Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh, 2007
Edgar Allan Poe Award winner
Fourteen-year-old Jack Perdu misses his mom, who died 6 years earlier, but his dad won’t talk about her, nor take him back to New York where they once lived. After being hit by a vehicle and nearly dying, MC has some peculiar encounters, convincing his dad to send him to NYC to be examined by a specialist doctor whose a friend of his. The checkup consists solely of having his photo taken, which confuses him, and on the way out he finds a antique subway token that appears gold which he unintentionally takes with him. Waiting for his train home, he joins a tour group of Grand Central Station and enjoys experimenting with the echoing columns. He meets Euri there, quoting one of his favorite poems, who convinces him to follow her to Track 61. Thus begins his journey to the underworld where deceased citizens of New York City reside until they pass on. When he finally realizes where he is, he convinces Euri to help him search for his mom. Racing against the clock and from Cerebus, the three-headed guard dog of the underworld, he and Euri still have time to visit many of the famous landmarks of New York during the night, traveling as easily by air as in an elevator, passing through walls and floors as easily as doors.
Other tags: ancient languages; classics translator; school; child prodigy; family secrets; father-son relationships; ghosts; death
The story starts out slowly, predictably. Once in the underworld, the slow pacing gradually picks up, especially as the mystery of his mother’s story is unraveled. The author describes this underworld with some interesting details, some humor, and several allusions to Greek mythology. By the end, I was into the story and characters and cared about how things turned out.
Doppelganger by Mark Stahler, 2006
Told in first person, the heganger telling the story introduces us to his alien, predatory, parasitic race of doppelgangers, shape-shifters who kill humans and assume their appearance and life. They are without loving affection for their own or for humans, without attractiveness in their own forms, and no purpose other than to propagate their race, an act that happens almost without any free agency on the parts of the participants. When the narrator is abandoned by his mom and forced to live on his own, he wanders around trying to avoid killing, but eventually succumbs. He first kills a homeless drunk who is close to death anyway. While in that form, he is attached by an angry high schooler who he ends up killing as well. Though feeling guilty about what he has done, he assumes this boy’s life, who is called Chris, and ends up falling in love with his girlfriend, Amber, loving his sister, Echo, and even caring about what happens to his abusive and weak parents Harry and Sheila.
Other tags: Macbeth; high school; football; physical abuse
Though the subject is violent, though Chris’s home life is abusive and violent, and though there is sexual tension between Chris and a sheganger as well as sexual attraction between Chris and Amber that eventually leads to the act itself, the writing is subtle and respectful, not graphic nor extraneous. The doppelganger can only assume a victim’s life temporarily due to the instability of taking on a particular form, so any good Chris does, he knows, is only for a time. I found this theme (that time continually marches forward) as well as the other main theme that there are different ways you could be a monster, both intriguing to think about. I would recommend it to 9th graders and up.
Cassandra’s Sister by Veronica Bennett, 2007
Written in the 19th century style of Jane Austin, this story is an imagined recreation of the early life of Jane, her sister, Cassandra, and the rest of her family and social circle. Jane struggles against the limits placed on women during her lifetime, is jolted by a potential suitor for another woman, and is swept off her feet by a young Irishman during the course of three balls, only to never hear from him again. The pacing is a bit plodding, though I was pulled from chapter to chapter, wanting to see how it would end. However, the lack of forthright communication, especially between the sexes, and the portrayal of Jane as someone who would throw away true friendship and a secure marriage because of an infatuation with someone she talked with only three times depressed me. I had to go and watch “Becoming Jane” and then Keira Knighley’s “Pride and Prejudice” soon thereafter.
Coraline by Neil Gaiman, adapted and illustrated by P. Craig Russell, 2008 (741.5 RUS)
Coraline is longing for attention from her parents, who are busy with their work. The neighbors in her apartment house try to be friendly but keep calling her Caroline, and the cat won’t let her get very close. Then she passes through a mysterious bricked-up doorway into an alternative reality where an alternative mom professes her undying love for her, offering her anything she wants if only she will stay forever. But when Coraline realizes her alternative mom is dishonest, controlling, and evil, and that her real family and life are in danger, she uses her wits to outsmart the witch and restore her original life, which is most welcomed despite its imperfections. True love and honesty are preferable to days without them, even if her days would be filled with anything she could imagine.
I read a graphic novel version of this award-winning novel. Personally I do not enjoy this format as well as a traditional novel. Having to constantly switch between words and the visual clues pulls me out of the story more abruptly and repeatedly than straight narrative. However, for a student who likes this format, the graphics are full color and quite spectacular, and the story is sufficiently creepy to pull the reader along.
Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve, 2007
This story is a new imagining of the King Arthur legend where Merlin is Myrrdin, a bard who is convinced Arthur is the best bet for England’s future and is quite gifted at spinning a tale. He is also constantly looking for ways to create allusions and visual tricks that will reenforce his stories’ claims that Arthur is an heroic king, blessed by the gods, both Christian and pre-Christian ones. The story is told from Gwyna’s perspective, an orphan whose lord is killed by Arthur’s band and is rescued by Myrrdin. He has thought of a role she can play, given her unusual swimming talent, to help convince others of Arthur’s divine calling. She becomes the Lady of the Lake, which even Arthur is convinced of, and then transformed to Gwyn, Myrrdin’s nephew and assistant, to hide the deception.
My niece didn’t like how the legend was initiated through trickery, but I found it very believable and interesting. She did like the rest of the story, however, and so did I. Gwyna, as Gwyn, gets quite the exposure to the world of boys that would have been totally hidden from her as a girl, and then has a unique perspective when she returns to the world of women as Gwyna once again. Arthur is portrayed as one of many warring lords who happens to have the best story-telling working for him. This is a concept that still seems very true in this year of presidential elections.
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