Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick YP FIC SEDGWICK

A reporter in 2073 investigates a remote island said to have discovered the secret to immortality, an archeologist in 2011 tries to dig the island's secrets from the ground, a downed pilot in WW II trying to go home, further back a painter, further back a ghost, further still a vampire, and last or first a Viking king.  Throughout it all a love that lives and dies again and again.  Seven stories that all make on tale of Midwinter Blood.

I can see very easily why this won the prestigious Printz Award. It is dark, lyrical, haunting, and stays with you every time you put the book down. It is a sad, beautiful, and frightening look at lives interconnected by love, loss, and violence. This isn't a ghastly and gory look-out-it's-right-behind-you!!! kind of book, it's a much creepier slow building tension. The feeling of inevitable and inescapable doom. The very first chapters introduce you to a strange, seemingly perfect island. Since, we've all seen the movies and read the books about perfect small towns, that alone puts the reader on edge. Sedgwick ratchets up the tension quickly but vaguely. You know something is very wrong, but not what. This will be a recurring theme!  

Sedgwick jumps each story further back in time repeating images, phrases, and similar characters. This can be maddening at first, because you get so little to go on to solve the ever weirder mystery. Even when you finish the book entirely you may feel like you have more questions than answers. I'd like to go on record as calling that a good thing. It's so refreshing to read a book that respects teen readers enough to let them come up with their own answers.

What's so great about this book, is that it's deep and simple.  Sedgwick relies on as few words as necessary making it a stark and spare style that fits his story and themes perfectly. It also makes it so much easier to be swept quickly again and again on the currents of time. This is a rare and unique novel that should be read by anyone that loves a good story, especially a dark and haunting one

You can find Midwinter Blood in our catalog here.

 

Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang YP FIC YANG

Boxers- Little Bao was happy with his simple life in his small village, but when foreign missionaries smash the harvest idol it leads to a path of destruction for his family.  A strange man come to town that teaches the ways of kung fu, he becomes his disciple and later the student of the man's master.  He learns the skills to drawn in spirits and gods to become invincible warriors.  They realize they must drive out the foreign influence that is killing their nation and kill any, including women and children, that stand in their way. 

Saints- Four-Girl.  She doesn't even get a name. Born fourth means born unlucky. Four means death, so when she meets a strange doctor that gives free cookies and tells her that a Christian church will giver her a new name, she jumps at the chance.  She is reborn as Vibiana, but that rebirth marks her for death. Her visions of Joan of Arc make her want her own calling, but what will it be and will it call for her to suffer the same fate as Joan? The Boxers are slaying Christians wherever they find them and she has put herself right in their path.

This is a brilliant look at cost of war, violence, and oppression.  It makes no excuses for the atrocities on either side, while populating the book with all too human characters.  Little Bao is driven by heartbreak, desperation, patriotism, and hope.  Unfortunately, he is driven to commit atrocities against innocent people.  Vibiana is driven to find some sort of destiny after being born cursed.  Her early attempts to be a devil are one of my favorite parts of the whole story, as are the young Little Bao's love of Chinese opera.  It was very hard to follow Little Bao down a path of darkness and watch him continually betray his own principles. It was hard to watch Vibiana blindly head straight to her own destruction, but in crossing paths they find a way for the death to actually have some meaning, if only for one person. This story of childhood to adulthood makes the death and murder that comes later all the more tragic.  Yang has taken a very tricky historical period and looked at it on a human level.  He populates the book with various characters of Chinese culture and Christian culture, never questioning their 'reality'.  This makes the book a work of not just warring people, nations, and ideas, but of the power and dangers of stories themselves.  The book offers no clear heroes and few clear villains, it also offers no easy answers.  It does ask very good questions.  I think it will lead most readers to seek out more information on the Boxer rebellion and Chinese history, which is always a great thing.  Even if it doesn't, it stands by itself as a powerful example of what comics can do.

You can find Boxer in our catalog here and Saints in our catalog here.

Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer

Image by Scott Vandehey available through a Creative Commons license

Ahoy, mateys! Get ready to sail the seven seas with the plucky Jacky Faber! He has all the characteristics you'd want in a ship's boy serving in His Majesty's Royal Navy in 1797. Jacky's brave, resourceful and plays a mean pennywhistle.

Only problem? Jacky is really a Mary.

How did this come to be? Find out in L.A. Meyer's Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy (YP FIC MEYER and YP AD FIC MEYER). When she is left abruptly without a family, Mary seeks out alternate means of survival. In doing so, she discovers that taking on the guise of a boy simplifies the already harrowing demands of an orphan left to the mercies of the street.

It's easier bein' a boy, 'cause when someone needs somethin' done like holdin' a horse, they'll always pick a boy 'cause they think the dumbest boy will be better at it than the brightest girl, which is stupid, but there they are.

Mary ends up on the docks, where the Navy ship the H.M.S. Dolphin is assembling its crew. She relies on her inherent charm to earn her passage on board as a ship's boy. Soon enough, though, she learns that passing as a boy — let along a ship's boy — is only the first of many challenges she'll face in such tight quarters. She doesn't know the first thing about ships, and not all her shipmates are friendly. There'll be secret handshakes to learn, pirates to battle and adolescent love to navigate.

Bloody Jack is a rollicking beginning to the adventure series, which thus far encompasses 10 books:

1. Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary 'Jacky' Faber, Ship's Boy
2. Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady
3. Under the Jolly Roger: Being an Account of the Further Nautical Adventures of Jacky Faber
4. In the Belly of the Bloodhound: Being an Account of a Particularly Peculiar Adventure in the Life of Jacky Faber
5. Mississippi Jack: Being an Account of the Further Waterborne Adventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman, Fine Lady, And Lily of the West
6. My Bonny Light Horseman: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, in Love and War
7. Rapture of the Deep: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Soldier, Sailor, Mermaid, Spy
8. The Wake of the Lorelei Lee: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, On Her Way to Botany Bay
9. The Mark of the Golden Dragon: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Jewel of the East, Vexation of the West, and Pearl of the South China Sea
10. Viva Jaquelina: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Over the Hills and Far Away
11. Boston Jacky: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Taking Care of Business

Perhaps what I like most about Bloody Jack is how it puts a girl at the front and center of the action. Jacky comes across as a young woman realistically relying on her wits to get her through tough, scary situations. She's funny and fearless, a combination that manages to both get her into trouble and out of it. No fainting flower, is our Jacky.

The audiobook, narrated by Katherine Kellgren, is dynamite. Kellgren voices Jacky's rough, streetwise elocution perfectly, with its outrageous grammar and colorful patois. She portrays Jacky with jaunty confidence while not neglecting honest depictions of the fear and distress Jacky feels in battle or at the thought of discovery. The narration is a wonderful way to experience the story.

In Mozart's Shadow by Carolyn Meyer YP FIC MEYER

Nannerl (try saying that five times fast!) has a bright future ahead of her. As a musical prodigy, she could have something precious few women have in 18th century Salzburg: choice.  Unfortunately, Nannerl is a Mozart (as in THAT Mozart) and when wee Wolfgang starts composing at five her gifts pale next to his blinding genius.  She is all but ignored by her family and stuck at home while her family and future seems to fade away.  Her only hope is in her love of music and of a man she is forbidden to be with. This is her courageous and heartrending story of living and loving in the shadows.

Nannerl is such a fully realized character.  Her resentment and determination is made all the more painful, because she has history against her.  Women in the 18th century simply didn't have the same choices as men and therein lies the drama and tragedy.  however, this isn't just a story of being eclipsed by fame, but also reflects a more universal story of family, love, loss, and acceptance.  Carolyn Meyer excels in making humanity shine in young women from history.  She also excels in capturing period details that transport a reader through time, but making the prose and dialogue accessible and flowing.  She really makes the time and place FEEL lived in and real and the people that live their feel like people of their time.  Sadly, most of her fine novels end with compromises and broken hearts because history is often unkind regardless of sex or station. But Meyer does a stellar job at focusing on moments of joy and brightness and seeing the value in lives that can seem empty from far away. I found myself rooting for Nannerl even though I KNEW what her ending had to be, but when all was said and done Meyer did such a great job at emphasizing the little joys that it both highlighted and undercut the sadness and loneliness in her tale.  

You can check the catalog for In Mozart's Shadow here.

Becoming Holmes by Shane Peacock YP FIC PEACOCK

Sherlock Holmes is at a crossroads. At 17 is seems his life may be over before it has begun. He has lost or is losing all the people that tied him to his past, the only chances of love he ever dared imagine for himself, and his future is the darkest mystery he has ever faced.  There is only one thing that can, pull him for the darkness of despair, a case! And it is the case of his young career, the evil mastermind Malefactor has finally tipped his hand.  Now Holmes and Malefactor begin a deadly battle of wits.  If Holmes survives this he may yet seize his destiny as the world’s greatest detective.

This is in many ways a perfect ending to Peacock’s excellent series.  It finally brings Holmes to the position to become THE Sherlock Holmes we know from the original mysteries. It even very cleverly accounts for differences in the original stories and this series in a dramatically satisfying manner.  One of the things that works best about this series is the mix of the very real London of the time (complete with real historical figures) and the classic mystery style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  The dark and dreary streets of London are one of the greatest characters in the series.  The greatest triumph is crafting a believable young Holmes and giving his story enough weight that it feels like an important addition to the Holmes legend. Which is why the surprise ending of this book may be a betrayal to fans of Sherlock Holmes.  Peacock has Holmes do something many fans would never accept.  I would say that Doyle’s Sherlock would not have done what Peacock’s Sherlock does, but I think Peacock has built his Holmes in a way that it is believable and works with the original Holmes’ stories too.  Some readers may feel this is cheapening Holmes, but I loved the alternate view of Holmes that Peacock crafted and feel like it is one of the finest Sherlock series besides the original books.  I highly recommend you start this series from the very first book and read until this final chapter.  

You can check our catalog for Becoming Holmes here.

 

Blood Ninja III: The Betrayal of the Living by Nick Lake YP FIC LAKE

The evil Lord Oda is dead (after already being dead, then undead, and now totally dead), but Taro’s greatest challenge is still ahead.  He must vanquish a dragon in order to get permission to marry the girl he loves.  Wait fighting dragons to win the heart of a fair lady is supposed to be for knights, nit vampire ninjas!?  Taro is doomed!  As if that wasn’t enough to worry about the dead are rising.  No, not vampires, ZOMBIES!  The super, evil and very creepy Kenji has crawled back from the dead and is raising an army of corpses to destroy all he sees.  OH!  Also, Taro’s very own flesh and blood family plans to betray him!  Being a vampire ninja in feudal Japan is ROUGH!

Vampire ninjas VS Dragons and Zombies!  What’s not to love!? This is a great finale to a wonderful action series.  This book, like the two before it (read my reviews here and here), have loads of fast paced action and ultra-violence, perfectly evil villains to root for, and enough plot twists to keep things interesting.  Also, Nick Lake does a nice amount of research to make the Japanese setting feel real and authentic.  Basically the Blood Ninja series is like a super awesome manga series without the pictures.  It doesn’t have the most realistic characters, but they aren’t boring or entirely one note either.  The heroes are almost always outmatched and that makes for tense and exciting action sequences.  The romantic plot does get a little sparkly when Taro learns that he can’t be with Hana without turning her into a vampire, but that never drags the plot down to a soap opera.  This is a must read for fans of action, manga, or historical-fiction-fantasy-horror.

You can check our catalog for Blood Ninja III here.

Marathon by Boaz Yakin Illustrated by Joe Infurnari YP FIC YAKIN

Eucles is running for his life.  For his family. For his people. For the entire future of democracy.  If he slows, if he tires, if he’s caught then the Persian war machine will destroy Athens and with it all hope for democratic ideals.  Eucles just wants to be fast enough to stop the former king of Athens, a bloody tyrant that murdered his family, from ever stepping foot in Athens again.  

This is an AMAZING graphic novel.  It is fittingly fast paced (har-har) and chock full of action.  Infunari has some of the best artwork I have seen in years.  You could take individual comic frames and hang them on your wall as art.  Bloody, violent art, but really great art nonetheless.  The story is told in such a visually dynamic way, and the plot is structured so tensely, that I found myself constantly wondering about the outcome of a historical tale I knew all about!  I also really found the human relationships between the characters to be really well told.  I cared if Eucles would see his wide again or if former friends turned enemies would have to face on the battle field.  That’s rare to find in an action packed historical war comic.  It may not be the ageless classic that the Illiad is, but it is a high watermark in graphic novels and in historical fiction about Athens.  If you are at all a fan of 300 the book or the movie, then Marathon should blow you away! 

You can check our catalog for Marathon here.

The Girl is Trouble by Kathryn Miller Haines YP FIC HAINES

Iris Anderson finally has an understanding with her father’s detective agency, she can help with his business if she’s honest with him and follows the rules.  All that goes out the window when while she’s trying to clear her best friend’s name in a case of anti-Semitic vandalism, she discovers evidence that her mother’s reported suicide was anything but.  Now Iris is breaking the rules, in over her head, and in way more trouble than she realizes.

I loved Iris in The Girl is Murder (reviewed here) and she doesn’t disappoint in her second adventure.  Haines has created a believable teen heroine.  Yes she’s more introspective and driven and moral and seemingly heroic than most teens, but this is dealt with believably because of all the tragedies that have shaped her.  I also love that she gets called “Nancy Drew” as an insult in this book!  It totally fits, because she is no super sleuth and bungles quite a lot.  Personally, I think we have enough hyper-competent detective savants and I enjoy the more grounded approach of solving crimes through dogged determination.  Another high point is the absolutely splendid job Haines did in capturing the mood of the era.  The look at the ugly side of what many look at as a Golden Age in America was really effective.  Also, Haines does an even better job fleshing out supporting characters.  Pearl, Iris’s best friend, is great and really shines throughout the book.  The best part is definitely the mystery of what happened to Iris’s mom.  It makes this story much more personal and raises the stakes way higher than in the first novel. I was surprised that Haines dealt with this key aspect of Iris’s character so quickly instead of dragging it out over several volumes.  I hope that doesn’t mean we won’t have any more volumes!!!  Well, this is a great murder mystery, historical fiction, and book!  Check it out, but DEFINITELY check out Girl is Murder first!

You can check our catalog for The Girl is Trouble here.