Guy Friday-- Fantasy Guys (Plus Bonus Rant!)

Nielsen, Jennifer A. The False Prince.
In this first book in a purported trilogy, Sage is taken from an orphanage by the scheming Conner and taken to his luxurious mansion with fellow orphans Roden and Tobias. The reason? The entire royal family of Carthya has been murdered, with the exception of Prince Jaron, who was on a ship that was attacked by pirates when he was about ten, and has never been found. Conner wants to groom a boy to pretend to be the prince, ostensibly to prevent a war between Carthya and a neighboring kingdom. The boys have a variety of skill levels, education, and attitude problems, but Sage is the worst-- he is constantly fighting against Conner, running off, and being a brat about his new found fortune, mainly because all the boys know that whomever is not chosen will surely die. Despite his contrary personality, Sage develops some allies in the maid servant Imogen and the trainer Mott, who both try to help him, and manages to attract the positive attention of the princess Araminda, who is supposed to marry Jaron's brother, and since he is dead, will marry the boy Conner chooses to be prince. When Conner finally does make his choice, long forgotten secrets are revealed that change the entire game.
Strengths: Even though I didn't want to read yet another medieval fantasy, I was oddly drawn into this one. Great cover. The fact that it will be a trilogy and not something longer makes me somewhat inclined to purchase this.
Weaknesses: Sage is really bratty. The reasons for this are clear later in the book (which I don't want to spoil), but I wanted to slap him on multiple occasions, which is never good.

Dolamore, Jaclyn. Between the Sea and Sky.

Esmerine is thrilled to finally become a Siren, an honor that not many in her merfamily have had. Her sister, Dosia, is a Siren, but has recently run away, and the entire family is worried that she has married a human and is not doing well. Esmerine is the only one able to sustain walking on human legs long enough to go looking for her, and she also wants to go on land and try to find her childhood friend, Alander. Alender is a Fandarsee, or winged creature, who runs a book store and agrees to help Esmerine find her sister. The two take off across their Georgian era countryside to try to find her, and fall in love in the process.

Strengths: Hubbard's Ripple is wildly popular, so I picked this up at a Book Look to make my mermaid fans happy.
Weaknesses: No boy will ever pick up this book, even though Alander figures largely. I was disappointed in the lack of living underwater scenes, and somewhat confused by where there were "subtle echoes of Pride and Prejudice". The biggest weakness? See RANT...

Slight Rant:Why are there sooooooooo many fantasy books, when what I really need are funny, realistic fiction books? Wait, wait-- I know. Even though there is a very small percentage of students (especially boys) who read fantasy books, those readers tend to love to read and buy their own books, and tend to be higher acchievers academically, and therefore more likely to grow up and write books. I personally wrote seven chapters of a medievalish/time travel fantasy called Alexander's Avenger before realizing that there were very few readers for it.

Even Nancy Gilson of the Columbus Dispatch had this sentence in her review of The False Prince: "Just in case there's room for another medieval adventure trilogy for young-adult readers, Jennifer A. Nielsen is happy to fill the bill. "

Out of about 720 students at my school, I have maybe 50 who are AVID fantasy readers, and maybe another 50 who will read fantasy if it's new and interesting. About eighty percent of the ARCs I get seem to be fantasy. It seems off balance.

Apparently, few ball players (aside from Tim Green, Mike Lupica, and Rich Wallace) grow up to write books. Hardly any skateboarders do. If I am still buying copies of books by authors who are long dead (Thomas Dygard), something is wrong.

This is also why Jordan Sonnenblick is so brilliant. He writes what students want to read, but is talented enough to sneak in some Life Lessons that teachers will like, in a way that students don't mind them. Oooh! Mr. Sonnenblick! Write a book involving either football or skateboarding next! Just remember, no "we are building a skate park but having trouble with the community thinking we are all threats to society" theme. Overdone.

Just like the vast majority of medievalish fantasies.

Nonfiction Monday

Nonfiction Monday was started by Anastasia Suen and is hosted this week at EMUs Debuts. Hop on over for a complete list of links with nonfiction reviews.






McClafferty, Carla Killough. The Many Faces of George Washington: Remaking a Presidential Icon.
Who knew? The popular opinion of George Washington nowadays is that he was dour and old, and people don't know as much about him now as they did thirty years ago. To offset this, a group of researchers connected with the Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens decided to put together as much information about what Washington looked like, as well as who he really was, so that modern day people could get to know him. The book chronicles the process used in getting an accurate depiction of what Washington looked like and using this information to make life sized, extremely realistic wax models of him, with descriptions of what Washington's life was like at the various stages portrayed by the models. The science of the research and the art of the models are described very clearly, and information about Washington's life and how this led him to be the person (and president) he was is presented in an intriguing way.
Strengths: This is an excellent book for anyone who is heading to Mt. Vernon to see the site, or for history classes studying Washington. The recreation process is very interesting, and am I the only one who came away with a tiny bit of a crush on the 19-year-old Washington? Who knew that he was such a strapping young man?
Weaknesses: This is a bit much to read straight through, because there is a lot of information. Also, I was a little bothered (as I always am) by the amount of money spent on figuring out someone who is dead when there are so many children who are living who would benefit from some of it. I know, I know; history is important.

Barton, Chris. Can I See Your I.D.?: True Stories of False Identities.
Have you ever wanted to be someone else? This book includes the stories of ten people who not only wanted that, they acted upon the impulse and assumed another identity. From Keron Thomas, who wanted to drive a train even though he wasn't old enough, to Solomon Perel who assumed a gentile identity to survive the Holocaust, to Sarah Wakeman, a woman who fought as a man during the Civil War, these ten people all decided to be someone else and were successful at it, at least for a limited time. Each story covers why the people assumed a new identity, and what happened to them after they were discovered. An long bibliography in the back of the book shows the extensive research that went into this book.
Strengths: Chris Barton (The Day-Glo Brothers) has a knack for telling the story of little known people in very compelling ways. Students love reading about crime and criminals, and with this appealing cover, the book will never make it back to the shelves.
Weaknesses: I found the second person narrative harder to follow, although I understand why this was used. Every year, a language arts teacher asks for a book with a second person narrative style, and since Bright Lights Big City can't really be used in middle school, here's my example!

Hunter, Nick. Inside the Olympics.
This 64 page book starts with the ancient Olympics and continues on through the revival in the late 1800s. It then follows a few notable historic games and then covers how the games are set up, hosted, and carried out. Record holders are mentioned, as are controversies that have arisen over the years. Photos and statistics add to the narrative.
Strengths: I liked how the 2012 games are covered a bit-- how London was chosen, what sort of preparations are being made-- while still remaining primarily a history book. This is a book well worth having, since there is usually a call for more than one copy.
Weaknesses: Most of the record holders mentioned are young enough to be my children!