Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos

It’s rare that a “message” novel packs the kind of punch of this short contemporary novel, but then, we live in interesting times, yes? Nadira is a painfully average ninth grade girl in a Brooklyn high school. There’s only one problem. Her family is living in the county illegally. As Muslims on expired visas, in NY, after 9/11, the choices are not pleasant. On advice of counsel, the family tries to enter Canada but things go badly. After that, they are caught up in the web of bureaucracy and federal policy that so many have begun to question of late. This story may be fiction, but the tale it tells rings very very true. What helps this succinct novel along is the reality of Nadira and her sister Aisha – and the members of their families and community. As sisters, Nadira and Aisha fight, are envious, but love one another. As an important secondary note to the political themes, this story is also a personal journey for Nadira. Through these experiences she learns to accept herself and how to live in a world that is not always kind. Some decide to return to their country, some become a true part of the American melting pot, and some, the strongest perhaps, demand that we see them for who they are. I cannot think of a novel I have read of late that is more timely and carries this kind of emotional hit. Brava to Ms. Budhos.

Girl Stories by Lauren R. Weinstein

Even for graphic novels, this one is a little off-beat. But then again, with graphic novels pushing the bounds of literature these days, expect that anything and everything will emerge! “Girl Stories” is a 237 page collection of short stories, pretty much biographical, of the author’s teen years. The stories are a tad random, but that doesn’t matter too much as there does seem to be an over-arching structure holding them in place. The illustrations are very bright and busy – interesting to the eye but not good for those inclined to ADD, methinks. The character of Lauren is fun, and the author is able to reflect on her life with a healthy dose of humor and perspective. I really enjoyed the middle school tales, which seemed right on point. I also liked the belly-piercing story, which had just the perfect level of “gross”. I enjoyed the book but didn’t feel it will “stick with me”, just didn’t get deep enough. The only criticism is one that the author freely admits to from the beginning…she wrote the strips over seven years, using different styles and drawing techniques. That makes it a bit difficult, from section to section, to keep track of who is who (since the character of Lauren looks quite different in each of the stories). It isn’t a major concern, the book was enjoyable and has some nice girl empowerment messages. Worth a read.

The Witch’s Boy by Michael Gruber

In many ways, this is a very strong book. Rich text with deep threads make it mature and interesting. One day, a witch finds a boy in the forest and raises him, although she isn’t quite sure what she’s doing. Along the way there are colorful characters, well-thought out magic, some delightfully fractured fairytales and more than a few SAT vocabulary words. For me, what the story lacked was a “connection”. It was clever, it had fresh ideas, but the omniscient narrative voice was distancing and the story, which was essentially simple, took far too many twists to get to the point. Let’s start with narrative voice. In Kate DiCamillo’s “Tales of Despereaux” the narrator manages to connect to the reader through a kind of arch humor and sly asides. In this book, I’m not even sure the narrator ~likes~ any of the characters. Who is the protagonist here? I started out being a bit intrigued by the witch, but she is kept at emotional arms length for the duration of the tale (and disappears entirely at points) so I could never fully warm up to her. Then there’s the witch’s boy, “Lump”. The author intimates again and again how the boy is headed for trouble, and he, of course, progresses through the majority of the book as a kind of anti-hero, hurting everyone around him. The only characters I really identified with and enjoyed were the supporting characters – which is rarely compelling enough to push you through 377 pages of text. Then, there’s the storyline. It doesn’t so much move as it meanders. That which should have been prologue (the witch finding the boy and figuring out how to raise him) runs some 67 pages. Lastly, for all of the details given, I had difficulty placing the setting. I mean, I know this is fantasy, but at times it reads as 14th Century Germany, and at other times, 17th Century France. No matter how fantastical the setting, there should be some consistency. This tale throws out consistency for that which is convenient. I know I sound like I hated this book. I didn’t. As I said, it has a lot going for it, I just found it lacking in a key area or two. My copy of the book had extensive notes by the author at the end. In these notes, Mr. Gruber explained that the witch is essentially his own mother, an intriguing but (surprise) distant woman, and that Lump is essentially his early life, with much of the book being a kind of mea culpa for not being a better person. Clearly, Michael Gruber is a gifted writer. Wouldn’t it be ironic if he could distance himself more from his work and, as a result, create characters that one could better connect with?