Halloween Book Launch with Kenneth Oppel and Kevin Sylvester (Toronto and streamed)

If you're fortunate to be in and around Toronto this weekend, consider this extra special book launch with two of youngCanLit's favourite authors to start off your Halloween season.

 

📙📙📙📙📙 

 

Halloween Book Launch!

 

with authors 

 

Kenneth Oppel and Kevin Sylvester

 

for 

 

Ghostlight  and  Apartment 713 

On

 

 Sunday, October 16, 2022

 

there will be an Author Talk and Book Signing

 

 

at 2 PM

 

at the

 

Revue Cinema

400 Roncesvalles Avenue

Toronto

 

 

This will be followed by a free screening of 

the movie "Monster House" at 3 PM

RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/oppelsylvesterlaunch

(The author event will also be streamed at

 https://youtu.be/5l-UKFoL0Zg  

for those who can't attend in person.)

 

📙📙📙📙📙

 

Do check out my reviews of both books to see why you'll want to attend this event!

 

 

Apartment 713

Written by Kevin Sylvester
HarperCollins
978-1-4434-6094-1
240 pp.
Ages 8-12
September 2022 

Reviewed here

and

 

Ghostlight

Written by Kenneth Oppel
Puffin Canada
978-0-7352-7233-0
400 pp.
Ages 10+
September 2022

Reviewed here

 

📙📙📙📙📙

Ghostlight

Written by Kenneth Oppel

Puffin Canada

978-0-7352-7233-0

400 pp.

Ages 10+

September 2022

With Halloween almost upon us, how about a new middle grade novel about a trio of teens trying to help a ghost from the 1800s fight an evil one and save her father? Want some fantasy? How about some horror? Action-adventure? Ghostlight has it all. (Even a little romance.)

Sixteen-year-old Gabe is working the summer at Toronto Islands giving the island ghost tour while his best friend Yuri, a mechanical whiz, works maintenance for the rides at the amusement park. Part of Gabe's tour is the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse whose original keeper, William Strand, and daughter Rebecca met their unexplained and tragic ends in 1839. After Gabe unintentionally makes a connection with the ghost of Rebecca Strand in the off-limits lamp room of the lighthouse, enabling him to see and hear her, she tells him that she and her father were murdered by the ghost Nicholas Viker who devoured others to make himself more powerful. Rebecca's father, one of his victims, had been part of the Order of Keepers who protected harbours, cities and coastlines from ghosts by using powerful amber lights called ghostlights to strengthen a lamp's beam and zap ghosts.

We stand guard over the night, to protect the living from the wakeful and wicked dead. (pg. 12)

Enlisting the help of Yuri and a new acquaintance, Callie Ferreira, a teen who works at the CN Tower but also writes a ghost blog, Gabe and burgeoning-techie Rebecca follow ghosts and history to locate the ghostlight and thwart the diabolical Nicholas Viker–"His rage was boundless. His dream denied. His envy unvented." (pg. 109)–who wants the amber crystal for his own nefarious use. It's a race across time and space to find that ghostlight, fight evil spirits, ally themselves with those who do good, and reunite Rebecca with her father, while Gabe also comes to terms with the death of his own father after he'd abandoned the family. Whether they can make things right for Rebecca and her father, the other ghosts, the city of Toronto, and themselves is the story of Ghostlight and it's a doozy. 

 

Kenneth Oppel will always give us a grand story, often taking realistic fiction into the realms of fantasy but with such subtlety that the reader will always wonder: Could this really have happened? Whether it's bats or alien invasions, a sasquatch or a live-forever machine, Kenneth Oppel makes us believe. Often, he does this by embedding a strong historical basis for his story, as he does in Ghostlight, taking us to legitimate Toronto locations like the Gibraltar Point Lighthouse, the Grange, the CN Tower and the Fisher Rare Book Library at U of T, and including real persons as characters such as George Brown and William Ward. And Ghostlight makes us believe in the spirits that are still of our world, whether looking for release to a better place or to create havoc for the living. 

 

Whether you read Ghostlight for Halloween or save it for another time, Kenneth Oppel will give you the creepiness of a great ghost story but also remind readers of the pervasiveness of history, good and bad, and the promise of overcoming evil through partnerships. And that's as brilliant as any ghostlight.

From Ghostlight by Kenneth Oppel

• • • • • • •

Check out the following post for news of an author event with Kenneth Oppel this weekend.

Thrive (The Overthrow, Book 3)

(If you haven't, I encourage you to read Bloom and Hatch, Books 1 and 2 in The Overthrow series, first. You'll want to know the whole story. Really.)

 

Written by Kenneth Oppel

HarperCollins

978-1-4434-5691-3

404 pp.

Ages 10-14

May 2021

 

First there were the black grasses, strangling vines and pit plants (Bloom, 2020). Then came the eggs that developed into mosquito birds, giant water striders and horrific mega-worms (Hatch, 2020). Now, in the conclusion to Kenneth Oppel's The Overthrow trilogy, the cryptogens themselves are coming to invade. But will they succeed in overthrowing humans for the planet?

Being a teen is hard enough but, for Anaya, Petra and Seth who have dealt with strange allergies and physical ailments all their lives, things have gotten a lot stranger since learning that they have cryptogenic DNA that has given them extraordinary powers but also unconventional bodies. Anaya is a runner, with unusual body hair and claws. Petra has an affinity for swimming and has scaly skin and a tail. Seth is a flyer with razor-sharp wings and a powerful sound weapon. During the horrific experimentation on the kids and others like them at the hands of the nasty Dr. Ritter, they learned that they are able to telepathically communicate with each other and Anaya was able to connect with the cryptogen she calls Terra. 

 

This connection has lead to the arrival of a ship, at the conclusion of Hatch and the beginning of Thrive, from which a trio of rebel cryptogens have emerged. Terra, who is a runner and scientist as well as pilot, is accompanied by another scientist, a swimmer for whom Petra uses the pronouns ze and zir, and a flyer who was a military leader, hence their moniker of him as the general. Together the three cryptogens had formed an alliance, and a rebel movement of several hundred was established to overthrow the flyers who have used their sound power to keep runners and swimmers enslaved to them. 

The rebels admit that Anaya, Petra and Seth, as well as the other hybrid children, had been implanted with DNA to help produce a virus to destroy the flyers' ability to use sound as a weapon and thus to help them defeat their oppressors. Now the rebels have come to earth to retrieve that hidden DNA.

 

While Petra helps the swimmer to get materials needed to repair their ship and Anaya works with Terra to develop the virus, Seth worries for Esta, a hybrid flyer such as himself, with whom he'd bonded at Dr. Ritter's bunker facility. Learning that Esta, like most hybrid cryptogens, is being detained at an internment camp, Seth sneaks out to rescue her and ends up captured along with Esta and others by the primary ship of invaders. Now Seth has to decide whether he agrees with Esta who believes the cryptogen commander, a flyer, really has their best interests at heart, or whether a rebellion against the flyers is necessary to stop the oppression of the runners and swimmers and an invasion of earth.

Kenneth Oppel pounds out his story of an alien invasion and rebellion with little respite for the reader, just as there was none for the trio of teens who are thrown from one alarming situation to the next. Even before the initial arrival of terrifying plants and menacing creatures, Anaya, Petra and Seth have had to manage their physical stresses. Now with the menace of extraterrestrials, they have to balance being seen as both threats and saviours, and doing what they can, what they want to and what they'd rather not. There's always some new threat with which they must deal and, as they are punched with pressure after pressure, as each new creature and knowledge is revealed, Kenneth Oppel takes the reader with them. As such, Thrive is an intense read, throwing the reader along with the story's characters, from one dangerous situation to the next, manoeuvring on a flying platform, being swallowed by a wall, fighting off a wolverine squid or plunging through the atmosphere in a pod with limited oxygen. The action is relentless and it's not until the very end that Kenneth Oppel lets us know how The Overthrow, the series and the operation, actually turns out. I won't give away the ending but I will reassure that the wild ride that is Thrive leaves room for a sigh and a promise for resolution.

He was half human, half cryptogen, but for the first time in his life, he was starting to feel whole. (pg. 404)

• • • • • • •

The Overthrow (a.k.a. Bloom Trilogy) 

Bloom (2020)

Hatch (2020)

Thrive (2021)

Hatch

Written by Kenneth Oppel

HarperCollins Canada

978-1-44345-688-3

416 pp.

Ages 10-14

September 2020

 

When readers first met Anaya, Petra and Seth in Bloom, Book 1 in Kenneth Oppel's The Overthrow trilogy, the three teens were helping to battle an alien invasion of plants–black grass, vines and pit plants–that threatened their community on Salt Spring Island and around the world. They had also discovered that they all dreamed of special powers–running, swimming and flying, respectively–that corresponded with the unusual growths that had plagued their bodies, namely claws and excessive hair for Anaya, a tail and scaly skin on Petra, and bony growths akin to wings for Seth.  Now a new threat has arrived.

From a weird rain that deposits eggs, strange new creatures develop that Dr. Weber and the others look to study. But then the military, as led by Colonel Pearson alongside the new Dr. Ritter, having learned of the kids' cryptogenic DNA, announce that brain scans reveal transmitters in their brains, and fear that they have been communicating with the cryptogens who intend to invade. The kids are "detained as a threat to national security under the War Measures Act" (pg. 33) at a secret underground bunker with other young hybrids who are numbered and classified as runners, swimmers and flyers. 

This did not seem like a good sign. If you gave someone a number, it was because you were taking away their home. And once you took away someone's home, it was a lot easier to take away whatever you wanted. (pg. 41)

Under the direction of Dr. Ritter, the young people are measured and tested and drilled to develop their skills. Meanwhile, Anaya, Petra and Seth make new friends within their groupings, with Petra meeting the muscular Darren who is convinced they are being trained to be soldiers and Anaya making the acquaintance of the brilliant Charles. But it's Seth fraternization with the quiet Esta that becomes the most intense, as he makes a real connection with her though she evokes dissension between the friends with claims of the flyers' superiority.

But everything changes when Anaya is taken to the surface and allowed to connect with the cryptogens to pinpoint their location. Instead she learns that they can communicate telepathically and she is able to do so with a cryptogen, learning why they are targeting Earth and involving the hybrids.

Kenneth Oppel got our attention with Bloom but he keeps us breathless with the unrelenting action in Hatch. From dealing with dangerous and toxic plants to evolving insects of massive destruction force (the worm has a mouth with "spiraling blades that looked like the turbine of a drilling machine"; pg. 10) and the protagonists learning more about their capabilities, and sadly also their shocking predilections, Hatch reveals a precarious world where aliens i.e., cryptogens look to communicate with humans through hybrid beings like Anaya, Petra and Seth. But who is friend and who is foe both on earth and from other worlds is ever-changing and poses problems for all as the kids try to do the right thing for their families, communities, planet and themselves.

Hatch, as did Bloom, brings one story to an end but introduces a new one with its last words. When the third book in the trilogy, Thrive, finally drops in May 2021, we hope Kenneth Oppel will finally share with young readers the true nature of the aliens and whether they, or even some of them, offer hope or harm. Eight months seems almost too long to wait when the world is in the balance because of an alien invasion.

 

The Overthrow series from Kenneth Oppel:

Bloom (February 2020)

Hatch (September 2020)

Thrive (May 2021)

Bloom

Written by Kenneth Oppel

HarperCollins Canada

978-1-4434-5031-7

312 pp.

Ages 10-14

February 2020

Many Canadians would recognize Salt Spring Island as a popular tourist destination off the coast of British Columbia. But what's happening on this Gulf Island in Kenneth Oppel's latest middle grade novel, Bloom, would have most running away. Unfortunately, there will be nowhere safe to run.

All teens have their angst but Anaya, Petra and Seth have challenges that are unique. Anaya Riggs may have to deal with acne and asthma but she also lives with severe allergies to just about everything: gluten, dairy, eggs, smoke, dust, pollen, etc. Her former friend and all-around popular girl Petra is allergic to water and cannot allow it to contact her skin without developing a burning rash or hives. New kid Seth Robertson, who has been moved from foster home to foster home, is now living with an elderly couple Mr. and Mrs. Antos on their farm and always wears long sleeves to hide the scars that track up and down both arms. 

Then a hard rain comes down for several days and changes everything. Anaya's allergies improve and her acne clears up. Petra can wash with this rainwater–she collects as much as she can–without any reaction. And a strange black grass begins to grow just about everywhere around the world and at an alarming rate.

Pretty much all anyone talked about now was the black grass. How it was crowding out crops, how nothing killed it. You couldn't go on your phone or turn on the TV without people talking about how it was showing up everywhere, and what was this stuff, anyway? (pg. 50)

Attempts to eradicate the grass by mowing or chainsawing it or applying herbicides or fire are futile or dangerous. Anaya's father, a botanist at the Ministry of Agriculture's experimental farm, is working hard to identify the plant, including those germinated in the water Petra has collected, and even Anaya gets involved collecting soil from the school yard, one of the few sites without the black grass. Soon enough, though, the schoolyard becomes a minefield of pit-plants that swallow prey, whether it be a deer or humans. Oddly, Petra, Anaya and Seth are not affected by the pit-plants' acidic walls or tranquilizing gas emissions.

As Mr. Riggs and a research associate head out to the eco-reserve on Cordova Island where the black grass appears to be dying, the three teens are taken by Dr. Stephanie Weber, a scientist with CSIS, to a military base in Vancouver in the hopes of learning what makes them special and possibly developing a vaccine. But what is discovered about the teens is much scarier than anyone ever anticipated.

The word "bloom" suggests something unhurried and beautiful and captivating. The plants in Bloom are nothing like that. They are aggressively growing, violent in their attacks and devastating in their effects. Worse yet, the last line in the book is a harbinger that more, perhaps even worse, is still to come in the next books in The Overthrow series. (Book 2 in the series, Hatch, is set for a fall 2020 release while we'll have to wait until the summer of 2021 for the final book, Thrive.) Bloom is thrilling and scary, a story with all the hallmarks of an edge-of-your-seat cliff-hanger–although you'd more likely be hanging by vines above a lake rife with machine-gun water lilies–blending a survival tale with an action-adventure involving clashes with dangerous life-forms. 

Though Anaya, Petra and Seth, as well as the parents, social workers, and military, carry the story forward, Kenneth Oppel's plot steals the story. It's bizarre, it's compelling and you can't read fast enough to learn what is happening. Kenneth Oppel may resolve Bloom to readers' satisfaction–we do learn what the plants are and how the teens are different–but there's obviously so much more to their story. I'm looking forward to an even more twisted plot when we revisit the kids and the source of Bloom's plants in Hatch and Thrive.

Inkling

Written by Kenneth Oppel

Illustrated by Sydney Smith

HarperCollins

978-1-44345-028-1

256 pp.

Ages 8-12

September 2018

When  a splotch of ink pulls itself out of the sketchbook of graphic artist Mr. Rylance, only the cat Rickman sees it roaming and exploring until it hides itself within the drawing efforts of sixth grader Ethan. In fact, while the talented Mr. Rylance, known for his Kren graphic novels, struggles with writer's and artist's block undoubtedly stemming from the death of his spouse, his son is just struggling to contribute the artwork to a class project. (His peers are convinced he should be able to draw like his dad.) But after Ethan discovers the ink splotch which he calls Inkling is able to absorb the ink from books, newsprint and even photographs and complete incredible illustrations, he begins to use the inky entity to build on his own clumsy stick figure drawings and submit the artwork as his own.

From Inkling by Kenneth Oppel, illus. by Sydney Smith

While Inkling feeds on a variety of print which affects its voice and behaviour–violent comic books are the worst!–and draws Ethan's homework, the boy struggles to keep his secret advantage safe and undercover. But, like all good secrets, it is revealed, first to one friend and then to his father, before being discovered by Ethan's archenemy, the daughter of Dad's publisher.  Too soon, Ethan is scrambling to keep Inkling safe and stop those who wish to enslave it. 

From Inkling by Kenneth Oppel, illus. by Sydney Smith

What starts out as an imaginative creation story of a splotch of ink soon becomes a cautionary tale against finding an easy way out of work and taking advantage of those who might help you. And you'll be astonished when you feel like cheering for a blob of ink who expresses itself wildly in terms of whatever text it has most recently consumed, including L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, Roald Dahl's The BFG and Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, and then feel angst for it when Inkling writes, in inky bold writing, that "I AM ALONESOME" (pg. 82). Kenneth Oppel has made us care for bats, a fostered chimp and now a blob of ink. Too soon the reader will see Inkling as a living thing, even before given a name, and I defy any science teacher to do a lesson on the characteristics of living things and not struggle with Inkling's classification. It's all in Kenneth Oppel's ability to give life through his words, invigorating Inkling with needs and wants and free will.

Though Inkling is not a picture book or a graphic novel, it is illustrated, here by Governor General award-winning artist Sydney Smith who takes Kenneth Oppel's story and sugars it with artwork that adds but doesn't explain. From chapter heading panels to ink splats small and large on every double-spread and the occasional expression of Inkling's work, Sydney Smith guides us to understanding the evolution of Inkling from static ink on a page to living being, absorbing, learning and feeling. Remember: Inkling is composed solely of ink.

I suspect teachers will be jumping on Inkling (please don't hurt him!) to use in class for everything from writing voice and setting to writing "What If?" stories as the basis for plot. But don't disregard Inkling's magic as a blob of ink restores life to a family disintegrating in grief and offers hope through the art of its dynamic efforts.

Inkling: Book launch (Toronto, ON)

If

 Kenneth Oppel

has a new book coming out,

then it's time to celebrate!

•••••••••••••••••••••

Join award-winning youngCanLit author

Kenneth Oppel

for the launch of his latest book

Inkling

Written by Kenneth Oppel
Illustrated by Sydney Smith
HarperCollins Canada
 978-1-443450287
272 pp.
Ages 8-12
September 2018


on

September 17, 2018

7-9 p.m.

Revue Cinema

400 Roncesvalles

Toronto, ON


Note:  Tickets are free but must be reserved for admittance.
Go to Eventbrite at
 https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/toronto-lit-up-kenneth-oppel-tickets-48179633581
to register.

From HarperCollins website at https://www.harpercollins.ca/9781443450287/inkling/:

The Rylance family is stuck. Dad's got writer's block. Ethan promised to illustrate a group project at school—even though he can't draw. Sarah's still pining for a puppy. And they all miss Mom. So much more than they can say.

Enter Inkling. Inkling begins life in Mr. Rylance's sketchbook. But one night the ink of his drawings runs together—and then leaps off the page! This small burst of creativity is about to change everything.

Ethan finds him first. Inkling has absorbed a couple chapters of his math book—not good—and the story he's supposed to be illustrating for school—also not good. But Inkling's also started drawing the pictures to go with the story—which is amazing! It's just the help Ethan was looking for! Inkling helps the rest of the family too—for Sarah he's a puppy. And for Dad he's a spark of ideas for a new graphic novel. It's exactly what they all want.

It's not until Inkling goes missing that this family has to face the larger questions of what they—and Inkling—truly need.

Kenneth Oppel has given us a small masterpiece of middle-grade fiction. Inkling is funny and fizzy and exciting, and brimming with the kind of interesting ideas and dilemmas that kids will love to wrestle with. And Sydney Smith has created wonderfully inky illustrations to bring the story to vivid life. Get ready. A little ink blot is about to become your new favorite character!

Another Story Bookshop: 30th Anniversary & Author Event (Toronto, ON)

This year

Another Story Bookshop

turns 30!

🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂

This independent bookstore

located at 

315 Roncesvalles Avenue

Toronto, ON

sells a broad range of literature 

for children, young adults and adults 

with a focus on themes of social justice, equity & diversity

and

it's celebrating with

a great line-up of author readings,

book giveaways,

and

20% off almost every book in the store!

🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂

Tomorrow

Saturday, October 21, 2017

starting at 11 a.m.

check out these author readings:

11 am - Special children's book readings

Kyo Maclear 

Kenneth Oppel

S. Bear Bergman

Kelly Collier

Naseem Hrab

The other authors readings include:

1 pm:   Eva Stachniak,  Catherine Bush,  Carrianne Leung,  Martha Baillie,  Pasha Malla,  Sarah Meehan Sirk and Lillian Allen

3 pm:     Farzana Doctor, Maureen Hynes, Ishara Deen and Jenny Kay Dupuis

Jenny Kay Dupuis 

5 pm:     Alissa York,  Lauren MeKeon,  Bianca Lakoseljac and Ayub Nuri

🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂

Full details at http://www.blogto.com/events/another-story-bookshops-30th-anniversary-bash/

The Boundless

by Kenneth Oppel

HarperCollins Canada

978-1-443410328 

336 pp.

Ages 10-16

April, 2014

"ALL ABOARD... The Boundless for a mesmerizing adventure of historical proportions, with death-defying leaps of faith, Sasquatch encounters, illusions of the fourth dimension and murderous employees looking for the gold after death.  Leaving now for its first journey. Get on board now to be one of the first to enjoy this newest series by award-winning author Kenneth Oppel."

Life changes for Will Everett and his family after Will helps in the hammering of the last spike of the CPR railway in British Columbia and his father saves the life of Cornelius Van Horne, president of the CPR, in an avalanche.  Three years later James Everett is in charge of the Boundless, the seven-mile long train of spectacular design created by Van Horne, who is now ensconced in a secured and guarded funeral car near the front of the train.  And, on its maiden voyage, Will is enjoying the amenities of first class and looking to reacquaint himself with a young wirewalker/escape artist, Maren, travelling with Zirkus Dante, the circus of Mr. Dorian, the man who'd captured a young sasquatch after that avalanche years earlier.

Beyond the incredible opportunity of travelling on the longest and most powerful train in the world, essentially pulling a city of nine hundred and eighty-seven cars, Will enjoys the opportunity to experience the towns of vendors that arise to service the train's passengers, the wilds of the Canadian landscape with its supernatural creatures including the muskeg hag, the Wendigo and the sasquatch, and convince his father that he should be allowed to attend art school in San Francisco.  But Will places himself in a dangerous position when, at a stop, he recovers a key dropped by the funeral car's guard moments before the man is stabbed by a man Will recognizes.  Barely catching the caboose at the end of the train, Will must use all his skills and wits and trust a few new friends if he is to stay alive and find his way back to his father in the locomotive.

The Boundless is an endless adventure of hopping train cars, outsmarting murderous fiends, marvelling at unforeseen inventions, surviving encounters with mythical creatures and trusting some and not others, including a first love.  Never does Kenneth Oppel make you believe that Will can easily survive this drama.  Readers will be holding their breaths wondering which fall will kill Will or leave him in the Boundless' wake. Or whether Mr. Dorian's plan will save him or put others in jeopardy.  Or whether every brakeman on the Boundless is a threat.  Or whether Will's father, miles away at the front of the train, knows anything of the goings-on in the funeral car and beyond.  And I'll be surprised if you don't start wondering which pieces of Canadian history are valid and accurate. Cornelius Van Horne, Sam Steele, Simon Fraser and Donald Smith and others make appearances in The Boundless, though they are legitimate characters who helped in the making of our nation.  But what of the golden spike?

Yep.  The Boundless has all that and more. And only reading Kenneth Oppel's newest steampunk will allow you some opportunity to answer those questions or at least make an attempt at it. So get on board with reading The Boundless, a phenomenon of engineering and text, courtesy of the imagination and pen of one of Canada's finest writers for young people. 

The Boundless: Book Launches (Canada and USA)

Award-winning author

of these favourites

Kenneth Oppel

launches his newest book and series

a middle-grade fantasy with trains, murder, steampunk automotons

and no-end adventure

The Boundless

by Kenneth Oppel
HarperCollins Canada
978-1-443410328
336 pp.
Ages 10-14
Release April, 2014

While Kenneth Oppel will also be attending numerous schools, both in Canada and the United States,

most of the following tour dates at bookstores and such are open to all!

IN CANADA

April 26, 2014

2:00 PM
Chapters Brampton

Brampton, ON 

May 5, 2014

7:00 PM

Munro's Books
Victoria, BC 

May 6, 2014

9:15 AM

Belfry Theatre
Greater Victoria Public Library
Victoria, BC 

May 6, 2014

7:00 PM

Vancouver Kidsbooks
Teacher’s Night Event
3083 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC

May 7, 2014

7:00 PM

North Vancouver District Library 
(Lynn Valley branch)
1277 Lynn Valley Road 
North Vancouver, BC
 

May 10, 2014

2:00 PM

Fish Creek Library
11161 Bonaventure Dr SE 
Calgary, AB 

May 11, 2014

2:00 PM

Chapters Sherwood Park
#500 - 2020 Sherwood Drive 
Edmonton, AB

May 12, 2014

7:00 PM

McNally Robinson Grant Park
1120 Grant Avenue 
Winnipeg, MB 

May 14, 2014 

1:00 PM

Point Claire Public Library
Point Claire, QC

May 14, 2014
7:00 PM
Beaconsfield Public Library
303 Beaconsfield Boulevard 
Beaconsfield, QC

IN THE U. S.

April 28, 2014 

4:30 PM

Children's Book World

Philadelphia, PA

April 29, 2014 

10:30 AM

Politics and Prose

Washington, DC

April 30, 2014

6:30 PM

St. Charles City-County Library 

Spencer Rd. Branch 

St. Louis, MO

May 2, 2014 

7:00 PM

Anderson's Bookstore
Chicago/Naperville, IL

May 20, 2014

7:00 PM

Copperfield's Books
Petaluma, CA 

May 21, 2014
7:00 PM

Hicklebee's

San Francisco, CA 

May 22, 2014

7:00 PM
Reading Bug
San Carlos, CA

Get more details at
 Kenneth Oppel's blog at http://kennethoppel.blogspot.ca/ 

and

check out the book trailer  here.

Such Wicked Intent: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein, Book Two

by Kenneth Oppel

HarperCollins Canada

978-1-55468-342-0

310 pp.

Ages12+

Released August 28, 2012

Wicked.  Intense.  Dark.  A dash of sweetness. 

It could be dark chocolate I'm describing but it's Such Wicked Intent, the sequel to This Dark Endeavour, Kenneth Oppel's first book in The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein series.  Just like a good dark chocolate, Such Wicked Intent is a treat that should be savoured slowly, with pauses to contemplate the richness of the experience, even smoother than its predecessor.

In This Dark Endeavour (reviewed here on October 5, 2011), teen Victor Frankenstein pursues an alchemical cure for his deathly-ill twin brother, Konrad.  Following the tomes in the Dark Library of his ancestor Wilhelm Frankenstein, Victor sacrifices much, including two of his own fingers, to save his brother, sadly unsuccessfully.

Such Wicked Intent begins just three weeks after Konrad's death, with Victor's father destroying the Dark Library.  First the books are burned and then the structure itself dismantled, with two significant finds revealed.  Below the former Dark Library, workers discover caves with primitive art etched in the walls.  Perhaps more significant is Victor's discovery of a book-like metal box amongst the burnt books.  Within the box, a pendant and materials and instructions for building a Spirit Board for communicating with the dead capture Victor's attention.

With the help of Elizabeth, Konrad's love, and their friend Henry Percival, Victor unearths an elixir, spirit clock and directions for visiting the spirit world.  Victor is delighted to find Konrad, still in his funeral clothes, as well as another spirit, Analiese, a former servant at the chateau.  Awaiting their "gathering" by the brilliant light, Konrad and Analiese endure the terrorizing thumps and groans heard within the chateau, and the swirling mist outside that Analiese believes is an evil entity.  Sadly, seeing his brother and Elizabeth is almost unbearable for Konrad, as they emit blinding light and heat.  On the other hand, Victor finds that being on the other side leaves him empowered, energized and even pain-free. Victor is determined to deliver Konrad back to the world of the living.

And so begin the psychological and moral debates within and between the characters.  Should Konrad be allowed to remain in a kind of purgatory, waiting for the angels, or returned to his family and Elizabeth?  Should Victor pursue Elizabeth though he has vowed not to covet what was his brother's?  How can Elizabeth justify her visits to Konrad with her religious convictions?  What of the jealousies Victor, Elizabeth and even Henry seem to be experiencing?  Most importantly, are they playing God in recreating life and returning Konrad from the dead?

Victor may feel guilt due to his jealousy of Konrad and this may be colouring his actions, including attempting to save Konrad's life and now retrieving him.  But, Victor cannot resolve what he wants to do with what he feels he should want to do.  He is passionate about unlocking the secrets of the universe, especially those contrary to the laws of nature. But this passion, almost a compulsion, torments him when balanced against his family: his father who has asked Victor to cease his unnatural investigations; his mother debilitated with grief; his young brothers who love him; and Elizabeth who is contemplating entering the convent.  How can he ensure his decisions are just? And does it matter if they aren't?

Kenneth Oppel takes the turmoil of Victor's position, as the twin of a more highly admired brother to whom Victor feels disloyal, and embeds it in the darkness of the unknown afterlife and sorcery.  Embroiled in a shifting matrix of grief, lust, affection and faith, Victor's intents, as well as those of the others, seem to shift in response, vacillating between selfish and compassionate.  The Frankenstein madness of Mary Shelley may be growing in Victor but the elaborate veneer of creativity and ancestry may keep it from erupting. Only Kenneth Oppel's imagination and foresight will determine the full extent of Victor's apprenticeship. 

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Uploaded by HarperCollins Canada to coincide with the release of Such Wicked Intent on August 28th, the book trailer can be viewed at CanLit for LittleCanadians: BookTtrailers here.

Willow Award 2011/2012 Winners announced!

The winners of the Willow Awards, Saskatchewan's young readers' choice awards, were announced last night at the SaskEnergy Willow Awards Gala 2012 in Moose Jaw.  The titles nominated for these three awards were announced last spring (2011), and readers in Kindergarten to Grade 9 read and then voted on the titles in their award category. 

Congratulations to the  

winners of the three Willow Awards!

The winner of the Shining Willow Award, selected from those books written for youngest readers, those in Kindergarten to Grade 3, is...

The King’s Taster

by Kenneth Oppel, 

Illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher

HarperCollins

2009

The king's cook is having a hard time getting the young king to eat his fare.  In an exhaustive series of trips, the cook and the king's taster look for new dishes to serve the king.  But, it isn't until the king's taster reveals a secret that the youthful king is compelled to enjoy his meals.

The winner of the Diamond Willow Award, selected from those books written for readers of Grades 4 to 6, is...

The Midnight Curse

by L. M. Falcone

Kids Can Press

2010

--> When their great-great-uncle Jonathan dies, eleven-year-old fraternal twins, Charlie and Lacey Darcy, and their mom are summoned to England hopeful for an inheritance.  But, it is a curse that transfers from Uncle Jonathan to Charlie, already a nervous worrier, which condemns him to a life sleeping in water from midnight to daybreak, or suffer death.

The winner of the Snow Willow Award, selected from those books written for readers in Grades 7 to 9, is ...

Dear George Clooney, 

Please Marry My Mom

by Susin Nielsen

Tundra Books

2010

Also, winner of the 2012 Rocky Mountain Book Award Gold Medal, Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom tells the story of Violet's struggle to look for an appropriate match for her mom after Violet's TV-director dad leaves Vancouver and reshapes his life into that of a rich LA big-shot with a beautiful actress-wife and perfect twin daughters.  With Dad blissfully unaware of the impact his choices have had on others, and her younger sister bed-wetting again, and her mom dating loser after loser, Violet decides to take matters into her own hands, compelling her to make some abominable and hilarious decisions.

Just an aside:

If I err in my labelling of the awards, please let me know so that I may amend my posts.  I'm sure others have been confused as well.  For example, the 2011 Willow Award Winners were announced at the SaskEnergy Willow Awards Gala 2012.  The nominated titles for the 2011 Willow Awards were announced in 2011, read in 2011 and 2012, voted on in 2012, and awarded in 2012.  But they are the 2011 Willow Awards.  Just to add to the confusion, the 2012 Willow Award nominees were announced while young readers were voting for their 2011 Willow Awards.  Just a thought: why not announce the nominees just before the reading programs begin?  As I said, just a thought.)

This Dark Endeavour: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein

by Kenneth Oppel

HarperCollins Canada

978-1-55468-339-0

298 pp.

Ages 12+

 

With Mary Shelley's early 19th century tome as the basis for Kenneth Oppel's This Dark Endeavour, young readers can look forward to a complex fantasy with compelling characters who blur our perceptions of good and evil.

In this first book of an inevitable series, sixteen-year-old Victor Frankenstein, true to Shelley’s character, enjoys the privileged life of a son of one of Geneva’s magistrates. When his twin brother Konrad falls deathly ill, Victor is relentless in his pursuing an alchemical cure, inspired by the discovery of a Dark Library (Biblioteka Obscura), concealed by an ancestor beneath Chateau Frankenstein.  This ancestor, Wilhelm Frankenstein, practiced witchcraft and alchemy, rituals condemned by the Church and deemed illegal by the state, and, although prohibited by his father from engaging in these activities, Victor enlists the help of their cousin, Elizabeth, and close friend, Henry Clerval, to solicit the expertise of a censured apothecary/alchemist, Julius Polidori.  Polidori, a broken man, living with his pet lynx, Krake, translates a recipe for the Elixir of Life, sending the young people out for its unique ingredients.