Madigan Reads

The Not Quite Perfect Boyfriend review

2012-02-10T04:06:00.000-05:00

The (Not Quite) Perfect Boyfriend
by Lili Wilkinson
Allen & Unwin
January 2012

Cliques, dating, and the school social scene are the focus of this Australian import. Midge, 16, is embarrassed to be lagging behind her friend Tahni in the boyfriend department, so she invents one on the spot. Her imaginary guy is an Englishman named Ben and before she realizes what she's doing, she's created a whole backstory for him. By complete chance, a transfer student matching this description arrives at school. The real Ben agrees to play along, blackmailing Midge in exchange for homework help. Midge is lovably nerdy - each chapter opens with a dictionary definition, and she obsesses about proper grammar. Über-geek George might seem to be a better match for her, but even she can't lower her standards enough to date a live-action role-player. Her parents' possible divorce amps up the stress before everything is pleasantly resolved. This is a surprisingly lighthearted, funny book, peppered with Australian slang. Teen drinking (legal in Australia) is handled as routine. Fans of Louise Rennison's Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series or Carolyn Mackler's The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things will find a lot to like in this frothy offering.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
This review first appeared in School Library Journal.

Waiting on the Fine Art of Truth or Dare

2012-02-08T04:09:00.000-05:00

Oh, I am in the mood for something lighthearted and fun, and I think this may be it. Not too much longer to wait on this one.

The Fine Art of Truth or Dare
by Melissa Jensen
Speak

February 2012

Ella is nearly invisible at the Willing School, and that's just fine by her. She's got her friends - the fabulous Frankie and their sweet cohort Sadie. She's got her art - and her idol, the unappreciated 19th-century painter Edward Willing. Still, it's hard being a nobody and having a crush on the biggest somebody in the school: Alex Bainbridge. Especially when he is your French tutor, and lessons have started becoming, well, certainly more interesting than French ever has been before. But can the invisible girl actually end up with a happily ever after with the golden boy, when no one even knows they're dating? And is Ella going to dare to be that girl?

It's Snowing review

2012-02-07T04:17:00.005-05:00

It's Snowing
by Gail Gibbons
Holiday House
August 2011

It's Snowing is another triumph from reknowned non-fiction picture book author Gail Gibbons, certain to be an instant classic. This volume covers everything one could ever want to know about snow in a very basic and accessible way. With clear, colorful watercolor illustrations, Gibbons takes us through the condensation cycle. Maps of where snow falls around the globe are followed by close-up pictures of snow on each continent. I especially enjoyed the several pages that talk about the difference between flurries, sleet, snowstorms and blizzards. How communities deal with snowstorms, as well as various kinds of snow-related sports including skiing, snowboarding, tobogganing and snowshoeing are shared. The book is appended with advice on how to stay warm in the snow, as well as snow-related trivia. The genius of the book is that it is so simple and yet so comprehensive, on a subject that many adults might find self-explanatory, but young children will find fascinating. Highly recommended for all elementary science collections, this is a fine addition to Gibbons' amazing body of work.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

In My Mailbox 19

2012-02-05T04:05:00.030-05:00

Last month I went to the ALA Midwinter Conference in Dallas. I had most of my ARCs shipped back to me, so here they are now.

Here are what we call, "F&G's" - meaning, folded and gathered, picture book ARCs.

Here are books that are currently already out.

Books being published in February and March.

Books being published in April.

Books being published in May.

Books being published in June and July.

I'm not sure of the pub dates on these:

And here's a last minute bonus package of items... These are on the tip-top of my TBR pile.

NOT PICTURED: Bitterblue, by Kristin Cashore, due out in May. I've already read it, but won't post my review until much closer to the release date. And I've already handed it off to another eager reader, who couldn't wait to get their hands on it.

Feltboard Dragon

2012-02-03T05:25:00.024-05:00

A little late for Chinese New Year, but I've been working on this latest felt project for a while. I borrowed the pattern from Phee McFaddell's craft website. The original dragon was done in green and blue. I decided to try red. I'm not sure about the red color. He looks a bit like a Welsh dragon. (Not that there's anything wrong with that! It just wasn't quite the look I was going for.) This is quite a different style than most of my other felt pieces. I kind of wish that he had wings. I like the look of layering so many pieces of felt - although it is rather thick, making it practically 3-dimensional. That sounds silly when I put it that way... I mean, everything is 3-dimensional, isn't it? What I mean to say is that it's a heavy piece, I have to hold my felt board at an angle so this guy doesn't fall right off it. It seems as if the original dragon was done on dyed craft paper. Or perhaps very, very, very thin layers of felt. I tried using a fine-tip marker to draw his eyes, mouth and so on, but those details seem quite a bit more blurry on mine. On the whole, I'm really happy with this project though! I haven't thought of any dragon rhymes or stories to share, other than Puff the Magic Dragon. Got any to suggest?

Read in January

2012-02-01T04:10:00.000-05:00

This month I read the following books:

1 The Silver Bowl - Diane Stanley
2 Crave - Melissa Darnell
3 Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet - Heather Poole
4 Boyfriend Season: Cali Boys - Kelli London
5 Glow - Amy Kathleen Ryan
6 Bitterblue - Kristin Cashore

Picture credit: The Reading Girl by Johann Georg Meyer von Bremen

ALA Midwinter 2012 Recap

2012-01-29T04:51:00.000-05:00

ALA Midwinter, hosted this year in Dallas, Texas, is always a quieter, tamer conference than ALA Annual, held in the summer. I had a great time - I did my graduate work at UT Austin, so returning to Texas was a great opportunity for me to reconnect with a lot of my friends and former colleagues in Texas. I've already talked about my reactions to the Newbery, Caldecott and Printz wins.

I took fairly detailed notes on the whole trip - but rather than giving a blow-by-blow account, I decided to try to boil things down to the bare essence.

I had a Texas breakfast!

Saw a bluegrass band, playing for the opening of the Exhibit Hall.

Here's a quick overview of books that caught my attention last weekend. Unless otherwise noted, they are available now.

PICTURE BOOK BIOGRAPHIES:
I liked the looks of these.

Charles Dickens: Scenes from an Extraordinary Life - Mick Manning, Brita Granstrom
Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea - Tony Johnston, Stacy Innerst
Martin de Porres: The Rose in the Desert - Gary D. Schmidt, David Diaz (due out in June 2012)
First Girl Scout: The Life of Juliette Gordon Low - Ginger Wadsworth (due out in February 2012)

MORE NON-FICTION:

Beetle Book - Steve Jenkins (due out in April 2012)
Gifts from the Gods - Lise Lunge-Larsen, Gareth Hinds
Don't Sit On the Baby!: The Ultimate Guide to Sane, Skilled, and Safe Babysitting - Hally Bondy (due out in June 2012)
Knitted Dinosaurs: Tina Barrett

INTERESTING PICTURE BOOKS:

Over and Under the Snow - Kate Messner
Extra Yarn - Mac Barnett, Jon Klassen
The Woods - Paul Hoppe
And Then It's Spring - Julie Fogliano, Erin Stead (due out in February 2012)
Otter and Odder - James Howe, Chris Raschka (due out in October 2012)
Virginia Wolf - Kyo Maclear, Isabelle Arsenault (due out in March 2012)

NEW MOUSE SERIES FROM KEVIN HENKES:
It looks to be at a beginning reader level. It's due out in February. The first one is called Penny and Her Song.

NEW FANCY NANCY SPIN-OFF:
It's a chapter book!

Nancy Clancy, Super Sleuth - Jane O'Connor, Robin Preiss Glasser (due out in April 2012)

FLANAGAN FRENZY:

This was to promote a summer reading program tie-in for the Ranger's Apprentice series.

The best part of this conference was, of course, all the wonderful people I met. As always, I feel refreshed, rejuvenated and recharged after the conference - ready to tackle whatever comes next.

Next week, I'll post pics of all the swag I picked up!

Ed Emberley video

2012-01-27T04:02:00.001-05:00

Discovered this great video of Ed Emberley the other day.
I love this guy!

Getting to know Ed

Ed Emberley, Children's Book Illustrator | by Ed Emberley

View this entire course and more in the lynda.com Online Training Library®.

2012 Comment Challenge Round-up

2012-01-26T04:03:00.091-05:00

Hurrah! It's MotherReader and Lee Wind's annual Comment Challenge! I've participated in years past and it's always fun... I feel like I'm a commenting champ these days, and it's hard to remember that I used to be so shy. I've always been impressed in year's past with folks who keep track of every comment during the challenge -- I decided to try and do the same this year. So, here's to enjoying book blogs old and new.

I started listing these, and the list just seemed unmanageable. So, to try to avoid a tragic case of tl;dr, I've divided this up (roughly) by categories.

The lovely sponsors of the 2012 Comment Challenge:

Some of my favorites. These are my "go to" blogs. Love you guys!

My new favorites! I've found some new people to follow.

The creators: writers, authors, poets, artists, illustrators, etc.

Teachers, educators, school media specialists and parents

Miscellaneous awesomeness

Librarians and booksellers, a.k.a. "my people"

Known and loved around the book blogosphere

Amazing reviewers

Booky bloggers

Itty Bitty Baby Bloggers (aka, Brand Spankin' New!)

Unpacking the Power of Picture Books

Altogether, that's 101 blogs commented on! It's actually a lot more than 101 comments... because for many of these blogs, I left more than one comment. It's been great, starting some interesting conversations with a lot of these bloggers. I say it all the time: sometimes I wish the Comment Challenge was year-round. It's definitely more effort, but like most things, you get out of it what you put into it, and I've taken the chance to "meet" some really cool people this go around. And hopefully, we'll continue keeping tabs on each other. So, don't be a stranger, and keep the comments (and conversations) flowing, throughout the rest of the year!

Waiting on Fever

2012-01-25T04:23:00.001-05:00

Right from the get-go there are a few things about this book that don't make sense. But that doesn't matter, because I am still super excited about this series and I can't wait 'til the new one comes out!

Fever
by Lauren deStefano
Simon & Schuster

February 2012

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever.

ALA Youth Media Awards 2012

2012-01-24T19:28:00.003-05:00

ALA Midwinter in Dallas was a wonderful long weekend celebrating the core of what being a librarian is all about - books, books, books and more books!

Here are my thoughts and reflections on this year's big award winners.

The Newbery Award went to Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos, with Newbery Honors going to Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai and Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin.

Once again, I failed to call it - I'd heard so much buzz about Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt, I assumed that it would win. And I must shamefacedly admit, that I haven't read Dead End in Norvelt, either! I did read Inside Out & Back Again, and felt in my heart that it was a Newbery contender. Hurrah! I'm so happy to see it honored. I've never even heard of Breaking Stalin's Nose.

Even though I haven't read Dead End in Norvelt, I can tell it's the "right sort" of book. Heartrending stories about kids in tough situations are to the Newbery Committee what heroic, drawn-out movie death scenes are to the Oscar Committee, right? I feel like there's a balance between winning books with a girl protagonist vs. a boy protagonist and we were "about due" for a "boy book" so I wasn't surprised to hear it had won.

This quote concerns me: "Who knew obituaries and old lady death could be this funny and this tender?” said Newbery Medal Committee Chair Viki Ash." Wow - that sentence does not have me rushing out to read this book. That sounds like a downer, quite frankly. But, I have read Hole in My Life, Gantos' autobiography for kids, which I found riveting. It's a cautionary tale about how he got caught up in drug trafficking, got caught and how serving time in prison gave him a big wake-up call and a second-chance just when he needed it. He wisely left out a lot of details about the political scene in the '60's, making it a much more accessible book for teens today. Knowing that Dead End in Norvelt is also a highly autobiographical work leaves me more interested. Shockingly, my library's reserve lists have not filled up on this title. Are people just slow to hear about the Newbery this year? Or is this book failing to draw them in?

The Printz award went to Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley. I hadn't even heard of this one. I hadn't heard of two of the Honor books in this category either: The Returning by Christine Hinwood and the somewhat critically reviewed Australian import, Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey. I had heard good things about the other two Printz Honor books: Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman and Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater.

A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka is the Caldecott winner this year. I vaguely remember seeing it around, but I hadn't expected it to win big. Honors were given to Blackout by John Rocco, Grandpa Green by Lane Smith and Me... Jane by Patrick McDonnell. I've been a fan of John Rocco for years. I met him at a book talk he gave right after he wrote his first book, Wolf, Wolf! and have been rooting for him to win since then. Hoorah! I'm so happy he got the honor for this one. I think any book that celebrates less computer time and more face-to-face interactions is sure to hit a sentimental note for a lot of older readers who don't see their digital and their "real" lives as seamlessly interwoven as the younger generation does. Grandpa Green and Me... Jane are two picture books that I've been dying to get at my library, but as our budgets have dwindled, sadly, picture books are some of the "easiest" to cut, since not having them doesn't provoke as much outcry as not having ample copies of adult New York Times bestsellers titles, for example. Now that they've both won Honors, hopefully, I'll find it easier to lobby for their purchase!

Mysterious Howling review

2012-01-22T04:16:00.063-05:00

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling
by Maryrose Wood
Harper Collins
March 2010

This humorous take on orphans and their patient governess invites comparisons to Lemony Snicket, especially for its tongue-in-cheek style. 15 year-old Penelope Lumley, a graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, is pleased and surprised when she quickly and easily lands a job caring for three children raised by wolves, now the wards of Lord Frederick and Lady Constance Ashton. Lord Frederick hardly seems the fatherly type, neglecting even to name the children until pressed to do so. Barely more than a child herself, Penelope longs to prove herself a competent governess to "three clever pupils who both fear and adore me."

Maryrose Wood is an American author, but the feel of this book is decidedly British. Miss Lumley certainly owes a heavy debt to that other unflappable English nanny, Mary Poppins. My favorite scenes in the book are when Miss Lumley attempts to rally the children, Cassiopeia, Alexander and Beowulf, with proper lessons on Latin, History, and other fine subjects, and despite their unnerving animal-like behavior and obsession with chasing squirrels, she manages to carry on with determination and aplomb. The children have a habit of making wooo-ish howling noises which Miss Lumley comes to find rather endearing. The omniscient narrator presents the tale in equal measures of silliness and perfect propriety -- despite the cliffhanger ending, this is sure to be a welcome addition to any collection.

Compare to:
A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snickey
Mary Poppins - P.L. Travers
The Mysterious Benedict Society - Trenton Lee Stewart
Enola Holmes Mysteries - Nancy Springer
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Joan Aiken

I borrowed this book from the library.

Inside Out review

2012-01-20T04:58:00.091-05:00

Inside Out
by Maria V. Snyder
Harlequin
April 2010

In a dystopian future, Trella is a "scrub" responsible for cleaning and maintaining the pipes that service the "uppers" or higher castes. Everyone lives in a building only known as "Inside" - there are rumors of an "Outside" but no one's seen it in their lifetime. As a reader, you know that there are one of two possibilities: either they are underground, or in a spaceship. My money was on spaceship, pretty quickly on. Time is referenced to only in weeks, which gives everything a pleasantly alien feel - the characters refer to themselves as "x" weeks old, and seem to use the phrase "a hundred weeks" the way we'd refer to something as "a year or two." They speak about "one million weeks" the way we might say, "an eternity" and it's a commonly held belief that they'll find the way Outside when the clock reaches one million weeks. Children are raised in creches by their Care Mothers until they graduate to a job assignment. Overcrowding is a real problem on the lower levels, yet the "Pop Cops" still inexplicably test everyone to ensure that no one is making use of birth control. Failure to obey results in being fed to "Chomper" a.k.a. the ship's recycling system.

Cover thoughts: My copy had the original cover, a girl peeling through what looks like paper, which I wasn't terribly fond of. I'm not sure if the new cover is for the paperback, but I think it's a big improvement.

The story was a slow build-up to what for me was the super-obvious "reveal" of the novel. But I did like the character of Tris. She's petite, and not at all girly. She's a bit aloof from the other scrubs, hence her nickname, "Queen of the Pipes." Cogon, another one of the scrub workers, seems almost like a father figure to her. He arranges for her and her childhood friend Logan to meet with Domotor, a wheelchair-bound prophet looking for the Gateway which he believes will take them Outside. There is the mildest hint of romantic interest, when she meets Riley, one of the uppers who secretly agrees to help her search for plans to Gateway, which they hope will take them Outside. If this book was skewed for just a little older, I'd say we have the beginnings of a Trella/Logan/Riley love triangle, but that situation doesn't appear to rear its ugly head here. I'll recommend this for middle-grade readers and young teens.

I borrowed this book from the library.

Heading out to ALA

2012-01-19T04:29:00.000-05:00

I'm heading out to Dallas today for the American Library Association MidWinter Conference. Hurrah! It's always great to convene with the diaspora of librarians -- I'm looking forward to reconnecting with plenty of former classmates and colleagues, and to checking out all the great publisher and author events promoting new books, of course!

Waiting on Born Wicked

2012-01-18T04:49:00.001-05:00

Early reviews have been mixed on this one. I think I'll like it though: love triangle, dystopian, historical fantasy, that's not a bad combo.

Born Wicked
by Jessica Spotswood
Putnam Juvenile

February 2012

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . . especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

Avalon High review

2012-01-15T04:53:00.018-05:00

Avalon High
Meg Cabot
HarperCollins
December 2005

Avalon High is a light and breezy re-telling of the King Arthur legend, set in a modern day high school. Ellie Harrison is annoyed when her professor parents uproot her for a sabbatical to Washington, D.C., where she'll spend her junior year at a new school. Her only consolation is that the house they're renting has a pool. Gradually, she starts to wonder if her new classmates are all reincarnated from the court of Camelot.

Ellie, of course, is The Lady of the Lake, something which took me a while to figure out, despite the super-obvious hints, particularly her obsession with keeping the family's backyard pool pristine. She develops a crush on Will, who is dating Jennifer. Jennifer, in turn, secretly has a crush on Lance, Will's best friend. Will is coping with a lot of family drama involving his step-brother Marco. For those of you keeping score, Will = Arthur, Jennifer = Guinevere, Lance = Lance, Marco = Mordred. Other than the names and relationships between the characters, this doesn't feel medieval or fantasy-inspired at all. In tone and feel, Avalon High is very much a contemporary YA. It's a fun, fast read. I might compare it to Jenna and Jonah's Fauxmance for the way that it sneaks classic literature themes into a modern setting. The book has a spin-off manga series put out by Tokyo Pop, as well as a made-for-TV movie for the Disney Channel. This is the perfect book to recommend in those situations where you have to talk out of both sides of your mouth, trying to simultaneously please a teen reader who just wants some brain candy and a parent or adult who is pushing for something "more serious."

I borrowed this book from the library.

Around the internets

2012-01-14T04:06:00.071-05:00

The internet! So full of goodness... here's a few things that caught my attention this past week.

It's time for the 2012 Comment Challenge, hosted by Mother Reader and Lee Wind. It's been up and going since Jan. 5, but it's never too late to get started! Hop on over, and let the comments flow!

Cassandra Clare's City of Fallen Angels cover reveal. I'm not super into this series, but it's all over the internets, and you just can't miss it.

One of my favorite blogs, The Book Lantern, always a great source for thoughtful critical analysis of overall trends and issues in Young Adult literature, weighed in with thoughts on The Heroine Tournament.

A fantastic post about swoony girls in beautiful dresses on Read In a Single Sitting.

And while we're thinking about book covers, here's a tutorial on how to design a YA book cover, all in one beautiful graphic.

An unusually high number of snowy owls spotted all over the Americas -- good breeding year? Or proof that something's going on in the wizarding world??

Postage stamp fairytale jewelry. Want!

Check out these incredible celebrity libraries. Wow, if I was loaded, you know there's several ideas I'd steal from these beautiful spaces.

Oh no, it's another author with a hastily removed rant about negative reviews.

And finally I leave you with my new favorite steampunk video:

Sister Wife review

2012-01-13T04:50:00.002-05:00

Sister Wife
by Shelley Hrdlitschka
Orca Book Publishers
October 2008

This is a story of a modern-day polygamous fundamentalist Mormon compound. In alternating chapters, readers get the perspective of 15 year-old Celeste, who is struggling with the idea that she'll be given in marriage to a much older man soon, her 13 year-old sister Nanette, who can't wait to get married and start a family of her own, and Taviana, a 17 year-old runaway and former prostitute who has sought asylum in the community.

Celeste confesses that she's been having "impure thoughts" about a boy her own age, Jon. My heart broke for her when she revealed that her thoughts were of things like, splashing their feet in a creek, or holding hands in a meadow. That's so sweet and innocent! She's been heavily brainwashed, but is actively looking for a way out. Nanette is straight-up creepy. Readers who enjoyed Wither by Lauren deStefano will be reminded of Cecily. It sent a shiver down my spine, reading the pages where Nanette flirts with their neighbor, Martin Nielson, who I believe is old enough to be her father. She even begs her father permission to get married early, as if 16 wasn't young enough! Nanette is enraged when Celeste is promised to Martin - which also struck me as odd, as I was under the impression that it was common for husbands to marry sisters in polygamous households.

Ordinarily, I love a book with alternating chapters, but the three girls didn't feel distinct enough for me, particularly Taviana. With the rough life that she's led, I expected her to sound much less girlish than the other two. It seemed like Taviana was just looking for a place to lay low from the law until she turned 18. I thought she'd sound much more cynical. I had trouble picturing a teen with that kind of backstory so easily and sweetly helping with chores and so on. Primarily, Taviana exists to present information about the outside world to Celeste. They are so isolated on the compound, even the most common pop-culture references or technology is a mystery to them. I got frustrated with Celeste's delays to make good her escape, but the novel does a great job of showing what a difficult decision this is for her - it's her whole life, her family, everything she knows, and she's thinking of cutting herself off forever to go into the great unknown modern (possibly sinful) world. Despite a few flaws, I really enjoyed this book. There's a whole genre out there of "escape from arranged marriages" so I'll put this in the hands of readers who enjoy dystopian YA with that theme.

I borrowed this book from the library.

Joy of Books video

2012-01-12T04:34:00.001-05:00

Incredible! My favorite part is the "peeking" books at 0.18. And the music! Sounds vaguely Harry Potter-ish to me.

Waiting on Wings of the Wicked

2012-01-11T04:27:00.003-05:00

This description doesn't actually sound that exciting to me... it's kind of overly long, sounds melodramatic and a bit too religious. Based on this blurb alone, I don't think I would pick this book up. But, I read the first book, and I loved it. So, I've been looking forward to the sequel pretty much since I set down Angelfire.

Wings of the Wicked
by Courtney Allison Moulton
Harper Collins

January 2012

Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined.
Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven’s warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell’s strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night.

She’s been warned.
Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian’s new plan to destroy Ellie’s soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian’s schemes , the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself.

She’ll be betrayed.
Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be hell to pay.

The Betsy Bird Project

2012-01-10T04:46:00.000-05:00

Early in 2011, I embarked on a seekrit project. I thought it might be good to see if I could blog everything that legendary blogger Elizabeth Bird did. I got off to a spectacular start, but as the year picked up, it became harder and harder for me to acquire a lot of these books. The library budget being what it is, and non-availability of ARCs on some of these titles made it a real challenge. Normally, I don't have much overlap because obviously, she doesn't review YA (usually) and I do (it's the majority of what I review.) I'm glad I tried it, even though things kind of fell apart during the middle of the year. It inspired me to blog some great picture books. And I got out of my comfort zone and read some interesting, well-written middle-grade fiction. There are a number of books on the list that I read, but didn't review. I marked those with italics and an asterisk.

Perfect Square - Michael Hall
Eliza’s Freedom Road: An Underground Railroad Diary - Jerdine Nolen
Queen of the Falls - Chris Van Allsburg
Manners Mash-Up: A Goofy Guide to Good Behavior - Tedd Arnold, et. al.
Words in the Dust - Trend Reedy
Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku - Lee Wardlaw, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin
Fortune Cookies - A. Bitterman
Season of Secrets - Sally Nicholls
Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart - Candace Fleming
Hot, Hot Rot for Dada-ji - F. Zia, illustrated by Ken Min
Okay for Now - Gary D. Schmidt
Zita the Spacegirl - Ben Hatke
A Pet for Petunia - Paul Schmid
Small Persons with Wings - Ellen Booraem
Me... Jane - Patrick McDonnell*
I Must Have Bobo! - Eileen Rosenthal
Inside Out and Back Again - Thanhha Lai
Cousins of Clouds: Elephant Poems - Tracie Vaughn Zimmer*
Press Here - Herve Tullet
The Penderwicks at Point Mouette - Jeanne Birdsall
The Many Faces of George Washington: Remaking a Presidential Icon - Carla Killough McClafferty
Ice - Arthur Geisert
Fly Trap - Frances Hardinge
Vincent van Gogh and the Colors of the Wind - Chiara Lossani
Blue Chicken - Deborah Freedman*
Kat, Incorrigible - Stephanie Burgis
Sidekicks - Dan Santat*
My Side of the Car - Kate Feiffer, illustrated by Jules Feiffer*
Dead End in Norvelt - Jack Gantos
Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom - Sue Macy
The Greedy Sparrow - Lucine Kasbarian, illustrated by Maria Zaikina*
EllRay Jakes is Not a Chicken! - Sally Warner
Lemonade: And Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word - Bob Raczka, illustrated by Nancy Doniger
Chuckling Ducklings and Baby Animal Friends - Aaron Zenz*
The Boy at the End of the World - Greg van Eekhout
Nurse, Soldier, Spy: The Story of Sarah Edmonds, a Civil War Hero - Marissa Moss, illustrated by John Hendrix
I Want My Hat Back - Jon Klassen
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making - Catherynne M. Valente
Bad Island - Doug TenNapel
Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? - Susan A. Shea, illustrated by Tom Slaughter
The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: Fourteen Amazing Authors Tell the Tales - Chris Van Allsburg, et. al.
Eat Your Math Homework: Recipes for Hungry Minds - Ann McCallum, illustrated by Leeza Hernandez
Lola’s Fandango - Anna Witte, illustrated by Micha Archer
Breadcrumbs - Anne Ursu
Hidden - Helen Frost
My Name Is Elizabeth - Annika Dunklee, illustrated by Matthew Forsythe*
Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes - Jonathan Auxier
The Incredible Life of Balto - Meghan McCarthy
Orani: My Father’s Village - Claire A. Nivola
Marty McGuire - Kate Messner, illustrated by Brian Floca
Around the World - Matt Phelan
The Book That Zack Wrote - Ethan Long
Hound Dog True - Linda Urban
Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert - Marc Aronson
The Cazuela That the Farm Maiden Stirred - Samantha R. Vamos, illustrated by Rafael Lopez
The Chesire Cheese Cat - Carmen Agra Deedy and Randall Wright
A Little Bitty Man - Halfdan Rasmussen
When Life Gives You O.J. - Erica S. Perl
Hera - George O'Connor
The No. 1 Car Spotter - Atinuke
Lily Renee, Escape Artist - Trina Robbins
The Unforgotten Coat - Frank Cottrell Boyce
Never Forgotten - Patricia McKissack
Jefferson's Sons - Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Witches - Rosalyn Schanzer
What Do You See? - Martine Perrin
Wonderstruck - Brian Selznick
Peaceful Pieces - Anna Grossnickle Hines
Hopper and Wilson - Maria van Lieshout*
Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading - Tommy Greenwald
The Fabulous Flying Machines of Alberto Santos-Dumont - Victoria Griffith
A Dog is a Dog - Stephen Shaskan
Ghetto Cowboy - G. Neri
The Meaning of Life and other Stuff - Jimmy Gownley
Icefall - Matthew Kirby
Nursery Rhyme Comics - Chris Duffy
Little Chicken's Big Day - Katie Davis
A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness
Heart and Soul - Kadir Nelson
What Animals Really Like - Fiona Robinson
Dragon Castle - Joseph Bruchac
Alicia Alonso: Prima Ballerina - Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
Belle, the Last Mule at Gee's Bend - Calvin Alexander Ramsey and Bettye Stroud*
The Romeo and Juliet Code - Phoebe Stone
From Then to Now - Christopher Moore
Everything Goes on Land - Brian Biggs
The Trouble With May Amelia - Jennifer L. Holm
Coral Reefs - Jason Chin
Come to Bed, Red! - Jonathan Allen
The Luck of the Buttons - Anne Ylvisaker
Big City Otto: Elephants Never Forget - Bill Slavin
The Princess and the Pig - Jonathan Emmett*
Toys Come Home - Emily Jenkins
Drawing from Memory - Allen Say
A House in the Woods - Inga Moore

Busting the Blogger Blues

2012-01-08T01:39:00.000-05:00

Small Review is hosting an awesome event, a follow-up to the Busting the Newbie Blues event she hosted last year. This time, it comes in two editions: Newbies and Oldies.

When did you start your blog?

I started this blog in 2009. It feels like so much longer though (I mean that in a good way.) I had an idea to do a blog featuring different libraries around the world. I love to travel, and always pop by a library whenever I can... I have tons of photos I'd taken of libraries all over the U.S. and Europe, meaning to post them on a blog, but never got around to. I had a livejournal since 2003, which I used mainly to communicate with RL friends who'd scattered around the country. When I realized more and more of my posts were bookish, and that I was less and less happy with LJ's layouts, I finally made the leap and started fresh over here. I quickly determined that posting about library buildings would be hard to keep up with, and decided to try posting book reviews and thoughts about libraries instead.

Do you ever still feel like a newbie?

Yes, absolutely. I compare myself to some of the old-school bloggers on kidlitosphere.org, and I feel like I'll never "catch up" to how awesome they are.

What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far? Did you make any mistakes new bloggers can learn from?

Yeah, my biggest challenge was getting started! I was intimidated to start fresh with a new blog, especially such a public one, and I put it off for way too long!

What did you find most discouraging about being a new blogger? How did you deal with this?

Probably the most discouraging thing was posting for weeks on end with no comments or feedback whatsoever. When I first started, I'd be over the moon if I got one comment per week. I just kept at it. Soon enough, the comments started increasing.

What do you find most encouraging?

The community is so awesome and supportive.

If you could go back in time and speak with your newbie self, what five bits of wisdom would you tell yourself?

If I could go back in time, I think I would try to take advantage of being a newbie more! I wanted so much to NOT be a newbie, I didn't realize how much potential help I was squandering. Seriously!
I wish I'd gotten involved in memes sooner. It's a great way to check out new folks and make yourself known. Right now, I'd say the best ones are: Top Ten Tuesday, Waiting on Wednesday, In My Mailbox, Follow Friday. But don't overdo it!
When I first started, I tried to think of clever titles for all my posts. It turns out that makes for poor SEO (Search Engine Optimization.) Now I just use simple, descriptive titles. For example, one of my favorite early reviews was for Henry Cole's delightful picture book Trudy, about a spirited girl and her pet goat. I named it, "That's Some Goat" in a subtle homage to Charlotte's Web (which I'm not sure anyone, except for me, even got). Nowadays, I'd just call it, "Trudy Review." It takes less effort AND it's easier for blog traffic to find me. Win-win.
I would definitely not worry about "numbers" as much. Just enjoy blogging for the sake of blogging!

What do you like best about the blogs you read? Have you tried to replicate this in your blog?

I love snarky reviews written by smart, witty, internet savvy people. I don't try to replicate this in my blog, because I just don't feel like I have the knack for truly high-level snark! Forever Young Adult, The Book Lantern and Supernatural Snark are masters at this. I'm not worthy!

The other thing is consistency. I had some blogs I really loved a few years ago, (now defunct) which would have new posts everyday for a week and then disappear for a month or so. I hated that! Conversely, the people that I thought were really "going somewhere" with their blogs created new posts religiously, usually 3-7 times a week. I knew when I started that I wanted to be seen as posting like clockwork. I started by posting 1-3 times a week, and built my way up to blogging every day, or nearly every day.

What do you dislike about blogs you’ve seen? Do you try to avoid this?

Funny, I just posted about this. My biggest, maybe irrational pet peeve is white font on black background. I definitely avoid this.

How did you bring your blog to the attention of so many people?

I don't feel like I have the attention of that many, really! I still feel like one of the smaller bloggers. It's so hard to know how one stacks up against others, especially since there are so many different measures of "success." Numbers of followers? Numbers of comments? Unique daily visitors? I can tell you that some of my most "popular" blog posts, bar none, are those where I've inadvertently mentioned celebrities. And not author celebrities either - actual Hollywood types. I suppose, if I just wanted to stretch for more numbers, I could make a point of working that into the conversation somehow, but that feels too much like black-hat SEO to me. Not really an honest reflection of what's going on in my blog.

When and how did you get your first ARC (or first few ARCs)?
I must confess to being positively spoiled rotten for ARCs. Before I was a blogger, and before I was a librarian, I got my start at an independent book store in the mid-1990's. My first day, my new boss led me to the staff room where there were two loooong shelves that went around the perimeter of the room. They were stuffed to bursting with ARCs! She told me I could take as many as I liked, and that she recommended I try to read a smattering of everything, at least two books a week. I was free to read during lunch breaks, but should expect to take some reading home, since reading on the desk or while shelving was frowned upon. My eyes nearly popped out of my head! My heart raced with joy! This was, indeed, the best job ever! I felt like such an important insider! I was going get to read SO MANY BOOKS, and NONE of them had even been published yet! It was like peeking into the FUTURE! I worked there for 6 years and amassed an embarrassing number of ARCs. Sometimes when I feel overwhelmed by my To Be Read list, or the piles of ARC's currently teetering by my nightstand, I remind myself to try to stay as humble and grateful I was when I got my first stack of advanced reader's copies.

Sisters Red review

2012-01-07T04:08:00.000-05:00

Sisters Red
by Jackson Pearce
Little Brown Books for Young Readers
June 2010

Teen sisters Scarlett and Rosie March are incredibly close, because they share a secret: they are both werewolf hunters. Evil Fenris live to seduce and kill young women and Scarlett and Rosie are a few of the only people in the world aware of and fighting this menace. The comparison to Buffy: the Vampire Slayer is pretty obvious: young girls who secretly fight monsters in hand-to-hand combat, even though though the world probably never appreciates it.

First line: Strangers never walk down this road, the sisters thought in unison as the man trudged toward them.

I liked that the story begins with a prologue, giving readers a sense of history between the sisters, and explaining right away why Rosie feels so indebted to her sister. Scarlett sustained scars to her face, disfiguring her eye while she was protecting Rosie from a Fenris attack when they were children. Aside from the fact that the Little Red Riding Hood character is essentially split in two, this story borrows heavily from the original fairy tale. The woodsman, the grandmother, the red capes, it's all there. The girls live in rural Georgia, but after hearing about a string of suspicious sounding murders, they relocate to Atlanta. I liked the way the wolf packs were organized, each with a distinctive tattoo, it was a great detail.

I had trouble picturing Scarlett as being truly ugly. I wondered if it was the kind of thing that she was really self-concious about, but other people noticed much less than she thought. Despite her missing eye and scars, she's able to entice the Fenris into chasing her, simply by wearing a red cloak with a hood that hangs over one eye. Granted, it's nighttime, and maybe the Fenris aren't looking too closely. But, still, it's hard to believe that Scarlett is as hideous looking as she thinks she is. There are obvious comparisons to Hester Shaw from Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines series, as she's scarred, bitter, intense, good at heart, but hard to be around.

I liked that in contrast to so many of the vampire/werewolf paranormal romances being published these days, this story clearly sets up humans as the good guys, werewolves as the villains. And I liked the twist on the love triangle. Both of the girls have an interest in Silas, the woodsman and close family friend. Rosie's interest is more overt (at least, to him,) and Scarlett has a kind of unrequited thing going on, because she doesn't feel worthy. As the chapters alternated, I found myself really torn - I was half-way rooting for both of the sisters! I was ready to be surprised at the ending, but instead, Silas makes a fairly predictable choice on who he'll end up with.

The part that bothered me most was how the sisters referred to the Fenris victims as "dragonflies" - they see them as flitty, pretty and not-too-witty. I was annoyed by the idea that just because they were young, pretty and dressed to go clubbing, the sisters seemed to think it was all their own fault. Fail.

The other part that I quibbled with was what makes a "potential" werewolf. It's a purely magical process, kind of a seventh son of a seventh son kind of thing, and I was hoping for a more scientific reason, like a virus or something.

I love, love, love books with alternating chapters, and really enjoyed that aspect of this story. I'll recommend this to fantasy YA readers, especially those who enjoy Alex Flinn's fairy tale retellings. Although, with this fantastic cover, this book pretty much sells itself!

I borrowed this book from the library.

Busting the Big Blogger Blues

2012-01-06T04:42:00.002-05:00

Ruby at Ruby's Reads is co-hosting Small Review's Busting the Blogger Blues event. Ruby asked a few questions on her blog for experienced bloggers, and I started to comment... and comment... and comment. Finally, I realized this really needs a whole post of it's own! Do check out the comments on her blog though... lots of good discussion there.

1. How in the heck do people find time to comment? Commenting is a constant struggle for me. Does anyone have any techniques to share?

Here are my commenting tips:

I open up a window with my blog, and then open up new tabs with everyone who left ME a comment the past week. I check out their blogs and see if I have anything to say. If I didn't get many comments that week, I'll take a look at my followers.

The other thing I'll do is when I'm looking at a meme with a listy, rather than going from the top down, (the first participants always get more comments) I'll open new tabs for the blogs at the end of the list - I usually aim for about 5, sometimes I'll go for 10.

The final thing that I do is go to the blog of someone I admire - and look at who commented there... then I check out their blogs and comment, because I assume that they've already proven they're the sort of blogger who leaves comments - so maybe they'll visit me and say something next time!

When I'm reading new blogs, I just kind of let my mind drift and see if their post reminds me of anything, or makes me think. Then I post it! I hate the copy and paste poste - it just shows you that someone didn't even read your blog.

Basically what I'm doing here is commenting on: people I already know and appreciate, commenting on blogs where I already know we'll have something in common (aka, the meme we both just did) and then going out and discovering completely new, but already proven to be friendly people.

2. What are the best ways of networking with other bloggers, authors and publishers? Twitter? Facebook? Please don't tell me it's Facebook.

Twittering and commenting on blogs. I limit myself to friending ONLY people that I have met in Real Life for Facebook, so I don't use it for blog networking.

3. How do you snap out of "reading feels like work" ennui?

I read an adult book. Or I watch TV or play a video game to give my brain a break. I hate it when my inner "reviewer voice" starts to kick in for EVERYTHING that I read no matter what. I think of it as just one of the ways that working with books has changed me as a reader.

4. Tell me more about this thing you call "scheduling."

Last year I did post everyday, and it was awesome, but I began to feel a bit weary towards the end, so I'm going back to the system I used to use.

Basically it involves using the 1st through the 15th of the month to get caught up, and the 16th through the 31st of the month to look ahead. Here's what I do - You can really picture this like an "if... then" diagram.

If it's the 1st through the 15th of the month, and I do not have posts ready to go, I work on getting 3 posts a week written for Sunday, Wednesday and Friday of the current month.

If it's the 1st through the 15th of the month, and all my minimum number of posts are ready to go, I start infilling and creating posts for Tuesdays and Thursdays. I may shuffle dates around, so I get a good balance of reviews vs. other stuff, or so that more time-sensitive news items get posted first.

If it's the 1st through the 15th of the month, and all my posts are DONE for the month, I start working on next month. (This doesn't happen that often.)

If it's the 16th through the 31st of the month, and I don't have 3 posts a week scheduled, I work on those (because that means I'm behind!)

If it's the 1st through the 15th of the month, and I DO have my 3 posts a week for the current month covered, I start working on the NEXT month's posts. No more infilling on the current month! And then if those are done, the next month, and so on.

It sounds a little OCD, I know, but I've gotten as much as two and a half months ahead using this system.

2012 New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-05T04:48:00.002-05:00

Every year I like to take a look back and see how I did on my New Year's resolutions. Last year, I pledged to blog "every day or nearly every day ." I'm not sure how in my mind that turned into "absolutely every day without fail, no exceptions," but it did. I blogged everyday last year! It was an awesome experience and I'm really glad I did it. At this point, I feel like there's nothing else I can do but slow down. I mean, I'm certainly not going to be blogging more than once a day, right? For 2012, I'm planning on blogging 3-6 times a week. Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays, for sure (as I've always done) and more if I have more to say. Mondays will be dark, so no blog entries then.

Last year I hoped to read 150 books - and I almost, but not quite managed it. I'm ashamed to say, I picked up some books that looked short and easy to try and plump up the final number. I also stuck with it, and finished reading books that I hated so that they would "count." Ugh. So how many to shoot for in 2012? I've thrown around some different numbers in my head - 100, like I used to do? Less than that? Finally, I decided that I'm not going to set a specific number of books to read this year. How about that? I'll just do some reading, and not worry about the number of books read! How freeing. I am going to do the 2012 Debut Authors' Challenge this year, I really enjoyed doing it last year. So, I guess there is a number of books to be read: 12. Darn. 12 books in 2012, think I can manage it?

Last year I reviewed 45 picture books, 36 middle-grade fiction novels, and 64 YA novels. I'm pretty sure that's the most reviews I've ever done. I kind of like that balance, but this year, I think I'm going to try to read more middle-grade fiction. I do a lot of reader's advisory at work, and it's good to stay on top of what's out there. I've kind of gone back and forth on picture book reviewing this year. Do I want to keep doing it? Part of me says, "No. Drop the picture books. Narrow your focus." But then, I'll run across some really great picture book, and I can't resist. What do you think, blog readers? Too many picture book reviews here? Too few? Just right?

The blogosphere... I've made an effort in the past few months to comment more on other people's book blogs. I'm enjoying it! I've discovered a lot of awesome new bloggers. I guess I'm commenting on 5 or so blogs a day. I definitely want to continue doing that, but in keeping with my "no numbers, no pressure" theme for 2012, I can't promise that I'll make "x" number of comments per day or anything like that. All I can tell you is that I'm going to continue to make an effort to visit others blogs, and respond with quality comments.

So, that's it! What are your bookish New Year's resolutions this year?

Waiting on New Girl

2012-01-04T04:16:00.001-05:00

I hadn't realized this book was such a literal re-telling of Daphne duMaurier's Rebecca, at least it sounds like it will be. Can't wait to get my hands on it!

New Girl
by Paige Harbison
Harlequin Teen

January 2012

They call me 'New Girl'...

Ever since I arrived at exclusive, prestigious Manderly Academy, that’s who I am. New girl. Unknown. But not unnoticed—because of her.

Becca Normandy—that’s the name on everyone’s lips. The girl whose picture I see everywhere. The girl I can’t compare to. I mean, her going missing is the only reason a spot opened up for me at the academy. And everyone stares at me like it’s my fault.

Except for Max Holloway—the boy whose name shouldn’t be spoken. At least, not by me. Everyone thinks of him as Becca’s boyfriend but she’s gone, and here I am, replacing her. I wish it were that easy. Sometimes, when I think of Max, I can imagine how Becca’s life was so much better than mine could ever be.

And maybe she’s still out there, waiting to take it back.

Cybils Shortlist Announced

2012-01-03T04:10:00.000-05:00

Cybils shortlists have been announced... and I'm very excited to see that one of the books that I nominated has made it to the finalists: Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke, in the easy readers/early chapter books category. Oh, I'm really rooting for it to win. I love that whole series. I do not envy the Cybils Round II judges - there are some very fine books in all the categories. Looking over the lists myself, I find it impossible to come up with any predictions on who the final winners might be, since they all seem so good!

Read in 2011

2012-01-01T11:51:00.001-05:00

My goal was to read 150 books this year. Despite a last-minute read-a-thon, I still came up just short, with only 143. I got a very strong start last January. Being snowed in for over a week with an epic once-in-century ice storm will do that for for you! There isn't really a weak spot for the whole year, just a very slight falling behind each month. To be perfectly honest - I usually set a goal of 100 books a year, and I don't think too hard about it, and usually I hit that number, or come very close. I thought if I set a goal of 150, and just worked at it a bit, that I might just breeze right past that easily. I compare myself to folks who are serving on awards committees who read 200-300 books a year, and I think, "Wow, I could do so much better."

On the other hand, I feel like the amount I've read this year is not too shabby! I really enjoyed a lot of these books. I participated in the 2011 Debut Authors Challenge and discovered a lot of awesome new writers. I'm glad I put together this master list -- as I was going through it, I kept thinking, "I can't believe I didn't put up a review for that one! Or that one! Hey, I never reviewed that? I could have sworn that I did!" So, I've got a lot of reviewing to catch up on, apparently! Let's take a look at what I read.

January

1 Sisters Red - Jackson Pearce
2 Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace - Gordon MacKenzie
3 The Cardturner - Louis Sachar
4 Jane - April Lindner
5 Penny Dreadful - Laurel Snyder
6 Insatiable - Meg Cabot
7 Ghostopolis - Doug TenNapel
8 Dead in the Family - Charlaine Harris
9 Sister Wife - Shelley Hrdlitschka
10 The Strange Case of Origami Yoda - Tom Angleberger
11 The Vespertine - Saundra Mitchell
12 Avalon High - Meg Cabot
13 Inside Out - Maria V. Snyder
14 The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling - Maryrose Wood
15 Lucky - Rachel Vail
16 The Boy from Ilysies - Pearl North
17 Paranormalcy - Kiersten White
18 Doctor Horrible and Other Horrible Stories - Zack Whedon
19 Last Sacrifice - Richelle Mead
20 Fantasy: An Artist's Realm - Ben Boos
21 The Star Maker - Laurence Yep
22 Burned - Ellen Hopkins
23 Hourglass - Claudia Gray
24 Dirty Little Secrets - C.J. Omololu

February

25 Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict - Laurie Viera Rigler
26 Minder - Kate Kaynak
27 Slice of Cherry - Dia Reeves
28 Across the Universe - Beth Revis
29 XVI - Julia Karr
30 The Great Wall of Lucy Wu - Wendy Wan-Long Shang
31 Trickster's Girl - Hilari Bell
32 Delirium - Lauren Oliver
33 Angelfire - Courtney Allison Moulton
34 Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance - Emily Franklin & Brendan Halpin
35 Season of Secrets - Sally Nicholls
36 Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess - George O'Connor
37 Infinite Days - Rebecca Maizel
38 The False Princess - Eilis O'Neal

March

39 Goose Chase - Patrice Kindl
40 Wither - Lauren deStefano
41 Angel Burn - L.A. Weatherly
42 One Hundred Candles - Mara Purnhagen
43 Bumped - Megan McCafferty
44 Eliza's Freedom Road - Jerdine Nolan
45 Firelight - Sophie Jordan
46 Alchemy and Meggy Swann - Karen Cushman
47 The Help - Kathryn Stockett
48 Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream - Jenny Han
49 The Iron King - Julie Kagawa

April

50 How I Stole Johnny Depp's Alien Girlfriend - Gary Ghislain
51 The Latte Rebellion - Sarah Jamila Stevenson
52 Unearthly - Cynthia Hand
53 The Education of Bet - Lauren Baratz-Logsted
54 Good Luck, Anna Hibiscus - Atinuke
55 Have Fun, Anna Hibiscus - Atinkue
56 Inside Out and Back Again - Thanhha Lai
57 Dead Beautiful - Yvonne Woon
58 Pegasus - Robin McKinley
59 Drought - Pam Bachorz

May

60 Lost Voices - Sarah Porter
61 Brightly Woven - Alexandra Bracken
62 The Bloomswell Diaries - Louis L. Buitendag
63 Vesper - Jeff Sampson
64 A Long, Long Sleep - Anna Sheehan
65 Happy Birthday, Sophie Hartley - Stephanie Green
66 White Cat - Holly Black
67 Cinderella Smith - Stephanie Barden
68 Sidekicks - Jack D. Farraiolo
69 Falling in Love with English Boys - Melissa Jensen
70 Enclave - Ann Aguirre
71 The Girl's Guide to Homelessness - Brianna Karp
72 The Goddess Test - Aimee Carter

June

73 The Demon Trapper's Daughter - Jana Oliver
74 Hurricane Dancers - Margarita Engle
75 Skinned - Robin Wasserman
76 Thunder Over Kandahar - Sharon E. McKay
77 The Time Traveling Fashionista - Bianca Turetsky
78 Words in the Dust - Trent Reedy
79 Sinister Scenes - P.J. Bracegirdle
80 The Last Dragon - Jane Yolen
81 God No! - Penn Jillette
82 A Conspiracy of Kings - Megan Whalen Turner
83 Outside In - Maria V. Snyder

July

84 Wisdom's Kiss - Catherine Gilbert Murdock
85 Pink - Lili Wilkinson
86 The Girl of Fire and Thorns - Rae Carson
87 When Men Become Gods - Stephen Singular
88 Zita the Spacegirl - Ben Hatke
89 Ruby Red - Kerstin Gier
90 Pretty Bad Things - C.J. Skuse
91 A Treehouse of Your Own - John Harris
92 Dead Reckoning - Charlaine Harris

August

93 Lost Boy - Brent Jeffs
94 Misfit - Jon Skovron
95 EllRay Jakes is Not a Chicken - Sally Warner
96 Afterlife - Claudia Gray
97 Bunheads - Sophie Flack
98 Sidekicks - Dan Santat
99 Red Glove - Holly Black
100 Puppet Play - Diana Schoenbrun
101 Water Wars - Cameron Stracher

September

102 The Princess Curse - Merrie Haskell
103 A Kiss in Time - Alex Flinn
104 Juliet Immortal - Stacey Jay
105 The Iron Giant - Ted Hughes
106 Anna and the French Kiss - Stephanie Perkins
107 Soulless - Gail Carringer
108 Changeless - Gail Carringer
109 Wonderstruck - Brian Selznick

October

110 The Inquisitor's Apprentice - Chris Moriarty
111 Forgotten - Cat Patrick
112 Blameless - Gail Carringer
113 Shut Out - Kody Keplinger
114 Divergent - Veronica Roth
115 Dash & Lily's Book of Dares - Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
116 Alice in Wonderland - Martin Powell
117 Darth Paper Strikes Back - Tom Angleberger
118 Here Comes Trouble - Michael Moore
119 Vampire Knits - Genevieve Miller
120 Forever - Maggie Stiefvater
121 Boyfriends with Girlfriends - Alex Sanchez
122 Candor - Pam Bachorz

November

123 The Pledge - Kimberly Derting
124 The Rise of Renegade X - Chelsea Campbell
125 It's Not Really About the Hair - Tabatha Coffey
126 The Mephisto Covenant - Trinity Faegen
127 Frost - Wendy DelSol
128 The Not Quite Perfect Boyfriend - Lili Wilkinson
129 Hades: Lord of the Dead - George O'Connor
130 Darker Still - Leanna Renee Hieber
131 Peeled - Joan Bauer

December

132 Midnight Sun - Stephenie Meyer
133 Family Wanted: Stories of Adoption - Sara Holloway
134 Squish: Super Amoeba - Jennifer & Matt Holm
135 The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
136 Radiant Shadows - Melissa Marr
137 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever - Jeff Kinney
138 Soul Thief - Jana Oliver
139 The Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss
140 Full Circle - Melora Hobbs Pond
141 The Emerald Atlas - John Stevens
142 The Girl Who Owned a City: The Graphic Novel - Dan Jolley
143 Shattered Dreams - Ellie James

Read in December

2011-12-31T21:36:00.001-05:00

This month I read the following books:

1 Midnight Sun - Stephenie Meyer
2 Family Wanted: Stories of Adoption - Sara Holloway
3 Squish: Super Amoeba - Jennifer & Matt Holm
4 The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
5 Radiant Shadows - Melissa Marr
6 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever - Jeff Kinney
7 Soul Thief - Jana Oliver
8 The Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss
9 Full Circle - Melora Hobbs Pond
10 The Emerald Atlas - John Stevens
11 The Girl Who Owned a City: The Graphic Novel - Dan Jolley
12 Shattered Dreams - Ellie James

Picture credit: The Reading Girl by Johann Georg Meyer von Bremen

Cabin Fever review

2011-12-30T17:32:00.001-05:00

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever
by Jeff Kinney
Abrams
November 2011

I've been looking forward to reading this book, especially since hearing Jeff Kinney speak at the American Library Association last summer. As promised, this book reigns things in a bit, returning with a pared-down cast of characters: Greg Heffley and his family members, with a few mentions of his best friend Rowley. Like the earlier books in the series, this is a series of loosely-connected vignettes featuring Greg's family and friends. Middle-child Greg is just as self-centered as always and the family dynamics are very believable. Be careful what you wish for: in the last book, The Ugly Truth, I was a bit disappointed that Greg seemed to be growing up too fast. In this volume, Greg actually seems younger than he did in previous books. It's winter time, Christmas is around the corner, and Greg is more than a little creeped out by the idea that Santa is watching his every move! I did find it a bit of a stretch that Greg, who should be in 8th grade by now, would still actually believe in Santa Claus, but this was the crux of so many great jokes, that I didn't care. Just go with it!

More than ever, readers will see that Greg is a bright troublemaker, who means well, but can't seem to do anything right. When he puts up posters at school which are rained on, it leaves a mess, and he's terrified that the police will arrest him for vandalism. I think my favorite parts of the book are the flashbacks when we see a slightly younger Greg - for example, when Greg's younger brother Manny is a newborn, his mom buys Greg a baby doll to get him used to the idea of being a big brother. Young Greg loves that doll! Greg is adorable as he dotes over it, and readers are treated to a great picture of him caring for the doll as his mother sizes him up approvingly and his father looks on in mild alarm. Greg's always felt guilty for losing track of the doll - but it turns up after the basement is flooded. After years of neglect the doll is missing a leg and covered with muck so that it looks like something from a horror show - which in Greg's eyes only makes it cooler.

When a blizzard hits, Greg's dad is forced to hole up in a hotel and spends the holidays in peace and quiet in the warm comfort of his room. I was reminded strongly of the father from Calvin and Hobbes. Greg's older brother Roderick has been the baddie in previous books, but in this volume Manny is the villain. When the family is snowed in, and the house loses power, fussy toddler Manny craftily hoards all the best resources for himself. It's another bit of a stretch to think that little Manny could successfully adjust the house fuse boxes himself, but the story moves so quickly, I didn't mind it. And we have to give Manny credit - he's probably learned a lot by watching Greg in action. Who was once the student is now the master!

This book is hilarious - I found myself laughing out loud, making embarrassing snorting noises, and demanding to read-aloud random portions to anyone who would listen. It's bust-a-gut funny and everything you hope for in a humor novel. I highly recommend it.

I borrowed this book from the library.

Crunch time

2011-12-29T11:39:00.000-05:00

It's crunch time! I'm thisclose to hitting my reading goals this year. Will I make it? Only time will tell!

Waiting on Incarnate

2011-12-28T05:40:00.001-05:00

The fantastic cover was the first thing to grab my attention, but the description sounds really interesting too. Can't wait to try it!

Incarnate
by Jodi Meadows
HarperCollins

January 2012

NEWSOUL
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL
Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART
Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

My thoughts on AR Quizzes

2011-12-27T04:32:00.016-05:00

I've been storing these thoughts up for a while, letting them rattle around, and I'm still not 100% certain I want to post about this yet. I've been thinking about Accelerated Reader Quizzes which are owned and run by Renaissance Learning, Inc. They're increasingly popular in schools. Kids read books, and then sign online to take a quiz. Enough successfully completed quizzes will accrue them points, and then they can spend points on prizes provided by their school. There usually are AR parties, hosted several times a year for kids who have maintained a certain level of success with the program.

Despite the expense, it's a very, very attractive package for schools to use. It quickly and easily sorts books by reading level and provides a nearly instantaneous level of feedback for administrators. They use a system called ATOS, similar to reading lexile to determine the difficulty of each book. Educators can log in and immediately pinpoint what classes, districtwide, have comprehension or vocabulary problems. Parents can log in and get several charts and graphs, displaying their child's accomplishments.

Ordinarily, I might not worry overmuch about what happens in schools. Sure, I want to support what homework kids might be doing, and educating everyone (including teachers!) about the difference between "the internet" and "databases" is a constant struggle. But, on the whole, I see the public library as an ideal place for pleasure reading - for people to turn their minds to what interests them. There's a real benefit to that. Taking a break from serious study refreshes the mind. When kids and teens have the chance to explore their own interests, they're more invested, and keeping involved at the public library (especially over the summer) has been shown to improve students skills. But, AR Quizzes are on my mind more and more, because they're growing increasingly ubiquitous, and the demand for them is beginning to encroach on what I do.

There are a couple of kids I helped at the library recently who especially stuck out in my mind. Probably the most heartbreaking was a little girl and her mother who came to me looking for suggestions for remedial reading - the girl hadn't gotten to go to any AR Quiz parties at her school that year, but she had high hopes that if she did a little better she'd make it next year. Wow! This was a child who sincerely enjoyed reading - maybe she was a little behind her grade level, but she wasn't what you'd call a "reluctant reader" - someone who finds reading difficult or a chore. She was still in high spirits, and frequently read for pleasure. I wondered how long it might take for that to change in the face of repeated messages that she was a failure.

I also particularly remember a kid who was energetically telling me about all the reading she'd done that week. She raced through five books and had aced the AR Quizzes for all of them! When I congratulated her, and asked her which were her favorites, she blithely assured me that she didn't remember any of them - she didn't need to, now that she'd finished the quiz. Wow. Will she be a lifelong reader? I somehow kind of doubt it. After all, with no quiz, or points to motivate her, why would she ever pick up a book? She seemed to enjoy reading in the same Skinnerian way that you might enjoy racking up points on a boring, easy, pointless video game. In my mind, that hardly counts as enjoying reading at all.

Finally, I worked with a boy this past week who was looking to stock up on chapter books for the holiday break. With his smartphone at the ready, he checked each book I recommended, and dismissed 4 or 5 of them out of hand when he didn't find them on arbookfind.com, or when they came up as "not on his level."

I've had hurried parents ask me why we don't shelve books by their AR level, as opposed to by author or by Dewey Decimal number, and I've had many requests to begin labeling our books with the AR book level prominent on the spine, as many school libraries currently do. That alone seems like a monumental task involving considerable expense in office supplies and staff time. It's not something that I'd look forward to doing, especially considering it's a proprietary system, owned by one company.

Last summer my library participated in a pilot program where we offered AR Quizzes at the branch (normally, they are only available at school) and barring any unusual circumstance, we will probably offer them next summer. I have my concerns though... last year the library got access to the quizzes for free, through the auspices of the local school that had a contract with Renaissance Learning. What will happen if and when Renaissance Learning asks the library for money to continue funding the ability to take quizzes at the library? What will happen if and and when the library discontinues carrying the quizzes, and then must cope with an outpouring of complaints from parents who demand the service?

Despite my concerns, public libraries exist to meet the needs of our communities. If people want AR Quizzes, if they're excited about them, we'll try to provide them. I can't begin to number the times that I've helped a parent by showing them how to use the arbookfind website - how grateful, even gleeful they were to have access to such a great tool. I've even seen aspiring authors use the AR website to gauge how to assess what level their unpublished books might be considered, and how to accordingly pitch their manuscripts.

Like it or not, AR Quizzes seem like they're here to stay for a while. I'm keeping a curious and cautious eye on how public libraries will continue to respond to the demand that they create.

My 2011 YA Favorites

2011-12-26T11:25:00.000-05:00

Putting together my list of favorite books this year was harder than I thought. I have a tendency to overweight the books I've read recently, so in the interest of fairness, I'm listing them alphabetically by title. I'd been hoping to come up with a list of 10, but after a couple days of winnowing, I think we're going to have to go with a top 20.

Across the Universe
by Beth Revis
Razorbill
January 2011

Amazing! There are no words.

Angelfire
by Courtney Allison Moulton
HarperCollins
February 2011

Bad-ass heroine! I loved this one.

Bunheads
by Sophie Flack
Poppy
October 2011

It's about the super-competitive world of ballet, but it's not your typical anorexic ballerina book. Loved it.

Darker Still
by Leanna Renee Hieber
Sourcebooks Fire
November 2011

It really takes you to another magical era. It's insta-love, but it works.

Delirium

by Lauren Oliver

HarperTeen

February 2011

Loved that this book was set in Portland, Maine. Fantastic dystopian.

The Demon Trapper's Daughter
by Jana Oliver
St. Martin's Griffin
February 2011

Set in Atlanta, Georgia! In and around some of my favorite neighborhoods: Little 5 Points, Oakland Cemetery. Awesome.

Drought

by Pam Bachorz

Egmont USA

January 2011

A weird, weird book that really makes you think!

Enclave
by Ann Aguirre
Feiwel and Friends
April 2011

I didn't think I was going to love this dystopian as much as I did, but it swept me away.

The False Princess

by Eilis O'Neal

Egmont USA

January 2011

The lost princess trope turned on it's head - turns out this princess is secretly a peasant. You know I wouldn't rave about this one unless she also had secret magical powers, of course!

Hurricane Dancers
by Margarita Engle
Holt, Henry & Co.
March 2011

Historical fiction, narrative poetry. So well done.

Inside Out and Back Again

by Thanhha Lai

HarperCollins

February 2011

Heartbreaking refugee story told in narrative poetry style.

Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance

by Emily Franklin & Brendan Halpin

Walker Books for Young Readers

February 2011

Clever and funny, with lots of Shakespeare sneakily worked in.

A Long, Long Sleep
by Anna Sheehan
Candlewick
August 2011

Wow! Science-fiction Rapunzel, but more than that, it's about how to recover from having a crazy family and find the people in the world who care about you.

Lost Voices
by Sarah Porter
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's
July 2011

I've been obsessed with mermaids for years, and am so glad that mermaids are becoming a trend. This story, about a group of dysfunctional, cruel teenage mermaids is the cream of the crop.

Red Glove
by Holly Black
Margeret K. McElderry
April 2011

A stunning sequel to White Cat! Can't wait for the third in this trilogy.

Sidekicks
by Jack D. Ferraiolo
Amulet Books
April 2011

I read this book by accident, having actually been recommended a book by the same name by Dan Santat. This ended up being one of my favorites of the year! And I discovered a new author, Jack D. Ferraiolo, who is offbeat and hilarious. I, for one, welcome our robot clone King of Paraguay overlords!

Unearthly
by Cynthia Hand
HarperTeen
January 2011

Here's another book that took me by surprise - it was so much more stunning than I expected.

The Vespertine
by Saundra Mitchell
Harcourt Children's Books
March 2011

Terrific historical fantasy.

Wither

by Lauren deStefano

Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

March 2011

Incredible dystopian! I can't wait to find out what happens next!

Words in the Dust
by Trent Reedy
Arthur A. Levine Books
January 2011

A moving tale about the struggles of a disfigured girl in Afghanistan.

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T04:53:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas! Here's another awesome Mother Goose rebus that I received from author/illustrator Will Hillenbrand. Enjoy!

Best Books 2011

2011-12-24T10:12:00.000-05:00

I pulled together a list of "best books" for middle-grade and YA fiction from Hornbook, Kirkus, National Book Awards, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, New York Times, Washington Post and Amazon. It's cool to see how certain titles really stand out! I've got to get on reading Daughter of Smoke and Bone and The Scorpio Races right away.

Any interest in seeing something similar for picture books?

Construction Crew review

2011-12-23T04:43:00.005-05:00

The Construction Crew
by Lynn Meltzer, illustrated by Carrie Eko-Burgess
Henry Holt & Co.
November 2011

Here's a nice, simple book celebrating construction vehicles of every type. In short rhyming sentences, readers see a house begin to take shape. Colorful digital illustrations have a very crisp, smartly designed, cut-paper feel. Rhyming couplets such as "Dig now/Build later/What do we need?/Excavator!" use clean sans-serif font with each vehicle name punched up in color. The construction crew (and the surrounding neighbors watching the proceedings) are diverse and inclusive. I loved the page where one of the construction workers, deeply concentrating on the work at hand, is squinting and sticking out his tongue. I also liked seeing the dreadlocked housepainter climbing the extension ladder and the female backhoe driver. Keep a sharp eye out for the little bluebird who is hidden on nearly every page.

This is a great selection for transportation obsessed toddlers and preschoolers. Where the typical construction book ends with the completion of a project and the workers going home, this story takes an unusual turn when the purple and gold mansard roof home is completed, and we see the family move in. "On the wall/Let's hang a poem/What does it say?/HOME SWEET HOME!" Sure to be a storytime hit.

I borrowed this book from the library.

Hobbit Trailer

2011-12-22T20:15:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited for The Hobbit! I'm a little surprised that they've split it up into two films, but this looks very promising, eh?

Waiting on Havoc

2011-12-21T04:01:00.000-05:00

I greatly enjoyed Vesper. Great paranormal universe, and a really appealing main character coming to terms with new powers. I'm looking forward to the sequel coming out next month.

Havoc
by Jeff Sampson
Balzer + Bray

January 2012

Emily Webb thought life would return to normal after the death of the man who attacked her and her fellow “Deviants.” Or as normal as it could be, after discovering that she has nighttime superpowers . . . and she’s a werewolf. But when Emily awakes one night to find an otherworldy Shadowman watching her, she knows the danger has only just begun.

So Emily and her pack-mates set out to find the people who made them what they are, and why. But as they get closer to the truth, they realize they aren’t the only ones in town with special powers: The most popular girls in school might just have a secret of their own–and they might just have it out for Emily.

With shadowy beings stalking them, a mysterious company doing all it can to keep the truth hidden, and the secrecy of her new identity in jeopardy, life threatens to spiral out of control for Emily. Soon these dangers will come together in one terrifying confrontation that may force her to make the toughest choice of her life . . . so far.

Pretty Bad Things review

2011-12-20T22:02:00.000-05:00

Pretty Bad Things
C.J. Skuse
The Chicken House
July 2011

In a story that hints of Hansel and Gretel, twins Paisley and Beau Argent explain in alternating chapters how they came to be on a candy-strewn crime spree. After the death of their mother when they were six-years old, they were dubbed the "Wonder Twins" during the dramatic rescue which captured the interest of the nation. Now, foul-mouthed, impetuous, sarcastic sixteen-year old Pais is the perfect foil to her shy, obedient twin brother Beau. Their father has been in jail after stealing to support the family. Their greedy custodial grandmother is after the fortune the twins have amassed with their acting careers. Following a few clues in letters their grandmother has hidden from them, the twins head to Las Vegas to find their father. When the trail runs cold, Paisley decides to get her father's attention the only way she knows how - by coming up with a creative way to land herself in the spotlight again. She pressures Beau into committing a series of signature hold-ups. Dressed in black and white, they hit candy shops, taking no money, just leaving the message, "Tell Buddy we love him" along with a Wonder Twins sticker. As a media-induced frenzy whips up new legends around the twins, over-the-top fan clubs for the whimsical bandits spring up, leading things to a surprising conclusion. This fast-paced, humorous, quirky novel will appeal to older teens.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Blogging Pet Peeves

2011-12-19T05:02:00.001-05:00

What I really ought to do, is use Google Reader more consistently, so that these kinds of things don't necessarily come across my radar. But, here are the kinds of things that drive me craaaazy on people's blogs.

1. White text on black background.
I know. I know. I've been there. The first website I designed had white text on black background, and I thought it looked so cool. Plus, there's a certain old-school charm for those of us old enough to remember those old-fashioned green and black, or amber and black computer screens. Except, no. It's murder on the eyes, and there's no reason for it.

2. Curlique fonts.
Can't stand it! Keep the fonts simple. There's a few that are good: Verdana, Georgia, Times New Roman, Helvetica, Arial. Don't stray too far afield from those classics.

3. HUGE blog header.
Don't overdo it! Should I know the name of your blog? Yes. Should it be the only thing that I see when I open the page? No! Blog headers should be wider than they are tall.

4. Auto-play music.
That's an instant close the window for me. Can. Not. Stand. It. I don't care how cleverly you got the sound of ocean waves to play or whatever. I don't want to hear it!

5. Misspellings and grammatical mistakes.
I am terribly judge-y when it comes to these. It's so unfair. I know we in the blogopshere don't have the luxury of editors to smooth over our words. I'll forgive the occasional obvious typo. But when I see a common mistake, like "your" for "you're" I'm clicking on the "x" to close a window faster than fast.

6. Sidebars gone wild.
It might start out simply enough... a link or two, some cool widget, a count-down thingie for the next book in your favorite series, maybe an ad or a shout-out to your other favorite bloggers. Before you know it, things get out of hand, and your blog is all sidebar and no content. I know I lean pretty heavily on the "anti-sidebar" side of things. As it is, I feel like my blog already has too much junk on the sidebar, but my followers have asked for this and that. I think your blog should take up about 75% (or more) of the window. Once a sidebar is at 50%, you've got to be offering something pretty special in your content to compete with all that clutter. And I've seen lots of blogs, that easily have 70% sidebar stuff, 30% reviews and whatnot, which is a total turn-off to me.

In My Mailbox 18

2011-12-18T10:29:00.000-05:00

I got two completely random books out of the blue this week. I'm pretty excited to read The Mystic Phyles... it's written in a handwritten diary format, and it's illustrated by Ralph Masiello. He's done a fantastic series of "how to draw" books which are popular at my library.

Book charger

2011-12-17T20:37:00.000-05:00

What a shame these are all sold out for the holidays. Still! What a neat idea. It's an iPhone charger - made out of books!

Darth Paper Strikes Back review

2011-12-16T05:42:00.001-05:00

Darth Paper Strikes Back
by Tom Angleberger
Amulet Books
August 2011

The whole gang from The Strange Case of the Origami Yoda returns. This book really has all the elements familiar to the current school environment. High stakes testing, computer lab firewalls which students cleverly work around and bullying are all addressed throughout the course of the story.

Antagonist Harvey has begun using his origami Darth Vader to sow discord at Ralph McQuarrie Middle School and undermine Dwight's Origami Yoda followers. Dwight - whose quirky sense of humor, keen social insight and outsider status leave adults uncertain whether to label him as gifted or special needs is made to stand trial, as his mother heartbreakingly confronts the principal, school board, teachers and fellow students who have failed him. Tommy and Kellen, the two "ordinary guys" in the story, function as observers as they try to pull together a set of "files" to prove how Dwight's presence at school has been helpful rather than destructive.

As an adult, reading this book, the saddest part for me was seeing the school principal who had solid buy-in for the testing program which seemed to be stressing so many students out, and failing to recognize those kids (like Dwight) who were truly innovative and intelligent.

Kids will enjoy picking up the storyline from the first wildly popular Origami Yoda book, complete with diary-style hand-written fonts and doodles in the margins. Star Wars quips and jokes abound, of course.

I'll recommend this book for fans of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Frankie Pickle and Big Nate who are hungry for more highly-illustrated middle-grade, boy-friendly fiction.

I borrowed this book from the library.

Limelight Larry review

2011-12-15T06:01:00.000-05:00

Limelight Larry
by Leigh Hodgkinson
Tiger Tales
September 2011

This book is laugh-out-loud hilarious. Readers haven't seen such a wacky character since a certain Pigeon who demands to drive a bus. Breaking the fourth wall and addressing the audience directly at every opportunity, scintillating peacock Limelight Larry is quick to deride the interlopers who have managed to finagle their way into HIS story. "Bear is too popular, Bunny is too cute, Elephant is too big and smart, Bird is too funny, Wolf is too interested in fairy tales, and Mouse is too nice and helpful (and had been in too many pages for Larry's liking.) It would be fair to say that everybody is cramping Larry's style!"

Pages that start out with plenty of white space grow more colorful as more and more characters crowd their way in, and then turn blue and green when Larry shoos everyone away so he can enjoy the limelight that he feels he is properly due. It's a surprise ending of course, with Larry realizing that being in the limelight isn't much fun without a proper audience. Exuberant collage with a bit of foil effects on Larry's peacock tail paired with a wide variety of fonts that lend emphasis to Larry's overly dramatic style all adds to the fun in this silly, enjoyable picture book. Don't miss the glowing "review" blurbs quoted on the back cover by Limelight Larry, President Limelight Larry and Mr. L. Larry... or the author's website at www.wonkybutton.com.

This is a fun romp for readers aged 5-8. Highly recommended.

I borrowed this book from the library.

Waiting on Truth

2011-12-14T06:11:00.001-05:00

I greatly enjoyed XVI, even though it was uneven in a few places, it was still a fast, fun read. I'm looking forward to the sequel coming out next month.

Truth
by Julia Karr
Speak

January 2012

Nina Oberon’s life has changed enormously in the last few months. When her mother was killed, Nina discovered the truth about her father, the leader of the Resistance. And now she sports the same Governing Council–ordered tattoo of XVI on her wrist that all sixteen-year-old girls have. The one that announces to the world that she is easy prey to predators. But Nina won’t be anyone’s stereotype. And when she joins an organization of girls working within the Resistance, she knows that they can put an end to one of the most terrifying secret programs the GC has ever conceived. Because the truth always comes out... and the consequences can be deadly.

Seussian Ghostbusters

2011-12-13T06:49:00.002-05:00

Brilliant! It's a mash-up of Dr. Seuss and Ghostbusters. Better yet, the same artist has been working on a Cthulu-inspired Dr. Seuss.

Darker Still review

2011-12-12T04:44:00.001-05:00

Darker Still
by Leanna Renee Hieber
Sourcebooks Fire
November 2011

17 year-old Natalie Stewart lives a privileged life amongst the New York art scene elite in the 1880's, thanks to her father's connections in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Because of the tragic loss of her mother at a young age, Natalie has not spoken in years.

Natalie becomes transfixed by a new painting of Lord Denbury, rumored to be haunted. With the help of wealthy, older patroness of the arts, Mrs. Northe, she and her father purchase the painting for the museum. Natalie is stunned to discover that she actually has the ability to cross over into the painting, where she learns that Denbury is trapped in the painting, while a demon wearing his form is terrorizing lower Manhattan, brutally killing young women.

The book is described as "The Picture of Dorian Gray meets Pride and Prejudice, with a dash of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," and I honestly can't think of a better description. The tone of the book is unmistakably Gothic, through and through. The pacing is slow and mysterious. The romance between Denbury and Natalie is quite restrained. Much like Bram Stoker's Dracula, the story mainly consists of diary entries, mixed with a few letters and official police reports.

Natalie is taken under Mrs. Northe's wing as she struggles to regain her powers of speech. Mrs. Northe, who is a bit of a spiritualist with psychic powers, mentors Natalie as she begins to gain her own mentalist abilities. When Natalie theorizes that she and Denbury may be soulmates, which would explain their deep and immediate connection, Mrs. Northe delivers one of the best monologues on love I've heard in a long time:

Don't put stock in past lives. It's this life that makes the difference. And in this life there may be certain destinies, people you're meant to meet... But there is no sole person for another's heart. Souls cannot be broken and then completed by another. That's not healthy, nor wise. There are infinite possiblilites as there are infinite people and some matches better made than others... Just don't say that you'll die without the other one or that you'll never love again or that you're not whole - That's the stuff of Romeo and Juliet, hasty nonsense, and you know how well that turned out. There's magic about the two of you, yes. Just don't be desperate about it. That's where souls go wrong.

The ending of the book kind of dragged for me. Everything comes to a fairly satisfying conclusion, but I felt that the follow-up with constable, who reads Natalie's diary, but finds he can't believe the tale within was unnecessary and a bit belabored. The book ends with a definite lead-in to a sequel, with Natalie and Denbury on the run together to Chicago. Fans of the Brontë sisters, or du Maurier's Rebecca will find a lot to like in this debut offering.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

In My Mailbox 17

2011-12-11T16:40:00.000-05:00

I think this is my last binge of the year... I couldn't resist checking out these titles from the library. I've got some serious reading to do if I want to hit my reading goals by the end of the year. It's a close thing, but I think I'll make it!

Hounded by friends, I finally gave in and started reading Patrick Rothfuss's Kingslayer Chronicles. In a word: Amazing! I was excited to pick up a copy of Soul Thief, the sequel to The Demon Trapper's Daughter. The Wizard Heir is another sequel I've been meaning to get to for some time, and I liked Dash & Lily's Book of Dares so I thought I'd give Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List a try.

Dewey Makeover: 001.9

2011-12-10T06:30:00.000-05:00

When a library collection hasn't been weeded or updated in a while, patrons' overall impression of the collection will suffer. Most people don't have the time or patience to sift through the shelves looking for the diamonds in the rough. One of my goals for the upcoming year is to go through the non-fiction collection, which hasn't gotten much attention in a while. Might as well start at the beginning!

Dewey Decimal number 001.9 covers "controversial knowledge." Think Bigfoot, The Loch Ness Monster, unexplained psychic phenomenon, etc. I loved these kinds of books about the paranormal when I was a kid. I also like to pull them to plump up Halloween displays.

I'll be getting rid of titles like these, which are all more than 25 years old, obviously shabby and haven't circulated in over five years.

Into the Unknown: Nine Astounding Stories

by Stephen Mooser
HarperCollins Children's Books
April 1980

It's hard to tell exactly, but I think this cover is supposed to look like a face, exploding with psychic possibility.

Monsters of the Mountains
by Jon Jameson
Franklin Watts
January 1980

A face only a mother could love.

The Earth is Flat and Other Great Mistakes
by Laurence P. Pringle
William Morrow & Co.
October 1983

Wow! This cover takes you right back, doesn't it? I love the backwards "E" in the title.

If You Were Really Superstitious

by Jane Sarnoff
Scribner Book Company
April 1980

I do love the crossed fingers on this one. Don't know if you can make out the couple kissing under a ladder as a black cat crosses their path.

Hopefully, (budget permitting!) I can replace them with titles like this:

Unexplained: An Encyclopedia of Curious Phenomena, Strange Superstitions, and Ancient Mysteries
by Judy Allen
Kingfisher
October 2006

Maybe one day we'll laugh at this cover (it looks like a yodeler atop a cat mask, to me) but in person it doesn't look so bad, and I've read great reviews of the short accessible stories of the mysterious within.

The Legend of Bigfoot
by Thomas Kingsley Troupe
Picture Window Books
August 2010

Published for the school market, the cover appeal and recent pub date put this book miles ahead of what we currently have.

Tales of the Cryptids: Mysterious Creatures that May or May Not Exist
by Kelly Milner Halls, Rick Spears, Roxyanne Young
Darby Creek Publishing
September 2006

One of my favorite books, ever. Seriously! An awesome book.

The Earth is Flat! Science Facts and Fictions

by Mary Atkinson
Children's Press
September 2007

Okay, I cheated. This book is actually in the Dewey 500's but I still think it works quite well. I love the woodcut cover. It's deliberately retro.

Book Tree

2011-12-09T04:36:00.004-05:00

File under: I wish I had thought of this. One of my co-workers created this book-themed tree by laminating print-outs of book covers to use as ornaments. I love it!

Forgotten review

2011-12-08T04:48:00.000-05:00

Forgotten
by Cat Patrick
Little Brown Books for Young Readers
June 2011

16 year-old London Lane is harboring a secret. Her memories and her mind work differently than most. Instead of remembering the past, she remembers the future, seeing the next day very clearly, and further events slightly less so. Every morning at exactly 4:33 am, the slate is wiped clean and she forgets the events of the previous day.

This book is, dare I say it, eminently readable. Even that beginning premise isn't explicitly given away to readers right away. I had read the first few chapters before I figured it out. She "remembers" the events that will spawn a long-running inside joke between her and her best friend Jamie, and knows that she and Jamie will backpack Europe together, that Jamie will develop a signature flirting move and have her heart broken by several bad romances in college. There's a fascinating dynamic to their friendship, as Jamie is one of the few people who knows about London's ability. Jamie helps London cover for her memory lapses at school and London futilely tries to keep irrepressible Jamie from falling for the wrong guys.

The plot thickens when London meets a new guy who she didn't predict coming into her life, and who she consistently doesn't see in her future. She writes careful notes to herself so she can quickly catch up on what she did the day before and it's interesting to see how she approaches things with her new boyfriend Luke. After they have a fight, she alters her past notes, effectively "forgetting" him for a while. They eventually work things out, and London continues to feel that rush of euphoria of first-time attraction every time she she sees him.

London begins seeing disturbing visions for the first time. "Memories" that aren't quite clear to her, but she sees herself at a funeral for a little boy and lives with a sense of dread, not knowing who the boy is, or how he will come into her life, but knowing that she will feel awful about his loss. Unless...? Maybe this vision is so different from the rest because she's finally remembering her past?

There were a few things that I wondered about. With an ability like hers, why doesn't London read up on winning lottery numbers and buy a winning ticket? I found it odd that she and her mother are reluctant to seek any medical attention to find out why her brain is wired like this. Why on earth is Luke the sole exception to London's memories. He does feature in her future, why can't she see it? What makes him different? And, of course, her vision of the funeral is so mysterious. What does it mean? Everytime you think you have things figured out, Patrick throws another spanner in the works, introducing yet another surprise twist of the plot, ret-conning things over and over again. Everything wraps up very satisfyingly, with most questions answered by the end. This feels like a stand-alone book, rather than the start of a series.

I preferred the cover on my Advanced Reader's Copy, rather than the finished cover which I can't help but read as three words: For. Got. Ten. It took me a second to realize that it's the same photograph! Fast-paced, smoothly-written mystery and adventure makes this an easy book for me to recommend.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Waiting on Dragonswood

2011-12-07T06:45:00.002-05:00

I haven't heard a lot of buzz about this book, but I am so excited about it. Dragons? Fairies? Fleeing for one's life? Forbidden romance? Oh man, I am sold on this thing. January can't come soon enough. Everything's better with dragons.

Dragonswood
by Janet Lee Carey
Penguin Young Readers Group

January 2012

Wilde Island is in an uproar after the recent death of its king. The uneasy pact between dragons, fairies, and humans is fraying, and a bloodthirsty witch hunter with a hidden agenda whips villages into frenzies with wild accusations. Tess, a blacksmith’s daughter from a tiny hamlet near the mysterious Dragonswood, finds herself caught in the crosshairs of fate when she is accused of witchery and has to flee for her life along with her two best friends.

Not even Tess’s power to see the future can help the girls as they set off on their desperate journey, but she keeps having visions of a man wielding a sword. And when she finally meets him, Tess has no idea how to handle the magnetic attraction she feels for him, or the elusive call she hears from the heart of the Dragonswood.

In this epic romance, an ancient prophecy comes true in a way neither dragon, fairy, nor human would have predicted.

Top 10 Childhood Faves

2011-12-06T07:35:00.001-05:00

I love this week's question by The Broke and the Bookish. What were your top ten childhood favorite books?

Here are mine:

1. Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum

It's hard to believe, but as a young child, I actually hated to read. I loved to be read to, and I loved stories, but I didn't want to be bothered to sound them out myself. My parents inspired me to read better by purchasing several Oz books for me one Christmas and refusing to read them aloud to me! I was forced to puzzle them out myself and my reading scores made a dramatic jump over that break.

2. Nancy Drew by Caroline Keene

My best friend and I used to have reading contests, where we'd each check out the same copy of a Nancy Drew mystery and see who could read faster. I always lost! She was a fearsomely fast reader. Looking back on it, I suspect she may have cheated.

3. Narnia series by C.S. Lewis

My third-grade teacher advised I try this series, which I initially didn't care for. When I was in fourth grade, I gobbled them up like candy, and read them over and over for several years.

4. Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

When I was young, our family didn't have electricity. My parents would send us out on summer nights to collect enough fireflies to read by, and they'd read us a chapter a night. Of course, chasing after fireflies is tiring work, so I'd usually fall asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, and demand they re-read all the parts I'd missed the next night.

5. Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel

I didn't have very many "little kid" type books as a child, but I loved the Frog and Toad stories by Arnold Lobel. My favorite was the one about the delicious cookies that Toad can't bring himself to stop eating.

6. A Wrinkle in Time series by Madeleine L'Engle

I loved this series as a kid. It was one of the first things I read in third grade, and my teacher made a great point of how it was too old for me.

7. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I didn't discover this until I was in middle school, but once I did, I'd re-read it every year for many, many years- every October. I found it a lot more accessible and fun than the rest of the Lord of the Rings.

8. Xanth series by Piers Anthony

I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I loved these books. Now I see them as sexist, pun-filled, potboilers, but at the time I thought they were witty and fast-paced adventure. I liked that time moved quickly - by the fourth or fifth book in the series, the main character is already a grandfather, and soon, the story is picked up by his descendants.

9. The Babysitters Club by Ann M. Martin

I was really kind of too old for this series by the time it came out. I loved them anyway, I loved the entrepreneurial spirit of the girls and I loved how organized they were. I tried to organize a babysitter's club myself, and it fell apart in two meetings with bickering and disagreements between the members.

10. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

My favorite of the E.B. White books. I loved Fern and I rooted for Wilbur. I had a grudging admiration for sneaky Templeton the rat. What an opening! "Where's pa going with that ax?" and what a wonderful ending, "It is not often someone comes along that's a true friend and good writer. Charlotte was both."

Iron Giant review

2011-12-05T06:59:00.001-05:00

The Iron Giant
by Ted Hughes, illustrated by Laura Carlin
Random House Children's Books
September 2011

Hughes’s parable about peace, originally penned in 1968, is given new life with Carlin’s cut-paper, multimedia illustrations. In the first half of the book, after crashing to Earth, the Iron Giant re-assembles himself and wreaks havoc on the local farming community by eating its tractors and farm implements. After succumbing to a pit-trap, he is tamed by Hogarth, a boy who leads him to a scrap yard where the Iron Giant can finally eat his fill.

In the second half of the story, a space-bat-angel-dragon as large as Australia threatens the Earth. Several pages of concentric die-cut circles punch up the importance of its arrival. The formerly silent Iron Giant finds his voice to challenge the creature to an endurance test. Burnt nearly to a crisp after two consecutive trips to the surface of the sun, the space-bat-angel-dragon relents and agrees to sing peaceful music-of-the-spheres instead of waging war. The oversize illustrations are rendered in a restrained muted palette of blues, browns, reds, and blacks but exhibit great variety, sometimes emphasizing the shadowy, blurry nature of the giant, other times utilizing sharply cut lines and finely drawn small townsfolk. Occasional use of hand lettering amid the text lends drama and interest. Lengthy for a picture book, but a bit short for a novel, this is a smartly designed, highly illustrated novella in picture-book format.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
This review originally appeared in School Library Journal.

Tardis Bookshelf

2011-12-04T23:39:00.000-05:00

This has got to be the neatest thing ever. Oh, sure, I've seen various things turned into a TARDIS... refrigerators, door to a photo darkroom. Here's a TARDIS bookshelf! More pictures here.

ALA Midwinter 2012

2011-12-03T21:26:00.010-05:00

I purchased my tickets for ALA Midwinter -- just in time to still get the early discount. I always enjoy going to American Library Association conventions. It's a great way to see authors, preview upcoming book releases, and connect with other librarian friends and colleagues around the country.

John Green is one of the featured speakers this year. I must admit, I haven't read many of his books, but I do really enjoy the Vlog Brothers videos that he and his brother Hank Green create.

This is going to be the closest ALA conference to me for a while, for the next several years they're being hosted in various West Coast cities, or up north in the middle of winter. The conference returns to Florida in 2016, and comes to Atlanta in 2017.

Shut Out review

2011-12-02T10:09:00.001-05:00

Shut Out
by Kody Keplinger
Poppy
September 2011

I loved Kody Keplinger's debut novel, The DUFF, a frank and honest exploration of high school romance. In her second novel, the author delivers a very capable re-telling of Greek playwright Aristophanes's Lysistrata. In the original play, a comedy, the title character Lysistrata arranges a "sex-strike" to convince the armies of Athens and Sparta to stop fighting.

The opening scenes of Shut Out are like a slap in the face, and I mean that in the best possible way. Readers are rudely reminded that most high school boys are not dreamy romantics. Indeed, most are horny, inconsiderate jerks. Teen Lissa's boyfriend, football quarterback Randy (get it? Randy??) barely pays attention to her - even when they're making out, he's busy planning some sophomoric prank to play on the soccer team. While many schools enjoy a football rivalry between schools, Hamilton High has an internal rivalry between the football team and the soccer team. Fed up with Randy's disgusting behavior, Lissa decides to enlist her friends in shutting out the boys' advances until they can behave like gentlemen.

In the meantime, Lissa develops a growing interest in Cash Sterling, leader of the soccer team. Even though she's underwhelmed by Randy's charm, she's afraid of letting down her dad and her brother, both big football fans. It's obvious that Cash is the better choice for Lissa but it takes them a while to figure it out. They hooked up briefly a year ago, but due to a misunderstanding never pursued things. They're thrown back together when they end up working at the local library together. I'm always a bit skeptical when I read a book with libraries or books in it; is the author pandering to librarians? But, I loved the scenes where Lissa trains the new clerks. She's simultaneously bossy, detail-oriented and perfectionist, yet still manages to come across as a loveable nerd who is just trying to figure out how to master social skills.

Of course, the book suffers from the same weaknesses as the original play: an overemphasis on sex, and a somewhat juvenile approach to relationships. I had trouble believing that the girls would feel so sex-starved so soon - they have as hard a time with their celibacy vow as the boys do. On the whole though, Keplinger's version warms and humanizes Aristophanes rather two-dimensional characters. All of the characters, including Lissa, her family, her circle of girlfriends, even disgusting Randy really ring true. Cash is a hero, but not in a "too good to be believed" way. There's a lot of discussion, from a feminist perspective, of the double-standard for sexually-active men and women. Keplinger has her finger on the pulse of how teens speak. I'll recommend this book for older teens.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Read in November

2011-12-01T06:33:00.001-05:00

This month I read the following books:

1 The Pledge - Kimberly Derting

2 The Rise of Renegade X - Chelsea Campbell

3 It's Not Really About the Hair - Tabatha Coffey

4 The Mephisto Covenant - Trinity Faegen

5 Frost - Wendy DelSol

6 The Not Quite Perfect Boyfriend - Lili Wilkinson

7 Hades: Lord of the Dead - George O'Connor
8 Darker Still - Leanna Renee Hieber
9 Peeled - Joan Bauer

Picture credit: Reading Book by Eva D. Cowdery

Waiting on A Million Suns

2011-11-30T04:29:00.002-05:00

Is it time to start thinking about 2012 releases already? I guess so! It's right around the corner, I can't believe it's nearly December. I can't wait for A Million Suns by Beth Revis. Let's face it, we're all waiting for this one, right? The cover is amazing. I loved Across the Universe so much - it really whisked me away to another world. That's what I look for in a truly great book. Bonus! A Million Suns is coming out right around my birthday. *hint, hint* family and friends!

A Million Suns
by Beth Revis
Razorbill

January 2012

Godspeed was fueled by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos.

It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. And everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed. But there may just be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to enact his vision - no more Phydus, no more lies.

But when Elder discovers shocking news about the ship, he and Amy race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed. They must work together to unlock a puzzle that was set in motion hundreds of years earlier, unable to fight the romance that's growing between them and the chaos that threatens to tear them apart.

In book two of the Across the Universe trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis mesmerizes us again with a brilliantly crafted mystery filled with action, suspense, romance, and deep philosophical questions. And this time it all builds to one mind-bending conclusion: They have to get off this ship.

Peeled review

2011-11-29T04:14:00.002-05:00

Peeled
by Joan Bauer
Putnam Juvenile
May 2008

Sixteen year-old Hildy Biddle dreams of being a stellar journalist. She's the star writer for her high school newspaper in the small, sleepy farming town of Banesville, NY. I must admit I very nearly put this book in my "Did Not Finish" pile in the first few pages. The book opens with a prolonged description of the Apple Valley Pageant Queen vomiting due to food poisoning. That, plus the fast-paced, noir-inspired, witty banter that Hildy uses initially felt a bit forced - like she was trying too hard to sound like Sam Spade. But, I stuck with it, and things picked up from there.

Hildy reminded me a lot of Veronica Mars... bold, inquisitive and skeptical, and fairly down on the whole idea of dating. She lives with her mom and cousin and grandparents, since the recent death of her father, also a reporter.

The local paper, The Bee, starts printing more and more outrageous stories, claiming there's a ghost haunting the old Ludlow place, creating fear and panic in the town. With the help of her experienced newsman mentor Baker Polton, she sleuths out the clues that lead to the real reason behind the hauntings. When the school shuts down the school paper, The Core, she and her friends start a rebel sheet called The Peel.

Ignoring for the moment, that this is basically the same plot of every episode Scooby-Doo, ever:

"You mean the editor of The Bee faked all the ghost sightings to lower property values in town so he could build a new development?"
"And we would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!"

This was a fast-paced enjoyable read. I can't imagine living in a world where newspapers are as important as they are to Hildy - she and her friends briefly mention the idea of creating a blog to disseminate school news, but quickly veto the idea, because it might not get out to enough people.

This is a solid pick for younger teens, and the perfect book for YA readers looking for non-fantasy realistic fiction without too much emphasis on romance. I'd actually recommend this as a great introduction to Joan Bauer. If readers like this, they'll love the much-stronger Hope Was Here.

I borrowed this book from the library.

Harry Potter pencils

2011-11-28T05:44:00.000-05:00

This is cool! Here's a shop on etsy, where the seller creates Harry Potter pencils. The only quibble I have is that you can't really choose what quotes you'll get. (Although they try to take requests.) There's lots of others there too, Hunger Games pencils, Percy Jackson, Pride and Prejudice, Shakespeare. Neat!

Divergent review

2011-11-27T04:19:00.002-05:00

Divergent
by Veronica Roth
HarperCollins
May 2011

Sixteen year-old Beatrice Prior is on the verge of her choosing ceremony. Raised by the strict Abnegation sect, a group so selfless they don't even allow themselves to look in mirrors, she's always wondered about what life might be like amongst one of the other factions: Candor, Dauntless, Amity or Erudite. Each faction lives in a separate part of the city and each has a dress code: Abnegation in grey, Candor in black and white, Dauntless wears black, Amity is yellow and Erudite favors blue. After undergoing testing, teens are assigned a sect, although they can make a different choice if they want. Most choose the same faction as the family they were raised in. Much to her surprise, Beatrice tests show that she is Divergent - not a clear pick for any of the factions. She's cautioned to keep this information a secret. She chooses Dauntless, a group that focuses on bravery. Her brother chooses Erudite, focused on knowledge.

Most of the book deals with formerly shy, hardworking Beatrice, who re-styles herself "Tris" once she joins Dauntless, and her struggles to keep up with the daredevil hazing of her new group. I liked Tris enormously, and I liked the way she was able to surprise everyone who underestimated her.

I was very curious about how the world came to be set up in this way... why five factions, and why were they dedicated to those particular qualities? We never really find out. I also wondered what purpose Dauntless really serves - why does a city need a group of tattooed adrenaline junkies? Tris ends up being in a perfect position to learn some family secrets, and other secrets that impact the whole city.

This is a thrilling book and how could it not be, with Tris spending most of it acclimating to her new life in Dauntless by riding ziplines off of abandoned buildings, jumping onto moving trains, undergoing combat training, and fighting another one of her fears - her fear of intimacy means she suppresses her crush on one of the Dauntless leaders, known as Four. Things between Tris and Four develop very slowly - most of the emphasis is on where the action is: Tris's training at the Dauntless headquarters and unravelling a conspiracy by the city's leaders in Erudite. Divergent should be an automatic go-to for readers who enjoyed the brave female warriors in The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Alison Goodman's Eon: Dragoneye Reborn or Kristin Cashore's Graceling. The story ends with a bit of cliffhanger as Tris makes her escape from a war zone to one of the other factions. I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series, Insurgent.

I purchased this book.

Breaking Dawn review

2011-11-26T02:20:00.003-05:00

Breaking Dawn
by Stephenie Meyer
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
August 2008

Meyer wraps everything up very neatly in the fourth and final installment of the very popular Twilight series. It's obvious that Bella represents a kind of wish-fulfillment for her, as by the end of the book she gets everything she wants without having any consequences at all. Neither Bella nor her love interest, vampire Edward Cullen, seem terribly well-rounded. Bella half-heartedly goes through with the wedding that Edward insists upon, and during their honeymoon in a remote tropical island, finds that she's miraculously become pregnant with Edward's child.

Bella is the perfect martyr, willing to sacrifice any and all of her needs for others. Edward is a prat, still pouting that he can't read her mind, and therefore notoriously dumb about communicating in a healthy way with his fiance. Bella enlists the aid of barren Rose in order to protect her during her abnormally fast supernatural pregnancy. Not having much time to consider things, and as a child of a bitter divorce, it's clear Bella's never thought much about baby names, she quickly settles on "Renesmee" as the name for her daughter. Everyone shortens this to "Nessie" much to her chagrin. Werewolf Jacob wastes no time imprinting on Nessie, something which I saw as a very odd compromise to get him a love interest deeply connected to Bella in some way. Nessie clearly suffers from SORAS (Soap-Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome) as her half-vampire heritage causes her to nearly instantly age into an adorable pre-schooler.

A showdown with the vampire lords ensures the Cullens future safety, as they make their case for their "vegetarian" existance, and the existance of their half-vampire child. Bella flexes her own superpowers, adapting to her vampire existence with ease and near-perfect control, not the ravening bloodlust that she'd feared. Bella's utter disdain for her "clumsy" human years reminded me very much of Lestat in Anne Rice's The Tale of the Body Thief.

These characters are so arresting, and the world that Meyer creates so believable, it's frustrating to see them take a turn that one wouldn't have wished... I was rooting for a better ending for Jacob of course, and wishing that Bella would grow a spine! Still, for all the quibbles I had with plot of the book, it was still extremely entertaining and a quick read despite it's hefty page-count.

On the whole, this is an very enjoyable series, and one that I'd recommend even if it wasn't a super-hot bestseller.

I purchased this book.

Hades review

2011-11-25T09:51:00.000-05:00

Hades: Lord of the Dead
by George O'Connor
First Second
January 2012

Deliciously spooky, this adds a modern touch to the stories that the Greeks told about the Underworld. Riveting! After an informative introduction to the territories of the underworld including the River Styx, Erebus (kind of like Hell's waiting room), and Tartaros (where the evil are punished) the story jumps right to the Persephone myth, also known as Kore. I loved her transformation into a Goth princess when she begins to warm up to the idea of ruling the underworld.

When angry Demeter has finally sussed out who is ultimately responsible for the disappearance of her daughter, the looks on the faces of Zeus' entourage are priceless, "Oh Zeus... what did you do now?" a mildly annoyed Hera says. Flirty Hermes is also a hoot, when he questions Hekate, Demeter's sidekick, who intones her story to him, he replies, "I like you, you're nutty." One vital change from the original story was the use of Persephone's pomegranate seeds. While there are always several versions to most of the Greek myths - usually that Persephone is tricked into eating the seeds trapping her in the Underworld for part of the year, or famished, she finally gives in and eats just a bit before she is rescued, in this version, Persophone does NOT actually eat any of the seeds - but she tells her mother that she did so that she can return to the god Hades, whom she has grown to care for.

The book is appended with an author's note, footnotes on several historical details included in the artwork, a call sheet for several of the gods featured in the story and a bibliography featuring recent and/or notable sources for additional information on mythology. This is a great series. Percy Jackson fans will eagerly devour these appealing graphic novels inspired by the Greek gods.

I received a free copy from the publisher.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T07:56:00.000-05:00

Imagine my surprise when I opened my e-mail and found this lovely artwork by Will Hillenbrand. I loved his Mother Goose Picture Riddles. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Waiting on Shattered Souls

2011-11-23T00:28:00.003-05:00

Okay, this story does not sound that unique... I can think of about a dozen books right off the top of my head with a very similar plot. But that doesn't matter, because I could read this story a hundred times and never get bored. Young person develops paranormal powers. Adventures ensue. I'm sold.

Shattered Souls
by Mary Lindsay
Philomel Penguin

December 2011

Lenzi hears voices and has visions - gravestones, floods, a boy with steel gray eyes. Her boyfriend, Zak, can't help, and everything keeps getting louder and more intense. Then Lenzi meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, who reveals that she's a reincarnated Speaker - someone who can talk to and help lost souls - and that he has been her Protector for centuries.

Now Lenzi must choose between her life with Zak and the life she is destined to lead with Alden. But time is running out: a malevolent spirit is out to destroy Lenzi, and he will kill her if she doesn't make a decision soon.

Cover Trend: Purple Dress

2011-11-22T04:22:00.001-05:00

I started putting together a Cover Trend post noting which covers feature pretty dresses. But these days, that is like... all of them. So, let's focus a moment on Beautiful Purple Dresses which seem to be a Thing for 2012.

Jessica Rules the Dark Side
by Beth Fantaskey
Harcourt Children's Books
January 2012

The sequel to Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side. At first glance her dress looks nearly black, but it's definitely dark purple.

Darkness Falls

by Cate Tiernan
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
January 2012

Sequel to Immortal Beloved.

A Breath of Eyre

by Eve Marie Monte
Kensington
April 2012

Emma Townsend magically travels to the world of Jane Eyre.

Dreamless

by Josephine Angelini
HarperTeen
May 2012

The sequel to Starcrossed, a re-telling of the Helen of Troy story.

Hemlock

by Kathleen Peacock
Harper Collins Children's Books
May 2012

A werewolf, paranormal, love-triangle, murder mystery story.

Endlessly

by Kiersten White
HarperTeen
July 2012

The third and highly anticipated final book in the Paranormalcy trilogy.

The Demon Catchers of Milan

by Kat Beyer
Egmont USA
August 2012

About an American teenager whose life is changed when she learns she’s a member of an ancient Italian family of demon hunters.

Curtains review

2011-11-21T09:04:00.000-05:00

Curtains! A High School Musical Mystery
by Michael Dahl, illustrated by Tiffany Prothero
Stone Arch Books
2008

No relation to the Disney franchise, this short novel seems tailored for classroom use and includes a hearty supply of back matter. New kid Kyle must prove his innocence when several near-miss "accidents" endanger the performers in the school play. His friend Mindy finds inspiration for her detective skills in the works of Agatha Christie, the "Queen of Crime." The book is genuinely suspenseful, and readers will be surprised when the culprit's identity is revealed. Short chapters with short declarative sentences and full-page black-and-white illustrations done in blocky pen and ink make this book a quick read. An acceptable choice, particularly for reluctant readers. Fans of the tv show Glee might enjoy this dramatic, easy to read lo-hi read.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

In My Mailbox 16

2011-11-20T18:08:00.001-05:00

It always seems like no matter how carefully I plan it, my library holds always come in at once.
Here's the stack of them, lots of great backlist titles: The Sweetheart of Prosper County, Old Magic, Intertwined, Oh My Gods, Jennifer Government and Fool's Girl.

Plus, I got this book for review: The Not Quite Perfect Boyfriend by Lili Wilkinson.

Tale of Two Mice review

2011-11-19T07:53:00.001-05:00

The Tale of Two Mice
by Ruth Brown
Candlewick
December 2008

Tension builds as a feline predator, often hiding in plain sight, stalks two mice. Children will appreciate the efforts of cautious Billy, who repeatedly attempts to alert his older sibling, Bo, of their imminent danger. Happily, the mice make a narrow escape even as the ever-oblivious Bo cautions Billy, "If you ever see a cat, you must tell me AT ONCE." Muted watercolors in various hues of brown and blue depict the world of a gloomy old manor full of spooky surprises. Lift-the-flaps offer plenty of opportunity to explore these detail-laden pages. Brown plays with scale, sometimes showing the entire cat hidden in a corner; on other pages, readers see just a hint of an oversize tail, or a large gleaming eye from behind a cabinet door. The spare prose and large pictures make this good for sharing.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Bloomswell Diaries review

2011-11-18T19:06:00.001-05:00

The Bloomswell Diaries
by Louis L. Buitendag
Kane Miller
March 2011

This is a fast-paced action/chase/adventure written with plenty of of boy appeal. There's a bit of mystery as Benjamin Bloomswell is left with his uncle while his parents are on a business trip. Soon, he's shocked to discover that his parents are being reported dead in the newspapers. As he makes his escape from an orphanage in order to reunite with his sister, he's forced to stowaway on a ship headed from New York to Europe.

The story didn't feel as steampunkish as I expected. Except for the rarely seen mechanical clockwork men there aren't very many sci-fi'ish touches. Benjamin hides inside one when he's smuggling himself across international borders. This is a solidly middle-grade level read - there's not even a hint of romance, and the main part of the story focuses on the mystery of what's happened to Benjamin's parents. There's an almost dreamlike sense behind the chase scenes, as Benjamin escapes from one pursuer, only to have to stay one step ahead of another generic bad guy.

While this is an American-published book, it has the feeling of having been translated - it feels just a touch alien, which is not at all a bad thing. Fans of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, or The Incorrigible Children of Aston Place by Maryrose Wood, who are looking for more stories of plucky, determined orphans fighting against conspiracies and impossible odds will enjoy The Bloomswell Diaries.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Oz T-shirt

2011-11-17T04:08:00.001-05:00

Add this to my list of tee-shirts I wish I owned. It's from Out of Print. Looks cozy, eh?

Waiting on Shattered Dreams

2011-11-16T06:02:00.003-05:00

It looks like the cover has been changed on this one... I think I may have liked the original cover slightly better. But still! I am interested to tackle this book.

Shattered Dreams
by Ellie James
St. Martin's Griffin

December 2011

Sixteen year-old Trinity Monsour wants nothing more than to live a normal life. But that isn’t as easy as it seems. Trinity is different. She is special. She sees visions, and for those she’s seen, it’s already too late.

Trinity arrives on her aunt’s doorstep in New Orleans with virtually no knowledge of her mysterious heritage. She begins settling into life at a new school and even starts making friends. But all too quickly her dreams accelerate; twisted, terrifying visions of a girl locked in a dark room. And when the head cheerleader, Jessica, goes missing, Trinity knows she has no choice but to step forward with what she’s seen.

But people believe that Trinity has information about Jessica’s disappearance not because of a dream, but because she is involved. She is kind-of dating Jessica’s ex-boyfriend, Chase, and Jessica did pull a nasty prank on Trinity. Revenge seems like the likeliest scenario.

Nothing prepares Trinity for the dark odyssey that ensues while searching for Jessica, including the surprising romance she finds with Chase, or the shocking truths she learns, not just about the girl who has gone missing, but the past that has been hidden from her.

Free Astronomy Programs

2011-11-15T05:23:00.000-05:00

We had an amazing free program at our library last week. The Atlanta Astronomy Club sent volunteers to give a talk about the moon, and then another talk about comets and asteroids. Art Zorka, who was the main presenter, has a very laid back style and was able to put complex astronomy in terms that even the youngest audience members could understand. He brought a collection of rocks - some of them meteors, some of them ordinary rocks you might find in your yard and had everyone try to guess which was which. We had a great crowd and the speakers were terrific. They're affiliated with NASA's Night Sky Network; I've been lucky to be able to set up programs like this in several states, and I don't think I've ever really been disappointed.

In Texas, I had author Jane Ann Peddicord come and read from her book Night Wonders. She asked for volunteers from the audience to demonstrate the motion of the planets around the sun, using hula-hoops. Brilliantly, she had the kids in the audience "twinkle" by waving their hands. When I was visiting friends in Baltimore, I had the chance to go to an astronomy program where the presenters brought a giant tarp printed with a photo of the sun and invited children to hop up and down as if they were sunspots. They also brought a telescope with specially darkened lenses so you could look directly at the sun. When I was in Los Angeles, I had a group bring in multiple telescopes to compare and contrast what each one does, as well as a felt board story illustrating the phases of the moon. Don't overlook this great opportunity for a free program at your library: if you're interested in having some local, amateur astronomers give a presentation go to Night Sky Network's website and check out your local chapter.

First official Hunger Games trailer

2011-11-14T16:43:00.001-05:00

Looks amazing!

In My Mailbox 15

2011-11-13T07:49:00.000-05:00

Hurray! I got approved for 3 Netgalley titles this week. Here they are:

The Mephisto Covenant review

2011-11-12T10:55:00.002-05:00

The Mephisto Covenant
by Trinity Faegen
Egmont USA
September 2011

This book, hands-down, wins the award for Worst Book I Have Ever Read. It seems to have all the ingredients for success: teen paranormal romance, gorgeous cover, mysterious debut author. I was surprised and disappointed by how quickly the story went downhill. The mythology is actually fairly well-thought out, and perhaps the strongest part of the book. Eryx, an evil demon, is attempting to overthrow Lucifer by collecting enough followers to challenge his ruling in Hell. Eryx has started a secret society called The Ravens, recruiting in high schools around the country, to further his plans.

Seventeen year-old Sasha's life is turned upside down when her mother Katya must return to Russia after the murder of her father. Sasha, in the meantime, is sent to live with her Uncle Tim, Aunt Melanie and cousins Brett and Chris in Colorado to finish out the school year while her mother gets settled in Russia. It's soon obvious that Brett and Melanie are deeply involved with the local Ravens group. Sasha meets gorgeous Jax and learns that she is Anabo - a direct descendent of Eve imbued with powers of good, and Jax is a Mephisto, a rare son of Hell tasked with punishing evil-doers in order to gain redemption.

Parts of this story read a bit like Laurell K. Hamilton Jr. - a younger, cleaner version of Hamilton's Anita Blake series, or Sherilynn Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series.

First and foremost, my major problem with the book was the male hero, Jax. He's irresistibly drawn to Sasha, and quickly turns into a completely creepy Stalky McStalkerson. Just a few examples of things he does that would put Twilight's Edward to shame: turns himself invisible and watches Sasha sleep, punches a guy for daring to talk to her, erases her memory of their first meeting so that he can have a "do over" after he's had the chance to re-con more information about her, kisses her and then decides things are moving too fast so he attempts to erase her memory again (but fails) - but not before selfishly grabbing a few extra smooches before he tries to brainwipe her, logs into her Facebook account and reads all her messages. Another move he makes that I'm sure many women would find romantic, but I find utterly gross; after Sasha's dysfunctional aunt Melanie destroys all of her clothes, he teleports her to San Francisco where he purchases a sexier, cooler wardrobe for Sasha. He even pops in to her dressing room, uninvited, prompting harsh words from nearly-nude Sasha.

I hated the trope of thousand year old man-whore being redeemed by underage virgin. Jax has gotten around the block a time or two, because after all, "a man has needs" but innocent, naive Sasha is his destiny, so he'll clean up his act for her.

What I found hardest to swallow was that much later, Sasha gets an opportunity to spy in Jax's closet, and is incredibly impressed by an ancient wooden box he's saved with keepsakes of his mother from Ancient Greece. He's angry that she's been snooping, and she actually feels incredibly guilty about it. Wha-aaat? Why??? After his complete lack of boundaries (and Sasha's occasional annoyance at his intrusiveness) why on earth would she feel even the slightest bit guilty?

Unfortunately, there are several info-dumps in the book that are repeated when one character has learned something, but another hasn't, so we readers have to hear the whole thing again - I'm sorry, Nanowrimers, but you know the sort of thing I'm talking about - cheap ways to up a word count without moving the story forward.

Most of the characterizations are quite flat. Sasha is good and sweet and a bit Mary-Sue'ish and boring. Aunt Melanie is hell-on-wheels evil and batshit crazy. Sasha's cousin Brett is moustache-twirlingly villainous, murdering a girl and getting away with it, spreading rumors at school that Sasha is a whore and generally being a bully and a big dumb jock. Jax's brothers are hopeless around women and only minimally fleshed out with personalities or interests of their own.

There was simply too much going on throughout the story - I could have done without the whole subplot about Sasha's schoolfriend Amanda having a crush on Brett and when she finally decides to take the oath to Eryx, Brett forces her to strip nude and is threatening her with hot-pokers, but despite all that she still likes him.

Things come to a head when Sasha melodramatically learns that she was illegally adopted from Russia (as was her cousin Chris) and Brett decides decides that now that they aren't "really" cousins, now would be a perfect time for raping - Sasha's dog Boo comes to her defense, and heartless Brett kills the animal by throwing him into a wall, at which point Melanie and newly-evil uncle Tim bitch her out for sneaking a dog into the house in the first place and demand that Sasha sleep in the uninviting basement. After this whole horrifying episode, the dog is never thought about or mentioned again.

I was only surprised that Sasha agrees to stay with her aunt and uncle for so long. Being threatened, denied food, having her clothes and computer destroyed, her dog killed and jewelry stolen, why does she stay? When she visits Jax in his awesome extra-dimensional hilltop palace, filled with servants and every imaginable luxury, you have to wonder why she wants to leave. There is a lot of talk about free will - Sasha has to decide to give up her pure Anabo status if she wants to redeem Jax, but it has to be her choice. By the end, it honestly doesn't feel like much of a choice. Pretty much every single family relationship or friendship has been lost to her - of course she chooses Jax, she doesn't have anyone else! Even her mother Katya takes an oath to Eryx and sells her out.

Much is made of the fact that once Sasha decides to have sex with Jax, the process of her turning from Anabo saint to Mephisto warrior will be irreversible, and she'll be trackable to Eryx and his bloodthirsty minions. When they finally do the deed the pages feel ripped straight from a romance novel, tacky and too explicit for a YA novel.

I'm loathe to say this, but with the emphasis on "choice" this story would have read better to me if there had been a love-triangle, with an alternative to Jax for Sasha to actually get to choose from. Dial back Jax's completely inappropriate and borderline abusive stalking behaviors by a factor of a hundred, and I might actually start to approve of their romance a little.

Don't pick up this book, unless you enjoy the schadenfreude of reading something that is so horrible, it's actually kind of amazing.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

The Busy Beaver review

2011-11-11T21:31:00.000-05:00

The Busy Beaver
by Nicholas Oldland
Kids Can Press
August 2011

A great message about being responsible for the environment and being a good friend is delivered in a humorous and completely non-didactic way in this charmer of a picture book. Beaver's been so busy chopping down trees and leaving projects half-finished, he hardly notices when he destroys a birds nest, accidentally gnaws on Moose's leg and even drops a tree on himself. Forced to do some introspection during his hospital stay, he realizes that he has to make amends. Embarking on a "serious rehabilitation program," Beaver studies up on dam-building, practices saying, "I'm sorry," in the mirror and does yoga and physical therapy until he's ready to return to the forest. The other animals are terrified at first, until they see that he has truly changed his ways.

Some of my favorite moments in the book are the aggrieved expressions on Moose's face when his leg is being chewed by thoughtless Beaver, the family of homeless birds tramping by with bindle sticks after their tree has been felled, and Beaver's overly-zealous plans now that he's turned over a new leaf which include taking a college course in dam-building, or starting a rockband. Exhausted by his good efforts, he decides to take a nap instead.

Digitally-created illustrations look a little like cut-paper collage and contain mostly crisp lines and brightly-hued blue, green and earth tones. From the same author of Big Bear Hug and Making the Moose Out of Life, The Busy Beaver is a welcome addition to Oldland's series about living well. Even though it felt slightly long, this book was a real hit for my older storytime group who enjoyed every bit of Beaver's wacky antics. I'll recommend this for kids aged 4-8.

I borrowed this book from the library.

The Borrowers movie

2011-11-10T06:02:00.000-05:00

The Secret World of Arrietty, based on The Borrowers novels by Mary Norton is due to be released next spring. Here's the official trailer.

Waiting on Legend

2011-11-09T06:54:00.003-05:00

It feels like I've been waiting for this book forever. The release date is finally drawing close... November 29, but it's still not here yet. Legend sounds like just the thing for Hunger Games fans.

Legend
by Marie Lu
Putnam Juvenile

November 2011

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Keep Calm Harry Potter

2011-11-08T08:11:00.000-05:00

This is possibly, the best variation on "Keep Calm and Carry On" that I've seen yet. Harry Potter inspired, of course. It's put out by Witty Tees - I found it on RedBubble.

Inquisitor's Apprentice review

2011-11-07T06:48:00.000-05:00

The Inquisitor's Apprentice
by Chris Moriarty
Harcourt Children's Books
October 2011

13 year-old Sacha Kessler is a nice Jewish boy growing up in a Jewish slum of Lower East Side New York in the 1800's. Old World magic clashes with American technology and is "technically" outlawed, although most housewives are all too happy to turn a blind eye to the occasional spell that might make their household chores a little easier. Sacha has a super-rare ability to see magic (it is invisible to most) and as such, gains a high-prestige job with the Inquisitors, New York's anti-magic squad run by brilliant, laconic detective Maximilian Wolf.

This is clearly a parallel world to our own, with the wealthy Astor family renamed "Astral", "Morgaunt" instead of J.P. Morgan, "Pentacle Shirtwaist Factory," instead of Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and so on. I loved the "lie detector test" - conducted by bored clerical assistants who perfunctorily use their magic ability to determine the truthfulness of statements from petty criminals in downtown lock-up. The whole world seems well thought out, with robber barons hoping to stamp magic out for their own gain. Sacha's large, poor, but loving family who live crammed in a tiny tenement apartment seem especially well fleshed out. The book felt like Sydney Taylor's All-of-a-Kind-Family meets Sam Spade with a dash of magic thrown in.

Plenty of real historical figures including Thomas Edison and Houdini make important cameos in this book. Sacha is embarrassed by his family's low means, and is caught in a web of lies - it takes pushy fellow apprentice Lily Astral and Wolf's patience to finally bring Sacha out of his shell. What he hasn't been able to admit to them is that he is being stalked by a dybbuk - a malevolent spirit who appears as his doppelganger and hopes to slowly rob his life from him.

Readers who enjoy historical fantasy, especially books like Patricia Wrede's Frontier Magic series will enjoy this fast-paced, magical detective story. There are enough loose ends to leave plenty of room for a sequel, or even a series.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Little White Duck feltboard

2011-11-06T05:54:00.000-05:00

Here's my latest feltboard, it's all the pieces I need for Little White Duck.

For the first time ever, I cheated, and taped the words to the song to the back of my feltboard. I'm kind of glad I did, because I always forget exactly how this one goes.

There's a little white duck, sitting in the water
A little white duck, doing what he oughter
He took a bite of a lily pad
Flapped his wings and he said "I'm glad
I'm a little white duck sitting in the water
Quack, Quack, Quack."

There's a little green frog swimming in the water
A little green frog, doing what he oughter
He jumped right off of the lily pad
That the little duck bit and he said "I'm glad
I'm a little green frog swimming in the water
Glug, Glug, Glug."

There's a little black bug floating on the water
A little black bug doing what he oughter
He tickled the frog on the lily pad
That the little duck bit and he said, "I'm glad
I'm a little black bug floating in the water
Bzz, Bzzz, Bzzz."

There's a little red snake playing in the water
A little red snake doing what he oughter
He frightened the duck and the frog so bad
He ate the bug and he said, "I'm glad
I'm a little red snake playing in the water
Hiss, Hisss, Hisss."

Now there's nobody left sitting in the water
Nobody left doing what they oughter
There's nothing left but the lily pad
The duck and the frog ran away, I'm sad
"Cause there's nobody left sitting in the water,
Boo! Hoo, Hoo...

Alice in Wonderland review

2011-11-05T06:25:00.000-04:00

Alice in Wonderland
adapted by Martin Powell, illustrated by Daniel Perez
Stone Arch Books
August 2009

I enjoyed this fast read-through of Alice in Wonderland. Translated into graphic novel form, the undeniably trippy, dream-like nature of the original book comes through much, much stronger in this version. Alice races through one utterly bizarre scene after another, lending a particularly surreal feeling to this reinterpretation of the classic. As fast as she falls down the rabbit hole, grows and shrinks and meets the evil Red Queen and Chesire Cat, there are other equally odd occurrences taken from the original novel that I had forgotten about, such as the abandoned baby that inexplicably turns into a pig. While the adaptation remains very true to the original, the speeded-up narrative and largely visual presentation definitely up the ante, turning what is already a very strange and dream-like book into something altogether hallucinogenic.

The book is appended with some background information on the inspiration for several of the characters - for example, cheese-makers of Chesire County, England apparently were famous for using cat-shaped molds, and of course, the tradition of Mad Hatters comes from the true story of many Victorian-era hatters who suffered from lead poisoning and dementia in their line of work.

I hesitate to recommend such an abbreviated version of the classic to young readers who may not return to the longer, original work if they feel that they've read it already, but at this point, Alice in Wonderland is such a cultural touchstone, you can't go wrong with this easily-accessible version.

I borrowed this book from the library.

Books poster

2011-11-04T05:41:00.003-04:00

This is so true, isn't it?