Plain Kate and Smile

I snagged these two from the shelves of our new public library and simply devoured both of them. That's right: we mostly survived moving to a far away place where we had no family!

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

This is sort of a staple of children's lit graphic novels. If a bookstore is only going to carry one kids' GN it seems to be this one. It won the Eisner award, and I've seen loads of other GN's blurbed by its author. (Blurb = that line on the back of the book that says "this book was super awesome! signed, famous person.")

Anyway, I figured that I needed to fill in that gap in my graphic novel education and read this book. So I picked it up the other day. It was fantastic!

Having been through oral surgery, braces, and orthodontic appliances of my own, I really related to Raina. (The book is autobiographical.) Oh goodness! The pictures and descriptions brought it all right back, and it has been more than 10 years since the orthodondist declared I was done.

The art is fantastic -- it's clean, colorful, and easy to interpret. The plot is great. I mean really, sometimes the true story is so much more compelling than the fictional one. For me, Smile was much more enjoyable than Telgemeier's latest graphic novel, Drama, which has a fictional protagonist. I liked that one, too, but I'd rate Smile higher.  If it sounds interesting to you, give it a try. It's a good book.

*Fun Fact: Raina Telgemeier is married to Dave Roman, whose stuff I have enjoyed!

Plain Kate by Erin Bow

This one is a middle grade fantasy novel. I had heard so much good about it (read: like 20 bloggers I trust saying things like "It was so awesome. I cried.") that I decided to give it a go. However, since everyone said they cried, I knew I had to wait for the right time to read it. That time came, and I loved the book.

Plain Kate is a beautiful and sad fairy tale. It is not a retelling of a familiar fairytale, it is a fresh plot and set of characters. I loved the Eastern-European setting, which gave the story dimension but didn't intrude or overwhelm the simple hero's journey plot.  I also appreciated that the plot was not complicated by a romance or a love triangle.

I really found myself rooting for Kate, and thoroughly appreciated the complex character of the book's villain(s). I mean, Plain Kate had to overcome lots of things that various people did or said to her, and there was one main antagonist. But I'd be hard-pressed to put people into "good guys" and "bad guys" groups. Many of the characters did both good and bad.

So, in that way, I guess it is not like a fairy tale. Fairy tales tend to have good guys and bad guys very clearly set out. But the simple quality of the writing, and the inclusion of some magic (as well as fear of magic) gave it a very fairy-tale feel.

It was a great read. I would highly recommend it. Also, I did not end up shedding tears.

Austenland Trailer!

The official movie trailer for the Austenland movie is here! Yay! It debuts August 16th in N.Y. and L.A. with other cities to be announced.



It is based on the book Austenland by Shannon Hale, of course!

Funny thing: Benjamin just said, "What's Austenland mom? Is it Alice in Wonderland, but Austenland?" "Haha! Kind of."

Moving IRL

Update: books unpacked and lookin' good!
It's a shelfie.

Alysa here, and I'm writing to you from amid the stacks of boxes. We are moving! (No, not the website, that URL will stay the same.) I wanted to mark this occasion somehow here on Everead. I have lived in three different homes (soon to be four!) during the lifetime of this blog, and I feel like it is a lovely constant thing, wherever I go. Hooray for the internet! Can I get an amen?

A word about packing books: Holy moly we have a lot of them! I plan to update our catalog while unpacking them in Georgia. FYI, I catalog our home library on LibraryThing. Anyway, we decided to pack them ALL up and then keep a little shelf of library books for the last couple weeks. We've now turned in all the library books, and have just three picture books, borrowed from our friend and neighbor, Kate. Those we won't have to give up until we drive away. We're taking two days to get to Georgia, so I fully expect that we'll have to stop for a book somewhere along the way. What can I say? We can't none of us sleep without a bedtime story first. 

Moving makes me want to buy books (but then again, what doesn't?). I mean, sure, while I was packing them I weeded the collection. But I have been sorely tempted to buy myself a couple books as a housewarming gift... 

Amazon

The first one I would get for myself is A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander. I heard about this book from Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project. In fact, she recently posted about it again, here. I checked it out from my library once, and it was just fascinating. It was the sort of thing I found myself reading bits out loud to friends and family, and pulling into conversations. I would love a personal copy to reference.

Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble

The second one I would give myself would be Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook. I saw this one at my friend Rachel's house once. It's like the bible of housekeeping or something! It is very thick and detailed. Anyway, I'm feeling a renewed desire to keep a clean and orderly home (ah, moving!) and I feel like this would make a great reference book. Plus, our new place has wood floors and I've never lived on and maintained wood floors and what am I supposed to do? What if I totally damage this place? It's a rental, you know. *shudder*

Amazon

So anyway, we're moving! And see how I'm procrastinating the last of the packing by blogging? heh heh. We load the truck in less than 7 hours!

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Update: I've added some pictures of the book covers for you! They are affiliate links to the stores listed, so if you make a purchase after clicking on them I will earn a small commission. Thanks for supporting this awesome blog!

The Body Electric

Lena is an average, small-town girl who runs into (literally) an anything-but-average guy and finds her world completely upended. She is ordinary. He is related to ... I can't tell because it would spoil the plot twist ... non-human beings, we'll say. Lena soon finds that being dumped by her jock boyfriend was the least of her worries.

Allie Duzett is a newcomer to the ever-growing world of YA fantasy. I've loved the genre for a good-long while, so I've done my share of reading in it. Things I enjoyed about The Body Electric: it is good, clean fun. The plot is fast-paced enough to keep a reader's attention. And Zach, the protagonist, was very lovably clueless and good-hearted (and good-looking, natch). His scenes were extra entertaining. Things I didn't love: the revelation about Zach's true nature completely blind-sided me. Which is why I won't spill it here. I felt like it wasn't built up to well enough. The first half of the book was totally different from the second half of it. There wasn't enough world building. I mean, it's not a long book, so an author's limited in that way. Anyway. I just didn't see the second half of the book coming.

Still---good, clean fun. Kudos to the new author!

On a personal note

As you may have noticed, updates over here have been sparse. As always, what isn't happening onstage can be explained by what is happening behind the scenes. The Stewart household is a big part of Everead's backstage, and we've just welcomed a new member of our family, newborn Jubilee.  She is an absolute peach. And, speaking of peaches, we will be moving more than 600 miles to the great state of Georgia here in a few weeks. We've got lots going on over here, but the stage manager still wants to share some books with you.

In honor of the new baby: my favorite books to give at baby showers. 

The two pregnancy books I just had to own this time around: Pilates Pregnancy Guide by Lynne Robinson and Birthing from Within by Pam England and Rob Horowitz. I highly recommend both. 

Welcome, baby Jubilee!

update: Pilates Pregnancy Guide has a DVD now! What luxury. I think I might have to order it, to supplement the book. Here are affiliate links if you're interested!

  

Amazon affiliate link

Amazon affiliate link

Amazon affiliate link

Giveaway! and thoughts on eyeglasses, by Hilary McKay

One of my favorite authors these days is Hilary McKay. I simply adore the Casson family and all the books that Ms. McKay has written about them. Also, her sequel to Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess did not disappoint. That one is titled Wishing for Tomorrow.

So. You can imagine I was thrilled to hear that she has a new series (coming to the US from across the pond) about a girl named Lulu. I put Lulu and the Duck in the Park on hold at my local library, but didn't get over there in time to pick it up! Alas. Thankfully, there is a review at Madigan Reads, if you're interested. Madigan says, "The reading level is just a skoche easier than Junie B. Jones and Magic Tree House, but a nice step up from Amelia Bedelia or Jean Van Leeuwen's Amanda Pig series."

Book 2 in the Lulu series
available in print and ebook

Book 3, available Fall 2013.

While arranging to participate in the Lulu Blog tour, I got thinking: what would I like to hear Ms. McKay's thoughts about? And the answer was definitely eyeglasses. Both Ashley and I have worn glasses since childhood, and Ashley's adorable kids are already getting glasses of their own. I just loved in Wishing for Tomorrow and in the Casson Series when some of my favorite characters got glasses. Ms. McKay's descriptions of the event were right on. I said to myself, "this is a woman who knows about getting glasses!" and I wondered what her story was. In Hilary McKay's own words:

Eyeglasses! 

I must say, I was a bit surprised to be given that as a blog post, but then when I thought about it, I realised that I had used eyeglasses twice in books that matter very much to me. 

So, eyeglasses and my little sister. 

When my little sister was eight years old it finally dawned on her friends and relations that the reason she never seemed to know quite where she was, was simple. She was living her life in a lovely blur. 

I seem to remember that my sister liked her lovely blur. She was content with her impressionist painting of a world and was quite happy to keep it that way. She did not take kindly to the idea of glasses, and when she finally got them she saw no advantage at all in all the sudden edges and outlines and corners that appeared. She didn’t like the world in focus.

And then it became night. Dark. And why was she out in the garden? I can’t remember. All I can remember is her outraged indignation when she looked up. 

And saw stars. 

All her life she had known about stars. She had seen pointy shapes drawn on Christmas cards. She had been given gold and silver sticky backed ones for extra good work at school.  But she had never seen stars in the sky. 

The stars in the sky that night nearly blew my little sister  away. She stared and stared, and nearly fell over backwards staring, and as she stared and saw more and more she got crosser and crosser. She yelled at all us star-familiar people  standing around her, ‘Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you tell me? WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME THEY WERE THERE?’ 

So that, I suppose, is why eyeglasses appear in my books. That night of revelation when several thousand new suns shone down on my sister all at once, and made her so astonished and indignant, and we all laughed... 

But at the same time were not too far from tears.

Mystery solved! I, too remember seeing the stars through my new lenses. I would have been about nine years old. Seeing stars, the real stars, was an awe-inspiring experience.

And speaking of awesome things, I have a giveaway for you! One of you lucky people (in the US or Canada) can win a signed copy of Lulu and the Duck in the Park, which is the first in the Lulu series.

Doesn't it look great? More info on the publisher's website.

To enter, please leave a comment on this post before midnight on April 1, 2013. What is your experience with glasses? Do you have them? Do you wish you did? My little sister wanted glasses so bad that she fibbed like a fisherman to get them and ended up with bifocals. I'm curious to hear your story.

The winner of the book will be announced right here! For more details, check out Everead's full giveaway policy.

The **NEW** Winner is KATE! Congratulations! Send your contact info to everead@gmail.com within the next two days to claim your prize.

For more from Hilary McKay, and more chances to win the book, visit the next stop on her blog tour, http://www.greenbeanteenqueen.com tomorrow.
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Everead reviews of Hilary McKay books:
Saffy's Angel
Indigo's Star
Permanent Rose
Caddy Ever After
Caddy's World
Wishing for Tomorrow

Recent reads! Several mini-reviews.

The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin
I read this lovely little book on the plane back from New York City and KidLitCon 2012. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Pacy is a grade-school girl from a Chinese American family. In The Year of the Dog we are introduced to her and her family, and see her "find herself" and find a friend. I understand from the talk I attended by Grace Lin that the book is largely autobiographical, but of course fictionalized. It is the first in a series marketed to 8-12 year olds, and I'd love to read more of them. My favorite parts were the stories that others (her mom, her grandpa) would tell her about things her relatives had done.

Vampirina Ballerina by Anne Marie Pace, illustrated by LeUyen Pham
This is one of my favorite recent picture books. It is a how-to guide for aspiring ballerinas, but it follows a little vampire girl to ballet class and through minor monsterly mishaps to her performance as a cygnet in Swan Lake. My little boys adored it for the details in the illustrations -- her black cat always underfoot, the "healthy food" (blood!) she eats to keep her body strong. Overall, I'd say this is a charming pick for boys and girls ages 3 and up.

Penny and Her Song by Kevin Henkes
You know Kevin Henkes already from Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse or from Chrysanthemum, or from one of scores of other delicious picture books he has written and/or illustrated. When I saw an early reader with his name and one of his cute mice on the front, I just snatched it right off the library shelf. Benjamin helped me read a few words, but really this one is still above his level (sight-word recognition only at this point). Anyway, in this volume, Penny makes up a clever song. She tries to sing it for her mother, but is put off until later. She tries to sing it for her Dad, but is told to wait. She almost forgets the song (!) but gets to sing it at last after dinner. I just love how the stakes get higher and higher throughout the book, and I love that the payoff is big. We also read Penny and Her Doll together, and I recently spotted and read Penny and Her Marble.