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books

Real Mermaids Don’t Wear Toe Rings by Helene Boudreau

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Jade is 13 years old and has just gotten her period, right in the middle of a department store changing room. She thought that trying to find the perfect bathing suit for her best friend Cori’s pool party was bad enough, but this takes trauma to a whole new level. And, of course, due to embarrassment over her late blooming, Jade had lied to Cori years earlier about already getting her period. So the only person she can talk to about everything is her father, who’s already overprotective due to the sad death of Jade’s mother by drowning the previous year. Which leads to Jade’s father careening down the aisle of the drugstore, cart filled with every sanitary product imaginable—right in front of Luke, Jade’s crush. Could life get any worse?

Well…yes. A few hours later, while relaxing in a bath with Epsom salts to help her painful cramps–Jade suddenly sprouts a tail. A real, live, holy-crap-I’m-a-mermaid??? tail.
Jade soon discovers that her mother was also a mermaid, and her parents were just waiting to see if Jade would show any ‘symptoms’ someday. But if her mother was a mermaid, that begs the question: How could a mermaid drown? Upon investigation, Jade soon discovers an entire world of mermaids in the waters around her coastal town, both friend and foe.
Real Mermaids Don’t Wear Toe Rings was absolutely adorable. I think that mermaids may be the one type of paranormal novel that I have not yet burnt out on. While many aspects of this novel were fantastical, Boudreau grounds the more far-fetched aspects of the story in the protagonist, Jade, an utterly realistic thirteen year old dealing with everyday issues: getting her period, crushing on a seemingly unattainable boy, struggling with body image, and feeling insanely guilty for not being able to tell ANYONE the biggest secret of her life. Jade is self-conscious about her body and worried about acceptance, timid with boys yet utterly at home with her friends. Also, it is wonderful to see a character who worries about her stomach and her thighs without having these worries take over her entire life. She is also close with her father, who is both dealing with the aftermath of his wife’s death while struggling with being a single parents. Jade’s father is overwhelmingly supportive without being overbearing.
The portrayal of Jade and Cori’s friendship is also utterly refreshing. Cori is a three-dimensional character who is slighted when Jade distances herself after the big discovery. Cori’s reactions and emotions are utterly believable, but it is also wonderful to see how she stands by Jade in the end. Boudreau infuses this friendship with realism and the small details that truly bring these characters to life.
The author creates a rich, unique mermaid mythology in Real Mermaids Don’t Wear Toe Rings, not content to simply use the traditional ‘palace under the sea’ tale that we see so often. The details of Jade’s transformation and her mother’s heritage are explained well and fully, and the mermaid creatures living in the waters around Jade’s town have their own twist, as well. In a far-fetched tale such as this one, water-tight details help to make the unbelievable believable.
This was a fun, quick read that left me with a smile on my face. While this book would most likely appeal to a middle grade audience, the lower end of YA would also enjoy it. I would of course hand this to fans of Tera Lynn Child’s Forgive My Fins, but a readalike more similar in tone would definitely be Erin Dionne’s Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies.

The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale (audiobook)

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She can whisper to horses and communicate with birds, but the crown princess Ani has a difficult time finding her place in the royal family and measuring up to her imperial mother. When she is shipped off to a neighboring kingdom as a bride, her scheming entourage mounts a bloody mutiny to replace her with a jealous lady-in-waiting, Selia, and to allow an inner circle of guards more power in the new land. Barely escaping with her life, Ani disguises herself as a goose girl and wanders on the royal estate. Does she have the pluck to reclaim her rightful place?


Summary from Goodreads
While I have read a few books by Shannon Hale before (Book of a Thousand Days and Austenland), I was truly blown away by The Goose Girl. Hale took a simple Brothers Grimm fairy tale, and created a fully realized world around that structure, truly making it her own.
Shannon Hale’s writing is lush and gorgeous, filled with stunning, vivid descriptions. Both Kildenree and Bayern become vivid, real places under her pen, and the simplest descriptions of forest trees or flowers bloom to life. On multiple occasions through the course of this audiobook, I actually stopped, paused my iPod, and thought over the phrase that I had just heard, marveling how a simple decision of word choice and word order managed to paint such a scene in my mind.
I wish I had read this book when I was in middle school. Ani is a strong, determined female character, one who saves two kingdoms from war and also manages to thwart a cadre of men and a devious ‘friend’ scheming to take her life. Yet she’s unsure of herself, shaky in her self-belief, and not at all confident that her meager powers are enough to allow her to either fit in or triumph over the forces pushing against her. It is quite refreshing to witness a character express that lack of confidence and to see a loner gradually opening up to people around her and finding a place in a world that welcomes her, exactly as she is. The fourteen year old me who was so anxious about acceptance would have found a kindred spirit in Ani.
One of Hale’s strengths in this book is pacing, as the action never drags, yet we still witness quiet moments of Ani settling in, exploring, and finding her place in her new environment and new role as a Goose Girl. On the surface, the plot of this books seems as if it should be so simple: Mutiny occurs, Ani becomes a Goose Girl, Ani regains her crown. As easy as one, two, three. Yet so much more happens within the lines of this novel, as twists and turns, complications and missteps occur, leading Ani to test her strength in new ways and to form new relationships. In addition to Ani, the supporting characters are quite well-developed and three-dimensional. I was especially impressed with the character of Conrad, the Goose Boy whose jealousy of Ani’s popularity with the fellow child laborers leads to unforeseen consequences. This character could so easily have slipped into the token antagonist role, yet Hale managed to make his motives complex and relatable. The villians, most notably Selia and Ungolad, are menacing, yet appear in the flesh rarely. Hale uses the threat of their plots and Ani’s fear to great effect, creating a sense of foreboding throughout the story.
The Goose Girl was my first experience with an audiobook produced by Full Cast Audio, which used multiple actors to play various roles, rather than just one narrator taking on the voices of all the novel’s characters. The result is a lush, fully realized production that feels more like hearing a stage production of a story than listening to an audiobook. The music is interspersed at the perfect moments, with lilting tunes accompanying Ani’s communion with nature and animals, and tones of foreboding announcing the approach of danger. The main narrator Cynthia Bishop’s voice is authoritative and commanding, grabbing the listener’s attention and blazing a path through Hale’s tale. Erica Lustig, the voice of Ani, has a sweet, melodious voice, one that seems ideal for communication with both nature and animals. Her intonation, while slightly timid, is able to gain enough strength to depict Ani’s transformation in the last half of the novel. I was also impressed with the work of Emily Holgate, the voice of Enna. Holgate perfectly portrays the strong, assertive character whose support and friendship gives Ani the courage to forge ahead and the acceptance to be herself.
I am looking forward to continuing with the next book in Shannon Hale’s Books of Bayern series, Enna Burning. I would hand this to fans of Robin McKinley, Tamora Pierce, or Gail Carson Levine.

2010 Favorites: Jen’s Picks

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I read a lot this year. At the time of this post, I’m currently on my 244th book on the year (including 32 picture books). Going back through my Goodreads list was actually a lot of fun, especially when I noticed that my favorites covered the spectrum of genres, from dystopian to contemporary and historical fiction to nonfiction. I adored books published this year and devoured older books that I finally got my hands on. And I fell in love with young adult, middle grade, and adult books alike.
As 2010 was the year I started to listen to audiobooks (also known as the year my commute improved INFINITELY), I have included my five favorite audiobooks of the year, as well. While I’m most definitely not finished reading for the year, here are my literary highlights of 2010.
THE TOP TEN:
10. Sugar and Ice, by Kate Messner
Kate Messner is rapidly becoming one of my favorite middle grade authors. This story of Claire Boucher, a small town New York girl plucked from her maple farm and dropped into the world of competitive skating, is charming. Messner truly knows how to portray middle-schoolers, and her characters and situations are realistic and vivid. I especially appreciate the ‘realness’ of Claire, her friends, and her family. Claire loves math and is fascinated with Fibonacci numbers. Her family is close and loving, all pitching in to accomplish the tasks associated with running a maple farm. And her best friend Natalie is an amateur beekeeper. In a time when so many books seem to glorify materialism, Messner provides a bright spark of warmth, love, and humanity.
9. Monsters of Men, by Patrick Ness
Ness’ conclusion to the amazing Chaos Walking trilogy was much more satisfying to me than Suzanne Collins’ Mockingjay. As Todd and Viola approach their final confrontation with the cruelly compelling Mayor Prentiss, the Spackle take a more central role in the action.
8. Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, by Jordan Sonnenblick
Thirteen year old Steven must cope with both adolescence and grief when his five year old brother Jeffy is diagnosed with leukemia. A combination of sad, poignant, heart-breaking, and funny, Steven and Jeffrey will stay in your heart. (The sequel, After Ever After, is also highly recommended.)
7. The Red Umbrella, by Christina Diaz-Gonzales
Diaz-Gonzales tells the story of fourteen year old Lucia, who, with her younger brother, becomes part of Operation Peter Pan, a movement which sent more than 14,000 children to the United States to live with friends, relatives, homes, or foster familes after Fidel Castro’s regime took hold of Cuba. This book was full of heart, humor, and the simple daily events of growing up, filtered through an intriguing historical event.
6. Anna and the French Kiss, Stephanie Perkins
A charming, sparkling love story filled with realistic characters, clever dialogue, and palpable chemistry. Perkins is an author to watch. You can find my full review here.
5. Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver
Oliver’s debut novel manages the difficult task of humanizing a mean girl, Sam, who must repeat the same day over and over in order to atone after her death. The ‘Groundhog Day’-like repetitions, while similar, each manage to have a nuance and originality of their own, making the gradual transformation of Sam ring true.

4. Mostly Good Girls, by Leila Sales
Sales writes a poignant tale of best-friendship torn apart that is so much more than the misleading pair of legs on the cover. The writing is fresh, witty, original, and utterly hilarious, and the anecdotal style of the chapters works very well.
3. Penny Dreadful, by Laurel Snyder
Magical and enchanting. Laurel Snyder creates a character to fall in love with in Penny, the young girl who can not help but wish it was magic that caused her family to move from a large, lonely house in the city to an inherited property in Tennessee when her father abruptly quits his job. As the family interacts with a large, quirky cast of characters, the reader is witness to the true power of friendship, love, and determination.
2. The Help, Kathryn Stockett
It’s shocking to read this story of 1960s Mississippi and realize how far our society has come in the past 50 years. When young Skeeter Phelan sets out to write an expose of how black maids are treated in her community, lives are rocked. I was enraptured by the 3 distinct voices in this story. Stockett truly brings Skeeter, Miss Celia and Aibileen to life.

My #1 favorite book of the year: Room, by Emma Donoghue
Stunning, heartbreaking, and emotional, Room features some of the most amazing writing and perhaps the most vivid voice I have ever witnessed in print. Narrated by 5 year old Jack, Room tells the story of Jack and his Ma, who was abducted by Old Nick seven years ago and imprisoned in his fortress-like garden shed. While this premise may sound depressing, to Jack, the room they live is his entire world, and witnessing his world-view, love for his mother, and utter innocence and honesty is an emotional journey for the reader. It is ultimately a story of love, despair, discovery, and hope, one that will stay with me forever.

AUDIOBOOKS

5. The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale
My first experience with Full Cast Audio, this was a lush production of Shannon Hale’s adaptation of the traditional Goose Girl fairy tale. When Ani is betrayed and her identity taken over by her lady in waiting, Selia, Ani must somehow reclaim her true identity–in the meantime hiding in plain sight as a goose girl. Ani is a multi-layered character who overcomes her limitations in order to triumph, and the voice cast is top notch. Shannon Hale writes beautiful, vivid prose, and her phrasing paints stunning pictures.

4. Dairy Queen, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
DJ Schwenk is a tomboy, not too smart, and responsible for helping run her family’s dairy farm. But everything changes when she decides to try out for the football team and starts crushing hard on the quarterback of her rival team, Brian Nelson. Narrator Natalie Moore has a fantastic Wisconsin acc
ent and an open, engaging voice.
3. Life as We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer
When an asteroid hits the moon, no one knows how much life is going to change. But Miranda tells the whole story of her family and the country’s struggle to survive in her diary, mixing the mundane concerns of adolescence with the greater food shortages and volcano eruptions threatening the world. Narrator Emily Bauer has the perfect innocent, confiding tone for this story.

2. I Am the Messenger,by Marcus Zuzak
Zuzak is simply amazing. When Ed Kennedy receives a playing card with four addresses on it, he has no idea how his life is about to change. Soon he is sent on a mission, traveling throughout his downtrodden city in order to help random strangers with their problems, serving as a guardian angel while simultaneously helping himself. You can find my full review here.

1. Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall
McDougall tells the story of the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico, an ancient tribe known for both their reclusion and their amazing long-distance running skills. Mixing together historical details with scientific facts about the benefits of barefoot running and the narrative of a modern-day 50 mile race through the Mexican desert, McDougall crafts a smart, engaging, and fascinating story. As a runner, I was riveted. As a reader, I was impressed.

Guest post: Kate Messner on the Research Process

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We are thrilled to be a stop on author Kate Messner’s Sugar and Ice blog tour! Sugar and Ice will be released on December 7, 2010 and you can find more information about Kate and her books at KateMessner.com or at her LiveJournal blog.

For Claire Boucher, life is all about skating on the frozen cow pond and in the annual Maple Show right before the big pancake breakfast on her family’s maple farm. But all that changes when Claire is offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity-a scholarship to train with the elite skaters in Lake Placid. Tossed into a world of mean girls on ice, where competition is everything, Claire soon realizes that her sweet dream-come-true has sharper edges than she could have imagined. Can she find the strength to stand up to the people who want her to fail and the courage to decide which dream she wants to follow?

Sugar and Ice was a book that happened by accident.
In the summer of 2008, my daughter heard about a basic skills figure skating day camp at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid. She’s not a competitive skater, but it sounded like fun and wasn’t too far a drive, so we signed her up. I had big plans to drop her off for the day and head for the coffee shop across the street to finish revising The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z., which was due to my editor in a couple weeks.
But I missed the fine print…the part that said when I signed the girl up for skating camp, I was also signing myself up for a parent education program. I tied her skates on the first day and picked up my backpack to head for the coffee shop, only to be handed a thick “skater-mom” folder and directed back to my seat. What followed was a parade of experts, talking about everything from thousand dollar blades to sewing sequins more effectively.
“Wait!” I thought. “There’s been a mistake! My daughter doesn’t even skate in competitions…”
But when the next speaker was a sports psychologist who specializes in working with skaters and their families, I stopped wishing for my latte and took out my notebook. Her insights and stories were fascinating, and I couldn’t help thinking that a story was falling into my lap.
What if a girl with no interest in competition were suddenly plunked into the middle of this uber-competitive world? I paged through my notebook, the part where I keep a list of places I love and might want to use as a setting some day, and that’s where I discovered Claire, the main character of Sugar and Ice, a small town girl whose family runs a maple farm near the Canadian border.
I scribbled notes all through that weekend and would return to the Olympic Center numerous times for research while I was writing. I sat at the Empire State Games and Junior Nationals competitions and collected skating details in my notebook, jotting down details about the girls’ outfits, making notes on their music. I asked questions about the moves, and inter
viewed skaters. I spent several afternoons listening in as a high-level coach wor
ked with his skaters on the ice; I wrote down the kinds of things he told them
about how to hold their shoulders, the words he used to encourage them and to push them harder.
More than two years after that door closed at the Olympic Center, trapping me in the parent education session, Sugar and Ice is being released from Bloombury/Walker, and I couldn’t be more thankful.

Middle Grade reviews, Twitter-ish style

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While I haven’t had quite as much time to read lately, as I’ve started a new job last week, here are some recent Middle Grade reads of mine!

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, by Barry Deutsch: A charming graphic novel for middle-graders about Mirka, an eleven-year-old Jewish Orthodox girl whose life goal is to fight dragons. In her quest to find a sword of her own, she disagrees with her siblings, breaks free from the standards imposed upon her by her stepmother, thwarts the wild pig who has been making her life miserable, and fights a six-legged troll. Deutsch’s illustrations are bold and simplistic, Mirka is feisty and spunky, and the book is a wonderful introduction to Jewish Orthodox traditions. A great transition book for fans of Babymouse and Fashion Kitty.

The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus #1), by Rick Riordan: I was eagerly anticipating Riordan’s Camp Half-Blood spin-off, which lived up to the hype, for the most part. Riordan has a wonderful, kid-friendly (especially boy-friendly) writing style, filled with non-stop action, blunt, attention-grabbing chapter openings, and vivid glimpses of mythological creatures. The Lost Hero follows three new Camp Half-Blood campers: Jason, the first known son of Zeus, who has a mysterious case of amnesia; Piper, a daughter of Aphrodite, whose movie-star father has been kidnapped and who struggles with loyalty to her new friends; and Leo, the son of Hephaestus who can emit fire from his bare hands. Fans of Percy Jackson will love the reappearance of beloved characters, along with the “Percy Jackson” name-dropping. While older readers will most likely guess the big plot twist from miles away, Riordan builds to his conclusion in a well-paced manner. The only quibble I have with this book is the ‘romance’ that blooms between Piper and Jason, which just seems rushed and formulaic–thrown in there just for the sake of a relationship.

Penny Dreadful, by Laurel Snyder: I absolutely fell in love with this magical, enchanting book. When Penny’s father suddenly quits his high-powered job, she and her family move to Tennessee, to a little town in the middle of nowhere, where Penny’s mother has inherited a house from her great-aunt. (Which is wonderful, because Penny has just wished, hoping against hope that magic is real, for her family to be saved from ruin, and for an adventure!) However, the family soon comes to find that they have also inherited the tenants in their new house, families who live rent-free in the various zany additions that were added on to the original building. Penny soon meets a collection of oddball neighbors who charm both her family and the readers, and who assist her as she schemes how to save her family from financial ruin. The transformation of Penelope from a bored, yearning rich girl to a content, free Penny is lovely to behold (it also doesn’t hurt that Penny is a reader!). Snyder has a true gift for characterization, and I can not wait to read her next book. Readers of this will love Kate Messner’s The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. and Jeanne Birdsall’s The Penderwicks.