Category: Fiction

Posted in Animal Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Uncategorized

Open The Zoo Box and great ready for an adventure!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

zoo boxThe Zoo Box, by Ariel Cohn/illus. by Aron Nels Steinke. :01 First Second (2014), $17.99, ISBN: 9781626720527

Recommended for ages 6-10

When Patrick and Erika’s parents go out and leave them home alone, they discover a hidden box marked “DO NOT OPEN”. When they (naturally) open it, they unleash a magical zoo’s worth of animals, and follow them into a very different kind of zoo – but what happens when the animals figure out that the siblings are human? Get ready for an adventure!

In short, :01 First Second does it again – if I see their imprint on a book, I know I am in for a good read.

This book is adorable. Ariel Cohn constructs a sweet story with siblings who actually enjoy one another’s company and play together; they have an exciting adventure together, and they stick together through thick and thin. There’s no conflict! As a mother of 3 boys, I appreciate this so very much. Aron Nils Steinke provides wonderful, cartoon art with splashes of color and movement. I’ve enjoyed Mr. Steinke’s work in the past, including his webcomic, Mr. Wolf, that follows the misadventures of a wolf schoolteacher. It’s good for the same age group as The Zoo Box.

The Zoo Box is a 52-page book, making it a nice-sized read for younger audiences. The art is sequential in its pacing, allowing the youngest readers to learn about sequence. Talking about what could happen next would be great to marry the concept of sequence here; children can brainstorm, and then see right in front of them, how the scenarios play out. There’s humor, there are animals, and most importantly, there’s excitement and interest. The Zoo Box doesn’t hit shelves until September 2, but I can’t wait to see this on the shelves both in my home and my library. I may even have to build a program using this book for my elementary school-age patrons.

Posted in Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Uncategorized

In We Are The Goldens, sisters keep secrets.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

we are the goldensWe Are the Goldens, by Dana Reinhardt. Random House Children’s (2014), $16.99. ISBN: 9780385742573

Recommended for ages 14+

Nell and Layla have always been close. Nell grew up in her older sister’s shadow, even believing her name was, at one point, “Nellayla”. Now that Nell is a freshman at the same progressive high school that Layla attends as a junior, she figures it will be perfect. They’ll be together all the time, as close as ever. Until she discovers that Layla has a secret.

The story follows Nell through her freshman year in high school, burdened with Layla’s secret, which, at first she guesses, and ultimately, Layla confirms; we read her struggle to keep Layla’s secret while keeping Layla safe from what she knows will be a bad situation in any outcome. And through this, Nell also has her own struggles – namely, a crush gone wrong and a best friend that she can only confide so much in. Their divorced parents never seem to have quite enough time to actually talk to the girls and Nell feels very much alone while Layla spirals into her giddy, starry-eyed, teenage love affair.

The book is a quick read, told in the first person through Nell’s eyes, in the form of what feels like a very long letter to Layla or perhaps a journal that Nell uses to get her feelings out. Some flashbacks give depth to the characters, but the main points are right there in the present time: Layla is the Golden Girl. Nell is her sister, still Golden, but in the shadow of Layla’s greatness. As much as Nell’s concerns for her sister are legitimate, they’re also born from the sadness at seeing Layla go somewhere in life without Nell. It’s a separation, a painful one, made even more painful to Nell because she knows how this will likely end. It’s a tough coming of age story for both sisters.

Made more interesting is the addition of two dead brothers, the Creed brothers, who Nell imagines as a kind of Greek chorus. She bounces her feelings off of them, and they speak to the situations at hand, either nudging her into action or deeper thinking. We only get a slight bit of their back story, and I’d have liked to have known a little more about Nell’s relationship to them, because they factor so strongly in her narrative.

We Are the Goldens is a good summer read for teens and provides a lot of fodder for booktalks and discussion groups. The book hits shelves on May 27th.

 

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Tween Reads

Oni Press takes a look at the dark underbelly of spelling bees with Buzz! – A WhatchaReading Review!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Middle graders, listen up! Buzz! makes spelling bees AMAZING. You’ll want to start your own underground spelling bee after you read this book. Promise.

Ananth Pangariya and Tessa Stone’s graphic novel, Buzz, takes a look at the seedy underworld of underground spelling bees – yes, you read that right. Spelling Bees. But here, spelling bees are more like Fight Club with words. Words carry literal power here, bringing thunder and damage with them. Forget lining up in the school auditorium in your assembly clothes, these kids are from all walks of life, hiding out in abandoned spaces, and spelling themselves into a frenzy. 

Check out the rest of my review on WhatchaReading!

buzz

 

Posted in Fiction, Horror, Teen

Amity is a chilling YA tale of haunted house horror.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

amityAmity, by Micol Ostow. Egmont USA (2014), $17.99, 9781606841563

Pub Date: September 2014

Recommended for ages 14+

Told in parallel narratives, 10 years apart, Amity is a creepy, horrifying tale of a home, rotten to its core, and the effect it has on two families. We have two narrators, both in their late teens – around 17: Connor and Gwen – who provide readers with first-hand accounts of their descents into madness, and Amity’s history, which appears to lead them to it.

Connor and Gwen each have siblings they are close to, seemingly keeping them rooted in some sort of reality, at first. Connor is a sociopath with an anger management problem and far deeper, darker issues roiling under his surface. His twin sister, Jules, is the only thing in the world he has any feeling toward. He and his family arrive at Amity when his father – a shady businessman and an abusive drunk – attempts to escape yet another bad series of business deals.

Gwen’s family arrives at Amity looking for respite. Gwen has recently been hospitalized for a psychotic break, and the family just wants to start over. When Amity reveals herself to Gwen, her brother, Luke, attempts to stem the tide of what he initially believes is her breakdown, returning. Gwen’s Aunt Ro knows better, though. She may be portrayed at first as some sort of new age free spirit, we see Amity set to work on her, too.

Amity is alive, and she feeds on her occupants. She starts slowly, insidiously, but once she has her claws in you, you can’t escape.

There may be parallels drawn between Amity and the Amityville Horror – haunted house, violent history, even the eye-shaped windows of the home – but Amity stands very much on her own. Ms. Ostow builds a layered, compulsive tale – I couldn’t stop reading it – of growing horror with a shattering conclusion. Teens who grew up on the shock horror of films like Hostel and Saw need to sit down and read a good, old-fashioned, scare-the-pants-off-you haunted house story. Amity is that story.

Posted in Fiction, Graphic Novels, Humor, Tween Reads

Tao, the Little Samurai: Fun Comics for Kids!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

tao little samuraiTao, the Little Samurai, #1: Pranks and Attacks!, by Laurent Richard/Illustrated by Nicolas Ryser. Lerner Publishing Group/Graphic Universe (2014), $6.95 (paperback), ISBN: 9781467720953

Recommended for ages 8-12

Tao the Little Samurai is a very cute series by writer Laurent Richard and illustrator Nicolas Ryser. Pranks and Attacks is the first book in the series, which follows the daily adventures of Tao, a little boy in training to be a samurai – but he’s constantly late to school, tries to avoid his chores, and would rather play a samurai video game than train most of the time!

The book features 1-2 page story strips, which is a good way to keep younger readers interested without overwhelming them with a big story. They can read about Tao’s adventures in short bites, put it down to do homework (or watch TV and play video games), and come back to it at their leisure. The stories are sequential – this is a graphic novel – and there are recurring characters, which will give the readers a comfortable sense of familiarity. The stories are also fun – Tao is a regular kid. He’s in trouble for being late, he wants to play with his friends rather than do schoolwork, and he has grand visions for himself – he even writes, on a hall of successful students, “This Space Reserved For Tao”.

The art has a manga influence – think manga for younger audiences, like Hamtaro – with exaggerated facial expressions, particularly the eyes, and movement. The colors are bright and eye-catching. This is light reading, which is great for summer reading, especially for over-tested, stressed out kids. Tao: The Little Samurai is out in paperback now, and is part of a series, including the adventures, Ninjas and Knockouts! and Clowns and Dragons!

Posted in Fiction, Graphic Novels, Tween Reads

Salem Hyde’s Back, and she’s making birthdays bigger and… well, interesting.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

salem hydeThe Misadventures of Salem Hyde, Book Two: Big Birthday Bash, by Frank Cammuso (2014). Abrams Kids, $14.95, ISBN: 9781419710254

Recommended for ages 8-12

Fledgling witch Salem Hyde is back, along with her talking cat, Whammy (short for Percival J. Whamsford III). Whammy’s still trying to hold onto his remaining five lives as he helps Salem navigate her new magic powers. In Big Birthday Bash, Salem has a friend’s birthday party to attend, but the local Mean Girl is trying to one-up her gift. Will Salem use magic to come out on top? You know she will – the question is, what is going to happen next?

This is my first Salem Hyde book, and I enjoyed it so much that I’m going to go back and get the first one. The art is adorable; it’s cartoony, expressive, and fun. Salem is a kid who happens to be able to use magic; she’s having fun with it. She makes herself big, she shrinks other people down, she just wants to have a good time. Poor Whammy is great as her put-upon companion who ends up getting into his own trouble (wait until you get to the Slurpees) as he accompanies Salem on her travels. It’s a great story for younger readers, and the graphic novel format teaches sequence and pacing.

The book arrives in bookstores on May 20th, and I foresee this on a lot of summer reading lists. It’s a great read for girls and boys alike, although boys may shy away from the hot pink cover.

Frank Cammuso is the creator of the popular Knights of the Lunch Table series, and creates beginner graphic novels with Toon Books. His website provides contact information, author information, links to social media, and a store.

Posted in Fiction, Middle School, Tween Reads

Did your Summer Experiment involve alien abduction?

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

summer experimentThe Summer Experiment, by Cathie Pelletier. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (2014), $16.99, ISBN: 9781402285783

Recommended for ages 10-14

Roberta is an 11 year-old girl living in rural Maine. She’s a straight-A student who’s locked in neverending academic combat with Henry Horton Harris Helmsby, who always manages to take the top prize at the science fair. She and her best friend Marilee plan to spend the summer hanging out together and talking about their crushes, when UFO sightings crop up in the area. She researches the Allagash alien abductions of 1976 – practically in her backyard – and decides that she wants to document the experience of her own alien abduction – with poor Marilee along for the ride – for an award-winning science project! She has to figure out how to contact that aliens, but just leave that to her.

The Summer Experiment is a book that has all the “lazy summer story” details – two best friends, an antagonist older brother, a loving family, with a pinch of drama – that also happens to include UFO sightings. It’s an interesting twist that readers may get a kick out of, and hopefully be spurred to read up more on the real-life Allagash alien abduction stories (the book includes resources for further reading). There is a positive female role model – Roberta – and a few realistic family crises that keep the book with one foot in reality, one in fantasy. This would provide an interesting summer reading program that could include a viewing of another real-life alien abduction story turned movie, Fire in the Sky, with a discussion afterwards.

The author’s webpage offers information about the author and her books, tour dates, and contact information.

Posted in Fiction, Horror, Humor, Tween Reads

My Zombie Hamster – there’s nothing like a pet that wants to eat you.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

zombie hamsterMy Zombie Hamster, by Havelock McCreely. Egmont USA (2014), $17.99, ISBN: 9781606844915

Recommended for ages 8-12

Matt Hunter is psyched for Christmas. He wants the newest peripheral for his favorite sword and sorcery game, Runespell, and his friends are hoping to get the same gift so they can play online together. The only problem is, Matt rarely gets what he wants for Christmas, and this year’s no exception. His parents give him a hamster named Snuffles.

The thing is, Matt and his family and friends live in a post-zombie apocalypse society (that’s doing pretty darn well for themselves), where they live behind giant bug zapper-type walls and have Zombie Squads for zombie disposal. Citizens are life-chipped, so when they die, Zombie Squads can take care of corpse removal. So when Snuffles gets away from Matt, only to return home, die, and reanimate, Matt just figures the Squad will come. Until they don’t, and he realizes Snuffles – now known as Anti-Snuffles – came from a sketchy pet shop. To keep his father out of trouble for making such a purchase, he keeps Anti-Snuffles a secret, but Anti-Snuffles has plans for world domination on his mind. Matt also learns that he’s got even bigger things to worry about when a school survival expedition is attacked by zombies. Can Matt set everything right?

My Zombie Hamster is great reading for middle-grade students, particularly those students finding themselves bored by mainstream class reading. It’s got a lot of humor – Matt’s first-person voice is alternately sarcastic, funny, and sweet – and the story takes a surprising turn that gives it an added layer of depth. The book hits shelves on July 8th – libraries interested can stock up now and get ready for summer reading!

 

 

 

Posted in Fiction, Post-apocalyptic/Dystopian, Science Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Alena Graedon’s The Word Exchange: an all-too plausible dystopia.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

word exchangeThe Word Exchange, by Alena Graedon. Doubleday Books (2014), $13.99, ISBN: 9780385537667

Recommended for 18+

While Alena Graedon’s The Word Exchange isn’t written for YA/New Adult audiences, I wholeheartedly believe that these readers should read it, much in the way that they should read (if they haven’t already) Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One. Alex Awards, are you listening?

The Word Exchange takes place in an entirely believable, very near future. Society is too plugged in – smartphones appear to have morphed into devices called Memes, which think for you. Well, not really – but kind of. They anticipate what you want to do – hail a cab? Order a coffee? – and even offer you words when you can’t think of the word you’re looking for. Ana, a young woman who works with her father, Doug Johnson, at the North American Dictionary of the English Language (NADEL, for short), uses her meme – something Doug has no patience for; he feels like books and language are a disappearing art. He has no idea how right he is.

There’s a virus – WordFlu – that’s erasing language, stealing it from the populace. They start by bungling words here and there, eventually devolving into gibberish, silence, and ultimately, death. When Doug goes missing, Ana goes on the search for her father and finds herself in the middle of something far greater than she, Doug, or the Dicionary could ever be – could there really be a plot in place to erase language?

Told in the form of journal entries by Ana and her friend, Doug’s associate Bartleby (also known as Horace), The Word Exchange examines what would happen in a society that leaves entirely too much to technology. It’s very unsettling, because it’s only a step or two from where we are now. Imagine if someone were to create an app that let you think of the word that was on the tip of your tongue, but you couldn’t remember, for pennies a download? Now imagine if you had a Seamless or taxi service available to you without even picking up your phone or pulling up your app? Those bothersome clicks and pokes to the touchscreen would go away, because your Meme would do all the work for you. Would society really hand over the reins so easily?

The book starts slowly, laying groundwork – the mystery of Doug’s disappearance happens fairly soon in the book, but Ana’s search builds until about halfway through the book, when the action just explodes. Layered and tautly paced, this book was unputdownable for the second half. She’s got complex, three-dimensional characters, and a plot that chilled me to the bone just thinking about it – because it could happen. Very easily.

Teens and young adults should be reading this book, because they’re the next generation – they’ll appreciate the setting and hopefully, the message that Ms. Graedon delivers. It’s a fantastic book discussion group title that explores technology, morality, and the politics of doing business in an increasingly online world. I loved this book and can’t wait to see some of the discussions that evolve around it.

Posted in Fiction, Middle School, Science Fiction, Teen, Tween Reads

Henry and the Incredibly Incorrigible, Inconveniently Intelligent Smart Human makes humans the invention.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

henry and the humanHenry and the Incredibly Incorrigble, Inconveniently Intelligent Smart Human, by L.A. Messina. Tater Tot Books (2014), eBook: $3.99 ISBN: 9780984901838

Recommended for ages 10-14

Henry is a young teen robot in his 13th upgrade. He’s not the popular kid at school, and he has a faulty processor that comes from a virus that attacked his system when he was younger. When his father’s boss shows up at their home one night with a new human model to test for the market, Henry is thrilled – his own human! But this human isn’t a slack-jawed, drooling blank slate like most humans are. This one makes up words, can do things without extensively detailed commands, and doesn’t want to sleep in his box because it’s not comfortable. At first, Henry is worried – what if this human goes berserk like the one that went on a rampage in his mother’s business? – but he comes to realize that the HueManTech ETC-420- GX-2, or “E”, as Henry calls him, is a very special model.

Unfortunately, Henry’s not the only one who thinks “E” is special, which leads to a taut race to unravel the truth about E, especially when the government begins showing an interest in E and Henry’s family.

The book starts out slow as Ms. Messina establishes the drudgery of Henry’s young teen life – mocked at school, boring job at his mother’s spa, Henry is the lonely kid who takes comfort in his comic books and video games, until something exciting – E’s arrival – sparks up his life. Even then, the narrative moves at a slower pace as Henry discovers how special E really is. But once the plot kicks into motion, involving the government and the origins for both E and Henry, the story moves at a great pace that kept me turning pages and wanting to know more.

The book, available via e-book format, is a good read for tweens and young teens. It provides a wealth of opportunities to discuss what would happen in a society where robots were on the top of things and humans were the creation; it also offers chances to discuss morality and the government. It would be a good discussion group story for educators to encourage among their students and patrons.

Lynn Messina’s website offers a book trailer for Henry, along with fun extras for readers.