"Of Neptune" by Anna Banks

Of Neptune (May 13, 2014) by Anna Banks.

Young love in itself can be trying, but that’s putting it mildly for half Syrena/half human Emma McIntosh and her full-blooded Syrena boyfriend Galen Forza. The two need to get away, especially after the events in “Of Triton,” but a road trip seems out of the question. At least until Emma’s grandfather, the Poseidon King Antonis, encourages them to visit the small town of Neptune, which is far from the ocean somewhere in Tennessee. It turns out that Neptune is home to both Syrena and Half-Breeds like Emma. Here Emma thought she was the only one of “her kind” and now she has proof of the existence of others, including a handsome Half-Breed named Reed Conway. And Reed, much to Galen’s chagrin, has no problem showing visible interest in Emma. Reed’s dad, Reder, is a full-blooded Syrena and is like the mayor of Neptune. But there are those who want to unseat Reder for more than just being the head of a community. Power struggles. And then Galen goes missing after an argument. So even when they finally get away, they still can’t leave behind the drama. And drama such as this is dangerous.

            Meeting the residents of Neptune is akin to meeting freshwater fish that are also land-dwellers. Sure, the whole love triangle thing has been vastly overdone, but that Banks included that with her introduction of more Half-Breeds added intrigue to this final story in a trilogy. As with the first two books, this one is told from the alternating viewpoints of Emma and Galen. I missed the presence of Rayna’s hotheadedness and Toraf’s brotherliness, as they were mostly absent in this story. But the feisty humor is still present. Also, I’m a sucker for happy endings, and this story did not disappoint.

            Book One: Of Poseidon

            Book Two: Of Triton

Rutabaga's Reads 2015: Part 2

While a slim portion of my blog has seen middle-grade novels in posts, this is my first compilation of middle-grade books since the first month I began this blog (see: August 2012). These books are good choices for anyone teaching those around 8-12 years of age or want to personally read stories that are lighter fare than, say, young adult, new adult or adult novels.

            I’d like to thank my brother and sister-in-law for “The Wells Bequest.” It was one of several I received from them this past Christmas.

A Tangle of Knots (Feb. 5, 2013) by Lisa Graff.

Most everyone has a Talent. Yes, Talent with a capital T. The Fair are generally middle children – the Middlings – without any Talent. Talents range from something as ordinary as whistling to the phenomenal ability to bake the perfect cake for anyone. Cady (short for Cadence) has that ability. She’s Talented enough to create it all: the perfect pie, muffin, bread or even the perfect pizza if she wanted to. But above all else, she loves to bake cakes. She’s also an orphan, and her caretaker, Miss Jennifer Mallory, has been on the alert for her perfect family. She’s highly skilled at it (after all, her Talent is matching). Only when Cady finds her perfect family will she allow herself to bake her own perfect cake for her Adoption Day party.

            Cady has a weeklong trial period with Toby Darlington, and it might be right, but it might not be. Still, by staying with Toby, Cady meets new people: The Owner, a grumpy man obsessed with powder blue St. Anthony’s suitcases, V, a 60-year-old woman who’s lost her speech after a stroke, and the Asher family of five. Mr. Asher is a businessman with a soft spot for orange nougat, Mrs. Asher is a knitting Talent with an interesting hair pin, eldest Zane is a thieving troublemaker with a spitting Talent (“worthless”), Will has a Talent for getting lost (though he feels he’s never once been lost in six years), and Marigold is a Fair middle child, though she’s hopeful she’ll discover her Talent with the help of a red Talent bracelet. Somehow these people are all connected, and they will discover their connection with some discreet nudging by a giant-of-a-man in a gray suit.

            Graff’s literary world, including the very real town of Poughkeepsie, New York, is like our own, but with a drop of magic. There is a simplicity to the story that makes it easy to read, yet still includes rich layers. There are tasty-looking cake recipes at different points in the book, and her story is much like its own cake recipe. It is full of charm, warmth, regrets, Talent, fun and youthful adventure with a dash of whimsy and a sprinkling of magic all mixed together to create a well-written story that is quietly magical and totally pleasant for a light palette. Rich, but not heavy, and light, but not too fluffy. It’s a good mix, and it’s a mix that, if it could smile, might smile that type of grin that suggests it knows more than it’s letting on.

Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin (Apr. 9, 2013) by Liesl Shurtliff.

We all know the name, but for many years, Rumpelstiltskin only knows himself as Rump. Rump is the butt of many a joke (pun intended) and only has one friend, Red, who’s interestingly touchy on the subject of her “strange” granny. Things turn interesting for Rump when he finds an old spinning wheel. With nothing to spin but straw, imagine his surprise when he spins that straw into gold. But as anyone knows, especially if you watch ABC’s Once Upon a Time, magic always comes with a price. For Rump in his little village, The Mountain, gold equals food. Not a fair share, mind you, for the miller (Oswald) is a fat, greedy man with a beautiful daughter named Opal and rotten sons named Frederick and Bruno. When gold-obsessed King Barf – that is, King Bartholomew Archibald Reginald Fife – comes to town and discovers skeins of spun gold, Oswald declares that Opal has the gold-spinning magic, and King Barf immediately whisks her away. Rump feels obligated to help her through terrible trades (especially her firstborn), but even more regrettable is that the magic dictates that he must accept the trade. He sets out to find his stiltskin, which The Witch of the Woods said is the one thing that can free him from his bindings. He’s also in search of his real name.

            In this tale, pixies aren’t sweet as pixy stix or as adorable as Disney fairies. They’re gold-craving and can be downright mean, biting you left and right (note: dirt deters pixies). This tale; however, is beguiling, light-hearted and inventive. It actually has you rooting for Rump. This story would also be good for classroom discussions. While the story contains humor and uncharacteristically hospitable trolls and messenger gnomes, it also contains tough stuff like the death of a loved one, despair and famine. Then there’s the avarice of both the miller and the king. “Rump” not only has a good back story for the character, but a good backbone as far as plot goes, and a good deal of spunk in Red. This fantasy contains familiar fairytale elements infused with innovative world-building and emotional depth. Summed up, it’s a quaint, little novel that’s as good as gold (pun intended).

The Wells Bequest (June 13, 2013) by Polly Shulman.

There is a new group of pages working at the New-York Circulating Material Repository, a [mostly] magical place which lends out objects instead of books, and Leo Novikov isn’t one of them. Yet. His science teacher, Ms. Kang, recommends the repository when he inquires about an idea for his science fair project. Science fairs are a big deal, considering he comes from a family of scientists. Unfortunately, he feels like the dumb one. He attends Manhattan Polytechnic Academy, which his older sister, Sofia, commonly referred to as “Tech for Dummies.” Now that Leo attends the school, Sofia tells others that the students there “are really very creative.” But is Leo creative or losing it? After all, he sees a tiny version of himself and a girl named Jaya Rao – she’s real! – on a small time machine. And they talk to him!

            Once Leo’s a page, he learns the ropes at the Repository, including its more impressive magical qualities. And in the basement is the Wells Bequest, a secret collection of objects from science fiction novels. It’s the perfect place for a time machine! When a very serious threat arises, Leo and Jaya decide the time machine is their only hope. They have to whisk themselves to Nikola Tesla’s lab in 1895. What adventures will they find there?

            I enjoyed this middle-grade novel just as much as Shulman’s “The Grimm Legacy.” In fact, this story is a companion to that one. The story starts off running – Leo meets the tiny versions of himself and Jaya in the first chapter – and doesn’t take a breather. Whereas the Grimm Collection focuses on magical fairytale objects, this one focuses on science fiction and Leo’s character is perfect as an inventor, one who makes plenty of mistakes and whose inventions don’t always do as anticipated. There’s excitement, adventure, peril, humor and nerd-fare (this is a great thing). This clever story read very quickly. All of the science and the science fiction makes for an engaging read but without overdoing the scientific stuff. Shulman keeps it fun. For example, Leo uses, “Schist!” as a curse, but it’s not an actual curse word. Schist is “a kind of rock. It’s what happens to hot sandstone when it gets squished really hard for a few million years.” Jaya mentions, “It sounds really bad – in a good way.” And the best part, as Leo points out, is, “Even strict teachers can’t object to a word from a vocabulary list, right?” Ha.

            I don’t know if she’s going to continue with stories involving the New-York Circulating Material Repository, but I hope she is. There are two additional Special Collections mentioned in this story that she hasn’t yet made novels out of. They are: the Lovecraft Corpus (objects from gothic stories and horror) and the Gibson Chrestomathy (a collection of cyber stuff such as A.I. and computer viruses). In the meantime, this great little tale puts readers in a landscape of science fiction made reality. So fun!

The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop (Mar. 12, 2013) by Kate Saunders.

A stout but beautiful cat with golden-brown fur and green, square-shaped eyes recruits twins Lily and Oscar (a.k.a. Oz) Spoffard to work for the Secret Ministry of the Unexplained (SMU) as, naturally, secret government agents. That is, after she defends Lily from the derisive wallpaper of her new bedroom. Demerara, the cat, is a secret agent herself. She is invisible to most, knows of magic, is immortal and can talk. She’s self-important and completely vain over her appearance. In other words, she’s often very cat-like. She recruits the twins and fellow Skittle Street resident Caydon Campbell to join the SMU because they are magic, even though they didn’t know it. The three eleven-year-olds have learned that an evil gang wants a secret chocolate recipe, one infused with magic. But they also have to ward off their great-great-uncle (Isadore), long-thought dead, who was the murderer of his two brothers in 1938. It turns out he’s immortal! They have the help of, not only Demerara, but Spike, an immortal, talking rat, and the SMU team, which may or may not include an invisible ghost elephant named Edwin.

            What a cute story! The title is what initially drew me to this middle-grade novel of family dynamics (the good, the bad and the annoying), secrets (to protect their parents, of course), fantasy and magic. Saunders has put obvious thought into her characters and given them enough depth to make them feel real – even within the magical quality of the book – without overwhelming the story with too many character traits to remember. The chocolate shop on Skittle Street hasn’t been filled with chocolate confections for decades, but with the Spoffards, it is filled with youthful suspense, cheekiness, humor and a sense for righting past wrongs and preventing future devastation. Isadore’s dependence on alcohol is definitely off-putting, but it is not a focus of the story, and should therefore not take away from it. “Whizz Pop” takes places in London amongst British folks, so I would recommend adopting a British accent while reading this fun romp-of-a-tale. :-)

"Sabotaged" by Dani Pettrey

Sabotaged (Feb. 3, 2015) by Dani Pettrey.*

Talk about opposites. Former troublemaking playboy Reef McKenna and goody-two-shoes veterinarian Kirra Jacobs were always at odds as youngsters. Different locales for life (Reef) and school (Kirra) separated them, but they’ve both returned to their hometown of Yancey and have even more recently been paired together as search-and-rescue (SAR) volunteers for the world-famous Iditarod race. Reef wants Kirra to see him as he is now: an upstanding guy close to his family and his relationship with God, and her opinion of him matters, not that he’d have expected that in a million years. The true can be said of Kirra, but first, her Uncle Frank, a highly experienced musher, has her very worried. Frank’s taken himself out of the race with nothing more than a cryptic explanation right before their lives are threatened. She is to find her cousin before he reaches the finish line in Nome so Meg lives and lots of people remain uninjured. And so begins a frantic search by Reef, Kirra and the entire McKenna family to stop a villain who’s willing to risk, not just one life, but the lives of so many others to get the result wanted. Reef and Kirra will do a lot of traveling around the state of Alaska … and they’ll be followed almost every step of the way.

            “Sabotaged” rounds out the five books in Dani Pettrey’s Alaskan Courage series, and I have enjoyed it every step of the way. The novel is deemed romantic suspense, but it’s also Christian inspirational fiction, so one can expect suspense, yet also the satisfaction of a happy ending. And I love happy endings! Throughout this story and her others, it is nice to see the burgeoning faith of her main characters (especially Kirra, who’s holding onto much anger, guilt and pain from the past) and the steadfast faith of the previous main characters. She pairs the suspense and faith with strong characters who have distinct personalities, plenty of adventures and clean romance. The story moves as fast as those top-running sled dogs of the Iditarod! I highly recommend this story, but like with any race, I’d start at the beginning of the series.

            Alaskan Courage 1: Submerged

            Alaskan Courage 2: Shattered

            Alaskan Courage 3: Stranded

            Alaskan Courage 4: Silenced

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are expressly my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Rutabaga's Reads 2015: Part 1

These stories regard an American Girl historical character re-branded in their BeForever line.* I would like potential purchasers of the BeForever line of books to be aware, if they’re not already, that the first two books in each doll’s “new” collection are the original six in a now-condensed form. So, if you’re worried about missing out on new material, you aren’t with the first two books. If the line comes with a third book, that one will contain any new content.

Sunlight and Shadows: A Josefina Classic 1 (Aug. 28, 2014) by Valerie Tripp.

The Montoya family has been reeling. Josefina and her older sisters – Ana, Francisca and Clara – have been trying to care for their family’s rancho just as their mother did. They each harbor grief in their hearts and worry that with the passing of days, so too do their memories of Mamá. This worry is intensified when their abuelito brings their Tía Dolores to them. Josefina has never met her, as she was not yet born the last time Dolores visited from Mexico City. Josefina’s papá invites Tía Dolores to stay with them in order to teach the girls and help the rancho, which struggles when a torrential rain floods the area, taking with it crops that their village friends depend on and hundreds of the Montoyas’ sheep. As Dolores steps in, the girls wonder if her ways will chase away their memories of Mamá.

            It has been awhile since I’ve read the six books in Josefina’s collection, but I still recalled much of the stories. This first volume covers the first three books: “Meet Josefina,” “Josefina Learns a Lesson” and “Josefina’s Surprise.” Ultimately, I prefer the original six-book set, but this is still a nice, slender volume published in chapter book fashion. It hits all of the high points, including the Christmas tradition of Las Posadas. Through the story, the reader understands that Josefina and her sisters will always carry precious memories of their mother, and that their individual talents reflect gifts that their mom held. In knowing that, they find healing and hope for the future.

Second Chances: A Josefina Classic 2 (Aug. 28, 2014) by Valerie Tripp.

To be a curandera is to know how to make medicines from plants and be skilled at healing others. When Josefina asks Tía Magdalena how she’ll know if she’s a healer, her aunt replies, “You’ll know.” She cares for a runty, motherless goat and watches her grow into a healthy “little shadow,” whom she names Sombrita. Josefina and her sisters meet their first americano trader, whom her father is hoping to establish good trading ties with. Things turn shaky, though, when it appears that the americano has cheated them and Tía Dolores makes plans to leave the Montoya family. Josefina is good at finding “the sweet in the sour” and “the light in the dark,” but even a light has its limits. When her heart’s desire is dashed, how can she find hope to heal the heartache and her inner light to drive away the darkness?

            The second volume covers the remaining three books: “Happy Birthday, Josefina!,” “Josefina Saves the Day” and “Changes for Josefina.” The condensed version segues seamlessly so that you don’t really realize that the volume is actually comprised of three books. These volumes are easy-to-read and may be a better option for some than the original six-book set. However, I do miss the family portraits that are included at the very beginning of the original books. Imagination is a great thing, but I have always felt that the pictures were a nice touch to the young chapter books. Still, these are good books to own, for they bring a little history lesson wrapped up in a cute story that’s easy to understand. Plus, young girls will relate to Josefina’s strength of character and youthful spirit more than a plain history lesson of places and dates. In these books there are connections. Connections of family, hope and a brighter, progressive future.

* Disclosure of Material Connection: While I am not required or obligated to read and review these books, I want to disclose that I did receive them at no cost. That was thanks to promotional coupons that were mailed by American Girl to hundreds of thousands of people. All opinions are expressly my own, and I have no connection to American Girl, Mattel or Valerie Tripp.

"Submerged" by Dani Pettrey

A quick shout-out to my brother and sister-in-law for this book. THANK YOU! It was one of four gifted to me from them this past Christmas. How wise they are to gift books my way!

Submerged (May 1, 2012) by Dani Pettrey.

Yancey, Alaska, isn’t a place that Bailey Craig ever planned on returning to. Not even for the briefest of visits. But she’s back for the worst reason: the death of her beloved aunt. Bailey has a past that she is ashamed of and sees herself as a woman undeserving of love and goodness. She’s found faith again, but she can’t forgive herself for the tumultuous and self-destructive ways of her teens. She doesn’t want to face the people of Yancey, whom she expects to be judgmental of her based on her long-ago transgressions. And she doesn’t want to face Cole McKenna.

            But Cole wants to see Bailey. Having endured the loss of both of his parents, he understands the loss of loved ones and knows that Bailey is grieving terribly. He tells himself he wants to keep things platonic and just be a supportive friend, but he remembers all-too-well the feelings he had for Bailey a decade ago. And how she dashed his heart then.

            There’s no avoiding each other completely in the small town where everyone knows one another and news seems to travel faster than the speed of light. Before long, Cole and Bailey find themselves working together, as evidence shows that her aunt’s plane crash was no accident. There’s also a rising body count to make it obvious that something is very wrong. Bailey’s expertise in Russian history proves invaluable to the case, and curiosity gets the best of her. She’s searching and now wants the answers. But in doing that, she may cast herself under the spotlight of the murderer, along with those she discovers she cares very much about.

            It may seem like I’m doing this a bit backwards. Thanks to the publisher, I have read the second, third and fourth books in this series (with the fifth one soon to come my way). But I’ve enjoyed the Alaskan Courage series enough that I’ve wanted to read the one that started the series. I was not disappointed.

            As I’ve felt while reading the other books in the series, the McKennas are a family to want to know. Their faith is deep, their bond is strong, and their love for others is enduring. Pettrey’s got a good storyline going and the characters are created distinctly with characteristics we may see in ourselves and others, so their questions and trials resonate with us. About the only awkward thing is how the characters are all so bloody good-looking and have amazing talents. What I’m saying is, they may seem a little too perfect despite their imperfections. But that’s not the heart of this story. Faith is, first of all, but not in a preachy way. It’s more encouraging and quietly persistent – like water lapping gently against a boat. There’s also an air of mystery to the story, along with the power of love, learning to forgive oneself and allowing yourself to accept second chances. After all, we are all imperfect, yet we are His beloved children!