteman
Saving the Planet and Stuff, by Gail Gauthier
The Return of Skeleton Man, by Joseph Bruchac (read and blogged)
The Museum House Ghosts, by Judith Spearing (read and blogged)

The later challenge requires simply that you read nothing but books from your TBR pile between now and April 1.   I feel that books given to one, as gifts or for review, are exempt, but I am going to try to read 100 books from my pile before I actually seek out any books from stores or the library.....95 more to go.

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

Welcome to another week's worth of gleanings from around the blog!  Since this is the first round-up of the new year, I though it was time for another explanation of what this is.  Five or so years ago, I realized I wanted someone to make it easier for me to find all the blogs posts about my favorite subgenre, middle grade science fiction and fantasy.  But there was no other someone, so I started doing it myself.  In these weekly round-ups I offer links to reviews, interviews, and other good stuff; I don't generally include short, mostly summary posts or reviews of Harry Potter and other popular books that have reached a saturation point (defined based on how I feel on a given day).   I always welcome links I missed, and if you want to send me a link in advance of Sunday, please feel free to email me at charlotteslibrary@gmail.com.

The Reviews

11 Birthdays, by Wendy Mass, at Read Till Dawn

Alistair Grim's Odditorium, by Gregory Funaro, at Mom Read It

The Blood of Olympus, by Rick Riordan, at A Reader of Fictions and Fyrefly's Book Blog

The Castle Behind Thorns, by Merrie Haskell, at Sonderbooks

The Chosen Prince, by Diane Stanley, at The Social Potato

Everblaze, by Shannon Messenger, at Carstairs Considers

Fairylicious, by Tiffany Nicole Smith, at The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

Five Children on the Western Front, by Kate Saunders, at Educating Alice

A Hero for WondLa, by Tony DiTerlizzi, at Hidden in Pages (audiobook review)

The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw, by Christopher Healy, at Good Books and Good Wine (audiobook review)

How to Train Your Dragon, by Cressida Cowell, at Good Books and Good Wine (audiobook review)

The Left Behinds and the Cell Phone that Saved George Washington, by David Potter, at Mom Read It

Mark of the Thief, by Jennifer A. Nielsen, at Hidden in Pages

A Plague of Bogles, by Catherine Jinx, at Wandering Librarians

Rouge Knight, by Brandon Mull, at Fantasy Literature

Smasher, by Scott Bly, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Swap, by Megan Shull, at Guys Lit Wire

The Terror of the Southlands, by Caroline Carlson, at This Kid Reviews Books

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

Whatever After-Fairest of All, by Sarah Mlynowski, at Wondrous Reads

Other Good Stuff

The Cybils Awards Shortlists are up!  Here are the seven books chosen in Elemenatary/Middle Grade Spec. Fic.

Graphic novelist Faith Erin Hicks shows us what really happened in A Wrinkle in Time, at Tor

There are lots of good middle grade spec. fic. books on the Nerdys list

I love Sherry's alternate Speculative Fiction awards here at Semicolon!

"Why we need science fiction for kids" at Views from the Tesseract

And also at Views from the Tesseract, a look back at some diverse titles in MG Spec Fic from 2014

And finally, "Monsters in America"-- a map showing where to find them via BoingBoing, available at Hog Island Press

Pureheart, by Cassandra Golds

Sometimes books are just too sad for me, and the reading of them is just like pulling the covers of someone else's misery over my own life, and even if I can appreciate the characters and the writing and the descriptions, it doesn't make me feel any better.   This was my reaction to Pureheart, by Cassandra Golds (2013, Penguin Books Australia).  

And there were no beautiful rainbows of warm snugginess at the end to cast a glow on all the sadness that had come before.

In essence, this is the story of how a grandmother who hates with passionate intensity uses that hatred to chain her granddaughter Deirdre to her--using cruelty, expert psychological manipulation, and occult horror.  Deirdre is trapped in the crumbling, insane old apartment building where departing tenants are never replaced until it is just her and her grandmother and all the stories of the miseries of the grandmother's life...and she has been so expertly molded with guilt and ignorance that she cannot believe that there is anything else in the world.

Except.   There is a boy, a cousin, who came to visit when she was five, and who she met again when they were twelve....and they love each other.   But the boy, Gal (short for Galahad), is hated by the grandmother who forces their love to be a strange and stifled thing.  Gal wants, desperately, to rescue Deirdre, but she is so tightly chained that she cannot believe it can happen.

Then the grandmother dies, and Deirdre drifts on alone in the old crumbling building....and Gal comes to find her.   But the grandmother is still there, as a ghost, and the Gal and Deirdre are caught in a fun-house of horror as she forces her memories of bitter sorrow and rage on them.

There is one memory that both know they have lost, one thing that could save them, maybe.  If they can find it before everything crumbles around them, and if Deirdre can choose life...

So if you like dark, creepy, horribly sad psychological manipulation with a magical twist and an awful, cruel, rabbit death, this is the book for you!!!!  You will admire the way layer after layer of twisted guilt and warped memories pile on, the way past and present are obscured and twisted in the narrative, the way the empty halls of the vast building lead nowhere, except when they are leading to dark secrets.

I myself just wanted Gal and Deirdre to be happy, maybe with new rabbits to care for in some sunny place far away...

So nope, not a book for me! BUT!  others have chimed in in the comments saying they loved it, including Katherine Langrish whose review is here so your reaction may be very different from mine....

It was sad that we could only have seven books on our Cybils shortlist

My eleven-year old was a bit sore at me last week--he felt that I should have been a stronger advocate for the books he wanted to see on the Cybils shortlist.   His own nominee--The Last Wild, by Piers Torday--wasn't there, and nor were two books he'd recently devoured in single sittings--Space Case, by Stuart Gibbs, and The Night Gardener, by Jonathan Auxier.  It's true that seeing your kid absolutely love a book to pieces does make you feel fondly toward it (unless it's a wretchedly awful book, in which case you start wondering where you went wrong), but it was also true that we only had places for seven books, and we had 155 from which to chose.  (It is like picking just one kitten at the animal shelter....)

So the book I myself nominated, Dark Lord-School's Out, by Jamie Thomson (so funny) isn't on the shortlist either.  Sigh.    And I wouldn't have minded Space Case myself, or another sci fi one, Ambassador, by William Alexander, which I liked lots, and anyone looking for a great book to give a nine year old girl should consider The Orphan and the Mouse, by Martha Freeman (but you might have trouble because of the cover, and there's a difficult Mouse Death right at the beginning) and The Whispering Skull  and The Magic Thief: Home, and Jinx's Magic and The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw were all great series continuations and Ninja Librarians was so much fun and I could go on and on..............

We had to make hard choices.  

But in any event, Space Case, Ambassador, and Dark Lord-School's Out are all 2014 personal favorites of mine.  And I just want to wave them a little bit at readers, because I think they deserve it....

And the eleven-year old would like me to do the same for The Last Wild and The Night Gardener.

And now I'm already starting to think about next year!!!!  Will we reach 200 nominated books???? Will it be even harder to pick just seven?????   Please do think about joining the fun--although it is true that there are more people who want to be panelists than there are slots, newcomers are welcomed and encouraged!  The call for panelists will go out in mid-August, 2015.

The Cybils Shortlists!

The shortlists for this year's Cybils awards have been announced!   These lists are a tremendous resource for anyone looking for great books in a range of children's and YA genres, from graphic novels for kids to non-fiction for teens, with lots of other categories.  The books (nominated by anyone who wants to nominate!) are chosen by hardworking groups of bloggers (teachers/librarians/parents/readers) based on two criteria--literary merit, and audience appeal.

Click here to see what my hard-working panel of bloggers chose for Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction!

Next the books get read by a second panel of seven readers, who must choose a single winner from this list...which would you pick?

If you are a blogger, and you'd like to be part of the Cybils next year (it's lots of fun), look for the call for panelists come mid-August 2015.  Anyone who blogs about children's/YA books is welcome to apply, and new folks are always welcome!

And thank you very much to everyone who nominated the great pool of books from which we had to choose, and to the publisher and authors who sent us panelist copies of books we needed, and to the Cybils organizers for making it all happen!

And of course thank you to the first round-panelists, who read avidly and keenly the 155 books nominated in EMG SF-- Brandy, Cindy, Katy, Maureen, Sherry, and Sondy!

Twin Spell, aka Double Spell, by Janet Lunn, for Timeslip Tuesday

Twin Spell, aka Double Spell in its most recent edition, by Janet Lunn (1969), for Timeslip Tuesday

Twelve-year old twins Elizabeth and Jane didn't particularly want an old wooden doll....but something drew them to the shop where it was housed one wet day, and something drew the owner to let them have it for what loose change they had in their pockets.

And something made Aunt Alice fall down the stairs of the big ancestral home in which she lived alone soon after....resulting in her moving out, and Elizabeth and Jane's family (they are blessed (?) with three brothers).

And then the little doll is used by something, or someone, to draw Elizabeth and Jane into an old, sad, angry story.  Visions of the past over a hundred years ago, when the doll was new, are intruding into their reality, straining their relationship with each other and compelling them to find out what happened to the girl who's doll it was...and the force behind the visions is not friendly (cue creepy music).

But mostly it isn't all that creepy--it's more like a mystery to be solved with the help of supernatural nudges (primarily visions of the past, overlaying the present, as opposed to actual visits to the past), and daily life goes on, broken by trips to the library and hunts for old houses etc.  Until the end, that is, which is rather intense (in a nicely scary way!).

Give this one to a young reader (I'd say an eight year old girl who's reading a bit above her age) who a. likes creepy doll stories  b. likes books in which past and present intersect and c. likes old house stories or d.  hasn't read any of these yet but who you feel might like them.  It's not great (it dragged a bit in the middle, when progress on mystery unravelling stalled, and it's not the best described old house), and if you have already read lots of this story, you don't need to read this one.  That being said, I didn't mind reading it all, and it would probably have thrilled eight-year-old me.  It's one of those books that has lots of five star Amazon reviews from people who read and re-read it as children...

Aside:  as a time travel book this one is rather interesting in that there is both time-slippiness and ghost.  Mostly ghosts just manifest independently (and not as time travelers, but as, you know, lingering dead people), but here the supernatural force at work is really pulling Elizabeth and Jane back toward the past....I think this is the first in two hundred or so time travel books I've labeled as both "Timeslip Tuesday" and "books with ghosts."

Future Flash, by Kita Helmetag Murdock

Future Flash, by Kita Helmetag Murdock (Sky Pony Press, 2014, middle grade, 208 pages)

Laney's an oddball in her small school in rural Colorado--the sort of kid who draws on her sneakers, who's friends with the weird cat lady, who tries her best to stay out of the sights of the class bully.   But Laney would be an odd ball anyway--she sees glimpses of the future.  Sometimes these "future flashes," as she calls them, are happy...sometimes not.

When a new kid, Lyle, comes to town, Laney has the worst future flash of her life.  She sees him consumed by fire.  Now Laney has to figure out if she can save Lyle from the death she saw...but in the meantime, the class bully is inflicting more immediate pain on him.  And Laney doesn't know what to do about that, either.

Nor does she know how to figure out the question of who she really is--is Walt, the man she remember finding her as a baby, her real father, and who was her mother?

And then, just as she saw it happening, the fire starts....

The story is full of tension, as both Laney and the reader move toward the horrible event to come,  and Laney is a girl reader can relate to and sympathize with.  Or they can readily sypathize wiht Lyle, a geeky kid thrust into a horrible situation--the bullying he recieves is rather awful.  And though this isn't a book with tons of nuance, there's enough emotional warmth to go along with Laney's fascinating gift of future flashes to make for a fine read.

This is one to give to the kid, I'd say a fifth or sixth grader or thereabouts, who likes brisk realistic fiction (the themes of bullying and wondering about family secrets will be familiar ground) but is ready for a twist--Laney is an ordinary girl, but her fantastical gift is real, and powerful, and shapes her life.   On the other hand, the reader who loves Fantasy with a capital F may be a tad disappointed.  The flashes of precognition are not part of any larger phenomena, just one aspect of Laney's particular life, so they are more a useful and interesting plot element than the sort of fantastical premise that overwhelms just about everything else.

disclaimer:  review copy received from the publisher for Cybils Award consideration

This Week's Round-Up of Middle Grade Fantasy and Science from around the Blogs (12/28/14)

Welcome to the last MG SFF round-up of 2014!  I myself was too busy having Merry Christmas to contribute, but happily others bravely kept on posting....let me know if I missed yours!

The Reviews

Ambassador, by William Alexander, at Semicolon

The City of Death, by Sarwat Chadda, at Twinja Book Reviews

Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George, at Read Till Dawn

The Glass Sentence, by S.E. Grove, at The Reading Nook

The Ice Dragon, by George R.R. Martin, at Wondrous Reads

The Interrupted Tale (Incorrigible Children of Aston Place #4) by Maryrose Wood, at Semicolon

The Land of Stories, by Chris Colfer, at thebooksage

The Search for WondLa, by Tony DiTerlizzi, at Hidden in Pages

Seven Wild Sisters, by Charles DeLint, at alibrarymama

Spell Robbers, by Matthew J. Kirby, at Read Till Dawn

Winterfrost, by Michelle Houts, at alibrarymama

The Witch's Boy, by Kelly Barnhill, at Ex Libris

Two at Ms. Yingling Reads--The City of Death, by Sarwat Chadda and Curse of the Iris, by Jason Fry

Other Good Stuff

"Why the Moomins are fiction's perfect family" at The Guardian

And don't forget to check the Cybil's website on the 1st of January for the announcement of the shortlists!   The elementary/middle grade spec. fic. list is rather nice this year, if I say so who shouldn't! 

Zodiac, by Romina Russell-- zodiac sci fi!!! with interview!

I am rather fond of fantasy that uses the Zodiac as a framing device for either plot or world-building (there's a book list down at the end of this post), and so I said yes with conviction when offered a review copy of Zodiac, by Romina Russell (Razorbill, YA, Dec. 2014).    I was especially curious about this one because it is the first time I've ever seen the zodiac used within a science fictional context taking place far from earth.

Far off in space each sign of the zodiac rules a planetary system, and the people of each system live according to the qualities of their particular governing sign.   Sixteen-year old Rho is a child of the planet Cancer--a nurturing, caring, ocean planet--and though she's heard stories of the other signs and their attributes, she's only met a handful of people who are from different worlds.   

But then Cancer is attacked.  Its moons are destroyed, and a horribly high-number of its people are killed.   Rho saw the attack coming, but no one took her seriously.....until after the fact.   After the tragedy, Rho is the only person with psychic gifts strong enough to lead her people, and in the most horrible of situations, she must put aside her own feelings to save Cancer, and the other signs as well.

For an old enemy has risen again to attack, a figure out of stories--Ophiuchus, the exiled 13th sign of the zodiac.   And no sign is safe.    But how can Rho, young and inexperienced, possibly convince the other leaders that the 13th sign is real?

It's a briskly moving story, with considerable tension as Ophuchus closes in.   For those that like romantic triangles, there's a rather good one here (involving a very appealing and interesting Libran, my favorite character in the book).  Those who like speculative fiction starring young people thrust abruptly into positions of power and desperately fighting against terrible odds should also enjoy it.

But what interested me most was the whole premise behind this universe, and so when I had the chance to send questions off to Romina Russell, that's what I asked about! Her answers are in blue, as befits House Cancer....

1. Were the qualities of each house of the Zodiac clear to you from the beginning, or did you have to change things to make the story work? And related to that, did you know from the get go that Rho would be from House Cancer?

One of the coolest parts of creating the Zodiac Universe was having a cheat sheet for the world building: astrology. I basically took the traditional horoscopes for each sign and built out worlds populated with people that fit each personality type.

As for making Rho a Cancrian, I knew I wanted to explore a different kind of hero in this universe, a character whose strength was in her heart and not her body. I was interested in taking a girl who wasn’t a warrior and discovering what weapon she would use to fight in a war. I wondered how she would save the world(s)…and whether or not she could.

2. And then as a minor related question-- some of the Houses are more appealingly portrayed than others (I would not want to be an Aries in your world!).    Have any friends and family complained because you made their signs of the Zodiac unappealing?

The complaints I’ve received are that people want to meet more characters from their own Houses! Which will happen—I promise! Aries is the most ancient of all the Houses, so it’s seen more civilizations come and go than the other planets. To me, that world most resembles a dystopian Earth because Arieans use military strength to solve their problems.

I think every House is a little imbalanced in this book because they’ve strayed so far apart, and the whole point is they’re at their best when the Zodiac is united and working together. Arieans would be better off if they embraced a little more of Cancrians’ nurturing natures, just as Cancrians would be better off if they toughened their planet’s protections and were better prepared for unexpected attacks.

3. I see in your bio that you are a Virgo- were you at all conscious of what Virgos were supposed to be like when you were little?  (I've known I was a Capricorn forever, and so have always had a firm belief that I possessed all the good qualities of that sign....and perhaps acted in more Capricorn-ish ways as a result...)

Pretty much the only thing I knew about the Zodiac when I started working on this series was my own sign—we’re supposedly practical, obsessive, fussy, controlling, perfectionists…and yes, I’m beginning to see your point! So fun that you’re a Capricorn—that’s where book two begins… (So you can tell me if you approve of its characterization when you read it!)

4. Which how do you make sense of the problem of having everyone each house share particular characteristics of personality?  Is it nature, or nurture?

Because it's based on the myths and figures found in astrology, the ZODIAC world is something of an exaggerated version of ours, as seen in the clear-cut personality types. But as with our world, Zodiac personalities are a combination of nature and nurture—the only difference being that in Rho's world, it's possible for nature to collide with nurture in such a way that it sends the whole galaxy off kilter!

Thank you Romina!   And thank you, Razorbill, for the review copy.

So yes, do try this one if you are at all interested in spec fic fun with the zodiac!

And as promised up at the top, here are other books that feature the zodiac, with links to my reviews:

Ludo and the Star Horse, by Mary Stewart

The Valley of Song, by Elizabeth Goudge

The 13th Sign, by Kristin O'Donnell Tubb

Which is only three.  I could have sworn there were more.....?

this week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs 12/21/14

It is entirely possible that due to multiple children celebrating the holidays with vim and vigor around me I missed multiple posts; please let me know if I missed yours!

Reviews

Ambassador, by William Alexander, at Charlotte's Library

The Cheshire Cheese Cat, by Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright, at Librarian of Snark (audiobook review)

The Curse of the Iris (Jupiter Pirates 2), by Jason Fry, at Tosche Station

Darkmouth, by Shane Hegarty,  at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books

Dragon's Breath, by E.D. Baker, at Leaf's Reviews

The Foundry's Edge, by Cam Baity & Benny Zelkowicz, at Fantasy Literature

Frostborn, by Lou Anders, at This Kid Reviews Books

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There, by Catherynne M. Valente, at The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

Greenglass House, by Kate Milford, at Charlotte's Library

The Grimjinx Rebellion, by Brian Farrey, at Book Nut

He Laughed with His Other Mouths, by M.T. Anderson, at Original Content

The Ice Dragon, by George Martin, at Speculating on Spec Fic

Lord and Lady Bunny-Almost Royalty, by Polly Horvath, at Librarian of Snark

The Night Gardener, by Jonathan Auxier, at Hope is the Word

Nightmares! by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller, at books4yourkids

The Orphan and the Mouse, by Martha Freeman, at Redeemed Reader

Pennyroyal Academy, by M.L. Larson, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Princess Academy, by Shannon Hale, at Leaf's Reviews

The Scavengers, by Michael Perry, at Redeemed Reader

Sky Run, by Alex Shearer, at Redeemed Reader

A Snicker of Magic, by Natalie Lloyd, at Librarian of Snark

The Swallow, by Charis Cotter, at Waking Brain Cells

The Terror of the Southlands, by Caroline Carlson, at The Book Monsters

Wild Born (Spirit Animals) by Brandon Mull, at Kid Lit Geek

Winterfrost, by Michelle Houts, at Becky's Book Reviews

Space Case, by Stuart Gibbs, and The Twin Powers, by Robert Lipsyte, at The New York Times

Katherine Langrish rereads The Horse and His Boy, by C.S. Lewis at Seven Miles of Steel Thistles


Authors and Interviews

Mike Jung (Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities) is a featured author at the 2nd Annual Diversity Month at Twinja Book Reviews

Kate DiCamillo at The Washington Post


Other Good Stuff

Lots of good mg spec fic in this Harper Collins spring preview at Fuse #8

And speaking of mg spec fic books I'm looking forward to, Tor has a preview up of The Book of Storms, by Ruth Hatfield

Sherry at Semicolon has assembled a list of  the fabulous creatures/magical beings from the Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction

A Tuesday 10 of Christmas-y spec fic at Views from the Tesseract

and just as a something to think about end note, here's a look at the town in China that makes 60% of the world's Christmas decorations at The Guardian.

Greenglass House, by Kate Milford--a lovely Christmas time read

If you are looking for a lovely book to read aloud with your young ones (as in, 8-14 year olds) in front of the fire this Christmastime, Greenglass House, by Kate Milford (Clarion, middle grade, August 2014, 373 pp*) is an excellent choice.   So excellent that even though my suitcase is already heavy with books, I am taking it with us to grandma's house so that I can keep on reading it to my own boys.

Greenglass House is an inn perched high on a hill above a riverside town that's been a haven for smugglers for years and years.  And many of them have been guests at Greenglass House....But now it is Christmas vacation, and young Milo, whose parents own the inn, is looking forward to a peaceful time with no visitors at all. 

Ha.  One by one, an assortment of guests make their way through the snowy night to Greenglass House.  Each one thought they would be the only guest.  Each one has a secret.   And each secret has a connection to the history of the house....and one secret is deadly. 

As the snow keeps falling outside, the guests share stories, each adding a piece to the puzzle.  And Milo, with the help of Meddie, a girl his own age, who's shown up along with the extra helpers from the town, is determined to put the puzzle together.   Meddie convinces Milo to make it a game of Odd Trails--a role-playing fantasy adventure.  Given confidence by his new identity as a Blackjack (with its concomitant slate of abilities useful for a thief and a clue-hunter), and added and abetted by Meddie in her own role as semi-spirit character, Milo sets to work....

One story leads to another, and in the telling and finding and living of the stories Milo finds that there were secrets to Greenglass House he could never have dreamt of.

I sold this to my own children as a fantastical Westing Game like-story--the largish cast of characters, each with a mystery, gathered together against their will, reminded me strongly of that one.   It is different, of course, being really truly magical (thought the reader doesn't find our that part of the story till close to the end).    And it's different as well in its focus on one character, Milo, who's grappling with the story of his own adoption (from China) and identity alongside the external questions.  That being said, Meddy, though essentially a sidekick, is a lovely character in her own right!

There's a touch of the quirkily surreal (what with the smugglers and some of the character's backstories, as well as the role-playing game that Milo and Meddy are playing) that might not be to everyone's taste, and it's a bit slow to start, perhaps--a lot of people have to arrive--but once things get going, they go just beautifully.  The result is a rich, lovely story that's one of my personal favorites of the year. 

This is partly because I love old house stories, and this is a gorgeous one--stained glass, for instance, is important to the story, and there is also the sort of attic that is a dream come true for readers who like attics full of Stuff.  It's also because I loved Milo and Meddy (Milo's parents are lovely too, and it is a nice treat to have caring, present parents in a middle grade fantasy!).  And it's also because of the layers of story within story building up on each other, as the snow builds up outside and Christmas gets closer.....


*I put the number of pages in because Amazon inexplicably says it has only 176, which is rather misleading.....

Running Out of Time, by Elizabeth Levy, for Timeslip Tuesday

The best thing I can say about Running Out of Time, by Elizabeth Levy (1980), is that now I have read it I no longer have to keep it in my home.  It is not so bad as to be risible, but the clunky prose, feeble characterization, and truncated plot result in a book that is less than enjoyable for the adult reader.   The magic of a trip back in time to ancient Rome might, however, please a younger reader (judging from comments on Goodreads).

Three kids are training for a marathon.  They run through a fog back in time to Ancient Rome (as one does).  There they are, for no good reason, assumed to be slaves, and are pressed into the gang of gladiators out for a training run (who knew gladiators were taken for runs?).    They meet Spartacus, who takes them under his wing.  He belives they are from the future.  One of the kids, a girl named Francie, has to fight in the arena.  This is the catalyst that sparks Spartacus' rebellion.   The gladiators fight their way out of Rome, and a fog comes up that lets the kids go back to their own time.

Here's the main problem with the book--there are three kids and two would be plenty.  We start with Nina's point of view, and, not unnaturally, I assumed she would be the main character.   Mostly, though, things focus on Francie, who likes pizza more than Nina does and who is not as naturally athletic or spunky.   Nina seemed to have more potential....but it never happened.  Bill did not need to be in the story at all.  He was a waste of page space.  In short, there are no interesting, well-developed characters.

Here's the second, slightly less main, problem--the emotional intensity of Spartacus' desperate position was growing....what would happen?  and then-fog happened and the kids went back to their own time.  Kind of a let down.

Here's the third problem--good time travel plays with the tension of being a stranger in a strange land.  Apart from some questioning along the lines of "gladiators?"  there is none of this tension here.  It's the sort of time travel where all the language/clothing difficulties are magically smoothed over.   Good time travel also offers at least some sort of reason for the thing to have happened, even if it is just a slight connection of sympathy or similarity.   Here the only point of connection was long distance running, which seemed too slight.

The illustrations, by W.T. Mars, do not further enhance the story.  As is clear from the cover, he seems to have trouble with arms.

However, if you want your children to learn about Spartacus they could read this.  I learn history best through fiction, and feel slightly more Spartacus-literate than I did before.  I had not, for instance, known that his wife was involved.  (I've never seen the movie).

Ambassador, by William Alexander--really good alien sci fi for the middle grade reader

Ambassador, by William Alexander (Margaret K. McElderry Books, September 2014, middle grade)

Gabe Fuentes is a good kid.  His mom knows he can be trusted with his two toddler siblings.   And a mysterious Envoy decides that he can be trusted with the job as Earth's ambassador to the vast diplomatic consortium of alien civilizations.    Yes, he is young (11), but that's actually a requirement for the job--this diplomacy relies on the fact that young people are more open minded and ready to be friends through play than adults.  So Gabe is given the ability to visit the virtual space of the intergalactic embassy, and make contact with other sentient beings.....

But all is not happy playground fun.   An aggressive species is spreading terror as it conquers planet after planet, sending alien refugees fleeing into space.  And there's someone, or something, lurking in Earth's own asteroid belt and not broadcasting friendly messages.  And on top of that, someone/thing is trying to assassinate Gabe.

Life on earth isn't any better.  Gabe's Mexican parents are in the country illegally, and when his dad is caught rolling through a stop sign he ends up in jail, waiting to be deported.   Then Gabe's house implodes (not by chance).   Gabe's family needs him badly....but so does Earth....

Why I liked this Book:

The people:
--Gabe is a Nice, thoughtful, sympathetic, boy--really truly likeable.  

--the Envoy, doing the best he can to help Gabe, makes a likeable sidekick whose powers and knoweldge are never quite up to expectations--he can't magically save the day.

--Gabe's family is warm and idiosyncratic and real and (unusual in MG fiction) alive and caring.

--there are sundry aliens of interest, many of whom I want to know more about, and one of whom doesn't behave the way everyone else is expecting he should.

The story:

--this is a lovely adventure with multiple alien species that is just a perfect introduction to that genre for the 11 year old.   Not only is it a good story qua story, it is also a friendly one for the fan of fantasy--the portal to the intergalactic embassy, peopled by strange beings, might as well be magic (the "science" isn't explained, so on the downside this one might not work for those with trouble suspending disbelief).

--even though the ending suddenly introduces a whole new plot twist, and doesn't actually Finish anything, the story hung together enough that I didn't mind (though I know of others who did object, so your mileage may vary....).  I am actually rather glad to have the sequel to look forward to in an active spirit of anticipation.

--the intertwining of socio-political contexts, with refugees in space and on Earth, was very satisfying.

Final thought:

I am not always on board with the opinions of whoever is reviewing middle grade science fiction and fantasy for Kirkus, but in this case I agree that this one deserves its star.

(I also like it when book covers go well with my blog's color scheme; Ambassador might have been designed with my blog in mind, and I appreciate that.)
Disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher for Cybils Award consideration

This Week's Round-up of Middle Grade Science Fiction and Fantasy From Around the Blogs (12/14/14)

I myself have been missing in action for much of this week--library booksale time (and I miscalculated--I thought  I'd get a rush of holiday shoppers looking for book bargins, but it seem as though most people don't give used books as presents....odd).

Let me know if I missed your link!

The Reviews

Abracadabra Tut, by Page McBriar, at Charlotte's Library

Almost Super, by Marion Jensen, at alibrarymama

The Black Stars, by Dan Krokos, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Boys of Blur, by N.D. Wilson, at The Children's Book Review

Cakes in Space, by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre, at Readaraptor

Curse of the Broomstaff, by Tyler Whitesides, at Batch of Books

The Curse of the Thirteenth Fey, by Jane Yolen, at Tales of the Marvelous

The Dream Keeper, by Mikey Brooks, at Tales from the Raven

The Eighth Day, by Dianne K. Salerni, at This Kid Reviews Books

Frostborn, by Lou Anders, at alibrarymama

The Fourteenth Goldfish, by Jennifer L. Holm, at That's Another Story

Fyre, by Angie Sage, at The Write Path

The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing, by Sheila Turnage, at Read Till Dawn

Greenglass House, by Kate Milford, at Book Nut

The Ice Dragon, by George R.R. Martin, at Best Fantasy Books

Inheritance, by Christopher Paolini, at One Librarian's Book Reviews

Little Green Men at the Mercury Inn, by Greg Leitich Smith, at Jean Little Library

The Lost Kingdom, by Matthew Kirby, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Orphan and the Mouse, by Martha Freeman, at Kid Lit Geek

A Plague of Unicorns, by Jane Yolen, at The Write Stuff

Saving Lucas Biggs, by Marisa de los Santos and David Teague, at Spirit of Children's Literature

The Sixteen, by Ali B, at The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia

Space Case, by Stuart Gibbs, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

Spirit Animals: Wild Born, by Brandon Mull, at Leaf's Reviews

The Swallow, by Charis Cotter, at alibrarymama

The Thickety, by J.A. White, at School Library Journal

Tut: The Story of My Immortal Life, by P.J. Hoover, at Fantasy Book Critic

Whales on Stilts! by M.T. Anderson, at Dead Houseplants

The Whispering Trees (The Thickety Book 2), by J.A. White, at The Social Potato

Winterfrost, by Michelle Houts, at books4yourkids

The Zoo at the Edge of the World, by Eric Kahn Gale, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Five short ones at Random Musings of a Bibliophile-- The Ambassador, The Children of the King, Dreamwood, Pathfinder, and The Time of the Fireflies


Authors and Interviews

Sarwat Chadda (The Savage Fortress) at Twinja Book Reviews (part of Diversity Month)

Kelly Barnhill talks fairytales at Nerdy Book Club

Jane Yolen (A Plague of Unicorns) at The Write Stuff


Other Good Stuff:

Neil Gaiman reads Jabberwocky, at Educating Alice

From io9--watch Hayao Miyazaki create Studio Ghibli

and that's it for this week.............

Abracadabra Tut, by Page McBriar, for Timeslip Tuesday

Abracadabra Tut, by Page McBriar (Palm Canyon Press, July 2014, middle grade)--modern magic meets ancient Egypt in an entertaining and educational time travel adventure.

When Fletcher Perry finds out there's an auction of a magician's collection just down the road, he has to go--he's been practicing stage magic for years, and is eager to add to his own collection.  He gets more than he bargained for when a mysterious older woman makes the winning bid on a genuine mummy's coffin....on his behalf.   It's the perfect prop for his upcoming performance at school, and with his ne assistant, the It girl Arielle Torres, at his side, he's sure that this show will really make his mark as a magician.

But there is magic at work....the mysterious woman, who barges into the show, turns  out to be the Egyptian goddess Isis herself--and she has plans for Fletcher.  Unfortunatlly, her final instructions get garbled when she's evicted from the premises, and when Arielle and Fletcher shut themselves in the mummy's case for their disappearing act, they open it to find themselves back in Egypt.  With very little clue what they are supposed to be doing there.

When they find themselves in the palace of Tutankhamen, they think they must be there to save his life.  Fortunately, he's impressed by Fletcher's magic.  Unfortunately, others in power are not.  So Fletch and Arielle must work quickly to save themselves from being stuck in ancient Egypt forever, by figuring out what Isis wants them to do before it becomes clear that Fletcher's "magic" can't save the pharaoh's life.

It's an exciting trip back in time, and King Tut's court is vividly portrayed.  There's lots of ancient Egyptian excitement and intrigue, and Fletcher and Arielle are worthy protagonists.  This is a good one for the younger middle grade reader who went through an Egypt phase as a younger child (which many of them seem to do!).  The adventures are exciting without being so gruesomely intense that they disturb, and the story is straightforward, with Fletcher's magic tricks adding a lightness to ensemble.   It's not quite complex enough to deeply engage older readers, but for the nine or ten year old, I think it's spot on.

Arielle's family is from Mexico, and so this is one I can count for my Multicultural Speculative Fiction list.  Yay!

disclaimer: review copy received for Cybils Award consideration

Shadowboxer, by Tricia Sullivan

Shadowboxer, by Tricia Sullivan (Ravenstone, October 2014) is not a middle grade sci fi/fantasy such as I usually read and review, nor it is the sort of YA fantasy that shows up here at lot, though it is YA.  In large part this is because Shadowboxer is not your run-of-the-mill YA speculative fiction, and that is the reason I said yes please when offered a review copy, despite uncertainty about whether I'd enjoy it.  Happily, I did...and though I do have to say it isn't really a book for me personally, it's one I'm glad to have on my multicultural spec. fic. list.

The main character is a young black Latina woman, Jade, who is a fierce mixed arts fighter not quite old enough to turn professional.  She is struggling to keep her anger inside the ring, and not screw up her life.   This resolution snaps one night and she punches a Hollywood martial arts star who annoys her (and he is annoying), and  instead of  the star whisking her off on a path to a fame and fortune, her coach sends her away from New York to train at an obscure camp in Thailand.

And there Jade finds her story becoming part of one that's a heck of a lot stranger.  A man determined to live for ever has found a way into an otherworld...and he's prepared to steal the souls of the children he's kidnapped to open its gates for him. 

A young reporter, trying to gather evidence that will stop the kidnappings, got trapped in the other world, and only the magical intervention of one of its powerful spirit persons got him out again.   He comes to New York to continue his hunt, and he and Jade fall in love.  All the while, the minions of the bad guy are hunting them, the NYPD is concerned by the fall-out of all the violent havoc (but since they aren't including a magical otherworld in their calculations they are clueless), and Jade must keep training, keep out of trouble (though it sure has found her) or else she'll screw up the Really Big Chance that's come her way.

And in the meantime, Mya, one of the stolen kids who can enter the otherworld at will, has realized her master wants to move his soul into her body.  Now she is desperately trying to save herself, and save the children her master had already disposed of in the otherworld...with help from the food in Jade's fridge (taken without asking!).

Busy, busy plot.   Colorful fantasy meeting real world story.  Stong, realistically confused, realistically emotionally overwhelmed, character.   Nice appreciation for the work and craft of mixed martial arts.   Sex.  Strong language.  Vivid supporting characters.

It didn't all quite come together into a book I could love, but that might be a matter of personal preference, because the violence of mixed martial arts cage matches repels me.....

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher