Friday's Radar: A Plague of Sorcerers

At 16 Jermyn is a bit of an embarrassment. He hasn't attracted a familiar yet, and he's years behind since he can't officially become an apprentice magician until he does. His aunt has confidence in him, but Jermyn is beginning to fear that he'll never be a wizard.

But when his aunt is about to fall in a great duel, Jermyn finds his power and calls his familiar in a reflexive bid to save her. It's an impressive show of power, but it earns him no friends. It, in fact, gives him a very powerful enemy. And if that wasn't enough for the new apprentice to deal with, rather than calling the customary bird or cat, Jermyn has bonded to a very unusual creature indeed. A skunk.

It's just in time, as soon the wizarding city becomes victim to a magical plague that's quickly infecting the magicians. As each wizard falls, that's one less to find a cure and discover the root of the epidemic. Jermyn, naturally, is ideally placed to help out - between studying.

I ran across Mary Frances Zambreno's A Plague of Sorcerers years ago while shelving. It was consistently the very last book in the children's fiction section, and after some time it was just mocking me, daring me to read it. I'm always up for a good fantasy, and diseases fascinate me, so I figured this was a sure bet. It's a fun read, although for the younger set, and is, of course, out of print. Worldcat claims that 536 libraries still own copies.

I'm really not one for mysteries, as I said at the beginning of this week, but this one has the benefit of a thoroughly believable fantasy universe with very interesting plot twist. I didn't realize that it was actually a mystery until I was completely invested. Plus, I always root for the underdog. And Jermyn is definitely that. But you've gotta watch those guys, they tend to win when you aren't looking.

If you are lucky enough to have a copy, give it with confidence to fans of Christopher Golden's Outcast series, Suzanne Collins' Underland Chronicles, definitely Tamora Pierce's Circle books, or anyone who will appreciate a good magical mystery featuring an underrated boy. ;)


Today's Radar Recs across the kidlitosphere:

1. A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy: The Vietnam books by Ellen Emerson White
2. Big A, little a: The Deep by Helen Dunmore
3. Bildungsroman: The May Bird Trilogy by Jodi Lynn Anderson
4. Chasing Ray: Kipling's Choice by Geert Spillebeen
5. Finding Wonderland: The Avion My Uncle Flew by Cyrus Fisher
6. Fuse Number 8: Stoneflight by George McHarque:
   
7. lectitans: Gentle's Holler and Louisiana Song both by Kerry Madden
8. Not Your Mother's Bookclub: A look at some recently revised classics
9. 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast: Such a Pretty Face: Short Stories About Beauty edited by Ann Angel
10. The YA YA YAs: Resurrection Men by TK Welsh
    
    
    

Wednesday's Radar

Once upon a time I decided I was too old for the teen section at the library. I thought that the librarians were judging what I was reading, and that they thought I was silly to still be reading "kid's stuff". So I slogged through the adult stacks reading what my mom read, perusing what I should read, or clinging to mediocre fantasy series; all so I didn't have to take a chance on something that all too often proved boring or painful. Now that I'm a librarian - a librarian who focuses on teen lit - I know that my 17-18-year-old self was...a complete paranoid lunatic. Even so, in a desperate attempt to read socially approved literature, I stumbled upon a Reader's Advisory bookmark on WWII Fiction, a genre I had always loved. At least, in the form of The Devil's Arithmetic, Number the Stars, and myriad others. And that is how I found Frances Donnelly's Shake Down the Stars.

It's out of print now. It probably was then. But my library had a copy, and after checking it out two or three times over the next few years, I decided I needed my own copy. My copy even made the initial cut and traveled 2,000 miles with me when I moved. Not many books did. WorldCat tells me that 888 libraries have copies. Not bad. Does yours?

Now that I've waxed poetic for an eon, perhaps I should tell you about the story? Although I warn you it's sweeping, epic, tragic and romantic.

Three girls. Their lives intertwined, but not willingly so. Virginia is an heiress without anything to inherit. Beattie, daughter of the gardener and accepted on scholarship to Virginia's mother's alma mater. And Lucy, the daughter of a writer and living in the house Virginia's family can't afford not to let out. Virginia is spiteful and angry; Beattie, innocent and earnest and Lucy, caught in the middle. But soon class and society will matter little as England enters the war and no one's future works out as they had planned.

Soon we are plunged with our heroines into a foreign and dangerous world with the London Blitz, a farm, a boarding school, dashing RAF pilots, the burgeoning film industry and each girl doing what she can to aid the war effort. Even if it means getting VERY creative with your wardrobe as everything becomes rationed, or trying to recover from the heartbreak of your life.

Ok. It's probably a little melodramatic. But in a good way, I promise. What separates it from your average melodrama is that while each girl definitely starts out as a stereotype, by the end of the novel all three have grown and truly transformed into strong women. You watch them love and lose, triumph and suffer through 6 long years of war. They make different, sometimes surprising choices that don't always work out well. Not everyone ends up better for the years.

Anyway, the book has stayed with me through the years, and that's all. I just wanted to share.

WEDNESDAY's Radar Books:

A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy: The President's Daughter series by Ellen Emerson White
Big A, little a: The Tide Knot by Helen Dunmore
Jen Robinson's Book Page: The Zilpha Keatley Snyder Green Sky trilogy
Bildungsroman: Innocence by Jane Mendelsohn: A Discussion Part 1
Chasing Ray: Innocence by Jane Mendelsohn: A Discussion Part 2
lectitans: Innocence by Jane Mendelsohn: A Discussion Part 3
Finding Wonderland: The House on Hound Hill by Maggie Prince
Miss Erin: The Reb & Redcoats and Enemy Brothers, both by Constance Savery
Bookshelves of Doom: Harry Sue by Sue Stauffacher
Chicken Spaghetti: Pooja Makhijani guest blogs with Romina's Rangoli by Malathi Michelle Iyengar
Writing & Ruminating: Dear Mr. Rosenwald by Carole Weatherford
Shaken & Stirred: Elizabeth Knox and the Dreamhunter Duet

THURSDAY's:

A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy: Friends for Life and Life Without Friends both by Ellen Emerson White
Shaken & Stirred: The Changeover and Catalogue of the Universe, both by Margaret Mahy
Big A, little a: A interview with Helen Dunmore
Jen Robinson's Book Page: The Treasures of Weatherby by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Bildungsroman: Swollen by Melissa Lion
Finding Wonderland: Lucy the Giant by Sherry L. Smith
Miss Erin: A discussion of Erec Rex: The Dragon's Eye and an interview with author Kaza Kingsley
7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast: Billie Standish Was Here by Nancy Crocker
Fuse Number 8: The Noisy Counting Book by Susan Schade
Chasing Ray: Juniper, Genetian and Rosemary by Pamela Dean
lectitans: Who Pppplugged Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf
Writing and Ruminating: Hugging the Rock by Susan Taylor Brown

Tuesday's Radar

1. A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy: Ellen Emerson White
2. Big A, little a: Ingo by Helen Dunmore
3. Jen Robinson's Book Page: The Changeling and The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
4. Bildungsroman: Girl in a Box by Ouida Sebestyen
5. Finding Wonderland: A Door Near Here by Heather Quarles
6. Miss Erin: Girl With a Pen and Princess of Orange, both by Elisabeth Kyle
7. Fuse Number 8: The Winged Girl of Knossos by Erick Berry
8. Bookshelves of Doom: The Olivia Kidney series by Ellen Potter
9. Chicken Spaghetti: Natural History of Uncas Metcalf by Betsy Osborne
10. Writing and Ruminating: Jazz ABC by Wynton Marsalis
11. The YA YA YAs: Massive by Julia Bell