Wonderstruck / Brian Selznick

With Wonderstruck Brian Selznick attempts to recreate the magic of his successful combination of prose and illustration that earned him a Caldecott with 2007’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret.  In Wonderstruck two parallel, but related stories, separated by fifty years, are told in text and pictures.  A deaf girl longs to leave the prison-like home she is confined to.  Fifty years on a young boy, Ben, is struck deaf shortly after he discovers a clue to his mysterious father’s whereabouts.  The stories collide at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City where the characters meet up, no longer separated by time.

I quite enjoyed this.  I like the combination of pictures and narrative. However, if I have one criticism of Wonderstruck, it’s that the storyline is too complex.  There are superfluous characters and subplots (the actress mother, for example) that I think may unnecessarily distract from the essential.  In fact, a young patron in the library, probably about ten, said she found it confusing.  Nevertheless, it’s an entertaining read, and the drawings are wonderfully rendered (except for some wonky perspective in a handful of drawings—Chris van Allsburg still reigns surpreme).

Wildwood, The Wildwood Chronicles, Book 1 / Colin Meloy; illustrations by Carson Ellis

I must say I thoroughly enjoyed this fantasy, the first installment in yet another proposed trilogy of magical adventure (written by Colin Meloy, the indie-rock frontman of the Decemberists). It’s an enchanted (and thoroughly enchanting) journey into the “Impassable Woods,” based on a real place called Forest Park just on the other side of the Willamette River from the Portland neighborhood of St. Johns. Prue and her friend Curtis are the “outsider” interlopers in this magical realm, populated by anthropomorphic animals and birds, a bandit king and his followers, and the requisite evil queen (this time called the Dowager Governess). The charmed borders of Wildwood are supposed to keep real humans out, but somehow Prue and Curtis slip through on their quest to rescue Prue’s baby brother, who was carried off from a St. Johns playground in the direction of the Impassable Woods by a murder of crows (the use of the word is the accurate collective noun for a gaggle of crows, and in this book it may signal their ominous intent, anyway “A Murder of Crows” makes a great chapter heading).

The woodland communities of Wildwood, North Wood, and South Wood were magically conjured as only a fairytale wood can be, and were inhabited by interesting and multifaceted inhabitants, both animal and human. There were many memorable scenes and settings which were both wonderfully original and well-drawn— the battle sequences, the prison break (and the prison itself), Prue’s soaring flight on the back of a golden eagle, the underground warren where the Dowager Governess holds court, to name just a few. The moment when Prue conjures up the phantom bridge with the runes is as magical and breathtaking as a scene from a Miyazaki animated film. Studio Ghibli could make a masterpiece out of this novel.

The illustrations by Carson Ellis (Meloy’s wife and established children’s illustrator) are an integral part of the novel—the maps and full page illustrations really add to the story. My only regret (and I remember this from a previous book) is that on my B/W Nook the illustrations are undersized and hard to appreciate. Maybe it would have been better on a Nook Color, though size might still have been an issue. Plus, another complaint that I have is that it’s hard to flip back to a map on a Nook, which I wanted to do a number of times. These eBooks really can’t do everything that real books can. I’ve put a reservation on a library hardcopy to see and really appreciate the illustrations, but that sort of defeats the purpose of having an eReader, doesn’t it? I think I’ll have a look at the illustrations on the iPad, if I can wrestle it from the hands of my 15-year-old daughter.

[541 pages with six leaves of plates on the hardcopy version (the plates being the ones I missed out on with the Nook). The ebook version logs in at 363 pages, so the font in the hardcopy must be large with lots of white space.]

Watch book trailer here.

The Emerald Atlas / John Stephens

Three parentless children (sound familiar?) embark on a magical journey to a land ruled by an evil countess (also familiar?), where all children are imprisoned, dementor-like undead soldiers known as Screechers keep everyone in check, there is an abandoned underground city, a hidden treasure,  a horrifying bat-like monster, and an army of dwarves.

Finding a magical book gives Kate, Michael, and Emma the ability to time-travel as they attempt to steer history (whose outcome only they know) to a more favorable end.  One of them ping-pongs back and forth through time so much that is a bit dizzying, even to the reader.  Still, this novel (even though it has many familiar elements from other fantasy titles), has an original enough plot and sufficient fast-paced excitement to keep you riveted until the end.

The Emerald Atlas is the first installment in a promised trilogy, which will involve a trinity of magical books that the trio of children will no doubt hunt down.  And we can only assume that there will be a happy family reunion at the end.  Fans of Narnia, City of Ember, A Series of Unfortunate Events, etc. will latch on to this book easily.

Anna and the French Kiss / Stephanie Perkins

This novel is full of teenage girl angst, and apparently if you’re a teenage girl that’s a good thing.  After three books of Bella stressing over Edward and Jacob, I had had enough of that kind of thing.  But apparently based on the nearly universal glowing online reviews from its intended readership (not forty-something male librarians), this is exactly what girls want. 

Anna is near the end of her high school career in Atlanta, Georgia (!) when her father decides to send her to the School of America in Paris (SOAP).  She is not a happy camper and goes through all the awkward phases of being the new girl, which is doubly complicated by the culture shock of being in a foreign culture.  Her somewhat unattainable boy crush is Etienne St. Claire, a dashing international mutt (with good hair, we are reminded again and again), a product of French, British, and American cultures.  The plot is basically he loves me, he loves me not.

The novel has many touchstones for Atlanta readers, and if you’re a Francophile you’re in for an extra treat.  Anna experiences Paris through the eyes of a teenager and the author does provide a good sense of place.  The only thing that really jarred me was St. Clair’s English register—his “bloody,” “bleeding,” “me mum,” etc. sounded inauthentic for a contemporary English youth of a certain background and education, and more like the stereotype of a Brit that many Americans hold.  (Here’s a discussion about it. http://www.antimoon.com/forum/t10526-0.htm) 

YA for some language and mild sexual references.

Ship Breaker / Paolo Bacigalupi

Environmental collapse has caused inundation of the Gulf Coast and there is a huge gap between the underclass and the privileged few.  Nailer is a small boy whose diminutive size allows him to crawl through the ducts of abandoned ships, scavenging bits of copper and other metal for recycling in a community of hovels sheltering armies of workers who swarm over these ship carcasses until there is nothing left to salvage.   It’s a difficult existence, which is made all the more difficult by Nailer’s drug-enraged father.

When a hurricane sweeps a luxury yacht onto the shores of the ship breakers, Nailer and his friend encounter a survivor, a “swank,” a representative of the upper class who has everything while they have nothing.  Her safe passage takes them on a harrowing life-threatening adventure that they may not survive. 

Aficionados of The Hunger Games and Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies/Pretties series will latch on to the plot in Ship Breaker with its fast pace and futuristic dystopian setting.  It’s definitely a page-turner.

City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments) / Cassandra Clare

The latest installment in the Mortal Instruments series brings the newly-minted vampire Simon to the forefront. His unique attributes include being a “Daylighter,” able to walk in sunlight (unique for a bloodsucker), and carrying the Mark of Cain (courtesy of Clary) which has catastrophic effects for anyone or anything that wishes to raise a hand against him. Clary and Jace continue to be on-again-off-again, and the ending of CoFA seems to suggest that Jace may be going to the dark side.

Peter and the Starcatchers / Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson

I must admit I went into this blind.  If I had known Peter and the Starcatchers was written as a prequel to Peter Pan, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up— too many images of Disney’s animated feature flitting around in my head, the song “You can fly, you can fly, you can fly,” and visions of movie Peter Pans played by women in tights flying around on zip-lines like Mary Martin…

Well, thank goodness I went into it with no preconceptions.  It was a rollicking good adventure with pirates, mermaids, sword fights, and a mysterious treasure that has fantastic magical powers .  Peter and several other orphans are forced on to a decrepit ship bound for servitude with a mad king in some far-off kingdom.  On the way they are attacked by pirates and find their way to a desolate isle and forced by the angry natives into an enclosure with a horrible monster named “Mr. Grin”.  There’s so much packed into this book, it will keep you turning pages until the exciting climax.  Plus, there are more books to follow in the series.  Go on, check it out.  You will not regret it.
Grades 3-6