Tag: Random House

Posted in Graphic Novels

Graphic Novel bonanza continues! Let There Be Light, by Liana Finck

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Let There Be Light: The Real Story of Her Creation, by Liana Finck, (Apr. 2022, Random House), $28.99, ISBN: 9781984801531

Ages 14+

Artist Liana Finck reimagines the Book of Genesis in her latest graphic novel; here, god is a woman wearing a crown and wielding a wand, creating the world and populating it but not quite satisfied. She creates Man, then creates Lilith (Adam’s first wife), creating Eve when Lilith storms out and leaving Adam bereft. It’s assumed God presents as male – something that irks the Creator throughout the book, as rendered in amusing and outraged footnotes – which ends up being the reason behind why humans are unable to view the face of God. Let There Be Light tells the stories of Cain and Abel, the “Begats” (an hilarious look at all the babies being born to centuries-old men, seemingly without female assistance), Joseph, Abraham, and others. Simple black and white line drawings get spots of color for emphasis. God is a more human deity in this book, with neuroses and anxiety, making her a more compassionate figure.  An author’s note touches on Kabbalist concepts and its influence on her story. An amusing and thought-provoking retelling.

Let There Be Light: The Real Story of Her Creation has a starred review from Booklist. Visit Liana Finck’s webpage for more information on her books and her artwork.

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

The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl is wonderful!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, by Stacy McAnulty, (May 2018, Random House), $16.99, ISBN: 978-1-5247-6757-0

Recommended for readers 8-12

I am so excited to talk up this book, because it is SO GOOD. I was lucky enough to be on author Stacy McAnulty’s “street team”, so I have evangelized this book to my library kiddos, bending the ear of everyone I talk to (including grownups) at the library and at home, and generally shoving this book at people to tell them that they need to read it immediately.

Lucy is a gifted tween, thanks to a lightning strike at age seven that left her with savant abilities in math. She loves math. She sees and smells the numbers and equations; they reveal themselves to her and tell them all their secrets, but social relationships have eluded her. She struggles with OCD behaviors and has been homeschooled by her grandmother, who finally decides that Lucy develop socially, and enrolls her in middle school, which doesn’t really go over so well with Lucy, who’s more ready for college applications. But Lucy promises her grandmother that she’ll make one friend, join one activity, and read one book that isn’t a math textbook. Lucy’s OCD automatically makes her a target to the local mean girl, but she persists, finding ways to use her talents in a class project, and making two pretty good friends, while she’s at it.

I can’t find enough great things to say about Lightning Girl. Stacy McAnulty gives us a strong, funny, sweet, and complex group of characters that reader will recognize bits of themselves in; supportive parental figures that are doing their best, and parents that need a bit more work. It’s a glimpse at everyday life with a touch of the extraordinary, and it’s a touching look at the power of caring about something bigger than oneself. Lucy goes through tremendous upheaval, but she rides it out, and grows through the course of the book. Before the events that form the narrative, she sees life as a series of problems that can be worked out, but learns that some of the toughest problems bring rewarding solutions. Even if the final answer isn’t correct, the work to get there makes a difference.

The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl is compulsively readable, discussable, and perfect middle grade reading. Teachers, PLEASE put this on your Summer Reading lists, so I can hand this book to every middle grader I see this summer. Lightning Girl has starred reviews from School Library Journal, Kirkus, and Publisher’s Weekly. Author Stacy McAnulty is on a book tour for Lightning Girl right now: head to her author webpage for a schedule!

 

Posted in Fiction, Intermediate, Realistic Fiction

Ballpark Mysteries goes to Cooperstown!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Ballpark Mysteries: Christmas in Cooperstown (Super Special #2), by David A. Kelly/Illustrated by Mark Meyers, (Sept. 2017, Random House), $5.99, ISBN: 978-0-399-55192-5

Recommended for readers 6-9

Confession time: While I steer a lot of my readers toward the Ballpark Mysteries books, I hadn’t read one until Christmas in Cooperstown. I’m really glad I did read it, though; despite not being much of a sports fan, I do enjoy a fun mystery, and Christmas in Cooperstown was just what I needed.

Best friends Mike and Kate are volunteering to wrap presents for a charity, Cooperstown Cares, at the Baseball Hall of Fame. As a thank you, they and their friends are invited to a sleepover at the Hall of Fame, which is pretty fantastic. It’s a good thing, too – Mike notices that the Honus Wagner card – a rare baseball card that can go for millions of dollars at auction – has been stolen and replaced with a fake! He and Kate have to track down the clues, find the card and the culprit, and deliver the charity’s gifts on time. Pretty big order!

Sports fans will really enjoy the tidbits of sports history here. I was interested in the science behind discovering the fake card, and using his dad’s business as a baseball card dealer opens the door to some fun trivia and facts throughout the book. “Dugout Notes”, a regular feature in the Mysteries, on Cooperstown and the National Baseball Hall of Fame finish up the book, along with a recipe for All-Star Blue Chip Muffins, which have a little cameo in the story.

Readers can pick up Christmas at Cooperstown without having read other Ballpark Mysteries; there’s enough exposition that you can easily get into the groove of things. Black and white illustrations by Mark Meyers keep things interesting and moving along.

I got to meet David Kelly at KidLitCon this past weekend and he is the nicest guy! It’s always a bonus when you find out that an author is pretty darn cool on top of being a good writer. He was kind enough to pass on a set of his MVP series for my library kids, too!

MVP – Most Valuable Players – is another sports mystery series for intermediate readers; like Ballpark Mysteries, you can dive into each one separately, with no stress. In the first story, The Gold Medal Mess, we meet the MVPs on the opening spread, where we get their “stats” via an illustration and quick character description: Max is a great athlete and detective; Alice is an archery ace and animal lover; Nico can’t wait to practice and play; Luke loves to exercise his funny bone, and Kat, Luke’s twin sister, captures the best game-day moments on camera. The kids are getting ready for their annual school Olympics, but someone is leaving threatening letters, telling the school to cancel the Olympics or else. When things start going wrong on the big day, it’s up to the five friends to figure out who’s causing the trouble and save the day before someone gets hurt.

Each MVP book covers a different sport and features black and white illustration. The cast is a diverse, all-star group of kids with different interests and talents, and who work together to solve mysteries, help others, and take on bullies. Each book includes bonus facts on each featured sports: The Gold Medal Mess has Olympics facts and photos; other books have terms and diagrams. I’m putting these up on the “NEW” shelf tomorrow, and I expect they’ll be gone just as quickly as I get them up there. A good add to sports fiction and mystery collections!

 

 

 

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

Gifted versus Non-Gifted in a Class War: Gilded Cage

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

gilded-cageGilded Cage (Dark Gifts, Book One), by Vic James, (Feb. 2017, Random House/Del Rey), $26, ISBN: 9780425284155

Recommended for ages 13+

In an alternate United Kingdom, aristocrats are born with special magical gifts… powers that give them control over the “commoners”, who must serve them as slaves for 10 years. The commoners are free to decide when they will serve, but they will serve. The running comment is, “serve young and never get over it, serve older and never survive it”. Abi, an 18 year-old with a promising future as a doctor, decides to take her family’s future into her hands and procures a deal that will allow them all to serve at Kyneston Estate, home of one of the most powerful families, the Jardines. But on the day they are picked up for transport, her younger brother, Luke, is sent to a Millmoor, horrible slavetown to labor under inhumane conditions. While Abi learns that the Jardines have some pretty big secrets of their own, Luke finds strength in numbers and bands with a group in the slavetown to resist. With an abolition referendum on the line, things are tense in the government and at the camp, and one of the Jardine heirs is keeping his loyalties close to the vest.

Gilded Cage is the first in the Dark Gifts series, and has some promising intrigue and world-building. The story is told in character POV chapters – about six or seven – and spends a great deal of time on laying out what I hope are future plot details. The Jardine family are fascinating – we get a nice background on this leading family, including some internal conflict and outside rivalries. Silyen Jardine is easily the most interesting character, playing his own game, but doesn’t get enough print time – yet. I hope to spend more time with him in future books. Abi’s younger brother, Luke, takes much of the center stage in this first book; he is on a hero’s journey that teaches him about himself and the world around him.

I had a few problems with the book, most notably, the very slow build-up. Being able to choose your 10 years of slavery being another – what’s to stop you from just not serving? Why serve when you’re young? Why not live a full life and go in when you’re on your deathbed? The women in the novel seem to be either hand-wringing damsels in distress or cruel harpies (with one or two exceptions), and the men are calling many of the shots here. Still, I’m interested to find out what Vic James has in store for us in her next installment.

Gilded Cage received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and was designated Debut of the Month by Library Journal.

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Middle Grade, Middle School, mythology, Tween Reads

Who will save you from The Last Monster?

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

last monsterThe Last Monster, by Ginger Garrett/Illustrated by Dinara Mirtalipova (Apr. 2016, Delacorte Books for Young Readers), $16.99, ISBN: 9780553535242

Recommended for ages 10-13

Sofia was never the type of kid to stand out. Not before the cancer, anyway. Now, with her shaved head and prosthetic leg, she really doesn’t want to stand out, but the mean girl group at school is determined to make Sofia their project. And then, there’s The Book. The Book that ended up in her closet. The Book that’s writing to her. Xeno, one of Aristotle’s lost students, has gotten in touch with Sofia through the book, telling her that’s she’s been chosen to be the next Guardian. Guardian of all the mythical monsters in the world. The thing is, someone else wants that book – wants to do away with the monsters, and she’ll do anything to get her hands on it, including unleashing the Last Monster. Now, Sofia has to learn her Guardian duties, deal with middle school, and navigate a relationship with her mother, who has a hard time letting go after almost losing her daughter.

This is a wild book, and I mean that in the best sense. I thought I was getting a story about a girl beating cancer – and I was – and then, this fantastic world opened up within that story. Who else to be chosen to be a hero, right? A kid who fought cancer and won, a kid who just wants to concentrate on getting through each day, now bestowed with this responsibility, this guardianship – it’s so much bigger than she is, but she’s clearly the one for the job. I loved Sofia because she’s not a victim. She doesn’t want to be with the cool girls, she doesn’t even know what the heck to do with a crush, it’s so confusing to navigate, and she’s really not sure what the heck to do when a monster shows up at her window for the first time, but she’s going to figure it all out. The monsters are going to teach her a few things, too, and so is Xeno.

This is a brilliant fantasy to put into the hands of middle schoolers. It brings kids realistic fiction and infuses it with an amazing fantasy that will keep the pages turning. This one is going on my library shelves, without question. Give this to your Fablehaven and Spiderwick fans and let them blend their own bestiaries together.

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.