Day of the Scarab by Catherine Fisher. Sequel to The Sphere of Secrets. From my review: “A world with gods, where those in control stopped believing. But it turns out the gods and the myths are real; and a handful of people, including a young priestess, a scribe, and a thief, are chosen by the god to fix things. . . . It’s a bit weird writing up something for a third book; on the one hand, if you’ve read the other 2, you are breathless and eager to read this one. On the other hand, if you haven’t, what I want to say is this: Here is a brilliantly plotted fantasy, tightly told, over three volumes. It is worth your investment to go, read the first, and continue thru all three. This final book has a wonderful conclusion; it addresses the main issues raised in the trilogy (restoration of the Oracle, threats of rebellion, the preservation of religions) yet does not answer every question.”

Whales on Stilts by M.T. Anderson. Series: M.T. Anderson’s Thrilling Tales. From my review: “The Thrilling Tale of Katie Mulligan (you remember her from the Horror Hollow Books), Jasper Dash (Boy Technonaut) and Lily Gefelty as they encounter Whales — on — Stilts. (I’m saying that in my Pigs In Space voice.) . . . To begin with: “On Career Day Lily visited her dad’s work with him and discovered he worked for a mad scientist who wanted to rule the earth through destruction and desolation.” Could there be a better opening line? Or summation of a plot? Lily herself is quietly observant: “Lily believed that the world was a wonderful and magical place. She believed that if watched carefully enough, you could find miracles anywhere.” . . . But, as I said, you don’t need to know that Katie is RL Stine come to life or Jasper a throwback to the 20s/30s to enjoy the humor. Dad works in an abandoned warehouse on edge of town. With a receptionist. That, my friends, is the type of humor I adore. An abandoned warehouse where the father doesn’t realize something is up, is just plain crazy; add in a receptionist for the evil people? And chums, it is brilliant.”

King Of Shadows by Susan Cooper. From my review: “Present-day Nat is a teenager and actor who is in a staging of one of Shakespeare’s Plays. Then, boom! Time slip happens and he’s back in the day, meeting the real Bard.”

Gray Horses by Hope Larson. From my review: “This graphic novel looks at the experiences of a French exchange student in America; the art and text is deceptively simple. Noemie struggles with loneliness, fitting in, finding friends; and is also having odd dreams about horses.”

The Plot: Callie and Kayden grew up in the same small town, but weren’t what you’d call friends. Kayden was the popular football player; Callie was the outcast with no friends.

One early summer night, Callie sees Kayden’s father hit him. Rather than run away, she interrupts — and just by her presence, his father backs off.

Callie and Kayden don’t see each other again until four months later, when both are at the same Wyoming college.

Both are looking for new starts and to leave their pasts behind them. Kayden is not just grateful for what Callie did to help him; he’s impressed with her, because no one had ever stuck up to his father that way. He finds himself falling for her.

Callie has spent the last six years keeping the world at arm’s length, but being at college has given her a second chance. Things aren’t perfect; but they’re getting better. Part of that “getting better” is not just how attracted she is to Kayden; it’s also that she allows herself to be attracted, and to act on it.

Together, Callie and Kayden tell their story.

The Good: As part of my preparation for the ALA Conversation Starter I’m doing with Sophie Brookover and Kelly Jensen, I’m reading a lot about what “New Adult” is or isn’t, what is or isn’t being published, and, of course, reading some of the books that have the “New Adult” designation. Briefly, New Adult is primarily for a readership of ages 18 to 25.

One of the descriptions I’ve read of New Adult is, a young adult book with sexytimes. This meets that definition: the general plot of the story, and the age of the characters (while on the high end as college freshman), reminded me of young adult books. And yes, the physical relationship between Callie and Kayden is important and described. I’d say the sexytime scenes are more than what I’d see in a typical Young Adult book; but less than what I’ve read in most romance novels.

I’ve also seen that the setting — college or college age, or post college age — is part of what is essential to New Adult. Callie and Kayden are both  starting college. Callie actually began a few months early, because she had such a strong desire to leave high school behind and start reinventing herself. Yes, that is their age, that is the setting, but to be honest, if someone was looking for a “what will college be like” type of novel, this isn’t what I’d pick.

The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden had many elements of what I see in young adult books: fast paced and a page turner; absence, in one way or another, of parents or adults; emphasis on peers; growing independence of the main characters; and it was a quick read. What’s interesting to me is that the major traumas that both Callie and Kayden have suffered took place while both were still at home. So this isn’t, “the kids are in college and that’s why the adults are all gone”; even when they were 8, 12, 16, the adults in their lives (parents, teachers, coaches) let them down in various ways. For whatever reasons, it’s not until Callie and Kayden are no longer home that each begins to deal with their own painful pasts.

And now, the past and those reinventions. I don’t think it’s much of a spoiler to say that when she was in sixth grade, Callie was raped, causing her to withdraw from everything around her. Callie doesn’t admit it to the reader, or Kayden, until pretty far along in the book but it’s pretty obvious to the reader. At college, Callie makes her first new friend in ages, Seth. Seth is “safe” for her, because he is gay, so not a sexual threat; he is also a sympathetic ear because he has his own tragic backstory. He “knows” where she is coming from. Together, they offer each other support. Part of it is by creating “lists”, the small (and big) steps to, well, rejoining the world.

One thing I liked about Callie and Kayden is that this “recovery program” is something Callie does herself, by her own initiative; and that she is already in the process of “saving herself” so that Kayden is not saving her.

That said, I kept thinking throughout this whole book, are there no therapists or psychiatrists in Wyoming? It’s not just that Callie’s own obvious suffering has been ignored for six some years; it’s that the physical abuse suffered by Kayden and his brothers is likewise never noticed, or if noticed, ignored. I kept going back and forth in my head about this because I honestly found it a little unbelievable; then I told myself that it was Callie and Kayden telling their story, and it was their reality and that, yes, even today, abused children and teens don’t get the help they want or need. But then I’d think, Kayden was a football player and not one team mate or coach noticed the scars and bruises? So round and round in my head it went. And while therapists and counseling are not some magic band-aid, stepping back, Callie and Kayden are doing only a so-so job of saving themselves, because Callie forces herself to vomit as some type of mental defense mechanism (her list with Seth doesn’t include stopping that) and Kayden doesn’t cut the ties to his own abusive parents.

But. But. I had to remind myself what type of book this is: and at it’s heart, it’s a hurt/comfort romance book. In this instance, both Callie and Kayden are hurt, and both are comforting each other, and Callie and Kayden delivers this and more. Any type of professional counseling is totally at odds to what a hurt/comfort story does, so of course, it’s not here. Also, I personally saw this as not so much realistic as soap-opera; in other words, stop worrying about non-existent therapists but instead just go with the flow of emotions and will-they/won’t they for Callie and Kayden.

While Callie and Kayden are fully drawn, most of the other characters are not. Seth is basically the Sassy Gay Friend. Luke is supposed to have his own Issues but they never gelled together for me to make him real. As mentioned, the parents are either abusive or useless. Kayden has a girlfriend, Daisy, who relentlessly bullies Callie and Daisy’s motivation seems to be just that Daisy is a bitch. That the reader can still feel sympathetic to Kayden despite the fact that he’s stood by while Daisy tormented Callie is a credit to Sorensen’s ability to show us Kayden’s own tortured thoughts and defense mechanisms. It’s also a good truth: Kayden was so wrapped up in his own pain that he didn’t see Callie’s. The “bitchy girlfriend” is also a trope I remember well from all the Harlequin and similar romances I read in high school.

And this, perhaps, is one of the things that struck me about Callie and Kayden: it’s not my type of book now. (As you can tell, I was a bit too much ‘GET INTO THERAPY ALREADY’, in addition to a few other things.) But then? As a teenager or young twentysomething? In many ways, it was very much like the romance type of books I read back then, so of course I can see why people are reading then now. Except for that ending. ARGH. Not to get all spoilery, but I want my romances to have a happy ever after, thank you, and NOT a cliff hanger.

Final librarian thoughts? I’d put this in adult fiction, using booklists and cataloging to make sure the people looking for it found it. While I can see the style of young adult books being present here, ultimately, it felt more like an adult book to me.

Other reviews: Dear Author; Good Books, Good Wine; Good Choice Reading; Under the Covers.

It’s About: Bullying: it’s all over the news. The terrible way children and teens are treated by their peers, both in the “real world” and online via cyber-bullying.

Bazelon looks at bullying in depth: what it is, what people think it is, the way it’s been treated in the news, the manner that anti-bullying classes are incorporated into schools. She does so by examining the stories of three students in detail, as well as taking a historical look at the study of bullying and how children interact with each other.

The Good: A must-read, nuanced examination of what “bullying” is, and isn’t, especially the difference between “drama” (conflicts between kids) and “bullying.” The definition of bullying Bazelon uses (from research by Dan Olweus): “it had to be verbal or physical abuse, it had to repeat over time, and it had to involve an imbalance of power.” “Drama,” because it doesn’t involve that power (or has shifting power dynamics), is a more common occurrence, but still should be taken seriously. Bullying is also “a behavior that peaks in middle school, continues to some degree in high school, and then declines significantly in college.”

What to do about bullying and drama? Sticks and Stones looks at how the culture of a school matters, and what anti-bullying programs work and why. Most important? Creating a school culture that doesn’t reward bullying or drama. Creating such a culture is neither easy nor simple; it’s not about a one-time assembly.

Easy or simple: the biggest take-away I had from Sticks and Stones is that bullying (and drama) isn’t easy or simple. Easy or simple reactions or solutions at best, don’t work, or at worst, create a worse problem. Is a bully best served by suspension or being expelled, or is he or she best served by helping them have empathy and other skills to not bully? Add that assumes that the situation is indeed bullying, and not drama between two equals (or two kids with varying degrees of power, depending on the time and situation.) “Drama” has it’s own issues, yes, but since resolving personal conflict is a much-needed skill for adults, part of childhood drama has to be children and teens working it out without adult intervention.

The second biggest take-away? The issue of mental health and children and teens. Some of the reason for the decline in bulling seems to be about the growing maturity of those involved, both in terms of greater empathy and in greater skills to combat or ignore it. Put empathy and awareness aside, there remains the mental health of both the bully and the victim. A child may bully because of underlying mental health issues; a victim may react in ways because they are already fragile because of their mental health.

The third take-away? Bazelon talks about creating a culture of empathy within schools. As I see and observe behavior in media — in TV shows, or in comments sections, or in politics — I think a bigger culture of empathy is needed.

I would like to say more: about the programs discussed, the children Bazelon interviews, the situations examined. Sticks and Stones is so nuanced, and Bazelon’s treatment is such, that I don’t want to give bite size, simplistic confusions. Just, this: Sticks and Stones is a must-read, which offers much to the reader in terms of how best to work with children and teens and what programs to use in schools. Part of the reason I decided to post this now at the beginning of summer vacation for many schools is I think it will give readers who work in schools time to think and plan for what they will do at the start of the next school year. Also, while Sticks and Stones focuses on children and teens, I’d also say it gives a structure for analysis for adults who encounter their own situations involving bullying and/or drama.

Further reading: Defining Bullying, a The New York Times op-ed by Emily Bazelon; review at The New York Times; review at S. Krishna’s Books; Interview with Emily Bazelon at NPR; Can We Really Stop Bullying at Slate. Edited to add The Power of Empathy: Q & A with Emily Bazelon at SLJ.

The highlights of my schedule, so far:

Saturday, June 29th

All About ARCs: The Ins and Outs of Requesting, Using and Abusing Advanced Reading Copies, where I’m co-presenting with Kelly Jensen and Kristi Chadwick. 10:30 to 11:30, McCormick Place Convention Center, S103d.

From the program: “Librarians may have heard of Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs), but do they actually know how to acquire or use them? Why do publishers create these unsaleable copies? Have you seen them at used bookstores, Friends book sales, and should they really be there? What about those “digital galleys” that are becoming available? Come explore these questions and more with a panel of librarians and publishing reps who use them every day in many ways. Discussion topics: What are ARCs?; Who is the intended audience of an ARC?; Why do publishers provide them?; How can you get them?; Digital vs. Print?; What you can/cannot do with an ARC.”

Kristi, Kelly and I are working on this right now. I have THOUGHTS and FEELINGS about ARCs, and libraries, and librarians, and all the things! Including not just what people do (or don’t do) with them, but in how people view them and their use as part of one’s whole professional tool kit.

Fabulous Films for Young Adults, 1:00 to 4:00, Hilton Chicago, Pullman Boardman. This is a committee meeting, but Fab Films is an open committee.

Sunday, June 30th

 YA Author Coffee Klatch, 9:00 to 10:00, McCormack Place Convention Center, S406b. Ticketed event.

From the program: “Enjoy coffee and meet with YALSA’s award winning authors! This informal coffee klatch will give you an opportunity to meet authors who have appeared on one of YALSA’s six annual selected lists or have received one of YALSA’s five literary awards. Librarians will sit at a table and every 3 or 4 minutes, a new author will arrive at your table to talk!”
I’ve managed to go to almost all of these, and while one should bring their own bagel or pastry, what one really goes for is is the chance to talk with and meet the authors.

Monday, July 1st

Conversation Starters: New Adult Fiction: What is it and is it really happening? 9:15 – 10:00, McCormick Place Convention Center, S102d. I’m co-presenting with Sophie Brookover and Kelly Jensen.

From the program: “New Adult Fiction (NA) has made waves in the New York Times, the Guardian, Publishers Weekly, and more. Depending on who you ask, NA either demands its own section of the library or is just a new name to describe books about twenty-somethings, which libraries have always carried. Maybe it’s “young adult books with sex.” Maybe it’s books about emerging adults trying to figure out the world before an uncertain future happens. Join a lively discussion on what NA may be, who’s reading it, where it’s shelved, how we catalog it, and how it fits into reader’s advisory.”

Part of the reason I’m enjoying putting together this Conversation Starter is that, while online New Adult has been talked about for a while, most people I talk with in libraryland haven’t heard about it. I think this is a great opportunity to connect with patrons who are twentysomething.

Michael L. Printz Program and Reception, 8:00 to 11:00, Hyatt Regency Chicago, Grand AB. Ticketed Event.

This is always so much fun! This year, though, I’ve only read 3 of the 5 books. I don’t have copies of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe or The White Bicycle, and I’ve been so busy with things that borrowing a library copy hasn’t worked out. Maybe I’ll have time in the next couple weeks.

So, those are some of things I’m doing and looking forward to!

What about you? What are you plans for ALA Annual?

Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell In Love by Lauren Tarshis. From my review: “Emma-Jean Lazarus, an astute observer of her fellow seventh graders at William Gladstone Middle School, watches as her friends fuzz over the upcoming dance and worry about what boy they’ll ask. She decides their behavior is a result of spring fever – and then realizes that she, too, has fallen prey to spring fever. . . . Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell in Love is equal parts mystery (which boy left a note in Colleen’s locker?) and middle school politics and friendship. Emma-Jean has a unique look at the world; from the first, I imagined her as mini Temperance Brennan from the TV show Bones. Smart, logical, observant, removed; and like Brennan, with loving friends and family. Emma-Jean on seventh grade boys: “She had been observing her fellow seventh graders for many years, trying to understand them better and she had long ago concluded that it was simply the boys’ nature to be rambunctious on occasion.”

Columbine by Dave Cullen. From my review: “On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, high school seniors, entered Columbine High School. They killed twelve students and one teacher, and then committed suicide. Dave Cullen has covered the story since day one. Columbine is about what happened on April 20th; what led up to it; and what followed. In particular, it firmly ends many of the myths surrounding Columbine. Interestingly, the truth has been out there; Cullen wrote The Depressive and the Psychopath, published in Slate, in April 2004. Yet ask most people, and they won’t say this was the case of a psychopath but rather the result of bullying and jocks and revenge and disappointments.”

I And I Bob Marley by Tony Medina. From my review: “The life of Bob Marley, told in verse. . . . Do you have to “know” Bob Marley to appreciate this book? No. Someone familiar with his life and music will recognize phrases and the chronology; but those not as familiar will follow along, as Bob is a small child living on a farm, a boy abandoned by his father, a teenager raised in a slum, all along music shaping him and his life.”

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. From my review: “Twenty-five year old Rebecca Bloomwood has a love affair with shopping. There’s nothing like the rush of finding — and buying — that perfect sweater. Pair of boots. Mascara. Coffee. Dress. Notecards. But for some reason the credit cards won’t leave her alone; they actually want to get paid. And, funny enough, Becky’s job? A journalist. For a finance magazine. .  . .  I’ll be honest: while I’m not the shopaholic Becky is, I totally understand the “high” she gets, the way she imagines herself better, smarter, more liked with that new dress, makeup, sweater, scarf. Actually, upon finishing this book I really, really wanted to buy a new gray cardigan for the summer. Part of the attraction (for me) is to be able to think “well at least I’m not as bad as Becky is!” So far, I’m resisting the temptation to get that cardigan. (But I do have a 15% off coupon for the store it’s at, so it would be like saving money, right?)”

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. From my review: “Lia’s best friend, Cassie, is dead. Before she died, Cassie called Lia thirty-three times. Lia didn’t answer; the two had stopped talking, stopped being friends. But they had never stopped being partners — partners in the race to see who could be skinniest. Anderson captures the tortured thoughts and worldview of Lia, who, to put it mildly, has serious problems. She starves herself; cuts herself; berates herself (stupid/ ugly/ stupid/ bitch/ stupid/ fat/ stupid/ baby/ stupid/ liar/ stupid/ lost); sees herself as fat; and sees ghosts. Sees Cassie. Everywhere. Haunting her; taunting her; encouraging her. In audio, especially, Cassie’s words twist into your heart and your head.”

My Japan by Etsuko Watanabe. From my review: “Yumi presents her life in a matter of fact way, full of the details that readers love. Even the back cover gives information (Japan has over 3,000 islands). Yumi’s Japan is modern; when she shares the meals she eats, there is sushi, ramen, tonkatsu…and hamburger. And spaghetti. It is also traditional; during summer vacation at her grandparents, she wears a yukata.”

The Tushy Book by Fran Manushkin. From my review: “Oh, let’s be real. There is no plot! It’s just a love-fest to the tushy!”

The Treasure Map of Boys by e. lockhart. From my review: “It’s the second half of Ruby Oliver’s junior year. Things seem better. She now has two friends (two!), Nora and Meghan. And Noel likes her, but because Nora likes Noel, Ruby has promised herself to stay away from Noel (even tho Ruby likes him, also.) And Jackson is back in the picture! And maybe Finn. And Hutch is still there, working for her father. Kim and Cricket still don’t talk to her. Things should be better. But Ruby is lonely; it’s been over thirty weeks of no boyfriend! And she’s still getting panic attacks. And the rumors may be starting again.”

Norman and Brenda by Colin Thomspon & Amy Lissiat. From my review: “Norman and Brenda live their own lives, waiting for life to begin, waiting for that someone. Will their paths ever cross?”

My Parents Are Divorced, My Elbows Have Nicknames by Bill Cochran, illustrated by Steve Bjorkman. From my review: “Ted is made up of many things. His parents are divorced (but that doesn’t make him weird.) He sleeps with one sock on (so maybe that’s a little weird.) Sometimes when he answers the phone pretending he’s a chicken (OK, so that IS weird.) Ted is Ted; he is who he is.”

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. From my review: “For the potential reader? Read The Hunger Games, knowing you only have to wait a few short months to read the sequel, Catching Fire. It’s a wonderful experience for a reader: great plotting, memorable plotting, a unique world. And in all honesty, once you’ve read the first, you don’t need to read a review or recommendation to read the second.”

Hate List by Jennifer Brown. From my review: “Valerie Leftman was shot during a school shooting moments before the shooter turned the gun on himself. She may have tried to stop him; instead of a half dozen dead, their could have been more. Or, since she was his girlfriend and had helped write the “Hate List” he used to target his victims, she may not be so innocent.”

Crash Into Me by Albert Borris. From my review: “Four teens go on a road trip to visit celebrity graves, pledging to commit suicide together at the end. Their obsession with suicide and their own attempts brought them together; and the friendship they form may save them all. Chilling, sad, and funny.”

If The Witness Lied by Caroline B. Cooney. From my review: “First, their mother dies. Then, their father. The four Fountain children are left alone, except for their Aunt Cheryl. Overwhelmed by grief — by how and why their parents died — the family cannot hold itself together. Their mother was diagnosed with cancer while pregnant with Tris, now almost three. She choose to have her child rather than have an abortion and aggressively treat the cancer; the press had a field day, as did protesters who called her choice suicide and criticized her abandoning the children she did have. Toddler Tris then kills his father. The little boy releases the emergency break on his father’s jeep; and the jeep runs over and kills his father. The press once again and return to the house. Maddy, the oldest and now a senior, fled to stay with family friends. Smithy found a boarding school and escaped that way. Jack, fifteen, was left behind to take care of Tris. To protect the child. But can he keep protecting Tris, when Cheryl decides to turn the little boy’s life into a TV reality show? The baby who killed his parents. What can Jack do?“

The Series: Haven’t read this series yet? Then slow down, and — if you’re the type who dislikes spoilers — just read this quick series recap. As I wrote in my post about Alternate History, and  explained in my Beyond the Buzz post at Nova Ren Suma’s blog, in Flora Segunda : Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass-Gazing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), a House with Eleven Thousand Rooms, and a Red Dog, fourteen year old Flora is the daughter of a famous General and a mad father. Flora is a  smart, quick, brave, stubborn, a bit of a dreamer (she adores the heavily fictionalized tales of the famous Ranger, Nini Mo) but willing to work at what she wants. What she wants is to be like Nini Mo, rather than the obedient daughter who will join the military like the rest of her family.

Flora’s world is fantastic: it’s an alternate version of California, called Califa, with an alternate history where magic is real and where the Huitzil Empire is a world power. Her family is a military one and it’s been scarred by war: her father suffers mentally and physically from being captured and tortured, and there was another daughter named Flora lost in that war whom Flora is named after.

The series begins with a rather narrow focus: Flora Segunda and that House with a thousand rooms, concerns about her immediate family and friends and school. As the books progress, her world becomes bigger and her concerns become bigger. Flora is craving independence, like any teen; but as the story continues, Califa’s own independence grows in significance in the story.

There is magic and action; a complex world; hints of romance. Flora’s world is so complex that, having read the final book, I need to reread the first two in order to understand it all. There is humor, as the titles suggest, and they can read as mad-cap zany adventures, full of wit and quick references, action, pirates and thieves and hidden identities. Yet, lurking behind, there a serious undercurrent because this is not “just” about fun adventures and growing up, it’s also about a subjugated country, the scars of war, and the sacrifices one makes for the greater good.

So, if you’re looking for a smart, intelligent, unique action series; if you want a world unlike anything you’ve read; and if you prefer your series complete so you can read them all at once; then read the Flora books. Note that Flora’s story is just one from Califa. Wilce has also written several short stories set there, and the end of the trilogy clearly allows for more books to take place there. Oh! And Flora’s Fury just came out in paperback, so that’s another reason to get and read all three now.

Now, all that said, on to Flora’s Fury!

The Plot: In Flora’s Dare : How a Girl of Spirit Gambles All to Expand Her Vocabulary, Confront a Bouncing Boy Terror, and Try to Save Califa from a Shaky Doom (Despite Being Confined to Her Room), Flora discovered that her mother is not her birth mother; her mother is the infamous Tiny Doom, executed by the Birdies (AKA the Huitzil Empire). One of Tiny Doom’s nicknames is Butcher, which is all you need to know about what Tiny Doom did on the battlefield. Flora also found out that Tiny Doom is still alive.

Flora, now sixteen, has had to keep these secrets and be the good daughter and good soldier the world (and her mother) expect to see, because otherwise someone may suspect her true heritage. Gone are dreams of being a Ranger or practicing magick, because doing that could bring the attention of the Birdies and if they realize she is Butcher Brekespeare’s daughter, they will take her and kill her. And if they realize Tiny Doom is alive, they will use Flora to find and kill Tiny Doom.

So Flora does what is expected, until she just cannot help herself. She needs to know where Tiny Doom is, so she practices a Blood Spell. Flora has her usual luck, which means a were-bear steals the map with Tiny Doom’s location. Flora is then ordered on a mission into the Huitzil Empire, to escort back the wife of an Huitzil Ambassador, an obvious ploy to kidnap Flora and use her as a hostage against her mother. It’s an order that cannot be refused; when pirates attack Flora’s ship, it’s almost a good thing. Except, you know, pirates.

And that’s just the beginning.

The Good: I love these books so, so much and I want you all to read them and love them. I think they are so unique, it can be hard to match them to a reader; it’s not like one can say, “oh this is like (a film/ TV show/ other series” as a quick pitch.

I love the world building is so deep. Magick is real and tricky and isn’t an easy fix; and Flora is hardly an expert at it. Califa’s struggle for independence (and dealing with it’s past) mirrors Flora’s own, yes, but at all times Flora is no more or less than what she is. A teenaged girl of spirit; heir to a great house; but not someone who alone can save the world because that is just not realistic.

I also loved how this was a world without gendered roles. Flora’s adoptive mother is a powerful general; her birth mother is the notorious Butcher. This is not about flipped gender roles; Flora’s father is also a soldier. Her best friend Udo may pay way too much attention to fashion, but he also wants to be a pirate and has his own strengths. Flora’s mother is a soldier and a mother; at the start of the story, she has an infant son who she nurses while she works.

Relationships are also interesting, but not front and center in these books. Flora has feelings for two different young men, but this isn’t something that is front and center (this is NOT a love triangle book). As mentioned, Flora discovers that her mother is not her mother; but she also finds out that her father is still her father and, well, everyone seems to be understanding and fine with that. Udo’s family is a famous love story: his mother fell in love with and married identical triplets.

Because I love the world of Califa almost as much as I love Flora. Because she does what has to be done. Because I now want to go read all the short stories about Califa. This is a Favorite Book Read in 2013.

Other reviews: Finding Wonderland; The Happy Nappy Bookseller; Bookshelf Bombshells.

Unless you are a children’s or teen services librarian in a public library.

Summer Reading Programs can be a tough time for librarians: it’s a busy time, with lots of prep work. There are all sorts of demands, and expectations, and stresses. It can be frustrating; and it can be rewarding.

I originally began writing a post about how these hard working librarians get “should” on a lot, about what they should and should not be doing for Summer Reading, and how that adds to all the stress, but as I wrote and rewrote it just wasn’t working. Sometimes a post is like that.

So I took a step back, realizing the post wasn’t working because I didn’t know what I wanted to say, not really. And then my thoughts came together:

One thing that can help during Summer Reading is the support and feedback from peers. And, no, I’m not talking about other children’s and teen librarians.

I mean the other staff in libraries; and our library colleagues on line. I can remember doing a successful program, feeling pretty darn good about it, getting positive comments from the kids and their patrons, only to have other staff complain about the noise, the mess, and the kids, and wow, weren’t they looking forward to September!

Let me tell you, that’s not a great feeling. Oh, I can understand their feelings; and there is nothing wrong with those feelings; but please, don’t say it to me, and don’t say it where I can hear you. Because that? That’s pretty discouraging. It’s also discouraging to read that from my library peers online, on social media.

I’m sure we could all share such a story. But I’m still in the glow of Show Me The Awesome, so I want to make this positive.

What are some of the great things that other library staff (in your library, personally, or on line) have done to help during Summer Reading?

What are some of the things your library has done to create a supportive environment so that we’re not complaining about each others programs?

Or, what other thoughts do you have so that Summer Reading is about the whole library,  not just one department?

The Plot: Jeremy Johnson Johnson is haunted by a ghost, and honestly, it’s not that bad. The ghost doesn’t want to hurt Jeremy; far from it. The ghost wants to protect Jeremy!

But protect Jeremy from what?  Well, from the Finder of Occasions, of course. Wait, you don’t know what the Finder of Occasions is? Guess what? Neither does the ghost.

So the ghost mostly hangs around, talking to Jeremy (the only person who can hear him), tutoring him in math and vocabulary (yes, the ghost is very concerned with Jeremy’s education and Jeremy is very concerned with not cheating so allows tutoring but not whispering answers), and observing.

Observing Jeremy’s father’s deep depression after his wife left him, leaving the boy alone. Observing the odd ways of the villagers and how they treat people. Observing how the ton Observing Ginger Boultinghouse and how she flirts with both Jeremy and the mayor’s son. It’s really all a ghost can do, observe.

And like the ghost, we observe, and wonder, and get caught up in Jeremy’s immediate concerns — taking care of his father, paying their bills, wondering how to pay off a big loan, doing well in school, and, yes, his developing friendship (or something more?) with Ginger — so we, like the ghost, forget the Finder is still out there.

And then the Finder finds Jeremy.

The Good: To begin with, the ghost is Jacob Grimm, of the Brothers Grimm. It is Jacob telling this story: “What follows is the strange and fateful tale of a boy, a girl, and a ghost. The boy possessed uncommon qualities, the girl was winsome and daring, and the ancient ghost . . . well, let it only be said that his intentions were good.” Because it is Jacob, and because it is a tale told after, the tone and style are distinct, original, and infuses the whole tale. In some ways, I was reminded of Bartimaeus, except the ghost Jacob is constantly concerned with the well-being of Jeremy; but, like Bartimaeus, Jacob has a bit of an ego about it. He is, after all, Jacob Grimm.

Jacob, as ghost, has wandered the world, searching for release from his ghostly state. He believes that if he helps Jeremy avoid the Finder of Occasions that will somehow help him move to wherever it is his beloved brother and other family members are. So, yes, his original attachment to Jeremy is selfish, yet despite that (and despite being a ghost) Jacob becomes a sort of father-figure to the practically orphaned Jeremy. Jeremy’s mother abandoned the family years ago; his father took her leaving bad and hasn’t left the house since. Jacob is a product of his own times, so he doesn’t quite get all the modern references or lingo which can be amusing. He also uses old fashioned terminology to refer to things, such as calling the town of Never Better a village and the inhabitants villagers.

References and allusions to folk and fairy tales fill Far Far Away. A person loses a shoe, and I thought of Cinderella. A story is told of Prince Cake’s and eating one and falling in love with the first person one sees. These casual references, and some of the humor (Jeremy’s name) lulled me into forgetting the darkness of the tales. I began to see the happy endings as Jeremy’s friendship with Ginger deepens, as a solution is shown for his family’s financial mess, as his father, perhaps, will leave the house….

And I forgot. I forgot, like Jacob did, that the Finder was out there — or, rather, like Jacob, I was just suspicious enough of all the people Jeremy encountered that I became suspicious of none. And, like Jacob, “I was carried away [by Jeremy's happiness]… when I should have stood fast and remained vigilant.” Yet, at the same time, we the reader are tuned in to the danger that is coming because Jacob is letting us know.

And the danger. Because there is a ghost, because the Finder of the Obvious has a name out of a child’s story, because the reader has been told about fairy tales over and over, for a few moments there I thought this would be a fantastical danger. I forgot that while Jacob is a ghost, or sees things from a nineteenth century perspective, Jeremy’s world is our world. The danger is not a witch or a dragon. It is a person. And a person can be the most dangerous thing of all.

I thought, silly me, that since this was about fairy tales I would laugh a little. And I did. But I also cried, and was scared, and wondered at just how Jeremy could be delivered from the danger he was in because it seemed so hopeless.

Two of my favorite television series this year are Grimm and Once Upon A Time. In reading Far Far Away, I was reminded that Once Upon a Time is much more based on Disney fairy tales than the Brothers Grimm ones. Far Far Away is much more Grimm (TV series) in tone.

Because I enjoyed spending time with Jacob and Jeremy and, even, Ginger. Because the villagers were more than they appeared to be. Because Far Far Away stayed true to the spirit of folk and fairy tales. Because the tone and the way of telling was different from anything else I read this year. Far Far Away is a Favorite Book Read in 2013.

The Lucky Kind by Alyssa B. Sheinmel: “Nick’s life [has been] charmed — lucky, even. He has a wonderful family (put Rob and Nina down in the “pretty great parents in a YA book” category), he lives in a nice apartment in Manhattan (average by Manhattan standards, not richy rich), he has a great best friend, Stevie, and a girl, Eden Reiss, who he’s been crushing on for years. Seriously, any reader would want to have Nick’s life. The phone call from Sam Roth shatters all that — but only in Nick’s head, because it shatters how Nick sees his life and those around him. Sam and his existence represent numerous betrayals and secrets: that his father had another child. That his father gave that child up for adoption. That his father put his name on a registry indicating he would want contact with that child, should the child wish. That his father and mother both knew all this, and never told Nick.”

Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper: “Writing the plot part of Fallen Grace was challenging, because it sounded so doom and gloom! Poverty and orphans and a stillborn child. Stolen shoes and stolen identities. But it’s NOT doom and gloom! It’s the opposite of doom and gloom! The bond between Grace and Lily is loving and kind. No matter what happens to them, no matter what possessions they pawn or lose, no matter the trials and tribulations that are heaped upon them, their bond remains strong. Each roadblock is one that Grace matter-of-factly confronts. Abused in the workhouse? Leave, find a place to live, find a way to make money. No money for rent? Figure out what can be pawned. Feeling down? Use bits of scrap newspapers as inspiration to weave stories to entertain your sister. Grace does not deny how dire their situation gets, but she has determination and drive.  Grace also has standards; she’d rather deal with the daily uncertainty of the Seven Dials than the guaranteed food and shelter of the training center, because the training center came with a man who felt he was entitled to the young girls.”

Tighter by Adele Griffin: “Jamie, seventeen, is spending her summer as an au pair at ritzy Little Bly, Rhode Island, taking care of eleven year old Isa McRae while Isa’s dad works in Hong Kong. The only other person in the large beachfront estate is the housekeeper, Connie, a disapproving local woman. It turns out, there are things Jamie wasn’t told about Isa and the McRaes. There’s an older brother, Milo, fourteen, who turns up unexpectedly, spoiled and handsome. Then there’s Jessie, last year’s au pair, a free spirited girl who Isa adored. Jessie, who along with her boyfriend, Peter, died in a plane crash the year before. Even creepier, it turns out that Jamie looks like Jessie. Jamie is seeing the ghosts of the two lovers, and is somehow drawn into the echoes of the drama, heartache, and betrayals of the year before. But is she really seeing Jessie and Peter? Or is something else going on?”

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman: “Eon is a twelve year old boy. He has been training intensively for years to get the opportunity, along with a handful of other boys, to be selected by a magical dragon, thus becoming a Dragoneye. Sword work is difficult, because of an accident years ago that left Eon lame. Eon is gifted with magical gifts, able to see energy and dragons. He and the master who discovered him as a slave on a salt farm believe that these gifts will be enough to have the Rat Dragon choose Eon. Eon has a secret. Eon is actually Eona, a sixteen year old girl. Eon’s world is one with strict laws and beliefs about class and gender. A female Dragoneye? Ridiculous! Discovery means death. How far will Eon’s charade go? And who else will be swept into the intrigue?”

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray: “A plane full of teen beauty queens crashes on a remote tropical island. No, really. What I’m fast appreciating about Libba Bray is that she’s always doing something different as an author; but, each time, it’s awesome. It’s like she’s the Meryl Streep of authors. Without the accents. Wait, Gemma Doyle was British so I guess maybe that counts? Anyway, so far Bray has given us a historical fiction lush with fantasy; a road trip that explores life, death, and spirituality; and now a satire about commercialism, beauty, and modern priorities and pirates. What’s next, westerns? (Actually, I know the answer is the Roaring Twenties. But still.) Here’s the short pitch: America’s Next Top Models plus Lost multiplied by Arrested Development.“

Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon: “Ai Ling is seventeen. At the first betrothal arranged by her loving parents, not only is she rejected by the bridegroom and his mother (Ai Ling is too tall; her father left the Emperor’s court in disgrace years before), she discovers something disturbing about herself. Ai Ling can hear other people’s thoughts. When Ai Ling’s father leaves on a short trip to the Palace, he gives her a jade necklace. Weeks pass, then months, and her father does not return. Ai Ling and her mother do not hear from him. Money grows tight; a neighbor appears, insisting that Ai Ling’s father owes him money and that Ai Ling must marry him to excuse the debt. Ai Ling had earlier heard the disturbing thoughts of this man and suspects the debt is fake. Ai Ling decides that she has only one option: leave to find her father. Without telling her mother, she heads off and discovers more about herself, and her world, than she ever dreamed possible.”

Attack of the Vampire Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales by David Lubar: “These are true short stories. Sometimes, you just want a quick scare or quick laugh. Short short stories like this are also perfect for readalouds during class or camp visits. Lubar rarely gives any ages for the main characters in these stories, which makes it easier for any reader to relate to this collection without it being either too young or too old. There is also a lot of karma — bad things happen, yes, but they tend to happen to kids who are being mean or self centered or cruel. Let’s put it this way: deciding to torment your sister by inviting real vampires to her fake “vampire weenie friends” party (complete with snarky comments about sparkle) will not end well. Sneaking out of the house? Will not end well. Tormenting a locked up vampire? Will not end well. Taking someone else’s ear buds? Will not …. well, you get the picture.”

Huntress by Malinda Lo: “The sun and the seasons have disappeared. The Fairy Queen summons the human king to visit him. The King, suspicious in part because many believe fairies to be a myth, sends his son Con instead. Taisin, a talented student from the Academy of Sages is chosen to go along, as is her fellow student, the less magically talented Kaede. Only three guards will accompany them as they travel north. With each mile they travel, the devastating impact of food shortages is seen. It also becomes clear that something is happening to the boundary between the lands of fairy and human. Odd creatures are reported. The small party is attacked, both physically and mentally. Will they even be able to get to the lands of the Fairy Queen? And what waits them there?”

The Plot: It’s the summer after high school graduation, and everything in Emaline’s life is the same as it ever was. She’s working at her grandmother’s beach rental property business. She’s hanging out with Luke, her boyfriend since ninth grade. Even the arguments with her older sisters are familiar, even if they are about new things. Things in the beach town of Colby are always a certain way, and that’s how it’s always been and always will be.

Or will it? Emaline feels an edge of something, she’s not quite sure what. Dissatisfaction? Yearning? Wanting a change? And the knowledge that when summer ends, she’s going off to college (one of the first in her family to do so), doesn’t help. It’s East U, the same place her oldest sister went, the same place most of her classmates will go, so how will her life be anything different than it is now?

Emaline meets Theo, the assistant to documentary director Ivy, two New Yorkers in Colby for the summer to make a documentary about a local man who, years before, left Colby, became a well regarded artist, and then turned his back on it all to go back to the small beach town. Seeing herself, her town, through their eyes: what is it, really, that Emaline wants? To stay or go? What life does she want?

The Good: The main difficulty I had with writing about The Moon and More is that it’s not a simple book. It’s not so much about Emaline’s “coming of age” (whatever that means) as Emaline being on the cusp of something and not knowing what it is; it’s about Emaline not looking for answers because she is still trying to figure out the questions.

Emaline’s roots in Colby run deep. She works for Colby Realty in the summer, just like her mother and her sister Margo. Everyone knows the story of her mother and Emaline: how, while still in school, younger than Emaline is now, Emily fell in love with one of the tourists, one of the summer people who are down for a season, and ended up pregnant and alone and left. No, this isn’t that sort of book: Emily had a child to take care of and she got her act together and married a man from Colby with roots of his own, a widower with two young girls who adopted Emaline and has been as much a father to her as his own girls. It’s a blended family that is happy and loving and, yes, sometimes they fight because that’s what families do. One of the big things I loved about The Moon and More was Emaline’s family.

Another thing I loved? The portrait of a beach community, with the locals being mostly working class and the tourists being mostly rich. Emaline has always known better than to get involved with a tourist — look what happened to her mother. She sees it also in classmates, who date a boy in the summer and then the gradual disintegration of the relationship once summer ends. Yet, despite that, despite Luke, she finds herself drawn to Theo. He’s not like the local boys and she yearns, in a way, for that which is different from the life she knows. The tension that any about-to-leave-for-college teenager feels that summer before college is played out on a slightly bigger canvas, because of the tensions that exist between the locals and the tourists. What does it mean to be from someplace? What does it mean to want to leave? And can one really leave?

Another strength is Emaline’s friendships: her two best friends, Daisy and Morris, and Luke, her boyfriend. And this is the moment where I get a bit spoilerish — no, a lot spoilerish.

Here’s the thing: The Moon and More is classic Dessen, creating a girl so real the reader knows Emaline’s strengths and weaknesses and loves her anyway. Emaline has to learn a thing or two or three about people in this summer’s journey, and that I saw some truths before she did? Well, sometimes we all have things we have to learn the hard way.

So, stop reading now, if you don’t want a bit of an analysis on just why The Moon and More is, I think, one of Dessen’s best books.

First, it’s not a romance. Oh, there is a romance in it — Emaline and Luke break up and Emaline starts dating Theo. But, this is not a romance. I felt none of the “wowza” I’ve felt with past Dessen boys. Luke felt, well, like a familiar sweater, something nice enough and reliable enough but no spark. And Theo: Theo is a boy pretending to be a man, and what better way for an insecure out of towner to feel smarter and brighter than to date someone a few years younger? Emaline does not know this, as she drinks red wine because Theo likes it and goes to the restaurants Theo likes. Emaline has to figure it out for herself. Figuring it out, though? That’s part of the point of The Moon and More and it’s watching Emaline realize this that makes this book bittersweet.

The other point of The Moon and More is watching Emaline work out her relationship with her birth father (as opposed to her Dad, the man who raised her). Who her father is, who he wishes he were, who Emaline wishes he were, is as complicated and messy as you would expect it to be. I love that here, with Emaline’s father, Dessen gave no simple answers, no easy reunions, no miraculous changes of heart. Just, flawed people with weaknesses who do the best they can and make the best of what they have.

Usually I’m pretty good at thinking of the teen audience and intended audience when I read a book. Here, for example: reading it and loving it as a teen reader would; also thinking, hey, this may work for those readers wanting “New Adult,” whatever that is; but sometimes I cannot turn off my “but I’m an adult reading this” brain. Here, it means, I think, that I figured out certain truths about Theo and about Emaline’s father before she did. I wonder if teen readers will be following Emaline’s journey more than I was able to , or if it’s part of the intended reader experience to know things before Emaline. Also, to be honest — I find myself curious about Emaline’s mother, and her choices, and find myself, for the first time, wishing Sarah Dessen would consider writing a book or two for the grownups. Dessen does a great job of painting nuanced, flawed parents without making them “evil” and I wish there would be a book just about those grownups. Selfish, I know.

And of course — it’s a Favorite Book Read in 2013.