Tag: families

Posted in Fantasy, Teen

Alexandra Moni’s Suspicion – A touch of the paranormal in this mystery

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

suspicionSuspicion, by Alexandra Moni (Dec. 2014, Delacorte Press), $17.99, ISBN: 9780385743891

Recommended for ages 13+

When Imogen Rockford was 10, she lost her parents, aunt, and uncle in a fire that raged out of control. Extended members of the British upper class, they were enjoying their annual gathering at the family estate when the fire in the garden maze consumed them. Seven years later, she’s living with her guardian in New York City when the call comes in – her grandfather has been dead for three years, and her cousin-next in line for the title of Duchess-has just died . Imogen is the new Duchess of Rockford, and is immediately swept into a new life in Britain, on the same estate where her family died. There are family secrets that haunt her, especially the secret of the infamous fifth Duchess, and what she left in the maze…

I’ve got to be honest, this book was good without the addition of the paranormal details. If anything, the paranormal plot brought down the book for me, bringing me out of the story’s flow with what felt like tacked-on additions. The paranormal could have been alluded to, or done away with entirely, and it would have strengthened the rest of the book.

Posted in Fiction, Middle Grade

Cybils Middle Grade At-a-Glance: The Meaning of Maggie & All Four Stars

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

I’ve been quiet lately, because I’ve been plowing through my Cybils middle grade fiction nominees. Here are some thoughts.

meaning of maggieThe Meaning of Maggie, by Megan Jean Sovern (2014, Chronicle Books) $16.99, ISBN: 978-1452110219

Recommended for ages 9-12

Set in the 1980s, Maggie’s an 11 year-old girl who wants to be president one day. She’s funny, quirky, and seemingly always at odds with her two older sisters. Her family is coping with her father’s increasingly worsening multiple sclerosis, the severity of which they try to shield from Maggie.

I enjoyed this book, in part because one of my childhood friends lost her mom to MS. Reading this book helped me, in a way, understand what my friend went through all those years ago, when we were all far too young to understand it. The author drew upon her own life to write this book, and for that, I’m thankful. Maggie is engaging and quirky, and as frustrating as I found her dad, in his ultimate quest to “be cool”, I saw his struggle to hang on when everything was falling apart around him.

all four stars coverAll Four Stars, by Tara Dairman (2014, Putnam Juvenile), $16.99, ISBN: 978-0399162527

Recommended for ages 9-12

An 11 year-old foodie raised by junk food junkies has to be one of the best story plots I’ve come across in a while!

Gladys LOVES cooking. It’s her passion. She has a cookbook collection, watches cooking shows with a passion her classmates reserve for video games… and her parents just don’t get it. They microwave everything that they don’t bring home in a greasy bag. How can a foodie live like this?

When Gladys enters an essay contest for the New York Standard newspaper, her essay ends up in the hands of the food editor – who thinks it’s a cover letter. Gladys finds herself with a freelance assignment – to test out a new dessert restaurant in Manhattan! How can she visit the restaurant and write her review without her parents catching on?

This book just made me happy. It’s a fun story, with an instantly likable main character. Even her antagonists are likable, if a bit clueless. The plot moves along at a great pace, and I found myself chuckling out loud at some of the situations Gladys found herself in while trying to keep her secret. This is a great book to put into kids’ hands, a welcome lift from the heaviness that seems to permeate middle grade realistic fiction these days. I can’t wait to read the sequel, The Stars of Summer, when it hits shelves this summer.

 

Posted in Fiction, Young Adult/New Adult

Kami Garcia does it again with Unbreakable

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

unbreakableUnbreakable, by Kami Garcia (Nov. 2014, Little Brown Books for Young Readers) $18, ISBN: 9780316210171

I initially had some trepidation about whether or not I’d enjoy reading Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl’s Beautiful Creatures, having lumped it in with the sort of paranormal romance I really didn’t enjoy. I gladly ate those words, so I was thrilled when I had a copy of Kami Garcia’s Unbreakable show up on my Nook (thanks, NetGalley!).

Kennedy is a pretty ordinary teen until she comes home one night to discover her mom, dead. The doctors say heart attack, but it turns out to be something far creepier than that – a demon has it in for Kennedy, something she finds out from the two brothers that save her on the night before she’s supposed to head to boarding school under the care of her aunt.

No, the brothers aren’t Sam and Dean, fellow Supernatural fans, but MAN, do I love this book like I love a good Supernatural episode.  There are secret societies, demons, and families of demon hunters passed down through the generations to be found here. I love paranormal when it’s done well, and Kami Garcia seems to know all the right buttons to push. I’m a Supernatural fan, so I got into this book right away.

Don’t think for a minute that this is a rip-off of the CW show, though – there is a strong story here, with characters that you’ll love. Everyone is descended from a demon hunter, with their own strong story to tell. Kennedy is the main focus, because she’s the only one who hasn’t been privy to this information – something I hope we find more about as this series progresses.

There’s something for everyone here – a search that takes us through the story, good paranormal spookiness, a solid plot that promises to unfold and keep us informed and teased at the same time, strong, badass female characters, and a love triangle that doesn’t get too sappy (thank goodness).

I can’t wait to get Unbreakable on my library’s bookshelves, and I’ve already told the friends that I raved Beautiful Creatures to that they need this book. Go get it now!

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

The Fifth Vertex – a young warrior discovers his true power

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

fifthvertexThe Fifth Vertex, by Kevin Hoffman (Aug. 2014) $11.99, ISBN: 978-0990647911

Recommended for ages 14+

Urus is a boy born into a warrior society, but he’s failed his warrior tests and is about to branded as a public burden – until all hell breaks loose. At the same time, an orphaned girl named Cailix, who has been living as a servant among a society of monks, finds herself on the run after a strange group of men slaughters her caretakers. What follows is a hero’s journey that will reveal to both Urus and Cailix who they really are: Urus comes from a line of Sigilords, who wield the power to create using ancient symbols, and Cailix discovers more about her origins than she could have ever imagined.

This is new fantasy series, self-published by the author, that really takes the classic hero’s quest and runs with it. Urus, who is deaf, must learn to rise above his low self-esteem and take control of the gifts he possesses – gifts only recently revealed to him. Cailix discovers her own gifts possess devastating power – but if used for good, can she turn things around? The two must figure these questions out while under the gun to save their world from a group of sorcerers determined to destroy five hidden vertices that protect their world.

This was a good read and a good start to a new fantasy adventure series for teens. There is a lot of slaughter and blood here – Urus’ society is a warrior society, and they’re fighting a band of sorcerers who use blood magic, so expect a bloodbath. If that’s not your thing, then this is not your series. I have no issue with it, and I thought the way Mr. Hoffman worked Urus’ deafness into the story, interweaving his with his signing ability as a sigilord, was really well done.  We’ve got some multiculturalism in the character descriptions, a strong female lead, and a few different hidden origins and conspiracies, all laying the groundwork for subsequent books. It’s a good start for fantasy fans who want something new to read.

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Teen

Sarah Cross’ Tear You Apart returns to Beau Rivage

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

tear you apartTear You Apart, by Sarah Cross (Jan 2015, EgmontUSA) $17.99, ISBN: 9781606845912

Recommended for ages 14+

Fairy tale fans who loved Sarah Cross’ Kill Me Softly, get to go back to Beau Rivage and hang out with the Cursed in the next installment of Cross’ series, Tear You Apart.

This time, we get more of a focus on Viv, who’s got the Snow White curse. Her stepmother is determined to kill her, and she’s going to try and convince Henley, Viv’s on-again, off-again Huntsman boyfriend, to do it. When Viv hides out in the Underworld, she meets her prince – but is he really her key to Happy Ever After?

I have to say, for all the little issues I had with Kill Me Softly, it was a fun read with a great premise; Tear You Apart is an even better story that I really enjoyed. We’ve got more fairy tales, including the Twelve Dancing Princesses! The amount of research Ms. Cross puts into her fairy tales is amazing, but it’s her modern-day interpretations of the curses that really blows me away. I love her world-building.

While Viv is still not the greatest heroine, she’s a stronger female character than Kill Me Softly’s Mira. Henley has resolved more of his anger issues by now, which is a huge relief. The Big Bad in this book is truly a repugnant son of a gun, and he’s so gleefully awful that I found myself digging in at all hours of the night, waiting to see what he could do next.

Tear You Apart comes out in January, and it’s worth the wait. In the meantime, queue up some episodes of Grimm and Once Upon a Time, and get ready.

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

Abby Spencer Goes to Bollywood is SO MUCH FUN – can we get a series?

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

18378827Abby Spencer Goes to Bollywood, by Varsha Bajaj, (2014, Albert Whitman & Co.) $16.99, ISBN: 978-0807563632

Recommended for ages 9-14

Abby Spencer has been raised by a single mom for all over 13 years, and it’s been fine – until a health scare sends her to her mom, asking questions about her dad. She finds out that her father – a college romance of her mom’s – lives in Mumbai, India, and he’s a Bollywood heartthrob! When she finally gets in touch with her dad, he sends for her – for a kid who wanted some excitement out of life, even this may be over the top!

I LOVED this book from the first page. Told in the first person, I loved the way the author gave Abby her voice. She is a fun, excitable teen who loves her family and feels conflicted about her feelings for the father she only just met over Skype. I love the way the author gives readers an eye-opening view of India, from the overwhelming spectacle of Bollywood to the families that live in squalor. Her descriptions, told through a 13 year-old’s voice, were spot-on and evoked a range of reactions for me: joy, uncertainty, sympathy, even frustration. This is one of those books that I want to buy five copies of and hand them to kids in my library, yelling, “READ THIS AND TALK TO ME ABOUT IT!”

#WeNeedDiverseBooks? You’re darn right we do, and with a biracial lead character who heads to India to see her dad on a Bollywood set, we’ve got a great one, right here. Ms. Bajaj, PLEASE tell me we’re going to see more adventures with Abby, her family, and her friends!

This book is a Cybils Middle Grade Fiction first round nominee, and I’m thrilled to have shortlisted it.

Posted in Fiction, Middle Grade

Cybils Middle Grade Fiction – A Few Reviews

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Hey there!

I’m working hard, getting through my Cybils Middle Grade nominees – there’s so much good fiction out there! – so I thought I’d give a quick update on a few I’ve read so far.

red pencilThe Red Pencil, by Andrea Davis Pinkney, (Sept. 2014, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), $17, ISBN: 978-0316247801

Recommended for ages 8-14

Amira is a 12 year-old girl living in Darfur. She dreams of going to school, something her mother will not hear. She will marry a husband who can read for her, her mother tells her. That all changes when the Janjaweed come.

When her village is attacked by the Sudanese militia, her life is changed forever. She, and the survivors of her village, make their way to a refugee camp, where she grieves and learns how to start life anew.

Written in verse, The Red Pencil is one of the most powerful books I have ever read. It’s about time we see fiction about this time and place in history hitting our bookshelves. Children need to read this book, and teachers need to discuss it with them. If you don’t have access to this book yet, PLEASE – find it, read it, and share it.

 

crossoverThe Crossover, by Kwame Alexander, (March 2014, HMH Books for Young Readers), $16.99, ISBN: 978-0544107717

Recommended for ages 8-14

Josh and his twin brother, Jordan, are lightning on the basketball court. The sons of a basketball player whose pro career was derailed by an injury and the assistant principal of their school, they have a strong family background that emphasizes teamwork and schoolwork.

Josh loves to rhyme, cranking out beats in his head as he plays. Jordan has other things in mind these days, though – namely, a girlfriend. Josh has a hard time with accepting this third party in his and Jordan’s relationship. Throw in their father’s health problems that he refuses to seek help for, and you’ve got a compelling read that will appeal to all readers, male and female, sports fans or not. There’s a flow and pacing to this novel, also written in verse, that just moves the pages on its own. Josh is a likable kid, and readers will see themselves in his shoes as he talks about his fears and frustrations.

The Crossover has been designated as a Kirkus Best Children’s Book of 2014, one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Children’s Books of 2014, and a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year.

Posted in Fantasy, Teen, Uncategorized, Young Adult/New Adult

Kill Me Softly – fairy tales don’t always end in happily ever after

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Kill Me SoftlyKill Me Softly by Sarah Cross, (2012, Egmont USA), $9.99, ISBN: 9781606843239

Recommended for ages 14+

Mira Lively has been raised by her godmothers ever since her parents died in a fire at her christening. They’ve kept her pretty sheltered, and Mira is tired of their secrets. She decides to run away to the Louisiana town of Beau Rivage right before her 16th birthday, to find her parents’ graves and feel a connection with them. Things don’t exactly go as planned.

She ends up in Beau Rivage, and finds herself in a casino, where an obnoxious guy named Blue, and his friend Freddie, try to get her to another casino/hotel. She ends up meeting Blue’s brother, Felix, who manages the hotel, and offers her a free suite to stay in.

From there, Mira is swept into a group of teens who have big personalities. They all seem to be hiding something from her – something goes beyond their inside jokes, and they all keep trying to get her away from Felix, especially Blue. Gradually, Mira discovers that the teens in Beau Rivage – herself included – are special. Sentenced to live lives that play out according to fairy tales chosen by actual fairies, they include Jewel, who coughs up flower petal and jewels; Viv, a Snow White whose stepmother will one day send Viv’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, a Huntmans after her to cut out her heart, and Rafe, a crass jerk who will one day transform into a Beast, his curse only breakable when he gets a Beauty to fall in love with him.

Mira’s got a Curse, too – and her 16th birthday is fast approaching. Spending time in Beau Rivage, Mira learns about her Curse, and the curses of everyone around her except for Felix’s and Blue’s – but she needs to find out before it’s too late.

I like fairy tales, and I like stories that turn fairy tales upside down. In that respect, this was a quick, fun, read. But the characters are a group of teens that make some of the worst decisions and are just awful people. Mira decides – at 15 – that a 21 year-old man (Felix) is her true love, even though she’s only known him for a couple of days and everyone she meets tries to warn her away from him. Viv treats Henley – the Huntsman who happens to be her boyfriend when she feels like it – like dirt, flirting with other guys right in front of him and sending him off into a violent rage. Shouldn’t she want to be on his good side?

Speaking of Hensley, his anger issues have anger issues. He starts breaking up cars in a parking lot after seeing Viv flirt with other guys. And she stays with this guy? She also continues living with her stepmother – a woman who will try to kill her at some point – WHY?

Princes marry their Snow Whites, then drug them up because they can’t be excited by them if they’re awake. This, my friends, is really disturbing.

Like I said, Kill Me Softly is a fun read, but if you’re looking for great character study, this isn’t the place. I understand that things need to play out a certain way in this world, but at some point, common sense needs to enter the game.

Sarah Cross’ author page offers links to her social media, plus short stories taking place in the world established in Kill Me Softly. She also links to her Fairy Tale Mood Tumblr, where she posts fairy tale inspiration.

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

Meritropolis: Question the System.

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

meritropolisMeritropolis, by Joel Ohman, (2014), $9.99, ISBN: 9781500189600

Recommended for 14+

In a post-apocalyptic society, the community known as Meritropolis thrives, thanks to the System. Citizens, from infants to the elderly, are evaluated, their numbers marked on their forearms. Anyone below a 50 is sent out of the city gates to fend for themselves.

Time is measured post-event (AE3 for 3 years after The Event), which is never named, merely known as “The Event”; we can assume it had something to do with nuclear war or nature collapse. Animal hybrids, created in pre-Event labs, hunt outside the gates. No one is heard from after being put outside the city’s walls.

Charley, a high-score 17 year-old, hates The System. It took his beloved older brother away from him, and he wants revenge on the System and the man responsible for it. Charley questions the System, the existence of a God who support this way of life, and free will. As he moves within Meritropolis society and gets closer to the people responsible for the System, he plots his revenge, joining forces with other residents. Together, they discover that what they know about the city and the System is only the surface of a very deep well of secrets.

This is an independently published book that makes me wonder why a major house hasn’t snapped it up yet. It’s a fast-paced read with a male protagonist who questions everything and has tremendous anger issues, but at the same time, works to contain his outbursts with common sense and planning. He’s got a plan, and he’s not allowing himself to be swept along, as many dystopian protagonists tend to in YA lit. Charley’s motivation is brutal and heartbreaking, but things he discovers as he works to undo the system from the inside are downright terrifying.

Outside the city walls, we find more craziness. The animal hybrids, and what they’re capable of, are the stuff of nightmares. There are illustrations at the beginning of each chapter – feast on the bion, imaginations! – that help you comprehend exactly what the citizen of Meritropolis are surrounded by, and being left to, once they’re outside city gates.

The book should appeal to both teen boys and girls. In Charley, boys have their Katniss – a male role model they can look up to and relate to, who understands anger, aggression, and most importantly, self-control. Girls will appreciate Charley’s back story and they’ll love Sandy, Charley’s counterpart. There are additional male and female characters, all relatable, that will give kids a reason to keep turning pages.

I’m interested in reading more about the world Joel Ohman has created here. Maybe we’ll get another story about a different post-Event society if enough people read this book. So what are you waiting for? It’s available as an ebook or a paperback, so you have no reason for not checking it out.

Posted in Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Uncategorized

Maddy Kettle: The Adventure of the Thimblewitch gives kids a new heroine to follow

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

 

maddy kettleMaddy Kettle, Book 1: The Adventure of the Thimblewitch, by Eric Orchard (Sept. 2014, Top Shelf Comics), $14.95, ISBN: 9781603090728

Recommended for ages 8-14

Maddy Kettle is an 11 year-old on a mission. Her parents have been turned into kangaroo rats by the Thimblewitch, so she sets out with her pet space toad, Ralph, to find the witch and get her to restore them. She will have to evade goblin spiders and scarecrow soldiers, and she’ll meet a bear and raccoon team of cloud cartographers who map the skies as she sets out on her journey.

This story is a great illustration of people’s perceptions, and how they can be so very wrong. It’s a great story for parents and kids to read together, and one that teachers should be using in the classroom, accompanied by a discussion on perception versus reality, and how we judge people by those perceptions.

Without getting too far into spoilery territory, Maddy learns that her thinking needs some adjustment as she meets these “bad” characters and learns what the real story is behind the bits and pieces she knows. She grows as a person, and heads off into new adventures – adventures, I hope, that will teach us new lessons as she goes on.

There is some great art in here; kids and adults alike will be drawn into the story by the retro-futuristic artwork and the quick pacing and resolution. It’s an all-around great intro to a new series that gives kids another positive female role model, who’s also a relatable kid (Zita the Spacegirl fans, are you with me?).

Maddy Kettle, Book 1: The Adventure of the Thimblewitch will be available this Tuesday. Check it out in stores or order your digital copy on the Top Shelf website.