Comics for Kids!

Alrighty, Graphic Novel Week is not over yet, because I still have some graphic novels to talk about!

Today, it's Graphic Novels for the 12-and-under set.

Anyway, normally I don't review Babymouse books, because they fall under my 100 page rule and don't really meet any of the exceptions to that rule (books that pack a huge literary wallop so I feel like the 100 page rule doesn't matter, books that I have to review or discuss critically for something else, books I have something interesting to say about and that I feel compelled to talk about.)

Anyway, BUT! It's Graphic Novels week! And the new Babymouse is about musicals, so it totally fits under the parameters of Becky's Do Re Mi challenge.

Babymouse: The Musical Jennifer and Matthew Holm

It's the musical and Babymouse and Felcia are going head-to-head for the lead. Plus! New British boy!

There's not much story to this one, but lots of references to other musicals-- Chorus Line, High School Musical, Lion King, My Fair Lady, Pirates of Penzance, American Idol, Grease, Annie, West Side Story, Cats, Fiddler on the Roof, Chicago, Les Miserables, Sound of Music, Evita, and some that I know I'm missing.

Plus, the squid in her locker is totally playing the role of the Phantom of the Opera (or, rather, the Phantom of the Locker).

I don't think kids will get all the references to the different musicals, but it is fun. Fans of Babymouse will like this one (who else literally breaks their leg?)

Fashion Kitty and the Unlikely Hero Charise Mericle Harper

Fashion Kitty is meeting disaster--they need school uniforms! How will Kiki and her friends cope with everyone looking the same?

Plus, no choices in fashion mean that Fashion Kitty is no longer a super-hero in demand! So, when Fashion Kitty does get a call, she's more than a little dejected when her helpful advice is rejected...

Can Fashion Kitty save the day? Or will someone else end up solving this problem?

I really like Fashion Kitty. While the story is light and fun, there is some meat on it. It is mainly a graphic novel, but their usually is a sentence or two on every page offering some narration. The back of this book features a fashion fortune teller, as well as paper dolls of Kiki and June (paper dolls end up being rather important in the story itself.) I also like that the glitter on the cover STAYS on the cover and does not dust off all over the place.

Rapunzel's Revenge Shannon and Dean Hale, Nathan Hale

You know how everyone says this rootin'-tootin' old west take on Rapunzel is awesome? It is. I don't have much more to say than that, it's all been said before. There's a reason this bad girl won the Cybil!

Fairy Tales! and a calendar of events

It's June! Glorious, busy June!

I am back from Iowa--it was beautiful and sunny and I ran into Kelly at the coffee shop and am happy, sleepy, and sunburned. It's fun to see that the people I went to college with are fundamentally the same. We're happier and better dressed, and can now afford MUCH better beer, but fundamentally we're the same. And it's awesome.

We have some fun events coming up here in blog-land. Events YOU can all play along with at home.

First off, Weekly Geeks has declared this week's geekery to be "catch up on reviews week" which I think is something we all need to do, right? So this week (until Friday) I'm aiming for 5 reviews a day. (Even though I am way more than 25 books behind-- I currently have 39 unblogged books, but given I have issues blogging 5 books a week, I'll aim for 5 a day. It's like vegetables. 5 a day!).

This weekend is MotherReader's 48 Hour Book Challenge. Go sign up for your chance to turn X-treme Reading into an X-treme sport. Also, take a vote in my sidebar for which books you'd like me to read!

AND! At the end of the month (June 28-29) is the 24 Hour Read-a-thon to benefit Reading is Fundamental. More information on the event and to sign up is here. And information on how to sponsor my reading extravaganza is here.

Anyway, let's get started on that 5-a-day business, ok?

Ever Gail Carson Levine

As far as I'm aware, this is an original tale. Olus is the Akkan God of the winds (part of a pantheon that reminds one of Greek or Roman mythology. At 17, he's the youngest of the Gods by a few hundred years and is lonely. He longs for a mortal friend, but fails in his attempts to make friends.

Kezi lives in the land of the Admat, and omnipotent, invisible God more similar to the religions of Abraham...

In his longing for friends, Olus has become a shepard and rents land from Kezi's father and falls hopelessly in love. However, Kezi is doomed to die. Not in the way that all mortals will die eventually, but she has been promised as a sacrifice to Admat and will die in 30 days.

Olus knows of ways one can become immortal, but Kezi would have to realize that there are other Gods than Admat, and she must become a herione and Olus must become her champion. Only then can they possibly save Kezi's life.

Told in short chapters of alternating viewpoints, this is a bit of a departure from such Levine classics as Ella Enchanted and Fairest but Levine knows how to tell a story. The language is more sparse than I'm used to and it lacks her usual humor, but Levine can paint a scene with a minimum number of words . I liked the illustrations used above the chapter numbers-- the numbering system looks like an ancient form of writing and it was fun to realize what was going on there. I think Levine fans will still love this. I also think it will really appeal to fans of Julius Lester's Cupid: A Tale of Love and Desire.

Book of a Thousand Days Shannon Hale

Once again Hale turns to the Brothers Grimm for inspiration, this time, not Rapunzel as the tower suggests, but Maid Maleen.

Set in a land inspired by Ancient Mongolia, Dashti is mucker, a nomad, looked down on by the city dwellers. But she is also an orphan and must find work to survive and becomes the maid to Lady Saren, only to find that Saren is about to be locked up in a tower for seven years after refusing the match her father has made.

Dashti goes to the tower where it is dark and foreboding. Although they have been left enough food to last seven years, that's only if they can keep it from the rats. Lady Saren is spoiled and given to tantrums. She is also completely helpless. Lord Kasar, the dreaded fiance appears frequently to taunt the captives. But Khan Tegus, Lady Saren's true love also visits and brings small comforts in the form of a branch that smells of the outdoors and a cat to help with the rats.

Shannon Hale is still on the top of her game. She can paint a culture and a people with just a few sentences. This book is also illustrated, which is nice. I'm reading it in ARC form, so I think some illustrations are missing but the ones that are included are nice. Most are made to look like the illustrations Dashti herself has drawn in her diary, but there is high artistic quality.

There is much to the book besides the days in the tower, although there isn't much to the Grimm tale, and that's where Hale's magic lies-- when she takes the tale way beyond its original borders, while still staying true to the source material.

full disclosure: I got the ARC from the publisher last summer at ALA, but I would have read it anyway, I mean, it's SHANNON HALE!

The Swan Maiden Heather Tomlinson

Doucette has always been jealous of her older sisters. Beautiful and haughty, they're able to work magic, while she is plain and stuck at home learning how to be a chastelaine. Embroidery and running a household is nothing on her sisters who can fly.

But then she finds the swan skin her mother has hidden from her, the swan skin her mother would give Doucette's future husband in order to keep her from running.

But, the true story comes when Doucette falls in love with a shepherd boy. In order to gain the right to marry her, he must perform 3 impossible tasks. But that might not be enough to keep them together...

Doucette is a character that's easy to identify with, but more so. Not only are her sisters perfect and beautiful, which is bad enough, but dude! They can fly! And Doucette is always falling down and tearing her clothing and always left behind.

And then when she gets what she thinks she wants, it doesn't necessarily help.

A wonderful addition to the genre that should be read by everyone who likes Shannon Hale or Juliet Marillier, but will also appeal to those who aren't already converts to the new breed to fairy tale retellings or original tales that maintain that old timeless quality.

Colin Firth in a wet shirt...

You know how much I love Shannon Hale and she's written a book for us adults! Woo hoo!

This is nothing like her previous work. This is not fantasy in made up lands, but pure chick lit. In her blog when she talks of Austenland, she says,

I truly did not think that this book would ever be published. It was a side project for so many years, just a fun story I kept returning to, quite different from anything else I was writing. It's just so fun to see it coming about. It's just such a gooey chocolate cake of a book for me, a steaming plate of chocolate chip cookies, a carrot pudding with rum sauce.

A gooey chocolate cake of a book is a perfect description. Jane Hayes is a graphic designer in New York and not getting any younger. She can't find a man to live up to the expectations set by one Mr. Colin Firth playing Mr. Darcy in the Pride and Prejudice.

See, this is something I can totally understand. Shannon Hale has a minor Colin Firth obsession. In the acknowledgements she assures her husband "you know this Colin Firth thing isn't really serious... It's just a girl thing, I swear." I'd just like to take this moment to assure my husband the same thing. But he can still give me Colin Firth movies for Christmas, I really won't mind.

Also, I love her dedication: "For Colin Firth-- you're a really great guy, but I'm married, so I think we should just be friends."

If you understand the Colin Firth thing, this is the book for you. If you don't, well then you probably won't get it and might want to skip this one.

So anyway, Jane is hung up on an illusion. When her wealthy great-aunt dies, Jane is left a trip to Penbrook Park, where you can pretend you're living in a Jane Austen novel for three weeks. Jane decides to take it as one last hurrah to kick the Firth habit for good. It'll work, right?

I will warn you, this is completely different than Hale's other books. It doesn't have her normal literary writing style (because, let's face it, chicklit with literary writing style just doesn't work).

That is not to say it isn't good. For those of us who understand the Colin Firth obsession, it's wonderful. I opened it as soon as it arrived on my doorstep, started reading and only stopped to IM my similarly Firth-obsessed friend. We then wished we could go to Penbrook Park and planned all sorts of adventures. It's hilariously funny as well.

Also, this is good chicklit. It's not as straightforward as it could be. I like that Penbrook Park was not as perfect as it sounded and was populated by desperate women. Hale really thought this through and didn't take the easy way out. Because, let's face it, Hale is awesome, even when writing chicklit.

If the words "Colin Firth in a wet shirt" make you swoon, well then, this is the book for you. You'll be googling Penbrook Park in no time to see if it really exists...

Also, check out the letter Ms. Hale sent to Mr. Firth with an ARC...

Other blog reviews: Eclectic Closet, Writing and Ruminating, Bookburger, Estella's Revenge, Mads Reads, A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy, A Novel Idea

Sequels I've Neglected--YA and Adult

I split this into 2 posts, because I had so much tagging to do, Blogger couldn't handle it. Ah well.

River Secrets by Shannon Hale

In this sequel to The Goose Girl and Enna Burning, we return to Bayern. Just because the war is over, doesn't mean there is peace between Bayern and Tira. Isi's going to the Tiran capital on a peace mission and Enna is as well.

But really, this is Razo's book. He's always considered himself rather useless because of his small size, so he's more than surprised when he's asked to be part of the elite band of soldiers accompanying them. He's going to be a spy.

Once in Tira, someone is burning people and Enna is being blamed. It's up to Razo to figure out who's framing his friend and trying to restart the war.

I am always surprised by Hale's amazing skill to paint an entire landscape, people and culture perfectly in a mere few sentences. Her lyrical language and voice is back and this latest installment, while shorter, is just as strong as her earlier works.

Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood Ann Brashares

The girls are apart this summer, each spread to her far corner of the globe. The plot is less compelling than the previous volumes, but Brashares really hits some truths right on the head. The girls changed in college. I have big problem with books that follow their characters to college and they stay exactly the same. College changes you. You lose yourself and find yourself and that's a big part of it! Also, the way Tibby reacts to her pregnancy scare was more true and real than anything I've seen in print. I think she's milked all she can out of this series, but this final volume, where it won't be the favorite of younger fans, just might be the favorite of the grown-ups who like the series, for it's unflinching realism.

Adrian Mole And the Weapons of Mass Destruction by Sue Townsend

(full disclosure: I just found out this existed.)

Adrian is a poxy, neurotic, and hilarious as ever. Glenn's in the army. William's in Nigeria with JoJo and Adrian's back living with his parents and working at a used book store. He buys a loft apartment with a convenience check from his credit card that sends him into a debt spiral that only Adrian could ignore. Somehow (this is Adrian) he's been talked into marrying a manipulative hypochondriac, even though he's in love with her sister.

Oh, and there's a war going on! Could Blair be mistaken about the weapons? And if so, how will Adrian get his Cypriot holiday deposit back.

Oh Adrian, we missed you. Glad to have you back.

Catching Up-- Fairy Tales

Well... I've been reading a whole heck of a lot and work's been pretty busy lately. So, here's to trying to catch up a bit!!!! I still haven't blogged everything I read in May, let alone so far in June! Plus, I have pages and pages of banned books to tell you about (unfortuneately...)

Anyway... here we go!

The Goose Girl Shannon Hale

You remember how much I loved and adored Princess Academy? This is just as good, if not better. Written for a slightly older audience than Academy, Goose Girl retells the not-as-well-known Grimm fairy tale. Princess Ani of Kildenree is being married off to a far-off prince as part of a diplomatic deal between the two countries. One her way, her handmaid and a faction of her escort overthrow her, instating the handmaid as the princess and forcing Ani to run for her life in the woods. Eventually, she reaches the new kingdom, but is forced into hiding. She must disguise her distinctive blond hair in a country of brunettes and change her name to Isi. She gets a job tending the king's geese as she tries and finds a way to regain her rightful position.

At the same time, she see's the injustice in this new land. She passes herself off as one of the people from the forest, but sees how the forest people are never accepted by the city people and not allowed to become full citizens. Of course, her traitorous guards know she's around and are looking for her...

In the end, in addition to an excellent fairy tale, there are also deep lessons about belonging, justice, inner strength, friendship, and discovering who you are.

More than this though, Hale's prose and her sense of place and location make this book a sheer delight and quickly making her one of my favorite authors.

Enna Burning Shannon Hale

This is a companion book to Goose Girl and is an originial tale, not a retelling. In this book, Ani's friend Enna takes the lead war as Bayern is faced with an invading army. Ani's gift of wind-speak is grown out of control to the point where it overwhelms her. Enna has learned the secret of fire-speak and uses her gift in battle but must live with the consequences of burning people alive. Her gift is also raging out of control with the war far from over, she, and Bayern need help.

This is a powerful followup to Goose Girl and perhaps my favorite of Hale's three works so far. I highly recommend.

Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile Bill Willingham

Ooooo.... a graphic novel series has finally sucked me in, big time. Here is an underground community of Fable-characters who are exiled in modern day New York. Back when it was still New Amsterdam, they fled after their various kingdoms and worlds were taken over by the unknown Adversary. Fabletown is led by Mayor King Cole, but everyone knows that Deputy Mayor Snow White is the real power behind the throne, with sheriff Bigby (Big Bad Wolf) keeping order. In this first book, which is the first 5 comic books bound into one collection,Snow's sister, Rose Red is missing, possibly murdered... fun stuff!

Fables Vol. 2: Animal Farm

Rose is paying off her community service debt up at The Farm, where Fabletowns non-human residents live. When Rose gets there, she finds herself embroiled in a communist plot to take over the farm and eventually return to the homelands. With Goldilocks as the communist revolutionary, followed in Orwellian fashion by the three little pigs, there is a battle on...

Fables Vol. 3: Storybook Love

This is great, because we have some stand-alone stories in addition to adding on to the story arc of the previous two books. There's a Civil War Era tale of Jack's, plus the history of how the Liliputians escaped and the origins of their current coming-of-age ritual of trying to steal a piece of magic barley-corn. There is also a non-story arc story in the modern fabletown community where a journalist is onto the Fables... but misreads the evidence. After confronting Bigby with the news that he knows they're all vampires, they come up with a plot involving Sleeping Beauty's special talents...

In the title story, things get down to business as we discover whose side Bluebeard is really on, as well as the return of previous villians. Bigby and Snow are targeted and forced into hiding and the end reveals a big secret that has you *dying* for the next installment!

Fables Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers

This starts with Boy Blue's retelling of the last battle of the Homelands, descibing the battle, and the survivor's guilt faced by those on the last ship that made it to the New York.

This also sets up the main story of the return on Red Riding Hood, who wasn't on the last ship. But is she who she says she is? There's been goblin sightings and even worse, the portal has been reopened and the Advesary's forces have found them. Fabletown is once again battling for their very exsistance, but this time in the heart of fundy New York.

Fables Vol. 5: The Mean Seasons

The early tales in this volume see Bigby's war stories and Cinderella's true nature.

In the main story, we follow a year in the life of Fabletown. Charming wins the election and there's a new adminstration. Beauty and the Beast have a hard time learning the ropes and Charming sees that not all promises can be kept. Snow gives birth relocates to the farm with Rose. Bigby dissappears and the North Wind shows up to give some pointers to his grandchildren. This volume doesn't see the amount of action as the previous ones, but it packs a true emotional punch. Very well done and probably my favorite.

Fables Vol. 6: Homelands

We start with a one-off on where Jack went to, which introduces his own new spin-off series.

In the mean time, we see Fabletown, where Blue has run off with Pinnochio and gone back to the homelands, ready to face down the advesary, whom we finally see and discover. We are also told that so far only the European worlds were taken, but the adversary is expanding, and the Asian and African worlds are set to fall as well...

Which has me really really excited for...Fables: Vol. 7 Arabian Nights (and Days) which comes out a week from today. I can't decide whether to buy it or not, because I've read all the others in the library, but they haven't even ordered it yet, so who knows when we're getting it?!

The Sisters Grimm : The Problem Child Michael Buckley

In this third installment, there is a Jabberwocky lose in Ferryport. We also have the return of a long lost relative and Granny Grimm's reluctance to take on a case, which has Sabrina and Daphne worried. There is an election for Ferryport mayor and we meet the Little Mermaid, the Blue Fairy and Baba Yaga. Puck is gravely injured and it looks like the only way to save him and deal with the Jaberwocky is the vorpal blade... which was destroyed. Sabrina also learns how addictive magic can be and the high price one pays for using it. Very good! I can't wait for the next one!