FINISHED:
Beil, Michael D. (2011). The mistaken masterpiece [Red Blazer Girls #3]. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

[.]

STARTED:
Webb, Philip. (2011). Six days. New York: Chicken House/Scholastic.

[Reviewing for ACL...]

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FINISHED:
Whitehouse, David. (2011). Bed: a novel. New York: Scribner.

[.]

STARTED:
Beil, Michael D. (2011). The mistaken masterpiece [Red Blazer Girls #3]. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

[I'm a fan of these ladies...]

*

FINISHED:
Mason, Simon. (2011). Moon pie. New York: David Fickling/Random House.

[.]

STARTED:
Whitehouse, David. (2011). Bed: a novel. New York: Scribner.

[Saw a "pre-pub alert" about this one and was FASCINATED by the premise...]

*

FINISHED:
Henkes, Kevin. (2011). Junonia. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Mason, Simon. (2011). Moon pie. New York: David Fickling/Random House.

[Reviewing for SFPL...]

*

FINISHED:
Clements, Andrew. (2011). Fear itself [Benjamin Pratt & the Keepers of the School #2]. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Henkes, Kevin. (2011). Junonia. New York: HarperCollins.

[Who doesn't love Kevin Henkes?]

*

FINISHED:
Hardinge, Frances. (2011). Fly trap. New York: HarperCollins.

[[Reviewed from ARC.] Mosca Mye, a twelve-year old street urchin who is one of only a few in the land who can read, finds herself kidnapped while trying to make some money and brought to the town of Toll. Toll, she quickly discovers, is under the control of the Locksmiths and becomes a different, much more violent and harrowing town by night, when the day citizens are locked down to make way for the night dwellers. Mosca, her goose Saracen, and traveling companion/con man Eponymous Clent, trying to find a way to raise enough money to buy their way out of Toll, end up embroiled in the kidnapping of the Mayor’s daughter and the quest to find the town “Luck”, an object that the townspeople believe keeps disaster at bay. Along the way, plucky heroine Mosca, never one to dwell on adversity and always with her streetwise wits about her, finds herself in more than one dingy cell, impersonates a desert-dwelling girl and a mythic horse made of bone, and amongst a burning city hoping to stave off a war. This is a brilliant story brimming with intrigue, deception and social commentary, surrounding the notions of tyrannical leaders using fear as a method of control and labeling those who refuse to co-operate as “radicals”. Hardinge’s sequel to her widely acclaimed Fly By Night (HarperCollins, 2006), which doesn’t need to be read in order to get into this tome, is dense with detail, giving the story a vivid sense of place and helping to make the physical setting an active participant. The intimidating length and density make this one for serious bibliophiles only, thus limiting its appeal to dedicated young readers and adults. Though the journey is long, the payoff is definitely worth it.]

STARTED:
Clements, Andrew. (2011). Fear itself [Benjamin Pratt & the Keepers of the School #2]. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

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FINISHED:
Silvey, Craig. (2011). Jasper Jones. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

[POWERFUL and upsetting. It's the late 1960s in Australia, and Charles wakes to a rapping on his window. It's Jasper Jones, the young town outcast whom everyone believes to be a no-good thief and troublemaker who'll never amount to anything. Charles is led by Jasper to a secluded area near a river where a young girl is hanging by a noose from a tree limb. Afraid that he'll be blamed for the girl's murder, Jasper has Charles help him cut the girl down, ties a rock to her feet, and then dumps her in a watering hole. Who murdered the girl? Was it the town recluse whose peach tree is constantly raided by town kids who want to prove their bravery? LOTS of deep thoughts and conversations abound regarding the existence of a higher power, the nature of good and evil, and whether or not the labels that we are assigned can be rewritten.]

STARTED:
Hardinge, Frances. (2011). Fly trap. New York: HarperCollins.

[Reviewing for ACL. TRIED to read the prequel to this one, but just couldn't slog through it...]

*

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

[.]

STARTED:
Silvey, Craig. (2011). Jasper Jones. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

[.]

*

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:
Wood, Maryrose. (2011). Incorrigible children of Ashton Place: The Hidden Gallery. New York: Balzer + Bray.

[.]

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

[Has gotten some stunning reviews...]

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