Another reason to love Brandon Mull

It looks like Channel 11 pulled the video story down, but I found this from his local Utah station. The boy is from Keller, not too far from me, and is a huge Fablehaven fan. He suffers from Cystic Fibrosis and may not live long enough to see the final book published. Brandon made a call to his hospital room to fill him in on some of the details.

Latest Trailer for Percy Jackson and the LIghtning Thief

Saw New Moon last night (finally!) and caught the new trailer for Percy Jackson. If you haven't seen it, here it is:

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

This is one of the most disturbing books I've ever encountered. There have been a few of these reads here over the past year: from Jay Asher's 13 Reasons Why to Sang Pak's Wait Until Twilight. But Living Dead Girl (2008, Simon Pulse) by Elizabeth Scott literally made my stomach hurt for the full week it took for me to make it through the audio book edition -- you could say it's the perfect book for future Jodi Piccoult fans.

Like those other books, I struggled to see it through the eyes of its intended audience and not an adult and mother. Listed for ages 16 and up (most definitely not for a younger reader), Living Dead Girl is the story of 15-year-old Alice (not her real name) who has spent the past five years enslaved by her kidnapper Ray.

To say the man has issues doesn't even scrape the surface on the extent of the abuse he puts poor Alice through. And she isn't the first to experience Ray's unique brand of "love". Ray killed the first Alice because she was no longer a little girl. Now, as our narrator is nearing the same precipice of development, Ray enlists her help finding a new little girl to take her place.

Told in haunting first person present, Living Dead Girl numbly recounts the events of Alice's last five years. Her fear/hope of what is about to happen is mesmerizing. Scott does an amazing job of retaining the gritty realism of Alice's horrific experience without graphic details. Like a Hitchcock film, it's what isn't seen (or said) that horrifies. Making it all the more horrifying.

Readers (myself included) may not be thrilled with how Scott saves Alice from her living death, but will probably be forced to admit it was destined to play out that way.

As a piece of writing, it is stellar. Scott completely captures the blank numbness of emotional resolution that must accompany such a situation. As a reading selection, I can only imagine it would cause young girls to realize in great clarity the consequences of a single careless decision or misplaced trust.

Beyond that, though, is the underlying message that so many adults who had a chance to help Alice chose not to see the truth before their eyes. Even the ones who asked questions and plainly knew something was not right with this girl, didn't do what it took to save her. And in the end, Alice has to save herself in the only way she knows how.

Living Dead Girl is a powerful book that will make you think (about things you don't want to think about). 4 1/2 bookmarks.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray (YA)

If you like your quest adventures filled with existentialism and satire, Going Bovine (2009, Random House Children's Books) by the most-awesome Libba Bray will rock your world.

This is one. trippy. book.

Gemma Doyle fans take note: we are not in Victorian England anymore. Not one spec of lace to be found -- although there are plenty of feathers.

Eoin Colfer has (I hear) done a smashing job of continuing Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide, but Bray could easily pinch hit. Her dry wit and sarcasm are perfectly channeled through her teenage hero, 16-year-old Cameron.

Poor Cameron. He's not doing so well in school, he's not popular like his twin sister, he cuts class and hangs out in the bathroom with the pot-smokers... and then strange things start happening. Turns out, Cameron has Mad Cow disease, and before he knows it, he's in the hospital.

From there, things get stranger... Cameron's friend from school, a dwarf named Gonzo, ends up in the same hospital room. Encouraged by the vision of a fishnet stocking-wearing angel named Dulcie, they take off on a Don Quixote-like quest to find the mysterious Dr. X who might be able to cure Cameron and stop the dark forces he allowed to enter the world from destroying it. (pant pant)

There truly has never been a road trip like this one. Racing the clock to find Dr. X before the sand runs out of Cameron's hourglass, they "follow the feather" from Texas to New Orleans to Spring Break in Florida to Disney World, battling dark forces with the help of a dead jazz musician, a yard gnome/Viking and the world's most beloved (and mysteriously missing) rock band. And the thread running through it all: is this really happening? Or is Cameron's Mad Cow-infected brain creating this as it turns to mush?

Did I mention this is One. Trippy. Book?

Bray slices the teenage world wide open and hangs it all out there for examination. Each stop along the way presents Cameron with temptations that may or may not be positive one, painting an absurd world in which teenagers must learn to choose which is which. As in any good satire, it's often too close to the truth. Whether in the form of a smiling cult of do-gooders or the latest MTV generation of reality-show wanna be's, every encounter is an opportunity for Bray to make a statement. Luckily, she does it in her own subtle way, staying just this side of preachy.

Cameron's metamorphosis in character is extensive. You're not going to like him much in the beginning, but stick with the kid because he'll grow on you. Dulcie remains an enigma, with good reason I suppose, but I would have liked more of her character. Gonzo and the Viking god Balder (who is trapped in the form of a yard gnome) are the most interesting characters and play their parts well as Cameron's loyal buds.

I go back and forth about how I feel about the ending, and I won't say more here because it's impossible to do so without spoilers. But I have no doubt Cameron's fate is, and will continue to be, the subject of much debate for readers.

While the dust jacket says 14 and up, I have to play conservative on this one and recommend it more for someone old enough to drive due to R-rated language and more than a few scenes of mature subject matter. That said, high school readers (especially those who have studied Don Quixote) will soak up this mind-spinning journey. 4 bookmarks.

What does it mean to be Global? by Rana DiOrio with illustrations by Chris Hill

Toddlers hear the adults around them use the words "green", "recycle" and "global", and if questions have come up around your house about these ideas, turn to Little Pickle Press to help make these big concepts more accessible to young ones. Specifically, What Does It Mean To Be Global?, written by Rana DiOrio, gives parents a springboard for discussing what it means to think "outside the neighborhood."

DiOrio doesn't try to hide the fact that she's written a teaching book, but makes sure to serve up that initial question complete with silly answers that will immediately engage young readers. With light-hearted illustrations by Chris Hill, "Global" encourages children to not only explore the world's various cultures, religions, languages, and traditions but to be respectful of them and hold them in as high regard as they would their own.

Practicing what they preach, Little Pickle Press not only prints on recycled paper with soy inks, and ships green (selling direct), but they also donate 10% of all book purchases to "non-profit partners dedicated to helping children in great need". What Does it Mean to be Global benefits Starlight Children's Foundation (starlight.org).

Other titles including What Does it Mean to be Green? and What Does it Meant to be Present? Learn more about Little Pickle Press (and watch a cute video of "Global") here.

With the holidays coming up, I always encourage the giving of books, and these titles would make wonderful gifts -- and have the look and feel of a much bigger press. I was very impressed with these books and the publishing company in general. 4 bookmarks -- check them out.