Read Love Reviews: Liesl & Po

Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver

Pub. Date: October 4, 2011
Publisher: Harper Collins
Format: Hardcover, 307pp
Age Range: 9 to 12

ISBN-13: 9780062014511
Source: Library

Synopsis from Goodreads.com:

Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice—until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone.

That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable.

Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes a luminous and magnificent novel that glows with rare magic, ghostly wonders, and a true friendship that lights even the darkest of places.

My Review:

 

Liesl & Po reads like a fairytale. Young Liesl, hidden away in the attic by an evil stepmother, eventually finds her way to freedom and adventure. While there are common tropes here, the story is not derivative. Liesl & Po is a magical tale with a unique premise and original ideas.

The story feels at once period and timeless. While it seems at times like the novel could be Victorian, there is nothing that pins it down to any one time or place.  You'll instantly fall in love with the characters. Liesl is brave, artistic, and smart. She is befriended by Po, an unusual character whom I could never adequately describe. The reader is drawn to it with both curiosity and compassion. You really should find out for yourself what makes Po so loveably unique! Along the way, we also meet Will, who is taken with Liesl from the start. Each of her friends is drawn to Liesl for different reasons, but as the story progresses, the three are united in both mission and friendship.

The whole cast of characters, be they villainous or sympathetic, comes vibrantly off the page and into your imaginative space. You'll be transported into another world as you journey along with Liesl and friends. You'll laugh, sneer, cheer, and maybe even cry. For while this tale has sprinkles of magic, humor, and adventure, it is most importantly about love and relationships. At book's end when you discover the real-life inspiration behind the novel, you'll understand why Lauren Oliver put so much genuine heart its telling.

Lauren Oliver's Liesl & Po, with its spirited heroine, its fresh take on ghosts and "the Other Side," and its tender portrayal of love and loss is nothing short of a joy to read. 

Highly recommended!

Read Love Reviews: Erak's Ransom

Erak's Ransom by John Flanagan

Pub. Date: Sept 6, 2011
Publisher: Penguin Group, USA 
Format: Paperback, 273pp
Age Range: 9 to 12
Series: Ranger's Apprentice #7

ISBN-13: 9780142415252

Synopsis from BN.com:

What does it mean to earn the Silver Oakleaf? So few men have done so. For Will, a mere boy, that symbol of honor has long felt out of reach. Now, in the wake of Araluen's uneasy truce with the raiding Skandians comes word that the Skandian leader has been captured by a dangerous desert tribe. The Rangers are sent to free him. But the desert is like nothing these warriors have seen before. Strangers in a strange land, they are brutalized by sandstorms, beaten by the unrelenting heat, tricked by one tribe that plays by its own rules, and surprisingly befriended by another. Like a desert mirage, nothing is as it seems. Yet one thing is constant: the bravery of the Rangers.

In this red-hot adventure, winner of the Australian Book of the Year Award for Older Children, John Flanagan raises the stakes on the series that has already sold millions of copies worldwide.

My Review:

As this is the seventh in a ten-book series, I can't divulge too much without spoilers.  Therefore, I'm going to do a mini-review.  I'll tell you what I like about this series and what I enjoyed about Erak's Ransom in particular.

With the Ranger's Apprentice series, John Flanagan has created a host of endearing characters.  In this book, a great number of them are thrust together for the latest quest.  The strength of the series is these characters, so I was thrilled to see so many of my favorites in one book:  Will, Halt, Gil, Horace, Evanyln, and Erak.  The comraderie and humor shared by the characters is always a highlight, and there is plenty of that here.

Although number 7 in published order, according to the series timeline, Erak's Ransom fits between books 4 and 5.  Flanagan explains that he realized he failed to address a key moment in Will and Halt's story.  Glancing around the web, there are some readers grumbling that the author went backward in the timeline, annoyed by the knowledge that certain characters will survive, or frustrated at the delay in waiting to find out how the events later in the timeline will play out.  I am thrilled that Erak's Ransom rewinds.  For one, the story allows us to spend quality time with Halt whose presence was lacking in books 5 and 6.  And I always love those rowdy Skandians! 

Erak's Ransom introduces a new desert landscape and three groups that inhabit it:  the Arridi, the Bedullin, and the Tualaghi.  With this new world and new people, we have an opportunity for a different kind of adventure.  And we meet various people, gaining new friends and allies, as well as facing new foes and creating new enemies along the way.  I like that Flanagan's worlds and races are loosely based on our own.  This can be a good opportunity for kids who are reading the books to use them as a launching point to study real-life people and their histories.  For instance, the Arridi are an Arab people, the Bedullin informed by the Bedouin, and the Tualgahi based on the Tuareg.

I highly recommend both this book and series! It's full of adventure, bravery, honor, and action, while also alive with humor.  Clean and intelligent, these books are never dumbed down and are always fun! Think The Lord of the Rings meets Robin Hood for a young audience.

Read Love Reviews: Troubletwisters

Troubletwisters by Garth Nix and Sean Williams


Pub. Date: May 2011
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
Format: Hardcover, 293pp
Age Range: 8-12
Series: Troubletwisters #1

ISBN-13:  9780545258975

Synopsis:

When their house mysteriously explodes and they are sent to live with an unknown relative named Grandma X, twelve-year-old twins Jaide and Jack Shield learn that they are troubletwisters, young Wardens just coming into their powers, who must protect humanity from The Evil trying to break into Earth's dimension.

My Review:

Because Garth Nix is one of the authors for Troubletwisters, I went into this reading with lofty hopes.  Herein lies the problem with great expectations:  They can set you up for disappointment.  Yes, I was a little disappointed.  Troubletwisters is not a bad book, mind you.  It's a good book, and I enjoyed reading it.  But in the end, I was left wanting more.  Though to be fair, I'm not the targeted audience.  Unlike Sabriel, my favorite Nix novel, Troubletwisters will not find broad appeal among all ages.  However, in the hands of a child, especially a nine- or ten-year-old boy, this is likely a four star book.

Jack and Jaide are twelve-year-old twins whose appearances are as different as night and day.   At the story's beginning, you find them bickering and competing as all siblings do.  They seem like ordinary kids.  But when their Dad finally shows up (late again!) and the twins get a mysterious letter from their grandmother, the reader is curious and eager to learn more.

One thing the novel does well is address the questions that a reader might have in a manner that keeps the plot twists and turns from feeling contrived.  Many times the answers to these questions are grounded in logic.  For instance, when the twins ask their mother how long they will stay with their grandmother after their house explodes, her answer makes sense:  Long enough to wait for the insurance money to come through and the house to be rebuilt, she says.  This realistic detail lends credibility to the plot.  And, pay close attention, because things that are mentioned in passing may come into play later.

Troubletwisters also succeeds in setting up a mystery and building suspense.  As the twins learn more about their unusual grandmother, whose strange house (complete with talking cats) is vividly drawn, both their experiences and Grandma X become increasingly creepy.  Might she be a witch?! The narrator shares Jack's worry: "it could be the gingerbread house all over again, and mad or not, he didn't fancy being Hansel...."  The details gradually unfold as the twins gain more knowledge.  Grandma X is at once fascinating and frightening.  She seems omnipresent, faster than she should be, and she talks to cats! The cats -- Ari(stotle) and Kleo(patra) -- are great characters, by the way.  To some degree, I was more intrigued by Grandma X and the cats than by the heroic twin duo.

Once the mystery is revealed, the story pales a bit.  Troubletwisters left me wanting more imagination and originality.  Though the early promise is there, it never quite comes to fruition.  Young readers' interests, however, will increase as the novel progresses and the action builds.  And once the adventure begins, the reader is in for loads of creepy, skin-crawling descriptions of evil-possessed ants, flies, rats, cockroaches, piercing white eyes, and other sometimes scary, but always icky stuff.

This is a story of two gifted children who are caught in the classic struggle of good vs. evil.  Over the course of Troubletwisters, Jack and Jaide learn who they are, what their gifts are, and how to use them.  And, perhaps most importantly, by story's end they've learned to work together.  Their magical gifts complement each other like yin and yang.  And it's in working together that they are strongest.

By the conclusion, most of Jack and Jaide's questions have been answered, but there is some lingering mystery.  And there are characters like Grandma X's friend, Rodeo Dave, and the town schoolteacher Mr. Carver, or "Heath," as he insists we call him, whom we are merely introduced to.  Troubletwisters is the first in what is to be a 5-book series, so I'm sure we'll see more of them.  And this is where I hope my expectations will find fulfillment.  This series could be one of those instances where the first installment serves to lay the groundwork for greater things to come.  And I look forward to finding out what's in store.

"Waiting On" Wednesday (7)

 

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly chance for bloggers to share books we can't wait to get our hands on.  

It's hosted by Jill from Breaking The Spine. 

Available in Hardcover March 1, 2012:

• Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
• Format: Hardcover , 432pp
• Age Range: 12 and up
• ISBN-13: 9780399255243

Synopsis From Penguin Young Readers Group E-Catalog, Spring 2012:

You thought you knew him. You
were dead wrong.

Carver Young dreams of becoming a detective, despite
growing up in an orphanage with only crime
novels to encourage him. But when he is adopted
by Detective Hawking of the world famous Pinkerton
Agency, Carver is given not only the chance to
find his biological father, he finds himself smack
in the middle of a real life investigation: tracking
down a vicious serial killer who has thrown New
York City into utter panic. When the case begins to
unfold, however, it’s worse than he could have ever
imagined, and his loyalty to Mr. Hawking and the
Pinkertons comes into question. As the body count
rises and the investigation becomes dire, Carver
must decide where his true loyalty lies.

Full of whip-smart dialogue, kid-friendly gadgets,
and featuring a then New York City Police Commisioner
Teddy Roosevelt, Ripper challenges everything
you thought you knew about the world’s
most famous serial killer.

 

This has me curious, because it appears to take the Ripper story and turn it upside down.  After all, Jack the Ripper was supposed to have terrorized London in the late 1880's.  So, I want to see what he's doing in New York.  And Teddy Roosevelt? That's an unexpected twist!  I can't wait to see if the book is as creative as the premise suggests.

That's what I'm waiting on! Now how 'bout you?

"Waiting On" Wednesday (6)

 

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly chance for bloggers to share books we can't wait to get our hands on.  

It's hosted by Jill from Breaking The Spine. 

Available in Hardcover October 11:

Tuesdays at Castle Glower are Princess Celie's favorite days. That's because on Tuesdays the castle adds a new room, a turret, or sometimes even an entire wing. No one ever knows what the castle will do next, and no one-other than Celie, that is-takes the time to map out the new additions. But when King and Queen Glower are ambushed and their fate is unknown, it's up to Celie, with her secret knowledge of the castle's never-ending twists and turns, to protect their home and save their kingdom. This delightful book from a fan- and bookseller-favorite kicks off a brand-new series sure to become a modern classic.

I've read Dragon Slippers (first of a trilogy) and really liked it.  This is the start of new middle-grade series.  Jessica Day George is great! I love the cover art-- Celie looks plucky! 

That's what I'm waiting on! Now how 'bout you?

 

Read Love Reviews: Much Ado About Anne

Much Ado About Anne by Heather Vogel Frederick

Pub. Date: August 2009
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Format: Paperback, 315pp
Age Range: 9 to 12
Series: Mother-Daughter Book Club #2

ISBN-13:  9781416970798

Synopsis from BN.com:

The mother-daughter book club is back!

This year the mothers have a big surprise in store for Emma, Jess, Cassidy, and Megan: They've invited snooty Becca Chadwick and her mother to join the book club!

But there are bigger problems when Jess finds out that her family may have to give up Half Moon Farm. In a year filled with skating parties, a disastrous mother-daughter camping trip, and a high-stakes fashion show, the girls realize that it's only through working together — Becca included — that they can save Half Moon Farm.

Acclaimed author Heather Vogel Frederick captures the magic of friendship and the scrapes along the way in this sequel to The Mother-Daughter Book Club, which will enchant daughters and mothers alike.

My Review:

If you like reading the book club's featured selections, I would recommend doing so before reading a Mother-Daughter Book Club novel.  I was surprised to find out that Much Ado About Nothing has its book clubbers discuss not only Anne of Green Gables, but Anne of Avonlea, too.  There is even a quote pulled from the third Anne book, Anne of the Island.  The connections between the story and the book club selections were perhaps not as frequent or as strong this time around, but the girls' love for Anne Shirley and her world is apparent.

I enjoyed Much Ado About Anne, despite a slow start.  This installment keeps the four-part organizational framework of the original, and my enjoyment of the first section was hampered by three things.  First, I was surprised that the mothers would decide to allow the bossy, know-it-all Calliope Chadwick and her snooty daughter Becca into the club.  I was willing to believe, though, that the mothers' graciousness was meant as an example to their daughters.  Second,  I was a little disappointed that the girls appeared to have taken a step backward in development.  The first book showed the girls growing closer to each other and their parents.  Here, they begin a little more mean-spirited than I remembered from book one.  And why does Cassidy seem more secretive (secrets abound and the plot sometimes hinges on them) and distant from her mother?  It seems the author has the girls regress in order to get them into an Anne Shirley-esque scrape or two before learning more life lessons.  Finally, the early focus on Clementine's TV show delays our opportunity to meaningfully explore the girls' thoughts and feelings.

I still heartily enjoyed my reading of the novel.  In some ways, the storytelling has improved.  While book one tended to tie things up too quickly and neatly, Much Ado About Anne allows events to be messier and more mixed-up.  And in some cases, situations, though improved, are not fully resolved.  This is more true to life.

Once more, the series uses humor nicely to offset the occasional weight of lessons learned and wisdom imparted.  Mrs. Wong is again at her ridiculous best, with her penchant for causes and her over-enthusiasm for all things organic and vegan.  And Mrs. Chadwick needs no help or disparagement from the others (it's nice to see the parents model respect for their kids) -- she makes a perfect fool of herself.

 

As the novel progressed, I found that the strengths of the first book remained.  I'm still fond of the whole Hawthorne clan and the closeness they share.  Emma and Phoebe Hawthorne have a believable bond.  It's heartwarming to see such a healthy mother-daughter dynamic portrayed amid a genre in which parents are often absent.  Emma, Jess, Cassidy, and Megan show themselves to be still, at heart, the same good girls they were in the first book, so I was able to forgive their apparent lapses and backslides.  They are, after all, growing girls, and kids their age sometimes need to learn the same lesson more than once before it sticks.  In the end, the girls learn the the value of trust, teamwork, and loyalty, and families and friendships are both strengthened and broadened.  And though our heroine's future is uncertain, like Anne, Cassidy faithfully steps forward trusting that even if she cannot see what lies around the bend, her future's filled with hope.

 

Want to start at the beginning?

For a review of book one in the series,

click on the cover!

Read Love Reviews: Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
(First published 1908)

Pub. Date: April 1982
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Format: Mass Market Paperback, 308pp
Age Range: 10 and up
Series: Anne of Green Gables #1
ISBN-13: 19780553213133

Synopsis from the book jacket:

As soon as Anne Shirley arrives at the snug white farmhouse called Green Gables, she is sure she wants to stay forever...but will the Cuthberts send her back to the orphanage? Anne knows she's not what they expected -- a skinny girl with fiery red hair and a temper to match. If only she can convince them to let her stay, she'll try very hard not to keep rushing headlong into scrapes and blurting out the first thing that comes to her mind. Anne is not like anybody else, the Cuthberts agree; she is special -- a girl with an enormous imagination. This orphan girl dreams of the day when she can call herself Anne of Green Gables.

My review:

I just adore Anne of Green Gables! Avonlea is such a beautiful location for an imaginative getaway!

While not a fantasy, the world in which the characters of Anne of Green Gables live is brought to life through vivid descriptive passages.  The setting is king, becoming a character in itself.  Montgomery's vivid portrayal of the idyllic natural landscape is as large a part of her storytelling as Thomas Hardy's poetic descriptions of his fictional Wessex or Dickens' careful descriptions of filth, wont, and squalor in London streets and workhouses.  Whether seen through the eyes of the narrator or described by Anne, there is no doubt that Avonlea is a beauty to behold:

"Anne came dancing home in the purple winter twilight across the snowy places.  Afar in the southwest was the great shimmering, pearl-like sparkle of an evening star in a sky that was pale golden and ethereal rose over gleaming white spaces and dark glens of spruce.  The tinkles of sleigh bells among the snowy hills came like elfin chimes through the frosty air, but their music was not sweeter than the song in Anne's heart and on her lips."

Besides the setting, another thing that immediately impresses me about Anne of Green Gables is Montgomery's facility for creating characters that seem as alive as can be.  At the novel's opening, it's appropriate that we should be introduced first to the meddlesome Rachel Lynde, who with her "all-seeing eye" spies on the goings and comings in the town of Avonlea.  From the get-go, we feel that we know and understand Rachel, Marilla, and Matthew.  And we look forward to getting to know them better, as well as meeting other townsfolk.  Each character has a unique voice, especially the loquacious Anne who speaks her own language with words and phrases like "the depths of the despair," "kindred spirit," "bosom friend," and "tragical".

From the moment when Anne Shirley arrives in Avonlea nothing and no one will be the same.  Just as her imagination reshapes her reality, this small, wiry, orphaned "freckled witch" of a girl will transform the world around her.  Her presence at Green Gables alters more than just her small gable room -- Anne changes the residents of Green Gables, Matthew and Marilla. While Marilla and Matthew teach, guide, and love Anne, she in turn teaches them.  While we see this unlikely family take shape and watch Anne grow, we find that she not only impacts the hearts of friends and families whose lives she touches, including the cantankerous Aunt Josephine Barry, but she makes readers love her, too.  Indeed, even Mark Twain, creator of his own rapscallion, Huck Finn, adored Anne Shirley.  In a letter to Montgomery, he writes that she is “the dearest and most lovable child in fiction since the immortal Alice.”

At the novel's beginning, eleven-year-old Anne is a bit like a young, untamed horse.  She's full of more spunk, zest, and joie-de-vivre than one body can reasonably accommodate.  This unbridled spirit, combined with a limitless imagination lands her in a great many scrapes and escapades.  But luckily, Anne learns that each dawn brings "a new day with no mistakes in it".  We watch her grow, both physically and emotionally -- by novel's end she is over sixteen -- learning lessons from each of her amusing and touching adventures and from her own foibles.

We see in young Anne a spark of childhood imagination and energy, but more than that, a vigor that does not fade as she ages.  Anne is the embodiment of spirit.  She knows what it is to be alive.  As such, she takes nothing for granted.  She loves mornings and soaks up not only the beauty in the world around her, but also any morsel of learning or knowledge that she can.  As she grows, Anne becomes as reflective as she was impulsive.  She never loses sight of the many blessings she has been given, and is grateful for all that she has.  Her gratitude and enthusiasm is as infectious as her charm.  She makes you laugh and cry.  She helps you dream and imagine right along with her.  But most of all, Anne leaves you grateful to have, as she does, your own little slice of  heaven on earth.  It may not be Avonlea, but it's home.  And who better to teach us gratitude for the simple pleasures and blessings of a loving home, than Anne Shirley, the most beguiling and loveable orphan you'll ever meet!

Alas, the only thing wrong with Anne of Green Gables is that the story has to end.  As Anne says:

"The worst of imaging things is that the time comes when you have to stop and that hurts."

But luckily, there are seven more books in the Anne of Green Gables series!

Love This: Goodies From Garth Nix

I'm sure you're familiar with Garth Nix, author of awesome fantasy books Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen, as well as works like The Keys to the Kingdom series, Shades Children, and The Seventh Tower sequence. Mr. Nix's latest book, a collaboration with Sean Williams, is called Troubletwisters.

US, UK, and Australian covers

* Click here for my review of Troubletwisters *

Garth recently ran a giveaway on his Facebook page asking fans to post a picture of themselves reading Troubletwisters in public. Three folks won US, UK, and Australian editions of Troubletwisers signed by both authors, as well as 10 other signed books from both authors -- 13 books in all! What we didn't know was that Garth would decide to send a prize to all of the participants! How cool is he??! So, take a look at the beyond cool package that was waiting for me yesterday when I got home!

The front of the envelope.  Check out the stamps of the Royal newlyweds.

 

 The back of the envelope.  I was so excited by the signature on the customs sticker! 

(And don't worry! I checked to be sure his address was public before sharing this photo!)

The awesomeness inside was wrapped in "first pass" pages from Lord Sunday.

 I carefully unwrapped these to find none other than Sabriel, my absolute favorite Garth Nix novel! 

And it was autographed!

 

It was amazing to come home from work and find such wonderful goodies waiting to be unwrapped! 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Garth Nix!

I'm touched to see the time and care taken to make this a really special treat! This is the first time I've ever received anything like this, and I'll not forget such a kindness! Garth Nix, sir, you sure know how to make your readers feel loved.

Friends, if you haven't checked out Garth Nix's Sabriel or his newest title, Troubletwisters,  run out and buy a copy of either -- or both -- today!

Read Love Reviews: The Mother-Daughter Book Club

The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick

Pub. Date: April 2008
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Format: Paperback, 237pp
Age Range: 9 to 12
Series: Mother-Daughter Book Club #1

ISBN-13:  9781416970798

Synopsis from BN.com:

The book club is about to get a makeover....

Even if Megan would rather be at the mall, Cassidy is late for hockey practice, Emma's already read every book in existence, and Jess is missing her mother too much to care, the new book club is scheduled to meet every month.

But what begins as a mom-imposed ritual of reading Little Women soon helps four unlikely friends navigate the drama of middle school. From stolen journals, to secret crushes, to a fashion-fiasco first dance, the girls are up to their Wellie boots in drama. They can't help but wonder: What would Jo March do?

Acclaimed author Heather Vogel Frederick will delight daughters of all ages in a novel about the fabulousness of fiction, family, and friendship.

My Review:

Overall, I enjoyed The Mother-Daughter Book Club.  The book is told in four parts, each section being a season in the 6th-grade year of the four main characters.  Quotes from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women introduce each of the novel's four parts and begin each chapter.  And Little Women permeates the tale: In book club meetings where we learn factoids about Alcott's life, in each girl's mirroring of one of the March sisters, and, most of all, in the novel's heartwarming aspect. Everything is rosy-hued.  It was a welcome treat to read a book where the kids (whose voices may not be entirely representative of 11 year-olds) are not as jaded and sarcastic as many, both real and imagined, can be today. In this story, most of the characters are essentially good people who, while they may not at first, eventually do the right thing.

The wholesome optimism that resonates throughout The Mother-Daughter Book Club is at once the book's strength and its weakness.  For all its sunny skies, even Little Women has its really stormy moments.  This tale's storms are pretty much lightning-free. While the girls do learn and grow, the conflicts in the book are too readily resolved and the happy endings come from too many happy coincidences and contrivances.  Maybe the author just couldn't bear to bring a Beth-sized amount of pain and grief to her characters.

Still, shiny-happy ending aside, I liked the book and would recommend it to folks who liked Little Women, The Penderwicks, or The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. And I plan to catch up with Emma, Jess, Cassidy, and Megan in the follow-up installment, Much Ado About Anne.  Besides, it'll give me the perfect excuse to re-read Anne of Green Gables!

The Mother-Daughter Book Club continues:

      

Book Two
(Click cover for review!)

 

Book Three

Book Five (October 2011 )

Book Four