Feels Like Home

"I like it. I'm not sure why, but I like it here."

"Do you? . . . You must have guessed that I love the desert. This desert. Even in winter, and the three weeks of jungle after the rains stop and before the sun gets a good hold again."

I first read The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley when I was about twelve. At the time, I was living in the green, humid, flat Midwest. The mountainous desert setting of this novel seemed as exotic as the face of the moon. Now, Tucson is my home, and McKinley's Damar feels intimately familiar. The heat, the dust, and the barren landscape all feel just like the Sonoran desert.

In the novel, Harry Crewe goes from the cool, green land of her birth to hot and dusty Damar. To her surprise, she falls in love with her new home.

From Fanfiction to Mainstream

The latest SummerQuest is a really fun challenge involving creating a map of an imaginary place. You have to be a true fan to be that inspired by an imaginary world. Some are inspired to make maps, while others are inspired to write stories. So between that, and the fact that the controversial Fifty Shades of Grey continues to be one of our most-requested books, this seems like a good time to recommend some other authors who, like E.L. James, started out writing fanfiction. (You probably know already that that book started out as Twilight fanfiction...le sigh.)

 There's a good chance that you've seen the multitude of pink, sparkly books we have by popular child, teen, and adult author Meg Cabot. But did you know that she started out writing fanfiction, and is still an active member of that online community? Find out what the heck fanfiction is, and check out some more popular authors who started out writing it, after the jump!

Hunted Healer

I really enjoy Maria Snyder's female heroines.  They are smart, tough, and often a little stubborn.  In her most recent book, Touch of Power, Avry is all of those things.  She has the magical ability to heal people by taking on their illnesses or injuries.  She was apprenticed to the Healer's Guild shortly before a plague broke out.  The problem was any Healer who tried to cure a plague victim always died.  When they stopped trying people turned on them and hunted them down.  Even though Avry was only an apprentice they came after her too.   She has survived by running and hiding, but her desire to heal always compromises her identity. 

Finnikin of the Rock

My favorite fantasy is that which manages to reflect the real world back in on itself. Although I enjoy good versus evil, and humor, and supernatural creatures, I really admire the fantasy that leaves you a little solemn and thoughtful.

"Finnikin of the Rock" by Melina Marchetta is fantasy, but at its heart, it is a refugee story. When Finnikin was a child, the royal family of Lumatere was murdered. The assassination triggered a civil war, with some factions fleeing the country. With half the people seeking refuge outside the city, and the rest of the population in conflict, a curse in the form of an impenetrable barrier descended around the country, preventing anybody from leaving or re-entering.

One of my favorites makes a top 100 list

Over the summer, NPR listeners voted on more than 5,000 science fiction and fantasy titles.  The nerds... ahem... I mean the experts over at NPR then narrowed the list down to the top 100 picks.  The result is an eclectic mixture of classic and modern titles.  Some of the titles I expected to see.  If it had been missing obvious cult favorites like Lord of the Rings, Dune, or Star Wars, I would have had to dismiss it as an inferior list. Many of my old favorites were there, but imagine my delight when one of my new favorites made the cut.  Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher is relatively new and Butcher's other series The Dresden Files seemed to be the more well known. 

My favorites of 2011

For past three months, I've been reading science fiction and fantasy books for teens. A lot of them. Wizards, dystopias, magic, quests - they're coming out my ears, I tell you. These are my top four.

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick - When a powerful electromagnetic pulse kills off two-thirds of the human race and knocks the rest back to the Stone Age, it's every man, woman, and child for himself. 17-year-old Alex was already living on borrowed time, what with the brain tumor and all, so she thought she knew about living life one day at a time. Along with Afghanistan vet Tom and eight-year-old Ellie, she discovers that it's a little more difficult when you have to fight wild animals and teen cannibal zombies for the privilege.

Patrons' Recommendations

One of the things I enjoy about my job is talking about great books with library patrons and making suggestions about something they might like. However, one of the more unexpected pleasures of my job is all the recommendations I receive from patrons. Two books I have read recently based on patrons' suggestions are In the Woods by Tana French and Troubled Waters by Sharon Shinn.

Liar, Liar

There are many things to love about Megan Whalen Turner's books. For starters, there's her lovingly built world, which draws heavily on ancient Greece and Rome. There's her twisty-turny plots, which deal with the fates of nations and surprise you at every page turn. There's her grand themes, about love and fate and the terrible choices a king or queen must make. But for me, the thing that keeps bringing me back, and actually drove me to purchase my own copies of all four books, is Eugenides. He's the star of three books, The Thief, The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia, and a major character in another, A Conspiracy of Kings.

Eugenides of Eddis is a thief, a liar, and a scoundrel. You really can't trust a word that comes out of his mouth. And yet, you can trust him.

Troubled Waters

Troubled Waters by Sharon Shinn

Zoe's father was an advisor to the king, but he fell out of favor and was exiled from court. Zoe has lived with him in a small village for years. After a long illness, her father passes away. A few days later a man from the capital arrives. He says the king has chosen Zoe to be his fifth wife. Lost in grief, Zoe goes with the man. Once they arrive in the capital, Zoe runs away. She starts living along the river's edge where a community of squatters camp. Slowly she begins to recover from her grief. As she adapts to her new circumstances she begins to learn that her father kept many secrets from her. As she uncovers the truth, she will gain a place in society and discover her own unique powers.

One of the things I love about Sharon Shinn is how fully developed her worlds and characters are. Troubled Waters is no exception. The culture is rich and vibrant, the characters are complex, and the story is fascinating. The political intrigue is masterfully done. There are layers and layers of secrets and motivations that kept me engrossed. All in all, another fantastic story by Sharon Shinn.

~Grace

A Time Traveling Incident

The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum

Abby's life is going according to plan, she's dating the boy next door, she plans to be college roommates with her best friend, and her parents are throwing the same bowling birthday party for her that they always do. If life lacks a little adventure or spontaneity, well at least she knows what to expect from life. Then Dante joins their school. He's a foreign exchange student from Italy. Abby finds herself fighting a growing attraction to him. The more she gets to know him, the more mysteries she discovers. For one, time literally stops when she is around him. Then he disappears for days at a time. Who is Dante and what is he hiding?

This story is a little slow to get started, but it's worth it. It has a little bit of everything mystery, romance, time travel, and lots of surprises. There are lots of Italian phrases sprinkled through the story to give it an unique feel.

-Grace