Shaken & Stirred: You Left Your Heart in the Zoo: The Queen of Cool

February 14, 2006

You Left Your Heart in the Zoo: The Queen of Cool

Happy Valentine's Day -- I can't think of anything better to give you than a recommendation for Cecil Castellucci's new book The Queen of Cool. Run out and buy it immediately; you can, because today's the official release day. (And hey, look at that, Amazon is pairing it with her WONDERFUL, WUNDERKIND first novel Boy Proof -- get it too, if you don't have it.)

Queen is the story of Libby Brin, a popular girl who's dying of boredom on the inside. Her friends are the thin kind of clever (if), dedicated to endless, half-hearted attempts at entertaining themselves. Libby decides one day to join an internship program at the L.A. Zoo, even though her friends don't much like the idea. She's grouped with the memorable Tina aka "Tiny," a little person with an outsize personality, and Sheldon, the most appealing, nerdiest science nerd in recent memory. Despite Libby's natural efforts to sabotage the whole thing, ultimately she begins to see that her new uncool life is far better than her old one.

Any such description of this book is a pale version of the real thing. Cecil Castellucci writes like no one but herself. Her characters live inside this amazing voice she has and they breathe and act a million times bigger than should be possible in so few pages. (The perfect amount of pages.) It's a magic trick to cram such a big book with such big emotions into such a slender volume. Not a word is wasted. So, read her already, okay? Love you too.

(p.s. If I had a million dollars, I would have sent you all copies of this today.)

Posted at 05:01 AM in Books | Permalink

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Could there be a better valentine?

thank you. I just drooled on myself with glee.

Posted by:Cecil Castellucci | February 14, 2006 at 10:47 PM

Mmmm, sounds great, I love zoos & YA fiction both...

Gwenda, thanks for that lovely valentine! Happy V-day to you too (tho really it's almost over now...)

Posted by:Jenny D | February 14, 2006 at 11:08 PM

Read Read

E. Lockhart: Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, The
You might think the world doesn't need any more boarding school novels, but if you haven't read this one then you're wrong, wrong, wrong. E. Lockhart has surpassed herself with this fable of a girl coming into her own and challenging the boy's club at her prep school -- while falling in love with its members at the same time. Lockhart never simplifies or skirts gender issues and power dynamics, and lets Frankie be realistic instead of a treatise disguised as a character. The sly omniscient narrator tells the story perfectly, and leaves hope that maybe one girl can change the world. More novels as funny and true and perfect as this one, please.
Kathi Appelt: The Underneath
Appelt's first novel is a beautiful, magical fantasy for younger readers that will instantly become a classic. Seriously. I can imagine this book being in classrooms right alongside Charlotte's Web in a hundred years. The writing is poetic in the good way, and there's a lamia. Children are going to absolutely fall in love with Appelt's equally kind and brutal universe, where love conquers most, and it can take millenia to come to your senses.
Jincy Willett: The Writing Class
With her second novel, Willett matches the perfect pitch and execution of her brilliant short stories. Every writer will want to read this novel--very little wincing is involved, but expect a great deal of laughter. C and I found ourselves reading pieces aloud, after howling provoked the "what's so funny?" question. As with any good writing workshop or class, the characters become more appealing as you get to know them, and ultimately what she has pulled off is a satisfying mystery, and a satisfying exploration of humanity. Amy Gallup is a character to remember.
Karen Joy Fowler: Wit's End
A new novel by Karen Fowler really is something to be excited about, unlike many of the writers for whom such praise gets bandied about. (If you're smirking because you think you know something about her work from the title--not the book--The Jane Austen Book Club, please go sit in the corner and read any of her novels. You're welcome.) This is an unmystery-like mystery, concerned not so much with dead bodies--though there are plenty--as with the mysteries of healing and the heart, politics and people. How is it that a writer gets a lens on the present that's as revealing as the one she employs in historical fiction? Now that's a mystery. Highly recommended.
Steve Erickson: Zeroville
Steve Erickson novels are often like dreams, or revelations, or discovered artifacts, or written just for you. Zeroville's no different, although it is perhaps the most readily graspable example of his work to date. The Rosetta Stone is there; the secret decoder ring is a film projector. The dizzying Hollywood confidential stylings will make your inner film geek happy, but the uncovering of a truly mythic cinematic story--since cinema has existed forever--of sacrifice and redemption is even more memorable. See also: this review.
Ursula Dubosarsky: The Red Shoe (Neal Porter Books)
Set in Sydney during WWII, this wonderful novel travels between the view from inside each of three sisters. Dubosarsky perfectly captures the differences that come from being the younger, older, or middle child. Perfectly conjuring the period, and yet creating a completely accessible story, the narrative contrasts chapters focusing on the family with interstitials from the Sydney newspapers of the time, stories of polio, the H-bomb, and a defecting Russian spy (who happens to be in hiding next door). Nothing here is heavy-handed. Everything is perfectly balanced. It's a beautiful, beautiful novel. See my full take here.

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