Book Review: The Underneath

The Underneath
by Kathi Appelt

A lonely calico cat, pregnant and abandoned by her owner in the bayous of East Texas, befriends an abused hound dog named Ranger whom she finds chained outside a rundown shack. Ranger belongs to the owner of the shack, a cruel man known as Gar Face, who shoots anything that moves, and who has chained Ranger permanently in a twenty-foot circle after a hunting accident left him lame.

Ranger warns the calico cat to beware of Gar Face, but in their loneliness, the two can't bear to part. The cat moves under the shack, where she can stay with Ranger but be out of sight of Gar Face. There, she has her kittens, and the cat and the hound dog raise them together as a family. The kittens grow up in the Underneath, with the one strict rule that they must never leave the Underneath. But kittens are kittens, and it's only a matter of time before one ventures out.

Meanwhile, an ancient creature, who has been trapped under the bayou for a thousand years, struggles to deal with a thousand-year-old pain that still feels fresh. And Gar Face sets his sights on trapping the granddaddy of alligators, a beast so large that it will finally earn Gar Face the respect that he craves.

I don't often engage in Newbery predictions, mainly because the type of books I usually read tend not to be the kind of books favored by the Newbery committee. But as soon as I started reading The Underneath, I felt that here was a Newbery-worthy book. The writing is exceptional; the story, moving and poignant. I won't be surprised if it turns up as a Newbery medal or honor book next month.

There are really multiple stories here. The story of Ranger and the cats is intertwined with Gar Face's story, past and present, and a thousand-year-old love story involving shapeshifters and the now-vanished Caddo tribe, former inhabitants of the forest. Kathy Appelt masterfully brings these diverse threads together in a poignant story of love and loss courage and redemption. The writing is poetic and vivid, creating a strong sense of place in the dark forest and bayous; the setting is so vividly described it's almost a character.

As much as I loved this book, I think that some young readers may have trouble with it. It's not a very fast-paced book; there is suspense and conflict, but it builds slowly. And the alternating stories, which jump between characters and time periods, may confuse some readers. Good readers who love good writing and moving stories will enjoy it, and I think that many other readers who might not pick it up on their own can also enjoy it in the context of classroom reading, with support from a teacher.

It's also a dark book, at times; bad things happen, and there is loss and sadness. Some children may find it too much, but others will love it for its poignancy. And in spite of the sadness, it's ultimately an uplifting book.

Books with Bite: Teen Read Week booklists!

October 12-18 is YALSA's Teen Read Week 2008, and the theme this year is "Books with Bite!" I think it's a great theme, and I asked the teen members of the Wands and Worlds community to suggest books that they recommend which would fit the theme. They suggested so many books that I had to break the list into two parts: Books with Bite: Creepy Creatures, which includes Prehistoric Animals, Vampires, Werewolves, Dragons, Creatures and Monsters, and Aliens, and Books with Bite: Animals, which is self-explanatory.

Anyone who thinks that teen readers are "boxed in" to the young adult category of books should meet the Wands and Worlds members. I was amazed at the diversity of books they recommended. The list includes classic novels, modern novels, and graphic novels, not to mention one interactive book, and the reading level ranges from middle-grade to adult.

These are all books that the teens enjoy reading and would recommend to others. I mainly acted as organizer and moderator. I tried not to censor their selections, other than to make sure that all the books fit the theme, and was pretty liberal about that. Basically, if I wasn't sure a book would fit, I asked how it fit the theme, and if anyone suggested a way, I went with that. I did make some suggestions to get the discussion going, but only included those if at least one person said, "Yeah! I love that book!" A few of the books on the list appear to be out of print, but I decided to include them anyway, in the hope that they are still available in some libraries.

It's my hope that these lists can be helpful, either to teens looking for good books, or to librarians, booksellers, parents, teachers, and other adults to whom teens may turn for recommendations. I'm providing the lists here in three forms:

1. A raw/formatted html text in the blog post below, and which you are welcome to copy and post on your own blog or web site if you wish. (You can even copy the source, if you want to retain the formatting).
2. An attractively formatted downloadable PDF, suitable for printing and giving out. You may freely copy these without permission as long as you are not selling them. (And while I hope that they're helpful, I can't imagine that anyone would actually want to pay for them, anyway)
3. A BlueOrganizer widget, that you are welcome to place on a blog or web site. The widgets are fully customizable with many options.

Here are the downloadable PDFs. Click on the thumbnail to download the full sized flyer:

 

Here's the widgets:





And finally, here's the actual text, if you'd like to copy it directly:

Books with Bite: Animals

Cats:

Warriors series
by Erin Hunter
First book: Into the Wild
Love, friendship, intrigue, and war among clans of wild cats.

Ratha and The Named series
by Clare Bell
First book: Ratha’s Creature
Fiery prehistoric cat Ratha brings change to her clan.

The Tygrine Cat
by Inbali Iserles
A young cat exiled from his homeland struggles for acceptance and seeks to understand his mysterious power.

Varjak Paw and The Outlaw Varjak Paw
by Sf Said
illustrated by Dave Mckean
A young cat from a sheltered life is forced to go outside for the first time as he seeks help to save his family and home.

Lionboy Trilogy
by Zizou Corder
First book: Lionboy
A boy who can speak to cats sets off on a journey across Europe and eventually the world, aided by cats and even
lions along the way.

The Jungle Book
by Rudyard Kipling
A boy raised by wolves, and tutored by the panther Bagheera and the bear Baloo, faces off against the fierce tiger Shere Khan.

Tomorrow’s Sphinx
by Clare Bell
In a future world, a telepathic black cheetah, exiled from her clan due to her unusual color, rescues a human child.

Dogs & Wolves:

The Sight and Fell
by David Clement-Davies
A white wolf and a black wolf deal with the consequences of prophecy in the mountains of Transylvania.

Runt
by Marion Dane Bauer
The last-born and smallest wolf in the litter seeks to find his place in the pack.

Snow Dog
by Jim Kjelgaard
A dog must take down the black wolf that had murdered his family when he was a pup, as well as learn to survive
on his own.

Old Yeller
by Fred Gipson
A beautiful, exciting, and tragic story of a boy and his dog in late 19th century Texas.

White Fang
by Jack London
The adventures of an orphaned half-wolf, half-dog in the wilderness of northwest Canada.

Call of the Wild
by Jack London
Buck the dog is kidnapped from his California home and sent to the Alaskan wilderness as a sled dog, where he
encounters both cruelty and love.

Wolf’s Rain (Manga)
by Bones
illustrated by Toshitsugu Lida
In a world where wolves are nearly extinct, the last four wolves can disguise themselves as humans.

InuYasha (Manga)
by Rumiko Takahashi
A teenager is transported back in time in Japan and releases a dog half-demon.

Wolf Series
by Jane Lindskold
First book: Through Wolf’s Eyes
A girl raised by wolves may be the long-lost heir to the throne.

A Dog’s Life: Autobiography of a Stray
by Ann M. Martin
The life and adventures of a stray dog, told in the dog’s words.

Other Animals

Seekers Series
by Erin Hunter
First book: The Quest Begins
Three young bears from different species on quests that will bring them together.
Animal: bears

Hermux Tantamoq Adventures
by Michael Hoeye
First book: Time Stops for No Mouse
A gentle watchmaking mouse gets drawn into adventure and mystery
Animal: mouse

Guardians of Ga’Hoole
by Kathryn Lasky
First book: The Capture
A young owl faces danger and adventure
Animal: owls

Watership Down
by Richard Adams
A warren of rabbits made homeless by a land developer encounter many dangers as they search for a new home.
Animal: rabbits

Redwall series
by Brian Jacques
First book: Redwall
The adventures of various animals in and around Redwall Abby in the fantasy world of Redwall
Animal: various

Fire Bringer
by David Clement-Davies
A young deer may be the fulfillment of a prophecy and the only hope of the deer against a tyrannical ruler.
Animal: deer

Silverwing Trilogy
by Kenneth Oppel
First book: Silverwing
A young bat, the runt of his colony, gets separated from the colony and finds adventure and new friends as he tries to find his colony.
Animal: bats

Tarka the Otter
by Henry Williamson
The life of an otter in the countryside
Animal: otters

Jonathan Livingston Seagull
by Richard Bach
The story of a seagull who follows his dreams
Animal: seagulls

Fruits Basket (Manga)
by Natsuki Takaya
An orphan moves in with a mysterious family who can change into the animals of the Chinese zodiac.
Animal: various

+Anima (Manga)
by Natsumi Mukai
A group of children with animal powers, shunned by human society, search for others with similar abilities
Animal: various

Mistmantle Chronicles
by M. I. McAllister
illustrated by Omar Ryann
First book: Urchin of the Riding Stars
An orphaned young squirrel serving as page to a Captain of the Guard becomes embroiled in court intrigue when his Captain is accused of a murder
Animal: various

Raven Quest
by Sharon Stewart
A raven exiled from his community after being falsely accused of murder sets off on a quest to find the Grey Lords, who can save his people.
Animal: ravens

The Waterstone
by Rebecca Rupp
The world is drying up, and twelve-year-old Tad faces
adventure, danger, and mysteries as he seeks to restore
the water before it’s too late.
Animal: various

His Dark Materials Trilogy
by Philip Pullman
First book: The Golden Compass
In an alternate world, two children and their animal daemons try to save the universe.
Animal: various

The Jungle Book
by Rudyard Kipling
A boy raised by wolves, and tutored by the panther Bagheera and the bear Baloo, faces off against the fierce tiger Shere Khan.
Animal: various

Books with Bite: Creepy Creatures

Prehistoric Animals:

Ratha and The Named series
by Clare Bell
First book: Ratha’s Creature
Fiery prehistoric cat Ratha brings change to her clan.

Raptor Red
by Robert Bakker
A female Utahraptor struggles for survival in a hostile prehistoric world.

Darkwing
by Kenneth Oppel
A young, prehistoric bat-like mammal, born with deformities that let him fly and navigate in the dark, uses his special abilities to save his colony.

Chronicles of Ancient Darkness
by Michelle Paver
First book: Wolf Brother
A 12-year-old orphan in a prehistoric world bonds with a wolf cub, and the two of them battle evil magic to save the world.

Vampires:

Twilight Saga
by Stephenie Meyer
First book: Twilight
A teenage girl falls in love with a vampire, exposing her to a dangerous world.

House of Night series
by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
First book: Marked
In a world where vampires coexist with humans, a teenage girl is marked as a vampire and begins to attend the House of Night school for vampires.

Vampire Knight (Manga)
by Matsuri Hino
A student at a school attended by humans during the day and vampires at night seeks to find a way for the two groups to coexist peacefully.

Vampire Academy series
by Richelle Mead
First book: Vampire Academy
Two friends at a school for vampires deal with social pressures and dangers from a different group of vampires.

Dracula
by Bram Stoker
Real estate agent Jonathan Harker has been hired to find a London home for Transylvanian Count Dracula, putting his fiance Mina in danger from the vampire.

Blue Bloods
by Melissa De La Cruz
A teen at a prestigious private high school discovers that she is descended from a line of privileged society vampires.

Bloodline
by Kate Cary
The Dracula story continues with the next generation, as a young woman is enticed to become the bride of Captain Quincy Harker from Transylvania.

Vampirates
by Justin Somper
First book: Demons of the Ocean
Twins Connor and Grace are shipwrecked and separated; one ends up on a pirate ship, the other on a ship of vampire pirates.

Werewolves:

Lonely Werewolf Girl
by Martin Millar
A laudanum-addicted, Joan Jett loving, teenage Scottish werewolf princess hides with a couple of humans in London, while her family battles for the werewolf throne.

Blood and Chocolate
by Annette Curtis Klause
A sixteen year old werewolf girl falls in love with a human boy.

Twilight Saga
by Stephenie Meyer
First book: Twilight
A teenage girl falls in love with a vampire, exposing her to a dangerous world.

Maximum Ride Series
by James Patterson
First book: The Angel Experiment
A group of children genetically enhanced with bird DNA giving them the ability to fly escape from the lab where they were bred, and are on the run from half-human, half-wolf predators called erasers.

Dragons:

Inheritance Series
by Christopher Paolini
First book: Eragon
A fifteen year old boy discovers a dragon egg, becomes a Dragon Rider, and works to overthrow a tyrant.

Dragon’s Keep
by Janet Lee Carey
A princess born with a deformity that some consider a curse is abducted by a dragon.

Dragon Slippers series
by Jessica Day George
First book: Dragon Slippers
A poor girl becomes a dressmaker and secret friend of dragons.

Dragon Trilogy
by Chris D’Lacey
First book: The Fire Within
A college student discovers that a clay dragon given to him as a gift can come to life

Age of Fire
by E.E. Knight
First book: Dragon Champion
A lone young dragon survives the massacre of his family and goes in search of his own kind.

Dragon Rider
by Cornelia Funke
A young dragon sets off in search of a sanctuary where the dragons can be safe from humans, and encounters an evil dragon bent on destruction.

Hatching Magic
by Ann Downer
When a wyvern belonging to a thirteenth century wizard goes through a time hole to lay her egg, the hatchling is found by an 11-year-old girl in twenty-first century Boston.

The Dragonriders of Pern
by Anne McCaffrey
First book: Dragonflight
Humans bonded with dragons protect their planet from a threat that falls from the sky.

The Dragon Hunter’s Handbook
by Lori Summers
Everything you need to know to become a dragon hunter.

Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons
by Ernest Drake and Dugald Steer
Interactive guide to dragons.

Creatures and Monsters:

Artemis Fowl series
by Eoin Colfer
First book: Artemis Fowl
A teenage mastermind plans to steal the fairy gold and battles the elite fairy police

Deltora Quest
by Emily Rodda
First book: The Forests Of Silence
Three young companions are on a quest to recover the seven lost gems of the magic Belt of Deltora, to overthrow the Shadow Lord.

Harry Potter
by J.K. Rowling
First book: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
An orphaned boy learns he is a wizard, and attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians
by Rick Riordan
First book: The Lightning Thief
A boy with dyslexia and ADHD learns that the Greek gods still exist and that he’s really a demi-god and pursued by
monsters.

Chronicles of Narnia
by C. S. Lewis
First book: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The adventures of human children in the magical world of Narnia.

Tsubasa (manga)
by Clamp
A young man goes on a quest through alternate worlds to save his friend, when a mysterious symbol at an archaeological dig scatters her memories.

xxxHolic (manga)
by Clamp
Watanuki Kimihiro is tricked into becoming a servant to a witch, after he seeks her help in getting rid of the spirits that haunt him.

Firebringer trilogy
by Meredith Ann Pierce
First book: Birth of the Firebringer
The prince of the unicorns faces dangers as he and his friends go on a pilgrimage for their initiation.

Power of Three
by Diana Wynne Jones
Three children - two with special powers and one ordinary - may be the only ones who can break a curse on their
people.

Aliens:

Animorphs
by K.A. Applegate
First book: The Invasion
Children who can morph into animals battle aliens to save the world.

The Host
by Stephanie Meyer
A woman whose mind is possessed by an alien refuses to submit to the alien, and together they seek the man she
loves.

Ender Series
by Orson Scott Card
First book: Ender’s Game
A young genius is trained to fight aliens attacking Earth.

This list was compiled from recommendations made by the members of the Wands and Worlds community, a fan site dedicated to children’s and teen fantasy and science fiction. The following members contributed to the list: Adderfang, AshfurForever24, Coalfang, CloudWind, Crescentmoon, Fireblossom, Forestpelt, Gingerleaf, Hawkstorm, Heartwing, Icestar, Kitten-Chan, Lightfrost, Losty, Mossflower, Rabbitfoot, Rathacat, Sandcloud, Sevenclaws, Shadow, SheilaRuth, Spirithunter, Spottedstar, Swiftstep, Tawny/Moony, Waterstripe, Wolf.

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Ratha's Courage announcement

When I was a kid, there was a razor commercial on TV where some famous guy (I assume he was famous from the context of the commercial, but I have no idea who he was) said that he liked the razor he was touting so much that he'd bought the company. I can't imagine being so passionate about a razor that you had to buy the company, but I reviewed an author that I like so much, that I acquired her latest work for my publishing company, Imaginator Press.

Back in April, I reviewed Ratha's Creature, by Clare Bell. Ratha's Creature is an intense young adult book about a young prehistoric female cat named Ratha who is exiled from her clan and must learn to survive. Ratha's Creature was first published in 1983, and won an IRA award, a Pen Center USA award, received a Booklist starred review, and was selected for the Best Books for Young People list. Ratha's Creature, along with the other three books in the Named series, were reprinted with stunning new covers last year by Firebird Books.

I loved Ratha's Creature and the Named series so much, that when I learned that the newest book in the series, Ratha's Courage, was available, I was excited at the opportunity, and reached an agreement with Clare Bell through her agent, Richard Curtis, to publish it. Many thanks to Spirithunter, a member of the Wands and Worlds teen community, for suggesting the idea.

Ratha's Courage will be published next month, and if any bloggers are interested in an ARC, please let me know. Author Clare Bell is also available for interviews. She's a fascinating person, who among other things installed her own solar and wind power systems at her house in Northern California. In researching Ratha's Courage, she built a skull model of Dinaelurus crassus, a miocene period cheetah-like cat, and another one similar to the first, but with an enlarged braincase to allow for greater intelligence, for a fictional species that she named Dinaelurus illumina sapiens. You can see these skull models and read more about the research and preparation for the book on the author's web site, Ratha's Courage.com.

See Ratha's Courage on Amazon.com

Buy local through IndieBound!

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Book Review: The Tygrine Cat

The Tygrine Cat
by Inbali Iserles

The Queen of the Tygrine Cats faces defeat at the hands of their ancient enemy, the Sa. Knowing that she cannot survive, but determined to save her people, she sends her young son Mati off to a strange land, and protects him with a spell of forgetting, while she sacrifices herself to save him.

Mati survives on the ship, eating scraps and drinking from a dripping shower stall, until the ship docks at the port of Cressida Lock. There Mati, alone and afraid, and with only scraps of memory of his former life, encounters a band of feral cats living in the catacombs under the leadership of a tomcat named Pirrup: The Courageous Chief Pangur, Lord of the Realm, or just Pangur for short. The Cressida Lock cats are suspicious of Mati, but agree to take him in at the encouragement of Sparrow, a kindly but eccentric older tom.

Mati is befriended not only by Sparrow, but by Domino, a young black and white cat, and Jess, a former housecat who get lost and couldn't find her way home. But Mati has enemies, too, both within and without. Among the Cressida Lock cats, there are some who still mistrust Mati because he's different, and who want to see him banished. And Mati is pursued by an ancient evil from his distant homeland, an evil determined to kill Mati and rule the world.

The Tygrine Cat is a good story with appealing characters, and overall I enjoyed it. Author Inbali Iserles' writing shows promise - there are some lovely descriptive passages and creative metaphors - but it's not as tightly controlled as it might be. For example, it's sometimes jarring that in one paragraph things are mentioned in human terms that a cat wouldn't understand, and a paragraph or two later we're seeing the world through the cats' eyes using their own language and way of describing things. I'm probably spoiled from reading too many Warriors books; Erin Hunter does a lovely job of keeping us immersed in the cats' world, and I think I was expecting more of that.

Still, there was a lot to like about this book and I think it will have strong appeal for fans of animal fantasy, as well as those who interested in ancient religions and mysticism. The characters were well-drawn and appealing to cat lovers, and the plot was interesting, with some unique ties to ancient Egypt.

Edit: in re-reading this review, I think the tone of it was more negative than I intended it to be. I found this to be a good book overall, and I only had a few minor quibbles with it, so I edited the review to better reflect my overall opinion of the book without minimizing its shortcomings.

Pages: 242
Total 48-hour book challenge pages read: 242
Total 48-hour book challenge books read: 1
Time reading: 3 hours
Time blogging: 1 hour

Book Review: Ratha's Creature

Ratha's Creature
The First Book of the Named
by Clare Bell

What if there were prehistoric cats who took the first steps towards civilization? That's the premise behind Ratha's Creature and The Named series. The Named are a tribe of large prehistoric cats who have learned to keep herds of prehistoric herdbeasts. Ratha is a yearling in training to be a herder. Females are discouraged from becoming herders under the dictatorial rule of clan leader Meoran, but Ratha's teacher Thakur believed she had promise and convinced Meoran to allow him to train her. In addition to keeping the herdbeasts from wandering, the herders have to protect them from the Un-Named, cats who have no clan and no name and who live by preying on the herds of the Named.

When a forest fire temporarily drives the Named from their home, Ratha discovers that fire is not just an enemy: it's a tool that can be used and controlled. Her discovery frightens the clan and threatens Meoran's leadership, and Ratha is driven out of the clan. Exiled and alone, Ratha lives on the edge of survival until she meets one of the Un-Named, and discovers that not all of the Un-Named are as dimwitted as she has been led to believe.

Ratha's Creature is an intense, emotional roller coaster of a book. It's the coming of age story of a remarkable adolescent, but it's also a story of the eternal battle between social status quo and social change. Ratha is the perfect change agent: she's impulsive, rebellious, and stubborn, but also creative, courageous, and determined. She's a remarkable character that you can't help but like in spite of her shortcomings, and teens will identify with her struggle to make sense of the world around her and find her place in it.

It's the characters - and the interaction between them - that really make this book. Besides Ratha there's Bonechewer, appealing arrogant and sardonic, yet amazingly patient with Ratha's occasionally irascible nature. Then there's Fessran, courageous and loyal, who stands by Ratha even when Ratha loses faith in herself. And finally Thakur, who loves Ratha in his own way, yet fears the change that she represents.

Ratha's Creature is a fast read - I think I read it in less than 24 hours, which is fast for me, because I couldn't put it down. Yet there's a lot to chew on here, too, with an emotional depth and a complexity of social and psychological situations. And here's a remarkable thing: the book has 42 reviews on Amazon.com, and EVERY ONE of them is a five star review. How often do you see that happen?

This book is more appropriate for mature teens than for younger readers; there's a fair bit of graphic violence, and a mating scene which is quite intense, although not overly explicit in language.

Ratha's Creature was first published in 1983 and has long been out of print. It was just republished in 2007 by the Firebird Books imprint of Penguin. They also republished books 2, 3, and 4 of the series. The new edition of Ratha's Creature is available from Amazon.com here.

A brand new book in the series, Ratha's Courage, was originally scheduled for publication in 2007 by Firebird, but publication of this eagerly awaited sequel was inexplicably cancelled. Ratha's Courage is available as an e-book from Baen Books here and should be in print soon.

There's an interesting collection of Ratha's Creature fan art here.

Book Review: Firestar's Quest

Firestar's Quest
Warriors Super Edition
by Erin Hunter

Several months have passed since the battle with BloodClan, and life in ThunderClan is settling back to normal. But then Firestar begins having visions of a strange gray cat with white patches, and of a group of terrified, fleeing cats. What does it mean? Then Firestar learns that there used to be a fifth clan, a clan that was driven out of the forest by the other clans, apparently with the consent of StarClan. Did StarClan lie when it said that there have always been four clans in the forest? Accompanied by Sandstorm, Firestar sets out on a quest to find and restore the lost clan. But can anything restore Firestar's faith in StarClan?

A standalone book set between the first and second Warriors series, Firestar's Quest is probably the best Warriors book so far. The quest format drives the story along, while the themes of faith and responsibility give it depth. It's quite satisfying watching Firestar and Sandstorm assemble a ragtag group of cats into a true clan. The fact that it's a story that's been done before—for example, in sports movies from The Bad News Bears to Major League—doesn't reduce its power as a story, and it's very well done here. It's also satisfying to finally see Firestar work out his relationship with Sandstorm, and work through his conflicted feelings about Spottedleaf. We were cheated on seeing that bit of his life, since The New Prophecy books start with the relationship pretty settled and Firestar a family man.

Firestar's Quest is a must read for fans of the series; longtime fans will especially appreciate the return to Firestar's point of view. Those new to the series should find that this book stands fairly well alone, although some time will be needed to acclimate to the Warriors culture and terminology.

By the way, it's hard to tell from the cover image, but the cover isn't yellow, it's a beautiful gold foil.