Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula

Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula  by Andi Watson (graphic novel)

Princess Decomposia of the Undead is overwhelmed with work.  Ghost papers to sign, alien reports to read, werewolf dignitaries to entertain...and her father the King is no help at all.  But when a vampire with a sweet tooth joins the Royal Staff, some changes are on the wing...and so is a bit of romance.

A cute love story with plenty of unexpected twists.  I've never considered Chocolate Monster Cake as a possible defense strategy for zombies...but maybe I should. 

Recommended for ages 10 to adult.  No cussing or sex, but lots of fun (un-) dead stuff.

Afterworlds

Afterworlds  by Scott Westerfeld

18-year-old Darcy Patel wrote the first draft of her novel during National Novel Writing Month, sent it to an agent in New York, and sold it (plus the as-yet-unwritten sequel) for an enormous amount of money.

Darcy takes the aforementioned enormous amount of money and moves to New York.  She finds an apartment, meets other authors who love her work, and falls in love.

As one does.

18-year-old Lizzie Scofield is the main character in the novel Darcy Patel wrote.  Lizzie survived a terrorist attack by entering the "flip side" (world of the dead), fell in love with a hunky guy who is apparently some kind of death god, and now she sees ghosts.

As one does.

This is not an awesome book unless you like reading about YA authors.  

You know how writers are always enjoined to "write what you know," right?

Well, Scott Westerfeld is a YA author, and when he is writing about authors, and writing, and revising, and the whole surreal, frustrating, almost-random world of publishing, he shines.

As one does.

When he is writing about the surreal, frustrating, almost-random world of being a teenaged lesbian living away from home and falling in love for the first time, not-so-much.

Some reviewers have suggested that this is a satire, poking fun at the inhabitants of the YA publishing world, but I think that misses the mark.  Rather, I think the author spotlights a weird but cool segment of the planet that he knows very, very well.  The problem is: a lot of readers don't care to read about publishing.

The exception is readers who are also writers.  For those readers, here is your book. 

It is not a how-to for teen authors who want to get their YA novels published. Westerfeld is actually still writing that book, called How to Write YA.  There's an excerpt of it HERE.

It is, rather, a fictionalized insider's view of the publishing world.  If you read it for that, you won't be disappointed.

If you read it for the paranormal book-within-the-book, ehh.  You'll probably find better stuff elsewhere--and much of the better stuff was written by this author.

Violence : the opening sequence of Lizzie's story is bloody and intense, other parts are scarier but less bloody.
Underage drinking : doesn't anybody ask for ID at bars in NYC?
Some tactful sexual situations in both story lines.

Recommended for readers who write, ages 14 to adult.

The Undertaking of Lily Chen

The Undertaking of Lily Chen  by Danica Novgorodoff

When Deshi's older brother Wei dies accidentally, his parents send Deshi on a quest to bring back a "corpse bride" so that their eldest son will not be alone in the afterlife.  With cash in hand, Deshi seeks out a grave robber...but the search is, ultimately, much more complicated than just digging up some bones to be buried along with Wei.

This story of modern China is full of fascinating, flawed characters.  Deshi and Wei are hardly ideal, upstanding citizens:  Wei is a drunk, a gambler, and a jerk.  Deshi is now working as a security guard having messed up as an army pilot.  Lily is pretty, but is also pretty annoying at times.   The supporting cast is equally dinged-up, and this makes the story much more interesting, and makes the ending much more satisfying.

Beautiful romantically-washed watercolor landscapes juxtaposed with wobbly line-drawn human figures allow the reader's eyes to travel quickly through the book, and the quickly moving narrative suites the illustrations.   

Recommended for readers ages 14 to adult.  The characters are all adults, but the family dysfunction issues will appeal to teens.  No cussing, some (cartoon) blood, the on-page sex scene is tactfully masked with blankets and black ink.

Between Two Worlds

Between Two Worlds  by Katherine Kirkpatrick
Eqariusaq has had an almost life-long association with polar explorer Robert Peary and his family.  When she was very young, the family renamed Eqariusaq "Billie Bah" and brought her to spend a year in America with the Peary family, where she spoke English, wore "civilized" clothing, and was the first of her people to see the modern world filled with trees, horse-drawn carriages, trees, museums, and more.  Billie Bah successfully returned to her people, but she thinks that her journey inspired others to go with the Pearys, and none of these have ever returned.  All save one died of disease...including Billie Bah's own parents.

Now 16 years old, Billie Bah must face changes in her life.  She loves her husband, but she also grows to love one of the sailors she is "traded" to (temporarily) in exchange for guns and ammunition.  She discovers the truth about her parents' death, and she tries to sort out her feelings for Peary and his family and find her own place in the world.

The real Billie Bah with Robert Peary

Woven into the story are fascinating details of life in this tiny Greenlandic community.  Tribal customs and expectations, vocabulary, and descriptions of building fox traps, auk snares, and  rock igloos are described with meticulous detail that never becomes didactic or boring.  Extensive author notes identify factual (and fictional) aspects of the story.

Recommended for readers ages 14 to adult.  An excellent choice for historical fiction or diversity assignments.

Alcohol, death, ghosts, grieving, guys, multi-ethnic, recommended, religious beliefs, sexual situations, star trek sex.

Far Far Away

Far Far Away   by Tom McNeal

audiobook read by W. Morgan Sheppard

What follows is the strange and fateful tale of a boy, and girl, and a ghost.  The boy possessed uncommon qualities, the girl was winsome and darling, and the ancient ghost...well, let it only be said that his intentions were good.

So begins the unusually compelling story of Jeremy Johnson Johnson (not a typo, his parents both were named "Johnson"), who can hear the ghostly voice of Jacob Grimm, one of the famous collectors of fairy tales.  Jeremy and his father live in a small mid-western town where nothing of interest ever happens...except that an unusual number of young people have gone missing over the years.  

Jacob Grimm narrates the story from beyond the grave, noting the folkloric elements that seem, coincidentally, to exist in Jeremy's town:  the disappearing children, a hooded woman, an enormous oven, a forbidden door, and a mysterious dwarf-like man who may (or may not) have dark intentions.  And yet, the darkness implied by the fairy tale motifs is not a coincidence.  Something dark and horrible is at work in the town, and Jeremy is the innocent who is slated as the next sacrifice.

I had hoped for a lighter, happier book, but the dark and awful qualities of this story were more fascinating than I had imagined.  Those readers (like me) who want a "happy ever after" ending will not be dissatisfied, but be warned: the path to that ending is long and harrowing and might not  be exactly what the reader imagines.

No cussing, no sex.  A few kisses (kisses are important in fairy tales) and some violence including bullying and some scary forcible abductions.  

Recommended for readers ages 14 to adult.

Spirit and Dust

Spirit and Dust  by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Teen psychic Daisy Goodnight works with local police and the FBI to solve murder cases.  Her talent for speaking with the dead is deemed "useful" even if the evidence she uncovers is not admissible in court.  But when the dead bodyguard she interviews gives her more questions and no answers, and the trail to a kidnapped girl leads to the Egyptology exhibit Chicago's Field Museum, Daisy learns that being a kick-ass psychic detective might be a lot more dangerous than she originally thought.

Ghosts, witches, magic, a jackel-headed god, and a tyrannosaurus rex, plus a hot young FBI agent and a good-looking son of the Mob, combined with fast-talking, smirky dialogue. Think "The Mummy" meets "Indiana Jones" and you won't be far off.

Action, adventure, some bloodshed, some death, and a few steamy kisses.  Although this is a sequel to Texas Gothic, the story stands alone well--and begs for a sequel!

Recommended for readers ages 14 to adult.

Teen Spirit

Teen Spirit  by Francesca Lia Block

Julie feels bereft after the death of her beloved grandmother Miriam.  Soon after, she and her mom have to move from their beautiful home in the hills to a benighted apartment on the wrong side of Beverly Hills.  Then, her mom meets a loser guy and seems to forget about Julie.  Then Julie meets Clark...who is haunted by issues of his own.

Usually, Francesca Lia Block can easily pull off a complex plot like this, and fill the story with lush, nuanced details and sensuous descriptions of life and love and death.  

But not this time.  The writing is stilted, the characters lack depth and purpose. The plot is twisty for no apparent reason, the ethnic details seem tacked on, and poorly edited elements (an answering machine?  in 2013?) yank the reader out of the story too often.  A near-miss sexual situation is awkward.

Not particularly recommended.