You know you’ve discovered Adult-Books-4-Teens gold when an author takes the time to assure readers that he has not written a YA novel. Lev AC Rosen posted the following note on his website homepage:
“Note from the author: A lot of people who have approached me or emailed me about the book seem to be working from the assumption that it is a Young Adult book, and I feel I should state, for the record, that it is not intended as YA. Certainly, there is some crossover appeal, and yes, the protagonist is 17 and in college, but there’s more than a fair amount of bad language, and some sexual content as well. My publicist says that in her opinion it’s for High School and up, and I’m inclined to agree, in general. Obviously, some kids aren’t going to be mature enough for this in high school, and some might be mature enough before. And of course, I think anyone who wants to read it and feels they are mature enough should do so, but I feel it needs to be emphasized: this is not intended as YA.”
Interesting. I think the issue is likely the cover art — it does look quite young. He is probably concerned that an unsuspecting 7th or 8th grader is going to get more than he or she bargained for. He is certainly correct to say that there is crossover appeal — this is exactly the sort of adult book that teen readers enjoy. Accessible writing, imaginative plot, charming characters, a hint of conspiracy. It’s all here.
Rosen’s site offers a preview (the first two chapters), as well as a definition of steampunk for the uninitiated. His bio reveals that he has already written the sequel.
ROSEN, Lev AC. All Men of Genius. 462p. Tor. 2011. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-0-7653-2794-9. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–The Importance of Being Earnest meets Twelfth Night in this steampunk fantasy. Violet Adams obsessed with science and inventions, but in Victorian England, there aren’t many doors open to young women. Certainly not the doors to Illyria, the science college. What else is a girl genius to do? She swaps identity with her twin brother, Ashton–a fabulously gay blade who is witty and sharp as a tack–and heads off to Illyria, immersing herself in the life of a young male college student while trying to dodge the innocent advances of Cecily, the Duke of Illyria’s ward, herself a smart young inventor. The problem, of course, is that Violet is falling for the duke, who is worried that his attraction to her is not acceptable, or “inverted.” This tale of cross dressing, science, romance, and rampaging automatons, complete with a host of quirky professors who might remind readers of those in the “Harry Potter” series, will delight teens, as will the rough and tumble descriptions of college life, with the young men’s focus on sex and drinking. Rosen’s wonderfully inventive vision of Victorian-era London has just enough staples of steampunk–automatons, super-light airships, and analog computers (the inventor of the first computer, Ada Lovelace, is a wonderful character here). The romance will appeal to fans of Gail Carriger’s “Parasol Protectorate” series (Orbit). The villain, the blackmailing Malcolm Volio, is a bit underdeveloped and so his comeuppance feels a little less than satisfactory. Otherwise, a brilliantly fun novel.–Caroline Bartels, Horace Mann School, Bronx, NY
Steven Gould is best known for his novel Jumper (Tor, 1992), which was later made into a movie starring Hayden Christensen. Like 7th Sigma, Jumper features a teenager and was marketed to an adult audience.
7th Sigma is a science fiction adventure story that combines a number of teen interests. Cory Doctorow’s blurb says it best, “Sheer adventure: full of engaging, nerdily detailed depictions of the minutiae of Aikido, spycraft, artificial life theory, frontier economics, religious zealotry, Zen meditation, and beautiful descriptions of the southwestern landscape. It has the true pulp adventure serial spirit.” You can read Doctorow’s full review on Boing Boing. He’s absolutely right to say that 7th Sigma could have been marketed as a YA novel. Perhaps length and the occasional profanity? Perhaps the unexplored origins of the deadly bugs? Or maybe the publisher did not want to exclude the author’s many adult fans.
I love this excerpt from Gould’s biography: He is the recipient of the Hal Clement Young Adult Award for Science Fiction [for Wildside] and has been on the Hugo ballot twice and the Nebula ballot once for his short fiction, but his favorite distinction was being on the American Library Associations Top 100 Banned Books list 1990-1999. “Jumper was right there at #94 between Steven King’s Christine and a non-fiction book on sex education. Then that Rowling woman came along and bumped us off the bottom of the list.”
And just to add one more layer, the whole thing is Gould’s take on Rudyard Kipling’s Kim. I’ll let the author explain it himself.
Finally, 7th Sigma has a great cover, much more impressive than the image below communicates. It will grab the attention of readers browsing through a display.
GOULD, Steven. 7th Sigma. 384p. Tor. 2011. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-0-312-87715-6. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–When the American southwest was infested by lethal metal-eating bugs, most citizens left the Territory for safer climes. A hardy few stayed on. Thirteen-year-old Kimble counted himself lucky when his abusive father was forced to leave for medical treatment. He’s been hiding from the authorities and happily living by his wits, homeless in Nuevo Santa Fe, ever since. One day a newcomer happens to observe his quick reflexes. Ruth persuades Kimble to help her establish a dojo south of the city, where she plans to teach aikido. He becomes her uchideski, her student, and together they build a household. Living in the Territory is like frontier days in the Old West, also echoed in the importance of water, which bugs cannot tolerate. When Ruth suffers from severe asthma, Kimble travels to retrieve medication and encounters Captain Bentham of the territorial Rangers. Bentham recognizes him as a runaway, but instead of returning him to his father, he recruits Kimble as a spy for the Territory, the youngest ever. So begins a series of adventures during which Kimble outsmarts criminals from drug dealers to weapons smugglers. He rarely follows directions; he has his own audacious ideas of how to accomplish each job. 7th Sigma wears its science-fiction mantle lightly, mostly via substitute technologies for metal and a lack of modern transportation, tools, weapons, and amenities. Readers may be disappointed that the origin of the bugs is never investigated; neither are the other mysterious creatures that seem to collaborate with them. But add a sense of humor, genuine affection among engaging characters, and a grumpy mule sidekick for an adventure that is a natural for teen readers.–Angela Carstensen, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City
Catherynne Valente is well-known among fantasy fans as a true storyteller. In Deathless, she borrows generously from Russian folklore, and especially the figures of Baba Yaga and Koschei the Deathless.
This is the way Valente describes the book in her blog post of March 29, the day it was published: “There is so much love in it, and so much hope. In brief terms, it is a retelling of Marya Morevna and Koschei the Deathless set during the Stalinist era and the siege of Leningrad. It is a return to fairy tales and the retellings of them. But it is also probably the funniest book I’ve ever written, (if you like dark humor), and plot/structurewise the most straightforward outside Fairyland.”
A substantial excerpt (the first several chapters) is available on the Tor site.
VALENTE, Catherynne M. Deathless. 352p. Tor. 2011. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-0-7653-2630-0. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–This lyrical fantasy is a reimagining of the traditional Russian fairy tale featuring Marya Morevna and Koschei the Deathless. Set in early to mid 20th century, Deathless weaves tsars (gods) of the spirit worlds, goblins, and other mystical creatures into the genuine harshness of life in Russia during the Stalinist regime and World War II. Famine, war, and death ride side by side with the difficult love story of Marya, torn between Koschei the Deathless (Tsar of the Living), and her human love, Ivan Nikolayevich. Readers follow her as she travels back and forth between worlds, mystical creatures on one side, humans on the other. Though a challenging read at times, the poetic crafting of this tale will appeal to fantasy enthusiasts who are seeking fresh stories. Other than Baba Yaga, many of the characters and elements of this story will probably be new to most readers. Valente’s approach to fairy tales is to take the fairy out. She shakes off the traditional gossamer and instead focuses on the power in the story, thinking more about the fire, blood, and resurrection that already exist there, the things that make them memorable. Fans of Bill Willingham’s “Fables” graphic novels (Vertigo, 2002) will enjoy this updated fairy tale, similarly retold with traditional characters placed in contemporary, trying situations –Carla Riemer, Berkeley High School, CA
Carrie Vaughn’s new superhero novel is the epitome of teen appeal — just plain fun. If you want to give it a try, the first chapter is available on the author’s website.
I expect teens will enjoy the game of picking out references to genre titles and characters. It reminds me of John Connolly’s Alex Award-winning The Book of Lost Things (Atria, 2006). I was amazed by how many horror movie and fairytale references my students found that I had missed.
VAUGHN, Carrie. After the Golden Age. 304p. Tor. Apr. 2011. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-0-7653-2555-6. LC 2010036541.
Adult/High School–Having already established herself as an accomplished interpreter of the supernatural with her “Kitty Norville” werewolf series (Grand Central), Vaughn succeeds fantastically at a superhero novel. Centered on Celia West, the super-powerless daughter of two of Commerce City’s most famous superheroes, the novel deftly balances more mundane concerns of family strife and personal identity with superheroic derring-do (such as Celia’s almost constant kidnapping and rescuing by the city’s superheroes). This balance is most humorously achieved in the central plot: the prosecution for tax evasion of the city’s greatest Supervillain, in which Celia, an accountant, plays a central role. It’s closer in tone to the lighthearted revisionism of dir Brad Bird’s The Incredibles (Pixar, 2004) than the dark deconstruction of Alan Moore’s Watchmen (DC Comics, 1987). After the Golden Age offers a number of quite barbed insights into the genre; the revelation of the source of the heroes’ powers gives a particularly sharp cut at the psychological (ir)realism of the genre’s stock characters. But rather than dwell on such genre-bending, Vaughn keeps her focus on sharp, well-crafted dialogue and realistic characters, giving her novel an excellent foundation on which to build a fast-paced, mystery-inflected plot. An incredibly easy read that nevertheless repays (and in fact invites) critical analysis, this is a perfect pick for fans of superheroes, and could easily have been marketed as a YA novel.–Mark Flowers, John F. Kennedy Library, Solano County, CA
Haunted Legends is a collection of short stories based on ghostly legends from around the world, compiled by another renowned editor, Ellen Datlow. Datlow has won Hugo Awards for Best Professional Editor and for Best Short Form Editor. She has also won the World Fantasy Award, Locus Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the Bram Stoker Award. More than a few of her anthologies were published for young adults, including The Faery Reel: Tales From the Twilight Realm, with Terri Windling (Viking 2004) and The Beastly Bride: Tales of the Animal People, also with Terri Windling (Viking, 2010).
Co-Editor Nick Mamatas also has a website, and a new novel coming out in May. He is a prolific writer of short stories himself, as well as novels, poetry, articles, essays, and even a graphic novel.
DATLOW, Ellen, ed & Nick Mamatas. Haunted Legends. 347p. Tor. 2010. Tr $27.99. ISBN 978-0-7653-2300-2. LC 2010032193.
Adult/High School– In concept, this collection mimics some of the best aspects of Datlow and Windling’s fabulous Fairy Tale anthologies for adults (Avon), featuring modern retellings of old legends. But instead of time-worn fairy tales, the often-obscure local legends upon which these stories are based, illuminated in afterwords by each story’s author, will be unfamiliar to most readers. Considering that the collection begins with a deeply disappointing take on the greatest and most famous of all American ghost stories, Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” the relative obscurity of the other legends is probably to the collection’s advantage. In any case, nearly every selection stands well on its own. The exception is “Fifteen Panels Depicting the Sadness of the Baku and the Jotai,” which might require readers to skip to the afterword after a few difficult pages, and then again after a few more. After the rocky start, this stunning collection features one near-perfect story after another. Though many of them are scary, creepy, or just plain weird, the overwhelming tone, embodied by such masterpieces as “That Girl,” “Down Atsion Road,” “Return to Mariabronn,” and “The Redfield Girls,” is one of sadness and guilt, as is only right for a genre about the precariousness of death, and things left undone in life. Perhaps a bit heavy for teens looking for a good scare, but ultimately deeply rewarding.– Mark Flowers, John Kennedy Library, Solano County, CA
Orson Scott Card’s new coming-of-age fantasy is the first in the Mither Mages series. Consensus seems to be that it successfully stands on its own as well.
CARD, Orson Scott. The Lost Gate. 384p. Tor. 2011. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-0-8653-2657-7. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Danny North is not drekka or magicless, as his family believes; he is quite possibly the strongest gatemage ever born, but he can’t tell any of them. Creating inter-dimensional portals is an ability that caused war. Danny’s family was once so magically powerful that they were worshipped as gods. Now, after the mysterious Gate Thief closed all the gates from Westil and stranded the warring family clans as exiles on Earth over a thousand years ago, there is an uneasy truce. Any gatemage born is killed, so as not to shift the balance of power. Card sets a coming-of-age tale within an intricately built speculative fiction framework that includes trickster legends as well as Greek and Norse mythology, effortlessly weaving together Danny’s escape from a family determined to kill him with his discovery of life in contemporary American human society. In a parallel story set on Westil, an amnesiac named Wad discovers he is a powerful gatemage as well and begins to use his power to further a royal plot. Danny’s and Wad’s machinations have repercussions that reverberate through both worlds. As in Ender’s Game (Tor, 1985), Card excels here at three-dimensional world-building and strong characters with believable motivations. Danny, especially, is a mischievous, flawed, highly sympathetic character that teens will relate to. Excellent secondary characters put flesh on the bones of a story that explores the hearts of two people looking and longing for a place to belong.–Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, MI
I have been looking forward to introducing Jo Walton’s Among Others. It is a glorious book, and not only because it is a celebration of books and readers and libraries and librarians.
The dedication: “This is for all of the libraries in the world, and the librarians who sit there day after day lending books to people.”
It is hard not to swoon.
There are several specific teen readers to whom I cannot wait to hand this book. It will appeal primarily to science fiction and fantasy readers, but it will also appeal to others who simply love to read. That feeling permeates the book, and the fantasy elements will not put off readers who might usually scoff at them. First, the entire book is the journal of a 15-year-old girl, Mori, and her voice is true. Second, the author does a good job of parsing out the revelations, of making the reader yearn to know exactly what happened to Mori’s sister, to encounter her mother, to learn more about the nature of the fairies, to gradually question the intentions of Mori’s three spinster aunts.
Among Others has plenty of teen appeal and librarian appeal. It is flush with wonderful quotes, such as “Libraries really are wonderful. They’re better than bookshops, even. I mean bookshops make a profit on selling you books, but libraries just sit there lending you books quietly out of the goodness of their hearts.”
And why is Mori so excited about books? Because she has a really hard life, and she feels safe with them. Books allow her to explore the world without being hurt by it. Books are her refuge, her instruction manual, and her joy.
Publishers Weekly printed a brief interview with Walton in the November 29, 2010 issue. I was intrigued by the implication that the author used parts of her own autobiography within the story, as well as her answer to the question of whether Among Others might be considered YA.
WALTON, Jo. Among Others. 304p. Tor. 2011. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-0-7653-2153-4. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–At the beginning of this mesmerizing fantasy novel, Mori is recovering from the confrontation with her mother that killed her twin sister. Relatives ship her off to England, away from her Welsh village, hidden from her mother, to the father she has never met. In journal entries, Mori writes about being sent to boarding school where no one speaks to her, Saturday trips to a nearby village library, and missing home, her sister, and the fairies, whose advice she needs now more than ever. She writes about the books she is reading, how they compare to others, and the authors she loves. Her only escape is through books, especially science fiction and fantasy. She knows that her mother will find her eventually. In late November, desperate, she casts a spell for protection. The very next day she learns about a Tuesday evening science-fiction bookclub at the town library, where she makes friends and meets a beautiful boy who shares her interests. Did her magic cause them to appear, or were they there all along? Mori’s writing is matter-of-fact, even as she flashes back to the horrible events of the past and prepares for the inevitable final encounter. This is fantasy firmly grounded in reality. Magic does not dominate, but its potential is always lurking. The fairies are not wispy and sweet, or full of good intentions. Mori feels apart from the world and wonders if she will ever have a normal life, a feeling many teens will recognize. For anyone who loves reading, who needs books as much as air to breathe, this book is a gift. For young science fiction fans, Among Others will be a revelation.–Angela Carstensen, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City
Cherie Priest’s first Clockwork Century novel, Boneshaker (Tor, 2009) won the 2010 Locus Award for Best SF Novel and was nominated for both the Nebula and the Hugo. If you are looking for a review, check out this one by Cory Doctorow on BoingBoing.
Today’s book, Dreadnought, is the second novel in her steampunk Clockwork Century universe, the sequel to Boneshaker.
To learn more about steampunk, check out this article by Heather Campbell, published right here on SLJ in December 2010. It includes lists of recommended reads for every age, fiction and nonfiction.
I cannot resist sharing one more resource: the video of a steampunk author panel from the SLJ/LJ Day of Dialog at BookExpo 2010, including Cherie Priest, Scott Westerfeld, and Cory Doctorow. All of the authors are terribly well-spoken, and Scott Westerfeld in particular gives an insightful, brief talk explaining the genre.
PRIEST, Cherie. Dreadnought. 480p. Tor. 2010. pap. $14.99. ISBN 978-0-7653-2578-5. LC number unavailable.
Adult/High School–Boneshaker (Tor, 2009), the award-winning first volume of Priest’s trilogy, introduced readers (including plenty of teen fans) to an alternate 19th century in which the Civil War has lasted for more than 20 years and in which a machine run amok unleashed a yellow gas that transformed people into zombies. Dreadnought is more thoughtful than Boneshaker, with lots of meditation about war and class, but the action (which begins almost halfway though) is pulse-pounding and vivid (plenty of shoot ‘em up scenes, carnage, and nail-biting tension). Main character Mercy initially seems unappealing and distant–she’s a Civil War nurse and a widow, and holds herself distant from almost everyone–but her youth and her cross-country journey to find a father she barely remembers (a character first met in Boneshaker) and the mystery she finds and begins to solve along the way (which readers will already have solved as it concerns zombies beginning to appear east of Seattle) will win over any readers who persevere through the slow start. The pacing is uneven and the ending feels a bit phoned in (especially the arrival in Seattle and introductions to the cast of volume one), but those who read the first book will definitely want this one. This is more sophisticated and less sexy than the recent rash of YA zombie books–the rotters are genuinely scary and survival is far from certain. Invest in the series.– Karyn N. Silverman, LREI (Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School), New York City
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.
