by Gary D. Schmidt
ages: 11+
First sentence: “So the Valorim came to know that their last days were upon them.”
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Review copy snagged from the ARC pile at my place of employment.

Tommy is not a happy camper. His mother died recently, and his whole family (father, sister, him) are struggling to cope. It doesn’t help that his father is getting pressure from a local real estate agent to sell so she can develop Huge Seaside Condos. And it REALLY doesn’t help that he’s in seventh grade, turning 12, and his grandmother gave him the LAMEST present: an Ace Robotroid Adventure LUNCHBOX.

Except, after lunch, his whole world changes: he finds a chain in the lunchbox, puts it on, and becomes, well, greater than he was.

See, the chain holds all the art from the Valorim, a race that’s being conquered by the evil Lord Mondim and the O’Mondim in a world far away. They put all their knowledge in the chain and threw it out into space (at the speed of thought; I did wonder, initially, how all this was supposed to happen, since things don’t travel through space terribly fast, but Schmidt did account for it later in the book), and hoped for the best.  And Tommy was the best that he found.

I should stop here and say that I agree with Jen: the realistic parts of this book work great. Schmidt knows how to write boys in a way that’s both real and vulnerable. Tommy’s dealing with some heavy issues here, guilt and survival and worry, and Schmidt makes it all come alive. He’s got some good friends, he’s doing okay on the surface, but he’s struggling.

But, at least for much of the book, the fantasy element didn’t work for me. I appreciated the difference in tone between the Valorim and the realistic parts of the book (I also found it to be an interesting choice to se the Valorim parts in italics, which set it apart even more), but I kept coming back to the feeling that funny languages and epic histories does not a fantasy make. See: Tommy put on the chain and immediately began spouting weird words, and having new talents, and he never even questioned it. Never sat back and said, “Where the heck did this come from?” or “Why on earth do I know that?” And that really bothered me. I wanted some sort of internal struggle with Tommy, some way of him trying to figure out what was going on, trying to grasp at understanding of a situation that was so far outside of his realm of understanding, but I got none of that.

I could brush it off as it being an upper middle grade book, but I don’t really believe that; Schmidt is a better writer than that. No, I’m chalking this up to a lack of understanding of how fantasy works (though, I suppose, if you pin me down, I’m not quite sure how it works, either). It’s a good idea, and I do have to admit that by the end it was bothering me less; there’s some adventure, and a bit of a battle, and a very  sweet ending which almost made up for the initial bristle.

I just wish it could have been more than it was.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I’ve been asked to make sure y’all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)

by Shannon Hale
ages: 10+
First sentence: “Miri woke to the insistent bleat of a goat.”
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Others in the series: Princess Academy

It’s a bit after the events of Princess Academy (six months, maybe?), and Miri has received a letter from the princess-to-be, Britta. Not only is she inviting all the former princess academy members down to Asland, the capitol city of their country, but she is offering Miri a once-in-a-lifetime chance to go to Queen’s Castle, the foremost school in the country.

Of course the girls from Mt. Eskel take the opportunity.

And, of course, things aren’t as wonderful in the lowlands as those up in Mt. Eskel have wanted to believe. There’s poverty, there’s corruption, there’s a revolution brewing, and Miri finds herself in the midst of it all.

I read this one without picking up Princess Academy first (no time!), and honestly, it worked for me.  Hale is a fabulous story teller, and her worlds are always well-developed and intricate. And she managed to give me enough reminders of the first one sprinkled throughout this book that I remembered what I needed to remember, without being heavy-handed.

Hale also explores some interesting ideas: the pull between forces, the choice between two goods, and the inevitable love triangle (the end decision of this one C would love, because she’s always choosing the safe, nice boy, and the girls never end up with the “right” one, in her opinion). There are politics and tough questions, and traitors (though she really didn’t do enough with Gummonth, in my opinion; I wanted him to be more like Grima Wormtongue in Lord of the Rings), and enough conflict to keep me interested through the end.

Miri, of course is a strong, quiet heroine, thinking and questioning and trying to do what she feels is right. And even though I felt Princess Academy was quite fine the way it was, I’m glad for this sequel; it allowed me to revisit a world that I remember loving, and reacquaint myself with characters I can’t help but be fond of.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I’ve been asked to make sure y’all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.) 

by Christopher Healy
ages: 8+
First sentence: “Prince Charming is afraid of old ladies.”
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So, you think you know your fairy tales. How the same guy — Prince Charming (which is an adjective really, not a name) — manages to rescue Cinderella, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty AND Snow White? How is that possible?

Well, what if they were actually four guys: Frederic, Gustav, Liam, and Duncan. And they feel like they kind of got the short shrift in those stories. Maybe, just maybe, things aren’t exactly everything the stories said they were.

And, what would happen if Frederic (who really is quite afraid of the outdoors), and Gustav (who has impulse problems), Liam (whose ego could be taken down a notch or two) and Duncan (who’s just plain, well, unusual) stumble upon each other, and upon a sinister plot to take over all of their kingdoms, and just happen to figure out a way to stop it?

I’m not sure I’d call this book hilarious — no milk was ever snorted through my nose, a good benchmark, I think — but it was definitely amusing. From the chapter titles, all of which begin “Prince Charming…” (my favorite? “Prince Charming Walks into a Bar”. Sounds like a joke waiting to happen), to the silliness of the princes to the fact that it all just kinda sorta works out in the end, it was enough to keep a smile pasted on my face.

My only qualm: I have no idea if boys — the target audience, given the look of the Brave Guys on the cover — are going to want to read a silly book about fairy tale princes being lame until they learn not to be. Much like Adam Rex’s Cold Cereal, I am afraid this is a book without much of an audience. Which is too bad, because it’s really a delight.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I’ve been asked to make sure y’all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.) 

by Eleanor Estes
ages: 8-11
First sentence: “Today, Monday, Wanda Petronski was not in her seat.”
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I read this gook first when I was eight. I don’t remember what my exact thoughts were, but it made enough of an impression on me that I’ve read it again several times over the years (and this is from a person who doesn’t often reread). That is partially, I think, because it takes about a half hour to read from start to finish now. But it’s also because it’s a story that packs a punch, even in its simplicity. Make that because of its simplicity.

The story (if you don’t already know it) is this: Wanda Petronski is poor, Polish, and a bit of an outcast in a WASPish town. The girls, especially the popular ones like Peggy, don’t pay her much attention, until one day when they’re admiring a beautiful dress on another girl. Wanda, for whatever reason, speaks up and says she has 100 dresses hanging in her closet. This incites much astonishment and incredulity on the part of the other girls, and Peggy begins teasing her. Maddie, Peggy’s best friend, is a bit uncomfortable with this — she’s not exactly well off herself — but does nothing. Then two things happen: first, Wanda’s father moves the family to the big city to get away from the small-town racisim. And second, Wanda wins the drawing-contest. With her 100 dresses.

Yes, it’s a simple story. The language is simple. The girls are simple, caricatures really. Peggy is a bully, but a human, believable one. She doesn’t do anything that I couldn’t see myself as doing, if I were in the same situation; it’s human nature to pick apart people’s stories. That doesn’t mean it’s good. And Maddie is the poor girl who has managed to make it with the in-crowd, staying silent because she knows her popularity (which is more important than sticking up for some Polish girl) is on the line. There’s no delving into their psyches, no trying to understand the why behind the girls’ actions; there’s just the fact that they make fun of Wanda, who takes it.

The thing that has bothered me for years, and bothered me again on this rereading, is the end. (Sorry for the spoilers. You’ve all read it already, right?) When, after the contest, the girls in the class are allowed to take Wanda’s drawings home and Maddie and Peggy discover that theirs are pictures of them. Then this: “What did I say!” said Peggy. “She must have really liked us anyway.”  I’m not sure I understand what Estes was trying to get at. Why does Wanda do this? Did she think it would make the girls change their minds, help them act nicer to others? Does she actually really like them?

I don’t know if I’ll ever know. But I’ll still probably read this lovely, slim novel with the haunting watercolor illustrations over and over again.