Review: Troubletwisters

By Garth Nix and Sean Williams
Available now from Scholastic Press
Review copy



I have always loved Garth Nix's books. SABRIEL and its sequels might be my favorites, but I was never disappointed. I continued to read The Keys to the Kingdom series even though I was rather old for it because I wanted to know how Arthur solved his problems. I've never read anything by Sean Williams before, but I haven't heard bad things and I've had excellent luck with Australian authors.

TROUBLETWISTERS, strangely, didn't quite work for me. It's the tale of twins Jaide and Jack, who go to live with their estranged Grandma X after their house blows up. They start seeing odd things and notice animals behaving oddly - but no one will explain what's up. It's familiar, but that doesn't mean it can't be done well. There are some wonderful action scenes and there's a magical antique shop that's quite enchanting. But there were too few rules for me. I like it to know the bounds of magic within a story.

But the troubletwisters can't be told too much about their power by a Warden or their power might go awry. The cats know, but they swore an oath as kittens not to reveal what they know. As Jaide tells her twin brother Jack at the climax, "Who knows what [troubletwisters] can do?"

(And I might be insane, but it really bothers me that Wardens are capital-W, the Evil is capital-E, but troubletwisters are lowercase-t. Why?)

Children who enjoy fantasy will probably enjoy TROUBLETWISTERS. But it fails to live up to Nix's previous children's book series. There's nothing to hate here, but there's nothing special either.

Scholarship and Book Auctions

Lauren of Shooting Stars Mag is awarding a LGBT/Ally scholarship. You can apply here through March 1st.



To support the scholarship, she's hosting a series of auctions here. Half the current auctions end tomorrow; half on Friday. The lots available include a set of six Julie Anne Peters novels, current going for $12.

Review: Prom & Prejudice

By Elizabeth Eulberg
Available now from Scholastic Point
Review Copy



Now available in paperback, PROM & PREJUDICE is a cute, clever update of Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bennet is a scholarship student at Longbourn Academy who has a disastrous first meeting with her best friend's boyfriend's best friend Will Darcy at a joint-school dance. Elizabeth Eulberg's second novel follows the original closely, but makes several wise changes. For instance, Mrs. Bennet is no longer an embarrassing matchmaking mama, but a hard-worker who made sure her daughter's talent was nurtured.

Perhaps the greatest change is that Lizzie is now a talent piano player. The musical element gives PROM & PREJUDICE its own heart. I spent my teen years in Fort Worth, home of the Cliburn. Reading the reportage in the Life & Arts section of the newspaper gave me an appreciation for piano writing.

Wisely, Eulberg does not attempt to go full vernacular. Even more wisely, she does not attempt to copy Austen's. Darcy and Colin speak the most formally, but Eulberg has enough control of the language to differentiate between Colin's pompousness and Darcy's awkwardness.

PROM & PREJUDICE won't disappoint Austen fans and will also appeal to those who find Austen too musty. (It is an unfortunate truth that that second group exists.) It won't eclipse the original, but Eulberg injects enough personality to allow PROM & PREJUDICE to stand on its own.

Welcome Back, Kotter

It's been a strange few months guys. I'm sorry I haven't been around here - but that doesn't mean I haven't been reading.



First, you have to hear this NPR interview with Newbery Award Winner Jack Gantos. I read the Joey Pigza books in elementary and loved them. And even if the winning novel DEAD IN NORVELT doesn't appeal to you, you can probably appreciate an interview about how Gantos went from smuggling drugs to writing children's books. If you aren't familiar with the game show Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, then this is also a great introduction. (You might also want to read Wait Wait Don't Eat Me.)



Next, I highly recommend today's Kindle Deal of the Day. BLACK LIKE ME was assigned reading that I actually enjoyed.

I'm pretty sure I've posted about this before, but if you create a Bookprint on Scholastic's YouAreWhatYouRead.com, Scholastic Book Clubs will donate a book to a child in need through Reach Out and Read.

ETA 4/29/12: Reach Out and Read has a three-star rating from Charity Navigator.

A Friendly Reminder

Just say no to selling ARCs.

(via Shelf Awareness)