AML

[House of Mustard]

This was recently on the AML listserv, in an article that was kind of a wrap-up of 2005 fiction.

Speculative fiction author Brandon Sanderson (like Hale and Meyer a recent BYU grad) also made a national splash with his first novel, Elantris.  The fantasy tells the complex story of a godlike race whose powers have degenerated.  A reviewer at Publisher's Weekly said the novel was "outstanding . . . free of the usual genre clichés, offering something for everyone: mystery, magic, romance, political wrangling, religious conflict, fights for equality, sharp writing and wonderful, robust characters. Orson Scott Card positively gushed, calling it, "the finest novel of fantasy to be written in many
years  . . . a truly original world of magic and intrigue, and with the rigor of the best science fiction writers he has made it real at every level.  What makes this novel
unforgettable, however, is the magnificent characters he has created. True heroes who, in the face of adversity, find strength they did not know they had, make mistakes from whose consequences they do not shrink, and sacrifice to save what is worth loving in
their world."

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I'm curious what the previous paragraph had said about Shannon Hale. I'm assuming Stephenie Meyer was the other author they were talking about, who really splashed big in her debut this year with Twilight, which was a nice glossy book but rather boring to me. It took too long to get started. But that was apparently the largest advance in the history of Little, Brown, or in the history of YA, or something. So all the buzz it was getting was for a reason. I have the ARC around here somewhere.

[House of Mustard]

Sorry -- it's just a listserv, so I don't have a link.

Shannon Hale's first two young adult fantasy novels received considerable critical applause and commercial success.  Her third, Princess Academy, won the 2006 Newbury Honor Book award, which is an honorable mention for the Newberry Award, one of four books so honored.  The American Library Association, which gave the award, wrote, "The book is a fresh approach to the traditional princess story with unexpected plot twists and great emotional resonance." Princess Academy was also on the New York Times Best Sellers List for children's chapter books, and one of ALA notable Children's Book.  A reviewer in Booklist wrote, "Hale nicely interweaves feminist sensibilities in this quest-for-a-prince-charming, historical-fantasy tale. Strong suspense and plot drive the action as the girls outwit would-be kidnappers and explore the boundaries of leadership, competition, and friendship.  Orson Scott Card, himself a great Harry Potter fan, went as far as saying Princess Academy is, "quite frankly, better than any of the Harry Potter books.  . . . It’s been along time since I’ve read an adult novel with anything like Hale's knowledge of human nature and human communities. There is a magical element in their world, and it’s crucial to the story, but there are not spells or fairy godmothers or pumpkin coaches.  Instead, there are real girls learning real-world lessons that nevertheless will set readers dreaming in completely unexpected ways.  . . . . compared to the life of this academy,  Hogwarts seems almost a caricature of a school."
    Fellow young adult author Stephanie Meyer received nearly as much critical applause and apparently even more commercial success with her first novel, Twilight.
It was named one of ALA's 2006 Best Books for Young Adults, and has been among the best selling young adult books of the year, as well as the subject of
spirited biding war for foreign and movie rights.  Meyer tuned to the currently popular subject of vampire romance, this time set in the modern world, between a human girl and a vampire boy who is part of a community of vampires which have sworn off human
blood.  A stared review in School Library Journal stated, "The tension strips away any pretense readers may have about the everyday teen romance novel . . .
the novel's danger-factor skyrockets as the excitement of secret love and hushed affection morphs into a terrifying race to stay alive.  Realistic, subtle, succinct, and easy to follow, Twilight will have readers dying to sink their teeth into it."  Jana Reiss, a noted professional book reviewer as well as a Mormon, commented that she could not put the book down, that it was amazingly well plotted, with "some of the scenes achingly beautiful and poignant."  She also noted, however, that "the feminist in me hated it, to put it bluntly.  I haven't read such a retrogressive book
in a long time.  Bella, our heroine . . . is weak, unobservant, and almost ridiculously dependent.
By the end of the novel, after Bella has been saved from certain death for the third time by her vampire hero, I wanted to throw the book . . . But I loved the world
that Meyer created."

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I love that whoever posted this misspelled Newbery twice in two different ways.