The Graveyard Book- Neil Gaiman

“There was a hand in the darkness and it held a knife. The knife had a handle of polished black bone, and a blade finer and sharper than any razor. If it sliced you, you might not even know you had been cut, not immediately. The knife had done almost everything it was brought to that house to do, and both the blade and the handle were wet.”

CSI? Criminal Minds? A Martha Grimes crime mystery? No- just the start of the Newbery-award winning book, The Graveyard Book. The killer goes on to the nursery where he means to kill the toddler after having killed mother, father and older sister. Mercifuuly, the toddler has escaped the confines of crib, found his way down the stairs and through the open front door, whereupon he proceeds up the hill to the graveyard. Here, the ghosts who inhabit the graveyard, are unsure what to do with this little human, until Mr. and Mistress Owens choose to adopt him. Silas, who is neither alive nor dead, will be his guardian. And thus follows one glorious romp of a story. Nobody Owens, or Bod, as he comes to be called, has the run of the graveyard, and is accepted and generally loved by all the ghosts who inhabit it. There are adventures galore- friendship with a real little girl who visits the graveyard, with a witch who has been buried in unconsecrated ground and with Silas who is his constant for advice and security. It begins to heat right up when we become aware that “they” are still after Bod and won’t be satisfied until he is dead as well. The quality of writing is undeniably great.

But now for somewhat of a dilemma. Where does this fit in my school library? It is too young to be in the YA (Young Adult) section and yet I am reluctant for some of my younger, perhaps more impressionable students, to have ready access to it. I rarely read other reviews until I have written my own but this time I needed to hear what others had to say about this.

School Library Journal does question ” the violence of our world trickling down into our entertainment”, but then goes on to say “it was one of the most emotionally honest books” read this year. I’m not sure what that means, exactly. I did love this book, don’t get me wrong; it was a page-turner. But I do suggest you read it for yourself to determine where it fits into your literary world.

Please, if you’ve read it, would you comment and let me know your thoughts? I would love some feedback on this.

Check out the excellent book trailer narrated by Neil Gaiman.

Update: I just read the beginning lines to a grade 5 class and they are enthralled! And I guess that’s exactly what we want!!

Update 2- Received this link from a reader- author reads the entire book! Worth checking out!

http://www.mousecircus.com/videotour.aspx?VideoID=1

Coping!

Two books that I read awhile ago have been rolling around in my head for some time now as, although very different on the surface, seemed to have a lot in common. Both are about young people who have come to a belief that they are unimportant in their family structure and have taken what appears to be quite extreme methods to allow themselves to cope.

Notes From a Liar and Her Dog by Gennifer Choldenko is Antonio’s story. Her sisters are the perfect ones in the family and in her parents’ eyes. Antonio, or Ant as she prefers to be called, resorts to a fantasy world where she pretends to believe she has been adopted and is just waiting for her real, loving mom to claim her. She also has fallen into the habit of lying about everything and of course, angering her mother each step of the way. Added to that is the fact that her dad never holds down a job in any one place for long, so they are always on the move and this time, she does not want to leave her best friend, Harrison, behind. Fortunately for Ant, a wise teacher takes an interest in her and is even able to give her mother a little help in understanding this daughter better. This is the author of the Newbery book, Al Capone Does My Shirts.

The other novel Cut, by Patricia McCormick is about Callie who blames herself for the fact that her treasured little brother is asthmatic and that he has a life-threatening attack when she is responsible for his care. Cutting herself, just a little at first and more as time goes on, helps to relieve a little of the pain she is feeling inside. Eventually, she ends up in a ward for children who are having emotional difficulties, where she withdraws even further into herself and refuses, or is unable, to speak. Again, a loving,patient counsellor, is able to help Callie and eventually her parents, to understand the torment Callie has been feeling through self-imposed guilt. Although Cut is definitely for grade 7 through high school, and Notes From a Liar and Her Dog, is probably more suitable for grade 6-9, both stories reminded me that our children are sometimes impacted in a far greater way than we might realize by some of the vagaries of their lives. I was reminded as I looked back on the raising of my own children, that these gentle souls need to be understood and accepted and reminded every day just how important they are.

Another excellent novel which would be most suitable for high school is The Perfect Cut by Julia Burtinshaw. It is another look at why some of our young people are resorting to this drastic measure to make some sense of their lives.

Skulduggery Pleasant- Derek Landy

Fantasy has seen a resurgence of interest and some great (and not so great) fantasy is popping up everywhere. Well-received is Landy’s book, Skulduggery Pleasant, with more adventures on the way. With an intriguing title like that, expectations are high and overall, well met. The 12- year old protagonist, Stephanie, is bequeathed her uncle’s large mansion after his untimely death. Unexpectedly left to spend the night alone, the world as she knows it is ripped apart as the house is broken into and her life is at risk. Rescued by the inscrutable Skulduggery, she discovers that all that is left of him is a skeleton who has chosen to come back to life to fight evil. Thus we are propelled into the world behind the scenes of our everyday lives; sometimes so realistically that you might begin to wonder just what might exist. Determined that she is going to become part of the fight, Stephanie appears to take in her stride all the peoples and events that have only been a part of her fantasy world. Good fantasy allows you to suspend your disbelief most readily, and I found myself struggling a little with the age of the character and with her utter lack of fear and indifference to danger in entering this new phase of her life. But I do believe the story is fast-paced enough with many quirky characters and lots of action to lure many of our fantasy fans. Although I felt The Alchemyst, recently reviewed on this blog, was superior, I would recommend this for school and public libraries. It sayed with me for a time after reading it, so I believe I may be interested in pursuing the sequel as well.

Students may be quite interested in this Skulduggery site with a video, games, e-cards and more.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox- Mary E. Pearson

I went on a book-buying trip to my local bookstore with a list of books I’ve been longing to read and purchase for my school library. One of these was The Adoration of Jenna Fox and the first one that I have read. This is a futuristic novel but with the feel that it might only be one small step into a future that may already be possible. Jenna wakes up from a coma to find that much of her memory is gone. At her doting parents insistence, she watches a myriad of childhood videos that they hope will begin to jog her memory. But many things are not adding up for Jenna. Her grandmother is distant and almost hostile. Her parents are overbearing and restrictive of her activities. Her diet is not real food but measured doses of a supplement. When her memory does begin to return, impossible memories surface like her baptism as an infant. And what about the extreme secrecy that has surrounded them after their move to an obscure community? Only when a deep cut to her hand reveals little blood, but thick layers of blue gel covering what looks like synthetic muscles and ligaments, does Jenna begins to question just how much of her is really Jenna and how much has been manufactured (illegally, it appears!) by her scientist father. This novel is rife with the already burgeoning debates over medical ethics and where it might potentially lead. This book would be an excellent book club selection (for adults as well) as it grapples with many issues, including one a parent might potentially face: just how far would you go to save your child? I would recommend this for your Young Adult shelf in elementary school and definitely for high school. It’s a page-turner for sure, with loads of food for thought.

Here’s a neat You Tube video with an excerpt from the book.

Painting Caitlyn- Kimberly Joy Peters

Suitable for high school audiences because of fairly mature content, Painting Caitlyn is a very honest look at first love and some of its potential dangers. Ryan, Caitlyn’s love interest, seems to be everything she wants. He’s older, charming, and seems to be getting serious about her very quickly. Flattered, Caitlyn is unaware or oblivious to the fact that he wants to have full control over her life. He resents her other friendships, encourages her to cut classes to hang out with him and undermines her own desire to do well in school. One thing leads to another, and eventually he displays physical abuse as well. Caitlyn is bewildered but still feels that if she only does the right things, it won’t happen again. Although she has supportive friends and a bit of a mixed-up relationship with her mother and step-father, she keeps her secret life secret; until it all blows up and she has to decide if she has the strength to be honest about the relationship and do something about it. There is some real food for thought here and may be helpful for young people who find themselves in a similar situation.

I’ll be sending this book on to one of my high school colleagues.

Just an added note to this- after some correspondence with the author , I have decided to place this in the YA section of my library. Sometimes I forget (or choose to forget) just how worldly-wise our students are and how much story can influence and provides courage for difficult situations they may be facing.

Notes From a Midnight Driver- Jordan Sonneblick

I think I’m going to have to shorten my reviews in order to post more, as I seem to read more books than I can keep up with. So here goes for a series of somewhat shorter posts, but books that I will happily recommend.

Notes From a Midnight Driver was quite a delightful surprise. It’s been sitting on my to-read shelf for some time, but the cover continued to put me off. But when I picked it up, the cover was soon forgotten. This was a lovely mix of humour with great story- telling. Alex is understandably upset with his parent’s recent divorce and the fact that he can’t get either one of them to remember he exists. So he has a fortifying drink from his dad’s liquor cabinet, takes his mom’s car with the intent of paying a visit to his dad, and ends up on a neighbour’s lawn, having decapitated a lawn gnome. His sentence ends up being an assignment to spend time with an eccentric and contrary old man in the local nursing home. With the support of his best friend, Laurie, he does so and is surprised at what he learns along the way. The humour is sometimes slap-stick, the changes in our main character most admirable, as he makes choices that enable him to come to terms with what life has dealt him. This is a nice contrast to some recent offerings, where characters tend to turn to something more malignant, such as cutting, to cope with life’s difficulties. It reminded me somewhat of one of my favourites a couple of years back, Skinnybones and the Wrinkle Queen by Glen Huser.

Both of these novels would be excellent additions to a young adult as well as a high school collection.

Song of the Sparrow- Lisa Ann Sandell

Here I am, minding my almost 20 month-old granddaughter and wondering if I can do to two things at once. Her interest in the computer lies solely in the large number of family pictures stored on it, which she loves to watch. It’s great entertainment for her, unless you have something else that needs to be done. Naturally, if it doesn’t work out, she takes priority over any post.

Well, a short break later, we’ll try again. Back to Song of the Sparrow. What an utterly delightful read! This is definitely a must addition to your Arthurian lore. Written in exquisite free verse style, this is the story of Elaine, hero of Tennyson’s Lady Of Shallot. Elaine’s mother has been killed and she is left with her father and brothers, ending up being the only female in a world of men, living in a war-camp. her services as healer and mender invaluable to the men. As she grows older, her friendship with Lancelot changes into something which she believes to be love. Then arrives Gwynivere, betrothed to Arthur, but beloved of Lancelot. Thus Elaine realizes that her wishes and dreams are not to be realized. With a deft blend of history and love story, this novel then takes us to the battle which Arthur leads against the Saxons, long-time enemies. Unknown to her family, Elaine decides to follow the men to the battle field in order to offer her services, but is caught by the Saxons, only to have Gwynivere unexpectedly come alongside in her efforts to escape.

Each word of each chapter appears to have been chosen with great dexterity by a very gifted author. This novel would suit many of your Young Adult readers and would be a fine addition to a high school collection as well. I am calling it historical fiction even though much of what we know about Arthur and his times is embedded in legend. But surely there is a grain of truth in all of this! I’m a believer!

One For Sorrow- Mary C. Sheppard

One For Sorrow is one of the most delightful books I have read in a long time. It is part of a series of novels called Tales from Cook’s Cove, which take place in Newfoundland in, I believe, the 1960’s. In many cases, this might place a novel like this out of our reader’s experience and level of interest. I do not believe this is true of this novel. Although the time frame is, indeed, somewhat distant, the coming-of-age of Issy is still very relevant. A mean, bed-ridden mother, a bitter older sister and a kindly, but absent father means that Issy’s life is not very comfortable. To compound her trials, her dream of escaping her small community to make her way in the big city is almost out of her reach as she has never learned to read. Issy has many coping skills to endure her drawbacks and keeps potential friends, in particular, Wish, at bay. His persistence in caring about her and finally a recognition of her disability and some long-awaited help, begins to turn the tide for Issy. The ending is satisfying but not contrived. This is a very real young woman with real problems which she learns to overcome.

Although I have not yet read the others, as an adult reader, I look forward to more of them. This is most suitable for older elementary students as well as high school. Hats off to a fine Canadian author!

The Alchemyst- Michael Scott

I’ve been picking up books, starting and then setting them aside, when I picked up The Alchemyst (The Secrets of Nicholas Flamel) and very quickly settled into a fascinating read. For those young people who have completed their numerous re-reads of the Harry Potter series, here is the next series for your reading enjoyment. With a little more depth and maturity, this would be the next great recommendation for our fantasy lovers. Well-researched, and indeed with characters straight out of the annals of history, Michael Scott has created an unforgettable world; a world where the line between reality, myth, dreams and legend are crossed time and time again. The ease with which Scott does this is testament to his exemplary research and a desire to explore possibilities.

In the present, the twins Josh and Sophie are delighted to have found jobs in San Francisco while their archaeologist parents are off doing their own thing. Unknown to Josh, the owner of the bookshop where he is working also happens to be one of the most famous alchemists known to mankind. Centuries later he and his wife are still alive because of the Book of Abraham which among many other mysteries, contains the secret of eternal life. Of course, there has to be an antagonist who also wants this revered book- enter Dr. John Dee, who has finally found Nicholas Flamel and intends to use even the creatures of magic in order to get his way. What follows is the greatest of fast-paced adventures, peopled with creatures even your nightmares could not bring to life. Peppered throughout with just enough reality and myth, you are swept up in the drama and the what ifs? of a great fantasy story. And the twins’ part in all this? Well, twins, in particular, ones with the auras of Sophie and Josh are part of the great prophecy and will assume a pivotal role as their powers are awakened. Part way through, it became abundantly clear that this book is only the beginning, and indeed, Book 2, The Magician, is available. I look forward to reading it as well. Recommended for high school as well as your avid young adult fantasy readers. A pretty good read for grown-ups as well!!