We have always lived in the castle, by Shirley Jackson

 Oohhh this is so good and creepy: "is a deliciously unsettling novel about a perverse, isolated, and possibly murderous family and the struggle that ensues when a cousin arrives at their estate."

It is full of innuendo and foreshadowing that makes you want to keep reading even though you get a little knot in your stomach about what may happen, but certainly that is Jackson's purpose and strength, -loved it!  The plot is simple, but mostly you don't get it till the end.  You know some weird stuff happened, because the family is tormented by the villagers because of some history between them.  Slowly the reader can guess or speculate what that event was, and whether or not the truth is being told or is it just figments of imagination on the part of the narrator, of memory or fantasy?

How Far We Go and How Fast

 

This is Leah Decter's 'fake' niece, and her debut.  I loved it but took a few starts to begin to enjoy it.  Set in Winnipeg in modern times.  It is a bit of a mystery as the main character keeps alluding to her brother who escaped, got away to the west coast.  She wants to follow him but can't quite manage to get it together.  Slowly the story of why she can't unfolds as she deals with family tragedy and her own character/self. She is musical and uses it to come to terms with her life.

The themes include family disfunction, mother daughter relationships, song writing as therapy, dealing with death.  It is appropriate for older teens. She writes well. I loved how she reveals the story, bit by bit, until the reader starts to anticipate the sequence of events as a mystery with a strong sense of foreboding.

The agony of Bun O'Keefe, by Heather Smith

 This teen fic book is a good one.  I liked the title but that was the only reason I bought it, so it was a pleasant surprise, having never heard of the author before. It is set in Newfoundland, 1986, though it could be anywhere.  Bun is a 14 year old living a very quiet and disfunctional life with her absent mom, who is a hoarder.  Bun gets the boot, and leaves to live on the street. She finds a welcoming community of young adults living communally in a house.  They function despite their differences and backgrounds and bond to keep the wolves from the door.  Here Bun is accepted but things are still tough.  She slowly comes to terms with herself, her new friends, and her mom.

Themes include emotional and mental well-being, suicide, sexual identity, sexual abuse, empathy.

William Bell, Stones

 This historical fiction book is set in Ontario, around the Barrie area.  The lead character is an interesting youngster getting ready to transition from high-school to a career as a furniture maker.  He falls in love with the new girl, and romance ensues.  She has a gift in that she senses spirits.  They find an old African Methodist church and witness the spirits, then they know some heinous crime was committed to a Haitian woman many years before.  She walks the pathway wailing for her deceased husband. She was a healer but was accused of being a witch.

It is a romance and a mystery with a social justice theme.

I really enjoyed the reading, which is at about a grade 8 level, and very well done. Bell builds the mystery carefully so that I was intrigued, as I learned about the Black history in southern Ontario, and the injustices done to the African community.

The Graveyard Book, Vol one and two

by Neil Gaiman.

I read the graphic version of this, and liked it a whole lot.  A kid grows up in a graveyard and the ghosts raise him.  They have very distinct personalities so the young lad learns about his world through the ghosts.

Ollie's Odyssey by William Joyce

Although I never read anything by Joyce, luckily I took a chance on Ollie.  I love this book!  Ollie is a toy and he is discarded and finds his way through many trials and tribulations much like Odysseus.  It is dark though, as many of his companions suffer greatly; they come from the scrap pile and even some real garbage come to life to help Ollie get back to his home and for a long time the journey is rough.  His nemesis is a disgruntled toy who turns super evil because he was not chosen by any kids to take home. They have a big war, a lot of toy on toy violence, and its quite compelling.

Comics, a plethora, some not as good

I have read a lot of comics:

Essex County, by Jeff Lemire: a wonderful touching story of small town Canadiana with hockey. In some parts I teared up a little. Destined to become a classic.

Descender, Jeff Lemire: "One young robot's struggle to stay alive in a universe where all androids have been outlawed and bounty hunters lurk on every planet."

I liked it, but not sure if it is worth buying more. This title shows Lemire's range as does every new book by him, impressive and thoughtful writing.

Sweet Tooth, Jeff Lemire: genius, creative, weird, creepy. I love comics because of series like this.

V for Vendetta, by Alan Moore: A classic!  I think Moore is the best writer for comics, since I like all his stuff.  I like V because of the art too, all tiny an ddetailed, but the style is quite different from other comics, a little watercolour but deep and rich in texture.  The historical references are nice for me as a reader interested in history.  I read it when I was teaching gr 9 SS, so the part about the War of 1812, the Overture by Tchaikovsky, Guy Fawkes, and the English Revolution are all teaching points in V.


Swamp Thing, by Alan Moore: a thoughtful and sensitive portrayal of a monster. Also a graphic classic, see above.


Stitches, by David Small:  great, painful, and troublesome.  Small has written a tender and difficult comic about his life.  Tender, because the style he chose is poignant considering the tragic nature of his life and relationship with his family.  He had cancer when he was little and lost his ability to speak, but his family never told him as he went into the operation to remove his larynx.  Stitches then, aside from the title, is a big reference to his loss, in that there are almost no words, -he can't talk.  Its very good.


Arab of the Future, a graphic memoir: a childhood in the Middle East (1978-1984) by Riad Sattouf, is a frightening look at Riad's life when his Syrian father and French mother move to several different countries in Northern Africa and the Middle East.  He witnesses the brutal nature of life in these countries as his dad takes on new work. It is worth a read for people who like real life comics, but not very happy.

Kill my Mother, by Jules Fieffer, is not worth the read despite having a famous author.

Locke and Key series, by Joe Hill is worth reading if you like weird stuff: "Subject: Tells of the Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion, with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them--and home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of all.." 

So I liked it.


Saga series, by Brian Vaughan: I liked this one too but it is weird, with some odd alien sex and what not.

One Trick Pony by Nathan Hale: written for middle school aged kids, a very nice story about a future society where children are digging for treasure, artefacts, and useful stuff left behind by previous people, and running form some mech monsters.  One of the kids finds a robot horse.  Adventure ensues.


The Odysssey, by Gareth Hinds is a fairly thorough complete version in as much as a graphic could and should be.  I enjoyed it a lot, and the water colour art is excellent, which helps to make the story come alive.
 

The Tick, by Ben Edlund: I love all things Tic including the old comic tv show, this book and the new Amazon live action version. Fun times with super, and not so super heroes, who are mostly trying to fit in and save the world.


Rust series, by Royden Lepp is so lovely.  The sepia tones work well with this story, somehow as a time forgotten and re-told in nostalgic terms, but it is actually set in a future time. Rust may be good for younger kids, maybe gr 4 up only because there is a lot of death in it but no graphic depictions of horror or too much mayhem.  Rust is a mysterious boy with human and android features, hard working and easy to get along with while he hides his true self from the farmer he is working for.



Blankets, by Craig Thompson: this is one of those early 'best list' graphics which has stood the test of time as a classic of the genre, unlike works by Daniel Clowes and Charles Burns.  Blankets is a metaphor for things that comfort you, within relationships.  I recommend this one for adults, since younger readers may not be ready for all that soft stuff.