Eclipse

Book: Eclipse
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Audience: Teen and Adult
In a Nutshell: bloodsucker or dog? Hot or cold? Human or in-?

Bella is counting down to graduation, when Edward and the Cullens have finally consented to turn her. She thinks she's ready, but as the day approaches she's starting to think there are things about being human that she still hasn't experienced- like sex. But Edward wants to get married first.

Jacob's pack is growing- and in a surprise twist of the legend, there's now a female wolf. Several of the wolves have developed bonds- irresistable links to people of the opposite sex outside the pack- sometimes romantic, sometimes just totally devoted. There have been many mysterious killings in Seattle which seem vampiric, but the culprit is a mystery. Soon the high-profile nature will bring the Volturi to clean up, the vampire world's own mafia, which would be bad. The true nature of the deaths forms a threat to both the Cullens and the La Push werewolf pack. With Bella and their turf at stake, the Cullens and the Jacob's pack form an uneasy alliance.

Jacob, Bella and Edward's relationship continue to develop, shift, and get yet more complicated. Ah, to be young and supernatural. But someday soon, Bella will have to make the Choice of No Return, if she's ready.

I still just eat these books up. I put them in the same category as Harry Potter: well but not spectacularly written, but oh-so-readable. I had a roommate who burned her way through Twilight, then turned immediately to the first page and started over. Then read it again a month later. Book Four is a-comin' in August 2008, and I'm already #28 on the waiting list of 80 and growing at my library. Advance entry into the catalog: a true sign that an author has Made It.

Clementine

Book: Clementine
Author: Sara Pennypacker
Audience: Grades 2-4
In a Nutshell: haircuts, ceiling snakes, and a war against the pigeons

Third grader Clementine is always paying attention, but not to what her teachers expect. She means well and tries to help, but always seems to end up getting in trouble, like when she helped her friend Margaret cut her gluey hair off and colored on some new hair with her artist mother's permanent markers. She is very familiar with the principal's office- so much so that she answers the phone- and she's a little worried that there are ceiling snakes because of how often Mrs. Rice looks up at the ceiling when Clementine is in there. She calls her toddler brother a variety of vegetable names because it's not fair that she got stuck with a fruit name and he didn't (we never do learn his real name). She helps her dad, the apartment building manager, in his daily war against the pigeons, and that may be what keeps her week from being really crummy.

Very funny, sweet, and spunky. Good for the Ramona or Junie B. crowd.

Good reading by Jessica Almasy.

As Simple As Snow

Book: As Simple As Snow
Author: Gregory Galloway
Audience: High School to Adult
In a Nutshell: narrator has a free-spirited goth girlfriend who disappears, but no name

Anna Cayne, who prefers Anastasia, moves to town one August, and by February she has killed everyone in town- at least on paper, when she finishes writing their obituaries. She dresses goth but defies definition when she starts going out with a normal, almost invisibly ordinary guy. He considers himself more boring than milk- more like water. His mom is incompetent at everything, his dad hides in his den most of the time, and his older brother barely ever visits their stifling home. He has one friend, Curt, who is the friendly, well-liked school drug dealer- mostly prescription stuff like Ritalin. His and Anna's odd couple relationship is the talk of the school, and her zest for mystery and knowing her world is beginning to rouse him from his mediocre life. Then a week before Valentine's Day, she disappears. The only evidence she leaves behind is a hole in the ice of the river and a dress, carefully laid out next to the hole. No one knows if she's dead or alive. She used to constantly send him cryptic notes and mix CD's, and that doesn't end after she's gone. The narrator- who remains unnamed the entire book- becomes obsessed with figuring out what her clues mean and where she is, even if that means asking TV and phone psychics he doesn't really believe in and trying to catch them out like Houdini did. He and Anna had a code phrase they would use to know if the other person was trying to contact them: "as simple as snow." Now he is seeing and hearing it several places. Even when he seems to be getting nowhere in solving her mystery, his life is changing along the way, mostly for the better.

Very good mystery- although I'm warning you, a lot goes unresolved in the end. Many questions are left with only the smallest hints of answers, but by the end the narrator's life and outlook have changed in such a way that I didn't hate the ambiguity.

This book won an Alex Award in 2006, and for good reason. For whatever mysterious distinction that New York devised, it was published for adults, but it's really a high school book. I mean, really. High school characters, authentic high school voice, some language and mention of sex, but nothing explicit (not that that bars it from the teen shelves). All part of cashing in on the YA book market's enormous growth, I suppose.

Since the hardcover and paperback covers are so different, I included both. Which do you like better? I can't decide.

King Dork

Book: King Dork
Author: Frank Portman
Audience: High school to adult
In a Nutshell: Sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll, Catcher in the Rye, and the mystery of a dead father

Tom Henderson has one friend, Sam Hellerman, by way of alphabetical order seating, and a nickname, Chi-Mo, he prefers not to explain. He and Sam Hellerman have a band together, although they have no drummer, no instruments, have never performed, and change the band name about once a week (there's even an index devoted to tracking all the names). Nevertheless, they practice nearly every day after school. Hillmont High School is your basic teenage nightmare: subhuman popular kids, teachers ranging from indifferent to vindictive, and a social ladder on which Tom may actually exist below the bottom rung, if that's possible. In one predictable bit of torture, he'll be reading The Catcher in the Rye again this year. He doesn't understand the cult following surrounding that book, but when he discovers a well-worn copy among his dad's things, he's shocked to discover that his dad, who died when he was young, was a member of the Catcher Cult, too. A series of cryptic notes in the book lead Tom to believe there is a code hidden by his father, and he obsessively tries to figure it out.

Add also life with his spaced-out mother, bitter sister, and well-meaning but parentally-challenged stepfather, a mystery girl he gets to second base with at a party and now can't find again, and the spinning devil-head that looks like his English teacher that pops up whenever he uses a vocab word, just to name a few of his issues.

Without getting into all the insanity, I'll just say that this is a very funny book, definitely for older readers. There's language, groping, a bit of drug use, and fairly regular blow jobs. So now I've either warned you, or sent you running for the library. The author, Frank Portman, is apparently known as "Dr. Frank" of the Mr. T Experience, and if I knew anything about old-school West Coast punk, that might mean something to me.

I leave you with a quote from one of my favorite episodes in the book: the Stratego Sex Inquisition:

"I had just been a participant in the most retarded version of the sitcom sex talk the world had ever seen... Maybe my mom...had told LBT [stepfather] he had to talk to me about sex. He was reluctant but couldn't refuse. And in the course of his research he got sidetracked by Stratego and-boom! My sexual awakening was suddenly all about Vietnam."

don't judge an author by his covers

This is me (behind the paper), my co-worker Ginger (left), and author Richard Peck. Why do I so often look slightly sedated in photos? I don't know. But that's beside the point. Richard Peck writes mostly American historical fiction for the 4-8th grade set, which is not my favorite genre, but the writing is so good that I read and enjoy them anyway. Earlier this week, he visited my library. He's an engaging speaker, and I'm glad I got the chance to meet him.

He touched on a few topics, like writing, the subjects of his books, etc., but there was a refrain that ran throughout his talk. Mr. Peck's mission is to bad-mouth his publisher's art department up one side of the country and down the other.

See that look on his face? That's the way he feels about at least 9 out of 10 of his covers. It was pretty funny, if a bit obsessive. The man never gets the covers he asks for, and the books are less appealing as a result. Which is probably true. They're not bad covers, just very sedate. By his telling, the art department ladies have it in for him and give him the exact covers he asks them not to do. For The Teacher's Funeral, for example, he asked for a fist fight, and they gave him a photo of a one-room schoolhouse.

The international examples got truly bizarre. His most famous character is Grandma Dowdel in A Long Way from Chicago, a cantankerous and independent woman living on a farm in Illinois. Yes, she has a shotgun, and yes, she is extremely wary of unexpected visitors who may be salesmen, but it's all very funny. In Japan, the cover for the book looks more like a deleted scene from Deliverance. I couldn't find a close-up graphic, but squint sideways at the above photo and you might get the idea.

Once you leave out the cover ranting, there were only about 20 minutes left of presentation (okay, maybe 30), but it was good. He's a big supporter of libraries and all the research you can do there. One of his most memorable statements for me was (and I paraphrase): people say you should write what you know; forget that. No one wants to hear about what you know. Write about what you can find out.
I like that. I can find out quite a bit.

Victory

Book: Victory
Author: Susan Cooper
Audience: Grades 4-7
In a Nutshell: two kids, two centuries, one ship, and one set of memories shared

Molly Jennings misses England. Her mother married an American, and now Molly, her mother, and her new baby brother live on the East Coast. In the midst of missing home and friends, hating sailing, and hating her step-brother's obnoxious best friend, Molly stumbles across an old book about Vice-Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson, the hero of the Battle of Trafalgar. She's never been particularly interested in naval history, but she feels strangely drawn to this book. Hidden inside the cover, she is amazed to discover a piece of the flag flown over Nelson's ship at Trafalgar, the H.M.S. Victory. According to the note, it's been passed down from a boy who served with the Admiral in that fateful battle; his name was Sam Robbins. Molly begins to hear strange noises, see strange things, and remember bits of dreams that seem like memories; except she's never been at sea, and she's never been in battle. And the memories get stronger all the time.

Sam Robbins and his Uncle Charlie are press-ganged into the Royal Navy when Sam is only eleven- legally kidnapped when Her Majesty needed more sailors. Although it's a difficult adjustment from farm boy to the harsh life of a sailor, Sam grows to love the sea and, like all his shipmates, love Lord Nelson. He is proud and honored when Nelson makes Victory his flag ship for the coming battle against Napoleon's forces, but he's also scared; he's never seen real battle. He knows it won't be pretty, but nothing could prepare him for the horror and grief of what he witnesses.

Molly and Sam's stories come together in a dramatic battle climax as two characters separated by 200 years are joined by one scrap of flag and intense memories that mysteriously bridge the centuries.

British school children learn about Lord Nelson the way Americans learn about Abraham Lincoln, maybe- pick an iconic hero and you've got it. I admit, if someone had asked me about Nelson before I read this book, all I would've remembered was that he's the pigeon-covered guy on the column in Trafalgar Square (apologies to Mr. McKean, my European Civilizations teacher: you tried). So this story was a good history refresher disguised as a sea story for you fans of nautical adventures. There is also touching family drama as Molly comes to terms with her new home, stepdad and stepbrother, as well as finally, properly saying goodbye to her father, who died in a plane crash at sea several years earlier. All nicely tied together with a thread of mysterious fantasy.

Imaginary Men

Book: Imaginary Men
Author: Anjali Banerjee
Audience: Adult and High School
In a Nutshell: sort of an Indian-American Pride and Prejudice meets Hello, Dolly

Lina Ray grew up in California, but her family roots are deeply planted in India. Now that her little sister is married, she becomes the very direct target of her great-aunt's matchmaking efforts. To avoid a horrible set up, she tells her family she's actually secretly engaged. Unfortunately, her aunt insists on coming to America to officially approve of this mystery man. Since there is no such man, and she doesn't want to disappoint her family, Lina has 2 months to find Mr. Right. She even runs a matchmaking service in San Francisco, but that doesn't seem to be helping her avoid some really bad dates. Of course, enter Raj: the most unsuitable match possible. They met at her sister's wedding, and now he wants her to find a wife for his younger brother. You can guess where this is going. To top it all off, he's an actual Indian prince of some sort. It even has some sensitive elements, as Lina gradually lets go of the idealized memory of her dead fiance. I read it in one sitting; but I never could resist a good Pride and Prejudice-type story, and this is one.

If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince?

Book: If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince?
Author: Melissa Kantor
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: is Prince Charming captain of the basketball team, or a brooding artist?

Lucy's mother died when she was young, and she had no need for another one. But her father remarried anyway, to a furniture-shopping socialite with twin socialite-wannabe daughters who can do no wrong in their mother's eyes. Now she's stuck on the East Coast, thousands of miles from home and friends, and even her dad has abandoned her to work all week out of state, leaving her alone with the steps.

Despite feeling like a social pariah, she catches the attention of the Big Man on Campus with her impressive basketball knowledge and fandom. But all is not quite right, despite her overnight popularity by association. She's stuck for how to finish her art project, the talented guy in her class continues to ignore her entirely, and her step-mother keeps her in the basement with no furniture and horns in on all her time with her dad.

Cinderella retellings abound, and no surprises here, but I really liked this one. Very witty, funny writing, and not all the stereotyped characters are entirely shallow.

Forging the Sword

Book: Forging the Sword (book three of the Farsala Trilogy)
Author: Hilari Bell
Audience: Teen to Adult
In a Nutshell: the fighting gets desperate, spiffy new swords and magical lightning enter the picture, and will the real Sorahb please step forward?

Soraya, Jiann and Kavi are back for the action-packed conclusion of this historical fantasy trilogy. I made up that sub-genre, do you like it? I think it fits. The lands of Farsala and Hrum are fictional, but Farsala seems a lot like ancient Persia or another proud old culture, and the Hrum seem a lot like Romans. I could call it high fantasy, but there's not a huge amount of magic. So I'm going with historical fantasy. Take it or leave it.

Anyway, the story so far is that the mighty Hrum empire has already conquered 28 other lands, and now it's Farsala's turn. To avoid costly, drawn-out wars, the Hrum give themselves a self-imposed time limit: if they can't conquer a land in one year, they stop fighting and make peace. There are now only 3 months left, and even though the Farsalan nobility (called deghans) were almost all wiped out, the scrappy peasant army led by Jiann is holding its own. With the help of the mysterious desert people, the Suud, they've finally figured out the secret to the Hrum's nearly unbreakable swords (hence the title). Soraya has also gotten a much better handle on her shilshadu, a kind of elemental, nature-based magic. And Kavi is still making amends and doing vital work for Farsala's war effort, but Jiann still intends to kill him when it's over for betraying lots of innocent nobles, including he and Soraya's father, so that's kind of a killjoy for Kavi. Then there's the question of whether there is a real Sorahb, or if he's just a mythical hero invented by peasants.

It all comes to a head with lots of battles, tricky guerilla fighting, spying, working with the enemy, noble sacrifice, and a bit of magical thunderstorm control. If you like a healthy dose of political intrigue with your action, magic, and battle scenes, the Farsala Trilogy is a good one to try. Actually, everything I've read by Hilari Bell is consistently good, so try it out.

Bella at Midnight

Book: Bella at Midnight
Author: Diane Stanley
Audience: Grades 5 to 8
In a Nutshell: girl saves prince and country in this fairy tale style story

Isabela, called Bella, is the daughter of a knight, but since her crotchety widowed father has no interest in raising her, she lives with a loving adoptive family, the blacksmith and his wife Beatrice in the village of Castle Down. It happens that Beatrice was nursemaid to Prince Julian, one of the younger princes, and Julian is constantly spending time in the village visiting them. He and Bella were raised almost as brother and sister, but as you might guess, that relationship changes as they get older, although neither quite realize it at first.

When the father she never knew she had remarries, he calls her back to live with the family (which, of course, includes two stepsisters). She is treated like a servant and actually prefers the comfort of that role, which is more like her peasant upbringing.

Not so long ago, their kingdom had a long and costly war with neighboring Brutanna. To avoid repeating history, Julian is being required by his family to become a hostage in Brutanna, and being a dutiful prince, Julian is willing to go through with it. Even though he snubbed her last time they met, Bella still worries about her friend; even moreso when she hears that his brother, now the king and not the most upright candidate for the job, is planning on attacking Brutanna in secret, even though it will mean the death of his captive brother. Villain! Bella sets out alone on a journey to Brutanna in the hopes of somehow warning or rescuing Julian. To help her, she has a magical emerald ring that shows her people she wants to see. Then there is the legend of the Worthy Knight, a character who is supposed to return and bring peace.

Bits of various folk and fairy tales show up, most obviously Cinderella, but this is more of a mash-up than a cover, an original story that feels very familiar. A lovely tale with lots of heart, honor and bravery, not to mention battle action and romance.

Tracking Trash

Book: Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion Author: Loree Griffin Burns
Audience: Grades 4 to 8
In a Nutshell: what Nikes can teach us about the ocean

In 1990, the cargo ship Hansa Carrier lost five containers full of Nikes overboard in a storm during a voyage from Korea to the U.S. As it turns out, sneakers float and stand up to ocean corrosion very well. An oceanographer named Curt Ebbesmeyer saw a golden opportunity to study ocean currents. He recruited the help of beachcombers all along the West Coast and beyond to report back to him where and when they found the shoes that washed ashore. Where they turned up taught him all sorts of things about how ocean currents work. Dr. Ebbesmeyer went on to track a lost shipment of plastic tub toys and plenty of other ocean-going trash.

I skimmed the book and found it interesting. It's pretty texty and in-depth on the topic, which is why I didn't read every word, but there are also good pictures and maps for browsers like me. If you're looking for solid info on oceanography, you'll find that here as well.

Pride of Baghdad

Book: Pride of Baghdad
Author: Brian Vaughan
Artist: Niko Henrichon
Audience: High School and Adult
In a Nutshell: escaped lions roam war-torn Baghdad

When Baghdad is bombed by US forces, the zoo is heavily hit, and what animals survive escape into the war-torn streets. Four lions- Zill, Safa, Noor, and the cub Ali- have different reactions. For Safa, freedom is a dream come true; Noor, who lived in the wild, prefers the safety of the zoo. It's up to the male, Zill, to hold them together as a pride. They face the dangers of other escaped animals, encounter dangerous new creatures such as herds of tanks, and learn more about the perplexing world of the Keepers as their world collides with the human world.

This graphic novel takes a powerful look at war from an animal perspective. For example, the old tortoise they meet by the river has seen it all before; he doesn't know what the conflicts are about, just that the humans make black death (oil) flow in the river every time. As if no food and the really nasty "pet" bear they find in an abandoned palace aren't bad enough, they have yet to cross paths with American assault rifles.

Be aware that this is an adult graphic novel; there is some language, graphic violence (I hope I never actually see a giraffe get its head blown off by a shell *shudder*), and sexual content. The sex is between lions and not graphic, but still disturbing in places where assault is portrayed.

Maturity level aside, this is a remarkable war story- and based on a true event, by the way. A group of lions did escape from the Baghdad zoo amidst shelling in 2003.

Secrets of My Hollywood Life

Book: Secrets of My Hollywood Life
Author: Jen Calonita
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: teen superstar goes to high school in a wig and discount clothes

Kaitlin Burke is the sixteen-year-old star of Family Affair, the hottest show in primetime. She really needs a break from her back-stabbing co-star, Sky Mackenzie, so she enlists the help of her only "normal" friend, Liz. She convinces her mom, dad, personal assistant, publicist, bodyguard, and all the other people controlling her life to let her enroll at Liz's public school during a break in filming- in disguise, of course.

With her plain brown wig and clothes from the equivalent of K-Mart, Kaitlin is definitely safe from admirers. In fact, the In clique pegs her immediately as a big loser and treats her accordingly. One exeption is Austin, the cute, popular captain of the lacrosse team who, of course, likes Kaitlin and shrugs off his bitchy rich girlfriend to show interest in Kaitlin- for herself, not her money and fame, which is what she's always wanted. But when Kaitlin is mysteriously not part of the Rich & Famous scene as much, Sky smells a chance to get one up on her more popular costar, and Sky's celebrity guest appearance at the school's spring dance could ruin everything.

There's nothing all that different or memorable here; this book is likable but predictable. I will say that good-natured Kaitlin's story is a refreshing change from the glut of high society bitch-fest books out there to choose from (A-List, The Clique, etc. etc. ad nauseum). In the negative column, it really annoys me in books, this one included, when the author resorts to lots of high-end brand-name-dropping to pound home the fact that yes, these girls are really rich; stuff like "she grabbed her Gucci purse and Dolce coat and ran out the door." What do I care? A few times, okay. But constantly? Ugh. It also dates the book. My pet peeves aside, if you're looking for some decent chic lit, this fits the bill.

Please Don't Drool on the Authors

M.T. Anderson is one of my favorite authors. Notice I'm not prefacing that with "for teens"; he's just one of my favorites, period. Wait, make that my very favorite living author. As evidenced by all the 'o's I use when I talk or write about his books, as in: "I looooove M.T. Anderson." Well, I may add a few more 'o's yet, because I just got back from a discussion panel featuring him, Pete Hautman (who I also really like) and Alison McGhee, who I wasn't really familiar with before. They all did an engaging and thoughtful job discussing their views on teen literature in general, on writing it, reading it, and debating whether "albino squirrel" is a brilliant plot idea or just a noun.

I've never met a famous actor, but I think my reaction would be similar. Is it a sign of my unfettered bookworminess that I get all fangirl when my favorite author is in the room? That's okay. I can live with the geeky adoring fan stigma as long as it comes with a photo:

What a good sport he is. You think the National Book Award winner on the adult side of the aisle is so personable and wears such unflinchingly green sweaters? Well, I don't know. Maybe. I've never met him. But go buy M.T. Anderson's books anway. Feed. Thirsty. Whales on Stilts. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party. Any and/or all of them. This isn't just Anderson solidarity talking. The man is a genius.

Permanent Rose

Book: Permanent Rose
Author: Hilary McKay
Audience: Grades 4-6
In a Nutshell: waiting for a letter, shoplifting, searching for your real father, and other summer holiday activities

This third book about the lovably odd and artistic Casson family focuses on the youngest member of the family, Rose, although the whole family is in on the action. Their artist parents named all the children after colors on the paint wheel: Cadmium, Indigo, Saffron (not a color, but she's their adopted cousin- see Saffy's Angel), and Permanent Rose. Yes, that is her legal name. She was very sick as a baby, and her mother hoped that having "permanent" in her name would encourage her to stick around.

We pick up shortly after the last book, Indigo's Star, left off. Indigo and Rose haven't heard a word from their friend, Tom, since he flew back to America months ago, and Rose is beginning to worry that they don't mean as much to Tom as he means to them. It doesn't help that David, a big awkward kid, has gone from tormenting Indigo as a bully to hanging around the Casson house all the time hoping for Indigo's friendship now, which makes Rose mad.

Rose begins to explore her new-found gift for shoplifting. Rose also makes multiple attempts to get their distant father more interested in his family. By distant, I don't just mean emotionally, although there is that. I mean he lives in London with his girlfriend, and the family knows it. Their mother puts on a tolerant face, but it's not truly okay with her. Meanwhile, Saffy and her best friend, Sarah, are trying to find clues to Saffy's real father. Let's not forget free-spirited Caddie, who is engaged to "darling Michael" but seems pretty nervous about the one ring, one man concept.

I have a hard time talking up this series because it's all just family drama stuff, and I don't usually get into these kinds of books. But the Cassons are so wonderful, and funny, and lovingly dysfunctional, that I keep coming back for more. If you like quirky family stories, the whole series is a must-read.

I actually listened to this one. The reader, Sophie Aldred, does a decent job, but the first two books were narrated by Julia Sawalha- think Absolutely Fabulous or feather-headed Lydia in the BBC Pride and Prejudice. Sawalha did a fantastic job, and I was disappointed by the change. But whatchagonnado.

Blue Noon (The Midnighters, Book 3)

Book: Blue Noon (The Midnighters, Book 3)
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: the blue time rips and lets the midnight monsters out- or the people in?

Jessica, Rex, Melissa, Dess, and Jonathan discover that a rip is forming in the blue time, forming a space outside of Bixby where non-midnighters can slip into the secret hour unawares. The blue time is also arriving at unpredictable extra times, and each time it does, the red-tinged rip grows. They begin to realize that something huge is about to happen, and at midnight on Halloween the blue time rip will tear open wide enough to bring together the darklings and unsuspecting humans in a massive carnage-fest. Rex also learns from Angie, the woman who kidnapped him for the Greyfoots, who turned him into a part-darkling, that the lore is not the only side to the story. Mindcasters of past generations may have been selective with the good, rosy memories they chose to pass on, leaving all the shady dealings out. Now it's up to our young heroes to mend the rip before all hell breaks loose, almost literally. Jessica also discovers what her true destiny is- if she can find the courage to do what she must to save the world.

I thought it was a solid ending to the trilogy, if that's what it is. Plenty of action, adventure, creepy monsters, destinies to fulfill, and disorienting but interesting grey (make that purple) areas to deal with. Not only is blue time bleeding into normal time, but the easy good v. evil of their fight has gotten mushier with the new-found truth that their Midnighter predecessors weren't as perfect as they thought, and some of their enemies may prove not all bad.

Oddly Normal

Book: Oddly Normal, Volume 1
Author/Illustrator: Otis Frampton
Audience: Grades 4-8
In a Nutshell: green-haired half-witch accidentally makes her parents disappear

Her first problem is her name: Oddly Normal. Her mother is a witch from the alternate world of Fignation, and her father is the most normal guy you could possibly imagine. Her green hair & pointy ears don't win her any friends at school, and she resents her blissfully unaware parents for raising her as a freak in the real world without realizing what an outcast she is. When her birthday wish is that her parents would just not be there, she is shocked the next morning to discover that they- and the house- are actually gone without a trace. Her aunt takes her to live in Fignation w/ the fictional, mythical and imaginary creatures. She meets some nice misfit friends, but most of the folks at her new school seem to have it out for her, starting with the English teacher. Turns out the story goes back to before she was born, to when her mother was young.

This graphic novel goes on my list of fun, clever all-ages comics that have enough humor and meat to them to appeal to teens as well as grade-schoolers. The highlight of that semi-theoretical list is Bone- that kind of graphic novel. This is the first of four parts, all available out there in Book-buying-and-borrowing Land.

Life As We Knew It

Book: Life As We Knew It
Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: the moon gets closer and wreaks havoc

Sixteen-year-old Miranda is living the life of a normal high school girl until a meteor hits the moon and knocks it just a little bit closer. What with the moon controlling tides and all, giant tsunamis immediately destroy cities on any and all coasts around the world. Then the weather gets severely rainy, then severely hot, followed by severely cold and snowy: basically severe all around. And did I mention the dozens of instantly active volcanoes that blot out the sun with a constant grey layer of ash? There's also that. Miranda, her mother, younger brother Johnny, and older brother Matt must work harder and harder to survive as the power goes out, the well dries up, the food stores get lower and lower, and just when you think things couldn't get much worse, they do.

Good journal-style survival story with a twist: part surviving, part family drama as they all try to get along in increasingly close quarters and realize just how much they're willing to give up for each other.

I listened to this one on CD, and it was an okay reading by Emily Bauer. Too sweet-sounding for me; I read the first chapter on paper, and the voice doesn't match what I imagined at all. Still, an interesting addition to the survival story bookshelf.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Book: The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Author/Illustrator: Brian Selznick
Audience: Grades 4 to 7
In a Nutshell: a young timekeeper-turned-thief, a little mechanical man that draws little clues, and a not-really-dead film director in Paris

Hey, kids! Want to read a 525-page book in a couple hours? Want to read a book that seems a lot like watching a movie? Look no further!

Even before his drunken uncle disappears, assistant timekeeper Hugo Cabret does most of the work of keeping all 27 clocks in the Paris train station running smoothly. He lives and works behind the walls, only entering the station to steal food or small mechanical parts from a toy maker's stall. He is obsessed with fixing up a small automaton of a man that will write something when it's fixed; Hugo is sure the writing will be a message from his dead father (he has his reasons). Instead, it leads him to an early French silent film and its legendary creater, Georges Melies, who was supposed to be dead, but isn't.

Out of 525 pages, 284 are entirely taken up with original drawings by the author, plus there are photos, stills from silent movies, and reproductions of sketches by the real Georges Melies. I don't think I've ever read a book quite like this. The words and pictures blend seamlessly; the illustrations don't accompany text, they replace it in large chunks.

Cinematically presented story with mystery, action, and plenty of visuals: perfect format for telling a story about silent film.

Keturah and Lord Death

Book: Keturah and Lord Death
Author: Martine Leavitt
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: saving the village and finding true love by telling stories to Death

After trying to follow the elusive white stag, Keturah is lost in the forest outside her village for three days. Lord Death comes for her, but she is able to buy herself some time by telling him a story and withholding the ending until the next day. Now she has one day to find her true love and save her village from the coming plague, or Lord Death will take her the next night. He has an unearthly beauty and regal bearing, and she realizes that she's seen him before. Ever since she was a child, Keturah has been able to see Lord Death waiting near people about to die.

She manages to put him off two more times, but that is the limit of his patience. Keturah secures love and happiness for her friends, health for some who should have died, gets the lord to fix up the neglected village, and even attracts the love of the lord's son. When the time comes, however, she is shocked to discover the identity of the man she has always loved.

Leavitt offers a striking combination of classic fairy tale/ fantasy elements and high romance. Death's presence in life is effectively portrayed, both as something to be feared, and something that makes life sweeter and more precious in contrast. Really well-written, highly recommended for fans of high fantasy/romance or fairy tale retellings.

My biggest hang-up with the story is philosophical. Lord Death is portrayed as holding the ultimate power in the universe, and being the true source of good. After all, if there weren't death and destruction, would we ever truly see the beauty in life? Saying Death is the ultimate good because he provides counterpoint for life seems backwards; if there were no death, life would still exist and be good, but without life death does not exist. Maybe that's just my wordview. But it's a good story that makes for entertainment, good discussion and deep thinking, which is a good thing, right?