Review: PERCIVAL'S ANGEL by Anne Eliot Crompton

If you love Arthurian legend, knightly battles, and tales of The Good Folk (you know, faeries!), I have a book for you.

The third in Anne Eliot Crompton's series of companion novels taking place in the times of Merlin and the Knights of the Round table, PERCIVAL'S ANGEL is an adventure novel sprinkled with magic and mystery.  Percy has known the Fey Forest as home his whole life -- his mother brought him there when all of her other sons and even her husband were killed as knights.  She never wanted Percy to become a knight, and it was her life's goal to prevent this, even if it meant living in isolation among the faeries.  But when a few of Arthur's knights stumble into the forest, Percy knows that his path in life is to pursue knighthood.  He will have nothing else.

Lili is fey, grew up not knowing her mother, as is traditional for fey.  But she's always known Percy.  And over the years she's developed a desire to understand the human heart.  In fact, she wants one on her own.  When Percy decides to go questing, Lili accompanies him, both as a protector, but in pursuit of her own goal -- the human heart she yearns for.

And elegantly written novel, PERCIVAL'S ANGEL is filled with prose that is almost magical in its construction.  The reader is immediately swept into the world of magic and knights and ladies and kings.  While this is the third in a series, it does stand alone (I haven't read the first two books myself) and it's an adventure that readers of Robin McKinley and Ursula K. LeGuin will love to follow.

On Allegra Biscotti, my new fashionspiration.

I don't usually like to write about a book before I've finished it. But you know what? I can't help myself. THE ALLEGRA BISCOTTI COLLECTION by Olivia Bennett (Sourcebooks, 2010) is so freaking stuck in my head that last night while I was getting dressed to go out I was thinking of its main character.

I'm not even kidding. I was putting together a way-over-the-top outfit for my birthday celebration (we went to Sonic for dinner -- yes, THAT Sonic) and I was trying a bright purple mini dress and sparkly shoes with the right leggings and I thought to myself, "What would Emma Rose do?"

That's when I knew: THE ALLEGRA BISCOTTI COLLECTION is definitely one of the best tween books of 2010. When a character sticks with you like that, when you haven't even had a chance to pick up the book yet that day, man, you know it's good.

And I love that this book is about a young entrepreneur. Emma Rose is a thirteen-year-old fashion designer juggling all the craziness of the 8th grade with an accidentally burgeoning career. And, okay, I'm only about halfway through the book, but I have loved every page -- and not just because the pages are decorated with illustrations from Emma's sketchbook. But because Emma is so real, so vivid, so inspiring.

I started making my own clothes when I was in high school, but maybe if I'd read THE ALLEGRA BISCOTTI COLLECTION I would have gotten a head start. And had some serious delusions of grandeur...because the way Emma Rose is headed, whoa, there's no stopping this girl. Gotta love a character that lights a fire in you, that's for sure.

So, with Channukkah in full swing and Christmas right around the corner, I hope you'll give the young girlie-girl in your life some ALLEGRA BISCOTTI. I promise, she'll fall in love just like me!


Oh, and PS, yes it *is* my birthday today. And some of the YA-5ers are on my blog making fun of me. Hop on over for the hilarity.

Review: REAL MERMAIDS DON'T WEAR TOE RINGS by Hélène Boudreau

So I usually don't blog about books that aren't out yet, but I simply can't keep this one under my hat any longer. But this new title from Sourcebooks is so freaking awesome, and I want to share it with all my YA-5 readers, especially since our Friday blogger, Miranda Kenneally, just signed a book deal (HOORAY!!!!) with the same publisher! So, following her lead, celebrating this fabbity fab publisher, I'm going to tell you about my new favorite tween book.

It's not often that I pick up a middle grade that makes me think of Margaret. I'm talking about Margaret of ARE YOU THERE GOD? fame, of course. I mean, there have been many books over the years that deal with coming of age and first periods and first crushes and all the hormonal insanity that is growing into your teen self. And many of these books are awesome in their own right. But none of them touched my heart the way Hélène Boudreau's REAL MERMAIDS DON'T WEAR TOE RINGS did.

Jade is almost fourteen when she gets her first period in a department store bathroom while trying to find a bathing suit that compliments her "muffin top." And she can't tell her best friend, Cori, since she kind of sort of fibbed about getting it back when everyone else did, when they were twelve. She can't tell her mom, since she died about a year ago -- and how Jade wishes she were there more than ever! She doesn't want to tell her dad, but is forced to when she realizes she spent all her money on the bathing suit post-period-panic and now hasn't got the cash for "feminine hygiene products." So Dad comes to the rescue, which unfortunately means loading up a shopping cart -- a shopping cart! -- with everything on the shelves while reading menstrual remedies aloud from Google results on his smart phone. Jade thinks she can just walk away and deal until Luke shows up. Adorable, evil Luke who has called her Scissor-Lips for years after a spin-the bottle accident that involved Jade's braces and Luke's head. Woops. But Luke looks different. And he's looking at Jade different. If only Dad didn't choose that moment to price-compare pads.

The worst part? The worst part is that the drug store fiasco wasn't the worst part. When Jade takes an Epsom-salt bath, she falls asleep in the tub. When she wakes up, she's sprouted a scaly, gross tail where her legs were. It can't be real, and yet it is. And that's when her dad breaks down and tells her: Jade's mom was a mermaid. And Jade is, too.

But here's the thing -- if her mom was a mermaid, how could she have drowned? As soon as Jade's legs have transformed back -- thank goodness! -- she wants to run to Cori and spill her guts, but sworn to silence she finds herself tangled up in secret after secret. And as the mystery of her mom's death begins to unravel, the lies she has to tell keep piling up. Jade feels like the worst friend ever as Cori begins to turn to the snotty Lainey instead, and even though she's starting to have mushy crushy feelings for Luke, she's got way too much on her plate to even think that he'd be interested in a plus-sized mer-girl anyway.

REAL MERMAIDS DON'T WEAR TOE RINGS is an unputdownable adventure, part Judy Blume, part Hans Christian Anderson, and 100% delightful, this fun, fresh tale (tail?) will have girls begging for a sequel. The mer-mythology is solidly constructed around an exciting story, and Jade's voice is so real, so authentically thirteen, that I feel like she's the girl next door. And, you know, I remember being that age. Getting your first period, having boobs that you're dissatisfied with (whether too big or too small), trying to figure out boys -- it's a lot like turning into an otherworldly creature, if you really think about it. Hélène Boudreau's REAL MERMAIDS is absolutely the book to share with your favorite pre-teen girl this December.

REAL MERMAIDS DON'T WEAR TOE RINGS is available next month on December 1st. Pre-order your jillion copies now, or head to your local bookstore or library STAT and make sure they'll be getting it in!