Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Scheduled Release: Feb. 2012

Growing up female in a patriarchal society that views women as little more than decorative objects is never easy, especially for a trio of smart, intrepid sisters. Growing up a witch in a society governed by religious zealots that view magical ability as an evil sign of female wickedness can prove even harder. Left in the care of their distant father after their mother’s untimely death, Cate, Maura, and Tess bear the truth of their magical heritage, keeping it secret for fear of retribution from the Brotherhood that rules the country. Unsure where to seek advice, the Cahill sisters fight to stay strong as they learn to wield their powers without guidance, but these girls are part of a greater truth that threatens to destroy them all…

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Born Wicked was not at all what I expected after reading the blurb on the back cover… it was so much better! Cate, Maura, and Tess are distinctive, well-developed characters that I instantly wanted to know more about. Cate narrates the trial of being an older sister to a pair of girls growing to fast and powerful for their own good. Always the voice of reason, Cate is a classic older sister as she tries to make the best of a complicated situation while keeping her sisters safe and deflecting the attention of their neighbors and the Brothers.

The plot is tightly woven and suspenseful. This was definitely one of those books I couldn’t put down! I just wanted to know what would happen… Would the girls be discovered? Would they suffer the fate of the other girls branded as witches by the Brotherhood? So many twists to keep me guessing. The history of the Daughters of Persephone–the matriarchal order of witches that ended when the Brothers waged war against witchery–was equally fascinating and lent the story a sense of time and place. I really look forward to following this series.

A great read for anyone interested in mystery, alternate history, and realistic magic (think Charmed).

I received my copy of Born Wicked through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

There it was! The marbled cover that caught my eye so many years ago. I snagged a used copy around January, but decided to include it as part of my YA review project. It was well worth the wait, and so much better now than the first time I read it.

The image of the crystal unicorn skeleton was as strong as ever, but I found it easier to let myself be drawn into Lee’s sparse style now that I’ve become such a fan of feminist fantasy. I really loved that; the experience of reading something that I didn’t quite get when I was a teen, but made so much sense now.

The story is simple enough… Tanaquil is the somewhat neglected daughter of a sorceress who lives in a fortress. The sorceress’ magic has leaked into the desert that surrounds the fortress, enchanting the area and the peeves (dog-like desert-dwelling creatures) that live there with the power to talk. When one of the peeves shows Tanaquil a crystal bone that it dug up, Tanaquil decides to go after the peeve and help it dig up the rest. Putting the pieces together, Tanaquil soon finds herself drawn to the skeletal thing, unaware of the power that she is about to unleash and the adventure this will set in motion.

The sequel, Gold Unicorn, recounts Tanaquil’s further adventures with her sidekick the peeve as she travels the world and meets the power-hungry Empress Veriam, who wants Tanaquil to use her ability to mend things to assist her in her plan to conquer the world.

Like many fantasy novels, this series features magic, other worlds, quests, and battles between good and evil. The narrative is descriptive and filled with dry humor reminiscent of Diana Wynne Jones and Robin McKinley. Both books were a treat to read after wrapping up my course reading project.

There is a third book in the series, Red Unicorn, that I have yet to read.

Ellen dreams of becoming a medical researcher, but in 1967, girls are not expected to be interested in the sciences, let along enroll in accelerated programs to prepare for university. Brainy and shy, Ellen has little interest in the things that the other girls at school go mad for–boys, fashion, dancing–she’d much rather spend her time in a lab learning something new. When her father suddenly realizes that life is too fleeting to waste doing a job he feels no passion for and decides to move to the Interior to run a resort with Ellen’s mom, Ellen believes they are being selfish and ruining her chances by taking her away from the program she worked so hard to get into. Never did she expect that moving to Salmon Arm with her parents would expose her to a whole new range of experiences and the chance to finally find friendship and love.

Any girl who has ever been the awkward, shy, smart girl who always sits at the back of the room in class can relate to Ellen. Too tall, too smart, and too out of touch with the things that other students her age enjoy, Ellen feels that she will never fit in and so does her best to become “invisible”. After years living in the same place and going to school with the same set of students, Ellen perfected her invisibility, but moving to Salmon Arm changes all that and forces her to cope with the experience of being the new one in town. One of the scenes that I most enjoyed was the one where Ellen goes to register for classes. The high school in Salmon Arm doesn’t offer a science program like the one she was participating in, so she has to compensate by taking the most advanced science courses the school offers. Of course, when the school councilor sees the courses she selected, he tries to dissuade her on the basis that she’s a girl and no girls take those classes. It’s one of the first scenes when Ellen is forced to stand up for herself and come out of “invisible mode,” and it’s a great reminder of the strides women have made that girls today can take any classes they want (I was one of two girls in my graphic arts class through middle and high school; gender is still an issue in schools with regards to the kind of classes girls will enroll in, but I never had to defend my right to enroll for the class).

Gender issues aside, the novel also deals with racism and miscegenation. The resort that Ellen’s parents rent is located on reserve land, as Ellen soon discovers, though the Indians who live on the reserve are not allowed to run the resort or make use of the property. Ellen feels strongly about the discrimination against Salmon Arm’s Indian population and starts to take note of the ways in which the Indians are made to feel like second-class citizens when in town. When she makes friends with Tony, the only Indian student at her school, Ellen wants to learn more about him, his people, and the impact of race on his life. The novel is eye-opening and insightful, especially for readers who may be unfamiliar with the history of Canadian Indians (or Native Americans in general). The dynamic between Tony and Ellen is great; they get to know each other in a way that is sweet and realistic. Neither of them are made to appear as victims; both encounter sexism and racism, but they face it and stand up to their beliefs.

Ellen’s gradual transition from shy nerd to confident, bright young woman, also comes across as a natural part of the plot. There is no sudden Cinderella-esque transformation. Ellen changes her style and tries to do some of the things that other girls like to do–like going dancing–but she does not suddenly become the life of the party or the most popular girl in school. I liked that; it’s another one of those elements that made Ellen a relatable character.

I really enjoyed the novel. It made me realize that I haven’t read much on the ’60s, though it’s such a fascinating period. Oddly enough, when Ellen was helping Tony look up information on schools and scholarships, I kept waiting for her to log on to her computer… then I would smack myself and remember that the story is set in 1967. Shows I’ve become way too accustomed to the presence of technology in my readings.

I received my copy of The Way It Is from Second Story Press.

Vixen by Jillian Larkin

It looks like flappers are the new vampires… possibly, maybe. With Bright Young Things by Anna Godberson currently on the shelves and Vixen by Jillian Larkin coming out in December, the ’20s may very well be the next YA trend. I signed up to receive an ARC copy of Vixen as part of B&N’s Teen First Look Book Club for November because I love the ’20s (the early 20th century is my second historical obsession, after the Victorian era), and the plot sounded intriguing. Three privileged girls living in ’20s Chicago trying to find themselves amidst the danger and glamor of speakeasies, gangsters, and flappers. One is looking for redemption, one for a chance at life, and the other for something she can’t quite understand. I wanted to read more.

Like many YA novels, this is a coming-of-age story, except that it’s really three coming-of-age stories held together by one girl’s story. If it weren’t for Gloria, Lorraine and Clara’s stories would be entirely unrelated. This was one of the problems that I had with the novel. I couldn’t stand Gloria or Lorraine, both read like whiny, over-indulged socialites playing at life among the lower classes. Lorraine just seemed petty and entirely lacking in any sense of self-esteem, while Gloria seemed like a bland, little white girl with a sudden need to rebel and escape dull society life. I only really cared for Clara’s story–the country girl from Pennsylvania who moved to New York City, fell in with the flapper crowd and made a mess of things. Arrested after a raid, Clara is shipped to Chicago under threat of reform school unless she shapes up, and her Aunt Bea, Gloria’s mother, will make sure that she does or else. Perhaps it was Clara’s effort to make others believe that she’s changed, or perhaps it that she comes across as a much more self-aware individual than Lorraine and Gloria, but Clara’s chapters were the only ones that I really enjoyed and looked forward to… I would speed read Lorraine and Gloria’s sections to get back to poor, Country Clara. Think I would have enjoyed it more if the author had used one perspective, rather than three.

Phoebe is your average girl–she does alright in school, enjoys sports, and has a terribly distracting crush on Colin, the top debater from the local boys school’s debate team. Trying to while away the summer months while her only friend, Yuri, spends the holidays in Tokyo, Phoebe passes the time cycling and reading Agatha Christie novels (Yuri’s favorites). One day, Phoebe spots a garage sale and decides to take a look around. Sure enough, she finds all kinds of treasures, but the best find of all is Mrs. Tomblin, the elderly woman running the garage sale. Noticing a couple trying to take advantage of Mrs. Tomblin’s too-trusting nature, Phoebe steps in to make sure she isn’t abused and soon learns why Mrs. Tomblin is being forced to leave the home she’s lived in since she was married. Taking to her, Phoebe starts to learn more about Mrs. Tomblin, offering her assistance whenever the happen to meet her. When Mrs. Tomblin becomes the victim of a crime, Phoebe wants her friend to receive the justice she deserves–the last thing she expects is to find herself caught up in a mystery the likes of which only Miss Marple can solve… Does Phoebe have what it takes to become the Toronto Miss Marple and solve the case?

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Old Photographs was a treat to read. Phoebe comes across as a real teen with all the insecurities and idealism that comes with being a teen. She has a complicated relationship with her mother and new stepfather, she misses her family, and she wishes she could understand how to make things better for everyone involved, but she isn’t perfect and this isn’t a fairy tale. Family life is depicted in all its messy, irrational glory, as are the feelings stirred by poverty and privilege. Her crush on Colin is sweet and entirely understandable–smart boy with an Irish brogue, what girl wouldn’t crush on him? But what I found most thought-provoking and inspiring about the novel was its very real treatment of aging and Alzheimer’s. I haven’t read many Young Adult novels that touch on the subject, most being the sole territory of the young and adventurous; Phoebe’s relationship with Mrs. Tomblin illustrates all the frustrations that this terrible affliction causes. The only other YA novel I can think of at the moment that explores aging in such a manner is April and the Dragon Lady, but I think this is a topic that is relevant to many teens living with grandparents or near elderly neighbors (all the elders near me love to terrify me at least once a month by forgetting to turn their stoves off). I really enjoyed Phoebe’s transition from reader to sleuth, and couldn’t wait to see where her investigations would lead.

I received my copy of Old Photographs from Second Story Press. You can learn more about the novel and Sherie Posesorski here.

You can find Old Photographs at The Book Depository and Amazon.

Inside was a beautiful, hardbound copy of Three Classic Children’s Stories by James Donnelly with illustrations by Edward Gorey (one of my favorite illustrators!). I won it from LibraryThing (love love love the LT member giveaway). I never expected it to be quite so lovely. Every illustration is presented in full-color, the paper is thick and satiny, and the book has the look of something that will become an heirloom. I couldn’t be more pleased and can’t wait to re-read some of my favorite childhood stories.

Thank you Pomegranate!

I so wanted to like this book. When I first read about it (during the great cover controversy), I was taking a class on multicultural books for children and teens and I thought it sounded perfect for the unit on literature on Asian culture, but I wasn’t able to get a hold of one of the three copies in my local library system until two weeks ago.

The premise (highly reduced to the basic plot): Asian fantasy with a female hero.

Ancient Chinese fantasy world? Definitely something I can enjoy. Female hero? Have you read this blog before? I crave books with sheroes.

The execution, however, was another matter. The writing is flowy and lyrical, just what you would want in a story that almost reads like a myth, but I just couldn’t get into it. It took me a week to get halfway through the novel, which felt terribly long considering this is a genre I usually gobble-up in a day. I asked myself if I really cared if I never learned what happened to Ai Ling at the end and realized that I didn’t and could just let it go.

I wish I could have enjoyed this, but something about the pacing and writing style just didn’t work for me. It sounds like a very interesting book and I’m sure other readers will really enjoy it, but it was starting to feel like I was reading it just to prove some point that I didn’t need to prove.

Part of the assignment required that I consider ways to incorporate the books in a library or media center collection, and design activities using the texts.

These are the books that I selected for the written part of the assignment. Though I read many great selections, these were the ones that I most enjoyed.

1. The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox
2. An Amish Paradox: Diversity and Change in the World’s Largest Amish Community by Charles E. Hurst, David L. McConnell
3. The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin and David Shannon
4. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
5. Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa
6. Goy Crazy by Melissa Schorr
7. Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah
8. Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden
9. Wild Orchid by Beverley Brenna
10. April and the Dragon Lady by Lensey Namioka

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and Annie on my Mind are two of the best YAs I’ve read in a while

Summary: April has always been a dutiful granddaughter, though she knows that she comes last in her traditional Chinese-American family. It’s April’s brother Harry who is the apple of their grandmother’s eye, the honored grandson who will carry on the family name and honor his Chinese ancestors. When April starts to date Steve, an all-American classmate who shares her love of geology and is brave enough to try even the most exotic traditional Chinese food, she begins to realize how difficult it is to be stay true to her family’s traditional views while trying to become independent. While April has always considered herself an American, she finds herself having trouble reconciling her American ideals with her grandmother’s Chinese views. She wants to be the best granddaughter she can be but she also wants more than the strict roles laid out for Chinese girls.

Evaluation: This novel is an authentic representation of the tensions experienced by teens navigating the border between two cultures. In addition, the novel provides an excellent portrayal of the gendered roles associated with boys and girls in Chinese culture, as well as the ideals of filial piety and reverence of age. Grandmother Chen represents a powerful force in the family; her position in the family highlights the bonds between the generations in Chinese families and the emphasis on honoring one’s elders and caring for them in their old age. The novel’s depiction of family, traditional values and gender illustrates the challenges faced by Chinese-American girls who want to stay true to their culture while striving for the American ideal of independence.

Personal Response: I felt that the novel accurately portrays the experience of being a bicultural teen who wants to stay true to the family’s culture while also identifying with the dominant culture. April’s difficulties with her grandmother resonated with my own experience as a granddaughter. Hispanic families often look after their elders and live in multi-generational homes, so the Chen’s experience of living with a somewhat difficult elder reminded me of my relationship with my grandmother. I think this is a book that will appeal to many teens who find themselves in similar situations.

Suggested Extension Activities: One of the main themes in April and the Dragon Lady is balancing bi-cultural identity, making it a great selection for a program on multiculturalism and “hyphenated” Americans. The book can be part of a reading list featuring a selection of YA works that raise awareness of hyphenated, bi-cultural lives in the United States (Asian-American, Hispanic-American, etc.).
To encourage awareness of bicultural identity, the library can also select a month to celebrate biculturalism and feature programs, such as movie viewings and book clubs, to support understanding of the experience of being part of more than one culture.

Summary: Taylor just graduated from high school and feels the threat of The Future looming before her, and it certainly doesn’t help that her mom is forcing her to go on a visit to Waskesiu for the summer. Taylor is worried that things will be too unfamiliar if she leaves her home; how will she know what to expect? For Taylor, uncertainty is a real threat; she has a form of Autism known as Asperger’s Syndrome and has difficulty dealing with change and social situations that would seem inconsequential to others. However, Taylor manages to surprise herself when she finds herself enjoying the predictable pattern that she manages to establish in Waskesiu. She walks the beach seven times in the morning, goes to the nature center, looks for plants, talks to Paul and the others who work at the center, and returns home for pancakes, fries, or pizza before going to bed with her wind-up clock set. Soon enough, things start to change for Taylor, but she finds that she is stronger than she imagined when she takes on a job at the nature center and makes three friends in the process.

Evaluation: Brenna takes the reader into the mind of a girl with Asperger’s Syndrome, allowing the reader to imagine the anxiety, worry, and confusion that Taylor experiences when she encounters unknown situations and finds herself in social situations that she does not know how to navigate. Taylor’s coping mechanisms are portrayed in detail as she tries to reassure herself by counting to the number seven, sharing information about gerbils, and looking for wild orchids on Waskesiu’s nature trail. Brenna provides an excellent depiction of the repetitive tasks that individuals with Autism often demonstrate, while the diary format of the novel provides a first-hand account of Taylor’s experience rather than rely on an omniscient narrator. This is a hard to find book (it is a Canadian publication), but its honest portrayal of Autism makes it a worthy addition to a YA library collection.

Personal Response: At times, this is a difficult book to read. Taylor’s condition makes her dwell on small things, like the number of words that a person uses to construct a sentence, her nervous tics and worries are numerous often making it a challenge for the reader to understand her actions. I felt as if I was experiencing the events from Taylor’s perspective, but found myself feeling sympathetic towards her mother. Taylor’s mother often appears selfish to Taylor, who cannot understand why her mother would want to change any aspect of their lives. The reader is able to understand the challenges faced by a parent who wants the best for their autistic child but also wants their child to understand that sometimes change is inevitable. I felt frustrated by Taylor, but I also felt frustrated for her; I imagine this is what her mother must feel.

Suggested Extension Activities: This novel can be used as part of a special school media program to promote awareness of emotional and psychological disabilities among teens. The program can present information on disabilities such as Asperger’s, autism, depression, eating disorders, etc. to encourage understanding and awareness of the effect of these “silent” disabilities on teens. Students who have experience with these disabilities (whether first-hand, or through a friend or relative) can be encouraged to share their thoughts in writing. Poems, essays, and short stories on living with disabilities can be printed in the school newspaper or on a library blog. Students can choose to remain anonymous.
Posters and bulletins can be created and posted around the media center and around school common areas to help students learn more about these conditions.
A display of relevant materials can be set up in the library in a prominent area and teachers can be encouraged to incorporate information about disabilities into the class curriculum.