Stitches: A Memoir

by David Small

Stitches is a graphic novel retelling the creator's life as a child in a dysfunctional family. As a small boy, David was plagued with sinus and respiratory problems. As a treatment, David was given hundreds of X-rays by his father, a radiologist. His father believed that the powers of radiation could help solve sinus problems.

David grows up in a cold world, where each of his family members has retreated into their own world. His mother is cruel. His older brother is preoccupied with his own method of escape (drumming). His father just seems, well, absent.

Years later, David develops a "growth" on his neck. After seeing a doctor, who says that it is probably benign but should be taken care of, it takes his parents three years to take him to the surgeon.

David believes that he is having surgery to remove his cyst, but when he wakes up he can no longer speak. There is no explanation. His parents leave fourteen year old David to make the adjustment himself.

But he doesn't adjust. He rebels, and who could blame him?

I 'll leave the synopsis right there. This is a sad, tragic story. Wally Lamb style, for sure, but true. But it works. Why? It's not over-wrung with emotion. You can feel how David develops his own protective armor, his own cold separation. And yet you can still feel how disappointed the boy is. I'm not sure if this is communicated via the drawings or via the terse dialogue that goes on.

But it's good, and it's a real quick read (< 1 hour). It ends abruptly, and I can see how many wouldn't like it. But I liked the ending a lot.

Grade: B

Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life

by Annette Lareau.

I read about this book in a NYT's article, which I will post here. It is probably more informative than this review. (BTW, the article is further discussed in Lisa Belkin's NYT blog, Motherlode.)

Unequal Childhoods is about Lareau's study into the difference in parenting philosophies between different classes and races during the 90s. She and a team of researchers spent intensive time with different families as they went about their lives. She found that race does not so much affect one's parenting philosophy as class does. Working class and the poor tend toward the philosophy of "natural growth," while middle class families tend to raise their children with the philosophy of "concerted cultivation."

A lot of it comes down to money. If you have money, then you can afford to reason with your kids. You can afford the myriad of activities that help prepare your child for an adult world. Middle class parents teach their child how to elaborate, persuade, and reason. They teach them how to demand individual attention. They teach them how to get what they want and how to manage in an adult world. Hence, middle-class children often have very adult schedules. Why? Middle class parents enjoy their own adult lives greatly and see the pleasures of work, which results in financial gains. They want to prepare their children for the same lifestyle. Low-income and working class parents tend to let their children have lots of free time to manage as they see fit. Why? The parents are busy working, just trying to have ends meet. These parents give directives. Why? Because they don't have the time. In a way, this philosophy reflects the parents' attitudes towards adulthood: a time of struggle. Why try to train your kids for that?

There are distinct advantages to the natural growth philosophy: the kids really don't fight with siblings (versus regular fighting in middle class families with more than one child), the kids learn how to occupy their own time (therefore, less of the "I'm bored" stuff), they easily work and play with kids of different ages, and they argue less with adults.

The advantages to "concerted cultivation"? The children have increased verbal skills. They learn how to persuade and argue. They learn how to speak up to individuals of authority to make their concerns and ideas known. They are better prepared for a middle class lifestyle.

Each chapter begins with the recounting of a different family that was studied. This is the most interesting part. Then the chapters begin a deeper exploration of what those family practices mean for the development of the child, etc.

An interesting read, but a bit repetitive. What I liked about it was that it does shed light on some of what I see as a teacher. The town I work in has a pretty equal divide of "concerted cultivation" and "natural growth." In fact, where I live there is a lot of "natural growth" philosophy out there. It's a kick back to what I imagine the 50s and 60s were like, when most parents (regardless of class), practiced natural growth: Kids playing on the streets, riding bikes everywhere, jump roping, etc. Granted, the problem is that natural growth parenting does not always work well with the educational system. Natural growth parents tend to see school as a totally separate part of their child's life. Therefore, school problems are mostly a teacher's problem. Teachers want the best of both worlds: natural growth, which leaves the teacher alone and doesn't question him/her, and concerted cultivation, which is supportive and actively involved in their child's education.

Grade: B

The Forest of Hands and Teeth: Remarkably Like The Passage

by Carrie Ryan

"Who are we if not the stories we pass down? What happens when there's no one left to tell those stories? To hear them? Who will ever know that I existed? What is we are the only ones left - who will know our stories then? And what will happen to everyone else's stories? Who will remember those?
...
'I know about you, Mary.' He places a hand on my cheek, trails one finger along my jaw, and I'm forced to close my eyes so that he doesn't read in my expression the words that ring in my head but that I can't say aloud. That it is not enough.

That I am terrified that he is not enough." (p. 207)

The ocean: a wide, unending expanse of water. A fairytale? Or a memory passed down from mother to child through generations? In Mary's world all that exists beyond the village is the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

In this isolated world of order, all individuals have a common fear: the unconsecrated.
(Or virals, as they were known in The Passage, but the Unconsecrated are more like zombies.)
There are the Guardians, who guard the perimeter, and the Sisters, who make the decisions.
(Or the First Families, as they were known in The Passage.)
There are the villagers, who live their lives out despite the constant death and terror that surrounds them. Grow up, get married, have children.

And then there is Mary, who is torn between the man she is betrothed to and the man she loves. Mary, who also believes in the ocean and the existence of others.

As Mary's world begins to unwind, she learns of deeper secrets held by the Sisters. Secrets that lead Mary to suspect that another world is out there, and it is attainable. As the village's way of life is destroyed, Mary and her friends struggle to determine the right paths for their own lives.

Yup. So this is super familiar, right? We've heard this storyline before. Much to my surprise, though, this novel is much better done than both Cronin's The Passage and Haddix's Running Out of Time. The characters were much more personable, the pacing was super-fast (I read it this afternoon), and the prose was almost poetic at times.

Grade: A

Musings

There are things I like to think about in the history of novels. I'm no expert, so these are just random thoughts.

• Average sentence length of a 2010 novel compared to one from 100 or 200 years ago.
  
  
• Use of first person and/or present tense now versus then.
  
  
• Repetition of ideas. The say that all great stories come from other stories, but are we in an age where access has decreased originality? Or is it that access had led to more imitation? Or is it just that there is more of the same, so that a few ideas can dominate a market?

I guess I've been thinking about the last idea frequently lately. Many of the books that I read are really good books. Good prose, good story. But familiar, and not in a sense that you would expect. What do I mean? Well, in a series you would expect to find a familiar story line and characters. But so many books feel so connected. If I were to read only books from, say, the 1830s, would common threads run through many of them? I don't know; I've never done such an experiment. Perhaps it is because I read a lot, and I tend to read the YA market (which is heavily weighted towards girls).

Anyway, I just posted this because I'm two pages into The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (a 9th grade summer reading book), and I'm already thinking this:
"Hmm... an isolated and secured village? Haddix's Running Out of Time --> Cronin's The Passage --> M. Night Shymalan's The Village --> Perhaps even Lowry's The Messenger. (BTW, I do believe Haddix's book predates them all.)

Heist Society

by Ally Carter.

Perhaps my second favorite book of the summer. A fast-paced book about a group of young thieves.

Think Da Vinci Code (for the art) plus the Ocean movies (for making thievin' look cool as hell) and maybe a bit of the Bourne movies (just because they're cool movies about being on the run). Oh, and that TV series that I watched a few times about a family of con-artists who assume the identity of a dead family. He becomes a lawyer... I don't know, but I like the primary actor a lot. Great comedian.

Kat Bishop was born into a family of thieves and con-artists. Not bad check writing type. Not the type that steal your credit card numbers. Not the type that scam the elderly. Not the type that steals TVs or computers and sells them from the back of the truck. (And, no, not dream thieves, Inception fans.)

High-end thieves. Swiss banks. Crown jewels. Artwork by the Masters: da Vinci, Raphael, Degas...

Kat loves her family-her father, her Uncle Eddie, her too-beautiful cousin, Gabrielle, the Bag boys-, but she longs for something different. Using all of her con-artist skills she gains not only admission into one of America's most prestigious boarding schools, but also the disapproval and censure of her family. She comes to appreciate the predictability of her life as a student until she is framed, and consequently expelled, for a school prank involving the destruction of one vintage Porshe owned by the headmaster.

Interestingly enough, though, this is not what the book is about. After her expulsion, Kat discovers that her father is suspected of stealing five Masterpieces, and the owner wants them back. Because he is tied up (under surveillance by the Interpol, actually), Kat must take on the mystery herself - with the help of her young family and friends. Not only must she find out who the real thief is, she also must devise a way to steal the paintings back. Her father's safety depends on it.

This was a great, fun read. A mystery to unravel. Cool tricks and technology to contemplate. A splash of romance. An evil bad guy. I wish the cover wasn't so feminized because this book could bring in a fairly large male audience as well. I wish it had gone into a little more detail: more detail on how the heist was done, more detail into relationships, but now that I think about it the Bourne Identity (book) went into too much detail, and I didn't like that. Regardless, I eagerly await a sequel. Also, if you liked the Frankie-Landau-Banks book, you will definitely like this one (imho).

Grade: A+

The London Eye Mystery

by Siobhan Dowd

Ted (a boy whose age I can't recall and perhaps was not even mentioned) is the u-neek-ique protagonist in this mystery. Ted and his family, mom, dad, and sister Kat, live in London. Before his aunt and cousin leave to follow his aunt's career in NYC, they come to visit. Aunt Gloria is overly dramatic and pushy. Salim, Ted's teenaged cousin, is super cool and down-to-earth.Salim is reluctantly moving to America, and on their last full day in England he requests that they take a ride on the London Eye. Some gigantic Ferris-wheel type of ride, which sounds totally cool and awesome. And I always wanted to go to London, but now I want to go even more. Back to the book: Kat (Ted's sister), Ted, and Salim wait in line (or queue for tickets, since it is British) for tickets and a man approaches them. He has one ticket for free, any takers? Discouraged by the super long line, they decide that Salim should take it. Kat and Ted have already been on it anyway, and it would save money.

Thirty minutes after boarding, Salim's "pod" (Ferris carriage thing) lands.

And he's not on it.

What ensues is the unraveling of a mystery and insight into a family's interactions during a traumatic crisis. What you also see at work is Ted's unusual thought processes, his reactions to the world around him, and his growing relationship with his sister Kat.
Well-written, and an intriguing look into Ted's mind.

Grade: B+

Cool Looks at the London Eye

The photo "London eye" is copyright 2008 by **maurice** and made available under Creative Commons-licensed content requiring attribution.
The photo "London Eye" is copyright 2009 by "apdk" (Anthony Kelly) and made available under Creative Commons-licensed content requiring attribution.

The Mailbox

by Audrey Shafer

By far the best book I have read all summer long. It's a quiet book, focusing on a young boy's love of his uncle.

Gabe Price has had a hard life - tossed from foster home to foster home - until his social worker is able to find his one last living relative - Uncle Vernon. So fifth grader Gabe finally has the stability and home that he always wanted. Vernon's not the warm, fuzzy type, though. A bit rough and crusty, and certainly more than a bit curmudgeonly, Vernon - a vet who seems somewhat haunted by his life in Vietnam - dispenses advice and knowledge to Gabe in small bits and pieces. But it is a good fit for both of them, and they clearly appreciate each other's presence. Oddly, the reader learns all of this after Vernon's death - so I'll back up a bit.

Gabe, a 12 year old boy, returns from his first day of middle school to find Uncle Vernon dead in his study. No fowl play. Just dead. Gabe is naturally shocked and terrified. While most 12 year-olds would run to the nearest adult, Gabe must contend with the fact that Vernon's death means that he will return to foster care. So Gabe shuts the door and goes to bed.

When he wakes up the body is gone. (Ah, the plot thickens!) Gabe is now even more terrified, but in an effort to cling to the one bit of security and stability he has left, he goes to school and returns to find an envelope in the mailbox. A stranger is communicating to Gabe. A stranger who knows about Uncle Vernon. A stranger who seems to know Gabe's conundrum. And where Uncle Vernon's body is.

The mystery of it pulls you in, eh? That's why so many 6th graders said they wanted to read it. But while you wait to discover what exactly happened to Uncle Vernon's body, you fall in love with Gabe and his bittersweet grieving reflections.

This book rocked. I loved the characterization. Gabe and his desire for a home. Gabe and his friends, sometimes childish, sometimes so genuine. Gabe and his dog. Gabe and his teachers. Gabe and the mysterious letter writer. Just a plain great read.

Grade: A+

Out of My Mind

by Sharon Draper.

Melody is a middle school girl with a lot on her mind, but she has spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. She has little control over her movements and has no speech. Melody lives at home with a loving family that has no idea of what she is truly capable of. She is limited by the word board that is in front of her. She spends countless hours in a special education room listening to mundane lessons.

But things change, little by little (but they seem fast in the book). First, Melody is mainstreamed into several new classes. She has an awesome new aide. Most importantly, she gains the ability to truly communicate with the use of some high-tech assistive technology. Using a computer board, Melody is now able to speak - very much a la Stephen Hawking.

For the first time, Melody is able to show her exceptional intelligence and her normal middle-school personality. She makes friends - kind of. She's able to say something back to the rude and heartless. She is able to tell her family how much she loves them. And she wows her classmates by getting on the quiz bowl team, helping them win their way all the way to the nationals.

But it's not all perfect. Really. Melody is brought to such heights, you begin to become frustrated. I mean, she is dealing with severe CP, and the book feels damned optimistic. That's why you become frustrated. You know it can't go on, but you want it to. You know it can't go on, and something worse will happen. How happy can this happy ending be? (And for those of you who know me, I'm not a big one for vibrant happy endings anyway.)

I'm going to leave it there and not say anything else. I'll just comment on the style. This book was well-written, straight forward with clean and crisp language. At times, Melody can have some beautiful poetic prose, but that's mostly just at the start and finish. It's an interesting view into the world of someone who is trapped in their body, and I think it would definitely open up any person's view into this type of disability. However, I do think that this book plays it a little too light, but as there are so few fiction books out there on the severely disabled, it's hard to judge. On a side note, this is a great companion to Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman, which was about another character with severe CP, but that book was much heavier and darker. I liked Out of My Mind much better, because Melody and her family were much more likable. I guess, although I don't profess to love happy endings, in the end I would prefer to dream that children dealt the most unfair physical hand are at least brought into truly loving and responsive families.

Grade: B

Babymouse 1: Queen of the World

by Jennifer L Holm.

I picked this up at the library booksale. It's a little comic book about a girl mouse who goes to school. Babymouse isn't in with the cool girls, but she would like to be. When Babymouse hands over her own school paper to coolest girl in school, she gains an important invite to what is sure to be a fabulous sleepover. While Babymouse daydreams about how she is sure to become supercool, too, she barely gives a thought to the fact that she is going to stand up her equally nerdy friend with whom she already has plans.

The night finally arrives, and you guessed it. Babymouse doesn't have fun and the cool girls don't treat her very nicely. She bails out early and meets up with her friend.

The end.

Thank god this book was super short (think 30 minutes) because it was a definite waste of time. Like this was so predictable, it was an after school special, but not as well-written and lacking any gravitas. It was a Hallmark card: Accept yourself. Be happy with who you are. Trite and predictable, this could probably be made into a short film (think 5 minutes) that wouldn't be too much of a waste of time.

I did just research this book, and it's target audience is between 4 to 8 (amazon) and 7 to 10 (bn.com). That reassures me a little. I can't stand the idea of taking this seriously for anyone over 8, but I haven't read any of the others in the series. But I can see this being appropriate for a first through third grader, but absolutely not for anyone older.

No Grade as it is not relevant.

The Passage by Justin Cronin

The Passage by Justin Cronin. It's, like, the 'it' novel for the summer. Or at least the sci-fi-vampire 'it' novel. So I ran out and got it. And it is looooooooooong. Here's what Ron Charles of the Washington Post has to say:

"Imagine Michael Crichton crossbreeding
Stephen King's "The Stand" and "Salem's Lot"
in that lab at Jurassic Park"

That's exactly my thought!! Except I might have added a bit of Dean Koontz. (Okay, I've only read Door to December, but still... The Passage feels a bit Koontz.) And I might have added King's Charlie McGee (the little firestarter from Firestarter).

But this is the thing: I love vampires. And I LOVE MICHAEL CRICHTON. And I have a deep respect and enjoyment of Stephen King. So this is, like, perfect, right?

Well, it is and it isn't. I love that vampirism is turned into a coldly scientific and unromantic virus. I love the background story. I mean, who doesn't love an origin story? as my husband would say.

The first two hundred pages are the origin story with all its juicy science-y stuff. Introduced are a hard-nosed FBI guy and an abandoned, precocious little kid. The precocious little kid is purposefully infected with the virus, thanks to US Military's scientific need for research. Loved it.

The rest of the 600 or so pages cover what the world in like 100 years into the post-virus future. A small community has survived called "The Colony." They live in a large compound that is powered by wind turbines, which help the lights stay on. Because the lights have to stay on. There are vampires about, remember?!? Except they call them virals. I agree with Ron Charles's astute criticism: this is where it got a little slow for me. There is so much detail about everyone in this community and their history; it gets tiresome. The story picks up momentum as a group from the colony leave their community, searching for an answer, other humans, something...

I liked this book. Crisp and fun at the start, a bit soggy in the middle, but a delectable end.
Anyway, I'm posting Ron Charles's review here.

BTW, although this has been purchased for its movie rights, I do not think a feature film is the way to go. I know it's risky, but I really believe this story would do better as a mini-series (like The Stand, V, etc.) The Passage is interesting because it takes the time to weave so many stories, and a movie wouldn't be able to do that. (I know! I just complained that the book was too detailed and too long, but I didn't sit down for just an hour or two every Monday night to read it.) The Da Vinci Code worked out well, because in the end, it was about the code - not about the people. But The Passage is about the people not the, necessarily the virals. It's about how they cope with their situation. How they put together the small clues to their future and past. It would really lend itself to a mini-series. Ohwell.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

This is an adult book. A book for women. A great book club book. It's a good book.

This book was passed around my school, amongst the ladies, for several months until it made its way to me.

It's the story of a very racially divided South (Mississippi) just before the Civil Rights movement really kicks into place. Skeeter, a young white woman from a wealthy family, has graduated from college. Awkward, tall, and progressive-minded, she doesn't quite fit in with her old set of friends: young, married ladies with babies, husbands, and mindless leagues and charities to fill their time. Skeeter wants love and marriage, but she wants a career and a purpose, too. However, there's little room for that in Jackson, Mississippi. The best she can get is writing the responses to the cleaning questions in the newspaper - kinda like the Helene/Helouise column, I guess. The irony of it is that Skeeter has never cleaned anything; there's always been a maid to do that for her. In order to do her job, Skeeter must get help from a maid. She asks if she can question Aibeleen, her friend's maid, for answers. That's right: She asks permission from the white lady first.

This is an eye-opening view of a racially divided world. Something hard for me to fathom: A time when good white women always had a separate bathroom for their black maids, lest any transfer of disease occurs. I mean, really? Also, these white women have maids. But they don't work. They do have children. But this is hard for me to comprehend: The women don't do much. They're well-to-do, so they don't work. (And by "don't," that also implies "not allowed," because it probably wouldn't look "right" if they did.) Their maids take care of the house, the cooking, and a lot of the child care. Goodness! I am a ship without an anchor on the days I don't have school! I mean, okay, right now I wouldn't mind having a maid. My place is messy. But it was hard for me to comprehend these women who had nothing to do but attend their women's league meetings: where they plan charity balls, raise money to send to the poor in Africa, and also fight the good fight against desegregated toilet bowls.

Back to the storyline: Skeeter wants to push herself beyond her cleaning column. She wants to tell the story of the help: the black women who clean for white women. The first to agree is Aibileen. Then Aibileen's friend Minny signs up, too. Slowly, but surely, other women agree to sign up to tell their stories. But it all must be done secretly: if anyone were to find out, violence would ensue against the black community. And the stories? Some are horrific. Some are bittersweet. Some are funny. The author does a great job of showing different facets of the characters. You develop sympathy for the black women and sympathy for some of the white women, too.

The author does a great job describing life: Skeeter's, the black maids', the white women's. That minutae and detail is interesting. A door into an older world. An unknown world. I have no idea what a rich Southern woman's life was like in the 60s. I have even less of an idea what a black maid's life was like at the times. But I am grateful I do not live there or then. But I am left to wonder, if I read this story with shock at societal attitudes of the 60s, what will people think in the 2050s, reading back on the 2000s?

My one complaint is that at times this book seemed too long. Now, I generally read a lot of YA, so that's often my complaint with adult fiction. I max out at 400 pages. But as much as I loved the detail put into describing everyday life, perhaps it was too much. Not in the level of detail provided to the major characters, but that that level of detail was provided to minor ones as well. In addition, a lot of time was lavished on Minny's employer: a poor white lady suddenly rich. It was interesting, but didn't feel pertinent. Minny's home life, however, was important. Highlighting the abuse put up with by women from their husbands.

In the end, this is Aibileen's story, and Minny's, too. Skeeter is an interesting character, and it feels good to watch her grow up: confident and ready to leave the racially divided society that she grew up in.

I recommend this book. I also think it will transfer well into the big screen, and I'm already know I'll want to go to the theater to see it.

Side Note: A book was just published similar to Skeeter's book about maids, but about nannies. The Perfect Stranger: The Truth About Mothers and Nannies is a book recording the narratives of real nannies and the narratives of the real women who employ them. The Times did an article on nanny books recently. I really like The Nanny Diaries, so it was an interesting article, and I might read any one of the books mentioned.

Three Cups of Tea - Young Adult Version

Three Cups of Tea

The recounting of an American's work to start schools for children in Pakistan.

I read the Young Adult version, and I have no idea how one would get through the adult version. The content, the ideas and the actions, are awesome. It's inspiring... But boring. I read this because our incoming 6th grade students have to read it for Summer Reading. The YA version of Three Cups of Tea for an adult? I would give it a B. For an 11 year old? I would give it a C-. I just don't think most sixth graders have the reading level to handle so many foreign names, nor do I think they have the ability to sustain their interest through the less exciting parts.

Having read this, I can say that I hope for the following for my school:

• We start some type of collection to help Greg Mortenson's Central Asia Institute. Otherwise, what is the point of reading a book about how we can change the world with just a few pennies?
• They show some type of documentary/video version of this book to the sixth graders. I think it will fill out their understanding of the book. Also, everyone likes videos.

Grade: C

My husband is reading The Hunger Games.

Awesome!

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Who decides on life?

In the faraway future of Unwind, society and policy know the answers to such questions. Through the development of new transplant technology, the debates and differences between pro-life proponents and pro-choice proponents have been solved. The Bill of Life states that while all pregnancies are protected, unwanted children can be "terminated retroactively" between the ages of 13 to 18. And how, exactly, does that conform to the standards of pro-life beliefs? Each child who is "retroactively terminated" is divided up so that all parts are used again; hence, you are not killed but simply redistributed. Unwound.

• Connor is a teen boy with behavior problems whose parents have signed his "Unwind" papers.
• Risa is an orphan who is going to be rewound because she is not talented enough to keep in the already crowded orphanage system.
• Lev is a thirteen year old tithe. His parents had him for the express purpose of donating him for the greater good. Lev believes whole-heartedly in the philosophy of unwinding, and he is proud to be a tithe.

All three are on the their way to be unwound at a "harvest camp" when Connor decides to rebel and fight back. His actions help free both Risa, who wants freedom, and Lev, who does not. While on the lam, the legend of the Akron unwind who fought back against the police grows. If each can survive on the run until the age of 18, they'll be free again.

This was a great book. If you liked the ethical issues and sci-fi feel of House of Scorpions, this is a great book for you. In some ways I wish Shusterman had been more explicit in the discussion of the life/abortion issues. I think that some kids could read this without really connecting to the issue as it stands today, in 2010. However, I appreciate the focus it does give to "newspeak" and the power of redesigning language. You're not murdered but rather "retroactively terminated"? As a Crichton fan, I loved it for the sci-fi future details. As a Stephen King fan, I loved the "unwind" scene - scary - but not too scary for a sixth grader. It also has a lot of fast-paced action to keep your attention.

I'm adding this to my list of books that I like that deal with the ethics of organ transplanting/donation:

• House of Scorpions
• Next
• My Sister's Keeper
• Never Let Me Go (This book and Unwind are the most similar. Very similar but Never Let Me Go has no action.)

Grade: B+

This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

This is the final companion to Life As We Knew It and The Dead & the Gone. Miranda Evans and her family have survived over a year after the catastrophic meteor hit the moon, creating an inhospitable earth. Life is a monotonous game of survival: eat now or perish? eat now or relish later? While life seems better, the government is able to send out some food. Their hope is guarded.

Hmm...honestly, I read this book awhile ago and have been putting off reviewing it for some time. It's not fresh in my mind, and I'm still deliberating how much I liked it.

Here's my quick synopsis: Miranda Evans and her family are still struggling to survive in rural Pennsylvania. Miranda dreams of something -anything- different, and longs to know if her father, step-mother, and baby sibling have survived. Her brothers go off on a fishing expedition, and her older brother, Matt, returns with a wife. She's odd, beautiful, and damaged, and she definitely makes Matt happy - but she is one more mouth to feed.

Later, Miranda's father and step-mother return. Having had no luck traveling west, they have been slowly making their way back to Pennsylvania, so that Miranda's father can be near all his children. On their trip home, Miranda's father and family have adopted others: Charlie, a happy middle-aged soul and the Morales siblings: Alex and Julie. These are the same Morales who were in The Dead & The Gone. That book ended with Alex obtaining tickets to a safe community - a town where the government provides protection and food for a select few.

This was a good book, but not great. However, this book develops a level of maturity greater than the others. It is in this book where the real gravity of their situation forces the main character to make very adult decisions that few will ever have to make in their lives. I wouldn't recommend this to a sixth grader because the decision at the end are so ... heavy. I'm not sure an 11 year old would get that. This book definitely feels more high school (lower high school) than middle-school.

Grade: B

Is Three the Magic Number?

Ah... Trilogies. We shake our heads pretentiously, and yet we still eat them up. And sometimes they're not bad.

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi - The Ewoks! I mean, they rocked! The romance of Leia and Hans? Irresistible. My 6 year old heart adored this movie - and still does.

His Dark Materials: The Amber Spyglass - Ehh... As the final closer to The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife, this book took a flight into the too fantastical and philosophical. If talking cabbage heads had shown up, I wouldn't have been shocked. However, there were some sentient trees, if I recall correctly. While I loved this book, it was partially due to how hard I loved the first two.

Lois Lowry's The Messenger. This was just a silly mess, in my opinion. The Giver is like a good punch to the head. It's probably in my top 5 YA books. The Gatherer was also awesome - and part of its awesomeness was in how absolutely different the book felt from the first. But The Messenger just felt superficial. A way to fulfill a demand - either by the readers or the publishers, I don't know. I'm not faulting Lowry - The Messenger is still a great book, but it doesn't reach the caliber of The Gatherer. And as a relative of The Giver? I still ruminate over The Giver years later, but The Messenger means nothing to me.

As an aside, I hope Lois Lowry NEVER EVER gives movie rights to The Giver. Am I ecstatic to see The Hunger Games, whenever it comes out? Definitely! But The Giver is too holy and too fantastic to recreate. How would we recreate a black and white world? How would a movie show the control exerted over individuals in The Giver? (In regards to the black and white vision, Pleasantville did a lovely job of this actually...)

All this is because I've been meaning to review Pfeffer's This World We Live In, which completes her series about life after a meteor hits the moon and creates havoc, end of humanity type of havoc, on our climate system.

The photo "Thick Encyclopedias with Colorful Hardcovers" is copyright 2010 by Harla Varlan and made available under Creative Commons-licensed content requiring attribution. Edited by M. Morrill.

Fear of Speaking: Our Society's Reluctance to Play the Adult to Children

Last week, I had my niece and nephew staying with us. My nephew is 8 and energetic. He came with the following information "He's kind of allergic to sugar and caffeine." Later in the week, my husband said to me, "You know, I never saw sugar hit a kid so quickly."

While I let them load up on sugary sweets, I still had the willpower to say no to soda and energy drinks.

Let me get back to my original point. My nephew is no angel, but he's a lovable kid. He's an 8 year old boy. But twice I observed adult interactions - or should I say "non-interactions" with strangers that involved him. The first was at the children's museum, which was an absolute blast. We went to the scheduled Meet the Animals activity, where they got to pet a reptile of some sorts. There were probably 15 kids there. Some sitting patiently and quietly, and others, like my nephew, much more absorbed in the raccoon and bobcat windows. He and a few others walked around during most of the demonstration, not really interested in what the animal lady had to say. They stopped only when the reptile (a skink?) was allowed to walk around on the floor and when they were allowed to pet it. As the show was over, my nephew was moving about and squeezed past a lady who was sitting on one of the steps of the observation windows. She said this, "It would be nice if some kids would say Excuse Me." Maybe (probably) she was saying it loud enough for my nephew's adult (me) to hear. Maybe she was saying it for my nephew.

Fast Forward: Cabela's Store. My nephew is standing directly between two cash registers because this kept him more than an arm's length from the crazy junk they have for impulse buys. A woman with a cart came from the opposite direction (god only knows why) and complains to her husband, "I would go but this kid is in my way." She maneuvered around my nephew and was huffy. Had she just talked directly to him, he (probably) would have moved.

These situations both exemplify a common problem: our reluctance to talk to children. My nephew's too young to take an indirect hint. However, he is old enough to understand a directive. If you want an 8 year old to move, you just say "Excuse me." If you are upset that an 8 year old boy is squeezing behind you, there's no reason why an adult can't say "Please say excuse me if you would like to move."

Or these situations exemplify a deeper problem: Our reluctance and fear to stick our necks out and reprimand children (gently, I'm not talking about a screaming match with some stranger's kids) or interact with them. If you keep up on the education news, you'll hear a lot about an abdication of power by parents. Parents who don't reprimand or would rather allow the schools to do it. But there's been an abdication of power by our whole society. People are afraid to say, "Hey, cut it out."

I think, for males, there might be a fear that they'll be seen as some leering sick-o. Women, I think, might fear they'll come off as a b*tch or that they have no right to infringe on another mother's parenting skills.

I've been a perpetrator in this silent acceptance of misbehavior, too. Lots of times. But I also think that, as a teacher, I've learned that I have a responsibility and right to ask children for order and behavior.

But I still feel that same hesitation... That same fear...

The question is what is it that we fear? Some stranger's disapproval? That the kid might not comply? That the kid might say no or be a jerk back? Should those things matter?

My Life So Far

This is not a book review. This is a life review.

1. It is too hot outside to do anything.

2. I don't want to do anything.
2a. Not even read.

3. I have to finish my Masters.
3a. I don't want to.

4. I have to get ready for Summer School.
4a. I don't want to.
4b. Red Badge of Courage sucks.

5. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEW TWILIGHT MOVIE!!!!

6. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEW HARRY POTTER MOVIE!!!

7. Even more, I cannot wait for the third sequel of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. However, that book will signify the end of the summer. (It is released on August 24, which is only a day or two before I have to go back.)

Lady MacBeth's Daughter

Lady Macbeth's Daughter is a new take of Macbeth. It's written by Lisa Klein, the same author who wrote Ophelia. I never really appreciated Macbeth when I read it in high school. However, four years ago I subbed for an English teacher for two months. We read Macbeth. For the first time, I really enjoyed it. The story of people so driven by power and greed that they are blind to their inhumanity. Blinded by prophecies. Ready to grasp any straw that hints of their superiority. Throughout it all, you can't help but remember that in the beginning, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth seem pretty normal and kind of nice. Logical. Upward climbing but in a rational sense. By the end, so much death, blood, and cruelty has occurred at their hands. I've never bothered to add up how many died: Duncan, Banquo, MacDuff's children...

However, this review is about Lady Macbeth's Daughter. The book is told from the first person perspectives of Lady Macbeth (whose name is Grelach in the book), and Albia, her daughter. Albia was born crippled. Macbeth ordered the baby to be left for the wolves. Grelach's maid rescues the child and brings her to her sisters' home. These three sisters are the weird witches of the play. The oldest sister prophecies that Albia has the second sight, but Albia does not want to accept her gifts. Regardless, Albia grows up living a pleasant country life until she is a teenager, where she is sent to train as a lady's maid at Banquo's house. Up until this point, Albia is a flightly, one-dimensional teen with a slightly odd home life. Honestly, I had little interest in Albia until romance blossomed between her and Fleance, Banquo's son. Albia becomes stronger when she learns of her true heritage and vows to avenge her father. Eventually, she begins to accept her second sight, but this ability felt like an easy out: an easy vehicle that enabled Klein to get Albia involved in Dunsinore. She becomes slightly more compelling regarding the battle of Dunsinore, but not much.

I enjoyed Klein's portrayal of Lady Macbeth much more. Klein has given LM children: one alive and one lost. She a mother overwhelmed by the loss of her daughter. She spends a lot of time depressed. This does not seem to be the Lady Macbeth of the play - specifically the beginning. What I did especially like about this version of LM is constantly aware of her precarious situation as a woman: always eager to stay in Macbeth's favor. This seems very realistic given the time period, when a woman's fate was that of her husband's whims.

The LM in the book portrays more of her maternal/feminine side. The masculinity that she displays in the Shakespeare's play is not evident enough to make not of. Klein's LM is the one who would say (as she said in Shakespeare's play)

"I have given suck, and know/How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me..."

But not the LM who continued on by saying "I would, while it was smiling in my face,/Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums,/And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as you/ Have done to this..."

The book contains bits of the above lines, but loses the full violent impact:

"I know how tender it is to love the babe that milks me. But my body has betrayed me, refusing to bring forth any more life. Now it is time to use death as my means." (63)

LM's insanity is downplayed, and I don't recall any "Out damned spot" moment either. And LM lives! That was disappointing, too. The ending was just too sweet: Albia and LM reunite to repair their broken relationship.

All in all, I appreciated Lady Macbeth's view points and the battle scenes, but little else appealled to me. However, I think this is a great companion piece for those who have read Macbeth or will be reading it shortly. In addition, if you really like Ophelia by Klein, you will probably enjoy this one, too.

Grade: C+

(Painting of Lady Macbeth by John Singer Sargent (1889), one of my favorite painters.)

WORDLE

Pitch Black: A Graphic Memoir

This is a graphic memoir about a man who lives in the unused tunnels and rooms of the NYC subway. I believe such individuals have been given the nickname "moles" or "mole people." This was a super-quick read: the size of a normal children's picture book. In fact, I thought it was a civil rights type of book for children. Needless to say, it wasn't. I didn't really care for it much with the exception of two points:
1. There is a YA novel called Slake's Limbo, which is about a young boy in the foster care system who escapes into the underground world of the subway to escape abuse.
2. The line: Just cause you can't see don't mean aint nothing there.

For a much more sophisticated review, check out this out from the NYT.

Grade: C+

Bitter is the New Black

Bitter Is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smart-Ass, or Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office by Jen Lancaster

The memoir opens describing Jen’s pricey lifestyle: expensive shopping trips, expensive salon visits, and expensive apartment. She works in the finance industry, and she’s paid dearly for her expertise. She comes off as a spoiled bee-otch, but slowly you begin to realize that she does indeed work her butt off for her job; and you have to respect that. She calls it like it is – even when it’s shockingly cruel. She lacks all tact, and she’s all about business. That is, until in the recession that hit after 9/11, she finds herself laid off from her job.

(SPOILER AHEAD.) For almost two years, she pounds the pavement searching all of Chicago for jobs, but there are none. She’s over-qualified and on a job search when a large number of experienced professionals are doing the same. Eventually, she goes on the dole, but it takes her months and months and months to ever realize that she needs to curtail her spending. However, as your sympathy for Jen finally begins to build - she becomes a volunteer, gets closer to her family, starts a blog – she reverts back to spoiled brat. As she and her boyfriend, who has also lost his job, begin to hit rock bottom, she comes up with another spoiled, brilliant idea: Using a wedding as a means to further pay for their lifestyle. As much as I balked at this selfishly concocted idea, I could help but think “Why not?” She and her boyfriend are in a long-term committed relationship, and when the economy is tough you’ve got to do what you can to survive. As her story winds down, things finally start working out: Fletch, the SO, gets a job; they realign their spending habits to their actual financial limits; and Jen’s blog becomes hugely popular.

In the end, this was exactly what it looked like: chic-lit. Jen’s funny, sarcastic, and witty. It’s fun to live in her high-priced luxury world in the beginning; it’s fun to cluck your tongue in disapproval as she continues to spend recklessly when out of a job; and it’s satisfying to see her finally find her way. However, it was REALLY nice to see a book in which the protagonist maintained a committed relationship throughout the entire book.

Grade: B

Let the Right One In: A Vampire Novel for Adults

Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist is a vampire novel. The most unromantic and depressing vampire novel I have ever read. There is nothing seductive about vampirism in this novel. The thrill and fascination for death, immortality, and power are nil. This is a vampire story by Wally Lamb: gray, depressive, and in need of a real anti-depressant. The back of the book claims that the author is “Sweden’s Stephen King.” If that is so, I am eternally grateful that I live in America. If King’s works seem a tad less serious, the impression they leave is still as lasting as this story and yet much more engrossing.

Oskar, a 12-year-old misfit, is ostracized and bullied to the extreme. He really has no one with whom he can connect with other than his mother, who seems to be just as desperate and lonely. No one really understands the extent to which he is subjected to cruel and inhumane harassment from bullies. No one tries to alleviate the problem. Oskar fantasizes about killing his bullies, and this is where you begin to question the empathy you developed for him. Is this kid whack-o? Is he going to go crazy and kill everyone? But as soon as you develop an aversion to Oskar, Eli enters the storyline and pulls you back in.

Oskar meets the strange, waif-like girl in his apartment complex's playground one night. He is unused to any attention that is not scornful. She, too, seems lonely. From the get-go, the narrator lets you know that Eli is a vampire and that her situation is as sad as the dull, cold apartment complex in which she and Oskar live. Due to her child-like appearance, Eli must live with an adult: a pedophile who is willing to kill for her and clean up the mess. In no uncertain terms is vampirism made appealling. Her situation is not glorified: she is a killer. When Eli hasn’t fed, she becomes old and decrepit looking. She often smells.

However, there is something between Eli and Oskar. Some understanding between their souls, some understanding of the quiet loneliness they both live with. They become friends. An odd friendship comprised of meeting at night and communicating through walls using Morse code. But this friendship, however strange, seems to give Oskar a little more strength in daily life.

It is Eli, primarily, and Oskar whom you want the story to develop around. However, there are so many subplots to the story that weave in and out, dampening my enthusiasm for the book. There’s the group of alcoholics that have little in their own lives but each other and the need to drink. There’s the pedophile that is willing to kill for Eli who has his own depressing and repellent background. There’s Oskar’s own sad alcoholic father. The author even develops the stories of the main detective who investigates the mysterious murders. And the story of his girlfriend and her drug-addict son, Tommy. Even the background of the main bully is explored. There’s just too much in the way of character development, and I’m not sure if it really adds much to the story….

Except to focus on the complete lack of connection these characters feel to any other human in their lives. So little love is displayed. So little enthusiasm for life.. And why would that be relevant other than to depress us? Well, it highlights the fact that maybe Oskar and Eli’s friendship isn’t all that odd. In a place with so little life, so little warmth, so little to hope for, perhaps Eli is a good choice as a friend.

Grade: C+

Waiting for Normal

by Leslie Connor

Addie has moved again. And her last chance for stability seems to have gone, too. Her step-father, Dwight, now has custody of her two younger half-sisters and is moving closer to a new job. Now it's just Addie and her unreliable mother, living in a dumpy trailer on the corner of busy intersection. Her only neighbor is a convenience store. Her only view is an abandoned paved lot. Her mother loves her but can best be described as neglectful and, perhaps, bipolar. (I'm no psychiatrist.)

This is the story of Addie, a young girl struggling to survive and waiting for a chance at normal.

This was a sweet (and bittersweet) novel of a young girl, neglected, who struggles to maintain a life of normalcy. The narrator's voice feels natural and honest. The prose was easy to read, the plot easy to follow, and the characters - even some of the secondary ones - easy to feel a connection to. This story left me with a lump in my throat - due to a combined mixture of sadness and happiness.

Grade: A

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landeau-Banks

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Frankie is a smart, witty, and observant sophomore. She is an overachiever. She has a trajectory. A plan. A blueprint. All leading to success. Frankie also now has looks. Once a plain Jane honor student at a prestigious boarding school, Frankie returns her second year looking HOT. Her new looks attract the attention and sentiments of Matthew, a senior who lives the highest echelon of her school's social hierarchy. And -Boom- Frankie falls in love.

Typical, eh?

But Frankie doesn't just fall in love with Matthew. She falls in love with his group of guy friends, too. They exude an easiness, a confidence, a friendliness that is charming, magnetic. Frankie both loves these boys and envies them. She envies the time they demand from Matthew and she envies their self-assured natures. Frankie, who is by no means underprivileged, realizes that these teen boys are like this because they are at the top of the world. They are a part of the "Old Boy" society. They are the next generation's future leaders. What have they to doubt? What worries might they have? They have their intelligence, their culture, and their family status.

But that's not really why Frankie's upset. Through her own snoopery, Frankie realizes that these boys are a part of a secret all-male society at the school called the Basset Hounds. One that she is not privy, too. Frankie, frustrated by her own lack of "power" as a girl (because she wants to exert power over these boys) decides that she will find a way to infiltrate the society and become the new "King".

The book is full of intelligent insights and a likable protragonist. Her misdeeds are clever, and the reader will happily speed through the pages to discover more about the mysterious order of the Basset Hounds and to learn of Frankie's newest pranks. In some ways, I loved the way information was presented in this book - somewhat reminiscent of Dan Brown.

One caveat: I had trouble "connecting" with the protagonist. I didn't really feel a strong emotional connection, but this book is more about the ideas and the plot rather than the emotion. But that's easily beat out by the following: I really enjoyed the fact that this book used a sophisticated vocabulary. While I love YA books, I feel that sometimes the vocabulary is less than challenging.
Grade: B+

A Quick Synopsis of Some Books in the Past

I've read quite a few books in the past six months, and I haven't reviewed any of them. So here's a brief summary of the highlights:

#1 Recommendation: The Hunger Games.
This book kicks butt! Seriously, I love this book. Violence. Children who must fight to their death. A dystopian society. A female protagonist and yet it's still a book that the boys love, too. And fashion! Who would think kick ass fashion would play so well into a YA book that also involves such violence? And the ethical questions that the protagonist/readers must ponder!

THIS BOOK ROCKS. (Side note: I have never convinced so many people to read a book as this one.)

#1a Recommendation: Catching Fire. The sequel to The Hunger Games. A little slower, but ends with a dead-silent,-I can't-believe-it ending.

#2 Recommendation: Elsewhere.
Life in the afterlife? Can it really be as normal as the one we have here on Earth? This was a great YA read, but one that took me about five tries to fnally get into. I read this right after reading The Lovely Bones, and it was a wonderful breath of relief.

#3 Recommendation: First Light.
A much better City of Ember.

#4 Recommendation: Oh. My. Gods.
A Percy Jackson beach read for girls? Yup! This was all fluff but all fun. A private boarding school for the demi-gods of the mythological elite? Set in present day Greece 2010? Why not? Lots of fun, Sweet Valley High style.