my love/hate relationship with THE MAGICIANS

the blurb on the back of this ARC (plus the pretty, pretty cover) really sold me. magic in the real world? loosely disguised Narnia? nightmares and shocking truths? yes! well, except for the phrase "coming-of-age" -- that always makes me want to not read a book. too many high-school english class connotations. but i went ahead and read it anyway.

and i loved it! it's Harry Potter plus some Narnia plus sex, booze, lies, guilt, and other actual human emotions! the beautiful thing about the Harry Potter and Narnia series, and books like them, is that they are perfectly suited to reinforce moral codes: bad people are bad, good people are good (although they sometimes may make mistakes), and when you try and fight the good fight, you know exactly which side you should be fighting for. it's what makes them great reads for children (aside, of course, from the magic). but that's also the unrealistic thing about HP and Narnia (aside, of course, from the magic): good people aren't always good and bad people aren't always bad, and sometimes what appears to be the right side is absolutely not. and sometimes you don't even want to fight the good fight, sometimes you just want to go away and have a cocktail and see who comes out on top. and no, you don't necessarily want your 10-year-old to wrestle with the reality of these things. but if you're an adult (or teenager) reading Harry Potter, don't you find yourself wondering if Harry and Ron ever snuck up to the Astronomy Tower with something a bit stronger than butterbeer to get a buzz on? or if Hermione smuggled in some caffeine pills to help her stay awake during all that Time Twisting?

i definitely wondered, and so did Lev Grossman. THE MAGICIANS really, truly, does an excellent job imagining what we'd all be like if we could actually do magic and/or get to Narnia. sure, we could make pretty lights appear out of nowhere and levitate and shoot static charges at each other from across the room, but we would also cheat on our tests, sleep with the wrong person, make friends who are not good for us, have torturous childhoods, and in general continue to be dissatisfied with our lives. in other words, magic doesn't make us any less human or angsty or damaged. if you're like me, this thought makes you giddy with the sheer audacity of the premise. if it makes you cringe, then don't read this book.

so there's the love, now for the hate. yes, reality does often involve drinking. lots of teenagers (as much as we'd like to think otherwise), college students, and many, many adults drink. some more heavily than others. but everyone, and i mean EVERYONE, in THE MAGICIANS is constantly drinking, drunk, or hung-over and contemplating their next fix. always. all the time. every waking moment. some of it "sanctioned" by the magical Academy, and some of it "extracurricular." and these are supposed to be the brightest of the bright, the creative creme de la creme, collected together for the express purpose that they have talents no one else has. and ... they're all alcoholics? why, Lev Grossman, why? i understand that it's key to a specific character's development in the story. but all of them? all the time? now really. i knew a lot of very bright, very creative kids in high-school and college, and i can assure you that while they did indulge, the frat/sorority population was far more likely to behave the way Grossman's characters behave. unless he's going with the "tortured artist" cliche, but usually artists tend to be a bit older than 18 when they hit that point in their lives. i mean, Hemingway was probably a pretty tortured teen, but it took him years to work up to the level of debauchery that THE MAGICIANS' protagonists achieve.

i would really love to hear from the author about this -- if you're out there Googling yourself, please comment! i'm also curious to see if anyone else who has read the book feels the same way -- maybe i'm out of line here? unless and until those comments come, however, i will have to just continue to be torn. THE MAGICIANS pubs August '09.

swoosh

i don't normally go for the gimmick titles. but something about the cover of Oh. My. Gods (the bright pink banner behind the title? the way the banner oh so subtly covers up the naughty bits of the statue? the fact that the statue has pink nikes draped around its neck? or that it's standing in sand? it's quite the cover) caught me and demanded that i give it a go.

it was so. much. fun. (sorry, just had to) Tera Lynn Childs, if she can keep it up, is going to be a great addition to the young adult author pool. Phoebe, our narrator, lives for one thing: running. well, maybe three things: running, running in Nikes, and getting into USC so she can run some more. so when her mother announces that she's remarried and they're moving to a tiny island in Greece for Phoebe's senior year, it's a pretty big deal. which becomes an even bigger deal, when Phoebe finds out that her new school is inhabited entirely by descendants of the greek gods, many of whom decidedly do not like the new girl.

there were definitely a few moments heavy on the cheese (the prophecy in particular, i could have done without), but they were balanced by the laugh-out-loud moments liberally sprinkled throughout. this is a really fun, funny, and heartwarming story, especially for those of us obsessed with mythology (i know you're out there!). i won't spoil the ending (shame on you, ending-spoilers!) but i guarantee you'll be grinning from ear to ear. Oh. My. Gods. hits the shelves in May.

twitchy witchy

oh - my
twitchy witchy girl
i think you are so nice,
i give you bowls of porridge
and i give you bowls of ice
cream.
i give
you lots of kisses,
and i give you lots of hugs,
but i never give you sandwiches
with bugs
in.

oh, i love neil gaiman. i think it's pretty hard not to these days. i couldn't get through American Gods, i will grant you, but the Sandman Series is the reason i love graphic novels, and Stardust was magnificent, albeit too short (not to mention that the movie was even pretty good, which is more than i can say for most of the recent fantasy epics). and the above was a gem hidden in the new Coraline which, when i have tiny neices, i am determined to set to music and sing every chance i get.

what? a new Coraline?! that's right! a graphic novel adaptation no less. can our joy know any bounds? i think not! that being said, i've never read Coraline. i had a vague notion of the plot though, and so when i saw the arc for the graphic novel adaptation come in (due out late June), i snatched it up. not too hard to manage, when you're the only graphic novel enthusiast in the store, but still!

and believe you me, this does not disappoint. at first i wasn't sure i liked the style -- the art is very well done, but it's also very straight-forward, and i have been known to prefer a more stylistic approach. however, P. Craig Russell's genius was soon revealed. his straight-forward style makes the scary horrific, and the good heroic. the story, by turns funny, nostalgic, and absolutely terrifying, is brought to vivid life. fans of the original will, i think, be pleased, and those in my shoes will be yearning to read the book.

gut it out

Jacquelyn Mitchard is another one of those authors whose name i'm familiar with, and whose works i've sold often, but whom i've never read. until now, that is!

All We Know of Heaven, her second young adult novel, is a doozy. no fluff here, folks! it's pitched as "based on a true story of mistaken identity ripped from the headlines." now i don't know about you all, but i'm a sucker for "based on a true story," whether it's a book or a movie or whatever. even though it always means that the characters are prettier and the plot is neater and has been edited for your enjoyment, there's something about knowing that somewhere out there, someone has gone through this (more or less).

All We Know follows a girl who is mistaken for her identical best friend, after the two get in a car accident resulting in one death and one coma. the heroine (i don't want to give anything away, so i won't use her name) wakes up to find herself traumatized, physically and mentally injured, and on top of all that thought to be someone else. her efforts to not only get over the tragedy, but to regain her physical and mental abilities, are, for lack of a better phrase, insanely well done. the heroine rides an emotional rollercoaster in her attempts to remaster things as diverse as walking, math, and sentence structure. nothing is treated lightly here, and Mitchard gives full attention and props to the difficulties inherent in the aftermath of brain trauma and to those who "gut it out." she also nails the teenage mind and emotional state, already turbulent enough, and provides moments of sweetness and fun to break up the drama.

the book also gave me a lot more respect for cheerleaders, which i can pretty much guarantee i've never had before. to all of you wronged cheerleaders out there, i apologize on behalf of non-cheerleaders. you might get more respect if so many of you weren't evil to the rest of us in highschool. just a thought.

the yuck factor

i was a vegetarian for about 10 years, and still can't eat red meat. that probably explains my initial reaction to The Inferior, by Peadar O Guilin. he uses the word "flesh" at least once a sentence, and always in reference to food. there's a reason for it -- a (theoretically) integral to the plot reason for it, but still.

however, i persevered, and got past my knee-jerk reaction (though i'm betting i made a face every time i read it) and, well, yeah. the back of the book says "With echoes of Tarzan, Conan, and The Truman Show, Peadar O Guilin's debut is an action-and-ideas packed blockbuster that will change your perceptions of humanity and leave you hungry for more."

aside from what i consider the incredible crassness of the phrase "hungry for more," given the above "flesh" thing, it's not a bad blurb. there is a lot of Tarzan in it -- i couldn't say about the Conan reference, never having read it -- with spears and hunting and jungly tribal stuff. the ending is a pretty clear reference to The Truman Show, and there is an awful lot of action.

but i didn't like this book. i think i'm not the right audience. this is the kind of book that will make an amazing video game, and would indeed make a standard blockbusting action movie. but that didn't make it a good read.

why didn't i like it? aside from the yuck factor, of course. well, like i mentioned above, the ideas seemed there more as an aside than as the point, and were muddled on top of that. when i finished the book, after the (theoretically) stunning conclusion, the only thing i could think was that the book was either too long or too short.

the way in which it all ties together at the end (i.e., the way in which they connect Tarzan and Conan with The Truman Show) was a little sloppy. it kind of reminded me of an episode of Lost. lots of really insane conspiracies, possible red herrings, inexplicable appearances and disappearances, weird intercepted technology, and no real hope of it all ever being reconciled. (i will now be promptly stoned by Lost fans; all i can say is, i calls it like i sees it.) so either there needed to be less of all the conspiracies and red herrings and inexplicable happenings, or the book needed to be longer to really and truly tie them all together.

that being said, it would make a great video game, and i can see a lot of guys (i'm thinking 12 to 18) really enjoying it for the admittedly well done action and the truly bizarre concept. not to mention fans of Lost.

who in the what

i've admitted that covers matter to me. i dare you to find a bookseller that won't admit the same, and i also dare you to find a customer that doesn't unconsciously respond to the cover of a book. it's just psychology, i think -- if it appeals to you visually, then you will pick it up. right?

titles are important too. if they're too long, no one will remember the whole thing and people will invariably scramble the words. too short, and people will remember related words instead of the right one. even phrases can be dangerous; for example, the book The Rest is Noise is commonly referred to by customers as Everything Else is Noise. this sucks for many reasons, but mostly (if you're a bookseller) because if you look it up in your inventory under the second title, you will never ever find the first. catalogs just can't handle that kind of mental disassocation.

which brings me to the book i read last night: Ever, by Gail Carson Levine. this is a great book, handicapped by two things: the title and the cover.

i should preface with the fact tht Ever is a great read. Gail Carson Levine is a powerhouse in middle reader and young adult fiction, so that's no big surprise. the story is sweet but not saccharine, with a dark plot that doesn't pull it's punches and characters whose relationships with each other deepen the story and redeem the darkness. Kezi, the main character, is spunky (in the non-obnoxious way) and fresh, and the love story is a new take on the old theme of romances between gods and mortals.

that being said, i'm at a complete loss to explain the title. Ever what? forever? whatever? whenever? ever after? never ever? ummm ... and i wish wish wish that i had seen some imperative, overarching relationship to the plot. let's just say that there is one, but it's a pretty weak excuse for a one word title when the one word is that ambiguous.

now, book covers frequently change between the ARC and the publication. especially if you get the ARC in December, and the book isn't due out until May. i can only hope that it's the case for this one. it's one of those picture covers, of which i'm hardly ever a fan in any case, but this one is particularly irritating to me. a guy and a girl -- both very anglo, and from the setting and character descriptions of the book the characters are more middle eastern than anything else -- are staring at you. the girl seems kind of irritated that you're looking at her in the first place, and the boy (a weird young version of orlando bloom) has that stalker-ee face going. like i said, i don't like it.

i think this one would be a nightmare to market -- forgettable title, a poor cover -- if it wasn't for the name attached to it. fortunately for HarperCollins, booksellers and readers alike love Gail Levine enough to forgive.

weetzie who?

i've never read Francesca Lia Block. here's what happened: i was 12 when i discovered her. but that is WAY too young for Francesca Lia Block. or at least, when i was 12 it was. i suppose that 12 year olds nowadays are probably already watching more explicit things on HBO on a nightly basis. but anyway, i was not one of those 12 year olds. and then, by the time i was reminded of her existence, i was going through an intense Jane Austen phase and had pretty much no time for her.

but as a bookseller, i've remained very aware of Francesca. she's always on the radar, especially if you work in the teen section a lot. which i do.

which is why, 12 years after i first discovered her, i decided to pick up the ARC. also it had a pretty cover, and i am susceptible (VERY susceptible) to well-done covers. i'm glad i did.

Blood Roses didn't start off with a bang. i enjoyed the first few stories, but wasn't blown away. until, that is, i got to 'Skin Art', 'My Mother the Vampire', and 'Changeling'. 'Skin Art' and 'My Mother the Vampire' are linked, and just ... wow. really freakin' good. 'Changeling' is so sad (of course, all of them are, i don't think that she writes stories that aren't sad on some level) and so wistful and beautiful, i was stunned. whoever decided the order of these stories really knows their stuff.

so! PG13, folks, and utterly worth it. this goes on my shelf next to the other amazing gothic and girlie books.

crossing over

i don't know if it's something that's new, or if i just didn't realize it before. but it seems that there are a lot of books out there right now that are crossing the line between the "young" reader (aka middle and young adult) and the adult reader. for example, Harry Potter. or the Twilight series. as a bookseller, i'm increasingly approached by adults who are looking for these books for themselves.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox, by Mary E Pearson, exemplifies this phenomenon. what would be considered straight-up literary speculative fiction* is rendered young adult simply because the protagonist is seventeen. Adoration is the gripping story of Jenna Fox, who may or may not have been in a coma for a year, and may or may not be Jenna Fox at all. thoughtful and challenging without being heavy-handed, Adoration is a fascinating and timely look at human identity and the ethics of advanced medicine. the characters are engaging, and Jenna and her school mates in particular are fun, intriguing, and a little saddening all at once.

i don't really believe in the canon for the most part, but this book belongs in schools, and on the shelves of every thinking person out there.

*by literary speculative fiction, i mean something along the lines of Never Let Me Go by Ishiguro, or The Road by McCarthy. something that takes place in a near future, and may have science fiction elements, but that you're going to find in the fiction section of a bookstore.

écoutez moi

as we've established, i like books that like music. and here's another one to add to the list.

Debbie Harry Sings in French, by Meagan Brothers, is (as you might have guessed) obsessed with Blondie. but not just in the way that it references lots of Blondie songs, or has Debbie Harry in the title. oh no. our main character doesn't just lurve Blondie, he wants to be Debbie Harry. wait, he? yes, he.

let me digress for a moment. working in a bookstore, you get a lot of concerned parents coming in and asking for young adult lit that does not feature drugs, sex, divorce, depression, death, violence, or abuse. the list is pretty short. in fact, i could not make you one at the moment, as i'm hard-pressed to think of any that i've read. except for this one, but it's not out yet. maybe i just don't read the right books. but here's the thing. the reason is that these are things that absolutely are part of teenage life. i think we can all agree that that's true. sad, but true.

the reason i bring all that up is because Debbie Harry is yet another book that some concerned parents might shy away from. it tackles death, alcoholism, and gender identity in a huge way. Johnny is a great main character and a savvy narrator -- hip without pretension, matter of fact, and hugely likeable. the drag scenes (yes, drag!) are funky without being over the top. and the supporting cast are equally believable -- even if you don't like them, you get where they're coming from.

i have to say there were a few false notes, for me. Johnny is a teensy bit too blasé about the bullying he experiences, for the violence of said bullying, and the ending is just a bit too pat and has some weird implications for genetics. but the vibrance and earnestness of this novel more than make up for those bits, which are not uncommon in debut novels.

in other words, i think you'll like it.

recommended reading in the meantime (concerned parents beware): Story of a Girl, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Love is a Mix Tape, Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist

vanilla

some people go for the hardcore stuff -- rocky road, and the like. others prefer cookie dough, or mint chocolate chip, or espresso fudge. and then there are those who like vanilla. simple, dependable, and sweet.

Something to Blog About, by Shana Norris, is vanilla in book format. nothing too elaborate here, plotwise: Girl likes Boy, Girl has Arch-Nemesis, Arch-Nemesis turns out to be Misunderstood, Girl gets Boy. pretty classic stuff. Norris's strengths are her writing (Libby has a strong and funny voice) and her sense of the thin line for teens between the funny and the heart-wrenchingly embarrassing. what could have been bland is, instead, vanilla.

plus i LOVE the cover. who can resist a girl that cute with her hair on fire?! i will be heartbroken if they change it because the chains didn't like it for some reason or other. the cover sells this book. don't you think?

safe for middle schoolers but really speaking to the jr high/highschool crew, Something to Blog About hits the shelves February '08 (according to my ARC, but Amazon says April 1 so who knows).

sweet and sour

it's rare to get an ARC for an author you know/have met. it's rarer still to get that ARC directly from the author. one of the perks of doing events!

Sweethearts, Sara Zarr's newest book, proves what i already knew -- she's not a flash in the pan. her first novel, Story of a Girl, has been a wild success -- National Book Award nominee, good critical reviews, etc. the second book can't help but be a worry, in this kind of situation: will people like it as much? will they not like it? is it too similar? is it too different?

i liked it better.

shock! blasphemy! wait, what? all kidding aside, it took me awhile to really get into Story of a Girl. deanna is a tough cookie, and i'm guessing that my hesitation was partly due to the fact that she was the girl i was afraid of in high school. this made the book more powerful for me, in the end, because by the closing pages i was right there with deanna, no longer afraid of her or confused by her. i got it, i got her, and loved the book.

Jennifer Harris aka Jenna Vaugh aka Fattifer aka JV (read it, you'll get it) of Sweethearts, however, i got right away. those of us who had a difficult elementary school experience will always recognize one another, so i felt right at home with Jenna. she's finally made headway -- lost twenty pounds, made friends at a new school, has a cute boyfriend -- and is able to ignore her difficult early years, for the most part. but then her only friend from elementary school, a boy she thought was dead, reappears. it's not an easy reunion, and the issues that Sweethearts addresses are genuine, heart-rending at times, and highlight the awkwardness of reconciling the many selves we carry around with us.

your reading list until it comes out:

This Is What I Did by Ann Dee Ellis, another emerging author, is a great book about friendship, abuse, and identity. Ann Dee nailed the voice of her narrator, bringing unpopular, shy, troubled Logan to vivid life. Logan has trouble in spades -- a mysterious incident of abuse that he can't bring himself to talk about taints his life, making him simultaneously suspect and victim. his frank understanding of his own situation, his frustration with himself and his parents, and his fear of contact with his former best friend combine to create a fully realized and fully realistic story.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, of which you already know i'm a fan, is another one to add to the pile.

music and books

there are some books out there that remind us of just how much we love music. Audrey, Wait is one of those books.

in Audrey, Wait Robin Benway turns every girl's dream (to have a song written about them) on its head in a laugh-out-loud, bright, sharp novel. audrey is the voice of a generation. she is alternatingly air-headed and bitingly intelligent, angsty and insightful, but always genuine -- a refreshing change from the chic clique girls that overrun much of the ya genre.

you won't be able to read Audrey, Wait until April 2008, but don't despair! for your auditory enjoyment, i've scoured deezer for songs featured in the book -- below. and, for your reading pleasure, let me introduce you to two of my other muscially-inclined friends: War for the Oaks by Emma Bull and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.

War for the Oaks was my introduction to rock and roll, and no one could have introduced it better than eddi mccandry, our heroine. she rocks like nobody's business, and that's what gets her into trouble. if you like a good fantasy, you've probably already read this book but i will say it anyway -- read it! guitars, drummers, the world of faerie, and a whole lot of rock and roll collide to create a book that i have reread more times than i can count, and fondly recall more often than that. expect a playlist as soon as i can find my copy.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower features charlie, a kid who just can't catch a break. i never did like Catcher in the Rye -- if i were a teacher and could replace it, this is the book i'd replace it with. life is rough, high school is rough, and no one knows it better than charlie. but unlike the self-pitying and self-obsessed holden caulfield, charlie actually has a heart. which is a good thing, because he needs it. music may not play as strong of a role in this book as in Audrey, Wait or War for the Oaks, but it's there to set the stage at key moments.

(note: these are all PG13 folks. razorbill seems to think that Audrey, Wait is suitable for 12 year olds, but i'd say wait a bit -- sex, drugs and language do play a role. not a huge one, but there nonetheless.)