(So-called) Nerdy Books

Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones

Official Description / Back cover: "The Dog Star, Sirius, is tried - and found guilty - by his heavenly peers for a murder he did not commit. His sentence: to live on the planet Earth until he can carry out a seemingly impossible mission - the recovery of a deadly weapon known as the Zoi. The first lesson Sirius learns in his lowly earthly form is that humans have all the power. The second is that even though his young mistress loves him, she can't protect either of them. The third - and worst - is that someone out there will do anything to keep Sirius from finding the Zoi. Even if it means destroying Earth itself. This funny, heartbreaking, stunning book features an introduction by Neil Gaiman, an avid fan of Diana Wynne Jones."

Where I found it: I found Dogsbody in the school library where I work.

Why I am highlighting it: Because, while it may seem to be a lighthearted book for easy laughs, it also features serious issues such as racism, family neglect and bullying, all wrapped up in a story of stellar originality.

Amulet: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi

Personal book review: The Amulet series is the Narnia of graphic novels. After a car accident kills their father, siblings Emily and Navin and their mother moving into the strange mansion of their deceased great-grandfather. Until they hear strange noises, Emily finds an unaccountably glowing amulet, and a huge tentacled monster drags their mother through a door in the basement that leads to another world. A world inhabited by talking, mostly humanoid animals, robots, monsters and elves. A world Emily and Navin must learn not only to survive in, but navigate as they quest to rescue their mother, making enemies and friends as well as learning that Emily’s amulet has a mind, and maybe an agenda, of its own. An evocatively drawn book that is as much about keeping an already bereaved family together as about magic, monsters, and mysteries, the art pulls no emotional punches and can, at times, put the graphic in “graphic novels” even while remaining appropriate for children. All the while both developing and maintaining the level of story and world complexity one expects from the best Fantasy novels

Where I found it: I found Amulet in the school library where I work.

Why I am highlighting it: Because, aside from being a critically acclaimed bestseller, it is among the most popular graphic novels where I work, with students checking it out right and left.

The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat

Official Description / Back cover: "In a fantasy adventure every bit as compelling and confident in its world building as her Newbery Honor Book A Wish in the Dark, Christina Soontornvat explores a young woman’s struggle to unburden herself of the past and chart her own destiny in a world of secrets. As assistant to Mangkon’s most celebrated mapmaker, twelve-year-old Sai plays the part of a well-bred young lady with a glittering future. In reality, her father is a conman—and in a kingdom where the status of one’s ancestors dictates their social position, the truth could ruin her. Sai seizes the chance to join an expedition to chart the southern seas, but she isn’t the only one aboard with secrets. When Sai learns that the ship might be heading for the fabled Sunderlands—a land of dragons, dangers, and riches beyond imagining—she must weigh the cost of her dreams. Vivid, suspenseful, and thought-provoking, this tale of identity and integrity is as beautiful and intricate as the maps of old."

Where I found it: The Last Mapmaker was donated en masse to the school library where I work.

Why I am highlighting it: Because it is a A Newbery and Walter Dean Myers Honor Book.