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2010 Novels I Can’t Wait For

In no particular order..

The Summer Before by Ann Martin. Have I not rhapsodized about my love for the BSC enough? Maybe a little more is needed! I am so excited for this new book and am dying for an ARC of it.  This new Publisher’s Weekly article got me a bit more excited.  It could be five pages worth of Claudia’s outfits and I’d buy it. (April, Scholastic)

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney.   Underground student justice league. Said league  inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird. Boarding school scandal. Need I say more? Plus Daisy liked my mockup cover! (Fall 2010, Little Brown)

The Rise of Renegade X by Chelsea M. Campbell.  I just love superheroes. Just love them. And to see them in YA fiction makes me really happy.  Judging from the excerpt the author posted on her website, this superhero is snarky, which I always enjoy.  (May, EgmontUSA)

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan. I’m a huge fan of Riordan, and have been lucky enough to correspond with him via email once or twice. I started reading the series when it was first released and haven’t looked back.  I love his writing for children (even though adults appreciate it too!), it’s layered with such humor, and depth, with relatable situations.  A new series is bound to be just as good as Percy Jackson.  (March, Disney Hyperion)

The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride.  With a plotline that sounds like a good Law and Order: SVU episode, The Tension of Opposites looks like it feeds into my recently-kindled need for some good thrilling YA. A kidnapped teen turning up after two years missing might sound like it’s “ripped from the headlines” as the blurb on Goodread states, but what headlines can’t tell you is the emotional toll and grip such an event has on those left behind. And that’s what I want to see in this novel. (May, EgmontUSA)

Palace Beautiful by Sarah Deford Williams.  A mysterious journal hidden in an attic. 1918’s flu epidemic, and a parallel to the present-day characters? Sounds like a book I would’ve loved to have existed when I was eleven, and reading Castle in the Attic. (April, Putnam Juvenile)

The Deadly Sister by Eliot Schrefer.  A girl who believes her sister is a murderer? That’s enough of a tagline for me. (May, Scholastic)

A Most Improper Magick by Stephanie Burgis.  First, the cover art is adorable. And the title! Second, it’s about a young witch in Jane Austen’s England!  Who wouldn’t want to read? It’s also the first of a series. (April, Atheneum)

The Replacement by Yovanoff. A new twist on the old tale of changlings, The Replacement looks excellent because it’s from the viewpoint of the replacement.  (September, Razorbill)

In My Mailbox

I haven’t done one of these in awhile!  This will cover a few weeks.  A very diverse range here!

In My Mailbox was started by The Story Siren and lets bloggers share what books they’ve received, bought, or borrowed this week.  You can find more information here, if you’d like to participate.

I went a reading festival and met the following authors, and bought their books for autographs. I’m looking forward to reading them.

Bought

The Camel  Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton

Fiona Sweeney wants to do something that matters, and she chooses to make her mark in the arid bush of northeastern Kenya. By helping to start a traveling library, she hopes to bring the words of Homer, Hemingway, and Dr. Seuss to far-flung tiny communities where people live daily with drought, hunger, and disease. Her intentions are honorable, and her rules are firm: due to the limited number of donated books, if any one of them is not returned, the bookmobile will not return.  (2008, Harper Perennial)

Read the story behind this book, it’s fascinating!

Me and the Pumpkin Queen by Marlane Kennedy

Mildred is a very focused eleven-year-old. Very focused on giant pumpkins. She’s growing the giants for her mother, who never got a chance to enter the Circleville, Ohio, Pumpkin Show weigh-off herself. After four disastrous growing seasons, Mildred is hoping to finally have a flawless pumpkin to enter in the contest. As long as busybody Aunt Arlene doesn’t interfere too much…and Daddy doesn’t need too much help at his veterinary practice…and her best friend Jacob can pitch in with some last-minute help…and the dogs don’t trample the seedlings…and the weather cooperates. (2009 paperback, Greenwillow)

Ray in Reverse by Daniel Wallace (I’ve read this before, I just wanted my own copy!)

Beginning when a dead Ray Williams arrives in Heaven, the novel unfolds as the deceased proceeds to tell his life story backwards. As dodgy and shiftless in the afterlife as he was on Earth, Ray finds himself in Heaven’s popular Last Words discussion group, where, for dramatic effect, he lies about his final utterances. A series of flashbacks reveals Ray’s defining moments, including his real last words and what they meant, in a funny, poignant narrative that moves with the clarity of a fable and the complexity of modern psychology. Ray spent his life hiding from the demands of marriage and fatherhood; from his fears of sexual ambiguityAand each chapter riffs on his signature confusion about reality.  (2001, Penguin)

Will Jesus Buy me a Doublewide? (Cause I Need Room for my New Plasma TV) by Karen Spears Zacharias

Karen Spears Zacharias believes Christians have been paying good money for a false doctrine: the Cash and Cadillac Gospel. With humor and wit in Will Jesus Buy Me a Double-Wide?, Zacharias unpacks story after story of those who use the name of God as a means to living their own good life, as well as some unlikely folks whose genuine faith has led them to a different understanding of wealth. (March 2010, Zondervan)

For Review

The Beautiful Dead by Eden Maguire

Darina’s year goes from bad to worse when her boyfriend, Phoenix, is killed in a knife fight, making him the fourth student from their high school to die that year. She’s certain that she’s going crazy when she sees him and the others in an abandoned barn, but when Phoenix kisses her, she’s convinced he’s come back… to life?

Jonas, Summer, Arizona, and Phoenix have been brought back from limbo by the enigmatic and sometimes frightening Hunter, and are allowed to remain in the world of the living for one year in order to set right a wrong linked to their deaths. In exchange for being allowed to see Phoenix, Darina agrees to help the undead teens find justice, starting with Jonas… whose year is nearly up.

Darina must discover who is behind Jonas’s fatal motorcycle accident… without becoming a victim herself… and keep the Beautiful Dead a secret. She would sacrifice anything to help her beloved Phoenix, but setting him free might mean losing him forever. (March 2010, Sourcebooks Fire)

I also bought The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan. I’ve been so putting off reading the end of the Percy Jackson series, but I think it’s finally time.   Also Killer Heat by Linda Fairstein and The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty.

On I Learned a New Word Today..Genocide.

This is not a review post, but rather an assessment on a title I feel is worthwhile, but that I was unable to finish.

I Learned a New Word Today….Genocide by Elizabeth Hankins is about Javier, a Mexican immigrant child. His class is learning of genocide’s mark on history, from Sudan to Canada to Germany. Javier, understandably, is very upset at what he’s learned. The entirety of the book is written as Javier’s journal, as he chronicles his feelings about genocide.

The summary of the book states “Then he overhears a conversation that triggers a mysterious chain of events at his school. Now Javier is faced with the reality that no one is immune to the consequences of genocide. And perhaps everyone has a responsibility to help end it, even himself.”

I was unable to get to this part.  For I Learned a New Word Today, while well written, reads like a textbook mixed with a narrative. Pages devoted to historical accounts of genocides are intermixed with Javier’s journal.  In these parts, I felt like I was reading an adult trying to capture a child’s voice for some very intense things.  And this is where I had to stop reading. Even at an easy 150 pages, this book proved to be too much of a challenge for me.  In the classroom environment, I can see it being an excellent teaching tool on genocide, the Holocaust, and other atrocities.  It’s obviously a title meant for discussion, and not read on one’s own.

Copy provided by the publisher.

Title: I Learned a New Word Today..Genocide

Author:  Elizabeth Hankins

Date: 2009

Publisher:  Key Publishing House

Pages: 150

Format:  Paperback

Waiting on Wednesday: Imaginary Girls

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine and lets bloggers spotlight the upcoming releases they’re anxious to read.

Yes, this is another “the book-is-far-off-from-release-date-yet-I-post-it-as-a-WOW-post.”  Like I did with Daisy Whitney’s The Mockingbirds, I’m posting about another far off release.

This time it’s Nova Ren Suma’s Imaginary Girls.  There’s very little to go on here, but I managed to make a mockup cover that I like, which is pictured to the right.

Why do I want to read it?

• Nova’s first novel, Dani Noir, just kills me. It’s so good, and so perfect. I re-read it occasionally before I tackle my own work-in-progress because it’s one of my favorite examples of first person for a young girl.
• It has gothic fiction elements, and is compared to Shirley Jackson.
• The plot.

Here’s the synopsis from Publishers Weekly:

The novel, which is tentatively slated for summer 2011, features various spooky elements—Penguin called it “reminiscent of Shirley Jackson’s supernatural family dramas”—and follows two sisters, one of whom is shunned by their town after discovering a dead body in the local reservoir.

And here’s what Nova has to say in my interview with her in September 2009:

It’s the story of Chloe, little sister of Ruby, the girl everyone in town looks to and wants to be. But one night something goes horribly wrong and a dead body is found. When the sisters are torn apart, Ruby will do whatever she can to make it right.

Alas, summer 2011 is a very long time.  In the meantime, visit NovaRen.com and read Dani Noir!

Review: The Knife of Never Letting Go

This past summer, for my Media and Society class, we collected data from our days. That is, conversations – we wrote down conversations we observed, and ones we participated in.  The information was then mined for similarities, categorized, and put in collections.  It was then these observations became media.

We live in a constantly connected society. Thanks to Twitter, Facebook and other sites, we can know with a click of a button where our friends are, what our favorite celebrities are doing, up-to-the-minute news as it breaks, and more.

It’s these thoughts went through my thread as I sat down to write this review for The Knife of  Never Letting Go first of the Chaos Walking series.  That class proved the claim that information is everywhere.  But it took me a long time to review this. I actually read it when I received it in 2008. Then I read it again. I just couldn’t form words that could capture what it does to you.

What would it be like to live in a world where others could hear your every thought?

Such a society exists in The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. The first in the “Chaos Walking” series introduces us to a world in which there are no women left, and every thought by a man or child is audible to all those around, due to an infection known as “Noise.”  Todd Hewlitt is the last boy in the strange settlement of Prentisstown.  His birthday is around the corner, and he’s about to become a man.   With only his dog,  the ever-faithful Manchee, for companionship, Todd ventures to pick apples in a clearing. Only it’s silent and devoid of noise.  More importantly, a girl, Viola Eade, whose spaceship has crashed, and she is its only survivor.    Todd soon learns Viola’s existence poses a threat and the two flee, pursued by the townspeople.

There’s a lot going on in this book, but unlike some dystopian novels I’ve read, The Knife of Never Letting Go appears to have a very clear direction. There’s a great deal of mystery and intrigue in this society, but as Todd uncovers more, the readers learn the real history of Prentisstown along width him. The varying fonts throughout Knife really illustrate  the overwhelming cacophony of thoughts that surround the members of Prentisstown, and let us feel like we’re on the run with Todd as well.   The writing is quick paced, and I flew through the novel, each chapter becoming more taut with suspense as Todd discovers the dark secrets of those he trusted.    The voice of Todd, however, was my favorite.  The improper grammar, the introspective moments , the running stream of consciousness, in other books it would grate on a reader’s nerves perhaps, here, it fuses together perfectly.   His growing loss of innocence is amplified in lines such as the following:

“Men lie, and they lie to theirselves most of all.”

“And there’s so much sorrow in his noise, so much worry and edginess, I know he’s speaking true, I know he can’t help what’s happening and I hate it…  We don’t say anything more. What else is there to say? Everything and nothing. You can’t say everything, so you don’t say nothing.”

This is a heavy read and will stick with you for quite some time.   The novel approaches so many topics from information to the role of women, to colonization, I could easily see it used in a classroom. On Twitter, I suggested it might make an interesting read next to Fahrenheit 451, with the constrasting themes of the ending of the dissemination of information and the overwhelming power of information.

Two things worth noting:  One issue I had with the storyline: Todd’s abuse of Manchee.  However, I did consider that within this society such treatment of animals isn’t vilified.     Also the foster guardians of Todd, Ben and Cillian, their relationship wasn’t explicitly stated, but it seemed that the two men were a couple who displayed nothing but devotion and care for Todd.  I found this refreshing in a YA novel, and liked that it just existed in the backdrop.

I’d recommend The Knife of Never Letting Go to fans of dystopian fiction, Fahrenheit 451, Candor, Margaret Atwood.

The second book in this series, The Ask and the Answer, has been released in hardcover as well. I warn you, The Knife ends on very unsettling cliffhanger. You’ll want to get The Ask and the Answer immediately.

Copy for review provided by the publisher.

Title:  The Knife of Never Letting Go

Author: Patrick Ness

Date: 2008

Publisher:  Candlewick Press

Pages: 496

Format: Hardback

Giveaway: Rival Revenge (Canterwood Crest)

I love Jessica Burkhart’s Canterwood Crest series, and the newest one just hit bookstores this month. I thought I’d do a giveaway for it because it’s a fun series.

AND YOU THOUGHT THEY WERE OUT OF THE RUNNING….

The truth is out: Julia and Alison did NOT cheat.

Now, they’re back on the advanced team and feeling…well, a little angry that they had to forfeit their chance at the YENT.

This time, they’re not just in it to win it — they’re out for revenge. A dish definitely best served cold.

Visit CanterwoodCrest.com and JessicaBurkhart.com for more on the series, plus Jessica’s page on Simon and Schuster!

Simply comment with your name, email to enter!  I must have your email to contact you. US/Canada only, please. PO Boxes allowed. I will draw a winner via random.org on February 12.

Extra entries:

+ 1 comment on my interview with Jessica

+ 1 Tweet this contest (leave your @name, link to the tweet) in the comments

Happy entering!

ALA Midwinter Awards

Two books I reviewed in 2009 won awards at this weekend’s ALA Midwinter conference! I recommend reading both of them, they’re great historical books for children.

2010 Sibert Medal Winner

From Ala.org:  “The Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal is awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published in English during the preceding year. The award is named in honor of Robert F. Sibert, the long-time President of Bound to Stay Bound Books, Inc. of Jacksonville, Illinois. ALSC administers the award.”

Almost Astronauts by Tanya Lee Stone.  The story of the Mercury 13, a group of women who trained to go into space, only to be stopped from following through with the mission, even after enduring rigorous tests.   From my July 2009 review : “Almost Astronauts is an important book, not only for the rich and relatively unknown history it contains, but as a reflection of how far we’ve come in women’s rights.”

You can also read my 2007 interview with the author.  Visit her website at TanyaLeeStone.com

The Corretta Scott King Book Awards

From Ala.org: “Given to African American authors and illustrator for outstanding inspirational and educational contributions, the Coretta Scott King Book Award titles promote understanding and appreciation of the culture of all peoples and their contribution to the realization of the American dream of a pluralistic society.”

Bad News for Outlaws – The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson.  Bass Reeves was a highly-respected outlaw with more than 3,000 arrests.  In my October 2009 review, I called it “arresting” “history-rich.”

You can find some tie-in material for the book on the publisher’s website.

Read a list of all the ALA winners, including Caldecott and Newberry at Ala.org.

Nonfiction Monday: Animal Rights

It’s Nonfiction Monday! Created by Picture Book of the Day, it’s where book bloggers feature a nonfiction book for kids.  

Wendie’s Wanderings hosts the roundup this week.

Today I’ll be reviewing a title sent to me by Capstone Publishers, Animal Rights: How You Can Make a Difference by Rhonda Lucas Donald.

This is an excellent book for any child or classroom interested in animal rights.  It’s not just a guide to how others make a difference, it emphasizes how anyone can.   Throughout the book, there’s several stories of teens who saw an injustice to animals and fought to right it.   As the book opens, we learn the story of Haley, who lost her dog due to antifreeze poisoning, and fought to get her home state of Tennessee to require manufacturers a bitter chemical. Her campaign paid off, and the bill she proposed became a law.

Each chapter of Animal Rights illustrates a step towards activism. This format makes it a great classroom addition, as it goes through all the parts required for such a campaign: brainstorming, research,  mapping out a plan, etc.  Keeping its young audience in mind at all times, the book asks the reader to consider the reliability of any website (such as looking for university and government websites first), book, etc,  to look out for bias and stereotyping.  Also, when discussing online communication for their cause,  it does remind children to use caution online and never reveal private information.  Finally, the resources section of Animal Rights offers the Capstone Facthound service, where readers simply plug in the book’s unique ID number in the Facthound website, and will receive quality and kid-safe websites on the topic.

With a kid-friendly approach towards a complex issue and a helpful guide for their campaign, Animal Rights is a must-have.  Slim but loaded with information, plus tips, a glossary, and additional resources, it’s the perfect introduction to giving children a voice for a concern.

Animal Rights: How You Can Make a Difference is part of Capstone’s Take Action! series.  Learn more about the series at the publisher’s website

Copy for review provided by the publisher.

Title: Animal Rights

Author: Rhonda Lucas Donald

Date: 2009

Publisher:  Capstone Publishers

Pages: 32

Format: Hardback

Review: Dream Life

Claire Voyante, the heroine from Dream Life, is back in the newest book from Lauren Mechling.  Recovered from her frenetic first semester at Henry Hudson High School, she’s settled in to life as an undercover psychic dream-having fairly well. She’s got a quasi-boyfriend, some new friends, and of course, Becca Shuttleworth is her best friend.  But when Becca starts hanging out with her old friends,  Claire has a dream of a girl raising a gun at her friend’s head, and decides to to investigate.  It’s then she learns Becca’s secret: She’s joined The Blue Moons, an ages old secret society of girls who perform random acts of good all around the city.  But their altruism doesn’t go unnoticed..a rival group is targeting The Blue Moons, intent on exposing their identities. At first it seems like simple cattiness, but could it be something more?  In the romantic department, Claire’s luck is lackluster.  Like Becca, Andy’s making excuses not to see her too.  If she’s so psychic..how come she didn’t see any of this coming?

In my Dream Girl review, I called the book a “delightful pastiche.”  In regards to Dream Life, I’d think of it more of a dessert, too rich for some, but still simply satisfying.   My favorite aspect of the first book, the dialogue, came back just as strong and enjoyable.   It’s not just Claire’s sarcastic observations filling the book with humor, warmth and real moments, but the adult voices as well, such as when Mechling writes the voice of Jon-Jon, a portly Southern gentleman who’s found himself at home on Claire’s grandmother’s couch:

“She’s catching an ice sculpture show,”Jon-John said lazily. “I had to pass on the opportunity, I’m a Southern boy and the only ice sculpture I like is in the shape of a cube, in a glass of bourbon.”

Once again, I could find several passages I love, but I’d rather have you read and react to them.

All of the characters, from the new to the returning, have a distinct voice.  In particular, the Blue Moons. I loved how they varied, and the unique traits they had, such as Sill’s Veronica Lake-inspired hairdo. A simple element in a large plot, but it’s just an example of how Mechling weaves contemporary, mystical, and vintage elements in for a compelling story.    Reading Dream Girl isn’t essential, but will enhance your enjoyment of the characters and the world in they inhabit.

Take a look at the fantastic trailer for Dream Life below!

Copy for review provided by the publisher.

Title: Dream Life

Author: Lauren Mechling

Date:  January 12, 2010

Publisher: Delacorte

Pages: 336

Format:  Hardback