MotherReader

The Thursday Three XVII: Beach Books

Yes, it's still Thursday.

Today went by fast, that's for sure. I spent the morning agonizing over whether my Girl Scouts would need to do the flag-raising ceremony that I'd agreed to do before losing the one person who could really do it well. I was cheering for the rain this morning like most people cheer for football teams. Then saved by the weather, I went from a Back-to-School day to a back-to-school shopping day where a locker shelf was needed, and then a backpack at the next store, and then apparently some jeans and two dresses. And then it wasn't long after dinner, and the fashion show, and the Annual School Supply Labeling Extravaganza that it was time to jump into Obamaland as brought to you by the Democratic National Convention and PBS. But it's still Thursday and here are three beach books for the last of the summer days.

Wave, by Suzy Lee
I heard great things about this book and I had to see it for myself. As it turns out, I could have waited for the movie. Truly, this is a beautiful book wordlessly chronicling one girl's encounter with the ocean. The book's gutter gives a sense of a barrier between the cautious girl and the playful waves. As she gets braver and feels more invincible, she finds that the ocean has many surprises. A lovely summertime book combining light charcoal sketches and brilliant blue painted sea.

Bebe Goes to the Beach by Susan Middleton Elya, illustrated by Steven Salerno
Bright, stylized illustrations put Bebe and mama at the beach following their previous shopping trip. Spanish words are used throughout the rhymes, often with context and pictures explaining the meaning of the words. (If you get stuck, there is also a glossary.) For instance, take this couplet: "He's wearing his gorro with fuzzy jirafas./Mama parks her silla and puts on her gafas." You could make some good guesses, but it's certainly easier with Bebe sporting a hat decorated with giraffes as mom puts down her chair and puts on her glasses. In this story, it seems that the baby is a bit of a handful zipping around the beach, but mom still gets a chance to have fun with her son.

Duck Dunks by Lynne Berry, illustrated by Hiroe Nakota
I loved the art of Duck Skates so I was all psyched for the new title. I enjoyed the cute story as five ducks head to the beach and swim, snack, play, and fly kites in a gorgeous blue sky over an aquamarine ocean. Light and easy sing-song rhymes keep the book fun: "Five little ducklings, hand in hand, skip from the boardwalk, into the sand." Fun book for preschoolers and anyone who likes really cute ducks. I mean, they are really cute ducks.

Labels: Book Reviews, Picture Books, Thursday Three

Hitler’s Canary

On a dreary, rainy day I picked up Hitler’s Canary, by Sandi Toksvig — because despite the word “Hitler” in the title, the cover was bright yellow and looked cheery. Plus canaries are pretty happy birds, right? Okay, so the book wasn’t all that cheery. It actually was about Hitler, or more specifically, the Nazi invasion of Denmark. It turns out that the phrase “Hitler’s Canary” was applied to Denmark because it turned over power so easily that it was said that the country sang for Hilter like a... canary. I also suspect — though I didn’t see it in the book — that the term came to mean that the country was a canary in the coal mine for what would happen to countries around Europe as Hitler marched forward.

For such a terrible time, the book wasn’t all that depressing. First, it was a well-written story of a boy growing up in the theater with an actress mother, an artist father, and a personal sense of the dramatic. Bamse also has a Jewish friend, a rebel brother, and a front-row seat to the madness that was the Nazi occupation of Denmark.

I knew little about this specific aspect of World War II, when Germany took over Denmark in one fell swoop. The tiny country didn’t have a chance. But when the Nazis started demanding the Jews be turned over to them, the Danes fought back — secretly. With the power of community, less than two percent of Denmark’s Jews died in the Holocaust.

Read an account of how this country worked to save its people, from the personal and fictionalized account of one family. It’s not as cheery as the yellow cover, but not as depressing as you’d expect. In fact, I’d call it inspirational. It reminded me of a personal favorite, Yellow Star — which had a far worse ending for more people, but was also hopeful in the survival and work that people put into saving one.

Labels: Book Reviews, Middle-Grade

Monarch and Milkweed

In a word, Lovely.

If you are looking for a book about caterpillars turning into butterflies, you want nonfiction but artistic and poetic, Monarch and Milkweed, by Helen Frost, is for you. Featuring beautiful illustrations by Leonid Gore, the wording takes this nonfiction title to a different level.

Monarch lights on Milkweed,
drums her feet on Milkweed’s flower,
and tastes home.

All the basic facts are here: Monarch finds mate, attaches egg to leaf, caterpillar breaks out of egg, caterpillar eats leaf and grows, caterpillar transforms into a chrysalis, and emerges a butterfly. But it’s usually not said like this:

Its feelers droop...
and one last time,
it sheds its skin —
it twists and turns, and pulls its body up, transforming
into a chrysalis. It hangs beneath the leaf,
a shining jewel,
jade green, specked with gold.

At the end is a summary of the migration and an expansion of the text — for instance the fact that each species of butterfly has one kind of plant on which the butterfly lays its eggs, like monarch and milkweed. The book also points out a monarch website for more information. Classroom teachers, librarians, and parents may want to pair this book with an even simpler version in a picture book, Arabella Miller’s Tiny Caterpillar, by Clare Jarrett, which features bright illustrations, rhyming text, friendly characters, and factual information at the end.

I’ve heard that the monarchs have been AWOL this year, and I have to admit that I haven’t seen them around. We have a Butterfly bush in our garden, but I’ve seen mostly Eastern Tiger Swallowtails (yes, I looked it up) and not even that many of them. First the bees disappear, then the butterflies. What’s next? Roaches?

Oh, actually that would be okay.

Labels: Book Reviews, Nonfiction, Picture Books

The Thursday Three XVI: Going to School

Now that the new books are coming into my library, I can pick up The Thursday Three again. With school just around the corner (Wahhhh!), here are some new going-to-school titles.

Splat the Cat, by Rob Scotton
Definitely the best of the bunch, and one that will be appreciated by the widest range of readers. Scotton, of Russell the Sheep fame, brings his humorous and fantastically off-beat illustrations to the world of cats — plus a mouse. Splat is worried about his first day at Cat School. If you’re not sure that he’s really worried, look at his big, wide eyes. He tries to hide, and stall, and even hang onto the gate, but his mom gets him to school. There he learns that cats chase mice. Hold it! Splat has a pet mouse! That he brought to school! This isn’t going to be good for anybody. But of course it is, and all the cats learn a new lesson. All-around wonderful book.

Keisha Ann Can! by Daniel Kirk
This isn’t Keisha Ann’s first day at school, but she shows how it’s done with cheer and confidence. She catches the bus, waits in line, passes out paints, shares with classmates, and takes turns. This book represents an interesting — and needed — approach to going-to-school literature by focusing on the positive. I also liked that the girl was African-American, as I would like to see more children of color in books. Newest reports say that 44 percent of children in the United States are now minorities. Perhaps we might want to show more of them in books. Not just for them, but so all children can see kids of different races featured in stories. Keisha Ann Can! is simple in language, making it best for the preschool or first day of kindergarten crowd.

Jake Starts School, by Michael Wright
When we last saw Jake, his parents were trying to get him to sleep by going everywhere around the house with him. Well, Jake is still having separation issues at school, where he cannot let go of his parents. He literally clings to them through the whole day, making the seesaw hard and bathroom breaks impossible. The teacher is finally able to engage him with a book with the same name as his dog, and Jake finds his school groove. Bright and wacky illustrations fit the silly — and sometimes strained — rhyming text. (“There it was, Room Number 1/where Jake would join his class./It looked so big, he felt so small,/he passed a little gas.”) Not my favorite book, but kids may enjoy the silliness.

Labels: Book Reviews, Picture Books, Thursday Three

The Thursday Three XV

Where, oh where has The Thursday Three gone?

Well, at my new library branch, I’m not looking at all the picture books before they hit the shelves, and those first reactions were what formed the meat of my quick Thursday reviews. I suspect that as our library settles a bit — we’ve only been open for a few weeks — the new books will make their way through the children’s department and past my watchful eyes. For now, here are a few books that never got their day in the sun.

Danny’s First Snow, by Leonid Gore
When a rabbit goes out in his first snowfall, he sees friends in the piles of snow all around him. But they turn out to be trees and such buried in the snow. The fuzzy art style makes it appear as if we’re viewing the illustrations through a sleet-encrusted window. Very nice. (Personally, I would have liked more description on the artistic process.) Gentle snowy-time book.

Me and My Dad! written by Alison Ritchie, illustrated by Alison Edson
Sweet simple rhymes chronicle the day between a daddy bear and his cub. (“My dad wakes me up every morning, like this — He tickles my nose and gives me a kiss.”) I like that the cub could be a boy or girl, because the text nevers indicates gender. I like the illustrations, lively with bright yellows and greens and blues. The artist makes the brown fur feel golden and so touchable. Lovely book for younger kids.

“I’m Not Scared!” by Jonathan Allen
A little owl is out in the night and everyone asks him if he’s scared. Of course, he takes offense — you know, being an owl and all, and nighttime kind of like being his thing. The owl is a cutie, that’s for sure, and it’s a bit of a twist on other bedtime books since the owl gets tucked in at daytime. It doesn’t add much new as a sequel to “I’m Not Cute!” but a nice book to enjoy.

Labels: Book Reviews, Picture Books, Thursday Three

Clementine’s Letter

Not that I didn’t expect it, but Clementine’s Letter, by Sara Pennypacker, is another home run in the series. This time Clementine is faced with losing her teacher to a program outside the school. Sure, the class will get another teacher, but it won’t be the same for Clementine. She and Mr. D’Matz are “in sink.” She mopes and complains, and then writes a recommendation letter that... well, doesn’t recommend. And all this while investigating new vegetable names for her brother, hosting an unauthorized yard sale, writing a book with her father, and buying her mother the best present ever. Clementine is back in force, trying to do good, but often not with the effects she hopes for.

Clementine books make me want to quote, because how better to sell these books?

Whenever my teacher needs someone to run an errand to the principal’s office, he sends me. This is because I am so responsible. Okay, fine, it’s also because I get sent so often I could find my way with my eyes closed.

Which I tried once. You’d be amazed at how many bruises you can get from just one water fountain.

I gave the first Clementine to my daughter’s third-grade teacher as an end-of-the-year gift. And last year I gave it to my daughter’s second-grade teacher. In fact, the book may go to every teacher that ~~survives~~ enjoys my Clementine-like kid. (I just now learned strikeout text. Oh, no stopping me now...)

Labels: Book Reviews, Middle-Grade

Face to Face with Dolphins

Now, I’m fond of dolphins, having shared the shore with them for ages at Virginia Beach. (But I can never catch up with them, darn it.) If you’re not a fan, you will be after some time with Face to Face with Dolphins, by Flip and Linda Nicklin. The photos are fantastic — more the point of the book than an afterthought as they are with some nonfiction titles. Of course, National Geographic is the publisher of this book, so maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised. Wonderful photos fill whole pages, drawing you into the scene.

Throughout the book, the photographer recounts his experiences taking the pictures — and yes, it makes more of a connection to the photo of the Amazon River dolphin when we know that it was the dolphin that was playfully nibbling at his ankles as he shot the picture. There are lots of the usual facts about dolphins in the book, but I like the personal, almost conversational touch to it. Here’s a sample:

Dolphins have one baby at a time. Youngsters stay close to their mothers in the first months of life, learning from them. I once watched a baby orca in Alaska swimming with its mother. The mother was teaching the baby how to catch fish. She chased a salmon, a kind of fish, just enough to keep it close. Then the baby orca would try to catch it.

The book has little sections throughout — How to Swim Like a Dolphin, How to Speak Dolphin — that allow the reader to copy the dolphin’s style for a little fun n’ games. The book is also one of a series, Face to Face with Animals — so if dolphins ain’t your thang, you can try lions, frogs, or elephants. If you like some photographic artistry in your animal books, this series will win you over, no doubt.

Labels: Book Reviews, Nonfiction

The Thursday Three XIV: Beach Books

When you see random pauses in the posting of this blog over the summer, you can bet that I’m at the beach. Or just back from the beach. Or even packing for the beach. I like to get to the shore a few times during the summer to see my family and the ocean. My girls and I are beach people. (My husband is a lake person, but that’s another story.)

On this last trip we took my two-year-old niece for the first time. It was magical watching her reactions. She loved the sand, called out to the boats, and chased the seagulls. She was a bit frightened of the ocean, but she did hold my hand and put her feet in the smallest waves. We had an amazing time.

I haven’t begun my yearly search for new beach books. I find they tend to hit my library after the summer is over. Oh, well. Instead, I’m reposting three of the ones I talked about last year so that you can find them in time for your own beach trip. Enjoy.

For a funny take on the seashore, look to Bats at the Beach. It’s a cute book, but it’s more than just cute. There are the legs sticking out from the marshmallow to be toasted on a stick. There’s the image of the bats flying to the beach with their tote bags and umbrellas (for the moon, I guess) gripped in their feet. It’s the picture of the bat buried in the sand and the bat friends making a bird sculpture out of him. The text is cute, but the pictures are very, very clever. And very, very fun.

If you are a beach lover, then you will find your comfort zone in Beach, by Elisha Cooper. In the softest watercolors, a day at the beach is laid out in little pictures on each page. It’s not a book about plot, but about mood, and it totally captures the laid-back, lazy days at the beach with a hundred things to see. People, clouds, seashells, waves, portrayed and celebrated in all their many variations. Pages filled with twenty different tiny pictures are followed by a full, wordless, two-page spread. Simply a beautiful summertime book.

One White Wishing Stone, by Doris K. Gayzagian, is the story of that search for the perfect gifts from the sea. The little girl finds many treasures in her path that will be familiar to all beach goers. While the elusive starfish is found in a tidal pool, she is also impressed with the eight skate egg cases she finds on the sand. Having never seen skate egg cases represented in a picture book, despite having seen them all over the beach, I am impressed with the things that the author chose to highlight of the beach experience. One White Wishing Stone is a counting book with simple — if lovely — text. The illustrator, Kristine Swarner, brings you along on this lazy, lovely day on the beach. Look at the cover with the little girl beckoning you into the waves. Don’t you want to go now?

Labels: Beach, Book Reviews, Picture Books, Thursday Three

Locusts: Insects on the Move

I’m not a big bug fan, especially having been through the seventeen-year Cicada cycle of 2004, but when I saw Locusts: Insects on the Move, by Sandra Markle, from the Insect World Series, the well-designed cover made made take a peek. The first page that caught my eye answered a big question for me, kept me reading further.

Some people confuse grasshoppers and locusts. There is one big difference. Grasshoppers always look and act the same way. Locusts can change how they look and behave. A locust can change from its solitary form to its gregarious form.

Wouldn’t that help at parties? These guys even have different “outfits.” For hanging-around-the-field, they go with a boring green and brown. But when they’re heading out on the town with thousands of their closest locust friends, they have this funky spotted brown, black, and green. Tight!

Of course, I had to read more about how they change from one kind to another and what triggers the change — proximately to other locusts, in case you’re wondering — and how they can travel so far. It was absolutely fascinating.

I’ve seen the Praying Mantis title of this series come into the library and suspect that there’s a lot more to follow. The photos are well done, the layout is engaging, and the pages feature occasional interesting facts. For instance, locusts have taste sensors all over their bodies so they can tell if something they touch is food. To me, that “ability” sounds like the worst curse I’ve ever heard of — especially on the New York subway.

Labels: Book Reviews, Nonfiction

The Thursday Three XIII

Harris Finds His Feet, by Catherine Rayner
First of all, I love the artwork on this book. The sketchy line drawings, a free-feeling watercolor fill-in and a real sense of using the white space of the page to full advantage. The story is good and simple. Harris questions his Grandad about his big feet, and Grandad shows him why big feet on a hare are wonderful. It’s a great moral of self-acceptance without feeling heavy-handed. I’m intrigued that the exchange involves a grandfather. It makes it more than just another mom-and-kid book. Especially when Grandad says that he’s getting old and adds, “It’s your turn to run. The world is yours to explore.” With this sentence, the book could be used to talk about losing grandparents, but again, without a heavy-handed treatment. Great book.

Friday My Radio Flyer Flew, by Zachary Pullen
I saved a Radio Flyer from the trash truck recently. It was all rusted inside, but I couldn’t resist taking it home. So I can connect to this boy’s love for his dad’s special red wagon. The text is simple — finding the wagon, wanting it to fly, working on it, and then flying (hint: imagination plus dad power). In-your-face oil paintings bring us into the picture, whether it’s hovering over the wagon and seeing kid feet sticking out underneath or looking over the back of a bird to see the boy and his winged wagon ready for flight. Lots of fun.

Skunkdog, written by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Pierre Pratt
Dumpling couldn’t smell anything, not flowers or food or other dogs. She didn’t have any dog friends, because she couldn’t share in their smelling interests, and she was lonely. She did have a good family who took care of her, but sometimes that wasn’t enough. When they all moved out to the country, Dumpling ran into a skunk. It didn’t bother her to be stinky, but it bothered the family. While they wanted her to stay away from the skunk, Dumpling just wanted a friend. Enjoyable story for preschoolers up to early school-age, with engaging illustrations.

Labels: Book Reviews, Picture Books, Thursday Three

Alive and Well

At the sixth grade party on Friday they had a dance room, but there was very little dancing going on. The kids were sliding on their sock feet and running around in a circle holding hands. So I went in to show them how it was done. Of course my daughter was horrified, but still laughing as she pulled me out of the room and made me swear not to set foot in there again.

Parents embarrass their kids. It’s what we do. Sometimes it’s a little bit on purpose; more often it’s not. Most importantly, though, the humiliation is generally only in the eyes of the child.

In Daphne Grab’s first novel, Alive and Well in Prague, New York, she captures the sense of mortification many teens feel about their parents in public. In this case, however, it’s more complicated than a thirty-second turn on the dance floor. Matisse’s father has Parkinson’s disease, and while she deals with her grief about his condition, she also wrestles with guilt about being embarrassed by the effects of the disease.

Matisse and her family have a wonderful life in New York City. Her parents are both known artists — hence her name — and Matisse loves the city life. But as her dad’s condition deteriorates, they move to the rural town of Prague, New York. Here Matisse doesn’t fit in. Her art teacher doesn’t know Matisse from Monet. The teens look forward to a hayride, not a new art exhibit. Her parents are older than the parents of all the other kids, and it embarrasses Matisse for the first time ever. And along with her feeling of alienation at school is her family’s difficult adjustment to her father’s condition.

Alive and Well in Prague, New York was an enjoyable and pleasant read. Great characters and conflict give the book a subtle power in a short time. Yes, I will mention that it’s a short book, because it’s summer — and I must get asked dozens of times over the course of the season for a short book for some teen to fulfill her summer reading requirement. This is one title that I’ll be happy to hand over, knowing that the teen is getting a good book to finish quickly.

The book came out earlier this month, and Daphne had a fab book release party. Tomorrow I’ll have an interview with the Longstocking, so come on back.

Labels: Book Reviews, Young Adult Books

The Fold

I’ve decided that for my one-word title theme the “The” in An Na’s The Fold doesn’t count. My blog, my rules.

I’ve been wanting to read this book for more than a month since I first heard about it as part of the Fusion Stories. I’ve had mixed experiences with An Na’s books. I loved Step from Heaven, but wasn’t enthralled by Wait for Me. Where would this book fall?

I was intrigued by the premise, which was entirely out of my realm of experience. A Korean-American teenager is offered a gift from her rich aunt — double eyelid surgery to achieve a fold. Joyce is thrown by the offer. She longs to be as lovely as her big sister, but doesn’t know that plastic surgery is the answer. She questions the ideas of beauty as she tries to make her own decision.

I enjoyed the book very much. It took me into a cultural topic that I knew nothing about, which I always find fascinating. I found the writing to be different from both of An Na’s other books. It was definitely much lighter in tone. There was humor throughout the book and a realistic sense of high school drama. I mean, the book starts with a long description of a zit popping. For me, the book fell between the other two books. The acclaimed Step from Heaven is a much more sophisticated novel, but The Fold is interesting and fun. A great conclusion to my 48 hours of reading. Whew.

Labels: Book Reviews, Young Adult Books

Uprising

Uprising, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, made me feel a little bad for supporting Barack over Hillary. After reading about the fight that women put up to have any say in their lives, it seemed so amazing that we’d had a woman as a possible presidential candidate. Not that I didn’t understand that before, but this book put me right in the time when women’s choices were stunningly limited.

Uprising is about more than the Triangle fire of 1911 — starting further back with the shirtwaist workers’ strike and the stories of three women. Bella is a new immigrant from Italy who goes to work in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and struggles in this strange, new country. Yetta is a Russian Jew who has her sister to help her and to inspire her to fight for her rights as a worker. Jane is a society girl who crosses paths with the other girls during the strike and begins to question her own freedom as a woman in a man’s world.

The novel is elegantly done where the history is seamlessly woven into the story. The difficult lives of the girls tug at the emotions and the well-researched facts educate and illuminate. With a fire as the dramatic endpoint, you know this book can’t end happily for everyone. Kudos to Haddix for making it unpredictable along the way, beginning with the identity of the woman who starts the story as a reflection on the past. A truly unforgettable book.

Labels: Book Reviews, Young Adult Books

Sweethearts

Sweethearts, by Sara Zarr, isn’t an easy book. Like her magnificent Story of a Girl, it’s a tough story about coming to terms with one’s past. When. Bad. Things. Happen. The writing is so wonderful and the relationships so poignant, I got lost in this heartbreaking story.

Jennifer and Cameron are social outcasts and best friends as children. But one day he moves away without a word of goodbye. Jennifer is devastated and somehow buries that part of her forever. She loses weight, changes schools, and keeps order in her life. Her mother’s circumstances change too, placing Jennifer — now Jenna — in a nice home with two caring parents. But inside she’s still that scared and hurt kid. When Cameron comes back, those memories come with him. And some are so terrible she can barely face them down.

Sara Zarr builds up the tension of the past by using excerpts of memory from that time. The characters are imperfect and well-developed. No cookie-cutter stereotypes for this writer. The emotional tenor is complicated and realistic. Sweethearts was universally loved around the kids’ lit blogs — and at Amazon with all five-star reviews — and I’m glad that I got the chance to experience it myself. I just wish that I had better mental resources right now to review it properly. But I’m coming to the end of my 48 hours, and I’m getting pretty worn out. (Sorry, Sara, you deserve better.)

Labels: Book Reviews, Young Adult Books

Blue

When her father goes to war, Ann Fay becomes the “man of the house,” pulling on blue overalls and taking care of all the farming that keeps the family going. At the same time, a polio epidemic hits the area, striking within her family and leaving Ann Fay with even more responsibilities.

Blue, by Joyce Moyer Hostetter, is a historical novel with an emphasis on the history. I didn’t lose myself in the story so much as note the number of references to the times. World War II, the polio epidemic, Franklin Roosevelt, and Jim Crow laws are all included. There are also neighborly friendships, a close-knit family, southern poverty, and an untimely death.

I actually don’t mean to be dismissive about the book, which was interesting and did a good job of placing the reader in another era entirely. I felt horrified at the predicament of a thirteen-year-old being left home alone to take care of her sisters for months while her dad was at war and her mom at the hospital. I knew someone in that family was getting polio, and it was very sad when it did happen. I couldn’t help but root for Ann Fay and her family to make it through the tough times. Overall, though, I felt less connected to the characters than educated about the time period.

Labels: Book Reviews, Young Adult Books

Peeled

I almost put this book back when I read the phrase “cast of quirky characters” in the jacketflap. I’m generally not a fan of books set in small towns where everyone is “quirky.” But in the interest of keeping alive my streak of one-word-title book reviewing, I gave Peeled, by Joan Bauer, a chance.

While the town newspaper seems obsessed with the idea of ghosts at the old Ludlow house, Hildy Biddle is determined to discover the truth. As the town gets caught up in the oddly fearful reporting, Hildy works on the school paper to report the facts. She is assisted by a former newspaper editor newly come to town who helps the teens with real reporting.

The first few chapters of the book were hard going for me. There was a feisty heroine and small-town idolization, and some odd character traits. Oh no. As I plugged on, I began to appreciate the story and the mystery. And the characters weren’t all so quirky after all.

I liked how journalism tips were folded into the story. Not only was it a mini-lesson on being a reporter, it served as a model for identifying good reporting. For instance, when the former newspaper editor (and new adult advisor) is taking apart a flowery article in the school paper, he tells the students, “Less is more. Less description, more facts. Only describe if it means something. The killer has one arm. The mayor was seven feet tall. The hero was deaf. For now, let’s not care if the sky was blue. If it’s plaid, mention it.”

There was a nice vein of humor throughout the book. A group of older people who stake out the Ludlow house to see if anything is really going there, calling themselves Elders Against Evil. An occasional insert of funny mistakes from the school paper. A psychic who offers advice on love and family, but also pet compatibility selection. But in the end, readers will remember the greater message of fighting against manipulation and for the truth.

Labels: Book Reviews, Young Adult Books

Bloom

Here at home if I want to clear the room, I can say, “Hey, let’s talk about our feelings.” My kids run away, usually with a trailing cry of, “Nooooooo!” Well, Bloom, by Elizabeth Scott, is all about feelings. It’s one of the most feelings books I’ve ever read. Now, I am not like my kids, so this did not alarm me, but it is worth mentioning.

Lauren is an average girl dating the most popular boy, but she finds she is attracted to another boy instead. The popular boy is perfect, but boring. Should she be with someone safe, or someone who makes her heart race?

A simple conflict, but not written simply at all. The characters are all well-developed with a particular depth often lacking in teen first love stories. Lauren isn’t a perfect person, and in fact, behaves pretty badly at times. Her friend Katie seems shallow, but is balancing a difficult home life and is perhaps craving more from her friendship with Lauren. Lauren’s popular boyfriend Dave is a good guy, but a little dull. Evan’s exciting, but comes with baggage. Lauren’s dad ignores her, but at the same time does seem to care about his daughter.

There’s some light humor through the book, but mostly the sense of drama takes center stage. But while other books pump up the volume with drug abuse or date rape or mental illness, Bloom shows off the everyday drama of being a flawed teenage girl in an imperfect situation. I looked for this book after Bookshelves of Doom’s glowing review, and I have to agree with her assessment of the book as “smart and layered and real.” I also have Elizabeth Scott’s Perfect You at home, but since it appears I’m only reviewing books with one-word titles this weekend, it will have to wait.

(Side note: There is a thunderstorm coming and we’d better not lose power tonight.)

Labels: Book Reviews, Young Adult Books

Exodus

I probably should have started this book by reading on the back jacketflap that the author, Julie Bertagna, lives in Scotland. It would have saved me a lot of energy in figuring out where in the world this story was taking place.

Exodus is a science fiction story, and as such would not usually be on my radar screen, but it looked interesting with the whole global warming theme — and Sheila liked it, so I gave it a go. It was out of my comfort zone — especially the whole cyberspace aspect — but I enjoyed it.

It’s the year 2100 and the melting ice caps have raised the ocean level so that all but the highest areas of land are underwater. No one on the island of Wing even knows where other civilizations may be, or if there are any. From her solitary ventures into the ghosts of the Internet, a teenage girl, Mara, learns about New World cities built high above the water. As the ocean finally creeps up on their island sanctuary, her people take to the sea to seek out a new life, only to find themselves shut out as useless refugees. Only Mara’s continued determination and vision can offer any hope as she moves through hidden worlds and a high-tech society.

I have to say, Exodus isn’t easy to put into a quick review, because so much keeps happening in the book. Where to stop explaining before you give too much away? There’s definitely a strong climate crisis message in the book, along with a brutal look at refugees. The book was darker than I expected, and I never really got the whole Weave thing, where the remains of the Internet exist with bits of information and monsters and cyber-adventures. Over my head. Overall though, I liked the book. It certainly kept my interest, and I had no idea what was going to happen next.

Head to Wands and Worlds for a much better and more detailed review. I’ve got to get back to reading.

Labels: Book Reviews, Young Adult Books

Shabanu

I started off my 48 hours at the pool, and chose my first book of the challenge mainly because it was not a library book. I don’t want wet pool hands near library books. Well, not new hardbacks anyway.

Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind, by Suzanne Fisher Staples, has been on my to-read list for a while. There’s always been something more pressing that moves it to the bottom of the pile. Now that I’ve read it, I’ll look for the sequel — or is it sequels? — but I’m not running out today to find it (them?).

Shabanu is the daughter of nomads in Pakistan. She loves helping with the camels her family raises, but worries about her coming responsibilities as a woman. As a child, she still has some freedoms, even if she must obey her family unconditionally. As a woman, she becomes a wife and must be prepared to sacrifice her own needs to those of her husband. As her sister Phulan’s wedding draws near, disaster strikes and shakes up everything Shabanu has come to accept about her own fate.

Even though the back cover focuses on the major plot point in the story, the book is mostly about bringing the reader into the world of the Cholistanis, with their customs, beliefs, and concerns. In fact, I found the hints of upcoming disaster to be pretty distracting, as I was looking for it at every page turn, and the crisis doesn’t in fact come until more than halfway through the book. Overall, it was an interesting book and I enjoyed the cultural education. It didn’t “wow” me.

Labels: Book Reviews, Young Adult Books

The Thursday Three XII

It’s still Thursday. Late, yes, but still Thursday.

The heart of a Mother.
The soul of a Reader.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

The Thursday Three XVII: Beach Books

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Hitler’s Canary

Monday, August 18, 2008

Monarch and Milkweed

Thursday, August 14, 2008

The Thursday Three XVI: Going to School

Thursday, July 24, 2008

The Thursday Three XV

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Clementine’s Letter

Monday, June 30, 2008

Face to Face with Dolphins

Thursday, June 26, 2008

The Thursday Three XIV: Beach Books

Monday, June 23, 2008

Locusts: Insects on the Move

Thursday, June 19, 2008

The Thursday Three XIII

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Alive and Well

Sunday, June 08, 2008

The Fold

Uprising

Sweethearts

Blue

Peeled

Saturday, June 07, 2008

Bloom

Exodus

Shabanu

Thursday, May 29, 2008

The Thursday Three XII

The heart of a Mother. The soul of a Reader.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

The Thursday Three XVII: Beach Books

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Hitler’s Canary

Monday, August 18, 2008

Monarch and Milkweed

Thursday, August 14, 2008

The Thursday Three XVI: Going to School

Thursday, July 24, 2008

The Thursday Three XV

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Clementine’s Letter

Monday, June 30, 2008

Face to Face with Dolphins

Thursday, June 26, 2008

The Thursday Three XIV: Beach Books

Monday, June 23, 2008

Locusts: Insects on the Move

Thursday, June 19, 2008

The Thursday Three XIII

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Alive and Well

Sunday, June 08, 2008

The Fold

Uprising

Sweethearts

Blue

Peeled

Saturday, June 07, 2008

Bloom

Exodus

Shabanu

Thursday, May 29, 2008

The Thursday Three XII

The heart of a Mother.
The soul of a Reader.