Summer break graphic novel

Bad Island
by Doug Tennapel
Scholastic, August 2011
Reese is forced to go on a summer vacation boating trip with his family, even though his friends' parents let them stay home alone. But a boring vacation turns into something entirely different when the family's boat is ship wreaked on a strange island. The island's only inhabitants seem to be strange creatures intent on harming the family. With no way of escaping, Reese and his family are in for one hell of a vacation- and maybe it's better that they're together.

Tennapel's artwork has a funky style and the imaginative creatures of the island are strange and unique. Reese's story is paired with flashbacks to another time and place, on a planet far from Earth. Here, large creature house smaller ones who have the ability to control them. Astute readers will draw the two stories together, piecing together the true nature of the Bad Island in this fast-paced and compelling read.

I stayed up all night reading for a very good reason

and I haven't done that in quite a while.


Ready Player One
by Ernest Cline
Crown, Random House, August 16th, 2011
It's the year 2044 and the real world is such a mess that people prefer to live in the OASIS, a virtual universe where almost anything is possible. Created by Halliday, the most brilliant game designer and 80s enthusiast, OASIS is the ultimate virtual existance where people exist as avatars any science-fiction or fantasy based concept is possible. When Halliday died, he left the ultimate easter egg in OASIS- his entire fortune and the rights to OASIS. Wade, like millions of others around the world, has spent the past five years searching for the easter egg, as has the IOI, a corrupt company intent on finding the egg for itself. Halliday was a man obsessed, and only one of a like mind will be able to unlock his secrets. Luckily, Wade has spent his life studying all things Halliday, and might just have a breath of a chance.

This fast-paced novel is a fun read and impossible to put down. Just as the line between real and virtual is blurred for Wade, readers will forget what is real and what constructed, falling completely into Wade's experience. Ready Player One is the complete book experience with thoughtful questions, epic battles, powerful enemies, personal journeys, and maybe even true love. Part of a complete breakfast, it's also chock-full of 80s references and trivia, sci-fi, fantasy, and video-game geekery. So grab a bag of corn chips, put on your favorite 8-track, and prepare yourself for an epic experience.

Though an adult book, I think it would be appropriate for teens ages 16 and up.

What toys do when you're not looking

Toys Come Home
by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky
Schwartz & Wade, Random House, September 13th, 2011
What toys do when your back is turned is an age-old question asked by children. Author Emily Jenkins invites readers to view their playthings from the toys' vantage. A companion to Toys Go Out and Toy Dance Party, Toys Come Home is the beginning of StingRay's story from the day she is given as a day-of-birth gift. Her quest to find friends, save other toys, and learn why toys exist will delight young readers. Each chapter stands alone as a short story, and is accompanied by a detailed pencil illustration by Cadecott Medal-winner Paul Zelinsky. Filled with adventure and complemented by illustrations, Toys Come Home is sure to be a favorite bedtime read aloud- for both children and their toys.

Two brilliant books to make you cry

I read both A Monster Calls and Pearl Verses the World this past weekend- there was a lot of crying involved. The sort of crying where you persist in reading because the prose calls to you, yet you find it difficult to read the tear-blurred text. I feel both A Monster Calls and Pearl Verses the World are strong texts (I keep thinking about A Monster Calls, both the story and illustrations won't leave my head) but now I'm off to read something funny.

A Monster Calls
by Patrick Ness, inspired by Siobhan Dowd, illustrated by Jim Kay
Candlewick, September 27th, 2011
Jim Kay's Dark, deep, and haunting cover immediately captivated my attention and promised a dark tale. The darkness of the tale comes from Conor's current regards for the worlds. His mother has cancer and the treatments don't seem to be working, his former best friend told everyone that his mother is sick, and his grandmother seems intent on coming round to help his mum. But the worst are the nightmares. Then, at 12:07 one night, a monster shows up. This monster is not the one from his dream, rather an ancient storyteller who wants the terrifying truth from Conor. Jim Kay's illustrations of the monster capture the dark shadows of just after midnight and the sketchy smears of a not dreaming, not waking experience. His textures, splatters, and lines make visible the emotional turmoil Conor experiences, splashing it onto the page. Though I sobbed through the hour and a half it took me to finish this novel, I persisted in reading through my tears, desperately needing to know what would unfold, and wanting to submerge myself in Patrick Ness' glorious prose.


Pearl Versus the World
by Sally Murphy, illustrated by Heather Potter
Candlewick, August 23rd, 2011
This is what you give the child who is too old for the explanatory picture books on death or would like some beautiful poetry. Told in unrhymed verse, Pearl Verses the World is the story of a young girl who is watching her grandmother slowly die. Living with her mother and her grandmother for her entire life, Pearl's household is three people, and two people will not be the same. Pearl writes because "A poem comes //when it is needed// and writes itself// in the way it needs//to get it's point across." Through her writing, Pearl learns that two will be okay, and that the world is not against her. Poems, Pearl learns, are a way to process, and they sometimes bring the sweet surprise of friends.

Sally Murphy strikes that perfect balance between what to say and what to suggest. Her expert handling of the text and Peal's emotions is reminiscent of Patricia MacLachlan's stunning work. Pearl Verses the World is a little gem that should be waiting on bookshelves for that someone who needs it.

With a "Snow Queen" twist...

Breadcrumbs
by Anne Ursu
HarperCollins, September 27th, 2011

Sometimes, you need a nice, satisfying stand alone novel. Breadcrumbs is just that. The first half of the book is the story of new schools, old friends, and changes. Hazel's best friend Jack has been growing distant from her, trying to balance his time between her and his male friends from school. Hazel is trying to fit in a new school where everything is different. She's frustrated, confused, and wants things to be the way they were. Ursu is kind to all her characters, as there is a reason for everyone's choices, feelings, and desires. Her handling of the subject matter is reminiscent of Stead's When You Reach Me, and Ursu is deserving of the comparison. When Jack stops speaking to Hazel altogether and then disappears, Hazel is the only one who realizes that something is truly wrong. Hazel heads off to the snowy woods after Jack, seeking the snow queen and her best friend in a fantastical adventure inspired by Hans Christian Anderson's "The Snow Queen."

A new book from Patricia MacLachlan

Waiting for the Magic
by Patricia MacLachlan, illustrated by Amy June Bates
Simon & Schuster, September 13th, 2011

Patricia MacLachlan uses each world carefully, never giving the reader more or less than they need, always keeping the delicate balance between what to state and what to suggest. In Waiting for the Magic, this precision allows the magic of MacLachlan's story to unfurl slowly and believably. When Willam's father leaves, his mother, seeking to fill the hole of William's father's absence, adopts four dogs and one cat. William's younger sister Elinor talks to the animals and they seem to understand one another as if by magic. But the only ones who know magic are "the young, the old, the brave, the honest, and the joyful." If William is brave enough to accept his new family, will he, too, experience the magic Elinor does? MacLachlan's heartwarming story combines a simple, realistic story with just a pinch of magic....and a pinch is all it needs.

Mythology, horses, and a hint of magic

The Scorpio Races
Scholastic, October, 2011
Maggie Stiefvater's newest young adult novel, The Scorpio Races, is lyrically written and features just a hint of fantasy. Stiefvater's heroine, Puck Connolly, lives on an island where the sea is very much alive, a place where the capaill uisce,or horses of the sea, walk on land. These horses, though blood thirsty and fey, are faster than any normal horse. Each year at the Scorpio Races men ride the capaill uisce at the edge of the ocean in a reckless and bloody race. Sean, the best rider with the fastest capaill uisce, has won the race for the past handful of years, but has his own reasons for entering this year. Puck, in an attempt to keep her brother on the island and her family in their house, enters, though she has only a pony to ride. Though the two know little of one another, both are children of the island, who love the sea, the land, and the horses. Sean and Puck each hope to win more than money in the races, but while many die in the Scorpio races, there can only be one winner.
Light fantasy and romance combine in this strong coming of age novel, slightly reminiscent of Robin McKinley's Blue Sword.