Prodigy by Marie Lu

Day and June are on the run from the Republic and are searching for the Patriots, the only ones who Day believes can help him get his little brother back.  The Patriots are willing to help, but for a price.  Day and June must help assassinate the new Elector of the Republic, which means June must return to the Republic where she is now an outlaw.

I was disappointed.  Possibly because I loved the first one so much and was expecting something equally fabulous and it didn't quite deliver.  I liked Legend so much because it felt fresh and new and different.  You know how trends are.  Harry Potter came out and made it big and suddenly wherever you turned there was a book about a kid realizing he was really a wizard.  Then Twilight came out and everything was about falling in love with some supernatural creature and the issues that come with that.  Then The Hunger Games came out and you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a book about how it's the future and everything sucks but one kid will rise above it.

And as I was hitting the peak of dystopia fatigue I read Legend and loved it.  Prodigy did not keep the fresh new feel.  In Prodigy, Day reluctantly joins the Patriots, who are trying to create a rebellion against the Republic.  They want Day because people see him as the symbol of revolution and the fight against the Republic.  All Day wants is to get his little brother back safe and run away with him and June to the Colonies.  He reluctantly becomes the Patriot's symbol to make this happen.  Sound familiar?  Yeah, straight up Hunger Games.  Hardly anything is different, just a reversal in gender roles. 

I continue to like and be interested in June.  She's a great character, although we didn't get to see a whole lot of change or growth in her.  Actually, there wasn't a whole lot of new information given in the book at all.  We got to learn more about how the Trails started, but we still don't know what's going on with the disease experimentation or why they saw Day as such a threat, which was one of the big questions from the first book.  We didn't get to learn anymore about June's brother or what her parent's were up to.

I did like getting to see how the rest of the world views the Republic.  Inside the Republic, they seem so all-powerful, but outside, they're just a small rogue country.  I liked that a lot.  Both Day and June were shocked to learn this.  I also liked how the Colonies were not the golden utopia Day had always pictured.  There are plenty of issues there too, which leads to Day and June's ultimate decision about whether they'll help the Patriots overthrow the Republic or not.

Marie Lu is a new author and is coming off a huge success from Legend, which I'm sure is super stressful, so hopefully she'll find her freshness again in the third one.

Prodigy comes out January 29, 2013.

The Girl in the Park by Mariah Fredericks

Rain Donovan used to be best friends with Wendy, but they haven't really spoken in years.  Early one morning, Wendy's body was discovered in a park.  She'd been strangled.  Rain wants to give Wendy justice, so she quietly starts investigating herself.  Her first hunch, however, leads to the wrong person being accused.  Now Rain is short on time to figure out what really happened, and the answer might be more then she's willing to face.

At first I didn't realize this was a mystery.  I thought it was another YA realistic fiction book about a girl found murdered.  Have you noticed there are a lot of them in the past year or so?  So I was in a particular mindset when I started reading it and was not ready for the twists and turns a mystery has.

After the first person was accused, but it clearly wasn't the right person, I realized what it was.  Then I thought it was kind of a lame mystery because the actual killer was super obvious.  But well done Mariah Fredericks because she put in several good twists that kept me guessing and I didn't actually figure out who really did until close to the end.

Printz Awards

We dashed directly from The Perks of Being a Wallflower to the Printz awards and made it with seconds to spare.  Unlike the Newbery and Caldecott awards, all the Printz Honor recipients get a chance to speak.  This year there were four honor books.

First up was Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler with art by Maira Kalman.  It was like watching a stand-up comedy routine.  They played off each other so well.  It was hysterical.  After thanking people, Daniel told us that he and Maira had a song for us.  It was amazing.  Please see below.  They received a standing ovation.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower Advanced Movie Screening

A few last overdue post from ALA!  After the conference was over I headed to LA and then went to Colorado and have only just returned, so I didn't get to write about the advanced movie screening of The Perks of Being a Wallflower we went to, or the Printz Awards.  That will come next.

So the evening of the 25th was quite busy.  My fabulous library director, Liz, had given me a heads up that there was going to be an advanced screening of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which does not come out until September.  We felt very special that we were in California and going to an advanced movie screening!  I'm surprised it wasn't more widely advertised.  I wouldn't have known about if Liz hadn't told me.  It was probably in Cognotes, but I never get around to reading Cognotes.

When we got to the theater (conveniently located down the street from out perfectly adequate hotel), there was of course a line, because there was a line for everything, always.  Luckily it was not a very long line, and the theater could fit 300 people so we had no problem getting in.

Waiting on Wednesday: Defiance by C.J. Redwine

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight an upcoming release that we're excited about. This week I'm waiting on Defiance by C.J. Redwine.

Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city's brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father's apprentice, Logan--the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same one who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but a fierce belief in her father's survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.

At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city's top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor's impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.

As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can't be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making. (from Goodreads)


I saw this ARC at the ALA Annual Conference, and I wanted it so badly. I waited in line for forty minutes so I could get my grubby hands on it and what did I come up with? Nothing. This unfortunately means I 'm going to be have to buy it once it comes out, but it sounds like it's totally worth it , right?


Defiance comes out Aug. 28th.

Closing Speaker: J.R. Martinez

You probably recognize J.R. Martinez's name in relation to the Dancing with the Stars television show which he won in 2011. You also might have heard of his quite remarkable life story: how he was in Iraq and drove over a landmine and 40% of his body was covered in severe burns.

J.R. was a talented motivational speaker, he's obviously got his talk down and tailors it rather well to the group he's speaking it to. He does a nice job weaving his own life experiences in with his world perspective. And he has a strong lead by talking about his experience on Dancing with the Stars, and how that influenced his life.

I am going to admit that I generally don't like motivational speakers, I find their experiences too exceptional to reach me and influence my outlook. One thing I did appreciate though was the fact that J.R. made a point that he hopes people take his words and treat them like loose change, tuck it away until you unexpectedly need it and it can surprise you and get you through the day. He put it more eloquently than that, but that was the general point. We'll see if that happens.

He also talked a lot about how everyone sets goals: long term, short term. We all make them, and life never really allows us to follow through with the original plan. It always needs to be tweaked, adjusted, or scrapped. This is where he brought in a lot of his own life experiences as examples starting from his childhood to his current life. He had wanted to be a professional football player and now he just wants to be the best motivational speaker he can be. It's pretty incredible what he experienced, how he overcame it, and how he's now able to share those experiences with others. And he's only 28! Yeesh!

Ari and I left before the Q & A, but he did a really nice job. Way to motivate the librarians J.R.

Newbery Caldecott Award Banquet

Jamie, Ari, and I were lucky enough to go to the Caldecott and Newbery Banquet that's hosted by the Association of Library Services for Children, Jamie and I went for the banquet (where we met some lovely librarians) and Arianna joined us later for the actual speeches. Sidenote: did you know that the books that are nominated for the Caldecott and Newbery are first selected by the publishers? Also that the fifteen ladies and gentlemen on the committees must keep all discussion absolutely secret? Fascinating.

In case you didn't know the Caldecott Honors went to Blackout by John Rocco, Grandpa Green by Lane Smith, and Me... Jane by Patrick McDonnell. They had a little introduction and went up for their pictures, I was quite excited to see Patrick McDonnell and Lane Smith.

Chris Raschka was the winner for this year, and spoke for about twenty minutes. He had some rather delightful anecdotes about drawing and what it takes to be an artist. His speech was quite inspiring for artists and children with the dream of becoming artists. There were some funny bits, especially when he described feeding goldfish to his pet turtle, and some charming bits, like having a sit down meal with his good friends, and overall it went rather well. I will say this though, I think there's a rather clear delineation of why artists draw/paint/create and writers write, and this was made quite clear to me as Chris Raschka spoke.

The Newbery Honors went to Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai and Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin. This was interesting because I hadn't heard of either of these books, but they both sound quite intriguing which I don't always think when hearing about the Newbery books.

Of course Jack Gantos was the winner of the Newbery, and I would just like to point out that he has a very distinctive voice. I'm pretty sure that you would never guess that Jack Gantos's voice was anything but his own. Anyway, needless to say he was hilarious and riveting. I eventually had to stop taking notes because I just wanted to soak up what he was saying. He is a brilliant and accomplished speaker, and it was an absolute pleasure to hear him speak. Bonus, did you know that Daniel Radcliffe bought the rights to Jack Gantos's memoir?