Book Review: Scars by Cheryl Rainfield

Book: Scars
Author: Cheryl Rainfield
Published: 2010
Source: Review copy from the author

Believe it or not, fifteen-year-old Kendra is actually in a better place than she was six months ago. Sure, she's in therapy and sure, she's cutting herself to let out the bottled-up pain. But six months ago, repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse began to rise to the surface . . . which is how she landed in therapy and started cutting in the first place.

But although he lurks in the shadows of every painting and sketch she creates, Kendra still can't remember the face of her abuser. Even attempting to do reduces her to terror. All she knows is that it was a trusted man in her childhood life. Worse yet, he's still around - somebody's leaving her notes and messages, warning her not to tell or he'll kill her.

The only sunny spots come from her relationship with a new girlfriend and the warm reception that her artwork, always derided by her artist mother, is beginning to garner from others. A new life is within Kendra's grasp, if only she can muster up the courage to discover and face the man who destroyed her old one.

Time: 0:17:13 (partial because I started reading this yesterday and wasn't done yet)
Why I Wanted to Read It: I'd been hearing about this book for some time. Cheryl is a Kidlitosphere pal and I knew it was a deeply personal story, drawn from her own experience. In fact, her arm is the scarred limb shown on the cover. When she emailed to offer me a review copy, I leapt at the chance, even though I knew it wasn't going to be a book full of hugs and puppies.

The good news is, this is definitely worth the read. Sometimes you get the "thinly veiled autobiography" feeling with books based on the author's experience, but Kendra felt real and alive to me, and I couldn't stop turning the pages to follow her slow blossoming, in spite of the pain that seethed under her skin. I did flip to the end to find out the identity of the abuser, because I'm terrible like that, and it was exactly who I thought it would be.

One of the things I appreciated was the portrayal of a family life that made the abuse possible. Her mother's willful ignorance and incredible self-involvement, plus her father's need to be at the center of the family's attention at all times, made it credible that nobody would have noticed what was going on and that Kendra would have thought so little of herself as to believe that she deserved the abuse, and that nobody would listen to her if she told.

I would have liked to see a little more from the time that the memories started to resurface, especially how the break-up with her first girlfriend affected or prompted them. I also thought the climax was unexpectedly dramatic for a book that had been all about the inner emotional journey up until that point. I did see the need for Kendra to face and conquer her abuser, so it worked in that way. It was just startling.

As I said, it's not a hugs and puppies kind of book. But it is a well-told and deeply affecting one, and the cutting aspect is included as just that, an aspect of the pain that Kendra is experiencing.

Sixth Annual 48-Hr Book Challenge Starts Now!

I was going to start in the morning, but then I decided that I couldn't wait! My bookshelf has so many books I've been looking forward to reading that I'm just going to go ahead and start. I do have to work all day tomorrow (curses!) so it'll be a smaller year than usual, but I aim to have a blast anyway. My audiobook will be Anne of Green Gables, so I'll listen to that as I drive to work, cook, take knitting breaks, exercise, and do other things that require two hands for.

For every book I read and review (because the reviewing's half the fun, dontcha know!) I'll donate five dollars to Make Way for Books, a local literacy organization. For every comment on a review, I'll add a dollar. If you're coming here from MotherReader's starting line post, check out my more recent reviews and updates. Also, you can follow me on Twitter or Find me on Facebook.

My first book will be a partial one, Scars by Cheryl Rainfield. I started reading this yesterday and thought I'd have it finished, but it's been a busy couple of days. Since I was getting the "gotta-review" feeling about it anyway, I decided this was going to be my first book.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about ("She wants to do what for 48 hours?"), drop by MotherReader's blog and find out! If you have a blog of your own (or were always meaning to start one), join in!

Reading Roundup: May 2011

By the Numbers
Teen: 16
Tween: 7
Children: 4

Sources
Review Copies: 7
Library: 19

Standouts
Teen: Shine by Lauren Myracle
Myracle tends to be hit or miss with me. This book, about a damaged girl coming back to life as she peels back the layers to reveal the nasty underbelly of her small Southern town, was a monster hit.
Tween: Where the Streets Had a Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Hayyaat is on a quest to bring her ailing grandmother soil from her home. Sounds simple, right? Until you factor in that the soil is in Israel, and Hayyaat is a citizen of Palestine. This book gives readers an up-close-and-personal look at the devastating effects of drawn-out conflicts, and also the terribly complex nature of that conflict.
Children: TIE Pearl Verses the World by Sally Murphy
As her grandmother weakens and finally dies, Pearl struggles to make sense of it all through her own particular brand of poetry, which is not what they're being taught in school. Quiet, reflective, and never maudlin, this slim book stands out in the life-after-death genre for first-to-third graders. (Coming out Aug. 23.)
The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Kids might not realize this is a fictionalized account of the childhood and youth of Pablo Neruda until the very end, but that's okay. Neftali's struggle against an overbearing father and his desire to create his poetry on his own terms are all relayed through a magical-realism style that will keep them turning pages.

Because I Want To Awards
Yanked Me Out of My Reading Funk: For Keeps by Natasha Friend
For the Pacifists Among Us: Truce by Jim Murphy
Reliably Excellent: Glitter Girls and the Great Fake-Out by Meg Cabot

Preparing for the 48-Hour Book Challenge

So, as you may have divined from my title, I'm preparing for MotherReader's famous 48-Hour Book Challenge, this year taking place from June 3 - 5. One of the Kidlitosphere's most believed bits of masochism, this is MR's sixth foray into randomly declaring one weekend for everyone to read until their eyeballs fall out. And we totally do it, y'all. Last year, even the adult book bloggers got into it. Why? Because it's a great community-builder, because it's a a great way to kickstart or re-energize your blogging, because many people pledge money to charity, because you discover and connect with so many neat people and most of all, it's fun. I swear.

I've fiddled with my work schedule, picked the charity to whom I will donate (local literacy organization Make Way for Books, in case you're interested), chosen my pizza toppings, written the first draft of my grocery list (how many flavors of Mountain Dew are there, anyway?). Now comes the most important . . . deciding what to read.

I am aware that there are people who just sort of dive in and grab books from their shelf and away they go. I contemplate this for myself and my brain breaks a little bit. I have to pace myself. I have to balance funny books with serious, long with short, realistic with books that require Golden-Gate-Bridge levels of suspension of disbelief. Y'all, I hafta select just the right audiobook, cuz I only get one, and what if it's the wrong one?!?

It's this whole thing, I tell you.

Last year I read books that I'd promised to read, and it wasn't entirely successful. There were some books I looooved and some I . . . didn't. So I've decided that this year I will only read books that make me jump up and down with excitement. This will ensure that when I'm starting my fourth book at 11 pm, I can still go, "Well, hey, I wanna read this, and not, y'know, sleep or anything."

So I'm trawling through my ~800-item LibraryThing wishlist, pulling out the books that make me go, "Oooooo!" and ordering them from the library. Bonus: several of them are in ebook form, so I can download to my Nook (favorite toy! Lub my Nook!).

Are you in? Have you done this before? What do you plan to read? Most importantly, do you have any suggestions that will make me go, "Hot damn!"?

Sexism in Children's Books?

I feel the need to weigh in on this, or at least to fling it out there. So apparently there's a new study out that says children's books are inherently sexist because of the disparity between female and male heroes. It was conducted at Florida State University and reported in the Daily Mail. Clippage? Don't mind if I do.

Overall, 31 per cent of the best-sellers featured a female lead character, compared to 57 per cent featuring a male. The remainder gave equal weight to a male and female protagonist, or had a gender-neutral character.

Hmm. Damning numbers, those. And yet, we've been bewailing the dearth of "boy books" for awhile now.

What to think? I think it's too late at night to be reasonably coherent about this, especially on the same day as a major program (head-to-toe pinata paste here, people. Hot tip: pack extra clothes).

Those of you in the trenches with me (hi!), be my brain. What do you think? Is sexism alive and well in the children's section? And here's more: do you think there are differences between different age levels? Are picture books more or less sexist than chapter books? Are different genres more or less sexist?

Reading Roundup: April 2011

By the Numbers
Teen: 19
Tween: 6
Children: 12

Sources
Review Copies: 8
Swapped: 4
Purchased: 3
Library: 20

Standouts
Teen: Broken Soup by Jenny Valentine
Reeling from the sudden death of her older brother and the subsequent implosion of her family, Rowan is just drifting along. Then Bee and Harper come separately into her life, and force Rowan to confront the pain and the joy of life again.
Tween: Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt
In this indirect sequel to The Wednesday Wars, Schmidt tells the story of another young man learning new ways to see the world as it changes around him. Review soon, if I can form coherent thoughts about this book.
Children: The Exiles by Hilary McKay
Before she did the Casson series, McKay wrote this blisteringly funny tale of four sisters shipped off to their unsympathetic grandmother's house. Everything's a battle of wills and nobody comes out the victor, except maybe the reader, and even they're exhausted from laughing.

Because I Want To Awards
So Much Better Than I Expected: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
Surprisingly Good Fit: Troy High by Shana Norris
How Did I Miss This All These Years?: Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery
Gutsy Topic: Muhammad by Demi
Just a Hoot: Binky the Space Cat by Ashley Spires

Book Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Book: Paranormalcy
Author: Kiersten White
Published: 2010
Source: local library

Evie is an anomaly in the International Paranormal Containment Agency for any number of reasons. She can see the true form of paranormal creatures, and remains unaffected by (most) glamours. She’s one of the few humans in her social circle. But the thing that makes her the weirdest? She’s the youngest in the IPCA by oh, about forty years.

When she captures a strange paranormal creature and realizes he’s a teenage boy, then the trouble really starts. Who is Lend? Why was he sneaking around the IPCA, disguised as Evie’s boss? What’s with all the paranormal creatures suddenly turning up dead? Why is the ominous faerie Reth, who's tried to manipulate her before, suddenly dropping ominous hints that he knows much more about her than Evie herself does?

What's a girl to do? If you're Evie, you lace up your zebra-print boots, grab your sparkly pink taser, and set about determining whose butt to kick.

I’ll be honest: I was skeptical about this one. See my grumblings a few weeks back about how tired I am of paranormal. The cover didn’t help. Girl with wind-blown hair and swirly pink dress and semi-tragic expression? Whatevs. Fifty pages and I’m outta here.

Then I met Evie, who wouldn’t be caught dead with a tragic expression. (The swirly pink dress would have been fine.) She’s someone that Veronica Mars and Buffy Summers wouldn’t mind hanging out with. They’d be comparing taser brands before you got out of the room. (Oh, trust me. You’d want to be out of that room.) She’s snarky, sweet, enjoys being a girl, and even more enjoys kicking paranormal behind. And when her world goes to hell in a handbasket, she doesn’t waste time whining about it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Kiersten White for not making Reth a viable candidate for Evie’s heart. She’s pulled to him, but she knows he’s bad news. If this boy was any more bad news, he’s be the headliner on the Peter Jennings hour. Evie knows it, and fights it, and doesn’t trust him one tiny little bit, even when she’s forced to depend on him. Awesomeness.

Lend, while sweet, is also kind of bland, and I got the sense Evie likes him for his normal life, something she’s always craved. But he’s a good guy, and I’m hoping to get some interesting things out of him in upcoming books. He certainly has a thought-provoking backstory, rife with opportunities for conflict.

But the main reason I'm looking forward to the rest of this series? I want to spend more time with Evie. She's a girl worth getting to know better.

Book Review: From Anna by Jean Little

Book: From Anna
Author: Jean Little
Published: 1972
Source: Paperbackswap.com

The youngest in her family, Anna is also the clumsiest and ugliest. She sees no reason to hope that things will be different in Canada than they were in Germany as they flee the Nazis. But Canada brings her to Dr. Schumacher, who realizes something nobody ever noticed before and changes her life for the better.

Why do I love ferocious little girls so much? Mary Lennox of The Secret Garden was one of the first, but my reading life has always focused with particular affection on the stubborn, angular, not-all-that-charming child who could probably navigate the world a little better if she was sweet and compliant, but seems constitutionally unable to be so.

Anna’s ferocity is easy to understand. Because of her visual difficulties, nothing has ever been easy for her to learn. She's not exactly graceful, either, simply because she can't see the thing she's about to fall over. It also doesn't help that she's not a sweet-faced blond angel like her siblings. Joan Sandin's illustrations really bring this out. Being called stupid, clumsy, and ugly all her life has understandably created a shell to rival that of a Galapagos tortoise.

Bless Jean Little for not immediately making her life sunshine and puppies, bestowing the love and approval of her family upon her when she gets glasses. While things are improving, her family still dismisses her because it’s so entrenched in her mind that this is silly, clumsy little Anna, and it takes a strong demonstration of her intelligence and capability to change their minds.

If you’re looking for a fleeing-from-the-Nazis story, this really isn’t it. Except for discussion of a changing Germany in the beginning as they prepare to leave their country, and an ongoing stubbornness over language in the remainder of the book, this might as well be the story of any family forced to relocate. From Anna is the story of a fiercely guarded girl finally coming into her own and forcing her family to recognize her as such.

Book (Series) Review: Soul Screamers by Rachel Vincent

Book series: Soul Screamers (My Soul to Take, My Soul to Save, My Soul to Keep, My Soul to Steal)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Published: 2009-10 (with more to come)
Sources: Library (Books 1-3), electronic ARC from NetGalley.com (Book 4)

Kaylee Cavanaugh doesn't have the best life in the world. Her mom is dead, her dad is AWOL, and she has to live with her obnoxious cousin. But she's doing okay. Except for the sudden urge to scream uncontrollably at the strangest moments. Even worse, when she screams, somebody dies. Well, crap. That won't do much for her popularity . . . or her sanity rating, if you want to be honest about it.

But what Kaylee thinks is a one-way ticket to the looney bin (been there, thanks, and she doesn't want to go back) is actually a gift. She's not human, she's a bean sidhe, or banshee, born with the ability to capture human souls with her screaming song to make sure they get where they're supposed to go. Even stranger, the one person who can clue her in on the ins and outs of her bean sidhe heritage is popular and gorgeous Nash Hudson. Hmmm.

Kaylee Cavanaugh doesn't have the best life in the world, but it's looking up.

I'm getting a little paranormal'd out here, people. Just a tad bit weary of Ordinary Girls with Extraordinary Powers, and the Mysterious, Beautiful Boys who seem to Know Everything (and Won't Quit It with the Ominous Hints, God, Just Tell Her What the Hell is Going On Already! It's called Communication with the Chick who can Save Your Heiney, helllllooooo). (Okay, that was a long and probably unnecessary parenthetical aside. But funny, I hope. Please tell me I'm funny and validate my existence.)

I'm also not entirely delighted with the number of adult authors hopping the bandwagon to YA. Said bandwagon being pulled by the Harlequin horse, and said authors being many, many romance novelists. I do love a good romance novel, but they're different genres for different audiences and skillz aren't necessarily transferable. Maybe I'm a bad person, but they definitely have to row hard to convince me to like these books.

All that being said, I'm really, really appreciating the Soul Screamers series from Rachel Vincent.

First, Vincent's really thought out her world. Her Netherworld and the people who slide back and forth across its boundaries are constructed with more stability than I've been seeing lately. Every time you think you've figured out the depths of the Netherworld (ha, see what I did there? I am funny!), you find out more, but the more is logically thought out and holds up next to what's been previously revealed.

Second, things from earlier books come back in later ones. Yes, teenagers can read analytically and they do remember details. And the books rarely end with Kaylee Saves the Day and everyone gets to go eat Cherry Garcia. Yes, the day is generally saved, for a certain value of saved, but there are people that can't be fixed, loose ends flying around, all this stuff that means Kaylee may have saved this day, but tomorrow is probably going to have to be saved all over again, in new and horrible ways.

Third, I love the Nash-and-Kaylee relationship. You see my cynicism up there about Mysterious, Beautiful Boys? I'm just so friggin' sick of Insta-Lurve and riding off into the sunset, and lucky for me, Vincent gives that a miss. There's a little Insta-Lurve in the first book (in fact, the first book is in a lot of ways the toe-dipper, and you don't really get the meaty stuff until the second one), but in later books, Kaylee and Nash don't just have snuggly-wuggly lovey times, they have a relationship. With problems. With issues. With real stuff that comes between them and you're not sure it can be fixed.

Finally, this series is going somewhere. The Big Bad (that's it; I'm cutting off my supply of capital letters) that's been around since the second book is clearly playing the long game, and just as clearly intends to make Kaylee one of his pawns. I have to believe she's a match for him, but it's a pretty even race, and that means that I'm waiting with bated breath for the next one. And you should be too.

Book Review: Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Practicing the Piano (but she does love being in recitals) by Peggy Gifford

Book: Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Practicing the Piano (but she does love being in recitals)
Author: Peggy Gifford
Published: 2009
Source: Local Library

Moxy is back, and more Moxy-ish than ever. This time, she’s got a big, big, big piano recital coming up. She’s all ready. She’s got her glittery crown, her fake-ermine-trimmed cape, her sparkly shoes, and of course, her bow. Yep, this is going to be the best piano recital ever, and even the fact that Moxy hasn’t exactly practiced all that much isn’t enough to dim her excitement.

Reading this, I was struck by the fact that the series, while merely called Moxy Maxwell, is really about Moxy and her mom and the relationship that they have. In this one, Mrs. Maxwell is just back from Africa, where her twin sister fell off a ladder (yes, really). Jet-lagged to within an inch of her life, Mrs. Maxwell nevertheless is on the case, frosting 150 cupcakes, keeping the kids from using The Sharp Scissors, discerning whether Moxy does, in fact, know how to stop playing “Heart and Soul”and most of all, being there for Moxy when (as it does) stage fright inevitably strikes.

Balancing out poor Mrs. Maxwell’s world-weary (and sometimes just weary, poor woman) point of view is Moxy’s wild enthusiasm and grand ideas, which will strike a familiar chord with anybody who is or was a kid with more energy than experience.

Bravo for Moxy, three cheers for Mrs. Maxwell, and plentiful huzzahs for Peggy Gifford. I can’t wait for more.

Reading Roundup: March 2011

By the Numbers
Teen: 18
Tween: 4
Children: 9

Sources
Review Copies: 4
Swapped: 3
Purchased: 2
Library: 21

Standouts
Teen: Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd
Armed with a red wig, foster teen Holly takes to the road as Solace, the daring, sexier, and more adventurous side of herself, on a quest to find the mother who gave her up. But will Solace endure when Holly's real memories start to surface? Even though I knew Holly was about to crash and burn emotionally any second, I couldn't put this down.
Tween: Here's How I See It - Here's How It Is by Heather Henson
Thirteen stinks any way you look at it. But June's summer stinks more than most. Her mom has moved out, her dad seems to be having a midlife crisis, and her special role in the family theater is being usurped by an annoying outsider. This first novel impressed me with its razor-sharp recall of just how bad the middle school years could be.
Children: Stage Fright by Meg Cabot
Allie Finkle and her rules are back, and this time she's navigating the tricky waters of friendship vs stage rivalry. What's a girl to do when her very, very best friend wants the exact same part in the class play that she does? I always say that Meg Cabot is just about the best writer of the modern girl character of any age, and this one did not prove me wrong.

Because I Want To Awards
Most Interesting Main Character: The Rise of Renegade X by Chelsea Campbell
Not Nearly as Light and Fluffy as It Sounded: Donut Days by Lara Zielin
Will Remind You That Love Has Jagged Edges: Ballad: a gathering of faerie by Maggie Stiefvater
Gotta Read the Next One: Leaving the Bellweathers by Kristin Clark Venuti
Took the Entire Premise of the First Book and Turned It Inside Out: Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund

Book Review: What Can't Wait by Ashley Hope Perez

Book: What Can’t Wait
Author: Ashley Hope Perez
Published: 2011
Source: electronic ARC from NetGalley.com

Marissa is an anomaly in her depressed Houston neighborhood. More interested in math than partying and college than boys, she knows she can have a different life if only she can make it to college. But her day-to-day life has so many demands that they’re drowning her. She’s expected to help support the family, to look after her five-year-old niece, to help her mother with the house, and a hundred other things that get in the way of working toward her future. How can she abandon her family for her own selfish goals?

In general, I loved this book. Working in a neighborhood economically similar to Marissa’s, it was an eye-opener to realize how difficult it is for these kids to balance dreams of the future with the demands of today. Her teachers are almost no help, lecturing her about the need to stay focused on her education without any recognition of her struggles to do just that, and the pressures of her life that might prevent that. Marissa is not lazy by a long shot, and she knows full well that an education is her ticket out, but there are only so many hours in the day. How do you tell your adorable niece, ignored by everyone except yourself, that you can’t read to her because you’re working on calculus?

Unfortunately, one of the things I had a very bad time with was the portrayal of men and boys in this book. With the exception of Alan, her too-good-to-be-true boyfriend, Marissa is surrounded by men who perpetuate every Latino stereotype out there. Her immigrant father is overbearing and dismissive of her academic achievements. Her dropout brother doesn’t have a tenth of the responsibilities to the family that are expected from Marissa. Her brother-in-law is a pothead who got his fool self run over by a forklift, and another boy who enters the story midway through is sexually predatory. They all marinate in machismo. There’s some attempt to explain this portrayal in the case of the father, but not to my satisfaction. A few of these would have been sufficient, but so many in the absence of any more balanced male characters sat ill with me. Yes, men like this exist, but there are shades of grey.

Aside from that annoyance, Marissa's story is a compelling one about how hard the fight for your future is, and how necessary.

Reading Roundup: February 2011

By the Numbers
Teen: 17
Tween: 10
Children: 10

Sources
Review Copies: 3
Swapped: 3
Purchased: 1
Library: 23

Standouts
Teen: The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
This is such a well-thought-out, creeptastic world, where nasties go bump in the night and everybody pretends it was the cat, that I didn't even mind the rather slow-moving plot because I was so busy marinating in Mackie's dark life. And how about that cover?!
Tween: How to Survive in Antarctica by Lucy Jane Bledsoe
Forget Alaska. This is the final frontier, people. Writer-in-residence Bledsoe enumerates the wild and woolly desert at the bottom of the world, dipping into tidbits of Antarctic history, zoology, and climatology along the way.
Children: Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Practicing the Piano (but she does love being in recitals) by Peggy Gifford
Moxy is back, and living up to her name. She's so busy preparing for her recital, what with the glittery cape, the bejeweled crown, the tap shoes, and who can forget that bow? that she hasn't actually done so much, y'know, practicing.

Because I Want To Awards
Longest Awaited: I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett
Most Confusing-yet-still-compelling: Nobel Genes by Rune Michaels (I may do a blog post about this one. It's gnawing on my mind.)
Gosh, I Hope This is a Series: The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook by Eleanor Davis

Book Review: The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd

Book: The Carbon Diaries 2015
Author: Saci Lloyd
Published: 2009
Source: Local Library

In 2015, the global climate crisis has escalated to the point that Britain has decided to invoke carbon rationing--the first nation in the world to do so. This book follows 15-year-old Laura through the tumultuous first year, as she fights to get used to making a choice between taking a car to school and turning on her computer. Her family feels the effects too, as her parents’ marriage creaks under the strain of their new life and her rebellious older sister Kim gets involved in the carbon black market.

At the same time, Laura is trying to live her own life. What with bad grades, boy drama, and the fledgling punk band she fronts, she’s got more than enough worries. Between her personal woes and the sociopolitical upheaval, that's just twice as many opportunities for the world to end, one way or the other.

What I loved about this book was the balance between a girl’s everyday life and the worldwide concerns of a planet going to hell in a handbasket. Drought and flood in the same year? Strikes over water in Belgium? Holy wow. And yet, boys are still the same, except this time he's got the excuse that he didn't have enough carbon credits left to call.

The last quarter of the book relies heavily on infodumps, diagrams, and classroom lectures to reveal the scope of the disaster facing them, but the rest of the book is pretty seamless. It’s a thought-provoking and worrisome vision of our possible future that still manages to be an engaging story about a girl trying to make it to adulthood with her sanity intact.

Book Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Book: Delirium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Published: 2011
Source: ARC from NetGalley

Lena is lucky. She lives in a time when the worst disease that’s ever affected humanity, amor deliria nervosa, has been cured. The cure isn’t perfect; her own mother died of the disease after four attempts at a cure. And it can’t be administered to anyone under eighteen; it’s too dangerous. But she’s looking forward to her eighteenth birthday, when she can be cured and finally, finally be safe.

Then Lena meets Alex, and she learns to call the deliria by an older name: love.

I think the most chilling thing about this particular dystopia is how Oliver has thought out the affects of curing a society of love. There’s all the usual trappings; rigid rules, pitiless enforcers, rampant lies from the totalitarian government, terribly stratified society--and some that are particular twists, like arranged marriages and dictated reproduction.

But where the book really puts a rock in the pit of your stomach is when you realize that it’s not only romantic love that’s been “cured.” It’s any kind of love or indeed, any kind of strong emotion. Families are not families, they’re merely people living together until it’s time for the children to be cured and start their adult life. Deep friendships dissolve in the wake of the cure, both sides drifting away from each other. Sisters who were once close have to be reminded of each others’ existence.  Art and music are curious pagan artifacts, unable to stir reactions from the cured. What’s been cured is not love, but all the things that make us human.

As in the best dystopias, Lena doesn't start the book out as a rebel. She's the most passionate advocate for the cure, mostly due to the circumstances of her mother's death. Living in a family that doesn't really want her, she longs for the safety of the time when she won't feel the loneliness or the uncertainty.

At the same time, her starving spirit is nourished by beauty and friendship, and though she tries to squash down her desire for both it comes out in unexpected ways. My favorite was right at the beginning. Asked her favorite color in verbal exams meant to dictate her future life, she answers "Grey" instead of the more cheerful colors. What she means is the grey right before dawn, the grey that means something beautiful and magical is about to happen. Through the course of the book, Lena comes to realize that losing her capacity to see this beauty and magic isn't worth the empty safety she will gain.

In her first book, Before I Fall, Oliver showed that she wasn’t afraid to write a sad ending when it’s the right one, and that’s the way it works out here. I can’t tell you exactly what happens, spoiler free zone! but I will say that while it made me tear up, it was right.

Reading Roundup: January 2011

By the Numbers
Teen: 24
Tween: 11
Children: 11

Sources
Review Copies: 4
Swapped: 1
Purchased: 4
Library: 27

Standouts
Teen: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
OH MY GOD. Ever since the very first book (reviewed here) I've known that Ness doesn't hesitate to make the hard choices when it comes to his characters. This tremendous novel winds up the provocative and demanding series just right.
Tween: Marching for Freedom: Walk Together Children and Don't You Grow Weary by Elizabeth Partridge
The story of the civil rights movement has never been told quite like this: through the eyes of the children who were on the front lines, fighting just as hard as their parents for their own future.
Children: Neil Armstrong is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino
For such a short novel, this is proving difficult to recap in twenty-five words or less. Um, okay: loss, friendship, Vietnam, the moon landing, the way people are different underneath the surface, and a really well-done unlikeable girl protagonist. Yeah, you're just gonna have to read it.

Because I Want To Awards
Loved It But I Can't Sleep Without a Nightlight Now: Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
Just Plain Fun: Dead Guy Spy by Nathan Lubar AND Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Thank You So Much for Not Introducing Smoochies into This: How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford
The Booktalk Writes Itself: Zombies vs Unicorns, edited by Justine Larbalestier and Holly Black

Book Review: Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

Book: Bleeding Violet
Author: Dia Reeves
Published: 2010
Source: Local Library

Sixteen-year-old Hanna turns up on her estranged mother's doorstep, refusing to budge in the face of Rosalee's many and loud objections. Finally, Rosalee makes her a deal. If she can stick it out in Portero for two weeks, make friends, and fit in, she can stay.

Easy-peasy, Hanna thinks. That's before she finds out about the demons infesting the town, the doors to other dimensions, and the mysterious group of green-clad demon hunters known as Mortmaine. She's a "transy," everyone tells her. She'll never last. If she doesn't get eaten by a demon, she'll run screaming in the other direction soon enough. The evil that permeates this town could drive anybody crazy.

And Hanna didn't exactly have all her marbles to begin with.

Y'all, I was two pages into this book when I hopped onto LibraryThing and added Reeves' next book to my list. There's something about Reeves' writing, beautiful, evocative, and totally creepy, that made me an addict. Or maybe it was Hanna, who is so thoroughly off balance that you can never quite predict what she's going to do next, and nor can she.

I hope you don't think I'm being flippant about her mental illness. Bipolar disorder is a serious disease, I know. But in this book, it's merely another facet of Hanna's character, and one that strangely enough equips her to deal with the terrifying reality that is Portero. You get the sense that somebody who is totally balanced and right in their head never would have been able to handle what happens. But Hanna is so used to the strange and horrendous productions of her own damaged brain that demons from the underworld don't actually rattle her cage that much.

It's something of a benefit, having her matter-of-fact narration, because otherwise I might have run screaming. This book seriously crosses the line from paranormal into straight-up horror. It's not for the faint of stomach; it oozes. From scenes of a girl being cut open to kill the creatures inside her to the sequence where two characters capture and torture a hapless bystander whose mistake was being in the wrong place at the wrong time, it's definitely disturbing, and normally the sort of stuff I'd be on the other side of the room from. Again, though, Reeves' writing and the character of Hanna made this so twistedly fascinating that I couldn't put it down.

Technically speaking, this is a POC novel, as Hanna is biracial. But it's incidental, which is pretty awesome in its own way. Yes, she has a black mother and a white father, whatever, shall we get on with the spraying blood? And double booyah, the cover features a girl who actually could be biracial.

Unfortunately, the world-building is sketchy and scattershot. I couldn't get the sense of where all this dark stuff was coming from, or why everyone stayed. I have a loose idea of how the town is set up, with the Mayor at the top, the Mortmaines in the role of guards, and everyone else basically demon kibble that's walking around, but there are definitely threads dangling here. The next book seems to take place in Portero as well, so I'll be interested to see if the world is fleshed out some more. Even if it's not, wild horses couldn't stop me from picking it up.

I'll just make sure I don't eat while I'm reading.

The Battle is On!

Now that the ALA awards have all been awarded, and reacted to, it's time for another bit of annual kidlit tomfoolery. SLJ's Battle of the Kids Books is on for 2011.

May the best book win!

Book Review: Trickster's Girl by Hilari Bell

Book: Trickster’s Girl
Author: Hilari Bell
Published: 2011
Source: downloaded from NetGalley

The scond-to-last thing Kelsa needs while she's grieving the death of her beloved father is some weirdo stalker who claims he's the Trickster. The last thing she needs is for that weirdo stalker to recruit her for a quixotic quest across the Western US and Canada to heal the damaged leylines before humanity destroys itself.

Here's the thing about immortal gods, though, they're persistent. They've got the time. Kelsa finds herself agreeing to one little favor, then one more, then one more, and before she knows it, she's lying to her mom and fleeing across state lines with the Trickster's enemies in hot pursuit.

Oh, he didn't mention he had enemies? Ooops. Must have slipped his mind.



I enjoyed about 98 percent of this book. It ended strangely and abruptly, and I never felt as if the reunion with her mother, building up throughout the book, got satisfactorily resolved. Hopefully the second book (apparently, this is the first part of "the Raven Duet") will address some of these issues.

While Bell calls her trickster Raven, he's actually an kind of Ur-Trickster, manifesting in different forms throughout world cultures. Loki, Raven, Coyote, Mercury, whatever name you give them, they’re always the most fascinating mythological figures because while their chaos ultimately benefits humanity, it certainly can make a singular human mighty uncomfortable. They’re not around to make things better, they shake things up, the equivalent/forebear of a D&D chaotic neutral character. Luckily, Bell has created a worthy Trickster, and a worthy human to stand with him, and occasionally against him.

The near-future setting, 2098 to be exact, with attendant upgrades in technology (I kept going, “oooo” when I pictured some of the tech that Bell describes) adds a tweak of interest. I couldn’t help but wonder about the events that led to the near-totalitarian US, with border patrol stations on state lines and personal ID cards connected to DNA and required for everything from buying a train ticket to buying an energy bar. Teenagers being teenagers, of course, Kelsa still manages to successfully lie to her mother for about 3/4 of the book.



I downloaded this book from NetGalley because I’ve liked the author’s other works, and I do love a trickster character. It’s an enjoyable adventure with touches of ecological meaning and mysticism.

Friday Glee: 90-Second Newbery

Somehow it doesn't surprise me that James Kennedy, who wrote the weirdfest book The Order of Odd-Fish, is behind this dastardly plan to host a contest asking fans to create a video compressing the plot of a Newbery Award winning book into 90 seconds.


"A Wrinkle In Time" In 90 Seconds from James Kennedy on Vimeo.

Of course, so is Betsy Bird. Doubly not-surprised.

I bet you want more details, don't you? Greedy. Oh very well - go to James Kennedy's website for those.

P.S. Anybody think that the video of Criss Cross is just gonna be a girl sighing and saying, "I wish something would happen" about sixteen times?

Book Review: Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

Book: Hunger
Author: Jackie Morse Kessler
Published: 2010
Source: Review Copy downloaded from NetGalley.com

Lisabeth Lewis isn't anorexic. If she were anorexic, she'd be thin. Instead, she has to constantly work to slim down, denying herself food and spending hours on the exercise bike. Her best friend and boyfriend are no help; they keep trying to sabotage her efforts.

Lisabeth's got bigger concerns than traitorous friends, though. She's just been given a pair of brass scales, a black horse, and the office of Famine. As in one of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Lisabeth Lewis may not think she's anorexic, but she's about to learn the true power of hunger.

Well. This one was different. Problem novel? Kinda. Paranormal? Um, I guess. Fast-paced and thought-provoking? That's an unqualified yes.

What I liked best in this novel was that Lisa is not magically cured of her anorexia. What the experience teaches her is that she is out of balance and needs help to restore it. (Balance? Scales? Get it? Oh, I'm clever.)

The other thing about this novel is how being Famine changes Lia's outlook, not only as it relates to hunger, but also as it relates to other people. At the beginning of the novel, she's so focused on herself, her own flawed body and weak willpower, that she interprets everyone else's actions as focused on her, often maliciously. When she becomes Famine, and comes face-to-face with the terrible suffering in the world, she learns to see others as fully-rounded human beings with their own problems and concerns.

Side note: I'd sort of like to know why all the Famine-riddled places were clearly Third-World countries. No exact locations were given, but except for one scene of gluttony near the beginning, they all seemed to be vaguely South Asian, Middle Eastern, or African. Not to downplay the problems of those areas, which are rampant, but we have poverty and hunger aplenty in this country too.

GalleySmith's review speculated the whole Famine experience is Lisa's damaged psyche finally cracking under the strain. I think you could make a case for that, and it certainly makes the reading that much more interesting. Whether you're looking for a unique problem novel or a unique paranormal novel, Hunger fits the bill on both counts.

And for those intrigued by the Horsemen motif (War plays a plum role in this novel as Lia learns to stand up for herself), the next book, Rage, comes out in April of this year. Having read an advance copy, also from NetGalley, I can say that it's a worthy follow-up to Hunger.

And What Did I Think?

Well. I'll tell you.

I had a little easier time writing the post on the picture books over at Kid Tested, Librarian Approved, because I'd read a larger proportion of the books. When it comes to YA and MG novels, however, I'm still working through books I added to my list in 2009, so I have to largely base my reactions on what I've heard of and what I've heard about it.

Yay!
I've been jonesing to read After Ever After since I heard that Sonnenblick was writing a follow-up to Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie. I haven't yet, but knowing that it got the Schneider Family book award makes me hopeful that my library will order it soon.

Y'all, Sir Terry Pratchett for the Margaret A. Edwards award! I've always said that Pratchett is a natural for teen readers, even his Discworld stuff, because it looks at the world and says, "Y'know, this is really sort of silly. And stupid. Let's mock that. A lot." See? Totally teen. His work goes beyond mere nasty-minded parody, however, by asking readers to consider The Big Questions, and respecting their capacity to do so. Teeeeeeen!

The Sibert medal winners made me all kinds of happy. First, how about some love for Scientists in the Field? Well-deserved. I always tell people about this series, not just kids but parents, teachers, and fellow librarians. And then Ballet for Martha! It was surprisingly absorbing for such an unusual subject and in fact I named it a standout the month that I read it - for illustration, I think.

And Will Grayson, Will Grayson isn't exactly love-starved, especially in the kidlitosphere, but it still made me happy to see it on the Stonewall list. 

Huh?
I think I'm not alone in my giant, "Whuh?" when the Newbery was announced. I'd never even heard of Moon Over Manifest, which looks like one of those quiet and thoughtful books that tends to slip through the cracks unless a big shiny medal holds it up. I'm looking forward to reading it and seeing if I agree with the committee.

I feel like a bad person saying it, but I could not get into The Freak Observer. It was well-written, I'll give it that, so the Morris award was deserved. But my reaction was more on the lines of, "Oh, I can see that," than "Joy! JOY!!!"

Hey!
First in the "Hey!" category: where was Sharon Draper's magnificent Out of My Mind? No Schneider award, no Newbery or honor. It was off the radar. Wha? Not even a nod from the Coretta Scott Kings, although because the main character's race is never specified, I can see how that would have been left off.

I also would have liked to see a pretty sticker for Finnikin of the Rock. As the Printzes don't require American citizenship, Marchetta's novel still would have been eligible. Ah well.

But the biggest "Hey!" of this awards season was the winners getting bumped from the Today show. Wha? You know what, Today show, when you run a story about how American children aren't reading anymore, we librarians have our response all ready for you.

2011 Awards Time!

John Newbery Medal
for the most outstanding contribution to children's literature

Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool
(H) Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm
(H) Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus
(H) Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Rick Allen
(H) One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Randolph Caldecott Medal 
for the most distinguished American picture book for children

A Sick Day for Amos McGee, illustrated by Erin E. Stead, written by Philip C. Stead
(H) Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Laban Carrick Hill
(H) Interrupting Chicken written and illustrated by David Ezra Stein

Michael L. Printz Award 
for excellence in literature written for young adults

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
(H) Stolen by Lucy Christopher
(H) Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King
(H) Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick
(H) Nothing by Janne Teller



Coretta Scott King Awards
(for the best book about the African-American experience)
Author

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
(H) Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers
(H) Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes
(H) Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri

Illustrator
Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Laban Carrick Hill
(H) Jimi Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix illustrated by Javaka Steptoe, written by Gary Golio

John Steptoe New Talent
Author: Zora and Me written by Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon
Illustrator: Seeds of Change illustrated by Sonia Lynn Sadler, written by Jen Cullerton Johnson

Virginia Hamilton Practitioner Award for Lifetime Achievement
Dr. Henrietta Mays Smith

Schneider Family Book Award
for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience

Picture Book
The Pirate of Kindergarten by George Ella Lyon, illustrated by Lynne Avril
Middle Grade Novel
After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick
YA Novel
Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John

Alex Awards
for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences

The Reapers Are the Angels: A Novel by Alden Bell
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: A Novel by Aimee Bender
The House of Tomorrow by Peter Bognanni
Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden: A Novel by Helen Grant
The Radleys by Matt Haig
The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton
Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard by Liz Murray
The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To by DC Pierson

Andrew Carnegie Medal
for excellence in children's video

Paul R. Gagne and Melissa Reilly Ellard of Weston Woods, producers of "The Curious Garden," are the Carnegie Medal winners. The video is based on the book of the same name, written and illustrated by Peter Brown, and is narrated by Katherine Kellgren, with music by David Mansfield.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award
for substantial and lasting contributions to literature for children.
Tomie dePaola

Margaret A. Edwards Award
for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.
Sir Terry Pratchett

May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award
recognizing an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children's literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site
Peter Sis

Mildred L. Batchelder Award 
for an outstanding children's book translated from a language other than English and subsequently published in the United States

A Time of Miracles by Anne-Laure Bondoux, translated by Y. Maudet
(H) Departure Time by Truus Matti and translated by Nancy Forest-Flier
(H) Nothing by Janne Teller and translated by Martin Aitken

Odyssey Award
best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex and narrated by Bahni Turpin.
(H) Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman and narrated by Katherine Kellgren
(H) The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness and narrated by Nick Podehl
(H) Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly and narrated by Emily Janice Card and Emma Bering
(H) will grayson, will grayson by John Green and David Levithan, and narrated by MacLeod Andrews and Nick Podehl.

Pura Belpre
For the best books about the Latino cultural experience
Author
The Dreamer by Pam Munoz Ryan, illustrated by Peter Sís

(H) Ole! Flamenco by George Ancona
(H) The Firefly Letters: A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba by Margarita Engle
(H) 90 Miles to Havana by Enrique Flores-Galbis
 Illustrator
Grandma's Gift illustrated and written by Eric Velasquez
(H) Fiesta Babies illustrated by Amy Cordova, written by Carmen Tafolla
(H) Me, Frida illustrated by David Diaz, written by Amy Novesky
(H) Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin illustrated and written by Duncan Tonatiun

Robert F. Sibert Medal
for most distinguished informational book for children

Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot by Sy Montgomery, photographs by Nic Bishop
(H) Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, illustrated by Brian Floca
(H) Lafayette and the American Revolution by Russell Freedman

Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award
Books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered experience.

Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher
(H) will grayson, will grayson by John Green and David Levithan
(H) Love Drugged by James Klise
(H) Freaks and Revelations by Davida Willis Hurwin
(H) The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams, illustrated by Quentin Blake

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award
for the most distinguished beginning reader book

Bink and Gollie by Kate DiCamillo and Alison McGhee and illustrated by Tony Fucile
(H) Ling and Ting: Not Exactly the Same! written and illustrated by Grace Lin
(H) We Are in a Book! written and illustrated by Mo Willems

William C. Morris Award
for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens

The Freak Observer by Blythe Woolston
(H) Hush by Eishes Chayil
(H) Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey
(H) Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
(H) Crossing the Tracks by Barbara Stuber

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults during a November 1 – October 31 publishing year.

Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing by Ann Angel
(H) They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
(H) Spies of Mississippi: The True Story of the Spy Network that Tried to Destroy the Civil Rights Movement by Rick Bowers
(H) The Dark Game: True Spy Stories by Paul Janeczko
(H) Every Bone Tells a Story: Hominin Discoveries, Deductions, and Debates by Jill Rubalcaba and Peter Robertshaw

Whew! Someone on Twitter said the list just gets longer every year, but I don't feel like a single award is wasted. Coming tomorrow: My reactions (plus the tell-all story of the wild Twitter party!) Share your reactions in the comments!

The Comment Challenge is Here Again!

If you've ever wanted to get more involved with the kidlitosphere, now's your chance. Hop on over to MotherReader's blog and sign up for the 2011 comment challenge. In a nutshell, here's how it works: You try to comment on other people's book blogs. That's . . . really about it.

I love this when it comes around, because it reminds me to put my reactions to other bloggers in writing, to be part of the conversation that is this great blog adventure we're all having. I also try to check out a lot of the other participants' blogs, and this challenge has introduced me to lots of neat new blogging friends. Well, what are you waiting for?

This also dovetails rather nicely with my own desire to blog more. I have great half-written reviews on my hard drive, but they don't do me much good there, now do they?

Hogwarts: A History (in Movie Posters)

Betsy Bird of Fuse #8 pointed me at this fascinating blog post from Empire Magazine's website: Harry Potter movie posters through the years. It's a neat little encapsulation of the changes from the first book/movie to the last, in character and tone.

I particularly like how Ron went from being the silly sidekick to (finally!) more dark and interesting in the posters for the last two movies. That's always annoyed me about the movies, that Ron, who is a goofball but brave and smart in his own unique way in the books, got relegated to comic relief while Harry and Hermione got to do all the good stuff. Naturally, the Ron bits were my favorite part of the most recent movie, because he got a lot of good stuff. Huzzah!

The Cybils Shortlists Are Out!

Woohoo! Click on over and see the Cybils shortlists, and start placing your bets on the winners now.

It's another great set, with a mix of famous and unknowns. Generally, I have the books on my list but haven't gotten to them yet. That's not a surprise, because I'm almost always way behind in my reading. There are one or two on each list that are totally new to me - woohoo! There are at least a few that I've seen around the blogs and decided not to read, but this nomination might change my mind. Maybe.

What's your Cybils score?

Reading Roundup: 2010

By the Numbers
Teen: 255
Tween: 117
Children: 164
Caveat: Many books fell into more than one category, especially those tween books that could go either up or down. No, I didn't really read 536 books this year. I wouldn't have had time to sleep.

Sources
Review Copies: 38
Swapped: 50
Purchased: 17
Library: You think I'm going to count that high? Are you insane?

Standouts
Teen: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Selected in June: "Just like its heroine, this book is so much more than it seems." And here's my review.
Tween: Julia Gillian and the Quest for Joy by Alison McGhee
Selected in November: "McGhee doesn't disappoint in her follow-up to the quietly marvelous Julia Gillian and the Art of Knowing. Serious, sensitive Julia Gillian feels her way through the early tween years the same way we all did--by making mistakes and learning from them." And there's another book out! Wahoo!
Children: Max Quigley, Technically Not a Bully by James Roy
Selected in December: "Talk about actions being louder than words. While Max Quigley steadfastly refutes any charges of bullying and constantly denigrates the nerdy Triffin Nordstrom, his actions trace the changes in his character. Often compared to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, I like this book better. Throw tomatoes if you must."

Reading through the roundups, I realized how many nonfiction books I picked. Whether it's because of nonfiction Monday calling my attention to what's out there, or the way we've been getting such awesome examples of the genre lately, I don't know.

All the roundups for 2010

Wow, I can't wait for the awards! What were your picks for the best of 2010?

Reading Roundup: December 2010

By the Numbers
Teen: 19
Tween: 8
Children: 14

Sources
Review Copies: 4
Swapped: 3
Purchased: 2
Library: 25

Standouts
Teen: The Miles Between by Mary Pearson
All Destiny wants for her birthday is one perfect day, where the world is fair. How she gets it, in a tangle of coincidence that add up to something much greater, is the impetus for this thoughtful and surprising novel.
Tween: Remember Little Rock: the time, the people, the stories by Robert Paul Walker
At its heart, this book is about nine kids who wanted to go to school. Walker does a bang-up job of exploring this simple desire and at the same time the boiling stew of racism, fear, and courage that surrounded school integration in Little Rock, Arkansas. Extra kudos for looking at what happened throughout the following school year and making it clear that the opening of the school doors was not the end of the struggle.
Children: Max Quigley, Technically Not a Bully by James Roy
Talk about actions being louder than words. While Max Quigley steadfastly refutes any charges of bullying and constantly denigrates the nerdy Triffin Nordstrom, his actions trace the changes in his character. Often compared to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, I like this book better. Throw tomatoes if you must.

Because I Want To Awards
Most Literary Book to Pass My 50-Page Test: Adios, Nirvana by Conrad Wesselhoeft (in fact, I loved it. If I'm able to pin down exactly how and why, you might actually get a review out of me for this one.)
Worthiest Sequel: TIE Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson and It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
Tailor-Made for Science Geeks of All Ages: Cars on Mars: roving the red planet by Alexandra Siy
Best Bud Ever: my friend Nyssa for hooking me up with an ARC of Huntress by Malinda Lo. Mini-review: better than Ash, and I LOVED Ash.

Reading Roundup: November 2010

By the Numbers
Teen: 20
Tween: 5
Children: 4

Sources
Review Copies: 6
Library: 20

Standouts
Teen: Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Think you know what a teen paranormal book is going to be all about? Think again. Barnes upends conventions all over this tale of a girl literally raised by wolves. Best of all? There's a window open for a sequel, but not a great gaping garage door.
Tween: Julia Gillian and the Quest for Joy by Alison McGhee
McGhee doesn't disappoint in her follow-up to the quietly marvelous Julia Gillian and the Art of Knowing. Serious, sensitive Julia Gillian feels her way through the early tween years the same way we all did--by making mistakes and learning from them.
Children: Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 by Brian Floca
Want to feel the magic and wonder of the first moon landing for yourself? This book will probably the closest you can get to actually being there.

Because I Want To Awards
Will Make Your Brain Hurt: The Long Wait for Tomorrow by Joaquin Dorfman
More Than I Expected: Chasing Boys by Karen Tayleur
Worth the Wait: Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan

For Your Blogroll

In honor of Veteran's Day today, I want to point you at a neat little blog I heard about at KidLitCon: The Children's War. This blog focuses on current and older books written about kids during WWII.

That sounds like a pretty narrow field of focus, and it is, but they still manage to post really neat books at least once or twice a week. It's a young blog, only since June, but I like the mix of fiction and nonfiction, newer and older, and the in-depth reviews.

Happy Veteran's Day everyone. Go hug a soldier.

New Award to Speculate About!

. . . Big deal, you say. The ALA thinks up new awards all the time. We've had, like, six new awards added to the roster just in the past decade.

But I think this one is super-special. It will be called the Stonewall Award, "awarded annually to English-language works for children and teens of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered experience." With the rising numbers of gay and lesbian families out there, and also the persistent bullying and misunderstanding of GLBT kids coming out of the closet, this is an important award.

Ooo. Oooooooooooooooo. I'm so surprised by this that I can't even speculate properly. Help me out here, guys - who should win the first Stonewall award? It won't be awarded until January 2012 (remember that the Youth Media Awards, while awarded in January, award for the previous year.) What's coming up that you're really excited for?

By the way, if you're going "Whuh?" about the name, Stonewall refers to the 1969 Stonewall Riots. Maybe you're thinking violence is not the best association for a children's and teen book award, but this particular event is seen as a watershed moment in the fight for GLBT rights.

Thanks to Lisa Jenn Bigelow for the heads-up. Drop by her blog for a much more thoughtful reaction to this award.

Reading Roundup: October 2010

By the Numbers
Teen: 19
Tween: 10
Children: 17

Sources
Review Copies: 4
Swapped: 1
Purchased: 2
Library: 14

Standouts
Teen: Soul Enchilada by David Macinnis Gill
It's a standoff between all the forces of Hell and a seventeen-year-old high school dropout named Bug Smoot with little more than her attitude to defend her. After meeting Bug, I'd say those are pretty even odds.
Tween: Positively by Courtney Sheinmel
It's about an HIV-positive girl who just lost her mother to AIDS. Sounds like all it needs is a C-list celebrity to make a Lifetime movie out of it. But that would be overly dismissive of a tender, reflective novel featuring a prickly and tough young girl adjusting to a life changing almost too fast for her to keep up.
Children: Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, illustrated by Brian Floca
I admit: I kinda went, "Really? I mean, really?" Not only a picture book for older readers about the making of a ballet, but not even a flashy one like the Nutcracker or Swan Lake. But this nonfiction title about creative collaboration drew me in. I'm not sure how wide the audience will be, but there will be some kids who love this book with all their hearts.

Because I Want To Awards
Way Better Than I Expected: Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund
Made Me Cry on an Airplane, Thanks a Lot: Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler
Too Awesome for Words Nonfic: The Bat Scientists by Mary Kay Carson
Yes, It's Sharon Creech, But . . . : The Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech (I really wasn't sure what to think about this book, which had more than a whiff of medal-bait about it.)