Will Follow White Rabbits

Crossed

2012-02-15T10:55:00.000-06:00

Crossed by Ally Condie

Last December I read a book called Matched and wasn’t impressed. Here is its sequel. I was hoping that the author would find her purpose and her voice and the series would become stronger. Instead, the author tried to add another voice and another purpose, neither of which distinguishes itself from the original. If anything, the second book comes off as bipolar.

In Matched, we meet Cassia, a girl who decides to leave behind the life she has known because of a mistake in her Matching Assignment. She is matched with not only her best friend, but also another boy that she has grown up with. Choosing her best friend means to continue to conform to Society’s laws. Choosing the mistake, Ky, the Aberration, means becoming an Aberration herself, or worse, an Anomaly. Apparently, Ky is the love of her life and therefore, Cassia is willing to become a criminal in Society’s eye.

Crossed takes on a different format. We get to hear both Cassia and Ky’s point of view in alternating chapters. It is unfortunate, but they both sound alike. Despite the fact that each chapter is headed with the name of the voice you will be following, each chapter took a few pages to settle into who was speaking. Numerous times, I found myself turning back the pages to make sure I was listening to the right character.

Cassia is searching for Ky and looking for an opportunity to escape the Officials to join him in the Outer Provinces. Ky is in the Outer Provinces looking for an opportunity to escape the Officials and return to Society to find Cassia. It is amazing, that with such cross purposes, they actually run into each other in something as large as the Grand Canyon, if not the actual Canyon itself. Once they find each other, Cassia wants to go further and find the Rising, but Ky doesn’t. Ky has no desire to join the Rising. So after they finally find each other… they’re going to split up?

To add to the confusion, Xander, Cassia’s best friend, may not actually be who we have been led to believe he is. After all, it isn’t really a romance without a love triangle right? Xander seemed to be safe whereas Ky was the rebel. But once long-kept secrets are revealed, Cassia might realize that she had them mixed up. Does she have the wrong rebel?

It feels like the author hasn’t already mapped out her story. Perhaps she doesn’t have the answers yet. Nothing is concrete. Everything is vague. If everyone were as wishy washy as these characters, nothing would get done. And certainly no one would be galvanized to reach beyond their comfort zone to strive for greatness. Granted, the story would be done if the main characters were satisfied to have found each other. Turns out, they need more than love.

After all of their travels, both characters pretty much end up right where they started. Seems we could have skipped this middle book.

She gets one more chance.

Chronicles of the Red King: The Secret Kingdom

2012-02-14T15:49:00.000-06:00

Chronicles of the Red King: The Secret Kingdom by Jenny Nimmo

At about the same time that everyone was reading about Harry Potter, Charlie Bone came upon the scene. This was great for librarians for multiple reasons. When children were waiting for the next Harry book or movie to come out and they wanted something similar to tide them over, Charlie was an option. Much like Harry, Charlie is endowed with a bit of magic – he can hear what is going on in pictures, paintings, photographs. Eventually, he even learns how to travel into the pictures. Because Charlie is identified as being endowed, he is sent to Bloor’s Academy where he meets other children who are different like himself. Think Hogwarts.

We quickly discovered another benefit of the Charlie Bone series. It is deceptively large. The books look every bit as thick as a Harry Potter tome; however, they are actually only about half as long due to line spacing. So here we had a series that we could recommend to younger siblings or reluctant readers who were not prepared to tackle Harry just yet.

We can also thank Ms. Nimmo because there are eight books in the series! One more than Harry has. And now, I am pleased to announce that she has begun a prequel of sorts!

I have read all eight of the Charlie Bone books. I’ve reviewed one which can be found here. Rereading the review, I find that I was disappointed. One of the reasons I mentioned for my disappointment was that I really wanted to get to know the Red King. There was always a lot of talk about the Red King. He sounded like an interesting character and yet he never appeared with any kind of solidity in the books. He is important because all of the children with endowments are descended from him. And yet, even they don’t know a whole lot about him.

And now, I have in my hand, a series about the Red King. YEA!! In book one of the series, we learn who the Red King is and where he came from. We learn about his parents and their secret kingdom. We even find out that he has a sister. The book explains how he became a magician and where is magic comes from.

Even better… we find out how the Flames, three cats named Aries, Leo and Sagittarius, were created.

And we discover where Harken, the bad guy, came from too!

My favorite part about this new series so far, is that it is more of a fantastical story. Charlie Bone was always grounded in the present much like Harry. They live in our world, but with a little bit of magic that goes a long way. The Red King’s land is clearly our world, but there are more fantastical creatures in it that make it seem otherworldly.

You can bet, I’ll be looking for book two!

Oh, and, before I forget, it is Charlie himself who is helping to write these Chronicles with his Uncle Paton. The Red King drew pictures in caves and Charlie can talk to him through the paintings! Clever.

Okay for Now

2012-02-13T12:34:00.030-06:00

Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt (audio book)

All right. This is it. This is the one. This is the book, if I must – children’s book, that you should read. Maybe you are one of those people who read all of the Newberys – make sure you add this one to your list, because it should have been included. As a matter of fact, in the opinion of at least one more person and myself, this book is far superior. So much so, that we’re talking about giving the author a special award in recognition of how simply perfect this novel really is.

Yes, I said it – perfect. I cannot come up with a better word to describe it. Perfect. Savor it.

In 2008, Gary D. Schmidt won a Newbery Honor for The Wednesday Wars. It lost to Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz. (You’ve got to be kidding me! [nonfiction] Only thing that makes it somewhat better is that Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis also honored that year [another must read book].) I book talked Wednesday Wars to everyone within hearing distance. I sent it home with every librarian and teacher that entered the building. It is that good. Okay for Now is better. Remember– it’s perfect.

For those of you who took my advice and read Wednesday Wars, Okay for Now is a companion novel. In the first book, we met Holling Hoodhood. (I really need to reread WW. It’s worth it – a rare distinction in my opinion.) Another character in that book was Doug Swieteck, the kid who knows how to make teachers hate him. Okay for Nowis Doug’s book, but Holling gets to make a cameo appearance.

Doug is the youngest son of a poor, blue collar worker with an abusive temper. Doug’s mother has a smile more beautiful than a Hollywood movie star, but it is rarely seen. She is just trying to get by, like her sons, with infrequent incidents. Oldest son, Lucas, got away by joining the army and is currently serving in Vietnam where he does what he does best – survive. The middle boy does his best to model his father’s behavior and takes it out on you can guess who. Doug is well aware of how easily he can slip into the same patterns of behavior. And he realizes that it is expected by his peers and adults. The apple won’t fall far from the tree.

Doug has a rare opportunity to start over when his father loses his job and the family must move to a new town. Doug does his best to rein in his smart mouth and behave in such a manner as to bring a smile to his mother’s face. Unfortunately, he cannot win over everyone despite his best behavior because his older brother seems content to be a thug. If it weren’t for a few peer and adult supporters, Doug might have been lost and turned into an abusive bully himself. There is Lil Spicer, an eighth grade girl, who helps Doug to get a job at her father’s deli despite his thug-like appearance. There is Mr. Powell, a town librarian, who provides one on one art classes on Saturday afternoons. There is Mr. Ferris, the Physical Sciences teacher, who refuses to let Doug’s brother’s behavior cloud his opinion of Doug. These are only a few of the good guys.

There are also the bad guys. Coach Reed bullies Doug. Principal Peattie allows Doug’s lapses in behavior to form a concrete opinion of the boy. There are teachers who refuse to give him a chance from the onset. There are adults who try to accept Doug for Doug, but falter when family problems become public. Doug survives and sometimes thrives.

This book has everything. It has baseball. It has art. It has theater. It has academics. It has love. This novel is full of joy and laughs, but also tears and heartache. It is real life from Doug Swieteck’s real voice. You must be alert for all of the beautiful subtleties. Some that Doug will make sure you don’t miss as well as the one’s I hope you don’t miss.

You must read this book! As Mr. Powell says, “I’m a librarian. I always know what I’m talking about.”

Never Forgotten

2012-02-12T16:05:00.000-06:00

Never Forgotten by Patricia C. McKissack

All of the Newberys were Fiction and so I read them all. All of the Caldecotts were Fiction and so I read them all. Now, all of the Caudill Nominees are Fiction and guess what? I have them all at home waiting for me to read (minus the six that I’ve already read, whew!). Oh Happy Day! There were five books recognized by the Coretta Scott King Award Committee and of the five, only ONE, glorious ONE, was Fiction. For those of you who don’t know, I read a lot, but if it is Non-Fiction, I give myself a break. Not that I don’t read Non-Fiction, but I’m certainly more choosey about which books I read. And I might just glance through – I don’t hang on every word.

Never Forgotten is a bit of an anomaly. It looks like a picture book – it is picture book format. It looks like poetry – it is written in verse. And it reads like folklore – the author even admits she has turned African history into folklore. So why does it have a great big J on the spine?!?! Perhaps so that I have to read it? Smirk.

I’m surprised that it didn’t win the award for illustrations. The illustrations are gorgeous, GORGEOUS! The colors are vivid, yet earthy. The lines are strong and heavy, yet full of movement. All five recognized books are picture book format, but this is my favorite by far. It just is. It pleases me. Leo and Diane Dillon are award-winning illustrators and they do not disappoint here.

The story is new, created, but moving and based upon cultural history and legends. There was a blacksmith named Dinga whose wife died giving childbirth. Because blacksmiths were honored as magicians with close ties to the Mother Elements, Dinga chose to raise his son, Musafa, with the aid of Earth, Fire, Water and Wind against the better judgment of the midwives. Musafa became Dinga’s apprentice and learned the art of blacksmithing, until the day the white men came and stole Musafa away. Dinga sent each of the elements to find Musafa. It isn’t until the Wind blows up a hurricane onto the Americas that Musafa is found. Dinga celebrates the discovery that Musafa is working as a blacksmith in Charleston. Dinga celebrates that Musafa was taken but never forgotten.

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are designed to commemorate the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace. The Coretta Scott King Book Awards annually recognize outstanding books for young adults and children by African American authors and illustrators that reflect the African American experience. Further, the Award encourages the artistic expression of the black experience via literature and the graphic arts in biographical, social, and historical treatments by African American authors and illustrators.

The 2013 Coretta Scott King Book Award for author winner is Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson (J973.0496/N – American History). Two additional books were honored this year – The Great Migration: Journey to the North written by Eloise Greenfield and illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist (J811.54/G – Poetry); and Never Forgotten written by Patricia C. McKissack and illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon (J – Chapter Book)

The 2013 Coretta Scott King Book Award for illustrator winner is Underground: Finding the Light to Freedom written and illustrated by Shane W. Evans (J973.7115/E – American History). One additional book was honored this year – none other than Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans written and illustrated by Kadir Nelson.

Breaking Stalin's Nose

2012-02-07T09:39:00.000-06:00

Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin

This is my favorite novel among the three Newbery Award winner and honor books. I am not saying that this honor book should have won the Newbery over the other two. I am saying that I enjoyed reading it the most. Dead End in Norvelt still has the best scene of the three.

The number one reason that I found this book so interesting is because of its subject matter. The setting is the Soviet Union in the 1950’s. Stalinist Russia! More importantly, it is from the point of view of a fully loyal, young Communist. It was written by someone who grew up in this time period – semi-autobiographical in nature.

As much as one can study a nation and its history, nothing can compare to the actual stories of real people living there. Stories free from censorship and propaganda. This story is more potent due to the age of the protagonist – an innocent 10-year-old boy who trusts and idolizes his father who is considered to be a Communist Hero. And Sasha, our main character, is not the only one who looks up to his father. Everyone gives way to Comrade Zaichik. He is worthy of their respect. Unfortunately, his status also attracts greed and jealousy.

In this novel, we learn than no one is safe. It doesn’t matter if you are Stalin’s right hand man. It doesn’t matter if you are in his army. It doesn’t matter if you can recite every Communist creed by heart on the spot. And it doesn’t matter if you are a distrustful nobody either. In fact, such a discreditable person can become creditable if they are willing to spy on their neighbor. If they are willing to turn in every suspicious movement, true or otherwise, to the authorities, why, the lowest of the low can acquire a better living for themselves.

Young Sasha unexpectedly finds himself the son of a criminal and he has two days to decide who he remains loyal to. Is he loyal to his father who gave him every reason to trust and respect him? Or does he follow Stalin and his regime who now say his father deserves execution? Sasha’s father taught him to honor Stalin and Communist Russia. To trust his father is to deny him.

Sasha finds himself in hot water in no time. He breaks the nose off of a statue of Stalin (almost completely) by accident. (He should have been paying better attention – not daydreaming.) If he tells the truth, he will lose his opportunity to become a Young Pioneer. If someone else tells on him, he will lose his chance to become a Young Pioneer. But what if someone lies for him? What are people willing to do to save themselves OR place the blame on another? Sasha could still end up on top, but is it worth it? And could his father’s arrest really ruin everything? Cannot Stalin save him?

This book is going to be a hit with history buffs and especially with the boys. I think it will also attract the attention of the male reluctant readers. The author provides the illustrations that lighten up the mood of the story. And, it is a very quick read with very short chapters. I managed it in about an hour, but thoroughly enjoyed it and would have loved to keep reading. The story deserves to be continued. I want to know what happens to Sasha and his father. (I want to know what happened to his mother too!)

Inside Out & Back Again

2012-02-04T15:32:00.002-06:00

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

This year, there were only two Newbery honor books. Last year, there were four. This year, they are all semi-autobiographical, historical fiction novels. Last year, three of them were historical fiction and the fourth was poetry. I hope this is a phase that the committee is going through. One that will end soon. I’d like to see a little more variety.

Newbery Honor book, Inside Out and Back Again, is the story of a ten-year-old girl named Há and the year she left South Vietnam, before the fall of Saigon, and ended up in Alabama with her mother and three older brothers. Her father has been missing in action almost as long as she has been alive.

The novel is written in free verse. At least one reviewer has pointed out that the free verse mimics the broken English of a new immigrant. I tend to agree. The story is told in a limited way. It is as if there was more that could be told, but she isn’t able to express it. I almost wish it was written in prose, written as though she had full control over the language. That there was more to the story. Of course, you know, I am no poetry lover, but I certainly appreciate being able to read a novel in a day.

I find that this book resonates more for me as a story about bullying rather than as a story about immigration. It reminds me of a book called Pinduli written by Jannell Cannon. A young hyena is teased by dog, lion and zebra. Later, the hyena, looking like a Great Spirit, confronts the three. It turns out that each was tormented by fox, vulture, and owl. The Great Spirit tells them to confront their own tormentors. But the tormentors were retaliating for harsh words received from serval, stork and adder. And of course, these three had originally been teased by dog, lion and zebra. A great circle of bullying completed.

In this novel, Há faces both racial and religious prejudice. In a state where blacks sit on one side of the cafeteria and whites sit on the other, Há, who considers herself brown, doesn’t know where she belongs and chooses to eat in the bathroom instead. Here is a place where I’d like more description. She didn’t try to sit with either side. She chose to eat alone. Is this prejudice as well?

One white boy in particular and his friends choose to pick on her. A black boy and a white girl choose to befriend her together. A group of three black girls alternately put barrettes into her hair one day and the following day they take them out and yank on her hair. At one point Há retaliates back with her own words. I find it most interesting that Há complains about the other children poking her, prodding her and pulling on her arm hair when she did the same thing, out of curiosity as well, to the Navy sailor who rescued her and her family when they were stranded at sea.

Back when Há was still at home and comfortable in South Vietnam, she used to torment the girl she shared her desk with in school. Há liked to make her cry even though she knew it was wrong and perhaps because she was jealous. The other girl was the teacher’s pet and Há’s mother wanted them to be friends.

Finally, Há must confess to her mother her past wrongs because she cannot hold them inside any longer. She feels that she is being punished in the present because of her past and she wants to know when it will stop. Her mother also suffers from the past, from the absence of her husband. They both must let go and move on.

Dead End in Norvelt

2012-02-03T14:02:00.004-06:00

Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos (audio book)

And now... presenting... a CLIP from the audio book! Enjoy!

This may be a first. I was actually able to read the Newbery Award winner first rather than after the honor books. However, I’ve somehow managed to read all of them before getting to the review stage. The honor books are both quick reads.

In review, the John Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature, from the previous year, for children. The purpose of this award is to encourage original creative work in the field of books for children; emphasize that such contributions deserve recognition; and give librarians an opportunity to encourage good writing in this field.

Professionalism aside, while reading this book, at one point, I was telling people that I was simultaneously “grossed out beyond all belief” and “laughing the snot out of my nose”. It is true. That happened prior to page 81. I have proof that I am not the only one. I know my boss was laughing out loud for one. Two, I took the opportunity to read my favorite scene out loud to a co-worker while she stared at me in horror. But when I got to the punch line, she was relieved and joined me in the guffaws. My girls will probably never be interested in this title, but they were curious about it and I retold my favorite scene so that they could tolerate it – i.e. not lose their dinner. They also joined in the giggles while my husband looked at me as if I had gone mad. Possible.

I wish there had been more of that. That is the scene that I will hold in my memory for a very long time which is probably forever. But I will forget most of the rest of the book.

All of the Newberys this year are semi-autobiographical. The other two are more believable. They say that truth can be stranger than fiction which really makes me wonder what parts of this novel are based upon fact and which ones are actually created out of the mind of the writer. Some things you simply cannot make up.

There really is a Norvelt, Pennsylvania. It really was a Federal Government funded community to help laid-off coal miners survive through the Great Depression. Norvelt was actually born out of the socialist idea of community farming. In some respects, it worked. In others, it didn’t. The First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, even visited the community although she didn’t have quite the hand in it that the book might lead you to believe. And Norvelt is named after her EleaNOR RooseVELT.

The best part of this novel is the characters, and the city is certainly included among the characters. The city is dying much like the original Norvelt Homesteaders are dying off. One by one. Very quickly. One right after the other. And my favorite character is not only their medical examiner, but also their obituary writer – Miss Volker who is also one of the original homesteaders. She provides most of the history lesson in this book. I’m glad she made it through to the end with her life, if not her hands.

I enjoyed the book. Probably wouldn’t have chosen to read it otherwise. And I certainly learned a lot about a part of history that I am not as familiar with. I think boys will enjoy this more than anyone. Tweenage boys will enjoy the humor. My girls continued to be curious about this book. When I was finished, I told them how it ended. Their quizzical brows matched mine. Until I had regurgitated the ending, I hadn’t realized what part of the book was about. A serial killer. Strange.

Magyk

2012-02-01T12:55:00.000-06:00

Magyk by Angie Sage

I rarely jump on suggestions to read books. After all, I have a list a mile long. I am certainly in no need of more. When I do take suggestions, it is because I trust the recommendations of the person. I generally know that we enjoy the same types of books. It is practically unheard of that I take a suggestion from a child/kid/tween. They come often with loud accolades. I think I learned my lesson in the first year. It doesn’t matter how much my favorite patron adores Captain Underpants, it is not for me.

Here is the exception. I have been recommending books for this particular Baum 6^th grade girl for years. Her appetite is voracious and she devours the books quicker than I can supply them. I will suggest a book and her response has become, “I’ve read it. Have you read…?” To which my response has been, “Yes, I’ve read it. Then maybe you would like…” And we playfully battle it out until I mention something she hasn’t read. I place it in her hands and send her on her way.

She finally got me! with a book she has read and adored that I haven’t read! So what was I supposed to do… say no? She had me in the corner. (Here’s the secret… it was on my list, just at the very end, several years away.) So I checked it out that evening and here we are!

I will start by saying that I am a mite surprised that this series hasn’t shown up as a Caudill Nominee so far. I think I was perhaps waiting for it to make the list… Right away, I can say that it has been popular with tweenage girls. Haven’t had many boys ask for it although the main character is a boy and he’s the youngest of seven boys. I’m guessing that this can be attributed to the lack of action. It is more contemplative and time passes with very little action.

I don’t have a problem with that and I enjoyed this book tremendously. There were numerous, foreshadowed twists and turns in the plot. I find it amusing that the reader is privy to certain secrets that the characters are not. I was always eager for each new revelation. I enjoyed the responses of the characters to every unveiling.

As the title implies, there is magic between the covers of this novel. Some people are born to be witches and wizards and others are not. And there are varying degrees of magical ability. The most proficient wizards can aspire to attain the city’s highest magical position – ExtraOrdinary Wizard. Others with magical ability can choose to work under the ExtraOrdinary Wizard as Ordinary wizards. Still others don’t even work for the system/government.

Now, the seventh son of the seventh son will be born with extraordinary magical powers – a natural at all things magical. Such a boy would be an exceptional apprentice to the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. In fact, if someone wanted to be the ExtraOrdinary Wizard and gain the position through less than honorable means, having the seventh son of the seventh son on your side would practically guarantee success in your endeavors.

Septimus Heap, the seventh son of the seventh son, is kidnapped upon his birth in the first chapter of Magyk. The princess, daughter of the newly assassinated Queen, is unknowingly given in exchange. But all is not what it seems – it never is – and it takes the entire book to set things right. I cannot wait to see what the sequels have to add to the story. I truly appreciated the tongue-in-cheek humor and I think you will too!

The Phantom Tollbooth

2012-01-31T15:01:00.000-06:00

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

“There was once a woman named Alissa who didn’t know what to do with herself – not just sometimes, but always.

“When she was at work she longed to be out, and when she was out she longed to be in. On the way she thought about coming home, and coming home she thought about going. Wherever she was she wished she were somewhere else, and when she got there she wondered why she’d bothered. Nothing really interested her – least of all the things that should have.”

And that is how The Phantom Tollbooth begins. Okay, I made a few adjustments. I made myself the protagonist. Because as soon as I read the opening remarks, I clearly identified with the main character. And I wondered to myself, “Why has it taken me so long to discover this book? I cannot believe I missed it the first time around!” And the second time around too – this is the Special 35^th Anniversary Edition published in 1996.

So here is a boy, Milo, who doesn’t see the point in anything. Why go to school? Why study? Why learn? There are many adults out there who sound like grownup Milos. They say, “I told you so. I didn’t need math. I never use math. There is no point to requiring math.” And I think, “Really? I use math ALL THE TIME and I’m a librarian – not an engineer.” I’m usually among the first to argue the importance of a thing and why it must be required. You know, the importance of reading and such (smile). But is it merely for the sake of argument?

I am a closet Milo. Why should I read all of these books? Why should I write about them? Why should I work out? Why should I get up early just to get everything done? What is the point of doing something for me, for my pleasure? It’s easy to argue a point against a worthy adversary. Seems kind of … pointless… arguing with oneself.

What I am saying is that I completely identified with Milo. Now if I only would receive a Phantom Tollbooth.

Milo drives his toy car through the tollbooth and pays the toll and ends up in a whole new world! Most of the fun and the joy in this book come from the word play and puns. Milo finds himself transported to the old Kingdom of Wisdom. The sons of the king do not get along. One establishes himself as Azaz of the Unabridged, King of Dictionopolis and lover of all things letters and words. The other one becomes the Mathemagician of Digitopolis, lover of all things numerical.

To finally settle the score, which is more important to daily life, the brothers go to their younger sisters, Rhyme and Reason. The two young princesses will not choose between the two – true daughters of Wisdom – and are therefore banished to the Castle in the Air. Without Rhyme and Reason, the whole kingdom is left in Ruins.

Milo is given the quest to free Rhyme and Reason. Little does Milo know that the mission is futile and hence he succeeds!

My only disappointment with the novel is the ending. Somehow, I don’t think Milo will so easily change his mindset. I don’t think he will be spurred to learn. I think he will fall back into daydreams of his glory days with the Phantom Tollbooth, wishing his days away. Wishing that the tollbooth would return. I know I would. Isn’t that what the Pevensies always looked for? Another way, another opportunity to return to Narnia?

For lovers of language and word play!

A King's Ransom

2012-01-22T14:48:00.000-06:00

A King's Ransom by Jude Watson

I find myself fighting the same old argument. Do I keep reading a series after I have already figured out the formula? Do I continue to read a series that is mediocre in my opinion when there are so very many good books out there waiting for me? And my innate inclination says yes. Besides, it is a short book. It is a quick read. It is relief from the sometimes laborious requirements on my lists. I’m so hard on myself. Smirk.

The other argument is do I keep reviewing them? Same answer. My natural tendencies require a yes. Because I never know who might be reading this time… This might be the review that captures some mother’s attention and finally finds that series that she can put in her son’s hand that sets him off and running in my world!

Seriously though, I am glad I didn’t skip this book. I will liken it to The Empire Strikes Back on a lesser scale. Important personages are disposed of and miraculous, although odious, revelations are uncovered. And the audience gasps OR screams NOOOOOOoooooooo!

First we met the Cahill family which is divided into four distinct lines. There are the Ekat, Janus, Lucian and Tomas, each group hoping to discover the 39 clues before one of the other families does. Our main characters, Amy and Dan, were curious as to which family they belonged to. And then a fifth family was revealed – the Madrigals. At first we were led to believe they are evil. In truth, they are working towards a higher calling – protecting the 39 clues while bringing the family back together.

Now that the Madrigals are the good side and even the winning side with most of the children from the various families working together under this moniker with or without the support of their grownups, we needed a new threat. Enter the Vespers. The Vespers are older even than the Cahills. They are not a family, but an organization grown from recruitment. Their aspiration seems to be to rule the world, hence their desire to acquire the super human serum that the 39 clues produces.

Except that the first two books in the Cahills vs. Vespers have very little to do with the 39 Clues. Dan is slowly acquiring the ingredients just in case their situation becomes too dire. But the Vespers are not asking for the serum or its ingredients. In The Medusa Plot, Vesper 1 asked for a work of art which led the Cahills to a book written by Marco Polo. In this volume, Vesper 1 asks for an ancient map. And somehow Marco Polo connects the two.

Luckily Amy and Dan will receive additional assistance to put the puzzle together. Not only do they have the support from their Cahill family, but a new group has appeared – the Guardians. The Guardians have protected the map and moved it from location to location as necessary to protect it. The Guardians have worked with the Cahills before, but the newest Guardian isn’t even aware of what he is. Nor does he understand his importance.

The greatest obstacle impeding Amy and Dan from working with the Guardians is proving that the Cahills are in the right even as Interpol is chasing them for their theft in the previous volume. It is hard to prove the integrity of your character when your reputation for thievery precedes you. Or perhaps Amy and Dan are just as bad as the Vespers. It might be in their blood.

Previous 39 Clues reviews:
The Medusa Plot # 1 Cahills vs. Vespers
Vespers Rising # 11 39 Clues
Into the Gauntlet # 10 39 Clues
Storm Warning # 9 39 Clues

The Whispering Mountain

2012-01-14T16:50:00.000-06:00

The Whispering Mountain by Joan Aiken

Sometimes it doesn’t matter how hard you think you did your homework, you still miss something. When I started reading the Wolves Chronicles, also known as the Wolves of Willoughby Chase series, by Joan Aiken, I thought there were a few books, maybe several, based upon those available on our bookshelves at Decatur Public Library. Then I discovered there were more and DPL didn’t own them all. As I started searching, I found more than ten novels in the series, but no clear order. I ordered one thinking it was third only to discover that it was actually the fourth. This is that book. And it’s not fourth.

When I finally sat down to read this book, I noticed that there was no mention of Wolves on the jacket. There was maybe a millisecond when I thought I’d just skip it and jump right into the next 39 Clues, maybe less than a millisecond. I couldn’t abandon the book that I had checked out twice and had already sent back once. The poor book that nobody else wanted and therefore it was okay that I kept it a bit, okay a whole lot of bit, longer that I should have. Besides, you never know when you might discover treasure.

As I read the story, I never did see a direct connection to Wolves, but it didn’t matter. The tale was magical in and of itself and as I have already pointed out, Wolves titles seem loosely related.

This go around, we are introduced to young Owen Hughes, the son of a Sea Captain who has been lost at sea. Owen has found his grandfather, retired sea Captain Owen Hughes, who is now the curator of a museum in Pennygaff, Wales.

As so often is the case, Owen is a social outcast at his new school. When we first meet him, he is planning his escape from school and the school bullies. But he runs home to another version of bullying. His grandfather doesn’t quite believe Owen to be who he says he is and therefore is quite hard on the younger Owen and doesn’t fully trust him. Grandfather thinks Owen weak of heart.

Owen does have a friend in the form of Aramis Dando, the daughter of the poet/bard, Thomas Dando. Mr. Dando travels across the country as a sort of medicine man, although Aramis does the doctoring while absent-minded Dando is busy writing his great Welsh poem – The King of Caerlon, a retelling of the King Arthur story.

Owen is considers running away and joining Aramis on the other side of Fig-Hat Ben, a local mountain. He has just written his farewell letter for his grandfather when the museum is broken into. Two bumbling burglars, Bilk and Prigman, have arrived to steal the fabled Harp of Teirtu. The robbers decide to take Owen along and blame the theft on him. Owen feels responsible for gaining the harp back and begins to act in a manner that his grandfather will respect.

This is a novel full of unique characters, legends and myths including the Seljuk of Rum who is looking for his lost tribe, missing for two thousand years. There is also the Marquess of Malyn, an evil lord who wants to claim the harp for his own collection of gold. And finally, we have the Children of the Pit. Are they fairy or fable?

Funny that I discovered today that The Whispering Mountain is considered the prequel to Wolves. Now I’m particularly curious to see if and when the books in this series coalesce.

Recommended to those interested in Welsh lore… Did you know that the harp is the National instrument of Wales? Recommended to kids who have enjoyed the Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper. Recommended to kids who like a good mystery fantasy. Recommended to kids who enjoy any book where hidden tunnels and secret passageways are involved for sure!

The Outcasts

2012-01-10T14:52:00.000-06:00

The Outcasts by John Flanagan

If my vocation did not involve reading; if my lifestyle did not allow time for much reading; if I had to choose just a few authors to read devotedly; I would undoubtedly choose John Flanagan.

His books are a manageable size.

His language is very readable – natural, not forced.

Despite his fantasy setting, the books could easily be historical in nature only alternate universe.

His characters are so well-developed; they are easily recognizable as the people we interact with every day.

Despite a lack of magic, they are magical.

Even though Flanagan’s current series are identified as juvenile fiction, adult characters abound – worthy role models and mentors. (oh, there are villains and bullies aplenty)

Being strong is good, a gift, but not all important. Intelligence is a strength, but not the only virtue. Being sneaky has its more honorable counterpart – stealth. Every character has talents, but not all of them. Main characters are socially inept or clumsy or slow on the uptake. And they all get a chance in battle. They all have an opportunity to lead. They all have a chance to present viable options. They all have occasions to grow. (I’m reminded of Worf, the Klingon, who is always wrong. He is one thing and one thing only – the Klingon)

So perhaps you can see why I might have been, definitely was, disappointed when the Ranger’s Apprentice series concluded. Will grew up. He was no longer the slight orphan who dreamed of being a knight despite how unlikely the possibility was. He became a mythical Ranger and a legend in his own right. He earned his rank and a name for himself. The end.

And you can see why I’m ecstatic to discover Flanagan has a new companion series! – Brotherband Chronicles. He has created a new unlikely hero – Hal. He has surrounded his protagonist with a cast of misfits to replace the cast of orphans. And he has set the stage in a well-known Flanagan country – Skandia (think VIKINGS). Skandia is under the leadership of the well-known Ranger’s Apprentice Uberjarl – Erak. And Araluen is NOT forgotten!

Hal is the son of a Skandian warrior and an Araluen slave. He will never be accepted by the Skandians. He is an outcast. They won’t even recognize his Skandian heritage because he more closely resembles the Araluens. He is more likely to think than to go berserk.

Hal is an inventor. He has designed a new boat with a new system of sails that he hopes will revolutionize the Skandian method of travel. Sound familiar to anyone else? Do we think that Will and Hal will perchance meet? I can only hope!

I was only slightly worried that this new book wouldn’t compare to the previous series. I should have known better. Flanagan is an incredible storyteller!

Matched

2011-12-27T19:02:00.000-06:00

Matched by Ally Condi

If you’re looking for the next Hunger Games, it is not here. Go to Divergent by Veronica Roth instead. If you hail The Giver as a classic, go reread it. It really is that good and worth multiple readings. If those books are too graphic for you, if you are a sensitive reader, or if you enjoy romance, here IS Dystopia Lite meets Chick Lit.

Matched isn’t about a girl rebelling against society who happens to acquire a love interest along the way. In such a case, the girl’s primary objective is to defeat the ruling government and hope that her friends will survive to be reunited with her in the end. The heroine’s goal is to save many and right a wrong.

No, Matched is about a girl who lives in a dystopian society who thinks she has fallen in love. The society will restrict her from being with her boy of choice and she will lie and sneak and cheat in order to be with him all the while hoping she doesn’t get caught breaking the rules. This girl will rebel against society for her own selfish desires and feel bad about the people she hurts along the way. Her goal is the boy.

And is a boy really worth it? A boy that the heroine has known since she was a child, but never paid a bit of attention to until a mistake is made. A mistake made by a supposedly infallible Society.

In The Giver, the “government” chose to eradicate pain, both emotional and physical. In Matched, the Society chooses to eliminate choice. The Society makes choices for the people. They choose where a person lives, what job a person works, when a person marries and has children and when a person dies. The Society has a system in place to do this with accuracy.

The Society uses statistics and probability to determine what best fits each citizen. The Officials are able to predict where the people will be the most efficient. The Officials can also determine the best matches among people so that they will give life to the strongest, healthiest, smartest children. Society aims for the best life for all citizens.

Cassia, our protagonist, (for I wouldn’t give her the title of heroine yet,) believes in her Society. Her parents seem happy. Her friends seem happy. She is well on her way to acquiring a data-sorting position somewhere someday that will likely make her happy. And she is nervously excited to attend her Match Banquet tonight! It is her eighteenth birthday and today she finds out who is her match – the boy she will marry when she turns twenty-one.

It surprises Cassia and her family that her match is a boy she knows and has grown up with - her best friend in fact. It is extremely rare for that to happen. Usually the newly matched boy and girl have years of courtship to get to know each other under the direct supervision of the Officials. With the excitement of the unknown taken from her, Cassia must begin to look at Xander, her match, in a new light. Or rather, that is what should happen, but it doesn’t because there is another surprise in store for Cassia.

At home, alone in her room, and eager to look at Xander on her microcard – will she swoon over him? After all he is handsome. She watches her match replay on the microcard, but Xander’s face fades to be replaced by another boy, Ky, also a childhood friend. Two matches? How can she have two matches? And know them both?

The Officials are quick to jump in and admit that a mistake has been made. Xander is her match. Ky’s face was added by mistake. Ky shouldn’t even be in the matching pool because he is an Aberration. He has an infraction against him and he must remain single.

And from here on, the book seeks to answer the question: Xander or Ky? Not Society or Choice. Not right or wrong. Not safe or risky. Xander or Ky? Until it builds up to a litany of Ky, Ky, Ky, Ky, Ky.

This novel is romance with a unique setting. But it speaks to a microcosm and it gets old pretty fast. It doesn’t answer the bigger questions that Hunger Games fans will be asking. I want to know more about the Society and the people. What has been lost. What has been gained. And why?

I don’t really care about where the Officials have taken Ky. Nor do I care if Cassia throws caution to the wind to follow and find him. I want to know - where is the heroine who takes on Big Brother!?

Inheritance

2011-12-23T17:07:00.000-06:00

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

This holiday season I have been absolutely, positively drained of life and not by the usual stresses and anxieties of Christmas. No, I have been sapped by a book – a book of 847 pages with over a hundred requests for it. I had until December 21^st to finish it. I thought I had plenty of time – 28 days. If I had enjoyed the book, I would have had more than enough time. As it was, I forced 300 pages down my throat on the 20^th and 21^st. I hadn’t even realized that my brain was marking the book as one more obstacle to conquer before I could relax and enjoy “vacation”.

Why did I read it? I had hope, however faint, that Christopher Paolini would improve with age. I had faith, however meager, that a professional editor would reign him in and tighten up the ship. I wanted to love, in the same manner that his fans do, a great epic fantasy. Fantastical epic? It is because I am stubborn. And it is because I can. And I might be just a little too quick as well as happy to criticize.

The Eragon series has always been derivative and tedious. Inheritance is no different from its prequels. I wasn’t drawn into the story until around 600 pages. Most would have given up long before. But even after I was finally somewhat curious to see how the series would play out and wrap up, I still really only cared for about half of the chapters. I like Eragon, the boy-hero, okay. I really have no desire to read any more about his cousin Roran. But Murtagh could really be my favorite character given time, a better storyteller and a hard-working editor.

In the end, my favorite chapter – yes, I actually have a favorite chapter – was titled King Cat and it was towards the beginning. The werecats, led by King Grimr Halfpaw, decided to add their forces to Eragon’s side against King Galbatorix. Why did I like it? It was hilarious. I think Paolini was thinking of Antonio Banderas’ Puss in Boots at the time. Even the ridiculously, over- flowery language worked well. I noticed this particularly when I read it out loud on two occasions. Maybe that is the trick. Inheritance needs to be read out loud to appreciate the language? I wouldn’t have a voice when I was through!

When I was finally done… I was like, really? Seriously? I understand the choice of ending. I think it was a very mature and realistic ending. Classical. Tragic. But was I happy with it? I felt cheated. I only hope he doesn’t begin a new cycle to carry it further. If he does, I hope God grants me the ability to just say NO. Emphatically.

I found the following literary review very helpful in understanding why kids, boys in particular, continue to be drawn to this … this… I don’t know what to call it. I find it inferior writing. A lovely daydream carried out very poorly. I would be embarrassed to put this amateur attempt beside the pros. I would be embarrassed to be the editor of the finished piece. But, obviously, he’s the one getting published and making the big bucks.

The Dragon’s Egg: High Fantasy for Young Adults by Adam Gopnik published in The New Yorker.

Cabin Fever

2011-12-23T12:43:00.001-06:00

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney

I admit I can be a bit of a snob about books. I have never, not ever, read a Captain Underpants book. I have never, not ever, recommended a Captain Underpants book. But then, I don’t really have to. They have their own built-in audience. Potty humor – ew – yuck!

And… I am not a fan of graphic novels. All of the hurvy-scurvy, chaotic, colorless (in most cases), frenetic and frantic pictures send my brain for a spin. But they do have their audience as well and I am delighted by the niche they fill.

While I’m at it, I might as well confess that I don’t particularly care for books written as diary or journal entries. Been there. Done that. Can we come up with something different now? Please? It’s old and tired – to me. But there is still an audience for them. A new group every year.

I don’t like poetry! Really don’t like it. Especially the sappy kind. Okay, perhaps that was a bit unnecessary. But while I’m venting… I’m an English major who simply cannot stand Shakespeare. Do you still like me?

Pant, pant, pant. Deep breaths. Drumroll please… I really do, honest and truly, get excited for another Diary of a Wimpy Kid, (DWK). It has taken me, what, five years? to be able to say that. Let’s see… tweenage boy humor; goofy-little, comic-book illustrations; and, duh! DIARY format!

But I do like the series for at least three reasons. First one! In the age of the gargantuan, epic, children’s tome… I didn’t say Inheritance … here we have short and sweet. The book can be read in one sitting. And it doesn’t tax the brain. I guess I’d call it leisure reading.

Second reason! It’s laugh out loud funny. Even for me and by that I mean that adults can find the situations hilarious because we were young once too. Yes, times have changed, but siblings are still just as obnoxious and parents are still as clueless.

Reason the third! Cabin Fever has a true beginning and a true end. No cliff hanger. Read DWK book one, then three, or maybe five - order isn’t crucial. When a child comes in looking for a DWK book, he’ll usually take any one that is available with a smile.

I did say “at least.” Number four! Not only will my own child read it, but she can earn Accelerated Reader points for her trouble! It is a great series for the reluctant reader and nobody gets killed.

Finally, the fifth reason that I like (DWK). The Heffley family regularly attends church. When Greg’s best friend, Rowley, sleeps over on Saturday night, he attends church with them on Sunday morning. In Cabin Fever, Christmas is coming and the Heffley’s attend worship service.

It was so subtle. Church is just a part of their lives. It snuck up on me. Then I looked back and church has always been a part of the (DWK) series. Sometimes there are laughs involved - “Peas be with you.” I like that. It rings true! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Goliath

2011-12-23T10:18:00.000-06:00

Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

Strangely, this week, I have been forced to relive the anxiety of school work. Let me explain. I was in an art class with my six-grader and we had the opportunity to watch a video about the artist Andy Warhol. The teacher wrote out five questions, (later it grew to seven,) on the board. The kids were to discover the answers to the questions as they watched. Oh dear, active listening! My blood pressure rose and not just for the classroom, but also for myself. I felt an obligation to do the same.

Not only this, but then afterward I felt called upon to not only regurgitate what I had watched, but further to elaborate. What did this biography of Warhol mean to me? How could I compare him to his peers? And, finally, consider what about his life speaks to me in the present time. Let’s put that Liberal Arts degree through its paces! How many big words can I use… How scholarly can I sound… JOKING! A little.

Reading Goliath, I recalled taking history classes. Memorize dates. Recite facts. What event precipitated the Great War? What were the names given to the two sides at war? Which countries belonged to which side? When did the United States of America join and why? What event brought about the end of the war? Who were the major players? Anybody? Anybody?

We did that every year until we finally achieved High School and things got a bit harder… Pick an event in history and discuss what would have happened had things played out differently. What if America had never joined the war? What if America had entered the war sooner? What if Archduke Ferdinand had a son who was legal heir to the Habsburg throne?

How tedious. How daunting.

Not anymore.

Scott Westerfeld must have aced his history finals.

I reviewed the prequels, Leviathan and Behemoth, which you can peruse to discover the scope of these novels. Goliath completes the trilogy and I was left, not only satisfied, but pleased as well. There were several cameo appearances made by notable men in history, Pancho Villa for example, that made me want to go back and find out more about the real person.

Nicola Tesla has a much greater presence as the creator of Goliath – the machine to end all wars! Tesla is an anomoly. The crew of the Leviathan does not know if he is a madman, a megalomaniac, or a mastermind. Tesla says that a demonstration of Goliath’s power will force Germany to back down. But which city will Tesla choose to destroy? Whose side is he really on if he is on one at all? Should Alex, the legal heir to the Habsburg Monarchy, assist or prevent Tesla from pulling the lever?

For kids who think they’ve outgrown the Children’s Department.

The Rogue Crew

2011-12-10T13:15:00.004-06:00

The Rogue Crew by Brian Jacques

I just reread my review of The Sable Quean by Brian Jacques to remind myself of what I thought of it. That’s not entirely true. I know what I thought. I liked it. I always like the Redwall books. I had to remind myself what I wrote. I remembered that Jacques had just died, but I didn’t remember how I reacted or responded. What I found was uncertainty. Would there be another Redwall book? Maybe? Possibly? Yes!

The Rogue Crew seems shorter than its predecessors, but it’s not. The Redwall books take more time to read. They are not for reluctant readers. I’ve had a hard time trying to put a finger on why you have to invest more time with this series. A fellow librarian – you know who you are ;) – helped me to figure it out. Actually she helped me admit that they do require more time. You cannot just whip through them. You have to set the time aside. You must accept that they are every bit as “full” as adult novels. There is more description. The feasts are given just as much weight as the action sequences. Every meal – it is like you are at the table. Vocabulary rich!

It just seems that there is less. And I will not find fault due to circumstances, but there are fewer feasts and fewer Dibbuns. There are just as many characters, but I felt I knew them less. There is less time spent at the Abbey and more time spent with the villains. I am not certain who the hero was or rather, the character that I would think would become the unexpected hero, didn’t do all that much. I might go so far as to call this book a shadow. The outline is there, but it is not as substantial as the real thing.

The last thing I want to do is steer you away from this extra magnificent series. Granted, it is not for everyone. After all, the mice talk, sing and dance. If you love Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, or Wind in the Willows, try Redwall. It really is like The Lord of the Rings, with animals as the main characters! Now that I think about it, it is also right up there with The Chronicles of Narnia – talking animals!

It’s good versus evil where even the most unlikely of beasts can be the hero!

Tends to be a favorite with 3^rd-5^th grade boys, but there are plenty of female characters and heroines for the girls as well.

Tears of a Tiger

2011-12-06T15:25:00.002-06:00

Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper

Every once in a while, I get the next book on my list only to discover it is a sequel. My personality doesn’t allow me to skip the first (second, third…) book. No, I feel it is necessary to go back. My next book doubles, or, in this case, triples. I ordered a new edition of Tears of a Tiger and the cover states, “The first book in the powerful Hazelwood High Trilogy.”

Now the nice thing about this book is that it is a very quick read - two evenings. I’m guessing that the sequels will be equally relaxed in readability. I would say that the prime target for this trilogy is reluctant high school readers and more specifically, African American teens. The sequel is a Coretta Scott King Award winner.

While the actual reading of the book is painless, topics covered cause unrest and discomfort. The book begins with a fatal car crash caused by drunk driving, and the book ends with a suicide born out of guilt and depression. Some books will use such subject matter clearly for sensationalism. That is not the case here. It can be read as a moral warning. This edition includes a Reader’s Guide of discussion topics as well as activities and suggestions for research.

Sharon Draper is a skilled storyteller and therefore, this novel is so much more than a moral warning. Ms. Draper has chosen to tell the story through multiple high school friends so that we see a bigger picture of what is going on. We can see how everyone was affected by the unexpected death of a friend, from a would-be girlfriend to his best friend. And then, that best friend, Andy, takes center stage. And we watch his downward spiral after the accident from multiple viewpoints including his own.

It’s not easy to “watch”. The omniscient reader squirms as mistakes are made and opportunities are missed. The reader is not surprised by the suicide. Everyone else is.

I see this book as a useful instrument for all those who are involved with teenagers. It can be used as both a preventative tool as well as a tool for healing in the aftermath.

So what we have here are four close friends, three of which are on the basketball team, two of which are stars of the team and one who is the captain. They decide to celebrate their victory after a game and there is beer in the trunk chilling. They enjoy a pleasure drive down the highway and they are really enjoying themselves. They’re just having fun and trying to freak out the other drivers. They seem to be succeeding as proved by all the honking. But then Andy, the driver, loses control and drives into a retaining wall. Three of the four manage to get out, but the fourth, Rob, the captain, is stuck – his legs through the window. Rob is coherent and screaming for help, but the car explodes into flames. Andy can still hear Rob screaming his name.

The judge won’t punish Andy enough. The charge of vehicular homicide is dropped. His parents, teachers, friends don’t blame Andy enough. They try to support him and the coach even makes him captain. Rob’s parents don’t hate Andy enough. Andy knows he deserves everyone’s anger and scorn, but instead they either want to help him mourn OR help him move on. Andy’s chooses to heap the guilt upon himself and drown in it. Meanwhile he attempts to convince everyone that he is okay and is handling the situation fine on his own. He succeeds in deceiving everyone. Unfortunately, if anyone had just taken one step further to help Andy, his life might have been saved. Instead the close-knit community must deal with another dead young person. And who is to blame now?

The Medusa Plot

2011-11-23T12:15:00.000-06:00

The Medusa Plot by Gordon Korman

The 39 Clues. Cahills vs. Vespers. Book 1.

As if finding all of the 39 Clues’ ten books written by seven different authors wasn’t hard enough. We, librarians, really need a cheat sheet. It is hard even keeping track of the titles. I sometimes wonder if we couldn’t just shelve them under 39 Clues. Of course, would they be at the very end or the very beginning because it’s numerical OR would we shelve them alphabetically by Thirty-nine?

Not to mention the odd eleventh book, Vespers Rising, that is a prequel of sorts written by four different authors itself. (one of my favorites because of the background and history.)

But I’ll stop complaining because the kids continue to ask for them. Whatever brings the kids in and not only inspires them to read, but keeps them coming back for more – well, I’m thrilled with that.

And I actually, really and truly enjoyed The Medusa Plot. Get out! Seriously. I even know why I appreciated it so much. Amy and Dan get to go to Italy! With trips to Florence, Lake Como and Rome – all places that I have been! I especially relished their visits to the Uffizi and the Colosseum. It really helps to have a vested interest in a setting.

Cahills vs. Vespers takes place two years after Vespers Rising. What have our young clue hunters been up to? Amy has been preparing herself so that she will never be caught off guard and helpless again. She and Sinead Starling, an Ekat, have created a Cahill Training Camp for themselves at Amy and Dan’s replicated Grace Cahill Mansion. Amy has become a lean, mean, fighting machine – with a serious boyfriend who, of course, knows nothing of Amy’s secret Cahill life.

Dan has entered a solitary depression. It’s hard to live a normal life after the adventure-filled, danger-packed, epic-quick life of a clue hunter. With his photographic-memory, he IS the last copy of Gideon’s super serum. Only Dan has the list of 39 ingredients with the directions to combine them. To fight his boredom, as well as to give him a sense of security, Dan has been acquiring the ingredients so that he will be prepared when the Vespers strike. He is not quick enough.

The Vespers finally make their move by kidnapping seven Cahill cousins and holding them hostage in an undisclosed place. It is up to Amy and Dan and any remaining cousins to jump through hoops to save the lives of the hostages. And Vesper One requires the Cahills become criminals. They must steal a valuable work of art from the Uffizi and deliver it to the Vespers or else a hostage will die.

But there is more to the demand than meets the eye.

Can Amy and Dan commit a felony, complete the mission, discover the location of the hostages, and uncover the true intent of the Vespers before a hostage dies? I’m sure it will take several books to find out!

Ranger's Apprentice: The Lost Stories

2011-11-22T19:29:00.001-06:00

Ranger's Apprentice: The Lost Stories by John Flanagan

Yea!! Yea, yea, yea! Another Ranger’s Apprentice! Just when I thought all was lost. Just when I lamented that there would never be another story about Halt and Will, John Flanagan comes through for me! Yippee!!!

Now, the good or the bad first…

Okay, it’s actually not so bad, but the book is really only a compilation of additional stories. Nine stories sandwiched between a Foreword and an Afterword. Personally, I would have called them a Prologue and an Epilogue because they are a part of the fantasy. There are little Author’s Notes at the beginning of some of the stories which are a part of reality. Which is it? Fantasy or reality? I guess I don’t need the little explanations for “why” a story was written. I just want to enjoy the story.

I actually like the idea that latter-day archeologists are uncovering the hidden manuscripts from Halt and Will’s time (the Words.) It just doesn’t work as well, because the author hasn’t fully committed. His archeologists can do the talking for him OR he can choose to insert his own thoughts. Just not both, please. I like to stay suspended in the fantasy.

The premise is questionable. Rangers are merely legend to modern day people. There are only ten accounts of them and they are all about Will and Halt. But their existence has never been proven until now. So… the Lost Stories prove the previous ten books? Were they books or oral tradition? It doesn’t say. There is no elaboration. If I had gone to the trouble of doing it this way, I would have had a great deal of fun with it and ELABORATED! Sorry for yelling.

BUT. The stories were good. There are nine stories and each is around five chapters long. There is also a single chapter bonus at the end! My favorite of the stories is called Death of a Hero. In it, we finally learn about the true origin of Will. It was quite powerful. It brought tears to my eyes – the good and happy kind of tears where you almost cannot catch your breath because of the joy.

The stories cover everything from more about where Halt came from to additional missions not formerly mentioned. Ranger Gilan and the Jenny, former ward of the state, also get their own stories. I don’t think I would be spoiling anything by mentioning that one story is about the Royal Wedding foreshadowed in the tenth book. Thanks to Will, it all ends well!

There were only a couple of stories included that I could have done without. One, the Roamers, involves a group of people that are obviously Tinkers or Gypsies and they are given no mercy. They have been painted very stereotypically as thieves. I was, quite honestly, surprised. The other one was Wolf. The wolf was the main character at the beginning of the story and I was cheering for him, but alas, it doesn’t end well for the animal. Nor for Tug, Will’s pony, either.

I think that Emperor was a much better ending to the series. Of course, now I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of Outcast, the first in the Brotherhood Chronicles by Flanagan!

The Night Circus

2011-11-17T13:47:00.000-06:00

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

In 2006, two movies about magicians were released. One was called The Illusionist and starred Edward Norton, Jessica Biel and Rufus Sewell. The other was called The Prestige and starred Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johannson (with a perfect choice of David Bowie as Nicola Tesla.) They were both mystery, period pieces and I really wondered how the market place would receive these two films… seemed overkill. Of course, I waited for the release to DVD and then watched them over the course of two evenings. They were both unique and different despite the similar themes. Although, I would recommend both, I won’t leave you wondering… I preferred The Prestige. I’ve watched it more than once. I prefer those actors, and while it is more disturbing, I find the outcome worth the discomfort.

Yes, this really brings me to The Night Circus. The movies were about a person’s quest for the masterpiece, the need for illusionary perfection, a desire to delight and amaze. And WIN.

And I have to admit, even though I never do this, this is the second time I’ve done it this year. Oops. I dropped the juvenile list and scooped up an adult novel. But I think we’ll be seeing some Young Adults requesting this in much the same way the mothers went after Twilight and The Hunger Games. It is that astounding and lyrical and lovely without all of the high school drama and sensationalism. This novel is a gorgeous piece of art and I would love to see the dreamlike sequences on the big screen.

Two great illusionists who have been competing over the years, decades … centuries meet one final time to settle the record once and for all. Prospero the Enchanter finds out that he has fathered a daughter. Upon meeting her, he discovers that she has a natural talent. With this ace in his pocket, he approaches the other magician, Mr. A.H., to set up a competition. Mr. A.H. is given the time to find and teach his own student. The two magicians choose a venue for the competition to play out. And then they wait for someone to make the first move. The game is completed when one of the students becomes the clear winner.

In the past the venue has always been private and personal. But Prospero wants to make it more interesting by placing it in public. He suggests a third performer, Chandresh Christophe Lefevre, an illusionist in his own right, to be the sponsor and create the venue. Patrons are acquired and then players are hired and the Circus of Dreams is born. This circus will be like nothing else ever witnessed before it. Everything is entirely in black, white and shades of gray. It opens at dusk and closes at dawn. It appears magically one day and leaves just as fleetingly. No one knows the when, where or how. And this is the stage for our two competitors.

Marco is Mr. A.H.’s contender. He makes the first move by applying to work for Lefevre and becomes his personal assistant. Marco’s advantage is having a hand in everything about the circus; however, his disadvantage is not being on site. Everything he creates is done from London. His competitor is Prospero’s daughter, Celia Bowen. She is hired as the circus’s illusionist. Her talent is a natural ability to manipulate her surrounding reality. Her advantage is being right there is in the middle of the dream. Her disadvantage is not knowing her opponent.

Because Marco was assisting when she was hired, he knows from the start that she is his competition, but he is also almost immediately drawn to her. Every fantastical tent he creates is like a letter to Celia revealing himself. She responds in kind with her own creations. She may not know who he is but his skill and artistry captivate her. It is no wonder that they fall in love when they finally meet and drop all pretenses. When they are around each other, it is electric. They decide to finish or quit the game so that they can be together.

Unfortunately, they are informed that the game can only end when one of them can no longer maintain their end of the competition which results in one’s death. Neither can imagine a world without the other. How can they maintain the circus, which has acquired a cult following with a life of its own, finish the game, and come out alive on the other side? Only two accomplished illusionists can pull it off.

To give you some idea of the circus, there is a tattooed contortionist, a naïve fortune-teller, acrobats, big cat-tamers, little kitten trainers, living statues, living carousels, cloud mazes, labyrinths, ice gardens, wishing trees and delectable treats to be enjoyed. And so much more. I have only given you a glimpse, a teaser, of the main story. There are sub stories to entrance and captivate as well. For only 387 pages, I’m astounded at the amount the author was able to pack inside this striking package.

The Son of Neptune

2011-11-15T14:56:00.000-06:00

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan

I simply should never be so impatient. Son of Neptune snuck up on me. I had been watching diligently for its arrival, but I must have been distracted. The next thing I knew, there was a request list nearly 100 patrons long and my name was nowhere to be found in the queue. Luckily for me, a co-worker was first on the list and finished it in record time. She offered to loan it to me, but I only had 2 weeks and I was still mucking through Going Bovine. While I managed to finish it by the deadline, I also had to return it before I could write about it. Without the book sitting on my laptop pressuring me, well, no pressure… no output! Next time – be patient!

Let me preface this by saying that I really enjoyed The Lost Hero, its prequel. The idea that Greek and Roman gods and goddesses are the same deities, but show different aspects was intriguing. Roman gods are aggressive and military-minded. Greek gods are passive and philosophical. Most especially, I was delighted with all of the new characters. The three new Roman demigods, Jason, Leo and Piper successfully carried the book. I wanted to learn more about them. Alas, not in the sequel.

After all, the title is Son of Neptune and another name for Neptune is Poseidon. And who is the son of Poseidon? Why, yes, Percy Jackson, again. I like Percy Jackson just fine, but he’s already got five of his own books. I want more Jason! And Piper. And Leo. But no, it’s not to be, yet.

It’s interesting that in the majority of this book, Percy’s memory is still vacant because I found quite a few holes in my memory as well. I am no longer one of those people who rereads all of the Harry Potter’s every time a new book or movie comes out. There just isn’t the time with all of the incredible new books out there. But to truly catch every piece of the puzzle and every “in” joke, it might be worth your while to revisit the original Percy Jackson series. Old characters are back and making their mark.

Along with the old characters, we do get quite a few new characters when Percy finds the Roman kid’s camp, Camp Jupiter. Hazel Levesque is a girl with a past. No, really. She lived a long time ago in New Orleans. She died, but then her brother Nico di Angelo brought her back. Something very bad happened during her first life and she really deserves to be dead, but she gets the opportunity to redeem herself.

Frank Zhang rounds out this book’s triumvirate of hero demigods. Frank has his own battles to fight. One of his ancestors caused the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 so he is an outcast or maybe just an underdog at Camp. He’s really big and perhaps a bit clumsy and he looks way too young for his manly bulk. According to his mother, a Canadian soldier who died in Afghanistan, he has a special ability because he can claim another god as his ancestor on his mother’s side. Frank just hopes he can figure out what that special ability is before it’s too late.

No, this is not my favorite of the series. Some portions read too much like a script for a movie. It took too long to get caught up in the action. But when those last battles finally exploded, I was “in”. And Jason is on his way!

Going Bovine

2011-10-26T14:30:00.000-05:00

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

It’s when I get a book like this that I wonder why on earth do I bother? Why am I wasting my time on this? Why don’t I just put it down and move on? And then I remember, I read so you don’t have to. At one point I asked a fellow librarian if it got any better. I was only half way through it. Sadly, she said no. Why did we both read it? It’s an Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee for 2012.

My coworker did give me a piece of advice. Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote is central to this novel. It would behoove a reader to reacquaint themselves with the classic first. It might make more sense. I just really don’t want to invest anymore time in it.

It took me far too long to get into a rhythm and care about the characters. Actually, I never did get into a rhythm and I never did care about the characters. It’s very hard to hear self-proclaimed geeks complain about the popular crowd when the hate is obviously mutual.

What you will find within the covers:

Drugs – Already in Chapter Two we are invited to follow the protagonist into the fourth floor bathroom of his high school where everyone knows the stoners hang out. I’m proving how beyond straight I am… It took several references to J before I realized they were smoking a joint. How naïve I am.

Alcohol – Underage drinking and partying are the norm. Think Spring Break and hopping rides with strangers.

Language – Horrific. Cringe-worthy.

Sex – Do I really want to be in the mind of a teenage boy? No, thank you. Multiple references to masturbation finally give way to the protagonist losing his virginity to the girl he lusts after. And then the same night he also has sex with the girl he loves. I suppose I could say, at least it’s not graphic.

Homosexuality – Because why wouldn’t we include that as well. I found it gratuitous. Didn’t see it as a part of the character. Certainly a surprise. Like it was thrown in at the last moment.

The art of literature might be in there somewhere. It vaguely reminds me of Thomas Pynchon’s Vineyard and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five. Both of which I found too confusing to appreciate despite how much my professors and teaching assistants wanted me to be amazed by the art. I’m just too put off by the blatant use of all things I want to protect my young daughters from. I can hear the arguments for and against this book. I can make both. I just don’t want my children to see this as acceptable behavior whether it is a dream, insanity, illness or reality. It’s starts little and harmless, of course.

So what is it about? Sixteen-year-old Cameron, a geek with a popular twin sister, is diagnosed with incurable, fatal, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease which is better known as Mad Cow disease when diagnosed in cattle. Technically, holes form in the brain and it becomes spongy as infectious proteins attack healthy ones. As Cameron’s brain is attacked by these proteins, he spends more and more time in the land of dreams where he is given a mission by a punk angel in which he saves the world from dark matter and finds the cure for his ailment. In the process, he discovers that he would rather live loudly for a short while than continue to slack off and get nowhere in a long and uninteresting life.

Certainly potential for a great message, if you think living loudly includes stealing cars and money, doing drugs and having sex. Not recommended except for maybe a College-level literature class with a comparison between Bovine and Quixote.

Gone-Away Lake

2011-10-25T09:44:00.000-05:00

Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright

I’m not quite at liberty to say anything yet, but someone I know is moving to a new home, provided that all the paperwork goes through. Going somewhere new is not always an easy thing to do – especially if you have never known anything else. Sometimes, a little preparation is necessary.

I took my girls to the new house, and even though we couldn’t go inside, we could explore. The day was my kind of day, in other words, it was nasty out. The wind was blustery. The rain was cold and prickly. And we weren’t quite dressed appropriately. Probably should have brought galoshes… if we had them… and an umbrella.

The yard was soaked, slippery, squelching, but the treasures were abundant. The side yard is comprised of a steep descent followed by a long decline. We think – snow and sledding! The yard ends at a meandering “crik”. I’m calling it that and you cannot stop me. :P To the west is a “forest” of trees dressed for autumn. Someone else might see a difficult yard to mow. We see Terabithia.

Something had caught my eye at the top of the hill. I was just as excited as the girls. There was a branch hanging down, and if you went under it there was a path – definitely a path! – leading down the tree-covered hill. What would we discover at the end? We had to be careful. And we weren’t sure if we were allowed to be there. Were we trespassing? It was as if we had found Narnia and we were already making plans for the future. What’s at the end of the path? Friends or foes?

When I was little, I had the pasture lane on my grandparents’ farm. I even had the secret tunnels at church and later at the library. I should mention that the library tunnels were treasured when I was a young adult. I’ve never grown out of the need for a special, secret place to claim for my own. A new world to enter to escape the trials of this one.

This Newbery Honor book from the 1950s captures the classic longing children, (and apparently some adults,) have for a place of their own free of grownups. Portia and her little brother, Foster, spend their summers at their cousin’s farm. Portia and her cousin, Julian, are best friends and they always have plans for adventure, but this year is different.

Portia and Julian set off in a direction and, walking all day, cover more distance than they ever have before. They happen upon Gone-Away Lake – or rather, what’s left of it. And meet two elderly hermits who are living off of the spoils of the land. It is not a hardship. There used to be a well-to-do summer community that lived on the lake and Pindar and Minnehaha were once children who lived in these mansions that are now left vacant and decrepit. What they need, they take.

Uncle Pin and Aunt Min decide that the kids need a place of their own. The four of them pick out one of the safer houses still standing and the kids choose to clean up and decorate its attic. All that is left is to invite some friends and start a club. Up until then, Portia and Julian have kept everything a secret. Foster decides he wants in on the secret. Like a spy he follows them one day and nearly drowns in the swamp. He claims an island for his troubles.

Oh, the good old days. And the better, older days. There is action, adventure, wild stories, danger, freedom and even ghosts. The only fantasy is what the kids make in their own minds. If your child was born to the wrong time period, like I was, try this one from a quieter, safer time.

Wonderstruck

2011-10-14T17:08:00.001-05:00

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

I’ll start by saying, there is no question that this book will be read. The library ordered five copies for the Children’s Department and all five are checked out. This book’s predecessor, the Caldecott winning The Invention of Hugo Cabret, guarantees it. That book won the hearts of both girls and boys, lovers of literature and reluctant readers. And it opened up a whole new genre – “a novel in words and pictures.”

I finished the 600 plus page book over the course two days’ worth of stolen moments, breaks and lunch times at work. There are really that many pictures and that few words. With 26 days left to my “check-out period”, I promptly passed it off to my 6th grader with the words, “this was written by the same guy who wrote Hugo Cabret,” and she’s been lugging it around – it’s 2 pounds – ever since. Her 1st grade sister “read” the illustrations cover to cover on one trip to school.

They will probably appreciate it more than me. I was “wonderstruck” by Hugo Cabret. I read it during the Super Bowl the year it won the Caldecott. I gave a book talk to the guests present during the Half Time Show. I gushed. And gushed. And gushed some more. I am soooooo excited to see the movie being produced by Martin Scorsese. The setting and the subject matter enchanted me. If you haven’t at least glanced through it, you ought to try it.

I was completely sold on the new book by an article in the School Library Journal. (Hence the five copies.) I book talked the novel in advance. I was enamored of the background behind the story. The brilliance of the story’s foundation – that’s what captured my imagination.

(Even as I write, one of my eldest’s classmates has arrived to reserve his copy – because, of course, he saw hers! Glorious!)

I’ll make a long story short. Smirk. There are two stories in Wonderstruck. The first is set in 1927. The heroine is 12-year-old Rose and she is deaf. She is the daughter of divorced parents. Her mother is a famous Hollywood starlet and Rose lives with her overbearing father in Hoboken, NJ. But Rose can see the New York City skyline out her window and she longs to be there. Out of safety, her parents refuse to grant her wishes. This story is told entirely through pictures.

The second story is set in 1977 on Gunflint Lake, Minnesota. The protagonist of this story is a 12-year-old boy who has recently lost his mother to a fatal car accident and he has never known his father. Ben was born deaf in one ear. Just as he discovers clues to the identity and whereabouts of his father, he is struck completely deaf by a lightning strike. This story is told in prose. The two stories weave back and forth until they finally converge and the two characters meet.

In all honesty, I preferred the story behind the story.

I think it really comes down to our tastes. I preferred Hugo Cabret primarily because of the setting, Paris, France, and the topic, automatons, clockworks, the first moving pictures. I was entranced with the details and the machinery. I’ve never had a love for New York or a wish to go there. Museums of Natural History are not my cup of tea… unless they’re ancient. I appreciate Selnick’s passion for museums, librarys, literature, collections, and scaled models. I just don’t share a similar passion. So was I disappointed? Yeah. But it’s my fault, not his. He is an amazing artist.

My favorite part of the book is one particular attention to detail. The year is 1977. The characters enter the Subway and there is a movie poster hanging on the wall. STAR WARS! Page 528!

Time for Andrew

2011-10-11T18:21:00.002-05:00

Time for Andrew by Mary Downing Hahn

The full title of this 1996 Caudill nominee is Time for Andrew: A Ghost Story. I am not alone in arguing that this is not a ghost story. There are no ghosts in this story. It would be more aptly called a Time Travel Story. Rest assured Mary Downing Hahn does not disappoint. The book is frightening in its own right, but you won’t be haunted.

Drew, short for Andrew, is going to spend a portion of his summer vacation with his Great Aunt Blythe while his parents travel to France for his father’s job. Drew adores his aunt, but he has never been to her home, the family home where Aunt Blythe lives with her elderly father. The house is ancient in Drew’s opinion and full of antiques. It is easy to imagine that ghosts walk the halls.

Drew is a timid, shy boy with a vivid imagination. Part of the reason he is staying with Blythe is so that he doesn’t have to face the school bully at summer camp. But there is a new bully to meet – Drew’s great grandfather. Every time they are put into the same room, the elderly gentleman calls Drew Andrew and tells him he doesn’t belong there and should leave. Blythe assumes that her father is senile and is very apologetic.

Drew finds comfort in the attic that can be reached from his bedroom. It is full of treasures. There are pictures of his ancestors and his aunt can tell stories to go with each. Quite accidentally, he discovers a loose floorboard and underneath he finds a bag of marbles. Instinctively, Drew knows they should be returned to their secret compartment. As if to back him up, a message warns “These marbles belong to ANDREW JOSEPH TYLER. If you take them you will be sorry.” But Aunt Blythe sees rare marbles that can be sold to maintain the property.

Then one evening, Drew finds another boy in his room – a very sick boy – who happens to be his doppelganger. It is Andrew. Not only does he dress differently, but he speaks differently as well. And he won’t last the night. He has diphtheria. Drew switches places with him hoping that modern medicine can save him. Before he hides in the attic, they switch clothes and Drew summons Blythe. Drew retreats to the attic only to return and discover himself in 1910 – remarkably, to Andrew’s family, recovered from a deathly illness.

Andrew and Drew may look identical, but that is where the similarities end. Andrew is rough and tough and mischievous to boot. Drew is uncertain how long he can pull off the charade. Luckily, Andrew’s family blames his absentmindedness on his recent illness. Drew is relieved to return to the present to switch with a healthy Andrew. Unfortunately, Andrew is scared to return to his own time. He’s afraid he will still die.

Andrew devises a plan. He will stay in the present until Drew can beat him at a game of marbles – Ringer to be exact. Since Drew has never played marbles, this seems an impossible bargain. But Andrew’s older sister, Hannah, taught Andrew to be a champion. She is happy to reteach/teach Drew. But time is running out. Drew is beginning to think and act like Andrew. And Cousin Edward has challenged him to jump off of the train trestle. Can he beat Andrew at his own game before he jumps to his likely death?

The ending is sweet. The book is warm. I hope Hahn’s fans have embraced this novel despite its misnomer. Excellent “spooky” story for kids 4th to 6th grade.

Miracle's Boys

2011-10-09T15:40:00.001-05:00

Miracle's Boys by Jaqueline Woodson

The Coretta Scott King Book Award is presented annually by the Coretta Scott King Task Force of the American Library Association’s Ethnic Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT). Recipients are authors and illustrators of African descent whose distinguished books promote an understanding and appreciation of the “American Dream.”

I have been reading the Coretta Scott King Award winners and honor books as they have been announced for the last few years. I had always planned on going back and reading the past Coretta winners and honor books eventually. I thought perhaps I’d tackle them after the Newbery honor books – in other words in a few years. But I recently decided to intersperse them, now, with my Newbery honor books, Caudill nominees, Lincoln nominees and personal choices for primarily for greater diversity. Until now, I never mentioned what I was doing specifically because I have been enjoying the winners simply as novels. But then Miracle’s Boys threw me for a little loop. It won the award in 2001.

Here was an opportunity for me to learn more about the differences between cultures – startling, mind-boggling differences. Here is a bit of a set up. I am the oldest of three siblings. My sister, the next oldest, is ten years younger than me. Our brother, the youngest, is twelve years my junior. So when it was time for me to head to college and become independent at the ripe old age of eighteen, they were eight and six. Had something happened to our parents, I would have stayed in college and my aunt and uncle would have raised us with support from our grandparents. I know this for a fact. I wouldn’t even have considered dropping out to support my siblings. It would be more important to graduate college and perhaps later… I could do it.

In Miracle’s Boys, the oldest brother, Ty’ree, is eighteen and a high school graduate with a full scholarship to MIT. The middle brother, Charlie, is fifteen and newly home from two years spent at a correctional facility. The youngest brother, Lafayette, who is our narrator, is twelve. Before Lafayette was even born, the boys’ father died of hypothermia. He jumped into a frozen pond to save a woman and her dog that had fallen through the thin ice. When the book opens, it is a couple of years after the boys’ mother has also died of insulin shock. Even though their Great Aunt Cecile intended to take them home with her, the boys refuse. Ty’ree doesn’t go to college but takes on a full time job. Their plan is to keep the family together whatever the cost.

Until I began to concentrate on writing this review, I had forgotten about the phrase, “whose distinguished books promote an understanding and appreciation of the ‘American Dream’”. My idea of the American Dream would include Charlie and Lafayette going to live with Aunt Cecile and continuing their education while Ty’ree went to MIT. It is very hard for me to comprehend their alternative even though I love my family and depend upon my family and support my family. My dream includes adults with experience raising the children. And an 18-year-old still very much being a young adult in need of experience and skills…

This book was jarring to me. I could not imagine this scenario. I am not sure what to do with it. There are children out there living this scenario. Do they need to read about it? Who would I recommend it to? Hopefully, if the right patron ever presents himself, I’ll remember it.

Otherwise, there are limitations to the boys’ continued living circumstances. If Charlie gets into trouble again, he’s heading to a place far worse than the correctional facility for boys. And Lafayette WILL join Aunt Cecile in the South. And it could be too late for Ty’ree to attend MIT. So much is at stake here. Ty’ree is committed. Lafayette is committed. But Charlie is an unknown variable. Upon his return, he is so changed that Lafayette starts thinking of him as Newcharlie. And he wants the old Charlie back.

Each boy has certain fears and even demons that he must face. Ty’ree feels responsible for his dad’s death. Both Charlie and Lafayette feel responsible for their mom’s death. Before they can forgive each other and work as a team, they must find a way to forgive themselves and find some healing.

The Compound

2011-10-04T09:36:00.000-05:00

The Compound by S. A. Bodeen

I’m quite surprised that it has taken me this long to write about The Compound. I read it voraciously in two days. I could not put it down. It put forth a new idea, or option rather, in my head. Dystopian Literature need not be epic or earth-shattering. In fact, a microcosm is an extraordinarily simple way to introduce apocalyptism (new word) to the reluctant reader.

So… for kids who are intrigued by the cult-following of books like The Hunger Games, but cannot or will not devote the time it takes to wade through three long novels, here is catastrophe in under 250 pages! The Compound is one of the Abraham Lincoln Award Nominees for 2012. Remember, this award is designed for high school-aged kids; however, there has been some cross-over. I think The Compound would work well for boys, 6^th through 8^th grade. Perhaps especially well for boys with sisters…

The protagonist is 15-year-old, “evil” twin, Eli. He acknowledges that he is the less likeable of the twins. Everybody loves Eddy and Eddy is everyone’s friend. Eli has always benefitted from his “twin” status with the beloved brother. Other kids put up with Eli – it is a two for one deal. But now, Eli is sealed off in the compound and his only brother and best friend didn’t make it. And it’s Eli’s fault Eddy was left outside to die in a nuclear attack.

Eli and the rest of his family have survived in the compound for six years. His billionaire father planned for every contingency. They had cows, chickens, a hydroponics lab, a research lab, a medical lab, exercise room, big screen TVs and every known DVD and book. The billionaire didn’t want his family to want for anything. They have a music room to practice their instruments. They have a studio to practice dance. They have a warehouse big enough to accommodate for fifteen years’ worth of food as well as a basketball court.

Unfortunately, there have been setbacks at every turn. Eddy’s job was to manage the garden, but since he’s gone, it’s Eli’s job to handle both the livestock and the garden. Poison killed the livestock eventually. The food is going bad before its time. And Eli’s father has a horrible plan for the continued survival of his family if the food runs out before the compound opens to the devastation left behind on the outside. Let’s call them The Supplements…

Each family member has dealt with their losses in different ways. Eli’s younger sister, Terese, who entered the compound when she was six, has never grown up. She watches Mary Poppins continually and speaks with a British accent. Lexie, Eli’s older, adopted sister, has turned on her mother and sided with her father. Eli has not allowed another person to touch him skin to skin since entering the compound and he hides behind a curtain of hair.

Eli doesn’t know how he can face another nine years in the compound. He enters his brother’s unused bedroom for the first time and discovers an old laptop – that still has wireless capabilities. And he makes contact, momentarily, with someone on the outside. Have they been living a lie? Has his father gone mad? Can Eli reenter “life” and save them all from the shadow life they have been living?

It is quite possible that a sequel could be in the works. It doesn’t need one though. It’s brief and perfect and clean in its own 245 pages. If you love a good mystery, this might even suffice.

The Great Wheel

2011-09-28T10:42:00.000-05:00

The Great Wheel by Robert Lawson

I am so excited to reintroduce a book to the collection. Decatur Public Library no longer owned The Great Wheel, a 1950s Newbery Honor book. I had to order it from another library. I was surprised to receive a brand new edition. It had been republished as a part of Walker and Company’s Newbery Honor Roll! What a grand idea!

After I finished it yesterday, I couldn’t help but book talk it to my boss. After my gush, (I really wasn’t trying to sell it,) she ordered new ones for our collection! Sometimes, it really is word of mouth that reenergizes a book’s shelf life.

I’m definitely looking for boys, (and girls,) who love building, designing, inventing. Our architects and engineers in training. Our dreamers of the dream. And the laboring hands that make those dreams come true! It takes the team to make great things happen! The investors, planners, forgers, riggers, diggers – everyone!

The time? The late 1800s. The place? Chicago, Illinois. The event? The World’s Columbian Exposition. The machine? The first Ferris wheel! Our character? Cornelius Terrence Kilroy, “Conn”, an Irishman fresh off the boat and ready to make his fortune in America!

When Conn was twelve years old, his Aunt Honora read his fortune in his tea leaves. It said, “Your fortune lies to the west. Keep your face to the sunset and follow the evening star, and one day you’ll ride the greatest wheel in all the world.”

It wasn’t until Conn was almost eighteen that his family received a letter from Conn’s Uncle Michael in New York. Uncle Michael invited young Conn to join him in the business of building sewers and even provided the money for ship’s passage. Remembering his fortune, Conn unhesitatingly leaves his family for his future.

Conn works hard and earns not only his keep but also his Uncle’s pride and support. Uncle Michael intends to make a partner out of him. But Conn’s Uncle Patrick has another idea in mind. Uncle Patrick thinks Uncle Michael will citify Conn and make him wealthy and soft. Uncle Patrick offers Conn a man’s job building engineering marvels. When Conn shares his full fortune with Uncle Patrick, Uncle Patrick must spill the beans – a great wheel is to be built and Conn is offered a chance to join in.

Again, Conn sets off after his fortune without pause.

If you ever wanted to know how a giant Ferris wheel was built and operated from below the ground on up, here you go. And Lawson makes it interesting. Boys might be shocked to find that Conn’s fortune sees him settled with a lovely German girl making cheese in Wisconsin, but that’s what clinched the book for this librarian! You cannot fault one chapter out of 16!

Nightbirds on Nantucket

2011-09-27T14:19:00.000-05:00

Nightbirds on Nantucket by Joan Aiken

This is book three in the Wolves Chronicles, but I think that the Chronicles are a series of books that are loosely related. In the first book, we met Bonnie and Sylvia who were aided by a secondary character, Simon, the goose boy, in rural England. In book two, we followed Simon to London where he made new friends like bratty little Dido Twite and also discovered he was more than a goose boy. Now we pick up again with Dido Twite who is on board a whaling ship somewhere near Alaska. And she’s just woken up from a ten month nap!

These are simple and simply delightful books. I’m thinking 4^th through 6^th grade girls will be more apt to take a chance with them. Their covers are dated. They are not on any notable American book lists that I have found. But I did find the first on an Accelerated Reader quiz list and the Book Adventure website and that’s promising.

As I said before, Dido was a bit of a homely brat in the second book. She was like a pesky sister that you were required to pay attention to especially because your parents didn’t want to. But Dido was loyal and came through for Simon at his most desperate hour. Her no-nonsense, tomboy-like ways as well as her feisty defiance come in handy on the ship and later on a farm on Nantucket Island.

We are introduced to several more curious characters this time around, as well as reacquainted with some old villains from our first ride. The Captain is a fatherly Quaker who is smitten with a pink whale. He forced his men to follow “Rosie” out of their whaling waters and all the way around the Cape. Along the way, his wife died leaving his young daughter, Dutiful Penitence, locked in her closet-sized cabin with only plum jelly to eat. Her prison is self-imposed. She is afraid that she will fall overboard if she sets foot on deck. When Dido awakens, her first job is to coax the daughter out of her jail cell. After all, the Captain pulled her from the frigid waters off the coast of England and Dido now owes him this favor.

After many more months at sea, the ship finally arrives back home on Nantucket. The Captain hopes to leave Dido with Dutiful in the care of his sister, Aunt Tribulation, so that he can chase after Rosie. Dutiful, “Pen” as Dido calls her, is as frightened of Aunt Trib as she is of nearly everything else except baking, embroidering and nursing. Dido yields to the idea that she’ll have to break Pen of her fears before she is finally able to book a ship and sail home to England.

Aunt Tribulation gives orders from her sick bed and leaves the two girls to milk the cows, make the butter, cook the food, pasture the sheep and hoe the potatoes. Despite the heavy workload, the girls are still able to uncover a plot to kill King James on his throne. There are horrid Hanoverians hiding in the Hidden Forest and they have a foreign genius who has designed an enormous cannon big enough to shoot the King from Nantucket. Unfortunately, the recoil will send Nantucket into New York Harbor and we cannot have that can we?

Hilarious really.

Torn

2011-09-22T11:23:00.000-05:00

Torn by Margaret Peterson Haddix

I will start by saying that Margaret Peterson Haddix has earned her place in my list of favorite children’s authors. She has won over a wide audience with her magnificent writing. I regularly recommend her well-known series called The Shadow Children. Among the Hidden was probably one of the first children’s novels to introduce me to Dystopian Literature. And it wasn’t a Young Adult novel that the children clamored for either. It belonged in Children’s from the get go.

I was beyond excited when she announced a new seven-book series to be called The Missing. I have reviewed the first three books, Found, Sent, and Sabotaged and if you have read my reviews, then you know that I had mixed feelings already.

I was telling a friend who shares my love of children’s books that I had requested book 4 and was hoping to be blown away – in a good way – and the series would be redeemed for me. She pointed out that after this book, I’d be more than halfway done with the series. Oh my. I cringed. I’m halfway through and I have not been “captured”. I have wanted to love this series in the worst way.

Well, the author’s 20 page Author’s Note was fascinating. The author’s historical accuracy was appreciated. I am grateful that it was shorter than the previous titles. But, not only did I not love it, I didn’t even really like it. It was confusing, certainly. And the missing child… was missing – twice. This deprived us of an additional, possibly likeable character. JB was missing for most of it. Second was present… maybe. And history was actually CHANGED… I think.

I checked some reviews to see if I’ve just been brain dead. The kids (5^th to 8^th,boys & girls) still seem to crave it. They are impatiently waiting for their copies and the last three books. The adults, on the other hand, have grown out of their awe. So, while I won’t be recommending this new series – yet – the kids will still flock to it.

So why do I keep reading? Simple. I want to know who Jonah is. Who he is not? John Hudson, the son of Captain Henry Hudson. Jonah and Katherine time travel to 1611 onboard the Discovery. Captain Hudson is still searching for a Northwest Passage. But John is missing… and missing. Jonah must fill in for him complete with costume, wig, mask, and voice-over. Poor Katherine only has to be invisible the entire time. And while the missing child and his tracer are both missing, the Northwest Passage is amazingly present. And this means that life as we know it may well be finished.

Bearstone & Beardance

2011-09-12T11:49:00.002-05:00

Bearstone and Beardance by Will Hobbs

Will Hobbs is an author that I will frequently recommend to boys, boys who have already discovered the character Brian from Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet. If they’ve already read every Paulsen novel on the shelf, Hobbs is an excellent direction to take. And Hobbs is a prolific writer himself. These authors’ books pit boys against themselves and nature – survival is the name of the game. These books are excellent for the 4^th and 5^th graders and work well for the older reluctant readers. I think Hobbs should be recommended reading for every Boy Scout. Bearstone, a Caudill Nominee, and its sequel, Beardance, easily met my expectations for real life action and adventure.

In Bearstone, we meet young Cloyd Atcitty, a Native American from the Ute tribe. His mother died giving birth to him, his father didn’t stick around afterwards, and so Cloyd and his sister were raised by their grandmother. Cloyd grew up shepherding his grandmother’s goats until the tribe decided to send him and his sister away to boarding school. Cloyd misses his grandmother, his sister and his home at White Mesa. When he isn’t deliberately failing school, he is running away from the family house towards home.

Cloyd’s social worker attempts to redeem him one last time by sending him to live on a ranch over summer vacation. This is where the book begins. Walter Landis is a farmer, an elderly man who has let his ranch go over the last year while mourning the death of his beloved wife. The social worker brings Cloyd to help Walter with the farm chores. There is a bit of Divine Guidance involved. Walter understands the boy and his Ute upbringing. Walter knows when to ask questions and when not to pry. He gains the boy’s confidence and loyalty quietly. Cloyd desires to help and prove his worth to this tiny, frail old man.

The book does an excellent job of showing how miscommunication and lack of communication can destroy a good thing. Silence can go too far and mistakes are made. Cloyd, out of anger, destroys not only his own hard work, but also Walter’s prize peach trees. Fortunately, Walter understands the boy and more importantly forgiveness. Their friendship is restored when Walter invites Cloyd into the Colorado Mountains. Walter has his mind set on gold and Cloyd has his mind set on Grizzlies. Here, the true adventure begins.

Now, I enjoyed Bearstone, but Beardance is better. If it weren’t for the fact that Bearstone establishes the characters so very well, I’d say skip to the sequel. In Beardance, Cloyd and Walter are headed back into the mountains the following summer – a year has transpired. Walter still has gold in his mind and metal detector in his pack. Cloyd still has grizzlies on his mind and is given good reason to believe that a mother and her three cubs are roaming the mountainsides.

With the help of a Native American wildlife biologist who calls herself Ursa, Cloyd not only discovers the grizzly family, but is able to track them. The two watch in horror as the mother and one of her cubs is killed by an avalanche. Cloyd makes it his job to see that the two remaining cubs survive the winter in the hopes that the government will send more grizzlies to help repopulate the species in Colorado. You see, a grizzly hasn’t been seen in Colorado since the 1950s. And Cloyd’s been dreaming of bears. He feels he is connected to them in a special way. By saving them, he will be forgiving himself.

The Land

2011-09-08T12:12:00.000-05:00

The Land by Mildred Taylor

When I first became a children’s librarian I looked to the Newbery and Caudill Awards to get a quick immersion into the world of Children’s Literature. I knew my knowledge at the time was slim, but I had no idea what worlds were going to be opened to me. And that is how I discovered Mildred D. Taylor.

Taylor won the 1977 Newbery award for her novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and went on to write the two sequels, Let the Circle Be Unbroken, and The Road to Memphis. There is a novella, Song of the Trees that precedes Roll of Thunder. (I cannot figure out if I read it or didn’t know it existed. I wish I had kept better records back then.) I read the former three titles all in a row and was captivated. Taylor’s language is gorgeous in its southern, black dialect, even when harsh. Then she published the BIG prequel, The Land, and I knew I would have to read it especially after it won the Coretta Scott King Award in 2002. So after a decade… it is finished!

Here’s the thing. What kind of title is The Land? I’m sure my long wait had more to do with its abrupt title than anything else. It sounds… boring… like it will be full of long, meandering descriptions of … well, land. I don’t take landscape pictures for instance. I like characters. And here this book was looking like the character was the Land. Uh, huh. Thrilled as you can see.

But the central theme, (oh, dear, I’m going to sound like a literature major or a teacher,) that connects all of these novels about the Logan Family, is Land and the importance of having and owning your own land. And for a black family, living in Depression-Era Mississippi, having land makes them unique and rich and – dangerous? They don’t fit in with the other black families; they’re too uppity for the sharecroppers, both black and white. And the Logans make the white land-owners nervous to say the least.

As indifferent as I felt in picking The Land up, it is surprising just how easily I was thoroughly absorbed into the story. The story tells of how the Logan children’s grandfather acquired their land. Their grandfather, Paul-Edward Logan is the son of a white plantation owner and a former slave to that plantation. Paul’s mother, Deborah, upon being freed from slavery, chose to remain on the plantation with her two children and continues to serve the plantation family. Paul’s father, Edward Logan, treats all of his children like his own regardless of if their mother is his white wife or his former slave.

Poor Paul favors his father and could pass for white in a place where not everyone knows his family. He has three older white brothers and one who is his same age who is his also best friend. He has an older sister by the same mother. Paul’s father always insisted on teaching his colored children to read, write and figure. And his white sons were expected to pass on their education to their colored siblings. While this seemed normal to the kids, it was still not acceptable to society. It is a difficult lesson to learn when Paul finds that he is equal to his brothers at home, but he is a colored boy or worse elsewhere. Paul has to leave the comforts of home in order to discover his place in the world as well as how to survive as a colored man without the help of his white daddy.

I highly recommend these books to junior high, senior high and adults, male and female alike. They are rich in information from the time period, but they make you FEEL the heartache rather than just hear about it. I daresay they would be welcome fiction to supplement any study of the Depression and life before the Civil Rights Movement. Very simply, the books are written so well, that this white woman could “get it.” I finally GOT the inequality and the effects that are felt even to this day. And I “got it” through an author and her art – storytelling. Taylor shared the stories that she grew up on. Priceless.

Divergent

2011-09-01T10:51:00.000-05:00

Divergent by Veronica Roth

For those of you looking for a book like Hunger Games, look no further. I’ve got it.

One of my favorite “paying” jobs is ordering new books. And my favorite Book List or School Library Journal to order from is the one stamped sci-fi/fantasy edition!! I read the youth section from front to back including the Young Adult reviews. And sometimes, the review can hook me and I KNOW that this is the book for me. In this case, I requested the novel immediately. How spontaneous of me!

Decatur Public Library does not own Divergent yet. It is too new and we’re still behind in ordering. At this point, I won’t be able to get copies for Children’s either. I can agree that like Hunger Games, it really does belong in YA. However, like Hunger Games, if it gains a cult following or ends up on the Rebecca Caudill list, we’ll almost surely have to have it in Children’s to keep up with its circulation. And I’ll argue, like I did for Hunger Games that I wouldn’t have a problem recommending it for the right children - children who remind me of myself at the age (6th - 8th). I recommend this novel to advanced readers with a passion for good books, especially sci-fi/fantasy.

Sometime in the future, people decide that world peace can only be achieved by overcoming humankind’s inclination toward evil. Some people blame the aggressive character of humans; some people argue against ignorance; others point to the deceitful nature of human character; and finally two groups stand against either selfishness or cowardice for that evil. The Great Peace is eventually achieved when five factions form, each pursuing the virtue they hold dear. Members of Amity strive for Peace. Members of Candor aim for Truth. Members of Erudite thirst for Knowledge. Members of Dauntless pledge to Bravery. And Members of Abnegation, like our young heroine, Beatrice, deny themselves to seek Selflessness.

For the first sixteen years of her life, Beatrice sought to be selfless. There are no mirrors in her home. She and her family always wear gray and baggy clothing. They eat plain food. They deny themselves luxuries, but give to the factionless. Everything is austere and simple and yet beautiful in the eyes of those who live in the Abnegation section of town. (The town? Chicago by the way. Extra super cool!!)

When a child reaches the age of sixteen, they take an aptitude test to determine their areas of strength and weakness. Usually the test merely confirms that a child is in the faction that fits their beliefs and tendencies. Occasionally the test will determine that a child’s true character would be better served elsewhere. Rarely, a Divergent will surface, but everything is done to hide such a result for a Divergent is a danger to society and thus the Divergent is in danger herself.

A Divergent is a person that excels in more than one area. In Beatrice’s case, she may be selfless in her thinking, but she is also uncharacteristically brave as well as knowledgeable. Beatrice, like other Divergents is very strong-willed and hard to force into a pre-determined mold. Beatrice is warned not to share the aptitude test’s finding with ANYONE which makes choosing her faction for her adult life anxiety-inducing.

She doesn’t feel like she has ever been selfless enough to please her parents and yet she doesn’t want to be a traitor to her current faction. The new world’s motto is “Faction before Blood”. Choosing Abnegation feels like a prison sentence. She would never choose Erudite because their factions tend to be against each other and more so now than ever before. And that leaves Dauntless. Can plain Beatrice become a black-wearing, train-jumping, adrenaline pumping, piercing and tattoo-sporting defender of the world? She will have to try or face the worst of consequences – becoming factionless herself.

I will be recommending this book far and wide! It rocks! I read 300 pages in one night. It is pretty amazing for a first time author to impress me. Welcome Veronica Roth to the ranks of the published. Impatiently awaiting a sequel.

Reality Check

2011-08-31T10:52:00.000-05:00

Reality Check by Peter Abrahams

If you read my last review, you are aware that I don’t like mysteries. Not a bit. Not even. No. In fact, if one of my colleagues wants to share how great the latest mystery they’re reading is… I have a hard time pretending to listen. Shhhhh! Kind of like a sermon that opens with a sports analogy. Alissa has left the building. Hey! I’m not perfect!

But sometimes, I read a book that doesn’t announce that it is a mystery and I get hooked! When I’m all finished, I look back and say, “Hey! You tricked me! Not FAIR!” Technically Black Hearts of Battersea, was a mystery. Apparently, my kind of mystery. And Reality Check is what I would call a mystery thriller. I could see it as a movie for Young Adults that aren’t into vampires and apocalypses. Just need the right celebrities. Say, a Justin Bieber and a Selena Gomez. Add a few catchy tunes sung by the stars and instant success. Why do I know these things?

Reality Check is a 2012 Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee. Now that I’ve read all of the winners from past years, I’m ready to tackle a new year’s. These books are intended for Young Adults, namely high schoolers, but there is some cross-over with junior high on one end of the spectrum as well as some adult fiction on the opposite. In my opinion, this novel is relatively tame. There is some underage drinking and smoking. There is some physical intimacy although never graphic nor detailed. There is a blip of vaguely implied homosexuality. I can comfortably recommend this book to both the boys and the girls. Young men and young women?

Cody Laredo is excited to begin his junior year at his small high school in the small town of Little Bend, Colorado. It’s not that he loves school. No, he hates academics. He’s more than happy to slip by with a D-. But his passion is football and he intends to be the star quarterback. Everyone knows how important your junior year is in regards to the college scouts.

He’s also pretty thrilled that his girlfriend is Clea Weston. She is nothing like him. She is an over-achieving academic dynamo. A “B” has no place on her report card. In fact, a B is cause for alarm where her father is concerned. And her father is an important man. He pretty much owns the town. Clea is not only from the opposite side of the tracks; Clea is as far away from poor Cody’s apartment above the Red Pony as it is possible to be. But that doesn’t seem to bother either of them.

Unfortunately that B on Clea’s report card and her increasing interest in a boy who is simply not good enough for her, leads to her being sent away to boarding school in New England. Cody attempts to protect his heart by breaking up with her, but when Clea disappears from her new school, Cody leaves his life behind him to try to find her.

Obviously, this is the case of no one being exactly what they appear to be. Including Cody. Headed cross country with only Clea’s most recent letter in his hand, Cody joins the search for his ex-girlfriend, but decides not to tell anyone who he is or share the letter. The letter says, “It’s hard to know who to trust sometimes.” Cody is convinced he can help. He is also convinced that revealing himself will only take attention away from the search for Clea. He’s ready to match his deductive powers with that of the local sheriff, but who is smarter and who is quicker?

A quick read, this one. I'd take a big dumb jock with heart anytime. It's hard to watch him, read him? make the choices he does. It's not that he's stupid - which he thinks he is. He just sees things differently than those around him. And he knows the subject, Clea, better than most.

Black Hearts in Battersea

2011-08-29T12:14:00.000-05:00

Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken

Some children are so easy to find a book for. There are those for whom any book will do as long as they have a book. Several books really because they devour them so fast. In some cases I worry if they hurry through them too fast. Are they even enjoying them? Can they even remember them?

Some children are so easily encouraged by their peers and sometimes even their siblings. Big sister read Twilight so I need too. All of my friends are reading The Lightning Thief so I must. Wow! That’s the biggest book I’ve ever seen, but looks are deceiving. It is full of pictures! I can handle this and look cool at the same time!

Some children stick to a certain genre. This one likes ghost stories. This one wants fantasy. Another wants only historical fiction in the form of diary entries. I always cringe when a child asks for a mystery. I don’t personally care for mysteries. Good thing that we have stickers on the spine! Already read all of Nancy Drew? Want to try the Hardy Boys? You like sports? Have I got some authors for you!

And then there is my own daughter. She has finally started reading without being coerced. She can finish a sizeable novel within her time constraints without me keeping tabs on her. But boy is she hard to supply. Especially if Accelerated Reader books are required. First she read 1950’s Newbery books. Then she switched to fairy tales. And then there were dragons. Now back to fairies. But I haven’t been successful. She has requirements.

Unlike me, who must finish every book regardless, she can read a few chapters and discard a book easily. Why? Usually because of violence or death. I should be proud. She doesn’t want to read a book where people get hurt. And she doesn’t like villains either. I cannot get her to watch a Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia or Star Wars movie. It is too much on her poor system. Those books that I thrive on and crave? I wouldn’t even go there with her.

Now, when I put a book into her hand, I have to be able to say, “No one dies.” Maybe they think someone has died, but it turns out to be false. And there is a happy ending. There are bad people, but they don’t win. Not even close. There are wolves! And they are meant to be frightening like discovering an alligator in your bathtub, but no one ever gets hurt! Ever. Really and truly. I promise.

So if you need a book for the faint of heart. The older child who somehow remains young and retains her innocence when the others are aging in decades. Perhaps a child who was born into the wrong century. (Like I myself was.) Well, try The Wolves Chronicles. Black Hearts in Battersea is the second in the series. Our young, orphan, homeless, goose boy from the first novel, discovers he is a duke. Doesn’t everyone still believe that they were somehow switched at birth? My daughter must surely believe it!

For girls who know they aren’t into or ready for Twilight, 4^th-6^th grade. And maybe a tenderhearted boy.

Feed

2011-08-22T14:44:00.000-05:00

Feed by M. T. Anderson

I believe this is the last book I have to read based upon a recommendation, at least for a little while. And I suppose that means that Summer is really over. This is also my first M. T. Anderson novel. I always thought I would get to Whales on Stilts, but alas, no. For the record, the audio book was recommended. I’m just not a good listener and so I took the old fashioned route – hardback.

Feed is certainly right up my alley. Dystopian Young Adult literature. It reminds me exceedingly of Extras by Scott Westerfeld and only because I read the latter first. More accurately, Extras takes after Feed according to the publication date.

It’s our not too distant future and the corporations have bailed out America. They did such a good job with the schools; they will do a fabulous job with our government. Anyone who is anyone, (read “has money or credit”) has a “feed”. To simplify, now we work from our computers, laptops or more conveniently, our phones. Soon, we will be organically linked up to the Feed. If you don’t have a lot of money, you might purchase an old-fashioned model where you can see the feed on your glasses and you carry your hardware on your back. BUT, if you use the cutting edge of technology, you had your link to the feed attached right onto your brain when you were an infant and it is just as much a part of your bodily functions as breathing or blinking.

Imagine, if you watch television, the number of ads you are inundated with over the course of a program. If you spend more time on your computer than in front of your TV, picture all of the ads that are flashed at you as you click from site to site. What if those commercials and banners were streamed into your conscious thought continually – yes, none stop – while you are driving, eating, shopping, sleeping, playing. For instance, you happen to be a girl that is into the latest hair trends. You receive a message saying that the new trend is a side part rather than a center part. You would seek the first restroom to change it. These cycles are short-lived. Now we have a season’s colors and trends. In the future, the trends change continually!

And what if that feed pays just as much attention to what you think about and where you go and what you “click” on as your internet’s “cookies.” The feed knows the kind of music you like. It knows the kind of pants you’re looking for. And it catalogs your every need or wish so that the corporations can provide it for you – rather you can buy it from them. You don’t interact with people anymore because you are too busy watching your latest soap or playing the newest game on the feed. You can even choose a site and pay for a feed-induced high.

The language is appalling, but more importantly, the characters seem just as bored with themselves as we would be watching them. They fly to the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and find it boring. My favorite part of the book is the opening line, "We went to the moon to have fun, but the moon turned out to completely suck. A disturbingly funny book that I would recommend to high-schoolers studying 1984, A Brave New World or Slaughterhouse Five. Not as fun as Extras.

A Discovery of Witches

2011-08-18T11:54:00.002-05:00

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

I haven’t read adult fiction for a very, very, very long time. That is unless it showed up on a Young Adult or Juvenile reading list… I used to jump off of my children’s diet whenever a new Dune, Wheel of Time, or Clan of the Cave Bear novel was published, until recently. It was just hard to switch between the two. It was a shock to my system. I used to read a lot of Ken Follett and Anne Rice and I am SO ashamed that I haven’t read the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth yet. It might be close to my all-time favorite ever and even my husband managed to beat me to it. He isn’t a reader unless it is Catch 22. Ah yes! I “listened” to Catch 22 in 2007 or 08. That was the very last one!

Well, my dear Miss Marsha, the lovely teacher who supplies me with my Ranger’s Apprentice fix, and whom I convinced would LOVE The Wheel of Time (I was right!), presented this enormous work to me and said I had to read it. I did. It is a guilty dessert for sure and more tame than I remember Anne Rice.

I hate to spend my time reading it and not presenting it here. Forgive me, please, then for this sidebar here.

Diana Bishop is descended from a looooooooooog line of witches and powerful ones at that. Ever since her parents were murdered when she was seven, she has chosen to live without her magic despite the fact that she was a natural as a child. Instead, she has sought a noticeable career as an historian in academia. She is a professor at Yale, currently doing research at Oxford.

She is requesting rare books for her studies in alchemy when she finds one that has been enchanted. Two of her instincts begin a battle. Use her magic to discover the secrets of Ashmole 782 OR treat it as nothing more than a book needed for her research. After enticing it to open, (can that really be called magic?) she chooses to treat it as research and sends it back without further exploration.

Unfortunately, her ability to request and receive a book that has been missing for 150 years draws the attention of every single creature in London – other witches, daemons and vampires. And of course when so many creatures congregate, the humans begin to take notice as well. Among the creatures that become suddenly interested in Diana, is an extremely powerful vampire, Matthew Clairmont. Diana knows she cannot associate with a vampire because it is far too dangerous, but he will not leave her alone.

Is Diana mesmerized by Matthew or is Matthew bewitched by Diana? Neither is certain. But if the creatures were interested in Diana and her connection to Ashmole 782 before, they are even more interested in a witch and a vampire that choose to associate so openly together. Being in the presence of a vampire is dangerous enough, but falling in love with a vampire is grounds for execution.

Yes, it’s a love story and a mystery with a bit of science and history. And yes, I couldn’t find enough time in my day to return to it. And, gasp, there was sex (without intercourse.) I’m blushing red. I told you, a shock to my system and my sensibilities. But definitely not graphic in anyway shape or form. If you like witches and vampires, this is one you’ll need to read. Sequels on the way! (YEA!)

The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

2011-08-12T16:15:00.001-05:00

The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan

It’s a sad, sad day. I try not to think too much about it or I will be devastatingly depressed. I have finished Ranger’s Apprentice – all 10 books. My only hope is that someday I will be retired with extra time on my hands and I will have the joy of reading them all a second time.

Once again, my good friend Marsha blessed me with the opportunity to read her personal copy rather than wait, and wait, and wait for DPL to purchase and receive a copy for children’s. She is SO forgiving. I’ve had it for weeks, months? I didn’t want to read it and then be done. I put it off until I could put it off no longer. I’m finally all caught up on my summer reading save two novels.

I didn’t even get to savor the book over the course of a week, stolen hours at night and in the morning while the girls were sleeping. No, I took it with me on vacation and read it straight through two days in the car. I finished the last ten pages at home in my own bed. I finished with a huge sigh. I will admit that I loved reading to my heart’s content. Especially since it was a book that I knew I would love from the beginning with characters that I wish were real.

Horace, the loyal and courageous knight, has been sent to Nihon-Ja to learn the battle techniques of the county’s warrior caste, the senshi. While there, Horace develops a very close relationship with the title character – the Emperor. So when an opposing ruler of a senshi group decides to stage a coup and the Emperor’s life is threatened, Horace chooses to stay and assist in regaining the throne for the Emperor.

The Royal Princess Cassandra of Araluen, better known as Evanlyn, is concerned when word arrives that Horace is missing. She gets support from her father, the King, and immediately sets off on a Skandian ship for Toscana where the Rangers Halt and Will along with the Courier Alyss are in negotiations with the Toscans and Arridi. No sooner stated than done, Alyss, Halt, Will and even our old friend, (and a favorite,) Selethen the Arridi, join Evanlyn on the Skandian ship headed to Nihon-Ja.

Flanagan, the brilliant master, as always, alternates his chapters between Toscana and Nihon-Ja, between Evanlyn’s traveling rescue party and Horace’s escaping refugees. I never can decide which side I prefer. I just know I get excited for each new chapter. Because eventually, when you least expect it, the two sides finally meet in a joyful reunion.

Reminiscent of one of Tolkien’s last stands, Horace’s party heads for the mountains and a legendary fortress capable of protecting the Emperor and his followers through the winter months. They need help locating the fortress first and upon finding it, they need help rebuilding and fortifying its walls. Thankfully, the Emperor has the support and loyalty of the common people, particularly the Kikori mountain people skilled in timber-felling and woodworking.

There is only one obstacle left. The enemy senshi are skilled warriors trained in battle since the age of ten and they are confident in their birthright. They also have the advantage of numbers. The Emperor’s supporting senshi number under fifty. What the Emperor has in the thousands are the peaceful, hardworking, commoners of the mountains – loyal to a fault, but untrained. That is all right. One of the Rangers still has an idea… if he can just wrap his fingers around it!

Half Brother

2011-08-11T06:56:00.000-05:00

Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel

Since I have been working as a children’s librarian, there have been two new authors who have impressed (even) me. Kenneth Oppel is one. (Shannon Hale is the other.) They are both close to my age which you can translate into up-and-coming as opposed to established. And they are incredibly gifted in language.

Oppel is known for two series. One started with Silverwing and the other, Airborn. The former is about bats. Wow. Seriously. The latter is steampunk-alternate-universe-air-pirates-as-opposed-to-sea-pirates. His first picture book, The King’s Taster, earned applause in my home as a bedtime story.

I was utterly startled to find Half Brother. Why I was startled is beyond me. I try not to keep track of what is coming. I like to be surprised. I suppose I would have been prepared to see another bat book. They really are that good – especially the prehistoric prequel. I would have been delighted to see another space pirate novel. I was left gaping when I started Half Brother and realized that it was set in the early 1970s!!!!!

I’ll go back right now and recommend the bat books to kids as young as ten and perhaps even voracious younger readers. They’re a hit with the boys. The Airborn series is more complex and the characters are bordering on young adulthood and I would definitely say they are a crossover between junior high and high school. They also attract both genders. Half Brother is the same.

Ben is thirteen and the son of scientists. While he and his father travel cross-country, Canada, to move into their new house located close to his father’s new university where he will embark upon his new research project, Ben’s mother travels to the United States to pick up Ben’s new baby brother. And new research subject. A chimpanzee.

Ben’s father wants to prove that mankind’s closest relative can learn language. He also wants to establish his career and reputation as a preeminent scientist. Ben’s mother needs to complete her thesis for her doctorate and is fully onboard with her husband’s research project. Ben wants to stay in Toronto, but since that is a long-gone wish, he is happy to establish himself as a “dominant male” in his new school as opposed to the geeky loner he has been.

The research project requires that the chimpanzee, named Zan, be brought up in their household as a member of their family. Ben is unhappy, perhaps jealous at first. Zan gets ALL of the attention. But quickly, Ben becomes emotionally attached to his new and unusual brother. And Zan favors him too. Together, Zan makes most of his amazing leaps and bounds in American Sign Language.

Unfortunately, chimpanzees do grow bigger and become stronger than human men. A playful bite can seriously injure a human handler. It doesn’t help that groups for the ethical treatment of animals take an interest in Zan’s welfare and unusual upbringing. In addition, the research project is determined to be flawed to begin with and is not receiving the big grant money Ben’s father and his university had hoped for. None of this matter’s to Ben – Zan is his brother.

To what lengths will Ben go to protect his brother AND keep the family together?

And excellent book to suggest to kids returning from the new Planet of the Apes movie!

The Magician's Elephant

2011-08-10T07:05:00.000-05:00

The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

There was a time when I thought I would read everything by Kate DiCamillo. But I am among the last of my compatriots to read this one. I really loved The Tale ofDespereaux. I led a book discussion of TheMiraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. And I found that the adult’s loved it and the children tolerated it. So when this one came out, I wasn’t in a rush to read it.

We ordered FIVE copies of this book and that is a tremendous indication of how revered this author is in the children’s department. We want you to read her books and we stand behind the quality of her writing. This book was recommended to me by a co-worker and “liked” by another co-worker. And I was ready to be dazzled. But I think the children and I are wishing for Ms. DiCamillo to return to her roots. We miss the style of Because of Winn-Dixie.

The nice thing about this book is that it is not only short, but it is a quick read. I read it in the car in one day traveling to our vacation destination. I am trying to figure out why I’m not thrilled with it. I am not against fantasy. I am not against books about the impossible like some co-workers I know. (luv u!) The best I can come up with is that I would prefer this style of book in a picture book format. Less words – more pictures. That might make it a graphic novel… and I still don’t care for those… But I’m definitely leaning towards all pictures and no words.

The story is about an orphan boy who lives with one of his father’s brother soldiers. The soldier drills him every day to be a good soldier like his father was. But the boy’s heart is not in it. He dreams about a sister that was born and taken from him. The soldier says she is dead, but the fortune teller says otherwise. The fortune teller tells the boy that an elephant will come to him and lead him to his sister. The boy must decide who to believe, for one must be lying.

On the other side of town, an orphan girl dreams of an elephant who will come and take her to where she belongs.

And in a theater, a magician intends to conjure up lilies for a lady in the audience, but a part of him is thinking grander thoughts. Instead, he conjures up an elephant that falls through the ceiling and onto the lap of the lady causing her great bodily injury.

And this is my favorite part of the book. Every day the lady visits the magician in prison to tell him that she is hurt. The magician always replies that he intended lilies. She cannot forgive him and he cannot convince her. The valet who brings the lady wishes for them to speak the truth and be done with it. I agree.

What I really relish these days are DiCamillo’s beginning readers. The Mercy Watson series and Bink and Gollie co-authored with Alison McGhee which I hope becomes a series. Perhaps I prefer her comedy to her philosophical dramas.

Recommended to adults with child-like imaginations.

Scumble

2011-08-09T10:21:00.000-05:00

Scumble by Ingrid Law

I love that I can go back and read a review of a prequel. Sometimes it gets my juices flowing. I hate that I was able to read four novels while on vacation, but was too busy to write and had no wi-fi to post anyway. Enforced vacation? I love to read. Writing is something I’m still wondering about.

Scumble is a companion novel to Savvy . I call it a companion novel rather than a sequel because they can stand alone. This book occurs quite a few years after the first and while several of the first book’s characters appear in this one, it is not their story. Mibs, the heroine of Savvy is an adult and is only in the background while her younger siblings, Samson and Gypsy, play minor supporting characters.

Savvy was a coming of age novel about a girl and Scumble is a coming of age novel about a boy. I would expect more girls read the first, but I think we might be able to pick up some boys with the second… I wonder if boys would go back to read the original… Either way, I see 5^th through 8^th graders reading this. I’m going to call it contemporary realistic fantasy. This could easily be any child trying to fit in in today’s world. The only difference is a little uncontrollable superpower.

A Savvy is an extraordinary talent inherited on your thirteenth birthday. To Scumble your Savvy is to control it in such a way that it doesn’t draw attention from the savvy-less locals. Or, in Ledger Kale’s case, doesn’t destroy every working machine in his vicinity. His first goal was to drive with his family from Indiana to Wyoming without their car falling apart into little bitty pieces.

The family is taking their chances with a savvy-newbie in the vehicle because they are going to a family wedding at Ledge’s Uncle Autry’s Ranch. It will be a “savvy” family reunion with all the cousins. Uncle Autry’s savvy draws insects, hence a “bug” ranch. His twin daughters, Marisol and Mesquite, inherited their savvys when they were only five and so they have already perfected their skills. One can levitate objects up and down and the other can levitate objects side to side. Working together, they can distribute wedding cake to all of the guests!

There is another guest actually living on the ranch. Mib’s older brother, Rocket, whose savvy can generate enormous amounts of electricity, has banned himself to the ranch because it is safer than home where he accidently hurt a close friend with his powers. After Ledge accidently brings down one of Uncle Autry’s barns, the Kale family decides that perhaps Ledge should stay at the ranch for the summer until he can learn to scumble his savvy better as well.

It’s one thing to hide at a ranch while you attempt to control your overwhelming super talents. It’s another thing entirely to have a super sleuth reporter sticking her nose where it isn’t wanted. Sarah Jane runs her own little newspaper in the town of Sundance and she knows there’s something special about the ranch and the people living on it. She knows just enough to be able to bribe Ledge into telling and showing her everything. She’s a VERY persuasive girl and her father seems to own or control everything in town. And he has eyes on Uncle Autry’s ranch…

I enjoyed Savvy, but Scumble is even better!

Plain Kate

2011-07-29T06:28:00.000-05:00

Plain Kate by Erin Bow

I hate to give a bad review to a book. And it’s not even a bad book. It’s well written and unique. It pulled me right in. It was a book that I chose to read based upon the jacket summary. I can understand why it intrigued me. But it is one of the few books that I felt uncomfortable reading.

On occasion, I have watched horror films. I don’t know why I subjected myself to them. Perhaps I just liked to be “safely” scared. I’ve stopped. One of the last ones I watched was The Grudge. There was this sound that was played whenever something bad was about to happen. Kind of like the Jaws theme. We have radiators in our house and whenever an air bubble is released from the water and it hits the metal, it makes the same sound. Not a cool thing. The movie primed me with a Pavlov’s dog type of response and then my house has carried it on.

Sometimes a book reads in such a way that you can see the movie play in your mind. It’s like the author wrote the movie or intended it to be made into one. There were times when descriptions in this book very vividly recalled to mind the ghosts or monsters from The Grudge or The Ring. That awful image of a girl crawling shakily out of a well and walking towards you all damp and cold and colorless. And evil.

This book spooked me. In some cases, you might argue that the book was too good. I might argue that it belongs more to Young Adult. However, there are some kids that come looking for a scary book and I think I’ve found one. Perhaps I should put a ghost sticker on the spine. And then again, I don’t think I’m going to recommend it at all.

Plain Kate is set in a time when witches are drowned or burned at the stake. Plain Kate is set in a place where witches are real. Women can heal with some herbs and a song. Men can call up the weather. Your shadow can be removed with a braid of your hair, a bit of your blood, and some fire. And magic can only be performed when gifts are exchanged or sacrifices are made.

Plain Kate was born a natural carver to a village carver. She was given a knife to carve before she was given a spoon to eat. Due to her supernatural carving abilities and her unusual eyes, two different colors, she was always set a bit apart from the rest of the village. Her mother died when she was young and her father died when she was not much older. Plain Kate was made an orphan in a place that did not want her.

About the time Plain Kate is forced to leave her village, a strange albino man arrives – a real witch named Linay. He offers to exchange the wish of Plain Kate’s heart for her shadow. Only when the village becomes violent against her does Plain Kate begin to consider his offer. She finally agrees in exchange for the supplies necessary to travel away from her past. The wish of her heart? Her cat begins to talk which doesn’t help her case when she is accused of witchcraft.

I wish I could say that Linay is satisfied with just her shadow, but he needs more and now the two are connected. Linay’s goal is to raise his sister from the dead and take revenge on the city that burned her at the stake for trying to heal people during a fever of epidemic proportions.

If you don’t want your children performing the “Light as a Feather” trick/spell, then you don’t want your children reading this. That’s the kind of uncomfortable I was. And this is why I read books. I didn’t see this one coming, and I’m not sure anyone else would without a careful background check.

Nation

2011-07-23T06:53:00.000-05:00

Nation by Terry Pratchett

I have read but one of this author’s books before. He is quite well-known for his “series” called Discworld. I was not even aware of him until I started working in the Children’s Department and I was a literature major in college. Such a shame. I think there could be a class on Discworld. Why, there probably is… somewhere.

I read The Wee Free Men years ago. It was a new book with an attractive cover and I really enjoyed it. But when its sequels arrived, I was seriously entrenched in reading the Caudills. AND I had discovered just how large and various the Discworld series is and was a bit overwhelmed. When I realized that The Wee Free Men belonged to the series, well, I didn’t want to go any further without catching up. Even though I was assured that it wouldn’t hurt to read just the series within a series.

Introducing… Summer Reading! I have greatly enjoyed reading books that I want to read regardless of their “list” status. I have read an abundance of books that just called to me from the shelf. Mixed in with those books, without even realizing it, I also took on several recommendations from my co-workers. This one comes from Miss Nancy and she says that the audio book of this title is PHENOMENAL!

Mau is a boy on the verge of manhood. He has left behind the island of his youth, his family and his boy’s soul. He has been placed on the Boys’ Island where he must survive on his own and find a way to return home within 30 days. If he can accomplish this, he will be a man and will receive not only the tattoos of men, but also a man’s soul. This is what “should have happened.” But it did not.

Instead, a tsunami of horrific proportions ravages this part of the ocean and attempts to destroy the islands and the life upon them. Mau had been safe, safer on the water in his little canoe. When he arrives home, he finds devastation and death. He is alone. He might have chosen death for himself except that someone needed to send the dead into the ocean so that they might become dolphins according to their beliefs.

Mau thinks he is alone, but he is not. Another, larger, stronger, foreign ship has beached – treed – on his island. There is a lone survivor. A thirteen-year-old girl. A white girl. One who has been raised to be a lady. A girl that is 138 heads away from being the Queen of her land. And her father will come to get her. Someday.

The cover of the book reads, “When much is taken, something is returned.” Can Daphne replace the hundreds of the lost? Not alone, but she is very resourceful. And, like Mau, she steps into her new responsibilities and roles. She is a “woman of power.” The two become the new leaders as little by little, other survivors find the island of Nation. When the adults are weak, the children move forward.

This is quite a powerful book. Kids will read it and appreciate the adventure and the comic relief. Adults will read it and read it again. It could almost be required reading for a class on philosophy or religion. I would recommend it for Junior High and up, both boys and girls. The question is, “How will you respond to God, when everything has been taken from you?”

In Mau’s case, it would be the gods. The voice of Locaha – Death – speaks to him. He also hears the voices of the Grandfathers in his head. Daphne will hear voices as well. But they won’t be the voices of the religion in which she was raised which is definitely Christianity. An author’s note states that the book is not set in our world, but an alternative one. And the story indicates that Britain is in its conquering mode. Missionaries are out to win the savages. It is a “questioning” book. So parents should be prepared.

The Water Seeker

2011-07-16T06:35:00.001-05:00

The Water Seeker by Kimberly Willis Holt

Here’s a case of mistaken identity. Something about this book’s title; something about this book’s cover; something about this book’s summary; something about this book’s reviews drew me in. I remember ordering it and thinking, “That’s a book I want to read!” I remember holding it for the first time and something clicking in my mind, “I wanted this book.” And I put my name on it. And it became a part of my summer reading list. The books I wanted to read and not the books I needed to read.

I read the first few chapters and wondered, “Huh, this is not the book I thought it was or would be.” There was a part of me that started to think, I don’t have to read this book, but by then, I couldn’t help myself. I suppose, I thought it would be more fantastical or magical and get a sticker. While it won’t get a fantasy sticker, it was definitely fantastical and magical on a different scale. (But it should probably get a historical fiction sticker instead.)

Don’t get me wrong. Growing up, I was the princess of historical fiction. As a matter of fact, I read oodles of books about the Oregon Trail and at one time could probably have been a scout for the Trail based upon my book learning. (And I’ve never been closer than New Mexico, HA.) But I’ve grown up and prefer… well… more. Unique. Unusual. DIFFERENT.

This is the story of Amos Kincaid. His father, Jake Kincaid, is a dowser. His grandfather was a dowser. His great grandfather was a dowser. Their family was a line of dowsers going all the way back to when God made creation. Water wasn’t just in their blood – water was their blood. Dowsing was a blessing – an occupation that could put food on the table. Dowsing was a curse – you had to follow the need. OR, in Jake Kincaid’s case, do it when you’d rather be doing something else.

Amos got dowsing from his father. Amos got drawing from his mother. Delilah was the wild, red-headed, earthy mother that preferred solitude with a charcoal pencil and a pad of paper. Amos never knew his mother – she died during childbirth – but she never left his side as a child.

Amos’ life was full of change and he had no control over it. Because his mother died and his father was a trapper, he was passed from home to home. Just as soon as he would get comfortable with his lot in life, tragedy would strike or his father would show up and it was time to move. This novel is a story about Amos’ Coming of Age. That moment when he stops following and begins to lead.

The language is gorgeous. The characters are tangible. The story is comfy and yet uniquely told. I would say that the author told the story that she wanted to tell and not the story that a publisher wanted to sell. She earned the right. I foresee multiple adults trekking upstairs to check this title out for their book discussion group. I’d recommend this book to kids with old souls.

The Throne of Fire

2011-07-14T06:46:00.001-05:00

The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

I have a child to thank for having my copy of the second book in The Kane Chronicles in my hands so quickly. This child, a boy, has come to the library weekly to check on the availability of this title. Long before it was even published, he was asking. In fact, if I had to put a finger on the date that his queries began, I would say it was the day after he finished The Red Pyramid.

Rick Riordan is the guy who wrote the Percy Jackson series and now the Heroes of Olympus series. The first is well known by now and has a movie franchise and it is based on the premise that Greek mythology is real, present and modern – and resides in Manhattan. The second series is most certainly a companion series but Roman mythology enters the picture. And then there is that 39 Clues series. Riordan must be a workaholic.

The Kane Chronicles are similar to the first two series and yet they are different. Here we rely on Egyptian mythology, but the Egyptian gods are not alive and well. They have been conquered, retired, imprisoned. It is the House of Life, run by magicians, that controls the fate of the world. There are no demigods. Instead, there is the royal bloodline. Strong in magic, they strive to maintain the balance between Order and Chaos without involving the gods or succumbing to them.

Enter the Kane siblings. Carter and Sadie represent the joining of two very strong royal Egyptian bloodlines. They were raised unaware of their importance and potential in order to keep them safe from both gods and magicians. When their mother died, the two were separated. Carter who more closely resembles his African American father stayed with his father. They traveled extensively for his father’s scholarly research. Sadie, who takes after her blond-haired, blue-eyed mother, went to live with her grandparents in London, only seeing her father and brother on holidays.

In the first book, Carter and Sadie were finally thrown together again when their father attempted to stave off Chaos for a while longer. They learned that their mother sacrificed herself in order to keep Apophis, the god of Chaos, imprisoned. Then their father became the god Osiris and went to live in the Seventh House and rule the Egyptian Afterlife. This left the siblings parentless as well as clueless.

The Throne of Fire finds Carter and Sadie way ahead of the game. They are teachers in their own Brooklyn House. They have their own initiates who have made their way to Brooklyn to learn to use their magic to continue in the struggle against Chaos. And Apophis is rising. In five days.

The siblings receive visions and discover a way to prevent the end of the world as we know it. They must raise the sun god Ra to defeat Apophis. In order to summon him from places unknown, they must retrieve the three scrolls of the Book of Ra, each heavily protected. They must travel the god’s original path through the Houses and survive each challenge. And speak the spell within the scrolls pages. And hope that Apophis doesn’t swallow Ra whole anyway.

This would be easy enough, except that the Kane’s are considered traitors to the House of Life and the two strongest magicians are against them. So instead of receiving their help, they must fight them every step of the way. The Kane’s have become godlings. They shared their thoughts and bodies with Horus and Isis and the penalty is death. But the Kane’s know that the only way to restore Order and defeat Chaos is to bring the gods out of retirement and rediscover the “old ways” of the glorious ancient Egypt.

I still prefer this series to the Greek and Roman ones that are so familiar to me. It is fun too learn more about Egyptian mythology in this way. I'd recommend this to the Percy Jackson followers, as well as to kids who enjoy mythology. The 5th to 8th graders will get it first, but the adults, both young and old will follow.

City of Fallen Angels

2011-07-05T06:43:00.000-05:00

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Here is an unexpected (to me) Book Four in The Mortal Instruments series. Clare’s last book began a new planned trilogy that was a prequel to this one and called The Infernal Devices. I rather enjoyed the new trilogy’s setting, Victorian England, and was a bit put off to return to modern-day New York. But, as immortal characters cross both realms and mortal characters make choices that affect the present, I might just be okay with that.

We return, six months later, to the Shadowhunter / Downworlder love triangles that keep the teens coming back. The evil Valentine is dead. His REAL son, Sebastian/Jonathan, is presumed dead. The newly arisen Circle is dismantled. A new Accords has been written. All thanks to Clary Fray and her off again, on again, is he her brother or her boyfriend, Jace Wayland … Lightwood … Morgenstern … Herondale?

Clary’s mother, Jocelyn, once a Shadowhunter, (always a Shadowhunter?) is engaged to be married to the love of her life, Luke, who happens to be a Shadowhunter turned Werewolf / Downworlder. And everyone is busy with the wedding planning, dress altering, and party attending.

Jocelyn had raised Clary to be a normal human child despite her Shadowhunter blood, but now Clary is busy playing catch-up. She is in training to learn everything that she should have learned in order to protect herself while protecting the world from Demons.

Clary is being trained in part by her boyfriend Jace, but he is preoccupied as always. This time he is having nightmares. In his nightmares, he always ends up wounding Clary and watching her die in his arms. Jace is afraid that even though he isn’t Valentine’s son by blood, he was still raised by the man and therefore harbors a trace of his evil. This translates into Jace avoiding Clary. Clary misunderstands, as always. He must not love her anymore.

In the meantime, Clary’s best friend Simon, once a normal human teenager, now a special vampire with extraordinary powers, is dealing with his own troubles. Forget that he is a Daylighter – a vampire who can be in the presence of the sun. Forget that Clary put the Mark of Cain on his forehead – anyone who chooses to harm him is dealt the punishment sevenfold by the Hand of Heaven. Forget that the ancient vampire Camille wants him on her side; the head of the New York vampires wants him dead, and a league of gray-track-suited humans? are trying to mug him.

Simon’s primary problem is that he’s been dating Isabelle the Shadowhunter and Maia the werewolf simulataneously and unbeknownst to each other. And they’re bound to find out before the wedding. A woman’s scorn is much more painful than a demon’s attack.

She sure knows how to write them. She certainly understands tension. And there is definitely another in the works.

This is high school reading. There is still no sex, just making out in underwear – once. But there is the promiscuous Warlock, Magnus Bane. He is caught off guard when an old flame, Camille, messes with the mind of his new flame Alec. Poor guy doesn’t stand a chance.

The Warlock

2011-06-30T06:54:00.001-05:00

The Warlock: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott

My new computer just rebooted itself and lost my 30 minutes of work. And this is my day off? I cannot be this snarky at 6:41 in the morning.

The last of this series, The Enchantress, will be published next summer. Whew, a break. Wow, I cannot even write with humor anymore. It’s all sarcasm. And dripping venom.

There were many of us, adults, who were sorely disappointed by the last book, The Necromancer, it is certainly the weakest in the series. The Warlock is better. We each agree to different degrees.

I still have two problems with this series. The first is that it attempts to tackle too much. Every legend. Every mythology. Every monster ever mentioned from every culture. There are too many characters and they each serve from multiple sides. Friends at the beginning have now turned traitorous. Mortal enemies are now helping each other. NO ONE is what they are. Everyone has at least two faces.

Except for our protagonists who continue to be wishy-washy, whiney Luke Skywalkers who are supposedly amazingly powerful, but who have no maturity or conviction.

And number two. This still doesn’t feel like a juvenile book. I could not identify with the kids in this book. The adults/immortals are far more interesting and vital.

I don’t recommend this book. I don’t need to. The series has a following regardless. Similar to the derivative Eragon series. Enough said. There are far more, far better books to read.

Dark Life

2011-06-29T06:29:00.000-05:00

Dark Life by Kat Falls

Here is a book about an Earth ravaged by devastating earthquakes. The predictions about coastlines falling into the oceans have come true. New York City is gone. Gosh, New York might be gone. The Statue of Liberty has fallen into the abyss. It is buried so far down no one can find it.

There are too many people and not enough land which results in expansion like it always does. But instead of migrating upwards into the heavens, the pioneers choose to migrate down into the depths of the ocean. The new frontier. The new territory. The Dark Life.

Enter a young couple with the skills and the knowledge to settle and work the land. An aquabotanist who knows which plants to farm and harvest. Which fish to herd. All food worthy to sell to the Topsiders. And an engineer who can build houses that can survive the depths. Unusual buildings that take into account the unique shapes and systems that can withstand the pressure and the currents. The jellyfish on the cover? Our protagonist’s home.

Our hero is 15-year-old Ty. He is the first child born to the depths. Although he has visited Topside, he has always lived on the ocean floor. No one can swim faster than Ty. He learned to swim before he could walk. He shines because of a diet of bioluminescent fish. He shines enough that tourists want to touch him and take pictures. And he can see further through the water than anyone else.

Doctors from the Topside believe that children born and raised in the ocean are at risk for brain damage. The doctors believe that there is too much pressure on the young brains and therefore strange mutations are occurring. For instance, there is a research study about a boy who is able to use sonar like a whale. The government is considering shutting down the entire territory for the safety of the children.

The government is threatening from above and now a gang of outlaws are wreaking havoc from below. The Seablite Gang was known for stealing from the government and vandalizing government property. But now they have turned on the settlers as well. Cutting power to the generators that provide the heat for the farm life killing all of the livestock as well as damaging the homes and harming the inhabitants.

Amidst all of this, enter Gemma, an orphan on the run from Topside who is looking for her only living relative – a beloved brother – whose last known location was in the depths. The trading station that connects the depths with Topside is not the safest place for a young girl. Imagine – this is the Old West, but set in the ocean. There are lots of rough men trying to make a living and getting in each other’s way in the process. And you never know whom you can trust.

Excellent sci-fi for junior and senior high.

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

2011-06-28T06:35:00.000-05:00

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

I don’t remember what book I had just finished, but I know I was talking about it and how much I loved it. Why wouldn’t I? That discussion encouraged a recommendation from my boss. This is one of her favorites. Her father brought it home, probably for her sister, but she enjoyed it too. It is the first in a series called Wolves Chronicles. My reading list just got longer.

Bonnie Green is the little girl that every girlie girl dreams to be. Her parents are fabulously wealthy landowners in England. They live in the mansion known as Willoughby Chase. They have maids, butlers, chauffeurs, servants galore. Nannies and governesses too. Bonnie’s closet is filled with dress after dress and her nurse has the ability to make new ones at a whim. Bonnie has a bedroom, a schoolroom and a playroom. In her playroom is a miniature house for her to play in and a life-size rocking horse and enough lovely dolls to line a wall. She has been raised to be confident and independent, if a bit forward and demanding, perhaps even a touch naughty.

Bonnie’s cousin Svlvia Green is an orphan who lives in London with her (and Bonnie’s) Aunt Jane who is aged and frail. Sylvia’s life is much different. She lives in a tiny one-room attic apartment that has been divided into two rooms with a curtain. She sleeps on an ottoman, bathes in a bowl and eats meager meals she cooks over a gas jet. Aunt Jane and Sylvia are making new clothes for her out of white curtains green velvet shawls when this book begins. Sylvia is going to live with Bonnie as Aunt Jane is no longer able to care and provide for her, but too proud to take charity. Sylvia is a quiet, meek, and submissive child who knows her manners and uses them.

Sylvia arrives at Willoughby Chase just as Bonnie’s parents are preparing to leave. Lady Green is ill and the doctor has recommended a sea voyage to quicken her recovery. Sir Willoughby has hired a distant relative, Miss Slighcarp, to manage and maintain Willoughby Chase in their absence. From the beginning, the reader can see that she is an evil woman.

Sylvia has also arrived with a Mr. Grimshaw, a fellow passenger in her compartment on the train. Mr. Grimshaw had protected Sylvia from a wolf and then gotten hurt when his traveling bag fell on his head and knocked him out. The Willoughby’s welcome the invalid into their home until the doctor finds him fit to leave.

Not even a full day passes before Miss Slighcarp begins her plans to take over Willoughby Chase. She fires the servants, burns Sir Willoughby’s papers, wears Lady Green’s best and favorite gowns and sells Bonnie’s toys. Then she sends the girls off to a boarding school that is more like a prison.

Months pass as Bonnie and Sylvia plot, escape, flee, plan and survive with the help of a Goose Boy named Simon. I daresay, Simon is my favorite character! And, of course, it all ends well!

Windblowne

2011-06-27T06:44:00.001-05:00

Windblowne by Stephen Messer

Forget that I have been too busy to read let alone write or even sit. I’ve found it difficult to attach words to this particular book. It’s simply whimsical and wonderful.
I’ve probably told this story before. I read the reviews for this book and knew that I had to read it. I knew that we had to purchase it. I knew that I wanted to be first. In the old days, I would have put 5 copies in the cart. I’m pretty certain that I asked for at least two. But under the current budget freeze, I’m thrilled to have one.

After reading the jacket cover, I promptly put my name within the pages like a bookmark patiently waiting for my turn to check it out. When it was finally mine, I placed it on my dresser to savor it for a while, not wanting to break the glorious anticipation.

At one point I added another slip of paper to the pages. It is a list of other tales that it reminds me of. The Pied Piper, Mary Poppins, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Land of Oz, Some Willy Wonka and a dash of Seuss. See? WHIMSICAL!

Windblowne is a town that resides at the top of a mountain. It is notable for its sturdy oak trees – where its inhabitants live – and its powerful winds. And if Rockville, Indiana is known for its annual Covered Bridge Festival, Windblowne is famous for Ye Olde Festival of Kites and it is the 455th year!

Very much like Californians surf, Windblownians fly – kites. Every child learns to build and fly kites much like our children learn to ride bikes. The best kite makers are revered. The champion flyers – ride. There is even a contest to see who can jump/fly/ride the farthest. The standing record is marked with a granite rock.

Then there is Oliver. He is a strange boy with a strange family. His father writes dull, boring, long histories of Windblowne that nobody reads. He hardly lifts his pen from his paper to focus upon his son. Oliver’s mother is an artist who makes sculptures that litter their yard begging for a buyer, but no one, not even Oliver, understands them.

And then there is Oliver. Try as he might, he cannot build a kite that will fly. Worse – when given a fine kite TO fly, Oliver manages to destroy it. Oliver has no talent for the very the skills that are nurtured and honored in his hometown.

On the advent of the Kite Festival, Oliver has no flyable kite to enter into the competitions and Oliver’s father suggests he find his Great-uncle Gilbert for assistance. He has a Great-uncle Gilbert? Yes, apparently he is a champion builder of kites who was banished from the Kite Festival long ago for his heretical inventiveness.

Oliver finds his Great-uncle Gilbert almost too easily. And he finds much more than a strange, secretive old gentleman. Oliver finds kites that eat other kites, kites that attack other kites, a kite that flies by itself AND another Oliver! An Oliver who seems to have the gift for building amazing kites. Oh, and he finds one of his father’s books with notes scribbled in the margins. It’s the scribbles that provide the clue to the extra Oliver…

The magnificent oak trees of Windblowne are shared with multiple (thousands? billions?) Windblownes. Many different Windblownes with many different histories. And the kite that flies by itself has the ability to fly Oliver from Windblowne to Windblowne.

Unfortunately, not only is there another Oliver, but there is another, evil Great-uncle Gilbert who has plans to conquer and rule the worldS. Of course, it is Oliver’s job to defeat him before it is too late. But first, he must discover his own unique talent.

I'll recommend it to everyone! although it is geared towards the middle school grades.

The Place of Lions

2011-06-18T07:07:00.000-05:00

The Place of Lions by Eric Campbell

I was listening to the radio yesterday and there was a discussion of Mr. Popper’s Penguins, the movie. They mentioned that it was a Newbery Honor book. I looked at my husband and said, “Do you know how old that book is? I haven’t read it yet and I’m currently reading the late 1950’s Newbery Honor books.” Yeah, it was recognized in 1939! And then I realized that I’ve read over 50 years’ worth of Newbery books and have about 30 years’ worth to go. I don’t know whether to be excited or depressed. There is hope in that reading them backwards, there is an finite end – 1922.

And then I considered the Caudill’s. I’ve read about 16 years’ worth of nominees. And I have around 9 years to go. That sounds almost manageable. Almost. I’m reading in the 1996’s. And that is why I am offering this book today.

Here is a note of warning. The Decatur Public Library’s copy has some interesting pagination issues. Enough that you might be tempted to return it unread. I can assure you that all pages are present and accounted for. You will not miss anything. You will just be reading a few 4-6 page chunks backwards. At least they are numbered. And you really need to be awake or some portions won’t make any sense.

When I was looking for a picture of the cover, I noticed that a picture of the Decatur copy wasn’t available. That is promising. The problem was fixed and it was republished. I need to remember to say something. Surely we would replace it if we found it worth replacing.

Would I be in favor of replacing it? Now that I have read it and know exactly the kind of child – boy – who would read it. Yes. So if you have a son (or daughter) who loves Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet or almost any of the adventure books by Will Hobbs, you now have another summer reading suggestion.

Chris’s mother died recently and since that time, he and his father have only been going through the motions. They are having a difficult time dealing with their grief. But now there is a new hope. A thrilling new adventure awaits them. Chris’s father has been asked to take a position at a hospital in Tanzania. Both father and son eagerly await their new home.

And they get so close.

As their pilot flies them over the Serengeti desert giving them a panoramic view of the beautiful country and its many wild species, a startled venue of vultures rises up into the air and right into the plane’s engines. The crash leaves only Chris mobile and the pilot is in urgent need of care. His injuries are life threatening. Chris decides that it is up to him to walk to the nearest known populated location – a hotel.

Chris and the two men are not alone. Close to the crash site is a pride of lions. The King is old and a young male is threatening him. Chris finds himself cheering for the King. He realizes his safety as well as his survival depends on the aging King.

The epilogue gave me goosebumps.

Pegasus

2011-06-17T07:39:00.001-05:00

Pegasus by Robin McKinley

This book is so lovely; I am almost tempted not to spoil it with a review. But when a book is too beautiful to put down, too entrancing to finish, I want to share it with others - others who would appreciate the artistry.

Robin McKinley is one of those authors that I admire, not for her gift of words and imagery, which she is overflowing with, but for her willingness to share the vulnerable stories in her head. She has taken me to a world that I don’t wish to leave by giving me a glimpse into herself. It’s like putting her heart between two covers.

I cannot explain it well. I don’t feel manipulated. I don’t see a blueprint. The movie doesn’t blare in my mind and across my retinas. There is definitely a sense of danger and violence. You want to jump into the pages like Interrupting Chicken and shout “SAY SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!” But you understand fully why the heroine wouldn’t or couldn’t. She feels impotent.

The book feels so real and yet it is fantasy.

Something finally clicked into place for me in church last Sunday morning. Yeah. Seriously. We were singing the final hymn, The Strong Word, which is one of my favorites, and we came to the verse,

God the Father, light-creator,

To Thee laud and honor be.

To Thee, Light from Light begotten,

Praise be sung eternally.

Holy Spirit, light-revealer,

Glory, glory be to Thee.

Mortals, angels, now and ever

Praise the Holy Trinity!

When I came to the highlighted part, Mortals, Angels, I was enlightened. Whenever an angel appeared to a mortal, they were awestruck and afraid. And the angels say, “Do not be afraid.” And I try to grasp a being that would frighten me as well as bring me to my knees in awe. A being that would frighten me, know it would frighten me and seek to reassure me.

Our heroine, Sylvi is a princess. She is the fourth child and only daughter of the King of Balsinland. She is very small for her age and easily forgotten because of both her status and stature. When a member of the royal family turns twelve, they are bonded to a Pegasus from the neighboring kingdom. The reader would be tempted to think that this would be incredible – you’re very own Pegasus friend.

However, Pegasi speak to each other through a silent language that is comprised of body language and words and thoughts. A human being, without mobile ears, a tail, wings or four hooves would have trouble enough communicating with a Pegasus if they spoke the same language. The two beings, human and Pegasi, speak very ill with each other indeed. They try, but it is simply, hardly feasible. They have trained magicians who are called Speakers that act as translators. But even they cannot convey the entirety of a message.

So why would the two races attempt a friendship? The Pegasi are not a warrior race. They are not built for combat. They are more of an artistic race. 800 years ago, when the humans first encroached on the lands utilized by the Pegasi, the humans drove off the ladons, wyverns, norindours and taralians that threatened the winged horses. The Pegasi were grateful and the two species established a treaty of friendship. The human/Pegasus bond was established to promote the friendship. And the friendship and proximity of the Pegasi bless the humans and their land.

Sylvi, a trained and educated princess, is well aware of the history of her kingdom and the unique nature of their friendship with the Pegasi. Even though she has grown up surrounded by the Pegasi bond-friends, she is still frightened by her own approaching bonding ceremony. How can one have an “Excellent Friend” if you cannot communicate with each other and need a translator?

Let’s forget the lack of solid communication. Sylvi cannot imagine being bonded to such a startling and magnificent creature. The Pegasi and their beauty and creativity take one’s breath away. The sight of the gorgeous, prismatic, graceful, yet powerful Pegasi as they fly through the sky bring mature and experienced warriors to their knees in combined wonder and fright. See?… angels. Sylvi feels small and insignificant – unworthy.

But something incredible and dangerous happens at Sylvi’s bonding ceremony. Even before the magical bond spells are begun… she can speak with her future bond-friend. His name is Ebon. He told her so! In fact, as the spell begins, it feels more like they are being separated than joined, and Ebon feels it as well.

Sylvi has always found the magicians to be rather, well, creepy. Perhaps there is a reason.

My only complaint about this book is its abrupt ending. I was tempted to hurl the book across the room. I can only hope there is a sequel in the works.

I would expect to find this book in the hands of the girls with their heads in the clouds. The dreamers. 8th grade and up. Younger girls might be tempted to attempt Pegasus, but they might not be able to follow it and catch everything the first time around.

Extras

2011-06-08T18:59:00.000-05:00

Extras by Scott Westerfeld

I can appreciate the dedication of this book, “To everyone who wrote to me to reveal the secret definition of the word ‘trilogy.’” This is the fourth book in the Uglies trilogy. Why it works? We are introduced to a new heroine, a new country, a new culture. The residents are recovering from the great “mind-rain” a few years back that was caused by the legendary Tally Youngblood, the heroine of the original three. The book is built upon Tally’s world, but it is different.

Imagine that you had to earn your keep, goods and services through community service and… fame, more commonly known as merit and rank. Aya Fuse lives in a city with a Reputation Economy. She can earn merits by going to school and babysitting littlies. Those merits can be used to buy food and clothing. Whereas Tally used to tell a hole in the wall what she needed or wanted and it was provided, Aya must be able to pay for what she requests and merits are one form of currency.

Face rank is the other. Aya is constantly aware of her face rank which hovers around 451,000 at the beginning of the book. This means that 450,999 people in the city rank higher than Aya. Aya is considered an extra, a loser, an unknown. You gain face rank by the number of people that follow your feed, say your name, read your stories, and pay attention to you. The higher your face rank, the greater your reputation, the stronger your power and the more stuff you can acquire.

Aya has contact with fame. Her older brother, Hiro has just made it into the top one thousand. Being in the top one thousand faces is a notable accomplishment with important invitations. Hiro made it big by “kicking” a story about Crumblies seeking immortality by having organ transplants frequently. Hiro has an instinct for selling a clique, a gadget and even himself. And being his younger, ugly, extra of a sister is AWKWARD!

Aya has a plan to sell herself. She has found THE story to kick. There is a new clique called the Sly Girls and they surf the mag-lev rails through the wilderness. What’s more is that they desire anonymity, not that Aya can understand that, but most kids believe the Sly Girls to be urban legend. Aya thinks this is the story to boost her face rank right out of extra-dom. She just has to lie a bit in order to earn their trust and respect. And surf the mag-lev rails herself. And stumble upon an even bigger story in the process – a story with the headline of “City Killer”.

If you missed the fourth book in the series, if you thought the trilogy had ended, look again. I recommend you go back and check this one out. It has the familiar and the extraterrestrial. I recommend this series to Junior and Senior High Schoolers who enjoy science fiction. With strong heroines, the girls will readily pick it up. I would love to find a guy to try it out.

The Horsecatcher

2011-06-07T09:22:00.000-05:00

The Horsecatcher by Mari Sandoz

Talk about a jolt into the past. When you’ve been reading 1990’s made-for-the-Hallmark-Channel dramas, it takes a bit of a kick-start to lose oneself in a 1958 Newbery Honor book. The language is different. The pacing is different. The action is different. Throw into the mix an entirely different culture and your reading brain can be ground to a jerky halt. It’s like starting school again after a lazy summer.

Young Elk is a member of the Cheyenne and the time is the 1830s. I had to search for that last tidbit. The Cheyenne, Kiowa, Comanche and Arapaho have no solidified alliance. Sometimes they scout around each other, avoiding each other. Usually they plan raids to steal and kill each other. When blood is spilled, vengeance planned. It is expected and respected.

Young Elk’s father and mother are both from Cheyenne Warrior clans and his older brother, Two Wolves, has followed in their footsteps as expected. Young Elk is also expected to become a great warrior to bring honor to his family and clans. He is required to acquire scalps and coups. He must earn his right of passage and name in this way – killing.

Early on, Young Elk realizes that it does not feel right for him to kill, not even for food unless absolutely necessary. Instead of a name, he earns the shame of believed cowardice. He finally kills a Kiowa warrior in self-defense and saves his people in the process. He is given the proud name of Kiowa Killer, but refuses to wear it. Rather than joining his people in feasting and celebrations, he leaves the village to catch horses. Leaving becomes his self-defense.

Fortunately, he is very good at catching horses and not just the tamed horses of other tribes and villages, but wild ones – special ones. He is stubborn and determined almost to death to catch his prize. He begins his collection to satisfy his own needs and desires, perhaps the heart of a young maiden named Red Sleeves, but is unable to earn the respect of the important men of his village.

Leaving his clan more frequently and for longer periods of time, he travels far to the north as well as far to the south and earns the respect and admiration of distant relatives and even members of other tribes. He makes a name for himself abroad, but he is still uncomfortable living among his family.

Eventually, Young Elk is able to prove that his family, village and tribe are of the utmost importance in his heart. He is willing to make significant sacrifices for them even if he is unwilling to shed blood for them. He proves his worth by maintaining his convictions.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in Native American history and customs. It would be an excellent addition to a study of the Cheyenne tribe. I would have benefitted from it in my schooling. But reader be warned, it was hard to pull me out of the present and immerse me in the alien culture. When I finally arrived, it was like a breath of fresh air. A young man with convictions based upon his heart whispers.

Someone Was Watching

2011-06-04T10:12:00.001-05:00

Someone Was Watching by David Patneaude

And now we are back to old Caudill Nominees. This one was a nominee in 1996. I might recommend it to reluctant readers who would enjoy a mystery and particularly to the more sensitive boys - boys with a strong sense of family who love their sisters. I am thinking that kids, who gravitate towards The Face on the Milk Carton type of book, will enjoy this one as well.

I will put this book in the same category as My Sister’s Keeper and the one I mentioned above. I am not entirely certain what it is about these books, but the kids flock to them. They are highly emotional and they involve a significant crime against self – a believable one. A crime that could actually happen and is both devastating and frightening. In this case, a kidnapping. Perhaps they can enjoy the terror in the safety of their own home.

When this book begins, the family has already suffered the monumental loss of a loved one. Chris’s much younger sister, Molly, has been missing and presumed dead for a few months. The family has kept a summer vacation home for years. The family picnics on the beach that resides along a river. This last summer, Molly disappeared while Chris and his parents dozed off after lunch. After much searching, the family, friends and authorities came to the conclusion that Molly fell into the river and was swept away in the strong currents. She drowned.

The family, now three, is returning to the scene at the urging of their psychiatrist. They are to face their ghosts – fears and failings – in order to move forward as a family. Chris’s parents no longer speak to each other. It is probably for the same reason, guilt, that Chris is having trouble continuing forward. Chris wishes he had invited his sister along with him to videotape the flora and fauna of the beach. She would have been safe. OR. If his father would have stayed awake and kept watch, Molly would still be here.

After returning once more from the scene of Molly’s disappearance, the family congregates in front of the TV to put behind them one more piece of the past – the video that was taken this summer. It includes Chris’s mother exiting a restroom, an annual and forever embarrassing catch. It also includes what Chris taped directly before everyone dozed. It is not something any of the members of the family wish to do, but again, it is advised by the psychiatrist. Chris invites his best friend, Pat, for support.

Chris’s parents fall asleep before it finishes and Pat leaves as soon as it is over. But Chris continues to think about what he has seen and goes to bed with an idea nagging at the corner of his mind. He dreams dreams that won’t let him sleep. He is compelled to watch the video again. It is not so much something he has seen as something he has heard, rather, not heard.

While he was taping, the camera caught the ice cream truck entering the parking lot. The ice cream truck at the beach is not unusual, but it wasn’t playing its music and it didn’t stay for long. Chris recalls that the driver of the ice cream truck had whispered in his sister’s ear – on camera – earlier at the ice cream shop. This sparks the memory that later he asked his sister what the driver had whispered. Molly told Chris, “It’s a secret.”

Chris now has a hope that perhaps his sister IS missing, but no long presumed dead. With Pat at his side, they set out alone to discover the truth.

Found

2011-05-31T10:21:00.000-05:00

Found by Sarah Prineas

If this series is meant to be a trilogy, I am satisfied. If this series will continue, I am also satisfied. This is a terrific recommendation for children who love fantastical books about magic and wizards and dragons, and especially for those who want something new and unique. There are definitely new interpretations and insights here.

In the third installment of The Magic Thief, we find Conn in hiding in the Twilight. He has been exiled from his home city of Wellmet for his experiments in pyrotechnics. If he continues to ignore the recommendations of the Magistry, or wizard’s council, and the edicts of the Duchess, he will soon earn the right to a beheading.

Conn has few friends for multiple reasons. Conn began his life as a pickpocket, a guttersnipe, a thief. In fact, he would not currently be apprenticed to his Master, Neverly, had he not filtched the wizard’s locus magicalicus right out of the sorcerer’s pocket! When Conn finally found his own locus magicalicus, it turned out to be the primary stone within the Duchess’s royal jewels and, of course, Conn was inclined to steal it. Who would believe that it actually belonged to him?

Conn also has an unusual as well as hidden family tree. His uncle was the Underlord of the Twilight, Underlord Crowe. At one point in time, Crowe attempted to train Conn to be the next Underlord. It’s not exactly a glorious position, but it is necessary. Crowe just made it necessarily evil and earned no positive connections.

Conn believes some unusual claims and theories and well. He theorizes that magic is not just a tangible object to be used, but it is actually a being to work with through a special language. The language known to the wizards as spells. Conn feels that the magic of Wellmet, let’s call it Wellmet, has protected him all of his life and is now trying to speak to him. It is frightened.

In the last book, Lost, we meet Arionvhar, another magical being originally associated with the ancient city of Arionvhar that now lies in ruins. Conn believes Arionvhar to be a predator magic seeking to find a new city to control. And it has set its eyes on Wellmet. It is up to Conn to help and once again, he needs a locus magicalicus to aid him.

Without a locus stone, Conn has discovered that pyrotechnics aid him in speaking to Wellmet. This time, Nevery will help Conn in creating the largest and most technical pyrotechnic experiment yet. If they are discovered, it will surely mean a hanging. But Conn feels that Wellmet is worth any sacrifice. It sure would help if the other magisters would believe him!

A World Without Heroes

2011-05-27T11:10:00.002-05:00

A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull

No, this is not a song by KISS, but what an excellent title. Need a definition for “hero”? From the American Heritage Dictionary, High School Edition: 1. In mythology and legend, a man, often born of one mortal and one divine parent, who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his bold exploits, and favored by the gods. 2. Any man noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose; especially, one who has risked or sacrificed his life. It is the second one that we normally consider.

How about the following: “A hero sacrifices for the greater good. A hero is true to his or her conscience. In short, heroism means doing the right thing regardless of the consequences.” In Brandon Mull’s new series, Beyonders, we enter a world where such heroes are dead or in obscurity, waiting to pass their knowledge on to new heroes.

The world of Lyrian is dictated by the lone remaining wizard who has established himself as emperor by killing, conquering or coercing his fellow wizards and rulers. One is either for him or against him. He would rather one be for him and he will keep such a one in close quarters. He finds a person’s weaknesses and uses them to guarantee that person’s loyalty. He catalogs a person’s strengths and uses them to his own advantage.

There is only one way to defeat the Emperor Maldor and that is through a Word – a six-syllable word from the language of Creation, otherwise known as Edomic. When a master trains an apprentice, this word is devised to protect the master from an apprentice and create loyalty. The six syllables of the word that can “unmake” Maldor have been scattered across the land. To reach them, you must make the acquaintance of those who know where a single syllable might be found. The journey to them is treacherous. And then they are guarded by another individual who could either kill you or supply you with further information.

To make matters worse, the one who is chosen to pursue the word, gains the personal attention of Maldor himself. He will send spies, thieves, and killers to watch and prevent a person from finding the syllables. The closer an adventurer gets to acquiring all of the syllables, the more nervous Maldor gets as well as the more admiration and respect he will have for the hero. It becomes imperative for Maldor to keep the hero close to him. He might even issue an invitation to the Eternal Feast which grants the hero asylum – protection from Maldor. It will also put an end to the mission to destroy the emperor and protect Maldor until another hero comes forth.

Who is our hero? Young Jason. A junior high boy from our world. He gets swallowed by a hippopotamus and comes out a tree in Lyrian. Unfortunately, in his attempt to find a way back to Earth, he uncovers the first syllable of the forbidden word. His only choice seems to be to accept the call to defeat Maldor. Luckily, Rachel, another Beyonder, and a girl, will come to his aid.

Highly recommended high fantasy for sixth grade and up.

Squashed

2011-05-23T06:13:00.000-05:00

Squashed by Joan Bauer

There is nothing like picking out a book to read sight unseen, jacket cover unread and reviews unsearched simply because it was a Caudill Nominee in 1996. I take my list into the stacks and search for the next novel. Now that I’m mainly searching books published in the early nineties, I can almost guarantee disappointment. You hear the title Squashed and certain pictures come into your mind. But then you hold the book in your hand and see an orange pumpkin on the cover. Oh. That kind of squash. How incredibly dull.

How is there nothing like that? Because the author took what could be a terrifically boring topic and made it exciting and suspenseful and touching and meaningful. That’s how.

Did I like it? Um, no, how about loved it.

I am recommending this book to girls and farmers from 5th through possibly even 10th grade (reluctant readers.) I was surprised to discover that it won the Ninth Annual Delacorte Press Prize for a First Young Adult Novel. It seems a better fit in juvenile, however…

Our main character is 16-year-old Ellie, a junior in high school. She is a grower at heart, but her passion is for growing gigantic pumpkins. That would be 15 named pumpkins in all. She started with 30 pounders which prepared her for the giant pumpkins that grew in excess of a hundred pounds. And those giants prepared her for the Big Max variety of squash, or Max as she calls him, the largest pumpkin in Iowa.

Ellie is a pro and has been competing in the Adult Growers level for the past two years – the first and only teenager to compete in that division ever. She should be proud that she has finished second only to Cyril Pool, but she is not. She wants to win. And if ever there was an antagonist, it’s Cyril Pool. He’s a “deeply despicable person” and “the air at Cyril’s place [is] polluted with deceit.”

If Ellie’s primary concern is a pumpkin putting the pounds on at an exponential rate, her secondary concern is taking the pounds off of herself at an equally exponential rate. She’d like to see Max put on ten pounds a day and she’d like herself to take off 20 pounds before the weigh-in. Ellie knows she’s not the perfect “girl”. She spends her time in the dirt and she cares little for how she looks, but she would like to be the kind of girl that everyone notices when she walks into a room - especially since the new boy arrived in town. Wes doesn’t just grow sweet corn; he is the president of the Agricultural Club at Gaithersville High. Here is a boy that can finally understand her grower’s heart and can appreciate her love for a vegetable.

Ellie could certainly use the support of a fellow grower like Wes. Her father, an Abe Lincoln look-alike AND a motivational speaker, hates the land and could care less if Max is protected from the elements and the squash thieves. He is more concerned with building up Ellie’s self-esteem. What he doesn’t understand is, growing an enormous squash takes guts and courage. “Only certain growers are cut out to handle this pressure – tough people of steel who can stand against the odds.” SOLD!

Bronx Masquerade

2011-05-21T07:01:00.001-05:00

Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes

I have surprised a few and offended a few, perhaps even disappointed a few, when I came clean and admitted that I don’t like poetry. I don’t. I’m sorry. Set it to music that I can sing and you’ll get my attention. I love prose. Simple, transparent, blunt. More words. More story. More grammar.

Today, I present the 2003 Coretta Scott King Author Award winner. Poetry written by 18 different (fictional) teenagers with a bit of journaling in between. And it works. If nothing else, it is a quick read. Poetry usually is if you’re not required to dissect it and figure it out and read into it. And this book is most impressive because one author has written for 18 voices in varying styles. Now that’s talent!

Mr. Ward is a high school English teacher. He tells his class to write an essay about the poetry of the Harlem Renaissance. One student, Wesley, doesn’t see the point in studying poetry and then writing an essay about it, so he writes a poem instead. Mr. Ward appreciates his effort and asks him to read his poem to the class. “Teach” still requires the essay, but when another student asks to read his poem as well, Open Mike Fridays is born.

Every Friday, Teach, gives the floor to the students who have brought poems to share. There are some students who come prepared every week and there are others who are shy and need the semester to work up the courage to stand before the class. It is fine to read the poem right off the paper, but some of the students have some fun and ask a fellow student to provide a beat or a melody to the background. I few even stage a “cipher” which is a free-style poem where one person starts the poem and passes it off to the next person who must maintain the rhythm from the original.

Now for the reason I actually enjoyed the book… Mr. Ward’s class is predominantly African American with a couple of Latinos, Puerto Ricans, Italians, Jews and just plain old whites sprinkled in. But it is more than their skin that sets each of them apart. There are a couple of artists – a serious one and a closet one. There is a girl with the height to be a basketball star, but no passion for the sport. There is a boy with dyslexia, but a talent for the sax. A girl who wants to be seen for more than just fat. A girl with a baby to take care of. A boy who sees no future in his current direction. And they all want to be accepted for who they are and not what they look like.

It is through their poetry that the class becomes a family of friends who accept each other despite their differences. At the end of the school year, the class presents their poetry to the school and Tyrone shares, “Okay. I just wanted to say I’m really glad I got to do this poetry thing because I feel like, even though the people in our class are all different colors and some of you speak a different language and everything, I feel like we connected. I feel like I know you now. You know what I’m saying? I feel like we’re not as different as I thought.”

You can imagine… Next year, Mr. Ward will have to turn students away. No. Next year he’ll have to offer two English classes with Open Mike Fridays!

Recommended for junior to senior high youth. Reluctant readers could get drawn in. Anyone with a thirst for stardom via music. And of course, those who enjoy writing poetry… Might be a great way to introduce a class to diversity… multiculturalism. Hmmmm. Might be a great suggestion for some poor Millikin student in need of a short book…

Vespers Rising

2011-05-17T13:52:00.001-05:00

Vespers Rising by Rick Riordan, Peter Lerangis, Gordon Korman and Jude Watson

I told myself I wasn’t going to read any more of these (The 39 Clues). What happened? Perhaps my Obsessive Compulsive self took over. Or my anal retentive self. Or perhaps I couldn’t bear to see a request list without my name on it and it was getting long at an exponential rate. Maybe I saw it on the processing shelf, all four copies, and a quick calculation proved that one could indeed be mine. Maybe Mr. John had already read it … I think it is my need to read everything first. I need to know the punch line first. I need a bit of control somewhere in my life. Something that is my choice. Nah, the books rule me.

This is a short novel, much like the previous portion of the series, but the book contains four parts, each written by a different author. It might be of interest that I didn’t notice that they each wrote a complete section until I was on the final section. I think the authors are either really good, are a great deal alike in their writing styles, OR the book isn’t much of a big deal. Easy Peasy. Simple. Forgettable. Depends upon your reader ... obviously!

Part One: We are officially introduced to the Cahill Patriarch, Gideon Cahill, circa 1507, along with his wife and four children. It is his last day on earth and he is scrambling to put his research, experiments and great mission in order. Most importantly, he is trying to give his children their portion of the serum and his wife future instructions without giving away the fact that he is dying.

Part Two: We meet a nineteen-year-old Madeleine Cahill, Gideon’s fifth child who was born after his death. “Maddy Babbitt, scared as a rabbit” has grown up knowing that she must keep herself and her mother a secret. They are in hiding from Lord Vesper, the man who killed her father. While in hiding, Maddy’s mother has been training her for a new great mission – purpose – reuniting the Cahill family.

Part Three: We meet a thirteen-year-old Grace Cahill as yet a virgin to the 39 clues. Her mother died in childbirth, her father left the family to deal with his grief and Grace, her older sister, Beatrice, and their baby brother Fiske are getting by on their own in Monaco. Grace is aware of a Cahill scheme, but her sister is the chosen successor to the game. Unfortunately, Beatrice wants nothing to do with the work and danger involved so when a boat sends a Morse-code message to Grace’s father at their home, it’s up to Grace to deliver the message to Casablanca on her own.

Part Four: Finally, we join Amy and Dan Cahill 6 months after they have returned home to their normal life. They are discovering that they are terribly bored. Bored to the rafters. Luckily Uncle Fiske and Nellie have a mission for them. Travel to Switzerland and obtain an important ring given by Gideon Cahill to his wife and passed on down through the centuries. It now belongs to Amy. She is its protector and keeper. But can they pass the test and come out alive on the other side? No time for boredom now.

Recommended for those who made it through the first 10 and want more! Excellent series for reluctant readers who enjoy action and adventure – both boys and girls!

My Sister's Keeper

2011-05-16T22:02:00.000-05:00

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

I had never read a novel by Jodi Picoult before. I chose to read this one because it won the Abraham Lincoln Award. And now I have read all of the Lincoln Award Winners (fiction)! Yea! The things that bring relief if not happiness.

I hadn’t exactly gotten excited to read it. But it was a true page turner. I couldn’t put it down. I understand that there is a movie as well. It looks like Diaz and Breslin take the starring roles? Perhaps I’ll have to order it.

There are just those books that seem made for a TV movie or perhaps Hallmark is a better choice. And this book had the same feeling – guaranteed to push all of your emotional buttons. I should have known I was going to need tissues. I don’t know why I thought I would be immune.

The youngest character in the book and the protagonist, Anna Fitzgerald, is a mature thirteen-year-old girl and this is why I will recommend this book to girls from Junior High on. Children like to read about kids that are older than themselves. It gives them a glimpse into their future. And girls tend to be more mature.

But I will warn that there are also adult characters, young and old, and this novel was written with an adult audience in mind. Cursing is used, but not excessively, but rather appropriately if there is such a thing. I think there are still a few of us that need a Mt. Everest to collapse upon us to elicit a “darn”. The oldest, sibling, Jesse, has run amuck, he uses drugs, makes his own moonshine, steals motor vehicles, and is proudest of his arsonist tendencies. There is sex, but not descriptive and certainly not graphic, more implied. Finally, there is a lesbian character, but her seven-year relationship has just ended and she only makes a few angry appearances. These are the red flags of the Children’s Librarian. i.e. If you don’t point them out, a patron will.

Anna is the younger sister of Kate Fitzgerald who was diagnosed at two-years of age with a rare form of leukemia – acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). “Only about twelve hundred people a year are diagnosed with it. The rate of survival for APL patients is twenty to thirty percent, if treatment starts immediately.” Kate’s best chance for survival is for a related, genetic match donor, but her brother is not a perfect match. A doctor suggests that Kate’s parents consider more siblings for Kate and that is the first inkling in their minds of an Anna.

Anna is a designer baby. She is not the first to be designed and certainly not created for something so shallow as to be tall or smart or pretty. No Anna is an embryo picked from among several because she had the six necessary proteins to be a match for Kate. She is a donor from the moment she is born. Kate receives her cord blood. Then she receives her lymphocytes, not once, but three times. Next she receives Anna’s bone marrow. What is at stake now, is Anna’s kidney for Kate’s life.

Anna hires a lawyer to help her become medically emancipated from her parents. She is tired of being invisible. She is tired of being important because she is Kate’s donor. She wants to be asked and treated as a human being. But of course there is more to the story. Anna doesn’t want to lose her sister any more than anyone else in the family. But she doesn’t want to lose herself in the process of saving her sister. No one seems to have the right answer, the moral answer, the ethical answer. The adults are as dumbfounded as the children. Anna doesn’t know if she wants to fight and if she chooses to fight, she isn’t sure she wants to win.

The book is told in multiple voices and they worked very well and convincingly. The children’s mother, Sarah, provides a unique voice as she speaks from the past. The day Kate was diagnosed. The days she almost died. The day Anna was born. The rest of the characters including all of the siblings, their father, the lawyer and the guardian ad litem assigned to Anna, speak from the present as they interact with each other and add their own insight to the case.

The book would be well worth a second read. There are so many ties and feelings and clichés that speak to the final decision. Sometimes we have our own opinions and ideas until they are applied to someone else and then we lose our convictions to the wind.

Lost

2011-05-15T13:02:00.001-05:00

Lost by Sarah Prineas

This review is long overdue, but I was way behind in reading this sequel to The Magic Thief. I get caught between being anxious to read the next one and putting it off so that it won’t end so soon. I would probably enjoy a book that never ended. Or a series that continued indefinitely. Just, please, finish it before you expire, or at least leave behind your notes so someone else, a relative perhaps, can take over where you left off.

I reiterate, this series is a great place to visit if you’ve already tackled Harry Potter and all of its siblings. In the review of the original, I mentioned the similarity being that both Harry and Conn were unaware that they were wizards. Here is where the two diverge. Harry never quickly accepted and embraced who he was as a wizard. He was always so humble and loyal that he always deflected the limelight off of himself.

The author has never alluded to Conn being from wizarding stock or having been introduced to it in the past. One day Conn was living on the streets as a pickpocket and the next he is living with a powerful wizard as a servant. As soon as the wizard, Neverly, took Conn under his wing, Conn started entertaining delusions of grandeur. He certainly couldn’t be a servant and do work, BUT he would love to be a wizard’s apprentice.

What Conn needed more than anything was a locus magicalicus even before an education or a master. The wizard’s stone allows the wizard to speak to the magic. Without it, you cannot address the magic and so speaking the spells is useless. Conn did find his stone in the most unlikely of places. Being a pickpocket and a thieving locksmith has its benefits. But no sooner than he had acquired his locus, than he lost it. Rather, it was destroyed in the effort to save his home city of Wellmet.

Begin Book 2. We are right back to where we began. Conn needs a locus magicalicus in order to practice magic. Every wizard expects to have one and only one. When a locus stone is destroyed, the wizard is supposed to die with it. Problem 1. Conn is still alive and in need of education, but the magisters of the Academicos will no long accept him as a student because they believe he destroyed the Underlord’s home in the Twilight due to a pyrotechnic experiment gone awry. Problem 2.

Neverly warns Conn not to play with pyrotechnic experiments – that’s what got Neverly exiled from Wellmet for twenty years in the first place. But Conn has discovered that he can speak to the magic through mini pyrotechnics. Without his locus magicalicus, Conn cannot speak to the magic any other way. And Conn has a feeling that the magical being that protects Wellmet is still in trouble and is trying to warn him. Problem 3.

One experiment too many and Conn is banished from Wellmet. As much as Conn doesn’t want to leave the magical being who has protected him his entire life, it is necessary in order to save it. Conn joins the royal envoyage to the neighboring city of Desh. It is almost as if the magic is pushing him there. There is a slowsilver mine to explore AND a Sorcerer King to meet.

The answers to Wellmet’s problems might be found in Desh or more troubles might be stumbled upon. But what else is a guttersnipe supposed to do but sneak around in the shadows and gather as much information as possible. If only someone would listen to him! Time for Book 3!

Flygirl

2011-05-10T09:31:00.001-05:00

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith

This is it! The last 2012 Rebecca Caudill Nominee of the year. Happy Dance!

Boom, boom, ba-boom. Boom, boom ba-boom. Duhbaduh duhbaduh duhbaduh BOOM!

Sorry. A little excited. And I love to finish with a good one. Okay, they’re all good – mostly.

Flygirl is the story about a young colored girl named Ida Mae. Ida Mae has “good” hair meaning that it is smooth and doesn’t kink up. She has fair skin meaning she could pass for a white woman. And her daddy was a crop duster meaning he taught Ida Mae how to fly! But, World War II is in full swing and everything is being rationed from silk stockings and sugar, to bacon grease and fuel. Ida Mae’s daddy’s plane is in indefinite storage.

Ida Mae would like nothing more than to get her pilot’s license or attend a flight school. Instead, she is stuck at home working as a cleaning woman with her best friend who happens to be decidedly colored and perhaps a bit jealous. They have been saving their money for their dreams. Jolene likes stockings and boys and dancing. Ida Mae wants to fly. And the war makes it difficult for both.

Ida Mae’s younger brother brings home an article guaranteed to brighten her day. It says,

Free a Man to Fight

Mrs. Jackie Cochran, the cosmetics mogul and celebrated pilot, has joined forces with the United States Army to train women as ferrying pilots, freeing men to fight in the war effort overseas. The program will be called the Women Airforce Service Pilots, an offshoot of the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, begun by Nancy Love.

Ida Mae declares, “I’m gonna be a pilot in the U.S. Army.”

There is a catch. Most men and even women do NOT want to see women in the army. Men are privately intimidated by female pilots and vocally arrogant that women cannot perform their dangerous task. The women are concerned of the motives behind female pilots. Are they out to snag a husband? Are they loose with the abundance of enlisted men?

But if women are not wanted, colored women are taboo. Ida Mae must choose to pass as white in order to fly. So who is Ida Mae? A colored girl or a female pilot? And can she live with her choice. Should she live the lie along with the dream? When you pass for white, you cannot visit your colored relatives. Ida Mae should know. She has never met her daddy’s half of the family who choose to marry for opportunity and fair skin. Her daddy was the first to break with tradition.

Another book that had me hooked. I can identify with the mask many of us choose or are forced to wear in order to realize our dreams. We forget what is the truth and what is the lie. But we might discover ourselves in the process.

Excellent. Excellent! A recommended read for junior and senior high girls.

Peak

2011-05-03T12:30:00.000-05:00

Peak by Roland Smith

I’ve been putting this off. My co-worker informed me that he had just blogged about this book the day I started it. And he’s pretty terrific. I considered just providing a link to his review and being done with it, but then I would be left incomplete. Besides, I might have an entirely different view of the book. And our missions are different. He talks about books for boys. I talk about the books I read. I will tell you, I haven’t even read his take on this book. I didn’t want to inform my own thoughts. Yet, here I am. Still procrastinating. Affected.

I met Roland Smith once and heard him talk about his book, Zach’s Lie, which I highly recommend along with it sequel Jack’s Run. He is a very nice man. I think I have a picture somewhere ... Perhaps at the library. I’ll look tonight. I pretty much recommend every book in the children’s department that he has written ... and the boys have usually beat me to it!

I would recommend this 2012 Caudill Nominee to boys ages 10 to 15. I would recommend it to any rock or wall climbers. I would also recommend it to boys dealing with the after effects of divorce and blended families.

Peak Marcello, our protagonist, has just landed himself in juvie for climbing a skyscraper – and getting caught. He left his “tag”, mark, stenciled blue mountain peak, on numerous other skyscrapers without getting caught, but now he can be traced to previous vandalism of the city’s towers. The prosecutors and judge intend to make an example of him to prevent other children from future attempts.

Peak’s wealthy, lawyer step-father has pulled every string and connection he has, but it is Peak’s biological father, whom he hasn’t seen in seven years, who saves the day. Peak’s father, called Josh, leaves his clients on Mt. Everest to come to the rescue of his son. Josh can guarantee that he can slip Peak out of the city and out of the spotlight at no cost to New York City. But is Josh really there to save Peak from three years in juvie OR is he there to save his own skin?

So here is what I really appreciate about this novel. It’s not a fairy tale. It is not all fun and games. Peak is smart and he sees right through the “rescue”. Josh looks wealthy on paper, but the truth is he is deep in debt. And Peak’s trouble provides an answer. Josh intends to recoup his money by putting the first 14-year-old on the summit of Mt. Everest. He will be able to retire off of the proceeds of the interviews and documentaries.

But they have very little time. A small window of opportunity before Peak’s 15th birthday and Everest is unforgiving. It is a life or death climb. It is a gamble with Peak’s life.

One more Caudill to go! Yippee!!

Every Soul a Star

2011-04-29T19:39:00.000-05:00

Every Soul a Star by Mass Wendy

I am not just going to recommend a book today. I am going to recommend an author – Wendy Mass. With a 2012 Rebecca Caudill Nomination, that make THREE in a ROW!

The book that first caught my attention – A Mango-Shaped Space – "Afraid that she is crazy, thirteen-year-old Mia, who sees a special color with every letter, number, and sound, keeps this a secret until she becomes overwhelmed by school, changing relationships, and the loss of something important to her." Loved it! For girls, 5th through 8th grade. Especially girls with cats or learning disabilities.

Rebecca Caudill Nominee 2010 – Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life – "Just before his thirteenth birthday, Jeremy Fink receives a keyless locked box – set aside by his father before his death five years earlier – that purportedly contains the meaning of life." A great coming of age book for girls and boys, 5th through 8th. This was one of those surprise books that I only read because it was on "the list."

Rebecca Caudill Nominee 2011 – 11 Birthdays – "After celebrating their first nine same-day birthdays together, Amanda and Leo having fallen out on their tenth and not speaking to each other for the last year, prepare to celebrate their eleventh birthday separately but peculiar things begin to happen as the day of their birthday begins to repeat itself over and over again." Love, love, loved it! Primarily for girls. I call it the Hatfields and McCoys meet Groundhog Day! And I reviewed it last year …

Rebecca Caudill Nominee 2012 – Every Soul a Star – "Ally, Bree, and Jack meet at the one place the Great Eclipse can be seen in totality, each carrying the burden of different personal problems, which become dim when compared to the task they embark upon and the friendship they find." I will recommend this book to astronomy/science-minded kids. Lots of astronomical information here. Very similar to partner-nominee Greetings from Nowhere.

For a short period of my life, sophomore through senior of high school, my plan was to be an astronomer. And then I was informed that astronomy was a hobby and you really needed to have a more substantial career like aerospace engineering. Where do they get these counselors?

I recognized a lot of myself in these three main characters. Ally is the geek who loves everything nature, cares very little for her appearance, and wants to discover and name a comet, or at least an asteroid. Bree is the beauty queen who loves fashion and music, cares most about her popularity status and aspires to be a supermodel. Jack is the pudgey invisible boy, who loves to draw, plans to stay invisible and can fly.

Ally's family has owned the Moon Shadow Campground for much of her life, but after the long awaited Total Eclipse, they are ready to move back to civilization. Well, at least her parents are. Bree's family, all scientifically-minded save her, have purchased the Moon Shadow Campground and plan to move in after the Eclipse. Bree is devastated. Jack gets the opportunity to camp at Moon Shadow for 2 weeks. He doesn't understand exactly why he was chosen, BUT it is much, much, much, better than summer school.

Each character adds their own point of view in their own chapters. And I still don't know who I liked the most. There are more, equally-fascinating people within the covers!

And I was led to these statistics. We now have 500 Caudill Nominees total, written by 297 different authors.
34 authors have 3 nominations
5 authors have 4
2 authors have 5
4 authors have 6
2 authors have 7
and 1 author, Will Hobbs, has NINE nominations.

Among these authors, 7, including Wendy Mass, have received 3 nominations in consecutive years. One author, Sharon Creech, was nominated FOUR years in a row. These regularly-recognized, Caudill Nominee authors have accounted for 6 Caudill Awards total of the 24 given. Two of these authors, Lowis Lowry and Mary Downing Hahn have won twice! I know, I know. Useless trivia that I have thrust upon you all!

The Rock and the River

2011-04-25T12:22:00.001-05:00

The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon

It is bad enough that I have a reading list that will take me through the next few years, easily. And I am crazy enough to attempt to randomize the titles a bit. I read a Caudill, a Newbery, an Abraham, a Coretta and my own personal choice – which I had to force upon myself for my own sanity. I still have to plug in a few adult titles or I’ll never get to them. And of course, a year from now, I will have some 50 + additional titles to add. Why do I do this to myself? Where do I get off this crazy carousel?

And now I think I’m going to have to pay closer attention to when I read the books I read… Too many depressing things going on and the last thing I need is to read a depressing book. OR, as in this case, I’m celebrating Easter, but reading a book that is the opposite of celebratory. It took me forever to get through, because it brought me down at a time when I wanted to be exultant!

What was I doing until all hours the evening before Easter sunrise? Finishing this book. That actually worked. Plagued with insomnia, I was able to finish the last 100 some pages – before lying awake the rest of the morning. Pardon me, I digress.

Here is a 2012 Caudill nominee that I would expect to see on the Coretta Scott King Award’s list next year. In fact, I would go so far as to say it seems to belong more appropriately there. But that is entirely my opinion.

This is one of those books that some would call historical fiction because it surrounds events that happened in the past. However, it didn’t happen far enough in the past to earn a sticker at Decatur Public Library. Historical Fiction at DPL happened prior to WWII. WWII gets a “war” sticker. Everything since then, well, it’s floating for the time being. Problem for me is that it happened before my lifetime, but older librarians experienced it.

The setting for this novel is 1968, the Civil Rights Movement, in Chicago, Illinois. It encompasses the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The protagonist is Samuel, Sam, Childs. He is the second son of a black lawyer who works closely with the Reverend King. Sam lives as a well-to-do black child with little understanding of the ghetto.

The girl that Sam has a crush on, Maxie, is from the ghetto. As Sam pursues a relationship with Maxie, he begins to see the way poor blacks live. He and Maxie witness uncalled for police brutality. A friend of Sam’s family, Bucky, is beaten because white police officers want to and not because he has done anything wrong. Still, the police officers arrest him under false charges because nobody is willing to risk their own safety to come forward.

Sam’s older brother Steven, known as Stick, and Maxie’s older brother, Raheem, are both members of the Black Panther Party and are closely following the movement of the Party as its work gains attention on the West Coast. Because some of the Black Panther’s beliefs are at odds with the beliefs of Reverend King’s Civil Rights Movement, there is tension and conflict in Sam’s home.

This book is about Sam deciding if he is a rock or a river. A rock is solid, immovable, sure. A river is motion, turmoil, rage. A river longs to be still and a rock longs to see what is around the next bend. Can one be both? Does Sam want to be like his father or his brother – both stubborn and opinionated. Or can Sam be something new and different and unique and himself?

This book is a fine glimpse into the different ideologies of the Civil Rights Movement and how they worked for and against each other as well as how it affected the people and families involved. I recently reviewed One Crazy Summer another novel about the same conflicts during this time period and the affect they had on families. If you remember, I was thoroughly caught up in the story because I could identify with the protagonist. The Rock and the River was and remains alien to me. I would highly recommend it to African American boys 6th grade and up through high school who will more readily identify with the main character.

This book was education for me. It will be life experience for others.

Powerless

2011-04-20T13:56:00.000-05:00

Powerless by Matthew Cody

Who knew? The only comic books I ever read were Casper the Friendly Ghost and Archie. And that was because my grandma had them and I read them when I needed something to do. They were what were available. I never read the superhero comics. I was never interested. I’m still not friendly to graphic novels.

I DID grow up on superhero television and movies. I laughed at the TV Batman and Superman. I had the requisite crush on Christopher Reeves as Superman. I fell for each subsequent Batman actor … Michael Keaton? Val Kilmer! George Clooney? CHRISTIAN BALE! I was introduced to Spidey on the original Electric Company. My Saturday mornings were wasted away to the Hall of Justice. Aquaman was my favorite. And it is still fun to “Wonder Twin Powers – ACTIVATE!”

Forget the comic format! Forget remaking the old! Powerless as juvenile chapter book – ROCKS! And I never would have known about it except for the 2012 Caudill Nominees.

Meet ordinary, everyday protagonist, Daniel. What makes him special? His love of Sherlock Holmes and his brilliant attention to detail. Daniel and his family move from Philadelphia to the small town of Noble’s Green – The Safest Town on Earth. Daniel’s grandmother is dying of cancer, and his family moves in with her to provide needed assistance. Daniel becomes the “New Kid.”

The first kid he meets is Mollie Lee, the across-the-street neighbor. She is odd – friendly and yet aloof. And she saves Daniel’s brother George from being squashed by a passing car. At least he thinks she did. Either she is really FAST, or Daniel is crazy. Turns out, Mollie is not only the fastest kid around, but she is also the fastest FLYER around town.

Next Daniel meets Rohan. He is like an adult in miniature with his bowties, slacks and button down shirts. And then he has those glass bottle glasses. And when he speaks, he even sounds wise. It turns out, Rohan has super senses. He can hear ants building a new colony beneath the dirt. Those glasses? For reading. He is farsighted. He can see Lake Tranquility on the Moon.

It’s not long before Daniel has a run in with the school bully, Clay. What do you figure? He has super strength. There is only one “super” with the strength to stand up to Clay and that is Eric. He is like a young, idealistic Superman. Daniel is glad to find that he has been accepted by Mollie, Rohan and Eric despite his lack of super powers.

Being a “super” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. On their thirteenth birthdays, they not only lose their super powers, but they lose their childhood memories of them as well. Mollie enlists super sleuth Daniel’s help in solving the mystery. Yes, Daniel uncovers the mystery, but he uncovers more than he is able to fight against. After all, he is ordinary and powerless.

This book has everything that a superhero comic book boasts including a Super Villain – check. Hoping for a sequel. This was a book that I didn’t know I was waiting for.

I would recommend this book to boys and girls, 5th through 8th grade, especially to those who love superheroes and/or mysteries. I like neither, and I really, really enjoyed this novel. There are lots of secrets to uncover. Oh, and you might wish to know that the bullies smoke cigars in one chapter. YUCK!