“Ain’t Nothing But a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry” by Scott Reynolds Nelson with Marc Aronson

This is a challenging book to review – on one hand, I learned a lot about a history that isn’t covered elsewhere; on the other hand, the writing style was hard to swallow. The book has a fascinating premise: How do you find out if a character (from literature, myth or song) actually existed as a person? How do you find the history of a person when they are a member of a group whose history is unwritten? Dr. Nelson set out to discover if the “John Henry” made popular in song was a real person. He chronicles his efforts to find evidence, showing the path to information (librarians love that) and ends up making a convincing case for the man he believes to be the “real” John Henry. The problem with the book is who it is directed to. Designed by National Geographic for schools, the “voice” of the book is fairly didactic … a learned college professor trying to speak plainly for a lower audience. IMHO, this does not work. The vocabulary is still high and the narration becomes rambling and convoluted, not to mention opinionated. Laden words flow through what should be informational text. Dr. Nelson interjects his frustration with the Library of Virginia several times (justifiable, but once was enough) and makes statements about the history of the phrase “Rock and Roll” without any outside documentation. The premise kept me turning the pages, the writing did not. So, is this a worthwhile book? I would say yes. It’s not going to be one of those nonfiction books which I recommend as a reading choice, but the information is none-the-less valuable. The images are well-done and reminded me of a museum exhibit. If the book is taken in that context, it works. So, take the time to “walk through” this unique view of a man who, I am now sure, was not only real, but more influential than he ever could have imagined.

“Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Through the Gates and Beyond” by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan

Nonfiction expert Jan Greenberg does an excellent job covering “The Gates”, an art installation by Christo & Jeanne-Claude in Central Park during the fall of 2005. The images are almost as stunning as the gates themselves (I had the privilege of seeing them in person) and the text is engaging and highly readable. Without doing a full biography on the two artists, Ms. Greenberg covers their origins, motivations and previous works enough to put the massive Central Park project in context. One comes away not only with a deeper appreciation for what this couple has accomplished but with a real sense of excitement as to what may come next. Much of the artwork of Christo and Jeanne-Claude defies verbal explanation, so I will not continue to expound on it here – but do take the time to savor this book.

“A Book” by Mordicai Gerstein

This fun new picture book by Mr. Gerstein is very tongue-in-cheek. There is a family who … live inside a book! When the little girl asks her parents what their story is, each responds with amusing self-centeredness that the story is about their own interests and professions. The girl isn’t convinced, and goes on a journey exploring a variety of book genres to discover her own story. With a great ending and subtle elements that will make you smile (the artwork is created as if you are looking down … into a book!) this book can be appreciated by both adults and children. This one is charming, delightful and clever and should be a big hit in the holiday season.

“The Mysteries of Harris Burdick” by Chris Van Allsburg

Is Harris Burdick real? Or another fantastical creation from the fertile mind of Van Allsburg? We may never know. The author/illustrator who created “Jumanji” now brings us an intriguing collection of fourteen images, and a bit of a tall tale. Thirty years ago, a man named Harris Burdick supposedly walked into the office of a publisher friend of Van Allsburg. He left the fourteen sketches, along with their titles and opening lines. Saying he had the accompanying stories at home, he promised to return the next day. He never came back. The publisher tried in vain to find him, and Van Allsburg, upon seeing the pictures, felt inspired to recreate them and publish the lot. The images are nothing if not intriguing, and any writer worth their salt would want to have this book as a writing prompt. Fanciful story or reality, this book is a treasure.

“Not a Box” by Antoinette Portis

Winner of this year’s Seuss Geisel Honor, this plain looking picture book needs absolutely no frills to make its point. The sheer delight of watching a bunny (baby) explore a paper box with all the imagination of childhood makes it clear that you don’t need gadgets to have fun. Clever in lots of subtle ways (the cover looks like a paper box) the simple message will make you smile.

“Lump of Coal” by Lemony Snicket

This skinny little picture book is sheer delight, and very typical of the Lemony Snicket dark humor. “Lump of Coal” wants to be an artist, but he is shunned by the arts community. He would settle for cooking a meal (yes, that’s slightly perverse) but is equally rejected by the proprietor of a faux Korean barbeque. In the end, Santa helps him out and everything develops as you might expect. I’m hoping to add this one to my read-alouds in the future – both kids and adults will “get it”.

“Alabama Moon” by Watt Key

Simply one of the best books I have read this year. Fresh with surprising twists, it was a terrific read. Ten year-old Moon Blake has been raised in near total isolation by his survivalist father in rural Alabama. When the father breaks his leg and refuses to be treated, he dies; leaving Moon to try and follow the father’s last commandment – travel to Alaska, where Moon will find others who believe as they do. Needless to say, things don’t turn out as planned. Moon’s incredible ability to fend for himself is juxtapositioned with his complete lack of understanding about the outside world. The detailed prose creates an engaging story that had me staying up late at night to see what would happen next. Many of the adults are sympathetic but make poor choices about how to engage with this complex young man. The result is a tumultuous adventure as Moon learns to appreciate, and finally trust, some of those around him. Moon’s honest voice will draw in all readers, but it is delightful to have a book of strong literary merit which will definitely appeal to boys. Not for the squeamish (he kills and guts animals of the forest and the language of the book is a tad PG-13) it parallels the kinds of stories told by Gary Paulsen. As someone who has done my share of camping and hiking, I actually learned a lot about living in the wild. This is Mr. Key’s first novel, and it portends good things. Soon to be a film (coming to a theatre near you) I’m putting down a bet that this book picks up some awards in the coming months.

“Samurai Shortstop” by Alan Gratz

This first novel by Alan Gratz will appeal to some – I’ve already had one student who loved it – but I found it to be convoluted and forced. The book is about 16 year-old Toyo, a besu boro (baseball) loving student at the Ichiko school in Tokyo. Going in, I assumed some historical context (I read it for the Historical Fiction portion of an upcoming book conference). I was not prepared for the extremely graphic and detailed description of a seppuku (ritual suicide) in the opening pages. The book ranged widely from amusing to brutal in a tale that included the Meiji Restoration (revolution), samurai teaching, baseball and boys in an elite private school with undertones similar to “Lord of the Flies”. Throw in “Field of Dreams”, “The Bad News Bears”, “Shogun” and “The Karate Kid” and you have a sense of the themes. Mr. Gratz, in my humble opinion, made the classic error of a new author … he forced plot devices to tell the story he wanted to tell. Most mature authors tell you they create the elements of a story, but then the plot and characters tend to take on a life of their own. Mr. Gratz, on the other hand, compressed events ranging from 1877 to 1915 into one year (1891) so that he could juxtapose traditional Japan with modern Japan and have his lead character be the tipping point. The result was incongruity that I found extremely distracting. Despite the decently strong narrative voice of Toyo, I couldn’t picture much of the story. For instance, when Toyo and his friend take a day in the city, they flirt with girls. Girls of 1891 would have dressed and acted far differently than they would have in 1915, where the “psychological” setting seems to be. In the same chapter, the Ginza is seemingly mentioned for no other reason than to indicate that it was “all lit up with electric lights”. In 1891? Not. Toyo dutifully follows the bushido teachings of his father but thinks and acts in too contemporary a manner to have been a Japanese boy of this period. Gratz gets it right in some instances, wrong in others. The boys will not shake hands with the Americans, a custom that is alien to their culture (where bowing is a proper greeting), but they hug one another after a significant game win (their culture sees physical contact of any kind as highly inappropriate). The book has some surface enjoyment and may appeal more to male readers. The baseball games, dorm activities and sword-play could easily be of interest to those who play the sport, admire the Samurai tradition, etc. Readers more familiar with historical context will be frustrated by the jumbled nature of the setting, but if some people enjoy it, does it matter? Not my cup of tea, but maybe yours.

“Thoreau at Walden” by John Porcellino from the writings of Henry David Thoreau

I think I was supposed to be charmed by this graphic novel depicting the story of Thoreau’s two years at Walden Pond. I wasn’t. The book is drawn in a simplistic manner that was highly reminiscent of Charles Schultz. The color scheme is black and white with tan shading. I think the idea was to keep the drawings basic so that the reader could focus on the ideas of Thoreau (the majority of the words are direct quotes). Townspeople are sometimes drawn incompletely, sometimes just as bouncing heads, perhaps to visually enforce Thoreau’s isolation. I postulated that the brown shading was an homage to Thoreau’s connection to the earth (or an attempt at creating a historical feel with sepia-toned images?) and the clean line drawings a symbol of his commitment to living with less. But it didn’t work (IMHO). The first problem is that the cartoonish style will not draw in younger readers because the ideas are still Thoreau’s. Older readers won’t want to read this boiled down version of philosophy, either. I disagree with the premise that Thoreau’s ideas can be explained in a drawing of a tree or a leaf. His ideas appear straightforward, but are also layered and subtle, which is what makes his reflections so interesting. The bottom line is that the images in a graphic novel should add something to the words, in this case I think they take away from the concepts. They infer that all you have to do is sit by the water or write in a cabin by candlelight and you will get it. When Thoreau says “A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful feature … it is earth’s eye looking into which the beholder measures the depths of his own nature.” I wanted to see something besides a brown lake with odd little infinity signs floating across it. If my mind is filling in visual images that are not provided in the graphic novel, then something is clearly missing. I think that the author knew this on some level, as he provided a lengthy introduction (written by D.B. Johnson) and an equally lengthy “Panel Discussion” section at the end. If you have to put this many explanations into a graphic novel then you haven’t figured out the power that a good graphic novel can convey. Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis” for instance, only uses black ink drawings, but the images brilliantly create an emotional tone for the words – words and pictures work in a partnership. In this book the words and images seem to create a tension with each other. At times, they become almost comical, with Thoreau looking rotund and having a sagging bottom … further distracting from the text. So, I’m not a fan. Others are welcome to disagree!

“The Luxe” by Anna Godbersen

Gossip girls hit the 19th century in this frothy and fun book that is the first in a three set series. Newcomer Anna Godbersen manages to catch all the loves, lusts and manipulations of New York’s high society with on-the-spot language. As she states in the opening chapter, “They were a society whose chief vocations were to entertain and be entertained, punctuated occasionally by the reinvestment of their vast fortunes in new and ever more lucrative prospects.” The plot unfolds exactly as I expected, given that most of the characters have the depth of Tori Spelling, but the story is a page-turner and the historical “feel” makes it entertaining. At 433 pages it was a remarkably fast read (and includes a 15 page preview of the upcoming sequel, “Rumors”). The chapters are short and are each prefixed with gossipy news items or snippets of letters. This bodice-ripping lite fare celebrates a truly fascinating time in our past. The aptly named “gay nineties” wasn’t just a heyday, it was very much the end of a kind of history. Half a generation before the “modern” times, this would be the last moments for corsets and horse-drawn carriages and gentlemen who left calling cards. The Victorian Age was dying, the Industrial Age was charging ahead like an omnipotent mammoth, and the women in those stuffy receiving rooms were clearly sensing the new winds. They outwardly adhered to the sensibilities of the time but the mentality of 20th century freedoms was making its mark. Amidst the Astors and the Vanderbilts, there were young women who smoked, laughed loudly and did far more than hold hands with their beaus during chaperoned walks along the promenade. This book may heighten the realities of those behind-the-scene behaviors, but it is easy to see flappers emerging from a generation of women who would throw off conventions and live life to the fullest. Glitz may have come in with the 20s, but this was the era of true glamour, of elegance, in a way it would never be again. I liked this book and look forward to the next (although it feels more like a summer beach read…). My one complaint is the cover, which features a woman too old to represent the lead character, and dressed in a way that is belied by the descriptions inside. I realize it may be a subtle hint at the “inner life” of the character, but it’s distracting. This series should be a hit with our chick-lit crowd if they are willing to stretch themselves ~just a little~ to move beyond the prep schools of their current literature.

“Hattie Big Sky” by Kirby Larson

I’m not a fan of historical fiction set in America, but this one got to me. The first young adult novel by Ms. Larson, the idea for this story came from her own family. Surprised to hear that her great-grandmother had been a homesteader in Montana during World War I, she set out to discover how a young woman might have done this on her own. In the course of her research she discovered the struggles faced by many German immigrants during this period and that becomes one of the more compelling plotlines. It was in no way pedantic, but I felt I learned a lot. It is a novel of westward expansion, but the setting, with cars and motorcycles as well as carts and horses, makes for a very fresh take. Hattie Brooks is a delightful lead character and her historically appropriate musings make for an entertaining and satisfying tale. From time to time some of the events seem a tad staged – the evil neighbor is only a mustache away from caricature, and bad things can be anticipated because they happen right when they should. It is Hattie’s voice, however, and her heartfelt letters to a soldier at war and an uncle who took her in which make this story sing. Larson lets the stunning beauty of Montana add to the texture of the prose and woven phrases tend to stick, like “My bounce-around life had taught me that dreams were dangerous things – they look solid in your mind, but you just try to reach for them. It’s like gathering clouds.” The ending was real but was a little open. One could imagine a sequel, or perhaps just an epilogue. Definitely a worthwhile read. Take the journey.

“Elijah of Buxton” by Christopher Paul Curtis

“Watsons Go to Birmingham … 1963” remains one of my favorite books, and Mr. Curtis returns to familiar territory here. Again, he reveals a dark and horrific period in our history with gentleness. His protagonist is “nearly 12 year-old” Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in the Canadian settlement of Buxton. The year is 1860. By making a young boy his narrator, the sadness of events is tinged with the hope and promise of the future. Elijah grows in this tale because of the realities of his mid-nineteenth century environment, but he also plays with his friends and loves his parents and struggles with his schoolwork. Elijah’s grounded and honest voice brings humor and humanity to this novel. Unfortunately, it is yet another book by Curtis that might be more appreciated by adults than kids, many of whom will have to be steered towards it. Elijah is young out of necessity. It is important that he still sees the magic possibilities of the world. However, his age and the picture of a young boy on the cover will keep many teens from picking it up. Younger readers will also not gravitate towards it, as the book is over 300 pages and not paced in such a way as to hold their attention. A pity, as this is an excellent tale. Written in authentic but understandable dialect, Mr. Curtis once again manages to convey a layered story through seemingly simple prose. Elijah’s journey, both external and internal, make a real impact, but it sneaks up on the reader. The story is mostly fictional, but the settlement is real. Historical notes provided by the author as an epilogue give an uplifting emotional sense despite a challenging ending. Credit is given to the author for not providing us so much with the ending we would wish, but an ending that feels real. For those who have enjoyed his previous books, dig in! For those who haven’t, I would say that it’s time to discover a great new talent.

“Skim” by Mariko & Jillian Tamaki

Kimberly is a 10th grade girl in a Catholic school in Canada. Overweight and slightly depressed, she is nick-named “Skim” by her classmates and seeks solace in the practice of Wicca. The setting is 1993, which allows the story to feel contemporary but be freed from constant interactions via computers and cellphones. The entries in this graphic novel are mostly diary-like, with Kim reflecting her frustration with the cliques and shallowness of those around her, while feeling a little lost by not fitting in. She experiences distance from her best friend and a kiss from someone unexpected, which leaves her even more confused and alone. The artwork is excellent, with black and white pen drawings that have great detail but also show whimsy and infer emotional tone. Fainter images of leaves, birds, footsteps in the snow, etc surround the comic-like strips and unite them, creating an overall tone for each of the three “chapters”. The book’s subject matter is mature. With 16 year-old characters, we see issues of sexuality intermingled with smoking, strong language and suicide. Like many teen novels, the majority of adults are dismissed as clearly not understanding where these young women are at. The dialog is light for the 143 page book, but it is a memorable story in terms of the “completeness” of the characters. I think this is a book high school girls would very much enjoy – if they were the kind to pick up graphic novels. Sadly, they are not, so to get this book read it will have to be marketed.

“The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd

An adult book that appeared on the bestseller lists for many weeks, this one had been on my “to read” list for a long time. It did not disappoint. An absolutely lovely, if not magical tale, this tells the story of Lily Owens, an abused girl with a troubled past. Set in South Carolina during the summer of 1964, Lily escapes her father along with a domestic servant of the household and finds refuge in a unique environment. The house she lands in is governed by the life of bees, as is the structure of the book, each chapter detailing social aspects of a bee’s life which are paralleled by the characters. Touching and sad, but ultimately uplifting, this is clearly one of those new classics. The prose is simple but beautifully penned, lyrical in its descriptions. The “inner life” of Lily and the people around her feel startlingly real and immensely powerful. It is definitely a book I continued to think about after I’d finished it, and one that made me want to turn the page – not because of events but to see the development of the characters. In the end, the emotional power of this story really affected me. There is a religious theme but I cannot imagine it would be offensive to those of differing beliefs. The faith of the women in the book is that of survival – the strength that can be found when you find the power of your own heart. The book is fiction, but it reads so much like truth that the author felt compelled to include a detailed interview at the end to describe her source materials. Brava to Ms. Kidd. May her next endeavor be as gratifying.

“The Nature of Jade” by Deb Caletti

In many ways, Jade is your typical 17 year-old Senior. Facing post-high school plans she isn’t fully committed to and watching her friends drift away (as they do during this time of life) she finds solace in watching the elephants from a nearby zoo online at night. Jade is also not your typical teen. She suffers from anxiety disorders that paralyze her, to a degree, and keep her from taking charge of her life. By following up on her connection with elephants, her path crosses that of a young man who carries his own surprising burden. Ms. Caletti uses the same accessible writing here as in her other books. The characters are very contemporary and very real. No one is overly perfect nor a full-fledged monster. The characters, including the elephants, are all well developed and have several layers. Choosing to read this directly after finishing “The Secret Life of Bees” I was surprised at the parallels. Both lead characters are very lost internally, and both books begin each chapter with information on their animals of choice. I truly enjoyed this book and have a new appreciation for elephants having read it. The only minor stumbling block for me was a slight “tidying up” of a rather messy moral dilemma. I’m not sure young folk who read this will be as troubled as adults by the eventual choices made by the characters, although all sides of the issue are represented. As one character, Tess, says, life is really more about the grays than the black and whites. This story shows Jade’s growing appreciation of that fact, but also leaves the readers to mull it for themselves. I liked that this book made me smile and that an upbeat ending was found without being overly tidy. An excellent read and strong recommendation for teen readers.

“A Long Way Gone: Memoir of a Boy Soldier” by Ishmael Beah

I knew of the controversy surrounding this book before I read it, but would have questioned some of the contents in any case. Billed as a memoir of Ishmael Beah, recruited into the Sierra Leone army in his teens, there have been widespread reports about inaccuracies and falsehoods in this tale. As one critic pointed out, the chance of all of these things happening to one person is doubtful. ***SPOILER ALERT*** Certainly, some parts, as I mentioned, are improbable. The most glaring of which is the section in which Ishmael is one hillside away from meeting up with his family, all of them having spent months wandering tremendous distances after their village is destroyed, only to have the family killed just as he runs to meet them. In fiction, we would not blink an eye at this, understanding the nature of a literary work – as nonfiction it raises some doubts. Another issue, to my mind, is what Mr. Beah does *not* say. Early on, he makes a point of talking about how the rebels work to keep villagers nearby as human shields, but once he is in the army Ishmael only talks about attacking villages with nothing but rebels in them. No mention of civilian casualties is made, nor is there any discussion of soldiers raping women, which is highly suspect given that rapes are commonplaces in these situations. One sentence, a vague one in a book of extreme detail, mentions a blood-covered gym where a school dance was taking place. It is never made clear what Ishmael’s role was in this killing. Mr. Beah does recount with blunt phrasing the deaths of friends and strangers, but near the end he adds the death of one friend only in footnote, noting that the boy sat near a wall with a hole in his head. Was it friendly fire? We may never know. Lastly, for a book about being a soldier, the story focuses far more on the running from war than on the actual soldiering, which takes up less than the last third of the book. The inconsistencies and inaccuracies can be easily explained in many ways: post-traumatic stress, survivor guilt, Mr. Beah’s clear need to be the hero of his own piece and his role as a spokesman for these children, which certainly could lead to the tendency to elaborate or combine stories for affect. This is, as he clearly points out, a story-telling culture. The question in my mind is: does it matter? Some things are very clear. Mr. Beah *was* recruited into the military at a very young age. He was given drugs (a common practice in Sierra Leone) and his entire family was slaughtered in a civil war that killed more than 50,000 people over 10 years. He certainly was witness to, and most likely a participant in, some horrific acts. If we accept that this story does have a truth to it for far too many children around the globe, then it can be considered a worthwhile read for anyone who wants to open their eyes to the daily tragedies that affect many on this planet. I believe that it is not important whether every event in this book happened to Ishmael Beah, but it is critical for teens of this country to understand what it means when they see news reports of ethnic fighting in far-flung nations. Mr. Beah’s story is accessible, if not brutal in parts, and makes a strong statement about the unending nature of war. I strongly recommend it for teen and adult readers, but caution that it is “too much” for younger readers and will be fully understood only by those who can look past the detailed descriptions of massacres to see the overlying points. A painful read at times, make sure to follow it with something to lift your spirits.

”After Tupac & D Foster” by Jacqueline Woodson

Contemporary author Jacqueline Woodson relates “slices of life” in her books in ways that are crystal clear. In reading them, you often feel like you are sitting on a street corner watching the scenes unfold in front of you. Without doubt, this is why I find her books so tremendously engaging. “After Tupac & D Foster” is a stream of consciousness story that feels more like memoir than fiction. Recalling a year of her childhood (the lead character is never named, so I just put Ms. Woodson in the story as the narrator) we see three girls in a Brooklyn neighborhood bonding as sisters. Other than growing up a tad, little happens to them other than the short scenes we see of bonding and sisterhood. The title is symbolic of the book’s theme – Tupac was shot, sent to prison and then shot again; D Foster is one of the three girls who simply “roams” into the lives of the other two, then disappears leaving her own mark. The title could have easily included a third character, “Tash”. The older brother of Neeka, his absence is, in many ways, filled by Tupac and D. Between the ages of 12 and 13, Neeka, D and our unnamed narrator sit on a stoop and try to find a “Big Purpose” to their lives. This is not your typical novel. The characters don’t grow significantly or change dramatically by the end, but their observations are engaging. Instead of the characters going on a journey, I felt like I had done so as the reader – being invited into their world for a short time. I felt richer for it, but am not sure that the middle-school readers this book is aimed at will fully “get it”. Reception thus far has been cooler than that for Ms. Woodson’s top hit, “If You Come Softly”. Like Angela Johnson’s “Heaven”, this book is just a little jewel along the road. Hopefully, some thoughtful readers will come across it and enjoy.

“Dramarama” by E. Lockhart

I should have written this book. It is, essentially, pages from my diary. Because it hit so close to home that I can’t truly say if it was well-written or not, but I sense it was “decent” teen fare without the brilliance of one of her newer books, “The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks”. Once again, the setting is an exclusive school and the characters are fairly literate older teens. This time, the setting is a theatre summer camp and the characters are wanna-be stars. Sarah Paulson, awkward, lonely and bored with her suburban existence, makes a friend with the closeted gay teen, Demi. Demi is a black boy in a white world who has perfected the ability to disappear into the high school world of faded jeans and noncommittal sports shirts. Sarah and Demi both apply and get into a summer arts program akin to Interlochen. Once there, they experience the powerful ups and downs associated with theatre. Sarah, redubbed as “Sadye” falls in love with the rush, struggles with the competition and aches to find a place to belong. She is a newbie in this atmosphere and makes many missteps. The reader is left to wonder whether her opinions, correct but disruptive, should be voiced or not. It is a dilemma faced not only by me and many teens, but by those at HBW, who are encouraged to speak out, even when doing so makes others uncomfortable. I find some private joy in a resolution that encourages being your own person, a theme common in these types of books. To Ms. Lockhart’s credit, she sticks to the reality of the situation, and relationships don’t always develop as you would wish. The nice thing about her books, and her strong-willed protagonists, is that they live with the consequences of their actions. I liked this book and see it as having fairly wide appeal for any kid who lives and breathes the theatre ‘thang. I recommend it for a fast, fun read.

“What They Found: Love On 145th Street” by Walter Dean Myers

Mr. Myers has won countless awards, and it is easy to see why. This collection of 15 short stories, following up on his previous collection about 145th Street, is accessible, warm, simple and touching. Love is explored in all its forms. We see a good deal of loss but a tremendous spirit and heart within each of the characters. The first story, about a family and a beauty shop, sets a framework for lives intertwined. Much like Judith Ortiz Cofer’s “An Island Like You”, these folks live in a community where culture supports them as much as anything else. This is a neighborhood where the insiders know one another and accept the down-and-out as part of their family. Alternating between deeply serious and hysterically funny, the language would make this a good middle-school book, but the situations place it a bit higher. We see familial love, new love, crushes and heartbreak, all wrapped in the quilt that makes up Harlem. I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Myers once. He is quiet, gentle and kind, and these stories not only speak of love between people, but the love he has of his community. It is to his credit that his writing feels fresh and contemporary, speaking to young and old. I recommend this book to any who enjoy short stories, as I do. I feel they are often overlooked, but stories distilled can be very pure and rich, as these are. Enjoy.

“Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy” by Gary D. Schmidt

“…the soft new day shrugged itself awake, tried on amethyst and lavender for a while, and finally decided on a pale yellow.”

Such is the rich text of this short, but dense novel. It paints a deep picture of a real time and place, of a real event in America’s past. The story is one of the many shameful ones in our history, one where the lives of blacks are destroyed by their white neighbors, but the events of the story seem to take a back seat to the internal journey of the lead character, Turner Buckminster and the stunning setting of New England in 1912. The son of a new minister in Phippsburg, Maine, he struggles with his identity as a “minister’s son”. Making friends with Lizzie Griffin, a resident of nearby Malaga Island, puts him and his family at odds with a town determined to oust the black community of the island and pursue financial dreams of creating a tourist spot for vacationers. Many of the characters have unexpected twists and turns, but the motivation for choices is often left unexplored. Events simply happen, with little through-line to connect them. More lasting, for me, were the symbolic descriptions of the landscape and the ever-changing sea. Whales, for instance, become the metaphor for strength and understanding. As an avid kayaker myself, I felt a strong kinship with Turner as he began to find solace in those jewel-toned waters. This looks like a young adult novel (with 13 year-old protagonists) and may not appeal to older readers, but I think that the book will be most appreciated by those who have “lived a little” and can see the subtleties woven throughout this work. It is the best, I think, of Mr. Schmidt’s books, and received both the Newbery and Printz honors. For thoughtful readers, it is definitely a worthwhile read.

“Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert

Again, the summer brought me a significant parallel. Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, “Eat, Pray, Love” and the movie “Julie & Julia” both featured the true stories of just-30 women who needed to make a change in their lives. Both women, featured in print and in film, have been widely criticized as being selfish, self-centered and whiney. I personally didn’t find either of them to be egocentric and understood their need to forge a new path. There is something that happens, I believe, when you hit your 30s. In our youth, we dream of ideal but simplified careers. “I want to be a Veterinarian” or “I want to be a Pilot” are common themes. We may dream of changing the world or of finding “the one”. These dreams are still possible in your 20s, when escape from schooling occurs and the world lies open and waiting. But, by your 30s, reality sets in. No matter what career you are in, it is usually not as glamorous as you expected, and, for many of us, not very fulfilling. The person who made the world light up for you at 22 has changed, as have you, and the idea of sticking in for the long haul looks more scary than comforting. So, what do you do? Many of us settle, giving in to the momentum of car payments, security and the expectations of society. These two women decided to try something different. For one year, Julie Powell cooked her way through Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and blogged about it. This fulfilled her need to write and challenged her to “Be Brave” as Ms. Child would often extol. Elizabeth Gilbert had a similar impulse, but different needs. A lover of yoga, a Christian and a writer, she was desperate to find inner peace, to truly commune with God. She took a year off from work and spent four months in Italy, four months in India and four months in Indonesia. The idea was to spoil herself in Italy and pursue her life dream of learning Italian. In India, she would spend six weeks in a meditative Ashram then travel the country, and in Indonesia she would commune with a Holy Man and find balance between the pleasure of Italy and the devotion of India.

In many ways, Ms. Gilbert stuck to the plan. She learned Italian, learned to relax and learned to eat with joy in Italy. Her arch sense of humor and on-point observations become instantly clear in this first journey, detailed in diary-like entries that chronicle her inner path as much as her astonishing weight gain. She “hits the wall”, so to speak, in India, where she must finally confront the insecurities and inner demons that constantly nag at her consciousness. Extending her time at the Ashram for the full four months, she repeatedly struggles against the same issues. Over time her restless fighting lands her with no other choice than to “let it go”. And she does. By the time she reaches Indonesia she is able to take many of the unexpected events in stride. Her new-found understanding of her own psyche leads to love, a “crossing over” she began in Italy.

I found the book delightful and engaging. I saw much of myself in this woman and enjoyed the grounded nature at the core of this “flight of fancy”. The spiritual exploration was particularly poignant to me and I admire Gilbert for putting the importance of this experiment ahead of the nay-sayers and those ever-present expectations of society. The more I read, the more I liked it, and I recommend it to any person who is willing to take that step into the unknown. That, as they say, is a true act of faith.

“Th1rteen R3asons Why” by Jay Asher

This could be another depressing book about the painful topic of teen suicide if not for a fairly brilliant literary device. Hannah Baker is dead, and one of her classmates, Clay Jensen, arrives home one day to find a box of audiotapes at his doorstep. When he plays the tapes, he is shocked to hear Hannah’s voice. She says the tapes will explain her suicide, placing blame on the thirteen people who caused her life to spiral out of control. Each “chapter” of the book then covers one side of each tape, the story of a person who did something to hurt her or did something they shouldn’t have which ended up causing pain to others. Despite an overabundance of bad luck for Hannah, it does ring true as far as the teen experience goes. It is not an easy book to read, but the structure makes you want to turn the page. Much like Clay, you want to know “the answer”. And this is key – while many events are spelled out, many injuries (big and small) are detailed, at the end this is a suicide. Clay’s questions, and those of the reader, will remain unanswered. It is not the most brilliantly written book. There are no great literary turns of phrase, and Clay’s memories, intertwined sentence-by-sentence with Hannah’s reflections, can sometimes make for a dizzying read. But it is compelling. Asher doesn’t shy from the realities of teen world – the distance many feel from their parents, the isolation that makes every kid have a monologue of sorts in their own head. He also doesn’t absolve Hannah. Like any suicide, this one prompts sadness, guilt, confusion and anger. Mr. Asher allows his main character to feel all of these emotions, and more, never cleaning up or even resolving the churning feelings that are brought up by this tale. I read the book over two days, but felt tense the entire time … in many ways I was over-identifying with Clay, who experiences this entire event in a single night and is stressed and sickened by what he hears. The book was, however, a favorite in TAB last year. (I **really** need to read these TAB books before the students do!!) It is not a middle school book (due primarily to the story of #12), but hey, if it spoke to those who read it, who am I to say no? A worthwhile book to read, perhaps a more important book to discuss. As Hannah would say – it’s your turn.

"The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

Well, at the very least, Mr. Anderson deserves kudos for an extremely long title. “The Astonishing Life …” has won a significant number of awards this year, along with accolades and very favorable reviews from many respected journals. There is now an award-winning sequel and rumors of more to come. It is, without question, a brilliantly written story. But is it good? It is … in the sense that it is the kind of book that will give English teachers a downright shiver of pleasure. Unfortunately, I think it is the type of book that really will be appreciated by mature readers and will leave most of the students forced to read it gagging with frustration. Densely packed with words that would have been on the SAT in the 18th century if there had been an SAT in the 18th century, “The Astonishing Life …” tells the story of Octavian, a black slave belonging to a very offbeat Scientific Society in Boston during the years leading up to the American Revolution. The language is as accurate as one could imagine, and the font even mimics writing styles of the time (making double “ffs” look like “ss”). Painting the historic detail with an exacting brush, I learned a huge amount about that period of which I had been completely ignorant of before. Hardly a chapter passed where I was not gasping with surprise or having an “a-ha” moment. Seeing this world through Octavian’s eyes provides an even more interesting depth to the work. The challenges for me were the pacing and the narrative voice. I was 120 pages in before I felt like I wasn’t just “pushing through” and the aforementioned “Pox Party” didn’t materialize until well into the 200s – in a 300 page book. I also never warmed up to Octavian even though I felt deeply sad reading about his trials and tribulations. But it was the sadness you feel when you see a story on the news, not the kind of gut-wrenching angst you feel when pulled into a story. The beginning, where we are seeing the world through Octavian’s very young eyes, is simply confusing. As he gets older, I began to understand the setting and concept, but at the moment of his greatest loss, the narrative voice switches to another character and we see Octavian’s pain through letters written by a soldier. It is a phenomenal literary device, to actually take the character’s voice away at a time when his hurt is so great that he cannot form words. The problem is that it distances the reader, as much of the book seems to do. Was I intrigued by the view of pre-Revolutionary War America and the insights into the slavery of the time? Yes. Could I appreciate that this is, bottom line, great literature? Yes. Did I enjoy reading this book? No. Will I read the sequel? I don’t know. I do feel like I got a lot out of it, but it felt more like reading a nonfiction book than a story I could get lost inside of. I’ve heard quite a number of adults say they were deeply impressed by the book, but no young folk, yet (although a number of kids told me they picked up the book and started reading it, then put it down…not a good sign). I guess this one is a wait-and-see as to whose appetites it will appeal to.

"The Color Purple" by Alice Walker

TAB member CK writes one of her final reviews for us -- its brevity saying it all:

It left a very satisfied feeling at the end.

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

What a great book. I literally couldn’t put it down. Reading it over spring break, I found myself one day saying “I need to stop and put a load of laundry in”, “I need to stop and grab lunch”, “I need to stop and go get the mail”. But I couldn’t stop. I simply had to turn the page and see what happened next. I finished the book in two days.
Frankie is a young woman in a man’s world. Named by a father who wanted a son, we find her at an exclusive prep academy in New England at the beginning of her 10th grade year. Unlike many teen protagonists, Frankie is both attractive and somewhat confident. After being unnoticed in 9th grade, she blossoms over the summer and finds herself invited to the “cool people” parties as her Sophomore year begins. She comes across an “initiation” by accident and quickly realizes the secret society of her father’s time still exists … but the society is male only. Being of rather high intelligence and having a curious nature, she quickly comes up with a plan to insinuate herself in the group … but I will say no more so that you can enjoy the clever twists and turns.
Like a female version of Laurie Halse Anderson’s “Twisted”, this book has short, accessible chapters. Frankie’s voice is engaging, but older readers will also appreciate Frankie’s view of the world, shaped by authors like Dorothy Parker and P.G. Wodehouse (which would seem unusual for a teen, but put in the context of the prep school, it works). She brings her own unique spin to things, which makes the story all that more enjoyable. This book has more meat to it than Lockhart’s other, fluffier, chick-lit novels, and has already been a hit with both guys and girls. A satisfactory ending doesn’t tie up every loose end but does seem realistic, and works with the overall story. A definite “favorite” of my reads this year.

"The Oxford Project" by Peter Feldstein and Stephen G. Bloom

One of the coolest books I have read in a while, “The Oxford Project”, won an Alex Award (Best Adult Books for Young Adult Readers). It is powerful, unique and thought-provoking.
In 1984, Peter Feldstein set out on a mission. He wanted to photograph each and every member of the town of Oxford, Iowa. A Midwest township of some 600 souls, he had them stand in his Main Street studio sans makeup or posing and simply snapped an image. It would be remarkable enough to have achieved this feat – except for one thing. Twenty years later, he came back and did it all over again. This time he brought noted editor Stephen Bloom with him, and the town’s residents (now standing in front of a plain cinder block wall) related short descriptions of themselves as they were photographed.
The result isn’t just stunning, it is breath-taking. Like a less-dark version of the “Post Secret” books, this beautifully assembled coffee-table book gives readers a tremendous insight into the humanity that makes up this country. Elements you would expect (they like meat, guns, and many of the participants do not have college educations) and ones you would not (there are Buddhists, gays and lots of Democrats) help to shatter the idea that “rural” America can be either dismissed or defined. The simple photos are produced with care, and the concise biographies are like haikus, painting pictures of the complexity and depth of life at all levels. Laugh out loud moments mix with resonating sadness to create a rich and powerful tapestry. I was so moved by this book, in fact, that it took more than a month to read it. I had to take in only a few pages at a time and digest them before moving on … and then I found myself flipping back and forth to discover the amazing connections in this community. I have had a difficult time getting kids to pick it up, but in the last few weeks I noticed many of them doing what I had done initially – glancing at the book, flipping through the pages, then being transfixed by an image or story. Take some time to explore this world that is, truly, our own.

"How I Learned Geography" by Uri Shulevitz

A Caldecott Honor for 2009, this is another charming picture book by Uri Shulevitz. With more words than “Snow” this book still manages to use little text to convey large ideas. In this case a young boy living in poverty has his world expanded when his father brings home a wall-sized map from the market. The far-off lands, with their foreign sounding names and brightly colored borders, become food for the boy’s soul. He has adventures and sees wonderful sights, all from his imaginings, as he learns about each new land. The soft water-colors in rich hues tell the story as clearly as the words do. This is definitely a picture book that could be read and re-read to children.

"Garmann’s Summer" by Stian Hole

Winning a Batchelder Honor (Best Foreign Translation) this picture book is laugh out loud funny – for grownups. Children will enjoy the decoupage artwork style, blending photos, realistic drawings and “silly” faces, while adults will enjoy the softly tongue-in-cheek angst of a young boy spending his “final summer” (before entering school) with his sweet but offbeat old aunts. Mixing the old with the young provides some of the humor, but seeing Garmann’s interpretation of events brings a knowing smile to those of us who remember a time when the world was impossibly big and older people a tad mysterious. This one is a book that parents will enjoy as much as kids.

"Bird" by Zetta Elliott, illustrated by Shadra Strickland

Winning the Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award for “New Talent”, this simple little book conveys a sad and realistic story in a very gentle way. Mehkai, nicknamed “Bird”, lives in the city and likes to draw. His older brother Marcus, his idol, has become hooked on drugs and has been thrown out of the house. As Bird focuses on how to be strong amidst life’s harsh goodbyes, he finds solace in the birds, who circle free in multi-colored skies all around him. With a good community of family and friends, it is clear that Bird will survive because he looks upwards to see the good in life. The drawings, in watercolor and colored pencils, help to enrich a touching story that can bring a tear or two to your eye.

"A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams" by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Another Caldecott Honor book from 2009, this picture book biography would need older sensibilities to appreciate it, I think. The story of poet William Carlos Williams (National Book Award Winner, 1950), we initially see a young boy who *loves* words. Written with a true nod to the style of Mr. Williams, the artwork consists of images that look like they are drawn by a young boy, and mixed with ephemera one might find on the desk of a writer. In one illustration, young Willie listens to the sound of nature around him as words run like water down the stream beside him. Complete with a nice little biography and timeline at the end of the book, his poems are blended with the artwork as the story progresses. I learned to appreciate this man for his rather unremarkable life and clean poetry as I flipped through these pages. If nothing else, I learned that this was truly “the guy next door” and not an erudite scholar despite a significant amount of schooling (he was a small-town doctor). If you would like an insight into the author of some tremendously familiar poems, then check out this book.

"Bodies From the Ice" by James M. Deem

Winner of this year’s Sibert Award for Best Informational Book, this one got a “cool” from a teenage boy (a sure sign of success). With clearly stated text that is age appropriate yet not challenging, this book covers the impact of global warming. In a nutshell, the glaciers are melting, so we are finding…bodies. It’s a unique look into our history as bodies are freed from their well-preserved status in glacial ice. Mummified corpses from a hundred years ago and many hundreds of years ago are being found and giving us real insight into everything from diets of humans past to the religious customs of cultures long gone. Illustrated with a “goodly” amount of photos and diagrams, this book is almost as much of a pleasure to scan as it is to read. Those interested in science or history will be intrigued, and even light-footers like me (I uttered at least one out loud “UGH”) can appreciate the silver lining being afforded to those who wish to understand humanity a little better. Similar to Loree Griffin Burns’ “Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and the Science of Ocean Motion” this book gives a fascinating look at sociology by examining what we leave behind.

TAB Reviews!

Our most prolific reviewer has three more entries, and we have a new reviewer this week --

MJ writes:
“Impossible” by Nancy Werlin. This book is a great mix of realistic fiction and fantasy. Though it has mature themes, most middle schoolers should read it.

CK writes:
“Blackbox” by Julie Schumacher. I really enjoyed this book. The chapters were really short which made it easier for me to read it with the busy schedule I have. I loved how this book was written. Schumacher really makes me hate Elena’s parents and feel as desperate as Elena did. I wished there was more at the ending though. A sequel would be nice.
“The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold. It was really good for the majority of the book but at the end it started droning on and on. The last line was kind of cheesy, too.
“How To Ruin My Summer Vacation” by Simone Elekes. It truly captures what it’s like to be a teen. I absolutely loved this book. It is a must-read for any teen girl.

Censorship

I’m about to include three book reviews for graphic novels I was not able to keep here at H-B Woodlawn. When this happens, I send the books to the public library. It’s a very hard call. I believe in the First Amendment and I believe in the American Library Bill of Rights. I have a reputation as a librarian who has “anything and everything” on the shelves and while that is not completely true, my “line” is a lot farther out than it is for many librarians. The bottom line for me is not the content, but the “defendability” of an item. In other words, I don’t mind strong language, adult situations, etc. if I feel the book is well-reviewed, from a respected publisher, on a few recommended/award lists and has a “purpose” in our collection. Over the years, I’ve gladly defended books about human sexuality, books with a certain kind of art, books where soldiers swear (really! they do???), books about loving relationships and books about how hard it is to grow up. But sometimes, on rare occasion, I find books that I simply cannot include. They may be good, laudable even, but they are not “defendable” and I therefore turn them over to our public library which, thankfully, has an appreciation for the gifts that can be found in the written word. Read on.

“Night Fisher” by R. Kikuo Johnson

It’s rare that I choose to “de-select” a book by sending it to the Public Library, but this is one occasion, and it was not an easy decision. “Night Fisher” is a graphic novel about Loren Foster, a haole teen (white) living in Hawaii. His father is a dentist obsessed with maintaining the yard of their house and critical of Loren when he brings home a “B”. Loren is a good boy, but, at 17, drifting. Attempting to find some direction or meaning in his life, he reconnects with a childhood friend who is into batu (crystal meth) and begins a mild downward spiral. Respected reviewers from Booklist and Publisher’s Weekly gave it glowing reviews, and it isn’t hard to see why. There are deep metaphors here, layers that are still occurring to me days after finishing the book. The title, “Night Fisher” is only referred to in the book’s opening sequence, but the idea that this is a young man surrounded by darkness, unsure of what is out there or how to get to it, is apt. Loren asks his father how he knows about knot-tying. He asks another adult how he knows about changing tires. Loren is a young man who wants to know about things, but life seems to be eluding him. He clears out the jungle of weeds in his yard only to have it grow back again. He spends an evening with a young woman, only to have it turn sour when he can’t be honest with his classmates about the nature of their encounter. While Loren is absolutely understandable, he is also a bit of a wuss. He bounces from wanting the girl to hating the girl, from staying away from his druggie friend to committing crimes, while stoned, with the friend. The entire story is also very egocentric from Loren’s point of view. Some of the dialog is faded out, other dialog runs off the page. The message is clear. What other people have to say is unimportant, less important anyway, than what is going on in Loren’s head. And there is a lot of randomness in there. He flashes on naked breasts when discussing Las Vegas (apparently, many Hawaiians move to Las Vegas) and his father appears to do dental work on him as punishment for getting arrested. How much of this is real and how much of it is his interpretation of events is never made particularly clear. It’s not that I object to the serious tone or mature subject matter. We have many books that contain these kinds of themes. It’s that the book has no seeming moral center – the bad guy gets into M.I.T. and the good guy remains lost. That may be a fact of life, but it makes an already dicey book less defensible should someone object. This is the reality of school librarianship – you can have the edgy books, but you have to be able to defend them. As far as this book is concerned, feel free to check it out … at your neighborhood public library.

“Teenagers From Mars” by Rick Spears & Rob G

This book came in with “Night Fisher” and has similar edgy issues. Drugs, violence and sex are prominent in the book – but I like it a lot better. And the message is clear. The “message” of this book is that censorship is bad. Bad, bad, bad. Meet Macon, a lost 18 year-old dying of asphyxiation at his local Mall-Mart. When a 13 year-old kid he has befriended gets in trouble for trying to buy a comic book at the store, the manager decides to ban all comic books for fear of being charged with selling pornography. A fight between Macon and the manager ensues and Macon is fired. From there, the situation continues to escalate into a town-wide hysteria by book banners. Along the way, Macon meets Madison, a determined anarchist who helps him “fight the man”. The book is written very tongue-in-cheek, with the occasional wink at the reader to acknowledge that this is a comic book about banning comic books. The art is also very well-done, visual gags being clear with the uptight establishment guys. Unfortunately, this is another title that will have to go to the Public Library. I loved it – I did. I laughed, I appreciated not only the message but the humor … but the “pipe up the butt” of the Mayor was the penstroke too far. Again, though I tend to be limited less than other librarians, there is a line, and this one crosses it, unfortunately. Who knows? Maybe I can tell kids to go to the public library for such fare, and that will help bridge the gap for them as they leave us. Read on, and power to the people.

“The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch” by Neil Gaiman & Michael Zulli

This is the third graphic novel I had to give up (it was a gift from another school). I really went back and forth on keeping it for a while. The tale is a typically dark and funny one by master storyteller Neil Gaiman (now, “NEWBERY WINNER” Neil Gaiman, how cool is that?) and is clearly a graphic novel for adults. A group of thirty-somethings go for an outing in London. Like many meanderings by such folks, this one strays to the more off-beat entertainments, as our crew finds themselves in a bizarre underground circus of sorts. The realistic dialog grounds a fantastical tale and the stunningly beautiful watercolors by Zulli (think “Sandman”) enrich every page. Proceeding from one cavern to the next, our audience finds side-show performers and magicians; entertainers who delight in disturbing and challenging the psyche. So as not to give anything else away, I will stop with the plot synopsis at this point. The problem with the book? Nudity. To be specific, naked breasts on a woman in a nun’s habit. While I fully understand the context of it, this becomes hard to defend in a school library. As breasts continue to become prominent on the following pages, I became less and less sure that I could keep the book here. My assistant suggested the “cover ‘em with a marker” method that I have, sadly, used in the past, but the artwork here is too lovely, and my chicken scratches would have marred it. Perhaps if this were Europe, and we had healthier attitudes about the human body. But we don’t. And so, off to the public library it goes. By all means, check it out next time you are there.

“The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman

Oh my, oh my, oh my. First, kudos to the Newbery committee for finally finding the “cool”. Second, don’t we love Neil Gaiman? Don’t we? Really? What a delightful, fun, sad, adventuresome, touching, scary book this is. Apparently begun as a short story about a boy who lives in a cemetery, the tale now covers the entire childhood of the boy known as “Bod” who comes to live in an ancient and crumbling cemetery under devastating circumstances. “Bod” is raised by ghosts and … others … but the magic of this book is subtly drawn, with the emotions and the visceral feel being paramount. Not since Peter S. Beagle’s “A Fine and Private Place” has a novel so gentle and reverently portrayed the world of the dead through the eyes of the living. As always, it is the reflection of who we are, and what life is, that shines through in this analysis. And Neil Gaiman’s prose is, of course, stunning. A sample:
“A graveyard is not normally a democracy, and yet death is the great democracy, and each of the dead had a voice, and an opinion, as to whether the living child should be allowed to stay, and they were determined to be heard, that night.
It was late autumn when the daybreak was long in coming. Although the sky was still dark, cars could now be heard starting up further down the hill, and as the living folk began to drive to work through the misty night-black morning, the graveyard folks talked about the child that had come to them, and what was to be done. Three hundred voices. Three hundred opinions.”
I often tell kids that good writing is like a painting, and this book is like an impressionist work, with shadings that continue to spin and move on every page. It is a rich book, and one that I dearly hope will be read. I often make predictions as to which Newbery winners will become “classics”. I am often wrong. I hope that this time, I’m right. This book deserves to be read. And savored. And chewed on. Bon appetit.

“Clay” by David Almond

David Almond is one of those British writers whose work can be intriguing. To this day, “Skellig” is one of my favorite books. But Mr. Almond is also *very* British and sometimes his flights of fancy can be so fanciful that they leave me somewhat lost. This was the case with “Kit’s Wilderness”. “Clay” falls somewhere between those two books. This is the story of Davie, a rough and tumble Catholic boy in northwest England. The tale takes place in the small town of Felling and is somewhat lost in time. It could be the 1950s or today. Like many of Almond’s books, the details seem to fall away, giving weight to the “feel” of things rather than specifics. Davie and his friend Geordie fight with the “proddy boys” (Protestants) and have simple lives that encompass church, school, and mucking about in the outdoors. Things get moving when the mysterious Stephen Rose is sent to live with his addled aunt Mary. There are rumors about Stephen Rose, with threads of death and madness in his family. Stephen quickly centers in on Davie, choosing him as the conduit for his visions and his magic. Stephen fashions creatures from clay and uses Davie to bring them to life. Is it real? Again, hard to say. David Almond has a way of making many of his books feel like dreams. The supernatural happens in such a subtle manner that neither the characters nor the readers can be sure of their experiences. On one hand, I liked the book. It is rich with religious symbolism and layered with meaning, on the other hand, it simply wasn’t a page turner (for me … male readers might feel differently). The local speech is written phonetically, making it extremely hard to understand at times. That “ether-like” quality so prevalent in Almond’s books is overwhelming here. I kept feeling like the plot was something I was chasing through mists. At one point, I realized I had somehow missed a major plotline … and I truly didn’t know where in the book that it had happened. Like many of David Almond’s books, I don’t know that this one will garner a large audience, but it is a book with “atmosphere”. Those familiar with the dialect and/or the Catholic imagery may find the book intriguing. For me, as much as I appreciated the aura, I eventually found it a bit of a chore to finish.

TAB Reviews

Again, CK leads the pack. Her latest reviews:

“How to Ruin My Teenage Life” by Simone Elkeles
It was an *awesome* book that truly shows what it’s like to be a teen.

“Something Girl” by Beth Goobie
I really liked this book. It gave me an insight as to what it’s like to be abused, by your own father even. It’s something I can’t imagine happening to me. This book really makes you thankful for the family you have.