Kristin Cashore's 2008 book, entitled Graceling, is listed as a honor book of the William C. Morris Young Adult Debut Award, and will be of interest to most teens looking for a fantasy.

The book takes place in a world of seven kingdoms. The main character, Katsa, is a Graceling--that is, a person who is Graced with an extreme ability. All Gracelings have complete heterochromia--two different colored eyes. The Gracelings are either seen as blessed or burdensome, and this provides much of the conflict in the book. It also provides much of the significance in the work, inspiring feelings of tolerance and acceptance of others'--and especially one's own--differences.

This book is probably best suited to teen girls who are independent or tomboys, as that is Katsa's character. There are elements of romance, violence, and sparring humor involved that create for a great storyline. However, the drawbacks may irritate some older readers; there are some instances of poor sentence structure, and the ending may be found wanting.

For those interested, her latest book is Fire, which contains the same seven kingdoms, though entirely different characters. It is not considered a sequel, but a companion.

Overall, it isn't one of the best works in teen fiction, but it is definitely worth a look.

Zoe Fishman's Balancing Acts is timely, warm-fuzzy, and it strikes the right balance in exploring the themes of friendship and self-empowerment.

Fishman is timely for taking on yoga as a lifestyle as well as a cultural phenomenon among the young urban professionals. Recent New York Times articles discussed yoga being the "must-have" amenity in any self-respecting hotel chains in Rolling Out the Yoga Mat. In When Chocolate And Chakras Collide – yoga for foodies sessions are not just popular in NYC, they are coming to a restaurant near you.

Many attribute yoga's popularity to the harsh economy and the disillusionment of the dot-com generation. (See Hard Times are Jamming the Ashrams). In Balancing Acts when Charlie decides to leave her high-paying job as a Wall Street banker to open her own yoga studio, her biggest worry is finding enough customers to keep her business afloat. At her college's 10-year reunion, she reconnects with Naomi, Sabine, and Bess and signs them up for beginning yoga. Many shared oms and Adho Mukha Svanasanas later, they learn to lean on their friendship and newly found confidence as they deal with heartbreaks, disappointments and make positive changes in their lives.

"Fishman combines humor and brutal honesty as she keeps four story lines going and tracks the growing friendship among the women". A debut not to be missed. (Read an interview with Zoe).

Readalikes: A Fortunate Age and Everyone is Beautiful for the female friendship/reunion elements. How to be Single and Smart Girls Like Me for single girl/self-empowerment issues.

Mark Linkous, lead singer/songwriter of Sparklehorse, is dead

Mark Linkous, brilliant singer and songwriter of the popular indie band, Sparklehorse, died Saturday afternoon.

Popular on the festival circuit, Linkous has collaborated with musician Christian Fennesz, and producer Danger Mouse among others. At the time of his death, he was working on a follow-up album to his well-received Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain (2006).

Linkous, 47, committed suicide.

The 52nd Annual Southeast Michigan Science Fair is taking place this Saturday and Sunday, March 13 - 14, from Noon - 4pm. Middle and High School students from the area compete at WCC’s Morris Lawrence building for the top two individual and team prizes in a variety of projects, from models and collections at the middle school division to microbiology and chemistry at the senior division. Top science projects will move on to the Intel International Science Fair in San Jose, CA in May.

If your child is working furiously on an upcoming science fair project, check out the AADL's robust collection of science fair books, ranging from encyclopedias of project ideas to specific project ideas for different forces in the physical world. To find out what your local branch has right now, follow the link earlier in this paragraph, and then click the check box next to "limit to items available at," and then click on the drop down menu to find your branch name. Create this list by clicking "Search."

March is National Craft Month! Which means it’s time to dust off those knitting needles, bust out the sewing machine, grab the fabric, glue, ribbon, scissors, paint, and paper, and get making! It could be something big, something small, something quick, or something that will take a year to complete. It doesn’t matter, as long as those brains are thinking and those fingers are creating. Does that bookshelf need repainted? Does your bathroom need new curtains? Now is the time! Need ideas for new project? Check out CraftZine online (an amazing resource, former print magazine, and the sister of Make magazine), or try the Maker Shed, if you’re more into gadgets. There are also MANY books available at AADL with craft ideas, ideas for craft gatherings, and craft business related books. A few of my recent faves are One Yard Wonders and Handmade Nation.

Happy crafting!
National Craft Month

The Oscars air Sunday, March 7th, which makes now a great time to watch a few past Oscar winners with your kids. The Best Animated Feature Film Category was introduced in 2001, and the winners make great movies to enjoy with your family.

Films distinguished by winning Best Animated Feature Film include Shrek (It's sequel, Shrek 2 was also nominated in 2004), Spirited Away (a Japanese anime film dubbed with English actors), Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Happy Feet, Ratatouille, and WALL-E. Clearly computer generated movies by Pixar have been big winners in this category.

Treasure Planet earns an honorable mention from me as my personal favorite nominee for Best Animated Feature Film, as I've always liked Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island and I think setting the story in space only improved it.

Issues of identity and social life can complicate adolescence for adopted teens. Fortunately for families, there is lots of information at the library and support in the community. Check out Adoptive Families magazine in which the March-April issue has the article "Between Worlds" by Fran Eisenman. In Ann Arbor, a new group is beginning for adopted teens, "Connections," co-led by an adoptive mother/psychologist and her 22 year old daughter. The group will be a place to reflect on challenges, opportunities, relationships and adoption. For details, call Kristine Freeark, 668-0140 or email kfreeark@gmail.com.

Historians may think I have a tendency to overstate the importance of baseball upon the Civil Rights Movement, however, James Sturm and Rich Tommaso have written a book which acutely represents the historical significance of baseball and stars like Satchel Paige.

When I began reading the book, I thought it would be a Satchel Paige biography in the form of a graphic novel; but its actuality is even better. There is a two page introduction on Paige at the start, but after that he is featured in only a few frames throughout the book. Instead of detailing Paige's life, the book portrays the life of a sharecropper on a cotton farm in Alabama during the 1930s. The description (in both words and pictures) of his reality is contrasted with Satchel Paige's visit to town and a realization of possibility.

Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow is everything a book should be.

Fairy had a Party, and all the Friends came.
They ate Fairy Treats.
They made Fairy Crafts.
Then they played Fun Games.