Saturday, December 1, 2007

bookshelves of doom blog review


I chose to review this blog of the Canadian Library Association's list of the best young adult novels of 2007 because I thought it would be interesting to keep track of what Canadian teens are reading - and the name is cool. The blog includes a forum for teens to discuss the books.

The list includes:

Alison Acheson - Mud Girl (Coteau)
William Bell - The Blue Helmet (Doubleday)
Hadley Dyer - Johnny Kellock Died Today (HarperCollins)
Beth Goobie - Hello, Groin (Orca)
Maureen Hull - The View from a Kite (Vagrant Press)
Carrie Mac - Droughtlanders (Penguin)
Richard Scarsbrook - Featherless Bipeds (Thistledown)
Arthur Slade - Megiddo’s Shadow (HarperCollins)
Kathy Stinson - 101 Ways to Dance (Second Story Press)
Teresa Toten - Me and the Blondes (Penguin)

Here is a plot description of Featherless Bipeds and information about the author Richard Scarsbrook:

"Dak Sifter is playing drums in a great rock and roll band, impressing the girls, and generally having a blast. But then again, this is Dak Sifter; readers who know him understand that his life doesn’t run that smoothly. The second novel in the Dak Sifter Series, Featherless Bipeds finds Dak firmly centred in the minefield of youth with the temptations, seductions, and subterfuge that rock and roll, young love, and university life are sure to provide. While Featherless Bipeds is a novel about rock and roll musicians, love, poignant social politics, and the emerging value systems in youth culture, it’s also about Dak Sifter. Dak’s adventures still don’t make him the person he wants to be, and being a rock star will not change his relentless pursuit of Zoe Perry’s love.

Richard Scarsbrook is a Toronto writer, teacher, and drummer. His fiction and poetry have been published in literary magazines, anthologies, and journals. He has won the 2002 Lawrence House Centre for the Arts Short Story Competition, the 2001 New Orphic Short Story Competition, the 2001 Scarborough Arts Council Poetry Competition, the 1998 Hinterland Award for Prose, and the 1997 Cranberry Tree Press Poetry Chapbook Competition."

I am not familiar with any of the books or the authors. It would be interesting to know if anyone else knows about these books.

The link is:

http://bookshelvesofdoom.blogs.com/bookshelves_of_doom/2007/03/canadian_librar.html

Boneville.com Blog Review


Boneville.com is a blog for graphic novels and comics by Bone author Jeff Smith. He does of course hawk his merchandise, but he also provides information about graphic novels as literature. He includes a link to a guide for teachers and school librarians on using graphic novels in the classroom.

Many school and public librarians still consider graphic novels mere fluff and not worthy of being included in a serious library collection. Using the popularity of the Bone series of graphic novels and blogging Smith presents graphic novels as a legitimate form of literature; and anyone who has read even one of the Bone books will agree with him.

Besides the blog Smith includes a view of his studio, a discussion board, a forum for contacting the author and most impressive; the story of how, back in 1991, Jeff Smith started his own publishing house because no existing publishers would touch the story about the three Casper-like cousins and their adventures, especially in its comic book format. He succeeded because of the burgeoning power of the internet. "Grass roots support for Bone started on the Internet. It was one of the first comics to benefit from the new network of comics web chat rooms that were springing up all over the globe. For the first time in history, word-of-mouth could spread around the world at the speed of light." One of Bone's taglines even slipped into everyday computer speak; "Stupid, Stupid Rat Creatures", a phrase used repeatedly to describe the vicious, not-so-smart giant rats that populate Bone's world, was adopted as on-line jargon to refer to inept end-users.

Boneville.com is a great introduction to the world of graphic novels and probably more than you will ever want to know about Jeff Smith.

The link for the blog is:

http://www.boneville.com/

THE MISFITS by James Howe


Four friends, Bobby, Addie, Skeezie, and Joe are outcasts at their middle school. Bobby is overweight and poor, Addie is very tall, smart, and out-spoken, Skeezie is hygiene-challenged, and Joe is gay. They call themselves the "Gang of Five" even though there are only four of them because, they reason, there is probably another misfit kid out there who will need to join their gang and they don't want to have to change the name. Together, they decide to run for student council on the "No-name" ticket promising to outlaw name-calling at the school.

The Misfits is the story of how four friends choose to deal with all the problems being a misfit incurs. James Howe, author of the Bunnicula series for children, makes a smooth transition to young adult literature with this true-to-life tale of life at the bottom of the middle school food chain. Anyone who was or is a misfit will applaud The Gang of Five's efforts to ban name-calling. Teens and tweens ten to fourteen will laugh and cry over the Gang's list of names that need to be permanently retired. Included are: "Fat Boy, Blubber, Lardass, Faggot, Mutant, Homo, Tinkerbell, Greaser, Ree-tard, Scuz, Beanpole, Einstein, Nerdetaa" and the one on everybody's list, "Loser." (139)

Review excerpt from Publishers Weekly: "In this hilarious and poignant novel, Howe (Bunnicula; The Watcher) focuses on the quietest of the bunch, overweight Bobby Goodspeed (the tie salesman), showing how he evolves from nerd to hero when he starts speaking his mind. Addie (the outspoken girl) decides that the four of them should run against more popular peers in the upcoming student council election. But her lofty ideals and rabble-rousing speeches make the wrong kind of waves, offending fellow classmates, teachers and the principal. It is not until softer-spoken Bobby says what's in his heart about nicknames and taunts that people begin to listen and take notice, granting their respect for the boy they used to call "Lardo" and "Fluff." The four "misfits" are slightly larger than life wiser than their years, worldlier than the smalltown setting would suggest, and remarkably well-adjusted but there remains much authenticity in the story's message about preadolescent stereotyping and the devastating effects of degrading labels. An upbeat, reassuring novel that encourages preteens and teens to celebrate their individuality."
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Howe, James. The Misfits. New York: Atheneum,2001.

TWILIGHT by Stephenie Meyer


Bella Swan's mother has remarried and needs some alone-time with her new husband. Consequently, Bella has boarded a plane in sunny Phoenix, Arizona and flown to dreary, drizzly, over-cast, Forks, Washington to live with her father Charlie Swan, the sheriff of Forks. Expecting nothing but boredom, Bella's life becomes a whirlwind of adventure, danger, and sexual tension when she falls head-over-heels in love with brilliant, unearthly handsome, Edward Cullen. Although he tries to push her away, Edward and Bella are helplessly drawn to each other. What are a boy and girl to do when all they want is to be together, but true togetherness can come only with Bella's death?

First time author Stephenie Meyer creates a modern day Romeo and Juliet with Twilight; except in this case the Montague's are vampires. Sometimes rambling and in need of editing Twilight is nevertheless an innovative combination of romance, horror, and fantasy told from a teenager's point of view. Teen romance fans in grades nine through twelve will cheer for Bella and Edward as they struggle to stay together despite their seemingly insurmountable differences.

Review excerpt from Booklist: "Bella's life changes when she moves to perpetually rain-soaked Forks, Washington. She is instantly drawn to a fellow student, Edward Cullen, beautiful beyond belief and angrily aloof. Bella senses there is more behind Edward's hostility, and in a plot that slowly and frighteningly unfolds, she learns that Edward and his family are vampires--though they do not hunt humans. Yet Edward cannot promise that his powerful attraction to Bella won't put in her in danger, or worse. Recklessly in love, Bella wants only to be with Edward, but when a vicious, blood-lusting predator complicates her world, Bella's peril is brutally revealed. "
Ilene Cooper Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2005.

BONE: OUT FROM BONEVILLE by Jeff Smith


Fone Bone and his two cousins, Smiley Bone and Phoney Bone, have been run out of Boneville. Phony, always plotting some less than honest money-making scheme, has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Fone Bone, Bone to his friends, has again used his quick wits to save Phoney from an angry mob; Smiley is just along for the ride. Unfortunately, they have run so fast and so far, they are now lost and find themselves in a strange land populated by dragons, suspicious townsfolk, a beautiful mysterious girl, and giant killer rats who have an unexplained interest in Phoney Bone. Is Bone, though he is small, bald, and bears an uncanny resemblance to Casper the Friendly Ghost, the hero he seems to be? Can he save the townsfolk from a war with the rats; a war they are almost sure to lose? Can he and his cousins find their way safely back to Boneville?

Jeff Smith's graphic novel epic is told in a total of nine books. Bone: Out From Boneville, the first in the series, introduces us to Bone, our hero, his cousins Smiley Bone and Phoney Bone, the beautiful and mysterious Thorn, who Bone loves even though she is a human and he is, well, a Bone, and all the strange, magical creatures who inhabit Bone's world. Smith's black and white drawings and true-to-life dialog will make you laugh, cry, and whisper for your mommy. Kids 10 to 100 will love Bone. I could not stop until I had finished the entire series. I hope Jeff Smith writes more about the adventures of Bone.

Review excerpt from School Library Journal: "A whimsical journey, cunningly told. It combines fable with American legend in a tale of greed, friendship, and struggle. The story follows three cousins who have been thrown out of their town for cheating the citizens. Shortly thereafter, they are separated. Each Bone stumbles into a mysterious valley full of odd creatures that reveal strange happenings. The story is well paced with smooth transitions. It is dark, witty, mysterious, and exciting. The full-color art reflects that of classic comic books; one glance at the comic cells and one is reminded of old Disney and "Peanuts" cartoons. However, the animation and fresh story line put Smith in a league of his own."
Scott La Counte, Anaheim Public Library, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Smith, Jeff. Bone: Out From Boneville. Columbus: Cartoon Books, 2003.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS by J.K. Rowling


Harry is about to turn 17. If the wizarding world were not at war Harry would be entering his seventh and final year at Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But, there is a war going on between Lord Voldemort and his followers and those who oppose him. Dumbledore is dead, Snape has come out openly on Voldemort's side; and when he turns 17 Harry will lose the protection his mother's love has afforded him when he still called number four, Privet Drive, home. However, Harry can still count on The Order of the Phoenix, the members of Dumbledore's Army, and Ron and Hermione who have vowed to follow Harry wherever his quest to defeat Voldemort takes him; even if that quest leads only to death. Will it be enough to help Harry end Voldemort's reign of terror once and for all?

J.K. Rowling's seventh and final installment in the Harry Potter series is 759 pages long. Do not let that dissuade you from once again plunging into Harry' world. Witches, wizards, dragons, elves, goblins, giants, good guys, and bad guys are all here again in the tale of the boy wizard who holds the fate of the world, both muggle and wizard, in his wand. The pastels on print-making paper illustrations by Mary Grandpre introduce each chapter and give the mind's eye a preview of what is to come. Rowling does not hand the reader a neatly tied package, but gives us the opportunity to see that witches, wizards, elves, and giants are, after all, only human and deserving of a chance at redemption. Anyone, aged 10 to adult, who has followed Harry's adventures from the beginning will want to be there at the end.

Review excerpt from Publishers Weekly: "Potter fans, relax—this review packs no spoilers. Instead, we're taking advantage of our public platform to praise Rowling for the excellence of her plotting. We can't think of anyone else who has sustained such an intricate, endlessly inventive plot over seven thick volumes and so constantly surprised us with twists, well-laid traps and Purloined Letter-style tricks. Hallows continues the tradition, both with sly feats of legerdemain and with several altogether new, unexpected elements."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rowling, J.k. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. New York: Scholastic, 2007.