Best Authors You Aren't Reading: Patrice Kindl

Best Authors You Aren't Reading is a new feature for IBWB. In it I will discuss authors who I don't perceive as being popular, but who I truly love.

Patrice Kindl is a former model and secretary who often works with animals. (It shows in her choices of subject matter.) She first appeared on the children's lit scene in 1993, with OWL IN LOVE.



Fourteen-year-old Owl is a shapeshifter in love with her science teacher. It's a bildungsroman (she grows from schoolgirl crush to true romance) about a misfit, and features paranormal elements before they were in vogue. Owl's voice is charming and absorbing, setting the stage for Kindl's compelling female narrators.



Her next novel, THE WOMAN IN THE WALL, was the first one I read. Unfortunately, it appears to be out of print. I must say, if you find a used copy, buy it and read it. Shy, crafty Anna retreats into secret passages she built in her family's home when her mother remarries. A love letter, however, might force her out of her retreat. Although Anna is alone for much of the story, Kindl manages to develop a compelling cast. I loved this book, which reads like a modern fairy tale, magical without any actual magic occurring.



Kindl began the new millennium with GOOSE CHASE, an actual modern fairy tale. As the back of the novel puts it:

An orphaned Goose girl, Alexandria’s troubles begin when she offers some of her precious bread and water to a hungry old woman. The woman just happens to be a witch in disguise, and poof! Alexandria is suddenly heartstoppingly beautiful. When she brushes her hair, gold dust showers to the ground, and her tears turn to diamonds.

She may be heartstoppingly beautiful, but she'd rather people just let her do her job. Alexandria is a fabulous practical heroine, the exact kind of girl you wish starred more often in fairy tales. Lovers of fairy tales will enjoy how familiar stories weave in and out of GOOSE CHASE.



LOST IN THE LABYRINTH, conversely, will appeal most to those who enjoy mythology. This is a retelling of the Theseus's defeat of the Minotaur . . . from the point of view of the Minotaur's half-sister, Xenodice. Kindl manages to make the story compelling even when the fates of the characters are a foregone conclusion. She also manages to inject real history into the proceedings, which is always a bonus.

Kindl's writing is elegant and captivation. There are many years between her books, but she clearly puts that time to good use. Each of her four works - OWL IN LOVE, THE WOMAN IN THE WALL, GOOSE CHASE, and LOST IN THE LABYRINTH are gems. Fourteen years later, OWL IN LOVE doesn't read as dated, but prescient of the YA genre's evolution. THE WOMAN IN THE WALL is both original and romantic. GOOSE CHASE is hilarious and perfect for fans of Shannon Hale. LOST IN THE LABYRINTH is a haunting historical, showcasing another side of Kindl. I can't wait to see what she'll show her readers next.

But don't take my word for it. Pick up one of her books for yourself.

Review: Boy Books

Side note: you can vote on best National Poetry Month Post.

This is a series of mini-reviews I wrote over two months ago. I lost them when my lappie crashed, recovered them along with the rest of the hard drive, but still never posted them.

CANDLE MAN: THE SOCIETY OF UNRELENTING VIGILANCE
By Glenn Dakin



Available now from Egmont USA; Paperback available May 25th
Have face-melting fun here
Review copy



I am enjoying the current popularity of steampunk, even as it confirms that cyberpunk is truly dead. Likewise, I am enjoying Egmont USA's debut on the scene. Imprints seem to start with an impressive list, and I'm definitely looking forward to what this one will put out in the next year or so based on what I've read. (Check out Egmont USA titles I've read since.)

CANDLE MAN is a nice middle grade/young adult crossover title. It's written for a younger audience, but contains a complexity that will keep adults entertained. Plus, it's good for kids to read books that revel in shades of grey. CANDLE MAN has few characters that are true evil, despite resembling Saturday morning cartoon villains. In addition, the forces of evil speak only of kindness and doing good works. It's a nice introduction for kids to the use of rhetoric to conceal what's really going on. (The adventure story is pretty good too.)

I AM A GENIUS OF UNSPEAKABLE EVIL AND I WANT TO BE YOUR CLASS PRESIDENT
By Josh Lieb
Available now from Razorbill (Penguin); Review copy



I AM A GENIUS OF UNSPEAKABLE EVIL AND I WANT TO BE YOUR CLASS PRESIDENT is often compared to Family Guy. This comparison is unfair. Both feature an evil child, but I AM A GENIUS OF UNSPEAKABLE EVIL is actually funny. (Better comparison? A cross of THE KID WHO BECAME PRESIDENT and THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LARRY.) When I began, I wondered if Oliver Watson was actually a genius or deluded by his mother. Then Josh Lieb made it absolutely clear that Oliver is a genius, if somewhat deluded about what he feels for his parents. This book is fast and funny, with fun pictures and footnotes. (Books that use footnotes are ten times as likely to be funny, no lie.) In a world where more and more books are part of a series, I miss reading a good standalone. I AM A GENIUS OF UNSPEAKABLE EVIL scratched that itched.

Check out the cool author video featuring Jon Stewart:



WITCH AND WIZARD
By James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet
Available now from Little, Brown; Review copy



I threw this in with reviews of boy books, but despite the title, this book is more WITCH than WIZARD. Wisteria Allgood gets about 75% of the narration and 90% of the powers. I'm all for girl power, but it seemed like Whit never did anything despite being older and in better shape – perfect for fighting against a totalitarian state. The book's action scenes work, but it is not as fun as the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson. Perhaps it's because I felt the main themes were being beat into me by a sledgehammer. (William Blake did the similar themes better in his poem "The Book of Thel.") There's a good premise here, but the execution is pedestrian.

Review: White Cat

By Holly Black
Available now from Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon and Schuster)
Review copy



Clever as the devil and twice as pretty.

I love Holly Black's Modern Tales of Faerie, so I was ridiculously excited when the first book of The Curse Workers showed up at my door. Fortunately, Black delivered a fast and clever story. (She did, however, use the ending to rip out my heart and grind it with a stiletto heel. Why do I not have the second book already to ease the ache in my soul?)

Cassel Sharpe lives in a world where some people - known as curse workers - can use an ability on you if they just touch you with their hands. His grandfather, in fact, can kill you that way. Generally, people don't take their gloves off. While Cassel himself is powerless, he comes from a talented family that uses their abilities to run cons. One night, Cassel wakes up on the roof of his dorm, chasing a white cat. He's removed from the dorm and sent to live with his family, where he quickly realizes his brothers Phillip and Anton are up to something.

For all that the family dynamics are strange - the mother is in jail, Phillip's wife is forgetful, and you can't quite tell whose side Grandad is on, it works. These are the people Cassel grew up with, and it shows in his personality and tactics. It's just part of the tight, coherent tapestry that Black weaves in WHITE CAT.

I love the world Black has created. It's just as dangerous as her interpretation of faerie, and Cassel needs his wits in order to survive in it. I adore the flashbacks to his relationship with Lila - his best friend, whom he killed three years ago. It's extremely sexy, in a kinky sort of way. (Not that I think the younger kids who read WHITE CAT will pick up on that.)

Pretty much, WHITE CAT has it all. A varied cast of interesting characters (including Cassel's school friends), an intriguing world, and a twisted plot that just keeps moving faster and faster until the ridiculously cool denoument. Black took full control of my emotions right up until the aforementioned ending where she ripped out my heart. But, since she's as evil as some of her characters, she made it feel good.

Also, check out the trailer by the talented Vania. The ending of the trailer is less heart-wrenching, but shows that it's criminal they covered up the model's face with the title treatment.

Review: Brightly Woven

By Alexandra Bracken
Available now from Egmont USA; Review copy



One of the hardest things to resist when writing fantasy is the tendency to exoticize fantasy. Because, of course, no matter how strange the society you've created is, it's still full of people acting like people. Alexandra Bracken never forgets this.

Sydelle Mirabel lives in a small village famous for its pottery. Unfortunately, there's been a long drought, so there's no mud, so no one can make the pottery and the village is in bad shape. She dreams of leaving to apprentice herself to a master weaver. Then, one day in the mountains, she comes across Wayland North, a wizard wearing a number of colored cloaks.

Soon he's brought rain to the village and he and Sydelle are moving quickly, though he won't tell her what's really going on and why he needs to drink so much. Then they run into his rival, Reuel Dorwan, and Sydelle realizes that she needs to find out what Wayland's goals are because she's part of them.

Despite being narrated by a girl, I think boys can enjoy BRIGHTLY WOVEN. It moves quickly, with more emphasis on the action than Wayland and Sydelle's budding romance. (Their romance is more the bantering-type than the lovey dovey-type anyway.)

I especially enjoyed how Bracken wove the history of Saldorra and Auster, the two countries almost at war, throughout the text. It makes sense that both countries present similar but opposing narratives. The cultural stuff remains low-key and easy to follow, but contains just enough complexity to remain realistic.

BRIGHTLY WOVEN is a nice, brisk fantasy. Bracken's debut is charming enough to overcome the rough points that are found in the work of all first time authors. I liked Sydelle's voice and enjoyed her surprising adventure.

I suppose I should wait 'til Wednesday . . .

I am excited about Colin Meloy's deal with HarperCollins: a trilogy, called Wildwood, coming in Fall 2011 and illustrated by his wife Carson Ellis.

The press release says:

"The germ of this series goes back a long way,” Meloy said. “For me, this is the culmination of a long-term collaboration with Carson, matching words and art. I grew up on a steady diet of Lloyd Alexander, Roald Dahl, and Tolkien; this is our humble paean to that grand tradition of epic adventure stories."Ellis commented, “Wildwood is a project very close to my heart - the collaboration that Colin and I have been dreaming about for years.”

I love the Decemberists, Ellis's artwork, Lloyd Alexander, Roald Dahl, and Tolkien. Though there are some naysayers, I think Meloy's work with the Decemberists proves he has a way with words and a grasp of narrative. (Hey, I like them enough to have seen them in concert twice.)

Below is a fan video to "The Mariner's Revenge Song":