The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson. Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. 2013. Conclusion of The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy: The Girl of Fire and Thorns (book one) and The Crown of Embers (book two). The Plot: Elisa, Godstone Bearer and Queen of Joya d’Arena, is running into the hand of her greatest enemy, the Invierne. In [...]
Speculative Fiction
By on September 9, 2013
Baba Yaga is a witch of Russian folklore, and Toby Barlow bewitches with his new novel — our starred reviewof the day. His first, Sharp Teeth, was a 2009 Alex Award winner, a story of werewolves in L.A. told entirely in verse. Babayaga is (mostly) straight prose, and offers quite a combination of genres–spy thriller, [...]
Hot title alert: The Bone Season
By on August 26, 2013
The Bone Season is the first in a projected seven-book fantasy series by 21-year-old Samanatha Shannon. Last week it was announced as the first TODAY book club selection. There is a great deal of buzz around this book, and I believe teens will be asking for it. Shannon wrote the book while a student at Oxford. I [...]
Review of the Day – Lockwood & Co.: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
By on August 12, 2013
Lockwood & Company: The Screaming Staircase By Jonathan Stroud Hyperion Books for Children $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-4231-6491-3 Ages 10 and up On shelves September 17th I’m sick of historical fiction. I’m sick of contemporary fiction. I’m sick of realism and science fiction. Fantasy I watch with a wary eye. I don’t always feel this way but [...]
Informational Text: Recommended Books, Suggested Strategies
By on July 31, 2013
It’s all too easy to dismiss colorful, fun books of this sort, with their brief chunks of text and apparently oversized photos, as merely motivational in nature.
Tamora Pierce’s Fantasy Novel Picks | SLJ SummerTeen
By on July 29, 2013 1 Comment
Acclaimed young adult fantasy author Tamora Pierce headlined SLJ’s SummerTeen online event on July 24, and shared her love for libraries and books during the conference’s opening keynote. The 2013 Margaret A. Edwards Award-winner regaled the virtual audience of librarians and teens via webcam with a presentation about her writing process, her inspirations, and other fantasy novels and writers that readers should be adding to their to-be-read piles. The following is a list of the titles that were cited in Pierce’s talk.
Review: The Winter Prince
By on July 16, 2013
The Winter Prince by Elizabeth Wein. Atheneum. 1993. Read ebook edition from Open Road Media, 2013. Personal copy. The Plot: Medraut is the oldest son of King Artos of Britain, but he can never be Prince. He can never be King. He can never be his father’s heir. He can never have what his younger [...]
Weekly Reviews: Alex Winners Redux
By on July 15, 2013
And speaking of Alex Award winners, today we have two more reviews of novels by previous winners. Neil Gaiman is one of those magical writers who seems to be able to write for any age level, with a Newbery Award under his belt, popular graphic novels for teens and adults, and two Alex Award winning [...]
Review: Flora’s Fury
By on June 11, 2013
Flora’s Fury: How a Girl of Spirit and a Red Dog Confounded Their Friends, Astounded Their Enemies, and Learned the Importance of Packing Light by Ysabeau S. Wilce. Harcourt, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2012. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. Final book of the trilogy. The Series: Haven’t read this series yet? Then slow down, [...]
Review: Yellowcake
By on May 30, 2013
Yellowcake by Margo Lanagan. Random House Children’s Books. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. The Plot: A short story collection from Margo Lanagan. Which means two things: each story is incredibly unique; each is amazingly good. The Good: Here’s the problem: each Margo Lanagan short story is so unique that it’s impossible to easily sum [...]
Two Books, Two Stars
By on May 1, 2013
Two magical books topped off our April reading, both earning starred reviews. The Golem and the Jinni is a mash-up of Jewish and Arab folklore, historical fiction and fantasy, new and old world sensibilities. Helene Wecker’s debut seems destined to be among the best of the year. The publisher has certainly gone all-out. The physical package is richly [...]
Weekly Reviews: Magic
By on April 29, 2013
Today’s three reviewed novels share elements of the supernatural and magical realism. What teenager doesn’t wish for a superpower, if only to imagine themselves less under the control of the adults in their lives? In a series of connected vignettes, What the Family Needed introduces seven members of one family who grapple with special abilities. [...]
Review: Midwinterblood
By on April 23, 2013
Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick. Roaring Brook Press. 2013. Review copy from publisher. The Plot: Always, there is an Eric and a Merle; a hare and a loss; and the island of Blessed. These are the constants. What changes in the seven stories of Midwinterblood is the time, starting in the future, 2073, and going back [...]
Review: Quintana of Charyn
By on April 9, 2013
Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta, Candlewick Press, 2013. Reviewed from the Australia edition (Viking, an imprint of Penguin Group (Australia), 2012), a gift from a friend. will be published April 2013. Background: This is the final of three books (and one short story) that make up the The Lumatere Chronicles. It began with Finnikin of [...]
Weekly Reviews: High Adrenaline
By on April 8, 2013
In The Reader’s Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction (ALA, 2009), Joyce Saricks divides genre fiction into four categories: Adrenaline Genres, Emotion Genres, Intellect Genres, and Landscape Genres (h/t to Jonathan Hunt for pointing me to this wonderful resource–and click through that link to read some fascinating commentary on the categories). I find this categorization much more [...]
Review: Poison
By on March 27, 2013
Poison by Bridget Zinn. Hyperion. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. The Plot: Kyra, sixteen, is not your typical hero. She is breaking into the home of the Master Trio of Potioners to steal a very specific, very deadly poison. So, thief and killer? Not quite. Kyra is — was — one of the Master [...]
Weekly Reviews: Sequels
By on March 12, 2013
Retract those claws
By on February 26, 2013
Weekly Reviews: New Look Snow White
By on February 4, 2013
Today we have two brief books, each a “fractured fairy tale” version of Snow White. First up, Catherynne Valente’s Six-Gun Snow White shares connections with a couple of recent posts on this site. As the first half of the title should make clear, it shares with Six-Gun Tarot a Western setting, but also partakes of the same intense genre-blending [...]
The Six-Gun Tarot
By on January 25, 2013
