SHOW ME THE SNOW

It's winter, and I am wishing for a little snow to lighten the days.  Maybe you are too.  So, until we get some of the real thing, here are a few books for icy crystals by proxy. This chilly list is a mix of genres. Wintersmith; Stork; Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow; Snow-walker; and East; are fantasy stories.  Whiteout is a mystery.  The White Darkness, Trapped, Revolver, and Brian's Winter are suspenseful, survival, adventure stories. Let It Snow, is a romance. Emperors of the Ice is historical fiction, based on a true story. I have read and can recommend: Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, and The White Darkness. I gave both books 4 stars. Trapped, while not a favorite of mine (I gave it 2 out of 5 stars), might appeal to those of you who enjoy survival stories.  I gave Stork, three and half out of five stars.  It is an urban fantasy that weaves Norse mythology into a small Minnesota town.  There is a sequel titled, Frost.

Brian's Winter, by Gary Paulsen, 1996. Instead of being rescued from a plane crash, as in the author's book Hatchet, this story portrays what would have happened to Brian had he been forced to survive a winter in the wilderness with only his survival pack and hatchet.

East, by Edith Pattou, 2003.  A young woman journeys to a distant castle on the back of a great white bear who is the victim of a cruel enchantment.

Emperors of the Ice: A True Story of Disaster and Survival in the Antarctic, 1910-13, by Richard Farr, 2008.  Apsley Cherry-Garrard shares his adventures as the youngest member of Robert Scott's expedition to Antarctica in the early 20th century, during which he and Edward Wilson try to learn the evolutionary history of emperor penguins. Includes historical notes.
 

Let It Snow : Three Holiday Romances, by John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle, 2008. In three intertwining short stories, several high school couples experience the trials and tribulations along with the joys of romance during a Christmas Eve snowstorm in a small town.

Revolver, by Marcus Sedgwick, 2010.  Finland, 1910: Fifteen-year-old Sig is shocked to see a hole in the frozen lake outside his family's cabin and to find his father's corpse nearby.  Sig's sister and stepmother go for help, leaving Sig alone with Einar's body in the cabin. Soon after, an armed stranger barges in, demanding a share of Einar's stolen gold.

Snow-walker, by Catherine Fisher, 2004.  The snow-walker Gudrun came from the swirling mists and icy depths beyond the edge of the world to rule the Jarl's people with fear and sorcery, but a small band of outlaws will fight to the death to restore the land to its rightful leader.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, by Jessica Day George, 2008.  A girl travels east of the sun and west of the moon to free her beloved prince from a magic spell.

Stork, by Wendy Delsol, 2010.  After her parents' divorce, Katla and her mother move from Los Angeles to Norse Falls, Minnesota, where Kat immediately alienates two boys at her high school and, improbably, discovers a kinship with a mysterious group of elderly women--the Icelandic Stork Society--who "deliver souls."

Trapped, by Michael Northrop, 2011.  Seven high school students are stranded at their New England high school during a week-long blizzard that shuts down the power and heat, freezes the pipes, and leaves them wondering if they will survive.

The White Darkness, by Geraldine McCaughrean, 2007.  Taken to Antarctica by the man she thinks of as her uncle for what she believes to be a vacation, Symone--a troubled fourteen year old--discovers that he is dangerously obsessed with seeking Symme's Hole, an opening that supposedly leads into the center of a hollow Earth.

Whiteout, by Walter Sorrells, 2009. Sixteen-year-old Chass makes her way through a Minnesota blizzard, seeking not only the murderer of a beloved music teacher, but also something belonging to the killer who has been chasing her mother and herself around the country.

Wintersmith, by  Terry Pratchett, 2006.  When witch-in-training Tiffany Aching accidentally interrupts the Dance of the Seasons and awakens the interest of the elemental spirit of Winter, she requires the help of the six-inch-high, sword-wielding, sheep-stealing Wee Free Men to put the seasons aright.

My Library Thing "Read in 2011" tag counter toggled up to 75 books over the weekend.  A Librarian colleague, helped out by adding Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs to my book bag last week.  Riggs' first novel has been on the New York Times Children's Chapter Books bestseller list for 7 weeks, and this week stands at number 4 on the list.  Although "Peculiar Children" was reviewed in the adult new fiction section of some of the review journals (Booklist, Library Journal), our Consortium libraries are placing the book in their Young Adult fiction collections.  After reading the book, I concur with that placement.  Yes, it is a book that may appeal to many adults, however, it is at heart a story about a teen with typical teen themes such as friendship, first love, family relationship, identity, and finding your place in the world.   "Peculiar Children" is a fantasy-mystery with some science fictional time loops, and some horror in the form of "tentacle-mawed" vampire-like "hollowgasts". This tale's appeal clearly hangs on the 44 weird, and quirky, atmospheric black and white photographs that accompany and illustrate the text as a freaky sideshow.  This is the only way I can account for the book's ride on the best seller list, because, while the pacing and writing starts off smoothly dark, it becomes a bit lumpy towards the middle, and drags towards the end.
My rating: 2 and a ½ stars. Dede enjoyed the book more than I did and rates it: 4 stars.

This past week I also read Mindblind, by Jennifer Roy, The Space Between Trees, by Katie Williams, and The Kid Table, by Andrea Seigel.  If you liked Mark Haddon's, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, or Francisco X Stork's, Marcelo in the Real World, you will probably enjoy "Mindblind," another tale in the growing lexicon of books about people (teens) with Asperger's or Autism. My rating: 3 and a ½ stars.

The Space Between Trees is a murder mystery page turner, with a surprising realistic conclusion that is not neatly wrapped up, nor particularly happy.   Adults as well as teens who like murder mysteries would like this book.  My rating: 3 and a ½ stars.

Lastly, but not least, The Kid Table, is a window into family dynamics over the course of one year at five various holiday and celebratory gatherings. The "kids" (or cousins) relegated to the kid table are all (but one) in high school or college, and are all only children.  It is by turns charming, humorous, and serious, and lets you know that though someone has grown up knowing their cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. what one doesn't know about them, and about yourself, can be a wide field of discovery.    My rating: 3 and a ½ stars.

10 Favorite Fiction Books

Since the start of 2011, I have read 71 Young Adult fiction books.  So, instead of another (fourth) travel related book list this week, I thought I would post my top ten favorite Young Adult fiction reads from the past six months.  Some of the books on the list are newly published, and others are older titles that I have just gotten around to reading.  The descriptive terms beneath the title are my quick thoughts about the book.  The story abstract's (except for Abhorsen Trilogy) are from the Library's online catalog.  I gave all of these books a minimum of 4 stars, or the max (5 stars), in Library Thing.

Kim's 6 Months Top 10 YA Fiction Reads :

 

Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix.   Fantasy, Adventure, Necromancer, the line between good and evil, life and death, magic and mundane.  Over the course of three books, a family of necromancers battle against evil by entering the land of the dead.

 

BADD by Tim Tharp.  Contemporary Realistic, PTSD, Iraq War, Brother-Sister relationship, Humorous.  A teen girl's beloved brother returns home from the Iraq War completely unlike the person she remembers.

Blink and Caution by Tim Wynne-Jones.  Suspense, Crime, Runaways, Contemporary, set in Canada.  Two teenagers who are living on the streets and barely getting by become involved in a complicated criminal plot, and make an unexpected connection with each other.

Darkangel Trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce.  Fantasy, Supernatural, touch of Science Fiction, some Horror (Vampire, Wraiths, Gargoyles), Romance.  The servant girl Aeriel must choose between destroying her vampire master for his evil deeds or saving him for the sake of his beauty and the spark of goodness she has seen in him.

Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge.  Steampunk Fantasy, 1950s alternate history, Supernatural, set in Boston.  In an alternate 1950s, mechanically gifted 15-year-old Aoife Grayson, whose family has a history of going mad at sixteen, must leave the totalitarian city of Lovecraft and venture into the world of magic to solve the mystery of her brother's disappearance and the mysteries surrounding her father and the Land of Thorn.

The Luxe series, by Anna Godbersen.

Historical Romance, social classes, set in New York and California.  
In Manhattan in 1899, five teens of different social classes lead dangerously scandalous lives, despite the strict rules of society and the best-laid plans of parents and others.

Orchards by Holly Thompson.  Contemporary Realistic, Bullying, Suicide, bi-polar, written in free verse, set in States and Japan.  Sent to Japan for the summer after an eighth-grade classmate's suicide, half-Japanese, half-Jewish Kana Goldberg tries to fit in with relatives she barely knows and reflects on the guilt she feels over the tragedy back home.

Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt.  Contemporary Realistic, Road Trip, Iraq War, Marines, PTSD, Brother-Brother relationship, set in Massachusetts.  Although they have never gotten along well, seventeen-year-old Levi follows his older brother Boaz, an ex-Marine, on a walking trip from Boston to Washington, D.C. in hopes of learning why Boaz is completely withdrawn.

Trash by Andy Mulligan.  Mystery, Adventure, Poverty, Corruption, Friendship, set in Phillipines.  Fourteen-year-olds Raphael and Gardo team up with a younger boy, Rat, to figure out the mysteries surrounding a bag Raphael finds during their daily life of sorthing through trash in a third-world country's dump.

You Don't Know About Me by Brian Meehl.  Contemporary Realistic, Road Trip, Humorous, Doubt vs. Faith, Mark Twain, Homophobia, Geochaching, Mother-Son relationship.  Billy has spent his almost-sixteen years with four cardinal points--Mother, Christ, Bible, and Home-school--but when he sets off on a wild road trip to find the father he thought was dead, he learns much about himself and life.

Peter Abrahams' Mystery: REALITY CHECK

Take a summer plunge into mystery writer Peter Abrahams' Reality Check.  Meet 16 year olds: Cody; blue collar, high school quarterback, and Clea; wealthy, class president, assistant editor for the school paper, as they leap off a Colorado cliff into a river, re-emerging in Vermont.  It is the end of the school year and Cody and Clea are anticipating a summer spent together.  However, Clea's father, who is not pleased with their relationship, sends Clea off to Hong Kong for the summer, and then to a boarding school in Vermont.  A month after her arrival in Vermont, Clea goes missing.  Back in Colorado, Cody receives a letter from Clea sent the morning that Clea disappeared.  He immediately packs up his car and drives to Vermont to join the search to find Clea.  Though Cody is not much of a scholar (one wonders if maybe he might be dyslexic?), his instincts and intuition are sharp.  This suspenseful, love story won the 2010 Young Adult Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America.  My rating: 3 and a half stars

Bullet Point by Peter Abrahams is on order.  Look for it in the YA area's Fresh Fiction display in July, or request it through the Library's online catalog.




Peter Abrahams website