Review: Ask the Passengers

Ask the Passengers
By A.S. King
Published 2012 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Astrid Jones sends her love to the passengers of planes that fly overhead. But, in her own life, she sometimes has trouble with love. Like, she may be in love now. But with a girl. So is she gay? And does it matter?

Another book that has been on my radar for awhile (and even more so once it started racking up starred reviews), I had definitely been looking forward to reading this one. This is another title I bumped up in the reading list when it made the shortlist for the Pyrite over at Someday My Printz Will Come. This one I'm struggling with a bit more than I did with another recent Pyrite read, The Diviners. To be sure, this is a wonderful book. Astrid is an incredibly real and complex character and I loved reading her story. King is one of the best YA novelists writing today - her stories are affecting and real, stories that you lose yourself in and don't mind it one bit. As I've said many times previously, I welcome the addition of new books dealing with sexuality and coming to terms with the struggle that many teens face. This book is an absolutely beautiful exploration of that struggle - Astrid questions not only her sexuality but the whole of human experience throughout the novel. This book is about more than just coming out - it's about growing up and how it's okay to not have it all figured out by your eighteenth birthday.

So, what's my problem? In this case, I think the discussion over at Someday may have impacted my reading of Ask the Passengers. Over there, a number of folks pointed out that it's problematic in a book about sexuality to never have the identity of bisexual come up. While Astrid is struggling with her sexuality, no one, not even her pseudo-imaginary version of Socrates, suggests that Astrid doesn't have to be gay or straight, one or the other. To me, this is very troubling and I like to think I would have noticed and commented on this even if I hadn't seen it mentioned over on Someday first.

Unlike others in the Someday discussion, I didn't find the inclusion of the passenger stories disingenuous or detracting from the story. I've come to expect a step outside the box and a dose of magical realism from King - and I think the passenger stories are those things for this novel. Additionally, though this is a fantastic book, well-written and well executed on a number on levels, I'm just not sure that, for me, this is the most distinguished book of the year. Will I be sad if it wins? Definitely not. But I would be surprised. Your mileage may vary, of course, and I'd love to hear a persuasive argument in favor of this one.

Review: The Diviners

The Diviners (Diviners, book one)
By Libba Bray
Published 2012 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Evie's parents don't know what to do with her anymore in their small-town, so it's off to glamorous New York City and the care of her uncle Will. But Will is a bit of a strange one, running The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult. What no one knows is that Evie has a secret gift of her own - and she's not the only one. Around the city, others are hiding their strange talents, but not for long. When a series of occult-based murders hits the Big Apple, Evie and her uncle find themselves mired in the investigation. Can they catch the killer - or is Evie the next victim?

Okay, I'd been looking forward to this one ever since I found out about it - 1920s New York City, spunky heroine, creepy paranormal twist. I was thrilled when it started getting good reviews, and even more excited when it landed on the shortlist over at Someday My Printz Will Come. I've been keeping up with the award chatter over there and trying my best to read along (though I'm failing pretty miserably). So, when this book made the shortlist for the Pyrite, I bumped it up in my to-read queue and tackled it (did you know it's like 600 pages long??) over the Christmas holiday.

Good or bad, I'd already seen some of the discussion over at the blog regarding the issues people had with this title. I'd like to hope that it didn't color my own reading experience of the book (though, if I were reading for committee, I would have avoided keeping tabs on the discussion until after I'd finished my own reading of the book). Initially, I have to say: I thought this book was amazing. I'm definitely a hard-core Libba fan - the only thing I haven't read yet is Beauty Queens but someday soon, I promise! - and this book had, as I mentioned, no shortage of awesome things for me to love. Evie - I adore her! She is the epitome of a 1920s go-getter girl. I love, love, love the ensemble of the book as well. In addition to Evie, we get a host of other fantastic characters to follow along - Theta and her roommate, Jericho, Memphis, even Uncle Will. There is no shortage of awesome characters to enjoy.

The setting: 1920s New York City - is there a place more glamorized in our collective minds? Everything about Bray's writing screams with the glitz and romance of the era. This is where I worried the discussion over at Someday would most impact me - a number of people have felt that Bray's overly specific descriptions and abundance of slang bog down the story and feel slightly ridiculous. I shouldn't have worried. For me, what Bray does here doesn't feel any different than any other historical fiction novel - being overly specific helps introduce readers to products, fashions, and slang that they are most likely unfamiliar with. There is A LOT of slang in the book, but it really helps evoke the time period and bring flavor to the characters and setting.

The paranormal: this may be my favorite aspect of the book. I absolutely love when something is presented so completely and wonderfully in a novel that I begin to wonder if it's true or not. Bray does that here, with her storylines about an end-of-the-world cult and Naughty John. I wanted to go do some research of my own when I finished reading. Bray enrobes seemingly every word of this story with a creepy hint of the supernatural and it works wonderfully. For maybe the first time in my life, I was unsettled by a fictional bad guy. Naughty John is the real deal, y'all.

The writing: is there anything Bray can't do? There are so many threads in this story, so much imagery, and in my opinion, it all works wonderfully. I have always loved Bray's writing, so there's no real surprise here.

I think I've gushed long enough. I adored this book and am on absolute tenterhooks for the next installment. Head over to the Someday blog for some different perspectives. Personally, in terms of Printz potential, despite my adoration for the book, I'm not sure it measures up. It's a great field for the Printz this year and I think The Diviners suffers a little from first-in-a-series syndrome. Regardless, I thought this was a fantastic read, highly recommended for everyone.

Program: Wimpy Kid Party

You'd be hard-pressed to find a kid that wasn't anticipating the release of the newest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book. In my quest to capitalize on these highly anticipated series releases with programming, we held a Wimpy Kid party the Saturday after the release date. We ran for the program for two hours and broke it up into two main parts: the first hour featured a variety of activities the kids could move between at their own pace, while the second hour started with trivia and included another activity (for the kids to work on after they were eliminated from the trivia competition). When kids arrived, they all received name tags printed on lined notebook paper with a Wimpy Kid drawing (my colleague and I had made our name tags from the "Wimp Yourself" website).

For the first hour, the stations we had set up were:

- Scavenger hunt: we do these all the time at the library because they are easy and the kids love them. For the Wimpy Kid version, we printed out pictures of different Wimpy Kid characters and placed them around the library for kids to find. When they found them all, they received a homemade cheese touch necklace. These necklaces were a prized possession for the kids who attended the program.

- Create your own journal: there would be no Diary of a Wimpy Kid is Greg Heffley's mother had not given him a journal as a present, so we encouraged the kids to follow in Greg's footsteps and create their own journals. We had half sheets of construction paper in all the colors of the Wimpy Kid books and lined notebook paper for the kids to hole punch and tie together with yarn. We also set out a number of art supplies so the kids could decorate their journals. They spent a lot of time at this station. On a separate table, we provided some writing prompts for the kids to get started writing in their journals, though I think most kids that grabbed these prompts took them home for later use.

- Puzzle table: you know, maybe it's lame of me, but I like word games and puzzles, like word searches and crossword puzzles. I like them for programs because they cost essentially nothing and the kids often seem to enjoy them as much as crafts or projects that cost significantly more. This was no exception. I printed out a bunch of Wimpy Kid word searches and crossword puzzles, as well as some black and white posters (which I figured the kids could color in and take home for their rooms). The kids worked diligently on the puzzles and many of them turned them over, attempting to draw their best versions of Greg Heffley himself.

- The Cheese Touch game: we played this like "Hot Potato," with a moldy cheese shaped beanbag that the kids passed around the circle to the music until it stopped playing. We played rounds until we had a winner, who received a package of cheese and cracker sandwiches. We played this game like a billion times in the first hour and the kids probably could have played all day.

For the second hour, we started with trivia. Since we couldn't find any cheap prizes to get in bulk, we decided we didn't want to have trivia teams, which is how we usually run trivia for programs. With that out, we figured our best option was a spelling bee style trivia contest. We made the whole thing optional, of course; nobody had to participate in trivia if they didn't want to. For the kids that did, we had them line up single-file. I asked the child at the front of the line the first question. If they got it right, they moved to the back of the line; if they got it wrong, I asked the next person in line the question. If they got it right, the first kid was eliminated and the second kid moved to the back of the line. We continued asking questions until we had a winner, who won a set of practical jokes. We did have some kids upset when they got eliminated from the whole contest after getting just one question wrong, so perhaps a trivia sheet with the most right answers winning would have been a better option. However, we did provide another activity for kids who didn't want to participate in the trivia or for after they were eliminated: draw your own comic. We drew some examples for the kids to get a sense of comic strip layout, but other than that, we let them create whatever kind of comic they wanted. I was running the trivia, so I didn't get a chance to see many of the comic creations, but I'm sure they were far better than mine!

And that was our Wimpy Kid Party! Have you had a Wimpy Kid program? What activities did you include?

Picture Book Saturday

Oh No! Not Again!: (Or, How I Built a Time Machine to Save History) (Or At Least My History Grade)
By Mac Barnett, illustrated by Dan Santat
Published 2012 by Hyperion
Well, it's official - this girl is too smart for her own good. In her first adventure, she built a robot that almost destroyed the world. This time around, she builds a time machine. Why? Well, to fix history so that she doesn't get that A- on her test. Santat is one of my favorite illustrators and I had enjoyed the first book, so I quickly picked up this one. I liked it even better than the previous title. It's a great book for sharing because there is a lot to pore over and discuss. This would be a great title to share with elementary school kids - they will definitely appreciate the humor.

Cloudette
By Tom Lichtenheld
Published 2011 by Henry Holt and Co.
This is basically the cutest book you will ever encounter. It's the cutest book about a cloud, the cutest book about weather, and the cutest book about being little. If you're little, you get cute nicknames and everyone thinks you're adorable (it's true, ask the nearest toddler). But what if you want to do something only big clouds (or people) can do? A change of place opens up new possibilities for Cloudette. I loved the humor sprinkled throughout, the gentle illustrations, and the lovely little message. I think children will really connect with Cloudette. This is definitely a new favorite of mine.


Cock-a-Doodle Dance!
By Christine Fagan-Tricarico, illustrated by Rich Deas
Published 2012 by Feiwel & Friends
Life is gloomy and boring on this farm, but Rooster is about to change all that. To break everyone out of their chore rut, Rooster gets them all dancing. But then chores are getting done. Will they find a balance? I appreciate what this book is trying to do, but I'm not sure it really works. The rhythm is off throughout the text and some of the vocabulary, while new and interesting, makes you stumble as you read. I also don't really enjoy the story itself. But the pictures are eye-catching and I'm sure there is an audience for this book; it just wasn't me.

Bedtime is Canceled
By Cece Meng, illustrated by Aurelie Neyret
Published 2012 by Clarion Books
It started with a note - just a simple note between siblings. Maggie and her brother thought of it, hoping it would fool their parents. Well, not exactly - but something even bigger happens. Soon, the news has spread worldwide: BEDTIME IS CANCELED. This would be a fun book for a pajama storytime. Kids will relate to not wanting to go to bed and will think the ensuing chaos is silly and entertaining. I liked it. The illustrations are very appealing as well. I'd definitely like to try this out on a storytime crowd.

Review: Teeth

Teeth
By Hannah Moskowitz
Published 2013 by Simon Pulse

Rudy knows he shouldn't resent his brother. After all, it's not his fault that he's sick and the family moves to a remote island in a last effort to make him healthy. But it still sucks for Rudy. Will things change for him when he meets a pair of mysterious island-dwellers, one who never leaves her house and one who is half-fish?


The story I read was not the story I expected. Hannah Moskowitz is one of those authors whose name I've heard frequently and whose stories sounded like they'd be really interesting. In my typical fashion, I hadn't yet gotten around to actually reading any of her books. So, when her newest title popped up on Edelweiss, I requested it. However, as initially stated, the book I read was not what I had expected. It's not necessarily a bad thing, just, you know, unexpected. But the story I read was fascinating. I love, love, loved the exploration of sibling relationships in this book, not just through Rudy and his brother, but through Teeth and his complicated family. I loved the mystical side of the story - the magic fish that only a handful of fishermen know how to catch but the consumption of which can cure any ailment. I enjoyed the complexity of this story - it's not just about Rudy. It's not just about dealing with a sick family member. It's not just about having your life uprooted. It's not just about mythical fish. It's not just about a half-fish, half-boy. It's about all these things. It's also about finding the person who understands you best. It's about figuring out how unfair life is and what you're going to do about it. It's about figuring out how complicated life is and what you're going to do about it. The story is compelling, the characters are gritty, and the action is heartbreaking. This book was not what I expected, but it was incredibly well-done. Highly recommended.

Thanks to the publisher for a digital advance reader's copy, provided via Edelweiss.

Review: Non-fiction

A few quick reviews of some recent juvenile non-fiction; which I feel is easier to review in a group instead of individually.

Stay: The True Story of 10 Dogs
By Michaela Muntean, photographs by K.C. Bailey and Steven Kazmierski
Published 2012 by Scholastic
Well, this one came across our new book cart and it's awfully hard for me to resist a book about dogs (especially considering how much I'd like to have one). This tells the story of Luciano Anastasini, a man who lives for the circus. After he has an accident and can no longer perform, he adopts a number of unwanted dogs. Working with them all individually, Anastasini sees performer potential in each and decides to create a new act with the dogs. He continues to adopt unwanted dogs and incorporates them into the act whenever he can. The photos are really vibrant and the story is told simply but not too simply. This will really appeal to kids who love animals. I think this also is great for showcasing that each dog has its own special abilities and, instead of writing them off like other people have done, Anastasini takes the time to get to know each one and incorporate that ability into the act.

Alex the Parrot: No Ordinary Bird: A True Story
By Stephanie Spinner, illustrated by Meilo So
Published 2012 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Anyone who knows me might be a bit surprised that I bothered to pick up this title. I am not a big fan of birds. However, I'm not opposed to them as long as they keep a distance - so reading a book about them is pretty much okay. The story of Alex intrigued me, even though I quickly realized that I didn't even know the whole story. Apparently, before Irene Pepperberg and Alex, most scientists believed that, because of the size of their brains, birds were not worth studying. Pepperberg believed this view to be incorrect and, by studying Alex, proved that birds were much more intelligent than previously believed. This book has great kid appeal and will be very popular with young non-fiction readers.

Seed by Seed: The Legend and Legacy of John "Appleseed" Chapman
By Esme Raji Codell, illustrated by Lynne Rae Perkins
Published 2012 by Greenwillow Books
There is no shortage of biographies on Johnny Appleseed, particularly of the picture book variety. However, Codell and Perkins have taken a distinct approach with this biography and have given readers a wonderful new portrait of John Chapman. As I've stated many times before, I love picture book biographies because the information is presented concisely, usually in the most interesting way possible, and I always learn something I hadn't known before. In this case, Codell highlights Chapman's life through the five tenets he tried to live by: use what you have, share what you have, respect nature, try to make peace where there is war, and you can reach your destination by taking small steps. All of this adds up to a great message for kids that is encouraging without being overwhelmingly preachy. The illustrations highlight the folksy, Americana nature of the legend surrounding Chapman and work beautifully with his story. I learned a lot of things I didn't know and loved hearing how likely it is that all apples we eat today are descended from the seeds Chapman planted. Really excellent biography.

Review: Guy Langman, Crime Scene Procrastinator

Guy Langman, Crime Scene Procrastinator
By Josh Berk, read by Jim Meskimen
Published 2012 by Listening Library

Guy doesn't really have any interests. Well, besides breasts, but he can't really pursue that one. However, when his friend Anoop convinces him to join the forensics club as a way to meet girls, Guy figures he'll give it a try. Maybe then he WILL be able to pursue his main interest. But when a real dead body shows up, Guy and company must take their forensics skills to the next level and figure out what happened.

So I unintentionally listened to both of Josh Berk's books pretty much back-to-back. This is not necessarily a bad thing; it was just a lot of teenage guy narration in a short period of time. The problem now, however, is that it's been at least a month since I finished this (the second of the two I read) and I'm having a hard time keeping the details between the two books distinct. Well, I suppose that's not exactly true. The main characters of the two books are not necessarily all that similar: Hamburger Halpin is overweight, deaf, and nerdy. Guy Langman is still dealing with the death of his father and also nerdy. But, both find themselves as amateur sleuths when they encounter unexpected death. Additionally, the narrative voices of the two boys are not all that different from each other. I suppose that is the real reason why I'm having some trouble keeping the two books distinct in my mind. The mysterious death investigations also seem to run in much the same way - both boys enlist the help of their friends and the Internet in their attempts to solve the "crimes." Despite these similarities, I wouldn't necessarily call it a flaw that the two boys' narratives sound alike - in both cases, they read as very true accounts of the inner workings of the mind of a teenage guy. There are a number of laugh-out-loud moments in both books, though I think I remember laughing more with this one. The secondary characters don't really stand out as much in this one, though, and I thought the red herring was a bit too obvious here. However, the great thing about both of these books is that they feel genuine in their narration. They combine humor with mystery and I think it's a really successful combination. Any teens looking for a laugh (especially boys) should give these books a shot.