Hungry for Knowledge

In The Vengekeep Prophecies, 12-year-old Jaxter Grimjinx is from a family of thieves, but his contribution to their plans and execution is as a reader and chemist. 

He reads to discover the formulas that will open a lock or break a spell. His friendship with Callie inspires him to be a force of good in the world. Jaxter and Callie go on a quest in search of ingredients for an antidote to his family's ill-conceived plan, which has brought adversity upon the town of Vengekeep. But they find so much more. Their journey puts Jaxter in the path of both evil and salvation: his true calling. He meets the Dowager Soranna, whose fascination with herbs and salves outpaces his own. She teaches him about his craft and appreciates his mind. 

Meeting the Dowager introduces a defining moment for Jaxter: Does he steal from her to complete his antidote or remain with her and feed his mind? And what of his family? Can he abandon them? And if he returns to them, is he abandoning himself? This is Jaxter's first taste of independence, and the questions he asks himself are the defining questions of moving toward adulthood. To pursue one's own interests over the plans one's family has made for you can often feel like you're abandoning them. But the words of Jaxter's grandmother, as he sets out on his quest, offer a clue: "The things you learn in books will outshine all of us someday."

This is the first in a trilogy, but this book wraps up beautifully, with no easy answers and lingering questions that may well help shape readers' questions as they grapple with their own inner quests.

The Burden of Power

Kristin Cashore

If Graceling was about owning one’s own power, and Fire was about deciding when the use of power is appropriate and when it is not, then Bitterblue is about exploring what it’s like to have power over the fates of others. In this election year, Kristin Cashore (author of all three books in the Graceling series) raises searching questions about leadership—how much autonomy to grant others and when to determine certain decisions on their behalf.

In the case of 18-year-old Queen Bitterblue, her father, King Leck, twisted the truth. He wiped out the memories and experiences of his citizenry after inflicting unspeakable crimes against them as individuals and as a citizenry. Bitterblue feels compelled to confront those truths herself but then must decide how much of that information to release and to whom. Would it be healing or do greater damage to make public some of these facts? And how can she remedy the hurt her father caused to so many of his subjects? It’s a daunting task, and she has few people she can trust, surrounded as she is by her father’s men, who must come to terms with their own guilt, sorrow and grief.

Her only reliable means of gathering the truth is to disguise herself as a male and take to the streets. But that comes with its own perils. As the daughter of a king that wronged a nation, she has few friends and many enemies, but she feels it’s worth the risk to get to the truth. One of the great injustices she discovers is that her father made it a crime to teach others to read. As someone who thrives on education and loves to learn, Bitterblue finds this one of the greatest travesties of her father’s reign.  As she strives to bring about justice, Bitterblue also finds laughter and love, enjoys the friendships of Katsa and Po (from Graceling), and discovers friendly neighbors and possible allies.

Kristin Cashore once again explores the questions at the center of the human experience: the pursuit of truth and justice, and the need for a society that allows people to thrive as individuals.

Armchair Travel

Ambassador Walter Dean Myers (l.) and Justin Tuck

New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck received the annual Impact Award for his foundation, Tuck's R.U.S.H. for Literacy, last Monday. The occasion was the Children’s Book Council Gala to kick off Children’s Book Week. Tuck said that growing up in Kellyton, Ala., as one of seven children, he and his family didn't go many places. "If you want to go somewhere, pick up a book," his mother told him. Tua and the Elephant is just the kind of book Mrs. Tuck was talking about.

The book transports you to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Without ever leaving their chairs, readers enter the world of Tua and the Elephant by R.P. Harris , illus. by Taeeun Yoo, and experience a night market, smell its foods, witness its customs, meet its people, and speak its language. The artwork accentuates both the exotic and the universal elements of growing up in a village where everyone looks out for their “little peanut” (the translation of “Tua”).

Tua’s world grows larger as she searches for a safe haven for the elephant she rescues, and our world expands, too. Taeeun Yoo’s artwork help us picture Tua’s world even more clearly, and the honest emotion Tua expresses is something all children can relate to, no matter how close they stay to or how far they wander from home.

A Fresh Start

In Bluefish by Pat Schmatz, Travis has a complicated relationship with his grandfather, his sole guardian. He’s not excited about the fact that they had to move away from the creek where Travis found some peace of mind, and he misses his hound, Rosco. But it is a chance to start fresh. And to leave behind the nickname his peers had given him: “bluefish.”

The book opens with a good Samaritan act. Travis sees a stray shoe come flying past him while he’s at his locker. Shortly thereafter, a kid ambles by who’s missing one. Travis returns the shoe to the kid without a word and continues on his way. This earns him the respect of Bradley (the one-shoed kid) and also Velveeta, a silent witness. A friendship tenuously takes hold among the three. It’s sealed by a teacher, Mr. McQueen, with a knack for matching the right kid with the right book, and for offering the right comment at the right time. Travis has never known an adult like that, and Velveeta is sorely missing the one adult who had served that role in her life.

With the aid of this friendship and adult guide, both Travis and Velveeta find the courage to confide in one another. There’s a hint of attraction between them, but Schmatz keeps their connection platonic, exploring the full extent of what it means to be a true friend and confidante. Through their friendship, each transforms his and her self-image, and they begin to see in themselves the sense of possibility that they bring out in one another. Schmatz packs an emotional wallop in this brief novel.