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).

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.

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 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.

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.

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

Raphael, Gardo, and Rat are boys who spend their lives picking through trash, looking for food and “treasure” in order to survive. One day they stumble across an unexpected item that changes their lives forever. The story ratchets into high gear once the item is found and the novel becomes a nail-biting thriller as the police (and other bad guys) chase after them as they try to solve the puzzle of a coded message leading to a sum of millions. It’s a great page-turner, but there is also a very serious undertone of social injustice in the harsh reality of their everyday existence, an existence which is not fiction.

In Leviathan Alek finds himself an orphan after his parents are killed in Serbia (sound familiar?).  His guardians spirit him out of Austria using an unusual war machine, a “walker,” an ambulatory biped armored tank (not so familiar).  The Clankers (Germany, Austria and their allies) have developed these advanced mechanical war machines while the Darwinists (England) have developed bio war machinery that employs animals and engineered (“fabricated”) beasts in ways that you have to read the book to believe.  Deryn, on the side of the Darwinists, masquerades as a boy to become a midshipman on the Leviathan, a huge whale-like (literally) airship.  The book charts the stories of both Alek and Deryn until they collide in a big way at the end.  This Jules Vernesque tale is a breathless chase from start to finish and will not disappoint.