Tuesday, February 28, 2012

"Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley

John Corey Whaley has done something extraordinary with this book -- he was awarded both the Printz Medal and Morris Award for his efforts. No one has ever won both. The Printz Medal, for outstanding YA Literature, was the launching pad for authors like John Green, Meg Rosoff and Gene Luen Yang. The Morris Award is for best first novel. A rather auspicious honor, Mr. Whaley, Bravo. And now -- is the book worthy? Well, yes. This is the strongest literary novel I have read in a while, and from that standpoint, it is kind of brilliant. Reading it, however, took a little effort and concentration. Whaley weaves different characters into his tale, each chapter careening from one to another, often without a strong indication that "we are switching narrators now." He also adds in a mixed timeline (without telling the reader that he's doing it) and at least one character who goes from first to third person narrative from time to time; sometimes to narrate something imaginary, other times to describe something real that has significant emotional impact. Even the storyline defies description, as it goes places, time and time again, that you don't expect. While this is refreshing, I kept trying to figure out what the theme was, where he was taking it ... and I couldn't. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just meant I had to pay attention. Really pay attention. And re-read a few things. The book is a mature work -- Cullen Witter, the 17 year-old focus of many chapters, uses the term "a**-hat" fairly frequently and treats his burgeoning sexual encounters with the same dry snarkiness that infuses most of his world view. We begin with Cullen's seemingly random discussion of a dead body in a morgue in Little Rock, then shoot across the globe to meet Benton Sage, a young evangelical who is challenged by his missionary work in Ethiopia. Next up is Cabot Searcy, a college kid who is touched by Benton's quest and takes up his own mission to understand the apocrypha of Enoch and the mission of the angel Gabriel (and yes, it is interesting that "Searcy" sounds just a little bit like "search). Is it a book about Christianity? I'd have to say "no." Is it about the meaning of life? Well, maybe, if the meaning of life is "42." Is it about searching? Yes -- but the answers, if there are any, don't seem to be plentiful. Obviously, there is the old butterfly theme of how we interact with each other and how one thing impacts another -- but Whaley clearly sees that as randomness rather than wanting to give it all a purpose. It is a book that had me staying up late to read "just one more chapter." It is story with so many "huh" moments it had me reflecting back to Libba Bray's "Going Bovine." And it is a novel that will keep me thinking ... for a good long while. Mr. Whaley is joining impressive ranks with these awards. If this book is any indication, he will fit right in.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

"The Glorious Adventures of the Sunshine Queen" by Geraldine McCaughrean

At some point, I'm going to have to figure out why I keep reading Geraldine McCaughrean's books when I don't particularly like them. I think, in part, they are all very different and I don't recognize them as being by the same author until after I start them, then at some point, I stop and say "What???" and look up the author. To its credit, I liked this one more than "White Darkness" but considerably less than "Pepper Roux." The thing is, I should have liked it. The delightful adventures of a misbegotten theatre troupe at the turn of the century? What's not to love? Well, let's start with "turn of the century" -- I'm really not sure when the book takes place, and I read it -- thoroughly. It is during the life of Queen Victoria, when trains are replacing steamboats and electric generators are used by the well-off. So, I'd put it late 1800's? Anyway, three young children and their school teacher have their lives upended by a tragedy, followed by a plague, followed by a flood, followed by ... well, you get the idea. Each chapter seems to want to top the previous one in building up improbable adventure after improbable adventure. I am more than happy to lend some "willing suspension of disbelief" as the next person, but there comes a point of total incredulity. There is also such a whirlwind of action that I really had a hard time connecting with the large cast of characters. Hint: If you have so many characters in your tale as to require a "list of players" at the beginning, then you have too many characters or you aren't drawing them strongly enough for readers to connect (both, I'd have to say). That, and the vocabulary was challenging enough to have me grabbing for a dictionary ... repeatedly. Despite the constant tumult, I didn't find myself wanting to see what would happen next, and it took me three times longer to read this than it should have. I don't think it is a "bad" book per say, but it definitely wasn't my cup of tea. Having read three Geraldine McCaughrean books thus far, I may be a little more picky about picking up her next one. For those willing to take on a rollicking, fantastical tale, be my guest.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

"The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had" by Kristin Levine

This book joins a host of newer historical novels about a period in U.S. History that had previously been overlooked in YA fiction. Mix in "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Lawson with Geraldine McCaughrean's "Glorious Adventures of the Sunshine Queen" and you get a growing group of books that fill in a lot of gaps on turn-of-the-century America. Set in 1917 Alabama this book chronicles a year in the life of Dit Sims, a middle child among ten who just wants his dad to remember who he is. When the new postmaster arrives in town, the uneasy peace between blacks and whites begins to fade as Dit befriends the man's daughter, a smart and pretty black girl from Boston, named Emma. The first half of the novel is "slice of life" stuff, fairly didactic in tone, much like many of the "historical novels for young readers" that have graced library shelves for decades. The budding friendship between Dit and Emma is both adorable and predictable. Quite expectantly, the story takes a serious turn about half-way. The ending wraps things up well, if not particularly realistically, and -- borrowing a page from an episode of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" -- a creature is given freedom in a grand symbolic gesture. I very much liked the characters of Dit and Emma. They are not only real, but I liked watching Dit try to gain new perspective on his world as Emma challenges him to move beyond his "that's just the way things are" mentality. All of the characters have dimensions to them -- even the bad guy, whose mother reminisces about her son without making apology. Two warnings: there is plentiful use of the "n" word in various forms and this is not a good book for vegetarians. Animals are not treated well here, with the rural mentality of "animals = meat" being fairly predominant. I liked this book, but I didn't love it. It was a little too "driven" for my tastes ... clearly this was all planned out from the beginning with no sense of letting the story flow where it may. I couldn't help feel that the author "made" the ending work they way she wanted it to, which gave the story a somewhat forced feel (although it was nice that it didn't go as dark as it could have...). On the other hand, I liked this book far more than "Sunshine Queen" which I have yet to get through. Much like "Hattie Big Sky" the afterward mentions that this tale was a result of real-life stories coming from a grandparent. The author will be speaking to our bookclub in a few months and I am once again conflicted on how to recommend it. With 12 year-old protagonists, I doubt older students will be interested in it; but much of the behind-the-scenes content requires a more mature reader. Like Christopher Paul Curtis's "Elijah of Buxton" I feel this book might be overlooked because it does not fit any specific audience very well, and will require readers to "give it a chance." Hopefully, most of the bookclub will read it -- we will see what they have to say.