Graphic Novel Spotlight - Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys

The Mystery of the Missing Adults by Scott Bryan Wilson

Wilson has taken the elements familiar to anyone who's read the original Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books, these essential parts of the formula and laid them out in a blatant, obvious, humorous way. Nancy Drew must go under cover. Frank and Joe must stumble into dangerous situations, one of them getting captured. And Watson wants us to laugh at that situation. He's also taken pains to make some elements more realistic. These are teenagers, not mini adults. So they do some genuinely foolish things. They live on candy. They drive a bus. They bicker and fight non stop. At heart, though, this is a comedy. The entire scenario is ridiculous, a mild sci-fi plot with more jokes than danger. It boarders on satire and might serve as a good way to to introduce young readers to that concept.

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Non fiction book review - Strange But True

Strange But True by Kathryn Hulick

Most often, kids books about mysterious events or cryptids either present these ideas as truth or at least heavily imply that they could be true. This one falls more into the realm of skepticism. It's not that Hulick states flat out that Atlantis could not exist, just that it's highly unlikely. It's not that the Nazca Lines couldn't have been sign posts for aliens, just that other explanations are more plausible. That's the approach Hulick takes here: what are the details of this event; what do people believe about it; what do science and history tell us; what conclusions can we most sensibly draw. Hulick is not completely dismissing these ideas but is encouraging Occam's Razor. She's teaching young readers to think critically and consider that evidence for a story, providing skills for them to build upon when they encounter suspicious studies when they're older
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Book review - A Talent for Trouble

Title: A Talent for Trouble
Author: Natasha Farrant
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: The Bonaventure Adventures by Rachelle Delaney

                      Shine! by Chris and J.J. Grabenstein
Rating:

a bit out of the ordinary

Summary (provided by publisher): Desperate to meet up with her unpredictable father, quiet Alice persuades two friends to abandon their boarding school’s orienteering exercise and head for a remote, inaccessible island. As they confront storms, illness, injury, and a gang of international jewel thieves, the quest tests their courage and loyalty and strengthens the bonds of friendship. Readers will cheer the runaways on, laugh with them at their foibles, and share Alice’s pleasure in overcoming the obstacles that stand in her way. This combination adventure, school story, and family story will delight fans of all three genres.

My opinion: An invasive narrator is a tricky thing to pull off. They can almost become a character, a part of the book's charm. The narrator in this book serves both to explain the motivation behind a character's actions and to soften what might otherwise be an overly intense or difficult to understand situation. It's a delicate balance and Farrant pulls it off well. The plot would work fine without that narrator. That voice adds elements we might not grasp otherwise and serves as a transition through otherwise quiet moments, walking us through the emotions that have built up. The plot is a bit on the odd side but will serve as a decent read for those who enjoy books off the beaten path.
More information: A Talent for Trouble releases November 19.
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Non-fiction book review - American Trailblazers

American Trailblazers by Lisa Trusiani

If you're interested in learning a little bit about a lot of people, this is the book for you. Trusiani has selected a nice assortment of people to profile: artists, athletes, scientists, politicians, explorers, evenly divided between male and female, familiar and obscure. We get just a couple of pages on each person, focused on their major accomplishment. Books of this sort are a great way to spark a young reader's interest in learning more about unfamiliar figures.
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Book review - The Hive

Title: The Hive
Author: Barry Lyga and Morgan Baden
Genre: sci fi
Similar books: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
                      Need by Joelle Charbonneau
Rating:

solid ideas

Summary (provided by publisher): Cassie McKinney has always believed in the Hive. Social media used to be out of control, after all. People were torn apart by trolls and doxxers. Even hackers --- like Cassie's dad --- were powerless against it. But then the Hive came. A better way to sanction people for what they do online. Cause trouble, get too many "condemns," and a crowd can come after you, teach you a lesson in real life. It's safer, fairer and perfectly legal. Entering her senior year of high school, filled with grief over an unexpected loss, Cassie is primed to lash out. Egged on by new friends, she makes an edgy joke online. Cassie doubts anyone will notice. But the Hive notices everything. And as her viral comment whips an entire country into a frenzy, the Hive demands retribution. One moment Cassie is anonymous; the next, she's infamous. And running for her life. With nowhere to turn, she must learn to rely on herself --- and a group of Hive outcasts who may not be reliable --- as she slowly uncovers the truth about the machine behind the Hive. New York Times bestselling authors Barry Lyga and Morgan Baden have teamed up for the first time to create a novel that's gripping, terrifying and more relevant every day.

My opinion: I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I feel like the ideas are plausible. Hive justice is a thing I could see happening. We're dealing with some pretty significant manipulation - a president who doesn't not want to give up power so he creates a threat, an excuse to override term limits and turn himself into a despot. So in many ways, this plot is pretty predictable. We're meant to assume that the protagonist is a target solely because of her father. Instead its her own actions that brought her to the administrations attention and her father's identity only cements her as a target. Actually, her tweet is the weakest part of the plot. Sure it's cruel and insensitive but I found it hard to believe that it would gain her death threats in a matter of hours. So beleivibility issues aside, the messaging is pretty obvious - dangers of a life lived entirely online, protecting your identity, the ease of manipulating public perception a d online information. I didn't love the mixed perspectives. The messaging is relevant enough to make it worth a read.
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Book review - Sick Kids in Love

Title: Sick Kids in Love
Author: Hannah Moskowitz
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
                      The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Rating:

pretty much what you'd expect

Summary (provided by publisher): Isabel has one rule: no dating.
It’s easier—
It’s safer—
It’s better—
—for the other person.
She’s got issues. She’s got secrets. She’s got rheumatoid arthritis.
But then she meets another sick kid.
He’s got a chronic illness Isabel’s never heard of, something she can’t even pronounce. He understands what it means to be sick. He understands her more than her healthy friends. He understands her more than her own father who’s a doctor.
He’s gorgeous, fun, and foul-mouthed. And totally into her.
Isabel has one rule: no dating.
It’s complicated—
It’s dangerous—
It’s never felt better—
—to consider breaking that rule for him.

My opinion: In many ways, this is a standard teen romance. We have characters who happen upon each other and quickly realized they are enamored with one another. The central concept is an obvious one - who will understand the challenges of being chronically ill better than someone else who is chronically ill? Moskowitz does introduce some unique challenges. Yes they are both sick but their illness are different. They bring along different challenges. And their approaches to their illnesses are vastly different. So while these two characters do understand each other, in some fundamental ways they are vastly different. And this, of course, presents the central conflicts. The general thrust of the plot is relatively predictable. Discussions of perception and medical advocacy make this worth reading.
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Picture books for everyone

Greta and the Giants by Zoe Tucker

Greta Thunberg is an important example for modern kids. She shows us not only the importance of protecting the environment but also the power of the individual, even a child, to make a difference. Tucker walks us through how, even if something seems futile initially, if we can at least get one person's attention we've had a positive affect. If one person joins a protest and gains the attention of one person, it has a cumulative affect. And that's what we see in this little picture book. While the message is pretty heavy and serious, the illustrations are charming and magical. This would be a great book to use in a group setting to spark a discussion.

More information: Greta and the Giants releases November 19
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Non-fiction book review - Fighting for the Forest

Fighting for the Forest by P. O'Connell Pearson

When you learn about the New Deal in school, you get maybe a paragraph about the Civilian Conservation Corps. I never had much curiosity about it, though. It seemed like a pretty straightforward subject. Pearson gives the reader the full context for the CCC: FDR's history with the outdoors and the power of manual labor; a basic introduction to the cause and impact of the Great Depression; the effects of long term poverty on physical health and on society at large; and the goals and impact of the CCC itself. The text is very accessible, the vocabulary reasonable for a middle grade audience.
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Book review - American Royals

Title: American Royals
Author: Katharine McGee
Genre: alternate history
Similar books: The Only Thing to Fear by Caroline Tung Richmond
                      Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin
Rating:

not as unique as I'd hoped

Summary (provided by publisher): What if America had a royal family? If you can't get enough of Harry and Meghan or Kate and William, meet American princesses Beatrice and Samantha. Crazy Rich Asians meets The Crown. Perfect for fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue and The Royal We!
Two princesses vying for the ultimate crown.
Two girls vying for the prince's heart.
This is the story of the American royals.
When America won the Revolutionary War, its people offered General George Washington a crown. Two and a half centuries later, the House of Washington still sits on the throne. Like most royal families, the Washingtons have an heir and a spare. A future monarch and a backup battery. Each child knows exactly what is expected of them. But these aren't just any royals. They're American.
As Princess Beatrice gets closer to becoming America's first queen regnant, the duty she has embraced her entire life suddenly feels stifling. Nobody cares about the spare except when she's breaking the rules, so Princess Samantha doesn't care much about anything, either . . . except the one boy who is distinctly off-limits to her. And then there's Samantha's twin, Prince Jefferson. If he'd been born a generation earlier, he would have stood first in line for the throne, but the new laws of succession make him third. Most of America adores their devastatingly handsome prince . . . but two very different girls are vying to capture his heart.
The duty. The intrigue. The Crown. New York Times bestselling author Katharine McGee imagines an alternate version of the modern world, one where the glittering age of monarchies has not yet faded--and where love is still powerful enough to change the course of history.

My opinion: Alternate history can be a lot of fun. A really skilled author/historian can spin a complex world off of a simple change in our history. And that's what I thought we were getting here. It's a change of a small moment - George Washington becomes king instead of president. So we have a United States that is a monarchy. And It's fun to speculate how our world might have been altered by that change. The thing is, McGee doesn't really use that to full effect. Instead of considering how our society would be altered by being run by a king, the bulk of the plot is focused on love stories and duty to country. We have three couples not approved by society and the exploration of whether love will win over duty. The thing is, that plot could be told in any number of monarchies. There's not much uniquely American about the plot and no space given to a changed landscape. So the charm that I felt going into this book wore off quickly. It's possible that McGee will incorporate more of these elements in future volumes but this particular book was a disappointment.
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Inktober

Throughout the month of October, much of my creative energy is funneled into craft fair prep and Inktober drawings. Since I try not to flood you with Christmas stuff until after Thanksgiving, here's a shot of my full Inktober wall from this year.

 

Book review - Shine!

Title: Shine!
Author: J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: The Lost Boy's Gift by Kimberly Willis Holt
                      The Next Great Paulie Fink by Ali Benjamin
Rating:

a solid but predictable journey

Summary (provided by publisher): "Who do you want to be?" asks Mr. Van Deusen. "And not when you grow up. Right here, right now."
Shine on! might be the catchphrase of twelve-year-old Piper's hero--astronaut, astronomer, and television host Nellie Dumont Frisse--but Piper knows the truth: some people are born to shine, and she's just not one of them. That fact has never been clearer than now, since her dad's new job has landed them both at Chumley Prep, a posh private school where everyone seems to be the best at something and where Piper definitely doesn't fit in.
Bursting with humor, heart, science, possibilities, and big questions, Shine! is a story about finding your place in the universe--a story about figuring out who you are and who you want to be.

My opinion: If you're at all familiar with middle grade fiction, you'll likely be able to predict the final scenes of this book within the first couple of chapters. This means that the value of this story is the lessons the characters read along the way. The final lessons are obvious. The lessons about people being more than they appear, more than your first impressions, are in some ways more important. Even these lessons are fairly heavy handed, but this is often the case with middle grade fiction. More importantly, the characters all have at least a little complexity. They make wrong decisions but find ways to make it up to the people they've wronged. They regret bad choices and resolve to do better. While I might have liked a slightly more complex ending, the one we get is reasonable. It's not a mind blowing read, but a decently enjoyable one.
More information: Shine! releases November 5
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