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I’ve raved about this on Twitter a few times, because Lee Nichols somehow managed to write a novel that is exactly the kind of book I would have adored as a young adult (back when my reading material consisted largely of YA horror, with a sprinkling of Sweet Valley High) while still satisfying me as an adult reader. More than satisfied, actually, because I loved reading this book.

It’s not the first time Emma has been left on her own in San Francisco while her parents are on a business trip. It is, however, the first time she’s been so alone. Her older brother, Max, is a college student spending the semester overseas, her best friend is away starting her freshman year of college, and her parents’ sole employee suddenly resigns. But she’s getting by on her own just fine, even though she hasn’t been able to get in touch with her parents, until the police find out and turn Emma over to Child Protective Services.

Just as Emma is forced to choose between living with a foster family or at a halfway house, Bennett Stern appears. A college classmate of Max’s, Bennett claims to be Emma’s guardian and seems to have the legal papers to back him up. He takes Emma back to Massachusetts with him, returning to college while Emma in enrolled at Thatcher, an expensive prep school.

After her parents left on their trip, there were a few moments in which Emma thought her imagination was getting the better of her, when she thought she’d heard strange sounds or seen shadows moving in her home. And in Massachusetts, the feelings are getting stronger. Emma is having visions, seeing people no one else can see and sometimes even falling into the visions.

Okay, so the plot alone was enough to make me inclined to like Deception. But sometimes I’m harder on this kind of book, simply because I read so many of them when I was younger. Yet my only complaints about Deception are that I found the prologue completely unnecessary and that I would have loved it even more than I already do had this been a standalone instead of the first in a trilogy.

Yes, it’s the start of another paranormal trilogy. But even if you think you’re tired of paranormals or trilogies or paranormal trilogies, I urge you to give this one a try anyway. Nichols makes Deception seem fresh and intriguing. Her writing style is straightforward and extremely readable, so smooth and engaging that I was immediately drawn in and willing to buy into the storyline. I was hooked on Deception from the very first (okay, second) page and never wanted to put the book down. It’s fast-paced and exciting, a totally entertaining read, with a likable narrator and secondary characters I also came to care about (ohmygod, Sara!). Emma’s voice is smart and self-deprecating. There’s a hint of vulnerability to it, as she’s basically been abandoned by everyone she cares about, but she doesn’t mope or spend time feeling sorry for herself. She tries to deal with everything that happens to her and adapt to her new situation instead of letting herself become overwhelmed.

Nichols ties up nearly all of the plot threads, so you feel like you’ve actually read a complete novel, not just part of a novel. A few major questions are left open, and a new one introduced on the very last page, whetting the reader’s appetite for the next book while leaving the reader—or me, at least—still satisfied with the story contained in Deception while anxiously awaiting the next volume. I desperately want to know what happens next.

Deception will be published on June 8.

I'm having quite a stimulating week here at Chez Gauthier. I've done school presentations, I've started getting ready for next month's on-line chat with a library in Maine, and I've been fielding inquiries for more author visits. And then today I celebrate (well, let's say I notice) the sixth anniversary of Original Content.

This blog is one of the few techie things that I grasped before my computer guy did. When I asked him to take a look at Blogger to see how I'd go about starting a blog, he didn't know why I wanted to bother when he had already made me a website. Blogs weren't anywhere near as common as they are now. In fact, before I started mine, I googled "children's literature" and "weblog" and found somewhere between four and six sites. TodayJacketFlap's main page says it includes more than 650 children's book-related blogs. I guess a lot can happen in six years. Still, I find that number staggering.

This blog has changed over time. I didn't post every day for several years, but had a goal of generating new material two or three times a week. (I didn't always meet it.) I didn't have a method for readers to comment for many years. I didn't have my covers up here for a long time. I didn't know what a blog roll was until I started noticing them on other kidlit blogs.

I cannot recall at what point I started noticing that there were other kidlit blogs. Maybe in 2005? Though I have found a link to Kids Lit from back in 2004. Also, I was obsessed with Jane Yolen's On-line Journal (like a blog but different) from the end of July, 2004 until the beginning of April, 2007.

In spite of the changes, I remain amazingly consistent. Or, perhaps, I am not capable of evolving and changing. My purpose for blogging remains the same as it was the day of my first post--to bring original content to my website on a frequent basis. I am still intrigued by the line between YA and A literature, just as I was in my third post. And I was writing about Beowulf back in March, 2002 just as I was last fall.

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

I didn't bring my camera to ALA,

But Fuse did! And here's the link to the photo of myself, along with Melissa Rabey (who blogs at Pop) and Carlie Webber (blogs at Pop and here, and is running for the Printz committee).

Sophie Brookover, founder of Pop Goes the Library and my coauthor for our upcoming book, also brought her camera. At least in this one, I have makeup and slightly better hair.

Carlie's is the only shirt where you can clearly see our Official ALA Midwinter T: Team Rowling. Interestingly enough, we did not encounter any "Team Pullman" so there was no rumble to the soundtrack of West Side Story.



Or perhaps

Literary Mama has selected my essay, Mom Memory, as one of its Favorite 2007 Literary Mama writing in the creative nonfiction category. I know I don't usually pay a lot of attention to "Best of the Year" lists, but under the circumstances... Read the rest of this post

Speaking of things to look forward to, I received my copy of the Penguin Young Readers Group May through August, 2008 catalog yesterday. For those of you who will be receiving it, I'm on page 40 with A Girl, a Boy, and Three Robbers.

Sometime before spring, we're hoping to do a Hannah and Brandon mini-page at my website for this series.

This past weekend I was so involved with my thoughts regarding Gregor and Ripred that I forgot all about putting in a good word for A Girl, a Boy, and a Monster Cat. I have some new reviews to share.

The July/August issue of The Horn Book gave Monster Cat a very satisfying review. "Take one boy stuck at a neighbor's house, mix in one girl with an overactive imagination, add one vicious Chihuahua, and you have a perfect recipe for havoc...Cepeda's familiar black-and-white sketches add just the right energy to an already lively chapter book." The Horn Book also lists Monster Cat on its web page collection of pet stories. (It also has a page called Web Watch that includes my classroom materials under "Reading Guides.")

School Library Journal posted its review of the book at its website. "The outrageous situations, quirky characters, and black-and-white cartoon illustrations are certain to appeal to children who are looking for an easy chapter book that is pure fun." That was satisfying, too.

On Friday A Fuse #8 Production included a post about three books that were about to be published in paperback with different covers and titles than they had when they were originally published in hardcover. I, of course, offered my two cents, which was, essentially, "Blah, blah, blah, blah-blah."

Well, I was telling one of my family members about this whole thing at dinner (Yes, Fuse, we talk about you at the dinner table) two days later, when I realized I'd had something similar happen with my second book, A Year with Butch and Spike. The title remained the same, but the cover changed. I have no idea why this happened. I believe I asked once, but if I got an answer I've forgotten it. I'm not very good about details.

Bringing up A Year with Butch and Spike in this context would be shameless, shameless self-promotion on my part except...the book is out of print! In hardcover, in soft cover, in any cover at all! You can't buy the thing anywhere!

But the covers were nice, weren't they?