Oceans 13

George Clooney, Brad Pitt, etc.  Cons, thieves, Vegas, twists.  No better or worse than the other two, just a fun, airy way to spend a couple of hours.  I was going to say, "Yay, I finally finished the Oceans franchise" but now there is Oceans 8.  Definitely looking forward to exploring the X chromosome version.

The Giver

Somehow this 2014 film slipped by me.  (To be honest, a lot of things have slipped by me in the past few years).  Since it got very iffy reviews I didn't put it high on the list.  That was a mistake.  In my humble opinion, it is great.  Strong cast and well directed, there is little to pick on.  The struggle, I think, is a typical one.  When you have an award-winning, classic book, people who love the book will never like the film version because a two hour movie just can't capture all the subtleties of a book.  And for those who haven't read the book (yeah, you should really read the book) you might feel a little lost.  In this shorter film there isn't a lot of time given to exposition, so the viewers have to jump right in.  It's an amazing book and there is a reason it is still being read all these years later.  The issues it deals with are complex and film isn't always the best medium for complexity.  That being said, the director (Phillip Noyce) does a good job of finding the right balance.  He incorporates modern news footage into the "memory" sequences which gives context to the messages the Giver is trying to share with Jonas but he also keeps the pace up.  For me, the film works because it honors the ideas and concepts of the book but allows the film to be a different entity and that, I think, is the best you can do when taking a book to film.  As long as you can appreciate the difference between a movie and a book, this is totally worth the time.  (PS, on a very similar note, check out the Wonder film).

Coco

In addition to reading a little and writing a lot, I am using the summer to explore the treasures that are APL DVDs.  Coco, winner of last year's animated film Oscar, was the most recent delight.  And a delight it is.  Visually stunning, fresh and layered, this one is a film which can really be appreciated by the entire family.  Demystifying death by exploring the Dios de la Muerte celebrations of Mexico, the movie touches on deep topics with a sensitive brush.  The hugely engaging and fully dimensional lead character, Miguel, feels so real he could step off the screen and be one of any of the kids who play ball in the street on my block.  With enough twists to keep me engaged (I didn't see most of them coming) and a well-thought out script I fully enjoyed this contemporary, clever tale.

"Snuff" by Terry Pratchett

I got this book through a series of happenstances.  I found out at the last minute that Sir Terry Pratchett was doing his "final book tour" and would be in DC at the end of the week.  Days later I was at the booktalk and had dug up the funds to get a signed copy of the book from, and picture with, the author.  I treasure that photo, when Mr. Pratchett said I must be a librarian, as I had the Orangutan hair!  Unfortunately life intervened and the book sat on a shelf for nearly a decade.  I finally had time to read it this summer but I have struggled with it.  I have read none of the "Men At Arms" series of the Discworld novels and haven't, in fact, read any Discworld novels in nearly 20 years.  Jumping in at the middle as it were, I tried to catch up with the many characters and histories, including a version of Ankh-Morpork which seemed to be more Steam Punk than the mythical world I remember.  That being said, the character of Sam Vines was perfect for me in this place and time.  Sam Vines is a strong but flawed leader who is forced to take a vacation with his much smarter wife and inquisitive son.  I literally picked this book up on the first day of retirement when I was feeling a little lost.  Vimes' struggles matched my own.  Sir Terry's prose also remains excellent.  Take this line:  "Vimes also indulged in a rare cigar because, well, what good is a snooker room without smoke twisting among the lights and turning the air a desolate blue, the color of dead  hopes and lost chances?"  It is that prose, and his biting social commentary (this book features a group of creatures considered to be somehow "lesser" in the society, a perfect lesson for America in 2018) which made Sir Terry Pratchett a brilliant literary addition to the modern canon of fiction.  Bravo and RIP.  You are missed.

"A Skinful of Shadows" by Frances Hardinge

Honest to goodness if my life was a little different I would have sat down in a big comfy chair to read this and not gotten up until it was done.  At 415 pages it isn't short but it is very, very good.  Ms. Hardinge takes the troubled times of Charles I in England and interweaves them with a gothic tale of soul-eaters.  The result is a tale which is unexpected and engages.  The story unfolds around central character Makepeace, a Puritan by birth and heretic by nature.  Contrary and strong-willed, it is her unshakeable core which allows her to survive the unthinkable.  The world-building here is without flaw and the story weaves in such a way as to pull the reader in.  A page-turner with complex language and imagery I was surprised that this was a Middle School pick but an advanced reader will appreciate the richness of the narrative.  Makepeace is committed to survival -- a trait I love in a heroine.  Brava to Ms. Hardinge for taking a mystical creature in a strange time and making her feel dimensional and real.  A worthy, delicious read.

"The Seventh Most Important Thing" by Shelley Pearsall

Another quiet book about a young boy coping with loss, this one had a surprise for me -- it is based on a true story!  Kind of.  The main character, the inciting incident, etc. are all fictional.  The subject, however, James Hampton, and his artistic creation, are real.  In the novel, a boy named Arthur Owens takes a violent action against a man he perceives to be homeless.  The complexities of the action, of Arthur, and of James Hampton, however, make for a revealing, healing tale.  Arthur escapes prison for his crime and is allowed a chance to make up for his actions.  The assignments he is given are mysterious to him and the lessons are subtle, more allusions than pedantic.  The thread of the book is one of discovery.  Along with Arthur, the reader goes on an internal journey to learn what redemption can mean.  Sweet, touching and unexpected.  Worth the read.  For more on James Hampton and his work, see:  https://americanart.si.edu/artist/james-hampton-2052

"The Stars Beneath Our Feet" by David Barclay Moore

Mix Jason Reynolds' "The Boy in the Black Suit" with a healthy dose of Jacqueline Woodson's lyric style and you get a sense of the gentle novel about a boy struggling with the violent death of his older brother in Harlem's rougher neighborhoods.  Wallace, aka "Lolly", is thoughtful and sweet.  Most of the tale is told through his internal reflections as he uses the construction of Lego buildings to salve the wound of emptiness left by his brother, Jermaine.  Mr. Moore does a great job portraying the cycles of grief -- the anger, guilt and more.  Add in a host of interesting and unexpected characters and you have a story which meanders more than moves but it will touch your heart.  This winner of the Coretta Scott King Steptoe Award for New Talent is promising.  There are some questionable jumps in the narrative but this is a minor complaint.  The story isn't about A to Z, it is about feelings and those feelings take Lolly where they take him -- physically and emotionally.  The voices of each character are well-rounded and compelling.  I look forward to more works by Mr. Moore.

"You're Welcome, Universe" by Whitney Gardner

This novel is fascinating, frustrating and a bit fun.  Julia, a Deaf high schooler who loves creating street art, has been expelled from her deaf school for a work in the school gym.  Her new school is "hearie" and she struggles on multiple levels ... with her interpreter, her lack of friends, her Moms, her desire to create, and more.  Julia's voice is strong, powerful and real.  The issue of signing vs. lip reading is well portrayed and this book is the first I know of to address the topic so seamlessly.  I didn't even understand the emojis at the beginning of each chapter but it speaks to the visual nature of those who are d/Deaf and hard of hearing.  The story isn't perfect.  Julia is a passionate young woman who flies off the handle at every provocation and her whining/fury did get a little tiresome but I can't say it is an inaccurate depiction of a teen girl -- right down to the girl drama.  Transitions are sometimes abrupt and some will bemoan a hearing author writing about the d/Deaf and hard of hearing community.  That being said, credit to Ms. Gardner for creating a fairly edgy, crunchy character you still care about.  Despite her many faults Julia's heart shines throughout.  Secondary characters are created with multiple layers of complexity and the artwork depicting the various creations enhances the tale a good bit.  This won the Schneider Family Book Award for best story of the disability experience for teens this year (even though deafness is not seen by many in the deaf community as a disability -- read the book for more).  Not bad for a first work.  Well deserved.

"Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box" by the Arbinger Institute

Of the three Arbinger books I have read this year, this was the hardest.  Not that it was bad but each of the other two had a hook while this book was slower and more introspective.  "The Anatomy of Peace" blew me away with the take-away messages and stress reduction. "The Outward Mindset" was impressive for the real-world stories and application.  Like "The Anatomy of Peace" this one has a pseudo-setting (taking various clients and combining them into a narrative) but instead of a group setting, this narrative focuses on a single person, "Tom" meets with his new boss and gets challenged in ways he doesn't expect.  If you can get past the artificiality of the premise, the lessons are still there -- clear and simple and powerful.

"In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse" by Joseph Marshall III

I wanted so badly for this to be good.  Apparently so did the Virginia State Reading Association in selecting it for their annual Readers' Choice event.  I know why they picked it.  In striving for diverse titles we are woefully short of material on Native Americans.  This should have fit the bill.  It is authentic (the author is a Native American) and covers "the other side" of history by telling the tale from the side of the Lakota tribes.  Unfortunately, Mr. Marshall primarily writes nonfiction for adults and his attempt at writing a fiction tale for youth is predictably strained.  The book is a story within a story.  The better part of the tale is the inside story.  Snapshots of critical moments in the life of Crazy Horse are covered in the style of Native American storytelling.  They have an authentic cadence and structure and are compelling.  The outside story bogs the whole thing down.  The idea is that a Grandfather takes his grandson, Jimmy, on a journey through the various monuments of the upper Midwest, following the path of the famous warrior Crazy Horse.  Just when you start getting into the stories there are needless insertions of pointless information, which is often repeated ("Remember, it was very cold").  There are also inaccuracies.  The Grandfather points to a "photo of Crazy Horse" which has been proved bogus in recent years.  Mr. Marshall wouldn't know this as most of the sources he used in researching the topic are significantly dated.  The details of each stop along their route also include so much specificity that we learn things like "the restrooms are in a brick building to the right of the main building".  Do we really need to know this?  How did this kind of detail contribute to the story?  Answer:  It didn't.  Also problematic was the fake wholesomeness of the relationship.  Young Jimmy often says "For reals?" to which Grandfather smiles and says "For reals!"  It was so cheesy it made the Andy Griffin Show look like 60 Minutes.  We need good stories about our troubled history from the point of view of those whose families and culture were annihilated.  This just isn't it.  Frankly I find more compelling stories in the 1990s TV show, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman."

"When I Was the Greatest" by Jason Reynolds

Jason Reynolds writes quiet books.  This story is no different.  Often set in New York's inner city he creates lead characters who are reflective, who care, and who observe their surroundings with a kind of depth which draws in the reader not only to the setting but to the world created by the author.  I like reading Jason Reynolds books.  "When I Was the Greatest" is no exception.  Despite the provocative cover the story here is just a story -- a slice of life.  There are lessons learned and lots of levels and complexities to every character introduced.  This is one of Jason Reynolds' greatest skills.  He creates characters who feel real and you can't help but care about them and connect to them.  In this novel "Ali" makes friends with a pair of brothers who live in the run-down brownstone next door.  "Noodles" is fun, mouthy and hugely protective of his brother "Needles" who suffers from Tourette's Syndrome.  Most of the story takes place over a few days of a hot New York summer with a good bit of reminiscing about how the friendship grew.  Ali is close to his family, which creates a point of grounding not only for him but for Noodles, who tends to walk on the edge.  While events do happen the point of the book is the internal journey.  It always is, which is why his works are so universal.  Almost everything Jason Reynolds writes wins an award.  And well they should.  Enjoy.

"Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America" by Firoozeh Dumas

I wish two things.  #1 That I had read this before reading "It Ain't So Awful, Falafel" and #2 That I had read the "extra chapter" at the end, added in this reprint, before reading the book.  It is obvious that the fictional middle school tome "It Ain't So Awful, Falafel" was an attempt to synthesize this story in a palatable form for younger readers, but this book is so much better.  Essentially, this is a collection of short essays.  Some are about the author's time here as a child, others are about her Berkeley years, her Iranian homeland, her travels, her husband, etc.  But mostly, this book is about family.  The reason I wish I had read the extra chapter first is that Firoozeh is a bit caustic in her humor, making frank (very frank) comments about her family, particularly about her parents.  I kind of laughed and winced at the same time.  The extra chapter lets the reader know that all parties were mostly okay with the content.  That being said the stories are hugely relatable.  I can't imagine a person with a large family ~not~ finding something familiar here.  It was "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and my personal "Big Fat Irish Catholic Family" all rolled into one.  Hence the laughs, and the understanding.  Ms. Dumas' writing style is accessible and engaging but I'm not sure I saw the "flow" she mentions in her notes at the end.  The short essays sometimes seemed to have a connectedness, sometimes they felt like stand-alones.  They are not arranged in any kind of time-line and often feel like the free-form ramblings you might experience in a story told at a dinner party.  You may not get the point at first but then you do (mostly).  Even when you don't get the point, the tales are engaging.  Some pull at your heartstrings as we experience yet another questioning of immigrants here in this great nation.  It is for that reason that this 2003 book has such power -- it should be a must-read for every member of the U.S. Congress.  Worthy of its status as a bestseller and hugely applicable to our current world.

"The Outward Mindset: Seeing Beyond Ourselves" by The Arbinger Institute

One of three books focused on the workplace and human interactions, this is the second I have read ("The Anatomy of Peace" was the first).  While it didn't have the emotional impact of "The Anatomy of Peace" I liked this work somewhat better in that the stories were real.  The artificiality of the previous book allowed me to distance somewhat.  In this one, which opens with a powerful story of the actions of a member of a SWAT team, I found myself drawn in more to the complexities of how we function at work and how we see others around us.  Like the other book the prose is clean, clear and to the point.  It makes for a fast read and there are multiple takeaways.  I like the authors' efforts to drill down.  While the presented graphics are very simplistic the writers make sure not to stop at the first point but to continue unpeeling layers.  At the end the wrap-up goes on for several chapters (perhaps more than is needed) but the book is hugely palatable and quite accessible.  Very much worth the effort for anyone dealing with the day-to-day challenges of working in a large organization.

"The Great American Whatever" by Tim Federle

I thoroughly enjoyed "Better Nate Than Ever" and didn't connect it to the same author (that was an upper Elem/Middle School title) as I began reading this book, which is distinctly high school and up.  This one is more personal than the Nate series, and it shows.  Mr. Federle's evident passion, fully-fledged characters and powerful "inner voice" saves this jumble of a story.  It's not bad, it's just not "smooth".  Written almost as a stream of consciousness, there is a jumpiness about the narrative and many elements (many many elements) do not connect.  In the end, our protagonist Quinn has had some huge life moments but there is not a sense of what happens next.  At some points, sentences aren't actually sentences.  Take this example:  "And just when that's the saddest little memory -- because all of the saddest memories are the small ones that creep up on you quiet and scary as a summer bug -- Geoff does a cannon ball right beside Carly, and soaks her, and we all laugh and shriek."  It made for choppy, slow reading for me.  I connected because the characters are so real they leap off the page.  No single character is two-dimensional and every person in the book has layers upon layers, more than you really get to see as a reader.  Teens will identify with Quinn's burgeoning sexuality and everyone will understand the deepness of his grief over a family loss.  Federle doesn't spare here and delves into this pain from page one right through to the end.  What could be a moralistic tale to teens about texting while driving becomes a complex story of loss, pain, growing up and moving on.  The novel is a mish mash but it is human, which makes it work.  (Picky note -- Pittsburgh isn't in the Midwest.  Not even close.)

"Savvy" by Ingrid Law

Took me long enough to read this book!  This fast-paced award winner is an enjoyable read with remarkable similarities in theme to Lisa Graff's "A Tangle of Knots" (which was published four years later than this book). 


This book injects magical realism into the horrors of turning 13 and having your body basically betray you.  In this tale there are those who get psychic "gifts" on their 13th birthday.  The gifts are often unexpected and sometimes unwanted but, like any gift of this kind, have a silver lining.  Mississippi (aka Mibs) is dealing with many things at once -- her father has been in a car accident, her 13th birthday is approaching and a boy likes her.  The do-good parson's wife decides to take on the birthday party with a tumultuous tale ensuing.  Written in a highly accessible way with a compelling first person voice this story has had broad appeal for readers.  And yes, there are sequels.

"Save Me a Seat" by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan

This delightful upper Elementary/lower Middle School title takes place in only one week -- punctuated by five days of the cafeteria menu.  Ravi and Joe tell the tale in alternating chapters.  It is the first week of school and each is struggling with 6th grade.  Joe is an observant boy with a learning challenge.  Ravi is a "new to America" immigrant who doesn't understand the cultural norms.  There is, of course, a bully and there are some "lessons" which are clearly punctuated here and there but the story avoids cliché by being real.  The inner voices of each boy are compelling and resonate.  It is a great "point of view" book as the two boys learn to understand each other as they see the same events very differently.  This is the kind of book kids will greatly enjoy and will identify with.  Brava to both authors, who make the flow of the novel seamless.

"All's Faire in Middle School" by Victoria Jamieson

Fans of "Roller Girl" will enjoy Ms. Jamieson's latest work, which also features a girl "in search of" herself.  Imogene, aka "Impy" has parents who work the Florida Renaissance Festival each year (eight weekends in the fall) and Impy works to tolerate an annoying younger brother.  She has been home-schooled up until now and is beginning public school as a sixth grader.  Like the previous book, this one has bold artwork and the facial expressions which add to the story.  The artwork helps make the characters, which could be stock from any CW TV show, more dimensional.  Students will identify with the pre-teen girl drama, even if the tale was a bit too familiar for me.  On the plus side, Ms. Jamieson gets ren-fest right, clearly having done her research.  She touches, ever so briefly, on the challenges of racial identity these days (Impy's father is a man of color) but the references are so subtle that it is unclear if the typical reader would get them.  The darker-skinned father always plays the "bad guy" at the festival, an unhappy client at the retail store where he works intimates he doesn't belong.  Ms. Jamieson also doesn't shy away from the misery of life's mistakes and takes her time letting Impy dig a her own hole and suffer the consequences.  It is that part, two-thirds of the way through the book, which saved it for me.  On the negative side the plot was screamingly predictable and the ren-fest school allusions forced (hugely forced, Incredible Hulk forced).  The ending was very neatly tied up, which, again, will make this a win for younger readers.  The book is very "palatable."  It isn't brilliant or memorable but it should please the audience it was designed for. 

"Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

This big deal award winner is one of the strangest books I have read in a very long time.  Literary, lyric, metaphorical and symbolic, there is a lot here.  So much that I struggle to identify a theme.  Was it a page turner?  Yes.  Could I tell you what it was about?  Um, not sure.  Set in Bone Gap, Illinois (yes, it is a real place) it has more of an Appalachian feel to it than Midwest.  There is a girl, a boy, another girl, another boy.  There is a kidnapping of sorts.  There are prescient animals and enough magical realism to evoke a sense of "other" rather than here and now.  There is pain for many and an undiagnosed illness.  There is healing.  The timeline is ... fluid.  This is just "different" -- but in a good way.  Don't read it the way I did, over 30 minute lunch blocks.  Sit in a chair by a window and delve in.  The world Ms. Ruby has created needs to be digested carefully.

"Gabi, A Girl in Pieces" by Isabel Quintero

This wide-ranging and mature story of high school Senior Gabi's big year is a real winner and has jumped into one of my "favorites of all time."  Gabi loves food, she loves boys, and she is hopelessly lost trying to navigate the complexities of life.  One best friend is pregnant, the other has just come out as gay.  Her father is a meth addict and her mother believes she is not a good girl (she is) and is becoming too "American" (maybe).  Told in nearly poetic prose, with actual poetry and a stunning, feminist "zine" imbedded, this book is a treasure.  It is stark and to the point in language, which will make it a bit much for younger readers, but the authenticity of Gabi's voice, her city, her life, make this a novel which springs off the page.  I really could find no fault with the book, which is very rare.  Brava, Gabi, and all the young people trying to navigate the world.  In this tale, you have a companion who gets it.

"Fuzzy Mud" by Louis Sachar

Louis Sachar doesn't crank them out quickly but when he does put a book out it is very good.  Such is the case with "Fuzzy Mud" which has bits of "Wolf Hollow" and A.S. King's "Me and Marvin Gardens" in it.  Delightful, simple and short it is the story of a bully, a forest and an ecological disaster.  With a strong page-turning quotient and somewhat unique characters there is something for everyone to enjoy.  Adults will like the subtle sarcasm in the "transcripts of Senate Hearings" while kids will appreciate the reality of school life.  The lead characters, Tamaya and Marshall, are inquisitive, dimensional characters and the bully, as usual, has pain behind his actions.  Could breeze through this in an afternoon.  Another worthy addition to the Sachar canon.