Archive for the ‘middle grade fiction’ Category

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
Release Date: April 15, 2010

“I guess the good news is that everybody has to put up with being special because everybody is alive.”

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine is the tale of 10-year-old Caitlin, a talented young artist with Asperger’s syndrome. In Mockingbird, Caitlin is on the search for “Closure” after the death of her older brother, Devon. The novel is told from Caitlin’s point of view, and the reader gets a unique look into the mind of a child that sees the world very differently from the average person.

What did I love about Mockingbird? Mainly, Caitlin’s voice. Erskine crafts a character in Caitlin that will be loved by whomever reads this book. Caitlin’s mind and world-view are so exceptional, and I read with awe as she navigated the complicated business of the world around her. By the end of Mockingbird, I really felt an empathy for Caitlin, her father, and for several other characters that she encounters in the story. The book is beautifully written, moving, and packed with images that leave a lasting impression.

I think this novel hits the mark directly on its attempt to showcase a person with a difference about them that not many people in our world understand. Today, autism and Asperger’s syndrome are everywhere in the media and in what we read and watch (for example, Adam, a recent movie starring Hugh Dancy, and also Jodi Picoult’s new title, House Rules). Mockingbird doesn’t feel like just another telling of someone with Asperger’s, but a truly new, warm, and inspiring take on this syndrome.

I recommend this book for fans of Rebecca Stead, Laura Resau, Kate DiCamillo, and Melina Marchetta. Mockingbird will be released on April 15, 2010, by Philomel Books, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.

ARC received from the publisher for review–thank you! Quote taken from ARC copy of book, subject to change in the final published version.

For More: Visit Kathryn Erksine’s website, and also visit Amazon.com or IndieBound to purchase this book!

The 2009 Cybils (Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards) have been announced!

A few of my favorites!

• Middle-Grade Fiction: Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. I haven’t read this book yet, but am looking forward to it. Anderson is one of my favorite authors, plus, I will be seeing her speak at the Virginia Hamilton Conference in April!
• Fantasy and Science Fiction (YA): Fire by Kristin Cashore. Love, love, love this book! Can’t wait for the 3rd book in this series, Bitterblue.

I couldn’t wait until I had 50 followers for a contest – let’s do one now! I am giving away a signed copy of Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, in honor of the movie release this month. I was lucky enough to get this copy quite some time ago. However, the book is in excellent condition, and signed by author Rick Riordan.

Please fill out the form below to enter the contest. This contest is open to US residents only (sorry!) and closes on March 1st at midnight EST. I will contact the winner by email. You do not need to be a follower to enter, but I hope you do consider following and reading my blog. This will be a one entry per person contest, as it’s my first and I want to get it right! Spread the word and check back here for the winner!

PS, I’m going to see the movie tonight so look for my review later tonight or tomorrow!

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Today Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is in theaters! I hope everyone will check out this movie and read the books if you haven’t yet. This is a great series with a lot of heart and a wonderful cast of characters. Check out my review of the first book in the series here! And watch the movie trailer below.

This semester I am taking a course entitled “Library Services for Young Adults.” Pretty much my dream class, you know? I’m very excited about it! In this class, I’ll be reading about 20 YA titles and writing about them. I thought I’d share my thoughts here as I read, in order to share these books with you, my awesome audience, and also help preserve my initial thoughts.

The first book I finished is The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughren. I hadn’t heard of this book or author before selecting it for my class. The White Darkness was the 2008 Printz award winner, but the book was actually published several years ago. This is the type of book I haven’t read in quite some time–a mixture of adventure, realism, with a younger protagonist, and a lot of symbolism reaching out and grabbing the reader. The story reminds me of The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig with the extreme situations the characters are placed in, as well as the general flow and telling of the story. I also feel as if this book will remain as The Endless Steppe has: timeless and intriguing to generations today and in the future.

Now on to the plot: The story follows 14-year-old Sym, a young girl that lives in England with her mother and good friend of the family, Uncle Victor. Immediately, you are also introduced to another major player in Sym’s life, Titus Oates, someone that many would call her “imaginary friend.” Titus has been with Sym ever since her father died–but who is he? Titus was an explorer, a member of the British Navy, in the early 1900s, that helped to front an expedition to the South Pole. Unfortunately, he never made it to his destination, and he and his team died in Antarctica. Sym has had an obsession with Antarctica (“The Ice”) ever since she was young, an addiction fostered by her uncle and his own passion for that continent. As you can probably tell, Sym hasn’t had the easiest time of it growing up: she’s extremely shy, suffers from hearing loss, and also suffered a lack of love from her own father, who eventually died of a debilitating disease of the mind. She has few friends and rarely comes out of her shell of protection she’s built around her self.

In The White Darkness, Sym and Uncle Victor travel to Antarctica on her dream trip–all she’s ever wanted to do, all she’s ever planned for, all her world encompasses. While there, the real reason behind the trip enfolds, along with a great deal of deceit, suspense, adventure, danger, madness, fantasy, and a whole lot of ice and snow. Sym finds herself in the middle of the great ice continent with her uncle and several companions and begins to finally test the truths she’s always believed in. The ultimate goal: survival, but once your whole world has fallen and collapsed beneath you, what point is there to keep moving on? Sym finds herself, through the help of Titus, to be stronger and more resilient than she ever could have believed, and at the end of the book, she has a much brighter future in front of her.

This is a book that many audiences would enjoy, which is why I imagine it was selected for the Printz award. It is great for younger readers–despite a slight smattering of foul language, the book is clean and enticing for younger readers that enjoy adventure and suspense. Older readers will also enjoy the book, as they will be able to understand the underlying symbolism of “the white darkness” and the other beautifully haunting allegories McCaughren has staged throughout.

For More: Check out McCaughren’s personal web site!

Fanboys and fangirls have been drooling over this novel ever since Scott Westerfeld released it’s super-shiny cover on his blog. As a huge fan of the Uglies books, his Peeps books, and almost all of his works, I had long anticipated this next venture.

Leviathan is the first book in a trilogy, telling the story of an alternate past–instead of World War I being a war fought by infantry, mine fields, and air raids, this Great War is fought by fabrications and machines. The War is between the Darwinists, nations that follow the teachings of Darwin (and in this alternate world, he has discovered how to “fabricate” many type of unique beings, including the Leviathan, a great airship composed of a whale and multitudes of other creatures), and the Clankers, the nations that fight using machinery and great metal Walkers that roam the land.

The story is told through the alternate stories of Deryn (also known as Dylan), a girl that pretended to be a boy to join the Darwinist air service, and Alek, heir to the Austria-Hungary (a Clanker nation) throne. As you can probably suspect, their stories become intertwined on the great ship of the Leviathan, which becomes in jeopardy of destruction.

Leviathan is a superb tale of adventure and suspense, a fantastically thrilling novel that is completely unique and refreshingly new. In a genre full of the paranormal and romance, a steampunk, warmongering novel is sure to rock the boat!

I recommend this novel for fans of Westerfeld, for young girls and boys, alike, and for anyone of any age that is intrigued by the story–it can be confusing at first, but by the end you are fully immersed in this alternate telling of one of the most famous stories of our world’s past.

I’ve recently begun the Septimus Heap novels by Angie Sage–what looks like a great series for middle-grade and younger teens (or really, anyone of any age that loves fantasy as I do)!

The midwife declares Septimus Heap dead on the night of his birth, and then later that night his father, Silas, discovers a baby girl abandoned outside the town. The Heaps take in the baby girl and raise her as their own, over the years discovering more and more about her true identity. Throughout the course of the first book, Magyk, the reader wonders, what really happened to Septimus? What will happen to Jenna, the abandoned child? After years of living with the Heaps, Jenna is put in danger and Silas, along with a motley crue of other cast members (the “head” wizard of the land, Marcia, Nicko Heap, and more) must do all that they can to save her, while also attempting to restore order to a land that has been diminishing under the rule of the cruel head Custodian and the evil wizard DomDaniel.

I’d recommend this series for those who love fantasy with magic, wizards, stories of family ties, adventure, and suspense. I will be sure to post often as I continue throughout this series!

Do you have any 4th of July traditions? Many people watch fireworks with their family and loved ones. Or perhaps you have a barbeque, grilling hamburgers and hot dogs, and maybe even some corn on the cob.

This year I decided to relax, stay at home with my family and read a few books. Oh, and of course I had to watch Independence Day. The 4th of July has always been a big day for action movies (especially if you’re Will Smith).

It’s a great patriotic movie for the holiday. And, oh, you have to have popcorn. Definitely. I feel the same way about these types of action movies as I do a great many books–many that would in turn make great movies themselves.

I just recently finished the 4th Percy Jackson book by Rick Riordan. I again recommend this series. It’s fun, humorous, and has insanely suspenseful storylines that kids and adults of all ages will enjoy immensely.

So this holiday, and this summer, pick up an action book or watch and action movie, toss back some popcorn and have fun!

I’m probably one of the last people on board, but I’ve finally hopped on the Percy Jackson bandwagon and begun Rick Riordan’s awesome series of books. I’ve just finished the first book, The Lightning Thief, and am ready for more!

For those not in the know, Percy Jackson is a sixth grader with unique abilities and unique parentage. His dad is Poseidon, god of the sea, one of the big 3 gods of Mount Olympus, who, by the way, are very real and very much still around.

After being attacked by a variety of monsters straight out of mythology, Percy finds himself at Camp Halfblood, a safe haven/training camp for the children of the gods like himself.

At the camp, Percy discovers his heritage, while also learning that his dad was currently in a dispute, to put it lightly, with Zeus, lord of the sky, over a particularly important possession of Zeus’ that was discovered missing.

Percy finds himself in the midst of this problem as Zeus accuses him of being the thief. And with the threat of the worst war in human history looming (should Poseidon and Zeus begin to brawl), Percy is sent on a quest to the realm of Hades, lord of the underworld, to find Zeus’ missing lightning bolt.

This is a great beginning to what I expect will be an excellent and addicting series (and hey, I don’t have to wait to read them all). Riordan has Percy face many challenges, but physical and emotional. The dynamics of the relationships in this book are complex and growing. I can’t wait to read more on Percy’s developing relationships with his friends Annabeth and Grover, the satyr.

This book is a great read for all ages, even younger readers. The story is quick, funny, suspenseful, and entertaining. I can’t wait to pick up the next book!

Other Recommended Reads: For another book that deals with children of the gods, check out Tera Lynn Child’s hilarious Oh. My. Gods. and the upcoming sequel, Goddess Boot Camp. (Check out Nisha Sharma’s interview with Tera Lynn Child’s!)