Best of the Year from SLJ

I read lots of book reviews for children and teens. As I approached the children's desk this evening, I noticed the latest School Library Journal sitting there. It's the December issue sporting the "Best of 2011" lists. I am not going reprint the lists here, rather, I will make note of books on the lists that I have read and what I thought. It's SLJ through the Marissa filter.

1. A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka
This is a sweet wordless picture book about a dog named Daisy and her beloved red ball. But what happens when the ball is no longer? I liked this book because I'm a dog lover, so it turned me into mush. Also, the artwork is very dynamic and Daisy is an expressive pup. Such a simple concept beautifully rendered.

2. Paper Covers Rock by Jenny Hubbard
This is Hubbard's debut novel, but you wouldn't know that by reading it. Set at a boys' boarding school, 16-year-old Alex must make tough decisions about friendship, loyalty, and the truth in the wake of a friend's death. I felt it was very A Separate Peace meets Dead Poets' Society. Nice job.

3. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
This is a poignant tale of a boy, Conor, dealing with grief and feeling invisible. At night, he is visited by a monster in the form of a tree who will tell him three tales, and then Conor must tell one of his own-- the truth. This book got a lot of buzz, and I enjoyed it. The illustrations are haunting.

4. Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
This book left ME wonderstruck, so much so that I bought two copies to give as gifts this Christmas. Parallel stories intertwine about museums, deafness, and family. Selznick is a master, and his drawings are amazing. LOVED this one.

5. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
I feel like Stiefvater really hit her stride with this one. I liked her Wolves of Mercy Falls series and her faerie books, but this is her best so far, for me. Featuring deadly, carnivorous water horses, a tiny windswept island, two teenagers fighting to win what they want the most, plenty of action, and a dab of romance, this grabbed me and didn't let go.

6. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Holy smokes (and bones). I finished this book a couple days ago and it was so so so good. A new twist in the paranormal genre: angels and demons. Angels, you scoff? BADASS angels. Demons, you whine? Surprisingly TENDER demons. Karou is a 17-year-old art student in Prague (note to self: GO TO PRAGUE) who, in her spare time, runs errands for a demon named Brimstone. On one of these errands, she meets Akiva, an angel who tries to kill her. However, she finds herself strangely drawn to him, and when the truth about Karou's heritage is revealed, you will be amazed. This book unfolds slowly, but oh so satisfyingly.

7. Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman
Who knew that nature is full of spirals? When I saw this title, the only spiral I could think of was a snail's shell. But there are so many more, and they each have a specific purpose. The illustrations in this are gorgeous and the back matter explains in detail the animals and plants featured in the book. Lovely.

Enjoy!

Ex libris,

Marissa

Poor neglected blog.

It has been awhile. I read somewhere that some ridiculous percentage of blogs are abandoned after a few posts. It's sad. I have joined and am posting on DNBRD lately. And there's the 1001 Books too. So I am around on the web, and I really don't want to let go of this blog just yet. So hang in there, blog!

Ex libris,

Marissa

Of the Book, By the Book, For the Book

I took a course in History of the Book this summer, and it was breathtaking. No other way to describe it. Handling old books, learning about how things were printed, seeing treasures from centuries ago...it was awesome. Then in July, my aunt Marcy suggested I read People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. It centers around a book conservator who has been invited to work on a Haggadah (special book recited at the Seder meal in the Jewish tradition) that was thought to be lost. The history of this particular book is traced through artifacts that the rare book conservator finds in its binding. There is a twist at the end, too. I highly recommend it!

Ex libris,
Marissa

The Girl Who Reads Scandinavian Noir.

I can't believe I haven't ever written a blog post about Scandinavian noir. So here's how it all started: I was in college and had to take my world literature requirement for my English major. I chose Global Detective Fiction a) because it fulfilled the requirement, b) I had a crush on the professor, and c) it sounded cool. Perfect, right? And it was.
In that class, in addition to books that took place in Italy (written by Donna Leon) and Africa (written by Alexander McCall-Smith), we read Henning Mankell's Sidetracked which is set in Sweden. I was hooked. It was so dark and multi-faceted that I had to read more. So I read more by Mankell, and then some Karin Fossum (Norway), Kjell Eriksson (Sweden again), and Arnaldur Indridason (Iceland). The whole genre is fascinating. First, it's COLD in the winter, which makes the hideous crimes mean more, at least to me, because it would seem that there would be less crime since people are inside trying not to freeze to death. If you are making that effort of killing someone, it better work and be worth the trouble. Second, the nights are long and dark, which is spooky. The countries are very isolated, especially Iceland which is just floating out there in the middle of the North Atlantic, so one could easily kill someone and get away on a boat, or toss a body into the sea. Finally, these are not vast countries, so there is a great sense of local color, food, and names that often end in -son or -dottir.
That brings me to Stieg Larsson. He wrote the wildly popular Millenium Trilogy consisting of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. At first, I thought this was another author who jumped onto the bandwagon. But I was so wrong. I've only read Dragon Tattoo so far, but it was so exceedingly amazing and carefully crafted that I could not stop reading it. I then watched the Swedish movie of the book, starring Noomi Rapace, and I was clinging to my couch. I can't even describe the detail that Larsson has put in his books. Dragon Tattoo starts off slow with a lot of background, as most of the Scandinavian noir that I've read does. It is rather boring, to be honest. But then BAM! You're hooked into this complex web of awesome.
I read that Larsson intended the Millenium Trilogy to be ten books, but sadly he died suddenly in 2004 leaving us with only three. Also, there may possibly be a fourth book out there in the ether, but it is unclear if it is supposed to be fourth or fifth in the series. Larsson wasn't married, but he did have a longtime partner, but since he didn't leave a will, his estate goes to his father and brother under Swedish law. However, Larsson's partner Eva Gabrielson has the laptop with the fourth book but won't publish it unless she gets rights to Larsson's literary property. It's all very convoluted and mysterious. If you're intrigued, you can check out this website about Larsson and the whole series, characters, etc.
So, in summary, try some Scandinavian noir! I like Henning Mankell and Karin Fossum the most. Stieg Larsson is absolutely amazing and I hope the fourth book gets published someday. In the meantime, the Millenium Trilogy is intense, violent, and breathtaking and I recommend it. If you're not a book person, the books have been made into films in Sweden that are available in the US, and the US film industry is making them here into what I anticipate will be watered-down versions. Get the originals and watch them with the subtitles ON.

Enjoy the darkness.

Ex libris,

Marissa

Meeting Linda Greenlaw!

I was just on Cape Cod for the holiday weekend, and Linda Greenlaw was making an appearance at Booksmith in Falmouth, MA. The coincidence is that I had just finished listening to Sebastian Junger's The Perfect Storm on the ride up to the Cape, which is the book that first referenced Greenlaw and the sinking of her ship's sister boat, the Andrea Gail. Junger's book was later made into a movie. Greenlaw just released a new book, Seaworthy, about her return to swordfishing after ten years. She spoke about her book, and she is well-spoken and quite hilarious. She's written mostly nonfiction, but has authored two mysteries. I asked her which she preferred, and she said that she thought fiction would be easier because "you just make shit up" (HA!), but she prefers writing about what she knows. Greenlaw also spoke about the situation in the Gulf, her experiences in the publishing world, and the time she was most scared on a trip (when a crew member died onboard and had to be packed in ice in the fish hold). She's been fishing since the age of nineteen and, even though she got a degree in English from Colby College, she went back to fishing because she loves it. I admire people who have such conviction and pursue their passion! I had her sign my book and told her that she had done something much more adventurous with her English major than I had with mine, and I told her I was a librarian, to which she responded that librarians are, by far, the smartest people she knows. I couldn't believe she said that! It was so great to meet her. My dad and I had a great time and we both bought her book-- which I was originally going to get my dad for his birthday, but alas, I will have to find a different present for him.

Linda's biography and information about her books are available on her website.

Ex libris,

Marissa