The Best of My 2009

You do it three times, and it's a tradition.

(I'm doing this early, though, because -- if all goes well -- we should be driving back from Texas today. So the numbers aren't quite exact. But that doesn't really matter, does it?)

Presenting my best of list for this year.

By the Numbers:
Middle Grade Fiction: 78
YA Fiction: 69
Graphic Novels: 11
Non-Fiction: 20
Fiction: 41
Grand Total: 219 (I made it past 200 this year! Woot!)

Challenges Completed: 9

Gotta do my awards...

Best Adult Fiction: People of the Book or Sweetness in the Belly. I couldn't decide.

Best YA book: Speak

Best Middle-grade book: Anything But Typical

Best Fantasy: Lips Touch Three Times and When You Reach Me

Best Sci-Fi/Distopian: The Stand (Hunger Games is a really, really close second.)

Best Graphic Novel: Tales from Outer Suburbia (with Babymouse: Dragonslayer coming in a close second.)

Best Non-Fiction: My Life in France

Best Romance: Poison Study (Valik still makes me swoon.)

Best Mysteries: Perhaps I should say best mystery writer? The Woman in White and The Moonstone.

Best Jacket Flap: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

And in other categories...

Books I should have read AGES ago: Tess of the D'Urbervilles, The Screwtape Letters, The Stand, The Wee Free Men, Fire and Hemlock, Speak, and My Life in France.

Favorite Reviews: Bee Season, The Darcys and the Bingleys, Devilish

Theme(s) that inadvertently manifested themselves: Women's bodies (Intuitive Eating; Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters; Artichoke's Heart; Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies); Baseball (The Brooklyn Nine, All the Broken Pieces, The Girl Who Threw Butterflies); Jane Austin (The Darcys and the Binglys; Pemberley by the Sea, Jane Austen Ruined My Life, Becoming Jane Austen); Darwin (The Adventures of Charley Darwin; The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate; Why Darwin Matters; I didn't get to Charles and Emma, but I wanted to...).

Writing Style/Genre I Discovered I liked: steampunk (Leviathan), zombie books (The Forest of Hands and Teeth)

Genre I'm getting tired of, finally: Vampires.

The Wink-Wink, Nudge-Nudge book: Pemberley by the Sea

Best Interviewee: Aaron Reynolds and Neil Numberman, followed closely by Shannon Hale.

Favorite Challenge (that wasn't hosted by Carl): End of the World II

Best main character: Katsa

Book for in-person book group I liked best: Garden Spells

Book for on-line book group I liked best: Fifth Business

Books I didn't feel the love for: Atonement, Chocolat, Bee Season, Fragile Eternity

Number of Shakespeare plays I read: 1 - The Tempest (and that was as a Manga Shakespeare; I totally cheated this year!), and I only saw 1 (Romeo and Juliet; the guy playing Romeo did him kind of Emo, and it totally worked.)

Number of Fantasy books I read: 57. Choosing the "best" was REALLY hard this year!

Books that Made me Laugh the most: The Tiffany Aching series, Order of the Odd-Fish, Whales on Stilts!, Leaving the Bellweathers

Authors everyone else loves that I discovered I liked: Terry Pratchett (fave: A Hat Full of Sky), Sarah Dessen (fave: Lock and Key), Elizabeth Scott (fave: Something, Maybe), Georgette Heyer (fave: The Talisman Ring).

Best Book from an author I previously didn't care for: The Trouble Begins at 8 (Sid Fleischman and I haven't gotten along in the past...)

First-time authors I'd love to see more from: Rosanne Parry (Heart of a Shepherd); Kathryn Fitzmore (The Year the Swallows Came Early); Ann Haywood Leal (Also Known as Harper)

Books I read the fastest: Hunger Games and Catching Fire

Favorite book from a series: The Last Olympian (Alas, what will I do without Percy Jackson? At least the movie is out in February!)

Newbery Books I read: The Graveyard Book. Pathetic. I need to get back to reading those again.

Books that made me want to go out and do something: Operation Yes (cheer!); My Life in France (cook! Visit the Smithsonian!); Sweetness in the Belly (read more about Africa!); Mission Control, This is Apollo (visit NASA in Houston!);

Books I abandoned: I finally became bold in my book abandoning: there too many this year to list! (25, half of which were Cybils reads.)

Here's to another great year! What were your favorites this year?

December Jacket Flap-a-thon

Another Middle Grade issue of the Jacket Flap-a-Thon. I promise next month will be more up to our usual diversity standards... In other news, stay tuned for the best-of-post tomorrow!

All the Broken Pieces (Scholastic Press): "Two years after being airlifted out of war-torn Vietnam, Matt Pin is haunted: by bombs that fell like dead crows, by the family -- and the terrible secret -- he left behind. Now, inside a caring adoptive home in the United States, a series of profound events force him to choose between silence and candor, blame and forgiveness, fear and freedom. By turns harrowing, dreamlike, sad, and triumphant, this searing debut novel, written in lucid verse, reveals an unforgettable perspective on the lasting impact of war and the healing power of love. "

I liked that this blurb evoked the simple, haunting style of the book. I don't like the "lucid verse" part, but otherwise, a good blurb.


Bull Rider (Margaret K. McElderry): "All it takes is eight seconds.... Cam O'Mara, grandson and younger brother of bull-riding champions, is not interested in partaking in the family sport. Cam is a skateboarder, and perfecting his tricks -- frontside flips, 360s -- means everything until his older brother, Ben, comes home from Iraq, paralyzed from a brain injury. What would make a skateboarder take a different kind of ride? And what would get him on a monstrosity of a bull named Ugly? If Cam can stay on for the requisite eight seconds, will the $15,000 prize bring hope and a future for his big brother?"

This blurb SO effectively sums up this book in a few short sentences. Awesome.

Year of the Bomb (Simon and Schuster): "When Paul and his friends Arnie, Crank, and Oz find out that a horror movie will be filmed in their town, they can't believe it -- they even manage to get onto the set and meet some of the extras. But then they learn that some of the actors are really undercover agents, and the four boys find themselves tangled in an investigation. Nuclear bombs, conspiracies, and pod people are only supposed to exist in horror movies -- right? Set against the backdrop of 1950s McCarthyism, this is a masterfully told coming-of-age novel by acclaimed writer Ronald Kidd."

Again, a great job in capturing the tone and feel of the book. As well as giving the reader enough information to make them interested, but not so much that they give the story away.

Other books read this month:
Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters
The Wine-Dark Sea

Captain Nobody

Umbrella Summer
Heart of a Shepherd
The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis
The Ship of Lost Souls
Leviathan
Leaving the Bellweathers
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg
Positively
Operation Yes
The Heretic's Daughter
Dream Girl

Sunday Salon: 2010 Reading/Blogging Goals

Those of you who've been following my blog for a while know that I don't really go in for blogging goals, let alone reading goals. I tend to just let things flow the way they do, not really worrying about "achieving" something. But, as I was sitting here, thinking about the end of the year (my best-of post will be up on Thursday, if you're interested), thinking about the several requests I've had to host a challenge again, and thinking maybe I should actually set some goals for 2010. It is a new decade, after all.

So Reading Goals:

• I am going to clear off my TBR shelf of ARCs, gifts, and past Cybils books (from this year and last!) that I want to read.
• I'm going to pace myself better than I did last year. I think I read *too* much (for me), and I've been feeling like I need to diversify my life a bit more. Perhaps stop double-booking?
  
• I will not buy any new books. Exception: the two that I need to buy for the 2010 challenge (probably the Hunger Games sequel and one other).
• I'm going to try and diversify my reading more: more books by people of color (I've been trying to do this for three years, now!), books set in and about places I know little about (Africa comes to mind), more books in genres I haven't tried. The GLBT challenge will help with this.
• I think I will indulge myself and reread books (which is why I joined the Flashback Challenge) this year. Only caveat: they can't have a (substantial) review on the blog.
  

And Blogging Goals:

• I will try to interview one author per month. It may not post on the first, though I would like it too, but there will be an author interview each month.
• I don't want to do blog tours anymore. I know they increase blog traffic, but I'm not sure I like being a part of them.
• I will try to resurrect Books-to-Movies. Which requires I see more movies, which means I ought to read less...
• And, yes, I think I will host another challenge. Perhaps I'll do another Well-Seasoned Reader, or maybe I'll take over the Armchair Challenge this year. Either way, nothing is going to happen until January, so stay tuned.
  

What are some of your reading/blogging goals for the coming year?

2009 Challenge #9: What's in a Name 2

Nothing like scraping in under the wire, is there? But, I managed to finish the What's in a Name 2 challenge.

What I read:

1. A book with a "profession" in its title. Captain Alatriste, Arturo Perez-Reverte (also for my challenge)

2. A book with a "time of day" in its title. Evernight, Claudia Gray

3. A book with a "relative" in its title. The Heretic's Daughter, Kathleen Kent

4. A book with a "body part" in its title. Orcle bones : a journey between China's past and present, Peter Hessler

5. A book with a "building" in its title. Coffeehouse Angel, Susan Selfors

6. A book with a "medical condition" in its title. Echoes From The Dead by Johan Theorin

My favorite of these? Probably Coffeehouse Angel. It was an interesting challenge, though.

The Heretic's Daughter

by Kathleen Kent
ages: adult
First sentence: "The distance by wagon from Billerica to neighboring Andover is but nine miles."
Support your local independent bookstore, buy it there!

This is a fascinating, harrowing tale about a time in American history that I know very little about: the Salem witch trials.

Our main character, Sarah Carrier, is growing up in Billerica (and later Andover), Massachusetts. She's often at odds with her hard, logical, unsentimental mother, Martha. Then, the summer of 1691, Martha is arrested on suspicion of being a witch, and asks Sarah to do the unspeakable: to cry out against her own mother in order to save her life. That's the basic plot in a nutshell, but the book is so much more than that. Rambling and long, it's a look at how Puritan communities and families functioned and interacted. It's an attempt to understand why the Salem witch trials happened -- whether it was just misunderstanding, fear, or jealousy; though in that case, I'm not sure it succeeded. I was left with almost more questions, especially after the descriptions of Martha's trial. It's almost incomprehensible to the modern mind how exactly everyone could let these abuses of human rights could go on. It was a different time and place, and that feeling is something Kent captured quite well.

The ending, for me, was a bit off, though. After Martha's trial (and eventual execution), the book goes on telling us the fate of Sarah. Sure, it's called the heretic's daughter, but I'm not sure I really cared that much about Sarah's fate. Perhaps it was because I was more emotionally invested in the story of her mother, and their relationship. Or maybe it was because Kent leaps over years and years in the final 7 pages. At any rate, the final revelation, the final secret her mother was keeping came as a "Huh, what?!" moment, which lessened the impact of the rest of the book.

Which, to be sure, was fascinating.

Christmas Book Week, Day 6

From the Dr. Seuss Christmas Classic:

So he paused. And the Grinch put his hand to his ear.
And he did hear a sound rising over the snow.
It started in low. Then it started to grow...

But the sound wasn't sad!
Why this sound sounded merry!
It couldn't be so!
But it WAS merry! VERY!

HE stared down at Who-ville!
The Grinch popped his eys!
Then he shook!
What he saw was a shocking surprise!

Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!
He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming!
IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold int eh snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?
"It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch Thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!"

And what happened then...?
Well... in Who-ville they say
That the Grinch's small heart
Grew three sizes that day!
And the minute his heart didn't feel quite so tight,
He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light
And he brought back the toys! And the food for the feast!
And he...

... HE HIMSELF ...!
The Grinch carved the roast beast!

Happy Christmas from my house to yours!

Christmas Book Week, Day 5

Happy Christmas Eve! This one should be obvious...

But I heard him exclaim,
ere he drove out of sight,
Happy Christmas to All,
and to All a Good Night!

(Which begs the question: do you have a favorite version of this story?)

Operation Yes

by Sarah Lewis Holmes
ages: 9+
First sentence: "
Review copy provided by publisher.
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Over the past two months, I have read a lot of books about war, death, loss, and kids dealing with all of that. Some of have been moving and made me cry, some have been irritating and made me annoyed. Few, however, have hit me just right. Operation Yes, though, is one of those few.

Bo is the son of an Air Force Colonel, living on base in Reform, North Carolina. They've moved a lot, of course, and he's not had a good track record with school. That is, until sixth grade and his new teacher, Miss Loupe. Miss Loupe is one of those teachers -- may we all be blessed enough to have one -- who makes learning exciting. Oh, how I wanted to be a part of her class. She's dynamic, she's thrilling, and she has Bo totally and completely engaged. That is, until Gari -- short for Garrison -- shows up.

Gari is Bo's cousin, and she's (yes, that's not a typo) come to stay with Bo and his family for a year while her mom, an Army nurse, is deployed to Iraq. To say that Gari is not happy about this, is to be wildly understating it. Gari is bitter, angry, and troublesome. And because Bo has the father he does, he gets blamed for much of the trouble that Gari brings. That is, until Miss Loupe's brother, Marc, goes missing in Afghanistan, and Bo, Gari and a couple other classmates hatch a plan that will bring hope to everyone.

The book, from the first page, gave me a sense of what it means to work together toward a common goal. To deal with the loss of someone, both through distance and injury. To hope in spite of mounting evidence to the contrary. To dream. To walk to a different drummer. And it made me want to stand up and cheer. Everything about it, from the writing and characters down to the plot had me hooked from page one. I couldn't put it down; I didn't want to put it down. And I didn't want it to end, even though the ending is supremely perfect.

If you have to read one book about War and Loss (and even if you don't), pick this one. You won't regret it.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I've been asked to make sure y'all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)

Christmas Book Week, Day 4

From Baboushka, retold by Arthur Schollet, and illustrated by Helen Cann. A not-so-subtle reminder to get out from under the business and just *enjoy* the season.

Now everyone was itching for news. No one could work. No one could stay indoors. No one that is, but Baboushka. Baboushka had work to do -- she always had. She swept, polished, scoured, and shined. Her house was the best kept, best polished, best washed, and best pained. Her garden was beautiful, her cooking superb.

"All this fuss for a star!" she muttered. "I don't even have time to look. I'm so behind. I must work all night!"

So she missed the star at its most dazzling, high overhead. She missed the line of twinkling lights coming toward the village at dawn. She missed the sound of pipes and drums, the tinkling of bells getting louder. She missed the voices and whispers and then the sudden quiet of the villagers, and the footsteps coming up the path to her door.

Positively

by Courtney Sheinmel
ages: 10+
First sentence: "
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

There are some books that quietly creep under your skin and stick there. Sure, you know up front that they are issue books, that the sole purpose of the story is to raise awareness on something or other -- in this case, AIDS, especially in children -- that the author particularly cares about. But, for many reasons, the story sticks with you.

The story in this case follows thirteen-year-old Emerson -- Emmy -- Price. She's HIV-positive, and her mother -- who had AIDS -- has recently passed away. Emmy's dealing with a lot of change (she's moved in with her dad and his new wife, who is expecting), a lot of pain, a lot of heartbreak, and it's almost too much for her to bear. She wants to give it all up: it's hard being different, taking meds all the time, and she misses her mom desperately. Then her dad sends her away to Camp Positive, a camp exclusively for HIV-positive kids. Over the course of the summer, Emmy learns to accept what has happened and move on.

It's an issue book, definitely: the authors note on the end was almost more moving than the story itself. The fact that the author cares about the subject, and wants to address issues surrounding AIDS and HIV. But, she gave us a character we could care about (and get irritated with; I spent a good half of the book annoyed with her) and care about the journey of. It's a touching book, it's a caring book. And so, it surpasses the issue-ness and becomes a genuinely good book.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I've been asked to make sure y'all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)

Christmas Book Week, Day 3

gFrom The Little House on the Prairie, which has been made into a lovely picture book called Santa Comes to Little House.

Laura and Mary never would have looked in their stockings again. The cups and the cakes and the candy were almost too much. They were too happy to speak. But Ma asked if they were sure the stockings were empty.

Then they put their hands down inside them, to make sure.

And in the very toe of each stocking was a shining bright, new penny!

They had never even thought of such a thing as having a penny. Think of having a whole penny for your very own. Think of having a cup and a cake and a stick of candy and a penny.

There had never been such a Christmas.

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg

by Rodman Philbrick
ages: 9+
First sentence: "My name is Homer P. Figg, and these are my true adventures."
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Life is not good for Homer P. Figg. His father was felled by a tree. His Dear Mother passed away, leaving Homer and his other brother, Harold, in the care of their uncle, Squint, who -- to write an enormous understatement -- doesn't treat them well. Now Squint has illegally sold Harold to the Union Army, and it's up to Homer to find him and bring him home.

These are his adventures. (Mostly true, anyway.)

And, boy are they adventures.

From getting caught by a couple of slave hunters (in Maine, of all places), and rescued by a Quaker to becoming a part of a traveling circus, this is one a rip-roaring adventure. Sure, it's a Civil War book; there's the same old Civil War themes of slavery, fighting, traitors, and death. But it didn't feel like a Civil War book; instead, it's more of an adventure story with a Civil War backdrop. (Bonus plus: Joshua Chamberlin, my absolute favorite Civil War character, made an appearance!) But, more than the unusual take on the war, the best part of the book was Homer. He's is not only a winning character, he's a wonderful narrator, even if he is (admittedly) a bit of a liar. It's not a lying book like, say, Justine Larbalestier's Liar is: the lying is more for comic effect, something which adds to the unique charm of Homer's character. But, it was that dash of comedy (and, yes, lying) that made the pages just fly by.

And it was Homer's charm that completely won me over. The cadence of the sentences, the word choices all lend itself to the whole charming tale. I'm not often a visual reader, but while reading this I had a definite picture of Homer. And I could totally wrap him up -- spite, spit, dirt and all -- and stick him in my pocket.

Which means that this one is a keeper.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I've been asked to make sure y'all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)

Christmas Book Week, Day 2

Happy Midwinter everyone! Find some sunshine, if you can, and pull out your (hopefully well-worn) copy of The Dark is Rising, and enjoy. If you haven't read it yet, here's a teaser to get you (hopefully) interested.

The snow lay thin and apologetic over the world. That wide grey sweep was the lawn, with the straggling trees of the orchard still dark beyond; the white squares were the roofs of the garage, the old barn, the rabbit hutches, the chicken coops. Further back there were only the flat fields of Dawson's farm, dimly white-striped. All the broad sky was grey, full of more snow that refused to fall. There was no colour anywhere.

Christmas Book Week, Day 1

I thought, this week before Christmas, amid all the reviews and other things (read: Cybils reading, girls home from school) I've got going on, I'd share some of my favorite quotes from Christmas books and stories.

To start off, because we're going to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol tonight, a couple from the Charles Dickens classic:

If you should happen, by any unlikely chance, to know a man more blest in a laugh than Scrooge's nephew, all I can say is, I should like to know him too. Introduce him to me, and I'll cultivate his acquaintance.

He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.

Leaving the Bellweathers

by Kristin Clark Venuti
ages: 10+
First sentence: "It is nighttime in the village of Eel-Smack-by-the-Bay."
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

File this one under delightfully odd.

The Bellweathers are a family that leave in the Lighthouse on the Hill by Eel-Smack-by-the-Bay. There's dad, Dr. Bellweather, an inventor who has a habit of unleashing his "peculiar sense of humor." There's mom, Lillian, who loves to paint... the house. Over and over and over and over again. Then, there's the kids. Spider, age 14, whose interest tends toward the violent animals, and who is determined to set up the first Endangered Albino Alligator refuge. Second in line is 13-year-old Ninda, Determined to help the Oppressed and Exploited. And will go to any lengths to do so. And, as if that weren't enough, there's the 9 year old triplets: Brick, Spike and Sassy. Always Up to No Good and determined to be artists, saying they are a handful is a massive understatement.

Keeping this, um, unique family together is their trusty butler, Tristan Benway. Except, he's there only because his ancestor, 200 years ago, made an oath of fealty to the Bellweather family. There's only 8 weeks, 2 hours and 27 minutes until GLOAT (Glorious Liberation and Oath Abandonment Time) and it's everything Benway can do to keep it together until he can leave and get a cottage Far, Far Away.

While it wasn't a consistent thing, there were parts of this book that had me in stitches. From Benway's deadpan observations (he's the one who calls Dr. Bellweather's temper a "peculiar sense of humor") to the occasional footnotes, to the absurd plot, I found myself either smiling, chuckling or snorting out loud. I haven't read this book that was so... well... unusual, in a long, long time.

That's not to say it's for everyone: I've said it before, I'll say it again: humor is a tricky thing. But, this one tickled my funny bone just right.

Good thing, too.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I've been asked to make sure y'all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)

Library Loot #49

Twas the week before Christmas,
although we were all very merry,
we still found time to get
a few books from the library.

We don't know how much we'll read
Since we've got lots of stuff to do
But that won't stop us
from checking them out, until the year's through.

Okay, that was kind of lame. :-)

For A/K:
Hush, Baby Ghostling, by Andrea Beaty and Pascal Lemaitre
The Lion & the Mouse, by Jerry Pinkney
Voyage to the Pharos, by Sarah Gauch/Illus. by Roger Roth
Big Cat Pepper, by Elizabeth Partridge/Illus. by Lauren Castillo
You?, by Vladimir Radunsky

For C:
Camille McPhee Fell Under the Bus ..., by Kristen Tracy

For me:
Gone from These Woods, by Donny Bailey Seagraves

The roundup is either at Reading Adventures or A Striped Armchair. Obligatory FTC note: the links are provided through my Amazon Associates account. If you click through and actually purchase one of these books, I'll get a teeny, tiny payment. But, since no one ever does, and it's SO much easier using the associates account to put up these links, I'm going to keep doing it.

*Ones that M eventually read.
**Picture books we really liked.

The Ship of Lost Souls

by Rachelle Delaney
ages: 9+
First sentence: "'You there!'"
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Support your local independent bookstore, buy it there!

Think of a book that's one part Treasure Island, one part Pirates of the Caribbean, one part Peter Pan, and you've pretty much got an idea of the feel of this book.

Scarlet McCray is the captain of the Margaret's Hop (the e fell off years ago), a ship haven for lost or abandoned children. Their ship is surrounded and protected with a ghost-ship legend that Scarlet and her crew of 8 to 13 year olds use to their full advantage. They pillage, they raid, they essentially have a grand time out from under the thumb of obnoxious adults.

Jem Fitzgerald, the nephew of a moderately famous botanist, is in the area with siad uncle in search of a treasure. There's a legend that's been floating around for years of an island that has a treasure that will bring one who finds it peace. And Jem's uncle knows where it is. (There's a map and everything.)

Except Jem and his uncle are kidnapped by dread pirates, who then kill Jem's uncle. Enter Scarlet and the Lost Souls: they rescue Jem, make him a part of their crew, and go on search for the treasure. There's growing up, adventures, revelations, and a mutiny attempt in the process of looking for the treasure.

It's a great world that Delaney has created -- safe and predictable, yet with a sense of adventure on the side; realistic, with just the right touch of whimsy. It's a fun little book.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I've been asked to make sure y'all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)

2009 Challenge #8: Lost in Translation

Another challenge down. (Only one left for this year...) I have realized that the problem with year-long challenges is the wrap up post. I can't remember what I thought of half of these books!

Anyway... for the Lost in Translation Challenge I read:

1. Captain Alatriste, Arturo Perez-Reverte
2. Inkdeath, Cornelia Funke
3. The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Tolstoy
4. The Princetta, Anne-Laure Bondoux
5. Echoes From The Dead, Johan Theorin
6. The Wine-Dark Sea, Leonardo Sciascia

I technically didn't finish two -- Inkdeath and The Princetta -- and I liked Ivan Ilyich best, I think.

Anyway, it was interesting reading books in translation.

The Wine-Dark Sea

by Leonardo Sciascia
ages: adult
First sentence: 'Your Majesty,' said the Minister of State Santangelo, tapping Ferdinand lightly on the shoulder with one finger, 'this is Grotte.'"
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

I'm not a fan of short stories. I don't know why that is, really. Perhaps it's because I feel disjointed from one story to the next -- I do better when the stories are interconnected. Or perhaps, it's just that there's not enough meat there for me.

So, keeping that in mind, I really didn't care all that much for this collection of stories. Sure, they were a slice of Sicily -- from the mafia to the ups and downs of everyday life -- but most of them fell quite flat. I did like the title story, however. It was a tale of a man who bonds with a family and their nanny on the way to Sicily. It's sweet, it's funny, and enjoyable to read. Some of the other ones -- Guifa and End-Game, are ones that I think of off the top of my head -- are cleverly written, but a bit strange. The rest ranged from "meh" to "I think I'm going to skip this one."

Perhaps it's the translation? Nah... it's probably just me. And my short-story issues.

Year of the Bomb

by Ronald Kidd
ages: 10+
First sentence: "There were Martians in the backyard."
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Support your local independent bookstore, buy it there!

It's 1955. It's the middle of the Cold War. There are frightening things all around, from the threat of nuclear war, to McCarthy's Communist hunting, to the monsters in the movies.

And in Sierra Madre, California, Paul and his friends -- Arnie, Crank and Oz -- are in the thick of it all. Especially when the filming of the greatest B movie of them all -- Invasion of the Body Snatchers -- comes to their hometown. Being movie buffs, they are drawn to the set, which, in turn, opens up a whole can of worms: espionage, scientists, blacklisting, movie magic. You name it, it's probably in there.

This book is wild and fun. It feels like a B movie: a bit cheezy, a bit over-the-top, but in the end, quite lovable. Kidd's writing style flows -- even if sometimes the narrative time line gets a little bit fuzzy, flipping between movies, real time and flashbacks -- and Paul is a winner of a character. He's concerned about his friends, he wants everyone to get along, and yet he's not willing to give in to all the conspiracy theories and fear that are all around him.

There's nothing really deep or life-changing about the book. It's mostly just fun times and monster movies. Which is really just fine.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I've been asked to make sure y'all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)

10 Questions for Shannon Hale

Shannon Hale has been one of my favorite authors for years. Almost since she first started publishing (I liked the story, but I didn't like her author blurb). I swear she can do no wrong when it comes to her books -- more right and less right, yes, but no wrong -- and so when I got an email asking if I'd like to do an interview with her (again! Since I had the pleasure of interviewing her a couple years ago.) of course I jumped at the chance.

Before I give you the interview, I need to explain the picture... Since she didn't include one with her questions, I felt I had the liberty of choosing one. Back in October, when Shannon was doing a signing tour for Forest Born, she went through Boston. And me, being the squee-y fangirl that I am, begged and pleaded my lovely sister (she's on the left) to go and get a book signed for me. My sister (and my dear sister-in-law) loves me SO much, that, she did. And she took a picture and sent it to me... which isn't exactly the same thing as meeting Shannon myself, but almost. Someday, I'll actually meet Shannon Hale in person. But until then, I'm happy to just do interviews.

MF: I think I'm going to focus most on Forest Born, since that's your most recent book.... I liked Rin's quiet strength in the book. How did you come up with the idea for her?
SH: Thanks, Melissa. Rin was really tough, the toughest character I’ve ever written. Hard to discover, hard to figure out why she was the way she was. I knew her through Razo’s eyes before I wrote Forest Born, but it turned out she was so different inside, I had to wrestle with the story to shake her free. A big breakthrough was when I realized I needed to go back and to understand her early history. The first chapter was a late addition, but it saved the story for me.

MF: If I remember reading it right, Goose Girl was supposed to be a stand alone book. How did it become a four-book series?
SH: How indeed! I wish someone would tell me. I’m looking around, going, what a minute, I did not authorize all these books, pesky little critters. It’s all about the characters. Enna pushed her way forward and insisted on her own story, then Razo did and got River Secrets. Rin isn’t pushy and didn’t insist. Rather it was all the other characters who were loud and insistent that the story wasn’t complete yet and I was forgetting about…[SPOILERS DELETED BY AUTHOR] But I knew I wanted to tell that story from the perspective of someone very different from my other MCs. Rin was right. Tricky, but right.

MF: And do you think you'll write more Bayern books? (Or is this really, really the last one?)
SH: Ha! Who knows? I’m not writing one right now, and I like the way Goose Girl and Forest Born bookend the series. But I’m always tensed for another character to get mouthy with me and demand a book. I know that might sound loony, like I really believe these characters are real people who can control me, which of course I don’t because if I did I’d be crazy, right? I mean, no way I’m crazy. And besides, if they controlled me, why don’t they get their stupid stories right the first time instead of making me do all those rewrites?! The truth is, I love to tell stories, but I am in some degree a slave to which story inside me shouts the loudest.

MF: Do you have a favorite character or scene in Forest Born?
SH: Ooh, I haven’t thought about this one yet. Let me think...I just asked my husband and he said “that zen walk/fight scene.” Maybe that’s cryptic enough not to be a spoiler. I like that too. I like how Rin quietly becomes the most powerful person in the room. But I also like the conversations between Rin and Razo. Those were a relief to write. In the middle of a very sticky book, Razo and his relationship with his little sister was an oasis for me, as it was for Rin too.

MF: Your books span the ages and the genres (a bit anyway) -- from middle grade graphic novels to adult romances. Do you have a favorite to write in or for?
SH: If favorite means “easiest,” then contemporary romantic comedy wins. Not that Austenland or The Actor and the Housewife were sweat- and blood-free, but they’re SO much easier to write than period fantasy. In a contemporary setting, my lexicon is enormous. But worlds like Miri’s and Rin’s are so small, I have so many fewer words at my disposal, so many fewer similes I can call upon. If favorite means “most fun,” then Rapunzel’s Revenge wins because I got to collaborate with my awesome husband and awesome illustrator Nathan Hale (no relation). But if favorite means “best,” then behind all the other books’ backs, I furtively nod toward Book of a Thousand Days.

MF: I know this is kind of asking you to pick a favorite child, but which of your books is your favorite, or means the most to you?
SH: The Actor and the Housewife. No, wait, Goose Girl because she was the first. But Book of a Thousand Days I just claimed is my best...I’m coming up with really good arguments for all of them. Except Princess Academy. It’s been by far my most successful and so feels the least like mine. I can’t claim it anymore.

MF: Again, this might be an unfair question... but how do you think your writing (or, if it's any easier, your approach to writing) has changed over the years? We could make it easier, how about since you were first published…
SH: I remember one of the biggest notes my editor gave me on Goose Girl was to get more inside the character’s head. I think I used to be a little more distant, and now I try to get so inside the character that the reader feels like she’s living the story rather than observing it.

MF: Who or what inspires your writing?
SH: Words. Words make me want to write. I’m not inspired by music, like so many authors. I wish I was. I’m rarely inspired by real life events. But words do it for me.

MF: Do you have five books you think everyone should read?
SH: No. I’m not very prescriptive. But I’m going to give it a shot and write down the first five that pop into my head: I Capture the Castle (even though the ending broke my heart), Megan Whalen Turner’s Gen books, A Long Way from Chicago, Westing Game, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. (wow, I haven’t read that last one in years! Don’t know where it came from)

MF: I know you've got Calamity Jack coming out in January, I'm excited to read that! What's next for you after that?
SH: I’ve had two years with two books coming out, and I’m ready for a little breather. Maybe (maybe) my YA sci-fi kick butt girl series Daisy Danger Brown will be ready in 2011. Maybe.

MF: Thank you for your time!!
SH: Thank you, Melissa. You add so much to the book world with your passion and thoughtfulness.

Bull Rider

by Suzanne Morgan Williams
ages: 12+
First sentence: "Folks in Salt Lick say I couldn't shake bull riding if I tried."
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Cam doesn't want any part of his family's obsession with bull riding. As far as he's concerned, that's his Grandpa Roy's, Dad's and older brother Ben's territory. Even if he is in northern Nevada, in a piddly little town just outside of Winnemucca, and lives on a cattle ranch, he's a skateboarder, not a bull rider.

Then, Ben joins the Marines and gets shipped to Iraq, and a year later comes home seriously injured. And (of course), Cam's life drastically changes. Not only does he have more chores to do around the ranch, but his grades tank because of the stress, and inevitably, he finds that there is less time to board. And that it's less important to him. Especially once he visits the bull ring again, and gets goaded into riding. He finds that he's actually good at it, and when Ben seems to be stuck in a permanent funk, Cam makes a deal: if he can ride the biggest, meanest bull around -- Ugly's his name -- then Ben has to try harder at getting better.

The question is: how's Cam going to do that?

It's an interesting tale, that of Cam and his adapting to the changes in his life. It's also almost more a story of the changes a soldier's injury brings to both his and his family's life. Williams is brilliant at showing how everyone is affected by it, from Cam and Ben to their parents and grandparents, to the community as a whole. There's a lot of teenage angst -- Cam's 14, which (IMHO) puts this at the upper end of middle grade books -- a lot of lying, and a lot of sneaking around. Cam's mother bans him from bull riding -- it's a dangerous, if exciting, sport -- because she can't handle the idea of two sons being seriously injured. So, Cam resorts to sneaking around behind her back, which is easier than would be expected, since she's so preoccupied with Ben and his recovery.

Cam's a sympathetic character, though, and Williams makes his pain and discomfort and unease palpable. As a reader, you find yourself rooting for everyone: for Cam to make the ride, for Ben to get better, for everyone to get past the pain. It sounds like it would be a hopeless book, a depressing book, but Williams infuses it with a spirit of hope, of promise, that even though the end is not tidy, everything feels like it's going to work out.

And that's a good thing.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I've been asked to make sure y'all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)

One of the Best Things About Being a Book Blogger

Is the Book Blogger Holiday Swap.

This is my third year participating, and I have to say that I've loved getting the presents over the years. It not only introduces me to bloggers I've never heard of before -- on both the giving and the receiving end -- but it's fun to both choose something for someone else and to see what they chose for me.

I got my package in the mail today and unlike past years, I got to open it right away (since it wasn't wrapped!). My Santa was Nise at Under the Boardwalk (from my home state of Michigan, too!), and she went all out for me:

I can't wait to read the books (after Christmas and my part in the Cybils is wrapped up!), and the chocolate was quite yummy (and already gone -- and I got it all to myself). And the gift card to Panera? Squee! I'll have to find an excuse to use it.

Thanks so much, Nise. And happy holidays, everyone!

The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis

by Barbara O'Connor
ages: 9+
First sentence: "DRIP."
Support your local independent bookstore, buy it there!

This book is about boredom. About finding something to do, something unusual, something small, something... well adventurous. I'd like to hand it to all the plugged-in kids and say, "Here! Read. Be inspired. Go out and have a small adventure. You might find it changes things, even if it doesn't really change things."

Popeye -- formerly Henry until his Uncle Dooley accidentally shot his eye out when he was three -- is bored. There is absolutely nothing to do in Fayette, South Carolina except sit and listen to Velma -- that's his grandma -- recite the kings of England (in order) and write down her vocabulary words in chalk on the porch. Until one day an RV, a Holiday Rambler, full of a family with rambunctious kids, gets stuck in the mud by Popeye's house. The oldest is Elvis, and Popeye is immediately entranced. Elvis is everything Popeye is not: loud, rowdy, the Royal Rule Breaker, someone who can say "So what?" and actually mean it. And so, when Elvis suggests that he and Popeye have an adventure, Popeye can't help but go along with it.

Remember, now, that the title is "Small Adventure". There is no grand discovery, even if there's a bit of a mystery. There is no angst. There is no death (though there is missing parents; thankfully, it's just accepted as a fact and not something that Popeye has to Deal With). There is no drama, though there is wrath. What there is, is a perfectly simple, small adventure that changes one boy's life.

And was something that completely mesmerized and entranced me.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I've been asked to make sure y'all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)

Library Loot #48

It's COLD outside today -- for us here in southern Kansas, anyway -- but that can't stop me from a quick trip to the library. Story time is over, and the library was quiet, which means we found a lot of good books. Here's some of the new ones (that we haven't checked out before!):

For A/K:
Come to the Fairies' Ball, by Jane Yolen/Illus. by Gary Lippincott
Firefighter Ted, by Andrea Beaty and Pascal Lemaitre
Thanks a LOT, Emily Post!, by Jennifer LaRue Huget/Illus. by Alexandra Boiger
Looking Like Me, by Walter Dean Myers/Illus. by Christopher Myers
The Frogs and Toads All Sang, by Arnold Lobel/Color by Adrianne Lobel

For C:
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece, by Sean Sheehan
The Extra-Ordinary Princess, by Carolyn Q. Ebbitt

For M:
Sorcery Rising, by Jude Fisher

For me:
The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis, by Barbara O'Connor
Mudville, by Kurtis Scaletta
Dream Girl, by Lauren Mechling

The roundup is either at Reading Adventures or A Striped Armchair. Obligatory FTC note: the links are provided through my Amazon Associates account. If you click through and actually purchase one of these books, I'll get a teeny, tiny payment. But, since no one ever does, and it's SO much easier using the associates account to put up these links, I'm going to keep doing it.

*Ones that M eventually read.
**Picture books we really liked.

The Girl Who Threw Butterflies

by Mick Cochrane
ages: 9+
First sentence: "On Monday, after band rehearsal and intramurals, when Molly got home from school, her mother was sitting at the kitchen table going through the day's mail."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Molly loves baseball. It's a holdover from when her father -- who died six months ago in a freak car accident -- was alive, but it's the only thread of connection she has to his memory. It's not just watching baseball, though, or even playing catch that Molly likes. No, she wants to play, really play, the game. Her father taught her how to throw that most unpredictable of all pitches, the knuckleball, and Molly knows she can compete with the boys. So, she tries out for the baseball team.

This story is a quiet one, a meditation on loss, on baseball, on healing and moving on. It's not flashy, it's not over-the-top: not for a minute do you disbelieve Molly's ability to throw a good game. Cochrane gives us both Molly's ups -- the perfect pitch, the game won -- as well as her many downs -- for, as he writes at one point, baseball is a game of failures. There's a softness, a gentleness to the story, for even though there is conflicts -- with her mother, with teammates who don't like the idea of a girl on the team -- the tension never reaches a boiling point. There's a lot of musing going on, a lot of reflection, a lot of thought.

Which isn't to say that it's a boring book: it's not. Cochrane is a good enough writer that he can pull off a book where the action is mostly internal and keep one turning pages. It's a good book, an interesting story, and as far as books about girls doing boy things go, it's worth reading.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I've been asked to make sure y'all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)

Leviathan

by Scott Westerfield
ages: 12+
First sentence: "The Austrian horses glinted in the moonlight, their riders standing tall in the saddle, swords raised."
Support your local independent bookstore, buy it there!

First, a disclaimer: I have never, ever heard of steam punk before this book, let alone read it. I had no idea what it entails, what makes a good steam punk book, or what even to expect.

But if this is even remotely typical of the genre, I'm hooked. It was an awesome, wild and weird ride, a fabulous adventure -- no one writes nail-biting action like Westerfield -- and a grand beginning to a story that has the potential to be absolutely amazing.

It's 1914, on the eve of the Great War. Alek is a prince of the Austro-Hungarian empire and it's the murder of his parents that sets off the war, as well as sends Alek on the run for his life. All he has with him is a few loyal men, and a Stormwalker in order to fend off the Germans. Deryn is a commoner, a girl, who desperately wants to fly in the British Air Service. Mind you, they're not flying planes, but rather Darwinist living creatures -- huge ecosystems of creatures that work together to get off the ground. Deryn disguises herself as a boy, and by a fluke or two of nature (ha!), ends up as part of the crew of Britain's newest airship, the Leviathan.

Told in alternating chapters, the book details not Alek's escape from his palace and Deryn's entry into the air service, but their eventual meeting and the results of that meeting. As I mentioned before, there's tons of nail-biting action from Alek's initial escape to a couple of attacks by the Germans. But what I found most fascinating (and wild and weird) was the combination of historical fiction and futuristic elements, as well as a re-imagining of science. I loved the Clankers versus Darwinist feud, as well as each individual science. The clanker machines were awesome, powerful, and captivating to read about. But the Darwinist inventions -- the wild cross-breeds, the machinations to keep them up in the air, the things (like flechette bats, for instance) that Westerfield created -- were the things that kept me turning pages and shaking my head in amazement. What kind of imagination dreams this stuff up? (Well, Westerfield's, of course.)

The book ends somewhat abruptly, but I'm totally sold: I want to know what happens next. I want to know what adventure Deryn and Alek are going to go on, and I want to know about the small mystery that's part of the larger story.

The problem -- like all books with sequels -- is being patient until the next one comes out.

Heart of a Shepherd

by Rosanne Parry
ages: 10+
First sentence: "Grandpa frowns when he plays chess, like he does when he prays."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

There are obviously powerful books, books about Problems or Trials or Oppression, books where the main character has something obviously Moving happen to them. And then there are books that are quietly powerful. Ones that seem simple on the surface, but then work their way under your skin and move you in ways that you totally didn't expect.

This is one of those books.

Twelve-year-old Ignatius -- Brother to everyone, since he has four older brothers -- part of the east Oregon ranching community. Even though he's small, and he doesn't like killing the animals, he -- along with his father, grandfather and brothers -- does the work: take the cows to the mountains, raise and shear the sheep, mend and tend the ranch. Except, all the brothers are away, at school, in the army. And then, when Brother's dad's National Guard gets called up for a fourteen-month tour in Iraq, Brother is left with Grandpa to manage the the ranch by themselves. It's up to him to prove that he can be what he doesn't think he can: a rancher. Except, over the course of the year that his father is gone, that's not what Brother finds out, about himself or his family.

It's a deeply religious book -- Brother and his family are Irish Catholics, though his Grandpa is a Quaker -- but not overly preachy. There's a lot of references to God and His will, but it's a quiet religion, one that's open, accepting and fluid in ways that are unexpected and ultimately beautiful and movie. It's a harsh reality, east Oregon ranching life, but Parry writes about it in ways that will keep you thinking about Brother and his family long after you close the book.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I've been asked to make sure y'all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)

My Christmas Top 10

This year, for reasons unfathomable to me, I found that the holidays snuck up on me. (Then again, I think I've been a bit off since April...) I've been wracking my brain trying to come up with something witty, or interesting, or sentimental, or just plain fun, and I'm coming up short. It's not that I don't have any memories to share, it's just that I lack faith in my ability to adequately share them. (At least to my satisfaction.)

So, to add one more list to what has become a year of lists, I'm sharing my top ten things I love about Christmastime. Since -- even though they were sneaky this year -- I do love the holiday season. It really is, as that song says, the most wonderful time of the year!

10. Shopping. Okay, so I'm crazy, but I love Christmas shopping. In December. Sure, the crowds are nuts, and the stores are crowded, but it's so much fun choosing gifts and being part of all the excitement.

9. The advent calendar. Not just this book blogger one (which I do look forward to), but our own family one. When I was little, my mom had a calendar and every day there was a note with what we were going to do that day. Sometimes is was simple like "get out the pine cone wreath", others more adventuresome, like "Tonight we will go to the Nutcracker." I've kept this tradition with my girls. It's a lot of fun for them, and (honestly) it keeps me organized!

8. The Nutcracker. It's the first ballet I remember seeing. It's the ballet that I share with my girls every holiday season: when they turn four, they get to go and see all the wonders that the Nutcracker has for them. We're blessed to have a halfway decent one in town (I've been to some pretty lame ones), but the best, if you're ever in Salt Lake City at Christmas time, is Ballet West's. I know I'm biased, because it's the one I remember best from my childhood, but, really, it's perfect.

7. Christmas lights. I love driving around, as the world slowly turns to the darkest time (at least here in the U.S.) and seeing all the light displays in the neighborhoods. Bonus points if they're glowing in the snow. There really is nothing prettier than Christmas lights on the snow.

6. The music. I whine and moan and complain about Christmas songs being played before Thanksgiving, but honestly, I love the stuff. Whether it's carols, or classic songs, or the poppy songs, I love it. And I love singing along. Which brings me to...

5. Caroling. Love it. Yeah, it's cold. But, really, the most fun I've had at Christmas time is going around with a group singing carols at random (or not so random) houses.

4. The goodies. I've mentioned I love to cook, haven't I? Well, Christmas brings out the best in my cooking. I'm pretty sure that when my friends see me coming with my plates of cookies, they groan and moan... but you want to know a secret? I give away the food because I want to make it for myself, and I don't want to eat it all. And what's on the plates? Sugar cookies (lovingly cut and decorated by the girls), fudge, Christmas Bark, mint bars, Divinity, toffee, Lizner cookies, lemon bars, and whatever else I can think of. (What do you want a recipe of?)

3. The decorations. I go all out at Christmas time: the house gets a makeover. On November 30th we get out the boxes (all dozen or so of them) and unpack all the Christmas decorations (except the tree). Perhaps the best part is being surprised at what is in the boxes ("Oh, I bought that last year?!") and telling the stories about the items and how they ended up in the boxes. We film the tradition for the grandparents, so they can share in with the chaos and the silliness of it all. Then, on December 6th, we put up our 9 foot, artificial (M has allergies) tree. Again, there's silliness and chaos, but the end result -- of it all -- is wonderful. One of my favorite things to do during the holidays is sit in the living room with the lights off, except for the tree, and the candles lit. It's peaceful.

2. Christmas Eve. When I was in high school, I had several friends who were Catholic, and they went to Midnight Mass. This idea intrigued me -- my church doesn't have any Christmas Eve services at all -- and so when I got married, I told Hubby that was what I wanted to do on Christmas. We don't always go to a mass (though we have been to a couple over the years), but we do drag the girls to a service. We have a small, simple, candlelit dinner beforehand, and we always watch It's A Wonderful Life after. It really is a perfect way -- for us -- to celebrate the holiday.

1. My girls faces on Christmas morning. There really is nothing more special than seeing the wonder and excitement in a child's eyes on Christmas morning. It really is the best part. :-D

What's your favorite part of the season?

I'm not the only stop on the calendar today. Be sure to check out the others:
Chris @ Stuff As Dreams Are...
Stephanie @ Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic
Lilly @ Reading Extravaganza

Captain Nobody

by Dean Pitchford
ages: 9-13
First sentence: "Uh-oh."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

The first reaction I had to this book was, "Oh my gosh! FINALLY, a normal kid with a normal family." Seriously, folks, too many of the books I've read are about damaged kids with damaged families, and while it's all interesting and poignant and challenging and all that, sometimes I just wish for a normal kid with a normal(ish) family, having normal(ish) problems.

And, with this book, I got that. With a dose of humor and superheros on the side.

See, Newt Newman (yes, his parents named him Newton, poor kid) is the ten-year-old brother of Chris Newman, high school football star. Newt manages the house -- making breakfast for his busy, and slightly absent-minded parents -- gets good grades, and has a couple of great friends in JJ (she's a girl) and Cecil even though he's a tad bit shy, but is basically ignored by everybody. ("I didn't know Chris Newman had a brother!" is a common reaction of most people.) Until, that is, a combination of events occur: Halloween, and the Big Game where Chris gets knocked out and put into a coma. And out of these disasters (well, Halloween's only a disaster because Newt couldn't find a decent costume) was born Captain Nobody. Newt -- in his costume, made from Chris's old clothes -- suddenly finds that he's a different person when wearing Captain Nobody. Stronger, more outgoing, more able to handle... well, everything that's thrown his way.

And things do get thrown his way. It's nothing out of the comic books, but Newt does happen to be in the right place at the right time to be the cause of some pretty remarkable happenings. It's not outrageous: nothing Newt does is out of the ordinary. He's just, well, himself. And by being himself -- enhanced by the Captain Nobody costume and a frame of mind -- he manages to do some small, yet pretty heroic things.

And, I have to admit, it kind of made me want to be a superhero, too.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I've been asked to make sure y'all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)

Two Books about Loss and Healing

All the Broken Pieces
by Ann Berg
ages: 10+
First sentence:
"My name is Matt Pin
and her name, I remember,
is Phang My."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

This one is set right after the Vietnam War, and deals with the tensions -- both in Vietnam and in America -- brought on because of that war. Matt Pin is a 12 year old Vietnamese boy who was airlifted out of Vietnam two years ago -- his mother sent him away -- and adopted by a nice American family. He's dealing with a lot of things: guilt (for leaving his mother and younger brother in Vietnam among other things), loneliness, hatred, uncertainty. The novel follows his growth -- though baseball, through meetings with Vietnam vets, through piano lessons -- to acceptance of his past and of his present.

Told through spare but lovely verse, this novel is haunting at times, yet ultimately hopeful.

Umbrella Summer
by Lisa Graff
ages: 9+
First sentence: "If you started to squeeze your brakes right in the middle of heading down Maple Hill, just as you were passing old Mr. Normore's mailbox, you could coast into the bike rack in front of Lippy's Market without making a single tire squeak."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Annie believes you can never be too careful. She's determined that while there are lots and lots of dangerous things you can do -- like fly or drive -- it's not those things that you need to worry about. No, it's the little things that can kill you -- like the undetected heart defect that killed her not-quite-12 year old brother, Jared. So, Annie has determined that if she stays perfectly, totally, completely safe then nothing bad will ever happen to her.

It's only through a fight with her friend, and the interference of a new neighbor, who is suffering from her own loss, that Annie begins to come out of her shell -- out from underneath the umbrella of her sadness -- and learns how to live again.

It's a cute book -- I know that sounds weird in conjunction with the subject matter, but cute is really the first word that comes to mind -- that manages to never feel either overwhelmingly sad or callous in its treatment of the death of a loved one.

(Just for the record: because these are Cybils nominees, I've been asked to make sure y'all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)