Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Spike: Shadow Puppets

Book: Spike: Shadow Puppets
Author: Brian Lynch
Artist: Franco Urru
In a Nutshell: Spike is a wee little puppet man!

In this continuation of the story arch from the hilariously twisted Angel episode "Smile Time" , Spike and Loren go to Japan to investigate reports that the evil puppets of "Smile Time" have gone global. And of course, the two end up turning into puppets and battling not just a horde of evil ninja puppets, but also evil replicas of Angelus, Druscilla, Cordelia, Classic Wesley, Spoiler Wesley, Fred/Illyria, Street Gunn, Lawyer Gunn, and more.

Very funny. Nice job on Spike's dialogue especially.

Monday, April 14, 2008

The Plain Janes

Book: The Plain Janes
Author: Cecil Castellucci
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: Four Janes make art, not war

After she is a victim in a terrorist attack in Metro City, Jane's family relocates to the sterile suburbs. She finds a group of misfits- Jane, Jayne, and Polly Jane- and once she overcomes their resistance, together they form P.L.A.I.N. (People Loving Art In Neighborhoods) and secretly perform random acts of public art, what some consider art terrorism. She continues to write letters to a John Doe in a coma in Metro City, and when a letter is returned, she must go against her parents' orders and go back to see what happened.

Great graphic novel about the healing and bonding power of art.

Art by Jim Rugg.

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Slam

Book: Slam
Author: Nick Hornby
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: teen pregnancy, skating, and a talking poster of Tony Hawk

At the age of fifteen, Sam Jones's girlfriend Alicia gets pregnant and Sam's life of skateboarding and talking to a poster of Tony Hawk (which talks back) changes drastically.
Sam also believes TH is responsible for the fast-forward dreams he has, dreams that accurately portray his near future as a father.

Sweet, funny, not overdramatic or idealized view of teen parenthood from a young father's perspective. TH's responses are quotes from his autobiography, which Sam has read dozens of times- quote choices that don't always match Sam's situation, which makes for the funny.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Hush

Book: Hush: An Irish Princess' Tale
Author: Donna Jo Napoli
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: Icelandic saga of kidnapped Irish princess, retold

Melkorka is the 16-year-old daughter of a medieval Irish king around 900 A.D. When she and her younger sister, Brigid, are sent away for safety before an attack by Vikings, they are captured by foreign slave traders and taken on a long sea voyage. Melkorka has always been free with voicing her questions and opinions, but now staying silent is what's keeping her safe, since the leader believes she has powers and doesn't want to incur her wrath. They go from Ireland through the North Sea to what is now Sweden, where her captor intends to sell them all as fine young virgins.

Well-written retelling with good major and minor characters. Napoli integrates lots of info about life in medieval northern Europe, and Ireland in particular. There's a simple map included for the visual among us, like me. There's also basic pronunciation guide for medieval characters like ð and þ, but a glossary with more complete pronunciations would be helpful.
Like in the Icelandic saga it's based on, this retelling leaves several important elements unresolved, which was unsatisfying to me but true to the story, and it also recreates Melkorka's situation and frame of mind more authentically for the reader, since she never found out either. Good read for fans of Napoli and realistic medieval fiction.

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!

Book: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village
Author: Laura Amy Schlitz
Audience: Grades 4 to 6
In a Nutshell: vignettes on medieval life for one or two readers

And the Newbery goes to... a collection of 17 short portraits of young people living in a medieval English village. Mostly written in different poetic forms, and all intended to be read aloud as monologues or two-person vignettes. The word portraits are simply illustrated in the style of a medieval illumination or tapestry, and interspersed with simple introductions to related historical topics such as Pilgrimage, the Crusades, and Falconry. A full stratum of society is represented, from the lord's daughter to the miller's son to the village half-wit. The characters and their stories often overlap or interact with the the one right before or after, but there is not an overarching story- more like a poetic cycle that gives an overall picture when taken together.

The book does an excellent job of combining historical facts and effective, three-dimensional characters fleshed out in very few words. As this year's Newbery winner it seemed to come out of left field for many fans of kid lit (as they often do), but I see what the Newbery Committee was thinking. It stands out in terms of quality of writing, facts, illustrations, and physical layout. As oral monologues I think some are more accessible than others for a grade school reader, but that's not a requirement for handing out Newberys. Enough of the characters' poems are accessible that many young readers will find at least a few they like. And if the shiny medal on the cover, which makes it a shoe-in for school library shelves around the country, starts a revival of readers theater in history and English classrooms around the country, then good for the author.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Unwind

Book: Unwind
Author: Neal Shusterman
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: unwanted teens used for spare parts


In a future U.S., abortion became such a divisive issue that it sparked the Second Civil War. Both sides eventually agreed to a treaty which created a sort of delayed abortion in which unwanted teens are essentially stripped for parts, or "unwound." The story centers on three teens. Connor is 16 and has trouble controlling his temper. Due to the "troubled youth" he has become, his parents have chosen to unwind him. Risa is a ward of the state. She's a talented pianist, but not talented enough; the StaHo (State Home) needs to correct a 5% overcrowding problem, so she's being unwound. Thirteen-year-old Lev has always known he would be unwound. He's the tenth child in a strictly religious family, and he has been set aside since birth as a Tithe to God.

Circumstances throw these three teens together on the run as they hide from Juvy-Cops, care for a baby who's been storked (legally abandoned on a doorstep), find a secret refuge of Unwinds, and fight threats both from within and without as they try to hold themselves together. Literally.

Fascinating premise that challenges stances on both sides of the abortion issue; no one view comes across as wholly good or bad. This is a book that I think will stick with me for a while, much like Pete Hautman's Rash. It also brings up interesting questions about soul and consciousness, and under what conditions our human bodies could hold on to either.

Aside from the overall concept, this is a great action and survival story with lots of plot twists and characters that keep you guessing as to whether they're friend or foe- and they often change. One scene near the end, without being at all gorey, is one of the most disturbing things I've read in a long time.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Defect

Book: Defect
Author: Will Weaver
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: the boy who could fly- or at least glide


David is tall, skinny, has bug eyes and a strange face, and wears hearing aids. Predictably, he's not had an easy life, bouncing from one foster home to the next after his mother turned him over to the system. But there's more, things that not his current foster family the Crutchfields, or his case workers, or anyone at school knows. The hearing aids are actually to block out sound, because his hearing is off the charts. But his biggest secret would have to be his batlike, functional wings. He often goes to Barn Bluff outside of Red Wing and glides down on warm nighttime drafts.

When he is transferred to an alternative school, he actually makes a few friends, and even gets a girlfriend, a girl who calls herself Cheetah and who's prone to grand mal seizures.
Things are going pretty well until an accident and a trip to the hospital exposes his secret, which leads to a stay at the Mayo Clinic. He faces a choice: stay who he is, or have corrective surgery on his face and body and become handsome, earth-bound New Guy. He also befriends a young terminal cancer patient named Brandon and finds himself in a position to help with the boy's very unusual Make-a-Wish wish.

Good "outsider finds his place and comes to terms with self" story.
His relationship with his foster parents is particularly nice- they're truly kind people without being cardboard saints. I really liked this one.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

The Green Glass Sea

Book: The Green Glass Sea
Author: Ellen Klages
Audience: Grades 4 to 7
In a Nutshell: Our parents invented the atomic bomb- how about yours?

In 1943, Dewey Kerrigan takes the train alone from Chicago to New Mexico to join her scientist father at the secret location where the world's greatest scientists are working on "the gadget." She is a smart girl who loves to tinker with mechanics, and is more comfortable around adults than kids her own age. And at Los Alamos, most of the adults are world-famous scientists, which suits her fine.

Suze Gordon tries desperately to fit in on "The Hill", but the popular girls call her "the truck" behind her back. She protests when "Screwy Dewey" comes to stay with her family when her father goes to Washington for several weeks, but the two girls gradually come to an understanding, then find friendship.

Against the backdrop of Los Alamos and the Manhattan Project, the girls live their lives, unaware of the enormity of what their parents are creating; and really, the adults don’t understand it themselves.

Interesting look at a pivotal scientific acheivement and the community that grew up around its creation. I found it a bit slow at times, but nicely written. Dewey and Suze are nicely fleshed out, although only a few of the other characters feel real; which is ironic, since several of them actually were real historical people. I expected more from a few of Dewey's adult friendships that were set up but never explored.
Dewey's voice occasionally shifts from present to past tense, which didn't really work for me; I found it distracting. But aside from the picky stuff, it's a great picture of life not just during WWII, but in a historic ad hoc community.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians

Book: Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Audience: Grades 4 to 6
In a Nutshell: super-powered klutz finds long-lost family and destiny

Listen, I only have a few minutes, so pay attention. If my fellow librarians find out that I’m talking to you, they'll tie me to an altar made of outdated encyclopedias and make me their latest sacrifice. It’s no less than a traitor like me deserves, but the truth must be told.

The truth is, you and everyone you know are living a lie. You think there are only 7 continents? You think Tyrannosaurus Rex was a huge, ferocious beast? I bet you even think dinosaurs are extinct now. Lies! All lies spread by Librarians and our henchmen in order to control information, and therefore the world. You've probably never even heard of Alcatraz Smedry, thanks to our cover-up. You Hushlanders have no idea how important the Smedry family is, or how great their powers are. Even Alcatraz himself, the great hero of the Free Kingdoms, didn't know until his thirteenth birthday, when he received a small bag of sand in the mail, with a note from his parents. His parents disappeared when he was a baby, and he was raised by a long string of foster families, so you can imagine his confusion. But things get even more confusing when the sand is stolen, his grandfather shows up, and Alcatraz finally learns about his family. For one thing, he and his grandfather are Oculators; they can use specially made eyeglasses to do all sorts of cool things, from tracking footprints to firing laser beams. But there's more: each Smedry is born with a special Talent. These Talents are admired and envied across the Free Kingdoms- heck, we Librarians have been trying to get them for centuries. And Alcatraz has a rare gift indeed, the kind that legends are made of. Almost everything he touches breaks, especially if it's mechanical. His grandpa has the Talent of arriving late to everything; his cousin Sing Sing has a Talent for falling down.

What, you don't think those are useful Talents? Then you have obviously been brainwashed by Librarians. All the Smedry Talents will come in very useful when they undertake their dangerous, and foolish, mission: infiltrating the downtown Library to recover the sand and defeat the Dark Oculator.

Oh no! I see a hair bun and some horn-rimmed glasses headed this way. My time is up. Read Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians, supposedly written by Brandon Sanderson, but really by our hero, Alcatraz. But please, read it soon- before the Librarians pull it off the shelves for good.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

M Is for Magic

Book: M Is for Magic
Author: Neil Gaiman
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: Jack Horner, trolls, jeweled skull tennis balls, the Holy Grail, and more make appearances in these short stories

A collection of fantasy, horror, and sci-fi short stories. I listened to the audio, which is read by author Neil Gaiman quite nicely. The stories range from a hard-bitten detective story about nursery rhyme characters (Jasper Fforde, anyone?) to a short but creepy tale about an eeevil Jack-in-the-Box, to the story of a woman who buys the Holy Grail at OxFam for 30p. I also quite liked "Troll Bridge," in which a boy manages to put off a troll from eating him several times throughout his life, but in the end it all catches up to him.

Gaiman introduces the collection by laying out that you may like some stories and not others, and that's the beauty of short stories, that you have lots of options right there in one, and he's right. I liked some more than others, but the variety was great. An excellent choice for fans of Gaiman, or if you're looking for a wide variety of speculative fiction all in one book (or box o' CDs).

Bonus fun fact: The title is an homage to Ray Bradbury's R Is for Rocket and S Is for Spaceship collections.

Taken

Book: Taken
Author: Edward Bloor
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: what's next, Kidnappers R Us?

In the year 2035, the economic divide between the Haves and the Have Nots has become even more pronounced, and kidnapping has become a growth industry for the underclass. It's becoming a well-established, if still illegal, way to make quick money, and if parents follow instructions closely, children are usually returned intact. Mostly.

Charity lives with her father and almost-ex-stepmother in The Highlands, an exclusive gated community in Florida. Like the rest of the kids there, she goes to "satschool" remotely and almost never leaves The Highlands, except under heavy guard. When she becomes ill, kidnappers disguised as an ambulance come, and she is taken.

From her gurney in the ambulance, she gradually gets to know the young man who's guarding her, and the two of them argue and challenge each other about the rights and wrongs of the system, kidnapping, racism, etc. Eventually Charity is shocked by the identity of her kidnappers and must make a choice between returning to her old life or living a new way.

Great concept, good fodder for book club debate, but I wasn't as impressed with the writing itself- ideas felt too clearly laid out sometimes, like the characters were sharing position papers rather than having a conversation. Still, lots of action, plot twists and interesting ideas make it a good choice.

One or more of the different major plot twists may strike some readers as stretching credulity, or maybe it won't bother you at all. I usually just go with the flow when I'm reading, but even I thought the surprise twists were getting to be a bit much. Still, overall I liked it.

Thursday, January 31, 2008

The Professor's Daughter

Book: The Professor's Daughter
Author: Joann Sfar
Artist:
Emmanuel Guibert
Audience: Tween to Teen
In a Nutshell: girl and mummy at large in London

In Victorian London, a famous archaeologist's daughter and the inexplicably animate mummy of Imhotep IV go out on the town, only to accidentally kill two men later, go through trial, jail, and the Tower, then the biggest challenge: facing Imhotep's father, the less civilized Imhotep III.

Oddly engaging story with very bizarre concept; lovely watercolor art is a step or two above your average comic book fare, much as I love them. Originally published in France, 1997.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Undercover

Book: Undercover
Author: Beth Kephart
Audience: Tween to Teen
In a Nutshell: Cyrano girl learns how not to be invisible

Elisa is a poet, but nobody knows it. Or at least, only a select few. The guys at school know that if they're serious about wooing the girl of their dreams, Elisa is the one to go to. Like a high school Cyrano de Bergerac, she ghost writes poetry that wins hearts. She is an expert at being undercover, at staying invisible while she observes the world around her, both in nature and the social order of high school. Now she is writing poems from Theo, who she likes, to Lila, who is a beautiful but horrible girl. Elisa is also coping with the absence of her father on extended business, which is straining her parents' marriage. She's also teaching herself to skate in the privacy of her own hidden pond, but she won't stay hidden for long, either on the pond or from Theo.

This is a lovely little book, poetic and sensitive with lots of poetry incorporated, but I honestly had a hard time getting into it. Probably because the last book I read was a rollicking good time, and it was hard to downshift that fast. But if you're in the mood for poetic and sensitive, look no further.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

I Love You, Beth Cooper

Book: I Love You, Beth Cooper
Author: Larry Doyle
Audience: High School to Adult
In a Nutshell: one nerd's all-night mad-cap journey from valedictorian to happy, bloody pulp

Denis Cooverman is valedictorian, debate team captain, social misfit, and sweatier than he knows what to do with. During his graduation speech at Buffalo Grove High School, he deviates from his original script and instead confesses his enduring love for Beth Cooper, cheerleading captain and homecoming queen. Ever since he first sat behind her in seventh grade- an arrangement often to be repeated due to their sequential last names- he has loved her from behind. And yes, he does say that last phrase at graduation. You can imagine the response.

But the speech is only the beginning of a non-stop night of hijinks and attempts on his life. Beth and the other two girls in her Trinity of Cool, Treece and Cammy, actually show up for reasons unknown at Denis's party, which until that moment consisted only of Denis and his movie-quote-obsessed, ambiguous-yet-insistently-not-gay best friend, Rich Munsch. Then Beth's psycho military boyfriend, Kevin, shows up in a Hummer, and the fun just keeps comin'.

I think humor is one of the toughest things to review, because everyone's sense of it is so different. With that disclaimer in place, I'll say this is the funniest book I've read in a long time. Really, really, funny. I was reading it while waiting for my oil change and trying not to laugh out loud in public, but the funny-ness could not be contained. And that's how I ended up snorting to myself in Tires Plus. Think of the funniest end-of-school teen movie you know and you're getting the idea.

There is an illustration of Denis at the beginning of each chapter, and each one reflects the new injuries and indignities he received in the last chapter. There's a wealth of brilliant new phrases, at least new to me, like "benevolent cliquetator". I present the context for another choice phrase as an example of what I found so funny:

"Henry was the local purveyor of aftermarket pharmaceuticals, not quite a drug dealer though he played the part, replete with an embroidered urban dialect spoken only in the suburbs. What made Henry's lily-white gangsta act all the more sad was that he was African-American. He was a black whigger." (p. 107)

One of the blurb writers describe the book as "wickedly funny," and that about sums it up.


Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Good As Lily

Book: Good As Lily
Author: Derek Kirk Kim
Artist: Jesse Hamm

Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: talk about Multiple Personality Disorder!

A piñata from a mysterious street vendor works a strange kind of magic on Grace's life on her 18th birthday. It creates 3 extra versions of herself at 6, 29, and 78 years old. Trying to keep them hidden or explain their presence is tricky enough without young Grace throwing tantrums, old Grace stealing her father's cigarettes, and adult Grace coming on to Mr. Levon, the young English teacher she has a crush on in real-time. In the midst of juggling all of her selves, Grace is forced to face issues from her past, warnings for the future, and gets the chance to see the value of certain friends in the here and now.

Fun idea, nicely rendered with snappy dialogue and good drawing. I especially like the way Grace is drawn: a comic book girl with beautiful natural curves. Oh, and if you're wondering where the title comes from, it has to do with her sister, who died young.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Everlost

Book: Everlost
Author: Neal Shusterman
Audience: Teen

In a Nutshell: imagine spending eternity caught between life and death with chocolate on your face


Adventure-packed, often thought-provoking fantasy about two children who end up stuck between life and death, where as "Everlights," their feet sink through the living world, and only things and places either greatly loved or touched by death are solid.

Nick and Allie died in the same car crash, but before they were able to go to the infamous Light, they were bounced off-course by running into each other. They wake up 9 months later, in the world but separate, and they meet a boy they name Leif who has forgotten his real name. He would rather stay in his forest, but like most Greensouls (new kids to Everlost), Nick and Allie want to find their homes. The three eventually make their way to New York and find the famous Mary Hightower, a girl who has taken on a motherly role in gathering and caring for Afterlights. She lives in the Twin Towers, two of a handful of buildings that have crossed over in their entirety. Allie doesn't like Mary's complacency- Allie wants to find a way home, or at least out. Her attempts to learn ways to interact with the living world backfire, and Nick and Leif are taken prisoner. To rescue them, she must face the dreaded monster, the McGill.

Nicely done, with a good combo of action and intriguing worldbuilding. There are several references to bygone historical places like the Twin Towers and a pier w/ Shiloh the Diving Horse; some will probably go over readers' heads, but there's a little history to be learned here for the motivated backstory pursuer, and lots of great atmosphere whether you fully "get it" or not.

The author doesn't get into the worldviews of where children go when they finally move on- Everlost is an imagined middle ground, a place to
explore the way that the past haunts the living, whether it's through memory or actual ghostly remnants, and what helps these ghosts to move on.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Igraine the Brave

Book: Igraine the Brave
Author: Cornelia Funke

Audience: Grades 3 to 5

In a Nutshell: singing books, piggie parents, and girl on a quest


Igraine is the daughter of the great magicians Sir Lamorak and the fair Melisande, and sister to young magician Albert. They live together in Pimpernael Castle, protected by a magical moat, gargoyles, and roaring stone lions. Igraine is not very interested in magic herself; she would much prefer to be a knight. When her parents accidentally turn themselves into pigs, and then a nasty new neighbor beseiges the castle and demands their famous singing spell books, she finds her chance to save the day. With the fine stallion Lancelot ("borrowed" from a neighbor) she rides in search of giant's hairs to reverse the piggie spell. Along the way she meets the self-exiled Sorrowful Knight, who reluctantly joins her in her quest to save her home.

Cute fairy tale story for younger readers. I've never been completely in love with Funke's books, mostly because they're in translation from German, and though the translators do a good job the books still feel once-removed to me. From a half-full perspective, this story uses a moatful of well-loved fairy tale elements all together in one plucky tale. For the half-empty half, I found it a bit pedestrian- like she cobbled together all the most cliched fairy tale elements into one story, though in a mostly likable way, if you're not looking for a lot of originality. Would work well for younger readers or listeners even younger than that- good readaloud for second graders, I bet.

Good reading by Xanthe Elbrick on the audio version.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

The Wednesday Wars

Book: The Wednesday Wars
Author: Gary Schmidt
Audience: Tweens
In a Nutshell: it's tough being Presbyterian

Is it too cliched to say I laughed, I cried? Because I did. There are very few authors who can motivate me to read American historical fiction, but Gary Schmidt just became one of them. Holling Hoodhood's story of life as a seventh grader in 1967 Long Island had me alternately laughing out loud at the ridiculous situations and pitch-perfect delivery, tearing up at the painful and poignant moments, and marveling at how Schmidt effectively wove Shakespeare throughout without screaming, "Look, kids! Learnin' is fun!" Holling is the only Presbyterian in his class, which means that on Wednesday afternoons when half the class goes to Temple Beth-El and the other half goes to Catechism at St. Adelbert's, he is left alone with Mrs. Baker. She gives him a variety of unappealing tasks to pass the time, and eventually gives him his own personal Shakespeare assignments, and the story goes on from there. Like with his earlier Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (which I haven't read), the tween audience for this book makes it a strong candidate for either Newbery or Printz consideration, IMHO. Shakespearian insults, maddeningly uninvolved/self-involved parents, the Vietnam War, giant falling rats, and a costume with feathers on the butt all weave together beautifully.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil

Book: Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil
Author/Artist: Jeff Smith

Audience: Tween to Teen

In a Nutshell: a fresh look at Captain Marvel


I've never read any other Captain Marvel comics, so I don't have anything to compare this to in the pantheon. But I like Jeff Smith (of Bone fame), and I liked both the bright, appealing art and the story here. This incarnation of Marvel has the aw-shucks charm of an Old School superhero without descending into total cheese ball territory. And some people have said that the megalomaniacal Attorney General character bears a striking resemblance to Dick Cheney, but Smith denies any intentionality there. ;) The world it's set in is definitely influenced by the current state of the union, with a "Heartland Security" division flexing increasingly militant power. Aside from the political stuff, the story of orphaned Billy and the superhero he becomes with a magic word, and the crazy monsters and threats to the space-time continuum that he and his friends fight, is solid comic book fare. The bad guys swear once in a while, but overall I'd put this in the same all-ages appeal category as Bone.

Wild Magic

Book: Wild Magic (Book 1 of the Immortals Quartet)
Author: Tamora Pierce
Audience: Tween and Teen
In a Nutshell: she walks with the animals, talks with the animals


After her entire family is killed and her home destroyed by raiders, Daine sets out with her pony Cloud to make a new life. She becomes apprentice to Onua, horse woman for the army of Tortall. Onua quickly recognizes that Daine doesn't just have a way with animals; she possesses Wild Magic, a much rarer gift than the well-recognized magical Gifts. They meet up with the new recruits in training for the Riders, led by The Lioness herself- Alanna, the famous Queen's Rider- and eventually they travel to the king and queen's seaside castle at Pirate's Swoop.

Nasty, unnatural Stormwings attack on the way, then later are part of a seige by an enemy kingdom, and Daine's ability to rally animals to their support becomes invaluable.

She also is learning to control her powers with the help of a mage, and she is sometimes visited by a mysterious badger at night who seems to know something of her unknown father.

Shocking though this may seem to fellow teen fantasy fans, this was my first Tamora Pierce book. I know, I know. I can see why she's so popular: judging by this book, she puts together a likable cast of characters with a winning balance of action and secrets gradually revealed, both to the reader and the characters themselves. Starting with Alanna's Lioness quartet would have given me more back story and character insight, but this series also stands alone.

Speaking of the cast of characters, I actually "read" it via the Full Cast Audio version. Overall it was well done, with the author herself reading the narrator parts. My one quibble is with how sllloooowwwwly and deliberately they performed it. Great for English language learners and younger read-alongers, and maybe for Texans. For this fast-talkin' Yankee, it was trying my patience until I sped it up on my iPod. Then it sounded a little awkward, like the Stephen Hawking's Computer Voice and Friends cast, but still better.

Friday, January 04, 2008

The Whole Sky Full of Stars

Book: The Whole Sky Full of Stars
Author: Rene Saldana
, Jr.
Audience: Tween to Teen
In a Nutshell: boxing, gambling and friendship don't mix


Alby and Barry have been best friends since first grade, but now that friendship is threatened. Alby has gotten in over his head gambling with the school card shark, Ciro, and now he's got a debt he can't pay. He could ask his wealthy parents for the money, but he doesn't want to face the lecture from his father.

Barry learned to box from his trainer father before he died, and he's good. When Alby suggests he fight in the unsanctioned Man o' Might competition, Barry is hesitant, but Alby's description of the prize money convinces him. Barry's mother works 12 hours a day or more and they're barely making ends meet, and Barry wants to help.

Alby knows he's taking advantage of his best friend, but he really needs the money, and he's afraid of what Ciro's goons will do to him. But Barry's not stupid, and the way Alby is manipulating him threatens to end their long friendship.

Not a bad book, but didn't capture my interest much at all. I've got prettty broad taste, but boxing and cars (the Ford Galaxie Barry and his dad worked on) aren't on the top of my list. Maybe guys will like it. Might be a good choice if you're looking for a guy book with action without the edginess, and a short, quick read.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

The Declaration

Book: The Declaration
Author: Gemma Malley

Audience: Teen

In a Nutshell: immortality=illegal children


The year is 2140. When the scientists and drug companies developed Longevity drugs, it meant the end of cancer, AIDS, and eventually aging itself. World leaders quickly realized that they could have an extreme population problem soon, so they developed The Declaration. Any person wishing to take Longevity drugs, which is almost everyone, must sign a Declaration promising not to have children. Children born in opposition to the Declaration are known as Surpluses. Surplus Anna has lived in Grange Hall since she was two, ever since she was discovered and taken away from her parents, who were sent to prison. Surplus halls were created to raise illegal children and turn them into vaulable assets, instead of simply burdens to the world. They are also taught their place, which is barely human; they live like slaves and have virtually no rights at all.

Anna is a model surplus and prefect at Grange Hall, raised to consider herself worse than dirt and hate her parents for their selfishness in giving birth to her. Her ordered life is first disturbed when a woman she works for gives her a journal, and she secretly writes in it- a very illegal activity at Grange Hall. Then a new surplus boy named Peter arrives, and he challenges Anna to question what she's been told by the horrible Mrs. Pincent and the other teachers. He says he knows her parents, and they love her and want her to escape and rejoin them. She resists at first, but Peter's persistence, his love and friendship, and then his imminent danger spur her to action.

A very compelling dystopian story that explores ideas of life and worth, love and sacrifice, and whether you'd really want to live forever.