Christmas Book Week, Day 2

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Happy Midwinter everyone! Find some sunshine, if you can, and pull out your (hopefully well-worn) copy of The Dark is Rising, and enjoy. If you haven’t read it yet, here’s a teaser to get you (hopefully) interested.

The snow lay thin and apologetic over the world. That wide grey sweep was the lawn, with the straggling trees of the orchard still dark beyond; the white squares were the roofs of the garage, the old barn, the rabbit hutches, the chicken coops. Further back there were only the flat fields of Dawson’s farm, dimly white-striped. All the broad sky was grey, full of more snow that refused to fall. There was no colour anywhere.

Christmas Book Week, Day 1

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I thought, this week before Christmas, amid all the reviews and other things (read: Cybils reading, girls home from school) I’ve got going on, I’d share some of my favorite quotes from Christmas books and stories.

To start off, because we’re going to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol tonight, a couple from the Charles Dickens classic:

If you should happen, by any unlikely chance, to know a man more blest in a laugh than Scrooge’s nephew, all I can say is, I should like to know him too. Introduce him to me, and I’ll cultivate his acquaintance.

He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh, and little heeded them; for he was wise enough to know that nothing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset; and knowing that such as these would be blind anyway, he thought it quite as well that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins, as have the malady in less attractive forms. His own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.

Leaving the Bellweathers

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by Kristin Clark Venuti
ages: 10+
First sentence: “It is nighttime in the village of Eel-Smack-by-the-Bay.”
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

File this one under delightfully odd.

The Bellweathers are a family that leave in the Lighthouse on the Hill by Eel-Smack-by-the-Bay. There’s dad, Dr. Bellweather, an inventor who has a habit of unleashing his “peculiar sense of humor.” There’s mom, Lillian, who loves to paint… the house. Over and over and over and over again. Then, there’s the kids. Spider, age 14, whose interest tends toward the violent animals, and who is determined to set up the first Endangered Albino Alligator refuge. Second in line is 13-year-old Ninda, Determined to help the Oppressed and Exploited. And will go to any lengths to do so. And, as if that weren’t enough, there’s the 9 year old triplets: Brick, Spike and Sassy. Always Up to No Good and determined to be artists, saying they are a handful is a massive understatement.

Keeping this, um, unique family together is their trusty butler, Tristan Benway. Except, he’s there only because his ancestor, 200 years ago, made an oath of fealty to the Bellweather family. There’s only 8 weeks, 2 hours and 27 minutes until GLOAT (Glorious Liberation and Oath Abandonment Time) and it’s everything Benway can do to keep it together until he can leave and get a cottage Far, Far Away.

While it wasn’t a consistent thing, there were parts of this book that had me in stitches. From Benway’s deadpan observations (he’s the one who calls Dr. Bellweather’s temper a “peculiar sense of humor”) to the occasional footnotes, to the absurd plot, I found myself either smiling, chuckling or snorting out loud. I haven’t read this book that was so… well… unusual, in a long, long time.

That’s not to say it’s for everyone: I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: humor is a tricky thing. But, this one tickled my funny bone just right.

Good thing, too.

(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.)

Library Loot #49

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Twas the week before Christmas,
although we were all very merry,
we still found time to get
a few books from the library.

We don’t know how much we’ll read
Since we’ve got lots of stuff to do
But that won’t stop us
from checking them out, until the year’s through.

Okay, that was kind of lame. 🙂

For A/K:
Hush, Baby Ghostling, by Andrea Beaty and Pascal Lemaitre
The Lion & the Mouse, by Jerry Pinkney
Voyage to the Pharos, by Sarah Gauch/Illus. by Roger Roth
Big Cat Pepper, by Elizabeth Partridge/Illus. by Lauren Castillo
You?, by Vladimir Radunsky

For C:
Camille McPhee Fell Under the Bus …, by Kristen Tracy

For me:
Gone from These Woods, by Donny Bailey Seagraves

The roundup is either at Reading Adventures or A Striped Armchair. Obligatory FTC note: the links are provided through my Amazon Associates account. If you click through and actually purchase one of these books, I’ll get a teeny, tiny payment. But, since no one ever does, and it’s SO much easier using the associates account to put up these links, I’m going to keep doing it.

*Ones that M eventually read.
**Picture books we really liked.

The Ship of Lost Souls

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by Rachelle Delaney
ages: 9+
First sentence: “‘You there!'”
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Support your local independent bookstore, buy it there!

Think of a book that’s one part Treasure Island, one part Pirates of the Caribbean, one part Peter Pan, and you’ve pretty much got an idea of the feel of this book.

Scarlet McCray is the captain of the Margaret’s Hop (the e fell off years ago), a ship haven for lost or abandoned children. Their ship is surrounded and protected with a ghost-ship legend that Scarlet and her crew of 8 to 13 year olds use to their full advantage. They pillage, they raid, they essentially have a grand time out from under the thumb of obnoxious adults.

Jem Fitzgerald, the nephew of a moderately famous botanist, is in the area with siad uncle in search of a treasure. There’s a legend that’s been floating around for years of an island that has a treasure that will bring one who finds it peace. And Jem’s uncle knows where it is. (There’s a map and everything.)

Except Jem and his uncle are kidnapped by dread pirates, who then kill Jem’s uncle. Enter Scarlet and the Lost Souls: they rescue Jem, make him a part of their crew, and go on search for the treasure. There’s growing up, adventures, revelations, and a mutiny attempt in the process of looking for the treasure.

It’s a great world that Delaney has created — safe and predictable, yet with a sense of adventure on the side; realistic, with just the right touch of whimsy. It’s a fun little book.

(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.)

2009 Challenge #8: Lost in Translation

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Another challenge down. (Only one left for this year…) I have realized that the problem with year-long challenges is the wrap up post. I can’t remember what I thought of half of these books!

Anyway… for the Lost in Translation Challenge I read:

1. Captain Alatriste, Arturo Perez-Reverte
2. Inkdeath, Cornelia Funke
3. The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Tolstoy
4. The Princetta, Anne-Laure Bondoux
5. Echoes From The Dead, Johan Theorin
6. The Wine-Dark Sea, Leonardo Sciascia

I technically didn’t finish two — Inkdeath and The Princetta — and I liked Ivan Ilyich best, I think.

Anyway, it was interesting reading books in translation.

The Wine-Dark Sea

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by Leonardo Sciascia
ages: adult
First sentence: ‘Your Majesty,’ said the Minister of State Santangelo, tapping Ferdinand lightly on the shoulder with one finger, ‘this is Grotte.'”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

I’m not a fan of short stories. I don’t know why that is, really. Perhaps it’s because I feel disjointed from one story to the next — I do better when the stories are interconnected. Or perhaps, it’s just that there’s not enough meat there for me.

So, keeping that in mind, I really didn’t care all that much for this collection of stories. Sure, they were a slice of Sicily — from the mafia to the ups and downs of everyday life — but most of them fell quite flat. I did like the title story, however. It was a tale of a man who bonds with a family and their nanny on the way to Sicily. It’s sweet, it’s funny, and enjoyable to read. Some of the other ones — Guifa and End-Game, are ones that I think of off the top of my head — are cleverly written, but a bit strange. The rest ranged from “meh” to “I think I’m going to skip this one.”

Perhaps it’s the translation? Nah… it’s probably just me. And my short-story issues.

Year of the Bomb

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by Ronald Kidd
ages: 10+
First sentence: “There were Martians in the backyard.”
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Support your local independent bookstore, buy it there!

It’s 1955. It’s the middle of the Cold War. There are frightening things all around, from the threat of nuclear war, to McCarthy’s Communist hunting, to the monsters in the movies.

And in Sierra Madre, California, Paul and his friends — Arnie, Crank and Oz — are in the thick of it all. Especially when the filming of the greatest B movie of them all — Invasion of the Body Snatchers — comes to their hometown. Being movie buffs, they are drawn to the set, which, in turn, opens up a whole can of worms: espionage, scientists, blacklisting, movie magic. You name it, it’s probably in there.

This book is wild and fun. It feels like a B movie: a bit cheezy, a bit over-the-top, but in the end, quite lovable. Kidd’s writing style flows — even if sometimes the narrative time line gets a little bit fuzzy, flipping between movies, real time and flashbacks — and Paul is a winner of a character. He’s concerned about his friends, he wants everyone to get along, and yet he’s not willing to give in to all the conspiracy theories and fear that are all around him.

There’s nothing really deep or life-changing about the book. It’s mostly just fun times and monster movies. Which is really just fine.

(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.)

10 Questions for Shannon Hale

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Shannon Hale has been one of my favorite authors for years. Almost since she first started publishing (I liked the story, but I didn’t like her author blurb). I swear she can do no wrong when it comes to her books — more right and less right, yes, but no wrong — and so when I got an email asking if I’d like to do an interview with her (again! Since I had the pleasure of interviewing her a couple years ago.) of course I jumped at the chance.

Before I give you the interview, I need to explain the picture… Since she didn’t include one with her questions, I felt I had the liberty of choosing one. Back in October, when Shannon was doing a signing tour for Forest Born, she went through Boston. And me, being the squee-y fangirl that I am, begged and pleaded my lovely sister (she’s on the left) to go and get a book signed for me. My sister (and my dear sister-in-law) loves me SO much, that, she did. And she took a picture and sent it to me… which isn’t exactly the same thing as meeting Shannon myself, but almost. Someday, I’ll actually meet Shannon Hale in person. But until then, I’m happy to just do interviews.

MF: I think I’m going to focus most on Forest Born, since that’s your most recent book…. I liked Rin’s quiet strength in the book. How did you come up with the idea for her?
SH: Thanks, Melissa. Rin was really tough, the toughest character I’ve ever written. Hard to discover, hard to figure out why she was the way she was. I knew her through Razo’s eyes before I wrote Forest Born, but it turned out she was so different inside, I had to wrestle with the story to shake her free. A big breakthrough was when I realized I needed to go back and to understand her early history. The first chapter was a late addition, but it saved the story for me.

MF: If I remember reading it right, Goose Girl was supposed to be a stand alone book. How did it become a four-book series?
SH: How indeed! I wish someone would tell me. I’m looking around, going, what a minute, I did not authorize all these books, pesky little critters. It’s all about the characters. Enna pushed her way forward and insisted on her own story, then Razo did and got River Secrets. Rin isn’t pushy and didn’t insist. Rather it was all the other characters who were loud and insistent that the story wasn’t complete yet and I was forgetting about…[SPOILERS DELETED BY AUTHOR] But I knew I wanted to tell that story from the perspective of someone very different from my other MCs. Rin was right. Tricky, but right.

MF: And do you think you’ll write more Bayern books? (Or is this really, really the last one?)
SH: Ha! Who knows? I’m not writing one right now, and I like the way Goose Girl and Forest Born bookend the series. But I’m always tensed for another character to get mouthy with me and demand a book. I know that might sound loony, like I really believe these characters are real people who can control me, which of course I don’t because if I did I’d be crazy, right? I mean, no way I’m crazy. And besides, if they controlled me, why don’t they get their stupid stories right the first time instead of making me do all those rewrites?! The truth is, I love to tell stories, but I am in some degree a slave to which story inside me shouts the loudest.

MF: Do you have a favorite character or scene in Forest Born?
SH: Ooh, I haven’t thought about this one yet. Let me think…I just asked my husband and he said “that zen walk/fight scene.” Maybe that’s cryptic enough not to be a spoiler. I like that too. I like how Rin quietly becomes the most powerful person in the room. But I also like the conversations between Rin and Razo. Those were a relief to write. In the middle of a very sticky book, Razo and his relationship with his little sister was an oasis for me, as it was for Rin too.

MF: Your books span the ages and the genres (a bit anyway) — from middle grade graphic novels to adult romances. Do you have a favorite to write in or for?
SH: If favorite means “easiest,” then contemporary romantic comedy wins. Not that Austenland or The Actor and the Housewife were sweat- and blood-free, but they’re SO much easier to write than period fantasy. In a contemporary setting, my lexicon is enormous. But worlds like Miri’s and Rin’s are so small, I have so many fewer words at my disposal, so many fewer similes I can call upon. If favorite means “most fun,” then Rapunzel’s Revenge wins because I got to collaborate with my awesome husband and awesome illustrator Nathan Hale (no relation). But if favorite means “best,” then behind all the other books’ backs, I furtively nod toward Book of a Thousand Days.

MF: I know this is kind of asking you to pick a favorite child, but which of your books is your favorite, or means the most to you?
SH: The Actor and the Housewife. No, wait, Goose Girl because she was the first. But Book of a Thousand Days I just claimed is my best…I’m coming up with really good arguments for all of them. Except Princess Academy. It’s been by far my most successful and so feels the least like mine. I can’t claim it anymore.

MF: Again, this might be an unfair question… but how do you think your writing (or, if it’s any easier, your approach to writing) has changed over the years? We could make it easier, how about since you were first published…
SH: I remember one of the biggest notes my editor gave me on Goose Girl was to get more inside the character’s head. I think I used to be a little more distant, and now I try to get so inside the character that the reader feels like she’s living the story rather than observing it.

MF: Who or what inspires your writing?
SH: Words. Words make me want to write. I’m not inspired by music, like so many authors. I wish I was. I’m rarely inspired by real life events. But words do it for me.

MF: Do you have five books you think everyone should read?
SH: No. I’m not very prescriptive. But I’m going to give it a shot and write down the first five that pop into my head: I Capture the Castle (even though the ending broke my heart), Megan Whalen Turner’s Gen books, A Long Way from Chicago, Westing Game, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. (wow, I haven’t read that last one in years! Don’t know where it came from)

MF: I know you’ve got Calamity Jack coming out in January, I’m excited to read that! What’s next for you after that?
SH: I’ve had two years with two books coming out, and I’m ready for a little breather. Maybe (maybe) my YA sci-fi kick butt girl series Daisy Danger Brown will be ready in 2011. Maybe.

MF: Thank you for your time!!
SH: Thank you, Melissa. You add so much to the book world with your passion and thoughtfulness.

Bull Rider

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by Suzanne Morgan Williams
ages: 12+
First sentence: “Folks in Salt Lick say I couldn’t shake bull riding if I tried.”
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Cam doesn’t want any part of his family’s obsession with bull riding. As far as he’s concerned, that’s his Grandpa Roy’s, Dad’s and older brother Ben’s territory. Even if he is in northern Nevada, in a piddly little town just outside of Winnemucca, and lives on a cattle ranch, he’s a skateboarder, not a bull rider.

Then, Ben joins the Marines and gets shipped to Iraq, and a year later comes home seriously injured. And (of course), Cam’s life drastically changes. Not only does he have more chores to do around the ranch, but his grades tank because of the stress, and inevitably, he finds that there is less time to board. And that it’s less important to him. Especially once he visits the bull ring again, and gets goaded into riding. He finds that he’s actually good at it, and when Ben seems to be stuck in a permanent funk, Cam makes a deal: if he can ride the biggest, meanest bull around — Ugly’s his name — then Ben has to try harder at getting better.

The question is: how’s Cam going to do that?

It’s an interesting tale, that of Cam and his adapting to the changes in his life. It’s also almost more a story of the changes a soldier’s injury brings to both his and his family’s life. Williams is brilliant at showing how everyone is affected by it, from Cam and Ben to their parents and grandparents, to the community as a whole. There’s a lot of teenage angst — Cam’s 14, which (IMHO) puts this at the upper end of middle grade books — a lot of lying, and a lot of sneaking around. Cam’s mother bans him from bull riding — it’s a dangerous, if exciting, sport — because she can’t handle the idea of two sons being seriously injured. So, Cam resorts to sneaking around behind her back, which is easier than would be expected, since she’s so preoccupied with Ben and his recovery.

Cam’s a sympathetic character, though, and Williams makes his pain and discomfort and unease palpable. As a reader, you find yourself rooting for everyone: for Cam to make the ride, for Ben to get better, for everyone to get past the pain. It sounds like it would be a hopeless book, a depressing book, but Williams infuses it with a spirit of hope, of promise, that even though the end is not tidy, everything feels like it’s going to work out.

And that’s a good thing.

(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.)