Ascendant -- by Diana Peterfreund

Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund

This is the sequel to Rampant so it may will contain spoilers! In Rampant we meet Astrid Llewelyn and her unicorn-obsessed mother, Lilith. Astrid once thought that unicorns were imaginary and that her mother was just a little crazy. However, a chance encounter with a small unicorn known as a zhi takes Astrid into a world she wished never existed.

In Peterfreund's world, unicorns are savage, poisonous beasts and virgin women like Astrid are unicorn hunters. They are actually the only humans who can sense and kill the powerful and intelligent creatures.

In the first book, Astrid learns about the hunters' connection and ability to sense and connect with the unicorns. Whenever they are around unicorns their senses and skills improve. The unicorns and the hunters share an uneasy, strange bond. In the first book, Astrid uses this bond to her advantage to destroy an entire mega-herd of angry kirin unicorns.

In Ascendant, when Astrid encounters and helps a member of the Gordian drug company manage a captive herd of einhorn unicorns, she finds that not only is she able to sense unicorns, but she's also able to feel "transcendent." Astrid describes the feeling of being surrounded by creatures she normally would be hunting like this: "I caught my breath and reveled in their nearness, suddenly hungry for the feel of them, the scent, the strange comfort their nearness brought me. I wanted this," (p. 169).

Astrid is working for Isabeau Jaeger, who is now head of Gordian pharmaceuticals. Astrid feels safe for a while under her care. Her work managing Isabeau's captive herd of einhorn allows her to take college classes and make money for the other hunters back in Rome.

A lot of strange things are happening around Europe, however. Every time a hunter is found, she loses her eligibility (read: virginity) almost immediately. Also, Cory is losing her ability to sense unicorns. Working with Isabeau helps Astrid understand more about what the Remedy isn't and keeps her hoping she'll find out what it is.

In Ascendant, we also see Astrid think she's found herself only to see her losing her sense of self over and over again. The things that Astrid wants for her life are tragically just out of reach. Over all of this is the sense that Alexander's powerful and dangerous karkadann, Bucephalus, is still watching her and reaching through her dreams. What he wants from her is alien and uncertain.

I can't wait to read another book in this series. I'm tentatively hopeful it will be out in the next few years. (Fingers crossed!)

For more information:
HarperTeen with a great book trailer
Diana Peterfreund's website

Weed from the Children's area of the library

We recently weeded Computers: A New True Book by Karen Jacobson. It was published in 1982. ISBN: 0516016172

From page 25 and 27 under the section entitled "Modern Computers":

"Since Hollerith's time punch cards have been greatly improved....Computers can receive 'input' from holes punched in cards or paper tape, from computer keyboards and special magnetic tapes."

Another great pic:

Sushi how to

Sushi Howto from TokyoPOP: "I will make Sushi!"

Rachel Caine Visit

Me on camera!

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

Summary

The story is about two teens, both named Will Grayson. Each Will narrates the story in alternating chapters. The first Will is friends with a huge, unrelentingly cheerfully gay, rich football player named Tiny. The other Will falls for Tiny.

The plot of the story is very loose: two kids who otherwise would have never met do meet in Chicago at a very improbable place under unlikely circumstances. Tiny's musical, which he's producing with the school's help and funding, is also something that advances the story since both Wills become entangled in it. The ending of the story is really beautiful, and of course, I'm not going to give it away.

What I Thought
I loved Will Grayson, Will Grayson. The story was delightful from start to finish. However, as much I enjoyed the two Wills, it's Tiny that the story really revolves around. Each Will becomes caught up in his hugeness, his over-the-top wonderousness. As each different Will experiences Tiny, their lives are changed.

This read was really great fun for me. The supporting characters are all fully realized, too, which is a neat touch. Will Grayson number 2's mom, for example, is very interesting. Figuring out what happened in her life would be a story in itself. Jane, Will Grayson the first's, love interest is one of the coolest girls I've read about in any story.


Check out more info:
In the meantime, check out  John Green's page.


A nice interview with both authors.

Book donation: What the Bible is All About

This book was donated to our library today. I love the cover. It looks like he is looking for answers--for what?... I'll let your imagination roam.

Here's the Bib info:

Mears, Henrietta. What the Bible is All About: An easy to understand survey of the Bible. Regal Books Division, 1953. ISBN: 0-8307-0072-2

Favorite passage after flipping through it from page 448:

"God has X-rayed the human heart and has given us the picture. He shows us what He finds in us all. The findings are so terrible that they cannot be read in a mixed audience. But remember, this is the picture of us that God sees."

Retro cover: 4 stars
Depressing interpretation of a holy book: 1 star

SLIS 5420 - Module 15 - And Tango Makes Three

Module 15 - And Tango Makes Three

Bibliography
Parnell, Peter and Justin Richardson. And Tango Makes Three. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2005. ISBN: 0-6898-78451

Summary
Roy and Silo are two male chinstrap penguins that paired up together at the Central Park Zoo. For years, they displayed courting behavior, made a nest together and tried to hatch rocks. One day a zoo keeper gave the pair an abandoned egg that they hatched successfully. Tango was the baby they raised together. This is based on a true story.

What I Thought
I thought this book was adorable! My partner and I raise two awesome children and it's really a breath of fresh air to have books out there about families like ours. The illustrations by Henry Cole are cute and animated. My children enjoyed reading the book with me.

This book is, however, one of the most challenged books on the ALA list because it depicts a homosexual relationship (between penguins). I understand that this is a sensitive issue to some people who feel that homosexuality shouldn't be exposed to their children. However, love, partnership, parenting and relationships are beautiful things no matter who you love. This book is beautifully accepting of Roy and Silo and shows how people (like the zoo keeper in the story) can look past the "gay" and see the love.

Outside Reviews

 "Tango has two daddies in this heartwarming tale, inspired by actual events in New York's Central Park Zoo. Two male penguins, Roy and Silo, "did everything together. They bowed to each other.… They sang to each other. And swam together. Wherever Roy went, Silo went too. … Their keeper… thought to himself, 'They must be in love.'" Cole's (The Sissy Duckling) endearing watercolors follow the twosome as they frolic affectionately in several vignettes and then try tirelessly to start a family--first they build a stone nest and then they comically attempt to hatch a rock. Their expressive eyes capture a range of moods within uncluttered, pastel-hued scenes dominated by pale blue. When the keeper discovers an egg that needs tending, he gives it to Roy and Silo, who hatch and raise the female. The keeper says, "We'll call her Tango,… because it takes two to make a Tango." Older readers will most appreciate the humor inherent in her name plus the larger theme of tolerance at work in this touching tale. Richardson and Parnell, making their children's book debut, ease into the theme from the start, mentioning that "families of all kinds" visit the zoo. This tender story can also serve as a gentle jumping-off point for discussions about same-sex partnerships in human society."

(2005). And Tango Makes Three. Publishers Weekly, 252(20), 61. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier database.

"In this true, straightforwardly (so to speak) delivered tale, two male chinstrap penguins at New York City's Central Park Zoo bond, build a nest and--thanks to a helping hand from an observant zookeeper--hatch and raise a penguin chick. Seeing that the penguins dubbed Roy and Silo "did everything together. They bowed to each other. And walked together. They sang to each other. And swam together," their keeper, Mr. Gramzay, thinks, "They must be in love." And so, when Roy and Silo copy the other penguin couples and build a nest of stones, it's Gramzay who brings a neighboring couple's second egg for them to tend, then names the resulting hatchling "Tango." Cole gives the proud parents and their surrogate offspring small smiles, but otherwise depicts figures and setting with tidy, appealing accuracy. Unlike Harvey Fierstein's groundbreaking The Sissy Duckling (2002), also illustrated by Cole, this doesn't carry its agenda on its shoulder; readers may find its theme of acceptance even more convincing for being delivered in such a matter of fact, non-preachy way."

(2005). AND TANGO MAKES THREE. Kirkus Reviews, 73(11), 642. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier database.

Using This book in the library
This book has been part of many displays in my library. People are surprised, sometimes, that it's been banned. It's a great topic for starting a good discussion about censorship and what may or may not be appropriate. The biggest challenge to the book is that it depicts a same-sex relationship and some parents aren't ready to tell their children about this part of life. It's important (especially in a public library) to remind parents to always review the choices their children pick. There are picture books about war, death, disease and a variety of issues you may not be ready to share with your children. Age appropriate books do not mean they don't deal with "heavy" issues. They just deal with heavy issues in an age-appropriate way.


For fun and information:
Find out more about the two penguins, Roy and Silo and the scientific thought behind their behavior from Scientific American.