The Order of Odd-Fish

The Order of Odd-Fish
by: James Kennedy
http://www.jameskennedy.com/

Jo Larouche has lived her thirteen years in the California desert with her Aunt Lily, a faded Hollywood starlet, ever since she found in Lily’s laundry room with this note pinned to her blankets: This is Jo. Please take care of her. But beware. This is a DANGEROUS baby.

Up until this point, Jo has been, as Aunt Lily puts it, “as dangerous as a glass of milk.” But all that’s about to change. At Lily’s annual Christmas costume party, several strange things happen: a boy in a hedgehog shoots an elderly Russian colonel; a talking cockroach is found tied up in the basement, moaning about how this will play in the tabloid press; and a box falls from the sky, addressed to Jo from “The Order of Odd-Fish.”

Soon, worsening circumstances lead Jo and Lily out of California forever—and into the mysterious, strange, fantastical world of Eldritch City. There, Jo learns the scandalous truth about who she is, and she and Lily join the Order of Odd-Fish, a colorful collection of knights who research useless information. Glamorous cockroach butlers, impossible quests, obsolete weapons and bizarre festivals fill their days, but Jo’s dream turns to nightmare when she learns that instead of a hero of Eldritch City, she may in fact become its destroyer. By the novel’s wrenching climax, Jo comes to understand who she truly is—and what it means to call a city home.

Equal parts Monty Python and Roald Dahl, The Order of Odd-Fish is an entertaining and hilarious ride through a world that readers will not want to leave. (from Jameskennedy.com)

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This was a great book. To be honest, I had never heard of it a few weeks ago, but then I attended the Teen Book Fest in Rochester and had the good fortune of seeing author James Kennedy on the new author panel. After several hours of wonderful, but not overly exciting presentations, Kennedy hit the nail on the head as he got up for his reading and gave quite the performance. He got the audience, primarily teens with a few adults sprinkled in, to participate by cheering (or booing) along as was warranted. Then he described his main character as the opposite of Harry Potter- instead of the boy who lived, she is the girl who kills; instead of the one who will save them all, she is the one who will destroy everything. Just like that I knew I had to buy this book (so it was back to the bookstore for me). I definitly wasn't dissapointed.

There is so much in this book that there is no way I could give a proper review and catch everything that was great. So I'll stick to the highlights. At the heart of the story is Jo, an orphan who grew up with her Aunt Lily in the California desert. She waiteresses tables and tries to keep her aunt under control, and generally lives a pretty boring life. Then it all flips upside down and she finds herself on an adventure to Eldritch City with her aunt, a Russian General and a Cockroach butler. Once in Eldrtich City she finds herself in the Order of Odd-Fish, a group of knights who study rather unimportant knowledge (like smells) and learns that her birth nearly brought down the entire world. Now she has to keep her true identity a secret while everyone around her is looking for the girl who will destroy all of them. Add in crazy quests, rediculous festivals and parties, a tv show that feeds the paranoia about Jo's true identity, a would be villian and a real villian named the Belgian Prankster and you have a story that never slows down and keeps you wanting more.

Now that I've written what probably reads as a slightly confusing and strange recap of the book, all I can really tell you is that you should go read this book. It takes a really basic coming of age story about a girl trying to figure out who she is and who she wants to be and flips it on it's head. Kennedy creates an absurd world that is full of odd, disgusting, hilarious and dangerous characters and gives us a story that you won't want to put down. It has adventure and laughs and what more can you really ask for? It's a great summer reading book, so go grab a copy and enjoy!

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As always- check out Kennedy's website and if you get a chance to see Kennedy live, take it, it's totally worth it!

Rochester Teen Book Fest

So my poor blog has been suffering this week. It's not that I'm neglecting it, it's just that I've been really busy doing some awesome book stuff on another site I work on Eve's Fan Garden. So rather then post in both places- I'm going to take the lazy man's route and do a bunch of links- if something catches your eye, please click away and check out some great stuff that I did in for the Greater Rochester Teen Book Fest. The festival brought together 26 authors and over 4000 attendee's for a day of panels and presentations, as well as a great autograph session. My inner fan girl was in heaven!

Recap of the fest and interview with the fabulous Lisa McMann (Wake trilogy): click here

Interviews with A.S. King (The Dust of 100 Dogs) and Ben Mikaelsen (Touching Spirit Bear): click here

Interview with Lisa Schroeder (I Heart You, You Haunt Me): click away!

I still have one more interview to post. Simone Elkeles (How to Ruin series, Perfect Chemistry) was nice enough to sit down for a quick interview, which turned into a great 1/2 hour conversation. I'm still transcribing my notes- hopefully this interview will be up on Sunday at the very latest, so stay tuned!

The Dust of 100 Dogs

The Dust of 100 Dogs
by A.S. King
http://www.as-king.com/

In the late seventeenth century, famed teenage pirate Emer Morrisey was on the cusp of escaping the pirate life with her one true love and unfathomable riches when she was slain and cursed with the dust of one hundred dogs, dooming her to one hundred lives as a dog before returning to a human body -- with her memories intact.

Now she's a contemporary American teenager and all she needs is a shovel and a ride to Jamaica. (from goodreads.com)

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This was a great book. This was another one that I grabbed for the book fest and to be honest I chose it on title alone, well that and the fact it had pirates. It just seemed like a completely original concept and that is always fun to see. King handles what could be a really complicated structure in a way that kept it all flowing and organized and it made for an exciting read.

The book follows two stories about the same person- first is Emer, living in Ireland during the time Cromwell invaded, she is pushed out, her family killed and she is sold as a slave/wife by relatives. She escapes to the Caribbean where she becomes a pirate and weilds increadible power on the sea. She finds her lost love and then loses him again. Right about that time she is also cursed with the "dust of 100 dogs" and has to live 100 lives as a dog before she can return as a human. Which is where Saffron comes in. Emer is reborn with all her memories in tact as a contemporary teen in a poor area of Pennsylvania, who just wants to escape back to the Caribbean and find her lost treasure.

Both stories are great and contain a little bit of something for everyone. Neither Emer or Saffron are terribly well off, but both are survivors and increadibly strong characters. There is action and buried treasure, and of course a little romance. I also really appreciated that a ton of research was done on this book and the history of both Ireland and the Caribbean was spot on. Good books tell a phenomenal story, but really great books teach you something as well, and I think this book accomplished that feat. Not only did you get an adventure, but you also learned a bit about Ireland, what life was like for those who were poor and pushed out, as well as what pirateering was like at that time.

I also really enjoyed the idea that not only was Emer hit with the dust of 100 dogs, but so was everyone else in her immediate vacinity at the time. So there were some great interconnecting storylines and plots that tied it all together in the end.

I'd say that this is one book to grab and read. It's exciting and fun and is genuinely a really great read.

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On another side note- I also had the pleasure of meeting A.S. King at the book fest this past weekend and she is amazing. She is increadibly nice and funny and gave a great presentation with Lisa McMann and Robin Brande about High School Humiliation and how all those terrible moments can make for wonderful and realistic books. She also graciously agreed to an interview, which will be psoted on Eve's Fan Garden in the next few days!

What They Always Tell Us

What They Always Tell Us
By: Martin Wilson
http://www.martinwilsonwrites.com/

James: Popular, smart, and athletic, James seems to have it all. But the only thing James really wants is his college acceptance letter, so he can get far away from Alabama after high school. He's tired of the same old parties; the tennis team; his so-called girlfriend, Alice; his ex, Clare - and especially his quiet younger brother, Alex. In a town where secrets are hard to keep, everyone knows what Alex did at the annual back-to-school party. The only question is why.

Alex: With his friends no longer talking to him and his brother constantly in motion, Alex is prepared to get through junior year on his own. And he would, if his ten-year-old neighbor, Henry, didn't keep showing up, looking for company. Even James seems intrigued by Henry, and by the strange cars that come and go from his house across the street. But what Alex cares most about is running, and when he's encouraged to try out for cross-country, he's surprised to find more than just a supportive teammate in his brother's friend Nathen.

Thoughtful and moving, What They Always Tell us is a powerful debut novel about the bond between two brothers - and the year that changes everything. (from Goodreads.com)

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I love this book. I realize that I say that about alot of books, but I guess my love of books is wide-flung, because this is another to add to the list. I generally read alot of paranormal romance and urban fantasy, with some historical fiction and pictures thrown in, so this book, a debut by Wilson was slightly out of my norm. I picked it up at the library while I was looking for books to read ahead of the Greater Rochester Teen Book Fest (which was last weekend) and the title and cover caught my eye. I am so glad I picked this book up because it told a really important story in a wonderful way.

Both the lead characters, James and Alex are extremely well written. Through both of them, Wilson took characters that could have become stereotypes, and made them so much more. Instead of being pigeonholed into the role as the "athletic older brother", or the "outcast freak", or even the "gay kid", they were shown as three dementional, well rounded individuals. The same people you pass by everyday. There's what you see on the surface, and then there's the part of you that that is sometimes hidden, only shown to those who you love and trust enough to let in. I felt like both Wilson and his characters trusted us, as the reader, enough to let us see who they really are and it was refreshing and wonderful to read. Wilson didn't shy away from delving into some tough issues like depression and suicide, bullying, love and what it feels like to be gay (and by extension to simply be different) at a time in your life when you are just trying to get by and figure out who you are.

I also have to mention James and Alex's neighbor, Henry, a lonely kid who spends alot of time just hanging around and reading the dictionary. Both Alex and James befriend Henry and it's kind of through helping Henry that they find their way back to eachother. There is a bit of a mystery surrounding Henry and his mother, who don't really fit into their neighborhood. If I have one criticizm of this book, it's that Henry's story felt a little chopped off to me. I don't want to give anything away, but I wish we had learned a little bit more about Henry and his father and how that all resolved itself. It's a small thing that didn't really impact how much I enjoyed the book, but Henry was such a great character that I wanted more.

This story has alot of layers to it, but Wilson handles it in a way that you never feel lost or confused. Also Wilson never shies away from, or tries to sugarcoat, being honest about the special kind of hell that High School is for most kids, but he also reminds us that sometimes you just have to keep your heart open and keep moving forward and that eventually you will find your place in the world. The story pulls you forward and it is a wonderful read that I would recommend to everyone, especially teens, who are dealing with the same issues Wilson writes about.

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On a side note- I had the good fortune of seeing Wilson present at the Book Fest and to talk to him briefly during the autograph session (where, of course, I also got an autograph). It was a great time and I'm extremely glad that I made the drive over to Rochester to attend!

As always- check out Wilson's webpage which has his blog as well as a cute section with Henry's words (he wasn't reading that dictionary for nothing).