Shelf Awareness--Silver in the Bone

YA Review: Silver in the Bone

Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken (Knopf, 496p., ages 13-up, 9780593481653)

In Alexandra Bracken's bewitching YA contemporary fantasy, 17-year-old Tamsin Lark knows that if "all sorcery is half illusion," then "the other half, unfortunately, [is] blood-soaked terror."

Tamsin and her brother, Cabell, were abandoned as children by their reluctant Hollower guardian, Nash. Now Hollowers themselves, Tamsin and Cabell seek "legendary relic[s]" from the vaults of "long-dead" sorceresses, and Tamsin is determined to keep Cabell--and others--safe from the curse that turns him into a deadly hound. When Sorceress Madrigal challenges Tamsin to find the Servant's Prize (a ring capable of destroying any curse or enchantment) before rival Hollower and "Trust Fund" kid Emrys does, Tamsin believes this is "a chance--a real chance--to break Cabell's curse." Tamsin agrees to the challenge, even with the knowledge that the ring works only if claimed "by deadly force." Tamsin allies with Cabell, a sorceress named Neve, and, reluctantly, with competitor Emrys. The four race to otherworldly Avalon, where they find unspeakable horrors of dark magic gone wild.

While Bracken (The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding) based Silver in the Bone on the legend of King Arthur, she creatively makes the myth her own. Mesmerizing world-building and an action-packed quest set the stage for the wonderfully snarky Tamsin's hidden but ultimately heroic nature to shine through. Amid all the magic, the author weaves a spell of her own and ends with a whopper of a cliffhanger that will leave new readers and Bracken fans alike clamoring for book number two. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

April Recommendations

April Recommendations highlight these excellent 2023 Picture Book Gold Releases (Part One):

In the delightful SOMETHING WILD, by Molly Ruttan, Hannah loves to play her violin, but she gets nervous when she thinks about playing in front of other people. On the day of the big recital, Hannah wishes for “something wild” to happen” so she won’t have to play. She dreams up a series of fantastical scenarios, but the wildest—and most wonderful—thing happens when Hannah is onstage. This lighthearted, whimsical look at stage fright is lovingly “brought to life with charcoal, pastel, acrylic paint, and digital media.”

LITTLE OTTER and LITTLE WALRUS, are part of a series of warm and tender board books written by Julie Abery and illustrated by Suzie Mason. In the first, Little Otter spends time with mama, learning, playing, and eating a tasty meal of shellfish. In the second, Little Walrus spends a day “sliding” and “gliding” on the ice, until chasing a gull means winding up “lost within the crowd”—fortunately, mama knows just how to find the young pup. Both board books have sweet rhyming text and illustrations to match, making them perfect first books to share with the youngest of readers.

In TOBY TOOTLES, written by Stephanie Gibeault and illustrated by Mary Sullivan, Toby is having the “Best. Birthday. Party. EVER!” until it’s time to blow out the candles on his cake—and he accidentally farts. The kids laugh and call him names, and now Toby is having the “Worst. Birthday. Party. EVER!" So imagine his surprise when, during a visit with Grandma, a “toot escape[s] her bottom” and she doesn’t even care. “Gas happens,” she tells him. Cartoony illustrations up the fun in this fart-tastic tale about learning to take embarrassing moments in stride. Back matter reinforces and expands on the relevant takeaways.

BEE CATASTROPHE, written by Marta Magellan and illustrated by Mauro Magellan, can summed up by its opening spread: "For centuries, fields hummed with the sound of insects. Crickets chirped, katydids trilled, and honey bees buzzed…Here’s the catastrophe: Bee by bee, colony by colony, these buzzers have been disappearing.” We learn how a farmer in Florida discovered his bees were all dying, how the use of a specific pesticide has been tragic for bees and, importantly, why readers should care. Back matter shows what kids can do to help, and also includes Some Cool Facts About Bees. The heartfelt text is accompanied by accomplished illustrations, making it a strong choice to learn about this important issue.

BUSY FEET, written by Marcia Berneger and illustrated by Susanna Chapman is an upbeat, rhyming picture book for young readers. It begins: “Feet wake up,/time to play./Happy feet/out all day,” and just like that, two children go about their movement-filled day. From playground to beach, “busy feet/jump and hop” seemingly from dawn to dusk. For good measure, a series of opposites are woven into the text and emphasized with enlarged type. Short, snappy lines of text, and brightly colored, snazzy watercolor, ink, and digital illustrations, ensure this picture book will be sure to please any number of jiggly little ones!

In BUTTERNUT, written by Jill Dana and illustrated by Rachel Tan-Hwee, when the newly-picked squash wakes up in a supermarket, he searches the store to find out where he belongs. (Hint, he’s not butter or a nut.) Now, in the follow-up BUTTERNUT AND BUTTERCUP, Butternut wants to get his best friend Buttercup a birthday gift, one that will “take the cake,” but doesn’t know what that might be. He hears plenty of advice from his store-mates, but nothing seems right. Eventually, Buttercup figures out the “zestiest” solution to his problem, and the whole store enjoys Buttercup’s “par-tea.” A discussion guide and “Recipe for a Tea Party” complete the punny fun!

--Lynn

April's Book of the Month--A Llama is Not an Alpaca

April’s Book of the Month is the fun-and-fact-filled picture book A LLAMA IS NOT AN ALPACA, written by Karen Jameson and illustrated by Lorna Scobie.

A LLAMA IS NOT AN ALPACA immediately lures readers in with its bright, playful cover depicting a llama and an alpaca blowing raspberries at each other!

Once the book is open, kids will surely keep turning the pages for a series of clever, rhyming riddles which point to the differences between nine pairs, and one “triple dare,” of animal look-alikes. Rabbit or hare? (Check the ears.) Butterfly or moth? (One flies at night.) Clam or oyster? (Whose shell is rougher?) A short non-fiction passage explains each answer.

“Here’s the buzz:” The lively text and colorful art will have kids debating “each and every clue.”

--Lynn

Shelf Awareness--The Sinister Booksellers of Bath

YA Review: The Sinister Booksellers of Bath

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix (HarperTeen, $19.99, hardcover, 368p., ages 13-up, 9780063236332)

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London are back in this fine and fantastical sequel by Garth Nix, in which supernatural Susan Arkshaw must face her growing powers--as well as a malevolent mythical entity--when what she really wants is simply to be human.

Booksellers at the Small Bookshop work to rein in magical engagement and sort through secondhand books looking for hidden artifacts from the enchanted Old World. When the booksellers find a map fragment "saturated with sorcery" that depicts a statue-filled garden, fair-haired and left-handed Merlin is brought in to investigate. The map traps Merlin in the garden, which has, through powerful magic, "been taken out of our world." Susan, daughter of a powerful Ancient Sovereign, creates a "translocation map" to follow him. There, Susan finds the corpses of 26 murder victims as well as the sleeping form of one who, like Susan, is a rare "child of a mortal and an Ancient Sovereign" (a "mythic-mortal"). Animated marble statues and rogue Freemasons complicate attempts by Susan and the booksellers to locate the mythic-mortal's "hostile" mother before there are any more deaths--including the potential sacrifice of Susan to a centuries-old murderous being.

Nix's alternate 1980s London sets the scene for action-packed mythological mayhem, as magic and large-scale firepower are employed to aid the booksellers' containment of the Old Ones. Susan faces pressure from Ancient Sovereigns and strong-willed booksellers but makes her own decisions regarding whether she'll fully embrace her destiny (and her relationship with boyfriend Merlin) or fulfill her desire to live a normal life. The execution's the thing in this delightfully whimsical novel where tongue-in-cheek humor prevails. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.