Gulp

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by Mary Roach
First sentence: “In 1968, on the Berkley campus of the University of California, six young men undertook an irregular and unprecedented act.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: One f-bomb (in the chapter about the rectum as a criminal accomplice) and a bunch of s-words (in the chapters on the colon and intestines). It’s in the science section at the bookstore.

I never would have thought to pick up a book on the Alimentary system (that’s your digestive system for the non-medically minded), except that this was picked for my in-person book group.

I’m so glad it was: it was fantastically fascinating.

She takes apart the digestive system, starting from the nose, working her way down. It sounds like it’d be boring, but it really isn’t. Roach is not only an engrossing and accessible writer, but a hilarious one. Especially the footnotes. All her little asides and historical facts had me laughing out loud.

True, the last few chapters aren’t for those who get queasy talking about bodily functions. But if you can get past that, it’s an excellent book.

State of the TBR Pile: September 2014

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I have no excuses for the state of my TBR pile. There’s just too many books I want to read this time of year. PLUS, I’ve been nominating two books for each Kid’s IndieNext list (the Fall one’s out; I don’t know why they don’t have the link to that), so I need to read a couple of books that are coming out December/January. Too much to read, not enough time. But isn’t that always the story?

(As an upshot, I’ve got a plane flight to Sacramento for KidlitCon coming up… 6 blissful reading hours with NO INTERRUPTIONS.) (Are coming too? You should! It’s going to be a GREAT con!)

I probably won’t get to all of these this month, but here’s what I’d LIKE to read.

The Iron Trial, by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare (Because the authors are awesome.
He Laughed With His Other Mouths, by M. T. Anderson (Same reason as above.)
A Beautiful Blue Death, by Charles Finch (A coworker has told me I need to read this on a number of occasions.)
Drama, by Raina Telgemeier (Should have read this ages ago.)
The Cure for Dreaming, by Cat Winters (Looks interesting.)
The Paperboy, by Kristin Levine (This was going to be one of my Indie Next pics, but they pushed up the pub date. Still: love the author.)
The Secret Sky, by Atia Abawi (Looks interesting.)
Anatomy of a Misfit, by Andrea Portes (It’s an adult writer doing YA stuff. I’m wary, but want to check it out.)
Jackaby, by William Ritter (Looks interesting.)
The Burning Sky, by Sherry Thomas (I’ve been meaning to check this out since it was recommended LAST KidLitCon.)
Minion, by John David Anderson (Because I really liked Sidekicked.)
Bitterblue, by Kristin Cashore (I’ve been putting it off because it’s so emotionally difficult. I will get to this. I will.)

What’s on your TBR list?

Graphic Novel Roundup

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The Shadow Hero
by Gene Luen Yang & Sonny Liew
First sentence: “In 1911, the Ch’ing Dynasty collapsed ending two millenia of imperial rule over China.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There’s some violence (graphic, obviously), but that’s about it. It’s a higher reading level, but I wouldn’t be adverse to giving this to the superhero loving 9- or 10-year-old. It’s in the teen graphic novel section of the bookstore.

In the 1940s, the first Asian-American, Hing, was hired by a small comic press to draw a superhero. The producers/owners wanted The Green Turtle to be white but the way Hing drew The Green Turtle, you really couldn’t tell. It was a short-lived comic, and Hing never gave The Green Turtle’s backstory.

Which is where The Shadow Hero comes in: Yang and Liew imagine The Green Turtle’s origin story.

And what a story. Yes, this is a superhero comic: the kind of nerdy, unambitious boy who gets a super power, but not without great cost. Our hero is Hank Chu, the son of Chinese immigrants. All he really wants to do is run the grocery store in Chinatown with his father. But, Chinatown is run by the mob, people who extract “taxes” from the businesses. Hank’s dad forgets a payment once, and the mob comes down on him, hard, killing him in front of Hank. That spurs Hank (kind of; his mother had been pushing him to become a superhero for a while) into action: he’s going to take down the mob, going after the boss.

Like all of Yang’s work, this is wonderfully drawn, and the story is compelling. I’m not a huge superhero comic person, but I couldn’t put this one down. It’s definitely a story worth reading.

Mr. Pants: It’s Go Time!
by Scott McCormick and R. H. Lazzell
First sentence: “What are you laughing at, Mr. Pants?”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: It’s a perfect beginning chapter graphic novel. Words are simple and large print, but the humor is abundant and the pages keep turning. It’s in the beginning chapter book (grades 1-2) section of the bookstore.

This is one that our Penguin children’s rep (who has the most delightful Irish accent) RAVED about. She said, “Seriously: you just have to read it. It’s hilarious!” I put it off for a while, until she came again (there’s a sequel coming out), and reminded me: “You HAVE  to read this.” So, I did. And she’s right: you have to read it. It’s hilarious.

It’s the last day of summer, and Mr. Pants — a cat with two cat sisters and a human mom. No, I don’t understand, either — wants to go play laser tag. Except his younger sisters — Foot Foot and Grommy — have other ideas. Foot Foot wants to play with her new toy. Grommy wants to go to the Fairy Princess Dream Factory. Mom has to go shopping. The deal is this: Mr. Pants goes along with all this stuff (he doesn’t want to do, obviously), and they can go play laser tag.

Much like Babymouse, this is a gold mine for hilarity. There’s also some gender-bending going on; Mr. Pants is your typical “boy”, but he’s also accepting of his sisters’ likes. (Which, I think, is typical for a boy with sisters. Ask me, sometime, about the summer I was into Little House on the Prairie. I was Laura, and my brother was Mary.) It’s everything a beginning chapter book needs to be: colorful, funny, interesting, and good.

This One Summer
by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki
First sentence: “
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There’s a half-dozen f-bombs as well as mild swearing, and one of the minor characters gets pregnant. It’s in the teen graphic novel section for those reasons.

Every summer since she was five, Rose and her family would go to their cabin by the beach. She has her best friend there, Windy, and enjoyed the days playing, exploring, hanging out. But this summer is different. Rose is 13 (I think; she seemed 13) and she and Windy are talking about growing up (boobs were a big topic). And her mother and father are fighting. Quite a bit. Rose gathers from eavesdropping that much of it surrounds their failed attempt to have another baby. Which just makes Rose feel unwanted.

Add on top of that their observance (mostly from sneaking around) of an unfolding drama in the little town where their cottages are: a boy who works at the convenience store got his girlfriend pregnant and doesn’t want to accept responsibility.

It’s an interesting graphic novel, one that I think I didn’t like as much as I could have, solely because I was not the right age. But the 12-to 14-year old crowd, especially girls, would relate. It’s about changing, and accepting the future, and figuring out friends, and understanding the world. And it’s perfect for its target audience.

Just not for me.

The Witch’s Boy

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by Kelly Barnhill
First sentence: “Once upon a time there were two brothers, as alike to one another as you are to your own reflection.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy snagged from the ARC shelves at my place of employment.
Content: There really isn’t anything objectionable. The pacing is slow, however, which is something that might turn more reluctant readers off. It’s in the middle grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

Ned has been “the wrong boy” since the fateful day when he and his twin brother, Tam, tried to sail to the sea and ended up drowning in the river. Or nearly drowning, in Ned’s case. See: his mother is the witch of the village, and she has been the keeper of the magic — dangerous, unruly magic which Ned is never to touch — for most of Ned’s life. And although she couldn’t save Tam, she saved Ned… by sewing Tam’s soul inside of Ned.

Fast forward a few years — ones in which Ned doesn’t have much strength, where he has a stutter, and where he can’t read — to when the Bandit King comes into their lives with the intention to steal the magic for his own. This is where Ned does something remarkable: he takes the magic into himself, and sets off on an adventure. One in which he’ll meet a friend — his first since his brother died — and change the course of the world.

It’s a slow, quiet book; one that reminded me strongly of Anne Ursu’s books. That’s a good thing, except it’s not one for people who are expecting Grand Action and Adventure. Much of the book is spent inside Ned’s head (mostly because he can’t talk, though I did like Barnhill’s methods for portraying Ned’s stutter), which doesn’t lend itself to fast reading. That said, given time, this book is really a fantastic read. I loved how Barnhill portrayed the magic; it had its own personality, one that can be controlled by it’s “owner”, provided the person is strong enough. And I really enjoyed seeing Ned come into his own. Yes, he was pushed around by (some of) the adults in his life (I loved his mother; she’s fantastic), but it’s a true middle grade novel in that Ned (and his new friend, Áine) face the conflict on their own, without adult help.

Speaking of Áine: she’s a remarkable character, too. Self-sufficient, yes, and strong, but she also finds it in her heart to be a friend and a true companion.

I think this is one that will stay with me for a while.

Amulet: Escape from Lucien

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by Kazu Kibuishi
First sentence: “There’s a real comfort in being a nobody like me, Master Griffin.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Others in the series: The Stonekeeper, The Stonekeeper’s Curse, The Cloud Searchers, The Last Council, Prince of the Elves
Content: There’s a lot going on, and sometimes the vocabulary is a bit challenging, but K (who’s 8) loves these books, so I’d say it’s good for a strong 2nd or 3rd grade reader. It’s in the middle grade (grades 3-5) graphic novel section of the bookstore.

I’ve been saying for years that I ought to break down and buy this series. And K discovering them this summer gave me the perfect excuse. However, I didn’t go back and reread the past ones before I dove into the new one. So, I’m still a bit behind on the story, but that’s my fault now.

Things are coming to a head and getting more desperate for Emily and the band of rebels. The Elf King is still in power, but his son, Trellis, is learning things and gaining power and confidence. But while we learn things about Max (he’s the Saruman figure) and his backstory, this book really belongs to Emily’s brother Navin, who is a pilot with the resistance, and is sent with his classmates (kinda sorta; he ends up tagging along because of reasons) to the city of Lucien, which has been bombed out and completely taken over by the “shadows”, evil blobs that possess people and turn them, well, evil. Their job: to see if there are any survivors, and to turn on the beacon, sending out a signal for help.

I really don’t have anything new to add to my thoughts on this series. Still gorgeous. Still not coming out fast enough. I’m still going to buy the next one when it comes out next year. I adore this series.

First Sunday Daughter Reviews: September 2014

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School’s back in session, and yesterday was a lovely early-fall day. And the kids are actually reading more (mostly) and watching TV less (except on the weekends).

C decided, when school started, that she didn’t remember much about the books she loved as a “kid”. So, she embarked upon a plan to re-read all of the ones we read her when she was in first-third grade. She did it in reverse order of publication, starting with Ella Enchanted, then working through Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The Phantom Tollbooth. She’s currently on:

Which she is surprised how short it is. She has a memory of it being quite long. At any rate, she’s thoroughly enjoying her project and has been pleasantly surprised at how well all of these books have stood the test of time for her.

A has discovered Merlin, and had spent her afternoons watching episodes of that. (I’ve not been watching, but from what I’ve overheard, they’re killing the myth. Oy.) She has started this

but is not as interested in it as she was in The Screaming Staircase. I think for two reasons: 1) because Merlin. And 2) because it’s less about Lockwood and more about George and Lucy, whom she’s less invested in. (I’m just waiting until she gets to the end…)

And K has been in graphic novel heaven reading both this:

(adorable)

and this

Her reaction was the same as mine: great! But where’s the next one?? It’s good to have someone suffer with me while we wait.

That’s what my kids are reading. What books are in your kids’ piles?

The Whispering Skull

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by Jonathan Stroud
First sentence: “‘Don’t look now,’ Lockwood said.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: September 16, 2014
Review copy snagged out of the box sent by our Hachette rep.
Others in the series: The Screaming Staircase
Content: There’s lots of ghosts, obviously, and some scary situations. Also a couple of deaths and a couple of instances of mild swearing. It’s in the middle grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore, but I’d be wary about giving it to an overly sensitive child.

It’s not very often, I think, that the second book in a series is as good (if not better) than the first one. This is one of those rare instances.

First off, it was wonderful to be back with Lockwood, George, and Lucy. Lockwood was as reckless and charming as ever; Lucy was still the glue that held the company together. But George was really the focus of this story. He got his moment in the spotlight, and was something more than the bookish, slightly overweight Other Guy.

The mystery this time is centered around a body Lockwood, Lucy, and George are hired to help secure.  A couple of grave excavators have found a grave site that wasn’t supposed to be there, the body of one Edmund Bickerstaff, who was a leading paranormal and psychic experimenter in Victorian times. It turns out that he was experimenting with things he shouldn’t have been, creating a Bone Glass which was supposed to give you a view into the afterlife, but instead kills anyone who looks at it.

Soon after the excavation, however, the Bone Glass is stolen, and Lockwood & Co are in a fierce competition with their rivals at Fittes to solve the mystery.

Oh, and yes, the whispering skull of the title (and the cover; love it!) does play a fairly major role.

There are so many brilliant things about this book. From the pacing (I couldn’t put it down!) to the hilarious asides, to the action-adventure feel.  It’s wonderful that you don’t really have to read The Screaming Staircase to enjoy this one. There are a few references to the previous book, but nothing happened in it that you Have to know before picking this one up. Additionally, even though there are teasers for the next book (which can’t come out soon enough) the story in this one wraps completely up. I love it when series books are like this.

I can’t wait for the next one.

Chasing Before

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by Lenore Applehans
First sentence: “I couldn’t help myself.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy given to me by the author.
Others in the series: The Memory of After (aka Level 2)
Content: There’s some mild violence and a few mild swear words. But the main character is obsessed with having sex with her boyfriend, so there’s a lot of talk about sex. They actually do have sex, eventually, but that’s entirely off screen. It’s in the YA section (grades 6-8) at the bookstore but I’m thinking about moving it.

Having saved Level 2 from the evil, vindictive Morati, Felicia and her boyfriend, Neil decide to move on to Level 3, to see what that part of the afterlife entails. They expect it to be all sunshine and roses, but when they get there, they realize that the Morati has made it through to this level, and they are terrorizing those there, determined to get Their Way.

Felicia is determined to be happy, to be with Neil, but that isn’t what is in store for her. She ends up in the middle of a conspiracy, trying to root out the Morati spies, while discovering more about her past. Her decisions have the potential to affect everything around her, from the safety of her friends to her future with Neil.

The question becomes: can she handle this?

I wanted to like this one, but I just… didn’t. I think a lot of that is that it’s just not my sort of book. I like my romances to be more organic, for a lack of a better word. I think I like to read about falling in love more than I like to read about actual relationships. It didn’t help that Felicia spent the entire book obsessing about wanting to have sex with Neil. I want more out of my female characters. And Applehans tried to give me more: Felicia, at times, was quite capable of being an interesting person. But too often, she went back to her relationship with Neil, with wanting to take it “to the next level” (pun intended?). And too often, I was annoyed with her.

Again, I think there’s an audience for this book. And it’s not badly written. I just don’t think it’s my cup of tea.

August 2014 Round-Up

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The end of yet another month and I didn’t read nearly as much as I wanted to. I did read some really good books this month, though. It was hard to choose. In the end, this was my favorite:

Just Call My Name

It was wonderful. Period.

As for the rest…

Middle Grade:

The Fourteenth Goldfish
Life of Zarf
The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher

YA:

Demon Derby
Isla and the Happily Ever After
Ruin and Rising

Adult:

Landline
The Vacationers

Nonfiction:

Parenting Teens With Love and Logic

What were your favorites this month?

The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher

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by Dana Alison Levy
First sentence: “Eli sat on the wooden porch steps, crammed in with his brothers, while Pap fiddled with the camera.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy given to me by our Random House Children’s rep.
Content:  The typeface is pretty big and the words are simple without being simplistic. Also, there’s a hint of liking girls, but no real romance. I’d say it’s pretty happy in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

I’ve been sitting here thinking about how to pitch this one (especially in conservative Kansas), and I think I’ve come up with it: it’s The Penderwicks, but with boys.

The similarities are there: a classic, homespun feel; a family of four siblings ranging from the cute young one (Frog, age 6, in this case) to the wise, older one (Sam, just starting 6th grade); simple, true-to-life challenges, rather than huge conflict; and a charming, whimsical feel that just makes you smile when you’re done reading.

The book follows the Fletcher family — Dad, a history teacher; Papa, who stays at home and does consulting work while the boys are at school; and their sons, Sam and Frog (who is Indian, by the way), but also Jax (age 10 and African American) and Eli (also age 10, but Jax is older by some months) — through the course of a year. As I said, none of the conflicts are huge and overarching, (except, perhaps, their grumpy neighbor Mr. Wilson) but rather small, realistic ones. Eli deals with a starting a new school for “scholarly minded” students and realizes pretty early on that he hates it. Jax deals with a best friend who is growing up and whose interests are changing. Sam is dealing with being on the cusp of teenager hood as well as the idea that something he discovered he likes — acting — may not be “cool”. And Frog has to deal with his family not believing him when he says he has a new friend whose name is Ladybug.

It’s a charming, sweet little book, one that I think will be able to reach a number of readers. In fact, the diversity of this one is my second favorite thing about it (my first favorite being the old-fashioned feel). I loved how Levy had a hugely diverse cast and showed how everyone is just. like. me. (Duh.) But she did it in such a way that wasn’t preachy. And I loved that.

In fact, I want to hand this one to all the kids and say: “You know that person who is different from you? This will help you understand them.” I’m not sure that will sell this book, so I may just have to stick to “Penderwicks with boys.” I just hope kids read this one.