#tbt: Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle

Simon & Schuster

Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle. 288 p. Nate #1. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, February, 2013. 9781422446892.

#tbt features Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle. This book marked Federle's MG debut and features Thirteen-year-old Nate Foster doesn't fit in well in Jankburg, PA. He's a bit overweight, not into sports and adores Broadway musicals even though he's never been to even one. Luckily for Nate, he has one bff who shares his passion. Libby is his ride or die and Nate's alibi when he decides to take a bus to Manhattan to answer an open audition for ET: the Musical. 

Often laugh-out-loud funny, Nate's voice is earnest and endearing and believable. The book was named a Stonewall Honor and the audiobook, which was narrated by the author won an Odyssey Honor. Every budding theater kid should get to know Nate. 

Middle Grade Monday and arc review: Nate Expectations by Tim Federle

Nate Expectations by Tim Federle. 192 p. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, September 18, 2018. 9781481404129.

Poor Nate Foster! When E.T.: the musical fails to receive a single Tony nomination, it closes. Nate is devastated; because unlike Jordan, who has landed a television show role, Nate is heading back to Jankburg, PA and high school. Luckily, he still has his bff, Libby. Still, he's not looking forward to being on the receiving end of cruel comments and trying to maintain a long-distance "relationship" with Jordan. 

When his English teacher assigns Charles Dickens' Great Expectations and wants his students to create a memorable project, Nate decides to launch a musical production of the classic. His teacher is skeptical; but with his sort of newfound fame and Libby by his side as his producer, he just might pull it off.

Readers of the first two Nate books are in for a treat. Nate Expectations was the perfect (sob) ending to the trilogy. Nate is a great character. He maintains a positive attitude but expects the worst. These books are his first-person narration and he is hilariously funny. I read this in the airport waiting room and on my flight to New Orleans a little over a week ago and was just laughing out loud. A lot. Some people might have moved away from me. I know my seat-mates on the plane wanted to.

Nate is a theater kid and his encyclopedic knowledge of all things Broadway is impressive and instructive. He even slips in a bit about the sadly short-lived musical, Tuck Everlasting, whose libretto Tim Federle co-wrote. Nate's homecoming could've gone so many ways. His parents aren't the best and they've been having some trouble in their marriage. His brother was a legend at his high school. How can Nate measure up? I will leave it to readers to discover. It was sublime. 

I've read the two earlier Nate books, Better Nate Than Ever and Five, Six, Seven, Nate! both with my eyes and then with my ears. I plan on doing so with Nate Expectations as well. Federle is a superb narrator. This trilogy is a love letter to theater kids and a must-purchase for all kinds of libraries. 

Review: The Marvels by Brian Selznick

The Marvels by Brian Selznick. 664 p. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc., September 15, 2015. 9780545448680. (Review from arc courtesy of publisher.)

So. There has been a bit of fanfare around the Interwebz for the past couple of weeks. The genre-blending, format-smashing Brian Selznick has a new book. And Scholastic is rolling out the red carpet. Literally.

There was a big launch at BEA. Mr. Selznick spoke at SLJ Day of Dialog (kicking myself for being unable to attend) and there was this little party. Thankfully, I was able to attend that.

Scholastic took over the Hudson Theater for a cocktail party and presentation, ending with a signing. The Hudson is a venerable theater on 44th Street. It's small and intimate with a beautiful stage and lots of architectural features for the eye to roam over. A red carpet was rolled out and huge posters advertising The Marvels were hung in the glass cases on either side of the theater doors. 

Selznick's multi-media presentation and talk about his journey birthing this story was inspiring, touching and totally charming. Honestly, if you ever have the opportunity to hear him speak, grab it.

Weighing in at nearly 700 pages, The Marvels is a brick of a book. I should know. I forgot it was in my backpack when I went to Boston with the seventh grade the morning after the big party. I stowed it there hoping to read it on the bus and before turning in that night. I should've left it on the bus because once we disembarked, we were on the go until dinner at our hotel.

Worth the hype? In a word, yes. Selznick has created something epic here. I am going to be maddeningly vague about the storyline though; because you should discover the wonders for yourself.  

The first 492 pages are told in illustration. Page after page of double-page pencil drawings depict several generations of the Marvel family beginning in 1766. This is no flip-o-rama here. Do not pass quickly over them! Allow yourself to get sucked into each and every one, please.

The text part of the story begins in 1990 with Joseph, lost in London, without the foggiest notion of finding the address of an uncle he never knew he had. Joseph has run away from his boarding school where he doesn't fit in. Nor does he fit in at home apparently, as his parents are constantly traveling and seem disinterested in him. Thanks to a stroke of luck, Joseph does manage to find his uncle's house when a child who is chasing down a stray dog collides with him. Unfortunately for Joseph, his uncle is none too happy to meet him. His uncle and the house is filled with mystery. Joseph feels like he stepped back in time. Is the house haunted? Why is the table set for a party? Where is that bird sound coming from? Who is that boy in the photo, with red hair, like Joseph's?

Patience is required here and pays off near the end. As the pieces click quietly into place, there will be gasps, sighs and tears. This complex, multilayered tale is, okay, I've been resisting using this word, a marvel. Readers won't want to leave the world Brian Selznick has brought so vividly to life. I love that fugue state that I get when I finish a satisfying story. I didn't want to start a new book and I find my thoughts returning to the book again and again. 

This won't take much selling with my students. I have duplicate copies of The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck and they are rarely on the shelf. In fact, one of my students spied my arc and begged me for it. I am certain she will bring a buddy when (if) she returns it to me. Budget for multiple copies of The Marvels. A book trailer is in the works, so keep an eye out for it as well.

Highly recommended!

Switched at Birthday by Natalie Standiford

231 p. Scholastic Press, February 25, 2014. 9780545346504. (Review from arc obtained at ALAMW)

Lavender and Scarlet go to the same school and share the same birth date, but that is where the similarities end. Scarlet, rich, blond and popular cruises at the top of the social food chain. Lavender, short, clumsy and a bit hairy is the prey. Her various nicknames include Lav, as in bathroom, and Yeti. She seems impervious to these daily assaults. Indeed, she's quite snarky. Unfortunately, she's also brutally snarky to her few friends.

Both Lavender and Scarlet intend on trying out for the lead in the school musical. Scarlet has the looks for the lead, but not the vocal ability. Lavender has an amazing singing voice. The music teacher directing the production gives the auditioning students a verse to recite to help them win the part. Scarlet and Lavender each recite the verse as they blow out their birthday candles. The next morning, they wake up in each other's bodies.

I will admit that I picked this up off the table at the Scholastic booth at ALAMW purely for its cover and seeming middle grade appeal. When I read the synopsis, I wasn't expecting all that much as these "freaky Friday" type plots generally don't hold much appeal for me. I was utterly sucked in and won over. The girls are complex, flawed characters. The dialogue and social situations were realistically drawn. There was a message, lightly delivered with humor. There were endearing secondary characters and the ending was just right. 

I have a cadre of sixth grade girls who have been passing around my aged copy of Freaky Friday this year. I can't wait to suggest this one to them. 

Audiobook review: Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle

Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle. Unabridged audiobook on 5 compact discs, 5.75 hours. Narrated by the author. Recorded Books, May, 2013. 9781470369385. (Purchased)

Thirteen-year-old Nate Foster is the odd man out in Jankburg, PA. He loves theater in a family and community that is football obsessed. He and his bfs, Libby are plotting his getaway. She learned that there is an open audition for ET: the musical and Nate is Broadway bound on a Greyhound bus. 

Nate's observations of New York City are precious and absolutely hysterical. We learn that life at home and at school is not easy for Nate. He reveals this so breezily that it takes a beat or two to realize just what he deals with on a daily basis and it's heartbreaking. He is resilient though and, maybe even optimistic. He constants puts a positive spin on things and gives people the benefit of the doubt. He is so, so kind despite the lack of kindness he regularly receives.

Now, I'm not usually a fan of author narrations, but Tim Federle's narration was perfectly paced. He sounded appropriately young and his comedic timing was subtle and flawless. I laughed and teared up all over again. It was such a pleasure to reread this favorite of mine with my ears.

Coincidentally, I finished listening as I pulled into my hotel's garage in Philadelphia last Friday. I was in town for ALAMW. I cheered very loudly when Better Nate Than Ever received a Stonewall and Odyssey honor.

Tim is currently on book tour for Five, Six, Seven Nate! and my school was lucky to be a stop. His presentation to my students was great. The kids connected immediately and Tim was comfortable, charming and quite funny! I could tell the kids were really listening because their questions at the end were quite thoughtful. The fifty minutes were soon over and no one wanted to leave the auditorium.

Five, Six, Seven, Nate by Tim Federle

293 p. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, January 21, 2014. 9781442495890. (Review from arc courtesy of the author.)

This sequel/ companion to Better Nate Than Ever picks up on the eve of Nate's return to New York City to live with his Aunt Heidi while understudying the role of E.T. in E.T.: The Musical. He and his bff, Libby are singing show tunes and trying to write his bio for the Playbill. Libby shares some last minute advice and Nate impulsively does something, which surprises them both. (And me, as well.) Intermittently, Nate's dad bangs on the door to yell at Nate. Except for leaving Libby, Nate's not sorry to be leaving home. Nate is obsessed with Broadway. He knows when all the shows opened and closed, which were flops and can sing all the show tunes. One can see how Nate's a bit of an odd-man out having to grow up in a football-obsessed family in Pittsburgh. 

Once he arrives in the rehearsal space, he is deliriously happy to learn that there are three other shows rehearsing in the building as well. Then, he enters E.T., and is dismayed to find that everyone there seems to already know each other. Of course, he already knows someone, the show's star, Jordan Rylance, but Jordan and his mommy are staring daggers at him from across the room. Nate is further dismayed to learn that he is actually understudy to the understudy. That understudy is a tiny lady named Asella with twenty-five years in the business and no fondness for children. Then Nate is even further dismayed to learn that he needs to tap dance. Nate can't tap and finds himself reporting to rehearsals early for remedial classes. What is this? Middle school?

Well, sorta. There are cliques and rivalries and backstabbing. Nate finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time several hilarious times and that gets him the wrong kind of attention. The times that he comes up with a brilliant idea and should get the right kind of attention, there is no applause. And the director can't get his name right. But Nate, my favorite optimist, puts a funny spin on each situation, tosses off hysterical asides, as well as dead on observations of adults behaving badly, and soldiers on.

Nate peppers his chronicles of the five weeks to first preview with all sorts of Broadway trivia, which should tickle readers who are theater geeks and entertain/ educate those who are not. As funny as this book is, the tone is more serious as Nate reveals how truly sad his home situation is. Aunt Heidi really is Nate's port in the storm. 

I read the final chapters blinking away tears but there were also many poignant moments throughout the book that made me wish I could reach into the story and give Nate a hug. 

Five, Six, Seven, Nate! can stand alone, but Nate is such a great character, I recommend that you start his journey at Better Nate Than Ever. I also hope that Nate shares more of his journey in a third book.

My students in grades five and six are in for a treat in late January as my school is one of Tim Federle's stops on his book tour. As soon as we get back to school, I will be busy booktalking and sharing snippets of videos, here and here. Visit the author's website here. Finally, teachers looking for a fun read-aloud that is also filled with discussion starters, there's a link to a Curriculum Guide linked to Common Core Standards here. 

This is a 2014 favorite. Yes, I know I read it in 2013, but you can't till 2014.