Books of the Week - It's A Book

It's a Book by Lane Smith

In the age of e-readers, computers, ipods, and other various technology this books feels timely and yet a hair premature. Sure, kids get computers, but will they understand the references to twitter and blogs? I'm not so sure. In fact, the book felt very much like a picture book for adults. Often we debate strong language in young adult books (i.e. cursing). I wonder how parents feel that the last sentence of the book is, "It's a Book, jackass." True, the character in the story is in fact a jackass, but that is not how that word reads and I'm not certain parents are going to be thrilled with that one.

But I like the book, purely from an adult level. I think it is funny, pertinent, and I love Lane Smith's illustrations. However, I don't think I will be reading it to my nephew any time soon. If ever. Either that or the end may be missing a word.

Author of the Week - Jim Murphy

Jim Murphy is an award-winning author of non-fiction books for all ages. Born in New Jersey, Jim credits his childhood explorations as his inspiration and questioning of the world around him. Never much of a reader, Jim preferred to play as a kid, until a teacher forbade her students to read. With such reverse psychology tactics, Jim began to gobble up any book he could grab. Jim went on to college, not straying far from his home attending Rutgers University. Eventually Jim got a job working in children's book publishing, starting as a secretary and working his way up the ladder to Managing Editor. Jim always had many interests, quirky to some, and working in publishing made Jim aware that he could write his own books, non-fiction in nature that would appeal to young readers. Two of his books, An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic in 1793 and The Great Fire both won Newbery Awards. His other books, many of which have won numerous awards, include A Savage Thunder, Truce, Desperate Journey, The Boys' War, Blizzard, and The Real Benedict Arnold.Today Jim continues to live in New Jersey, with his wife, and sons.

Covers That Appeal to a Twilight Generation

So this new trend of book covers that appeal to Twilight fans really bother me. Here is my question...are teenagers really going to read Wuthering Heights now that it has a rose on the cover and says 'Bella & Edward's Favorite Book'? And if so, what does that say about marketing classics. Never mind that the whole Vampire trend is getting old fast, but now a book cover trend to appeal to those obsessed with Twilight. It just feels wrong somehow.

Children's Books With the Worst Titles

Illustrator of the Week - Melvyn Grant

Born in London, England, Melvyn Grant is an artist and illustrator. From a young age, Grant's artistic abilities were encouraged thanks to an understanding teacher. At the age of twelve he was the youngest student to attend The Brassey Institute School of Fine Arts. It was there that he found his style, but dropped out at eighteen due to a keen sense that there was even bigger and better things for him out there. He tried his hand at music and science, built electric guitars, and traveled. During his time away from art, Grant built and appreciation for High-end fantast illustrations. Although he was trained to work with oil paints, most of Grant's work is now done digitally. Today Grant works with publishers from all over the world. He is most well-known for being the artist associated with Iron Maiden's mascot, Eddie. Additionally he has working on illustrations for Fighting Fantasy, Where's My Cow?, The Demonataseries, and The Bartimaeus Trilogy. Grant currently lives on the coast in Southeast England where he sits on the shore on hot days and meditate his next art project.

Book of the Week - Stuck in Neutral

Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman

There's good news and there's bad news. The good news is fourteen-year-old Shawn McDaniel is a genius. He has a photographic memory that could beat anyone's, to the point that he could recite entire movies from memory. And therein lies the bad news. Shawn cannot speak, he cannot move, he can't control a single muscle. In fact, he is so unable to control himself that no one knows that Shawn is a genius. Oh, and his dad is trying to kill him. Shawn gets more and more concerned as his dad starts talking about putting Shawn "out of his misery".

Told in first person, this story really puts the reader into the shoes of a kid who is trapped within himself. Reader's can experience the frustration as Shawn desperately wants to say, "Dad, I love you." How much Shawn loves his brother, his mother. How he appreciates life and wishes that someone, anyone, would realize that he is in there. It's hopeful, enlightening, and terrifying.

As far as my criteria goes, this books did a good job. There were no stereotypes, in fact I would say this book broke some. The labels were only by the character and were never too much or too often. Shawn definitely speaks for himself. The interactions between Shawn and those around him are believable. After all, if you thought the kid in the same room with you had the mental capacity of a four-month-old, would you be willing to talk about anything? If someone was messing with your brother, even if you thought he was a vegetable, how would you defend him? The story itself was about the disability, but it is more than that. It is also about wanting to be noticed, of how love trumps everything, and genius is not always obvious. Finally, all the characters were well-rounded.

Overall, the book was great. Short and sweet, with an ending that left me frustrated but not angry.

But. You knew it was coming. I had one problem. It is a big one. No one knows if Shawn is secretly a genius. Now, there are kids like Shawn, those without the ability to be mobile, some people who have been in accidents experience the same thing. It is often referred to as Locked In Syndrome. Here's the thing though. They can do tests to see if there is brain activity in patients like this. If his parents suspected (as is usually the case with these kinds of people), someone would have eventually done a test. They would have called Shawn's name and seen the brain activity and known that there was more than just a babies brain inside there. They would see from the brain activity that he is alive and thinking.

So as well done as the book was, I don't think a parent would resort to killing his child (or thinking about it) before doing such a test.

Author of the Week - Kelly Milner Halls

Kelly Milner Halls is a self-professed weirdo. As a freelance writer, editor, and reviewer Kelly has kept herself busy over the years creating non-fiction for many readers. From dinosaurs to mummies Kelly's books and over 1200 articles have more than proven she has what it takes to be successful. This love of non-fiction and writing stemmed directly from her childhood. Kelly was the kid who asked too many questions, the one who couldn't help but interview her neighbors, and was always searching for something good to read. Being a writer never really entered her mind until she reached high school where she started writing for the school paper. Kelly discovered her love for writing, but she had difficulty writing for adults, finding that kids books for much more entertaining and weirder. Soon she was writing for magazines and newspapers from Highlights Magazines to Teen PEOPLE to The Washington Post. Kelly also helped head up a publishing house specifically for reluctant readers just like she had been. Together she and Tanya Dean Anderson created six non-fiction picture books that made weird cool. Some of Kelly's books include Dino Trekking, Kids Go! Devcer, 365 After School Activities, I Bought a Baby Chickem, Project for Pennies. She has also interviewed Chris Crutcher, Terry Trueman, Richard Peck, and Kenny Rogers. Kelly is the mother of two daughters yet still finds time to do what she loves, school visits, writing, painting, snow skiing, and playing tennis.

I have a thing for UK book covers. In fact, I love them so much that I am willing to pay extra money to have them. Not only do I find them more appealing to the eye, but they often give a more accurate picture of what the book is about. Sometimes, even the style of the cover feels closer to the the aboutness of the book. Honestly, I don't understand the changes sometimes, even after taking classes in book designs. Take these books for instance.

The UK cover isn't as dark, but it also has an actual picture of Mister Monday and the ever important clock. Also, my eye is drawn to this cover as it reminds me of an album cover and I'll admit, I still prefer artwork over photoshopped pictures.

I love this lizard. And I know I said I prefer artwork over pictures...but the lizard is a drawing and is less abstract than the US edition, and although I have no evidence of this, I think that this UK cover would appeal to more boys.

Wow. I mean, how wonderful is that cover? A kid standing up to a god with skyscrapers in the background and a beautiful blue shade that pulls the eye into it.

I like the target. The kid. Even the letters, as if Hunger Games has its own logo. Sure the mockingjay makes sense in the end, but which book would you be more likely to pick up? The one with black cover and a gold bird or the one with a target and a boy looking out at you...again...not black.

I was working at Candlewick when this one came out. I saw the original cover first and was impressed by the collage look of it. The angry kid and the burgers and fries flying around made me smile. Then the new cover crossed my desk and my eyebrow went up. A two-toned book with a gross hamburger on it. How is that appealing?

My real question is, are these the kinds of book covers that kids are actually buying or are these what adults think kids will like? Is America some strange place where bright colors and story-centric covers are ignored for boring covers of black, or if we are lucky two colors and one picture? I'm sure the UK has some bad covers too, but all these photograph covers with brunette girls looking out at me, aren't exactly sucking me in. I don't judge books by their covers, but I think a lot of people do, especially the under eighteen crowd.

Book Lists

I often read far more books than I have time to review and I am also careful not to write reviews of anything by one of my professors. I also hate to review books that I thought were downright terrible. Or ones that everyone has read before. But just so my readers know what I have been reading lately (meaning not just dystopian sci-fi) here is my list from this summer. This list does include the books I have reviewed as well. Due to storytime, there are probably a lot of other picture books I have read, but simply cannot remember them all. As per reader request, the books that I wasn't so hot on are starred. Ones that I absolutely can't stop thinking about have a chili pepper beside them.

Newsgirl by Liza Ketchum

Rash by Pete Hautman

Dancing With an Alien by Mary Logue

*Alice, I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin

The Shadow Thieves by Anne Ursu ,

Siren Song by Anne Ursu

*The Name of This Book Is Secret by Psuedonym Bosch

*Kingdom Keepers II: Disney At Dawn by Ridley Pearson

Stuck in Nuetral by Terry Trueman

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

*Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

*The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith

Trouble by Gary Schmidt ,

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen

The Tomorrow Code by Brian Falkner ,

Crunch by Leslie Connor ,

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angelberger

Creak, Said the Bed by Phyllis Root

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman ,

*Tom's Midnight Garden by Phillipa Pearce

Birdie's Big Girl Shoes by Sujean Rim

A Whole Nother Story by Dr. Cuthbert Soup

How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

The Lost Years of Merlin by T.A. Barron

Miss Brooks Loves Books and I Don't by Barbara Bottner ,

*Dewey: There's A Cat in the Library by Vicki Myron

Ladybug Girl by David Soman

Ladybug Girl at the Beach by David Soman

Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy by David Soman

I Love Bugs by Emma Dodd

How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long

*How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills

Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen

Bee Me! by Ellen McGuinness

Memoirs of A Goldfish by Devin Scillian

Crunch Munch Dinosaur Lunch by Paul Bright

Bear in Underwear by Todd Doodler

Not All Princesses Dress in Pink by Jane Yolen ,

My Garden by Kevin Henkes

All the World by Liz Scanlon

Commotion in the Ocean by Giles Andreae

There's a Bird on Your Head by Mo Willems

One Pup's Up by Marsha Chall

The Sandwich Shop by Queen Rania of Jordan

Book of the Week - The Compound

The Compound by S.A. Bodeen

They live in an underground nuclear shelter. Eli hates his life, but there is no escape. 15 years locked beneath the ground with his crazy father, pregnant mother, and self-involved sisters. His grandmother and twin brother didn't make it. But Eli can't help but hope. Perhaps they did survive. The situation grows desperate though when Eli realizes that they aren't going to have enough food to last fifteen years. All the animals have died. Poisoned. And his father is lying about something. Something bigger than the supplements, the children his mother bore for what...food?

Intriguing plot isn't it? If the idea of cannibalism isn't revolting enough, the idea of being stuck underground with people you cannot stand would be enough to drive anyone crazy. Eli has been driven to the point where he refuses to touch anyone. Ever. I wasn't entirely clear why this was so, but I understood the implications, the idea of disconnection. The characters, at least Eli and his father are interesting characters. Crazy, but fascinating. What would you do if you knew your father was growing children in order to eat them? Or if your father was lying to you? Purposefully sabotaging his own food supply? Would anyone do that? And what if, over years, you see that your father is slowly getting crazier and crazier. All of this really gets the reader thinking.

The problem is, once the reader is thinking, it may not take them very long to figure out where the story is going. By Chapter 3 I had developed two separate plot scenarios in my head, of where the story could be heading. 1) There was no nuclear holocaust. The father is a controlling nutjob who did this to keep his family locked away from the world in order to teach them some lesson he didn't think they could learn above. 2) It is a reality TV show and people are watching and changing the scenario as they go, forcing them to do more and more vile things in order to survive.

Sadly, it was number one, and that was all there was to it. Perhaps I have watched Blast From the Past too much, but I didn't believe there was ever a nuclear disaster. The main reason being that the author didn't show us one. About halfway through the story we get Eli's reaction to the events that led them to the compound, but still no sign of a nuclear disaster and so me being the cynic I am, didn't believe it happened. Also, there was perhaps a little too much stress in the beginning that Eli believed (because of his whole twin thing) doesn't really think his twin is dead.

Perhaps one other drawback was that by chapter one, I didn't need to look at the author bio in the back to know that it was written by a woman. For a book about a boy, there was a lot of raw emotion, heaps of it brimming over, threatening to overwhelm everyone in the compound, except no one seemed to notice. Or perhaps they did notice, but it always came off as him being a jerk. Whichever the case may be, I don't think that I ever saw Eli as a jerk, no matter how much he told me he was. Eli just felt so girly and emotional.

As far as dystopian novels go, the concept is interesting but not very original. I get that the father is crazy and controlling, but Eli didn't just raise himself, and if he did, why? His mother seems nice enough. His sisters are sharper than he is. Even the supplements understand their situation better than he does. Has Eli's disconnection from everything caused him to become stupid? The most intriguing character was that of the crazy father. I felt the story was too predictable, but I imagine this may be because I read a lot of science fiction too. Oh, and the cover is a little misleading as this story has nothing to do with manhole covers.

Author of the Week - Brian Falkner

After dishing about The Tomorrow Code on Sunday, I thought I should learn a little bit more about this author from the Pacific. Brian Falkner was born in 1962 in Auckland and grew up on the North Shore. At 21 he left for the South Island, but returned to Auckland five years later and has lived there ever since. He studied computer science at Auckland University but received his diploma in journalism. Throughout the years Brian has had an unusual variety of jobs including a dtich digger, dish washer, radio journalist, copywriter, motorcycle courier, radio announcer, internet developer, graphic designer and his current job as a consultant. I guess the saying that writers must piece together a life is a reality for Mr. Falkner. Besides writing and working, Brian enjoys doing school visits and watching rugby. His books have numerous awards in New Zealand and Australia. Other than The Tomorrow Code, he has also written Brain Jack, The Flea Thing, The Real Thing, and The Super Freak.

Illustrator of the Week - Adam Rex

I know I have probably had some fanboy like love for Adam Rex before, so don't be surprised that I would tout his awesome illustrations skills as well. Author of Fat Vampire and The True Meaning of Smekday, Adam Rex has also worked on Magic: The Gathering paraphanalia, as well as Dungeons & Dragons, and picture books.

Special Book Review - The Tomorrow Code

The Tomorrow Code by Brian Falkner

This book was so good, I couldn't wait until Friday to review it.

Tane and Rebecca have been friends for forever. Rebecca is the sciency one and Tane is the artistic one, which is why he isn't surprised when the question of time travel arises, Rebecca takes it seriously. Soon they are analyzing gamma ray bursts and there is a message hidden behind the random 0's and 1's. It is the next day's lottery numbers and an ominous end note. SOS. What is happening in the future that Tane and Rebecca would need to send a note back to themselves and can they stop something that has already happened?

This was one smart fun thrill-ride of a book. Set in New Zealand, this is a time-travel dystopian with a twist that really makes the reader think. It is a breath of fresh air to read a story in which America is not the cause of the world's demise. So nice to read a story in which it isn't set in the future United States of America. Even more refreshing is that this is one smart book. Brian Falkner has obviously done his research, creating creatures that are obviously fictional but with just enough truth to make it creepy. Imgaine this scene: Tane and Rebecca and Tane's brother Fatboy have been arrested. As they are trying to explain about how they ended up where they are (winner's of the lottery with a $4 million submarine) a fog rolls in. A fog with something moving within it. Something white and the minute it touches a human being, they disappear. Only their clothes are left behind.

Tane is a brilliantly flawed character. At one point, I was so upset about something that had just happened in the book, I could barely concentrate on work. He is friends with Rebecca, but he clearly likes her as well, and if things don't work out right, he could end up with Rebecca, forever. This may sound good, but spending the rest of your life in a submarine as the last remnants of the human race is not as appealing as it sounds. Rebecca is analytical and yet real, she screams in all the right places and is strong in all the others. And Fatboy. I cannot say enough good things about this Moko (Maori tribal face tattoos) wearing, Harley Davidson riding, brother.

The only drawback for American readers is the setting. Although I loved it being set in New Zealand, I have actually been to most of the places listed in the book and could easily picture them in my mind. Will young US readers be able to do the same thing? Perhaps they may need a map, but if that is the books only flaw than that isn't so bad.

WARNING: This book does not end all neat and tidy, but it will leave you thinking.