This Is the Rope: A Story from the Great Migration
Jacqueline Woodson, illus. by James Ransome. Penguin/Paulsen, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-399-23986-1
Woodson’s (Each Kindness) gentle, unpretentious writing and Ransome’s eloquent artwork breathe life into this story of a close-knit African-American family and their pursuit of a better life. The rope of the title is used over and over, tying luggage to the family station wagon when they leave South Carolina, airing diapers outside their new Brooklyn apartment, serving as a jump rope for the narrator’s mother as a girl, then securing boxes as she later goes off to college. Ransome (Light in the Darkness) pays close attention to the details of life in 1970s and ’80s Brooklyn, from the posters on a bedroom wall and silverware drying by the sink to the dubious expressions of the neighborhood preteens as they survey the new girl. The rope that unites the family then passes to a new generation, as the narrator learns how to jump rope, “right here in Brooklyn, just last Friday night.” The chronicle of a homely object in an age of disposables and the sense of place Woodson and Ransome evoke make this an especially strong and vibrant fictive memoir. Ages 5–8. Author’s agent: Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency. (Aug.)
Home Sweet Horror
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James Preller, illus. by Iacopo Bruno. Feiwel and Friends, $14.99 (112p) ISBN 978-1-250-01887-8
Preller (the Jigsaw Jones mysteries) serves up gasp-worthy scenes and chilling twists in this illustrated chapter book that launches the Scary Tales series. Suspense builds gradually: when eight-year-old Liam, his widowed father, and older sister, Kelly, arrive at their ominous-looking new home, he sees a flicker of light from an upstairs window; the next morning, he hears floorboards groaning, radiators hissing, and someone moaning. Preller raises the stakes as Liam, investigating a clanging noise in the basement, falls through a stair and feels “a thin, skeletal grip” on his dangling leg; later, Kelly and a friend attempt to summon Bloody Mary—a bit too successfully. Sound effects reproduced in large type amplify Liam’s fear, and Bruno’s heavily inked, etching-like pictures intensify the story’s spookiness. In contrast to the scary bits, Preller also gives the story a tender emotional undercurrent: the family is still aching from the death of the siblings’ mother, who may still be looking out for her family. Just enough chills to keep burgeoning readers flipping pages. I Scream, You Scream pubs simultaneously. Ages 7–10. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (July)
The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp
Kathi Appelt, illus. by Jennifer Bricking. S&S/Atheneum, $16.99 (336p) ISBN 978-1-4424-2105-9
Told from the perspectives of animals and humans, Appelt’s (The Underneath) rollicking tall tale exposes the trouble brewing in Sugar Man swamp. The main concern of Bingo and J’miah, two raccoon Swamp Scouts, is the approaching brood of feral hogs, which could destroy the precious canebrake sugar used to make fried pies at the local Paradise Pies cafe. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Chap Brayburn, the cafe proprietor’s son, is worried about rich, horrible Sonny Boy Beaucoup, who wants to turn the swamp into the “Gator World Wrestling Arena and Theme Park.” The swamp’s salvation may lie with the furry, bearlike Sugar Man, whose “hands were as large as palmetto ferns” and “feet were like small boats,” but finding and awakening him is no easy task. The book’s folksy narrative adds brightness and humor to the story as Appelt explores the swamp’s rich history, varied denizens, and current threats. Heroes and villains are drawn in bold strokes, but while there’s little doubt who will emerge victorious, finding out how events unfurl is well worth the read. Art not seen by PW. Ages 8–12. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (July)
What We Found in the Sofa and How It Saved the World
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Henry Clark. Little, Brown, $17 (368p) ISBN 978-0-316-20666-2
Clark’s debut, a complicated and often goofy SF fantasy about an evil power trying to take over the world, brandishes his background as a former Mad magazine contributor. Starring a Harry Potter–like triumvirate—two boys, Freak and River, and sharp, smart Fiona—the story begins with a sofa that has been mysteriously abandoned by their bus stop, in which the children find a rare zucchini-colored crayon. Their discovery launches a complex narrative involving a long-burning underground coal fire and an abandoned chemical plant, which turns out to be a portal to another universe. Offbeat plot elements include mind control through cellular phones and food additives, flash mobs, artificial intelligence in the form of furniture and a domino, an elderly axe-wielding ghost, and human spies wearing dog hats as disguises. The kids’ uncertainty about who to trust and the novel’s swift pace create unyielding suspense. Readers without much taste for this genre may find it too over-the-top, but for those destined to become Douglas Adams fans it will be hilarious and gripping. Ages 8–12. Agent: Kate Epstein, Epstein Literary Agency. (July)
Al Capone Does My Homework
Gennifer Choldenko. Dial, $17.99 (224p) ISBN 978-0-8037-3472-2
This final installment in the life of Moose Flanagan, a boy who lives on Alcatraz Island during the 1930s, brings Choldenko’s trilogy to a satisfying conclusion. The story opens with good news: Moose’s father, Cam, has been promoted to associate warden of the island’s infamous prison. But the new job makes Cam a target, and the family feels the backlash immediately when a suspicious fire breaks out at their apartment while Moose and his developmentally disabled sister, Natalie, are home alone. A malicious neighbor suggests Natalie started the blaze, inciting problems with the special boarding school Natalie attends. Mean-while, money is changing hands in odd ways around the island, and inmate No. 85 (Capone) sends Moose another cryptic note, written on Moose’s homework (“Luckily, he wrote in pencil”), which helps Moose and his affable gang sort the good guys from the bad. Choldenko continues to infuse the Alcatraz community with warmth and originality (the kids play “rock, newspapers, shiv”). Despite being “the roughest hard-time prison in America,” by the end of this winning series, it’s also a place Moose comes to proudly call home. Ages 10–up. (Aug.)
Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking: A 14 Day Mystery
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Erin Dionne. Dial, $16.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-8037-3871-3
Moxie Fleece has high expectations for the summer after eighth grade, but a visit from a “psychotic redheaded stranger” changes its trajectory. The woman tells Moxie that her family has two weeks to return the “items” Moxie’s grandfather hid years earlier for a notorious gangster, Sully Cupcakes. Moxie’s grandfather is now living in a care facility, due to his Alzheimer’s disease, which leaves math whiz Moxie and her asthmatic best friend Ollie, a geocaching aficionado, to figure out what the items are and to find them. Soon, they are hunting down artwork stolen in a famous (and, in real life, unsolved) heist from the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum in Boston. Confident, outspoken Moxie sets up a geometry proof to organize evidence, and Ollie puts his geocaching skills to work as the two sift through clues that lead them throughout the city. Dionne (Notes from an Accidental Band Geek) is attentive to details of Boston institutions, music, and geography, and the believable dialogue and characters, complicated family dynamics, and threat of danger make this mystery hard to put down. Ages 10–up. Agent: Sally Harding, the Cooke Agency. (July)
Saving Thanehaven
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Catherine Jinks. Egmont USA, $17.99 (384p) ISBN 978-1-60684-274-4
Noble the Slayer fights monsters with help from an ill-tempered, shape-shifting, magical weapon, Smite. Smite has always been with Noble, but how far back does “always” go? One day on the way to rescue a princess, Noble meets a skinny kid named Rufus who questions Noble’s very mission and autonomy. “Let’s just say I’m a freedom lover,” says Rufus. “Power to the people, and all that stuff.” Noble, Rufus explains, is nothing more than the lead character in a first-person “shooter” game, controlled by some distant player. Soon the slightly dimwitted hero abandons Smite and, with Rufus, embarks on a quest to free gaming subroutines everywhere. Joined by a growing retinue of fugitive characters, they jump from game to game, dealing with everything from deadly organic spaceships to Barbie-style dress-up environments, with an efficient antivirus program in a white lab coat hot on their heels. Jinks (The Paradise Trap) serves up a genuinely funny tale, filled with sprightly (or is that spritely?) characters, unpredictable twists, and a veritable roman à clef of half-familiar video-game scenarios. Gamers should adore this book. Ages 10–up. (July)
Earthbound
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Aprilynne Pike. Razorbill, $17.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-59514-650-2
Pike (the Wings series) opens a new series with a plane crash, and soon lays out more themes popular in recent YA—inexplicable survival, loss of memory, an unknown stalker, apocalyptic showdown, and the protagonist’s transcendent secret identity. Tavia, the 18-year-old survivor, is in rehab and finishing her senior year online. She has time to look at the world with attentive eyes, and what she sees is often unnerving: glowing triangles on the historic houses of Portsmouth, N.H., or pedestrians who flicker. She tries to attribute these visions to the brain injury she sustained in the crash, but she can’t dismiss the stalker with a blond ponytail so easily. Nor do the important people in her life—Elizabeth, an uncannily insightful therapist, and Benson, a sympathetic library intern—encourage her to ignore the growing strangeness. Though Pike’s plot points may riff a little too blatantly on the zeitgeist, her solid writing, particularly in her descriptions, will have readers hooked. Tavia’s low-tech revelation via ChapStick works better than any superbattle to convey what’s at stake in her life and choices. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (July)
Famous Last Words
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Jennifer Salvato Doktorski. Holt/Ottaviano, $17.99 (288p) ISBN 978-0-8050-9367-4
Aspiring reporter Sam D’Angelo, 16, is interning at her local New Jersey paper for the summer, stuck writing obituaries with her occasionally annoying, college-age fellow intern AJ. When she’s not taking phone calls about dead people, Sam writes humorous imaginary obits (including one for herself); spends time with her grandmother; lusts after the “incredibly hot” features intern, Tony Roma; and covertly investigates the shady mayor with AJ. Doktorski (How My Summer Went Up in Flames) offers another strong, funny, and quirky protagonist, along with a well-developed supporting cast. Work, family life, friendships, and potential romance are skillfully woven together, though Sam’s journalistic aspirations take center stage as she tries to climb from lowly coffee gopher and obituary writer to investigative reporter. It’s easy to fall for Sam’s self-deprecating wit, go-getter enthusiasm, occasional stumbles, and fascination with boys; her dedication to the imperiled newspaper and her eccentric colleagues will endear her to readers, too. A satisfying office romance set against the backdrop of tight deadlines and a changing media landscape. Ages 12–up. Agent: Kerry Evans, Levine Greenberg Literary Agency. (July)
Nix Minus One
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Jill MacLean. Pajama Press (Orca, dist.), $21.95 (296p) ISBN 978-1-927485-24-8
Fifteen-year-old Nix Humbolt narrates his daily life in Bullbirds Cove, Newfound-land, where he and his family, one of only 23 remaining after the fishing industry collapsed, struggle to survive economic challenges, small-town politics, and adolescence. MacLean (The Present Tense of Prinny Murphy) writes in short free-verse chapters that read like prose stripped of all unnecessary words. An introvert, Nix watches in dismay as his tempestuous sister flirts with drugs, alcohol, older boys, and risky social scenes: “I thought the yellow sun/ rose over the mountains and set over the sea/ on my sister Roxanne./ Then she hit puberty./ Head-on collision.” More observer than participant at home and school, Nix comes alive in his father’s woodworking shop: “I pick up the dovetail saw,/ cut into the sockets, chisel out the waste.... and by now I’ve forgotten/ anyone’s watching.” Writing with careful, evocative language, MacLean explores love in myriad forms: Nix’s concern for a neighbor’s abused dog that he longs to rescue, his crush on one girl and budding friendship with another, Roxy’s affection for her brother, and his family’s grief over a devastating tragedy. Ages 12–up. (July)
