Ballad

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Katy K.

BalladBallad by Maggie Stiefvater.
Ballad returns us to the characters Stiefvater introduced us to in Lament. It feels more like a linked novel than a continuation of the series, though. Things have been extremely awkward between James and Dierdre because of the events of the last book, so she and James aren’t really talking. We get her point of view in ghostly texts that she types to him but never sends. They are both now attending Thornking Ash, the high school for extremely musically gifted high school students that they were invited to after doing so well at the music competition that opened the first book. James, both hurt by her lack of contact and understanding that she’s going through a hard time, scrambles alone to fit in at the new school. He runs into a roadblock right away: there are no advanced bagpipe teachers at the school. On his way back from a failed lesson, he meets Nuala, a sidhe who must feed off of the inspiration of artists and musicians to survive. While she tells him the partial truth that accepting her help will give him a boost that will bring immortal fame, he’s savvy enough with the realm of fairy to know that the catch – whatever it might be – isn’t something he’s willing to risk. Nevertheless, they find themselves attracted to each other, in a romance that’s especially bittersweet knowing that Nuala is essentially starving herself to stay with James. As if that weren’t enough to deal with, James realizes that Thornking Ash lies in the path taken by Cernunnos, the Horned King, and that he isn’t the only student drawn by the haunting songs. The Fairy Queen is also up to new mischief, and while James may not know what’s going on with Dierdre, we as readers know from her increasingly desperate if cryptic texts that something is going badly wrong. James will need the slightly unexpected help of his English teacher, Mr. Sullivan, as well as his very ordinary seeming roommate to solve the mysteries before it’s too late for both Nuala and Dierdre.

It’s boarding school fantasy! (see also Harry Potter, Hex Hall, Beswitched, White Cat, and Gunnerkrigg Court) And while I enjoyed Lament greatly, I have to say that even though this book has more bagpipes than harps (not that I have anything against bagpipes, really!), there’s an added depth to this book. Both Nuala and James have more developed, nuanced characters than Dierdre and Luke. Music, magic and school integrate perfectly in a book that just confirms Stiefvater’s position as one of my favorite current authors.

And a note: once, in the author interview after an audiobook, Maggie Stiefvater said that she could never again tell people in Germany that she plays the bagpipes, because the German word for bagpipe is “Dudelsack”. I myself have always thought that “Dudelsack” was a fun word, but also that this linguistic disparity is evened out by the poor hurdy-gurdy being elevated to the much more dignified-sounding “Drehorgel” or “turn organ” in German. But maybe that’s easy for me to say as I don’t play either instrument.

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Golden Girl

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Katy K.

Hello, dear readers! Some year, I might be coordinated enough to write reviews and schedule them for posting while I’m on vacation, or even line up guest posts. This year was not that year, however. But I’m back, and ready to try to catch up. And I’m posting this a little late to the Kid Lit Blog Hop.

You might have noticed this cover popping up more than once in my lists of books I’ve been waiting to read. (Isn’t it a gorgeous cover?) I’ve been a Sarah Zettel fan for over a decade now, and really loved last year’s Dust Girl. I went right to my closest book store to buy it as soon as I’d saved up enough money… [Insert rant about big box bookstores not carrying book with starred reviews in major literary publications by established local authors here.] So I read the library’s copy, as usual, and will try the inconvenient but locally run bookstore in the next town over.

Golden GirlGolden Girl. American Fairies book 2. by Sarah Zettel.

In the last book, our heroine Callie, half black, half white, half fairy and half human, first learned of her fairy heritage and that she was wanted – not in a good way – by both the Seelie and the Unseelie courts. At the start of this book, Callie and her friend Jack have just arrived in Hollywood, which they have deduced is the home of the Seelie Court, in hopes of rescuing both of Callie’s parents from them. She meets her Uncle Shake, who would have been heir to the Unseelie Throne instead of her father if plans had gone more smoothly before Callie was born. He’s as selfish as he ever was, but can Callie believe him that helping her is now in his best interests? Through Jack’s job for a big studio, they meet Ivy Bright, “the brightest little star in Hollywood,” who is puzzlingly surrounded by magic.

This is the Golden Age of Hollywood, and Golden Girl mixes Fairy and Hollywood magic. It’s not clear that Callie really knew any Black people in her tiny Kansas hometown, but she was surely exposed to a lot of prejudice against Blacks in Dust Girl. Here, by contrast, she gets her first seductive experience of sophisticated Black culture. It includes intriguing glimpses of true larger-than-life characters William Hearst (who also plays a role in Goliath and whose castle near Hollywood I visited during my Up With People year) and Paul Robeson, a blues singer and civil rights activist I’d never heard of before. As Callie is trying to figure out how to outwit the fairies on both sides, he delivers the line that seems to me to be the heart of the book:

“It’s not about who they are,” he told me with that same implacable, unbreakable calm that had kept his anger from my magic. “It is never about who they are. It’s about who you are. ”

Besides the many interesting supporting characters, I was very pleased to see Callie grow as well, gaining skills with people and her magic. There’s plenty going on in the plot, as well, with narrow escapes from appropriately terrifying unnatural beings, as well as difficulties in hiding magic from humans. I know I keep talking about books that have things to think about – but maybe I need to mention, too, that while thoughts are good, I’m looking for a story with meaning, not a Message with a story draped awkwardly around it. This definitely and happily falls into the first category. It’s marketed for teens, and while Callie is a teen, I still haven’t seen anything to make this inappropriate for older middle grade kids – there’s some violence including death, but still less than, say, Percy Jackson, and the romance is still mostly just a hint for the future. Everything comes together in a highly satisfactory way, with enough plot resolution to end the book while leaving room for the final installment of the trilogy. And now, back to waiting. Maybe I should read both of them again while I’m waiting.

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Return to Cardamom Blog Tour

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Katy K.

Return to Cardamom Blog Tour

I am very happy today to be taking part in the official Blog Tour to celebrate the launch of Julie Anne Grasso’s second book, Return to Cardamom. Julie is one of the hostesses of the Kid Lit Blog Hop which I often participate in, and a regular and very sweet visitor here.  Be sure to scroll all the way down to the bottom for the link to the Rafflecopter giveaway for this book!

Return to Cardamom. Adventures of Caramel Cardamom Book 2. by Julie Anne Grasso.
Caramel Cardamom is the twelve-year-old pizza-delivering, scooter-riding, amateur sleuth, princess and elf for whom this series is named. Having saved the day and stopped the evil Alexander222 and her aunt Isabel in the first book, Caramel thought she would be free to resume her healer training and regular consumption of sticky caramel date cake. But when she hears that something has frightened the cardamom trees so much that they drop all of the precious cardamom pods upon which the economy of the entire planet is based, Caramel immediately suspects that they’ve come back. Unfortunately, none of the adults believe her, even when Cardamom’s position in the Interplanetary Council is threatened. Once again, it’s up to Caramel to save the day – with help from her best friends Jemm and Jorde. And once Cardamom and the cardamom crop have been saved, the villain pulls out his revenge, which puts the people of Earth in danger.

Caramel’s character is an interesting blend of super abilities and shortcomings. On the one hand, she’s the only one who can figure out many of the problems in the book, figuring out how to reassure the frightened trees, tracking down the villains, and figuring out how to stop them. On the other, she’s a special needs child, with a leg that so badly injured in childhood that it is still painful and restricts her movement. As the mother of a special-needs child, I very much appreciated having a heroine with physical restrictions who still finds a way to do everything she wants. Grasso’s elves, with their love for sweet, sticky treats, seem in general to be more closely related to the branded treat-baking variety than Tolkien, and use variations on the word “elf” in their general speech much as Strawberry Shortcake uses “berry”. Their world is a mix of modern-seeming technology and magic, with wrist comm units and detectors on buildings that identify elves by scent on the modern side, and trees that will re-grow fruit or grow buildings in response to the prompting of tree-tenders. The very cute comes together with the serious in a story that involves sabotage, chronic diseases and kidnapping, as well as a touch of gentle pre-teen romance. The chapters often end with dire foreboding of things to come, lending a classic pulp feeling to the book. Return to Cardamom is an enthusiastic tale of an impulsive and gifted child who saves the day in spite of restrictions from her own body as well as villainy.

About Return to Cardamom

Return to Cardamom by Julie Anne Grasso

Title: Return to Cardamom (Caramel Cardamom Trilogy, Book #2)

Author: Julie Anne Grasso

Publisher: Independent

Publication Date: July 17, 2013

Pages: 136 (Paperback)

Recommended Age: 9+

Summary: Life is sweet for Caramel and things are finally getting back to normal. Well, as normal as it can be for a telepathic elf who can train trees and control computers, but she soon finds life on Cardamom is not all cupcakes and apple cider. A saboteur is hiding in the rainforest canopy, and the elves’ precious cardamom export has been wiped out. Caramel is certain it’s another trick of Alexander222 and her Aunt Isabel, but no one will believe her, and the clock is ticking. She must expose the saboteur in time to save the crop or the Elves of Cardamom will lose their livelihood. Caramel won’t rest until her theory is proven. While she is on the hunt, she makes a shocking discovery, one that will change everything.

Purchase

Amazon (US) * Amazon (UK) * Amazon (Canada)

The Buzz About Book 1: Escape From the Forbidden Planet

Escape from the Forbidden Planet by Julie Anne Grasso“Julie Anne Grasso has created an action-packed story featuring a range of interesting and imaginative characters (i.e., elves, the Alexanders, and other creatures), intergalactic travel, advanced medical and scientific technology, and complex environmental and conservation issues. Escape From the Forbidden Planet contains an intricate plot which slowly unfolds until you’re hooked and you are left on the edge of your proverbial seat wondering what will happen next.” ~ Mother Daughter Book Reviews, 5 Stars

“It’s part geeky, part science, and part fun, all brought together to become this awesome book called Escape From The Forbidden Planet. I would recommend this book to reading age kids and adults who like sci-fi kids books. Definitely something different. I really enjoyed reading it!” ~ Michael S., Amazon, 5 Stars

“I loved this book. Super great series for middle graders. I loved Caramel. She has a great attitude and determination. I really admired how she was focused on getting home, saving her family but also made the best of being stuck on an alien planet. Definitely a book with great role models for kids. I really hope there is more to come where this came from. Kids need books like this with catchy stories, solid characters who have good values that they can relate to.” ~ Unorthodox Mama, Goodreads, 5 Stars.

*** Get your FREE COPY of Escape From the Forbidden Planet by Julie Anne Grasso July 17 to 21, 2013. Available for 99 cents after July 21, 2013. ***

Amazon (US) * Amazon (UK) * Amazon (Canada)

About the Author

Julie Grasso - Author Julie Anne Grasso is an Australian author with a background in paediatric nursing. She spent many years literally wrapping children in cotton wool. Every day she witnessed great courage and resilience from the tiny people she cared for, which inspired her to write stories about a little girl elf just like them. Add in some very funky technology, her love of science fiction and desire to impart great values through her little girl elf named Caramel and there you have it, the Adventures of Caramel Cardamom Trilogy was the result.

Julie lives in Melbourne with her husband Danny and their little elf Giselle. Most days she can be found sipping chai lattes, chasing a toddler, and dreaming up wonderful worlds that often involve consumption of cupcakes.

Book Website: http://www.julieannegrassobooks.com/

Author Blog: WhenIgrowupIwannawriteakidsbook

Facebook page: Julie Anne Grasso Books

Twitter: @Jujuberry37

Goodreads Author: Julie Anne Grasso

Return to Cardamom Blog Tour Schedule (2013)

July 17

Mother Daughter Book Reviews (Launch & Review)

The Wise Owl Factory Book a Day (Review)

Jemima Pett (Review)

July 18

Amanda’s Books and More (Review)

Tales of a Bookworm (Review)

InkSpired: A Blog (Review)

July 19

Sher-A-Hart (Review)

This Kid Reviews Books (Review)

July 20

Fiona Ingram (Review)

swlothian | author (Review)

A Library Mama (Review)

July 21

Imagineer – ing (Book Spotlight)

Stanley and Katrina (Review)

July 22

Published Bestsellers (Author Interview)

The Jenny Evolution (Review)

July 23

Word Spelunking (Guest Post)

Stitch Says (Author Interview)

July 24

Nik’s Picks Book Reviews (Review)

R.K. Grow- reading.writing.blogging. (Author Interview)

Diane Estrella @That’s What I’m Here For… (Review)

July 25

Guiltless Reading (Review)

July 26

Kid Lit Reviews (Review)

BeachBoundBooks (Review)

July 27

Mel’s Shelves (Review)

Learning and Growing the Piwi Way (Review)

July 28

My Devotional Thoughts (Author Interview)

Daisha Korth Books (Review)

July 29

Fiona Ingram (Author Interview)

Published Bestsellers (Review)

Bookworm for Kids (Review)

July 30

Nayu’s Reading Corner (Guest Post)

Stitch Says (Review)

July 31

Cheryl Carpinello’s Writing Pages (Guest Post)

Nayu’s Reading Corner (Review)

Barbara Ann Mojica’s Blog (Review)

*** Return to Cardamom Blog Tour Giveaway ***

Return to Cardamom by Julie Anne GrassoAmazon $50 Gift Card

Prize: One winner will receive a copy (print in U.S./Canada & e-copy interntionally) + a $50 Amazon gift card or PayPal cash

Contest runs: July 17th to August 7th, 11:59 pm, 2013

Open: WW

How to enter: Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.

Terms and Conditions: A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send us an email!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Primates

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Katy K.

It’s KidLit Blog Hop Day! Please hop on over and take a look at all the other wonderful things up on other blogs.

Kid Lit Blog Hop

PrimatesPrimates: the Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Biruté Galdikas. by Jim Ottaviani and Maris Wicks.
I’ve mentioned before that Jim Ottaviani is a friend of a friend (that friend being Dave over at Yet Another Comics Blog) I’ve met him a couple of times – he’s a super nice guy, as well as being a librarian and author of science comics. I am always excited to see his new books, even if I’m not sure where to put them. In this case, I bought it for the adult graphic novel collection, because that’s the one I buy for, even though everyone else seems to be assuming that it belongs in youth or teen. Such are the problems of buying graphic novels, which are often not marketed to specific ages the way regular books are.

But on to the book! It covers, in order, the careers of three famous primatologists. I’d heard of Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey growing up, but first heard of Biruté Galdikas when I read Ottaviani’s Dignifying Science, which has stories of many less well known women scientists. This book is one that I read through in a single sitting at work when I was just supposed to be writing the call number in it, yet it’s packed full of information. I felt like I’d learned a whole lot more about all three women as people as well as about their scientific careers and the kind of work that goes into doing first-hand research on how primates live. All three of these women were hand-selected by Louis Leakey to do research on primates (he believed that women had more of the quiet patience needed for years of observation), though they’d all approached him because of their interest in primates. I was amused at how Leakey told both Fossey and Galdikas that they should have their appendixes out before going to live in the wild, and the different reactions the two of them had to this. With words as minimal as this, the art contributes a lot to the feeling of the book. Wicks’ drawings are both straightforward and expressive, conveying the different personalities of the three women as well as the different places and creatures they researched. This is a great introduction to three (four?) scientists everyone should know, told with energy and feeling.

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Wednesdays in the Tower

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Katy K.

I was lucky enough not to read Tuesdays at the Castle when it first came out, only because I then didn’t have too long to wait for the sequel to come out.

Wendesdays in the TowerWednesdays in the Tower by Jessica Day George.
Back in the magical Castle Glower, Princess Celie is ushered to a tower with an egg, and from the egg hatches a Griffin. But it won’t let her tell people about the baby Griffin – her oldest brother Bran, the wizard, is allowed to find out, but doors are slammed or items dropped down the chimney any time Celie comes close to telling anyone else about it. She is able, though, to do some research into the castle’s history with griffins with her brother Rolf, the heir. Sister Lilah still plays a relatively minor role, though her would-be sweethearts from the last book still important. Pogue the blacksmith’s son turns out to have more thoughtful ambitions, while Prince Lulath teaches the children his native language of Grathian. Meanwhile, the royal family has sent away to the College of Wizards for a wizard to see why the Castle keeps adding rooms, without taking any away, which it used to do. The wizard who comes, Wizard Arkwright, isn’t one that Bran recognizes, and seems decidedly shifty. Once again, it’s up to the children to protect their castle.

Somehow this book, while still a fine story, didn’t strike me as just perfect in the same way that the last one did. I liked the baby Griffin just fine, and hanging out with the children. But the castle, which had a special bond with Celie in the first book, here doesn’t seem as much of a character as just an enigma. The adults in charge are mostly clueless, not absent or nefarious. Neither the kids nor the kingdom are in as much danger as they were in the first book, so that it was somewhat less exciting, even if it did end on a cliffhanger. But – there’s still plenty of adventure and slightly less perfect is still quite good. I’ll gladly keep reading the series, and recommend it very much for younger middle grade fantasy readers, especially those with a fondness for griffins.

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Goliath

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Katy K.

Here is the audiobook that I spent much of the 48 Hour Book Challenge listening to, though it took me another couple weeks to actually finish it. It’s also the last book in a series that I started two years ago and had missed the third book in waiting for it to come out.

GoliathGoliath by Scott Westerfeld. Read by Alan Cumming.
This is (as I was saying) the last book in the alternate-history Leviathan trilogy. Deryn and Dillon are travelling around the world in the Leviathan, trying to stop World War I. As they journey from the Ottoman Empire (where the second book, Behemoth, was set), they stop in Russia to take on board the mad inventor Tesla. Tesla claims to have invented a weapon so powerful that it will prevent all future wars, and the Leviathan is sent first to Japan and then to New York to help Tesla demonstrate the weapon. Along the way, Alek and Deryn have encounters with several more famous people, including Hearst, Pancho Villa, and a famous real-life lady reporter. There’s the steady tension of trying to prevent the war and the horrific damage that a real demonstration of Tesla’s weapon, Goliath, could cause, as well as regular exciting incidents throughout. Goliath follows the pattern set in the first book in making the characters and the setting as strong as the plot. Both of our main characters must look seriously at their future careers and personal lives. Deryn has been falling in love with Alek for a while, but it is only partway through this book that he finally learns that his best friend is a girl. And what future is there on the one hand for a prince in exile whose people don’t currently support him and whose potential throne is threatened by war? What future for a girl who will no longer be able to pretend that she is a boy when she is old enough to need to look like a man? The reflections on politics and the nature of love and friendship are never allowed to get depressing, and the presence of the Perspicacious Lorises, two adorable yet incredible intelligent engineered animals, lightens things still further. And while Alek is by nature a more serious person, Deryn is light-hearted and free-spirited, even when dealing with the serious issues that come up here. I tend to hear some of Deryn’s signature phrases, like “barking spiders,” spoken in a Scottish accent, frequently around the house whenever people are listening to this book.

So there is finally (spoiler!) some romance in this book, but nothing to offend or to turn off male readers. I’d written in my first review that it’s marketed as a teen title, but that I didn’t find anything to make it inappropriate to younger readers. I can now report that the series doesn’t get any worse in terms of violence or sex – there is some violence, more discussion of the implications of the large-scale casualties involved in war, and a very middle-grade appropriate romance. My eight-year-old (who seems to prefer older middle-grade to teen books for his listening) loved this series to the point that I’ve had to come in to his room at my bedtime to tell him to turn off the audiobook. It works very well as an audiobook. Alan Cumming is adept at doing different voices and accents for at least the main characters – officers of the same rank and nationality end up sounding a little similar, but I can live with that. While he’s good at European accents, I found his American accents a little grating – but as the American characters were also somewhat grating, that also didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the book. I am always on the look-out for books and series that will appeal to both genders, and this series does have strong cross-gender as well as multi-aspect (plot, character, and setting) appeal.

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The Sign of the Black Rock and The Captive Prince

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Katy K.

The Sign of the Black RockThe Sign of the Black Rock. Three Thieves Book 2. by Scott Chantler.
The Captive Prince. Three Thieves Book 3. by Scott Chantler.
My son and I are continuing with this series and still having a great time. Dessa, Fisk and Topper are still on the run from the Queen’s Dragons and searching for Dessa’s kidnapped brother. In Book 2, The Sign of the Black Rock, they wind up taking shelter at the same inn as the Dragons during a storm. Naturally, exciting chases and near escapes result, and they are given a clue to help in the search for Dessa’s brother. We get to see more of the Captain of the Dragons, who continues to be an honorable man even though we want him to fail in his mission.

In book 3, Dessa finds a boy her age tied up, clearly being kidnapped by two ruffians. When she frees him, she discovers that Paladin is a prince. He’s smitten with his rescuer, and insists on taking all The Captive Princethree of them home to meet his parents. While the king isn’t nearly so taken with them – days on the run not being conducive to making one look respectable – a royal feast is declared in their honor. Dessa and Paladin are both taken with each other, attracted by a mutual love of books and by their attraction to the other’s lifestyle. Dessa envies Paladin’s safe home and loving parents, while Paladin yearns for Dessa’s perceived life of freedom and adventure. Meanwhile, Topper and Fisk urge Dessa to leave again as soon as possible, before the posters where they’re pictured as the prince’s rescuers wind up posted next to the “wanted by the Queen” posters from the next kingdom over.

I’d had a completely unfounded expectation that the series was a trilogy, but was left hanging again. The adventures are just as fun, with added character development, especially for Dessa and Fisk. It could be that Chantler is taking more than just the action sequences from classic films, in following their penchant for stories with cliffhanger endings that never truly wrap up. In the second book, there’s a clue as to which direction to go, but they aren’t actually able to go there. In the third book, Paladin promises to help in the search for Dessa’s brother, while they once again don’t get to do much in the way of actual searching. Do we mind? We do not. The books are still great adventure, with words and pictures both essential to the story. We only mind that we’re now stuck waiting for the next volume to be published. I still think that this is a great graphic novel series to give to both boys and girls, with adventure and silliness for both genders, plus the strong female lead and a hint of budding romance for added girl appeal.

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Lament

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Katy K.

I was just run over by a herd of savage library teens, but will do my best to do justice to this book. This is more of me trying to catch up, in this case with Maggie Stiefvater, who’s now one of my Top Favorite Authors.

LamentLament by Maggie Stiefvater.
Dierdre is a talented young teen, playing competition-level traditional Irish music on the lever harp. (Did I mention that I am just learning to play the lever harp myself? I love Dierdre just for being a lever harp player. I love Stiefvater even more for being a harp player herself, but she only ever talks about the bagpipes online.) Her best friend James plays equally well on the bagpipes. But on the day that we meet them, Dierdre steps outside to calm her nerves just before playing the big state competition, and meets the charming and good-looking Luke. He’s there with his wooden flute. In just the few minutes that it takes for them to try a duet, Luke has Dierdre playing better than she’s ever played before. She changes her entry from solo to duet, and off they go, taking the championship.

Only, it turns out, not so great after all, because her spectacular playing has brought Dierdre to the attention of the Faeries, who are intensely jealous of her talent. And she finds out that she has more magical talents – talents that both draw the Faeries to her and that they do not like humans to have. She and Luke begin a forbidden romance – forbidden because Luke is a human enslaved by the Faery Queen, who naturally takes a dim view of fraternizing with the enemy. The plot gets more complicated, entangling James and Dierdre’s beloved Granna as well her ever-critical Aunt Delia. Everything will come to a head by the Summer Solstice, when the border between the mortal and the Faery worlds is at its thinnest. (It was quite accidental, but I read this over the Summer Solstice, which was just perfect.)

This was Stiefvater’s first published novel (why, why do I check Wikipedia to confirm this when I have only 25 minutes to write a review???), and it looks like the third and final book in the series is slated to be published sometime this year. So maybe, I say, trying to be properly critical, it feels a tad less polished than her later books. Maybe. But this business of teen musicians and faeries woven together is so very much my thing that I couldn’t complain. Yes, Dierdre got herself into trouble more than once by not letting people finish explaining themselves, but this seems to be endemic to teenagers in general. And in any case, Stiefvater isn’t pulling any punches with the story. Dierdre may win the day, but it’s not tidy and not everyone we care about comes through. In short, I was sucked in completely, and went straight on to the next book.

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Barefoot Pirate

Posted on July 6, 2013 by Katy K.

Sorry for the radio silence, friends! It’s been crazy days, including one day home with a sick kid. So I’m posting late but it’s still Kidlit Blog Hop week – happy hopping!

Kid Lit Blog Hop

Have any of you e-book reading readers heard of Book View Café? It’s an author collaborative where 95% of e-book sales go to the author. I first discovered them a few years ago, when I found that the last book in Sarah Zettel’s Arthurian quartet, previously only available in the UK (from an author who lives in my town! The outrage!), was available as an ebook. I went back recently and bought this book (based mostly on the cover) just to have something fun to read with my eight-year-old boy on my e-reader.

Barefoot PirateBarefoot Pirate by Sherwood Smith.
Joe Robles is just about to pull an intriguing-looking book off the shelf of his school library when he notices another hand on the same book. Joe wins the brief struggle, but promises his classmate, Nan, to read it right away and give it to her the next day. Both kids are entranced with the premise: the book tells the story of Blackeye the pirate, the daughter of sailors killed by an evil regent. Rather than giving up, she founds her own pirate band to fight the evil in power. But the prince is drugged by the regent and held captive in a tower enchanted so that no person from that world could get in to free him. It concludes with instructions for the readers of the book to magically transport themselves to Blackeye’s world and join the fight. (The magical book reminded me pleasantly of Diane Duane’s So You Want to Be a Wizard, without being so similar as to feel unoriginal.)

Of course both children want to go, but before they do, we learn more about Nan and Joe. Nan is a red-headed foster child. Abandoned at a young age, she’s been shunted from one foster house to another, worked hard, never given enough to eat, and always a target for bullies at school as well. Joe is a middle child with overly busy parents, stuck constantly defending his younger brother from their older sisters’ teasing. Joe himself has come under fire from his former best friend for still caring about pretend games and fantasy books and feels like he doesn’t fit in anywhere, either. Joe feels slightly guilty for leaving his younger brother, but both kids want more than anything to escape to the world described in the book.

Once they get to the other world, they find themselves part of the motley kid’s resistance movement. The gang here is clearly diverse, including a centaur as well as several shades of human kids, though there were enough of them, and with similar enough names, that I had difficulty keeping them all straight. Joe and Nan, though, are busy trying to figure out why the book thought they would be useful enough to come over, and what skills they might possibly bring to the group. The two of them weren’t friends in our world, and the magical journey together doesn’t make them instantly trust each other. There’s a lot of character depth, even as the group is engaged in the expected training, spying, evading capture, and the final release of the prince. And following that – what will they do once their job in Blackeye’s world is done? Barefoot Pirate is a solidly middle grade book with enough action to keep my son engaged combined with enough in the way of character and meatiness for me to enjoy it.

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Fearless

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Katy K.

Another series up to date! Am I on a roll or what?

FearlessFearless. Mirrorworld Book 2. by Cornelia Funke
I had to switch to reading in print only because my library didn’t have the next book on audio. This is the second book in the series, and so has spoilers for the first book. In the first book, Jacob Reckless succeeded in breaking the curse on his brother, but the cost was a curse that gives him a maximum of one year to live. Naturally, he hasn’t been able to tell this to anyone – not his brother and Clara, back in our world, nor yet his best friend Fox in the Mirrorworld. After all, there’s a cure for everything in the Mirrorworld. At the very beginning of this book, he tries two separate magical remedies, each more dangerous than the last, and the last ones his mentor can think of, but nothing works. Now it’s on to the very last resort, the mythical Witch Slayer’s crossbow. The major mythic power is that of being able to kill any enemy, no matter how large, but Jacob has pieced together a less common myth, and hopes that if it’s shot at him by someone who loves him, it will save his life instead. Now he must share his secret with Fox. But they must also keep their goal as secret as possible, because the politics of the Mirrorworld are not peaceful, and no monarch would hesitate to use the crossbow to wipe out an entire opponent’s army, or perhaps even entire nations. The most famous of all Goyl treasure hunters, Nerron, known as the Bastard, is also in on the search for the crossbow. The narrative is split between Jacob, Fox, and Nerron, so we know that Nerron is doing just as well with the search as Fox and Jacob (if not better), and there is every chance of Nerron letting them find part of what they need and snatching it from them before the end. Additionally, Jacob is given a business card in our world with just a name on it, Erl King. This made my skin all creepy crawly, because of the classic Goethe poem, but Jacob doesn’t recognize the name, and while the card gives Jacob the occasional message, the mystery is never resolved.

As in the previous book, it’s a dark yet beautiful world, and the stakes are higher than ever. It’s one narrow escape after another, and what keeps it from being a simple adrenaline/horror rollercoaster is the effort Funke puts both into the world and the characters. It’s clear why Jacob loves the Mirrorworld, and would keep returning to it even if he weren’t currently working to save his life. The taut relationship between Fox and Jacob is also a thing of beauty. Fox was a young girl when she first met Jacob, but she ages more quickly in her fox form, and is now only a little younger than him. There are definite romantic feelings on her side, while Jacob is fighting them, feeling that he needs to keep thinking of Fox as a little sister. Neither of them is in any doubt that the other is the most important person in their world, but the risk of spoiling their friendship if they try to take it to the next level and fail is more than either of them is willing to do. Meanwhile, they are constantly, of necessity, putting the person they love most in the world into danger. Nerron, too, is much more of a sympathetic character than one would expect of a non-human villain. I’m going to hope that there will be more Mirrorworld books, because while the official plot wraps up at the end, there are a lot of ends left hanging, and I want more.

It’s summer reading time, folks. And while for non-librarians, this may conjure up visions of reading on the beach, for me it’s trying to write reviews in between helping 20 or so kids an hour get their latest summer reading prize and find the next book. Fun, but exhausting, and I don’t really trust my sentence-writing ability in these circumstances, so please pardon any mistakes.

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