FINISHED:
Funke, Cornelia. (2018). The Griffin's Feather [Dragon Rider #2]. New York: Chicken House/Scholastic.

[.]

STARTED:
Kondo, Robert & Tsutsumi, Dice. (2017). The Dam Keeper: Book One. New York: First Second/Roaring Brook.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Bartók, Mira. (2017). The Wonderling. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[.]

STARTED:
Eggers, Dave. (2017). Her Right Foot. San Francisco: Chronicle.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Mull, Brandon. (2017). Dragonwatch:  a Fablehaven Adventure. Salt Lake City, UT: Shadow Mountain.

[.]

STARTED:
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. (2016). Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet [Book One]. New York: Marvel Worldwide.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Lin, Grace. (2016). When the Sea Turned to Silver. New York: Little Brown.

[.]

STARTED:
Brown, Box. (2016). Tetris: The Games People Play. New York: First Second.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Anderson, John David. (2016). Ms. Bixby's Last Day. New York: Walden Pond/HarperCollins.

[With their favorite teacher in the hospital battling cancer and unable to make it back to school for a goodbye party, Brand, Steve, and Topher hatch a plan to skip school and comb the city collecting some of Ms. Bixby’s favorite things (cheesecake, wine, etc.), thinking that they will bring the party to her.  Chapters rotate through the individual points of view of the three main boys:  Steve, who is Japanese-American and living in the shadow of his perfect sister; Brand, white, and struggling to singlehandedly take care of his father who is now paraplegic following a work accident; and Topher, a brilliant white kid who loves words and drawing.  The bulk of the novel takes place over the course of a single day – the day they skip school to follow through with their plan – with each of the boys ruminating through flashbacks which flesh out their histories and individual associations with Ms. Bixby.  Plaintive and sentimental, but not overly so, this is one of those cleverly done stories that reveals itself by moving forward in time while slowly filling in the past with revelations that help to elucidate the larger picture and the motivations behind character actions.  An amusing “caper” dotted with hilarious setbacks, and a solid depiction of boys who are supportive friends, Anderson’s novel highlights the impact we can have on each other without ever realizing it, and the fact that even if you feel alone, in reality there’s likely someone looking out for, noticing, and championing you.]

STARTED:
Fitzgerald, Laura Marx. (2016). The Gallery. New York: Dial/Penguin.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Martel, Yann. (2016). The High Mountains of Portugal. New York: Spiegel & Grau/Penguin Random House.

[.]

STARTED:
Eagar, Lindsay. (2016). Hour of the Bees. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Cushman, Karen. (2015). Grayling's Song. New York: Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

[After fire consumes their home, Grayling’s mother discovers that her grimoire has been stolen, and when the wise woman becomes magically rooted to the ground it becomes necessary for Grayling to go look for help.  Reluctant to set out on her quest because she feels she hasn’t the courage or the know-how, Grayling is eventually joined by a shape-shifting mouse (who can now do so after getting into Grayling’s herbs and potions), and a rag-tag assortment of (mostly female) purveyors of magic whom Grayling summons by singing a gathering song.  Cushman’s first foray into fantasy is set in a medieval time, with lyrical descriptions that paint a vivid picture of Grayling’s magical world.  The journey IS the story here, with Grayling finding her voice and becoming a reluctant hero along the way.  Though slightly plodding at times, which may be a symptom of there not being much of a sense of how much time is passing in the story, there’s plenty of well-placed comic relief to bring levity.  This strong story of female empowerment should have wide appeal, especially for those who like historical tales with some magical elements.   Review based on ARC.]

STARTED:
Aston, Martin. (2013). Facing the Other Way: the Story of 4AD.  London: The Friday Project/HarperCollins UK.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Mull, Brandon. (2012). The candy shop war: Arcade catastrophe. Salt Lake City, UT: Shadow Mountain.


[.]


STARTED:
Mauser, Pat Rhoads. (1982). A bundle of sticks. New York: Atheneum.


[Read this one in middle school - remember it vividly because the title refers to the word "faggot", which is what the protagonist gets called by the school bully...]

*

FINISHED:

Lerangis, Peter. (2013). The colossus rises. New York: HarperCollins.

[Review forthcoming...]

STARTED:

Mull, Brandon. (2013). Chasing the prophecy (Beyonders #3). New York: Aladdin.

[One of my favorite children's/YA authors.]

*

FINISHED:
Hunter, Erin. (2012). The melting sea (Seekers: Return to the wild #2). New York: HarperCollins.


[.]


STARTED:
Johnson, Hal. (2012). Immortal lycanthropes. Boston: Clarion.


[Reviewing for ACL...]


*

FINISHED:
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1937). The hobbit. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.


[.]


STARTED:
Rowling, J.K. (2012). The casual vacancy. New York: Little, Brown.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Mull, Brandon. (2012). Seeds of rebellion (Beyonders #2). New York: Aladdin.

[Well, this one suffered a bit from the "middle book" syndrome. It really seemed like not a whole lot happened in this one, even though it was almost 500 pages and took me way too long to read. There was a bunch of stuff presented that it seemed was set up for the final installment in the trilogy, and there were WAY too many characters and places (some of which weren't even included on the map at the beginning) to keep track of. Jason took a bit of a backseat and didn't really have a whole lot to do in this one, though the Rachel character was definitely given a greater role and it would appear that the powers she is developing will play a large part in Maldor's downfall. I'm still a Brandon Mull fan and eagerly await not only the conclusion to this series, but all other works from him in the future.]

STARTED:
Hall, Teri. (2011). Away. New York: Dial/Penguin.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Hunter, Erin. (2012). Island of shadows (Seekers: Return to the wild #1). New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Hall, Teri. (2010). The line. New York: Dial.

[Ever since we got this one in I've been intrigued...]

*

FINISHED:
Cline, Ernest. (2011). Ready Player One. New York: Crown.

[This one was FUN FUN FUN - mainly because it was targeted directly at me. Grow up playing videogames and going to arcades in the '70s? Is Wargames (MGM, 1983) one of your favorite movies? Did you watch all of the great sitcoms of the '80s like Family Ties? Cline (clearly a man that I could be friends with) has crafted a novel that is part Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, part DaVinci Code (only the best parts...) or The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, along with a healthy dose of pop culture nostalgia and dystopian science fiction. 30 & 40-something geeks rejoice!]

STARTED:
Applegate, Katherine. (2012). The one and only Ivan. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Jones, Allan, and Chalk, Gary. (2010). The Six Crowns: Trundle's quest. New York: Greenwillow/HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Ness, Patrick. (2011). A monster calls. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Valente, Catherynne M. (2011). The girl who circumnavigated Fairyland in a ship of her own making. New York: Feiwel and Friends.

[Reviewing for ACL - review to come...

Twelve year-old September is whisked away from her mundane existence one evening by the Green Wind, and deposited on the outskirts of Fairyland. There she befriends, and takes along as a travelling companion, a Wyvern who has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things from A-L. September quickly makes a deal with the bratty, young Marquess, the "new management" in Fairyland: if September will journey to retrieve a sword for the Marquess then the Marquess will free the Wyvern on whom she has put shackles that keep its wings bound. Thus, September embarks upon an epic journey where she meets a host of odd characters in extraordinary situations that invite just comparisons to other episodic gems like The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, and Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth (Random House, 1961). Indeed, the comparisons are not lost on Valente herself who, when September asks how the story will end, has the Green Wind say, “It seems familiar to me so far. A child whisked off to a foreign land beset by a wicked ruler…” As with many classic fairy tale stories, this isn't sugarcoated sunshine but, rather, there is a constant sense of foreboding as if it is entirely possible that things may not end cheerily and tidily. Indeed, along the way, we see just how grim things in Fairyland can be as we meet a djinn who is kept in a lobster cage by the Marquess and forced to grant her wishes, and how September ends up surrendering her shadow in order to save the life of a little “Pooka girl” destined to be drown and eaten. Advanced readers only need apply here - the densely-worded passages with rich vocabulary roll off the tongue and paint a vivid world, yet often do little to advance the plot and are loaded with thinly-veiled social commentary. Originally published online and compiled for this tome, Valente has augmented this printed edition with Ana Juan's soft and mysteriously evocative chapter-heading illustrations. As a few important details aren't resolved by story's end (September didn't get her shadow back!) a sequel is certain to follow and a legion of readers are surely waiting with bated breath.]

STARTED:
Brooks, Albert. (2011). 2030: The real story of what happens to America. New York: St. Martin's Press.

[He cracks me up...]

*

FINISHED:
Kibuishi, Kazu. (2010). The cloud searchers [Amulet: Book 3]. New York: Graphix/Scholastic.

[.]

STARTED:
Nielsen-Fernlund, Susin. (2010). Dear George Clooney: Please marry my mom. Toronto: Tundra.

[Seeing if I deem it worthy of being on the ACL Distinguished list.]

*

FINISHED:
Soo, Kean. (2009). Jellaby: Monster in the city. New York: Disney/Hyperion.

[Looking just now, it seems that this is the SECOND Jellaby tale... I thought that it was the THIRD... so maybe I've actually read it before...]

STARTED:
Kibuishi, Kazu. (2010). The cloud searchers [Amulet: Book 3]. New York: Graphix/Scholastic.

[I don't really recall what happened in the first two, but...]

*

FINISHED:
Hunter, Erin. (2011). Spirits in the stars [Seekers #6]. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Birdsall, Jeanne. (2011). The Penderwicks at Point Mouette. New York: Random House.

[Yippeee!]

*

FINISHED:
Mull, Brandon. (2011). Beyonders: A world without heroes. New York: Simon & Schuster.

[Jason is transported, by way of the mouth of a hippo at the zoo he works at, to another world where he is set on a quest to find the syllables to a word which will vanquish the evil lord of the land forever.]

STARTED:
O'Connor, Barbara. (2010). The fantastic secret of Owen Jester. New York: Farrar Straus & Giroux.

[.]

*