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Blackout. Connie Willis. 2010. Random House. 495 pages. [Source: Bought]


This year I've decided to reread all of Connie Willis' time travel books. This is the third book I've reread. I've also reread Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog. I first reviewed Blackout in November 2010. I reviewed it again in January 2012.


Blackout is about (three) time travelers studying World War II. For the most part, the novel is set in the year 1940. However, the novel also contains other stories--almost like riddles. These small stories are set in 1944 and 1945, they feature other characters--or do they?--studying World War II: V1 Rockets and V-E Day.

Merope Ward (aka Eileen O'Reilly) has gone back to study the evacuation of children to the country. She is working as a nurse/maid on a country estate. Her assignment was for the spring of 1940.

Polly "Sebastian" (she takes on a different Shakespearean last name for every assignment) has gone back to study the London Blitz. She wants to work as a London shopgirl. Her assignment was for the fall of 1940.

Michael Davies (Mike) has gone back to observe the Dunkirk evacuation. His assignment was for the summer of 1940.

They've heard over and over again that historians cannot change the past, that historians cannot damage the timeline, that historians can merely observe past events. But what if everyone was wrong? What if time travel is dangerous and risky? Not just dangerous for the time traveler who may find himself/herself in trouble, but dangerous for everyone. What if there are negative consequences for time travel?

Eileen, Polly, and Mike will question what they've all been told when they find themselves trapped in 1940 unable to return to Oxford and their own time. Eileen missed her deadline because of a quarantine initially. Months later she tried to use her drop and failed. She thought it was because there were too many people nearby--the military has just taken possession of the estate where she worked. She remembers that Polly Churchill will be in London soon. She wants to find her and use her drop to go back. Mike was injured during the Dunkirk evacuation. An injury that kept him trapped for weeks. His drop is also impossible to use. He remembers Polly's assignment. He goes to London desperate to find another time traveler. These three reunite only to discover what Polly already knew--her own drop was damaged--she thinks because of a bomb. She was hoping that THEY were there to rescue her. Being trapped changes everything.

Blackout is an intense read. Primarily the focus is on what war was like on the homefront, what the war was like for Londoners. I definitely recommend this one. But it does come with a warning. It is only half the story. All Clear is the sequel, and, you'll want to read it to finish the story. Blackout does not stand on its own.

© 2014 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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I was actually searching for a fantasy book, but stumbled upon a good old-fashioned ghost story instead.

Little, Kimberly Griffiths. 2014. The Time of the Fireflies.  New York: Scholastic.

Larissa Renaud doesn't live in a regular house. As she tells it,

"My parents moved us into the Bayou Bridge Antique Store—a fact I do not brag about. It's embarrassing to admit I share the same space as musty, mothball-smelly furniture, dusty books, and teacups that dead people once drank from."

Sometimes she wishes they had never come back here from Baton Rouge, but her family has a long history in the bayou town, much of it is tragic.

When Larissa receives  a mysterious call on a broken antique phone, she's got a real mystery on her hands.

"Trust the fireflies," 

the ghostly girl tells her, setting Larissa on  a strange and eerie path of discovery. Can Larissa right the wrongs of the past to save her family's future?

Though it highlights rural poverty, bullying, and new sibling issues, The Time of the Fireflies is at heart, a ghost story with a remarkably likable and resourceful protagonist.

To avoid giving away too much, I'll merely mention that readers may see some similarities to Rebecca Stead's Newbery Medal-winning, When You Reach Me. The spunky Larissa and author Kimberly Griffiths Little will draw you into the rich world of the Louisiana bayou until you too, are carried away by the fireflies.

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If you share my jealousy of Peter Capaldi and his new guise as the Doctor, then read on to discover how you could become the next Time Lord with a fondness for Earth. However, be warned: you can’t just pick up Matt Smith’s bow-tie from the floor, don Tom Baker’s scarf, and expect to save planet Earth every Saturday at peak viewing time. You’re going to need training. This is where Oxford’s online products can help you. Think of us as your very own Companion guiding you through the dimensions of time, only with a bit more sass. So jump aboard (yes it’s bigger on the inside), press that button over there, pull that lever thingy, and let’s journey through the five things you need to know to become the Doctor.

(1) Regeneration

Being called two-faced may not initially appeal to you. How about twelve-faced? No wait, don’t leave, come back! Part of the appeal of the Doctor is his ability to regenerate and assume many faces. Perhaps the most striking example of regeneration we have on our planet is the Hydra fish which is able to completely re-grow a severed head. Even more striking is its ability to grow more than one head if a small incision is made on its body. I don’t think it’s likely the BBC will commission a Doctor with two heads though so best to not go down that route. Another example of an animal capable of regeneration is Porifera, the sponges commonly seen on rocks under water. These sponge-type creatures are able to regenerate an entire limb which is certainly impressive but are not quite as attractive as The David Tenants or Matt Smiths of this world.

(2) Fighting aliens

Although alien invasion narratives only crossed over to mainstream fiction after World War II, the Doctor has been fighting off alien invasions since the Dalek War and the subsequent destruction of Gallifrey. Alien invasion narratives are tied together by one salient issue: conquer or be conquered. Whether you are battling Weeping Angels or Cybermen, you must first make sure what you are battling is indeed an alien. Yes, that lady you meet every day at the bus-stop with the strange smell may appear to be from another dimension but it’s always better to be sure before you whip out your sonic screwdriver.

(3) Visiting unknown galaxies

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field telescope captures a patch of sky that represents one thirteen-millionth of the area of the whole sky we see from Earth, and this tiny patch of the Universe contains over 10,000 galaxies. One thirteen-millionth of the sky is the equivalent to holding a grain of sand at arm’s length whilst looking up at the sky. When we look at a galaxy ten billion light years away, we are actually only seeing it by the light that left it ten billion years ago. Therefore, telescopes are akin to time machines.

The sheer vastness and mystery of the universe has baffled us for centuries. Doctor Who acts as a gatekeeper to the unknown, helping us imagine fantastical creatures such as the Daleks, all from the comfort of our living rooms.

(4) Operating the T.A.R.D.I.S.

The majority of time-travel narratives avoid the use of a physical time-machine. However, the Tardis, a blue police telephone box, journeys through time dimensions and is as important to the plot of Doctor Who as upgrades are to Cybermen. Although it looks like a plain old police telephone box, it has been known to withstand meteorite bombardment, shield itself from laser gun fire and traverse the time vortex all in one episode. The Tardis’s most striking characteristic, that it is “much bigger on the inside”, is explained by the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, by using the analogy of the tesseract.

(5) Looking good

It’s all very well saving the Universe every week but what use is that without a signature look? Tom Baker had the scarf, Peter Davison had the pin-stripes, John Hurt even had the brooding frown, so what will your dress-sense say about you? Perhaps you could be the Doctor with a cravat or the time-traveller with a toupee? Whatever your choice, I’m sure you’ll pull it off, you handsome devil you.

Don’t forget a good sense of humour to compliment your dashing visage. When Doctor Who was created by Donald Wilson and C.E. Webber in November 1963, the target audience of the show was eight-to-thirteen-year-olds watching as part of a family group on Saturday afternoons. In 2014, it has a worldwide general audience of all ages, claiming over 77 million viewers in the UK, Australia, and the United States. This is largely due to the Doctor’s quick quips and mix of adult and childish humour.

You’ve done it! You’ve conquered the cybermen, exterminated the daleks, and saved Earth (we’re eternally grateful of course). Why not take the Tardis for another spin and adventure through more of Oxford’s online products?

Image credit: Doctor Who poster, by Doctor Who Spoilers. CC-BY-SA-2.0 via Flickr.

The post An Oxford Companion to being the Doctor appeared first on OUPblog.

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The Freedom Maze by Delia Sherman combines time-travel fantasy and historical fiction in an different way that makes for an interesting read. Sherman begins her novel introducing us to the thirteen-year-old Sophie Martineau and the very different world of 1960s Louisiana. Sophie's mama is a Fairchild of Oak River, which was once a great sugar cane plantation. Now, the remains of the

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Congratulations to Julie Anne Grasso, on the release of her third chapter book: Frankie Dupont and the Mystery of Enderby Manor. No cinnamon this time, but there is a strange gnome, a parrot sous-chef, and a clueless inspector who fears Frankie will solve the mystery before he gets his first clue. Enjoy the fun. (Stay out of the pool.)

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Frankie Dupont And The Mystery Of Enderby Manor

Written by Julie Anne Grasso

Illustrations by David Blackwell and Samantha Yallope

Published by Julie Anne Grasso    2014

978-0-9254-3

Age 7 to 10     134 pages

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“When his cousin Kat disappears from Enderby, Frankie Dupont jumps on the scene, only to find bumbling Inspector Cluesome beat him to it. Cluesome thinks Kat simply wandered off. Frankie isn’t buying it.”

Opening

“Frankie bounded across the veranda and down the old wooden stairs.”

The Story

Frankie Dupont is waiting for something important in the mail—a black envelope. He is the son of a private inspector and wants to be an inspector like his dad. The strange black envelope arrives, but Frankie simply puts it in his pocket. When the phone rings, he expects it to be his cousin Kat, who calls him every day. It is not Kat. It is about Kat. Kat has disappeared.

With his father away on assignment, Frankie takes on the assignment of finding Kat. Last seen at Enderby Manor, Kat ate an early breakfast and has not been seen or heard from since. Frankie passes Enderby Manor every day as he walks to school, yet he has no memory of ever seeing the place. Strange for an investigator to miss a large hotel, sitting behind the lake—which Frankie has seen—all of which is situated behind a black iron fence.

Inspector Cluesome is already on the scene when Frankie rides up on his bike. His aunt and uncle are frantically worried. They trust Frankie, which is good since Cluesome is extraordinarily clueless. Without any real detective work completed, Cluesome announces that Kat simply got lost and will come home at any minute.  Can Frankie find his cousin? Why couldn’t Frankie recall a large hotel he passes every day on his way to school? Will this unseen hotel figure into Kat’s disappearance? Where is Kat?

Review

Enderby Manor is a strange place. The hotel itself is outdated, caught in a ten-year vacuum. The six-fingered chef has a parrot for his sous-chef. The maid, also the owner’s wife, keeps waiting for her husband to return and open the hotel—the Grand Opening. He will not arrive since he has been dead for ten years. Out back, a gnome named Gerome cares for the landscaping and the pool—but not the water. No one knows anything about Kat except the chef. He fed Kat an early breakfast, which she ate in the kitchen.

The grounds are as crazy as the people running the hotel are. The pool has  brown-slime covering the top of the water. Kat could not have swum that morning as some have suggested she did. Then there is Myrtle’s Mesmerising Maze, which Frankie felt a pull to enter. He didn’t, instead he went to Evelyn’s Everlasting Cupcakes, a shop with the most delicious cupcakes ever made; yet the place was empty. Frankie even loses it a little. He thinks he sees Kat in a mirror, but only for a nanosecond. Who knew he had a wild imagination.

Kids will enjoy Frankie Dupont and the Mystery of Enderby Manor. For this story, the only place you will find cinnamon is at the cupcake shop, baked into the sticky caramel cupcake. Kids will like the crazy characters Grasso developed. Cluesome is a bumbling idiot, which kids will love. Frankie outwits the inspector at every turn. Igor the Great has the funniest lines in the story.

Grasso laid out the clues in such a way that Frankie will decipher them before the reader. Most of the fun comes from trying to put the mystery together and not being able to until the author wants you to understand. Still we try our darndest to figure out what is going on. What is going on? Frankie seems as confused as we are, until . . . then the story speeds up as the entire world collapses. Oh, what wonderful fun!

Frankie Dupont and the Mystery of Enderby Manor will delight readers. The fun chapter book is a short read at 132 pages. The eleven chapters, skillfully developed, will keep kids hanging on. The Mystery of Enderby Manor is a typical mystery, built layer upon layer, until time is about to run out. Only then, does Grasso let us understand her world. Frankie Dupont will hook even those kids who are reading their first mystery. Enderby Manor is not the biggest mystery. The biggest is a question: When will Frankie Dupont return to solve the next mystery?

FRANKIE DUPONT AND THE MYSTERY OF ENDERBY MANOR. Text copyeight © 2014 by Julie Anne Grasso. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by David Blackwell and Samantha Yallope. Reproduced by permission of the publisher Julie Anne Grasso, Melbourne, Australia.

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Purchase Frankie Dupont and the Mystery of Enderby Manor at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—Publisher’s Website—at your favorite bookstore.

Free resources from Frankie Dupont

Learn more about Frankie Dupont and the Mystery of Enderby Manor HERE.

Meet the author, Julie Anne Grasso at her website: julieannegrassobooks.com

Meet the illustrator, David Blackwell, at his website:   http://www.kathyanddavidblackwell.co.uk/ 

Meet the other illustrator, Samantha Yallope, at her website:   http://www.samanthayallope.com/

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Also by Julie Anne Grasso

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed under: 5stars, Chapter Book, Children's Books, Series Tagged: Chapter book, children's book reviews, David Blackwell, Frankie Dupont and the Mystery of Enderby Manor, mystery, Samantha Yallope, time travel

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Review by Andye ONE PAST MIDNIGHT(Previously Between the Lives)by Jessica ShirvingtonHardcover: 352 pagesPublisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens (July 22, 2014)Language: EnglishGoodreads | Amazon Sabine isn’t like anyone else. For as long as she can remember, she’s had two lives. Every twenty-four hours she ‘Shifts’, living each day twice. In one life, Sabine has everything: popular friends,

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Pilkey, Dav. 2014. Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000. New York: Scholastic.
(Advance Reader Copy)

Captain Underpants fans can rejoice.  The "Eleventh Epic Novel" is coming this summer with everything kids expect - time travel, fiendish villains, a plot with more twists than a bag of pretzels, and of course - Flip-O-Rama, "the world-famous cheesy animation."

In Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000, readers will be brought up to speed on past adventures, as George and Harold re-live (and change) a previous adventure involving the Turbo Toilet 2000.  Super Diaper Baby will make a cameo appearance in a comic by George and Harold, and readers will be introduced to Yesterday George and Yesterday Harold.  There's even a 3-panel Flip-O-Rama.

It's ridiculous, preposterous, and downright silly - kids will love it.


 

On shelves August 26, 2014.

What's next? Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-a-Lot.

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Return to Canterbury

by Melissa Ann Goodwin

Melissa Ann Goodwin, publisher     12/20/2013

978-1-49234887-2

Age 8 to 12          270 pages

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“Things have settled down for thirteen-year-old Jamie Reynolds since last Christmas. That’s when he time-traveled to 1932 and wound up in the town of Canterbury, Vermont. There he met Kelly and Christopher Pennysworth, who quickly became his best friends. Back in his own time again, he misses them every day. But as the July 4^th, 2008 holiday approaches, the biggest black cloud still hovering over Jamie’s life is the mystery of what happened to his dad, who has been missing or almost a year.

“Little does Jamie know that he will soon reunite with Kelly and Christopher for an adventure even bigger than their last. Together they’ll uncover a secret plot that threatens to destroy Canterbury. But will they be able to stop it before it’s too late? And will Jamie finally solve the mystery of his father’s disappearance? Return to Canterbury with us and find out!”

 Opening

“Dear Jamie, writing you another letter, even though I know you’ll never get to read it. But there’s ever so much going on in Canterbury these days and it seems strange not to be able to tell you about it. I miss you awfully, and writing to you almost makes me feel like we’ve talked. Almost.”

The Story

Jamie returns to Canterbury after seeing a picture of himself at the time capsule during the 4^th of July celebrations—in 1935. He is standing with Kelly and Christopher, who he befriended in the first story entitled The Christmas Village. Jamie also sees a photograph that looks just like his dad, also from 1935. He knows he will be time-traveling again, this time to bring back his dad. What he doesn’t know just yet is that he will help foil a plan to put Canterbury underwater to form a hydroelectric power plant. To make that happen, a big shot from New York has to buy up the local farmland from farmers who will not sell. But this new “villain” has a plan that will make that problem go away.  Jamie, Kelly, and Christopher set out to foil all of the plans, safekeeping Canterbury for future generations.

Review

I have not read The Christmas Village, though now I would like to read it. The sequel to that story, Return to Canterbury, can stand on its own. The author does a good job getting the reader up to speed without the reader feeling they are reading old material. It is 2008 and Jamie has meet the 88-year-old Kelly. Just last year, twelve-year-old Jamie meet ten-year-old Kelly.  Now she is 88, which is a strange situation for Jamie. Kelly knows what will happen when Jamie returns to Canterbury but cannot tell him for fear of changing the past, thus changing the present and future. This leads to one of a few holes in the story that did bother me, but did not destroy the great fun I had reading the story. It caused a momentary, “Wait. That can’t be right,” and a halt in reading.

Jamie is now in present-day Canterbury. When he goes back to 1935 Canterbury and the prospect of Mr. Boggs—the guy from New York with plans to flood Canterbury for a hydroelectric power plant—Jamie should realize, from the current Canterbury, that the 1935 plan fails, yet the three kids put themselves in great harm to stop the plan. True, if Jamie had not helped, maybe the future would have changed, but it is odd that he doesn’t at least realize all will turn out okay based on present day Canterbury, where he had just left. I suppose this and the other two holes are the ultimate definition of suspending one’s beliefs.

Since I am on the subject, the one hole involves the first book, The Christmas Village. In that one, it is 2007 and Jamie travels to Canterbury 1932 after staring at his grandmother’s Christmas Village. In the sequel, Return to Canterbury, Jamie tells of his father after the two return from 1935. For one, his dad learned woodworking, making his mother the Christmas Village, the same one Jamie used in 2007 to transport to 1932, but not built until 2010. The Christmas Village could not have existed in 2007. The editor should have picked up on this and request a change.

The other involves Jamie and his dad’s returning from 1935 to the present 2008. They touch something that Jamie writes in 2008 while with Kelly’s granddaughter Kendall. The message could not have been anywhere in 1935, yet there it is. How? Suspending one’s beliefs and ignoring the inconsistencies that occasionally appear was necessary for me, yet the story of Jamie’s Return to Canterbury is very good. The writing is excellent. No typos or misspells to stall one’s reading. Editing is also good, except for the inconsistencies not caught. The story is a fun read. The three kids solving the crime and capturing the bad guys is much fun.

I like the 1930’s Canterbury, where everyone knows everyone and people gather to help each other as much as to celebrate. Jamie learns a few secrets, which turn out to be wonderful gems. I read this in two sittings, anxious to nab the diabolical Mr. Boggs and to find out what Jamie and his dad put in the time capsule—which would be opened a mere two years after they both return home to 2008.

Return to Canterbury felt like a gift. The story is a good old-fashioned tale about a good old-fashioned village of gentle (not genteel) people, loving and helping each other, though not legally or biologically related. Return to Canterbury gives one hope for the future—not about time travel but about the goodness of people.  It is also a story that will have some reminiscing and others longing for days as nice as in Canterbury. Return to Canterbury is an intriguing story solved by three industrious kids who each bring something different to the story.

Kids will enjoy Return to Canterbury. It is perfect middle grade fare. Jamie, Kelly, and Christopher are a solid team. Though each is great on his own, it is not enough without the other two. Teamwork, friendship, family, community, family-by-choice, time-travel, and a simpler life are all important in Return to Canterbury. I highly recommend this story. I bet The Christmas Village,which started the series, is just as worthy of your time

** I apologize. I try each week to shorten these reviews, but some books I have much I want to say, mainly to convince you the book is worth your time to read. Deciding what to leave out is beyond difficult. It has become nearly impossible.

RETURN TO CANTERBURY. Text copyright © 2013 by Melissa Ann Goodwin. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Melissa Ann Goodwin, Andover, MA.

Buy Return to Canterbury at Amazon—B&N—Book Depository—Smashbooks—author’s website—your local bookstore.

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Learn more about Return to Canterbury HERE.

Meet the author, Melissa Ann Goodwin, at her website:  http://authormelissaanngoodwin.blogspot.com/

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Also by Melissa Ann Goodwin

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THE CHRISTMAS VILLAGE won the 2013 BLOGGER BOOK FAIR READER’S CHOICE AWARD for children’s action/adventure.

 

 

 

Filed under: 5stars, Favorites, Historical Fiction, Library Donated Books, Middle Grade, Series Tagged: 1930's Canterbury Vermont, arson, children's book reviews, family of choice, friendship, hydroelectric power stations, Melissa Ann Goodwin, middle grade novel, time capsules, time travel

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Reviewed by Becca THE HERE AND NOW BY ANN BRASHARESAge Range: 12 and up Grade Level: 7 and up Hardcover: 256 pages Publisher: Delacorte Press (April 8, 2014) Goodreads Amazon Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love.This is the story of seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn’t come from a different country. She

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[Manga Maniac Cafe]  Good morning, Meredith! Describe yourself in five words or less.

[Meredith McCardle] Writer, mom, lawyer, coffee consumer.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Can you tell us a little about The Eighth Guardian?

[Meredith McCardle] Sure! Amanda is a student at a boarding school that’s a training ground for the CIA. But then she’s plucked out of school her junior year and dropped into a top secret government agency that has the ability to travel back in time to change the past to improve the present. “Enhancement, not alteration” . . . or so they say. But the further that Amanda gets into the agency, the more she discovers that it’s keeping some very dangerous secrets, and the more she questions whether she should be a part of it. But will they let her go? 

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Can you share your favorite scene?

[Meredith McCardle] Hands down, it’s the scene where a group of Guardians go back in time to try to prevent a museum burglary. It’s a really fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat kind of scene, and it was a blast to write.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What gave you the most trouble with the story?

[Meredith McCardle] My main character, Amanda, gave me the most trouble, at least in the beginning. I didn’t spend nearly enough time developing her before I started drafting, so I didn’t have any sense of who she was or what she wanted. This is always a recipe for disaster. I got about 20,000 words into a mess of a draft before I realized I needed to scrap the whole thing and figure out who Amanda was before I started fresh. And that’s exactly what I did.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What’s one thing you won’t leave home without?

[Meredith McCardle] A water bottle. I drink a ton of water throughout the day, and I have a rainbow of reusable bottles I’ll toss into my bag on any given day. 

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Name three things on your desk right now.

[Meredith McCardle] My phone (which is usually within grabbing distance), a folder labeled ’2014 Writing Expenses’ (where I toss receipts), and a book on the Boston Massacre (which I haven’t gotten around to putting away for about three months now).

[Manga Maniac Cafe] If you could trade places with anyone for just one day, who would you be?

[Meredith McCardle] Ooh, good question! I’ll say the president because I’d love to see what it’s like to be in such a powerful position. But I’d like to reserve the right to call it quits after about 20 minutes because I’m sure I couldn’t handle the pressure that comes along with being in such a powerful position.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] You have been granted the use of one superpower for one week.  Which power would you choose, and what would you do with it?

[Meredith McCardle] Invisibility. I would probably try to sneak into some places that I have no business being.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What are some books that you enjoyed recently?

[Meredith McCardle] Here’s 5 I’ve read and loved this year: 1) POINTE by Brandy Colbert. 2) NEARLY GONE by Elle Cosimano. 3) WILDWOOD DANCING by Juliet Marillier. 3) WHEN AUDREY MET ALICE by Rebecca Behrens. 5) THE FIRE WISH by Amber Lough.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] How can readers connect with you?

[Meredith McCardle] I’m everywhere! You can find me on my website (www.meredithmccardle.com), tumblr (meredithmccardle.tumblr.com), Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram (@MeredithMcP on all of those), and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/MeredithMcCardleAuthor)

About THE EIGHTH GUARDIAN: Amanda Obermann. Code name Iris.

It’s Testing Day. The day that comes without warning, the day when all juniors and seniors at The Peel Academy undergo a series of intense physical and psychological tests to see if they’re ready to graduate and become government operatives. Amanda and her boyfriend Abe are top students, and they’ve just endured thirty-six hours of testing. But they’re juniors and don’t expect to graduate. That’ll happen next year, when they plan to join the CIA—together.

But when the graduates are announced, the results are shocking. Amanda has been chosen—the first junior in decades. And she receives the opportunity of a lifetime: to join a secret government organization called the Annum Guard and travel through time to change the course of history. But in order to become the Eighth Guardian in this exclusive group, Amanda must say good-bye to everything—her name, her family, and even Abe—forever.

Who is really behind the Annum Guard? And can she trust them with her life?

Release date: May 6, 2014

Publisher: Skyscape (Amazon)

Genre: YA time travel thriller

ISBN: 978-1477847138

ASIN: B00DH3MP82

Buy links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Eighth-Guardian-Annum-Guard/dp/1477847138

B & N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-eighth-guardian-meredith-mccardle/1117781240?ean=9781477847138

Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Eighth-Guardian-Meredith-Mccardle/9781477847138

 

Praise for THE EIGHTH GUARDIAN: “THE EIGHTH GUARDIAN had everything I wanted in a story: I fell in love with the characters, gasped at the mystery, and laughed at Iris’s unfailing snark. Lucky for me, this high-energy, edge-of-your-seat thriller is only the first in what I know will become one of my favorite series.” ~Susan Dennard, author of the SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY trilogy

About Meredith McCardle: Meredith McCardle is a former lawyer who lives in South Florida with her husband and two young daughters. Like her main character, she has a fondness for strong coffee, comfortable pants, and jumping to the wrong conclusions. Unlike her main character, she cannot travel through time. Sadly. Her debut, THE EIGHTH GUARDIAN, will be published by Skyscape/Amazon Children’s in Spring 2014.

Social media links:

Twitter: @MeredithMcP

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MeredithMcCardleAuthor

Blog: http://meredithmccardle.com/blog

Book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17357347-the-eighth-guardian

Author on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6930476.Meredith_McCardle

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/meredithmcp/

Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/meredithmccardle

Meredith is giving away 2 Kindle paperwhites, a signed hardcover of THE EIGHTH GUARDIAN, and a paperback + book-themed necklace.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post Interview with Meredith McCardle, Author of The Eighth Guardian and Giveaway appeared first on Manga Maniac Cafe.

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I was (finally) writing a review of The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin and I found myself referring back to my May 1, 2009 review of A Wrinkle in Time, which was a complete mess. So, in honor of the 5 year anniversary of my review, I present a tidier version for your viewing (and reading) pleasure! A Wrinkle in Time: A Brief History of the Covers  (review follows) I absolutely love the

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About the Book

Title: The SockKids™ Meet Lincoln

Authors: Michael John Sullivan and Susan Petrone

Illustrator: SugarSnail

Publication Date: August 14, 2013

Publisher: Independent

Pages: 40 (print)

Recommended Age: 3 to 8

Summary (Amazon):

Where do our missing socks go? Readers find out in our children’s series, The SOCKKIDS. We follow the Socker family through many adventures; from encountering the slobbery mouth of the family dog to meeting Santa as he comes down the chimney on Christmas Eve to helping a fireman save a baby to the most shy Socker going to the school dance for the first time. Thanks to the time-travel opportunities afforded by the spin cycle of the washer, they learn about some of the most important humans in the world. Children two and up and their parents will be drawn to the diversity of the family and the universal and timeless lessons they teach: don’t be afraid of new experiences; treat others as you would like to be treated, and of course, beware of the spin cycle!

Purchase

My Review

This is an adorable, imaginative book about time traveling socks. Young readers will enjoy riding along on their journeys that are fun, touching, and educational. Each sock has a unique personality, captured well by the engaging text and delightful, colorful illustrations.

What I truly love about The SOCKKIDS Meet Lincoln is that while it maintains the importance of President Lincoln, it also makes him less intimidating to get to know, especially for the children reading this book who are already in school and study Lincoln around President’s Day. After his important Gettysburg Address, Lincoln and his socks travel in a stage coach all the way back to a large white house where he greets a woman named Mary. Stretch, the long tube sock who ends up on Lincoln’s leg, actually interacts with the president during the story.

I also felt the authors handled Stretch’s feelings of missing home well. He’s a young sock pulled into this adventure on his own. By making Abraham and Mary Lincoln as friendly as a next door neighbor, and giving Stretch a friend named Meade while he was in 1863, there is less need for youngsters to worry about how Stretch will be reunited with his family. Meade offers to try and help Stretch make it back home.

This is the first book in a planned SOCKKIDS series. I’m eager for the next book’s release.

Rating:

The Buzz

“I love the creativity of the story as well as the many lessons that can be discussed after reading this, including President Lincoln and what he stood for. (I enjoy books that allow you to start a dialog with children who read them, and this book does not disappoint.) The book is easy to read, which makes it appealing because children can read it with an adult or on their own. I even giggled a few times while reading this, and any story that can put a smile on someone’s face has my approval!.” ~ 5-Star Review from ksen, Amazon

“A unique, well written, highly creative story, bringing socks to life in this sweet tale of a family of socks who time travel through the washing machine. Laundry never sounded so colorful and fun, with the added bonus of teaching children about history in an amusing, loveable and magical way. Intertwining well developed characters, plus a real historical figure (Abraham Lincoln) in a story that will not only introduce children to this president, but also teaches them what Lincoln stood for, and the lessons that will resonate with adults so they may be able to share this time in history with a young child (children) in their life, creating reading memories they will always treasure. The SockKids is beautifully illustrated, colorful and the cute Socker images will bring a smile to your face, and the dialogue is sure to elicit laughter from both the reader and the child. ” ~ 5-Star review from Selena Robins, Amazon

“The SockKids Meet Lincoln is a fun way to introduce young kids to an important historical period and figure. The tone is lighthearted yet informative–perfect for the target age group. I found myself chuckling along too! I’ve always wondered where my socks went when they disappeared…” ~ 5-Star review from A. MacLean, Amazon

“This is an adorable story with a wonderful message. I loved the illustrations, so colorful, every child will love these pictures and love this story. We all have lost socks in the washing machine and how cute to picture them talking to each other. I also loved the journey to Lincoln and how it didn’t matter to him what color the socks were, his didn’t match, a hidden message which you will have to read the story to find out what all that means. I hope to see many other wonderful sockkids adventures from Mr. Sullivan. I would give this more than 5 stars!” ~ 5-Star review from Cynthia A. Springsteen, Amazon

About The Authors: Michael John Sullivan & Susan Petrone

Michael John Sullivan is the creator of the SockKids. Constantly searching for his socks, he wondered whether the missing foot comforters had found another pair of feet to warm. Before his interest in socks, Sullivan started writing his first novel while homeless, riding a NYC subway train at night. Sullivan returned to his subway notes in 2007 and began writing Necessary Heartbreak: A Novel of Faith and Forgiveness (Simon & Schuster, Gallery Books imprint). Library Journal named Necessary Heartbreak one of the year’s best in 2010. His second novel, Everybody’s Daughter (Fiction Studio Books, 2012) was named one of the best books of 2012 by TheExaminer.com. Sullivan has written articles about the plight of homelessness for CNN.com, The Washington Post.com, Beliefnet.com, the Huffington Post, and America Online’s Patch.com service.

Susan Petrone’s short fiction has been published by Glimmer Train, Featherproof Books, The Cleveland Review, Muse, Conclave, and Whiskey Island. Her first novel, A Body at Rest, was published in 2009 (Drinian Press). Her short story, Monster Jones Wants to Creep You Out (Conclave,2010) was nominated for a 2011 Pushcart Prize. She also writes about her beloved Cleveland Indians at ItsPronouncedLajaway.com for ESPN.com’s SweetSpot network. In addition, she is a regular contributor to Cool Cleveland.com.

Book Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads

The SockKids™ Meet Lincoln Blog Tour Schedule (2013)

November 5

Mother Daughter Book Reviews (Launch & Review)

November 6

Stitch Says (Character Interview)

Houseful of Chaos (Review)

November 7

No Doubt Learning (Review)

Unschooling Momma (Review)

November 8

Learning and Growing the Piwi Way (Review)

Books Direct (Author Interview)

November 9

K&A’s Children’s Book Reviews (Review)

Hazel Nutt’s Toddler Talk (Review)

November 10

Football Food and Motherhood (Review)

The World of ContestPatti (Review)

November 11

Bookworm for Kids (Review)

November 12

Mommynificent (Review)

Adalinc to Life (Review)

November 13

Stitch Says (Review)

Diane Estrella – That’s What I’m Here For (Review)

November 14

Giveaway Breaking News for Indonesia (Review)

November 15

Stanley and Katrina (Review)

For the Love of Books (Review)

November 16

Mel’s Shelves (Review)

Brooke Blogs (Review)

November 17

Christy’s Cozy Corners (Review)

November 18

BeachBoundBooks (Review)

Living as We (Review)

November 19

The Children’s and Teens’ Book Connection (Review)

InkSpired: A Blog (Review)

November 20

We are the DinoFamily (Review)

Reviews by Karen (Guest Post)

November 21

Jessica’s Casserole (Review)

November 22

My Devotional Thoughts (Review)

Amanda’s Books and More (Review)

November 23

Books, Reviews, Etc. (Review)

The Jenny Evolution (Review)

November 24

Generation iKid (Guest Post)

Black Words – White Pages (Review)

November 25

This Southern Girl’s Life (Review)

*** The SockKids™ Meet Lincoln Blog Tour Giveaway ***

Prizes: 3 Grand Prize Winners:  $25 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal Cash + a SockKids t-shirt and 3 Secondary Prize Winners:  SockKids t-shirt!

Contest runs: November 5 to December 2, 11:59 pm, 2013

Open: Worldwide

How to enter: Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.

Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. The Grand Prize winner and secondary winners will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winners will then have 72 hours to respond. If a winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the authors Michael John Sullivan and Susan Petrone and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received a free digital version of this book from the author through Mother Daughter Book Reviews. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

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Renee Duke was born on November 19^th, 1952, the youngest child and only daughter of a Scotsman and his English bride.  She learned to read at an early age, and her best subjects in school were History, English, and Religious Studies. She later became a preschool teacher, but has also worked with older children in a variety of settings, including Belize, Central America.  She travelled extensively before embarking on parenthood, and later returned to this pursuit with young in tow.  Other than doing occasional interactive history units with 6-13-year-olds, she is now retired and able to concentrate on writing her Time Rose series. She has been writing for children and adults for many years and her work has appeared in magazines in Canada, the USA, and the UK.    

She does not, as yet, blog, but can be found on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/renee.duke.75https://www.facebook.com/renee.duke.75 and has a website: www.reneeduke.ca

Where did you grow up?

In Canada and England – specifically, Keewatin, Ontario, Kelowna, B.C., and Wantage, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire).  

When did you begin writing? 

I began writing when I was seven and a composition lesson at school helped me realize that books (which I loved) were actually stories thought up by someone.

Do you write during the day, at night or whenever you can sneak a few moments?

I can sneak a few more moments now that I’ve pretty much retired.  Before that it was mostly at night or during school holidays. 

What is this book about?

It is about three children who use an ancient medallion to travel back to the fifteenth century England and find themselves caught up in the power struggles surrounding the boy king, Edward V and his brother Richard Duke of York, who disappeared from the Tower of London sometime between June 1483 and September 1485. 

What inspired you to write it? 

I’ve been interested in the mysterious disappearance of those two royal brothers ever since I read about them in a, what my Grantie Etta character would call, ‘Tudor propagandist’ text book in school.  

Who is your favorite character from the book?

That’s like asking which of your children is your favourite.  Don’t you know you’re supposed to love them all the same?  But if I have to pick, then I’d probably have to say Jack, who, like me, hates sports and getting up early.

Where can readers purchase a copy of your book? 

https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/our-authors/53-our-authors/authors-d/297-renee-duke

Do you have a video trailer to promote your book?  If yes, where can readers find it? 

Not yet, but since I always make him his favourite cake when he comes home to visit, my actor/filmmaker son just might do one for me and put it up on my website in the not too distant future.

What is one piece of advice you would like to share with aspiring authors everywhere?

Learn your craft and be willing to go on learning it.   

What is up next for you? 

Finishing the edits for Book Two (due out in January), and getting past chapter two of the next one.  I haven’t really settled into it yet, and know I must do so fairly soon. 

 

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The Time Fetch by Amy Herrick, besides being a fantastic book, also happens to be one of the first books to be published by the brand new imprint Algonquin Young Readers. I want to take a paragraph here to tell you about Algonquin Young Readers, the recently created arm of Algonquin Books, publisher of acclaimed best selling books for adults such as Like Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

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<!-- START INTERCHANGE - NORTH OF NOWHERE -->if(!window.igic__){window.igic__={};var d=document;var s=d.createElement("script");s.src="http://iangilman.com/interchange/js/widget.js";d.body.appendChild(s);} I am embarrassed to say that the only books by Liz Kessler that I have read are her stand alones, like A Year without Autumn and here newest book, North of Nowhere. This is despite the

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<!-- START INTERCHANGE - THE RELUCTANT ASSASSIN -->if(!window.igic__){window.igic__={};var d=document;var s=d.createElement("script");s.src="http://iangilman.com/interchange/js/widget.js";d.body.appendChild(s);} <!-- END INTERCHANGE --> W.A.R.P. Book 1: The Reluctant Assassin is the new series from Eoin Colfer of Artemis Fowl fame. When I was a bookseller, Colfer's Artemis Fowl series was

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4) “The 13^thReality, the Journal of curious letters. - Written by James Dashner, illustrated by Bryan Beus, Published by Shadow Mountain Press an imprint of Worzalla Publishing Co.  Stevens point, WI. 2008. One day a nerdy boy, Atticus Higginbottom receives a strange letter from Alaska.  After this boy’s life changes from a boring one to life full of mystery and questions that, need to be answered.  Twelve clues help him understand that the world he lives in is just one of many parallel worlds, which still need to be discovered and saved.  If a child likes to solve problems through clues, they would love this book.  A story progresses Atticus goes from zero to hero.  The pencil illustrations and secrets surrounding the boy’s life will keep your middle graders turning the pages.  

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Publishers seem increasingly willing to roll the dice on anthology formats recently. Maybe it’s the success of things like Dark Horse Presents, and the model they’ve followed of introducing new works and then successfully spinning them off into new story titles like BLACK BEETLE. There’s an inherently approachable aspect to anthologies—new readers can pick them up and take a tour of many ideas and art styles without feeling out of the loop, and creators themselves aren’t subjected to the high-wire act of telling fresh tales while balancing the necessities of continuity. It’s also a chance to bring on new talent and give readers a chance to play a role in selecting what appeals to them. Vertigo, however, has a long history of valuing the anthology format to engage with new readers, from its FIRST CUT to FIRST OFFENSES, which readers still pick up when trying to get a handle on what the line has to offer in terms of genre and content.

TIME WARP, a revival of a late 1970’s anthology format, presents nine stories by a variety of well known and new creators following a loose theme that may not be as loose as it appears at first glance. The key word “time” stands out as a recurring (literally) factor in these stories. On the whole, because the anthology contains so many varied story-telling techniques and art styles, its appealing and gives the reader a sense of time and money well spent based on its “something for everyone” approach. As a one-shot, it also reads like a graphic novel in disparate parts that comments on the potential of science fiction in the comics medium with capacity to challenge our concepts of humanity, technology, and their often troubled relationship.

[Caution: Mild spoilers on content, but no plot-twist revelations ahead]

“R.I.P” , written by Damon Lindelof, with evocative art by Jeff Lemire and fluid colors by Jose Villarubia, is a strong start to the collection. What could be more basic, pulpy, and attractive than a time-travel tale with dinosaurs and multiple attempts to escape death? The story’s variations on a theme, however, get complex quickly, with satisfying results. All the kinds of questions about the implications of time travel that kids grew up with watching Star Trek: The Next Generation take a bite out of the story and lead the reader in logical loops. Lemire’s energetic, chaos-controlling line-work, combined with Travis Lanham’s quirky lettering, suggest an undercurrent of the haphazard about all human endeavors. The message seems to be, despite all our planning, when we deal with factors essentially bigger than us, we might get by, but only by the skin of our teeth. The suspension of belief necessary for the story isn’t overbearing since it points out all the problems and difficulties of handling big themes in its plot structure.

“It’s Full of Demons” is a particularly challenging story, one might almost call a mystery despite its early introduction of a possibly alien time traveller in turn of the century Austria.  After reading the complete story, you might have a Memento-like experience of reconstructing the details of the story backward along the lines provided by a full revelation of their significance. This is engaging for the reader. Tom King’s writing is clever in providing just enough detail to make this backward reading possible while not revealing too much about why the increasing madness of a little girl growing up after her brother’s death might be important to readers. The themes of the story are, in fact, heavier the more you examine them, commenting on how fear and the “demonizing” of figures and groups may be an even greater threat than the shocking intrusion of the vastly unknown into daily life. Tom Fowler’s artwork suggests history well without rendering it ponderous, and in particular conveys emotional states in its main character with great empathy.

Gail Simone writes “I Have What You Need”, with upbeat and somewhat eerie art by Gael Bertrand, and vibrant colors by Jordie Bellaire. Simone isn’t afraid to get complicated, either, about the implications of time travel, even within one’s own mind, and delves pretty deeply into human nature by exploring the idea that a drug could enable you to revisit the best ten minutes of your life. Her kindly shopkeeper holds this god-like key to a “product” that everyone wants, and also provides commentary on what humans deserve, and what they get out of life. Twist endings are a common feature of many of the stories in TIME WARP, and though the stories might have been intriguing without them, it’s a pattern that gives the reader a sense of the value of each particular story as a unit of entertainment and harks back to the genre features of early pulp sci-fi.

“The Grudge” is an intelligent and very human tale of rivalry between two scientists, the kind of rivalry we’ve seen in techno pop culture between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Written by Simon Spurrier, with art and color by Michael Dowling, its compressed storytelling gives you a sense of having read a whole comic or perhaps a graphic novel, again presenting an entirely different, detailed world within the anthology. It spans the life of these scientists, their tragedies, and the tension between public demand for spectacle in scientific discoveries and the real needs of scientific advancement to look toward greater future building. Dowling’s near photo-realistic art style easily conveys the sense that this could be our twenty-first century future, still governed by the baser, and higher impulses of the human beings involved in advancement. But the story infuses even tragedy with humor, and most importantly, believing in the reality of the characters helps convey the messages of the narrative.

One of the most surprising additions to TIME WARP is a Dead Boy Detectives story. Originally created by Neil Gaiman as a spin-off from SANDMAN, the Dead Boy Detectives seem to veer pretty far from science fiction in their investigation of the occult. However, Gaiman was never one to draw a firm line between the occult and the scientific, and neither has pulp tradition, a borderland other comics in TIME WARP also explore. This episode, “Run Ragged”, written by Toby Litt, with layouts by Mark Buckingham, finishing work by Victor Santos, and letters by the great Todd Klein, reads like a sudden glimpse of a return to a favorite world, and indeed it’s described as a lead-up to a continuing storyline in THE WITCHING HOUR ANTHOLOGY. The artwork, and also the colors by Lee Loughridge are accomplished and appealing, particularly successful at conveying motion and action while creating a sense of the haunted atmosphere of the material.

“She’s Not There” may remind readers of the more psychological aspects of good science fiction, with more than a dash of the noir emphasis on intense relationships. The premise, that a company in the future can charge vast amounts of money to resurrect ghosts as “information” gleaned from loved ones, hits one of the many common themes in TIME WARP, the general neediness of human beings and the lengths they’ll go to in order to seek comfort from their pasts. Another “mystery” aspect of the story, written by Peter Milligan, with art and colors by M.K. Perker, is the reason for the resurrected wife Angel’s death, and the lingering problems that might have comprised her relationship with her husband in the first place. The story poses a unique question, “Can you own a ghost?”. In a technological world where everything’s a commodity, it seems like a singularly dark possibility. The artwork suggests a blend of the familiar and the unknown in equal proportions, keeping readers guessing, just like the plot.

The unusually titled story “00:00:03” places human beings under another kind of microscope under the pressure of extreme situations. During vast interstellar wars, we follow the decisions of Helene as she attempts to perform her military duties under the influence of a unique “molasses” protocol that extends perception of time. Written by Ray Fawkes and drawn by Andy MacDonald, this is the kind of story that sci-fi readers will be particularly attracted to. It offers sweeping conflicts on a large stage, space battles, and remarkably deep characterization of a central figure in action. The age old question posed by sci-fi, “Are we still human inside our technology?”, is both addressed and answered in a poignant way.

If you’re all about the art of sci-fi comics, then you’ll have quite a few surprises to look forward to in TIME WARP, but it’s likely that Matt Kindt’s “Warning: Danger” will be top of the list. With Kindt’s sketchy outlines, and splashy use of watercolor tones, the story breaks from many of the common assumptions of what traditional sci-fi art should look like. How do you convey the crisp lines of spectacular technology in such an idiosyncratic style? Kindt’s answer is to render technology, and its premises in the story, organic, and therefore a little more alarming. By breaking with what readers may recognize, Kindt presents an unrecognizable, and very compelling vision of the future. His diagrams of the armor and accoutrements of two civilization-representing soldiers locked in single combat schematize the ingenuity and determination of one-upmanship in technological advancement. There’s a downbeat sense of recurring time that’s featured in a number of TIME WARP stories, providing the opportunity for humans to relive their obsessions and failures, or get it right when given another chance.

The final piece in TIME WARP gathers together the thematic threads of recurring time, human decision-making, and the bizarre responsibilities that power over technology entails. When technology becomes somewhat monstrous, who’s really in control? Is the humanity inside the machine enough to guide progress away from disaster? “The Principle” is written with a key focus on two main characters by Dan Abnett, and presented rather beautifully with colors and art by I.N.J. Culbard. The trope of presenting a guy new to his job as an identifying character for the readers is here completely necessary to add tension to the gradual revelation of plot. The attempt to prevent an assassination of the “principle” figure through staging the same moment in time over and over again gives characters repeated chances to get things right, and also humorously comments on some historical mysteries as time-travel screw ups. Culbard’s inks, particularly, have a certain noir sensibility, too, though infused with a sci-fi eye toward motion, and seem appropriate when grounding the future in the past. Abnett doesn’t hold off on the sci-fi theme of responsibility, either, and closes the collection with a final message about the tendencies of humanity to abuse power in banal ways, and the responsibilities, often dire, we face in trying to keep that kind of potential chaos under control.

In fact, looking back through TIME WARP, the overarching implication of these stories seems to be Time=Responsibility. The further we push technological advancement, and the more we tinker with our humanity, the more work we generate for ourselves monitoring our trajectory. But with concepts and artwork like the kind contained in TIME WARP, the spectacle of those sci-fi heights never ceases to be attractive, even when it’s pointing out the potential pitfalls that almost certainly lie ahead. TIME WARP contains a miscellany of energetic science fiction, and its hard not to find the sheer breadth of material and the talent behind it a selling point. Nine worlds, and compact story-telling that often spans lifetimes in one volume? It’s both entertaining and consistently thought-provoking, marking a worthy return of the TIME WARP title.

 

Title: TIME WARP #1/Publisher: Vertigo, DC Comics/Creative Teams:

“R.I.P”: Damon Lindelof, writer, Jeff Lemire, artist/“It’s Full of Demons”: Tom King, writer, Tom Fowler, artist/“I Have What You Need”: Gail Simone, writer, Gael Bertrand, artist/“The Grudge”: Simon Spurrier, writer, Michael Dowling, artists/“Dead Boy Detectives”: Toby Litt, writer, Mark Buckingham, layouts, Victor Santos, finishing/“She’s Not There”: Peter Milligan, writer, M.K. Perker, artist/“00:00:03”: Ray Fawkes, writer, Andy MacDonald, artist/“Warning: Danger”: Matt Kindt, story and art/“The Principle”: Dan Abnett, writer, I.N.J. Culbard, colors and art

Hannah Means-Shannon writes and blogs about comics for TRIP CITY and Sequart.org and is currently working on books about Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore for Sequart. She is @hannahmenzies on Twitter and hannahmenziesblog on WordPress.

 

 

 

 

 

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I am delighted to announce that the manuscript sometimes known as CHRONAL ENGINE II: THE WRATH OF KHAAN is scheduled for publication by Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt!

We don't actually have a final title yet (one of the working titles -- and the title in today's Publishers' Marketplace announcement -- is CHRONAL PATHFINDER, but that might change, as well).  Obviously, this isn't the real cover either -- I just like the Pulp-O-Mizer.  :-). 

What's it about?  Well, here's a teaser: Not long after the events of CHRONAL ENGINE, a mysterious letter found beneath the floorboards of the ranch house sends the teens back to the Cretaceous to rescue Mad Jack Pierson!

Thanks to my agent Ginger Knowlton and new editor Jennifer Greene!

Oh, and here's the Pulp-O-Mizer cover for CHRONAL ENGINE:

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** I wrote this review in 2009 and was thinking about this book again recently.  Drift House is imaginative and thoughtful and poignant in ways that so many works of fantasy aren't these days so I wanted to introduce or remind you of it. Also, there is a FANTASTIC list of similar books (and links to me reviews) at the end of the review. The criteria being, each series (or stand-alone) features

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Pilkey, Dav. 2013. Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers. New York: Scholastic.

Maybe you're not a fan of Captain Underpants, the superhero alter ego of mean, Jerome Horwitz Elementary School Principal, Mr. Krupp.  Maybe you're not a fan of the frequent misspellings of Mr. Krupp's troublesome 4th graders, George and Harold.  However, it's hard not to be a fan of one of the most wildly popular series for young and reluctant readers.  This goofy, irreverent series continues to gain new fans and flies off the shelf with as much regularity and enthusiasm as the flying Captain Underpants himself. "Tra la la!"

This latest adventure finds George and Harold travelling through time with pets Crackers and Sulu, to correct the events of an earlier time-travelling venture that had disastrous consequences for the future.  Pitted against Tippy Tinkletrousers, Tiny Tippy Tinkletrousers, and Slightly Younger Tiny Tippy Tinkletrousers and their Freezy-Beam 4000, George and Harold will have to use their wits if they are to save Captain Underpants and return to the future.  Six great Flip-O-Ramas are included (they make a fun art activity), as well as a 24-page wordless comic featuring Ook and Gluk.

Although the series is suggested for ages 7 and up, I find that much older kids will read Captain Underpants, too - and not just reluctant readers.  I know high-level readers that enjoy Dav Pilkey's Three Stooges brand of humor and art as well.  I'm not much for bathroom or pratfall humor, but Chapter 2, "Let's Get Serious, Folks," had me laughing out loud.   Explaining why we miserable, regretful and grumpy grownups discourage all kinds of fun, the narrator offers readers this bit of advice,

     Keeping this in mind, you might not want to smile or laugh while reading this book.  And when you get to the Flip-O-Rama parts, I suggest you flip with a bored, disinterested look on your face or some adult will probably take this book away from you and make you read Sarah, Plain and Tall instead.
     Don't say I didn't warn you.

When I checked today, Captain Underpants and the Revolting Revenge of the Radioactive Robo-Boxers was ranked #213 on Amazon.com.  Not #213 in children's books, #213 in all books. Not too shabby.  And the reviews?  All 5 stars.



If you think kids are the only ones who follow the adventures of Captain Underpants, guess again. Captain Underpants was even featured on NPR's Morning Edition.  Read or listen to "Hold On To Your Tighty Whities, Captain Underpants is Back!" here.

DreamWorks Animation has the film rights to the Captain Underpants series, but no timeline for production has been announced yet.

Oh yes, and he's got an app, too. Preview the Adventures of Captain Underpants app here.

Update: Forgot to add that Advance Reader Copies were provided at my request by Scholastic and NetGalley.

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Thanks to Penguin, I have a copy of City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte for one of you to win!  I really enjoyed this quirky book, and I think you will,too!  To enter, just fill out the widget below. Earn extra entries by following.

About the book:

 

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Didn’t win? You can purchase a copy from your favorite bookseller or by clicking the links below.

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He was about to drive the mules back over to the smithy when a voice asked him, "What was that?" He fairly jumped out of his skin as he turned and saw Sarah standing there in the moonlight. The blue beams of the world's lesser light added a strange but enchanting hue to her blonde hair and pale face. "What are you doing here?" he asked, when he had recovered his breath. "I could ask you the same thing." He got down off the wagon and came over to her. She backed up a step, but no further. "How much did you see?" Continue reading →

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