"...when you find your soul, you have to go"

And someone (something?) leaving is the trigger for the wildly creative fantasy Summer and Bird by Katherine Catmull.  Summer and Bird are sisters, and they wake up one morning to find that their parents are gone.  Trying to follow a picture-letter left behind by their mother, the girls stumble into Down, a place of magic.  They're soon separated, and as the narrator follows their individual journeys, the reader learns that Mom is actually the queen of birds and can change from woman into bird and back again by using the swan robe.  The girls encounter ravens, snakes, the evil Puppeteer, and so many other fantasy elements that your head will spin.  Imagery! Symbolism!  Metaphors!  The language is rich and the details are intricate, but the story gets so unusual (a World Snake?  a woman who eats live birds?) that I think this book is better suited to older readers.

Is it possible to be TOO safe?

You might think so when you read Museum of Thieves by Lian Tanner.  Goldie, like all children in the city of Jewel, has been chained to either a parent or Blessed Guardian since the time she could walk.  She's always been bold, though, and when the ceremony on Separation Day is disrupted, she takes the opportunity to run away.  She ends up at the Museum of Dunt; the four keepers take her in, teach her how to survive (she's been so overprotected that she can do little on her own), and show her how to navigate the mysterious, shape-shifting rooms and stairs.  She soon learns that the leader of the Blessed Guardians is power-crazy - he has plans that will destroy not only the museum, but Jewel and all of its residents.  Can Goldie stop him?  Lots of action and adventure in this book, the first of the Keepers Trilogy.  

A cat, a blue jay, and a red-eyed tree frog

An odd combination of animals, but they're the amusing main characters in The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson.  Aldwyn, a scrappy alley cat, is on the run after stealing some fish, and he ducks into a store that's filled with animals.  A pet store?  Not quite - these are magical animals that are sold as "familiars" to wizards-in-training.  Before Aldwyn knows it, he's scooped up by Jack and heading for quite a bit of adventure.  Jack's two fellow apprentices have familiars of their own, of course: Skylar, an uppity blue jay, and Gilbert, a very funny (and clueless) tree frog.  When the three magicians are kidnapped, it's up to their familiars to save them....except that Aldwyn hasn't exactly told the others that he has no magical ability whatsoever.  Lots of action and plenty of humor - I wasn't surprised to learn that movie options have already been picked up.

Silly, but sweet

Never judge a book by its title, right?  I thought Olivia Kidney by Ellen Potter would be a completely fun and silly story, but there was some real heart to it, too. Olivia and her father have moved again to yet another apartment building.  She's tired of being the new, lonely kid, but this building is starting to get interesting, with Sidi and her talking lizards, an apartment made of glass, and the eccentric Madame Brenda.  And Olivia's happy to be making friends with Branwell, who remembers her from school - but there's something a bit odd about him, and Olivia really can't remember ever seeing him in class.  Sometimes the story reads like a fantasy, and sometimes it seems more like a girl who's simply using her imagination to work through her loneliness.  Either way, it's magical and delightful.

There's something creepy about this tattoo

Wow.  If you're looking for a fantastic audiobook for someone in 7th grade or older, get The Black Tattoo, written by Sam Enthoven and read by John Lee.  Not only is the story very cool, but the narrator provides a phenomenal array of voices. Charlie and Jack are best friends in present-day London.  After being recruited into a secret society called The Brotherhood, Charlie ends up with a tattoo on his back...a MOVING tattoo. It turns out that an ancient demon - the Scourge - is possessing Charlie and has some truly nasty plans.  So it's up to Jack and new friend Esme (a girl with apparent super powers) to actually follow Charlie and the Scourge into Hell itself to stop them.  This sounds serious, but there's actually quite a bit of humor, both in the storyline and the way it's read.  This audiobook is long - almost 14 hours - but awesome for your next road trip.

Definitely not a Holiday Inn

Your imagination will go on hyperdrive when reading Floors by Patrick Carman.  Merganzer Whippet, a billionaire with a passion for ducks, built the Whippet Hotel, unlike any other place you (or I) have ever been.  Each room is outlandish, from the Pinball Machine (watch out for the flippers) to the Cake Room (reminded me of Willy Wonka) to the Flying Farm (duck!).  But Merganzer disappeared 100 days ago, and the hotel is falling apart.  Leo, who lives at the hotel with his father (the maintenance man), has found a mysterious purple box with a message; whether he's zooming to the roof on the Double Helix or coming down in the crowded duck elevator, it's now up to Leo to save the place he calls home.  Hold onto your hat and get ready for action - this fast-paced adventure is just plain fun.  I bet there's a sequel...

Delightfully creepy

It's difficult to describe The Wikkeling by Steven Arntson, but it's awesome!  Henrietta lives in a dystopian city called the Addition.  It's way over-protective of its children (the school bus has mandatory lap belts, shoulder belts, and head belts), car horns blare out Honk Ads ("EDIBLE CLEANTASTE CORN SOAP!!"), and almost all the houses are identical, with a patch of green plastic grass out front.  But Henrietta lives in an old house, with a steep roof and an attic.  She discovers a wounded cat up there, and while caring for it, notices windows which  have never been visible from the street.  And when she looks out the windows, she sees the past!  Henrietta takes her two friends up there, and together they try to figure out many things: why does time seem to stand still when they're in the attic?  What is the cause of the headaches only those three get?  How are they linked to the scary yellow figure that only they can see?  I wouldn't call this book scary, but it's definitely creepy in a really, really good way.

Tiny mice in a not-so-tiny adventure!

Fans of animal fantasy will probably enjoy the sweet and amusing Secrets at Sea by Richard Peck.  Helena and her younger mouse siblings live in the home of the Cranstons, who have decided to sail for Europe and find a husband for their elder daughter.  After stowing away in the luggage, the mice are soon caught up in life aboard ship, where a sophisticated mouse society ranges from Nigel the (mouse) steward to the Mouse-in-Waiting to Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria.  At the same time, the Cranston daughters are discovering shipboard romance, despite the constant social mistakes of their mother.  It's fun to read about life from a teeny-tiny point of view (like drinking soup out of thimbles!), and the author has a very clever way of turning a phrase.  Pencil illustrations add just the right touch.

Into the mysterious land...of Delaware

Do you like adventure with a heavy does of absurdity and craziness thrown in?  Then Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware by M. T. Anderson is just for you.  The tone of the book is very Indiana Jones-ish (yes, as in the movies), and it's almost impossible to summarize the plot.  Very short version: Jasper and his friends are after the bad guys in the mountainous (you read that correctly) land of Delaware.  Along the way, they encounter staring contests, dinosaurs, cannibals riding kangaroos, vaultapults (like giant spoons, they fling you through the air), Jasper's friend Drgnan Pghlik, a monastery, the evil Team Mom, a ginormous mountain squid, and of course, the blue glow of the flame-pits of Delaware.  Pretty wacky, right?  If you like it, be sure to check out other books in the Pals in Peril series, such as Whales on Stilts! or Zombie Mommy.

If dolls were alive...

I couldn't help but think of the movie Toy Story when I read The Doll People by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin. Remember how Buzz and Woody appeared to be lifeless around humans but led quite busy lives once the people were gone?  Same thing for Annabelle Doll and the rest of her family, who all live in a wonderful, old dollhouse in Kate's room.  When Kate's younger sister gets a dollhouse of her own, the Funcraft family moves in, and soon Annabelle and Tiffany Funcraft are BFFs.  When Annabelle discovers the journal of her Auntie Sarah, who disappeared 45 years ago, the two friends decide to go on a risky mission to try to find her.   This is an enchanting, lighthearted fantasy, and the illustrations by Brian Selznick (author and illustrator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret) add a fun touch.

Where would you find your locus magicalicus?

Okay, I had a hard time putting down The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas! If you like the whole wizard/apprentice/magic thing, this is the book for you. Conn is a pickpocket, and one day he steals the locus magicalicus of Nevery, a very powerful wizard in the town of Wellmet. Touching the locus should've killed Conn, but it since it didn't, a surprised Nevery takes in Conn, first as a servant and later as an apprentice. Conn is soon looking for his own locus, while trying to help Nevery figure out why the magic in Wellmet seems to be dwindling away. Of course there's the "bad guy" element, and late in the book, you'll probably wonder how in the world Conn will get out of the situation he's in. The ending is satisfying, but there's enough of a teaser for you to figure out there must be part of a series...and it is.

One of the strangest I've ever read...

Yes, I had read the plot line of The Neddiad by Daniel Pinkwater, but I still wasn't quite prepared for the sheer goofiness of it! As Neddie Wentworthstein and his family go from Chicago to Los Angeles by train, he meets Melvin the shaman, who gives him a small stone turtle and tells him to keep it safe (we don't yet know why); gets separated from his family in Flagstaff, Arizona; and meets Seamus Finn, his dad (a famous movie star), and Billy the ghost. Confused yet? Well, they all end up in L.A., and soon Neddie is dealing with bad guy Sandor Eucalyptus, who wants to steal the turtle. You don't discover the importance of the turtle until very late in the book, and by then you're reading about policemen from outer space, prehistoric creatures, and a huge circus. And the ending is totally unexpected. If you want a straight-forward plot, don't read this one, but if you can just go with the flow and accept all the strangeness, it's a pretty funny (but highly weird) story.

Not your typical ghostly adventure

Enjoy graphic novels? Even if you're new to the format, I'd recommend Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel - it's getting great reviews! Frank Gallows works for the Supernatural Immigration Task Force, and it's his job to round up stray ghosts and zap them back to the afterlife. But he messes up, and Garth Hale, a boy with an incurable disease, gets sent, too. After Garth is befriended by a skelton horse (nicknamed "Skinny") and meets Cecil (his grandpa's ghost), they all set out to save Ghostopolis from its evil ruler. At the same time, Frank and his ex-girlfriend, who's now a ghost, blast into the afterlife to try to save Garth. Lots of craziness, adventure, and humor make it fun; the characters' growth make it worthwhile. Take the time to savor the illustrations...the details make them awesome.

Do you believe in fairy tales?

For a new twist on some classic fairy tales, you may well enjoy The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman. Elizabeth just got a part-time job as a page at the New York Circulating Material Repository. Instead of loaning out books, they loan historical objects, such as chocolate sets, wigs, and globes. But best of all is the Grimm Collection - magical items from various Grimm fairy tales, from winged sandals to Snow White's mirror. When Elizabeth learns that some of the items have disappeared, she and her fellow pages set out on a dangerous quest to find the thief. The writing is clever and charming, and includes bits of adventure, mystique, and a even a touch of romance. Perfect summer read!

Who knew librarians could be so rotten?

There's no way I could resist a title like Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson! Alcatraz Smedley just turned 13, and for his birthday he received an apparently unremarkable...bag of sand? But the action gets fast and furious when his grandfather shows up and tells him the present was the Sands of Rashid, which the evil Librarians quickly steal to smelt into new lenses of power. Alcatraz learns that all Smedleys have special Talents - how can you not like a kid who's good at breaking things (and his grandfather, who's always late)? - and these talents are put to good use when they infiltrate the library (oh, no!) to track down the bad guys. The story is chaotic and fun; Alcatraz tells it with loads of snarky humor. And if you like it, you're in luck - there are currently three more in the series.

A place between life and death

As I was grabbing audiobooks for my recent road trip, I didn't realize that Everwild, written by Neal Shusterman and narrated by Nick Podehl, was a the second book of a trilogy, and it took me a while to figure out what was going on.  Everlost is a land between life and death, a place for Afterlights, children who have died but aren't quite ready to finish the journey.  There's a complex cast in Everlost: Mary Hightower (the Sky Witch), who has creepy plans to keep the children there forever, and those who oppose her - her brother (and former monster) Mikey McGill, Nick the Chocolate Ogre (what?), and Allie the Outcast, who's a skinjacker - an Afterlight who can enter the body of a living person.  If you can go with the flow of the story and enjoy it, you'll read (or hear) adventure, humor, and a touch of romance, but it would be better to read Everlost first.  The third book of the trilogy, Everfound, is scheduled to be released in May 2011.

A long one, but definitely worth it

I was on a long road trip recently, and I'm really glad I took along the audiobook Incarceron, written by Catherine Fisher and narrated by Kim Mai Guest.  Two parallel stories take place in very different worlds: Finn can't remember how he became trapped in Incarceron, an unimaginably immense, technologically advanced, "living" prison.  Claudia is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, and although she lives a life of luxury, she's trapped in a different way - living in a carefully crafted seventeenth-century Era and preparing for an arranged marriage with the nasty Prince of the Realm.  The stories slowly come together when Finn and Claudia find identical crystal keys and learn how to use them to communicate; Finn is desperate to escape to the Outside, and Claudia, convinced he's the true Prince but troubled by her father's secrets, wants to help.  The description of the physical settings and character development are phenomenal, the pace is excellent, and when you find out where Incarceron really is, you'll be blown away!  Now I need to go get the sequel, Sapphique.

Take the plunge

I kept thinking of the word "enchanting" while I devoured The Mermaid's Mirror by L. K. Madigan.  Lena is fifteen and lives on the California coast.  Even though she's a great swimmer, her father won't let her take surfing lessons because of an accident he had years ago.  However, after she thinks she sees a mermaid, she takes lessons on the sly and eventually learns an incredible secret about her past.  The author does such a great job with realistic thoughts, actions, and dialogue, that it's easy for the reader to go along with the idea that Lena learns she's half-mermaid and gets to take an amazing journey to their undersea world.  Will she stay, or will she return to her family and friends on land?  A wonderfully believable and mesmerizing story.

What's behind that door?

Falling In by Frances O'Roark Dowell is quite different from Dowell's other books (like Dovey Coe), but enjoyable never-the-less.  Middle-schooler Isabelle Bean opens a closet door at school to follow the squeak of a mouse, and she falls into another whole world!  This world feels fairy tale-ish, with a forest, villages, and fear of a local witch.  Isabelle meets another young girl named Hen, and together they come upon Grete, an elderly woman who takes them in and teaches them about herbs and healing. Isabelle learns she's related to Grete (no, I won't tell you how), and that Grete's the suspected witch; Isabelle becomes determined to clear her name.  The first half of the book seemed slow, but there's a neat and unexpected twist half-way through.  Then the pace picks up, and the story becomes more complicated and interesting.  The ending is especially satisfying.  A great book for readers with active imaginations.

What spark is within you?

With this cover, I assumed that The Fire Within by Chris D'Lacey would be a very dragon-y kind of book.  Yes, there are dragons, but the story is more about the human characters: Liz, a potter who makes ceramic dragons; Lucy, her daughter; and David, a college student who is renting a room from them.  Lucy asks for David's help as she tries to save the neighborhood squirrels, which she has identified and even named.  As the squirrel rescue progresses, he starts to write a squirrel story for Lucy, which she loves; when he gets stuck, he gets inspiration from Gadzooks, a dragon he received from Liz.  But what is that "Hrrrr" sound David keeps hearing in the house, and how does Liz fire her ceramic creatures without an oven?  Readers may be a bit confused by some of the language - even though the story takes place in the U.S., the characters are obviously British - but will enjoy discovering multiple meanings of "the fire within."