Review of Keeper, by Kathi Appelt

Award Winners, Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Fantasy, Starred Review 0

Keeper

by Kathi Appelt

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, New York, 2010. 399 pages.
Starred Review
2011 School Library Journal Battle of the Kids’ Book Finalist

In honor of the finishing of School Library Journal’s Battle of the Kids’ Books, I’m plannning to review the remaining books that competed, but which I hadn’t yet reviewed. It seems fitting to next tackle Keeper, which made it all the way to the Big Kahuna Round, defeating three excellent books along the way.

I read Keeper at the start of the year, after hearing great things about it on the Heavy Medal blog, where people discuss possible Newbery winners. I would have liked to have seen it win an Honor, because this is a truly beautiful book.

This time, I’ll start by giving some highlights from the Battle of the Books judges:

In the first round, Susan Patron eloquently told us why Keeper is so powerful:

“Keeper is heir to the oral tradition; the narrator’s voice is powerful and always present, creating an exquisite tension between what we know is fiction and our urge to hand over our hearts to it anyway. And this narrative switches easily from the points of view of a girl, a couple of dogs, a cat, a seagull, an elderly gay French grandfatherish neighbor, a young stuttering war-veteran surf-shop owner, and more; it shifts from past to present tense, from lyrical to earthy. As ten-year-old Keeper gets deeper and deeper into a dangerous situation, all the characters’ back stories and the setting itself enrich the drama and give it texture. Keeper’s wish, her desperate need, is to find her mother and, under a blue moon, she does—though it’s not the mother she expected. All three of us, my inner librarian, my inner writer, and my inner tween savored every word, and the many surprises that were gradually revealed.”

In the second round, Naomi Shihab Nye also waxed eloquent about Keeper:

“Keeper is resident of a motley, miniature community down on the Texas Gulf coast. She loves her dog BD and her pet seagull Captain who adores watermelon. Her alleged “mermaid mother” Meggie Marie abandoned her 7 years prior to a mid-western escapee called Signe who is only 25 herself. I kept doing the math…Their neighbors, the stuttering Dogie who rents surfboards and the elderly Mr. Beauchamp, still longing for his young love Jack from France, as he waits for his night-blooming cyrus flowers to pop open, create a sleepy, somewhat surreal swoon of neighborhood texture for a little girl to wander dreamily through. Keeper waxes surfboards for Dogie, saves her money, watches the waves and tides closely, lives in a rich drift of fantastic thinking. She wants to see her mother again. And she’s ready to make it happen on the rare night of the “blue moon.” This is a gumbo-rich brew of magical farfetched wishing – spells – plans and lists – melodrama launched in a small rowboat…chapter 55, about all the oceans of the world being connected, is a gem-like poem shining at the heart.”

Have you noticed all these judges are lyrical in describing Kathi Appelt’s lyrical language? In Round Three, Grace Lin was no different:

“When I read the book, suddenly the magic became apparent. I loved the slow unveiling of each story, the way the back and forth narratives seemed to echo the motion of the ocean waves that rocked Keeper’s boat. I found the fantasy elements of Yemaya and Jacque der Mer enchanting and I could feel the heartbreak of each character. Even the animals—the dog BD and the crow Captain had fully-realized personalities.

“The blurring of myth and reality was seamless and the writing was poetic, yet always accessible. But most of all, the theme of the story—that love of all kinds, even the untraditional, are worth keeping— and how it was conveyed was just beautiful.”

Even Richard Peck, the judge of the Final Round, who didn’t choose Keeper, was impressive in its praise:

“To cope with this maternal absence and abandonment, Keeper has recast her mother as a mermaid who has swum away. By this childhood logic, Keeper herself has merblood and the borrowed lineage of “Signa and Lorelie, the siren, the ningyo, and the rusalka and the Meerfrau,” all the mystic mother figures of the deep.

“Kathi Appelt’s story captures that time at the outer edge of childhood when the fantasies that have always kept you safe no longer work. Keeper’s fantasy folds all in a single action-packed twenty-four-hour period (though it feels longer), the night of the blue moon. Keeper’s belief in her aquatic DNA leads her into a series of descending missteps. She frees clamoring crabs meant for the gumbo, and before she knows it she’s literally out of her depth, in pursuit of a mermaid mother.

“This book is a keeper for its gentle tone in chronicling that jarring moment when you can no longer afford to be as young as you’ve been. Every book for the young is the story of a step, and in these pages a girl takes a big one. Where it will lead her, we’re less sure. But that’s what sequels are for.”

My own reaction to Keeper was that it was very slow-moving. In the middle, I almost stopped. Another thing that Grace Lin said pertains:

“Keeper is a book that needs you to be present to appreciate it. It’s not a story that can be half listened to or quickly skimmed, because then you miss the wonder. Appelt reveals the story like ocean waves lapping away bits of sand on a beach until a treasure is uncovered. And it’s the serene watching of the waves, not the sparkling pearl, that creates the book’s charm.”

I did stick with it, and by the time I finished, I was completely enchanted and caught into that world with lots of love and a touch of magic.

Truly a beautiful book. I’m glad it’s gotten the attention of being a Finalist in the Battle of the Books.

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/keeper.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from the Fairfax County Public Library.

Review of The Ring of Solomon, by Jonathan Stroud

Adventure, Alternate History, Award Winners, Fantasy, Humorous, Starred Review, Teen Fiction Review 0

The Ring of Solomon

A Bartimaeus Novel

by Jonathan Stroud

Disney Hyperion Books, New York, 2010. 398 pages.
Starred Review
Winner of the 2011 School Library Journal Battle of the Kids’ Books

In honor of the completion of the 2011 School Library Journal Battle of the Kids’ Books, I thought it would be fun to post my reviews of the books in the competition which I hadn’t yet reviewed, and to feature excerpts from the judges’ brilliant commentary. It’s only fitting to begin with this year’s winner, The Ring of Solomon.

The Ring of Solomon is a stand-alone novel, but it uses the incredible, snarky, powerful, irreverent, infuriating, and footnote-writing djinni, Bartimaeus, from the Bartimaeus Trilogy. The book is truly independent, so you could read it before or after the trilogy. Really, it’s quite brilliant of the author to do this. When you have an unforgettable character who’s a djinni who’s thousands of years old and boasts about his time with Solomon, why not give us a picture of what happened at that time? The only thing the two sets of books have in common is the character of Bartimaeus (and I think another demon or two), and the alternate reality where magicians do works of power by binding demons to their will.

Solomon has a ring with a spirit attached to it that is so powerful, no one can stand against him. Of course, it is with the power of the ring that he gained his amazing wealth and carried out his magnificent building projects.

Bartimaeus starts out in the employ of one of Solomon’s under-magicians, but then comes under the power of Asmira, a dedicated girl assassin sent by the Queen of Sheba to assassinate Solomon and steal his ring — a suicide mission, as far as Bartimaeus is concerned.

When I read this book, I was as delighted as I expected to be. Brilliant writing, hilarious footnotes, and knuckle-clenching dangerous adventure. I liked it that the happy ending was not for the young girl to become another of Solomon’s wives. (I don’t think that’s a spoiler.) Now, there wasn’t as much emotional depth as in The Bartimaeus Trilogy. But that was a much longer work, a trilogy, and a work of towering genius that builds over the course of the three books. This book definitely kept me reading late into the night, had me laughing, and also very tense. It didn’t make me cry, as I’m quite sure The Bartimaeus Trilogy did, but it’s still a brilliantly plotted, wonderfully entertaining book.

But you don’t have to take my word for it! In School Library Journal’s Battle of the Kids’ Books, all four judges who were offered a choice between The Ring of Solomon and another excellent children’s book chose The Ring of Solomon. Below are excerpts from their explanations of their choice:

The first round judge, Adam Rex, called The Ring of Solomon “a rollicking fantasy about a waggish djinni who becomes unwittingly embroiled in plots to steal a ring of unfathomable power.” He says, with footnotes, “Stroud has crafted what you might claim on one hand to be an old-fashioned save-the-world adventure, complete with the requisite all-powerful MacGuffin and a real mustache twirler of a villain or two. He’s also made something that’s fresh and modern–modern in its sense of humor, modern in its irreverence. Okay, maybe irreverence isn’t all that modern, but it always feels like it is. Doesn’t every generation think they invented it?” He also says, ” Every chapter left me wanting more–if Stroud and I were in a Scheherazade/King Shahry?r situation I totally would not have killed him at any point.”

In the second round, judge Patricia Reilly Giff was confronted with a choice between a graphic novel retelling of The Odyssey vs. The Ring of Solomon. She describes the book as ” inventive, action packed and hysterically funny.” One of the factors that led her to choose The Ring of Solomon as the winner was that she “had to stay up at night to keep reading, just to see what Stroud had in store, those twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end.”

In the third round, Karen Cushman freely admitted, “I am not a big reader or a big fan of fantasy novels. When I saw early on that A Tale Dark and Grimm and The Ring were both in my bracket, I anticipated I would have an easy time eliminating them. This just goes to show you how much I know. And now I publicly shed my credentials as a thoughtful, caring, mature person and reveal my snarky, ironic underbelly.

“Woo hoo! The Ring of Solomon! I was gobsmacked. What a book!”

Karen Cushman goes on to eloquently point out the powerful themes that show up in this book, underneath the snarky humor and gripping adventure:

” I found it exuberantly plotted, with evocative descriptions, terrific language, and intriguing
characters, both human and otherwise.

“I loved the distinctive voice of the rude, irreverent, sarcastic, resourceful, and surprisingly lovable Bartimaeus. Sure, djinni eat people but still I felt great pity and compassion for his deep longing for home and hatred of his enslavement.

“The book is wonderfully funny but had wise things to say about slavery and freedom, mindless obedience, and dying for empty concepts. Asmira, the teenaged Sheban sent on a suicide mission, is a true believer to a fault. Wise Solomon tells her, “I’m not your master…try not to need one.” And Bartimaeus says, “I know I’m enslaved…That gives me just a shadowy slice of freedom.” As Jonathan Stroud tells it, the issues of 950 BCE are the same we face today–the dangers of terrorism, fanaticism, and zealotry, and the price of power.”

Finally, in the Big Kahuna Round, Richard Peck was faced with three outstanding fantasy titles, Keeper, A Conspiracy of Kings, and The Ring of Solomon. His explanation of the charms of The Ring of Solomon is truly eloquent:

“Even the viewpoint flits. At moments when Bartimaeus is stuck in a bottle or some other tight corner, the spotlight falls on Asmira, a mortal maiden capable of mayhem (and acrobatics), sent by the sour Queen of Sheba to murder the King and steal his empowering Ring.

“‘Steal the Ring? Kill Solomon?’” says Bartimaeus. “‘…I might as well eat myself feetfirst, or put my head under the bottom of a squatting elephant. At least those options would be entertaining to watch.’”

“But of course this odd couple won’t become thieving assassins. They will in fact find the sudden self-knowledge we expect in books for the young. But their epiphanies are gussied up beyond reason by wordplay and action/adventure, and more special effects than Avatar and Rango put together, all in full color.”

He sums up his decision:

“You could have fooled me. I didn’t expect I’d pick as winner four-hundred pages of magic fantasy with Biblical allusions and a footnote on the Songs of Solomon. But I do.

“Because its very length and the wit of its diction are stinging retorts to both the grade-level textbook and Facebook.

“And because the fun is in how the tale is told, the yarn spun. Jonathan Stroud doesn’t control language; he unleashes it. The real magic here is in the turning phrase, and how much our texting young need that, and the liberation of laughter.”

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/ring_of_solomon.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from the Fairfax County Public Library.

Gearing Up for the Big Kahuna Round

Book Links, Events, General 0

Huzzah, huzzah! A Conspiracy of Kings has won the Undead Poll! So even though it lost in the first round of School Library Journal’s Battle of the Kids’ Books, it gets to compete in the Final Round.

I’m not at all surprised. Those who “get” the Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner, those who like that sort of book at all, are enthusiastic, not to say rabid, fans. Each book is a masterpiece of plotting, and the characters are realistically flawed but incredibly awesome, and show real growth. If you like that sort of book at all, Megan Whalen Turner’s books are among the very best.

Just yesterday, I finished my third reading of A Conspiracy of Kings, this time on audio, and I noticed yet more ways she builds the plotting. Megan Whalen Turner has said that she feels she’s failed if her readers don’t reread the book, and that she writes it to be a different experience on each rereading. I have said more than once that her books get better on each rereading, and it’s so true. On this rereading, I saw all the more clearly how strongly and believably Sophos’ character growth is built. By the end of the book, he is a true king.

Go, Zombie Gen! And scary, scarred Zombie Sophos!

Like they said on Sounis, any time it looks like Gen has lost, he is secretly plotting his victory! Though, yes, this book is more about Sophos, he has definitely learned from Eugenides, and he DOES have Gen behind him, helping plot his victory.

From the start, I was worried that Richard Peck wouldn’t be enough of a fantasy fan to pick A Conspiracy of Kings. However, now it turns out that all three books in the Big Kahuna Round are fantasy books, so that will be less of an issue.

I was 50-50 in my picks for the third round. Keeper did defeat The Cardturner, but I loved Keeper, too, so I’m just as happy to have it competing in the Final Round. And this means that all three books are from Team Fantasy! This is the first year that I’ve been a big fan of ALL the books in the Final Round, though it’s also the first year that my very favorite of all the books has wound up in the Final Round, in fact, the book I named a #1 Sonderbooks Stand-out of the books I read in 2010.

If Richard Peck has read the other books in the Queen’s Thief series, I think A Conspiracy of Kings is a shoo-in. If not, I still think it has a great chance. Both A Conspiracy of Kings and The Ring of Solomon are incredibly well-plotted fantasy. But A Conspiracy of Kings has richer characterization and character growth. Both make points about the use of power — almost opposite points, but both thought-provoking. Where A Conspiracy of Kings might lose is if it loses the reader because he hasn’t read the earlier books.

Keeper is a much more gentle, slower-moving fantasy, rooted in real life, about love and belonging and good things like that. It could win if that is what the judge prefers or strikes him most in the reading.

Whichever way it goes, I’m really looking forward to reading Richard Peck’s commentary. Coming this Monday!

Review of Dreaming in Chinese, by Deborah Fallows

Cross Cultural, Nonfiction Review, Starred Review, Travel, True Stories 0

Dreaming in Chinese

Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Language

by Deborah Fallows

Walker & Co., New York, 2010. 205 pages.
Starred Review

I’ve always loved books about the cross-cultural experience of living in another country. Deborah Fallows has a PhD in Linguistics, and makes her story even more interesting by reflecting on aspects of the Mandarin language and the ways they are reflected in the Chinese people and culture.

She and her husband lived in China for three years, and this book is a fascinating look at her experiences. Don’t tell, but I’m already plannning to give a copy to my nephew for his birthday — He just spent two semesters studying in China. I wonder if he will have noticed some of these same things.

The author explains why the language lens worked so well for her:

“The language paid me back in ways I hadn’t fully anticipated. It was my lifeline to our everyday survival in China. My language foibles, many of which I have recounted in this book, taught me as much as my rare and random successes. The language also unexpectedly became my way of making some sense of China, my telescope into the country. Foreigners I met and knew in China used their different passions to help them interpret China: artists used China’s art world, as others used Chinese cooking, or traditional medicine, or business, or music, or any number of things they knew about. I used the language, or more precisely, the study of the language.

“As I tried to learn to speak Mandarin, I also learned about how the language works — its words, its sounds, its grammar and its history. I often found a connection between some point of the language — a particular word or the use of a phrase, for example — and how that point could elucidate something very “Chinese” I would encounter in my everyday life in China. The language helped me understand what I saw on the streets or on our travels around the country — how people made their livings, their habits, their behavior toward each other, how they dealt with adversity, and how they celebrated.

“This book is the story of what I learned about the Chinese language, and what the language taught me about China.”

Her result is completely fascinating. You will enjoy this book if you are at all curious about people and language.

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Nonfiction/dreaming_in_chinese.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from the Fairfax County Public Library.

Battle of the Kids’ Books Round Two Round-Up

Challenge 1

I’ve been sick, so you won’t see as many of my comments in the Round Two of School Library Journal’s Battle of the Kids’ Books. However, I simply had to check and see how my favorites had done in Round Two. And Surprise, Surprise! This time ALL my picks won! (This is the advantage to picking after the first round finishes. The picks I made on Eric Carpenter’s blog before the tournament have mostly all fallen out of the competition.)

As always, there’s some brilliant analysis from the celebrity author judges. I don’t have to revise my opinion that I gave last week. My favorite in the top half is The Cardturner, with Keeper close behind, so I won’t be too sad if Keeper wins, while rooting for The Cardturner.

My favorite in the bottom half is The Ring of Solomon. I haven’t read Trash yet, but I definitely plan to. There’s some talk that The Ring of Solomon didn’t get its due this year. To some extent I agree, because it’s a brilliant, clever, well-crafted novel. However, Jonathan Stroud’s Bartimaeus Trilogy was such a towering work of genius, it makes The Ring of Solomon less impressive by comparison. Still excellent, though!

Great stuff! If you enjoy kids’ books at all, I highly recommend following the Battle of the Kids’ Books!

2010 Reviews All Posted!

General 0

Don’t laugh, but tonight I finished posting the last review of all the books I read in 2010, or at least the ones I decided to review. I like making a clean break between the years, because I choose my Sonderbooks Stand-outs from all the books I read in a calendar year.

I did cheat and already posted a review of one book I read in 2011, A True Princess, so I could post in time for Diane Zahler’s blog tour. But other than that one book, the reviews of books that will be candidates for the 2011 Sonderbooks Stand-outs will begin now.

And, yeah, okay, I’m three months behind. I’m actually hopeful of catching up. Now that I have Filezilla, posting the reviews on www.sonderbooks.com goes much faster. I’ve started separating posting the reviews from writing the reviews. On a given day, I’m posting one review, but some days I can get two or three new reviews written. I’m going to make a goal of catching up by the weekend of Mother Reader’s 48-Hour Reading Challenge, which usually happens the first weekend in June — at least having the reviews written.

And I’ve read some FANTASTIC books already in 2011, so I’m looking forward to sharing them with you! I really should just reduce the number of books I review — but I hate to let good books go by, unmentioned.

So I’m looking forward to another year of reading! This August will actually mark my TENTH anniversary of writing Sonderbooks! I am loving sharing great books with people.

Review of Balancing Act, by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Animal Characters, Good for the Very Young, Mathematical, Picture Book Review, Science 0

Balancing Act

by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Beach Lane Books (Simon & Schuster), New York, 2010. 32 pages.

Ellen Stoll Walsh is brilliant at explaining basic concepts to the very youngest readers. Her earlier book Mouse Paint is justifiably called “a modern classic,” demonstrating mice mixing colors in a simple, easily understandable way.

Balancing Act shows how balancing works in a way that even toddlers will be able to absorb. First, two mice balance on opposite ends of a stick. Then a lizard joins them, throwing off the balance — but when the lizard’s friend comes, balance is restored. Then comes a frog, and a friend.

When a big, heavy bird comes, it looks like their game is done — until all the other creatures get on the other side. That works great — until the stick breaks.

There are only a few words on each page, used in a way to captivate readers (“Uh-oh! A frog.”), so this book will work with the very youngest children, just beginning to understand that books tell a story.

Balance is a Math concept and a Science concept, but learning this concept is disguised in a lovely story with fun use of language that preschoolers will simply enjoy. A definite win!

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Picture_Books/balancing_act.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from the Fairfax County Public Library.

Review of Toads and Diamonds, by Heather Tomlinson

Fairy Tale Variant, Fantasy, Teen Fiction Review 0

Toads and Diamonds

by Heather Tomlinson

Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2010. 278 pages.

Toads and Diamonds is a beautiful twist on the Charles Perrault fairy tale, with the story set in India.

As in the fairy tale, one stepsister has precious gems and flowers fall out of her mouth whenever she talks, and the other has snakes and toads come out of her mouth. However, in this book, the stepsisters love each other dearly, and it’s not so clear which is the gift and which is the curse.

And both girls must leave their beloved home. They each have a long journey ahead of them to learn their destiny.

This book is full of beautiful writing and an intriguing story. Both girls have adventures and learn about themselves before they are reunited again. The Indian setting makes this quite different from most fairy tale retellings. You can’t help but like both sisters and hope that they both overcome the challenges they’re faced with.

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Teens/toads_and_diamonds.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on an ARC I got at ALA Annual Conference.

Review of Clementine, Friend of the Week, by Sara Pennypacker

Beginning Chapter Books, Children's Fiction Review, Contemporary, Starred Review 0

Clementine, Friend of the Week

by Sara Pennypacker
pictures by Marla Frazee

Disney Hyperion Books, New York, 2010. 161 pages.
Starred Review

I love Clementine! By reading Clementine, Friend of the Week, I’ve finally caught up to read the most recent brilliant addition to the books about Clementine. I enjoyed this one very much. The books, besides being clever and funny, are gaining in some depth. There were several plot threads, all related to friendship, that all twined together in this book, even though the storyline is quite simple.

These books are shortish chapter books with plenty of pictures, but there’s so much there. Clementine reveals so much in her speeches, and the wonderful pictures give you a more realistic — and funny — perspective on what’s going on. Taken together, this book is an absolute delight.

Right at the start of the book, Clementine announces that she’s been chosen for Friend of the Week. Margaret, who’s a whole year older, knows all about that, and has plenty of ideas for getting people to write nice things in Clementine’s booklet. The trouble is, when Clementine goes to Margaret’s apartment to see her booklet, something happens that makes Margaret mad, and all of sudden they aren’t friends any more.

Clementine spends the whole week trying to think of ideas, but then her kitten, Moisturizer (Clementine names pets from words she finds in the bathroom.), gets lost and she can’t think of anything else. The story threads get woven together and Clementine finds out what true friendship is all about.

Buy from Amazon.com

Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Childrens_Fiction/clementine_friend_of_the_week.html

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.

Source: This review is based on a library book from the Fairfax County Public Library.

Battle of the Kids’ Books Second Round Begins

Events 0

I admit that I pay absolutely no attention to basketball. For me, March is the time of School Library Journal’s Battle of the Kids’ Books, a tournament where celebrity children’s book authors judge between sixteen outstanding titles from the previous year.

I’ve already discussed my first round picks, and the winners of the first half of the first round.

Now the first round has been completed. Because my prediction rate is so dismal (3 out of 8 this year — still much better than last year!), I like to wait to name my second round picks until the first round is done. It’s just as well I did, since my favorite in the top half of the brackets, A Conspiracy of Kings, and my favorite in the bottom half of the brackets, One Crazy Summer, have both already been knocked out.

The second round began today in a match judged by Laura Amy Schlitz. Her analysis is absolutely brilliant, and she explains so much better than I why The Cardturner is such a wonderful book. I was very happy about that result. One match picked correctly in the second round!

The second half of the first round went better for me than the first half, though I have to admit I wasn’t as passionate about this set of books — except One Crazy Summer, which lost.

Matches Six and Seven did go as I hoped/predicted, won by The Ring of Solomon and A Tale Dark and Grimm. Match Eight did not go as I predicted, but I didn’t feel strongly, and Mitali Perkins’ judging convinced me that I will definitely have to read the winner, Trash.

For the second half of Round Two, here are my hopes, though I admit with my favorites out of the running, I’m less invested in the outcomes. (Though the judges’ critiques seem particularly outstanding this year, and I know I will enjoy reading the rest of the Battle action.)

Match 3: The Odyssey, by Gareth Hinds
vs. The Ring of Solomon, by Jonathan Stroud
judged by Patricia Reilly Giff

My hold for The Odyssey still hasn’t come in, and I wouldn’t mind if it won, but my prediction here is The Ring of Solomon. It’s not as incredibly good as the Bartimaeus Trilogy, but it’s still wonderfully crafted and a great read.

Match 4: A Tale Dark and Grimm, by Adam Gidwitz
vs. Trash, by Andrew Mulligan
judged by Pete Hautman

I’m looking forward to what Pete Hautman has to say about these books. I’m currently almost finished reading A Tale Dark and Grimm, but my hold hasn’t yet come in for Trash. However, based on what’s been said about Trash, I think I’m going to pick it.

To borrow from Susan Patron, my “inner librarian” likes A Tale Dark and Grimm more than my “inner me” does. I think it will be a fantastic book to recommend for kids who have read all the Goosebumps books and want to go on to something a little longer. As for me, it did remind me of reading fairy tales when I was a kid, but bottom line I enjoy the actual fairy tales more. And I never was crazy about the gory and grim part of the fairy tales, which is what’s emphasized here.

But it’s going to be fun to read what Pete Hautman has to say about them.

To sum up, my favorite in the top half of the brackets out of the remaining books is now The Cardturner, with Keeper as a close second. My favorite in the bottom half is The Ring of Solomon. I am still fondly hoping that A Conspiracy of Kings will come back from the dead to win it all.

However things turn out, it’s going to be fun to watch.