In a world where most people have a invisible, unsensible 'fairy', which gives good luck in a particular thing, not all fairies are created equal; and some can be downright difficult. Our heroine, attending a high school for sports stars, finds her parking fairy especially difficult to live with, and so she's taking steps-- by never riding in cars or other transport, she hopes to starve away her fairy. The unintended consequences of her plan tangle her up with a fairy expert, a girl with a boy-crazy fairy, and some difficult choices.

This is a fun, funny, teenage angst novel with magic-like elements, which is why our 11-year-old picked it up and enjoyed it. While there's some moral in here (our heroine finds out first hand why having a boy-crazy fairy isn't a good thing, and why the owner of such a fairy has social troubles, not to mention that her big, famous hometown might be just a *little* parochial), there's no heavy-handedness here. This is a fun read, and at least to me, reads true to teen thought processes. Adults may be concerned about some remarkably stupid choices of some of the characters, but again, that's true to life too-- even if it merits a family discussion among the readers.

Miss B. was just finishing a book, and I knew she'd be casting about for something new, so I handed her Mister Monday by Garth Nix. (Ok, I'd suggested it before, but she had taken it to Florida and then left it in a knapsack with a decaying lunch; it was now aired out enough and I'd re-read it.) She said she'd read it next. A little while later, I saw her reading (something) and asked her how she liked Mister Monday. "Oh, I haven't started it yet." So, was she planning to read it? "Not until you've suggested it to me three or four more times... like I always do." Yes, I know she was kidding, but after having to routinely steal back books I was *IN THE MIDDLE OF READING* from her, having her say she'd try something and then not... I realized I had been bashing my head against the way in frustration.

Bleah. I give up. I told her that a) I wasn't going to recommend any more books and b) she was no longer allowed to borrow my library books. If she wanted to read books, she'd have to pick them out and check them out herself. She could go back to "reading that drivel like "Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dear Dumb Diary" for all I cared.

Of course, the first thing that happened was that she snagged-- and had removed from her-- one of my requested library books (Cabinet of Wonders); and then her father pointed out that she'd LOVE another one that I got out. Since I'd finished it, we went back to the library and returned it while I got my other requests-- and she asked the circ staff to pull Dussie from the to-be-reshelved truck so she could check it out.

How long will I hold out? I said, Until I forget. So, until I slip up and recommend something to her, she's just stuck. *smile*

Onward and upward to the reviews.

Dussie. Nancy Springer
I happen to love Nancy Springer's work to begin with, but this slight novel is still well-handled, while playing on the Greek Myth trend popular these days. It's only when 13-year-old Dussie wakes up with a head full of snakes the day after getting her first period that she learns that her mother is in fact one of the Gorgon sisters, and Dussie herself is half-immortal. Dussie reacts in a perfectly reasonable adolescent fashion, mad at her mother and unwilling to talk to her. That the turban her mother always wears conceals a coif of vipers is bad enough, but unlike Dussie, her mother doesn't hear her own snakes talking-- and doesn't believe Dussie does. Once Dussie tries to leave the house with facial-mudded snakes disguised as dredlocks, things get worse. A visit to "The Sisterhood" suggests there may be a way out, and a kindly acquaintance might also help... but Dussie herself makes the final choices.

Cabinet of Wonders, Marie Rutkoski
Oooh! Steampunk with some humor for tweens, set in Bohemia, with complications, magic, and the usual appurtenances. Petra Kronos and her magical metal spider Astrophil are appalled when her father is returned from the capital minus his eyes-- the prince's 'thanks' for creating the most beautiful, magical clock ever. Eventually, Petra sets out to do something about it. (Compare to the tween fantasy The Blue Shoe: A Tale of Thievery, Villainy, Sorcery, and Shoes by Roderick Townley for a completely different treatment of some similar plot elements, and a male protagonist.) Well written, with sympathetic characters, a magical-steampunk storyline that is internally consistent, and a minimal and light touch on pubescent 'learning experiences'. The author's love for Bohemia shines through-- fans of Eva Ibbotson's Star of Kazan will find a similar worldsetting touch here. In a lot of ways, this is a classic hero's journey (with family rescue) fairy tale, with classic Eastern European elements. But who can resist Astrophil, or fail to like plucky (i.e., brave but not thinking things through, followed by dogged persistence) Petra? It remains to be seen whether sequels will be as good.

Wade Rouse. At least in the city someone would hear me scream: Misadventures in search of the simple life.

Rouse convinced his partner, Gary, that they should move out of the big city (Chicago) to their summer house in an area he calls "Gayberry", so that he (Rouse) could live a modern day Thoreau-like transformation.

For someone who admits to having run away from his rural area childhood and sculpted himself into the perfect socialite writer stylish gay guy, this is a big step, fraught with pitfalls, or should we say pratfalls, and Rouse milks it for all the humor he can get. He also talks about what he learned. This is The Egg and I in reverse, in some ways. And yes, it is funny.

Now, true to a certain gay guy self-parodying over-the-top subculture (he mentions that his partner's mother gets him the best presents, apparently because she seems to envision him as a 13-year-old girl, and that says it all, doesn't it), he's gotta be bigger than life and more pansy-than-thou, so I kept losing suspension of disbelief at the funniest parts: how could you grow up in the Ozarks and not expect a septic tank? Can anyone really be that obsessive about shoes and still be able to write? Do people really spend this much money? For that matter, if you're still so wierded out by the average human being, why do you live outside the rarified urban lifestyle? Yes, it set off all my "My god, people aren't really *like* this, are they?" buzzers.

On the other hand, well, yes, people sometimes really ARE like this, no matter how much it wierds me out, and if they are willing to develop Third Thoughts about their lives anyway, I'm all for it. There's an a lot more diversity of thought process here than in, say, Alison Bechtel. But then I never tried to read this guy's actual memoir, either. Also, it's refreshing to run into someone who writes something like this who actually has a spiritual life of a more mainstream sort, a feeling of connection with God-as-they-understand him. That's one of the best parts in the book.

At first, I thought, ok, this guy is a loser. Then I thought, Hey, he's kinda funny. Then I thought, omigod, he's SO milking the stereotypes. Then I thought, hey, wow, he's not a bad writer. Moving back to "is anybody really that shallow, and if so, is it moral to admit it in public?" And then, 'hey, that was spot-on, and this is pretty deep. Well, he's not a complete loser after all.. wait, was that a Bette Midler impersonation... what?'

There's a certain gay Gladys Taber effect going on here, as well. Yes, his heroine is Erma Bombeck and it shows, but Erma just didn't have the same material to work with for the serious parts.

Yeah, I'd probably re-read it and recommend it to you all. I'd even pick up a copy if if I saw it cheap or remaindered.

His explanation of small town friendliess and how it complicates life (spot on), followed by the sentence "The first thing that gay men must do when they move to the country is rearrange the woods" makes p. 162 the best in the book, but since I'm too lazy to transcribe it, go read a different excerpt here: http://waderouse.com/content/books_city_scream.asp?id=Excerpt

A Gift From Zeus: Sixteen Favorite Myths. Written by Jeanne Steig, Pictures by William Steig (Joanna Cotler Books, 2001).

These retellings of some of the major myths are amusing, but it requires a certain kind of humor to enjoy William Steig's illustrations. I personally don't think his illustrative style adds enough humor to the text; and I wouldn't consider the retellings "juvenile literature" but I do think the book is fun for adults and young adults. The 16 stories are Prometheus, Demeter, Midas, Daphne and Apollo, Leda, Pygmalion, Europa, Venus and Adonis, Daedalus and Icarus, Arachne, Hero and Leander, Perseus, Echo and Narcissus, Bellerophon, Theseus, and Orpheus & Eurydice.

Gods and Goddesses [Ancient Greece] by John Malam (Peter Bedrick Books, 1991)

I really like this version because it covers not only some mythology but also has information about religious practices and superstitions, including temple design and oracles; the picture book is illustrated with primarily classical era art (ceramics, sculpture, etc) and studded with quotes from classical literature. Also includes a nice family tree of the gods, something most mythology books seem to be skipping these days.

The Book of Goddesses by Kris Waldherr (Beyond Words, 1995)
A juvenile book based on a subset of the goddess illustrations in Waldherr's Goddess Tarot, and absolutely gorgeous. I'm not 100% happy with the goddess profiles, because they seem to pick and chose their facts, but the book is worth it for the variety of goddesses -- a number we don't usually talk about-- and for the gorgeous illustrations.

Short notices...
Camann, William, and Kathryn J. Alexander, Easy Labor: Every Woman's Guide to Choosing Less Pain and More Joy During Childbirth. (Ballantine, 2006)
For those who are interested in what the medical birth pain management options are nowadays, and for those who just like reading birth stories. Obviously, the information here is likely to be dated pretty soon, and it's definitely pro-pain management. But the stories are pretty worth it, including the hilarious one about the OB giving birth a bit early, when her husband had pneumonia, *her* OB was in the same hospital recovering from a hysterectomy, and her preferred anesthesiologist was skiing in Colorado. Includes sections on alternative methods of pain management, pain management for c-section, and the intriguing "How painful is it -- really?" Lots of pull out boxes and interview responses with caregivers.

Churchill, Gordon. Expecting: One Man's Uncensored Memoir of Pregnancy (HarperCollins, 2000)
This science journalist's account is probably the most readable of the men-talking-about-pregnancy books. Part memoir, part research notes-- typical journalist, Churchill deals with his pre-fatherhood jitters by interviewing people and doing research. Very interesting coverage of the "couvade" concept and various current scientific/evolutionary/biological research on it. Also interesting were his interviews with male friends about their pregnancy experiences, with a few sidelights into the portrayal of pregnancy/birth in the history of media. While not consistently funny or even trying to be humorous-- and sometimes painful to read, such as when he acknowledges discomfort with the changes in his wife's body-- this is a good read with plenty of humor.

Ysabeau S. Wilce. Flora Segunda: Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass-Gazing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), a House with Eleven Thousand Rooms, and a Red Dog.

Magical castles/castle-butlers, a huge power struggle between two sets of conquering nobility, unreasonable parental expectations, a crazy relative and a cast of unusual sidekicks. A lot to get into a few hundred pages. Flora Segunda is the surviving second daughter of the Fyrdraaca family of Califia; she lives in a decaying mansion whose magical butler/castle presence has been banished by her mother. In a few weeks, she will reach her 14th birthday, become an adult, and be sent to military college-- all the Fyrdraacas are soldiers-- but she doesn't want to go. She meets the butler in an inaccessible part of the house and sets out to save him (along with a few other people along the way) but in the end needs to hunt for help for herself. The plot line, though complicated, is fascinating. There are echoes here of Garth Nix's Abhorsen and Keys to the Kingdom series, older Patricia McKillip, and even a certain amount of Ellen Raskin-ness. Despite her spirit and inventiveness, Flora is also subject to the angst of a 14-year-old girl; I see myself in her.
Definitely recommended.

Melissa Marr. Wicked Lovely.

Despite the title and the expectations raised by the cover art, this is not, thankfully, another teen vampire book, though there are some plot similarities. This is Urban faery fantasy in the Charles De Lint vein, though with some threads of folktale retellings. The settings are dark, dangerous, and sometimes bloody. Aislinn has Second Sight; she can see the fairy folk, though her grandmother has drilled her to never let on to them that she sees them, never attract their attention, never speak to them. But suddenly, two powerful faery figures are watching her and taking an interest in her life. Keenan, the Summer King, hopes that she will be able to take up the mantle of Summer Queen and free him from his mother's domination-- but every girl who has tried in the last 9 centuries has failed to be *the one* and ended up the Winter Girl, bound to cold and winter until the next candidate agreed to the trial. Donia, the current Winter Girl, is sworn to discourage Aislinn from trying, not only to fulfill her vow but to protect herself and Aislinn-- but Donia also wants to see Keenan freed. On Aislinn's side is Seth, a slightly older friend of Aislinn's whose attraction to Aislinn she feels unsafe in exploring. The ending is . . . unexpected. There's certainly a certain amount of Princess Diaries type characterization, but the writing is cinematographic (is that what I mean?)-- we don't get deep backstories for most of the characters, and there's a lot of changes of point of view. I liked it, but a lot of reviewers felt it lacked character development; I don't think it did, but perhaps I just liked it that much.

So, this morning, I finished reading Nurk: The Strange, Surprising Adventures of a (Somewhat) Brave Shrew by Ursula Vernon, the creator of Digger: http://www.graphicsmash.com/comics/digger.php
a serial graphic novel in which the main character is a wombat.

It's a classic children's story of The Hobbit: or There and Back Again format, with illustrations by the author. Nurk, who is a homebody with a vague yearning for adventure-- much like Bilbo, and very like Mole in the The Wind in the Willows, thinks wistfully of the adventures of his grandmother, the fierce, adventurous Surka. When he accidentally opens a letter that is probably addressed to the vanished grandmother, he ends up setting out to find the sender and apologize. There are, of course, adventures after that, which he survives by doggedness and practicality and a clean pair of socks.

I love it. I love the illustrations. I think it's very cute, and much better than, say, Redwall. But then, I'm a Mole/Baggins at heart, what can I say. :)

The 2nd Revised Edition of The Traditional Bowyers Encyclopedia by Dan Bertalan (2007) recieved excellent reviews from Library Journal.
http://reviews.libraryjournal.com/BookDetail.aspx?isbn=1602390460

Laurence Pringle. Wild Foods: a beginner's guide to identifying, harvesting, and cooking safe and tasty plants from the outdoors. New York: Four Winds Press, 1978.

I picked Wild Foods up while researching my Wildly Weedy Herbs class. If you are interested in harvesting non-traditional edibles, this would be both a great place to start and fun leisure reading. Only a few, easily identified, plants are covered: Maple, Dandelion, Plantain, Japanese Knotweed, Poke, Cattail, Wild Strawberry, Sheep Sorrel, Watercress, Elderberry, Milkweed, Wild Mint, Wild Raspberries and Blackberries, Daylily, Lamb's-Quarters, Purslane, Wild Blueberry, Sumac, and Wild Grape. Many of these are old world; some are new world. I, personally, never eat Pokeweed, but I do know that it is possible to eat the young shoots safely, and the author gives all appropriate cautions.

The book has got a number of good features. It scores over other similar texts in the intriguing recipes: Dandelions in cream sauce, Cattail corn on the cob, Wild Strawberry no-cook jam, Sweet and Sour Lamb's-Quarters, Purslane soup, among others. While I wouldn't necessarily use these exact recipes (except for the directions for preparing cattails), but they show how the plants can be used.

In addition, a chart shows when which plant parts are likely to be harvestable, and there is a section on preserving the wild foods (by winter gardening, freezing, drying, etc.) The author covers similar-looking poisonous plants and gives clear instructions for differentiating. The clear and simple drawn and photographed illustrations help identify the plants, and the author gives good harvesting and cooking advice (for instance, how to blanch plantain plants; why you don't boil your maple sap indoors; don't wash or boil sumac fruit for best flavor).

The author's writing style is chatty but not memoir-like, and the reading and cooking level are well within the range of a young teen with adult help. (Recipes kindly include both lists of ingredients and lists of equipment). This would be a good book to share with others the family, and to use as a basis for family wild-foraging expeditions.

Just finished Flowers in Medieval Manuscripts (Medieval Life in Manuscripts), by Celia Fisher, University of Toronto Press (2004). This book answers all the questions I had when I was putting together our library's exhibit A Medieval Garden of Botanical Illustrations http://www.drew.edu/depts/library.aspx?id=5773

It covers the development of flower patterns in manuscripts, which countries and which artists led the styles, and what the possible meanings of flowers were in their contexts. The text itself is short, more of an essay than a book, but the pictures are oh so worth it. In our library collection, I found only the Low Country examples of botanical illumination (squashed-bug), but this book goes further into the Italian origins of the style.

The text is directed at the art historian, but it would be useful both to the student of historical gardening and plants and the illuminator. While the author does not give details about how the plants depicted would have been grown, or in fact give a complete list of plants depicted, the mere profusion of known flowers listed in the book, and the inspiration of the paintings, is helpful for those researching medieval flower types. For the illuminator, technical details of the paint colors and strokes are not available, but the discussion of why and at what time period/place illuminators chose to include specific plants-- along with the lovely examples-- is very helpful.

It would not have occurred to me, looking at the small number of manuscripts I've examined, to suspect that the illumination sheets and the decorations around the text might be by different hands in the same manuscript, but it's easy to understand in retrospect. I do think some knowledge of the history of books (though not an extensive study) is helpful in understanding the book. The author discusses the differences between books of hours and breviaries, as well as other texts, but doesn't go into detail.

The color reproduction is superb, well worth it for a book that cost me under $20 at Kalamazoo. This is definitely a book to have for garden and C&I aficionados!