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Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky. Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group. 2014. Reviewed from ARC.

The Plot: Grayson Sender is twelve years old.

Grayson is lonely, even surrounded by classmates, even at home, living with cousins, an aunt and uncle.

Grayson is lonely in part because of Grayson's parents death years ago, leading to Grayson being the odd child out at home.

Grayson is lonely because Grayson cannot connect with others because Grayson is hiding the most important part of who Grayson is.

In Gracefully Grayson, Grayson gradually gains trust and friends until Grayson can reveal the truth: that Grayson is a girl inside. Grayson is a transgender girl.

The Good: I'll be honest Grayson broke my heart, because of how lonely she is. Of how unable to connect with those around her.

At school, Grayson tries out for the play and takes her first step towards her true self by asking to play the part of a girl. One of the happy-tear moments I had was -- spoilers -- when the cast welcomed Grayson, became her friend, treated her like they'd treat anyone else.

Then there were the sad-tears of those who bullied Grayson, and of Grayson's aunt who believes that Grayson is in part causing the problems by not continuing to hide her truth.

And I cried at all the things Grayson did, in hiding. Doodling pictures of girls, but doing it in such a way that people wouldn't know. "If you draw a a triangle with a circle resting on the top point, nobody will be able to tell that it's a girl in a dress. To add hair, draw kind of a semicircle on top. If you do this, you'll be safe, because it looks like you're just doodling shapes."

Loving glitter pens and being prepared with lies to explain why she has the purple and pink ones.

Wearing a sweatband to pretend it's a hairband.

Pretending basketball pants and a t-shirt are somehow a gown, with the wide pants a full skirt.

And how important it is to Grayson, to anyone, to have their own truth by the truth others see. That it's harmful, the years and the lies of pretending to be something other than who she is.

At the end of Gracefully Grayson, someone tells Grayson that "I know it may feel like there are people who are against you, but I want you to remember that most people in the world are good. Look for the people who extend a hand to you. And when they do take it." This, in a nutshell, sums up the book. There are people against Grayson, for various reasons. But there are just as many good people in Grayson's world.

And the question left to the reader is this: is the reader one of the good ones? Does the reader extend a hand to those around them?

I'm making this one of my Favorite Books of 2014, because it is such a beautiful book and Grayson is such an endearing twelve year old.

Links: author interview at Diversity in YA; Bookfabulous Review; Robert Bittner Review at Gay YA;



Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

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United We Spy by Ally Carter. Final book in The Gallagher Girls series (and oh, how it pains me to say that.) Disney Hyperion. 2013. Personal copy.

Previously, in The Gallagher Girls:

In I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have To Kill You, Cammie Morgan had to balance boyfriend and school. Not too simple when you're at the local snooty private boarding school and he's a townie; when your mom is the headmistress; and, oh, yes, when the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is actually a school for super spies.

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy introduced a new layer to Cammie’s world: boy spies from the Blackthorne Institute including a maddening, heart pounding, annoying, (and so cute!) Zach. Cammie and friends prevent a kidnapping in Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover.

More secrets about the Gallagher Academy, Blackthorne, spies, family and friends are uncovered in Only the Good Spy Young. Cammie believes she has to figure out what's happening on her own, and has to deal with that aftermath, in Out of Sight, Out of Time.

The Plot: United We Spy is Cammie's final year in school, and the final book in the series.

The Good: The previous book, Out of Sight, Out of Time, was intense. Cammie was recovering from amnesia following a kidnapping, as well as dealing with the aftermath of having run away.

Long story short: the entire series has been about Cammie and her friends uncovering and fighting the mysterious and old secret society, the Circle of Cavan. All that comes to a head in the final book. Cammie also has to figure out what graduation will mean, for her -- what will her next step be? Will she remain in the world of intrigue and spies, and what exactly does that mean?

This series is best read in order, because it builds on previous books in terms of plot and character development. And while I'm sad to see the series end, because I love these young women, I love this world, I love Ally Carter's writing, I know that there are a good number of readers who like their series complete. (The cool new term for this, from what I understand, is "binge reading," like binge TV watching, where you can power through the whole thing at one go.)

I refuse to give away any more details -- you need to read and discover that by yourself.

Just know this: I have invested my own money and shelf space in making sure I own each book, in hardcover.

And now, some United We Spy quotes -- because I just love the writing.

"Cambridge is nice. It could use some better locks, though." Said as Cammie & friends are breaking in. For reasons.

"The first rule of running, Sir Walter," I told him. "Never go anyplace familiar." I remain half-convinced that reading these books (as well as watching The Americans) means that I, too, could be a successful spy.

"The jump didn't kill us. At least, my first thought was that we hadn't died. But I didn't let myself get too cocky about the situation. After all, we might have been off the mountain, but we were anything but out of the woods."

"Spies aren't like normal people. No one expects us to have houses and mortgages, tire swings and barbecues on the Fourth of July. But every spy is somebody's child."

"Women of the Gallagher Academy, who comes here?" "We are the sisters of Gillian."

Other books in the series, in order:
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You (2006) My review
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy (2007)
Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover (2009) My review
Only the Good Spy Young (2010) My review
Out of Sight, Out of Time (2012) My review

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© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

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Far From You by Tess Sharpe. Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group. 2014. Reviewed from ARC.

The Plot: When Sophie's best friend, Mina, is murdered, Sophie is blamed.

No one thinks Sophie killed Mina, but they think it's Sophie's fault that Mina is dead. The police, her friends, her family, Mina's family, all believe that Sophie took Mina to a drug deal; something went wrong; and Mina ended up shot.

It's true that Sophie has a history with drugs, and with lying, so no one believes the truth: that it was Mina who wanted to be in the woods that night, that Sophie was going with Mina, that a masked man shot Mina.

Sophie was forced into rehab, even though she was already clean. Now she's back home, and she's determined to find who killed Mina, and why.

The Good: I love a good mystery! And I love an author who understands that a character's backstory isn't just words on a page; rather, it's there to be motivation, to be explanation, to be a present part of the story.


Sophie is a drug addict. She won't deny it. When she as 14, she was in a terrible car accident. She was left with scars, a bad leg, and a problem with prescription drugs. She was clean for a few months when Mina died, but no one believes Sophie because junkies are liars. That, and the pills in her pocket that the killer planted on her.

I love Sophie's frustration at not being believed. I felt as betrayed and hurt as she did; yet, at the same time, I could understand why those around her believed the worst, and why her parents sent her to rehab. Quite simply, they want to save her life. What else would they do, with a child who has a history of addiction?

And I love that Sophie's injuries and addiction plays into Mina's murder and into it not being solved. No, it wasn't a drug deal gone wrong. Instead, Sophie's history made it easy for the murderer to frame her. He wasn't planting drugs on just any girl. Sophie's drug addiction sends the police in the wrong direction. And there is some guilt that is rooted in Sophie's injuries: her bad leg meant that neither girl had a chance to run away once they saw the gun.

Sophie's addiction is shown through flashbacks and her own present, daily, struggle to stay sober in the face of physical pain (her leg and back will always be a problem) and emotional pain, the loss of Mina, her best friend and the love of her life.

Part of Far From You requires the reader to believe, and accept, about how teens lie to the parents. Sophie, of course, lied left and right because of her addiction. Lies are told about Sophie, so that the police believe she was still using and dragged her best friend to a drug deal. Mina's lies of omissions -- not telling Sophie why they were going to the woods at night -- means that Sophie doesn't know why they were there. When it turns out Mina was working on a story for the local paper, even that is tied up in secrecy, with Mina hiding her work so that no one realizes she was working on something. Other lies are revealed, ones told to protect people that end up hurting others.

One of those lies is about Sophie and Mina. Sophie and Mina were best friends. And they loved each other, and hid it from themselves and each other, flirting and dancing around their attraction, dating boys to prove something to themselves, their families, each other. Sophie would have told her parents she was bisexual; but to do that, to come out, would have meant saying "and I love Mina." Mina's religious family would not have accepted that, and so Sophie stayed quiet because of Mina. Now, that means she cannot publicly mourn -- or, rather, not mourn as a lover.

I don't want to call their relationship a spoiler; that makes being gay or bisexual a "gotcha," a "twist." It isn't; it's a deeper layer to understanding Sophie and Mina, to realizing the depth of Sophie's loss. Sophie doesn't share this with the reader right away, but it's because she is working things out. She hasn't shared everything, yet, with the reader. The story starts in the "now," after Sophie has left rehab, and flashes back, in a very non-linear way, to Mina's murder, to Sophie's accident, to Sophie and Mina's relationship.

Mina's keeping things back about the story she's working on makes more sense, once the reader realizes that Mina has been lying her whole life.

I love how all of this comes together, in a mystery both about why Mina was murdered, but also a look at one teenage girl struggling with tremendous loss. And there is so much more I could write about! Like how Sophie feels alone, but it turns out she has allies, some unexpected. Or the setting, which made me feel like I was in a small town where everyone knows everyone -- or thinks they do.

Let's add this to the list of Favorite Books Read in 2014!

Other reviews: YA and Kids Book Central; As Told By Rachel; Lisa Loves Literature; Cuddlebuggery. 


Amazon Affiliate. If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.

© Elizabeth Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

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Category: Young Adult Fiction/Fantasy
Keywords: Paranormal, High School, Ghosts, Witches
Format: Hardcover, eBook
Source: ARC from Publisher


Synopsis:

Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy's mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who's always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt?

Kimberly's Review:

Izzy Brannick is strong and trained to fight monsters. And the one thing she is scared of? High School.

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Cover Shot! is a regular feature here at the Café. I love discovering new covers, and when I find them, I like to share. More than anything else, I am consumed with the mystery that each new discovery represents. There is an allure to a beautiful cover. Will the story contained under the pages live up to promise of the gorgeous cover art?

I enjoyed Rachel Hawkins Hex Hall series, so I was geeked to discover that she’s working on a spin-off.  School Spirits has an awesome cover!  I am so looking forward to reading this!

In stores May 2013

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Catherine Onder, Senior Editor at Disney Hyperion answered some questions from writers last year that appeared in Sprouts Magazine. They are still relevant today, so I thought I would share Catherine’s answer with you.

1. It seems fantasy stories are seldom seen in the picture book market. I know it is successful in middle grade, but couldn’t it work in picture books as well?

This is a great question and could probably be discussed endlessly. There are some reasons that immediately leap to mind as to why fantasy is more common in middle grade novels than picture books. First off, fantasy requires significant world-building. Aspects such as how the book’s fantasy world is different than ours; how the characters’ culture might be different, and how the magic works all must be carefully worked out and clearly communicated in fantasy. The elements are just the tip of the iceberg.

In a middle grade book, you have an entire novel’s worth of words to create your world and make it believable. With a picture book’s limited word count, there isn’t the same opportunity to establish a sophisticated fantasy foundation.

Another approach to this question may be to ask, what are the subjects in really good picture books—the ones that stand the test of time? When I look around, I find that perennially popular picture books are often based on the real life preoccupations of young children, including bedtime, sharing school, the surrounding world, fears, and the imagination, to name a few. These topics resonate strongly with young children, and it may be that fantasy doesn’t tie into their needs and concerns deeply enough at such an early age.

2. When you submit a manuscript and an editor writes back that “hardcover children’s literature is difficult to sell in this economy and therefore not the right market for our house at this time,” does that mean it would be okay to try again to resubmit at a later date, or is that a permanent “no?”

When I want to review a manuscript a second time, I will say so explicitly. This happens when there’s a lot that I appreciate about a project, but it’s not ready for acquisition. In these cases, I have revision suggestions and editorial thoughts for the author that I hope are helpful, and I invite him or her to share the manuscript with me again after revising. If I do not specifically request to see a revised manuscript, I would not expect the same project to be submitted to me again.

3. If I sent something to an editor and I haven’t heard back in over a year, can I submit it to another editor at the same house who wants to see it?

Every house has a different policy on submissions, and so I know this can be challenging to navigate! Speaking for myself, if I’ve had a manuscript for a very long time, I certainly understand when an author checks in about it. While I can’t speak to what would be acceptable to everyone, the best advice I can give is to communicate the situation with the editor. I can give is to communicate the situation with the editor. Let the editor who originally received the manuscript know that another editor has expressed interest and that you’d like to share it with him or her. Many houses have policies that two editors cannot consider a manuscript simultaneously, so it’s always a good idea to let the editors know exactly what the situation is.

4. In the current environment, do you think a writer has a chance of getting published if he or she doesn’t have an agent?

Yes, I do. Since many houses have closed submission policies, attending conferences is a great way to open the door for submissions. Editors will often accept submissions from attendees of the conferences where they participate. These conferences are also a

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Cover Shot! is a regular feature here at the Café. I love discovering new covers, and when I find them, I like to share. More than anything else, I am consumed with the mystery that each new discovery represents. There is an allure to a beautiful cover. Will the story contained under the pages live up to promise of the gorgeous cover art?

I am a book behind in Ally Carter’s Heist Society, but I have plenty of time to get caught up.  Perfect Scoundrels doesn’t hit stores until 2013!  I love how sassy these covers are, and love the reflection in the model’s shades.  I can hardly wait to see the real thing!

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After an insane 24 hours of drinking, carjacking a vehicle of stolen goods, Kylie and Max wake up in bed, donning matching wedding bands. Wait... WHAT?!  They haven't even graduated yet!  To make matters worse, Kylie can't remember how she ended up here with Max or why he seems so happy about it.  Don't they hate each other?  The person who really won't be happy is Lily, and she's just walked in the door. Oops!  With only a few hours to spare before they grab their diplomas, Kylie, Max, Will and Lily will have to make sense of the previous days' events but they'll have to make it back across the border first.

Click here to read my full review...

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I really enjoyed hearing Christian Trimmer speak at a recent SCBWI event at The Loft at Congress.  Huge thanks to Christian, Linda Bernfeld, Laurie Taddonio, and Flora Doone for putting together such a wonderful event.  And free, too!  FL SCBWI rocks, and I’m so lucky to be a part of it.

Christian has been in the business for seven years, and absolutely raves about his authors, such as Mo Willems, Stacey Kade, and Robin Mellom. Right now, he said that Disney Hyperion isn’t actively looking for paranormal or much science fiction.  He loves books with rich details that find the truth in relationships, like Ditched by Robin Mellom and Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford.

What do editors want?  Christian said a great voice, authenticity, and honest emotions.  Research helps make the world more believable. Pay attention to the details!  This helps make sure that readers can see the scenes, too and adds a layer of credibility. 

In almost all his editorial letters, he mentions character motivation.  If you can’t see what drives a character, then neither will readers.  When you create a character, you want readers to see themselves in that person.  You need to have an emotional arc (which helps readers genuinely care about a character) and a narrative arc.

     Here are some tips Christian shared with us:     

* Build a network—it’s great for support (he could tell our local SCBWI is an extremely supportive group).  Seek help with info if you need it.

* Make yourself stand out.  Marketing and publicity love when a writer has an active blog and large online following.

* Seek out agents who rep books from authors you admire.

* If you receive several offers, make sure you chat with an editor on the phone before accepting to make sure he or she is the right one for you. 

* You need to be prepared to sell books.  You have to talk about your books, and try to get your face out in the community to teachers, librarians, and book sellers.

* Envision your entire career—not just selling one book.  

* Set real deadlines and be disciplined enough to make them.  Write daily!

* Everyone’s pa

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This second book about the Darlings - Jane, Natalya, and Victoria - follows immediately on the heels of The Darlings Are Forever, picking up on the romantic dramas each girl left unfinished at the end of that first book. Natalya still has a crush on Colin, the brother of one her classmates at school, Victoria is now dating Jack, even though she's not convinced they have anything in common, and Jane has found love on the stage, acting opposite Simon, who is everything she wants in a guy, except for the fact that he might be gay. Each of the girls struggles throughout this book to figure out how to juggle romance with the rest of her life. Victoria, in particular, agonizes over every detail of her relationship with Jack, torturing herself as she tries to get things just right. Natalya, too, struggles to decide whether it's okay to be interested in a boy who has a girlfriend, especially if that girlfriend is also her friend. Everything culminates, for better or for worse, at an art show, honoring the work of Jane's late grandmother, Nana, who was a special influence in the lives of all three girls.

Compared with the first Darlings book, this one moved a lot faster, and kept a stronger momentum. Jumping from point of view to point of view had me in a constant state of suspense. I'd be reading the latest twist or turn in one girl's part of the story and also anxiously waiting to find out what would happen to the other girls. The pacing was just right, and I was really impressed by how seamlessly Kantor changed between viewpoints. I never got confused about whose mindset I was in, and I never got lost in the many, many threads that tie this story together.

The book also has a lot of emotion in it, something that teenage girls can definitely relate to. Jane, Natalya, and Victoria experience many highs and lows throughout this book, and the reader really empathizes with them, even when we might not agree with the girls' actions. The girls' friendship also remains as strong as ever, which is a wonderful testament to the importance and power of friends in the face of great difficulties.

Melissa Kantor has quickly become one of my favorite contemporary YA authors. I really hope  there will be another Darlings sequel, and I can't wait to read anything else Kantor might write in the future as well. Look for The Darlings in Love this January 10th. In the meantime, check out some of her other titles that I have also reviewed:

Girlfriend Material
The Breakup Bible
The Darlings Are Forever

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Title: Queen of the Dead (The Ghost and the Goth #2) Author: Stacey Kade Publisher: Hyperion ISBN: 978-1423134671

 

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

I really, really like this series!  The characters are so much fun, and Stacey Kade successfully gives Will and Alona distinctive voices in their alternating chapters.  I always know who the current narrator is, even without seeing the chapter headings, and it’s refreshing that they are both so different.  Alona is spoiled, brash, and used to getting her own way, while Will is much more restrained and not nearly as abrasive.  I liked Will better both in the previous book and at the beginning of Queen of the Dead, but I am happy to say that Alona is actually going through some very convincing character development.  Now I like them both equally, though Alona still had lapses to her meaner past, but now it’s a flaw she needs to overcome, instead of just an annoyance when her selfishness rears its ugly head.

I don’t want to reveal many spoilers, because the plot twists and turns were so delightful, so I’ll briefly touch on a few of the elements that I liked best about this outing with Will and Alona.  I enjoy the chemistry between them, even though at the start of the book it’s obvious that Alona is calling the shots in that department.  Will’s crush on the fiery beauty seems doomed to failure.  After all, Alona is a ghost, but more importantly, she earns herself quite a bit of joy manipulating him and taking charge of their relationship.  Alona is a master at getting people to do her bidding, and she doesn’t hesitate to use her wiles on Will.  Everything to her is a competition.  I have to admit that I wasn’t her biggest fan in the beginning, and I thought Will was

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Title: Red Moon Rising Author: Peter Moore Publisher: Disney Hyperion ISBN: 978-1423116653

 

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Being only half-vamp in a high school like Carpathia Night makes you a whole loser. But Danny Gray manages to escape the worst of the specists at his school. Thanks to genetic treatments he had as an infant, most people assume Danny’s other half is human. Which is a good thing.   

Ever since the development of synthetic blood – SynHeme – vamps have become society’s elite, while wulves like his father work menial jobs and live in bad neighborhoods.  Wulves are less than second class citizens; once a month they become inmates, forced to undergo their Change in dangerous government compounds.

For Danny, living with his vamp mother and going to a school with a nearly all-vamp student body, it’s best to pretend his wulf half doesn’t even exist.  But lately Danny’s been having some weird symptoms — fantastic night vision; a keener-than-usual sense of smell; and headaches, right around the full moon.

Even though it’s easy to be in denial, it’s hard to ignore evidence.  There’s only a month until the next few moon, and Danny’s time is running out.

Review:

I am surprised by how much I loved this book!  When I first sat down with it, it just wasn’t clicking with me.  We weren’t bonding.  I put it down after just a few pages, and started reading something else.  Then, I went back to it, and I was puzzled by my prior response to it.  I got sucked right into the story, and didn’t want to put the book down!  I guess that proves that there is a time and a place for every story – you just have to connect at the right time.

I loved Danny Gray.  What a terrific character!  I feel that I really got to know him, and I appreciated his fears and doubts.  He’s half-vamp and half-wulf, and lately he’s been feeling pretty strange.  Vampyres never get sick, but suddenly Danny isn’t feeling too hot.  Synthetic blood nauseates him.  He’s suffering from intensely painful headaches. Slowly he begins to have a dreadful fear – what if he’s going to Change?

The world of Red Moon Rising had me totally convinced that vampyres, werewulves, and humans mingled together in society.   Vamps are shrewd and highly intelligent, and they pretty much run the show.  Wulves are discriminated against, thought to possess lower IQ’s, and are strictly regulated by the government.  They are forced to register, and are required, by law, to report to unsafe compounds every month during the full moon.  Unregistered wulves are considered no better than animals, and they hunted without mercy.  You can imagine Danny’s dismay when he starts to think that his werewulf genes are winning a battle for his body.

The relationships held my interest, and since the book is character driven, interpersonal dynamics needed to be strong.  They were.  Danny has many relationships to iron out, including dealing with his guilt about his father.  After being embarrassed at school by him, Danny dropped him like a hot potato and hasn’t had much to do with him.  Now that he’s showing signs of the Change, he needs his father’s advice, and it takes a lot for him to contact his dad again after not speaking to him in years.  Then there are the usual teenage boy issues for him to work through; his first crush seems to like him back, and he’s being bullied by the most popular guy in school.  Of all of the relationships, the

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Mercy by Rebecca Lim Publication date: 17 May, 2011 from Disney-Hyperion ISBN 10/13: 1423145178 / 9781423145172
Category: Young Adult Fantasy