tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12524937039191924512024-03-12T22:46:08.988-04:00Literally BookedA Busy Person's Place for Literary Goodness!Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.comBlogger178125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-21648438574531314482020-08-14T15:31:00.001-04:002020-08-14T15:31:30.238-04:00The Best We Could Do, by Thi Bui<p><img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51YwqKLe98L._SX359_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" /> </p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Best-We-Could-Do-Illustrated/dp/1419718789/ref=sr_1_2?crid=NZK6A0XRDIEX&dchild=1&keywords=the+best+we+could+do&qid=1597433423&sprefix=the+best+we+could+%2Caps%2C145&sr=8-2">The Best We Could Do</a> is an adult graphic memoir relating the story of the author's family during the occupation of Indochina and their eventual escape as 'boat people' after the fall of Saigon, eventually ending in America. I've read reviews that compare it to Persepolis, but I found the story's structure and tone to be similar to Maus as well, particularly with the fraught relationship with the author's father. The illustrations, which are drawn by Bui (who appears as the small child in stripes on the front cover) are all in shades of black, white, and red similar to those on the cover; it's interesting how these same colors flow from conveying warmth at some times to danger at others. Although this is largely the story of her parents' lives from childhood to the family's harrowing escape from Vietnam and immigration to the US, it is also about the larger impacts of family history on relationships through generations, and weaves in flashes forward throughout the narrative to make connections. As someone who has almost no understanding of Vietnamese history, I both enjoyed the memoir and appreciated the history lesson inherent in its telling; the graphic historical chart at the beginning is very helpful in keeping track of the key leaders and events, and I referred back to it continually not because the text was confusing but because focusing on the historical context really brought a deeper level of meaning to the book. I also did a little research on a few of the events that the chart mentioned before I started reading, and I was glad I did. The narrative opens with Bui having her own child, and right away it's obvious that there is so much under the surface; her mother struggles to be present in the delivery room although she had had six children of her own, and although her parents are divorced, they all still live very interconnected lives. Bui uses conversations with her parents to propel readers back and forth through time, hitting on a point of contention in family relationships in the present day before sliding back into the tale of how the conflicts and pain rooted decades earlier. One particularly painful admission from her mother - who Bui notes will confide more in Bui's husband than in her - has been seeping through my brain like a mist since I finished the book about a week ago, as I wonder how many women have felt the exact same way, only to find themselves somehow entangled in an entirely different life. It was these moments that gave the book such realism, as not simply a memoir where everything has ended up tied up in a bow; I suspect that would have been an easier book to write. Instead, she lays bare the bumpy, scratchy truth that allows readers to gain purchase, making it a work that can stick.</span></p>Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-25668362897941427992020-08-12T12:37:00.005-04:002020-08-14T15:31:54.980-04:00Clap When You Land, by Elizabeth Acevedo<p><img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51VlHTCDDkL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" /></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #050505;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Clap When You Land is a narrative in verse, alternating in voice between two girls who do not realize they are sisters, one in NYC and the other in the DR, after a plane crash kills their father. It is beautiful, and uses wording and structure to just swallow the reader whole. I loved the frequent use of Spanish, the inclusion of a beautiful, same-sex relationship for one of the girls (which is presented not as a main dish of the plot but as a perfect side dish, the homemade macaroni and cheese of Thanksgiving - warm and inviting and exactly as it should be) and how their lives and experiences were mirrored and yet also individual. I particularly appreciated how occasionally the girls would even use the same phrases, but due to the structural presentation and the way each sister would incorporate the words, they felt entirely her own. For the bulk of the novel, Yahaira, who lives in NYC, accidentally learned what she thinks is the whole truth of her father's dual life in the year prior to his death, and copes with complicated, silent fury while also being buried in grief. Camino, in the DR, has no such knowledge, but faces her own devastation at the loss of a second parent while having the dangers he had protected her from in the barrio closing in around her in the wake of his loss. Acevedo depicts the difficult balance of maturity and naïveté that high schoolers experience, and that lead to decisions both completely understandable and wretchedly painful. The deeper details of each sister's experiences unwind slowly, so the reader's connection to the characters as well as their pull towards each other is almost magnetic. When the girls finally learn of each other, it's as if those magnets spin, pushing and yet silently, irresistibly pulling. While the ending is not a surprise, it is satisfying and leaves the reader full of anticipation. I wanted more.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #050505; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">CWYL is older YA, and does include a description of a form of sexual assault as well as references to issues surrounding sex trafficking. While neither is unnecessarily graphic or overlong, they really are the only things that make this novel inappropriate for middle school, so if you have a mature 8th grader, this may be OK. As an adult, it was compelling and absolutely worth the time. I will probably read it again.</span></span></p><p><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p><span face="" style="background-color: white; color: #050505; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p>Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-37298609787105646392013-04-20T18:24:00.002-04:002013-04-20T18:24:54.213-04:00Miss you!I miss writing on this blog so much! I have a new teaching assignment this year, and have had to write everything from scratch as we are also in the process of switching to a new curriculum. I haven't had time to even breathe on my bookshelf. I have just over six weeks of school left, and once I'm done for the summer, I hope to be back reading up a storm. In the meantime, I'm removing the ability to comment from the blog, because I've been getting a lot of spam recently. When I start writing again, I'll put the comments back on.Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-49512061911492863682012-06-25T10:53:00.002-04:002020-08-14T15:34:26.021-04:00A Note on Abraham Lincoln, the filmI never do this, but I wanted to post a short comment here on the new adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith's Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter. I reviewed this book shortly after it came out; the book is GREAT. It does a wonderful job putting history into a fun context; if you remove the vampire parts, you can actually LEARN about Lincoln, and the civil war, which as a history buff I love, and as an educator practically makes me swoon. It's entertaining and adventurous and fun. The film does a terrible job at showing off the novel's quirky side, and instead focuses on action scene after action scene, to the detriment of the plot. Had I not read the book, I wonder if I would have had any idea what was actually going on; it was THAT choppy. I was *shocked* that SGS was actually listed as a screenplay author, since it was so poorly done! They must have offered him a TON of money to sell out his material like that. The film doesn't emphasize what I think is the most interesting part of the alternative-fiction history, and what, I think, holds the entire plot of the novel together - that slavery was, yes, for the plantations, but secretly it was used to feed the vampires in the region, and as such was the political driver behind the civil war, and Lincoln's anti-slavery focus. This was fascinating to me, and such a clever twist on the entire event, from the declaration of war to why Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation (when the war wasn't really about human rights, and the EP was issued late in the game) when he did, etc. The cardinal sin, however, what that the film didn't use the original ending. Good endings are hard to find, and ALVH had a PERFECT ending, excellently done, satisfying, and thought-provoking. I was so excited to see it play out, after the debacle of the rest of the film; the dialogue between characters set it up, it was all ready to go.... and then it was the lamest, most stereotypical ending EVER that replaced it. WTH?! It was an OUTRAGE, just insulting. This film took an intelligent book and eviscerated it. The action scenes are fun, and some people in the theater with me who had not read the book thought it was good, but really what it was was a terrible, missed opportunity. I almost don't know what to recommend here, because if you read the book, you'll be angry at the film. If you see the film but don't read the book, you may enjoy the action, but be confused and lose out on everything that makes the story wonderful. So, I guess I would say, read the book, and then watch the film if you want to see the fun action (the final scene on the train is cool, I have to admit), but have NO expectations of being satisfied intellectually while you're watching it. In fact, maybe you can play a fun party game while you watch - Name The Missing Plot Pieces. <br />
<br />
Rating: 1.5 stars. A travesty.Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-2932033185853342572012-06-13T15:14:00.000-04:002012-06-13T15:14:33.908-04:00Review: Unholy Night, by Seth Grahame-Smith<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQb3e7sHjnWnw0bHVkOKW3qNLkjYeyzlVDWSNoD30betTlRmT3rKbODVUuqJVv2z55d81hvxDf7hWkQ0UNj-u4qxJ5Z9nb3ARxDiH4yTe3s_m7E3mnNGJXG6De58BMqeix-vttk9QwnM/s1600/unholy+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQb3e7sHjnWnw0bHVkOKW3qNLkjYeyzlVDWSNoD30betTlRmT3rKbODVUuqJVv2z55d81hvxDf7hWkQ0UNj-u4qxJ5Z9nb3ARxDiH4yTe3s_m7E3mnNGJXG6De58BMqeix-vttk9QwnM/s320/unholy+night.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>Seth Grahame-Smith has been making a name for himself for several years now as the author of unconventional reimagined events, from (my favorite) 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' to the soon-to-be-released film 'Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter' (also very good, can't wait to see the movie!). His recent foray into fiction is <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/unholy-night-seth-grahame-smith/1106244296?ean=9780446563093">'Unholy Night'</a>, a revamping of the ancient story of the three wise men.<br />
<br />
Because the Christian bible doesn't focus overmuch on who the wise men were, what they thought, or what happened to them, Grahame-Smith is free to imagine a completely new history for the three. UH is focused on Balthazar, a scoundrel thief and lover, who joins with the other two after a particularly daring prison break wherein he saves the lives of the other two men, Melchior and Gaspar, not out of kindness but because it was the only way for him to escape himself. They in turn stick with him because they are duty-bound to him until they save his life in return, or pay him back in some other way. Together, the three of them stumble upon Mary, Joseph, and the baby in the barn while running from the Romans, and the real action of the story takes off from there in a very Indiana Jones-type fashion, following the group through their escape from the Roman army to Egypt.<br />
<br />
While the main heroes are interesting on their own, the runaway scene-stealer of this novel, to me, was the disgusting King Herod, whose body is vividly described as it rots away due to the vile lifestyle he has led. His fury at being foiled time and again by the wily Balthazer, and his increasing desperation to destroy both the thief and the baby, are fascinating, and he spins out of control like an overgrown, petulant child on an over-wound swing. Also interesting is SGS's portrayal of a young Pontas Pilate, who is secure in his ambition yet stutters at the last moment in his quest for glory. <br />
<br />
The biggest fault with UH is that it starts v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. I actually pre-ordered this a month in advance to its April release, started reading within a week of it's arrival on my Nook, and put it back down until about a week ago. The only reason I picked it back up was because I have loved SGS's other novels, and was going on faith that there would be improvement. I'm glad I did, because once the action started in earnest it was difficult to put the book down. I enjoyed experiencing the alternative perspective of Balthazar, and also SGS's creation of the very-real, very human Mary and Joseph. Their conversations, and the occasional insights into their thoughts on their own predicament, were food for thought and brought the novel, and the ancient story it somewhat follows, into sharper relief. He is also a master of satisfying endings, and his epilogue in UH is no disappointment.<br />
<br />
Overall, Unholy Night was another success by Grahame-Smith. His ability to breathe life into stories and histories that we all take for granted makes for fascinating reading. <br />
<br />
Rating: 4.5 stars. An enjoyable, satisfying reimagining that picks up speed with each chapter.Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-12498947359652145902012-06-08T21:50:00.000-04:002012-06-08T21:50:48.842-04:00Review: This Is How: Proven Aid in Overcoming Shyness, Molestation, Fatness, Spinsterhood, Grief, Disease, Lushery, Decrepitude & More. For Young and Old Alike, by Augusten Burroughs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUK38V7nvJSRdnC29e0oSsW3ES3pXBaZFyHskLgRwJyRQe9aizUqD69i2WQ9iAxI6n8mGF-B8pr7dkv9dDlBrrRFUv3WLgyyjirhhMSu9hqJwpaFSbB2hJF4psRXxbBNS5A8z6PYsm7W8/s1600/this+is+how.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUK38V7nvJSRdnC29e0oSsW3ES3pXBaZFyHskLgRwJyRQe9aizUqD69i2WQ9iAxI6n8mGF-B8pr7dkv9dDlBrrRFUv3WLgyyjirhhMSu9hqJwpaFSbB2hJF4psRXxbBNS5A8z6PYsm7W8/s1600/this+is+how.jpg" /></a></div>Augusten Burroughs has lived enough life for several people, coming out the other side of child abuse, alcoholism, and the loss of a partner. He has written several memoirs on these experiences, and in his newest work attempts to take the kowledge he has gained from these events and apply it towards an advisory bent. This Is How focuses on giving advice on dealing with life's various problems.<br />
<br />
Many of the sections of this book are well-written, and include direct references to personal experiences, although without in-depth explanations of the context of those references, which might be confusing to one who hasn't read his other works, or at the very least make the book less engaging. His discussion on letting go of regret, and of the past, is particularly plain-spoken and applicable to almost everyone. It is Burrough's ability to make compelling metaphors, and put complex emotion into simple terms that make this work valuable in these areas. Rather than creating a cumbersome self-help tome, Burroughs reframes concepts like letting go of the past by discussing the concern that by revisiting the past repeatedly, you are only getting your own distorted point of view; he does this using well-constructed metaphors and life stories that illuminate his ideas. In these chapters, Burroughs is at his best.<br />
<br />
However, in later chapters Burroughs allows his feeling of advisory ability to get away with him, and he writes on topics such as how to discuss terminal illness with a child, and how to deal with the death of a child, and in these areas he is much less skillful. In fact, I found these sections to be fanciful at best, and completely offensive at worst. As someone who has had a family child die (my wonderful nephew was killed in an accident five years ago), I found it presumptious of someone who has not had that experience to attempt to give others advice on how to handle it, and his example of a potential conversation with a dying child was utterly ridiculous. People, if you don't have children, and you don't have a lot of experience with them, please don't tell parents how to talk to them, particularly on these topics. It makes you sound pompous and foolish. Truly, these later chapters feel as though Burroughs wasn't satisfied with the length of the book as it stood using his own personal material, and was looking for ways to stretch the book out. They are far less sincere and personal than the others, and the writing suffers for it.<br />
<br />
That aside, about 3/4 of 'How To...' is a decent read, with eloquent and thoughtful material. We all have regrets, and shyness, and things in the past we'd rather move on from, and at this, Burroughs shines. I may even go back through these areas and reread them from time to time. He has taken the concept of living in the now and given it a conversational, bare-bones makeover that is appealing for the casual reader.<br />
<br />
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars. A plainspoken, relatable advice book on various topics that would have received 4 or 4.5 stars without the pompous filler material near the end.Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-3428291573305526022012-06-08T21:08:00.000-04:002012-06-08T21:08:38.430-04:00Review: Drop Dead Healthy, by AJ Jacobs<em>Note: I'm baaaa-aaaack! Sorry about the extended hiatus. Lesson planning plus grading plus kids plus end of year craziness = no time for fun reading or blogging. I'm looking forward to adding a lot of content here this summer! If you have suggestions for material, please leave comments here, and I'll put your ideas on the top of my list!</em><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRbtcXaW0vBtC9HWF3u8pyknyvGxeiZpS9z28vxpfOUEGfmmOObYAgqmK-t8qvYaRKfb3em7kZrsOuiO5UcAp_6-ku2jZ4IscWqo2WDuhD8ABqSh6ICUotX5xErinF7R_mKlAlI-g-es/s1600/aj+jacobs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRbtcXaW0vBtC9HWF3u8pyknyvGxeiZpS9z28vxpfOUEGfmmOObYAgqmK-t8qvYaRKfb3em7kZrsOuiO5UcAp_6-ku2jZ4IscWqo2WDuhD8ABqSh6ICUotX5xErinF7R_mKlAlI-g-es/s1600/aj+jacobs.jpg" /></a></div>A couple of years ago, I reviewed AJ Jacobs' previous work, titled <u>The Year of Living Biblically</u>, in which he attempted to follow all of the rules in the Old Testament. It was quite funny, and I had been looking forward to reading his latest quest into the 'Ultimate Rule Follower' domain, <u>Drop Dead Healthy</u>, for some time. Having previously enjoyed Jacobs' everyman persuit of perfection, I expected more of the same in his newest volume.<br />
<br />
For the most part, Drop Dead Healthy follows the same journalistic patterns as Jacobs' other books; decide upon a goal, read up, talk to experts on both sides of the various aspects of said goal, and follow the decided path ad nauseum, or at least until his wife puts her foot down. Maybe it's that the formula has gotten a bit stale, or that this topic wasn't quite as funny, but DDH reads much more like an extra-long article than a compilation of humerous exploits. Actually, this may be the case, since the bible quest required a lot more social discomfort on Jacobs' part, resulting in some pretty funny situations, whereas being more healthy and in-shape actually makes one, if anything, more socially accepted. Regardless, lack of humor made this work feel like a much longer read, and portions are pretty dry, particularly some interviews with various experts.<br />
<br />
This is not to say that DDH isn't entertaining and enlightening, because I did find it interesting, and those who have not done a great deal of reading on the plastic debate, air quality, and the virtues of various diets will probably find it especially so. For me, the best parts involved Jacobs' interactions with family, friends, and some of the more out-there health nuts he interacted with. He also spends a decent amount of the book detailing visits with his grandfather and aunt, both of whom die during his writing. The material including his aunt is more pertinent, as she is a colossal health nut who has informed and emphatic opinions on health matters, while the material with his grandfather is more sentimental and slightly less so, except for that it follows the rule that says that those in contact with family will live longer. It is obvious that Jacobs has a strong attachment to his grandfather, which is touching to read, however, at the risk of sounding like a complete grinch, I have to say that I feel that he included a bit more of that material than was necessary, probably out of sentimentality due to the circumstances. <br />
<br />
Jacobs gives a very thorough discussion of each side of arguments, such as what the best diet is, or the best exercise plan, including a very funny 'caveman' program in Central Park. I would have liked to have read more on the actual impact of all the changes on him, personally; Jacobs spends very little time discussing whether these changes are difficult for him, especially the changes in diet. Including more on personal struggles regarding abstaining from certain foods would humanize the book more, and thus make it more engaging. While Jacobs mentions that he has stopped eating this and that, he doesn't include anything on whether this is difficult for him, or how he copes with cravings. <br />
<br />
Overall, I would probably read another work by Jacobs. His style is fairly conversational, and he seems to be a likable person. Perhaps next time he could return to a more off-beat topic, which would reintroduce the humor back into his work and allow his personality to shine through more.<br />
<br />
Rating: 3 stars. Not as entertaining as previous works, but still a worthwhile read with occasional moments of humor and sentimentality.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-92200952405437293412012-03-24T17:03:00.001-04:002012-03-24T17:06:14.883-04:00Review: World War Z, by Max Brooks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMx-7qxU4rqh8xGvkpB_mccY9XZKBuH_eDyP91AlvyaMr7zUxF4JhjpVlducnOlTf4A0TwkKyFP6uFUO6d_Itv3MjcbEoVnNkdqcOXzL6PBU39XPWMyWnwcpUTaJaW4k5ORy7HlXop_WM/s1600/wwz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMx-7qxU4rqh8xGvkpB_mccY9XZKBuH_eDyP91AlvyaMr7zUxF4JhjpVlducnOlTf4A0TwkKyFP6uFUO6d_Itv3MjcbEoVnNkdqcOXzL6PBU39XPWMyWnwcpUTaJaW4k5ORy7HlXop_WM/s1600/wwz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMx-7qxU4rqh8xGvkpB_mccY9XZKBuH_eDyP91AlvyaMr7zUxF4JhjpVlducnOlTf4A0TwkKyFP6uFUO6d_Itv3MjcbEoVnNkdqcOXzL6PBU39XPWMyWnwcpUTaJaW4k5ORy7HlXop_WM/s1600/wwz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMx-7qxU4rqh8xGvkpB_mccY9XZKBuH_eDyP91AlvyaMr7zUxF4JhjpVlducnOlTf4A0TwkKyFP6uFUO6d_Itv3MjcbEoVnNkdqcOXzL6PBU39XPWMyWnwcpUTaJaW4k5ORy7HlXop_WM/s1600/wwz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMx-7qxU4rqh8xGvkpB_mccY9XZKBuH_eDyP91AlvyaMr7zUxF4JhjpVlducnOlTf4A0TwkKyFP6uFUO6d_Itv3MjcbEoVnNkdqcOXzL6PBU39XPWMyWnwcpUTaJaW4k5ORy7HlXop_WM/s1600/wwz.jpg" /></a></div><br />
In his novel <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/world-war-z-max-brooks/1100054305?ean=9780307346612&itm=1&usri=world+war+z">World War Z</a>, Max Brooks uses journalistic entries to create a post-apocalyptic world where zombies (yesssss!) have threatened to overcome humanity. His approach incorporates the use of the premise that a reporter is compiling interviews with survivors into a chonicle of the entire zombie infestation from the first wave through the eventual triumph of the humans. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At first, this 'report' grabbed me with the strength of its unique approach and fast-paced change of character. Brooks keeps his interview segments short, so each new character the reader is introduced to is only present for ten pages at most; many keep their recollections to only three pages, or even less. A couple of characters make brief reappearances in the final post-apocalypse part of the story, but the vast majority are gone after serving their purpose of telling their own tiny experience. The storytellers range in age and station, varying from young adults to retired officers, wealthy people who got their hands and consciences dirty in order to survive and children whose parents tried to kill them before the zombies could. One drawback to this kind of storytelling, however, is that there is no main character for the reader to attach to; the only creatures that are constants are the zombies, who have no voice of their own (this would have been an interesting addition, had Brooks been able to figure out a way to include it). With no individual protagonist, during times when the pace slows, there is less of an incentive to pick the book up. One could make the argument that Humanity is the protagonist, but since that's more of an abstract concept it doesn't really help the reader to be invested. This is one area that Robopocalypse, a novel with a similar concept, did better - the author gave us a set of interwoven characters to root for. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As I mentioned, the novel had a strong beginning; there was a wide variety of perspectives given, and the voices were very different. The ending was also fairly strong, and I enjoyed finding out what had happened to one character, a woman who had been a child when the invasion occurred, in particular. The tales of those trying to escape, protect their families, or cope with infected loved ones were well-written and emotionally charged. The middle third of the novel, however, was dominated by military voices, and at that point, the tone flattened out for quite awhile. Many of the 'interviewees' had basically similar stories, and I didn't feel anywhere near the emotional connection to them as I did to those presented in the first third of the novel because their interviews focused more on strategies and battles. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Another issue was that the zombies were killed in a shockingly mundane way - you had to hit them in the brain. This was so obvious that it almost hurt my own brain. Who wouldn't know that you couldn't shoot a zombie in the chest, when they obviously don't rely on a heartbeat? Also, there is no notation of how the first zombie was created, or where the disease came from, and that would have been welcome creativity. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One interesting portion, however, was an obvious connection and critique to the current military engagements around the world, as the sluggishness and rigidity of the American military was criticized in its inability to change tactics and fight according to new, guerrilla rules. Also fun was the fact that the zombies would freeze solid in the upper hemisphere winters, or could be half frozen into a lake and yet still snapping and grabbing with its unfrozen limbs. The concept of the undead being able to bob along in the ocean was interesting as well, and I think more could have been done with that. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I think a main problem with this novel is that it takes itself too seriously. There is no humor present, really, at all; WWZ is at times as dry as the report-status it purports itself to be. This is not to say that I didn't enjoy the novel, just that at times it could have benefitted from a little good-natured poking at itself. With all the short stories included in the larger context, it would have been easy to inject a few colorful characters inside to spice up the longer spells of military strategy description. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Overall, WWZ was a fairly good read, enough so that I finished it in a few days of off-and-on reading. Since I have read both, and seen them compared in several sites, I will say this; if you are more interested in personal connections, Robopocalypse is the armageddon book for you. If you prefer more streamlined, documentary approaches to your end-of-days scenarios, WWZ will be the more fitting choice.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Rating: three out of five stars. A fairly unique effort with an uneven engagement factor for the sci-fi inclined government-report fan.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-70047194398470094872012-03-04T14:10:00.001-05:002012-03-04T14:14:19.361-05:00Review: The Sisters, by Nancy Jensen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi20U1whjJyHEnmQ47KyoT3PUOky4sZV7q1qwc-G_p_NOLXuFR4ubMHydaZLG1WRNrt-okTp-X3s-8maK2Fh-lyXWajnOKV4Qwh9Fzhvh0ira83VcZSQY0BNkzv1BRrOAqKuVjZFx8dtzw/s1600/sisters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi20U1whjJyHEnmQ47KyoT3PUOky4sZV7q1qwc-G_p_NOLXuFR4ubMHydaZLG1WRNrt-okTp-X3s-8maK2Fh-lyXWajnOKV4Qwh9Fzhvh0ira83VcZSQY0BNkzv1BRrOAqKuVjZFx8dtzw/s1600/sisters.jpg" /></a></div>Writer Nancy Jensen's first novel, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sisters-nancy-jensen/1100649228?ean=9780312542702&itm=1&usri=the+sisters">The Sisters</a>, starts with heartbreak, and continues from there. The teacups on the cover are a clever insuniation of the how things that are beautiful can be broken; thankfully, they also portray how things that are broken can still be beautiful.<br />
<br />
**SPOILER ALERT: It is difficult to discuss this book without giving away a small part of the resolution. I will do my best. If you're worried, skip to the bottom for the final review.**<br />
<br />
The almost three hundred page novel opens with teenage sisters Bertie and Mabel living with their stepfather, who is a disgusting excuse for a human being, in 1920s Kentucky. Most readers will immediately know something is Wrong in that house, but the truth of just how awful things have gotten isn't revealed until much later in the novel. Jensen is masterful at making you completely involved with these girls in just one chapter, and at ripping your heart out as they are separated over a terrible misunderstanding that will affect the rest of their lives. (I am serious, it was almost physically painful to read.)<br />
<br />
Beginning with Chapter 2, Jensen traces the broadening stories of the two girls, and their subsequent families, as separate strands. Each girl reinvents herself in an effort to escape the past, with outward success, but inner turmoil that is not so easily washed away. The repercussions of Bertie's anger and bitterness extend far-reaching tendrils in her children and grandchildren, most of whom are, frankly, somewhat unlikable products of the secret horror that has shadowed their family. Mabel's cobbled family is more emotionally successful, but the guilt and sorrow she carries with her threatens her sanity on more than one occasion as she ages. <br />
<br />
The most difficult part of reading this story is the knowledge that it is all entirely unnecessary. Had Bertie not been so devastatingly proud, if Mabel could have had just an ounce more courage in later years, had both not been so committed to silence, it all might have been averted or at least repaired. The greatest sorrow of their lives comes to rest on the reader as he or she realizes that not all things are tied up in a bow, and that the constraints of society and one's own shortcomings really can lead to unrepairable ruin. It is a testament to Jensen's fortitude as a writer that she allows this to happen, lets the reader squirm, without ever feeling the need to pull the drawstring and provide a tidy resolution. Life is messy and painful, and she is honest and unafraid to let it be. I do have to say, though, that in this instance, letting it all hang out to dry, so to speak, was a punishment for the reader. I didn't need it tied up with a bow, but <br />
<br />
*skip here if you are even thinking about reading*<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>... even if Bertie and Mabel never made up themselves, if in the end Jensen had closed with Grace, Bertie's grandaughter, beginning an internet search for the mysterious Mabel, using the clue that she was possibly seen on TV by Bertie just before she died, it would have been a much more satisfactory ending without being falsely sweet.</em></span><br />
<br />
*start reading again*<br />
<br />
The one problem with this story is one that many others like it have had; I simply didn't care as much about the later generations as I did Bertie and Mabel. The beginning of the story made me so attached to the two of them, focused so strongly on them for several chapters, and their initial event was so devastating, that little in the subsequent characters lives seemed as important or interesting. Also, because of the number of new characters grew as the generations passed, it became more difficult to track who was who, and to have an in-depth relationship with all of them. As I mentioned, several were fairly unlikable, in part because Jensen was probably quite caught up in capturing the ripple effect of the past rather than making them seem like appealing people in their own right. It was definitely the chapters on the elder generations that I enjoyed reading the most, and the resolution of Alma in particular was rewarding to read. I felt as though Mabel's character wasn't wrapped up as well as Bertie's, and actually that Mabel's life in general could have been more filled out. Jensen does an excellent job of carrying motifs through the tale, including adoption, suicide, and the idea that a family is what you make it; watching the results of parenting coming home to roost is both painful and thought-provoking, particularly considering trends in our current society. <br />
<br />
Ultimately, the book does seem to lose some focus, and several characters are just completely unlikable, which makes it a hard go for awhile. The story of Mabel and Bertie was really what the reader is sold on at the beginning, and the book would have been better had that thread remained more prominent rather than straying into less-developed, and largely unlikable, characters. However, the writing is excellent, and the initial third to half of the book is so excellent that it carries the reader through the less engaging portions to the final description of what actually happened on Bertie's graduation day; while the basic points of the secret are not a surprise, it heralds a return to Jensen's obvious familiarity and fondness for the initial characters whom the reader is much more closely bonded with.<br />
<br />
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars. A tale of profound heartbreak, and its aftermath, that is at several points breathtaking; more likable later characters and a slightly tweaked ending would have earned a 5.Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-67706748734975659012012-02-23T10:16:00.000-05:002012-02-23T10:16:27.379-05:00Review: Girlchild, by Tupelo Hassman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8uvKieQtW33tQBYZbxf5FAdHTZYwvkVMJQkGBLe4-bSTDGsZpRcvawtBJ7UMPRjyxxI1Q2etaX2-sTMotrFrV3GcR-UsyDgulPJvKdHm2kJPNKD597XTQLgb5-uYULUU-9TtrGxtUlWY/s1600/girlchild.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8uvKieQtW33tQBYZbxf5FAdHTZYwvkVMJQkGBLe4-bSTDGsZpRcvawtBJ7UMPRjyxxI1Q2etaX2-sTMotrFrV3GcR-UsyDgulPJvKdHm2kJPNKD597XTQLgb5-uYULUU-9TtrGxtUlWY/s1600/girlchild.jpg" /></a></div>The title of Tupelo Hassman's first novel, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/girlchild-tupelo-hassman/1104154953?ean=9780374162573&itm=1&usri=girlchild">Girlchild</a>, comes from the nickname the young teenaged Rory Hendrix is given by her mother, and is a significant clue regarding the nature of Rory's existance; the facts that she is a child, and a girl, define the experiences she has in the small, poverty-stricken trailerpark that is her home to the exclusion of all else. It is an indictment of the inevitable that her mother feels is to come. This frank focus on unaviodable predestination, which the reader sees applied to other residents in the periphery, leads all characters down an anything but rosy path towards an ending that is simultaneously hopeful *and* hopeless. <br />
<br />
Hassman's style in this first effort is to allow Rory to tell her tale in first person. This increases the reader's connection to her life as she struggles with an alcoholic barmaid mother, and the ramifications of a family history of sexual abuse dating back at least one generation. Rory is largely a social outcast, in large part because she is inexplicably brilliant in school; unfortunately, rather than being a road out of her environment, this actually increases the load she must carry as it distances her from her peers and even her mother, who is intellectually unable to understand what a gift her daughter has, and financially unable to aid her in her pursuit of winning the state spelling bee. Instead, her youth and downtrodden upbringing begin to make see her potential as something that is diametrically opposed to the success of her family. Heartbreakingly, she first sabotages and then rejects entirely her chances of scholastic achievement, pushing herself back into the spiral of loss and despair that is the trailer park, which is itself a failed Las Vegas real estate venture long-abandoned by developers.<br />
<br />
As Rory slowly uncovers her family's abusive past, she must deal with her own experience at the hands of a local pervert, the father of her babysitter, who offers Rory up in an attempt to escape her own prison. While the situation is eventually resolved, somewhat satisfactorily, by cosmic justice, the entire novel focuses on the fact that children, particulary girl children, live in a small ocean filled with predatory sharks. To be a 'girlchild' is to have a cloud over your head, and to be the inevitable target of all the ills society can visit on a person; this nickname is what Rory's mother calls her in her most hopeless moments.<br />
<br />
While the tale is told well, there is room for improvement. The first-person style works well until it is disrupted by the author's decision to use redacted text, which jolts the reader out of the spell cast by the story into the metacognition that, oh, yes, I am reading a book. Hassman uses the redacted text as a means to indicate that an unspeakable event has occurred, and perhaps a much shorter segment would work with the text rather than against it. This appears more than once, however, and for several pages at a time. Because I was reading this on a Nook, it was actually more confusing than anything, because I was concerned that there was something wrong with the electronic book before I realized that this was a purposeful convention. Also, Hassman is obviously determined to have an understated tale, and thus verbally circles around the actual sexual abuse like a coyote afraid to pounce into the light. Unfortunately, such concentrated circling is just as beat-you-over-the-head as repeatedly just coming out and saying it. I wanted to scream, 'I get it! She's being abused! Let's deal with it already!!!' Subtlety is good; too much subtlety is obvious and almost self-congratulating. <br />
<br />
Where Hassman is strong is in her ability to convey the horror of what Rory experiences without resorting to vile details. She is excellent at showing, rather than telling, the story, and in respecting the reader's ability to make some leaps independent of guidance. Also, while the events in the story aren't surprises at all, she gives them just enough of a twist, and personal nature, that this isn't tiresome. Finally, in Rory, she has breathed life into a complex character who is full of real-life contradictions and emotions; the girl who is experiencing the ugliest of life's events simultaneously reads the Girl Scout Handbook like a bible despite never having the chance to actually *be* a scout. Her inner resilience cannot be squashed, and when covered at one outlet burst forth from another like a redirected geyser. The novel's close leaves the reader wondering at the entirely blank canvas in front of Rory, and in her ability to walk into the nothingness with a determination most adults might not muster.<br />
<br />
I have seen on other sites that others have pointed to Hassman as a trailer-park Shakespeare. I'm not sure I would go that far, but her molding of a story full of inevitability into an interesting and worthwhile read is impressive. This would be a good book for if you're sick in bed, and need a short read that will take you through your illness; it would be best if you were able to read the entire thing with as few breaks as possible so as to avoid breaking the connection. Because all of the sordid details are redacted, and she uses a ton of insinuation rather than plain speech, Hassman has widened her potential audience, and I would say that this would be appropriate for mid-teen up depending on your child, but definitely read it yourself first because there is discussion of adult relationships and drug use.<br />
<br />
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars. A good initial novel that quietly conveys resilience amid despair.Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-19748788403279109792012-02-16T15:06:00.000-05:002012-02-16T15:06:10.111-05:00Review: Behind the Beautiful Forevers, by Katherine Boo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMV8cpIs_P6aa5uTlkab0Hk7s82t5p45Gil_zfzDErcbGEXdXS1UJlMPuEZD-EA9FhzoLDDy4A9YpmvKeE1KNzmV0vmKXYM2_lPcMrTJu4RSL23ZrzbZg4F2KMYrb3jiofon5kCagetxI/s1600/beautiful+forevers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMV8cpIs_P6aa5uTlkab0Hk7s82t5p45Gil_zfzDErcbGEXdXS1UJlMPuEZD-EA9FhzoLDDy4A9YpmvKeE1KNzmV0vmKXYM2_lPcMrTJu4RSL23ZrzbZg4F2KMYrb3jiofon5kCagetxI/s1600/beautiful+forevers.JPG" /></a></div>Let's face it - for most of us, no matter how interested we are in world affairs, truly connecting with a vastly different environment can be difficult, if not impossible, by simply reading literature. Much of what is published as non-fiction documentation of so-called 'third world' countries, while meaning well, is dry and lacks the capability to truly connect the reader. In<a href="http://mynook.barnesandnoble.com/productDetail.html?ean=9780679645504&deliveryId=320078729"> Behind the Beautiful Forevers</a>, Katherine Boo goes a long way towards bridging these issues by pulling the reader directly into the lives of families living in Annawadi, a massive slum located in Mumbai.<br />
<br />
As I write this, I have to resist the temptation to write 'characters', because while the people in this story are very real, Boo has done such an excellent job of including small details, things that only someone truly interested in people and situations would notice, that the individuals almost seem fictional. Her descriptions are personal rather than clinical-observer, and give the book the feel of one person simply describing the life of another. In fact, if anything, occasionally Boo is a bit heavy on the description, and the lens is so closely placed on a few characters it is difficult for the reader to experience them in the larger context of the society; this issue is somewhat tempered by the spreading the focus on a few interconnected families, from which the reader can glean some perspective. Overall, the book is extremely readable. <br />
<br />
While the reality of the poverty described in the Mumbai slum, located near the airport in a small clearing between five international hotels, is not especially shocking, what I did find surprising was the occasional intermingling of current technology, and the almost anachronistic presence of televisions, iPods, and the occasional computer in a few of the luckier homes. Everyone there is within one police bribe, one accident, or one argument of homelessness and death, and the entire village lives around a lake of sewage, yet they are in the shadow of unbelievable opulence and international transaction. This dichotomy, and the Annawadian determination to turn even this to their advantage, is fascinating and uncanny. What is shocking, and maybe shouldn't have been, was the unrelenting corruption of every person with even the tiniest amount of power, and the casual understanding that any and all money will be essentially stolen and used for alternate purposes; grants meant for orphanages are stolen by front organizations while police and legal officials extract thousands of dollars from people who are framed for crimes, and even locals step on the heads of those around them in an attempt to grasp some small feeling of power. The need for a feeling of power is so great that the book opens with one family being accused of causing the self-immolation of a neighbor, who had lit herself on fire in an attempt to get back at them for disrespecting her and gain the upper hand in the neighborhood. Much of the book deals with the fallout of this event for the accused family, and those peripherally involved, and is a complete horror-show of corruption and unbelievable stress. Death, frequently by suicide, steps out of the shadows to snatch people away, and it's difficult to say whether the violence or the lack of surprise of the community are more distressing.<br />
<br />
While it would be easy to say that the point of the book is to illustrate the desperation of those who have nothing to do anything to have something, there is more to Boo's writing than this. Also present are moments of loveliness, and a demonstration of the tenacity of humans. Though surrounded by filth, poverty and general hatefulness, people still work towards something more, and dream of an escape that is all but impossible. One girl takes college classes (the only person in the village to do so) and tutors young village children while watching her aspiring-slumlord mother steal school grant money and swindle everyone around her, another impoverished boy, who works as a trash collector, vows to only accept materials that are not stolen, even though it will cut his already miniscule earnings by at least 15% and jeopardize his family's livelihood. Sadly, at the close of the book, as both are nearing adulthood, their aspirations begin to be dimmed by their surroundings, which prompt the boy to pray that he had tried to be a good boy, but wasn't sure if he would be able to continue as a man and still survive. <br />
<br />
What are we to do about all of this? Boo offers no answers or suggestions. The book simply stops without coming to a resolution on several points, which is a testament to it's current-events status. It is difficult not knowing what happens to the individuals in the book, because Boo inspires readers to honestly care for them. Do they continue on in Annawadi? Do they escape? How does the remaining portion of the immolation court case resolve? We don't know. We can only watch the news to see if Annawadi itself continues to exist, or is demolished in the way of progress as is threatened throughout the book, and know that while it stands, there will continue to be thousands of compelling stories hidden inside.<br />
<br />
Rating: four stars out of five. A compelling, well-detailed account of life in one of Mumbai's largest slums.Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-10514681901822740722011-10-01T11:44:00.001-04:002011-10-01T11:47:58.134-04:00Review: Big Girl Small, by Rachel DeWoskin<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVpUPE2AKJOwiOPWH5zqST0pRBlZq5KWTvV-5KOeIBiNqOwtsBAPEaoqQVH93TK24J-QOC5NuENxJmVDZ8nYFwbPHUNl5A_OSSG8Z7SwDBUJqoj7tY7og5vSe1eaOrmmxrmXYmUmJbj7k/s1600/big+girl+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVpUPE2AKJOwiOPWH5zqST0pRBlZq5KWTvV-5KOeIBiNqOwtsBAPEaoqQVH93TK24J-QOC5NuENxJmVDZ8nYFwbPHUNl5A_OSSG8Z7SwDBUJqoj7tY7og5vSe1eaOrmmxrmXYmUmJbj7k/s1600/big+girl+small.jpg" /></a>Think you have issues surrounding your body type? Meet Judy, teenage girl, amazing vocalist, new student at the local exclusive high school for the arts, and three-foot-something Little Person, whose journey into mortification is chronicled by writer Rachel DeWorskin in the quick read, Big Girl Small.<br />
<br />
Despite her parents' best efforts to give her as 'normal' a life as possible, it is obvious from the beginning that Judy's life has taken a very atypical turn, as the story is told by Judy from the confines of her seedy motel hideout, where she is cloistered not from a crime, but from some humiliation so great that she has run away from her life to hide from it. The novel is told as a reflection on the recent events, with several short jaunts to her present situation. In the past year, Judy has walked away from her friends and comfortable public school into a program for those exceptionally talented in the arts; this is her first time truly striking out on her own into new territory, and she is determined to re-create her life, making new friends, coming into her own musically, and, of course, falling for the most handsome boy in the school. She confronts her fears head-on, proving that she belongs where she is, and eventually winning the attention of Handsome Boy, Kyle.<br />
<br />
Needless to say, things begin to go downhill from this point for Judy, and the knowledge that there's been a Horrific Event, combined with the unexplained attentions of the cinematography-obsessed Kyle, quickly lead the reader to conclude what has happened well before Judy herself reveals the truth. The reader then spends the rest of the novel waiting for the inevitable. Granted, this is technically a YA novel, so younger adults may not have quite the sense of what's coming that a more seasoned reader would have, but it's pretty plain that this story is following a well-travelled path of female victimization that I find distasteful and tired. How many books about girl-has-sex-and-is-humiliated-publicly do we need? Judy's LP status serves only to add another layer of 'of course', insofar as characters with physical disabilities are typically targets of victimization in film and literature. What would have been more interesting and original would have been presenting Judy's character instead as Jude, a male travelling the same path. DeWoskin's telling comes off as the older, sexier sister of the Afterschool Special so many of us grew up watching.<br />
<br />
Lest I sound completely down on the novel, I need to make a few critical points. DeWoskin does a supurb job of raising the level of diction typically found in YA novels. Judy is smart, and DeWoskin expects the readers to be smart as well; this is a blessed relief from the vast majority of YA offerings, and is what kept me glued to the book. It is also refreshing to read Judy's perspective as a LP, which is decidedly not self-pitying; while her character's eventual humiliation does as first blush seem to be dependant on her status as 'Different', by the end of the novel, this is shown as less the case, thus in a roundabout way making Judy less 'Different', at least in the physical sense. Judy's parents are very well-created, as well; they are loving without being the overprotective, shrill dunderheads typically seen in YA novels in particular. The resolution of the plot is simultaneously realistic and somewhat unsatisfying, because reality, and real people, are often supremely unsatisfying. In the end, Judy is still the mistress of her own future, and the reader has gained insight into how an intelligent young woman can make the same mistakes in judgement, succumbing to the same twin pitfalls of inexperience and insecurity, as any other young person.<br />
<br />
This novel is rated YA, but the writing and topic are definitely skewed to older YA readers. Several and various sexual acts, along with drug and alcohol use, are described in the same analytic and intelligent voice as the rest of the novel, meaning they are not pornographic, but are very concisely described. These events do not take place until near the middle, but things go downhill quickly to the Main Event. For that first half, I was solidly planning on handing this one over to my younger-YA daughter, but the explicit nature of the book, no matter how strong of a warning-tale this might be, had me changing my mind midstream. Read this one first before passing it on to your own kids, and make the decision that is right for your family.<br />
<br />
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars. An eloquent tale of warning, and strength of spirit, voiced by a realistically created character.Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-53551378570228798312011-09-26T09:49:00.001-04:002011-09-27T15:52:29.765-04:00Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9i-i9KvRjUU2S8uNd3qOp6LoA0fcsxhbkLGNvaFxJ26W79zSZ8Kve-wqCoN-rstlYvXxsaEE2Z3uip3rni-1FdHFYlxvf2qDo3_jBAZF3K1NpbT2Ap58wkyRlOi5t4l45Tkn7ddfy3xA/s1600/peregrine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9i-i9KvRjUU2S8uNd3qOp6LoA0fcsxhbkLGNvaFxJ26W79zSZ8Kve-wqCoN-rstlYvXxsaEE2Z3uip3rni-1FdHFYlxvf2qDo3_jBAZF3K1NpbT2Ap58wkyRlOi5t4l45Tkn7ddfy3xA/s1600/peregrine.jpg" /></a>The first novel by travel writer Ransom Riggs, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/miss-peregrines-home-for-peculiar-children-ransom-riggs/1100388567?ean=9781594744761&itm=1&usri=peregrine27s%2bhome">Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children</a> lures readers in with an amazing collection of actual photos, which have been re-purposed to illustrate the novel. Largely unchanged, their collectively spooky and sometimes disturbing nature sets the scene for what promises to be a haunting ride through Riggs' twisted imaginings.<br />
<br />
The novel takes off running, with sixteen year-old Jacob detailing the fantastic stories his grandfather told him as a child, while they looked at photos he claimed were of people he knew during the time he spent at an orphanage during WWI; Jacob bitterly decided as a boy that all he had believed of levitating children and terrifying monsters from the old man were actually tricks and deceptions. Flash forward a few years to a frantic phone call, and a tragic discovery in the woods behind the grandfather's home leads to Jacob once again question reality; this time, events push him to realize that he must find the truth himself. Within weeks, Jacob and his doddering father set off for a tiny island off the coast of the UK, the boy on a path to a place he could barely have dreamed. It's no great revelation for readers that the home for peculiar children is real, due to the title of the story, but how and when he arrives there, and what dangers confront him, are truly fantastic.<br />
<br />
Peregrine starts out strongly, and readers can make an almost instant connection to the emotionally raw Jacob. The photos are utterly fascinating, and Riggs cleverly incorporates them into the tale immediately, virtually ensuring that the reader will be hooked into the mystery of who and what those portrayed really are. Riggs has a gift for detail, and Jacob's eventual discovery of the remains of the home brings the smells and aura of the ruins to life. Key relationships are another strong point of the novel, both between characters and reader-to-character; I genuinely was interested in each of the children, and more than that, was heartbroken for several characters.<br />
<br />
However, once the entire truth begins to unfold, Riggs falters a bit in his storytelling. It is almost as if, without the support of these wonderous photographic guides, he was unsure of where to go or how to keep the reader in the same trance. Granted, it would be difficult to maintain the same level of grotesque fascination throughout, but the action doesn't quite stand up as well on its own, perhaps because the bar is set so high. The climax of the story could have been taken from several children's action books, and is a little too easily resolved. Additionally, readers expecting this to be horror fiction, as I initially was, should be aware that this is a fantasy. Although the photos are somewhat disturbing (particularly the one of the twins on the back cover, which for some reason completely freaks me out), and may evoke thoughts of Pet Cemetary or any number of demonic toy films, they are not indicative of frightening characters, but rather of mere peculiarities posessed by largely good-natured children.<br />
<br />
This is not to say that the bulk of the novel is without surprise or enticement, because that is not the case. The peculiar children's predicament, and how each one chooses to deal with it (including Jacob's grandfather) is expertly and sensitively told, allowing for variation and uniqueness among the characters. The eventual revelation of Jacob's grandfather's story, as well as Jacob's own legacy, is stirring and demands the reader to evaluate what, really, would he or she have done in the same situation? What is bravery, and how do you deal with the monsters when they come for you? While many of the basic parts of this story have been told before (secret path leads to time / dimension travel, fantastical creatures seeking dominion that must be faced by children, etc), it is the assembly and fleshing out of these conventions that is important, and Riggs does an excellent job of inking them into a new life. <br />
<br />
The ending of the novel makes it clear that this is intended to become a series, and I have already tried to find out the anticipated publication date for the next installment, but haven't had any luck as yet. When it does come out, I will definitely be waiting to see whether Riggs can continue to keep the characters as strong as they have been, and whether he will continute to incorporate the photos he relied on so heavily to create the characters, or if he will branch out and rely solely on his own imagination in the next go-round. This novel is appropriate for readers approximately age ten and up; if they're not scared by Harry Potter, and are no longer nervous about creatures under the bed, they will most likely love this story. <br />
<br />
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars. Excellent fantasy debut novel that transcends its YA label.Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-92164813155048610622011-09-25T17:07:00.001-04:002011-09-25T17:09:18.906-04:00Review: Dreams of Joy, by Lisa See<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dreams-of-joy-lisa-see/1026903898?ean=9781400067121&itm=2&usri=lisa%2bsee" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOuOqs5Ld9oItSfwSWX_ke7eWUrVwxGeOOjZA3A8dFpyuxkgwuRvCgfE9di6F7dC9QAmlgEHIvJE3rnP80XzHxYWSeMBxb89Su0qrADsE2Jr_djX4bd3B-CLyd1IBbG9wnsrLauaC564Y/s1600/dreams+of+joy.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dreams-of-joy-lisa-see/1026903898?ean=9781400067121&itm=2&usri=lisa%2bsee">Dreams of Joy </a>is the long-awaited sequel to Lisa See's gorgeous Shanghai Girls, the story of two sisters' harrowing escape from 1930s China and subsequent struggle for normalcy as American immigrants. If you have not read SG, you need to stop here and do so NOW. It's a tremendous work, beautiful and memorable, and well worth the few days you will spend clinging to its pages before you pick back up here.<br />
<br />
DoJ picks up where SG leaves off, with the 17 year-old Joy overhearing a terrible argument between the two sisters that reveals the true status of her parentage. It is now the 1950s, and the height of the cultural revolution in China, a time when some American Chinese, feeling persecuted by the American anti-communist movement, were returning to China; the traumatized Joy makes the misguided decision to flee to her family's homeland to find her father and participate in the 'rebirth' of China. Once the Paris of Asia, Shanghai is no longer the cultural heaven it once was, and Chairman Mao's Cultural Revolution propaganda are posters atop a pit of despair. Joy's discovery of her father leads her down a dark and horrible path to near-destruction, while May undertakes a harrowing, emotionally-fraught journey of her own to find her daughter and make peace with her painful past.<br />
<br />
If you know nothing about the Cultural Revolution, I highly suggest you read up on it; it is a fascinating and terrifying historical example of humanity and government at its worst. However, readers need not study up in advance of picking up See's novels, which in fact do an excellent job of portraying China's nightmarish period. The events described in this novel follow closely what I have read in various non-fiction publications (I had a double-major in history in college, with a focus on China), and See allows the reader to discover and experience the perfumed stench via colorful descriptions and fully-realized characters who portray the growing terror of the underclasses at that time. Joy's gradual awakening is delayed by the power of Mao's propaganda; the constant repetition and overwhelming enforcement of his increasingly insane decrees burrow a kernel into her mind, and the reader travels with her as she slowly realizes the horror she has inflicted upon herself and her family in her misguided guilt and grief. For her part, May, once a Shanghai Beautiful Girl, is reduced to being a paper collector, literally clearing the city of shreds of her own past to make way for the 'New China', as she searches for her daughter and a way for them all to escape the mire.<br />
<br />
Almost everything about this novel is wonderful. Particularly engrossing and horrifying are the public 'confessions' that are forced from those who have been perceived to have wronged society in some way; See's descriptions of the way the masses figuratively clamber onto the backs of those poor sinners in order to find the momentum and political capital to survive are eviscerating. Among the few quibbles I have with this novel is the ease with which May was able to communicate with the outside world, which was at the time nearly impossible. That she was never betrayed by anyone along the lengthy line of stops her letters had to make in order to get out of the country is difficult to believe, as is the ease both women had in finding Z.G., Joy's birth father. Really, though, these are small issues compared with the sweeping achievement that this novel represents. <br />
<br />
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. A worthy sequel to a fantastic book; historical fiction at its finest.Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-30056071131977091612011-09-25T16:11:00.000-04:002011-09-25T16:11:11.299-04:00Review: The Year We Left Home, by Jean Thompson<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp0G3WuxPl88DwxLLDBdeV-aQWcIddW9VFsTspodcJ8vkf1Tiaki8pECebWqeOJc9cz3ec-bCm5n2HTXEwOLjaXUO6jViBjPYzh_G1i7IYpCy4dmTsIHNqa5P4YN5WlLLehVrCmohG3Ac/s1600/year.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp0G3WuxPl88DwxLLDBdeV-aQWcIddW9VFsTspodcJ8vkf1Tiaki8pECebWqeOJc9cz3ec-bCm5n2HTXEwOLjaXUO6jViBjPYzh_G1i7IYpCy4dmTsIHNqa5P4YN5WlLLehVrCmohG3Ac/s1600/year.jpg" /></a>Jean Thompson's <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/year-we-left-home-jean-thompson/1100045714?ean=9781439175880&itm=1&usri=the%2byear%2bwe%2bleft%2bhome">The Year We Left Home</a> is the multi-voiced tale of an Iowa family, told over three decades by a rotating cast of six characters. Both parents and their young-adult children are given turns at the narration, which evolves as characters move forward to being grandparents and parents themselves, respectively.<br />
<br />
This novel takes quite awhile to get into. The initial characters that the reader is introduced to aren't really likable, and the tone is grey and bleak. In fact, very often the character offering his or her perspective behaves in a manner that isn't terribly appealing, and the reader is left to find the overriding interest in the story not by focusing on one person in particular, but rather in how these flawed, damanged humans manage to relate to one another. Once all the characters are introduced, and the family web is completed, it's a little easier to become attached to one person or another; as the characters age and become less selfish, they likewise become more appealing. Still, however, because the family members don't deal with each other very often, it's frequently easy to forget that this is a family drama at its core.<br />
<br />
SPOILER ALERT - SKIP TO BELOW IF YOU PLAN ON READING THIS BOOK<br />
<br />
One serious flaw with this novel is the loss of the voice of the voice of Torrie, the bright young daughter with the eating disorder, after a terrible car accident on her way home from a funeral. Because this novel is offbeat, and Thompson takes risks in her portrayal of characters by allowing them the freedom to be more than slightly crazy (for example, the returning Vietnam Vet with the serious inter-personal, and mental, disabilities), it would have been germaine to allow Torrie to maintain a role in the telling of the story on her own, rather than through the occasional observations of others. People with traumatic brain injuries are not devoid of experience, and even if her voice was garbled, or childlike, this would be preferable to essentially removing her voice altogether, especially as she took dramatic steps towards independence at the end of the novel. Prior to the accident, she was my favorite character, and her shift to inactive voice creates a large hole as far as I am concerned. I would have been extremely interested to read her perspective on the world around her.<br />
<br />
SPOILER OVER<br />
<br />
Where Thompson is strong as a writer is in her constant movement forward. She doesn't waste time coddling the reader, making sure you have kept up with the leaps forward in time. The story is not continuous, and if the reader isn't paying attention, the book will continue on regardless, leaving her confused and needing to flip back in order to place people and events. Like all families, some members fit better than others, and all have strong and weak points. Thompson is unapologetic for her character's failings, until the end, where she seems to succumb to a need to tie things up neatly with a bow. This is unfortunate, because the rest of the novel is so untidy, and a sunny ending is a bit jarring.<br />
<br />
Overall, The Year We Left Home isn't a waste of a read, by any means, and is more male-friendly than most in the family-story genre. The characters face real-life choices that we see friends and neighbors making daily (re-entry after war, adultry, drugs, tragedy, parenting), with varying results, and Thompson doesn't waste time with overdone, non-action-related descriptions. This is a no-nonsense book, and the trade-off for this is that the reader doesn't spend as much time building a relationship with each character. That, combined with the challenge that some of the characters aren't overly likable to begin with, makes it less likely that the reader will experience that can't-put-it-down feeling.<br />
<br />
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars. No-nonsense, multi-voiced slow-starter describing real issues faced by a wide-spread family over a generation.Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-84185769614267947962011-09-02T17:24:00.000-04:002011-09-02T17:24:57.803-04:00Review: The Widower's Tale, by Julia Glass<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD2EmlLB7fNiH3Rr0TpiUaFduEg_caeK21roLH4_FuCmOsqQ_u1CCAWO0zvx7S5UjHoyn8dYSHqrVLn-m6hyphenhyphenvGHiLn2Nqyh7iOaEt-4EsJCODbZOU2MXTwIh04sclSm6fHsjOFFB0-c8s/s1600/widower.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div>When I checked out <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/widowers-tale-julia-glass/1100054174?ean=9780307456106&itm=1&usri=the%2bwidower%2bs%2btale">The Widower's Tale</a>, I was expecting a slightly melancholy novel about an elderly man who had recently lost his wife of many years, and who was left with nothing more to fill up his time than meddling in the affairs of his adult children. This seemed like a familiar topic to me, as it has been thoroughly covered on the widow side, and I was interested in how the reverse might be different. This was not, however, the story I actually got. What I did get was a look into the life of a very vibrant, not-elderly-at-all man who is more than content to allow his children, and grandchildren, to live their own interesting lives.<br />
<br />
Percy (aka the non-elderly man), 70, has been a widower for some thirty years, and still lives on the same beautiful property where a tragic accident resulted in the death of his wife. His two daughters, Clover, an absentee parent who can't seem to keep a job and Trudy, who is the overachieving mother to the equally overachieving Robert, have remained close to their father, if not each other. The story begins with the relocation of a displaced preschool into the newly remodeled barn on Percy's land, one that used to house his wife's ballet studio, and which is now a hub for the who's-who of the well-off community. The school becomes almost a puzzle frame for the story, encircling each character who appears in an embrace that is at first warm, but becomes increasingly stifling as time passes. Additional central characters, such as Arturo, Robert's roommate, Sarah, a preschool parent who is much more to Percy, Ira, an in-the-closet prek teacher, and gardener Celestino, who is equally in the closet, albeint in a different way, complete the cast of this family drama, forging relationships that complete the web of the tale.<br />
<br />
A large part of what keeps this story intensely interesting is the quality of writing demonstrated in the creation of many of these characters. The book focuses largely on the males' point of view, which is refreshing and surprisingly touching. It would have been easy for Glass to have written The Old Man, The Gay, The Illegal, and The Disenfranchised Scholar, but Glass does not rely on stereotypes to create these characters, and as a result they are varied and textured in a way that I have rarely seen in novels written by women. I particularly appreciated Percy, as the older parent who is involved in his children's lives, but not overbearingly so, and who has an intelligent, caring, adult relationship with the much younger Sarah without becoming The Dirty Old Man. Clover, also, evolves as a character, moving from an annoying, flightly, absentee mother to a much more likable, introspective, involved woman. Each character grows and evolves throughout the tale, changing in ways both attractive and not, much as the very real people in our own lives.<br />
<br />
Glass introduces several sub-plots that focus on one or two characters, but the repercussions of which have bearing on everyone involved. The drama of the local eco-terrorists, Clover's quest for her children, Sarah's medical challenges, and the preschool as a community entity swirl around Percy, who as the anchor character plays a small part in each vein. While the climax of the story takes place largely without his participation, it is his reaction, and decisions for the future, that cement the final quality of Glass's work. The ending is lovely, well-wrapped without being stifling, and leaves the reader with a solid foothold for imaginings as to what the future might bring for this cast of characters. <br />
<br />
While no novel is perfect, and I found certain characters more interesting and engaging than others, part of the beauty of the story is that there are enough angles for readers to latch onto that almost anyone could pick up Widower's Tale and find a niche. I thoroughly enjoyed this alternative, man's view telling of family and community drama.<br />
<br />
Rating: four stars. Interesting perspectives, via a well-developed, evolving cast of characters, on family and community dynamics.<br />
Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-52222061805029831922011-08-24T10:47:00.001-04:002011-08-24T10:47:57.128-04:00Review: Faith, by Jennifer Haigh<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrZuk2xUczvMbPY_W9Skzil73OpFoPFjyEMgey0xISkH_KL5RytTRW6FZcxH191ocFdzAF3JhjYpWFQEzJinWMcfygDwHKPaBzkwC4e2UjTEpEif1sYq3E1WyHy2vYimz-DePFcYvQKc/s1600/faith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrZuk2xUczvMbPY_W9Skzil73OpFoPFjyEMgey0xISkH_KL5RytTRW6FZcxH191ocFdzAF3JhjYpWFQEzJinWMcfygDwHKPaBzkwC4e2UjTEpEif1sYq3E1WyHy2vYimz-DePFcYvQKc/s1600/faith.jpg" /></a></div>Jennifer Haigh's new novel, Faith, focuses on a Boston family during the height of the infamous Catholic church scandal surrounding pedophiles' taking advantage of young acolytes and parishoners. When Father Art McCann, brother to the narrator of the story, is accused of doing just that by a mother of a boy who had grown close to the priest, the family and community are torn apart, and narrator Sheila is determined to find the truth. Art is definitely hiding something, and her search for answers is the backbone of the novel.<br />
<br />
I grew up near Boston, and have a real affinity for the hard-core accent and customs of the community, which are often as in this case, represented by Irish Catholic characters. While I haven't lived in the area for decades now, something about a Boston accent makes me feel immediately at home. Unfortunately, I simply couldn't bond with these characters. The book opens with Art's mother, still a teenager herself, being abandoned by her young husband; this chapter was well-written, and I was invested in the woman. However, this is the last we really see of that part of the story, as the novel immediately jumps forward to a brief discussion of Art's joining the priest preparatory school at age 14, leaving his mother, step-father and new siblings behind. From this point, the story begins to be told more by Sheila, but the problem with this is that she is telling Art's story, making it difficult to bond with him as he is still the 'other', but we are not really involved with Sheila as a character, either. At the time of the events she describes, she is a young girl, and we have no relationship with her, and even her adult character is not developed to a point where we are really part of her life, either. This situation left the book feeling more like a documentary than a novel to me. Also, since the reader knows from the beginning that the focus of the story is accused of a heinous act, it is difficult to know how to react to him - do I root for him, or not? While you're pretty sure he probably didn't do it, there is the kernel of doubt that the family, and thus the reader, is left to deal with, and this again makes connecting with the characters difficult. I don't want to root for someone who ultimately is revealed to be a pedophile. <br />
<br />
The pacing of the story is another issue I wasn't happy with during the first half of the book. The story dragged on for at least the first hundred pages, leaving me thinking, I get it, there's an issue, let's move on. The final quarter of the story definitely picks up, and when the entire truth becomes clear, it is of course tragic, and I can say this without feeling that I'm giving anything away, because regardless of the truth, whether he actually did anything wrong or not, lives have been ruined. I think the 'big reveal' of information did draw me into the story more, but by then the book was almost over. Perhaps re-reading the story, knowing how it ended, I would feel more invested in the work and less like an observer, but then again, I'm so disgusted with some of the characters' seediness, maybe not. <br />
<br />
Haigh definitely has a knack for description, and she does not shy away from having her characters make unpopular life choices. By taking on this novel, she investigates morality, faith, poverty, and the issue of priesthood as a lifestyle and religious choice. These are sticky issues that stir firmly held opinions in the minds of many, particularly when mixed together. Haigh does an admirable job of creating realistic drama and reactions to these situations.<br />
<br />
Overall, I probably wouldn't recommend this book, but it depends on what you're looking for. If you don't mind not being terribly engaged with the characters, then this might be a good book for you, particularly if you are familiar with the Boston Archdiocese nightmare. How committed are you to your family members? Would you stick with them even if you thought they had committed a heinous act? How would you cope with family members who walked away, or stayed? These are interesting questions; Haigh simply didn't make me care about the choices this particular family made.<br />
<br />
Rating: one and a half stars. Gripping topics conveyed via cold characters.<br />
<br />
Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-49887927664889624322011-08-23T13:40:00.000-04:002011-08-23T13:40:21.304-04:00Review: Robopocalypse, by Daniel H. Wilson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbqO51ELho5NL0_R_sTtJ7IZw4P3afuzIesAJ0JvUOWKexTzmZOyybRJYtUdSHXFju8ttCcS_K5UZXyoXf_jiJWKa8K2taVclgtV54yrd9GfbenrbL3NBQAyAx-Wfg6tgNZiPbHgtkP_M/s1600/robopocalypse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbqO51ELho5NL0_R_sTtJ7IZw4P3afuzIesAJ0JvUOWKexTzmZOyybRJYtUdSHXFju8ttCcS_K5UZXyoXf_jiJWKa8K2taVclgtV54yrd9GfbenrbL3NBQAyAx-Wfg6tgNZiPbHgtkP_M/s1600/robopocalypse.jpg" /></a></div>While I don't typically pick up science fiction (I think you could probably count the numbers of sci-fi reviews I've done on one hand), for some reason this book kept popping up in my way. It seemed to be everywhere! Finally I gave in and ordered it from Overdrive, and I'm glad I did.<br />
<br />
If you've seen or read 'I, Robot', you have the general concept of the story; smartypants scientist messes with artificial intelligence (A.I.) in ways he shouldn't have been, and his biggest success leads to his almost immediate demise. From that point on, the mainframe mastermind links up with the technology of the world - by this point, everything is 'smart', including cars - and instigates the annhilation and enslavement of humanity. It's a pretty straightforward plot that would frankly have been a tired rehash of other quality novels had it not been for Wilson's combination of time-lapse storytelling with a variety of personal narratives. Like many other current, popular novels, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Robopocalypse-Novel-Daniel-H-Wilson/dp/0385533853/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314118196&sr=8-1">Robopocalypse</a> employs a cast of storytelling characters to keep the reader from becoming complacent, but the format is twisted by using those voices not in conjunction, but in succession. The premise is that the main character / narrator, after having already succeeded in leading the group who ultimately defeats Archos, the AI mainframe, comes upon a box containing video clips collected by various surveillance objects of human actions during the war. It is the archived story of the human resistance, told in linear miniclips of the novel's characters. <br />
<br />
What makes this work is that all of the characters are sincerely, completely absorbing. They are all very different, and include an elderly Japanese AI genius who is touchingly in love with his companion robot, an American Congresswoman's young daughter whose toys go frighteningly haywire, a self-absorbed London hacker, a small-town sherrif, an American military officer stationed in Afghanistan, an unlikely NYC couple who lead a resistance, and a man who against all reason winds up being the leader of the American resistance. Each member of the international cast is integral, and though the individual appearances of each one amounts to only a few short chapters apiece, Wilson somehow makes these people into living, morphing, dynamic characters that I was enthralled with. Many of the characters never even meet, and yet their presence is carried over into each other's stories in tendrils that connect the entire piece into one cohesive account. The focus is always on the characters; this is not a book that delves deeply into technobabble, or references concepts that only hard-core sci-fi readers would understand, but rather it is a very reality-based story that any of us could imagine experiencing. While self-professed geeks will probably enjoy Robopocalypse (such as my husband, who also couldn't put it down, and who spends a great deal of his time reading hard-core scif fi that frankly makes me want to take a nap), this is a very accessible story to the general reader who enjoys seeing how pieces, and people, fit together in this shrinking world. <br />
<br />
This is not to say that the book didn't have flaws, such as the resolution, which seemed to be pretty simple. I feel that I can discuss this, because the book is clear from the start that humanity has already won, and that the tale is more about how we got there rather than where we ended up. I mean, really? It was irrationally easy, which if anything you would expect a computer overlord to uber-rational. Quality endings are hard to come up with, and here I think Wilson falls a bit short. The robots who are 'awakened', i.e. freed, by Takeo's work should have been further developed; I understand that some were crucial in the war's resolution, but really, a lot more could have been done with them, particularly Mikiko, his beloved companion. I believe that the Congresswoman's daughter was vastly underutilized as a character and could have been developed further. I have also seen many comparisons to a book called World War Z, by Max Brooks, which I have not read; those who have claim that the two are very similar, and if you like one, you will like the other, and vice versa. I cannot speak to this, but plan to check out WWZ, both because I really liked Wilson's take and because I heard WWZ is about zombies. I think I've made it pretty clear how I feel about zombies, people.<br />
<br />
I read this one almost straight through. It was a nice change of pace for me, but more than that, the characters are gorgeous. I loved how they all were so disparate, but yet fit together in key ways from thousands of miles away. Even if you're not a science fiction person, I would try it out for size. The first chapter is a bit dull, but once the other characters begin to come into play, it's defintiely a worthwhile, fun read.<br />
<br />
Discussion questions for Robopocalypse:<br />
1. What did you think of the ending? How could it have been made more compelling?<br />
2. Why do you think the humans were so taken aback by the uprising of the machines? Do you think that real society would be as vulnerable to being duped?<br />
3. Which characters do you feel were most like what you think your own personal reaction might be to the uprising? Would you survive?<br />
4. If you have read WWZ, compare and contrast the stories. Which one relates the apocalypse tale better? How do you feel about authors releasing similar tales, even if they were 'inspired by' other previous works?<br />
<br />
Rating: four stars. Very engrossing, character-driven reboot of the apocalypse theme.Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-73025592033314232312011-08-22T16:50:00.000-04:002011-08-22T16:50:19.801-04:00Review: The Arrivals, by Meg Mitchell Moore<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrTcp9gynfFJrtwlzMYPYBXCHlwPSyfmlLwFA5gXuAigHdKy9stK7BGPtX_FI78mitRjGqmDz-4lCBi65K4XcpEdkjHlbaXQ6jjyt5cKdJxI36Bqw6Bif2gPWuwq5Itvyjl0qOyEcBrUw/s1600/arrivals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrTcp9gynfFJrtwlzMYPYBXCHlwPSyfmlLwFA5gXuAigHdKy9stK7BGPtX_FI78mitRjGqmDz-4lCBi65K4XcpEdkjHlbaXQ6jjyt5cKdJxI36Bqw6Bif2gPWuwq5Itvyjl0qOyEcBrUw/s1600/arrivals.jpg" /></a></div>I have to admit, what made me pick up this novel first was the cover photo. I mean, really, look at it! It's lovely. When I realized that the story takes place in Burlington, VT, where I went to college many moons ago, I plopped it into my bookbag and off I went. Those of you who live in NYC, or LA, have the luxury of reading about the cities you recognize all the time; for me, being able to place myself in the scenery with the characters was an unexpected, and welcome, pleasure.<br />
<br />
Aside from my own personal geographic longings, 'The Arrivals' offers a great deal to woo readers. Moore's novel follows several members of a large family, each of whom has chosen a very different life from the others, as they return for one reason or another to their parents' home in Burlington over the course of several weeks, descending en masse on aging parents who are alternately thrilled with their adult children's return and despondent that they will never leave. One nice facet of the story is the generational spread that the characters represent; the youngest 'child' who returns home after a difficult breakup in NYC is in her early twenties, while her older sister, who also has fled relationship issues with her two children in tow, and older brother, who ends up planted for the duration of the summer with a wife suddenly put on bedrest during what was supposed to be a short visit, are respectively in their early- to mid-thirties. This range in age, combined with the parents' perspectives, casts a wide net for readers, providing a niche for everyone. <br />
<br />
Moore presents the novel in perspective-driven chapters, rotating tales and characters with each change. Because we are shown so many different lives, at first it is slightly difficult to keep people straight, but that quickly clears up, and from that point on there is little time for even the most ADD reader to get bored. While there was one particular plot line that I didn't care for, surrounding one of the character's semi-subconscious decision to become entangled with a priest - the character herself had other aspects that I found interesting and endearing. This is another perk to Moore's storytelling; the characters are multi-faceted, making even their least desirable traits less irksome because there are other areas to focus on. Also interesting are backhanded references to real-world events, such as the Wall St. crisis and various military situations. These events aren't belabored in a way that would reduce the applicability of the novel in future years, and are more mentioned in relation to certain characters rather than specifically discussed in their own right.<br />
<br />
I would actually be interested in reading a sequel to The Arrivals, to see how things eventually turn out for the characters in the decisions they make at the end of the novel. I have purposefully not given much of a summary here, because it's too delicious to unravel on your own. I had a good time with this one, and I think many of you would, too. It's a casual, positive adult family relationship book, in a time where as a culture we seem to celebrate the darker, seedier side of family interaction.<br />
<br />
Some discussion questions for The Arrivals could be:<br />
<br />
1. Which of the novel's many characters did you relate to the most / least? Why?<br />
2. Jane and Stephen share their decision for Stephen to be the full-time caregiver early in the story, and are adamant that it's what they want. How do Jane's actions reflect a potential rethinking of this strategy after the baby is born? On what circumstances could her reaction to the ringing phone be based, and what do you think this may indicate about the author's perspective on parenting?<br />
3. Jane, Lillian and Rachel have vastly different experiences with and expectations of motherhood. What are their commonalities, and how do their situations influence their relationships?<br />
4. Ginny and William both start and end the book alone in their home. How do the experiences of the summer influence their perspectives on their children, their partnership and their own identities?<br />
<br />
Rating: four stars. Deeply interesting character-driven novel that embraces the family as a source of strength and growth.Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-17324048443318252092011-07-24T13:28:00.000-04:002011-07-24T13:28:38.574-04:00Review: Fragile, by Lisa Unger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3fUmB_zajLcF3tptoxOxx9M2GCosQ2DkXDYRlNCzdetDKoRdUKbFafDpV51k9vGi5uYyNQYAT2TRD_xIi72PCaU7OpT63N2L3o3QqlbnGN8YtVK5q3Zt49yEJxKAhWBrLLIMvYU3jNVU/s1600/fragile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3fUmB_zajLcF3tptoxOxx9M2GCosQ2DkXDYRlNCzdetDKoRdUKbFafDpV51k9vGi5uYyNQYAT2TRD_xIi72PCaU7OpT63N2L3o3QqlbnGN8YtVK5q3Zt49yEJxKAhWBrLLIMvYU3jNVU/s1600/fragile.jpg" t$="true" /></a></div>Lisa Unger has once again written an engrossing, twisty-turning novel that grabs your brain and forces you to sit up and pay attention. Although the cover may look like it belongs on a Jodi Piccoult novel, it actually masks much more intriguing and multi-plot story that unwinds deliciously over the course of its 327 pages.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fragile-lisa-unger/1100092914?ean=9780307393999&itm=4&usri=fragile">Fragile</a> contains many characters, and several smaller plots, but the main focus of the book involves the disappearance of a troubled high school girl from her insulated town outside New York City. Did she really run away, as her Facebook page claims, or was she kidnapped? Local child psychiatrist Maggie and her husband, Detective Jones, become submerged in the events while simultaneously coping with their own ghosts that still haunt this town they both grew up in. While small town living may mean that everyone knows everyone else, reality is not always what it seems to be, and as the truth of the crime begins to come to light, so do the facts surrounding another event from the past that threatens to overcome them all. What you think is the main plot is actually a venue to uncover something else entirely.<br />
<br />
Fragile has many positive aspects, not the least of which is the multi-layered character writing done by Unger. The story is told by multiple characters, who play various roles throughout. Typically I have a favorite character, or at the very least stifle a groan when a chapter is told from the perspective of a particular character in a multi-cast novel, but this time I didn't; each one was lifelike and important beyond his or her part in the mystery at hand. Even the characters in the story that you knew, just KNEW, had a part in the girl's disappearance, were dimensional and had a draw. <br />
<br />
This brings up an important point; due to the multi-voice storytelling, the reader knows more about what is really going on than any one of the characters for most of the novel. However, this is not to say that I knew exactly what had occured in either the disappearance at hand *or* the mystery from the past, and this was delightful. I knew just enough to *think* I knew what happened, which kept me from feeling like I should probably just skim the rest (ahem, again with the Piccoult reference), but there were indeed surprises ahead, unvelied throughout the last third of the novel, that changed my perceptions and made me respect Unger more as a writer. I read <em>a lot, </em>as you have probably noticed, and it's not typical that I don't have just about everything figured out by the middle of the book. I love that I didn't here. More importantly, perhaps, is the fact that even though I thought I had figured everything out, I didn't care. I was enjoying the book, and the unfolding events, too much to stop reading. I read every word on every page.<br />
<br />
If you read this book, alone or with others, consider the following book club questions:<br />
1. How did your perception of Tommy Delano change throughout the novel? Were you surprised at his letter?<br />
2. What do you think would have happened if Sarah hadn't gotten into the car that day? What would have the more immediate repercussions been for Sarah, and for Maggie? What long-term implications might have there been for all the characters?<br />
3. Social media plays a significant role in the mystery surrounding Charlene's disappearance. Considering the pervasiveness of internet culture, what safeguards do you think are appropriate for a teenage online consumer? <br />
4. Maggie and Jones experience significant conflict over their son, Rick. Whose side did you find yourself taking? Why?<br />
<br />
Rating: four out of five stars. Engaging, character-driven novel that takes the reader on a trail-of-crumbs through the history and mystery of a small town.Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-75403240550050686272011-07-24T12:30:00.000-04:002011-07-24T12:30:02.570-04:00Review: The Red Garden, by Alice Hoffman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUzIppjNDME_A7c9UtBq9pbFZEnqn8PdEl2cYW9nKED7IWrPBJ9syOauXbv9SDDcwPjF4imiXe36jQKnUpUMo_Y3lpc19_tJGJhJtkuw-vKcjuqG5YcyQovIoSFjAELruduy6l6Mhulc/s1600/red+garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwUzIppjNDME_A7c9UtBq9pbFZEnqn8PdEl2cYW9nKED7IWrPBJ9syOauXbv9SDDcwPjF4imiXe36jQKnUpUMo_Y3lpc19_tJGJhJtkuw-vKcjuqG5YcyQovIoSFjAELruduy6l6Mhulc/s1600/red+garden.jpg" t$="true" /></a></div>I will start off by saying that this novel was not what I expected it to be. The book jacket does it no justice whatsoever; the picture makes it look like a story about an asian experience (like something Lisa See would write), and the description makes it sound like a typical generational novel that follows a family in a linear fashion over time. It is neither of those things.<br />
<br />
The Red Garden is both a generational epic and a collection of short stories; each story takes place in the same small town of Blackwell, MA, and focuses on a different descendant of one of the few founding families of the town, spanning several hundred years to end at present day. However, again, because the book jacket doesn't explain terribly well (read: at all) that this is what is going to happen, and the stories don't lay out specifically at the outset how the characters portrayed are related to the founding family, I was fairly confused during the second story and had to go back later to re-read it once I realized what was going on. <br />
<br />
Once I was acclimated to the Hoffman's format, I was hooked. The intitial tale, about a small band of colonial settlers swindled by a local man into leaving their safe town to 'go west', ending up barely on the other side of the Berkshires before winter snows and starvation fell upon them, was immediately gripping. The staunch wife of said swindler, Hallie Brady, overcomes the weakness of her fellow travellers and saves them all by becoming the provider for the group, hunting and gathering on her own until the spring. Her strange connection with a local bear family not only saves the town, but also becomes a thread throughout the remainder of the collection. The novel's dark humor, expressed by Hallie's naming every part of the town 'Dead Husband (Field, River, Wood)', has its start in this section as well, as does the explanation for the novel's title, although you don't realize it until later on.<br />
<br />
This ability to keep the reader thinking throughout the book by leaving clues in the story of one generation that are never fully explained, but which require small leaps that result in several 'Ohhhh!' moments during the tales of future characters, is one of the Hoffman's talents that made me keep returning. After realizing that the indominable Hallie would be making no further appearances, I almost put the book after the second story, not wishing to become attached to characters who I would never learn the fate of, but perseverance led me to realize that I would indeed learn the fate of the each of the previous characters via smal kernels of information provided in subsequent tales, as well as the repercussions of past events on the future generations. This is like voyeurism at its best, really, knowing reasons and details about parts of others' lives that they themselves may not even fully understand. The stories definitely have a slightly magical feel to them, as if spirits from the past are following along for the ride, and events such as why the soil in the garden is red, and the details about little girl on the riverbank, are like a candy trail through the forest.<br />
<br />
This would be a great selection for a book club, because of the various motifs and relationships involved throughout the book. Discussion questions could include:<br />
1. What is the significance of bears in the story? What is their ultimate meaning to the families of Blackwell?<br />
2. The story of Susan and the eels includes the most magical thinking in the collection, depending upon what you decide is the truth. What do you think really happened with Susan? What is the importance of the eels to Blackwell, and why is this story, which is so different from the others, included in the collection?<br />
3. In these stories, things are not always what they seem. Who do you think was really in the river with Carla's brother Johnny: Tessa or her mother? Why? What do you think of Carla's reaction?<br />
4. Hoffman includes a few famous names in the tale. Who are they, and what do you think of the parts they play? Do you think they added to the story?<br />
5. Which ancestor is your favorite, and why did his / her story speak to you above the others? <br />
<br />
Overall, I would highly recommend this novel for its elegant blending of reality and magic, and Hoffman's talent at portraying characters from various periods in a manner that is faithful to the social norms of their time. I found almost all the characters to be intriguing, and the writing overall inviting. I am actually planning on going back through the story to plot out who was related to who, and that would be one of the only recommendations I would have to the author; somewhere in an afterward, to include a family / story tree with names and chapter titles in parentheses that readers can refer to in times of confusion.<br />
<br />
Rating: four out of five stars. Elegant storytelling that hides surprises and treats for readers throughout the novel's generations.Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-1189475363493458832011-07-18T10:52:00.000-04:002011-07-18T10:52:40.935-04:00Note on CommentsHi Everyone - I just realized that I haven't been getting emails from comments that have been left on this blog! There aren't a lot of coments left here, and I usually see recent ones, but if you've left a comment and I haven't responded, I apologize!!!! I was signed up to get them, but for some reason they weren't coming through. I believe the problem has been resolved now.<br />
<br />
AstarteAstartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-31268879392917297572011-07-13T17:30:00.004-04:002011-07-13T18:09:35.135-04:00Review: The Penderwicks at Point Mouette, by Jeanne Birdsall<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeNHvWl5DZmIgtmk2_UHB7ZnTfpg-hNIWSOR4LE15M1s0nBs-nfrjLSfN6rQD34CAK4d_O80vRZ9MNQxQuLHNU1Zy_KryJX5-yt9FZrvoRskea_EGBi-JJeI84Ml9j1ETzWFI-P4sSJLs/s1600/penderwicks+mouette.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 128px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 189px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628952791498362802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeNHvWl5DZmIgtmk2_UHB7ZnTfpg-hNIWSOR4LE15M1s0nBs-nfrjLSfN6rQD34CAK4d_O80vRZ9MNQxQuLHNU1Zy_KryJX5-yt9FZrvoRskea_EGBi-JJeI84Ml9j1ETzWFI-P4sSJLs/s200/penderwicks+mouette.jpg" /></a> As you can probably tell, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-penderwicks-at-point-mouette-jeanne-birdsall/1024925958?ean=9780375858512&itm=1&usri=penderwicks">The Penderwicks at Point Mouette </a>is a children's book, aimed largely at girls. It's the third book in a series, with the first two being <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-penderwicks-on-gardam-street-jeanne">The Penderwicks on Gardam Street </a>and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-penderwicks-jeanne-birdsall/1006971718?">The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy</a>. I adore these books, and actually requested this latest installment for myself from the library; as my 12yo daughter loves them too, we read it on our Nooks at the same time (note: once you download a book from Overdrive, or whatever your local library uses for e-materials, you can upload it to multiple readers at the same time, so we didn't have to take turns, which I liked).<br /><br />If you haven't read the previous two novels, you have missed out on a delightful series. The stories focus almost entirely on the children, four sisters named (from oldest to youngest) Rosalind, Skye, Jane and Batty (short for Elizabeth). Unlike in most fiction aimed at just about anyone these days, there is essentially no family conflict; these sisters adore each other, and operate as a functional team. As the OAP (Oldest Available Penderwick), Rosalind is largely in charge of the other sisters, due to the death of their mother some years earlier. Jane is a writer, Skye is engrossed in sports, and Batty, the baby, spends most of her time romping with the dog and cat. The children have adventures such as finding out who the little boy next door is, and end up inadvertently setting their father up to marry his mother, or going to a small vacation cottage and meeting a boy their age who is essentially held captive by a controlling mother and her new husband in the main house. This time, the three younger girls are the focus of the story, probably because Rosalind is getting older and the author is aiming at younger children; however, because the girls are so close, much of the plot focuses on Jane's anxiety over being OAP when the younger girls go on vacation with their aunt (Rosalind goes away with a friend instead), and on the entire group's experience of their first separation. The other story lines involve a first (very innocent) crush, and a new friendship developed with an oddly-familiar-looking man next door to their summer vacation home.<br /><br />To understand why this all works, you have to realize that the voice Birdsall writes in is almost entirely unique in this day and age. To find its equivalent, you have to look back to books we might have read as children, such as the Bobbsey Twins series. The entire demeanor of the book is one of Literature, not just a typical book that appeals to kids via fart jokes and one-word responses. Additionally, Birdsall invests no faux angst, and instead trusts the readers to be intelligent enough to be interested in the characters and their story instead; she allows the characters and story to carry their own weight. It is entirely refreshing. The main focus is on the sisters' relationships, solving small mysteries and dealing with situations in a mature, thoughtful way that frankly, we don't see very often anymore. The reader experiences situations through each girl's eyes, as the girls rotate chapters and have their own small adventures that complement the main plot. There is always a positive, satisfying ending that, yes, is tied up with a bow, but one that feels natural, not like the author took a cheap way out and suddenly used a drawstring bag to stuff the remainder of the story into.<br /><br />All in all, I cannot recommend this entire series highly enough. The characters are lovely, the stories are fun, and the resolutions are always satisfying and reasonable. If you have a daughter old enough to at least listen to chapter books while you read at night, you should be trotting out to get them, or at least reserve them at the library, pronto.<br /><br />Rating: five stars. Another wonderful addition to the high-quality, family-friendly series.Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-33784528347152943162011-07-12T11:06:00.004-04:002011-07-14T10:55:34.041-04:00Review: The Girl Who Chased the Moon, by Sarah Addison Allen<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrQ40O4jIG9Wd206MvlSjUfB01HHmg-NFv9q3H_4F-GGL3wnpJ_rSA5LZmN2CKIk2r4-Sq6NQD64KL9pR66gKeuQqhuiXPvV6RL2XW-hf_Ium0sqx9wSJU7VzFjaYMB8Emd6w7lAVuBI/s1600/moom.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 133px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628482984252197618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhrQ40O4jIG9Wd206MvlSjUfB01HHmg-NFv9q3H_4F-GGL3wnpJ_rSA5LZmN2CKIk2r4-Sq6NQD64KL9pR66gKeuQqhuiXPvV6RL2XW-hf_Ium0sqx9wSJU7VzFjaYMB8Emd6w7lAVuBI/s200/moom.jpg" /></a> <br /><div>In a continuation of my summer lightweight novels series, I borrowed <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-girl-who-chased-the-moon-sarah-addison-allen/1014542334?ean=9780553385595&itm=1&usri=the%2bgirl%2bwho%2bchased%2bthe%2bmoon">The Girl Who Chased the Moon</a>, by Sarah Addison Allen, from my public library e-books site. Easy to read, and mildly mystical, it took me about a day and a half to get through the roughly three hundred pages on my Nook.</div><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>The basic plot follows Emily, a high school senior who moves to live with her maternal grandfather, whom she has never met, after her mother's death. Emily's mother had left the small town under a cloud of hatred twenty years earlier, but while no one has forgotten what the woman did, neither will anyone tell Emily what it was. While Emily deals with the fallout of a past she doesn't understand, she also finds herself oddly pulled to a boy from a strangely secretive, anachronistic family that seems to be somehow at the center of the mystery. </div><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>On the flip side of Emily's story is that of Julia, the woman who has returned to town to work in the small restaurant her father left her. Julia has a painful past of her own in the town, and the fate of this mother who lost a daughter becomes intertwined with that of Emily, girl who lost her mother. Her plot line is almost as well-developed as Emily's; focusing on re-imagining her future and moving on from the past, Julia must come to terms with betrayal by those she loved most, and a loss so profound it influences her every move.<br /></div><br /><div>This all sounds pretty straightforward, but when you add in little tidbits like mysterious lights in the forest, morphing wallpaper, and a magical scent of sugar, things get a little strange, in a playful way. This is not a novel that purports to be Mystical Literature, nor does it take itself too seriously. If you've seen the Movie Simply Irresistable (and if you haven't, you should), it has the same feel: light, airy, and welcoming. There is no feeling of 'Twilight' angst, either, thankfully. Really, it was just the right amount of magic to play into what you wished had been real when you were young - enough to excite the imagination without being frightened. </div><br /><br /><div>The mysteries in the story unravel at a good speed, and don't leave the reader bored or confused. In the negative column, however, is the answer to the Big Mystery - what is the boy and his family hiding? It's a lot more mellow than you would think, and the climax reveal is a little bit of a letdown, however by the time you find out what It is, the draw of the story is the interpersonal relationships of the various characters, who are all very real. In addition, the final chapter, which is more of an afterward, is too convenient for my taste, and it did color my impression of the story. I don't think that stories always need to be wrapped up in a bow, especially those made for adults, but since the whole story borders on YA lit it's a little less of an affront. In fact, if it wasn't for the one pretty explicit sexual encounter in the story, I would probably recommend it to my 12yo, because the themes of redemption, family, and personal integrity are strongly supported and well-written; throughout the novel Emily must simultaneously face the sins of her mother while still loving the woman she knew, and stand up as her own person in the midst of small-town prejudice and dislike, while Julia must face the monster within. Forgiveness, of self and others, is a strong thread woven into the plot, as is the need to move on and grow from adversity.<br /></div><br /><div>Overall, this is a lovely story that kept me interested until the end, and made me inclined to look for additional novels by Allen. If you're looking for something easy to keep up with for summer trips, it would make an excellent choice.</div><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div>Rating: four out of five stars: Sweetly magical dual story of forgiveness, redemption, and love.</div>Astartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1252493703919192451.post-55814592927448184582011-07-10T16:54:00.004-04:002011-07-10T16:57:17.179-04:00Review: The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWD6fHxf-cfhJDHHSIhfLe5jshCJN8DpanC_ixTvBNRjDGz5069CtDWBBBE-BfA4GEJa1EOZe8naWNUVSvShICKz5CKNG_yyKvsT_mSxJL617-qTse2jkjy3SlBrKg2mUUnWtpqmnpK4/s1600/happiness.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 125px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 193px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627830178272232146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWD6fHxf-cfhJDHHSIhfLe5jshCJN8DpanC_ixTvBNRjDGz5069CtDWBBBE-BfA4GEJa1EOZe8naWNUVSvShICKz5CKNG_yyKvsT_mSxJL617-qTse2jkjy3SlBrKg2mUUnWtpqmnpK4/s200/happiness.jpg" /></a><br />Are you happy? How could an ordinary, no-major-life-problems person increase happiness and become more present in their daily lives? I have to admit, these questions seemed to be self-centered and weary when I first noticed this book on the shelves. The only thing that really drew me in was the sub-title: 'Why I Spent A Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun'. Well, that, and the cover, which to my shallow self, looked at least a little interesting.<br /><br />Imagine my surprise when <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Project-Morning-Aristotle-Generally/dp/006158326X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310331356&sr=8-1">The Happiness Project </a>actually had an impact on my own daily life. Rubin, without specifically meaning to, has written a self-help book for the non-self-help crowd. I was not necessarily in the market for help, although I do admit to having been in a bit of a funk lately, so perhaps I was a little more open to suggestion than usual. Regardless, the genius behind the 'help' is that it's actually the documentation of Rubin's own journey to a more positive life, rather than someone's pompous instructions on how You could make your life like Theirs. She makes no suggestion to readers as to following in her footsteps, and in fact wrote this as a stand-alone project rather than as one that others might undertake on their own.<br /><br />The book begins with Rubin, a former Supreme Court staffer turned writer, looking at her life and wondering about happiness; would making small changes to identified areas of her existence, both internal and external, improve the experience of both her and, by extension, those around her? To find out, Rubin first had to define happiness, which led to an extensive reading list of material from philosophers, politicians, and religous figures. From that, Rubin identified her own condensed thoughts on the subject, and made a list of areas in her life that she felt could stand improvement. The project built upon itself, with new goals being added at the beginning of each month, the assumption being that after 30 days, the previous goals had become habits that needed less individual focus. With the introduction of each new month's goals, Rubin gave background research information and reasoning as to why she had selected the goals for the month, and what philosophical basis they had. Each month gets its own chapter, and Rubin includes an extensive reference section at the end documenting her research and motivational texts.<br /><br />Part of what makes this all so readable is Rubin's awareness that really, to 90% of the world, her life is already pretty magnifiant - good health, strong marriage, financially stable, etc. She also includes the doubts of others who approach her to discuss her work, and their (sometimes rude) arguments as to why her year's work is, essentially, worthless. However, her basic conclusion is that if we are to live, we should strive for improvement, for our own sake as well as that of those around us. Rubin sets goals that impact her family, friends, and community, but involve only small changes on her own part and no financial investment at all. Her goal of being true to herself resulted in her exploring her passion for children's literature and starting a small literature circle; it eventually expanded so much from people bringing friends that other offshoot groups were created. All of those people expanded their horizons, met new people, and got to participate in a monthly intellectually stimulating social experience because of her small decision to focus on what she was really interested in. The book is full of tiny gestures that make substantial returns.<br /><br />In essence, Rubin's tactic is very appropriate for the current economy; figure out what you truly want, what honestly makes you and others in your life happy, and cut out all the rest of the garbage. Focus on what you can change, and do it. There are many people who, for one reason or another, feel that they have lost a lot of power over their own lives, and this project is a reminder that we all can refocus ourselves, and take charge of what is truly personal.<br /><br />Rating: five stars. Intelligent, honest, engaging journal of taking back the self ad focusing on what's truly importantAstartehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07337583910910454897noreply@blogger.com0