After Princess Alexandra's mother is killed, her father marries a woman who charms the kingdom. Alexandra and her brothers, however, believe that this woman is a shape-shifter, the beast who killed their mother in human form. After an ill-fated attempt to prove this goes awry, Alexandra is banished and her brothers disappear. As she lives with her aunt, Alexandra begins to understand the nature of her own magical power.

I can't say much more without giving away details of the plot that I think readers will enjoy discovering for themselves. It is my policy to give a book fifty pages before I abandon it. This book, while well-written, just wasn't for me, all the way up to page forty-nine. But on page fifty, everything changed, and I found myself eager to know what happened next. The Swan Kingdom is a fantasy, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's story The Wild Swans. In this story, Zoe Marriott has created a rich world. Alexandra is a strong female protagonist, but she draws her strength from emotion and magic rather than physical power. While she does spend more time than many of us would probably like waiting for her brothers to find her, she does take action and work to change the fate of her nation's people. The Swan Kingdom's greatest strengths lie in its world-building and unique magic system.

I would recommend this to anyone interested in adaptations of traditional fairy tales or looking for a female protagonist who has strength but doesn't fight, who is able to use that strength without giving up her femininity.

Book: The Swan Kingdom
Author: Zoe Marriott
Publisher: Candlewick
Original Publication Date: March 2008
Pages: 272
Age Range: Young Adult
Source of Book: ARC requested from publisher
Buy it: IndieBound - Powell's [Affiliate Links]

One of my recurring obsessions (that is to say, I get crazy about it for a few weeks and then forget it for a while only to come back to it later) is fashion. I recently decided that I would start a blog to chronicle my attempts to express myself through my appearance. One thing I wanted to address was the librarian stereotype; so I thought I'd explore the place where fashion and librarianship intersect, if it exists. Any time I decide on a new project, research is the first (and often only) phase. So I set out to find information about stereotypes about librarians, and happened upon Ruth Kneale's You Don't Look Like a Librarian.

In this book, Kneale chronicles librarians' own obsession with their image and makes suggestions for how to deal with people who say "But you don't look like a librarian!" (Why don't you look like a librarian? My problem is my lack of glasses.) She also provides a vast survey of the resources available for exploring this topic further.

This is a fun little book (and Liz B. of Tea Cozy wrote the forward!) but its companion website is even better than the book itself, because it offers links to all the different resources mentioned in the book.

I recommend this for anybody who wants an overview of stereotypes of librarians and how actual librarians respond to them.

My favorite part, of course, was when the book addressed the topic of Rupert Giles, who is my librarian role model. (I like to imagine if Giles and Jenny Calendar traveled back in time to 1981 and had a kid together, she'd be me.)

Book: You Don't Look Like a Librarian
Author: Ruth Kneale
Publisher: Information Today, Inc.
Original Publication Date: March 2009
Pages: 216
Source of Book: Borrowed from library
Buy it (affiliate links): IndieBound - Powell's

Photograph by L. Marie

Harper needs to get away from home for a while, to escape her heartbreak over her father's divorce from her stepmother and her confusion about her relationship with Gabriel, who is not her boyfriend but is definitely more than her friend.  She signs up for the Homes from the Heart Summer Program for Teens and leaves her native California behind to help build a home for a Tennessee family who lost theirs in a tornado.

Dana Reinhardt does so many things right in this book that it would take a very long time to list them all, so I'll just hit the highlights.  As always, her teen voice is spot-on: Harper sounds like a real teen, not a grown-up's idea of how a teen sounds.  Her characterizations, as always, are excellent, too; the family for whom Harper is building a house, all of the other kids who work with her to build the house, and Harper's own family are fully realized.  This is a remarkable feat, especially considering that the book comes in at only 227 pages.  The most unique thing about How to Build a House, however, is its structure.

Reinhardt has named each chapter after one of the steps in building a house, and within each chapter we get glimpses of how Harper's life was at "Home" and how things are different "Here."  Throughout the story, the step in home-building correlates with Harper's experiences and memories.  It could come across as contrived, but it doesn't.  It is, instead, just right.

I would recommend this book to just about anyone.  Dana Reinhardt is one of my favorite authors for young adults today, and How to Build a House follows in the tradition of excellence she began with A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life and continued with Harmless.

Book: How to Build a House
Author: Dana Reinhardt
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
Original Publication Date: May 2008
Pages: 227
Age Range: Young Adult
Source of Book: ARC sent by author
Related Posts: My Interview with Dana Reinhardt, My Review of A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life, My Review of Harmless
Buy it: IndieBound - Powell's

Today I have reviews of two books for you.

Lessons from a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles

When Laine's mother tells her that Leah Greene is dead, she can't help but feel that it's a little bit her fault. After all, she did wish for it. Each time Laine's mother says Leah's name, Leah is pulled back to a memory of an earlier time with Leah, of "Lessons" Leah gave her in what friendship is about. This first novel by freelance non-fiction writer Jo Knowles tells a tale about childhood loneliness and the abuse one child can perpetuate on another. I read it in two sittings, and I would've read it in one but I started it late at night and was just too sleepy to pay attention - and I didn't want to miss anything.

What I appreciate most about Lessons from a Dead Girl is that it gives us real people in all of the characters. Leah Greene is a popular girl, and it would be easy for an author to let her be one-dimensional. Jo Knowles gives us another perspective, demonstrating what I think can be one of life's greatest lessons, especially for adolescents: that everyone has problems, and no one acts entirely without reason.

With Lessons, Jo Knowles makes a strong debut. I look forward to her next book, Jumping Off Swings, to be released on August 11 of this year.

Book: Lessons from a Dead Girl
Author: Jo Knowles
Publisher: Candlewick
Original Publication Date: October 9, 2007
Pages: 224
Age Range:  Young Adult
Source of Book: Publisher
Related Links: My Interview with Jo Knowles
Buy it [Affiliate Links]: IndieBound - Powell's

Goy Crazy by Melissa Schorr

It's lust at first sight when Rachel Lowenstein meets Luke Christiansen, a waiter at her brother's bar mitzvah.  Luke is tall, blond, and decidedly not Jewish.  She desperately wants to date him, but she knows her parents won't approve.  Can she turn her back on her faith and her culture for a cute boy?

Goy Crazy is a charming romantic comedy that addresses coming of age issues common to all teens.  Rachel feels constantly in conflict with her parents.  She's been a good girl her whole life and she's sick of it.  So she decides that her sophomore year of high school, she will be a bit naughty, and she'll start by pursuing a boy from the wrong religion.

 I would recommend Goy Crazy to anyone looking for a fun read that is not so light as to be mindless, but is very clever and uplifting.  It does rom-com right: there's the wrong boy who seems so right, the boy her parents prefer who is not at all what she wants, and the realization Rachel makes that the people she knows aren't necessarily the people they seem to be.  It's a good time, and summer would be a great time to pick it up and take it to the beach with you, but it'll hold up any time of year.

Book: Goy Crazy
Author: Melissa Schorr
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children
Original Publication Date: August 22, 2006
Pages: 352
Age Range: Young Adult
Source of Book: Author
Buy it [Affiliate Links]: IndieBound - Powell's

Book: Accidental Love by Gary Soto
Time Spent Reading It: 1 hr 31 min

Another cute, fun read.  (Aside from Stop Pretending, which had me sniffling a good bit, that's what I was really going for this weekend.)  Marisa, a girl with a penchant for fighting, accidentally switches cell phones with Rene, a nerdy boy from another school.  When they meet to switch back, she realizes she kinda likes him.  This was a very sweet book.  I kind of like this type of romance better than French Kiss - sweet, youngish, with all of the problems externally generated.  (I'd much rather have parental disapproval be an obstacle in a romance than the fact that both of the love interests are incredibly moody, for example.) 

Total Time Spent Reading: 9 hrs 14 min

Even though I technically have another hour and a half in my 48 hours, that's probably going to do it for me.  I'll be back with an official summary later this evening.

Book: The Queen of Cool by Cecil Castellucci
Time Spent Reading It: 1 hr 15 min

I really enjoyed this book.  It surprised me in many ways.  I'd never read anything by Cecil Castellucci before, but I know a bit about her (I almost interviewed her once, then decided I couldn't take the time to do the interview justice) and expected her main characters to be kind of hipstery thrift shoppers with cool glasses and entertainingly affected speech patterns.  You know, the kind of people I like to have as friends.  Instead, I found out that the Queen of Cool was ACTUALLY, you know, cool, like, popular-kid cool.  At first I was disappointed, but as I read on, it was really refreshing.  There are tons of teen books about not fitting in, not being part of the popular crowd, being a nerd and a loser (and let's face it, the book-reading population probably skews heavily towards the less "glamorous" kids - I know I was horribly unglamorous as a middle and high schooler except for the few times I tried really hard, when I was fabulous) but you don't get many books from the popular girl's perspective.  It's always nice to be reminded that, oh yeah, popular kids are people too.  And then, it's also nice to read about all the stuff "cool" kids do that you didn't and not feel like you were actually missing anything at all by being unpopular, because you gave your friends silly awards and did absurd fashion shows from your childhood dress-up box with the boys who were your friends and invented silly games and generally made your own fun.  A good, fast, fun read.  I recommend it.

Total Time Spent Reading: 7 hrs 43 min

I haven't been keeping up with my blogging/networking, but I think all told it comes to less than an hour.  Maybe closer to half an hour, even.

Next up: Accidental Love by Gary Soto

So since I last posted, I spent a lot of time going to dinner, wandering around stores, hanging out at my sister's house, and sleeping.

And a little time reading.

Two mini-reviews for you:
Book: French Kiss by Sarra Manning (Diary of a Crush: Book 1)
Time Spent Reading It: 2 hrs 7 min

It's a cute, quick read.  It falls squarely in the category of romance, which means there's not much of a plot besides the romance part.  That made me a bit sad, because romance on its own just isn't that interesting to me.  I'm much more in favor of adventure with a little romance.  This was just a sixteen year old British young woman bopping around France with a bunch of 19 year olds and having a bizarre, intense attraction to a moody art boy.  If you're looking for a sweet romance, it's a good read.  It treads carefully in the department of sex, having the main character emphasize how she knows she's not ready for it while she's in the midst of all of these university-aged other kids who are hooking up all the time.  I think it's a very good perspective. 

After Death's Daughter and French Kiss, I was ready for something more serious...

Book: Stop Pretending by Sonya Sones
Time Spent Reading It: 29 min

Boy, howdy, did this one take me in a new direction.  This is a verse novel about a twelve-year-old girl whose older sister has a breakdown.  It's based on Sonya Sones's actual experience when her sister had a breakdown.  It made me cry a lot.  Mental illness is an important issue to me, and reading about it always kinda pokes me in a vulnerable spot and is a bit like pushing down on a bruise - it doesn't hurt when you're not touching it, it's easy to forget it's there, but then when you do touch it, boy is it intense.  I was so happy to read in the note Sonya Sones wrote at the end of the book that her sister is married and a librarian and stuff.  It was such a nice thing to know, that her sister wasn't forever stuck in a mental hospital unable to connect with anyone or do anything besides just be crazy.  (I know it's not PC to call folks crazy but when you're on the inside looking out, it's easier to call it like you see it.)

Total Time Spent Reading: 6 hrs 28 min

Next Up: The Queen of Cool by Cecil Castellucci

So I've been "participating" for almost 17 hours now and spent less than 4 of it reading.  Oops?

Non-48HBC activities have included sleeping, eating, and trying to find a crochet pattern to make as a present for a friend.  (In the end, I found something in my stash of already-made items to give her, yay.)  Maybe watching Pushing Daisies, too?

I'm just updating as I complete each book.

So, let's begin the update itself.

Book: Death's Daughter by Amber Benson
Time Spent: 3 hrs 52 min
Total Time Spent on Challenge: 3 hrs 52 min

Quick Review:
Death's Daughter is a fun, quick read.  (Less than 400 pages.)  It's Amber Benson's solo debut.  It's supernatural chick-lit, which I'm not sure if that's an actual genre, but if it isn't, it should be.  (I know it's a subgenre of romance novels.)  It read like a less-graphic Mary Janice Davidson novel.  It provoked me to think a lot about the whole ... is it a genre?  trope? thing... with 20-something apparently-shallow ladies finding out that no, they're actually very competent individuals.  For a fun read, it brought in some good weighty themes like family (the inevitably of being part of them, and the ways in which that's both pleasant and un) and women's sexuality.  A good time all around.  Expect a more detailed review later.

Next Up:
French Kiss by Sarra Manning (Diary of a Crush: Book 1)

Ever since Steph Landry spilled a big red Super Big Gulp on queen bee Lauren Moffat's white D&G skirt back in sixth grade, people in her town have used Steph's name to describe anyone who is clumsy, oafish, or generally lame. "Don't be such a Steph!" is such a common phrase in Bloomville that even the little children of customers in Steph's parents' bookstore use it with each other.

But all that is going to change, because Steph has THE BOOK. Steph discovered an old book called How to Be Popular among her friend Jason's grandmother's things, and Steph is following its advice to the letter. Once she's popular, though, how will her unpopular friends react?

I "read" the audiobook version of this, which is voiced by the talented Kate Reinders, who has played Glinda in Wicked in Chicago and on Broadway. Reinders does an amazing job, and I love the fact that I was listening to such a clear Glinda-voice read since one of Glinda's biggest numbers in Wicked is called "Popular." While the text on its own is a lot of fun, I think Reinders brought a lot to it and made it more enjoyable than it would have been just to read, for me, anyway.

How to Be Popular is a fun tale of an unpopular girl, her meteoric rise to popularity, and her (unsurprising) realization that popularity is a lot of work. I'm having a hard time articulating the book's strengths, but it is a good time and the characters and situations are familiar to anyone who went to high school ever. It does suffer from a few flaws. As is true in The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot makes some references that were timely when she was writing but are already, less than three years after the book's release, a bit dated. I'm not sure how long Brittany Murphy will be remembered by teenagers, and I don't feel like she was ever a household name. These instances, however, are few and far between and the universal themes of wanting to be liked and failing to appreciate that which we have overcome those problems.

While I'm usually inclined to see it as a flaw, the book's predictability is actually very comforting. This is a romantic comedy, and we go to RomCom expecting certain things. The girl will get A guy, even if it's not THE guy, and with this one I saw it coming within the first few minutes. I felt like I knew exactly how it would all unfold, and I was not far off. But that's what we want with romantic comedy, and How to Be Popular satisfied me.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick, fun, life-affirming read. It's pleasant in its simplicity. To quote Giles in the Buffy episode "Lie to Me," "the good guys are always stalwart and true, the bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats, and, uh, we always defeat them and save the day. No one ever dies, and everybody lives happily ever after." Sometimes that's the story you need.

[As an aside: I had to rack my brain to figure out who my own high school's equivalent of Mark Finley, uberpopular but also very nice guy, was. Once I figured it out, it was kind of fun to remember how I ran into him a couple of years ago and realized that my geeky fiance grew up way cuter than he did. Even though I don't wish him ill or anything. He actually was a really nice guy.]

Book: How to Be Popular
Author: Meg Cabot
Publisher: Harper Teen
Original Publication Date: July 2006
Pages: 304
Age Range: Young Adult
Buy it: IndieBound - Powell's - Amazon

Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui, by Karen Kingston, is both an organization book and a spiritual text.  The book is divided into three parts: Understanding Clutter, Identifying Clutter, and Clearing Clutter.  In Part 1, Kingston introduces Feng Shui and her method of Space Clearing.  She explains what things are clutter and how it affects you.  She discusses why we keep clutter and how we can begin to let go of it.  In Part 2, she explains the Feng Shui Bagua, "a grid that reveals how the different areas of any building you occupy are connected to specific aspects of your life," in great detail.  She identifies common clutter zones within the home and types of clutter we may find there.  Finally, Part 3 explains how to clear clutter from your home, body, mind, emotions, and spirit.

Clear Your Clutter is a great book for readers who want a quick introduction to Feng Shui and are ready to make a change in their lives.  The chapters are short, and Kingston's voice is both no-nonsense and encouraging.  I read this book more than a year ago; I have since removed much clutter from my life, though much remains.  Perhaps it is time for a re-read.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to get her or his home and heart in order or who is looking for a quick, simple introduction to the principles of Feng Shui.

Book: Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui [affiliate link]
Author: Karen Kingston
Publisher: Broadway Books
Original Publication Date: 1999
Pages: 192
Source of Book: Borrowed
Related Links: FlyLady, UnClutterer

I feel like if I summarize even the first little bit of this book for you, I will spoil some important and suspenseful plot point, so I will give you just some bizarre thematic/scenic details instead. This book is about a teenage girl with supernatural powers. It is also a gothic thriller. It is also a sort of feminist manifesto. It has no perfect characters, which is refreshing. And there is one very cool teacher in it.

I listened to the audio book of A Great and Terrible Beauty, and while I enjoyed it fine for the first seven (of ten) discs, it wasn't until disc eight that things really got exciting for me. From that point on, though, I was riveted. Please understand: it is a good book all the way through. It just took me that long to get to the point where when I was doing other things I'd think, "Gee, I wish I were listening to A Great and Terrible Beauty."

More exciting to me than the book itself, though, was a bit on the last disc where Libba Bray herself read from her diary of the experience of writing the book. Hearing the enthusiasm in her voice, especially about her research, made me very excited about reading and writing. And hearing about the volume of research she did made me realize that perhaps one of the reasons I consistently have trouble finishing writing something is that I never seem to fully immerse myself in the world of my writing. (Except with fanfiction. This is never a problem for me with fanfiction. I lived in the world of Buffy for four years, and have been in and out of it ever since.)

Anyway, I highly recommend this book for anyone who is fond of gothic thrillers or complex characters.  It does have a steamy bit, so I would say more mature readers are the ones to whom I'd give this book.

Book: A Great and Terrible Beauty [affiliate link]
Author: Libba Bray
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Original Publication Date: March 2005
Pages: 403
Age Range: Young Adult
Source of Book: Library

My first published book review is up at this month's The Edge of the Forest.

Becker Drane has the best job in the world: he is a Fixer in The Seems, a behind-the-scenes society where all the things that happen in The World are orchestrated.  He jumps full-force into his first mission: fixing the glitch in sleep.  No one in The World can get any sleep, and it has kept several important things from happening.  If Becker can't fix it, the Chain of Events will disassemble and life as we know it will be destroyed.

 The greatest strength of The Seems is the complex world its authors have created.  Everything in life is carefully orchestrated by the workers of The Seems, and Hulme and Wexler seem to have thought of everything.  If you were to find something they hadn't, the world is so well-developed they could come up with an answer in a mere matter of seconds.  Becker is a relatable character, with ordinary problems in spite of his extraordinary job.  His supporting cast is charming or scary, as is appropriate.

I would recommend The Seems primarily to younger readers.  It is suggested for readers ages 10 and up, but I think readers as young as 6 or 7 would enjoy it.  Anyone who has the attention span to finish a novel is old enough to enjoy The Seems.  Older readers may find it a bit immature, but can still enjoy it as a quick, light read.

Book: The Seems: The Glitch in Sleep [affiliate link]
Author: John Hulme and Michael Wexler
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Original Publication Date: September 18, 2007
Pages: 288
Age Range: Middle Grade
Source of Book: Advance Reading Copy Requested From Publisher

I'm not in the habit of writing about picture books, but there are some that still strike my fancy, in addition to the old favorites that hold a place in my heart.  Now it's October, my second favorite month of the year (July is the first because that's when my birthday is), and we kidlit bloggers are celebrating Bradbury Season.  For me this time of year is more marvelous than scary, but I like a tinge of the morbid even in my sparkles, and so I present you my choice for Bradbury Season: Robert D. San Souci's Cinderella Skeleton. 

"Cinderella Skeleton" is a fairytale retold for goths.  Our familiar friend Cindy isn't sweeping up the house anymore.  Now her chores include hanging cobwebs, arranging dead flowers, littering the floor with dust and leaves, and feeding bats.  Her stepmother and stepsisters are still evil, though, and when the marvelously dead Prince Charnel hosts a ball, they do everything they can to keep her away.  

You know this story, though, so you know that it all ends well.  When Prince Charnel finds Cinderella Skeleton he proclaims:

Cinderella Skeleton!
The rarest gem the world has seen!
Your gleaming skull and burnished bones,
Your teeth like polished kidney stones,
Your dampish silks and dankish hair,
There's nothing like you anywhere!
You make each day a Halloween!

That part always makes me cry a little, tears of joy.  I received this book as a gift from my boyfriend (he's so goth he's dead, except he's not really goth at all - just vaguely morbid, like me) and he inscribed it with "You make each day a Halloween!" at the front of the book.  

Where this version of the tale shines is not in the plot itself, which we all know.  It is in the details.  It's in the fact that Cinderella's coach driver is a black cat.  It's in the way San Souci deals with the glass slipper part of the tale.  It's in the fact that this Prince is Prince Charnel ("a building or chamber in which bodies or bones are deposited" - thank you, M-W.com!) instead of Prince Charming.  And it is in the phenomal illustrations provided by David Catrow.

First, an aside: you may have noticed in my posts that I tend to include anecdotes and that I am not especially impartial or matter-of-fact in my reviews.  The reason for this is that I started this journal to be a personal reading journal, and so I use it to chronicle my own experiences of books.  This is different than someone who writes exclusively for their audience.  I do try to be interesting and to consider my audience interests, but lectitans remains a personal journal, and so the content will always have a personal touch.

And now, on to the review.

In Dia Calhoun's Aria of the Sea, Cerinthe Gale, a 13 year old resident of the kingdom of Windward, moves from her small island to the capital city in order to audition for the School of the Royal Dancers.  As she attends the school, though, Cerinthe finds that her late mother's dream for her to be a professional dancer is in conflict with her own talent for healing and her devotion to the goddess the Sea Maid.  Cerinthe blames her own error in healing for her mother's death, and so when her rival, Elliana, is injured, Cerinthe is reluctant to help because she fears another failure.  It is at this juncture that Cerinthe must choose who she will become.

I'm afraid to reveal much more of the plot than this, because I don't want to spoil more for you.

There are quite a few things that Dia Calhoun does incredibly effectively in Aria of the Sea.  First, she conveys Cerinthe's homesickness with startling accuracy.  I missed Cerinthe's imaginary home island myself, reading about Cerinthe's feelings.  Second, she paints a true-to-life portrait of teenage rivalry; while my art when I was Cerinthe's age was theatre and not dance, I experienced hostility from multiple corners of my tiny theatre world.  Elliana very much reminded me of girls I knew, right down to the realization Cerinthe had that though Elliana may be wealthy, that didn't mean she was truly happy.  Nobody wants to be married off according to her parents' will, after all.  Third, Calhoun aptly describes the pain one feels when one's faith has deserted her.  Cerinthe, who has always heard the voice of her goddess the Sea Maid, ceases to hear her once she comes to the capital.  Calhoun describes Cerinthe's sense of abandonment with great intensity.

What Aria of the Sea does best, however, is demonstrate the difficulty that lies in a choice between two callings.  Cerinthe is a very talented dancer, and well-trained.  She is less well-trained as a healer, but displays more talent.  The choice between these two callings is heart-wrenching.

I would especially recommend Aria of the Sea to fans of fantasy, coming of age stories, and the arts.  I would more generally recommend it to anyone who likes a moving story.  I'd be especially likely to put it in the hands of girls in the twelve to fourteen age range, whom I think will identify heavily with Cerinthe.

Book: Aria of the Sea (Affiliate Link)
Author: Dia Calhoun
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Original Publication Date: 2003
Pages: 272
Age Range: Young Adult
Source of Book: Library

You can't feed a family of ten or eleven with just love and music, but they sure do make life more bearable.

In Kerry Madden's Maggie Valley Trilogy, Olivia "Livy Two" Weems narrates the ups and downs of her mountain family life.  The first book in the trilogy is Gentle's Holler.  Livy Two's Daddy is a songwriter and traveling salesman, waiting for that big banjo hit.  Mama has two babies (Cyrus and Caroline) sleeping in the dresser drawer and one in the cradle (Appelonia).  Emmett, Livy Two's elder brother, has dreams of running off to work at Ghost Town in the Sky, a new amusement park with an Old West theme.  (The book is set in the 1960s.)  Becksie, Livy Two's older sister, is bossy as can be, and Jitters, one of Livy Two's younger sisters, idolizes her, copying her every move.  Louise, another sister, is a talented visual artist.  And Livy Two herself is a songwriter like her Daddy, composing on the theme of family life, with titles like "Daddy's Roasted Peanuts" and "Grandma's Glass Eye."

Livy Two's three year old sister, Gentle, doesn't seem to see very well, but the whole family is in denial of it.  Until the appearance of the fearsome Grandma Horace, that is.  Grandma Horace comes to Maggie Valley from her home in "Enka-Stinka" (the town of Enka, NC, a town previously known to me only for its top-notch Latin students) and starts setting things to rights.  Soon, Livy Two is teaching Gentle how to read Braille and training Uncle Hazard, the family dog, to work as a seeing eye dog.

I'm afraid to say much about the plot of Louisiana's Song, the second book in the trilogy, because I don't want to spoil the ending of Gentle's Holler.  The two books flow very naturally together, seamlessly telling one story.  At the same time, a reader could easily pick up Louisiana's Song and jump right in without any confusion; the characters develop and shine in both books, and Madden manages to explain the background of the story without making it tedious for those who read the first book.

The greatest strength in these books, and what has made me fall in love with them, is the distinctness and authenticity of each character.  I come from mountain stock, and these people feel as though they could be my relatives.  Daddy reminds me of my grandfather, and I see a lot of myself in Becksie.  Gentle, with her sweetness and beautiful voice, reminds me of my own little sister.  Caroline and Cyrus, the twins, are delightful in their obsessions with fairies and mummies, respectively.  Grandma Horace is the kind of woman you have to fear and respect, a matriarch who, despite her criticisms, clearly loves her family.  Even Uncle Buddy, Grandma Horace's gambler runaway brother, is charming.  I love the Weems family.  I want to spend some time with them, even if it does mean going hungry or being overrun by so many children.

There's something magical and beautiful about the North Carolina mountains, and Kerry Madden captures it in both novels.  This is a place where if you look hard enough you just might see a mountain fairy, where the autumn leaves blaze orange, red, brown and gold, where the smell of honeysuckle can run away with your imagination.  Livy Two and her siblings have a great respect for and love of nature that endears them to me all the more.

The third book in the trilogy, Jessie's Mountain, will be released February 14, 2008, and I can't wait.  I love Livy Two Weems and her whole family, and I look forward to their next adventure.

It's especially fitting that I'm bringing this book to your attention on the ninth anniversary of my first date with my boyfriend, because our love of the entire Roger Rabbit mythos is a large part of what has kept us together all these years (that, The Phantom of the Opera, Piers Anthony, and Ferris Bueller).  But let me take you back to a long time ago, almost twenty years ago, to 1988...

I was six years old, and my aunt worked for a major advertising firm.  (She still does.)  At the time, this firm had a big Disney account, which came with lots of perks for employees - promotional materials like posters, and pins.  My bedroom from ages five through twelve was decorated primarily with my aunt's Disney promo cast-offs.  Another perk she received from the company was preview screenings.  So before the movie was released to the general public, I got to see "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"

I loved it so much.  So much I can't even explain how much.  The world was enchanting, the characters were charming, and Judge Doom was about the scariest villain ever conceived in my book (and remains so to this day).  I loved the movie so much that when it was released on video, watching it was a daily ritual, and I would recite the lines along with it.  It was in my top five favorite movies ever.  (It probably still sits there, too, only behind other 80s classics like "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and "The Princess Bride.")

I was ecstatic a few years later, when I was old enough to appreciate much of the humor that had been lost on me in that first viewing, to discover a literary sequel to the film.  (Reading reviews now I see it is not an actual sequel to the movie or to the book upon which the movie was based, Who Censored Roger Rabbit?  But we'll pretend it is anyway.)

Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit? does all that a sequel really requires: it takes favorite characters and puts them in new and exciting situations.  The book takes us back to old Hollywood, where director David O. Selznick is auditioning three actors for the role of Rhett Butler in his musical comedy "Gone with the Wind": Clark Gable, Baby Herman, and Roger Rabbit himself.  Ever jealous, Roger suspects his buxom wife Jessica may be fooling around with Gable, and hires Eddie to find out if his suspicions are grounded in fact and what his standing is with Selznick.  There are a few conflicts of interest, though, as Selznick himself wants Eddie to find out who stole a box from his office; Roger is one of the suspects.  Clark Gable wants Eddie to ascertain the identity of the individual claiming Gable is gay in the tabloids.  To make matters worse, a toon named Kirk Enigman is murdered with Eddie's gun.  Add in the search for Toon Tonic, which turns people into toons and toons into people, and encounters with Jessica Rabbit's twin Joellyn, a five-inch tall vixen, enormous amounts of punnery, and you have an incredibly entertaining book.

I would recommend Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit? to fans of the film, but also to fans of comic mysteries.  This is hard-boiled detective hilarity.  It holds a special place in my heart because of my love for the film and the characters, but it will entertain anyone who prizes silliness above all.

When I was nine years old, I took a class on the fine art of lip synching. Yes, it was a class, for school. I love gifted education in Leon County, Florida. At the end of this class, we each had to perform a song of our choosing, in costume. I performed Madonna's "Material Girl." The best among us went on to perform solo at an actual concert, in front of parents. I wasn't one of those; there was, however, a young man who performed "Music of the Night" from Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, in full costume, complete with mask, hat, and cape. This was my introduction to the Opera Ghost, and I was in love immediately.

I don't know at what point mild interest in that musical became complete obsession, but in the intervening time I have read every Phantom-related item I could get my hands on, including Gaston Leroux's original novel and several stories inspired by it. That's the wonderful thing about works in the public domain, you see; you can publish and sell your fanfiction.

Basil of Baker Street in The Great Mouse Detective had kindled an interest in me in Sherlock Holmes, and I grew to find him immensely attractive as well.

Yes, I love fictional characters, perhaps more than real people. It was with great glee that I checked out from my public library The Angel of the Opera: Sherlock Holmes Meets the Phantom of the Opera.  There's not a great deal of plot that is new to the story; this is Leroux's book with just a few new characters added in.  What makes it so fascinating is the interplay of two of the greatest minds in fiction: Erik and Holmes.  The actions Holmes takes in solving the mystery of the Opera Ghost keep the story moving forward, and it is this interaction between the two that makes the book worth reading.

Also, look at that cover art.  How can you not love Erik dressed as The Red Death, sweeping down the stairs towards Sherlock Holmes?

If you like mysteries, gothic horror, the Victorian era, Sherlock Holmes, or the Phantom of the Opera, you should give this book a go.  It provides certain entertainment.  And not to spoil the ending, but those who were always upset with the raw treatment Erik got from Christine Daae may find some consolation in the way Siciliano wraps up Erik's story.

Under Radar Recommendations are books that we have read and loved. Period.
They're not necessarily new. They're not necessarily old.
They're books we think you'd love, 'cause we do.

There is, elsewhere, more of the usual awesomeness of the kidlitosphere. Fans of the under-read should also, check out:

Chasing Ray writing on Dorothy of Oz from Illusive Arts Entertainment (the Dorothy comic she says we should all be reading!),

Bildungsroman revisits Christopher Golden's Body of Evidence series,

Interactive Reader, a new convert to the Christopher Golden Body of Evidence fan club, provides more love,

At Not Your Mother's Bookclub: An interview with Robert Sharenow, author of My Mother the Cheerleader,

Bookshelves of Doom is all about The God Beneath the Sea, Black Jack & Jack Holburn all by Leon Garfield,

Writing and Ruminating has an interview with Tony Mitton and a review of his book, Plum ,

The YA YA YAs spread the love on I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade by Diane Lee Wilson (And I can attest: awesome book, folks.),

A late inclusion from Semicolon on unbeatable picture books.

And Chicken Spaghetti wraps up Monday with The Illustrator's Notebook by Mohieddin Ellabad.

More Under Radar Goodness All Week Long: Stay tuned!

LaVaughn is only 14, but she knows more than anything else in her life that she's going to go to college.  Her mother has said so, and when her mother speaks a thing, it becomes true.  College isn't going to pay for itself, though, so LaVaughn gets a job babysitting Jeremy and Jilly, the two children of Jolly.  Jolly is seventeen and works in a factory.  As LaVaughn forms a relationship with the family and begins to see the way Jolly's life has spiraled out of her control, she begins to question herself.  Is it wrong for LaVaughn to take money from Jolly to avoid ending up in the same situation?  If LaVaughn babysits for free, is she sacrificing her future?  Is she allowing Jolly to keep spinning her wheels without making any forward progress in life?  Should LaVaughn feel responsible for Jolly's situation?

Virginia Euwer Wolff achieves a great deal in Make Lemonade.  She paints a picture of two families in poverty going in drastically different directions; LaVaughn is poor but has a plan for life and a mother who supports her.  Jolly has no one but her children, and lives from one day to the next.  Wolff creates in Jolly a character who is sympathetic and frustrating at the same time.  She shows the tension between LaVaughn's responsibility to herself and her desire to help others. 

Amidst all this, Wolff uses language that is both artful and accessible.  Written in verse, Make Lemonade feels like poetry but is not at all stilted.  Each line flows into the next, but it's clear that each line break is carefully chosen.  Make Lemonade would be an excellent introduction to the verse novel for those who may be wary of the genre.

I would recommend Make Lemonade to readers who enjoy verse novels, as well as anyone looking for a story that is uplifting without being saccharine.
 
Book: Make Lemonade (Affiliate Link)
Author: Virginia Euwer Wolff
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Original Publication Date: 1993
Pages: 208
Age Range: Young Adult
Source of Book: Library

This is the story of what really happened.  This is the truth.

When Emma moved to Orsonville back in the third grade, Anna introduced herself.  They soon became fast friends, and Emma hasn't really spent time with anyone else.  Now the girls are in ninth grade, and the glamorous and edgy Mariah has introduced them to her circle of friends, broadening their social horizons greatly.  One night the girls tell their parents that they're going to the movies when really they're going to Mariah's boyfriend's house for a party.  They get caught in this lie by their parents and make up another, bigger one, to cover it up: they were on their way to the movies but took some time to just hang out by the river.  When they were at the river, a strange man attacked them.  They managed to escape, but never made it to the movies.

When the girls tell the lie, they think it will get them off the hook and that will be that.  Instead, their parents get the police involved, their school holds assemblies to discuss the event, a man is arrested, and the women of the community stage a "Take Back the Night" rally.  

In Harmless, Dana Reinhardt tells the story using each of the girls' voices.  We get a different perspective from each of them and learn their motivations and see what their lives are like from the inside.  This unique form of narration allows each girl to be a whole character, rather than limiting us to one girl's perspective on the other two.  We also see how each character changes: Anna, the good and unpopular girl, decides to open up and finally start being a little wild; Emma, the "normal" one, withdraws into herself; Mariah, who has always been rebellious, starts to take life more seriously.  

Harmless is very different from Reinhardt's first book, A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life.  The tone is darker, though the subject matter is of equal seriousness.  Harmless is, above all else, intense.  It examines what can happen when we lose control of our lies.  It also shows us that people may not be just the way you perceive them.  Mariah's inner thoughts reveal her to be not at all the girl Anna thought she was.  Emma's family has secrets she doesn't share, even with her best friends.  Anna has a desire to be different than she is, but doesn't express this until Mariah presents her with the opportunity.

Harmless is an excellent book.  I would recommend it to readers who like books that make them think.  It contains language and content that make the YOUNG ADULT label necessary and emphatic: parents may want to read it before giving it to their children.

Book: Harmless (Affiliate Link)
Author: Dana Reinhardt 
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
Original Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 240
Age Range: Young Adult
Source of Book: Borders
Other Blog Reviews: Big A little a, propernoun.net, interactivereader, Becky's Book Reviews, Sara's Holds Shelf, Kids Lit, I'm A Reading Fool
Extras: My Interview with Dana Reinhardt, Interview at Interactive Reader, Interview at Bildungsroman