Katie Bartlett, Author

I’ve spent a lot of time reading and reviewing books by current VCFA faculty members.  During that time, I stumbled across some great books not by current VCFA faculty; although, in full-disclosure, some of these authors were past VCFA faculty members.  I just couldn’t get enough!  Oh – and some weren’t related to VCFA at all.  They were just great on their own!

Books I Like A Lot:

The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley.  Middle Grade.  This book resonated with me more than Franny’s first book, Well Wished, which won a lot of accolades. It was an interesting twist on fantasy, focusing on seal maidens, a tale I wasn’t familiar with.  It was also set in an ancient time – something that generally appeals to me.  I’d recommend it to any reader.

Chime by Franny Billingsley.  Young Adult.  I spent the first several chapters of this book very confused, but so intrigued by the main character’s voice and unusual circumstances, that I had to continue. Eventually, I caught on, and really enjoyed exploring this  realistically fantastical world in which the characters lived.  Different from other magic / fantasy books, this story is based upon the real myths of early 1800’s British country-folk, which lent it a grounding dose of realism.

We Were Here by Matt de la Pena.  Young Adult.  I didn’t expect this book to be so deep.  Mostly because of the voice, which was teen-male-latino-slangish and flawlessly executed throughout the entire novel.  The ‘meaning of life’ themes that the main character contemplates in his journey from juvenile delinquency to redemption were spot on without being too heavy-handed.  I enjoyed being almost tricked into stopping and ‘thinking about things’, something I don’t do often enough.