Sam Llewellyn Update

Remember back when I blogged Little Darlings, I said I would pick up anything else by Sam Llewellyn that came my way? Well, something has: Bad, Bad Darlings. I snatched it up the second I saw it at the library, and it's in my to-be-read pile as we speak. What are you waiting for? Go! Run like bunny! Get the book!

Romeo and Juliet - Together (And Alive!) At Last

Book: Romeo and Juliet - Together (and Alive!) At Last
Author: Avi
Published: 1987

Pete Saltz is desperately in love with Anabell Stackpoole. Indications are good that she reciprocates, but they're both too shy to do anything about it. What's a best bud to do? If you're Ed Sitrow, you cook up a plot to put on "Romeo and Juliet," casting Saltz as Romeo and Stackpoole as Juliet. After all, if they play the most famous couple in history, they're going to have to at least look at each other, right?

But the path to true love never did run smooth. Although the entire eighth grade gets in on it, Ed's slight case of overconfidence means that they have two weeks to rehearse, no teacher help, a borrowed set and costumes (borrowed from where? Well might you ask), and by the way, doesn't anybody know how to work those stupid curtains? Boy, does Saltz ever owe him one.

Being an English geek, I really took to this story, especially the hilarious mangling of Shakespearean language ("O, lemon table day!") in their disaster-riddled performance. It's not deep lit-chra-chure, but it's light and hilarious and strangely touching in the depiction of first love and middle-school friendship. Read it for a sweet, diverting, and roll-on-the-floor funny couple of hours.

Peeps

Did you think I stopped reading or something?

Book: Peeps
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Published: 2005

No, this book has nothing to do with those marshmallow critters you get in your Easter basket and a) disembowel with unsettling glee, b) blow up in the microwave, or c) let sit around until they're roughly the density of cement, and then try to eat.

This book is about Cal. His life has taken a turn for the weird recently. On his first night in New York City, he had a drunken one-night stand. It's not until several months later, after every girl he's so much as kissed has turned into a cannibalistic monster, that he figures out the mysterious Morgan was a vampire. Lucky for him, he's semi-immune to the parasite that causes vampirism. But now, with the help of the secret Night Watch, he's got to track down all his exes and put them out of vampiric commission. Then he's got to find Morgan and figure out just what's going on . . . because there's definitely something going on.

Don't read this after eating, especially if you're eating spaghetti and meatballs. It can get pretty creepy and gory, but not gratuitously so. Cal retains a little bit of just-off-the-bus Texas farmboy innocence, even as he's doing a very dangerous and thankless job. Lacey, the new flame (whom he can't even kiss--sigh), counterbalances him as the acerbic, cynical Noo Yawker.

The premise may sound like a Buffy rip-off, but Cal's matter-of-fact, just-doing-my-job attitude, the strong grounding in biology, plus the lovingly drawn New York City that Cal and the Night Watch move through and under, keep it feeling real. This book is very heavy on the science, which was a plus for me because I love finding things out. Westerfeld weaves biology and parasitology into the fabric of his story, as well as intercutting the chapters with breezy mini-essays on real-life parasites. Close to the end, these tend to disrupt the flow of the story, but they're still pretty neat for those with strong stomachs. If, however, you choose to skip them, it probably won't detract too much from the experience.

Note of interest: I found this book through a recommendation from Unshelved, a web-based comic strip about a public library that runs "Book Club" features every Sunday.

Gil's All-Fright Diner

Book: Gil's All-Fright Diner
Author: A. Lee Martinez
Published: 2005

On a quiet night, two men stop in a diner in the middle of Texas nowhere. As Duke and Earl are eating their meal, they look around to see zombies pressed up against the plate-glass window. The waitress says, "Aw, damn. Not tonight."

Welcome to Rockwood County, where they haven't had this kind of trouble since . . . oh, let's see now . . . last Wednesday. It's particularly annoying for Loretta, who's trying as hard as she can to keep her diner open even though it gets wrecked by zombies every other night. Life can be so hard for the small business owner.

Luckily, Duke's a werewolf and Earl is a vampire, and they have a little more experience than they'd care to admit in cleaning up craziness of this nature. Which is good, because they're up against Mistress Lilith, the Queen of the Night (AKA Tammy), who is damn well going to bring about the Apocolypse. And she doesn't care what her stupid boyfriend wants, it's gonna happen before graduation.

Should be interesting.

From the moment I met Duke and Earl, the undead drinking beer and driving a pickup truck, I realized this wasn't going to be your everyday horror novel. No opera capes, that is for sure. It's a bumpy, twisty, loopy ride through the possible end of the world, complete with adventure, romance, ghost doggies, and tentacular visitors. Also diner food.

The greatest appeal of this book is the cockeyed slant on the horror genre in general. It's probably most delightful because the secondary characters are so blase about, e.g., demonic possession and zombie cows. (No, really.)

Bouncing between Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett-esque tongue-in-cheekery and graphic descriptions of guts'n'gore, Martinez's hilarious first novel is a definite treat for those that don't mind a few oozing brains with their satire.

From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun

Book: From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun
Author: Jacqueline Woodson
Published: 1995

Almost-fourteen-year-old Melanin Sun thinks he's got it pretty good. He's got his mama, his homeboys Sean and Raphael, and his notebooks. Sure, nothing's perfect--for one thing, he can't seem to get up the courage to talk to gorgeous Angie from down the block. But things are good.

Which just goes to show how dangerous complacency can be.

When his mama falls in love with a white woman, Mel suddenly finds that everything he's always depended on is as about as dependable as a pogo stick in an earthquake. His mama, always the most important person in his life, now feels like a stranger. He has to lie to Sean and Raphael, and even his budding relationship with Angie is haunted by deception. The only real thing he's got left is the notebooks where he writes down everything he can't say. Using a mixture of first-person narration and excerpts from Mel's notebooks, Wilson chronicles his rocky road through the first great challenge in his young life.

This is a tiny gem of a book, thoughtful and uncompromising, offering no easy answers or pat solutions. Woodson walks a delicate line in her portrayal of Mel, whose reaction to his mother's new love is furious and virulent. Part stepchild-resentment, part homophobia, and part racism, it's completely believable. But the sensitive, loving boy we first got to know re-emerges by the end of the book, as Mel comes to the understanding that no matter what changes, love endures.

Reluctant-reader note: it's a very quick read.

The Wish List

Book: The Wish List
Author: Eoin Colfer
Published: 2000

Meg Finn's got a problem. See, she's dead. Wait, that's not the problem. The problem is, she died with her soul so perfectly in balance that she can't go to either heaven or hell. So now she's got to return to earth and hopefully nudge it a little further onto the positive side. To do that, she's been assigned to help Lowrie McCall complete his "wish list."

Lowrie is dying, alone except for a chestful of regrets. But his wish list is going to change that. All the times in his life when he should have done one thing and instead did another, he wants to fix. Sure, he can't go back in time and kiss that beautiful girl that eventually married his best friend. But he can find her today. But only with Meg's help. And if Meg's erstwhile partner-in-crime (literally), the now-demonic Belch, has his way, even Meg's best efforts won't do the trick.

Best known for his deliciously amoral teenage genius, Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer succeeds in creating more truly memorable characters, and in not preaching in a story where the primary tension is between heaven and hell. Meg has a good heart, but she's hardly a shoo-in for the wings and the harp. Lowrie is not pitiful and pathetic, nor does Colfer overdo the crusty-old-fart stereotype when drawing this character. Even the reps from heaven and hell (St. Peter and Beelzebub, respectively) are interesting. The only character who's slightly 2-D is Belch, but he fulfills his villain duties with a mindless malevolence that is all the more unsettling when you realize he's only sixteen. Grab this book for a thought-provoking, funny look at life and what comes after.

Awards and more awards!

The 2005 Newbery and Caldecotts were announced today in San Antonio as part of the American Library Association's Midwinter Conference. Go have a look.

And I'm proud to note that I blogged one of the Printz honor books several months ago. I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak. The Michael L. Printz Award is given for excellence in literature written for young adults. Nice to know my taste occasionally coincides with that of authorities in the field.

Back with more books soon!

Little Darlings

But, Bibliovore! You just posted yesterday! Usually there's about a month between posts!

I know. But I've started working at a library, which is something like Kate Moss working at a heroin factory. So hopefully you get a lot more Bibliovore posts from now on. Don't send me grumpy emails if you don't, though.

Book: Little Darlings
Author: Sam Llewellyn
Published: 2004

Poor little Primrose, Daisy, and Cassian. Their father and stepmother spend most of the time going to fancy parties and making money, with not a moment left for raising the children. Dear, dear. But they keep themselves occupied with cookery, devious schemes, machinery, and general mayhem. Oh, and they get wonderful nannies. Nineteen, at last count.

But when the Darling household gets put on the Nanny Blacklist, their papa has no choice but to acquire one from the AAA Aardvark Childminding and Security Agency. This nanny's different. This nanny's smart enough to dodge the initial greeting (three children flying, at speed, from the end of the banister), kind enough to get them all takeout, and larcenous enough to steal all the silver. Oh, and the children. But only by accident. He (yes, he) takes them to the SS Kleptomaniac, manned entirely by inept burglars and a brilliant, beautiful captain on a mission to reassemble the parts of a royal teddy bear.

This promises to be more interesting than lessons, at any rate.

With an arch, satirical, subversive tone that hints of Lemony Snicket and Roald Dahl, Llewellyn weaves a story utterly lacking in gooey sentimentality. Daisy, Primrose, and Cassian would send Mary Poppins screaming for the hills, and that is the source of most of the enjoyment I got from this book. With equal parts deviousness, practicality, and teamwork, the siblings barrel through adventures that would send most literary children under the covers. The plot bounces and spins from one unlikely event to the next with a dark glee in the Darling childrens' capability and resourcefulness in the face of obstacles that have baffled all the adults. While the end has the potential to be a bit syrupy, the author's own wry recognition of that fact leaves you laughing. If I see anything else from Sam Llewellyn, even if it doesn't feature the Darlings, I'll be sure to pick it up.

A Year with Butch and Spike

Book: A Year With Butch and Spike
Author: Gail Gauthier
Published: 1998

Butch and Spike Coutre are the class cut-ups. Butch is more likely to draw all over his math homework than finish it, and Spike is more likely to ask questions in class than answer them. They drive the teachers nuts, but sixth-grade teacher Mrs. McNulty has a secret weapon. His name is Jasper.

Jasper's about as close as you can get to the perfect kid. He makes straight A's. His teachers love him. He doesn't give his parents any trouble. He figures in return for all this goodness, he deserves the best sixth-grade year any kid ever had. But it doesn't look like that's going to happen . . .

It's practically a cliche - good, sweet kid makes unlikely friends with the neighborhood bully and transforms him/her (let's not be sexist here; girls are worse bullies than boys sometimes) into a human being with feelings and everything. Frankly, that's what I was expecting when I picked up A Year with Butch and Spike. To my surprise, I found that the situation is almost perfectly reversed. Jasper is at first rigidly virtuous and scarily perfectionist. But as the year goes on, he learns to see the world through the non-comformist, curious-about-everything eyes of the Coutre cousins. He does his best to maintain his position as the kid who always does the right thing and follows the rules. But as his outlook changes, he begins to realize that there are more important things than living up to a perfect scholastic standard.

I really enjoyed this book. Spike and Butch, who aren't bullies but genuinely good-hearted kids, form an entertaining duo. Mrs. McNulty is the worst example of a teacher abusing her power over the kids in her class. But it's Jasper's transformation into an actual human being instead of a teacher/grades/achievement-controlled puppet that is most compelling.

A Christmas Carol

In honor of the season, here is the text that is arguably responsible for my descent into English-major-hood. Damn you, Dickens!

Book: A Christmas Carol
Author: Charles Dickens
Originally Published: 1843

I trust I don't have to summarize this story. Nasty Scrooge (quick! what's his first name?), who doesn't care about anything but money, is visited by three ghosts who change his mind, and he transforms into a wonderful human being, literally overnight. It's been corrupted, raped, and despoiled in every way possible. From Sprint commercials to Mr. Magoo cartoons to, Dear God, the Muppet version (with Michael Caine, however, so all is not totally lost), this story is almost as well-known around this time of year as that one about some kid who was born in a stable.

Yet when you clear away all that adapted drek, the text itself is still a great read. Sure, it's Victoriana to the max - florid prose, unabashed sentimentalism, and angelic women. But it's also Charles Dickens at his most scathing, a bitter indictment of a society that does far too little for its most helpless. Tiny Tim, as nauseating as he is, stands in for the poor and helpless of England, doomed to a short life and painful death unless people like Scrooge open their hearts. It's not even about money; it's about love.

I first read this story in eighth grade, long before I could appreciate the nuances of social commentary or knew enough about Victorian history to get all the subtleties. Why I enjoyed it was the language. Dickens loves words. From the moment he pauses in his story to say thoughtfully,

"Mind! I don't mean to say that I know, of my own knowledge, what there is particularly dead about a door-nail. I might have been inclined, myself, to regard a coffin-nail as the deadest piece of ironmongery in the trade. But the wisdom of our ancestors is in the simile; and my unhallowed hands shall not disturb it, or the Country's done for. You will therefore permit me to repeat, emphatically, that Marley was as dead as a door-nail."

It was this combination of wordplay and tongue-in-cheek satire that first sucked me in. Since then, I've read it many times, and as with every true classic, I find something new every time.

"It's a good story about Victorian England, but it doesn't apply to 21st century USA," you say.

Oh, yeah? Look around.

Whales on Stilts! and Feed

Okay, I confess it, the Bibliovore has been on an itsy-bitsy hiatus. I blame finals. Yes, indeed, I blame finals for everything, including world hunger and the way you can never get the last maraschino cherry out of the jar without spilling radioactive red juice everywhere.

Finals doesn't mean I haven't been reading, though.

It's an M.T. Anderson Double Feature here at Confessions of a Bibliovore. I found these two very different books by the same author on the same day, in the same library. What are the odds?

Book: Whales on Stilts!
Author: M.T. Anderson
Published: 2005

Lily is a boring kid. She's quite sure of it. After all, her best friends, Katie and Jaspar have regular adventures, leading to book series, fan clubs, and tie-in products. What does Lily have? Not much, except an instinct that goes "Uh-oh" on the day she visits work with her dad. Maybe it's hearing about all those adventures from Jaspar and Katie, but something about the offices in an abandoned warehouse (with the sign warning of scorpions) and her dad's boss Larry (is she the only one who notices he's wearing a bag over his head?) just sets off her weird-o-meter. Then she discovers that Larry is planning to equip whales with lasers and stilts, for the express purpose of taking over the world.

This could be bad.

But the adults are completely oblivious. Obviously, it's up to the kids. Or more accurately, it's--urp!--up to Lily. Boring old Lily . . . who just may have what it takes to save the world.

This is M.T. Anderson's spoof on all those old adventure books from the 40's or so, not to mention B movies and bad cliches from everywhere. The exclamation point is a necessary part of the title, or else how would you know how desperately thrilling the whole business is? He had a whole lot of fun writing this book, throwing logic and reason out the window as he did so. Every five seconds, I looked up from the book and went "Huh?!??!" The rest of the time I was rolling around laughing.

If you like the Wayside School series and A Series of Unfortunate Events, go pick this book up. The plot dooesn't make much sense, but then it's not supposed to. If the banner across the top of the book ("M.T. Anderson's Thrilling Adventures!") is anything to go by, this may just become a regular series. I hope so. The world needs more books like this.

Book: Feed
Author: M.T. Anderson
Published: 2004

Like all his friends, Titus has always had a feed. It's a chip in his brain that delivers all the latest news, gossip, and ads. But during a vacation on the moon, he, all his friends, and the intriguing girl he has just met get hacked. The feed goes down, and he learns, briefly, what it's like to live inside his own head.

The feed goes back up, but Titus still remembers what it was like. When Violet, that intriguing girl, begins to question the feed, and by extension their entire society, Titus is at first entertained, then weirded out. He loves the feed. He can't live without it. But Violet can't live with it . . .

This is a completely different book from Whales on Stilts! Thoughtful and dystopic, it forces the reader to think about the many insidious ways in which media and big business influence our lives. There's a scene, both hilarious and stomach-turning, in which Violet attempts to get customer support for the feed and is urged to submit a customer profile so they can help her pick out products to buy.

I freely admit to being a complete internet junkie, and even I went, "I gotta get offline," after reading this book. (Obviously, that passed.) Possibly the most disturbing part (for me, at least) was the way that family bonds are completely lost in the shuffle. Anderson wisely leaves the fate of Titus and his dystopia open to interpretation, leaving us with only the fate of Violet to rattle around in our brains and make us get out a little more.

Lamb

I've been reading some good books lately. This one stands out.

Book: Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
Author: Christopher Moore
Published: 2003

You know the drill. Christ was made flesh and came to earth in the form of a man, blah, blah, blah. What nobody's ever asked is, "How much like a man was Christ?" Enough to have a best friend. This is their story.

In a book that was probably challenged, protested, and censored even before it came out, the Son of God is called Joshua (his name in Hebrew), and his best friend is Levi, called Biff because that's the sound that was made when his mom smacked him upside the head. Which happens a lot, because even though Biff is best friends with the Messiah, he's got all the human frailties that Josh has escaped. Our intrepid narrator is obnoxious, perennially horny, disrespectful of just about everybody, and the best friend Josh could have had.

Of course, Biff knows Josh is the Son of God. He's just not that impressed. He's had to break this guy out of a wine amphora, after all. But he'd follow his friend anywhere, including to the East to find the Magi, back to Galilee, through the three years of preaching and meteoric fame, and to the foot of the cross itself.

What impressed me most about this book (besides the fact that it's hilarious) is that even though Christopher Moore has written what some would call a blasphemous and disrespectful book about a very human Jesus Christ, he doesn't descend into parody. There's a lot of slapstick and silliness, yes. But I got the impression that Moore has lot of love and reverence for his characters, which shines through and makes this not just a funny book, but a touching one as well.

The ending feels like a let-down, but it's not as if Moore could really deviate from the source material. Pick it up for the laughs, or the thoughtfulness, or just because it's so different.

I Am the Messenger

It's been awhile, hasn't it? Like Counterfeit Son, this book has been hanging around waiting for me to blog it. Begging piteously, in fact.

Book: I am the Messenger
Author: Markus Zusak
Published: 2005

Ed Kennedy is pretty much a loser. Working as an underage cabbie, he goes home to a tiny shack and a really smelly dog. The love of his life prefers to be friends. Even his mom doesn't have much use for him.

Then one day he gets an ace of diamonds in the mail, marked with three addresses and times. His task--to go to those addresses at those times, meet the people there, and change their lives.

How he's going to do it is up to him.

This odd and thought-provoking book is structured around the four suits of playing cards. From the ace of diamonds, Ed goes on to clubs, spades, and hearts, each with a strange and nonsensical task that causes him to connect with at least three more people. From replacing lightbulbs in Christmas lights to sponsoring a meet-the-priest day for a struggling church (the key - free beer) to finally getting up the guts to face the love of his life, Ed's tasks ask more and more of him, in different ways. And from perfect strangers to his nearest and dearest (who may be the strangest of all), he gradually adds people to his lonely existence.

Gritty in patches, sweet in others, this book is very readable, if you don't mind some rough language. The ending, and the explanation for why and how Ed is getting all these cards, is a bit too clever, but the book's overall message about connecting to other people is well worth hearing.

It's Banned Book Week, my fellow bibliovores! Check out this article for a quick discussion about banning with the author of the much-challenged Annie on My Mind.

Then go read something that would give the banners a heart attack. Try Fahrenheit 451, which has been banned itself for bad language. The irony is mind-boggling.

Counterfeit Son

Yes, indeed, it has been over two weeks since I posted. Not that I haven't been reading, it's just that I couldn't recommend my evolutionary psychology book to anybody, except maybe as an insomnia remedy.

I have had this book (and one other) sitting around on my "I should really return this to the library" shelf for awhile. I just didn't because I didn't want to do so before I blogged it. But the library wants it back, so here we go . . .

Book: Counterfeit Son
Author: Elaine Marie Alphin
Published: 2000

Six years after his sudden disappearance, Neil Lacey has returned to the bosom of his family. It's like a dream come true for the Laceys, except for one thing: he's not their son.

His name is Cameron Miller, and he's the son of a recently deceased serial killer. The same serial killer, in fact, that kidnapped and murdered the real Neil. All he wants is a regular life, a home and a family. He wants to be Neil, and forget he was ever Cameron.

But the deception is getting harder and harder to carry off. . . .

While Alphin doesn't go into graphic detail, she makes it clear that Cameron suffered physical and sexual abuse at the hands of his father for many years. Cameron's own reaction to this is almost more disturbing--he accepts it as normal and expects it from his new family. She also creates realistic and believable reactions, not only for Neil's parents, but for his sister and brother as they all have to work through the family tragedy turned upside-down.

As Cameron adjusts to having a family and people who care about him, his struggle between the desire to keep it and the growing realization that his actions are wrong intensifies. You're not sure until the very last moment which is going to win.

The ending feels just a little deus ex machina, but overall, this is a great book.

Owl in Love

I've been reading some good books lately. Here's one of them.

Book: Owl in Love
Author: Patrice Kindl
Published: 1993

Fourteen-year-old Owl is passionately in love--with her science teacher, Mr. Lindstrom. Oh, she knows what the magazines say about girls and crushes, but she knows it's more than that. And why? Because silly little crushes are for regular girls. She is a were-owl, and owls mate for life. Therefore, this is True Love. What's a slight species difference, not to mention an age gap of about twenty-five years, to Destined Mates?

Owl is confident that with enough patience, she and Mr. Lindstrom can be together. But then she starts encountering a weird, inept barn owl in her nightly flights, and a mysterious, wild boy living in the woods behind Mr. Lindstrom's house. And suddenly True Love doesn't seem so important anymore . . .

Fantasy author Holly Lisle says that every fantasy author gets one "gimme" per story--one element or event that's just utterly illogical, but that the audience will accept anyway. More than one gimme is pushing it pretty hard. Moreover, once that gimme is there, you have to proceed logically from that point. Owl in Love is a perfect example of this. Once you manage to accept the idea that a fourteen-year-old girl can turn into an owl at will, the rest of the book is meticulously logical and beautifully crafted.

This book has been called hilarious, weird, haunting, and original--all by the same reviewer. The great strength of this book is Owl herself. She watches regular people and their activities with detached puzzlement. Her comments on humanity are enough to make you roll on the floor, more so because they're delivered in such solemn and serious language. And it's obvious to everyone but Owl herself that she shares quite a lot with these nutty humans she holds herself separate from.

The minor characters (everyone seems minor next to Owl) are just as delightful. From sweet and unexpectedly crafty Dawn (who has proclaimed herself Owl's friend, somewhat to Owl's bafflement), to Owl's darling and somewhat daffy parents, to the object of passion himself, Mr. Lindstrom, and the weird and wild boy Houle, Kindl creates a cast worthy of the star of the show.

Owl's in love . . . and you will be too.

People all over the world are donating money to the Red Cross and similar immediate-relief efforts to aid the victims of the Katrina. By all means, do so. In fact, follow this link to do so. Agencies Supporting Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts at MSN. You can take your pick of agencies.

Just please, think about giving your money to these people too.

The LLA Disaster Relief Fund is now accepting monetary donations to assist school, public, and academic library restoration efforts in southeastern Louisiana.
Please make checks payable to: LLA-Disaster Relief and mail to:
LLA
421 South 4th St
Eunice, LA 70535

from the Louisiana Library Association Homepage

What about after? What about when people come back to the places they lived? By that time, certainly many months in the future, the focus of the media will be diverted away from New Orleans and onto other things, but rebuilding money needs to come from somewhere.

School, public, and academic libraries have been devastated as surely as have private homes. Their facilities have been destroyed, their collections carried away or irretrievably damaged. But it's the nature of the beast that libraries come way down the list. Help make sure New Orleans and surrounding areas can rebuild their libraries as well as their homes.

And if you know or are anybody who worked for the New Orleans Public Library, please go to The NOPL Blog and post contact information.

A book rec tomorrow, I swear.

Adding another link: PaperBackSwap.com

This is an online book club where you can swap books with other members for the price of postage. It's great for people like me who a) have about five zillion books languishing around that used bookstores won't take and b) have a list as long as their own arm of older books they just can't find anywhere. Fix both problems at once.

Nicely browsable and searchable, with publishers' blurbs and reviews.

Here's an oldish favorite . . . I don't know how often I'll be updating, because the fall semester starts today. Oy! On the other hand, it's my last semester. Huzzah!

Book: Sorcery and Cecilia, or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot
Authors: Caroline Stevemer and Patricia C. Wrede
Originally Published: 1988

18-year-old cousins Kate and Cecilia thought that their lives were going to be dull this spring of 1817. Although Kate is in London for her first Season, her gorgeous sister is there too, pretty much ensuring nobody's going to look at Kate. Poor Cecy is stuck at home in Rushton, where nothing ever happens (except for that dust-up about Squire Bryant's goat). Their entertainment becomes writing long letters to each other.

Except all of a sudden, Kate and Cecy find themselves hip-deep in the doings of wizards in both London and Rushton . . . wizards who don't want to be interfered with. Why did an ominous woman try to serve Kate chocolate that burned a hole in her skirt? Who is the Mysterious Marquis, and why is he after that chocolate pot? Why does James Tarleton keep trying to sneak around, apparently spying on Cecy? (He's very bad at it, too.) And how the heck did their shy little friend Dorothea suddenly become the reigning belle of the neighborhood and then of London? Working together through their letters, Kate and Cecy are going to get to the bottom of this . . . hopefully before the wizards figure out what they're doing!

From the moment you meet Cecy (discussing a proposed visit to the oh-so-dull Reverend, she tells Kate that "I am determined to have the headache on Thursday if I have to hit myself with a rock to do it) and Kate (recounting a visit to the Elgin Marbles, she tells Cecy that listening to other people talk about them is enough "to make the eyes roll right back in your head with boredom"), you have to like them. Funny, caring, clever, and still just teenaged enough to be real, these are girls you want to have on your side in a battle against unscrupulous villains.

It takes a little while for the plot to get going, but when it does, readers discover a fast-paced and ofttimes hilarious magical adventure in an alternate Regency London where magic is accepted and wizards are commonplace. This book is often described as Jane Austen with a dash of magic, and I have to agree with that. Lively, ever-so-slightly screwball, and just romantic enough, this book is just plain old fun.

The story of this book is almost as interesting as the plot. Patricia C. Wrede convinced Caroline Stevemer to play the letter game, a writer's exercise in which letters are written in-character and neither player is allowed to tell the other what's going to happen next. At the end of it, being professional writers in their own rights, they realized they had a book, and thus Sorcery and Cecilia was shared with the world. Wrede (as Cecilia) and Stevemer (as Kate), luckily have similar enough styles that the switch is not jarring, as might be expected. A sequel, The Grand Tour, was published in 2004, and Wrede carried on with the idea of this alternate England in her two books Mairelon the Magician and The Magician's Ward. Go find them!

Quick post in order to furnish y'all with a new website I've found.

Kid-Lit.com

Not, as far as I can tell, affiliated with the KIDLIT-L listserv (which by the way, can someone out there in BloggerLand tell me what the correct address is for that? I've been trying to subscribe for weeks, without success). This website was started by a mom looking for books for her kids. It features a database, which you can search by all sorts of different criteria, like the reader's age, gender, or reading level, and genre, keywords, and even ethnicity of the book's characters. Pretty handy. Plus you can look up particular books to see what real kids think of it, and whether you agree.

The database does not include picture books and concentrates mostly on chapter books for readers between 6-12 years. It does include YA books, but under the lump heading of "12+". Still, it's well worth putting on your favorites list, if you ask me.