Dingo

de Lint, Charles. 2008. Dingo.

No one likes to think it of their father, but there are days when I can't help but feel that somehow I got stuck with the biggest loser of all loser dads. It's mostly on days like this when he's off on a house call to buy new stock and I'm stuck minding the store.

Miguel's father has a store--Mike's Used Comics & Records. And it is while Miguel is tending his father's store that he meet the girl. Or perhaps it should be The Girl. Everything had been going along, business as usual, until the moment he sees her through the window. "Ever have one of those moments when everything just kind of stops and it feels as though the whole universe is focused on this one thing that's got your attention? That's what it's like when I see her go by the window, hesitate at the door to look behind her, and then come in. It's gray and dismal outside, but she's got the sun in her hair--long, red-gold tangles that are frizzing because of the damp and give her a halo." (5) This mystery girl, Lainey, and her dog, Em, are from Australia. Everything about them fascinates this young teenage boy. Everything. She is a complete mystery, but one that he's happy to want to solve. He even dreams about her. That might not be completely unusual--boys dreaming about girls--but this dream is highly unusual. But I'll let you see that for yourself!

I'm NOT going to say one word more about the novel. Okay, that's a lie. But I'm not going to talk about the plot in any case. Everything about this novel--the characters, the plot, the language--is well done. I can't think of a single flaw. I can't really get into what I liked most about the characters, but I can say this. They were complex. Definitely interesting to read about, to care about.

Highly recommended to fantasy fans.

This was my first Charles de Lint novel, but it won't be my last.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Love (and other uses for duct tape)

Jones, Carrie. 2008. Love (and other uses for duct tape.)

Love (and Other Uses for Duct Tape) is the sequel to last year's Tips On Having A Gay (Ex) Boyfriend.

You think you know people and then it turns out you don't.
You think you learn this and then it turns out you didn't.
People keep changing who they are and defining themselves by their own choices, and that's cool most of the time, but not all the time. No, it's not cool all the time.

My favorite list-making heroine is back. Belle. When the novel opens, Belle is facing The Problem. What is her problem this time, you wonder, well, in a way it's both simple and complex. The problem of the moment is that Belle wants to be having sex with Tom. But Tom is happy taking things nice and slow. She's weirded out by the fact that her boyfriend isn't wanting to "do it" and also slightly perplexed as to why he hasn't used the L-word yet. Why hasn't Tom--this wonderfully nice guy--told her he loves her? His actions all show that he does. But he hasn't said it. This problem is viewed alongside the fact that her best friend, Em, and her boyfriend, Shawn are going strong. Not to mention the fact that even her mother has a steady boyfriend. It seems like everyone is having sex but her. That's the simple side of things.

Belle, lovable heroine that she is, is still having some problems that even she's not fully aware of. Things that make her who she is in part. But things that tend to annoy her friends and family.

If you're expecting Love (and Other Uses for Duct Tape) to be strictly romance, then you might be disappointed. This novel isn't all about the love and lust of Belle and Tom. It is a novel beyond labels and easy definitions. It's a novel about life, about love, about friendships, about knowing and loving yourself, about accepting others. It's about friends. It's about family. And it's about love. The love between friends especially.

This novel explores relationships of all sorts and varieties.

Little Willow's review.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Tales From the Brothers Grimm & The Sisters Weird

Tales From the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird by Vivian Vande Velde is simply too much fun to resist. Vivian Vande Velde re-envisions thirteen familiar fairy tales and adds sparkle, wit, humor, and irony. I enjoyed each and every story in the collection. I can't really do the book much justice by my review, but I thought I'd share some first lines from the stories. If they don't convince you to pick up the book, nothing will.

Once upon a time, in the days before Social Security or insurance companies, there lived a miller and his daughter, Della, who were fairly well-off and reasonably happy until the day their mill burned down.

Once upon a time when princes still set out to seek their fortunes and when cranky old women still sometimes turned out to be witches, a prince named Sidney came to a well where an old woman asked him for help in getting water.

Once upon a time in a land and time when animals could speak and people could understand them, there lived an old woman whose best friend was a wolf.

Once upon a time, after the invention of teenagers but before there were shopping malls for teenagers to hang around in, there lived a young man named Jack.

Once upon a time before there were toll bridges, there were troll bridges.

Once upon a time, before the invention of water-beds or air mattresses or Craftmatic adjustable beds, there lived a prince named Royal.

Once upon a time, before Medicare or golden-age retirement communities, there lived a beautiful young girl named Isabella, who stayed at home to take care of her parents.

Once upon a time, in a land where even parents had magic, a mother got so upset with her son's bad temper, sloppy clothes, messy room, and disgusting table manners that she said: "If you're going to act like a beast, you might as well look like one, too."

In addition to these stories (from the thirteen) are some fairy-tale themed poems. These are wonderful as well. (I plan to devote at least one or two Poetry Friday posts to these delightful little poems.)

I definitely recommend this one.

13th Reality

Dashner, James. 2008. The 13th Reality: The Journal of Curious Letters.

I wanted to love, love, love The 13th Reality. And for a while it seemed inevitable. From the very beginning:

"Norbert Johnson had never met such strange people in all of his life, much less two on the same day--within the same hour even. Odd. Very odd indeed. Norbert, with his scraggly gray hair and his rumpled gray pants and his wrinkly gray shirt, had worked at the post office in Macadamia, Alaska, for twenty-three years, seven months, twelve days, and--he looked at his watch--just a hair short of four hours. In those long, cold, lonesome years he'd met just about every type of human being you could imagine. Nice people and mean people. Ugly people and pretty people. Lawyers, doctors, accountants, cops. Crazies and convicts. Old hags and young whippersnappers. Oh, and lots of celebrities, too. Why if you believed his high-falutin' stories (which most people quit doing about twenty-three years, seven months, twelve hours, and three hours ago), you'd think he'd met every movie and music star in America. Though exactly why these famous folks were up in Alaska dropping off mail was anybody's guess, so it may have been a slight exaggeration of the truth." (1-2)

Norbert isn't our main character. But he serves as a good introduction to the odd (and slightly wacky) adventures that are to come. That day in the post office, Norbert met a man and a woman. One good, one evil. Both odd as can be. The man, Master George, was mailing hundreds of letters. Our main hero (and a few of our sidekicks) is the recipient of one of those letters.

Here is our introduction to our hero, "Atticus Higginbottom--nicknamed "Tick" since his first day of kindergarten--stood inside the darkness of his own locker, cramped and claustrophobic." (11). Tick is picked on by the school bullies. And school would be a fairly miserable place for him if it wasn't for the teachers--one teacher in particular, Mr. Chu. He's got nerd tendencies (minus the greasy hair and glasses) and a birthmark on his neck. (He keeps a striped scarf around his neck 365 days a year.) He's socially awkward, of course, a good many seventh graders are, but he's a good hero-in-the-making. And that process begins when he receives a curious letter in the mail that was postmarked in Alaska. Someone writing him under the initials "M.G." Someone who is calling him to be brave and to accept a challenge and to help save the world and save lives. It's a call Tick is happy to answer.

The Thirteenth Reality is an interesting book built on a good premise. The idea that there are alternate realities and a way to travel between them is a good one. The idea that the villains from one alternate reality would want to try to dominate and/or destroy the others also is intriguing enough. This book is the first in a series. And I think that is part of the problem. What can sometimes happen in novels that are first in the series is that they serve more as a prologue to the series, a prologue to the action. It's all about setting things up, getting ready for the real adventures to start in subsequent books. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I disliked the novel. But I didn't love, love, love it either. For me, it suffered from a bit of uneven pacing. The beginning and the ending was strong, really strong. But in the middle, it was easier to lose interest. I'm not sure if kids would feel that way about it or not. Tick was waiting for the exciting adventures to start, and so were we. We were both waiting and waiting and waiting. And once the big day arrived, it was exciting again. And it was worth it, I think. I'm definitely interested in reading more from this series, from this author.

428 pages.

Kristy's Great Idea

Martin, Ann. 2006. The Babysitter's Club. Graphics by Raina Telgemeier.

The Babysitters Club. I admit it. I read them as a child. I can't say I read all 131 books and 12 Super Specials, but I read more than a few. I believe I grew out of them by the early to mid-thirties. (Not my age. The number in the series.) The first book in the series, Kristy's Great Idea, was published in August of 1986. When I discovered the series, the first three or four were already published. I believe I bought them all at the same time. (I think. It's been a while. But I do remember that I had to wait after that for each new release.) Why the emphasis on how old it is? Because it says something both about the book and about me.

The graphic novel--for me--just didn't do this book justice. I'm biased. I'm not really "into" graphic novels. I'm not. I've read most of the Babymouse and I love them. I do. But that is really the exception. The others? I look at the covers. I might open one now and then. But overall, I'm just not that interested. Why did I pick this one up? The Young Adult Reading challenge (host Shady Glade) has a requirement of a graphic novel. And I wanted to reread Kristy's Great Idea for the Heart of A Child challenge. (And the actual novel-novel was checked out.)

For those who haven't read any of the novels and have no idea what's going on (if you're patient enough to get this far), The Babysitters Club is started by Kristy. It is her "great idea." She teams up with some of her closest friends, Claudia and Mary Anne, and invites a new girl into the club as well, Stacey. The Club is to help parents find a babysitter in one quick and easy call. One call, 4 sitters at their disposal. The series alternates narrators between each member of the club. (And more than four do eventually join.)

I haven't read the book in at least fifteen years. But a lot has changed in fifteen years. The book has no computers, no internet, no email, no cell phones. And things like nail polish and make-up are "forbidden" to girls their age (seventh grade, I believe) and having a phone in one's bedroom (or one's own phone line in general) is a complete novelty. Claudia's extra-extra cool because she does. But the references to Rainbow Brite and G.I. Joe date the novel further. (While you could argue that G.I. Joe is relatively timeless, they're certainly not the HUGE thing they were in 1986. I remember watching the end credits to the cartoon show every week day. I was always early for the next show. Now I can't quite remember what that show was.)

I don't know if the lack of technology would bother modern readers or not. But not having it certainly makes starting the club more work for the kids. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. It gets them thinking; it gets them into being creative.

There is more than just babysitting involved as well. The big "issues" of the book being Kristy dealing with her parent's divorce and her mother's dating again and Stacey's issues with coming clean about her diabetes to her friends. (Claudia's issues are with her parents not wanting her to wear make-up. Mary Anne's issues are with her father's strictness in general.)

I was surprised by how much I remembered. The small things. The little details. The snippets of dialogue. Each character's pet peeves. The mundaneness of siblings' names even. This is neither a good or bad thing. Just something to think about. I wonder how much essentially useless knowledge is stored in my brain???

Lock and Key

Dessen, Sarah. 2008. Lock and Key.

"And finally," Jamie said as he pushed the door open, "we come to the main event. Your room."

That first sentence springs you right into the action, the drama that is unfolding as Ruby comes into her new home. Ruby's first thoughts, I was braced for pink. Ruffles or quilting or maybe even applique. Which was probably kind of unfair, but then again, I didn't know my sister anymore, much less her decorating style. With total strangers it had always been my policy to expect the worst. Usually they--and those that you knew best, for that matter--did not disappoint.

Ruby hasn't seen her sister in ten years. Since the day her sister went away to college. Yet now, in Ruby's seventeenth year, the two are reunited. On Ruby's part it isn't voluntary. Ruby's mother has left her. Perhaps gone off drinking. Perhaps gone off with one of her boyfriends. Perhaps gone off drinking with one of her boyfriends. Ruby doesn't know. She doesn't want to know. She just knows that her mother disappeared without a word, without a note. And as far as Ruby was concerned, that's okay. She could manage on her own well enough.

But when the authorities find out that she is all on her own, they feel the need to place her in a home. Luckily her sister, Cora, and her wealthy husband, Jamie, are more than willing to take her into their own home and provide for her in a way that no adult ever has.

Ruby doesn't trust this new family. She doesn't trust anyone. She doesn't even know how to trust. It's a foreign concept to her. But over time and with much patience, Ruby may just start to realize what a family is and what a family does. It's a good thing too. Since that is one of her school assignments. Define the word "family." What she learns is well worth reading about.

I love Sarah Dessen. I do. She has an incredible gift with characters. They're always real. Always developed. Always human. Always flawed. And the style, the language, are equally wonderful. (She has such a gift with words. Her books are just quotable.) While Lock and Key lacks some of the emphasis on romance that her other novels have, there is plenty there to satisfy readers. I wouldn't say it's my favorite Dessen novel--it would be hard to knock The Truth About Forever from that place--I will say it was definitely enjoyable and definitely worth while.

It's never something huge that changes everything, but instead the tiniest of details, irrevocably tweaking the balance of the universe while you're busy focusing on the big picture. (38)

Everyone has their weak spot. The one thing that, despite your best efforts, will always bring you to your knees, regardless of how strong you are otherwise. For some people, it's love. Others, money or alcohol. Mine was even worse: calculus. (261)

Through my tears, I could hear her, saying it was all going to be okay, and I knew she believed this. But I was sure of something, too: it's a lot easier to be lost than found. It's the reason we're always searching, and rarely discovered--so many locks, not enough keys. (373)

Other reviews: Little Willow, Amanda.

Dragon Slippers

George, Jessica Day. 2007. Dragon Slippers.

It was my aunt who decided to give me to the dragon. Not that she was evil or didn't care for me. It's just that we were poor, and she was, as we said in those parts, dumber than two turnips in a rain barrel.

I loved all 321 pages of Jessica Day George's novel Dragon Slippers. Loved it. I loved everything about it. Everything. The characters. The setting. The action. It was just so good, so very very good. If you love fairy-tale type stories--think Robin McKinley, Shannon Hale, Mette Ivie Harrison, Gail Carson Levine etc--I think you will love Jessica Day George. Love her. Here is how the book jacket describes the novel,

"Many stories tell of damsels in distress who are rescued from the clutches of fire-breathing dragons by knights in shining armor and swept off to live happily ever after. Unfortunately, this is not one of those stories. True, when Creel's aunt suggests sacrificing her to the local dragon, it is with the hope that a knight will marry Creel and that everyone (aunt and family included) will benefit handsomely. Yet it's Creel who talks her way out of the dragon's clutches. And it's Creel who walks for days on end to seek her fortune in the king's city with only a bit of embroidery thread and a strange pair of slippers in her possession. But even Creel could not have guessed the outcome of this tale. For in a country on the verge of war, Creel unknowingly possesses not just any pair of shoes, but a tool that could be used to save her kingdom....or destroy it."

Creel is quite a heroine. As an adult reader, I love her. I do. But I know I would have loved, loved, loved her as a child. This is the kind of book I wish had been around when I was growing up! Then again, I'm just as happy to continue the friendship now. It's not too late for me or for you. Discover the magical world Jessica Day George has created and meet Creel and her friends (and enemies) yourself!

I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

http://www.dragonslippers.net/
http://www.jessicadaygeorge.com/
http://www.jessicadaygeorge.com/Blog.aspx

Brendan Buckley's Universe And Everything In It

Frazier, Sundee T. 2007. Brendan Buckley's Universe And Everything In It.

It was the first Sunday of summer break, and I was in a hurry to finish my dusting chores fast so I could call Khalfani to ride bikes. I wasn't even thinking too hard about anything, like Dad says I do sometimes. Well, okay, maybe I was thinking a little bit hard. About Grampa Clem and how I'm going to miss fishing with him this summer. Which made me think about the funeral and how the man in the the black robe had said, "From dust we come and to dust we shall return." And then I started looking more closely at the gray particles I was picking up with my dust rag, and I thought, What is this stuff anyway? And where does it come from? And how come it keeps coming back no matter how many times I wipe it away? That's when the science part of me took over. (1)

That one paragraph hooked me. Brendan charmed me from the very beginning. Though that paragraph doesn't give you a full picture, the book shows him to be curious, eager to learn, sincere, and genuine. He's a thinker. But he's also a feeler. I love that I do. I love the way we see the world through his eyes. I am definitely wishing I'd read this one last year so I could have promoted it when it came time to choosing Librarians Choices. Because here's a secret--I SO would have voted for it.

The basics. A young boy, biracial, spends the summer wondering why his white grandfather refused to have contact with his mother after her marriage to his father. A summer wondering why even though they live so close--a quick bus ride away--he's never tried to meet his grandson. The two do meet. By chance. But that meeting tends to produce more questions than answers. Brendan and his family--his mother, his father, his grandmother--are so authentically presented, that it is a joy to read. (What do I mean by authentic you're wondering? They felt real. They felt human. They seemed to be so fleshed out, so genuine, that it didn't read like fiction.) A book full of questions kept in a young boy's journal. A book that searches the universe for a few answers. In case you didn't guess, I did love this one.

This is a boys' book, by the way, and I didn't love some of the details. The contest between two friends to see who could pee the most into their mountain dew bottle didn't thrill me. But then again, I'm not in the target audience range. I think this one works. And I am so happy to recommend it to others!!!

http://www.sundeefrazier.com/bb.php

198 pages

The Entertainer and the Dybbuk

Fleischman, Sid. 2008. The Entertainer and the Dybbuk.

The Entertainer and the Dybbuk by Sid Fleischman won the 2008 Sydney Taylor Book Award in the category of books for older readers. Fleischman won the Newbery in 1987 for The Whipping Boy. Set in the late 1940s, The Entertainer and the Dybbuk is the story of an American ventriloquist, the Great Freddie, who while on his tour of Europe becomes haunted or possessed by the spirit of a Jewish child slain in the Holocaust. This boy, Avrom Amos Poliakov, now a dybbuk or spirit, has unfinished business and he needs this former American soldier's help to be at peace. Now inhabited by this friendly, often sarcastic, mournful soul, his act has become better than ever. The dybbuk is winning the hearts of the crowds. The crowds of course don't realize that this isn't all an act put on by The Great Freddie. He's gone almost overnight from a mediocre-at-best performer to a real crowd-drawing attraction. But being possessed isn't all fun, the dybbuk means business. And he'll stop at nothing to accomplish his goals.

The book is very good, and I definitely recommend it.

First sentence: "In the gray, bombed-out city of Vienna, Austria, an American ventriloquist opened the closet door of his hotel. Still in his tuxedo and overcoat, The Great Freddie intended to put away the battered suitcase in which he carried his silent wooden dummy. But there on the floor sat a gaunt man with arms folded across his knees, waiting."

180 pages

Understood Betsy

Fisher, Dorothy Canfield. 1917. Understood Betsy.

When this story begins, Elizabeth Ann, who is the heroine of it, was a little girl of nine, who lived with her Great-aunt Harriet in a medium-sized city in a medium-sized state in the middle of this country; and that's all you need to know about the place, for it's not the important thing in the story; and anyhow you know all about it because it was probably very much like the place you live in yourself.

Elizabeth Ann is an orphan raised by her great-aunt Harriet and her aunt Frances. The first chapter shows the reader just how life as she knew it was for Elizabeth Ann. To say she was coddled would be a bit of an understatement. To say that both aunts and niece were a bit psychologically unsound would be a bit closer to the truth. It's not that they're crazy crazy. It's just that they're anxious, jittery, nervous, worrisome, panicky, fidgety, chicken-little-y type people. They're sweet and docile enough, but they lack gumption and ingenuity and vitality.

Understood Betsy is the story of how Elizabeth Ann transforms into Betsy. It all starts when one of her caretakers gets diagnosed with an unnamed disease. (If they named it, I sure missed it. But I think the main point was to get the two aunts out of the picture.) Elizabeth Ann is sent to live with the other side of the family. Her aunt (Abigail) and uncle (Henry) and first cousin (Ann). They live in Vermont, I believe.

From the very beginning, Elizabeth Ann knew that she was entering the unknown. On her way to her new home--in the buggy--she has her first enlightened moment. "It is possible that what stirred inside her head at that moment was her brain, waking up. She was nine years old, and she was in the third-A grade at school, but that was the very first time she had ever had a whole thought of her very own." (21)

Her awakening, her transformation is entertaining enough and the descriptions of life and family are charming as well. I think some readers will love Betsy, understand Betsy; but I'd be silly if I didn't acknowledge the fact that some readers would find Understood Betsy to be boring or quaint. Anyway, long story short...I loved it. I thought it was great. If I had discovered this as a child--like my mother did and most likely my grandmother did--I'm sure I would have loved it. I'm sure I would have read it over and over again.

You can find the entire book--including illustrations--online.

And we're back to 37...

Alyssa of The Shady Glade is hosting a reading challenge. It runs from whenever you sign up (that would be January 23rd for me) until April 20th 2008.

I am copying the rules directly from her site. I hope she doesn't mind. If I don't copy the rules, I have a tendency to forget them and get all flustered later on. A flustered Becky is not a happy one.

You can overlap with other challenges. (Which is a VERY good thing.)

You must read at least one book that covers each of these 9 categories:

• Contemporary/Realistic Fiction
• Poetry, Drama, or Humor (any of these will work)
• Sports, Mystery, Supernatural/Paranormal (any of these will work)
• Fantasy or Science Fiction
• Historical Fiction
• Nonfiction
• Classic “juvenile” fiction (first published pre-1920)
• Graphic Novel
• Audiobook

There can be overlap between categories. For example, if you read a graphic novel that’s fantasy, then it counts for both. Or maybe your audio book is historical fiction. You get the idea. So you may have 9 books on your list, you may not.

Only 1 book per author is allowed. This means once you’ve read something by that author, you can’t read another book by the same author.

I don't have a list yet. I'm not really worried about making one. I will choose which books go for this challenge as I go.