Book Review: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares
by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
9780375866593, Knopf (Random House), $16.99, Pub. Date: October 2010

This was my first foray into the brilliant David Levithan/Rachel Cohn author combo. Yes, I admit it, I never picked up Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (9780375835339) or Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List (9780375844416). Clearly now I'll have to, because I unabashedly LOVED Dash & Lily.

Maybe it's because this is one of the bookiest romances I've ever read. Maybe it's because a lot of the story takes place in The Strand. Maybe it's because you get to experience all the good and all the bad of the holiday (Christmas) season, which is coming up shortly and yes, I've already listened to Christmas carols, so all you purists waiting until December 1st can just ignore that last part. Maybe it's because David Levithan and Rachel Cohn have the incredible talent of making the everyday profound and of showcasing the idealism versus reality that [should] lives in all of us.

Dash is exploring his favorite haunt, The Strand, when he spies a red moleskin notebook on a shelf. He picks it up, opens it, and reads these words:

I've left some clues for you.

If you want them, turn the page.

If you don't, put the book back on the shelf, please.

How many times have I wished for that very thing to happen to me? Haven't we all? To find mystery and adventure and possibly love hidden away in a place that is meaningful to only us (and the 50 million other people who feel the same way, but we won't think about them right now).

Dash follows the clues, and so begins an epistolary adventure in which he and Lily communicate solely by clues in a notebook they hide all over New York, from the madhouse of Macy's and F.A.O. Schwartz in the days leading up to Christmas, to Madame Trousseau's Wax Museum, to the most well-known houses that showcase Christmas lights.

Romantic, yes? But what happens when they meet up? Will they live up to each others' expectations? Or will the person they've created in their heads be too strong for them to allow for the imperfections of the very real human standing in front of them?

Written in alternating chapters between characters & their authors, this is the perfect book to hand to any teen or tween or hell, adult, who needs a little shot of belief in the spirit of love.

Book Review: ABC is for Circus by Patrick Hruby

ABC is for Circus
by Patrick Hruby
9781934429617, Ammo Books, $14.95, Pub. Date: November 2010

Whimsical. Bright. Colorful. Creative. A must-have for a baby or design library.

I realize I haven't reviewed any board books as a stand-alone post,  a gross oversight I'm going to correct beginning with my latest find. For those who stopped by the Odyssey Book Shop while I was Children's Department Manager there, you might have noticed my taste in design work similar to this. Board books featuring the work of Charley Harper and Dwell Studio received front-and-center placement on the board book shelves, while Bruno Munari's ABC picture book was featured on both the picture book shelf and in my own personal library. Now I can add the up-and-coming Patrick Hruby to my list of favorite designers in this vein.

While his artistic influences are clear, Hruby's illustrations in ABC is for Circus are unique, inspired, and delightfully cheerful with a mix of colors and shapes that are both riotous and carefully constructed. I love the clean, crisp geometric shapes among the bursts of color, as well as his use of color against black and white silhouettes. The subject matter is charming, too! Who wouldn't love learning "A is for Acrobats" and "B is for Big Top," but you'll also want to pay attention to "H is for Horses" as they're horses on the carousel (which, believe it or not, is not featured for the letter "C"). I think my favorite is "N is for Nighttime" because I love the switch of a colorful starry background with the Ferris Wheel silhouette layered on top.

Run to your nearest independent bookstore to grab your copy in late October/early November.

To find out more about Patrick Hruby, visit his website here.
Check out ABC is for Circus at the Ammo Books website.
Befriend Patrick Hruby Illustration on Facebook.
Read a great review of his artwork in general on My Love For You Is A Stampede of Horses.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me preview this book!

Book Review: Matched

Matched 
by Ally Condie
9780525423645, $17.99, Dutton Books (Penguin), Pub. Date: November 2010 

Matched was fascinating. It had a slow start, but kept me intrigued, and gathered momentum until I was reading at full gallop toward the end of the first book of what is obviously a new series.

Cassia Maria Reyes lives in the Society: a perfect futuristic society created out of the ashes of a society much like ours today. Food is prepared in individually-specific packages, jobs are carefully assigned to those for whom they would best suit, and at 17-years-old, Matches are selected for romantic partnership. During Cassia's Match Banquet, she is unexpectedly Matched with someone she already knows - her best friend, Xander. Highly unusual, yet not unwelcome, Cassia is pleased to be Matched with someone she feels so comfortable with.

Even though she already knows everything about him, a few days after the banquet, Cassia puts the information data stick given to her into the home computer to learn all about Xander. After she scrolls through all of his information, another screen pops up. This screen holds a second match for Cassia. It is also a boy she knows. A boy named Ky.

The Officials have caught the mistake and they attempt to do damage control. Cassia can tell no one. The faulty data stick is destroyed. But that glance at a second face has Cassia imagining a different life than the one she is living every day. She feels a connection to Ky now, and though Ky has no idea she saw his face, he seems to feel a connection for her too.

In a perfectly controlled Society, emotions such as love are not allowed to enter into any equation, as they rarely determine what is best for anybody. But Cassia has something inside her, a feeling, a spirit, an emotion, of independence, of rebellion, of fighting for her right to choose her Match for love. But the Society sees all. It knows all. And it orchestrates all. How can one 17-year-old girl take on the whole Society and win?

Cassia's story is well-told, with layers carefully built upon each other. By the end of the book, my interest in these characters was complete. The beginning only seemed sluggish because I didn't understand why all the elements were important to mention, but Condie does a great job of picking up those snippets and tying them together at the end. I'm excited to read more of Cassia & Ky's story.

Book Review: Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord

Touch Blue 
by Cynthia Lord
9780545035316, Scholastic, $16.99, Pub Date: August 2010 

This book is a departure from my usual reading fare. It was a conscious choice - I've been reading so much fantasy lately, I wanted something with a little touch of reality.

Touch Blue is a quick, quiet, and utterly delightful middle grade novel perfect for a New England summer read. Tess Brooks and her family live year-round on an island off the coast of Maine. Her father is a fisherman, her mother, a school teacher. Their way of life is threatened when the state of Maine decrees there are too few children to continue operating the island school. The island families decide to become foster parents, simultaneously giving good homes to children in need and adding enough children to the island to (hopefully) keep the school open.

The storyline follows Tess and her family as they welcome 13-year-old, trumpet-playing Aaron. Tess and her younger sister are so excited to have a friend (possibly an older brother?), and can't understand it when Aaron doesn't return their enthusiasm. Aaron's been bounced around from home-to-home, and still has some secret, contact with his mother. Can this city born-and-bred skittish boy accept the warmth, humor, and lifestyle of the island folks?

What I loved most about this book is that while it can certainly be used as an "issue" novel - as in, hand it to a child as a gentle introduction to what being a foster child can be like - Cynthia Lord has crafted a touching slice-of-life tale of love, family, and lobstering in Maine.

Book Review: Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters by Lesley M.M. Blume

Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters

by Lesley M.M. Blume

Paperback: 9780440421108, Yearling (Random House), $6.50
Hardcover: 9780375835230, Knopf (Random House), $15.95

This post was originally published here in May 2008. It has been edited from its original version.

A quick little review for you of a fantastic book I just plucked off the shelf. Another one of those "read a book for its cover" moments that paid off handsomely.

This was a fabulous read! I was pleasantly surprised to find the content reflected both the title and the cover art. This book reminds me of A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, except, you know, shorter, updated, and the storyline is a different. 

Cornelia is the only child of two famous pianists. She's never met her father, and her mother is always off traveling to some foreign part of the world giving piano concerts (hence the orphan-like existence of Sara Crewe). People, especially adults, often relate to Cornelia only as this famous woman's daughter, not as Cornelia herself. As a result, Cornelia spends a lot of her time alone reading books, especially dictionaries, coming up with longer and longer words to use to get people (especially her well-intentioned but nosy housekeeper, Madame Desjardins) to stop talking to her. When a new neighbor moves in across the hall, this famous Somerset sister opens up new worlds of adventure and imagination for Cornelia, with the unexpected improvement of Cornelia's happiness along the way. 

A must-read for anyone who loved A Little Princess or The Penderwicks series. Simple, beautiful descriptive language, and the bonus of funny stories within the story make this a delightful summer read. This could be read aloud to anyone age 6 and up, probably a read-alone for anyone age 8/9 and up.

Book Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Hardcover: 9780316042673, Hachette, $17.99

Lena Duchannes is forever the new girl in town, jumping from place to place to conceal her power and the curse on her family. Ethan Wate is forever a townie, determined to leave yet fated to always be a part of Gatlin, South Carolina. 

Lena longs for normalcy, friends, a chance to go to the prom, and an answer as to how to control her powers. Ethan longs for something different than the bleached, tanned, vapid cheerleaders and dead-end feeling he has for this town. 

Seeing each other in dreams weeks before actually meeting, when they finally are face to face, it's the showdown of the century as history repeats itself, when once again a Wate and a Duchannes fall in love and are determined to beat the odds keeping them apart.

Lots of supernatural stuff meets high school stuff in this book - stuff being the catch-all term for magic, witches, telepathy, vampires, dogs who see all, secret libraries, full-moon ceremonies, voodoo, cheerleaders with attitude, nosy neighbors, best friends with crappy cars, and the Daughters of the American Revolution. 

Pretty funny, witty internal monologues and external dialogues keep this chunky book from getting too long, and the tension built up during the countdown to Lena's birthday is sure to keep you reading to the exciting conclusion on the final page.

Book Review: The Penderwicks/The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

by Jeanne Birdsall

Hardcover: 9780375831430, Knopf (Random House), $15.95

Paperback: 9780440420477, Yearling (Random House), $6.99

 
The Penderwicks on Gardam Street

by Jeanne Birdsall

Hardcover: 9780375840906, Knopf (Random House), $15.99

Paperback: 9780440422037, Yearling (Random House), $7.99

This post was originally published here in May 2008. This post has been edited from its original version.

Are you all ready for two fantastic reads? The Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall is the most fun new series to hit the shelves! Get ready for some gushing praise because I love these books! The two tales center around the Penderwicks family made up of a father, 4 daughters, and a loveable, laughable dog. There's nothing better for a summer read than a series set right in New England!

Winner of the National Book Award, the first book, The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy, takes place in Arundel, Maine, where the Penderwicks go on their summer vacation. Their normal vacation spot is booked, so they end up renting a small cottage on the property of a large house. Before you know it, the four sisters are up to their noses in adventures, involving, at times, yes, two rabbits, the boy next door (friend or foe?), a bull, the gardner, the cook, and much much more. It's an unforgettable summer for the entire family, and it's sure to be an unforgettable read for you!

The second book, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street, takes place back home on Gardam Street. It's fall - school time - and also time for a visit from the girls' favorite aunt. Soon the whole house is in an uproar when their favorite aunt suggests the unthinkable: the girls' widowed father should start dating again! Everyone, Dad included, is horrified at this suggestion, and the girls soon hatch the Save-Daddy Plan. Hilarious incidents insue as the girls try to set their father up on one bad date after another. Handled with tact and sensitivity for such a touchy subject, everyone's heart ends up in the right hands by the end of this book.

Jeanne Birdsall calls Northampton, MA her home. She has visited the Odyssey Bookshop on many occasions. Look for signed copies and keep an eye out for book #3 coming in 2011!

Book Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows & Mary Anne Shaffer

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by Annie Barrows & Mary Anne Shaffer

Hardcover: 9780385340991, Dial (Random House), $22

Paperback: 9780385341004, Dial (Random House), $14 

This post was originally published here in August 2008. It has been edited from its original version.
 

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Doesn't that make you want to take a big bite out of the book itself? What is this society? What's Potato Peel Pie? Who is in it, how did it get started - so many questions come to mind when you read such a deliciously convoluted title.

The book is an epistolary novel (thank you to Emily Crowe for supplying me with that word), which means it is told entirely in the form of letters. I love this form of novel; it feels so much more intimate. You're not just getting this tale, you're reading the thoughts and feelings behind the actions. People feel so much freer and more able to put down on paper (in the form of letters) what they can't, or won't, verbally describe. If all the letters don't actually describe the scenario, then they serve to tantalize you with glimpses of the plot and tease you into reading more.

The letters are all to, from, or about Ms. Juliet Ashton, the central character in this novel. She is a writer by trade, so her letters are wonderfully descriptive, yet always leave you wanting to read more. She receives a letter from a man on the island of Guernsey. He had purchased a book written by Charles Lamb, which had been previously owned by Ms. Ashton. He writes to say he enjoyed this first taste of Charles Lamb and wonders if she would be able to help him in procuring more works of similar literary quality and merit. 

Ms. Ashton beings writing with Mr. Dawsey Adams (the man who wrote her), and is thus introduced to the society he is apart of - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. The current year being 1946, people are still recovering and rebuilding their lives from the devastation of World War II. This society was begun during the German occupation of the Channel Islands, of which Guernsey is a part. Soon Juliet is corresponding with many of the members of this society, slowly uncovering the stories of German wartime occupation - the love, loss, friendship, and courage that occurred on this isolated island during the war - and getting a first-hand look at what that means in her own life.

No part of this book disappoints. I wanted to rush through it to see how and what happens, but I wanted it to never end. Also, it's a very sweet and sad story about how the book came to be. Mary Ann Shaffer was writing this novel when she unexpectedly passed away. Her niece, Annie Barrows, a famous children's author (she wrote the Ivy & Bean books), finished the novel for her. It became a success, because how could it not, but is so bittersweet due to the loss of its original author. 

Fans of The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, and/or Letters from an Age of Reason by Nora Hague will love this book as well. This is the perfect summer read.

Summer 2010 Picturebook Highlights - Marshall Cavendish

Okay, I lied. Penguin was not the last. This morning I discovered a publisher's catalogue on my desk I had neglected to blog about before: Marshall Cavendish!

Joha Makes a Wish: A Middle Eastern Tale
by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Omar Rayyan
9780761455998, $17.99, published in March 2010

I admit I have a big soft spot for Eric Kimmel, after growing up with his Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins and The Chanukkah Guest. He writes multicultural tales with humor and sensitivity (and is lucky enough to have amazing illustrators put pictures to his words!) Omar Rayyan's illustrations bring this book to life with intricate details and a playful ambiance. Joha finds a wishing stick on his way to Baghdad. He makes several small wishes, but it's when the sultan starts using the wishing stick, that things really get out of hand.

Chalk
by Bill Thomson
9780761455264, $15.99, published in March 2010

One rainy day, three kids in a park discover a bag of chalk. They begin to draw the sun, butterflies, even a dinosaur that all come to life! It takes some quick thinking and quick drawing to save the kids from the magic and the dinosaur that run amok. Crystal clear, almost photographic-quality illustrations are a nice contrast with the surreal subject matter. This wordless picturebook reminds me of some of Chris Van Allsburg's work: there's a similar fantasy quality and the endless possibilities of imagination (only, you know, in color).

A Giraffe Goes to Paris
by Mary Tavener Holmes and John Harris, illustrated by Jon Cannell 
9780761455950, $17.99, published in April 2010

This picturebook tells the re-imagined true story about a very famous giraffe. In 1827, the pasha of Egypt gave the king of France a gift: Belle, a giraffe. Belle traveled from Alexandria, Egypt to Paris, France, riding on a boat with a hole cut out for her neck, and then walking 500 miles in 41 days, parading through France from Marseilles to Paris. Jon Cannell's quirky cartoon-esque illustrations encompass artifacts and paintings from the 1800s, as we follow Belle's life story.

Book Review: The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

The Mysterious Benedict Society

by Trenton Lee Stewart, illustrated by Carson Ellis 

Hardcover: 9780316057776, Little, Brown (Hachette), $17.99

Paperback: 9780316003957, Little, Brown, $6.99

This post was originally published here in March 2008. This version on Afterthoughts... has been edited from the original post.

I just finished a book called The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.

First of all, great title and great author name. Let's face it, we all judge books by their covers, and I've noticed an astonishing correlation between good book titles, good author names, and good reads. Admittedly this doesn't always ring true, but try it with your favorite books and see if my theory holds up.

So this book...it's been called a science fiction book but I'm a little bit against placing books in a particular categoy. There are so many stereotypes and connotations (both positive and negative) that go into those words and I'd much rather judge a book on its cover than in its classification. Regardless, I thought it might be a good place to start and then I can break down that science fiction box for you and explain why it's just a good read.

What is "science-fiction-y" about this book is the central plot. Someone has been sending subliminal messages through television and radio broadcasts. They are undetectible by most humans, so though people are receiving and reacting to these messages, they're not conscious or aware of that fact. 

Mr. Benedict (the one of the "Mysterious Benedict Society") IS aware. He's a scientific genius (and one of the good guys in the book) who has figured out a way to translate and record these messages. Even though he used to be a well-respected government official, no one will listen to him now because they've all been slowly brainwashed by those subliminal messages.

This is the best part because this is where the kids come in. Certain children have the ability to resist these subliminal messages. They are young enough and value truth enough that their brains automatically do their best to resist the evil messages. Som Mr. Benedict puts together a team of children as secret spies to go into enemy territory and gather as much information as possible about who and what are sending these messages.

The real story is how this team of four unlikely child heroes have to work together to solve this mission before they themselves can't resist those messages anymore. All four children have unique talents, but they don't know how to work as a team or even how to be friends.  

This book is packed with adventure (though it's not scary), good laughs (though the children in the book don't always think it's funny), friendship, teamwork, and yes, a few fights. It will keep you engrossed right to the very end with some surprising twists and turns. For instance - why did Kate's dad disappear? Does Sticky's family really not care about him? Why is Constance such a sleepy grouchy baby? Will Reynie ever see Miss Perumal again? How can Mr. Benedict appear to be in two places at once? And how on earth are these 4 kids going to stop THE WHISPERER?

Read The Mysterious Benedict Society to find out!

Once you've read the first book, don't forget to check out these two sequels:

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (book 2)

by Trenton Lee Stewart, illustrated by Diana Sudyka

Hardcover: 9780316057806, Little, Brown, $16.99

Paperback: 9780316036733, Little, Brown, $6.99

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma (book 3)

by Trenton Lee Stewart, illustrated by Diana Sudyka

Hardcover: 9780316045520, Little, Brown, $16.99

Summer 2010 Picturebook Highlights - Penguin Young Readers Group

Presenting the final (I think) installment of the Summer 2010 Picturebook Highlights series: Penguin Young Readers Group!

Name That Dog!
by Peggy Archer, illustrated by Stephanie Buscema
9780803733220, $16.99, Pub. Date: May 2010

Adorable illustrations show the character and personality of each dog described in this alphabetical set of poems.

Ladybug Girl at the Beach
by David Soman and Jacky Davis, illustrated by David Soman
9780803734166, $16.99, Pub. Date: May 2010

Lulu and her dog Bingo are back! A perfect summer read about using your imagination to overcome a gentle fear of the ocean. That sneaky ocean tries to take Lulu's pail, but as Ladybug Girl, she's strong enough to save her toy.
Don't miss the other books in the Ladybug Girl series:

Ladybug Girl
9780803731950, $16.99

Ladybug Girl Dresses Up!
9780448453736, $5.99

Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy
9780803733398, $16.99

The Buffalo Are Back
by Jean Craighead George, illustrated by Wendell Minor
9780525422150, $16.99, Pub. Date: May 2010

This dynamic duo has teamed up again for an intimate look at the history of the American buffalo. This picturebook chronicles the sweeping tale from roaming wild alongside Plains Indians to the herds that now roam our national parks. With a fictional tale weaving the non-fiction elements together, this is a quiet book to share in a private storytime moment.

Red Green Blue: A First Book of Colors
by Alison Jay
9780525423034, $16.99, Pub. Date: May 2010

I have to be honest: this book is going to sell SO MUCH BETTER when they finally turn it into a board book. That said, don't miss this fourth book in a brightly-illustrated, beautifully designed, early concept books by acclaimed illustrator Alison Jay. Her other books in this series include an ABC book, a 1,2,3 book, and a word book. They all exhibit this unique crackle illustration style with nursery rhyme characters. Absolutely delightful.

What's the Big Idea, Molly?
by Valeri Gorbachev
9780399254284, $16.99, Pub. Date: June 2010

I am a huge fan of Valerie Gorbachev's work. His illustration style perfectly suits his sweet storytelling. Each book is about friendship in one way or another, whether it involves sharing, or teamwork, or appreciating each other, and this one is no exception. Molly Mouse and her friends work together to gain inspiration for a truly original birthday present.

Lost Boy: The Story of the Man who Created Peter Pan
by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Steve Adams
9780525478867, $17.99, Pub. Date: August 2010

Lost Boy is a compelling fictionalized account of J.M. Barrie's life in picturebook format. If the sweetness of Finding Neverland, the movie starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, could be harnessed into a picturebook, this would be it. Steve Adams's illustrations have a grainy, antique feel to compliment Jane Yolen's informative text. You'll want to grab a copy of Peter Pan soon after reading this!

Book Review: Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Jellicoe Road

by Melina Marchetta

Hardcover: 9780061431838, HarperTeen, $17.99

Paperback: 9780061431852, HarperTeen, $8.99

This post was originally published here in August 2008. A few alterations have been made to the version posted on Afterthoughts...

Every time I read this book, I cry. I am not generally a crier. Yes, tears welled at the news of Walter in Rilla of Ingleside (by L.M. Montgomery, and if you don't know the news, I'm not telling), and okay, I admit it, I am a HUGE movie crier (I swear I shed a tear at something in almost every movie), but about books, and most importantly, in real life? Not a weeper. Have you ever seen The Holiday with Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Jack Black, and Cameron Diaz? Jude Law has a funny bit in it about being a major weeper. Not. Me.

I digress. The point is, not every book reaches in and pulls at my heartstrings, so I wanted to tell you about one that has. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. Amazing.

The main character, Taylor Markham, is 17 and lives at the boarding school on Jellicoe Road. Her mother abandoned her when she was 7. She doesn't know anything about her father. 

Taylor has just become the new leader of her House at school, and the unwillingly chosen leader of all of the House leaders. The leaders don't believe in her. Her House barely knows her. Though Taylor doesn't want the responsibility, she has no choice but to shoulder it.

There's a war, you see. A war that began almost 20 years ago and is faithfully carried out while school is in session. Townies vs. Cadets. vs. the Houses of the school on Jellicoe Road. The Townies are kids who live in the town nearby. The Cadets are boys from the military academy that comes to the area for training ever year. There are property boundary lines, invasions, retaliations and retributions, fist fights, broken bones, treaties, and maybe a hidden tunnel.

There's Taylor's closest-thing-to-family, Hannah, who has just disappeared. There's Raffy, Talor's BFF, who tells her the truth and keeps it from her when necessary. There's Santangelo, leader of the Townies, with his sidekicks, The Mullets, and his history with Raffy. Lastly, there's Jonah Griggs - betrayer, former run-away mate, who knows too much about Taylor for his own good, and is currently the leader of the Cadets.

Betrayed numerous times beyond measure, hurt, afraid to hope for love, and reluctant leader, Taylor can't keep it together. She falls apart. The surprise is who is there to help put her back together when she does. 

Who is Taylor? Where is Hannah? Where is her mother? Who will win the war? And in the end, does it matter? 

If all that isn't enough, here's a taste of the book - just the first two lines should do it:

"My father took one hundred and thirty-two minutes to die. I counted."

Read it. With a box of tissues.

If you like Melina Marchetta's writing, also check out Finnikin of the Rock.

Fall 2010 Picturebook Highlights: Random House

Remember back in January when I posted about ordering books that would be published this Summer 2010? Well, it's the end of April and guess what I'm doing.

If you guessed buying books for Fall/Winter 2010, you'd be correct!

Introducing the Fall 2010 Picturebook Highlights, beginning with Random House!

Camille Saint-Saens's The Carnival of the Animals
music by Camille Saint-Saens
verses by Jack Prelutsky
illustrations by Mary Grandpre
9780375864582, $19.99, Pub. Date: August 2010

You don't get more all-star cast than this, folks! The illustrations are by Mary Grandpre, the woman who first put a face to the American versions of Harry Potter. Jack Prelutsky was the first Children's Poet Laureate in 2006. Camille Saint-Saens was a famous French composer who wrote a musical suite of 14 movements, the musical accompaniment to carousing carnival animals. The music is performed and recorded by the Wurrtemberg Chamber Orchestra and Jack Prelutsky reads his poetry on the 54-minute CD is included with this delightful picturebook.

Dog Loves Books
by Louise Yates
9780375864490, $16.99, Pub. Date: September 2010

Yes, I chose to highlight this book in part because it describes my life as a bookseller so well! When you love books as much as Dog and I do, obviously opening a bookshop is the thing to do. Unlike dog, however, I can't just read when customers aren't in the shop. Dog reads all kinds of books waiting for customers to arrive, and when his shop becomes busy, he's able to put exactly the right book in their hands.

Six Crows
by Leo Lionni
9780375845505, $16.99, Pub. Date: September 2010

Originally published in 1988, this book is back in print for the first time. I love crows - I've actually been designing a crow or raven tattoo for years - so I was particularly pleased to see this one back in stock. Leo Lionni's Swimmy stole my heart as a child (9780394826202, $6.99); it was a pleasure to be introduced to this classic. Six crows watch a farmer tend his field of wheat. Though he sets up a scarecrow to protect his wheat, the clever crows make plans to outmaneuver the farmer. Like most of Lionni's books, there is a moral to this tale: compromise.

Hush, Little Horsie
by Jane Yolen
illustrated by Ruth Sanderson
9780375858536, $16.99, Pub. Date: September 2010

Two local children's book creators have teamed up to bring you this gentle masterpiece. Ruth Sanderson's dreamy illustrations perfectly compliment Jane Yolen's rhyming bedtime verses.   

The ABCs of Rock
by Melissa Duke Mooney
illustrations by Print Mafia
9781582462936, $16.99, Pub. Date: October 2010 - from Tricycle Press, distributed by Random House

This book is really for adults, I think, or maybe for the children of musicians or those really into the rock music scene. Personally, I love it, but what I'm trying to say is this book is probably not for everyone. This is what the catalogue has to say:

From one of the top rock band poster artists comes a collection of 26 evocative images of rock music's most recognized icons. Starting with AC/DC's familiar lightning bolts and ending with ZZ Top's customer Ford coupe, this alphabetical retrospective of more than four decades of rock history will inspire music lovers of all ages.

Book Review: The Curse Workers: White Cat by Holly Black

White Cat (The Curse Workers #01)
by Holly Black
9781416963967, $17.99, Pub. Date: May 2010

Introducing the beginning of a new Holly Black series! So dark, so complicated, so witty - so wonderful.

How to explain this book to without giving a page-by-page detailed explanation? Okay, let's begin with setting. The time is now, or sometime mirroring now, with the cars, phones, technology, etc. that we have. The difference is the existence of curse work. Some people have the ability to work curses, magic, by touching other people with their bare hands. There are different types of curse work - memory curses, emotion curses, and transmutation curses. Curse working has been outlawed and everyone wears gloves to avoid touching each other with bare hands.

Enter Cassel Sharpe. He was born into a family of curse workers, and though he's an excellent con artist, he's not actually a curse worker. That doesn't mean there isn't something a little magical going on. Cassel keeps dreaming of a white cat, and waking up not in his boarding school dormitory bed. His dreams tend to center around one event he'd like to forget: the night he killed the girl he loved, Lila Zacharov. She was the daughter of the powerful head of the Zacharov crime family. The only reason Cassel is still alive is that his older brothers, all powerful curse workers, covered up for him.

While this all sounds strange in its own right, the part that's more bizarre is that Lila's curse magic was an ability to turn into other animals, and a white cat was her favorite. How is Lila controlling Cassel's dreams if she's supposedly dead? As the complex plot unfolds, Cassel begins to realize he can't trust anyone or anything - not his own family, and worst of all, not even his own memory. Someone has been curse working him. Now if only he could figure out who and why...

Throw in a dysfunctional family, a girlfriend who just dumped him, the beginnings of actual friends for the first time in his life, and you've got one heck of a teenage life to get through.

The Odyssey Bookshop welcomes 

Holly Black & Cassandra Clare 

in a duo-author event on 

May 11th at 7 p.m.!

Book Review: Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman

Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman
9780547231846, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $16

Meggy Swann is crippled at a time when non-able-bodied people were thought to be cursed by the Devil. She must walk with two crutch-sticks to support her weak and twister legs. Her sour disposition doesn't help her make friends, but which came first – the sour disposition or the near constant taunts and torments from those around her?

At the opening of the novel, she has just been shipped off from the only home she's ever known in a country village tavern to live with her father in Elizabethan London. Having never met or heard of her father before, she has no idea what to expect. Neither does he. Neither one are happy with their situation. Meggy is stuck living in a dark, dingy, dirty house with no food or money while her alchemist father spends all his time upstairs in his laboritorium trying to find the secret to turning things into gold and finding the elixir of life.

As Meggy taps into sources of inner strength, she begins to explore London, and in doing that, unexpectedly makes some of her first human friends. She had brought with her to London her best friend, Louise, a large white goose, which unfortunately gets banished soon after they arrive. Roger Oldham, her father's former apprentice-turned-player (as in play-acting), and his troupe led by Mr. Grimm and Mr. Merrymaker agree to keep Louise out of the slaughter house. Besides the merry band of players, Meggy also gets to know a cooper and his son, and a printer and his family.

When her father sells some men arsenic to kill off a baron, Meggy is shocked to discover her father is desperate enough to consort with murderers in order to earn money for his experiments. She comes up with a plan to warn the baron, but without confessing her father's role. Though she succeeds in warning the baron, her father lives up to his bad character and leaves her stranded and homeless in London. Meggy is dismayed, but the biggest shock comes from finding out she has friends who will help take care of her. She goes to live with the printer and his family to take care of the babies and be an apprentice print-maker. The short novel ends with her dancing for the first time in her life, happy among friends, flirting with Roger, and not quite as sharp-tongued as she first was in the beginning.

Though I did not enjoy as much as The Midwife's Apprentice or Catherine, Called Birdy, there is a similar brilliance in how much Karen Cushman can pack into a 150+ page novel. The historical elements are by far the most interesting, and of course, impeccably researched. There's so much factual information packed into this slim book, and enough of a story to interest the young historical fiction enthusiast. The publisher is marketing this book toward ages 10-14, but I think a strong 8 or 9-year-old reader wouldn't have a problem. Not for every child, but I don't believe Karen Cushman fans will be disappointed.

Book Review: The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

9781595143082, Penguin, $18.99, Pub. Date: August 2010

I admit I don't tend to like lovey-dovey YA, but Haven's voice, and that of her gay best friend Beau, kept me hanging in there. As did the unique premise –love as the cause for reincarnation.

Haven Moore lives in Tennessee but can describe New York City without having been there. She's seen it in visions since she was a child; visions of the city and a time when Haven was known as Constance and she was in love with a man named Ethan. Haven's grandmother thinks she's possessed by the Devil. Haven knows she's not possessed, but then how to explain these visions? How to explain the feeling that she must go to New York, and how to explain she thinks famous playboy Iain Morrow might be Ethan?

Going to New York provides her with some answers but more questions as she gets caught up in a web of lies involving the Ouroboros Society, a society begun to help people who remember their past lives, but which now is a den of corruption that has spread around the world from the highest to the lowest classes of people. Haven doesn't know whom to trust as she gets more involved with Iain - who feels like he's her soul mate, but then blatantly lies to her.

Events are brought to a head when Iain gets accused of kidnapping and murder. Not knowing who to trust, being chased by the "grey men" (the henchmen of the Ouroboros Society), Haven runs around New York City picking up tidbits of information here and there, having visions and flashbacks that allow her to piece together how her past is affecting her present and future.

With help from her gay best friend Beau (her brother in a previous life), Haven escapes from being kidnapped by the evil Adam Rosier, the man who was Haven's husband in her very first life. In her first life, Haven was kept cloistered in her husband's home because he was a possessive and jealous man. When she fell in love with a servant (the man who would later become Ethan/Iain), Adam killed them both. All three have been reincarnated again and again, destined to replay the same love triangle until true love conquers all.

Though Haven makes some dumb decisions at times (really, you're 18, never left TN, but go to NYC and allow some guy you've just met – yes he may be your soul mate, but still – to fly you to Rome in his private jet and then not let you call home for 3 days?), she has a strong character and personality, trying to make sense of what her brain and her heart and everyone else is telling her. Romantics will love this because of the resolved ending, and it's a new twist in the "love conquers all paranormal adventure story" genre.

Book Review: Serena by Ron Rash

This was a post I intended to publish over a year ago. Now in paperback, I'm finally going to post my review of Ron Rash's Serena.

Hardcover: 9780061470851, HarperCollins, $24.95
Paperback: 9780061470844, HarperCollins, $14.99

Serena blew my mind a bit.

You wouldn't think upon first picking up a book about a timber empire in North Carolina during the years leading up to the Great Depression that it would be a gripping read for anyone other than a history buff. Yet the cast of characters and the stark reality of Ron Rash's writing creates a compelling and bone-chilling story.

The absolute lack of morality and concern for anyone other than herself makes Serena a heinous individual. You want to hate her, but her intelligence and self-possession make her fascinating. In a harsh land, building a harsh timber empire, Serena is a beautiful, feminine, immovable steel rod who has a blow as heavy as one of the trees felled by her timber crews. Recently married to owner George Pemberton, Serena is as obsessed with power and the unplumbed Brazilian forests, as George is with her. Together they form an nearly unstoppable team of knowledge, money, and Serena's ruthlessness. If someone stands in their way, they will be taken down - whether by a swift knife across the throat, a hunting "accident", or Serena's right-hand man who always gets his prey.

An unnerving subplot involves George Pemberton's illegitimate child, mothered by a local mountain girl, conceived prior to George's marriage to Serena, but birthed afterward. Distracted by her ambitions in other directions, Serena does not focus on the mother and child until later in the book. Then, for reasons of her own, Serena turns her obsession toward them - and it is time for them to die.

Much like the trees now clogging the riverways, Serena will cut down everything in her path: Teddy Roosevelt's plan for a national forest, a local sheriff who is the only man with backbone enough to stand up to her, and the mother and child who retain a claim on the man and the empire that must be solely hers. Serena doesn't share; she takes, eliminates, and possesses.

A frighteningly compelling read, you won't want to put it down until you find out how, why, and who is the next to die.

Summer 2010 Picturebook Highlights - Candlewick

Presenting #8 in the Summer 2010 Picturebook Highlights series: Candlewick Press!

Practically in the back yard (okay, it's an hour and a half away in Boston), this press is the home of Kate DiCamillo, Judy Moody, and Emily Windsnap. Here are some of my favorite picturebooks for the summer season.

I already mentioned Cloud Tea Monkeys by Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham, illustrated by Juan Wijngaard in an earlier post, so you know how I liked that. And, I already mentioned some new board book favorites by mixed-media artist Lorena Siminovich: I Like Bugs and I Like Fruit.

Another book already on the shelves is The Django by Levi Pinfold. Published as part of Templar Books, a Candlewick imprint, this picturebook was inspired by Jean "Django" Reinhardt, a famous jazz musician. The illustrations are just gorgeous - expressive and colorful, the double-page spreads remind me of fairy tale illustrations, but also have a photographic quality, which contrasts nicely with the fantasy element of the Django character. A tribute to jazz, music in general, and Jean Reinhardt in particular. 9780763647889, $16.99

For fans of Lauren Child's (author of Charlie and Lola) Clarice Bean middle grade novels, check out Clarice Bean paperback picture books!
Clarice Bean, That's Me 9780763647957, $7.99
Clarice Bean, What Planet Are You From? 9780763647964, $7.99
Clarice Bean, Guess Who's Babysitting? 9780763647971, $7.99, Pub. Date: May 2010

Have a new mythology fan, thanks to Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series' success?
Check out Encyclopedia Mythologica Gods and Heroes by Matthew Reinhart and Robert Sabuda, a pop-up book with all kinds of in-depth information about sacred myths and legends, popping out from unexpected places. 9780763631710, $29.99

Book Review: You by Charles Benoit

You
by Charles Benoit
9780061947049, $16.99, Harper, Pub. Date: August 2010

You is a powerful, searing work of realistic teen fiction. The title comes from its second-person point-of-view narrator; a voice that makes the work immediately accessible by encouraging the reader to become the main character.

The main character is sophomore Kyle Chase. He's smart, but took a wrong turn at some point in junior high. He didn't turn in a few tests, and starting hanging out with a slacker crowd known as the Hoodies, due to the black hooded sweatshirts they wear every day. This landed him at Midlands High, one of two town high schools. His old friends went to Odyssey, the high school that caters to overachievers with good GPAs. That's what he tells himself. He could be there if he wanted to. But what's the point? His mother nags him to get a job, his teachers nag him to get homework done, and the only bright spot to his day is his friend Ashley who he wishes was more than a friend and who he gets to spend time with by courting after-school detention so he can stay late to nonchalantly see her. Each day is the same as the next until a new kid, Zack McDade, transfers to Midlands.

The raw voice of You is reminiscent of the writing of Ellen Hopkins; a voice that will tell you the truth, no matter how hopeless or disheartening. This is the story of millions of American teenagers from middle-class backgrounds: smart, promising youth who slip through the cracks, get overlooked, become disenchanted with their overstimulated, over-informed lives. You is an exposé and a call-to-arms. Drugs, gangs, teen pregnancy - these issues all have concrete roots and identifiable plans of action to combat. Juvenile apathy? Ten times harder to identify and counter.

This could have been my story. I'm so lucky it wasn't. But I cried for that possibility, for the friends I lost to this malaise, for my brother still in high school battling this every day, and for the children I hope to have and the future I imagine for them.

Every teenager, teacher, and parent, anyone who works with children and teens, should read this book to understand the spreading lassitude of America's youth.

The Making of Cover Art for Gail Carriger's Blamless

On the Odyssey Bookshop blog, two posts (1, 2) introduced my love for the Parasol Protectorate Series, as they're known - three books (so far) starring the sexy, sassy, soulless Alexia Tarabotti, written by Gail Carriger. Even if you haven't begun the steampunk, supernaturally-inclined series set in Victorian London, you can still appreciate the design process of the book cover for the third book in the series.



This was first seen at this blog here.

Book One: Soulless
9780316056632, $7.99, Orbit (Hachette)

The subtitle says it all, really: A Novel of Vampires, Werewolves, and Parasols. I thought, No, not really, this can't possibly be as witty and engaging as I want it to be. But then I began reading, and to my great surprise and eternal delight, it was!
Alexia Tarabotti is a spinster and a lady, drinking tea and chaperoning balls in London during the time of Queen Victoria's reign. She also happens to be a preternatural, or soulless being, one of the very few lucky individuals who can take away the power of a supernatural being (such as a vampire or werewolf) simply by her touch. When she accidentally kills a vampire (well, he was trying to drink her blood at the time), she is forced to contend with Lord Maccon, the werewolf leader of both the local pack and the local national office of supernatural investigations. Alexia and Lord Maccon find each other argumentative, frustrating, irritating, and secretly appealing as they are forced to work together to uncover who has been making rove werewolves and vampires disappear. Fans of Jane Austen-ish writing and fantasy forces will love this wicked, and wickedly funny, romp through London, supernatural-style.

Book Two: Changeless
9780316074148, $7.99, Orbit (Hachette), Pub. Date: April 2010


Book Three: Blameless
9780316074155, $7.99, Orbit (Hachette), Pub. Date: September 2010