Nothing But Sky (review)

Nothing But Sky
Author: Amy Trueblood
Flux (March 27, 2018)

Grace Lafferty has been performing stunts as a wing walker with her uncle Warren and his barnstorming team since she was 13 years old. She fears that they will soon be forced out of the sky by bigger teams or stricter air regulations. Determined to keep her chosen family together, Grace will do whatever it takes to get to the World Aviation Expo where they can compete to win a lucrative contract with a Hollywood studio.

There's so much to like in this novel: gutsy Grace who risks all and ignores the taunts and threats that follow an independent young woman in the 1920s, the style and atmosphere of the post WWI barnstorming era, the authentic feeling of the budding romance between Grace and Henry, and the historical details about death-defying tricks performed by the daring young men and women of the time.

Through it all runs a sense of hope and optimism in a time when there were no safety nets, under the planes or under one's future. I related to the uncle who is trying to do his best by Grace while worrying he is doing something wrong, to Henry who is fighting his own demons from the war, but most of all to Grace whose indomitable spirit barely flags even when faced with cruelty or disaster.

While I enjoy the clear delineation of good and evil in this classic tale, I can imagine some will be slightly taken aback, as so many novels today dwell on the morally ambiguous. Those have their place, but I admit to enjoying a story where the morality is fairly clear throughout.

I recommend this to young adults and grownups (and even precocious younger teens) as an excellent tale with a strong female lead, a thrilling plot, and a wonderful sense of the roaring twenties.

Five stars!

Nothing But Sky on Amazon US

Sunlight (review)

Sunlight
Author: C.L. Bledsoe
Etopia Press (February 4, 2011)

Sol (15 y.o.) and his dad are still struggling a year after the death of Sol's mother, but in different ways. Sol spends time being moody and reading and missing his mom, while his father spends time drinking a little more than he should. Neither of them is very happy with the other's way of coping, and when a conference comes up for Sol's dad, Sol is left to spend some time with an aunt and uncle he barely knows on their sunflower farm.

But while Sol starts out bored, odd things start happening and he sets out to find out what they are. What he finds helps him learn more about his mom and her stories, and how some of them just might be real. He also learns a lot about himself and about friendship, and even a little about love.

I enjoyed the novel very much, though it started a little rough. Give it a couple of chapters, and you will start to really like these people and want to spend the rest of the book with them. I especially like the mysterious girl, and how Sol and she relate. Their different reasons for being isolated helped them form a bond, and their shared quest for the truth solidified it. Well done!

I recommend this to teens, and even mature tweens. The content is clean, so those worried about how YA can trend toward sex and swearing will be relieved.

Four stars

Available on Amazon US.

Braced (review)

Braced
Author: Alyson Gerber
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books (March 28, 2017)

Rachel is excited about the start of 7th grade with its promise of soccer and friends and (just maybe) boys. But when the surgeon monitoring her scoliosis says the curvature in her spine is getting worse and that she must wear a back brace 23 HOURS A DAY, all her dreams seem doomed.

What follows is a year of difficulty and discovery, as Rachel learns to cope with the bulky clothes she has to wear, the difficulty in playing her beloved soccer, and the impact her brace has on her friends, teammates and her ever-so-cute crush, Tate.

What makes the story heartwarming is how Rachel starts to see the trials her friends and family are also going through, from her pregnant mom who used to wear a brace herself, to her friends coping with loss and love and confusion. There are times when this can be a little too convenient as far as lessons go, but what really works is how well the author captures the age and mindset of Rachel, and shows how she matures and gains perspective through her adversity.

Four out of stars

Amazon

The Upside of Unrequited (review)

The Upside of Unrequited
Author: Becky Albertalli
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (April 11, 2017)

17-year-old Molly is the queen of crushes, carefully tabulated and shared with her twin sister, Cassie, and good friends Abby and Olivia, but never, ever shared with the boys themselves. She is shy, but also afraid that the boys might see the overweight girl Molly sees in the mirror.

In this entertaining and often poignant story of taking chances and breaking out of her self-imposed boundaries, Molly must rediscover the girl in the mirror while at the same time dealing with her changing relationship with her sister. In a way, it reminds me of the theme (though not the story) of the Disney movie, Frozen, with sisters learning to define their own roles while exploring love outside, and inside, their safe but confining home.

With a wonderful cast of characters, from the sisters' helpful but unhelpful moms to the gorgeous Mina who sweeps away Cassie on her tangent to the smooth hipster Will and adorkable Reid who, in Molly's mind at least, vie for her first big step out from unrequited love to real live boyfriend, The Upside of Unrequited is fun and authentic and caring.

I strongly recommend for young adults, and anyone who remembers what it was like.

Five stars!

Amazon

P.S. This also reminds me I should really get a copy of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Ms. Albertalli's first novel, which has been highly recommended.

When The Moon Was Ours (review)

When The Moon Was Ours
Author: Anna-Marie McLemore
Publisher: A Thomas Dunne Book for St. Martin's Griffin (October 4, 2016)

To everyone who knows them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel's wrist, and rumors say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town. But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches. Now they want the roses that grow from Miel's skin, convinced that their scent can make anyone fall in love. And they're willing to use every secret Miel has fought to protect to make sure she gives them up.

This was recommended when I was seeking books with transgender characters, and it has that and so much more. Magical realism shows up in various books, but has a special style in Latin American literature. (Note: I majored in Latin American studies in college, and lived briefly in Venezuela.) The magical realism in When the Moon Was Ours is so tightly woven into the story and setting and language, you would have trouble sorting out what it "real" and what is "magic", and all of it is steeped in symbolism and interconnected meanings. It reminds me of both Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel García Márquez.

But even if you are not a literature-nerd, this is a wonderful young adult story of love and loss and sacrifice. Miel and Sam are beautifully drawn, and inexorably drawn together. The Bonner girls are fabulous villains, as perfect and flawed as you could hope. Reading about them, you are reminded that every person has their own tragic and heroic story, and I almost wish Ms. McLemore had time to write those as well.

Given that I sought the book out for its transgender character, I should mention that it is a tastefully and lovingly handled. I have too little personal experience to judge or comment on that aspect beyond the fact that the author made the characters feel authentic and true.

But don't take my word for it. Run out and get a copy of this gem.

Five stars out of five!

Amazon

Fairy Tales for Young Readers (review)

Fairy Tales for Young Readers
Author: E. Nesbit
Publisher: Dover Publications (Jan. 14, 2015)
Review copy courtesy of NetGalley

When I was young, I remember reading and listening to a few of the wonderful children's books by English author, E. Nesbit, so I was intrigued to see that a book was being republished of her classic fairy tales interpretations. I expected to enjoy them, but I had forgotten what an influence she had been on writers such as P. L. Travers (Marry Poppins), C.S. Lewis (Narnia books) and J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter books), all of whom echo at times her wry, clever humor. I recommend that parents read these aloud to their children, as there is as much for adults to enjoy as for the children, and both will delight and laugh in the imagery and wit.

As I read through the stories, I kept stopping and reading passages to my wife, so I thought I'd share a couple that I shared with her.

From the middle of Cinderella:

For in those days shoes were not sold ready-made in shops, but were made specially to fit the people who were to wear them. And besides, the glass slipper was magic, and so had too much sense to have fitted any one but its owner, even if the country had been full of shops selling Rats' Ready-made Really Reliable Boots.

From the beginning of Jack the Giant-Killer:

In the long-ago days of King Arthur, who invented round tables, there was a sort of plague of giants in the West Country-just as nowadays there are plagues of wasps, and mosquitos, and millionaires, and the giants threatened to spread, like other plagues, till they had eaten up all the nice, proper-sized people in England.

While a few words may seem unfamiliar or antiquated, by and large the stories are timeless and charming. I strongly recommend these to both adults and children. They will remind you that children's literature can be so much richer than Captain Underpants without being boring or irrelevant to modern children.

Five out of five stars!

Digital Debuts: Enchantment by Charlotte Abel

Enchantment
Author: Charlotte Abel
Purchased from Amazon.com

Enchantment is an absolutely delightful and original book. It could be described as paranormal romance, but it is a far cry from the girl-meets-werewolf/vampire stories that abound. It combines magic, treachery, humor and thrills, as well as a rampant simmering sexuality that might seem out of place if you had not dealt with a teenage girl recently.

Channie Belks lives a hardscrabble life with her parents and siblings, crammed together in a small shack in the Ozark Mountains, but everything is about to get a lot worse. Her father's gambling leads to a nasty run-in with a powerful mage family, and the family has no choice but to leave in a hurry. Unsafe among any of the magic folks, they hide in a town of Magically Disabled people (like you and me). Channie, who has never been to a regular school, is suddenly faced with a very unfriendly student body, and prevented from using the one power she has that might have allowed her to make friends.

On the other hand, she meets Josh, a hot BMX racer with a killer smile, so perhaps you could call it even. Except for the curse.

That is what Enchantment is like, though I could never do it justice. Every corner hides a pitfall, but Channie faces them all. Not happily, or even nicely, but she faces them. We get carried along for the ride, and it is a wild one. I absolutely love the wonderful Ozark language and mentality, funny and different while never getting in the way. The book is flat out fun to read.

Younger readers, or squeamish parents, may have a little trouble with the obsession with sex. It is barely ever acted on or visible, and most girls over the age of 13 will have read stronger stuff, but I thought I should point that out. As for the magic, the folklore and the snappy plot, I can see those appealing to all ages.

Highly recommended. Five Stars!

Pick up a copy of Enchantment on Amazon.com or on BarnesAndNoble.com

Interview with Wren Emerson

In mid-June, I posted about a wonderful Digital Debut: Wren Emerson's I Wish..., the first book in a Young adult series titled The Witches of Desire. Recently, I was lucky enough to get Wren to spare a bit of time to answer questions.

Thus, I bring you my first interview, with the talented Wren Emerson:

1) When did you start writing, and when did you start thinking of yourself as a writer?

That's a hard one. I've always written. Not always with the clear intention of getting published, but I've always felt compelled to put words on a page and express myself that way. When I heard about indie publishing and decided that's what I wanted to do for a living, I started to think of myself as writer. Wild horses wouldn't have pried that out of my mouth to another living person though. I still don't necessarily bring up my writing when I talk to people in real life. I'm actually a little shy about the idea of people who already know me in a real life context knowing that I write.

I anticipate changing that when we move this summer. I plan to introduce myself as an author to the new people we meet and that's all they'll ever know me as. I guess what I'm saying is that it's much easier for me to reinvent myself than to try to change the impression of me that people already have as a non-writer.

2) Did you start by publishing short stories, or dive right into a novel?

I find short stories to be really hard for me. I'm working on several right now for different projects and oh boy. I started with I Wish and in a lot of ways I think it was far easier to write than any short story ever will be for me. I just don't think short, I suspect.

3) I've seen that you like to outline. Have you always written like that, or is it a learned habit?

Digital Debuts: Wren Emerson's I Wish...

I Wish... (The Witches of Desire) published by Lakehouse Press May 2011
Author: Wren Emerson

This is my second review in a series called Digital Debuts in which I review debut books for young adults (or younger) by authors who have chosen to publish in eBook format only, at least to start. Usually, these will be self-published, or as good as self-published, and thus usually under $5. They are also great books that will entertain and provoke, but not disappoint.

Product description:

Thistle Nettlebottom knows her life isn't exactly normal. She travels the country with her secretive mother and bestselling author grandmother in a pink RV going from book signings to crazy research trips. She's never been to public school or had a boyfriend, but she can pick a lock and hotwire a car. One day the phone rings and they set a course to a tiny town that's not on any maps. Suddenly, Thistle finds her whole life changing.

From this rather odd beginning, we launch quickly into an almost dystopian world where Thistle, whose real name turns out to be something else, must cope with the Witches of Desire. That is to say, witches in the town of Desire, and a more competitive, nasty lot you will have trouble finding anywhere.

Desire is a matriarchal society, and Thistle faces a constant struggle to stay safe, and even alive, due to powers she never knew she had. If only her powers would let her know who was truly a friend and who was not. Or let her know whether to pursue the enticing-but-verboten Ben or the handsome-but-too-compliant Evan.

In her debut novel, Wren Emerson weaves an exciting and different world, and you will quickly find yourself lost in the intrigue and danger. Meant for older teens and young adults, this is only the first in a planned series, and I am sure that readers will be lining up to buy the sequel when it comes out.

In fact, my biggest objection to the novel was the somewhat abrupt ending, a common objection with YA books in series these days. If this were a traditionally published print book and we had to wait six months to a year for the sequel, I would hold that against the author, but since this is published as an ebook, I may let it slide... if she will hurry up and get the sequel out.

I Wish... is $2.99, and well worth the price. Give it a try, and let me know what you think. I believe this is a series, and an author, you will want to follow.

Four stars out of five.

Buy 'I Wish...' on Amazon.com
Buy on Amazon.co.uk
Buy on Amazon.de

Digital Debuts: Leanne Beattie's Cage of Bone

Cage of Bone, Amazon Digital Services in May 2011
Author: Leanne Beattie

This is my first review in a series called Digital Debuts in which I review debut books for young adults (or younger) by authors who have chosen to publish in eBook format only, at least to start. Usually, these will be self-published, or as good as self-published, and thus usually under $5. They are also great books that will entertain and provoke, but not disappoint.

Veronica Campbell, known as Ronnie to the few friends she has, finds her life crashing around her after her popular older sister, Katherine, commits suicide. Ronnie's mother is a mess, her father who had left them a year before has a new girlfriend, and Ronnie has trouble dealing with the kids in school. Not that she wants to deal with them. She doesn't want anything but to get her sister back, or at least to understand why Katherine would kill herself.

That might sound depressing, but through all the pain and anger, Ronnie shows signs of the strength and intelligence that will help her survive. She finds a cool guy at the record store, and though all the girls drool over him, there are signs that perhaps he has noticed her, past the combat boots and spiked hair and leave-me-alone attitutde.

This is a book for older teens and young adults. There's some drinking, some drug references and sexual activity that would not be right for younger teens. For those old enough and mature enough to handle it, the story is compelling and important, dealing with both the loss of loved ones and the loss of innocence. It is also a story of hope, although not a campy, easy hope. My only complaint might be that the story wound up quickly, but that is only a complaint because I wanted to know more about Ronnie, more about Griffin, more about how they all turn out.

Mostly, it is a book you should read. This is Leanne Beattie's first novel, but she has a deft and knowing touch when it comes to teenagers. I certainly hope to see more from Ms. Beattie, which is where you come in. Cage of Bone is $2.99, and worth much more. Buy her book. Share it with your friends. They'll thank you.

Five stars!

Buy from Amazon for $2.99

Review: The Liar Society by Lisa & Laura Roecker

The Liar Society, Sourcebooks Fire in March 2011
Authors: Lisa & Laura Roecker

With pink hair and way too many freckles, Kate might be mistaken for an ordinary, happy-go-lucky teenager, but there is nothing ordinary about her. Ordinary teenagers don't get emails from dead friends. Ordinary teenagers don't pit themselves against secret societies. Ordinary teenagers can make it through a tennis match without running off the court and chasing phantoms.
Kate is not ordinary, but she is a heck of a lot of fun, at least when she isn't struggling with the death of her best friend. Dr. Prozac thinks she needs to put it all behind her, but Kate doesn't think it's over. Not by a long shot.

The Liar Society is one of those unique books that fall through the cracks in the bookstore genres. Part mystery, part thriller, part romance, it lives a life of its own that will sweep readers in and carry them along for the ride. Kate is a real teen living in an unreal situation, and you find yourself cheering for her even when she does the most stupid things. (No, Kate, don't get in the car! No, Kate, don't go there alone!, No, Kate, no!)

For those who think in S.A.T. terms, Kate is to Nancy Drew as You are to Barbie. Complex, fun and willful, she loves her full-fat Mocha Frappes and can't decide between the ultra-geeky Seth who has adored her since birth and the edgy Liam who seems torn between her and her arch-nemesis. Decisions, decisions.

There will be some who feel like the ending is neither neatly solved nor cleanly happily-ever-after, but it is still satisfying. It feels real in a way that only a slightly paranoid teen book can. I, for one, look forward to more books by the Roecker sisters, and a chance to find out what Kate gets up to next. I strongly recommend The Liar Society for teens and young adults, as well as parents who want to join in the fun. (Parental note: There is some drinking and implied sexual activity)

Five Stars!

More about The Liar Society on Amazon.com
More about The Liar Society on Amazon.co.uk (not available yet)

Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss, published by Dutton/Penguin in Dec. 2010
Author: Stephanie Perkins

I'm not sure where I first heard of Anna and the French Kiss, but everything I have heard has been positive. Actually, positively glowing would be more like it. While I don't review many YA books for My Comfy Chair, my curiosity was piqued, so I picked up a copy.

At its base structural level, this is pretty standard YA romance fare with heartthrobs and heartbreak and misunderstandings. What raises this book so far above its genre is the sheer appeal of its characters, and the believability of their reactions to the people and situations they face.

Anna Oliphant is looking forward to her senior year of high school in Atlanta, but her newly famous father decides to send her to a boarding school in Paris. Rough life, but Anna isn't happy to leave behind her best friend and familiar life. What follows is a blend of humor and melodrama as Anna falls for the gorgeous Étienne St. Clair with his to-die-for English accent and his very steady girlfriend. He even seems to like her back, but throughout the tumultuous, emotional year, they can't seem to get on the same page.

As I said, standard fare, except that Stephanie Perkins has imbued these characters with all of the anguish, but little of the angst, of real teenagers coming of age and sorting through their feelings for parents, friends and love interests. Instead of rolling your eyes as the latest complication keeps Anna and Étienne apart, you find yourself cheering them on.

There is enough sexual tension that very young teens might be uncomfortable, but not enough that parents need worry. After all, what Anna longs for is indicated in the title. You'll have to read the book to see if she gets it.

I heartily recommend this for teenage girls who will love both the exotic Étienne and the city of Paris which provides a backdrop to the story, although not from a tourist point of view, but a teenager in a strange land point of view. I even think teenage boys might be interested, if only to get a glimpse of what the girls around them are really like. Of course, I couldn't blame any parents who picked this up and couldn't put it down again either. I was supposed to save it for a trip, and couldn't stop reading it.

Five Stars!

Buy this book on Amazon.com
Buy this book on Amazon.co.uk