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Over the River & Through the Wood by Linda Ashman, illustrated by Kim Smith

Source: Sterling Children’s Books
Hardcover, 32 pgs.
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Over the River & Through the Wood by Linda Ashman, illustrated by Kim Smith, is a modern story of the Thanksgiving trip to grandmother’s house over the river and through the woods.  Rather than merely travel by sleigh, these family members take cars that run out of gas, trains to cities to find rental cars are all gone, and other modes of transportation when grandmother invites them over for dinner.

The way is paved with snow and these families are eagerly picked up by a horse and sleigh. Even the families are updated from the traditional mother and father with two kids to include not only mixed race families, but also a gay couple with children.  It was a lovely, inclusive touch.  What was a little disappointing was the text, as it didn’t rhyme as well as younger readers would expect.  They are unaware of slant rhyme and for little readers it could be hard to modify a word to make the rhyme work.

Over the River & Through the Wood by Linda Ashman, illustrated by Kim Smith, is a cute book about what it means to spend time together as a family, even with your extended family.  It’s especially wonderful when you not only have memories to share over the holidays, but when you come from different places and backgrounds.

Locke & Key: Crown of Shadows Vol. 3 by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez

Source: Public Library
Paperback, 152 pgs.
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Locke & Key: Crown of Shadows Vol. 3 by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez, introduces more keys and more trouble for the Locke family.  As their mother spirals further into her depression and strives to fix things while still drinking herself into oblivion, the kids continue to rebel against her.  Even as they strive to be more like adults where she is concerned, they are still mixed up teenagers, failing to deal with their grief about the loss of their father in volume 1.  As Kinsey continues to operate without her fears and sadness, Tyler continues to feel his guilt, which only gets stronger.  Bode is still the curious boy who finds the keys accidentally, but in this case, one key saves them from certain death, while another nearly pushes their mother over the edge when it fails to fix the one thing that cannot be fixed — the death of her husband.

There are more than just magical keys in this house, as the kids soon find that a crown of shadows can be used to move dark forces in the house.  They are still unaware of the wellhouse woman’s true identity, but she makes a reappearance in this volume to terrify even the youngest Locke, Bode.  Light is their only weapon until the breakers in the house are shut off and the house is plunged into darkness — a darkness that comes alive with the crown of shadows.

Locke & Key: Crown of Shadows Vol. 3 by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez, is a strong third volume in the series and definitely reveals a lot more about the mysteries behind the keys, the wellhouse woman, and the Locke children’s father.  The illustrations are as engaging as ever, and readers will look forward to each horrifying installment.

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About the Author:

Joseph Hillstrom King is an American writer of fiction, writing under the pen name of Joe Hill.  Hill is the the second child of authors Stephen King and Tabitha King. His younger brother Owen King is also a writer. He has three children.

Hill’s first book, the limited edition collection 20th Century Ghosts published in 2005 by PS Publishing, showcases fourteen of his short stories and won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection, together with the British Fantasy Award for Best Collection and Best Short Story for “Best New Horror”. In October 2007, Hill’s mainstream US and UK publishers reprinted 20th Century Ghosts, without the extras published in the 2005 slipcased versions, but including one new story.

About the Illustrator:

Architect, artist and illustrator. He started his career with myth based illustrations for card games, and then jumped into the world of professional comics working with IDW Publishing. In addition to his current work in Locke & Key, his collaborations with IDW include Clive Barker’s The Great and Secret Show, Beowulf, George Romero’s Land Of The Dead, as well as several CSI comics and some covers for Angel and Transformers.

Locke & Key: Head Games Vol. 2 by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez

Source: Public Library
Paperback, 144 pgs.
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Locke & Key: Head Games Vol. 2 by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez, continues the story and reveals even more of the house’s secrets.  There are more keys, even ones that can crack open your head — what’s inside some of these kids’ brains will unsettle you.  Memory and imagination meld together in their minds to create even more gruesome threats.  Tyler, Bode, and Kinsey are excited to find the key that opens their minds, and like many teens, they abuse the magical key.

Without fear Kinsey becomes less emotional and eager to face danger, but will that lead to her death? Tyler is happily using the magic to get ahead with girls and schools, while Bode is left on the sidelines.  But sharing these secrets of the house and its keys could be the most detrimental of all.  The illustrations are fantastic, realistic, and engaging.  There is so much to take in visually, as well as through the text.

Locke & Key: Head Games Vol. 2 by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodriguez, is a solid series with many secrets yet to be revealed.  The dark forces are still making their way out of the depths of the well and the house, but these kids are blissfully unaware that the keys they find can be used for evil.  While they believe the danger has subsided, readers will soon realize that this is only the beginning and that these kids may be left on their own in the battle of their lives.

Other Reviews:

About the Author:

Joseph Hillstrom King is an American writer of fiction, writing under the pen name of Joe Hill.  Hill is the the second child of authors Stephen King and Tabitha King. His younger brother Owen King is also a writer. He has three children.

Hill’s first book, the limited edition collection 20th Century Ghosts published in 2005 by PS Publishing, showcases fourteen of his short stories and won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection, together with the British Fantasy Award for Best Collection and Best Short Story for “Best New Horror”. In October 2007, Hill’s mainstream US and UK publishers reprinted 20th Century Ghosts, without the extras published in the 2005 slipcased versions, but including one new story.

About the Illustrator:

Architect, artist and illustrator. He started his career with myth based illustrations for card games, and then jumped into the world of professional comics working with IDW Publishing. In addition to his current work in Locke & Key, his collaborations with IDW include Clive Barker’s The Great and Secret Show, Beowulf, George Romero’s Land Of The Dead, as well as several CSI comics and some covers for Angel and Transformers.

Water on the Moon by Jean P. Moore

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Source: TLC Book Tours
Paperback, 244 pgs.
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Water on the Moon by Jean P. Moore is a spiral of mystery in which Lidia Raven, the mother of teenage twin girls, has her life upended by a pane that crashes into her family home.  Raven’s life already had jolted off track when her husband left her for another man, and she chose to parent her children on her own, leaving a prosperous career for the suburbs.  Behind the home, the apple orchards stand guard, watching over the new generations as the previous generations’ secrets remain hidden in passages beneath the house and among the surviving generations.  With nods to Byron’s poetry and to the bravery and passion of Amelia Earhart, Moore’s prose is winding, meandering through Lidia’s concerns about her daughters, her obsessions with the flyer who crashed into her home, and her difficulty in letting go of her past life with her husband.  Her neighbor, Polly, takes the Raven family in as the house is restored and the FBI investigation wraps up, and this woman is a sage, offering sound advice to those willing to listen.

Since the breakup of her ideal family, Lidia has spent a lot of hours worrying about when the next shoe would drop and upend her world again.  She’s been in protectionist mode for far too long, and with help from Polly, she learns to be more open and more flexible, but she also has to face some of the ghosts in her family’s past.  While the intricacies of the family mystery are interesting and the pilot’s obsession with Earhart are engaging, the main story often gets lost in the references to Byron and to Earhart.  The story would have felt less distant if the reader could have connected closer with Lidia and her heartbreak.

Water on the Moon by Jean P. Moore offers tidbits of conflict that are resolved either too quickly or barely resolved.  Lidia is a character that seems underdeveloped emotionally, and while the daughters are on the periphery, they have greater depth.  Lidia’s character falls in love too quickly, is easily spooked, and has a stubborn streak when her heart is broken.  Without Polly, Lidia would have plugged along in her life without making any real changes, and in this way, she redeems the novel for this reader.  Polly’s life is fascinating, and her sage advice will remind readers of those grandmothers who carefully steer loved ones in the right direction.

About the Author:

Jean P. Moore began her professional life as an English teacher, later becoming a telecommunications executive. She and her husband, Steve, and Sly, their black Lab, divide their time between Greenwich, Connecticut and the Berkshires in Massachusetts, where Jean teaches yoga in the summers.

Her work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, and literary journals such as upstreet, SN Review, Adanna, Distillery, Skirt, Long Island Woman, the Hartford Courant, Greenwich Time, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Water on the Moon was published in June of 2014 and won the 2015 Independent Publishers Book Award for Contemporary Fiction. Visit her on her website, on her blog, and Twitter.

Seriously, You Have to Eat by Adam Mansbach, illustrated by Owen Brozman

Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers
Hardcover, 32 pgs.
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Seriously, You Have to Eat by Adam Mansbach, illustrated by Owen Brozman, is similar to his previous book about the struggles of parenting, though this one is a little more kid friendly.  Rather than rely on the outrageous language and profanity, this book focuses on the food asked for an not eaten, the animals that eat no matter what is given to them by their parents, and the astonishing amount of energy that kids seem to have even if they do not eat their meals throughout the day.  My daughter was not as tickled by this book as I would have thought.  The illustrations are fine and the rhymes are pretty good for the most part, but she may not have seen the sarcastic humor in this one.  It may still be a little more geared to those struggling parents, than their kids.

Beyond the struggles with getting kids to eat, this one also touches on the little battles over what kids want to wear versus what they should be wearing to school.  There is one moment in the book in which the child is given milk to drink and the “kitchen” is closed, but the parent grabs a drink that smells like “peat.”  As a parent of a young child — we glossed over this part — I’m leery of introducing the idea that alcohol is a way to “solve” or deal with problems.  Yes, parenting is stressful, and yes, parents may take a drink to unwind, I’m just not sure that’s a message kids should be learning.

Seriously, You Have to Eat by Adam Mansbach, illustrated by Owen Brozman, is a book more fore parents than children, even though the language is less profane.  Even if parents share this book with their kids, they may want to gloss over certain things or change them up a bit.

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Go the F**k to Sleep

An Age of License by Lucy Knisley

Source: Public Library
Paperback, 195 pgs.
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An Age of License by Lucy Knisley is another graphic memoir of a young artist who has a compulsion to draw those around her, no matter how creepy that may appear in a crowded restaurant.  These graphic memoirs are a great way to quickly get a look inside someone’s life, their fears, and their happy moments without feeling like you’re prying.  The comics provide just the right amount of distance to the narrative, and Knisley’s style is very conversational and intimate, but there are moments she keeps to herself — that’s ok too.

Knisley is someone many of us were in our twenties — adventurous in spite of the anxiety — beginning the lives we’ll lead into the future either alone or with a family of our own.  We explore; we get to know who we are as people; what we’re looking for; and sometimes finding things we didn’t know we wanted.  While we often find that we are jealous of our friends who find themselves, their callings, or the families they desire before we do, we still love them and hope that we’ll find those things too.

Knisley’s graphic memoirs seem to be written as she goes along, but it is clear that more thought goes on and further work takes place after her adventures are done.  These memoirs have their own conversational quality and she clearly digs deep into her experiences.  In this memoir she takes a trip to Norway for a comics convention, which turns into a whirlwind of visits in other countries throughout Europe — Germany, France, and Sweden.  She questions the direction of her life and career, she questions her inability to find stability in relationships, but most of all, she questions her perspective, which comes from a relative place of privilege compared to others.

An Age of License by Lucy Knisley is a realistic look at traveling abroad as someone who does not know a language other than English, and who is still struggling to find her place and become grounded.  It is often good to get away from the daily grind to think about life as it is and determine if that’s what you want it to be for the rest of your life, and Knisley asks and somewhat answers these questions for herself.  One point in the memoir was a bit ironic in that lovers go to Paris, engrave their names on locks, and add those locks to a bridge as a sign of undying devotion, only for those locks to be eventually torn off by authorities and thrown away.  Even those things that we find permanent may not be.

***Another shout out to Bermudaonion for pointing me in Knisley’s direction.  I’ve loved these books.***

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About the Author:

Beginning with an love for Archie comics and Calvin and Hobbes, Lucy Knisley (pronounced “nigh-zlee”) has always thought of cartooning as the only profession she is suited for. A New York City kid raised by a family of foodies, Lucy is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago currently pursuing an MFA at the Center for Cartoon Studies. While completing her BFA at the School of the Art Institute, she was comics editor for the award-winning student publication F News Magazine.

Lucy currently resides in New York City where she makes comics. She likes books, sewing, bicycles, food you can eat with a spoon, manatees, nice pens, costumes, baking and Oscar Wilde. She occasionally has been known to wear amazing hats.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (audio)

Source: Public Library
Audiobook, 9 CDs
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Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, narrated by Jenna Lamia and David Ledoux, is one of those young adult novels that adults who can engage in magical worlds will enjoy.  Boundary wood in Mercy Falls, Minn., is populated with wolves, and while most of the time they keep to themselves, there are those incidents of attacks and the inevitable backlash by hunters with guns.  Sam Roth and Grace Brisbane have lingered just on the outskirts of one another for six years, and while Grace was bitten by wolves as a child, she barely remembers what happened, other than the beautiful white-gray wolf who was their rescuing her and his piercing yellow eyes.  The woods near Grace’s house are where she sees the wolves in the winter, but never in the summer, and she’s fascinated by their grace and beauty.

Her obsession with the wolves does distance her from her friends, but she doesn’t seem to mind until they begin disappearing.  Sam is a boy with a dark family history, who was “saved” by Beck as a young boy.  Grace and he instantly connect, and only his glittering yellow eyes reveal who he truly is.  Grace is then swept up into a world she marginally knew existed, and her first love consumes her.  Jenna Lamia is a believable teenage girl, and she has the right timber and pace for Grace’s character, and David Ledoux provides fantastic depth to Sam’s character in the narration.  On audio, this book shines in the darkness of the snow-lit woods.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, narrated by Jenna Lamia and David Ledoux, is a stunning opener to a paranormal series of books for young adults.  Stiefvater creates dynamic characters who are forced to deal with tough issues in unreal situations, and these characters are unforgettable.  Like many books in this category, there is a series, but this one has a lot of potential.  I’m looking forward to the next audio installment.

About the Author:

New York Times bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races. Artist. Driver of things with wheels. Avid reader.  All of Maggie Stiefvater’s life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you’re a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she’s tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She’s made her living as one or the other since she was 22. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia with her charmingly straight-laced husband, two kids, two neurotic dogs, and a 1973 Camaro named Loki.

I Want to Eat Your Books by Karin Lefranc and Tyler Parker

Source: Sky Pony Press
Hardcover, 32 pgs.
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I Want to Eat Your Books by Karin Lefranc and Tyler Parker was a fun read to get us in the mood for Halloween.  Eric is followed by a zombie to school, but rather than a brain-sucking zombie, he’s chased by a book eating zombie.  Halloween allows the dark and scary to surface in town, and Eric is scared when the zombie approaches.  When the zombie eats his book, the kids and teachers are running scared and trying to save their books.  From fiction to nonfiction, this zombie does not discriminate.  However, teachers would prefer if this zombie kid would read the books, rather than eat them.

Once in the library, the zombie is enlightened to the power of reading.  Eric hands him a book that changes his outlook.  While he is a zombie, he has manners and asks that Eric read to him.  This change is magical, and soon he’s devouring books in a completely new way.  Someone on the paranormal wire must have heard about the goodies in the library and passed along the news, because soon the school library is attracting mummies and zombies.

I Want to Eat Your Books by Karin Lefranc and Tyler Parkeris a fun book about the power of reading, and the knowledge that books can provide.  My daughter and I took to shouting, “I want to eat your books!” as the zombie made his way through the school, and by the end we were giggling.  This book is sure to create bookaholics like me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mind Your Monsters by Catherine Bailey, illustrated by Oriol Vidal

Source: Sterling Children’s Books
Hardcover, 32 pgs.
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Mind Your Monsters by Catherine Bailey, illustrated by Oriol Vidal, has a modern style of illustration that brings neighborhoods to life, even as the monsters surface from behind buildings.  These monsters are wreaking havoc in town, terrorizing parents and children.  From zombies and vampire bats to one-eyed and furry monsters, people are unsure how to handle these monsters and their destruction.  Turned over cars, chewed up mailboxes, and more.  Parents are scared for themselves and their children, and without a solution in sight, they are prepared to leave town.

Wally decides that he’s going to take a different approach.  He’s going to talk to them.  When that doesn’t work, he throws his sister at the monsters because he considers her evil enough to fight them — or so it is implied.  He employs other tactics, using tricks and treats, lollipops, and more.  When the parents make the decision to leave, their escape is blocked by a giant ogre.  Everyone is fearful and wants to run, but there is no escape and no where to run to.  Wally, in a desperate plea, asks them to please stop terrorizing the town.  Through the use of his manners, he’s able to get through to the monsters.  The monsters stop making messes and begin to cleanup.

Mind Your Monsters by Catherine Bailey, illustrated by Oriol Vidal, is a colorful and fun way to introduce the idea of using manners to children.  There’s the promise of more fun when the monsters agree to return again.  Most little kids know that “Please” is considered the magic word, and this book plays with that knowledge.  It demonstrates that manners are important in communicating with adults, monsters, and others.  The one thing missing from this story is the use of “Thank You.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore

Source: LibraryThing Early Reviewers
Hardcover, 352 pgs.
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Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore is a long-awaited follow-up to A Dirty Job, which I loved.  Readers should start with the first book before reading this one.

Charlie Asher, a death merchant, has taken on a new form, and his daughter is living with his sister even as his situation becomes more hopeless.  Minty Fresh reprises his role as comic relief, but there really is much more of that going around in this novel.  San Francisco is one again under threat from dark forces.  The Big Book of the Dead has sensed the change, and as things happen magically, the instructions in the book morph into dire warnings — most of which are ignored, at least until the banshee shows up.  Through a mix of characters from the previous book, Moore is at his best with these sarcastic, wise-cracking misfits who riff off one another like guitarists in a large band.  Their tune is haphazard but effective in this hunt for balance in the world of the dead.

“‘Sure, you could say talked. Ghosts mostly communicate by odor. Gotta tell you, you got a house that smells like farts, you got a haunted house.'” (pg. 75)

“With that, great clouds of fire burst out the twin tailpipes of the Buick and it lowered its stance like a crouching leopard before bolting out of the turnout.” (pg. 122)

Moore is a talented writer, who can write a funny quip and hilarious dialogue in one stroke and a gorgeous set of literary images in another. This duo of books combines the best of those talents, along with some great supernatural elements that are based not only on Egyptian mythology but also Buddhist teachings. This mash-up is unique and engaging, and his characters bring it to life easily. From Minty Fresh who wears all lime green clothes and owns a secondhand music store to Lemon who wears all yellow and has a calm demeanor that covers his dark motives, Moore’s characters will have readers laughing and questioning every turn of plot.

Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore is a wonderful follow-up that will have readers wondering about where their soul is headed, who will guide it where it needs to go, and whether they will one day find themselves with a super-ability they never wanted.  It’s another winner from this author.

About the Author:

Christopher Moore is an American writer of comic fantasy. He was born in Toledo, Ohio. He grew up in Mansfield, Ohio, and attended Ohio State University and Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson (audio)

Source: Public Library
Audiobook, 5 CDs
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Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson, narrated by Katherine Kellgren, is a story about the chaos of prom, but it also begs the question just how important prom is to teenagers.  Ashley Hannigan is a barely graduating senior who does not care about prom, or dressing up, or other girlie things.  She’s got problems with authority, she steers clear of her mother’s over-exuberance for all things “normal,” and she suddenly finds her bad-girl reputation is on the line as she thrusts herself into the prom planning process just to help out a friend.  Anderson has got the voice of the misfit teen down, and Kellgren is a great narrator, except for the accent that seemed a little too New Jersey some times and a little less Philly.

As the teens scramble to recoup the lost time and money from the prom fund, which was stolen, Ashley suddenly becomes a “good” student.  She comes up with solutions to their problems with vendors who are mad they were not paid and venues that are solidly booked.  Ash helps her friends plan a prom, but she wants to continue hiding her involvement from her own mother.  Secrets always come out.

Her best friend’s grandmother, who’s in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, is a woman who speaks mostly Russian, but she’s got a fantastic talent — sewing.  She may show up in the weirdest places, like pools where people are blessed, but she has a heart of gold.  Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson, narrated by Katherine Kellgren, is a fun novel about teen girls and their top priorities, but it’s also about finding yourself when you don’t really know who you are or where you fit in.

About the Author:

Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times-bestselling author who writes for kids of all ages. Known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity, her work has earned numerous ALA and state awards. Two of her books, Speak and Chains, were National Book Award finalists.

Mother of four and wife of one, Laurie lives in Northern New York, where she likes to watch the snow fall as she writes. You can follow her adventures on Twitter and on her tumblr.

The Runaway Pumpkin: A Halloween Adventure Story by Anne Margaret Lewis, illustrated by Aaron Zenz

Source: Sky Pony Press
Hardcover, 40 pgs.
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The Runaway Pumpkin: A Halloween Adventure Story by Anne Margaret Lewis, illustrated by Aaron Zenz, features adorable pumpkins.  The single-toothed pumpkin boy is dreaming big in this story, and while he talks of running off to play mummy or fly on brooms with witches, his mother is supportive.  Although she wants to protect him from the things that go bump in the night, his mother is aware that kids want independence and want to grow up faster than their parents are ready for.  She knows that without his blanket he’ll be scared at night, so she offers to pack it for him.  Her support does not go unnoticed by the little pumpkin.

We’ve probably read this more than a few times since it’s come into the house, but she loves the adventures of the little pumpkin.  Her favorite parts are when we see his mother watching over him from under the straw on the hayride or in the distance behind some bushes.  It’s like a little game of hide-and-seek.  By the end of the book, we’re both ready to enjoy the adventures of both mother and son pumpkin.

The Runaway Pumpkin: A Halloween Adventure Story by Anne Margaret Lewis, illustrated by Aaron Zenz, is cute and has a great message about giving children some independence to think and do on their own, but it also cautions that parents need to be ready in the wings to step in when they are needed.  My daughter’s favorite parts are when the little pumpkin dresses like a pirate and wears a fake mustache.