Over the winter break, I set out to catch up on the comic series I neglected in the second half of last year. I've accomplished that task, and, while I have a few new series to take a look at in the coming weeks, I decided it's time to ease back into some (mostly) non-illustrated stories. Lest the shock be too abrupt, I've identified the perfect transition: a TweenLit book I borrowed from a colleague's eight-year-old son in September; it has chapters and lots of words, but it still sports a number of good illustrations. And, I figure that if a cool kid like Hank likes it, there's a good chance I will as well.
And like it, I did. The book is action-packed to say the least, with each chapter including an entire adventure, unusual characters, exciting chases, and new environments. The protagonist driving all this action if Twig, a boy who has always been an outsider among his (?) woodtroll people and is sent into the Deepwoods upon reaching adulthood. His mom thinks it will be the best thing for him to go live with his uncle in another woodtroll village, but Twig does the unthinkable: he steps off the path. And into a world of adventure.
The book is filled with a series of animals and beasts of all sorts: Hover Worms, Slaughterers, Skullpelts, carnivorous Bloodoak trees, Gyle Goblins, Banderbears, Termagent Trogs, and--the creatures all the preceding are terrified of-- Gloamglozers. With each chapter, Twig encounters a new species--some friend, some foe, but all unexpected. Finally, though, toward the end of the book, the fabled Sky Pirates appear, and Twig's life is changed forever. Or so, I'm assuming readers will learn in book two of The Edge Chronicles.
I'm not certain that I'll be reading on in this series, but not because the first book wasn't good. It's actually excellent, but more appropriate for its intended Tween audience. As I told my sister Sarah, for an adult reader the pace and storyline are almost too exciting. Things happen with great speed and new characters pop up everywhere, and it's a bit too much for this forty-something-year-old reader to deal with. However, if you have a child or work with kids between the ages of 6-10, this series is one you should definitely pick up. It would make for a great read-aloud option, as each chapter is a nice length and tells an entire adventure--perfect for nightly or classroom reading. I think both girls and boys will enjoy it, but it definitely leans toward the male end of things (monsters and pirates, after all) if you're trying to entice boys to read.
I really enjoyed hearing James Patterson speak about kids and reading during a luncheon at the 2011 NCTE Convention, and I think his Read Kiddo Read website offers amazing resources for young readers and parents. These things have made me check out a couple of his book series for Tween and Teen youth, and the Maximum Ride series--about a flock of mutant bird kids who were experimented on in labs--is one of the more interesting. They have good story lines for both boys and girls, with both romance and fart jokes mixed in, as well as strong good-versus-evil plots and exposure to contemporary issues. In these two books in the series, for instance, global warming becomes the focus.
Considering the huge number of books Patterson is publishing annually, in both the adult and youth categories, he either gets no sleep or has a full cadre of ghost writers assisting him. In either case, his work is engaging if not brilliant, and these books are sure to be a hit with young readers.
It's the end of 2011, and I'm posting my 104th book. I didn't quite make it to my goal of 111 in 2011, but it does verify my estimate that I read an average of 2 books a week. Not only that, but I'm pleased that I have managed to complete a blog entry for most of what I've read. Looking back at the year's entries, I see that 11 are unfinished, bearing a promise similar to "Recently finished. Review coming soon!" While I did finish these at some point along the way, I never did make it back to record my thoughts. Maybe I'll go back and add a few lines some time in the future, but more likely I'll simply move forward with the goal of having fewer unfinished entries in 2012. There's resolution #1 for 2012. And, I am challenging myself to read more this year: 112 books in 2012. Perhaps you'll join me?
Wildwood is a charming book to end the year with. It's an illustrated novel for ages nine and up, created by a husband (the lead singer of the Decemberists) and wife team in Portland, Oregon. Since all things cool come from Portland these days, it's not surprising that the book is a magical, eco-conscious adventure. The story begins when Prue and her friend Curtis enter the wild area that Portlanders know as the Impassable Wilderness in order to rescue her baby brother. Oddly, but appropriate in Portland, where surfaces are covered with images of birds from the Corvus genus, Prue's brother was stolen by a murder of crows. Immediately upon entering the wilderness to find him, Curtis and Prue are separated and fall in with people from two parts of the hidden world: Prue with a mailman serving the "civilized" North Wood (rural) and South Wood (urban) human and animals and Curtis with a coyote army serving the human Dowager Duchess of the Wildwood. As is usual for books targeting younger readers, animals can talk--and frequently wear clothing. Really, though, it's a wonderful novel for children of all ages who want to exercise their imagination and delve into a world of excitement and hope. I'd highly recommend it as one of your first reads in 2012.
Those who read Selznicks's The Invention of Hugo Cabret--an illustrated novel describing a young boy's secret life living in a train station--have been eagerly awaiting the release of Wonderstruck. After reading it, I can't see any of these folks being disappointed, and I suspect those who start with this book will go back and read the earlier release. Like tIoHC, Wonderstruck integrates full pages of text with full pages of drawing--hence the illustrated-novel versus graphic-novel designation. In this book, however, there is even more illustration, adding to the richness of the reading experience. Even more interestingly, though, the book starts by alternating text pages of one story with illustrated pages of another story. The two seem completely separate and unconnected at first, but over the course of the novel the two story lines merge interestingly.
The book is enchanting and unusual, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, after finishing, I began reflecting on the underlying premise of both books. In Hugo, a 12-year-old orphaned boy lives in a Paris train station after the death of his father (mother already deceased); in Wonderstruck, a similarly-aged boy runs aways from home after the death of his mother (father already absent/unknown), traveling from rural Minnesota to hide out in NYC's Museum of Natural History. Both successfully manage to feed themselves, remain safe, and meet other people. I can't help but wonder about this, as it's hard to imagine such success stories. I know this is fiction and allows room for fantasy--and many Tween/Teen books rely on a premise of absent parents and independence--but it's a bit scary too. Of course, I'm not in any way suggesting this book should be kept from young kids, and I don't believe it would cause them to run away, but I certainly think there are some conversations that could be held around the premise. After all, there's a difference between this type of "fantasy" world and one that you find through a secret door in the back of a wardrobe: it is accessible. And, there are no talking animals to offer guidance.
[Also visit my friend/colleague Stephanie Vanderslice's blog Wordamour for some more conversation on this concept of real world fantasy.]
I keep coming across fantasy books by Nix, so I decided to try this Tween book to see what I thought of his work. As things go in books for this age group, Troubletwisters (yes, all one word, which bugged me immensely) was a relatively gripping read, fraught with the usual missing parents (work), visit to strange relative (grandmother), and oncoming powers (control of weather conditions). The main characters are Jaide and Jack--twins who don't necessarily conform to gender roles (Jaide is faster, Jack more thoughtful)--and there are enough evil characters, talking animals, and bugs to make kids this age happy. I'll take a look at another Nix book to see what I think, and I'll keep my eyes open for Troubletwisters Book 2, as promised by the this volume's title.
I've seen this book listed as a top pick in a number of places, but I kept putting it down each time I came across it. I'm less compelled to read TweenLit than TeenLit, and Vietnam-era references aren't my favorite either. It's hard to ignore such regular recommendations, though, and I finally broke down and bought Eli on a visit to my local bookseller. And, the critics were right: this is a charming and compelling novel--a wonderful look into the summer of 1976 and the life of a young boy grappling with the effects Vietnam had on his country, his veteran father, and his family.
I turned nine the August after America's Bicentennial celebration, which gives me a natural affinity for the book's 10-year-old author. While Eli's family and community are different than the one in which I was raised, the period details in the book--fashion, music, social norms--are genuine and richly developed. It's a rare book that can make you feel as if the sun is beating on your back, the strains of Cat Stevens and Van Morrison are ringing in your ears, and the scent of evaporating summer rain is invading your nostrils. House does all this and more, though. I'm reminded of another of my favorite books in recent years, The Mammoth Cheese by Sheri Holman, which also focuses on Americana, celebration, and turmoil.
In a nutshell, Eli the Good is an immersion. Take a dip in this wonderful book, swim through its pages, and emerge both tired and exhilarated.
I read Ender's Game 15-20 years ago, but I haven't read another book by Card since then. I know he has a big following and many good books--even some Ender sequels, from what I understand--but he's just an author I never remember to look for. So, when I came across Pathfinder in the Young Adult section of the local bookstore (If it was published today, I'm betting Ender's Game would show up there too.), I decided it was fate. The novel offered me a way to reintroduce myself to an author I like in a genre that I'm currently reading a lot of.
Pathfinder is particularly interesting because it intertwines two story lines of different genres in each chapter. Chapters begin with a piece of a SciFi narrative involving space ships, time travel, and humanoid robots. From there, they switch into fantasy mode, going back 1,100 years to a medieval-ish time. This is actually the primary story mode for the book, which features a 13-year-old boy named Rigg whose fur-trapping father dies in the woods, leaving him on his own. He comes into previously unknown knowledge about his background and starts on a journey, where he meets two others who, like him, have special abilities.
When reading fantasy, I tend to like more contemporary settings (a la Gaiman or de Lint), so the SciFi aspect of this kept me more engaged than I may have otherwise been. One other thing that kept my attention is that Card tackles interesting scientific theories regarding space and time but doesn't dumb them down for his younger readers. The book is identified as being appropriate for those in grades 7 and up, and I imagine that kids in those lower grades will be stretched in both their thinking and their vocabulary with this book.
Having read Pathfinder, I foresee more Card in my near future. I think I'll likely reread Ender's Game and move through that sequence. If you have other favorites by Card, I'd be interested in your suggestions.
The Hunger Games books are easily my favorite in recent years. So, when my friend Tracy told me she'd heard Collins had an earlier series, I jumped on the computer to check it out. I found out on Amazon that Collins's Underland series predates The Hunger Games--and that it is intended for a pre-teen audience (approximately 9-12 year olds). The books sounded pretty interesting--an urban Alice in Wonderland theme, where a young boy and his sister fall down a hole into a world involving giant insects, talking animals, and amazing cities--but I'm not as much a fan of pre-teen books as I am of the teen genre. I guess that's a a sign that I've matured somewhat...
I passed on buying the first in the series on Amazon, but when Eddie, Diqui, Peter, and I strolled into our local Northtown Books after brunch one Sunday, I made my way to the Young Adult and kids section. When it comes to encountering books in person, the Borg mantra of "Resistance is futile" pretty much rules my life. I walked out with Gregor--and started reading it almost immediately. After all, I knew Tracy would want to check it out soon too.
The book ended up being quite charming. The action is pretty fast paced, as is Collins's fashion: human Underlanders join Gregor on a quest to rescue his disappeared father (who, Gregor learns upon his descent to the Underland, also fell through the laundry room vent two years ago). Big beetles are heroic, gigantic rats are tyrannical and dangerous, and spiders can go either way. I sped through the book and was entertained, if not compelled. It's the pre-teen thing, really, as the books are very much G-rated and--as expected/appropriate--only scratch the surface of complex issues delved deeply into in Collins's other work. There are four more books in the series--the last of which was published in the same year The Hunger Games was released--and I imagine I'll eventually get around to reading them. Especially if Tracy gets them and loans them to me.
