Incantation

Incantation
by Alice Hoffman

Estrella and her neighbor Catalina have been inseparable since they were little girls.  They do everything together, and they call themselves sisters.  But now at sixteen, Estrella is starting to wonder if she and her best friend really are that much alike.  Even as she’s discovering more secrets about her own family, Estrella sees how selfish her neighbor really is.  But would Catalina really sentence Estrella’s family to death with a few careless words?

Reasons I picked this book from the DCLS e-book database: 1) it was YA and 2) it was short enough that I didn’t have to worry about the battery dying on my phone while in the air reading it.  My initial reactions to this book were something like “It was okay.”  But it stuck with me.  What mainly stuck with me was the theme of religious intolerance, and how tragically, that’s something that people are still suffering from.  And there are many groups who are guilty of this.  But it personally breaks my heart to think of all the judgment that’s been passed in the name of God when really, He’s quite capable of doing the job Himself.  A book like this would be excellent in discussing current events.  Even though this book takes place hundreds of years ago, it’s something that still goes on, and people are still being hurt by it.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com

Romeo’s Ex: Rosaline’s Story

Romeo’s Ex: Rosaline’s Story
by Lisa Fiedler

Most of you probably know the story of Romeo and Juliet.  It’s iconic.  But what about the chick that Romeo is digging for the first act of the play – Rosaline?  He loves her one moment, snubs her the next.  What’s up with that?  Well, this is her “chance” to tell her side of the story.  Instead of being boy-crazy like her cousin Juliet, Rosaline wants more than anything to be a healer.  Since it seems like her family’s decisions always have dire consequences, she wants to be there to make things right.

I first mentioned this book in my review for Dating Hamlet.  I actually found this book first, but I have this habit of wanting to go in order.  It’s a good thing I did, because Fiedler seems to want to go through much of Shakespeare’s works with her rewrites.  Dating Hamlet alluded to Romeo’s Ex, while Romeo’s Ex seems to point to a reworking of The Taming of the Shrew.  Who knows when/if that will come out.  As for this particular book, I didn’t really care for Rosaline.  I bought some of the historical anachronisms for Dating Hamlet, but I guess maybe too much of the same happens in this book.  I did like her treatment of some of the other characters, though.  It reminds the reader how young Juliet actually is when she gets married – 13 – which is something that is easy to forget when you watch Claire Danes in the role.  I also really liked Benvolio.  But what else can you expect from a character whose name essentially means “good guy”?

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com

The Looking Glass Wars

The Looking Glass Wars
by Frank Beddor, read by Gerard Doyle

You think Alice in Wonderland was just some trippy dream of Lewis Carroll’s?  You’d be dead wrong.  What Carroll thought was some little girl’s imagination was a gross distortion of what really is happening in Wonderland.  Alice (whose name is really spelled Alyss) is the princess of Wonderland.  Her aunt Redd has killed both of her parents and assumed the throne, making Wonderland a horrible place to live.  Alyss was exiled to our world when she turned 7, forced to live as an orphan, no one believing her story at all.  After 13 years, she is brought back to Wonderland to fight her aunt and take her place as queen.  But she’s still struggling with whether or not Wonderland even exists!

I got this book on audio from the Free Library of Philadelphia to listen to on the plane to New Mexico.  I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  I thought it was amazing!  The true story behind Alice in Wonderland… I like twists on stories like that.  Doyle does a great job reading them, and truly, I’m exited to read the rest of them.  There is a great cast of characters.  A lot of this book reminds me of other things I’ve read.  The plot reminded me of C. S. Lewis’ Prince Caspian, where a ragtag band of rebels has to fight for a usurped throne.  There’s a character who reminds me very much of Butler from Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl series.  The wordplay reminded me a little bit of The Phantom Tollbooth, probably because I read that recently.  But the book didn’t seem like a copy of anything.  It holds its own.  I’d be very excited to see a movie come from this.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com

The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner
by James Dashner

Thomas wakes up in an elevator not knowing anything about who he was or where he is.  He’s come into some sort of colony of teenage boys.  This colony also happens to be in a maze that the boys have been trying to solve for years.  Even just being there a few hours, the other boys notice there’s something odd about Thomas.  One boy usually comes through the elevator every month.  But the very next day after Thomas arrives, a girl comes through the elevator bearing a strange note that signals that everything the boys knew is about to change.  Thomas doesn’t understand, but he has an inexplicable desire to be a Runner – one of the boys who goes out into the maze to try to solve it.  But there may be a problem – the maze may not even be solvable.

This book has sat on my shelf for months.  Twice.  I finally picked it up… and I didn’t like it.  I mean, it wasn’t poorly written or anything, but it typically appears on bibliographies for reluctant readers or male readers.  Since I am neither, I may have just not been the right audience.  It reminded me of what I remember from Lord of the Flies, but that’s a book I never finished either, and I tried to several times growing up.  The Maze Runner is also a frequently recommended for people who don’t know what to read after they’re done with The Hunger Games trilogy.  I can see why – dystopian lit. with teenage protagonist and nearly impossible odds.  Still, this is not a trilogy I plan on finishing.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

Alphabeasties

Alphabeasties
by Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss

I kind of have to describe and opinionate on this book all at once.  It’s one of the most mind-blowing concept books I’ve ever read.  Werner and Forss have made animals out of the first letter of the animal’s name… and it’s one of the coolest things I’ve seen.  I mean, I’m sure they’re not the first to do it, but I really like the way in which they’ve done it.  It’s also a great introduction for children who are learning to recognize their letters, because not all letters look alike, depending on the font or who writes it.  This is one book that I might consider buying, simply because it’s so much fun to look at.  It’s a unique style of art that I would be pleased to support, and I hope they do more.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

The Dreamer

The Dreamer
by Cynthia Rylant and Barry Moser (illus.)

There once was a young artist whose mind was so filled with beautiful images, he had to make them.  In his dreams and daydreams he saw colors and forms and textures so vivid and vibrant, he simply had to play with them.  This is a collection of his art.

Being highly impressed with Rylant’s poetry (see God Went to Beauty School), I was excited to learn she did picture books, too.  This particular picture book takes an artist’s look at the Creation story in Genesis and shows God as an artist, the Father of all artists.  I think that’s pretty cool – I’ve always been drawn to God through various art forms.  What struck me most about this book is that throughout the entire book, God is repeatedly described as a young artist.  Most people have this image of God as this old man who sits in the sky and doles out judgment; but Rylant is not satisfied with that picture.  God is constantly full of beautiful ideas like a young artist whose mind is about to burst.  So He is constantly creating those thoughts and making them real.

Image taken from http://www.goodreads.com.

Bats at the Library

Bats at the Library
by Brian Lies

Someone has left the window open in the library!  That means it’s Bat Night, where the bats can fly in and enjoy all the wonderful stories on the shelves.

While I don’t have much to say about the story here, be prepared for me to rave about the illustrations.  They are AMAZING!  This particular book is all about the pictures.  The detailed anatomy of the bats mixed with their anthropomorphic expressions captivate your imagination.  And then the bats’ imaginations take over, and Lies incorporates them into some of the most beloved picture books of all time.  A total win.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

13 Words

13 Words
by Lemony Snicket and Maira Kalman (illus.)

Poor bird is despondent.  Not even cake will make her happy.  Her friend dog wants to cheer her up, so he hops into his convertible and drives to a haberdashery to buy a hat.  As everyone know, stylish hats will cheer anybody up!

It seems as though Lemony Snicket wrote down a bunch of words and pulled 13 out of a hat and wrote a story with those 13 words in the order that he pulled them.  I think it’s brilliant.  It’s not an extraordinary picture book: there are the normal number of words on the page telling a normal story.  What’s extraordinary is the vocabulary used.  I won’t give away all the words in this book, but Snicket is an author who gives children more credit than most adults when it comes to their vocabulary skills.  He doesn’t shy away from teaching children words like haberdashery, and I applaud that.  Kalman’s illustrations are a perfect compliment to Snickets choice of words.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com

The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear

The Legend of Ninja Cowboy Bear
by David Bruins and Hilary Leung (illus.)

There were once three friends – a ninja, a cowboy, and a bear – and they did everything together.  But one day they started to argue about who was better than the others.  They decided there was only one way to settle this: with a series of competitions.

This is a cute take on “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” complete with instructions on how to play “Ninja, Cowboy, Bear” in the back.  While there’s not much going on story-wise (because you know how it’s going to end up), I love the colorful illustrations.  I think the allusion to the famous game will be lost on younger children, but I still think they’d enjoy the book for what it is.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.

Wink: The Ninja Who Wanted to Be Noticed

Wink: The Ninja Who Wanted to Be Noticed
by J. C. Phillipps

Just so you’re all aware, the next several posts will be picture books.  I’ve taken so many out… I need to start returning them to the library.

Wink was soooo excited to start learning how to be a ninja.  Ninjas are pretty much the coolest ever.  But when he starts training, he realizes it’s going to be harder than he thought.  And not just because of the fighting.  Ninjas must be silent.  Ninjas must blend in.  But if no one sees or hears Wink being stealthy, how is anyone going to know how awesome of a ninja he is?

In anticipation of the April release of The Boy Who Cried Ninja, I decided to look around my library for other ninja-themed children’s books.  Slim pickins, my friends.  While I found Wink’s story to be okay, the artwork is great.  I love collaging, so Phillipps’ cut-out artwork is right up my alley.  The colors and patterns are vivid, and make the world surrounding Wink really stand out.

Image taken from http://www.amazon.com.