Eight Short Takes to Round Out the Year

Here are eight books I read or listened to in 2013 that I never got around to reviewing on the blog (though reviews and blurbs may have appeared elsewhere). I'm sure I missed some other books this year, but I'm going to count myself caught up and will start the new year with a clean slate.

Enon by Paul Harding follows a father's first year of mourning his 13-year-old daughter, who died in an accident. Much of the book is written with such emotional authenticity, it's difficult to remember it's fiction. Other parts of the story, however, seem to wander. The audiobook, read by the author, was only okay. (Random House, ISBN 9781400069439) Mark Slouka's Brewster was one of my picks for the Bloggers Recommend newsletter. Four teens dream of escaping small-town life and feel the pull of the generation-defining events of 1968. Powerful, haunting, and stunning. (Norton, ISBN 9780393239751) One Hundred and Four Horses, a memoir by Mandy Retzlaff, is an unflinching and heartbreaking view of Zimbabwe's violent government-sanctioned land reclamation. Left homeless and in fear for their lives, the Retzlaffs nonetheless risked everything to save their beloved horses. Unforgettable. (William Morrow, ISBN 9780062204370)

Although I did post my early thoughts about The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black, I never did get around to writing a real review of this mix of paranormal and dystopian. Black is a fantastic world-builder and I love her writing and characters. A great audiobook too. (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, ISBN 9780316213103) Francesca Lia Block's Love in the Time of Global Warming is another dystopian, this one with its roots in Homer's Odyssey. We follow Pen as she travels across the U.S. Southwest in search of her family in the aftermath of an environmental disaster. The audiobook was a little slow, but the story is worth the read. (Henry Holt for Young Readers, ISBN 9780805096279) The second Saga book by Brian K. Vaughan continues the story of the Marko, Alana, and their child as they flee from their enemies and try to find a safe haven. This beautifully illustrated graphic novel combines elements of myth, science fiction, and fantasy. Don't miss this series. (Image Comics, ISBN 9781607066927)

Wild Boy by Lloyd Jones is a Sherlock Holmes-type mystery starring an orphan boy who is part of a traveling freak show. When Wild Boy is accused of murder, he must use his powers of observation to clear his name. Middle grade readers will love the audiobook edition of this action-packed story set in Victorian England. (Candlewick, ISBN 9780763662523) When Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr get together to write a new middle grade fantasy, you know the result will be magic. In Loki's Wolves, the authors combine elements of the hero's journey with Nordic mythology to craft an exciting start to a adventure-filled trilogy. (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, ISBN 9780316204965)

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Giveaway: Debut Novels from Candlewick Press

Candlewick: Do you know Candlewick Press? If you read young adult, middle grade, or children's books, I'm sure many of their titles have crossed your path, such as the best-selling I Want My Hat Back, the Clarice Bean books, and Owl Babies. Since 1992, this small independent press has published quality books in a variety of genres and for young readers of all ages.

Whether you're an old friend of Candlewick's or have just discovered them, you have a lot to look forward to this coming spring with the publication of five strong novels from five promising debut authors.

The Giveaway: Just in time for the holidays, and thanks to Candlewick, I can offer one of my readers with a U.S. or Canada mailing address a sneak peak at all five debut novels. You read that right! The prize pack consists of five advance reading copies and one fun accordion bookmark.

Here's a little bit about each book. If you want to know more about the authors, take a look at Candlewick's Pinterest board dedicated to these "First Pages."

Sarah Combs's Breakfast Served Anytime (ISBN-13: 9780763667917) is about the summer Gloria went to Geek Camp for gifted students. Although she's excited about spending the summer on a college campus, she is still mourning her grandmother's death and knows she'll miss her best friend, especially because all electronics are banned from camp. A contemporary coming-of-age story set in beautiful Kentucky. In The Chance You Won't Return, by Annie Cardi (ISBN-13: 9780763662929), sixteen-year-old Alex is struggling to overcome her fear of driving and is negotiating the rocky world of high school crushes. But when her mother begins to lose her grip on reality, Alex's real challenge is to find a way to hold on to the woman who used be mom. A moving look at delusional disorders and how they can disrupt a family. Ryan Gebhart's There Will Be Bears (ISBN-13: 9780763665210) is part adventure and part family story. Thanks to ADHD, thirteen-year-old Tyson struggles in school and has grown apart from his childhood friends. After his grandfather moves to assisted living because of failing kidney function, Tyson is lonelier than ever. So when Grandpus suggests they go on a clandestine hunting trip, despite reports of a man-eating grizzly, Tyson agrees. An exciting story with some good lessons for middle grade readers.

Skila Brown's Caminar (ISBN-13: 9780763665166) takes us to 1981 and war-torn Guatemala, where young Carlos's life is turned upside down when soldiers come to his village. This emotionally strong novel, written in verse, reveals the horrors of war as the boy is forced to become a man and protect his loved ones. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton (ISBN-13: 9780763665661)--a mix of family saga, coming-of-age, and magical realism--tells the story of what happens when Ava, who was born with wings, decides she wants what every other teenage girl wants: friends and love. This magical book explores family, love, and finding one's true self.

So there you have it:

Five strong novels + five debut authors + 1 fun accordion bookmark = one great giveaway.

How to enter: All you have to do to enter for a chance to win all five books (ARCs) is to have a U.S. or Canada mailing address and fill out the following form. This is going to be a quick giveaway so Candlewick has time to send out the books before they close for the holidays. I can't promise you'll get the books before Christmas, but I hope you do. I'll pick a winner via random number generator on December 18. Once the winner has been confirmed, I'll erase all personal data from my computer. Good luck!

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Review: Butterfly by Sonya Hartnett

In the weeks before her fourteenth birthday, Plum Coyle struggles with trying to fit in at school and with coming to terms with her adolescent body. Like all young teens, she feels her family doesn't understand her and that she is just one awkward moment away from being a social outcast.

Unfortunately, Plum's insecurity and vulnerability make her easy prey both for her so-called friends and for the lonely, desperate woman living next door. Through a combination of her own misdeeds and naiveté, Plum's fourteenth birthday is not at all what she had envisioned.

Teenage girls can be cruel to each other, and Sonya Hartnett's Butterfly does not sugar-coat that fact. Some girls ride out those years fairly unscathed thanks to social savvy, drop-dead good looks, or solid family support, but Plum Coyle has none of those. Although her family loves her, Plum's much-older brothers are not equipped to guide their sister through her difficult years, and her parents seem somewhat oblivious.

Thus when Maureen, a thirty-something wife and mother, decides to befriend the teen, Plum is flattered and accepts her neighbor's advice and attention without question. From that day, Plum seems to be at the eye of a storm. Although she brings some of her troubles on herself, the girl is clearly unaware of the broader picture and the disaster to come.

Hartnett obviously understands the teenage mind, making it easy to relate to Plum on many levels. The girl comes up with innocent solutions to adults' puzzling actions, believes in the power of wishes, and will do almost anything to be liked by her peers. Although your own particulars are likely different from Plum's, you'll cringe at the approach of the inevitable humiliating moment her world is shattered. But with youth comes resiliency, and as her anger and self-pity begin to dissipate, Plum finally understands the possibilities of metamorphosis and finds the strength to put childhood and childish dreams into storage.

Although Harnett's blunt yet sensitive coming of age story is set in the 1980s in suburban Australia, the themes and issues are universal and timeless. Butterfly would make a wonderful book club choice for high schoolers and adults. I could not find a reading guide for the novel, but discussion points include ethical behavior, honesty, the nature of friendship, appropriate behavior for adults, keeping secrets, what one would do be accepted or to find love, and families.

I listened to the unabridged audio edition (Brilliance Audio, 6 hr, 36 min), read by Rebecca Macauley. Macauley did a fine job distinguishing among characters, and her light Australian accent added to the setting. My full audio review will be published by AudioFile magazine.

Butterfly at an Indie

Butterfly at Powell's

Butterfly at Book Depository
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Published by Candlewick Press, 2010
ISBN-13: 9780763647605
YTD: 21
Source: Review (see review policy)
Rating: B+
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy)

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Today's Read: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

I'm the only boy left in Prentisstown, and it stinks cuz men don't talk much to boys; I have the dam dog, but he's kinda stoopid and sorta thinks of poo and squirrels all day. In exactly one month I'll be a man and I'll do man stuff. We got 146 men and me, no women. I gotta listen to each of those men all day, all night cuz Noise is everywhere and all them thoughts are in my head all the dam time. Some guys just vanish cuz they just gotta get away. But there ain't nowhere to go.

For more Where Are You? answers, visit Raidergirl3 at An Adventure in Reading.


MizB at Should Be Reading hosts Teaser Tuesdays. Here's how it works: Grab your current read; let the book fall open to a random page; and share 2 “teaser” sentences from that page. For more teasers, click on through to MizB's blog.

My Noise churns and bubbles like a stew on the boil till finally I have to stop for a minute to calm myself down a little.

There's just no such thing as silence. Not here, not nowhere. Not when yer asleep, not when yer by yerself, never. (p. 17)

—From The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (Source: Borrowed, see review policy)

The Knife of Never Letting Go at an Indie

The Knife of Never Letting Go at Powell's
The Knife of Never Letting Go at Amazon
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