Books: Young Adults

[woodwardiocom]

The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines

"Happily ever after" requires maintenance. This novel stars Cinderella, in the early days of her marriage to the prince. He gets kidnapped by her stepsisters and hidden in Fairyland. She teams up with Sleeping Beauty and Snow White to rescue him. This "Prrrncess Power" novel gives Snow magical powers, turns Beauty into a Middle Eastern ninja, and makes Cinderella entirely clever, as she deciphers schemes, unravels magic, and eventually rescues her handsome prince from assorted fates worse than death. An entertaining deconstruction of fairy tales, not shying away from their dark parts (Sleeping Beauty is very bitter about her past). Quite recommended.

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

Sequel to Leviathan, set in an alternate World War One where the war is between the Darwinists and their genetically engineered beasts (such as zeppelin-whales, messenger lizards, and the giga-kraken of the title) and the Clanker Powers with their diesel-powered war-walkers. Our teenage heroes spend most of the novel in Istanbul, trying to stop the war through pluck and cunning, hampered by being, technically, on opposite sides. (Also hampered by the fact that disguised-as-a-boy Deryn hasn't told Alek that she's in love with him, yet.) Fun, and brilliantly illustrated by Keith Thompson. Very recommended.

The Last Colony and Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi

Two novels telling the same events, from two different points of view. The first is about John Perry, colonial administrator on the new human colony world of Roanoke. Alas, in the crowded, hostile universe these books take place in, a new human colony is something the alien powers Will Not Tolerate, so Roanoke becomes an utterly expendable pawn in interstellar politics — but Perry refuses to be pawn-like. Zoe's Tale is about Perry's adopted teenage daughter, as she deals both with normal teenage stuff, and also being a holy figure to a race of aliens eternally indebted to her dead biological father, but not quite willing to step in and defend Roanoke when the human armed forces abandon it. Both are eminently readable, vaguely reminiscent of Heinlein when he didn't have his head up his butt, and recommended.

(Hmm, out of those four books, two and a half of them are attempts by middle-aged men to write from the point-of-view of teenage girls. Honestly, I'm in no position to judge whether they get it right, but they didn't strike any wrong chords that I noticed.)

Comments

[hackard.livejournal.com]

At Armadillocon a couple of years back, Scalzi told an amusing story about writing a first chapter of Zoe's Tale that he was very proud of. He showed it to his wife, Kristine, and her reaction was "Nope. Wrong. This reads exactly like what a very male male thinks a girl sounds, acts, and thinks like. Try again."

So he had good advisors on that book, at least.