Posts Tagged «fantasy»
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
by Kenneth Oppel, 375 pages, Grades 7-11
Ben had always hoped for a sibling, but he never expected that his parents would adopt a little brother like Zan. His father is a behavioral psychologist who has transplanted the family to Canada to study chimpanzees, so it wasn’t so unexpected that his parents would bring a chimp into their home. But, in 1973 on Ben’s thirteenth birthday they surprise him with “a little brother.” Zan is a chimpanzee that they expect Ben to treat like a sibling. It is all part of his father’s study, but it soon becomes difficult to distinguish experiment from genuine feelings, and the thing is what is cute when the chimp is a baby might be a real problem when Zan is stronger than everyone he lives with.
If you enjoy speculative fiction, you might also like Airborn, also by Kenneth Oppel, or Crunch by Leslie Connor, or A Dog For Life, by L.S. Matthews; these books have a realistic feel, but a fantasy twist.
Click here to see if it’s available for check out.
Tags: family problems, fantasy
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Friday, January 6th, 2012
by Colin Meloy, 545 pages, Grades 4-7
Student Review
Prue McKeel’s life is ordinary until a murder of crows kidnaps her baby brother Mac. They take him into a place called “Impassable Wilderness.” This place is a big green area labeled “I.W” on every map of Portland, Oregon. Prue and her friend Curtis have to venture into this wilderness from which no one has ever returned alive. They travel through forests finding not only warring creatures, and menacing figures, but friendship, as they struggle for the freedom from this wilderness. Prue and Curtis uncover a whole new secret world hidden within the trees; a wilderness called Wildwood. From talking coyotes and birds to bandit camps and an evil governess, Wildwood is packed with mysteries. Can they save Prue’s brother and get out alive? You’ll have to find out. MC
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Tags: adventure, brothers and sisters, families, fantasy, friendship
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Sunday, September 4th, 2011
by Eoin Colfer, 412 pages, Grades 7-8
Conor Broekhart was born in the air. His parents took a ride in a hot air balloon at the 1878 Paris World’s Fair, and that is the moment Conor decided to arrive. It is no wonder he is determined to fly; he is a brilliant engineer from very young and is lucky enough to work with another brilliant man, Victor Vigny, advisor to the king. The king’s daughter admires Conor’s talent as well, and all seems to be perfect for the Broekhart family.
Unfortunately, his life takes a dramatic turn. The good king has placed his trust in the wrong man; one of his confidants, Marshall Bonvilain, kills the king and frames Conor for the murder! Conor is thrown into a high security prison on an island, and his parents believe him to be dead. He is subjected a brutal life in the prison, but also makes some allies that help him attempt to save the kingdom, and his family as well as seek revenge on the evil Bonvilain.
Connections: If you enjoy steam punk fiction, you might also like: Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld, or Airborn by Kenneth Oppel. The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas is the first novel about a man being mistakenly imprisoned and escaping to seek his revenge.
Click here to see if it’s available for check out.
Tags: adventure, fantasy, science fiction, steam punk, survival, suspense, Young Adult
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Friday, June 3rd, 2011
by Maryrose Wood, 278 pages, Grades 7 and up.
Even Jesamine, who is the daughter of the apothecary and a skilled gardener, is not allowed beyond the locked gate of the poison garden. Jesamine lives with her father, who heals the sick in and around London, in a country house in the mid 1800s.
One day the man in charge of the local home for the insane delivers a mysterious young man he calls Weed to their doorstep. Jesamine’s father agrees to take him in even though he seems dangerous; he might be to blame for curing those in the asylum, and creating an epidemic of insanity in town.
The arrival of Weed reveals things to Jesamine that she has not realized about herself, about her father, and about the nature of poisons. Her life will never be the same.
If you like romance, mystery and fantasy you might also like Graceling, by Kristin Cashore, Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, or Matched by Allie Condie.
Tags: family problems, fantasy, historical fiction, love stories, mystery, teens
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Friday, May 27th, 2011
by Carolyn Coman 263 pages Grades 6-8
Hope watches her sister get smaller and smaller as her parents drive their car away. “Forget her!” they tell Hope, but she loves Honey, how can her parents abandon her on the side of the road.
The Memory Bank is told in two ways from two points of view. Honey is quickly picked up and handed a lollipop by a smiling lady and a bunch of laughing kids; her story is told in pictures, while Hope’s is described in words.
Hope cannot forget her sister, of course, and ends up being investigated by the World Wide Memory Bank for delinquent memory creation; instead of creating new memories, all Hope can do is think about her sister. Maybe the bank will hold the key to finding her.
The authors flash back and forth between these two adventures until they come together for a smashing finish.
If you like graphic novels you might also enjoy: Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, by Barry Deutsch, or The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel in Words and Pictures, by Brian Selznick
Tags: adventure, brothers and sisters, fantasy, girls, graphic fiction, orphans
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Thursday, April 21st, 2011
by James Dashner 374 pages, Grades 6-10
Tom wakes up in a box without windows or doors. He fumbles around and cannot find a way out until the top opens up and beyond the glare of the bright light he hears kids voices.
“Look at that shank.”
“How old is he?”
“Looks like a klunk in a T-shirt.” (p.3)
Tom cannot remember who he is or where he came from, but he is pulled up into the Glade by a bunch of other teenage boys. All the kids there arrived in about the same state: confused, some sense of the way things work, but no clear memories of the details of their lives before the dark box that delivered them.
The Glade is a bit like a working farm and a bit like a prison. Each of the teens has a job to keep the place functioning: cook, farmer, slopper, runner, etc., but there is no way out. They all believe their one hope to get home is to decipher the maze that surrounds the Glade, but the maze changes shape every night, and there are frightening things that roam its halls.
Connections: Those who enjoyed Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins or Unwind, by Neal Shusterman will like the Maze Runner too!
Tags: dystopian world, fantasy, running, survival, suspense, teens
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Friday, March 25th, 2011
by Ally Condie, 366 pages, Grades 7 and up
In a future world where no one has to fear disease, malnutrition, crime, or other problems of past cultures, people trust The Society to make the best decisions about everything: the food you should be eating, the clothes you wear and even who is best suited to be your partner for life.
Cassia has reached the age of her matching, and at the ceremony while others are paired with people from other cities far away Cassia is surprised and grateful to find her match is Xander, her best friend from childhood. She leaves the ceremony feeling confident this is her ideal mate, but when she uses the computer to find out more about her match the face of another boy she knows flashes on the screen!
This little “mistake” opens Cassia’s eyes to the possibility that The Society might not really be as perfect as she has been brought up to believe; could this doubt put everyone she knows in danger? And, who is her real match?
If you enjoy dystopian fantasy, fiction that takes place in a future that is the opposite of an ideal world, you might also like: Unwind by Neal Shusterman, or Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
Crossed, the sequel to Matched will come out in 2011.
Tags: coming of age, dystopian, families, fantasy, identity, love stories, romance, teens
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Monday, February 7th, 2011
By Scott Westerfeld, 44o pages, Grades 7 and up
Westerfeld has created an alternative history of World War I and filled it with Clanker and Darwinist war machines. The Clankers use mechanical transports that remind readers of the Empire’s AT-AT walkers in Star Wars while the Darwinists use flying machines that live, breathe and eat. In fact, one of their greatest living machines called Leviathan is really an entire ecosystem; whale DNA, bat, and bird all mixed together to create a huge flying zeppelin manned by the military. Daryn, a girl disguised as a young soldier, joins the Darwinist army and is aboard the Leviathan when the war begins. Alek, the Austrian prince, escapes his country after his parents’ assassination in a Clanker contraption. A near fatal crash, and a famous scientist seeking to save her precious cargo bring Daryn and Alek’s worlds and missions together in the chaos of the beginning of an alternate first World War.
This book’s sequel Behemouth has recently arrived and promises to be another thrilling adventure. Another exciting adventure including a zeppelin and an alternative past is called: Airborn, by Kenneth Oppel. Oppel’s story is less of war and more like an adventure on the high seas with pirates and mysterious creatures.
Tags: adventure, Darwin, fantasy, friendship, identity, steam_punk, suspense, teens, war, World War I, Young Adult
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Friday, September 24th, 2010
By Lian Hearn, p. 305 – adventure
Takeo has never known his father, who died many years before, and he has been growing up in a remote and peaceful Japanese village surrounded by the rest of his loving family. The rest of Japan is not so; it is a time of warlords, and secret societies in the middle ages, and Takeo’s home is attacked and destroyed by a warlord named Iida who is threatening to take over the whole country. When Takeo returns from a walk in the woods and sees his village burning, something inside him takes over. He scares the warlord’s horse and causes Iida to fall to the ground. Understanding his fatal blunder, he runs back into the woods chased by the warlord’s soldiers. They all run into a man on horseback who fights for Takeo, cutting off the arm of one of Iida’s best warriors. This mysterious man turns out to be a lord of the Otori clan, another of the powerful families of Japan.
Takeo’s life changes completely from this day forward. He is adopted by the Otori and he discovers his father was a famous assassin. He also finds out his real heritage is the Tribe, a kind of secret ninja society; he possesses some of the Tribe’s extraordinary abilities. He can hear details across a crowded courtyard, or through a wooden door, he can make himself “go invisible” and become as silent as a ghost.
In these turbulent times, talents like these are desired by many, and Takeo finds himself pulled in different directions, but he is determined to complete the final task for his adopted father: kill Iida, the same lord who burned his village and killed his family. The trouble is the only way to reach the warlord in his palace is to cross the nightingale floor, a huge room covered in a floor that sings whenever anyone touches it. How can he cross the nightingale floor and avenge his family?
Connections: For other stories taking place in medieval Japan try The Samurai’s Tale, by Erik Christian Haugaard, or The Sword that Cut the Burning Grass: A Samurai Mystery, by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler.
Tags: adventure, coming of age, families, fantasy, historical fiction, identity, love stories, orphans, outsiders, survival, teenagers, teens
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Friday, September 24th, 2010
By Michael Scott – p. 375 – Grade 6-9 – fantasy
Michael Scott is a professor of mythology and was inspired by the TRUE story of Nicholas Flamel. He was actually a real person! He was born in Paris on September 28, 1330, and buried 1418, but the tomb is empty! Thus begins the myth, or history, of the alchemyst, Nicholas Flamel, immortal and still alive in today?
The Alchemyst begins in modern day New York City; teenage twins Sophie and Josh have moved there for the summer. The brother works in a bookstore for Nick Flemming (name sound familiar?) and the sister works at a cafe across the street. Right away the bookstore is blown up by mud people and a menacing character named Dr. John Dee. When Dee and his muddy henchmen storm into the bookstore, Josh is watching from a hiding place. Dee grabs Flamel’s wife, Perry, and almost makes off with the most powerful book of magic, but Josh manages to grab a few key pages before he and Mr. Flemming have to escape the explosion. Flamel believes Josh and Sophie might be the twins of the prophecy, so he wants to keep them close in the hopes of finding his precious wife and the stopping Dee from destroying the world as we know it. From the moment the bookstore explodes Josh and Sophie are on a roller coaster adventure, full of magical, mythical creatures and frightening beasts. Sequels The Magician and The Sorceress continue the perilous adventure.
Connections: Other adventure fantasies The Lightning Thief series, by Rick Riordan, Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling, The Alchemist’s Cat, by Robin Jarvis
Tags: Add new tag, adventure, brothers and sisters, fantasy, heroes, mystery, mythology, survival, suspense, teenagers, teens
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Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
By Maurice Gee, 252 pages Grades 7-10
When Hari’s father is captured by soldiers from the Company and sent to Deep Salt as punishment, Hari vows to save him even though no one ever returns from these dangerous mines. Simultaneously, Pearl, the daughter in a high-ranking Company family escapes her arranged marriage by fleeing with her maid, Tealeaf, a mystical Dweller. Both Hari and Pearl have the ability to communicate telepathically, and they work together to try and save Hari’s father and their world from the dangerous weapon found in the mine.
Connections: Another fantasy title where the main character is helped by her ability to communicate with animals is Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. For other mature titles where male and female characters fight to save their community from evil, try reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins or Graceling by Kristin Cashore.
Tags: Add new tag, class systems, colonization, dystopian world, extrasensory perception, fantasy, friendship, human-animal communication, prejudice, quest, radioactive materials, telepathy
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Friday, November 20th, 2009
by Neil Gaiman, p. 312 – Grades 5-8
“There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife,” and so begins the story of orphan, Nobody (Bod) Owens, who has been raised by the inhabitants of the graveyard since the night his family was murdered when he was just 18 months old. Given the freedom of the graveyard, Bod lives his life in the company of the dead, and finds adventures and dangers within its walls, involving ghouls, the undead and even a human playmate, Scarlet Amber Perkins. As long as he stays in the graveyard he enjoys many non-earthly freedoms and remains safe from the man Jack who was still looking to kill him, but he longs to learn his story and explore the wide world beyond.
Connections: For other great fantasy books dealing with the dead, try reading Sabriel by Garth Nix (in print and audio), The Seer of Shadows by Avi, and Ghost Girl by Tonya Hurly. Watch “The Graveyard Book Video Tour” to see/listen to the author reading the book chapter by chapter while on his national tour.
Tags: adventure, cemetaries, coming of age, dead, fantasy, Neil Gaiman, supernatural, suspense
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Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
by Alex Flinn. p. 304 Young Adult
Attention Twilight fans! This compelling romance puts a contemporary spin on the Beauty and the Beast tale. Popular fourteen-year-old Kyle Kingsbury is incredibly good looking, charming, rich, and really mean. After playing an especially cruel trick on a homely girl,at a dance, a witch casts a spell on Kyle turning him into a beast–making him as ugly on the outside as he has been on the inside. He only has two years to break the spell or live as a beast forever. In order to do so, he must fall in true love with someone who will love him back and give him, of course, a kiss!
Connections: Here are some other excellent versions of the Beauty and the Beast story: Beast by Donna Jo Napoli; Rose Daughter and Beauty by Robin McKinley.
Tags: Add new tag, Beauty and the Beast, fantasy, fathers and sons, fiction, love stories, New York City, popularity, romance, wealth, Young Adult
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Monday, July 20th, 2009
by Kathi Appelt p. 313 Grades 6-8
This amazing book has it all–chills, thrills, tears, fears; strangers and dangers; monsters and heroes; prehistoric and modern times; dogs and cats, love and hate; cruelty and compassion; animals and humans; magic and realism, shape-shifters and kittens; revenge and redemption; loneliness and friendship. This strange and magical story begins in a Texas bayou when a calico cat about to have kittens hears the lonely howls of a chained up dog. She and her kittens take up residence with him underneath the shack where the hound’s cruel master, Gar Face, has chained him. They are safe until one of the kittens ventures out from the underneath and is caught by Gar-Face.
Connections: If you like sad animal stories, try these titles: Old Yeller by Fred Gipson, Sounder by William Armstrong, Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O’Brien, and Watership Down by Richard Adams are other wonderful fantasies where animals form communities to help each other.
Tags: adventure, animals, bayous, cats, compassion, dogs, fantasy, friendship, kittens, loneliness, magical realism, sad stories, shape-shifters, snakes, survival
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Monday, July 20th, 2009
by John Flanagan p. 250 (about) Grades 5-8
If you like fast-paced, exciting adventure series, here’s an excellent one. In The Ruins of Gorlan, book one of the series, fifteen-year old Will becomes apprenticed to Halt, a senior member of the Rangers, a group of dark-cloaked, mysterious spies whose espionage protects the kingdom. His training–rigorous, often grueling–prepares Will to face the challenges to the kingdom by Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, including gigantic, ferocious wild boars and the Kalkara, ape-like creatures that use their piercing stares to paralyze their opponents.
Connections: Here are other fast-paced adventure series: Maximum Ride by James Patterson, Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan, Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, and Alex Rider by Anthony Horowitz.
Tags: adventure, bullies, espionage, fantasy, good and evil, heroes, monsters, orphans, series, Spies
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Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
by Patricia C. Wrede, p. 344 – Grades 6 & Up
Eff and her twin brother Lan live in a magical, alternative version of the the western frontier. Eff is born the thirteenth child, a position that is thought to bring bad luck to the family, while her brother is lucky 14 and the 7th son of the 7th son, a position that brings extraordinary magical power. The family moves from the civilized and secure east to the western frontier where a magical border keeps dangerous creatures like the dreaded steam dragons away from the settlements. Despite her difficulties learning and controlling magic, Eff’s teacher Miss Ochiba teaches her not only Avrupan magic but also the Hijero-Cathayan and Aphrikan styles. An expedition to the settlements outside the Great Barrier Magic tests her magical skills.
Connection: For another story that brings a magical alternative to a historical setting, try reading The Water Mirror by Kai Meyer.
Tags: brothers and sisters, coming of age, family life, fantasy, frontier and pioneer life, magic, Patricia C. Wrede, schools, twins
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Monday, May 4th, 2009
by Kristin Cashore, p. 471 – Grades 8 & Up
This award winning first novel by Kristin Cashore will have mature readers begging for a sequel. The king of Middluns first identified Lady Katsa’s “grace” when she killed a man at age 8, and he has been using her special talent to keep the people of his kingdom and the surrounding six kingdoms in line ever since. Lady Katsa rebels against the bullying king by secretly forming a council to protect those who have been treated unfairly throughout the seven kingdoms. The rescue of a neighboring king’s kidnapped father leads Katsa on a quest to find his captor, with the help of his grandson, who has an interesting “grace” of his own.
Connection: This book might appeal to those who enjoyed the combination of fantasy and romance in Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight books or the strong female protagonist in Garth Nix’s Sabriel series. — CRW
Tags: autonomy, fantasy, identity, justice, Kristin Cashore, love stories, rebellion, romance, Young Adult
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Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
by Tonya Hurley, p.328 – Grades 7 & Up
It is the first day of her junior year and Charlotte is geared up to shift from ignored wallflower to part of the in-crowd. When she gets dream-guy Damen as her physics lab partner, she thinks that the stars have finally aligned. As they leave the classroom with Damen asking her to be his tutor, Charlotte chokes on a gummy bear and dies. Caught in the world between life and eternity, Charlotte and her new Dead Ed. classmates find out that they have some unfinished business before they can really move on.
Connection: For another book about high school and struggles with popularity try reading, She’s So Money by Cherry Cheva –CRW
Tags: death, fantasy, friendship, ghosts, high schools, popularity, teens, Tonya Hurley
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Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
by Lois Lowry, p. 140 – Grades 4-7
This is the story of “Littlest One,” a young Giver learning how to bestow dreams. She is trying to save an 8 year-old boy (a victim of abuse who is currently in foster care) from the nightmares brought on by the Sinisteeds. The stories of the boy, his foster care mother, and his rehabilitating mother are all told through the gathering of fragments (short memories) collected by touching the objects of a person’s life. This is a beautiful quiet story that looks at the fallout from child abuse and the challenges of foster care.
Connection: Another great book by this author is The Willoughbys- a darkly humorous story about two children left with a nanny by their neglectful parents.
Highlight: Check out this interview with Lois Lowry from Reading Rockets. –CRW
Tags: child abuse, dreams, fantasy, foster home care, Lois Lowry, nightmares
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Monday, April 27th, 2009
by Matt Haig, p. 316 – Grades 4-8
Twelve-year-old Samuel and his sister Martha (who has recently become selectively mute) find themselves living on the edge of a mysterious forest in Norway after the sudden, tragic death of their parents. Samuel is having trouble adapting to this new strange environment and his quirky aunt’s long list of rules, including the most important – “NEVER – UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES – GO INTO THE FOREST.” The forest contains dark and dangerous creatures as well as a mystery surrounding the disappearance of Aunt Eda’s husband, Uncle Henrik. Samuel is forced into unlocking the mysteries of the forest when he has to save his sister, who also inexplicably disappears into it one day.
Connection: This story might appeal to those readers who enjoy spunky orphan stories like Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events. –CRW
Tags: adventure, fantasy, forests, imaginary creatures, magic, Matt Haig, Norway, orphans
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Monday, April 27th, 2009
by Elise Broach, p.292 – Grades 4-8
Marvin (a beetle and the narrator of the story) lives under the sink in the house in NYC where James lives with his mother, step-father and baby brother. Marvin remains hidden with his family until one day he uses ink from James’ new pen and ink set to make the boy a birthday drawing. Their growing friendship and Marvin’s drawing talent lead the two to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and into a mystery around some missing Albrecht Durer drawings.
Connection: The talented bug is remniscent of The Cricket in Times Square, and the mystery surrounding the art brings a couple of books to mind: From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and Chasing Vermeer. –CRW
Tags: Albrecht Durer, artists, beetles, divorce, Elise Broach, family life, fantasy, Metropolitan Museum of Art, mystery, New York City
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Ben had always hoped for a sibling, but he never expected that his parents would adopt a little brother like Zan. His father is a behavioral psychologist who has transplanted the family to Canada to study chimpanzees, so it wasn’t so unexpected that his parents would bring a chimp into their home. But, in 1973 on Ben’s thirteenth birthday they surprise him with “a little brother.” Zan is a chimpanzee that they expect Ben to treat like a sibling. It is all part of his father’s study, but it soon becomes difficult to distinguish experiment from genuine feelings, and the thing is what is cute when the chimp is a baby might be a real problem when Zan is stronger than everyone he lives with.
