villains in the real world

Troll’s Eye View: A Book of Villainous Tales Edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

This youth anthology of stories (and a couple of poems) takes a different view of fairy tales: that of the villains. From Rumplestiltskin to Hansel and Gretel’s witch, various well known authors tell the tales of classic fairy tale fiends.

As can be imagined, some of the stories are more engaging than others, though I felt that the edition was on the whole quite enjoyable.


Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

Seventeen-year-old Marcelo is not like other teens. He has something that is very similar to high functioning Asperger's syndrome. When his father, a high power attorney, decides that Marcelo must work the summer in “the real world” (i.e. his law office), Marcelo finds himself questioning how he is and the changes and decisions he must make.

Wow. This book is written in first person, so the reader is in Marcelo’s mind, experiencing his confusion and frustration. Expertly told, it is little wonder that this book won the Schneider Family award for Teen Literature. The character of Marcelo is wonderfully drawn. I did feel that a few of the secondary characters were flat – and even a bit stereotypical (such as Wendell); however, that did little to detract from the story.

Going to the movies...or maybe not

*grumble*

I read the other day that the book Beezus and Ramona is being made into a movie. In the books Beezus is around 10 and Ramona is around 4. So, why are the actresses for the movie, renamed Ramona and Beezus, each at least six years older than their character from the book?

Adding to that, I was very excited about the upcoming release of The Lightning Thief, the first book of the Percy Jackson series. That was, I was very excited until I looked up info on the movie today and saw that Percy Jackson is in HIGH SCHOOL for the movie. WTH? In the first book he is almost12. This is important for the series, since there are five books and Percy is possibly part of a prophecy about a half blood saving or destroying Olympus when he turns sixteen. Now I’m more worried than before that they are going to shove several of the books into one movie.

Le sigh.

hmmm....

Susan at Booklights asks...What's your favorite book today?

The End

One more book review for you:

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan.

The time has come. Percy, just days from being sixteen, and his fellow demigods must battle to save the world from Kronos and his army. As the gods and goddesses fight Typhon, it is up to the demigods to save Olympus. Can they do it?

Wow. Just wow. The fifth and final installment of this series was artfully packed full of action. Riordan has achieved what few other series authors seem to be able to do. He has written a series where each book is on par with the rest in their excellence. I am only sad that there aren’t more, though he did hint that their might be a companion series in the future. One can only hope.

This series is firmly on my list of All Time Favorite Book Series. That is a short list.

The Lightning Thief hits the theaters later this month. I'm anxiously waiting. I really hope that Hollywood doesn't screw up the film adaptation of the books.

Ah ha! or The Heart of the Matter

I knew I wrote a bit about the books I recently finished! If only I would have more carefully looked over a few of my recent posts I would have seen that.

So...without much further ado, I bring you reviews of In a Heartbeat and Charles and Emma.

In a Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth (ARC copy)
I started reading this book while I was in Boston. It was one that I picked up from a vendor, hence it being an Advance Reader Copy. I wanted to finish it before getting home so I could pass it along to my friend.

Two teenagers from different states are forever linked. When 17-year-old Eagan hits her head during pre-competition practice, not only does she lose her chance at ice skating stardom, but also her life. Fourteen-year-old Amelia needs a new heart, which she gets from Eagan.

The chapters switch back and forth between Eagan and Amelia, as each girl deals with the changes; Eagan with being dead, and Amelia with being alive. As Amelia discovers more about the changes in her personality, the desire to meet her heart donor’s family grows.

The idea of the story is interesting, and some of the writing was well done; however, it could have been pieced together more seamlessly. I couldn’t connect to the characters, and was left with an overall blah feeling for the story. After reading a bit about why the author wrote the story, I was convinced that it was more of a therapeutic endeavor than a literary quest.

This book was published February 2, 2010.

Charles and Emma: the Darwins' leap of faith by Deborah Heiligman.

Charles Darwin’s theories on the origin of life left him questioning faith and God’s hand in creation. His wife was staunchly religious, and believed in a loving God who created the world (albeit not in seven days). Yet, even with this huge disagreement in beliefs, the two had a very loving and devoted relationship that lasted until the end of their lives. This non-fiction book focuses on more on the relationship between Charles and his beloved Emma than on the science of Darwinism.

As I wrote on my other blog:

What an amazing love story! The two were completely devoted to one another, despite their differing opinions about religion and science.

When I was in Boston, I was had the chance to hear the author speak, as she won the Morris award for the book (in the category of best nonfiction for young adults). There were many in the audience, myself included, when she remarked on the adage "write what you know". She said that she likes to write, not what she knows, but what she wants to know more about; however, with this book she realized that she was also writing what she knew, as she, too, has a wonderful, devoted relationship with her husband. Coincidentally, her husband is a science-minded person (and Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time) and she has a degree in religious studies.

The only thing lacking in this book is that I wanted to know more about the couple and their children. I would love to know what modern speculations are about Charles’ lifelong illness and the cause of their daughter Annie’s death.

My other complaint isn’t about that is missing in the book, but rather a style element that just annoys me. That would be how Heiligman pluralizes Charles. She uses Charles’s whereas I’ve always liked the cleaner look of Charles’. Both are correct, so it is just a pet peeve of mine.

Here is Heiligman's website for the book.

As noted, Charles and Emma was the winner of the first-ever YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award. It also received a Michael L. Printz Honor Award.

Books as far as the eye can see

I have four books that I've finished reading recently that I still need to post about. Two of them I swear I already typed up the reviews. Hrm. Must check the laptop. I might have saved the reviews to the laptop instead of my thumb drive.

These are the four books:

• In a Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth (ARC copy, but was published as of today)
• The London Eye mystery by Siobhan Dowd
• Charles and Emma: the Darwins' leap of faith by Deborah Heiligman.
• The last Olympian (book 5 of the Percy Jackson series) by Rick Riordan

I'm still listening to An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon. No surprise there, as it is only 40 discs! I'm reading Marcello in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork and Troll's eye view : a book of villainous tales edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling.

More excitedly, I received an ARC of Karen Cushman's newest book: Alchemy and Meggy Swann. I must read a few of the books I have checked out first, though, since that pile is getting very high.

So many books...so little time. Le sigh.

Tall Tales

Bone: Tall Tales by Jeff Smith with Tom Sniegoski (ARC)

In this companion to the Bone saga, Smiley takes a group of scouts camping. While sitting around the campfire, he tells the youngsters tall tales of Boneville’s founder, Big Johnson Bone.

As this is an Advance Reader Copy, the illustrations are not all in color; however, this does not detract from the story. Also, due to the book being an ARC, there is one story missing.

I enjoyed this delightful graphic novel. It’s perfect for all ages of readers. While I am familiar with the Bone series of graphic novels, I haven’t read much of them. The format lends itself to being quick reads, and the illustrations add to the humor and adventure of the stories.

reading while traveling

I only brought two books with me this trip, knowing that I will be picking up several ARC (advance reader copies) at the conference. Unfortunately, I finished reading both books before acquiring new ones to read! Thankfully that has since been rectified.

The first book I finished was The Battle of the Labyrinth: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #4 by Rick Riordan. Yet again, Riordan has written a masterful tale about the Greek Gods and Goddesses and their children in modern times. It has been a few months since we left Percy and his friends at the end of book three. Percy breaks a new personal record and manages to be expelled from his new school after a fire breaks out during freshman orientation. After returning to Camp Halfblood for the summer (and to get out of NYC for a while…again), Percy finds that things there are worse than they were in December. Grover is close to losing his Searcher’s license (and he has a girlfriend), Annabeth and Clarisse have been working on a secret project. And Mr. D (Dionysius), the reluctant (and perpetually annoyed) camp director is off dealing with problems with minor gods and goddess.

Annabeth finally gains her quest. She, Percy, Tyson and Grover head into the fabled Labyrinth in hopes to save Camp Halfblood – and the world – from the rise of the ancient Titan ruler, Kronos.

This book offers so much for the reader.

Adventure? Check.
Romance? Check. At least on the upper elementary level. lol
Magic? Check.
A happy ending? Guess you will just have to read it to find out!



The other book I finished was The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd. My nearly 13 year old niece gave this to me to read. It is a current pick for the Youngstown English Festival.

Ted and Kat’s Aunt Gloria and cousin Salim come to visit them before heading off to NYC from England. Salim wants to ride the London Eye – something he has never done before. When he disappears from the ride, the whole family is frantic. Ted and Kat decide to try and solve the mystery. It will take both of them to figure it out just what happened to Salim.

The book is told from Ted’s point of view, which makes it all the more interesting. While it isn’t actually said in the book, Ted appears to have a high functioning form of autism or Aspergser’s syndrome. He is extremely interested in all thing weather related, and hopes to be a meteorologist when he becomes an adult.

While I found it slow going, once I got hooked on the story (basically when Salim actually disappears), I didn’t want to put the book down. This is a great mystery!


I’m now reading the unpublished teen book In a Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth.

The copy I have is an uncorrected advance proof/ARC. That is one of the perks of attending library conferences. Lots of free books to obtain!

Picture Book Pizzazz

Last night six children and four parents attended my library's Picture Book Pizzazz/Mock Caldecott. Of the ten books reviewed, the top picks were the same for both parents and children…just in different order.

Books reviewed:

• Chicken Little
• The Mouse and the Lion
• All God’s Critters
• Duck! Rabbit!
• Birds
• Pelé, King of Soccer / Pelé, el rey del fútbol
• Tsunami!
• All the World
• Otis
• Kiki’s Blankie

The children chose Kiki’s Blankie as their winner. The parents chose Duck! Rabbit!

The curse of series fiction...

The books that I've recently finished are all part of series. It seems like most books are like that anymore. This can be a blessing when the series is well written from start to finish. Unfortunately, that doesn't always happen.

The Titan's curse : #3 by Rick Riordan
Book three in Riordan’s compelling Percy Jackson series was as action packed and full of adventure as the previous two stories. Percy sneaks his way on a quest to rescue his friend Annabeth and the goddess Artemis. Along the way they will battle more mythical creatures, talk to a few gods and goddesses, and even experience help from the long lost god Pan.

After finishing this book, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the next in the series – to the point that I almost purchased it while shopping at Sam’s Club, even though I knew it would be waiting for me at work the next day (I ended up waiting and saving a few dollars). This series is definitely one of my favorite. I love how Riordan intermixes modern times with the lives and myths of the Greek gods and goddesses.





Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr
This is also the third book in its series, which began with Wicked Lovely. As with the first book, this one focuses on Aislinn and her boyfriend, Seth. Aislinn is now the Summer Queen – an immortal faerie. Seth is still a mortal. Tired of not being able to help his girlfriend when she is in trouble, of being babysat by the faeries from both the Summer and Dark Courts, and the growing closeness between Aislinn and Keenen (the Summer King), Seth seeks out a way to become immortal and spend eternity with Aislinn.

As I noted before, I liked the second book in this series (Ink Exchange) better than I did the first. This holds true with the third. I did finish the book, but there was a time or two that I contemplated not reading until the end. I was not as interested in the characters as I was with those in Ink Exchange. My overall feeling of the book was “ho hum”.

My sister G read the books, but I forget which she said was her favorite and why. I do recall that she read them out of order, so that may have influenced her feelings of the series. Guess I need to give her a call to talk about the books!

The fourth book, Radiant Shadows is due out on April 20. I’m not sure yet if I will place it on hold. Once I read a review or few I’ll decide.


Fallen by Lauren Kate

I started reading this book, a first novel of a new teen series, and made it about 1/3 of the way through before deciding to return it. Firstly, I couldn’t renew it as there was a hold on the title. Secondly, I just wasn’t getting in to the story.I do love the cover, though. The first few pages were fairly interesting, but after that I was bored. The writing wasn’t thrilling. I’ve too many books to read to waste time on something that bores me.


So…on to the next novel…