Emily Fardoux LIS 722 02 Sp Book Review 1 Ness, Patrick, with illustrations by Jim Kay and inspired by an idea

from Siobhan Dowd. A Monster Calls. Candlewick, 2011. Ages 12&Up. Conor has terrible, monstrous nightmares. One day he looks out his bedroom window to see a monster looking back at him but this monster is unfamiliar. This monster wants something of Conor, but before Conor delivers, the monster will tell him three stories. Afterwards, it will be Conors turn to tell his own story, the truth. Conor's life is filled with woe and difficulty, his family is in denial about the future of his cancer-ridden mother and a school bully pricks away at Conor until he snaps. The stories the monster tells are unpredictable, and Conor soon discovers that not all stories have a good guy and not every story is fair. A haunting, chilling tale-of-tales, A Monster Calls explores anger, grief, bullying, fairness, and above all, the denial and acceptance of truth. Ness does not waste a single word in this short volume, and Conors emotions positively leap off the page, ripping and tearing at readers in tandem with Jim Kays dark illustrations. Metaphor and allegory is rife in this text, yet remains unforced on the more nave reader. Additional power comes from the authors note, in which Ness details the origin of this sad tale childrens author Siobhan Dowd left the outline and characters before dying of cancer. Whether read by the angry, the bullied or the grieving, Conor OMalleys journey through troubled stories will provide comfort and perhaps tears.

Emily Fardoux LIS 722 02 Sp Book Review 2 Emerson, Zack. Echo Company #1: Welcome to Vietnam. Point, 1991. Ages 12 & Up. Once he had all his stuff, the first thing he did was write FTA on the side of his helmet in black ink. Which, of course stood for #*$@ The Army. Might as well let everyone know where he stood. Nearly nineteen year-old Michael Jennings, a ski instructor from Colorado, is drafted and sent to Vietnam, where he is ordered to Echo Company, in I Corps - stationed in the heat of the action. Mike, or Meat, as his buddy Snoopy christens him, doesn't really understand the war none of the guys do but they follow orders, silently humping their way through the stifling heat, booby traps, and dense jungle of South Vietnam day after day. Emerson presents a glimpse of a young soldier's time in Vietnam in this promising first novel of a projected series. Short bursts of wartime action provide startling realism to the hectic life of a soldier in the field guys joking about the World Series one minute and cleaning a soldiers exploded corpse off his best friend the next. These moments are well paired with long, detailed descriptions of the terrifying non-action of Meat's shifts standing guard at night. A twig snapped. For sure, a twig had snapped. They were out there. Was anyone else awake? Was he the only one who had heard it? Were they coming? Each character is well defined through short description, and confusion about the real conflict at hand may spark curiosity from readers and interest to learn more about the Vietnam War. Mostly absent from this brief novel are the politics and relentless gore of many war novels, yet the raw characterization, bursts of action, and simple writing are well-crafted. Sure to be compared to Walter Dean Myers 1988 novel Fallen Angels, a potentially stronger offering as it grapples with the political and racial issues of the late 1960s.

Emily Fardoux LIS 722 02 Sp Book Review 3 Kraus, Daniel. Rotters. Delacorte Press, 2011. After his mother is struck by a bus and killed, 16 year old straight-A student Joey Crouch boards a bus to Bloughton, Iowa, to live with his estranged father Ken Harnett. Known in town as the Garbageman, Harnett is neither an idea father nor roommate. His small house is unkempt, full of newspaper stacks and a strong odor; Harnett himself disappears for days at a time, leaving Joey with no food or money. After discovering a safe full of putrid jewels in his fathers closet, Joey follows Harnett one night, stowing away in the bed of his pickup with a disposable camera. Forgetting about the consequence of a flash late at night, Joey snaps a photo: Everything was illuminated in one instant of motionless clarity: individual blades of tall grass, bugs caught in the air like thrown pebbles, the mirrored surface of the truck, my father, his stunned expression, the handheld wire cutter, the sparkle of multiple jeweled rings, and, clenched in my fathers fist, wearing these rings, a severed human hand. My father is a grave robber. Unlike most teens who catch a parent red-handed robbing a grave, Joey wants nothing more than to join his father. Though initially hesitant and refusing, Harnett begins to train Joey in the art of digging burying Joeys homework assignments or shoes deep beneath the earth hours before the start of school, lecturing on the art and history of grave robbing as Joey digs. Obviously not a hot topic in contemporary literature for any age, Kraus writes about grave robbing a little too realistically for comfort all the while providing mystery, intrigue, and the intricate exploration of a powerful connection between father and son. At times, this subterranean novel is graphic, horrific, and downright gooey, but Kraus unforgettable writing strengthens the allure of this dark, multilayered world of bullies young and old, live and dead, and of fathers and sons, in a way that keeps the pages turning.

Emily Fardoux LIS 722 02 Sp Book Review 4 Mullin, Mike. Ashfall. Tanglewood Press, 2011. Ebook. After refusing to join his parents and sister on a trip to visit relatives in Illinois, fifteen year-old Alex is alone in his Iowa home when the Yellowstone supervolcano suddenly erupts. The United States is suddenly transformed into an ashy wasteland, its desperate citizens fighting against one another for food and shelter. Though fast-paced, the novel is a bit long, yet readers will find the nonstop action and desperation of Alex and Darla worthy of the length.

Emily Fardoux LIS 722 02 Sp Book Review 4 Crispin, A. C. The Price of Freedom. Disney Editions, 2011. First mate Jack Sparrow, an employee of the East India Trading Company, is somewhere in the Caribbean when his cargo ship is attacked. Luckily, the pirate captain of the attacking ship is a former lover of Jacks, and doesnt steal the entire cargo. Unluckily, Captain Baimbridge, furious at being attacked, boarded, and stolen from by a female pirate, tries to attack la Dona Pirata. In the ensuing swordfight, Baimbridge suffers from a heart attack and dies, leaving Jack in charge of the ship. Across the ocean, a princess and her brother set sail from a magically hidden island in search of their missing father. They are captured and sold into slavery, but not before Princess Amenirdis casts a protective spell over herself, altering her appearance to that of an ugly old hag. Separated from each other by the cruel slave trade, Amenirdis (now calling herself Ayisha) longs for her brother and hopes for a chance at freedom.!! Back at port, EITC employee Cutler Beckett comes into possession of a few pieces of golden jewelry he believes are connected to the legendary island of Kerma - and if he can locate the slave off of whom these pieces were stolen, he can locate Kermas treasure. His hunt soon leads him to suspect Ayishas involvement with the royal Kerman family, though her disguise and self-imposed language barrier deter Becketts ability to question her further. Upon Jacks return to shore with the pirate-lightened cargo ship, and explanation to Cutler Beckett the events of the pirate attack, he is promoted to Captain (huzzah! huzzah!) and given command of the vessel Wicked Wench. Beckett, convinced that Ayisha knows the location of Kerma, tells Capn Jack to offer the slave escape from Beckett and then charm her into giving up the location of the island. Jack is then to return to Beckett with the coordinates and the fabled Kerman treasure - and Beckett will set sail for Kerma with a dozen slave ships, prepared to snatch up the citizens. Of course, we all know Capn Jack to be a moral man. Dont we? And of course, he has another plan up his sleeve - one that doesnt involve stealing an entire population to be slaves or giving Cutler Beckett any treasure at all. One doesnt have to have seen the movies to enjoy this adventurous naval romp. The supernatural, mystical aspects of the book are, as in the movies, important to the characters survival, but not over-reaching. In The Price of Freedom, we see Jack in an entirely new light from

the films - and love him all the more for it. His wobbling morality and quick wit, paired with his prowess at the helm (of both a ship and a woman) make him an entirely lovable, dimensional, addictive character and his forced association with the Caribbean slave trade adds a level of complexity to the novel.

Emily Fardoux LIS 722 02 Sp Book Review 5 Westerfeld, Scott. Leviathan. Illustrations by Keith Thompson. Simon Pulse, 2009. Grades 58. Westerfeld's new novel takes place in an alternate-history steampunk World War I, where the machine-oriented Clankers (Central powers) vie against the Darwinists (Entente powers) and their genetically-engineered-animal-based military. After his parents are assassinated, young Alek Hapsburg, son of Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand, is on the run in a giant, two-legged, mechanical Walker. Accompanied by the mechaniks master, and his own fencing instructor, Alek is largely unaware of the political issues now surrounding him as heir to the Austrian empire. Meanwhile, Deryn Sharp, a daring girl who dreams of joining the British Air Service, disguises herself as a boy named Dylan and, during her BAS entrance exam, is swept away during a storm on a living hot-air jellyfish-balloon called a Huxley. She is rescued by the Leviathan, one of Britain's most formidable airbeasts, and through her bravado and aeronautical skill, becomes part of the ship's crew. The Leviathan is then sent to England to pick up a female scientist and her precious cargo a box of mysterious eggs, gestating a secret government fabricated species a quiet subplot that no doubt will see more action in the sequels. Steampunk mechaniks and fascinating imagined science (seen in the Darwinist 'fabrications') are not lacking in this adventurous novel, yet the characterization and dialogue is overly enthusiastic yet manages to be dry with little impact (a terrible thought took hold of his mind, freezing his fingers. If theyre trying to kill me its all true.). The resulting effect is that neither Alek nor Deryn are likeable characters. Alek's noble upbringing make him a snotty, entitled teen; Deryn's headstrong beliefs in her own abilities, disregard for authority, and constant knowledge that only she can accomplish a task is often grating neither are likeable characters. She peered across the glacier again, using only her naked eyes. A tiny flash of metal winked at her from the snow, closer to the airship every second. The charging walker was going to arrive before the [message] lizard. Alek was the key to stopping the machine, but in all the ruckus would anyone think of him? The only way to make sure was to go down herself. Westerfeld fans may gravitate to this novel expecting a morality adventure a la Uglies (2005), finding disappointment in this first novel in a projected trilogy. Though the action is near non-stop, Westerfeld's usual social commentary is sorely absent here. Fans of steampunk

adventure with a twist of potential romance would be better served by Kenneth Oppel's Airborn (2004) trilogy or Philip Reeve's opening to the Hungry City Chronicles, Mortal Engines (2001). Includes author's note separating factual events from the fictional.