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Monday Review: THE STONE GIRL’S STORY by Sarah Beth Durst

Synopsis: It’s hard to resist a story about stories. We are the stories we tell about ourselves—that’s the theme that shines through in Sarah Beth Durst’s newest middle grade fantasy, The Stone Girl’s Story. The stone girl is Mayka, just like a twelve-year-old girl in most respects except that she was carved out of stone by her father, a Master Carver. He gave her life, as he did with so many other stone creatures with whom she shares her cottage, and he carved her story onto her stone skin.

The story has a rather sad, poignant beginning, though. It’s been a long time that Mayka has been caring for the cottage and its inhabitants on her own—stone lives longer than flesh, after all. We join the story long after Father has gone, but Mayka is saying goodbye to another longtime companion, Turtle. His marks have faded, and he has slowed to a stop. Mayka, determined to find another Master Carver who can recarve the marks and save her friend, leaves her remote mountain for the first time and ventures in the direction of the city of Skye, where she’s sure to find someone skilled enough. She also, of course, finds adventure.

Observations: There’s a classic quality to Mayka’s journey—a quest that brings danger, new friends, and surprises, and ultimately ends in Mayka realizing (minor spoilers – highlight to read) that what she seeks lay within her all along. At the same time, she’d never have experienced that empowerment without going on her journey. The friends she meets along the way, and the wondrousness of the setting and its magical stone creatures, provide a nice counterpoint to the notes of sadness and urgency that are inherent to Mayka’s situation.

The story itself, as I mentioned earlier, is really ABOUT stories, and the idea that our experiences carve themselves upon us and make us who we are. It’s a gorgeous idea, and one that is echoed in the idea of tattooing, which for many people does tell a story of who they are, and who they might be. But don’t be deceived into looking only at the surface–this book is also about power, who wields it, and who has the right to tell someone else’s story. As in all of Durst’s books written for younger readers, the simplicity is deceptive, and along with the whimsy are complex ideas shining through.

Conclusion: I feel like this is one of Durst’s strongest middle grade books yet. Its starred reviews are well deserved, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s an award contender—but whether it is or not, I highly recommend it for fantasy fans and fairy tale enthusiasts of all ages.

I received my copy of this book courtesy of the author and publisher (thank you!!). You can find THE STONE GIRL’S STORY by Sarah Beth Durst at an online e-tailer, or at a real life, independent bookstore near you!

Source: Dispatches From Wonderland

Monday Review: THE STONE GIRL'S STORY by Sarah Beth Durst

Synopsis : It's hard to resist a story about stories. We are the stories we tell about ourselves—that's the theme that shines through in Sarah Beth Durst's newest middle grade fantasy, The Stone Girl's Story. The stone girl is Mayka, just like a twelve-year-old girl in most respects except that she was carved out of stone by her father, a Master Carver. He gave her life, as he did with so many other stone creatures with whom she shares her cottage, and he carved her story onto her stone skin.

The story has a rather sad, poignant beginning, though. It's been a long time that Mayka has been caring for the cottage and its inhabitants on her own—stone lives longer than flesh, after all. We join the story long after Father has gone, but Mayka is saying goodbye to another longtime companion, Turtle. His marks have faded, and he has slowed to a stop. Mayka, determined to find another Master Carver who can recarve the marks and save her friend, leaves her remote mountain for the first time and ventures in the direction of the city of Skye, where she's sure to find someone skilled enough. She also, of course, finds adventure.

Observations : There's a classic quality to Mayka's journey—a quest that brings danger, new friends, and surprises, and ultimately ends in Mayka realizing (minor spoilers – highlight to read) that what she seeks lay within her all along. At the same time, she'd never have experienced that empowerment without going on her journey. The friends she meets along the way, and the wondrousness of the setting and its magical stone creatures, provide a nice counterpoint to the notes of sadness and urgency that are inherent to Mayka's situation.

The story itself, as I mentioned earlier, is really ABOUT stories, and the idea that our experiences carve themselves upon us and make us who we are. It's a gorgeous idea, and one that is echoed in the idea of tattooing, which for many people does tell a story of who they are, and who they might be. But don't be deceived into looking only at the surface--this book is also about power, who wields it, and who has the right to tell someone else's story. As in all of Durst's books written for younger readers, the simplicity is deceptive, and along with the whimsy are complex ideas shining through.

Conclusion : I feel like this is one of Durst's strongest middle grade books yet. Its starred reviews are well deserved, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's an award contender—but whether it is or not, I highly recommend it for fantasy fans and fairy tale enthusiasts of all ages.

I received my copy of this book courtesy of the author and publisher (thank you!!). You can find THE STONE GIRL'S STORY by Sarah Beth Durst at an online e-tailer, or at a real life, independent bookstore near you!

This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless otherwise indicated. Please contact the weblog owner for further details.

Happy Summer!

Between early-summer travel, summer school class prep, copious novel rewriting, and some much-needed down time, it's been quiet here on the blog, but here's me and Tanita just cruising in to say HAPPY SUMMER and we'll be back with some more book reviews and other fun stuff soon! In the meantime, enjoy this happily reading hippo I found.

This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless otherwise indicated. Please contact the weblog owner for further details.

Throwback Thursday: Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading

This was pretty typical of me at a certain age (by which I mean all the ages including now...). I believe that is a Sweet Valley High book I was reading. We're at a Christmas party, and my mom and stepdad are engrossed in an actual conversation which I was trying very hard to ignore.

In all seriousness, this was a Christmas party I loved to go to as a kid, at the house of one of my mom's former teachers from Gardena High School, Richard Cody. We used to attend annually, driving from our home in the Inland Empire to their house in Santa Ana. In my role as endless, annoying fountain of Christmas spirit from July onwards, I was dazzled by something as simple as the taillights of the traffic on the 91 freeway, festive ribbons of red and white that were probably making my parents cuss under their breath.

Richard Cody and his wife had a huge network of extended family and friends, former students, children biological, foster, and adopted, and so on and so forth. We'd enjoy Christmas carols around the piano (often with me or my mom playing), orange sherbet punch, and a reading of The Night Before Christmas that culminated in Santa coming down the stairs and handing presents out to all the kids. When I was little, Santa was this really tall man named Benjamin, and then his son Malik inherited the post--that might be him on the left in the picture, or possibly his brother Ibi. (Clearly nobody was alarmed by Santa suddenly changing from white to black in the space of a year.)

That diverse cacophony of names, though: Malik, Ibi. Their mom Twyla. Erlene, Richard's wife. Ted and Ariana, their biological kids. Moises, Marcos. Plenty of others I don't remember. It was a music, just as much as the notes from the piano; a very SoCal music. The Codys' expansive and generous social circle taught me a lot about the diversity of where I lived.

This would probably be a good December post, but in keeping with my childhood singing of Christmas carols at any given time of year, I'm posting it now.

This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless otherwise indicated. Please contact the weblog owner for further details.

SAVE THE DATE: KidLitCon 2019 in Providence, RI

It's hard to believe, but I don't think we've posted about this yet--the next Kidlitosphere Conference is already well into the planning stages, spearheaded by our own Charlotte Taylor of Charlotte's Library and Mia Wenjen of Pragmatic Mom. It'll be in Providence, RI on March 22-23, 2019, and it's got its own nifty website!

The latest awesome news about the conference is that Charlotte applied for and GOT a sizeable grant from the Providence Tourism Council, which means we can stretch our small budget and make the conference an even more memorable experience for everyone. This next con promises to be bigger and better than ever, too, with Charlotte and Mia at the helm. Reaching Readers is the theme, and there's already an incredible list of attending bloggers and authors who have plans to come.

If you've been to KidLitCon before, you'll know that it offers a far more intimate and less formal opportunity for bloggers, authors, librarians, teachers, illustrators, and other devotees of kidlit to come together and discuss current and ongoing issues, as well as sharing our areas of knowledge and expertise for the benefit of the kids (and, let's face it, adults) who read and enjoy books for young people. Speaking personally, it's at KidLitCon that I "found my tribe," so to speak--I've made lifelong friends with fellow book lovers who might be writers, readers, or both, but regardless of our actual job titles, we share that same passion.

I'm planning to attend (although there's a possibility I might be traveling elsewhere at the time, I'm hoping to make it all happen!) and look forward to meeting even more members of the tribe--so if you're interested, go check out the programming notes and get involved in a panel!

This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless otherwise indicated. Please contact the weblog owner for further details.

Mental Health Awareness Month: A Review Roundup

Source: Mental Health America
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and we've reviewed a number of titles over the years that we thought were exceptional portrayals of the experience of mental illness and related difficulties. As we all know, reading a good book can make us feel less alone--and, honestly, sometimes that's the one thing you need in order not to go over the edge. So here, in no particular order, is a by no means exhaustive list of recommended reads for Mental Health Month:

The Other Normals by Ned Vizzini

Try Not to Breathe by Jennifer R. Hubbard

100 Days of Cake by Shari Goldhagen

Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos

This is How I Find Her by Sara Polsky

Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley

Delicate Monsters by Stephanie Kuehn

Define "Normal" by Julie Anne Peters

First Day on Earth by Cecil Castellucci

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

Scars by Cheryl Rainfield

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Nice Girls Endure by Chris Struyk-Bonn

These Gentle Wounds by Helene Dunbar

This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless otherwise indicated. Please contact the weblog owner for further details.

Monday Review: THE QUEEN OF SORROW by Sarah Beth Durst

Synopsis : I loved the first two books in Sarah Beth Durst's Queens of Renthia trilogy, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read a review copy of the upcoming third book, The Queen of Sorrow (out on May 15th). If you haven't read the first two, you might want to skip this review in case of spoilers!

Right, on to the good stuff. In this last installment of the trilogy, we pick up where the second book, The Reluctant Queen (reviewed here), left off. The forested land of Aratay is settling into having two queens: the young Queen Daleina, left in power after the violent slaughter of the other potential heirs; and Queen Naelin, a mother of two who possesses more raw power over the land's spirits than just about anyone. But while the two queens of Aratay have been figuring out how to rule in tandem, the ambitious Queen Merecot of Semo, to the north, has been making some plans of her own in order to deal with her country's excess of spirits. When two strange, foreign spirits swoop in and steal Queen Naelin's children, Merecot is the natural suspect…

Observations : Fans of the first two books will find this a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, continuing the complex and believable character development of the first two as well as the action, adventure, and intriguing setting. Naelin and Daleina are both very relatable characters, with flaws and quirks that balance out their strength and power. They have love lives and families, feelings and interests beyond the paths that have been chosen for them, and they struggle to maintain normality and humanity in the face of challenges ranging from the everyday to the wondrously, frighteningly magical.

There was also a twist toward the end of the book that I loved. I could sort of see it coming, but not in the sense that it was predictable—just in the sense that that was the choice *I* would have made if I'd been writing, and it was what I really WANTED to see happen. It felt very RIGHT. As someone currently struggling with some plot dilemmas, I really appreciated seeing the story build toward what felt like a natural, inevitable conclusion.

Conclusion : What more can I say? A strong, exciting, page-turning conclusion to the trilogy, and another wonderfully unique world from an always imaginative author.

This review is based on the advance review copy, which I received courtesy of the author and publisher. Starting on May 15th, you can find THE QUEEN OF SORROW by Sarah Beth Durst at an online e-tailer, or at a real life, independent bookstore near you!

This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless otherwise indicated. Please contact the weblog owner for further details.

Cybils Review Roundup: 2017 Graphic Novel Finalists

Here in a handy list is a set of links to all of my reviews of this past year's Cybils finalists for Graphic Novels. As always, it was a privilege and a pleasure to be a Round 2 judge and get to choose from the best of the best in terms of kid appeal and literary merit (the main Cybils criteria). Without further ado, here you go!

Young Adult

WINNER: Spill Zone by Scott Westerfeld, ‎ illustrated by Alex Puvilland
Buddha: An Enlightened Life by Kieron Moore; Illustrated by Rajesh Nagulakonda
New Super-Man Vol. 1: Made in China (Rebirth) by Gene Luen Yang, illustrated by Viktor Bogdanovic
Soupy Leaves Home by Cecil Castellucci, illustrated by Jose Pimienta
Spinning by Tillie Walden
Diesel: Ignition by Tyson Hesse

Elementary/Middle Grade

WINNER: Where's Halmoni? by Julie Kim
Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani
Real Friends by Shannon Hale, ilustrated by LeUyen Pham (check out Tanita's take on it, too!)
Suee and the Shadow by Ginger Ly, illustrated by Molly Park
The Big Bad Fox by Benjamin Renner
The Dam Keeper by Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi
 

This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless otherwise indicated. Please contact the weblog owner for further details.

Cybils Review: DIESEL: IGNITION by Tyson Hesse

Synopsis : Well, first off, now I'm really glad I decided to change my WIP's title away from its working title of Ignition, because it suits this steampunk-inspired book much better. "Dee" Diesel is a somewhat troublemaking young woman who lives on the airship-city of Peacetowne, in a world above the clouds populated by humans and fanciful animal-people. All is going somewhat according to plan when suddenly a Teppan army ship full of birdmen appears out of nowhere and then disappears, leaving a strange broken engine behind. Dee, a budding gearhead, decides to try to repair it, which plunges her and her robot sidekick onto a strange adventure that brings them from the sky world to the earth below, and brings back some long-lost figures from the past to boot…

Observations : Diesel has an irresistible mix of fantasy and steampunk that is intriguing from the very start—part-animal/part-human characters like Bull, who is a sort of minotaur kid, and the Teppan, who are bird-people, as well as robots and flying cities and airships. The plot is full of continuous action and adventure, and the setting is incredibly cool—at the same time, the characters have problems with family and friends and responsibilities that are relatable. There's also plenty of humor and a super cute robot sidekick who talks in little lines, like Woodstock talking to Snoopy.

Click to embiggen. Also, check out a chapter preview
at Comics Alliance.The themes brought in here give weight to the fantastical story and setting: the meaning of family, the types of trust issues that arise when someone is betrayed, the clash of personalities and goals that is inevitable in life but has to be dealt with. Thematically, this one will resonate with older teens, while younger ones will enjoy the overall action of the story. The art, too, is really wonderful, combining the fantastical with cute and funny touches, and a dash of manga influence—unsurprising, since the author/artist is also an animator who worked on a Sonic the Hedgehog game.

Conclusion : I'm really glad the Cybils brought this one to me as part of this year's YA Graphic Novels finalists—I don't know how well-known it is, but I was intrigued by both the unique twist on steampunk and the fun characters. Book 1 also ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, so I'm hoping to read more.

I received my copy of this book courtesy of the publisher for Cybils judging purposes. You can find DIESEL: IGNITION by Tyson Hesse at an online e-tailer, or at a real life, independent bookstore near you!

This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless otherwise indicated. Please contact the weblog owner for further details.

Cybils Review: SUEE AND THE SHADOW by Ginger Ly and Molly Park

Synopsis : Suee and the Shadow was a Cybils finalist in 2017 for Elementary/Middle Grade Graphic Novels. This ghost story with a touch of horror—but not too much—will appeal to older elementary kids especially. Set in a school in Korea, it stars main character Suee, a young girl reminiscent of Emily Strange. She wears black all the time and doesn't have any friends at her new school. One day, she discovers the forbidden-to-students exhibit room, and as it turns out, she might not have been alone in there…

And then things start to get REALLY weird. First, her shadow has come to life and started talking. But even more alarming is when she discovers that the school hierarchy consists not only of the usual groups of jerks and wanna-bes, it also includes the Zeroes, who walk around all zombie-like and weird and have to go to a special classroom. What's going on at this crazy school? And just what does Suee's shadow have to do with it all?

Observations : I really enjoyed how relatable this one is; it takes place in a Korean school, but it feels like it could be any elementary school anywhere in terms of the worries and feelings of the students, and in the types of challenges they face. Suee is quirky, but with depth, and a well-developed sense of snark. I really enjoyed the artwork in this one, too—the blend of humor and spookiness was well done, the characters were easy to follow, and the overall style was appealing.


The book does a good job of weaving in common concerns of school and home and family with the suspenseful and supernatural creepiness of the ghost story, with thought-provoking moments that deal with the meaning of friendship, the subtle provocations of classism, and the emotional cost of bullying.
I received my copy of this book courtesy of the publisher. You can find SUEE AND THE SHADOW by Ginger Ly and Molly Park at an online e-tailer, or at a real life, independent bookstore near you!

This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless otherwise indicated. Please contact the weblog owner for further details.