May 2, 2013 · 9:32 am

The Magicians

magiciansby Lev Grossman

I have several different layers of reactions to this book.

Started reading it when it was first published and didn’t quite manage to get too far.  I was sufficiently intrigued by the premise and the tone (smart and snarky and somehow languish as well — there’s a definite “drawl” in the sentence delivery here) to pick it up again and finish it this time around.  And gosh, how much I HATED parts of the book!!!

Good things first: Grossman definitely knows his fantasy tropes and knows how to subvert some of the conventions.  Magic isn’t easy.  Magical lands can really hurt/kill you.  Being a magician might not be as glamorous as one think.  And he definitely delivered some cool inventive magic powers in the book.  I love the transformation from human to geese, the various elemental and physical magic spells and powers, and the time/space travel scenarios, among many other minor and interesting magic tricks.

But.. but… but…. Quentin is SUCH A BORE. Such an angsty whiny little man that I simply couldn’t muster any compassion for him and his predicaments.  The constant search for happiness and the disappointments, the high school and college romantic affairs that turn out to be just petty relationship drivels.  And Alice as a super-magician was just a convenient device so she could save the day and sacrifice herself so that Quentin can somehow have a revelation (a bit too little too late) at the end of the tale.

Grossman managed to create a really unattractive fantasy book that makes me want to cry… in making sure that the readers realize that magic and the fantasy world is Real and is Hard and is Dangerous, he also made sure that much of the charm of a great fantasy novel is destroyed by his words.

Upon discussing this book with my teen readers, though, I realized that perhaps it’s just me being a middle aged reader who is tired and sick of anything dealing with relationship conflicts. These high school readers sense and fantasize about all those college romances as  something to ponder and to look forward to and to experience in their near future.  So, those quarrels, sex partnering, betrayals, loyalties, etc. add to the attraction of the book, not diminish it.  I heard that the sequel is better.. should I continue??

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April 24, 2013 · 11:08 am

Hokey Pokey

13642591by Jerry Spinelli

This new book by established author Jerry Spinelli has sparked quite a bit of conversation in the children’s lit. circle.  And at my Children’s Literature Circle (a monthly book club that I host for faculty at my school,) our teachers (and one student) had quite a bit to say about the book as well.  So, here’s a short synopsis of what we discussed last Friday (April 19th.)

We were lucky enough that an 8th grade boy, hungry and in need of some sustenance wandered in to the classroom where some yummy chicken fingers called to him.  We said to Z (his initial) that we’d love to give him this book to read and get some feedback, since one of the common sentiment was, “Who would read this book?  Whom is this book for?”  But Z surprised us by saying, “Oh, that book?  I read it.  I really liked it.”

So we fed Z, asked him to stay for the beginning of our discussion and share with us his reaction.  He told us that the book was easy to read and he really enjoyed it.  These are some of his own words. “It resonated with me.”  “How the author describes it gels with my own childhood.” “I was confused at first.  Thought it was purely fantastical world… until it became clear that it was a childhood… it felt tribal.” ” It feels like a new fantasy world.”  “It would have felt sadder if I had read this earlier.”  Or, as we agreed, for a younger reader, it might not speak to him/her at all!

After Z left, we had a short moment of collective reflective silence — hmm… so this book IS for someone, and at least for this one 8th grader, everything WORKS beautifully.  Z also told us that he read the book in one day — which we all agreed that is the way to go.  Not a book to read in piece-meal, putting down and picking up again.  But we also all agreed that it was NOT an easy book to get in to – not by a long shot.  Anyone staying with the book until the end appreciated it so much more than they had originally thought possible.

We thought that it is daring for Spinelli to create such a unique world and he did quite a great job maintaining it.  Not an easy task.  Some of us felt that toward the end, there’s a bit redundancy in reviewing all the areas of “childhood” (Hokey Pokey) and that tightening it up more would have been  emotionally stronger.  Someone in our group suggested that the book should have been a short story.

We thought that this book will speak most directly and effectively for those who have LEFT Hokey Pokey.  (So, early teens, teens, and adults.)  And it probably will only speak to those who actually lament or miss their childhood.

Is the Allegorical land too obvious for some readers?  It is, somewhat, for me and a couple of other adult readers.  But it seems to have worked quite well for the 8th grader and there is a sense of revelation and pride in being able to name what Hokey Pokey is!

I grappled with the view points somewhat — if this is supposed to be the internal landscape of Jack, why would we be able to see so clearly some of the other characters’ internal journeys?  Especially that of Jubilee’s?    Or perhaps this is NOT an internal landscape but a SHARED Childhood Experience of those who live through it together?  Some leave earlier than others and some want to leave while others want to hold them back.

I wish that the strong dividing line of “BOYS are this” and “GIRLS are that” is less clearly stated to allow for better enjoyment by me with a 21st century sentiment.

I also think that the comparison of Spinelli to Joyce (by plenty of people) is quite off base and that this is not an example of “stream of consciousness” style!

This was definitely a conversation propelling book!  I’d love to hear more opinions for young readers!

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Listening to The Magicians by Lev Grossman and…

Listening to The Magicians by Lev Grossman, and wading through Hokey Pokey by Jerry Spinelli… wading.. because I feel reluctant to get back to the book every time after putting it down… I can’t wait to finish it and figure out why some people seem to really love it.

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April 14, 2013 · 10:12 pm
April 13, 2013 · 12:13 pm

Batman: Arkham Asylum (15th Anniversary Edition)

batmanaa by Grant Moorison, art by Dave McKean

To some readers, namely my 12-year-old students, this book is a total disappointment.  It has the brand name Batman on the title.  It IS a sort of origin story — of the Arkham Asylum which houses many infamous villains, including the Joker, of the franchise; and it does have segments with Batman in them.  But, they feel somehow cheated because there is almost no treatment of the fight scenes during the Hide and Seek game on the Asylum Ground.  A couple of pages, with McKean’s signature dream-like artwork hastily showing Batman  dispensing of all the Asylum inmates, are all they got out of these fight scenes.  And as super hero comics readers, they were not satisfied.

I felt differently.  As a McKean art adorer, I enjoyed all the panels, both the really detailed close-ups and the dream-line distanced treatments.  And I am totally ok with not “watching” longer sequences of the fights.  I enjoyed the psychoanalytically inspired (albeit superficially so) back story of Doctor Arkham more than my students.  However, I won’t say that this is one to highly recommend to either Graphic Novel enthusiasts or novices.

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Finished Arkham Asylum the 15 Year anniversary edition…

Finished Arkham Asylum, the 15-Year anniversary edition with David McKean’s artwork. Finished listening to Hart’s Hope. Started listening to The Zombie Survival Guide and reading The Name of the Wind (#1 of Kingkiller Chronicle.)

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April 8, 2013 · 9:51 pm
April 8, 2013 · 9:47 pm

Sisters Grimm #1: The Fairy-Tale Detectives

sistersgrimm by Michael Buckley

I read this series not in order but it didn’t hurt the enjoyment since each story has its central conflict to resolve and there’s a nicely tied up ending for each one. This first story sets up the backdrop quite nicely, explaining how the fairy tale creatures (the Everafters) got to Ferryport Landing and how the sisters came to assist their grandmother in playing the detectives to capture the culprits in magical crimes. It’s all very clean, imaginative fun and beloved by many of my young readers.

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Listening to Hart’s Hope Orson Scott Card reading…

Listening to Hart’s Hope (Orson Scott Card,) reading Hokey Pokey (Spinelli,) and Batman: Arkham Asylum (Grant Morrison.)

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April 3, 2013 · 9:25 pm
April 3, 2013 · 9:23 pm

Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales

fairysreturnby Gail Carson Levine, a collection of six Princess Tales

I enjoyed pretty much every single story in this collection.  Each one is inventive and fresh, with a lot of humor and just the right kind of twists from the original tales to maintain a high level of interest — even from this veteran fractured fairy tale reader.  I only wish that the design and the title are not so incredibly girly because I believe like all Grimm tales, these stories can be equally appreciated by both genders, even if the focus on the tales is the yearning and seeking of that one and perfect match.  The way Levine presents the relationships of the main characters stresses more on personalities and character compatibilities than some external or shallow physical attraction makes these tales solid choices for young readers.

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March 28, 2013 · 11:11 am

At the Penguin Young Readers Spring/Summer 2013 Preview

This morning I attended the Penguin Young Readers preview — an event I don’t always get to go due to teaching scheduling conflicts.  So glad that this happened during our spring break and this is a somewhat lengthy summary of what transpired, not limited by 144 characters per post even though it is 6-8 hours late!

I am excited about these follow-up to series that I know both myself and my students have enjoyed:

A new series of Winnie’s brother (from The Winnie Years) Ty by Lauren Myracle, the fall publication of Adam Gidwitz’s Grimm Conclusion, The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail, a companion story of Secrets at Sea which I adored, by Richard Peck, Al Capone Does My Homework (the stakes are even higher now that Moose’s father is the deputy warden and their family’s safety is threatened) by Choldenko, Wells Bequest, a follow-up story of The Grimm Legacy that I just read last week, and the sequel to Marie Lu’s Legend, Prodigy.

And these are books that I’d love to get my hands on and read:

No Easy Way Out by Dayna Lorentz sounds intriguing: quarantined shopping mall full of teens during a biological weapon attack.

Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking by Erin Dionne is compared to The Westing Game.  Set in Boston, an art theft caper and a treasure hunt.

After Iris by Natasha Farrant: a British import that has gotten some strong love in house.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke sounds like a delicious horror novel.

The new fantasy trilogy by Jane Yolen and her son Adam Stemple The Seelie War.  The first title The Hostage Prince was introduced.  Sounds promising.

Rogue by Lyn Miller-Lachmann is book on a timely topic of the struggle and experiences of children with Asperger Syndrome, based partially on the author’s personal (and apparently painful) experiences.

RazorBill (an imprint) made a fun book trailer with TV celebrities for Firecracker by David Iserson.  Too bad I couldn’t find a link to it on YouTube.

Rick Yancy’s new SciFi thriller The 5th Wave has already received 3 stars.

Is P.K. Pinkerton a boy or a girl? We still won’t find out in the second installment of Caroline Lawrence’s series (rebranded from Western Mysteries to P.K. Pinkerton…) called P.K. Pinkerton and the Petrified Man. (The first is The Case of the Deadly Desperados.) We are promised that all will be revealed in book three.  If you don’t know about the first book — seek out and read — it features a main character on the autism spectrum in a time where the terminology did not exist.

Golden Boy by Tara Sullivan deals with a current and horrific subject in Tanzania and other African countries: albino people being hunted, killed or mutilated for their body parts due to superstitious beliefs of their magical benefits.  (I found this article on the NPR site: Tanzania’s Albinos Face Constant Threat Of Attack for some background information.)

The Puffin Chalk classics series got a whimsical and elegant repackaging of beloved books. The texture of the cover is just so fun to the touch.

Proxy by Alex London sounds like a futuristic Whipping Boy, where young and rich youths pay for their Proxies to receive punishments for their wrong doings — including death sentencing for killing someone during a car crash.

Really enjoyed The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers.

Ashes on the Waves by Mary Lindsay is based on Annabel Lee by Poe, one of my favorite poems in the whole wide world.  So, hopefully this book does not disappoint!

Our surprise lunch guests were Andrea Cremer and David Levithan … They came to talk about Invisibility, their new collaborated novel of a girl who is in love with a boy who is invisible.  It’s an exploration of what true love means, set against a magical world backdrop in contemporary America.  They discussed their collaborative process — how sometimes one was surprised by the twists and turns the co-author conjured up and then had to figure out clever and smooth ways to continue the storyline.  We all received a copy of the book.  I can imagine many young readers eager to devour this book.  Next week, when I go back to school — it will land in someone’s hands.

Finally, I have to say how much I love Sharyn November’s description of certain young girl readers whom I often encounter: “Occasional readers: girls who prefer reading magazines to books.” I am always on the lookout for books that are just right for them: dealing with topics they will enjoy, written in ways that are easy to get into and digest, and offering quite a bit of thought provoking issues and solutions.  I hope the new book that is coming out in July 45 Pounds, More or Less will satisfy such readership and make my inner morally-concerned-librarian happy!

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March 26, 2013 · 9:59 am

Grimm Legacy

grimmlegacyby Polly Shulman

For a librarian, someone who has worked for the New York Public Library system and toured the underground (deeply underground) stacks of books and objects, and a huge fan of fairytale reinventions, this book is a perfect match.  I thoroughly enjoyed the capers and the many magical aspects of the storyline.  This is another one that I can easily recommend to readers who want fantasy stories firmly inserted into their real world experiences.  The clean high school romances, the school basketball games, and the use of electronic devices will speak to contemporary twin readers.  The threads of the mystery are intriguing the first 2/3 of the story.  The last 1/3 becomes a little less skillfully laid out: once all the red herrings are eliminated and the true villain is identified, the story loses a little bit of momentum.  But thanks to the few super fun elements (Elizabeth’s losing her sense of direction, the bottomless box, and the whole idea of all those people turned into figurines for centuries, for example,) I was not bored.  It is, however, a little of a let down to see that the author could not seem to come up with a better or really clever way to get rid of the villain and had to employ a deus ex machina in the form of one of the minor characters and a realm that was never introduced previously in the story.  Nonetheless, I am still excited about the companion book that is to be released this June, The Wells Bequest. I can’t wait to go back to this fantastic library and see what the imaginative mind of Polly Shulman has concocted for the readers.

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March 26, 2013 · 9:44 am

Tales from Brothers Grimm and Sisters Weird

talesfrombrothersgrimmby Vivian Vande Velde

The short fractured fairy tales in this collection are lightly inventive, and I found the retelling of Hansel and Gratel truly successful: Vande Velde turns the traditionally sympathetic siblings into cold-blooded, calculating murderers.  The few fairy tale poems seem to be merely fillers.

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Finished Tales from Brothers Grimm and Sisters Weird…

Finished Tales from Brothers Grimm and Sisters Weird; full post to come. Started Grimm Legacy and listening to Too Big to Fail by Sorkin. Will start Batman: Arkham Asylum, excited!

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March 16, 2013 · 8:16 am
March 16, 2013 · 8:04 am

Midwinterblood

mindwinterblood15794941by Marcus Sedgwick

I put up two covers for this book because I found it so strikingly obvious that the UK edition and the US edition attempt to appeal to different readers.  The UK edition has the back of a man in robe holding a gleaming dagger while we are stared at by a beautifully young woman with mysterious patterns overlaying her skin.  Even the type choices are different (not to say that in the UK Sedgwick’s name is the selling point while in the U.S. he has to be “explained” as a Printz honor recipient.

The two design of the title are even different where the UK version Midwinterblood is one word but the US edition the title reads Midwinter Blood.

I have to confess that I was not all that impressed or emotionally invested at the beginning of the book.  It’s that darn high expectations syndrome again: high and enthusiastic praise and push from Monica and the publisher.  Both of them compared the book to other titles I loved — and especially titles that have what I consider “beautiful” writings (such as Laini Taylor’s Lips Touch.)  When I didn’t see the sparkling prose that I was expecting, my eagerness dwindled.  And, the US ARC proclaims that there are Seven Stories of Love and Passion which I interpreted as each story would be an incredibly passionate romance  (again, in the vein of Lips Touch.) Perhaps it’s my close-mindedness, but perhaps this description is indeed misleading.  And from hindsight, I could see how each tale IS a story of passionate love, just not all romantic love.

I am so glad that I stayed with the book.  As it is really clever and original.  The seven stories going back in time, each interconnected in some way, and each containing some unsettling elements (which I adore in short stories,) piece together a whole picture that is powerful and affecting.  Sedgwick even granted my wish by bringing us all back to the first tale, the first characters, and giving us closure.

I’m still left with a couple of questions, though: 1. Are we to interpret the characters ask speaking a Scandinavian language and that everyone of them is from the same linguistic cluster (the Journalist, the Archeologist, and Airman, specifically)  They all seem to have no problem communicating with each other, no matter the time periods and whether the encounter is within the community or with outsiders; and 2. I want to know more about the Orchids and their origins and powers and perhaps stories of greed and desire because of their special qualities.

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March 9, 2013 · 1:51 pm

Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention

malcolmxby Manning Marable
audio book: read by G. Valmont Thomas

I listened to this historically detailed and intimate personal portrait of Malcolm X over a month: while washing dishes and walking to and from subway stations.  I never read the autobiography which has been the prescribed text on school curriculum about Malcolm X, and only encountered him as a historical figure in other nonfiction books, mostly for children, about the Civil Rights Movement.  So it is that this is how I got to know the man and his many phases on the road to becoming the internationally influential personality.  I learned much about the Nation of Islam (NOI,) and much about the inter-plays between him and other leaders of the civil rights movement — especially Bayard Rustin, whose story has just begun to surface as another major thread of the Movement.

The book is full of painstakingly gathered details of Malcolm’s life — from his parents’ struggles before he was born, the family’s roles as Garveyites, Malcolm’s youthhood filled with brushes against the law and his inevitable imprisonment, his extreme attachment and final rebellion against the Nation of Islam and its doctrines, his many international trips to observe first hand the Orthodox Islam’s practices, and to his final days when he adopted Pan-Africanism and evolved into a much more open-minded commentator on social struggles: that the color of one’s skin does not necessarily dictate one’s political or social views and status.

I cannot but wonder, just as the biographer historian did in the epilogue, how more influential Malcolm would have been to the Movement if he had been given the chance to live beyond his 40th birthday…. (he was murdered just 3 months short of it.)  It’s with a heavy heart that I stopped the audio player…

Marable’s words brought Malcolm to life and actor Thomas’ skillful reading of the narrative did the text justice, or perhaps even enhanced it.  I really appreciated both for their art.

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March 7, 2013 · 5:55 pm

Batman R.I.P.

batman rip by Grant Morrison
I’ve never been a big fan of Batman — not his back story, and not his perpetual sorrow and the lasting vengeance. This tale didn’t change my mind. Certain aspects of it are intensely interesting — the fact that he self-hypnotized by putting another trigger phrase within his new identity is super clever. But, it all plays out too well and he is just too clever to make the second half of the story satisfying… you almost want him to fail. Definitely not my favorite story to date!

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Started Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick highly intrigued Half…

Started Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick — highly intrigued. Half way done with Batman R.I.P. It’s getting better, narrative strand-wise. And 2/3 done with Malcolm X — learning so much about the Nation of Islam (N.O.I.) history and the facts behind the legend.

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March 3, 2013 · 12:31 pm
March 3, 2013 · 12:26 pm

Out of the Pocket

OutofthePocketby Bill Konigsberg

The best adjective I could think of to describe this book is perhaps “earnest.”

The reluctantly outed celebrity quarterback’s story is told with such sincerity and truth that the reader cannot but root for the main character.  Along the way, there is just the right amount of suspense and uncertainty — how everyone might react to the news and accept or disapprove of his sexuality or decision  making — to maintain a high interest level to continue reading.  I read through it quickly because I truly wanted to know what happened next.  The football play-by-play scenes are described with lucidity and are quite exhilarating.  So even this football layman could form clear mental pictures and follow the games with all the thrill a spectator at the games would possess.  That is one of the strengths of this book.

I cannot not quite decide whether Bobby is flesh and blood and completely realized or is a courageous face on the cover of a magazine or national campaign poster, whose story is told to and not quite lived by this reader.  Perhaps he is both — at different times in the telling, depending on whether he is put in the middle of a scenario and reacts, or he is being cool-headedly examined by himself in one of his many his internal monologues.

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Started Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg…

Started Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg – and will also read Batman R.I.P. Still listening to Malcolm X.

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February 24, 2013 · 11:07 am
February 24, 2013 · 10:54 am

The Dead

thedead

by Charlie Higson

I am not an aficionado of zombie stories.  Yes, I’ve had a few books and movies under my belt: thoroughly enjoyed World War Z and Zombieland.  But I am in no urgent need for yellow pus, green liquidy drippings, splattered red blood, or all sorts of creatively severed  body parts — any time, anywhere.  I did greatly appreciate the first book in Higson’s zombie series, The Enemy.  And finally got around to read the second installment, a prequel, a “history,” of The Enemy. 

I cannot be more pleased by The Dead.  There is everything I love: exploration of loyalty, what makes someone a leader or a follower, what gives people courage, survival strategies — all told in a highly realized, logically plausible setting and string of events.  Tension and surprises keep the reader incredibly involved and the passages describing the mind deterioration of some characters are simply brilliant.

In a few weeks, I know I’ll be ready for book 3 – The Fear. 

 

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Listening to Malcolm X A Life of Reinvention…

Listening to Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention by Manning Marable and started The Dead by Charlie Higson.

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February 15, 2013 · 2:57 pm