Gifting Books to Kids - Part 1

I love giving books to kids.

Honestly, I love giving books to anyone that has a chance of actually reading the book, and many who don't. This was something I did long before I saw it as my personal contribution toward keeping the publishing industry afloat.

You can find plenty of Book Gift Guides for preschoolers, kids and teens for the holidays, but I often have a hard time matching books to people. So, I thought I'd put together a small Gifting Books list based on the type of person you're giving them to. See if you recognize anyone on your list...

For The Young Science Geek
Have a kid whose nose is always in non-fiction tales from medieval weaponry to the anatomy of frogs? One whose favorite computer game is Crazy Machines II, or who takes apart appliances in your house with alarming facility? Give them these ...

• User's Guide to the Universe - which answers questions like Is it possible to build a Star Trek-type transporter or a working time machine? Works well for adults geeks as well as smarty pants kids.
• Any of Michio Kaku's books - our favorite physicist has books! How did I not know this before? With titles like Physics of the Impossible and Parallel Worlds these books are sure to keep your young Geek enthralled.
• Any of these Top 10 Sci-Tech Books for kids

For The Budding Military Strategist

Have a child who spends an extraordinary amount of time playing Stratego or RPGs (role playing games)? Do they like to devise their own codes and delight in giving you things written in gnomish sans the decoding key? Give them these ...

• Leviathan series - set in World War I and pitting the Clankers vs. the Darwinists these stories are challenging, yet accessible re-tellings of the political landscape that launched the war. Also, they're just plain fun
• The Hunchback Assignments series - set in Victorian England, these books have mystery and intrigue with secret societies and shapeshifting spies. Everything your budding spook will love.
• Only You Can Save Mankind - a hilarious, yet somber, look at war-as-video game and video games-as-war. Dry British wit gives the proper flavor that every aspiring spy should have.

For The Soft Hearted Free Thinker

Have a child who is greatly concerned about injustices large and small? Who thinks that third grade is fraught with more danger than any story with dragons and elves ever could be? One who is concerned for that doggie left in a car on a hot afternoon day? Give them these ...

• Justin Case: School, Drool, and other Daily Disasters - a great story about a worry wart trying to survive third grade
• Frindle - a fantastic tale about a boy who creates a new word, and a whole lot of mayhem with it.
• Savvy - a sweet, down-home story about a girl whose special power causes all kinds of misadventures

I'm having so much fun with this list, I'll have to continue it tomorrow ...

Gifts for Writers

Writers are an odd lot.

Mostly happy with their notebook (electronic or paper) and their imagination, they can be difficult to shop for. But the holidays are upon us, and in the interests of helping out all your family members who are scratching their heads and wondering what to get you, here are few suggestions when shopping for a writer:

The Usual Suspects

• Moleskin notebooks
• pens
• books of any kind

The Bold and Beautiful

Vintage Typewriter Necklace

Although I must say this looks painful to wear.

Awesome Vintage Typewriter (no necklace)

Novelty T-shirt

*because you know you want it*

Chocolate Keyboard

*you know you want this too*

Steampunk Goggles - just because

Customized Starbucks Card - caffeine is always appreciated

A special t-shirt for writers who blog and no longer feel the need to apologize for it.








From the Uber Supportive Family Member

Attendance at a Local Writer's Conference or Workshop (or membership in a writer's association)

Subscription to Publisher's Weekly








Of course the most valuable gift to give a writer: quality time with their manuscript.


If you're a writer, what gift would you most like to receive this holiday? (No, you may not say "whirled peas")

p.s. late-breaking addition ... because he's so cute ...

Writer Mouse from Starbucks!! (thank you Robin Lucas)

p.p.s. Another late breaking addition (thank to Kelly Hashway) - E-readers! Lord have mercy, how did I forget those?

Things to Be Thankful For . . .

Health

Family

Freedom

There are so many things to be thankful for, that list could go on for quite some time. But I stopped at Freedom, because without it, everything else suffers. I'm incredibly thankful to the men and women in service who make so many sacrifices to safekeep the freedoms that we have.

We don't often get a chance to directly thank our service people.

Here's your chance: Hop over to Mommy Snark's blog. Every Sunday, she highlights a service member and gives you a chance to thank them personally in the comments section. She collects the comments all week long, and then sends them to the spotlighted family at the end of the week.

So. Awesome.

I'm thankful for the ridiculous number of blessings in my life. Having a chance to thank a service member directly just got added to the list.

Hanging out at the Teen Lounge

I love the library.

Whether it's checking out a crazy number of picture books when my boys were small, or taking on the summer reading challenge, or just retreating for an afternoon of quiet writing time (with WiFi!), the library is simply made of awesome. I show my support by vying for the most-library-fines-paid award each year.

Like much of the literacy industry, libraries have dipped into the Web2.0 world with blogs, twitter, Facebook, etc. in an effort to reach library patrons.

My local Palatine Library is a great supporter of local authors as well, and has posted an interview of me on their cool Teen Blog. I'm also hoping to do some kind of blog-collaboration with them in the future. Maybe reviews? Maybe chatting with some teen writers about craft? I'm not sure what Master Librarian Megan and I will dream up, but I'm certain it will be awesome. And fun.

I love the library. Wait, did I say that already?

p.s. the kids are out of school for Thanksgiving week, so my available free time is asymptotically approaching zero. Ink Spells will take a short break and return after the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving to all my U.S. blog-friends!

Keeping Kids Reading

Keeping kids well-supplied with books they love is part of Ink Spells' Raison d’Être (note: I really don't know French, in case that wasn't obvious). Which might make you think my home is lined with bookshelves neatly organized and ringed with the whispery sound of paper pages turning (or Nook page-clicks - seriously, what is with that sound?).


But no.


The boys have all week off school (I'm on the school board, I approved this, I still don't like it), and there is a lot of video game playing, lego building, and general mayhem in the basement that may involve cats. And I realize (once again) that my boys aren't reading as much as they should. Especially the youngest (Mighty Mite, age 7), who would rather come home and act out a ten player story from Reader's Theatre (a cool read-aloud program at school). Now Reader's Theatre is all kinds of awesome, but Mighty Mite needs to read more of those puppy books he likes, if he's going to keep progressing in his ability to read. Once his reading level gets high enough, he can tackle more difficult reads like The Lightning Thief and Harry Potter, that will keep him turning pages without my constant intercession.


I'm a huge fan of unstructured play time (when do you think I write??), but small consistent slices of time also need to be given to reading, in order for that to become a priority for them. So I'm giving my pre-Thanksgiving thanks for having three bright, beautiful boys that are uniquely wonderful in their skills and talents. And I'm re-dedicating myself to reading to/with them, until they are firmly entrenched readers as well.


I figure it's the best gift I can give them.

The Art of Hand Selling

I was terrified that only crickets would show up for my book signing. Instead, I had a wonderful time talking to friends and selling books.

Having a small press book means a lot of the marketing and selling of your book falls to you. I love my publisher (Omnific Publishing) and they've done a lot to market and get my book "out there," but I think the stories about having to hand-sell your books when you go with a small press are largely true. Then again, I'm not sure it's much different for some books that are published through the mainstream press, based on people I've talked to that have gone that route. But I don't have first-hand knowledge of that, so I'll stick to what I know.

People love to meet authors. People love to buy signed books as gifts.

One of the best parts of the signing was selling multiple copies to the same person, as gifts for their teen nieces or daughters. Often they would buy a book or two, then come back 5-10 minutes later, having thought of another person they could gift my book to. I loved the enthusiasm, and also the idea that my book would find its way to the teen readers it was intended for (although many Moms and grandMoms were buying the book for themselves).

Part of this is finding your audience. Not everyone will love my book, because it is targeted to a certain kind of reader. It would be fabulous to write a book that appeals to everyone (and maybe I'll do that someday), but most books will have a specific audience. And that's okay.

It also takes time to reach that audience - time that could be spent writing the next book. Some people publish a book and spend a year (or more) hand-selling it through signings, book clubs, giveaways, interviews, etc. etc. I've done all those things, but I've had to make some careful choices about how much time to spend marketing vs. writing the next book(s). I'm in this for the long haul, so some time has to be spent on both. Even Scott Westerfeld - who has big publisher money and marketing behind him - spends a substantial amount of time touring his books and participating in the marketing effort. The writing has to take precedence (or there's nothing to sell), but a reasonable amount of time has to be spent on marketing as well.

And it pays off in ways you don't expect.

Most people came to the signings because they knew me and wanted to buy my book. Which is fabulous! But my first sale of the day was to an adorable elderly woman stopping by to get a cup of coffee.

I asked her, "Do you like love stories?"
She shyly said yes, she did.
"My book's a love story, but it's about young people in love."
"Those are the best," she said. "I'll take one."

Um, wow. That was easy!

The best tidbit came at the end of the morning signing. Two ladies were chatting over their coffee, and had obviously not come for the signing. I was packing up and decided I would leave a card with them, just in case they were curious. I handed them each a card and said, "I know you're not here for the signing, but if you have a teen niece or daughter, they might be interested in the book."

One of them looks at the title and says, "Life, Liberty, and Pursuit? I've seen this book before. Wasn't it in Time Magazine?"

For about a nanosecond, I was tempted to say, "Oh, yes, that was me! Next week, my agent is going to have me on Oprah!" (note: I don't have an agent)

Instead, I gathered my wits and smiled, saying, "No, I wish."

"No, I'm sure I've seen it somewhere. It's about a girl who falls in a pool and a Navy recruit, right?"

I was floored. She actually knew the plot. I have no idea where (hint: it wasn't Time Magazine), but she had seen the cover before.

A similar thing happened over the weekend, when I was attending the regional SCBWI conference, and a fellow-writer I happened to sit next to in the break-out session recognized my name and knew I was the author of LLP. I had never met him, but he was a network rep for SCBWI and my book has been touring around on their portable display. He had checked it out and remembered my name.

So perhaps all those bits of effort to promote the book are slowly paying off. Perhaps it will find its audience after all. All I know is that having your book precede you among other writers and coffee shop patrons is a wicked cool feeling.

Norma and I are already talking about doing a Valentine's Day Love-themed event.

But for now, back to the writing ...

Book Signing!

Not much of a blog post today, because I'm off to my first book signing! Terror is clutching my heart, trying desperately to warn me: no one will come, no one will come... I'm ignoring her plaintive voice and, buoyed up by some good press in the local paper, valiantly heading off to the coffee shop and the book store with my pens, my cards, and a laptop running a continuous loop of this:

Even if the only people that show up are my BFF, Norma the coffee shop owner, and that guy that always brings the classifieds, I'll have overcome my fear of failing by doing something instead. And that's worth the price of a cup of coffee.

Also: Norma has tasty snacks.

p.s. The delightful LT Moore has a review of Life, Liberty, and Pursuit and an interview with me on her blog today. Thank you Leigh! That was just the boost I needed to face the crickets at my book signing! :)

E-readers for the Holidays

If you're in the market for an e-reader for the holidays, here's a great guide to get you started, courtesy of Nathan Bransford's new gig at CNET (congrats again, Nathan!).

I own a Nook, and regularly use the e-lend feature to share books with my mom in California and my niece in Wisconsin (I'm in Illinois). It's cool to be able to swap books without worrying about shipping, but one of the best aspects of owning an e-reader is the instant gratification of getting books whenever you want and (if you have 3G) wherever you are. I think this "instant access" explains a lot of the surge in e-book purchases, as well as more books coming available as e-book upon release.

If you think e-readers are just for adults, I can assure you that kids enjoy reading on them just fine. Add in the clip-on book-light that I got for my birthday, and I think Worm Burner (age 9) reads more on the Nook than I do (he's currently reading Leviathan). More MG and YA titles are available as e-books now, and even Mighty Mite (age 7) was reading on the Nook over the summer (the Warriors series).

We still buy plenty of paper books. My recent purchases have included Steering the Craft (paper book), Paranormalcy (e-book), Behemoth (paper book), White Cat (e-book), and The Lost Hero (e-book). E-books have the lead 3-2, but it's important to note that I only purchased paper books where e-books weren't an option (and I wanted to get Behemoth signed).

As time goes on, I can easily see the bulk of my library on the e-reader, at the ready to lend to my friends and family, once they all get wired up with e-readers of their own.

On a side note, you can now subscribe to Ink Spells on your Kindle! This is a feature offered by Amazon, where you can subscribe to blogs downloaded directly to your Kindle. Do I think anyone will really pay $0.99 a month to subscribe to Ink Spells? Er, no. Especially since it's free on the interwebs. I just set it up for the fun of it!

But I can see someone paying $1.99 to subscribe to Nathan Bransford's blog on their Kindle! It will be interesting to see if this method of content delivery grows in the future.

In the spirit of new technology, I bring you Ink Spells first online poll ...

Dark Omen gets Interviewed

My post about a Twelve year-old View of the World - wherein Dark Omen opined about the utter uselessness of romance in fiction - inspired commenter, master librarian, and all around cool dude Iron Man Guy Carl (aka Mr. Swanke) to ask Dark Omen to interview over at his blog Boys Rule! Boys Read!. In my completely non-biased opinion, it's spit-out-tea funny. Especially the part about cats.



*Dark Omen reading his novel*


For the record, I've already put in my request that (some day) Dark Omen find a nice girl to settle down with and provide me with at least one grandchild.

Thanks to Iron Man Carl for his perpetual encouragement of boy readers and writers!

What to Avoid in the First Page

Over the weekend, I attended my local SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) conference, once again walking away with more writerly friends, awesome editor contacts, and an almost irrepressible urge to get back to the keyboard.

The best part was listening to Janice Del Negro talk about excellence in craft. But since I can't do justice to her talk (other than to recommend Ursula K. LeGuin's Steering the Craft), I wanted to share feedback from an agent on several first pages that were submitted before the conference. The pages were read aloud, and then the agent critiqued them. It was fascinating to hear, back-to-back, several first pages from authors at all different levels in the writing journey. Even more interesting were the agent comments. These comments all applied to middle grade and young adult manuscripts:

• Dialogue on the first page - the agent was a big fan of dialogue as a way to show character, and thought a lack of dialogue on the first page could be a red flag
• Make sure there's a kid in the story - some stories had no children in the first page
• If there's three paragraphs of setting description on the first page, the setting had better be a major character in the story
• Not a lot of stories these days are successful with talking animals
• Language needs to be natural, not overwrought or didactic
• Work to your strengths - if you can do funny, do more of it; if you do serious well, do more of that
• For SF: new tech names are fun, but make sure to avoid just renaming the "coffee pot of the future"
• Contemporary tech (iPod, etc) can quickly date a story, and isn't always necessary for contemporary fic
• Cliches: Dogs we love, old Mrs. Carmichael's, "Mama," kid moving to a new town, adult looking back or telling the story
• You can use cliches, but they must have a fresh spin
• Don't have cigarettes in MG, the librarians will not be happy

These were just the opinions of one agent. But it struck me that in reading the pages back-to-back, it was easy to tell which ones the agent would choose to read on - they were the ones that captured us, even with only a page.

*back to work on my first pages*

CAVEAT: My recommendation is not to worry about any of this until you have completed your MS - or possibly even gone through a draft or two. Only once your story is fully formed can you really write that first opening scene/chapter IMHO (thanks to aspiring below for sparking that thought!).

ALSO: See Tricia's interesting post/comments on Dialogue on the First Page

Harry Potter: Growing from Middle Grade to Young Teens

Debbie Curan posed an excellent question regarding books for Young Teens:

How would you handle a series - like HP - where the MC grows older and the series becomes much darker? Starts off as MG then grows up - HP is in the MG section of the bookstore, but the later books I won't let my guys near until they are firmly in their teens. Just wondering. :)

Harry's growth through the series is matched by a slow progression into darker themes, with a touch of romance. With Harry Potter 7 (movie part 1) coming out next week, I thought I would go over the progression of the books, and what you can expect to find in them (if you're not an HP fan like myself, or don't have time to read these hefty books with your kids).

The Harry Potter series was one of the first I reviewed on Ink Spells a year ago. Here's a quick summary of my review of all seven books:

Harry Potter and the ...

Title	RL	Ink Spells	Rating	Content
Bk 1: Sorcerer's Stone	5.5	8+	G	Peril of characters
Bk 2: Chamber of Secrets	6.7	8+	PG	Peril of characters
Bk 3: Prisoner of Azkaban	6.7	8+	PG	Peril of characters
Bk 4: Goblet of Fire	6.8	10+	PG	Death of character, Puppy Love
Bk 5: Order of the Phoenix	7.2	10+	PG	Mild torture, a chaste kiss
Bk 6: Half Blood Prince	7.2	10+	PG	Death of major character, snogging
Bk 7: Deathly Hallows	6.9	12+	PG	Characters injured, tortured and killed

I consider all the books, with the exception of book 7, to be solidly MG. The first three books are fine for advanced readers 8+, or even younger. Indeed, if you're looking for a very challenging read for those precocious readers, I can't think of a better place to start than Harry Potter Bk1-3. Books 4-6 are more mature. Characters die, romance between our heroes is introduced (although remains very chaste) and the torture in Bk5 is chilling. I remember one young man at the theatre sobbing at the end of Movie6. These are things that most kids are better able to handle at ages 10+.

Book 7 is in a class by itself, largely because of the darker themes, which I think bumps it into the Young Teens (12-14) category. Many people may feel they want their younger children to read all the books, if they are interested - and the choice absolutely remains with the parent. You know your child best! But I tend to use even more caution with books that my children truly love, because they identify so strongly with the characters. Having a beloved character die, or be tortured, will have much more impact than a character in a one-off novel they happen to be reading this week.

And so, I have doled out each of the books (and movies) to my boys as they get older. They eagerly await the day they can "step up" to the next novel or movie. Dark Omen (age 12) just finished Bk7 and we are going to see the movie for his birthday with some other 12 yo friends.

These books are WONDERFUL reading challenges for advanced readers. Not only is the reading level high, but the complex storytelling is masterful. There is a reason why these books are beloved throughout the world and have sold more than 400 million copies.

As always, these are just suggestions and you have to tailor to your own child. Mighty Mite (7yo) has already read the first two books - because he was immersed in HP from his older brothers and not easily scared. Worm Burner (9yo) has read the first three, and snuck the fourth while I pretended not to notice him hiding under the covers with his flashlight (we talked about it afterwards, and I'm not sure he even noticed the romance bits). But he's not ready for Bk5 quite yet, so I've held off on that one for him. Dark Omen (12yo) has read them all, but I had to swear him to secrecy about the ending. So far, he's obliged (turns out having a secret your brothers can't know is big stuff to a 12 yo).

I hope this helps you navigate the world of Harry Potter! And if you haven't read these books yourselves, there is much to learn from J.K. Rowling's writing mastery.

Awesome Art and YAlitchat

Last month, I entered my query in a contest over at YAlitchat to win a query critique (for the top 10 queries by popular vote) or a full submission to Little Brown (for the top query as judged by agents and editors). Thanks to my lovely blog followers and friends, my query for OPEN MINDS made it to the Top 10!

*balloons*  *streamers*

THANK YOU so much for your support!!
Please cross your fingers for me that I might win the top query award!

In a separate awesome contest at my friend Adam Heine's blog, I won a sketch from the multi-talented Mr. Heine. I asked him to sketch a scene from my YA paranormal novel OPEN MINDS. Here's the log line for the story:

Although everyone now reads minds, sixteen-year-old Kira Moore can't and never will. When she almost kills her best friend by accident, she discovers she can control the minds of others and is torn between passing for normal and exposing the hidden pushers of her world.

In the scene I sent to Adam, Kira meets a young fellow pusher named Laney on their way to deeper trouble. This is what he drew:

So. Awesome.

I loved seeing how Adam brought the scene to life, adding touches like Kira's blue sneakers and Laney's skirt and ankle socks that weren't described in the text. As Westerfeld mentioned at his book signing, the interaction between author and illustrator can be an important one in shaping the story. I'm going to add in those ankle socks, just because Adam drew her that way. Having just a small chance to experience the author/illustrator interaction, and having Adam bring something I made up in my head to life, was beyond awesome. Thank you, Mr. Heine!

Finally, if you are a young adult or middle grade writer, I highly encourage you to check out YAlitchat, the sponsors of the contest above. Not only do they hold fantastic contests, but it is a great place to meet other authors, swap critiques, and share in the writing journey. There is so much in YAlitchat, I'm going to borrow Georgia McBride's words to describe it:


Visit YALITCHAT.ORG
Georgia McBride from YAlitchat....


Hello new members! Welcome to YALITCHAT.ORG! Jut wanted to share a few things! Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of .ORG! Can you believe it? We are approaching 1900 members! HOW COOL IS THAT? We have so much going on. First, today I submitted 8 writers from our Agent Mailbox to our agent panel at 12:30PM EST. By 3:00PM we've had 7 requests for partials of up to 50 pages. HOW COOL IS THAT? We just added a contest for our NaNoWrMo participants. Top prize is a Kindle. I wish I'd decided to participate since I STILL do not have one. Grrrr. Member Alyson Noel (yes THAT one) just announced the winners of our teen writing contest over on her blog! First prize was $100! We had our first-ever members-only chat with Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl this part Friday. If you missed it, no worries. We'll try to do one once/month. I'm giving away a ton of stuff on my blog on Weds to celebrate our anniversary so don't miss out. We are growing in so many ways. Members are taking your advice on how to make their queries and first pages sing and getting agents and book deals. Super amazing. Our published authors are rocking the NY Times bestseller list. NICE! Most of all, we're getting together in support of causes like bullying, encourages boys to read more, taking a stand against intolerance and showing the world that YA literature is as important if not more than others. We are YALITCHAT.ORG--we read, write and LIVE YA! WELCOME! 

YAlitchat is a rocking place to be - check it.

Young Teens - What Say You?

I recently decided to expand Ink Spells' charter to include reading/reviewing/talking about books for Young Teens. The first Young Teens book I reviewed was The Dark Deeps, and the recently reviewed Behemoth tread close to the dividing line between Middle Grade (ages 8-12) and Young Teens (12-14).

I described books for Young Teens as such:

These books generally feature younger teen protagonists, aged 14-16, and are almost clean enough to be considered middle grade reads - except that they generally have darker, more mature themes, often more sophisticated subject matter, and have some kind of underlying (yet not heavily explored) romance themes.

If a book is all about kissing and dating in the high school scene, I would consider that firmly in the YA (young adult) territory. If there are explicit sex or violence themes, or very dark subject matter, I would similarly consider that out of the realm of Young Teens. But there are many great books out there, that fit nicely into the Young Teens definition above, and I look forward to reading them!

Do you have any suggested reads you think would be appropriate for Young Teens?

A 12 year old View of the World

My son Dark Omen (age 12) is writing a novel. He's been diligently working on it for some time now (since the summer). We discussed it over dinner.

Me: What genre is your story?

Dark Omen: Well, it's science fiction and adventure. And mystery, too. But no romance.

Me: No romance?

Dark Omen: No! Why would I write a scene about that, when I can be writing about the Carillions attacking the base?

Me: Are there any girls in your story?

Dark Omen: *makes face* Of course! It wouldn't be even if there weren't any girls.

Me: So, there are girl characters and boy characters in your story. They just don't fall in love.

Dark Omen: Well, somewhere in the universe of my story there are probably girls and boys falling in love. I just don't waste words writing about it.

Me: *trying not laugh*

In my friend Adam Heine's post The Maturation of the Male Writer, Dark Omen is somewhere between Stage 1 and Stage 2. Which I think is perfectly awesome for a twelve-year-old boy, and fits well with the young teens books that I have queued up to read and review. :)

Suggested Reads for Middle Graders

It's been a long time since I updated my Suggested Reads for Middle Graders list. The updated list includes books I've reviewed, as well as suggested reads from my lovely commenters. Feel free to add suggestions in the comments!

Details, details: If the books listed below are a series, I've indicated that, but only given the first book. The hyperlinked books have been reviewed by Ink Spells. For the rest, I've given reading levels (RL) and age appropriate ratings, where available from Common Sense Media or Ink Spells. Ultimately, you know your child, and are best able to make suitable choices for them. Hopefully this list will help get you pointed in the right direction.


You can zoom in, download and print the list, or hyperlink to the review.



11/7/10

Books I've Reviewed

I've updated the Books Reviewed list (not including Young Teens books, for now). You can zoom-in, download and print, or hyperlink to the review.

A reminder about the ratings:

RL = Reading Level
Ink = Ink Spells recommended age rating
Rating = My personal rating
Content = My comments



reviewed books 11/7/10 p2

Ink Spells talks Behemoth

Behemoth, by Scott Westerfeld, is even more brilliant than the first book, Leviathan.

There. I said it.

I'm an unabashed Westerfeld fan, but I seriously believe the second book in this series outdoes the first, partly because this trilogy is smartly unfolding, and partly because we are already entrenched in Westerfeld's world of Darwinists vs. Clankers, a rich alternate version of World War I history.

The titular behemoth is a new, monstrous creature in the British navy that may just change the balance of power between the Darwinist and Clanker nations as they march towards war. Deryn is a girl who masquerades as a boy in the British Air Service, and Alek is heir to an empire pretending to be a commoner after his parents' deaths tipped the world toward war. Deryn, Alek, and an assortment of beasties travel on the Leviathan to Istanbul, where both Britain and Germany are trying to gain control of the Sultan's strategic interests. Alek and Deryn join with new allies and brave many adventures in their efforts to avert the war.

RL: n/a CSM: n/a Rating: PG Content: pining for the opposite sex, one humorous kiss, war dead, not graphic

The yearning that Deryn (15) has for Alek (16) is a major undercurrent in Behemoth, much more so than Leviathan, which almost kicks this book up into the Young Teens category. Since she is posing as a boy, things remain quite chaste, and most of the book is the same action-packed adventure found throughout Leviathan. The violence and war dead are similarly a little more dark than Leviathan, with soldiers being captured or killed. However, Westerfeld is skilled in not graphically describing these events, and keeping the book relatively free of the more disturbing violence of war. It is too bad that the reading level has not been released for Behemoth, because I am sure it is higher than Leviathan's 5.4 RL. Even if it is not, the complexity of the political intrigue and war machinations make Behemoth an excellent book for advanced readers 11+, just shy of a Young Teens rating due to the lack of darker themes. (Note my recommendation for Leviathan was 9+.)

Behemoth has even more illustrations than Leviathan, with color bringing added richness. At his signing, Westerfeld commented that he worked in tandem with illustrator Keith Thompson, sending chapters to him as he wrote, so that Thompson could draw and create the story with him. At one point Thompson caught up to Westerfeld, to which Westerfeld said, "There will be a fight in the next chapter. Draw whatever you like." (I'm paraphrasing here from memory; apologies to Mr. Westerfeld.) The close connection between writer and illustrator is obvious as you follow along in the book. Westerfeld mentioned there will be even more illustrations in the third and final book, Golaith (due in 2012, which seriously cannot get here soon enough for me.)

Thompson, it turns out, is Canadian, and Westerfeld will be making a tour stop in Canada. If you're near Vancouver in November, I highly recommend it!

Behemoth just hit the Best of 2010, Top 10 Amazon Audio books, which is awesome considering it's only been out a month. While the audio voices could be brilliant with all those fabulous accents (I really would love to hear Deryn say "Barking Spiders!"), you must get a print version for the illustrations alone.

Also there's this:


Alek has his own (new) cover on the paperback version of Leviathan.

Finally, there's a bit of a kerfluffle in the blogosphere about Steampunk - which I think is barking silly - but Mr. Westerfeld has the perfect pitched response, in his usual witty style.

I especially like what he says about complaints that his books are "too hard" for children. He notes that these complaints come from adults, not kids, and that the kids are used to being challenged to think. Given the tremendous popularity of his books, I hope that this is leads the way for more challenging books for kids.

Or, as Deryn would say, "Aye, you're dead right about that, sir."

 
And FINALLY, FINALLY, the winner of the Steampunk Prize Pack of Awesome Giveaway (including a signed copy of Behemoth) is ... J.L. Jackson!

Thank you to everyone who entered and commented this week! Ink Spells will return to non-steampunk-mode next week.

Ink Spells talks The Dark Deeps

The Dark Deeps, by Arthur Slade, is a great steampunk adventure appropriate for the new category Ink Spells will be reviewing: young teens ages 12-14. The Dark Deeps is the second book in The Hunchback Assignments series, featuring Modo, a hunchback who can shift his features to serve as a spy for the Permanent Association in defense of Victorian Britain, but has to hide his hideous face from an intolerant world. Modo's age isn't exactly known, having been plucked from a circus freak show as a baby, but he guesses that he is around fourteen. Modo and fellow agent Octavia are sent on another mission by the enigmatic Mr. Socrates, this time separating the duo as Modo travels to the bottom of the sea in search of Ictineo, a mysterious ship that the French and British are racing to find and control. Modo encounters French agent Colette, who reluctantly joins his adventure, and Modo develops an affection rivaling his (well kept secret) feelings for Miss Octavia.

RL: 4.8 CSM: n/a Rating: PG-13 Content: murders are described, but not graphic; pining for the opposite sex, but only one chaste kiss

The first book in the series, The Hunchback Assignments, gets a 12+ rating from CSM, due to the mature themes of children being kidnapped and the subject of evil experiments, as well as the overall violence level. These themes continue in The Dark Deeps, which is why Ink Spells recommends The Dark Deeps for readers ages 12+ as well. Modo's affections for the female heroines of the story are kept undercover, as he is afraid to show them his true face - something that keeps these books chaste, but also heartbreaking. Like many books targeting teens, The Dark Deeps will not challenge advanced readers in terms of reading level. However, the complex interplay of politics, espionage, and steampunk technology is more advanced than that usually found in middle grade books and will appeal to young teens in search of an adventurous read.

Although The Dark Deeps can easily be followed without reading the prior book, The Hunchback Assignments, you wouldn't want to miss any of Modo's adventures. I'm already ready to dive back in. Dark Omen (age 12) loved both books.

The Hunchback Assignments website has more information about the books, as well as videos, podcasts, and study guides.

My advanced readers copy of The Dark Deeps, as well as a copy of The Hunchback Assignments, are part of the Steampunk Prize Pack of Awesome Giveaway - click here to enter. Winner will be announced in Friday's post.

Tomorrow: My review of Behemoth and the winner of the Giveaway!

Ink Spells gets a new Feature: Young Teens

When I first started Ink Spells a year ago, I drew upon many years of searching for appropriate reads for my advanced-reading sons, ages 6, 8 and 10 at the time. Well, Dark Omen will be turning twelve this week, and while he still enjoys middle grade books, he is quickly gravitating toward (and able to handle) books with darker themes, more violence, and even the occasional love interest interaction (which he mostly just tolerates). The difference between the maturity of an eight-year-old and a ten-year-old is dramatic, but the difference between a ten-year-old and a twelve-year-old is even more so. And yet, he is not really ready for adult books - either in content or maturity level - or even many of the teen books to be found on the YA shelves at the book store.

Fortunately, the publishing industry has begun to recognize the need for books targeting kids ages 12-14. These books generally feature younger teens ages 14-16, and are almost clean enough to be considered middle grade reads - except that they generally have darker, more mature themes, often more sophisticated subject matter, and have some kind of underlying (yet not heavily explored) romance themes.

While boys may not be generally interested in the romance themes, I have two minds about this: 1) I don't want my twelve year old reading a lot of the mature material found in some YA books, and 2) I think even boys should have some exposure to the complex emotional dance with the opposite sex that starts in the teen years and will continue throughout their lives. For heavy readers, such as my children, the books they read have a significant influence on their world experience, and so I continue to want to guide their reading towards books that will have a positive effect on them.

Part of my desire to start reading (and reviewing) more books appropriate for young teens stems from finding appropriate books for Dark Omen, but also because I know that many young teen boys leap straight to adult books. One look at the YA shelves explains why: many of these books are heavy on romance and targeted to girls. So what is my young teen boy going to read?** I'm not sure he's ready to head straight to the adult science fiction and fantasy shelves.

Arguably, there is worse content (in terms of sex and violence) in some teen books than in adult ones. And while teens aren't likely to be interested a story about a 40 year old divorcee, they may well like Stephen King and James Patterson and Janet Evanovich. But are these stories suitable for younger teens (ages 12-14)? I wish (once again) there were some kind of rating label for books that would give you an idea of age suitability.

Tomorrow I'll be reviewing my first Young Teens book, one that happens to be an excellent steampunk adventure! Lucky for me, I enjoy reading these books as much as their middle grade cousins.

**note there ARE some books targeted to teen boys. The folks at Guys Lit Wire do a fantabulous job of seeking these out.

I'm giving away lots of steampunk goodies in the Steampunk Prize Pack of Awesome Giveaway. Click here to enter!


Tomorrow: Ink Spells reviews its first Young Teens novel, so be sure to stop back!

Guest Post: Jon S. Lewis, Author of The Brimstone Key

Today's guest post comes from Jon S. Lewis, author of The Brimstone Key, as well as three other Grey Griffins books. Jon was kind enough to write a guest post about reluctant boy readers, a topic near and dear to Ink Spells' heart.

Relucant Boy Readers
by Jon S. Lewis


I am a reluctant reader.

Okay, so I might be risking my career as a writer by admitting that, but it’s true. It’s hard for me to take the time to read a book. They require a huge investment of time, and time is a precious commodity. But once I find a book I love, I can’t put it down.

In today’s world, most boys are shackled with the title “reluctant reader” as though they have some kind of disease that needs to be cured. But I have a theory. Maybe it’s not their fault. Maybe the books they’re being forced to read stink. Or at the very least, maybe those books aren’t relevant.

Remember, it’s just a theory, but here’s the thing . . . right or wrong, we live in an age where businesses cater to our every whim. What happens when a tween boy hears a song on the radio that he likes? Instead of begging his parents to take him to a record store to buy an expensive CD with 1 good song and 11 bad songs, he can hop onto iTunes and download the one song he wanted. It’s immediate. And it’s not considered a privilege, that kind of service is expected.

So when he goes to school and is forced to read a specific book that doesn’t align with any of his interests are we surprised that he doesn’t want to read?

And what about the competition for his free time? Does he read or hop online and check his Facebook page? Tweet? Text? IM? Practice an instrument? Go to football practice? Do his homework? Watch TV? Go to a movie with his friends? Where do books fit into the hierarchy?

I’m not sure there’s an easy answer, but I do think there’s hope. There are some talented authors who are writing books that boys love . . . Rick Riordan, Brandon Mull, Eoin Colfer, PJ Haarsma, and Mike Lupica just to name a few. All we need to do is connect those reluctant readers with the right book and they’ll discover the power of reading.

For me, that book was The Hobbit and I’ve read it every year since seventh grade. I read other books too, but if a story doesn’t grab me in the first few pages I walk away and never look back. Why would we expect different from young readers?

When I sit down to write a book, I don’t worry about critics, awards, bestseller lists or whether or not the story fits into a category that sells huge numbers. Instead, I write the kind of books that I’d want to read. I think that’s why we get emails and letters from time to time where educators tell us about “reluctant readers” who not only finished our books, but they went on to read other books as well – without being prodded.

That’s the kind of story the warms my heart – not because someone read my book (though that’s always wonderful to hear), but the idea that I might have played a small role in introducing a young person to the wonder of books is both humbling and exciting.

Here are five suggestions to help you write books that reach reluctant readers:

1) Use Humor. There’s a reason that Captain Underpants and Diary of a Wimpy Kid books sell in the millions. We all love to laugh, and kids are no different.

2) Give Your Protagonist Real Issues. It doesn’t matter if you’re writing a fantasy series like Harry Potter or Eragon, a Sci-Fi story like Ender’s Game or historical fiction like the Crispin series, kids across genre and time face many of the same issues. Rejection. Loneliness. A deep longing to be accepted. Call on those real emotions and let the audience suffer through them with your protagonist.

3) Keep it Moving. Make sure the pacing of your story doesn’t linger. That doesn’t mean you need to have explosions on every page, and it isn’t a excuse for weak character development either. One way to ensure good pacing is to keep the tension high.

4) Consider Shorter Chapters. James Patterson is famous for his 1-2 page chapters. Maybe you don’t have to go that far, but 30 page chapters are intimidating. Keep them manageable, and consider cliffhangers at the end of every chapter to keep them wanting more.

5) Authentic Dialogue. Make sure that the kids in your story interact the way kids interact today. Slang changes from generation-to-generation, and so do speech patterns. Not sure how kids talk today? Watch Nickelodeon, the Disney Channel or recent movies with child stars. Teach a Sunday School class for kids who are the same age as the characters in your book. Volunteer to watch your friend’s kids for the weekend and study their speech patterns.


Thank you so much Jon! I love the tips, especially number 2!

I'm giving away my copy of The Brimstone Key and more in the Steampunk Prize Pack of Awesome Giveaway. Click here to enter!

Tomorrow: Ink Spells unveils a new feature, so be sure to stop back!

Ink Spells talks The Brimstone Key

The Brimstone Key by Derek Benz and J.S. Lewis is the first book of a new Grey Griffins series called The Clockwork Chronicles. This is the second middle grade steampunk book that I've read (Leviathan being the first), but The Brimstone Key doesn't take place in a mythical past, but rather in an altered-present version of Avalon, Minnesota. This small town is populated with clockwork and MERLIN technology, faeries, and a range of assorted creatures and magic almost too numerous to count. The Grey Griffins are a quartet of twelve-year-old monster-fighting heroes that attend Iron Bridge Academy, a sort of Hogwarts-gone-steampunk, and use Round Table cards, which are like an enchanted Pokemon deck, to train to fight monsters and eventually the Clockwork King. I felt in want of a Pokedex to keep track of all the creatures and characters, and that is partly because The Brimstone Key is actually the fourth Grey Griffins book (the first three being The Revenge of the Shadow King, The Rise of the Black Wolf, and The Fall of the Templar). There is so much history our heroes have traveled through together, and The Brimstone Key jumps right in without missing a beat, so I highly recommend reading the first three books prior to The Brimstone Key. That being said, the book is jammed full of technology and magical creatures that middle grade readers will delight in.

RL: 5.4 CSM: n/a Rating: PG Content: disturbing experiments on kids off-screen, death of a secondary character

The four Grey Griffins are twelve, and the feel of the books are solidly middle grade with a few puppy love stirrings, but no kissing or other yucky stuff (DarkOmen, age 11, enjoyed it, but wants to start over with the first books). The scariest scene in the book actually comes in the prologue, where we see a glimpse of the chamber where some evil experiments are performed on changelings (humans with faerie blood). While there is some discussion of the disturbing nature of the experiments and some of the chamber is shown, all the actual violence in The Brimstone Key is safely comic-book in nature. Unless your child is very sensitive, The Brimstone Key should be fine for readers ages 8+. Given the advanced reading level at 5.4, and the vast array of gadgetry and monsters, younger advanced readers will find The Brimstone Key setting their minds spinning like clockwork.

You can learn all about the Grey Griffins books at Lewis' website.

I'm giving away my copy of The Brimstone Key and more in the Steampunk Prize Pack of Awesome Giveaway. Click here to enter! When you're done entering my contest, hop over to Matt Delmann's site for another chance to win The Brimstone Key!

Tomorrow: We will have a guest post from Jon S. Lewis, so be sure to stop back!