DAVIS, Katie & Beth Clark. Kisses from Katie: A Young Woman’s Journey of Faith, a Remote Village, a Love Without Limits. 288p. photos. S &S/Howard. 2011. Tr $24. ISBN 978-1-4516-1206-6. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Like many teens, Davis felt a stirring to do more with her life than gain the security of a good job and family. Unlike most teens, however, she acted on this in a big way. Traveling halfway across the world to a remote village in Uganda, she volunteered at an orphanage for three weeks during her senior year in high school. This turned out to be the higher calling that she was yearning for. After graduating, she moved to Uganda to start a kindergarten class. Four years later, she has learned to be, “…a teacher, a nurse, a handyman (plumbing and electrical work included), a cook, an exterminator, a maid, a servant, a mentor, a mother, and, most important, a daughter of the King.” As a deeply devout Christian, Davis does not relate her story in a strictly linear narrative, but as an ongoing prayer, reveling in God’s purpose and love. As such, Christian teens will find her story deeply inspirational. Other teens may be able to translate her spiritual outpourings into their own belief system. Davis is a genuine and appealing young woman, as evidenced by her YouTube videos, who has indeed brought positive change to a tiny piece of the planet.–Diane Colson, formerly at New Port Richey Library, FL
This exemplary collection includes stories by Garth Nix, Peter Beagle and Margo Lanagan, authors that teens will recognize. Check out this “Browse Inside” from HarperCollins for a full list of contents and a few full stories.
DANN, Jack & Nick Gevers, eds. Ghosts by Gaslight: Stories of Steampunk and Supernatural Suspense. 389p. Harper Voyager. Sept. 2011. pap. $14.99. ISBN 978-0-06-199971-0. LC 2011028916.
Adult/High School–As Dann and Gevers explain in their brief but excellent introduction, the Victorian age holds a unique place in the imagination as a period when the supernatural and technology (the ghosts and gaslight of their title) were held in almost equal esteem, and the permeable boundary between the two powers the 17 extraordinary stories in this compilation. From James Morrow’s opening tale “The Iron Shroud,” through exquisite stories by John Langan and Richard Harland, the collection again and again questions how much control humans have over the machines they create and how much they truly know about the world. And lurking just beneath this primary theme is the classic Victorian ambivalence towards sexuality, expertly drawn out in Theodora Goss’s “Christopher Raven” and Lucius Shepard’s “Rose Street Attractors,” in which blind faith in science and ghosts lead the characters to shocking revelations about their desires. Though the stories just named are excellent examples of the themes in the collection, each story deserves equal attention, as Dann and Gevers have accomplished the very rare feat of compiling an anthology of almost uniformly high-quality selections. Not every story fits neatly into the subtitle’s promised steampunk, but more than enough do, and hopefully teen lovers of that currently fashionable genre will be drawn into this magnificent book.–Mark Flowers, John F. Kennedy Library, Vallejo, CA
Yangzom Brauen tells the story of three generations of women in her family, beginning with her grandmother’s young adulthood spent as a Buddhist nun in Tibet. The family fled Tibet in 1960 to escape the Chinese, ending up in India, then Switzerland and, eventually, the United States.
Yangzom’s mother, Sonam Dolma Brauen, is now an artist in New York City, whose work can be see on her website.
Recommend this to teens who enjoy refugee stories such as Loung Ung’s First They Killed my Father: a Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (HarperCollins, 2001) or What is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng; A Novel by Dave Eggers (McSweeney’s, 2006).
BRAUEN, Yangzom. Across Many Mountains: A Tibetan Family’s Epic Journey from Oppression to Freedom. tr. from German by Katy Derbyshire. 304p. maps. photos. St. Martin’s. Sept. 2011. Tr $25.99. ISBN 978-0-312-60013-6. LC 2011024755.
Adult/High School–Kunsang, the author’s grandmother, had one goal when she was a child–to be a Tibetan Buddhist nun. She spent days in the local nunnery, returning to her father’s house each night to care for him. Her father died when she was 14, allowing her to begin her life as a nun, including fasting, meditation, and chanting the prayer om mani peme hung more than 100 times a day. For years Kunsang lived as a follower of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, begging for food, praying for her neighbors, and living in abject poverty. During this time, she married a monk, Tsering, and had children while still maintaining her religious practices as caretaker of a hermitage at Pang-Ri. Then, in 1960, she and her family fled to India to escape the Chinese invasion. There they lived lives of poverty and back-breaking physical work, which killed Tsering. It was only after a Swiss student working for a charity married Kunsang’s daughter (the author’s mother) and moved the family to Switzerland that their lives became safer and easier. Brauen’s story is much more than family memoir; it provides an in-depth view of the daily life of Tibetan nuns. The author illuminates the lives of refugees, for whom safety in India is coupled with poverty and hard work, as well as on-going efforts to bring the Tibetan cause to the attention of world leaders. This book will appeal to teens interested in Tibetan Buddhism, as well as student activists interested in the Free Tibet movement.–Laura Pearle, Venn Consultants, Carmel, NY
The Infernals is published as a young adult novel under a different title (Hell’s Bells) in the U.K. It is the second in a series, following The Gates (which is lucky enough to be published under the same title on both sides of the pond).
Much was made in the U.K. of John Connelly’s switch to young adult fiction, something that was obviously ignored in the U.S. by publishing these books for the adult market. I enjoyed this article from Scotland, published in The Big Issue, for its mention of The Book of Lost Things (Atria, 2006), which Connolly calls “probably the best book that I’m going to write.” He also shares his thoughts on horror and younger readers.
CONNOLLY, John. The Infernals. 320p. Atria. Oct. 2011. Tr $22. ISBN 978-1-4516-4308-4. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Demons from Hell are once again plotting to destroy Earth. In this follow up to The Gates (Atria, 2009), Connolly gives readers Round two of the battle. A portal between Hell and Earth has been reopened courtesy of excess energy generated by the Large Hadron Collider. Mrs. Abernathy (a demon) wants to reestablish her position with The Great Malevolence, ruler of the underworld, who has been in mourning since Mrs. Abernathy failed in her previous attempt to destroy Earth. She is determined to capture the ones who foiled her plan: 11-year-old Samuel Johnson and his dog Boswell. Reminiscent of Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens (Workman, 1990), this battle of good vs. evil is full of quirky characters including a variety of scary underworld denizens, Samuel’s demon ally Nurd, an ice-cream truck driver, and several dwarves on the run from the law. Told with unmistakable British wit, equal parts fantasy and humor, teens will enjoy the story’s elements of scheming, power struggles, and the wildly inappropriate behavior of the dwarves. The explanatory footnotes are funny but get to be a bit tiresome; however, they can be skimmed without detriment to the story. Although it is a sequel, The Infernals stands alone; Connolly provides a brief summary of the events in The Gates early on so that readers starting with this volume will still find it enjoyable.–Carla Riemer, Berkeley High School, CA
Alan Bradley is quick! His last Flavia de Luce, A Red Herring Without Mustard, came out in February. Now we have another, this one a perfect addition to upcoming holiday displays.
Flavia de Luce is an ideal mystery series for young adults that, in its fourth outing, has yet to flag in quality. Every entry is as accomplished and entertaining as the last.
The first 30 pages of I Am Half-Sick of Shadows are available on Scribd.
BRADLEY, Alan. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: A Flavia de Luce Novel. 320p. Delacorte. 2011. Tr $23. ISBN 978-0-385-34401-2. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Flavia de Luce, the audacious and precocious 11-year-old sleuth seen in Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (2009), The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag (2010), and A Red Herring Without Mustard (2011, all Delacorte) is back at work in the same crumbling British manse, Buckshaw. It is the dead of winter during the Christmas holiday and Flavia’s father, desperate to raise funds, has rented the house to a movie crew. There is much drama surrounding the cast and crew of this movie, especially the lead actress Phyllis Wyvern, and Flavia is an astute observer of all the players. Amid the filming, Wyvern has agreed to perform a key scene from Romeo and Juliet as a fundraiser for the local church. The whole town turns out for this performance as a raging blizzard prevents anyone from leaving. Known for her love of chemistry, Flavia is working on some experiments to determine once and for all if Father Christmas really exists, but is sidetracked by discovering Wyvern’s body. As in the earlier novels, Flavia’s brilliance and cunning allow her to discover clues missed by the police. The twists and turns will keep readers engaged as will the moving and tender relationship further developed between Flavia and her loyal family retainer, Dogger. The overarching mystery that has run through all of these books is expressed by her unkind sister’s comment, “Hate you, Flavia? Do you really believe I hate you? Oh, how I wish I did! It would make things so much easier.” Give this to Flavia fans, mystery fans, and those who love a great story and a charming heroine.–Jane Ritter, Mill Valley School District, CA
Only two month ago I posted a review of The Women of the Cousins’ War, the nonfiction book Philippa Gregory shared with historians David Baldwin and Michael Jones. Now she releases a novel based on the life of Jacquetta, one of the women featured there.
The Lady of the Rivers has many teen elements, from the author herself to story elements of witchcraft, romance and court intrigue, even Jacquetta’s connection to Joan of Arc. Given that this is the first in a new series from Gregory, it makes for a nice entry point for new readers, too.
GREGORY, Philippa. The Lady of the Rivers. 443p. (The Cousins’ War series). Touchstone. Oct. 2011. Tr $27.99. ISBN 978-1-4165-6370-9. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Teen fans of historical fiction absolutely must have a Philippa Gregory book in their repertoire. In this title, the author of The Other Boleyn Girl (Touchstone, 2004) brings to light yet another woman unknown to most readers but whose very presence helps to set in motion events that impact history. As the latest in a long line of women with “the sight,” Jacquetta attracts the attention of the Duke of Bedford who marries her so that he can use her skill to help him reach the alchemist’s dream of turning iron into gold. This doesn’t happen of course, and after his death, Jacquetta, now Duchess of Bedford marries beneath her station for love. Richard Woodville is a faithful husband as well as a loyal subject of the insane King Henry VI. As lady-in-waiting to Queen Margaret (known to her subjects and history as a “she-wolf”) Jacquetta is at the front and center of what will later be known as the “Wars of the Roses.” Passion, adventure, and a touch of witchcraft keep readers on edge as court intrigue shifts and changes with the unpredictability of King Henry’s madness. As the first in an expected series, this title will make teens want to continue reading to find out what happens to the next generation. Recommend Gregory’s recent nonfiction effort The Women of the Cousins’ War (Touchstone, 2011) to those who are curious about the history.–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.
