The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter

This book will hold a special place forever as my first advance reader’s edition!  It will be released in hardcover September 14th, 2010.  The first thing that struck me was the narrative voice, which belongs to one of the Hardscrabble children but you are left not knowing which, though I have my suspicions.  I like books that keep you guessing and I like to think I am a pretty good guesser but Ellen Potter kept me on my toes until the very end.  The children are all unique and I bet every reader identifies with a different one.  Otto, Lucia and Max live with their father Casper in the town of Little Tunks.  They don’t exactly fit because of the rumors surrounding the disappearance of their mother.  Their lives are filled with mystery and confusion but not in the ways they expect.  The cover also gets serious points for actually fitting the book.  The children all resemble each other a bit much than their descriptions but all and all quite appropriate.  This is one where I struggle with how to not spoil.  These are three siblings set on an adventure by a phone call and who in the end have their adventure and find some truth as well.  I’ve heard this book referred to as having a feel of Lemony Snicket but there is so much more meat to this book.  The characters are more real and the journey is so much more.

Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter, illustrated by Matt Phelan

First off just because something is illustrated doesn’t mean that there are huge amounts of images.  I always love having a well placed smattering of pictures and Matt Phelan’s sketch style illustrations fit right in with the creative atmosphere of this book.  I’ve always been drawn to things with stark contrast so the black and white on this cover styled like the yellow legal pads I used to tear through makes my heart happy.

I spent much of this book smiling a very silly smile and nodding in agreement.  There were new ideas but many observations were things that I have learned only recently.  Now do the math here:  I am 23, a graduate student, and I have been writing since I was in like the 5th grade, earlier than that if you ask my sister.  I can only imagine how much better off my writing would be now if this volume had existed to find it’s way into my 5th grade hands.  The book is well broken down so you can bite off just a little bit at a time and mull over it for a while or you can tear through it and easily find the parts you want to go back to later.  This book is not a dreary tome of rules; rather it is the first clue that sets you on the path towards great adventure and maybe just maybe great treasure at the end.  (Now I better go finish my homework so I can write before my fingers fly off on their own…)