Cybils 2018 Nominations are Open!

You still have time to nominate for the 2018 Cybils! Nominations don't close until October 15th.

What are the Cybils, you ask? They're children's and YA book awards juried by bloggers. Nominated books are judged by both literary merit and appeal to their audience. Categories include contemporary/historical, speculative fiction, and graphic novels for several age levels, poetry, and book apps.

I've been a first- and second-round judge for the Cybils, and both were incredibly rewarding experiences. Everyone involved believes in getting the best books into the hands of kids.

You can find more information in the rules and FAQ.

You can find a link to nominations on this page.

Cybils 2016: Graphic Novel Winners

The Cybils announced the 2016 winners on February 14th; I apologize for only posting now.

This year I had the honor of serving as a second-round judge (for the first time!) in the Elementary/Middle Grade and Young Adult Graphic Novels categories. Choosing a winner from the finalists was difficult, because graphic novels are such a broad category. How do you compare an excellent fantasy work to a moving memoir to charming adventure story? Somehow, we managed.

You can look at the finalists' lists to see the excellent works we had to read and vote on:
Elementary/Middle Grade
Young Adult

In the end, our winners were:

Elementary/Middle Grade

Lowriders to the Center of the Earth (Lowriders in Space, Book 2)
By Cathy Camper; illustrated by Raúl the Third

I wrote our blurb about why we chose Lowriders as our winner:

Lupe Impala, Elirio Malaria, and El Chavo Flapjack are back in an adventure that takes them to the underworld of Mictlantecuhtli. When their beloved cat Genie goes missing from their auto shop, they go on a quest to find her—and her epic true identity, as it turns out. Their quest takes them on a tour through Latin pop culture, from el chupacabra and La Llorona to lucha libre wrestling. Bad puns delivered in two languages abound, and every panel (inked in ball point pen!) is bursting with visual detail that adds to the story. This unique art, by Raúl the Third, brings to mind diverse influences such as graffiti, tattoos, and thirties cartoons. The clean lines and busy scenes are a perfect companion to a story that twists and turns while remaining approachable for elementary readers. Unlike the Lowriders themselves, Lowriders to the Center of the Earth is never bajito y suavecito (low and slow). The cultural and linguistic lessons are woven seamlessly into a fast-moving adventure that will entertain readers of all ages.

Young Adult

March: Book Three
By John Lewis and Andrew Aydin; illustrated by Nate Powell

You can visit the list of winners to see our blurb about this powerful work.

I thought March: Book Three was a strong conclusion to the trilogy as well as a work that can stand on its own, capped by tragedy and success. It is both informative and personal, and shows how the Freedom Summer, Selma marches, and other fights for Civil Rights are more relevant than ever. At points it feels less like history and more like a timely call to action.

Cybils Finalists and My Runner-Ups: YA Speculative Fiction 2015

Another year, another Cybils list.  You can see the full list of finalists at the Cybils website.  I was a member of the panel that decided the YA Speculative Fiction list.  This was quite a strong year!  Our finalists is below.  Please follow the link to see all the blurbs explaining why these are books to read.

AN INHERITANCE OF ASHES by Lisa Bobet
Hallie did not go to war, to that horrible field where a god was slain and old friends were crippled. She stayed home and worked the fields. But in this novel that blurs the lines between fantasy and science fiction, home is a dangerous place full of secrets and festering anger, where the world next door just might come knocking. An Inheritance of Ashes asks us what makes a hero, a community, a family. Leah Bobet’s deftly written sophomore novel will linger in your mind long after there are no more pages to turn.

BONE GAP by Laura Ruby
MORTAL HEART by Robin LaFevers (full review)
THE WALLS AROUND US by Nova Ren Suma (full review)
SLASHER GIRLS & MONSTER BOYS by April Genevieve Tucholke
SHADOWSHAPER by Daniel José Older
THE SIX by Mark Alpert


Here are my runner-ups to our list, including what I personally consider to be the best YA Speculative Fiction book of the year:

A HISTORY OF GLITTER AND BLOOD by Hannah Moscowitz (full review)
"Missing body parts was nothing to cry about and nothing to take too seriously" is said of the first page of A History of Glitter and Blood, setting the tone for the whole novel.  Purported to be the in-progress memoir of one of the few fairies who survived the war between the fairies and the gnomes, this is a story of trauma, horror, and enduring love and friendship.  Its characters are both numb and fiercely wounded, survivors of haunting violence and mutilated bodies living out a teenage disco fever dream.  The story purposefully struggles to find its rhythm at first as the narrator struggles with facing the truth of what happened, much less telling it.  This richly rewarding novel offers even more pleasures upon re-reading.

DUPLICITY by N.K. Traver
This is a fast-paced book about a hacker who discovers that his mirror image is the good twin and wants a chance to live his life.  The character development shines.

PRAIRIE FIRE by E.K. Johnston (full review)
This book is beautifully written, with a rhythm and a pulse that tangled me up in the story.  The ending was unexpected and tragic, yet fit the book's themes perfectly.

THE SCORPION RULES by Erin Bow
Much like THE SIX, THE SCORPION RULES asks us what it means to be human.  It's a bit heavy on the needless torture, but it is a surprisingly thoughtful book with a subtle love story.

FALLOUT by Gwenda Bond
Teenage Lois Lane is on the case, and she goes after with tenacity.  This start to a series that reimagines Lois Lane's origins is a lot of fun and written on a level that can work for a range of readers.

Review: The Walls Around Us

By Nova Ren Suma
Available now from Algonquin Young Readers (Workman)
Review copy

THE WALLS AROUND US is a ghost story that becomes ever more eerie as it goes on, twining its way around you like the vines growing outside Aurora Hills, a juvenile detention center.   Aurora Hills is the home of Amber, sent there when she was thirteen.  It was the home of Ori, Violet's best friend. 

The girls both have terrible secrets in their past, as does the entire prison.  Nova Ren Suma doesn't shy away from many of the abuses committed in these institutions, nor from the racism and classism of the justice system in the United States.  THE WALLS AROUND US shifts back and forth in time, slowly revealing myriad tragedies, including the shocking murder of all forty-two residents of Aurora Hills and just what Vee and Amber have to do with it.

Vee and Ori were ballet dancers, both talented but bullied for different reasons.  Amber and her mother were abused by her stepfather, and Amber feared her younger sister was next.  The press says Ori killed two other ballerinas in a vicious rage.  The press says Amber engineered the car wreck that killed her stepfather.  Everyone in Aurora Hills says Ori and Amber are the only two innocent ones there.  But THE WALLS AROUND US is a story where no one knows the whole truth; at least, not until it is too late.

Nova Ren Suma's writing gets stronger with every novel.  She's always had style to spare, but I feel like her plots are becoming both tighter and more ambitious.  THE WALLS AROUND US is slow in event and focuses more on developing the main characters, as you might expect from a Suma novel.   But the overarching mystery of what happened between Vee and Ori and what happened to the girls of Aurora Hills ties everything together as the story begins hurtling to its macabre conclusion.

Questions of innocence and guilt, as well as the social issues surrounding juvenile incarceration, ground this slightly surreal story of a malevolent haunting.  There's also the question of remorse, which is always the question of justice.  Do only the penitent deserve to go free?  This is the kind of horror story where everyone gets what's coming to them.  I thought it was a satisfying, memorable read.

Review: Archivist Wasp

By Nicole Kornher-Stace
Available now from Big Mouth House (Small Beer Press)
Review copy

ARCHIVIST WASP has been showing up on a number of Best of lists, so I had very high hopes.  It has a great name, a striking cover, and comes from the imminently cool Small Beer Press (founded by Gavin J. Grant and Kelly Link).  The opening certainly caught my attention.  Wasp, in a fight to the death, decides to stop the cycle of violence and spare her opponent.

In the end, however, I didn't really like ARCHIVIST WASP.  I thought it meandered too much and combined two stories that didn't really fit together.  I kept waiting for an ah-ha moment to bring the story together, but it didn't happen. Wasp shows a lot of personal growth over the novel, but it was hard to connect the event happening to the changes in her character.  The prose of the novel flowed smoothly, but how the characters decided to move from point A to point B often seemed more a function of what Nicole Kornher-Stace wanted to happen next than anything to do with actual motive. 

The two main characters are Wasp and a ghost who convinces her to go on a journey to the underworld with him, to find a companion he left behind in life and needs to find in death.  The ghost is driven to find her for closure.  Wasp is driven to find her because once the quest gets going she's invested, mostly.  (She helps him at first for medical attention.)

Wasp eventually returns home for her big triumph.  ARCHIVIST WASP is yet another novel where a man uses religion to keep a bunch of dangerous girls down.  It's a familiar story in feminist science fiction, and one not given enough space to breathe.  Too much of the novel is about the quest that has nothing to do with the religion or how people are treated in Wasp's present and it only coincidentally gives her the key to fighting back.

Meanwhile, how did this world get from the ghost's day to Wasp's?  In the ghost's day, the big issue was the ethics of human experimentation, not the ways religion is used to oppress.  There is a huge commonality about people being used as weapons, and yet that thread never seems to get teased out.

ARCHIVIST WASP is stylish, with an underworld that requires you to travel by means of the things that aren't quite right.  For me, it needed another draft to really help the disparate elements cohere.  As it is, I think ARCHIVIST WASP is a case of style over substance.  If only the characters were as fleshed out as some of the nightmare landscapes.

Review: Prairie Fire

Book two of the Story of Owen duology
By E.K. Johnston
Available now from
Review copy

PRAIRIE FIRE starts with Siobhan reintroducing herself and announcing the story she is telling, as is fitting for a Bard.  I love the world in these two books - dragon slayers, bards, and an alternate Canada where history went very differently because of dragons.  E.K. Johnston clearly thought out the world before she started writing, and she came up with the perfect character to present her words.  Siobhan is a musician and a storyteller, and both passions inform the rhythm.

The beginning of PRAIRIE FIRE also lets us know that something big is coming, and that Siobhan and Owen will face quite a dragon.  But before they get there, they have to go through a tedious assignment in Alberta.

The events of THE STORY OF OWEN made Siobhan, Owen, and his girlfriend and fellow dragonslayer Sadie suspected ecoterrorists.  They've managed to clear their names by sharing their story (in song) on YouTube, but there's been a cost.  Siobhan paid the highest.  Her hands are burned and still healing, leaving her to relearn how to play music and know some instruments she'll never be able to play again.  All three are entering the Oil Watch, not as promising recruits, but as potential rogues the government wants to foist into boring assignments so that everyone forgets they exist.

I thought PRAIRIE FIRE recapped the first novel rather smoothly.  You can dive straight into this book without reading the first and still understand the world and the characters quite well.  It also helps that it is set in new places, with many new faces, and that the new location has different dragons to fight.

It's hard to say what I liked best about this story.  The narration, as I already mentioned, is a major plus.  This book is told with style.  I love the intense friendship between Siobhan and Owen, and Siobhan's relationship with herself.  Losing full use of her hands forces her to reevaluate who she is and what she wants, and she doesn't flinch away from making those hard determinations.  She's also firm about not looking for a boyfriend, which is refreshing in a YA protagonist.  There's the inventiveness of the world, which ensures my full attention when Johnston already had it at "dragons and bards."

And oh, there's that ending.  PRAIRIE FIRE ripped out my heart and left it bleeding.  It hurts so much because I can't say that any other ending would be better.  This one is so fitting and perfect.  But I wasn't expecting it and it hit me like a fire-breathing dragon on a cold day.

PRAIRIE FIRE is often a fun book, and a funny one, but it's true power is that it made me think about things and feel deeply.  It's a moving story that belies the clip-art cover.

Cybils 2015: Possible YA Speculative Fiction Nominations

Today is the last day to nominate books for the 10th annual Cybils Awards. You can nominate one book in each category.  Here is the nomination form. I'm a panelist for YA Speculative Fiction, so I'll be focusing on that category.

First, here are some YA Speculative Fiction suggestions from other bloggers:
Stacked
Jean Little Library
Bookshelves of Doom
Unknown
Si, Se Puede--Yes, you can!

I'll second the following suggestions that have not yet been added to the list:

• Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman
• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
• Death Marked by Leah Cypress
• Sound by Alexandra Duncan
• Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
• The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski
• Lizard Radio by Pat Schmatz
• Spelled by Betsy Schow
• 13 Days of Midnight by Leo Hunt
• This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner

I'd like to throw the following suggestions into the fray:

• Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers
• Ungodly by Kendare Blake
• The Rose Society by Marie Lu
• The Suffering by Rin Chupeco
• The Novice by Taran Matharu
• Tear You Apart by Sarah Cross
• Alive by Chandler Baker
• The Oathbreaker's Shadow by Amy McCulloch 
• Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, and Deborah Biancotti
• The Second Guard by J.D. Vaughn
• Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay
• The Immortal Heights by Sherry Thomas
• Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan
• Bones and All by Camille DeAngelis (Note: I was on the street team for this book.)

Review: While We Run

Companion to When We Wake
By Karen Healey
Available now from Little, Brown BFYR (Hachette)
Review copy

Abdi Taalib and his best friend Tegan, who he's very much in love with, are prisoners of the Australian government.  They tried to expose the government's wrongdoings when it comes to a cryogenics project, but ended up captured, tortured, and forced to publicly recant their statements and support the project.

I haven't read WHEN WE WAKE, but WHILE WE RUN contains plenty of recap.  In addition, at the beginning of the novel Abdi doesn't know much about what is going on and is pretty preoccupied with the mental and physical stress of being a performing monkey with the promise of worse on the horizon.  I was really impressed by this opening, which drew me in despite my unfamiliarity with the setting.  It is not easy to read, but it is engrossing.  Karen Healey does not back away from the horror of the government using Abdi and Tegan as slaves, and the consequences of these months linger throughout the novel.

Healey combines strong character work with a plot from a political conspiracy thriller to bring a future world to life.  It's not too far in the future - countries and religions of today are still recognizable - but technology and social issues have progressed.  The mingling of real-world issues with future tech is very well done.  The world of WHILE WE RUN is relevant to today's reader, but doesn't come off as a blatant screed.

Actually, several elements prevent WHILE WE RUN from being a blatant screed.  For one thing, there are no easy answers.  Abdi might not have any fondness for the Australian government, but that doesn't mean that he agrees with the various terrorist/freedom fighters he encounters either.  He's very determined to make up his own mind, which forces him to face that there often are no good answers.  Then there's the delightful mix of character backgrounds. 

Abdi is a second-class citizen in Australia, but in his home country he's wealthy and privileged.  He's also atheist, but his family thinks he'll come around.  The other characters come from a variety of ethnic and economic backgrounds, and represent a variety of sexualities and genders.  This diversity helps show how all of the characters come at the issues in question from different angles.

I'm quite happy that WHILE WE RUN made the Cybils shortlist in YA Speculative Fiction this year.  It's a thought-provoking read that doesn't forget to throw in some action and keep things moving.

Cybils Finalists and Other Great Nominees

Today, the 2014 Cybils finalists were announced. Our speculative fiction YA list is brilliant.

There is DEATH SWORN by Leah Cypress, about which I wrote:

From the moment Ileni stepped into a cave of assassins to teach magic and discover who killed her two predecessors, I was hooked. In Death Sworn, Ileni goes deep into a culture that values absolute obedience and killing for the greater good. Ileni herself is the novel’s greatest assassin, a heroine who overcomes her fears and doubts, managing to hide that she’s weak and easy prey. The intense tension between Ileni and her assassin protector Soren adds a touch of romance to the action, with a refreshing lack of anything resembling a love triangle. The theme of questioning authority and dogma will resonate with teens, as will Ileni’s growing engagement with the world around her as she discovers that you can forge a new path for yourself after your dreams falter.

There is also:
GLORY O'BRIEN'S HISTORY OF THE FUTURE by A.S. King
NOGGIN by John Corey Whaley
SALVAGE by Alexandra Duncan
THE LIVING by Matt de la Pena
THE WINNER'S CURSE by Marie Rutkoski
WHILE WE RUN by Karen Healey

A few others I particularly loved:
THE GIRL FROM THE WELL by Rin Chupeco, which came close to being a finalist. Unfortunately, chapter five presents a rather exaggerated mental hospital which seemed to perpetuate some unfortunate stereotypes about the mentally ill. It was a great book, but not one the Cybils could wholeheartedly recommend.
BLACK DOG by Rachel Neumeier
MONSTROUS AFFECTIONS edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant, which has a hilarious intro and a variety of great stories, most especially the standout "Wings in the Morning" by Sarah Rees Brennan.

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: 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.

Review: Love Is the Drug

By Alaya Dawn Johnson
Available now from Arthur A. Levine (Scholastic)
Review copy
Read my review of The Summer Prince

Emily Bird - Emily to most, Bird to the best - is a senior at one of the most prestigious high schools in the country.  She doesn't entirely fit in, being one of the few black kids.  She also doesn't fit in because she might be going along with her mother's plan to go to college (and thinking of Stanford for herself), but her real goal is to run a small shop.  (Not that having a business degree wouldn't help with that, but it never comes up.)

When LOVE IS THE DRUG opens, Bird is at a party with her boyfriend.  She meets a man who works with her parents and drops the name of a lab she once saw in the trash.  What follows is a nightmare as the man stalks her, threatens her friends and family, and messes with her life in an attempt to get her to confess what she knows.  It just makes Bird determined to find the truth, and to discover whether she really did find out a national secret that night.

This thriller plays out against a widespread plague, the worst since the Spanish flu.  The v-flu, as it is known, is being held back by a quarantine.  Bird is as safe as can be in her high-class school full of politician's kids.  But how is the country ensuring that those kids stay so safe?  And, of course, does the flu have anything to do with what Bird might know?  Unrealistic diseases are a pet peeve of mine, so I like that this flu plays out like a real disease.  There's no killing everyone over 25 or anything silly like that.

I loved the paranoid atmosphere of LOVE IS THE DRUG, although I felt the plot faltered at the end.  There were a lot of ideas but nowhere for them to go.  And the romance dragged the whole thing down.  Bird falls for Coffee, the one guy who really gets her.  He's also a drug dealer, and the story never really convinced me to get over it.  He's just the cliche soulful, smart bad boy.  Now, Marella, Blue's lesbian friend, is where it's at.  Their friendship blooms throughout the pages, starting warily and growing as they're stuck in quarantine together.  I think they spend more time together than Blue and Coffee, and honestly have better chemistry.  I wished I were reading a more inventive lesbian romance instead of what the book actually was.

LOVE IS THE DRUG has its high points.  I loved Bird's relationship with her uncle, the disappointment of her family.  I loved the way LOVE IS THE DRUG tackled social issues, from being black to being foreign to being LGBTQ.  Alaya Dawn Johnson really brought the diversity of DC to life.  There are strong characters, a compelling atmosphere, and beautiful writing, but a boring romance and a plot that never has any steam.  Johnson has written better.

Review: White Space

Book one of the Dark Passages
By Ilsa J. Bick
Available now from EgmontUSA
Review copy

WHITE SPACE does not have a quick beginning.  It opens with Lizzie, a precocious child, observing a conflict between her parents play out.  This bit is filled with odd vocabulary and a strange magic, and just as soon as you think you've figured out the rules, a girl named Emma wakes up from her reverie about being Lizzie to recall how she came to be driving through the mountains.  And so on, flashing though narrators and their stories and the way they come together.

WHITE SPACE is a disorienting experience.  It keeps almost coming together into something nice and neat when Ilsa J. Bick throws another curveball in the story's rules.  This wouldn't work for most books, but WHITE SPACE is a horror novel.  The shifts in the text keep the readers as off balance as the characters.  Plus, it is metafictional horror.  The characters are, in many ways, threatened by potential monsters fueled by their own fears.  The deceptive looseness of the structure makes the amorphous more frightening.

I was thrilled by WHITE SPACE.  This is a disturbing book, full of imagery that gets beneath your skin, like a shirt wearing a person or crawling through tunnels (filled with things I'll leave to you to discover).  It's a book that trusts the reader's intelligence, to remember the details and fit them together, to be able to readjust whenever there is a paradigm shift.  It's also populated with strangely likeable characters for a horror novel.

I will say that WHITE SPACE goes on a touch too long.  It's the beginning of a series, and stands fairly well on its own, although the ending chapters clearly lead-in to the next book.  But there is a bit of fatigue before then, because this is one fat novel.  I loved the rising tension of the opening, things ever so slightly not right.  But once things go crazy, a few incidents could've been cut.  At the same time, that's really my only complaint.  This is a genuinely scary horror novel, which is something I appreciate.

Review: Amity

By Micol Ostow
Available by now from EgmontUSA
Review copy
Read my Micol Ostow tag

I've read several books by Micol Ostow, many of them quite sweet and cute.  Her recent books, FAMILY and AMITY, have been a change of pace.  AMITY plays off of the Amityville Horror legend, with a strange house and disturbed kids.

The narraction switches back and forth between Connor (ten years ago) and Gwen (present).  Each has their own issues.  Connor is a sociopath, and Gwen sees things that aren't there.  The only person Connor loves is his twin sister, so he doesn't resist the sinister house much.  Gwen, on the other hand, fights hard because the house can't quite infect her brain chemistry.  I thought the combination of real-world mental issues with paranormal horror was an intriguing touch.

The thing is, I just didn't find AMITY scary.  In a book, there's no creepy music or jump scares for cheap thrills.  The tone and imagery have to carry it.  I remember one image, of a ghostly figure outside the window and Connor reaching to touch it, to welcome it instead of being afraid.  But the images that were meant to be scary just faded from my mind.

AMITY is an extremely quick read.  It is a little under 400 pages long, but took me less than an hour to read.  (I'm fast, but not usually that fast.)  It's a good enough way to pass the time, but don't go in expecting to be very scared.  The juxtaposition of time and point of view is interesting, and the plot offers a few twists.  Overall, Ostow has done better before.

Cybils: The Finalists (plus some personal honorable mentions)

The Cybils finalists were announced yesterday!  I am very proud of the list developed by the Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction panel, which included me, Charlotte, Stephanie, Kristen, Melissa, Cecelia, and Brandy.  The judges will have a hard decision!

Here's the list of our finalists:

• JINX by Sage Blackwood (my review)
• Lockwood & Co: THE SCREAMING STAIRCASE by Jonathon Stroud
• ROSE by Holly Webb (my review)
• SIDEKICKED by John David Anderson
• THE RITHMATIST by Brandon Sanderson
• THE TRUE BLUE SCOUTS OF SUGAR MAN SWAMP by Kathi Appelt (my review)
• THE WATER CASTLE by Megan Frazer Blackmore

Covers and blurbs by the panel available on the Cybils website.

Kristen wrote some about four books she loved that didn't make it, and I'd like to do the same.

THE VENGEKEEP PROPHECIES by Brian Farrey (illustrated by Brett Helquist) - This is the story of Jaxter, a clumsy boy born into a long line of accomplished thieves.  But his family out-clevers themselves, leaving Jaxter and his new friend Callie to go on a quest to save Vengekeep.  This is an extremely fun book that will appeal to a variety of young readers.  And I always enjoy stories where bookishness helps save the day!

SKY JUMPERS by Peggy Eddleman - Read my full review here.  In my opinion, this book was a real unexpected gem.  I can see it encouraging kids to get deeper into science fiction, environmental issues, and invention.  Hope is the worst inventor in her community, which relies on the population's inventions to return to life before WWIII.  But she has other skills which are important when their community is invaded for their medicine.

THE REAL BOY by Anne Ursu (illustrated by Erin McGuire) - Read my full review here.  This little charmer, about presumably autistic Oscar, had one real obstacle: this was a great year for fantasies about magician's apprentices.  That doesn't mean that this story doesn't hold a large amount of appeal for children and adults.  It's got terrific atmosphere and a thoughtful story.

HOW I BECAME A GHOST by Tim Tingle - Isaac's journey on the Trail of Tears is brutal, but still appropriate for younger readers.  His foreknowledge of his own death helps both him and the reader accept it before the inevitable happens.  It's a hard, healing look at history. The presence of a boy who can turn into a jaguar and a (possibly talking) dog will entice kids who would turn up their noses at less fantastical historical fiction.

A TANGLE OF KNOTS by Lisa Graff - Read my full review here.  I nominated this one; of course I'm fond of it!  Young baker Cady is at the center of this story, but her journey entwines with nearly everyone around her.  I loved how all the little pieces came together to create one neat, satisfying whole.  Plus, recipes.

Be sure to check out the other finalists!  I'm particularly happy that several books I nominated made it to the next round.  And that I now have a great list of other books to read, obviously.

Mini-Middle Grade Reviews on a Monday

The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp
By Kathi Appelt
Available now from Atheneum BFYR (Simon & Schuster)
Review copy
Read my review of Keeper

The eponymous scouts are Bingo and J'miah, raccoon brothers keeping an eye on the Sugar Man Swamp from an old, overgrown DeSoto.  They're to wake the Sugar Man, a Yeti-like figure, if the swamp is in trouble.

It quickly becomes apparent that the swamp is in trouble.

Kathi Appelt weaves together a tale of humans, animals, and cane sugar in a sweet, down-home voice perfectly suited to the material.  It's so beautifully descriptive that I wanted illustrations even as I was happy that everything was left to me to imagine.  It's funnier and less dark than her other books, although it still touches on important issues.  THE TRUE BLUE SCOUTS OF SUGAR MAN SWAMP is definitely worthy of that National Book Award Finalist medal on its cover.

Listening for Lucca
By Suzanne LaFleur
Available now from Wendy Lamb Books (Penguin Random House)
Review copy

LISTENING FOR LUCCA is the tale of Siena, who has just moved to a beach house with her parents and younger brother Lucca, who doesn't talk.  She quite likes their new hometown, but she and Lucca both suspect that their house is haunted.

I really enjoyed LISTENING FOR LUCCA.  This is a quiet, simple book.  The fantasy elements are likewise quiet - these are fairly passive ghosts.  Thus, LISTENING FOR LUCCA reads almost like a contemporary.  The family is well realized, both agreeing to let Lucca talk in his own time and individually worrying about how to convince him to talk.

I suspect lots of readers will identify with Siena, who struggles with fitting in and being a patient big sister.  I think this novel will appeal to fans of Mary Downing Hahn.

In Search of Goliathus Hercules
By Jennifer Angus
Available now from Albert Whitman & Company/Open Road Media
Review copy

Henri is a normal nineteenth-century boy until he goes to live with his aunt.  There he starts to realize that he can speak to insects.  But he runs away to the circus to escape his aunt's sinister neighbor, Mrs. Black, who might know his secret.

I liked how this story combined a mystery about Henri's father's disappearance, the mystery of Mrs. Black's motive and powers, and an adventure about life in the circus.  There is, of course, a search for a large insect known as the Goliathus Hercules as well.

In the end, I had niggling questions remaining about how some of the magic worked, but I did like IN SEARCH OF GOLIATHUS HERCULES.  Few books are so passionate about the insect world, and Jennifer Angus clearly knows her subject.

Magic Marks the Spot
Book One of The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates
By Caroline Carlson
Illustrated by Dave Phillips
Available now from HarperCollins
Review copy

I do enjoy books about pirates!  MAGIC MARKS THE SPOT tells of Hilary Westfield's journey to become a pirate, complicated by the facts that she's a girl and the daughter of an admiral.  I have always enjoyed girl-crossdresses-as-a-boy stories, but that is not this one.  Hilary is determined to do it all as a girl.

MAGIC MARKS THE SPOT is a very fun story, filled with a search for treasure and mysterious thieves and unexpected magic.  I'm not sure it's a great start to a series, because it stands very well on its own.  There are no loose ends here.  The only real problem is that the chapters end with bits of letters and newspaper articles.  This would be a nice way to catch up with what's going on with other characters, except at least half of the letters are in a little cursive font on a darkened background.  It's hard to read as an adult who was taught cursive - I can definitely see it tripping up kids.

The Savage Lands
Book Three of Tarzan
By Andy Briggs
Available now from Open Road Media
Review copy

I read the original TARZAN by Edgar Rice Burroughs back when I was a kid and Disney's Tarzan came out.  I must say, I never was a real Tarzan fan.

In many ways, I like the idea of a rebooted Tarzan, with modern technology and such.  In execution, Andy Briggs' THE SAVAGE LANDS didn't do anything more for me than the original.  I did like that Jane is very active in the series.  Why, the first thing she does is save a man with a well-timed machete swing.  You can certainly try this book with the young action/adventure fan in your life.

Review: The Real Boy

By Anne Ursu
Illustrations by Erin McGuire
Available now from Walden Pond Press (HarperCollins)
Review copy

I think I have a weakness for stories about magician's apprentices.  Not that Oscar is a real apprentice.  He works in the basement of a magic shop, chopping and storing herbs, and other menial work.  He knows herbs and cats, but not people.

Then Oscar is thrust into the task of running the shop by himself, interacting with patrons and offering the right bit of magic to solve their problems.  It's not his strong suit.  Luckily, a fellow apprentice, Callie, agrees to help him understand people and run the store.  Although it is not said in the text, since THE REAL BOY is set in a fantasy land, Oscar is somewhere on the autism spectrum.  I thought this was well done, but I'm not sure whether it would work as well with the intended audience.

I do enjoy the fable-like style of THE REAL BOY.  Oscar and Callie live on the only island in the world with magic, but they soon discover that there are consequences of magic.  They also learn that things aren't always what they appear to be, nor are people.  On the other hand, I had issues with how the plot plays out.  It doesn't make much sense when you think about it, even if it makes sense with the themes of THE REAL BOY.

The pictures by Erin McGuire are terrific.  They leave the characters' ethnicities ambiguous, so that kids can see themselves reflected in the pictures.  They also match the descriptions in the text well.

I thought THE REAL BOY was wonderful, but I'm not sure that its appeal will come across fully to younger readers.  It's not quite as accessible as BREADCRUMBS.

Mini Reviews: Some Cybils Reading

Anton and Cecil: Cats at Sea
By Lisa Martin and Valerie Martin
Illustrated by Kelly Murphy
Available now from Algonquin BFYR (Workman)
Review copy

Written by veteran adult author Valerie Martin and her niece Lisa Martin, ANTON AND CECIL: CATS AT SEA is a charming tale of two brothers who both end up traversing the sea.  Cecil is an avid sailor, but Anton is press ganged to catch rats, and Cecil must find him.

Animal fantasy can be done in several ways, and I liked how it was employed in ANTON AND CECIL.  The cats are sentient and can talk amongst themselves and with other animals, but can't actually talk to humans.  I thought this one was a fun little read, and given that there is a subtitle, suspect that it might be the beginning of a series.  I'd welcome more books about these brothers.

The Last Enchanter
Book Two of the Celestine Chronicles
By Laurisa White Reyes
Available now from Tanglewood Press
Review copy

THE LAST ENCHANTER is the sequel to THE ROCK OF IVANORE, and I definitely wished that I had read that first.  I picked up most of the details, but I was confused about some bits, like why Marcus wasn't invited to court with his brother Kelvin, since he should be in line for the throne as well.

However, I still enjoyed THE LAST ENCHANTER.  I wish the storyline about Lael, a childhood friend who tags along with Marcus when he sets out to warn his brother about an assassination threat, was better incorporated.  It seemed like an attempt to shoehorn in a female character and a romance.  I'm always up for more female characters, but it could've been a touch smoother.

THE LAST ENCHANTER is a good pick for young fans of traditional fantasy, with the caveat that the series should be read in order.

Mickey Price: Journey to Oblivion
By John P. Stanley
Available now from Tanglewood Press
Review copy

Mickey Price and several kids under thirteen, each with their own talent, are suddenly recruited for a space camp.  There is, of course, something else going on - the reader will enjoy being suspicious with Jonah, one of Mickey's fellow campers.

Perhaps the biggest flaw in MICKEY PRICE: JOURNEY TO OBLIVION is the unnecessary frame story, where a grown-up Mickey tells the book to his kids.  It's awkward when the book switches back to the frame, and makes little sense, because the story changes point of view fairly frequently.

 Kids into space will probably enjoy this one.  There's lots of information about the space program, somewhat outdated since the book is set in 1977.

The Alchemist War
Book One of the Time-Tripping Faradays
By John Seven
Illustrated by Craig Phillips
Available now from Capstone
Review copy

I'll admit to being very disappointed that there wasn't an actual war between alchemists in THE ALCHEMIST WAR.  The title and cover promise more action than the book delivers.  The beginning, with Dawk and Hype causing accidental mayhem, is fairly lively.  Then it settles into a simple mystery about alchemy, with several time jumps that don't last long enough to actually add interest.

THE ALCHEMIST WAR isn't terrible, but it's very much aimed at beginning readers.  I think the subject would've been better served with a bit more depth.  Author John Seven does set up a villain for future entries in the series, which might add more conflict to the story.

(Side note: I found it very out that the chat-type communication the future people engage in has identifying names at the end.)

Review: Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures

By Kate DiCamillo
Illustrated by K.G. Campbell
Available now from Candlewick
Review copy

I bumped up FLORA & ULYSSES: The Illuminated Adventures on my reading list when it was long-listed for the National Book Award.  The shortlist has since been announced and FLORA & ULYSSES is not on it, but it is worth reading.

I've loved Kate DiCamillo's work since her breakout hit, BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE.  She's a tremendous author, with beautiful but accessible prose.  I liked that FLORA & ULYSSES used a graphic novel format for the illustrations instead of just static images.  It gives the novel a chance to play with point of view, and can also be used to entice readers to try a graphic novel or to try a prose novel.

However, I don't think the story is DiCamillo's best.  I'm quite fond of the central characters.  Flora is the sort of child to believe in strange things when they happen and a huge comic book fan.  When she sees Ulysses the squirrel gain superpowers by being sucked into a vacuum, she's ready to take him in and be friends.  I also liked her neighbors, the "temporarily blind" William Spiver, who is Flora's age and quite verbose, and his aunt Tootie, who takes a little while longer than the children to warm up to a poetry-writing squirrel.

But the story fell apart around Flora's parents.  Her relationship with her mother could be powerful, but her mother spends too long acting like a cartoon villain.  Meanwhile, her father compulsively introduces himself for no apparent reason.  I kept waiting for someone to  mention it within the story, but no one ever did.  To top it off, the plot is a little thin.  FLORA & ULYSSES feels like an origin story.  Although it would be a wonderful series, I think it is a standalone.

I thought FLORA & ULYSSES was wonderfully written and that the story was playful and exciting.  But it's not DiCamillo's best.  And to be fair to FLORA & ULYSSES, I have high expectations of her work.  I must add, however, that Ulysses' poetry is a highlight.  It's beautiful without being esoteric.

Cybils Finalists

The Cybils finalists are up now!  Below are the graphic novels on the short list.  I've included the blurbs that I wrote and please feel free to ask me for details on any of the titles.

Middle Grade:
Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller by Joseph Lambert
Giants Beware! by Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado
   "Claudette wants to be a warrior like her father was, before a dragon ate his legs and arm, so she sets out to slay the local giant with the help of her best friend and little brother. Their fathers each set out to protect the children, although they just might have the skills to protect themselves. Rafael Rosado's bright, kinetic art is the perfect match for the action and humor of Giants Beware! Fans of fantasy and adventure will both flock to this tale of friends, family, and the ultimate unimportance of fame."
Hilda and the Midnight Giant by Luke Pearson
Little White Duck: A Childhood in China by Na Liu and Andrés Vera Martínez
   "Na Liu recounts eight stories from her childhood in communist China shortly after the death of Mao Zedong. Her memoir is a funny, sad and magical exploration of Chinese history, mythology and culture. Liu's words pair perfectly with her husband Andrés Vera Martínez's art to fully evoke the time and place. The context might be unfamiliar to readers, but the emotions of a child dealing with change are very easy to relate to."
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Big Bad Ironclad! by Nathan Hale

Young Adult:
Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White by Lila Quintero Weaver
Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks
Ichiro by Ryan Izana
Marathon by Boaz Yakin and Joe Infurnari