Brandon Mull’s Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison (March 23, 2010)

Ash is a finalist for the 2010 William C. Morris YA Debut Award.

Malinda takes the skeleton story of Cinderella (a young girl loses her mother; father remarried before following his first wife to the grave; girl lives miserably with stepmother and two stepsisters) and builds a new story involving the seductive and deadly faeries of lore, the king’s huntress as friend and love interest, and storytelling.

The writing is solid. I’ve always loved fairy tales (not the sugar-coated Disney retellings but the gritty originals) and you will enjoy this book if you do as well. Some of my favorite passages were the fairy tale stories within the story; cautionary tales of humans caught in fairy rings or by the fairy hunt or those who seek out Fairy Queen aid.

I enjoyed this retelling far more than A Curse as Dark as Gold so I wouldn’t be surprised if won, but I have yet to read the other nominees.

Baby got in, she looked up at the sky and saw the dog-shaped cloud. It lifted its back leg. Sure enough, rain fell on the Puddles (p 3).

Feiffer’s debut novel is adorable, lovable, deplorable. No. Not deplorable, though there is a deplorable character.

Rain clouds stop for the Puddles. Could it be because Mr. and Mrs. cannot agree? They agree to disagree. They disagree so fervently that decision-making often frustrates their two children, Baby and Tom. When the Puddles leave for the city without their dogs (big Sally and Little Sally, they couldn’t agree on a dog), a chain of disagreements set in motion a chain of events that end in the reader falling in love with this quirky family and their dogs. A fantastic transitional reader I would give to those who enjoy Junie B. and Clementine.

I wish I lived next door to the Puddles. A strong contender for the Newbery. I wish there was a new author award for children’s literature, similar to the William C. Morris award.

I’m very late to the party on this one, but a coworker’s enthusiasm pushed the book to the front of my To Be Read pile. If you want a hint of the plot, watch the trailer.

or read the New York Times review by Michiko Kakutani. I happen to agree with much of what it says. Ruth never sat well with me. I attributed her obsession with Susie to a crush that never ended due to Susie’s death. When Susie enters Ruth’s body, I was jolted. Now we were entering fantasy land, though her actions, once human again, were understandable.

The allure for me was the nature in which Sebold tackled Susie’s killer (though his demise was a little hard to believe, especially after all the build up via Hal, the police and Harvey’s brazen return to the Salmon residence). Some of it was tedious reading (some of the Salmon family past was excessive), but overall, a decent read.

I’m sure to make my way to the theater to see Jackson’s vision, though I have mixed feelings about the absence of a rape/murder scene. Early reviews applaud this absence (Good. Too many filmmakers revel in horror. The Sun) and others balk (The screen version, by contrast, is so infuriatingly coy, and so desperate to preserve the modesty of its soulful victim that it amounts to an ongoing clean-up operation. The Guardian).

I have a now brother.
He doesn’t look like me.
I’m too much fall–
wet brown leaves
under a darkening sky.
Tommy is summer–
sunlight, peaches,
wide, grinning sky.
Even Tommy’s hair is summer.
Curls cling to his scalp like
the yellow-and-white sweet corn
at McGreavy’s Market.
Only one straight tuft sticks up,
like a clump of sun-scorched hay.
(p 8 )

When he was ten years old (but looked six) Matt was given to American soldiers by his Vietnamese mother so that he could escape the war. Adopted by a loving American family, Matt carries the heaviness of a past defined by war and a secret shame.

All the Broken Pieces is like a short story by Hemingway. Told in verse, the words are short and the sentences terse but packed with meaning. The descriptions are tied to nature and lovely in a straightforward way that reminded me of Hemingway.

The days are getting
really warm.
Summer is sitting
on spring
and squeezing out
all the wetness.
(p 218)

There isn’t an extraneous line in the novel. It will take about two hours to read but you’ll find yourself reflecting on it long after you finish. Just beautifully written, the story unravels with polished eloquence. A definite contender for the Printz, in my estimation.

…Crime is primarily driven by personal gain, whereas terrorism is fundamentally a political act…. The kind of person most likely to become a terrorist is similar to the kind of person most likely to … vote. Think of Terrorism as civic passion on steroids (p 63).

In the chapter titled “Why Should Suicide Bombers Buy Life Insurance?”, the authors discuss terrorism: its purpose, the response to acts of terrorism, those most likely to become terrorists, and how economics can aid in identifying terrorists.

Banks can help identify terrorists by creating an algorithm that identifies traits typical of a terrorist, including: an account opened with cash or cash equivalents at a branch of a large well-known bank, a P.O Box address, a muslim first and last name, no savings account or safe deposit box and… no life insurance, among other things.

In the same chapter, the authors bring to light our dolefully inadequate hospitals, from their infection spreading architecture to tight vehicle access including an ambulance bay that can fit a few vehicles at a time to rooftop helipads handicapped by single elevator access. What would happen during a major disaster or attack (especially biological)? You can see that identifying terrorists before they strike is crucial.

* * * * *

Much like its predecessor, Freakonomics, this book is highly accessible (I have no economics background) and highly enjoyable. Of course, it raises more questions than it answers (especially if you are sceptical of lab study results - and I am) but I definitely recommend it, as well as How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer.

Other chapters include: “How is a Street Prostitute like a Department Store Santa?”, “Unbelievable Stories about Apathy and Altruism”, “The Fix is in and it’s Cheap and Simple”, and “What do Al Gore and Mount Pinatubo have in Common?”.

He gave me his cocky grin. “Hey, I like it. Makes me think I’m in bed with a bad little Catholic schoolgirl from one of those twisted all-girl prep schools. Want to tell me about naked pillow fights you and your roommates used to have?” (p 110)

At the conclusion of Hunted, Zoey and her circle drove the fallen immortal Kalona and High Priestess Neferet from their ice-covered town. Tempted picks up right there and spans the next few days. The title refers, I believe, to the numerous times Zoey is tempted (usually in her dreams) by Kalona to join with him. There is also an overarching theme of free will and the temptation evil presents.

Stevie Rae’s story arc was my favorite. She stumbles across an injured Raven Mocker and her decision to save his life rather than finish him off will have consequences sure to play a major role in the future.

The series’ most irksome quality is that so little truly happens. While the books are slim as it is, so much text is wasted on inane musings and unnecessary description that I feel cheated when finished. Arg! Another year before we reach (I hope) the conclusion.

In the land of seven realms, the northern most territory of Fellsmarch is ruled by a Queen. She is aided and advised by the High Wizard and protected by her Royal Guard. Both are bound to her in unique and magical ways.

In this world, some are born wizards. Some are born into clans. The wizards are powerful, but they need the amulets the clans people make to harness and control that power. This is how balance is kept.

In the streets of the Fells, former street lord Han (aka Hunts Alone) has worn silver cuffs since birth. They expand as he grows and no blacksmith can remove them. Not a member of a clan but not disassociated either, his only direction is dictated by his love for his younger sister and mother.

A very enjoyable read, Chima creates an array of interesting characters in a complex world of those who have and those who have not. While her exposition is a little too fact oriented, once the reader comprehends the world of the seven realms, there is no putting the book aside.

Those who enjoyed The Bartimaeus Trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, Graceling, and Fire will enjoy this book.

Read another review at Opps… Wrong Cookie.

Without missing a beat, Mrs. Miller rattled off a stream of obscenities so fully and completely unexpected that I fell off my chair. Mothers were defiled, and their male and female children, as well as any and all offspring who just  happen to’ve been born out of wedlock. As for the sacred union that produced these innocent babes, the pertinent bodily appendageswere catalogued by a list of nicknames so profoundly scurrilous that a grizzled marine, conceived in a brothel and dying of a disease he contracted in one, would’ve wished he’d been born as smooth as a Ken doll (p 50).

This is a complex book. The narrator is aware of his reader and frequently addresses him/her directly. He is gay. His mother recently died and his father is now alcoholic. He has just moved to rural Kansas. But he never bogs us down in his sobering reality (though some passages were tedious reading). He seems inherently hopeful.

I’ve never lived in the south or in a rural area. Currently living in NJ, I can’t exactly see myself recommending this to one of our teens, except for its GLBTQ theme, even though it’s a book about so much more. Even as the narrator tries to force that issue into the back seat. It really is integral. I can’t say I loved this book but I did enjoy most of it. A little heavy-handed meta cognition though.

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Going Bovine by Libba Bray
All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
Everything is Fine by Ann Dee Ellis
The Devil’s Paintbox by Victoria Mckernan
SLOB by Ellen Potter
Flygirl by Sherri Smith
When you Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

We are meeting on January 3, 2010.