The Latte Rebellion

I just barely squeaked by with my goal of staying on top of the Debut Author's Challenge by reading at least one debut a month. Today I finished Sarah Jamila Stevenson's The Latte Rebellion. When I was on Amazon to decide on options for the challenge, I added this book since it deals with mixed-ethnicity identity. Cultural identity has always fascinated me, but I am even more interested since I know that one difference between my childhood and my daughters' is the blending of their cultures. I have already been frustrated with check-boxes about race and ethnicity on different forms, which is brought up in the book. I was also interested to get insights into how they may or may not feel as they move into their teen years.

In the book high schooler Carey is enraged when a classmates makes a slur at Asha, calling her a towel head and barely Asian. Even though he does not think it is a big deal, Carey does, throwing an iced latte all over him. As the girls debrief about the unpleasant experience, an idea forms about lattes representing blending ethnicities. Their joking around ends up inspiring an idea to sell t-shirts around the theme of raising awareness of multi-ethnic backgrounds with the help of a third classmate in order to raise funds for an after-graduation vacation.

They never expected how much concept would take off. Not only did they sell t-shirts, but their site and shirts soon caught national attention. Early on in the book we know that something went horribly wrong as it flips back and forth between describing the events and a hearing to see whether Asha should be expelled from her school.

I loved the format of the book giving glimpses into the future and trying to fill in the gaps. I cringed when some of the details of how the girls marketed and worded their concept were revealed, seeing how their intentions could easily be misconstrued. Yet, the details of exactly what happened to warrant an expulsion hearing was not fully revealed until much later in the book. I also enjoyed the balance of characters and events in the book being able to see the concept from multiple perspectives.

I'm 2 for 2 with loving my picks for the Debut Author's Challenge. I already have several others downloaded on my Kindle or pre-ordered for delivery on their release dates.

*2011 Debut Author Challenge Book 2/12

Shine

Shine by Lauren Myracle is a multi-layered novel that reveals with each turn of the page a little bit more of how complex the events are. When I first read that the book was about 16 year old Cat trying to do her own investigation into her best friend's hate crime, I thought that in itself would be gut wrenching and suspenseful. Yet, it did not take me long to realize that Cat was still coming to grips with something that had happened to her about three years prior that had led her to pulling away from everyone she cared about. As the book moved on it ended up being that everyone in their small southern town had their own secrets and aspects that others did not fully understand.

Cat's investigation puts her in danger, yet she can't stop. She has to keep on trying to get justice for Patrick. Going back and forth between the past and the present, little by little Cat filled in details as a first person narrator to help us understand the past events that influenced the dynamics of the multiple relationships in the book and as she tried to make sense of what happened that traumatic night when Patrick was attacked.

Myracle's book includes insights into the effects of intolerance, abuse, and substance abuse, as well as trying to escape the confines of a small town community with rough circumstances. The novel will leave readers with plenty to discuss and analyze about the multi-dimensional plot and characters. Though it was a completely different tone from the only other book by Myracle that I have read, Peace, Love, and Baby Ducks, both show Myracle's excellent craft in being able to tell the story that needs to be told with an appropriate voice.

Shine will be released in hardcover in May.

*Electronic galley courtesy of publisher via Net Galley

A True Princess Blog Tour

After finishing A True Princess last weekend, I am excited to share more about the author and book, as well as participate in a Q&A with Diane Zahler for her blog tour. Enjoy!


About Diane Zahler

Diane Zahler, author of A True Princess, has loved tales of fairies and magic since before she was old enough to read. She has worked in the children’s room at a public library, in children’s book publishing, and as an elementary and high school textbook writer. The Thirteenth Princess, her first novel for young readers,  was published in 2010. She lives with her husband and dog in an old farmhouse in the Harlem Valley that is held together with duct tape and magic spells. 

About A True Princess

Twelve-year-old Lilia is not a very good servant. She daydreams, she breaks dishes, and her cooking is awful! Still, she hardly deserves to be sold off to the mean-spirited miller and his family. Lilia refuses to accept that dreadful fate, and with her best friend Kai and his sister Karina beside her, she heads north to find the family she's never known. But danger awaits. . . .

As their quest leads the threesome through the mysterious and sinister Bitra Forest, they suddenly realize they are lost in the elves' domain. To Lilia's horror, Kai falls under an enchantment cast by the Elf-King's beautiful daughter. The only way for Lilia to break the spell and save Kai is to find a jewel of ancient power that lies somewhere in the North Kingdoms. Yet the jewel will not be easy to find. The castle where it is hidden has been overrun with princess hopefuls trying to pass a magical test that will determine the prince's new bride. Lilia has only a few days to search every inch of the castle and find the jewel—or Kai will be lost to her forever.

Q: How much and what kind of research did you do for A True Princess?

A: When I was working on ideas for a follow-up to my first novel, The Thirteenth Princess, my husband was teaching a poetry class at Fordham University (he’s an English professor). One of the poems he was doing was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s “The Erl-King,” which I had never read before. He read it aloud to me, and it was so creepy and wonderful that I started to think about putting a wicked elf-king in the story. I wanted to set the tale in the far north, so I researched the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, which appear in the story. Then I looked for Nordic legends and myths that would fit into the story and came up with Odin, the Norse king of gods, and nisses, mischievous sprites, who also became important characters.

Q: My sixth graders had fun with a Cinderella Around the World unit that I previously taught. There are so many possibilities. Since you have written a couple of retellings, I was wondering what ideas you might have for teachers to use your fairy tale retellings in the classroom?

A: In my previous incarnation – before I started publishing children’s novels – I was a textbook writer. I wrote lessons in literature, reading, and language arts for elementary and secondary school students, so I have thought about that. For teachers, I think retold fairy tales can be a great tool. By the time students are old enough to read a book like my first novel, The Thirteenth Princess, or A True Princess, they’ve usually encountered fairy tales in some form. They’re familiar with the stories. You could use a retold tale to teach about genre by pointing out how it includes the elements of a typical fairy tale – magic, witches, a princess or a prince. You could use it to expand lessons on character, setting, and plot by comparing the retold story to the original. This would help students see how these elements can be developed and the different directions they take. As a composition tool, a retold fairy tale can let help students see how they as writers can use character and plot development and description to open up a genre and work creatively themselves.

Q: I loved how you blended a traditional fairy tale while making it your own by adding in other concepts, rather than just sticking to "The Princess and the Pea". What advice would you give students (or any other writers) about finding a balance to preserve the intent of the original story while also giving it their own unique twist?

A: That’s a great question! I think it depends a lot on the fairy tale itself. Some have been retold over and over, so writers who want to take them on have to look for approaches that are new. They might use only bits and pieces of the original, or they might layer a completely different story over the tale. That’s pretty much what I did with A True Princess  -- “The Princess and the Pea” is in there, but it’s not the main focus of the book. Other, less-known tales might lend themselves to a retelling that keeps more faithfully to the original story. That said, a novel-length fairy tale retelling HAS to include a writer’s unique stamp because the originals are usually so short. “The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” the basis for my first novel The Thirteenth Princess, is only 3 or 4 pages long. That left me hundreds of pages for invention!

Aspiring fairy-tale writers should think about what makes the original tale special and magical for them. What drew you to the story in the first place? I loved the idea of a pile of feather mattresses and a girl so sensitive that she couldn’t sleep with a tiny pea beneath them. But I was also intrigued by some of the Nordic myth and legend I found when I researched the setting. And Goethe’s poem “The Erl-King” made its way into the story too. The challenge is to retain the aspects of the story that grabbed you, while making it your own in as imaginative a way as you want. The balance between the original story and the writer’s inventions will change, depending on the story and the writer. That’s what I love about retelling fairy tales: they allow amazing freedom for writers within the lines of the original tale, and they also reward writers who step outside those lines.

Q: I can't wait to get a copy of your first book The Thirteenth Princess, and I would love to read other similar books. Are you currently or do you plan on working on another fairy tale retelling?

A: Yes, I am! My next retelling is called Princess of the Wild Swans and will be out in February 2012. It’s based on Hans Christian Andersen’s tale “The Wild Swans” and the Grimms’ story “The Six Swans.”  And I’m hard at work on a fourth book – but that one’s not far enough along to talk about yet!

Thank you for participating in the Q&A Diane. I look forward to watching for Princess of the Wild Swans next year, as well as reading and re-reading your first two books with my daughters.

Secret Saturdays

I bought Secret Saturdays this summer when I was buying what one of my students would call "guy books," since I decided to focus on such books for my summer YA Lit class in an attempt to push myself to read books that appeal to boys, rather than focusing too much on books geared more for girls. Except, rather than just buying the number of books required for the class I found my self clicking away, adding more books than I could read over the summer into my cart. As a result, I still have a stack left to read.

At first when I picked up Secret Saturdays, it took me a while to orient myself to the book. From the front cover and description, I was picturing Justin as a high schooler. As I read, I noticed that he seemed younger and eventually realized that he was a sixth grader, so the tone and plot was different than I had expected since it is a first person narration.

In the book Justin is trying to figure out why his best friend Sean has been acting different lately, at times seeming like night and day between the old Sean and the new Sean. Justin noticed Sean and his mother leaving their housing project early on some Saturdays but Sean never told him about the trips. When Sean won't open up to Justin or their other two close friends, they try to solve the mystery on their own in order to understand just what is going on with Sean.

The book is set in the same neighborhood where Maldonado grew up, so he is able to weave in challenges that are true to the setting. I appreciated that as Justin learned more about Sean's situation, he was surprised to also learn about himself. At 195 pages, the book is a nice length for middle school readers, especially those who are not avid readers. I would imagine that it would be especially appealing for boys who can relate to Sean and Justin, having a difficult time navigating their circumstances of growing up without fathers and as the book describes, many potential traps along the way. One of the concepts of the book was the difficulties of sharing true feelings and struggles with even closest friends, so the book could serve as an outlet to process and understand how others feel even before the readers themselves feel comfortable reaching out to their own friends.

A True Princess

When I first heard about Diane Zahler's two novels, The Thirteenth Princess and A True Princess, my interest was automatically piqued. Just as I have mentioned many times on my blog that I love books involving identity, another one of my favorites is retellings of classics and fairy tales. I was thrilled to find out that I would have a chance to read A True Princess and host a stop on Zahler's blog tour.

I started reading the book, suggested for 8-12 year olds, aloud to my 7 year old before bed time. Since we had already done a lot of other reading, she was quickly lulled to sleep, but I could not stop. I stayed in bed next to her reading away. As I was reading I remembered that the book weaves in ideas from "The Princess and the Pea," so I was able to predict some of what was going to happen. Yet, Zahler was also inspired by other sources, which led to many other twists and turns to keep me wondering what would happen next.

Needless to say, I absolutely loved the book and plan on getting The Thirteenth Princess and any other fairy tale retelling that Zahler ends up doing. I noticed that The Thirteenth Princess is available on Kindle, but I am planning to get a paper version since the two covers will look great together side by side, and it will be fun to have for my daughters' collection of books as they grow. They will love this one especially because it is based on the Grimm's fairy tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." My girls love the Barbie movie version, which I admit is my only understanding of the tale. I will definitely read the Grimm's version either before or after reading Zahler's retelling.

I am excited to continue reading A True Princess with my daughter and am assuming that we will be able to read it multiple times as she and her little sister continue to grow. I highly recommend the book for people of all ages who enjoy the creativity involved with retellings, as well as for the recommended age range for the book.

Find out more about Zahler's books on February 10th when I host a stop on her blog tour.

*Copy provided by the publisher