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I usually review Chicano Kidlit or YA novels on La Bloga and I thought it would be fun to give you all a taste of some of the books I read and recommend on AmoxCalli. I've picked three of my favorite YA novels to give you a little taste of something different - The Lighthouse Land, Anahita's Woven Riddle and Castle Waiting. Enjoy!

Oh and by the way mis compadres y comadre - you've been tagged for the What Books I'm Reading meme. Check out AmoxCalli for the details.

Castle Waiting
Author: Linda Medley
Publisher: Fantagraphics
ISBN-10: 1560977477
ISBN-13: 978-1560977476

This wonderful graphic novel brings together the first twelve issues of the Eisner Award winning comic. It opens with Brambly Hedge, a tale of a Sleeping Beauty with a twist. After Sleeping Beauty leaves with the prince the castle is left waiting. Her three ladies in waiting stay there and open it to people in need. The castle is infested with hobgoblins and is a little beat up but it welcomes the needy with open arms.
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Among its inhabitants are a pregnant woman on the run, Sir Destrier, a horse-headed knight who wants a place to rest between adventures; and Sister Peace, a bearded nun with a wild past. The women of the castle seem to love telling the stories of their lives and it is these stories that are the meat of Castle Waiting.

Linda Medley has created a masterpiece of fantasy, fairytale and just plain good storytelling. Castle Waiting is light-hearted, fun and different. The stories within stories are wonderful and the characters are multi-faceted and interesting. For me, Jain’s story was the most interesting. Jain was the pregnant woman on the run from an abusive nobleman husband and her tale was riveting and so different from the typical fairy tale.

The artwork is as light-hearted and fun as the story. The bearded nuns are a riot and really made me smile. Through the whole book with the intersecting stories is a thread of kindness and caring that really makes me smile. I love that Sleeping Beauty’s left behind castle is used to help those in need. I love the fact the women who remain have so much love to give to those who show up at the castle door and are willing to share whatever they have. I would have loved this book anyway but that just made it so much more special. Highly recommended.

Lady Friday (The Keys to the Kingdom, Book #5)
Author: Garth Nix
Publisher: Scholastic Press
ISBN 10: 0-439-70088-4
ISBN 13: 978-0-439-70088-7

Here is another adventure fantasy that is part of a complex series. Readers are advised to begin with Mister Monday, Grim Tuesday, Drowned Wednesday, and Sir Thursday in order to understand what is going on in Lady Friday.

Arthur Penhaligon is a sickly adolescent who may be the heir to what is essentially the whole universe; but the seven Trustees (think of fallen archangels) are loath to give up the godlike power that they have been wielding in the Architect’s absence. Arthur has been fighting them individually, to stay alive and protect his human family and friends more than to gain his inheritance.

As he defeats each enemy, Arthur gains another portion of the Architect’s Will; yet each gain transforms him slightly more into a Denizen of the House. If Arthur is forced to claim his full Inheritance (defeat all seven Trustees), he will have become more than mortal and can never return to Earth. By this volume, the action has already moved from Arthur’s normal home and school locale into the supernatural realms within the House.

Lady Friday is divided into two parallel stories. Leaf, Arthur’s mortal school chum, is drawn into the House despite Arthur’s hopes to protect her, when Lady Friday decides that the girl may make a valuable hostage. Arthur has the support of the loyal teen friends he has met previously, Suzy Turquoise Blue and Fred Initial Numbers Gold; but they are now identified as children of the Piper, one of Arthur’s more dangerous adversaries, and possible pawns under his control. Arthur is urged to kill them by all of his other supporters.

The plot and action, full of traps and potential betrayals, are almost incidental to the exotic areas within the House. Leaf explores and tries to escape from Lady Friday’s lair within the huge crater of an extinct volcano, with hundreds of galleries and balconies and walkways surrounding a large central lake.

Arthur and his companions must traverse a snowbound Middle House which is the locale of the Guild of Gilding and Illumination (a castlelike stone fortress), the Guild of Illustration and Augmentation (“and a nastier bunch you’ll never meet, unless you go up to the Top Shelf, where the so-called High Guild of Binding and Restoration laze about. I understand that Lady Friday’s Scriptorium is actually beyond that, on the mountain peak, …”), and the Extremely Grand Canal which flows up the mountainside, with the Paper Pushers (“the Noble and Exalted Association of Waterway Motivators”) who regulate the traffic upon it.

All the novels of The Keys to the Kingdom series are filled with imaginatively bizarre imagery, and Lady Friday adds to the eclectic marvel of the universe-filling House.

Wildwood Dancing
Author: Juliet Mariller
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN-10: 0375833641
ISBN-13: 978-0375833649

Recommended for grades 8 and up

Wildwood Dancing is the amazing and spellbinding tale of five Transylvanian sisters that sneak out of their old Romanian castle – the Piscul Draculi on the full moon to go dance in the world of fairy. They dance the night away with trolls, giants, dwarves and other fantastic creatures.

It’s an interesting twist of two classic fairytales – The Twelve Dancing Princesses and The Frog Prince.

16 year old Jenica is the sensible sister who’s beloved pet frog Gogo sits on her shoulder and goes with her everywhere. It is Jena who narrates the tale and her voice is captivating. From the first page she captures you and brings you into the two worlds – hers and that of the fairy.

When the girls were very young, their father bought Piscul Draculi and set about restoring it. Jena and her sisters by accident found the portal that leads to the other world and for nine years they have come and gone with no one being the wiser.

This time however, something is different. They find that the Night People have come to dance and these scary people are very vampiric and monstrous. Jena immediately worries for her sisters but one of them Tati, is already in love with one of them, a sad eyed man named Sorrow. Jena is determined to keep her sisters safe and contemplates not letting them attend on the next full moon.

At home, not everything is as it should be either. Jena’s father is ill and must go away for the winter to warmer climes on doctor’s order. Capable Jena is left to run things with her cousin Cezar to help. Immediately upon her father’s departure, Cezar begins to try and dominate. He’s really a creep. He’s completely overbearing, chauvinistic and pushy. Jena is thwarted at every turn as he insidiously tries to take over.

Wildwood Dancing is a captivating read. Every page pulls you in and you care desperately for Jena and her sisters. I was on the edge of my seat all through the book dying to know what would happen while not wanting it to end. I loved the descriptions of the wild wood, the Night People, and the fairy dances. The story is one of intrigue, love and so much more. There’s a mystery to solve as well and I got so caught up in that. Nothing in this book is as it seems and everything is wonderful.