One Witch at a Time, by Stacy DeKeyser

One Witch at a Time, by Stacy DeKeyser (Margaret K. McElderry Books ,February 10, 2015) is an extremely satisfying middle grade reimagining of Jack and the Beanstalk.  It's also the sequel to The Brixen Witch (an equally satisfying middle grade retelling of the Pied Piper story), though it can be read as a standalone just fine.

Winter in the village of Brixen has bee long and hard...and so it's important that Rudi get good bargains when he goes to town to trade his family's cheese.   But the day goes sour when his companion, nine year old Susanna Louisa, makes a bargain on her own--one of Rudi's family cows for the "magic beans" being offered by a strange foreign girl.   Rudi doesn't believe the beans are magic...but he's wrong.    And it's a magic that's alien to Brixen, and if its allowed to stay, the balance of things will go awry.

At least, this is what Brixen's own witch says, and Rudi has no reason not to believe her.   So Rudi and Susanna set off up the mountains to the next village up, where the beans came from--Petz, a snowbound land whose people have been trapped behind a magical barrier created by their own witch, a giant.  The only way in, or out, is by magic--when they plant one of the beans at the boarder, a magical beanstalk grows....

But there Rudi and Susanna meet Agatha, the strange girl who traded the beans in the first place...and though she agrees to travel with them to the giant's home, she's less concerned about balancing magic than she is with bringing summer back to Petz....which complicates things more than somewhat.

Then to make matters worse, Susanna brings one of the giant's chickens home with her to Brixen, and it starts to lay golden eggs....And the giant comes looking for it!

It's a good story, well-told, with many little twists on the original adding lots of interest!

Like The  Brixen Witch, One Witch at a Time is the sort of fairy tale in which magic is slotted comfortably into a real world context, in this case, a historical Bavaria.  The strong sense of real place, and the believable characters, makes for very satisfying reading, especially for kids for whom the silly doesn't always work.   It's not a wild and whimsical fairytale fun (like The Hero's Guide series, or E.D. Baker's books); instead, I'd give these to fans of Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted and A Tale of Two Castles. 

What sets DeKeyser's books apart is that they are the only younger middle grade fairytale retellings (9 to 10 year olds) I can think of that have a boy as the central protagonist (feel free to let me know I'm wrong!).  Rudi is an ordinary boy, not Chosen, or specially gifted--just reasonably smart and brave, who does what he feels he must as best he can.  There's enough magic and adventure to satisfy the avid fan of fantasy, but this solid base of relatibility (I don't like the word, but can't think of how better to say it) might also win them fans among kids who don't necessarily dream of being young wizards themselves....

But really, what's most important to me is that I enjoyed both the books! 

(note on the cover--the cover for Brixen Witch tilted perhaps too strongly toward historical fiction; the cover of this one goes off in the opposite direction.  It doesn't convey anything about what this book is really about (a Jack and the Bean Stalk retelling in which there are no witches who wear pointy hats).  This might make it hard for the kids who will really love it (and I think there should be lots of those) to find it).

Disclaimer: review copy of One Witch at a Time received from the author.

No Time Like Tomorrow, by Ted White, for Timeslip Tuesday (an odd book from yesteryear)

There are reasons why some books become timeless science fiction classics, read by generations of kids, and others are not even checked out of the library in the years right after they are published, leaving me to be the one that has to make a book record for them on Goodreads.  Sadly, No Time Like Tomorrow, by Ted White (1969), is an example of the later type of book.

The title is fine; a good choice for a time travel book in which a 1960s teenager, Frank, is mistakenly transported 500 years into the future (the folks in the future were experimenting, obviously without success, with faster than light travel).  Frank is also a fine name for an Everyboy representing contemporary humanity.

The cover, however, is not fine.  I don't get any sense of "the future is exciting" from it.  Instead I get "those two people look really creepy."  And if you are putting a futuristic saucer-shaped hovercraft thing on the cover, you might as well go all out and make it look like a futuristic hovercraft thing instead of a lightly-sketched dome of randomness (in the middle of the cover, by the white streak that isn't part of the original--sorry about the streak)
. 

So in any event, Frank gets sent to the future.   And wakes up in a strange (because it molds itself to him) bed, not knowing the language.  And an attractive girl, Dorian, comes in and starts feeding him with her fingers (as in, he has to suck the gloop off them) with odd undertones of titillation and this is just weird.  I cannot think of any books that have become sci fi classics for young readers that involve finger feeding of this sort.

We switch to Dorian's point of view, and via the first of many info dumps we learn who she is--heir to one of the mega powerful corporations that control everything.   We also learn that this is a sexist society; at most she will be a power behind the husband of her arranged marriage.  We think this future sucks, especially for the people at the bottom.

When Frank and Dorian are kidnapped, we get to go on a tour of the future earth and see how bad it is.   Here, however, the author becomes a bit confused.  While showing an awful, polluted, over-populated world with a terrible imbalance of power and lots of people in dire poverty having limbs hacked off by those in power etc. and their children taken as concubines to those in power etc., he also tries to defend capitalism with a message about how the middle class, if they just try, can have perfectly fine, successful lives--"There's still room for it.  This is a free capitalistic society, you know," says Archer, an older man who (for unclear reasons) is risking everything to help Frank and Dorian make it back to her family (page 96).    (Viz the unclear reasons--Archer's unborn son was genetically modified into a water-breathing mutant by one of the big corporations, and Archer kills his son to save him from a life of underwater slavery and things go badly for him and the rest of his family after that...I would have like a bit more exploration of how this led to him risking his relatively comfortable (though lonely) independence for two strange kids.)

In any event, the book ended up feeling didactic, but in a confusing way-- I felt that White was opposing the idea of a few big corporations controlling everything, including people's privacy, while trying to make Capitalism per se not the problem.   The book ends with Frank telling Dorian to try to use her influence (over her kids, because clearly that's the only sphere of power open to her) to make things better.   (If he was sending an anti-big-corporation/anti-uber rich few controlling everything message back then in the 1960s, clearly it did not fall on fertile ground....because here we are.  But like I said, I don't think the book was read much.) 

Back to the story.  We get more info dumps while the three of them travel.  This includes one about how televisions work, which is really not the point.   It is not really the book's fault, however, that the future technology seems rather meh-ish-- all the hover crafts and rockets  and instant global communication seem unremarkable from the 21st century point of view.

Frank and Dorian fall for each other.  This does not make either of them a more interesting, well-rounded character.   There is nothing that does.  It does not help that the author goes out of his way to tell us flat out at the beginning that Frank is not an interesting person (I like it when authors at least try to make their characters more than lumps).   The author also shows us clearly that Dorian is a spoiled and clueless person, dimwitted as a result of her sheltered upbringing and not likely to contribute anything useful to anything.

On the plus side, the plot made sense.... (except for the motivation of the helper character).  And on a sentence level, the writing was just fine.

Final thought--  as I said above, I do not think this book had a wide readership, one possible reader might have been Ronald Reagan, who famously said "Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do."   Pine trees are one specifically referenced source of pollution in this future world.  (you can read more about why this is silly here).  But in White's world, people breathing in and out is a cause of pollution too, for what that's worth.

Ok--now I've just gone and read the Kirkus review, which is almost as odd as this book (and which seems to have gotten Dorian's name wrong).  Here is my favorite bit from the Kirkus review:  "Then Frank and Damian are kidnapped by a rival corporation in a plot that fails to kill them and they are forced to make their way through the burrows of the peasant establishment...."  but the last sentence is almost as good-- "No Time could be read in no time."

The Return of Skeleton Man, by Joseph Bruchac

The Return of Skeleton Man, by Joseph Bruchac (HarperCollins, 2006), sequel to Skeleton Man (my review).

Last year Molly's worst nightmare had come true.  Skeleton Man was no longer just a scary story about a fleshing-eating monster from her Mohawk ancestors--he was real, and he came hunting for her.   But she defeated him....and now she's, maybe, free from his horror.   And so it's with a hopeful heart that she accompanies her parents to a conference at a mountain retreat in New York.  Maybe at last they can relax...

Nope!

Instead, a growing sense of dread turns into full on horror when it becomes clear that Skeleton Man is there too....hunting Molly....

Two rather cool things save her.   One is her ability to operate heavy machinery, a pleasing thing to see in an adolescent girl character!  The other is an unexpected ally--a Mayan woman with her own powerful connection to the strengths of the spirit world.

It's not quite as utterly terrifying as the first book, in which we meet Skeleton Man for the first time, and it takes perhaps a bit too long for the forebodings to turn into terror.  In that first one, Molly's parents have been kidnapped, and she's on her own; here her parents are with her, trying to be helpful and supportive, which blunts the menace somewhat.  And the return of Skeleton Man seems to me a bit unnecessary, blunting Molly's victory from book one.   But still it's a gripping read, especially if you like scary hotels sets in the middle of nowhere...

An additional reason to add this one to your shelves is that, like its predecessor, it's a pretty unique middle grade fantasy/horror book in that it features a contemporary family who is Native--it is who they are, in a matter-of fact way.

This week's round-up of middle grade speculative fiction from around the blogs (2/8/15)

Here's what I found this week; please let me know if I missed your post!

The Reviews

Akata Witch, by Nnedi Okorafor, at read. we are book punks.

Alistair Grim's Odditorium, by Gregory Funaro, at Sharon the Librarian

Beastkeeper, by Cat Hellisen, at The Book Monsters, Effortlessly Reading,  In Bed With Books, Cuddlebuggery, Snuggly Oranges, On Starships and Dragonwings

Dark Lord: School's Out, by Jamie Thomson, at alibrarymama

The Dragonet Prophecy (Wings of Fire book 1), by Tui T. Sutherland, at Hidden in Pages

Dreamer, Wisher, Liar, by Cherise Mericle Harper, at Time Travel Times Two

The Dreamsnatcher, by Abi Elphinstone, at Readaraptor

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There, by Catherynne M. Valente, at Fantasy Literature

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, at Leaf's Reviews, and a review of the whole series at Fantasy Faction

The Inquisitor's Mark, by Dianne K. Salerni, at Middle Grade Mafioso

The Islands of Chaldea, by Diana Wynne Jones, at Leaf's Reviews

Mark of the Thief, by Jennifer A. Nielsen, at Literary Rambles (with giveaway)

Monstrous, by MarcyKate Connolly, at The Daily Prophecy

Nuts to You, by Lynne Rae Perkins, at alibrarymama

A Plague of Unicorns, by Jane Yolen, at Read Love

The Power of Un, by Nancy Etchemendy, at Charlotte's Library

The Princess Curse, by Merrie Haskell, at The Daily Prophecy

Rose and the Silver Ghost, by Holly Webb, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

The Screaming Staircase, by Jonathan Stroud, at A Reader of Fictions (audiobook review)

The Shadow Throne, by Jennifer A. Nielsen, at Log Cabin Library

Space Case, by Stuart Gibbs, at Always in the Middle

The Swallow, by Charis Cotter, at Rachel's Reading Timbits

Tommy Black and the Staff of Light, by Jake Kerr, at This Kid Reviews Books

A World Without Princess, by Soman Chainani, at The Book Smugglers

The Zodiac Legacy-Convergence, by Stan Lee et al., at Charlotte's Library (giveaway)


Authors and Interviews

MarcyKate Connolly (Monstrous) at Literary Rambles (with giveaway)

"Angela Banks" (Finding Serendipity) on "How Two Write a Novel" at Nerdy Book Club

Pam Muñoz Ryan (Echo) at Publishers Weekly


Other Good Stuff:

Middle grade speculative fiction did not fare well in this year's ALA Youth Media Awards.  I Lived on Butterfly Hill, by Marjorie Agosín, is the 2015 Pura Belpré (Author) Award winner. And A Snicker of Magic is an Odyssey Honor Recording.  Oh well....

Lee and Low announce the finalists of the 2015 New Visions Award

The Guardian offers "The best talking animals in children's books."

Flavorwire has a nice long article about "We Need Diverse Books" --a good summary

At BoingBoing, "The best adventure stories for kids from 1965" includes lots of fantasy books.

I almost have enough snow lying around (with more falling) to try my hand at my own massive snow sculptures, but I think the Japanese army and their Stormtrooper tableau will always have me beat....

The Three Loves of Persimmon, by Cassandra Golds

I can now safely say that The Three Loves of Persimmon (Penguin Books Australia, 2010) is my favorite of Cassandra Golds' books, (although The Museum of Mary Child has a place in my heart as well).  The story of a lonely young woman (Persimmon), instructed via letters from her deceased, clairvoyant aunt to allow herself to look for love, and the story of a lonely young mouse (Epiphany), longing for some unimaginable, more beautiful life beyond the subterranean railroad platform that is her home, intersect beautifully to make a satisfying whole.   There is a happy ending for both, and I read it in a single sitting.

Really, that's all that needs to be said.  But just for the sake of a longer blog post, I will add that Persimmon has a flower shop (following her dream of flowers alienated her from her vegetable- loving family, leading to her loneliness), and it is flowers that draw young Epiphany up from below, leading to her important encounter (quite near the end of the book) with Persimmon.   I like flowers.  And I will add that a book plays an important role in Persimmon's happy ending, and I like books too.   And finally, like all of Cassandra Golds' books, the world is almost our own, but made just a more dreamlike and more magical; in this case, with light, rather than darkness---for instance, Persimmon's best friend is a talking ornamental cabbage named Rose (who is now my favorite fictional cabbage).

I was a tad worried that Persimmon, naïve and shy and vulnerable, was going to be need Saving (especially after the first two loves leave her in need of a third), but happily she finds her own strength and does not need that third love to make her believe that she is a person who matters.

A lovely book, and if you want a dreamlike, beautiful love story to escape winter with, this is an excellent choice.

Note:  I have wanted this book ever since it first came out in Australia, but the Book Depository didn't stock it, and Amazon only has it in Kindle form.  Years passed.  Then I found that there was way to get books with free shipping from Australia, via a website called Fishpond, and I am now slowly asking my loved ones for all the Australian books on my wishlist...this one was a Christmas present from my dear mother.

The Zodiac Legacy: Convergence, by Stan Lee, Stuart Moore, and Andie Tong -- with great giveaway!

The  Zodiac Legacy: Convergence, by Stan Lee, Stuart Moore, and Andie Tong (Disney, January 27, 2015) is a rip-roaring story of young teens with super-powers, pitted against a powerful bad guy who wants to take over the world.  What makes this one tremendously interesting is that the super-powers come from the Chinese signs of the Zodiac--each of the major players in the story is a vessel for the powers of each sign.

Steven Lee, a 14 year-old Chinese-American kid on his first trip to Hong Kong, left his tour group in the middle of a museum to follow a strange woman through a mysterious door.  He had no idea that doing so would end up with him being Tiger, filled with all the powers of that Sign, and allied against a criminal mastermind named Maxwell, who embodies the power of Dragon.  Steven finds himself part of a frantic search for the four Zodiac powers that had escaped Maxwell's control.   But finding the four--in France, South Africa, Ireland, and the states, is only the first step. The four new recruits and Steven must learn to work as a team, and master their powers....before Maxwell can capture them, and use their powers for his own nefarious purposes.

It is a heck of a fun fast read--I very much enjoyed the whole finding and recruiting and getting to know each member of the team, and seeing how their Zodiac powers manifest (in very cool ways!).  And it has just tons of appeal for any young reader who thrills to ordinary teens granted supernatural gifts and caught up in a wild and dangerous adventure.  I myself started this one by reading it out loud to my eleven-year-old, and he was quickly and irrevocably hooked--this is a great one for 11-13 year olds (the whole "building a team" part seems to me an especially middle-grade friendly theme).  The frequent illustrations add to the kid-friendliness, especially for those who like to see the action for themselves!

I'm very happy to be part of the Zodiac blog tour, with a great giveaway  to offer:

THE ZODIAC LEGACY prize pack

One (1) winner receives:

·         a copy of The Zodiac Legacy: Convergence ,

·         plus custom ZODIAC LEGACY temporary tattoos.

Simply leave a comment by midnight, February 13th to be entered to win! (US and Canada only)

Learn more about the book at DisneyZodiac.com, watch the Book Trailer, and follow #ZodiacLegacy to find more chances to win!

And visit the Zodiac Generator to find your own animal power!

 

About the Creative Team:

Stan Lee is known to millions as the man whose Super Heroes propelled Marvel to its preeminent position in the comic book industry. His co-creations include Spider-Man, The Avengers, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Fantastic Four, as well as hundreds of others. He introduced Spider-Man as a syndicated newspaper strip that became the most successful of all syndicated adventure strips and has appeared in more than 500 newspapers worldwide. Stan currently remains Chairman Emeritus of Marvel, as well as a member of the Editorial Board of Marvel Comics. He is also the Chairman & Chief Creative officer of POW! Entertainment, a multimedia entertainment company based in Beverly Hills, CA.

 

Stuart Moore has been a writer, a book editor, and an award-winning comics editor. His recent writing includes Civil War, the first in a new line of prose novels from Marvel Comics, The Art of Iron Man 3 (Marvel, with Marie Javins); and THE 99, a multicultural super hero comic from Teshkeel.

 

Andie Tong has worked on titles for various franchises, including Tron: Betrayal, Spectacular Spider-Man UK, The Batman Strikes, Smallville, Wheel of Time, TMNT, Masters of the Universe, and Starship Troopers, working for companies such as Disney, Marvel, DC Comics, Panini, Dark Horse, and Dynamite Entertainment, as well as commercial illustrations for numerous advertising agencies including Nike, Universal, CBS, Mattel, and Habsro. When he gets the chance, Andie concept designs for various companies, and also juggles illustration duties on a range of children's picture storybooks for Harper Collins. Malaysian born, Andie migrated to Australia at a young age, and then moved to London in 2005. In 2012, he journeyed back to Asia and currently resides in Singapore with this wife and daughter.

Disclaimer: Review copy  & prizing  provided by Disney Enterprises, Inc.

The Power of Un, by Nancy Etchemendy, for Timeslip Tuesday

The Power of Un, by Nancy Etchemendy (Scholastic, 2002), is a solid middle grade example of the "do-over" sub-genre of time travel--the sort where you relive bits of you own past and make changes to it that you hope will make it better.   In this case, a boy named Gib has had a bad day of your ordinary things going wrong at school and being stuck taking your little sister to the fair with you....nothing to terrible, but enough to send him out on a walk to the woods alone to sort of sulk for a bit before the fair starts.

There he meets a strange old man who gives him a time machine, and then vanishes in a tiresome sort of way before explaining how to use it.

Gib's bad day certainly wasn't enough to justify a do-over at that point, and in any event he'd dropped the time machine in the darkening woods and couldn't find it again,.  But then, at the fair, tragedy strikes, and because of Gib's inattention, his little sister is in a terrible accident.  Now it is definitely do-over time....and happily the time machine can be found and figured out.

And Gib's bad day happens again...only this time he knows how to make it less bad.  But still his little sister ends up at the fair, and still there is a terrible accident.  So he tries again.   The third time becomes even more important when the time machine gets broken.  And the disastrous accident this time around is something that at least everyone can survive, which is good.

The time machine is called an "unner," because it un-does, and so (in my mind at least) the title, as well as referencing that, is also a play on the power of one, as in one person changing things.   If you think this is deep, you will probably like the book lots.  And indeed it is a perfectly fine first "changing the recent past book," that does a good job exploring how little things can, or can't, change the outcome of events.  It's thought-provoking, and things move briskly, and I appreciated the little twist at the end, and I can easily imagine 9 year olds thinking it's great.

But I myself can't really say it's better than "fine."   Possibly because Gib didn't have enough personality for me to be sure I liked him  (possibly this is because the kid on the cover doesn't look like the sort of kid I would have been friends with, in which case it is deeply unfair of me).   

But, you know, you don't have to believe me.  The blurb at Amazon says "This fascinating, approachable, and critically-acclaimed sci-fi/fantasy story is blessed with an intelligent and likeable character. The Power of Un was the winner of the 2000 Bram Stoker Award."  

School Library Journal said "As the story gathers speed, suspense builds to a surprising and satisfying conclusion with room for more than one sequel. The book's themes and plot twists take it beyond the conventional, resulting in a delightfully thought-provoking science-fiction story."

My own short answer is that I didn't mind reading it.

Although I think if I had had the UK cover, certain sensitive children kicking around might have asked me to hide it.

Soulprint, by Megan Miranda

Soulprint, by Megan Miranda (Bloomsbury, YA, Feb. 3, 2015), is a thriller/mystery/adventure with a fascinating twist--reincarnation is real, your soul can be tracked from rebirth to rebirth, and what your past self has done, you might have to pay for. 

For no one this is more true than for 17-year-old Alina Chase.  She has been imprisoned on an island and separated from her family because of what her past self, a young woman named June, did.  June asked whether those who were reincarnations of violent criminals were more likely to commit violent crimes themselves, and when the results of her study were published, showing an 0.8 likelihood that this was the case, a maelstrom broke out.  Kids were attacked for the crimes of their past lives, the ethics of this knowledge were the subject of fierce debate, and June was the lightning rod at the center of the storm.

But then it became clear that this information was being used for blackmail...and June became a wanted fugitive and was ultimately killed.  And her soul was tracked...and Alina was found, and imprisoned, lest she continue what June had begun.

Then Alina is broken free from her island prison by three teens, each with their own agenda.  In the outside world, Alina soon finds that she herself has a mission--she is determined to follow a series of clues that June has left, and find out for herself just who June was, and what she did.  Pursued by the government, and up against shadier figures determined to stop her, she has to rely on the three strangers who freed her.

One is a computer genius.  One is someone who turns out not to be a stranger at all.  And one she falls in love with....

The fascinating speculation about reincarnation at the heart of the book--a real zinger of a nature vs nurture/free will vs destiny question--was something I enjoyed lots.   Alina has lived all her life in June's shadow, and wrestles with how much of June she is doomed to repeat.  Is she herself, or not?

And the pages turned quickly as the path to the truth (a rather dangerous path) unfolded.  Always just a few steps away from capture, Alina has to come to terms with the fact that her rescuers didn't do it for her sake, but for their own reasons....and so, while staying free and finding the truth are the main driving forces of the events that follow, Alina also has to decide just who she can trust.

I felt that the story could have been compressed just a tad--I wanted the resolution to come more briskly than it did (and once all the internal questions had been resolved, I found I was not so interested in the external ones, but that's a matter of personal taste).  On the other hand, the length of the story did give Alina time to develop a more realistic romantic relationship, so there's that.

In any event, I think plenty of teens who enjoy a solid speculative fiction romance will enjoy it just fine.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher.

This week's middle grade sci fi/fantasy roundup--the "will a mg spec. fic. book win the Newbery" edition (2/1/15)

So tomorrow the Newbery Award is being announced!  I always like to have a spec. fic. book to root for, and this year I think the strongest, most "what I consider Newbery-worthy" book is The Witch's Boy, by Kelly Barnhill.  The writing is truly rich and lovely.  My second choice would be Greenglass House, by Kate Milford, but perhaps more because it is a book I personally liked than because I think the writing, qua writing, is Newbery-worthy.   If you have one you are rooting for, share it in the comments!

And now, the round-up; please let me know if I missed your post!

The Reviews

Beastkeeper, by Kat Hellisen, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile and Me On Books

Beneath, by Roland Smith, at Charlotte's Library

The Cat at the Wall, by Deborah Ellis, at alibrarymama

Convergence (The Zodiac Legacy Book 1), by Stan Lee, at Guys Lit Wire

Dragon Castle, by Joseph Bruchac, at @HomeLibrarian

Echo, by Pam Munoz Ryan, at Hidden In Pages

Future Flash, by Kita Helmetag Murdock, at alibrarymama

The Glass Sentence, by S.E. Grove, at Fantasy Book Critic

The Imaginary, by A.F. Harrold, at Mom Read It

Jinx, by Sage Blackwood, at Leaf's Reviews

The Last Wild, by Piers Torday, at Granite Media

Lost in Paris (Mira's Diary, book 1), by Marissa Moss, at Pages Unbound

Maddy West and the Tongue Taker, by Brian Faulkner, at The Write Path

The Magic Half, by Annie Barrows, at Books Beside My Bed

Mark of the Thief, by Jennifer A. Nielsen, at Jen Robinson's Book Page

Monstrous, by MarcyKate Connolly, at Librarian of Snark

No Place for Magic, by E.D. Baker, at Leaf's Reviews

The Only Ones, by Aaron Starmer, at Time Travel Times Two

A Plague of Unicorns, by Jane Yolen, at Geo Librarian

Skeleton Man, by Joseph Bruchac, at @HomeLibrarian

A Snicker of Magic, by Natalie Lloyd, at Read Till Dawn

The Story of the Amulet, by E. Nesbit, at Charlotte's Library

The Whispering Skull, by Jonathan Stroud, at Log Cabin Library


Authors and Interviews

Dianne K. Salernie (The Inquisitor's Mark) at Just Get It Written

Peggy Eddleman (Sky Jumpers) at Go Teen Writers


Other Good Stuff

Shane Hegarty's monster hunting series, Darkmouth, has been optioned; the first book in the series, The Legends Begin, is out in the US, from HarperCollins, in April. Read more at Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books

5 Misconceptions about Sci Fi for kids, at Views from the Tesseract

Not exactly "good", but food for thought--How to Protect Yourself Online If You're a Book Blogger, at Ruth Silver  (a post that resulted from an author sending her an unlicensed image)

I suggested to my husband that we start life afresh as owners of The Enchanted Forest in British Columbia....but he didn't leap at the idea, so it's still for sale.....(via Once Upon a Blog)

My TBR Pile Challenge progress, and a list of books coming out in February that I'd like to read but can't

At the beginning of the year, I double dog dared myself at James Reads Books to read 100 books from my TBR pile before I could actively seek out and read new books (books received for review don't count).   And I have made progress.

In January I read 38 books.  Except for three, they were all TBR pile-ers, so that is pretty good, though not as may as I would have liked...and it is hard! to not read the shiny and new that isn't already in my home.

Happily, I have some ARCs of February books on hand...but alas!  there are others that I don't have, and if I'm going to play fair, I can't read them till I've read 62 TBR books (though of course they might show up, unexpected and unlooked for, in my mailbox...)

The ones I don't have that I know about:

Dearest, by Althea Kontis The third woodcutter sisters book is coming out!  Why did I only just find out???  I will share the blurb because this is my favorite fairy tale!!!  "When Friday stumbles upon seven sleeping brothers in her sister Sunday's palace, she takes one look at Tristan and knows he's her future. But the brothers are cursed to be swans by day. Can Friday's unique magic somehow break the spell?"

Beastkeeper, by Cat Hellisen

The Bell Between Worlds, by Ian Johnstone

Doubleborn, by Toby Forward

The Dragons of Crumbling Castle, by Terry Pratchett

Moonpenny Island, by Tricia Springstubb

Mars Evacuees, by Sophia McDougall

Mark of the Thief, by Jennifer Nielsen

Echo, by Pam Muñoz Ryan

And then on top of that there are other books I want to get:

The Door That Led to Where by Sally Gardner
Living in Threes by Judith Tarr
The Great House of Estraville by Violet Needham
Walden's Shore: Henry David Thoreau and Nineteenth-Century Science by Robert M. Thorson

and doubtless others, scrawled on pieces of paper, in my library account, on paperback bookswap.

But I will be Strong!  Someday I will once again live a life without Book Guilt!  I can do it!  (maybe).

65 more to go.

Beneath, by Roland Smith

Beneath, by Roland Smith ( Scholastic, middle grade, January 27, 2015)

Pat has always been there to help his older brother, Coop, wheel-barrowing tons of dirt, for instance,  from the massive tunnel Coop excavated under their neighborhood (it ended badly when they hit a gas line and the FBI got involved).  Then Coop, always a strange kid at odds with their parents, took off when he was 14.  A year later, the recordings begin to arrive, chronicling Coop's explorations of  New York.  For a kid like Coop, obsessed with things underground, New York, with its miles of tunnels, was an obvious destination. 

Then the recordings stop coming.  Pat decides he too must head up to New York, to find his brother, and indeed, Coop is in deep trouble (pun intended) down below.  But there is more going on beneath New York than Pat could have dreamt, and soon he realizes that there is more at stake than just his brother's life.  Fortunately Pat is found down in the dark by a girl named Kate--the one person with both the will and the means to help him and Coop escape....if they are lucky.

The bad guys under New York are not your fantasy trolls or fairies.  They aren't strange mutants with special powers.  And that makes them even more scary. 

Pat's journey is a harrowing one, with the levels of tension going up and up the further he goes down.  A solid storyline is further bolstered by interesting supporting characters, a nice emphasis on sibling loyalty, and a surprisingly believable dystopia beneath the city streets.  The result is a fine thriller for readers 11-13ish.

Give this one to the young reader who leans more to gritty excitement with guns, Tasers, and savage dogs than to sword fights.  Don't give it to a kid who's afraid of the dark....or tight spaces....unless they want to be scared!

bonus--the reader sees through Pat's eyes (as he finds his way below with the help of a dumpster- diving companion) the staggering amount of waste our society generates, and though it is not emphasized or moralized at all, it's a good thing, in my opinion, to bring to the attention of younger readers.

(I'm labeling this one science fiction, because it takes a possible but really really unlikely (I hope) reality and makes it  plausible but still fantastical.  Realistic fiction doesn't describe it well).

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

Ares, Bringer of War, by George O'Connor

Ares, Bringer of War, by George O'Connor (First Second, January 2015), is the most recent in his graphic novel series about the Olympian gods.   Ares is the god of war, and O'Connor makes it clear just what sort of bloody violence most delights him.  In contrast to Athena, whose purview is strategy, strong defense, and rational decision-making in conflict, Ares is the god of slaughter in battle.   And what better venue in which to showcase his blood-loving nature than the Trojan War?

The war has been dragging on for years, and the gods and goddesses are personally invested, so much so that even Aphrodite visits the battleground and is wounded.   At last Zeus declares that no Olympian shall venture into the field of conflict.  But as the war progress, and first Hector and then Achilles are slain, the conflict among the gods and goddesses rages even more fiercely....with mortals paying the price.

Ares is the least sympathetic of the Olympians...but the Trojan War, especially as portrayed here, gives many of the immortals a chance to show their worst, most interfering, most partisan sides.   It is a maelstrom of violence and arrogance--just the sort of thing Areas loves. And George O'Connor's art shows it all beautifully.

It's a book that requires some previous knowledge of the gods and the Trojan War in order to make sense of things; there are many characters, and many backstories.    O'Connor's previous books, each focusing on a different deity, have provided much of this background information--this is a series best read in order.   And readers who have read the Iliad will be familiar with much of the material (and that being said, this is just the sort of supplemental book I'd offer anyone studying the Iliad in school!  Especially those who learn best with pictures....all the different names get confusing, and it helps to see the story shown as well as told).

In short, readers who thrill to battle will find this installment very worthwhile.

disclaimer: review copy received for the publisher for review as part of the Ares blog tour.

All the Bright Places, by Jennifer Niven

All the Bright Places, by Jennifer Niven (Knopf Books for Young Readers, January 2015), isn't the sort of book I usually post about, or even read--it's not speculative fiction, it's not middle grade....instead, it's a poignant YA book about sadness and mental illness. 

Two teenagers, Finch and Violet, meet on top of their school's bell tower.  Both were thinking of suicide, Finch because that sort of thinking is part of his way of being in the world, a way of convincing himself he is still alive, and Violet out of sadness because of her sister's death.  Finch gets Violet down safely, but Violet gets credit for saving Finch....

And their lives entwine.  Together they explore the wild and wacky corners of Indiana, and learn each other, falling in love.  But Finch, though he does the best he can, is drowning in the swirling extremes of his own mind, and oh goodness, as I read, I was more and more anxious to be reassured that he would be saved for real, by himself or by Violet, but.

So it is dark, and sad.   But yet the experiences Violet and Finch share, and their relationship, are beautiful, and memorable, and heart-warming.   It's one of the more memorable and heart-touching stories of mental illness I've read...possible because Finch seems so help-able, so worth helping, and Violet is so much more than side-kick supporter.

Things this book made me want to do:

1.  Make sure I am a better, more aware mother than Finch's is (this is not hard).
2.  Never let my kids drive on icy roads (this is probably inevitable, so maybe never let them drive on bridges in winter, which is more feasible)
3.  Go on a road trip to Indiana (seriously, this book should have a map included)
4.  Read Virginia Wolff's The Waves, from which Finch and Violet quote (with the help of some quick google searching, which made it much more believable).

Here's the Kirkus review (starred).

Disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

The Story of the Amulet, by E. Nesbit, for Timeslip Tuesday

The Story of the Amulet, by E. Nesbit (1906), was the first time travel book I ever read, back when I was eight.  That is my copy of the 1975 edition at right, and I must say it has held up rather well considering all the many, many re-readings it suffered (though I am not a spine-breaker, and never have been).  It is also possibly the first time travel book published in English for children, although Puck of Pook's Hill, by Kipling, was also published that year, and I'm not sure if there anything earlier from North America. It was also the first of Nesbit's fantasy books I read, even though it is the third of a series about the magical adventures of Cyril, Anthea, Robert, and Jane (and their baby brother, the Lamb), and it was always my favorite, perhaps because of it being first.

The four children had previously (in Five Children and It) met the Psammead, a sand-fairy who granted wishes.  The wishes went horribly wrong, and the Psammead refused to grant them any more.  But when the children unexpectly find him trapped in a pet store they rescue him, and though he won't do magic for them himself he does help them find a magical artifact--half of an amulet.  If the other piece can be found, the children's hearts desire will be granted.   Their mother  and the Lamb, abroad for their health, and their father, an overseas reporter in Manturia, will come back safely.

The half amulet can't do much alone, but what it can do is wonderful.  It can make a gateway into any time in the past when the two halves were together.   And so, aided and abetted (to a certain limited extent, due to grumpiness) by the Psammead, the four children set off into the past on their mission.

Time travelling visits ensue to prehistoric North Africa, Atlantis, Babylon, ancient Egypt, a ship of Tyre sailing to the Tin Islands, just pre-Roman Britian (with added visit to Julius Ceasar), the future, and the very very distant past.  Nesbit does a great job conveying historical accurate vividness (with one exception, noted below)  So much so that it is quite possible that this book influenced my decision to be an archaeologist (made when I was nine and my mother suggested it).  Unlike the historical fiction I'd also read, which has no place for modern children to be part of the past, this might have been the first book that gave me the idea that you could visit the past  and hold the things people made and used and tell their stories.

A girl never forgets her first Fall of Atlantis, and the waves crashing over the doomed city....and I've never forgotten Imogene, an unwanted waif from the book's present travelling back to early Britain and finding a mother who needs her and loves her fiercely.  And I will always love Jimmy, the learned gentleman who lives upstairs from the children, and who not only provides scholarly commentary but who also ends up providing sensible adult guidance.

I did not like it at all when the Queen of Babylon arrived in London and caused mayhem (her time travel came about through a wish that the Psammead had been forced to grant after a visit to the amulet back in her own day).  There was too much chaos, confusion, and difficult as her royal expectations clashed with those of the back streets of London, and her ideas of who owned the Babylonian jewelry in the British Museum were problematic.  I was also put off by the preachy boy from the very dubious utopian future, and continued to be so as a grown-up.

But despite the little prig from the future, when I re-read the book this past month, for the first time in about eight years, I was pleased to find I enjoyed it as much as ever.    I love Nesbit's dryly understated narrative humor (I find sentences like "It was plain that Cyril was not pleased" in a situation where he's very upset indeed to be very, very tasty).  And  she understands that young readers can appreciate recognizing themselves and be amused without everything being spelled out.

As a grown-up, I also appreciated the fact that the children, left to the care of their old nurse, do not remain obliviously to the hard work she's doing to keep them comfortable.   They don't suddenly become young socialists, or even aware of their privilege in a broad sense, but they at least don't take it all for granted.  However, as a grown-up I was profoundly discomfited by a visit to prehistoric North Africa where fair-skinned villages are attacked by darker, less civilized people.   Sigh.

Despite that, this is still a favorite book...so much so that I am having an awfully hard time reading Five Children on the Western Front, by Kate Saunders, which continues the story of this family and the Psammead.    It isn't Nesbit, and I am having trouble judging it on its own merits.

Stranger, by Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith

Stranger, by Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith (Viking Juvenile, YA, Nov. 2014)--is the most beautifully character-focused adventure set in a damaged Earth I've read in years.   And as the snow begins to fall in earnest, it's nice to be revisiting somewhere warm--southern California, many years into the future...still hot and dry, but now a place damaged by solar storms that destroyed all things technological.

In wastelands full of strange mutated plants and animals, prospectors scavenge for treasures.  But there still places where people have built communities that work...and one such is the small town of  Las Anclas.   There a diverse group of people keep themselves safe from the threats of the outside world...but though ethnic diversity is taken for granted, there is still tension.  Some of the people have Changed, and some have not.  Some of the Changed can do impossible things with their minds and bodies, some have bodies that are not quite human.   And some of those who are Normal are repulsed and hostile to these changes.  And on top of that tension, there's the fact that many of these people have gone through trauma--horrible things have happened, and there's a good chance that there is more to come.

Into the world of Las Anclas comes Ross Juarez, a badly wounded young prospector who has never known what "community" means.  He brings with him a treasure--a book that holds information that could make Las Anclas safe, or destroy it.  For he is being pursued...

Much of the story is told from Ross's point of view, but many other characters are front and center as well--young people, trying like all teenagers to make sense of their world and their place within it.   For Ross, the whole idea of having a place is itself alien, but slowly he learns that trust, and even love, are possible.  And as an added bonus, there were plenty of older people with interesting stories of their own too.

I loved it. The world building is diverting as heck, what with all the strange things (deadly crystal trees, teleporting squirrels, monstrous pit mouths, and more), the community of Las Anclas and its beautifully characterized residents is a joy, and the depth of caring I started feeling for them made me hold the book more and more grimly as the tensions mounted and the town, and all it stood for, were threatened. 

 I said on twitter that it was "so good I had to keep taking breaks," and since I usually praise a book by saying I "read it in a single sitting" I thought I'd explain.   I was so right there with Ross and Jennie and Yuki and Mia (lovely, geeky Mia!) that my introverted self periodically became overwhelmed by my mental interaction with them, and I had to recharge.  So the breaks weren't because I wasn't enjoying, but because I needed to step away, and let things sink into my mind.

If your curiosity is piqued, do visit the authors' Big Idea post at Whatever, in which they tell how they built their world and peopled it with kickass grandmas, and gay kids and straight ones and wondering ones, where, to quote their post, "an African-American girl who joins the town’s elite military Rangers wonders if she’s their token… telekinetic" and where books are precious things, and education goes on in spite of everything....

There are two interesting things about the publication of this book.   One is that an agent from a major literary agency asked that a gay character be made straight, or else that his viewpoint be removed.  The authors did not do so, and you can read more about that here.  The other interesting thing is that the subsequent books in the series will be self-published; you can read more about the reasons for that decision here.

Note on age of reader--I told my kids about the agent wanted to eliminate the gay character, and this made my 11 year old, the voracious reader, want badly to read it in a show of support (and he liked the cover and the premise).   After reading it myself, I can say it's not one I would have thought to have given him--there is a lot about romantic relationships--thinking about them, finding them, building them, ending them--and he's not (I think) thinking along those lines himself.  Yet.  But it's not a bad thing to be introduced to what's going to happen to you in the future by people you can trust and empathize with (the characters in the book), and though there is violence, and horrible things happen, it's certainly no worse than The Hunger Games.   So I will leave it around the living room for him to try if he feels so inclined...and if he doesn't, I will more aggressively foist it on him a year or so.....

So in short, if you are a fan of challenging futures, this is one for you, if you want to add diversity to your reading, check it out, but even more so, if you are a fan of brilliant characterization, read it now!  (Of course, if you are a fan of non-stop action that leaves little time for reflection, and don't care what's going on inside people's minds, you might like it less well).

And finally, thank you, Rachel, for sending me a copy to review! 

This week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (1/25/15)

Here's another week's worth of reviews and miscellany of interest to us fans of middle grade sci fi and fantasy; please let me know if I missed your post!  Thanks.

The Reviews

Abracadabra Tut, by Page McBriar, at Sonderbooks

Alistair Grim's Odditorium, by Gregory Funaro, at Mundie Kids

Beastkeeper, by Cat Hellisen, at Xpresso Reads

The Bell Between Worlds, by Ian Johnstone, at Bart's Bookshelf

Boys of Blur, by N.D. Wilson, at Sonderbooks

The Cat at the Wall, by Deborah Ellis, at Sonderbooks

The City of Ember, by Jeanne DuPrau, at Read Till Dawn

Doll Bones, by Holly Black, at Leaf's Reviews

The Door That Led to Where, by Sally Gardner, at Reviews from a Bookworm

The Dream Snatcher, by Abi Elphinstone, at Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books and Luna's Little Library

Echo, by Pam Muñoz Ryan, at The Book Wars

The False Prince, by Jennifer A. Neilsen, at Bibliobrit

The Fourteenth Goldfish, by Jennifer L. Holm, at Redeemed Reader

Ghosts of War: The Secret of Midway, by Steve Watkins, at The Children's War

Griffin's Castle, by Jenny Nemmo, at Jean Little Library

Jupiter Pirates: Hunt for the Hydra, by Jason Fry, at Boys Rule Boys Read and Sonderbooks

Kat, Incorrigible, by Stephanie Burgis, at Skye's Scribblings

The Last Present, by Wendy Mass, at Read Till Dawn

Lavender-Green Magic, by Andre Norton, at Charlotte's Library

Loki's Wolves, by K.L. Armstrong and M.A. Marr, at Cover2CoverBlog

The Luck Uglies, by Paul Durham, at Sonderbooks

The Map to Everywhere, by Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis, at Readaraptor

Moon Rising (Wings of Fire Book 6), by Tui T. Sutherland, at Charlotte's Library

Nuts to You, by Lynne Rae Perkins, at Sonderbooks

Operation Bunny, by Sally Gardner, at Becky's Book Reviews

Pathfinder, by Angie Sage, at alibrarymama

A Plague of Unicorns, by Jane Yolen, at Read Till Dawn

The Royal Ranger, by John Flanagan, at Sonderbooks

Searching for Super, by Marion Jensen, at The Hiding Spot

"Shouldn't You Be in School?" by Lemony Snicket, at alibrarymama

Space Case, by Stuart Gibbs, at Sonderbooks

The Story Thieves, by James Riley, at Librarian of Snark

The Thickety, by J.A. White, at Pages Unbound

Tombquest: Book of the Dead, by Michael Northrup, at This Kid Reviews Books

Unlocking the Spell, by E.D. Baker, at Leaf's Reviews


Authors and Interviews

Dianne K. Salerni at Literary Rambles


Other Good Stuff:

Stephanie at Views From the Tesseract talks about a short story that inspired both her and Jason Fry (of Jupiter Pirates fame)

And  not exactly good stuff, because it is sad, but for those wishing to support Egmont authors with purchases--here are their 2015 books

Wings of Fire: Moon Rising, by Tui T. Sutherland- my favorite of the series (because dragons at boarding school is awesome)

I am on a strict mission not to bring new books (bought or borrowed) into the home until I have read down my tbr pile.  But at the same time, being a good mother is important to me.  Therefore, it was with entirely unselfish motives that I bought Wings of Fire: Moon Rising, by Tui T. Sutherland (Scholastic, Dec. 1, 2014) for my eleven year old son (he was very pleased, and sat down and read it in a single sitting), and it would have made the house messy (making me a bad mother) to have left the book lying around until I'd finished my tbr pile, so of course I had to read it myself.  The fact that I truly enjoyed the first five books in the series about young dragons from different dragon factions bring peace to a war-land was immaterial (or not).

Anyway, I really enjoyed Moon Rising.   Tui T. Sutherland had not anticipated the series continuing on  when she started the whole thing, and the first five books tell a complete story ending with Peace.  But of course Peace is something that has to be worked at, and there were lots of loose ends of different dragon stories, and so the story goes on! (Yay!)

This book is perhaps my favorite of the series.  The dragons of the first books have founded a school that will be an institute for cross-cultural dragon understanding and learning, and they've gathered together young dragons (many of whom are deeply scarred by their experiences in the war, and most of whom distrust/fear/loath each other) to be the first students.   One of these students is Moonwatcher, a young Nightwing who has the Nightwing powers of telepathy and prophecy that were thought to be lost.  

Moon is overwhelmed by the mental clamor of all the dragons around her....but then her mind hears what sounds like a dangerous plot that could threaten the school...and then, on top of that, her mind makes contact with another Nightwing (a truly mysterious strange powerful is-he-good-or-bad dragon and it is all very interesting indeed) and she and her cohort of dragons (one from each tribe) are plunged into a dangerous mystery.

The Wings of Fire series is an excellent one to give upper elementary school readers--some tolerance for harsh and vivid violence is required, but alongside the horrors of war and its aftermath, strong messages of friendship, tolerance, and forgiveness are presented in a way that will appeal tremendously to young readers.

But what I really truly liked in this installment is the new kid at boarding school story that's a large part of the book--all the details of the different dragons, and their worries and concerns, and the classes and classrooms and teachers....I love good school stories.  And I love Moon and her friends. 

#buyanegmontbook -- a look back at some of their good books that I reviewed

Saddened by the shuttering of Egmont's US publishing house, and inspired by Leila over at Bookshelves of Doom (because who isn't), I'm joining in the show of support of Egmont authors by looking back at some of the Egmont books I've reviewed over the years.

Anyone looking to travel to Italy and savor delicious food while fighting demons and enjoying a nice bit of romance should quickly read The Demon Catchers of Milan, and its sequel, The Halcyon Bird, by Kat Beyer.   Lovely books, and now I am very anxious about the fate of the next one in the series....(and truly, these books have the tastiest food of any fantasy books I can think of....)

Saving Thanehaven, by Catherine Jinx, is tons of fun for the fantasy game-loving middle grade reader.  It's an adventure set (literally) within a world of overlapping computer games, and it lots and lots of kid appeal.

I myself really enjoyed The Wizard of Dark Street, by Shawn Thomas Odyssey--it's a middle grade fantasy mystery staring a plucky girl with a wild talent for magic....and I am reminded that I have been wanting to read the sequel, The Magician's Tower, for several years now (is exasperated at self).

I am further exasperated at myself after re-reading my review of Human.4, by Mike Lancaster, in which I am so careful not to spoil anything that I don't do any sort of decent job explaining what the book is about.   The one thing I enjoyed in my review was the little aside about my then 8 year old:  "Although I have hopes that things might change by the time I post this review, as of now I am vexed and thwarted; my eight year old finds the cover of this book scary, and keeps hiding it so he won't have to see it. Therefore, it is no longer by the computer where I left it."  I never did try it on my then 11 year old...and now I am wanting to read again myself, and might well try it on my now 11 year old! Unless, of course, he still finds the cover scary.

Frozen in Time, by Ali Sparks, is a really solid middle grade time travel via cybernetic sleep story; I recommend it to anyone looking for a fun rainy day read.

Then there's the Jaguar Stones series, by J. and P. Voekel, the fourth (and happily the final) book of which (The Lost City) is just about to come out.  If you are 12 or 13 and want Mayan fantasy, these are the books for you.  Here's my review of the first, Middleworld, in which I said "the plot is light-hearted, but with scary bits. It was taken to very wild extremes, yet the fantastical, for the most part, avoided the twin traps of jungle-treasure-adventure-stereotype and farce."

And finally I want to mention Brightly Woven, by Alexandra Bracken--an engaging coming of age/romance/fantasy quest story, combining political and magical intrigue with more personal suspense, and a pleasant dash of humor.  She's the same Alexandra Bracken who went on to write the Darkest Minds series, which I didn't read because I was cross about not getting more Textile Fantasy but which I do hope to read someday......

Lavender-Green Magic, by Andre Norton, for Timeslip Tuesday

This week's time travel book is an oldie-- Lavender-Green Magic, by Andre Norton (1974, also published in paperback in 2006; that's the cover shown below right).  It's the story of three kids who are left to stay in Massachusetts with grandparents they've never met when their dad goes missing in Vietnam and their mother has to go to work full time.    Holly, the oldest of the three, is filled with doubt.  The grandparents make a living from the town dump, piecing together and mending and salvaging what is discarded, and she's old enough to find this horrifying, but not so old as to appreciate it; the twins, Judy and Crockett, are young enough to be fascinated....And Holly is also worried about being black kids in a white school.   She keeps herself to herself, and tries to keep Judy safe/isolated too.  And of course all three miss their mom something fierce.

The old dump is located at the edge of what was once a grand estate, now home to ruins and an overgrown maze.   One night Judy dreams of it...and the next day she leads her siblings through it's twists and turns to the home of a wise-woman, named Tamar--who had lived there back in the 17th century.  Tamar, wise in the shaping of thoughts into power (as well as being adept at herbal cures) is able to see into their hearts, and what she sees in Holly does not make her happy....

And indeed, Holly seems to be overtaken by angry, hurtful thoughts.  She's the next to lead the kids through the maze, but she takes them to a different woman--Tamar's sister, Hagar.   Who's not a nice sort of witch wise woman at all.  Holly's choices almost bring disaster to the family....and also to Tamar, when she's suspected of having used her powers in a dark witchy way and a mob of Puritans comes for her.   But all works out well.  Especially happily, for those of us who like gardening, the maze proves to be the key that will save the land by the dump from being sold, and the grandparents from being evicted.

Past and present are nicely twisted, although there isn't a whole heck of a lot of nuance to Tamar and Hagar, and there's not a jot of explanation about their powers (which are indeed real and magical).  These things have to be taken on faith.

Don't be reading this one for a tremendously accurate account of the Puritans, because it isn't.   Do be reading it for the herb-lore, and the descriptive pleasures of finding of old things amongst the junk.  And it is rare and pleasing to see a family of African-American kids at the center of an old and lovely/scary magical adventure.   I would have loved it as a child, and didn't mind at all reading it as a grown-up even though I wanted to shake Holly quite often, which is tiring when you want to be reading for comfort.

And I could have done without the grandmother's dialecitcal English of "laws"-es and apostrophies (jus', etc.).   Long, long paragraphs of this, that I worry would be off-putting to the young reader of today.  And I wish we'd had a chance to see Holly opening to the possibility of friendships at school.   Oh well.  Apart from the grandmother's truly jarring turns of phrase, I thought Norton did a reasonable job with issues of race, making it neither too much or too little of the story.

One thing (a pedantic sort of thing) that I think Norton messed up on is Hagar's name.   I was online today, reading up on Tamar and Hagar, both very interesting Old Testament women.   Hagar was enslaved, raped, cast out with her son into the wilderness...but seen and saved by God, and centuries later her story resonated deeply with many African-American women (you can read more here; scroll down).  Once you know this, it's a bit of a jarring note to have Hagar be the villainous one in a story starring African-American kids.

(And nothing to do with this book, but this bit of research led me on to a lovely book from 1888 called Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature, which is free online here and very diverting and worth sharing).