Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: Icefall By Matthew J. Kirby

About The Book:   Trapped in a hidden fortress tucked between towering mountains and a frozen sea, Solveig, along with her brother the crown prince, their older sister, and an army of restless warriors, anxiously awaits news of her father's victory at battle. But as winter stretches on, and the unending ice refuses to break, terrible acts of treachery soon make it clear that a traitor lurks in their midst. A malevolent air begins to seep through the fortress walls, and a smothering claustrophobia slowly turns these prisoners of winter against one another.

Those charged with protecting the king's children are all suspect, and the siblings must choose their allies wisely. But who can be trusted so far from their father's watchful eye? Can Solveig and her siblings survive the long winter months and expose the traitor before he succeeds in destroying a kingdom? -Goodreads
     
First Line: The fjord is freezing over.

Great Passage: "...A story is not a thing. A story is an act. It only exists in the brief moment of its telling. The question you must ask is what the story has the power to do. The truth of something you do is very different from the truth of something you know." He leaves the runestone and comes to stand over me, looking down. "My tale last night. Did it comfort you?"
      "Yes."
      "And was the comfort real? Was it true?"
      "I thought it was."
      "Then the story was true. And that is what is most important in the telling, whether Thor's chariout is really pulled by two bucks, or not."

What Others Are Saying: “Kirby turns in a claustrophobic, thought-provoking coming-of-age adventure that shows a young woman growing into her own, while demonstrating the power of myth and legend. Kirby’s attention to detail and stark descriptions make this an effective mood piece. Readers may be drawn in by the promise of action, which Kirby certainly fulfills, but they’ll be left contemplating the power of the pen versus the sword—or rather the story versus the war hammer.” — Publishers Weekly

“Clear, lively, exciting, and unstoppable as the torrent of meltwater from a glacier, Icefall confirms Matthew Kirby as one of our finest new writers for young adults. Readers of any age may be enthralled by the bitter Nordic winter setting and the story of a girl who needs a lot of courage to discover who she is.” — Ursula K. Le Guin, acclaimed author of the Earthsea Cycle

What I Thought: Every once in a while my husband, a voracious scifi/fantasy reader, grabs a book from my TBR pile before I get to it. Then he's in torture until I read it because I refuse to listen or discuss it until I have had a chance to crack the cover. This time I was backed up and didn't get to it for a couple of months. When I finally did pick it up, I quickly learned why he loved it: Vivid setting, strong characters, Norse mythology, intrigue and mystery. The frigid winter setting became a character itself as it imposed it's bite on this diverse group of captors in the ice. Even though the main character is a girl, boys will enjoy this to. Fierce battles between seasoned soldiers and wild berserkers laced with stories of Thor an Odin make this tale appealing to any middle grader an young adult. Probably more for the high end middle grader or as a read-aloud, Icefall has it all.

  

About The Author: 

Matthew J. Kirby 

Website

Matthew Kirby was born in Utah, and grew up in Maryland, California, and Hawaii. As an undergraduate he majored in history, and then went on to pursue an M.S. in school psychology. For ten months out of the year he works with students, and during the rest of the year he writes. He and his wife currently live in northern Utah.

Kirby's other book The Clockwork Three was reviewed on the blog here.

  

Here are some very informative interviews:

Write About Now

The Book Smugglers

  

Be sure an visit the other MMGM bloggers. You can find them in my sidebar!

Later this week: "Yoga on The Go: My 30-day Progress Report" and "Barking Great News From Woofstock".

Next Monday: Railsea by China Mieville 

Question Of The Day:  Do you agree with the "Great Passage" (see above) in Kirby's Icefall?
Why or why not?
Those that answer will be entered to win August's book give-away. Drawing on Aug. 31 (My birthday!) What better way to celebrate than to give to my readers! Prizes announced next week. Stay tuned...

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

About The Book: Once upon a time, Hazel and Jack were best friends. They had been best friends since they were six, spending hot Minneapolis summers and cold Minneapolis winters together, dreaming of Hogwarts and Oz, superheroes and baseball. Now that they were eleven, it was weird for a boy and a girl to be best friends. But they couldn't help it - Hazel and Jack fit, in that way you only read about in books. And they didn't fit anywhere else. 

And then, one day, it was over. Jack just stopped talking to Hazel. And while her mom tried to tell her that this sometimes happens to boys and girls at this age, Hazel had read enough stories to know that it's never that simple. And it turns out, she was right. Jack's heart had been frozen, and he was taken into the woods by a woman dressed in white to live in a palace made of ice. Now, it's up to Hazel to venture into the woods after him. Hazel finds, however, that these woods are nothing like what she's read about, and the Jack that Hazel went in to save isn't the same Jack that will emerge. Or even the same Hazel.
Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen," Breadcrumbsis a story of the struggle to hold on, and the things we leave behind. —GoodReads

Self Portrait
Erin McGuire

Illustrator: Erin McGuire                   

Website

Blog

First Line: It snowed right before Jack stopped talking to Hazel, fluffy white flakes big enough to show their crystal architecture, like perfect geometric poems.

Another Great Line: [When Hazel's friend decides not to sit with her.]  Mikaela got up and moved over to join Susan and Molly. The two became three, and Hazel carefully studied the shift of gravity. (121)

What Others are Saying:  “Although this is a fantasy, its grounding in psychological realism and focus on Hazel’s feelings makes it a fine choice for readers who prefer realistic fiction. Ursu's multilayerd, dreamlike story stands out from the fantasy/quest pack/” —School Library Journal starred review

"The evocative magical landscape, superbly developed characters (particularly dreamy, self-doubting, determined Hazel and lost Jack), and the piercing sadness of a faltering childhood friendship give this delicately written fantasy wide and lingering appeal."

 —Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books, starred review

What I Thought: Each of us have our own childhood wilderness where things are bigger and darker, where mystery is around each corner and anything is possible, hidden deep within us. This is the childhood that Ursu takes us to. A place where edges run together and color bleeds through. These are the images that light upon us as gentle as snow but sharp as jagged ice. Ursu cleverly weaves the stories of childhood that lead us to the reality of change so when the snow melts and wardrobe door is shut, we nod knowingly and remember that we've been down that path, too. 

About The Author: Anne Ursu

Website

Twitter

Anne is the author of Breadcrumbs, a contemporary retelling of “The Snow Queen,” and the three books in The Cronus Chronicles series—The Shadow Thieves, The Siren Song, and The Immortal Fire. She has also written two books for adult readers. Anne teaches at Hamline University’s MFA in Writing for Children, and lives in Minneapolis with her young son.