Book review - The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate

Title: The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate
Author: Jacqueline Kelly
Genre: historical fiction
Similar books: The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis
                     Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary D. Schmidt
Rating:

a great read

Summary: A whole world opened up to Callie when her grandfather taught her to explore nature scientifically. She desperately wants to continue her education in the sciences. The problem? Her mother has decided that at 13 Callie is ready to begin preparing for her coming out. Time to put aside exploring the outdoors for needlework, cooking, and fine manners. Things become more complicated when a storm devastates Galveston and a teen cousin comes to stay, occupying Callie's bed. Meanwhile, her younger brother Travis is secretly disobeying a parental ban on bringing home strays.

My opinion: I found the first book in this series at turns funny, educational, and poignant. I was captivated. I was, therefore, a little hesitant going into this one. While sequels can be wonderful, if done wrong they can shake the love you have built for the first volume. That certainly isn't the case here. This book maintains the tone of the first book. It takes the major plot focus (discovering science and gender inequality) and builds upon it with new stories (cousin Aggie and Travis's animals). Also, I learned a lot about natural science from these novels. If they inspire me to read more about science, how must they inspire children? Well worth the read.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Graphic Novel Spotlight: Adventures in Cartooning

Adventures in Cartooning by James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost

Kids enjoy this book for it's humorous story of a knight and horse on a mission to fight a dragon. As they read, they're also getting a solid introduction to comic book terminology and storytelling structure. From the role of panels and dialogue to plot structure, all of these basics of comic design are explained as a part of the story. The art style is very simple, making it easy to replicate as kids are wont to do. This also encourages those who aren't confident in their drawing ability to try anyway. there are actually 4 Adventures in Cartooning books (How to Turn Your Doodles Into Comics, Activity Book, Christmas Special, and Characters in Action) as well as a recently released picture book.

WWW Wednesdays

What are you currently reading?
The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
For the past year Tess has spent all of her time covering up her grandfather's increasing lapses of memory. All it takes is one phone call from her guidance counselor to her older sister Ivy for the whole thing to come crashing down. Now her grandfather is in a care facility and Tess has to move in with her sister and start a new school in DC, far from the only home she's ever known in Montana. As Tess gains a reputation for fixing problems at school, she has no way of knowing she's following in Ivy's footsteps. Their two worlds are on a collision course.

I really enjoyed Barnes's Naturals series and what little I've read of this one so far leads me to believe I'll feel the same about this one. I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

What did you recently finish reading?
Song of Summer by Laura Lee Anderson
Robin has always thought that her perfect man would have good taste in music. She's a folk musician and can't stand the thought of her boyfriend listening to pop music. Then Carter walks into the diner where she works. He's attractive, rich, kind, and a good tipper. He's also, she comes to realize, profoundly deaf. Carter never expected to have a hearing girlfriend. It's quite difficult for them to communicate. A hearing girl doesn't understand Deaf culture. Yet, when they meet, Robin and Carter forget all of their previous objections and expectations.


While the concept of this novel might be a little ridiculous, the execution is fantastic. Carter and Robin are both fully realized characters. The way their relationship plays out is unexpected. 

What do you think you'll read next?
Stone Rider by David Hofmeyr
A lot of the books I've been reading lately have been more in the teen romance vein. This dystopian action novel should be a nice change of pace.

Book review - Jesse's Girl

Title: Jesse's Girl
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Genre: romance
Similar books: Some Kind of Normal by Juliana Stone
                     Paper or Plastic by  Vivi Barnes
 Rating: 

Nice enough, if predictable

Summary: When Maya said she wanted to be a rock star when asked what she'd like to do for her school's Shadow Day, she figured she'd be sent to work at the radio station. She never expected to spend the day with country music superstar Jesse Scott. Jesse isn't at all what she expected, withdrawn and solitary rather than the party boy he's portrayed as in the media. Maya and Jesse don't think much of each other at first, but it's strange the difference a day can make.

My opinion: Like most romances, this book is rather predictable. Maya and Jesse hate each other initially, though this is mostly to mask their attraction. They, of course, give one another a chance, discover what they have in common, learn from each other, fall in love, push away, and eventually decide that being together is worth any cost. Love conquers all (cue mild eye roll). There is a level of reassurance to a plot like that, especially in the case of this novel. Maya is not rescued. If anything, it is Maya who does the rescuing. Overall, though, I found the plot somewhat tired. The music and fame are not unique enough to allow this novel to stand out from the crowd. It's a solid teen romance but not particularly memorable.

Advance Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Fandom ducks

Some time ago, a patron made a donation of craft supplies to our library. Among those supplies were some customizable rubber ducks. We've always wanted to use them for something but there have always been problems. Either we didn't have the right supplies to decorate them or we were getting the wrong group of kids (too young, too many, etc) for this to be an appropriate activity at a program. When we decided to do a Comic-con themed event for our teen summer reading program this year I knew we had a chance to use the ducks at last. While I've never been to a comic-con, I've read about them and know that "comic-con exclusive products" are a part of the draw. It was the work of a few days to design and paint these ducks, each representing a common fandom. For the most part, we simply painted the ducks, adding and subtracting nothing. The single exception is Jabba the Hutt in the final photo. For Jabba, we cut off the beak and closed off the resulting cavity with a little bit of hot glue.
 

Fandoms: Firefly, Star Wars, Avengers

Fandoms: Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Doctor Who

Fandoms: Harry Potter, Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, Star Wars

All of the ducks were painted with acrylic paint and sealed with Mod Podge. NOTE: If you are experiencing high humidity (like we were when I painted these) Mod Podge is not likely to dry well. Your project will end up extremely sticky to the touch.

Book review - The Six

Title: The Six
Author: Mark Alpert
Genre: sci-fi
Similar books: BZRK by Michael Grant
                     Mindwar by Andrew Klavan
Rating:

Scientifically strong

Summary: Ever since muscular dystrophy stole his mobility, Adam has filled his days with writing virtual reality games which allow him to run, jump, and play football like he used to. His father offers a more permanent solution: transfer his consciousness into digital information, allowing him to inhabit a robot body. This offer isn't entirely magnanimous. Adam and five other terminally ill teens will be expected to fight Sigma, an artificial intelligence gone rogue that threatens to dominate and destroy all humankind.

My opinion: Unlike some sci-fi with dubious technology, this novel lays out the science, purpose, and other potential usages of the technology. If you can believe such a technology possible, than the plot makes sense. It's very cinematic, with tight pacing and not much in the way of introspection. In fact, Adam and the others adjust surprisingly well to their new life as machines. In that aspect, the characterization is a bit weak. The characters don't particularly grow or change, but the use of technology is phenomenal. There are some spectacular scenes where Adam describes the sensations of moving his new robot body or of moving between objects as pure information. If you enjoy looking at the world from unique perspectives, this might be the book for you.

More information: The Six releases July 7.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Pick 6: sci-fi

There are many levels of science fiction, from mostly realistic with some mild sci-fi elements to tales entirely set in a fictional world. While my personal tastes lean more towards the former, I try to read novels that fit all over the spectrum. Luckily, there are some really good sci-fi novels being written for young people these days. Here are six sci-fi novels, from beginning readers to teen novels, written in the last six months.

6 new sci-fi novels
1. Dinosaur Boy by Cory Putnam Oakes

2. Frank Einstein and the Electro-Finger by Jon Scieszka

3. Denton Little's Death Date by Lance Rubin

4. Undertow by Michael Buckley

5. Dino Mike and the T-Rex Attack by Franco Aureliani

6. The Stellow Project by Shari Becker