The Top 100 Children’s Fiction Books as turned into a meme by Teacherninja, via Abby (the) Librarian and MotherReader. I’m 81/100. Not bad, not bad. There’s some books on this list that I’ve been meaning to get to for ages and ages.

How did you do?

100. The Egypt Game – Snyder (1967)
99. The Indian in the Cupboard – Banks (1980)
98. Children of Green Knowe – Boston (1954)
97. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane – DiCamillo (2006)
96. The Witches – Dahl (1983)
95. Pippi Longstocking – Lindgren (1950)
94. Swallows and Amazons – Ransome (1930)
93. Caddie Woodlawn – Brink (1935)
92. Ella Enchanted – Levine (1997)
91. Sideways Stories from Wayside School – Sachar (1978)
90. Sarah, Plain and Tall – MacLachlan (1985)
89. Ramona and Her Father – Cleary (1977)
88. The High King – Alexander (1968)
87. The View from Saturday – Konigsburg (1996)
86. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – Rowling (1999)
85. On the Banks of Plum Creek – Wilder (1937)
84. The Little White Horse – Goudge (1946)
83. The Thief – Turner (1997)
82. The Book of Three – Alexander (1964)
81. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon – Lin (2009)
80. The Graveyard Book – Gaiman (2008)
79. All-of-a-Kind-Family – Taylor (1951)
78. Johnny Tremain – Forbes (1943)
77. The City of Ember – DuPrau (2003)
76. Out of the Dust – Hesse (1997)
75. Love That Dog – Creech (2001)
74. The Borrowers – Norton (1953)
73. My Side of the Mountain – George (1959)
72. My Father’s Dragon – Gannett (1948)
71. The Bad Beginning – Snicket (1999)
70. Betsy-Tacy – Lovelae (1940)
69. The Mysterious Benedict Society – Stewart ( 2007)
68. Walk Two Moons – Creech (1994)
67. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher – Coville (1991)
66. Henry Huggins – Cleary (1950)
65. Ballet Shoes – Stratfeild (1936)
64. A Long Way from Chicago – Peck (1998)
63. Gone-Away Lake – Enright (1957)
62. The Secret of the Old Clock – Keene (1959)
61. Stargirl – Spinelli (2000)
60. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle – Avi (1990)
59. Inkheart – Funke (2003)
58. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase – Aiken (1962)
57. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 – Cleary (1981)
56. Number the Stars – Lowry (1989)
55. The Great Gilly Hopkins – Paterson (1978)
54. The BFG – Dahl (1982)
53. Wind in the Willows – Grahame (1908)
52. The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007)
51. The Saturdays – Enright (1941)
50. Island of the Blue Dolphins – O’Dell (1960)
49. Frindle – Clements (1996)
48. The Penderwicks – Birdsall (2005)
47. Bud, Not Buddy – Curtis (1999)
46. Where the Red Fern Grows – Rawls (1961)
45. The Golden Compass – Pullman (1995)
44. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing – Blume (1972)
43. Ramona the Pest – Cleary (1968)
42. Little House on the Prairie – Wilder (1935)
41. The Witch of Blackbird Pond – Speare (1958)
40. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – Baum (1900)
39. When You Reach Me – Stead (2009)
38. HP and the Order of the Phoenix – Rowling (2003)
37. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry – Taylor (1976)
36. Are You there, God? It’s Me, Margaret – Blume (1970)
35. HP and the Goblet of Fire – Rowling (2000)
34. The Watson’s Go to Birmingham – Curtis (1995)
33. James and the Giant Peach – Dahl (1961)
32. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH – O’Brian (1971)
31. Half Magic – Eager (1954)
30. Winnie-the-Pooh – Milne (1926)
29. The Dark Is Rising – Cooper (1973)
28. A Little Princess – Burnett (1905)
27. Alice I and II – Carroll (1865/72)
26. Hatchet – Paulsen (1989)
25. Little Women – Alcott (1868/9)
24. HP and the Deathly Hallows – Rowling (2007)
23. Little House in the Big Woods – Wilder (1932)
22. The Tale of Despereaux – DiCamillo (2003)
21. The Lightening Thief – Riordan (2005)
20. Tuck Everlasting – Babbitt (1975)
19. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Dahl (1964)
18. Matilda – Dahl (1988)
17. Maniac Magee – Spinelli (1990)
16. Harriet the Spy – Fitzhugh (1964)
15. Because of Winn-Dixie – DiCamillo (2000)
14. HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Rowling (1999)
13. Bridge to Terabithia – Paterson (1977)
12. The Hobbit – Tolkien (1938)
11. The Westing Game – Raskin (1978)
10. The Phantom Tollbooth – Juster (1961)
9. Anne of Green Gables – Montgomery (1908)
8. The Secret Garden – Burnett (1911)
7. The Giver -Lowry (1993)
6. Holes – Sachar (1998)
5. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler – Koningsburg (1967)
4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – Lewis (1950)
3. Harry Potter #1 – Rowling (1997)
2. A Wrinkle in Time – L’Engle (1962)
1. Charlotte’s Web – White (1952)

A Tale from Camelot
by Nancy Springer
ages: 12+
First sentence: “Seated at the high table, with the emerald necklace her husband had given her resting on her half-naked bosom, the emerald tiara nestled in her dark hair, Lady Igraine tried not to answer the leer of the king.”

As many of you know, I love my King Arthur books. I love the different aspects of the myth that each individual author brings to the collective whole. I love the familiarity of the story; I know which elements are essential, which elements are trivial, and I delight in knowing how it’s all going to play out.

But, I’m wondering if I’m getting a bit burned out – even though I really don’t read more than one or two a year — because I was highly bored with this one.

Sure, it takes the myth from Morgan’s point of view; telling her story, about how she became Morgan le Fey. Aspects of the tale were woven in and through the story — Merlin, Uther and Igraine were there — but it was Morgan’s tale of how she longed for love, and yet was unwilling to accept it as its own thing when it finally came in her life. It was a choppy story, bouncing through time and place, never really settling down into something one could sink their teeth into. I’m generally not one for wordiness, but this one felt too much the other way: too pared down, not enough meat for the story to hang on. Everything felt like a caricature; as if Springer expected us to know who all these people were, and that we would fill in the blanks for her.

Perhaps this is a corollary to it being pared down, but it also felt rushed. I wanted more of Morgan’s life. We got her childhood through her time at Avalon — which really wasn’t the Avalon of my mind. Not that that’s a bad thing. — and her coming into power. But, I wanted it to go beyond, to see how it all would play out in Springer’s imagination.

Disappointing.

On the upside, though, it made me want to reread Mists of Avalon.

by Natalie Standiford
ages: 14+
First sentence: “Goebbels materialized on the back patio, right before we moved to Baltimore, and started chewing through the wicker love seat.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

The jacket-flap of this book says it’s for those who have experienced “the wonderful, treacherous, consuming, meaningful world of true friendship”. So, I think I expected something profound, something deep, something… less angsty. But then, it is a teen novel, and angst is the name of the game.

Bea Szabo has moved to Baltimore for her senior year. She’s moved a lot — her dad is a serial one-year college appointment professor — and so has some expectations about her new school. Then the alphabet conspires — they have to sit in alphabetical order for Assembly — to put her next to Jonah Tate, aka Ghost Boy, who hasn’t made a new friend since third grade. See, his mother and twin brother died in a car wreck, and he’s basically shut down. Until he meets Bea. Together these two loners find some kind of solace together in their not-quite-boyfriend/girlfriend-but-somehow-more-than-just-friends. There’s ups — the late-night call-in show that they both listen to, or the trip to Ocean City instead of going to prom. And there’s downs — if you’re not really boyfriend/girlfriend, is it okay to go out with other people? Not to mention the fights and disagreements.

Standiford takes us on an interesting, if angst-filled, journey with these two. There are humorous moments, and the overall story arc, especially involving Jonah’s family, was intriguing. Unfortunately, it was one of those books where I, personally, couldn’t divorce myself from my age and experience: I kept shaking my head because the two of them acted like the kids they are. Sure, I empathized: who hasn’t had an up-and-down relationship with someone, wondering if they’ll talk to you, wanting to help but being powerless. I understand feeling deeply, wanting more, and I even understand heartbreak. I just thought this all was a bit overmuch.

I have nothing wrong with angst. But then, too much of a good thing is always bad.

by Jackson Pearce
ages: 12+
First sentence: “All I’ve learned in today’s Shakespeare class is: Sometimes you have to fall in love with the wrong person just so you can find the right person.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Viola has a problem: seven months ago her boyfriend of two years (and best friend since they were little) broke up with her after admitting to himself that he was gay. Even though they’re still friends, Viola’s crushed. The fact that she doesn’t feel like she fits in at school anymore just adds to her depression. All she really wants is to belong.

She inadvertently wishes for this so strongly that she summons a jinn. Who then grants her three wishes. Which is all fine and good — the jinn just wants to grant the wishes and get back to his home in Caliban, after all — except that Viola can’t decide what to wish for. In the process of deciding, and making those wishes, she discovers that the one thing she really needs to make herself more complete is the one thing she can’t have.

I’ve been eagerly waiting for a chance to this book, ever since Abby raved about it ages and eons ago. And, as she pointed out, it does not disappoint. Pearce has written a captivating first novel, one full of humor, angst, friendship, magic, and romance. I just ate it up. (Seriously: it’s been forever since I sat down to read a book and didn’t get up until I was done.) For me, there wasn’t a single misstep: it wasn’t just about the plot, which was basically a clever twist on a generic romantic comedy. It was more about the characters. They were so vividly drawn that I couldn’t help but care what happened next.

I understood Viola’s insecurity and appreciated that Pearce had her — eventually — find that wholeness comes from within and not from without. I loved her best friend/ex-boyfriend Lawrence; you really couldn’t hate him, he was just so earnest, and he did love Viola, just not in that way. And Jinn… let’s just say that he provides everything needed for the epic romance Viola was pining about at the beginning of the book.

I’m sure there are flaws in the book — no book is absolutely perfect — but let’s just say that I hit this at the perfect time. Sigh and swoon, indeed.

When I reviewed Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging, Bobbie at ‘Til We Read Again commented that her girls liked the movie. Wait… there’s a movie?

Well, friends, yes there is. A little British production, probably never saw screen time here in the US, but there it is. The hilarious diaries of Georgia Nicholson out there for everyone to see.

Except… they weren’t so hilarious on screen.

While many of the choice plot elements were there — the pimento olive costume or shaving of the eyebrows or the kissing lesson, for example — the movie ditched the tongue-in-cheek observations of Georgia’s diary for a more sweet teen-romance. Not that I minded the whole romance bit; they made Robbie and Tom a bit younger than in the book (which was good; an 18 year old dating a 14 year old was a bit much for me) and I have to admit that Aaron Johnson is a cutie. But, it wasn’t funny. The book was celebrating the awkwardness of being 14 and not exactly knowing quite how to deal with boys. And without the funny it just becomes well, just awkward and embarrassing.

It also didn’t help that I found Georgia and her friends to be completely and utterly annoying. Perhaps this was less of the fault of the actresses and more of the “it’s just not funny” line. Whatever the reason, I found myself cringing when they talked and giggled, and not at all sympathetic to their troubles and problems. I rolled my eyes more often than I did in the book, where Georgia was annoying, but somewhat sympathetic by the end.

Speaking of the end, they completely changed the book. I’m not sure I minded much that there was a big, huge birthday party in a club and that Lindsey totally got her comeuppance (though yanking her false boobs out of her dress was a bit harsh). But still, in this case I will complain that it wasn’t the book.

Verdict: Just read the book. (Though if you saw the movie first, the book is SO much better.)