Review: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

“Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty’s anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high. Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. 

Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen’s Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life." From the official jacket blurb

I listened to this exquisitely written fantasy debut by Rachel Hartman on audiobooks. As the last disc finished up and as I sat in the afterglow of the book with the characters swirling around in my head I gradually became aware of the music on the car radio. As the song ended the DJ said "Imagine Dragons, It's Time."  What? How did she know that I just read a book about dragons and was thinking it was time for me to share my love of the book with the world. I thought I was hearing things.  Honestly.  It wasn't until I heard the song again that I realized there is a music group called Imagine Dragons and their current hit is It's Time. Ha! Check it out here on Imagine Dragons Facebook page.

Rachel Hartman created a rich, complex, and utterly original world in Seraphina. The heroine's "tortuous journey to self-acceptance is one readers will remember long after they’ve turned the final page.” Not a usual fantasy reader, I was shocked at how completely I was swept up in the story. All the characters we unique and complex. The setting lush and fully imagined. The plot complex and interesting. I liked everything about this book. And...I understand that it is the first book in a trilogy, though I found the ending to be quite satisfying.

I just bumble along on my reviews while others find eloquent ways to express their devotion to this book. I am jealous of their writing ability.  I really want you to go and read one of those wonderful reviews written by Karyn Silverman over at SLJ. You will get a much fuller idea of just how magical this book really is.  If I was giving out stars this one just earned five!

Review: Who the Hell is Pansy O'Hara?

Who the Hell is Pansy O'Hara?-The Fascinating Stories Behind 50 of the World's Best-Loved Books by Jenny Bond and Chris Sheedy is my kind of book, telling short bits of information about the authors and how they came to write these famous books. Here are a few snippets of information I gleaned from it:

Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist...When Dickens was twelve years old he was sent to work in a blacking factory that made shoe polish. A middle-class, well-educated boy was not expected to work for a living but because of financial difficulties at home Dickens was sent away to work. "Not only did this open the child's eyes to the putrid underbelly of society and the many ills that plagued London's lower classes, it also burned into his soul a deep sense of abandonment." No wonder Oliver Twist rang true.

J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan...I saw a movie about the writing of Peter Pan with Johnnie Depp where the friendship with the Llewellyn-Davies family was explained as the catalyst for the writing of this childhood masterpiece. I don't know if that movie was historically accurate or not but here is a quote from Barrie to the five children which makes me think it was: "I always knew that I made Peter by rubbing the five of you violently together, as savages with two sticks produce a flame...that is all he is, the spark I got from you."

A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh... Pooh was based on a real bear, also called Winnie, who traveled from Canada with a Canadian soldier during WWI before finding a home in the London Zoo. Milne's son, Christopher Robin, loved the bear and went to the zoo often to visit it, once being allowed in the cage with the bear to feed it evaporated milk. "When Christopher told him he'd changed his teddy's name to Winnie-the-Pooh, Alan was inspired to write a book about the adventures of a chubby bear called Winnie-the-Pooh and his friend Christopher." Milne wrote these tales not for his son, or just for children, he wrote them, according to literary historians, for the child in us all.

Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind...Mrs. Mitchell didn't want any of her society friends to know that she was writing a novel. When a publisher came to town, a friend commented "that she didn't have what it took to write a novel." This comment angered Margaret "who rushed home, collected the manuscript  piled it into an old suitcase...she manged to catch the publisher on the way to the railway station, about to leave the city. Thrusting the case of pages at him, she told him to take it from her before she changed her mind." By the time she got home from the train station she had changed her mind, but by the then it was too late, and a bestseller was born. One of the things the publisher insisted upon, however is that Mitchell change the name of her character from Pansy to Scarlet.

John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath... As soon as it was published The Grapes of Wrath became a banned book. "Even in its title The Grapes of Wrath was a blatant indictment against the system. Taken from the Civil War Anthem, 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic', Steinbeck was suggesting a new civil war was being staged between the rich and the poor...After the book's publication, effigies of Steinbeck were burned by angry Californians who saw his work as a scandalous distortion of the migrant situation."

William Golding, Lord of the Flies...The book was rejected by ten publishers before finding a publisher in 1953. The reading public were initially unimpressed and the book went out of print but within a few years "education departments recognized the symbolic nature of the story." Since 1960 the book has been required  reading in many schools and has never been out-of-print since then.

Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird... Many consider this one the best novel ever written, yet it was Lee's only novel. When her cousin, Richard William, asked her when she was going to write a second novel she purportedly said, "Richard, when you are at the top, there's only one way to go."

Mario Puzo, The Godfather... Critics and readers assumed that Puzo had mob connections and first-hand information before writing his books. "The baffled writer replied, 'Where would I have time to be in the Mafia? I starved before the success of The Godfather. If I was in the Mafia I would have made enough money so I wouldn't have to write.'" I have never read these books, perhaps it is time.

Robert Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys... Baden-Powell, a British Army officer was distraught over the lack of outdoor and survival skills his soldiers had so he wrote a little guide, Aid to Scouting. When he returned from the war he decided to write a nonmilitary manual for English lads. This manual, Scouting for Boys launched the Boys/Girl Scouts/Guides. Baden-Powell never intended to launch a worldwide movement, he just thought the book would be helpful for youth groups as they participated in outdoor activities.

BOMB: the Race to Build-and Steal- the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

"In the end, this is a difficult story to sum up. The making of the atomic bomb is one of history's most amazing examples of teamwork and genius and poise under pressure. But it's also the story of how humans created a weapon capable of wiping our species off the planet. It's a story with no end in sight. And like it or not, you're in it." -p.236

Physics. World War II. Einstein. Robert Oppenheimer. Fission. Uranium. Plutonium. Los Alamos, New Mexico. Richard Feynman. Radiation poisoning. Trinity test site. Heavy water. Race to beat the Germans building the atomic bomb.Manhattan Project. FBI. KGB. Hiroshima. Enola Gay. Harry Truman.

These are all words (names) I knew a bit about prior to reading this book.  But here are some that were new to me---

Otto Hahn. Klaus Fuchs. Jens Poulsson.  Vermork, Norway. Harry Gold. Knut Haukelid. OSS. Theodore Hall. Paul Tibbets. Moe Berg. Greenglass. Potsdam Declaration. Lona Cohen. 50-megaton monster hydrogen bomb.

All the disparate pieces of information I had in my brain about the Atom Bomb came together through the reading of this book.  I had never before drawn the line between all the spy work done during World War II by the KGB, the creation of the Atom Bomb, and the Red Scare of the 1950s. Now I see how all of this is connected.

I found the book, written for young adults, to be both fascinating and terrifying. My whole life has been lived in the shadow of this bomb and the terrible consequences it can evoke on mankind. I remember as a child in elementary school practicing Air Raid drills. We would all jump under our desks as if those flimsy things would protect us from the melting heat, and earth flattening power of these huge bombs. How naive and stupid we were.

All of the men who were involved in the Manhattan Project later questioned if they had done a good thing. Oppenheimer himself tried to talk President Truman out of developing an even bigger bomb than the one he created to no avail.

Now with Iran threatening the fragile situation in the middle East with their nuclear aspiration, I am reminded again of how awesome and awful the inventions of man can be.

 

Review: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers is set in the 1500s in Brittany when kings and queens, dukes and duchesses warred with each other over land and power. Into this setting we meet Ismae, Gavriel, Anne, and a whole cast of characters.  One is never quite sure who is good and who is evil throughout the whole story.

Being the daughter of Mortain, the god of Death, has been nothing but a curse for seventeen-year-old Ismae until she is saved from a brutal marriage and finds sanctuary in the convent of St. Mortain. Here she learns that she can use she skills as a handmaiden to her father. But to claim her new life she must be willing to do his bidding which means taking the lives of others. Ismae is given an important task which installs her into the high court of Brittany where she is to act as the mistress of dark Duke, Gavriel Duval. Her assignment is to determine who is working against the duchess Anne and, if necessary take care to eliminate them.

I am hard pressed to name the genre of Grave Mercy.  By the cover I would name it a historical fantasy. It is also an action adventure with all kinds of intrigues, weapons, poisonings, and secret passages. Lastly, and perhaps most prominently, it is a romance with plenty of sexual tension skirting around the edges of the pages.

The book took me ages to read, over a month. I decided as I closed the cover on the last page that my problem was reading it too slowly. (What an obviously dumb statement.) This book needs a good long, dedicated time in the beginning to allow the reader to "get in to the story." Ten-minute segments here and there just doesn't cut it. It wasn't until I buckled down to "read it" that I started enjoying it. The other thing that was working against me is my audiobook right now, Seraphina, has a very similar story line, right down to the bastard dukes/princes. Trying to consume two similar books at the same time proved to be very confusing. At the halfway point I was ready to abandon the book and give it a poor review.  Boy, am I glad that I kept going. That said I do think the book was a bit too long with some slow parts that didn't move the action along.

Grave Mercy is a delightful tale with lots of action, adventure, and YA-type romance. Plus, as the reviewer at School Library Journal says, this book is a dream to "book talk."  All one needs to say is "nun assassins" to entice readership. I found myself truly rooting for Ismae and Gavriel, even though she is an assassin and one is never quite sure of his true allegiance.

Grave Mercy is the first book in the His Fair Assassins series, but unlike many series these days this one finishes up Ismae's story. The next one will tell Sybella's tale and the last will be Annith's story. I like that a lot.  When I recommend books to readers I can tell them it is the first book in a series but it is also a stand-alone tale.

This book is on our Mock Printz list that my team is reading this Fall.  I haven't heard back from many of the team members as to what they think of it but I have a hunch that the girls will like it better than the boys. due to all the romance.  I look forward to hearing what teens have to say about this book.

Review: Every Day by David Levithan

Every Day by author David Levithan explores identity. What makes us what we are? It also addresses the old adage that love conquers all. Really?

The protagonist, "A", is a 16-year-old with no body. Every day he/she wakes up in a different body, lives within that body for a day, and wakes up the next day in another. As disconcerting as this in, it becomes ever more so when A falls in love with Rhiannon, the girlfriend of a boy, Justin, in which A lives for a day. Because A only wakes in teens living in Maryland, he finds it possible to continue a relationship with Rhiannon. This is obviously not a relationship that is familiar to us because A is a different person every day, or is he?

In addition to this budding relationship, A has to live within the body-of-the-day no matter what that body is dealing with: depression, addiction, abuse. Each day he/she approaches these hosts with compassion and empathy. These moments are interesting and add depth to the story.

Every Day is another book on our Mock Printz list. We selected it because it had received excellent reviews from several quarters including a Facebook review from an old high school friend who doesn't typically read YA Lit. He said it was one of the best books he has every read. I wouldn't go that far but I do agree that the story-line is very compelling, especially if the reader keeps these two questions in their mind: What makes us who we are? And can love conquer all?

Thanks David Levithan for asking these questions.  You've got me thinking.

Review: The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George

Emily and Jesse are an unlikely couple.  Jesse, a social misfit at school has been out of the closet since she was fourteen, is the daughter of supportive, politically activist parents. Emily is a popular student who is active in student government. She has a boyfriend who is also popular and on the football team. Despite the vast differences, the girls start a passionate relationship which involves meeting together in a weekly tryst in the lavatory of the public library. The rest of the time Emily ignores and is almost rude to Jesse at school. When a huge chain store tries to move in to town and use the high school as a launching spot for its PR program, Jesse and Emily end up on opposite sides of the issue. As Jesse tries to make sense of the inconsistencies of her life she meets Esther, a teenage political activist who admires Joan of Arc. Jesse's new friendship with Esther gives Jesse the courage to become politically active herself.

Though The Difference Between You and Me by Madeleine George is touted as a LGBT romance, I didn't think that the was the strongest part of the story-line  It was hard to like Emily who was so concerned with her reputation that she seemed to be completely selfish throughout the story. Jesse's evolution from obsession to acceptance seemed much more authentic and realistic. As Jesse focused on her relationship with Emily she let another friendship slip. She had to confront this as she moved toward personal acceptance. This was the part of the book that I felt had the strongest message to teens---we need to be true to ourselves and to embrace and treasure our friends along the way.

The book is written in alternating chapters between Emily, Jesse, and occasionally Esther. Even though the book is really about Jesse her chapters are written in third-person while Emily and Esther's chapters are in first-person. It was very odd. Every time we switched narrators I thought about how odd it was. I don't think that is what the author hoped that the reader would think about when she chose this literary technique.

This book is on our Mock Printz list. We selected it because it received three starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. Now that I've read the book, I disagree with those reviewers.  Though I liked the book, it really isn't that special, especially not special enough to be considered for the Printz Award. I will leave it on my list, however, because I do think it has literary value and I hope a wide variety of students read it.

Review: My Book of Life by Angel written by Martine Leavitt

The theme of My Book of Life by Angel written in verse by Martine Leavitt is innocence lost.

When Angel's mother dies of cancer her father falls into a deep depression and doesn't even notice that his daughter is practically living at the mall, shoplifting, and becoming friends with a man named Call who gives her "candy" which is really crack cocaine. When Angel comes home high one day, though, he does notice and kicks her out of the house. Now Angel is at the mercy of Call and soon begins a life of prostitution at his bidding. When a friend named Serena, who encouraged Angel to write down her life story, goes missing, Angel starts to straighten out her life.

"The deliberate use of spacing emphasizes the grim choice confronting Angel when Call brings home a new girl, 11-year-old Melli. Leavitt’s mastery of form builds on the subtle interplay between plot and theme. “John the john” is a divorced professor who makes Angel read Book 9 from Milton’s Paradise Lost, inadvertently teaching her the power that words, expression and creativity have to effect change. Passages from Milton frame the chapters, as Angel, in her own writing, grasps her future." -Kirkus Reviews

Angel begins to notice that other prostitutes are also missing and no one seems to be doing a thing about it, including the police. As the story draws to an end we are left with a feeling of hope that Angel will be OK. The story is based on the factual disappearance of dozens of prostitutes in the Vancouver, B.C. area over a ten year period of time.

The book is very well-written and thoughtful. Even though the topic is very disturbing the descriptions were never graphic or explicit.

*This book is a a "possible" Mock Printz book addition to my list of great books for 2012.

Review: The Diviners by Libba Bray

A reading funk plagued me the whole month of September. When my reading mojo finally returned in October I was able to finish a pile of books but enthusiasm for blogging didn't return at the same time. Of the sixteen books I read only four reviews found their way into print here. Sigh.

In an attempt to remedy this situation I've decided to write several short reviews of those past books and to stay current on my reviews for this month.  Don't look for anything fancy but I'll do my best to give you my honest and candid impressions in a briefer than normal format.

Libba Bray's new novel, The Diviners, is a supernatural thriller set in New York City during the Jazz Age. Its main character, Evie O'Neil, is a plucky flapper who is both brave and brash. She is "gifted" with psychic abilities that come in handy to help track the evil Naughty John who terrorizes the city with his ceremonial murders. In addition to Evie there is a whole cast of characters and their stories are told expertly by Ms. Bray in third-person narratives that bring them and the 1920s setting into clear focus. There are Memphis and Isaiah, African-American brothers living in Harlem, both also have special "gifts". Uncle Will, who runs the Museum of  American Folkfore, Superstition, and Occult and his assistant, Jericho.  Both men harbor deep and possibly disturbing secrets.  There are several other interesting characters. One I found especially charming was Sam, who reminded me of Dicken's Artful Dodger. Everywhere the characters turn evil lurks and it is obvious that something very sinister is afoot.

This is the first audiobook I listened to on my iPod Touch. It was expertly performed by January LaVoy. She handled the cast of characters with ease and brought the Jazz-age lingo to life. Because I don't usually read the thriller/horror genre, I found myself on the edge of seat quite often.  I even had to turn off the iPod a few times to allow my heart to settle down. My only criticism, which won't be a bad thing for most people, is the book is very obviously the first book in a series.  The last chapter sets us up for more spine-tingling situations in book two and beyond.

Do I recommend The Diviners? Ab-so-toot-ly!

*This book is a Mock Printz selection for GKHS, my school.

Review: October Mourning: a Song for Matthew Shepard by Leslea Newman

"On the night of October 12, 1998, a gay twenty-one-year-old University of Wyoming student named Matthew Shepard was lured from a bar by two young men, then savagely beaten, tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie, and left to die. Five days later, Leslea Newman arrived on campus to give the keynote speech for the University of Wyoming's Gay Awareness Week."- from the book jacket

This lovely tribute to Matthew's life and his legacy explores the impact of this vicious crime through a variety of points of view. All these fictitious monologues are written utilizing different poetic forms. Even the fence and moon have their own poems. This book is a moving and obviously deeply personal account by the author Leslea Newman.

I was very touched by this small volume. I read it in an hour, which included the end notes. Several of the poems brought me to tears. In a strange act of synchronicity I actually read this book on October 12, the very day that Matthew Shepard was savagely beaten fourteen years earlier. I didn't notice this fact as I read the book but realized the coincidence today after receiving an e-mail from ThinkProgress about the anniversary of the event and the progress that has been made in GLTB issues since Matthew's death.

I highly recommend this book for all public and high school libraries. It is not only an important witness to a despicable event, a gentle reminder that all life is precious, and it is a lovely poetry book that could be used for examples of poetic styles.

Review: Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Dear Maggie,
 
I want to thank you for two things, maybe three.

First, thanks to Raven Boys I got my reading mojo back! It has been a long summer of listless reading and these doldrums were starting to cut into my esteem as a reader. When I popped the Raven Boys audiobook into the CD player in my car, wham-o everything changed. I felt my strength returning with each new disk. I couldn't consume the book fast enough to just listen to it and had to start reading the actual book in between car trips. This week-end I have already completed three books. That is near the total of books read the whole month of September. Like I said, my reading mojo is back and it is thanks to you. BTW-I hope you give Will Patton, the voice actor for Raven Boys, a shout-out from me. He was spot-on perfect.

Secondly, I want to once again thank you for creating such a thrilling, fascinating, and unique book. You might not remember me but I am the person that wrote you the love letter after I finished Scorpio Races. (See my love letter here.) I am still a huge fan of that book and as a teen librarian I am in the unique position to talk it up every day, and I do! Raven Boys is quite a different story yet it has a lot of the same magical realism that I enjoyed with Scorpio Races. Once again you tickled my interest by inserting a character from local myths, this time about the Welsh hero and sleeping king, Owain Glyndŵr. You also introduced the concept of ley lines, causing me to run to the Internet to learn more. Below is a picture of the Seattle ley lines map. Until I read Raven Boys I didn't even know a thing about these supernatural high energy lines. Thanks for the fun of researching a new topic.

I can't really make heads or tails of this map but I did notice that there is a huge energy field right off the Washington State coast so maybe Glendower is here!

Lastly I stand in awe of your talent as a writer, an artist, and a musician. Once again I am blown away by your book trailer because it is all from you.  The song you titled "Henrietta" is perfect! Thank you for sharing your multifaceted talents with the whole YA world. I just found your interview on NPR. Loved it. 

Just wanted you to know that I still love you,

Review: The Good Braider by Terry Farish

Written in free verse The Good Braider is the story of Viola and her family's journey from war-torn Sudan, through Cairo, finally ending up in the United States. How does a girl who has escaped the horrors of war cope with the memories of a childhood ravaged? How does a girl who grew up in a small, close-knit town in Southern Sudan suddenly deal with the American culture so different from her own? "...the strange world of America a world where a girl can wear a short skirt, get a tattoo or even date a boy; a world that puts her into sharp conflict with her traditional mother who, like Viola, is struggling to braid together the strands of a displaced life." -Goodreads

As happens so often fiction can teach without a lecture, can illuminate without pain. Though I have been aware of the atrocities occurring in Sudan from their civil war, I really hadn't given much thought to its causes and to the realities of the war on the average person. Shame on me. The Good Braider by Terry Farish brought this war into sharp focus for me. Rape, displacement, death, loss of culture all are tragic results of war. But not being able to plant crops? I had never realized that is also a result of such conflict.  And without crops what do the people eat? Without preaching, the reader also learns that this civil war, as is the case so often, is about religion. Those in North Sudan, mostly Muslim, fighting with those of Southern Sudan who are mostly Christians. Why are these two disparate halves part of the same country? No doubt it has its roots in European Colonialism.

The war in Sudan is only half the book, however. The other half beautifully expresses the conflict for immigrants to America. How can one assimilate into the culture without losing oneself? Conflicts between Viola and her mother demonstrate this point. As Viola goes to school and learns to read and write, she also becomes more Americanized. Her mother who doesn't have the same opportunities for education is unwilling to accept these changes.

I am very impressed by the skill with which Terry Farish has braided together the pieces of a life into a thoughtful story while gently educating the reader. Well done.

*This book is a Mock Printz selection.

The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix

A few weeks ago the Top Ten Tuesday topic was unfinished series. It was an easy topic since I am more likely to NOT finish a series than the opposite. If I do complete one it is because the books are captivating. the settings are vivid, I care about the characters, and enjoy the plot. Good writing is obviously essential. I enjoy plots that are unpredictable and books where full of multidimensional characters.  That is what we have here with the Abhorsen Trilogy written by Garth Nix.

The series begins with Sabriel (1995) who is the Abhorsen-in-waiting to her father. Only the Abhorsen can keep the living safe from the dead. They do this by using bells to chase the dead past the ninth gate of death so that they cannot return toearth to cause havoc. When Sabriel's father goes missing and many other terrible signs develop in the Old Kingdom, Sabriel is called into action to find him and save the land for the living. Along the way Sabriel is assisted by Mogget, an enchanted cat-being and Touchstone, a prince who previously trapped for several hundred years in a ship's masthead. As the Greater Dead gain strength and determination to rule the world Sabriel's skills and courage are sorely tested. Can she save both her father and the whole country?

Lirael (2001), the middle book of the trilogy is set 20 years after the ending of Sabriel. Lirael, a daughter of the Clayr is waiting to received the gift of sight so that she can fulfill her purpose in life. While she is waiting for her gift to come forward she becomes an assistant librarian and works in the vast library of the Clayr. A lonely girl whose mother is dead and doesn't know her father, Lirael finds a small dog statue on one of her adventures in the library. This statue comes to life as the Disreputable Dog and is a loyal friend to Lirael. When the Clayr "see" that Lirael is a vital person to foil a plot of a great evil being, she and the dog go out in the world not knowing what to expect or how to proceed. They meet up with a prince and face great evil beings together. As in most middle books of trilogies, this one ends on a cliff-hanger.

In Abhorsen (2003) we once again meet with Lirael, Sameth (the Prince), and the Disreputable Dog as they try to save Nick, a friend of Sameth, and defeat Orannis, the Destroyer. As the book progresses we see how the situation is over the head of the team yet they must prevail because Orannis will destroy all life. Nick is unwittingly working for the destroyer which, of course complicates their plans.

I enjoy stories where good triumphs over evil but in this series one was never quite sure how this was going to happen and it certainly seemed that evil had the upperhand a good deal of the time. I cheered for the protagonists Sabriel, Lirael, and Sameth, even though they were all flawed, complex people. I was sorry when the series ended because the characters had become friends. Fortunately for me I just learned that there is a collection of short stories by Garth Nix that includes a few stories of my friends here.

I listened to Lirael and Abhorsen on audiobooks. They were excellently read by Tim Curry of Rock Horror Picture Show fame. I highly recommend this series to all you enjoy a good story and fabulous writing.

Review: After the Snow by S.D. Crockett

Dystopian tales are HOT, HOT, HOT right now in YA Lit thanks to the Hunger Games series. After the Snow by S.D. Crockett is a dystopian story in the manner of Patrick Ness' Chaos Walking series. The protagonist, Willo, narrates the story in pidgin English, presumably because he isn't a strong reader so he invents his own spelling and words. This technique can be a bit off-putting, especially in the beginning until the reader gets used to the literary devise. It does, however, help make the character more authentic.  It would seem inauthentic to have an illiterate character narrate a story with impeccable prose, wouldn't it?

Willo lives in a world that is dominated by snow and ice. A hard world ruled by a company that controls all the power resources. He and his family eek out a life in the mountains by trapping animals and farming their own food. Then one day his father, stepmother, and siblings are snatched by the company. Willo is left behind. He decides that he will try to find his family and bring them home but he has no idea what adventures and misadventures await him once he moves out into the harsh world. Along the way he discovers information about his family that puts him in extreme danger.

As I closed the final pages I thought this book deserved a spot on my Mock Printz list for 2013. It is a unique, well-plotted book that will resonate with teens who like to read the dystopian genre. Now that a few days have passed I still think it is a strong contender but the story has faded a bit in my mind. Unlike Hunger Games its prototype YA novel, After the Snow ends on a less hopeful note. I am not sure how teen readers will respond. Hopefully it is not a commentary on what we should expect in the future concerning out climate and access to resources.  I prefer to think of a more hopeful future.

Review: Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield

Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield is a rare, well-done YA mystery.

Becca has always longed to break free from her small, backwater hometown. But the discovery of an unidentified dead girl on the side of a dirt road sends the town--and Becca--into a tailspin. Unable to make sense of the violence of the outside world creeping into her backyard, Becca finds herself retreating inward, paralyzed from moving forward for the first time in her life. -Goodreads

In addition to Becca's story, a girl on the cusp on growing up and leaving town, short chapters detail the last days of Amelia Anne Richardson. In a lot of ways the two young women are living parallel lives. Both are struggling with their own self-identity and are experiencing troubles with their boyfriends. As readers learn more about the two girls they are drawn closer and closer to the truth about how Amelia died.

I liked this book a lot.  Becca's issues with her family, her boyfriend, and her hometown all seem very realistic for a teen preparing to move off to college, making a huge transition in life. Unfortunately, however, though I will purchase this book for my library I will not recommend it for a Mock Printz Workshop selection.  Why?  There is quite a bit of teen sex and drinking in the story.  Since the list of books for the Mock Printz event has relatively few selections (10-15) and we tell students to try and read them all before the workshop, I think the books need to uphold certain standards. I am not prude. Sex and alcohol don't usually bother me in YA lit but this book had so much, it just seems over the top.

If you have read this book, let me know your thoughts about the explicit sex and drinking within. If not, what are your thoughts about those topics in YA lit?

Dancing with Mr. Darcy: Stories inspired by Jane Austen and Chawton House

Dancing with Mr. Darcy is a charming collection of short stories inspired by Jane Austen and Chawton House, edited by Sara Waters. After Jane's father left the ministry and the family was forced out of their home in Hampshire Jane was unable to write for over ten years.  It was only after her brother Edward invited them to live at his Chawton House estate that Jane was able to write again. We know what she wrote at Chawton House has become some of the most popular and enduring novels ever written. The Jane Austen Short Story Competition celebrates Miss Austen and this home which provided her with enough peace and security to create them. This book is a compilation of the winning short story and the other finalists of the competition.

Being a Jane Austen fan I often enjoy reading retellings of her famous works and other stories about the author herself. So when I saw this book on the sale shelf at Borders Books (before they went out of business) I thought it would be right up my alley.  After reading the first two or three stories I set it aside, deciding that short stories weren't my thing and these stories seemed only loosely related to Austen anyway.  Then, while packing for our trip abroad, I decided to throw the book into my bag, in case I ran out of other reading material.  The book is small, I reasoned, and it could be discarded along the way to lighten my load, if needed.

To my delight I discovered that short stories are perfect reading materials for traveling.  One can start and finish a story during a short train trip or at the end of a busy day sightseeing. Because of the nature of short stories there is no time for lengthy plot development or tedious descriptions of settings, things that might deter a traveler from enjoying an otherwise enjoyable book.

My favorite story entitled "One Character in Search of Her Love Story Role" by Felicity Cowie reminds me a lot of Jasper Fford's Thurday Next series.  In this story a character in a book is dispatched to shadow heroines from Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre. She actually goes inside the story and meets with the heroines when their character is not "on stage". It is such a clever literary device.  One character giving another character advice about how to handle men or other situations.  I found what Jane Bennet shares about the differences between Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy to be very insightful and actually helpful in my understanding of the book.

Another story, "Somewhere" by Kelly Brendel, takes a look at Mansfield Park from the point of view of a very minor character, Mrs. Grant. She is Mary and Henry's aunt that lives in the rectory. She is convinced that Mary and Edmund are perfect together. I'd agree with her if my only knowledge of the couple came from this delightful and thoughtful tale.

In "Cleverclogs" by Hilary Spiers a young girl finds a connection to her grandmother through books, especially Austen novels. In the end Sense and Sensibility provides comfort and solace as her grandmother is gravely ill in the hospital. In "The School Trip" by Jacqui Hazell a high school class makes a field trip to Chawton House. One student gains insight from Jane Austen's writing desk about what she needs to become a writer herself, "I see that you need only a little space, a tiny desk, and a creaky door."

By the way, I didn't throw this book away, like I threatened I'd do to lighten my load. Instead I brought it home and will add it to my Jane Austen collection here.

Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Looking for a satisfying romance to read while lounging next to the pool or swinging in hammock this summer? The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer Smith is your book. With surprisingly more emotional heft than expected this little volume is a treasure.

"Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?" Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.---Goodreads

The whole story, which plays out in a 24-hour time frame, makes the reader believe in the possibility of love at first sight because we have just witnessed it here. While Hadley and Oliver are playfully getting to know one another, they both harbor inward struggles related to their families and why they are traveling to London in the first place. Quotes from Charles Dickens' book Our Mutual Friend add a literary touch to the story which helps lend credibility for insight and growth.

One of my students returned this book with the comment, "If this book were a brownie, it would be under-cooked because it was so gooey." Now you, the reader of this blog post, can make of that statement what you will but I am not completely in agreement with it.  The growth that both Hadley and Oliver display and the tender way the romance unfolds keeps it from being completely "gooey", or just sticky sweet for sweetness sake. But hey, I like my brownies under-cooked so I might not be the best judge.  Read it and find out for yourself.

20 books in July Reading Challenge

18/ 20 books. 90% done!

Review: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

In case you haven't heard, Ready Player One is probably the most geektastic book ever written. It also is crammed full of pop-culture references to the 1980s, especially those related to television sitcoms, Rock and Roll music, and early video games. Now before you dismiss this book because you don't consider yourself a video-games, dungeons-and-dragons, Star-Trek-loving geek, neither do I, but this book just knocked my socks off. Let me tell you about it.

Wade Watts, the story's protagonist, escapes the reality of his life by spending as much time as possible in the virtual reality utopia called OASIS.  Prior to the death of the creator and founder of OASIS, he sets up a competition where the winner will inherit his fortune. The winner is the person who discovers the "easter egg", a Willy-Wonka-golden-ticket type of prize, he has hidden somewhere in the OASIS.  Contestants must find several keys to get past gates and they do this by solving puzzles, playing video games, and knowing period trivia. At the end of all the gates is the prize. Naturally, as in all good books, there is a villain, this time in the form of the evil corporation IOI. If IOI wins the competition it will wreck the free OASIS for everyone else. Gunters, or individuals like Wade who consider themselves computer/OASIS nerds, are trying to get to the prize before anyone from IOI. The competition is fierce, evenly deadly.

The author, Ernest Cline, describes himself as "a screenwriter, spoken-word artist, and a full-time geek." It really shows that he knows what he is talking about when he describes the various games, song lyrics, and movies of the 1980s. He is even offering a Easter Egg Hunt competition on in Internet right now and the winner will win a 1981 DeLorean, the car used in Back to the Future. Check out the details for the Ready Player One Easter Egg Hunt here. Apparently he has hidden clues inside his book that contestants can find to assist them on their quest for the DeLorean.  How cool is that? The YouTube video, uploaded a year ago so the book signing notes are out-of-date, is of Ernest Cline being interviewed about the book and his inspiration for it. He says is it the geekiest book every written. I agree.




I listened to the audiobook of Ready Player One narrated by Wil Wheaton. He did an exceptional job. He has one of those voices that are really fun to listen to.  I couldn't consume the book fast enough in this format, however, so I bought a copy of the paperback and would read it when I couldn't listen. I recommend this audiobook if you are looking for a fun book to listen to.

People ask me all the time what I am reading and what book I recommend.  READY PLAYER ONE is my new answer to these questions. I am so jazzed about this book.  Everyone should read it, adults and teens alike, and that includes my husband, daughters and son-in-law.

20 books in July Reading Challenge

16 / 20 books. 80% done!

Friends with Boys/ Bride's Story 1

Two graphic novels, two very different styles

Being homeschooled and raised with three brothers had its problems, but Maggie's life is about to get a lot more complicated as she faces her greatest trial yet - entering public school for the first time!

Faith Hicks started out writing and drawing comics on-line in 1999 and twelve years later she finally has herself a published book, Friends with Boys, which is loosely related to her own growing up experiences of having only brothers, being homeschooled, and having parents who separated briefly.  Take a look at Faith Hicks webpage for more about her career and for sample pages.

I admit that I don't read enough graphic novels to even pretend to be an expert on them. This graphic novel has received a bit of acclaim which is what attracted me to it in the first place and I was pleased to be reading a story about fitting in and what it is like for a new kid in high school. The book also addressed the issues of parent's separation and how difficult that can be on children, and sibling rivalry.  All issues many kids can relate to.  What I didn't understand, even at the end of the story, was the ghost story that ran concurrent.  What did it mean and how did it relate to the story? Because of this confusing aspect, my rating for this graphic novel is only a good to fair.

Kaoru Mori brings the nineteenth-century Silk Road to lavish life, chronicling the story of Amir Halgal, a young woman from a nomadic tribe betrothed to a twelve-year-old boy eight years her junior. Coping with cultural differences, blossoming feelings for her new husband, and expectations from both her adoptive and birth families, Amir strives to find her role as she settles into a new life and a new home in a society quick to define that role for her. -Yen Press

The art work in Bride's Story is phenomenal.  At times I was confused about the storyline and about which character was which but I loved the art throughout.  Bride's Story series is the most popular graphic novels in my library right now. Just this book alone was checked out seven times from the middle of May, when I got it, until the end of the school year. I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. I liked it enough to read on in the series, which is rare with me and graphic novels. Even if you have no other reason to pick up this book, do it for the art.

20 books in July Reading Challenge

14 / 20 books. 70% done!