Middle School

Review: The Story of Owen by E. K. Johnston

| Tasha

story of owen

The Story of Owen by E. K. Johnston

When the world saw Lottie Thorskard fall from a girder, everyone wondered what she would do next.  No one expected her to move to the tiny town of Trondheim and start slaying dragons there with her wife, her brother and his son.  But that is how Owen started attending the same school as Siobhan.  Siobhan is not a popular student, but she gets good grades and loves to play and write music.  None of this should have made her even noticeable by Owen, whom everyone wanted to know better.  Somehow though Siobhan with her biting wit gets invited over to Owen’s home for dinner and Owen’s family including the famous Lottie have a plan that involves Siobhan.  They want her to be Owen’s bard.  Which will involve being nearby when they fight dragons.  So Siobhan must train to defend herself with a sword, learn more about different types of dragons, and she becomes an important piece of Owen’s story herself.

This is one of those books that surprises right from the beginning.  Somehow I didn’t realize that this is a modern-day dragon tale set in Canada.  In this book, the world has always had dragons and they form the heart of literature and song going back into history.  Johnston takes the time to rewrite the lives of famous people for the reader, building her world so successfully that it all makes perfect sense that dragons are here and have always been. 

The juxtaposition between the two main characters is brilliantly done.  But perhaps the very best part is that this is not a romance.  Yes, a male and female main character but no sparks, no kissing, no sex.  Instead they are busy trying to save their community together.  Siobhan and Owen are both vibrant and intelligent.  They have the sort of brilliant dialogue that one would expect from a John Green book.  Except they do it while fighting dragons!  Amazing.

A completely incredible debut book, this takes fantasy and turns it on its head with a thoroughly modern take on battling dragons and extraordinarily deep world building.  This is one of the best and most unique fantasy novels I’ve read in years.

Reviewed from digital galley received from NetGalley and Carolrhoda Books.

Review: The Dumbest Idea Ever! by Jimmy Gownley

| Tasha

dumbest idea ever

The Dumbest Idea Ever! by Jimmy Gownley

This graphic novel memoir focuses on one idiotic idea that changes comic-creator Gownley’s life forever.  At 13, Gownley was on top of the world.  He was popular, getting great grades, and was top-scorer on the school basketball team.  Then he got chicken pox and he had to miss the championship game.  But that wasn’t the end of his bad luck, he followed the chicken pox with a bout of pneumonia and missed more school.  Soon Jimmy wasn’t a basketball star and his grades were getting bad.  Jimmy did have one thing going for him though, the dumbest idea ever!  It was an idea that would make him money, get him popular again, find him a girlfriend, and even impress a very stern nun.  And let me tell you, it takes one amazingly stupid idea to accomplish all that!

Gownley reveals how he became a cartoonist in this graphic novel.  It is cleverly done with a strong story arc that keeps the entire book sturdily structured.  Gownley has a wonderful self-deprecating humor that works particularly well in comic format.  His humor is smart and very funny, often conveyed with ironic twists of eyebrows or sarcastic facial expressions.  The book is a quick read thanks to the format but also to the fast pacing that will have readers happily turning page after page. 

Get this into the hands of Smile! fans who will appreciate the humor, the honesty and the art.  Appropriate for ages 10-13.

Reviewed from library copy.

2014 BEA Editor Buzz Books

| Tasha

BEA logo

The committees have selected the books for the 2014 BEA Editor Buzz panels.  Here are the book on the YA and Middle Grade Buzz lists:

YA Buzz Books

The Jewel Lies We Tell Ourselves The Walled City

I’m Glad I Did by Cynthia Weil

The Jewel by Amy Ewing

King Dork Approximately by Frank Portman

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley

The Walled City by Ryan Graudin

 

Middle Grade Buzz Books

Life of Zarf: The Trouble with Weasels 

Life of Zarf by Rob Harrell

Pennyroyal Academy by M.A. Larson

The Truth about Twinkle Pie by Kat Yeh

The Witch’s Boy by Kelly Barnhill

Zoo at the Edge of the World by Eric Kahn Gale

Review: A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

| Tasha

snicker of magic

A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

Felicity’s mother loves to move to new places, so Felicity has lived all over the country.  But when her mother returns to the small town of Midnight Gulch, Felicity quickly realizes she has never lived in any place quite like this one.  Midnight Gulch had once been full of magic of all sorts, but then a curse took the magic away and drove two brothers apart as well.  But there is magic left in town, if you know where to look.  It’s not big magic, just little pieces that were left behind.  Felicity has one of those pieces of magic herself, she can see words everywhere, words spoken aloud and words thought silently.  She is a word collector keeping a list of the words she finds.  Others in town have some magic too, including Jonah, a mysterious boy who calls himself the Beedle and does good deeds around town.  Then there’s also the ice cream factory that makes a flavor that evokes memories both sweet and sour.  Felicity loves Midnight Gulch, but can she figure out a way to keep her mother from moving on to new places again?

This book was such fun.  Lloyd has created an entire town that is filled with a wonderful mix of magic and history.  Throughout the book, we learn about what first made Midnight Gulch so magical and then how it was taken away.  Then little by little in tantalizing ways readers see the magic that is left and are offered clues about how it may return someday.  It’s a book that is surprising and very readable.

Felicity is a great protagonist as she struggles to keep her family in one place.  As she finds out more about her own family history and discovers members of her family and community she never knew before, she finds herself less lonely in a way that she never though possible.  Perhaps the most delightful piece of all is that Felicity does not need her magic to solve her family’s issues, rather it is about piecing together a mystery and solving a riddle. 

Glowing with magic, this novel is a shining read that should be savored just like an ice cream cone on a hot day.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic.

Review: The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond by Brenda Woods

| Tasha

blossoming universe

The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond by Brenda Woods

Violet feels like she just doesn’t fit into her family.  Whenever she goes anywhere with her mother and sister, people are surprised to hear that she is related to them.  They are both white and blonde while she has brown skin and brown hair.  Violet’s father died before she was born, and while her sister knows her other grandparents, Violet has never met hers.  But now Violet takes things into her own hands and starts researching her African-American grandmother who happens to be a well-known artist.  Violet convinces her mother to allow her to go to her grandmother’s new gallery show but things do not go as Violet had dreamed.  Violet just wants to put the pieces of her family into a whole where she fits seamlessly, but it may be too late for that.

It is a joy to have such a charming and positive book that speaks to biracial issues.  Woods does a great job of focusing on both the positive and negative aspects of being bi-racial and having two distinct sides of the family.  I was particularly pleased that all of the adults in the book were supportive and loving towards Violet as she explores her African-American heritage.  Woods also addresses the differences in religions in the book, something that children who come from two religious heritages will appreciate.

Violet herself is a particularly radiant protagonist.  Though she worries about fitting into her family and seeking out the other side of her family, at heart she is an optimist and approaches each event with a sense of adventure and openness.  This is a book that cheers children on to explore their own families and discover others in their world who will adore them too.

Positive, cheery and yet addressing difficult situations, this book is a pleasure to read.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Nancy Paulsen Books.

The River by Alessandro Sanna

| Tasha

TheRiver_CoverIdeas5.indd

The River by Alessandro Sanna

Travel through four seasons along the Po River in this breathtakingly beautiful book.  Made almost entirely of watercolor images shown as either full-page or a series of panels, this book asks readers to pay close attention to the images and discover the story told there.  Each season starts with a brief paragraph that offers clues to what is going to happen.  Autumn is a season of floods.  Winter is described as warm, which will surprise many young readers as will the newborn calf.  Spring is music and white clouds.  Summer is dry and hot.  Each of those seasons is brought to life with the watercolor images with palettes that change through the seasons, purples in autumn, blues in winter, gold in summer.  Each more beautiful than the last, so that you just want to begin it again when it ends.

This is the first book by Sanna to be printed in the United States, but he is well known in his native Italy.  He has created a book here that is artistic and wildly lovely.  Told primarily through his art, the storylines are consistently seasonal, intense and surprising.  The use of the river as a symbol for the passage of time works perfectly here.  The changing colors also serve to remind readers that time is passing, change is constant and the world is gorgeous.

One big question with this book is what age it is appropriate for.  With its minimal words, it might be expected to be perfect for small children, but thanks to its artistic approach, I believe the audience is quite a bit older.  Children who enjoy art will be able to appreciate it in elementary school.  Yet the audience I see really loving this book are middle and high school teens who will delight in the watercolors, the surprises and a picture book that suits them well.

Beautiful, moving and vast, this nearly wordless picture book will be enjoyed by elementary aged children through adults. 

Reviewed from copy received from Enchanted Lion Books.

Review: Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord

| Tasha

half a chance

Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord

Lucy and her family have moved often, following her father’s love of new places to photograph.  So when they move to New Hampshire and a house on a lake, the moving process is nothing new.  On her first day at the lake, Lucy meets Nate, a boy who summers on the lake with his family and grandmother.  Nate invites her along to help document the loons that live on the lake and soon Lucy is out on the lake every day.  Lucy longs to be a great photographer like her father, who has left for the entire summer on a photography shoot.  So she decides to enter a photo contest for youth, the only problem is that her father is the judge.  As Lucy sets out to prove her own skill at taking photos, she finds herself on a different parallel journey, one that will reveal new friends, expose difficult truths, and one that is far more important than winning any contest.

Lord has written another exceptional book for middle graders.  Lord excels at creating seemingly simple books that open with a premise and then blossom into something far more complex by the end.  Here she explores several themes that center on families.  There is the deteriorating grandmother who is aware of what is happening but unable to stop it.  There is Lucy’s own family that is fractured at times but remains strong.  There is a search for approval that Lucy undergoes as well as her own harsh criticism of her work.  Through it all, honesty is overarching, an unflinching sense of reality and truth that makes it impossible to look away.

Beautifully written, the entire book is memorable.  Lucy is a great character, a strong heroine who has self-confidence issues but is also talented, friendly and warm.  She is a rare young character who moves often with her family and yet the book is not about her scars from that transient life.  Rather it is about so many other things that that is just a small factor in a rich tapestry of her world.

Brilliant, soaring and honest, this book is another great read from one of the best.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from digital galley received from NetGalley and Scholastic.

Review: Five, Six, Seven, Nate! by Tim Federle

| Tasha

five six seven nate

Five, Six, Seven, Nate! by Tim Federle

This sequel to the award-winning Better Nate Than Ever is one of the strongest second books in a series I have read.  After getting cast as ET in the upcoming ET: The Musical, Nate is now living in New York City with his aunt who is also an actress.  But Broadway isn’t everything that Nate has dreamed it would be.  There seems to be a feud between the video-game creator who is their director and the choreographer.  Nate is an understudy and a member of the chorus but he can’t tap dance and is put into extra classes to improve.  But there are also high points.  Nate has a secret admirer who leaves notes and gifts, and he certain he knows who it is.  Nate is also secretly helping another of the ET actors with her lines and they become close friends over manicures.  Like any great Broadway story there are twists and turns and some romance too.  It’s one hell of a second act.

Federle writes in a way that is so easy to read and creates books that are impossible to put down until the final curtain falls.  This ease of reading though is because he is really writing directly for children in a way that is open, honest and speaks to all children whether they are actors or not.  Add in Nate’s questioning his sexual identity and you have a book with plenty of depth.

What Federle does best is to create characters who surprise and delight.  Nate himself captures this.  Nate could come off as a stereotypical actor, but instead because the book is in first person, Nate reveals all of his inner dialogue.  Much of which is screamingly funny.  But Nate is not the only deep character here.  Even tertiary characters are interesting and offer glimpses of how unique they are.  Among the secondary characters, there are many who would make great books all on their own.  Federle is a master of creating characters and making us care for them.

Bravo!  This is a smash production filled with humor and delight.  Appropriate for ages 10-13.

Reviewed from copy received from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

Review: How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson

| Tasha

how i discovered poetry

How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson

A celebrated poet and author of books for children and teens, Nelson tells the story of growing up in the Civil Rights era and her connection to poetry.  In fifty poems, several of which have been previously published, Nelson reveals her growing up from age 4 through 14 during the 1950s and 1960s.  The poems show her progression from child to a self-aware teen who is directly impacted by the changes in civil rights.  Nelson also touches on the Cold War and feminism along with race in these poems.  Each poem here is a gem, carefully crafted and firmly placed in its setting in the book.  Beautiful.

In her author’s note, Nelson mentions that she prefers not to see the character in the book as herself but rather as “The Speaker.”  The first person perspective though will leave readers assuming that this is Nelson’s personal story and journey and it’s difficult to change that perception after reading the entire book.  Perhaps even more than the historical period it is The Speaker’s love of poetry and writing that makes the connection to Nelson as that person ring so true.  It is that love of poetry and words that makes each poem so beautiful, but also makes the narrator come alive.

Beautiful and worth rereading and revisiting, this collection of poems that forms a story is deep and worth submerging yourself in.  Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy received from Dial Books.