3.5. There’s a very “Goonies” set-up going on here, which the author acknowledges and pays homage to. Exploring secret, hidden territory (tunnels and 3.5. There’s a very “Goonies” set-up going on here, which the author acknowledges and pays homage to. Exploring secret, hidden territory (tunnels and a ship in Goonies, an entire house set up as a series of elaborate escape rooms here) while solving puzzles under pressure and facing bodily peril, all for a chance at a rumored treasure that might help save one of the protagonists’ homes from foreclosure, etc. It took me a while to really get into this book, billed as a mystery, but I was all-in for the last half and eager to get back to it when I had to put it down and do other stuff. The closing chapters were suspenseful; the resolution interesting. I’ll recommend this one to kids who love books with puzzles and/or contests with treasures at stake—like Book Scavenger or The Westing Game.
Also—wow, what a cover. Good ones really DO help a book’s chances, and this one is even more clever when you look back at it after finishing the book.
Thanks to #edelweiss and the publisher for access to the digital ARC...more
This book and its sequel just tickle me to death. I haven’t seen anything else like them out there. Merritt’s jagged, angular, critterly illustrationsThis book and its sequel just tickle me to death. I haven’t seen anything else like them out there. Merritt’s jagged, angular, critterly illustrations and the “art direction”? mise en scene? flawless-however-you’d-put it have such momentum it’s as though they’re animated (and scored by Danny Elfman); they have a cartoony feel (eyeballs popping, etc) and remind me of Delia Ephron’s in *How to Eat Like a Child*. Both books are scary as heck. Both books are also often funny, and some of the humor is freakishly sophisticated (as when a creature attacking students in a school’s art room gleefully answers the question “What ARE you?” with “I’ll tell you what I’m NOT…I am not a pipe.”) Some libraries classify them as children’s graphic novels, but they feel more “heavily illustrated children’s fiction” to me. I’m not sure they’ve gotten the love they deserve—I’ve never heard anyone else (other than an enraptured child reader to another child reader) mention them. I’m booktalking these to 4th and 5th graders and hope there will be a third. ...more
Delightful, clever, naughty, and yes, reminiscent of Roald Dahl—but with more character growth, I think, then most of his books. His nasties mostly stDelightful, clever, naughty, and yes, reminiscent of Roald Dahl—but with more character growth, I think, then most of his books. His nasties mostly stay nasty. I don’t really want to share plot points, because I enjoyed being surprised myself, and if I remember correctly (it was long ago this morning, sigh), I was surprised by the end of the very first chapter—so I definitely want to use it in my First Chapter Fridays library program, where I read the first chapter or so of books and have them available for kids to check out after. This will be an excellent one for booktalking and handselling, too. ...more
Quietly epic, Clan is a coming of age tale of survival, of the power and value of stories, of bitter sibling rivalry passed to the next generation, ofQuietly epic, Clan is a coming of age tale of survival, of the power and value of stories, of bitter sibling rivalry passed to the next generation, of persistence and growth, of pride and its victims, of ritual and of breaking the cycle. Set towards the end of the Ice Age, it follows Atlatl, a boy with a badly twisted leg in a culture where most men are valued for their physical prowess and skill at the hunt. A gifted storyteller who sparkles with intelligence, Atlatl is painfully aware that his father, clan leader Nootau, would much rather have his brother’s son, athletic Powaw, for his own. The story grapples with all of the classic conflicts—human vs human, human vs nature, human vs self—and feels as though it could have been written (or told) in another century. It’s an unadorned, refreshing, satisfying read—I enjoyed every minute I spent reading it. It’s definitely one I’ll use for my Catch a Chapter program at the library—where I read the first one or two chapters of a book aloud and have copies available for intrigued kids to check out. Many thanks to #edelweissplus for a digital ARC. ...more
My blurb for our library's June youth staff picks, which doesn't capture plenty that's well-done about the book (Nick and his friends' personal lives-My blurb for our library's June youth staff picks, which doesn't capture plenty that's well-done about the book (Nick and his friends' personal lives--including one with a father arguably wrongfully imprisoned), middle school stuff like first crushes (handled lightly, not superfluous) plodding along in a boring relationship because it's convenient, etc. There's humor throughout that at its best reminds me of Daniel Pinkwater.
One thing really disappointed me: a kid character arriving at the garage sale and seeing people from her school--two are simply identified by name, but a third as "a Hispanic kid." I hate it when only one character "has" a race--implying that white is "of course" the default.
The blurb:
"When Nick, his brother, and his dad move into his Great Aunt Greta’s old house, Nick finds the attic full of useless junk. He quickly gets rid of most of it in a garage sale. Then he begins to hear from his buyers about secret powers the “junk” objects have…a shabby reel-to-reel recorder records what people are THINKING rather than what they say. A baseball mitt pulls asteroids out of the sky. An old camera takes pictures of things that will happen 24 hours in the future. When a sinister organization called The Accelerati shows up at Nick’s house desperate to get their hands on the objects, Nick and his friends race to learn the history of the objects and keep them out of The Accelerati’s hands. Suspenseful, smart, plot-twisting, and often funny, Tesla’s Attic is the perfect adventure to kick off your summer. Even better? It’s the first book in a trilogy, and all three are now available from the library."...more