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Gratz, Alan. 2007. Something Rotten: A Horatio Wilkes Mystery.

I was curious to read this modern adaption of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. I was a bit hesitant, after all, it had potential to be great fun OR truly awful. Most modern adaptations fall into one of those two camps. I was hoping for 'great fun' and indeed it fell more in line with that. I think the reason this book works is because it focuses not on Hamlet (Hamilton Prince) and his melodrama but on his friend Horatio. This is Horatio's story from beginning to end.

First line: Denmark, Tennessee, stank. Bad. Like dead fish fricasseed in sewer water.

The Prince family of Denmark, Tennessee, is rich and corrupt. Mostly. Horatio is a school friend visiting Hamilton for the summer. Their first stop? The family paper plant--Elsinore Paper Plant--the source of the stink in Denmark.

I don't know how familiar teens are with Hamlet these days. I would imagine it's still assigned reading in some places. But those who are familiar will recognize how Gratz updates the memorable ghost scene which opens the play. A videotape reveals a startling image:

The man on the screen had snow white hair and a face like a walnut. He looked like he was a hundred years old, but it was Mr. Prince, sure enough. There was a sad, hollow look in his eyes that I knew but couldn't place.

The tape goes on...

Hamilton, if the boys show you this tape, it means something bad has happened. Something very bad. It means I've been murdered. . . It was poison . . .

Hamilton immediately suspects his uncle Claude. His new step-father. Horatio isn't as quick to jump to conclusions. He treats this situation like a true mystery. He decides to observe, listen, and wait patiently for the pieces to fall into place. Hamilton? Well, Hamilton just wants to yell, mope, drink, and be a miserable drain to everyone's mood.

All the familiar characters are there. I think the more familiar you are with the play--either through reading it or seeing it--the more you can appreciate it. However, I doubt that that is essential.

There were many things I enjoyed about this one, though I didn't love, love, love it. Still, I can see myself recommending this one to others. I know a few people who love Shakespeare, and this will definitely be something I mention to them. :)

http://alangratz.com/rotten_about.htm

You can read the first chapter here.

Konigsburg, E.L. 2007. The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World.

Last week was a somewhat weird reading week, I read a series of books all in a row--Eggs, Tamar, and The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World--that I was all iffy about. Each had strong elements. But each one had just one or two things that made me hesitate about saying that I loved them...or in some cases saying that I enjoyed them. I liked The Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World. I might even say that I really liked it. But I don't think I can say I loved it. But I am glad I read it.

Amedeo Kaplan has just moved to a new town and..."For the first time in his life Amedeo was dealing with being the new kid in school, the new kid in town, and finding out that neither one made him special. Quite the opposite. Being new was generic at Lancaster Middle School. The school itself didn't start until sixth grade, so every single one of his fellow sixth-graders was a new kid in school, and being new was also common because St. Malo was home to a lot of navy families, so for some of the kids at Lancaster Middle School this was the third time they were the new kid in town. The navy seemed to move families to any town that had water nearby--a river, a lake, a pond, or even high humidity--so coming from a famous port city like New York added nothing to his interest quotient. Amedeo was beginning to think that he had been conscripted into AA. Aloners Anonymous. No one at Lancaster Middle School knew or cared that he was new, that he was from New York, that he was Amedeo Kaplan." (2)

Amedeo is a likeable character. He is easy to relate to. Who hasn't at times felt like they were in Aloners Anonymous? (Especially at the age!) And as the book goes on, Amedeo's search for a good friend or two becomes interesting. The main characters of the book are William Wilcox, a boy his own age who happens to live in the neighborhood, and an eccentric old neighbor, a lady, Mrs. Zender, and his godfather, Peter Vanderwaal.

Mrs. Wilcox, William Wilcox, and Amedeo are cleaning, sorting, and organizing Mrs. Zender's estate as she is preparing to move to a retirement community. Each room, each item has a story it seems. And the woman is very particular. At times she's likeable. But at others, she is very aloof. Very strange. Not quite within reach. Each day after school, William and Amedeo go to Mrs. Zender's house and help out. They enjoy searching for treasures. Both hope to make a great find. Especially Amedeo.

But the book isn't narrated by Amedeo alone. It isn't his story alone. The chapters alternate between Amedeo, middle schooler, and Peter Vanderwaal, art dealer. It was harder for me to connect with this storyline. I knew that eventually--probably three-fourths through the book--there would be a great aha moment when the narratives would begin to come together and make sense. But it was a long journey. Peter is considerably older than Amedeo of course. He runs an art gallery of some sort, I believe. (Or else maybe an art museum??? Anyway, he displays art and has art shows). His narrative has him returning home for his father's funeral, returning with a box of his father's belongings, and working diligently on a new show that will be opening featuring some of the Degenerate Art as deemed by the Nazi party.

So you've got two settings. Two narrators. More than a few story lines and plots floating around. Overall, I liked the story. I really enjoyed some aspects of it. I liked some characters better than others. I liked some elements better than others.

This isn't your typical book. This book isn't about a typical middle schooler who is trying to make friends, trying to avoid the school bully, and complaining about homework or teachers or parents. This is a 'unique' boy with unique interests. I typically love books where young people--teens and kids--befriend the older generation. I love intergenerational novels. But this wasn't even that. It had some elements of that, but really all you can say about it is that it's in a category all by itself.

Peet, Mal. 2007. Tamar.

This book is the WINNER OF THE CARNEGIE MEDAL. It says it right there on the front cover. So I won't feel too badly for being honest in my review of it. It's already won an award. It is already being talked about as a good--if not great--read of the year. It's not that I hated Tamar, which is "a novel of espionage, passion, and betrayal." It's that I felt uncomfortable with it. Two young men are working undercover in Nazi-occupied territory. Tamar is the story of what happens when they both fall in love with the same woman. Also what happens when insanity takes control of a person. Not just one of the main characters, but in some of the minor ones as well. I suppose it falls under the heading of 'war changes a man and makes him do things he never thought he was capable of.' Tamar is the code name for one of the men. So decades later, when the son of one of these two men is expecting a baby, the father makes a request...to name the baby (if it's a girl) Tamar. This causes a very strange reaction from the soon-to-be-grandmother. Though it's not quite apparent to the readers why.

The big secret is revealed slowly and suspensefully within both timeframes. The undercover spies provide the narrative in 1944-1945. And the grandaughter Tamar provides the narrative in 1995 and 2005.

Mal Peet's Carnegie Medal-winning masterpiece is a story of violence and resistance, love and deception, loyalty and betrayal.

If violence, deception, and betrayal sounds like a good way to spend the afternoon....then Tamar may be the book for you.

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Reading about murder--even if it is belatedly related to a crime of passion--has never really been my cup of tea. So to watch this plot unfold chapter by chapter was just painfully uncomfortable for me. It wasn't that it was poorly written. It was that I didn't want to go where it was taking me. It was well written. The characters were well developed. I just had a hard time liking most of them.

de la Cruz, Melissa. 2007. Masquerade.

Masquerade is the sequel to Blue Bloods, a fast-paced vampire adventure released in 2006. The book begins roughly a few weeks or months after the conclusion of Blue Bloods. In the first book, our main character Schuyler promised to go to Venice to look for her grandfather. It was her grandmother's last request. This book, Masquerade, opens with her on her last days of her trip in Venice. Her quest to find her grandfather, Lawrence Van Alen, is just the first step she must take if she's to restore peace and order in this coven of classy vampires. The book also is narrated from Mimi's point of view and Bliss's point of view. Both characters from the previous book. The story is exciting, fast-paced. And one unfolding mystery. As such, I'm not going to describe the plot in ANY detail whatsoever because I don't want to spoil it.

I recommend this book to those that love vampire lit...and for fans of YA drama/adventure in general.

Stead, Rebecca. 2007. First Light.

This book has almost convinced me that I should start thinking about year-end celebrations and countdowns. Why? It has one of the best beginnings. It practically shouts, "Read me! Read me!" from the very first sentence.

"Most boys his age had never touched paper." One simple sentence that describes a complete other-world-within-a-world. That probably makes no sense whatsoever. If you're an extremely devoted reader of "Becky's Book Reviews" and you have an amazing memory OR if you've read White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean for yourself, you know that one of the main characters is quite mad and he is searching for a hidden underground world or civilization beneath the ice of the antarctic. That book is a fairly good study of insanity. But this book, First Light, is a brilliant book about such a world. Not that the underground world or civilization is un-human. They're almost super-human in some ways. But I don't want to give too much of the plot away. Seriously this is one you just need to read for yourself. Trust me.

Another reviewer has mentioned some similarities between First Light and City of Ember. This is partially true. Both feature young characters who live in an underground world--a world that was created to escape something dangerous and life threatening from the surface--who dream of more. Who dream of reaching a world of sun and stars. Of going back to the outside world. Of course, in City of Ember, the people aren't quite sure what--if anything--exists out there. And it is only a few brave kids who risk it all to see. Likewise in First Light, it is a young boy and a young girl who venture forth to the surface.

But while there are some similarities, there are enough differences to make First Light truly unique. If you loved City of Ember, you may very well enjoy First Light. But I think many people will enjoy First Light. Why? It's exciting. It's full of adventure. It creates a whole world-within-a-world. And it is all done in a very enjoyable, believable way.

Before I get too distracted, let me just give the basics. Thea and Mattias are young kids from Gracehope, this underworld sealed in ice. Peter is a kid originally from New York City who happens to be visiting Greenland with his parents who are scientists. It's a "mystery" of sorts how these characters will eventually weave together into one solid story. And the mystery is the fun of it all. So I will not give any hints or details about the story.

I also don't know how to classify this book. It's set partly in the "real world" both in New York City and Greenland. But Gracehope doesn't exist. Humans don't have the technology to make it exist. So in that way, it could be in a way science fiction or fantasy. Yet it isn't 'traditional' in either of those categories. There are no aliens. There are no unicorns or dragons. And I suppose you could argue that it might be dystopic in nature, it's not really truly that either. Yes, there are a few minor flaws in the society. But enough to destroy it from within? Not really. Just a few stubborn personalities. So what is it???? I guess I'll just have to classify it as great and be satisfied.

Jinks, Catherine. 2007. Evil Genius.

Cadel Piggott is a genius. There’s no denying it. But that doesn’t always mean he makes smart decisions. The reader first meets the hero, Cadel, when he is seven years old. Already placed several grades ahead, he is a genius when it comes to everything but people. Alone. Isolated. Cadel rarely makes the effort to make friends. After all, his classmates have always been older than him. Significantly older than him. But luckily, Cadel has one person in the world he can talk to. One person who understands him. That person is Dr. Thaddeus Roth. This “counselor” who helps troubled youth takes a special interest in Cadel. But all isn’t what it seems as the story unfolds. Secrets. Lies. Half-truths. Plots. Schemes. Manipulations. Betrayals. Cadel isn’t always a likable hero, but his story is full of one adventure after another.

Read the rest of my review in May's issue of The Edge of the Forest. Also of note: I made the 'best of the blogs' section as well!

Thompson, Kate. 2007. The New Policeman.

Originally published in Great Britain in 2005, The New Policeman has already won some prestigious awards--the Whitbreat Children's Book Award and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. (It is always nice to read these kidlit imports in my opinion. They're often quite different and provide a nice change of pace.) J.J. Liddy may seem like your average Irish boy, but his life is about to become quite the stuff of fairy tales. When his mom asks for 'more time in the day,' J.J. never one to disappoint tries his best to "buy" this present. After all, he would like more time in the day as well. His whole neighborhood, his whole village, seems obsessed with this lack of time and the constant feeling that their lives are being drained away too quickly. With the help of a neighbor, Anne Korff, J.J. is off on the adventure of a lifetime. It is a dangerous quest where he'll meet new friends and make new enemies. This quest for "more time" may end up costing him his life. Full of adventure, music, and magic, The New Policeman is too good to miss.

Cary, Kate. 2005. Bloodline.

Set in France, England, and Romania during World War I, Bloodline is the story of four young people: the brother and sister team of John and Lily Shaw; Mary Seward, a young nurse who falls in love with John; and Colonel Quincey Harker, John's Commanding Officer and Lily's love interest. The story is told through diary/journal entries and/or letters of all the characters involved. When John arrives at the front and meets his new Commanding Officer, he has little idea what torments await him in the following weeks. It is more than the war. It is the horror of watching the twisted cruelty of humanity. John gets the feeling that there is something not quite right about Colonel Harker. He's mysterious. He's dangerous. He seems to have superhuman strength and an uncanny ability to return always unscathed from his nighttime raids and skirmishes. Witnessing a few scenes AND being injured, he ends up returning to England and becoming a patient in a sanatorium delirious with trench fever. His ravings and mumblings convince doctors he's mad--crazy, delirious. But what no one suspects is that his nightmares are rooted in truth--a dangerous, horrifying truth. Mary is the only one who senses there may be something to his suspicions about Colonel Harker. She's the only one who distrusts him when he comes to visit...and when he moves into the Shaw household. Is there really something dark and sinister lurking beneath his charming, charismatic persona? Will Harker endanger them all?

This war is as bad for the mind as it is for the boy. In the fog of combat, we aren't always able to see things for what they really are. (26)

My dear daughter, I fear an old enemy has returned. An enemy my friends and I had hoped our children would never know. He turned to John. "My boy," he said, "I do not believe your testimony of Quincey Harker's demonic activities is that of a fevered mind. For I have encountered such behavior before. From what you have told me, I believe Quincey Harker must be descended from the same evil, parasitic presence I helped remove from the world thirty-five years ago. One Count Dracula... (151)