Patricia C. Wrede's Thirteenth Child

After waiting six weeks for an inter-library loan, I gave in and bought Wrede's Thirteenth Child. My expectations for Wrede are rather high due to her Enchanted Forest Chronicles (I was that kid on Halloween who was always an obscure character from a book and no one ever guessed what I was- in 1st grade I was Cimorene).

The slip cover properly brings to mind dime novels of the exploits of the midwest, though I am sure future books will hold more exploits of the wild west than this first one. The book follows Eff, a thirteenth child (and therefore bad luck) and her twin, Lan, the seventh son of a seventh son (which, as any mythologically minded person will know, indicates good fortune and talent). Wrede skillfully blends magic and the frontier, creating a world as rich and believable as the Enchanted Forest.

Thirteenth Child is the first in the series Frontier Magic, according to the spine. And the novel feels like the first in a series. This is not to say it falls below the bar, but the ending is a bit too rapid for a stand alone novel (though no where near the ends of the books in His Dark Materials) and readers will be left dying to know future awaits Eff.

I think the optimal reading range for the book is 3rd through 7th grades, though anyone who loved the Enchanted Forest Chronicles or, indeed, Little House on the Prairie, may wish to pick it up. Middle and High School readers may also wish to pick up Wrede's Book of Enchantments (collected stories), Mairelon the Magician, and The Raven Ring. Keep your eyes open for the last two- I believe they are out of print.

Okay, I have now tooled about Amazon and come to the conclusion that college makes you horribly unaware of too many books. More specifically, Wrede's The Seven Towers, Snow White and Rose Red, and Caught in Crystal, many of which were originally published in the 80s and only rereleased this year. Approximately half of her novels are out of print, so keep your eyes peeled at the library and used bookstores. My library surprisingly had a number of these out-of-print lovelies and so I can recommend them whole-heartedly.

Scream-Worthy News

When people see this, they tend to scream and jump up and down. If you don't, check out The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, and The King of Attolia. Then try again.

I have heard it is anticipated more than a trip to Europe by some.

Thank you to Julie Diewald for sending this to me.

Pride & Prejudice & Zombies

The cover of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies calls out from the shelves.  An elegant young lady in three-quarters profile gazes at the viewer, her red eyes, decomposing jaw, and bloodied lace presenting the intriguing mix of  Georgian society and the undead.  

Attributed to both Miss Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies uses much of the original novel.  The parts Grahame-Smith has added pertain (as one might expect) to zombies, the Bennet sisters training in the the fighting arts, and the plague, which has resulted in the forming of the zombies, also called unmentionables.  This does not change the story line nearly as much as one might think, yet Grahame-Smith's additions are confusing; some of his additions contradict each other.  The portions of narrative dealing with the undead would have been much more amusing if Grahame-Smith's back-story were solid.  While we are told the Bennet sisters spent ten years in China learning the fighting arts, it is not known how this fits in with their other accomplishments nor to what extent training in the fighting arts is expected of accomplished young women.  

The interior illustrations do not live up to the cover.  The foreshortening is off and the anatomy skewed in a manner that does not appear purposeful.  Furthermore, the costumes are not Georgian nor of Oriental derivation, and are difficult to place in any category but vaguely historic.  

While an intriguing premise, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies does not live up to expectations of comedy and satire.  It might be seen as beach reading, but only if one's stash is rather depleted.  It may be the medium that prevents Pride and Prejudice and Zombies from reaching satirical heights; it would make a very good bad movie.  With romance, period costumes, and witty dialogue for the chick flick lovers and zombies, blood, guts, gore, and Katanas for the action crowd, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies could be next summer's block-buster.  

Patricia C. Wrede

My mother read The Enchanted Forest Chronicles aloud to my brother and me when I was in second grade.  We adored them (to the dress up like a fire witch for halloween level adore them). Her regency era magic series, written in a letter writing game with Caroline Stevermer, was enjoyable, but didn't win its way into my heart as easily as The Enchanted Forest Chronicles.   

Wrede is not an author who I keep monthly tabs on, like Marillier and Pierce.  So, I was extremely excited (the extremely is necessary as seniors in college aren't good at excitability during finals week, they're mostly dreary) to see a Wrede post on Tor's blog.  

Her new book is entitled Thirteenth Child and is a combination of magic and pioneer America.  As I haven't yet read the book, look here for more information.  It is now the first book on my de-stressing after school list.  I promise a review once I get my hands on a copy....

Resisting Crossover Tendencies

A recent article from BBC covers a recent move by publishers to put age bands on books.  These bands would be given an age plus recommendation prominently displayed on the book jacket.  After the Crossover phenomenon of His Dark Materials, Harry Potter, Neil Gaiman, Mark Haddon, Garth Nix, and many others (during which publishers found their sales rocket from the dual purchase power of adults and children), it seems retroactive to begin age banding books.  

If a parent can't take the time to skim a book to see whether it is appropriate for their child, there are other options to age branding (besides, do you really want publishers to decide the age range of a book?  These are publishers who wouldn't believe that Coraline was intended for children).  Librarians, authors, and independent booksellers are more than happy to give parents book lists and advice.  Librarians especially can gain a better understanding of what your child enjoys and their level simply by talking to you or your child- something publishers cannot.  

Furthermore, how to you age rank something?  Complexity of language?  This makes older books for older readers.  Issues?  This makes older books for younger readers.  What about the fact that few children of the same age actually read at the same level and are of the same maturity?  How do you rank Rushdie's Haroun & the Sea of Stories? (the only answer can be crossover)

Perhaps we should  remove age-est views from books, as they already exist in so many other facets of our society.  This can only help children relate to those other than their schoolmates.   

Blurbs

Everyone has a different reason for picking books (though the publishing industry may think otherwise).  For the visually oriented, the cover, layout, type, and overall design.  For the tactile, the heft, weight, and paper quality.  And for some, blurbs.  Courtney E. Martin has an article in Publisher's Weekly about Blurbs I would recommend checking out.

Shaun Tan

I was already amazed by Tan's The Arrival, a glorious wordless graphic novel whose mix of fantasy and early 20th century immigrant stories is a subtle masterpiece.  Tan's newest book, Tales from Outer Suburbia is also amazing, and allows us to see the spectrum of materials and techniques he uses.  From the end papers made of a compilation of sketches to the use of stamps as a table of contents, this book contains not just wonderful illustrations, but very nice design.  

Like The Arrival, this is not a picture book for children, as indicated by the imprint (Arthur A. Levine Books is Scholastics' young teen group).  And I think it will soon find a broad crossover audience.  Though the stories contain Tan's mix of fantastical elements and characters based in reality, they have a bittersweet twinge- like a 75% dark chocolate bar with candied orange peel inside.  

And the illustrations?  I could go off in a string of wonderful words, but I will refrain.  From gouache to pastel, pencil, acrylic, scratch-board, pen , and collage each story has its' own distinct look.  All are distinctly Tan, though there are other influences ("our expedition" features Wayne Thiebaud influenced landscapes and "Make Your Own Pet" makes one think of Lane Smith (of Stinky Cheese Man fame)).  

The fractured nature of the stories (some are left very open ended) reminded me of some of Chris Van Allsburg's work, specifically The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.  This open-ended nature allows the time to contemplate, to imagine, to take the stories to a personal place for the reader.  And with such gorgeous illustrations, one will want to take the time to look at the pictures while contemplating the possibilities of the story.