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The Actor And The Housewife by Shannon Hale. Bloomsbury USA. 2009. Copy from BEA.

The Plot: Becky Jack is sitting in a Hollywood office, selling her screenplay to a producer. Who would have thunk it! Becky, a Mormon housewife, seven months pregnant, happily married to Mike, three young kids at home, in Hollywood. It's surreal. And gets more odd when Felix Callahan -- yes THAT Felix Callahan, the totally hot A list British actor married to a French model -- walks into her meeting. One comment leads to another and the next thing you know, Becky and Felix are.... friends?!?

The Good: This was one weird ass book. And I mean that in a good way. This book doesn't fit into any one genre; if you go in with certain expectations, chances are, you'll be puzzled, at the least.

What IS this book about? Friendship. Pure, simple, complicated, teasing, flirting, friendship. When can a married woman and a married man who are NOT married to each other be friends? The type of BFFs when just thinking about the other person makes you smile? With shared jokes and banter and giggles?

Wait, you say. That's not friendship! That's romance.

Is it?

Hale explores just that issue -- when can two people of the opposite sex be friends. What is friendship? And what is romance? What is love? What creates temptation? Should any temptation be avoided? Does that mean locking oneself away? If there is banter and a connection, does that mean there is, or could be, something more? Hale raises some uncomfortable questions and explores some touchy issues, and does so during an eleven (eleven!!) year period in the lives of Becky and Felix

There is more! There is Becky, who is so, well, normal and happy that you almost -- almost -- cannot stand her because she has the perfect family, perfect children, perfect husband, and now perfect best friend in Mr. Famous Felix. Hale weaves in things, puts things together, so Becky isn't perfect, but is likable and normal and very nextdoorish. While Felix is, well -- I'm sure every reader will picture a different famous actor in the Felix role. For the record? Hugh Grant. Also? For some reason, I picture Patricia Arquette as Becky, probably because she is so nextdoorish in Medium and Joe reminds me of Becky's husband, Mike. Except, just for the record, Becky Jack is not a medium and does not solve crimes. This book isn't THAT weird ass.

But this is more than an examination of life, love, and relationships. It's also funny! Laugh out loud, wishing you had said it, wishing you had that friend funny. I giggled my way through the book. Becky and Felix's banter are something out of, well, a Hollywood movie. Here is the dialogue from their first meeting, where they have literally, just met. And remember, Becky is seven months pregnant, and in a real person way, not a Hollywood model way. By coincidence, they are walking into the same restaurant, in that uncomfortable together but not together moment, Becky ahead of Felix.

Becky: Anyway, just so you know, I'm not following you.

Felix: Technically, I'm following you.

Becky: Yeah, I didn't want to mention that. You should do horror movies -- you're kind of creepy.

Felix: I get that a lot. People magazine's Creepiest Man of the Year, Lifetime's Top Ten Hunks Who Give Us The Willies, that sort of thing.

Becky: Where do you keep all the trophies?

Felix: In an abandoned shed in the forest.

Becky: Infested with bats and rusty farm equipment?

Felix: Naturally.

Becky and Felix appear to be opposites; but they fall into a patter, a way of looking at the world, that is similar. Each is, well, a good, decent, person. Felix, for example, interrupts Becky's business meeting by accident and realizes she is about to sell her screenplay without an agent. Felix steps in and tells her what terms to negotiate. (Wondering what favorable terms to ask for when selling an option on your screenplay? Page 17.)

One of the (many) areas that Becky and Felix have nothing in common is religion. This is one of those rare books that includes religion (Becky & family are Mormons) just as part of who the people are. Prayer, church attendance, etc. are just woven into the fabric of their lives.

Hale is best know for her fantasy books for teens (as well as Austenland). This, on the other hand, is realistic fiction. Except it's almost a fantasy... c'mon, a regular person who just happens to become best friends with famous actor? And he turns out to be an awesome guy? Yeah, there is a fantastical element here, for anyone who has daydreamed about meeting Mr Perfect. And being there friend. But maybe that's just me. Oh, and Ally Carter and George Clooney.

For those of us interested in covers, I found that the image up at Amazon and the one I had were different. See the photo to the side here? How different it is from the real cover, above? Subtle differences; here, on what I imagine is an earlier draft of the final photo the housewife is way more formal the Becky Jack: hair in an up do and pearls. The real cover has long hair, less formal, and a pie that looks more enticing. Plus, the actor -- here, if you look at it quick, as I did, you don't realize it's the actor but think it may be the housewife's legs. (Just me? Really?) The real cover shows more of the actor than his chin -- we also see his smile -- and that defines the shoulders more, so it's clearer there is a second person.


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

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I know not many of you have had a chance to read it yet, but I’ve had a couple of requests for discussion of this book, so I’ll go ahead and open a post for it now. Chime in when you can!

Here’s my post about it.

You can read the first chapter at author Shannon Hale’s website.

WARNING: There will very likely be spoilers in the comments below, since it’s difficult to discuss any book without discussing its plot. That’s why I’d rather do most of my book-talking in the comments rather than in a post. These open threads are an attempt at a compromise between my oh-I-just-read-this-and-am-dying-to-talk-about-it urges and my deep abhorrence of plot spoilers. Read on at your own risk.

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Well, June’s just whizzing past, isn’t it? I must have picked about thirty tomatoes this afternoon. And that’s not counting the ones I harvested at Farm Town.

A moment to hold: standing in the kitchen with Rose, eating sunwarmed tomatoes with fresh basil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, while Rilla practiced snipping stray basil leaves.

A book I really enjoyed: the one Scott stole from me the other day, Shannon Hale’s The Actor and the Housewife. He finished it quickly and I got my turn. It’s a unique sort of book; I’ve never read anything like it—and yet it felt comfortably familiar in a very good way, as if I’d been expecting this story to come along. I hadn’t, but that’s how it felt. The novel opens with a chance encounter between Becky, a 34-year-old Mormon housewife seven months pregnant with her fourth child, and Felix, the world’s most devastingly handsome and charming British movie star. I kept shifting between picturing Hugh Grant (he’s a little too old for the beginning) and Colin Firth (because, well, duh)—but really I think there was more Hugh in Felix than Colin, and probably I shouldn’t have been picturing anyone specific at all but I couldn’t help it, because the whole thing is about the unlikely friendship between Becky, my own personal Mary Sue if ever I met one, and this British actor. You know who else would work? For the movie version, because there is bound to be one? That guy, what’s his name, tall and charming dark-haired fellow, played Julia Roberts’s other best friend in My Best Friend’s Wedding. And was also in The Importance of Being Earnest. I could look him up in two seconds. I’m being stubborn here. Wanting to grab his name, but all I’m coming up with is Rupert. Everett? Rupert Everett? Is that a person?

Jude Law would also work. Oh! EWAN MACGREGOR!

But really the guy is a total Hugh Grant.

Enough already. What is my problem tonight? See, this is how my brain really works, and then I try to scrub out all the nonsense for you before I hit ‘publish.’ Tonight I’m too punchy to bother polishing the prose. Feh.

Anyway, the book. The book that I really really enjoyed. Becky and Felix meet because Becky has managed to sell a screenplay, something that happened quite by accident and wasn’t remotely a lifelong ambition or anything like that. Felix wanders into the office at the production company that winds up optioning the screenplay, and he and Becky do not hit it off, except that really they do. They fall easily into sarcastic banter with one another, and the insults quickly escalate, but it’s really a connection between two quick-witted minds, and one thing leads to another, and—they become friends.

Both are happily, swoonily married. Neither finds anything remotely appealing about the lifestyle the other leads. There’s a question floating underneath their first encounters, a worrisome will-there-be-romance question (worrisome because of the happy marriages), and since that question is part of what this book is about, I won’t say more right now. HOWEVER, I would love to discuss the book (or any book I mention on this blog, always, got it?), so if you’d like to chat away in the comments, let’s do so—just lead off with a big spoiler warning if you’re going to get into particulars.

Of course I know it’s a new book so maybe not many of you have had a chance to read it yet. If you’re wanting one nice fat book to take on vacation, this is a good pick. I have to say I really enjoyed Becky as a character. Which is, I guess, something one should NOT admit to after having already named that character a Mary Sue. But, you know, she’s a type we seldom see in contemporary fiction. Unlike the whiners who had me rolling my eyes throughout The Ten-Year Nap, Becky’s a woman who embraces the wife-and-mother gig with her whole being. She loves creating a home for her family. She’s got no restless itch—the screenplays are something that bubble out of her creative energy, not the product of unfulfilled longing or restlessness. Fabulous character. It’s about time.

However, I will say this—she’s so awesome she makes me look bad. I said to Scott, about halfway through, “Wow, I don’t come close to measuring up to Becky!” and he replied with appropriately Felix-like snark, which is exactly the sort of thing I married him for. Becky, let me tell you, is the kind of supermom readers of this blog sometimes mistakenly think I am, and whereas I have to gently set those folks straight with posts like this, Becky really is kind of super. I mean, she cooks! And bakes pies, extra pies for giving away! Just because!

Thank goodness she’s a fictional person. We needn’t envy her; we may simply enjoy her. Her story made me laugh out loud a good many times, and I cried at least three times. And right here is where I run into the problem I always run into when I blog about books. So much more to say, but I don’t want to give anything away. Have many thoughts regarding specific things, but don’t want to affect anyone’s first reaction. Oh dear. This is a complication of blogging I will never resolve. I have no wish to write reviews in the official book-review sense; I write about books out of my enthusiasm for the things I have read and enjoyed. So what I need you to do is read it and tell me if you enjoyed it too. Comparing notes! That’s what I like to do. Right.

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I haven’t even bothered unpacking from Dallas last week, because I’m turning right around and flying to New York this week. A day in New York City to have a 3-hour lunch with my editor (it’s our annual lunch, so there’s always a lot to catch up on–even though we just talked two weeks [...]

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Last week to buy your tickets! See Stephenie Meyer in person and participate in the live auction, where you can bid to win a signed Stephenie Meyer manuscript, the Forever Dawn epilogue–even lunch with Stephenie Meyer herself! (Note: Since these are all part of the “live” auction, you must be present to win.) If [...]

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[NOTE: THIS HAS BEEN UPDATED TO REFLECT AWESOME RESPONSES ALREADY!] Okay, then, here’s the deal: A friend of mine–a friend of many of ours–is too young to have breast cancer but has it. Believe me, we’ve all done a lot of cussing about this. And although we all know money can’t cure everything, we [...]

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Alrighty, Graphic Novel Week is not over yet, because I still have some graphic novels to talk about!

Today, it's Graphic Novels for the 12-and-under set.

Anyway, normally I don't review Babymouse books, because they fall under my 100 page rule and don't really meet any of the exceptions to that rule (books that pack a huge literary wallop so I feel like the 100 page rule doesn't matter, books that I have to review or discuss critically for something else, books I have something interesting to say about and that I feel compelled to talk about.)

Anyway, BUT! It's Graphic Novels week! And the new Babymouse is about musicals, so it totally fits under the parameters of Becky's Do Re Mi challenge.

Babymouse: The Musical Jennifer and Matthew Holm

It's the musical and Babymouse and Felcia are going head-to-head for the lead. Plus! New British boy!

There's not much story to this one, but lots of references to other musicals-- Chorus Line, High School Musical, Lion King, My Fair Lady, Pirates of Penzance, American Idol, Grease, Annie, West Side Story, Cats, Fiddler on the Roof, Chicago, Les Miserables, Sound of Music, Evita, and some that I know I'm missing.

Plus, the squid in her locker is totally playing the role of the Phantom of the Opera (or, rather, the Phantom of the Locker).

I don't think kids will get all the references to the different musicals, but it is fun. Fans of Babymouse will like this one (who else literally breaks their leg?)

Fashion Kitty and the Unlikely Hero Charise Mericle Harper

Fashion Kitty is meeting disaster--they need school uniforms! How will Kiki and her friends cope with everyone looking the same?

Plus, no choices in fashion mean that Fashion Kitty is no longer a super-hero in demand! So, when Fashion Kitty does get a call, she's more than a little dejected when her helpful advice is rejected...

Can Fashion Kitty save the day? Or will someone else end up solving this problem?

I really like Fashion Kitty. While the story is light and fun, there is some meat on it. It is mainly a graphic novel, but their usually is a sentence or two on every page offering some narration. The back of this book features a fashion fortune teller, as well as paper dolls of Kiki and June (paper dolls end up being rather important in the story itself.) I also like that the glitter on the cover STAYS on the cover and does not dust off all over the place.

Rapunzel's Revenge Shannon and Dean Hale, Nathan Hale

You know how everyone says this rootin'-tootin' old west take on Rapunzel is awesome? It is. I don't have much more to say than that, it's all been said before. There's a reason this bad girl won the Cybil!

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The Cybils team has, of course, been thrilled at the Cybils-themed graphics that we received from Mo Willems and from the Rapunzel's Revenge team of Shannon and Dean Hale and Nathan Hale (see the images in the posts below). But we are equally thrilled by these other author and media responses to the Cybils:

The Cybils award was mentioned in a positive light in this School Library Journal article by Debra Lau Whelan about self-censorship (in the context of awards received by last year's YA winner, Boy Toy). Thanks to Gail Gauthier for the link.

Shortly before the winners were announced, I had a lovely email from Helen Frost, author of middle grade fiction shortlist title Diamond Willow. Helen said: "I am amazed and delighted that Diamond Willow is a Cybils finalist, and so impressed with the quality and depth of the conversation about my book and others. Thank you so much for honoring our books in this way."

As soon as the winners were announced, School Library Journal reported on the winners in an article by Rocco Staino. He said: "Nothing warms a librarian’s heart more than another book award list, and on Valentine’s Day kid lit bloggers announced the winners of the Cybils".

Middle Grade Fantasy winner Neil Gaiman wrote on his blog: "The Graveyard Book won a Cybil Award -- which is the children's book award from the blogging community. I was thrilled. All of the Cybil nominees and winners looked good this year, and I'm proud to be among them, and congratulations to everyone involved."

Cylin Busby, co-author with her father John Busby of The Year We Disappeared, wrote about winning the Cybils award for middle grade/YA nonfiction, saying: "Went to the "Kids Heart Authors" event at our local indie this morning (Skylight Books in Los Feliz). And when we got home, there were tons of emails in my inbox saying "Congrats!" and whatnot. So I thought, "wow, folks are getting pretty excited about this CBS show tonight, but it's not like we won an award or something...." oops. We DID win an award. A Cybils Award!"

E. Lockhart wrote: "I am so so pleased that The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks won a Cybils Award for best young adult novel!"

And we had lovely mentions from Paul at Omnivoracious ("These blogger literary awards definitely succeed in identifying the organic chicken nuggets of the kid-lit world"), sassmonkey from BlogHer "The Cybils are one of the most fun book awards out there ... It's a grassroots as an award can be and it's utterly fantastic.", and Carol Rasco's RIF blog ("Check out this year’s winners as well as the process for Cybils and be prepared to nominate your favorites in October 2009!").

The Cybils winners were also covered by too many children's and young adult book blogs to mention. Thank you all for helping to spread and share our joy in this year's winners! -- Jen Robinson, Literacy Evangelist

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Remember back in May when I raved about a certain graphic novel by the name of Rapunzel's Revenge? Penned by my-favorite-author Shannon Hale along with her husband Dean, and astoundingly illustrated by Nathan Hale? Well, just as I predicted, the book is becoming a smash hit: in September, Shannon and Dean will be interviewed on the Today Show(!), as part of Al's Book Club for Kids! The book has just been released, so now all of you can get your hands on a copy, too.

As you can imagine, I was completely thrilled when the threesome agreed to let me interview them. Enjoy~

Shannon and Dean, how was Rapunzel's Revenge born? What was the initial inspiration for it? Did you know right away that you wanted it to be a graphic novel? If not, how did that idea evolve?

SHANNON: Dean and I wanted to collaborate. I said "fairy tale." He said, "superhero comic book." And one kick-butt fairy tale super heroine was born.

DEAN: I'd been waiting several years for a properly manly coat-tail riding opportunity, and this was my best shot.

Nathan, when did you first hear about this project? What was your reaction?

NATHAN: I was in a Utah writers group, Shannon was asking for book donations from authors. They were for some kind of charity Christmas tree. I mailed her a copy of my picture book, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW. She emailed to ask if I’d done graphic novel work before, I told her I hadn’t, but had always wanted to. Around that time her publisher (Bloomsbury) actually bought my publisher (Walker) so we technically had the same publisher. She told me that she and Dean had written a graphic novel version of Rapunzel as a western. I begged her to let me submit illustrations with the manuscript. We spent a month or two putting the bundle together (at this point, I think I’d only met Shannon once or twice in person.) I did a bunch of character drawings, and a map (the same map ended up in the book.) The gang at Bloomsbury liked the artwork and signed the three of us up.

The making of a graphic novel. What was the process like? Please share your point of view of the collaboration and working together.

SHANNON: Dean and I wrote all the dialog and captions as well as a description of what was going on in each panel. It's sort of like writing a screenplay. We certainly didn't sketch rough scenes--not if we ever wanted Nate to respect us. It was always fun to see what Nate did with our script, how he could perfectly capture the humor we were going for, and how he'd take our descriptions and add to them.

DEAN: What she said. The process and the format evolved a little as we worked all worked together - it got a little more free form, I think, as Shannon and I constantly rewrote each others' scenes and we saw the kinds of things Nate would suggest (or ignore).

NATHAN: When I came on board, Shannon and Dean were finishing the final draft. So the story arc and dialogue were all pinned down. I didn’t start work until the final draft had been fully edited and finalized by Bloomsbury.

I did a pencil sketch version of the book. The original sketch version was about 160 pages—20 pages too long. So we had to go back and trim down a few action sequences. The revised pencil sketches went back to the publisher and everyone made notes, the editor, Shannon and Dean. Then I made changes based on the notes. After the pencils had been okayed, I moved on to inking and coloring. My wife, Mindy had a background in desktop publishing, so she took over the lettering and balloons.

The last step was doing the cover. We went back and forth on Rapunzel’s expression, should she be smiling or angry? Mouth open or closed? I must have painted six different mouths for her. But I think we ended up with the right one.


What was the hardest part of the process for you? What did you learn/take from this?

SHANNON: The hardest part for me was making sure we were using this medium to its best advantage and not just writing a short novel. And keeping the text tight. You have to say so much with so few words, and we crammed as much story and action in there as possible!

DEAN: Actually getting off my butt and doing my part. Shannon has such an incredible work ethic - she would spend all day watching the kids and still be gung-ho. I come back from sitting at a desk for 8 hours and all I want to do is lay in bed and twitch.

NATHAN: Ugh. The COLORING. Doing the pencil sketches was tough, but exciting, it was like storyboarding a movie. It took a lot of thinking and problem solving. Inking was fun. That was just drawing, fleshing out the pencil sketches. But the coloring was murder. The color is digital. Photoshop layers on top of the drawing. And it was slow, and so, so boring. I have a tablet monitor, where you draw directly on the computer screen. When it’s been on a while, it gets really warm. I’d get cozy and fall asleep.

There's a sequel, in the works! Hooray! Anything you can share about that? What part of the process is that in right now?

SHANNON: It's called Calamity Jack. Nate named it, and the title rocks. The main character is Jack, though Rapunzel is a big part of it. We get a little of Jack's backstory and then the story takes off from there after the events in Rapunzel's Revenge. This one is an urban tale and just as kick-butt as the original, if not more so. Nate's illustrating it now and cursing our names under his breath every day. What's that, Nate? Your entire life has become these graphic novels? You must have been insane to agree to do it in a year? Too late now, baby, you've signed your soul away. Ha-ha-ha!

DEAN: There are giant ants in it, which means it is clearly a work of genius. Nate's inking it now, and it looks great.

NATHAN: Yeah I’m about a quarter of the way through inking it now. Tonight I’m inking page 67. Which features a tiny house, a big hat, and a newspaper. I’m having a great time, it’s going to be a really fun book! (Just don’t talk to me when I’m coloring it.)

What do you think a graphic novel can offer a reader that no other format of book can?

SHANNON: I like to alternate a graphic novel with each novel I read, sort of to cleanse the palate. It's a different kind of reading and refreshing. For visual readers, the impact is HUGE! I always wanted to have a book I could give to those readers who are visual learners and need that hook to get into the story. I'm so thrilled now to have one. It's turned out as good and better than I'd hoped. Nate Hale is a god among illustrators.

DEAN: I think there's a kind of storytelling you can do in a graphic novel that you can't get anywhere else, at least not in my experience - something about the way you can play with time and imagination. I feel like you can get the in-your-face engagement of movies without abandoning the personal experience of a novel.

NATHAN: Pictures, lots and lots of little pictures.


Thank you SO much, guys and gal, for your time and super-fun answers!

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It's June! Glorious, busy June!

I am back from Iowa--it was beautiful and sunny and I ran into Kelly at the coffee shop and am happy, sleepy, and sunburned. It's fun to see that the people I went to college with are fundamentally the same. We're happier and better dressed, and can now afford MUCH better beer, but fundamentally we're the same. And it's awesome.

We have some fun events coming up here in blog-land. Events YOU can all play along with at home.

First off, Weekly Geeks has declared this week's geekery to be "catch up on reviews week" which I think is something we all need to do, right? So this week (until Friday) I'm aiming for 5 reviews a day. (Even though I am way more than 25 books behind-- I currently have 39 unblogged books, but given I have issues blogging 5 books a week, I'll aim for 5 a day. It's like vegetables. 5 a day!).

This weekend is MotherReader's 48 Hour Book Challenge. Go sign up for your chance to turn X-treme Reading into an X-treme sport. Also, take a vote in my sidebar for which books you'd like me to read!

AND! At the end of the month (June 28-29) is the 24 Hour Read-a-thon to benefit Reading is Fundamental. More information on the event and to sign up is here. And information on how to sponsor my reading extravaganza is here.

Anyway, let's get started on that 5-a-day business, ok?

Ever Gail Carson Levine

As far as I'm aware, this is an original tale. Olus is the Akkan God of the winds (part of a pantheon that reminds one of Greek or Roman mythology. At 17, he's the youngest of the Gods by a few hundred years and is lonely. He longs for a mortal friend, but fails in his attempts to make friends.

Kezi lives in the land of the Admat, and omnipotent, invisible God more similar to the religions of Abraham...

In his longing for friends, Olus has become a shepard and rents land from Kezi's father and falls hopelessly in love. However, Kezi is doomed to die. Not in the way that all mortals will die eventually, but she has been promised as a sacrifice to Admat and will die in 30 days.

Olus knows of ways one can become immortal, but Kezi would have to realize that there are other Gods than Admat, and she must become a herione and Olus must become her champion. Only then can they possibly save Kezi's life.

Told in short chapters of alternating viewpoints, this is a bit of a departure from such Levine classics as Ella Enchanted and Fairest but Levine knows how to tell a story. The language is more sparse than I'm used to and it lacks her usual humor, but Levine can paint a scene with a minimum number of words . I liked the illustrations used above the chapter numbers-- the numbering system looks like an ancient form of writing and it was fun to realize what was going on there. I think Levine fans will still love this. I also think it will really appeal to fans of Julius Lester's Cupid: A Tale of Love and Desire.

Book of a Thousand Days Shannon Hale

Once again Hale turns to the Brothers Grimm for inspiration, this time, not Rapunzel as the tower suggests, but Maid Maleen.

Set in a land inspired by Ancient Mongolia, Dashti is mucker, a nomad, looked down on by the city dwellers. But she is also an orphan and must find work to survive and becomes the maid to Lady Saren, only to find that Saren is about to be locked up in a tower for seven years after refusing the match her father has made.

Dashti goes to the tower where it is dark and foreboding. Although they have been left enough food to last seven years, that's only if they can keep it from the rats. Lady Saren is spoiled and given to tantrums. She is also completely helpless. Lord Kasar, the dreaded fiance appears frequently to taunt the captives. But Khan Tegus, Lady Saren's true love also visits and brings small comforts in the form of a branch that smells of the outdoors and a cat to help with the rats.

Shannon Hale is still on the top of her game. She can paint a culture and a people with just a few sentences. This book is also illustrated, which is nice. I'm reading it in ARC form, so I think some illustrations are missing but the ones that are included are nice. Most are made to look like the illustrations Dashti herself has drawn in her diary, but there is high artistic quality.

There is much to the book besides the days in the tower, although there isn't much to the Grimm tale, and that's where Hale's magic lies-- when she takes the tale way beyond its original borders, while still staying true to the source material.

full disclosure: I got the ARC from the publisher last summer at ALA, but I would have read it anyway, I mean, it's SHANNON HALE!

The Swan Maiden Heather Tomlinson

Doucette has always been jealous of her older sisters. Beautiful and haughty, they're able to work magic, while she is plain and stuck at home learning how to be a chastelaine. Embroidery and running a household is nothing on her sisters who can fly.

But then she finds the swan skin her mother has hidden from her, the swan skin her mother would give Doucette's future husband in order to keep her from running.

But, the true story comes when Doucette falls in love with a shepherd boy. In order to gain the right to marry her, he must perform 3 impossible tasks. But that might not be enough to keep them together...

Doucette is a character that's easy to identify with, but more so. Not only are her sisters perfect and beautiful, which is bad enough, but dude! They can fly! And Doucette is always falling down and tearing her clothing and always left behind.

And then when she gets what she thinks she wants, it doesn't necessarily help.

A wonderful addition to the genre that should be read by everyone who likes Shannon Hale or Juliet Marillier, but will also appeal to those who aren't already converts to the new breed to fairy tale retellings or original tales that maintain that old timeless quality.

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It smells amazing. It feels amazing. It is ze most beautiful ARC I've ever received. It is.....



....Rapunzel's Revenge by SHANNON AND DEAN HALE!

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What would you do if you were locked up with your friend in a tower for seven years? Five people - one bookseller, one librarian, one huge Shannon Hale fan, and two published authors - gathered to chat about Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale, the readergirlz book selection for May 2008. Luckily, we all brought our keys and our escape plans.

Miss Erin: Before we start, everyone should know that I am one of THE biggest Shannon Hale fans you can possibly find. I would say biggest, but I think the girls at the Little Red Reading Hood forum would protest. Over there, we all pretty much tie for that position. I just thought that everyone should know that Shannon is my hero, and the most wonderful person I've ever met. Now that we've got that clear, let the conversation commence!

Lorie Ann Grover: I'm so glad Shannon was free to participate, Miss Erin. I did hear you hit the floor when you received the news.

Little Willow: Whenever I shelve Shannon Hale's books, I think of Erin because I know how much she enjoys them. Were any of you familiar with the folktale upon which Book of a Thousand Days was based?

Lorie Ann: No, I didn't know of the fairy tale.

Dia Calhoun: I'm not sure. I remember something about a girl being locked up in a tower, but maybe I'm thinking of Rapunzel!

Erin: No. I read it after I read the book, and was astounded by how many of the novel's themes and elements Shannon pulled from the original tale.

Jackie: No, and that's actually the cool thing about Hale's books. They are just dripping with fairy tale goodness, but she always picks obscure enough tales that you really don't know what you are in for. Both comforting and familiar in style, but fresh in content. This is why Erin obsesses.

Erin: Yes. Shannon Hale books are the ultimate comfort reads. Every time I reread one I love it even more (if that is possible!) than I did before.

LW: Do you consider yourself to be a fan of fairy tales and folktales?

Jac: OMG, like, do fairies have wings, and trolls carry clubs? I totally love 'em.

LW: Oh my goodness, Jac just said OMG. I love fairy tales and tales with fairies - the two aren't mutually exclusive - but apparently, Jac's more into trolls than moi.

Lorie Ann: I'm not a huge fan. But I am interested in the classic types you find in fairy tales and how those are repeated through so many different cultures.

Dia: Absolutely! I love the tone of fairy tales and have actually written a picture book in a "fairy tale" voice. I love the simple, clear, strong language. I'd love to try to write a whole book in this voice, but alas, I tend to get too complex.

Erin: A HUGE fan! Fairy tale retellings are my favorite genre of books!

LW: What is your favorite folktale, or who is your folkteller?

Dia: The Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, and Andrew Lang.

Jac: I don't know why, but for some reason the only thing that comes to mind when you ask that question are tall tales, which I do love. My favorite is Clever Beatrice, a picture book. My mom got it autographed for me, and I love it.

Erin: I don't think I have a favorite. I love pretty much every fairy tale in existence. Fairy tales were the first form of fantasy literature I ever read. I read books and books of them when I was younger.

Jac: Oh! Also I love all the Paul O. Zelinsky illustrated fairy tales. Those are just gorgeous.

LW: I love retold fairy tales, especially when they are done well.

Erin: What is your favorite retelling? Shannon's books aside, I love Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine, Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier, and, recently, A Curse Dark As Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce. To name only a few.

Jac: Oh! Ella Enchanted! Yay!

LW: I like Ella Enchanted - better book than movie, by the way - but Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix is great.

Lorie Ann: I also love Donna Jo Napoli's work. Zel still haunts me! I, of course, treasure Dia Calhoun's Phoenix Dance, and Robin McKinley is just brilliant!

LW: Christopher Golden does a phenomenal job retelling well-known stories. For example, his novel Straight on 'til Morning sets the tale of Peter Pan in 1981 and makes it a coming-of-age story AND a horror novel. Brilliant. He also has a trilogy called The Veil in which a modern man must go on a quest with legends from all kinds of myths, such as Jack Frost and Kitsune, with the Sandman as their adversary.

Dia: I love Juliette Marillier's retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses. And anything by Donna Jo Napoli.

LW: Which Shannon Hale book is your favorite?

Dia: Oh, what a hard choice. I'd have to say Goose Girl. I think I like it best because it was one of my favorite fairy tales when I was a girl. I particularly remember an illustration of the Goose Girl that I used to gaze at for hours.

LW: To date, I've read four of Hale's novels - The Goose Girl, Princess Academy, Austenland, and Book of a Thousand Days - and enjoyed them all.

Erin: I seriously don't have one. It depends on which I've read most recently.

Jac: This very moment I'm going to say Book of a Thousand Days, but if I ever get around to reading the Goose Girl books - ducks from invisible flying objects coming from Erin's direction - my answer might just change. I do have a special little place in me heart for Austenland, I might add. It's funny, though. Even though Austenland is the one without fairy tale/fantasy elements, it's still sort of a fantasy - just one that we create every time we open a book and start reading about the perfect love.

Erin: JACKIE! READ THEM! AAAHHH! Oh, and "the Goose Girl books" actually have the series name Books of Bayern. Just thought you should know.

Jac: I know, but I was too lazy to go look the series title up before I spoke. Remember who attended TWO Shannon Hale/Libba Bray appearances with you, WITHOUT directions, and getting LOST like five times, JUST to feed your obsession. I'm not full of ignorance. Maybe like, a quarter full...

Erin: Yes, Jackie, you rock. That night rocked. Even the getting lost kind of rocked, once we got un-lost again.

Lorie Ann: While you two carry on, I'll say the images in Enna Burning stay in my mind the most.

LW: I know Erin's answer to this: Do you tend to read and enjoy stories told in diary format? I do. She doesn't.

Jac: I do. There's just something so approachable and, if done correctly, visceral about them. Of course if they were real diaries they'd be painful to read (go ahead, try NOT to cringe at your 12-year-old self's diary), so I much prefer the fictional ones.

Erin: I'm not usually a fan of diary-formatted books. Book of a Thousand Days, however, got the feel of a real journal just right.

Dia: It depends on the book. When it's well done, as in this case, I thoroughly enjoy it.

Lorie Ann: It's not my first choice, but Shannon did so well with the format. In other books, I feel distanced from the dialogue and action - although I do love the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series!

LW: This book has a cat. Sorry, this isn't a question. This is a statement. Pardon me as I quote Holly Golightly and scream, "CAT!"

Dia: I'm screaming, too. I loved My Lord the Cat. I can imagine what a comfort he must have been to Dashti.

LW: My cats were always a comfort. I miss them terribly.

Miss Erin: If I ever get a cat I will name him My Lord the Cat. Yes, I am that big of a Shan-fan. One of my two favorite scenes in the book (I'm not going to tell either because of spoilers) involves the cat.

Jac: Cat? Oh. right. He was persnickety.

LW: Make that purr-snickety. I can't deal with it when pets don't live in books. I was quite pleased that this cat survived the tale!

Lorie Ann: The cat was wonderful! One of my favorite characters! Did everyone enjoy the drawings? Did they help set the place for you?

Dia: I loved the drawings.

LW: Kudos to illustrator James Noel Smith. Whenever books feature characters who are artists, I yearn to see their paintings or hear their performances. It was so great to see Dashti's artwork within the context of the story.

Lorie Ann: The drawings did enrich the story. They helped me to see, through beautiful lines, this unfamiliar place. Thanks, James! And thanks Shannon for bringing us even closer to Dashti by giving her an artistic hand.

LW: What did you all think of Saren?

Dia: I'm so glad that Saren evolved into a strong young woman. I was so worried for her for much of the book.

Lorie Ann: I, too, was worried about Saren. I also was irritated and frustrated with her. Weren't you all? And then I rejoiced! She grew as much as Dashti, didn't she? In a believable way.

LW: Without spoiling any big plot points, were there any parts of this story that made you cry?

Dia: Dashti's selflessness made me cry. I don't think I'd be able to do that for anyone, myself.

Lorie Ann: No, I didn't cry, but I was very engaged by the story. I love Dashti's voice and the new world she brought to me in such simple lines as this: "It's a shame I don't have fresh yak dung or anything strong-smelling to scare the misery out of her."

Erin: I got choked up a few times.

Lorie Ann: Didn't everyone love the songs Dashti can sing. Don't you wish you had such powers?

Erin: YES. The power to heal using songs would be amazing.

LW: I love music, and I love singing. I don't long for supernatural singing powers outright, but I'd love to one day hear that the songs I write and sing bring happiness to others!

Miss Erin: Let's talk getting locked away in a tower for seven years with someone. Would you be brave or loyal enough to do that? What would you try to do to keep yourself from going crazy?

Jac: Gosh. It is highly unlikely that I would be loyal enough to that princess to do it. I think maybe if the tower had computer access and a library. Then maybe. But not that tower, or that princess, or those RATS!

LW: I couldn't be locked up anywhere for any duration of time. I am constantly in motion - my legs are dancing, walking, my lips are moving, I'm talking, singing. If and when I'm sitting, my fingers and eyes are moving because I'm reading, writing, typing.

Lorie Ann: For my children, I would. And you can always write. John Bunyan was locked in a tower prison and wrote Pilgrim's Progress. Perfect!

Dia: Does the tower have a big window that looks out onto a splendid ever-changing view? Then maybe, if I had books and paper and a treadmill! But I still think I would want a change after about a month. Is there chalk? Can I draw on the stone walls? Three things I take into the tower with me: Cat. Books. Paper/pen.

LW: I like the sound of that. Let's end the roundtable on that note.

Discuss Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale at the readergirlz forum.

Learn more about the book and its author in the May 2008 issue of readergirlz.

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This month, readergirlz are discussing Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale!

Read the May issue of readergirlz. There's a playlist for the book, plus book guide questions and party ideas.

Drop by the readergirlz forum and discuss the book with other readers, ALL MONTH LONG!

Download this month's poster. (PDF)

LIVE CHAT:
Join our hour-long chat with Shannon Hale on Thursday, May 22nd at 6 PM PST/9 PM EST at the readergirlz forum.

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