Seeing Cinderella by Jenny Lundquist

Seeing Cinderella by Jenny Lundquist. New York: Aladdin, 2012.

What would you do if you discovered that you could read other people’s thoughts?

It’s not bad enough that Callie Anderson has to get glasses just before the start of middle school, but they are the ugliest glasses she has ever seen. Yet those huge, geeky lenses and fat black frames hide a secret. These glasses show Callie what other people are thinking. Maybe they will actually help her. And she can use all of the help she can get. She’s lost in math and Spanish classes. Her best friend seems to be drifting away. And her parents’ marriage is falling apart. But can Callie follow the eye doctor’s instructions and learn to use the glasses wisely?

The lessons Callie learns appear throughout the book as Super Freaky Glasses Rules at the start of every chapter:

“Super Freaky Glasses Rule #14  One very unwise use of the glasses: spying on people when they’re lost in Coupleland. Can you say ewww?”

The messages the glasses show her cause Cassie to think differently about herself and how she gets along with other people. She comes to realize that how other people perceive her actions is not the same as how she sees herself. And the actions of her friends and classmates often spring from fears and insecurities they don’t talk about. The glasses don’t give Callie all of the answers. After all, as Super Freaky Glasses Rule #16 states, “Don’t expect your magic glasses to figure out your own thoughts. That’s your job.” But the glasses do manage to turn an ordinary, dreaded year of school into something extraordinary.

Callie is someone readers will easily identify with, even if they were never as shy as she is. This book is funny, fast-paced and charming but with an important message – There is more to people than meets the eye. But we have to make the effort to get to know them. After all, for most of us, there are no super freaky glasses.

This review also appeared on the Central Rappahannock Regional Library’s Shelf Life blog on April 26, 2012.

Best of the Best Challenge: Week 3 Update

I made better progress this week than I expected. I read three more books and finished listening to a fourth. This was my first audio book, chosen from the Odyssey Award list. Two of the three books came from new categories, a Morris Award nominee and a title from the Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list.  So I am well on my way to my personal goal of at least one book from each list.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
In 1941, the Soviet Secret police rounded up and deported thousands of people from the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. This is the story of one 15-year-old Lithuanian girl and her family. Lina’s father is arrested and separated from the others while Lina, her mother, and her brother are deported to Siberia. An aspiring artist, she documents their experiences in drawings, hoping to use her art to let her father know they are alive.

Wow, what a powerful book! I’m not sure that any imagined horror can top that which humans are capable of inflicting on each other. In that respect, this work of historical fiction is also horror. But it is also a tribute to the triumph of the human spirit. In the face of unimaginable danger and hardship, Lina holds on to her faith that she will return home one day. She and the other deportees become each others families, working together to try to survive the brutality. Along the way, she even finds love. This is an amazing book about a little known episode in history. You really need to read this one!

Enclave by Ann Aguirre
I’m not sure if I’m just getting burned out on dystopia, but this book didn’t grab me. It was okay, not great but not bad either. For me it felt as if the plot was a bit less complex than a book like Divergent. But that is exactly what may make it more appealing to a reluctant reader.

Young Fredle by Cynthia Voigt. Illustrated by Louise Yates and read by Wendy Carter.
I had already read this book and I’m trying to avoid repeating titles. But I enjoyed it so much I couldn’t resist the opportunity to listen to the audiobook. I love Fredle’s curiousity, sense of adventure, and willingness to try new things. It’s not really a YA book. But it made a nice break for me.

Axe Cop by Malachai and Ethan Nicolle.
As I have mentioned before, I don’t read many graphic novels. But my husband does, and he will inevitably pick up any that I bring into the house. He got about a third of the way through Axe Cop and gave it back to me saying it reminded him of Captain Underpants. After reading it myself, I have to agree with him. That’s not a criticism. Our son was a great fan of Captain Underpants and I will definitely be recommendingAxe Cop to him. I showed it to one young man who works in our library and he absolutely loved it. I can’t say that I enjoyed this graphic novel. But I am glad that I read it.

On to next week! I’ve started listening to The Ring of Solomon (Amazing Audiobooks) and my next book will be Brain Jack (Top 10 Popular Paperbacks).

YALSA’s The Hub Best of the Best Week 3 Check-In

Best of the Best Challenge: Week 2 Update

Wow! Another week gone by already! I didn’t make as much progress on the challenge as I would have liked because I had some Advance Copies that I needed to read and review. But I did finish two books, which more than keeps me on track to complete the challenge.

Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol
Anya’s story is for everyone who has ever felt like an outsider and wished to be just like everyone else. She struggles with her identity as a Russian immigrant, worries about her weight, and feels as if she has no friends. When Anya falls down a well, she meets a ghost whom she unwittingly brings home when she is rescued. At first it seems that the ghost, Emily, can make all of Anya’s dreams come true. But as Anya comes to realize that those dreams are flawed, she also begins to suspect that her new friend has not been completely honest. Faced with Anya’s withdrawal, Emily becomes threatening.

This graphic novel is a delightfully creepy take on a theme to which most teens can relate. The illustrations really enhance the story and create a strong contrast between the two main characters, Anya and the ghost Emily. The drawings of Anya are so expressive and really conveys the mood of the story. Emily is cool and remote, but gradually shifts form to reflect the changes she is trying to make on Anya. I’m not as familiar with books in the Graphic Novel format as I would like to be. So I rely on Best of lists to guide my reading and recommendations. This challenge provides extra motivation to read these books and I plan to work my way through all of the titles owned by my library.

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
This week I also finished The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper, book two of the series. Who am I kidding? There was no way I could stop after reading book one. It is such a pleasure to rediscover these books. I will definitely be reading the remaining three.

I have also started listening to Young Fredle, by Cynthia Voigt, read by Wendy Carter. I enjoyed reading the book and it is a delight to hear it brought to life on audio. After a fairly heavy dose recently of fantasy and dystopia, I decided I needed a change of pace. So I chose Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys for my next challenge read. I just 50 pages in, but I can tell it is a heart-breaking story. Someone warned me to keep the tissues handy while I read it. I think I will need them.

Related articles

• Anya’s ghost by Vera Brosgol (alleganylibrarycollections.wordpress.com)
• ANYA’S GHOST by VERA BROSGOL (is my GHOST BOOK GIRLFRIEND) (booksaremyboyfriends.wordpress.com)
• Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol – review (guardian.co.uk)
• YALSA Best of the Best Challenge Week 2 check in (YALSA – The Hub, yalsa.ala.org/thehub/)

Best of the Best Challenge: Week 1 Update

I got off to a good start on my challenge this week, completing three books. The first was Everybody Sees the Ants by A. S. King. I already had this book on hand, so the challenge was a good excuse to move it to the top of my To Be Read pile. I think this book does a good job of showing the broader dynamics of bullying. Lucky Linderman has been bullied by Nader McMillan for years. And Lucky is not the only one Nader bullies. But all of the adults involved seem completely unable to cope with the situation. Their advice is ineffective, and they are intimidated by Nader’s father who is a lawyer. Nader’s bullying escalates until he finally goes too far.

Lucky escapes from his troubled life in his dreams, where he ventures to Laos to try to rescue his grandfather who has been Missing in Action since the Vietnam War.  The family’s inability to come to grips with the results of his disappearance set the stage for their inability to cope the bullying. In addition, including the information on the Vietnam War, the draft and the POW/MIA issue added a layer of depth that made this book much more than just a story of a teen coping. I also liked the way King used the ants as a sort of Greek chorus, providing a running commentary on sidelines.

One review of this book that I read mentioned that all of the adults in the story are seriously flawed and completely ineffectual. But while I can see their point, for me that rang true to the situation. I think adults often do not really know how to respond to bullying. It is easy to feel as helpless and ineffective as the adults are portrayed in this book. But what if the adults had believed Lucky and intervened immediately after the first bullying incident, when Lucky was just 7 years old?

My second book was Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way) by Sue Macy. Last year our library system’s Youth Services staff had a Mock Sibert Award program and this book was one of the nominees. I never had the chance to read it at the time because there were not enough copies in the system for everyone. I am glad I took the time to go back and read it now. I had never really thought about how something as simple as the development of the bicycle could have a big impact on our culture. Susan B. Anthony said about bicycling that “I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world.” (in “Champion of Her Sex,” by Nellie Bly, New York World, Feb. 2, 1896 as quote in Wheels of Change.) Definitely worth reading!

My final book for the week was Susan Cooper’s Over Sea, Under Stone. I really enjoyed the opportunity to revisit an old favorite. Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising sequence certainly nourished my love of fantasy as I was growing up. This is one of those books I have been thinking it would be nice to go back and read. How wonderful to have this challenge as an excuse to indulge my nostalgia!

One of my priorities with this challenge is to be sure I read at least one title from each category. If one title appears in multiple categories, I will only count it for one. So far I’ve read from the Edwards Award, the Non Fiction Award and the Top 10 Best Fiction list. Next on my pile to read is Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgal, from the Top 10 Great Graphic Novels list. It is going to be an extra challenge to continue my progress this week since I have two ARCs awaiting reviews. My first audio book will be Young Fredle by Cynthia Voigt, but that must wait until I finish listening to Matched by Ally Condie.

So many books, so little time. . . .

Related articles

• The Vietnam War – still alive in YA fiction. Part I. Everybody Sees the Ants (ericheipert.com)
• Everybody Sees the Ants by A. S. King (fortitudeandpatience.com)

I’m taking the challenge!

YALSA’s 2012 Best of the Best Reading Challenge has begun and I am taking the challenge. Between April 1 and June 30, I need to read, or listen to, at least 25 titles from the various YALSA award winners and honor books. There are 80 to choose from, including a number of audio books. So I will have no trouble finding great things to read without going back and revisiting any of the eight I have already done. Format does matter, so listening to an audio book when a print book is on the list does not count. Nor does reading the book when the audio version has been honored.

I will be posting my progress here, with reflections on each book I read.  I will also track them on my LibraryThing account in a YALSA Best of the Best Challenge collection. (If you have trouble with the above link, my user name is AngelaCinVA.)

The first book I plan to read is Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2011). It was already on my To Be Read pile, so I can jump right in to the challenge without having to wait for my library hold requests to arrive.

Here’s a quick list of what I have already read or listened to. I highly recommend all of these:

1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Alex Award
2. Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley, winner of both the Printz Award and the Morris Award
3. The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism, & Treachery by Steve Sheinkin, Nonfiction Award
4. Music Was IT by Susan Goldman Rubin, Nonfiction Honor Book
5. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, Printz Honor Book and Top 10 Best Fiction
6. Chime by Frannie Billingsley, audio read by Susan Duerden, Top 10 Audiobooks
7. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, Top 10 Best Fiction
8. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, Top 10 Best Fiction. (Technically this doesn’t count anyway because I listened to the audio version. But I still won’t repeat the title.)

Are you up to the challenge? Find out more:
YALSA’s 2012 Best of the Best Reading Challenge

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

You’d think the appearance of a monster calling your name would be frightening. But Conor is not at all scared. Instead, he is disappointed. This was not the monster he had been expecting and fearing. He tells the monster to shout as much as it wants, he has seen worse. He is not afraid. But the monster promises that he will be, before the end.

By the next morning, Conor has convinced himself it was all a dream, until he sees the carpet of yew tree leaves on his bedroom floor. The monster returns the next night and tells Conor that he will continue to visit. He has come to tell Conor three stories. In return, the monster will demand the truth from him.

Patrick Ness has brought to life a powerful story conceived by Siobhan Dowd before her death in 2009. Dowd had created the characters, premise and the beginning of what would have been her fifth book. Ness was asked to complete the book. Rather than attempting to recreate Dowd’s voice, Ness set out to write a book that Dowd would have liked. Jim Kay’s dark and evocative illustrations create a real sense of atmosphere, bringing the horror to life for the reader. The monochromatic images have an incredible sense of texture and a sense of depth that draws the viewer into the scene.

The monster, based on the legendary Green Man, is quite frightening. But as the story progresses, we discover that sometimes the scariest things are the secrets that we hide from ourselves. We can create our own monsters that are far more horrifying than those born of legend. A Monster Calls is a truly amazing and moving book. The ending came as no surprise, but its impact was no less for being expected. I admit, I cried.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. Tor Books, 2011. 316 p.

When his father died, Cas Lowood took over the family business – killing the already dead. He was just 14 when he dispatched his first murderous ghost. Now 17 years old, he wanders the country with his mother and their cat following folktales, legends and whispered stories of the dead who refuse to rest in peace, ghosts who kill. He hones his skills hoping to become skilled enough to kill the spirit that murdered his father.

Now stories of a ghost known to locals as Anna Dressed in Blood lead him to Thunder Bay, Ontario. Anna was murdered when she was just 16, on her way to a dance. She still wears the white party dress she wore the night she was killed. But now it is red and dripping with blood. No one who enters her house leaves it alive, until the night she spares Cas. What first appeared to be a simple, ordinary job quickly becomes complicated as Cas realizes she is much stronger than he anticipated. And she is growing stronger. As he races to untangle the web of curses and rage that bind Anna to the house, Cas finds himself falling in love with the ghost he must kill.

I’ve said it before. I don’t normally like horror. No ghost stories, zombies and vampires for me. But I’ve read several books in the last six months that have me reconsidering that position. Anna Dressed in Blood is one of those books. It’s not that it wasn’t creepy or scary. It was! Blake’s descriptions are haunting. People die. But it was so well-written that I didn’t mind getting creeped out. Blake has created a story where the horror creates a setting and framework for the plot but not at the expense of fully-realized characters and an engaging narrative. If you check out Anna Dressed in Blood, be prepared to be scared and to love every moment of it.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. Scholastic Press, 2011. 409 pages. Michael J. Printz Award Honor Book, 2012.

“It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die.”

The tiny island of Thisby’s sole claim to fame is the annual Scorpio Races held on the first of November. Instead of ordinary horses, jockeys in these races ride water horses, violent fairy creatures called capaill uisce that eat flesh and drink blood. The winner is not the rider with the fastest horse, but the fastest of those who survive.

Four-time champion Sean Kendrick is just nineteen years old. His skill with horses, both ordinary and fae, makes him something of an island legend in spite of his youth. He is the rider to beat.

Puck Connolly has avoided the water horses and the races all of her life. But now, just one year after capaill uisce killed her parents, circumstances force her to enter the competition. Nothing could have prepared her for the challenges she will face, challenges compounded by her neighbors’ disapproval of a girl entering the traditionally all-male race.

Through the alternating first-person accounts of Sean and Puck, the reader watches the story unfold from startlingly different perspectives on the race and the island’s ancient traditions. Improbably, mutual tolerance between the two gives way to a respect that develops into a solid friendship with a hint of a possible romance. Both desperately need to win. Yet, of course, that isn’t possible.

This beautifully written book hooks readers from the beginning and never lets go. The water horses provide a fascinating, dark presence without overwhelming the narrative. The hurdles Sean and Puck face touch on real-life issues of religion, tolerance and greed. With The Scorpio Races, Maggie Stiefvater has brought something new and refreshing to YA fantasy.

Don’t miss this book!

The Game’s Afoot Again

The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel by Anthony Horowitz

It is a year after the death of Sherlock Holmes when Watson again sets pen to paper to record another of his sensational investigations, a series of events so scandalous they could not be related earlier.

When Edmund Carstairs believes he and his family are being threatened by a man in a flat cap, he turns to Holmes for help. It appears that the man has followed him from America seeking revenge. The man’s murder does not solve the puzzle, but instead leads Holmes and Watson ever deeper into a dangerous London underworld of opium dens and worse with links to the most powerful and influential levels of British society. In this dark world, they hear whispers about the House of Silk. But inquiries lead to threats, and they are warned off the investigation in no uncertain terms by those in the highest levels of government. Soon Holmes finds himself in prison, accused of murder.

Die-hard Conan Doyle fans will doubtless be able to find faults where this version of Holmes does not match the original exactly. But such quibbles miss the point. The Conan Doyle estate chose well when they selected Anthony Horowitz to revisit the epic character of Sherlock Holmes. Horowitz catches the spirit of the original in a well paced, excellently written story. Once I let myself be drawn into Holmes’ world, I couldn’t put the book down.

For anyone who ever enjoyed the inscrutably clever Sherlock Holmes and his idealistic chronicler, Dr. Watson, this book is a must read! Re-enter 221B Baker Street because, once again, “The game’s afoot. . . .”

This review first appeared on the Central Rappahannock Regional Library’s Shelf Life blog on February 21, 2012.

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George

Princess Celie’s favorite day of the week is Tuesday because that’s the day Castle Glower usually grows a new room or two, or a turret, or passage. Castle Glower’s favorite person is Princess Celie, the only one who has ever tried to explore and map the ever-changing structure. Castle Glower is not shy about making its opinion known. When the Castle decides he should be the King’s Heir, Prince Rolf awakes one day to discover his bedroom has been moved next to the throne room. Unwelcome guests find their quarters growing smaller and shabbier, while favored residents are housed in spacious comfort.

When the King and Queen disappear, ambushed and presumed dead, visitors from foreign lands arrive suddenly to advise Celie, Rolf, and their sister, Lilah, during the time of transition. But the Castle seems to know that something isn’t right and the plotters underestimate the Castle’s abilities. They also underestimate the courage and intelligence of the Royal children. The Castle creates a turret, stocked with useful items, that appears when Celie and her siblings need it. It provides a passage to a hidden room where the children can overhear the council’s scheming – complete with a magic cloak that muffles sound, so the children will not, themselves, be overheard. Celie’s maps and her relationship with the Castle are the keys to saving the kingdom, the castle’s inhabitants, and the castle itself.

In this marvelous fairy tale, Princess Celie shares center stage with Castle Glower, truly a character in its own right. But George does a wonderful job of bringing all of the characters to life, from the foppish Prince Lulath with his tiny dogs to the menacing Prince Kelsh.

I found myself completely swept away by this story. While written for a middle grade audience, Tuesdays at the Castle is destined to have a wide appeal and is a must read for anyone who enjoys fantasy or fairy tales. In particular, fans of Gail Carson Levine will enjoy this tale of a spunky young heroine whose intelligence and bravery save both castle and kingdom.

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George. ISBN: 78-1599906447. Published by Bloomsbury USA Childrens in 2011. 240 pages. Ages 8 and up.

This review will also appear on the Central Rappahannock Regional Library’s Shelf Life blog.