Mirror Mirror by Marilyn Singer

Book Jacket

There are two sides to every story, from the princess and the frong, to the beauty and the beast, to Sleeping Beauty and that charming prince.

Now, in a unique collection of reversible verse, classic fairy tales are turned on their heads.  Literally.  Read these clever poems from top to bottom.  Then reverse the lines nad read from bottom to top to give these well-loved stories a delicious new spin.

Witty, irreverent, and exquisitely illustrated, this unique collection holds a cheeky mirror up to language and fairy tales, and renews the magic of both.

Review

I remember the first time I saw a poem reversed--with a new and completely opposite meaning!  I thought it was magic and could only happen once.  Turns out Singer has written a whole book of them!  I love fairy tales, and I love creativity, so of course this was right up my alley.

First, the dual-pictures that accompany each set of poems are absolutely stunning!  Worth it just for those.

On to the poems.  I'll admit that a couple of them didn't strike me as all too impressive.  But the majority were very good.  It's fun to see a classic fairy tale from opposing perspectives, and the snarkiness that ususally accompanies this was wonderful.  I especially liked "Longing for Beauty" and "The Sleeping Beauty and the Wide-Awake Prince."  Because I don't think you can really appreciate the coolness of this poetry form without experiencing it, I'll let you read the latter here.

Typical. 
Hacking through briars,
looking for love--
the prince at work.
But I have to be
sleeping,
never
partying,
never
out in the world.
It's no fun being
in a fairy tale.

In a fairy tale
it's no fun being
out in the world,
never
partying,
never sleeping.
But I have to be
the prince at work,
looking for love,
hacking through briars.
Typical.

Four out of five doubtful ducklings.

Release Date:  March 2010
Reading Level: Grade 2+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection: BLUESTEM

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Book Jacket

The Empyrean is the only home fifteen-year-old Waverly has ever known.  Part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space, she and her boyfriend Kieran, will be pioneers of New Earth.  Waverly knows she must marry young in order to have children who can carry on the mission, and Kieran, the handsome captain-to-be, has everything Waverly could want in a husband.  Everyone is sure he's the best choice.  Still, there's a part of Waverly that wants more from life than marriage, and she is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

Suddenly, Waverly's dreams are interrupted by the inconceivable--a violent betrayal by the Empyrean's sister ship, the New Horizon.  The New Horizon's leaders are desperate to populate the new planet first, and will do anything to get what they need: young girls.  In one pivotal moment, Waverly and Kieran are separated, and they find themselves at the helms of dangerous missions, where every move has potentially devastating consequences, and decisions of the heart may lead to disaster.

Review

This book is one of the craziest I've read recently, and I mean that in the best way possible!  Glow is sci-fi lite, which is my favorite kind.  By that I mean the setting is space and the technology is advanced, but the mechanics of how the future works are not the point of the story.  People are! 

And wow, the people that make up the passengers and crew of Empyrean and New Horizon.  Ryan doesn't shy away from digging into her characters and letting both their nobility and their skeeziness shine through.  She made me sad when a child-beating, sexual predator died!  How is that possible?

The thing I loved most about this story is it's delving into religion.  At first glance, it seems like all religion is evil, an opiate to the masses and a cloak for nefarious deeds.  But.  I believe Ryan is doing something more subtle and more awesome.  In the characters of Pastor Anne and Paster Kieran, I believe we are seeing the difference between using religion as a weapon and using religion as a means of giving hope.  Yes, any time one person has control over a large group of people, there is the potential for corruption and evil.  But it doesn't have to be that way!  I can't wait to see how more of this plays out in the sequel.

I haven't even gotten to the characters!  I loved Kieran.  He is a quintessential good boy.  I would totally have him for my captain even though he's only sixteen.  And Seth.  *shudder*  I don't know if a character has ever made me so genuinely disturbed.  I never know what to expect from him!  He's a damaged, angry young man, for sure.  But I just....is he only out for himself?  Does he honestly believe his horrible actions are for the best?  I can't tell!

And Waverly.  Oh, Waverly.  You basically experience everything awful that could ever happen.  Through her story, Ryan explores sexism and the idea of women=uteruses.  (This book covers a lot of ground!  It's so impressive!)  Waverly is a strong young woman who fights against lies, who is willing to undergo massive injury, physical and emotional, in order to save others.  I love her.

Five out of five grav bags.

Release Date:  September 2011
Reading Level: Grade 7+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection: YPL RYA

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai

Book Jacket

No one would believe me
but at times
I would choose
wartime in Saigon
over
peacetime in Alabama.

For all the ten years of her life, Ha has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by...and the beauty of her very own papaya tree.

But now the Vietnam War has reached her home.  Ha and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope.  In America, Ha discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape...and the strength of her very own family.

This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next.

Review

It is impossible not to compare Inside Out & Back Again to last year's Caudill nominee All the Broken Pieces.  They are both novels in verse centered around a Vietnamese child living in America after the war forced them from their home.

The main difference is this: while we got Matt's memories of life in Vietnam, we never actually saw him live there.  Inside Out & Back Again begins in Vietnam.  Ha loves her country, her holidays, her family, her papaya tree.  The war is an ever-present reality, but it does not make her love her country less.  We then travel with her out of Vietnam to Alabama.  Even there, Ha is very much a Vietnamese girl. 

I loved seeing her struggle with the English language (it really is ridiculous) and sassily tell her Cowboy that horses say "hee hee" rather than "neigh."  I felt for her when she burned with humiliation as her classmates applauded her ability to say the alphabet when in Vietnam she could do fractions and purify water. 

Bullying is a big theme here.  I hope that books like these will show the complete stupidity and heartlessness of mocking someone from another country.  Or course they are different.  They grew up in different place.  It is my hope that someday differences will be celebrated, and we can learn from cultures other than our own.

I loved Ha's story.  It is heartbreaking and hopeful.  The story could best be summarized in Ha's own words: "Not the same, but not bad."

Four out of five papaya slices.

Release Date:  February 2011
Reading Level: Grade 4+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection: CAUDILL

39 Clues: The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis

Book Jacket

There's only one rule in the race to find the 39 Clues hidden around the world: TRUST NO ONE.  But when the hunt leades fourteen-year-old Amy Cahill and her younger brother, Dan, to Japan, their only chance to find the third Clue seems to lie with their unreliable uncle, Alistair Oh.  Will they be foolish enough to make an alliance?  With a Clue on the line, Amy and Dan might not have a choice.  But in the Cahill family, trusting your relatives can get you killed...

Review

I was so excited for this one because: Japan!  But that ended up not being as thrilling as I anticipated.  Which makes sense, when the thing I love most about Japan is its beauty.  That is probably not going to be the highlight of an action/adventure story.  However, I still loved this book because:  romance!

And the best kind, with shady motivations, betrayals, snobby boys, and sassy stuttering girls.  I am of course talking about Amy and Ian!  This is a long haul relationship, and I am 100% on board.  Any couple that is willing to kill the other is one I want to read about.  Possibly my romantic standards are a bit skewed.

Actually, all the best stuff in this book was relationship related.  Alistair remains one of my favorite characters.  The Holts redeemed themselves very slightly, but I still hope they don't last very long.  And the Cobras seemed pretty awesome until they revealed their true colors.  Again.  This book was all about temporary alliances, and I approve.  It was all very fun, and the ending was quite shocking. 

I'm definitely in this series til the end.

Four out of five alchemy symbols.

Release Date:  March 2009
Reading Level: Grade 4+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection: J39C B.3

Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom by Eric Wight

Book Jacket

Meet Frankie Pickle...the kid with the world's most amazing imagination!

It takes him on adventures.  It helps him save the day.  And sometimes it gets him into TROUBLE.

When Frankie's mom says he never has to clean his room again, he goes hog wild.  The more he plays, the bigger the mess grows, until it tumbles out of control!  Now Frankie must clean up his act, but will his imagination be enough to conquer the Closet of Doom?

Review

I never thought I would read a book that would make me want to clean my room (yes, I am an adult who still puts off cleaning her room).  Frankie's story was delightful.  He is a bundle of energy, turning a grab for the last breakfast waffle into a temple run to capture a golden statue.  His imagination oftens runs away from him, for better or for worse.

In the case of his ever-accumulating piles of stuff, it is definitely for the worse.  His messy room eventually disgusts even him, and all on his own he cleans up.  The picture of his spotless room was inspirational.  As was the return of the Dryer Sheet Fairy.

This book was genuinely funny.  It was a sweet story of a family.  It was a great depiction of imagination.  The alternating prose and graphic novels styles will make it accessible to beginning readers.  I loved it!

Five out of five helpful dogs.

Release Date:  May 2009
Reading Level: Grade 2+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection: MONARCH

The Gentleman Poet by Kathryn Johnson

Book Jacket

En route to the Americas in 1609, Elizabeth Persons, a young servant girl, sees her blinding headache as an ominous sign.  Sure enough, a hurricane during the final leg of their journey tosses the ill-fated Sea Venture and its one hundred and fifty passengers and crew onto the dreaded shores of the Bermudas, the rumored home of evil spirits and dangerous natives.  In the months that pass--time marked by grave hardship, mutiny, adventure, danger...and a blossoming love between Elizabeth and the wrecked ship's young cook--she despairs of their ever being rescued.  But she finds hope and strength in a remarkable new friendship, forming a fast bond with the Sea Venture's historian, a poet traveling under the name of William Strachey.  But Will is more than he seems.  To many back home in England, he is known by a different name: Shakespeare.  And he sees in their great shared travails the makings of a magical, truly transcendent work of theater.

Review

Ugh.  This was the exact opposite of my cup of tea.  In fact, I only finished it to prove that I could read something outside my normal boundaries.  I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction, and definitely not stories that take their historical protagonists outside of real life's timeline (unless it's cracktastic fun).  And even less so when Shakespeare's genius is attributed to random people.  I'm sorry, but he did not crash land on an island in the Bermudas and get told the plot of The Tempest by a girl named Elizabeth/Miranda.

Alongside the central monstrosity, there is the mess that is Elizabeth/Miranda.  She has a truly tragic past, and real reasons for being neurotic in general and with romance in specific.  I wish they had explored that more fully instead of melting into a traditional romance plot.  I just can't believe a story that goes "I hate men for very believable and traumatizing reasons!  Even you!  Maybe not?  Okay, let's go all the way tonight!"

It doesn't help that Thomas was initially described as being two heads taller than a normal-sized man, so I kept picturing this giant with garbage-lid hands.  Their love scenes were therefore hilarious rather than tender.

The ending was supposed to be sad, but instead I gaped, because it was so obviously a plot device to get Elizabeth/Miranda where she next needed to be. 

This book was everything I hate. 

One out of five stars.

Release Date:  September 2010
Reading Level: Grade 9+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection: YPL JOH

The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

Book Jacket

It's 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbors their whole lives.  They've been best friends almost as long--up until last November, when everything changed.  Things have been awkward ever since, but when Josh's family gets an American Online CD-ROM in the mail, his mom makes him bring it over so Emma can install it on her new computer.  When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto Facebook...but Facebook hasn't been invented yet!

Josh and Emma are looking at their profiles fifteen years in the future.  Their spouses, careers, homes, and status updates--it's all there.  But it's not what they expected.  And every time they refresh their pages, their futures change.  As they grapple with the ups and downs of what their lives hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right--and wrong--in the present.

Review

I loved this book!  The nostalgia was fantastic--reliving the cassette tapes, the dial-up, the giddy joy of holding six conversations on AIM at once.  I even shrieked a little bit from both happiness and horror when I was reminded that the internet used to mean your phone line was tied up.  1996 is less than 20 years ago, but in many ways, it seems an eternity past.  Crazy times.  But fun to relive!

I also loved the premise.  Two kids being shown their future, and having the power to control it!  What could go wrong?  Turns out, a lot of things.  Emma and Josh are great foils for each other; Emma is too controlling, and Josh is too laid back.  Throughout the story Emma has to learn to stop trying so hard to control her relationships, while Josh learns to step up and take risks, both of them opening themselves to hurt as well as hope.

Seeing Facebook through the eyes of someone who was just experiencing the internet for the first time was hilarious, and made me question some of the things I put out for the world to see.  Does anyone really care if I'm making macaroni and cheese?  Maybe my 1996-self does, actually.

The ending was lovely, though I wish we'd gotten a bit more.  For a book that gives two teenagers a glimpse into their future, I thought the whole thing was very believable.  I loved both protagonists, and I cheered for their presents and their futures.

Five out of five massive cell phones.

Release Date:  November 2011
Reading Level: Grade 9+
Where In Dunlap Public Library's Collection: YPL ASH