August 8-12, 2011
Book 1: The Good Neighbors, Book 1 by Holly Black
Bibliography:
Black, H. (2008). The Good Neighbors. New York: Graphix
Summary:
Rue lives with her parents - her mother disappeared and her father has given up. Rue is trying not to worry. Then a college student is found dead and her father is arrested for her murder. Amanda steps in to stay with Rue and help her father, she is his old friend. Rue starts seeing things that she shouldn't and starts remembering things about her mother from the past. Rue meets her grandfather, the one she didn't know existed, who informs her that she is a faerie like her mother and it is time for her to choose her life. She runs away from him and goes home to find her mother who is dying. Her mom confirms the faerie story and her father is release from jail. Her mother dies as Rue finds out that her father made a pledge to her grandfather that he would love her forever and never hurt her when they first made a commitment to each other years ago. As time passed, her mother never changed whole her father grew older. He turned to Amanda who had loved him since grad school/ Rue needs to find out if her mother is really dead, so she and her friends dig up her grave.
My Impression:
I enjoyed this story. I have not been a great fan of graphic novels, but this one had great detailed pictures and the writing flowed smoothly with substance in the content and not just "Bam", "Boom", and "Bang" that are in many graphic novels. This book elevated graphic novels in my opinion and I actually followed up and read the other two books in the trilogy. The characters were developed well and I liked the whole story line. I would recommend it for older readers since it does contain some romantic details.
Reviews:
1. Booklist
Rue Silver’s everyday life with her professor father and ethereal mother comes crashing to a surreal end when her mother one day simply disappears. As Rue starts noticing oddities in her little town—people with wings or animal faces, or vines that seem to sprout up over everything at night—she tries to tell herself that such things would be crazy. When her extended family appear and claim that she is part of a hidden faerie world, Rue finds herself embroiled in a magical fight for power. The first volume in a series, this book goes a long way in setting up a foreboding, darkly mysterious atmosphere while giving the reader quick details for characterization. Black, one of the authors of the Spiderwick Chronicles, does a wonderful job of weaving an alien faerie world through Rue’s urban landscape, and Naifeh’s art, rich with shadows, is expressive and angular and pulls the reader into the story with a solid sense of place. Urban-fantasy readers of Neil Gaiman, Charles de Lindt, and Terri Windling will be immediate fans of this title. - Tina Coleman (Sept 15, 2008)
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2. Library Media Connection
Spiderwick Chronicles (Simon & Schuster) author Holly Black and accomplished comic book artist Ted Naifeh have teamed up to create this first volume of an engaging graphic novel series for teen readers. Rue's life has been turned completely upside-down. Not only has her mother disappeared and her father been accused of murdering one of his students, but Rue has begun seeing strange and frighteningly beautiful creatures that no else can see. They are faeries, also known as the good neighbors, and Rue can see them because she is half-faerie. Rue's discovery of this new realm makes everything fall into place, and she learns not only the whereabouts of her mother, but proof of her father's innocence. But all is not well as Rue's faerie grandfather poses a threat to all humankind. The author has created an engaging story that unfolds as slowly to the reader as the faerie world does to Rue. The illustrator's dark, angular, gothic illustrations set the mood of the book, and he is adept at providing the reader with the glimpses of the faerie world as Rue sees it. Teens will definitely look forward to the next installment. Recommended. Michelle Glatt, Librarian, Chiddix Junior High School, Normal, Illinois March/April 2009
Suggestion for Use:
This would be a great look at the difference in graphic novels for older readers. The pictures were great and a comparison could be made with these pictures and those from other graphic novels.
Citations:
Coleman, T. (2008). [Review of the book The Good Neighbors by H. Black]. Booklist, 105(2), 47. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2104/ehost/detail?vid=47&hid=11&sid=80f2790c-e6bb-4870-a789-bc8f9dc7f3c0%40sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpd
GU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=lih&AN=34476797
Glatt, M. (2009). [Review of the book The Good Neighbors by H. Black]. Library Media Connection, 27(5), 80. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2104/ehost/detail?sid=80f2790c-e6bb-4870-a789-bc8f9dc7f3c0%40sessionmgr110&vid=21&bk=1&hid=105&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=lih&AN
=37588734
Book 2: The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
Bibliography:
Stroud, J. (2003). The Amulet of Samarkand. New York: Hyperion Books.
Summary:
Nathaniel is pulled away from his family to be placed with a magicians family when he is five years old. His mentor was Arthur Underwood who would have Nathaniel as his apprentice, his wife was Martha whom Nathaniel grew to love. Simon Lovelace humiliated Nathaniel and he wanted to get back at him. He knew that Lovelace had the Amulet of Samarkand so he summoned a demon named Bartimaeus to retrieve the amulet. Nathaniel hid the amulet in his masters workshop since it was already protected by spells, until he could figure out what to do with it. Before he could make a plan, Lovelace came to the house and accused his master of stealing it. He denied the accusation and then Nathaniel confesses, but Lovelace believes the master helped him since it would take great magic to steal the amulet. Lovelace kills Nathaniel's master and his wife and then burns down the house. Bartimaeus saves Nathaniel and they go into hiding.Nathaniel discovers that Lovelace is having a conference for all the most powerful magicians and Nathaniel knows that he is up to no good. Nathaniel and Bartimaeus get into the building and discovers his plan to summon a very old and powerful demon to kill all of the magicians. With the amulet, Lovelace would be spared and then would become the most powerful magician in the world. Bartimaeus and Nathaniel work together to defeat the demon and Lovelace and Nathaniel keeps his promise and sets Bartimaeus free from his bond.
My Impression:
I really liked this book. It was fast paced, action and adventure along with all kinds of magical events. The characters are well developed and likable and the bad characters are really unlikeable. The story is filled with magic and demons which are an integral part of the story. It was fun to read and I rooted for the characters as they went through breath catching moments. The plot was complex and there were humorous footnotes throughout the book. When I completed the book, I was immediately ready to continue the story of Nathaniel and Bartimaeus.
Reviews:
1. Booklist
Picture an alternative London where the Parliament, composed of powerful magicians, rules the British empire. When five-year-old Nathaniel's parents sell him to the government to become a magician's apprentice, the boy is stripped of his past and is given over for training to a grim, mid-level magician from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Over the next seven years, Nathaniel studies the lessons given by his cold master, but in secret he delves into advanced magic books, gaining skill beyond his years: he summons a djinn to steal the powerful amulet of Samarkand. Inspired by a desire for revenge, this bold act leads to danger and death. Nathaniel's third-person narrative alternates with the first-person telling of Bartimaeus the djinn, a memorable and highly entertaining character. Rude, flippant, and cocky, his voice reflects the injustice of his millennia of service to powerful magicians who have summoned him to do their capricious bidding. His informative and sometimes humorous asides appear in footnotes, an unusual device in fiction, but one that serves a useful purpose here. Stroud creates a convincingly detailed secondary world with echoes of actual history and folklore. The strong narrative thrust of the adventure will keep readers involved, but the trouble that is afoot in London extends beyond the exploits here. The unresolved mysteries will be more fully explored in the next two volumes of the trilogy. One of the liveliest and most inventive fantasies of recent years. Category: Books for Middle Readers--Fiction. 2003, Hyperion/Miramax, $17.95. Gr. 6-12. Starred Review - Carolyn Phelan (Sep. 1, 2003 (Vol. 100, No. 1))
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2. VOYA
When Nathaniel, an underestimated almost twelve-year-old boy magician, summons a centuries-old djinni named Bartimaeus, readers are off on a wild adventure with more narrow escapes than even Houdini could muster. Nathaniel is an apprentice to a master who bothers little with his training, so Mr. Underwood has no idea what Nathaniel's self-taught magical capabilities really are. Nathaniel's first task for the djinni startles even Bartimaeus, who has seen a lot in his day, as he wryly reminds readers throughout the novel. He charges Bartimaeus to steal the Amulet of Samarkand from Simon Lovelace as a matter of revenge for humiliating him while his master did nothing. The escalating chain of events resulting from this theft is told in alternating viewpoints from Nathaniel and Bartimaeus, who uses sardonic footnotes to enhance his storytelling. The narrative also successfully uses both first and third person, a rich vocabulary, sophisticated wit, and a hierarchy of magical creatures woven into a fascinating plot that will be appreciated by fans of Diana Wynne Jones and other complex fantasy writers. Teens will race to the end to see if Nathaniel and Bartimaeus can work together to save London's magical community from Simon's evil plans. They will eagerly await the second book in this planned trilogy with a Miramax movie in the making. Fortunately, the quality is as high as the hype, but as Bartimaeus says in one of his footnotes, "Well, what are you hanging around reading this for? Read on quickly and see for yourself." VOYA CODES: 5Q 5P M J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2003, Hyperion, 544p., $17.95. Ages 11 to 18. - Cindy Dobrez, Marie Schutt 12/06
Suggestion for Use:
This would be a good book to demonstrate learning from your mistakes and growing from them to become a better person. With awful situations along with humor and sarcasm, Nathaniel gets through some awful situations but learns about himself and the world he lives in.
Citations:
Dobrez, C., & Schutt, M. (2003). [Review of the book The Amulet of Samarkind: Book I of the Bartimaeus Trilogy by J. Stroud]. Voice of Youth Advocates, 26(5), 419. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2104/ehost/detail?vid=113&hid=10&sid=80f2790c-e6bb-4870-a789-bc8f9dc7f3c0%40sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1
zaXRl#db=lih&AN=11659573
Phelan, C. (2003). [Review of the book The Amulet of Samarkind: Book I of the Bartimaeus Trilogy by J. Stroud]. Booklist, 100(1), 123. Retrieved from http://libproxy.library.unt.edu:2104/ehost/detail?vid=94&hid=105&sid=80f2790c-e6bb-4870-a789-bc8f9dc7f3c0%40sessionmgr
110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=lih&AN=11151878
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