Early Book Review: Slip by Marika McCoola , Aatmaja Pandya

Slip by Marika McCoola is a graphic novel from Eisner-Award nominated writer Marika McCoola and debut artist Aatmaja Pandya.  It is currently scheduled for release on June 7 2022. 

Right before Jade is about to leave for a summer art intensive, her best friend, Phoebe, attempts suicide. How is Jade supposed to focus on herself right now? But at the Art Farm, Jade has artistic opportunities she’s been waiting for her whole life. And as she gets to know her classmates, she begins to fall for whimsical, upbeat, comfortable-in-her-own-skin Mary. Jade pours herself into making ceramic monsters that vent her stress and insecurities, but when she puts her creatures in the kiln, something unreal happens: they come to life. And they’re taking a stand: if Jade won’t confront her problems, her problems are going to confront her, including the scariest of them all, if Jade grows, prospers, and even falls in love this summer, is she leaving Phoebe behind?

Slip is a beautifully written and drawn story. Jade is struggling on multiple fronts. She is worried about her friend, and if she could have, should have, been able to see what was coming and stop it. Many of us have had these kind of crisis, weather it is about a friend or family member struggling with mental heath, or an accident, or really any traumatic event. Even when we could have had no impact on an event or outcome, the what ifs often eat at us. Jade has to shoulder these thoughts while worrying about leaving her friend behind, guilt over forgetting for even a moment, and doubts about her own art and talent. All of these layers of worry, doubt, and fear would be a lot for anyone to handle, but in your formative years when you are just starting new friendships and maybe more it is even harder. I thing the story and fabulous artwork do a great job of capturing the turmoil and helping readers feel and understand it in a safe way. I think this read is something many readers will relate to on different levels, and can help some come to terms with and face their own issues that might relate to or mirror some of what Jade is sifting through. It is engaging, sweet and funny at times, while also being very deep and sometimes heartrending. I think it might be a hard read for some that are still struggling with related issues, but I think it could be a helpful read when they are ready for it. 

Slip is an emotional story that can speak to readers on a multitude of levels. I recommend it for middle school through adult readers. 

Book Review: Nightbird by Alice Hoffman

Nightbird by Alice Hoffman is a middle grade novel. Twelve-year-old Twig's town in the Berkshires is said to hide a winged beast, the Monster of Sidwell, and the rumors draw as many tourists as the town's famed pink apple orchards. Twig lives in the orchard with her mysterious brother James and her reclusive mother, a baker of irresistible apple pies. Because of a family secret, an ancient curse,Twig has had to isolate herself from other kids. Then a family with two girls, Julia and Agate, moves into the cottage next door. They are descendants of the witch who put the spell on Twig's family. But Julia turns out to be Twig's first true friend, and her ally in trying to undo the curse and smooth the path to true love for Agate and James.

Nightbird is a complex and enchanting book about friendship, family, and secrets. The mysteries surrounding Twig’s family are slowly revealed in the beginning of the book, and the oddities of the town and the important players of the story creep out of the story subtly and sometimes in unexpected ways. I liked that Twig was a multi dimensional character. While she is a typical tween in some ways, struggling with finding her place, friendship, and family, she has additional struggles that I think she handles quite well under the circumstances. Her mother and brother get less time in the book to be fully explored, but do not come across as flat. I really enjoyed the development of friendship and the slow reveals about the family and various relationships that come through out the story. The fear and mob mentality that can rise in a town of scared individuals, as well as the calmer heads that are always trying to do the best they can under the circumstances are timeless. The events of the story, for the most part, are timeless and more about the state of humanity rather than the times we live in. I could easily see these emotions and conflicts arising now, a hundred years ago, or a hundred years from now. I liked that love, friendship, and being honest with yourself and those you care about are the keys to solving the problems and mysteries throughout the book.

Nightbird is a wonderful combination of mystery, magic, and coming into ones own. I think readers from middle grade through adults can all find themselves enthralled with the story, and perhaps a little changed by it. This is magical realism done right.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty bestselling works of fiction, including Practical Magic, which was made into a major motion picture starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman; Here on Earth, an Oprah Book club selection; the highly praised historical novel The Dovekeepers; and, most recently, The Museum of Extraordinary Things. Her books for teens include Green Angel, Green Witch, Incantation, The Foretelling, and Aquamarine, also a major motion picture starring Emma Roberts. 

Book Review: HooDoo by Ronald L. Smith

HooDoo is a middle grade novel by Ronald L. Smith. Twelve-year-old Hoodoo Hatcher was born into a family with a rich tradition of practicing folk magic: hoodoo, as most people call it. But even though his name is Hoodoo, he can't seem to cast a simple spell. Then a mysterious man called the Stranger comes to town, and Hoodoo starts dreaming of the dead rising from their graves. Even worse, he soon learns the Stranger is looking for a boy. Not just any boy. A boy named Hoodoo. The entire town is at risk from the Stranger's black magic, and only Hoodoo can defeat him. He'll just need to learn how to conjure first. Set amid the swamps, red soil, and sweltering heat of small town Alabama in the 1930s, 

HooDoo is a solid middle grade book with a gothic or horror overtone. There are little bits of humor tossed in, along with a little historical fiction, but this is not for the easily creeped out readers. I liked the character of HooDoo, he is trying to do right by his family and find his way in the world but he is still very much a boy becoming a young adult.  He is facing the evil of the Stranger while coming to terms with himself, and learning new things about himself. The danger is solid, and there is a almost constant feeling of wondering what is coming next. HooDoo's family and friend Bunny are less well developed characters than HooDoo, but are still well written and described enough that I cared about all of them before the story was over. I will admit that it took me awhile to read this one, but I am very glad that I saw it through and finished it. I can see this being a well loved book by many of my middle grade readers.

HooDoo is an interesting and unique read. It combines the best qualities of historical fiction, coming of age, and horror reads and leaves the reader looking for a bit more. I think fans of The Night Gardener and similar books will particularly enjoy this read. 

Book Review: A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd, Cassandra Morris

A Snicker of Magic is a children's novel written by Natalie Lloyd, and the audiobook is narrated by Cassandra Morris. Midnight Gulch used to be a magical place, a town where people could sing up thunderstorms and dance up sunflowers. But that was long ago, before a curse drove the magic away. When Twelve-year-old Felicity arrives in Midnight Gulch, she thinks her luck's about to change. A "word collector," Felicity sees words everywhere; shining above strangers, tucked into church eves, and tangled up her dog's floppy ears, but Midnight Gulch is the first place she's ever seen the word "home." And then there's Jonah, a mysterious, spiky-haired do-gooder who shimmers with words Felicity's never seen before, words that make Felicity's heart beat a little faster. Felicity wants to stay in Midnight Gulch more than anything, but first, she'll need to figure out how to bring back the magic, breaking the spell that's been cast over the town, and her mother's broken heart.

A Snicker of Magic is a coming of age story, Felicity needs to learn to trust herself and her abilities, as well as face her fears. While she finally feels she has found home, she still worries that she will be uprooted, that she will embarrass herself in a big way, and that she will forever be followed by the word lonely rather than home. Her mother, and many others, have

A Snicker of Magic is a sweet and heart warming story. I liked the variety of characters in Midnight Gultch, and their quirks, But, I will say that in listening to the story with my kiddos in the car we all got a little antsy for the ending before it was ready. It was still an interesting and entertaining book, but I think it could have been a little more condensed. 

Book Spotlight with Excerpt: The Memory Chair by Susan White

The Memory Chair by Susan White

SYNOPSIS

Thirteen-year-old Betony has always hated going to her cranky great-grandmother’s house. It’s old and stuffy and boring and the woodstove in the kitchen is always burning too hot. But her Gram doesn’t have any other family living close by on the Kingston Peninsula, so Betony ends up being dragged along all the time.

She’d rather be pretty much anywhere…until one day Betony sits on her Gram’s favourite chair. She is suddenly transported into the past, and is experiencing her Gram’s life as if it were in her own memory. At first Betony is excited and curious, and begins to develop a close relationship with Gram, even learning to cook and quilt. But after she has experienced a few more of her great-grandmother’s memories, she realizes she is slowly uncovering a terrible, shameful family secret.

EXCERPT FROM THE MEMORY CHAIR

It had been after eleven when I woke up in Gram’s chair the night before, feeling cramped and needing to pee. When I went to bed I had gone over in my mind every detail of the rooms I had seen in Aunt Basha’s house. I could see the faces of the two little boys and the baby, Benjamin. I remembered Grandmother Frazee’s kitchen and the dress she was wearing as she sat in her rocking chair. She had been pulling a large needle with a string of red yarn through the heel of a grey wool sock. Grandmother Frazee would be Gram’s grandmother, which would make her my great-great-great-grandmother. I had seen my great-great-great-grandmother sitting in her own kitchen. Olive green boards came partway up the kitchen wall behind her chair.

Those memories were still in my mind. All the memories from the other two times I had fallen asleep in Gram’s chair were still clear as well. I could see Uncle Lesley’s car, Thomas as he ran by Evelyn, pulling her braid, and Ida and Luella slipping off a log into the brook. I could see it all, not as if someone had told me or as if I had seen a movie, but as if they were my own memories. Memories I could search for in my mind just as if they had actually happened to me.

The creak of the bedroom door opening interrupted my thoughts when Gram walked to the foot of the bed.

PURCHASE

Amazon

B & N

Indigo

Kobo

THE AUTHOR

Susan's  Website / Goodreads /  Facebook

Sue White was born in New Brunswick and moved from one New Brunswick city to another. As a teenager her family moved to the Kingston Peninsula and she only left long enough to earn her BA and BEd at St. Thomas University in Fredericton. Settling on the peninsula, she and her husband raised four children and ran a small farm while she taught elementary school. Since retiring she is grateful to now have the time to work on her writing and the freedom to regularly visit her new granddaughter in Alberta.

Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband, Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. They have two beautiful children.

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Magical Realism as a Genre; What is it and What to Read?

Magical Realism is a fiction genre that goes against the accepted principles of our reality. Things that are commonly accepted as hard facts, like gravity and the flow of time, are contradicted in typical everyday situations. However, do not mistake mystical realism for fantasy or science fiction. In this genre the strange moments are accepted at normal in the world the author has created. Things we might think amazing like a robot strolling down the street or a hail of shoes from the sky are surprisingly credible in the context of the story being told.

Magical realism typically starts off with setting up the reality of the world. Then the story can take on a dream like feel or work with in alternate realities. The story often gives pictures or situations that are simply beautiful (or horrifying) but ultimately not possible in the logic of our reality. Magical realism blends extra ordinary events with everyday lives and people. To get a more vivid understanding of the genre consider tales like Pinocchio where the feat of a puppet becoming a real boy does not seem so impossible. So what should adults interested in exploring this genre start?

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel is a perfect example of the genre. The readers are drawn into the everyday lives of a family in turn of the century Mexico. The family relationships and cooking are the grounding forces to keep the story in reality. However, there is magic at work when Tita's food allows those that eat it to feel her emotions and act with her passions. The combination of Tita's desire not to be her mother's server and unmarried for the rest of her life is expected and real to readers, while the magic in her cooking seems mystical it is handled it a way that makes it part of her life rather than an intrusion of fantasy. Beyond being an example of magical realism this is also a fantastic work of fiction and contains recipes to enjoy. I highly recommend the book to everyone.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez is another prime example of magical realism. This novel is the history of both the Buendia family and where they live. The story begins with Jose Arcadio Buendia committing murder then follows the perpetrator as he struggles with his obsessions and guilt. The family and city develop with seemingly endless crises, moving in a cyclical pattern rather than moving in a forward direction lost amid shared dreams. The same mistakes and tragedies seem to repeat themselves until the inevitable fate prescribed for the family finally comes to pass. While this might sound fatalistic and depressing, the novel is in fact a compassionate story well worth exploring.

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende is another magical realism novel that follows a family. This story follows a family through four generations in an alternate reality that mirrors the political and social events of reality in twentieth century Chile. Here the magical element comes from some of the characters exhibiting psychic abilities. This blend of fiction, magic and some biographical family history from the author combine to create a uniquely satisfying read.

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie is a book about a transfer of political power with shades of mythology, faith and folk stories. The story follows Saleem Sinal, who is born in August of 1947 at the exact moment India became independent. His life follows a path that parallels that of his nation, complete with danger, poverty, chaos and greed. The magical element of this story lies in the abilities of all the children that share the moment of birth with Saleem. They each have a heightened sense, and our main character's ability is to literally smell change coming. While the story is not an easy read, the ideas and the history lesson included in the work make it well worth making the effort to finish.

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands by Jorge Amado is not for the faint of heart. In the example of magical realism we see a women lose her roguish husband when he dies while celebrating at a carnival to excess. She then marries a stable, bland pharmacist that is the ideal husband. However, she misses some sides of her deceased husband and somehow manages to call him back from the dead. She gets to have the best of both her husbands through mystical means. Ghostly hijinks and sexual situations are prevalent in this story.

Other authors you might want to explore in this genre include Isabel Allende, Jorge Luis Borges, Italo Calvino, Pete Hamill, and Alice Hoffman.