Book Nut

Audiobook: Water for Elephants

2012-01-26T07:08:00.000-06:00

by Sarah Gruen
Read by David LeDoux and John Randolph Jones
ages: adult
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

It's no secret that I don't do well with books on the bestseller list. And so it was with much trepidation that I picked this one up. (I say "much trepidation" but really it was curiosity and a sense that maybe the hype had died down...)

For the three of you who haven't read it: it's the Depression and Jacob Jankowski is a veterinary student at Cornell, just about to sit for his last final exams when his parents were killed in a tragic accident. This throws Jacob completely off course, and one fateful night, he jumps a train. It turns out to be the train for the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. And in one fell swoop -- and for three and half tumultuous months -- Jacob's life is changed.

First and foremost, this is a circus book. And it's not a pretty picture. There's Uncle Al, the ring master, who is vain and malicious. August, the animal trainer who is alternately charming and violent. And because these two are in charge, the whole environment of the circus is not healthy, to say the least. Jacob falls in with a dwarf named Walter; the relationship is rocky at first, but eventually they form a close friendship. And he falls in love with the lovely Marlena, the star of the Liberty Horse act, and August's wife.

But where do the elephants come in? I have to admit that I was a tad disappointed there; the jacketflap (do audiobooks have jacketflaps?) implied that there was a bond between Jacob, Marlena and Rosie, the elephant the Benzini Brothers show picks up soon after Jacob joins on. But, I never really felt it. Sure, the elephant was the catalyst for much of what happened in the book, but really? I wish Jacob had done more, interacted more with the elephant. It seemed to me he spent much of his time running around, baffled as to what the heck was going on. And I did feel quite cheated by the climax. It was an honest twist, but I think Gruen misled us on purpose, which always gets my hackles up.

What really made the book for me was the present day segments, when Jacob was "ninety or ninety-three." I have a friend who is currently studying gerontology, and keeps me up to date on her studies. Because of that, I had more sympathy for Jacob's situation, being in a nursing home, and his concerns about getting old. He was alternately a sweetheart and a firecracker, and I adored him.

That said, I think that audio was the best way for me to experience this one. Both the narrators were excellent (LeDoux read the young Jacob; Jones the older one), and because of that I was able to really "see" the book in a way I don't think I would have, had I read it.

I'm not sure if my good experience with this one will change my opinion on bestsellers. But I can say that this one was worth my time.

Maman's Homesick Pie

2012-01-24T06:52:00.000-06:00

by Donia Bijan
ages: adult
First sentence: "My mother had been dead eight days when I showed up in her kitchen."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

This book is very much like a gumbo: it needs a little bit of everything to make it work. It's one part cookbook -- every chapter has a couple recipes from the kitchen of world-class chef Donia Bijan; one part memoir -- it's nominally Bijan's story from Iran to France to the kitchen of her own restaurant; but also one part love story to her mother.

Bijan grew up in Iran, the third -- and last -- daughter of a doctor and a nurse. She was privileged there, going to a private international school, enjoying holidays on the Caspian Sea. Her family was on vacation in Spain when the revolution happened in 1978, effectively cutting them off from their country. For Bijan, her sisters, and her mother, this was a hardship, but also an opportunity: they emigrated to America, and took to their new lives. For her father, however, this became an obstacle that he never surmounted.

He also had issues when Bijan decided to major in French in college with the express goal of going to France to learn to be a chef. Her mother, on the other hand, supported her wholeheartedly. This was where the book fell apart for me. Her memories of childhood were sweet, and even her life in transition was interesting. However, by the time she got to France to learn cooking, I began to wish that there was more to this book. It felt like she was brushing over everything lightly, not wanting to deal with the negatives, or even with the hardships, not thinking about anything too much. All this is well enough, but I wanted more: more feeling, more depth, more descriptions of food, more of her life.

While I found it a pleasant homage to her mother and the way she supported Bijan in her endeavors, there wasn't quite enough in it to make this book anything more than "nice."

Jefferson's Sons

2012-01-22T07:44:00.000-06:00

by Kimberly Brubaker Bradly
ages: 10+
First sentence: "It was April and all Monticello was stirring, but in their cabin Mam had just put baby Maddy down to sleep and she told Beverly and Harriet to be still."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

I'll be up front from the start: some people will love this book. It will most likely win awards. But, it's one of those books that's full of Important Things, and that we Should Read because it will Enlighten us.

And I never got past that.

It's basically the (admittedly very well-researched) story about slavery in the early 1800s. Told from the consecutive point of view of two of Sally Hemmings' sons and one of their close friends, it shows what life was like for the slaves at Monticello. Granted, that's a time period no one ever really talks about: slavery is for the Civil War, and we tend to brush over the fact that many of the Founding Fathers owned slaves. In fact the biggest thing I felt while reading this book was that it was a reminder (perhaps to those who Honor and Revere the Founding Fathers?) that Jefferson was anything but perfect. In fact, he was far from it. He spent money he didn't have. He slept with one of his slaves (okay, not until after his wife died), and fathered children by them. And while he was better than many slave masters, he was still a slave owner.

Perhaps that was the problem I had, ultimately, with the book. (Not that I revere Jefferson.) It wasn't really about the children, or even about Jefferson's slaves, but more about Ideas -- Freedom, Justice, Equality -- and how they related to Jefferson. There was a lot of talk about Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence ("But it says all people are free," Peter said. "Not all white people. Right?"), and the dichotomy between his writing that and the fact that he owned People.

It wasn't a bad book, really. It was well-researched, it was a new take on an old subject. But I sat back and looked at it thinking, this is Interesting because it's Supposed to Be. Not because it really was.

The Snow Child

2012-01-19T06:51:00.000-06:00

by Eowyn Ivey
ages: adult
First sentence: "Mabel had known there would be silence."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by publisher through my place of employment.
Release date: February 1, 2012

I have sat down several times since I finished this quiet and lovely book last week, trying to figure out what to say about it, coming up short every time. I'm not sure I have the words in me to write this, but I'm going to try.

It's the Alaskan frontier in 1920, and Mabel and Jack -- an older, childless couple, from "Back East" in Pennsylvania -- are giving the whole frontier experience a try. They've been at it for a couple of years, and it's not going well: Jack can't seem to make the land work for him, and Mabel is becoming desperately helpless in the face of the cold, the dark, and the silence. Then, in the first snowfall of the year, a bit of whimsey overtakes them, and they build a snow child. It doesn't seem like much, but the next morning, the snow child is gone, and in its place is a little girl, half-wild and almost unwilling to be tamed.

Mabel and Jack take to the girl -- who may or may not be a fairy child; in many ways that question is irrelevant to purpose the book. For whatever the jacket copy may say, this is not a fantasy -- whose name is Faina, and slowly adopt her into their family, even though she never lives with them. Even though she disappears each spring, returning with each snowfall. By knowing Faina -- and for us, by following hers, and Mabel's and Jack's stories -- Mabel and Jack come to know and appreciate and love the wildness of Alaska, with all its joys and pains.

In many ways this is two books in one: yes, it's a story about a childless couple coming to terms with both the hardship of a new life (which they chose), but also the hardship of the loss of their only child as an infant. But, perhaps more importantly, it's a love story to the wilderness; from the breathtaking descriptions of the snow-covered landscape, to the brutal way in which the animals are hunted for food, Ivey captures life in the Alaskan outback with meticulous detail. I almost wanted to go see it for myself.

It was a soft and poetic book, something substantial enough to curl up with and enjoy on a cold winter's night and yet magical enough to provide an escape from everyday life.

The Fault in Our Stars

2012-01-17T07:35:00.000-06:00

by John Green
ages: 14+
First sentence: "Late in the winter of my seventeenth year, my mother decided I was depressed, presumably because I rarely left the house, spent a lot of time in bed, read the same book over and over, ate infrequently, and devoted quite a bit of my abundant free time to thinking about death."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

I love John Green, the person. I adore his blog, think he's a smart, insightful, funny guy, and would absolutely love to have him (and his wife and kid) over for dinner sometime.

I have not, however, been a really huge fan of his books. Saying that almost makes me an outcast in Nerdfighteria, but I'll live with that. Sure, he has moments of brilliant hilarity, but I have always thought that he tries too hard to be Deep, which too often comes off as pretentious.

That said, I think he's one of those writers that as he gets older, he gets better. I've liked each one of his books better than the last, thinking that maybe he's figuring out the balance between angst and thoughtfulness, human observation and invention.

Which leads me to The Fault in Our Stars: I honestly can say that this is a John Green book that I loved. Seriously, wonderfully, amazingly loved. (No, I didn't cry. I'd figured it out before it came along, and I managed to steel myself, but I do admit that I was moved.)

Hazel is 16 and dying of cancer. Sure, she's had a miracle drug that's prolonged her life, but really: she has cancer, she is slowly dying, mostly because her lungs are "crap". Tethered to an oxygen tube, she basically exists, waiting to die. Then she meets Augustus Waters. Hot, amazing, full-of-life (even though he's got cancer as well), Augustus Waters. We get to watch them slowly fall in love, as they share Thoughts, and Books, and Ideas, and Hopes, and Fears. Sure, there's an improbable trip (cancer perk!) to Amsterdam to meet the douchebag author (as M called him) of the book that Hazel adores (and Augustus grew to love as well).

But really it's mostly one of those books that Makes You Think. But, this is where John's gotten better: it's not pretentious. Really. The emotions are honest; the cynicism, the reflections, the quoting of improbably sophisticated literature all works in this context. And yes, it is heartbreaking and hilarious, as everyone promises.

In other words, if you want the best that John Green has to offer, this is it. (Until he writes another book.)

Sunday Salon: Bestsellers

2012-01-15T08:04:00.000-06:00

The New York Times Bestseller shelves at Watermark

I have had, for years, a terrible relationship with the New York Times Bestseller list. At one point in my reading life, I would slavishly follow the list, picking out ones from it to read, because -- as the reasoning goes -- if it's on the NY Times list, then it must be good. Right?

But, invariably, I'd be disappointed. Seriously disappointed. I hated a good number of the books, and was turned off by the rest.

Sure, there was always exceptions, but the trick was to catch them early. I read Harry Potter first in 1999, before it got huge. The same for Percy Jackson (2005), Twilight (2007), and Hunger Games (2009). You'll notice that they're all middle grade and young adult novels, which probably has something to do with my enjoyment of them as well.

But, I'm more than halfway through Water for Elephants, which is up there on those shelves, and I'm loving it. Which is making me wonder: why do I really have this dislike of the Bestseller lists? What is the real source of my mistrust?

I have no answers. Do you? What's your relationship to the bestseller lists?

The Heroines

2012-01-12T07:11:00.000-06:00

by Eileen Favorite
ages: adult
First sentence: "I was so angry with Mother!"
Review copy sent by the author's publicist.

The pitch: a literary fantasy in which heroines of beloved novels (most of them tragic) escape to a bed and breakfast in rural Indiana in 1974.

The heroine: thirteen-year-old Penny who is at odds with her mother, Anne-Marie. Mostly because her mother won't let her interfere with the heroines, but also because she's 13 and that's what 13-year-olds do.

The plot: I don't know. I never got there. Seventy pages in, and I was still struggling to figure out what the heck was going on. I got that there was tension between the mother and daughter, and there was something about not running through the woods, but that's really all.

The reason I abandoned this one: It was boring. Painfully so. I think it was meant to be cute and pretentious, but honestly? It put me to sleep. Multiple times. I don't even have anything clever to say about this one because I didn't even actively dislike it.

I hate to say this, because I did like the idea of the premise, but this one just didn't work for me.

Audiobook: The Eyre Affair

2012-01-10T07:25:00.000-06:00

by Jasper Fforde
read by Susan Duerden
ages: adult
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

When I finished Jane Eyre a few years (well, five) back, someone told me that now I needed to read The Eyre Affair. I said okay, and stuck it on the TBR list, and then promptly forgot about it.

As I finished up my last audio book, I was looking through my old lists for a good audio book to read, and this one stood out. Why not give Jasper Fforde and Thursday Next a try?

I can safely say I'm torn about this novel. On the one hand, it was weirdly brilliant: why not create an alternative world, where in 1985 there's time travel and interesting inventions; where planes aren't used for commercial travel, and there's a questionably moral corporation -- Goliath -- basically running England, and where the ending to Jane Eyre is that she goes off with her cousin to India. In this world, there are people called Litera Techs, SpecOps-27, who deal with crimes on literature. It's a pretty mundane job, for the most part, especially for Crimean War veteran (the Russians and the English have been fighting this war for more than a century) Thursday Next. Then evil mastermind Archeron Hades steals the manuscript for Charles Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit and all hell breaks loose, and it's up to Thursday to put it right.

The other really brilliant thing in this book was the names: from Archeron (and his brother Styx) Hades, to Thursday's partners Victor Analogy and Bowden Cable and her ex-boyfriend Landon Parke-Lane (not to mention the Goliath head honcho Jack Schitt. Yes, that is exactly how you say it.) they are all brilliant. No, I didn't get all the British references, but I got enough to find it amusing.

But, in the end, that's all the book had: a great premise and some funny literary illusions. It took much too long in set up, getting around to the point of the novel; why was it called the Eyre Affair, when it was such a small part of the whole novel? I enjoyed the Shakespeare debates, but felt they didn't really serve much purpose in the overall arc of the story. In fact, I could say that for a lot of the novel: it took too much time building the world, which was only sometimes fascinating, and then it took too much time wrapping up (and setting up the next one) in the end. It was just... too long.

A note about the reading: it was quite good. I probably had more patience for this book in audio form because Duerden was such a capable reader, creating a world for me with her voice that wouldn't have otherwise existed. (Plus it helped that she tackled both the Welsh and the French with aplomb, something which I couldn't have done on my own.)

So, cut 150 or so (just guessing here; a few discs would have been nice), and perhaps it'd be a really great novel.

Sunday Salon: The State of the TBR Pile 3

2012-01-08T08:12:00.000-06:00

Currently on my nightstand:

A handful are the second-round Cybils books, but there's a good assortment of others as well. And only one holdover from last month!

Grandmothers' Stories (for my in person bookgroup)
Ivanhoe (for my online bookgroup)
The Great Wall of Lucy Wu (Cybils book)
The Friendship Doll (Cybils book)
Words in the Dust (Cybils book, which I've read but wanted to revisit.)
Darth Paper Strikes Back (Ditto.)
Warp Speed (Cybils book)
Ghetto Cowboy (Cybils book)
Kat, Incorrigible (I don't remember where I saw this, but it sounds cute.)
Breadcrumbs (I was made curious by emilyreads; that it made the Cybils shortlist was the clincher.)
Notes from an Accidental Band Geek (C got it for Christmas, and said it was good)
Jefferson's Sons (this has been getting some Newbery buzz, and I was curious)
Maman's Homesick Pie (from work; I wanted a good foodie book)
Child of the Prophecy (for a buddy read with Kelly, which I really will get to. Soon!)

Is there anything really good on your pile?

Dragon Castle

2012-01-06T06:44:00.000-06:00

by Joseph Bruchac
ages: 12+
First sentence: "A monumental tapestry decorates the wide back wall of the Great Hall in Hladka Hvorka, my family's large old castle."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Prince Rashko is convinced he's the only intelligent one in his family. His parents are odd, always spouting proverbs, talking in obscure riddles, never quite making sense. His older brother, Paulek, has a knack with animals, but can't seem to remember pertinent information. So, when his parents disappear and the evil Baron Temny his minions take up residence looking for something, though no one quite knows what, Rashko figures it's up to him to save everyone from their foolishness, hopefully thwarting Temny's plans.

It took a while to get into the story. Partially, because of the use of Slovak with an immediate English translation (ie, " Ano. Yes.") kept pulling me out of the story. What I really, really wanted was a pronunciation guide in the back. I found alternating between Rashko's story and Pavol's legend to be disconcerting at first, but after a while I figured out the purpose of it, and thus was better able to understand why the book was written that way.

I also figured out the "lesson" (and the trick) of the book fairly early on. I thought it would bother me more that I did, but after a while I realized that the reader was supposed to figure it out. In many ways, we were more informed and less judgmental of the situation than Rashko was, something which added to the telling of the story in the end. It was a lot of set up, but it ultimately paid off: the ending was quite the battle scene, with a surprising climax.

Not a bad little fantasy.

Archer's Quest

2012-01-04T06:33:00.000-06:00

by Linda Sue Park
ages: 10+
First sentence: "Kevin ripped the page out of his notebook and crumpled it into a ball, making it as hard and tight as he could."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Kevin is in seventh grade, struggling to figure out where he fits in. He's not a math genius like his dad. In fact, he's not really good at school at all. He's not good at sports. He's not into his Korean heritage. He's just kind of there.

Until one day, at home trying to figure out homework, his world changes. Out of nowhere, a man, called Skillful Archer, is a legendary ruler from ancient Korea. It's up to Kevin to help him figure out how to get Archer back home. Before the end of the night, which signifies the end of the Tiger year on the Chinese calendar.

On the one hand, this is full of Korean history and tradition. It's fascinating to learn about Archer -- Chu-mong, a historical figure -- as he and Kevin work together to return him to his time.

On the other hand, though, it's quite simplistic, even for a middle grade novel. Archer comes, he teaches Kevin Valuable Lessons, and then he leaves. What really bothered me is that Kevin didn't seem to do anything. Though perhaps that was the point: he didn't do much but follow Archer around -- though he did have to explain things like cars and computers -- until the end, when he figured out how to be more proactive in his life. It didn't make for a very interesting novel, but I suppose it was true to the character.

Not bad. Not great, but not bad either.

My Reading for the Next Six Weeks (Cybils Shortlist Are Out!)

2012-01-01T08:16:00.001-06:00

I love New Year's Day: new year, new beginnings, and the best part: Cybils shortlists are out! Being a round 2 judge, I get the privilege of reading these fine books over the next six weeks. I'm quite excited, to say the least! However, I feel I need to give you a heads up as well: I'm not allowed to publish reviews of these before the final decision is announced, so my reviewing over the next month may be spotty. I'm going to try and read other books so I have something to put up, but we'll see. Also: don't forget to pop by the Cybils site to see the other nominees!

Darth Paper Strikes Back: An Origami Yoda Book
by Tom Angleberger
Amulet
Nominated by: Madelyn Rosenberg
Read this you must. The students of Ralph McQuarrie Middle School are back in the sequel to Tom Angleberger's best selling middle grade novel The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, last year's Cybils winner in this category. In Darth Paper, our hero, Dwight is suspended and it is up to Tommy and Kellen to save him from expulsion. Unfortunately for Dwight, Harvey and Darth Paper have other plans.

Written as a series of case files, Darth Paper continues the magic first found in Origami Yoda. Darth Paper has something for every reader: Star Wars references, humor, crushes, and a powerful ending.
--Colby Sharp, Sharp Read

Ghetto Cowboy
by G. Neri
Candlewick Press
Nominated by: Alison
Cole has finally pushed his mother to the breaking point. His poor attitude, failing grades and truancy have left her no choice but to drive him from their home in Detroit to Philadelphia where he will live with the father he has never met. There, Cole's father leads a band of cowboys who not only rescue horses but also guide local youth away from the mean streets that surround the stables. As Cole learns to care for the horses, he begins to understand the importance of growing into an honorable young man.

Based on a true account of Philadelphia's Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, told in urban vernacular and complimented by Jesse Joshua Watson's pencil-stroked illustrations, Ghetto Cowboy is an engaging and accessible coming of age story whose dedication page gets at the heart of its message: rise up and ride on.
--Cheryl Vanati, Reading Rumpus

Nerd Camp
by Elissa Brent Weissman
Atheneum
Nominated by: Jennifer Donovan
Gabe, 10, has been accepted in a prestigious 6-week summer camp, SCGE or the Summer Camp for Gifted Enrichment, which other kids in the school call the Smart Camp for Geeks and Eggheads. He's excited about going, but he wants to impress his step-brother-to-be Zack, the ultimate cool guy, who he's just recently met. He begins wondering how he's going to look in Zack's eyes. So, he does what any geek gifted kid would do --he makes a logic proof, which he adds to throughout the summer:

Problem: Am I a nerd who has only nerdy adventures?
Hypothesis: No

Gabe and his new camp friends Wesley and Nikhil are sweet, funny, and self-aware. They're proud of their brains, and if that makes them a bit nerdy, so be it. Nerd Camp is full of both humor and heart and reinforces the beauty of loving yourself for who you are.

--Jennifer Donovan, 5minutesforbooks.com

The Friendship Doll
by Kirby Larson
Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Nominated by: Mary Ann Scheuer
Take four stories spanning more than a decade of the Great Depression—each of which captures a pivotal moment in the life of a child—link them through the awakening heart of a Japanese doll, and you have one of this year's most compelling books for middle grade readers. At the heart of the book is Miss Kanagawa, one of 58 Ambassadors of Friendship sent by Japan to the United States in 1927. Each part of the book focuses on the story of a different girl, interwoven with Miss Kanagawa's own experiences and snippets of news articles. The narrative voices are rich, distinct and authentic, creating an effortless read with great pacing. The Friendship Doll's four-part structure and seamless blending of the numinous with the everyday has a mesmerizing effect that makes this book hard to put down. An engaging book and timeless tale for 9-to-12 year olds.

--Grier Jewell, Fizzwhizzing Flushbunker

The Great Wall Of Lucy Wu
by Wendy Wan-Long Shang
Scholastic
Nominated by: Sondra Eklund
Lucy is going to have the best year ever in the 6th grade, but things get off to a rocky start. A great-aunt is going to come from China and live in her room, she has to go to Chinese school, and she has to deal with the evil Sloane who is challenging her to be captain of the 6th grade basketball team. Luckily, she has a great friend, a crush that just might work out, and a good sense of humor. This funny but surprisingly deep novel explores the painful process that so many adolescents go through--feeling a need to build "great walls" between themselves and their families, while still wanting to love and be loved by them.
--Karen Yingling, Ms.Yingling Reads

Warp Speed
by Lisa Yee
Arthur A Levine
Nominated by: Sarah Wendorf
Meet Marley Sandelski: seventh-grader, A/V club regular, major Star Trek fan (Original Series, of course), and, as he notes in his Captain’s Log, “invisible” to everyone but the school bullies. His single line of defense? Running. Running very, very fast. When his speed puts him on the track coach’s radar and he makes an unexpected connection with a girl (if he can just stop bursting into Klingon around her), he starts feeling all too visible. The time is coming for Marley to stop running and stand up for himself. With quirky yet realistic situations and characters (including cameo appearances by characters from Yee’s other novels), Warp Speed addresses the very serious issue of bullying with compassion and humor without ever getting bogged down as a “message” book. Readers of all ages will feel like they know the kids of Rancho Rosetta, and they will be rooting for Marley to “live long and prosper”.
--Beth Gallego, Points West

Words In The Dust
by Trent Reedy
Arthur A Levine
Nominated by: Greg Leitich Smith
"Donkey face." That's what the local boys call 13-year-old Zulaikha, an Afghan girl with a cleft lip. At home, Zulaikha is constantly harried by her strict stepmother, so very different from Zulaikha's own mother, who was killed by the Taliban. Enter the Americans. A convoy, traveling through the village, spots Zulaikah. They return with a medical officer--a woman, much to the dismay of the Afghans--who tells Zulaikah's father that she thinks the girl's lip can be fixed. The American-Afghan relationship is shown in all its complexity, with the understanding that, for the Afghans, the Americans are strange creatures, powerful yet uncomprehending of even the simplest of Afghan cultural courtesies.

The debut novel by Trent Reedy, who served in the U.S. military in Afghanistan, will stay with you long after the last page has been turned. The setting and the understanding of Afghan customs and life are so well drawn, you will find it hard to believe that this novel wasn't written by a young Afghan woman herself.

--Michael Gettel-Gilmartin, Middle Grade Mafioso

My Best of 2011

2011-12-31T06:05:00.000-06:00

By the Numbers:

Middle Grade Fiction: 57
YA Fiction: 45
Graphic Novels: 7
Non-Fiction:18
Adult Fiction: 30
(Number of those that were sci-fi/fantasy books: 49)

Grand Total:157

Abandoned: 9

Challenges Completed: I only did three this year: Once Upon a Time, The Great Blogger Book Swap, and the People Of Color Challenge. I hit my goal in the POC challenge, finished the Once Upon a Time, and did less than I hoped on the Great Blogger Book Swap. I'm wondering if I should just be done with challenges for a while.

And now this year's awards:

Best Adult Fiction: The Night Circus
Best YA book: I'll Be There
Best Middle-grade book: Okay For Now
Best Fantasy: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Best Sci-Fi/Distopian: Divergent
Best Graphic Novel: Zita the Spacegirl
Best Non-Fiction: The Disappearing Spoon
Best Romance: The Grand Sophy
Best Mystery(I read more than one this year!): The Devil Went Down to Austin
Best Audiobook: The True Meaning of Smekday
Best Jacket Flap: How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack

And in other categories...

Okay, okay, so the hype isn't always wrong: The Night Circus, The Help

Books I should have read AGES ago: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Cold Sassy Tree, Beowulf, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Hattie Big Sky

Author I overdosed on this year: Rick Riordan (a grand total of 6, plus I read the Percy Jackson series aloud to A.)

Favorite Reviews: Scones and Sensibility, Heat Wave

The Wink-Wink, Nudge-Nudge book: good heavens. I shelved a lot of romance fiction, but didn't read a single one. Favorite worst title: The Oldest Living Married Virgin.

Best *Swoon* Factor: Uncommon Criminals, Anna and the French Kiss

Satire isn't just for English Majors: Beauty Queen

Best Interviewee: Clare Vanderpool (whom I have seen in person now, but have yet to talk to...)

Best book with the longest title: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

Best book with the worst cover: The Trouble With May Amelia

Best book for those sick of vampires: Drink, Slay, Love

Favorite reread: The Great Gatsby, On Fortune's Wheel, The Wee Free Men

Woo-hoo, they're back!: Son of Neptune, The Demon's Surrender

Can we have the sequel NOW?: Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, Divergent, The Hidden Gallery, Liar's Moon

They're commercial brain candy, but I liked them anyway: Heat Wave, Naked Heat, Heat Rises

Book for in-person book group I liked best: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Book for on-line book group I liked best: Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer

Books I finished but didn't feel the love for: The Cross Gardener, Same Kind of Different as Me

Number of Shakespeare plays I read: 1 - Twelfth Night. And we saw Taming of the Shrew, and about a third of Troilous and Cressida. The latter one was rained out.

Disappointing book by an author I respect: Pay the Piper

Books that made me laugh the most: Seriously... I'm Kidding, Knucklehead

Can I move in next door?: The Penderwicks at Point Mouette

Best quirky book: The Chronicles of Harris Burdick

Author everyone else loves that I discovered I liked: Mercedes Lackey (The Fairy Godmother)

Best book from an author I previously didn't care for: Daughter of the Forest, Keeper

First-time authors I'd love to see more from: Sarah Stevenson (The Latte Rebellion), Erin McCahan (I Now Pronounce You Someone Else), Olugbemisola Rhuday Perkovich (8th Grade Superzero)

Theme(s) that inadvertently manifested themselves: Greek gods (Son of Neptune, Gods Behaving Badly, Athena and Zeus); The South (Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Help, all the Texas mystery books, Friday Night Lights, Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer, Lions of Little Rock); Death/Loss (The Cross Gardner, Same Kind of Different as Me, Chime, Cures for Heartbreak, Angel in My Pocket)

What are some of your bests this past year?

December Jacket Flap-a-thon

2011-12-30T08:10:00.000-06:00

This is just a teaser... my best of post is coming tomorrow!

Divergent (Katherine Tegen Books): "In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her. Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

A bit long, but it houses all the pertinent information in one place. It came in handy, when I wanted to figure out which faction was what.

Dead End in Norvelt (Macmillian Young Readers): "Melding the entirely true and the wildly fictional, Dead End in Norvelt is a novel about an incredible two months for a kid named Jack Gantos, whose plans for vacation excitement are shot down when he is "grounded for life" by his feuding parents, and whose nose spews bad blood at every little shock he gets. But plenty of excitement (and shocks) are coming Jack's way once his mom loans him out to help a feisty old neighbor with a most unusual chore—typewriting obituaries filled with stories about the people who founded his utopian town. As one obituary leads to another, Jack is launched on a strange adventure involving molten wax, Eleanor Roosevelt, twisted promises, a homemade airplane, Girl Scout cookies, a man on a trike, a dancing plague, voices from the past, Hells Angels . . . and possibly murder. Endlessly surprising, this sly, sharp-edged narrative is the author at his very best, making readers laugh out loud at the most unexpected things in a dead-funny depiction of growing up in a slightly off-kilter place where the past is present, the present is confusing, and the future is completely up in the air. Dead End in Norvelt is a Publishers Weekly Best Children's Fiction title for 2011. One of Horn Book’s Best Fiction Books of 2011."

So, this is the reason I read the book: the flap copy, and though it sounded fantastic. Too bad it wasn't as good as I'd hoped.

Liar's Moon (Arthur A. Levine Books): "Prisons, poisons, and passions combine in a gorgeously written fantasy noir by the author of the Morris Award-winning A CURSE DARK AS GOLD. As a pickpocket, Digger expects to spend a night in jail every now and then. But she doesn't expect to find Lord Durrel Decath there as well--or to hear he's soon to be executed for killing his wife. Durrel once saved Digger's life, and when she goes free, she decides to use her skills as a thief, forger, and spy to investigate his case and return the favor. But each new clue only opens up more mysteries. While Durrel's marriage was one of convenience, his behavior has been more impulsive than innocent. His late wife had an illegal business on the wrong side of the civil war raging just outside the city gates. Digger keeps finding forbidden magic in places it has no reason to be. And it doesn't help that she may be falling in love with a murderer . . ."

I love that 1) it doesn't give anything away from the first book in the series, and 2) it doesn't give away much of anything this book, and yet it sounds incredibly intriguing.

Other books read this month:
Heat Rises
Guys Read: Thriller (DNF)
The City of Orphans (DNF)
The Power of One (DNF)
The Lions of Little Rock
At Home (audiobook)
Seriously... I'm Kidding
Words in the Dust
Liesl and Po
Crossing to Safety
Pie
Tuesdays at the Castle
Rebel Island

Rebel Island

2011-12-28T06:57:00.000-06:00

by Rick Riordan
ages: adult
First sentence: "We got married in a thunderstorm."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Tres Navarre has finally married his longtime (on and off) girlfriend, Maia, and now they're off (with Tres's brother Garrett in tow) to they're belated honeymoon to Rebel Island: an old haunt of the Navarre family, and not really one that has good memories. And because Tres is who he is, and trouble seems to follow him around, they encounter a weekend like no other: a major hurricane on top of a killer on the loose.

It doesn't get much better than that.

Except, well, it does. Out of the several things I noticed while reading this, the one that stood out the most was that it really didn't need to be written. Mission Road was a good stopping point for the series, and while I guess it's nice to know that Tres and Maia got married, and are having a kid, it's not really necessary to have a whole book about that point. The other thing was you can tell that Riordan consciously pulled back on these novels; while there's still language in this book, it's not nearly as gritty as the earlier Tres Navarre books are. You can almost see him thinking, "Dang! I've got kids reading my books. What if they want to read these, too? Better not make them as foul as they used to be."

On top of that, it just didn't read as well as the earlier Tres Navarre books. It was a quick read, but unfortunately predicable (at one point, I thought, "Oh, man, I hope he doesn't make him out to be the bad guy..."), and even the little twist at the end didn't redeem it for me. It was all ho-hum, formulaic, and not particularly exciting.

It's not that it was a bad book; I just didn't feel Tres and company were up to the standard that I've come to expect.

2011 Challenge: The POC Challenge

2011-12-27T09:30:00.000-06:00

My goal was 25, and I managed to read 29. Though I've noticed that many of these books have non-white characters but are written by white people. I think in 2012 I'm going to try to read more books by non-white authors.

Same Kind of Different as Me, by Ron Hall and Denver Moore
Forge, by Laurie Halse Anderson
Street Magic, by Tamora Pierce
The True Meaning of Smekday, by Adam Rex
King of Bollywood, by Anupama Chopra
India Calling, by Anand Giridharadas
Luv Ya Bunches, by Lauren Myracle
Violet in Bloom, by Lauren Myracle
Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
Sweet 15, by Emily Adler and Alex Echevarria
Trash, by Andy Mulligan
The Throne of Fire, by Rick Riordan
A Gift From Childhood, by Baba Wague Diakite
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith
The Heart of a Samurai, by Margi Preus
8th Grade Superzero, by Olugbemisola Rhuday Perkovich
How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy, by Crystal Allen
The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
What Momma Left Me, by Renee Watson
Inside Out and Back Again, by Thanhha Lai
Year of the Horse, by Justin Allen
The Demon's Surrender, by Sarah Rees Brennan
The Eternal Smile: Three Stories, by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim
Kendra, by Coe Booth
Zazoo, by Richard Mosher
Latasha and the Little Red Tornado, by Michael Scotto
The Latte Rebellion, by Sarah Jamila Stevenson
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
Words in the Dust, by Trent Reedy

2011 Challenges: The Great Blogger Book Swap

2011-12-27T09:25:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of the year, I had grand plans for this challenge. I was going to read all the books, first off. It was going to be great. As it was, I barely finished (well, mostly, anyway) my 11 just in time for the end of the year. Lesson? Don't plan big.

Corinne's list for me:On Fortune's Wheel by Cynthia Voigt
Precious Bane by Mary Webb
The Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
Pastwatch or Wyrms by Orson Scott Card
Bonus: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith

Of these, I liked A Tree Grows in Brooklyn best. It was a bout time I read that one. Pastwatch comes in a close second, though.

Tricia's list for me:
The Lincolns ~ Candace Fleming
Unwind ~ Neal Shusterman
Crossing to Safety ~ Wallace Stegner
Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie ~ Jordan Sonnenblick
The Power of One ~ Bryce Courtenay (I didn't finish this one...)

Of these, Crossing to Safety gets my favorite vote, hands down. It's a gorgeous novel.

Tuesdays at the Castle

2011-12-26T07:17:00.000-06:00

by Jessica Day George
ages: 9+
First sentence: "Whenever Castle Glower became bored, it would grow a new room or two."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Eleven-year-old Princess Cecilia -- Celie to her family and friends -- loves living in Castle Glower. She's made it her job to know all the nooks and crannies and shortcuts, from the long-established ones, to the ones that crop up periodically. See, Castle Glower is definitely magical, and may be alive: it has opinions about the residents there (the state of your rooms is a definite indicator of its opinion of you), and chooses the person who would be best to rule the castle. Everything is grand at Castle Glower.

That is, until the King and Queen leave to pick up their oldest son from the Wizard College, leaving Celie and her two older siblings -- heir apparent Rolf, and sister Leliah -- in the care of the castle. Unfortunately, the royals were attacked, and presumed dead. Suddenly, the council and neighboring countries are all over the Castle, supposedly "helping" Rolf take the throne. But the castle hasn't changed the rooms; perhaps their parents aren't dead after all? It's a lot to take in, and that's not even mentioning the creepy Vhervhish prince that is overstepping his boundaries. It's up to Celie -- and the castle -- to stop what may have been a tragedy from becoming a calamity.

It's a cute and clever little book; I think the premise is the strongest part of the book, though I really liked Celie as a character. Sure, the plot was a bit rushed, and I thought that maybe things wrapped up too tidily, especially since this is being hailed as a "start of a series." But then, I'm not the target audience, and I'm sure that younger readers and fantasy lovers will really enjoy this one. (I'm planning on reading it to A as soon as we get done with our current reading.)

Pie

2011-12-26T07:00:00.000-06:00

by Sarah Weeks
ages: 9+
First sentence: "Thank you very much."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Weird. Odd. Strange. Kinda charming. But really weird.

The basic story: Alice's favorite (and only) Aunt Polly has run a famous pie shop -- well, it's not really a shop since she gives the pies away -- for a long time. She is incredibly altruistic: happy doing something she's good at, refusing to take compensation (even though she wins the coveted main pie prize, the Blueberry Award, every year) for it.

Then she suddenly dies, leaving the recipe to her cat and the cat to Alice. This starts a chain of events that includes catnapping, the entire town baking pies, Alice discovering a new friend, and a misunderstanding getting resolved.

First off: the mother? Seriously? Needs to get her head checked. She's incredibly self-absorbed, wrapped up in jealousy of her (now dead) sister. She does an about face at the end of the book, but it came out of nowhere, which made it really unbelievable. I didn't like her, though perhaps I could see where she was coming from. And the father, who kept saying "Don't sass your mother", was a bit off-kilter as well. The whole book was kind of like that anyway: it was good enough, but really, really weird. It wasn't quite a mystery, it wasn't quite a historical novel (though it's set in 1955, nothing really screamed "1955" to me; it would have been just fine if it were contemporary), it wasn't quite a coming of age novel, it wasn't quite a dealing with loss novel, it wasn't quite a foody novel (even though there's recipes). It tried to be all of them, and by doing that fell short of doing any of them well. And it just gave off a really weird vibe, which I know is vague, but that's how it felt to me.

Thankfully, it only took me an hour to read.

Thank You!

2011-12-25T13:15:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite things about this time of years is the Book Blogger Holiday Swap. I love getting/meeting new bloggers to give to, and seeing who gets me. This year, I got a delightful surprise in that my give-ee was Carl of Stainless Steel Droppings. (*squee*!!) And he did not disappoint...

When I opened the box, there was a clever card (love it!) and four beautiful prints. I don't know what to do with them, yet, but I'm going to think of something worthwhile. They're gorgeous.

I waited to open the presents until today (yes, presents are for Christmas, not for opening when they come), and we got a double squee....

Charles de Lint, whom I've never read but have been curious about for a while. And Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone. The bonus about that is that I gave away our copy of the ARC for my blogger gift. What goes around comes around? At any rate, THANK YOU!

The other swap is from my lovely on-line book group. This year I got one of the crafty people, and she made me this:

The cards say: "Q: What is black and white and red all over? A: A reading pillow!!" With bonus Mt. Shasta chocolate. I've never had a reading pillow before -- especially not one made this nice! -- and I'm not sure what all the loops and ribbons and such are for. I'm sure I'll figure it out. At any rate, it's gorgeous, and I'm sure I'll spend many enjoyable (and comfortable) hours with it.

And lastly, my daughters know me well:

It's the storytellers shirt from Threadless. My only question is can I wear it to work?

Thank you all!

From My Blog to Yours

2011-12-25T08:29:00.000-06:00

From the New York Sun, September 21, 1897:

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas, how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus!... There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished... You tear apart a baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

Merry Christmas!

Words in the Dust

2011-12-23T07:23:00.000-06:00

by Trent Reedy
ages: 12+
First sentence: "I traced the letters in the dust with my finger, spelling out my name: Zulaikha."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

I wanted this novel to be soaring. To be engrossing. To be a picture of an Afghani people that is noble and honorable and interesting.

What I got was a nice book.

There's nothing wrong with nice books; nice books get kids interested in different ways of living, enabling them to see how the other isn't always strange and unusual, but often is more familiar than we give them credit for. And I have to give Reedy kudos for bringing the story of an Afghani girl during the time right after the Taliban fell and the U.S. troops were coming in to readers outside of Afghanistan. But, there was a deeper, darker story to be told here; so much was just glossed over, and by doing that, the story suffered.

Oh, I know why: this book is geared toward middle grade readers, and the darker story would make this an adult book. And perhaps, I really didn't want the dark story: the story of pigheaded men, and wrong choices made for girls, and limitations on women in their society. But, going in, I wanted a book to honor the complexities of Islam and the Afghani culture, and felt that this book just gave me the same old white, Christian, U.S. perspective: there are good Afghanis, there are narrow-minded Afghanis, and mostly what we need to do is help the women and children get education.

Been there, done that many, many times.

This sounds like I had a much more negative reaction to the book than I did. I didn't hate it, and I do think it's a worthwhile story to be told. It just wasn't the story I was hoping for when I picked it up.

Crossing to Safety

2011-12-21T07:26:00.000-06:00

by Wallace Stegner
ages: adult
First sentence: "Floating upward through a confusing of dreams and memory, curving like a trout through the rings of previous risings, I surface."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

I spent a good portion of the novel trying to figure out how to describe it. And what I came up with was: thoughtful. It was a thoughtfully written work, one that made me thoughtful as I read it.

It's the story of two couples in the 1930s. The men -- Sid and Larry -- are both English PhDs, trying to make it in academia. Their wives -- Charity and Sally -- are instant friends when they meet. It follows their friendship and lives through ups and downs for years, up until the time of Charity's death. It's told from Larry's point of view, and while I intellectually know it's not autobiographical, I never could shake that feeling that Stegner was telling, somehow, his story. Because, as Larry points out near the end, this isn't your typical novel.

How do you make a book that anyone will read out of lives as quiet as these? Where are the things that novelists seize upon and readers expect? Where is the high life, the conspicuous waste, the violence, the kinky sex, the death wish? Where are the suburban infidelities, the promiscuities, the convulsive divorces, the alcohol, the drugs, the lost weekends? Where are the hatreds, the political ambitions, the lust for power? Where are speed, noise, ugliness, everything that makes us who we are and makes us recognize ourselves in fiction?

They aren't here. What we get is a thoughtful book, a reflection on people -- though in the end, I was unsure if it was really about all of them, and not solely Charity's story -- on relationships, on marriage, on work (especially in academia; there was much I recognized there). It was beautifully written, mostly in flashbacks; descriptive enough that I could picture the Vermont woods even though I've never been to that part of the country, and yet not overly flowery in its language. Stegner has a poet's sensibility for choosing the right word for the right circumstance in order to get across a particular feeling. (My vocabulary expanded while reading this. Honestly.)

It's not flashy and loud, and not much happens. But it moved me to tears and to think and reflect on how I'm interacting with those around me; I saw much to much of myself in Charity, and I'm not sure that's always a good thing. As I said before: it's a thoughtful book. And I'm happy to finally have read some Stegner; he's an excellent writer.

Seriously... I'm Kidding

2011-12-19T07:59:00.000-06:00

by Ellen DeGeneres
ages: adult(ish)
First sentence: "Dearest Reader, Hello."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

The point of this book, as Ellen so cheerfully tells us at the end, is for the reader to be happy. Well, considering that it's Ellen DeGeneres, and that the book is really just a collection of amusing, if meandering and sometimes odd, thoughts and observations, I think I can safely say that, for me, the goal has been achieved.

This book made me, for a couple hours at least, happy. Or amused, at the very least.

It read very much like Ellen's stand-up comedy: not laugh-out loud funny, but rather companionable, amusing, enough to get a smile or a even an occasional giggle. The book is really formatted as one very long dinner party conversation: there's a bit about Ellen's life and her experiences as a talk show host (she does get serious, but only briefly in small doses, and then backs off with a joke or two fairly quickly; the most serious she got was when writing about her experience as an American Idol judge), but mostly it's just observations on everything from littering to manners to yoga to gardening. There's no real coherent theme, there's no overlying lesson, there's no deep thoughts (even if there is a chapter on deep thinking).

But, for what it is -- a congenial conversation between Ellen and her "readers"/fans -- it's a fun little book. Some of the chapters are quite funny (like the "Meditiation" chapter -- about four blank pages followed by " Ahhhhh. Doesn't that feel better?"), others not so much (the one about writing Pro/Con lists kinda fell flat for me). In the end, though: it was an amusing way to spend an hour or so, and I'm not sad I picked up the book.

Which means, I guess, that Ellen did the job she set out to do.

The Lions of Little Rock

2011-12-16T06:57:00.000-06:00

by Kristin Levine
ages: 11+
First sentence: "I talk a lot."
Release date: January 5, 2012
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the publisher.

It's 1958 in Little Rock, Arkansas. History has told us that the year before that the school district in Little Rock were forced to allow 9 black students -- who came to be known as the Little Rock 9 -- into the schools. But what happened after that?

Levine tells the story of the school year the year after the Little Rock 9, a story of segregation and fighting, of learning and growth. The main character is a white girl, twelve-yaer-old Marlee Nesbitt, who is incredibly shy. Painfully shy. Never talks shy. And then she meets Liz, who is the opposite of Marlee in every way. They form a friendship, and Liz helps Marlee come out of her shell a little bit. And then it turns out that Liz is actually black, and she's kicked out of school. There begins Marlee's quest: to keep her friend, to bring her older sister back home (she's been sent to live with their grandmother since the high schools are closed), to finally get the courage to speak out against segregation.

It's a lot to pack into a middle grade novel, but Levine's real talent is making the huge seem intimate. This book could have easily gone into either full-on-lecture or Southerners-are-stupid mode, making it trite and one-dimensional. By focusing on the relationship between Marlee and Liz, Levine has made history and race issues personal: you root for these two friends, you want them to be able to be friends. And you sympathize with nearly everyone in the book (even the negative characters have some redeeming qualities; no one is merely a stereotype). It's full of history as well; from the early days of the integration movement, to the basic atmosphere of the late fifties. One of my favorite parts was Marlee's first experience riding in a commercial airliner. It was quite priceless.

It's not a perfect book; it starts slow and took me a while to get into. But, once I did, I was richly rewarded with a complex and engaging story.

Liar's Moon

2011-12-14T07:33:00.000-06:00

by Elizabeth C. Bunce
ages: 14+
First sentence: "I'd have gotten away if that little guard hadn't cracked me in the eye."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

When we last left our fair Digger/Celyn (if you really don't want spoilers for Starcrossed, you ought to read that one first and then come back), she had survived the winter snowed in at a remote mountain castle, and helped rescue a prince and incite a rebellion against the ever-increasing militant state of her country and town. Now she's back in Gerse, doing what she does best: thieving. She never expected to get caught, let alone thrown in jail with Lord Durrell, who's in there as the main suspect in his wife's murder. Digger gets enlisted to do the other thing she does best -- digging -- in order to prove Durrell's innocence. Along the way, she finds herself in possession of more than one secret she wishes she didn't have. Ones that people may do everything in their power to keep hidden.

Much like the first book in this series, it's easy to get lost in Digger's world. For starters, she's a fascinating, complex character, full of both flaws and virtues. She's smart, clever, and strong, as well as loyal enough to go out on a limb for her friends. It's amazing to sit back and watch her do her stuff.

In addition, this one reads like a historical fantasy mystery novel: if Durrell is innocent (and is he really?), who did kill his wife? And what about all the mysterious goings on with both Durrell's family as well as his wife's family? Not to mention the rebellion... The book has a different feel than Starcrossed -- grittier is the first word I can think of -- and yet is just as rich and engaging and thrilling (and full of swoon-worthy heroes, though I missed Prince Wierolf) as the first book. (Though you do need to read Starcrossed before you read this one. Then again, why wouldn't you?)

And then there's the twist at the end: some you saw coming, but the very end... completely out of left field in a most delicious way. I can't wait to see what Bunce does next with Digger and this world.

Audiobook: At Home

2011-12-12T06:44:00.000-06:00

by Bill Bryson
read by the author
ages: adult
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

When Bill Bryson and his wife moved back to England, they purchased a rectory built in 1851. I'm not sure if he thought much of it when he first moved in, but after living there a while, he started thinking about how little he knew about his house, and the history that surrounded it. Thank heavens for his curiosity, because out of it was born this book: a fascinating history of the world without leaving the home.

Initially, that sounds a bit dry as well as overly ambitious: how can one tell the history of the world through the house? The short answer: you can't. What you can tell is a general history of how homes came to be what we find them today in Great Britain and the U. S. Bryson ends up focusing on those two countries, as well as mainly on the 19th-century, giving the book a much less ambitious perspective. And because Bryson is a thorough researcher and a masterful writer, this book -- which is stuffed full of facts and people you can't hope to begin to keep straight -- is downright fascinating. From the history of how tea came to be England's national drink, to the Eiffel Tower, to indoor plumbing and the telephone, to the rise of the middle class, to sexual repression in Victorian England: this book seriously has it all.

I listened to this one on audio, which possibly wasn't the best way to interact with this book. (That, and Bill Bryson sounds nothing like I thought he would.) I kept wanting to flip back chapters, to reread earlier passages, to find earlier references to the people and circumstances that he refers back to. He does do a well enough job reminding the reader about who or what things were, but I still wanted to go back and see it for myself. That said, the information itself was fascinating. (I also wish I could have marked things, because for the life of me, I can't remember half of what I heard.)

It's fascinating not just because history is fascinating, but because Bryson makes it so. It's his snide asides (said in a dead-pan voice, so we know that he's poking fun), and his brilliant observations, and the sheer amount of research that he did to write this book that really makes this book worth reading.

Then again, I'm not sure Bryson can write a book that isn't worth reading.

Sunday Salon: State of the TBR Pile 2

2011-12-11T08:32:00.000-06:00

I had thought I had more left over from last month, but it turns out that there's only 2. I wonder, though, if it's too much to think that I can finish most of these before the end of the year?

Archer's Quest (for Mother-daughter book group in January)
The Snow Child (for work)
The Heroines (I got the review copy because it sounded interesting)
Tuesdays at the Castle (I will read this, I promise. Really.)
Pie (A Cybils nominated book that caught my eye)
Dragon's Castle (Saw this at Fuse #8, and it sounds good)
Crossing to Safety (Last one for the Great Blogger Book Swap.)
Child of the Prophecy (for a buddy read with Kelly)
Rebel Island (My goal is still to finish this before the end of the year.)

Liesl & Po

2011-12-09T07:05:00.000-06:00

by Lauren Oliver
ages: 9+
First sentence: "On the third night after the day her father died, Liesl saw the ghost."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Liesl is all alone in the world. Her father has just died, and not only is her stepmother keeping Liesl locked in the attic, she wouldn't even let her say goodbye to her beloved father. Given this, Liesl is about to give up entirely on life, when the ghost appears in her room, drawn by the light. Po -- its neither boy nor girl, having been on the Other Side long enough to lose its identity -- and its companion, Bundle (neither dog nor cat, but both), show up to keep Liesl company.

This little visit changes Liesl's life entirely: she discovers a friend in Po, and then given courage by Po's conversations with Liesl's father, she decides to take her father's ashes back to the house where she was born to bury them. This leads to an adventure: another friend, Will; some mix-ups; and the Greatest Magic in the World.

It's a quiet, sweet little book, with just a dab of magic, about dealing with loss and finding happiness again. It's a very hopeful book; as Oliver points out in the afterword, books like these are about finding the happy ending that life often denies us. There are Messages in the book, but woven in the old-fashioned storytelling, thankfully not blatantly beating us over the head. It's a grim tale to begin with: shades of Cinderella, a gray and dark world filled with adults who actively dislike children. However, there is a happy ending: the bad guys get their comeuppance, Liesl finds a new family, and there is sunshine and gladness in the world again.

All which brings a little sigh of contentment when you finish the book.

Dead End in Norvelt

2011-12-07T06:49:00.000-06:00

by Jack Gantos
ages: 12+
First sentence: "School was finally out and I was standing on a picnic table in our backyard getting ready for a great summer vacation when my mother walked up to me and ruined it."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

From the get-go, I found this book to be weird. It's basically the story of Jack Gantos (no, I don't know how much is real and how much is fiction, but it's in the fiction section, so let's assume it's more fiction than fact) who lives in the (real) town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania and the summer (of 1962) he spent grounded. For mowing down his mother's cornfield. On his father's orders.

He's let off as often as his next-door neighbor, Miss Volker, needs his help. She's the town medical examiner and obituary writer, but severe arthritis in her hands is keeping her from doing very much, and so she gets Jack to help her out. This leads to not only some pretty long-winded, but sometimes interesting, stories about the original residents of Norvelt. Not to mention Norvelt history (was Eleanor Roosevelt really involved?). There's also a bit of a mystery thrown at us at the end: all the original residents are dropping like flies, and someone is finally asking if they really are "natural causes", and there's a band of Hell's Angels that are burning down houses in town.

As I mentioned, I just found this one weird. Sure, it was sometimes funny: some of the situations that Jack finds himself in are quite, well, surreal and odd, which made them amusing. But, for the most part, I just found myself wondering what was real and what was fiction. I wished for an author's note at the end, and was quite disappointed when Gantos chose not to include one. I never really connected with any of the character; aside from the spitfire Miss Volker, everyone else seemed to be cliches: the devoted mother, the tough father, the bully-ish best friend (who was a girl), the greedy business owner, the annoying busybody. I never cared enough about the characters to read through all the history, and found myself skipping pages.

That said, maybe I just wasn't the right audience for this one. Perhaps some 11- or 12-year-old boy would find Jack and his adventures the right mix of history and fun.

Divergent

2011-12-05T06:33:00.000-06:00

by Veronica Roth
ages: 14+
First sentence: "There is one mirror in my house."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

In what used to be known as Chicago in this post-apocalyptic world, humanity is divided into four factions, each devoted to developing a particular virtue: Candor, the honest; Erudite, the intelligent; Amity, the peaceful; Dauntless, the brave; and Abnegation, the selfless.

Beatrice has grown up in Abnegation, but doesn't quite feel she fits. She's not as selfless as her parents and brother, she's always questioning her own inner motives. She sees kids from the other factions and wonders if she wouldn't fit in better there. Then, at age 16, she is given a test and the opportunity to stay with her faction or choose another one. And she discovers that she's Divergent.

We spend most of the book wondering, along with Beatrice -- who christens herself Tris after she joins Dauntless -- what the heck Divergent is. On one level, this is annoying; but by the end, when it all makes sense and you realize that the timing was perfectly right for it, all is forgiven. It's an intense book and a violent one, as we follow Tris through her brutal training to join the Dauntless faction. As she goes through the training, Tris discovers two things: that the people in the factions -- including her birth faction -- aren't nearly as altruistic as they proposed to be. And that romance can blossom in the oddest places.

There will be inevitable comparisons to The Hunger Games (it's really a good book for those who love Hunger Games and are wondering what to read next): there's a society that's become corrupt, and a girl who doesn't fit the norm who has the potential (yes, there is a sequel, at least) to change that society for the better. Though Tris is a more active and less selfish heroine than Katsa was, which makes her more interesting in my book. It's less black-and-white, and more complex; Roth does an excellent job balancing the good and bad in every faction, providing us with not only the worst, but also both the best and the human in human beings.

It's compelling and engrossing storytelling as well, with a little bit of everything -- romance, politics, action, tension -- for everyone. An excellent start to a good new series.

Christmas Gift Tradition: American Girl Dolls

2011-12-04T00:30:00.000-06:00

Over the years that I've participated in the Virtual Advent, I've talked about lots of things: books, the tree, music... but never toys. I'm changing that this year.

When I was younger, my mother gave to me a couple porcelain dolls that she'd had when she was a child. I loved those dolls, played with them, and cherished them. (Granted, this is all in retrospect; maybe I didn't.) They, somehow, managed to survive me as a child, and I saved them to pass down to my daughter.

And then I had four girls.

There was no way I could pass down two dolls to four girls (well, there was only three at the time I made the initial decision), and I wanted them to have the same sort of experience with dolls that I had as a child. The Christmas M was in second grade, we were searching for gift ideas for her, and I hit upon the perfect solution: American Girl Dolls.

I feel a need to justify this a bit: they are expensive, somewhat extravagant, and definitely over-commercialized. There is a part of me that dreads getting the catalog whenever it shows up, because there's always more in there that the girls want then we can get.

But.

The dolls are well-made, the clothes are well-made, they're not Barbies (a big plus in my book!), and they are made to be played with and yet will last to be handed down. And there's enough stuff to last through birthdays and Christmas presents for a few years.

Additionally, the historical ones -- which are the ones that I require they choose from -- are fascinating in their detail (which is hopefully accurate), and they make history accessible and fun to the girls. But best of all, they come with books. Possibly not the best-written books, but ones that a second-grader can read on her own, ones that help make the doll that much more interesting.

Thankfully, M (who picked the now-retired Samantha) and C (who picked Kit), and now A (who has picked Molly) were able to find dolls that fit their personality, whose stories they were interested in, and ones they loved to pieces. M no longer plays with her doll, having put it in storage for the time when she (hopefully) has a daughter she can pass the doll and books down to. C still keeps hers around, playing with her on occasion, but mostly keeping her because she likes to have her things around her. A is over the moon with anticipation of getting her doll this Christmas. And K has already spent hours with the catalog, looking at the dolls, trying to decide which one she will like in a couple of years.

It may be extravagant, but it's a tradition I'm glad to have started with the girls.

I'm not the only one posting today. Check out these other posts:

Kerry @ A Ten O'Clock Scholar

Martina Kunz @ Book Drunkard

Colleen @ Books in the City

Six Sentence Saturday: Unfinshed Books

2011-12-03T08:14:00.000-06:00

Guys Read
ed. by Jon Scieszca
ages: 10+

It was a good idea to get together a bunch of talented writers and compile a collection of thriller stories. The problem was, in my humble opinion, that none of the stories (that I read; I bailed, I have to admit) were even remotely thriller-y. Perhaps if I were a 10-year-old boy, these would have some appeal. (Maybe it's just that my humor is more along the lines of a 10-year-olds, that I liked Funny Business better?) Or maybe I just don't go in for thriller stories anyway. Whatever the reason, this fell flat.

The Power of One
by Bryce Courtenay
ages: adult

This was a case of me just not being interested in the book. I tried; I got about 100 pages in, but this boy's story just wasn't to my interest. And the writing wasn't holding me. And I have a huge pile of other books to read. So, I abandoned it. Who knows, though: maybe someday I'll come back to it.

City of Orphans
by Avi
ages: 10+

Heaven knows, I enjoy an Avi book. The detail, the characterizations, the plots: all top-notch. But, this one didn't grab me. The language, while authentic, was off-putting, and the plot was just so dang slow. I gave it 75 pages, and then realized that my time is much more precious than to slog through a book I have no interest in.

Heat Rises

2011-12-01T06:54:00.000-06:00

by Richard Castle
ages: adult
First sentence: "The thing about New York City is you never know what's behind a door."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Nikki Heat is investigating the murder of a local parish priest, found at an S&M studio (is that what they're called?). The investigation takes her in all sorts of directions, but then she's called off the investigation, on the orders of her precinct captain. It's nothing, he assures her. Which only makes her -- and her lover, companion, sometimes partner, Jameson Rook -- more suspicious. And since Nikki Heat doesn't give up, she ends up digging into things she really shouldn't have.

I'm realizing that the books really do follow not only the plots from the season (yes, this one has elements from Castle season 3 episodes), but also the mood. Which means, this book wasn't as fun as either Heat Wave or
Naked Heat. Not to say that there wasn't fun moments (like the passing Firefly reference? Cracked me up.) in the book. There were. It just wasn't as fun as the previous two. (Also: not as sexy or foul; they really pulled back on the language and the sex was entirely off-screen.) It's still good brain candy, and it was gratifying to see Nikki do so much entirely on her own. She really does rock.

Oh, and if you've seen the entire season 3, there's a nice twist on the ending in the book. Which means, of course, that there will be a fourth. And yes, I will read it. (Hopefully, considering the way season 4 is going, the next book will be more fun to read overall.)

November Jacket Flap-a-Thon

2011-11-30T08:27:00.008-06:00

Drink, Slay, Love (Margaret K. McElderry): "Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire . . . fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil . . . until the night a sparkly unicorn stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops. Her family thinks she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because, obviously, unicorns don’t exist), and they’re shocked she survived. They’re even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the sun. But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent. The Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl’s family to host his feast. If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and lure them to the King’s feast—as the entrees. The only problem? Pearl’s starting to feel the twinges of a conscience. How can she serve up her new friends—especially the cute guy who makes her fangs ache—to be slaughtered? Then again, she’s definitely dead if she lets down her family. What’s a sunlight-loving vamp to do?"

I love how this one not only reflects the tone and the style of the book, but makes you
want to read it. And can I say that cover is just gorgeous?

Ten Miles Past Normal (Atheneum): "Janie Gorman wants to be normal. The problem with that: she’s not. She’s smart and creative and a little bit funky. She’s also an unwilling player in her parents’ modern-hippy, let’s-live-on-a-goat-farm experiment (regretfully, instigated by a younger, much more enthusiastic Janie). This, to put it simply, is not helping Janie reach that “normal target.” She has to milk goats every day…and endure her mother’s pseudo celebrity in the homemade-life, crunchy mom blogosphere. Goodbye the days of frozen lasagna and suburban living, hello crazy long bus ride to high school and total isolation--and hovering embarrassments of all kinds. The fresh baked bread is good…the threat of homemade jeans, not so much. It would be nice to go back to that old suburban life…or some grown up, high school version of it, complete with nice, normal boyfriends who wear crew neck sweaters and like social studies. So, what’s wrong with normal? Well, kind of everything. She knows that, of course, why else would she learn bass and join Jam Band, how else would she know to idolize infamous wild-child and high school senior Emma (her best friend Sarah’s older sister), why else would she get arrested while doing a school project on a local freedom school (jail was not part of the assignment). And, why else would she kind of be falling in "like" with a boy named Monster—yes, that is his real name. Janie was going for normal, but she missed her mark by about ten miles…and we mean that as a compliment. Frances O’Roark Dowell’s fierce humor and keen eye make her YA debut literary and wise. In the spirit of John Green and E. Lockhart, Dowell’s relatable, quirky characters and clever, fluid writing prove that growing up gets complicated…and normal is WAY overrated."

It's a little long, but it hits all the high points without giving away everything. And I really like the final line.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Square Fish): "Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday. With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Ana Juan, Fairyland lives up to the sensation it created when the author first posted it online. For readers of all ages who love the charm of Alice in Wonderland and the soul of The Golden Compass, here is a reading experience unto itself: unforgettable, and so very beautiful."

I like that they managed to sum up a very un-sum-up-able book. And make it sound as whimsical and charming as it really is. That said, I think if I have to read about another "unforgettable" book, I may scream. Please, publishers, find a different adjective.

Other books I read this month:
Caleb's Crossing
The Help (audiobook)
Addie on the Inside
The Chronicles of Harris Burdick
Chime
The Scorpio Races
The Son of Neptune
Jeremy Bender vs. the Cupcake Cadets
The Buddha's Diamonds
War and Watermelon
Precious Bane
Floors

Floors

2011-11-29T07:42:00.000-06:00

by Patrick Carman
ages: 9+
First sentence: "Merganzer Whippet was an impulsive young man of fifteen when he raced into his father's room just in time to hear these fateful words."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Leo Fillmore lives and works with his father in the most amazing place: the Whippet Hotel. It's small, exclusive, and very, very wild (and weird). All the rooms are themed: from the Cake Room, to the Pinball Room, to the Caves and Ponds Room; it's a kid's dream (and possibly a maintenance man's nightmare) to live in a place like this, even if it is only in the basement.

Except Merganzer Whippet, the owner, has disappeared, been gone for more than 100 days, and the hotel is falling apart. Then, a small purple box arrives for Leo, and he finds out that saving the hotel is up to him, his new friend, and a duck named Betty. They're in for some wild (and weird) adventures, as they figure out who is sabotaging the hotel (because it's just not falling apart on its own) and save it from being sold to developers.

Part mystery, part buddy novel, part adventure story, this quirky little book has a lot going for it. Carman's writing is accessible without being overly simplistic, and the whole whimsical aura gives it a very carnival-like feel. There's a couple of nice twists and turns throughout the book, and the story wraps up quite nicely. Which leads me to my only concern: this one is billed as Book 1, and I have no idea where the story could go in book 2 (or 3 or 4 or 5). It's a self-contained story, one that is quite entertaining and very sweet, and doesn't need a sequel. At all.

*sigh*

Sometimes children's publishing these days frustrates me. In spite of that, the book is more than worth reading.

Precious Bane

2011-11-28T06:50:00.000-06:00

by Mary Webb
ages: adult
First sentence: "It was at a love-spinning that I saw Kester first."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Prue Sarn was born "hare-shotten", with a hairlip. Because of this, she has been told her whole life that she is cursed, that no one will want her, that her lot in life is to just support her family, which includes her older brother, Gideon, in his ambition to become wealthy, for he believes that only money can buy happiness.

However, money doesn't buy happiness. Although Gideon skimps and makes Prue slave (granted, he works hard, too), and although he's in love with and engaged to fair Jancis, grudges, ambition, and pettiness kept him from his happiness. Cursed Prue, however, with her kind-hearted nature, and willingness to help others helps her get her happy ending, in spite of her appearance.

It took me the longest time to get into reading the book. It's in dialect, set in Shropshire, but I'm not sure that's what it was. I think a lot of it is that it's just a slow-starting book. However, I stuck with it, and halfway through, I figured out not only what was going on, but the story that Webb was trying to tell. And from there, the story picked up. It's a both a heartbreaking and a hopeful one. There's a message, yes, but it's told in such a way that it isn't heavy-handed. As a reader, you feel pain for Gideon, and see what the consequences of his stubbornness will lead him, and yet are powerless to stop the outcome. It's a hard read, but one most definitely worth the time.

A Thankful Blogiversary

2011-11-24T06:47:00.005-06:00

I've been thinking for weeks now that my first post was on November 24, 2004. I figured since that fell on Thanksgiving this year, that I'd combine my seven year (!) anniversary with all the things my blog has brought me that I've been thankful for over the years.

Turns out that I was wrong about the date, but I was only off by a few days, so I'm still going to go through with my idea here...

Seven reasons why I'm thankful for my blog:

1. My on-line book group, Sequestered Nook: I would have never known about this (not having met anyone on there in real life when I joined up), if I hadn't complained about my in-person book group on my blog. And then Corinne, bless her, mentioned that she'd started this on-line book group, and would I like to join? Of course! It's a wonderful place, somewhere where we can discuss books and life and movies. I value our discussions and the small community we've built. I've actually met several of the members in real life over the years, too, which just makes it that much more special.

2. KidlitCon (well, shoot: the whole KidLitosphere): when I first started blogging, I felt I had to justify my love for YA and MG books. Then, a couple of years into it, I discovered that there's this whole community of people who have the same love of these books as I do. And they get together to talk about books and blogging. And they're passionate and fun. And they've accepted me as part of their community, even if I'm not a librarian or a teacher and I'm "just" a mom and a reader and a lover of books. I couldn't ask to be a part of a better community.

3. The Cybils: I've valued every moment of my experience being a part of the Cybils. I've followed it since the beginning, and love the lists of books that the award generates. But more than that, it's amazing to be a part of something larger than oneself, something I would have never experienced without my blog.

4. Challenges: I've joined many challenges over the years, and even hosted a couple of my own. I am so glad for these, for the ways they stretched and pushed my reading in directions I never would have gone otherwise. And even for the piles and lists of books to be read that have been created as a result.

5. Book recommendations: Before my blog, I would wander the bookstore and the library stacks looking for books that sounded good. Seriously. And a good 6 times out of 10, my initial instincts ("ooh, pretty cover!") were wrong. SO wrong. After my blog, when I started to create relationships and find people with tastes and opinions I respected, nearly everything I read is good. Sure, I still get a clunker here and there, and sure I still don't finish books. And sure I sometimes don't like the "in"book that everyone else loves (The Book Thief anyone?). But for the most part, my reading experiences are so much better for blogging about books.

6. Friendships: I've kind of alluded to this already, but I honestly value the people I've met over the years. From Andi and Heather and the experience writing for Estella's Revenge, to Pam and Charlotte and Liz and Abby and Jen, to Becky and Julie (and Julie, even though she doesn't blog anymore) and Laura and Suey and Amira, and many, many more that I both have and haven't met in real life: my life is richer for having known you. Thank you for blogging, and for being awesome.

7. My job at Watermark Books: I firmly believe that if I hadn't been reading and writing all these years, I wouldn't have the coolest part-time job ever right now.

And all this because my husband suggested that I start a blog. It's been an amazing seven years!

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

2011-11-23T07:01:00.000-06:00

by Catherynne M. Valente
ages: 11+, good for read aloud 6+
First sentence: "Once upon a time, a girl named September grew very tired indeed of her parents' house, where she washed the same pink-and-yellow teacups and matching gravy boats every day, slept on the same embroidered pillow, and played with the same small and amiable dog."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Once upon a time, there was a blogger who got an email about a book. This book had a very long, somewhat pretentious title, and the blogger thought to herself, "It can't be any good" and proceeded to delete that email.

Then she started seeing reviews of it pop up all over the place, reviews saying how wonderful and amazing and delightful this little book with the long, pretentious title is. And still she said to herself, "It can't be true" and didn't read the book.

Then, one day, while she was shelving other titles, she saw the book, and picked it up. Once she had it in her hands, she began to question her firm belief that this book wasn't any good. And so, she checked it out.

And was absolutely delighted.

To be sure, she is not sure that September's story and adventures in Fairyland would be appealing to children. The book is pretentious and precocious, and not at all something that she can see many 10-year-olds picking up. Sure, there's magic and danger and adventure, but it's not flashy or laugh-out-loud hilarious. The language is a bit advanced, and she thinks that Valente sometimes talks down to the reader (and sometimes talks over the reader as well).

And yet, there's a whimsicality about it all, a sense of timelessness, of a telling of Every Story, that makes this story work. She could envision reading it aloud to her children, smiling at the humorous asides, being afraid at the tense moments, sharing the adventure. It would be a delight, actually, to read this book aloud. She also found herself captivated by September and her adventures, as well as the sometimes fickle narrator, though she has to admit that her favorite character is the Green Wind, even though he only briefly appears.

At any rate, she regrets not getting to this one sooner, and since it's always better to get to things later than never, she's happy she finally arrived at the gala, giving this story its' much deserved happily-ever-after.

The End.

The Scorpio Races

2011-11-21T06:58:00.002-06:00

by Maggie Stiefvater
ages: 13+
First sentence: "It is the first day of November, and so, today, someone will die."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy picked up at KidlitCon 2011

Life on the island Thisby is not easy. Life is harsh, jobs and food are scarce, and the population is always leaving for a better life on the mainland. And then there are the capaill uisce (pronounced CAPple ISHka; yeah, it doesn't look like that to me, either): bloodthirsty water horses that are caught, somewhat tamed, and raced in the Scorpio Races every November 1st.

For Sean Kendrick, the capaill uisce have become his life. Sure, he works for the wealthiest man on the island at his ranch, but really his heart and soul live for his water horse (in all but actual ownership), Corr. They've raced together and won four times. Who's to day that this year they won't come out on top.

Kate "Puck" Connelly, on the other hand, lives and breathes the island. Her parents were killed by capaill uisce, and she normally would have nothing to do with them. However, her older brother has dropped the bomb that he's leaving for the mainland, and in a desperate attempt to keep him around a little longer, she announced that she's going to ride in the races. On her regular horse, Dove. Suddenly, she finds herself the talk of the island, and discovers that perhaps she's in over her head.

To be fair, this is not a book for the faint hearted. Bloodthirsty, flesh-eating horses does not for a happy tale make. (Kind of awesome, yes. Happy, no.) And yet, in Stiefvater's hands, it isn't a gruesome one. Yes, there's death and mauling and unhappiness, but the book isn't about those things. It's about Puck and Sean, (and, yes, there's a romance between the two, but it's wonderfully understated) and their love of the island and all things that belong there. It's a wonderfully hopeful book, intriguing its twists and turns and subtle use of magic, with a sweetly touching ending.

While it's not quite a delight to read, it is incredibly captivating. Which is just as good, I think.

Six Sentence Saturday: Three Middle Grade Boy Books

2011-11-19T07:58:00.006-06:00

Jeremy Bender vs. the Cupcake Cadets
by Eric Luper
ages: 10+
First sentence: "Jeremy Bender once heard that every time a person learned something, a new wrinkle worked its way into his or her brain."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Jeremy Bender has a problem: he's ruined the engine of his father's prize boat and needs to come up with $500 (because it's just too scary to tell his dad) to fix it. So he and his friend come up with this brilliant, if a bit far-fetched, idea: infiltrate the Cupcake Cadets (think Girl Scouts with cupcakes instead of cookies), win the Windjammer Whirl with it's $500 grand prize and get off. Easy-peasy, right? Well, not so much. At turns weird and hilarious, Jeremy and Slater learn that sometimes the easy way out is not, well, so easy. Luper gets boys and their impressions of girls down-pat, making for a very fun read.

The Buddha's Diamonds
by Carolyn Marsden and Thay Phap Niem
ages: 8-12
First sentence: "In the gloom of the dusty temple, Tinh bowed to the Buddha."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the publisher for the 2009 Cybils (I think)

The simple story of a boy, Tinh, who has to learn responsibility in the face of a big storm. Tinh and his father makes it back to shore just ahead of a typhoon, but because Tinh wasn't brave enough to save the boat, it's ruined. So, it's up to Tinh to get the boat -- the source of his family's income -- fixed. I picked this one up as part of Wichita's Big Read (the main book was Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, but I had no interest in reading that), not really knowing what to expect. It was a sweet little story, but I felt it lacked any sort of emotional punch. Mostly, I felt like I was looking at the action from the outside, never really connecting to either the characters or the story.

War & Watermelon
by Rich Wallace
ages: 11+
First sentence: "I look across the pool and see Patty Moriarity and Janet DeMaria hanging out by the refreshment stand."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

It's the summer of 1969, and everything's changing in Brody's world. His brother, recently graduated from high school, and their parents are stressed about the draft; Brody's dealing with girls, and football, not to mention seventh grade and junior high; and it's the summer of Woodstock and the Mets have just taken over first place. Seeing this summer of through a 12-year-old's eyes is an interesting venture: a lot happens in the course of the book, and yet Wallace keeps it light enough for middle grade readers. Yet, as an adult, I didn't think Brody's story was particularly interesting. Or perhaps Wallace was trying to cover too much in too short of time. Either way, this one fell flat in the end.

The Son of Neptune

2011-11-18T07:37:00.003-06:00

by Rick Riordan
ages: 10+
First sentence: "
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Ah, Percy. We're glad you're back.

We join up with him as he's running across the California landscape, being chased by Gorgons who can't be killed for some reason, trying to get... somewhere. See, he's lost his memory, and doesn't know who he is or where he's really going. (Even though we fans haven't; I was interested to see how Riordan would handle that, since we knew that Percy would have amnesia by the end of The Lost Hero, and I have to say that he did it well. Having the book be in third person rather than first, as the first series was, helped a lot. As did multiple points of view; I found it fascinating to see Percy from viewpoints other than his own.)

He shows up at Camp Jupiter -- the Roman equivalent of Camp Half-Blood -- meets Frank Zhang, a halfblood with an interesting past and a curse to carry, and Hazel Levesque, the daughter of Pluto (aka Hades) who isn't really supposed to be alive anymore. The three of them are sent on a quest by Mars (aka Ares, though I have to admit that I like Mars a whole lot more than I liked Ares) to face the giant sons of Gaea (the new bad "guy"), unleash death, and get back before an army of monsters destroys Camp Jupiter. In four days.

Clear as mud?

As usual, Riordan tells a compelling and entertaining story, playing on his two strengths: plotting and characterization. This one is shorter than Lost Hero, but not by much, and Riordan packs in as much as he possibly can. There's everything we've come to love in a Riordan book: action-packed sequences; a wee bit of sweet, innocent romance; humor (and good, quotable lines); and many, many references to mythology. (I'm not sure he's pulling from myths anymore; I don't know Roman mythology as well as Greek. That said, I'm not sure it matters at this point.)

Additionally, for this one especially, it helps if you know your Olympians series well. Thankfully, I've just finished reading them aloud to A, so they were pretty fresh in my mind. There's references to that series all over the place, from hints about Percy's past (in one of the more clever pulls, Reyna, one of the praetors at Camp Jupiter, was one of the people in Circe's employ that Percy came across in The Sea of Monsters.) to references of what Percy has accomplished in the past four years. And yet, while there's a lot to juggle in this book, it doesn't seem crowded. In fact, there were times -- especially with characters; the set up for Octavian is intriguing, but Riordan never really goes anywhere with it -- when I wanted more, not less.

As I mentioned before, Percy's back in all his lovableness, and it's quite refreshing to see him from other points of view. And Frank and Hazel were just as awesome to get to know. The overall plot arc is coming together slowly, but Riordan leaves a lot of threads hanging, and a lot of questions unanswered. (Though perhaps the one question I have -- how is he going to fit all seven the prophecy talks about together in one book? Because whomever narrates the next one, there will be characters I will miss hearing from -- is going to have to wait.)

It's fun fluff, great for those of us who are fans of the series.

The Chronicles of Harris Burdick

2011-11-16T07:50:00.005-06:00

by Chris Van Allsburg, and 14 other writers
ages: 10+
First sentence: "Is there any author more mysterious than Harris Burdick?"
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Back in 1984, Chris Van Allsburg authored a book called The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. Supposedly, he was recreating the art of one Harris Burdick, who left fourteen paintings at a man called Peter Wender's office, with only the titles and a brief caption. The drawings were mysterious and wondrous all at the same time: something for parents and children to pour over and imagine.

Of course the next logical step -- albeit nearly 30 years later -- is to get fourteen (including Van Allsburg himself) of the most talented children's (and adult) writers to do the imagining for us. Each author -- and there are some brilliant ones here: from Sherman Alexie and Lois Lowry, to M. T. Anderson and Kate DiCamillo , to Stephen King and Gregory Maguire -- takes a different painting, and spins a story around it, incorporating the tantalizing caption that "Harris Burdick" gave to each painting.

Let me say right off: this is not a picture book. I cannot imagine curling up with my 5-year-old and reading these stories. For one, they are much too long. For two, they are much too... old. This is an illustrated set of short stories, ranging from the disturbing to the strange to the whimsical, meant for older audiences to savor and think about.

Like every short story collection, the stories themselves are uneven: I found Cory Doctorow's "Another Place, Another Time" to be odd, full of science I couldn't quite grasp; and Sherman Alexie's "A Strange Day in July" to be terribly cruel in a ten-year-old bully sort of way. But, when the writing is on, the book is a marvel: Jon Scieszka's "Under the Rug" is hilarious; Linda Lois Lowry's "The Seven Chairs" is simple and magical; both Linda Sue Park's "The Harp" and Louis Sachar's "Captain Tory" are deliciously sweet; and Stephen King's "The House on Maple Street" is perfect. It's fascinating to see how each author's imagination works with the painting, taking the small details and spinning them into a larger, more complex story, and yet leaving enough space that the reader can invent and hope and dream right along with.

It's one of those books that begs to be taken out time and time again, to read and look at, inspiring you to dream about both the possible and the impossible. In other words: it's just the perfect sort of book.

10 Questions for Michael Scotto

2011-11-15T06:56:00.004-06:00

I don't usually read early chapter books, but I thought the premise for Michael Scotto's book Latasha and the Little Red Tornado sounded intriguing, and ended up being a great little story about a girl and her dog. Michael was more than willing to sit down (metaphorically), and answer a few questions about writing, reading, and Latasha. You can find out more at his website.

The book is on shelves today.

MF: This is your first novel! Congrats! What are the differences, for you, between writing picture books and novels?
MS: Picture books are a much more collaborative form. In a novel, the writer has complete control. The words do all of the heavy lifting -- if the author doesn't describe it, it doesn't exist for the reader. In a picture book, the illustrator handles a lot of that "world building." That can be scary for an author. In picture books, you have to let go of the text and trust that the illustrator will understand your vision -- or even better, bring a new dimension that enriches and deepens what you've written.

MF: I've always wanted to ask this: which is "easier" to write picture books or novels?
MS: Each presents its own particular challenges. You have to be especially economical with words in a picture book, which for me is tough. That said, the writing of a novel requires a much greater time commitment, and also demands more complex storytelling. In my experience, novels have been been a more difficult undertaking. Of course, my illustrator would disagree!

MF: Why did you decide, after writing so many picture books, to write a novel?

MS: When I started Latasha, I'd been writing picture books for several years -- a series aimed at the educational market. I love the series, but I'd been writing the same characters for so long that I was just itching to challenge myself in a new way. I thought it would be best to make a complete break from the kind of writing I had been doing.

MF: What inspired you to write about Latasha and her dog?

MS: When I sat down to write Latasha, I knew two things: I wanted to write about my hometown, Pittsburgh, and I wanted to write a story that involved a girl raising a dog. My wife and I had adopted a puppy half a year before I started the novel, and so I was eager to write about that experience. While I invented most of Ella's misadventures, I drew her look and personality from my pup, Lucy...the original "little red tornado."

As for Latasha herself -- she came from an exercise that I did when I first began to write the book. I sat down at my favorite coffeeshop with a pen and pad, and began to free write, just to see what would come out. What came out, almost fully formed, was Latasha's voice. The voice came to me so quickly that I knew I had no choice in the matter; she was going to be my protagonist. In fact, a lot of the opening of the book was drafted that day.

MF: Was it difficult to get into the character of an 8-year-old African American girl? What kind of research did you do?

MS: When writing Latasha, the trickiest terrain to navigate wasn't the "girl" part or the "African-American" part, but the "8-year-old" part. It was difficult because Latasha is a very bright girl, with a manner of expression that makes her seem older than her years. At the same time, emotionally she's still very young. Part of my research was just simple observation; studying kids, their mannerisms, how they interact with the world, how they speak. I also dug through a lot of personal writing I did when I was that age. It helped to remind me of how the world appeared to me at that age.

MF: You packed a lot into an early chapter book -- working single mothers, making friends, cheating, loss -- and yet it didn't seem overwhelming for an 8-year-old reader. How did you achieve that balance?

MS: Thanks for the kind words! I really just tried to deal with each of these elements as honestly and matter-of-factly as I could, and then trust that the reader would follow me. It helps that Latasha is a very plucky, optimistic character. I think her can-do attitude makes the subject matter easier to digest.

MF: Do you have a favorite character or moment in the story?
MS: I absolutely loved writing Mrs. Okocho. The scene where she drives Latasha around to hang signs near the end of the book is one of my favorites.

MF: I liked Mrs. Okocho, too: she had such spunk and heart. Who, or what, inspires you to write?

MS: Deadlines inspire me! Actually, I write because I'm fascinated by people. I love seeing how people interact, how they behave, how they speak. I have a massive file on my computer that consists solely of interesting turns of phrase that I've heard people use. I especially like to explore lives and perspectives that differ from my own. It makes me a better, more empathetic human being to do so -- and I think one of the most important tools a writer can have is empathy.

MF: What was the last book you've read and why did you love it?
MS: I just finished Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata, which won the Newbery Medal in 2005. A librarian friend of mine recommended it to me. It tells the story of a young Japanese girl growing up in Georgia. The book was gorgeously written, it featured a voice I'd never read before but found instantly relatable, it was emotional but never maudlin -- I could go on and on. Suffice it to say, I adored it. The only trouble now is that now I've got to find an equally wonderful book to suggest to my friend! (I may lend her my copy of Wonderstruck.)

MF: Both are excellent books! And you can't go wrong with Brian Selznick. If you don't mind telling us, what can we expect from you next?

MS: I've got a lot on the horizon. The first big thing has to do with my picture book series. At the end of January, five titles from my "Tales of Midlandia" series will be released to the general public. These are humorous stories with a character-building or social element to them. They could be compared to the Berenstain Bears books in that way -- only with much more detailed, rich illustration work. At the same time, my publisher is developing storybook apps for the iPad from these books, which I have been tapped to narrate! It's a real thrill for me.

I also have a second novel in the pipeline, due out around Memorial Day 2012. It's called Postcards From Pismo, and it tells the story of boy in California who strikes up a penpal friendship through letters with a soldier in Afghanistan. I've gotten to see some of the preliminary art and design work for it -- it's going to look awesome.

Lastly, I'm in the middle of drafting a sequel to Latasha and the Little Red Tornado. I don't want to give away any details yet, but it follows Latasha through fourth grade and a whole bunch of new challenges. Thanks so much for your questions!

MF: All of which sound fascinating! Thank you so much for your time.
MS: Thanks again!

Audiobook: The Help

2011-11-14T07:46:00.004-06:00

by Katheryn Stockett
read by: Jenna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Octavia Spencer, Cassandra Campbell
ages: adult
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

I should probably start by admitting that I'm the last person in the universe to read this book. I've been avoiding it for years because, as you all know about me, I really don't like hyped books. (I should amend that: what I don't like is the hype surrounding a book. If I catch it before the hype, I may like it just fine.) I figured there was no way this one would live up to its reputation. That, and the subject matter: the relationships between white women and their black maids in 1960s Mississippi just seemed too, well, explosive. Better just to let things be.

Since you all basically know the plot -- it's about two maids, Aibileen and Minny and a white 20-something woman, Skeeter Phelan, and how they come to know each other, and then work together to get a book of memories of black maids published -- I'll just stick with my reactions to the book, as well as the audio production.

First off, this book did nothing to improve my impression of Mississippi. I haven't had anything good to say about the state since our year there 10 years ago, and the white women in this book -- from Skeeter's overbearing mother to the spineless Elizabeth Leefolt to Hilly Holbrook (especially Hilly Holbrook) -- did nothing to make me more sympathetic to the state and the people there.

I also wanted more. I wanted more Celia (and for her to find a friend in Skeeter; I was highly disappointed that didn't happen), for the main characters to have more spine and stand up (I know: a very 21st-century attitude there), and for Hilly to get some sort of come-uppance (rather than the more true to life "she'll just have to live with herself for the rest of her life" ending I did get).

That said, I loved the audio book. I think, in many ways, this was the right way for me to experience this book. There were parts that I would have gotten frustrated with if I'd just read it, but I found loving listening to. I adored the inflection the narrators would give to the sentences, the rich Southern accents (and yes, I did find myself speaking Southern more often than I should have), and the voices they'd give to the characters. (Octavia Spencer's Celia was just perfect.) Because they made the book come alive for me, I was able to connect with it better, and let my objections (and annoyances) slide.

So, am I glad I read it? I guess. It did make for a really good book group discussion, and it was an interesting story. I didn't absolutely love it, but it surprised me that I liked it as much as I did. Which isn't a bad thing, in the end.

Ten Miles Past Normal

2011-11-11T07:16:00.001-06:00

by Frances O'Roark Dowell
ages: 11+
First sentence: "No one can figure out where the terrible smell is coming from, but everyone on the bus this morning can smell it and has an opinion."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

I wish I had read this book when I was 11. Seriously. I was a mixed up, not "normal", and yet yearning to be, 11-year-old (granted, this is all faded memories now), and I would have loved a book that essentially showed me that you can find your space, that you can be yourself, and that "normal" is really what you make it out to be.

Janie Gorman, age 14, just wants to be normal. She lives on a mini-farm (just goats and chickens on five acres) that when she was 9 years old, she was enthusiastic about. Now, in her freshman year of high school, set adrift from her middle school friends and faced with seemingly endless teasing about the smell of her lifestyle, she's not quite as enthusiastic. In fact, she's downright disdainful. Nothing about this year seems to be going right; even her best friend, Sarah, seems to be drifting away.

All Janie really wants to be is normal. Normal life, normal friends, normal interests. And yet, in this small North Carolina town, she slowly learns -- through new friends, new interests and getting to know people better -- that normal is relative. And that sometimes, being past normal and into your own little thing is a better way to be.

It's a sweet book, with Dowell's trademark simplicity and tenderness without being too sappy. Janie felt like a real teenager: she's not a bad kid, just someone who yearns for something... simpler, something she can hold on to as her own. I loved the characters in this book, and the fact that the message of being yourself is there without being preachy or hitting you over the head.

And I really do wish I'd read it when I was 11.

Chime

2011-11-09T07:58:00.000-06:00

by Franny Billingsley
ages: 14+
First sentence: "I've confessed to everything and I'd like to be hanged."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

If I were being totally honest, I'd say that this book didn't grab me from the beginning. I would admit to being completely confused for about the first third of the book, struggling with it, but still mesmerized by the way Billingsley was telling the story. It was tantalizing in its potential, which kept me going.

And I'm so happy I did.

In the Swampsea there are two kinds of people: those who can see the Old Ones -- the spirits of nature and the monsters -- and those who can't. Generally speaking, those who can see the Old Ones are witches. Sure, there's the Chime Child, a person who is born on the stroke of midnight and whose purpose is to sit in on the trials of the witches, who can see the Old Ones. But no one else. So, that must mean that Briony Larken, who can, is a witch. At least, that's what Stepmother always said. There's even proof: Briony called up the wind, which made her twin sister Rose fall and that's why she's not completely normal. And Briony called up Mucky Face, the spirit of the river, to injure Stepmother which made her sick, and would have killed her if the arsenic didn't.

No, Briony isn't happy. And she can't love. Not even her sister. Not even her father, who has left his children alone for so long. But then Eldric comes along, bringing with him light, and laughter, and perhaps most importantly, change.

It's a complex book, as Billingsly peels back the layers of not only the story but also Briony's psyche. There's mystery: about Stepmother's death, about Briony, about Eldric, about Father. That doesn't even mention the one that Rose carries and drops hints about all through the book. And there's romance. It's not a fiery one, full of sparks and swoons, but rather my favorite kind: one where the characters start slowly, are friends first, and then grow into something more.

And the ending? Let me say that I don't cry easily at books, and this one made me weep.

Very much worth the accolades it's getting.

Book Blogger Holiday Swap: I Love this Time of Year!

2011-11-08T08:14:00.002-06:00

Just a note to say: it's that time of year! So go sign up! The more the merrier!

Addie on the Inside

2011-11-07T06:57:00.002-06:00

by James Howe
ages: 11+
First sentence: "The poems that follow are written in the voice of Addie on the inside."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Addie Carle is tall, plain, outspoken: basically everything a popular girl is not. It doesn't really bother her; she believes deeply and is passionate about the things she's outspoken about, and she has several good friends, though they're all boys. What does get to her is the constant teasing, the names, the questions. Especially about why her boyfriend, DuShawn, is going with her.

For a novel in verse, where every word is carefully chosen, this book packs a punch. I haven't read the ones it's a companion to, but you don't need to in order to enjoy Addie and empathize with her feelings. She is very much the smart misfit, a middle school girl who both does and doesn't want to fit in. She's finding her way, not only at school, but in life. True, that sounds cliche, but perhaps it's because of the verse that it doesn't come off that way. In addition, there are issues here: tolerance for those different, women's rights, bullying... and yet the book is not heavy-handed. Howe does a masterful job giving us a book full of meat and character, and yet not lecturing us on what to think.

Now I want to go back and read the ones that this is a companion to.

Sunday Salon: The State of the TBR Book Pile

2011-11-06T07:58:00.004-06:00

So a couple weeks ago when I was complaining about my physical TBR book pile, it hit me: this could be monthly feature! Since I don't do Library Loot anymore (and to be honest, the Goodreads widget on my page isn't always up-to-date), there's really no way to share what I've got sitting on my nightstand.

Now I do! So, without further blathering, here's my current pile:

The Buddha's Diamonds (part of Wichita's Big Read)
Tuesdays at the Castle (recommended by Charlotte and Jen)
The Son of Neptune (I will get to this. Eventually.)
City of Orphans (MG Cybils book that stood out to me)
War and Watermelon (ditto)
Jeremy Bender and the Cupcake Cadets (ditto)
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (because I ought to)
Guys Read: Thriller (since I liked Funny Business)
Floors (Charlotte again, I think.)
Precious Bane (on loan from Corinne. I will read it... soonish)
Rebel Island (My goal is to finish this before the end of the year.)

What's on your pile? Anything interesting?

Drink, Slay, Love

2011-11-04T07:36:00.003-05:00

by Sarah Beth Durst
ages: 13+
First sentence: "'One hour until dawn,' Pearl said."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Pearl is a vampire. And she is completely happy. She's strong, she's awesome, she's got a super-hot (immortal) boyfriend, a favorite snack (in the form of a loser boy who works at the local all-night ice cream joint), the approval of her Family, and she's about to go through the Fealty Ceremony for vampires. Life is perfect.

And then Pearl is stabbed by a unicorn, which completely throws her for a loop: unicorns are supposed to be mythical, unicorns are NOT supposed to stab vampires, and -- most importantly -- vampires are not supposed to survive the stabbing. And be able to withstand daylight afterward.

Rather than let it be a deterrent to their plans, Pearl's Family decides that what she needs to do is go to high school, and lure all those lovely, tasty humans to their doom in order to supply the feast for the King of New England at the Fealty Ceremony.

So, Pearl broaches the world of Daylight, of High School drama and dynamics, and finds herself, well, moved. Which completely throws her for a loop: vampires aren't supposed to be moved. They aren't supposed to have a conscience. Humans aren't supposed to be interesting. And yet...

One of the best things about this book -- aside from the swoonworthiness of Evan, a human guy whom Pearl falls in with (though I called the ending about halfway through) -- is that Durst is plainly making fun of all the vampire books out there, even as she's telling a vampire story. There are laugh-out-loud moments, moments in which you have to grin as she pokes fun at vampires, Twilight, and girls who swoon over the whole vampire thing. But, even aside from that, Durst's telling an interesting story here, exploring ideas of change and reform and self-identity, as well as interfering in people's lives (or whatever passes for a life if you're undead). Sure, it's a romance, and it's fun, but at it's core, it's telling a story of a girl trying to figure out who she is in the face of a drastic change.

And that's someone everyone can relate to.

Caleb's Crossing

2011-11-02T07:29:00.004-05:00

by Geraldine Brooks
ages: adult
First sentence: "He is coming on the Lord's Day."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

It's the 1660s, on what is now known as Martha's Vineyard. There's a small group of Puritan settlers there, and Bethia's father is the minister. He is determined not only to lead the English in the ways of the Lord, but to convert the heathen "salvages" to the Truth.

As a girl, Bethia is consigned to a life of labor, even though she longs to be more like her brother Makepeace and study languages and scripture. She is educated to a degree; her father teaches her how to read and write, though after a while he discourages anything further. She is discontent, though, and wanders the island rather than attending to her chores. In doing so, she meets a Wampanoag boy whom she comes to call Caleb.

They develop a bond -- not a romantic one -- and the book follows their relationship as Caleb comes to live with Bethia's family and then goes across to the mainland to attend school -- first a primer school, and then Harvard; the first Native American to do so. Bethia follows him, at first working in the school and then working in the buttery at Harvard. The book is named after Caleb, but it's about Bethia and the whole Puritan culture; Brooks has certainly done her research about the time period. The book is in the form of Bethia's journal, of sorts (it's not a daily one), and so not only do the characters put forth ideas and thoughts about the time period -- Bethia is the only remotely modern one of the bunch -- but Brooks keeps up the pretense even down to the spelling of certain words.

Because it's a series of Bethia's reflections and memories, the book is incredibly slow. It's not a book for the plot-driven or even the character-driven. The only character we get to know in any depth is Bethia herself; because most of the other main characters are men, we're only allowed to get to know them peripherally, as per the Puritan custom. In many ways, the book was interesting for that: because Brooks did her research, she was able to fully immerse herself in that time, and it came through in the writing. However, because I wasn't terribly interested in the plot, while I found theanthropological look at the Puritans interesting -- I did finish the book after all -- it wasn't enough for me to be completely riveted by the book.

That said, Brooks is a talented writer, and this one isn't a complete waste of time.

October Jacket Flap-a-Thon

2011-10-31T07:21:00.027-05:00

Happy Halloween! I was hoping to have a Halloween picture for you of the awesome costume I thought up for myself, but, in actuality because I've started working again, I didn't get around to putting together a Halloween costume for myself.

I know it's a lousy consolation prize, but here are this month's best jacket flaps instead...

Darth Paper Strikes Back (Amulet Books): "It is a dark time at Ralph McQuarrie Middle School. After suffering several Origami Yoda–related humiliations, Harvey manages to get Dwight suspended from school for being a “troublemaker.” Origami Yoda pleads with Tommy and Kellen to save Dwight by making a new case file—one that will show how Dwight’s presence benefits McQuarrie. With the help of their friends, Tommy and Kellen record cases such as “Origami Yoda and the Pre-eaten Wiener,” “Origami Yoda and the Exploding Pizza Bagels,” and “Origami Yoda and Wonderland: The Musical.” But Harvey and his Darth Paper puppet have a secret plan that could make Dwight’s suspension permanent . . . With his proven knack for humorously exploring the intrigues, fads, and dramas of middle school, Tom Angleberger has crafted a worthy sequel to his breakout bestseller."

Hands down, the best thing about this one is the Star Wars references. Plus, it tells you the whole plot without giving too much of the detail away.

I'll Be There (Little, Brown Books): "Sam Border wishes he could escape. Raised by an unstable father, he's spent his life moving from place to place. But he could never abandon his little brother, Riddle. Riddle Border doesn't talk much. Instead, he draws pictures of the insides of things and waits for the day when the outsides of things will make sense. He worships his older brother. But how can they leave when there's nowhere to go? Then everything changes. Because Sam meets Emily. Emily Bell believes in destiny. She sings for her church choir, though she doesn't have a particularly good voice. Nothing, she feels, is mere coincidence. And she's singing at the moment she first sees Sam. Everyone whose path you cross in life has the power to change you--sometimes in small ways, and sometimes in ways greater than you could have ever known. Beautifully written and emotionally profound, Holly Goldberg Sloan's debut novel deftly explores the idea of human connection."

This one sounds pretentious, but in all actuality is dead on. And they did a great job of summing up a very difficult book to sum up.

The Name of the Star (Putnam Juvenile):"The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago. Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities."

This one is intriguing. What are the secret ghost police of London? What's the deal with the Ripper killer? It makes me curious enough to want to read it. Too bad the cover is so, well, ugh.

Other books read this month:
Angel in My Pocket
Lola and the Boy Next Door
The Eternal Smile: Three Stories
Cures for Heartbreak
Kendra
13 Gifts
Zazoo
Wonderstruck
Beauty Queens
Second Fiddle
Latasha and the Little Red Tornado
The Latte Rebellion
Terrier
Bloodhound
Mastiff

Sunday Salon: My First Book Talk

2011-10-30T08:12:00.011-05:00

So, I got a job three weeks ago. When K started kindergarten, I figured that while I love volunteering at the library, I'd also love to have something where I got paid. I'd rather not work too many hours a week, and I wanted something somewhere where I could be surrounded by things I enjoyed. That said, I beefed up a resume (I haven't worked for money for 12 years!), and sent them out to a few places. One of which was our local independent bookstore, Watermark Books. I honestly didn't think I'd hear back from them; it seems like no one ever leaves Watermark, and they don't hire very often. And yet, I did. Which shocked me to no end.

The short version of all this was that the manager, Sarah Bagby, was impressed with my blogging and my bookish knowledge, and wanted me on her staff. (I almost fell over, I was so shell-shocked). And after working things out on her hand, hired me, part-time. She's amazingly willing to work around my schedule, fitting me in for about 15 to 20 hours a week. And they've started throwing me things.

The latest of which was a book talk for about 7 preschool teachers. Which completely stressed me out, because I've. Never. Done. One. Before.

Thankfully, I have the wonderful kidlit community, and I turned to them for suggestions. I took the wonderful ideas given me by Jen (Jen Robinson's Books), Abby(Abby the Librarian), Pam (MotherReader), Betsy (Fuse #8) and others, checked out about 50 books from the library and the store, and sat down to read with A and K. Actually, that was the best part about this whole experience. In the past two years, my delightful daughters have decided that they'd rather have chapter books read to them than sit down with several picture books. And so, I just haven't had the opportunity to peruse what's out there anymore. And, to be honest, while I love reading chapter books aloud to them, there is something to be said about snuggling up with your children and reading a good picture books.

I couldn't select all the ones we read; not even all the ones we really liked. But I did narrow it down to our favorites that we were actually currently carrying in the store.

The actual talk part of it went well, I think. I talked too fast, probably -- I tend to do that when I'm nervous -- and I felt more comfortable talking about the middle grade and YA books I had selected (they wanted a few older books as well) than the picture books. But, I read a few, showed a lot of pictures, laughed with them, and basically had a good time. I was exhausted and shell-shocked afterward, but I did it. (And they all bought books afterward, too!)

So, what did I pitch to the teachers (they work with ages 2 1/2 to 6)?

The Lion and the Mouse
A Sick Day for Amos McGee
Dinosaur vs. the Library
You Will Be My Friend!
Happy Pig Day!
Everything I Need to Know Before I'm Five
Little White Rabbit
RRRalph
Where's My T-R-U-C-K?
13 Words
Blackout
Me....Jane
Pride and Prejudice
Fly Guy Meets Fly Girl
Bink & Gollie
Ladder to the Moon
Grandpa Green

Out of these, the ones they liked the best were RRRalph, Where's My T-R-U-C-K?, and the Pride and Prejudice board book. Hands down, though, everyone's favorite (from my kids to Hubby to the teachers) was this one:

I Want My Hat Back

It was so hilarious that A and K insisted I read it over and over. And, thankfully, it stands up to that.

As for the older books, I talked up:
Because of Mr. Terupt
Guys Read: Funny Business
11 Birthdays
A Tale Dark and Grimm
Heist Society
Leviathan
The Name of the Star
Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Trash

Out of these, they bought A Tale Dark and Grimm, Guys Read: Thriller (I had told them about that one, but I didn't pitch it because I haven't read it), Leviathan and Heist Society (this one was for one of the teacher's book group -- "We're actually a drinking group that reads" -- for their December book. I think they'll like it.)

All in all, a good experience, I think. I don't know if I'm eager to do it again, though now that I've done it once, the next time shouldn't be so bad. Right?

The Name of the Star

2011-10-28T07:31:00.002-05:00

by Maureen Johnson
ages: 13+
First sentence: "The eyes of London were watching Claire Jenkins."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

I can sum this up in one sentence: the goodness of Maureen Johnson with ghosts. Awesome creepy ghosts that kill people.

Rory Deveaux has decided, thanks to her parents being university professors and getting a year abroad in England, to spend her senior year at Wexford in London. It's a boarding school, not exactly posh, but nothing to sneeze at either. The only damper on the whole England school experience is that there's a copycat Jack the Ripper killer on the loose.

Everything is going fine, there's even a bit of a love interest with the prefect Jerome, but then a murder happens on campus. And Rory is the only witness the police have got.

There are so many little ways in which I love Maureen's writing: the fact that she can make you laugh ("action butts") and then turn around and scare the pants off you, for one. Granted, I'm easily scared, so you might want take that with a grain of salt. However, for her first foray into paranormal fiction (another aside: "If there are ghosts, does that mean there are... vampires? And werewolves?" "Don't be stupid."), she grasps the fine art of tension amazingly well. It helps that while it's a gory book, it's not a graphic one. (Thankfully.)

But it's also the little descriptions that make her books so enjoyable. Like:

Jerome started violently slicing apart his fried eggs. It was fascinating to watch him eat. He chowed down with the speed and force of a well-organized military campaign. He didn't so much have breakfast as defeat it.

Seriously. How can you not love someone who can come up with a paragraph like that?

While I thoroughly enjoyed this one, I did feel the last little bit was a little abrupt, and I wish Rory had played more of a part in it. Granted, the part she did play was completely true to her character, so I'm just quibbling. That said, the last chapter was brilliant: and it sets up some intriguing things for the next book.

Which means: I can't wait to see what happens next.

Mastiff

2011-10-27T07:11:00.002-05:00

by Tamora Pierce
ages: 14+
First sentence: "The burying ground has no trees in it, no shade for us Lower City Dogs."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by my place of employment.

After four years in the Lord Provost's Royal Guard -- otherwise known as the Dogs -- working in the slums of the capital city, Beka Cooper thinks she has seen it all. Then Lord Gershom rouses her in the middle of the night, assigning her with her scent hound, Achoo, and her partner, Tunstall, to the most secret and dire of cases: finding the kidnapped four-year-old crown prince, and bring his kidnappers to justice. They are on a Hunt, with the assistance of Tunstall's noble lover, the knight Lady Sabine and the Provost's mage, Master Farmer. The burning question: will they find the prince before he's killed to serve whatever end the kidnappers had in mind?

Unlike the previous two books in the series, Mastiff takes off with the action right from the start. It's fast-paced, action-filled full of twists and turns, rather than being a straight-up mystery to solve. There's political intrigue, as well: the King has recently passed a law taxing mages on their work, something which makes neither the mages nor the nobles are happy. Because of that, as well, Mastiff is magic-filled: the battles, and there are many, are intense not only for the sword-fighting, but for the magic, which often gets vicious and cruel.

Amid all the darnkess, though, there is humor and even romance: Beka truly has come into her own by the end of the trilogy: she knows what she wants in a man, and isn't afraid to find love even among the dire circumstances of a Hunt. Add to that Pierce's eloquent storytelling, and it makes for a book that is difficult to put down.

Bloodhound

2011-10-26T07:16:00.000-05:00

by Tamora Pierce
ages: 14+
First sentence: "I should have known that tonight's watch would kiss the mule's bum when Sergeant Ahuda stopped me after baton training."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by my place of employment.

Beka Cooper's first five months of being an active Dog haven't gone very well: she's gone through four partners, each one worse than the one before. She tries to do her work and keep her mouth shut, but she's becoming increasingly frustrated. It all comes to a head when her latest partner, a lazy-butt Dog, dumps her because she makes him "nervous" and on the way to report in at the kennel, finds out that scent-hound Achoo's current handler has been beating the dog.

It only gets better when she and her former trainers, Goodwin and Tunstall get caught in a riot, and Tunstall gets injured. However, there are brighter days ahead: Beka's paired with Goodwin, and because of a counterfeiting scheme that's trickling into the city, they are sent on their first Hunt, to a city up the river. Their job is to figure out where the counterfeit coins are coming from, and stop them. Little do they know the depth of the scheme, or the danger it will put them in.

Like Terrier, this book is a combination of fantasy and mystery, with a good dash of romance. Pierce maintains a good balance between all three, keeping Beka and her journey front and center of the book. I actually liked this one better than Terrier, even though it had the same problems with a very long, very slow start. However, I did find the mystery more intriguing, and the love interest, Dale, fascinating. I did feel Pierce copped out with the ending, though: I figured out who was behind the counterfeiting, but Beka got the answers only through the use of her ability to talk to ghosts. (That said, if you've got the ability, you should use it. Right?) And while the final chase was exciting, the climax was a bit, well, anti-climatic.

That said, it was a fun enough novel.

Terrier

2011-10-25T07:04:00.000-05:00

Beka Cooper, book 1
by Tamora Pierce
ages: 14+
First sentence: "In all those lessons for which I was made to memorize chants and prayers I never used, couldn't our temple priestesses have taught one -- just one! -- lesson on what to do with a boy who is too smart for his own good?"
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by my place of employment.

Beka Cooper grew up in the slums of Tortall's capital city. She was a street Rat until the Lord Provost saw her and her family, rescuing them from life in the slums or worse. Now, at 16, she's repaying a little of her family's debt by becoming a member of the Provost's guard.

She's still in training, a Puppy to the Dogs, and even if she's doing the rounds with two of the best Dogs in the pack, she's supposed to keep her head down and learn. Except Beka's no ordinary Puppy: she sees ghosts of the recent dead on the back of pigeons and she talks to "dust spinners", columns of dust that catch the conversations they "hear". It's by using these resources that she learns two things: someone is hiring men to dig for fire stones, very valuable and very magical stones, and then killing them off; and someone called the Shadow Snake is kidnapping and holding small children for ransom, and then killing them if the ransom is not paid.

So, she and her two Dogs take on the cases, combing through the streets of the Lower City, trying to solve these mysteries before more people end up dead.

It's an interesting breed, this book: one part crime thriller/murder mystery, one part magical fantasy. You wouldn't think it would work, but because of Beka's strong voice, it does. She really is her own person, someone who is quick on her feet, observant, and determined not only to succeed on her own terms, but wanting to make the place she grew up in better for everyone.
Admittedly, the animal references -- from calling the cops "Dogs", to the criminals "Rats" -- and the language Pierce created (coves = men and mots = women took me forever to figure out) slowed me down at first, and made the book difficult to really get into. But, after I got used to the language and the terminology, Beka's personality really came through and the plot was enough to carry the book through the sluggish parts.

The Latte Rebellion

2011-10-24T07:33:00.000-05:00

by Sarah Jamila Stevenson
ages: 14+
First sentence: "The jeering male voice came from somewhere behind me, waking me up from a heatstroke-induced doze."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Full disclosure: I bought the review copy, but I've met Sarah at a couple of past KidLitCons.

It started as just an innocent way for Asha and her best friend Carey to raise some money for a dream trip after they graduate high school. It was just supposed to be some cool t-shirts, with a cool coffee design with illusions to being mixed-race. But, then, the whole idea takes off: clubs are formed not only in their high school (well, the club is not actually allowed at their high school), but at colleges and high schools across the country. They make their money selling t-shirts, but it also turns out that what they started has turned into a group of people making a lot of noise.

And that noise scares those in "control", which means trouble for Asha and her friends.

Flipping between the past -- how the Rebellion came to be -- and the present -- Asha's suspension hearing -- the book looks at how something so innocent can get wildly out of control. But, it's also more than that: Asha, Carey, and many of their friends are mixed-race, something which is becoming increasingly more common in that. Stevenson spends a lot of time talking about how they don't feel they fit in: if they're neither fully one race or one culture -- Asha is half Indian, quarter Mexican and quarter Irish -- then what are they? This book is a good jumping point for discussion about race and what it really means.

Additionally, it's an interesting story. The conflict between Asha, her parents, and eventually Carey is one that's completely understandable: they want Asha to "succeed" which means, to them, getting into a top university. While Ahsa is a good student, she discovers through the rebellion that she wants to have more to her life than just schoolwork. It helps make her a sympathetic character, even if she's sneaking around her parents' back about her involvement in the rebellion.

It's a good first novel.

Sunday Salon: Out of Control

2011-10-23T08:45:00.002-05:00

For me, anyway.

This is the current state of my physical TBR pile:

I don't usually let it pile up this high (It's taller than my lamp!) except when I'm a round 1 judge for the Cybils. I'm a round 2 judge this year... maybe I'm experiencing a bit of withdrawal, and feel a need to have a huge TBR pile surrounding me this time of year?

All this makes me curious: how high is your TBR pile?

Latasha and the Little Red Tornado

2011-10-21T07:17:00.000-05:00

by Michael Sotto
ages: 8-10
First sentence: "Momma told me that there is a time in a puppy's life -- right around its second birthday -- when it just starts to get it."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: November 15, 2011
Review copy provided by the author.

Although she is just eight years old, Latasha can handle quite a bit. Her mother has finally finished her schooling and has gotten a job as a nurse, and Latasha can get herself to and from school. (And doesn't need the "baby"sitter that her mother insists upon her having!) She can handle making friends. She can handle the reading challenge at school. She just doesn't know if she can really handle her puppy, Ella, who is a complete handful.

Over the course of the book, Latasha realizes that while she can handle a lot of things by herself, sometimes it's better to have the help of friends. Which includes her energetic, but loveable, puppy.

This book skews younger than I normally read, but it works great on the level of a early-chapter-book reader. Latasha is a spunky girl, and the novel has a great voice; Latasha's personality just shone through. In addition, while it's a story simply told, it never felt like Scotto was talking down to his readers, which is a common difficulty in books like these. The relationship between Latasha and her mother and her sitters are complex, and while issues such as cheating or boy-girl friendships come up, they're dealt with in ways an 8-year-old can relate to.

In short: hand it to an 8-year-old who loves dogs, and you'll probably have a very happy reader.

I'll Be There

2011-10-19T07:08:00.002-05:00

by Holly Goldberg Sloan
ages: 13+
First sentence: "The days of the week meant nothing to him."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

This book is one wild ride.

When I told Hubby that, he asked: "Is it a good book?"

Yes. Yes, it is.

Sloan gives you characters -- specifically brothers Sam and Riddle -- whom you care about, whose lives you are more than fully invested in, and then runs them through the paces. But, even that doesn't fully convey the ups and downs of the book. Not to mention the hope and heartbreak, the anger and love, that this book will make you feel.

It's an unusual book, not just for the absolute pummeling the characters take at the hand of the author, but also for the storytelling style. It's told almost completely in narrative: there's hardly any dialogue, although the viewpoint shifts so we can see into the minds of many of the characters we meet over the course of the book. The story is about all the little ways in which humans connect: from the brothers who are dealing with an unstable and abusive father, to the lives of the family they interact with, and the impact we all have on each other, for good or ill.

Even though the story is a hopeful one, it's almost secondary to the way the book is told. The prose is simple, almost poetic, and delivers its punch in small ways: a mention that the brothers have never had homemade lasagna; the heartbreak of a broken guitar; the spray-tan debacle of a pompous, spoiled teenage boy; the weeping of a mother. Nothing is overly dramatic, and yet it all works together to a stunning, moving conclusion.

A wild ride, indeed.

Beauty Queens

2011-10-18T06:44:00.000-05:00

by Libba Bray
ages: 15+
First sentence: "This book begins with a plane crash."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

I have come to the conclusion that Libba Bray is brilliant, but completely insane. (Or maybe brilliantly insane?)

Ever wonder what you'd get if you mixed Lord of the Flies with the Miss America pageant, tossed in some James Bond, and slathered with a huge helping of satire on pop culture? Me, either. But, thankfully, blessedly, Libba Bray did, and Beauty Queens is the result.

The top 20 girls for the Miss Teen Dream pageant were all on a plane, headed toward the pageant finals when the plane crashes. On a deserted island. Killing everyone, except a handful of girls. What are they -- girls who are beauty queens, presumably without any practical resources -- to do?

Well... survive.

From here, the plot goes all twisty and turney: the girls make their own camp on the beach, and manage to not only get along (mostly), but thrive on their own merits as they wait to be rescued. However, things are not as pretty as they seem: there's weird stuff lurking in them thar jungle, and those who go into it don't always come out. And if they do, they're not quite sane. There's also pirates (!), stupid trust fund guys, completely wacked out dictators, and vengeful past beauty queens. This book has it all.

On the surface, the book is terribly shallow and stereotypical. Bray has lumped every single cultural reference and stereotype she could think of in this book: there is a lesbian, transgender, bisexual, stupid Southerner, aggressive Texan, Indian-American, black contestant. (Sure, why not one of each?) There's a grand poking at everyone naming their kids Caitlin. Honestly: none of the characters are likeable (Miss Texas, I wanted to throttle! And Miss Mississippi just lived up to the low expectations I have of that state.), and the plot was fairly simplistic, which almost made it hard to get through (however, the hilarious footnotes made up for that).

But, when you read it as a satire, the book works brilliantly. In one of the more brilliant moves, there are commercial breaks in the book, in which Bray lampoons every single kind of beauty product, movie, and item that corporations try to sell to women. In the end, the book is not about the characters, or plot development, it's about girl power: rising above the stereotypes and the product placement, and not only finding one's true self, but acting on that, embracing the differences we have as women. (And no one is better than the other.)

In fact, I think this would be a blast to deconstruct in a book group or English class; there's so much meat under the shallow surface, that the discussion could be quite fascinating.

And I'm sure she wrote it that way on purpose.

Audiobook: Second Fiddle

2011-10-17T07:29:00.002-05:00

by Rosanne Parry
Read by Bri Knickerbocker
ages: 10+
First sentence: "If we had known it would eventually involve the KGB, the French National Police, and the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, we would have left that body in the river and called the Polizei like any normal German citizen; but we were Americans and addicted to solving other people's problems, so naturally, we got involved."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the author.

It's 1990 (oh, man, I AM getting old if 1990 can be counted as "historical fiction"...), and Jody, Giselle and Vivian are Americans living in Berlin, Germany. The wall has just fallen months before, but the 13-year-olds have more important things to think about: like preparing for a string trio competition in Paris and the fact that the military base is being dismantled (is that right? I'm lousy at military speak), which means that these best friends may never see each other again. They've planned for Paris to be one last adventure, but they have no idea how big that adventure will be.

Because right before they go, they witness the attempted murder of a Soviet soldier, whom they drag out of the river and take upon themselves to save. Of course everything gets complicated in ways that include a lot of lying on the girls' part. But, it also is a grand adventure, one that, as we were listening, M and I wished we'd had.

Much like Parry's Heart of a Shepherd, this book is subtle and quiet, even with all the running around. Although there are spies and military personnel and soldiers, the Paris that these girls experience is a quiet one, with artists and immigrant populations; with music and art and quirky bookshop owners. And to Parry's credit, even though the book is set in the 1990s (making things much more complicated without cell phones and computers being so available), the book feels timeless: what girl doesn't want to have an adventure with her friends? What girl doesn't worry about the future? She also did a wonderful job portraying a country in transition; even though the girls were Americans and didn't interact with Germans very much, you could get the sense that Berlin, at least, was hit hard by the wall coming down and they were struggling with that.

As for the narration: at first the reader's voice bothered me. I felt like they were aiming too young, and the way she read grated on my nerves. I also wish she did voices, until she actually had a voice for the rescued Soviet soldier. Then I was glad she didn't. But I became involved in the actual story and the annoyances with the reader went away. If I had this one in paper copy, I wouldn't have been able to put it down.

Another good book by a talented writer.

13 Gifts

2011-10-14T07:24:00.003-05:00

by Wendy Mass
ages: 10+
First sentence: "Like all big mistakes, mine started with a goat."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

First of all: this is the third in a series that includes, 11 Birthdays and Finally, and if you haven't read those two, you could possibly still read this one and enjoy it (I did, even though it's been ages since I read the other two, and we all know how my memory is), you will get more out of the story if you read those two first. Besides, they're good books, and you won't be sorry you did.

Tara Brennan is one of those invisible people. She doesn't really stand out, she doesn't do much to be involved. It's partly because of her mother's job, they're constantly moving, but it's also by choice: Tara doesn't want to be involved. Which means she's as surprised as anyone to find herself stealing a (stuffed) goat from the principals office. After hours. She gets caught, of course, and as punishment is sent to Willow Falls to live with some relatives she barely knows. If that isn't bad enough, she ends up working for Angelina D'Angelo, oldest person in town and resident mysterious busybody, collecting an odd assortment of things. Before her 13th birthday.

The best thing about this book is how it weaves the three books together. Tara has her own story, of course, but Amanda and Leo (from 11 Birthdays) and Rory (Finally) become not only involved but a crucial part of the plot. Additionally, there's neighbor David and cousin Emily (not to mention the resident crazy-Aussie-guy, Ray) to add dimension to the story, since unlike the other kids, they have no idea what's really going on.

It's a nice balance of the magical -- the second-hand shop that Angelina runs appears and disappears as needed -- and the ordinary -- Tara grows and develops and learns to be involved and have friends on her own merit, without magical assistance. Which makes it perfect for kids like C, who don't particularly like fantasy, but don't mind a touch of the magical.

It's possibly my favorite of the three books, as well: even with the lying that Tara does to get her in the mess, it has a sweet and tender heart to it.

Wonderstruck

2011-10-13T06:44:00.001-05:00

by Brian Selznick
ages: 9+
First sentence: "Something hit Ben Wilson and he opened his eyes."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Brian Selznick has a lot to live up to with The Invention of Hugo Cabret. It was so unique, so astounding, so novel, that it literally took everyone's breath away. Going into Wonderstruck, one can only hope for the same breathtaking beauty and novel storytelling that Selznick gave us in Hugo Cabret.

And on one hand, he delivered. The story is completely different: is the tale of two children, Ben and Rose, who live 50 years apart, one told in words and the other in pictures. Both are deaf, and have to deal with the impact of that in their lives. Their stories are separate, but their lives and actions impact on each other in surprising ways. Like Hugo Cabret, the less said about the story the better: it's one that is best experienced fresh for the first time. The art is, as expected, gorgeous, and flows seamlessly into the text, even though the stories are separate.

Yet, in the end, I wasn't left with the same sense of having experienced something fantastic that I was after finishing Hugo Cabret. It's possibly because this style of novel writing has been done before (alas, one can only be new once), and it just didn't have the same surprising factor. I knew what to expect from this book -- lovely art, good storytelling -- and while it filled my expectations, it never surpassed them. Though, I wonder if it could also be because this story, unlike Hugo Cabret, doesn't necessarily have to be told in this fashion. It could be a story in pictures, or a story in words, but it's not necessarily bound to this medium. And perhaps because of that, it fell short of true grandeur.

I know I'm nitpicking; it's a good book, even if it didn't quite live up to my (possibly too high) expectations.

Zazoo

2011-10-12T06:42:00.001-05:00

by Richard Mosher
ages: 12+
First sentence: "The boy on the bike came and went."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Zazoo is a 13-year-old girl who lives in a small village in France. There's nothing really remarkable about that, except that Zazoo is Vietnamese; her Grand-Pierre (not her grandfather) took her from her country at the end of the war, when she was three. She doesn't remember her birth home, and Grand-Pierre doesn't talk about it. She's been basically happy in France, but in this turbulent winter her life is about to turn upside down.

It's a quiet novel, poetically written, with spare language that evokes a strong sense of place. It jumps through time, giving us not only a portrait of Zazoo's upbringing, but of the story behind the village and Grand-Pierre's legendary stubbornness. For that reason, it becomes a bit of a war book; Grand-Pierre has a history in World War II, perhaps of good, perhaps not. The book reserves judgement: Zazoo is, in many ways just collecting facts, piecing an old puzzle together. It's delightfully complex and revels in shades of gray; Grand-Pierre is neither a villain nor a hero, but rather a human.

There is a bit of a love story, and honestly that's the only thing that really bothered me about the book. Not the story per se: Zazoo and the boy on the bike, Marcus, develop a friendship over sending postcards back and forth, which evolves into a love. What bothered me was the age of the characters: Zazoo is only 13, and while she's labeled as precocious in the novel, that's still a bit young to be taking up with a 16-year-old, even in 1980-something. I think, for that aspect of the novel to fully work for me, Zazoo should have been a bit older, even if it meant losing some of the innocence in the other aspects of the novel.

Even with that complaint, it was a surprisingly sweet story.

Darth Paper Strikes Back

2011-10-11T06:38:00.005-05:00

by Tom Angleberger
ages: 9+
First sentence: "It is a dark time at McQuarrie Middle School..."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

I adored The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (which went on to win last year's Middle Grade Cybils Award) and so I was more than excited to see that there was a sequel picking up where the story left off.

It's the beginning of seventh grade and Dwight's nemesis, Harvy, has brought the dark side to the middle school in the form of Darth Paper. His mission is to convince the believers that Origami Yoda is not real, that while maybe his advice is good, it's just Dwight being weird. His methods get extreme, and Dwight has ended up suspended and may be expelled. It's up to his friends Tommy and Kellan to collect "case studies" to prove that Dwight and Origami Yoda are doing good.

In many ways, this book is more of the same: instances in which Origami Yoda helps kids by giving them weird, but ultimately good, advice. And while the stories were amusing and interesting, it didn't really feel like this book helped the overall story progress much. Everyone was still basically the same: from Dwight and Harvey down to the smaller, minor characters, so I didn't feel like we were really learning anything new. That said, the book ends with a nice little twist, that almost made up for the "the publisher pushed me into writing a sequel" feeling I had throughout most of the book.

Then again, he's writing for the middle grade crowd, and they love sequels. It just didn't quite hold water for me.

Angel in My Pocket

2011-10-10T06:33:00.002-05:00

by Ilene Cooper
ages: 10+
First sentence: "There was a pile of money on Bette Miller's kitchen table."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Bette Miller is dealing with her mother's sudden death. (Yes, at the outset this is another one of those mother-is-dead books.) However, once Bette finds an angel coin in a charity jar, her life takes a turn. A neighbor moves in downstairs to help keep an eye on Bette, and gradually Bette finds that while life without her mother is sad, it's still liveable.

But the story doesn't end there: the coin gets passed to others: Joe Garcia, whose mother is often sick and who is struggling to find a place at the prestigious art school he (and Bette and the other characters) attends; and twins Andy and Vivi who have been growing apart in the year since Vivi's asthma became really crippling both get a turn with the angel coin. And their lives are invariably changed, though in small and subtle ways, for the better.

I was kind of lukewarm on the book; on the one hand, I thought it handled the whole overused dead parent thing well. It wasn't heavy handed, and the fact that the book branched out to deal with other kids and their problems helped as well. In fact, my favorite thing about the book was the way it transitioned between one kid and the next seamlessly. No jerky stops and starts, no ending of sections, announcing "here comes the next problem". It was seamless and effortless.

But it was also kind of predictable. I knew, and perhaps this is the way the author wanted it, that having the angel coin would somehow 1) bring an angel into the life of the person who has the coin and 2) help them get over their problems. There weren't any surprises in the process, and the book fell flat because of that. It would have helped if one could connect to the characters (and maybe some will), but they came off as one-dimensional and flat. It was also a little on the message-y side for my taste: be yourself, find joy in your life, and don't sweat the small stuff. It's not a bad message, but I would have liked it to be more about the characters and less about What They Learned.

But I'm nitpicking. It's a sweet little story, one that I think kids will like.

Cybils: What I Think Should Be Nominated and Isn't

2011-10-08T09:19:00.000-05:00

Since I've used up my nominations in these categories, could you do it for me?

Middle Grade Fiction
Second Fiddle, by Rosanne Parry
What Momma Left Me, by Renee Watson
Angel in My Pocket, by Irene Cooper

YA Fiction
Mindblind, by Jennifer Roy

YA Science Fiction/Fantasy
Sweetly, by Jackson Pearce

And if anyone has anything they want nominated in Graphic Novels, Easy Reader/Chapter Books, or Book Apps, let me know: I haven't nominated anything in those categories yet, and I'll be happy to do it for you.

Kendra

2011-10-07T07:04:00.002-05:00

by Coe Booth
ages: 15+
First sentence: "There's nothing really different about today."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Fourteen-year-old Kendra wants two things: for her Nana to get off her back about every. little. thing. And for her mother, Renee, to finish school, get a job and let Kendra live with her.

Unfortunately, neither of these things are going to happen. See, Renee was just 14 when she had Kendra, and ever since has been running from any sort of mother-daughter relationship with her. Nana is old, tired, and wants to have a live of her own. Not to mention save her grandbaby from the same fate as her daughter.

I'm sure there's more to this gritty story, but honestly? I didn't get to it. I wanted to. I wanted to like this one, I wanted to see what this story of an inner-city black girl would be. But I bailed after the boy Kendra likes pressures her into having anal sex (is there a better term for that?). I can take many things, but the idea of an older boy taking advantage of a younger girl because she wants to be liked and accepted is too much for me. It wasn't that it was graphic (it wasn't). It's just the idea.

I didn't give Kendra's story much of a chance, I admit. Because the writing was intense, and I could tell that Booth knew her stuff. It's just not me. I'm sure there will be less particular people out there, ones who will connect with this book. It's just not for me.

Lola and the Boy Next Door

2011-10-06T07:43:00.001-05:00

by Stephanie Perkins
ages: 14+
First sentence: "I have three simple wishes."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by an ARC sent me from the amazing A Jane of All Reads

I need to say, first off: I completely and totally regret what I wore to my senior prom. It was white, it was totally late-80s, and it was completely forgettable. What I should have done was be daring (like Lola, who wants to attend her mid-winter formal as Marie Antoinette) and completely memorable.

So, one of my favorite things about this book was all the costume changes that Lola went through. I never knew what she was going to wear, and somehow, that made the book that much more enjoyable for me.

The plot is pretty simple: Lola and Cricket used to be neighbors. Then they were more than neighbors. And then he moved away because his family is pretty invested in following his sister Calliope's dream of being an Olympic figure skater. But before that happened, he hurt Lola, so she's spent the last two years trying to forget that Cricket ever existed. It's worked so well, that she's happily in love with Max, who's a punk rocker and (gasp) five years older than she is (she's barely 17). Then, one day, Cricket (and his family) move back in. Lola figured she was over him, but she didn't count on him not being over her.

Second thing I adored about this book: Cricket. Seriously. He's nice. No: he's wonderful. Swoon-worthy, geeky, genius, awkward, and much, much too good for Lola. It was an interesting twist having the guy be the "good" one, the one that Lola has to aspire to "deserving". (I find it's often the guys who are the cads, but in many ways Lola is in this book.) At first she pushes Cricket away, but eventually realizes that she still has *feelings* for the boy next door.

I found, in this book, that it was the little things that made it enjoyable. Anna and St. Clair are back, and even though they only play a small role, they light up the pages they're on. Lola's two dads are also a delight: it's nice to have a gay couple shown as stable and loving without making a big deal about it. (Additionally: they're great characters in their own right.) That said, I still have issues with True Love (always have, always will) and this one is all about finding and recognizing True Love, but it wasn't enough to get in the way of me thoroughly enjoying this book.

Perhaps it comes down to the awesome Marie Antoinette dress after all.

Cures for Heartbreak

2011-10-05T07:36:00.001-05:00

by Margo Rabb
ages: 15+
First sentence: "The funeral director's name was Manny Musico."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Mia's world has imploded. Her mother went in to the doctor about a stomach ache, and twelve days later died. It's not something she could plan for: one day her mother was there, the glue holding their family together in spite of constant fighting with Mia's dad; the next day, they're planning a funeral. How are they -- Mia, especially, since she doesn't quite know how to relate to her older sister, Alex, or their father -- going to manage their life?

And, yet, as the book unfolds over a year, they do manage. Sure, Mia goes into a bit of a tailspin at school, barely passing her freshman year. Alex goes off to college, and then Mia's left alone with her father. But, partially just because things work out as time passes, Mia gets better. Or at least, she learns to live her life again, without her mother.

Startlingly honest, this book walks the line between all-encompassing grief and the realization that as time goes on, wounds heal. The title really does say it all: Mia's heart is broken by the death of her mother, and while it'll never fully, completely heal, she is able to find a way to move on beyond that grief. That this is a semi-autobiographical story helps; Rabb taps into the emotions of loss, pain, and grief without being sappy or overly sentimental about it all.

In all the many books on death, this one stands out because of that honesty, because of the humor laced throughout the book, and because Rabb shows how one can move on without forgetting.

10 Things About The Austin Teen Book Fest

2011-10-04T07:56:00.004-05:00

1. I say to myself "Texas isn't that far", and it isn't. Well, DALLAS isn't. Austin, on the other hand, is 9 hours of nothing away. Even so, it was worth the 18 hours in the car for the 36 hours seeing friends and authors.

2. Even though Scott Westerfeld's keynote speech was pretty much the same as at KidLitCon, it was still worth hearing again. ("And there was outrage on the internet!") He's a funny, interesting person who gives a grand presentations and worth hearing speak as many times as possible.

3. Steampunk costumes are REALLY cool. Want.

4. Though Maureen Johnson doesn't speak very much, when she does, it's hilarious. She's also a bit of a rabble-rouser. Not that we minded at all.

5. She sold her book to us by saying, "If I was going to write about ghosts, I want them to do something AWESOME. Like kill people." (At which point, M turns to me and says, "I want to read her book now.")

(Okay, that's a really bad picture of both M and Maureen. Sorry; it's the only one I took...)

6. I didn't know who Jonathan Mayberry was. Now I do. (And interestingly enough, his book won the YA Science Fiction/Fantasy Cybils award last year.)

7. I kind of felt bad for all the local authors who were surrounded by more "famous" ones. They didn't have any lines during the author signing, while Scott Westerfeld's was halfway across the building. Also, it would have been nice to have more time to be personable with the authors. I know I'm spoiled by KidLitCon, but I wanted to meet David Levithan and Jackson Pearce (I had to be satisfied with snapping a picture from afar) but there wasn't time to stand in their lines as well. I would have loved it if the authors could have milled more, and been able to chat with the masses.

8. Speaking of logistics: it could have been better. They had three different panels all going on at the same time in one large, echo-y room, which made it hard to hear what the authors were saying. At one point, Maureen said, "My head is going to explode from all the noise." I agree.

9. Nerdfighters are everywhere! I kind of knew this, but it was brought home at the book fest. I saw a young woman walking around with a hijab and a Pizza John shirt; the girl I stood behind in line for Stephanie Perkins had a DFTBA shirt (her sister has a "This Machine Pwns Noobs" one). I mentioned her shirt, and we had an instant connection: we chatted the time away about nerdfightaria, John and Hank, books, vlogs and the coolness of being there with all the other geeky people. I loved it.

10. The best part of going to this festival was seeing friends -- like Amanda of Ramblings and her husband, Jason; and Varian Johnson (can I count him as a friend if he remembered me and gave me a hug? I think so... even if I forgot to get a picture with him.) -- and meeting the authors. I wish there was more time to do the latter, but I did actually hold a conversation with Maureen (in which I thanked her for her twitter feed, and probably made a fool of myself) and Stephanie Perkins. That made it all worth while, I think.

Will I go again? I don't know. But at the very least, I can say I've done the whole book festival thing now. And had a good time doing it.

The Eternal Smile: Three Stories

2011-10-03T06:49:00.002-05:00

by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim
ages: 13+
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

It seems a little strange to say that something called "The Eternal Smile" made me feel melancholy, but it did.

The book is three short stories, beautifully drawn, all muse upon the themes of belonging and purpose. They weren't sad, exactly, and you can't say they didn't have happy endings, because they did. But they were bittersweet, edged with longing. Enough to make me melancholy.

I'm not quite sure which author wrote which story (or if they both wrote all three), since they drawing style for each one was so drastically different. That said, the art fit the stories perfectly. The first one, at first glance, seems to be a fantasy hero story: the downtrodden guy fights incredible odds (or in this case, revenge upon the king's death by killing the frog king), only to find out that things aren't exactly as they seem. The art is dark and brooding; it's easy to sense that the end won't be pretty.

The second story features animals: a greedy frog, who all he wants to do is get enough cash so he can put it in a barrel, dive in and never hit bottom; his toady (I think literally); and his two granddaughters. They come up with a scheme, based on this smile that the toady sees, and develop a religion based on it. Of course there's more to it; it turns out that the story is nothing more than a children's show. It's a delightful poke at mega-churches, reality TV, and people who don't have the backbone to say what they really think in the face of powerful people. And the art is bright and cheery, which perfectly juxtaposes the deeper, darker story.

The last story is the most heartbreaking, I think. It's about a mousey woman, working in a cubicle for some large corporation. She wants a raise, and (of course) her boss deflects her and then laughs behind her back. Then she answers one of those "dear lovely, can you send $1,000,000 to help my family in Nigeria" emails. From there, they begin corresponding, and she imagines a whole story surrounding this mysterious African prince. Of course, things don't work out, by any stretch of the imagination. The art is in shades of gray, the characters cartoonish, childish, which drives the somber point home more.

The one thing these stories do have, even with their melancholy, is that they make you think. About how things don't always go as we planned. And that even so-called losers have dreams and aspirations. And how there is always hope, even in the face of hopelessness.

Which left me smiling, in the end.

The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie

2011-10-01T07:33:00.000-05:00

by Tanya Lee Stone
ages: 11+
First sentence: "When I was six, I wanted a Barbie more than I can remember ever wanting anything in my life."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

First a confession: my mom wouldn't let me have Barbies, and even though I played with them at friends' houses, I never really wanted one (or at least I don't have a lingering memory of that). Then I went to college, and became my own brand of feminist, and swore my girls would never have Barbies.

Then M turned three. And she desperately wanted one. After several rounds of fighting and discussion and saying no, we gave in on her birthday, and gave her one. Which was much loved. Then, Barbie multiplied. For, it seems, that one cannot have just one Barbie. They multiplied until I was sick of them and they stopped playing with them, so I tossed the whole lot when we moved to Kansas 5 years ago. Since then, they've multiplied again (it seems that you can't give a young girl a birthday present that isn't a Barbie), and while they don't get played with often, I have made my peace with them and keep them around for the times when they are needed.

It seems my story isn't unique.

I enjoyed this book for the history of Barbie, and Mattel, and how they came to be. There was a part of me that wished for more detail (the fact that Barbie's inspiration was a German sex toy was glossed over here), but the book was geared toward the younger crowd. However, Stone did to an admirable job balancing the two sides of Barbie: those who love her and those who loathe her. I think I understand better now her appeal, not just to girls, but to women as they grow older. And while I still think there's downsides to Barbie and her appearance, I admit that they're more societal and less the fault of the toy. It was interesting, and well-written, full of lots of vintage (and otherwise) pictures.

Recommended.

CYBILS Nominations are OPEN!

2011-10-01T05:49:00.001-05:00

Well, they opened early this morning, so I'm running a little late. But... if you didn't get there at the stroke of midnight (which is insane, unless you're a night owl), keep in mind these rules before heading over to do your nominations (do keep in mind that ANYONE can nominate their favorite -- or second or third favorite. You don't have to blog about kids books to be a part of this!):

Books (eBook criteria follow):

To be eligible for a Cybils award, a print book must be:

published in the US or Canada only. This avoids outrageous shipping costs and double jeopardy when a UK title is nominated a second time after it comes out in the US;
published between one contest and the next. For this year, that means from Oct. 16, 2010 to Oct. 15, 2011;
widely available for public sale. Titles available only from book clubs or publisher websites are not eligible, for example, as we cannot obtain copies easily.
aimed at the youth market up to age 18. Books marketed to adult readers that may also appeal to teens are not eligible.

eBooks

Note: This applies only to "born digital" ebooks that have no dead-tree counterpart.

To be eligible for a Cybils award, a born digital ebook must be:

published in both the Kindle and ePub format. It can be published in additional formats (such as PDF), but cannot skip those two;
marketed primarily to Young Adult Fiction and Science Fiction & Fantasy for teen readers. No other genre is accepting born digital titles this year. We'll revisit the idea if all goes well;
put out by a publisher in good standing with the American Booksellers Association (ABA), Children's Book Council (CBC), Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), or Small Publishers Association of North America (SPAN) or their regional affiliates OR;
(alternate to #3) put out by a publisher who produces more than one title a year.

Book Apps

To be eligible for a Cybils award, a book app must be:

aimed primarily at kids or teens;
geared mainly toward storytelling and/or literacy and not just gaming;
be readable on an iPad or computer.

And (since you've made it this far...) I did want to give a mention to the panel that's near and dear to my heart: Middle Grade Fiction! It's a grand panel this year (with more than one man on it! Wow!), and you'll notice that I'm shaking things up this year (much to the disappointment of my girls, who have loved the piles and piles of books that came in the mail) by being on the Round 2 panel. I'm excited for that, though: I've never been involved in the final decision, and I can't wait to see what the experience will be like.

Round 1

Colby Sharp
Sharp Read

Jennifer Donovan
5 Minutes for Books

Karen Yingling
Ms. Yingling Reads

Cheryl Vanati
Reading Rumpus

Grier Jewell
Fizzwhizzing Flushbunker

Michael Gettel-Gilmartin
Middle Grade Mafioso

Beth Gallego
Points West

Round 2

Kerry Millar
Shelf Elf

Melissa Fox
Book Nut

Jessalyn Pinsonault
Garish & Tweed

Karen Wang
Kidsmomo

Amanda Snow
A Patchwork of Books

And off we go! I love this time of year.

September Jacket Flap-a-thon

2011-09-30T07:49:00.017-05:00

One last little thought from KidLitCon... (I know it's been a while but I honestly thought this was the best place to put this.) I went to a panel put on by Holly and Shiraz Cupala about marketing books. No, I don't have a book to market, nor will I ever, but I did find this one statistic they stuck up to be interesting (especially considering where my interests lie):

People buy books based on:
Next one in a series (61%)
Familiarity with the author (57%)
Flap copy (51%)
Title (32%)
Cover (31%)

See that? Flap copy -- good flap copy -- is important. I know it is to me.

In other news: if all is going well, M and I should be on our way to the Austin Teen Book Festival. We're both quite excited! Hope to see (some of) you there!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Little, Brown): "Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low. And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war. Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out. When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?"
What I love about this one is that they capture the essence of Taylor's writing and of the story, without giving the plot away. You know there will be mystery and angels and demons, and it all sounds so very enticing.

The Incorrigible Children of Aston Place: The Hidden Gallery (Balzer and Bray): "Of especially naughty children it is sometimes said, "They must have been raised by wolves." The Incorrigible children actually were. Thanks to the efforts of Miss Penelope Lumley, their plucky governess, Alexander, Beowulf, and Cassiopeia are much more like children than wolf pups now. They are accustomed to wearing clothes. They hardly ever howl at the moon. And for the most part, they resist the urge to chase squirrels up trees. Despite Penelope's civilizing influence, the Incorrigibles still managed to ruin Lady Constance's Christmas ball, nearly destroying the grand house. So while Ashton Place is being restored, Penelope, the Ashtons, and the children take up residence in London. Penelope is thrilled, as London offers so many opportunities to further the education of her unique students. But the city presents challenges, too, in the form of the palace guards' bearskin hats, which drive the children wild—not to mention the abundance of pigeons the Incorrigibles love to hunt. As they explore London, however, they discover more about themselves as clues about the children's—and Penelope's—mysterious past crop up in the most unexpected ways. . ."
This one is good because it gets you up to speed about the Incorrigibles, and lets you in on the plot of the first book, while giving you the briefest of hints about what the second one is all about.

The Night Circus (Doubleday): "The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart."
This one is a little long for my taste, and it gives away a few of the plot points that would have better been left unsaid, but it's gorgeously written, much like the novel.

Other books read this month:
Year of the Horse
Cold Sassy Tree
The Demon's Surrender
The Absolute Value of Mike
Friday Night Lights
Mercury
The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill
Uncommon Criminals
Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism
The Son of the Shadows
The Grand Sophy

The Grand Sophy

2011-09-29T07:25:00.000-05:00

by Georgette Heyer
ages: adult
First sentence: "The butler, recognizing her ladyship's only surviving brother at a glance, as he afterwards informed his less percipient subordinates, favoured Sir Horace with a low bow, and took it upon himself to say that my lady, although not at home to see less nearly-connected persons, would be happy to see him."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Ah, Georgette Heyer. (Which I just learned is pronounced "hair". Now I know.) I think the best way to sum her up is this: when she's good, she's really, really good. (And when she's bad she's horrid?)

And this one was good.

Twenty-year-old Sophy has spent her life following her father all around Europe. Because her mother died early on, Sophy has become accustomed to being the lady of the house, performing tasks for her father that most women wouldn't dream of doing. As a result, she's unpredictable, independent, and, to the fashionable London society, completely shocking. So, when her father dumps her on some little-known relatives (his sister, Lady Ombersley) so he can pop off to Brazil (with the side hope that they'll somehow manage to marry Sophy off, since she's -- shock -- heading towards being an old maid!), little do they know the chaos that Sophy will cause.

Like so many other of Heyer's books, the point is not the plot. There will be a slight romance, two people will fall in love and get married. It's the getting there that's so much fun. And this one is classic Heyer: wonderfully amusing. Initially I wrote "hilarious", but I think that's misleading. While the book is funny, it's not the snort-milk-through-your-nose funny. But it did make me smile and chuckle.

Like (and the characters and situations don't really matter):

"No, of course I do not!" responded Cecilia. " But Eugenia never wears modish gowns. She says there are more important things to think of than one's dresses."

"What a stupid thing to say!" remarked Sophy. "Naturally there are, but not, I hold, when one is dressing for dinner."

From the sparing way in which Miss Wraxton partook of a few of the delicacies it was not dificult to see that she considered such lavish hospitality vulgar; but Huber, making a hearty meal, began to think the Marquesa a very good sort of woman after all. When he saw how many coffee creams, Italian rusks, and brandy-cherries she herself consumed, in the most negligent fashion, his manner towards her because tinged with respect bordering on awe.

There are more. Truly.

I think one of the reasons I like Heyer so much is the same reason I like Jane Austen: she pokes fun at socieity, the primness and properness, while endearing us to all these silly, stuffy, stupid characters. She invites us to laugh at them and (in Heyer's case, at least) their outdated ideas, while, especially in this book, introducing a thoroughly modern character to challenge the others' ways. It makes for a wonderfully entertaining romp.

Son of the Shadows

2011-09-28T10:00:00.002-05:00

by Juliet Marillier
ages: adult
First sentence: "My mother knew every tale that was ever told by the firesides of Erin, and more besides."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

This book picks up a little while where Daughter of the Forest left off. Red and Sorcha have three children: Niamh, and twins Sean and Liadan. Things are becoming uneasy again; there's a band of outlaws that are wandering the countryside. Niamh has a forbidden dalliance, and is sent off to marry someone for an alliance. Sean is coming into his own, learning to be the lord of Sevenwaters. And Liadan is just trying to be a healer. That is, until she's kidnapped by the Painted Man's outlaws, and taken to their camp. There, everything changes, not only for Liadan, but for Sevenwaters and maybe for Erin as well.

Since we enjoyed the last book, Kelly (she's in bold; I'm not) suggested reading this one as a buddy read as well.

So, the obvious first question: how did it compare to Daughter of the Forest?

Well, I was a little worried at first. The second book in a trilogy, which this started off being, isn’t usually a big letdown from the first book. I actually enjoyed that in order to keep this fresh book fresh the focus was on Sorcha’s daughter. That being said, this book wasn’t quite as good as the first book. It was a bit too much of a romance for me and there wasn’t as much action. It was basically a set-up for the third book and considering that I still really enjoyed this book, I am really excited for the third book. What did you think of this book?

I enjoyed the first book more as well, but I think it was because that one had a premise (the fairy tale) that I actually knew. I didn’t mind learning about the Irish tales in this one, but it really slowed the book down for me. I didn’t mind the romance so much, though I still have issues with the idea of The One. She’s 16, and she finds (by accident) the guy she wants to spend the rest of her life with? That raises the red flag for me. That said, I did feel that Marillier managed the romance pretty well. I think part of my enjoyment of the first one was that I just happened to like Sorcha as a character better.

The book this reminded me most of was Mists of Avalon; there was a lot of strong women and Goddess-inspired magic in it. Was that just me?

Yes, I was always excited about the first book because of the fairy tale connection. It still took me forever to get around to reading it, but that is what drew me to it in the first place. This book still had tales as its background, but they were not tales that I was familiar with. It made the whole experience a bit different. As to the romance, it didn’t bother me necessarily, but I did just find it more a central theme than in the other book. I would have enjoyed if there was a bit less emphasis on that aspect. I also am getting a bit tired of the story-line where a young girl meets a guy and then that is who she wants to be with for the rest of her life. I didn’t find myself getting as annoyed with this book as others, though, so she obviously carried it off well.

No, I can see that. I have read Mists of Avalon and the other books that Bradley wrote in that series and I can actually see a very strong connection between how Bradley wrote and what Marillier is trying to accomplish with her books. My favourite part of this trilogy so far is the strong women that are portrayed. I always feel like there is not enough of that in fiction.

What did you think of the men in the book? Any stand out for you?

I agree: there’s never enough books with strong women characters. I also wish I knew more about the tales that served as a backdrop for the book; while I like things Irish, I’m actually not that familiar with them. Perhaps I should change that.... As for men, I kind of liked Bran, especially once I figured out (well, it was revealed anyway), how he fit into the Sevenwaters family and his connection to the past. I liked that he was passionate and strict, but also fair and merciful as well. I also liked that he cared about the men he worked hard to save from the edges of society. I also liked Red (can’t remember his Irish name, now), for his strength and balance in the family. Though, speaking of him (and the men in general): I loathed the treatment of Niamh when she was found with her lover. Especially since Liadan turned around and did the same thing (and got pregnant by it!). What a bunch of hypocrites! I know I’m imposing modern sensibilities on this, but STILL! To rip her away from her lover and marry her to a brute who barely cared for her? Horrid, horrid men.

What did you think?

I really enjoy books with strong women. I think part of my problem is the love triangles and other drama in young adult books lately. It doesn’t set a very good example. I always wish I could read more. I know when I read the Fables series, for example, I always figured I was either missing something or knowing that I was missing something. There is just too many things to read!

I enjoyed Bran. He was an interesting character. I knew there was going to be more to him than met the eye and spent the entire time reading trying to fit the pieces together in my mind. When it came together I was thinking I should have known that long before it was revealed. And, yes, the part with Niamh was TERRIBLE! I understand that they thought they had their reasons, but it was really quite sad. It was a bit strange that it was okay when Liadan did it. It was a bit of a double standard. It was particularly bad because we didn’t know why everything played out like it did. It made a bit of sense when it was explained, but it still bothered me.

Head over to The Written World for the rest of the conversation!

Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism

2011-09-27T06:53:00.000-05:00

by Georgia Byng
ages: 10+
First sentence: "Molly Moon looked down at her pink, blotchy legs."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Molly is an orphan in a not very happy-making orphanage. It's a dismal, dank place, full of bullies, run by the meanest director this side of Miss Hannigan.

Then, Molly discovers (in the library!) an old how-to book on Hypnotism, which she furtively devours and discovers that she's got the gift. From there, she takes control of her life, hypnotizing people left and right: she wins a talent competition, heads to New York, becomes a famous starlet. Everything is going great, except her best friend Rocky has been adopted. However (again through hypnotism), once they're reunited, nothing can stop them.

Except for a bad guy who wants them to seal a bunch of jewels. Can Molly hypnotize her way out of the muddle she's gotten herself into?

It's a fun little book, and even though I found the middle of the book to be a bit sluggish, and the end a bit preachy, I had a fun enough time with the book. It's quite silly, with it's tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top situations. And it's a grand fantasy, giving a 10-year-old girl not only control, but almost superhuman power.

Which makes it, in the end, quite fun.

Friday Night Lights

2011-09-26T06:57:00.000-05:00

by H. G. Bissinger
ages: adult
First sentence: "Maybe it was a suddenly acute awareness of being 'thirtysomething.'"
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

I'm probably the last person on the planet to read this; I didn't even know it existed until the movie came out several years back. Since then (and the highly recommended TV show, as well), I've known that I "should" read this one, especially since I consider myself a football fan. But it wasn't until I read Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer a few months back that I really got serious about reading this book.

You want to know what? It's incredibly depressing.

If you've been living under a rock, the basic story is Bessinger moving to Odessa, TX; a small town in the late 80s that has gone through the boom and bust of oil. Bessinger moves there to follow the town's main football team, The Permian High MoJo. However, while it's a book about football, it's not a football book. Bessinger follows the team throughout the season and highlights the games, but uses football as a springboard to talk about bigger issues: race, class, education, and most of all, the sense of entitlement (and pressure) that comes with being a high school football player.

Bessinger doesn't paint a pretty picture about it all. Odessa was -- one of the things I kept wondering was how everyone's fared in the 23 years since the 1988 football season -- obsessed with football. Perhaps unhealthily so. It was their life, their all, and I'm not talking about the players, either. In a town where there wasn't much of anything: the industry being basically shut down (I seem to remember a statistic that at one point the unemployment rate in Odessa was at 20%, but I could be wrong), the educational system being basically average, the only hope for anyone -- and really, we're just talking about the boys, most of them white -- was to be on their above-average, mostly winning football team.

And so most boys held the dream of playing for the Mojo.

But, even with the hope of something better -- or perhaps they put all of their hopes into that promise -- the boys didn't go anywhere. Sure, they made it into the state playoffs, and got as far as the semi-finals. But, their lives, with the exception of the one who put his effort into his academics, didn't go anywhere. And I found that depressing. Because it's all for a game.

The other depressing thing was how little has changed in America in the last 23 years. In some ways, things have gotten better. But there was too much in the book that I could nod at and say, "You know, that's still exactly the same." We like to think we've made progress in race, in education, in our livelihood. But this made me wonder just how much has changed. I'm not sure much has; football is still more important in our lives than, say, a speech by the president on his plan to create jobs. While Rammer Jammer made me feel like I wasn't enough of a fan, this book in many ways made me ashamed to support a game (a game!) that creates the kind of situations that were put out in this book. Those high school and college players we put so much pressure on to win? They're boys. And this book is a weighty reminder of what pressure, stress, and too much privilege can do to boys.

And that's depressing.

One Last Reminder: Austin Teen Book Fest THIS Saturday

2011-09-25T07:53:00.000-05:00

You guys, this is worth driving from Wichita to Austin because:

On Friday night there will be a screening of “Nick & Nora’s Ultimate Playlist” (at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar) with a Q&A featuring festival author David Levithan, co-author of the book on which the film was based. BookPeople will be selling signed copies of his books in the lobby. The screening benefits the APLFF.

The festival's theme is steam punk — a nod to keynote speaker Scott Westerfeld. There's going to be a green screen where you can take pictures of yourself in the Leviathan world. On top of that, the entertainment will be courtesy of Delirium of Grandeur and the band Darwin Prophet, neither of which I've ever heard of, but are sure to be awesome.

The panels:

(click to embiggen...) There are some seriously fine authors talking about fascinating things.

And lastly but not leastly: Amanda and I are organizing a blogger luncheon -- we don't have a specific place to eat, but are planning on meeting at the Barton Springs Road entrance of the Palmer Events Center around 12:30.

Hope to see you there! It's going to be a blast. Promise.

Uncommon Criminals

2011-09-23T06:26:00.000-05:00

by Ally Carter
ages: 12+
First sentence: "Moscow can be a cold, hard place in winter."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

This book, as pointed out by Liz B., can be summed up in three sentences: It's fluff. But it's such fun fluff. And no one does fluff as well as Ally Carter.

The other best way to sell it (and Heist Society, the first one in the series)? It's Oceans 11 for teens. In book form.

After pulling off the heist of the century (which I suppose is a bit of a spoiler for the first book. Sorry), Kat and crew have basically gone their separate ways. Kat's taken on a personal mission for good, taking jobs stealing back paintings stolen by Nazis in World War II. Hale's constantly upset with her because she keeps shutting him out. Gabby's gone her own way, and Uncle Eddie's moved to Paraguay (or was it Uruguay? That's a running gag.) to run a sting for the family. So, when Kat is propositioned to steal the Cleopatra diamond for what is ostensibly a good cause, she doesn't hesitate.

Then things get deliciously complicated.

Honestly? The best thing about this book (aside from Hale's swoonworthiness; I really shouldn't have crushes on 17 year old fictional boys. Not healthy.) is that Kat and crew up and go all over the world at a drop of a hat. They're MINORS! And they get away with so much. It's hilarious and improbable and fun. Who cares that they're smart rich kids basically stealing things because they can? (Well, not exactly, but it feels that way at times.) I don't. I'm along for the ride, and, man, it's a fun one with an absolutely brilliant twist at the end.

Sometimes, fluff -- especially good fluff -- is exactly what you need.

The Night Circus

2011-09-22T07:17:00.000-05:00

by Erin Morgensternages: 16+ (shelved in the Adult Fiction section of my library)
First sentence: "The circus arrives without warning."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

I am inherently suspicious of anything that receives an inordinate amount of buzz. (Which is why I have yet to read The Help.) People have told me it's just sour grapes; that if I would just catch a book early enough, I wouldn't have this violently negative reaction to hip and popular books.

But when Corinne said that I should read it, I listened.

I'll be frank here: there is a plot to this book, but it's pretty predictable and fairly cliche. In the end, it's your basic Romeo and Juliet love story. Two magicians from two differing schools of thought pit their students against one another. This time it's Celia and Marco. They're never supposed to meet, they're not supposed to even know who the other is; yet, they find out, and fall in love. Of course there are ramifications, of course there are hazards and heartbreak.

That's not the point of the book, though.

The point of the book is the atmosphere. It's a very slow moving book, one that luxuriates in the descriptions of the circus, of clothes, of the food, of the magic. It's not a spare and poetic book, but rather weighty and opulent: there's scenes that for plot purposes probably don't need to be there, but because they add to the atmosphere and mood of the book, fit perfectly. There's characters wandering in and out of the book that have little to do with the plot, and yet they add to the carnival-esque feeling. It reminded me strongly of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell; the use of magic is unique and traditional at the same time. Morgenstern uses stage magicians as a launching point, musing on the idea of an the illusion actually not being an illusion. And, surprisingly for me: the book is written in the present tense while still flitting back and forth in time. Usually, this drives me batty, but in this book, in this setting, it worked. (I didn't even notice until I was halfway through. Which says much.)

I do recognize that all this all might be a downer for some people; I'm not expecting to add to the hype for this book. I don't think it's the next Harry Potter, or even the next "big thing". But, in many ways it is worth the hype: it's a beautiful, descriptive, haunting and gorgeous book.

Thoughts on KidLitCon: Photographic Evidence

2011-09-21T06:55:00.000-05:00

I promised pictures.

I not only went to KidLitCon, I managed to connect with some friends from my on-line book group. I can't say it enough: it's absolutely wonderful being able to put faces to names, and to sit and chat with them in person. I wouldn't trade the internet, or the blogosphere, for anything, but people are vastly different in person than they are on-line. And that's a good thing.

So, the conference. Yesterday I talked about the nuts and bolts of what I thought was important, but that left out all the fun stuff.

Like the hotel, which was so uber posh (I've honestly never stayed in a hotel with a doorman before!) that I was intimidated at first. But eventually, grew to love the ambiance. I didn't, however, take a picture of my favorite feature: the shelf in the shower that had bottles for shampoo, conditioner, and soap. That little touch completely thrilled me. Then again, I'm easy to please.

I know I've posted the one of me with Scott Westerfeld, but here's one of his keynote address... just for good measure. Did I mention how funny and interesting he is as a speaker?

Then there's the friends:

Elissa Cruz from From the Mixed-Up Files. We connected last year at KidLitCon, and it was a pleasure to see her again.

The group I had lunch with on Saturday (in which we talked about everything from reviewing to Battlestar Galactica. We are nothing if not diverse in our conversation). Including newcomer Lisa Song at Reads for Keeps, my delightful roomie Maureen, the ever-charming Liz B. and the fun Sondra (though I didn't get a picture of her in her Elephant and Piggie shirt. Which I want.) at Sonderbooks.

As another shout out to how absolutely wonderful this con was: the food was amazing. I wasn't expecting much, but what we got (the reception! the snacks! the lunch! the dinner!) exceeded anything I was expecting.

One last one: of Pam and Jen. To be honest, I'm still a little star struck that both these amazing women even acknowledge that I exist. Seriously, though... another testament to getting to know people in person; I adore both of them, and love listening to them talk. They're smart, funny, amazing women, and I'm glad to say they're my friends.

And that's enough sappiness. For the record: there are pictures of me, Jen and Maureen on our panel as well as me talking to Karen Cushman (KAREN CUSHMAN! And I was brave enough to talk to her!) out there. I'm hoping I find them in the midst of all the wrap-ups (links to which can be found here).

KidlitCon (not to mention mini-vacations without Hubby or the girls): in all ways, a good, good thing.

Thoughts on KidlitCon, Part 1

2011-09-20T09:16:00.005-05:00

The one thing about going to KidLitCon is that you come home brimming over with ideas for your blog, not to mention thoughts about the conversations you've had and listened to. It's exhilarating and overwhelming at the same time (I mean, look at all the live tweets at #kidlitcon. Seriously!): where do I even begin to put it down in a post?

Out of all the notes I scribbled on my program (loved having that!) and on the (wonderfully provided) notebook paper, here are some of the things I found to be of most value:

There was a lot (a LOT) of talk about positive reviews versus critical reviews versus negative reviews. I've long known that I'm among the minority in the blogosphere: I review everything, the good, bad, the didn't finish. (And I'm up-front about that, I think.) I've always considered what I write to be "negative" reviews, but listening to people talk about it the nature of reviews, I suppose what I write is actually "critical" reviews. The big difference: I try, very hard, to answer the WHY. And that makes all the difference. Instead of saying "this book sucks", I think about how I'm reacting to the book, and what made me react that way. I need to be better about providing support for that reaction (as well as positive reactions, as well); I used to be good about that, and have gotten out of the habit. Abby, who was part of a very helpful panel on writing critical reviews, has a post on her thoughts on the matter. Go check it out.

That said, I agree with the idea of writing critically: it's helpful for me to know not just what you thought about the book, but why. The other thing I brought home from the conference is the idea that we always need to be aware of who our audience is, and what our blog's purpose is. This was brought up in several panels, including the one I was on (where I used the term "shiny" to describe new books; I really need to lighten up on my Nathan Fillion crush...): the idea that even if we feel like we are, we're not blogging into a void, and we have a responsibility not to the publishers or the authors but to our readers first and foremost. Know who they are. As a blogger, you have influence.

Everything else was just frosting. Scott Westerfeld's keynote was funny, fascinating, and thoroughly engaging. He spoke about the relationship between text and image and the process of writing an illustrated novel (which he considers the Leviathan trilogy to be). It built upon a fascinating panel about transmedia (definition: books that use more than text -- video, images, text messages, etc -- to tell their stories; though it seemed a bit limited and really only suited to horror/thriller/mystery and fantasy) stories, which thoroughly sold me on the Angel Punk world, and another panel I went to that highlighted some of the book apps for kids. I left feeling that my old stick-in-the-mud attitude to iPads and e-readers needs to change; while there's a lot of crap out there, there's also a lot of good storytelling going on, and I'm not the solely linear reader I thought I was.

Two final thoughts: keep in mind quality over quantity; your blog will be better if you focus on having good, quality posts rather than one (or more) every day. And from author Brent Hartinger: It's okay to write what is your truth. He meant it in context of writing stories, but I think it works for blogs as well. If the book didn't work for you, it's okay to write that. It's your truth, and no one can take it away from you.

I'll put up the pictures I took tomorrow. Promise.

The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill

2011-09-19T07:54:00.003-05:00

by Heather Brewer
ages: 13+
First sentence: "Abraham's heels clicked along the marble floor as he moved the length of the room."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Release date: September 20, 2011

When Joss McMillian was 10, his life was practically perfect. Happy parents, great relationship with his younger sister. Aside from his unfortunate tendency to excel at sports without trying, which didn't help with his making friends, he was perfectly happy.

The one night the unthinkable happened, and Joss saw it all: a vampire killed Joss's younger sister.

At the funeral, Joss's uncle Abraham offers Joss a way to get revenge, and three years later Abraham has come to cash in on the promise Joss made: it's time to be trained as a Slayer.

From this point, the book gets incredibly harsh. I'm sure there's some book out there somewhere which says "all training in any supernatural fighting must be incredibly abusive to the teenager involved". Because the training in this book was harsh. As a mom, I cringed; how on earth did Joss survive this punishment? As a reader, I cringed: is revenge that great a motive that you'd basically kill yourself to achieve it? I suppose it's partly because I've decided vampires are passé: everyone's done the whole vampire/slayer/whatever angle to death.

That said, the book did have one nice little twist coming at the end that redeemed it for me, and actually made me want to see where the next book takes the series. But, that said: be prepared for the harshness of the journey here. It's not a pretty book, and the tale has no glory.

Perhaps that's for the best.

KidlitCon, Austin Teen Book Fest, and Scott Westerfeld

2011-09-18T17:30:00.004-05:00

Oh, my.

First: I'm home again. YAY! Had a lovely, lovely time, thanks so much to Colleen and Jackie who organized, slaved, kept us all on time, and were essentially grand hostesses to a grand party. I will, I promise, get my wrap-up post put up as soon as I possibly can (not tomorrow.). There's also a matter of writing reviews of the four books I read this weekend, too...

Second: now I'm home from this trip, I can think about the next one: to Austin, TX and the Austin Teen Book Festival on Oct 1. If you're anywhere near Austin (I think Wichita counts as "near") COME! There's an amazing line-up of authors, and (trust me on this one) Scott Westerfeld as a keynote speaker will be more than worth your time. Check out the site for info on the other authors who will be there. PLUS: Amanda and I are organizing a blogger luncheon -- we don't have a specific place to eat, but are planning on meeting at the Barton Springs Road entrance of the Palmer Events Center around 12:30. We'd love for you to join us.

Third: fangirl moment:

So, yeah, I accosted him on Friday with a book to sign (Uglies; I picked a favorite, not the new one) and chatted about Austin in two weeks, and accosted him again on Saturday for the picture. I can say this: he's absolutely hilarious, incredibly gracious, and has interesting stories to tell. It's silly, but I'm glad I was brave enough to get this.

More later. Promise!

On My Birthday

2011-09-17T06:28:00.005-05:00

I'm 39 years old today. And, probably for many reasons, Landslide is the song that has resonated the most with me in the past few months. There's something about growing older, especially as my girls grow older, that makes me wistful for the past, but at the same time excited for the future. I read somewhere that Stevie Nicks wrote this in her late 20s; maybe I'm just behind, it's not until I'm nearly 40 that I started feeling this way.

I don't mind Stevie Nicks' version of the song, but I do like the way the Dixie Chicks covered it better. (It starts about a minute in.)

I'm happily hanging out in Seattle with bloggy friends at KidLitCon today, enjoying being with a lovely bunch of people. I can't think of a better way to begin my last year in my 30s.

Mercury

2011-09-16T07:10:00.001-05:00

by Hope Larson
ages: 12+
First sentence: "Hi, house." (Though, admittedly, there are eight pages of pictures before that sentence.")
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

There are two stories going on here, both take place in a small town in Novia Scotia. One involves 16 year old Tara whose old family farm house has just burned down. Her mother is off to Alberta to look for work, and Tara is back in her old town (before they moved to the farmhouse, after her parents' divorce) living with her aunt, uncle and cousin. She's trying to adjust to a new life, and it doesn't help that her mom wants to move to Edmonton.

The other story takes place 150 years ago: Josey is living in the farm house (the same one that burned down; you realize as the story unfolds that Josey and Tara are related), living her life. Her mother isn't the most compassionate person, and her father isn't the best farmer, but they're making do. That is, until Asa Curry comes into their lives. He offers Josey's father a way to get rich quick: there's ore under the farmlands, and they can mine for gold. Things seem to be going well; Josey, at least, knows that she really likes Asa. But unfortunately, what is gold is not always good.

It's an intriguing tale Larson is telling here, one that works well for the medium that it's in. Sometimes I'm impressed how much can be "said" in a picture, how much one little frame can convey that would take pages and pages of prose to get across. I'm also impressed that something like magical realism, which bothers me in prose, I can accept and go with in a graphic novel. It's a smattering of magic, something so innocuous that it shouldn't really matter to the plot. And yet, it does.

It's a good story as well: there's heartache and loss and hope. My only question is wondering what Mercury has to do with the story. I missed that somehow.

That said, I'm going to be reading more of Larson's work.

Ten Questions for Olugibemisola Rhuday-Perkovich

2011-09-14T06:57:00.001-05:00

Today I have the absolute pleasure of interviewing Olugibemisola Rhuday-Perkovich about her novel Eighth Grade Superzero, which I read (and loved) for the first round of Nerds Heart YA. I meant for this interview to go up during the summer, but it turned out that both of us had insane summers, and it just didn't work out. However, late is better than never! So, without further adieu, here is the delightful Gbemi.

MF: Is this your first novel? If so, congrats! Even if it's not, can you tell us a bit about the whole process -- from inspiration to publication?

ORP: Yes, Superzero is my first novel. I'd only written a few scraps of paper before, and I got to a point where I told myself that I had to stop "wanting to be" a writer, or being afraid to think of myself as a writer, and just...write. And keep going. I started out with an image of a 10-year-old boy hiding under the covers in his bed, afraid of bugs and terrified of being laughed at. I knew that he'd thrown up in front of everyone on the first day of school. Over a four-year period, that character, Reggie, grew and bloomed, and we got to know each other well -- it was a tumultuous love/hate relationship! I spend a lot of time thinking about characters and making random notes that are not part of the story. I need to really know my characters in order to know how their stories go.

MF: You juggle a lot of issues in this book: race, religion, unemployment, bullying, homelessness, among others. How did you go about finding the right balance for all of them?

ORP: I really kept my mind on the characters and the story; it felt natural. Those issues were a part of what was going on in his world. I'm blessed to live in such a lovely and amazing and heartbreaking city (New York), and there are so many stories to see, many opportunities to listen.

MF: It showed in the book that the characters were front and center. Reggie is such a strong character with a unique voice. What did you do to tap into a 13-year-old boy's head? Anything special, unique, different?

ORP: Thank you! I don't think that I did anything special. The character came to me as a boy and stayed that way. I was inspired by people I knew, people I saw...my own life...I didn't think too much about it while I was writing, though afterward I wondered what I could have been thinking, trying to write a boy!

MF: Whatever you were thinking, it worked great! I know this is an unfair question, but do you have a favorite character or scene?

ORP: Yes, it's totally unfair! :) I love Ruthie, George Henderson, Monica...really I love them all. Reggie was a struggle for me, and it took me a while to warm up to him. He started out very whiny and too passive, and it took a while to find the Reggie I now know and love. When I was writing the first few chapters, I was in a workshop with the author Kate Morgenroth, who was well aware of my struggle with Reggie, and she advised me to look again at the beauty and strength of his relationship with his friends -- that really helped me turn a corner and anchor him in something good and strong.

It's been a while since I've read it, I almost can't bear to now! But I think that my favourite scenes are the ones in the cafeteria, the one where Reggie and Charlie first meet, and the one where Reggie sits with Charlie after they've suffered a big disappointment...

MF: I agree: those are good scenes. You've made God, faith, and religion a central part of your novel. Did you experience any resistance from publishers with that? How do you hope it will go down with your readers?

ORP: My editor really understood that those elements were part of Reggie's story and not part of a particular agenda or lesson of mine. I think that the kids and teens who read the book understand that too -- their responses have been wonderful, whether or not they share Reggie's perspective and ideas about faith and spirituality.

MF: What would you like your readers to take away from their experience with 8th Grade Superzero?

ORP: I hope that a reader connects with the idea that there are many different kinds of "heroes", many ways to be an activist. I hope that readers know that the small things they do matter, and not everything that we say, do, and think needs to be for public consumption or for some sort of recognition. And there is always room for mercy, redemption, and growth. I hope that they're inspired to make things, without worrying about being good at it. And I hope that they challenge themselves, be willing to be uncomfortable regularly. And smile often.

MF: Is writing for a middle grade audience something you've always wanted to do, or did you just fall into it?

ORP: I think that it's always been where I'm most comfortable. I'd love to write for all ages...one of these days, I'll get a picture book done.

MF: Who, or what, inspires you to write?

ORP: I'm fascinated by people, by the small moments, and the big what ifs...I'm inspired and buoyed by my fantastic family and friends, by the children and teens that I meet...I have always needed to write, and always will -- it's my way of growing and working out what I think, figuring out my place in the world, sharing a bit of myself with others.

MF: What's the most recent book you've read and loved, and why did you love it?

ORP: Another tough question....Water Balloon by Audrey Vernick is exquisite -- the writing is both delicate and sure, and the main character Marley, is wonderfully vivid and real. I'm currently reading and enjoying The Reluctant Pilgrim by Enuma Okoro, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away, by Christie Watson, As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child, Vanished by Sheela Chari, Inconvenient by Margie Gelbwasserand Manning Marable's Malcolm X. I'm re-reading Doublefields by Elizabeth Enright and studying Kevin Henkes' novels; I'm in awe of his ability to write such spare but full-bodied stories.

MF: That is a very impressive list of books! If you don't mind telling us, what can we expect from you next?

ORP: I hope that the two books that I'm working on now, about Ruthie (a Superzero character), work out. And I'm also working on a book about Harriet, a swimmer and knitter who believes that she's responsible for her brother's death and believes she has a chance to make things right through a visit to an abandoned subway tunnel. I've been working on that one for years, since before Superzero; it's very close to my heart.

MF: A book about Ruthie would be amazing. And the second one sounds intriguing as well. Thank you so much for your time!

ORP: Thank you so much!

The Absolute Value of Mike

2011-09-12T07:22:00.000-05:00

by Kathryn Erskine
ages: 10+
First sentence: "My cell phone rang just as I was about to crush the Emperor of Doom's trebuchet and save the villagers from certain annihilation."
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Mike and his Dad get along okay. His dad, a professor of mathematics and engineering, handles the earning of money and the being of genius; Mike handles everything else (from bills to shopping). It's an okay life, with one exception: Mike constantly feels like he's not living up to his father's expectations. He feels like his dad wants him to follow in his footsteps, and Mike is just. not. good. at math.

Then one summer, Mike is sent to live with is great-aunt and uncle, Moo and Poppy, while his dad heads over to Romania for a six-week teaching gig. There's one parting instruction from his father: help Poppy build an artesian screw (yeah, your guess is as good as mine). Once he gets to Do Over, PA (it was Donover, but the sign lost it's n.) he discovers that things aren't what he (or his father) thought they would be. Poppy and Moo's only son died four month ago, and Poppy hasn't moved from his chair, or spoken, since. To say that Moo is quirky is an understatement. She's half-blind, and drives her car (which she has charmingly named Tyrone and speaks about if it's a real person) recklessly. She's trying to hold things together while Poppy falls apart, but is only barely making it. Thankfully she has other things to focus on: rescuing resident punk-rocker Gladys from an abusive boyfriend and helping the town raise money so Karen, a local minister, can adopt a 5-year-old boy, Misha, from Romania.

It turns out that there is no artesian screw, either: Poppy's supposed to be making boxes to sell to help Karen raise money, but doesn't have a crew. (Artisan's crew. Ha.) So it falls to Mike to rally the town, get people moving, and help Karen raise the money, and by doing so, he finds his true calling. Now if only he could tell his dad.

Two things struck me about this novel: the town is full of requisite small-town quirky people (why is it that only backward, quirky people live in small, rural towns?), and there was a lot of death and rejection in this book. It seemed that every character, starting with Mike, was dealing with loss in some form or another. (Perhaps Erskine likes dealing with death? It was a main theme in Mockingbird as well.) It could have made for a very depressing book, but instead Erskine chose to focus on the healing. Although I disagreed with the way Mike handled things (I don't see how being mean to an octogenarian would truly motivate him to get out of the chair), I understood the purpose behind it: even if you're suffering from loss, life does go on, and healing will eventually happen.

Additionally, the book addressed the way we misunderstand and judge other people. From his lack of communication to his father to his snap judgements of the homeless man he meets, Mike is constantly mis-perceiving people. It's a hard lesson for him to learn, but in Erskine's hands, one that doesn't come off as heavy-handed.

With all the quirkiness and hopefulness, it's a nice story. But it's missing the spark it takes to be truly great. Even so, it's a good little book, one that I think kids will like.

That said, it ended up being a very hopeful book. While I didn't necessarily

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery

2011-09-09T07:04:00.004-05:00

by Maryrose Wood
ages: 9+
First sentence: "But the workman swore the repairs to the house would be finished by now!"
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

When we last left our stalwart heroine Penelope and her wild charges, they were adjusting to life at the majestic Ashton Place. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to well, and after a disastrous (this book, mush like the first book, makes me want to use grand adjectives) Christmas party, Ashton Place is in much need of repair.

Three months later, those repairs still aren't finished, much to Lady Constance's dismay. So, she (upon the suggestion of our fair Penelope) up and moves the whole household to London for a while. Whereupon, many adventures ensue, including (but not limited to) encountering a prophesying gypsy, going to the zoo, luncheon at a very posh restaurant, attempting to ride a bicycle (or a velocipede, as Penelope seems to call it), and attending the opening night at a West End play. So none of those sound terribly exciting, but with Penelope and the Incorrigibles, what is generally mundane always takes on an air of excitement.

Much like the last book, this one is full of wit and humor in the form of incredibly hilarious asides. (Additionally: inventing new words like "optoomuchism", what happens when one is overly optimistic.) Also like the last book, there are many questions here that are still not being answered, though, almost infuriatingly, there are clues. I feel like I have the puzzle pieces (more of them anyway), and if I could only figure out how they go together, I could see the big picture. (I wonder if this would be as infuriating for kids as it was for me?) It wasn't enough for me to completely lose interest in the book, but I am starting to wonder if it wouldn't be best just to wait out the writing of the series, and then read them all back to back.

That way, at least, I'd have the answers to the puzzle.