If You Want to Be a Hero...

Then you need to check out The Hero's Guide To Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy.  Although this may be more of a "what not to do" guide. 

So it turns out that Prince Charming doesn't like to be called Charming.  None of them do.  They have names, you know.  Gustav, Duncan, Liam, and Frederick are the princes from the stories the troubadours tell - the stories named after the princesses.  They're not happy about being religated to a side note in the stories and they're not quite living happily ever after.  In fact, nothing seems to be going their way.  Which is a pity, since an evil witch has decided to cause a lot of trouble across all the kingdoms.  Even though they don't much like each other initially, the princes are going to have to band together and, well, save the kingdoms. 

This hilarious romp through fairy tales is a fun read.  The princes are flawed, but I couldn't help but like them anyway.  They do some growing up on their wacky adventures, but there's no high-handed moral lectures.  And the princesses are well-written characters in their own right - one is down-right bratty, but the rest are seeking adventure and trying to help those around them.  Also, the villians are fantastic, like the best kind of cartoon villians.  I love the Bandit King.  He's deliciously bad, but not in the ways you expect.  If you like this book, don't forget its sequel:  The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle.  Rumor has it that a third book is on its way as well!

~ Book Ninja

P.S.  Did I mention the fun pictures?  There's fun pictures!

Look Out: Big Magic!

I adore Jasper Fforde, and not just because he has a redundant F in his name, although that is pretty wonderful.  Happily enough, he's written yet another witty romp through social commentary and literary conventions, but this time for teens.  The Last Dragonslayer is, in a word, fantastic. 

Jennifer Strange is fifteen years old and runs Kazam Mystical Arts Management, an employment agency for magicians.  Tempermental magicians whose powers are fading as the whole world slowly loses magic.  But when the whispers of of Big Magic start and a prediction of the last dragon dying is delivered, she suddenly has more problems than just tempermental magicians and forms to fill out in triplicate.  How can she save herself, her new trainee foundling, the Kazam agency, and the dragon while dealing with scheming magicians, crafty kings, and hordes of people waiting for the dragon to drop dead so they can claim his land?  And most importantly, who is the last dragonslayer and where is he?

P.S. - Also, there's a Quarkbeast.  Quarkbeasts are awesome.

~ Book Ninja

Just Another Story About a Girl and Her Dragons

Menolly doesn't just love to play music -- she's really good at it. But on her world, only men are allowed to be musicians. Menolly's not good at things that are "women's work," but she's way better at playing the harp than most men. She hardly ever got to play, and at the beginning of the book, even that was taken away from her and she was forbidden from ever playing music again. Ever. I don't know about you, but I wasn't at all surprised when she ran away. I was surprised at what she found, though...Dragons!

Dragon Trilogy

 His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik takes place during the Napoleonic Wars.  In this fantasy,  aerial combat is accomplished with the use of dragons.  Laurence of the British Navy finds himself the trainer for a dragon he has named Temeraire and he has new responsibilities as he feeds and gets to know the newly hatched dragon.   This is an exceptional dragon of strength and power and I am surprised that he is also intelligent and can speak!   Laurence feels conflicted because if he stays with Temeraire he must leave his career as an officer in the Royal Navy and join the flying aerial fleet. There were fantastic battle scenes and unique dragons of different breeds with exceptional skills.  Novik continues this soaring adventure with Throne of Jade and Black Powder War.

 

Audio Magic

Some people got greedy when they went through the talent line.  As someone severely lacking in the areas of athleticism, musical ability and statistics, just to name a few, I acknowledge that this is a fact both sad and true.  A shining example of an overabundance of talent is Jim Dale.  Most people are familiar with him as the incredibly gifted narrator of the audio Harry Potter series; if you haven't listened to these on an endless road trip across the country, you are missing out! 

When One Book Isn't Enough

Believe it or not, every single one of the favorite teen books in this year's Summer Reading Program was part of a series. This is a great time to be a fan of YA series -- there are so many excellent ones coming out, and the library has a great selection! So if you're going to be bored over winter break, or forced to head off on a holiday trip, why not grab a series or three to keep you entertained?

If you loved Harry Potter, give Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain a try! Think Harry Potter's life started out rough? Imagine if he'd been a lowly Assistant Pig-Keeper, who got all muddled up in magic, battles, royalty, and epic quests! Start with The Book of Three.

The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica

Since I started working with the library I have helped with our annual sci-fi/fantasy teen art contest and workshops every year. My first year helping I had the pleasure of booking James A. Owen as a guest speaker. The coolest thing about him: he started self-publishing, selling, and promoting his own comics when he was a teenager. The second coolest thing about him: he's a total book geek, something you'll discover when you read this series, which is sort of like "Lord of the Rings" for the book geek.

The Chronicles revolve around the Imaginarium Geographica, an atlas of imagined lands, and the caretakers who keep the atlas safe. Jack, John, and Charles are brought together by the murder of one of the previous caretakers, which is exactly when they find out that they themselves are the new caretakers.