Chronicles of a Book Evangelist

Link Trove #18

Smart Owl by Amy Hamilton

The print above is "Smart Owl" by Amy Hamilton, and the Art Print size is available for only $17.  My bird girl's (whose favorite books include Owl Moon and Owl Babies) has her 4th birthday coming up -- as well as a redo of her big girl room.  I see a framed "Smart Owl" in her future.  Now that I've mostly stopped curling my toes at the cute owl, on to the links!

Censorship:

• Following a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union, the Davis School District has returned "In Our Mothers' House" by Patricia Polacco to school library shelves.  It was removed from shelve after a group of parents petitioned the school for its removal.  You know, because we can't have a book that represents a same-sex household as normal or anything! (That was extreme sarcasm, for the record.)

• The New York Times had an interesting question in their Room for Debate feature, What’s ‘Just Right’ for the Young Reader?  The various perspectives were all interesting to read, though I must admit that I still think Sendak said it best, "I don't believe in children, I don't believe in childhood. I don't believe that there's a demarcation. 'Oh, you mustn't tell them that. You mustn't tell them that.' You tell them anything you want. Just tell them if it's true. If it's true, you tell them."  In all fairness, that is essentially what a few of the debaters, especially Lisa von Drasek, said.  I also found the opinion of Betsy Bird, who wrote "kids are excellent self censors," to be particularly interesting in terms of this next piece:

• Susane Colasanti's When It Happens will stay in the teen section of IL library, despite a parent's attempt to remove it.  The unsuitability of the reading material for her daughters' age group was pointed out to her by -- wait for it -- her daughter.  As Leila from bookshelves of doom responded:

Discounting the whole challenge thing, this story was actually a nice example of a younger reader holding her hand up and saying, "WHOA. THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR ME."  I mean, obviously, the parent took that statement and went a step further to "IF IT'S NOT FOR YOU, IT'S NOT FOR ANYONE YOUR AGE", which is problematic, but still."

• Oddly enough, Maggie Stiefvater was also recently weighing in on the issue of age appropriate content, albeit in a much more light-hearted fashion.  After mentioning that she won't let any of the children in her family read her current books until they are 30, she announced that she will be participating in a middle grade level project with scholastic.  Very cool.

For The Girls:

• Elizabeth Burns of A Fireplace, A Chair & A Tea Cozy raises an interesting question about the importance of (or lack thereof) including menstruation in stories about teen girls with her post It’s That Time of the Month.  I highly recommend reading the comments as well as the post, as there are lots of interesting things being said, and good books being recommended.

• Jezebel managed to scare the crap out of me with their article about teen girls meeting strangers in real life that they met on the internet.  According to a new study released by the American Academy of Pediatrics, 30 percent of teenage girls have met an internet contact without confirming their identity beforehand.  YIKES.

To Lighten Things Up:

• McDonald's in the UK is replacing its Happy Meal toys with books.  How awesome is that?!  Now, if they could just make this an international policy!

• Maureen Johnson is offering up some awesome swag in the form of custom stickers and an autographed bookplate to anyone who preorders Madness Underneath from an indie bookstore.  Check out her website for a view of the stickers and a list of participating bookstores.

• Finally, a lovely quote from Ursula K. Le Guin found via teaching literacy:

"While we read a novel, we are insane—bonkers. We believe in the existence of people who aren’t there, we hear their voices… Sanity returns (in most cases) when the book is closed."

Top 10 Reads of 2012

I know I'm a little behind on this as well, but I really wanted to revisit my favorite reads of 2012 before moving on to the new year.  I already have reviews posted for most of them, but the few I don't are scheduled to appear this month.  So, without further ado, my top ten favorite reads of 2012:

Middle Grade:

Ordinary Magic by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway is the beautifully told story of Abby, a completely "ordinary" girl in a magical world.  I loved Rubino-Bradway's world building almost as much as I loved the relationships between her characters.

Young Adult:

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga is one of those books that takes hold of you and doesn't let go.  I devoured it, loved it, and still can't stop thinking about it.  Jaz is such an incredibly creepy, wonderful, complex character, and I can't wait to learn more about him.

 

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman is one of those rare novels that I would almost dare call perfect.  At least perfect for me.  It is an amazing representation of high fantasy with exceptional world building and positive representations of women!!!!  There is math! and logic! and romance! and dragons!

 

 

And All The Stars by Andrea K Höst completely took me by surprise.  Aside from the fact that it is self-published and still knocks the socks off almost everything else I read this year, it is also just an amazingly well done novel.  Höst manages to ask some really big questions while being incredibly entertaining, and I just can't get this book out of my head.

 

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan is another one of those perfect for me books.  It is an exceptional (though cliffhangery) beginning to a gothic series in the style of Mary Stewart, only YA, and modernized.  Again, when I try to talk about this book I turn into a gushy fan-girl.  Just read it.

 

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard is the story of Bria, a young girl who tries to leave herself behind and instead finds herself.  It was full of quotable quotes and insightful bits about travelling and had an adorably believable romance. 

 

Preloved by Shirley Marr is a ghost story.  About a modern girl and a ghost from the 80s.  It's so funny that I choked myself laughing more than once.  It's Australian -- which is the YA equivalent of saying PURE GOLD.  What is not to love?

 

 

Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross is part fairytale retelling and part fairytale reinvention.  I love that Cross brings in the dark bits of old Grimm fairytales, incorporates things the Disney generations would be familiar with, and still manages to create a wonderfully fresh world.  

 

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein is simply stunning.  It is historical fiction, but still completely true in everything that really matters.  It is gut-wrenchingly beautiful and horrible all at once.  I defy you to read it and not cry.

 

Adult Fiction:

Chasing Magic by Stacia Kane is actually just the newest in the Downside Ghosts Series, many of which were published in 2012.  Stacia Kane went from being a completely unknown-to-me author to one of my favorite urban fantasy authors with this series.  It is dark and gritty and I can't stop reading it.  

And that is the short-list for 2012.  What were some of your favorite reads last year?

Review: On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave by Candace Fleming

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

Publication Date: July 10th 2012

Goodreads Description:

The phenomenally versatile, award-winning author, Candace Fleming, gives teen and older tween readers ten ghost stories sure to send chills up their spines. Set in White Cemetery, an actual graveyard outside Chicago, each story takes place during a different time period from the 1860's to the present, and ends with the narrator's death. Some teens die heroically, others ironically, but all due to supernatural causes. Readers will meet walking corpses and witness demonic posession, all against the backdrop of Chicago's rich history—the Great Depression, the World's Fair, Al Capone and his fellow gangsters.

 

 

 

Review:

When I was in school, my best friend was one of the bravest people I knew -- or so I thought.  She delighted in whispering me ghost stories as we lay in the dark, fighting off sleep, all the while insisting that we didn't need the light on in the bathroom next door.  I still remember the stay-over where she brought Daniel Cohen's Phone Call From A Ghost: Strange Tales From Modern America. While reading "Something in the Room" I got so freaked out by the picture that I threw the book from the bunk bed. (Librarians, please overlook that last sentence.)  Of course, it landed face up and open on the picture that had freaked me out.  Yes, this is what lay staring at us from the floor:

  

The problem was that, in order to descend the ladder and retrieve the book (thus covering up the creepy ghost from the closet) one had to either turn one's back to the window facing the woods or try to go down the ladder backwards.  After about 30 minutes and much debate, it was settled that -- as it was my house and I had more experience with the ladder -- I would go down the ladder backwards while she held my arm to help steady me.  (All of this done while averting my eyes from the book in front of me, naturally.)  Needless to say the book was eventually retrieved and all was well again.  Except that, here I am, 20 years later, and I still have that image burned into my memory -- and a funny story to go with it.

You would think that this would have turned me off ghost stories forever.  You would be wrong.  I was so deliciously terrified that it instilled a lifelong love of a good ghost story.  So, back to On the Day I Died.  I tell this story because On the Day I Died: Stories from the Grave by Candace Fleming would have been just the sort of book we would have loved.  Some of the stories would have brought goosebumps.  Others we might have rolled our eyes.  While yet others would have been so wonderfully creepy that we would have remained silent, each too scared to admit we were scared.  It is the perfect sort of book for slumber parties and stay overs and camping trips.  Each ghost has a clear and distinct voice, making each story unique, even as they seamlessly flow into each other, getting progressively more paranormal than normal.

On the Day I Died was a lot of fun to read, but I wasn't particularly frightened.  I think it would suite younger teens and middle grade readers best.  My personal favorite stories: Johnnie and Edgar.

Rating:

3 of 5 stars

Other Opinions:

Heidi from Bunbury in the Stacks

Previously:

 48 Hour Book Challenge: Update 4

Review also appears on Goodreads; a review copy was provided by the publisher.

Review: Whispering To Witches by Anna Dale

Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's Books

Publication Date: September 6th 2004

Goodreads Description:

Joe is on a train to visit his mother for Christmas when he gets off at the wrong stop-and his life takes a very unexpected turn. With the help of a bewitched broomstick, he is whisked to the home of the Dead-nettle Coven of witches, where he befriends Twiggy, a young witch-in-training. Joe is quickly caught up in a dramatic plan to find a famous missing page from the greatest magic book in history. The witches of England are convinced that the page has fallen into the wrong hands and that if they don't find it soon, a terrible and destructive spell may be cast over the world. With a dash of adventure, a dollop of fun, and a pinch of magic, this book is a timeless charmer.

 

Review:

I hate it when my opinion of one book is so entirely dependent on my opinion of another book by another author -- it feels like cheating in some way.  However, it would be completely dishonest if I didn't admit that Harry Potter both makes and breaks Whispering to Witches.

There is nothing revolutionary or groundbreaking here.  Dale relies heavily on Dahl, Rowlings, and Disney for her world building and even some of her situational plot advancement.  Meeting on special trains.  A hidden residence snugged between two everyone can see.  An unreliable broom.  A battle for pink and blue.  A wild ride with an enchanted vehicle.  

However, despite all the borrowing, it never feels like stealing.  Whispering to Witches is a sweet, fun little story asking "what if?"  What if a muggle stumbled into the middle of a mess made by witches and wizards, and knew just enough to recognize it?  I think this difference is what makes this book.  Joe is just an average Joe (forgive the...is it a pun?)  Joe's story takes the wildly exciting and completely unobtainable fantasy of a Harry Potter type world and makes the adventure accessible to even us muggles.  I have no doubt that young HP fans would thoroughly enjoy Whispering to Witches. 

Rating:

3 of 5 Stars

Previously:

48 Hour Book Challenge: Update 5 

Review also appears on Goodreads; I purchased my copy at my local used book store.

Review for 2012 Debut Author Challenge: Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Publisher: Random House

Expected Publication Date: July 10, 2012

Book Description:

Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high. 

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life. 

In her exquisitely written fantasy debut, Rachel Hartman creates a rich, complex, and utterly original world. Seraphina's tortuous journey to self-acceptance is one readers will remember long after they've turned the final page.

Review:

Rachel Hartman's Seraphina is nothing short of exquisite.  It is beautiful - breathtakingly so - and I find myself wanting to reread it again and again.  This is how it starts:

I remember being born.  

In fact, I remember a time before that. There was no light, but there was music: joints creaking, blood rushing, the heart's staccato lullaby, a rich symphony of indigestion.  Sound enfolded me, and I was safe.  

Then my world split open, and I was thrust into a cold and silent brightness.  I tried to fill the emptiness with my screams, but the space was too vast.  I raged, but there was no going back.

I simply could not help myself; I fell in love with Seraphina's voice right there.  

When I think about the idea of 'world-building' I often actually visualize little houses in my head - spaces that have been constructed piece by piece.   There are houses that are done quickly, with little care, and they look sloppy at first glance.  There are houses that look pretty good when taken as a whole, but upon closer inspection you see the slightly misaligned window trim, the irregular gaps between the wood-flooring, or the spots of cabinet paint on the edge of the wall.  Then you have houses like what Rachel Hartman has built: they look nice up front.  Then, you get a little closer and you start to see details.  That isn't just a nice wooden mantel - it's hand-carved with intricate details.  The walls aren't expertly painted with paint bought off the shelf - every color in the house has been custom tinted to compliment each other.  You get the idea.  Goredd doesn't feel 'built' at all - Hartman has made it so effortlessly stunning that it is impossible not to believe in it.  All the little details of culture and tradition have received the same level of attention as her big ideas - everything from blasphemous interjections stemming from a complex and lush religious tradition to the details of variations in regional style and dialect.  The characters, whether dragon, saar, quigutl, or human, were equally complex and vital. 

My favorite thing about Seraphina, though, is the way Hartman interweaves science, logic, art and music.  So often people who are scientific or logical are thought of or portrayed as being cold and passionless.  In contrast, artists and musicians are thought to be moody and mercurial.  But that isn't really the case at all.  Anyone who has ever watched Feynman talk about, well, anything, can see his passion for science; and the methodical precision required to master the most passionate of musical masterpieces requires determined discipline.  And Math.  Math is at the core of everything.  There is no music without math.  There is no logic without math.  The scientific method is defined by its ability to produce measurable results, and there is no measurement without math.  They are all interconnected.  The very idea of separate areas of study is just our human brain trying to analyze and compartmentalize  reality.  The real world, and the way our human mind approaches it, is much more complex than than that; and I think Hartman would agree.  The book itself is a testament to this idea - it is lyrical even at its most analytical.  At moments of highest emotion for Seraphina, she invokes mathematics and logic.  For example:

I couldn't fill that space with Linn.  That name meant nothing to me; it was a placeholder, like zero.  

 Hartman allows her characters to be passionately logical and coolly romantic, and that impresses me to no end.

I will admit that I found the romance a little lacking in spark or chemistry at times.  However, I am not sure if that is because it was actually lacking, or because I was uncomfortable with it happening.  ( I was thinking of  Selda.)  That is really the only complaint I can find, and (considering the romance is really low on the hierarchy of importance in the story) it isn't even a very big one.  I can't imagine not  rereading Seraphina  time and again.  I can't wait to give it to my daughter for the first time with a, "this is what complex, vital, talented, vibrant, brave, strong, intelligent heroines can be like!"  And I will be recommending it to everyone who will listen to me (and probably those who won't as well.)

Some Quotes I loved:

Orma called me "it" as if I were a dog; I was drawn to his aloofness, the way cats gravitate toward people who'd rather avoid them.

Metaphor is awkward, but emotion, by its nature, leaves you no more scalable approach.  I have not adequately mastered the art, but his comparisons always move me with their precision.

Sometimes the truth has difficulty breaching the city walls of our beliefs.  A lie, dressed in the correct livery, passes through more easily.

 Other Opinions:

Phoebe love it as well.

Jo wasn't as impressed. 

Review also appears on Goodreads; a review copy was provided by the publisher.

Review: Precious Bones by Mika Ashley-Hollinger

Publilsher: Random House Children's Books

Publication Date: May 8, 2012

Goodreads Description:

Meet ten-year-old Bones, whose playground is the Florida swamps, brimming with mystical witches, black bears, alligators and bobcats. Bones' father, Nolay, a Miccosukee Indian, is smart and mischievous. Her Mama, practical as corn bread, can see straight into Bones' soul.

It's summer, and Bones is busy hunting and fishing with her best friend, Little Man. But then two Yankee real estate agents trespass on her family's land, and Nolay scares them off with his gun. When a storm blows in and Bones and Little Man uncover something horrible at the edge of the Loo-chee swamp, the evidence of foul play points to Nolay. The only person that can help Nolay is Sheriff LeRoy, who's as slow as pond water. Bones is determined to take matters into her own hands. If it takes a miracle, then a miracle is what she will deliver.

Review:

One of my favorite uncles growing up was my Uncle Joe.  He was big, larger than life even.  He could sing like Hank Williams.  He was a gifted storyteller who usually focused more on the quality of the story than the truth.  He had that quintessential southern accent -- smooth and warm, it would roll through you like good whiskey.  He could make a mean boiling pot -- with Uncle Joe, food went beyond nourishment and became an event.  He was an amazing and skilled hunter and fisherman.  And (as odd as it may sound coming from this nearly life-long vegetarian) it was partly his love of nature and animals that helped inspire my own.  He was a drifter by nature, unlike Nolay (see! I didn't forget the book!), because his roots were not a place but people.  Like a boomerang he always circled back to us.  Of all the stopping places he found, the one that lasted the longest in my memory was Alabama.  He fell equally in love with the swamp and the Gulf; and, for a man who seldom did such things, he could wax poetically about both.  Uncle Joe was also a lot like Nolay in that he always seemed to have something to prove -- to himself and everyone else.  He was fiercely protective of us, his family, both as people and ideas.  Somehow, after he died, we became a little less a unit and more a collection of people.  He had a temper, and he didn't always make the best choices.   But, like Bones, I didn't see that when I was a child.  All I saw was this amazingly smart man who could do anything except wrong.

These similarities, of course, made my immersion into Precious Bones both quick and thorough.  Despite my personal parallels that made this book particularly compelling, I think many readers will find it equally compelling without them.  Ashley-Hollinger writes with such evocative, eloquent beauty that it just sucks you in and won't let go.  The mystery is fabulous, but the biggest reveals aren't necessarily related to the mystery.  Precious Bones is also a luscious coming of age story, a story about seeing people as they really are and still accepting them.  

Oddly enough, my biggest complaints about Precious Bones are also some of the things I loved most.  I love that Ashley-Hollinger includes regional dialect.  I also love the sweeping descriptions of her surroundings.  There is such a sense of place in Precious Bones.  However, upon closer examination, her descriptions don't make sense in the context of Bone's first person narration.  Bones has neither the education and experience for the similes and metaphors used, nor the vocabulary to have described many things as she did.  As an adult I found the descriptions poignant and apt, but many would have flown right over my son's head without further clarification and definition.  Also, despite the fact that I agree with all of Ashley-Hollinger's "messages" within the book, they were not exactly subtle.  I would hate for that to be what turned kids away from an otherwise beautiful and interesting book.

And, for your listening and viewing pleasure, the song that played through my head for most of my reading -- Hank Williams Jambalaya:

Rating:

3.5 of 5 Stars

This review also appears on Goodreads; a review copy was provided by the publisher.

Review: Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Publisher: Disney Hyperion Books 

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

Goodreads Description:

Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius—and, above all, a criminal mastermind. But even Artemis doesn't know what he's taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. These aren't the fairies of bedtime stories—they're dangerous! Full of unexpected twists and turns, Artemis Fowl is a riveting, magical adventure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review:

I believe that Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl books will end up being a lot like John R. Erickson's Hank the Cowdog Books to me -- I like them a little for myself, but like them a lot for my son.  (That is why I am ever thankful for the wonderful Hank audio books.  Edited to add: According to a comment made by Flannery, there are good audio books for Artemis Fowl as well as Hank the Cowdog.)

The story is a bit flashy spy movie meets stodgy detective story at times.  I found Artemis to be an annoying brat who acted more like a miniature adult than a twelve year old.  I also found little proof of his supposed intelligence aside from Sherlock-style breakdowns of information that we, as readers, were never allowed to "see" in the first place.  He is less "heroic" (if that is the right word) than Holly, less intelligent than Foaly, and all around less cool than Butler.  (I really loved Butler).  I both loved and hated the constantly shifting point-of-view; it was nice to get to know the other characters so well, but I felt like it disrupted the flow of the story -- perhaps if it had remained only with a couple of characters it would have been better?

But, those quibbles aside, Artemis Fowl was funny.  It was quirky and interesting and I think the fart jokes would have my son in stitches on the floor.  I definitely think this is geared more for the younger side of middle grade, but can see the plot being complex enough to attract young adult readers -- especially if Artemis continues to mature through the series.  I don't know that I would have continued to read them for my own enjoyment, but they are on the list for books to read aloud to my son.

Quote:

"Confidence is ignorance," advised the centaur.  "If you're feeling cocky, it's because there's something you don't know."  p 48

Rating:

3 of 5 Stars

Other Opinions:

Keely Evicerates Colfer for his Scientific Inaccuracy.

Lightreads wrote an eloquent and beautiful review.

This review also appears on Goodreads; a review copy was provided by the publisher.

A Mighty Girl: For Your Mighty Reader

Do you know a bright young girl?  A daughter, sister, cousin, niece, neighbor, student, friend?  Does she like to read?  (Or do you want her too?)  Have you heard about A Mighty Girl: The world's largest collection of books and movies for smart, confident, and courageous girls?  They are relatively new (launched in March of this year!) but already have a varied and interesting collection of books and movies.  Here's what they have to say about themselves:

After years of seeking out empowering and inspirational books for our four young nieces, we decided to create A Mighty Girl as a resource site to help others equally interested in supporting and celebrating girls. Our labor of love has now come to fruition as the world’s largest collection of books and movies for parents, teachers, and others dedicated to raising smart, confident, and courageous girls.

The site was founded on the belief that all children should have the opportunity to read books and watch movies that offer positive messages about girls and honor their diverse capabilities. We believe that girls do not have to be relegated to the role of sidekick or damsel in distress; they can be the leaders, the heroes, the champions that save the day, find the cure, and go on the adventure. It is our hope that these high-quality children’s products will help a new generation of girls to grow and pursue whatever dreams they choose -- to truly be Mighty Girls!

 I already see a substantial amount of our birthday and winter holidays budgets being spent here!  Just a few products that have caught my eye:

My Lady A is nuts about birds.  She can spend hours watching them out the window, or looking through bird watcher books at all the lifelike pictures.  It took buying bird-bedecked sheets and blankets to get her to make the move to her very own big girl bed.  So, naturally we feel in love with Sara Pennypacker's Sparrow Girl; the story of a girl so entranced by the sparrow that she goes against her family, her community, even her country to save them.  And the illustrations by Yoko Tanaka are just stunning.

From the Website:

Ming-Li looked up and tried to imagine the sky silent, empty of birds. It was a terrible thought. Her country's leader had called sparrows the enemy of the farmers--they were eating too much grain, he said. He announced a great "Sparrow War" to banish them from China, but Ming-Li did not want to chase the birds away. As the people of her village gathered with firecrackers and gongs to scatter the sparrows, Ming-Li held her ears and watched in dismay. The birds were falling from the trees, frightened to death! Ming-Li knew she had to do something--even if she couldn't stop the noise. Quietly, she vowed to save as many sparrows as she could, one by one...

"Opposite the grave historical account, though, is an uplifting image: on a field of white, a small nest with seven eggs promises the hope that springs from the simple actions of one empathetic heart." -- Booklist

 

And, although we own most of the movies in her age range, we did find the Miss Mallard movies.  (How have I never heard of these before?)  I am really excited to give them a try.

From the Website:

Here are stories that stimulate children with simple problem-solving puzzles that increase learning skills. More than that, the stories encourage 5 to 12 year olds to analyze events and scrutinize characters that they can apply to their daily lives. That's why children can't get enough of mysteries and why they love the adventures of Miss Mallard and her nephew, Willard Widgeon of the Swiss Police. The world-famous ducktective and her nephew travel around the world encountering all kinds of fowl play. No detail is overlooked by Miss Mallard. There's never been a case she couldn't "quack." -- Author's Site

This set includes the episodes:Taxi to Intrigue, Cable Car to Catastrophe, Express Train to Trouble, Whistle Stop to Fear, Footbridge to Jitters, Snowmobile to Panic. Miss Mallard's adventures continue in Miss Mallard Meets the Masters of Mischief.

I am really excited to see what A Mighty Girl picks up next!

Just a note: I am in no way being compensated for this!  I just really like the website and wanted to bring it to the attention of other people looking for positive books and movies for girls!

 

Transforming Magic: Diana Wynne Jones

When I was first deciding what I would write about Diana Wynne Jones for this blog tour, I thought it would be a piece about one of my favorite books such as Howl's Moving Castle or Enchanted Glass.  An almost-review about how amazing it was -- how amazing all of her books were really.  But the world doesn't really need another review claiming that her books are "good," that is obvious at this point.  What was so special about Diana Wynne Jones was not that she wrote good books.  People write and read good books all the time.  Diana Wynne Jones wrote books that transform you, the reader.  She wrote the books that reshape your mental landscape, that become a part of who you are, who you want to be.  

I have already written about how my grandmother changed the way I looked at reading by introducing me to Mary Stewart.  The next chapter of that story goes something like this:

Fifth grade Michelle walks into the Upper Elementary School Library and asks for more Mary Stewart.  Well meaning librarian says, "Um, dear, I think you would find that in the Junior High or High School Library.  What else would you like?"  Long silence.  Then, in an instance of either desperation or very insightful reader advisory, "Have you read Diana Wynne Jones?"  

Perhaps she had recently read Diana Wynne Jones, perhaps she thought "hey, both middle aged British women," perhaps she just really loved Diana Wynne Jones herself.  Whatever her motivations, she changed the way I read once again.  

Diana Wynne Jones' books are complex.  You get the gist from reading them that she has respect for you, the reader; for your intellect and discernment, no matter your age.  Her settings are rich and beautiful.  Her characters live -- they become people you know and love with intensity and longevity.  Opening her books truly is like opening a door into another world.  If Mary Stewart led me into genre fiction, Diana Wynne Jones lead me into fantasy.  And, much like with Mary Stewart, in those pre-internet days the search for new Diana Wynne Jones to read became a quest in and of itself; the same select few were placed in bookstores and libraries, but the treasured new ones could occasionally be found in thrift stores, yard sales, and the used and out of print bookstore.  Out of desperation I found my way to other authors who would later become true loves as well: Garth Nix, Neil Gaiman, Anne McCaffrey, Marion Zimmer Bradley, CS Lewis, Tolkien.  Yes, she was my first.  

Fast forward to the spring of 2011.  I had been spending a lot of time at my grandparents' house.  My grandfather had Parkinson's Disease, and he was getting progressively worse.  I went to spend time with him, but as it always had been, much of my time there was spent in reading -- reading like I hadn't done in years.  Companionable silence during the day.  Or, at night, hour after hour wrapped in quiet darkness, alone in a world of someone else's creation.  Then, one day, the inevitable but still unthinkable happened: my grandfather died.  I spent a few days hiding from the world.  On one of my first visits back into the virtual world I was looking around on bookshelves of doom came across this post: Diana Wynne Jones, 1934-2011.

I remember telling myself when the call first came out for letters, "I'll write to her.  Tomorrow.  Tomorrow I'll write."  But I didn't.  Diana Wynne Jones and my grandfather got all wrapped up in each other and it was really hard to separate them.  Reading and my grandparents are forever entwined; and I was just too shattered to pull a big enough piece of myself out to send to her.  I wanted to thank her, to tell her how much she helped shape me, but I didn't.  So, when Robin McKinley said the following about Diana Wynne Jones after her death, it reverberated through me:

Everyone leaves a themselves-shaped hole when they go, and we all feel it, whether we know or recognise the individual holes or not.  No one is an island, as John Donne almost said, each human death diminishes me.

I used to think my experience with Diana Wynne Jones was incredibly personal, unique to me, something I could never publicly share. But as this blog tour has progressed it has become increasingly clear that Diana Wynne Jones transformed many lives.  I have cried so many times during this blog tour, but with the sadness was also a feeling of closeness to other readers.  (Some of the ones that move me most are Chasing Ray, Finding Wonderland, Charlotte's Library, and Sarah Rees Brennan.  I would also recommend reading Neil Gaiman's Being Alive. Mostly about Diana.)  Here we are, over a year after her death, and just sharing our love of her is transforming our lives -- or, at least mine.  

In this passage of time, another thing has become more and more obvious.  I like to talk in my reviews about stories that are about stories within stories; the layers upon layers and sticky, tangled-up webs of how everything and everyone is connected.  Just because Diana Wynne Jones (or my grandfather) is no longer living does not mean that she is gone.  Every time we share a story about or from them with a new generation, they are here.  Every time my kids watch Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle, or we read Charmed Life aloud, Diana Wynne Jones is here.  Her story becomes a part of my story, their story, your story.  She is still transforming lives.  And, though I know she won't receive it, this is my letter to her.

To find more people Celebrating Diana Wynne Jones, please check out the Tumblr or follow the Blog Tour.  I am also really excited that Dogsbody, A Tale of Time City, and Fire and Hemlock (which also features the essay "The Heroic Ideal") have be rereleased with new covers this month.  They also have all new intros written by Neil Gaiman,  Ursula K. Le Guin, and Garth Nix respectively.  

Review for 2012 Classics Challenge: Eight Cousins and Rose In Bloom by Louisa May Alcott

I find it particularly funny and fitting how this month's Classic Challenges have worked out together.  The prompt chosen by November's Autumn for the month of April is Book Cover while the book I chose to read from Sarah Reads Too Much's list was Reread a Classic: Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom from Louisa May Alcott.  "Why would that be funny?" you may ask.  Well, these are my books:

 

April Book Cover Prompt: What are your first impressions as you look at the cover?  Does the book cover have an aspect that reflects the character, setting, or plot of the novel?  If you could have designed the book cover what would you have chosen?

I have known and loved these books for so long that it should be hard to remember my first impression of them -- but I do.  I was staying with my grandmother for a few weeks in the summer.  As summers in Arkansas are, it was very hot.  I was sleeping in the coolest room in the house -- a porch-like addition to the front.  She lived in a quaint old rock house, so the room was almost nothing but windows and rock walls.  She had it overflowing with plants and a small brass bed; in a way it was like sleeping in my own secret garden.  I finished reading whatever books I had brought with me in a matter of days, and was ready for something new.  So, late one night after dinner and bath and the tucking-in process, my grandma walked into the room with four books.  "These were mine when I was your age," she said.  "They are very old, so you have to be very careful with them, but you can read them if you want to."  In her hands were a 1930 American Book Company printing of Stories of Animals and Other Stories, a 1935 Little, Brown and Company printing of The Nature Activity Readers Book Two: The Outdoor Playhouse, a 1911 Little, Brown, and Company printing of Louisa May Alcott's An Old Fashioned Girl, and a1927 Little, Brown and Company printing of Eight Cousins.  

I remember being staggered by their age.  I remember thinking the Louisa May Alcotts were such a lovely shade of blue, even with the stains.  I had never held a hardback that felt like cloth before -- it made the books feel at home on the quilted bed.  And (please forgive me, grandma) I remember wondering if the waxy black spots were from candles or oil lamps that my grandmother had used to read them.  (I didn't realize at the time that just because one Grandmother was old enough to have lived without electricity didn't mean that they both were.  Ahem.)  I also remember thinking that, considering how...shall we say worn they looked, it was odd that she was so careful with them now.  

It was many years later that I read something that captured so perfectly my feelings upon first holding those books.  I think it was in a paperback copy of Little Women (but it also may have been Under the Lilacs or Little Men -- if you know, PLEASE tell me!  I've googled for hours!) but in her Preface Louisa May Alcott said something along the lines of, "I hope to one day have my books be the dirtiest in the Library, for then I will know that children actually read and loved them."  (Not a direct quote.)  That is how I felt when I held those books for the first time -- I knew that, for the covers to have gotten that dirty, something really good had to be inside!  They perfectly fit the story within: comfortable, welcoming, familiar, humble, but still dignified and deserving of respect.  I could not design a more perfect cover.

Publisher: Little, Brown, and Company

Publication Date: 1927

Illustrator: Hattie Longstreet Price

Goodreads Description:

Eight Cousins:

Rose Campbell, tired and ill, has come to live at "The Aunt Hill" after the death of her beloved father. Six aunts fussing and fretting over her are bad enough, but what is a quiet 13-year-old girl to do with seven boisterous boy cousins?

Rose in Bloom:

In this sequel to Eight Cousins, Rose Campbell returns to the "Aunt Hill" after two years of traveling around the world. Suddenly, she is surrounded by male admirers, all expecting her to marry them. But before she marries anyone, Rose is determined to establish herself as an independent young woman. Besides, she suspects that some of her friends like her more for her money than for herself.

Review:

I think that in Eight Cousins we come as close to seeing what it would have been like to grow up as a child of the founders of the transcendentalist movement as Alcott ever writes.  Rose comes to Uncle Alec as a sad, sick, spoiled, unhappy child.  Having never had children of his own (and, excepting Aunt Jessie, being perpetually surrounded by what he would consider poor parenting), he -- with a little help from his sister-in-law Jessie -- decides to treat Rose's health and education as a grand experiment of sorts.  As a child, I found Uncle Alec and Aunt Jessie to be amazingly calm, even-tempered, unfailingly awesome examples of parenthood.  I wanted to be Aunt Jessie when I grew up.  As an adult, and parent, I have now come to think of them as the epitome of the ideals expounded upon by the transcendentalists.  Throughout both books there are echos of -- and occasionally direct references to -- the likes of  Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, John Muir and, of course,  Amos Bronson Alcott.  As an adult who has read their works, it is nice to spot the ideas in practice, if you will.  I love the way quiet Archie and Phoebe fall in love over music.  And I love the way Mac and Rose get to know each other through writing letters, discussing and reading the essays.  I also love the roots of American Feminism that are visible -- advocating choice and control in one's own future, finding fulfillment in oneself before finding love, being an equal partner in relationships.  The suffragette movement is not quite so visible as in say An Old Fashioned Girl, but I think that is more a product of the Campbell's wealth -- a young girl with an independent fortune and a guardian willing to hand over all control doesn't really have to fight for her independence.  

It is hard to criticize what is for me the literary equivalent to chicken soup; but in trying to take an objective view, I do find a few problems.  It is sad to see all these brothers of Uncle Alec missing all the time.  I understand that they were sailors, Captains even, and a product of their times, but it is still sad to see all the absent fathers.  Also, the fact that first cousins are marrying (and I find it romantic and cheer for them!) in here really squicks me out.  (Yes, that is a very proper and technical term -- squick.)  Additionally, I find the moralizing to be very heavy handed -- when Ms. Alcott gets her teeth into something, she just doesn't let go.  Poor Charlie in Rose in Bloom, whose failings weren't really all that extreme, pays the ultimate price for his lack of perfection.  It is especially sad considering how we left him at the end of Eight Cousins.  (Were it not Louisa May Alcott, I might even accuse the author of character assassination in order to clear the way for Mac.  But it is she, so I will not.)  I think now that perhaps if I had not read quite so much Alcott as a child I wouldn't have been such a goody-goody perfectionist all the time!  The books are delightful to read, but set some pretty impossible standards for children and adults alike.