The Wall and the Wing

This was probably the worst time possible for me to start reading a new book. I have several papers due in only a week, an orchestra concert and an art show to put on in a matter of days, and a very tight schedule to stick to to get it all done. But last week I was shelving in the children's section and this book caught my eye. I've been able to resist the books already in my room out of familiarity with their presence, but this exotic new book from the strange and distant land of the library was too enticing. I began reading it at work during a long, boring shift promoting the self-checkout machine and then had to finish it on my own time. Now that I've finished, I have to say that the distraction was worth it.

The Wall and the Wing by Laura Ruby is a delightful fantasy about a world where almost everyone can fly, if only a little. Gurl, an orphan at Hope House for the Homeless and Hopeless, can't fly at all, but her life becomes much more interesting, if not less miserable, when she discovers she can become invisible and forms an unlikely friendship with a rare stray cat and a boy named Bug, who even kind of looks like one.

The main characters in this story are utterly believable, just two kids who don't fit in their world trying to get by. And the rest of the cast is so over-the-top it would be ridiculous if it weren't done so masterfully. There's the Professor, with grass growing out of his head and kittens in his pockets, Mrs. Terwiliger, the headmistress of Hope House who loves plastic surgery and plastic monkeys, and Odd John with a zipper on his face--don't ask what's underneath! Even New York City is bigger than life and full of real magic.

The pace is good, and the writing doesn't distract from the story, much. There were two tiny spots near the end where the dialog felt a little forced and preachy, but overall the craftsmanship is so good it just blends into the background. And even though I could see the biggest part of the conclusion as early as chapter 12, there were enough smaller twists and surprises to keep me satisfied.

All in all, it's a read worth your time, though I would wait to start it until after your work is done, because once you pick it up you won't put it down until the flight is over!

-Kim

The Suburb Beyond the Stars

The Suburb Beyond the Stars (due for publication June 2010) by M.T. Anderson is the sequel to The Game of Sunken Places. I never read the first book, and it's a credit to Anderson that I was still able to enjoy the story without having read the first book. Granted, I would probably have enjoyed it even more with the previous story as background, but this really is a new adventure, and the recurring characters are given enough of an introduction for things to make sense without completely boring those who already know what's going on.

The story begins in Boston, with Brian being chased through the T system by otherworldly beings on his way home from a cello lesson. That opening is full of win and extra nerdy bonus points. Brian and his friend Gregory found themselves in the middle of a conflict between two groups of powerful beings, the Thusser and the Norumbegans, in the previous book. With the Game finished, the Thusser should have left them alone, but the attack on Brian is just the beginning. Gregory's cousin Prudence, who was also involved in the Game, has disappeared, and time itself is being bent in the new development that sprang up around her house in the woods, directly over the caverns where the Norumbegans once lived and the Game took place. Brian and Gregory (and an ax-wielding robotic troll) have to find Prudence and save the world from the Thusser!

This story was an exciting ride and a joy to read. The friendship dynamic between Gregory, the cool and funny one, and Brian, the smart one, is believable and entertaining, and I found myself really caring about them. I may have to go back and read the first book now to build up my knowledge base on the Norumbegan/Thusser conflict to prepare myself for the next installment of this fascinating story. That's right folks--it's still not over! And from the way this one ends, the next chapter portends to be even more fantastic, in every sense of the word!

The Wide-Awake Princess

Sometimes a "new" twist on an old fairy tale can feel forced or corny. Thankfully, that isn't the case with E. D. Baker's The Wide-Awake Princess, due for release May 2010.

Baker (who apparently also wrote the book Disney's newest movie "The Princess and the Frog" is based on) invites us to a land where every royal personage is blessed with magical gifts at birth in order to be talented, graceful, and most importantly, beautiful. Everyone, that is, except Princess Annie, the younger sister of Gwendolin, the most beautiful princess in all the land. Gwennie was cursed to prick her finger on a spinning wheel and sleep for 100 years, and in order to keep any curses from falling on Annie, she was given the gift of being untouched by magic, good or bad. So when the fateful day arrives and the whole castle falls asleep, Annie is the only one who can fetch Gwennie's true love to bring their kingdom back to life.

But finding a true love is easier said than done! Annie, joined by castle guard Liam travels through all the surrounding kingdoms, meeting one prince after another and sliding from one classic fairytale to the next--from gingerbread houses to ogres and transmogrified royalty--with quick wits learned from growing up without magic. With all the princes around, one of them has got to be Gwennie's true love, right?

This story is wildly entertaining, if at times a bit predictable. Even if the main plot follows the usual happy ending curve, the smaller details are still surprising and full of whimsy. And besides, we wouldn't want an unhappy ending for our heroine, who deserves a true love far more than her overly-magicked sister. My one real objection is that the final action sequence is not done well. It felt incomplete and needed to be either expanded and given more emphasis or left out entirely so as not to distract from the happy ending. And if I were to critique the author as a member or my writing group, I might comment that at times the characters seem to spend too much time explaining things to each other in rather contrived conversations. But with only a few awkward pages in a book that is otherwise truly magical, I'll forgive Baker and offer my compliments for a story well told.

Green Witch

Alice Hoffman's Green Witch, with a release date of March 2010, feels as though it were written just for me. It actually follows another book, Green Angel, but is also approachable on its own.

Green is a teenage girl who has suffered greatly. Her family all died the day the city across the river was attacked and engulfed in flames while Green, left behind that day, watches. Time has passed, and the survivors in Green's village have tried to rebuild their lives. Green's garden grows like magic as she and the land heal. To cope, Green has begun writing down the stories of everyone in the village, making her own paper and ink to use, and adding ingredients fitting the story to be written--cinnamon for the baker's story, grass for the man who made windmills to make the earth green, the last page of a printed book for the schoolteacher.

But certain stories are more important to gather. There is talk of witches in the land--women who stood too long in the shower of ash from the city who now have the power to discern truth and grant a heart's desire. Green begins a journey to find each of these women to write down their stories and search for hope. She is also searching for Diamond, a boy she fell in love with after the tragedy, who left her to search for his own family. Can hope and love prevail as Green learns that the Horde, who destroyed the city have been capturing her neighbors and friends and plan to attack again?

I loved every bittersweet page of this book. Not just because Green is a writer like me, or because I love the description of how she makes her paper. Beyond such details this is a story about finding hope when all seems lost and trusting in love again after pain. Although it is clearly inspired by 9/11, the point isn't hammered into the reader, and we are allowed to make the association on our own, or choose a different pain instead. Loss is universal, but as Green reminds us, so is redemption, hope and love.

This book is labeled for ages 12 and up, and I think adults will connect with it as well. Even though I could see much of the ending coming, there were still a few surprises, and I was never frustrated with the pace. I heartily recommend this book, though I advise that you read it in a quiet place where you can soak it in completely without distraction.

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

I told myself I was only going to spend my time reviewing books I actually enjoyed, but the cover art on this one was too good not to share. I mean, just look at that contrast shadow and the adorable vampiric smiley face! It's pretty much awesome. Unfortunately, that's where the excellence ends.

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod is a series that has apparently been going for a while now, as this is the fourth book in the series (with a release date of 2-9-10). If you're already a fan I have no doubt you'll like this one as well, but it's a hard sell to newcomers. The main character is a moody teenage vampire, Vlad, who is apparently less romantically appealing than Edward Cullen but with the added bonus of being much less annoying. Vlad is also half-human and in the subject of a vampiric prophecy. I would like to thank author Heather Brewer for writing a book about a teenage vampire that actually has a plot. And bloodsucking. Vampires who don't drink blood are no fun. Vlad avoids killing people by selecting drudges, or servants, to feed off, in deference to his human side. Other vamps just kill people, which has led to a society of slayers. The inclusion of slayers also earns Brewer bonus points, but she promptly looses them for naming the most prominent slayer Joss. I would have thought of Buffy at the mention of slayers anyway, but making her creator the namsake for your own slayer is not cool.

I only read the first several chapters, a smattering of pages in the middle, and then the last three chapters. And yet I had no trouble following the story (aside from references to events from the previous books in the series), which makes me wonder what all the rest of those pages were there for. Also, Brewer should perhaps be reminded that titling the final chapter of a book "An Unexpected Ending" pretty much ruins any sense of surprise she was hoping to achieve, since the twist was hinted at in only the previous chapter.

In short, I have read worse books about vampires, and this series certainly has more potential for actual plot development and is therefore less annoying than Twilight. But that's really not saying much.

Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies

How could a person see this book and not want to read it? Attack of the Fluffy Bunnies (due out May 2010) is a hilarious middle-grade sci-fi adventure in which twins Kevin and Joules Rockman need to save Camp Whatsitooya from sugar crazed, telepathic, man-eating rabbits from outer space.

This book literally had me laughing on every page. Occasionally the narrator laughed with me.

The story is presented in a variety of formats, moving seamlessly from traditional text to illustrated comic book style sequences, to charts of helpful information, to SPAM advertisements. My personal favorite was Kevin's Chart of Famous Last Words, compiled from his and his sister's own life experience and many many episodes of the Late, Late, Late Creepy Show for Insomniacs.

And just what does have the power to repel the Fluffs and save both Camp Whatsitooya and the world? Glitter? Junior High Musical Seven? The Plumbing Channel? SPAM? You'll have to pick this one up and find out! You won't regret it.

Zebrafish

Zebrafish, by Peter Reynolds, was the first of my ALA freebies that I sat down to read. My primary interest in picking up the title was that included in my registration materials was a coupon for a prize pack of promotional materials for the book. Once I read the blurb on the back cover, I knew I had to read it right away.

Zebrafish is about Vita, a self-declared indie girl who lives with her cancer researcher brother and wants to start a band. None of her friends have any musical talent, but with the help of a little computer animation, everyone can be in the band, named Zebrafish after the clear-skinned fish that help researchers study cancer. And what do bands do but put on concerts? In this case, a computer-animated, one song benefit concert. But instead of saving the pandas like band member Tanya wants, Vita decides to help something a little closer to home--the local hospital where her brother works and Tanya goes for chemo treatments.

The book is a fast read (it took me less than half an hour), with only 19 short chapters written in graphic novel style. The illustrations are great, and definitely suitable for middle-grade readers. And I can't think of a single middle schooler who wouldn't think a book about kids starting a band and making a difference was totally awesome.

Where this story finds its heart is in the deepening friendships between the band members and their decision to do something to help a friend in need. And the best part? This heartwarming conclusion encourages kids to think about ways in which they can make a difference. The prize pack was full of items promoting generationcures, a program based at Boston Children's Hospital.

This book is set for a release date of May 2010. I highly suggest keeping an eye out for it if you are or know anyone who enjoys entertaining and heartwarming middle-grade books.