A Good Series for Younger Siblings

It's been fun reading all of the middle grade novels that were nominated for the Cybils. Some, I've reviewed here because they have teen appeal. Such as The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (fabulous and highly recommended). One book that deserves a shout out is Grim Hill: The Secret Deepens by Linda DeMeulemeester. This is book two of the Grim Hill series. In this book, Cat Peters has two main concerns: the girls versus boys soccer game and her sister's sudden obsession with magic. This is a cute book about sports and team work, as well as a fun story about the fairy world. When Cat's sister Sookie finds an old turban in the attic and begins performing magic tricks while wearing it, strange things happen in their town. Winter winds blow in and freeze the town. Kids start falling asleep and not waking up. So it's up to Cat and her friend Jasper to solve the mystery of the turban and venture back up Grim Hill into the fairy realm. Fun and adventure-filled, this book would be great for any younger sibling, especially if they like soccer and magic.

Lament by Maggie Stiefvater Book Review

Lament by Maggie Stiefvater
(Flux, Paperback)
Rating:

Deirdre is a talented musician. So talented that she's caught the notice of faeries. Including Luke, who is also a musician and helps Deirdre to unlock her own magic powers. Luke seems to be protecting her from the faeries that want to harm her, but Deirdre's grandmother warns her to stay away from Luke. As the solsice nears, the faeries ramp up their efforts to hurt Deidre and she must act fast to save her friends and Luke.

I love fairy tales. There's just something so exciting about escaping to a world that might possibly exist around us. Lament is drenched in Celtic lore and reminded me a lot of Wicked Lovely. Both books have main characters that only recently became involved in the faerie realm and both have heroines that possess extra magical abilities/destinies. Deirdre's friend James also attracts the faeries with his bagpipe playing. That sets up a love triangle that isn't quite resolved by the end of the novel. I read that Stiefvater has a sequel coming out so perhaps it will be resolved in the second book. The magical elements of this book were intriguing and clearly well-researched. I had a harder time with some other elements of the book. In particular, the women in Deirdre's family each had their own encounters with faeries and Deirdre's grandmother can still see them. Towards the end of the novel, the faerie queen tells Deirdre that she will grow up and live a boring life. The inconsistency of that statement bothers me. If Deidre's grandmother can still see faeries, why can't Deirdre continue to interact with them? Hopefully, this will be explained further in the sequel. Overall, this was a good, dark tale of faeries and the humans that find out about them. Great for fans of Melissa Marr or Holly Black.

Maggie Stiefvater has a great website that lists more information about her books and short stories.

In Memory: A Poetry Friday Post

Threads of Her Journey
by Raymond A. Foss

A tapestry is being stitched
story by story,
step by step, thread by thread
Pictures of her life come alive
with threads of gold,
of silver, of royal purple,
of hope, of faith, of love
her story unfolding
in the fabric, the knitted
tapestry of her life.

-----
This week's Poetry Friday post is in memory of a fellow blogger, Dewey.  Dewey's blog, The Hidden Side of a Leaf, was one of the first blogs that I started reading and, in my mind, she stood as an example of the very best things about blogging: great book recommendations, lively discussions, and community. She touched many lives in her blogging career and she will be very much missed.  This poem made me think of her because in the past couple of weeks, I've read so many wonderful stories about her in the blogosphere, about her generosity, her creativity, and her love of books.

To learn more about Poetry Friday, visit Big A little a. This week's Poetry Friday round-up is at Author Amok.

Must Love Black by Kelly McClymer Book Review

Must Love Black by Kelly McClymer
(Simon Pulse, Paperback)
Rating:

Philippa has worn black for the last couple of years. She's not goth. It just makes it easier to pick out her outfit in the mornings and she doesn't have to worry about spills and stains. So when she sees an ad in the local paper that says, "Wanted: Nanny for 10-yr-old twins. MUST LOVE BLACK," it seems like a no-brainer. Philippa finds out that these twin girls are mature beyond their years and are in need of a little fun and love.

On one hand, this is a light love story about a wallflower who falls for a cute guy. On the other hand, this book is a story about loss and finding one's way back from the depression it brings. Philippa's mother died and now her dad is remarrying. When Philippa applies for the nanny job, she's trying to escape her new family and memories of her mom. When Philippa meets the twin girls, she learns that they've lost their mom, too. I thought it was touching that Philippa tries to make the over-serious girls have fun. She takes them sailing, makes them go swimming, and even talks their dad into buying them a pet. All the while, Philippa's own heart starts to heal as she realizes remembering her mother and mourning her are two different things. This is a short, cute book that deserves a read. The main fault I have with the book is the cover. This isn't a book about being goth and I think the cover belittles the subject matter.

The Magician by Michael Scott Book Review

The Magician by Michael Scott
(Hardcover, Delacorte Press)
Rating:

The Newman twins are back and this time their adventures take them to Paris. There they must come to terms with Sophie's new magical powers and help Nicholas Flamel recover the book that will maintain his immortality. The supposedly evil Dee has told Josh some stories that make him doubt his sister and Flamel. Is Josh just jealous because his powers haven't awakened yet or is Dee telling the truth?

The Magician is the second in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, picking up where The Alchemyst left off. I hadn't read The Alchemyst and normally, I hate jumping into a series without reading the first book. However, I picked up The Magician and found it very easy to get into the story of the twins, Josh and Sophie. Michael Scott does a great job explaining the events in the first book without spending too much time on the details. So even if you haven't read The Alchemyst, I recommend that you read The Magician and here's five reasons why...

#1. The gargoyles on the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral come to life.#2. Nicholas Flamel visits his home, which is an actual building in Paris. Being a huge Harry Potter fan, I made a special side trip while in Paris to visit the Auberge Nicolas Flamel. Flamel makes an appearance in Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone (or The Philosopher's Stone for all you folks abroad).

#3. There is a really cool battle scene on the River Seine where Josh fights an ancient creature. The creature was released in The Alchemyst when Dee destroyed Yggdrasil, the World Tree that is located at the center of the universe and is an important component of Norse mythology.

#4. One of Nicholas Flamel's friends magically sets off fireworks all around the Eiffel Tower. My picture isn't actually of fireworks, but this picture was taken at night and the Eiffel Tower was all lit up and sparkling. Apparently, it does that. If ever you're in Paris, head over to the Eiffel Tower around 11pm. It's an amazing sight to see.

#5. I saved the best for last. The exciting ending of The Magician takes place in the Catacombs of Paris. Now, thousands of bones piled into intricate patterns in the underground of Paris may sound like one author's creative imagination, but these Catacombs do really exist. I've been there. It's very spooky. And an utterly cool place to stage a book's final battle. The Catacombs were created in the 18th century because the graveyards of Paris were overflowing with bodies, causing disease to become rampant in neighboring dwellings.

You may be thinking that my obvious love affair for Paris has shaded my opinion of this book. I did take all these pictures myself and Paris remains one of my favorite cities. This book, however, is fantastic in its own right. Scott weaves together Norse, Greek, and Roman mythology ( and probably other mythologies that I just didn't recognize) in these books. It's easy to get caught up in the adventure and magic, and Josh and Sophie are complex, interesting characters, connected by their birth and yet highly individualized. I would recommend this series for anyone who likes the Percy Jackson series as well as anyone who likes books filled with magic and excitement.

**A note about spelling: In the books, Nicholas' name has an 'h' in it. On the actual building in Paris, the 'h' is left out.

The Magician has been nominated for the 2008 Cybils Awards in the Science Fiction/Fantasy category.

I Met a Dragon Face to Face: A Poetry Friday Post

I Met a Dragon Face to Face
by Jack Prelutsky

I met a dragon face to face
the year when I was ten,
I took a trip to outer space,
I braved a pirate's den,
I wrestled with a wicked troll,
and fought a great white shark,
I trailed a rabbit down a hole,
I hunted for a snark.

I stowed aboard a submarine,
I opened magic doors,
I traveled in a time machine,
and searched for dinosaurs,
I climbed atop a giant's head,
I found a pot of gold,
I did all this in books I read
when I was ten years old.

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Today is Black Friday, one of the biggest shopping days of the year. I thought it would be fun to post a poem today that speaks to the magic of books. Books have always been my favorite present to open and I hope that you'll be buying books for your family and friends this holiday season.

To learn more about Poetry Friday, visit Big A little a. This week's Poetry Friday round-up is at Lisa Chellman's blog.

Chalice by Robin McKinley Book Review

Chalice by Robin McKinley
(Hardcover, Penguin)
Rating:

Mirasol has always been content with her simple life as a beekeeper. She enjoys tending her bees and selling her honey concoctions to the locals. Then the Master and Chalice (basically, the king and queen, although it is rare that the two are married) of Willowlands die in a terrible fire. The diving rods choose Mirasol to be the next Chalice. Suddenly, her hives are overflowing with honey and her bees are behaving rather strangely. Mirasol must use her honey concoctions to speak to the earthlines and fix the land, all while helping the new Master, a man who is part fire element and part human.

This is the first Robin McKinley book that I've read and I loved it. With its magical elements and its down-to-earth heroine, Chalice is one of the best fairy tales I've read this year. For a book lover, Mirasol was the perfect main character because she immediately holes herself up in the castle's library upon learning that she is the new Chalice. Mirasol reads book after book in an attempt to figure out what her new job entails. As a nature lover, I was fascinated by Mirasol's bees. Mirasol could taste the types of flowers that her bees used in each hive, so she made batches of honey that were useful for various things, such as headache remedies, tension tamers, and burn relief. As Chalice, Mirasol finds each of these honey concoctions helpful in her various tasks. There is also an element of romance in this book, just the right amount for a fairy tale. The new Master was sent away seven years ago to learn how to become a Fire Elemental. Called back by his new duty as Master, he is barely human. He has blackened skin, red eyes, and his touch can burn through to the bone. Mirasol, however, is not afraid of him and works tirelessly to show her people that he is the rightful Master. As I was reading this book, I wished that I was in the middle of a forest with a pot of honey beside me. This book is perfect for anyone who likes fairy tales or strong heroines.

Chalice has been nominated for the 2008 Cybils Awards in the Science Fiction/Fantasy category.