Book review - The Wrong Side of Magic

Title: The Wrong Side of Magic
Author: Janette Rallison
Genre: fantasy
Similar books: Behind the Canvas by Alexander Vance
                     Lost in Lexicon by Pendred Noyce
Rating:

far exceeded expectations

Summary(provided by publisher): Eleven-year-old Hudson stopped believing in magic long ago. Until the day he is whisked away to the magical land of Logos—a land ruled by words, thoughts, and memories. A fairy might ferry you across the river for the price of one memory, or it's possible freshly baked homonyms will be on sale two for the price of one, and look out for snarky unicorns, as they are sure to judge the pure of heart. Upon arrival, Hudson is quickly saddled with a troll curse, and only his friend Charlotte can help rid him of the curse. But lo and behold she has an agenda of her own—find and rescue the missing Princess of Logos.

My opinion: I didn't think I would like this one very much. A regular kid being thrown into a magical world is nothing new. And a world based on words? I just couldn't see how it would work without focusing entirely on the gimmick to the detriment of plot and character development. It works surprisingly well, in part because it doesn't take itself too seriously. It is apparent from the moment when we first beet the stuck-up unicorns with British accents that this isn't your typical fantasy novel. It really explores our relationship with language in depth as well, not to mention admirable character traits and a person's ability to change. I wouldn't say that you could use it as part of a unit on grammar - the exploration is not that detailed. While the standard fantasy elements of the plot resolve in a rather predictable manner, it's charming and funny enough to keep the reader engaged.

More information: The Wrong Side of Magic releases August 23.
Advance Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Books on screen

The Giver

I could spend pages detailing the minutiae of how the book and the movie differ in this instance, all of the things that the movie messed up. Rather than nit-picking, though, I'd like to look at the bigger picture, how the message differs. And it all starts with the decision to make Jonas older.
At first, this seems like a relatively minor issue. Movies adjust details like this all the time. The developmental difference between 12 and 18 is significant, though. By making Jonas 12, Lowry accomplished a number of things. Firstly, it marked the community as "other". We're accustomed to facing a change in life, setting out on adult responsibilities, at 18. This is easy for us to understand and allows us to identify with Jonas in the movie. Seeing Jonas taking on such a level of responsibility at 12 is the first flag to the reader that something is wrong in this society. He is literally having to grow up too soon. Also, by making Jonas 12, his awakening to emotions and cultural memory is a clear parallel to puberty.
My other major issue is with the portrayal of the community. The book shows us a flawed but stable society. No, they don't have choice or colors or even real emotion, but they don't know any better and are entirely satisfied with their lives. They lack emotional pain or conflict. It's a peaceful place. Superficially, this is the case in the movie though we see a number of examples of discord, of governmental machinations. There is a sense of menace and foreboding in the community in the movie that simply isn't present in the book.
This all comes together to affect my final complaint: emotional impact. The book is very much about Jonas' inner journey, his slow awakening to all that is missing from their lives and his inability to stay once he knows the truth. It is his story so when he leaves, though there is danger of being discovered for a time, the final pages are still only about him. I'd go so far as to say that we only see Fiona and Asher in the early part of the novel to serve as a comparison to Jonas and the way he changes. The movie give Jonas a love interest with Fiona and interpersonal conflict with Asher. Obviously this is meant to make the plot more external and thus more cinematic but it does, then, weaken the original point of the novel. We see both Fiona and Asher choose loyalty to their friend over obedience, something they shouldn't be capable of per what we are told by the movie, as they get injections to suppress all emotions. Asher in particular should not be capable of that level of loyalty as he, unlike Fiona, has not skipped and injection. And it's not just these two. We see even Lily express a small rebellion in the final scenes. The final scenes of the book and the movie are vastly different, telling completely different stories.
If you haven't experienced either version of The Giver, you might be satisfied with the movie. If you, like me, enjoyed the book I wouldn't put it high on the list of adaptations to watch.

Book review - Fuzzy

Title: Fuzzy
Author: Tom Angleberger and Paul Dellinger
Genre: Sci-fi
Similar books: Eager by Helen Fox
                     Scrap City by D. S. Thornton
Rating:

good fun

Summary(provided by publisher): From the minds of Tom Angleberger, the New York Times bestselling author of the wildly popular Origami Yoda series, and Paul Dellinger, an adult science-fiction writer, comes a funny middle school story with a memorable robot title character. Reluctant readers and robot lovers in elementary and middle school will enjoy this fast-paced read that shows just how strange a place middle school can be, particularly when the new student is a state-of-the-art robot.
When Max—Maxine Zealster—befriends her new robot classmate Fuzzy, part of Vanguard One Middle School's new Robot Integration Program, she helps him learn everything he needs to know about surviving middle school—the good, the bad, and the really, really, ugly. Little do they know that surviving sixth grade is going to become a true matter of life and death, because Vanguard has an evil presence at its heart: a digital student evaluation system named BARBARA that might be taking its mission to shape the perfect student to extremes!
With a strong female main character who will appeal to all readers, Tom Angleberger and Paul Dellinger's new novel offers readers a fresh take on robots. Fuzzy will find its place in the emerging category of bestselling books featuring robots, including Jon Scieszka' s Frank Einstein series and James Patterson's House of Robots.

My opinion: I like that this book doesn't moralize too hard. Yes, it shows the perils of artificial intelligence. Or, more accurately, of flawed intelligence. Barbara becomes a danger, to be certain, but this is the result of flawed programming, a bug rather than an inherent danger in A.I. since Fuzzy, endowed with far more capacity for intelligence and self direction, is no real danger at all. It also stress the importance of all kinds of life, the value of intelligence. Even Barbara, clearly dangerous, is not destroyed but re-purposed. The condemnation of standarized testing is a little heavy handed but not to the point of becoming irritating. An entertaining and thought provoking read, it might make a good selection for a middle grade book club.

More information: Fuzzy releases August 16.
Advance Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Yoshi earrings

I threw these together last week while working on some small charms. My current plan is to put them onto earring wires though it is entirely possible that some other plan will strike me before I get around to assembling them.
 

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.