Author: Terry Pratchett
Title: The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
Publisher: Doubleday
Publication Date: 2001
Age range: 10 - 14
Genre: Revised Fairytale / Fantasy
Rating: 1 2 3 4 5
Plot summary: Exposed to some sort of magical compound outside the Unseen University where wizards create strange potions and then dump the resulting waste out the back door, a large group of rats find themselves suddenly able to think and speak. Maurice, a local alleycat who eats one of the rats who ate some bit of potion-covered rubbish, also finds himself able to reason and plot how to get a more comfortable life for himself. Maurice rounds up the rats, finds a boy with a pipe, and hatches a plan to make money in a series of villages. The rats, completely sensible of what they're doing, run amuck in each village until the boy and Maurice show up and the boy plays his pipe for a fee, at which point the smart rats follow him out of the village. Easy money.
The rats, however, start to question the scheme, and want to take their share of the money and find a spot where they can live in peace, away from humans. Maurice talks them all into one last show, but unfortunately the village they descend on has its own plague already in place. A couple of men who style themselves as Ratcatchers are taking advantage of the villagers' fears of losing their stores of food to a homegrown horde of rats that is in fact not running free: the Ratcatchers have stolen all the food and locked up all the rats. Selling the food back bit by bit to the hungry villagers and breeding the biggest rats in order to provide a good show to men who bring their dogs to kill rats in an underground betting ring, the Ratcatchers have their own scheme firmly in place.
With the help of the mayor's daughter, Malicia, the piper boy and Maurice find a way to help the villagers, free the captive rats, and defeat the evil forces that are undermining the community. The rats decide they'd like to stay in the village, and reveal themselves as thinking, speaking creatures to the people. In return for keeping the village free of normal rats, the clever ones would just like to be treated fairly. The book ends with the struggle of the humans and rats to find a balance where they will all be respected and treated as equal. And Maurice skips town, finds himself another piper boy, and moves on to his next adventure.
Comments: I have read a number of Pratchett's fantasy works for adults in the Discworld series. I laud the concept of adapting some of the adventures to be had in the Discworld for the young adult audience. However, as an entry point into Pratchett's adult fiction, I think this story fails to convey the richness and inherent humor of Pratchett's alternate universe. Although the story is clever and there are moments of fun, this novel didn't grip this reader's attention well. Because this tale needed to exist independently of the other works in the Discworld series, much of the potential enjoyment of the world Pratchett has created is squandered. I think that the reading level caters to the lower end of the young adult scale, as the story is not overly complex; older readers will recognize the roots of the plot in the old fable about the Pied Piper.
Dates Read: 17 – 19 February
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Chibi Vampire Vol. 1 -- Yuna Kagesaki
Author: Yuna Kagesaki
Title: Chibi Vampire Vol. 1
Publisher: TokyoPop
Publication Date: 2006
Age range: 13 - 17
Genre: Graphic Novel / Horror
Rating: 1 2 3 4 5
Plot summary: Karin Maaka is a high school student in Japan and trying to live as normal a life as possible – except that she's from a vampire family. The only one of her family who can stand to be outside during the day, Karin is considered pretty abnormal. Rather than wanting to take blood from humans, Karin has a disorder that increases the amount of her blood once a month – and if she doesn't give it to someone, she suffers terrible nose bleeds! When she does find someone to give her blood to, rather than being a victim, the human benefits from a temporary increase in energy and productivity. When a new student starts at Karin's school, she finds that her blood reacts to him, making her symptoms uncontrollable, and most of this book centers around their interactions, as both are utterly confounded by Karin's reaction to him. Eventually, with the help of her family, Karin starts to understand why she suffers this reaction and the type of human blood she is drawn to.
Comments: This book is pretty strange! The concept is interesting but the sparseness of the text makes it hard to follow conversations and reasoning. Karin's family members are all very sexy in the vampiric tradition – her parents are European (though Karin appears like a Japanese teenager), her brother is of the effeminate boy-band build the Japanese have popularized, and their youngest sister dresses like one of the Harajuku costumed teens who favor gothic lacy Victorian gowns. Karin is always tripping over things and almost blowing the Maaka family cover by revealing herself as a vampire, so at least readers will connect with her on the awkwardness level. This volume tells only half of an introductory story, leaving the reader hanging at the end, but the characters are not compelling enough for me to want to seek out the next book. It is interesting to see a Japanese take on the vampire story.
Dates Read: 16 – 17 February
Title: Chibi Vampire Vol. 1
Publisher: TokyoPop
Publication Date: 2006
Age range: 13 - 17
Genre: Graphic Novel / Horror
Rating: 1 2 3 4 5
Plot summary: Karin Maaka is a high school student in Japan and trying to live as normal a life as possible – except that she's from a vampire family. The only one of her family who can stand to be outside during the day, Karin is considered pretty abnormal. Rather than wanting to take blood from humans, Karin has a disorder that increases the amount of her blood once a month – and if she doesn't give it to someone, she suffers terrible nose bleeds! When she does find someone to give her blood to, rather than being a victim, the human benefits from a temporary increase in energy and productivity. When a new student starts at Karin's school, she finds that her blood reacts to him, making her symptoms uncontrollable, and most of this book centers around their interactions, as both are utterly confounded by Karin's reaction to him. Eventually, with the help of her family, Karin starts to understand why she suffers this reaction and the type of human blood she is drawn to.
Comments: This book is pretty strange! The concept is interesting but the sparseness of the text makes it hard to follow conversations and reasoning. Karin's family members are all very sexy in the vampiric tradition – her parents are European (though Karin appears like a Japanese teenager), her brother is of the effeminate boy-band build the Japanese have popularized, and their youngest sister dresses like one of the Harajuku costumed teens who favor gothic lacy Victorian gowns. Karin is always tripping over things and almost blowing the Maaka family cover by revealing herself as a vampire, so at least readers will connect with her on the awkwardness level. This volume tells only half of an introductory story, leaving the reader hanging at the end, but the characters are not compelling enough for me to want to seek out the next book. It is interesting to see a Japanese take on the vampire story.
Dates Read: 16 – 17 February
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Airborn – Kenneth Oppel
Author: Kenneth Oppel
Title: Airborn
Publisher: Harper Trophy Canada
Publication Date:2004
Age range: 10 - 16
Genre: Fantasy / Award Winner / Canadian Author / Series Fiction
Rating: 1 2 3 4 5
Plot summary: Matt Cruse was born in the air, and he only feels at home and free while working and sailing in the Aurora, a luxury airship that caters to wealthy travelers and makes long journeys from continent to continent. Matt knows every inch of the Aurora, and is the best possible sort of cabin boy, always ready to do what is needed no matter what the situation. When he rescues a dying hot air balloonist, he unknowingly embarks on a new sort of journey, however, where his life and the Aurora herself are caught up in a fantastic adventure. Kate de Vries is a privileged teenager and the granddaughter of the hot air balloonist, accustomed to getting whatever she wants and determined to understand what her beloved grandfather went through before he died. Before she can find what she's looking for, the Aurora is plundered by deadly air pirates, and damaged seemingly beyond repair. Matt gets caught up in Kate's explorations of the tropical island the ship lands upon, even though his first instinct is to help with the ship's rescue. Filled with unlikely adventure and yet completely realistic emotional drama, this is a wonderful story of soaring beauty and dedication to one's beliefs, taking place in a slightly shifted alternate world much like the one we know, but different in fantastic ways. This book won the Governor General's Award for Children's Literature in 2004.
Comments: Matt Cruse is a great protagonist, and reading about his love for flying and crippling fear of being grounded is enthralling. This book has some other wonderful characters, like the charismatic pirate leader Szpirglas and the snippy but humorous head chef Mr Vlad, for example. With thrilling destinations and a likable main character who shows his feelings very clearly, it is easy to develop a quick connection to Matt and get tied up in his enjoyment of providing great service to the guests on the Aurora, as well as his hopes for promotion and desire to work on the Aurora's sails, maybe even captaining his own ship one day. I find it interesting that the male characters are more believable and fleshed out than the female characters, which may be a reflection of the author's gender. Kate and her chaperone, Miss Simpkins, are less fully developed than Matt, Captain Walken, and the pirate Szpirglas. The male characters seem to get more complexity, while the females stick to stereotypes in a great fashion: Kate is stubborn and willful, Miss Simpkins is hysterical and controlling.
Matt, however, vacillates between his devotion to the Aurora, frustration at being passed over for promotion in favor of a wealthy outsider's son, and the desire to be close to his father, who worked on the Aurora herself until his death. Nowhere else but in the air and on the Aurora can Matt feel the close connection to his father. Matt works hard, and is rewarded for his loyalty, but things don't always go his way, and when he comes up against difficulties, the reader discovers how resourceful and clever Matt really is. I look forward to reading the rest of this series!
Title: Airborn
Publisher: Harper Trophy Canada
Publication Date:2004
Age range: 10 - 16
Genre: Fantasy / Award Winner / Canadian Author / Series Fiction
Rating: 1 2 3 4 5
Plot summary: Matt Cruse was born in the air, and he only feels at home and free while working and sailing in the Aurora, a luxury airship that caters to wealthy travelers and makes long journeys from continent to continent. Matt knows every inch of the Aurora, and is the best possible sort of cabin boy, always ready to do what is needed no matter what the situation. When he rescues a dying hot air balloonist, he unknowingly embarks on a new sort of journey, however, where his life and the Aurora herself are caught up in a fantastic adventure. Kate de Vries is a privileged teenager and the granddaughter of the hot air balloonist, accustomed to getting whatever she wants and determined to understand what her beloved grandfather went through before he died. Before she can find what she's looking for, the Aurora is plundered by deadly air pirates, and damaged seemingly beyond repair. Matt gets caught up in Kate's explorations of the tropical island the ship lands upon, even though his first instinct is to help with the ship's rescue. Filled with unlikely adventure and yet completely realistic emotional drama, this is a wonderful story of soaring beauty and dedication to one's beliefs, taking place in a slightly shifted alternate world much like the one we know, but different in fantastic ways. This book won the Governor General's Award for Children's Literature in 2004.
Comments: Matt Cruse is a great protagonist, and reading about his love for flying and crippling fear of being grounded is enthralling. This book has some other wonderful characters, like the charismatic pirate leader Szpirglas and the snippy but humorous head chef Mr Vlad, for example. With thrilling destinations and a likable main character who shows his feelings very clearly, it is easy to develop a quick connection to Matt and get tied up in his enjoyment of providing great service to the guests on the Aurora, as well as his hopes for promotion and desire to work on the Aurora's sails, maybe even captaining his own ship one day. I find it interesting that the male characters are more believable and fleshed out than the female characters, which may be a reflection of the author's gender. Kate and her chaperone, Miss Simpkins, are less fully developed than Matt, Captain Walken, and the pirate Szpirglas. The male characters seem to get more complexity, while the females stick to stereotypes in a great fashion: Kate is stubborn and willful, Miss Simpkins is hysterical and controlling.
Matt, however, vacillates between his devotion to the Aurora, frustration at being passed over for promotion in favor of a wealthy outsider's son, and the desire to be close to his father, who worked on the Aurora herself until his death. Nowhere else but in the air and on the Aurora can Matt feel the close connection to his father. Matt works hard, and is rewarded for his loyalty, but things don't always go his way, and when he comes up against difficulties, the reader discovers how resourceful and clever Matt really is. I look forward to reading the rest of this series!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
CD review – Hannah Montana
Artist: Hannah Montana 2
Album: Non-Stop Dance Party
Release Date: 2008
Age Range: 10 - 15
Genre: Pop
Rating: 1 2 3 4 5
Comments: This is a sugary, poppy dance mix aimed at younger teenage or tween girls. Miley Cyprus sings, in her role as Hannah Montana, about best friends, being a rock star, and her old blue jeans. One great thing about this mix is that the tracks blend together (hence the "Non-stop" of the title) so that I can imagine a bunch of girls dancing around to the disc without stopping, at a sleepover party or something like that. There are a few vocal sound effects that get inserted seemingly at random which is a bit distracting. Overall the disc is an electro-pop marathon.
Boys don't get mentioned much; "In One in a Million" Miley could be singing about a great friend or a sweet boy. Although Miley has a voice older than her years as well as her target age group, her subject matter is age-appropriate, which is refreshing. The lyrics are positive, about trusting yourself, appreciating your friends, and making the most of life. There is some encouragement for doing what you want, which could be misconstrued as permission to do whatever you want, but generally the whole disc sounds really positive. It might not be my music of choice, but Hannah Montana is a massive entertainment phenomenon and really important for youth services librarians to be familiar with, I think!
Listened: 11 January, 9 February
Album: Non-Stop Dance Party
Release Date: 2008
Age Range: 10 - 15
Genre: Pop
Rating: 1 2 3 4 5
Comments: This is a sugary, poppy dance mix aimed at younger teenage or tween girls. Miley Cyprus sings, in her role as Hannah Montana, about best friends, being a rock star, and her old blue jeans. One great thing about this mix is that the tracks blend together (hence the "Non-stop" of the title) so that I can imagine a bunch of girls dancing around to the disc without stopping, at a sleepover party or something like that. There are a few vocal sound effects that get inserted seemingly at random which is a bit distracting. Overall the disc is an electro-pop marathon.
Boys don't get mentioned much; "In One in a Million" Miley could be singing about a great friend or a sweet boy. Although Miley has a voice older than her years as well as her target age group, her subject matter is age-appropriate, which is refreshing. The lyrics are positive, about trusting yourself, appreciating your friends, and making the most of life. There is some encouragement for doing what you want, which could be misconstrued as permission to do whatever you want, but generally the whole disc sounds really positive. It might not be my music of choice, but Hannah Montana is a massive entertainment phenomenon and really important for youth services librarians to be familiar with, I think!
Listened: 11 January, 9 February
Monday, February 9, 2009
Skim - Mariko Tamaki
Author: Mariko Tamaki
Illustrator: Jillian Tamaki
Title: Skim
Publisher: Groundwood
Publication Date: 2008
Age range: 13 - 18
Genre: Graphic Novel / Canadian Author
Rating: 1 2 3 4 5
Plot summary: Kim Cameron, aka Skim, is a slightly overweight teenager at an all-girls school with a best friend, Lisa, who she can barely stand, a strong curiosity about Wiccan traditions, and a freshly broken wrist. Tired of letting herself be pushed around by Lisa, Kim develops a friendship and then a bit of an obsession with the school art teacher, Ms Archer. Meanwhile, the suicide of a classmate's ex-boyfriend throws the whole school into a whirlwind of life-affirming activity, which Skim interprets as hypocritical and absurd. Constantly sneaking off into the woods for a smoke or taking the bus to drop off a sketch at Ms Archer's house, Skim is full of keen observations about the painful world she lives in, and her viewpoint is a stark one.
Comments: This graphic novel illustrates beautifully the awkwardness of trying to find one's place in the social hierarchy of high school. Parts of it are kept as a diary-format text, and in other cases Skim describes a memory as though she is writing a more general essay. Even when Skim tries to keep her head down she attracts the attention of the suspicious school counselor or her friend Lisa who is generally unsupportive, as well as defensive whenever Skim asks her to explain her statements or actions. The theme of suicide and the need for a support system comes across as the dominant theme in the story, while Skim's attachment to Ms Archer is downplayed as a subtheme. I wasn't completely sure if Skim is gay or not – she is too caught up in describing the activities of the clique of girls who take over fund-raising for local teen support services. Another subtheme is the treatment of Asians in the subculture of the school; Skim refers to herself as Asian without being more specific, which is interesting. All in all, this book was mildly disturbing, and definitely thought-provoking on several levels.
Date Read: 8 February 2009
Illustrator: Jillian Tamaki
Title: Skim
Publisher: Groundwood
Publication Date: 2008
Age range: 13 - 18
Genre: Graphic Novel / Canadian Author
Rating: 1 2 3 4 5
Plot summary: Kim Cameron, aka Skim, is a slightly overweight teenager at an all-girls school with a best friend, Lisa, who she can barely stand, a strong curiosity about Wiccan traditions, and a freshly broken wrist. Tired of letting herself be pushed around by Lisa, Kim develops a friendship and then a bit of an obsession with the school art teacher, Ms Archer. Meanwhile, the suicide of a classmate's ex-boyfriend throws the whole school into a whirlwind of life-affirming activity, which Skim interprets as hypocritical and absurd. Constantly sneaking off into the woods for a smoke or taking the bus to drop off a sketch at Ms Archer's house, Skim is full of keen observations about the painful world she lives in, and her viewpoint is a stark one.
Comments: This graphic novel illustrates beautifully the awkwardness of trying to find one's place in the social hierarchy of high school. Parts of it are kept as a diary-format text, and in other cases Skim describes a memory as though she is writing a more general essay. Even when Skim tries to keep her head down she attracts the attention of the suspicious school counselor or her friend Lisa who is generally unsupportive, as well as defensive whenever Skim asks her to explain her statements or actions. The theme of suicide and the need for a support system comes across as the dominant theme in the story, while Skim's attachment to Ms Archer is downplayed as a subtheme. I wasn't completely sure if Skim is gay or not – she is too caught up in describing the activities of the clique of girls who take over fund-raising for local teen support services. Another subtheme is the treatment of Asians in the subculture of the school; Skim refers to herself as Asian without being more specific, which is interesting. All in all, this book was mildly disturbing, and definitely thought-provoking on several levels.
Date Read: 8 February 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Annie on My Mind - Nancy Garden
Author: Nancy Garden
Title: Annie on My Mind
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux / McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd
Publication Date: 1982
Age range: 14 - 19
Genre: Controversial / Romance / Realistic Fiction
Rating: 1 2 3 4 5
Plot summary: Liza is a senior in high school, head of the student council and headed to MIT for university. She loves architecture and is constantly visiting museums and other interesting buildings around New York City. On one such visit she meets Annie. Annie, another 17 year-old with a lovely voice and lively imagination, attends a different school and the girls come from very different backgrounds. They feel an immediate connection and develop a fast friendship, soon falling in love. Though their families are supportive of their friendship, they are afraid to share their love for each other with the other people in their lives, fearing the judgment that comes from intolerance and misunderstanding. As they start to explore their emerging sexual feelings for each other, an opportunity presents itself as Liza house sits for two teachers over spring break. The girls are discovered just as they have carved out a space for themselves to investigate their feelings, and Liza has to deal with the fall out at school, as her bigoted principal and some of her classmates believe her behavior is immoral and indecent, even worthy of expulsion. Ultimately Liza and Annie have to deal with their feelings for each other and find a way to deal with the way everyone else around them acts.
Comments: It is interesting to read this book in its third decade of publication. The reaction of some of the self-righteous adults as well as fellow students of Liza's is disturbing. Annie and Liza are both caring, generous souls and it is painful to read about the hatred that is directed at them when people realize that they're not just close friends. Luckily Liza has a very supportive family – they never forget that this is their Liza, even if they are not happy about her sexual orientation. Her brother, Chad, is especially wonderful, as he never blames her, just continues to love her as his sister, even if he is confused about what is going on. This book does a good job of walking the reader through the emotional reactions that Liza (as the narrator) has to different situations, and they're reactions that anyone who is in love and who can't figure out how to make that love understood to others would have, no matter their gender. Garden does a great job of making the characters very realistic. I really enjoyed the description of the relationship of the two teachers, Ms Widmer and Ms Stevenson, who we find out at the very end have been together as a couple since they were teenagers, and who have dealt with exactly the same kind of confusion and disbelief that Liza and Annie are confronted with. The book takes the shape of Liza's reflections now that she is in her first semester at MIT, because she has distanced herself from Annie, who is now attending Berkeley College in California. Liza struggles to write Annie a letter and realizes she needs to work through her memories of the last year in order to continue her relationship with Annie.
Dates Read: 1 February – 4 February
Title: Annie on My Mind
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux / McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd
Publication Date: 1982
Age range: 14 - 19
Genre: Controversial / Romance / Realistic Fiction
Rating: 1 2 3 4 5
Plot summary: Liza is a senior in high school, head of the student council and headed to MIT for university. She loves architecture and is constantly visiting museums and other interesting buildings around New York City. On one such visit she meets Annie. Annie, another 17 year-old with a lovely voice and lively imagination, attends a different school and the girls come from very different backgrounds. They feel an immediate connection and develop a fast friendship, soon falling in love. Though their families are supportive of their friendship, they are afraid to share their love for each other with the other people in their lives, fearing the judgment that comes from intolerance and misunderstanding. As they start to explore their emerging sexual feelings for each other, an opportunity presents itself as Liza house sits for two teachers over spring break. The girls are discovered just as they have carved out a space for themselves to investigate their feelings, and Liza has to deal with the fall out at school, as her bigoted principal and some of her classmates believe her behavior is immoral and indecent, even worthy of expulsion. Ultimately Liza and Annie have to deal with their feelings for each other and find a way to deal with the way everyone else around them acts.
Comments: It is interesting to read this book in its third decade of publication. The reaction of some of the self-righteous adults as well as fellow students of Liza's is disturbing. Annie and Liza are both caring, generous souls and it is painful to read about the hatred that is directed at them when people realize that they're not just close friends. Luckily Liza has a very supportive family – they never forget that this is their Liza, even if they are not happy about her sexual orientation. Her brother, Chad, is especially wonderful, as he never blames her, just continues to love her as his sister, even if he is confused about what is going on. This book does a good job of walking the reader through the emotional reactions that Liza (as the narrator) has to different situations, and they're reactions that anyone who is in love and who can't figure out how to make that love understood to others would have, no matter their gender. Garden does a great job of making the characters very realistic. I really enjoyed the description of the relationship of the two teachers, Ms Widmer and Ms Stevenson, who we find out at the very end have been together as a couple since they were teenagers, and who have dealt with exactly the same kind of confusion and disbelief that Liza and Annie are confronted with. The book takes the shape of Liza's reflections now that she is in her first semester at MIT, because she has distanced herself from Annie, who is now attending Berkeley College in California. Liza struggles to write Annie a letter and realizes she needs to work through her memories of the last year in order to continue her relationship with Annie.
Dates Read: 1 February – 4 February
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