The (mostly) Middle Grade edition…
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (Algonquin Books): “The Garcias — Dr. Carlos (Papi), his wife Laura (Mami), and their four daughters, Carla, Sandra, Yolanda, and Sofia — belong to the uppermost echelon of Spanish Caribbean society. They descend from the conquistadores. Their family compound adjoins the palacio of the dictator’s daughter. The Garcia girls giggle at the sight of the dictator and his toddler grandson in matching general’s uniforms. The Garcia grownups are careful not to seem to snub the neighbors (much less dispose them). So when Papi’s part in a coup attempt is discovered, the family must flee. This is the chronicle of that family in exile. Papi has to find new patients in the Bronx. Mami, far from the compound and the family trainers, must find herself. The girls try to lose themselves by ironing their hair, buying bell-bottoms and fringe, forgetting their Spanish. Before Papi knows it, his “harem” has broken out in new identities that are at definite odds with the very proper Island life of maids and manicures. For the Garcia girls, it is exhilarating and terrifying, liberating and excruciating being betwixt and between, trying to live up to Papi’s version of honor while accommodating the expectations of their American boyfriends. Little revolutionary plots evolve at home. Little stores of pot, birth control devices, explicit love letters are squirreled away. But Papi is not so easily overthrown. The boarding schools fill up with Garcia girls’ the analyst’s couch and divorce courts will too. Julia Alvarez’s brilliant first book of fiction sets the Garcia girls free to tell their irrepressibly intimate stories about how they came to be at home — and not at home — in America.”
This is actually a really good blurb: the book’s written backwards, so the blurb not only gets people interested in the book, but actually helped those of us who were a bit disoriented by the style. Who knew a blurb could do so much?
4. My Dad’s a Birdman (Candlewick Press): “Roll up! Roll up! A new illustrated novel by David Almond! IN a rainy town in the north of England, there are strange goings-on. Dad is building a pair of wings, eating flies, and feathering his nest. Auntie Doreen is getting cross and making dumplings. Mr. Poop is parading the streets, shouting louder and LOUDER, and even Mr. Mint, the headmaster, is getting in a flap. And watching it all is Lizzie, missing her mam and looking after Dad and thinking how beautiful the birds are. What’s behind it all. It’s the Great Human Bird Competition, of course!”
This was one of those instances when I liked the blurb better than the book.
3. Island of Mad Scientists (Kids Can Press): “‘We are running away!’ Aunt Lucy announces to her eccentric household. Her niece, fourteen-year-old pioneering aviatrix Emmaline Cayley, ‘indestruckable’ pilot Rubberbones and lovably ferocious Princess Purnah of Chiligrit are looking forward to their upcoming holiday. (‘Holiday,’ in this case, being another word for escaping from the authorities.) But things don’t go entirely as planned. Before long, this merry band of travelers is en route to a cold and damp Scottish isle used by experimental scientists. And Purnah is once again being pursued by nefarious forces intent upon returning her to St. Grimelda’s School for Young Ladies. An even greater peril threatens Emmaline and Rubberbones: a sinister old man known as the Collector aims to capture the duo, with the help of two misfit thugs and a sneaky master of disguise, and add them to his alphabetically organized collection of brilliant scientists…”
Terribly funny. Like the book.
2. The London Eye Mystery (David Fickling Books): “What goes up must come down… mustn’t it? When Aunt Gloria’s son, Salim, mysteriously disappears from a sealed pod on the London Eye, everyone is frantic. Has he spontaneously combusted? (Ted’s theory.) Has he been kidnapped? (Aunt Gloria’s theory.) Is he even still alive? (The family’s unspoken fear.) Even the police are baffled. Ted, whose brain runs on it’s own unique operating system, and his older sister, Kat, overcome their prickly relationship to become sleuthing partners. They follow a trail of clues across London in a desperate bid to find their cousin while time ticks dangerously by…”
Clever and intense. Made me want to read the book.
1. Every Soul a Star (Little, Brown and Company): “At Moon Shadow, an isolated campground, thousands have gathered to catch a glimpse of a rare sight: a total eclipse of the sun. Three lives are about to be changed forever. Ally: Ally likes the simple things in life — labyrinths, stargazing, and comet hunting. Her home, the Moon Shadow campground, is a part of who she is. She refuses to imagine it any other way. Bree: Popular, gorgeous (everybody says so), and a future homecoming queen for sure, Bree wears her beauty like a suit of armor. But what is she trying to hide? Jack: Overweight and awkward, Jack is used to spending a lot of time alone. But when opportunity knocks, he finds himself in situations he never would have imagine. With humor and warmth, Wendy mass weaves an intricate and enchanting tale. Told from three unique perspectives, Every Soul a Star is about strangers coming together, unlikely friendships, and finding one’s place in the universe.”
This was a hard one to choose, because they all were good. But I think this blurb captured the essence of the book (without giving too much away) the best.
There was no one worst. Go figure. It was a good blurb month.
The Book Nut 