Deadline by Chris Crutcher

Deadline by Chris Crutcher
galley from BEA
due out September 2007 from HarperTeen



I'm a little ashamed to admit this is the first book I've ever read by Crutcher. He'll be bumped up on the list of authorss I need to read now.
Deadline is the tale of Ben Wolf, a just turned 18-year-old who's also just found out he has a very aggressive and terminal blood disease. You'll be lucky to have a year. His doctor says something to that effect and Ben decides he's going to make that year count. No treatment, and no coddling. So, without telling anyone he sets out to squeeze a lifetime's worth of living in to one year.

This could have been an extremely depressing, frustrating and infuriating book, but somehow Crutcher manages to avoid all that. It is sad and thought-provoking, and yes, even funny. I could see the beauty and bravery in Ben's decision, but also the cowardice. I can respect Ben's decision, but I know I'd never make the same. Most likely, this is a book for older readers. It's really great for anyone struggling with issues of mortality.

Ben's story reminded me how grown up I felt at 18, too. Also, of a schoolmate of mine who made the same decision. I never could understand why, but now I kind of get it.

A note on the cover:
Though interesting (I love the bright colors) the cover never quite grabbed me. Just now searching for a picture, and seeing it online, I felt that sense of unease, of the world being turned upside down. That's probably exactly what I'm supposed to feel.

Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List

Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

ARC from BEA
Due: August 28, 2007 from Knopf Books for Young Readers


Naomi and Ely, Ely and Naomi. I expected assumed that the narrative would be similar to that of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, in that Naomi and Ely would take turns telling their story every chapter. Well, you know what they say about assumptions. Yes, Naomi and Ely do narrate the majority of the book, but we also get treated to narration from at least six other characters. This threw me for a loop. Some of it I quite dug.

(Now I'm remembering my days of senior English, studying Hamlet and how you could really only know a character by what he/she says when no one else is around, or by what somebody else says when that character isn't present. It's like that, probably.)

Naomi and Ely is a rebus story for teens. The pictures and symbols were unexpected at first and occasionally hard to interpret. It is a pretty cool concept and I hope that between the galley stage and the actual published book the graphics will get cleaned up.

Ok, enough with the format, onto the actual plot - at least what I feel I can reveal without spoilers. So, Naomi loves Ely and Ely loves Naomi, only not in the same way, because Ely really loves boys. (Trust me, the back of the book sums it up better than this.) To save their friendship, insuring they will not fight over boys, they have created a No Kiss List, which is constantly under revision. As that's just the start of the story, we know it can't go well from there. Snarky, banter flying left and right, full of pop-culture references, and relevant, Naomi and Ely is a little sloppier than Cohn and Levithan's first collaboration. Still, a fun ride, with a satisfying ending.

Particular bits I got a kick out of, without getting spoilery:
1. mention of Buffy
2. inclusion of a song from the Buffy musical on a playlist - the song that is my default ringtone
3. debate over Dawson/Joey, Pacey/Joey - I loved it, but doubt that any of today's teen will really care. Perhaps they won't even know those characters.
4. reference to Nick and Norah

Chicky Chicky Chook Chook by Cathy MacLennan

Chicky Chicky Chook Chook by Cathy MacLennan



This new book is a wonderful addition to any infant, toddler or preschool collection. Repetitive sounds and rhymes tale the tale of chicks and other creatures one sunny (then rainy day). It begins, "chicky, chicky, chook, chook, chick, chick, chick". The rhythm begs to be shared as a read aloud.

The artwork has the playfulness of Ed Emberley's fingerprints, but are more dimensional and feel more grounded. Each page is created on a paper bag brown background in bright contrasting colors. The chicks are wispy and soft. (Except when they're bedraggled and wet.) The roosters are bright and bold, the bees are full of energy and the cats are just as mischievous and cuddly as cats should be.

Easy Readers

Now, I'm not a fan of easy readers, beginning readers, whatever you call them. All too often the text doesn't make any sense, nor does it match the images, a big no-no in helping beginning readers. So, when I got a couple of advance copies of some new easy readers I wasn't too thrilled. But I took a closer look and what's this? Easy readers by Mo Willems!


These books are fantastic! No less than you would expect from the author/illustrator of the pigeon books and Knuffle Bunny and Leonardo the Terrible Monster (all on my favorites list). The text and the pictures work in harmony. The repetitive text which I find annoying in other easy readers works here (perhaps because the illustrations are so good). I wish there was more to say about the wonderfulness of these books. Oh wait, there is. The endpapers. As I don't have copies sitting in front of me as I type the fine details are lost, but trust me, these are good books.

I will most definitely be giving these to the youngest niece who will be starting kindergarten this fall.

Hero

Hero by Perry Moore
This is a galley I've really been looking forward to.

What could be more fun that a world filled with super heroes? Except your dad used to be one and now hates the whole "league". So you have to keep your new powers from him. Plus he doesn't like homosexuals, so one more thing you have to hide. Let's just say that Thom, our main character, isn't having such an easy life right now. Not to mention his mother has disappeared, he's been kicked off the basketball team and some body's following him.

What I liked:
The cover kicks ass. It's a simple white with a black eye mask filling the center. The title is below in a rainbow, but not an obvious one. I could go on and on about masks and all the different types of masks (literal and metaphorical) people wear in this book.

The different levels (and ages) of superheroes and the bizarre abilities some of them posses. One man has the ability to make anyone he comes in contact with get ill, and he can pick the disease!

This book probably suffered from my expectations a fair bit. It felt disjointed and characterization was inconsistent. That said, I love the world that Moore has created.

Drowning in Books and Loving It

Hi, I have a book problem, as in I have too many. Whew! I feel better just for admitting it. I've been working on this problem for several months now and have actually been somewhat successful in curtailing my acquisition of books. The only books I'm allowing myself to purchase this year are Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and anything by Brian K. Vaughan. And I've been sticking to this, except for the books I needed to read for NYPL Bookfest. Even better, I've actually removed books from my shelves - some sold at used book stores, some given away to teens at the library.

But purchasing books is only part of the problem. My real weakness is free books. Advance reader copies, galleys, promos, freebies . . . whatever you want to call them. I've been lucky enough to attend several conferences over the past few years and at each I've picked up as many books as I can possibly carry, sometimes more, and I always regret it when I'm trying to schlep my suitcase through the airport, but I can't stop. On top of that, every time my dad goes to a conference he brings me back books. Admittedly there are a number of duds, but once in a while you get a gem, like Twilight by Stephenie Meyer*. This causes a problem. There's never room for the glut of books to squeeze into my bookshelves. So tomes are double shelved and stacked every which way, until I don't know what I own. (I recently rearranged everything from genre to alphabetic in an attempt to combat this confusion. It's not helped much.)

Things might be manageable if that were the sum of the problem. Unfortunately, on top of the books I've paid for and the books I've picked up at conferences, I have library books on every surface in my apartment. My eyes are too large for my literary stomach. As I desperately try and keep up with the list of books and authors I'm familiar with the stacks only grow.

So why am I thinking about this now? Books are heavy. I've moved four times in four years, and am contemplating a fifth. (Never fear, this one would be as permanent as any move you make in your late 20s can be.) Also, I'm lucky enough to be going to ALA Annual Conference this summer and know I will be unable to resist loading myself with books. Even worse, this year I'll be driving. No having to schlep books through airports this time, which means no limits. Oh well, at least ALA is after my proposed move date. Bring on the books.

*New Moon got a mention on the Colbert Report last night. Yay!

Nobody's Princess

I picked up a galley of Nobody's Princess by Esther Friesner at NY Comic Con and am quite pleased that I did. All too often advance reader copies disappoint, but this one did not. The story I heard from the rep was that this book had previously been published, but had gone nowhere and then Tamora Pierce got a hold of it and said they had to do something with it. (I think I may have gotten that mixed up a bit, but the point is that Tamora Pierce is a fan of this book.)

I love retellings, expansions for well-known stories, in part because I love to see different author's perspectives on the same tale. This book is what happened to Helen before she was the center of the mess that was the Trojan war. I'm a bit hesitant to give anything at all away, since the book won't be available til this summer.

I'll just say this was a page turner. Realistically strong Helen shines in this story and I can't wait for the sequel Nobody's Prize, due in 2008.

Bridge to Terabithia

So, I got home from the movie last night, intending to post and one of the first things I see online is this post from Liz.

Spoilers for book and movie follow!

Let me start by saying that Bridge to Terabithia is one of my favorite books. It has been since I got over the fact that my mother was recommending it to me and finally read it, probably in ninth grade. I've read it many times, and sobbed through the ending every single time. Except the last. I reread the book in preparation for the movie a few weeks ago and was surprised by how little I was moved by the book. Perhaps this was caused by the fact that I was constantly wondering how the beautiful story I was reading would make it on to the big screen.

The trailers, the hideous trailers. I'd been anticipating this movie since I heard about it at the Toronto ALA conference in 2003. (At least I think that was the conference.) And then I saw the trailers and swore I would never watch the movie. Gradually I began to steel myself to the fact that I couldn't resist seeing how giants and other fantastical creatures made their way in, and would have to see the train wreck sooner or later. This article on the making of the movie (which I found thanks to Laurie Halse Anderson)made me want to see it a lot sooner than later.

What does all this lead up build to? Simply, that it is truly a wonderful movie, that touched me in the way the book usually does. The first time Leslie swung out over the water on the rope, the freedom and joy, and yes, magic, caused tears to prick my eyes. The fantastical, Narnia-esque was woven in to the story beautifully. The only disappoint I felt was at the end, which, though true to the book, was a little to cheesy* for my taste. (Oh, and the bad continuity in costuming toward the end.)

I believe this is one of the most true to the book movies I have ever seen, rivaling the Wonderworks version of A Little Princess and the Hallmark version of The Secret Garden.

*As my high school sophomore English teacher would say, "Cheese spewing forth."

ETA: A Note on the Audience
The misleading promos worked, the theater was pretty packed. I wonder how more realistic promos would have fared in comparison. At least half of the audience were kids much younger than I would ever recommend the book to and as I sat there, waiting for the lights to dim and being overly annoyed by some loud talkers behind me, I wondered how many parents had done their research into the film before bringing the youngsters. The woman in front of me clearly had not. I did not hear the comment the five year old boy with her made, but her response was an aggravated "No it was a good movie, just not what I expected."

Just a couple of notes more, on the signs of good storytelling. When Jess came home from the art museum and the change in mood is obvious, the entire audience was as silent as the characters on the screen. And then, when his father spoke, informing him of Leslie's death, there were several audible gasps. Finally, when the credits began to roll, there was actually applause. I've been to only two or three other movies, that received actual applause. My heart is warmed to know that the book has not been ruined by a horrible movie.

I Don't Like Gloria!

I Don't Like Gloria!
by Kaye Umansky (Author), Margaret Chamberlain (Illustrator)

No one likes being ignored when someone new comes along. Especially not this adorable dog, Calvin, when Gloria the cat is introduced to his home. Though the text seems uninspired, neither is it horrible, the pictures are delightful. Calvin has a particularly emotive face.

This illustrates the feelings children often have when new people and animals join the family, without painting the unrealistically rosy picture that most picture books do. Umansky acknowledges that change is hard and not everything will be perfect, but just maybe things will be ok. Perhaps, I am reading too much in to this story of new pets.

Who is Melvin Bubble?

Who is Melvin Bubble? by Nick Bruel

Who exactly is Melvin Bubble? And why do we care? And why is it such a fantastic book?

Melvin Bubble is a normal 6 1/2 year-old kid. He has a mom, a dad, a best friend, a tooth fairy, a talking zebra, a magic rock. . . Wait? What?

Melvin's best friend, is such a good friend he thinks there should be a book all about Melvin. This is that book. We see his mom's perspective (Melvin is messy), his dad's (Melvin is just like him), the tooth fairy's (Melvin has a big head), and hear from a number of other colorful characters.

This book is a delight because of the mix of completely normal and utterly absurd. The numerous voices make it a fun read aloud, and the pictures are rich and complex enough to pour over them by yourself. And in the end it is nice to know there are friends who like you enough to want a book written about you.

2nd Grade Class Visit

We've been having a lot of school visits throughout the year. We do a tour half the time and storytime the other half, with a chance for them to select and check out a book. I had one of the best audiences I've ever had this morning. I was lucky and got to do the storytime section twice, because I was splitting the duty with a librarian who likes to do the tour part. Win-win.

I like to start off with Shel Silverstein's poem "Sick". Today I had a large stack of books with me, because I couldn't decide where to stop. (Unfortunately the stack did not include Who Is Melvin Bubble?, my newest favorite read aloud.) I shared Hot City because I love the language, and to escape the bitter cold we're finally experiencing. I also shared Wolves, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, "I Dream a World" by Langston Hughes, and The Paper Bag Princess. I also told Stephanie's Ponytail, which has yet to fail me.

The first group ate everything up. An administrator passing by (and waiting for the nearby elevator) got sucked in and stopped to listen. (YAY!) I was on cloud nine.

I could tell right away the second group of students was different. They were much less engaged and vocal. Turns out it was a special ed classroom. But by the end I had them talking with me and really participating. FTW.

Many of the kids came and told me afterward that they liked my stories, mentioning their favorite bits. This is why I love my job.

Rules in Fiction

Rules by Cynthia Lord
The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin
The Alison Rules by Catherine Clark

I've just read the first two books, back to back. I read the third about a year ago. I've been abstractly thinking about the role rules can play in life since finishing Rules of Survival.

Rules can be good things, they keep us safe, they provide guidelines for our activities, a framework for interacting with others . . .
But rules can be dangerous. There can be too many rules. Rules can be too constrictive, stifling creativity and passion.

The rules in Rules are intended to help David, an autistic child, function in a world that he is not in tune with and is not in tune with him. The rules in Rules of Survival try to minimize the likelihood Matt and his sisters will be beaten by their mother. And the rule in The Alison Rules help Alison deal with the death of her mother. But most of these rules are arbitrary. David still puts toys in the fish tank, Matt's mother still abuses her children, and Alison's life is still messy.

A lot of fiction for young people seems to focus on rules. (Two galleys just came my way.) Children are either searching for a set of rules to live by, or struggling to live by the rules the written (and unwritten) rules that surround them. Don't chew gum in school, don't run in the library, don't talk to strangers, don't look too different . . .

Do a search for adult books on rules and you get things like Rules for Marriage and Ten Rules for Strategic Innovators. Is this because adults are searching for rules as much as kids? I know I'm more comfortable with a few guidelines, than with nothing at all. Is freedom from rules too scary? All the characters in books seem to have some kind of positive reaction to letting go of rules.

I want to have some kind of profound revelation, but my mind just keeps swimming between all the types of rules we encounter. So I will end my babbling and leave you with this quotation, that somehow feels relevant, from Dogma (via Amazon).

Rufus: He still digs humanity, but it bothers Him to see the s*** that gets carried out in His name - wars, bigotry, televangelism. But especially the factioning of all the religions. He said humanity took a good idea and, like always, built a belief structure on it.
Bethany: Having beliefs isn't good?
Rufus: I think it's better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier. Life should malleable and progressive; working from idea to idea permits that. Beliefs anchor you to certain points and limit growth; new ideas can't generate. Life becomes stagnant.

(and then sometime later)

Rufus: Are you saying you believe?
Bethany: No. But I have a good idea.

Rules by Cynthia Lord

Rules, 2007 Schneider Family Award winner and Newbery Honoree, is a quiet, touching story about a girl with an autistic brother. This came across my desk months ago, as I was making a bibliography on autism, but I didn't have time to read it then. I wasn't going to make time to read it now, until a coworker told me it featured Frog and Toad are Friends. (I just happen to be using that book for this month's book club.) I absolutely adore the use of Frog and Toad are Friends in this book. David, the autistic brother is obsessed with the audio tape and uses lines from the book when he cannot come up with his own. It serves as a kind of code between brother and sister.

The most interesting relationship in the book, is not the one that Catherine has with David, but the one she develops with Jason. Jason is a boy she meets at her brother's OT waiting room. Jason is wheelchair bound and unable to speak. She is realistically hesitant about Jason. Catherine's artistic skills and ability to see his life in a way neither his mother nor speech therapist can expand Jason's world.

We have it shelved in our children's section, but I think it would would wonderfully with young teens. This isn't something I usually think about (though it should be), but another coworker of mine was complaining earlier tonight that too many of the applauded teen books are not suitable for her young teens.

ARCs

I remembered, just a few minutes ago, that my father went to ALA midwinter, and that just maybe he had picked up a few advance reader copies for me. In the past he's come back with stacks and stacks of books. (I always pick up quite a few, myself, whenever I go to a conference.) However, in the not too distant past we had a conversation about the number of books I seem to accumulate and he asked, "Should I not bring back any more books for you?"

I responded, "Only if they're young adult or children's books." Last year he brought be a banker's box full of adult fiction. It all looked wonderful, but I have yet to read any of it. So, now I know I have a handful of ARCs headed my way, and I'm giddy at the prospect. Will he have remembered my words? Will the box include Laurie Halse Anderson's Twisted? As an academic librarian he doesn't know the authors that are a must pick up if the galley is available.

It's not like I don't already have a large stack of things to read, not like I'm woefully behind on my reading. (Only now am I finally getting around to finishing The House of the Scorpion.) Nevertheless, my heart goes pitty-pat at the thought of brand new advance reader copies.

I'll post when I receive the package, and my reactions to the books.

ALA Book Awards

"When is it, again?"
"Is it time yet?"

These were just a few of the questions floating around the office Monday morning between 9:30 (when someone reminded me it was award day) and 10:45. And then the three children's librarians present crowded into one cubicle so we could watch the ALA annual book awards.

The screen was dark, and the voices were distorted (everyone sounded like one of the chipmunks), but we were glued to the streaming video. I found the PowerPoint push throughs rather annoying, but on to the good stuff. What are the Alex awards? We had to look those up first thing, being shamefully unaware. Then it was onward to the awards we've been discussing for months.

Attention riveted to the computer we tossed out ideas one last time. Surely, Flotsam would be recognized. And The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Octavian Nothing, The Book Thief . . . The list went on.

Some of the accolades about to be announced were predicted in that cubicle, Flotsam, Moses, Octavian Nothing, The Book Thief, and the fact that the Newbery winner would be a complete surprise. Such a surprise in fact, that our library has yet to receive any copies of The Higher Power of Lucky. We are eagerly awaiting its arrival.

Despite the pleasure of being right, seeing books we wanted to see recognized, the loudest cheer was for a book none of us had read, American Born Chinese. The Printz award was as big a surprise as the Newbery. We were so sure Octavian Nothing or The Book Thief would win. I don't think I can express quite how pleased I am that a graphic novel has been recognized in this manner. Too often they are dismissed, even by people in the profession, as inferior to "real literature".

I was pleased by all these, but the award I was most excited by was one I had not given any thought before Monday. The Margaret A. Edwards Award for recognizing a body of work by an author. Lois Lowry, and The Giver couldn't be any more deserving.

After each announcement one of my coworkers would rush to the neighboring computer to see if we owned the book. If we did she raced out to the stacks to retrieve it, hurrying back to the computer to discover the next honored book. It was comical and exhilarating.

For past two days the new question has been "has anybody blogged about it yet?" I wasn't in Seattle, and there are far too many award winners and nominees that I have not read yet, but the experience of celebrating children's and young adult literature is one I can blog about. These are our Oscars and I couldn't have enjoyed the anticipation or the outcome more. My reading list has just grown by leaps and bounds.

2007 Caldecott
2007 Newbery
All ALSC 2007 awards
Printz

ETA:
The number of Best Books for Young Adults I've read is woefully low. Eight, that's it. There are a few I was dissapointed to see weren't on the list.

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Gothgirl by Barry Lyga

Fanboy is a lonely, angry, fifteen-year-old, who keeps a bullet in his pocket for good luck and list of names in his head. Fanboy is also intelligent, funny, and a driven artist. His comic book, excuse me, graphic novel, Schemata is quickly becoming the one thing in his world worth holding onto. His mom is pregnant, married to the “step-fascist”, his best friend Cal is becoming more and more “jock” everyday, and his new friend, Kyra (Gothgirl) seems to have problems of her own. As in real life, sex and violence have their roles, from the bully in gym class, to the senior goddess Dina, but it is never graphic nor gruesome.

It helps to have some knowledge of comics and graphic novels while reading this, and would be excellent for fellow fanboys (and girls). My passing knowledge was sufficient, but I’d love to see a true fan’s reaction to this book.

I’ve never read a book that so well portrayed what it feels like to be an outsider as a teen, without feeling like it’s written by someone who’s been there, done that.

I just have one question: What is the third thing?!! If you read it let me know, ask your teens what they think.

My favorite line: "May God forever damn librarians and their need to help!"