The fault in this book

OK....I seem to be the only person in the world that isn't raving about the The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  It is a typical angst-riddled teen romance...oh, and there's the cancer thing.  Our lovely "Juliet" is terribly sick, struggling to breath, while our brave "Romeo" has beat bone cancer, only losing part of one leg.  What could be more romantic?  You have to know that, when our heroes meet in a group session for sufferers/survivors of cancer, someone isn't going to make it.  The book was saved from being completely schlocky by the snarky sense of humor throughout.  It also has very real moments of speculation about life, the universe, and everything.  I can also say that as a teen, I would have LOVED it.  The dark, mopey tone would have been exactly what sucked me in.  Not anymore, sorry.

Quick, fun for younger readers

I read Attack of the Shark-Headed Zombie by Bill Doyle and it was quick fun meant for younger readers, especially boys.  It is the adventures of Keats and Henry as they try to earn money from the mysterious Mr Cigam to replace the bikes they ruined.  They realize something is not as it seems when one item on their to-do list is to "battle the shark-headed zombie."  The I pictures really add to the action..what could be worse than a shark? One that can hop on land on it's back fin.  Can the boys not only defeat the monster, but also escape the magical house? Will they earn enough to get tier bikes back?  It's worth the read to find out.

Civil rights kept me up until the wee hours.....

The Lions of Little Rock by Kristen Levine came highly recommended, and that worried me.  I have often found that I am disappointed when I expect too much.  I must admit, as I started the story, I thought it this would disappoint.  It is told from the point of Marlee, a thirteen-year-old girl living in Little Rock in 1958.  She is afraid of heights and terrified of speaking....period.  In fact, her older sister challenges her to say 5 words, in complete sentences, on her first day of school.   Marlee surprises herself by not only accomplishing it, but by doing so in meeting the new girl, Elizabeth.  Elizabeth seems to be all that Marlee isn't:  funny, talkative, engaging.  And yet, they become best friends.  This is the point when I worry the book won't live up to the hype.  It seemed like a girly sort of friendship book.

Luckily, history takes over and the book lives up to the hype.  1958 is called "The Lost Year" in Little Rock.  It was a year in which none of the public high schools opened to protest the forced integration that the federal government had imposed the previous year when the "Little Rock Nine," nine black students, had attended an all-white public school.  Marlee's older sister is left home while Marlee attends Junior High.  Soon, her family, and her friendship with Elizabeth is thrown into the escalating conflict over integration.  Unable to watch the unfair discrimination she witnesses, Marlee finds her voice, risking not only her newly found friendship, but also her safety.

It is a story about standing up for what is right, even when it scares you.  And, it also deals realistically with the consequences of such bravery.  I literally couldn't put it down....finishing it in one late-night reading marathon.

It ended too soon

I waited an eternity to read the critically-acclaimed The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman and found it worth the wait.  Unfortunately, it ended all too soon, more of a novella, really.  Gaiman has such a way with words.  He paints beautifully nuanced pictures, and yet still tells a wopping good yarn.  It's hard to find both...beautiful writing sometimes gets bogged in the prose.  

This is the story of a grown man returning to his childhood home and the memories of his seventh year.    The main character was an outcast who spends his seventh birthday party with just his mom because no one shows.  As I started the book I initially wondered if this might be OK for a younger reader....however, it quickly turns very dark and very mature.  A suicide leads the lonely boy to make friends with an amazing family of women who happen to have an ocean at the end of their lane.  No matter that it looks like a duck pond, there is very old magic at work.  Something very scary escapes, and thus begins a nightmare for our young hero, complete with monsters that look human, and some that don't, old magic, and parents that betray children. 

My only complaint is that it all ended much too soon.....

My new favorite

I have found my new go-to recommendation in The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen.  It works for two reasons, first, it is a great read, but, more importantly, it seems an undiscovered read. It is categorizes as fantasy, but, that is more the midevil setting than the presence of magic or elves or any other element of high fantasy.  

The story begins in an orphanage where perpetual trouble-maker Sage is unwillingly tapped to leave with a gentleman with a mysterious plan.  Sage's only focus is planning his escape, and considering his lock-picking and general skills as a thief, he believes it won't be long until he is free.  But, like much of this story, nothing ever quite turns out as one would expect.  The seriousness of his predicament is shot home, literally, when another boy, also and orphan, is given his "freedom" in a brutal manner.  Sage realizes this isn't just an adventure, but a deadly plot.

No matter how much he tries to reject the premise of his captor's plans, Sage keeps getting sucked deeper into political maneuverings.  His very life depends on "winning" a competition in which he doesn't want to participate.  High treason, sword fights, mistreated servants, and unlikely alliances work together to a surprising conclusion.

One of my favorite features of this book lies in the fact that it surprised me.....more than once.  I read a lot of fantasy, so it is rare that a fantasy book completely surprises me, let alone more than once.  I can't wait to read the rest to discover the final conclusion.

For fans of fairy tale adventures

In this world of young adult series, it is refreshing to find a fantasy story that is complete.  The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman is just that.  It is the story of an ordinary girl who is a modern-day Cinderella.  She lives with her dad and step-mother, and, while her step-mother isn't evil, she is demanding, especially now that the step-sisters are away at college.  A well-written research paper on the Grimm brothers leads her to a job in the New York Circulating Repository, a long title for a very special lending library.  This one requires membership, and does't lend books, but, rather, items: rare items, items of historical significance such as Marie Antoinette's wig, and even magical items.  (As a librarian, this would be my dream job!). Elizabeth and other teenage employees are drawn into a mystery when it appears someone is replacing magical items from the Grimm Collection with forgeries.  There are menacing, giant birds, shrink rays, a trip to Nowhere, and even a magic carpet ride before they get to the bottom of the mystery.

I like that this book doesn't end exactly the way I guessed.  While there are a prince and princess, it wasn't quite what I thought it would be.  Having said that, the ending is, however, a bit too tidy.  It's like the author wanted to make sure all the big questions were answered, and in doing so, forced the story line.  Much is revealed through conversation, in the end, rather than through discovery.  

Finally, while this story is complete, there is a companion book called The Wells Bequest which is about another special collection at the New York Circulating Repository....items from H.G. Wells.  

Compelling MN historical fiction

I read Frozen by Minnesota author Mary Casanova because of a great confluence of events....being from Minnesota, meeting her at a conference, co-planning a historical fiction unit, and, finally, running into the right person at the right time.  The book sort of fell in my lap.  I am so glad it did.  In fact, I'm beginning to rethink my opinion that I'm not a fan of historical fiction.

It is set far in the north of Minnesota on the eve of Prohibition.  A prostitute is found, dead, frozen in the snow.  Everyone assumed she passed out and died from exposure.  Known to only a few, huddled near her body was her six-year-old daughter.  Fast forward 10 years.  The girl is now a teenager, foster-child to a state senator, and she hasn't spoken a word since she was brought to them all those years ago.  She still has dim memories of the night her mother died, and she suspects there was foul play.  She begins a secret journey to find the truth, and her voice, both literally and figuratively.  Clear-cutting, logging barons, environmentalism, women's rights, greed, mental illness and murder come together in this compelling mystery.  

This story has it's inspiration in a news story from that era about a prostitute found frozen in the snow whose body was propped in the city hall as a "joke."  I admire the creative mind that took such a sad, sordid article and created such a rich backstory.