Local author Daniel J. Hogan brings us "The Magic of Eyri"
June 8, 2007
If you like your fantasy-fiction novels served with a hearty helping of humor, or if you like fiction set in Michigan, meet Steve, a teenager from "Beacon Pines" Michigan.
In "The Magic of Eyri", Hogan, who spent much of his youth here in Harper Woods, portrays Steve as a pedantic "technogeek". Steve's parents, thinking he needs some livening up, send him to stay with his "Uncle Shameless" for the summer. Uncle Shameless could not be more different from Steve: whereas Steve likes suburban neighborhoods where the houses all have predictable floor-plans, Uncle Shameless likes the great outdoors. Whereas Steve is very literal-minded, Uncle Shameless likes myth, tall tales and legends (including the legend of Sleeping Bear Dunes and other Michigan legends. By the way, the H.W. Library has a copy of The Legend of Sleeping Bear, by Great Lakes author Kathy-jo Wargin. Call number is J398.2 W).
When Uncle Shameless drags Steve on a canoing trip on the "Grand River", the scenery starts to get weirder and weirder. At first, Steve is confident he's just imagining a forest-critter or two winking or smiling at him, and he brushes off his uncle's explanations for the things they see - how probable is it, after all, that there'd be deer swimming on a river, and that the same thing happened "when George Washington crossed the Mississippi to fight the Huns"? But by the time Steve and his uncle come across a harrowing, wild current or possibly waterfall, and see a square-shaped double-moon, it gets hard for Steve NOT to admit strange things really ARE happening!
I think, in fact, that one really good part of this book is the way the fantasy-element creeps up on us gradually, instead of hitting us all at once. Hogan's "Magic of Eyri" web site at http://www.magicofeyri.com/author.html has a section in which he describes his own favorite books, one of which is The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. However, I think, at least in terms of creating something with contemporary appeal, Hogan has really "one-upped" Oz in terms of getting Steve - and readers - to suspend disbelief.
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Summer Reading adventures are coming up soon!
May 16, 2007
In honor of the 2007 Teen Summer Reading Program, which runs from June 1 - July 25 this year, I thought I'd review a teen mystery novel. If you like "chick lit" with glamorous poolside scenes at fancy hotels, then "Bad Kitty", by Michele Jaffe, will be a quick and fun summer read, perfect for the pool or the beach. Seventeen-year-old Jasmine is on a family vacation in Vegas, which would be fun, except for her overprotective dad and her super-cool cousin Alyson, and Alyson's best friend, Veronique, both of whom are constantly overshadowing her and stealing her limelight.
When a mystery begins to unfold around a celebrity and her young son, Jasmine, being observant of people's personality traits and quirks, begins to figure out who one of the potentially-suspicious characters is using much of the same kind of reasoning Sherlock Holmes would have used, in which subtle things about a person's appearance reveal clues about what they may have been up to recently. (p. 28). She also rigs up a device to catch the master-mind behind the mystery, using a soda-pop can, a coffee warmer and some glue, strategically hidden, to make hidden fingerprints come up (p. 193).
"King Dork", by Frank Portman, is another popular mystery novel for teens. In this funny and updated version of Catcher in the Rye, Tom Henderson tries to solve the mysteries which surround his father's death several years ago. In order to do so, he must first find the meaning(s) behind the secret messages which his dad and a friend had written in the margins of several assigned books when they were kids. Once he does, you'll never believe who gets in trouble! (More about "King Dork" at the end of this Book Review page.)
Why not add your own reviews of books you've liked to this page?
The Teen Services Division of the Michigan Library Association is pleased to announce that voting has begun for the 2007 Thumbs Up! Award.
Since 1986, the Thumbs Up! Award has honored the best teen title published during the previous year. Since 2001, the Thumbs Up! Award has included a teen vote. We ask that you promote the Thumbs Up! Award to teens ages 12 to 18 in your classroom, your media center, your library, and your community and ask them to vote for their favorite title by May 25, 2007. The title with the most teen votes will automatically be an honor title if it is not selected as the winner by the Thumbs Up! Award Committee. The winning title and honor titles will be announced in June 2007.
The Thumbs Up! Award committee considered more than 300 teen titles first published in the U.S. between January 1 and December 31, 2006. Our hardworking committee (listed at the end of this email) has narrowed that list to the Top Twenty titles, and we ask that teens help us in selecting the best teen book of the year.
The Top Twenty ballot is available on the Michigan Library Association website at http://www.mla.lib.mi.us/files/2007ballot.pdf . This document includes blurbs. You are encouraged to make paper copies of the ballot available to your teens.
This page, http://www.mla.lib.mi.us/tsdthumbsup2007, provides cover shots of the Top Twenty titles as well, but doesn't print as nicely.
Lastly, the Top Twenty are listed in this email.
You may email the total number of votes for each title to Anne Heidemann, Thumbs Up! Award committee chair, at aeheidemann@gmail.com, or you may mail your ballots to me at the address at the end of this email. Either way, submit your votes by May 25, 2007!
The Top Twenty list, in alphabetical order by author:
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume One: The Pox Party by MT Anderson (ON ORDER)
Scrambled Eggs at Midnight by Brad Barkley & Heather Hepler
Pieces of Georgia by Jen Bryant
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan (WE HAVE)
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (WE HAVE)
Golden by Cameron Dokey
Copper Sun by Sharon Draper (ON ORDER)
What Happened to Cass McBride by Gail Giles
Saint Iggy by K.L. Going (ON ORDER)
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (ON ORDER)
Rash by Pete Hautman (WE HAVE)
Sold by Patricia McCormick
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (WE HAVE)
Between Mom and Jo by Julie Ann Peters
King Dork by Frank Portman (WE HAVE)
Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick
It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
Skin by Adrienne Maria Vrettos
Storm Thief by Chris Wooding
Book Thief by Markus Zusak (WE HAVE)
TheTeenLibrarianSaysPleaseDon'tUseYourRealName is currently reading:
January 15, 2007
Eldest, by Christopher Paolini
Eldest is the second in the Inheritance fantasy trilogy, which started with Eragon - Talk about a global society!!! Eragon trains with Oromis, an elf-master-warrior, so Eragon can learn how to lead the resistance movement, the Varden, which plans to defeat the evil rular, Galbatorix and his forces of evil. Eragon has to learn the culture of the dwarves, as well as that of the elves, and to convince elves, dwarves and humans to keep working together toward their common goal of freedom. Things get really interesting when his training includes learning how to see things from the viewpoint of all types of living things: plants, ants, even the enemy forces - as Oromis points out, you can't hope to defeat an enemy which has superior force unless you understand that enemy's thinking.
At the same time as Eragon has his adventures, his cousin, Roran finds himself thrust into the limelight as he evacuates his village from the soldiers of Galbatorix. All this action covers only the first half of the book. If you only have a little time to read long books (this one is about 700 pages) Eldest is a good choice of a book to read in installments because the suspense builds. In between the times I can sit down and catch up on this book, I try and imagine what happens next: will Eragon or Roran be taken prisoner? Will the elves, dwarves and humans keep their alliance or will cultural and historical differences drive them apart? What will become of the village Roran and his neighbors have had to flee?
Sometimes it's helpful to go away from a book for a little while and then come back to it in order to reflect on it this way. As an adventure story, Eldest lends itself well to being read in installments. If you haven't read Eragon first, it's an equally good book, but if you want to go straight to Eldest, you can see the movie Eragon, or read the beginning few pages of Eldest to get an idea of the happenings in the earlier book.
October 24, 2006
If you like graphic novels, you'll like the web site "No Flying, No Tights", at http://www.noflyingnotights.com/index.html, which reviews them.
Abhorsen Trilogy, by Garth Nix
So far I'm halfway through Lirael, the second book in this trilogy. In Lirael, as in the first book, Sabriel, girls get in touch with their inner power, and kick out evil-posessed half-dead creatures who are intent on destroying the Old Kingdom. In the first book, Sabriel, the title character is just finishing her secondary schooling, and is contemplating college or whatever else will come next, when she gets the message that her father is either dead or that his life is in danger. Her journey-quest to save her father turns into a quest to stop his killer Kerrigor, who is threatening the Old Kingdom by seizing the souls of all beings trapped between life and death and turning them toward his evil purposes. At the same time, Sabriel must examine whether she's as prepared and confident as she thought she was now that she's about to succeed her father as Aborshen, the one power who can counteract Kerrigor.
In Lirael,, Sabriel has now been Aborshen for several years, but the evil forces started by Kerrigor are regrouping. Meanwhile, Lirael, 14 at the opening of the story, feels increasingly left behind. She is the only one among her peers not to have reached the age of Awakening in which a Clayr is able to to see the future. Without this Sight, her status among the Clayr is still that of a child. She also has no sense of roots, having never known her parents. To give herself some focus and purpose, Lirael takes a job in a library which is literally a portal into adventure - and possibly misadventure. I sense that Lirael, though herself unable to see the future, is discovering she has gifts just as strong and just as useful to the magical world which surrounds her, and that it is only a matter of time before the Clayr will recognize her for her own sake.
If you like a combination of smart-alecky but wise domestic animals, necromancy, and the skillful application of magic charms, combined with journey-quests which also are personal odysseys, you will like this trilogy.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Actually, I'm still working my way through __Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix____. Hey, please don't tell me how it ends; I'm fascinated by the suspense: a government goon has been appointed to run Hogwarts, and the teachers are having their curriculum monitored and censored at every turn, but hopefully she'll be no match for the Weasley twins' pranks, Dumbledore's subtle legalistic mind, and, most of all Harry's growing ability to get inside other people's minds. Only problem is, Harry is cursed with sometimes taking on the feelings, thought-patterns and urges of "He-Who-Must-not-be-Named". Will Harry be able to spy on him, or become a pawn in his evil schemes? And why is the Ministry of Magic more concerned about Hogwarts than about the impending return of "He-Who-Must-not-be-Named" anyway?
Francine Allen, Teen Librarian
Harper Woods Public Library
Two good recommendations for boys (or anyone)
I liked King Dork, by Frank Portman, which is on order for our library. Also, Deliver us from Normal. Both are written from the point of view of teenage boys who are critical of peers, parents and teachers alike, and often speak in a biting satirical way, pointing out the things other people do that don't make a lot of sense. King Dork is about a boy in high school, and has some strong language and risky behavior in it, whereas Deliver us from Normal, which is about a younger boy, just entering sixth grade, has a lot less of these things. Nonetheless, I think teenagers who read King Dork not only will find a lot to relate to in terms of trying to understand other people's behavior, but will be fascinated by the three intertwining mysteries that the main character, Tom Henderson, tries to solve, including the long-unsolved death of his dad, who was a police-officer; the identity of his own secret-admirer; and the secret messages his dad and a friend had written in the margins of several assigned books when they were kids. As Tom tries to solve the secret messages, he keeps wondering if they have something to do with his dad's death years later, but also reflects that maybe they are meant to sound more alarming than they are - just as Tom's own antisocial behavior alarms his mom and stepdad, but is really only something Tom adopted to deter a bully.
For years there's been a lot written about girls and their self-image (see, for example "Don't Believe the Hype: Audrey's Blog about girl culture, body-image, celebrity hype and more at http://www.audreybrashich.blogs.com/; and www.forgirlsandtheirdreams.org, which has links to, among other things, self-esteem-building books and activities.) It's good to see there's more being written about self-esteem for boys in recent years, since in both King Dork, and Deliver Us From Normal, the main characters feel like underdogs on account of being unathletic, being poor, or generally being a target more for bullies than for admiring girls. At the end, in both books, the boys learn to take stock of their good points, including imagination, humor and humanity, and to capitalize on these.
Bookworm (really also Francine the Librarian, showing an example of a possible teen-contribution)
brainteaser puzzles and games based on book-titles
What book-titles would you like to see added to the library's Y.A. collection?
I'd like to see more graphic novels eg. Naruto series - sign me "no name"
What would you like to review or see reviewed here?
For content below, go to the Media Reviews Page.
How about other types of reviews (eg. video games, music, web sites, blogs, T.V. shows, movies)?
For content above, go to the Media Reviews Page.
Harper Woods Public Library
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