Random Acts

Written by Valerie Sherrard

Puffin/Penguin Canada

978-0-14-319104-9

264 pp.

Ages 8-12

March, 2015

Doing random acts of kindness sounds like a noble endeavour, doesn't it? But, as we know, the best of intentions can often lead us astray, and for  Zoey, Jenna and Bean in Random Acts that’s just what happens, to hilarious results.

Of course, the reason things start to go awry is because popular Destiny Desotto decides to start a club called "Lend a Hand" but doesn’t invite Zoey and Jenna’s friend Bean because he “isn’t someone wh\e’d want in the group even if he did want in” (pg. 11) So they choose to start their own secret group called "The Random Acts".  But then hottie Dennis Fuller invites Zoey to join "Lend a Hand" and she’s convinced she can do it without the two clubs knowing about her involvement with the other.  Ultimately it’s all in aid of doing good deeds, so that’s OK, right? Not for Zoey, though.

She can’t help out her neighbours, the Kimuras, with their newspaper or their leaves without it escalating to a threat of charges being laid against her!  And Jenna’s good deed of donating old magazines to the student lounge has Zoey scrambling when a quiz she did as Destiny puts Destiny on the war path.  Even Jenna's cookies-for-the-teachers'-lounge good deed goes amok, resulting in detentions and the hospitalization of a teacher! And don’t even get me started on all the lying Zoey feels she has to do to cover her mistakes and to dampen the amorous intentions of Glenda, a client, to Zoey's dad, a psychologist.

In her efforts to contrive random acts of kindness—yes, that is an oxymoron—Zoey ends up being a liar, a stalker, a vandal, an eavesdropper, a gossip and a thief!  Some people just don’t know when you’re being kind. By making the kids’ random acts of kindness random, i.e., twisted, in both the funny sense and in the completely unpredictable way, Valerie Sherrard ensures hilarity without the malevolence that can come with manipulation.  Well played.  I always knew keeping secrets and misusing power—even if purportedly for good—were never good ideas. But they are funny ones, at least they are in Random Acts. 

Mad Miss Mimic: Book Launch (Toronto)

Author
Sarah Henstra 

and

will be launching her first book

Mad Miss Mimic

by Sarah Henstra

Razorbill

978-0-14-319236-7

272 pp.

Ages 13+

on

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

7-10:00 p.m.

at

High Park Curling Club

100 Indian Road

Toronto, ON

Wear a fancy hat (DIY embellishments encouraged!)
and participate in a contest  (judging at 8:30 p.m. sharp)
to win a free, signed copy of Mad Miss Mimic and other prizes

Special performance by Cantores Celestes Women's Choir

Book City will have copies on sale

The Haunting of Heck House: The Wiggins Weird, Book 2

Written by Lesley Livingston and Jonathan Llyr

Illustrations by Steven Burley

Puffin Canada

978-0143184263

280 pp.

Ages 8-12

For release October, 2014

It's less than a week before Halloween and authors Lesley Livingston and Jonathan Llyr launched The Haunting of Heck House (sequel to How to Curse in Hieroglyphics, 2013) yesterday, and I can't think of a better reason to finally post my review of this captivating middle-grade read that smacks of funny and scary in equal parts.

Unbeknownst to their grandfather and guardian, Pops Pendleton, twelve-year-old babysitting aficionados and cousins Tweed Pendleton and Cheryl Shumacher sneak out to compete in an overnight babysitting competition at the previously-unknown home of Sir Hector Hecklestone the Third on Eerie Lane.  Along with their varied babysitting tools of the trade, the two take along a malfunctioning drive-in speaker that holds the talkative essence of the Great Simon Omar, dead magician. (You'll need to read Book 1 in The Wiggins Weird, How to Curse in Hieroglyphics, to understand the means by which a portal into the Egyptian afterlife probably created Speakie i.e., a disembodied Omar with audio).  

While these plucky girls intend to go to the Hecklestone house and prove that they're the best babysitters/housesitters for the job, there seem to be super-natural forces working against them, not the least of which are a grand piano plummeting down the stairs, flying books assaulting them, dripping ectoplasm, doors that open and lock without explanation, and their competition, tech wizard Feedback, and 13-year-olds Hazel Polizzi and Cindy Tyson.  Luckily, the cousins get the help of their friends Pilot and Artie to help problem-solve their way out of a haunted house while playing their make-believe game ACTION! in the roles of the League of Awesome so they can get through some scary situations. 

The house with its "early-Munsters vibe" (pg. 104) seems to have its own agenda and all the kids must share their skills–including lock-picking, tech, gargoyle-translation, role-play and mechanics–to help escape its evil hold, and save the ghosts trapped within.  Never fear, though, because The Haunting of Heck House is more humour than horror, wordplay than wickedness, and fun than frightening.  Of course, an 800-lb. piano tumbling down the stairs at the girls is rather disconcerting but, still believing that their skills are being tested, they all take it with comic sensibility.

"What the heck kinda test was that anyway?" Cheryl glowered. "Agility? Musical appreciation?"
"I really didn't appreciate that," Tweed said grimly. (pg. 106)

Even Simon in his audio-speaker form pipes in that, "Guess there will be no encore tonight". (pg. 106)  And then there's an adorable little gargoyle whose "bat-like wings...red eyes, a sharp-hooked beak and talons"(pg. 130) might have been frightening except Ramshackle purrs and likes being stroked like a pussycat!

It's not surprising that, with Lesley Livingston and Jonathan Llyr both involved in acting, that The Haunting of Heck House is a story ripe with a quick-paced plot, highly-visual settings and characters, and priceless dialogue.  And, while Steven Burley's illustrations of the kids' ACTION! role-plays provide entertaining graphics, The Haunting of Heck House is so well written that it easily provides readers with a virtual visual that runs like a movie that could played at the twins' beloved Starlight Paradise Drive-In, with or without 3D-glasses.  Enjoy the movie!

YA Authors Events from Penguin Canada (Oshawa, Brampton)

Penguin Canada

proudly presents

Lesley Livingston, Morgan Rhodes and Eve Silver  

authors of the following young adult series

Never series

Falling Kingdom series

 

The Game series

  

who are joining forces 

to discuss their books, writing and all things YA

at two events

at Chapters Brampton

on Saturday February 15, 2014

 at 2 p.m.

and 

at Chapters Oshawa

on Saturday February 22, 2014  

at 2 p.m.

Take advantage of these wonderful opportunities to visit with these youngCanLit authors of fantasy!

Creeps

by Darren Hynes

Razorbill/Penguin Canada

978-0-14-318714-1

309 pp.

Age 13 +

August, 2013

Just to be clear:  Creeps is not a creepy book.  It may be unsettling for some readers by the horror of the protagonist's reality but it is neither supernatural nor blood-curdling.  In fact, Creeps is the descriptor that 15-year-old Marjorie Pope uses for herself and the protagonist of the story, Wayne Pumphrey, also 15.  And perhaps being a little different in Canning, Labrador is all it takes to feel like a creep there.

There's obviously something about Wayne that makes him the target of Pete "The Meat" Avery and his posse–Kenny, Bobby and Harvey–who relentlessly abuse him physically and verbally.  In the written but unsent letters he records in a journal, Wayne gives voice to the questions, fears, confusion that he refuses to express to Pete, his parents, his older sister Wanda, and others.  In fact, that's how Wayne becomes better acquainted with Marjorie Pope, a girl who wears her poverty without shame and ignores the sexual rumours Pete doles out about her.  When she witnesses one of Pete's attacks on Wayne, she distracts The Meat with comments about his biological father and early childhood with which he has issues.

In Wayne's efforts to belong to something, anything to help get through high school, he auditions for the school's production.  Although he doesn't earn a role, Mr. Rollie, the drama teacher, sees some leadership potential and asks him to be his assistant director.  Dealing with his dad's alcoholism, his mother's constant threat to leave because of her husband's drinking, and Pete The Meat's abuse, Wayne recognizes that

"...I'll take the job anyway because it's good to have somewhere to go and something to do and someone other than the wall to look at and say stuff to." (pg. 59)

Marjorie, on the other hand, wins the lead role in the play, mesmerizing everyone with the emotional depth of her performance.  However, she's probably just as happy to have someplace else to go, away from her mother whose husband's death has unhinged her, even believing that Marjorie feels no grief over her father's passing.

The threat of leaving Canning for elsewhere, anywhere, is a common theme amongst Creeps characters, and often distracts Wayne from his worries of Pete The Meat but not always.  This is especially true after Dad insists on confronting Pete's parents about their son's abuse of Wayne and causes the assaults to escalate.

While Wayne may believe that his reluctance to stand up for himself is because

"...sometimes I don't feel like I'm worth very much..." (pg. 226)

he is the only one who doesn't seem to consider running away.  There's Dad who leaves the daily grind of working in the mine by indulging in drink.  His mother wants to run away in reaction to his drinking.  Wanda is planning on taking off for Toronto with a friend.  Marjorie often thinks of escaping her mother's bizarre behaviour and reactions.  But, even with the psychological and physical degradation that Wayne experiences, he is more likely to contemplate the why's and how's rather than react, ultimately helping him to understand others better.

I truly hope that the anguishing circumstances that Darren Hynes so evocatively portrays in Creeps are not the norm of small towns in more remote areas such as Labrador and not the high school years that the author experienced.  No one, young or old, creep or not, should ever endure the humiliation too easily sketched by Darren Hynes' harsh word choice and graphic imagery.  Creeps may adhere to the old adage that "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger"–as happens for Wayne and Marjorie, thankfully–but be prepared for the wretchedness of anticipating the worst for the characters while still knowing that some degree of deliverance is forthcoming.

Prince Puggly of Spud and the Kingdom of Spiff

by Robert Paul Weston

Illustrations by Victor Rivas Villa

Puffin

978-0-670-06397-0

207 pp.

Ages 8-12

2013

What to wear? It’s a lament for many of us on a daily basis. If you lived in the kingdom of Spud, you would choose to wear bold, garish colours and patterns that might appear wildly excessive to the stylishly-inclined and, as far as the Kingdom of Spud is concerned, that’s every other kingdom around you: Spiff, Smug, Hip, Sleek, Swish and Chic.  Fashion and trendiness are the mandates of all the other kingdoms, particularly the Kingdom of Spiff, led by King Dandy von Fop. But there's always someone who doesn't quite fit in somewhere. So begins our tale.

In Spiff, it's King Dandy's daughter, Princess Frannie, who chooses to wear pajamas daily, reading perched high upon a mountain of cushions in Frolicsome Hall at the castle. Her father pleads and cajoles her to try to wear a dress or follow the trendy advice of Miss Ruby La Rue of Ruby Boutique, especially now that the ballroom is needed for the Kingdom's Centenary Ball.  

In Spud, it's their ruler, King Walter, who has a hard time with the Spudlian fashion and its muddy landscape, choosing to abandon his kingdom for trendier environs in which his regal nature might shine.  Without a monarch to lead the people, a new ruler is sought, one who would epitomize the style and pride of Spud.  Puggly O'Bungleton, a poor Spudlian who lives in a tumbledown shack with his memoir-recording great-granny is selected and his coronation is set.  Neighbouring kingdoms are, of course, invited to attend as protocol would require, although the disdain of the other monarchs except for King Dandy stops them from attending.

With the upcoming Spiffian Centenary Ball, King Dandy must reciprocate an invitation to Prince Puggly who is thrilled to be invited to a party.  But the dejection that Frannie and Prince Puggly both experience due to the rude comments of Prince Hep of the Kingdom of Hip and Miss Ruby LaRue respectively have the two royals returning to Spud together and conspiring to ridicule those whose fashion snobbery led to their humiliation.

Robert Paul Weston has done it again.  Just as he did with his first venture into novel in verse, his award-winning Zorgamazoo (Razorbill, 2008), the author has delivered a narrative in fluent verse à la Dr. Seuss that BEGS to be read aloud. (I myself read the melodious text to whatever cat would stay to listen.)  But the auditory experience is matched by the visual in Prince Puggly of Spud and the Kingdom of Spiff as selected text is emphasized with different fonts, styles and form, as seen in a portion of page 46 here.

Beyond the fun language and fluid rhyming, Robert Paul Weston could be channelling Shakespeare for a younger, more contemporary readership. He has all the elements of any great comedy:  discord between generations; the high spirits of youth; the accepted ways of their elders; plotting for revenge or restitution; recognition of one's mistakes; and a happily ever after.  Within his fantastic world of cultures enslaved to dress, of quirky characters, and of kingdoms stunning in their grandeur or mud, Robert Paul Weston shares a cautionary tale of judging by appearance in a most ear- and eye-catching fashion. 

If you're a parent or teacher, put this one on your list of best bedtime or classroom read-alouds.  If you're not, just go and buy for the pleasure of reading. It is sure not to go out of style, ever!

A Taste of Heaven

by Meg Tilly
Puffin / Penguin Canada
978-0-14-318249-8
258 pp.
Ages 8-12
2013

With the recent presentation of the inaugural Canadian Screen Awards, more Canadians will know the name of actress Meg Tilly, who won Best Actress in a Drama Series for her work in Bomb Girls, Global TV's original series about women working in a 1940's munitions factory.  Some may even recall her noteworthy performances in the highly-acclaimed movies The Big Chill (1983) and Agnes of God (1985).

But, readers of youngCanLit have had Meg Tilly on their radar more recently with the short-listing of her middle-grade novel Porcupine (Tundra, 2007) for the 2008 Canadian Library Association's Book of the Year for Children Award.  Now Meg Tilly has come back to the youngCanLit stage with her newest book, A Taste of Heaven.

For some, A Taste of Heaven may be chocolates and candies, as the cover suggests, but everyone has their own vision of what constitutes heaven. In this "the-grass-is-always-greener" story, the town of Rosedale is delighted with the news that a TV series starring Hollywood actors Jessica Ashton and Grant Palmer will be filming there. The book's protagonist, Madison Stokes, is thrilled at the prospect, even if her five-year-old sister Gina can't appreciate it, and her mom is just too busy going to her bank job while her dad keeps looking for more than a part-time job.  A lot of the kids at school are also hyped about the filming, especially snooty Olivia who is convinced she'll get a part, since her mother runs modelling and tap classes.  But when a new girl arrives the second week of school, Olivia finds Alyssa Hawkins to be a snob, though Madison is happy to befriend her.  

In fact, Madison and Alyssa become fast friends, with Alyssa spending a lot of time at Madison's house, playing in the room she shares with Gina and enjoying helping with chores and eating with the family.  When Madison asks about visiting Alyssa at her house, Alyssa is reluctant but welcomes her new friend to the massive house with its flawlessly decorated rooms, elaborate menus and staff, including a housekeeper and driver.  Alyssa may feel imperfect in her own home but her art studio where she paints allows her the freedom to be herself.  When Madison learns that Alyssa's mom is the actor Jessica Ashton, she promises to keep her secret, even if Madison then feels more embarrassed about her own family.  Understandably so, especially after a very funny scene in which little Gina is sitting on the toilet using her sister's baseball mitt to catch her poop!

But the friendship falters when Madison becomes uncomfortable with the lies she must tell her family in order to keep her promise to Alyssa.  So, though she has been discretely helping Alyssa to learn the identity of her father, Madison is accused of wanting to tell the tabloids and of revealing Alyssa's secret to her classmates.

Having moved regularly because of her mother's profession, Alyssa is new to having and being a friend. As such, she purports to trust Madison but she is too ready to accept that Madison would deceive her to the paparazzi and the tabloids. Similarly, Alyssa has not given her own mother a chance to do the right thing with regards to sharing the identify of Alyssa's father. Given the opportunity to share or defend Alyssa, both Madison and Jessica Ashton are respectful and accommodating. But, like many young people, having taken few opportunities to develop friendships or engage her mother, Alyssa doesn't know what to expect and consequently she is most comfortable expecting disappointment. There are more than a few lessons to learn about friendship here.

But the message, that we often wish for that which another has, is explicitly depicted in A Taste of Heaven.  While Alyssa truly believes what Madison has is A Taste of Heaven, Madison revels in the wealth, celebrity and independence of Alyssa's existence.

"My crazy family ... and especially since yours is so fancy, I wanted everything to be perfect when you stayed overnight." 
...
"Coming here," Alyssa continued, "for me, it's like a taste of heaven." (pg. 102)

Meg Tilly shows that, while the worries of these middle-grade girls may not be life-threatening but rather anticipated stresses based in perception and humiliation, they are very real.  Madison and Alyssa each worry about others' perceptions of their wealth or lack thereof, their appearances, their acceptance by others, and their privacy.  Essentially they are concerned with possible emotional bullying that comes with rejection and dejection from those about whom they care and even those they don't. Luckily they both learn a little bit more about appreciating what they have rather than what they don't, a valuable lesson for anyone to learn or at least of which to be reminded.

Every Never After: Book Launch Party (Toronto)

_________________________________________________

Penguin Canada

invites you to join

YA author

Lesley Livingston

and celebrate the launch of her newest book

Every Never After

the sequel to Once Every Never

Friday March 22, 2013

7:30 p.m.

The Dominion on Queen

500 Queen Street East

Toronto Ontario

(corner of Queen and Sumach, 

between Parliament and DVP)

RSVP by March 15 to

youngreaders@ca.penguingroup.com

_________________________________________________