I Dreamed A Dream

The soundtrack to Les Misérables has been bouncing around in my head, and not just because the long-anticipated movie musical was released this past week (insert excited shriek here!). As I read Shannon Hale’s also long-anticipated sequel to her marvelous Newbery Honor-winning book, Princess Academy, I knew that the dream I dreamed finally came true and at the end of the day, Hale had written an incredibly satisfying sequel, that I know I am not on my own in adoring with a heart full of love. All right, I’ll stop with the Les Mis references and get to the point.

Princess Academy: Palace of Stone continues the story of Miri and her fellow princess academy graduates, as well as her sort of beau, Peder, as they join the future princess, Britta, in the capital as they prepare for Britta’s wedding to the crown prince. Miri is sent to the Queen’s Castle, the university where she is exposed to new ideas that test her allegiances and reveal the great divide between the noble class and the commoners. At the Queen’s Castle, she also meets a handsome scholar, Timon, who introduces her to a community of intellectuals who seek to disrupt the social order and spark a revolution against the royals, which happens to include Britta, as the backstabbing royal who stole the prince from the other princess academy undergraduates. The far-reaching consequences of the monarchy’s negligence and greed reach back home to the mountains, where Miri’s family has finally been able to eke out a living, only to become taxed beyond reason for the royal coffers. Political intrigue and romantic confusion blend together as Miri is torn between the Timon’s attractive attention and the Peder’s lackluster affection. But a “Bella” she is not; Miri takes action into her own hands and uses her intelligence to face both rabid revolutionaries and unreasonable royals.

Hale has tackled the complicated issues of privilege, revolution, and loyalty with keen understanding about human nature. No one is truly good or bad in this world, but have motivations that cloud their judgment to see beyond their own needs. She masterfully allows ambiguity to shape Miri’s story, rather than providing easy answers and a clear path. Like the linder that Miri’s people mine in the mountains, the narrative is shaped by many layers that come together to show that war is not always the way to a new order. There may not be a triumphant finale that is written in blood and loss, but in this new world, instead of empty chairs at empty tables, the people will be able to sing and live in peace longer than one day more.  

Extra Feature: School Library Journal hosted a live broadcast from Brooklyn Friends School in New York City to celebrate Princess Academy: Palace of Stone with Shannon Hale. She is hilarious and self-deprecating and just wonderful, especially about her writing process. She feeds off of the energy of the actual children in the audience, which makes this webcast unique as a true experience of her interactions with her readers. Just watch it and you'll love Shannon Hale even more. 

An archive of this event is available here. 

You can also check out:

Shannon's Website for Palace of Stone 

Princess Academy Pinterest 

Princess Academy Discussion Guide 

The Fame Monster (Legends of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke)

                NOTE: Spoilers are contained within this review. You have been warned. 

Superfans of Zita the Spacegirl must check out the Kids' Comics Revolution all-star podcast devoted to all things Zita.  If you listen carefully, you'll hear a booktalk from me. If you want to booktalk the orignial Zita the Spacegirl, feel free to use this booktalk I wrote.  

            From Beowulf to Batman, stories of heroism often live lives of their own, far beyond their original tales. As they are retold and reinterpreted, they evolve and become something more; they become legends. But fame can turn to infamy in the minds of the masses, who are fickle in their appreciation of their vigilante superheroes. Zita never wanted to become a legend – or a villain. She wanted to rescue her friend, Joseph, and in the process, helped to save the planet Scriptorius from a deadly asteroid. But her fans see her as a larger than life hero, which makes her incredibly uncomfortable. In Legends of Zita the Spacegirl, Ben Hatke’s sequel to his hugely successful graphic novel, Zita the Spacegirl, Zita’s intergalactic adventures take a dark turn as Hatke explores the price of fame and the true meaning of heroism within the fantastic world of his own making that reveals much about our own world of celebrity. 

            In the tradition of great science fiction and fantasy, the world of Hatke’s novel is carefully constructed as a fusion of the exotic and familiar. The creatures he has crafted are bizarre and otherworldly, with rainbow tentacles, glowing eyes, and technological bling, yet they express distinctly humanoid behavior and emotions. The relationships that Zita develops with characters like Mouse/Pizzicato, Glissando, the cat, and even her robot doppelganger emotionally resonate because of Hatke’s thoughtful approach to developing the characters and the world of the story. The facets and rules of the world are revealed as Zita learns them, which helps readers identify with Zita’s discovery process. Hatke cleverly places clues about the universe Zita is exploring throughout the book, from the recalled imprint-o-tron packaging to Gilliam’s Big Book of Robots and Automata in Piper’s vast library in order to reveal information at just the right time. World building is crucial for the success of a story of this magnitude, but unlike other fantasies that may offer background information as exposition, Hatke uses it to move the plot forward. The medium of graphic novels is perfect for this kind of showing, rather than telling, that helps readers make sense of the choices the characters face.

            While the innovative landscape and unusual creatures engage readers’ attention and draw them into the story, it is Zita’s conflict about her identity as a hero that inevitably makes them turn each page until they reach the book’s shocking conclusion. Zita detests the sudden and inaccurate fame that is bestowed upon her after she saved Joseph and Scriptorius. When an imprint-o-tron robot appears looking identical to her, Zita jumps at the chance to relinquish the spotlight. But the consequences of rejecting fame and the adoring masses come at a steep price. The robot stops Zita from boarding her spaceship in order to hijack her life, which prompts Zita to commandeer another ship. Word quickly gets out that Zita is a thief and her godlike reputation undergoes a drastic makeover. She becomes “Zita the Crimegirl,” a menace to society and is hunted by the Doom Squad. Neither identity – the muscular super-powered diva or the lawless public enemy – is an accurate representation of who Zita is or who she wants to be. This new type of hollow heroism has no appeal to Zita and she rejects the lifestyle it offers. But her new friend, Madrigal, helps her gain a new understanding of what heroism means when she says, “I think you’re like the rest of us. Just trying to hold things together while you find your way. But I also think the role [of hero] suits you . . . You shine in a crisis and you inspire loyalty” (108-109). Once she arrives at Lumponia to reunite with her friends and fight the evil Hearts, she dons her signature green cape once more and reclaims her role as a heroine.

But in the end, it is not Zita who saves the day; it is her robot doppelganger who takes Zita’s place in the giant’s hero-lock and sends the Hearts packing. She decides “I will be a hero . . . for you . . . for the Lumpies” (183). Robot Zita’s selfless choice will probably rocket Zita into greater fame since there is now a giant Zita suspended over Lumponia, but Zita is now unconcerned with the life of her story. She cares more about the fates of Mouse and Madrigal who were captured by the Doom Squad.  Robot Zita has reminded her that being a hero means “doing the right thing,” which has nothing to do with fame and fortune (160). Zita remains the best kind of superstar, one who is trustworthy and loyal and utterly committed to her friends. She is the kind of superstar that will never have a reality TV show or grace the cover of US Weekly. But she is destined to remain in the hearts and minds of all who read about her adventures as they join her among the true stars.

Pirate Cinema: A Love Song to Libraries

Cory Doctorow has written a love song to libraries everywhere in his latest YA novel, Pirate Cinema. No, his book isn’t about a group of super-smart hacker librarians who save the world through information literacy and the biblical codes hidden in the Dewey Decimal System, although that would make for some captivating reading. (Get cracking on that one, Doctorow...) Pirate Cinema is about the consequences of denying people free and equal access to information, the prime directive of libraries. Trent McCauley is a teen filmmaker who remixes other people’s films to create his own movies. Trent is an artist, but in a country that forbids downloading, he is a criminal. When he is caught for the third time, his network access is suspended for a year. This has disastrous results for his family. His father relies on the computer for his job. His mother cannot sign up for her weekly disability benefits. His sister cannot do her homework without the Internet. As the source of his family’s ruin, Trent flees to London to start anew and joins the movement for free speech and content creation. He becomes a leader in the movement that resists the efforts of wealthy media corporations to silence them. In a dramatic speech, Trent says, “The greatest library of human knowledge and creativity ever seen, ever dreamed of, and all these fools can moan about how they can’t figure out how to stay rich if kids go around downloading rubbish pop music without paying for it. They think that the Internet’s power to make sharing easy is a bug... but I know that sharing is a feature, not a bug. It’s brilliant, it’s wonderful ... how many lives will we destroy before we take up and realize what we’ve got is worth saving – worth celebrating” (336-337). In Trent’s world, which certainly mirrors our own, the Internet is treated like a fringe, an added entertainment device like cable television or central air conditioning, when it is a necessity. As Cory Doctorow pointed out at his recent book tour stop at Evanston Public Library, these laws are not fictional but have been used to punish people like Trent. But people cannot function in today's world without access to the Internet.

And here’s where Doctorow rallies his troops for libraries. Throughout the novel, he points out that libraries, which were once a save haven for those on the ‘digital divide,’ are no longer available to them. Trent’s brilliant sister, Cora, risks failing her classes since “our nearest library closed at 5:30 and was only open four days a week thanks to the latest round of budget cuts” (18). But it is not only the Wi-Fi connection that Doctorow values, as Cora points out, “There’s always some gobshite at the council meetings saying, ‘what do we need libraries for if everyone’s got the Internet?’ I keep wanting to shake them by the hair and shout something like, ‘Everyone except me! And what about all the stuff librarians have to teach us about using the net?’ “ (201). Libraries not only offer access to information, but provide expert staff to teach people how to use it safely and effectively. Librarians make a difference in people’s lives by providing them with the tools to navigate the world. For this reason, no matter the technology or interface, librarians will always remain, as Sarah McIntyre artfully pointed out, a powerful search engine with a heart. Because librarians care about people and the stories they have to tell - and will fight relentlessly to make sure these stories are heard. And As Trent says, “Once you put it into the world, it’s the world’s – it’s part of the stories we tell each other to make sense of life” (118).