The Unwritten Vol 1: Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity by Mike Carey and Peter Gross Metafiction! With action! Tommy Taylor is the star of a Harry Potter-like series, only it’s even more popular. And Tommy Taylor is not grateful that his father made the real Tommy Taylor star of a fictional series, making the fictional character close enough to the real that some die-hard fans believe him to be the boy wizard. But his father disappeared years ago under mysterious circumstances, leaving Tommy penniless. Now, suddenly, evidence turns up that Tommy might not really be his father’s son. A young woman calling herself Lizzie Hexam might have some answers – if Tommy can survive that long. While the excerpts of the Tommy Taylor stories as presented don’t seem like they would actually rival Harry Potter, the fiction within fiction and fiction crossing the borders to the real world is fascinating. It’s an exciting story, filled with references to other great works of literature for the discerning reader. Fans of Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next books, which have more humor and less reflection on the capricious nature of fame and fan worship, may enjoy this as well.
Sweater Quest by Adrienne Martini Martini’s last book, 
Foiled by Jane Yolen. Illustrated by Mike Cavallaro Teen-aged Aliera doesn’t really fit in in high school, but she’s an excellent fencer, working towards nationals. She has a new foil that her mother found cheap second-hand, with a huge fake jewel attached to the hilt. She keeps herself busy with the fencing, and with weekly visits to play role-playing games with her wheel-chair bound cousin – cousin Caroline the queen, Aliera her defender. It’s fencing as metaphor for life, at first. Aliera’s fencing master tells her to guard her heart, and she finds the words echoing through her head as she falls for the same cute new guy that every other girl in school is falling for. Typical high school story so far, and it could work fine as just that. But supernatural elements start creeping in: the ravens flying outside the window at first, and then… cut for spoilers. Cavallaro’s sassy artwork is just right, mostly in grey scale with occasional splashes of color. The cover says he “illustrated”, and I wouldn’t be surprised if an established author’s first try at a graphic novel was text with illustrations that show exactly what the text says. Not so here, as there are clues to the story that only show up in the pictures, as well as clever little in-between pictures of fencing while the main pictures and the dialog are verbal sparring. Although the story ends tidily enough, there’s plenty of room for a sequel. I’m hoping. We’ve got this in teen here; there’s nothing inappropriate for younger children, though they might not appreciate the romance. And, like most of Jane Yolen’s work past the dinosaur books, there’s plenty of appeal for adults as well.
Steamed by Katie MacAlister Jack is a computer-ish engineer in the modern era, at work a bit tired from going to a concert by the steampunk* band Airship Pirates the night before. His sister Hallie drops by to inform him that she’s auctioned off a date with him and manages to do something very bad with the materials in his lab. Shortly thereafter, Captain Octavia Pye is quite shocked when her first mate reports two apparently unconscious people in the hold of her airship. Naturally, there is instant attraction between Jack and Captain Pye. There is shock on her part and on that of her crew that he is wearing a shirt that proclaims him to be a pirate. There is disappointment on the part of Jack that, despite the beautifully tailored uniform, Captain Pye insists on wearing her corset underneath her blouse. There are a good number of explosions, chases and escapes relating to Octavia’s secret involvement in an organization trying to overthrow the Empire, all of which is somewhat trying to Jack’s Quaker beliefs. The point of view alternates between Jack and Octavia, Jack speaking in rather foul-mouthed modern vernacular and Octavia in formal Victorian-era language. This is a humorous and light, yet steamy romance, suitable for fans of steam of both the romantic and, um, punk variety.
Simple Isn’t Easy by Olivia Goldsmith and Amy Fine CollinsThis is a book of style, rather than fashion advice. No looking at colors and sillouhettes here; rather, Goldsmith and Collins aim for you to have your closet hold only clothes that you love and look good in. There’s a step-by-step process to help you find what clothes really work on you and for your lifestyle. It really is advice that doesn’t date easily. They err on the European side of fewer, high-quality clothes, already assembled into outfits in the closet. This is an excellent book for people who love to shop and are tempted to come home with clothes that are fun and easy to buy but that don’t work for them. Sadly, I have come to the conclusion that now is not really the time for me to spend money on nice clothes, as I don’t have the money or the time for the process, nor will anything I own stay looking nice past the first wearing just now. However, for those willing to put some up-front effort into developing their own look and wardrobe, this is an excellent choice.
13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison Here’s one that feels good for kids who loved but are now a little old for the Spiderwick Chronicles. Thirteen-year-old Tanya can see fairies and all sorts of magical creatures. Mostly they torture her, creating havoc whenever she writes about her experiences with them in her diary. They’ve made things so bad for her at home that her mother, thinking Tanya is deliberately causing the damage, send her away to her grandmother’s old house in the country. The ancient manor house is now inhabited only by the grandmother, the caretaker, and the caretaker’s father and son, an annoying boy of about Tanya’s age by the name of Fabian. Fabian doesn’t believe in the fairies, but is obsessed with clearing his grandfather’s name, his grandfather long being thought guilty of the murder of his girlfriend at the age of 14 many years ago. Said girlfriend also having been Tanya’s grandmother’s best friend, the web is tightly tangled. Tanya finds many more mysterious things: children regularly disappear in the village; there are secret tunnels under and throughout the manor; her grandmother gives her an ancient charm bracelet with thirteen charms. This was my biggest problem with the book. The thirteen charms are supposed to be the 13 Treasures, belonging to the Fey and representing a struggle between the Seelie and Unseelie courts. However, the mystery, while a perfectly fine one, turns out to be much smaller scale than the epic battle that the story of the 13 Treasures implies. I’d hope for a sequel to explore this tangent more thoroughly, although there didn’t seem to be enough loose ends for me to expect one. Still, the world of fey, some beautiful, some malevolent, with lots of changelings and intrepid kids is an intriguing one that should find many fans.
Beauvallet by Georgette Heyer Heyer has the reputation of being the mistress of romance, perhaps even the mother of the modern romance novel. I must confess that I’d not read anything of hers before now. This is quite different from the modern romance. The modern romance (as I alluded to in my last post about the genre) has very strict rules regarding the characters, the plot outline, and the ending. The point of the modern romance book is building a strong relationship, with setbacks and romantic interludes at regular points along the way. I would say that Heyer breaks nearly all of the rules, except that it’s more likely that they just hadn’t been articulated yet. It is a journey between two people who find themselves highly attracted to each other in the beginning. There is a happy ending. But the middle is quite different, and there are no love scenes. 
A Place to Play by Elizabeth Goodenough This is a collection of ssays and photographs to go with the Michigan Television documentary “Where Do the Children Play?” (which I have not seen.) I found it interesting and somewhat depressing, as it turns out that experts are figuring out what kids need for healthy play, and city planners and parents are giving them exactly the opposite. Kids need to be outside, unsupervised. They need to be able to meet other children without having to be driven to them. They need sticks, rocks and water and to be allowed to get dirty and watch things grow. They need green hidey-holes where they can see and not be seen. This is told in essays by experts from around the world, people who’ve studied play in the past and present, in inner cities and other countries. Perhaps someday we, like Europeans, will have Adventure Playgrounds that more closely match what children need than our climbing structures, and licensed play workers who are trained to facilitate healthy play without controlling it. Perhaps someday we’ll learn to value the creativity that comes with dirt over the neat, ordered play of structured playgrounds and video games. Someday. 
Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots written and illustrated by Sharon Lovejoy This is a book so lovingly written and illustrated that I found myself wanting to try everything suggested. Lovejoy gardened with her own child as he was growing up, and also opened a public children’s garden which has operated for a very long time now. She starts with 20 favorite plants for children, and goes on to garden plans, including the best pizza garden plan I’ve seen (calendula or marigold planted throughout to look like cheese and fend off predators! Plus a slice cut out for path for weeding access.), a fragrant moon garden, a sunflower house, a butterfly garden, a garden of giants, tiny water garden, window boxes, a maze, and more. Each garden comes with a plan, list of materials, instructions for planting and maintenance, and a two-page spread of what to do and look for on your daily walk through the garden. I have seen several of the garden types she talks about in other books, but hers seem to have the extra details that bring a garden up to extraordinary. I could find only two downsides to this book, particular to where I live. First, she’s writing from California (though I see from her 
Gardening with Children by Beth Richardson. Photographs by Lynn Karlin Away from the landscaping, and on to actual gardening techniques with children. Richardson was most specifically concerned with being able to involve her children with the family vegetable garden. This book walks through the process of basic organic gardening including advice for including children at every step of the way (and how big a garden you can realistically expect to do with children and two working parents). Towards the end, there are some plant-specific guides for the ever-popular pizza garden, as well as a couple of ethnic cuisine gardens. I came to the realization a couple of years ago that a) vegetable gardening is more work than we have time for and b) our yard doesn’t have enough sun to grow vegetables anyway, so this was not the right book for us. I realize that I am going against crunchy-living guidelines by admitting this, though, so for those of my readers who do want to grow food with their children, this is for you.-
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