THE SCAR BOYS by Len Vlahos

It starts with Harry's attempt to write his 250 word college essay, but he quickly realizes he has too much to tell in a mere 250 words.  Even though he knows the Faceless Admissions Professional (FAP) will probably not read it, he begins to tell his story and readers of THE SCAR BOYS get to follow along.


At the age of eight, Harry becomes the victim of bullies who tie him to a tree during a thunderstorm.  The boys run when the storm begins leaving Harry alone.  The tree is struck by lightning and a flaming branch crashes down.  Harry suffers severe burns on his head, face, and neck and spends the next several years having multiple reconstructive surgeries while in therapy to help him deal with the trauma.

Catalogging Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Fall 2014

Soooo.....paging through the HMH fall catalog and found some very cool titles. Here's an overview on what caught my eye:

Beetle Busters by Loree Griffin Burns, photos by Ellen Harasimonwicz & The Next Wave by Elizabeth Rusch. These are the new releases in the STELLAR Scientists in the Field series. These books never disappoint — solid information, outstanding photos, great profiles of men and women all over the world who are making a difference. They are diverse by nature of topic and the scientists they cover (race, ethnicity, gender) and every single time I sit down to read one I learn something valuable and interesting.

In Beetle Busters, the topic is the Asian longhorned beetle which is invading US hardwood forests and must be stopped. Bonus in this one - beetle-sniffing dogs!  Then Elizabeth Rusch looks at tidal power in The Next Wave and considers the "amazing devices that cling to the bottom of the sea floor and surf on the crests of waves" to capture energy in the Pacific Northwest.

The Eye of Zoltar by Jasper Fforde continues the Chronicles of Kazam series. This is just flat out fun fantasy reading! You've got a smart, brave protagonist in 16 year old Jennifer Strange who is stuck managing the Kazam Mystical Arts Management agency. Jennifer herds a bunch of wizards all of whom are different degrees of nutty/ornery while dealing with all sorts of political and economic issues which will ring as very familiar to readers. This go-round an impossible task is issued by the Might Shandar and a road trip ensues. No vamps or werewolves to be found in the Kingdom of Snodd; just solid fun and no small amount of hilarity. (With a bit of troll fighting, etc.)

Firstborn by Lorie Ann Grover

I would love to hear what male readers think of FIRSTBORN - a book about gender roles, genocide, and honor.

In her latest novel, Lorie Ann Grover explores what it takes for a young woman to survive in a war-torn world where she has been forced to live as a male her entire life. In this society, when a couple's firstborn is a son, everyone rejoices; but when the firstborn is a daughter, she is left to die in the wild - that is, unless the parents choose to raise her as a male. If that is the case, they must enforce all of the gender-based rites upon her (him) as the child grows up. Though, thankfully, the child does not endure surgery at birth or thereafter, s/he is expected to suppress all feminine traits and to dress, act, and live as a male. The child must follow all gender-based rules and initiations, including serving their country for a year, and s/he will never be allowed to marry or have children.

Tiadone, the protagonist of FIRSTBORN, has accepted her fate without question. Or, at least, always keeping those questions and concerns to herself. She lost her mother in childbirth and was raised by her father, a man she truly loves and admires. When she is the age to undergo initiation and soldier on, she is happy that her best friend, Ratho, is by her side. But when their friendship - and Tiadone's heart - is tested, things are thrown into a whirlwind.

Luckily, Tiadone also has Mirko, a beautiful bird that grows with her. In this novel, all of the children are given an egg at birth which hatches shortly before their initiation and serves as a hybrid protector-confidant-partner until the human has completed their required time serving in the military and it is time for them to separate. With this relationship and connection, the rapion is similar to the dæmons in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, but without the shapeshifting or the speech. Instead, the winged ones communicate through gestures and movements, and they become extremely attuned to their person. While the other birds are silent, Mirko has the gift of song, which only sets Tiadone further apart from the others. Mirko is easily my favorite supporting character in the novel. Without ever uttering a word of English, he is able to communicate everything he needs to through a flick of his tail or a nod of his head, and it is clear that he understands every single word Tiadone says. He has a sassy streak that makes her laugh and he always encourages her to follow her heart and be brave.

Lorie Ann Grover has created a remarkable story. Tiadone's people, the R'tan, are governed by the Madronians, forced to follow their rules and share their beliefs, and this oppression parallels Tia's own. On her journey, which is just as emotional and internal as it is literal and physical, she pushes herself to the limit and embraces who she really is, inside and out, on her own terms. Tiadone often has to make incredibly hard decisions and sacrifices, leading to an ending I never would have predicted and which I absolutely celebrated. Those who enjoyed Grover's verse novels will find lovely surprises nestled within this prose novel, including, hopefully, the strength to spread their own wings and fly.

Bonus: Check out my playlist for the book!

The Nazi Hunters by Neal Bascomb

Adolf Eichmann was one of the most despised men in the world, with good reason. As the man tasked with carrying out "The Final Solution of the Jewish Question," which resulted in the death of approximately 6 million Jews in Europe during World War II, people had every reason to hate him. Bascomb does a great job pulling together the story of how Eichmann was found - mostly through pure luck - and then captured and whisked away to Israel for trial. The most amazing part of this story, to me, is the determination and composure of those that sought to capture Eichmann and get him to trial. Many of the team members were either survivors of Nazi concentration camps or had lost family members as a direct result of the orders Adolf Eichmann gave to remove Jews from Europe. Knowing this about the team members, one would think that it would have been almost impossible to be in such close proximity with the person directly responsible for so much pain and suffering in their lives and NOT exact revenge. This mission was really important to these Jews, members of a new nation who knew that the Germans were not going to prosecute any more Nazi leaders. If they wanted the story of the Holocaust to be told they needed to do it on their terms, on their soil and in front of the world media outlets. The way this story plays out is as good as any spy story written - and its real!

Catalogging Candlewick Fall 2014

The Fall 2014 catalog from Candlewick has a lot to celebrate (no surprise). Here are few that caught my eye:

Animalium - Curated by Katie Scott & Jenny Broom. First in the "Welcome to the Museum" series, each title will be "organized into galleries that display more than 200 full-color specimens accompanied by lively informative text." This one is aimed at 8-12 years olds but the illustrations are fantastic - looks like an all ages title/coffee table book to me.

The Name of the Blade by Zoe Marriott. "When Mio sneaks the family katana—a priceless ancestral sword—from her parents' attic, she just wants to spice up a costume. but the katana is more than a dusty antique. Awakening the power of the sword unleashes a terrible, ancient evil onto the streets of unsuspecting London. But it also releases Shinobu, a fearless warrior boy, from the depths of time...."

Sounds like some good adventure, a bit of romance and certainly something with unusual history and setting.

Eyes Wide Open: Going Behind the Environmental Headlines by Paul Fleischman. The author has done a great job in the past pulling disparate images and text together to form a fierce whole and I'm interested to see what he does with the commanding topic of our time. "...Fleischman arms teens with basic tools to uncover vested interests and falsehoods by vetting sources, following the money and checking references so they they can make informed decisions about what actions to take in the worldwide battle against climate change, overconsumption and dwindling resources."

Interview with the Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen

Jennifer A. Nielsen, author of the Ascendance trilogy (and the very charming Underworld Chronicles trilogy, as well as an installment in the Infinity Ring series) made a stop at my middle school while on a visit to Boise in April. Nielsen was funny, down-to-earth, quite well-spoken, and really just terrific to hang out with for the short time we spent together during her appearance. I felt very fortunate to be hosting her at our school!

She gave an inspiring and eye-opening talk about an author's life and work, and while signing books took the time to speak individually and personally to each of a long line of starstruck students. She was also gracious enough to visit our library and have her picture taken by our giant READ sign, and agreed to an interview about her past and future work, her audience, and the possibility of a False Prince movie.

The Ascendance Trilogy by Jennifer A. Nielsen

I want to tell you a story.

There's a sixth grader who frequents my school library (I'll call him Tim), checking out an astonishing number of books every day. In fact, in the past eight months, he'd checked out well over 200 books -- but every one of them was a graphic novel. Nothing wrong with that, but I occasionally wondered what it would take to get him to make the jump from visual to verbal narrative.

And then, in fourth quarter, he checked out The False Prince, the first book in the Ascendance trilogy by Jennifer A. Nielsen.

Catalogging Chronicle Fall 2014

A couple of books caught my eye in the recent Chronicle Books catalog. The Who, the What and the When: 65 Artists Illustrate the Secret Sidekicks of History by Jenny Volvovski, Julia Rothman and Matt Lamothe is a unique combination of history and art that provides short biographies of a ton of folks few readers will be aware of. From the catalog copy:

...this offbeat illustrated history reveals 65 people you've probably never heard of, but who helped shape the word as we know it. Muses and neighbors, friends and relatives, accomplices and benefactors—such as Michael and Joy Brown, who gifted Harper Lee a year's worth of wages to help her write To Kill a Mockingbird. Or John Ordway, the colleague who walked with Lewis and Clark every step of the way.

The catalog also shows Ian Stewart, 6th member of the Rolling Stones and Julia Warhola, Andy Warhol's mother. (I'm still freaking out over the Browns who gave Harper Lee a year of money so she could write!!!)

Also, be on the lookout for the The Spiritglass Charade by Colleen Gleason, another Stoker and Holmes novel and sequel to The Clockwork Scarab.  This time around there is a case of spiritualist fraud, some pickpockets, vampires returning to London and an attempt to tag a client as a "lunatic" (which was a very scary thing to be tagged with back then).

I'm also mightily intrigued by the group art project The Thing The Book: A Monument to the Book as Object. No idea what this is going to look like overall, but the pictures in the catalog sure are intriguing. It's from the artists who curate for THE THING Quarterly.

[Post illustration by Keith Negley. From his tumblr: The person I was assigned is Christopher Morcom. He was Alan Turing’s first crush, but died from tuberculosis as a young man. Turing was devastated and inspired him to explore the concept of an intangible soul in a tangible body which eventually led to the birth of computer science. Very honored to be a part of this great project.]

The Wall by William Sutcliffe

The story starts innocently enough - Joshua and his friend are kicking a football around in their hometown of Amarias when the ball goes into an abandoned construction site. Chasing after it, Joshua discovers a demolished house and a tunnel hidden in the ground. He knows he shouldn't go in, the site itself is off-limits, but he's unable to resist exploring.

 

Coming into this, I had no idea what The Wall was about or the subject matter it would cover, so please forgive me for thinking that Joshua would emerge from the tunnel into some sort of magical land.

 

This is not what happens, you quickly learn that Joshua knows exactly where he is and where the tunnel will lead. He knows that there is a giant wall separating Amarias from the people "on the other side."

 

He also knows that traveling to the other side of the wall is forbidden, not only by his mother and stepfather, but by the authorities. However, all thoughts of the trouble he could get into are wiped from his mind after he emerges from the tunnel and is immediately chased by a group of local street toughs.

 

With the help of an anonymous girl, Joshua is able to escape the boys and make his way back to the tunnel so he can go home. It isn't long before he decides to travel back so that he can repay the girl for her kindness. The more he gets to know the girl and her family, the more he comes to realize that his preconceived notions of good and evil aren't as cut and dry as he thought.

                                         

Forgive me Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

Matthew Quick is a New York Times bestselling author and one of his books-The Silver Linings Playbook- has been adapted into a film. With that said I admit that I went into this one with high expectations and as it turns out I wasn't disappointed.