The Golden Day

The Golden Day

Ursula Dubosarsky

$15.99, Hardcover

Candlewick, 2013

978-0763663995

Genre: Historical, Mystery

Age: 9+

Description: One day Miss Renshaw takes the 11 girls in her class on a “field trip” to some Aboriginal caves to see some cave drawings her “friend” Morgan, a poet, wants to show off. While there the girls get separated from Miss Renshaw and make their way back to their school. When they arrive safely everyone—teachers, parents, police officials—wants to know what exactly happened that “golden day.” Unfortunately, the girls don’t know what to say because they had promised their teacher that they would never tell anyone about their meetings in the Ena Thompson Memorial Gardens where Miss Renshaw frequently took them while she chatted with Morgan. For years the girls wonder what exactly happened to their beloved teacher . . .

Opinion: This is an Australian import. I agree with a reviewer on Amazon that the plot is very similar to another Australian novel, The Picnic at Hanging Rock. I was compelled to read the story because it was short basically and I was really hoping for an explanation as to what exactly happened in the caves that day and what, if anything, would be explained about Miss Renshaw. Unfortunately, for a teen book that even Amazon says can be for younger readers, I found it to be way too literary. Some teens may like that but most would put it down despite the small size of the book. It seemed more like a book that should be for adults as the writing style was very literary and the characters were younger than most teens (they are in elementary school). I also found it odd that the teacher was constantly able to leave school with the girls and take them to the gardens where she had her rendezvous with Morgan. The ending just adds more mystery to the story (adding a ghost-like element to the plot) and doesn’t help really answer any questions. It’s alright for a short read, but I don’t find it attracting many fans. 

Thanks to the people at Candlewick for the ARC for the YALSA YA Galley Group!

Bluffton

Bluffton

Matt Phelan

$22.99, Hardcover

Candlewick, 2013

978-0763650797

Genre: Realistic, Historical, Graphic Novel

Age: 9+

Description: Henry lives in boring old Muskegon, Michigan, where nothing ever seems to happen. However, in neighboring Bluffton the summer of 1908 is proving to be an eventful one. A vaudeville troops and circus have come to the town to relax. It is in town that Henry meets a young boy named Buster Keaton, an actor. The boys quickly become friends as each covets what the other has—Henry wishes he had an exciting life like Buster and Buster wishes for a normal childhood full of boyish pastimes such as baseball and fishing. Will the boys ever realize their dreams?

Opinion: Matt Phelan is an excellent artist. However, I don’t think this book hits its mark. I think I would have been more impressed with it had the ARC been in color. Since it is watercolor paintings the black and white images sometimes are hard to distinguish. The story moves very quickly (one could really read it in 10 minutes tops) and has a serene feel to it. However, I don’t know of any teens nowadays who would know who Buster Keaton is or what vaudeville was. I only happen to know it myself because of my thesis which involves being familiar with American history (and vaudeville is one topic I hate!). I don’t really know what teen would be interested in this story. It seems like it would be boring to younger children and tweens and the story wouldn’t appeal to most readers. It seems like a better topic for adults. The few slightly funny moments (there is some “potty” humor) don’t make up for the slow pace and boring plot.    

Thanks to Candlewick for the ARC for the YALSA YA Galley Group!

Lizzie Newton Victorian Mysteries, Volume 1 & 2

Lizzie Newton Victorian Mysteries, Volume 1

Lizzie Newton Victorian Mysteries, Volume 2

Hey-Jin Jeon (story) & Kiha Lee (art)

Seven Seas, 2012/2013

$11.99/$19.99, Softcover

978-1935934806 / 978-1937867089

Genre: Graphic Novels, Mysteries

Age: 12+

Description: Set in 1864 London (while Sherlock Holmes himself is just a young boy), Elizabeth “Lizzie” Newton leads a bit of a strange life for a young girl (she’s about 19-22 ish). Unbeknownst to society, she is author “Logica Docens” the supposedly male author of the very popular serial in Gentlemen’s Own called McMorning, Private Tutor and Sleuth, a short story series (similar to Sherlock Holmes) about a private tutor (who I think is a girl—it’s not really clear) who solves mysteries that the police fail to crack. Her stories are so successful because of Lizzie’s own deductive skills. Lizzie also loves books (she spends way too much money in used bookstores) and she extends on her late father’s own prize library. She also likes to conduct chemical experiments because they help in her writing. However, everyone around her thinks she should act more like a lady and settle down and marry her long-term fiancé, Edwin White. White was adopted as a young child by Lizzie’s father and molded into his son-he-never-had. White grew up to be a successful lawyer who earned the nickname of “The White Devil of the Courtroom.” Once Lizzie’s father died, he agreed to leave his job behind instead acting as Lizzie’s steward (a much lower class role) to be closer to her. The series revolves around Lizzie and Edward as they try to solve mysteries and how Lizzie is constantly thwarted due to many of the other characters’ (especially the males) sexist attitudes toward her. Chief amongst the supporting characters are Charles Gray, the most competent policeman (who Lizzie tends to foil in his mystery solving skills), and Andrew Kenneth, Lizzie’s publisher at Gentlemen’s Own who despises all women. In the first volume, Lizzie takes on the classic “locked room” mystery when an important political person supposedly commits suicide. In the second volume, Andrew finds a rare book with a coded message and he and Lizzie make a bet—if she can’t solve the code in less than 24 hours he will get five volumes of his choice from her father’s library but if she solves the code she will get his newly acquired autographed Victor Hugo book. The code leads to an important clue to an old mystery shrouded in Elizabethan history.

Opinion: Known as Lady Detective in Korea, this manhwa is a fun new series. Sadly, I can’t tell if there will be more than two volumes. Grrr. I was automatically drawn to this series because (a) it is a mystery manhwa, (b) it is set in Victorian times, and (c) since it occurs before Sherlock Holmes’ time there are a lot of cute references to it that literary readers will catch on to. For example, Inspector Lestrade appears as an officer working alongside Inspector Gray. Since Lestrade is kind of presented in the Holmes stories as an inept investigator he is drawn in this series as a LEGO person (complete with LEGO hands too!). He is rather comical. In the second volume, Professor Moriarty makes an appearance as a student and is usually called James. The stories are really good mysteries that are pretty clean for younger fans. There is a moment in the first volume when Lizzie touches the bullet wound on the victim’s head but the reactions of the police help distract readers from the rather gruesome act (she is doing it to help prove something though—not just out of gross curiosity). One of the awesome aspects of the series is the references not only to the fictional world of Sherlock Holmes but also to the real world. When they mention real world events (especially in the mystery of the second volume) the art includes actual images from history which help ground the events in real time too. Lizzie is a strong female character who doesn’t let society get in the way of her dreams to become a detective. An interesting thing in volume two is the inclusion of a real McMorning, Private Tutor and Sleuth story “Stepmother’s Curse”. It is here that I realized that the main character of the stories appears to be a girl. Readers may or may not enjoy this text story as it does follow the conventions of Victorian writing. If you enjoy Sherlock Holmes you’d probably enjoy reading it. I think, overall, it adds to the value of the story. My only complaint is that throughout the books there are a lot of side comments (things characters say that aren’t in the speech balloons) that are actually important to the plot but are written so tiny that you can easily overlook them especially if, say, your hand was blocking the text. A lot of really comical elements appear in these tiny comments so I advise readers to make sure they are looking for these lines as they are reading. Overall, an excellent mystery graphic novel series for fans of Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, anything Victorian, and Case Closed.

In the Shadow of Blackbirds

In the Shadow of Blackbirds

Cat Winters

Amulet, 2013

$16.95, Hardcover

978-1419705304

Genre: Historical, Mystery, Paranormal

Age: 12+

Description: In 1918 and the world seems on the verge of apocalypse. Americans roam the streets in gauze masks to ward off the deadly Spanish influenza and the government is busy shipping young men to the front lines of a brutal war. Sixteen-year-old Mary Shelley Black is living in an atmosphere of fear and confusion as she watches desperate mourners inspire the popularity of séances and the business of spirit photographers all for some hope of comfort. Mary Shelley, however, has never believed in ghosts. She is especially distrustful of her best friend Stephen’s older brother Julian who has taken over their father’s old photography studio and turned it into one of the most popular sprit photo businesses in San Diego. However, everything might be changing. Forced to flee her home in Oregon when her father, a man of German decent who talked back against the war, is arrested, she is sent to live with her widowed 26-year-old aunt in California. When she receives news that Stephen is dead, she doesn’t want to believe. However, when she starts seeing and communicating with his ghost she just might have to believe that Julian thinks she has a good connection with the “Other Side.” It is especially important for her since Stephen’s spirit seems troubled and his death seems to have maybe not occurred overseas. She has to face the facts that she may have mediumistic talents if it is the only way to put Stephen at peace.

Opinion: I was super, super, super excited to receive a copy of this book to review from Amulet. This is a big book (nearly 400 pages) and because of its historical nature the beginning might go a bit slow for some readers—slow but not necessarily boring. I think this book might be a bit cursed. Teens will pick it up because the cover is spooky but I feel the cover description really doesn’t do it justice. There is so much more to the story than just the spirit photography craze during World War I. Without giving too much away, let’s just say that Mary Shelley, depressed at the thought of Stephen being dead and her father going to jail for at least 20 years, tries to kill herself—and succeeds. However, she ends up having a near death experience and astral projects outside of her body. She is urged to return and according to her aunt she just isn’t the same anymore. She appears to be magnetized (as her uncle’s old compass follows her around whenever she’s in the room) and her aunt feels an odd sense of peace when she touches Mary Shelley. It appears that her encounter with lightening has made her more attended to the spirit world and actually helps Stephen contact her. There are some awesome genuinely creepy scenes and the ending is shocking as we discover just what happened to Stephen. I love the cover as (asides from the schools not being Boy Scout boots the girl pictured is Mary Shelley in one of Julian’s spirit photos he took of her) and the book also incorporates many other haunting archival early-20^th century photographs to add a sense of spookiness to the world. I highly recommend this book though you may have to hand sell it since the cover description totally doesn’t do it justice!

Here's what one of my teens had to say:

Sarah, 15, says, “It is 1918 and the world is facing World War I and the Spanish influenza, which is spreading throughout the U.S. Mary Shelley Black has always been fascinated with science. When her friend Stephen dies and his brother photographs Stephen’s spirit she doesn’t want to believe it. However, she soon begins having what appear to be real, genuine mediumistic encounters in which Stephen clearly isn’t happy and appears to have not died in battle. Mary sets out to try and find out what really killed him so Stephen can be at peace. I love the cover. It is almost the exact picture that Stephen’s brother takes of Mary in the book and uses, against her knowledge, as an advertisement for his spirit photography. (The only different is she has “Boy Scout boots” in the book and appears in the cover image to be wearing more girlie shoes.) I felt that it really reflected the historical aspect of the book and the spookiness. My favorite parts were when Mary died for a second time (I can’t believe Mary dies twice in the book! That’s crazy!) and when she found out how Stephen actually died. I like how she saw how he died when she sat on his bed—it was like she was transported there and was an eyewitness to the crime. I like that Mary was also a girl into science in a time period when all girls were supposed to do was get married. She was a feisty heroine.”

Note: A big thanks to my contact at Amulet, Laura Mihalick, for sending me an ARC to review!

Deck Z

Deck Z

Chris Pauls and Matt Solomon

Chronicle, 2012

$14.95, Softcover

978-1452108032

Genre: Horror, Adventure

Age: 12+

Description: It is 1912 and a scientist in Germany has discovered a new plague that while deadly, might hold the cure to curing a number of other deadly diseases. When he discovers that the German military doesn’t want to use it for good but instead want to use the formula as a biological warfare weapon, the scientist decides to escape to America via the maiden voyage of the new ship, the Titanic. Unfortunately, the Germans send an assassin after him to steal the virus. In an attempt to test it to make sure the virus is the real virus, the assassin unwittingly unleashes a zombie plague aboard the Titanic. A small group of brave people, including the scientist, a young girl, and Captain Smith, band together to kill the undead before they infect everyone. Of course, there is still that pesky problem of that iceberg . . .  

Opinion: One would think that a spoof book on zombies aboard the Titanic would just be a fluff read but in reality this book was really, really good and well-written. Real historical characters and a zombiefied alternative history that could have possibly really happened (for a zombie outbreak plot) all tie well together with a narrative that is suspenseful, funny, violent and gory, and touching at the same time. The misguided German scientist, the young tomboy he ends up caring for, the courageous doctor who sacrifices his own life to save others, and the Captain who swears to go down with his ship are all realistic and individually drawn characters that the reader comes to care about. The true identity of the assassin is kept a good secret for the whole novel until the shocking climax. My only real complaint was how long it took the men to realize what it was that was spreading the zombie plague throughout the ship at an alarmingly fast rate—it should have been obvious. A zombie alternative history that is highly recommended, especially to teens who are obsessed with the Titanic.

Note: I thank Lea Yancey at Chronicle for sending me a free copy of the book to review, along with some other zombie goodies. : )