Diana Wynne Jones' Charmed Life (1977) Harper Collins, 2007 Chrestomanci Book 1 You’ve probably heard it too: Diana Wynne Jones’ Chrestomanci series is better than Harry Potter. And, yes, that it came first (so, not to be confused with the myriad of Potter-knock-offs). Which it did and, if the first
Shyam Selvadurai's Swimming in the Monsoon Sea Tundra Books, 2005 You may have noticed that I'm back to starting the reading weekend with kidlit and young adult novels once more. That, along with some of the other regular features was on holiday for the summer, but last week brought Sherman
Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian (2007) Art by Ellen Forney Little Brown, 2009 A few years ago I saw Sherman Alexie at a ridiculously underattended reading in a small Toronto bookstore on a fine Friday night in summer. I remember wondering if there wasn't something
Neil Gaiman's Odd and the Frost Giants Harper Collins, 2009 Everything I know about Norse mythology, I learned from playing World of Warcraft's Burning Crusade. Okay, maybe I picked up a little from Jane Smiley too. But overall, it's a weak spot with me, my knowledge limited to daily quests
Felice Holman's Slake's Limbo (1974) Aladdin Books, 1986 The idea of people living underground (you know, some call them "mole people", those making homes and living out their lives in storm drains and subway networks, underground sections of major cities) has fascinated me since I first heard of the idea
