New-ish Releases: Kid Power Galore

Because I focused so much on my TBR last year, I ended up with a teetering stack of review copies. My goal now is to clear most of them out by the summer. These are three middle grade books that have come out recently.

First up is the delightful The Adventurer's Guide to Successful Escapes by Wade Albert White. It's the story of Anne, an orphan who sets out on an unexpected but apparently fated quest to find out what exactly she is the rightful heir to/of. With a girl of color as the main protagonist (woot!), this story also has a surprising mix of fantasy and science fiction elements that all come together to create a dangerous but exciting world. Two of the three main kiddos are girls and most of the adults (and the dragon) are female as well, which was refreshing. This is the first in a new series but it wraps up nicely enough to be a standalone.

Next is Shadowsmith by Ross MacKenzie, the story of Kirby, a Scottish boy whose mom is in a coma after a freak accident. He soon starts to have a sneaking suspicion that the spiders he keeps seeing are actually watching him and then a girl named Amelia shows up and says that this is exactly what is happening. That's the least of Kirby's problems though because things quickly escalate and he must fight a host of creatures to save his world and his mom. This story was dark and frightening, even for me. It's definitely for older middle school kids who love to be scared. The peril was realistic but so were the relationships between Kirby and his dad and Kirby and Amelia which made it well-worth reading, even if I had to stick to reading it during daylight hours!

Finally, I read Sea Change by Frank Viva. This one is an illustrated short novel about Eliot, a boy who gets sent from his Canadian home out to a fishing village in Nova Scotia to spend the summer with his great uncle. He thinks he is being sent to the worst place imaginable but instead finds that there are many things that make Point Aconi special. Life isn't perfect there but it becomes the place where Eliot grows up and learns about life. Viva himself spent summers in Point Aconi as a boy and his love for the place and its quirky people really comes through. One warning though, there is an abusive father in the story, which could be a hard topic for some young readers.

Adventuring near and far,

K

My Night With Neil

As those of you on Twitter probably know (I might have mentioned it), I had the chance to head up to Vancouver, BC a couple of days ago to catch Neil Gaiman on the last of his North American signing dates. We drove up on Thursday morning and got into town around three in the afternoon. We checked into our hotel and got a quick lunch and then I was dropped off at the Vogue Theatre, an historic art deco theatre built in 1941. Besides being a bit warm in the sun, the 75 minute wait outside didn't actually seem that long because I was so excited.

Once inside, I got a seat just off-center in the fourth row and had another hour to wait until Neil was on. Luckily I brought a book to pass the time (thanks, Connie Willis).

Then Neil came out (hooray!). I didn't get any good photos while he was on stage but I didn't try very hard either. Instead I sat back and listened while he read from The Ocean at the End of the Lane, answered a wide variety of audience questions and read once more from Fortunately, the Milk (an all-ages book out in September and really, truly hilarious). This part of the night flew by even though it lasted for about 90 minutes. He was funny and thoughtful and did his best to boost the confidence of the Canadian audience (that's a Canadian joke).

Then, the signing. Luckily, my wait was only about two hours long, as our row was called at about 9:55pm. (I say luckily because there was still easily half of the theatre that were still waiting patiently when I left.)

I was surprisingly not too nervous as my time came to get my books in front of Neil and there was a very kind volunteer there to take our phones and cameras so I got some fantastic photos of myself with himself.

At first I just stood there awkwardly while he signed my copy of Ocean (drawing a nice moon inside) and then I told him I came up from Seattle and he thanked me for doing so and I felt a bit calmer.

And then he got to the other book I brought for him to sign, Diana Wynne Jones' Reflections: On the Magic of Writing, which he wrote the foreword to and he just paused and sighed. Then he started telling me how he wished Diana had gotten the chance to read Ocean and that she probably would have loved it (I said I thought so too). I might also have mentioned #dwjmarch ...

We talked about missing her dreadfully and a bit about her new book (the one that her sister Ursula has written the ending to -- Neil was considered for the project but decided to say no to it) ...

And that was it ... time for one last smile and then he had to sign that book for the nice boy with the awesome hair that was behind me.

It was one of the most amazing nights of my life and it took me hours to fall asleep that night. I am so happy that the Vancouver Writers Fest was able to bring Neil to BC and that my kind husband and son drove with me all the way to another country "just" to see an author.

Still reliving a night to remember,

K

New Release: Barnacle Love

I forget where I first heard about Barnacle Love, Anthony De Sa's Giller Prize nominated debut novel, but it sounded intriguing.  This story of a young Portuguese man who goes looking for a new life in Canada is not a fast-paced novel but it reveals the depths of what it means to be an immigrant in a painful and heartbreaking way.

The story begins by following a twenty-ish Manuel Rebelo as he leaves his fishing community on an island in the Azores.  He sets out on a voyage which eventually ends up in Canada.  Soon after they leave on the return journey, he is lost at sea and, just as he is close to death, is rescued by a Canadian fisherman.  Since he is presumed dead in his home country, he takes the opportunity to follow his vague but real dreams and to begin a new life in an adopted country.  We follow Manuel's story for a bit and then the narrative changes focus to tell the story of Manuel's son, Antonio, who is born in Toronto and lives in a Portuguese immigrant area with his mother, father and sister.  As Manuel becomes increasingly despondent at not achieving his undefinable dream, Antonio must define his own identity.

Told with stark and simple language, the story is still quite complex.  From Antonio's criticism of his father's lingering accent to Manuel's over-exuberant Canadian patriotism, we view many different sides of the immigrant story.  This wasn't an easy story to read but it seems like an essential one for understanding something that many of us will never experience first-hand.

Three generations away from my own immigrant story,
K


Support our site and buy Barnacle Love on Amazon or find it at your local library.  We received a copy for review from the publisher.

Stalling With Some Photos

Well, we just returned home yesterday from a four day vacation in Victoria, British Columbia.  It was a short but much needed trip before we have to start the school/fall grind again.  I read three books and got to meet a fellow blogger, Natalie from In Spring It Is The Dawn!  We met at Munro's Books (where I could have spent a fortune on British titles) and had tea at Murchie's next door.  Unfortunately, we forgot to take a picture together so I guess I'll have to go meet her in Japan some time and get that pic!

Since I am a bit tired and not feeling up to writing any reviews tonight, I thought I would share some piccies with you of Victoria and other locations around Vancouver Island.  We spent more time going around the south end of the island than we did in the city so they're mostly nature shots.  I hope they make Uncle Al proud!

These first ones are during the ferry ride from Tsawwassen to Sydney.  I could almost make a day of just riding ferries through the islands!

These next ones are from a provincial/regional park called Sooke Potholes (or Pot Holes, depending on where you look it up).  I have no idea what the potholes were supposed to be but it was a very nice river park where we ate a picnic lunch.

After that park, we kept driving down the highway to find an ocean park.  We ended up at French Beach which was windy but beautiful.  I love the rocky shores of the north Pacific.  We flew a kite and Z spent a lot of time throwing rocks into the crashing waves.

I'll even make this a book-relevant post with this picture of a family that we saw on the beach (another woman before them built the rock piles) --

The next day we decided to drive in the other direction and take the scenic route around the southeastern corner of the island.  It was highly residential but they also have a good number of public parks where you can stop and enjoy the coast.

The best part of the day was when a kid called us over to a boat launch area where there was a curious harbor seal that kept surfacing.  He came up as close as maybe 10 feet away at one point!

I even took a short video of the seal when it was close --

Oh, and there were some buildings there but I only got this one slightly blurry shot of the Parliament building from the car.  ;)

I think that T got some more pictures of The Empress hotel and other city shots but for some reason I never pulled my camera out in the city.  Oh well!  It leaves me something to do next time we go to Victoria!

Refreshed and happy,

K and Z

New in Paperback: The Tricking of Freya

My literary journey into the myths of Iceland last year with the novel Ice Land was a satisfying initiation to the history and mythology of the country.  Christina Sunley's The Tricking of Freya was the perfect introduction to Iceland's present.  Incorporating the myths and values of the past, we journey both to New Iceland in Manitoba, Canada and also the motherland.

Written by a twenty-something named Freya, the novel is an account of her childhood with her widowed mother, Anna, and their visits to Gimli, an Icelandic settlement on the shore of Lake Winnipeg.  In Gimli are Amma Sigga, her grandma, and Aunt Birdie, Anna's wild spinster sister.  Anna and Freya live in Connecticut as Americans but when they finally travel to Gimli when Freya is seven years old, Siggi and Birdie begin teaching Freya about her Icelandic heritage and her ancestral links to some of Iceland's best-loved poets.  Even her grandfather, Olafur was known as Skald Nyja Islands, the Poet of New Iceland.  As they return each summer, Freya becomes swept up in the culture of a foreign country but also in the drama that emanates from Birdie.

It's hard to decide where to start in praising this novel.  I could begin with the unique voice of Freya, a somewhat unreliable but also very sympathetic young woman.  Her first-person account is somewhat jarring and raw but also real.  Or perhaps I could discuss the literary history of Iceland, a country that has a current literacy rate of 99 percent.  This is a nation that reveres and values its poets and writers.  There is also the unique geography and weather of this volcanic island nation.  The variety of terrain on this small piece of land is astounding and the presence of endless summer days and neverending winter nights is a testament to the heartiness of its inhabitants.  And let's not forget the group of Icelanders that relocated to Canada and formed a "New" Iceland.  These brave men and women created a place where they could celebrate their heritage but also build a more prosperous future.  And finally, there is the family relationship between three generations of women who have each lived unique lives.  All rely on the bonds of family and history to keep them grounded but sometimes this is not enough.

I still feel I haven't even touched on much of what I learned from and felt about this novel.  It was an incredible journey and only increased my fascination with and love of this distant land.  This will likely be on my list of best novels I've read this year.  In case you don't trust my gushing praise of this novel, here are some other reviews from Marie (Boston Bibliophile), Rebecca (The Book Lady) and 1MoreChapter.

Bless, bless,
K


Support our site and buy The Tricking of Freya on Amazon or find it at your local library. We received a review copy from a publicist.

"Heavy steps crisscrossed overhead."

One of the books that I bought recently in Barnes and Noble's big clearance sale based mainly on the cover image was Hippolyte's Island by Barbara Hodgson. This is billed as an illustrated novel but not in the way you might imagine. The first half of this book is the travelogue of a journey of exploration, including sketches, charts, maps, photographs and other related things.

It's difficult to summarize this book in a way that doesn't sound completely boring but to me it really wasn't. It's the story of Hippolyte Webb, a man in his late thirties who has so far in life traveled only in the Northern Hemisphere. He started a travel magazine and has written various travel articles. Now, though, he's bored. So he takes his rickety old globe whose two halves have shifted a bit and draws a line from Vancouver due south and ends up in the South Atlantic. His line goes right through three small, unlabeled dots between the Falkland Islands and South Georgia Island. He starts searching old maps and finds a few that name these islands -- The Auroras. Hippolyte becomes obsessed with the Auroras and decides to travel there. He takes sailing classes, secures an advance for a book about his journey and heads through South America down to the Falklands. From there he charters a boat and sets off toward what he believes are the coordinates of these mysterious islands. He records his experiences and at the end of the month-long journey returns home to write his book.

The second half of the novel is about Hippolyte's experiences with the publishing house and the editor that is assigned to him. I don't want to talk too much about this part because things that are revealed in it make you question what you were told in the first half of the book. This part is about belief, trust and emotion.

This book was interesting and different. I really enjoyed the natural history parts of the story but I know that some people might find them dull or hard to understand. There are also a decent amount of sailing terms and descriptions that I know nothing about but I took it as a chance to learn something new. If you are feeling adventurous and want to try a different sort of novel, you might want to take a trip to Hippolyte's Island.

Wishing I didn't get seasick,
K


This book is out of print so you will need to find it used or at your local library.

"When Runner Coghill fell through the ceiling, she interrupted what we can only call a domestic quarrel."

I submit to you three summaries/reviews of Sean Dixon's The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal in verse -- haiku, limerick and free verse. I am most definitely not a poet so this is obviously part of a challenge!

***
A group of women,
From a story they seek hope
They find self instead.
***

***
There was a book club in Montreal
One fragile member took a fall.
They read ancient tales
And ranted against males
And had a strange time one and all.
***

***
A young women's book club with an identity crisis --
A member who isn't young and one who pretends to be female,
A little brother constantly around and
Two men who are recruited unwillingly.
Something is not right.

A member has died, dynamics have changed.
Her twin sister manifests the illness
And wins the group over to a story
Written on ten stone tablets from ancient times.
Someone wants control.

The story is translated but the group needs more,
To see the actions portrayed in the real world.
Some unwitting victims are brought into the fold,
One looking for love and the other for identity.
Some lines are crossed.

Things go wrong and feelings are hurt.
Two members leave and the others embark on improbable journeys.
A robot leads the way, searching for the boy.
Everyone discovers who they ought to be.
Somehow it works out.
***

The idea for the poetic review comes from Jenners' Take a Chance Challenge. I didn't think I was going to participate in this one but this book really lent itself to a bit of creativity. It would have been just as difficult to write a regular review post for this novel! When I started the book, I thought that I wouldn't end up liking it. However, Dixon's plot kept me curious as to what would happen with this group and I stuck with it. Once I completed the book, I was able to appreciate it for the whole. I enjoyed the Canadian setting and the variety of personalities. This novel apparently started out as a play and I definitely think it has a staged feeling to it. This is one of those books that is hard to categorize and must just be read to be understood!

Avoiding the book club drama,
K


Support this site and buy The Last Days of the Lacuna Cabal on Amazon or find it at your local library.