Last Minute Gifts

I've been enjoying my Christmas vacation and scrambling to buy last-minute finishing touches and wrapping material, so I haven't gotten much written up for the blog.  Sorry not sorry!

But that doesn't mean I don't have gift ideas!

Out of Print has an amazing sale going on.  Using code EGIFT30, you get 30% off any of their egift cards.  That means I just bought a $50 gift card for $35.  That's some mighty nice savings.  If you aren't familiar with Out of Print, they sale shirts, totes, jewelry, and more inspired by book cover designs.  (Officially licensed, don't worry.)  In addition, they partner with Books for Africa to send books to those in need for every item sold.

ETA: eGift cards are 20% at Litographs.  Just use code GIFTCARD20. You can give them a gift card for the exact amount to buy a specific product.  Litographs also sends books to communities in need for each product sold.

You can also pick up an Amazon gift card if you don't want to stick to egift cards.  They offer free one-day shipping on the physical gift cards, so you've got a little bit more time to buy one in time for the holidays.  I recommend using the http://smile.amazon.com address so that 10% of the profits from your purchase go to your choice of charity.

If you don't want to support Amazon, there's always a gift card to the independent bookstore near your gift recipient.  Or perhaps a gift card to DTFBA for the John Green-loving reader in your life.

You can also go personal.  Pick out one of your favorite books and include a personal note about what it means to you and why you're passing it on.  You can buy a new copy or give them a copy straight from you, clearly loved.

Got any other last minute gift ideas for the readers in your life?

Review: Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000

Book eleven in the Captain Underpants series
By Dav Pilkey
Available now from Scholastic
Review copy

The Captain Underpants novels have been a perennial favorite of kids since the first one came out in 1997.  Dav Pilkey writes and illustrates these tales of two fourth graders, their principal cum Captain Underpants, and various fiendish foes.

CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS AND THE TYRANNICAL RETALIATION OF THE TURBO TOILET 2000 showcases, obviously, the return of the Turbo Toilet 2000.  The first couple of chapters make light of the fact that this series now has a fairly complicated mythology and consequences that stretch out between several books.  But there is a decent amount of recapping for forgetful readers or for those who pick up a book in the series at random.

The illustrations are as simply charming as ever, and the text is quite funny.  (I particularly like the joke about a "flush wound.")  The flip-o-rama action is terrific low-budget, self-powered animation.  If you're not afraid of a little potty humor, this is a great series for kids.  (Who, let's face it, will love the potty humor.)

I must admit, I did find part of CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS AND THE TYRANNICAL RETALIATION OF THE TURBO TOILET 2000 not funny.  Some of the antics get the principal put in a mental hospital.  It isn't quite mental illness played for laughs, but it's close.  However, it could be a chance to talk to your children about why resources for mental health are important.

This silly series is still going strong eleven books in.

Review: Glory O'Brien's History of the Future

By A.S. King
Available now from Little, Brown BFYR (Hachette)
Review copy
See my A.S. King tag

A.S. King has frequently dabbled in magical realism, and GLORY O'BRIEN'S HISTORY OF THE FUTURE brings that aspect of her style to the fore.  When Glory and her 'best friend' Ellie drink a petrified bat (long story), they start seeing visions when they look at people.  Ellie mostly sees domestic histories, but Glory sees a war coming in fifty years - a war over women's right to work, among some other women's rights.

Her work with character is as on point as ever.  Glory has just graduated high school and intends to take a gap year.  Already unsure of what she wants to do next, the fact that she doesn't see anything about her own future deepens her worries about her path in life.  She becomes obsessed with a journal that her mother left behind after committing suicide, a tome full of musings and (haunting) photos and family secrets.  The past, the present, and the future intermingle as Glory discovers all sorts of new connections between the people in her town.

Back to those scare quotes around best friend.  Ellie is a member of a commune run by her mother.  She and Glory haven't truly been close since she left to be homeschooled, but Ellie clings to Glory as her connection to life outside.  Glory is uncomfortable with the divide between them, especially Ellie's greater experience with boys.  I really liked how King explored the fraught relationship between the girls, and what the way they related to each other and their powers meant about them as people.

I didn't always find the future sections convincing.  I mean, the leader of the conservative side of the Second Civil War calls himself Nedrick the Sanctimonious.  Maybe if his enemies called him that ...  I can see the roots in current events, but still thought it was too extreme.  However, the various implications about the length and outcome of the war made it work a little better for me.  It still felt a bit far-fetched and sketchy.  At the same time, it is supposed to be sketchy since Glory only sees the future in intimate flashes.

GLORY O'BRIEN'S HISTORY OF THE FUTURE will satisfy A.S. King fans, and perhaps draw in some more who are intrigued by the stronger speculative element.  King's agenda is pretty obvious, but tempered by the nuanced way she writes Glory's present-day feminism.

Review: A New Beginning: My Journey with Addy

Click here to read some of my thoughts on this series as a whole.

By Denise Lewis Patrick
Available now from American Girl
Review copy

Of all the Beforever books I read, A NEW BEGINNING was by far the best.  It takes you back to 1864, where Addy is a former slave living in the North.  Your character is also a little black girl.  So unlike most of the books, some of the stories in A NEW BEGINNING have actual stakes.

To wit, I really enjoyed the story where the girls are chased by slave catchers.  It demonstrates the danger of the time while still being appropriate for a younger reader.  Most of the other storylines are less harrowing, although they do contain interesting historical information.  There are less storylines than most of the other books, but the focus is on quality over quantity.

If you're looking to pick up one of the American Girl CYOA books, this is the one I recommend.

Review: Illusive

By Emily Lloyd-Jones
Available now from Little, Brown BFYR (Hachette)
Review copy

Ciere is a great thief, and not just because of her ability to create illusions.  (She's not that good at it really.)  But her last heist of $40,000 put her in trouble with the mob, and her next heist is being eyed by the Feds.  It'll take quick thinking and good friends to get her out of this trouble.

I love books about superheroes, so ILLUSIVE had one point in its favor when I started.  I'm not big on dystopias, especially ones based on plague, so that was a point against it.  In the world of ILLUSIVE, a small percentage of people developed powers after being given the vaccine for the plague.  For some reason, the vaccine was outlawed and the formula destroyed instead of everyone trying their hardest to get superpowers.  (I mean, c'mon?  Good health and a chance of superpowers? Go for it.)  Those that are superpowered are mostly snatched up by the government.  The ones that aren't are mostly criminals who hide their abilities.  In a way, it is a similar setup to Holly Black's WHITE CAT.

ILLUSIVE switches between two points of view: Ciere and her fellow crew member Daniel, who has been captured by a very dangerous man.  They're good friends, but circumstances are pitting them against each other.  I really liked and sympathized with both characters.  Honestly, you'd think the plot would be the highlight of a book centered around a superpowered heist, but I adored the character actions.

However, that meant I was let down by the ending.  I think two characters in particular were badly served by their comrades for no reason.  Ciere leaps into danger to save someone she's known for days, while dismissing two friends from her life.  One gets a rather cutting farewell and the other is left to be a virtual slave. Characters I'd gotten to know and care about were shoved aside in favor of the new guy.

That being said, I'll be there with bells on for a sequel.  ILLUSIVE was fun, fast paced, and offered some genuinely thrilling twists.  Plus, superheroes.