Friday Five

The sun is sunny, the sky is blue, and I'm very sorry for all those in the western US who are submerged in rain and snow and storms, because that's how it usually is here.

For today's Friday Five (and maybe every one, we'll see), I'm doing books. My 9-year-old has very wide tastes in reading and was helping me come up with all kinds of reading combinations of five. I have a feeling he has a future in books somehow. However, since it's my blog, I'm starting with my own selection today, which is...

Five Fine First Fantasy Novels

To be fair, I guess I should say that I know all of these people and read some of these books prior to publication (and before some of them were even sold). But they are still lovely. And if you are wanting approachable characters but are tired of species-crossed lovers meeting in biology class, then these may be some good options for you.

1. A Curse Dark as Gold, by Elizabeth C. Bunce. This was the first winner of the Morris Award for new authors. It's a lovely retelling of Rumplestilskin, one that makes sense, even, unlike the original fairy tale. And the writing is lovely. YA, but MG readers can enjoy it as well. If you have read this, look for Starcrossed, the first of a new fantasy series by the same author, in the (still sort of distant) future.

2.  Faery Rebels: Spellhunter (aka Knife in the UK), by RJ Anderson. The faeries in the Oak have lost their magic and nobody really understands why. Instead of staying away from humans and preserving the status quo, Knife, the faeries' hunter, befriends and falls in love with a human, and together they try to unravel what happened and how Knife's people can regain what they've lost. Tween, but YA readers can enjoy it, too. A sequel, Wayfarer, comes out in April.

3. Secrets of the Cheese Syndicate, by Donna St. Cyr. Robert's got a problem--actually, more than one. His annoying little sister Janine drank an elixir from a strange bottle and now she's shrunk. The only way to bring her back up to size is to join the secret Syndicate of Cheese his missing father was a member of, find the mysterious cheese of Eliki--and maybe even discover his missing father as well. Plenty of cheese, Greek mythology, and humor in this middle grade novel.

4.  Magic Under Glass, by Jaclyn Dolamore. I was going to wait until the new cover was out to do this, but I feel like discussing fantasy today, so I'll have to come back and change it when it's available. Anyway. This one takes place in an entirely fantasy world, but with a Victorian England feel. Nim's a trouser girl, come to make her fortune, only trouser girl dancers went out of style a few years before she was able to secure her fortune. A change of course comes in the form of Hollin Parry, who wants her to perform with a life-sized automaton that plays the piano. Everyone else has been scared away because they say it's haunted. Nim's braver, though--and discovers that the "haunted" automaton is really a fairy prince who's been magically imprisoned in mechanics. And bad guys are after him... YA, but accessible to MG.

5. Everlasting, by Angie Frazier. High seas! Ancient curses! True Love! Australia! Camille Rowen sets off from San Francisco on her last sea voyage with her father in the wake of her impending marriage. But partway through, her father changes the course of the ship--for Australia, where her mother, long thought dead, is apparently still alive. The ship goes down before they get there, killing Camille's father, and Camille and Oscar, first mate and long time friend (not to mention hot guy) are left to deal with a map, a curse, and a race against rivals to the prize of a lifetime. YA, out in June. First of a trilogy, plus Angie's got a MG mystery series (Suzanna Snow) coming out from Scholastic in 2011.

On ideas

Son 1 just left on an overnight Scout trip, and on the way back from dropping him off, son 2 and I had a nice conversation about writing. He is going to do something with words and writing someday, I just know it. Just about every day he has another idea for a book. Tonight he said, "The problem with the classics is that the kids are always too well protected, and can't do anything. So the book is boring." Then he came up with a basic outline for a book, starting with kids who have an adventurous idea and try it--and fail. Then they try again, but better prepared, and things go better--only they meet a barrier that says, do not cross. But of course, they do. And then things get really complicated. I was impressed because he seems to have instinctively worked out basic structural issues that don't come naturally to everyone. Then we talked about how it's like ideas are always around us, bombarding us, and there's just no shortage of them! Which reminded me of Elizabeth Gilbert's wonderful talk, which I came home and played for him. His take after the talk: to him, ideas are like a toaster around your brain. They pop up when the toaster is done, but they're all covered with butter, and are slippery. It's hard to catch them, and if you don't, they fall back in and get burnt to a crisp.

Anyway. I'm just curious about what he ends up writing with whatever comes out of his toaster!