Demonkeeper by Royce Buckingham

No review last week because I was sick. It was not awesome.

And I know awesome, because Demonkeeper is awesome. Just look at the puppy eyes the blue demon on the cover is giving you. Go ahead, I'll wait while you wibble.

Nathaniel Grimlock is a 15-year-old Demonkeeper, who is left on his own in a house full of demons when the older, fully trained Demonkeeper dies. It's now his job to keep the demons contained and cared for. Luckily the demons are friendly (if a little destructive)... Except for one. Guess which one escapes?

This quick-paced (but fully developed) horror for tweens. Bruce Coville blurbed it, and that's fitting because Royce Buckingham is on par with him in this book. I don't say that often. I don't know how Demonkeeper can be so terrifying, and yet so unbelievably cute! When I say "terrifying," I mean tween-suitable "AAAAAAH!" and "eeew gross!" and when I say "cute," I mean so adorable your brain might just explode. The book was like a breath of fresh air in the midst of a pile of bigger books that, while also awesome, were emotionally draining and/or a trial of my stamina.

The other main character, Sandra Nertz, isn't quite as adorable as Nat or his minions, but she is fun. She's a junior assistant librarian!

Obviously, I loved it. Buckingham's other book is called Goblins!: An UnderEarth Adventure, and I'm looking forward to reading that... Other books I recommend are Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy (review here) and anything by Bruce Coville, especially Goblins in the Castle.

Buy Demonkeeper

The Adventures of Blue Avenger by Norma Howe

This picture is a little small, but I love this cover. It's dynamic, interesting, and it perfectly illustrates the book's idea. It's a little 90s, but I like it. It has that "I want to be a superhero" attitude that I know so well.

Anyway, the book is indeed about a superhero, of a sort. The titular Blue Avenger starts out as 16-year-old David Schumacher, the average (but smart) student whose hobby is drawing a superhero called the Blue Avenger. He considers himself to be Blue Avenger, and has the blue-fishing-vest and towel-turban ensemble to prove it. (I can't remember whether he based the character on himself, or if they just grew together over time, but it doesn't really matter.) On his 16th birthday, he changes his name and takes on the persona of Blue Avenger in order to right the wrongs of the world.

I really liked it, but it's kind of odd, and not in an objective way. There was just something about it I couldn't put my finger on. It's kind of a YA story written in kids' prose... The characters say intense 16-year-old things, but in an almost simplistic 11-year-old way. Blue is a great character, very recognizable and easy to connect with but a little offbeat and quirky, teetering perfectly between adult and child, and he doesn't see the world the same way anybody else does. His friend Omaha is a little more of a stereotype, the mostly-mean tomboy with the vulnerable side that everybody likes for some reason even though she's mostly mean. (Okay, in this case I don't remember everybody liking her, mostly just Blue, and he has his own personal mental processes.)

The main theme of the book is the major philosophical debate of free will vs. fate, much more heady stuff than I expected, which is great. In fact, I don't think it went far enough. It only really presents the predestination argument, which is a valid argument, but it's incomplete without the equally valid choice argument. No real resolution is offered either, I personally prefer a conclusion even if I don't agree with it, but for a book for kids that's not necessarily appropriate so I understand leaving it out. Also note the painfully apparent and oversimplified gun control message, which was surprising considering the complexity of the other theme.

This is one of those wacky books I always loved as a kid, full of bizarre facts and random events. It's a quick, fun book, and I'm really glad I read it. I recommend Suck It Up(review), Grooves, and Winchell Mink.

Buy The Adventures of Blue Avenger (Even though it has a horrible blob thing on the cover now. What is that?)

Weird Henry Berg by Sarah Sargent

It seems that this book is little-known enough to not have a picture. Amazon confirms that it's out of print... Snap it up while you can! It was originally published in 1980, but mine is a 1993 edition.

Henry Berg is a boy whose father was a dope fiend and is no longer around. He spends most of his time imagining himself as an animal, trying to get away from his mother's hounding about his schoolwork. His best friend is a lizard named Vincent, and he's determined to keep him despite his mother's objections and a little old lady's claims that Vincent is a dragon.

I was hoping it would suck, so I could get rid of it and make a little shelf space for another book, but instead it sucked me in from page one. Having been brought to tears by the amazing Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, I thought this very similar story would just be a cheap imitation or something. Instead, I was brought to more tears.

It's basically a more realistic Jeremy Thatcher, a secret pet story with a dragon, but I didn't find myself comparing them while I was reading. Weird Henry Berg is hilarious, especially where the dragon Aelf is concerned, but it's also not afraid of hard themes. It's a story where things aren't always black and white, where more than one person is in the right, and things can be confusing. I found a fascinating theme of duality in the book, between the ancient and modern, light and dark, age and youth. It's a fantastic, exciting kids' story, with an underlayer of deep, thought-provoking material. I was very impressed.

This, Jeremy Thatcher, and The Monster Garden are three of a kind. I heartily recommend all three.

Buy Weird Henry Berg

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

A lot of people liked this book. I definitely recommend it for elementary kids... It's got sort of a pre-steampunk feel to it, lots of automata. Plus, it's about movies, and what kid doesn't love movies? There's a lot of good historical info included on the invention of movies, and it might lead kids on to other books. It's inventive, a lot of the story is told silently through pictures and that really suits the whole silent-movie theme.

That said, it didn't do much for me. It's just basic kid-book fare. The plot was painfully obvious to me and the characters were annoying, especially with their constant arguing over who should reveal secrets first. I was hoping for something mind-bogglingly wonderful from the praise it gets, but it was just the same old stuff: An orphan, a spunky girl to be his best friend, a mean old man, and a bunch of riddles to solve.

And- Hm. I really thought I had more to say about this, but I guess that's it. I recommend it, especially for kids, who won't notice that the story's been done so many times, but it's not a "heave it to the top of Mt. TBR" recommendation. A good similar book at a slightly higher reading level might be Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett, and some other books with the same general attitude are The Palace of Laughter by Jon Berkeley or The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas (awesome, awesome book with review forthcoming eventually). Here's a list of books about the history of movies and one about silent movies, if this book sparks your interest.

Buy The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things by Ted Naifeh

I've had this series recommended to me by several people, a friend of mine who's recommended a lot of my now-favorite books, a review by Darla D from Books and Other Thoughts (who also recommends a lot of books I end up loving), and several other people I can't remember. It took me a while to get around to reading it, but I loved it when I did!

Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things is a kids' graphic novel. It has a classic plot--girl moves to creepy old uncle's house and creepy stuff happens--but this is a model example of Tropes Are Not Bad.

There are three main things that keep this book amazing:

A) It knows its tropes, loves them, and uses them well. This is the kind of story kids like.

B) It's funny, in a biting way. It's SMART humor. The characters and dialoge are just off-beat enough to make everything seem shiny and new.

C) It's a graphic novel with gorgeous, quirky, dark art that sets the mood and lets us create a little more of the story in our own heads while giving us something pretty to look at. I love fantasy art in general, and this art adds humor to dark scenes and a sense of creepy to the funny scenes.

I will warn that the characters are not paragons, and this is not a morality play. The characters are good, but they aren't above being vindictive and conniving. It's a little creepy sometimes because it's unexpected, but it's realistic and would promote discussion.

I highly recommend this series to kids (of all ages ;) ) who like this sort of quirky fantasy/gothic horror trend that's happening right now in fiction. Fans of Lemony Snicket, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Skulduggery Pleasant, Zorgamazoo, that whole vein.
Buy Courtney Crumrin & The Night Things

Review: Singularity by William Sleator

To borrow from the back of the book: They were twins, but they were different as night and day. Harry was quiet and easygoing. His brother, Barry, was outgoing, arrogant, and sometimes even cruel. But when they went to explore the abandoned farmhouse of their eccentric uncle Ambrose, all that changed. At the farmhouse--where things mysteriously disappeared and animals suddenly aged and died--time seemed to go mad, hours rushing by like seconds.

Singularity is a science fiction book written for older kids, bordering on YA. It was originally published in 1985. It may be a little obscure and old, may seem like just kids sci-fi... but it's every reason I've ever read a book. It was ABOUT something, but something so hard to describe... the only thing I could say when I finished the book (in one sitting of four or five hours, as I recall) was "Oh, my God."

Barry is like every fantasy/sci-fi villain, only back when they were sixteen. He's cruel, self-centered, reckless, power-hungry, and he can charm or coerce anyone into doing whatever he wants. He's frightening. Harry, his twin, takes a little longer to understand, and by the time you do understand him you realize you might not have understood Barry as well as you thought.

The book is tightly written, only necessary things are included. A lot of the plot is internal and it may seem slow, but it is crucial to understanding the point. By the end, you have that painful and yet exultant feeling of understanding everything in the world, simply because you can't put any of it into words. Singularity gives me the feeling sci-fi always did when I was a kid... the feeling that the universe is so much bigger and so much more magnificent than I could ever hope for. The feeling that there is still something to strive for, and that there are things so beautiful they make you feel like crying.

I hope someone else will pick this book up and discover that same feeling while they read it. (But then, isn't that the point of every book we recommend? The hope that someone else will be touched in the same way?)

I've loved every book of William Sleator's that I've read, most acutely this one and Interstellar Pig, and I will continue to search more of them out.

Buy Singularity

Review: The Monster Garden by Vivien Alcock

I was reading The Monster Garden around the same time I was reading Bruce Coville, and loved it just as much. (I reviewed one of his books here.) It's a kids' book, although I'm not sure what age the protagonist is exactly (12ish?), originally published in 1988 and featuring a variation on the "secret pet" story. This was the second book to ever make me cry, after Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher.

It'd been a long time since I'd read or thought about this, and I didn't remember a lot of it so it was almost like reading it again for the first time. I cried again, and I loved it just as much as before if not even more.

Frankie Stein is the daughter of a research scientist. She accidentally creates a baby monster with unwanted cells from her father's laboratory, which first scares her and then starts endearing itself to her (and the rest of us.) She enlists a girl who's good with babies/animals to help her take care of it and keep it secret, so that no evil scientists can take it away. But the monster keeps growing...

My favorite thing about this book is the way Monnie, the monster, is treated by the author. I love him/her/it to death, but I'm never told "here, you're supposed to love this." My second favorite part is the relationship between Frankie and Monnie and how it grows, how well I come to understand them over the course of the story.

A lot of basic kid themes are present, including sibling rivalry and the special dynamic friendship has at that age. (And the friendship subplot is one of the most believable things in the book. You'll know what I mean when you read it, it's not what you're usually fed in these books.) I really like Frankie, and how practical she is with herself even while she's having a completely emotional and impractical reaction to something. She's the kind of person I'd like to be my friend, and when I'm reading The Monster Garden it's like she is. Also, I love Alf.

This is Vivien Alcock's absolute best book, and suitable for all ages. Unfortunately a lot of her books weren't this good, a lot of them had weak endings as I recall, but the other one I liked was The Mysterious Mr. Ross, and Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville is the first book I'd recommend to go with this The Monster Garden.

Buy The Monster Garden

Interview with Robert Paul Weston, author of Zorgamazoo!

Those of you who have been reading this blog for any length of time have probably heard me mention Zorgamazoo once or twice. Possibly more than twice, because I'm crazy about this book. (You can read my full review here, complete with a short summary and a few excerpts.) The author, Robert Paul Weston, graciously agreed to a short interview this week!

If you haven't read the book and are too lazy to click over to the review, Zorgamazoo is a kids' fantasy novel written entirely in verse that was released last October. And without further ado, my friends, the interview.


FF: How long did it take you to write Zorgamazoo?

RPW: It took me about three years, but not full time. I was also working and going to graduate school.


FF: What was your goal for the book? Why did you write it?

RPW: To be honest, once I began my goal was simply to complete it, to challenge myself and see if it was possible. And as for why I wrote it...I suppose because I had a story to tell. The idea came to me like all ideas, which is to say mysteriously and without warning. At the time -- several years ago now -- I didn't consider myself a children's writer, so initially the story didn't appeal to me. But I'd speculated about a novel in verse from time-to-time and I thought, what if I told this particular story in rhyme? Would that make it more appealing to me? The answer turned out to be a resounding yes.


FF: Are there any specific books or other media that you feel influence your writing in general or Zorgamazoo in particular?

RPW: In fact, there are many. First, the obvious influences -- Roald Dahl and Dr. Suess -- but they're sort of ubiquitous in nearly every English-speaking childhood. In a way, we're all influenced by those two in one way or another. I was also a fan of Edward Lear's nonsense poetry as a child (and astute readers will pick up on the homage I paid him in chapter 14).

I also looked to modern examples of epic verse as inspirational examples of what was possible; notably Vikram Seth's novel The Golden Gate, which is written entirely in Pushkin sonnets, and The Wild Party by Joseph March. Merely knowing pieces like these existed helped sustain my momentum while writing Zorgamazoo.

Music was also an inspiration, as I've always been a fan of lyrics. I think songwriters are the unsung heroes (pun intended) of contemporary form poetry. Of course, when I say "contemporary," I'm including the lyricists of Tin Pan Alley and writers of the Great American Songbook. I even took inspiration from musical theatre -- W.S. Gilbert, for instance, whose topsy-turvy songs are composed with an almost despotic adherence to a given metre.


FF: What do you read for fun?

RPW: I'm a slow, methodical but dedicated reader, and there are few things I love more than getting lost in a book. I tend not to read much children's literature, however, but since producing some of it myself, I've made an effort to bone up, and I've discovered some incredible gems I would have overlooked otherwise. I adore David Almond, for instance -- Skellig is pure genius. My favourite books from recent memory are Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer and The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break by Steven Sherrill.


FF: Do you have a particular writing process? Story first and then rhyme, vice versa, or something completely different? What's your favorite part?

RPW: The story always comes first. I've unfortunately scrapped a lot of writing that wasn't well planned. But while the overall story of Zorgamazoo didn't deviate much from the beginning, there are certainly individual scenes that were altered because I fell in love with a particular couplet. Characters turning right instead of left, maybe, because "heft" and "bereft" wouldn't cut it.My favourite part? Hm...it comes near the end and it'd be a spoiler if I told. But I can say that my favourite part to read aloud is the second half of chapter 3, when Dr. LeFang stalks onstage for the first time.


FF: What's the best part about having a published novel? How about the worst?

RPW: Let's start with the worst. That's when your editor tells you to murder your darlings, meaning to cut out some part of the book you adore, and then has the audacity to ask you to go ahead and grow yourself some new darlings. The feeling goes south from there when you realize she's absolutely correct. The best part, however, comes afterwards. That's when you get a message from a kid who tells you he's never finished reading a single book in his whole life, until now...and you believe him because he's misspelled every word in the email.


FF: Would you ever accept an offer for a movie adaptation of Zorgamazoo?

RPW: Uh, yes please. Are you offering?


FF: I think Zorgamazoo is fantastic as a stand-alone novel, but how would you feel about a sequel?

RPW: The schedule for my next two novels is a little too tight for producing another work of long form verse, so those next two will be in prose. However, I would love to have the opportunity to revisit Katrina and Morty in the future. So the short answer is yes, I'd like to do a sequel, but you'll have to give me some time.


FF: The Author page on zorgamazoo.com says your next novel is called Grimm City. What can you tell us about it?

RPW: In many ways, Grimm City is the antithesis of Zorgamazoo. Whereas the latter is humorous and whimsical, Grimm City is rather dark, features more sophisticated themes and it aimed at an older YA audience. It's a literary thriller set in a mysterious, isolated city populated with skewed versions of fairy tale characters; and as I mentioned, it's a prose novel -- no rhyming here. At the same time, however, certain similarities have emerged: First, I hope it will stand (as I hope Zorgamazoo stands) as a different kind of fantasy novel, and second, also like Zorgamazoo, it has at its heart a strong but strained father-son relationship.


FF: Thanks for giving us your time! Is there anything else you'd like to add?

RPW: Only that I'd like to thank readers who have sent me their comments, appreciation and words of encouragement. Writing can be a lonely pursuit at times, so it helps tremendously to know someone out there is reading your book and enjoying it. So thank you. I wasn't kidding with that earlier question -- hearing from readers is truly the best part.



You can visit zorgamazoo.com for more info about the book, news, all that lovely stuff, or visit Rob himself at his blog, Way of the West. You can buy the hardcover here. (I already went and bought it after originally reading a second-hand ARC, and it's lovely. Perfect size, perfect type... seriously. Buy the thing.)

Rob, thanks again, and Grimm City sounds fantastic! Keep up the good work!

Buy Zorgamazoo

Review: The Monsters of Morley Manor by Bruce Coville

This is a re-read from my younger days... I picked it up again because A) I liked it when I was eleven and usually when I like a book, I keep liking it, and B) Because even if I hadn't liked it when I was eleven I'd still want to read it. So there.

I've always liked Bruce Coville. (Click here for a list of his books.) His I Was a Sixth Grade Alien series and Aliens Ate My Homework series were and are some of my all-time favorites, and Jeremy Thatcher is The Best Book Ever. I've read most of his books, which go from kids' to YA and are mostly sci-fi or ghost-type stories with the occasional fantasy. All of them are fantastic (except the My Teacher is an Alien series, it's just not as good) so pick your poison and go to town.

The Monsters of Morley Manor, however, is a little bit outside his usual range. It starts off ghosty-horror when five monsters are brought to life, then progresses through fantasy, complete with magic rock and wizard guys, to sci-fi with world-hopping and aliens, then back to ghosty-horror.

The protagonists are Anthony Walker and his younger sister Sarah. Anthony is about ten-ish and Sarah is a few years younger, but unlike many authors Coville resists the urge to oversimplify them. The book deals with some complicated issues, involving Anthony and Sarah's recently-deceased grandfather, the afterlife, betrayal, time travel's effect on relationships, and a few other things, but it's presented as just real things that have to be dealt with, and the kids deal.

The book is suitable for anyone who can read a chapter book. The style is simple, but the plot is complicated enough to be interesting. The ending was sad, but perfectly executed, and the only thing wrong with the whole thing is that Bruce Coville never wrote a sequel. There aren't many similar books, except possibly Zorgamazoo in the genre-bending sense (and is it just me or do I recommend that book in every review...), but if you like this one you'll like his others.

Buy The Monsters of Morley Manor

Review: Larklight by Philip Reeve

Larklight's full title is "Larklight, or The Revenge of the White Spiders! or To Saturn's Rings and Back!: A Rousing Tale of Dauntless Pluck in the Farthest Reaches of Space," and that's exactly what it is.

Larklight takes place in an alternate England--I think it's Victorian, darn that terrible history professor--where the English want to conquer not other continents but other planets. Their scientists have discovered the secret to a chemical wedding that allows their ships to travel quickly from one to another. Larklight is the name of a house in space, occupied by Art and Myrtle Mumby, their father, and their robot servants. When a certain Mr. Webster comes to call, the children find themselves adrift in space to cope with aliens, space pirates, and a sinister plot threatening the whole of the solar system!

This is really more fantasy than sci-fi, but fans of either genre should find something to enjoy. It keeps up a feeling of offbeatness that other books aim for but don't always achieve. There are lovely weird ideas and a wonderful irreverence for practicality. The illustrations (all done by David Wyatt) are quirky, similar to those in The Edge Chronicles, and I really enjoyed how the text would occasionally reference them and make them part of the narrative.

The characters are fun, and although most of them are situated in traditional roles, Reeve has put in the work to make sure their actions aren't just stock responses. Art is my favorite, he's the funniest, and also the POV character. His older sister Myrtle is hilariously annoying though, and when the two are separated, Art provides journal entries from her secret diary to make up the difference.

I wasn't entirely pleased with the ending. It felt a little too planned, considering the tone of the book. Also, be prepared to discuss some religious issues with your preteen if you give it to them... for most of it the characters accept Victorian Christianity, then an alien creator is introduced, who then proceeds to proclaim a very vague concept of her own religion. I wished somebody would just pick one and stick with it.

This is the first book of a trilogy, the others being Starcross and Mothstorm, and I look forward to the other two tying up some unexplained points. There aren't a whole lot of similar books, which is great, but some I'd recommend are Fergus Crane by Paul Stewart and The Pirate's Mixed-Up Voyage by Margaret Mahy.

Buy Larklight

Review: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

This review is going to be in two parts. If the first part is satisfying to you, feel free to skip the second. :)

This is a great kids' book. Optimum age range is probably 10-12, but there's a lot of leeway. It does start out scary, and has one or two more scary sequences, but a kid who's into that funny-gothic thing that's going around now should love it. The writing is pretty simple, the characters are cute, and the ending is tied up neatly. Some similar books are A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, which has 13 books and would take up more time, and The Wednesday Tales, which is a work-in-progress with its third book coming out on the 27th.

Since that's most of the good things I have to say, we now embark into part two.

This book was really disappointing. All the experiences I've had with Gaiman and all the hype I saw for it really had me hoping for something special, and all I got was... lame. There were some interesting ideas, but nothing had me sit up and go "Ooh! That's new!" There seemed to be too much emphasis on "quirky worldbuilding" and not enough on plot. Most of the book is about Bod growing up in the graveyard, which, honestly, is boring as heck. The coming-of-age stories that exist already are like unto grains of sand on a seashore.

Then, after the plot picked up, I guessed all the twists, and that was annoying. On top of that, the ending was way too sweet and inspiring and it didn't go with the tone of the book at all. There was one character that I loved, Silas, and I especially loved the way he was sort of talked around in the narrative, but the book wasn't about him. If it HAD been, THEN I would have loved it.

This just really didn't do it for me because I was expecting something a lot better. If I'd just expected a cute kids' book it would have been great.

Buy The Graveyard Book

Review: Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

I totally adore Skulduggery Pleasant.

The protagonist, Stephanie Edgley, is twelve, but she's a very unique twelve-year-old. The writing is relatively simple, but the ideas are relatively tough. That means it can really appeal to everyone, right? Stephanie discovers after her Uncle Gordon's funeral that he was more than he seemed, and at that same funeral she meets Skulduggery Pleasant, a very thin gentleman... This is one of those rare finds in which I loved ALL of the characters, couldn't predict the twists and turns, and couldn't be distracted from the book for more than ten seconds.

Skulduggery has to be my favorite character. He's mysterious, suave, and otherworldly, while he's also very urbane and utterly hilarious. But Stephanie is a close second. She's practically my Mary Sue, in a really good way... Well, more like she's the character I always want authors to write but never receive. She's smart and brave, but she still struggles. She's twelve, but she still needs help from the adults (weird "but," I know.) She wishes for magic, and she's actually EXCITED when she gets it!

The magic and world are built on old themes, but the usages are fresh and new. It's written for kids and I know they'll love it, there's plenty of action and humor, but the subtleties were enough to blow my mind and give me things to chew over. The plot twists weren't the same old "surprises" I was expecting, but nothing was random or haphazard about the way it was put together.

Altogether this was a real treat for me, and I can't wait to read the sequel, Playing With Fire. My sister, the YA one, has read both books and says the second is just as fantastic as the first.

This is often billed as a Potter alternative, but that just means it's an urban fantasy book for kids... It reminds me a lot more of The Dresden Files for kids, or The Nightmare Before Christmas, with maybe even a hint of Zorgamazoo...

Buy Scepter of the Ancients

Review: Urchin of the Riding Stars by M. I. McAllister

Due to a hectic week, the joys of Thanksgiving, and my laptop being broken, I did not in fact read this book this week. However, I did in fact read it three months ago and it's fantastic. Urchin of the Riding Stars is the first book of The Mistmantle Chronicles. There are three, with a fourth that either just came out or is about to come out, but unfortunately my library doesn't have any of the sequels so I've only read the first one.

I didn't really like the first six or eight chapters, in fact I nearly put the book down and moved on, but I was so glad I held on to the end. It's pretty obviously a Redwall read-alike. The first chapters introduce the setting, an island surrounded by mist, and a host of very expected Redwall stock characters. Urchin, a squirrel, arrived on the island during a meteor shower as a newborn baby who was then adopted into the society of the island with only a few animals knowing about the prophesies, etc., that accompanied him. There are some power-hungry nobles trying to take over the island! WHO can save us? Blah blah blah, blah.

BUT, after all that is out of the way, we really set into the good stuff. This is shorter and written more simply than Redwall, but it deals with different themes. I may be wrong, but I can't remember Redwall ever dealing with organized infanticide or demonic possession. Urchin does, and does it very, very well. Urchin has more focus on a political intrigue kind of plot, more internal intensity. There isn't a definite "The people inside are good and that horde over there is bad," but there IS a definite "these actions are good and these actions are bad."

As the book goes on the characters turn out to be much more developed than the first chapters would indicate. The plot becomes ever more complex, but isn't hard to follow and doesn't get bogged down. There are some religious themes, one of the best characters is a priest and they all pray to the Heart of the Island, but like the other themes I've mentioned it isn't quite pronounced, only there. The story sets up a series well, I hope the growing pains were worked out in this one and the second book can pick up where this one left off.

Overall, this was an excellent book, good for kids who like animal fantasy or people who like basic fantasy in general. It was similar in ways to the Silverwing series by Kenneth Oppel and to the Warriors series, maybe even similar to The Wind in the Willows in a way, or The Giver. It's suitable for all ages, but the younger a kid is the more I'd suggest discussion.

Buy Urchin of the Riding Stars

Review: City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

This is the first book in a YA series, which I have heard much about and read on the recommendation of my dear sister, who is a YA several years more Y than I. It follows two 12-year-olds who live in the City of Ember, a place where the sky is always dark. But what's that? They're running out of food, widgets, and lightbulbs to keep the streets lit?

First, and remember this, I liked the book. I had somehow gotten it into my head that it was a YA urban fantasy book, and it's not. It's more of a kids' sci-fi-ish book. But after I figured that out, it was original, interesting, and kept me curious the whole way through, which is an important feature for a kids' book to have.

The two main characters, Lina and Doon, are pretty normal stars for a book like this. Kids who seem to be the only competent people in existence. But I love how they take time to interact with each other, and they actually have reasons for running into each other besides "the plot says so." The addition of Lina's baby sister helped to ground Lina and Doon and keep them from being too autonomous. Several of the secondary characters, like Doon's father, had a refreshing depth I that I didn't expect and proved that not ALL of the adults are useless. And even if they don't ACT like real kids, Lina and Doon have an earnestness about them that's really believable.

Okay. I have issues with the plot. I have no idea why everyone thinks this book is a YA when no one over the age of fourteen is going to believe a word of it. The very first incident in the book is the graduation of the 12-year-old students. As per tradition, jobs are RANDOMLY ASSIGNED to them and they go out to make their way in the world and become useful members of society. I can understand that a city that's running down needs everyone to start helping at an early age, but randomly assigning the jobs? That can't be efficient.

The middle half of the book is the best. It has a Redwall-esque riddle to solve and believable kid angst, mixed in with Tantalizingly Tiny Tidbits of information about Ember. But there's a depressing lack of climax to the story, and the reveals aren't satisfying to me. Just ask my sister, I ranted at her for a good half hour about how retarded some of it was.

Back to the good stuff though. A kid won't notice any of the stuff I didn't like, and there's both a prequel and a sequel to maybe explain some of the things that didn't work. And I liked the book. It has a slightly Lemony Snicket-y feel, but with content more similar to The Giver. (It doesn't have near the upsetting content as The Giver, it just reminds me of it. Also: I love The Giver.) So if you have/are a 12-year-old, snatch City of Ember up and make yourself comfortable, you'll love it.

Note that a movie version of this book came out a short while ago. It didn't play at my local theater, but if anyone's seen it I'd love to hear their opinions.

ETA: Saw the movie, and it was awful. Don't see it.

Buy The City of Ember

Review: Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston

It's Dr. Seuss for (much?) older kids! And maybe adults!

No, wait, hear me out, it really is!

Zorgamazoo is a novel in rhyming, Dr. Seuss-like poetry, following the adventures of Katrina Katrell, an adventurous young girl, and Mortimer Yorgle, a decidedly unadventures zorgle who has been chosen to find the missing zorgles of Zorgamazoo. Heartwarming and hilarious hijinx ensue!

The poetry is really perfect, using infectious rhythm and unique words to suck you in and keep you from looking at anything else. The form allows some things to be simply TOLD (With a bit of a song, it was Morty's belief, / he could cope a bit better with feelings of grief.) so that we can move on to the story, but at the same time we're allowed to stop and really explore something for a few verses before we move on, all without losing track of the rhythm.

The plot and characters have a really fun blend of expected--the girl who believes in her fantasies and runs away from her evil governess--and unexpected, in the zorgle who's FATHER is adventurous and is bucking the tradition by being cowardly. Each character has a particular freshness, uniqueness, and individual motivation and none of that is forgotten as the story goes on. Also, and I won't spoil, I really really love the ending.

This would make an excellent read-aloud and vocabulary builder for younger kids, a great introduction to some of the possibilities in poetry, or just an exciting adventure to read to yourself. (Personally I read some passages aloud to myself just because I liked the words so much.) If you or your kids liked Seuss, Roald Dahl, Lemony Snicket, or The Edge Chronicles, this is the book for you.

What follows are some excerpts from the first few chapters of the book, just to get you hooked. Please note that these are taken from the ARC version, and may not be the final text. The final text was released on October 16th and is available to buy. You can visit zorgamazoo.com for more info on the book. And now:

Here is a story that's stranger than strange.
Before we begin you may want to arrange:

a blanket,
a cushion,
a comfortable seat,
and maybe some cocoa and something to eat.

I'll warn you, of course, before we commence,
my story is eerie and full of suspense,
brimming with danger and narrow escapes,
and creatures of many remarkable shapes.

. . .

So if you've no time for the whimsical things,
for pirates and gadgets and creatures and kings,
if you spurn the fantastic to never return,
then put this book down...

for it's not your concern.

Ah, you're still here. Then I'm grateful to you.
This book needs a reader, as all of them do.

. . .

Now Mortimer Yorgle, or "Morty" for short,
was a zorgle, perhaps, of a singular sort.
He was certainly pleasant, and friendly enough,
but his edges, I'd say, were a little bit rough.

For instance: His necktie was always
awry.
His trousers were striped with ridiculous dye.
On each of his hands he wore fingerless gloves,
and a rumpled-up raincoat was one of his loves.

Now read the book, for goodness' sake!

Buy Zorgamazoo