NEW ENGLAND CHILDREN'S BOOKSELLING ADVISORY COUNCIL
FALL PREVIEWS, 2006

This list is the tenth annual attempt to identify as many high quality titles as possible from among the numerous new June-December middle grade and young adult fiction books.

It was produced by soliciting reading copies from as many publishers as possible, sharing the contributed books among NECBA members, reading and reviewing and rating as many as possible.

From these titles a Top 16 was selected to be selected for the NEIBA Newsletter as a service to our general bookstore colleagues who are less familiar with the genre.

As is ever the case, contributions are uneven, with some publishers supplying a very large fraction of the galleys, and a few reviewers supplying a very large fraction of the reviews. Such reviews are, by their nature, never soon enough or inclusive enough.

Nevertheless, this list is bound to alert the reader to at least one or two — and probably more — excellent titles s/he might have missed.

10 A desert island book for all time: Charlotte's Web, Frederick, Bridge to Terabithia.

9 One of the best of the season, probably saleable in hardcover, can recommend with honest enthusiasm to customers, will have legs in paperback.

8 Solid Newbery or Printz honor contender, whether I like it or not.

7 I will handsell it well in hardcover, but others might or might not.
[cut-off point average for inclusion of full review in our final selection]

6 Mixed bag, but with some fine points. Probably can recommend in paperback if not hardcover; OR kids will go wild for it but the enduring literary quality is mixed.

5 Suitable for some school library situations, but unlikely to sell in hardcover as a child's choice or as a gift.

4 An honest but unsuccessful effort, probably an editor's hope that better things will follow.
[cut-off point for inclusion of title in our final listing]

3 Not a book I would want on my store's shelves if I could help it.

2 A book I'd have a hard time embracing even if a friend's child wrote it.

1 Waste of a good tree.

An Abundance of Katherines
by John Green
Dutton/Penguin, September, 2006, $16.99
0-525-47688-1

Core audience: Will appeal to teen boys and girls
Strengths: sensitivity to teen issues and feelings, humor
Review: Colin has just been dumped- by his nineteenth girlfriend named Katherine! He describes himself as a child prodigy (not a genius), a reteller, not a writer. He can plot and graph what has already happened, but is still waiting for that "Eureka!" moment to understand the future. He is all math and practicality. He takes a summer road trip with his buddy, Hassan, to try to recover. In Buckshot, Kentucky he meets Lindsey, who just wants to "fly in under the radar. When you start to make yourself a big deal, you get shot down. The bigger a deal you are, the worse your life is." She is a grocery clerk and aspiring young EMT and doesn't want to leave town and go to college. Her boyfriend is the big football player who has a lot to learn about respect. You've got to love Hassan for his humor and loyalty, and positively adore his moment of spiritual awakening to the fact that he has been all jokes and fun in place of DOING. Colin's Eureka moment comes when he realizes that no matter how well he can create theorems to explain past happenings, no one can predict the future. Through his summer job as recorder of local folks' life stories, he learns that remembered stories matter, that stories create ripples through the future. The graphs in his notebook have been replaced by words. All three learn about connecting to others, and we know they move on positively with their lives. There is lots to think about here, along with the humor and engaging characters.
Reviewer: Sue Carita, The Toadstool Bookshop, Milford, NH
Rated: 8

Core audience: Will appeal to teen boys and girls
Strengths: sensitivity to teen issues and feelings, humor, intriguing characters
Review: Colin and Hassan are two completely loveable nerds whose adventures and misadventures change them in surprising ways. What is the best remedy for a broken heart? Road trip! When Colin and Hassan leave Chicago with destination unknown, little do they know what lies ahead of them. Colin tries to puzzle out why he has been dumped by nineteen Katherines and if there is a mathematical model to predict the future in romance. The road leads to Gutshot, Tennessee, a destination which appealed to Colin because it is the gravesite of his hero Archduke Franz Ferdinand. A whole new family of friends comes into Colin and Hassan's life including Lindsey who is dating "The Other Colin," her mother Hollis who runs the tampon string factory, and a cast of interesting characters in the town who are being interviewed by Colin, Hassan and Lindsey for a local history project. Add in a Feral Hog Hunt, flashbacks to all those Katherines, and Colin's ease at making anagrams out of any phrase. The writing and plotting of this story (complete with footnotes) show that John Green Printz award for Looking for Alaska was no beginner's luck. Witty, poignant, and smart, this terrific coming of age novel makes a great handsell.
Reviewer: Bina Williams, Bridgeport Public Library
Rated: 9

After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away
by Joyce Carol Oates,
Tempest, Harper Collins, August, 2006, $16.99
0-06-073525-2

Core audience: Will appeal to teen girls for its strong teen voice, sensitivity to issues
Review: Jenna Abbott thinks she is the cause of the horrible car accident that killed her Mom and put her into rehab for many months. Refusing to live with her Dad and his new family out west, she goes to live with her aunt's family in Vermont. Despite the loving patience they show her, she just doesn't respond and withdraws into that comfort zone of "the blue" that she found with the heavy pain medications in the hospital. She "flies away" from life. It takes dashing young motorcyclist classmate, Crow, with secrets of his own, to help her come to terms with her guilt and fears. I really like what Oates does with teen voices (remember Big Mouth and Ugly Girl? still a great book!). Readers might wonder why her beloved Aunt Caroline with her welcoming family, and the counseling provided could not break through the insecurities that created a year of drug-induced haze (even overdosing), chasing after the wrong crowd and poor grades. By the end, Jenna is ready to use her wings and take off in a new, more hopeful, healthy direction. Will sell in paper, I'm sure.
Reviewer: Sue Carita, The Toadstool Bookshop, Milford, NH
Rated: 7

Aftershock
by Kelly Easton
Simon & Schuster, November 2006, $16.95
1416900527

Core audience: Teens 14+
Review: Numb from the car crash that killed both of his parents but let him survive, Adam sets out to walk home across the county. Although he has lost the will to communicate, fate is on his side by bringing him in contact with multiple individuals lost on their own paths. This is a story of one mans journey from the depths of sorrow back to a "normal life".
Reviewer: Heather Doss, Bookazine Wholesalers
Rated: 7

Alabama Moon
by Watt Key
Farrar, Straus/VHPS, September, 2006, $17.00
0-374-30184-0

Core audience: Ages 10-14, especially boys
Strengths: plot, characters, humor, action, natural history, sensitivity
Review: Moon Blake is ten years old and highly educated in survival skills of the Noxubee River bottoms, but has never been through an intersection with a traffic light or talked on a telephone. When his father, a cratophobic veteran, dies refusing medical treatment, Moon is left on his own with vague instructions to go to Alaska where "there are more people like us." The authorities try to intervene on Moon's behalf, but he interprets their efforts as the evil hand of government, and becomes a blend of Peter Pan, Maniac Magee and Davy Crockett - with results that are highly entertaining, often funny, and sometimes very sad. If the ending is on the happy side of realistic, it's plausible enough. And it leaves open the delicious possibility of a sequel when Moon meets the education and religious communities.
Reviewer: Carol Chittenden, Eight Cousins and BookStream
Rated: 9.5

Core audience: ages 10 and up
Notable themes: friendship, love, wilderness survival, trust
Review: There are some books that have all the right ingredients, all the right characters, and all the right outcomes: This is one of them. With the writing of his first novel Watt Key has softened the pluck and spirit of Huckleberry Finn, slipped them into the bones of a 21st century boy, and in so doing, arrived. Filled with spunk and fever and a wild, sweet goodness, Alabama Moon is a soul-satisfying, kid-centric story staged with pecan trees, pine logs, and a cast of characters you can't help but love. Will kids like it? Oh, good heavens, yes. Scout's honor. I predict that wilderness skills will soon be en vogue again and suggest that a special Moon badge be awarded to every kid who reads this book.
Reviewer: Alison Morris, Children's Book Buyer, Wellesley Booksmith
Rated: 9.5

All Hallows' Eve
by Vivian Vande Velde
Harcourt , September 2006, $17.00
0152055762

Core audience: Age 12+
Review: Award winning author delves into horror in this collection of 13 spooky stories set on Halloween night. Great for fans of Christopher Pike or RL Stine; older tweens or younger teens.
Reviewer: Heather Doss, Bookazine Wholesalers
Rated: 6.5

Anahita's Woven Riddle
by Meghan Nuttall Sayre
Abrams, November 1, 2006, $16.95
0-8109-5481-8

Core audience: Teens who want a little romance mixed in with historical fiction.
Strengths: plot, characters, language, authenticity & accuracy, imagination, sensitivity, interesting setting, strong ending,significant underlying ideas, information)
Review: Anahita is a forward-thinking, modern girl in the old-fashioned world of Persian nomads. When her father arranges a marriage with the local khan to insure water rights for their tribe, Anahita is horrified. She knows that she can't marry for love alone, but she wishes to find someone a little better suited for her than the old, vain khan. Her people are known for their exquisite hand-woven rugs. She convinces her father to let her show her skills and weave a riddle into her wedding rug. The man to solve it will win her hand. He agrees, and the stage is set for a classic story as men from all walks of life find themselves pondering Anahita's Woven Riddle. The plot of this book sounds like a fairy tale when I try to describe it, but what I loved about this book is that Anahita's story is convincingly contemporary though steeped in the ancient culture of Iran.
Reviewer: Lisa Dugan, Koen-Levy Book Wholesalers
Rated: 8

Araminta Spookie #01: My Haunted House, 0-06-077481-9
Araminta Spookie #02: Sword in the Grotto, 0-06-077484-3
both by Angie Sage, illus by Jimmy Pickering
Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins, July 25, 2006, $8.99 each

Core audience: Early chapter book readers, girls
Strengths: characters, imagination, humor, child-connected
Review: In the first of Araminta Spookie's adventures, Araminta's Aunt Tabby wants to move and is determined to sell their wonderful, old haunted house -- and Araminta wants to stop her!
In Araminta's second outing, she and her friend Wanda think they've found the perfect 500th birthday gift for Sir Horace, the ghost who haunts their house. These early chapter books have great covers, and Araminta Spookie is such a great name! They are fun, easy-to-read and highly enjoyable.
Reviewer: Lisa Dugan, Koen-Levy Book Wholesalers
Rated: 6.5

(note: I really like these books, and 6.5 sounds like a low score, but it is perfectly described by #6 on our rating scale, though a positive #6.)

The Astonishing Adventures of Fan Boy and Goth Girl
by Barry Lyga
Houghton Mifflin, October 2006, $16.95
0-618-72392-7

Core audience: 12&up
Strengths: Realistic coming of age, demonstrates a strong love of graphic novels without using any pictures
Review: This is a great book to give to any graphic novel fans, a real cross over book into the world of words. Barry Lyga's characters obviously come from his heart, they are full fledged creations. Other YA books I've read have worlds that are strictly black and white, but here everything is a shade of grey. Just when I thought I'd figured a character out, Lyga would reveal something more and I'd have to rethink everything. The main character, Fanboy, is a teen who wants more than anything to publish a graphic novel. But in order to avoid True Geek Status he can't tell anyone about his plan, including his best friend, the jock. Enter Kyra, otherwise known as Gothgirl. She shares some of his interests as well, but can you really trust a girl? Somehow Fanboy manages to stay friends with both of them, navigating his way through the minefield that is high school. His home life is equally complicated, a mother who's pregnant and a step-fascist (father) who must be avoided at all times. Their relationships also change and grow over the course of the book-a testament to the author's writing ability. Sure high school is difficult and painful, but reading about it shouldn't be dreadful experience for the reader. Lyga manages to sneak in a few momentous occasions. When Fanboy kisses his long time crush you aren't cheering wildly like you would in a movie where this is an expected miracle. Instead you think, WOW here's this everyday guy and this is an event he'll always going to remember. If you're looking for a book about the other side of high school, one that doesn't include an excessive level of teen-age angst, this is one that will stay with you.
Reviewer: Beth Reynolds at The Norwich Bookstore, VT
Rated: 8

Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing Traitor to the Nation, Vol. 1:The Pox Party
by M.T. Anderson
Candlewick, October 2006, $17.99
0-7636-24020

Core audience: high school students, especially those interested in history
Strengths: characters, setting, ideas
Review: This is a very strange and disturbing book, with much to recommend it. Octavian lives with his mother in the College of Lucidity (a very bizarre place), where Octavian is education in Greek and Latin and his physical and mental attributes studied. Slowly the reader realizes that the College of Lucidity is located in Boston, that the book takes place before and during the Revolutionary War and that Octavian and his mother were brought to this country from Africa and are slaves. It is a powerful look at the contradictions inherent in a revolution for freedom made by slaveholders and presents a complex and gritty view of this period, as Octavian struggles to find a place for hiimself in this world. I did have some problems with the book. I found the writing in places unnecessarily complicated and felt that the scatalogical and sexual references did not always add to the experience of the book.
Reviewer: Nancy Felton, Broadside Bookshop
Rated: 7.5

The Black Tattoo
by Sam Enthoven
Razorbill/Penguin; October 2006; $18.99
1-59514-114-6

Core audience: 14+; Teen lovers of Gothic drama, the Matrix, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Strengths: Plenty of dark humor, demons, and Matrix-like kung-fu
Review: At 512 pages, this book is not for the faint of heart, but it serves up generous portions of all of the dark imagery that gothic adventure fans will love. Not being a fan of this genre generally, I was pleasantly surprised at this book's ability to draw me in and keep me interested. The story focuses on three main characters: Charlie, who is chosen and then possessed by a demon who has designs on taking over the underworld; Jack, Charlie's best friend who follows Charlie into the underworld to save him; and Esme, a girl trained from childhood to fight the forces of evil, who joins the other two to fulfill her destiny. (Esme, I might add, has an amazing arsenal of special powers, and all of the best kung-fu sequences.) The book takes its name from a tattoo that grows on Charlie when he is possessed, and roils over his skin with sufficient creepiness to keep even the most jaded teens reading. Basically, the novel reads like a screenplay, with plenty of visuals, action, and a fast moving plot that doesn't ask too many questions. It's a classic good -vs- evil story, with hell the battleground, and plenty of gooey humor and irony. I especially liked the character of Jack, who has that lovely Jimmy Stewart air of being a normal guy caught up in events he can't quite believe. This story won't change the world, but I thought it was pretty fun, if you can get past all of the demonic imagery.
Reviewer: Kristen McLean, The Association of Booksellers for Children
Rated: 7

Bleed
by Laurie Stolarz
Hyperion/Hachette, September 2006, $15.99
0-7868-3854-X

Core audience: Teen Age 13+
Review: Dramatically different then her witchy series from Llewellyn, Bleed is the interconnecting story of four teenage friends lives. Each has their own set of angsty problems that "bleed" into those around them.
Reviewer: Heather Doss, Bookazine Wholesalers
Rated: 6

Blind Faith
by Ellen Wittlinger
Simon & Schuster, July 2006, $15.95
1-4169-0273-2

Core audience: 12 & up
Strengths: Strong voice, realistic relationships
Review: Even though I wasn't crazy about this topic,--young girl loses grandmother, mother turns to religion for comfort, boy across the street losing mom to cancer--I had enough faith in Wittlinger to know that I would want to read this book and be able to recommend it to others. Like Sarah Dessen, Wittlinger (who's been doing this type of thing for forever) is able to create characters who live and breathe; who have family, lives, and real life responsibilities. They sometimes think about the opposite sex and sometimes obsess about a particular person, but all in the course of their everyday lives. Liz has just lost her grandmother, Bunny, who was a strong presence in the lives of many people. Now Liz finds herself struggling with the loss of Bunny, but also enjoying the chance to garner some attention from her mother. She asks herself, how can she be happy about anything now that her grandmother is gone? Liz's mom is devastated at Bunny's passing and she spirals into a depression. While her new found religion may be enough to keep her afloat it also sends Liz's father running in the other direction-far from his family who needs him the most. How could Liz even think about a boy at a time like this? But when Nathan moves in across the street with his younger sister, Liz finds herself comforting him about the inevitable loss of his own mother. She does it just by being herself, no superhero cape or otherworldy powers necessary.
Reviewer: Beth Reynolds at The Norwich Bookstore, VT
Rated: 7

Blue Schwartz and Nefertiti's Necklace
by Betty Jacobson Hechman
Brown Barn Books, October 2006, $8.95
0-97681263-0

Core audience: ages 9-12
Strengths: encourages learning about history and science
Review: The cover of this book bills it as "a mystery with recipes". Blue Schwartz prefers cooking experiments to her schoolwork. She babysits for a local professor and is accused of stealing a priceless necklace after a party. Her best friend works with her to clear Blue's name. Interspersed with the mystery are Blue's attempts to create original recipes to entertain her babysitting charges, which end up as the basis for her science report. It's not a terrible book, but, despite the cooking angle and some natural-sounding dialogue, it's not a very fresh concept, and the mystery itself is weak. Neither the main characters nor the secondary ones ever really come to life to distinguish this book from many others out there.
Reviewer: Patty Cryan, Mike's Comics, Worcester, MA
Rated: 5.5

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
by John Boyne
David Fickling Books/Random House, September, 2006, $15.95
0-385-75106-0

Audience: 12 and up, perhaps.
Strengths: Emotional pull, Holocaust topic
Review: I nominate this book as the title of 2006 that adults would most like children to read.
The main character, son of the Auschwitz commandant, is said to be 9, but sounds more like a 7-year-old, and is so insignificant that it raises no alarm when he makes friends through the barbed wire with a little boy inside the camp. The ending is a jolt, especially after 200+ pages of forced naivete. Though the lessons of the Holocaust will never be wrung dry, they have to be squeezed harder and harder to command attention. Would that the same narrative were applied to children on the Israeli-Lebanese border.
Reviewer: Carol Chittenden, Eight Cousins and BookStream
Rated: 5

Core audience: Age 12+
Review: A heart-wrenching story of innocence in the midst of evil. Bruno is a sheltered young man living with a sister who is only interested in older boys, a mother who is too weak to fight for her beliefs, and a father who has a very important job. While out looking for something to do, Bruno stumbles upon a fence & meets another young boy whose life is dramatically different than his own. The two become playmates until an act of courage on Bruno's part results in an unspeakable event that will leave readers shaken for days to come.
Reviewer: Heather Doss, Bookazine Wholesalers
Rated: 8

Bread and Roses, Too
by Katherine Paterson
Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin, September 2006, $16.00
0-618-65479-8

Core audience: Children who enjoy historical fiction aged 10 to 14
Strengths: historical accuracy and authenticity, characterization
Review: This story takes place in Lawrence, Massachusetts and in Barre, Vermont during the mill workers strike of 1912 which became known as the Bread and Roses Strike of 1912. The story is told from a young girls perspective. Rosa is in the middle of both sides of the conflict. She understands her mom's and sister's fight for better conditions but she also respects her teacher's position that the strike won't help people and that the strikers are misinformed about the mill owners. She fears the repercussions especially when a woman is killed. Having grown up in Lawrence, Massachusetts I could picture all the places in the book. My grandparents worked in the mills and benefitted from the ideals the strikers fought for. I really thought the book did an excellent job of informing me of the Bread and Roses Strike. I had been unaware before this book that friendly union supporters had taken the children into their homes and I thank these people for being a part of my heritage.
Reviewer: Janet Bibeau, Storybook Cove
Rated: 8

Core audience: 10 and up
Review: In 1912 the mill workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts strike. Rosa's mother becomes an unlikely leader in the struggle and Rosa is afraid that her mother will be in danger. Likewise, Rosa's mother fears for Rosa now that there is no income and food is scarse. Rosa is sent to Vermont with other children of the strkers and there she meets Sal and Jake and Mr. and Mrs. Gerbati who teach her that she can be brave just like her mother. The characters are very well drawn and the struggles of the time come alive.
Reviewer: Carol Stoltz, Porter Square Books
Rated: 8

Core audience: 11-14
Strengths: Characters, historical setting, multicultural themes
Review: Though Katherine Paterson is at the center of my literary pantheon, I don't find that her recent works move me as much as the earlier books around the themes of personal encounters with the force of love. This one will do well, especially in New England, but as a historical work, not as a universal book about a child discovering a major personal revelation. It provides lots of academic bread, and the faint scent of a long ago rose.
Reviewer: Carol Chittenden, Eight Cousins and BookStream
Rated: 7.5

Bunnicula Meets Edgar Allan Crow
by James Howe
Ginnee Seo Books/Simon & Schuster, August 29, 2006, $15.95
1-41-691458-7

Core audience: Chapter book readers; fans of Bunnicula, great read for Halloween
Strengths: plot, characters, imagination, humor, child-connected
Review: This is another one of those "I'd buy it for the cover and title alone." And, then, it's another Bunnicula title, to boot! James Howe's writing is funny and a bit scary and perfect for younger middle grade readers (well, for all of us really) and will look so great in your autumn/Halloween displays that I bet books will be "flying" off the shelves! The story is about when a bestselling author visits the house where Bunnicula lives. He and the other pets are highly suspicious of the interest the author has taken in them, for in all of his bestselling Fleshcrawlers books something bad always happens to the pets.
Reviewer: Lisa Dugan, Koen-Levy Book Wholesalers
Rated: 8

Call Me The Canyon
by Ann Howard Creel
Brown Barn Books, September 2006, $8.95
0-97681264-9

Core audience: ages 12 and up
Strengths: interesting setting, strong female lead, descriptive language
Review: This piece of historical fiction, set in Colorado in the late 1800's, presents the first-person narrative of Madolen Demming, a halfbreed young woman who is adopted by Mormons and learns to integrate their beliefs with those of her ancestors, despite the discouragement given her by those around her. After a disaster strikes her adopted family, she strikes out on her own to seek a gold canyon that her father once mined. Along the way she meets a man so different from any she has ever met that her world seems more open to her than ever. Excellent characterization in very spare language makes this book a very fast read. The beliefs of the Mormons are presented matter-of-factly and merge seamlessly with Madolen's observations of Nature. It's a good solid coming-of-age story, with a satisfactory ending.
Reviewer: Patty Cryan, Mike's Comics, Worcester, MA
Rated: 7

Cathy's Book: If found call 650-266-8233
by Sean Stewart & Jordan Weisman
Running Press, October 2006, $17.95
076242656x

Core audience: Teens 14+
Notable Aspects: Creative packaging, interactive to media
Review: For troubled teen Cathy, new boyfriend Victor Chan is a welcome distraction from the everyday life. But when clues from his past don't add up to his present, Cathy begins to wonder who or what the really is. The book comes packaged inside a binder complete with random clues to help the reader figure out the mystery. Menu's, business cards, torn up photos, websites to visit & phone numbers to call make it very appealing to teens
Reviewer: Heather Doss, Bookazine Wholesalers
Rated: 7.5

Clementine
by Sara Pennypacker, illus. by Marla Frazee
Hyperion/Hachette, September, 2006, $14.99
0-7868-3882-5

Core audience: ages 5-8
Strengths: characters, plot, heart, humor, illustrations
Review: Clementine's fertile imagination and observant intelligence, her urge to improve things and her disastrously immature judgement, must share some DNA somewhere with Ramona Quimby and Gooney Bird Greene. She's into scrapes and helping out, she's calling her little brother every kind of produce (we never do find out his real name) and solving the Pigeon Problem, missing her deceased cat and dodging a demanding neighbor, and thoroughly frightened that her parents are planning to get rid of her. Fortunately Clementine's parents love her dearly and recognize the value, trying though it sometimes can be, of her busy mind and big heart.
Reviewer: Carol Chittenden, Eight Cousins and BookStream
Rated: 9

Core audience: Ages 7-10 fans of Junie B, Gooney Bird Greene and Ramona will approve
Strengths: Humor, Family and Friendship
Review: I am a huge fan of Sara Pennypacker's Stuart books (short, sweet, easy boy books) so I had high hopes for Clementine. It doesn't quite reach the heights that Stuart does but it's fun. Clementine is a girl who's misunderstood. When she's told to pay attention in class she knows she is- only the teacher thinks it's the wrong thing. Smart, funny and spunky she thinks it's unfair that she has a fruit name and her brother doewn't so she calls him lots of different vegetable names. This is a light school-family-friendship comedy with a strong girl character and wonderful art by Marla Frazee.
Reviewer: Lorna Ruby Wellesley Booksmith
Rated: 7.5

Review: Though it pales in comparison to Pennypacker's absolutely marvelous Stuart's Cape and Stuart Goes to School, this is nevertheless a fun story about an exhaustingly high energy girl who can't help getting herself into all kinds of trouble. Reminiscent of Ramona Quimby, but with a bit less warmth.
Reviewer: Alison Morris, Children's Book Buyer, Wellesley Booksmith
Rated: 7.5

Perfect for those kids to old for Junie B. Jones & to young for Judy Moody.
Reviewer: Heather Doss, Bookazine Wholesalers
Rated: 8.5

Cornelia & The Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters
by Lesley M.M. Blume
Knopf/Random House , July, 2006. $15/95
0-375-93523-1

Core audience: Middle grade girls, fans of Louise Fitzhugh and E.L. Konigsburg
Strengths: Imagination, friendship, language, authenticity, sensitivity
Review: Here's what I loved about this book. It really does have a flavor of EL Konigsburg or Louise Fitzhugh, the type of writing that doesn't talk down to kids. Perhaps it's the NYC location; the adults are very adult; Cornelia is very smart and wise beyond her years. I haven't finished the book yet, but I've read enough to know that it's very fun.

Cornelia lives in an apt in Greenwich Village. She's very comfortable being alone, mostly being raised by housekeepers and other help, as her mother is a famous pianist and always traveling. One day, after seeing a bunch of mysterious moving boxes being taken into the apartment next door, Cornelia meets its owner, a wonderfully vivacious, dramatic elderly woman named Virginia Somerset. The two bond over their shared enjoyment of interesting, unusual words and embark on a friendship as Virginia regales Cornelia with stories about herself and her sisters as they traveled around in their youth, causing mayhem and delight wherever their paths took them. But, it's Virginia Somerset's apartment that really dazzled me. Palm trees, a settee covered in sumptuous fabrics and colors, and foreign, beautiful things as far as the eye can see -- designed after a room she loved when living in Morocco with her sisters long ago. Entering her apartment is like journeying to a distant part of the world merely by going next door. When reading this my mind conjures up the house and its inhabitants next door that the little girl can see from her attic room in The Little Princess, and I just know Ms. Somerset would be friends with Miss Rumphius!

Do you need the book in hardcover? Probably not, but those readers who do discover it will find it highly enjoyable.
Reviewer: Lisa Dugan, Koen-Levy Book Wholesalers
Rated: 7

Cyrano
by Geraldine McCaughrean
Harcourt, October 2006, $16.00
0-15-205805-2

Core audience: should appeal to sophisticated teenagers (14 and up) and adults
Notable themes: love, words, physical beauty, inner beauty, wit, cheek, war, jealousy, theater, 17th Century France
Review: McCaughrean's metaphors are little miracles of language. Her use of alliteration is expertly subtle, simply sublime. Though her nose appears to be considerably smaller, her talent with words puts her in the same camp as the tragic Cyrano - wooing her readers with almost too much ease. My only complaint about this book is that it was so short. Reading it merely whetted my appetite for more.
Reviewer: Alison Morris, Children's Book Buyer, Wellesley Booksmith
Rated: 9

Desperate Journey
by Jim Murphy
Scholastic Press, October, 2006, $16.99
0-439-07806-7

Core audience: Will appeal to boys and girls gr. 5-8
Strengths: historical detail, child-centered issues
Review: Maggie is tired of life on a barge continually plying the Erie Canal in New York State delivering cargo in the early 1800's . She longs for a house with a real bed and a yard. When her father is arrested, with her uncle, Hen, on a trumped-up charge, she, her Mom and her feisty younger brother are forced to finish the perilous journey to Buffalo alone. If the cargo is not delivered on time, there will be no bonus money to keep the barge from being repossessed. Tension and suspense are continual throughout the journey due to Maggie's Mom's increasing frailty and illness, worry about Dad's future, fear of losing the boat and their livelihood, problems with the mules, threat of bullies along the shore, and then the mysterious appearance of Billie Black. He offers to help in any way he can and is rebuffed by proud Mom and distrustful Maggie. He continues to walk alongside them on the shore. Eventually he is able to prove his usefulness in a way that will make readers cheer, and maybe even pull out a hanky or two. Besides a well-written, well-researched slice of life unfamiliar to most of us, Maggie's growth is of great interest. There is even a hint of romance for her future! The ending may be a bit too abrupt, but it is satisfying. The reader comes away with more than an inkling of an unusual lifestyle. Teachers will go for this in classroom multiples when it comes out in paper. Others will find it worthwhile in hardcover. The author is also a two-time Newbery Honor winner.
Reviewer: Sue Carita, The Toadstool Bookshop, Milford, NH
Rated: 8

I agree almost completely, except I found the middle section tough going. The title is accurate - I really wasn't sure anything good was EVER going to happen to Maggie and her family. The ending was definitely abrupt and I could have used more humor, but the historical detail was really wonderful.
Reviewer: Rondi Brower, Blackwood & Brouwer Booksellers
Rated: 7

Devilish
by Maureen Johnson
Razorbill/Penguin, September 2006, $16.99
1595140603

Core audience: Teen Age 12+
Review: When Jane's best friend Ally turns into one of the "Popular" kids overnight, she is left to fend for herself in St. Teresa's Prep School. But when the secret behind Ally's success turns out to be a cupcake-eating demon posing as a high school student, Jane sets out to save her friend without falling victim to the evil cheerleader herself! Perfect for fans of the cult classic "Heathers".
Reviewer: Heather Doss, Bookazine Wholesalers
Rated: 6.5

Dirty Magic
by Carol Hughes
Random House; October 24, 2006; $17.95 0-375-83187-8

Core audience: x
Strengths: x
Review: I wanted to love this book. I really did. I loved the author's previous book Jack Black & The Ship of Thieves, but I was really disappointed here. The premise of the story had promise: a boy follows his sick sister into an alternative dreamworld, where he must find her in a war torn world in order to save her in reality. Instead, wading through this novel felt like being in a disorienting fog with not enough description and confusing scene after confusing scene. What might have been meant as dream-like prose just felt like undeveloped characterizations, inadequate plot motivation, and incoherent pacing. The best thing about the book is the cover. Don't spend your money here.
Reviewer: Kristen McLean, The Association of Booksellers for Children
Rated:2

The Dragon of Never-Was
by Ann Downer
Atheneum, Simon &Schuster, July, 2006, $16.96
0-689-85571-0

Core audience: boys and girls ages 9-12
Strengths: action-filled plot
Review: Twelve year old Theodora (from Hatching Magic) accompanies her Dad to the Hebrides Islands in Scotland to investigate the finding of a mysterious scale. Theodora suspects it to be dragon. While there, she learns that she has the gifts of wizards, inherited from her deceased Mom, whose image at the age of twelve appears in her mind more than once. She learns of a wingless being named Opalfire that needs a human host in order to complete its metamorphosis.
She meets mysterious time travel characters with a connection to her Mom, some sympathetic and some dangerous. There is a mysterious old book locked in a dragon skin- covered box and the Delving of minds and a magical stone Mote, Seeping and even Merlin! There are enough magical twists and novel ideas to keep readers of wizardry happy to the end and then to wish for more. I wish there were more details of Theodora's life on the Hebrides. It would have added another layer of interest to a fast-paced novel that was over too soon.
Reviewer: Sue Carita, The Toadstool Bookshop, Milford, NH
Rated: 7

A Drowned Maiden's Hair
by Laura Amy Schlitz
Candlewick Press, October, 2006, $15.99
0-7636-2930-8

Core audience: Will appeal mostly to girls age 10-14
Notable for: plot twists, family issues, historical detail
Review: Billed as a "melodrama", the story paints a picture of poor Maude, living in a decrepit orphanage with a nasty headmistress who often locks Maude in the outhouse as punishment. She is "rescued" and taken home by a couple of sisters running a con of seances for money, taking advantage of the spiritualism craze at the turn of the century. All does not go well there, either, as Maude isn't really loved by anyone there with the exception of the deaf and dumb servant, Muffet. After a series of intruiging and suspenseful plot twists, Maude finds a new home with lots of love, our spirits are lifted (pun intended), and we have had a good read with lots of historical detail thrown in. The "melodrama" is offset at start with some delightful humor.
Reviewer: Sue Carita, The Toadstool Bookshop, Milford, NH
Rated: 8

Core audience: Will appeal mostly to girls age 10-14
Notable for plot twists, family issues, historical detail, slight campiness
Review: Maud Flynn has spent her whole life being told that she is unloveable and worthless. When the elderly Hawthorne sisters offer her a home in exchange for a little collaboration on a con that preys on the bereaved, it is hard for Maud to resist. As she gets more involved in bogus seances and pseudo-spiritualism, Maud is an able yet doubting helper. A fire shows Maud how little she means to the sisters who not only are using her for their own ends, but also treat the deaf cook Muffet like mere chattel. Maud helps Muffet learn to read and Muffet teaches her what it means to be loved. And loving care comes from other unexpected places as well. Ultimately, the plucky Maud is not easily vanquished and a happy ending makes the melodrama all the more bittersweet. Great for fans of stories about charlatans, mysterious goings-on, and skulduggery.
Reviewer: Bina Williams Bridgeport Public Library
Rated: 9

Endymion Spring
by Matthew Skelton
Delacorte/Random House, August, 2006, $17.95
0-385-73380-1

Core audience: Literate, historical fantasy for teens (and adults!)
Notable: Well-written, atmospheric description, interesting plot
Review: Endymion Spring is apprenticed to the printer, Johann Gutenberg in Mainz in the 1400's. His story is told in first person in chapters alternating with the tale of Blake, who is visiting Oxford University today with his Mom and sister, Duck. Blake finds an old book in the Bodleian Library (or it finds him!) with the name "Endymion Spring" on the cover. It seems that the book contains information that will reveal the secrets of the world, eternal wisdom. Skelton's engrossing tale relates how the book with dragon skin pages got to Oxford from Mainz and how far professors will go today to obtain the erstwhile missing book. Literary allusions will delight serious readers. There is Dr Fust (Faust?); the dog, Alice, burrowing down the rabbit hole; Jabberwock Tree; Bentley's wife, Diana, whose voice "settled like snow on the back of Blake's neck" and of whom Duck said she was surprised the lady didn't offer Blake Turkish Delight, "only evil characters in books like it.. " Of major historical interest is the fast-paced search, during the darkness of night, of ancient stacks of books in the medieval tunnels hidden under the Bodleian library with the book as guide. Duck is kidnaped in the darkness and Blake almost comes to an unpleasant end. Excitement for all. Riddles throughout the book keep readers thinking. Blake's agony over his parents' separation seems a tad like a gratuitous nod to the present and the ending seems a bit abrupt. Blake hasn't yet discovered the secrets of the universe; the book is yet to be opened. Maybe there will be a sequel. I hope so. (And, oh, yes, at the end of the story Diana was helping herself to a little dish on her desk of Turkish Delight!)
Reviewer: Sue Carita, The Toadstool Bookshop, Milford, NH
Rated: 9

Core audience: ages 8-12, fantasy lovers
Strengths: Fantasy with a little bit of history, sibling rivalry, parents fighting
Review: Fans of Inkheart will enjoy this story of an American brother and sister living in modern day Oxford, England. Their mother is a scholar returning to the university she went to as a student. The kids spend a lot of time in the library while their mother is working and that's were the brother finds an amazing old book that sweeps them into intrigue and adventure. There is an emotional subplot of their parent's apparent separation and the anxiety this causes in the children. The historical subplot involves an apprentice to Gutenberg who helps him with his printing press and although interesting it's a bit confusing. I enjoyed the intent of this story but it was too long and very slow to get going. There are a few good (and creepy) images of books that come to life and call to each other but for the most part I just wanted to get to the end.
Reviewer: Lorna Ruby Wellesley Booksmith
Rated: 7

Core audience: Middle grade/teen fantasy readers
Notable Aspects: plot, authenticity & accuracy, imagination, child-connected
Strengths: Endymion Spring is one of Random House's biggest books of the season. It's one of those fantasies so full of ideas that it is almost impossible to describe in a few sentences. That being said, I'll try: It's a story that stretches from the Middle Ages to the present day involving a boy and his sister, Oxford, Gutenberg, a magical book, and a race against certain villainous members of an elite antiquarian book club. The cover is eye-catching and the air of mystery will draw the reader into the adventure from the start. This book started a little slowly for me. I would have loved to read more about Endymion Spring and his story. His adventures were more thrilling to me than the corresponding story in the present day. Getting to see what life was like during the time Gutenberg was working on his printing press was my favorite part.
Reviewer: Lisa Dugan, Koen-Levy Book Wholesalers
Rated: 8

Historical fantasy with a literary twist
Reviewer: Heather Doss, Bookazine Wholesalers
Rated: 8

Edgar & Ellen: High Wire
by Charles Ogden
Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, October, 2006, $9.95
1-4169-1500-1

Core audience: Fans of Lemony Snicket, Ages 9+
Strengths: Clever characters, excellent illustrations and intelligent storytelling will make this a series that will surely endure to become classics.
Review: The Edgar & Ellen series will fill the breach should Lemony Snicket make good on his threat to end A Series of Unfortunate Events. Edgar & Ellen are witty twins who escape from Nod's Limbs and the ruins of an underground laboratory by joining a very peculiar circus.
Reviewer: Magoo Gelehrter, Baker Books
Rated: 8

Escape
by Sid Fleischman
HarperCollinsm July 2006, $18.99
0-06-085094-9

Core audience: 10 & up
Strengths: Fantastic topic, author's thorough knowledge of the subject
Review: Fleischman inserts his own style and wit into this biography of Houdini. One would think that any biography of this magic man would be intense and readable, but that hasn't always been the case. Any life story, no matter how exciting the subject matter, needs just the right writer. Fleishman himself started out as a magician, so who better to retell this tale? He manages to do so with verve and zing, including words like "prestidigitator" and "bunkum" (Kids, make a quick run to the dictionary.) Complementing the text are many photographs throughout. Fleishman, ever the character, puts captions underneath some that made me laugh out loud. With Walker's recent book and the new fictional series due out soon, any one interested in magic is sure to be fascinated with this true account. I fell in love with Houdini when I read Selznik's book and jumped at this chance to learn a little more about his life. Fleischman's own relationship to Madame Houdini gave him access to specific records and gives this book a greater credibility. I, for one, was totally spellbound by all the details. Because of its size, price, and length this isn't a casual purchase, but would be perfect for a grandparent gift or someone wanting to give a little something special/ magical. Expect for kids to unchain (unwrap) it in record breaking time, but then spend hours upon hours pouring over the pages and photos.
Reviewer: Beth Reynolds, The Norwich Bookstore, VT
Rated: 8

Escape From the Carnivale: A Never Land Book
by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Hyperion Disney Editions/Hachette, October 2006, $9.99
0-7868-3789-6

Core audience: ages 8-12
Strengths: Set in the same realm as Peter and the Starcatchers, this is the first in a series of books for younger readers. Fans of the Disney Fairy books will love these books, although Peter does not appear because he is off having other adventures (according to a note from the authors).
Review: Little Scallop, the daughter of the chief of the Mollusk tribe, is tired of being excluded from the exciting adventures her father and brothers get to go on. So she sets of to find an adventure with her mermaid friends, but then the crew of a mysterious traveling-circus-on-a-ship kidnaps her friend Surf. Little Scallop comes up with a plan to rescue her friend with the help of the lost boy, James and the other mermaids. The plot thickens as Captain Hook makes plans to steal the ship. In the end, Surf is rescued, the Pirates are still stranded on the island, the ship flees the scene, and Little Scallop promises to never disobey her father again. (revised my rating after considering... I WILL handsell it and 9.99 is a good price point)
Reviewer: Karlene Rearick, The Alphabet Garden
Rated: 7

Everlost
by Neal Shusterman
Simon & Schuster, October 2006, $16.95
0689872372

Core audience: Teens 12+
Review: Welcome to Everlost, an in-between world for those under 18 who happen to be dead. For newcomers Nick & Allie, this afterlife is far from what they thought it would be. There are no fluffy clouds, no peaceful singing, & definitely no light filled tunnel. With a mischievous child as their guide, they begin to explore their new world and the unexpected dangers that come with being dead. Begins OK but is slow going in the later half.
Reviewer: Heather Doss, Bookazine Wholesalers
Rated: 6

Fairest
by Gail Carson Levine
Harper Collins, Sept. 2006, $16.99, ISBN: 0060734086

Core audience: 9&up, primarily girls
Review: Set in the same fantasy world as Ella Enchanted, this enchanting fairy tale gives a powerful message that beauty is about far more than looks. Aza is so ashamed of her looks that she hides behind her hand when she meets new people. However, she has a special talent when it comes to singing. Circumstances lead to her becoming a lady-in-waiting for the newly wed queen who uses Aza's talent to earn favor with the court. When Aza discovers the magic mirror that the fairy, Lucinda, has given the queen as a wedding gift, it makes her beautiful, but the consequences are far-reaching. The story has romance and intrigue and I enjoyed all of the connections to the traditional Snow White tale, including the seven dwarves and the happy ending.
Reviewer: Karlene Rearick, The Alphabet Garden
Rated: 10

Classic Levine fairy-tale retelling
Reviewer: Heather Doss, Bookazine Wholesalers
Rated: 7

Far From Normal
by Kate Klise
Scholastic Press, October, 2006, $16.99
0-439-79447-1

Core audience: Boys and girls 8-13
Strengths: humor, sensitivity to feelings, topical issues
Review: Fourteen-year-old Charlie Harrisong writes a great magazine article about his family's life aboard a houseboat which, when published, catapults his family into what would have seemed in the past an absurb situation, but with today's crass commercialism, reality show mania, and "big box" popularity, this story might just fit right in. In true Klise style, this is a comedy of errors in which Charlie pleads with God to please just let things turn out all right, but they just keep getting worse. The actors on the reality show are nothing like the real family. In fact, Dad seems to be a crook and little brother autistic! Great (and shameful) liberties have been taken with the real life story. There are lots of things to think about here, amid the zaniness, and Charlie is an appealing kid we'd all like to know. His parents are pretty ineffective in some respects. To those who might say this story is absurd, I'd say, "Lighten up and enjoy it!" Then think about it.
This is just about an 8- ok.
Reviewer: Sue Carita, The Toadstool Bookshop, Milford, NH
Rated: 8

Core audience: Boys and girls 9-12
Strengths: Topical story, pop-culture references
Review: I really enjoyed this spirited story, not least because it was so contemporary in its "reality TV" scenario. A spirited follow up to Deliver Us from Normal, this book will be a great family read, and will give much food for though in discussions about what it means to be "famous". The story moves right along, and is full of plenty of absurdity that will keep readers laughing. My only criticism of the story has to do with the lack of leadership on the part of Charles's parents, who come off looking almost negligent at moments, but I suspect this will just make young readers get behind Charles even more. Call it sympathy or wish fulfillment, it's not a deal breaker as far as the story is concerned. When she's not writing books, Kate Klise is a writer for People magazine, which explains the smooth and candy-like pop-culture feel of her story, which young readers will love.
Reviewer: Kristen McLean, The Association of Booksellers for Children
Rated 8

Fire in the Hills
by Donna Jo Napoli
Dutton/Penguin, August 2006, $16.99
0-525-47751-9

Core audience: 12 and up
Review: This is the sequel to Stones in Water Napoli's wonderful book about an Italian boy caught up by the Nazis in World War II and sent to a labor camp in Eastern Europe. He escapes and in Fire in the Hills, he reaches Italy and tries to get home to Venice. But the way there is not clear. The Germans and Allies are each trying to gain ground and where each is at any given time is hard to tell. The confusion of war, the gruesome casualties, the fear and hunger all come alive for Roberto once again. His pacifist stance is questioned here and he decides to risk his life to help the resistance. This is a worthy sequel. One small complaint - the ripped page effect that occurs at the beginning of each chapter is very distracting.
Reviewer: Carol Stoltz, Porter Square Books
Rated: 8

Framed
by Frank Cottrell Boyce
HarperCollins, August, 2006, $16.99
0-06-0734027

Core audience: Ages 8-12, boys and girls
Strengths: Art history, humor, plot, characters, strong ending.
Review: Boyce's screenwriting experience comes through as strongly in this book as in Millions. This one has fewer bank robbers and more art historians - or are they art thieves? - who quickly misunderstand Dylan Hughes, based on names of his two pet chickens, Michelangelo, Donatello, actually namesakes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. To this confusion add family financial need, a dwindling community on a barren mountainside, a father who appears to have criminal tendencies, an enterprising mother and a vain teenage sister, and you come out with a rousing cheer for the power of art. How does he do it?
Reviewer: Carol Chittenden, Eight Cousins and BookStream
Rated: 8.5

Core audience: Middle grade readers/readers who want something humorous to read
Strengths: plot, characters, language, authenticity & accuracy, imagination, sensitivity, humor, child-connected, interesting setting, strong ending.
Review: Frank Cottrell Boyce is the author of Millions, and this book is just as eccentric and wonderful. The plot involves a Welsh town that is slowly dying as everyone moves away, looking for work. Young Dylan Hughes is the only boy left in town. His pet chickens, named after the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are the set-up for a misunderstanding involving an art expert in charge of a cache of world-famous paintings that have been relocated by the National Gallery to a local slate mine for safe-keeping. This book is very funny. The family never despairs, despite all of their economic and personal travails. They keep coming up with creative-- and often hysterical-- ideas to keep on going. From selling cappucino at their gas station to trying to steal a Van Gogh, the energy never flags. The thing that really makes this book special is the characters. Dylan describes the eccentric and wonderful people of his village in a voice that feels authentic and is often, innocently, very funny and charming.
Reviewer: Lisa Dugan, Koen-Levy Book Wholesalers
Rated: 9

Going Under
by Kathe Koja
FSG, September, 2006, $16.00
0-374-30393-2

Core audience: teens
Strengths: sensitivity to issues
Review: After Buddha Boy, which was wonderful, I was expecting a great new look into the teen psyche. I got Persephone and Narcissus! Hilly and her brother Ivan have been homeschooled for most of their lives and are closer than most siblings. He was her self-acknowledged "pilot" and she was the "co-pilot", steering things their way in a household of ineffective parents. These kids are gifted and all sorts of manipulation occurs. When Hilly decided to help with a high school literary magazine, her life was less brother-centered. When a magazine friend commits suicide, Hilly is bereft. She pulls inward and exhibits bizarre, noncommunicative behavior. Ivan, the Narcissistic one, takes advantage of her psychiatrist visits to fool around with the girls in the waiting room and even steals Hilly's private journal for the Dr. to use in his book research as well as writing chapters for the Dr.'s book! Ivan thinks he will be an important coauthor. At this point I wondered if Ivan was the main , bizarre character! (Maybe, yup!) Suspense is created by the alternate chapters, which are in Ivan's voice as he reveals himself as more and more cold and calculating. We wonder how Hilly can recover with his hovering presence in everything she does. Hilly keeps remembering bits from a harrowing cave incident she suffered in the past. It is never real clear what part Ivan played in that. The ending comes swiftly and we are happy that Hilly is beginning to see without the veil of brother worshop, but I didn't feel satisfied. Something was missing. It's a compelling story about finding one's one way, but the path is unclear. score: 7, although I wanted it to be MORE!
Reviewer: Sue Carita, The Toadstool Bookshop, Milford, NH
Rated: 7

Grandfather's Dance
by Patricia MacLachlan
Joanna Cotler Books/HarperCollins, September, 2006 $14.99
0-06-027560-x

Core audience: elementary school students
Notable aspects: language, sensitivity, characters
Review: In this final book in the Sarah Plain and Tall series, we see the family from Cassie's point of view. We watch baby Jack and his close relationship with Grandfather and we see the family's preparations for Anna's wedding. Patricia MacLachlan has once again written a beautiful, spare book which captures many emotions, both joyous and sad, in a way children can relate to. The book deals with death in a real but gentle way.
Reviewer: Nancy Felton, Broadside Bookshop
Rated: 9

The Green Glass Sea
by Ellen Klages
Viking/Penguin, October 2006, $16.99
0-670-06134-4

Core audience: ages 10 and up
Strengths: History, characters, friendship, moral issues
Review: The year is 1943 and it is almost Thanksgiving. Eleven year old Dewey Kerrigan is in St. Louis waiting for her father to return. He has been in Chicago doing "war work" and she hasn't seen him since the Fourth of July. Her grandmother has become ill so Dewey finds herself living with a neighbor until her father returns. When a women in a green army uniform comes to inform her that she is taking Dewey to meet her father in someplace called Los Alamos. It is wartime and many things are secret. Los Alamos is filled with famous scientists and mathematicians from all over America and Dewey's father is among them, working on a secret project called "the gadget". Life for families within the confines of this town is very different. Guards and fences and passes to enter and exit are everyday. But there is still school and classes and being the new kid there and trying to find the place where you fit in. The story has a twist when Dewey's father gets killed in an auto accident. Where will she go, since she has no other family? Dewey is taken in by the parents of her nemesis and classmate, Suze. How these two come to appreciate each others differences, with the sideline story of the development and final testing of the atom bomb, make for a fascinating story in a very unusual location.
Reviewer: Pat Byrne, BookEnds,
Rated: 8.5

Core audience: grade readers of historical fiction
Strengths: plot, characters, language, authenticity & accuracy, imagination, sensitivity, child-connected, interesting setting, strong ending, significant underlying ideas, information
Review: My Penguin sales rep recommended The Green Glass Sea to me, telling me how much the reps enjoyed it and chose it as their favorite novel of the list. It's not one of the publisher-proclaimed blockbusters of the fall season, but it's such an interesting read and is just the sort of book that children's booksellers will embrace and handsell. It reminded me of Al Capone Does My Shirts. It is history-in-the-making on a personal level. Ellen Klages vividly conveys the community of scientists and their families at Los Alamos during the time of the Manhattan Project. And, she does it through the eyes of a very inquisitive, scientifically minded 11-year-old girl named Dewey (you have to read the book to discover her full name, a name only a scientist could love!).

What I really love most about this book is the way the author gives us the feel of both a time and a place. The little personal details of life-how food is rationed, but scientists on the project are important enough to get meat. The smell of the sage and piñon trees in the barren beauty of New Mexico. The friendship of the scientists for Dewey, and their recognition that she was "their kind of girl." And on a bigger level, the fact that for the scientists, this was a theoretical challenge, an exciting problem that didn't have real world ramifications. At least, not until they set off an explosion so powerful that it melted the sand of the desert into the sea-green glass of the title.
I admit, this might not be the kind of book kids will pick up on their own right away, but if someone puts it into their hands, they won't put it down until they have finished it.
Reviewer: Lisa Dugan, Koen-Levy Book Wholesalers
Rated: 8

- second page of NECBA Reviews >>>