Review: Losing It

Edited by Keith Gray
Stories by A.S. King, Melvin Burgess, Keith Gray, Patrick Ness, Anne Fine, Sophie McKenzie, Bali Rai, Jenny Valentine, Mary Hooper, Andrew Smith
Available now from Carolrhoda Books (Lerner)
First published in 2010 by Anderson Press without the stories by Smith and King
Review copy

LOSING IT is a collection of ten short stories based around the concept of virginity.  It's long gone for some of the characters, and others don't lose it at all.  Some of the characters live here and now, others live long ago or far away.  To me, only a few of the stories really stood out, but it is worth buying for those stories.

A.S. King was the name that stood out the most for me, but I love her work.  I liked her raw story, about a girl who gets caught shoplifting for the total user she's dating.  While the concept of LOSING IT is mildly shocking, it's not really a shocking collection.  King's story is probably the boldest.  My biggest problem with it is that it ends far too soon.

My second favorite is Patrick Ness' story "Different for Boys."  It follows a pretty predictable path, but his teen boy voices are spot on and now that I think about it this story might be a little racy too.  I'm twenty four; I'm not sure I'm the best judge.  (Also, the Kindle galley I read had no black boxes.  Be envious, those who read the final version!)  I enjoyed the humor of the story and thought that the structure - centered around figuring out what losing it is for a gay guy - worked very well.

I was also quite fond of "Chat-Up Lines" by Melvin Burgess and "The Age of Consent" by Jenny Valentine.  Burgess' story involves a younger boy dating a popular older girl who doesn't know his age and that he's social suicide.  Valentine's involves a crazy discussion at a family dinner, where an older relative holds forth on what she knows about sex and choosing who to have it with.

My biggest disappointment was probably "The White Towel" by Bali Rai, which I've seen highly praised.  It deals with the horror of honor killings, but it's a family legend related by a relative passing it on to some friends.  The concept seems distant, just another story, instead of visceral.  I don't think the point of view worked for Anne Fine's story either, which is told by a teacher.

Keith Gray, Andrew Smith, Sophie McKenzie, and Mary Hooper's stories were all okay, although I wasn't big on Hooper's since it was historical fiction.  If you're a fan of one of these authors, it's probably worth picking up this anthology.  Only two stories were real duds for me, which is a good rate for a short story collection.  I think readers will appreciate the range of perspectives and experiences explored in LOSING IT.

Review: Sky Jumpers

Book one in a series
By Peggy Eddleman
Available now from Random House BFYR
Review copy

This was a surprisingly charming book.  SKY JUMPERS is set post-WWIII, on an Earth that has been decimated by "green" bombs.  Technology is all but gone, because the magnetic fields are messed up, and sections of the world are permanently toxic.

Hope's community, White Rock, is one of the best to live in.  They're in a valley, naturally defended by the mountains and the ring of deadly Bomb's Breath around them.  The town's founders included a man with quite the library, enough to help them get started inventing new technology and medicine.  In fact, everyone in the town invents things.  But Hope's inventions never turn out quite right.

Then the town is invaded for its antibiotics, and it's up to Hope and her best friends to go get help.  Their journey is rather harrowing, but still age appropriate.  In fact, since their worst enemy is the cold, I can see this being a good bridge into speculative fiction for young historical fiction fans.

SKY JUMPERS was an original take on the devastated future world.  The town council isn't always right, but they aren't sinister either.  There's a sense that the people in this world aren't doomed survivors, but that their world will keep growing and eventually flourish again.  Now, young readers are likely to be less tired of dystopias and might not be as concerned with that.  But they will enjoy the characters. 

Hope has her own strengths, and she must believe in them if she's going to save White Rock.  Her strengths are complimented by those of her friends', who go on the dangerous journey with her.  There's a lot to appeal in this story for both boys and girls.  (And how much do I love that it's one of the boys charged with caring for his younger sister?)

I didn't know what to expect when I started SKY JUMPERS.  But whatever expectations I had were certainly exceeded.  It's a wonderful debut for Peggy Eddleman.  I'm curious about this being the beginning of a series, since the story came to a satisfying conclusion.  But it is an interesting world, so I'd be willing to spend more time in it.

Review: Steelheart

First in a series
By Brandon Sanderson
Available now from Delacorte Press (Penguin Random House)
Review copy

The day I read this book I was very, very into reading it.  This is not an unusual occurrence, but  I was notably reluctant to do such things as put down my book and eat food.  (Eating is an activity widely recognized as good for continuing to live.)  This led to the following bit with my dad:

Me: So you know how it's a common premise in stuff for something to happen and people suddenly have superpowers?
Him: Yeah.
Me: What if something happened, and there were just supervillains?
Him: No superheroes?
Me: No superheroes.

Basically, STEELHEART is about the world in which Superman is a bad guy, running the place, and there is no Batman with a Kryptonite-laced plan to stop him.  The only person who has any inkling of how to stop the invulnerable Steelheart is David, an eighteen year old living in Newcago who saw Steelheart bleed on the day he killed David's father ten years ago.  (This happens in the chilling prologue that sets the tone for how impossible it is to put STEELHEART down.) Now David is trying to team up with the Reckoners, the only non-Epics who fight back, to try to stop Steelheart's rule.

STEELHEART is a fantastic book, whether you're into comic book-style stories or not.  It's got great, memorable characters.  Best of all, their physical abilities are second to their smarts.  How else do you take down someone who has superpowers?  David, in particular, is a massive nerd.  And it's up to the nerds to save the world.  The ratio of male to female main characters isn't perfect, but I do love that the love interest Megan is extremely competent and laughs at the hero when he absolutely and totally fails to be smooth.

I loved the plot, which keeps things rolling, but throws several curveballs into the seemingly perfect plan and has enough breathing room for the characters to question what they are doing and why.  In fact, I never thought much about some of their motivations until the book brought it up.  I might've questioned them after finishing, when my brain shifted back to pure analysis, but no need since they're addressed on the page.

Brandon Sanderson is a talented science fiction and fantasy author, and I am quite happy he's writing some YA now as well.  Especially when that YA is as good as STEELHEART!  And let me tell you, I wish I did not have to wait for the next book.  If I had a superpower, it would be to will sequels into existence faster.

Review: Sasquatch in the Paint

Book One of the Streetball Crew
By Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld (click carefully - I'm getting a virus warning for his site)
Available now from Disney-Hyperion
Review copy

I grew up in Houston, and even though I don't like sports, I have fond memories of the Rockets of my childhood.  And while celebrities writing books - even with the help of a ghostwriter - often elicits groans, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar seems like a smart guy with an interest in pop culture, from the little I know of him.   It's not like a story about a kid playing basketball is a massive stretch for the guy.  (There's a height joke lurking somewhere in there, but I'll refrain from actually making it.)

So how does Abdul-Jabbar fare in the dog-dies-for-a-life-lesson world of kid lit?  Pretty well.  I think SASQUATCH IN THE PAINT tries to tackle a bit too much.  It touches on bullying, racism, religious tolerance, that one cousin you can't stand.  At the same time, it's not like kids aren't dealing with those issues, often all at once.  And it reflects the conflict in protagonist Theo Rollins' personal life.  He's on the basketball team, mostly due to his massive growth spurt, and on the school's academic quiz team.  He's having trouble balancing practice for both activities.  It's two teams that he might let down if he can't manage to get up to snuff.

One aspect of SASQUATCH IN THE PAINT that I really enjoyed was the range of basketball displayed.  If it's going to be a big part of the book, why not truly feature the sport?  There's the school basketball team, full of rules and following the coach's strategy.  There's a game between friends, no stakes, just hanging out.  There's a pick-up game with no rules, elbows flying, and one with lots of rules and impatience for people holding the game back.

Theo is an easy to empathize with kid.  He's uncomfortable in his body, unsure of what he's actually good at, and afraid of looking like an idiot.  His mom died recently and he and his dad are still carving out a new routine.  In addition to his male best friend, male cousin, and male teammates, there are some interesting female characters to round out the mostly male cast.  I liked minor character Brooke, from the Aca-lympics, who is rich, unfriendly, and competitive.  She's a pretty standard mean girl, but there are hints of depths.  Rain, the main female character, starts off with shades of Manic Pixie Dreamgirl syndrome.  Fortunately, she isn't interested in fixing Theo.

I can see lots of parents who were teens at the height of Abdul-Jabbar's career buying this for their kids.  It's not a bad move.  This is a book with appeal for sports fans and geeks, with lots of good social messages.  There are a few mini-mysteries, which keep the plot moving forward and keep it from becoming too predictable.  I'm curious as to how the Streetball Crew will develop as a series, since SASQUATCH IN THE PAINT has a nice contained character arc, but this is certainly a good start.

Review: Battle Magic

Set between The Circle Opens and The Will of the Empress
By Tamora Pierce
Available now from Scholastic Press
Review copy
Read my review of Melting Stones

Tamora Pierce has been one of my favorite authors for a long time, ever since I was a little nine-year-old reading SANDRY'S BOOK on the way to Georgia.  I haven't loved her most recent releases.  The most recent book in the Emelan universe, MELTING STONES, was lacking in the plot department and felt detached, even for a side book.  Each book in her Provost's Dog series was wonderful as a standalone, but failed to congeal as a trilogy.  But man, BATTLE MAGIC reminded me why I've been a fan of Pierce for more than a decade.

BATTLE MAGIC fills in one of the gaps between the end of The Circle Opens quartet and THE WILL OF THE EMPRESS.  Briar, his teacher Rosethorn, and his student Evvy are almost done traveling the world when the end up in the middle of a war.  They must help defend Gyongxe (fantasy Tibet) against the Emperor (of fantasy China).  It's a set up for much action and pain, but the war setting also allows for an exploration of each of their true characters.

There are several new faces, many of them memorable.  I can't be the only one who finishes BATTLE MAGIC and hopes that Parahan, a slave of the Emperor, shows up in future books.  There's lots of fun magic, not just the academic and ambient types that Pierce has developed through the ten previous books in this setting.  And the relationships are heart wrenching.  They are far more than teacher-student pairs.  Rosethorn, Briar, and Evvy are family - family far from home.

That being said, BATTLE MAGIC does have its flaws.  There's very little new strategy or skill on display from the familiar trio.  Expect many vine bombs (which are awesome, admittedly).  I'm not sure the characters would work as well for someone picking up this novel who is unfamiliar with the world.  BATTLE MAGIC is more plot driven than most of the Emelan novels.  (I say that, but thinking back, they mostly have strong plots, especially the mysteries.  Perhaps I'm just so fond of the characters that their personal journeys always seem like the highlight to me?)

I think BATTLE MAGIC is essential for Tamora Pierce fans.  I also think that if you aren't a Pierce fan, you should be.  This is a book full of fierce mages, tough women, and a noble cause.  There are scenes that will break your heart and others that will make you cheer.  It also caused me to reread most of Pierce's backlist, which I hadn't been planning on.