TURNING PAGES: WAR BROTHERS, by SHARON E. MCKAY

This is a story about child soldiers in Uganda, in Africa, and about Kony Joseph. It's fictional, but based on a true account. Despite the boatload of honors and awards (Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults 2014, YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens List, Top Ten, 2014, YALSA Best Books for Kids and Teens 2013, starred selection, Canadian Children’s Book Centre 2014 Maverick Graphic Novel List, Texas Library Association 2014 USBBY Outstanding International Book Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers 2014, YALSA 2014 Independent Publisher Book Award, Gold Cybils Award finalist Book of the Year Award finalist, ForeWord Reviews 2014 Eisner Award, Best Graphic Novel nomination Stellar Book Award nomination), I honestly did not want to read it -- like many of you, I read fiction because I like to escape from the ugliness of reality. However, I also know that those of us who escape are privileged to do so - and I'd rather use my privilege, when I can, to bear witness rather than to hide, because all lives matter. I was further schooled by the brief note from the young man on whose life story this novel is based. The final thoughts of the character made me push through:

My story is not an easy one to tell, and it is not an easy one to read. The life of a child soldier is full of unthinkable violence and brutal death. But this is also a story of hope, courage, friendship and family. We Ugandans believe that family is most important.

I thought you should be prepared for both the bad and the good. There is no shame in closing this book now.

    - Jacob, Gulu Uganda, 2009

Okay, I thought to myself. I'm reading on.

Summary: Jacob is of the Acholi ethnic tribe of Uganda, and a student at the George Jones Seminary for Boys, a Catholic boarding school. Together, with his friend Tony, whose family is poor, they study hard and do their best. When one night, they are abducted from the school, all of Jacob's family's money and influence and extra guards cannot help him.

What follows next is a journey into madness. Brutality is the byword, from the first moment. As in many wartime scenarios, the boys are taken out by soldiers little older than themselves, beaten for imaginary infractions, and then forced on a long march. Those who fell on the march are given "rest" of a permanent sort - by the hands of boys once their schoolmates and friends. If they don't kill, they are killed. It is beyond brutal. But, just when you think you can't read anymore - a light shows at the end of the tunnel. The pace of the novel rockets forward into danger, suspense and terror. A well-written and scary account of a true-to-life abduction and escape, this book will keep you on the edge of your seat - and in turmoil, as you look at yourself, and wonder how you would have reacted - and whether what was done - and what the UN is doing now - is the answer...

Conflict in fiction is often man-against-nature. In this novel it is man-against-nature, man-against-man, and man-against-himself. The time as prisoners and the time of escape is intense and well-written. There are the personal betrayals of the self - the things we do when we are desperate and alone - and there are the triumphs of spirit that happen when we are more than we think we can be. The betrayal of society - of the larger world who is either indifferent or too frightened to do anything - is horrific, and what urged me to read this book to begin with.

Conclusion: Since this is terrorism and war, this isn't a "fun" novel, but it is a true novel - and as Jane Yolen says, "telling the true" is one of the most important gifts writers, thinkers, and speakers have to give. This is an unflinching and brave look at the inhumanity of the war without end that plagues some of the developing nations of our world, which forces us to examine the inhumanity of people to each other, and look inside of ourselves and wonder, could we do better?

The author, Sharon E. McCay, is Canadian and Irish, and grew up between Montreal and Belfast. She knows what it is to make a life filled with joy and family, in the midst of troubles. She went to Gulu, Uganda, and interviewed child soldiers to write a graphic version of this novel, with art by Daniel Lafrance, and later turned it into the novel form I read.

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I received my copy of this book courtesy of Annick Press. In graphic or novel form (cover shown is the graphic novel), can find WAR BROTHERS by Sharon E. McKay at an online e-tailer, or at a real life, independent bookstore near you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tanita and I wish you all a wonderful holiday weekend full of book binges and marathon reading sessions. (I'm hoping to fit in a few myself!)

I found this nifty Book Turkey here.

Just a moment of gratitude, here--I could not be more grateful for all the books I have loved in my life, books which have provided knowledge, escape, imagination, ideas, comfort, recipes, household help, seat boosters, and ad hoc beverage coasters. Cheers!

TURNING PAGES: THE SEVENTH BRIDE, by T. Kingfisher

Fans of Patricia McKillip, Juliet Marillier, Brenna Yovanoff, of Holly Black's plot twists, and of a good hedgehog tale will really enjoy the newest from T. Kingfisher, just in time to read whilst you're waiting for your root veg to roast before being mashed. Originally to be a "children's" novel and published as adult, this short novel gallops into YA and on past into CREEPY (think Robin McKinley's DEERSKIN) adultish fiction. For those of you looking for specifics, yes, I still would hand it to an older teen and say, "Enjoy" if that teen were worldly-wise and in need of a novel where, like in a Tiffany Aching novel, a little bit of cold iron (in skillet form) and pragmatism kicks evil's simpering butt. There is dark, dark, awful darkness and twistiness, but I think most older young adults would be fine.

T. Kingfisher's literary underpinnings shine through in a novel which explores the power differential between classes and genders, finding our voices, and holding our ground against the collective weight of society. Through the medium of a heroine's journey, by which she walks the history of the brides before her, our main character moves from childhood to an adulthood we can only envy. Also, did I mention there are hedgehogs? And slugs. These create a winning combination.

Though many prefer the simplicity of the Beauty and the Beast tale for its romantic overtones and ostensible Happily Ever After premise, I have a disturbing predilection for Bluebeard tales. THE SEVENTH BRIDE is loosely based on the 1590 Bluebeard version mentioned in The Faerie Queen, by Edmund Spenser , the one called "Mr. Fox". This is an English version, and it is from where the ominously echoed words, "Be Bold, be bold, but not too bold," come. In this version of the Bluebeard tale, we're never given an indication of who says these warnings; in Kingfisher's tale, we have an idea - a disturbing one, but it could be true. And, as in every Bluebeard tale, Mr. Fox is FULL of the disturbing - and as always, ignorance is the blanket the community weaves around themselves. Words like "all will be well" are an insubstantial and meaningless comfort. It won't be well, anyone with an ounce of brain can see that. When all is said and done, everyone knows there are indeed things worse than death... there's marriage to the baron's son.

Summary: Rhea is just the miller's daughter - she knows flour. She knows mills. She can, in a pinch, wash the dishes and tidy the house. She is NOT in the know about Lords, Ladies, Court, the King, Earl, Barons, or how to behave in Society. Unfortunately, due to a random Baron's son who just happened to wander past the mill... she's about to find out. Rhea's ...engaged. Not through any choice of hers - and it's definitely weird that a baron she's never met or clapped eyes on suddenly wants her. Also, a man that wealthy asking her father for her hand... means that the family's really not got any choices but to give that hand... and that life... and that girl...away. Rhea is in trouble.

What begins as merely disturbing quickly veers toward terrifying. The baron's house lies on a road nobody's ever seen, the house itself - with bony ravens over the gate and a sound-muffling white dust road - is beyond creeptastic. Inside, the floor drops away, periodically, the help is ...disturbingly silent, and no one living at the grand old mansion can tell her anything, really, about the groom to be. When the Baron's son returns, he keeps giving Rhea these little tasks to do, tasks that are graded on a fail/pass kind of thing, and failure means Married Right Now. Rhea's going to do her darnedest to pass, and keep passing -- and pass on the whole marriage thing, too, while she's at it.

Because, real marriage is giving your OWN hand - and respect means letting someone exercise their freedom of choice, under their own power. And, no matter that there are no good choices before her - Rhea's got a hedgehog, which means Rhea will just create some.

Peaks: Kingfisher's narrative style is very like Terry Pratchett's, when he's narrating Tiffany Aching or Susan Sto Helit - this sort of narrative which just shows you the world along the way and keeps murmuring in disquieting tones, "Hmmmm... Okay, now that's weird..." but never sounds too loud of an alarm, until -- well, there's no reason to sound an alarm, because WAH, OKAY, THIS IS BAD, WHAT THE HECK WILL WE DO. I love books like that, where the narrative voice is present, in an unobtrusive manner, and then kind of whisper shouts, This is dire. And then leaves the protagonist to Getting On With Things. (Usually with a cast iron skillet, in a Pratchett novel; here, it's with a hedgehog, because they are seriously Getting On With It kinds of animals. Or, so I've heard.)

The cover is illustrated by the author - and shows a classically elegant simplicity. The pacing is wonderful and you'll just want to sit down and swallow this whole. The fact that the Kingfisher person, in her other writing life, is producing a young adult fairytale collection just makes me really pleased.

Valleys: I found nothing which detracted from the story - nothing. While I could point out that the novel sits in the mold of the Eurocentric fairytale, what with barons and kings and all, it... doesn't. a.) It's based on an English tale, so There Will Be Englishmen, and b.) Far from having the blindingly blonde princess type, there's only sensible, pragmatic Rhea, and c.) this isn't a tale wherein personal appearance makes any difference to anyone. I can't say what Rhea looks like, except that she's not a ginormous prehistoric bird-goddess. We do know, however, that the baron looks like Evil's Eldest Son, and that's really good enough to know we should NOT cheer for him marrying anybody, HEA promised or no.

Conclusion: In the style of that one Ursula Vernon chick who managed to win a Hugo and a Mythopoeic Award, and an whole host of others, T. Kingfisher's hardworking, prosaic and straightforward heroine saves herself - her trustworthy friends - a few future slugs, and the day. This is a hot-chocolate-mucky-afternoon type of novel which will leave you dreaming of fantastic worlds where clocks are portals to another world, all the woodlands connect, and hedgehogs are true and loyal companions. Here's to more fairytales from T. Kingfisher.

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I received my copy of this book courtesy of buying it myself. Unfortunately, this is only an ebook just now, but you can find THE SEVENTH BRIDE by T. Kingfisher on B&N, Amazon, iBooks, Smashwords, Kobo, or on the author's site.

Thursday Review: MORTAL HEART by Robin LaFevers

Summary: Mortal Heart is the final book (SAD FACE) in Robin LaFevers' His Fair Assassin trilogy (Book 1 reviewed here; Book 2 reviewed here). The books take place in medieval Brittany and France, a setting which the author has obviously researched well in order to write these stories in such vivid detail. (I'm always impressed by that.) They combine some of my favorite genres and themes: historical fantasy, adventure, political intrigue, strong female heroines—and throw in a bit of romance to boot. And, assassin nuns! Who serve the death god, St. Mortain! Oh, and don't forget the Website of Gorgeousness if you want to learn more about the series.

I don't want to give away too many spoilers if you haven't read the first two books. (I seem to be saying that a lot lately—lots of trilogies and series I'm finishing up, I guess.) But here's a quick run-down. In the first two books, we followed the stories of two of Mortain's handmaidens, Ismae and Sybella. Book 3 is the story of their friend Annith, the one who got left behind. As Ismae and Sybella get dispatched on their first missions as assassins for Mortain, Annith waits for her first assignment back at the convent…and waits…and waits, only to find that the nuns have another future in store for her, and NOT one that involves getting to do fun assassin things.

Being one of their star pupils, Annith is enraged by this, and begins to question the logic behind the abbess's decision. Is something else going on? The only way to find out is to take her fate into her own hands, a choice that brings Annith adventure, unexpected love and friendship, and throws her right into the heart of the conflict between Brittany and France.

Peaks: As mentioned above, these books have All The Things that I happen to like. One of my faves is the underlying idea that the strong female heroines are exacting revenge for the horrors the world has wreaked upon them. In Annith's case, she was abandoned as a child and brought to the abbey of St. Mortain. Her story, like the others', is fleshed out well and the fact that we are acquainted with her from the first two books means we're fully behind her before the book even begins. This makes it even more egregious when she begins to feel betrayed by those who raised her and cared for her.

I particularly enjoyed the romance in this book, too. Without giving too much away, it includes everything I like about paranormal romance and deletes all the stuff I hate that tends to go along with that genre, like boring heroines and saccharine, codependent relationships.

Something else that impressed me: how well these books stand alone. While the events of the larger story arc do roughly take place in a specific order from Book 1 to Book 3, reading them out of order would not be a huge problem, and the time that passed between each book's release ended up not mattering so much. They're very well crafted in that way, and I felt like there was enough information about the meta-plot to remind me what had already happened in the first two books, without deluging me with unnecessary detail.

Valleys: I remember reading the first book and noticing a few things that felt anachronistic—not enough to really bother me, but a few teeny things jumped out at me, mostly just the occasional language choice. I didn't notice that in this book. I was fully absorbed in Annith's story from beginning to end. Now I'm just sad they're over, and feel like I want to read them all again…OH I CAN BECAUSE I OWN THEM ALL!

Conclusion: I love these books—they are so much fun and I want to live there. Well, maybe not quite. But if you enjoyed books like Graceling, or anything by Tamora Pierce—stories about powerful and independent heroines who stride through the world kicking ass—you won't want to miss these.

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I bought my copy of this book as soon as it was humanly possible. You can find Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers at an online e-tailer, or at a real life, independent bookstore near you!

Books I'm Excited About Today

I'm still not quite back on a normal blogging schedule--I don't quite have the brain space for a review today (though the book currently on deck is an exciting one: Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers!). But I did want to share a few books which arrived on my desk that I really cannot wait to read. First up, yesterday a friend loaned me a copy of the recently-released graphic novelization of the new Ms. Marvel--if you haven't heard about her yet, she's a 16-year-old Muslim Pakistani-American from New Jersey named Kamala Khan. I was definitely excited about the idea, but I didn't realize how amazed and...moved I'd feel just holding it in my hands. What if there had been Pakistani-American superhero girls when I was growing up? How might I feel differently about my own identity? Possibly it wouldn't have changed anything, but those questions zoomed across my mind as I flipped through it.

Another one I just got in the mail is the ARC for Nova Ren Suma's upcoming book The Walls Around Us, due out in 2015. It sounds suspenseful and creepy and all-around awesome, with ghosts and a whodunit and multiple viewpoints. Also just found out that the author is teaching a Workshop/Residency on YA novel writing here in the area at Djerassi artist colony in the Santa Cruz Mountains. That's next summer, with an end-of-Feb deadline...something to consider...

Lastly, I bought a book that's supposed to be my reward when the semester is over and my teaching-related work is on a winter hiatus: the final book in the Bloody Jack series by L.A. Meyer. You know I loves me some Bloody Jack stories and I will be both happy and sad to read this one. On the other hand, I have a lot of respect for authors who are able to bring their characters through a long-long-term story arc like this one, having them grow and change and remain interesting throughout. And, in this case, the author keeps me laughing at Jacky's outrageous doings, managing to ride the line between preposterous and believable, and create a fully fleshed-out historical setting that happens to contain quite a few incorrigible rogues. Viva Jacquelina, indeed. (Viva Jacquelina being the title of the penultimate Bloody Jack book, which I believe I've lagged on reviewing...sigh.)

TURNING PAGES: EUPHEMIA FAN: SPY GIRL by Cassandra Neyenesch

I received this book courtesy of Full Fathom Five Digital and while normally I prefer digital books which have paper counterparts, I made an exception this time, for Reasons. FFF Digital is an imprint of Full Fathom Five, the content creation company founded in 2010 by best-selling author James Frey, so this should tell you something about the authors they work with - they're no slouches in the make-the-most-of-interesting-stuff department. I picked up this novel because a.) the name Euphemia, b.) EUPHEMIA!? and c.) "Spy Girl" in a title is a great hook.

Also, Euphemia. If that's your name, what other options present themselves in your life, outside of occupying a 19th century English white parasol movie, but to be a spy?

Cassandra Neyenesch lived in China and Taiwan and learned Mandarin, and did some really odd jobs... all of which were possibly preparation for writing a spy novel.

Summary:

"Then there's the guy with the Rottweilers two doors down. The dogs always run to the end of their chains when you walk by, and they bark like they want to rip out your thorax and use it for a chew toy. Their owner is this huge muscly guy who always waves like Hey, I'm super friendly but he doesn't do anything to make his dogs less scary - at least he could shorten their chains. I started bribing them with Jiu Jiu's offal, sneaking it out of the house in a napkin. Pretty soon they were as tame as bunny rabbits - I call them Tweedledum and Tweedledee - and they let me look in the windows of the house. Now I know why the big guy has them: so no one can sneak up on him while he's in the middle of watching a Beyoncé video and copying her moves. Though the sight of an Arnold Schwarzenegger look-alike skipping around in a unitard and belting out the lyrics to "Single Ladies" is much better entertainment than anything on TV."

- Euphemia Fan: Spy Girl, by Cassandra Neyenesch

At times the voice is engaging, confiding, and amusing. There are loads of detail, ranging from the first impressions appearance of things to revelations and explanations to imaginative assumptions about the people the protagonist meets. From the first page, you dive head first into action, and, while you're not sure where you'll land, you're immediately entertained.

Now that her sister, Lillian, has gone off toe college in New York, Euphemia Fan is the only Chinese-American girl in back-of-beyond, Brackybogue, Long Island. It's a tiny, touristy town that looks like Main Street American, and the fact that she's just seen her elderly uncle commit MURDER while she was being nosy and trying to follow a guy she thought was following HER... is kind of a problem. For a number of reasons.

It seems like all she has to do is pull on one thread, and suddenly the whole cozy and safe blanket of warmth that made up her family and her history and her world unravels in big, messy threads. Tyler, the guy who's been following her, has information and warnings about her father that Pheemi doesn't want to hear -- nor does she really want to know how he got his information! Her suddenly distant and snobby sister, Lillian, doesn't believe her until it's almost too late, and by then, the bullets are flying, and all they can do is cling to one another as their lives implode. The only way out is to keep one step ahead of danger. Are Euphemia Fan, her co-spy Tyler, and her sister Lillian together smarter than a criminal? Well - they'll have to think fast to find out.

Peaks:It's clear that the author has been intimately involved in Asian communities and has experienced being an outsider looking in. The scenes of Pheemi landing in a busy, crowded Asian neighborhood in Flushing where she rarely or doesn't understands the roar of languages she hears and is just barely holding her own with people crowding her - priceless. There's so much to enjoy in this headlong rush through a week in the character's life - an incredibly busy, dangerous, intense week -- and the breathless action keeps readers plowing forward. I find this book to be a great homage to Harriet the Spy who also looked in windows and skulked around. Pheemia uses what she knows of her neighbors from her window-peeping to great advantage and for awhile, her observation of the character and temperament of the neighbors help keep trouble at bay.

While the plot ties up neatly, to my mind, there's room for another Euphemia adventure - it's certainly the colorful, cinematic type of thing which older middle graders and younger YA readers will enjoy.

Valleys: A diverting book with quick-paced narrative, it periodically suffers from an excess of plot instead of characterization. The characters are hard to "see" for me. Additionally, while I am glad to read a novel with an Asian protagonist, it was odd to read about Euphemia's description of her Chinese-American sister as having "tilted" eyes described as "black" - that felt like an oddly self-conscious and "othering" moment - especially since eyes aren't black. The moment and the description felt false from the point of view of a narrative of another Asian character.

It seemed odd to me that Euphemia didn't seem to have feelings about her name, no one wondered really why she had it - why her Chinese-American parents chose it -- and except for a comment by a neighbor, it's left unexplored. Since it's such an unusual name, that seems odd; I expected everyone she met to have a comment or a pause, but...nada. There is also a bit of telling what Pheemi is feeling and thinking instead of showing and allowing readers to experience her inner mind with her. Additionally, there are a few odd word choices (with disappearances and goons around, a fifteen year old describes herself as being "in a pickle?") that make Euphemia sound a little non-modern for a teen, but those are fairly minor.

There is a romance in the novel; this is not a spoiler, as the jacket describes Tyler as "swoon-worthy." It's ...definitely something the reader is told, not shown or felt; frankly there's so much going on in the breakneck pace of the action that there's not actually really time to fall in anything more than crush. The budding romance between Euphemia and Tyler has a soupçon of predictable inevitability in its execution - I was pretty gobamacked at some of the declarations in the end. A crush made sense, but something lasting longer than the danger I didn't at all expect - and left me with some pesky questions about Tyler I wouldn't have otherwise had.

Conclusion: A slightly uneven book but fun; a quick and entertaining read for a dull autumn afternoon.

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I received my copy of this book courtesy of the publisher. After November 19th, you can find EUPEHMIA FAN: SPY GIRL by This Author at an online e-tailer, or at a real life, independent bookstore near you!

Read All Day? Sign Me Up!

I just heard word in my inbox of a new upcoming event for all of us voracious readers. In case MotherReader's 48-Hour Book Challenge isn't enough for you--or if, like me, it's sometimes too much--maybe this will suit: Penguin Random House, the National Book Foundation, GoodReads, and Mashable are teaming up for National Readathon Day, a brand-new collaboration.

The date in question is Saturday, January 24th, 2015, from Noon-4pm. Kind of like a walkathon, participants in the Readathon sign up for their own fundraising page on FirstGiving, and the money donated helps the National Book Foundation promote reading and literacy in America.

I may be terrible at setting aside a weekend to read (much as I'd like to), but even *I* can surely manage four hours for a good cause. If I can do it, so can you! You can even organize a fundraising team or a "reading party" (sounds like my kind of party). I'm kind of wishing we could do something as a Kidlitosphere group, but I'm not sure how...

TURNING PAGES: THE BODY ELECTRIC, by BETH REVIS

When I first saw that Beth Revis had self-published a new novel, I wondered why. After all, her ACROSS THE UNIVERSE series was three successful books long, published in twenty languages; she had contacts and contracts and didn't really need to do the work of putting things out there by herself, did she? Interestingly, the book is a thank you - full of characters readers loved and couldn't let go. With a striking cover, it's set to fill that last little corner fans of the ACROSS THE UNIVERSE series didn't know needed to be filled. It's backstory, and kind of a prequel.

A standalone, the novel shows what was on the Earth that the space-faring families had left behind in ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, and it also has its own definite plot. It reminded me a great deal of the Will Smith movie based on the Asimov novel I, Robot, (but not the novel; the film really had very little to do with it at all), with a lot of action, a lot of confusion, and a LOT of androids and scientists. Nefarious doings, bees, frightened teens, and rampaging nanobots - a bit of romance, a bit of betrayal - just another day in SFland.

I felt this novel lacked in the characterization typical of a Revis novel; the author, however, did some things deliberately which you'll have to read to discover. I did feel like the ending summed up everything a little too sweetly; all the screaming of "what do we do, WHAT DO WE DO!?" and threatening to do something drastic, ala Jack Bauer from 24 was suddenly unkinked - all was revealed, all understood, no one else died, they prepared to sail into the future... a little tidy for me, but fans will really love having more of this universe.

Summary: Ella Shepard's brilliant scientist mother is all she has left. Her father was killed by terrorists - the price of the peace the country now enjoys. The United Countries, rather than the United States are part of the new world, and the seat of the government is in New Venice on Malta - where the most important of peace accords have begun in modern times. Ella is happy - or would be, if only her mother wasn't dying. The nanobots which her father's research created to stem the tide of her disease are no longer working... her brain and her body are shutting down. Before long, Ella will be alone, except for her mother's best friend and partner in the Reverie Spa, a place where through dreams, wealthy patrons relive their best memories. Her mother is in pain and dying - Ella wants to give her just one more good memory of her father. She does something she's not sure anyone can do -- it's based on a theory... and it messes up her brain completely. Suddenly, she's hallucinating her father, hearing bees, and catching the attention of the government. She's working for United Countries now, and she may have found the terrorists who killed her father. Or, maybe they're not terrorists at all.

Ella's not sure what her brain is telling her. She's not sure she can believe what her eyes - what her brain - tells her is true. Why does she keep hallucinating her father telling her to wake up? From what?

Peaks: The author's worldbuilding and engaging style are seen here, propelling the story along at a good clip. Though there are ... loops, where the narrative seems to repeat itself, the reader is still drawn forward, in the hopes that something more will be revealed. It's almost a mystery, what's going on, and the tale-withing-a-tale construction is well executed.

Valleys: I had some light quibbles - very light - with characterization in the novel, but most of my difficulties were with the science. I know that SF deals in pseudoscience based on the real. I think this novel lacked a clear enough explanation of the science for me to enjoy it as much as I could have. The body operates on electricity, indeed, and there's a lot of interesting applications of that within the brain that Revis ran with, and I was fine with that for the most part. The ideas in the novel of androids and sentience seem to have been pretty well covered in Star Trek, and in the I, Robot film, however the description and explanations of it all felt so fuzzy it seemed like all we were missing with Mary Shelley and some lightning. A small quibble, but there you go.

Also, one of the pivotal moments of the novel didn't work for me. As to not provide spoilers, I'll simply say that staring into the eyes of an android in hopes that you can see its soul doesn't seem to me to be a reliable way to ascertain if it has one... but, that's just me.

Conclusion: Fast-paced, with a smart girl who punches a boy for presumption (YEE HAW, that was a good moment) and a complex and slightly dizzying plot, this is a novel which will appeal so much to Revis fans. I found it diverting, though it's not my favorite book she's ever written.

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I received my copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley. You can find THE BODY ELECTRIC by BETH REVIS at an online e-tailer, or at a real life, independent bookstore - Malaprops Bookstore & Cafe in NC!

MONDAY REVIEW: REBELLION (Tankborn Book 3) by Karen Sandler

Summary: In the interests of full disclosure (and a little bit of self-satisfied squee-ing), I met Karen Sandler in person at this year's KidLitCon in October, and was able to get my copy signed and chat with the author. How awesome is that? Anyway, I was fairly new to the Tankborn books, in that I didn't get to that part of my TBR pile until earlier this year, but I'd been looking forward to reading them ever since checking out Tanita's review of the first book, Tankborn. Once I started it, I was hooked, and quickly binged on both the first book and the second, Awakening. Because this is the third and final (I think) volume of Kayla and Devak's story, I'm going to keep it brief and as spoiler-free as possible. Still, if you haven't read the first two, I'd still perhaps avoid the remainder of this review, just in case...

Okay, for those of you who aren't living in fear of spoilers (for whatever reason--I have a friend who really just does not care about spoilers and will regularly read online synopses of TV shows before watching them, which to me is just bizarre)--

By this third volume, both Kayla and Devak are deeply embroiled in the growing social revolution on their planet. They've learned a lot about themselves and each other, and about the origins of their class-based society of genetically engineered non-humans (or GENs) and the various castes of trueborns. But although their own personal sense of empowerment grows, the danger grows with it: Kayla has now been brought to the headquarters of the mysterious F.H.E. movement, only to find that her movements and activities are just as restricted here in the heart of the alleged social rebellion. Why? And will finding out put her in even more danger?

Meanwhile, Devak doesn't even know Kayla is still alive. The last time he saw her, she was engulfed by an explosion set by FHE, her body carried away by mysterious strangers. As he heals, and comes to terms with the ever-diminishing social status of his own family, he tries to find out what happened on the day of the explosion. With the help of his friend Junjie, he starts tracking down some information...and what he finds shocks him: Kayla might still be alive somewhere. But where? And even if they do find each other, what will happen to their society, their world, if everything they ever knew is torn down?

Peaks: Like the other two books, this one caught me up right away in the action, intrigue, and danger for both Kayla and Devak. The stakes for the trilogy have reached their grand climax in this volume, not just on the level of each character's personal struggles, but also with respect to the social and political forces that have been roiling ever since the first book. I won't give away too much, but the author ties everything together in a satisfying way while still throwing in some extremely fun and rewarding surprises for the reader.

Valleys: I can't say there were any major valleys for me. I always find this part awkward when discussing the work of someone I know or have met, but truly, even the sparse minor quibbles I noted in the first book have dwindled over the course of the trilogy, as the writing seems to have gotten even tighter from book to book. I think fans of the Tankborn books will be really pleased by how everything concludes.

Conclusion: I'm so glad I read these, and feel privileged to have met the author and gotten to hear her speak on the #WeNeedDiverseBooks panel. Here's a writer who practices--in writing and in life--what she preaches in terms of getting more books out there with diverse characters in ALL genres. As a fan of Spec Fic, I couldn't be happier to see books like these which tackle the topic of what really makes us HUMAN, an indefinable something that is much, much more than skin deep.

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I purchased my copy of this book at KidLitCon. You can find Rebellion by Karen Sandler at an online e-tailer, or at a real life, independent bookstore near you!

Toon Thursday: Oldie but Goodie

Featuring everyone's favorite place to write, "Le Cafe Snooty." I'm pretty sure it's reappeared in several of my cartoons by now. Any resemblance to actual places is definitely coincidental.

TURNING PAGES: THE IRON TRIAL by Cassandra Clare & Holly Black

I take book recommendations from friends seriously, and when Charlotte said that THE IRON TRIAL was a fun book, I went ahead and snagged it when I saw it at the library. Charlotte - diffident reviewer that she tends to be - tends toward understatement and said this was one she'd consider rereading, which is her highest compliment. I say that this series has the potential to be the American Harry Potter. Which is kind of hilarious, seeing as for ages that's all publishers were looking for... and then they gave up, and started looking for the next Hunger Games (Well, hello, Divergent. Yes, we see you waving there). If you enjoy school stories, and enjoyed the friendships and scholastic bits of the Potter books, you'll enjoy this. It's not quite the same - you won't immediately be sympathetic to the protagonist, and you'll probably find the school work as literally dull as dirt - seriously dull, and painfully boring - but I think this is one of the better twists on the idea of a magical school I've read in a bit.

Summary: Callum Hunt is fairly screwed already. His Mom died when he was an infant. His Dad is this über-serious dude who hardly ever smiles. He has this leg... thing which can't be fixed surgically, which causes him to limp and shuffle. He has lots of rowdy dark hair that's always in his eyes. And he's prickly - with a chip on his shoulder and has Attitude with a capital 'a.' Since he's always in trouble anyway, he figures it shouldn't take much to get himself kicked out of this stupid magic test his father doesn't want him to pass. Sadly, that's where Callum is wrong -- no matter what he's been told about what the testers are looking for, he passes... no spoiler there. Callum fails - at failing. And once he's past the Iron Trial, he realizes he's in a much deeper mess than he could possibly have believed. It's a good thing that there are true - if not sometimes grudging - friendships to support him, unexpected discoveries and adorable puppies along the way. Otherwise, things could get a little grim...

The cover is a little misleading, as the uniforms are described in the book as more contemporary than what the characters seem to be wearing -- and I think the faces of the characters, especially the South Asian girl's, could be more distinct, but it's definitely intriguing with the "big bad" there in the background.

Peaks: DISTURBING last words. Cranky protagonists who you don't have to like to understand. A differently-abled character who the plot lets just get on with things. Overbearing helicopter magical parents. Myriad stupid mistakes which remain unremedied. Realism, in terms of the privilege and prejudices people hold and wield. It's a big deal to have a character with a physical difference which can't be magically whisked away. No wands. No aveda fixmylega. Nada. There's just This Is How It Is, and going onward. A school story which focuses on the work part of classes. Work = painful and boring: something some authors forget, in terms of magic. A well-realized world where you pop in and forget all about the real one - which is the most you can ask from a book of fantasy.

Valleys: I honestly enjoyed myself all the way through. I'm sure this book is not perfect, but there was nothing which threw me out of the story that I can remember. Some readers will be frustrated that an entire novel was really used for setting and worldbuilding and characterization, but I get the feeling that this is going to be a series which needs us to really know the students well and the world into which Callum finds himself thrown -- so I'm fine with the measured pacing that is used.

Conclusion: This novel has myriad elements that remind me of Caroline Stevener's A COLLEGE OF MAGICS, Trudi Canavan's THE MAGICIAN'S GUILD and especially with the painful tedium, Maria Snyder's MAGIC STUDY books. Oh, and JK Rowling's HARRY POTTER. There are a lot of people who have a lot to say about how Potter-y this book is - I don't think it's a comparison that the book will escape. There's magic going on... in a school. Obviously, that's what happened to Harry Potter. However, before you leap into saying that this is just like Harry Potter, you're really going to need to read the book (is there a point in addressing this to the hundreds of people on Goodreads? No? Okay, then). Then you'll see that though this a familiar trope of Motherless Boy Has Great Power and a familiar pattern of Two Boys and a Girl Having Adventures, that's largely where the similarities end. There's nothing wrong with a book which gives a nod to a groundbreaking and important work of children's lit -- how many fairytale retellings have you read lately? Harry Potter is simply a contemporary fairytale, and if we still see books which echo reminiscently of that tale, I think we can say that's okay. Further, these are two successful and prolific writers in their own right who don't need to hitch their wagons to the Rowling star to achieve familiarity with plot and characterization -- I daresay we can look at THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, not to mention Black's other books and the MORTAL ENGINES series and conclude that either authors can do all right on her own.

I'm probably preaching to the choir, but I'm a little astounded at the energy people put into being so very negative about this book. I found it solidly readable for MG audiences from ten all the way through to younger YA readers. I look forward to MORE diversity and creativity in its following sequels. And, also to what part the wolf puppy is going to play... and it's going to do SOMETHING interesting...

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I received my copy of this book courtesy of the public library. You can find THE IRON TRIAL by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare at an online e-tailer, or at a real life, independent bookstore near you!

TURNING PAGES: WATCHED by CJ LYONS

Some of the most popular library titles are those with the "ripped from the headlines" topical premise. Remember rainbow parties? And then the book that followed the Oprah-based rumor? There are always authors who use trending news stories as a springboard for a dramatic work of realistic fiction. This novel is no exception. Like many of the "ripped from the headlines" books, this novel takes a fact which affects a minority, and then exaggerates it into something scary and immediate for the majority. I admit, I do not love this kind of thing, but I also am quite clear that I am not the audience.

Many readers LOVE these sensational books about dangers other teens have gotten into. Frankly, many adults would prefer that teens learn about the world through this painless fictional medium rather than having something awful like this happen to them in real life. Fair enough, that makes sense. So, from the annals of "Kids, Don't Let This Crazy Happen To You" comes a story of terrorizing cyberbullying, screen-capping, cybersmashing, child pornography, child molestation, arson, violent assault, blackmail... yeah. This is heart-poundingly dramatic, with a touch of "Criminal Minds" and a sprinkling near the end of "Enemy of the State" which will seem current and terrifying to some readers. Others will come away with an intense desire to put a sticky note over the camera on their laptops and disable their ChatRoulette and Snapchat and vow to get offline for awhile.

Summary: The story opens with Miranda online, having hacked into someone's digital feed to see a video he's got streaming. It's of a boy - and a man - and at first she doesn't watch, but then she does, to bear witness. It's a "trailer" of sorts, offering more, for the discerning buyer. Miranda can see it's the work of The Creep, as she calls the creeper who took control of the camera in her laptop and with blackmail and threats efficiently ruined her life, and the lives of her parents when she was thirteen. Miranda has not just got suicidal thoughts, she's tried to kill herself repeatedly. She has one more chance to shut down The Creep, once and for all -- but she needs help. She needs the boy in the video.

"John Boy" isn't his name, any more than "Miranda" is her name, but it's a persona Jesse's inhabited for a long time. It's easier to be someone else - someone far away from what touches his outsides, and what goes on in his day-to-day life. Jesse's life is a life of betrayal - a father who walks out with no word of explanation, an uncle who implies that he and his family now have a place to live, in return for what Jesse allows to happen between them -- so King, the terrifying cyberbully who has perpetuated and set up the final betrayal, on film, orders him to find a young "friend" for the cameras, Jesse is ready to do anything to change what will happen if he doesn't. He doesn't want his mother and sister to die - but it's that, or become a predator for another small boy, and put him through what Jesse himself has gone through. The choices are all bad. When he receives an old-style telephone in the mail, with the words "I can help" over a screencap of his face, he's terrified he's going to be exposed -- but he's also terrified, because a tiny, persistent hope that everything could change is born within him.

And hope is sometimes the most dangerous thing of all.

Peaks: This is a issue book, clearly, but the issue is hydra-headed. The "ripped from the headlines" topic gains traction from the recent iCloud leaks and malicious "doxing" of game designer Zoe Quinn. The idea here is to educate teens about where they leave their digital content, and who to trust in the faceless online world (READ: no one) and I can say it's successful as an educational tool of the "Scared Straight" variety, if not in terms of providing actual information and action steps. The writing is effective and the characters are compelling in their helplessness -- you desperately want to have someone come out of this able to stand tall and deal.

Though what's happened to both characters is truly horrible, and the wrenching situations aren't played entirely for emotional punch, the distant and almost terse way of relating the damage the two have suffered goes a long way toward confirming readers' belief in their solid narrative voices. With the novel viewing the elements of the story only through the eyes of terrified narrators, a myopic and claustrophobic viewpoint emerges, which the author used to her advantage. There's no one else who can act on their behalf, so the close-focus of the storyline allows the author the liberty of creating a solution out of the character's own heads, relying on themselves alone. The final scenes are fast-paced and disturbing, and the victory isn't entirely clean, despite the "we did it!" and insta-romance, there are legalities hanging over both of their heads. However, it's also all very dramatic, and will appeal to teens who love the drama. Because of the subject matter, this will play best with more mature readers.

Valleys: When the novel opens, it's a little unclear what's going on - someone is watching someone else, and it took me a bit to know if that person were bad or good. This may confuse many readers and leave them reaching for the next book. Things do straighten out by Ch. 3 and there's DEFINITE sides and clarity by then, but I think the novel might have benefited from beginning at that spot.

I mentioned the last-five-pages-of-the-book romance - I'm sorry, but someone who has been long-term molested may not be your best character to have a first kiss on a Jumbotron... in a room where recently one of them was held at gunpoint. I suppose that may have been seen as light relief, but it felt like a false step from the author.

Since the Potter books it has become more noticeable as a trope, but in YA lit, there have always been novels wherein adults are these pitiful and stupid creatures who must be protected at all costs, because love. I dunno - I found the claim that the authorities were disinterested because "bigger fish in the sea" and the adults unable or unwilling to act because the children had to protect them by not telling them the truth, because "How Much More Can They Take????" to be a bit dubious. I was gratified by the one angry moment of "I was not THAT good of an actor, you should have noticed." Yes, fictional parents. Being clueless is no longer good enough.

For all that this is an Issue book, written, the author said, after she was confronted with the story of Amanda Todd, there is less real-world information in the novel than I expected. It may be true that legal charges are hard to bring against "creepers" because of complicity by the blackmailed victims themselves, but I had a hard time with the idea that police and FBI are disinterested because there are bigger fish in the sea, etc. I wanted to see an example of kids using the system, and the system working for them - which is eventually what happened, but there was a lot of drama, pain and suffering beforehand. At any rate, the author's note at the end of the novel explains that there ARE ways to get away from and around digital predators, and gives detailed information on what to do.

And, I voice my ongoing quibble about lack of diversity, seeing as cyberbullying is an issue across class, ethnic, ability and size lines - in the novel, there's a lot going on, and as previously mentioned, the focus is myopic, but I still think it's worth adding diversity wherever possible.

Conclusion: While topically grim for me, this book will have mad appeal for its target audience of true crime lovers. If you know teens for whom the tagline "thrillers with heart" and "ripped from the headlines" would bring on happy shivers, teens who enjoy the work of Caroline B. Cooney, the wrenching Lurlene McDaniel,classic Lois Duncan or Joan Lowery Nixon - then you definitely know the audience for this novel.

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I received my copy of this book courtesy of Sourcebooks. As of today, you can find WATCHED by CJ Lyons at an online e-tailer, or at a real life, independent bookstore near you!

Um...Real Quick

I'm particularly guilty of absenteeism these days, at least as far as the blog is concerned, but I thought I'd tune in briefly just to pass along a bit of interesting news on book sales--evidently a recent study shows that there's been a lot of growth in e-book revenue...and that growth is mainly due to sales of children's and YA books.

I found that tidbit in NPR's Book News column this weekend, along with a link to a roundtable on "publishing while black" and an item called the "Poetry Brothel"...go peruse and enjoy!