Argos: The Story of Odysseus as Told by His Loyal Dog by Ralph Hardy

It has been many years since Odysseus left Ithaca for the Trojan War. Odysseus’s dog, Argos, maintains his promise to protect Odysseus’s family during his absence. But times are becoming desperate for Penelope—Odysseus’s wife—and Telemachos—their son. Greedy men, calling themselves suitors, take advantage of Penelope’s hospitality on a daily basis. These suitors try to pressure Penelope into admitting Odysseus is dead so she can remarry one of them. Since many suitors see young Telemachos as a threat, they plot to kill him. His life is repeatedly spared thanks to Argos’s keen intellect and boundless strength. During these troubling times, any word about Odysseus reinforces Argos’s loyalty to his master. Argos charges all seafaring birds to come to him with any information. Through these birds, Argos hears the adventures and tragedies of Odysseus’s journey.

Argos is a great introduction for young readers to a “PG” version of The Odyssey. Hardy’s canine spin on the classic Greek tale is an insightful read on the power of loyalty and family. Argos is a bear-like dog, recognized by all as the faithful “Boar Slayer” to Odysseus. When Argos is charged to protect Odysseus’s family, he goes above and beyond his call. For example, Argos takes on the fatherly role of teaching young Telemachos how to properly hunt and be brave during a fight. Argos does this because he knows Odysseus would have taught his son these skills if he were there. Later, Argos actually becomes a father and he learns, like Odysseus, how much it hurts to be tragically separated from his family. At times, the story can be a bit tedious because more than half of the book is just the retelling of Odysseus’s adventures. But Hardy does a good job at keeping the narrative fresh and unique, while he sets up suspenseful problems Argos must undergo at home. 

Above by Roland Smith

On the run since their escape from the Deep, Pat, Coop, and Kate plan to reunite in Oregon. However, their reunion is postponed when Alex Dane—Lod’s brother who helped the teens escape—shows up and tasks Kate to shadow Lod’s members that are gathering in the area. Alex, Pat, and Coop follow Kate’s trail so they can understand Lod’s next move and then notify the authorities. Kate lets herself get captured by Lod’s minions, but she tries to earn their trust so she can hide her involvement with Alex, Pat, and Coop.

This sequel to Beneath is yet another rapid-fire read full of suspense, mystery, and deception. Told from Pat and Kate’s perspectives, readers follow the break-neck pace of these teens as they chase down Lod and his demented disciples. Because there is access to Kate’s mind, readers learn more details about her upbringing in the Deep and understand how losing her parents by Lod’s hand caused Kate to turn against him. Compared to Beneath, Pat is not continually confronting his claustrophobia. However, he encounters his patterned, panic-stricken thoughts again as he is forced to enter yet another Deep. A theme Smith carries through his series is that there is no such thing as a coincidence. Smith shows that the events and decisions of a person’s past ideally places them in situations where they can conquer present dilemmas. Both Beneath and Above clearly show that Smith is an expert at crafting quality, contemporary adventures for young adults. 

Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman

For five months Anne has been surviving servitude to the rich shipping merchant, Master Drummond. However, Anne secretly plans to escape to the West Indies—the location where Anne’s English father and her West Indian mother fell in love. Anne’s goal is sidetracked when she meets Master Drummond’s son, Edward “Teach”. Teach, freshly returned from a year at sea, is immediately drawn to Anne because of her strength, intelligence, and beauty. He offers her true friendship, but she hesitates not only because of their differing social classes, but because Teach is engaged to a baron's daughter. As time goes by, the pair cannot deny they have met their match in one another.

After visiting sites associated with the pirate Blackbeard, Castroman began wondering what motivated Blackbeard to become a pirate. From these musings and her research, Castroman created Blackhearts, her debut teen novel. Castroman puts forward a noteworthy piece of literature that will have readers spellbound by her two incredibly strong, leading characters: Anne and Teach. Anne doesn’t know where she belongs because of her English/West Indian background. All she knows is that she needs to escape. Teach doesn’t want to live an aristocratic lifestyle. All he knows is he needs an escape. When the two meet, Anne finds a refuge and Teach finds an equal. With Blackhearts, Castroman expertly shows that a book can still be considered a “romance” when sex is not included. Anne and Teach’s relationship is more of a meeting of minds and hearts, similar to characters like Jane Erye and Mr. Rochester. A bright literary future awaits Castroman if she creates such quality reads like Blackhearts. 

Hopping Ahead of Climate Change: Snowshoe Hares, Science, and Survival by Sneed B. Collard III

Deep in the woods of Montana, biologist Scott Mills notices a big problem with a small animal. The snowshoe hares he has studied for most of his career are not changing their coat colors fast enough to protect themselves from predators. With season lengths fluctuating due to climate change, many snowshoe hares are getting killed off quicker because they haven’t molted fast enough to match their environment. Without any outside aid, snowshoe hares could become a threatened species. To learn more, Mills is studying coat-changing animals in a variety of climates. In Washington state, for instance, not all snowshoe hares molt to white each year. This genetic variation could help shield the population from climate change’s effects. Mills and his research team believe the Montana snowshoe hares could evolve a similar genetic characteristic through natural selection. Even though there is a chance these hares may change their genes to survive, this doesn’t mean humans should foster the climate change problem that caused these hares and other animals to be threatened.

Climate change can be a very touchy topic. But Collard’s book addresses the issue from the forest-floor perspective of Montana’s snowshoe hares; a species that no one can argue is being affected by climate change. Readers learn how climate change has disrupted the lives of these small creatures and how their declining numbers could drastically threaten their ecosystem. Thanks to Collard’s work with Mills and other researchers, readers are given bite-sized amounts of information to showcase the effects of climate change in easy-to-read maps, graphs, and topic definitions. Collard takes his story a step further than other climate change authors by expressing a hopeful future for both the hares and humans involved. The hares’ hope may be in natural selection, but the hope for humans comes through Collard’s doable and well-defined suggestions to decrease the population’s climate change footprint. A well-written and thoughtful book any library should have on hand for inspiring readers to make a difference in their world.

Five Kingdoms: Death Weavers by Brandon Mull

Leaving Constance in the safety of Zeropolis’s Unseen, Cole and his friends enter Necronum. At holy or haunted locations within the kingdom, the spirits of the dead (known as echoes) and the souls of the living (bright echoes) can traverse between reality and the afterlife (the echolands). Following clues from an echo named Sando, Cole’s party learns that Honor and Destiny are trapped within the echolands. However, Sando deceives Cole and imprisons Mira, Jace, and Joe’s bright echoes. Sando is a henchman to Nazeem, the evil originator and leader of the shapecrafting movement. With Hunter and Dalton watching over the comatose bodies of their three friends, Cole enters the echolands to rescue the three princesses, Jace, and Joe.

In the fourth book of his Five Kingdom’s series, Mull puts his own twist on death and adds another complex world to his Outskirts foundation. But first a note to parents, teachers, and young readers. Even though “death” is in the title, no mindless, bloodied zombies or rotting corpses are present. In Mull’s interpretation, death is the departure of the soul, or echo, from the body. Once the echo leaves reality, it lives in the echolands until the pull from the Other, or higher paradise, makes them move on. As Cole journeys through the echolands, departed characters from previous books rejoin his mission to save the Pemberton sisters. In his own way, Mull shows that the dead still care for the living and do what they can from the other side. Death Weavers mimics such books as Garth Nix’s Abhorsen Chronicles and Janet Lee Carey’s Stealing Death. As an added treat, fans of Mull’s Beyonders series may see two familiar faces who aid Cole’s mission in the echolands. An unpredictable and hauntingly surreal book worth the read!

Five Kingdoms: Crystal Keepers by Brandon Mull

After a rocky arrival into Zeropolis, Cole, Mira, Dalton, and Jace join the local Unseen resistance. But consistent persecutions force the Unseen to go deep for their safety. Once they meet Mira, their main objective is to find Constance. However, Constance’s star is missing. Unseen leaders convince Cole to travel alone to Junction City and contact Queen Harmony.

The third book in Mull’s Five Kingdom series places our heroes in a science-fiction kingdom where magical energy is used to establish a technologically advanced world. Yes, the group’s mission is to save another princess, but Mull proves that even if his characters go on a quest to do repeated tasks, it doesn’t mean the plot is predictable or formulaic. Mull pulls out all the stops in Crystal Keepers.  A read worth the ride. The fourth book is Death Weavers.

Allen County Young Authors 2016

Soon after the Bentonville Youth Literature Festival, my mother's school district in Iola, Kansas, celebrated their Allen County Young Authors' event...a program that has been going strong for 17 years. Authors Deborah Hopkinson and Obert Skye were invited to present their books and past writing experiences to the kids. It was another successful year thanks to these authors, the Young Author committee, the volunteers, and the kids who wrote some awesome books!

Now, I talked in more detail about how the Young Authors' program works in last year's post, but I wanted to show you what one student's book looks like. This particular book was written by my nephew...a very gifted writer. His Young Author book was twelve chapters long and he's only in 5th grade! With the help of his teacher and parents, he typed up, edited, and illustrated this book, The A.C.E. Competitions. It's hard not to see why his book was an award winner! Great job!

The celebration begins on Friday evening with a dinner hosted at Iola's Bowlus Fine Arts Center. For all 17 years, a special local grant from the Sleeper Family Trust (which is distributed by the Bowlus) has funded this amazing program. Their investments have paid off because even though Young Authors has been around for so long, it's response by teachers and students has grown exponentially! At many schools 100% of teachers participated in supporting their students to write books. And this year showed the highest number of student submissions within all 17 years. Quite an accomplishment!

Saturday morning, bright and early, Young Author winning students flock to Iola High School to be recognized for their outstanding books. They got to see personalized presentations from Deborah and Obert and then share their books with their peers and Young Author volunteers. I have been volunteering since my mom started up the program. So here I am sitting with a group of kids as they each read aloud and show off their books. After they read aloud, we have a short question and answer period to better understand how they created their award-winning reads.

So here we are after another successful Young Authors' Celebration with both authors.

I met Deborah Hopkinson at last year's Warrensburg Children's Literature Festival (see last year's blog post). She is a gifted non-fiction and historical fiction author of both chapter books and picture books.  She loves to write books about insightful and influential people who don't always get acknowledged by society. Like her historical fiction, The Great Trouble, talks about Dr. John Snow, the doctor who discovered how cholera was really being spread in 1850s London. A fascinating read!

I have known Obert Skye for several years, again thanks to the Warrensburg Children's Literature Festival. He has become a fast friend ever since meeting him. In the near future, I'll showcase Obert's work and writing experience when I post reviews for his Pillage and Creature In My Closest series. He mainly focuses on middle-grade fantasy, but he will be publishing some teen fantasy reads soon.

Thanks for checking out my blog and PLEASE check out these authors and their books!

Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell

Gwendolyn Allister has reluctantly moved to London with her paranoid mother. However, Gwen’s best friend, Olivia, has come to help ease Gwen’s transition. Things go supernaturally wrong when the girls are kidnapped by flying shadow creatures—known as the Dark Ones—and taken to Neverland. The girls get separated but Gwen is rescued from the Dark Ones by the handsome, metal-handed Captain Rowan. Peter Pan sneaks onto Rowan’s ship, takes Gwen, and reunites her with Olivia. But this Peter Pan is a seductive teenage leader who magically brainwashes anyone to get his way.

Unhooked is a gothic yet modern twist to Barrie’s Peter Pan tale. Gwendolyn is tied to the sporadic, unstable whims of her anxious mother. If she leaves, her mother will fall apart. But if she stays, her social future is doomed. Her one glimmering hope is Olivia, a strong-willed girl who looks past Gwen’s flawed mother and sees a friend. But when Gwen is reunited with Olivia after their kidnapping, Olivia’s resilient mind is lost to Pan’s seductions. Losing Olivia spurs Gwen to accept her destiny and face Neverland’s terrors and temptations head on. Alongside Gwen’s story, Maxwell adds snap-shots of Rowan’s service in WWI. This WWI storyline is unique, but is an anachronism. For example, Rowan mentions Barrie being inspired by Neverland. But Barrie didn’t write his Peter Pan play until 1904 and WWI didn’t begin until 1914. How could Barrie write a Hook/Captain Rowan character before Rowan even arrived in Neverland? Putting these inconsistencies aside, Unhooked is an addictive, mature reimagining of the Peter Pan story that teens will devour.