#tbt: This Dark Endeavor: the Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel

Image: Simon & Schuster

This Dark Endeavor: the Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel. 302 p. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, August, 2021. 

#tbt features This Dark Endeavor: the Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel. If you've ever read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or, the Modern Prometheus, you may have wondered what drove Dr. Victor Frankenstein to pursue such a morally repugnant experiment. Canadian author Kenneth Oppel did and the result was a duology begun by this book.

Victor Frankenstein lives with his identical twin, Konrad and his distant cousin, Elizabeth in a sprawling chateau on the banks of Lake Geneva. They, along with family best friend Henry are inseparable adventurers. One day, while exploring the dark places in the chateau, they discover a dark library known as the Biblioteca Obscura. Once Victor's father discovers this, they are forbidden from ever entering the library again.

When Konrad falls seriously ill and doctors can find no cure for his mysterious ailment, Victor breaks his promise to his father and returns to the library in search of a cure.

This gothic horror story is riveting. It is a prequel to Shelley's classic and quite faithful to the original characters and setting. It is not necessary to have read it, though if you have, you will marvel at how well the two stories merge. 

Waiting on Wednesday: Tristan Strong Keeps Punching by Kwame Mbalia

Image: Rick Riordan Presents

Tristan Strong Keeps Punching by Kwame Mbalia. Tristan Strong series #3. 320 p. Rick Riordan Presents/ Disney Press, October 5, 2021. 9781368054874.

Waiting on Wednesday features Tristan Strong Keeps Punching by Kwame Mbalia. I am so excited for book three of this thrilling series based on West African mythology and African American folklore. Click here for my review of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky and click here for Tristan Strong Destroys the World. The website, Rick Riordan Presents had a cover reveal last month. 

Here's the publisher synopsis: Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents the finale of Kwame Mbalia’s trilogy, in which Tristan Strong faces off with his archenemy, King Cotton, once and for all. After reuniting with Ayanna, who is now in his world, Tristan travels up the Mississippi in pursuit of his archenemy, King Cotton. Along the way they encounter new haints who are dead set on preventing their progress north to Tristan’s hometown of Chicago. It’s going to take many Alkean friends, including the gods themselves, the black flames of the afokena gloves, and all of Tristan’s inner strength to deliver justice once and for all. Shocking twists, glorious triumphs, and a cast of unforgettable characters make this series conclusion as satisfying as it is entertaining.

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir

Image: Penguin Random House

A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir. Ember in the Ashes #4. Unabridged downloadable e-audiobook, ~17 hours. Read by Fiona Hardingham, Steve West, Katharine Lee McEwan, Maxwell Caulfield and Nikki Massoud. 9780593288047. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.)

Teen Tuesday features A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir. This is the concluding volume of the bestselling Ember in the Ashes series. And, yes, you must read all the books in order, so this review will be vague and hopefully, spoiler-free. The book begins months after the conclusion of Reaper at the Gates and follows our three heroes, Laia of Serra, Helene Aquilla, the Blood Shrike and Elias Veturia on their hero's journey. Keris Veturia and her armies are on the rampage across the kingdom. There is a great deal of violence and bloodshed in this series. It's definitely not for the faint-of-heart. If you love fantasy, there's a lot here to sink your teeth into-the world building is incredibly vivid, the characters are colorful and there's some heartbreaking romance (and deaths).

I have read the entire series with my ears and highly recommend doing so that way. The three principal narrators, Fiona Hardingham, Steve West and Katherine Lee McEwan are spellbinding as Laia, Elias and Helena.

Middle Grade Monday: Starfish by Lisa Fipps

Image: Penguin Random House

Starfish by Lisa Fipps. 256 p. Nancy Paulsen Books/ Penguin Young Readers Group, March, 2021. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.)

Happy Monday! I hope you had a spectacular weekend! I spent a lot of time in my garden and took Boo on some really long walks. I have a 17 hour biography loaded on my phone and was able to to do my three favorite things at once.

Middle Grade Monday features Stafish by Lisa Fipps. Twelve-year-old Ellie is struggling. Not only is she bullied mercilessly about her weight at school, but she finds no respite at home. Her older sister dubbed her "Splash" at a pool party when she was five and the nickname stuck, along with whale and others even crueler. Her mother dictates what she can and cannot eat and is investigating bariatric surgery even though the surgery is dangerous, almost killing her aunt and not recommended for children. Now, she feels extra alone because her best friend and next-door neighbor has moved away.

Ellie is a swimmer. She finds refuge in swimming laps in her pool every day. She also appreciates the efforts of her dad, her only ally, though he is often ineffective. She's especially disappointed to learn that she has to visit a therapist and vows not to say a word. Her therapist is very good and allows Ellie the time for silence. Soon Ellie grows into her own voice and learns to use it.

This verse novel is so real and raw that it was hard to listen sometimes. Jenna Lamia is always convincing as a teen. Her voice sounds naturally youthful and her performance is emotionally honest. 

Readers will root for Ellie and hopefully ponder why so many people feel it's okay to fat-shame another. Starfish is Ms. Fipps' debut and was inspired by her own childhood struggles. I look forward to reading her sophomore effort and can't wait to share this powerful story with my students. 

What's New?

"Stacking the Shelves" is was a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It seems the blog is gone though, for the link no longer takes you to it. So, I will just continue to post a "What's New? post whenever I receive new books. 

For Review:

Image: Candlewick Press

Franklin Endicott and the Third Key by Kate DiCamillo. Illustrated by Chris Van Dusen. Tales from Deckawoo Drive series. 104 p. Candlewick Press, June, 2021. 9781536201819.

Publisher synopsis: 

Welcome back to Deckawoo Drive for a sixth endearing installment in the companion series to Kate DiCamillo’s New York Times best-selling Mercy Watson books. Frank Endicott is a worrier. He worries about lions, submarines, black holes, leprosy, and armadillos. He lists his worries alphabetically in a notebook and suffers vivid nightmares that even a certain neighborhood pig can’t dispatch. When he accompanies Eugenia Lincoln on an errand to duplicate a key at her favorite dark and dusty thrift shop, Frank earns fresh cause for alarm. Odd Buddy Lamp, the shop’s proprietor, has sent them home with the original key and its copy. Can Frank come to terms with the mystery without buckling under his mounting dread? With a little help from friends (old and new), hot cocoa, and some classic short stories read aloud, the prognosis is good. The latest tale from Deckawoo Drive—and New York Times best-selling creators Kate DiCamillo and Chris Van Dusen—is a balm for young worrywarts facing the unknown.

I used to work in a K-8 school. It was quite the challenge purchasing books for such an age range with the budget I was given. It was also a challenge keeping up with books for students from K-8! The Mercy Watson books began releasing in 2005 and I left that position in June of 2008, so I was able to share the first four books about a sweet little pig who loved hot buttered toast with my younger students. I had no idea until now, that Ms. DiCamillo not only penned a fifth Mercy Watson book but, in 2014, spun a new series off. I have some catching up to do!

Purchased: Nothing this week, but I am filling a shopping cart b/c I received some AZ gift cards. The PTO Book Fair is next week and I'm receiving Scholastic Dollars to purchase books for the school library, so I'll be shopping! Yay!

What was in your mailbox this week?

Fact Friday: Beneath the Waves: Celebrating the Ocean through Pictures, Poems and Stories by Stephanie Warren Drimmer

Beneath the Waves: Celebrating the Ocean through Pictures, Poems and Stories by Stephanie Warren Drimmer. 192 p. National Geographic, March, 2021. 9781426339165. (Review of finished copy borrowed from public library.)

Fact Friday features Beneath the Waves: Celebrating the Ocean through Pictures, Poems and Stories by Stephanie Warren Drimmer. This oversized is a handsome miscellanea of all things ocean. Well-organized and attractively designed, though not necessarily delivering on the promise of poems - there are six, leaving five of the eleven chapters without a poem. Nonetheless, the facts are fascinating, delivered in a combination of longer paragraphs as well as thumbnail boxes, and the photos are absolutely dazzling. The concluding chapter hammers home what we humans ought to be doing to protect the seas that surround us. 

Back matter consists of an afterword by Sylvia Earle, a list of scientific names and an index, making it helpful for young researchers to locate specific information. If you display this prominently, it won't sit. That cover just begs readers!

I learned of this thanks to the blog "Randomly Reading." Pop on over there to read a more detailed and descriptive review. 

#tbt: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Image: HarperCollins 

Divergent by Veronica Roth. 496 p. HarperCollins Publisher, May, 2011. 9780062024027. (Own.)

#tbt celebrates the tenth anniversary of Divergent by Veronica Roth. In a post-apocalyptic Chicago, survivors live in factions that most align with their personality. When children reach the age of sixteen, they take a test in preparation for the ceremony where they will choose their faction - Candor, Abnegation, Amity or Dauntless. Tris, is a member of Abnegation by birth, but when she tests, her results label her as "Divergent." This disturbs her, especially when she's told to keep this result a secret. Readers follow Tris through her choice to join Dauntless. This dystopian trilogy beginner has a quick pace and is filled with quite a bit of violence. 

Divergent was Ms. Roth's debut. She wrote it in her senior year of college where she majored in creative writing. The book was immediately optioned for film, which starred Shailene Woodley.