Kevin Delecki

Children's & YAMiddle Grade

The final installment of the Seeds of America trilogy

Review by Kevin Delecki

War, death, slavery; patience, freedom, dreams. Isabel’s life is filled with contradictions. As one hopeful event occurs, painful ones follow. Ashes, the thrilling and long-awaited conclusion to Laurie Halse Anderson’s award-winning Seeds of America trilogy, continues the story of Isabel and Curzon, who have been thrust into the middle of the American Revolution. Isabel is heading back south with Curzon to find Ruth, her sister who was taken from her as an infant and sold. Finding Ruth, however, may not give Isabel the family she imagines. Ruth is scared and angry, plagued by seizures and distrustful of Isabel. Ruth, Isabel, Curzon and Aberdeen (a friend and companion of Ruth’s) begin the trip back north toward freedom, but this journey, in the middle of the Revolution and veering directly into the center of the Battle of Yorktown, is not simple for anyone.

Though it’s the final book in a trilogy, Ashes is accessible for readers who have not yet heard Isabel and Curzon’s story. For those who have, it is a satisfying finale. Filled with the horrors of slavery, the heartbreak of war, the compassion of forgiveness and even a touch of love, Ashes draws the reader deep into the lives of those who watched their owners and masters fight for freedom, even as they themselves were not free.

 

This article was originally published in the October 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

War, death, slavery; patience, freedom, dreams. Isabel’s life is filled with contradictions. As one hopeful event occurs, painful ones follow. Ashes, the thrilling and long-awaited conclusion to Laurie Halse Anderson’s award-winning Seeds of America trilogy, continues the story of Isabel and Curzon, who have been thrust into the middle of the American Revolution.
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Protector of books

Review by Kevin Delecki

Sophie Quire is just an ordinary 12-year-old girl: She works as a bookmender in her father’s bookstore, reads until all hours of the night and is pursued through her village by a boy wearing a blindfold while attempting to steal books that are going to be burned to prevent the spread of nonsense. Well, maybe she’s not completely ordinary. In fact, in Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard, written by Jonathan Auxier, Sophie finds out very quickly that her very ordinary life is about to change in a very big way.

Sophie first meets Peter Nimble when he rescues her from arrest after she steals a forbidden children’s book. Soon after, she is asked to repair a very old, and very damaged, book. Sophie is able to repair it, but when she wonders out loud who created the book, the book answers back. Sophie soon finds herself on the run, protecting the Book of Who and trying to find the Books of Where, What and When before the increasingly evil Inquisitor Prig finds them first.

Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard takes place two years after we first meet Peter Nimble in Auxier’s debut novel, Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes. Auxier manages to conjure the magic and adventure once again, while introducing us to a strong, brave and unwavering new hero. Thrust into adventure from the first pages and surrounded by an increasing assortment of fantastical characters, Sophie Quire proves why she is chosen to be the Last Storyguard.

Sophie Quire is just an ordinary 12-year-old girl: She works as a bookmender in her father’s bookstore, reads until all hours of the night and is pursued through her village by a boy wearing a blindfold while attempting to steal books that are going to be burned to prevent the spread of nonsense. Well, maybe she’s not completely ordinary. In fact, in Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard, written by Jonathan Auxier, Sophie finds out very quickly that her very ordinary life is about to change in a very big way.

Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Quick footwork and swift verse

Review by Kevin Delecki

BookPage Children's Top Pick, April 2016

Malapropism. Flummoxed. Rapprochement. Stupefy. “The average person knows about twelve thousand words. / Average president knows twice that. . . .” In Booked, the new novel-in-verse by Newbery Award winner Kwame Alexander, 12-year-old Nick knows all about words. His father is obsessed with them and makes Nick read every day from Weird and Wonderful Words, a dictionary that he wrote. Though immersed in books and language at home, Nick’s passion lies somewhere else: the soccer field.

Nick is a talented soccer player and just made the A team for his travel soccer club—but his best friend, Coby, didn’t. So now Nick plays for a rival team. If that’s not bad enough, Nick is being bullied on a regular basis, and he’s finding it harder than he hoped to talk to April, the girl of his dreams. On top of everything else, his mom is leaving Nick and his dad to pursue her dream of training racehorses. 

Filled with rich, brilliant language and sharp, staccato verse that drives the reader forward, Booked handles difficult and painful realities with the ease of a superstar on the soccer field. While eschewing the eclectic verse structures and concrete poetry in exchange for more traditional free verse (with a sprinkling of informative and very funny footnotes), Alexander recaptures the magic of The Crossover and delivers a powerful story that will leave the reader breathless, right to the very end. 

 

This article was originally published in the April 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Malapropism. Flummoxed. Rapprochement. Stupefy. “The average person knows about twelve thousand words. / Average president knows twice that. . . .” In Booked, the new novel-in-verse by Newbery Award winner Kwame Alexander, 12-year-old Nick knows all about words. His father is obsessed with them and makes Nick read every day from Weird and Wonderful Words, a dictionary that he wrote. Though immersed in books and language at home, Nick’s passion lies somewhere else: the soccer field.
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Discovering destiny

Review by Kevin Delecki

In Natalie Lloyd’s The Key to Extraordinary, Emma Pearl is waiting for one extraordinary thing: her Destiny Dream. Dreamt by each of her female ancestors and recorded in the Book of Days, this dream leads each woman to her lifelong destiny. Emma is desperate for her dream, so that she can begin fulfilling the promise she made to her mother before she died.

Emma’s world is filled with more than just dreams, however. Her grandmother’s café, attached to her home and situated right next to her town’s famous and historical cemetery, is under attack from a big-city developer. When Emma’s Destiny Dream, confusing as it is, points her in a direction that could save the café, she knows that she must fulfill her destiny, no matter the cost.

Filled with beautiful writing, compelling characters and just the slightest touch of the fantastic, The Key to Extraordinary draws readers in from the first page and carries them along straight through to the satisfying ending. Destiny Dream or no, Emma Pearl is anything but ordinary.

 

This article was originally published in the March 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

In Natalie Lloyd’s The Key to Extraordinary, Emma Pearl is waiting for one extraordinary thing: her Destiny Dream. Dreamt by each of her female ancestors and recorded in the Book of Days, this dream leads each woman to her lifelong destiny. Emma is desperate for her dream, so that she can begin fulfilling the promise she made to her mother before she died.
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

The magic of the Fiddlers

Review by Kevin Delecki

It’s one thing to think that you’re different, that you can do things that other people can’t. It’s quite another to be proven correct. In A Sliver of Stardust, written by Marissa Burt, Wren Matthews learns at the worst possible moment that she is part of a unique group of people who are able to harness and manipulate Stardust, the elemental magic that forms the basis of the universe. Along with her sometimes-friend/sometimes-enemy Simon and the mysterious Jack, Wren is catapulted into a world she never knew existed.

As Wren begins to grasp the reality of her new existence, she realizes that not everything to do with harnessing this elemental magic is going to be fun. Things quickly begin to fall apart at the Crooked House, the headquarters of the Fiddler Council, who are the authority of all users of Stardust. Wren finds that she has abilities that set her apart from the other Fiddlers, which draws the attention of the Fiddler Council. And with everything that's happening at the Crooked House, that kind of attention is never a good thing.

Reminiscent of A Wrinkle in Time and inspired by the rhymes of Mother Goose, A Sliver of Stardust is a wide-reaching story that follows Wren through adventures in a world much like ours—but is very different. Full of twists, turns, betrayals and redemptions, A Sliver of Stardust will make you look at everything around you just a little bit differently.

It’s one thing to think that you’re different, that you can do things that other people can’t. It’s quite another to be proven correct. In A Sliver of Stardust, written by Marissa Burt, Wren Matthews learns at the worst possible moment that she is part of a unique group of people who are able to harness and manipulate Stardust, the elemental magic that forms the basis of the universe.

Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Odd dog out

Review by Kevin Delecki

Beast the dog decides that he’s had it with people, friends and everything else. He’s a loner now, and nothing is going to change that.

Dropped off at the Green Meadows Rescue Group after his third failed adoption, Beast—renamed Webster by the shelter, though he’s nicknamed Bad Hat by the other dogs—is malnourished, distrustful of humans and ready to give up. While the homemade treats are nice and the beds are comfortable, he’s always looking for the first possible chance to break out and make it on his own. He’s tried being a good dog, and it just isn’t working for him. As his time at the shelter grows, Webster finds himself drawn to the dogs around him, each with their own unique story of how they ended up at Green Meadows. When Webster finds a way to escape, however, he discovers that freedom isn’t as perfect as he expected.

Narrated from Webster’s point of view and filled with the voices of an eclectic menagerie of animals, Webster: Tale of an Outlaw is tense, exciting and heartwarming. Webster is both brash and broken, and author Ellen Emerson White captures his voice perfectly. Readers will identify with the feeling of sometimes wanting to leave everyone else behind and with the joy of being accepted for exactly who you are.

 

This article was originally published in the November 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Beast the dog decides that he’s had it with people, friends and everything else. He’s a loner now, and nothing is going to change that.
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Disrupting a pattern of lies

Review by Kevin Delecki

BookPage Children's Top Pick, October 2015

With one action, Daniel Ellsberg became the most celebrated, most reviled and most dangerous man in America. Most Dangerous, by award-winning author Steve Sheinkin, tells the story of how Ellsberg, an unknown government analyst, compiled and then released 20 years of governmental records, reports and documents about the Vietnam War. These became known as the Pentagon Papers, revealing deception that ran across four presidencies and forever altered the way the American public viewed politicians.

Sheinkin once again offers a story that is compelling and eminently readable, while also being informative and immaculately researched. Labeled at the time as “the greatest story of the century,” this exposure of the Vietnam War—and the fallout from the release of the Pentagon Papers—has now been relegated to a dry chapter in history books. With themes of patriotism, free speech, honesty and power, Most Dangerous draws readers into this pivotal moment in American history and shows them how one act of bravery, or treason, can change everything.

 

This article was originally published in the October 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

With one action, Daniel Ellsberg became the most celebrated, most reviled and most dangerous man in America. Most Dangerous, by award-winning author Steve Sheinkin, tells the story of how Ellsberg, an unknown government analyst, compiled and then released 20 years of governmental records, reports and documents about the Vietnam War.

YA FictionYAFantasy

Not waiting for a prince

Review by Kevin Delecki

A wonderful, brilliant mother—who dies. An adoring, protective father, who remarries—and then dies. A beautiful but nasty stepmother, two conniving, vapid stepsisters—this is starting to sound familiar, isn’t it? However, Betsy Cornwell’s Mechanica is anything but another lifeless “Cinderella” retelling. And Nicolette, filled with her mother’s inventiveness and her father’s determination, is anything but another princess waiting to be rescued.

Detested by her stepmother and called “Mechanica” by her stepsisters to humiliate her, Nicolette has resigned herself to a lifetime of forced servitude—and to the loss of access to magic from the now-banished Fey. But at age 16, she is granted access through mysterious means to her mother’s hidden workshop, filled with wonders beyond her imagination. There, Nicolette discovers fantastic inventions and clockwork animals that almost seem to think. Most importantly, she finds hope—hope that she can get her life back, hope that she can escape, hope that she can reclaim her home from her stepmother. And with the help of new friends and the perfect timing of the technological exposition and royal ball, Nicolette sets out to do just that.

With a unique mix of steampunk and the maker movement, Mechanica introduces a smart, strong, talented heroine who may be able to find her prince, but doesn’t necessarily want to.

 

This article was originally published in the September 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

A wonderful, brilliant mother—who dies. An adoring, protective father, who remarries—and then dies. A beautiful but nasty stepmother, two conniving, vapid stepsisters—this is starting to sound familiar, isn’t it? However, Betsy Cornwell’s Mechanica is anything but another lifeless “Cinderella” retelling. And Nicolette, filled with her mother’s inventiveness and her father’s determination, is anything but another princess waiting to be rescued.
YA FictionYA

Confronting death

Review by Kevin Delecki

Seventeen-year-old Abe Sora wants to fit in—play baseball, complain about homework, worry about college. Unfortunately, he’s dying. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, but dying nonetheless. In The Last Leaves Falling, a debut novel set in Japan and written by Sarah Benwell, Abe has ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and is slowing losing control of his body. Isolated and succumbing to a disease that typically affects people three times his age, Abe turns to an Internet chat board to disconnect from his life—and ends up finding the one thing he was looking for.

Almost by accident, Abe becomes first virtual and then in-person friends with two very different people—MonkEC (Mai) and NoFace (Kaito). As the three grow closer together, Abe finds, for the first time since his diagnosis, friendship without pity. However, he also grows in his realization that his life is drawing to an end, and he wants that end to be on his own terms. For that, he will need to test the strength of the bonds of his friendship.

Beautifully and hauntingly written, The Last Leaves Falling seamlessly blends Samurai death poetry and Internet chat logs to create the immersive and heartbreaking story of a young man faced with an impossible choice. Readers will find themselves struggling along with Abe as he weighs a decision with no right answer and remembering him long after the last page.

Seventeen-year-old Abe Sora wants to fit in—play baseball, complain about homework, worry about college. Unfortunately, he’s dying. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, but dying nonetheless. In The Last Leaves Falling, a debut novel set in Japan and written by Sarah Benwell, Abe has ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and is slowing losing control of his body.

RomanceYA FictionYA

Tempting the fates

Review by Kevin Delecki

Love and Death are inexorably intertwined. Love seeks to fulfill life; Death seeks to end it. In The Game of Love and Death, Love and Death take an active role in this eternal struggle, each selecting a player at birth and then competing to see if the players fall in love or if they die. It is a hard-fought game filled with subterfuge, manipulation and deep passion, and in the centuries that they have played, Love has never won.

Flora Saudade and Henry Bishop are about as different as two people can be. And in Seattle in 1937, they should have no reason to meet, let alone spend time together. But Henry, the white adopted son of a wealthy newspaper magnate, and Flora, a black airplane mechanic and owner of a jazz club, not only meet but fall in love. Against all odds, it looks as if Love might win the game for the first time. However, Death is not so easily defeated.

The Game of Love and Death is a unique and deeply moving novel. Beautiful language, original characters and a haunting story draw the reader into a relationship that is forbidden both by the era and by the master of the game. It’s heartbreaking to the end.

 

This article was originally published in the May 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Love and Death are inexorably intertwined. Love seeks to fulfill life; Death seeks to end it. In The Game of Love and Death, Love and Death take an active role in this eternal struggle, each selecting a player at birth and then competing to see if the players fall in love or if they die. It is a hard-fought game filled with subterfuge, manipulation and deep passion, and in the centuries that they have played, Love has never won.
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Rapunzel revamped

Review by Kevin Delecki

Rapunzel could not be happier. She has a beautiful tower that obeys her command; no one bothers her when she reads stories or brushes her hair; and a loving, caring Witch protects her from the evil people who would want to steal her away. In Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel, life is innocent and perfect—until Jack arrives. Jack thinks Rapunzel was involved in the injury of a fairy yesterday, but she’d remember something like that . . . right?

Challenged and intrigued by Jack, Rapunzel (and her hair) makes the choice to leave her tower for the first time. She encounters the Red Fairies, who begin to make her doubt, just a little, the perfection of Witch. Soon Rapunzel, Jack and her new friend Prince Frog are traveling across Tyme in search of many things—answers for Rapunzel, healing for the Red Fairies and something altogether mysterious for Jack. Rapunzel quickly learns that the world is much larger, more beautiful and more dangerous than she had ever known.

Filled with mystery, adventure and myriad twists and turns, Grounded turns a traditional fairy tale into something more. Strong characters and a complex story will encourage readers to return for the next journey in the world of Tyme.

 

This article was originally published in the May 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Rapunzel could not be happier. She has a beautiful tower that obeys her command; no one bothers her when she reads stories or brushes her hair; and a loving, caring Witch protects her from the evil people who would want to steal her away. In Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel, life is innocent and perfect—until Jack arrives. Jack thinks Rapunzel was involved in the injury of a fairy yesterday, but she’d remember something like that . . . right?
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Soccer in Soviet Russia

Review by Kevin Delecki

“I’m a risk taker.” With that short sentence, readers are introduced to Arcady, a goal-scoring, wisecracking soccer star. However, very few people know just how good Arcady is at soccer. Arcady is a resident of an orphanage in Soviet Russia intended for children of enemies of the Soviet state. Instead of fame and fortune, Arcady plays for stolen rations and survival.

This all looks to change when a group of inspectors comes to the orphanage. Bribed by the director of the orphanage, Arcady participates in a series of soccer competitions against larger and stronger boys, with the intention of entertaining the inspectors. But a few days later, one of the inspectors returns to adopt Arcady. Although Arcady is freed from the confines of the orphanage, this does not mean his life will be easier.

Arcady’s Goal, the latest novel by Newbery Honor-winning author Eugene Yelchin, is a sparse book that carries great weight. A companion to Breaking Stalin’s Nose, it brings to light many of the struggles faced by children who did nothing wrong but were punished solely because of what their parents believed. Both haunting and laugh-out-loud funny, Arcady’s Goal will score big with readers.

 

This article was originally published in the October 2014 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

“I’m a risk taker.” With that short sentence, readers are introduced to Arcady, a goal-scoring, wisecracking soccer star. However, very few people know just how good Arcady is at soccer. Arcady is a resident of an orphanage in Soviet Russia intended for children of enemies of the Soviet state. Instead of fame and fortune, Arcady plays for stolen rations and survival.
Children's & YAMiddle Grade

A great journey for a new brother

Review by Kevin Delecki

Jaden is sure that his parents aren’t satisfied with him. And why would they be? They adopted a kid who lights things on fire, hides food in his closet, steals tip money from restaurants, and has to be sent from one therapist to another. In Half a World Away, written by Newbery Award-winner Cynthia Kadohata, Jaden knows that his mother in Romania didn’t want him, and now his parents in America, Penni and Steve, are trying to replace him. That’s right; he’s so disappointing that his adoptive parents are going to adopt another child.

Jaden will be traveling with his parents to Kazakhstan to pick up Bahytzhan, his new baby brother. Preparations for an international adoption are taxing and scary even in the best conditions, but Jaden and his parents are dealing with Jaden’s struggles, Penni’s overbearing sister and the surprise closing of their adoption agency. The trip is overwhelming before they even leave, and once they arrive, things do not go exactly to plan.

Half a World Away is a staggeringly realistic portrayal of both the arduous process of international adoption and the struggles faced by children once the adoption takes place. Told from Jaden’s point of view, Kadohata’s newest takes readers to Kazakhstan with the family and introduces a variety of unique characters, including many who are completely unexpected. Expertly written and beautifully told, Half a World Away opens places and experiences to readers that they may have never encountered before.

Jaden is sure that his parents aren’t satisfied with him. And why would they be? They adopted a kid who lights things on fire, hides food in his closet, steals tip money from restaurants, and has to be sent from one therapist to another. In Half a World Away, written by Newbery Award-winner Cynthia Kadohata, Jaden knows that his mother in Romania didn’t want him, and now his parents in America, Penni and Steve, are trying to replace him. That’s right; he’s so disappointing that his adoptive parents are going to adopt another child.

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