Wands and Worlds

Book Review: The Ask and The Answer

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:46:06 PDT

The Ask and the Answer
Chaos Walking, Book Two
by Patrick Ness

Warning: This review is slightly spoilerish to the first book, The Knife of Never Letting Go, so if you haven't read that book, I recommend you stop now and read it first. I loved the first book, but qualified my review with a caution about the ending. Having read the second book, I can now give the series an unqualified recommendation. It's an outstanding series, and one with a lot of teen appeal. My only warning is that bad things happen, and this isn't a series for sensitive readers.

My Review of The Knife of Never Letting Go

The Ask and the Answer was an unexpected surprise. I knew it would be good - I think I hardly even breathed while reading The Knife of Never Letting Go - but I didn't expect it to go in the direction that it did. The Knife of Never Letting Go was one long, breathless flight, with Todd and Viola alternately running from and battling the forces from Prentisstown. The cliffhanger ending led you to believe that the second book would be more of the same. And while The Ask and the Answer picks up where The Knife of Never Letting Go left off, Ness turns everything upside down and forces you to question your assumptions and look at everything and everyone in a new light.

I don't want to say too much and ruin the book, but The Ask and the Answer finds Todd and Viola separated, and at times, on opposite sides. They are each, in their own way, doing what they can to stand up for what's right, but right and wrong aren't always clear, and it's hard to know who, or what, to believe.

The Ask and the Answer is a deep, powerful, and sometimes disturbing book, which asks such questions as, do the ends ever justify the means? And if one side is evil, does that make the opposition good? There are echoes of the Holocaust, particularly in the treatment of the Spackle. The Ask and the Answer is as breathlessly unputdownable as The Knife of Never Letting Go, but it's also a book that shakes you up and makes you think. It's a book that I think will have strong appeal to teens.

Guest Review by David

My 14-year-old son David also reviewed this book. Here is his review:

Oh, my gosh. Was it even possible for this book to top it's predecessor? Yup. If anything, this book is even more well written than The Knife of Never Letting Go, and that's saying a lot. The characters are all great, from the villains, to the heros, to those who just aren't sure what they are. And the plot? The plot is the best part. I don't want to give away too much, but it's almost impossible to put down The Ask and The Answer after you start. This book has quickly risen up my list of favorite books, along with The Knife. I've already reread them both twice, and I still can't get enough!

--SLIGHT SPOILERS--

Whereas the first book ended leaving the reader with a feeling of defeat, this book, even though it has no less of a climactic ending, gives you a better feeling. More "Aaaaaaaah!" as opposed to "Noooooo!" if you will. If you enjoyed The Knife of Never Letting Go, there's no way you shouldn't read this book.

The Ask and the Answer is a 2009 Cybils Nominee

Disclosures: we received a review copy of The Ask and the Answer from the publisher at my request. The links above are Amazon.com affiliate links, and if you purchase the books (or anything else) through those links, we'll earn a very small percentage. None of these things influenced the reviews.

Bartimaeus prequel in the works!

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:50:03 PDT

Terrific news, from Fantasy Book Review via Charlotte's Library: Jonathan Stroud is writing a prequel to the Bartimaeus Trilogy! According to Fantasy Book Review, "The new and fourth Bartimaeus book will follow Bartimaeus’s adventures during his 5,000 year career as a djinni." I'm a little unsure how that will work out, because it's tough to write a book that spans 5000 years but still has a narrative that holds together, unless it's going to be more like a series of short stories. But I loved the trilogy, and the snarky Bartimaeus was such a great character with a unique voice, so I'm holding out hope that this will be great.

Book Review: Sacred Scars

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:28:22 PDT

Sacred Scars
A Resurrection of Magic, Book 2
by Kathleen Duey

Warning: This review is slightly spoilerish to the fist book, Skin Hunger, so if you haven't read Skin Hunger, I recommend you stop now and read that book first.

My review of Skin Hunger

As with its predecessor, Skin Hunger, Sacred Scars tells two stories, separated by many years and yet linked together. Sadima is in hiding with Somiss, Franklin, and the boys; she does what she can to protect the boys and prepare for the day that she and Franklin can leave, and escape Somiss' cruelty forever. But she begins to suspect that day will never come; that Franklin will never be able to defy Somiss enough to leave.

Amidst the parallel cruelty of the Limori Academy, Hahp attempts to forge an alliance with the other students, in defiance of the restriction on helping each other. But alliance is nearly impossible when communication is forbidden, loyalties are uncertain, and even reality difficult to ascertain.

In Sacred Scars, we begin to see more and more the connections between Sadima's story and Hahp's story. I suspect that in the third book, we'll find out that these stories are connected in ways even deeper than we realized. Kathleen Duey's attention to detail is amazing! The smallest things are vested with meaning: names, chairs, and even cheeses.

This is a powerful book, and a dark one. In one chapter, I felt physically ill at what happened to one character, and had to stop reading for a short break to pull myself together. Sometimes I wondered how Duey could bear to write about the things that happen to some of her characters. And yet, there is hope and love and friendship, at least for brief respites.

Although Duey has set up an apparent good-evil dichotomy, with magic on the evil side of the split, she simultaneously raises the question whether it's really that black and white. If Sadima has an inborn magical talent that's as natural as breathing to her, how can all magic be evil?

Sacred Scars is an intense, readable and fascinating book that surpasses its predecessor. I'm looking forward to reading the third book.

Disclosures: I purchased a copy of Sacred Scars after being unable to obtain a review copy. The links above are Amazon.com affiliate links, and I earn a few cents on copies of the books purchased through these links. Neither of these things influenced my review.

Cybils Award 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:36:09 PDT

For anyone who doesn't know, the 2009 Cybils awards are now open for nominations. Anyone can nominate their favorite children's or young adult book first published between October 16, 2008, and October 15, 2009 for this award, given by the children's literature bloggers to honor the best children's and YA books of the year. Books published in English anywhere in the world are eligible.

Nominations close at 11:59 pm PDT on October 15, so you only have a few days left to nominate. First read this post then read this one, then you can go to our handy-dandy nomination form here. (Which, if you don't mind a quick brag, I'm proud to say that I set up).

Most of the books that I was considering nominating have already been nominated. There are still a few, though, that I've read this year that I think are nomination-worthy. These are a few good books that I'd like to see on the list.

The Midnight Charter by David Whitley

The Book of Dreams by O.R. Melling

The Softwire: Wormhole Pirates on Orbis 3 by P. J. Haarsma

Moribito II: Guardian Of The Darkness by Nahoko Uehashi

If you're trying to decide what to nominate, maybe this will remind you of some good ones, if you've read any of these and also think they're worth a nomination. I'm still holding on to my nomination until the last minute to see what else gets nominated!

See the current list of Fantasy/Science Fiction nominations

Pablo Defendini interview

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:36:34 PDT

There is a fascinating interview on Bibliophile Stalker, with Tor.com producer Pablo Defendini, about his role at Tor.com and the goals of the site, his background, and his love of speculative fiction. I love this quote:

As far as the appeal of SF for me, personally, it’s all about exploring the possibilities of the human race, of our—and other—civilizations. It’s very much about the sense of wonder, the exploration of the ideas of today within the worlds of tomorrow, the building of fantastic worlds that—who knows—could maybe come to pass one day.

Read the entire interview here.

I heard Defendini speak as part of the 7x20x21 panel at BEA and enjoyed his talk quite a bit. You can watch it here.

Book Review: Catching Fire

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:37:45 PDT

Catching Fire
Hunger Games, book 2
by Suzanne Collins

Having survived the Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta are back home in District 12. But although they’re out of the arena, living in comfortable housing and with plenty of food, the game is far from over. Because the two of them defeated the Capitol by forcing a change in the rules, the government considers them dangerous enemies of the state, even while publicly celebrating them as victors. Some people in the Districts view their victory as an act of defiance, and there are rumblings of unrest.

A visit from President Snow makes the stakes clear: Katniss and Peeta must play the role of young lovers perfectly, and convince the world that they are no threat to the Capitol, or everyone they love will die. But as they begin the victory tour, events rapidly spiral out of control, and Katniss must make a choice between playing the game, and standing up to a government bent on crushing every last scrap of resistance.

I was a little nervous about reading Catching Fire because I was so excited about it that I worried it wouldn’t live up to my expectations. I needn’t have worried: Catching Fire delivers. It’s a gut-wrenching, pulse-thumping, roller-coaster of a ride. If anything, it’s more intense than the Hunger Games. If you thought the government of Panem was cruel in The Hunger Games, in this book you discover just how truly brutal they are, and to what lengths they will go to maintain control. Yet even in the face of such extreme brutality there are people willing to risk their lives to defy the government--even some in the Capitol. I read this book on vacation, and literally screamed out loud in several places, attracting some strange looks from my family. (They’ve since read the book, too, so now they understand.)

If you’ve read The Hunger Games, I probably don’t need to convince you to read Catching Fire. If you haven’t read the Hunger Games, I highly recommend it! It’s a great teen series. I think it will appeal to both reluctant readers and good readers. It may be too intense for some readers: Bad Things Happen. And it definitely ends on a cliffhanger. Now I’m waiting for book 3. Write faster, Suzanne Collins! Please!

My review of The Hunger Games

Review copy provided by the publisher and signed by the author at BEA.

Cybils 2009 is starting!

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 07:25:02 PDT

It's Cybils time again! Nominations open on October 1 for the 2009 Children's and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards. (Is this really our 4th year?) Organizers are currently working hard to select the lists of panelists from the many excellent volunteers. I'm back as the Fantasy and Science Fiction organizer this year. Last year the category was organized by the excellent Tasha from the Kids Lit blog.

Things are happening and the excitement is building, so add the Cybils blog to your blog reader to keep up with the news, and come back between October 1 and October 15 to nominate your favorite books of 2009.

Book Review: Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:49:06 PDT

Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse
by Kaleb Nation

Desperate to protect her son from the people chasing her, Emry Hambric sent him away, without knowing where he'd end up. And so six-year-old Bran Hambric was found one morning in a locked bank vault in the city of Dunce, with no memories and only a scrap of paper with his name written on it. Sewey Wilomas, who worked in the bank, found the boy, and under the Finders Keepers Law was obligated to keep him. So Bran became an unwelcome member of the Wilomas family.

Dunce has strict laws against magic: No Mages, No Gnomes, No etcetera. When Bran discovers that he has magic powers, he knows that he's in trouble. But Bran has bigger problems to worry about. Someone is trying to find him. And that someone might just be connected to his mother's dark past.

I wanted to like this book; I really did. According to the interview at the beginning of the Advance Reading Copy, Kaleb Nation started writing the book when he was fourteen, wrote it in six to nine months, and then spent four years completely rewriting it multiple times. Revising like that is hard enough for adult authors; someone who can do that as a teen has my admiration.

However, as much as I wanted to like it, I just couldn't find a lot to like about this book. The ideas were creative, but the execution fell flat for me. The characters were one-dimensional and clichéd and the story elements were highly derivative. The Wilomas family has a lot in common with Harry Potter's foster family, the Dursleys, and the villain, Baslyn, was just a bit too Voldemort-like. (In fact, every time he came into the story, I couldn't help picturing him as looking like Voldemort from the Harry Potter movies).

I didn't even find the humor to be all that funny, although I'm told by some young fans that Kaleb Nation is a pretty funny person. Somehow that sense of humor just didn't translate well into his writing, at least for me, and it read too much like someone trying too hard to be funny.

The first half of the book didn't hold my interest at all; the second half did improve somewhat.

I hate to write a review like this, especially when the author is a young person. I don't want to discourage any young writer, and I also don't want to discourage any of his young fans who enjoyed the book. All I can say is, if you read it and you liked it, then I'm happy for you. Everyone has different taste in books, and I'm glad for anyone who finds a book they love. This book didn't do it for me, though.

Advance Reading Copy provided by the publisher at BEA.

Book Review: The Midnight Charter

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 09:02:01 PDT

The Midnight Charter
by David Whitley

In a world ruled by commerce, two children make a trade that will alter the course of their lives. Mark is apprenticed to a doctor, and Lily to an alchemist. When the children switch roles, a trade that is allowed in the commerce-driven society of Agora, they each set themselves on an unexpected course. Although their lives take vastly different directions, their destinies intersect, and the fate of Agora lies in the balance.

Imagine a world where trade is everything. Everything has value, and nothing can be given for free. There are no gifts (except once in your life on your title day) and charity is an unknown concept. You can't even get directions without trading something in return. That's the fascinating and brilliantly envisioned world that author David Whitley has created. In Agora, the only way to survive is to trade whatever you have, and if you have nothing, you trade your services and your labor. The truly desperate can even trade away emotions, which are used like a drug by those who can afford them.

The Midnight Charter is one of the most original and creative books I've read in a long time. David Whitley has done an amazing job of world-building. I think it's a shame that the publisher has chosen to market this book as a morality tale of greed, because I think that diminishes what the author has done. The Midnight Charter is so much more than a morality tale; it's a richly developed story that asks, "What if?" in the tradition of the best science fiction. Greed is only part of the equation; The Midnight Charter looks at the opposite and balancing forces that shape a society. It's about the power of ideas to change a society -- and the social forces that will stop at nothing to maintain the status quo.

The Midnight Charter is an enjoyable read. The characters are interesting and the story holds your interest and keeps you turning the pages. I read it in the car on the way back from a trip, and read it right through almost without stopping. In a few places, certain story elements aren't as well developed as they could have been, but overall I quite enjoyed the book.

Although the book doesn't say that it's part of a series, at least not that I could find, the ending clearly sets things up for another book.

The Midnight Charter will be released tomorrow, September 1, 2009. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Book Review: Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:09:40 PDT

Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd
edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci

Editors Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci have brought together a stellar line-up of YA authors to create an outstanding collection of stories about the experience of growing up "geek." The stories range from poignant to humorous, and hopeful to triumphant, but all reflect authentic aspects of the geek experience. I'm more than a little bit geek, and I saw aspects of myself in more than one of these stories.

As with any anthology, there were some stories that I liked better than others. Here were a few that stood out for me:

Holly Black and Cecil Castelluci's Once You're a Jedi, You're a Jedi All the Way: a funny look at Star Trek vs. Star Wars, which actually turned out to be a lot sweeter and more innocent than I expected, given that the first narrator wakes up in bed with someone she doesn't remember.

Scott Westerfeld's Definitional Chaos: any author that can write an entertaining story with a central conflict that hinges on the concept of character alignment is a master geek in my book!

David Levithan's Quiz Bowl AntiChrist: I totally loved the protagonist, who hides his vulnerability behind a mask of sarcasm, in this story of self-discovery.

Garth Nix's The Quiet Knight: a story of a shy young LARPer who finds real courage. The main character is what really makes this story one of my favorites.

Barry Lyga's The Truth About Dino Girl: more than any of the others, Lyga captured what my high school experience was like; it wasn't dinosaurs for me, but in many ways I really identified with the protagonist of this story. And while I thought the resolution was a little harsh in some ways, it was completely a geek fantasy, which I think was the point.

Wendy Mass' The Stars at the Finish Line: Loved the interaction between the two main characters in this one. I haven't read anything else by Wendy Mass, but this story makes me want to.

Most of the other stories were also good; there were a couple that I didn't care for, but I think that's more a matter of personal preference.

Sara Zarr's story was missing from my ARC; I wish I could have read it.

In between the stories were various one-page comics and geek jokes; many of them were also missing from my ARC, and of the ones that were included, for the most part I didn't enjoy them as much as I enjoyed the stories.

I would recommend this book for mature teens and adults. Many of the stories depict risky behaviors, including underage binge drinking, lying to your parents, meeting people from the Internet, and underage sex (in one case, by an 8th grader!) I know that many teens (and even tweens) participate in these activities, and in general I do think it's important for YA fiction to reflect an authentic teen experience. However, I think what bothers me about it in this book is that so much emphasis is placed on the personalities and geek nature of the writers. While the stories are fictional and not autobiographical (as far as I know), I think that the emphasis on the writers as geeks makes it seem like the writers are condoning and even encouraging these behaviors.

Disclaimers: I received an Advance Reading Copy from the publisher to facilitate reviewing the book. I also attended a party hosted by the publisher at BEA to introduce the book. Neither of these things influenced my review.

Book Review: The Book of Dreams

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:59:35 PDT

The Book of Dreams
The Chronicles of Faerie: Book 4
by O. R. Melling

Dana Faolan, half-mortal, half faerie teen, is unhappy. Recently moved to Canada from Ireland, she misses her home and blames her father for moving her away from her beloved Ireland. She hates Canada: it's a strange country, she doesn't have any friends, and worst of all, there's no magic like there is in Ireland. Her only consolation is the world of Faerie, where she can go and visit her mother, the Light-Bearer, any time. Faerie becomes an escape from reality, one that she perhaps relies on a bit too much.

Then, all the portals between the Earthworld and Faerie are severed by an unknown enemy, putting both realms in peril. If the gateways are not restored by Samhain, then the two realms will be divided forever. Only Dana can restore the gateways. Accompanied by her new friend (and possible romantic interest) Jean, a French Canadian with secrets of his own, and with help from Laurel and Gwen, two Friends of Faerie, Dana sets off on a quest to find the Book of Dreams. In the process, she just might find that there is magic everywhere, even in Canada.

The Book of Dreams is a big, beautifully written fantasy on a grand scale. In her travels, Dana encounters people of the many different cultures that make up Canada, and the story is rich with beliefs and folklore from around the world, including Irish, French-Canadian, Hindu, Christian, Chinese, and several native peoples, including Cree and Inuit.

Melling's writing is beautiful; even her many descriptions of food, from the vegetarian meals Dana's Indian stepmother cooks, to the variety of food she encounters on her journeys, make the book worth reading (and will make you hungry while reading it!)

The story is well-paced and sometimes has a mythic feel to it. The pace is a bit slower than some YA readers may be accustomed to; the battles and dangers are balanced with scenes of family and encounters with other cultures that are important to the development of the story, but which make this a more leisurely read. The pacing, combined with the length of the book, may intimidate some readers, but good readers who love richly woven stories will enjoy it, particularly those interested in folklore and other cultures.

Don't get me wrong: there is plenty of action, as well as interesting characters (I particularly liked Dana's aunts) and a hot romantic interest. There is courage, and sacrifice, and poignant moments. This is a Rocky Road ice cream kind of book, packed with lots of chewy and delicious treats.

O.R. Melling wrote the Chronicles of Faerie so that each book stands alone, and can be read independently, and yet all the books are linked. Each of the first three books in the series features a different story and a different protagonist, although characters from the other books sometimes make cameo appearances in each book. This book can also be read independently, but I think that it would be best appreciated by someone who has read the other books in the series, because it is kind of the culmination of the series, and all the characters from the other books play a part in this one.

Our 2006 interview with O.R. Melling

Read my reviews of the other Chronicles of Faerie books:
The Hunter's Moon
The Summer King
The Light-Bearer's Daughter

Review copy provided by the publisher at BEA.

Green Dragon Codex Song Contest for Libraries

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:44:33 PDT

Mirrorstone is inviting children and teens ages 8 to 14 to enter the Green Dragon Codex Song Writing Contest through their local library. From Mirrorstone's web site:

Calling all libraries! Got any bards in training? Here's your chance to put that talent to good use. Libraries, and kids and teens 8-14 years old, are welcome to enter the Green Dragon lyrics writing contest -- and explore the world of dragons. Entrants will write lyrics set to the story of the Green Dragon, and the winning lyrics will then be set to music tied in with A Practical Guide to Dragons and the books in the Dragon Codex series. This is a great summer promotion for reading programs; you might offer it as a group writing activity, or have kids write on their own and have a contest to pick the entry you think is best to submit.

Mirrorstone has posted a song and lyrics about the Dragon Codex series, including verses about the Red Dragon, Bronze Dragon, Black Dragon and Brass Dragon. Entrants will write a verse about the Green Dragon to add to the song.

Details and rules, including an MP3 download of the song, can be found at:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4dnd/greendragon

The winning library will win a collection of Dragon Codex books (details on which books at the link above), and each member of the winning songwriting team will win a copy of A Practical Guide to Dragons and the Green Dragon Codex.

Harry Potter giveaway winners

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:25:37 PDT

Thanks so much to everyone who entered the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows prize pack giveaway! I'm amazed at the memories shared and at how much Harry Potter has meant to so many people. Thank you for sharing your Harry Potter memories with me.

I selected the winners by putting every entry - by blog comment, blog post, or tweet, in a spreadsheet. I then used random.org to randomly generate four numbers, and used those numbers as an index into the spreadsheet. The four lucky winners are:

Rachel (Blog comment Jun 16, 2009 10:01 PM)

Sarah Z (Blog comment Jun 24, 2009 11:27 PM)

Nicole D. (Blog comment Jun 29, 2009 1:21 PM)

@ginaruiz (Twitter 4:25 PM Jul 6th)

Congratulations to the winners! Please send your snail mail address to me at sruth@wandsandworlds.com so that I can send you your prize pack.

I posted this in a comment on the original Harry Potter giveaway entry, but I wanted to post it here as a new entry, also, in case someone didn't see it there.

Harry Potter giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:00:27 PDT

The Harry Potter series has been a big part of my life for most of this decade. We started out reading the books together when my son was young, and as each new book came out we read it together, sharing the excitement, the humor, the tragedies and the surprises. I've been a lifelong reader of fantasy, and yet something about Harry Potter was, and is, special.

When Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was first released, we got the book at midnight, as many other people did. Although we could have finished it more quickly if we each read it ourselves, we opted to read the last book together and savor it, as we had the rest of the journey. We read almost straight through over the next couple of days, avoiding even going out of the house if possible, to avoid spoilers. After it was over, I had a powerful emotional reaction that lasted for days: a response to the powerful story itself, combined with a sense of loss that the series was ended.

Now, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will finally be released in paperback on July 7, and I've been given four copies of a Harry Potter prize pack to give away here! The prize pack includes paperback copies of:

Book 5 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Book 6 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Book 7 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!

To enter, write about a Harry Potter memory in the comments, between now and the end of the day July 6. It could be a great release party you attended, how you discovered the series, a special place that you read one of the books, what the series means to you, or anything else relating to Harry Potter and your life. It could just be as simple as your favorite Harry Potter book. The winner will be randomly selected on July 7. (So if you don't win, you can head on over to the bookstore and buy your own paperback copy). We can only ship the prizes to U.S. addresses only.

You can also get extra entries by blogging or tweeting about the giveaway. Please include the hashtag #wawhp in your tweets, and post a link to blog entries in the comments below.

Here's the official announcement from the publisher:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a breathtaking finish to a remarkable series. The final chapter to Harry Potter’s adventures will be released in paperback July 7^th! It all comes down to this - a final face off between good and evil. You plan to pull out all the stops, but every time you solve one mystery, three more evolve.

Harry Potter games, activities, and information are available on the scholastic web site at:

http://www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/

Here's what you can win:

Dream Power creative writing contest for kids

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 04:31:29 PDT

This summer marks the fifth anniversary of the publication of my husband's book, The Dark Dreamweaver. In celebration, Imaginator Press is sponsoring a creative writing contest for children up to age 14. The Dark Dreamweaver features a land literally powered by dreams, and Imaginator Press invites children to submit a story on the theme "Dream Power" for a chance to win an iPod Touch, iTunes gift cards, and inclusion in a published anthology of the winners.

Click here for more information, rules, and downloadable entry form

Book Review: Silksinger

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 19:56:45 PDT

Silksinger
Dreamdark: Book 2
by Laini Taylor

Magpie Windwitch may have defeated the Blackbringer and convinced the Djinn King to return, but there's still plenty of work to do. Accompanied by faerie Talon Rathersting, her "brothers" the crows, and Batch the scavenger imp, 'Pie is on a quest to find the rest of the Djinn. Meanwhile, young Whisper Silksinger, the last of her clan, is traveling across the land with one of those Djinn, the Azazel, in a teapot. Pursued by devils and scorned by everyone she meets, Whisper is yet determined to get the Azazel to Nazneen and restore him to his throne. Another faerie also travels to Nazneen in disguise, determined to restore his clan's honor and become the Azazel's champion. But unknown to all of them, a darker force is also seeking the Djinn for his own purposes. If he succeeds, the world may be in peril.

Silksinger alternates between several stories and several main characters, one of whom is Magpie. I'm not a fan of books that alternate stories in this way, because for me it makes the read very disjointed; every time I get involved with one character, I find it disconcerting to have to switch perspective and adjust to a different point of view. But the story is exciting enough to keep you involved, with the action starting by page 3, and the new characters are interesting and unique.

Silksinger is a darker book than Blackbringer. That may seem unlikely, since the first book was about a hungry darkness that swallowed everything in its path, but as frightening as it was, the Blackbringer was really just immense hunger and anger, both understandable emotions. This book has cruelty, real cruelty, and that's so much more horrifying than a hungry darkness. The villain in this book is fairly cliché, but it doesn't really matter, because the real villain is the darker sides of our own nature: hatred and suspicion and cowardice and greed.

But standing against this darkness and cruelty is courage and compassion, often in the face of overwhelming odds. It's easy to accept Magpie's courage; she's such a bold and willful character and courage comes naturally to her. But some of the greatest displays of courage in this book come from some of the most unlikely characters, such as Whisper herself, who is a scamperer, a faerie who can't fly, and in many ways appears to be little more than a frightened child. Yet hidden inside this tiny, seemingly helpless faerie lies an unexpected strength and courage. And several other unlikely characters show great courage in ways I can't describe without spoiling some of the authorial surprises. This fits in with one of the themes of the book, which deals with how our preconceptions and assumptions about other people can sometimes blind us to the truth.

I was glad to see the return of Batch Hangnail, the scavenger imp. In spite of his rude, selfish, untrustworthy nature, I can't help but like him. I was a little disappointed at how some things turned out with him, but again, I can't say more without spoiling the book. I also was a little disturbed that at one point Magpie was essentially keeping him prisoner. No matter how miserable his behavior, I don't think that he deserved that, and it seemed beneath Magpie to behave in such a selfish, uncompassionate way.

The main plot of Silksinger is wrapped up by the end of the book, but some plot threads are left unresolved for future books.

As with the first book, Silksinger is greatly enhanced by the beautiful drawings created by Jim DiBartolo, Laini's husband. The illustrations bring the characters to life and add a lot to the book.

Silksinger will be published on September 17.

Read my review of Blackbringer, book 1 of Dreamdark

Book Review: Bloodhound

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 13:35:31 PDT

Bloodhound
Beka Cooper: Book Two
by Tamora Pierce

There's trouble in Corus: a large influx of counterfeit coins, combined with rumors of a bad rye harvest, threaten the economy and well-being of the city. As prices rise, there's rioting in the streets, and something has to be done.

Beka Cooper has been reunited with her mentors, senior Dogs Goodwin and Tunstall, after a bad run of partners. When the Dogs discover that the counterfeit coins are coming from Port Caynn, and Tunstall is laid up with an injury, Beka and Goodwin, accompanied by Beka's new scent hound, Achoo, and the pigeon Slapper, are sent to Port Caynn to investigate.

With a cover story and some fortunate connections, Beka and Goodwin infiltrate the gambling dens of Port Caynn's underworld. The situation in Port Caynn is even worse than they anticipated: a small-minded Rogue who cares more for herself than her own people, a government official who has traded integrity for safety, and a plot that could destroy the land. Meanwhile, Beka finds herself increasingly attracted to a dashing gambler, not knowing if she can trust him. Before long, Beka is on the run, in danger from all sides. Can she uncover the evidence she needs and find a way to stop the plot, when it seems as if the entire city is out to get her?

Who knew that counterfeiting could be so exciting? Bloodhound is a worthy successor to Terrier; it's a well-paced story peopled with interesting characters, from a crotchety but likable elderly silversmith, to a police Sergeant that Beka knew as a child and his companion, a man who sings as a woman in the gambling dens. Beka herself is one of the best characters I've ever encountered in fantasy. Her combination of shyness and toughness makes her quite appealing. Beka has grown and matured since the last book, as good characters should; her shyness is less pronounced, and she's grown in confidence. Yet she still retains an impulsivity that has a tendency to get her in trouble.

I had only one complaint about this book, and that was a scene that took place in a medieval-style torture chamber, in which a prisoner was being interrogated with what was essentially a form of waterboarding. This was such an obvious political statement that it yanked me right out of the story. Certainly writers should write about the things they feel passionate about, and fiction can be a powerful force for social change, but in this case I felt that it was too overtly a political statement and interrupted the flow of the story.

Overall, though, I quite enjoyed Bloodhound. Rosto shippers will be disappointed that there's not much of Rosto in this book, but Beka's romantic interest here, bank courier Dale, is quite attractive and there's quite a bit of zing between the two of them.

I think that Bloodhound stands pretty well alone, and you could read it without having read Terrier. However, reading Terrier first would make it a more enjoyable experience.

Read my review of Terrier

MotherReader's Fourth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:03:40 PDT

So, what are you doing this weekend? No, I'm not inviting you over. Not that I don't want to see you, but, well, my house is kind of a mess. But if you aren't doing anything, how about spending the weekend reading? What could be better? Oh, how about prizes, too?

It's not too late to sign up for MotherReader's Fourth Annual 48 Hour Book Challenge. In essence, you just commit to reading as much as possible over any 48 period from Friday to Monday morning, review the books you read, and keep track of your time and other stats. There are prizes for the winners and also some randomly drawn prizes for participants.

Read the full rules here.

See the list of prizes here.

If, like me, you can't participate this year, you can follow along on participants' blogs, on Facebook, and on Twitter with the hashtag #48hbc . Some bloggers are also blogging for a favorite cause, so anyone who can't participate might consider sponsoring a blogger.

Good luck to all the participants, and have fun!

Book Expo America, Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 08:49:41 PDT

Sunday was the last day of BEA, and, as expected, it was somewhat quiet. I actually found that to be a good thing, though; I got more accomplished on Sunday than any other day, because the lack of crowds meant that people had more time to talk.

Throughout the weekend, Firebrand Technologies, the company behind NetGalley, was hosting blogger signings at its booth. The idea was to raise the profile of the book bloggers, and provide a venue for people to meet and interact with the bloggers. Sunday at 11am, MotherReader Pam Coughlan and I shared the booth for our signing. I was worried that no one would show up to talk to us, especially on Sunday, but I needn't have worried. We were kept busy talking to people the entire hour. It seems that a lot of people, from booksellers to authors and publishers, are interested in learning how they can work with bloggers. Pam and I talked extensively about Kidlitosphere Central and the Cybils Awards, and gave out business cards and Cybils bookmarks.

At 12:00 I spent an hour volunteering in the booth for IBPA: The Independent Book Publishers Association. After that, we stopped at a couple more booths, went to get some lunch, and then headed home.

Overall, I felt that the mood at BEA was cautiously optimistic. Yes, there was a lot of concern about the economy and the future of the book business in an increasingly digital world. I think that book people, by nature, aren't the type to dwell on misfortune, and I think that we've reached the point of moving on and looking for solutions. A lot of the brightest minds in the industry are looking at where we are and where we're headed, and I heard a lot of good ideas over the weekend.

The nature of BEA itself was changed somewhat from previous years that I've attended, and certainly more changes are in store. It was smaller, as expected, and the unrestrained galley grab of recent years was gone. There were plenty of galleys to be had, but for the most part they weren't stacked in huge stacks all along the aisles as we've come to expect. Some were given out on request to eligible people, some were put out in limited quantities for limited times, and many were given out in autographing sessions, of which there seemed to me to be more. One publisher, I think it was Simon & Schuster, sent messages on Twitter every time they put out a new, limited time galley. Personally, I see these changes as a positive thing; publishers are learning to market smarter.

The programming was also smaller, but more focused. To be honest, I don't think that I've ever attended any of the programming sessions at BEA. In past years, I've looked at the long list of sessions, and not seen much that interested me. But this time I attended several and for the most part found them to be high quality, interesting and relevant.

In short, in spite of the economy, in spite of the changes, for me this was actually one of the best BEAs that I've attended. It'll be interesting to see what happens with BEA in future years, and whether they are able to save the show by continuing to find new ways to make it relevant. I do wish that it wasn't going to be held midweek, though. I like the weekend schedule. But, I'll keep an open mind and see where things go. This one ended up better than I expected, so who knows?

Goodbye, New York. Goodbye, book tribe. See you next year. Until then, have faith, stay strong, and look to the future.

Book Expo America: Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:19:14 PDT

We slept a little later on Saturday, thankfully, since we weren't trying to get any autographing tickets. I was still pretty exhausted from the previous day, though.

We started the day walking the floor and standing in a few autographing lines. I tried to enter every Kindle & Sony Reader drawing I could find, because I'd really like to have one of these. It was such a beautiful, sunny day that we decided to get lunch at the hotdog stand outside on 11th Ave and eat lunch sitting on a wall in the sun. It was quite enjoyable.

After lunch, I attended a panel called Teens Sound Off. It was a panel of six teens talking about their reading and book buying preferences. All the panel members were girls - I would have liked to see a couple of guys on the panel - and I had some trouble hearing them (but then, maybe that was the ear infection) but it was a very interesting panel. I "live tweeted" the panel on Twitter, and rather than try to summarize it, I'll just include my tweets here as bullet points:

Really hard to hear most teens on panel. I think most have said they find out about books from friends.
Several teens said they don't like series. Surprising.
All the panelists are girls; most say their guy friends don't read other than assigned. One has a guy friend reading Twilight.
One teen is a blogger and did a poll; found out that 99% of her blog readers were female
None of the panelists go to author events. Some live in small town; others say they'll only go to event for much wanted book.
One teen said she liked both adult & YA books, but felt uncomfortable in adult section; felt like those books weren't for her.
Teens say cover is really important. Colorful bright covers, animal on cover, person in a cute skirt mentioned as elements
One mentioned that if a cover looks similar to books she likes, it appeals to her.
Teen panelists prefer to read "real" books to reading online. Several mentioned too many distractions online.
But when asked specifically about non-book reading online, most panelists admit the spend more time reading FB and texts than books
One teen doesn't like when booksellers randomly recommend books, but likes when they find out what she likes & relates it
Several teens said they don't trust recs from strangers. They seem keenly aware of when people are trying to sell to them

After that, I attended the Book Bloggers panel, moderated by Book Club Girl. The panel was well attended, and there seems to be a lot of interest in how publishers, authors, and boksellers can work with book bloggers. Rather than trying to tell you about it, I'm going to refer you to this post and this audio recording.

As the exhibit hall was closing. I attended a reception hosted by ReadHowYouWant at the Javits Center. ReadHowYouWant uses proprietary technology to convert publisher files to XML and produce the book in accessible formats for the disabilities market. Formats they produce include large print in a variety of sizes, braille, Daisy, and e-book. ReadHowYouWant has published two of our books so far in their accessible formats.

Saturday night I attended a party celebrating the book Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd, edited by Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci and published by Little, Brown and Company. Geektastic includes contributions from some of the leading young adult authors.

The party was held in a private room at the Lucky Strike bowling alley two blocks from the Javits Center. It was a great party and I had a lot of fun. Having the party at a bowling alley was a stroke of genius. As an introvert, I'm not a big fan of the kind of party where you're supposed to walk around and talk to people. If it's people I know, I'm fine with it, but I'm very uncomfortable walking up to people I don't know and making small talk. Having something to do - bowling and pool - provided a great way to get to know people without having to figure out what to talk about.

I ended up spending most of the evening bowling with Sara Zarr, author of Story of a Girl, Sweethearts, and the forthcoming Once Was Lost, Andrew Smith from Little, Brown, and Diane Roback from PW. Sara was really nice and fun, and I'm glad to have had the chance to get to know her. Diane and I hit it off right away, and she gave me lots of good bowling tips. (I'm a terrible bowler.) With her help, I even got a strike! High five to all my bowling buddies, and it was great to meet you.

In addition to Sara Zarr, I also met Scott Westerfeld, Holly Black, and David Levithan. Barry Lyga, whom I'd met the previous evening at the Kidlit Drinks night, was also there. Rachel Wasdyke from Little, Brown was a fantastic host (although a somewhat distracted bowler, LOL). If I met anyone else, I apologize for forgetting you!

Geektastic looks like a fun book, and I can't wait to read it. Here's the publisher's description:

Acclaimed authors Holly Black (Ironside) and Cecil Castellucci (Boy Proof) have united in geekdom to edit short stories from some of the best selling and most promising geeks in young adult literature: M.T. Anderson, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Tracy Lynn, Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Barry Lyga, Wendy Mass, Garth Nix, Scott Westerfield, Lisa Yee, and Sara Zarr.

With illustrated interstitials from comic book artists Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley, Geektastic covers all things geeky, from Klingons and Jedi Knights to fan fiction, theater geeks, and cosplayers. Whether you're a former, current, or future geek, or if you just want to get in touch with your inner geek, Geektastic will help you get your geek on!

BEA: Interesting books part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 08:55:09 PDT

My husband picked up an autographed ARC of a book called Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse, by Kaleb Nation and published by independent publisher Sourcebooks. I'd never heard of the book, but it sounded interesting and I admire Sourcebooks, so I tucked it away to look into later. Since then, I've had several people, including teens, tell me how hot it is and how lucky I am to have an ARC.

Now I'm intrigued; apparently this book has been generating some prepublication buzz. I checked his Facebook page and it has 1275 fans. I usually have my ear pretty close to the ground when it comes to YA fantasy, so it's surprising for me to discover a book that I've never heard of that's generating this kind of buzz. I haven't read this book either, so I can't recommend it, but it's certainly one that's going on my TBR pile.

Here's the publisher's description:

In a bustling metropolis where magic is outlawed, a six-year-old child is found inside a locked bank vault. A scrap of paper reveals his name: Bran Hambric. The child remembers nothing of his life before the vault. Only magic could have done this. But why would any mage risk breaking the law to place a child in a bank vault?

Eight years later the City of Dunce has forgotten about Bran. Even his foster parents don't seem to know he exists. But there are those who have been watching, biding their time, waiting to strike, people who know where Bran came from and why he was sent away. And they will do anything to get Bran back, dead or alive…

Welcome to a world unlike any other where the adventure of a lifetime is just beginning.

BEA: Interesting books part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:23:07 PDT

I'm always on the lookout for interesting small press and self-published books, and The Soulstealer War, by W. L. Hoffman, caught my interest. I chatted with the author at BEA for quite a while, and according to him, it's an epic fantasy with SF elements, quantum physics, and philosophy.

The first book is called The First Mother's Fire, and it has cover art by Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell. You can see the cover art in this wall hanging that was hanging in the booth:

Here's a wall hanging of the map from the book.

The map was drawn by the author and it's beautiful.

I haven't read the book, so I really have no idea if it's any good, but it sounds interesting and I look forward to reading it.

Book Expo America: Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:40:59 PDT

Book Expo America, or BEA as it's more commonly known, is the largest annual U.S. book industry trade show and gathering of the book tribe. BEA was held this past weekend, from May 29 through the 31st, and we attended the event at the Javits Center in New York City.

Our day Friday started with rising at 4am to try to get tickets to the Suzanne Collins autographing of Catching Fire, the sequel to 2008's hot YA book The Hunger Games. Tickets were free, but were distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis at the Javits center beginning at 6:30am. We arrived at Javits at 5:30 - we wanted to be there plenty early enough that we wouldn't miss out - and we weren't the first ones in line. By 6:00am, the line was quite long. Suzanne Collins was obviously the hot ticket this year; there seemed to be more people in line who wanted tickets to Suzanne Collins than for Julie Andrews. The really nice man running the autographing ticket booth joked, "Oh, didn't you hear that Suzanne Collins was cancelled?" I told him he'd better not joke like that unless he wanted a riot!

We succeeded in getting a ticket, and walked away feeling like we'd gotten the golden ticket in American Idol!

The exhibit hall wasn't scheduled to open until 9, so we went to get breakfast while we waited. We were back in time for the 9am starting bell (OK, I didn't really hear a starting bell, but there might as well have been one) and we started out walking the exhibit floor for a while. One of the first things we saw was this really cool flying saucer that you can build:

I don't know if you can tell the size from this picture, but it's about as tall as a person. It comes as a book of plans, and all the parts are things that you can easily find at places like Home Depot. It does require some drilling, but they're working on making pre-drilled parts that you can purchase. I think the top parts are supposed to light up, also, but they didn't have it quite fully assembled yet when we stopped by the booth. It's called The Flying Saucer Planbook and it's available from http://ascplanbooks.com

I then attended a panel on Books to Film, sponsored by IBPA and presented by Rocky Lang, BooksToFilm.tv. The panel included various literary agents and media companies. The panel was interesting, but unfortunately the main thing I got out of it is just how hard it is to sell your book to film or TV. It seemed to me that you really need someone who knows what they're doing to sell it. They said that you can't just send a book; you really need to send a package which includes the things that will catch the interest of a film or TV executive, including a book trailer. BooksToFilm.tv showed some of their trailers, or "Sizzle reels," as they called them, and I will say that I think they do a nice job with them, better than a lot of the ones I've seen.

While I was at the panel, Nick and David walked the exhibit floor and went to some autographing sessions.

At 2pm I attended the awards ceremony for the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards. Ratha's Courage was a finalist in the fantasy and science fiction category, but unfortunately, it didn't win. I was thrilled to see that Women Astronomers: Reaching for the Stars, by by Mabel Armstrong, won the Gold award in the Young Adult Non-fiction category. I don't have any association with this book, but my friend and distributor, Jacqueline Simonds of Beagle Bay Books, distributes it, and I had purchased a copy last year for my niece.

At 3pm we lined up to get our autographed copy of Catching Fire. My son David was the first in line, because he was determined to get a copy and got there early. After all our hard work and early rising, we were thrilled to get a copy!

I ended the day by attending the 7x20x21 panel: "Publishing’s most innovate thinkers talk about what inspires them". There were 7 presenters, each of whom had 7 minutes and 20 PowerPoint slides to talk about whatever they wanted to talk about. Each slide moved forward automatically at 21 seconds, forcing the presentation to move quickly. The presenters were: Debbie Stier, Harper Studio; Pablo Defendini, Tor.com; Jeff Yamaguchi, Doubleday/Knopf; Matt Supko, ABA/Indiebound; Chris Jackson, Spiegel and Grau; Richard Nash, ex-Soft Skull; Lauren Cerand, independent public relations representative (from Richard Nash's blog)

The panel was fascinating, dynamic, and thought-provoking. I was particularly taken with Pablo Defendini's message that e-books and the digital word won't kill books, but instead will allow us to return to books as an art form and a craft, as all the mass-market type books move towards digital formats.

Friday evening I had planned to attend both the BEATweetup, a gathering of book people who Twitter, and the Kidlit Drinks Night, a gathering of children's book people, but by the end of the day I was so exhausted (and suffering from an ear infection) that I just didn't have the energy to do both. I attended the Kidlit Drink night, where I talked to Betsy Bird (who blogs at School Library Journal as Fuse #8), Pam Coughlan (who blogs at MotherReader), Cheryl Klein, Senior Editor at the Arthur A. Levine Books imprint of Scholastic (and Harry Potter editor), Barry Lyga, author of several books including The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl (and its forthcoming sequel, Goth Girl Rising), and other people whose names I've now forgotten (I'm sorry! I really am!) It was fun, but I only stayed about an hour; between the exhaustion and the ear infection, I had to get back to the hotel and collapse. Thanks so much to Betsy Bird for organizing it.

Meet the Bloggers at Book Expo America!

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:20:24 PDT

Tomorrow morning the exhibit halls open and Book Expo America, the annual gathering of the book tribe, goes into full swing. I'll be there with everyone else, wearing my comfortable shoes, wandering the floor, and attending some interesting sessions.

One thing that I'll be doing at BEA is a signing. No, I'm not an author, but Firebrand Technologies, the company behind NetGalley, had a brilliant idea: they're going to turn the traditional autographing sessions on their head, and host blogger signings in their booth. Every hour for the entire expo, two book bloggers will be at the Firebrand booth, #4077 (think M.A.S.H.!) to meet and greet any publishers, authors, and blog readers who might be interested.

I'll be signing (I'm not sure what I'll be signing, though) on Sunday from 11am to noon, accompanied by the fabulous MotherReader, Pam Coughlan. This is a good deal for me, because if no one shows up, at least I know she'll keep me laughing with her great sense of humor. In addition to our own blogs, we'll be talking Cybils and Kidlitosphere Central, so please stop by and chat with us!

There's also some talk that Firebrand might be making blogger trading cards, so make sure that you get a Wands and Worlds and a Mother Reader for your collection! (My son is saying, "Gotta catch 'em all!") I think this is even cooler than the signing itself.

There's a host of interesting bloggers signing, so you'd best just hang out at the Firebrand booth for the whole conference to meet them all. If you'd like to pick and choose so that you can spend time elsewhere, here's the full schedule:

http://followthereader.wordpress.com/2009/05/14/blogger-signing-schedule/

I hope to see you there!

Book Review: A Wish After Midnight

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila Ruth) — Fri, 22 May 2009 20:10:01 PDT

A Wish After Midnight
by Zetta Elliott

Fifteen year old Genna lives in a tiny apartment in a Brooklyn ghetto. Her brother works for a drug dealer, and her sister is a favorite with the boys. Her mother works too many hours trying to support the family, and Genna is primary caregiver for her baby brother Tyjuan. Genna is determined to make something of her life. She wants to go to college and become a psychologist, to help people.

Genna's sanctuary is the Brooklyn Botanic Garden; when things get bad she likes to go to the garden and wander around, sometimes with Tyjuan in a stroller. Sometimes she throws pennies in the fountain and wishes for a different life. Late one night, Genna ends up at the fountain in the garden after a fight with her mother. But this time, something happens, and Genna wakes up to find herself in 1863 Brooklyn, in the middle of the Civil War.

Brooklyn may be part of the North, but that doesn't mean that it's safe for an African-American girl. Slave catchers abduct African-Americans, free or not, and send them down south. And racial tensions are brewing, tensions that will soon explode into violent race riots. Genna is caught in the middle, trying to make a life for herself in a Brooklyn that is far removed from the one she knows, not knowing if she'll ever be able to make it back home to her time, her family, and the young man she loves.

A Wish After Midnight is a remarkable book: intense, well-written, and moving. I read it through quickly, which is always a sign of how much I enjoy a book. Elliott does a great job of depicting racism in all its forms, not only overt racism, but also the insidious racism from some well-meaning people that is sometimes worse than the ugly, blatant kind. It would be easy for a book like this to descend into simplistic dogmatism and finger pointing, but A Wish After Midnight never does. The characters are well-rounded, complex individuals, with human flaws and human strengths. Courage, compassion, and intelligence are not defined by color, and neither are hatred, violence, and racism.

Don't let this talk of racism mislead you into thinking that this is a "message" book. This is no didactic tome weighed down with messages; it's just a darn good story that depicts real people in a moving way.

In spite of the time travel aspects, A Wish After Midnight reads more like historical fiction than fantasy. It's such a good story, though, that even most die-hard fantasy fans won't mind. I'm a fantasy reader, and I couldn't put it down.