Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman

Book Jacket

Twelve-year-old Eon has been in training for years.  His intensive study of Dragon Magic, based on East Asian astrology, involves two kinds of skills: sword-work and magical aptitude.  He and his master hope that he will be chosen as a Dragoneye--an apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune.

But Eon has a dangerous secret.  He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been masquerading as a boy for the chance to become a Dragoneye.  Females are forbidden to use Dragon Magic; if anyone discovers she has been hiding in plain sight, her death is assured.

When Eon's secret threatens to come to light, she and her allies are plunged into grave danger and a deadly struggle for the Imperial throne.  Eon must find the strength and inner power to battle those who want to take her magic...and her life.

Review

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

I almost always love stories of hidden identities, of pretending to be something you're not to go against social convention.  What makes Eon stand out above the rest is the way Goodman plays with the psychological issues inherent in hiding your identity.  How deeply do you hide yourself?  Should you fully embrace your mask, or should you always remember who you truly are, or can you be a little bit of both?

Since this is a hidden identity where Eona the girl pretends to be Eon the boy, there is also so much fun gender bendiness!  There are eunuchs, and men born with women's souls, and girls pretending to be boys, and men taking Sun powder (i.e. steroids) to enhance their power.  But none of these things are overwhelmingly preachy.  They exist, and there are consequences, and the reader is left to make what they will of the characters.

Personally, I adored Ryko and Lady Dela.  They win all the awards for best supporting characters.  Eon is complicated and forceful and not at all perfect, which makes her a brilliant protagonist.  As her foil, Ido is brilliantly power-mad, terrifying and genuinely creepy.  The rest of the cast fills out very nicely, and I liked nearly everyone, which made it so sad when people started to die.

Which is another thing I love about this book.  Goodman isn't afraid to kill her characters for the sake of a great and dramatic story.

Finally, what makes me truly adore Eon: Dragoneye Reborn is this.  Even though it sounds like just another girl-pretending-to-be-a-boy plot, it does something unusual.  Eona isn't only awesome like a boy, capable of fighting and swaggering telling people who's boss.  She learns to do those things.  But her real power comes from her femininity.  It isn't until she embraces her feminine side that she can really kick butt.  Girls have worth and power when being feminine. Thank you, Goodman, for the reminder to society.

Five out of five red folios.

Release Date:  December 2008
Reading Level: Grade 8+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection: YPL GOO

Bone: Rock Jaw, Master of the Eastern Border by Jeff Smith

Book Jacket

Fone and Smiley Bone try to return a rat creature cub to the mountains, where they meet yet another adversary: the sly and might mountain lion, Rock Jaw.

Review

This is a bit of a break in the overarching story.  There's no Thorn or the village in the valley.  Instead, we get a lot of Fone and Smiley, a bunch of adorable baby orphaned animals, some almost good rat creatures, and a bit more mythology development!  While it wasn't knock-my-socks off good, it was definitely a great chapter of the story.

I'm constantly surprised at how Smith manages to make this series for both children and adults.  There are funny jokes and sight gags, and there are discussions about good and evil and power.  Something for everyone!

Four out of five racoons named Roderick.

Release Date:  January 2007
Reading Level: Grade 4+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection: GRAPHIC SMI

LEGO Club

Because New Years is so near, our theme this week was "What do you most want to be invented in 2012?"  There was a snack bar, a car, video game car, and....a zombie protection yard.  HAHAHA.  I suppose 2012 is the end of the world, right?  Could be from zombies.

Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe

Book Jacket

Beware the hare!

Is he or isn't he a vampire?

Before it's too late, Harold the dog and Chester the cat must find out the truth about the newest pet in the Monroe household--a suspicious-looking bunny with unusual habits...and fangs!

Review

So before vampires hit is big time, there were...vampire rabbits?  That's almost as bad as the sparkly kind (or as great?  take your pick).  Granted, the story as told by Harold the dog was cute.  And I loved Chester the cat, avid reader, frequent journier into the wacky imagination, and super into pop psychology (maybe I identified with him a little). 

But a book on the dangers of a bunny?  Who sucks vegetables dry?  HAHAHAHA. 

I guess I'm especially laughing because I remember being a kid and seeing this book on the shelves.  I was too scared to read it then.  And for nothing, I find out!  I think it's not supposed to be scary?  Although, really, that cover is terrifying.  Rabbits with red eyes leering over a carrot can never be good.

Three out of five white zucchinis.

Release Date:  August 1996
Reading Level: Grade 3+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection:  BLUESTEM

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Book Jacket

I am a beast.

A beast.  Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright--a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore.  I am a monster.

You think I'm talking fairy tales?  No way.  The place is New York City.  The time is now.  It's no deformity, no disease.  And I'll stay this way forever--ruined--unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me.  Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night?  I'll tell you.  I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life.  And then, I'll tell you who I became perfectly...beastly.

Review

This book was doomed from the start.  I adore the Disney movie that inspired it, and I hated the movie that was made from it.  I figured the book would land somewhere between the two, and it did.  Unfortunately, it was much nearer the hating than the adoring.

I'm all for modern adaptations of fairy tales, and there were some moments that really worked.  Scorning the witch at a school dance made sense, and holing up in a mansion in Brooklyn will make all subsequent trips to NYC very entertaining.  "Do you think a beast lives in that house?  Or maybe that one?  Oh, definitely THAT one!"

However, the bad outweighed the good for me.  In Beauty and the Beast, I rooted for the romance because neither of them wanted it.  They fell in love despite bad first impressions and horrible circumstances.  But in Beastly, Adrian (Kyle changes his name after the transformation) kidnaps Lindy (the Belle of this story) for the sole purpose of falling in love and making her love him.  I'm sorry, but...I don't think true love works that way?  I didn't buy it, at least.

And Kyle/Adrian rubbed me the wrong way whether he was a narcissistic human jerk or an emo beast.  He wants to impress Lindy by appearing smart, but then decides to "let her" be the smart one.  What!?  No.  She could beat his intellectual hide any day; she does not need anyone to "let" her be smart. 

That's a small point, but it sums up my biggest problem with this adaptation.  Even when at his best, Kyle/Adrian is always thinking about himself.  He never really seems to learn selflessness, and because of that, I don't believe that his love for Lindy is pure, and I doubt that it can last in a fairy tale happily ever after way, no matter what the book wants me to think.

Two out of five green houses.

Release Date:  October 2007
Reading Level: Grade 8+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection:  LINCOLN

Graham Cracker Houses

For me at least, winter means gorging on way too much candy.  It also means staying indoors more often.  I can only assume that the first person to make a graham cracker house (or gingerbread house) felt the same way.

I promise it's not laziness, but I love to do crafts where I simply provide materials and let the kids get as creative as possible.  That's what I did today for our graham cracker houses, and I was not disappointed.  Once they got the walls to stay up, they got busy decorating or, in one case, building a graham cracker outhouse.

Pictures below the cut.

Bone: The Dragonslayer by Jeff Smith

Book Jacket

The forces of evil are growing stronger.  But could our heroes' worst enemy be Phoney Bone himself?

Review

Ooo, this was a good one!  Lots of background mythology and lots of action.  Thorn's hidden past, and how she deals with the consequences of her real identity was really good--she doesn't immediately jump into the role of hero, but when it counts, she is there for her friends.  Gran'ma Ben is still overwhelmingly awesome even though she was absent for a large part of the book.

There's so much depth to this series.  The good guys aren't always good.  And the villains have hierarchy after hierarchy!  The rat monsters serve the hooded guy who serves the locust horde, which I assume will be dealt with more in the future.  And they are not naturally evil--who knew a baby rat monster would be so completely adorable?

Smith's artwork is consistently fantastic.  He does cartoons and realistic characters with equal skill.  I'm kind of really jealous.

Five out of five dreams?

Release Date:  August 2006
Reading Level: Grade 4+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection:  GRAPHIC SMI