Books like Chocolat, Five Quarters of the Orange, and Gentleman & Players keep me reading (and loving) English author Joanne Harris. Unfortunately, her newest book The Girl With No Shadow seems to be earning mountains of negative reviews. I hate to be disappointed by my favorite authors, so I decided to ignore Chocolat's sequel and check out Harris' first YA novel, Runemarks, instead. Here's the story ...

In the village of Malbry, where magic is feared and the goblins in the cellar are routinely ignored, 14-year-old
Maddy Smith stands out like a sore thumb. The "ruinmark" on her palm brands her an outsider, a witch, a Faerie - animals born with similar marks are regularly put down. Because her father is respected in town, Maddy's presence is tolerated ... but not entirely trusted. A one-eyed traveler is, in fact, her only friend.

One-Eye returns only once a year, but he uses his visits to teach Maddy about subjects no one else will broach. He fills her head with talk of runes, glamours, goblins, and dormant gods. He tells her of the epic wars between Order and Chaos, battles that continue to brew. Finally, he describes "the Whisperer," an ancient treasure hidden deep within a goblin-infested hill. As One-Eye warns, "This - treasure - may turn out to be as dangerous as it is valuable. Even speaking of it has its risks. And in many ways it might be safer for it to have stayed sleeping and forgotten" (48). Still, says the old Outlander, it's a key to maintaining Order in perilous times. Because of Maddy's special magic, he asks her to retrieve it.

Thus begins Maddy's journey into the turbulent Underworld, where goblins and other creatures scrabble about and nothing - nothing - is what it seems. Aided by an unlikely crew, Maddy makes her way through dangerous territory. She will face countless goblins, angry gods, an enormous snake, a dangerous enemy and Death herself on the journey. On her way, Maddy will also find the answers to questions that have plagued her all her life: Who is she, really? What does the runemark on her hand mean? What's her purpose? Is she brave enough to fulfill it?

While I enjoyed Runemarks - it had interesting characters, solid writing, and lots of action - it didn't enchant me the way other of Harris' books have. The story seemed overly long and a little generic. It was a fun, fast-moving story, but still a little disappointing for me. I don't know how to explain it - for me, Runemarks just didn't sparkle the way a Harris novel usually does. I could have used just a little more magic.

Grade: B-

This is an eventful month for my husband since both Father's Day and his birthday fall in June. Because of this, you'd think I'd be a little more on top of things. But, no. As of this morning, I hadn't done any birthday/Father's Day shopping. So, this morning, I gathered the kids, and off we went.

My 9-year-old son has been working hard to save enough money to buy something special for his dad. He finally managed to accumulate $8 - enough to get something for dad and something for himself. So, he packed his wallet, eager to find the perfect gift.

I know you're wondering what this has to do with books, but I'm getting there ...

Our first stop was Borders. As I mentioned, my son had carefully plotted out how to use his money most efficiently. What he didn't count on was finding the exact airplane book he had been wanting - on clearance, no less. The problem? The book cost $5.99, which would leave him with less than $2 to buy a gift for Dad. After seriously considering the problem (for at least 5 minutes), he decided to purchase the book "because Dad likes airplanes too, so we can share it." When we got up to the checkout, he got a very pleasant surprise - the cashier was holding up a gift card. She explained that the woman who had been in line before us hadn't used all of the money on her card, so she instructed the cashier to let us use it. I was astounded. I hadn't been paying attention, so I couldn't even tell you what this Good Samaritan looked like. My son's eyes lit up when the cashier told him the card had $5.60 on it - that meant he could buy the book and still have enough left over to buy something good for his dad. I wish I could have thanked the sweet lady, but she was long gone by this point. Needless to say, she really brightened our day.

Since a kind lady made my son's day, I thought I should pay it forward and make someone else's day. So, I'm giving away a brand-spankin'-new copy of Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson. This YA novel features a young woman in the 1940s who moves from Iowa to Montana to prove up on her uncle's homestead. It's a fun, clean adventure story that I thoroughly enjoyed (you can read my review here). My 93-year-old grandma liked it as well, which proves it's a story that will appeal to readers of all ages.

To enter the giveaway, make a comment on this post. Just to cheer us all up (my husband swears the world's coming to an end what with all the wars, tornadoes, floods, sky-high gas prices, etc.), I'd like each of you to tell about a time when someone made your day or a way in which you/your family made someone else's day. That's it. I will choose a name at random on the evening of June 22nd (my half-birthday!). Good luck. Oh, I can ship overseas, if necessary.

Just for fun, I'll tell you about a RAOK my family used to perform:

I grew up in a tiny town on the Washington side of the Columbia River. Our town didn't have much in the way of shopping or entertainment, so we often drove over to Oregon to go to movies, eat out, buy groceries, etc. Crossing the river involved driving over a big, green toll bridge. At the time, it cost 50 cents each way. Most residents of our town - including us - made the trip daily, so we would often pass people we knew. If my parents recognized the driver behind us, they always paid the toll for them. It was fun to watch their surprised reactions in the rearview mirror. As my siblings and I started driving, we carried on the tradition. Paying for people we knew was fun, but it was an even bigger kick to pay for strangers (especially if they were goodlooking guys)! Hopefully, the recipients of our RAOKs passed on this simple, day-making tradition.

After the adrenaline rush that was Specials, I couldn't wait to delve into Extras, the fourth book in Scott Westerfield's Uglies series. I really wanted to read more of Tally Youngblood's story. I had to know if Zane was really dead, if Tally and David fell in love again, and I needed to know exactly how the pair planned to change the world. So, it gave me a shock when I opened up Extras and found a whole new story unfolding ... with no Tally Youngblood in sight.


Extras takes place in Japan, a few years after Specials. It follows Aya Fuse, a 15-year-old Ugly who's after only one thing: fame. Her world is all about popularity - the more well-known you are, the more comforts you are given. Despite the fact that Aya has a famous brother, she still dangles at the bottom of the food chain, trying to shake the "obscurity of everything about her" (90). In order to boost her face count (which hovers at 451, 396 out of 1 million), she knows she needs a killer story to broadcast on her personal feed. Everyone in the city has live feeds going constantly, and no one pays the least attention to her little stories. Until now. Aya has finally found a story that's going to make everyone sit up and notice her.


No one really believes the Sly Girls exist. Except Aya. She's been tracking the ultra-secretive clique, determined to reveal their secrets for the city's feed-obsessed residents. Finally, she's been accepted into the group, but spying on them is not going to be as easy as she expected. For one thing, the Sly Girls hate publicity, and are naturally skeptical of a "kicker" like Aya. For another, the girls' crazy stunts are threatening her life span. Still, with the help of her hidden Hovercam, Aya is getting spectacular footage. It won't be long before her face count zips toward the 100s, ensuring her a life of parties and privilege.


One night, as the girls are risking their lives surfing on a train, they stumble upon a truly kicking story. Someone (or something) has hollowed out a mountain and filled it with huge metal cylinders. In a world where metal has to be salvaged from Rusty Ruins (buildings from our era), a cavern jammed with the stuff provides a mystery with a sinister edge. With the help of her brother and friends, Aya realizes just what the cylinders are - weapons. The weapon-makers scare the snot out of her, with their alien-like appearances. Although it means betraying the Sly Girls, Aya knows she has to kick this story to the world.


When the story goes live, all hell breaks loose. Aya's face count soars. She even gets a "ping" from the most famous woman in the world - Tally Youngblood. Expecting congratulations, Aya's shocked by the message, which commands her to run and hide until Special Circumstances arrives. Followed by the paparazzi cams that trail all celebrities, Aya finds hiding difficult, but with aliens chasing her, she has little choice. The arrival of Tally and her team only complicates things, as Aya and her friends soon find themselves being used as bait.


Although there's nothing more "famous-making" than hoverboarding with Tally and her team, Aya doesn't quite trust the Pretty with her cruel face and cold strategy. Worst of all, Aya's beginning to doubt her own story - Are the aliens really bent on destroying the world? Or is there something else going on here? She has to find out before Special Circumstances starts another war. Even if it means her reputation takes a dive-bomb, Aya knows she must find the truth - about the aliens, and about herself. If it requires defying the most famous person in history, so be it.

While Extras features the same taut plotting and fast action as the other books in this series, it veers off in its own direction. This may be refreshing for readers who are sick of Tally Youngblood, but for me, the change was too jarring. It confused me to start off the fourth book in a series with a stranger as narrator, a new setting, and a completely different kind of story. As much as I liked Aya Fuse, the only person I really wanted to read about was Tally. She does show up in the book, but only as a secondary character. This bugged me throughout the whole novel. In addition to that, I found the story somewhat generic (girl betrays friends to boost her own popularity) and contrived (Aya's first night with the Sly Girls just happens to be the one time they discover something really important?).

The biggest complaint I've had with this series is its preachiness. It hammers its themes home with loud, often obnoxious blows. I'm not against a story having a moral (all of them do, after all), but I like an author to preach with subtlety. From the first page of Extras, it's obvious what lesson Aya is going to learn (Fame isn't all it's cracked up to be) - the book follows a pretty predictable path to achieve this end. My friend Charlotte noted that she felt the books to be preachy about protecting the environment, which is true. They are, especially Extras. Again, it's a good message, one we all need to hear, but c'mon, readers can think for themselves.

I have other issues with the book, but I'll spare you the details. In spite of everything, I still found Extras enjoyable. In fact, if it was a standalone novel I probably would have rated it higher, but after Specials, Extras disappointing me. I'm not sure if it marks the end of the series or not - I hope not, because I can't bear to see a series with so much potential fizzle out like this.

Grade: C

I thought the actress playing Junie B. did a great job. She was a little annoying (especially with cymbals in hand), but the kids absolutely loved her show.

The end of Junie B.'s cymbal solo - YES!

DD humoring her snap-happy mother.

The actors playing Junie B. and Mr. Woo stamped books and answered the kids' questions. They were very patient. Too bad they weren't looking at the camera ...

DD and Barbara Park

Completely unaffected by the celebrity sitting beside her, DD shows everyone her wiggly tooth.

Posing with the stupid, smelly bus

Again, with the bus.

My 9-year-old DS and DD are big Junie B. fans - although my son would rather DIE than admit it, hence his absence at the book-signing. I've heard the books criticized because the main character is too sassy and because she doesn't use proper English. I agree with both of these complaints, but I still think they're really fun books. My kids love them.

Despite the fact that it was a very looooong wait to meet Barbara Park, it was lots of fun. So, answer me this: Do you go to book-signings? Are they always worth it? Which ones have you loved/hated?