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"First, I'd need to decide exactly what colors I wanted to use and where I wanted to begin. I walked around the horse and considered my choices. I'd begin with the center of the roses and use the same color on the jester's hat--or perhaps I should begin by shading the nostrils and eyes." - The Carousel Painter by Judith Miller

Carrington Brouwer finds herself in a difficult position. Her father, a skilled but poor painter, dies and leaves her without money or home. When she receives an invitation to live in the home of a close friend, Augusta, (one of her father's former students), she accepts and moves from France to the state of Ohio. Unfortunately, she clashes with Augusta's mother and decides that she must move on, despite the improbability of finding well-paying work as a woman in 1890. Thankfully, fate intervenes. She is given the rare chance to work in Augusta's father's carousel factory as a painter but, as the only female employee, encounters unfair treatment and discrimination. And just as she begins to befriend Josef, the factory manager, she finds herself the main suspect in a jewelry theft. As the struggles in the factory mount and suspicion swirls, she finds strength in the Lord and kindness in unexpected places.

Carousels have this sort of romantic quality and allure. Vintage carousels often show remarkable craftsmanship with their intricate carvings and beautifully painted animals. Circling round and round on a magical journey to the chiming music--there is joy in every carousel ride. My daughter rode on the carousel by herself for the first time this year and couldn't stop smiling. My son, on the other hand, rode with me on a bench and did not especially appreciate the experience. Perhaps he was too young or maybe the motion made him ill, because he couldn't wait for the ride to stop so he could exit as quickly as possible. Still he loved gazing at the animals.

Reading Judith Miller's book The Carousel Painter evoked the same kind of response, at least for me. The cover design is gorgeous and alluring and the story romantic and full of promise, with well thought out characters and a wonderful, historic background. Yet, there were times when I wanted to get off the ride and move on because the mystery seemed a little too clunky and the inspirational parts felt slightly forced. What I found most compelling about this book besides the obvious historical information about carousels was Miller's portrayal of the difficulties and discrimination Carrie encountered as a woman working in an all male workplace.

"Not because it's you, Carrie, but because you are a woman. Some of the men are superstitious about women in the workplace. Some say they are uncomfortable having a woman around -- they must watch every word they say. Others believe men are entitled to factory jobs because they have families to support." [page 118]

This morning I stumbled across a helpful and uplifting article in the PARADE magazine that comes with our Sunday newspaper. The article, titled "Make Happiness Happen," suggests that making a "positive-attitude adjustment" leads to a more rewarding life. One quote touched me deeply: “The No. 1 predictor for general well-being is not money or prestige but the time we spend with those who are near and dear to us. Enjoying close and intimate relationships with those we care about and who care about us is an absolute prerequisite to happiness. But it’s precisely these relationships that suffer most in our hectic modern life.”

Relationships matter. Developing and building meaningful relationships with families, friends, all those we hold dear, leads to a happier life. Yet, when things go wrong and when times are tough, most of us withdraw rather than reach out. Recently, I read a book called Thanksgiving at the Inn that deals with this very subject.

"Three kinds of people, thought Heath. He wondered which one applied to him--and to Dad. He thought Dad probably imagined himself to be the kind of person who makes things happen, but he wasn't. ... And Heath? He has was, meeting a bunch of people who'd gone through real tragedy in their lives and come out on top, and all he could do was sit on the sidelines." - Thanksgiving at the Inn by Tim Whitney

Ten years ago, Y2K and the millenium were the big buzzwords. For Christmas in 1999, I bought my brother a special shiny millenium edition of the Guinness Book of Records. He loves facts and trivia and enjoyed his collectible gift. It's hard to believe that a decade has gone by since that time. Plenty of time to set some new world records!

Guinness World Records is currently asking fans to vote for the Top Records of the Decade in the following categories: Engineering, Living Planet, Science & Technology, Stunts, Epic Achievements, Society, Engineering, Arts & Entertainment, Sports and Claimants.

To vote online, visit http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/2010/top_100.aspx, view all of the 100 shortlisted records and choose your favorites. Some of my favorites are Svetlana Pankratova and her Longest Legs entry and Michael Phelps winning the most gold metals in one Olympics. (Voting ends Christmas weekend.)

All the top 100 shortlisted records can also be found in the new Guinness World Records 2010 edition. Watch for a review of the book on Brimful Curiosities in the next month!

(I am an Amazon affliate and receive a very small commission for products purchased through my Amazon links. (View my full disclosure statement for more information.)

"Duty is important. But at some point the choice you will face is whether to carry out your duties or live your life." - Legacy by Cayla Kluver

When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, my preschool daughter always replies, "A princess." That's probably not very likely to happen, but maybe someday she'll grow up to write about princesses like Cayla Kluver. At the age of 16, Kluver has already achieved her dream to become a published author. AmazonEncore, a new program developed to bring attention to emerging authors, recently released her debut book called Legacy.

Like all exceptional fantasies involving princesses, Kluver's story begins with a tragedy. In this case, the tragedy involves two fictional warring kingdoms, Hytanica and Cokyri. Princess Alera grows up in the kingdom of Hytanica during a time of peace following an awful war. Although she knows of the tragedy, like most in her kingdom, she does not fully understand the whole situation. At the young age of seventeen she also finds herself in a perplexing situation. As heir to the throne, she is expected to marry once she turns eighteen. Her father wishes for her to marry the egotistical Steldor, but Princess Alera is a headstrong and opinionated young women. She struggles with the decision, not knowing whether to fulfill her duty to her kingdom or to follow her heart. She becomes even more confused when a young, handsome and mysterious stranger from Cokyri named Narian enters her kingdom and disrupts their peaceful existence. Legacy is the first book in a trilogy.

How truly refreshing to discover a book with well-written teen characters depicted through the eyes of a teen author! Through the use of appropriate mannerisms and expressions, Kluver created endearing characters with just the right sense of naïveté. Although the descriptive passages sometimes seem overdone and forced, the interesting, flowery dialogue between the characters drives the romantic and suspenseful story and leaves readers wanting to know exactly how the fairy tale ends. I can hardly wait to read the next book in the series; the cliffhanger ending is brutal. I love that while this book is classified as fantasy, it is not of the high fantasy genre containing mythological creatures, but borders more on the historical romance genre. During my teen years I tended to gravitate toward romantic suspense novelists like Eleanor Hibbert (a.k.a. Victoria Holt/Jean Plaidy). I know for a fact I would have enjoyed escaping in the story of Legacy then, just as much as I enjoyed reading it now, as an adult. In case you were wondering, Kluver innocently portrays romantic scenes with pure passion (no x-rated material). There's also a notable twist in this princess story--in the progressive kingdom of Cokyri, women rule and are highly regarded with respect and esteem.

In an interview with The Blogger Girlz, Kayla remarks, "the realization that young people can accomplish things kind of pushed me to a place where I had the motivation to finish a novel." Amazingly, Kluver wrote Legacy when she was only 14 years old. I'm intrigued by this young Wisconsin author, look forward to her next novels and hope that her success encourages other youth to pursue writing careers.

Legacy by Cayla Kluver. AmazonEncore (August 2009); 464 pages; ISBN 9781595910554; YA/teen
Book Source: Advance Reading Copy provided for free by AmazonEncore (ARC version - Quotations should be checked against the finished book)

"What no one knew was who the boy was, and neither did he. Wasn't a memory left in the boy's head; everything about his past was gone...except for the note." - Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse by Kaleb Nation

We've all heard about them or seen them. You know, those odd little creatures with the conical hats found in gardens. Up to this point, I've never had the slightest desire to place a gnome anywhere near my home. But after reading Kaleb Nation's debut fantasy book, I just might change my mind. Maybe. It's a thought, anyway.

Of course Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse isn't completely about little gnomes. Actually it's mostly about an orphaned chap named Bran Hambric who struggles to figure out where he fits in a magical world gone awry. After a childhood of not knowing, he discovers the truth about his perplexing past, a past deeply entrenched in an evil sort of magic and a terrible secret curse.

The book begins with a prologue. A six-year-old boy named Bran turns up inexplicably, locked in a bank vault in a city called Dunce--the only city in the world that does not allow magic of any sort. No gnomes, no mages. No magic. A banker named Sewey Wilomas discovers Bran in the vault and finds himself responsible for the boy due to a Finders Keepers Law. Bran ends up living with the very annoying Wilomas family, and they treat him like dirt. A ripped note stating his name and birth date is the only clue to his past. Fast forward eight years later. Bran still lives with the Wilomases and one fateful night finds himself face-to-face with a scary creature. He learns his mother was a powerful mage that used dark magic in horrific ways, discovers the reason for the torn note and determines the meaning behind a special crescent moon necklace. Along his journey of discovery he makes a few new mage friends and meets a gnome named Polland.

Young author Kaleb Nation creatively depicts an exciting magical world in his suspenseful middle grade/YA fantasy. There's many obvious similarities between Bran Hambric and the beloved Harry Potter series--orphaned boy, magical world, an evil counterpart, unpleasant family life. But Nation has developed the city of Dunce and all the people and creatures inside and outside the city entirely from his own imagination. The scenes involving the Wilomas family in the beginning of the book bog down the story a bit, but the pace picks up when Bran learns more about magic and meets some mages and magical characters. Written using uncomplicated language, the book is sure to appeal to all those young readers that have been clamoring for Harry Potter read-a-likes. Nation makes readers chuckle with his over-the-top characters and even a few clever word plays, like measuring magical power in witts, calling those with the most, brightwitts and those with the least, dimwitts. Just so readers know, there are a number of slightly violent scenes involving guns, death and troubling dark magic in this book but nothing is especially graphic. The enticing artwork by Brandon Dorman on the cover is worth a mention and deserves a big thumbs up. The book leaves quite a few questions unanswered and Kalab Nation has plans for a sequel. I'm hoping to learn more about the gnomes and their sacred Givvyng Tree!

As part of his homeschool education, Kaleb Nation started writing the book at the age of 14 and worked on it throughout his teenage years. Currently 20 years old, his young age makes this debut book an impressive accomplishment. Highly ambitious, Kalab Nation is also a successful blogger at his popular TwilightGuy.com website.

Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse by Kaleb Nation. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (September 2009); 464 pages; ISBN 9781402218576 (Ages 9-12/YA)
Book Source: ARC copy provided by for free by Sourcebooks. All quotations should be checked against final version. (View my full disclosure statement for more information about my reviews.)

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This past Memorial Day Weekend, I took the short trip down the road to the local bookstore and spent some meandering time. At the high school reading list table (love those tables) I pondered classics I hadn't yet read and picked up Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. At the popular paperbacks I found and collected a book long on my list—Muriel Barbery's The Elegance of the Hedgehog. My agent, Amy Rennert, had suggested Marianne Wiggins' The Shadow Catcher (about the American West and photography, among other things; how could I resist?) so I went and hunted that down. Next I asked the sales clerk what literary book is currently selling well, and she suggested Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos. I like to be in the know, every now and then, and so I added that to my pile.

Finally, I went to the YA shelves and collected Melissa Walker's newest, Lovestruck Summer. I have a thing about owning all of Melissa's books—she's so cute, to begin with, but also, just as important, I learn a lot from her each time I curl up with one of her teen novels. This time was no exception, for Lovestruck Summer isn't just a compelling tale of summer romance and indie music. It's also a novel that showcases Melissa's tremendous ear and her ability, from the first sentence on, to juice a book with momentum and voice.

Listen, for example, to the book's first paragraph: "I live my life in headphones. That way I can control what I let in. If kids at school are being idiotic and perky, I put on a mellow track and tune out their spirit rally. If my parents are nagging me, I play a fast song and rock out in my mind while smiling and nodding at them."

That's good. That's very good, and here are some reasons why. First, rhythm. This book is about music and from the start, Melissa's language has jazz. From the start, too, the words surprise. Kids being idiotic and perky? Clever coupling. Tuning out a spirit rally? Wait. A spirit rally? Let me take another look, you think, at that. And do we not, in just a paragraph, get who this narrator is? Can we not already picture her, caught up in the medleys she's got tracking through her mind?

There is a reason that those who have big followings have garnered that affection. In Melissa's case, she knows her audience, she knows what they think (Sex and the City characters are old, for the record, and there are just some things that people shouldn't wear), and she knows how to write a credible romantic tale that will keep teens on the edge of their seat.

Bloodhound (The Legend of Beka Cooper, Book 2)


by Tamora Pierce
Random House Books for Young Readers (April 2009)
ISBN-10: 0375814698, ISBN-13: 978-0375814693

My rating: 4/5 stars

–Bloodhound (The Legend of Beka Cooper, Book 2)
by Tamora Pierce, p. 15.

If you like fantasy and you haven’t read Tamora Pierce, you’re missing out.

Pierce’s books have strong female characters, great world building and settings, and characters facing conflict and coming out on top. Bloodhound
is no exception.

Beka Cooper used to live in a slum area, and knows how to talk street talk and notice what’s happening around her, see pickpockets and more. She trained to be part of the Provost’s Guard (like a police officer), and now she’s a full member, a Dog–and trying to make her co-workers proud. But some don’t want to work with her, because she always wants to do what is right, and is fierce about it. There are a lot of crooked guards. But Beka persists. With her tenacity, talent, and some magic (she can hear the newly dead whose souls fly on the backs of pigeons, and can hear bits of conversations that happened close to wind) she hunts down criminals and strives to put things right–including a huge undertaking, fighting couterfieters which threaten to undermine the whole country through putting too much fake silver into the regions. Beka also discovers a new lover, and gains a new animal companion, in addition to her cat and the pigeons.

The story is written in diary form, in a strong, vivid voice. Most of the writing is compelling and fast moving, but there were places where the diary format grated on me and made me notice the convention, such as the too-frequent repetition that Beka was too tired to write any more that night, or the fact that she was writing. It sometimes got in the way of the story for me, and I wished it wasn’t there. But the rest of the time, Beka’s voice is strong and vibrant.

Pierce is an expert at making the world in her books seem real. She brings such great setting detail without giving too much, and brings in the senses–sound, smell, touch, taste, and of course sight–which helps the reader really believe in the setting. The language, too, flows beautifully, and I found myself so immersed in the book that for the few days while i was reading it, I’d find myself thinking “mayhap” and other language from the time period.

Pierce has an ability to make strong-girl characters that the reader cares about and roots for. Pierce’s characters come alive, and she uses specific details that help make them stand out–even walk on characters, such as a carter with blackened teeth. These details help make the characters believable and to feel real. You’ll come to care about the characters, especially Beka, for her bravery, her courage, her tenacity and her fiestiness, as well as her compassion and good-heartedness. For her wanting to do what is right, and help protect others. Beka is a wonderful, full character, with some self doubt, impulsiveness, and shyness to round her off, and she excels at her job as a guard.

Pierce brings a lot of good feeling with there being many good characters who revolve around or interact positively with Beka, showing her kindness, affection, or respect, or offering help, which works to balance out the negative things that happen. Pierce also uses some language specific to her worlds, as well as to the time period, likely from England. I had no trouble with the language and could easily follow along, but there is a glossary in the back for readers who need it.

There’s a nice thread of romance and some sexual tension, as Beka finds herself choosing between two possible boyfriends. I love that the strong-girl character is still desired by the male characters, and valued for her strength and her character as well as her beauty.

There were a few things that didn’t work as well for me in the book. I felt like this story was missing a bit of tension, perhaps because Beka didn’t have to prove herself to anyone any more, or when she was faced with danger, we didn’t always get to see it. It also felt like there were too many characters, at least for me; they distracted from the main or important characters, and I often couldn’t follow all of them. There IS a character reference/map at the back of the book, which I didn’t realize when i was reading–but i wouldn’t have wanted to stop reading every time i didn’t know who a character was to check (it interferes with the flow), and i don’t think a reader should have to…. But that’s me.

There were a few scenes where it felt like Pierce avoided some conflict and pain that would have made a great scene, telling us things afterwards, such as when Bekka was attacked at her house. I felt a bit cheated as a reader to have Bekka not remember things. There was also the occasional scene which felt like it should have a point or something connected to it that matters later, but didn’t, and didn’t seem to advance the story forward, such as when Bekka talks to her cousin and he realizes she really talks to pigeons. And we’re told that Bekka is upset about temporarily losing her cat, but I don’t think we saw enough affection between them or a deep enough relationship to believe it.

Beka is an engaging and likable character, as are Goodwin and Tunstall, and others. This is the second book in a series, (Terrier being the first), but you don’t need to have read the first book to enjoy this one. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read–one that captured my interest, immersed me completely in the world, and made me eager to read on right to the very end.

Highly recommended.

If you like this book, check out Pierce’s Song of the Lioness; Immortals Quartet; and Protector of the Small series for more fantastic, strong-girl reads.

Song of the Lioness:
• Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness, Book 1),
• In the Hand of the Goddess (The Song of the Lioness),
• The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (The Song of the Lioness), and
• Lioness Rampant (The Song of the Lioness);

Immortals Quartet:
• Wild Magic (The Immortals, Book 1),
• Wolf-speaker (the immortals, Book 2),
• Emperor Mage (The Immortals, Book III), and
• The Realms of the Gods (The Immortals);

Protector of the Small:
• First Test (Protector of the Small),
• Page: Book 2 of the Protector of the Small Quartet,
• Squire: Book 3 of the Protector of the Small Quartet, and
• Lady Knight: Book 4 of the Protector of the Small Quartet.

The Pretty One

by Cheryl Klam

Delacorte/Random House (April 2008)

ISBN-13: 978-0385733731

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

–A La Carte by Tanita Davis, p. 4-5.

The Pretty One is a gripping emotional ride that has budding romance, tension, sibling rivalry, social tensions, and gives a strong feeling of what it’s like to be an outsider, as well as what it’s like to be liked for your looks. The Pretty One is one of those books that you’ll find yourself turning the pages fast to find out what happens next–and not wanting to stop ’til you get to the end.

Sixteen-year-old Megan isn’t beautiful like her sister, Lucy. While her sister gets dates, constant attention from males and females alike, and popularity at their drama school, Megan sits at home watching movies with her best friend Simon, or going out to dinner with her mother. Lucy gets any boy she wants; she knows how to play them, and her beauty makes boys fall for her. Megan wishes she could have some of the ease and popularity that her sister does–but she gets along okay. Her one friend (Simon), her cutting humor, and her artistic skills help her.

But then everything changes. She’s hit by a car and has to undergo multiple surgeries, including face surgery. A year or so later, after she’s recovered, she’s beautiful, in the societal sense, and everyone treats her differently, including Lucy and her parents. She learns what it’s like to have people like her for her looks, and she attracts Drew’s attention–a boy she’s secretly liked for years. Megan gains instant attention and some popularity. People just treat her better. But everything isn’t roses for Megan. It doesn’t feel very good to be liked for what she looks like, not who she is (though at first she gets a bit of a thrill). Then her sister, Lucy, is determined to go after Drew–and Lucy always gets every boy she goes after. Megan feels like a stranger; her physical beauty creates a lot of tension. And Megan starts forgetting who she really is.

Klam writes romantic tension well, building up the question of will she or won’t she get the guy she secretly adores–or will she fall in love for her best friend, who’s fallen for her? Klam increases the tension through Megan’s insecurity and awkwardness, her long crush on Drew, Lucy’s sudden interest in Drew and her skill with boys, and Megan’s best friend Simon falling in love with her–after her surgery. The plot and the writing kept me engaged in the story, racing to the end.

It’s easy to like and to root for Megan–intensely. She’s the underdog and the outcast in this book–ignored, mistreated by popular kids at school because she’s not pretty. But Megan is also thoughtful, kind (even though sometimes she seems a little too kind, to the point of denying herself), funny, and artistic. She’s sensitive about her weight, which many readers will identify with, and is frequently self-conscious and socially awkward. She also consistently puts her sister’s needs and wants before her own, which, while at times makes her seem kind and thoughtful, at other times can feel annoying (like stop letting people walk over you, already!). Megan sometimes has angry thoughts at her sister, which is refreshing and helps balance out her actions. I found myself wanting Megan to succeed, and caring about whether she did or not.

Megan’s cutting humor makes her fresh and more likable. She’s aware of the social tensions around her, has intelligence and depth, though often seems oblivious to her sister’s true motivations and intentions. At times this seems unbelievable, but it also allows the reader to “know” something that Megan doesn’t. I loved Megan’s observations and cutting humor; they drew me into the book. However, she lost that (intentionally, I think, on Klam’s part) after she became beautiful–and I don’t feel like she ever really got that back, which was disappointing. It felt like we lost the character’s voice–a voice I’d really enjoyed. I would have liked to see Megan retain more of her causticness, humor, and depth; it kept her from being too much of a victim.

The point that Megan finally stood up to her sister’s spitefulness prompts the first major crisis and change in the book, helping make it more poignant.

Lucy, Megan’s sister, is such a huge contrast–she’s beautiful, popular, has guys lusting after her. She’s also incredibly self-centered, selfish, manipulative, superficial, and mean. She’s easy to dislike. This contrast makes Megan seem all the more likable. Still, at times Megan comes across like a saint or a victim; I would have preferred her to be less self-effacing with her sister. Lucy also sometimes seems like a bit of a caricature and a stereotype–beautiful but mean, and little else. Lucy’s mean-spirited streak is so well built up that the events leading up to the accident feel believable and real.

Megan, Simon, and Drew feel the most rounded and well drawn. Megan’s parents, however, are flat–characters who seem placed there only to react and respond to Megan, and their responses are either too extreme (the father) or too bland (the mother) to feel real. Megan’s father seems incredibly obtuse and emotionally insensitive, even hurtful, of Megan about her looks and weight, while her mother seems unbelievably supportive in a too-perfect dialogue way, and little else. The parents were absent so much it didn’t feel real. I didn’t believe in the parents, whereas Megan, Simon, and Drew felt real, like they could have existed before the book began.

A very small thing that drew me out of the story was the number of times characters said something “quietly.” It can be hard to portray compassion, sensitivity, upset in tone of voice, but I would have liked to see some alternatives. I also wasn’t sure I believed how Megan couldn’t see, for so long, that Simon was attracted to her. But that added tension, especially for the reader. Megan’s strongest responses were over her relationship with Lucy, which I often didn’t believe, and over Drew, which I did believe.

Simon, Megan’s friend, is staunchly loyal of and supportive to Megan before she becomes beautiful, and this is a relief. It helps buoy up the first fifth of the book, where so much is so hard for her, in a very different way than later on in the book.

I completely believed in Megan’s incredible talent to create detailed and beautiful dioramas, though I didn’t believe in her drawing skill (i would have if the backstory had been established before the fact). Her obsession with dioramas gave her a more rounded feeling, and was interesting to read about.

Drew’s play (that he wrote, directs, and casts Megan in) becomes a big thread in the story. Clem includes the play in the back of the book, which is a neat touch. Every chapter heading uses a word from theatre language, which also is a neat idea, though I wasn’t sure the headings always fit the chapter completely. Still, I enjoying reading the words and their definitions.

The Pretty One is a fun, entertaining, intense read. Every time I put this book down, I wanted to pick it back up and start reading again. Check out this book; you’ll find yourself caring for Megan and the outcome, and enjoying the tension while she gets where she’s going. Highly recommended!

-Added July 03, 2008

Want more books?

Go to Outside It All: Fiction About Not Fitting In to find another great teen book.


Or, go to the Teen Book reviews main menu to see all the categories of books.

Christina Kilbourne's powerful forthcoming novel They Called me Red* addresses issues of trafficking and the exploitation of children. Working with Christina's book has greatly increased our awareness of this devastating issue, so when we discovered Climb for Captive's innovative efforts to combat human trafficking, we knew we had to tell more people about it. On July 4th, a team of six climbers will set out for the summit of Mt. Rainier with the hope of earning $14,410 to combat human trafficking - a dollar for each vertical foot of the mountain. You can help Climb for Captives reach its goal by donating through their web-site.

We spoke to Jeremy Vallerand, who will make the steep climb up Mt. Rainier, to learn more about what motivated this group of six to celebrate United States' Independence Day on the top of a mountain.

1. What inspired you and your team to climb a mountain to combat human trafficking?

A few months ago I had the opportunity to spend some time in Mumbai/Bombay India with an organization that works in the Red Light District trying to rescue children out of the brothels. I saw first hand how terrible the suffering is for the victims and I realized that the ones who are affected the most by Human Trafficking are children. When I heard that a majority of the girls were kidnapped and forced into prostitution before the age of 13 my heart completely broke and I knew that when I got back home to Seattle, WA, I would have to do something about it.

I started talking to a group of my friends about the issue of human trafficking and we began brainstorming ways that we could make a difference. It seemed natural to do something on July 4th since that is the day our nation celebrates its independence and so Climb for Captives was born. What better way to celebrate our Independence Day, our freedom, than to fight for those who can't fight for themselves.

2. Can you tell us more about the current state of domestic and international human trafficking?

It's pretty overwhelming to look at the numbers related to human trafficking both domestically and abroad. To give you a brief snapshot, UNICEF estimates that there are 2 million children exploited in the commercial sex trade every year. I don't even know how to imagine that number… 2,000,000. I do know that there are only four cities in the US with a population over 2 million and only 2 cities in Canada. That means that every year the number of children that are forced into the sex trade is greater than the entire population of Seattle, or San Francisco, or Ottawa. In fact, you would have to add the total population of those three cities together just to equal 2 million.

The good news domestically is that people are starting to become aware of the issue. In Seattle, where I live, the police department has formed a Human Trafficking Task force to focus specifically on this issue and other cities are following suit. According to most estimates, there are over 100,000 children in the US that are victims of commercial sexual exploitation and 20,000 more are being trafficked in every year. Though the numbers seem overwhelming, I really believe that we can make a difference…in fact, I believe we already are.

3. How long will it take to climb Mt. Rainier?

Mt. Rainier is the most glaciated volcano in the contiguous United States. At 14,410 feet the mountain is full of challenges that force over 50% of all climbers to turn back before the summit. Our group of six is hoping to climb to the summit in two or three days depending on the weather and the snow conditions. Altitude sickness is also a major factor for a lot of climbers so there is no guarantee that we will all make it to the summit.

4. How will Climb for Captives donate the funds it collects?

Climb for Captives is donating 100% of the funds received to the Home Foundation, a non-profit charitable foundation dedicated to the eradication of human trafficking both domestically and abroad, and all of the donations are tax deductible. I recently met singer/songwriter Natalie Grant who started The Home Foundation and was very impressed by the work they are doing and by the way they use their resources. If people are interested in contributing to the Climb for Captives they can do so via our website at www.climbforcaptives.com. They can also email us any questions they have at [email protected].




*Christine Kilbourne's They Called Me Red will be released in Fall 2008. Her novel Dear Jo: The story of losing Leah...and searching for hope was shortlisted for the Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Awards in 2007 and has received praiseworthy reviews from School Library Journal, Montreal Review of Books, and more. Read a review of Dear Jo by The Literary Word to learn more.

Many wonderful teen authors are over at Simon & Schuster’s BlogFest, creating a sort of blog, answering 14 reader questions (that have already been chosen), one question a day, from now until March 27th. 120 teen authors will be featured. Covering yesterday and today, check out Annette Curtis Klause on bringing fictional characters to life; Judy Blume, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Sonya Sones, E. R. Frank, Rachel Cohn, AVI, and Melvin Burgess on if they hadn’t been writers; and many, many more.

This isn’t a real blog, though the idea is clearly drawn from blogs; you can comment on what the authors say, but they will not answer any questions (aside from the questions that have already been chosen), and only some authors will be commenting on the comments, or comments in general…. Still, this is an interesting event.

Artists need images of their finished works in order to promote them, and they often need at least one decent picture of themselves, to put with a bio or on a website. But most artists (and writers) I know would sooner drink paint than go to GlamourShots.

That's why I think Jacquelynn Buck has a huge career ahead of her. She's the photographer that took my picture, there to the right. She also took this black and white one at my website, and this one for my book jacket. Sorry for all the linkage to me, me, me, because I don't really want to talk about that. I want to tell you that the afternoon she came to my house was pure play. It helped that she was my friend, of course, but it was more than that. She thinks like an artist; she is an artist. We laughed as she worked, and I felt comfortable revealing who I was, which is no easy feat. And so, to those of you who think I'm "genic" as Robin put it, not so. I have many, many pictures of me that I hate. (Ninth grade yearbook photo being prime amongst them.) The reason the pictures turned out well is because of Jackie.

So, it's no wonder that other artists have hired her to do their visuals too. Here's the "Artists and Musicians" section of her website. There's a sculptor at work, a painter, a guitar player, a duo of singers, and a flutist. (I also love her creative portraits in "Outside the Box." And look at these wedding photos!)

And now I see that she has done coffee table books documenting several artists' work, and that she does all the scheduling for a community art space called Art in Motion, with the coolest sounding workshops. (Painting Poetry, anyone?) And that's not all. She sent me an email saying that she and painter Mike Elsass are opening a gallery in Dayton, Ohio, with the plan for it to "adjoin a very trendy restaurant in the downtown district and maybe really start the arts district here."

Jackie, I had so much fun getting my picture taken by you that day. You told me while you worked that you wanted to explore what you could do with your new digital camera. Girl, you've taken it way, way outside the frame.

November 21, 00
I'm curious to see if drawing brings me ideas and characters, if drawing will prompt me to write. Or gives me new insights into actual stories, not just the general theory of writing. I would think the emphasis on seeing in drawing would serve me well as a writer, help me with detail, as well as proportion and relationships. And the idea that we often do not see because we label and generalize is very applicable to writing–that’s how bad poetry is written, clichés, stale characters. If nothing else, I think drawing could be a great method of turning off my left brain before each writing session, of relaxing, of being receptive.

February 2, 01
Drawing class was rewarding yesterday. We worked some more on proportion and perspective and I think I finally have gotten the idea of it. My last drawing of the day turned out pretty well. I've been working only in charcoal, but today I brought drawing paper so I can move off of newsprint and use a pencil also. I also bought a drawing board to secure my paper. I peeked at my drawings from yesterday and they give me great joy. I'm so pleased with them, as raw as they are, because they seem so alive.

March 13, 01
“A painting–like writing–is a problem with too many solutions and not nearly enough rules.” W. J. Innis

“Readers naturally try to connect the dots you’ve drawn; it is in the empty spaces between the dots that the illusion of character arises. Those voids between points are taken to be the mysteries, the vagaries, the tinctured nuances that lie at the heart of human personality” M.T. Anderson

May 02, 01
After drawing class. Feel like I’ve been beat with a stick. Struggled so hard and I'm so far behind. I keep hoping for that magic moment when it will all click and I’ll be great, but it isn’t going to happen. I’ll never be fabulous, never even scratch the surface. I hate being unable to do something I love. It’s like I have a brain disorder, and what my eye and brain see, my hands won’t draw.

Except sometimes, they do. Sometimes, I lose track of time and I'm just drawing. But how to get there? Practice, practice, practice–I know the answer. Practice, so that when the fear comes, I'll recognize its ugly face and the feel of its hands on my neck. I know you Fear, I'll say. I know you can’t kill me, and I know I can’t get rid of you either. I can only walk on despite you. I don’t even think it helps to spit in your eye, to challenge your hold. I must embrace you, Fear, know you intimately–all your tricks.

May 30, 01
The only thing I have to do is convince myself it's worth holding on, and that it doesn’t matter how stupid I look. I'm willing to look stupid in order to learn how to draw, to learn how to write a novel. Was this all it took? A willingness to be humiliated? No, but that’s a big chunk of it. What will I do one day in class if I never break through? It hasn’t happened yet. I always manage to relax, to see, to make something happen.

Because it isn’t about me, and my skill. It’s about being open to the world, to its beauty, which is always there, no matter if I'm personally blind or not. Some days, I see a small portion of it, other days, the light is dim; on rare days, it's brightly, brilliantly lit, but it's always there. To serve.

July 18, 01
Now I look back at my drawings, flipping through the pages, surprised each time by the intensity of the faces, how much I remember of their making. How many times I re-drew that man’s hand. What a delightful shade of green he wore. How I captured his white hair just right. My drawings aren’t just drawings. If they were, they would be judged awkward, adolescent, thin. They are, instead, a record of their making. A record of battles engaged, skirmishes won, whole armies of selves lost.

See–I'll be able to say to my grandchildren–see–this is who I was and how I lived. They might say, “Grandma. It’s just yellowed newsprint and look–you made the nose all wrong.” But maybe not. Maybe they will take out a pencil and lie beside me and draw, and I'll know they know how to live.

If you've never seen it, go gaze at this gorgeous painting by Lucian Freud.

Or look at this mottled face. How beautiful to see skin as it really is, and not a sanitized CoverGirl tone. Why do we insist upon improving upon nature’s work? Why do we deem the non-uniform ugly? What’s wrong with a face that is green and blue and black? Red, orange, yellow? What’s wrong with veins and bumps and wrinkles, when they are drawn so exquisitely?

When I first saw these paintings in the pages of a heavy, unadorned art book, it was as if Lucian Freud had spoken a pressing truth, one that I'd never dared tell, and when he did, the relief was so intense, I wanted to cry.

I especially liked the portraits he did of models’ faces on a simple pillow or bed. There is a sense of fascination, as if you were looking at a newborn child or a lover asleep. Only he looks at everyone that way. Many of his full-size paintings, which I can't link to here, are so brutally observant that they are painful.

I wonder how he treats his models, the people in his life that he paints. Is he kind to them, or as bruisingly loving as his portrayals? Does he have to shield himself from their beauty in real life so he isn’t overwhelmed? How does he maintain his true sight? How can one live, seeing this intensely?

Tomorrow, I'll post a poem I wrote in response to Lucian Freud's paintings. Until then, look at them, read this, and tell me if he is blessed or cursed.

I love art that makes you look at ordinary things in extraordinary ways.

I stumbled across this fascinating project when I was exploring the Japanese idea of wabi.* Go ahead, I'll wait while you take a look. (If you click on each small picture, a larger one will load.)

The artist, Claudia Tennyson, states that she was "partly inspired by the Japanese tradition of repairing cracked ceramic vessels with gold filigree. The craftsperson makes the cracks visible instead of hiding them, and the mending process increases rather than depreciates the value of the vessel."

Could there be a more perfect metaphor for writing? We are gilding the cracks. Not covering them up, not even truly fixing them, because, often, that's beyond our power. But we can say: Look. Look right here.

How do you see Claudia's art? Is she crazy to do this? What are the cracks you want to call attention to with your art?

*For a different take on wabi (or wabi-sabi, as it's more completely called) see this funny piece from Utne Reader. As they say, "are you wabi-sabi, or just wabi-SLOBBY?"

Every summer, the middle schoolers at my place of employ have required summer reading. Required, not assigned: they have some choice about which books they read, but they have to read something.

And every June, I put together recommended-books lists, racing the clock before the end of school.

For years, I painstakingly compiled three separate themed lists, one for each grade, keyed to the Humanities curriculum each grade would be studying that year. It was thorough, but exhausting, and frankly I'm not sure how useful it was.

Last year, with thousands of books to weed through and pack up for a summer remodel, I tried something new: an annotated list of a couple dozen "Els's Picks" list for the whole middle school, from entering-6th to entering-8th. They didn't have to choose a book from the list, but if they wanted some guidance, it was there. I tried to range it out with young-ish books, old-ish books, male and female protagonists, different genres, etc. Because it was the first time I'd done a list like that, I went a little wild with it: threw in all kinds of stuff that I just loved, cobbled together some summaries, and tossed it to the kids. This was the result.

Now I'm up against the Summer Reading Wall once again, and realizing I have a problem. Last year's list was the cream of the crop of a lifetime's reading, so how can I possibly top it this time around? I'm thinking that rather than create a whole new Picks list, I'll revise last year's, deleting a few titles that aren't so incredibly compelling in retrospect and adding some new ones.
On the other hand, I've been reading teen/YA fiction at a furious rate this year, and might just have enough to support a brand-new list, supplemented with a few titles that ended up on last year's cutting-room floor.

So far, here's what a list like that would look like, in no particular order:

American Born Chinese
Fly By Night
Hattie Big Sky
Rules
A Drowned Maiden's Hair
Uglies
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Yellow Star
Septimus Heap--Magyk
Changeling
Feed
Persepolis
Runaways
The Weight of the Sky
No More Dead Dogs
Jason's Gold
A Mango-Shaped Space
The Lightning Thief
The Wee Free Men
Rules for Survival
A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life
Monster
Sorcery and Cecelia

I'd like to add a few more, like Heat by Mike Lupica, and a Gilda Joyce book, and The Schwa Was Here, and Vive La Paris, and Twilight, but I haven't actually read those yet so even though I think I'll love them I can't include them in good conscience. Ah, well; maybe next summer.

Now that I look at it, though, it's not a bad list just as it is. (Astute readers might notice a definite Cybils influence--no big surprise.) I might just go with it, if I can slog through the summaries in the next few days.