Graphic Novel Spotlight: Mighty Jack

Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke

When you're looking for adventurous, well-plotted, beautifully drawn graphic novels for middle-graders, start with Ben Hatke. His Zita the Spacegirl series set a young girl on an unexpected and dangerous journey. This new book (the first in a series) does the same for a male protagonist. It has sword-play, magic, and dangerous plants. This is only an introductory volume, so the plot isn't particularly clear thus far. If history holds true, though, the future volumes of this series will not disappoint. Expect this series to capture the attention of young readers.

Mighty Jack releases September 6.

Book review - Friday Barnes: Under Suspicion

Title: Friday Barnes: Under Suspicion
Author: R. A. Spratt
Genre: Mystery
Similar books: Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter by Beth Fantaskey
                          The Case of the Stolen Sixpence by Holly Webb
Rating:

a fun and straight-forward mystery

Summary(provided by publisher): Friday Barnes, girl detective, is... under arrest?!
Getting arrested was the last thing Friday expected after solving the swamp-yeti mystery at her boarding school. But she better clear her name fast! She’s got new cases to investigate, like a scandalous quiche bake-off, a decades old mystery buried in her school’s backyard, and why the new boy, Christopher, is being so nice to her.
More adventures and intrigue ensue in Friday Barnes, Under Suspicion, the second book in the illustrated Friday Barnes mystery series, starring a genius detective with the brains (and social skills) of Sherlock Holmes.

My opinion: I was rather fond of the quirkiness that was the first Friday Barnes book and that quirkiness carries over into this volume. Each book has a low level of humor, simple mysteries, and just a basic level of characterization. It's no great literature or even a complex exploration of the detective genre. Just plain entertainment. My main complaint, and I suspect that it will bother others, is that each book ends with an entirely unnecessary and contextually out of place "to be continued" cliff hanger. This smacks of marketing rather than genuine storytelling.

More Information: Friday Barnes: Under Suspicion releases August 9.
Advance Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Non-fiction book review - Mind Boggling Numbers

Mind Boggling Numbers by Michael J. Rosen

This is not the first book of this sort I've ever seen. Young readers are often fascinated by big numbers and it can be fun for authors to try to explain them. The comparrisons in this book can be a bit odd at times (how many whales to span a distance, how many pints of lemonade to fill a swimming pool) but where it really shines is in the math. Rosen fully explains the math used to find each answer. At the very least, this is a fun argument to give to the kid who claims that word problems are boring.

Mind Boggling Numbers releases September 1.

Book review - Still a Work in Progress

Title: Still a Work in Progress
Author: Jo Knowles
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: The Distance to Home by Jenn Bishop
                     Far From Fair by Elana K Arnold
Rating:

Slow to start, but then it blew me away

Summary(provided by publisher): In a return to middle-grade fiction, master of perspectives Jo Knowles depicts a younger sibling struggling to maintain his everyday life when his older sister is in crisis.
Noah is just trying to make it through seventh grade. The girls are confusing, the homework is boring, and even his friends are starting to bug him. Not to mention that his older sister, Emma, has been acting pretty strange, even though Noah thought she’d been doing better ever since the Thing They Don’t Talk About. The only place he really feels at peace is in art class, with a block of clay in his hands. As it becomes clear through Emma’s ever-stricter food rules and regulations that she’s not really doing better at all, the normal seventh-grade year Noah was hoping for begins to seem pretty unattainable. In an affecting and realistic novel with bright spots of humor, Jo Knowles captures the complexities of navigating middle school while feeling helpless in the face of a family crisis.

My opinion: Initially I wasn't sold on this book. It was predictable, odd, and with an unconvincing narrator. It was clear where the plot was headed and was relying too heavily on gross-out humor and odd quirks to distinguish itself. And then Emma's storyline took it's inevitable turn and everything changed. After that, I was completely emotionally engaged. I felt Noah's suffering so keenly. His confusion, his anger, his despair. It's all right there on the surface for use to feel with him. Knowles doesn't try too hard to give us answers. The only goal is to get the family to a slightly healthier emotional place. 
The ideal target audience for this book is perhaps hard to decide, exactly, but it's worth looking for the right reader.
Advance reader copy provided by NetGalley.

Righting a wrong

I got this journal some time ago. It works really well as a sketchbook: unlined pages, hard cover, and a perfect size for carrying. In fact, the only thing I don't like about it is this illustration on the cover.

 I have no objections to the use of Hedwig. She's a decent symbol of the Harry Potter series. No, objection is with this particular drawing. It's a little awkwardly drawn with the offset beak and lumpy body.  Plus between the pose and the facial expression she looks a little furtive, like she's up to something less than honorable. And what's with the dog collar? I decided the only solution was to draw my own version and paste it over top. My drawing doesn't completely cover the original so I may, at some future date, add some black paint around the edges. Even without that, though, I think my version has given Hedwig back just a little bit of her dignity.

Book review - The Infamous Ratsos

Title: The Infamous Ratsos
Author: Kara LaReau
Genre: beginning reader
Similar books: Dexter the Tough by Margaret Peterson Haddix
                     Weekends With Max and His Dad by Linda Urba
Rating:

pretty cute

Summary(provided by publisher): Louie and Ralphie Ratso are no softies! Readers are sure to chuckle as the determined Ratso brothers’ plans to act tough go hilariously awry.
Louie and Ralphie Ratso’s dad, Big Lou, always says that there are two kinds of people: those who are tough and those who are soft. Louie and Ralphie are tough, tough, tough, just like Big Lou, and they’re going to prove it. But every time they try to show just how tough they are, the Ratso brothers end up accidentally doing good deeds instead. What’ll Big Lou do when he finds out they’ve been acting like softies all over the Big City? Perfect for emerging and reluctant readers, this clever and surprisingly warmhearted chapter book shows that being tough all the time can be really tough.

My Opinion: Firstly, this is a solid choice for kids beginning to read chapter books. The characters are likeable and have a basic level of complexity. Their aim is one that kids will relate to: to seem tough and gain their father's acceptance. The resolution is more emotionally complex but stated clearly enough to guarantee understanding. It works well enough on this level. I could also imagine using this book with older kids as a simple way to explore characterization. The Ratsos see themselves as tough, as bad guys, but their efforts always work out to be positive. Their actions, while intended to be mean on the surface, always end up helping those they wanted to hurt, implying that they meant to be kind all along, revealing their true character. This interpretation may be a bit of a stretch but as a simple example, I think it works.

More Information: The Infamous Ratsos releases August 2.
Advance reader copy provided by NetGalley.

Pick 6: Twins

I've noted before how the characters in teen novels tend to have certain hobbies. They are often talented musicians and artists with a penchant for Converse shoes. Another character type that occurs far more often in novels than in reality is twins. A high percentage of novels have twins or other multiples involved in some way: the protagonist's siblings, friends, neighbors. Fictional worlds are overrun with multiples. Here are six books published in the last six months that include twins or other multiples.

6 new books that include twins:

1. Simon Thorn and the Wolf's Den by Aimee Carter

2. Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate

3. Dreaming of Antigone by Robin Bridges

4. Tripping Back Blue by Kara Storti

5. True Born by L E Sterling

6. Gemini by Sonja Mukherjee