YA Friday: WINGER by Andrew Smith

Okay, so occasionally the MG Mafiosi stray into YA territory, usually at the recommendation of some YA guru like Matt MacNish. For a while now, Matt has been trumpeting the praises of Andrew Smith and then, well, I heard Andrew's latest novel was about rugby and I knew I had to read it.

Some of you may know I'm originally from England. Less of you know that, from the age of 9 until 17, I was a pupil at an English boarding school located on the Yorkshire moors. As with most British "public" schools (which are actually private schools), the main winter sport was rugby--and I played in rugby teams from the age of ten until I left the school in my final year as a member of the 2nd XV. (I originally played second row, but as I got older I was moved to wing--which for those of you in the rugby know is a very curious transition.)

Which brings me to WINGER. It too is set in a boarding school--although a co-educational one. (My school was all-boys until about 20 years ago when they allowed girls to enter. About time!) The school is located in Oregon, which is where I now live. The main character, Ryan Dean West, is so clever that he is a 14-year-old high school junior. He's also very fast, as a rugby winger has to be. [More similarities: I was a 14-year-old sophomore, so Ryan Dean is only a wee bit cleverer than me.]

Don't you agree that this novel has my name on it? I started it one morning and read all the way through in one sitting, it was that compelling. From the first scene, with Ryan Dean being held over a toilet by a pair of football playing thugs, the book has an air of menace to it. The menace continues throughout--the weather becomes a character, in typical dreary wintry Oregon fashion--and there are several violent episodes, including a knifing, which are harbingers of a tragedy to come.

Yet it is also a very funny book, and a book about friendship. A lot of this has to do with Ryan Dean's energetic take on the world, and the cartoons he draws which frequently make it onto the novel's pages. What's more, Andrew Smith has a pitch-perfect ear for the teen voice--and several times I had to stop to pinch myself that this wasn't being written by an actual teenager.

It is very true to boarding school life, with underage drinking, rivalries, and plenty of petty and not so petty cruelties. I won't spoil the ending, but I was not alone among readers (if Twitter is to be believed) in finding tears flowing down my face as I read it.

Friendships sustain us, and they sustain Andrew Smith's characters. But cruelty is also part of the human condition. The bullies who attack Ryan Dean in the novel's first pages, and who are responsible for the book's sad denouement, are not, in my experience, too far-fetched. In my boarding school, there were definitely a couple of characters that everyone in their right mind tried to stay away from. They were sadistic tormentors of younger boys. One of them in particular was a very talented individual and extremely skillful on the rugby field. But he had cold, cruel eyes and a penchant for violence which was truly unnerving. (Now that I'm old I wonder what it was in his personal life that drove him to such cruelty. But as a youth I knew just to duck and cover.)

My high-school junior read the front flap and wanted to read the book immediately. I would recommend it to high schoolers, with the knowledge that there are no punches pulled with the mature subject matter and the frequency of cuss words. As for me, I was thoroughly captivated by it, and will remember it for a long time. Thanks, Matt MacNish, for introducing me to Andrew Smith. I'm heading off to read his other novels now.

FISH FINELLI: SEAGULLS DON'T EAT PICKLES Blog Tour and Giveaway

I am fortunate to kickoff the blog tour for E.S. Farber's new middle grade series Fish Finelli. I have to say in passing that Chronicle Books is one of my very favorite publishing companies (they also are the publisher for Michaela McColl's novels, which I've raved about on this blog before.) Chronicle's books always have great production values, and it's evident that a lot of care has gone into their design. These books are good to hold.

And read, of course! I read Fish Finelli in one sitting, and I'm sure my boys, who are nearly seven and ten  would love it too. It's a terrific "boy" book without all that tiresome flatulence and booger jokes. Although there is a scene with goose poop which, as Fish says, "seriously puts the N in Nasty."

What it's About: (From the Chronicle Books catalog)--When bully Bryce Billings bets Fish Finelli that he can’t find Captain Kidd’s legendary long-lost treasure, Fish and his friends embark on a quest to find real-life pirate treasure. Between sneaking into the library to track down Captain Kidd’s map, stowing away on a boat, and trespassing on an island, Fish and his friends have their work cut out for them. But will Fish actually be able to find Captain Kidd’s booty and win the bet?

Opening Lines:  "It all started the morning I broke into my lobster piggy bank. I had chosen a basin wrench for the job. It's a good tool for a delicate operation. I know this because my dad is a plumber and taught me lots of stuff about tools."

Why I liked it:

The three amigos -- I really liked Fish and his two buddies, Roger and T.J. Roger is a wisecracker of a sidekick, and T.J. is the grandmaster of snacks. Fish himself is a fount of information (and he doesn't even wear glasses!)

The humor -- The corny jokes are exactly how boys of this age interact. Here's an example from page 82. 

"You can say that again," said T.J., grinning.

 "That," said Roger.

 T.J. threw a malt ball at him.

The adventure --  There's stowing away on boats, trespassing for pirate treasure, and spying on potentially villainous librarians (sorry, librarians!). And the pace moves fast.

The illustrations -- These are the work of Jason Beene. Every few pages there is a fun, one-page pictorial spread. The cartoony look fits the narrative to a tee.

The sidebars, packed full of tidbits of information -- As previously mentioned, Fish is a bit of a walking encyclopedia. E.S. Farber has added a number of sidebars to expand information on historical characters mentioned in the narrative (Captain Kidd, Nikola Tesla and Marco Polo), animals (lions and ospreys), and history (the origin of the white flag of surrender, as well as the history of the microwave oven). Cool stuff.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: E.S. Farber is the mother of a boy who likes facts along with his fiction, which inspired her to write Fish Finelli. She has authored numerous books for children. She lives in Amagansett, New York.

Here are the other tour dates:

Youth Literature Reviews	http://youthlitreviews.com/	6/28/2013	Author Interview	Give Away
Somewhere in the middle	Brookefavero.blogspot.com	6/29/2013	Author Interview
Ms. Yingling Reads	msyinglingreads.blogspot.com	7/2/2013	Author Interview	Give Away
There's A Book	http://www.theresabook.com	7/3/2013		Give Away

And here is a Chapter Excerpt and a discussion guide for teachers and librarians.

Thanks for stopping by today. Leave a comment, and you will be entered into a drawing for a giveaway of a copy of Fish Finelli: Seagulls Don't Eat Pickles. Happy Reading!

Over At Project Mayhem...

Pals, I have a post over at Project Mayhem today, entitled :How Do You Get Someone to Read Your Book?" Do pop on over if you have a moment.

And, if you haven't yet done so, check out our fantastic 700 Follower giveaway. Agent phone calls, critiques, and ARCs aplenty!!

Winner of NOBODY's SECRET

Happy Tuesday. I hopped on to Random.org and pulled out a winner...

ROSI!!

Rosi, please send me your contact details so I can pass them on to Chronicle Books for them to send you a copy.

Thanks, everyone who entered!

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: NOBODY'S SECRET, by Michaela MacColl: Interview and Giveaway

NOBODY'S SECRET by Michaela MacColl (Chronicle Books, April 2013)

Today I have the great pleasure to kick off the blog tour for Michaela MacColl's new novel, Nobody's Secret. This is--wait for it--a murder mystery starring a teen Emily Dickinson. Let me say that it is a tremendous historical novel, for all of you historical devotees. Emily is totally spunky; the identity of the murderer is not guessed at until very near the end--and the writing is topnotch and engrossing. I was lucky enough to get to interview Michaela, and am even luckier to be able to send a hardback, hot-off-the-presses copy to one lucky commenter.

Here's the blurb from Goodreads: 

One day, fifteen-year-old Emily Dickinson meets a mysterious, handsome young man. Surprisingly, he doesn't seem to know who she or her family is. And even more surprisingly, he playfully refuses to divulge his name. Emily enjoys her secret flirtation with Mr. "Nobody" until he turns up dead in her family's pond. She's stricken with guilt. Only Emily can discover who this enigmatic stranger was before he's condemned to be buried in an anonymous grave. Her investigation takes her deep into town secrets, blossoming romance, and deadly danger. Exquisitely written and meticulously researched, this novel celebrates Emily Dickinson's intellect and spunk in a page-turner of a book that will excite fans of mystery, romance, and poetry alike.

Here's my interview with Michaela MacColl:

1.) Hi, Michaela. I loved PROMISE THE NIGHT, your novel about Beryl Markham--which I featured on Middle Grade Mafioso in January 2012. What draws you to characters like Beryl and Emily Dickinson?

I’ve always been drawn to interesting characters in history. I’m particularly fascinated by women, because let’s face it, there’s usually a lot holding them back.  Beryl was a girl who had to complete with boys to do what she wanted to do. Emily Dickinson lived a constricted life of a girl in the 19^th century, yet she found her freedom in her independence of mind.

2.) She certainly comes across as very independent minded! Another thing I really enjoyed was that you did a magnificent job with period details (for example, the fact that Emily and Vinny are no strangers to caring for dead bodies, as they have tended to the corpses of their deceased elderly relatives.) I'm sure you read widely--but was there one particular source you found yourself going to during your research?

I usually start with biographies. There are several good ones of Emily – my favorite was called My Wars are Laid Away in Books by Alfred Habegger. But they aren’t enough. I also visited Amherst, the Emily Dickinson Museum and the Digital Archives at the Amherst Library.  The archives were probably the most fun – they have Emily’s shopping lists and bits of poems written on any scrap of paper she could find.

3.) I hope one day to get to Amherst. Perhaps the Don will increase the travel budget, hint hint... Now, about the poetry, which you weave through the novel so well... here's a confession: although I studied English Literature at university in England, I shamefacedly admit I'd never heard of Emily Dickinson until I came to live in the States. (As for The Don, his favorite poet is Hallmark.) For novices like us, what favorite poem(s) by Emily would you recommend we read?

Emily’s poems don’t have titles. She didn’t use them. Her poems are usually identified by the first line. One of my favorites (and probably the one that might appeal most to young teens) is “This is my letter to the world, That never wrote to me.” Or “Hope is a Thing with Feathers.” The thing about Emily is that she wrote about what she thought and felt and saw. Her poems have an immediacy that keeps her modern almost 150 years after her death.

4.) They sure do. Now, I hope you'll excuse this fanboy moment, Michaela, but I truthfully have to say you are becoming one of my favorite writers--and I've never thought of myself as much of a historical novel buff. What new novels do you have in the pipeline? (So I can reserve my copy...) Any more murder mysteries?

Michael – that’s so nice of you to say! Thanks so much.  And I’m glad you asked! Nobody’s Secret is the first in a series of literary mysteries. The mystery in this novel was inspired by a poem. The next one is tentatively titled Always Emily (another Emily!) and it’s about… can you guess? That’s right, Emily Bronte and her sister Charlotte. The mystery in that novel is inspired by events in Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre.

5.) Really? I can't wait!! (I went to school in Yorkshire, not too far from the Brontes' stomping grounds.) Okay, final question: I love the way you've brought historical characters alive in your fiction. If you were to host a dinner party attended only by characters from history, who would you invite and why?

The problem with that question is that I would be too intimidated by anyone I would invite!  I’d love to meet Elinor of Aquitaine, Elizabeth I and Catherine the Great. They’re all women who defined their times instead of allowing their times to define them!

Thanks for having me at Middle Grade Mafioso – It’s always a pleasure.

Thank you, Michaela. I bet that would be a dinner party for the ages. (The Don told me to crack that pun, and he's still chortling while chomping his cigar. Groan...) People, if you want to follow the Nobody's Secret bloggers, here's where they'll be tomorrow: The YA Book Shelf. And don't forget: comment for the win!

Have a great Middle Grade Monday, and happy reading!

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: REMEMBER DIPPY by Shirley Reva Vernick

REMEMBER DIPPY by Shirley Reva Vernick

The Story: Johnny's plans fly out the window when he finds out his single mother is leaving town for the summer. She has a breakthough job in upstate New York. He can live with his Aunt Collette but only on the condition that he "help out with" his autistic older cousin, Remember. Yup, you heard it right: Remember Dippy. That's his cousin's name—and Remember is a gawky awkward kid with some pretty strange habits, like repeating back almost everything Johnny says and spending hours glued to the weather channel. Johnny's premonitions of disaster appear at first to come to cringeworthy fruition, but when the two boys save a bully from drowning, salvage the pizzeria guy's romance, and share girl troubles, Johnny ends up having the summer of his life.

Opening lines:

"Hull, Vermont, should be named Dull, Vermont. More cows than houses. No mall, no roller rink, not even a mini-putt. So I knew my last summer before high school was going to be a boring one like all the others. What I didn't know was that it was going to be a rotten summer."

What I liked: 

I pretty much say it about all the books I like: VOICE. By this I mean that the voice (the outlook, the word choices) of the main character, Johnny, is spot on. Johnny would much rather hang with his friends, Mo and Reed, than with his cousin Remember ("Yes, that's right, his name is Remember--straight out of some New Age baby-naming book.") Remember (or Mem, as Johnny calls him) is on the autistic spectrum and does indeed have several habits that would exasperate a neurotypical teen. Mem repeats parts of what others say; he throws tantrums when he feels he can't control what's happening in the world around him. But he is also sweet. Therefore, while Johnny views his neighbor, Mr. Boots, as a "cranky old man," Mem calls him his best friend. Mem also doesn't get rattled by the boy whom Johnny can't stand, Dirk Dempster. In the end, it's Mem who teaches Johnny acceptance.

Cast of Characters: There's actually a lot going on in this novel. Johnny's Aunt Collette, who is Mem's mom, and with whom Johnny's spending the summer, has a suitor. Niko, who owns the pizza parlor in town, has lost the engagement ring he wanted to present his girlfriend. There's a girl, Leesha, visiting from Chicago who actually likes it in Hull and doesn't want to return home. (Mem, of course, befriends her.) Dirk Dempster has a rotten home life, but he and Johnny come to an uneasy truce. There are rescue ferrets. And Johnny and his pals end up helping (and growing to appreciate) Mr. Boots after he falls and breaks a leg.

Humor: Yup, there's a lot to laugh about. Middle school boys playing mini golf with... hard boiled eggs?! "So that's how we invented a new sport called Egg Whack. Mo actually wanted to call it Egg Roll, but Reed and I vetoed it on the grounds that it sounded like Chinese take-out." There are haircut disasters: "Who was this alien with the spikes and poufs staring back at me...? I looked like a rock star on a bad hair day, only worse."
But I think my favorite line is near the end, when the kids have pulled off something major and Johnny says "For a terrifying moment, I thought we were going to have a group hug. Leesha put both arms out, and Mem started leaning in--but I was saved by the bell. The doorbell, that is." See what I mean about voice?!

In conclusion, REMEMBER DIPPY doesn't have a huge promotional budget. It's being published by a small press (more on that later). But it was definitely one of the more endearing novels I've read in a while, and I would encourage you to seek it out. Middle Graders will find the attitudes and experiences of the novel ring very true to life.

About the Author (from Amazon): Shirley Reva Vernick's debut novel The Blood Lie was named on the 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults list from the American Library Association. It also received the Simon Wiesenthal Once Upon a World Children's Award and Sydney Taylor Honor Book Award. Shirley lives with her husband, two daughters, and two frisky dogs in western Massachusetts. In addition to running a popular storytelling website—storybee.org—Shirley has written for Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, national newspapers, and the publications of Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Boston universities.

About Cinco Puntos Press: I would invite anyone who is interested in small presses to visit the Cinco Puntos website. The publishers, Lee and Bobby Byrd, talk about publishing as a voyage of discovery. And one of their authors, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, was recently awarded  the 2013 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for his book Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club! 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a Marvelous Middle Grade Monday and Wonderful Reading Week.

Winner of the signed copy of YOU CAN'T HAVE MY PLANET, BUT TAKE MY BROTHER PLEASE...

And our winner, chosen by The Don pulling a name out of the fedora is....

Middle Grade Ninja

Yay, Robert!! (I you haven't yet met the Ninja, you need to head over to his blog tout de suite. He was a ninja before I was a mafioso, and he's a great writer, and awesome pal, and a super blogger.)

And a Happy Mother's Day to all our readers!