Our Crazy Connectedness

At the risk of sounding hopelessly ancient, I just want to write for a moment about the amazing connectedness the internet allows us. Not too long after we graduated from college, my former roommates and I decided that every month we would each write a newsy letter about our lives, mail it to one designated person, and that person would make copies and mail them out to everyone. We even had a system for making postage fair. I remember feeling a little sad when we decided we could just email each other our letters. It seemed less personal, and I feared we would be less likely to follow through with writing when there wasn't someone specifically waiting for a letter to include in a packet.

And we have lost that.  I no longer get newsy letters in the mailbox from anyone, and I do miss them.  Really, I get hardly anything in my mailbox at all.  Instead I have the world of blogs, and live journal, and facebook, and it's completely different.  With facebook I can keep up with my high school friend who moved to France.  Without facebook, she'd be lost to me.  With facebook, I know a little more about what is going on with my brother.  He only lives fifteen minutes away, but we're all crazy busy people, and (nonsensically) checking in with family seems like something you can always do tomorrow.   With facebook, I get to follow little pieces of the lives of people I knew and cared about in college, people who were more than acquaintances but not quite dear friends, people I'd be delighted to run into or see at a reunion, but people I wouldn't otherwise be thinking about.  With facebook, live journal, and blogs, I get to keep up with some of the writers I've met through James River Writers over the past year.  I feel fairly confident that I would not have had the courage, or made the time, to continue to forge connections with them if all I'd had was snail mail.  

With blogs, I get to find out what all sorts of people are thinking about all sorts of different things.  I get to peruse the thought-provoking musings of my friends the EDG and Bemused Writer.  I can read Demon Baby and Me or Mothers of Brothers and be comforted that I am not the only one with a wild man four-year-old, strange parenting stories, and a take on motherhood that is a bit on the sardonic side.  I can get a dose of humor from my friend Wildcat or from The Blog of Unnecessary Quotes (which you may have to be an English major to appreciate; no one else I've inflicted it on so far has been amused).  And I can get a supply of information on teaching, reading, and writing that is so close to limitless that it sometimes makes me feel small in the same way that looking at a black sky of endless stars can.

It's different, this connectedness.  In some ways, it's incredible.  I can find out so much, about so many people, and so many things, so easily.  And it can lead to better relationships and deeper understandings, great conversations, and new friendships.  Or it can overwhelm with the trivial and mundane, providing a sense of connecting without any actual effort or relationship-building.  For every well-written, thought-provoking blog, there's a silly quiz I feel compelled to take.  For every scintillating tidbit about someone's life, there's another person telling me what he or she is watching on tv.  Good and not so good.  Silver lining and cloud.  

Connectedness.  Use it responsibly.

Great author!

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater... debuts August 1. Preorder today!

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Don't Judge a Book . . .

We've all heard that one, right?  But we do it anyway.  And although the recent phenomenal and surprising success of Susan Boyle offers a great opportunity to write about the ways we take each other for granted, I really meant it in a much more literal (and literary) sense.

Authors don't get to choose their cover art, which should come as no surprise to any reader who has ever scratched her head over a cover that seemed to have nothing to do with the novel inside.  It always comes as a surprise to my middle schoolers, who often describe characters based on the cover and not the writing in the book.

Still, you'd think a publisher would want the most successful, eye-catching cover affordable, right?  That's why books are constantly being reissued with updated covers.

Which of these two books would you be more likely to pick up, for instance?  

The first image is the newer edition, so Penguin is hoping you picked door number one.  Personally, I'm partial to the blue copy because that's the one I own.  And because, if you look very carefully, you can see the shadow of the sea monster rising between the two pillars of rock.  The sea  monster is very, very important.  (The Changeling Sea by Patricia McKillip: great short fantasy.  One of my favorites.)

How about these two?  

The one on the left or the one on the right?  They're both copies of the fabulous Lament by Maggie Stiefvater.  The left-hand one is the more recent of the two (thank goodness) and definitely the one I would have bought.  This time it's not a case of liking something because I own it.  Much as I love this book, since I own the right-hand cover copy, I pretty much always keep it face down.  (Sorry, Maggie.  But I know you like the left-hand one better, too.  And I've noticed the first image disappearing rather quickly off of websites!  In fact, when I came back to this entry a few weeks after I posted it, both images were of the latter cover!  Ha!  I had to go recopy from library thing.)

Here's another puzzler for you.  If a particular artist is well-known for providing the cover art of a particular author, is it cheating for a publishing company to have that artist do almost the same sort of thing for a different (but similar) author?

Here's a cover for one of Patricia McKillip's books, done by the inimitable Kinuko Y. Craft.  Kinuko Craft has done most of McKillip's recent covers (probably the new one of The Changeling Sea, though it's hard to tell).  This graphic doesn't really do it justice.  The colors are much richer "in person," more like a medieval tapestry.  (See the back of this cover, in better detail,  at the end of the blog.) 

Next is the cover of Juliet Marillier's very enjoyable Wildwood Dancing.  You may be able to tell that it, too, is by Craft.  I certainly could, because when I saw it in the library I immediately snatched it up, thinking I'd somehow missed news of the latest McKillip.  After the shock of discovering that a Craft painting contained the novel of a different author, I thought the novel might have a bit of an uphill battle with me.  However, Marillier's own style and unique take on the tale of the twelve dancing princesses drew me right in.  

Not Patricia McKillip, but I'd be happy to read Marillier any time I'm waiting in between McKillips.  

But the question is, do you think the publisher (Knopf publised Wildwood and Ace usually publishes McKillip) chose Craft to illustrate Marillier's book because her style is somewhat similar to McKillip's and they figured the crossover would be good for sales?  Or was it all a big accident?

Here are a few more of my favorite covers.

This cover totally rocks.  It's from Spirits That Walk in Shadow by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, whom I love.  Gotta say on this one, though I liked it enough to read it twice, I don't think the book rocks quite as much as the cover. 

   This book rocks absolutely just as much as its cover.

 (Savvy by Ingrid Law.)

And, just so you can really appreciate Kinuko Y. Craft . . .

We know we're not supposed to judge by the cover.  But a great cover really gets you off to the right start!

Savvy by Ingrid Law

Oh my gosh, I adore this book!  I'm not a gushy person by nature, but the book is just as fantastic as the cover art.  (And, yes, I do judge books by their covers, which is unfair and probably worth its own blog.)

The premise was one of the most original I'd come across in a long time, which is saying something, because "Thirteen-year-old comes into magic powers" doesn't seem all that original.  Oh, but it is.  Mibbs Beaumont is part of a family who each develop their own particular "savvy" at age thirteen.  Her older brothers' powers disrupt electricity and the weather.  Since she is just a few days from her birthday, Mibbs is awaiting the arrival of her savvy with great anticipation.  But then her father is in a horrible accident, and everyone's priorities shift.  An unlikely cast of characters joins together as Mibbs embarks on a crazy journey to help her beloved Pappa.

Every character in the book is written with authenticity, originality, humor, love, and individuality.  Mibbs' voice is 100% believable, and her assessment of the people around her is focused and insightful. Though there are definitely lessons learned, they're learned from Mibbs' thirteen-year-old perspective.  At no point do you feel that they are the author's lessons being preached through Mibbs' mouth.

I wish I could make this the required summer reading book, but it's probably a little too girl-focused for some of my manly-middleschool-men.  Plus it doesn't have anything to do with the curriculum.  And it would just crush me to hear my students complaining about it in any way.  Still, I wish I could require people to go out and read it.  

(G: no violence, no sex, no language.  I could read it to my four-year-old, but he wouldn't get it.)

The Black Book of Secrets by F. E. Higgins

Here's another selection from the Virginia Readers' Choice list.  The cover is intriguing, though hard to see in my small graphic.  The first sentence, if you don't count the "Note from the Author" is awesome: "When I opened my eyes I knew that nothing in my miserable life prior to that moment could possibly be as bad as what was about to happen."

And the premise is engaging: a mysterious "secret pawnbroker" and his assistant buy people's deepest, darkest secrets and write them down in (of course) The Black Book of Secrets.  It's a fast, engaging read, and it held my interest throughout.

All that said, this just didn't quite make it to the level of London Calling or Savvy (which I haven't yet blogged about).   First, I think the "I found this mysterious manuscript" bit is somewhat overdone. Though I couldn't, of course, at the moment name even one other author who does it.  (Dragonology?  Help me out here.)  Second, I think the mystery about the frog is probably not going to be a mystery to most middle school boys.  (In the book's defense, it's not critical that it be a mystery, but it would be more suspenseful if it were.) Third, the ending feels as though it ought to be satisfying, but I was disappointed.  I'm not going to go into too much about it here, because I think the ending will be quite satisfying to many.  Maybe it's just that I've read a lot (a lot a lot) of fantasy, and it just wasn't that surprising.  

Still, there have been plenty of times when I've read a book and thought "Ehh" (how do you spell that sound that goes with a shoulder shrug), and my middle schoolers have loved the book.  So I hope this is one of those times.

(PG-12: References to some nasty, intriguing things like body snatching and teeth pulling.)

Swallowing Darkness by Laurell K. Hamilton

I thought I'd take some time out from all the YA reading I've been doing and check in with the Meredith Gentry series.  This is the seventh, and I've read the previous six (which surprises me; I didn't think there'd been that many). 

I think I like this series better than the Anita Blake series, or at least better than what the Anita Blake series has become.  There is a lot (A LOT) of sex and violence in this series as well, but the sex seems less pointless.  Meredith is part human and part fairy, descended from a fertility goddess. So, basically, she is bringing the magic back to fairy through sex.  There are things I like and things that bug me about this book, but overall it was fun.

I like most of the characters in the book, and I do like seeing what magical power Merry and her men are going to awaken next.  Also I am a total and complete sucker for the Wild Hunt, which plays a big role in this book, so I was sold there.  (I've been enamored of the Wild Hunt since I read and reread The Dark Is Rising as a child.  Look for it to appear in my own writing.)  I thought the Hunt scenes were intriguing and very well done.  In fact, the research on the entire fairy aspect appears thorough.  I'm by no means an expert, but the few things I know are authentically represented in this series.  Finally, despite the fact that the Anita Blake series has degenerated into almost entirely pointless porn, there is one thing both Merry and Anita have in common.  They are so very much not rescue bait.  If there is something difficult that must be done (killing, dismembering, whatever), they saddle up and get it done.

That said, there are a few nagging points.  First, I repeatedly get the sense, both in the Anita Blake series and in this one, that Laurell K. Hamilton is not big on mapping out everything ahead of time.  (I could be wrong, in which case I deeply apologize.)  However, it seems like every time a protagonist is in a tight spot, the solution is, "Hey, what if she develops this magical/sex-related ability?"  Or . . . what if the goddess gives her (or someone, um, "near" her) a new magical/sex-related ability?  As much as I like the fact that the goddess goes to bat for Merry, it seems a little too deus ex machina a little too often. Finally, Merry has been whining for six books now (six, really?) about how her poor little mortal self is so fragile and killable. But she's got the Hand of Blood, and the Hand of Flesh, and the goddess on her side.  And now she has an additional important artifact.  Plus, she's surrounded by all the best fairy fighters, many of whom are getting their god-like powers back.  And, apparently, no matter how magical or immortal, the fairies can all be killed by bullets.  Let's stop the whining, shall we?

Still, that said: fun read.  (Rated X: sex, gore . . . but, really, less than usual)

Summer Reading

It's March; that means it's time to pick out middle school summer reading.  So I'm doing two things, searching for the one required summer reading book for rising seventh graders, and reading two selections from the Virginia Readers' Choice 2009-2010 list.  We (the language arts teachers) are hoping to simplify our lives this year by being able to say, "Read this one required book and then choose one other book from this great list."

I started off looking for a required book that had something to do with myths, since that's our first, short unit in the fall.  It had to be as good as Percy Jackson, but not Percy Jackson, since our elementary teachers have now stolen that book from us and are reading it at the 4th and 5th grade level.  (For those uninitiated who haven't read previous posts, start with The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.)  So, I Googled "if you liked Percy Jackson," and I came up with some interesting choices, one of which was Goddess of Yesterday by Caroline B. Cooney.

I had read and enjoyed Ransom of Mercy Carter and know many students who have read and enjoyed The Face on the Milk Carton by the same author, so I had high hopes.  Of course, the book was originally published in 2002, which is practically ancient to a middle schooler (almost two thirds of their life ago!), but on the plus side that means it's out in paperback.

The book is about the adventures of Anaxandra, a girl who is taken hostage from her tiny Mediterranean island home early in the book and continues through a variety of adventures that end up involving Menelaus, Helen, Paris, and the city of Troy.  It's well-written and has enough excitement, intrigue and battles to soothe the injured sensibilities of boys required to read a book with a female protagonist.  Meanwhile, the strong, self-sufficient heroine is bound to appeal to the girls.  (No rescue bait, here, thank you very much!)  In all, I thought it was excellent.  I wish there were a sequel instead of the author's note at the end.  It's a strong contender for the "required" book, but I haven't 100% made up my mind.  It's such a lot of pressure to be asked to choose the book people are required to read.  And, sadly, the cover flap gives away over half of the book.  

(PG-13 for some of those battle scenes, and some hinted at adult situations that don't happen at all or don't happen "on screen.")

London Calling by Edward Bloor is off the Virginia Readers' Choice list, and I'm so glad that I got to read it!  I chose it as one of the two books I'm previewing because, from the blurb I read about it, it seemed to have some fantasy elements (I'm "the one who likes fantasy" on our team).  Also, I really enjoyed Bloor's Tangerine, which has been on the sixth grade summer

 reading list for several summers, usually garnering enthusiastic responses.  

Anyway, other than being well-written, engaging, and authentic, London Calling is completely different.  It's about a seventh grade boy who is aimlessly sleeping his life away, living a solitary existence in his basement, and really at loose ends.  Despite how it sounds, he's not whiny or self-pitying, and it's easy to like him and identify with his fears and foibles.  Martin inherits a mysterious radio from his grandmother that seems to allow him to travel back in time (in very vivid, realistic scenes) to WWII.  Or is he dreaming?  And if he's dreaming, why is he dreaming about things he himself has never heard of ?   This book has a strong (but not at all preachy) religious element to it that I thought worked beautifully within the story.  I also particularly appreciated the supporting cast, since so many YA books have the main character acting alone against the world.  It was interesting to see who Martin chose to tell his secrets to, and how that worked out for him.  I'm not really doing it justice here because I don't want to give away any of the mystery or angst or the well-drawn, annoying, heart-breaking, and uplifting relationships between the characters, but I highly recommend this book.  There are so many different levels to appreciate.

(PG-13 . . . or PG-12 since it's on the middle school list.  Some adult situations and battle scenes.)