Dealing with Dragons, by Patricia C. Wrede

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An excerpt of a review recently posted on Children's Books and Reviews:

Cimorene is a princess who would make any feminist proud. If The Paper Bag Princess managed to avoid the temptation to bitterness and misandry, she might well have grown up to be Cimorene. Dissatisfied with her feminine lot, she persuades her father’s various retainers to teach her fencing, cooking, magic, and Latin. [...] Rather than simply complaining about the injustice of her circumstances, she rolls up her sleeves and changes them. [...] Where her sisters simper stupidly and whine when they don’t get their way, Cimorene is intelligent, innovative, hardworking, and possessed of more than her fair share of common sense. [...]

As role models go, young female readers could do a lot worse than Cimorene.

Full review available here.

The Aviary, by Kathleen O'Dell

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An excerpt from a new review posted on Children's Books and Reviews:

Any story centered around an aviary should absolutely preserve the stately-yet-unsettling sensation that characterizes the best Gothic literature, and this book is no exception. The year is 1905, and the Dooleys (and Glendoveers) live in a gloriously decrepit mansion near Lockhaven Bay on the coast of Maine. There are rose gardens, and an aviary (obviously), and a cellar, and an attic, and a secret passageway (of sorts), and an opinionated cook, and a historical society, and a serious heart condition, and a family secret, and rumors, and a diary . . . the whole thing is chock full of Gothic mystery and period goodness. Even the pace of the book itself hearkens back to the calmer, slower stories of days gone by. Not that the story drags—not by a long shot. It sucks you in from the get-go and constantly pulls you forward, but at a more sedate pace that allows you to relish the journey in a way that modern heart-pounding, high-octane reads simply do not permit. 

The publishers compare this book to Burnett’s The Secret Garden, and they are right to do so—the feel here is very similar. The Aviary lacks the wild backdrop of the Yorkshire moors, but the Glendoveer Manor is very nearly vast enough (and mysterious enough) to make up the difference. [...] Throw in a pinch of the supernatural (Mrs. Glendoveer’s husband was a famous magician, don’t you know) and a healthy slug of long-forgotten—but never solved—mystery, and you’ve got the recipe for a pretty delicious little book. [...]

Full review available here.

The Cardturner, by Louis Sachar

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An excerpt from a new review posted on Children's Books and Reviews:

The subjective appeal of a novel like this is not always immediately obvious. There are no dragons here; no princesses to be rescued or aliens to be annihilated. There are no vampires or werewolves or scrappy teens fighting for their lives. There isn’t even much teenage angst or romantic drama. Alton is just an ordinary boy living an ordinary life. Fortunately, Louis Sachar is not an ordinary writer. With the same flair for storytelling that won him such acclaim in Holes, he creates characters we care about and makes their relatively uneventful lives interesting. Don’t get me wrong—the story is perfectly acceptable. But it is the skill of the storyteller that really makes this book. [...] 

A book about a boy who spends his summer playing cards with old people might not seem like bestseller material. And indeed, it is unlikely to become one. There is nothing here to seize the public consciousness with quite the frenetic fever (and fervor) that tends to accompany modern bestsellers. This is, quite simply, a really good book. And given the subject matter, this is itself a testament to Sachar’s ability as a writer.

Full review available here.

Legacy, by Thomas E. Sniegoski

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An excerpt from a new review posted on Children's Books and Reviews:

This is a classic superhero story. I’m not saying it will become a classic; it’s simply not that memorable. But it has all the classic superhero ingredients. A young slacker (Green Hornet); the onset of inexplicable physical changes (Spider-man); a long-lost father who reveals the hero’s true identity (Superman); a billionaire with a secret (Batman); a jaded superhero who’s willing to use questionable means to achieve his supposedly ‘good’ ends (Watchmen); a superhero with severe physical limitations (X-Men); flying suits (Iron Man); botched science experiments (The Hulk); super powers (pretty much all of them); crime syndicates (ditto) . . . this reads like an amalgam of tried-and-true superhero stereotypes. [...] 

Fortunately, these clichés are popular because they work. While this is by no means a terribly original work of fiction, it likely ticks enough of the superhero boxes to hold the attention of fans of the genre—particularly those who might previously have avoided traditional novels in favor of the more accessible and visually stimulating graphic novel.

Full review available here.

Warped, by Maurissa Guibord

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An excerpt from a new review posted on Children's Books and Reviews:

It is a truth universally acknowledged that little (and not-so-little) girls love unicorns. In fact, the only thing little girls like more than a unicorn is a handsome young prince with a slight streak of arrogance but also, when push comes to shove, a good heart. 

This story has both. Ok, yes, Will [...] is technically the son of an earl, but let’s be honest: any title of nobility will work in a pinch. He’s occasionally brusque, and haughty, and understandably old-fashioned in his ideas, but he’s also brave and strong and daring and did I mention handsome? That Tessa starts to fall in love with him will come as a surprise to precisely no one. [...]

All of this adds up to a fun and frothy fairy tale romance with plenty of danger and action and relational angst along the way—perfect for the not-so-little girl and the little girl that, more often than not, still lives inside her.

Full review available here.

Rotters, by Daniel Kraus

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An excerpt from a new review posted on Children's Books and Reviews:

[...] Thus begins Joey’s sordid and grotesque adventures as a grave robber. His father teaches him all he knows, and Joey comes to find a certain confidence in his ability as a ‘digger.’ However, when they meet up with his father’s ‘colleagues’—particularly a deeply disturbed, odd looking man known as ‘Baby’—things get very dark very quickly and Joey’s struggle for social survival morphs into a struggle for physical survival. As Joey comes face to face with human depravity (including his own), he learns that the living can be far more rotten than any corpse. [...] 

Credit must be given to Kraus for so effectively immersing his readers in this deeply uncomfortable story. 

Then again, it is just that: an uncomfortable story. It gets dark very quickly and it stays dark for the duration of the book—dark and disturbing. [...] 

At the end of the day, this is an extremely well-written and unpleasant book, with no admirable characters, no real lesson, and not much in the way of substance or redeeming value. Given the darker nature of the story, I would be disinclined to recommend it to younger readers—the book is billed as being appropriate for ages 14 and up, but I would not recommend it to anyone under 15 or 16. Then again, I don’t know that I would recommend it to anyone of any age.

Full review available here.

The Death of Yorik Mortwell, by Stephen Messer

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Another review posted at Children's Books and Reviews.  Here's an excerpt:

It’s not every day you come across a book where the hero dies in the first chapter.  But in The Death of Yorik Mortwell, that’s exactly what happens to 12-year-old Yorik Mortwell, orphaned son of a gamekeeper at Ravenby Manor: he dies. Fortunately for the readers, Yorik does not pass quietly into the great beyond, but returns as a ghost.

[...] a delicious spooky and morbid tale that never loses its buoyant, childlike spirit.  And with a [SPOILER] happy ending to boot, all but the most sensitive readers will be able to enjoy the thrills and chills without any actual distress. [...]

[The book] provides an excellent structure for discussing sin, confession, reconciliation, and forgiveness.  Children learn that hiding wrongdoing is a recipe for personal disaster, that confession is good for the soul, that forgiveness is always possible, and that they, in turn, should forgive others.  With such a great set of life lessons wrapped up in an eerily entertaining story, I couldn’t help enjoying this little book.

Full review available here.

The Door in the Forest, by Roderick Townley

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Another review posted on Children's Books and Reviews--here's an excerpt:

When it comes to fantasy literature, the charm is in often in the details, and Townley fills this tale right to the brim: an obese old woman who reads the future in bath bubbles, a magic pearl necklace, windows to the past and future, a boy who cannot lie, snow leopards you can ride, cryptic maps, riddles, a mustachioed villain, the aforementioned human-faced snakes, and a seemingly impregnable island . . . this book is a veritable cornucopia of precisely the sort of delightful touches that are relished by lovers of fantasy, whether young or old.

For the full review, see "Children's Fantasy Novel: The Door in the Forest" at Children's Books and Reviews.

The Last Synapsid, by Timothy Mason

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An excerpt from my first review for Children's Books and Reviews:

If you thought that 8-year-olds were too young for Shakespeare, think again! Excerpts from The Tempest are sprinkled all throughout the climax of the book. Rob and Phoebe face off against the Gorgon during a community production of the Shakespearean play, which the Gorgon, in all his travels, has learned by heart. The Gorgon sees himself as Caliban, manipulated and mistreated by the selfish Jenkins, his Prospero. Indeed, it is his love for Shakespeare that tempts him to stay in the present day, and his love of Shakespeare contributes to his decision to return home (so that humans—including Shakespeare—will one day exist). This is an extremely appealing introduction to the Bard, particularly for young men: Shakespeare is not just long words and romance and tragedy—it has monsters! And (pre)dinosaurs love it! While this book is no guarantee that young readers will develop a taste for Renaissance plays, it should at least whet a few appetites.

For full review, see "Shakespeare for Children: The Last Synapsid, by Timothy Mason," at Children's Books and Reviews