Murder at Midnight

2009. Avi. Murder at Midnight. Scholastic: New York.

Set in Italy at the end of the Middle Ages, Murder at Midnight, finds Fabrizio, a young servant boy, negotiating the deadly intricacies of the royal court in order to save his master, Magnus the Magician. This is not my favorite of Avi's mystery books. It is lacking in the rich language and total period immersion of The Traitor's Gate, Seer of Shadows or Newbery Award winner, Crispin: Cross of Lead. However, it succeeds as a gripping, suspenseful, and fast-paced (perhaps too fast?) murder mystery with strong protagonists in Fabrizio, and his friend, Maria. It's hard to go wrong with Avi.

Seer of Shadows

A video booktalk for Seer of Shadows by Avi

The Seer of Shadows

Avi. 2008. The seer of shadows. New York: Harper Collins.

The prolific Avi has a winner in Seer of Shadows, historical fiction with a decidedly eerie and menacing twist. Horace Carpetine, raised to believe in science and rationalism, has been apprenticed to a photographer in post-Civil War, New York City. When his unscrupulous employer decides to perpetrate a hoax on a grieving mother, a tangled tale of death, deception, abuse and the supernatural "develops," literally, on the glass plates of the photographer's camera.

Horace befriends Pegg, a black servant girl from the deceased's household, and together they confront the inconceivable. The Seer of Shadows is a gripping tale with a strong historical base and the supernatural eeriness of Gaiman's Coraline.

The Traitors' Gate

Avi. 2007. The traitors' gate. New York: Atheneum.

So many books, so little time - especially with summer reading in full swing, so I've tried to choose my summer reading books carefully. Avi's name appears on many school summer reading lists, so I tried out another of his latest books, The Traitors' Gate.

The Traitors' Gate is an historical fiction mystery that brings Dickensian London to life in a plot with as many twists and turns as the mean streets of the Rookery of St. Giles, a downtrodden neighborhood where fourteen-year-old John Huffam takes refuge with Sary the Sneak. Scotland Yard, the Tower of London, London's famous fog, debtors' prison, shabby butlers, spies, sneaks and traitors - they're all here in this richly developed story.

The mysterious Mr. O'Doul has filed a writ against John's father which threatens to send him to the notorious debtor's prison at Whitehall. But who is this Mr. O'Doul? And why is Scotland Yard investigating? Why is John being followed? Will Great Aunt Lady Euphemia Huffman assist the family in its dire circumstances? Young John Huffman has more questions than answers and the plot thickens every day,

"I had often - surely by my mother - been accused of having far too much fancy for my own good. But at that moment I was quite convinced that no one was telling me the truth!"

John must untangle the web of lies, deceit, and subterfuge on his own in this compelling mystery.

Avi, a fan of Charles Dickens, pays him homage in this thoughtful mystery set in the underbelly of London society in the late 1840s.

Acting Out

Chanda, Justin (Ed.) 2008. Acting Out. New York: Atheneum.

Acting Out is a compilation of six plays by noted children’s authors, Avi, Susan Cooper, Sharon Creech, Patricia MacLachlan, Katherine Paterson, and Richard Peck. Besides being written by talented authors, the plays have something else in common. Using a technique used in improvisational acting, editor Justin Chanda asked each author to submit a word that must be used in each play. The resulting words, hoodwink, dollop, raven, knuckleball, panhandle, and Justin appear in every play. Part of the fun is noting how the author works in the unusual additions.

Note how “raven” appears in Richard Peck’s play, “Effigy in the Outhouse,” which takes place in the year 1910. One of his characters, Edna, the eldest and bossiest student in the one-room school house, yells out, “Stop all your rantin’ and raven. I declare, you’re all like hogs turned into an orchard.”

The plays are varied in style and content. The plays are mysterious, life-like, whimsical, environmental, historical, and more. Although Richard Peck’s humorous look at children in a one-room schoolhouse is my favorite, Sharon Creech’s spoof on the publishing industry is a hoot as well! A young Edgar Allen Poe, is trying to seal a deal with a modern day publisher,

TRISH: Ah yes, strategies, et cetera. The two-word title is OUT. Out, out, out!
POE: Out?
TRISH: Quite, Out. Your use of “The” is fine, mind you. Absolutely terrific! But we need “The something-something.” You follow? … “The Raven Code,” perhaps? “The Raven KNUCKLEBALL”? Or better yet. “Something-something and the something-something.” Let’s say “Polly Raven and the Silver Chalice, “ mm?

This book is perfect for older reader’s theater groups or school groups. A note of caution, though – although its title is Acting Out, any group wishing to perform these plays, must obtain written permission from the publishers. Performance rights will, however, be granted without charge to non-profit groups.