Review: Nobody's Secret

Nobody's Secret
By Michaela MacColl
Expected publication April 30, 2013 by Chronicle Books

Young Emily Dickinson meets a mysterious and handsome young man who she feels an instant connection with. Their flirtation is secret and playful, and "Mr. Nobody" refuses to divulge his true identity. Then, unthinkably, he shows up dead in the Dickinson family pond. Emily believes it her duty to uncover the truth behind his death, no matter what risks she'll have to take.

So, I've never read MacColl before, though I've been intrigued by the blurb for Prisoners in the Palace and have been meaning to get around to it. I requested this new title because I'm a fan of historical fiction, and I enjoy authors who take well-known characters or historical figures and play with them. I don't know terribly much about Emily Dickinson, but I thought it would be interesting to see how MacColl presents her. Unfortunately, this book is mostly just mediocre for me. I do love Emily's character - she's a spirited young woman who is willing to do unpopular and unladylike things in her pursuit of truth. However, my adoration of her spirit is tempered by the knowledge that she essentially became a hermit; it just seems a disappointing end for the young woman encountered in these pages. I enjoyed the mystery in this book - I like how Emily puzzled out the bits and pieces by persistence and determination. It's never terribly exciting, though, and I wonder if teen readers will be engaged enough in the story to follow it through to the end. I can see fans of Dickinson's poetry enjoying this take on the reclusive poet's life, though, of course, it is fictional. MacColl provides an author's note after the novel's conclusion to help readers sort the fact from fiction. Ultimately, I just didn't find this terribly compelling. A middle of the road read for me.

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

Program: Adventure Club

For our March edition of Adventure Club, we ventured a little out there - our coworkers were a bit worried about what we wanted to do. What was this crazy (but highly appealing to kids) idea? Grossology, of course! Here's what we did!

When the kids came in, we split them into two groups: team snot and team poop. We started the program off with some trivia. We decided to run the trivia in a manner with which we've had success in the past - each team is given a stack of cards with all the answers printed on them, so teams must search through their cards to find the correct answer to each question and bring it up to the questioner (my coworker in this case). There is always a no-running rule (difficult though it can be to enforce) and this gives everybody pretty much an equal shot at getting each question right, especially with trivia like this where we didn't expect them to know the answers beforehand. All trivia was based on facts found in the Grossology series of books, as well as a couple other random "gross stuff" books I found in our collection. Despite the fact that each team should have had an equal shot at discovering the correct answer, one team dominated the trivia. No prizes were awarded, just a round of applause.

Once we finished with trivia, we kept the kids split into two groups and got to work on making our gross take-homes - fake poop and fake snot. As expected, team poop started at the fake poop station and we switched the groups once everyone got a chance to finish up their disgusting creations. We had some complaints about the fake snot because it was the same recipe we had used in a recent science program AND Holidays at Hogwarts, but we never know if the same kids will show up to everything. Regardless, they all made their snot (which wasn't really as runny as snot) and poop (which was disturbingly realistic). Then everybody got the chance to decorate themselves with a fake wound. This would have gone better if we had fewer kids or more volunteers to help - many of them didn't really understand the concept of using a small piece of tissue to create a wound site, so we had a number of kids leaving with large wads of tissue paper about their person.

We had a prize drawing at the end of the program (they just threw their names in a bucket) for three gross fact books, one winner for each book, and then we sent the kids on their way. I was happy to see many parents wrinkling their noses at our gross creations as the kids left the program. We had an excellent number in attendance and everyone had a good time. We will definitely offer another gross program in the future!

Picture Book Saturday

Secret Agent Splat
By Rob Scotton!
Published 2012 by HarperCollins
Splat has discovered something amiss in his house - someone has messed with his ducks! Not to worry - Splat will simply use his Secret Agent skills to uncover the mysterious culprit. What do I really need to say about this book? I've been in love with Rob Scotton's books since Russell the Sheep (underappreciated, I think, and suffering in the shadow of the Splat books) and Splat is just as fabulous (and clearly more popular). I was so excited to see this one last year (yes, I'm writing a review a year later) because our summer reading club had a mystery theme and this would be perfect. This is a delightful book, so much fun.

Gideon
Gideon and Otto
By Olivier Dunrea
Published 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
I don't have a ton to say about these books - they are incredibly short, perfect for toddlers, and simple. But they are exceedingly adorable. I don't like birds, but Dunrea's ducks and goslings are so sweet that even I can't resist them. Gideon introduces a little gosling who absolutely does not want to take a nap. Gideon and Otto showcases Gideon's best friend, Otto the octopus, and the adventures they enjoy together. I love these books, so simple and so sweet.







Kali's Song
By Jeannette Winter
Published 2012 by Schwartz & Wade
I seem to remember this book making a bit of a splash when it first came out, so I was definitely interested in seeing what the fuss was about. I suppose I just didn't get this one. It tells the story of Kali, a young boy who lived many thousands of years ago, and his desire to make music. I guess this is a book to celebrate the differences and uniqueness of all of us, but I just didn't care for it terribly much.


Sleep Like a Tiger
By Mary Logue, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
Published 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
My library didn't receive a copy of this book until after it won a Caldecott Honor so I was dying to get my hands on it and see for myself. I have to say - I do not like this book. Which is perfectly fine, since I also cannot stand Chris Raschka and everyone else thinks he's a genius. I do not like the text or the illustrations in this book - which is a bit surprising - usually I will enjoy at least some part of a picture book. But I found this text just blah and the illustrations weird. Definitely not my favorite.

Review: The Murmurings

The Murmurings
By Carly Anne West
Published 2013 by Simon Pulse

Sophie's life hasn't been the same since her sister went to the institute. Now, Nell is dead, and Sophie thinks there is more to the story than anyone has told her. Desperate to get to the bottom of the mystery, Sophie begins to wonder if maybe she is crazy - or if the sisters share a secret that is almost too strange to be true.

I requested the e-galley of this thinking I'd get a creepy, psychological thriller sort of story. I was disappointed. In fact, I'm not sure I have anything nice to say about this book. Everything about this book struck me as mediocre or worse - I had to force myself to keep reading through the tedium. Sophie is not a particularly interesting character, and I find something about her off-putting. It makes me completely unsympathetic to her struggles to uncover the truth about her sister's death. It's also interesting to note that the action is fairly well-paced throughout this book - something seems to happen in every chapter - and yet, the plot still felt like it was dragging. The romance is completely ridiculous. There is no sense that these two characters even know each other and suddenly they are in love? I get that they are allegedly bonding over their similarly tragic pasts, but it just doesn't read as a believable romance to me. Additionally, this is not a psychological thriller - this is a paranormal read. The secret that Sophie and her sister share is supernatural and, to be honest, just plain strange. You know, perhaps this book is best compared to a B-movie horror film - it's surprisingly in the vein of The Ring and those other creepy Asian horror films about ghosts and malevolent spirits. Unfortunately, this one is not all that creepy. I don't expect this to make a big splash with its intended audience, but there may be some appeal for readers who have exhausted all other paranormal romance-y type books.

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

Review: The Name of the Star

The Name of the Star (Shades of London, book one)
By Maureen Johnson
Published 2011 by Putnam Juvenile

Rory has somewhat mixed feelings about starting a new life in a London boarding school. Unfortunately, those feelings are not going to become clearer anytime soon. Almost as soon as Rory arrives, a series of murders, emulating those of Jack the Ripper, begins and Rory finds herself thrust into the center of the investigation. Will she be able to adjust to London life and can she escape the clutches of the Ripper copycat?

This is another one of those times when I admit what a terrible person I am - if you know me, you know I have a bit of a book addiction. This addiction was probably only made worse when I became a librarian and was certainly fed when I attended ALA Annual Conference for the first time. I mean, books! Everywhere! Advance copies! So, I definitely came home with more copies than it was humanly possible to read in a timely manner. I promise, I am doing my darnedest to work through all those books I have sitting on my shelves - this is one of them. I was so excited to receive a galley of this because it sounds right up my alley - I love a good mystery and Jack the Ripper is particularly fascinating and gruesome. Also, it's not hard to guess from the cover that there's going to be a bit of the supernatural in this novel - and there is. So, while I didn't get to this book before it was released, I was still thrilled to have a copy and get started when I finally got a chance.

What motivated me to finally read this one was the eminent release of the sequel, all the good reviews I'd heard of it, and YALSA's The Hub Reading Challenge. I was not led astray. I had only read one of Johnson's books before (13 Little Blue Envelopes) but I really enjoyed it and kept meaning to read more by her. This was an excellent choice for furthering my experiences with her as an author. If there is one thing that Johnson does exceptionally well, it's characters. I fell for Rory immediately - I mean, literally, page one and I was hooked. An excellent voice and an interesting background, Rory is a wonderful narrator. She is witty and astute and just plain fun - plus she's fierce and not opposed to some good snogging and mixed emotions. That is perhaps my favorite aspect of Rory's character - not the snogging, but the embracing of her mixed feelings. Rory does not feel compelled to declare herself fully happy or fully sad - she is just fine with the shades of grey in between. This murkiness of emotions really begins to show up in the teenage years and I love that Rory doesn't back away from the confusion.

But there is not just one thing Johnson does well - she does most everything well. The dialogue is snappy, hilarious, and incredibly (sometimes painfully) realistic. The atmosphere is pitch perfect - there is just the right mix of stereotypical London gloom and supernatural creepiness. Everything about this book sucked me in and kept me hurtling toward the final pages - and I wouldn't have it any other way. Very much looking forward to reading the sequel and more from Johnson in the future.

Thanks to the publisher for an advance reader's copy.

Review: What's Left of Me

What's Left of Me (Hybrid Chronicles, book one)
By Kat Zhang
Published 2012 by HarperCollins

Eva and Addie had a similar childhood to everyone else around them - two souls in one body, taking turns being in control as they grew. But then, they became different. One was supposed to fade away as the other took control. Why didn't they settle? As the whispers became louder and the looks more pointed, the girls constructed a false reality - Eva was gone now. Addie was in control. Now, the girls have discovered that there may be a way for Eva to have control again. Will they take the risk for the chance?

This book has a very intriguing premise - two souls are born into most bodies (actually, I'm not clear whether this is all, or just most) and, once the child grows older, the souls settle, leaving just one. However, in this case, the settling never happened - Eva and Addie are both still present, having carefully built a reality around the lie that only Addie remains. I'd heard good things about this book, as well, so I definitely wanted to check it out. First thing I really liked about this book - it's told from Eva's perspective. Eva is the soul who was supposed to have faded away, given up control to Addie (well, she has done that) and disappeared into the place where all those recessive souls go. This makes for a very interesting take on the story and I really appreciated having Eva's narrative. I also would have liked a dual narrative - many of the things that happen would have been interesting to read from Addie's perspective - though the girls share a body, their emotions and thoughts about the things that body experiences are not necessarily the same. When the girls are given a chance to let Eva learn how to regain control of their body, they seem to struggle. I like the exploration of the relationship between the two girls - once again, though they are sharing a body, they are distinct people, with a relationship that doesn't have an exact match in our world (perhaps most similar to twins?). This makes nearly everything about this book a unique experience. Something that would have been pretty mundane in a different YA book - the romance - becomes a completely different thing in this book. Because there are more than just two people directly involved in this romance - there are four. What does that mean for all the souls involved? This book asks a lot of interesting questions and I enjoyed thinking about them and considering my own answers. Plotwise, this is an adventure story, with the girls discovering that the things the government has always told them are probably lies (very typical sci-fi trope, but an effective one). I thought the pacing was excellent - the book never dragged for a moment and I didn't want to put it down. I'm not sure how I feel about this being the start to a series - I think this is a nice self-contained adventure in this novel, though I expect the sequel will explore more of what life could be like for Eva and Addie, as well as more discoveries about the deception of the government. Overall, I thought this was a really well-done debut novel and I'll pick up the sequel to see what Zhang does next.

Program: Sharpie Tie-Dye

This is going to be a very short recap because I'm pretty sure I might be the last youth librarian on the planet to run a Sharpie tie-dye program. I decided to do this as a tween program during spring break and it was quite a success. Over 30 kids came (and they all brought their own t-shirts!) and made some awesome Sharpie designs. For those who don't know, it's really simple: you take a plain white shirt, stretch part of it over a plastic cup or cardboard (depending on how much area you want to work with at one time, or what you have better access to), draw whatever design you want in Sharpie, and then drip rubbing alcohol over your design. The alcohol will cause the Sharpie ink to bleed and run, creating a tie-dye-like effect. It's simple and fun and low-cost, plus it's easy to accommodate a large number of kids at one time. I gave a quick demonstration at the start of the program and they all worked quietly and intently on their own for the next hour, only asking me for refills of the rubbing alcohol (we used dropper bottles for better control). They all had fun, and they came up with some great designs. Definitely a program I'd repeat in the future!