Brangwain Spurge - the journey from what!!?? to "I see!"

Please, do NOT name your next child Brangwain - unless you and your offspring are elves.  Even then, the name may not be fortuitous.  It was not lucky for Brangwain Spurge.

In an attempt to broker a lasting friendly peace between elves and goblins, the archivist Brangwain Spurge is catapulted into goblin territory, carrying a priceless jewel.  His host is the goblin historian, Werfel, the Archivist. Werfel's delight to be chosen as Spurge's guide to all things goblin knows no bounds.  He takes great pains to amuse and please his disapproving guest while they wait to approach the mighty Ghohg, Friend of the People.

You can find these details on the publisher's page or Goodreads.  The title,- The Assassination of Brangwain Splurge, the author, - M.T. Anderson, the illustrator, - Eugene Yelchin - and his detailed, black and white, drawings are enough to have readers of YA fantasy buzzing.

I don't fall into the demographic most publishers shoot for when producing books for teens and young adults.  Teens tend to be people approximately 12 through 15-ish.  YA? anywhere from 14 to 22, depending on the publisher. When I fell into those age ranges, phones hung on walls or sat on desks and some of my friends shared their phone lines with their neighbors.  So...

My first reaction to the wordless opening pages was, "Meh." Even when the story began - I think of stories being made up of words -  I scratched my head and sighed.  A snobby superior elf and an overeager lumpish goblin - hasn't this been done before? Was all the fuss merely a reaction to the partnership of stellar prose with excellent artwork?  Was this just a novelty effort to attract readers?

Brangwain's duplicitous contact back in the Elf Kingdom did not surprise or interest me.  BUT, this is M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin, so I read on.

The drawings made sense to me. After all, goblins are horrible creatures with strange and awful habits.  EXCEPT, Werfel was so very, very nice.  Brangwain is a supercilious prat. As he levitates and sends brain pictures of all he sees back to Ysoret Clivers, his elvish contact, his host tries again and again to please him.

Brangwain's actual mission, unknown to him, is one of the oldest plots known to man.  When it fails and the elves that show up on the border have no intention of rescuing Brangwain, the two scholars, goblin and elf, find themselves on the run.

That got my attention.  Once on the lam, the pictures sent back, even now, to the elves, change in tone and detail.  Spurge's attitude gradually softens, while Werfel becomes less and less eager to please. 

The conclusion is cataclysmic! Unexpected! Fitting!

So, now I see what the fuss was all about - not the novelty of the graphics - not the setting of the fantasy.  If you want to see what I see in this book, read it.  It's on your library's shelves right now.

Hey, Kiddo - on sale Oct. 9th - Order today.

Update:  On Goodreads, the date mentioned for publication is September 25th.  I mistakenly assumed that was the correct date.  Not.  October 9th is the publication date for this book.

I met Jarrett J. Krosoczka years ago when he visited the little library for which I worked.  (Grammar lovers, you are welcome.)  His picture book, Annie Was Warned, had just come out.  He stopped by the library, spoke to a bunch of kids and did some line drawings - 15 years ago.

With his Lunch Lady series, Krosoczka has achieved Kid Book Author stardom.

Now, Krosoczka enters a whole new arena of book greatness - the graphic memoir*.  Krosoczka's Hey, Kiddo recounts his childhood and teen years being raised by his grandparents.  His relationship with his mother is strained, and geographically challenged, since she spends most of his life in treatment or prison for drugs and addiction. Kroscozka met his father when he was in late high school. His grandparents, though loving and supportive, are by no means perfect.

As trying as Krosoczka's childhood was, this graphic memoir wins at telling the story in a matter-of-fact voice.  This was his normal.  For many, many children, this kind of fragmented family life IS normal. The story is painful to read and, yet, it reflects the confusion that pervades childhood.  The questions are always the same; who am I? where am I going? what am I good at?  In a family like Krosoczka's, the answers are so much harder to achieve.

The message that family comes from the people who give you support makes this book a triumph.    Always, no matter how acid mouthed his grandmother could be, no how many secrets his grandfather kept from him, they honored his talents and helped him flourish.

One virtue this book offers its readers is hope - hope that by staying in school, by following their talents, they can do okay.  And then there is forgiveness.  In the end, Jarrett forgave his Mom and his Dad and his grandparents - for being human. 

Hey, Kiddo has been longlisted for the National Book Award.  It's on sale soon.  Buy a copy.  Read every page.  It's all good.

*BTW, this is not a book for young readers.  The language reflects how teenage boys sometimes speak.   There are scenes of illegal activities and sexual behavior - though never shown in detail.

Teen Story Slam

Nuff said.  More tomorrow.

Out of Sync KBWT

This week is out of sync.  On Tuesday, I thought it was Monday -missed an appointment on Monday - sigh.

So today, I want to remind you about figment - a writing and reading website for teens. Which is the kind of thing I usually share on Tuesday.  Out of sync, like I said.

Here it is -  figment.com - a website for young writers and a great place to learn about hot books for young adults - 15 and up! Some are fine for younger readers.  I just want you to know this is a site you can grow with.

Sign up for their weekly newsletter.  Today, I took a quiz to see if I have ESP. (I'm Possibly Psychic - which is better than clueless, I guess.)  But, you can write fanfic to win prizes; enter contests of all kinds; learn about awesome new books, films, music and TV shows - all of which require good writers. 

Check it out and have fun. 

KidsBook Website Tuesday

Yesterday, I stumbled across Figment, a young writers' and readers' community and website.  The audience is teens and above and the books featured are mostly YA fiction.  Young authors can read each others works.  There are throwdowns in which literary characters are pitted against each other and submitted to a vote.  Right now, a Gritty Girl contest is waging, with Hermione Granger besting Katniss Evedeen but in a stalemate against Buffy.

Best-selling YA books can be purchased through this site.  Sometimes there are author interviews.  Plenty of forums are offered for people who want to interact with other members of the Figment community.  The site even has a forum dedicated to GRAMMAR.  (Wow!)

I joined, for what that's worth.  I'm a lurker right now.