ALA Best Books for Young Adults
		Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Goodman, Alison Library Journal In Goodman's fantasy kingdom, power struggles both worldly and magical combine in a zodiac of dragon energies. Each year, one apprentice is chosen to bond with a dragon. Crippled and frail, Eon has little hope of being that one apprentice until a mysterious dragon appears and makes its choice. Now Eon must survive his enemy's ambitions while harboring a deadly secret: 12-year-old Eon is really 16-year-old Eona, a girl hiding in a man's world. Why It Is a Best: Because the publication of this book has been delayed (it appears this December), it may not earn its rightful place on 2008 best-of lists; that is a shame. The combination of complex world building-the result is a setting reminiscent of ancient China and Japan-and an edge-of-your-seat plot rank it among the top fantasy reads in this or any other year. Why It Is for Us: Eon is also a sophisticated examination of the relationship between sex and politics. Fighting alongside Eon/Eona are the transgendered beauty who tutors her in palace politics and a very manly eunuch. In a genre so often peopled with brave ladies and valiant men, it is a pleasant surprise to meet characters for whom gender is a matter of choice.-Angelina Benedetti, King Cty. Lib. Syst., WA Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. School Library Journal Gr 8 Up-In this Asian-inspired fantasy world, political power belongs to the emperor, but also to the Dragoneyes: men who harness the power of the 12 energy dragons named for animals from the Chinese zodiac. Each year, a new one comes to power, and the dragon itself chooses a new apprentice from a pool of 12-year-old boys. Physically lame Eon is thought least likely to be chosen and also has a secret: Eon is truly Eona, a 16-year-old girl. At the ceremony, the Rat Dragon chooses fellow trainee Dillon for the role of apprentice. Eon thinks that all is lost until she sees a dragon no one has seen in 400 years: the Dragon Dragon-also known as the Mirror Dragon. The Mirror Dragon chooses Eon as an apprentice, and because there is no current Mirror Dragoneye, she must serve on the Dragoneye Council herself. She is thus plunged into the dangerous world of the court, which is sharply divided between the emperor and ruthless Lord Ido, the powerful Rat Dragoneye. Fans of Tamora Pierce will appreciate both the strong female protagonist and the cast of shrewd misfits who support her. Although the pace is initially slow, patient readers will be rewarded with high-stakes action in a well-crafted fantasy universe. A second volume will follow, but this one has an ending satisfying enough that readers will not feel cheated.-Megan Honig, New York Public Library Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Publishers Weekly Inspired by Asian culture, Goodman (Singing the Dogstar Blues) weaves a fantasy with contemporary themes about gender identity and female power. Because women are forbidden to study Dragon magic, 16-year-old Eona disguises herself as Eon, a 12-year-old boy, to compete to be an apprentice Dragoneye, a communicant with one of 12 energy dragons. Crippled years earlier, she is least likely to be chosen. But then the Mirror Dragon, mysteriously absent for 500 years, appears at the competition and selects Eona. Unable to share her secret even with her new friends, the soldier eunuch Ryko and Lady Dela, a "Contraire," or transgender courtier, Eona must confront the corrupt Lord Ido and save the empire from his schemes--and discover how to invoke the power of the Mirror Dragon. Goodman's characters hold built-in appeal for fans of Tamora Pierce (particularly of her Song of the Lioness Quartet), but they go further than Pierce's in staking out their sexuality; the author's plotting is elaborate, smart and capable of taking the audience by surprise. Enthralled readers will be hard-pressed to wait for the story's second half, Eona: The Last Dragoneye, scheduled for 2010. Ages 12-up. (Dec.) Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved Book list *Starred Review* This mesmerizing story begins where most novels end: in a tension-filled climactic event, in which the fate of the protagonist and a nation hang in the balance. Goodman catapults the reader headfirst into a pivotal moment in the Empire of the Celestial Dragons, a world so richly imagined that it feels real. No detail is overlooked, from the smallest sensory description to the fascinating mythos of the elemental dragons. It is a new year, and 12 boys vie to become an apprentice to the ascendant Rat Dragon. Eon has trained for this moment for four years, but she and her master hide a dangerous secret. Eon is actually Eona, a 16-year-old girl with a singular talent. Females are forbidden to take part in dragon magic, and Eona faces disembowelment if discovered. As the story races forward, Eona becomes the fulcrum of a seesaw struggle for control of the Empire. Entangled politics and fierce battle scenes provide a pulse-quickening pace, while the intriguing characters add interest and depth. Eona's pivotal acceptance of her femininity, so ruthlessly repressed by both herself and her culture, gives this intricate fantasy particular weight. Readers will clamor for the sequel.--Rutan, Lynn Copyright 2008 Booklist From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission. ...More

Michael L. Printz Awards
		Going Bovine by Libba Bray Publishers Weekly Cameron Smith, 16, is slumming through high school, overshadowed by a sister "pre-majoring in perfection," while working (ineptly) at the Buddha Burger. Then something happens to make him the focus of his family's attention: he contracts mad cow disease. What takes place after he is hospitalized is either that a gorgeous angel persuades him to search for a cure that will also save the world, or that he has a vivid hallucination brought on by the disease. Either way, what readers have is an absurdist comedy in which Cameron, Gonzo (a neurotic dwarf) and Balder (a Norse god cursed to appear as a yard gnome) go on a quixotic road trip during which they learn about string theory, wormholes and true love en route to Disney World. Bray's surreal humor may surprise fans of her historical fantasies about Gemma Doyle, as she trains her satirical eye on modern education, American materialism and religious cults (the smoothie-drinking members of the Church of Everlasting Satisfaction and Snack 'N' Bowl). Offer this to fans of Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy seeking more inspired lunacy. Ages 14-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved Library Journal It sucks to be Cameron. He has no idea why he sees things that no one else sees or why, at the most inappropriate times, his hands shake uncontrollably. Then the results of his MRI come back. Cameron has a rare case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob (mad cow) disease. Sent on a quest by the angel Dulcie, he and his dwarf roommate break out of the hospital to save the world from dark energy and Dr. X. Why It Is for Us: When fate deals you a one-in-five-billion blow, do you go out living or dying? You are advised to keep a Cliff's Notes edition of Don Quixote handy as you read-though instead of windmills, Cameron tilts at Disney's Tomorrowland. Bray has not written a teen problem novel about mad cow disease. She swims in deeper water, defending the importance of friendship, family, and life purpose in the face of mediocrity.-Angelina Benedetti, King Cty. Lib. Syst., WA Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. ...More