Dragon Castle
By Joseph Bruchac
Dial Books (an imprint of Penguin)
$16.99
ISBN: 978-0-8037-33767-3
Ages 10-14
On shelves now.
“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.” This quote is often attributed to Mark Twain though no one has ever been able to prove it much one way or another. The sentiment, however, is universal. There comes a certain time in a young teen’s life when their parents lose a bit of their luster. Suddenly the kid feels that they themselves are the arbitrators of the universe and their parents old has-beens without a brain to share. Not every teenager feels this way, obviously, but a whole mess of them do and it’s rare that I see this feeling portrayed in a work of fiction as brilliantly as it is in Joseph Bruchac’s latest novel Dragon Castle. Best known for his books that have, in some ways, called upon his Abenaki Indian heritage, Bruchac switches gears and presents a book that finds its roots in another part of his family: His Slovakian ancestry. The result is a wry, funny, thoroughly enjoyable book from start to finish. The kind of fantasy novel a person can sink into with glee.
Prince Rashko has a problem. On the horizon marches a large army of foes, clearly bent on conquering his castle. His parents, not the brightest sorts to begin with, have been lured away to fairyland in the interim and don’t look like they’ll be home for a while. His older brother Paulek, meanwhile, keen to invite the invaders in for some good old fashioned sparring exercises, let’s them in without a second thought. Their castle, the impressive Hladka Hvorka, was raised by the legendry hero Pavol and it houses a secret. A secret the army’s evil Baron wants. A secret Rashko will have to use all his ingenuity to protect. That said, if he just pays a little bit of attention, Rashko will find that he has friends of all sorts willing to help him out. He need simply trust them. An extensive Author’s Note, Cast of Characters, Places, and Slovak Vocabulary and Numbers appear at the end of the book.
Right from the start Rashko informs us in no uncertain terms that his parents are less than entirely intelligent. That they’re a sandwich short of a picnic. A Brady short of a bunch. The wheel is running but the hamster’s dead. “Why, I sometimes wonder, am I the only one in our family who ever seems to entertain a thought as anything other than a transient visitor?” Bruchac starts us off with a hero who is sympathetic not necessarily because he has a sterling personality, but rather because kids who see their own families in much the same light will sympathize. Never mind that as the story continues Bruchac manages to show instances of Rashko’s parents and older brother showing great savvy while looking like they are dumb as a trio of stumps. You believe that Rashko is truly ignorant of these moments. To my surprise, he does change his tune a little by the story’s close but not as much as you might think. Though he ends his story by saying that he has been too quick to judge his family, he still doesn’t quite understand his brother’s role in everything that has occurred. Telegraphing information to your readership without overdoing it is no easy task. Mr. Bruchac, however, is clearly an old pro at the height of his game.
I confess that I haven&rsquo
With the final Harry Potter movie in theaters making more money than the very nation has in its coffers (or so my lackadaisical understanding of politics leads me to believe) there have been a whole slew of articles about Harry. These include articles on the kids in the movie, on what Rowling’s up to now, on Harry Potter World in Florida, etc. Tellingly one article I have yet to see, and maybe I just haven’t looked hard enough, is a then-and-now examination of the series’ influence on fantasy.
Recall if you will what the world was like when Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was first published in 2003. By that point the books were recognized as a phenomena and the movies in turn were directing fans back to the literature. As a result, the middle grade and YA market suddenly saw an explosion in published mediocre fantasies. Lots of wizard schools. Lots of chosen ones. Lots of alternate world building. When the final HP book was published, fantasy was at its peak.
Now with the final Harry Potter film in theaters the market is a little different. So what is the state of modern fantasy today? I’m still reading everything I can, and not just fantasy, but I’ve seen a nice swath of titles. They give me a sense of how things have changed since Harry took his final trip to Platform 9 3/4.
- As I see it wizard schools are still around in spirit but they’ve expanded a bit. You’ll find them in books like Rachel Neumeier’s The Floating Islands, but by and large the school experience has had to encompass more than just magic. There’s Knightly Academy in The Secret Prince by Violet Haberdasher where kids train to become knights. There’s The Dragon’s Tooth by N.D. Wilson where school consists of secret society classes. Not magical ones. And Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis hints at a magic school/society, but our heroine has yet to attend.
- It has been a very good year for evil women. Forget big bad guys like Voldemort. Though some male baddies have certainly made names for themselves, this year the ladies are the ones to watch out for. From The Snow Queen in Anne Ursu’s Breadcrumbs to The Countess in The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens to every single female save one in Liesl and Po by Lauren Oliver, lasses be evil. I noticed that quite a few books sought to humanize their baddies, though. We understand the emotions that twist women like Hera (by George O’Connor), The Marquess (in Valente’s The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making), and The Dowager Governess (in Colin Meloy’s Wildwood). By the way, what is up with the titles this year? Countess, Marquess, Dowager Governess. Basically if a woman has an “ess” in her name and you’re in a fantasy, run for the hills.
- The final Harry Potter books turned quite dark, and that shocked some folks at the time. Now darkness is sort of taken for granted. Horror fantasy has been popular with teens for years, but I’ve noticed a bit of a proliferation when it comes to horror fantasy for kids. So it is that books like Juniper Berr
Breadcrumbs
By Anne Ursu
Illustrated by Erin McGuire
Walden Pond Press (an imprint of Harper Collins)
$16.99
ISBN: 978-0-06-201505-1
Ages 9-12
On shelves September 27, 2011
Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Snow Queen is, let’s admit it, the world’s greatest puberty metaphor. A boy and girl are friends. Something happens and he grows cold and distant. In the midst of his indifference he’s spirited away and must be won back. Okay, the metaphor kind of breaks down at the end there, but the separation of boy/girl best friends is very real. With that in mind author Anne Ursu has done the mildly impossible. She has updated the old tale to the 21st century, thrown in references to other Andersen tales, and generally written one of the more fascinating and beautifully written, if sad, fantasy novels for middle grade readers of the year. If there’s a book to watch this season, Breadcrumbs is it.
Hazel and Jack are best friends, now and forever. At least that’s how Hazel sees it. Sure, she knows that Jack’s a little depressed because of his mother’s mental illness, but he’s always there for her no matter what. That’s a good thing since Hazel doesn’t like dealing with her new school and she definitely doesn’t want any other friends. Then, one day, everything changes. Jack suddenly turns cold on Hazel. He refuses to be her friend, and then without warning disappears altogether. His parents give one reason for where he has gone, but when Hazel learns that Jack was spirited away by a beautiful woman in a carriage she sets off into the nearby woods to find her friend and to save him, no matter what the cost (no matter if he wants to be rescued, for that matter). Trouble is, you can read all the books about adventures that you like, but when it comes to real rescue missions nobody can prepare you for the moment when you have to face your own problems.
To my mind, Ursu does for Hans Christian Andersen in this book what Adam Gidwitz did for The Brothers Grimm in his A Tale Dark and Grimm. Which is to say, she picks him apart. Andersen was an odd author. There. I said it. His stories were rarely happy-go-lucky affairs. I mean, have you ever read The Swineherd? There’s a darkness to his tales. With Breadcrumbs that darkness isn’t there simply because this is based on one of his stories. His influence permeates everything in this tale. Hazel’s travels bring her in contact with stories that bear some resemblance to The Red Shoes and The Little Match Girl. Other stories seem to reference
7 Comments on Review of the Day: Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu, last added: 6/29/2011
This is perhaps my favorite middle grade novel of the year. Like you mentioned, there’s A LOT in this book to consider. And yes – I love all the references to other children’s books throughout. Because I was thinking the same thing–this is just like ______–and then Anne Ursu will write the book’s title I was just thinking of. Gah! Love it! Between the beautiful sentences and the utmost respect she shows her readers, how can you not be impressed. I know I’ll be watching the mid-Winter announcements, keeping my eyes and ears open for this one.
Now I really, really want to read this. I’m a sucker for fairy tales deconstructed, and this sounds like it is right up my alley. Thanks for the great review!
Oh! I saw this in a catalog (or somewhere), looked at the title, vaguely knew that it was based on a fairy tale, and assumed it had a Hansel and Gretel connection. Realized my mistake when I started to read your review. This sounds awesome; can’t wait to read it. ANd yes, that is a lovely cover.
Love, love, love this book.
There’s a disintegration to it I admire. The end just sort of… drifts.
Line by line, the writing is so perfect.
My one complaint is that I almost didn’t feel like I needed/wanted the storytelling sections. I mean, I know we needed to understand “what happened” to Jack. I guess. But the writing was so different. I couldn’t decide how to feel about it. It pulled we away from the story, but maybe it needed to.
My favorite book of the year so far.
Beautiful review of a marvelous middle grade novel! Breadcrumbs is definitely at the top of my favorites list this year and I’m thrilled it’s making an impact throughout the book community. I absolutely agree that this is going to appeal to young readers on many levels and the illustrations add so much to that attraction.
Thank you so much for sharing the link to my interview with Anne as well. I appreciate it tremendously.
This has been on my wish list for a while now, so thank you for the review. I would just add that Anne’s Cronus Chronicles have been, in my view, underappreciated–they came out around the same time as Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series and Percy stole the show. But there is such a marvelous humor and storytelling voice in Anne’s Greek myth-based books; anyone who missed them should take a look. In particular, her villain in Book 2 is hilarious and much more dimensional than you might expect. I also like how the rather irascible kid who saves the world in Book 1 gets in big trouble with her parents at the start of Book 2 for having taken off for parts unknown!
Yep. The Cronus Chronicles served as a godsend when the Percy Jackson readers needed something more. And, let us face it, better.