Two more pieces of juvenile literature I've read over the past week or so. I'm sure my reading won't be nearly so prolific once the real schoolwork begins in earnest, and once the second class kicks in on February 17, but in the meantime, yahoo, I'm a-readin'...
Framed by Boyce: One of my favorite authors is Nick Hornby. I've read everything he's written - even the essays which is saying something because I never read essays. Anyway, I'm starting this post with that fact because Boyce is as close as I've ever come to a children's writer that reads like Nick Hornby for kids. It's all there - the slightly exotic British slang, the hip irony, the pop culture references, the humor, the human touch. The basics of the story: Dylan lives in Wales, where his family lives at and operates the Snowdonia Oasis, which is a kind of convenience store, gas station, and auto repair shop. The town they live in is the rainiest in all of Wales, has no jobs, and is slowly dying. Dylan is literally the only boy in his school (leading to funny teacher comments like "Now girls - - and Dylan.."). Then one day a series of mysterious vans arrive and drive up the mountain to the abandoned slate mine. Soon enough it is discovered that due to flooding in London, the entire collection of the National Gallery has been moved to the old mine in Manod for the duration, just as it was during WW2, to avoid Nazi bombs (the storage of the paintings in a mine in Wales during WW2 actually happened). Unexpectedly, the artwork seen by the villagers awakens feelings and ideas they never knew they had. The financial troubles of the family also give rise to a couple of attempted crimes that push the plot along. This is a good book - it is funny, the story is touching, the child at the center is appealing. I love that this boy lives literally at the end of the dead end street in a dead end town with nothing to do all day and no one to do it with, but can't understand why people don't realize how really fantastic his hometown is. The problem is I think it is about 30-50 pages TOO LONG. Somehow, the story just ran out of steam for me, and even though I had enjoyed it, I found myself struggling to finish. I'm not sure if kids would stick with it...
Gregor the Overlander (and subsequent Gregor books) by Suzanne Collins - Boy, I'm late to the party on this one - she's already on book four of the series, and I think book five comes out in spring 2007.... I decided to pick this book up because so many people in the children's department told me they loved it. The premise of the book is that Gregor is an 11 year old boy (why are they ALWAYS 11?) living in New York City whose father has been missing for 2 years. As the eldest, he shares many of the burdens of caring for his family with his mother, who struggles to make ends meet. One day while doing laundry in his apartment building laundry room and watching his toddler sister "Boots," he sees her sucked down into a ventilation grate. Gregor follows, and before you can say "I don't think we're in Kansas" he finds himself deep below the earth, where a group of humans has coexisted with giant talking insects, rats, and bats for several hundred years. The humans have been at war with the rats for the entire time they've lived in the Underworld, with alliances shifting among the other creatures. Before you can say "series fiction rules" Gregor and Boots have been pulled into an adventure that seems to be tied into the prophecies written by the founder of the underworld colony of humans. This is a good series - well paced, pretty well written, and not too derivative of Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, and with no time travel, which is something of a miracle in fantasy fiction for children these days. The later books in the series might be a bit intense for strong readers who are younger, but I think readers from about 5th grade up would be able to handle the themes of violence and redemption. My only quibble with the books really is that I hate the fact that the title character starts every conversation with the word "Hey." As in "Hey, so and so. Blah blah bla..." That beginning "Hey" really bugs me for some reason. That aside, this is solid fantasy that is a cut above much of what is out there right now.
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