Nonfiction and fiction, long-established publisher well-known to librarians and specialty publisher many librarians won’t recognize: what do this week’s pair of graphic novels share? Both:
Provide exemplary use of image and text to create a reader experience greater than the sum of those two parts
Offer accessible and rich accounts in which history and current events geometrically increase our understanding of how then and now relate and alter our understanding of past and present
Pull the reader in from the cover to the front page and on through the volume that is finely laid out, produced and bound for both reader ease and long life in circulation
Cost less than any of a whole bunch of other titles that purportedly offer similar information and entertainment
Conclude with creator afterwords that further enhance understanding of both the medium and the message
Like credentialed cartoon journalist Joe Sacco, Brooke Gladstone shows the reader right where she stands in the stream of information she’s relaying regarding the history, critique and forecast of the methods and ethics that make journalism what it is. This is not an embedded reporter but the extreme opposite: the reporter who willingly depicts her own role in communicating and interpreting “the news.” In doubt about where she collected quotes to buttress her own arguments? The sources are described and cited. Wonder what to make of seemingly contradictory observations about politics, politicians, national security, international relations and even the evolution of the human in light of changing journalism technologies? Her guidance is straight, dedicated to exposing the why as well as the how.
Victor Quinaz takes on the challenge of showing not only the changes age makes in a former hotshot detective’s life, but also the changes in comics aesthetics, between Murder and Kane’s heyday to their final conflict in the present. Like Gladstone, Quinaz entrusts the image depiction (and in Mr. Murder’s case, the coloring) to expert visual artists, while controlling the storyboarding as well as the scripting of the verbal text. Brent Schoonover wouldn’t have drawn Kane and his environs the same way in the 1940’s as he would in the second decade of the 21st century, so he doesn’t; as Mr Murder Is Dead moves back and forth in time, the very style of facial expressions and postures change as much as do clothing and furnishing styles. And thanks to careful choices carried out by Mark Englert in the coloring, the very paper itself appears to be pigmented in ways appropriate to the time period depicted in any particular spread.
Josh Neufeld, working with Gladstone, offers a variety of ways to communicate visually: echoing documented caricatures and editorial cartoons in some places, fantasy scenes in others and brutally realistic details exactly where warranted. His black and white cartoons gather luminosity from the turquoise wash that is never over- or underdone, and text stands clear and perfectly positioned so that the reader must track image and text simultaneously.
So, a murder mystery and a précis on journalism: two excellent ways to explore how the individual and culture work with and against each other, in two fine books that can entertain and enlighten, whether approached alone or in a group context. Happy Labor Day reading!
GLADSTONE, Brooke. The Influencing Machine. illus. by Josh Neufeld. 170p. charts. illus. reprods. notes. Norton. 2011. Tr $23.95. ISBN 978-0-393-07779-7. LC 2011009820.
Adult/High School–NPR reporter Gladstone proves highly successful in delivering insights, opinions, contextual history, and a heady dose of implications of current conditions of media consumption on both individuals and cultures and how it affects the likely future. And she does all that within this accessible and clearly drawn comic book. Neufeld lays out her scripting in clear, turquoise-washed panels, and together the two make sure those panels speak in both words and images essential to the message. And the message: at the bottom line, we make the media what they are and so we get from our news sources what we really want. Along the way here, readers learn about the history of reporting, the complex system of biases that journalists deal with in themselves, with politicians, and in civilization’s current events, and how audiences respond to types and quantities of information. Not only is this compelling and fascinating for news junkies, but it’s also an essential read for debaters, civics students and teachers, and those who wonder about the blurred boundaries between culture and politics. Essential for all collections.–Francisca Goldsmith, Infopeople Project, CA
QUINAZ, Victor. Mr. Murder Is Dead. illus. by Brent Schoonover. 104p. illus. appendix. notes. Archaia. 2011. Tr $19.95. ISBN 978-1-936393-07-7. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–So, what happened to yesterday’s big-deal coppers? And how do they handle the death of a has-been arch-nemesis? Through the story, art, and perfect coloring of this creative team, readers get a satisfying look at the possibilities: retired big-city police detective Kane, known as The Spook, learns of the demise of his 1940-ish era rival, Mr. Murder, and can’t help both investigating and ruminating. In passages that alternate between then and now, readers get a purposefully and pun-laden stereotypical journey through how detective comics used to read and what a couple of angry old guys–the Spook has a sidekick, of course, in equally retired former Captain Chung–can unearth in the present. The real story, however, is whether or not the Spook was Mr. Murder’s rival in the arms of Lydia, who may seem addled by Alzheimer’s but who turns out to have been a pretty devious girl in her day. Every trope of detective comics gets a play here–bank robbery, the love of bad music, chiseled features, and shots to the throat. And each one has its corresponding riff from the retirement wing: trying to sort out whether Billy is girl or boy, who fathered Lydia’s son the banker, and whether Chung’s go steady attitude is better than the Spook’s shoot first and question later approach. Fine packaging in hard cover with large pages makes this a long-lasting trip down memory and parody lanes.–Francisca Goldsmith, Infopeople Project, CA
What is it with kids wanting to solve mysteries? Maybe a warning should be added to the list of tried and true parental instructions: 1. Don’t talk to strangers. 2. Don’t investigate disappearances, burglaries or murders without adult supervision…
Of course, this has been a popular device for ages. But this summer alone we have Pigeon English, 7th Sigma… and a new Flavia de Luce novel is on its way.
Lesley Kagen’s latest novel picks up one year after the events of Whistling in the Dark (NAL, 2007), in which young Sally barely escaped from a murderer. (For more, see the author’s website.) However, for all the praise garnered by Whistling in the Dark, Good Graces more than lives up to its predecessor. It also stands alone.
By the way, Kagen’s 2010 novel, Tomorrow River, is also about a pair of sisters, and likely to appeal to teen readers.
KAGEN, Lesley. Good Graces. 352p. Dutton. Sept. 2011. Tr $25.95. ISBN 978-0-525-95238-1. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Eleven year-old Sally O’Malley made a deathbed promise to her Daddy three years ago that she would watch over her ten-year-old sister, Troo. That was no small promise. Irrepressible Troo chases trouble with a vigor matched only by Sally’s “overactive imagination,” which Sally’s mother treats with cod liver oil. Over the course of the summer of 1960, the girls encounter mysteries surrounding the disappearance of a neighbor boy, the persistent threat of a cat burglar, the possible attempted murder of an elderly lady, and sinister doings at the rectory of the Mother of Good Hope Church. As Sally tells the story, readers are treated to the ferocity of her concern for her feckless sister, as well as the intricate politics and romances of a tight Milwaukee neighborhood. Kagen gives Sally’s narration a rambling, on-and-off-topic charm, imbued with the half-understandings of a young girl who struggles to make sense of her world. Many young adult novels feature this stream of consciousness narration (think of a young Georgia Nicholson), so teens who like offbeat riffs in language will be enchanted by Sally O’Malley. Throughout the book, Sally refers to terrible events that happened the previous summer, which comprise Kagen’s 2007 novel, Whistling in the Dark.–Diane Colson, New Port Richey Public Library, FL
Today’s review is an unfortunately rare example of historical fiction that specifically focuses on the early years of a most famous figure.Concentrating on Marie Antoinette’s adolescence, Juliet Grey strives to disperse the misconceptions that are associated with her. Becoming Marie Antoinette is the first in a projected trilogy. The second, Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow, is expected in 2012.
GREY, Juliet. Becoming Marie Antoinette: A Novel. 480p. Ballantine. Aug. 2011. pap. $15. ISBN 978-0-345-52386-0. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–For anyone who has ever looked at a royal family and wanted to be a part of it, or who thought just how wonderful and romantic it would be to be a princess, this book is a wakeup call. Becoming Marie Antoinette tells Marie’s story from the moment she realizes, at age 10, that her mother, Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, has only one thing in mind: getting her married to the dauphin of France, Louis-Auguste. In order to make this happen, Marie must undergo a complex “makeover,” including makeup, hair, teeth (she wore braces–18th-century braces!), and wardrobe in order to become acceptable to the French. The transformation works, and she is sent to France to be wed. Once there, Marie must navigate the spider web of intrigue and politics that makes up the French court. She can trust no one. Hoping to rely on the one person she thinks will be genuine, she sets out to develop a relationship with her husband, an equally young, trusting, and troubled teenager overwhelmed with the expectations placed upon him. This is a charming and eye-opening book about a young girl with the weight of her country on her shoulders traveling alone into the complexity of the adult political world. The incredible excesses of the French court described here set the stage for the revolution that is forthcoming. But first, readers get to know Marie for the very real human that she was. The author’s note and bibliography point to the historical background. Readers will anxiously await the rest of the trilogy.–Connie Williams, Petaluma High School, CA
Rachel Lloyd’s book is effective as both a memoir and as a way to build awareness for her cause. Lloyd is the founder of GEMS, Girls Educational & Mentoring Services, “the only organization in New York State specifically designed to serve girls and young women who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking.” It is the largest organization in this country helping girls to leave the sex industry.
While a book like Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn (Knopf, 2009) focuses on global trafficking, Girls Like Us reveals what is right in front of us here at home.
LLOYD, Rachel. Girls Like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not for Sale, an Activist Finds Her Calling and Heals Herself. 268p. HarperCollins. 2011. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-0-06-158205-9. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Lloyd takes readers on a frightening, intense, angry, hilarious, passionate, and uplifting journey from sexually exploited minor to survivor and thriver. Packed with sobering facts (a recent Boston survey found that more than 44% of teens felt that physical fighting was normal in a relationship and more than half think that Rihanna was responsible for Chris Brown beating her), the book’s strength lies equally in Lloyd’s clear, honest autobiographical insights as she provides a roadmap of her relationships, challenges, and issues. Using her story as an example, Lloyd explores the notion of choice and responsibility. Entering into the sex industry at the age of 17 and clearly making a choice to dance in a club, she is able to depict and decipher the bigger societal issues that led to that choice out of non-choices and find peace in her struggle to overcome shame and blame. Her story is not typical yet it is clearly part of a pattern of the horrors of misogyny. It keeps readers turning the pages while offering a depth of example that makes her experiences all movingly real. Lloyd’s humility, humor, and strength shine through. The details of girls’ experiences, personal struggles, and political insights expose complex societal issues in accessible, expansive, and thought provoking ways. The title and cover will attract teens; the content will keep them involved and engaged.– Amy Cheney, Alameda County Library, Juvenile Hall, CA
Today’s science fiction blockbuster combines elements of noir mystery and touches of horror.
“An Unapologetic Embrace of Sentiment”, a Publishers Weekly interview with the authors of Leviathan Wakes (James S. Corey is a pseudonym for Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) addresses their method of working together.
This is the second book by Daniel Abraham reviewed on this blog in 2011. The first was The Dragon’s Path (also published by Orbit), reviewed in June and the subject of a post from guest blogger Karyn Silverman about series fantasy. Both books are on Amazon’s Best of 2011 So Far science fiction & fantasy list. (As is Jo Walton’s Among Others – can’t resist a chance to remind you of one of my personal very favorites of the year, can I?)
COREY, James S. A. Leviathan Wakes: Book One of The Expanse. 582p. Orbit. 2011. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-316-12908-4. LC 2010046442.
Adult/High School–Responding to a distress signal from the outskirts of the solar system, Captain Holden and his crew discover the Scopuli, an abandoned ship whose fate turns out to have galactic repercussions. Meanwhile in the Asteroid Belt, Miller, a washed up detective who grew up on Ceres, is searching for Julie Mao, who readers know was on the crew of the Scopuli. Corey–the pseudonym of two compatriots of George R. R. Martin–takes Martin’s fantasy style into science fiction, intricately layering politics, weighty themes, and small-scale human themes into a seamless whole. The most important theme is embodied in the differences between the two protagonists and couldn’t be more timely: should information be open (Holden) or hidden (Miller). The ideological division between the two is overly schematic, but Corey redeems it in large part by giving a completely sympathetic airing of each man’s views. And since this is a science fiction epic, the debate is much more than academic, as the decisions Miller and Holden make help to create and possibly diffuse a war between Earth, Mars, and Belters. No matter which character readers think is right, however, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that Miller is the real hero of the novel, the most interesting aspect of which is the escalating mystery, starting with Julie’s disappearance and eventually leading to the horrifying true motivations behind the war. For teens with any tolerance for large-scale science fiction, this novel should not be missed.– Mark Flowers, John Kennedy Library, Solano County, CA
Wednesday is guest blogger day here on Adult Books 4 Teens. Every Wednesday, you can look forward to one or more reviews from graphic novel expert, Francisca Goldsmith:
Eating disorders, a teen (as well as adult) problem that regularly finds its way into both fiction and memoir, have appeared in several recent graphic novels. Lesley Fairfield’s Tyranny, Tracy White’sHow I Made It to Eighteen and Carol Lay’s The Big Skinny each depict recovery stories in which aspects of eating disorders are addressed. The medium is well suited to showing the ravages of anorexia, the inaccuracies a sufferer of bulimia holds in viewing his or her own body, and the boredom and patient deceptions possible during hospitalization. Lay skillfully depicts good advice for maintaining newly gained health, including non-food habits needing change in the yo-yo dieter’s relationship with eating. In Lucille (reviewed below), the title character’s body shows the changes in physique associated with anorexia, as well as the small but perceptible weight gain she allows herself during a period of recovery. More effective than a text only description, the images reveal not just emerging ribs and too slender arms, but also sagging and empty breasts, and the ravages of starvation on Lucille’s young face. Physical weakness, unto collapse, is depicted realistically, yet without pausing in the story telling to fall into lecturing the reader.
This wide angled view Debeurme takes means his story isn’t “just” about anorexia, nor is Lucille at center stage alone. Life isn’t like that; no one has the only problem, the only solution or the singular drama. In this case, Debeurme offers a parallel narrative, showing us another teen, just slightly older than Lucille, who is also facing a hard life: Arthur has spent his childhood fetching his drunk father home from the bar, and as a teen faces personal failure during a fishing trawler tragedy. By the time he and Lucille meet each other, we might believe him to be the more damaged of the two. And yet Debeurme stretches our understanding of the complexity of life and relationships—with ourselves and with others—beyond such simple comparisons and contrasts. Arthur and Lucille are both essentially kind and wounded, but are keen to share the former with each other while trying to work through the latter on their own.
This demonstration of how complex life truly is for each of us, no matter what our most obvious problem may appear to be, vaults Lucille beyond the circle of “eating disorder novels” into the literary realm shared with stories that reveal life as multifaceted, through which each page and each scene is vested with its own meaning and purpose, not simply as a building block for the “main plot.” The main plot here is life itself, not just a single dramatic thread with the window dressing of background mini-stories. Debeurme belongs in reach of older teens who seek the maturity-affirming experience of putting personal demons into perspective, as well as description or explanation of what the demons are and where they might have hatched.
DEBEURME, Ludovic. Lucille. tr. from French by Edward Gauvin. illus. by author. Top Shelf Productions. 2011. Tr $29.95. ISBN 978-1-60309-073-5. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Middle-class Lucille’s mostly happy and settled childhood planted the seeds of anorexia that overtakes her life in late adolescence. Arthur, on the other hand, came of age in a family in which money was tight, his father was abusive when drunk, and family secrets include paternal suicides. Debeurme introduces each of these well-developed and compellingly sympathetic characters separately before bringing them together as they embark on a road adventure that offers opportunities to start afresh as well as hazards that realistically collide with their high hopes in and for one another. Text and expressive, yet elegantly simple, black line cartoons rely fully on one another to reveal this narrative of external dangers, relationship victories, and internal demons. While this is a coming-of-age story that older teens, especially girls, will find insightful as well as engaging, the essential attribute of a graphic novel requiring that some information be imparted visually means that nudity and sexuality appear–and not in the least unnecessarily–in image. In spite of its weighty size, this is a one-sitting read that will resonate long after the story comes to what promises to be a temporary close.–Francisca Goldsmith, Infopeople Project, CA
Julie Otsuka’s new novel is the story of picture brides traveling from Japan to San Francisco in the early 20th century. Perhaps most striking is the collective voice with which it is told.
Otsuka spoke during the Library Journal Day of Dialog that preceded BookExpo in late May, and called being a picture bride the equivalent of an internet date except that it was for life and there was no going back. Think of these girls, 13-15 years old at the beginning of the novel, leaving everything they’ve ever known to marry men they have never met. Many arrived to find that their husbands-to-be had greatly exaggerated their prospects, or enclosed a younger man’s photograph with their letters.
Otsuka’s debut novel, When the Emperor was Divine (Knopf, 2002), was an Alex Award winner, became a staple in school libraries, and found its way onto english and history class curricula. Although they are not connected, where that novel begins this one culminates, in the World War II internment camps.
OTSUKA, Julie. The Buddha in the Attic: A Novel. 131p. Knopf. 2011. Tr $22. ISBN 978-0-307-70000-1. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–They are rich, poor, young, old, beautiful, and ugly and as they board the ship to America they clutch photos of the men they believe will be their new husbands. They are “picture brides,” traveling from Japan at the turn of the 20th century, seeking a better life. But upon landing in their new country, most enter a world of deception, poverty, discrimination, and backbreaking labor with migrant laborers, maids, or nannies as the only work available to them. Thanks to pure determination, they find work, buy houses and have children. Just as they begin to feel that they are indeed creating the brighter futures for which they worked so hard, those futures are instantly dashed when they are forced from their homes and relocated to desert camps during the Second World War. Through their many voices and many experiences, readers are transported directly into the hearts and souls of these young women and shown the world through their many eyes. Their combined voices are rich with image and feeling. Their story, narrated by a chorus of women, needs to be shared with teens, and this short, poetic story is an excellent choice with which to do so.– Connie Williams, Petaluma High School, CA
Vanessa Diffenbaugh’s gorgeous debut novel is about an 18-year-old girl who ages out of the foster care system. She begins the book homeless on the streets of San Francisco. The thing that keeps her grounded, indeed the way she is comfortable communicating with the world, is the Victorian language of flowers. Appropriately, her name is Victoria. Victoria has a gift for flowers, and one of the novel’s immediate pleasures is watching her discover her talent working as the assistant to a florist.
The juxtaposition of this old-fashioned language and the urban setting of the novel is particularly touching. The language is a secret part of Victoria, it feels almost as if it has sheltered her. So she is taken aback when she realizes that the attractive flower-seller in the market speaks it too — they pass messages back and forth by giving each other significant flowers.
However, the meaning of each flower is not as straight-forward and trustworthy as she was taught as a young girl, something she learns while researching at the San Francisco Public Library.
Author Vanessa Diffenbaugh began mentoring foster kids when she was only 23. She recently established the Camellia Network, which supports 18-21 year-olds transitioning from foster care.
I believe this novel will appeal to a great variety of readers. Teens, obviously, but I also look forward to recommending this one to my faculty/staff bookgroup at school.
DIFFENBAUGH, Vanessa. The Language of Flowers. 308p. Ballantine. Aug. 2011. Tr $25. ISBN 978-0-345-52554-3. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Chapters that alternate between Victoria’s past as a foster child and present as a semi-homeless 18-year-old reveal secrets and unravel mysteries and create a narrative that is richly textured and hard to put down. As layers of meaning unfold and overlap, past and present collapse into stunning insight about Victoria and her life. She finds love, understanding, and acceptance with her foster mom, Elizabeth, at age 8, so something truly horrific must have occurred to explain why she is aging out of a group home 10 years later. In the present, the young woman finds her first job in a florist shop, putting to use the language of flowers that she learned from Elizabeth, and she finds a way to thrive and connect through it. She creates bouquets for sad men wanting to reconnect with daughters, lonely wives, and anxious brides. She learns to work with marriages that she knows will last so as to keep her business successful and in demand. It is ironic yet thoroughly believable that despite all her success with other people’s relationships, her own are disconnected and distant. Teens will relate to the book: there’s a push/pull romance, teen pregnancy, lots of feeling outcast and separate yet never descending into victimhood. On top of that, it’s smart, emotionally sophisticated, realistic, and beautifully written. Other books have explored the experiences of foster and abandoned youth, including Janet Fitch’s White Oleander (Little Brown, 2001) and Billie Letts’s Where the Heart Is (Warner, 1998). The Language of Flowers soars above them.–Amy Cheney, Alameda County Library, Juvenile Hall, CA
Lucinda grows up at the very end of the Cold War, the daughter of a military family who has never lived in the United States. They have moved from one base to another her whole life. This book is about how she copes during her teen years, particularly with a volatile mother, an oblivious father, and unreliable friendships. It is also about her saving grace — rock and roll. The specific time period, circumstances and setting make it feel like historical fiction, as recent as it is, and I think that may be the way I booktalk it to teens.
I found myself quite absorbed by this coming-of-age story. There is no struggle to reading Along the Watchtower. The writing is smooth, the characters are interesting yet perfectly realistic, and the setting almost steals the show. A lot happens — a best friend’s father suicides, Lucinda’s parents divorce, she is nearly raped after allowing the wrong boy to take her to a club, she is kicked out of the house by her mother and left homeless, the boy she loves signs up to go to war. Yet somehow this is all part of real life, and life goes on. In Lucinda’s case, music helps a lot. After all the craziness of her family and school and friends and boys, at least she can shut her bedroom door and turn on a cassette tape.
In the review, I comment that the author gets every little detail right. One scene particularly sticks in my mind. Lucinda’s 9th grade class takes a school trip to Dachau. The entire situation is uneasy, but it’s not the tour itself so much as the stop at McDonalds for lunch afterwards that resonates. The palpable relief of returning to the present.
Lucinda’s parents are a big part of the story, her father especially. He is a terribly fallible man who loves his kids, even if he’s too selfish to take care of them very well. He is oblivious to his family’s needs, he cheats on his wife, he considers Lucinda’s epilepsy a weakness to be overcome. He later allows her to work three jobs supporting herself as a college student at the University of Oklahoma while contributing to a college fund for her younger siblings. You want to hate him, but he is saved by his vulnerability and the times he really does try to do the right thing. He’s human. And Lucinda sees all of this, although her teenaged perceptions do not always interpret what she sees correctly.
I enjoyed this article about Squires, especially the fact that it was while reading Sherman Alexie that she realized her own life could inspire her fiction.
SQUIRES, Constance. Along the Watchtower. 308p. Riverhead. 2011. pap. $15. ISBN 978-1-59448-523-7. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Lucinda, her mother, and her siblings arrive at their latest army posting in Germany to subpar lodgings and no supplies to speak of. This is typically neglectful of Lucinda’s father, so she runs out to find him, leaving her volatile mother raging in the apartment. She meets a group of fellow army kids in the stairwell and immediately hits it off with Syd. Unfortunately, his family is about to transfer. Making friends is difficult knowing you will lose them; it is also complicated by Lucinda’s mortifying bouts of epilepsy. Surely everything would be simpler if they lived in the States. Lucinda is saved by a growing obsession with music, especially after her father asks Nately (a soldier who can hardly refuse his commanding officer) to share his LPs. Their common love of rock and roll sparks a touching friendship. Sadly, when she finally moves to the States after her parents’ divorce, Lucinda feels more lost than ever. The novel is divided into three sections, during which Lucinda is 13, 16, and 19 years old, and spans the end of the Cold War through Desert Storm. Teens will enjoy the insider view of life as an “army brat” and find Lucinda’s coping strategies affecting. They will also enjoy her sparring with charming Syd, who reappears more than once. Squires gets even the smallest details of time period, setting, and emotion right. Although the book becomes a bit preachy (Lucinda’s father returns from Desert Storm disillusioned by the army’s willingness to wage war for oil profits) and the plot meanders, this is an absorbing read.–Angela Carstensen, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City
Originally published in ebook format by AmazonCrossing in 2010, an imprint that offers foreign-language books in translation, The Hangman’s Daughter was released in print this month by Mariner Books, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
This historical mystery is the first in a series that is very popular in Germany. (Two more titles in the series are already available there, but not yet translated into English.) Oliver Pötzsch is a screenwriter for television, and his novel reads quite vividly. It’s also fun to know that Pötzsch is a descendant of the executioners in the Kuisil line.
PÖTZSCH, Oliver. The Hangman’s Daughter. tr. from German by Lee Chadeayne. 448p. Houghton Harcourt/Mariner. 2011. pap. $18. ISBN 978-0-547-74501-5. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–In 1659 in a small town in Bavaria, an orphan has been murdered and there is a symbol etched on his body pointing to witchcraft. The town clerk is certain that midwife Martha Setchlin is the witch and she is rushed to prison to be made ready to confess. When two more orphans are found dead with the same symbols on their bodies, and two others go missing, the town is ripe for a witch burning. But there is more to these crimes than can be explained by witchcraft, and executioner Jacob Kuisl doesn’t believe that Martha is guilty. Garnering the help of his daughter, Magdalena, and a young physician, they work to discover the truth behind the murders. Based on the author’s family history, this excellent story brings 17th-century Bavaria alive with all its fears, superstitions and politics. Jacob Kuisl is not your ordinary hangman, and readers will root for him and his search for the truth. There’s enough “unreality” in the evil of superstitions that this novel may appeal to fantasy readers, and the twists and turns of the plot will appeal to mystery fans.–Connie Williams, Petaluma High School, CA
Angela Carstensen is Head Librarian and an Upper School Librarian at Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York City. Angela served on the Alex Awards committee for four years, chairing the 2008 committee, and chaired the first YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adult committee in 2009. Recently, she edited Outstanding Books for the College Bound: Titles and Programs for a New Generation (ALA Editions, 2011). Contact her via Twitter @AngeReads.
