Cloudy With a Chance of Books

The ninja who sneak about under cover of night are vampires. This gives them their superhuman stealth and strength. Of course!

Nick Lake clearly knows his Japanese culture and it soaks out of this epic story of young Taro who is foretold to be the next shogun. Taro and his devoted friend Hiro travel with the vampire ninja, Shusaku, to hide from the assassination attempts of Lord Oda. There are also revenge plots, sword masters, beautiful & deadly ladies, ancient objects of mythic power, ninja trickery, and plenty of combat.

It took me a chapter or two to become immersed in this ancient Japan where vampires were real. But, once hooked the epic journey of Taro to discover his heritage and avenge his adoptive father had me. I picked it up for the ninja vampires, but will continue reading for the drama, romance, beautiful world and just to see how Taro overcomes all to be the next shogun.
368p., 2009

The CYBILS – Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards have been announced for 2009.
I worked on the judging panel for Easy Readers and Early Chapter books.

Go read my summaries of our picks and check out all the winners over at the cybils page

In an alternative Europe, Darwinists have successful unraveled and recombined the stuff of life to create new animals. The Leviathan is a Darwinist engineered giant dirigible that is primarily sperm whale, but encompasses a whole ecosystem of animals each working to keep the Leviathan military airship aloft. Deryn disguises herself as a boy in order to realize her dreams of flying in the Royal Air Service and serves aboard Leviathan.

Westerfeld reimagines the first world war as a battle between the British and French Darwinists with their genetically engineered animals built for battle and the Austro-Hungarian Clankers with their mechanically advanced tanks and walkers which remind me of creations from the video game Battletech.

Half of the story is told from Deryn’s perspective as she hides her gender to enlist.  The other half is told from the perspective of Alek who is the orphaned child of Archduke Ferdinand whose murder triggers The Great War.  The orphaned Alek hides in the mountains of Switzerland with his trusted advisors hoping to avoid capture or assassination.  When Leviathan is sent on a special mission to carry Darwinist created eggs out of Britain, she crashes bringing Alek and Deryn’s stories together.

This delivered a number of reading pleasures.  I love stories of girls in disguise infilitrating male institutions and Deryn’s story of hiding her identity in order to fly was thrilling.  The Darwinist creatures and clanker tanks were fascinating creations and made for some epic battle scenes.  The larger political intrigue driving the action left mysteries and suspense for the sequels.  If you know something about WWI it is fun to note the changes, but the reader doesn’t need to know that history.  I would recommend this strongly to readers who enjoyed Airborn by Oppel or Airman by Colfer.  It is very different from Westerfeld’s Uglies books, but every bit as well written and enjoyable.  Keith Thompson’s illustrations paired nicely with the text and did not make the book more juvenile for me.  Instead, the illustrations added a coolness and I think teens who enjoy graphic novels will particularly appreciate them.  448p., 2009.

I was thrilled to see this book on SLJ’s best of the year.   I think it deserves it’s spot.  I would recommend the book widely to teens and to adults addicted to YA lit.   It was one of the more surprising and unique books I read this year.

Micah is the queen of unreliable narrators, but she told you she was a liar right up front.  So, it’s kind of your fault if you believe everything she says.  The story happens in three parts.  There are sections that happen before the brutal killing of Micah’s secret boyfriend, Zach.  Zach has a public girlfriend at school (the popular, wealthy & nice Sarah) and is seeing Micah (a school misfit) on the side.  There are the sections that happen after Zach’s death.  Also, there are sections about Micah’s secret-filled family history.  I will admit I didn’t see Micah’s BIG family secret coming, though the author built in all the details and I certainly could have.  How do you handle the death of someone who was not always a great person?  As rumors fly, students find out Micah was also seeing Zach.  Zach’s best friend and girlfriend both try to connect with Micah recognizing that she feels Zach’s loss, but her lies get in the way.  How does lying poison relationships?  This book raised more questions than it answered, but it left me feeling very satisfied at the end despite that.

This would be a GREAT book discussion book.  The question of how much do you believe what the narrator tells you could fill hours.  I want to find someone who’s read this one to talk with soon.

Since it is written in small sections that build it’s a good book for reluctant readers, but not for those with lower reading ability because of the way you need to keep track of Micah’s lies and all the pieces of the puzzle.  That is to say, this is a very complex novel in bite sized pieces, perfect for a reader who goes for quick reads but is capable of more.  I’d love to give it to the Gossip Girl reader looking for a book report book.  It also isn’t for readers who can’t handle ambiguity or an ending that isn’t wrapped neatly.  So, unlike some books I’d say this one is for high schoolers and college kids.  It really resonates for those who have been in the social hell that high school can create.  It put me back in that place, though certainly I didn’t have a secret relationship with someone who was murdered.  But, I did wonder where I stood with my friends and my family the way Micah does.  Also, the author does not avoid sex or swearing though she does treat them with a realism that feels respectful.  I’d be happy to give this one to my daughter in her teen years.  371p., 2009

Lucy Pennykettle knows there is a monster in her room. Her mother does not believe her, but crafts Lucy a miniature guard dragon named Gruffen to protect her. Her mother uses a magical snowball to bring the clay dragon to life. Gruffen discovers the monster is really a bat. Lucy and Gruffen must protect this bat from a neighbor who wishes to get rid of her and find her a safe place to have her bat pup.

This was a simple, charming story with illustrations that perfectly matched the tone. Gruffen’s missteps in his attempt to guard Lucy added humor. More tales of the magical miniature dragons created by Lucy’s mom are forthcoming. It is fun to read about the secret lives of these dragons who do not move when nosy neighbors are near, but are capable of magic when there are no prying eyes. This is a good new series for the 2nd or 3rd grader looking for a cozy magical tale. 104p., 2009.

Cybils nominee for Easy Readers/Short Chapter Books category.

From the first sentence I knew what this book would be about.  “Katie Woo’s dog, Goldie, was very old.”

Goldie passes away and the book encompasses Katie’s grieving process.  At first she is very sad and needs her mother.  Then she turns to her friends to remember the happy and silly moments of Goldie’s life.  Finally, she decides to create a scrapbook of memories that celebrate Goldie’s long and happy life.  At the end she kisses a photo of Goldie and promises not to forget her.

It is a simple & familiar story, but a very good treatment of pet death for a kindergarten to 2nd grader.  The language is simple enough for beginning readers to read independently and it will be comforting for children who’ve lost a pet to see someone in their position.  The book may also be a good starting point for children with older pets to begin thinking about pet loss. After the story is over, the book includes a section with discussion questions, writing prompts and a guide to making your own scrapbook.  The Katie Woo series is positioned to be good for groups of kids to discuss.  Adults running book discussions with beginning readers should check out Katie Woo.  32p., 2009.

Cybils nominee for Easy Readers/Short Chapter Books category.

Jake’s parents have disappeared on an archaelogical expedition. They send Jake and his older sister, Kady, each half of an ancient Mayan coin. When the artifacts his parents recovered from their last expedition are displayed in London, Jake visits the exhibit. He puts the coin halves into a miniature golden pyramid which pulls him and his sister into another world.  In this world Native Americans fly on dinosaurs and Romans live alongside Mayans in a valley protected by the power of crystals. This valley is in danger from the rising power of the Skull King and his unnatural creations.  Jake makes two good friends, a Mayan girl and a Roman boy, with whom he will fight the Skull King and his warriors.

This book reminds me of Narnia as siblings who love each other but don’t always like each other are pulled across time to a land where a battle rages against a powerful evil.  Instead of religious undertones it is pinned on scientific principles.  The nature of light and the theory of continental drift both figure prominently in the plot.  The Skull King who literally wears shadows is less willing to use charm than the White Witch, but both plan to rule and sap the land of its vitality.  Jake is driven to pursue the discipline that his parents loved.  The author has provided Jake a host of mysteries and he takes them on like a young Indiana Jones.  There is plenty of action for this young adventurer and the unanswered questions about his parents’ fate will drive readers to want to pick up the upcoming sequel.

I enjoyed this book and think it is a great read for 6th – 8th graders particular those who like MacHale’s Pendragon books or Indiana Jones.  Pure adventure. 399p., 2009.

This book about a dog named Aggie and her boy, Ben, is a cheerful treat for new readers. Ben wonders if Aggie is a good dog and if she will ever learn to SIT and STAY when there are squirrels and cats to chase.

The illustrator does a great job of capturing movement and emotion in his pictures. I particularly enjoyed the scene where Aggie gets into a ladies’ hat shop and finds a mirror that shows her three dogs who need to be barked at. On a tear through the store Aggie ends up in a jaunty hat. A dog wearing a ladies hat is very funny.

Ries manages the fine art of storytelling in short sentences and with short words. This book is very friendly to beginning readers. The stories are simple, but filled with action.  The pictures support the story showing the action described in the text which is helpful for readers who may struggle with the words.  The book is divided into 3 chapters (Aggie at School, Aggie in Training, and A Bad Dog) and is just under 50 pages which feels like a good length – long enough to feel substantial without being overwhelming to new readers.  I would recommend this book and its prequel Aggie and Ben to readers who like DiCamillo’s Mercy Watson books. 48p., 2009

I am going to be a judge for the Cybils category of Easy Readers and Early Chapter Book. I trying to read and review as many of the nominated books as possible to get a feel for the genre.  This is the first nominee I’ve read.

While her twin brother is born the 7th son of a 7th son which makes him magically powerful and lucky, Eff is born thirteenth which means she is certain to poison the lives of those around her.  Eff’s is made miserable by her cousins and Uncle Earn who believe that her parents should not have kept an unlucky thirteenth child.  Her parents decide to move the family west to the frontier in part to get Eff away from the taunts of those who know she is a 13th child and in part because the father of the family has the opportunity to become a professor of magic at a new land grant college.  The frontier borders the wild west which in Wrede’s alternate world is populated with dangerous magical creatures.  Settlers into the West take along magicians trained to protect them from magical wildlife and sometimes settlements fall to attack by steam dragons or mammoths.  The plot chronicles Eff’s school days, the dramas of her siblings especially two older sisters’ marriages, the difficulties of being sister to a magically gifted twin, and Eff’s worries that her unlucky magic will harm those around her.

Eff grows from childhood to young adulthood during the course of this book.  The scope of her growth and the setting reminded me of older books like Anne of Green Gables (who is also just sure she’ll never be able to be good) and the collected Little House books.  Eff’s family is loving and supportive, but ultimately she must figure out her own troubles controlling her magical abilities.  I very much enjoyed this alternate pioneer version of the American West and Wrede’s heroine.  The details of Eff’s family life (she has a lot of family as a thirteenth child including many older siblings with dramas of their own) and the richly imagined magical world made this a delight to read.  While “Aphrikan” magic is respected and there are black characters in the book, Native Americans are conspicuously absent in this alternate vision of a magical American frontier.  This is a quieter fantasy than some swashbuckling dragon stories, but just as rich in its vision.  344p., 2009

Shiver is a supernatural romance that is being promoted as the next thing for Twilight fans to read.

It’s about werewolves, not vampires and it’s tone is very different from Meyer’s Twilight.

Sam is a sensitive werewolf who suffers the burden of knowing his time as a human is growing short.  Stiefvater’s werewolves respond to temperature turning wolf in the fall and returning to human form in the spring.  Werewolves find their summers in human form grow shorter each year until one year they remain wolves and stop shifting at all.

Grace is underappreciated by her often absent parents and obsessed with the wolf pack in the woods by her house – especially the wolf she feels is her wolf.  The wolf who watches her and comes each winter.  She was bitten by wolves as a child and rescued by the wolf she will come to know is Sam.

The story builds slowly in chapters that are sometimes from Grace’s perspective and sometime’s from Sam’s.  Grace and Sam have a secret relationship.  Sam is deeply damaged by his parents attempt to kill him when they realized his werewolf condition was permanent.  A newly created werewolf is angry and stalking the school and his old human haunts posing a risk for all he comes in contact with.  Sam spends time trying to keep the new werewolf in check and trying to stay human so he can have as many moments with Grace as possible.

Sam is fragile and damaged and needs protecting.  He is so far from Edward Cullen it’s almost funny.  While Edward is powerful and the boy every girl in school wants but can’t have, Sam is the boy who has no powers he can control and who no one but Grace even knows exists.  This supernatural romance was quieter and the school side of the story didn’t feel as real as the moments Sam and Grace spend alone together or when Sam connected to his pack.

I think this book is better suited to readers who liked Kindl’s Owl in Love than those who reveled in Meyer’s Twilight.  At moments, it felt underdeveloped for me but on the whole an inventive supernatural romance.