Category: Realistic Fiction

Posted in Fiction, Humor, Puberty, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Kill the Boy Band takes aim at fandom

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

boyybandKill the Boy Band, by Goldy Moldavsky, (Feb. 2016, Point), $17.99, ISBN: 9780545867474

Recommended for ages 14+

Four super fangirls stalk their boyband favorites with disastrous results in this insanely funny dark comedy.

The Ruperts are the boy band of the moment, and our narrator – who takes on the names of ’80s teen movie heroines – and her three (mainly online) friends have a plan to be near them, securing a room in the same hotel as the boys. When one of the girls encounters her favorite Rupert (they all have the same first name) at the ice machine, she overreacts and the girls find themselves with an unconscious boy bander in their hotel suite. And things get crazier from there. Each girl has a different agenda, and before the day is over, there are going to be some ugly revelations and even uglier circumstances.

Kill the Boy Band is at once a laugh-out loud black comedy in the vein of Pulp Fiction and Fargo and a scathing look at fandom and fangirl culture. Ms. Moldavsky takes aim at the culture that expects us to destroy our idols, even as we worship them. She looks at the long-established culture of loathing popstar girlfriends, celebrity stalking, and what happens when you find out that the man behind the curtain really isn’t Oz at all.

As a Duranie who was a teenager during the social media-bereft ’80s, Kill the Boy Band made me laugh and cringe, often at the same time. With boy band and fandom culture at an all-time frenzy now, teens will recognize themselves (hopefully, not too much) or laugh in recognition of someone they know. There’s a great whodunit that will keep readers guessing until the very last page – and maybe even after. You’ll laugh, and you’ll think – it’s a great book to have a discussion group with.

Great addition to collections with a thriving teen population that’s plugged in. This should be a good summer read. For older teens, consider introducing them to Pamela Des Barres’ I’m With the Band for a look at pre-online fandom culture.

Kill the Boy Band has been selected as an Independent Booksellers’ Debut Pick of the Season.

Posted in Fiction, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

Just Like Me examines adoption’s internal narrative

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

just like meJust Like Me, by Nancy J. Cavanaugh (April 2016, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky), $16.99, ISBN: 9781492604273

Recommended for ages 9-14

Julia is on her way to summer camp with her friends, Avery and Becca. It’s a little more than a regular week away at camp with friends, though – Avery, Becca, and Julia are “Chinese sisters” – the three girls were adopted from the same Chinese orphanage as babies, and their parents have stayed in touch. While Avery and Becca eat Cheetos with chopsticks and don’t mind talking about their Chinese heritage, Julia has conficting feelings. Becca thinks that Julia hates being Chinese, but that’s not it at all – while the world sees Julia as Chinese, she sees herself as Irish and Italian, like the parents who are raising her and who love her. But she also wonders about the birth mother who gave her up.

Told in alternating journal entries and narratives, this is Julia’s story. It’s told in the first person from her point of view and her journal articles provoke her to think more deeply as the novel progresses. Through Julia’s eyes, we see the other girls develop as she gets to know them.

Just Like Me is a great summer camp story about a bunch of girls who have to learn to get along: Julia, Avery, and Becca end up in a cabin with three other girls who bring some tension of their own, and the group has to learn to get along or do a lot of clean-up duty! But digging deeper, Just Like Me is a story that peels away the faces we show to everyone, only to discover that no matter how different people may think they are, they’re more alike than anyone can imagine. Every family has rough spots – it’s how we as individuals cope with them that makes us different. The story is ultimately about a group of girls who learn to embrace who they are, individually, and embrace one another for their similarities and celebrate their differences.

It’s also a touching story about figuring out who you are when you feel like you have a giant blind spot in the middle of your life. Nancy Cavanaugh wrote this story, inspired by her own daughter’s adoption story; as an adoptee myself, I found myself particularly drawn into Julia’s journal articles. Julia’s thoughts could have come from me, had I kept a journal at that age:

“Most of the time, I don’t even think about being adopted. …even though my mom doesn’t always want to admit it, people do sometimes treat me differently. Like the time in third grade when my mom dropped me off at a classmate’s birthday party, and when my classmate’s cousin saw my mom, she asked me if I knew who my ‘real’ mom was. And then there was another time when I heard a lady at the grocery store ask Mom if she had any children of her ‘own.'”

Wow. Like Julia, I’m Italian and Irish, just like my parents. “On the inside”, I’m French-Canadian. I look pretty similar to my parents, but those scenarios are real, and they hit hard. I’m 45 and still get asked if I know who my “real” mom is. It took a long time for me to be able to respond, “Yeah, I do; she’s at work, probably wondering why I haven’t called to let her know I’m home from school yet.” And it still irritates me if someone deigns to ask me that.

“Did my birth mom love me?”

It’s the question you probably won’t get an answer to. I think about it on my birthday now, not as often as I used to. But I’d like to think that she did in her own way, because she took care of herself well enough to make sure I was born healthy, and made sure I was adopted by a family that would love me and take care of me.

What I’m trying to say here is, Just Like Me is required reading, because Nancy Cavanaugh – already a constant on my library shelves, thanks to books like Always, Abigail and This Journal Belongs to Ratchet

Visit Nancy J. Cavanaugh’s author website and learn more about her books, download educator guides, and find out about author visits.

Posted in Adventure, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Audacity Jones to the Rescue: New Historical Fiction Fun!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

audacity jonjesAudacity Jones to the Rescue (Audacity Jones #1), by Kirby Larson (Jan. 2016, Scholastic), $16.99, ISBN: 9780545840569

Recommended for ages 8-12

A spunky orphan with a sense for adventure, a faithful cat, and a home for wayward girls are all the right ingredients for this fun new historical fiction series from Scholastic! Audacity Jones lives with her friends at Miss Maisie’s Home for Wayward Girls. Miss Maisie is no Miss Hannigan (it’s a Little Orphan Annie reference, and I’ve really  just dated myself), though – she’s more benign than awful, more concerned with sweets than school, but the girls do just fine, largely thanks to Audacity’s keen sense of keeping things in order. School benefactor Commodore Crutchfield visits one day and tells the girls that he needs an orphan for a very special mission, and before she realizes it, Audacity is on her way to a very important adventure – before she’s done, she may have the gratitude of some very important people!

What Little Orphan Annie was to previous generations, Audacity Jones could well be for this generation. An smart orphan with a natural talent for knowing when something’s fishy, she and Min, a cat she’s befriended at Miss Maisie’s Home for Wayward Girls, find themselves pulled into a plot to kidnap President Taft’s niece. There’s intrigue, there’s excitement, and while Audacity is clearly the main character, her friends are very much integral to the plot. The characters are well-thought out and just plain fun to read about; the villains are bumbling, mustache-twirling goofs, easily outwitted by Audacity & Co. Audacity herself is just a great character: she’s upbeat, she loves books (the “Punishment Room” at Miss Maisie’s is a library, and Audacity finds herself being sent there often), and she’s always thinking – or trying to think – a few steps ahead.

This is a great new historical fiction series for middle grade readers – I loved it, and think it’s a must-have for collections. The book has received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist. I’ve got a lot of kids asking for historical fiction in my library, and this is a great period to introduce to readers who usually end up with the Old West or World War II. If you’re going to booktalk this, make sure to check out the author note at the end of the book – this story was inspired by a real-life event involving a distant relative of then-President Taft, which the author tweaked into this story.

Kirby Larson is the author of the 2007 Newbery Honor book Hattie Big Sky; its sequel, Hattie Ever After; The Friendship Doll; Dear America: The Fences Between Us; Duke; and Dash. She has also written a number of picture books, including the award-winning Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival and Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine, and a Miracle.

Posted in Adventure, Animal Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Intermediate, Science Fiction, Uncategorized

Finally! Ricky Ricotta and the Naughty Nightcrawlers from Neptune!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

ricky ricottaRicky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot vs. the Naughty Nightcrawlers from Neptune, by Dav Pilkey/Illustrated by Dan Santat (Jan. 2016, Scholastic), $5.99, ISBN: 9780545631440

Recommended for ages 5-10

FINALLY, the last two books in the Ricky Ricotta series are here! You don’t understand; about a decade ago, my son – now a junior in high school – devoured the first seven Ricky Ricotta books. He loved them. I loved them. And then, there was nothing. We were down two planets! We waited. We watched. We hoped. We saw new Captain Underpants books hit the shelves, but Ricky remained silent. And then, a glimmer of hope: the entire line of existing Ricky Ricotta adventures were re-released, with Dan Santat’s amazing and colorful art taking the whole series up a notch. I ordered two sets for my library and booktalked this series like my rent depended on it (which, kinda, it does).

VINDICATION! In January, we got Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot and the Naughty Nightcrawlers from Neptune! Patience pays off!

Ricky and Robot are finally back, and trying to think of something fun to do that won’t cause a giant mess. They find an old building that they can use material from to make a giant fort, and it looks like they’re going to have a great, stress-free day after all. Nah, just kidding: grumpy Farmer Feta next door is annoyed about the noise the two friends are making, and lets the evil Neptunian scientist, Nimrod Nightcrawler, use his property to dig a tunnel over to Ricky’s property to wipe them out! With some help from Ricky’s cousin, Lucy, and the now-tame Jurassic Jackrabbits from Jupiter, Ricky and Robot have to save the day again.

The adventure is laid out like the other Ricky adventures, with Dan Santat’s art really rebooting this whole series. He’s managed to leave in the most fun part of the books, though: the Flip-O-Rama fight sequence, where readers can flip the right hand page back and forth to make the picture look animated (and add their own sound effects). Nimrod ends up in jail with the seven previous bad guys, and we see one more cell waiting…

My son now considers himself too old for Ricky Ricotta. I, however, am just the right age; I’m also a completist – how could I not finish the series? I had a great time reading this book and revisiting a series that I enjoyed then and I still chuckle at now. Kids are drawn to Dan Santat’s art, and when I tell them that the same artist write and drew Sidekicks AND Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, they’re even more excited, because they love seeing how they can recognize his art and yet spot the subtle differences in a picture book, graphic novel, and a chapter book.

Bottom line: this is a great series for libraries and collections. If you’re familiar with the series, you’ll love it; if you’re not, and you like fun humor with over the top robot fights and villains, you’ll love it.

Be on the lookout for Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot vs. The Unpleasant Penguins from Pluto in May!

Posted in Adventure, Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Tween Reads

Mysterium #1: The Black Dragon has suspense, magic, and mystery

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

black dragonMysterium #1: The Black Dragon, by Julian Sedgwick/Illustrated by Patricia Moffett (Mar. 2016, Carolrhoda Books), $18.99

Recommended for ages 10-14

Danny Woo didn’t have the most traditional upbringing. As the child of circus performers in a traveling circus, he learned a great deal from his death-defying parents, until a suspicious fire left him an orphan in the care of his journalist aunt, Laura. When an explosion at Danny’s boarding school closed the school while repairs are made, Laura swept him off to his mother’s homeland, Hong Kong; she’s researching a dangerous triad gang known as the Black Dragon, but Danny feels like she knows more than she’s letting on. After his aunt is kidnapped, Danny and his old circus friend, a dwarf named Major Zamora, are left to save Laura – and themselves – using every trick they learned at the circus.

The Black Dragon is the first book in a new series. Mysterium follows the adventures of Danny Woo, a tween who survived the fire that killed his parents. Brought up in a traveling circus, Danny has some tricks up his sleeve and knows that his remaining family – his aunt Laura and his friend, Zamora – knows more about his parents’ deaths than they’re willing to let on. Previously published outside the US, there are three books in the series (so far); I hope they’ll also be published in the U.S., to give audiences a chance to read the whole series.

I liked what I’ve read so far. There’s a lot of action and intrigue, with some questions posed and just enough answers given to tease readers into getting the next book. Danny is a smart, capable kid who uses the hypnosis and sleight of hand techniques he learned from his dad to aid his own investigation. He tends to go with his gut feelings on things, because he’s good at “reading” people – another talent he picked up from his father. His friend Zamora is a loyal friend who acts as Danny’s partner and protector. We’ve got good exposition, interesting characters with talents not usually explored by tween fic, and multi-ethnic, diverse characters that make this a good choice to add to reading lists. I’d pair this with Simon Nicholson’s Young Houdini middle grade series for a nice display on magic in fiction.

Check out the Mysterium webpage for more information on the rest of the series, which you can also buy for your reader if you can’t wait for them to be published stateside.

Posted in Adventure, Animal Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Intermediate

Geronimo Stilton introduces… Micekings!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

stiltonAttack of the Dragons (Geronimo Stilton: Micekings #1), by Geronimo Stilton, (Mar. 2016, Scholastic), $7.99, ISBN: 9780545872386

Recommended for ages 7-10

Our favorite mouse reporter is back with another new series! Micekings takes place in the frozen north village of Mouseborg, where Geronimo Stiltonord, advisor to the Miceking chief; his sister, Thea, a horse trainer; and cousin, Trap, an inventor of wacky things, join leader Sven the Shouter and his team as they go in search of mint to cure the village’s best cook. The only problem is, the cure lies in dragon territory!

Geronimo Stilton is one of those can’t-miss series. The kids love them. I’ve got Geronimo’s and Thea’s graphic novels; I’ve got the Cavemice, I’ve got Creepella von Cacklefur, and now, I’ll have Micekings. They’re fun adventure stories that introduce new vocabulary and emphasize words to keep readers interested and thinking. The colorful illustrations get readers’ attention and break up the books into manageable portions for readers who are just graduating to longer chapter books. If you haven’t introduced the kids in your life to Geronimo Stilton, it’s time.

There’s a companion Geronimo Stilton website where kids can “mousify” their photos, write an article for The Rodent’s Gazette (Geronimo’s employer), sing along with Geronimo, and play some online games.

Posted in Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Tween Reads

Crack Coach looks at the cult of personality and addiction

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

crack coachCrack Coach, by Steven Sandor (Sept. 2015, Lorimer), $14.95, ISBN: 9781459409804

Recommended for ages 12+

Bob Jones is a beloved high school football coach who just won the election for Toronto mayor. He seems to be one of those guys that can do no wrong – but some people would say otherwise. He’s always got an excuse for his bad behavior. When he refuses to meet with the GLBT alliance or address crucial issues facing the city, he claims it’s because his priority is to coach the high school football team. And the kids on his team, particularly Maurice and Vijay, see that the coach not plays favorites and makes some uncomfortably racist remarks while trying to be the “cool old white guy”. He punishes his team by putting them through abusive practices and says it’s for their own good. But when word starts to leak out about the mayor’s public drunkenness, added to suspicious video and pictures surfacing that highlight a possible drug abuse problem, Maurice and Vijay know that they have to mobilize the team and take control back from the coach.

Crack Coach is another hi-lo reader from Lorimer. I’ve become a big fan of this line; the authors are knowledgeable about their subjects (Crack Coach author Steven Sandor is a soccer broadcaster and sportswriter for an online Canadian soccer magazine) and the topics are timely and interesting. They never talk down to their audiences, relying on smart, direct writing and captivating subject matter to draw their readers in.

Crack Coach is a dramatic title, I’ll be the first to agree, but it pulls you in, doesn’t it? I loved the book and enjoyed the characters. They’re teens that other teens can relate to, with real-life issues that affect kids’ lives today. If you think the coach’s story sounds familiar, you’re not wrong – the book was influenced by a true story. Talking to teens about the story behind the story will bring a current events aspect to lessons; bring in some newspaper clippings or access them online to teach teens about primary sources and how writers use them as a tool.

Crack Coach is another great Lorimer book, perfect for reluctant and struggling readers and tweens who are ready for some grittier novels. A good add to libraries and classrooms with a struggling reader population.

Posted in Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Think you know Peter Pan? Read Lisa Maxwell’s Unhooked.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

unhookedUnhooked, by Lisa Maxwell (Feb. 2016, Simon Pulse), $17.99, ISBN: 9781481432047

Recommended for ages 13+

Gwendolyn has never had a real home. Her mother has moved she and Gwen around for years, never staying too long in one place, always on the run from the monsters she swore were after them. Gwen is tired and frustrated at this latest move to a small apartment in London. Thankfully, her best friend, Olivia, is spending the summer with them.

Shortly after they arrive at the apartment, Gwen and Olivia are taken in the middle of the night by shadowy creatures. Separated from Olivia and desperate to find out what’s going on, she finds herself on a boat and demands that the Captain enlighten her. And that’s when she discovers that the monsters her mother always worried about weren’t just a figment of her imagination. Gwen is in Neverland, and Hook isn’t necessarily the one she has to watch out for. Now, she’s got to find Olivia and try to find their way home, but Pan isn’t planning on making things easy for anyone. He’s got an agenda, and the two girls have been brought to Neverland to help him accomplish it. He’s a sweet talker, especially compared to the harsh, brutal Hook, but Gwen has the feeling that Pan’s not all he seems to be…

This dark fantasy reimagining of Peter Pan will turn everything you think you know about Neverland and Peter Pan on its head. It’s a dark and brutal tale, with children dying in battle and evil faeries playing both sides. It’s fast-paced and well constructed, with smart, put-together characters and a painful World War I story gently woven into the overall narrative. You’ll try to place all the characters – I did – but just go with the narrative rather than try to fit every peg to a hole. For instance, I quickly figured that Gwen was Wendy, but where were Michael and John? There are parallels that could be drawn – no spoilers here – but in the end, Gwen is Gwendolyn, Hook is Hook, Pan is Pan, and Olivia is Olivia. These are their own characters, their own people, unique and individual in every way.

I don’t know whether this will turn into a series or a trilogy. This is a great stand-alone adventure and doesn’t need further explanation. Add to your fantasy collection; YA fairy tales are always good to have available to provide a comforting bridge to childhood with a decidedly grown-up spin to them.

Posted in Fiction, geek culture, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Creep Con – Cosplay does *not* equal consent or reality!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

creep conCreep Con, by Kim Firmston (Sept. 2015, Lorimer), $14.95, ISBN: 9781459409774

Recommended for ages 12+

Comic book and superhero fan Mariam’s the new girl in school and feeling lonely until she meets Tya, who’s hardcore into the manga/anime fandom. The two bond over their mutual fandoms and love of cosplay and conventions, and plan to attend an otaku – anime and manga fandom – con together. All is well until Tya can’t go to the con because she has a family wedding to go to, leaving Mariam to go on her own. While she’s there, she meets up with a group of cosplayers from the same manga, who invite her to join their group. The leader of the group, Rick, seems to have a hard time keeping fantasy and reality straight, though, and starts getting way too familiar with Mariam, insisting that they play out their character’s romance. Can Mariam get away from Rick before things go too far?

If you’re a cosplay/convention fan, you’re doubtlessly familiar with the Cosplay is NOT Consent movement, a movement that exists because some con-goers said and acted inappropriately to their fellow fans. Creep Con is an interesting look at this situation, particularly as it takes place in the otaku fandom, where the costumes can get a little outrageous. There are some great references to both comics/superhero and otaku fandoms here, that teens will be familiar with and appreciate. The story brings the danger of cosplay being mistaken for consent home, and at the same time, reminds teens that they need to be honest and upfront with their parents and guardians – safety first.

I did find Mariam frustrating in that she let herself be ordered around by this guy she didn’t even know. She had two people she knew and wanted to become closer friends with at the con, but talked herself – several times – into listening to Rick, who left charming behind and went right into creepy early on in the book. I can see where it was an honest portrayal, particularly for a new girl who was trying to make friends, but I would have liked a stronger protagonist who wasn’t so easily manipulated.

This is one of Lorimer’s new novels for reluctant readers. The line is strong, covering current topics like cosplay and fandom; LGBT and abuse with their Side Streets line; sports; historical fiction, and true crime. Struggling and reluctant readers will appreciate the no frills storytelling that gets straight to the point and covers topics that meet their interests.

 

Posted in Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Cinnamon Girl: A Superheroine teens can get behind!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

cinnamon girlThe Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl, by Melissa Keil (April 2016, Peachtree Publishers), $17.95, ISBN: 9781561459056

Recommended for ages 13+

Alba is a teen who loves her life just the way it is. She and her mom live behind the bakery her mother runs in Eden Valley, a small, South Australian town. She loves Wonder Woman, comics and pop culture, and her close-knit group of friends, especially her best friend, Grady. Everything is pretty perfect – until it’s not.

First, a YouTube video from some wacko doomsday preacher goes viral. The problem? He claims that Eden Valley will be the one safe spot on the planet, which brings doomsday fanatics flooding into the Valley, setting up campsites on any available patch of land. Then, Daniel Gordon arrives on the scene: Alba and Grady’s childhood friend who went on to become a B-list heartthrob on a nighttime TV soap opera. He’s giving off signals that cause some confusing feelings for Alba, especially when Grady starts acting even weirder. Even Cinnamon Girl, Alba’s superheroine creation, is stumping her lately; she just can’t seem to find inspiration for Cinnamon’s continuing adventures. Can she get all of this worked out before the world ends?

I loved this book! There are fantastic comic book and pop culture references (Wonder Woman fans will be especially thrilled), and Alba is a great protagonist and teen role model. She’s body-positive, with an early conversation about her body and breasts that made me laugh out loud; she thinks she’s aware of who she is and her place in the world, until the outside world intrudes on the little bubble she’s created for herself and she finds herself faced with some big decisions.

This is an end of times story, but not necessarily the end of times you think it is. It’s a crossroads story, an end of childhood story, and for many people, entering adulthood and leaving high school behind can feel like it’s all coming to an end. I loved Alba’s narration and found it real; believable. Alba’s snarky narration is wonderful and refreshing, particularly when the world seems to be showing up on her doorstep and appear to have left their manners at home. The black and white comic art throughout the book made me really want to see a Cinnamon Girl comic book. Maybe we’ll get some further adventures of Alba, with prose and a graphic novel woven together to create a narrative a la I Am Princess X? Probably not, but that’s okay – The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl is a standout, standalone novel that Rainbow Rowell fans will devour. This book will also make a great graduation gift for the teens in your life; let them know that you know adulting is hard, but this book will help ease the transition.

Melissa Keil is an Australian author whose debut novel, Life in Outer Space, won the 2013 Ampersand Project (and which is now on my TBR). Cinnamon Girl has been shortlisted for the 2015 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year. Check out her author website for more info on her books!