Around the World by Matt Phelan

After Jules Verne published Around the World in Eighty Days, people were inspired to try circumnavigating the earth themselves. Travelling around the world is still an exciting proposition, but it was much harder to do in the 19th century than it is today. Graphic novelist Matt Phelan recounts the adventures of three historical figures who rose to the challenge before the turn of the twentieth century. They travelled alone: Thomas Stevens by ship and bicycle; Nellie Bly by ship and train; and Joshua Slocum by boat.

Phelan's soft, expressive lines and muted use of colour evokes the era nicely. The determination and fortitude required to undertake such remarkable journeys can be seen on all three faces in Phelan's cover illustration. Around the World will appeal to a wide range of readers, from Grade 3 right up to adults.

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

Naomi Novik's His Majesty's Dragon is a little like Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series combined with Patrick O'Brian's Master and Commander. Set in an alternate early 19th century Europe, naval Captain Will Lawrence, a true gentleman bound by codes of honour and duty, forms an unlooked-for bond with Temeraire, a talking Chinese dragon. Dragons are crucial in the war between Britain and France and so Lawrence must switch to the Aerial Corps, where things are run much differently than he was used to in the navy.

I listened to the Books on Tape audiobook (10 hours), robustly narrated by Simon Vance. Temeraire's voice was distinctive without being annoying. His Majesty's Dragon is appealing on multiple levels: rich world-building, well-developed characters (both human and animal), and a swashbuckling adventure plot. Highly entertaining. This is the first volume of a series.

Readalikes: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (Susanna Clarke); Bone (Jeff Smith); The White Dragon (Anne McCaffrey); Master and Commander (Patrick O'Brian).

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The events leading up to the Iliad are told in a very personal way from the viewpoint of Patroclus, the longtime companion and lover of Achilles, in Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles. Patroclus was only 9 when his father, King Menoitius, took him to present himself as a suitor to Helen, daughter of the Spartan king. (The same Helen who was the catalyst for the Trojan war.) When Patroclus was 10, he was disowned by his father,  and exiled to the kingdom of Phthia, where Prince Achilles chose him as a special friend.

Achilles' mother, Thetis, was a goddess. She took a strong dislike to Patroclus right from the start... and things do not go well when the gods are against you. Patroclus and Achilles know that they are doomed to die young. Despite this, their relationship is tender and strong. The ending is sweetly romantic, rather than tragic.

The Song of Achilles is currently on the shortlist for the Orange Prize (which also includes other books that I've reviewed: Half-Blood Blues, The Forgotten Waltz and State of Wonder).

Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks

Starting high school is a really big deal for Maggie because she has been homeschooled up until this point. She is overwhelmed by all of the other students and has no idea how to fit in and make friends. Maggie's mother has abandoned her family and her father is preoccupied now that he is promoted to police chief. Maggie's three older brothers provide some moral support, but mostly they encourage her to forge her own path. Even the ghost that has been haunting her for years is no help at all. (Oh yes, Maggie has a complicated life.)

Canadian comics artist Faith Erin Hicks has created some wonderful sibling dynamics in Friends with Boys. I really enjoyed getting to know Maggie's family as well as the two outcasts that befriend her at school. Maggie's brothers are rough with each other but teasing and tender with their little sister. In one scene, Lloyd tries to convince Maggie that she should style her two high ponytails into buns like Princess Leia. "It combines two of the greatest things in the world: science fiction and breakfast pastries." Another brother commands Lloyd to stop annoying Maggie, which he does under protest: "But I'm getting in touch with my inner hairdresser."

Hicks uses black ink on white with gray shading for her expressive artwork. Her distinctive, overlarge eyes melt my heart. See for yourself -- Friends with Boys is available as a webcomic here.

Grade 5 to adult. Readalikes: Smile by Raina Telgemeier; and Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol.

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler, art by Maira Kalman

Every last thing that reminds Min of her heartbreak is packed into a box and dumped onto her ex-boyfriend's doorstep. Min writes a long accompanying letter to Ed, documenting the many reasons they broke up. "You know I want to be a director, but you could never truly see the movies in my head and that, Ed, is why we broke up."

Daniel Handler has created a fabulous character in Min Green, a high school girl who loves old movies. She was never part of the "in" crowd and everyone knows she should never have been going out with the promiscuous co-captain of the basketball team. They connected at a bitter-sixteen birthday party for Min's best friend. Ed showed up uninvited, after a game. Min says, "Basketball is still incomprehensible to me, some shouty frantic bouncing thing in uniform, and although I didn't listen I hung on every word."

Min would not let Ed get away with excusing himself for making offensive remarks by saying "no offense" and she also would not let homophobic comments pass. When she brought him a cup of take-away coffee he told her he didn't like coffee. She urged him to try it her way, with extra cream and three sugars. He refused, insisting black was the only acceptable way, because "any other way is for girls and fags." Min tried to sort him out. "You. Must. Stop. With the fag stuff. Join the twenty-first century."

Also, Min did win Ed over to coffee. His response after a big, big sip: "Fucking delish. I don't care it's a faggy word, oops, sorry, no offense, sorry again. Delish! Criminy! This is like a cookie, it tastes like a cookie having sex with a doughnut." Min's response: "Wait till the caffeine hits."

Kalman's quirky art is given room to shine.

Later, Min writes about their encounter with an Italian liqueur, Pensieri: "I went and got it, no glasses, just twisted at the top until it was open and the strange rich smell was in my face, like wine but with something running through it, herbal or mineral, dazzling and weird. 'You first,' I said, and handed it over. You frowned into the bottle, then smiled at me and took a slow swig and immediately spat it out down your T-shirt. 'Criminy!' you shrieked. 'That is, what is that? It tastes like somebody killed a spicy fig. What's in that?' I was laughing too hard to answer."

I don't know if this drink even exists, but after reading that, I want some! Paintings by Maira Kalman are included throughout the book and her Pensieri looks similar to Chambord, which I love. (It's sort of like raspberry cough medicine.)

More of Kalman's great art in
Why I Broke Up

Ed tells Min he loves her, and "Every time you said it, you really said it. It wasn't like a sequel where Hollywood just lines up the same actors and hopes it works again. It was like a remake, with a new director and crew trying something else and starting from scratch." Until it wasn't... in a big way. And that is why they broke up.

I love, love, love this book. Captivating voice. Real emotion. Fabulous art. If you need any more encouragement, check out the Why We Broke Up Project online, where everyone is encouraged to share their sad, bitter, and funny stories.

Small Change for Stuart by Lissa Evans

10-year-old Stuart Horten is often mistakenly thought to be much younger because of his small stature. It isn't easy for him to make new friends when his family moves to a different part of England, but Stuart is a pretty good at amusing himself. He is not quite as good at dodging the nosy triplet girls who live next door.

When Stuart learns that his great-uncle Tony used to live nearby, that he was a magician and inventor, and that he disappeared under mysterious circumstances, Stuart's summer is suddenly much more interesting. Magic, mystery and a very strange adventure await.

Lissa Evans' Small Change for Stuart would make an excellent family read-aloud.

If We Were Birds by Erin Shields

In If We Were Birds, Toronto playright Erin Shields has retold one of Ovid's tales of rape and revenge. It is a happy coincidence that I saw another retelling of this story only a month ago, when The Love of the Nightingale was performed at the Walterdale Playhouse in Edmonton. I've also just finished re-reading Annabel Lyon's The Golden Mean, about Aristotle and Alexander the Great, and have started The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller's reinterpretation of the Iliad, so my head is deeply in the world of ancient Greece.

Pandion, King of Athens, gives his daughter Procne in marriage to King Tereus. Procne's younger sister Philomela is later raped by Tereus, and then her tongue is torn out so she cannot tell what happened. Eventually, Procne and Philomela join forces to take revenge on Tereus. Everyone morphs into birds at the end of this tragedy.

Shields' cheeky humour in the early part of the play is a welcome counterpoint to the horrific violence encountered later. The chorus of slave women, survivors of war right up to current times, add another level of poignancy and relevance. It's a powerful play and I hope to have the opportunity to see it performed sometime.

Readalike: The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood.