Shelly's Book Blog

Dawn Lairamore’s Ivy’s Ever After delighted me from beginning to end, and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, Ivy and the Meanstalk, which is due out in a few days. The main character’s name is really Princess Ivory, but she likes to go by Ivy instead because she has little use for the stiff formalities normally expected of a young woman of her royal rank. She learns shortly before her fourteenth birthday that, in order to satisfy the terms of a generations-old peace treaty with the local dragons, she must stay locked in a tower until a prince comes along and slays the dragon guarding her. As a practical, no-nonsense kind of gal, she naturally questions the wisdom of a practice that will leave her alone, locked away in a tower, possibly for years. Her father, the king, refuses to budge, however, and she eventually agrees to go.

There is one thing that bothers me about this book, though. The plain, dark blue cover features cartoon drawings of some of the characters from the book, suggesting a book appropriate for a younger audience. And the story is well suited for elementary or middle school kids. However, the sexual references/innuendo sprinkled throughout the book give me pause, enough that I would be more comfortable recommending this book to older teens.

I felt the same way about I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President, by Josh Lieb. I remember noticing a considerable amout of sex talk when I read this book, too. I appreciated the humor in both of these stories very much, but I wonder if these authors' choice to write for a more mature audience has shrunk what may have been a robust market for their books?

Add Derek Landy's Skulduggery Pleasant (also published as Scepter of the Ancients) to your read-alike list for the Percy Jackson books, not because it has anything to do with Greek mythology, but because it's very funny, features a great cast of characters, and tells an exciting and imaginative tale of magical adventure and derring-do. Stephanie Edgley's uncle dies at the beginning of the book, and she discovers that her famous-author uncle left her his house and most of his fortune. She makes the aquaintance of one of her uncle's good friends, a living skeleton detective named Skulduggery Pleasant. Stephanie is soon swept into Skulduggery's magical world as she helps him investigate her uncle's murder. She finds the danger she encounters there both terrifying and exhilarating. Cool villains with clever names, lots of witty wordplay, combined with a buddy cop story set in a magical world make this one a winner! There have been three books published in the U.S. so far. Books 4, 5, & 6 are available in the U.K.

Alex and the Ironic Gentleman, by Adrienne Kress, shares its brand of humor with the Series of Unfortunate Events books by Lemony Snicket. Example: the beginning of chapter 11:

"What is a bad sign? Perhaps one that has mud all over it so you can't read how far it is until the next highway service center. Or perhaps one that is so rebellious that, no matter how many times you write 'Danger: Falling rocks ahead,' it insists on saying 'Do Come Over Here and Stand Under this Precariously Teetering Boulder.' " (p. 71)

This story both surprised and delighted me. Once she figured out that she needed to go there, I expected Alex to quickly make her way to sea. However, her journey to the ship took a meandering route, and she had the opportunity to meet and interact with several characters who would not have been out of place in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.  The Extremely Ginormous Octopus, with Alex's help, discovers his call to the stage; the three Daughters of the Founding Fathers' Preservation Society pursue Alex relentlessly, all because Alex dares to cross the sacred rope restricting access in the Steele manor house; and Lord Poppipnjay, owner of a guest-free hotel in the middle of a forest, hires Alex as his assistant because he is convinced she can read his mind. There a many more wonderfully imagined and realized characters to savor as one makes her way through this story. I will recommend it to fantasy fans who are looking for something that will make them laugh but that is also a little off the beaten path. I enjoyed this book!

I have recently created a pathfinder for second grade series, and I decided to read a book from Patricia Reilly Giff's Zigzag Kids series. I chose Flying Feet, not realizing that it is the third in the series until after I had finished it. No matter, it was cute. The series seems to feature a different child at the school for each book, and for this story we read about Charlie, who is an inventor. Whenever he gets an idea for another invention, her feels a buzz in his head. Charlie's Flying Feet invention is a pair of sticky tennis shoes that are supposed to allow the wearer to easily climb up a wall. Unfortunately, this invention, like his last idea for a Breathe-Underwater Box, falls flat. Fortunately, Charlie find success elsewhere when he is able to help the school janitor clean up a big pile of junk, as well as help the kids enjoy "come as a character" day.

It had been a long time since I had read any books written for this young audience, but I do remember the Magic Tree House and Bailey School Kids books well. I cannot say that I liked this book as well as those, but I would certaily recommend it. Kids should probably try to start the series with the first book, though!

Over the Labor Day weekend I read Knightley Academy, by Violet Haberdasher. Comparisons to Harry Potter are inevitable with this book, as there are so many parallels between the two series. The main character is Henry Grim and, like Harry, he is a mistreated orphan who is surprised to be accepted to a special school. Henry is to learn to be a knight, and when he gets to school he finds Ron- and Hermione-like friends, as well as a Draco-like enemy. There is, of course, evil afoot, which Henry and his friends discover when they travel to a Durmstrang-like school for an inter-school, Triwizard-like tournament. I hope I'm not overdoing the Potterisms, but they are really obvious in this story. Nevertheless, I did enjoy this book very much. Haberdasher has created an interesting world here with a likeable hero. I'm not sure whether I should label this a fantasy, since there so far have been no references to magic or time travel or made-up creatures. One of the subject headings listed in our catalog is "Alternative Histories," and this seems to sum it up well. The story is set in Victorian England, but, of course, Knightley Academy is fictional. I'll be interested to read the next book and see where this series goes.

Nancy and Plum, by Betty MacDonald, surprised me because it is so different from her Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books. This is the story of two girls named Nancy and Pamela (Plum) Remson who are left in the care of their childless, clueless uncle when their parents are killed in a train wreck. His new responsibility evidently overwhelms Uncle John to the point that he leaves them at the first place he can find: Mrs. Monday's boardinghouse. It turns out Mrs. Monday is simply ghastly: greedy, cold-hearted, and cruel. She takes Uncle John's money but feeds the girls horrible food, clothes them in worn-out rags, and forces them to work like slaves. Fortunately, her brother, Tom, also lives on the property. Although he is just as afraid of his sister as are the girls in her care, he does help Nancy and Plum on the sly whenever he can.

Nancy and Plum's fortunes begin to change when they run away and sleep in a haystack belonging to a kind, generous couple named Mr. and Mrs. Campbell. The Campbells are Mrs. Monday's polar opposite, and they eventually give Nancy and Plum a chance to live a happy, normal life. This sweet, happy ending was not unexpected. However, I was startled several times by the girls' unforgiving nature. For example, Plum openly mocks Mrs. Monday in front of Miss Appleby, the librarian, and says she would like to drop a heavy dictionary on Mrs. Monday's toes (p. 86-88). Plum's feelings toward Mrs. Monday are certainly understandable, but I was still shocked that such a sweet little girl would be portrayed as having a dark side.