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I'd like to introduce another debut author today. :o) Joy Preble is the author of the young adult fantasy Dreaming Anastasia: A Novel of Love, Magic, and the Power of Dreams (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2009), an intriguing and enjoyable re-imagining of what happened to Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov of Russia and the Russian folk tales about Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Beautiful (also known as Vasilisa the Brave).
Thank you very much, Joy, for stopping by today to answer my questions!
How does your teaching high school English affect your writing and vice versa?
I suppose the biggest effect on me is that I’m around my target audience five days a week, 8-9 hours a day. So I definitely feel somewhat hooked in to trends, issues and the whole inner angst of high school. I do think that most adults forget the intensity of the teen years sometimes, but it’s hard for me to do that when it’s basically right on top of me all the time. I also think it gives me a healthy respect for how hard it is to grow up- to learn about love and loss and regret as well as triumph and success - and I do want to reflect that in my writing. As for the vice versa, I do think writing teenage characters does make me fairly mellow most days. (okay not all days) But it’s hard to gripe at some kid for not reading his chapters in To Kill A Mockingbird or whatever when you’re going home and writing in the head of a girl who’s blowing off her academics because a handsome hottie has told her she needs to save a Russian princess.
Why did you write Dreaming Anastasia? What’s the story behind the story?
I’ve been fascinated by the Romanov story for a very long time. Such a huge tragedy – all those pretty people gunned down in their prime. That creepy, creepy Rasputin. And of course Anastasia herself – so young and feisty and full of life. Russian history always seems to exist on such an enormous, larger than life scale. So it was hard not to have it all stuck in my head. Eventually, when I got serious about writing novels, the idea of a girl came to me. She was in high school, and she was smart and funny and possibly a little angry. Her life wasn’t what she wanted it to be. And then she starts getting stalked by this guy who tells her it’s her destiny to save Anastasia. I figured a lot of wackiness would ensue. And I guess it did!
What influences and inspirations (both literary and non-literary) did you draw from while writing Dreaming Anastasia?
You know I can’t really point to any one influence. I think my influences in general come from a variety of places. I admire Sarah Dessen for her ability to make her characters seem absolutely real and I strive to emulate her in that regard. I love Libba Bray’s use of history in her Great and Terrible Beauty series. I think John Greene and Maureen Johnson are hysterically funny when they write and I only wish to get to their level at some point. Television writers influence me as well – the genre blending of western and sci fi in Joss Whedon’s Firefly let me think that it was possible to do things differently and get away with it. And of course the Palladinos set the bar for fast paced, smart dialogue in Gilmore Girls. If I could be an ounce as good as any of those folks, I’d be a lucky girl.
Where were you and what were you doing when you found out that your novel was going to be published? What were your first thoughts and feelings? How did you celebrate the good news?
Actually, I was on my way to the dentist to have a cavity filled when my agent at the time emailed and said she had news and would I call her. My heart started pounding because I knew that Dreaming Anastasia (then titled Spark) had been in acquisitions at Sourcebooks. But even with that, you never count on a deal until it’s actually offered. It was honestly the happiest I’ve ever been while sitting in the dentist’s chair! It ended up that I needed a crown not just a filling, and I was sitting there saying whatever! My book sold. Drill away. Eventually, when the Novocain wore off, my husband took me out to dinner. I chewed on one side only, dribbled my wine down my shirt because my lip was still a little numb and smiled a crooked smile all night.
Do you have a message for your readers in Asia?
I hope that Dreaming Anastasia is as universal a story as I think it is. And if you like this tale of a girl who thought her life was ordinary until she discovered it wasn’t, a guy who has more than a few regrets, a princess who made some of her own mistakes and has been trapped for a long time, a maybe crazy, maybe not witch, a bad guy or two and a best friend who’s always there when the going gets rough, let me know. It’s about love and loss and redemption and our need for second chances, about the things we wish to change and the ones we find we can’t. I hope that appeals to everyone – no matter where we live!
Imagine waking up and finding out your life and country have changed. Now strict laws are in place. One such law forbids freedoms such as art, music, film, and entertainment,and any activity that is loved by kids and teens. That's what Whit and his sister Wisty Allgood find, along with the fact that they are wanted criminals. Their crime? Being witches. Witch and Wizard takes readers on a fast paced adventure filled ride where life in the new world is very strange and scary. Read more of my review at YA Books Central.
Anne just wants her family to be normal again. She wants to move past tragedy, continue her life, and find a good college. But then the dreams start, and her world is turned upside down. Ethan wants more than anything to find the girl from the prophecy. The girl who can help him rescue the Grand Duchess Anastasia and free him of his curse. Falling in love was never on the agenda, but who ever said love only comes at the most opportune moments? As for the Grand Duchess...Anastasia just wants to die.
Dreaming Anastasia in an enchanting, splendid novel that lovers of fantasty should definitely give a try. Read my review at YA Books Central.
Twelve-year-old Sam Hill is in the Sumas, Washington police station's only jail cell for stealing fireworks, but officer-in-residence John H. Myrmidon isn't there. He's on a search and rescue mission for missing climbers and it is his seventeen-year-old, wisecracking son PJ Myrmidon who is watching Sam when the alarm of a police motion detector goes off. PJ and Sam take the police car to the U.S.-Canadian border expecting to find illegal contraband smugglers have left in the U.S. so that they can drive through the U.S.-Canadian checkpoint without being bothered by customs. Instead of finding tax-free cigarettes and bundles of cash in small denominations, PJ and Sam find a human-like figure with black fur, yellow claws, yellow eyes, and long tusks. It is a goblin. A goblin that they run over, tase, and take back to the police station.
Once PJ and Sam have the goblin locked up, two people in leather armor and gray cloaks show up and kill it with their rapier swords. They turn out to be part of the Guardians of UnderEarth, a group of humans who have sworn to protect the upper world from goblins, who live underground. And this is all just the start of PJ and Sam's adventures!
Sam is very curious about the brave and mysterious Guardians, so he seeks out their secret tunnel, but is captured by goblins and taken to their city called Argh. In Argh, Sam is sent to the goblin arena and made to fight to entertain the goblins.
The crowd went quiet. Sam clutched his sword white-knuckled. The gate was much bigger than the one through which Sam had entered. Up, up, up it went, and out of the shadows stepped . . . a bug.
The bug looked like a beetle and was the size of a mouse. Sam looked past the insect into the shadows for his real opponent, but nothing was there. The small bug reared up on it hind legs to it full height of five or six inches, indignant and ready for battle.
Sam walked directly to it, dagger limp in his hand. The bug squared off, its forelegs raised to fight. The crowd held its breath. Sam frowned, then he shrugged, lifted his foot, and squished the insect into oblivion.
Spluuush!
The crowd erupted in rumbly goblin cheers.
That is one of my favorite parts in Goblins!: An UnderEarth Adventure by Royce Buckingham (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2008). Don't be fooled by how funny the scene is though. Sam's buggy opponents inside and outside the arena get bigger and more dangerous. After some time in the arena, Sam is whisked off to the meat room - so that the goblins can eat him.
PJ and the Guardians also have to fight goblins and really gross, giant insects. They are on a mission to save Sam and to retake a Guardian fortress that was overrun by goblins. In the end, Sam, PJ, and the Guardians all face General Eww-Yuk and his younger brother Captain Slurp, who are fighting over the goblin leadership. (I kid you not about all the goblin names. There's even one named Guh-wat. LOL.)
Goblins! has great fast-paced, almost non-stop action, very interesting creatures like flesh-eating grass and an acid slug the size of a bus, several likable human and goblin characters who are also easy to sympathize/empathize with (especially Sam, who always gets into trouble but is really a good kid), goblin politics, and much, much more. There is plenty here to entertain young readers. However, many times PJ's teenspeak seems contrived. And I thought the story was going to bludgeon me over the head with its message about responsibility. (Like a goblin attacking a human with its spiked club made of woodrock.) It didn't. But there were times it came close enough to literally make me wince. Still, this is a fun and funny story I would recommend, most especially to middle graders - in fact, I already have!
[My copy of Goblins! was provided by Planned Television Arts.]
From the front inside flap of the dust jacket:
In a world where people born with an extreme skill--called a Grace--are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to execute his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him.
When she first meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.
She never expects to become Po's friend.
She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace--or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.
First off, I would like to say that the plot development in Kristin Cashore's Graceling is excellent. Each event, each character, each action, each line of dialogue - everything fits together beautifully to form the story. And there was nothing extra, wasted, or unnecessary. Furthermore, I was thoroughly entertained by the story. Katsa and Po's great adventure, the mystery they have to solve concerning the kidnapping of Po's grandfather, is always exciting and never predictable. In fact, I was genuinely surprised (in a good way) by some of the events in the story.
Then there is eighteen-year-old Katsa herself. Wow. She is so fast and strong physically because of training and because of her Grace. She's also real smart, resourceful, and truly independent. In fact, Katsa plans to never marry because even if she has her freedom in a marriage, it would be a gift from her husband, something he could take away. The freedom wouldn't really be her own because it wouldn't come from her. Katsa has a good heart too. She leads a Council that goes on secret missions to help victims in the different kingdoms.
Katsa is truly amazing, but she still has her weaknesses and she develops quite nicely in the novel. I am happy that young readers have another female protagonist they can admire and even look up to.
There is a fascinating love story between Katsa and Po. Katsa has met her match in Po, the handsome, intelligent, and confident Prince of Lienid with the Grace of fighting. At first, Po infuriates Katsa and she can't stand him. But they become friends and fall deeply in love. As friends and then as lovers, Katsa and Po are equals and they give each other true freedom. It's been quite some time since I've read a fictional couple that has impressed me. And yes, their relationship has its realistic fights, tensions, and misunderstandings.
Graceling has two companion books coming out: Fire, which takes place thirty years before Graceling, and Bitterblue, which takes place six years after Graceling. I am interested in these companion books and will probably read them out of curiosity, but I am not DYING to read them - as I sometimes am with some books. Why not? I was not captured by the world in Graceling. I was not drawn into its world of seven kingdoms and magical talents known as Graces. I found the worldbuilding lacking. There wasn't a lot of background on the seven kingdoms or on the Graces, and any information about the kingdoms or Graces that was given was neither satisfying nor compelling. I feel that in a fantasy novel it is important for the reader to be drawn into the fantasy world and this experience just didn't happen for me while reading Graceling.
Nevertheless, I recommend Graceling because of its interesting plot, interesting characters, and interesting romance. It's a teen fantasy novel you will enjoy. :o)
Hands up, confessions and sackcloth all round: yes, I’ve been sniffy about celeb biographies. Well, I’m a convert now, and I don’t even care if they’re ghosted or not. I went on my Easter hols to remote Colonsay and I thought I’d take along a little light gossip, so along came Russell Brand and Jade Goody. And what do you know, I loved ’em both. It turns out that celeb memoirs work the same way for me as books of any genre – the crucial thing is the truth of it all.
Honesty: isn’t that the one thing you ask of a book? (Well, all right – likeable characters and decent spelling obviously come into it.) Russell Brand’s Booky Wook is just hilariously honest (and I don’t just mean ‘frank enough to make your granny wince’). There was a generational divide over the Andrew Sachs affair and I was on the grumpy-old-woman side of it (on grounds of kindness rather than taste). But really, Brand is so truthful, I defy anyone not to respect his writing (even if liking him is a stretch for you). He tells you stuff about himself whether it paints him in a flattering light or not (and mostly it doesn’t). He’s even honest about his dishonesty.
Jade Goody’s swiftly revamped autobiography – I liked that too. The funny thing is, she confesses to being economical with the truth in the first version. She seems to have got that sorted, because Version Two rings touching and true. Maybe it’s skewed in perspective, who knows? But it’s honest in her own terms.
You can tell. Or I’m pretty sure you can. I had a low tolerance for Holden Caulfield when I was younger (‘get a life, young man!’). Now that I’m getting old and crabbit, ironically, I can see where he’s coming from with the ‘phoney’ thing. They say fiction writers tell lies for a living, but there’s true lies as well as the other kind.
I have this ongoing argument with my husband, who hates fantasy fiction (even mine! I ask you!), because ‘it isn’t real.’ To my last breath I’ll argue that fantasy fiction can be as real or unreal as any other kind. All a writer has to do is tell the truth – whether it’s the truth about your holiday in Barcelona or your Journey of Self-Discovery with Chickens. It doesn’t matter if it’s the truth about ancient Romans, the Battle of Britain, hobbits, dragons or mermaids. So long as it’s the truth, it’s real, and for a writer it’s an obligation. Anyway, readers can tell.
There are writers who have told the truth about Hungry Caterpillars, stuffed cats, boy wizards, and dragons called Smaug or Shona. You can tell it comes straight from the marrowbone of the soul. And some writers can take real life, and real people, and fake it. I’ll never convince the husband of that, but I’ll keep trying.
Anyway, Russell Brand’s book has a very funny dedication. Honestly, have a look.
Christine Kringle by Lynn Brittney answers the one question burning on all kids' minds during the holidays: How does Santa Claus deliver all those presents in ONE night? Each country has its own Gift Bringer/s! There's Pere Noel and Tante Arie for France, Grandfather Frost and Babushka for Russia, Santa Claus for the Philippines, Babbo Natale and La Befana for Italy, and so on and so forth. All the Gift Bringers of the world are part of one family - the Yule dynasty. And each Gift Bringer is responsible for delivering holiday gifts to the children in his or her country.
The American Gift Bringer, Kris Kringle, has a problem. He has no male heir. He has a very likeable fourteen-year-old daughter named Christine. Will the Yule clan allow Christine Kringle to be the United States' Gift Bringer when Pa Kringle retires 100 years from now?
The Yule dynasty has an even bigger problem this year though. The Town Council of Plinkbury in England has formally banned Christmas. Nick, the son of the United Kingdom's Father Christmas, has come up with a secret plan that will save Christmas in Plinkbury and convince the dynasty to allow Christine to become the United States' Gift Bringer. Christine and Nick head to Plinkbury with their friend Little K, the son of Japan's Santa Kurohsu, who is on a mission to promote his Living Lights invention - fantastic Christmas lights that need no electricity because they run on reindeer DNA. To help the three teenagers are Nick's mother Zazu - a beautiful, glamorous, and kind "tall elf," and Nick's uncle Egan - a handsome and clever "tall elf" businessman.
Christine Kringle stirs up Christmas memories and excitement for Christmases to come. It is a story full of good cheer, interesting tidbits about how Christmas is celebrated around the world, and Christmas spirit. If you are looking for a way to kick off the holiday season, I recommend reading Christine Kringle. It's a fun Christmas adventure - complete with interesting shopkeepers, mulled wine, a Christmas bazaar, Christmas nuts, and a female Scrooge!
Christine Kringle is the first book in a series and author Lynn Brittney is offering readers the chance to win USD$5000 (or the equivalent in their national currency) if they can come up with a one page synopsis of a plot for book two in the series.
Lynn says, “There are endless possibilities for future adventures for Christine Kringle and her friends and this competition gives me the unique chance to find out what characters and situations the readers would like to experience in the next book in the series.”
Entry forms for the competition can be found on the website www.christinekringle.com. Anyone aged over 9 and under 90 can enter. The entries must be in English and the deadline for entries is January 31, 2009. The winner will have their name on the front of the next book in the series!
It is now the month of December and I cannot think of a better way to start off the holiday season than by hosting the author of Christine Kringle at my blog. Welcome to Into the Wardrobe, Lynn! :D
What was your road to publication as a writer for children and young adults?
I had spent many years writing non-fiction books for various people and four of them were for children (The Treasure Chest Series by Running Press - history books). When I felt ready to write a novel, I felt I wanted to write for Young Adults, because the selection of books available for that age group is very poor. A lot of the books are about "misery" topics - drugs, teenage pregnancies, bullying etc. I felt it was about time that someone started writing good old fashioned action adventures - so the Nathan Fox series was born. Christine Kringle was born out of my love for all things Christmassy and a need to write something light-hearted in between writing serious historical fiction for teenagers. I did the usual thing with Nathan Fox 1. I sent three chapters and a synopsis to all the literary agents in the UK. I was fortunate that William Morris saw the potential of the book and took me on.
What books and/or authors have influenced you the most as a writer for children and young adults?
As a child I loved The Mary Poppins books, The Borrowers series and Paddington the Bear. I think my sense of the gently ridiculous comes from those books and, I hope, I have put that in Christine Kringle. As a teenager, I'm afraid to say that I devoured spy books by Ian Fleming and John le Carre. Hence my desire to make the Nathan Fox books set at the very start of English espionage - the Elizabethan era. I am also, by the way, crazy about Shakespeare, and this love started when I was a teenager because I lived around the corner from the London home of the Royal Shakespeare Company and spent all my Saturdays there!
What inspired you to write Christine Kringle? Where did you get the idea of all the world's Christmas Gift Bringers being part of one family - the Yule dynasty?
I love the magic of Christmas but it always seemed ridiculous to me, as a child, that Santa could deliver presents to the whole world in one night. It therefore seemed entirely logical to me that each country would have its own "Santa" and they would all be part of a family dynasty. Then there was the issue of the British Government legislating the joy out of Christmas at every turn by banning carol singers (Health and Safety violations), Christmas lights (ditto), selling homemade Christmas cakes etc. I felt I wanted to protest about that through the novel. Even overseas readers seem to appreciate the stupidity of it all.
Christine Kringle explores many of the different aspects of Christmas. Is there a particular reason you chose not to explore the religious/spiritual aspects?
I think we live in an age where religious/spiritual aspects of Christmas have come under fire from non-Christians - or so it seems. I decided to concentrate on the celebration and fellowship of the festive season and to attack the commercialism of it all. This seems to be a universal feeling that we should get back to a Christmas holiday where we celebrate togetherness and family, rather than making it an orgy of shopping. There is room for both secular and religious aspects of Christmas I think. I write nativity plays for children, which are performed in schools around the world (www.schoolplaysandpantos.com). I express my religious feelings about Christmas in those.
What do you want readers to take away from Christine Kringle?
I want readers to feel good, to laugh, and to say "Yes. Christmas should be about celebrating with friends and family. People shouldn't make it a focus for religious or political point-scoring. It's a harmless winter celebration of the good things in the human personality."
Why did you decide to hold a competition for Christine Kringle's second adventure?
Many critics poured scorn on this and said "Oh, haven't you any ideas of your own?" The truth is that I have too many ideas and I felt that the competition would provide a unique opportunity for readers to tell me which direction to take next. I'm looking forward to getting a perspective of Christmas from other cultures. Let's face it, in the world of The Yule Dynasty there is ample scope for hundreds of stories about different Santas and their country's customs.
If you could choose only one, which would you choose: for your books to be award-winning, or for your books to be bestselling? Why?
If I had to choose between those two, I would have to be sensible and say bestselling. Not for the money (although that would be nice) but for the satisfaction (which every writer should aspire to) of communicating with as many people as possible. Also, I'm not sure that awards mean much nowadays. For example, many of the awards for children's books are not selected by children or teenagers but by adults - professionals in the publishing world - and I don't feel that they truly represent the tastes of children. I have been nominated for several awards and the most satisfying have been the ones orgainsed by school regions, where the children themselves have selected and voted on the books. I feel honoured to have been nominated by those children.
What book would you like your work to match or surpass (in terms of writing, impact, popularity, sales, or awards)?
With the Nathan Fox books, I would like them to become enduring classics, still read by men as they progress from teenagehood, like the Sharpe books or Hornblower books are. This is already happening with Nathan Fox in Germany, where they have become "crossover" books as they are called.
With Christine Kringle, I would also like those books to become Christmas classics, like The Polar Express, or A Christmas Carol. Books that people turn to every Christmas, in order to generate that Christmassy feeling.
What are you working on now?
I am working on a YA science-fiction thriller series (Book 1 is halfway through) and some adult novels. Of course, I already write plays for children and adults and I am starting a new company next year which specialises in plays with good parts for older actors (much needed in the amateur drama world!). My ultimate aim is to be the most versatile writer possible, hopping from one genre to another with ease.
What is your strongest or favorite holiday memory from when you were around Christine Kringle's age?
My father was a professional soldier, he was in the Coldstream Guards for twenty two years. Every year they used to have a Christmas party for the children and one of the biggest guardsmen would be Santa. We used to have a wonderful time. The parties were usually held at Wellington Barracks in London or some such venue and then my parents would take me to Oxford Street for the switching on of the Christmas lights. Very special!
What are your favorite holiday books/stories?
A Christmas Carol, as I have already mentioned, can never be beaten in my mind as a truly great classic. I also love The Nutcracker, as a book and a ballet. (I shall take my daughter to see it this year - she is 12 and training to be a dancer.) I love The Polar Express and The Snowman too. I have a huge collection of Christmas DVDs which we all watch every Christmas. And I also have a huge collection of Christmas craft books. I am a Christmas nut.
What are your favorite holiday traditions? How will you be celebrating the holidays this year?
We live in the South West of England which is farming country, so there are lots of food fairs (not good for the waistline!). There are also wonderful craft fairs in the historic houses dotted around this part of England. We live four miles from the beach at a place called Lyme Regis (where the famous book The French Lieutenant's Woman is set) and we always go for a walk with the dog on the beach before Christmas lunch. It would be wonderful if it snowed this year. However, there is a wonderful tradition locally, where lots of insane people go swimming in fancy dress in the sea at another local beach, in sub zero temperatures. My family usually goes along to support them and donate money as it is all for charity.
[This is a picture of] my greatest Christmas ever, when I brought my adopted daughter Rose back from Beijing the week before Christmas 1997. Rose is 12 now! My son Tom (pictured also) was 6 years old at the time – he is now 18! That was our most wonderful Christmas.
Thank you so much for sharing, Lynn. Happy holidays! And happy holidays to everyone reading this. :o)
What are you all reading for the holidays? How will you celebrate the holidays this year?
Want to know what I am reading these days? ;o) Check out this press release from Imaginator Press!
Kept alive by fans, critically acclaimed teen fantasy series returns after 14 year absence
Ratha’s Courage, book five in Clare Bell’s acclaimed teen fantasy series, the Named, was published in October by Imaginator Press. Ratha’s Courage is the first new book in the series since 1994. Although the books have been out of print for over a decade, loyal fans of the series kept it alive, and teen fans were instrumental in bringing the series back to life.
Ratha, the fiery female leader of a clan of sentient prehistoric cats, ruled from 1983 to 1994, when the fourth book in Bell’s Named series was published. The series, set 20 million years ago in a fictional version of Miocene epoch Northern California, earned recognition from critics and fans for its well-realized characters, thought-provoking themes, and vivid sensory depiction of a harsh prehistoric world through the eyes of a cat. The first book, Ratha’s Creature, won awards from the International Reading Association, the PEN Center, and was a Locus awards nominee. Three of the books were selected for the ALA’s Best Books for Young People List. CBS Storybreak created an animated episode from Ratha’s Creature, which aired in 1987.
Although the series eventually went out of print, it never really died. Loyal fans kept it alive on the nascent Internet, with fan discussions, fan art, and Ratha role-playing sites. Through the fans, Ratha came to the attention of Sharyn November, Senior Editor, Viking Children's Books and Editorial Director of Firebird Books, who created new reprint editions of the original four books, with stunning new cover art by Christian Alzmann. November also suggested to Bell that she write the book which became Ratha’s Courage, but due to the vagaries of the publishing industry, November was unable to publish the new book.
Young fans once again came to the rescue, bringing the book to the attention of Sheila Ruth, publisher at Imaginator Press, through her Wands and Worlds fantasy and science fiction web site. Ruth loved the series, and quickly reached an agreement, through Bell’s agent, Richard Curtis, to publish the new book. “I’m really excited for the opportunity to publish Ratha’s Courage and to help bring the series to a whole new generation of fans,” says Ruth. “I think that today’s teens are going to love Ratha.” Ratha seems to inspire that kind of devotion among everyone who reads the books; with 44 reviews on Amazon.com, the first book, Ratha’s Creature, has a perfect five-star rating.
Recently, children’s literature magazine Horn Book recommended the Named series for older fans of the Warriors series in their electronic newsletter. The Warriors series, by Erin Hunter, is a highly popular children’s book series about clans of feral cats living in the forest. Although the target age for the Named series is a little older than that of the Warriors series, there are enough similarities that Ratha has strong appeal for older Warriors fans and for teens who have outgrown Warriors.
In Ratha's Courage, the Named attempt an alliance with the clan of “face-tail” (mammoth and mastodon) hunting cats introduced in Ratha's Challenge. The hunter clan's group mind, known as "the song," and strange, frighteningly effective unity, fascinates yet repels the independent-minded Named, creating a dangerous potential for conflict. When her own daughter, Thistle-chaser, pleads for the Named to understand and accept the hunter clan, and the Firekeepers Fessran and Bira add their voices in support, Ratha must find a way to bridge the gap.
The Named attempt to share herding skills and the gift of fire with the face-tail hunters, but things go terribly wrong. A herding demonstration becomes a disaster when it reveals the inflexible nature of “the song,” and deaths by fire unleash an uncontrollable splinter group from the hunter clan. The contrasting values of two very different cultures lead to misunderstanding, tragedy, and war. Ratha learns that reaching out to others, especially when the chasm is so wide, takes true courage.
To Catch a Mermaid by Suzanne Selfors, illustrated by Catia Chien, 2007
In an instant, Boom and his sister Mertyle lost their mother when a twister touched down in their front yard and swept her away. No trace of her was ever found causing their father to quit work and retreat to the attic in fear of the tornado's return.
Mertyle is certain that her mother will return so she stays home from school every day to wait for her. The family is barely functioning. Short on funds, Boom brings home a bucket of seafood rejects for their for dinner. Beneath the seaweed and fish, he and Mertyle find a merbaby and, soon, a world of trouble when Mertlye is stricken with a mysterious illness. Catia Chien's humorous illustrations underline that this merbaby is not the Garth Williams cherub from my childhood storybook nor is it a Disney baby Ariel. Rather, it is a growling, stinky, burping, razor-fanged creature that is a danger in many ways.
This is a light-hearted, middle grade reader but below the fantasy the story addresses the painful loss of a parent. Boom is a character to admire as he pushes forward when others in his family are paralyzed by their loss. I give Selfors great credit for the direction of the story. She surprised me with the ending which made the story richer and more meaningful.
All in all, a fun and very satisfying read.
Author Tamora Pierce has a great list of some of her favorite fantasy and science fiction reads. Entling no. 3 is a huge Pierce fan. I'm pointing her to this list.
The Fetch by Chris Humphreys, 2006
My daughter was sifting through my stack of books and picked this one to read. When I asked her why that particular book, she answered, "It has runes on the cover."
Me: "It does?"
So, you see, she was already a leg up on me when she started the book. She l-o-v-e-d this story and cannot wait for the sequel.
I enjoyed The Fetch very much and I understand why it was such a hit with her and why it will gain a devoted fanbase as it becomes better known. If you are a junior high /high school librarian I suggest you add this book to your purchase order right now because your Eragon, Lord of the Rings, Sea of Trolls readers will love this book.
Sky is seeing thing or dreaming thing. He sleepwalks and animals are talking to him. His parents have already had him checked out by psychiatrists and doctors so he doesn't tell them about his latest visions.
He is drawn to an old sea chest that belonged to his deceased grandfather Sigurd where he discovers a hidden bag of runestones and a journal. When his cousin Kristin arrives for a visit, he shares the find with her and the two of them set about unlocking the secrets of the runes.
Their research uncovers the existence of the Fetch, the spirit of a person that can be visible as a body double or can inhabit other beings or animals. Their experiments with runecasts send Sky's fetch traveling back in time to inhabit their ancestor, Bjorn, a young Viking. Through Bjorn's eyes, Sky lives through Bjorn's first Viking raid and to his horror, discovers his inner-Berserker.
As they delve deeper into rune magic they are drawn into the mystery of their grandfather Sigurd's disappearance and a danger, neither could have foreseen.
The book has lots of sword clashing, ax-thowcking action. Humphrey's experience as a fight choreographer is apparent. In the author's note at the end of the book he writes:
When I first considered writing this novel, I remembered what I'd read in my teens--historical fiction, preferably with plenty of battles, self-sacrifice, blood-shed; and horror, the scarier the better.
My daughter cannot wait for the next book in the series,
Vendetta, which will be out in August 2007.
I like Humphrey's writing. Being the Richard Sharpe military historical fiction fan that I am, I have started reading his
Jack Absolute series. I am enjoying seeing the American Revolution from "the other side."
C.C. Humphreys Website
Years ago, when I was a daily school librarian, one of my "reader" students, B, used to come by the library office after school to talk about books. Like so many teachers' kids (my own entling included) she was trapped at school until her parental unit finished the day's paperwork and prepared for the morrow.
She asked me over and over again if I had heard of this new book called Eragon. Since I had LOTR standups of the fellowship all around my library I would ask, "You mean Aragorn?" No, Mrs. P--ERAGON!
B and her family had met Christopher Paolini at a local bookstore where he was selling copies of this book that he had written and his family had published. Her younger sister had ended up in a pleasant and lengthy conversation with Paolini so their mom went ahead and purchased a copy of the book from him. I think B read the covers off her copy. Later she complained that the new edition that Random House brought out was different from her "original" edition.
I finally did read Eragon. The first 100 pages were an absolute slog. Normally, I would have abandoned the effort but my young friend's earnest devotion to the story compelled me to keep going even though I had to physically push my eyeballs from one word to the next.
At some point the story grabbed me and I enjoyed the last half of the story. Was the story derivative? Oh yes. Paolini is a devotee of Lord of the Rings, Dragonriders of Pern, Star Wars and it shows in every character, plot twist and set piece.
What continues to interest me though is how much kids still love this book. The second book, Eldest, has a devout following also. I have not read it -- my own entling did read it but was not very enthusiastic. It circulates frequently at the libraries where I sub and I know kids who think it is better than Book 1. Is it Paolini's teenager perspective that resonates with the kids?
The entling wanted to see the movie so earlier this week we rounded up some friends and popcorn and zoomed off the local multiplex.
I did not have high hopes. The reviews had not been kind and every word of this review in School Library Journal rings true (I liked this review because the reviewer has obviously read the book.)
On the whole though I enjoyed the movie. The dragon technology is amazing. Jeremy Irons never turns in a bad performance and I thought Edward Speleers did a perfectly acceptable job as Eragon, the dragonrider. I personally don't "get" John Malkovich and his delivery in a fantasy piece echos "Yondah lies the castle of my faddah" but we are not in the Oscar stratosphere here. The director obviously stole his vision from The Two Towers but if you are going to ape your betters, then Peter Jackson is the place to start.
Not having the book committed to memory may have improved my enjoyment. There were heapings of bitterness about the short shrift given to Murtagh and the compression of time on the way home in the car.
I expect I would have had the same reaction to Anthony Horowitz's Stormbreaker if it had ever reached my fair city. Michele at Scholar's Blog writes about Horowitz and his reaction to the limited release of Alex Rider in the USA. Michele enjoyed Stormbreaker and since she has pointed me towards some other good movies, I feel like I would have enjoyed it too. I will watch for it on Netflix.
Why did you write Dreaming Anastasia? What’s the story behind the story?
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okay... I cannot read this, because I am supposed to be moving."
But a quick "hello!" And I would like to add my own little bit to your post:
I'd like to introduce Tarie Sabido, a resilient, talented and generous woman who is surviving a very difficult time, a natural disaster in fact. And even in the midst of tragedy and domestic upset, she finds time to post to her blog. There must be a medal or award for this kind of dedication! She deserves our admiration and should be kept in our prayers.
Carry on.
Natalie, I was thinking the same: she's blogging after what she's been through. Why am I not surprised? Because it's Tarie.
Enjoyed. Thanks.
Natalie and Susan: THANK YOU. *hug* You are both so sweet.
PLEASE pray for the Philippines this week. ANOTHER typhoon is scheduled to hit us on Wednesday. I don't think we can take anymore! :o(
Tarie - I have cried every time I think of you posting this as your house was flooded. I can only barely touch what you are feeling - having been through Hurricane Ike last year. But this sounds worse and now the next storm. Hopefully it will divert away from Philippines.You are in my thoughts and prayers.
Joy
Joy, well, you are certainly an author worth featuring and Dreaming Anastasia is certainly a book worth featuring. Yes, even when the house is flooded! :o)