The Rules of Survival, by Nancy Wherlin

Matt and Callie sneak out of the house one hot summer night in order to enjoy the air conditioning of the supermarket and get a couple popsicles. Little sister Emmy is already asleep and their mom is out on a date. Her dates can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days, so Matt thinks it'll be ok. Standing in line to pay Matt and Callie witness a scene that is not unfamiliar to them. A dad is berating his kid at the top of his lungs. Matt and Callie are frozen on the spot and are amazed when a fellow customer intervenes. After the altercation is over, the man and his date leave. All Matt knows is that the man's name is Murdoch. And Matt knows he needs to find him. Southie isn't that big after all.

If Murdoch helped some random kid, surely he will help Matt and his sisters. Won't he?

In a series of events that should be unbelievable, a year later Murdoch becomes Matt's mom's boyfriend. At first everything is great. The kids are invited on virtually all the dates, their mom is in a good mood, and life seems to be changing. But then mom's true colours come through. Murdoch leaves. And things get much worse.

This novel started off hammering me over the head with abuse, but as Wherlin went on I really found myself wanting to know what happened. Matt's character, and those of his sisters really came to life for me. His mother is absolutely despicable, and as a mother she made me sad and mad at the same time.

This would be a good read for fans of E.R. Frank and even Adam Rapp (22 Snowfish).

Inexcusable

Talk about a feeling shift from the last read!

Keir is a good guy. He does the right thing. People like him and he likes that people like him. He has two older sisters who know that he is a good guy, and he has a dad who knows that he is a good guy. So why is Gigi Boudakian screaming at him? He's known her since kindergarten, for God's sake. He loves her and there's no way that he could hurt her. There's certainly no way that he could rape her! He's not some random pervert - he's practically her best friend.

Layer by layer the reader gets to see Keir. Or at least see Keir as Keir sees Keir. He does things to the letter of the law. It is all black and white to him.

Lynch has brilliantly written this character so that he sees himself virtually in the third person. The reader doesn't initially see the drinking and drug use and hazing. The reader doesn't question why his sisters do not return home often. The close relationship between father and son doesn't seem so particularly disfunctional. At first.

I think this is Lynch's best work since the Blue Eyed Son trilogy way back when I first became a YA librarian. I hate Keir for what he does and who he is, but the s-o-b has me feeling sorry for him. Amazing!

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

There has been quite a bit of chatter about this title, and I happily picked it up from work when I went in for a staff meeting the other day. I am glad I did. I will be purchasing it to save as a read aloud for my daughter when she gets a bit older.

Edward is a china rabbit who is used to the finer things in life. His owner Abilene loves him very much, dresses him in the finest silks, and keeps him with her whenever she is not in school. Edward is a bit stuffy, and is not too interested in anything. Of course, this would be hard for anyone to figure out, since he is inanimate, but Abilene's grandmother knows. She is disappointed in Edward and lets him know as much.

Soon Abilene and her family are off on a voyage on the Queen Mary. Edward comes along, but due to unfortunate circumstances, he finds himself at the bottom of the sea. What follows is a miraculous journey, indeed.

Charming and begging to be read aloud, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is sure to become a classic title. And for those who think that the story is unbelievable...hey...it's fiction and fairytale like fiction at that! Just enjoy it!

The Wright 3

I eagerly snatched this off the shelf of my bookstore while searching for Specials. I was excited because I truly enjoyed Chasing Vermeer, and the little smartypants kids at my school loved it also.

I wish I could love the sequel too.

It is the end of the same school year where Chasing Vermeer left off. Tommy is now back in Hyde Park and part of the same class with Calder and Petra. Ms. Hussey lets her class know about the pending destruction of Frank Lloyd Wright's Hobie House. And in typical progressive school fashion, they abandon the rest of the year's studies and concentrate on trying to save Hobie House.

I have two problems with this book. The first is that this time, the pentominoes and math aspect of the book seem to be hammered over the reader's head. The second is that unlike the first book, this one didn't get exciting for me until page 277 ( I know because I marked it!).

The one aspect I really enjoyed was the Fibonacci numbers. This is strictly personal because I had a friend named Greg (no longer with us anymore) who was an artist and he was obsessed with Fibonacci numbers and was busily incorporating them into his art when he died. I do think that some kids may really get into this idea if they haven't heard it before.

I think that the Wright 3 is definately worth reading, but if you loved Chasing Vermeer don't expect the same excitement.

Specials!!!!

Woohoo!

First there are some people I need to thank. Cindy for calling Jen and telling her it was on the shelf at B&N (The girlie at the B&N where I live said it would be shelved the 9th!!!!) So thanks Cindy and thanks Jen. And also thanks to my little one for falling asleep at 6:30 last night, and my husband for watching the baby so that I had a chance to read this cover to cover sans interruption!! Yay!

Tally Youngblood is now a Special. And a Special Special at that. She is part of Dr. Cable's elite cutter unit, designed specifically to take down the New Smoke. Shay is there too, of course, as are most of the Crims that Tally ran with when she was a bubblehead. Being a cutter has Tally's senses wired so tightly she notices everything. Even Pretties seem random now with their smells and their watery eyes.

After Shay and Tally cause a major disaster getting the tools they need to free Tally's love Zane from New Pretty Town, everyone is on the run again. Shay and Tally can't see eye to eye because Tally again is stirring up trouble. When she was a Pretty she wasn't feeling as bubbly as the rest, and now that she is a Special, she can't stay icy...even when she does resort to cutting.

Tally is soon on her own following Zane and his crew, hoping that Dr.Cable will catch him and make him Special as well. Then they can finally be together. But with a war brewing between New Pretty Town and the New Smoke, things are sure to get interesting.

I read around the blogworld that some folks didn't find this installment as good as Uglies or Pretties. I disagree. I think the ending was superb...even if it wasn't the one that I wanted to see. (I guess I had my only little crush on our friend Zane.)

I am pleased, pleased, pleased. I can't wait to see what my friend Josh thinks. He is a recent reader of YA lit, and a huge Westerfeld fan.

Three Cups of Tea

Get ready to break out your cheque book.

I read about this title in Outside magazine, and was instantly intrigued. In 1993 Greg Mortenson was part of a climbing group scaling K2 when circumstances led to the abandonment of the expedition. Between the altitude and the disappointment he felt, Mortenson was not on point when he was descending, and wound up lost and alone in the cold without his gear. After a freezing night Mortenson reunited with his Balti porter Mouzafer Ali. Mortenson lost his way again, took the "wrong" fork in the road, and ended up exhausted not in Askole where he needed to be, but in the small mountain village of Korphe. This is where Mortenson met Haji Ali - and event that would be life altering in every way.

While Mortenson was recuperating, he explored the area with Haji Ali. One day he asked where the Korphe school was. Haji Ali took him up the hill where they found 78 boys and 4 girls sitting outside on the frozen ground, trying to learn their lessons without a teacher. Mortenson was shocked and made a promise. He promised to bring a school to Korphe.

The reader needs to realize that Mortenson was in no way equipped to make such a promise. In the States he had a climber's lifestyle. Working just enough shifts as an emergency room nurse to fund his climbing habit.

When he got home he started renting time on a type-writer to send pleas for donations to the likely suspects...Oprah, Bernard Shaw, Susan Sarandon. He had found out while he was in Pakistan that he needed $12000 US dollars to fund a school. Nobody responded. After some time Mortenson was told to contact Jean Hoerni the famous physicist who was also a climber. He alone funded Mortenson's first school.

What follows is a sometimes heartbreaking journey into Pakistani and Afghan culture, politics and war. In the end Mortenson has built (with help) the CAI or Central Asia Institute. This agency built many schools and vocational centers, and has provided all types of aid to those in need. Mortenson is still getting his hands dirty with the work. His belief is that terrorism will never be defeated simply by killing Osama or Sadam. Education is the key. The millions of dollars coming into these countries from Saudi Arabia to fund extremist schools (madrassas), needs to be combated with a non-extreme educational choice. It's an idea that makes sense.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this book. I didn't know if I was going to learn more about climbing, or humanitarianism. I am happy to have learned quite a bit about Pakistan and its history and culture. About the Glacier wars. About the Taliban. About American's unfulfilled promises to rebuild after war. And about places that I had never heard of before like Waziristan. It is humbling to read about people like Mortenson.

One person really can make a difference.

Move Over Neil Gaiman....

....Brian K. Vaughan is in the house. I have to say, I think he is my new favourite man of the graphic novel. Sandman will always have a place near and dear to my heart. I started reading it with Number 1 when I was 18, and remember making the trip to the comic book store with my friend Jeff with baited breath each month.
(A side trip to Poptones happened too, but you had to be from around Niagara to have a clue as to what that entailed!)

I have grown impatient with comics in my old age, and tend to wait until a whole story arc is combined in a grapic novel before I read it.

Jen had told me about Y The Last Man a couple of years ago, and I remember thinking, "What a great idea for a story", but I never got around to reading it. Thanks to NYPL for carrying graphic novels. I stuck a hold on it, and the rest is history!

Yorik is somehow the only male that has survived a sudden plague. All of the men in the world suddenly fall dead in a wash of blood. When it all hits the fan all that Yorik wants to do is somehow find his way to Australia and to the girlfriend he has just proposed to over the phone! The white house has other ideas. Agent 355 is assigned to protect Yorik and make sure that he is able to find a famous genetics doctor who may be able to explain all of this. Women have interestingly divided themselves into clannish groups (wives of republicans, "amazons" etc) Flashes to happenings all over the world give the reader an inkling of what this story will evolve into. All of the characters are fresh, and Vaughan leaves you wanting more.

Unmanned takes the first 5 issues of this story, and now I am planning to move on to all of the collections.

Spiral Bound

I picked up this little gem at the Comicon as well. I was looking for some graphic novels to put on the Summer Reading List for my school. That is on hold, but is a whole 'nother story worthy of its own blog.

Sprial Bound by Aaron Renier is a sweet little black and white graphic novel for the younger set. The characters are all animals who are hanging out together in the summer. It is a top secret summer for most of them. Turnip and Stucky are in art camp together. Ana and Em are secretly working on the underground newspaper. And everyone is trying to avoid the Pond Monster.

Easily read by adults on two levels and by kids on one. For the kids, a fun adventure with secrets, monsters and friendships. And for older or more sophisticated readers, the age old story of "the man". What kinds of stories are made up in order to control society? Who holds the power in a town? Is every piece of information just a "spin"?

With back cover endorsements from Lemony Snicket, Craig Thompson and Dav Pilkey, who can resist? A fun and clean read for 4th grade and up!

I love Top Shelf Productions!

Becoming Naomi Leon

Again...a deceptively young cover.

Naomi and brother Owen have been living with their grandmother in her Airstream for just about as long as they can remember. Grandma's place is comforting and the routines are familiar. Grandma's hair is up in curlers and she is waiting for neighbour Fabiola to come over to watch Wheel of Fortune, when there is a knock at the door.

Naomi and Owen's mother is back in town.

Skyla ( formerly Terri Lynn) is back from the halfway house, back with a boyfriend, and back with a big idea about Naomi.

Naomi is torn and Owen is smitten. Naomi knows how hard her grandma has worked raising her and she has some vague recollections of life with her mom that aren't so sweet. But when Skyla does Naomi's hair, and buys her new and trendy clothes, it's hard not to forgive. Owen, who is disfigured, doesn't see the writing on the wall that Skyla is only interested in Naomi in her future. Can this family sort itself out?

Set both in Oklahoma and Mexico, readers are treated to detailed descriptions of people and places. Naomi finds her place in this world during her trip to Mexico, and becomes a much stronger girl than she ever could have been if Skyla hadn't appeared at the Airstream door.

This read a bit like Creech to me, and fans of hers as well as fans of Ryan's Esperanza Rising will not be disappointed.

I, Coriander

This is a title that I picked up last year at BookExpo, and have been meaning to read for quite some time. Youngish looking cover, but not so young inside!

Coriander loves her life. Her room is painted with beautiful fairy stories, her mother is lovely, and her father is a wealthy merchant who is teaching her to read and write. One day a beautiful pair of silver shoes arrives at her home with the letter "C" etched onto the sole. Surely they are for her! Coriander is bewildered when her mother puts them away stating that they are not meant for her. Coriander feels her heart pulling her to those shoes, and she actually hears the shoes calling to her! She overcomes her greatest fear to get to them. She actually puts her hand in the mouth of the stuffed alligator that her father keeps in his study to get to the key to his bureau. Coriander knew the shoes were for her...they are a perfect fit! She quickly tries to take them off before her parents can see, and to her dismay they are stuck to her feet.

Eventually Coriander is able to remove the shoes, but the spell they cast flies far. Before she knows it, her mother is dead, her father is enveloped in grief, and her world is soon to be changed forever. Cromwell is now ruling England, and her father ( a known royalist) is convinced to marry a Puritan in order to keep his land. Maud Leggs is everything that Coriander's beautiful mother wasn't. She is fat, homely, has blackend teeth and finds the devil in every corner. She soon convinces Coriander's father to let a preacher (the Crooked Man) move in. While Coriander's father is away on business, the Crooked Man introduces "Ann" (Coriander is a vain name) to the "hand of wrath" for every "infraction".

This book had me staying up to the wee hours of the morning to learn of Coriander's fate. Coriander is a strong character, and her friends are equally as interesting. Parallel worlds, fairies, espionage and adventure all make I, Coriander a compelling, fast paced fantastical read for the 6th grade and up set!

The Stupidest Angel

This is not the type of book that I usually would read, (endorsed by Playboy on the back) but a friend of mine recommended it so I thought I would give it a go. Then I put it down, and he told me I had to try again.

I now know that I am a book snob. High brow friends of mine are probably snorting Cabernet out of their noses, so let me explain. Not high brow in the capital "L" Literature kind of way. Rather, I like what I like, and cliches drive me CRAZY!

Stupidest Angel is full of a crazy set of characters including Lena and ex Dale, who at the beginning of the book get into a very public argument over Christmas donations while Lena is acting as a Salvation Army Santa. Dale is an s-o-b developer who is not loved by the rest of the townsfolk. There is Theo, the ex-pothead constable. His wife, Molly Michon, the former b-movie star, who has recently gone off her meds. Tucker Case...Lena's new love interest and DEA pilot. Crazy Mavis - the bar owner. An angel, who is absolutely clueless. And my favourite...Josh - the kid who witnesses Santa's murder.

Confused?

You shouldn't be.

This is a fast read, that feels more like a series of vignettes. The reader knows exactly where the story is going (right down to the Dawn of the Dead brains-crazed zombies). It is what it is, and for fans I am sure it is great. It just didn't work for me. (Except for Josh continually wanting to decapitate Tucker...that was fun!)

Plucker

This was another purchase from the Comicon in NYC. My friend Karyn and I were walking along, I stopped to get Tricked signed, when Karyn sidled up to me and asked, "Have you ever heard of an artist named Brom?" Suprisingly I hadn't. The cover of Plucker was GORgeous. A quick scan and I knew that I needed to own this book.

It's 1942 and Thomas' father is off on a ship and his mother is working non-stop. He only has his housekeeper Mabelle and his toys for company. Imagine his joy when his father comes home for a surprise visit. His spirits quickly plummet when he realizes that his father is only home for a few hours. His father, as always, has brought him something...this time from Africa. Unlike the nutcracker and toy soldiers of the past, Thomas' father pulls out a very scary mask. "A spirit mask", he says. Thomas doesn't want this thing hung above his bed, but his father puts it there anyway. Soon after, the mask falls and breaks open. And then all hell breaks loose.

What you may not know is that toys are filled with gusto (the energy and love that kids put into a toy when they play). Jack (of in-the-box fame) had recently been relegated to the Underbed. He was there when the mask crashed down, smelled that evil smell, and saw the shape of the Plucker scuttle into the dark. Foulthings soon came feeding on the toys...their eyes and gusto. Jack too is taken.

With Mabelle's help (and a touch of the Dark Arts) Jack is revived. His mission is to destroy the Plucker and save Thomas.

This is a creepy book. The art is sumptuous, dark, and necessary to the story's appeal. I forgave the choppy dialogue simply because of Jack's beauty. There are no happy endings here.

Definately for a HS and older audience.

If I had a coffee table, this would be on it.

Fans of Abarat should approve.

Dairy Queen

I know it seems like a long time in between posts, but I have been reading! I just reviewed a series called Great Empires of the Past for VOYA. Very interesting. I learned quite a bit about the Islamic Empire and the Mongol Empire.

Then I picked up Dairy Queen, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. I love the title, and embarassing as it is, it gives me fond memories of the Dairy Queen just beside my highschool, where we would go for Ultimate Burgers at lunchtime. Ahh, those were the days!

But, I digress!

D.J. has taken up virtually all of the farm chores since her brothers left home and her dad hurt his hip. She never even thinks about it. The milking needs to get done, so she does it. She doesn't think about the fact that noone helps her out, and her little brother Curtis isn't even expected to on the days that he has baseball practise. D.J. had to quit her own basketball playing which may have led to a university scholarship.

She is shocked when Brian Nelson shows up at her house one day wanting to help. This is small town USA and Brian is from neighboring Hawsley...rival sports town to D.J.'s Red Bend. Brian isn't any football player, either...he's the QB.

A snotty comment from Brian makes D.J. realize that she is not too different from the cows on her farm. She doesn't question anything. She just does what she is supposed to do. She assumes that there are no choices in life. Soon she starts asking the questions that will change her life. Why doesn't her little brother talk to anyone? Why is her best friend so pissed off at the world? Why couldn't she play football on the boy's team at school? Why isn't her mother home any more?

I ended up loving this book. I wasn't fond of D.J. at first. She was so self depricating that I was getting annoyed. By mid-book, however, her wit was sarcastic, dry and fun. I found myself wanting her to succeed and wanting her to find her voice. I could picture her farm, feel the hot breezes and just transport myself there!

I'm going to miss this book!

Hold the Presses!

Ok.

So after the Comicon, I ordered Runaways from an online store. Jen has been telling me about this comic forever, but I never got the get up and go to read it. I purchased the hard cover 18 issue volume 1.

Wow!

I have to pull something off my Top Ten because this book is amazing. It has so many elements to love, which could have been cheesy, but some how were not cheesy.

Evil parents. Teen angst. Teen hormones. Super powers. The chase. The mystery. The mythology.

Loved it!!!!

I can't even figure out who I love the best. The former goth girl in me loves Nico, but I love dumb old Chase too. And Molly. And even Old Lace (which I thought would be impossible).

Thank you Brian K. Vaughan.

Top Ten Graphic Novels

Now...before you read my list, you should know my preference is for indy stuff. My very first collections were Mr. X, Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children, The Question and then Sandman. Everything evolved from there.

10. Fun with Milk and Cheese, by Dorkin

9. Poor Bastard, by Matt

8. Kill Your Boyfriend, by Morrison

7. Hopeless Savages, by Van Meter

6. Love and Rockets, by Hernandez

5. House of Secrets: Foundation, by Seagle

4. Blankets, by Thompson

3. Ghost World, by Clows

2. Tricked, by Robinson

1. 32 Stories: The Complete Optic Nerve, by Tomine

The Search for Belle Prater

I remember reading Belle Prater's Boy for the first time and loving it. Not so much this time. I don't know whether it's because I have read much more "countrified" fiction than I had at that point in my reading career, or if it was just a better book.

I feel that this sequel gives short shrift to the new characters Cassie and Joseph, and is just a bit too tidy in the end. Just MHO.

We join Gyspy and Woodrow right about at New Years Eve. Gypsy explains the family's tradition of sharing New Years Revelations rather than New Years Resolutions. Just at the stroke of midnight, the telephone rings. Eventhough there is no voice on the other end, Woodrow just knows that it has to be his mother. After contacting the operator to find out where the call comes from, Woodrow is off to Bluefield on the bus to find her.

On the bus, Gyspy, Woodrow and Cassie meet Joseph. Joseph is the first coloured boy ("call me black") that Woodrow has ever encountered, and in typical Woodrow fashion, he sticks his foot in his mouth several times before winning Joseph over. Joseph is also on a quest to find some family in Bluefield.

It is a "nice" story, but I certainly wasn't moved. Anyone who has read Belle Prater's Boy by White should give it a read, but it does not warrant a stand alone read.

The Journey That Saved Curious George

Charming, charming, charming!

Still on my quest for summer reading list material, I placed a hold on this title by Louise Borden (ill Allan Drummond).

This book looks a bit like a travel journal / passport itself, and is extremely accessible. It is almost free verse in style, and kids will be eager to learn more about Margaret and H.A. Rey.

Interesting nuggets of information are waiting to be discovered...like the fact that Curious George's name was originally Fifi, and that the Rey's were Brasilian citizens, and that they had pet turtles.

Original photographs and documents pepper the pages alongside Drummond's Rey-esque illustrations. WWII is presented in a factual yet less distressing way than it could be.

I love this book and will be purchasing it for my daughters to read when they are older. A must have for collections!

Comic Con NYC

Ahhhhh the comic convention! The combo geek fest and book fest that turned out to be cool. Aside from the creepy adult twins who actually dressed alike and were freaking me and Jen out, it was pretty fun!

And I got Tricked, by Alex Robinson of Box Office Poison fame. He even signed it and illustrated it for me! Yay!

I couldn't put Tricked down and now I wish it wasn't over. This is the story of intersecting lives with a rockstar bent. There is Ray, formerly of the Tricks, who is suffering from severe writer's block along with an inflated sense of self. Caprice is a waitress with a bad track record concerning men. Steve has stopped taking his meds and is turning into a paranoid and obsessive fan. And Nick just lies, lies, lies, lies.

All of these characters have characters around them who weave in and out of the plot. I am not sure if this book appeals to me so intensely because of the fact that I live in NYC. I often take time to sit and wonder about all of the people around me. How did they end up here? Where are they going? What are their secrets?

This is the graphic novel that I will be recommending to my "hipster" friends. And I know that I will be rereading it often!

Thundershine

I really run hot and cold with short story collections. I recently tried to get through the acclaimed Black Juice, but it really wasn't for me. I recognized the quality of the writing, of course, but I just didn't care about the stories. Even the first that should have been tugging on my heartstrings, left me cold.

At the public library the other day, I picked up Thundershine, by David Skinner. I will admit it...I picked it up because it was a "skinny book". Ahhhh, that phrase I used to try to abolish when I worked in the public libraries! But I am furiously reading to change my summer reading lists, and I thought this was a possibility.

Turns out, it's too much for my age group, but for those of you looking for something for the 10-14 year old set, this is it!

Four magical stories about kids who don't quite fit in. The stories definately have a more scifi bent than fantasy, but I truly believe there is something for everyone in here.

My favourite story is the first one. Jenny "with a J" has been drawing maps every since she was a child. Maps of rooms, neighbourhoods, houses. But they have always been true maps. Suddenly she decides to start "dismapping" things. She starts with her home, and before you know it, Egypt is in Canada. The interesting thing is that nobody notices. People just keep living like there were always two suns and one is blue. But Jenny's best friend notices. Aside from Jenny, she is the only one. And unlike Jenny, she never sees it coming.

There is the story of the "meta humans". Nina suddenly has powers. Or power. She can only have one at a time, but she can also bestow power upon others. She decides that little brother Henry, his best friend and his best friend's girlfriend are all worthy. But Nina runs dark.

"Walk this Way" is a love story in disguise involving a type of teleportation called bopping.

"Poof Poof Ya Does Me a Favor" is the strangest and the most interesting to me. Dexter is a graffiti artist who paints with his mind. Meredith can hear his painting, and can also communicate with the planet Pluto.

They sound like far out stories, and they are. But they are compelling, just long enough and filled with lovely turns of phrase. On page 61 for example "For some reason, I liked my name in her voice."

Read this book!

The Big House

I picked this up out of the children's section of our library in the hopes of finding something to add to my 4th grade summer reading list this year. I am still undecided if this will make the cut, but it was a fun and quick read.

Ivy and Ray's parents have never really been above board, but this time they are both being sent "up the river" for embezzlement from a charity. Ivy and Ray are left in the care of Marietta Noland and her husband Lionel...the very people who had their folks sent away.

Soon Ray and Ivy are living in the Noland mansion, and are left to their own devices in their own wing. They explore, find a great hiding spot in a rhododendron bush, and start taking a bunch of "evidence" (re Marietta's stuff) to help find their parents innocent.

A series of mishaps and mysteries ensue.

It seems that Carolyn Coman was writing a story in the vein of Ibbotson and Dahl but without the level of success.

It is a nice story, don't get me wrong. It's just not as richly told. It is good for a quick read.

Top Tens

So I've been thinking about lists a lot lately. Everyone has their top 10 books of this and that, so I thought I would put some together. Today's theme is:

The Top 10 Books that I Recommend to my Women Friends

The Girl in Hyacinth Blue, by Susan Vreeland
The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath
The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
A Jest of God, by Margaret Laurence
The Myth of You and Me, by Leah Stewart
Esperanze Rising, by Pam Munoz Ryan
Snowflower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See
Crowgirl, by Bodil Bresdorff
The Awakening, by Kate Chopin
The Holding, by Merilyn Simonds

There is a mix of children's, YA, and mostly adult in there. But all of these books really touched me in some way or another. If you haven't read them, please do. I'd love to know what you think of these titles!

Snowflower and the Secret Fan

Again. I am so happy my friends have great taste in books. Fabulous recommendation.

A heartbreaking and eye opening read about China, footbinding, nu shu, and the laotong relationship.

This is an example of a book where fact meets fiction so seemlessly that the characters seem real, and China is painted so vividly infront of the reader, that I almost experienced sensory overload.

Lily knows that as a girl in her family she is a "useless branch" destined to marry out. Her family is not so poor that the women have to work in the fields, so she is to have her feet bound along with her cousin Beautiful Moon. Her mother seeks the diviner to come and examine Lily to find the most auspicious day to begin the binding, but to everyone's surprise, the diviner wants to bring in some extra help. Madame Wang is a matchmaker from a different town, and announces that Lily should have a laotong relationship with another girl named Snowflower. Lily's mother is upset that this means that more resources will be taken out of her home, but is scheming enough to realize that this means that Lily could marry up when she marries out, ultimately bringing more money to her natal family.

The women in the household are relegated to the upstairs chamber once their footbinding begins. Terrible pain, the breaking of bones and deathly infection are all in the future. But so is the learning of nu shu, the secret writing of women. Lily's aunt lovingly teaches the girls the characters and didactic stories that go along with them.

The plot spans Lily's lifetime and is rich and somewhat of a rollercoaster ride. It is achingly beautiful and terrible at the same time.

My uncle is a professor of Chinese History, and this book has definately made me want to get in touch with him and learn some more. I will be recommending this specifically to my women friends. I also will be reading more of Lisa See's work.

Children's Book Meme

I do love to answer surveys. Not over the phone, but the kind you can write down. I love polls. I guess I like to put in my own 2 cents.

I found this linked over from Orange Splot and Big A Little A.

1) What were your favourite 3 children's series?
Little House on the Prairie, Pippi Longstocking and The Bobsey Twins.

2)What were your favourite 3 non-series children's books?
Garbage Delight, by Dennis Lee , Where the Sidewalk Ends, and The Great Gilly Hopkins

3) Who were your 3 favourite children's book characters?
Laura Ingalls, Ramona, Charlie Bucket

Bonus
1) Who wrote your least favourite children's books?
Jan and Stan Berenstain

2)What was the saddest moment in childhood reading?
Bridge to Terabithia

3) Which adult book scared the bejeezus out of you?
Amityville Horror. It STILL freaks me out to think of it!!!!

Jesus Land : A Memoir

OMG. Seriously.

"Sinners go to: HELL
Rightchuss go to: HEAVEN
The end is neer: REPENT
This here is: JESUS LAND"

Imagine living someplace where a farmer would post this by the road on his land. Now imagine living there in the 1970s and 80s with your adopted African American brothers and bible thumping missionary styled parents.

This book hit me on so many levels. First Julia's parents. Supposedly missionary in philosophy, surgeon dad drives a Porsche and mom's in an Audi. Religion is used as an excuse to violence in this household from an absent dad and a mom who really should not have had children.

Julia. Drinking Comfort (Southern, that is) before school, distancing herself from brother David at school, and finding her blank spot when brother Jerome comes into her room at night.

David. Just wishing for a family. Trying to fit in. A victim of beatings over the smallest infractions.

Through a series of events, both Julia and David end up in the Dominican Republic at a "Christian" school for Juveniles, that seems to still be in operation today...which horrifies me. They find a way to keep each other sane through the ordeal.

The ending will take your breath away.

I think I am fascinated by this memoir for a number of reasons. It makes me so sad to hear of yet another girl sexually abused who then puts herself out there as a sexual being as a control measure. It makes me worry for my daughters.

The Bible Belt is astounding to me. I grew up going to church...but a middle of the road Protestant church where there was little if any mention of Hell. Daily Fire and Brimstone must take its toll. And the homogeneous nature of the population seems so strange as well. I grew up pretty white bread, but there was a bit of variety that one didn't blink at. I have a friend who grew up the Bible Belt way and I never really knew what to make of her stories...but this memoir certainly solidified her experience to me.

And I constantly wonder why people who don't want and don't like children, have them.

An intense and poignant read, that I kept having to put down, eventhough I didn't want to put it down.

Funny Little Monkey

So this has been on my "to read" pile for about a year now.

What do I think?

I don't know.

This is a very odd feeling. I have no idea who was lying, or what really happend in this book. Arty is an extremely unreliable narrator and I still feel like I could use half the story.

Arty and Kurt are fraternal twins. Extremely fraternal. Arty is stuck at 4'2'' and Kurt is a hulking 6'3''. They live with their mom in their grampa's old house over by the quarry. They are in a new school and all Kurt said to Arty is, "You don't know me".

Arty doesn't bother to learn anyone's names. He gives nicknames by attribute...like Bubble Butt or Albino Girl, or Kerouac (the kid has On the Road perpetually in his back pocket). He does notice, though, that a bunch of the "loser" kids sport pins of a red letter "A", and that Kerouac seems to be their leader.

Maybe Kerouac can help Arty get his big brother off his back. Being small has its disadvantages when others can be phyiscal with you.

Enter Leslie. The gorgeous girl who suddenly notices Arty. Not in the gropy way, but in the "let's hang out" way.

I couldn't put the book down because I wanted to see what happened, but I also feel like there is some kind of philosophical message that I am just not getting.

Author Anderw Auseon has confused me.

I guess that's a good thing!

The Tequila Worm, Belpre winner 2005

I expected a book for a much older audience based on the title and cover, but wow...this was a squeaky clean read!

We enter into Sofia's life in the barrio of border town McAllen Texas. (I had actually heard of McAllen because the library there seems to be perpetually hiring!)We are taken through her youth with her mom, dad, sister Lucy and best friend cousin Berta. Clara starts off being the storyteller of the bunch, and letting each family member know who they resemble (inside and out) as well as where they came from.

Sofia feels a bit like an outsider in her own barrio. She is not content with the idea of a quinceanera, or comfortable with the whole idea of the day of the dead. She wants to be the best at school, and after a racist incident and on the advice of a teacher, she does just that. She studies and studies until she is the recipient of a scholarship to an elite boarding school (ah here's my theme again!) in Austin. But will Sofia's family let her go? Will Sofia want to go when the time comes. Will she ever learn what it means to be a comadre?

The non-Mexican or non Mexican American reader is in for quite a treat. Author Viola Canales has let us into Sofia's household to get a crash course in Mexican tradition, cuisine and culture. And not just the activities themselves, but also the meanings and reasons behind them. From the ritualistic cleaning of the beans with her father, to the making of Easter cascarones, the reader is fully immersed.

What I like as well, is the fact that unlike other books containing Spanish, there is no glossary. I like that I feel like I should know what these terms mean, and if I can't get it from the context, I can always look it up.

looking for alaska, john green

So of course, after ALA's lists came out, I had to get a pile of books to read. I do feel like I fell behind on my YA reading since I've had my last little one, and now I think is the time to catch up.

I had heard so much about this title, and kept almost buying it on overstock.com, but I finally got it from the library on Friday and finished it off this morning.

Miles "Pudge" Halter is off to boarding school in Alabama. Once there he hooks up with scholarship student and roomie Chip (the Colonel) and his friend Alaska. On his first night, Pudge is a victim of the traditional hazing activity of being thrown in the lake...but with a twist. Kevin and his boys duct tape Pudge before throwing him in as a piece of revenge for a prior "ratting out". This is what Pudge is about to learn. Loyalty. No matter the cost.

Alaska quickly becomes the unattainable object of Pudge's affections. Alaska is wild, smart and utterly self destructive. She is destined to burn out rather than fade away.

There are pieces of the plot that I won't reveal here, as I hate when reviewers and other mere mortals ruin a book for me. But I do have to say that there is a mystery within that is pretty easily figured out. That said, I don't think it takes too much away from the story if the reader figures it out.

I do think that the characters are uber aware for teenagers...that same criticism that my beloved Dawson's Creek used to get. Specifically a frank discussion about fellatio involving the 2 participants and a demonstrator seems incredibly unrealistic. But, hey....this is fiction, right? And Printz worthy fiction at that!(fyi Printz winner 2005)

I do love the boarding school setting. I would have LOVED to have been sent to boarding school and been released from my hometown prior to turning 18. Mind you, from the fiction (The Chocolate War, Rebel Angels, Catcher in the Rye, and Capt. Hook I should be a bit scared, but hey, there's always Hogwarts!

Dreamwalker's Child

This was a title that I read to review for VOYA. So you can read my review there! Ha.

I didn't like the title, or the cover, but the story itself was very fun. Creepy information about insects, parallel worlds and great lead characters. If you have a reader who likes adventure, I would definately recommend it!

Love, Ruby Lavender

Ruby Lavender is awfully tied to her grandma, Miss Eula, and is beside herself when Miss Eula announces that she is off to Hawaii to visit with her new grandbaby. Ruby doesn't know what she will do without Miss Eula's letters in the tree stump, and her faithful companionship. Miss Eula always knows what to say about that mean old Melba Jane, and has a way of providing quiet comfort when Ruby needs it most.

Bit by bit we find out about the tragic accident which forces Ruby to take the long way into town...the way that doesn't involve crossing the bridge.

Through letters to Miss Eula and a newly forged friendship with aspiring anthropologist Dove, Ruby reveals her heart and even allows it to soften a little.

This was a yummy read that was of course inspired by each little bird that sings. I tend to take away sayings from books and people. Lemony Snicket brought on "cake sniffer", my friend Jen brought on "Oh my stars and garters!", and now Ms. Wiles has added "Good garden of peas!" to my vocabulary. People around NYC think I'm a bit strange, but aren't conversations so much more colourful with good old fashioned expressions?

Newbery, Printz, etc.

So. I watched the webcast this morning of the ALA's Youth Media awards.

I had a feeling that Looking for Alaska would win for Printz, but alas...not even a Newbery Honour for Penderwicks! Was it too safe? Too like Alcott? Too clean? I am interested in seeing the Top 10 from BBYA and QP.

The Teacher's Funeral

I had been wanting to read this title for a while now, and I am glad that I did! Countrified, fun and old-fashioned-sweet.

Russell is 15 and STILL in the 8th grade. He is mighty pleased when he finds that old Miss Myrt has up and died, right before school is set to start. She is an old fashioned teacher who whups kids for the slightest infractions. Russell and brother Lloyd are hoping that without a teacher, the little one room school house of Hominy Ridge will be shut down.

Imagine his horror when big sister Tansy is groomed for the job of teacher. Russell now hopes that the 7 students will lead to the school being closed (there's a mandatory roster of 8). But then Glenn Tarbox, who is too old for school and from the trashy Tarbox family to boot, shows up for "larnin' ".

This is a sweet family story filled with turn of the century rural Indiana life. Part adventure, part coming of age, The Teacher's Funeral has one of the most satisfying endings I have read in a loooooong time.

Thank you Richard Peck!

Harry Sue

Ok. The yellow covered arc of this book sat on my bedside table for close to a year. I had no idea what the book was about. I hated the title. Jen had given it to me and told me it was more my age range. I didn't pick it up until some banter on yalsa-bk let on that a couple people favoured it for Newbery. While I still think that Penderwicks is going to run away with it, I am very glad to have read Harry Sue.

This is a book of characters. Wild characters, ripped from the headlines and then tossed together into a school, family and neighbourhood. Harry Sue is left to live with "Granny", after a fight at home caused her father to literally throw her out the window...from the seventh story. Mom got busted leaving her meth lab on the coffee table when police came to investigate. Granny runs the daycare "Granny's Lap", and in her mind Harry Sue is just a kid who is taking up space that someone would pay for. Granny is Roald Dahl-esque in her evilness, and as an adult reader I found myself appalled at her actions.

Harry Sue's best friend is Christopher...whom she calls Homer Price due to his inventing abilities. Homer took a swan dive off the bridge in town and managed to break his neck.

Harry Sue is doing her best to groom herself into a criminal. She figures that is the only way she will ever get to find her mom. Homer is doing his own time...up in his tree house, willing leaves to fall.

Enter substitute teacher Baba, physiotherapist J-Cat, Hammerhead and the other crumbsnatchers, and there is quite a story.

Harry Sue herself is quite taken with the story The Wizard of Oz, and although she has the author's name incorrect, she finds many bridges between the story and her own life. By making Baum's first name Louise, Harry Sue feels an affinity that allows her not to seem so lost, and indeed makes her seem much more wise than her years.

I think that this is a deceptively young story. Drugs, abuse, accidents, and racism all dealt with in this story. Author Sue Stauffacher thanks the kids of incarcerated parents at the end and I wonder how this story will touch them. What it's done for me is made me want to read The Wizard of Oz for the first time. It doesn't seem like the movie did it justice!

For Matrimonial Purposes

I always wonder if all women push the envelope on getting married. Is it a social construction? Is it our upbringing?

For Anju it's all she has been striving for. A Bombay girl and a first born at that, her mum and dad have been trying to get her married since her best friend was engaged at 17. But noone seemed quite right for her, and face it, not too many came calling either. Anju was nice enough...educated and sweet, but she had a fierce independent streak as well.

After some convincing, she is off to "Umerica" to stay in Fort Lee NJ with her Aunty and Uncle while attending NYU for further studies. We follow Anju's next decade in NYC with frequent trips back to Bombay during the wedding season "for matrimonial purposes". Once she hits her 30s, will Anju find her husband?

An interesting blend of chick lit meets Indian fiction. The story is peppered with culture and tradition as well as all of the trappings of contemporary chick lit. Anju works in fashion, attends fabulous parties (aside from those Bombay weddings), and is very Sex and the City minus the sex part.

It was a fun little read that sated my post Christmas read need along with a love story jones. Very Beachy, indeed.

Al Capone Does My Shirts

So, I have to admit...this is one of those books that I sort of, pretended to have read for about a year now. Whenever the kids at school would ask me about it, I'd say, "yeah...this one is great!" and leave it at that. I had heard Jen's booktalks about it a hundred times, but for some reason, I just didn't feel like reading it. I just picked it off the shelf at the public library last week.

Moose Flanagan is not living a typical life. It's the 1930s and he is living on Alcatraz Island where his dad does double duty as an electrician and a prison guard. Moose is not the only kid there. His sister Natalie, Piper (the warden's daughter), Annie, Theresa, Jimmy and baby Rocky are on the Island too. Everyday Moose takes the ferry into the city to go to school.

The warden has told all of the kids on the island that they are not supposed to talk about the cons. Especially not about notorious gangster Capone. Piper has other ideas... she talks about Alcatraz all the time. She is full of money making schemes that she needs Moose's help for, and they all involve breaking the warden't rules.

Getting in trouble is the LAST thing that Moose needs. He already is stuck taking care of his sister everyday. Natalie isn't a typical sister...she has special needs. Moose knows that the warden isn't too happy having her on the Island at all and he does his best to keep Natalie out of the warden's way. But his family is full of secrets...some of them involving his sister. Can Moose find a way to help his family, or will he forever follow the rules?

This is a fast read with some fascinating facts about prison life in Alcatraz in the 30s. Choldenko has also provided facts about autism in a unnamed and detailed way. While this is not the flashiest book out there, it is a solid read that will most likely open up the mind's of readers to questions of justice on many different levels.

Case Histories, by Kate Atkinson

Yay! Another great book! A friend recommended this to me and in turn, I am going to recommend it to my grown-up friends!

The seemingly unconnected lives of Olivia, Amelia, Julia, Victor, Jackson, Marlee, Laura, Mrs. Rain, Caroline, Michelle, and Theo (among others) are slowly drawn together in an amazing story about family, love, murder, abuse and self discovery. I know that probably sounds like a bit much, but at first the story is truly overwhelming. I was crying over my eggs benedict at a little cafe around the corner. Let me give you an example of the writing.

" "And anyway," he shouted after her, "maybe I don't want to eat bloody coriander!" She came to an abrupt halt, whiplashing the baby in the pushchair. She turned round and said, "Well maybe I do," and glared at him for the longest time, wishing she had the woodcutting ax with her, the ax that would split his skull like a melon or a pumpkin cleaved in two. No, not a melon, melons were sweet and exotic, not pedestrian enough for his head, and pumkins were vegetables that belonged in fairy tales. A turnip. Turnips were brutal, yokel vegetables. And he would drop like a headless scarecrow, right here in the field, and sink into the soil and never be seen again, and she could give the baby to her mother and ruin another life." (pp. 36-37)

There are so many subplots and characters that I am not sure how to even write about this title to give it any justice. The characters are compelling, they all have secrets and even the ones that I didn't like I still wanted to know.

I am definately going to pick up Atkinson's previous novels.

Indigo*s Star

I have to start off by saying that I have never read McKay's companion Saffy's Angel. I just picked Indigo up off the shelf of the library for something to read.

Indigo is headed back to school after a mono induced semester off. Indigo is not the type of kid who minds missing that much school. He is the target of the red-headed bully and his gang of minions. Upon arrival back, Indigo discovers the bullies are waiting, but there is a new target as well...American Tom. Slowly but surely Tom and Indigo forge a friendship of circumstance that develops further.

The story is as much about Indigo's family unit, as the boy himself. Artist parents living apart (label conscious dad's in London, mum paints in the back shed) and coloured named sibs all weave in and out of Indigo's days. A large part of the story belongs to little sis and art prodigy Rose, who is the most likable of the bunch.

I am really interested in what kid's think of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but saw my adult perspective interpreting every event. It was a nice under the covers and tea read!

each little bird that sings

Anyone who knows me knows that there are certain qualities that are favourites for me in books. The cover is important, and I love settings in India, the South, and Eastern Canada. I also love a book that will make me cry.

each little bird that sings gives me the South and a close cry.

Comfort Snowberger lives a life that some would consider a bit odd. She lives above the town funeral parlour with her brother Tidings, sister Merry, mother Joy, father Bunch, great uncle Edisto, great great Aunt Florentine. Her best friend is Declaration Johnson. (You HAVE to love these names!)

Soon, everything is changing. Uncle Edisto is the first in the house to die, followed soon by Aunt Florentine. Declaration has been acting real strange and stuck up since she came back from Mobile, and the only comfort that Comfort seems to get is from her dog Dismay.

The day of Aunt Florentine's funeral, Comfort, Dismay, Declaration and cousin Peach fatefully decide to walk to the cemetary instead of going in the car. A thunderstorm and flashflood will change their lives forever.

Now, I know folks who sobbed over these pages. I got a lump in my throat, but I know the reason why I wasn't overwraught. I won't put it here because it would spoil this book for the rest of you. Deborah Wiles has penned a sweet, sad, southern story....one of the best kind, I reckon!

Maya Running

Be careful what you wish for!

How many times has that statement turned out to be true? For Maya Mukherjee, they should have been words to live by.

It's the mid 1970s in Manitoba, and Maya is not a happy girl. Her friends call her lunchtime dal "barf", her parents are making her hang out with the Ghose boys, she has a huge crush on Jamie, and Brian just called her the "N" word. The only bright spot is that Maya has convinced her parents to let her beautiful cousin Pinky come over from India for 3 weeks.

Pinky is beautiful and actually seems exotic to Maya, with her saris, kohl lined eyes and her Kathak dancing. Pinky has also brought along a golden statue of Ganesh. When Jamie's affections turn from Maya to Pinky, Maya turns to Ganesh for help. Little does she know that this sweet loving trickster god will turn her life upside down.

Eventhough Maya starts to live the life she thought she wanted, she is not feeling very good about it. Her parents are shadows of their former selves, and her friends just aren't themselves. And Jamie ... his adoration is becoming downright scary.

This is a clean tween read that would be great for anyone who feels like the odd one out. The story obviously relies heavily on the author Anjali Banerjee's own life, and though it is dated in the 1970s, the journey for self discovery is a timeless one.

National Book Award

YAY!

Yay, yay, yay!

Birdsall just won the National Book Award for Penderwicks.

I know there was some talk in the circles about how this book was "young", but not all young people and teens want to read grit all the time. So yay!

I am predicting that this will also be a Newbery award winner at ALA in January. We shall see!

The Day Joanie Frankenhauser Became a Boy

I took this off my friend Karyn's pile at work. It was way too young for her highschool audience so I thought I would give it a go. This is a sweet book that I think tomboys in the range of 4-6th grade would enjoy.

Joanie's mom wants her to act more like a girl. Joanie doesn't understand why just because she is in 5th grade she is supposed to give up skateboarding, football and basketball. She simply can't identify with those girly girls at school. You know the ones. They giggle and talk about lipgloss all day?

Well...when the family moves from Boston to Yardville PA, Joannie gets the chance of a lifetime. The first day at her new school, a typo has the teacher introducing her as "John" instead of "Joan". Joannie doesn't correct the teacher and takes the opportunity to enter the secret world of boys.

She starts hanging out with Zane and his buddies, and soon finds herself over her head with dares to prove how macho she is. Zane wants to do crazy stuff like hang upside down from a tree over a ravine, and whip firecrackers at old man Corrolla's place. And she doesn't feel very comfortable making "boobie" jokes at Lucinda. Will she find a way to come clean...or stay a boy for as long as possible?

The writing is breezy and there are chapters written as stories about "Super Kid" that Joanie writes. I would recommend it to 4-6th graders. It's an interesting look at the gender divide without sexual overtones, and helps to show that the grass may not always be so green on the other side.

Lauren Child

Ok.

I just have to take a moment to say how much I LOVE Lauren Child. Especially the Charlie and Lola books.

As a librarian, I most likely would not have picked these books out for my 2.5 year old daughter if I hadn't seen the show. Seeing the stories performed gave me the cadence necessary for reading these aloud. The text is squirmy and swimmy, but all you have to do is put on a bad English accent, and read about pink milk, absolutely positively not going to bed, hippos and invisible friends.

Charming, charming. If you are parents you know that you will have to read certain books hundreds of times. These ones won't make you want to poke your eyes out.

So. Yay for Lauren Child.

The Myth of You and Me

Wow. I LOVED this book! I don't know if it's because I am 35 and at that point in my life where I feel like connecting with old friends and loved ones, or if Leah Stewart is just one heck of an author.

We take a journey through Cameron's eyes back and forth from past to present regarding her friendship with Sonia. Sonia and army brat Cameron became best friends after Cam witnessed Sonia's mother's cruelty. Mme Gray is like no other mother I have ever read.

Cameron was working for, and living with, famous historian Oliver Doucet when Sonia comes back into her life in the form of a letter. Cameron has no wish to contact Sonia because of an unnamed betrayal, but Oliver has different ideas.

The reader feels priviledged to witness this friendship between these girls/women. What they go through is so everyday, yet so poignant that it truly stirs the soul. Friendship between women tends to be dicey and Stewart has caught the very essence of this.

The teenagers looked nothing like Sonia and I had looked at their
age...These girls probably snuck into rock clubs. They did drugs
and went to poetry readings. They knew all about Zen Buddhism
and read articles in The New Yorker. What I recognized was the
way they kept looking at each other even though they were each
talking to a boy. Every so often they exchanged these quick,
knowing glances, each making sure the other one was still there,
still with her. I wondered how long their friendship would last,
and felt sorry for them, because they didn't know it wouldn't. "
(p.114)

Ouch. Yet most likely true. I have so many pages in this book turned down and could quote endlessly, but I won't. I think this is a book that every woman who ever walked away from a friendship or lover should read.

So good.

PEEPS

Ok. So I FINALLY got my copy of Peeps back, with a very nice inscription I must say (thanks Scott!) and got back down to the business of finishing it.

Very interesting take on the vampire novel.

The last vampire story I read was Twilight, by Meyer. A very traditional story. Westerfeld has explored a different angle involving parasites. Which when you think of it we all are in some form or another.

Cal has been working for the NightWatch pretty much since he turned. He has been hunting down the few that he has infected during his year as a peep (parasite positive). The only one he can't find is his progenitor, Morgan. Partly because her name is all he can remember about her, aside from her appearance. A drunken hook-up in Manhattan. It happens everyday. No last name. Can't remember exactly where she lives. Doesn't know where she works.

But she has left Cal with a legecy of enforced celibacy (parasite positivity is sexually transmitted), and a huge craving for protein.

While searching for Morgan, Cal comes across Lace. Lace is looking for her own answers. Like why is her rent so low, and why did someone write "He was so pretty I had to eat him" in what looks like blood on her wall.

What follows is a NYC centric adventure with Cal searching not only for Morgan, but also the deep menace that he feels is stalking the city.

Westerfeld has interwoven chapters about parasites between the plot. Real parasites. Yucky parasites. In exquisite detail. I know I won't be peeing in a tropical river anytime soon.

This is an interesting take on vampirism, and I really enjoyed Cal's character. Lace drove me a little nuts with her "dude"-ing at the beginning of every sentence. The ending was left open.

Is this going to be a series? Mindy...Jen....do you know?

Black Hole

I dreamt about highschool last night. I wonder if this gn had anything to do with it?

It's the 1970's in suburban Seattle and a new STD is making the rounds. It's not like the STDs that you can typically cover. This can manifest itself in giving you a tail, extra mouths, webbed hands, facial deformity etc. (Wow! Come to think of it the hardcore bible belters may use this to scare teens off sex before marriage!)

Our story concentrates mostly on Keith and Chris. Keith is a nice run of the mill guy, who hangs out with his friends smoking pot among other things. He pretty much hates his teenage existence. He is searching for something, but he's not sure what.

Chris is in his biology class and she is the object of his affections. She too, is a nice girl, if more popular than Keith.

One night at a party Chris finds herself attracted to Rob. They both drink heavily and head out to the cemetery for an intimate moment. Right before they have sex, Rob tries to warn Chris about something, but she shushes him and continues on. Soon after, Chris is showing symptoms.

I think this is more a story about what it is like to be in high school than it is a sexual warning. Burns has captured those manic highs and lows where every outcast feels like a leper, and falling in love happens fast. I'm not sure that I would have enjoyed this as a teen...it may have creeped me out. There are quite a few full frontal pictures, and the deformations are the kind of things that make my skin creepy crawly.

That said, the starkness of the black and white is stunning, and the bold style of the illustrations suit the story perfectly. Some of the art reminded my of the Bongwater album, Too Much Sleep. Upon checking, that artwork was done by Jim Shaw. It's got that same yearbook thing happening.

Overall, I really enjoyed this gn. I sat down and read it in a short period of time, and was very satisfied. I am glad I didn't read it in comic form, simply because the waiting would have been difficult!

The Last Book in the Universe

I had forgotten that I bought this book back with Golden and Grey earlier this summer. I picked it up off of my night table last night, and just finished it now. I feel like my old reading self when my 2 year old is at her Nana's!

Rodman Philbrick has written quite the "end of the world as we know it" story.

Imagine a world of extreme class difference. Eden is at the centre, where the "proovs" (or genetically improved) humans live. At least the normals have been told that Eden exists...they can't be sure since it means instant "cancellation" for a normal to try to enter.

Everyone lives in a "latch"...essentially a turf controlled by a latch boss. Spaz, thus named because of his epilepsy, lives under the rule of the Bangers, where Billy Bizmo reigns supreme. Spaz is told to go rip off the Ryter who lives in the stacks at the edge of town. Spaz does as he is told...afterall it's steal or die around here. Little does he know that the Ryter will end up effecting him deeply with his talk about the backtimes.

One night in his crib, a runner comes with a message for Spaz. His foster sister Bean is sick again with the blood sickness. The problem is that Bean lives in a whole other latch...3 latches over. Spaz is sure to be cancelled even trying to leave his own latch. Can Ryter help him find his way?

What follows is a fast paced adventure about priviledge, perfection and hope.

Less intense than Anderson's Feed, and less sophisticated than Westerfeld's Uglies (almost) triology, The Last Book in the Universe seems perfect for the sixth grade and up set. Fast paced and compelling, Philbrick makes the reader stop and consider what s/he might do given extreme circumstances.

Don't look for a happy ending.

D'oh!

So I had to weigh the pros and cons. Finish the last 45 pages of Peeps, or leave it at work in order to have Westerfeld sign it next week when he comes for a student visit...which of course, I can't attend. My kid has school.

So I left it. And it's hurting me right now. Neither of my colleagues had an arc of it that I could use for the commute home.

So next week, I can write about it.

Last night was our 'tween presentation. Some fab books were discussed. The ones that I chose were:
Golden and Grey, by Arnold
Clemency Pogue: Fairy Killer, by Petty
Akimbo and the Elephants, by McCall Smith
Out of Order, by Hicks
Chig and the Second Spread, by Swain
Colibri, by Cameron
Replay, by Creech
Flush, by Hiassen
The Not So Star Spangled Life of Sunita Sen, by Perkins
and
Leon and the Spitting Image, by Kurzweil

Other books discussed by Jen and Karyn included The Schwa was Here, Penderwicks, Mabel Riley, Mates, Dates series, and Gender Blender...the last of which I am looking forward to reading. I am a big fan of Blake Nelson.

...I am still thinking about Peeps. Ugh.

The Penderwicks

Wow. Is 2005 the year of the subtitle or what? Enter The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy.

I had wanted to read The Penderwicks ever since a very hot and pregnant me held it in my hands in the B&N at Union Square. Jen and I had just gone to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and were browsing away enjoying some uber air conditioning. I should have bought it at that very moment, because I could have read it at least 5 times by now.

This is a wonderful story in the vein of Gone Away Lake and A Spell is Cast. The writing is superb, there is a vintage feel to it, and ahhhhhh to bask in the innocence of it all!

Rosalind, Skye, Jane, Batty, and Mr. Penderwick are uspet when their usual Cape Cod summer rental is no longer available at the last moment. Mr. Penderwick manages to find a rental in the Berkshires, and nobody is sure what to expect. What they didn't expect was to be staying in a cottage on a grand estate named Arundal.

They also didn't expect to meet friends like Jeffrey and Cagney while trying to avoid snooty Mrs. Tifton. Since Arundal belongs to Mrs. Tifton (who happens to be Jeffrey's mother), this is not so easily accomplished.

Each girl is a personality unto herself, and readers are sure to be reminded of Little Women. I am one of those few who cannot stand Little Women, but I obviously love this book.

The adventures are sweet yet real...there are crushes on boys, dreams of being an author, trying to find one's place within a family. The Penderwick's sense of family honour is admirable and it's so refreshing to read contemporary fiction that is so well written.

This is a book that I will recommend and recommend and purchase for all of my friend's children.

Airborn

Have you ever thought what life might be like if the airplane had never been invented? It never crossed my mind either, until I read Airborn, by Kenneth Oppel.

Matt is a cabinboy aboard the Aurora, a luxury aircraft of the blimp variety. He is in love with the ship. He loves everything about it as well as everything about "sailing". In fact, whenever he is on leave, he feels stifled and out of place. Only in the air is he free.

One day, Matt helps his crew rescue an old man who was trying to circumnavigate the world in a balloon. They find him stranded, his balloon badly damaged. He is close to death when he tells Matt about the creatures he has seen in the air.

Cut to one year later...Matt meets the granddaughter of this old man aboard the Aurora. Kate has her grandfather's diary from his ill-fated balloon trip. The old man obviously believed that he had encountered a new species of flying mammal, and Kate is determined to prove her grandfather was not crazy and that these creatures exist, and she needs Matt to help her.

Before she can do so, the Aurora is boarded by the famous pirate Szpirglas and his crew. Soon, Matt and Kate are in deep in an adventure involving pirates, "cloud cats", shipwreck and manslaugter.

I am glad that I was reading this for a book discussion, because I am not sure I would have stuck with it if I hadn't "had to". This is a bit more of a "boy book" that I normally like. What I mean by this is there is lots of talk about the airship and how it works. Me...I don't care about that stuff so much. Once Oppel gets on to the adventure, the pace picks up and I found myself not wanting to go to sleep until I found out what fate had in store for Matt and Kate. The writing is superb. This book is a Printz honor for a reason!

Serenity Rose

Ahhh the graphic novel. Lovely lovely. I have been a fan of graphic novels and comics since my last year of highschool when my friend Jeff took my to the comic shop and introduced me to The Question. I then moved on to Mr. X, Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children, Black Orchid, and lucky for me that was the year that Sandman arrived. I had to stop buying in university for a while, as the cash flow was thin. Then, as a grown up I got into more of the indy titles. Last year Blankets blew my mind.

I got Serenity Rose - Volume 1: Working Through the Negativity in the mail to review.

I wasn't sure what to make of it at first. I knew it was a gothy gn, but other than that I wasn't sure what to expect. I was a bit confused. The beginning is wordy. Quite wordy. I then got sucked in to the fun.

Serenity Rose is a witch. A reluctant one at that. Her reputation precedes her, and that has turned her into somewhat of a hermit. She is living in the secluded town of Crestfallen. She does have some friends. There is Tess, Kelton and Mary Ann.

We are slowly introduced to her story...including the unfortunate demise of her mother and father, her disdain for the "scene", as well as the "bus incident" and reasons for it.

This is a fun read, but buried within is a scathing social commentary. Politics, music, pop culture, sexuality and loyalty are all topics that are touched upon or explored.

The illustrations are a bit more "japanime" style than I tend to like. Serenity's nose makes her look a bit like a clown which is a problem for me. (Don't like those clowns!) The black and whiteness of it all really works for the story, but prepared to need lots of light while reading. Remember...lots of text! There are quite a few 80s references to bands that were quite fun (like "Joy Divisor"...wonder who that was!) and there is a great club scene with patrons numbered and their traits outlined along the page edges.

Overall this gn is very clever, cute and a bit spooky at the same time.

Akimbo and the Elephants

Reading the final push before my presentation. Akimbo and the Elephants was recommended to me as something for the youngest on my list. It's an environmental mystery...a genre that I have had some interest in in the past.

Akimbo lives with his father at the edge of a large game reservation in an unnamed African country. Akimbo had a love affair with the elephants more than any other animal.

"It was not the leopards, or even the lions, that Akimbo liked to watch. He loved the elephants best of all. You had to keep clear of them, too, but they seemed more gentle than many of the other creatures. Akimbo loved their vast, lumbering shapes. He loved the way that they moved their trunks slowly, this way and that as they plodded across the plains between the stretches of forest..." (p3-4)

So imagine Akimbo's horror when his father explained what poachers are, and tells him that there are poachers hunting on the reserve - killing elephants for their ivory. This hits home for Akimbo when he accompanies his father and coworkers deep into the reserve and he sees an elephant that has been killed for its' tusks.

Akimbo decides at that moment that he has to do something. He hatches a plan to catch the poachers in the act. It is dangerous and many things can go wrong, but Akimbo knows in his heart that he must act.

This is a fast paced mystery with a heart of gold. McCall Smith writes beautifully and the illustrations by LeUyen Pham enrich the story. This is perfect for the 3rd grade and up set who are so passionate about social justice.

...in the meantime

I HAVE been reading. Honestly.

Currently I am working on The Big Over Easy, which is much fun so far. The problem is that my 2.5 year old has decided that she is too old to nap. Goodbye reading time.

I am still working on my tween title presentation, which should be ready in the next week or so. I am planning on posting the info about the titles that are not currently on this blog.

I am trying to get my paws on Peeps, by Westerfeld, and Penderwicks, the author's name escapes me right now. These are both supposed to be great (and very different) reads.

Stay tuned!!!

Pretties

The second in the series by Westerfeld, Pretties starts right where Uglies left off. Tally is back and up to her old tricks. New Pretty Town is never quite the same when she is around. This time, as part of the Crims, Tally is looking for the ultimate rush. She can't understand why she keeps doing unpretty and not bubbly things. Maybe the hottie leader Zane can help her out?

Westerfeld has written the second in a trilogy and written it just as exciting as the first installment. In my reading experience, the second of trilogies tend to just bring the plot along...usually in a very "un-bubbly" way. But again, I was hooked. You don't get too much plot because of course this was an arc that I read. I can't wait to buy a copy for my neice!

...and now I am waiting and waiting for part 3! And I am just as excited about this one as I am about Barker's part 3 of the Abarat series.

Westerfeld is quickly becoming one of my favourite contemporary YA authors.

Golden and Grey

I have to admit that I am pretty proud of myself for finishing this off! I just had a baby 10 days ago. Both girls took a nap at the same time yesterday, and instead of doing the sensible thing (going to sleep myself) I finished this off!

I bought this book based on cover and title alone. The cover art is perfect for the age range (wonky cartoonish, but not over the top). And the subtitle - An Unremarkable Boy and a Rather Remarkable Ghost) is rather intriguing.

Tom Golden has just moved to a new school and somehow gotten the title of "freak boy". He's not sure how it happend...he used to have friends. Now he finds notes on his back, noone will eat with him, and he is constantly trying to avoid bully Big Ben.

Grey Arthur is a ghost without a job. He has tried to be a poltergeist, and a sadness summoner among other things, but nothing quite fits.

One day he hears Tom's angry whispers about school. They are not whispers to Grey Arthur's ears sinces ghosts hear by emotion rather than volume. Grey Arthur knows what he must do...be Tom's Invisible Friend. Whether or not this is a real ghost job description, he does not know, but he does know that Tom needs him. The one problem with this friendship is that it is one way. Tom doesn't know Arthur exists.

An accident, however, leaves Tom with a special power. He can now see not only Grey Arthur, but all the ghosts around him. Will this really help Tom, or make him even more of a freak boy. Afterall who else goes around talking to folks noone else can see?

This is more of a story about friendship and growing up than it is a ghost story. It has a broad appeal, and will prove especially fun to fans of Ibbotson.

Uglies

The only other book that I had read by Scott Westerfeld was So Yesterday. Eventhough I still can't get that annoying Hilary Duff song out of my head when I think of the title, I really enjoyed it. I have always been interested in the whole advertising/marketing to kids thing, as well as the idea of "trends". One of my husband's friend's ex-girlfriends used to work in fashion and decide on trends for her company. She would tell me a year in advance what to buy, which colours would be "in" etcetera. It was pretty weird.

My friend Jen had been talking about Uglies for months and all the girls at our school (MS and HS) who took it out loved it. So then other day when I was loading up on books, I decided to buy myself a copy (and was appreciative of the original paperback format...cheap!)

This was a fun book to read, in that big brother 1984 style. It actually reminded me slightly of Feed, by Anderson. Tally is an ugly, but not for long. Her 16th birthday is approaching and that is when she will finally get the operation to turn her into a pretty. You know....the evolutionary positives. Large open eyes, high forhead, full lips, ideal height and weight. Her skin will be replaced, bones shaved and padded. The ultimate extreme makeover.

A couple of weeks before her birthday, she meets one of the only other senior uglies in her dorm. Shay is full of tricks, just like Tally and they really hit it off. But Shay is different. She is not looking forward to being pretty. Tally doesn't understand. Why would anyone want to be ugly?

This is the first part in a trilogy, and is fast paced, interesting and fun. I just gave it to my niece for her 15th birthday, and she asked my sister how I could possibly know exactly the kind of thing she liked to read!

Leon and the Spitting Image

Leon and the Spitting Image, by Allen Kurzweil is exactly the kind of book that I would have picked up as a fourth grader. Not only is there a creepy witchy type boot on the cover, but the title is clever and the premise is great.

Leon goes to what can only be assumed as a Manhattan independent school, The Classical School. The motto of the school is "nimble fingers make for nimble minds" ... read in experiential learning. The problem is Leon is somewhat of a klutz. He lives with his mom in a one star hotel...she is the night manager. So, not only is his life a bit different from the rest, but the Ice Queen (ancient ice maker)keeps him up at night. Top all of this off with his finding of his confidential reports the day before his first day of fourth grade.

"Leon continues to be hampered by a troubling lack of fine motor skills."

Now, his fourth grade teacher, Miss Hagmeyer, is for some reason obsessed with sewing. Not only for herself, but for her students as well. How will a fine motor skills challenged fourth grader get through a year when almost all of his assignments are sewing related?

With the help of his 2 best friends...PW and Lily-Matisse.

A very fun romp for the 3rd-5th grade set. Plus the bonus of this turning into a series, with the next book taking place during Leon's fifth grade year.

Clemency Pogue: Fairy Killer

...there's a title that will grab your attention!

Surfing around the net today, I came across this title and was intrigued. Since my kiddo is over at her nana's today, I decided to go out and give this a read in hopes of finding more tween stuff.

This book is fun, fun, fun!

Clemency is minding her own business, collecting sassafras, when she is stung by a bug. At least she thinks it could be a bug. This bug, however, is relentless. No matter how quickly she runs, or how powerfully she smacks, she cannot get away. Right at the point when she is about to fall into a gorge, she sees that this is not a bug, but a fairy. Having listened closely to her father's stories, Clemency knows what to do. She utters the fateful words, "I don't believe in fairies!" It doesn't work. At least not the first time. It does work the seventh time. So what happend those other six times?

Six other fairies died. Including the fairy of noninvasive surgery, and the tooth fairy. Clemency Pogue is a fairy killer.

With the help of a hobgoblin, enslaved to her by a bit of rumplestiltskin type luck, Clemency sets off to travel the world to try to make things right.

JT Petty uses some fun and fantastic wordplay, and the vocabulary is fairly sophisticated. I breezed through the 120 pages in less than a couple of hours, and this novel should prove super appealing to emerging fantasy fans.

Replay

Back on the hunt for tween titles, I started and promptly left 2 in the dust. One I had high hopes for (an adult author who I now think should stick to adult!), and another with too many sex references for my age group.

Happily, I picked up Sharon Creech's new book, Replay. I absolutely love Ruby Holler, Heartbeat and Love that Dog, so I was hoping that this title would fall into my parameters. I already knew the writing would be good.

Meet Leo and his big Italian family. Sibs Contento, Pietro, Nunzio, and mom Mariana and dad Giorgio. Don't forget Grandparents, The Aunties, The Uncles and The Cousins.

Leo is a dreamer. Those around him actually call him fog boy because more often than not he is in the middle of a day dream, where he is no longer the youngest and forgotten one, but rather the star! One day up in the attic he finds his father's old tap shoes and journal from the age of 13. Leo starts to open up a mystery about his family that he never knew existed. Tie that in with a big, bold family unit plus the lifestyle of a very innocent 12 year old, and what is left is a sweet story.

The end of the book has the play that Leo is involved in at his school, leaving the perfect opportunity for theatre geek readers to act it out.

Again, this is an arc due out in September. I would recommend this for Creech fans, young actors, and the more innocent reader. It is truly a sweet family story.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

So I have always had a bit of a crush on Severus Snape (at least as played by Alan Rickman), but now I don't know if I can carry my torch any longer! Sniff.

I ordered my copy of HP6 after the release date, and I got it sent by Amazon UK. It's hard for me to read a "revised" version for Americans. I don't really get it. I mean, context will help a reader out any day.

I knew that this was going to be the last lengthy book that I read for a while, and I was looking forward to it. It was a MUCH easier go than The Historian, but it was just as enjoyable.

Harry and the gang are coming up on 17 years old now and are in year 6 at Hogwarts. This is the year that they finally get to apparate, Harry is the head of his house quidditch team, and there is still good old Voldemort to hunt down.

I found this a much more enjoyable read than the Order of the Phoenix. The kids are older, the plot moves along effortlessly, and even as an adult reader, there was only one instance when I already knew what was going to happen. As I have written before, sequels tend to scare me, but I am amazed at how Rowling has managed to move this story along in a real time fashion without trivializing her characters.

All I can say is that I hope Snape has something up his sleeve for me next book!

The Historian

I admit, that I am not usually a fan of the bestseller. This book only came to my attention because my friend Jen was doing a tandem reading with her friend Lynne. She knows my gothy past, so she gave me a quick plot synopsis. I thought I might read her copy when she was finished. Alas, when I was shopping in Costco, I saw the book for 1/2 price and I picked it up. I started reading that evening and I was hooked.

Now you need to understand that I spend lots of time reading children's and young adult's literature, so whenever I dive into the adult world, it takes a bit longer. Also Kostova did an amazing job weaving fiction and nonfiction together. I found myself underlining places and dates and then going online to do a bit of background reading. (That's the librarian in me!)

The plot starts quickly, which left me a bit worried about being interested for the entire 642 pages, but I was not disappointed. We start with a young woman finding a book containing a bunch of letters that begin, "My dear and unfortunate successor...." The book itself is blank save a woodcut of a dragon in the centre. The book is in her father's study and she asks him about it. Here begins the history told orally and through documents of hunting for Vlad Dracula.

The reader is taken to Istanbul, Budabest, Romania and Bulgaria, as well as Amsterdam and France, Greece and Crete. The descriptions are lush and realistic. The reader truly gets a sense of place and culture through Kostova's words.

My friend told me that the last 50 pages were a big payoff for all the time put into the reading. I have to say, however, that I enjoyed the reading. There was only one section where I had to put it down because my mind felt too full of "facts", and I needed a break. I also could have done with out the epilogue, because when the chapter before it ended, I exclaimed out loud, "Oh my God...no way!". Which in my mind is always a great way to end a book!

Apparently reviews are running either hot or cold. All I can say is that I enjoyed this book tremendously and have been recommending it to my friends.

Out of Order

So, I have been trolling the arcs I got at BookExpo looking for reads that may be appropriate for the younger tween set. Since I am due to have a kid in 3 weeks or so, I am trying to get as much reading in as possible. I have a presentation to make in October on the tween subject, and I know how quickly time will pass, and how little sleep I will be operating on once this kiddo arrives.

So I picked up Out of Order, by Betty Hicks.

I had never read this author before, but the cover is appealing and the publisher recommendation (which I know tends to run low), says ages 8-12. I am really looking for some newer stuff for the 8-10 range.

I was pleasantly surprised. This book is presented in 4 voices. The voices are of the kids in the now blended family. We have Parker, the youngest, who now wants to be referred to as "Mud Boy". Then we have Lily...former oldest, now second youngest. She used to be opinionated, but now that she has older stepsisters and brothers she is shutting down. Then there is "V". "V" is for Vanessa...dad's fav (or at least former fav) who is a girlie girl, smart and Lily's nemesis. Then there is Eric...the aspiring writer who can't seem to get out of his dead brother's shadow.

This is a blended family story that isn't too preachy or too sappy. Younger readers will get into the sibling dynamics as well as the rock, paper, scissors theme, and older readers will enjoy the issues that are effecting both Eric and V. The content is totally appropriate for the younger reader, and the voices of the characters ring true.

I read this arc in a day, and I really did enjoy it. I know that I will be recommending it to the occasional 3rd grader and well as 4th graders at my school.

The Orpheus Obsession

I try to get everyone that I know to read Johnny Vodoo, by Dakota Lane. It was one of the books that I read while I was a YA librarian in a public library, and it totally captured me. The essence of Louisiana, as well as Johnny himself just drew me in quickly and kept me there the whole time. Imagine my surprise when my fellow librarian Karyn told me that Lane's newest book had just been nominated for BBYA.

Jen and Karyn just got the book in, and I had the pleasure of reading it over the past couple of days.

I wasn't quite sure what to think at first. I kept Johnny Voodoo too close to my mind and this is a very different book. I couldn't help thinking of Francesca Lia Block when I started to read about Anooshka and her sister Moon. The story starts with a very trippy sojourn to Brighton Beach culminating in a chance meeting with rock star Orpheus while he is on a photo shoot. Originally Moon had introduced Anooshka to his music, and Anooshka ends up struck by Orpheus in a way that develops into the type of obsession that only teen girls can cultivate.

We watch Anooshka fall for, follow, and enter Orpheus' world. Is she the angel that he tells her she is, or simply another delusional, teen fan that would make for an easy lay?

The language is poetic, and true to form, Lane's descriptions are lush and leave the reader with a real sensory feeling of being there. I feel like I have a real picture of Moon and of Anooshkas's friends, as well as the East Villiage through Anooshka's eyes. It's just Anooshka herself that remains partly mysterious to me.

To Kill A Mockingbird

I know, I know. "How could you never have read To Kill a Mockingbird?"

My stock answer is, "I'm Canadian. Have you read Fifth Business?" That usually will stop them in their tracks.

I try to read at least one classic a summer, and since I am working in an American school now, I thought, I had better bone up on my American Classics. So I polled some colleagues of mine, and once TKAM came up, everyone said that was the one that I had to read.

Boy I'm glad that I did.

There is no real reason to give any plot synopsis since it seems like everyone has read it, but wow. A friend at work said to me, "Atticus Finch is the perfect man", and I am inclined to agree. Scout, Jem and Dil are all such authentic characters, as is the illusive Boo Radley. We all had a Boo on our streets growing up, didn't we? Our street definately had a haunted house with a mean old lady living inside. Noone went there on Hallowe'en except on a dare.

It only took me two days to read Mockingbird simply because the story was so compelling. Eventhough as an adult, I knew what was going to happen, I kept hoping that the ending would turn out differently. Amazing writing.

So if any of you out there would like to recommend an American classic to me, feel free to post a comment.