Many A Quaint And Curious Volume

Last Night At Twisted River by John Irving - Book Review

2010-04-03T12:48:00.000-07:00

John Irving has been, a long as I can remember, one of my two favorite living authors. With the death of his fellow Iowa Writer's Workshop buddy Kurt Vonnegut in 2007, he became my favorite living author. That is why this review is going to be so difficult to write.

Don’t get me wrong. I liked Last Night in Twisted River ! I really liked the larger-than-life characters Irving so perfectly crafts; I loved the nonlinear time-line, a brilliant effect when you begin a section and have to readjust to where you think you are, only to realize that you’ve landed elsewhere. Very Vonnegut, like his mentor. And I always forgive Irving’s lengthy, semi-coloned sentences; I am a bad girl there too. I adore Irving’s inimitable writing. He is a true master of the pen, able to take the most implausible premise and give it legs.

The story, as Irving's always are at their heart, is simple. A young boy accidentally kills his father's lover; they flee. The story follows the boy and father through fifty years on the run. During those fifty years, trademark Irving scenarios of the seemingly mundane are made fantastical and characters involving bears, a rugged Libertarian woodsmen, a nude parachutist, and an activist who uses her vagina to make a statement form the life of the young boy and mark the father.

It would be better to blame this review on outside factors. Maybe as I have grown older, I have become impatient or maybe, as Irving has grown in stature, his editors have dropped their pens. Either way, I would have not made it to the end had it not been for the audio version. That is such a shame because I really liked the story, liked the Irving brilliance in characters, the amazement of watching Irving crafting the obscene and random into the beautiful and essential.

Also disheartening, and allowed because of his well-warranted status, was his didactic political sermonizing. Many, most, Irving novels have an anti-war or political undertone. It was always a statement in itself that Irving’s characters lived outside of the war/politic zone that made the statement so powerful. The metafiction vein (and I really like metafiction) could have worked. Irving could have thrown in little nuances about his writing life, but this too became didactic and over-reaching.

If you love Irving, and you can slog through the overgrowth of excess words and political sermon, you can still find a great story in Last Night in Twisted River. The man is surely too loyal to find a new editor, but need one he certainly does.

Recommendation: Newbies begin with Garp or Owen or Dr. Larch & Homer. They are all amazingly crafted, tight, poignant stories of the same style and spirit, without the overindulgence.

Genre: Modern Literature / Fiction. Pages: 576.
Advisory: Read from an advanced copy via Library Thing Early Reviewers
Publisher: Random House. Date: October 2009.
ISBN-13: 978-1400063840
Buy Last Night in Twisted River HERE

John Irving was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and won an Oscar for his screenplay of his novel, The Cider House Rules. He spends his time in both Canada and Vermont, writing and wrestling (or setting free) bears. You can read more about him and his works on his website

Where the God of Love Hangs Out by Amy Bloom - Book Review

2010-03-03T17:55:00.000-08:00

Amy Bloom is a great writer and also a psychotherapist. You will see plenty of reviews speculating that her training in the latter has given her a magic pen. This is a fallacy. A great writer has a gift; there are many who can make clear the foibles of human nature as Ms. Bloom so keenly does. They do not need a psychology degree. Bloom is a talented writer who just happens to also be a psychotherapist.

Where the God of Love Hangs Out follows a line of Amy Bloom successes, being, once again, wonderfully well-written and filled with humans grappling with life (messy, messy life). In this collection of twelve short stories, some connected – some not, the theme is not only discernible from the title, but also from the characters that "love," though they love poorly.

Bloom’s ability to create well-formed characters speaking honest dialogue is only matched by her ability to leave the true power in the unstated. This being said, Where the God of Love Hangs Out's plots tend to meander into nothingness, as our lives sometimes do, but this leaves some climaxes that never quite happen, or happen too soon.

Short stories can oftentimes be great companions at the doctor’s office or the beach or on the train, but these deserve a bit more thought. In fact, the characters are so compelling they deserve a bit more writing from Ms. Bloom. Each story could almost be continued in novel form. Though not as enjoyable for this reviewer as Away, those looking for deep character-driven observations on the essences of the human condition will not be disappointed in Where the God of Love Hangs Out.
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Genre: Short Story Fiction. Pages: 224.
This book was received as part of the Library Thing Early Reviewers program.
Publisher: Random House. Date: January 2010.
ISBN-13: 978-1400063574
BUY Where the God of Love Hangs Out HERE

Amy Bloom is the writer & producer for Lifetime Television's "State of Mind," a TV program that examines the lives of psychiatrists. She lives in Connecticut and teaches creative writing at Yale. You can learn more about her on her website.

The Lacemaker's of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri - Book Review

2009-08-22T15:14:00.000-07:00

I have two reasons for reading The Lace Makers of Glenmara, a chick lit novel that I would probably never choose. One, I long to visit Ireland. No ancestors, no stories, it is just one of my bucket list destinations. Two, I am addicted to all things crafty. Wait, I don’t actually complete any crafts, I just read tons of blogs about them and wish everyday that my Delicious bookmarked crafty folder was not mocking me. Chick lit has to be pretty meaty to hold my attention so it was a surprise that I managed to finish The Lace Makers of Glenmara in two evenings.

The premise is simple: jilted girl runs from past, ends up in smalltown Ireland, meets cute boy, makes new friends and heals. The things that make The Lace Makers of Glenmara unique are the setting (old Gaelic village) and the mixing of old-world with new. The author manages to sneak in a few lofty themes, like domestic abuse, dealing with difficult teens and even death, but for the most part the story unfolds in a predictable manner. The characters are somewhat flat and the romance could definitely use some development.

That said, readers looking for a quiet woman’s tale with more attention to setting than detail, could do worse than The Lace Makers of Glenmara.

Genre: Realistic Fiction / Chick Lit. Pages: 288.
Advisory: read from an advanced copy
Publisher: Harper. Date: June 2009.
ISBN-13: 978-0061721557
Buy The Lace Makers of Glenmara Here

Heather Barbieri is half-Irish and a descendant of a lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria. Though her Irish roots landed in Pennsylvania, Ms. Barbieri lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband and three children. Her first book was titled Snow in July. She is currently working on her third novel. You can read more about her on her website or on her Harper author page.

Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell - Book Review

2009-08-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

Perhaps Shandi Mitchell best sums up the premise of her debut novel, Under This Unbroken Sky. In an interview she says it’s about, “two families consumed by the land that they yearned to possess.” Consumed is an understatement.

In 1938, Ukrainian immigrant Teodor Mykolayenko returns to the wife and five children he left behind when he was sent to prison. His sister has housed the family, though she has her own struggles with a nasty-piece-of-work husband and two children of her own. Teodor has survived far worse trials than managing the harsh Canadian prairie,
he’s a former Stalin labor camp survivor, but it will be a mixture of that harsh landscape, misunderstandings and injustices that will break him.

Told through multiple viewpoints and intermixed with fine literary touches, like sections marked by the changing seasons of the land and a recipe for borsch equating happiness with food abundance, Under This Unbroken Sky builds with a constant tension that keeps readers waiting for the gut punch, knowing it’s coming. The novel is epic in scale. It covers the range of human emotions as disputes, brutality and hardships are tempered with love, kindness and abundances. The plot will leave readers both flattened and uplifted. The characters, especially through the use of their own viewpoint, are well formed. And Ms. Mitchell rightly notes in her interview that, “the landscape... is a living, breathing character. It’s the silent witness in the novel.”

Still, Mitchell’s interview won’t tell you that Under This Unbroken Sky is a captivating, atmospheric, un-put-down-able novel that will leave you thinking about it long after the last page.

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Genre: Historical Fiction. Pages 352.
Thank You: Barnes & Noble First Look advanced copy
Publisher: Harper Collins. Date: September 2009.
ISBN:978-0061774027

Buy Under This Unbroken Sky Here

Reader's Guide from the Harper Collins Book Site

Photographs from The Canadian National Archives. Ms. Mitchell used these for inspiration:

Video Interview with Shandi Mitchell:

Shandi Mitchell is a screenwriter and filmmaker living in Nova Scotia. She has a dog and a husband. You can read more from Ms. Mitchell on her Harper Collins author page or on her website.

Undiscovered Gyrl by Allison Burnett -young adult book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-08-16T08:20:00.000-07:00

It’s so much better when you have low expectations for a novel. I didn’t really think I’d like the premise of Undiscovered Gyrl, thought it would be forced metafiction. The worst. But Undiscovered Gyrl hooked me quickly and didn’t let me go. Like a train wreck, or better yet - an accident waiting to happen, I stared, unblinking, until the last page.

Katie is 17 and (as the book jacket says) a modern-day Lolita. One minute she’s a young woman on the cusp of adulthood, struggling with growing up, boyfriends, sex and normal teen worries. The next minute she’s a seductress, cold and unapologetic in the recounting of her quests. Through her blog, we watch. We sign on each day to read her next post. We watch her unravel, sense a terrible climax coming. A train wreck. A car crash. Then, one day, she’s gone............ Continue reading the review, along with resources for teaching, on Reading Rumpus.

Evermore: The Immortals by Alyson Noel - Young adult book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-08-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

Evermore: The Immortals, begins with seventeen-year-old Ever having just lost her entire family in a horrible car accident. Now she can see people’s auras and psychically know their life story at the slightest of touch. She used to be a popular, blonde, cheerleader type, now she’s the withdrawn sulky hooded figure trying to make her way in a new school. Then, of course, she meets the boy. Damen Auguste, immortal............. Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

Cleopatra's Daughter by Michelle Moran - Book Review

2009-08-10T16:55:00.000-07:00

There are three ways of examining Cleopatra's Daughter. One might view the story as an overlooked appendage to the famous story of Marc Antony & Cleopatra. One might also marvel at the novel’s historically significant timeframe. Or finally, one can view Cleopatra's Daughter as an engrossing story of political intrigue and romance. Choose any direction; you will not be disappointed.

Cleopatra's Daughter opens as Octavian of Rome has conquered Egypt. Marc Antony and Cleopatra have committed suicide, leaving three orphaned children. Octavian decides it wise to keep the children alive for future bartering, especially in view of their being the remaining heirs to the throne of Alexander the Great. As the three children set sail for Rome, readers join the perilous journey that will follow the first-person narrator, daughter Selene, to adulthood.

Cleopatra's Daughter is one of those first rate historical fiction novels where the strong setting is merely a footnote to the story of the people. While the reader is busy falling in love with the characters, she forgets all the rich culture and historical fact, only later to contemplate the significance and wonders of an epoch in both Egyptian and Roman history.

Because it is a coming-of-age tale, Cleopatra's Daughter works for both adult and young adult readers. While Cleopatra's Daughter definitely has the chops to hold an adult readers attention, especially those of us who love historical fiction, it is the strong voice of Cleopatra's only daughter, Selene, that makes Cleopatra's Daughter an excellent choice for teens searching for a tale rich in both history and romance. The Latin and Greek wording is kept to a minimum and the author provides support with both an opening cast of characters and a glossary of terms and author’s note at the tale’s end.

Teachers in high school might well recommended this tale to students interested in the historical context of the novel or those seeking more than the supernatural love stories of late.

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Genre: Historical Fiction. Pages 448.
Thank you to Pump Up Your Book Promotion for the advanced copy
Publisher: Crown. Date: September 2009.
ISBN:978-0307409126
Buy Cleopatra's Daughter HERE

There are couple really great contests going on over on the author's website. You can enter by simply clicking here.

You can also read an excerpt HERE.

Michelle Moran's love of travel and archeology inspired her to write historical fiction. She lives in California with her husband. You can read more about her on her website.

13 reasons to use Thirteen Reasons Why - Young adult book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-08-07T10:34:00.001-07:00

There are 13 reasons to use Thirteen Reasons Why, 13 supporting resources links, 13 discussion starters, 13 story extending activities, 13 other books about teens struggles and 13 facts about the author on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips - Book Review

2009-08-05T16:34:00.000-07:00

The Well and the Mine is the story of an Alabama depression-era family told in five alternating voices. Father Albert is a hard working miner and his wife Leta is a practical mother who puts the interest of her children above all else. The story begins as youngest daughter, Tess, observes someone throwing a baby into the family well. Teen daughter Virgie soon joins Tess is trying to find out who that woman might be, while the youngest child, Jack, goes about the business of being a young boy.

Though The Well and the Mine opens with a mystery that appears to launch the plot, it’s actually the strong sense of time and place that motivates the story. The mine is a dangerous place, people are starving, racial tensions are high and women are just beginning to see a future different than their mama’s. This is a time when playing outside all day was the norm, when neighbors helped neighbors, before our throw-away culture and the sort of town – with all its hardships - that puts a nostalgic yearning in our souls.

All this praise being laid, I must warn that The Well and the Mine is a slow tale. It’s like a piece of hard candy, never really having a tootsie-pop center, yet leaving you at the end with a lingering taste. Publisher's Weekly may have noticed a “wisp of suspense,” but it’s a small wisp. I grew tired several times and had to put the book down. I didn’t quite get Tess's odd attachment to the well nor feel the dramatic pull the beginning of the story led one to anticipate.

For readers who enjoy slow southern tales of atmospheric family life or readers who enjoy stories in multiple voices, The Well and the Mine is a well-written addition to the genre. After all, it did win the 2008 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award.

Here's the link to a discussion guide at Penguin.

Buy The Well and the Mine Here

Thanks to Library Thing for my copy.

Author Gin Phillips is a freelance writer who lives in Birmingham, Alabama. The Well and the Mine is her first novel, but she's also working on a young adult fantasy and a mystery set in rural New Mexico. I couldn't find an author page, but there's a wiki with more info here.

© 2009

Aint Nothing But a Man by Scott Reynolds Nelson - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-08-05T01:42:00.000-07:00

Ask a kid what he wants to be when he grows up. What will you hear? Race car driver? Ballerina? Doctor? Astronaut? Historian… Huh?

In Ain't Nothing but a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry, Scott Reynolds Nelson has done for historians what Indiana Jones did for archeologists. While the book appears to explain whether a real John Henry, the steel driving man of folk legend, actually existed, it slyly tells a first person story of Scott Reynolds Nelson, historian.

Reynolds’ personal quest starts as a small kernel of wonder while researching the men who built the railroads. He looks up from his computer screen and a clue pops out at him. From there, Reynolds is off to find out if there was a real John Henry.......... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2009

Sweeping Up Glass by Carolyn Wall - Book Review

2009-07-15T07:11:00.000-07:00

If the measure of a good story is the desire to turn each next page, then Sweeping Up Glass is a good story. Told in the first person by Olivia Harker, an authentic and relatable voice, and set in Southern Kentucky, in a time when segregation was a fact and civil rights had yet to be spoken of, Sweeping Up Glass is a genre straddling southern, historical, mystery that considers the wounds of hatred, the intricacies of family, and the complexity of pride, loss and redemption.

Olivia’s story begins in the present as someone has injured a wolf on her rural property. As she and her grandson Will’m contemplate the wolf’s care, the story quickly turns to past tense as Olivia recounts her life growing up with her kindhearted pap and her institutionalized mother. Olivia’s strong will propels the story through first love, unwed motherhood and depression era farm life.

The best part of Sweeping Up Glass is undeniably the voice of Olivia Harker, youthful and strong, proud and misguided. The excellently drawn setting of depression era Aurora, Kentucky adds depth to Olivia’s tale, with a mixture of sweeping rural grandeur and a provincial way of life.

Though associated to several great southern writers in early reviews, two small bumps keep Sweeping Up Glass from landing securely in the Faulkner or Flannery O’Connor arena. The present-past-present switching proves a bit ungainly, and though only briefly slowing the momentum of the telling, it keeps the story from having a fully realized tautness. Further, the ending builds to a mountainous crescendo and then flies by too quickly with a few characters in need of a fuller resolution, a few bows too neatly tied.

So small are these bumps as Sweeping Up Glass does most of what makes a southern mystery so endearing: keeps the pages moving at breakneck speed that mystery lovers need, includes a whiz-bang with a twist ending and paints a time when a small community was the whole of the world.

Recommended for lovers of the southern tale or those seeking a rural-defined mystery.

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Sweeping Up Glass will be released on August 4, 2009.

Preorder Sweeping Up Glass Here

Author's website HERE.

To read an excerpt or download a reader's guide visit the Random House
Sweeping Up Glass site HERE

Thank you to Library Thing for my advanced copy.

© 2009

Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan - Book Review

2009-07-14T13:15:00.000-07:00

Assigning a genre to Of Bees and Mist is difficult. Part fable, part magical realism set in an imaginary world, Of Bees and Mist believes in fortune tellers, ghosts and mysterious occurrences while simply telling the chronicle of a family. And though basically a tale of family and marriage, Of Bees and Mist resides pleasingly close to the realm of the fantastical.

Merida grows up in a house devoid of love. Her father is distant and often cruel. His evening wanderings stir the pot of anger within Merida’s mother. Merida knows the anger originates in a fleeting memory of screams and flashing light, but no one will tell her the secrets her parents keep. A cold and angry mist surrounds Merida’s home and she soon finds warmth in the arms of the dashing, young Daniel.

But Meridia’s marriage begins with a rocky start as she quickly learns that things in Daniel’s home are little better. Meridia’s mother-in-law, Eva, rules her family with iron will and Meridia will soon have to choose between Daniel and his dysfunctional family.

While Of Bees and Mist seems a simple family saga, debut author Erick Setiawan dazzles the page with so much more. Borrowing elements of various cultures and set in a fictional land, Of Bees and Mist is filled to the brim with ambiance and imagery. There’s always something brewing just below the surface, compelling the reader forward, and hinting at a hidden purpose, a moral waiting to be mined.

Of Bees and Mist does contain a few missteps that, though not completely distracting from the telling, must be noted. Several characters are never fully developed or dropped from the tale too easily. While the story is ultimately Meridia’s, these characters were fleshed out enough to deserve a bit more closure. And though noting the tongue-lashing that might follow: the novel also thinly veils some stereotypes. There’s a wicked, money-driven gypsy named Ahab and the women seem to use spell-like behaviors to manipulate the weak men. This could be explained by the fact that Of Bees and Mist is ultimately the story of three very strong-willed women.

Certainly though, these few qualms shouldn’t distract from this debut author’s first-rate effort. Of Bees and Mist is overflowing with storybook metaphors and magic. It will delight readers who enjoy magical realism and/or modern fables. Be sure to check out the well-designed cover after finishing the tale. You’ll find all sorts of symbolic elements there. Highly recommended by this lover of speculative fiction.

Preorder Of Bees and Mist Here. It will be released on August 4, 2009.

Check out the Book's Website Here

Watch author Erick Setiawan discuss the book on Simon & Schuster HERE

Thank you to Barnes & Noble for my advanced copy.

© 2007-2009

Max Quigley, Technically Not a Bully by James Roy - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-07-13T06:09:00.000-07:00

Max Quigley, Technically Not a Bully is following a trend in children’s literature. Much like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life (previously reviewed here), Max Quigley, Technically Not a Bully follows the hand-scribbled diary format. Not that this is a bad thing. This trendy format is especially enticing to reluctant readers and preadolescenct males, two groups in need of reading incentives. Add the convincing voice of Max Quigley to the format and you’ve got an enticing look at bullying from the bully’s point of view.

Max is an unreliable, sarcastic narrator. He thinks that just because he doesn’t physically hit anyone, he’s not really a bully. Max’s idea of a good time is picking on Triffin Nordstrom, or Nerdstrom as Max’s renamed him. But Max’s teasing goes too far causing Triffin’s mother and Max’s parents to form an alliance. Their concocted plan is twofold: educate Triffin in social skills while Max gets help with his slumping math scores. And even though Triffin may be a loner, he’s none-too-thrilled to hang with Max. This comes as a great shock to the ever-popular Max.......Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2009

Road To Revolution! The Cartoon Chronicles of America by Stan Mack and Susan Champlin - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-07-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

The Road to Revolution! is the first in series of graphic novels, titled The Cartoon Chronicles of America, featuring fictional characters interacting within the specifics of American history.

Nick is a street-smart orphan-boy. Penny’s the indefatigable daughter of a Boston tavern owner. The British are everywhere, exerting their power over the colonists. Very quickly Nick and Penny are thrown into the heat of the action building up to the start of the Revolutionary War. The Old North Church lanterns, the midnight ride, the Battle at Bunker Hill as well as numerous American revolutionaries stumble through the fast-paced story.......Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2009

The Blue Notebook by James A. Levine - Book Review

2009-07-11T15:09:00.000-07:00

I read The Blue Notebook in one evening. And I didn’t like it. I wanted to look away. But like any rubbernecking scene, my eyes focused on The Blue Notebook and never turned, never stopped staring at the disaster unfolding across the page.

Oh, The Blue Notebook was compelling, had a well-voiced narrator and moved swiftly. The writer did a fine job with his pen and even donated his U.S royalties to The International Center For Missing and Exploited Children, but even this fact created a wearing sadness.

The Blue Notebook is told in flashback through the first person voice of Batuk, a fifteen-year-old prostitute living in Mumbai. Batuk’s day consists of living in a nest, making sweet cakes with the various men who pay for her services and writing in a blue notebook she has managed to hide from her pimp. Batuk learned to write while hospitalized as a young girl. This was before the party her family threw for her, the one right before they sold her, before the highest bidder violently stole her nine-year-old virginity. Though based on a real prostitute the author encountered while traveling in Mumbai, The Blue Notebook is fiction.

Still, it exists. The very thought that Mumbai’s sex slave trade is real gives depth to the matter-of-fact voice of Batuk. Mumbai is a metropolis, India’s financial powerhouse, a city with vast resources and educational opportunities. How does this savage slavery still exist? How can a young girl be completely thrown away like a piece of meat?

And though I read it on vacation - when breezy summer reads are expected, Batuk’s story is so devastatingly heartbreaking, it would be a crime to look away.

*Recommended for increased awareness and readers interested in modern tragedy. Not for the weak stomached.

*Buy The Blue Notebook Here

* Thanks to Library Thing for my advanced reading copy.

© 2009

Goblins by Royce Buckingham - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-06-26T07:16:00.000-07:00

What makes a good book for teen boys? How do you get a reluctant reader invested in a story? Which factors will entice the most challenging reading student to pick up a book?

With Goblins!: An UnderEarth Adventure, author Royce Buckingham has answered some of these dilemmas.

He begins with an action-filled opener – a goblin has escaped the UnderEarth. He features identifiable protagonists - twelve-year-old Sam on the brink of juvenile delinquency and seventeen-year-old PJ, stuck in a nowhere small-town while he visits his policeman father. These two form an unlikely, but appreciable, dynamic duo as they follow the Guardians of UnderEarth on a battle to keep the goblins from finding the tunnel that leads to our world....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2009

Confetti Girl by Diana Lopez - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-06-25T06:23:00.000-07:00

Apolonia (Lina) Flores lives in Corpus Christi, Texas with her father. She has a best friend and a would-be boyfriend. She enjoys science, playing volleyball on her middle school team and collecting socks. She’s also Mexican–American, has recently suffered the loss of her mother and grown frustrated with her widowed father who has literally, and metaphorically, buried himself in books.

Navigating the wearisome waters of change alongside Lima is her best friend Vanessa, whose recently divorced mother has developed her own coping mechanism – making confetti filled eggs called cascarones. Lima’s boyfriend isn’t immune to difficulty either. He must deal with a speech impediment and the taunting that accompanies it. Confetti Girl features characters who are all dealing with life’s struggles.

But hidden within the individual problems of the characters lies a positive message. A story filled with as much heartache as Confetti Girl might easily venture into the melancholy. It never does....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2009

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly - Book Review

2009-06-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

The Book of Lost Things jumps out at you. The cover art is beautiful and the premise enticing. Heaps of praise have been handed to it. And the website? Well, it's a shimmering site to behold. Yet, is that enough? Can a fancy website and a ton of praise bear out the book’s worth?

Protagonist David is a twelve-year-old boy who has recently lost his mother. If this weren’t enough, his father has remarried and the woman is pregnant. David’s father has moved them all to his new wife’s countryside home where it's safer from the German WWII bombings in London. In this respect, The Book of Lost Things begins as a fairly standard tale.

But David’s new attic bedroom has a shadow that continues to both taunt and entice. The books that have long afforded David an escape no longer captivate him. A Crooked Man seems to be beckoning, and soon David has entered a world of danger and horrors.

It is David’s entry into the world of the Crooked Man that turns The Book of Lost Things from standard to unique. Fused with both Grimm-like fairy stories and Oz-like wonders, where David must rely on his own wits to bridge the gap between child and adulthood, The Book of Lost Things begins to shimmer much like its elegantly designed cover and website.

The Book of Lost Things seems an all-out bildungsroman: David must make the arduous journey to adulthood while maneuvering through a land of sometimes-conflicting characters. His progress on the other side of the journey is marked by maturation and personal growth. And while the characters David meets seem to be pulled straight from a Grimm’s tale, they are also timelier. They are a twisted version of a Grimm tale, a more psychologically charged foil. The dual settings, WWII and the fantasy world David enters, are both dark and evil-filled places. David’s quest will be a difficult one (as are all journeys out childhood’s door) and his respect and understanding of the bookish will be his saving grace.

David’s love of books and his escape into them, both real and analogous, is the underlying theme in The Book of Lost Things. In many ways, the entire story is an ode to books. Author Connolly's own love of tales must be considerable as his familiarity is brimming. In fact, the only real flaw in the writing is the inclusion of so many references that they become somewhat distracting, causing loss of momentum as the reader pauses to reflect on the origins.

The Book of Lost Things begins with a great opening line, "Once upon a time -- for that is how all stories should begin -- there was a boy who lost his mother," but it ends with an unnecessary epilogue. Readers do not need the know the everyday nuances in adult David’s life. It detracts sorely from the magic the rest of the tale holds and muddies the poignancy of David’s quest and triumph.

Read The Book of Lost Things, because it’s a really good tale, but skip the last chapter. The luminous praise, website and cover reflect the magic that lies within its pages.

© 2009

Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renee Russell - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-06-20T05:49:00.000-07:00

I don’t want to compare Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life to Diary of a Wimpy Kid. All the reviews are doing that. It’s not really fair because the only things the two books have in common are the cartoon diary format, middle school setting and engaging voice of an authentic protagonist. I always feel like comparing books is a cop-out and besides, Dork Diaries stands on its own merit.

Nikki Maxwell is an eighth grade diarist who likes art. Some days Nikki writes an excited ode to being a teen and on others a dramatic account of being a big dork. She's recently moved to a new school where fitting in just doesn't seem to be in her cards. Her diary entries are filled with mean girls, party invitations she'll never get and cute boys.

Nikki Maxwell is an every-girl and her voice is one that many middle school girls will love. They’ll understand Nikki and they’re going to love her manga/anime inspired artwork. Her self-deprecation (dork!) and middle-school worries (fitting in, parties, friends & a cute boy!) mirror their own....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2009

Saints In Limbo by River Jordan - Book Review

2009-06-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

Saints in Limbo is the sort of novel where simply telling the premise shortchanges the story. The protagonist is an old small-town widower. The supporting cast includes a lackluster mailman, an everyday bar maid, a teen runaway and a spinster teacher. Not the sort of folks one expects to enthrall a reader. Yet, Saints in Limbo is filled with action, romance, supernatural horror and magic. Categorizing it proves near impossible. Singing its praises seems to simplify its depth.

Velma True, a recent widower, anchors her world with thread. She's afraid to wander very far from her home since her husband’s death notice arrived, nearly claiming her soul right out front at the mailbox. Since then, she uses threads anchored to her porch to get the mail or water her yard. But while the shifting sand of Vera True’s life is merely an illusion, the man who appears on Velma’s porch is not. The supernatural fellow comes bearing a birthday present for Velma, a rock with powers that will almost claim Velma’s life - which is something she’s not so certain she values any longer.

Saints in Limbo reveals Velma’s ephiphany not only through reflective, psychological back-story, but also by finding the magic still left in Velma’s everyday life. It's tempting to call Saints in Limbo magical realism, but it swerves too far from the real for that, especially once the supernatural creatures show up. There's a reluctance to assign the romance genre because the romance that evolves within the story is middling. But Velma's romance with her husband, told in flashback supernatural sequence, is bona fide. If a genre must be applied to Saints in Limbo, then sothern Gothic possibly comes closest to fit.

As Velma jumps between past and present, the supporting characters stories begin to emerge. Author River Jordan is a southern character writer, which can serve to slow the pace that the action-inducing magical rock beats forth, but it’s that building of character that grounds the story in realism and invests the reader. And even though the heart-string tugging surprise can be seen coming a mile away, it’s still poignant when the reader likes the recipients.

At story’s end, River Jordan leaves us with a message of hopefulness. Velma learns that there is both a place for remembering the past and a hope for the future, one where new chances abound. Mystical, life affirmative and affecting, Saints in Limbo is recommended for readers who enjoy magical realism, southern Gothic and character-driven stories.

Thanks to Random House's WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for my copy of Saints in Limbo

© 2009

The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-06-17T06:12:00.000-07:00

Who am I to define normal? In The Chosen One, protagonist Kyra grows up in the love of a large family. Her siblings are many and close in age. Her parents are not divorced and fighting over custody or child support. She has a humble, but comfortable, home. She has a much more stable and loving environment than many students who will read The Chosen One.

Is it wrong that Kyra has so many siblings? Is it wrong that she has three mothers? Is it wrong that her parents want to protect her from the ever-growing openly sexual and violent world? Does the ‘wrong’ start when she is chosen to marry her sixty-year-old uncle? Can there be any ‘right’ in a place where woman are made especially by God to be a man’s obeying playthings? Where, exactly, does the wrong start? I cannot stop the lingering questions much as I couldn’t stop reading The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

The Dragons of Ordinary Farm by Tad Williams & Deborah Beale - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-05-21T17:14:00.000-07:00

There’s been more than a fair amount of dragon tales for children so when I picked up The Dragons of Ordinary Farm, I wasn’t expecting much. More dragons, more dragon riders, more cute kids….. But The Dragons of Ordinary Farm has a unique premise that sets it apart from the rest. It might have been titled The Creatures of Ordinary Farm.

Tyler & Lucinda are none too thrilled to be shipped off to their long lost uncle’s farm for the summer while their mother’s off concentrating on her dating life. But Ordinary Farm is no ordinary farm and the siblings soon realize their summer will be more than just baling hay and milking cows. It seems there be dragons, and lots of other fantastical creatures, crossing over into our world from a secret portal located on Ordinary Farm....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2009

Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon with illustrations by Tony Ross - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-05-11T04:54:00.000-07:00

Horrid Henry is HUGE. He’s all over Europe with a television series, a play and famous people like Miranda Richardson loving him up. But here, we Yanks have missed out on his mania. No so anymore! Horrid Henry has jumped the pond and if you have or teach children in the young independent reader age group, you’re going to want to check Henry out.

Make no mistake, Henry is Horrible and author Francesca Simon makes no apologies for him. It’s that unapologetic horribleness that allows the reader to escape into a world of naughty without really being naughty themselves (my favorite sort of escape!)....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2009

Chantel's Quest by Oliver Neubert - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-04-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

Chantel's Quest: The Golden Sword has all the right pieces in place for a frolicking fantasy ride. The story begins as Chantel awakens on her twelfth birthday quickly to be told that she is the Princess of Freedom. It seems Chantel must vanquish an evil spirit bent on destruction. She will have to unearth four ancient relics, the first being a golden sword. She’ll have lots of help along the way as readers uncover a new fantastical world...... Continue reading the review on Reading Rumpus.

© 2009

The Physick's Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe - Book Review

2009-04-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

I am not meant to read mainstream fiction. First, I trashed Firefly Lane. Then, I deplored American Wife. I couldn’t connect with Sag Harbor. And all of these titles are media darlings, slated by the all-powerful mainstream reviewers as fantastic. Now add, what I’m certain will be hailed as the next big story, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane imagines that the Salem witches might have been real, as in, real witches. First time novelist Katherine Howe, a student of New England history herself, leads protagonist Connie through her own history lesson as she works on her dissertation while clearing her grandmother’s ancient New England home. There she finds a key, both literal and figurative, to her family’s witchy past. Throw in a bad guy, a best friend, and a love interest, add some fantasy for good effect, and you have The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane.

Well, that’s sort of uncharitable, I know. The good thing about debut author Howe’s novel is that it transitions smoothly between two time periods. It’s also very well researched, though I didn’t discover anything especially new or fascinating. In fact, there was so much attention to accuracy, it distracted from the telling. Howe wanted to tell us every detail at the expense of character development. The character’s dialogue was even further alienating with a forced tone that left this reader imagining the characters cartoonish and predictable.

I seem to be reading a lot about the Salem Witch trials. Here are my reviews of The Shape of Mercy and The Heretic's Daughter, both rather glowing by comparison and probably not destined to become media & publishing darlings. I'm telling you, this average, voracious reader is telling you, The Heretic's Daughter is superior.

Thanks to Barnes & Noble for my fancy copy. If the real thing looks anything like the ARC, it's going to be gorgeously printed.

© 2009

Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-04-29T15:13:00.000-07:00

I’m going to warn you: I cried at the end of Secret Keeper.Don’t worry; I won’t give away too many secrets. Just one: I didn’t cry because of the sad ending. I cried because author Mitali Perkins resisted the urge to "go Disney," and I instantly loved her for it.

A quick, basic synopsis: Asha & Reet are sisters forced to leave school behind and move, along with their depressed mother, into their paternal grandmother’s strict home while their father searches for work in America. While waiting for their father to send for them, sixteen-year-old Asha confides her secrets to a diary, the secret keeper, and befriends an odd boy next door. In the meantime, the whole family is trying to marry Reet off as Asha tries to save her sister from this unwanted, though not uncommon, fate.

The trick with historical or cultural fiction (and Secret Keeper is both) is to create a story where the reader forgets that they are in another time or place. Though Secret Keeper takes place in 1970’s India, the themes are universal......... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2009

Freaky Monday by Mary Rodgers & Heather Hach - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-04-28T16:31:00.000-07:00

Freaky Monday is exactly what you think it is: a new novel by the author of the classic Freaky Friday, a novel that’s been read and viewed by a generation. The author, Mary Rodgers, gives us the same switcheroo as executed wonderfully in her classic. However, this time the switch happens between a bright, but aloof, student and her wacky, unconventional teacher. Both stand at important events when the switch happens and they learn to appreciate not only their own lot in life, but the lot of the other.

Writing a sequel or companion piece is always an uphill battle. If the original work is a classic, the hill looks more like a mountain.......... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2009

Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow by James Rollins - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-04-28T16:25:00.000-07:00

How much adventure can you pack into one book? Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow is jam-packed with Mayan history, dinosaurs, alchemy, Vikings, Roman soldiers… along with Jake Ransom (of course) and his sister Kady. Orphaned when their archeologist parents go missing, Jake & Kady receive an all expense paid trip to the British Museum’s exhibit of their parents work on Mayan cultures. From that point it’s a high-adventure, fantasy-fused ride with bits of history thrown in for good measure.......... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2009

Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea by Janet Halfmann - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-04-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

Janet Halfmann once again gives young readers nonfiction information at a fiction-like interest level with Narwhal Unicorn of the Sea. As I'd previously written about Ms. Halfmann's ability to mix imagination and science with Little Skink's Tail, I was eager to read Narwhal Unicorn of the Sea.

This is the sort of picture book young children really enjoy. It has some suspense, some character investment and lots of science information thrown in for good measure! Not only is Narwhal Unicorn of the Sea imaginative and interesting, it also has the backing of the Smithsonian Institution......... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2009

Gooney Bird Is So Absurd by Lois Lowry - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-04-28T16:21:00.001-07:00

I consider myself a Lois Lowry uber-fan. I subscribe to her blog. I’ve written her. I’ve used her novels repeatedly in the classroom. Yet, I am ashamed to admit never having read her Gooney Bird series. I always thought it was a silly, primary level (not my thing) series. I should have never doubted Lowry. She is a master, even when writing silly, primary level stories.

Lowry’s child-like eyes are shining in Gooney Bird Is So Absurd. Gooney Bird is a second-grader, a unique second-grader. She wears odd clothing (like brain-warming ruffled under-panties on her head) and is prone to precociousness (to say the least). Her teacher, Mrs. Pidgeon, is teaching the class poetry when a tragedy strikes.......... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2009

The Sonnets by Warwick Collins - Book Review

2009-04-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

The Sonnets imagines the inspiration and historical context for Shakespeare’s sonnets. Though I’m no Shakespeare intellectual, I am aware that much of the writer’s life is shrouded in mystery and scholars have long wondered about his motivations. The story covers a two-year period when London’s theaters were closed (due to the plague) and Shakespeare would have been an unemployed playwright.

The author does a fine job mimicking Shakespeare’s voice and characterizes the Bard in what seems to be an authentic light. The novel also seems exceptionally well researched. When many hear the word Shakespeare, they think laborious, but the story was actually quick and light.

Unfortunately, that lightness also carries over to the characters themselves. I never formed a good picture of any of them nor cared about their story, Shakespeare included. I adore historical fiction and was excited to enter Tudor England, but I never felt involved in the historical period. There very simply seemed to be something missing in The Sonnets.

In the end, I found myself skipping sections and disappointed that such a great premise, one that had obviously been finely researched, lacked the excitement I longed for when imaging the life of literature’s most admired, most wondered about, artist.

Thank you to the Library Thing for my copy. Review also posted on my personal blog & Library Thing.

© 2009

Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman - - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-04-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

Perhaps no scientist in modern history has stirred as much debate as Charles Darwin. But in 1838, a twenty-something Darwin had pressing concerns. He’d returned from his great, and science altering, five-year voyage on the HMS Beagle. It was time to make a choice. Down the center of a piece of paper he drew a line. On one side he wrote, “Marry,” on the opposing side he wrote, “Not Marry.” Across the top: “This is the Question.” Yes, young Charles had more pressing matters than whether to change the face of science and religion forever.

But because the story is called Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith, we begin knowing Charles’s decision, can easily guess that the pros outweighed the cons. And the pros of the Darwin’s marriage are plenty: a loving and understanding relationship, a respectful friendship, ten children, a beautiful home and blessed life....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa - Book Review

2009-04-10T13:47:00.000-07:00

The best books are the ones that quietly reveal the mysteries of living our everyday lives. Some stories will boom out their message, and they’re fun to ride, but the important ones are the little, nuanced, character-driven stories that add insight into the human condition. The Housekeeper and the Professor is exactly the little sort of story where you turn the last page with a sigh, so glad that you’ve experienced it, better for having gotten to know its characters.

The Housekeeper, a single mother to a ten-year old boy, is sent to work for The Professor, a virtuoso mathematician. She worries it will be a difficult job as he’s been through nine housekeepers before her; but mostly, she worries because The Professor is limited to an eighty-minute window of memory - the result of an accident seventeen years before. Each morning, The Professor awakens in 1975. He’s managed his dilemma by pinning reminder notes to his suit, little crumpled scraps of a life he doesn’t remember living. Each morning he looks down at the prominent note telling him he has only eighty minutes of memory. Each morning he meets The Housekeeper anew. Over the breadth of the tale, a unique and enchanting friendship develops, one bonded by a shared love of baseball and The Professor’s infectious passion for mathematics.

The Housekeeper and the Professor is a story of pure friendship. There’s an undertone of pulsating need that creates a suspenseful and glimmering feel. The author’s ability to seamlessly interweave math, baseball and the importance of friendship is an uncanny, amazing talent. Beautifully written, exactingly translated from Japanese, The Housekeeper and the Professor is a story you’ll savor and not soon forget.

Highest of recommendations!

Personal Thoughts: If you love math and/or baseball, this story might be even more poignant. I hold no love for either, but adored this sweet tale. I found myself enthralled by the complex math equations, something never before experienced by this reading masters degreed, math-shunning gal. I additionally loved the writer’s decision in not naming the characters, illustrating the transcendence of love. The aptly nicknamed Root provides the foundation his moniker suggests. Furthermore, the writer’s brilliance entranced me. Ogawa is the sort of writer who leaves me in absolute wonder of the craft. I’m not the first to notice; she’s won a plethora of awards. Her writing is tight and multi-layered. The Housekeeper and the Professor is my kind of book: totally character driven, edited fantastically, revealing its truths in quiet. A reader’s story.

Thank you to Picador and the Picador Twitter Book Club

Description, Excerpt & Reader's Guide Here

Buy The Housekeeper and the Professor HERE

© 2007-2009

Willing Spirits by Phyllis Schieber - Book Review

2009-03-19T20:05:00.001-07:00

I want mothers to read Willing Spirits because there’s a readiness to forfeit everything about yourself that only a mother can know.

I want daughters to read Willing Spirits because they have a mother that they know nothing of.

I want women to read Willing Spirits because there’s a perceptive sisterhood that only woman understand.

Willing Spirits is what I’d label an intuitive novel. Not the sort of novel that comes from the heart so much as from the gut.

Jane & Gwen have been friends for many years, sharing the joys and sorrows of life. We enter their story at one given moment in a long line of moments. Jane’s husband has finally proven to be the cad he’s always threatened to be; Gwen’s lonely single motherhood has been altered by an affair. Both women have children on the brink of adulthood, a phase much more trying than nose-wiping days past. A simple story of two women friends.

Yet, Phyllis Schieber’s pen makes this simple story glow. Her understanding of the complexities of human emotion illuminates the everyday life of her characters. Affairs, divorces, unplanned pregnancy, death, birth, love, sex …. Keep naming it; it’s all in there. Schieber paints her characters with a watercolor brush of sin and virtue, blurring the line between good guy and bad guy, a canvas of two women’s lives. In the end, you’ll know someone with a friendship exactly like Jane and Gwen: quirky, accepting, honest and true. And I hope that someone is you.

Recommended for book groups galore!
Also for readers interested in understated, exceptionally insightful, stories about our everyday life.

A big thank you to Phyllis Schieber and Promo 101 Virtual Book Tours for my copy of Willing Spirits.

© 2007-2009

Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead - Mini Book Review

2009-03-06T18:20:00.000-08:00

I’ve written this review from 42 angles and deleted each one. Reading Sag Harbor was laborious for me. To top it off, I watched an interview with the author and found him to be really great. I hate that. I don’t want to talk crap about his book. Those of you interested in a different slant on the standard coming of age tale might finish this one. I couldn’t.

And that always makes me feel so narrow-minded, not being able to appreciate a story. If we read to escape our known world, to learn about peoples and places different from our own, then shouldn’t this poor old, white woman be able to enjoy a witty tale of a rich, black boy? I kept trying, but the sarcastic tone and jumbled scenes were too much for me.

Sag Harbor is certainly a different angle on the standard coming-of-age tale, but I’m just not great with rich kids. Example? I kept screaming at Holden Caulfield to ‘just go home.’

Thanks to Barnes & Noble for my advanced copy.. Available April 28, 2009.

© 2007-2009

Melonhead by Katy Kelly - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-03-06T15:20:00.001-08:00

I picked up an advanced copy of Melonhead by Katy Kelly at a book sale and, although the book won't be released for three more days, I thought I'd rip right in:

Melonhead is not Adam Melon's real name, but it's the one he prefers. Adam is ten and trouble seems to find him, wherever he goes. He loves to invent things with his pal Sam so when the science teacher announces a reinvention contest.... Well, you can imagine Melonhead's excitement....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

Lincoln Through The Lens: How Photography Revealed and Shaped an Extraordinary Life by Martin W. Sandler - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-03-06T14:22:00.001-08:00

As I read Lincoln Through the Lens: How Photography Revealed and Shaped an Extraordinary Life, I vacillated between personally loving the story of Lincoln and educator evaluating the book’s efforts. There is no doubt the story of Lincoln is engaging and now, between President Obama’s respect of the man and Lincoln’s looming 200th birthday, books seem to be springing forth like weeds. With limited funding, how do we tell the flowers from the weeds?

The slant Lincoln Through the Lens takes is that Abraham Lincoln was savvy enough to manipulate the media through the technology of his time: the photograph....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-03-06T14:11:00.000-08:00

There are so many things I want to discuss about Skeleton Creek, a unique concept book by Patrick Carman, that I don’t know where to begin. Do I discuss the possibilities for reluctant readers, the importance of 21st Century Literacies, the research buzz about male readers or do I just review the story itself?

Mr. Carman & Scholastic have done a great job promoting this tile, but I’ll start by giving you the premise: The town of Skeleton Creek is hiding a secret. Teenage writer Ryan lets us into his journal just as he’s released from a two-week stay in the hospital. Something sinister has happened to Ryan and his parents have decided the best way to keep him out of trouble is to keep him away from his best friend, Sarah, a film aficionado. But you know that’s not going to happen. They’re teens!

Sarah & Ryan communicate through email and a secret password-protected website. Every twenty-five pages or so, the reader heads off to the computer to access one of Sarah’s viral-style videos, building clues to solve the mystery of Skeleton Creek right along with Ryan and Sarah....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-03-06T14:09:00.001-08:00

I heard quite a bit of buzz about Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out last fall, but forgot about it until I was offered a sneak peak. And although I was only given a tiny taste, it was enough to know that the entree must be a fantastic feast.

Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out is a compilation of stories, poems, essays, illustrations, cartoons and historical tidbits that are engaging and informative (at least those I've previewed). With 108 children's literature authors and illustrators, the book forms a who’s-who for Kiddie Lit. 101 and additionally includes writings from various historical statesmen.

Compiled by the National Children's Book and Literary Alliance, and eight years in the making, Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out is a must for libraries and social studies classrooms. I’ve not seen anything quite so captivating in a long time.......
Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

The Prince of Fenway Park by Julianna Baggot - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-03-06T14:03:00.000-08:00

Ignoring my best reading advice, I didn't read the back cover before I began The Prince of Fenway Park. I noticed a small boy wearing a Red Sox jersey and the title having Fenway Park on the cover, so I figured it'd be a baseball novel about a boy. My knowledge of baseball is tiny, but I do know about baseball's most famous curse (how could any American not know about the curse of the Bambino?) and I was aware that a few years ago the Red Sox broke that curse. This was about the extent of my Red Sox knowledge.

The story begins with Oscar, a boy who feels cursed and abandoned. His adoptive parents have split and his mother needs to leave Oscar with his father while she pursues a relationship with the 'King of Condos,' promising Oscar that if all goes right he might just end up as the 'Prince of Condos.' The story was progressing nicely. I liked Oscar. He had a strong voice and a relatable situation. Then, BAM!

What I thought was a simple baseball story turned into a ........ FANTASY novel. It seems there are creatures living under Fenway Park. And they are cursed too. And they need Oscar's help because he might just be the one to lift the curse....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

I, Lorelei by Yeardley Smith - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-03-06T13:58:00.000-08:00

Lorelei is going to be famous. She may be 11 years old, but she knows that she needs to record her life so that future biographers will have her own words. And since her English teacher tells her that it’s best to write for an audience, Lorelei chooses her recently deceased cat, Mud, to address.

Loreli may be destined for greatness, but her daily life mirrors that of most sixth graders. She’s a middle child, sandwiched between two brothers, and most of her thoughts revolve around friends and school. This would make for a cute telling as Lorelei’s voice is strong and believable, but no life is that simple and the author cautiously moves Lorelei to a realm of angst as her parents fighting turns to separation.

It is interesting to note that author Yeardley Smith is the voice of Lisa Simpson and as a follower of that television show; I saw snatches of Lisa in I, Lorelei....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi - Book Review

2009-03-06T13:57:00.001-08:00

I love fairy tales, collect them in fact, but Pinocchio had never piqued my interest. When Library Thing offered a new translation with a forward by Umberto Eco, I bit. Wasn’t it time I read this classic?

Pinocchio begins his journey as chunk of wood with a psyche. He progresses through the stages of development most soul-filled beings progress and encounters the same obstacles. Though its been analyzed by varying angles, I felt Pinocchio was, as Eco also saw, a bildungsroman, following Pinocchio's growth from his infantile form (wood) to his matured state (boy).

The story itself is a glimpse at the ferocious world of childhood where everything is tempting and dangerous. It uses elements of fantasy in an allegorical manner, jumping from extremes of preachiness to ridiculousness. It warns against our darkest nature and praises kind spirit.

Reading Pinocchio wasn’t shocking or new, I’ve read my share of violent children’s tales and was certainly familiar with the plot, but it was less than I imagined it to be considering its literary standing. I pulled another translation from the shelf to compare and I found little difference in the erratic and overly incompatible story. Others have said this might be a result of its originally having been a serialized tale; I felt it was simply a poorly written jumble.

I’m glad that I can add Pinocchio to my have-read list, but I don’t think it’s a fairy tale I’ll be returning to again and again.

If I rated the classics, I'd give it 3 stars only in deference to its status.

© 2007-2009

The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson - Book Review

2009-03-06T13:49:00.000-08:00

The title of NPR commentator and syndicated advice columnist Amy Dickinson’s memoir refers to the strong women residing in Freeville, NY where the author ran when she divorced, leaving her the single mother to a toddler. It was the natural place to run as Amy had been raised amongst the cows, the small town simplicity and close-knit bonds of her family there. In times of desperation, isn’t Freeville the sort of place we yearn for?

In The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter, and the Town That Raised Them, Dickinson writes openly and humorously about her life in Freeville, NY. Her humor is somewhat laconic and guarded. This can be good and bad. It makes for an easy and fast paced read, but also leaves one feeling a bit cheated. The story of Amy’s life follows from her return to Freeville, with toddler daughter in tow, until her daughter leaves for college. During those years, we meet a lot of interesting characters, yet we never really get to know any of them. Just as I started to form a picture, the story would shift and I’d be left with a series of story buds instead of a fully blossomed picture.

In the end, The Mighty Queens of Freeville is about the merits of small town life, the safety one only, really ever, feels when they’re in the arms of friends and family. In advancing this theme, Ms. Dickinson succeeds.

Personal Thoughts: I really had a difficult time getting into this memoir. It reminded me of my efforts with A Girl Named Zippy and I couldn’t help but wonder if I had something against stories set in Smalltown, USA. After all, my story began there and I understand its nuanced environment. Is it jealousy? Could I have written a better version? My family stories are just as interesting, my characters filled with even more spunk. Perhaps I should swear-off all small town memoirs, start typing or shut up.

Thanks to the Barnes & Noble, this was read from an advanced copy.

Website for the book is HERE

Buy your copy of The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter, and the Town That Raised Them: Here

© 2007-2009

The Glister by John Burnside - Book Review

2009-02-25T09:11:00.000-08:00

If you’re one of those readers who need a solid ending, skip The Glister. You’ll not find an answer spelled out on the page. You’ll close the book and wonder what happened. Was it this? Or this? Could it have been as simple as that? You might even turn back and wonder if you’ve missed something, too much of a simpleton to understand all that beautiful language on the page.

You can pop around the Internet, trying to find a review that says, “the dead boys went here.” You won’t find it. If you find someone claiming to know the answer, it’ll be their own interpretation and up for a “did the author mean to be so damned ambiguous?” debate.

Still later, you’ll remember this horror tale fondly, even though you never read horror and you’re not even certain that horror is the genre that best fits the story. You’ll smirk, thinking of Leonard, the teen protagonist, glistening for eternity in a book you might not have liked, but you won’t soon forget.

The Glister is a mystery. Not Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie. Think Twilight Zone, fully in black and white with odd musical notes and dark one-dimensional characters. Your setting is Innertown, an amalgamation of death, toxins and small town simplicity. The town’s a ruined place of people living out their lives in that oft mimicked quiet desperation. In a town like this, there’s no one watching the teenagers and they’re doing things unsupervised teens do, having unprotected sex, running in gangs, looking for dead things to prove that they are vitally alive. And teens left unsupervised are certain to go missing; some doom certain to befall them. Yet for all of this blackness, the writer (who I’m told is a poet) manages to find a beautiful luminous landscape to pen his tale. The setting is absolutely gossamer in its dark descriptive, and the ambiance is tension-filled, yet somehow retains the tenderness of youth.

However, while the writer is busy painting this nuanced shadowy setting, he forgets to add any depth to his characters. Leonard, the young protagonist, is fantastic. I loved him (well, up until a point), but the others are like walking dead (and I mean that in flat character-speak, not zombie-speak). Perhaps this is the angle he was hoping for, as it is a tale of lives filled with emptiness, but it makes for a hard investment for this character-driven reader.

I don’t usually link to Amazon reviews, as I find insult in their copyright policy, but author Jim Crace wrote a review that so perfectly illustrates my own experience with The Glister, I’ll have to let him close my own review: HERE (just scroll down a small bit).

The Glister will be available on March 10, 2009.
Thank you to Doubleday Publishing and Shelf Awareness for allowing me the chance to preview this thought-provoking title early.

© 2007-2009

The Help by Kathryn Stockett - Book Review

2009-02-16T09:59:00.000-08:00

Here’s what’s going to happen: I’m going to write my humble thoughts on The Help by Kathryn Stockett and the same folks who gushed about American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld will not understand me. It’ll be listed on bestseller lists, its author will be praised as an impressive debut author, the five star reviews will be bouncing all over the web and I’ll be thinking, “Eh?”

Let’s get this right out of the gate: The Help will be an excellent book club selection and a fantastic beach read. Despite its effectual setting and bulky in-severe-need-of-an-editor size, it moves at a swift and engaging pace.

The Help tells the alternating story of three women living in segregated Mississippi: Aibileen - a reserved 50ish lifelong maid, Minny – a 30ish maid with an impulsive tongue, and Skeeter – a young, white wannabe writer. Skeeter decides she’s going to write a story examining the experiences of the help, black maids that work for white women. You can guess the first two to sign on for the project.

Don’t get me wrong. The Help is a decent enough story. It has all the right moves, it just wasn’t my cup of tea (insert more terrible cliché writing here because I have nothing much to say about this title). It’s one of those books I’ll forget in a couple of months.

Lots of folks loved this book and had great things to say about it. Maybe you should go check them out!
Booking Mama
Five Minutes For Books
Bookroom Reviews
Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?
The Book Lady's Blog
Red Room Library
Jessica Knows
Pudgy Penguin Perusals
The Bluestocking Society

And a reviewer who says it much, much better than I can:
California Literary Review

Thank you to the Penguin Group & Shelf Awareness for my advanced copy
See the publisher's description, author interview & reading group guide: HERE
Read an excerpt: HERE

© 2007-2009

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford - Book Review

2009-02-14T05:31:00.000-08:00

Henry Lee has a secret past. A recent widower and enigma to his son, Henry Lee’s 1942 history still haunts his 1986 self. He’s done a good job keeping his feelings buried for forty-four years, but a discovery at Seattle’s Panama Hotel brings a flood of regret and longing that will illustrate the very best historical fiction has to offer: assigning humanity to the scope of history.

Wearing an “I am Chinese” button, twelve-year-old Henry Lee leaves the comfort of his segregated Seattle neighborhood to attend a white upper-class school. Prejudice is a way of life in the 40’s and Henry’s little button is an important distinction since the Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor. Still, Henry’s classmates make no distinction between a Chink and a Jap.

It’s Henry’s fast friendship with the only other minority, Keiko - an American born Japanese girl, that offers respite from his isolation. As if the school bullies weren’t enough, Keiko’s friendship is forbidden by Henry’s Chinese nationalistic father and soon the Japanese will be rounded into internment camps, leaving Henry to forever wonder about the girl he lost.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet started rough for me. I’m the sort of reader who inhabits the pages and if so much as one little disbelieving moment happens, I’m popped back into real life. This happened several times during the first few uneven chapters, but I labored onward due to an interest in historical fiction and moments where I thought the story might become something more. I’m glad I persevered.

Alternating between 1986 and 1942, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a character driven story offering glimpses of a shameful moment in American history. It must be stated outright: the plot is somewhat predictable, cliché even, but the sell is the well-formed and endearing characters. Ford’s rich characters encompass the breadth of humanity, showing us both the wickedness and compassion of man. It's also a period novel, with vivid examples of culture, music and nuances of the WWII era.

I can't think of a more appropriately titled novel. If you’re tempted to stop during those first few chapters, don’t. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet makes up for its bitter start with a sweet conclusion.

Here's the author, Jamie Ford, explaining the setting and inspiration for the novel.

Highly Recommended for historical fiction lovers, especially those with an interest in WWII and the cultural conflicts of that era. Great for book clubs!

Also posted on Library Thing
Thanks to Ballantine Books & Shelf Awareness for my advanced copy.
© 2007-2009

Real Life & Liars by Kristina Riggle - Book Review

2009-01-29T12:07:00.000-08:00

Real Life & Liars by Kristina Riggle begins with that famous Tolstoy observation on happy versus unhappy families and offers up the Zielinski family as an example. Mirabelle, the Zielinski matriarch, hides a secret threatening to spill onto the 35th anniversary party her children have planned for her. Her oldest daughter, Kat, has planned the festivity to precision, a mirror of Kat’s yuppie-perfect life. Youngest daughter, Irina, is in the middle of an existential crisis as her hard-living youthful days are coming to an abrupt end. And Ivan, the only son, lumbers to find a way out of his self-sabotaging behavior. Old friends will pop in and out of the tale and the patriarch of the Zielinski clan will march his background noise around the rest of these dynamic characters.

Taking place over the spam of a long weekend, Real Life & Liars unfolds through alternating viewpoint chapters of Mirabelle and her three children. I was a bit disappointed that the father, a writer, didn’t get a voice and wondered why Riggle had delegated him to such a lowly position. However, the four protagonists do a fine job painting a distinct family facing the toughest of life’s scenarios. The characters reveal that wonderful mix of comfort and pull-your-hair-out emotions one can only share as part of a family. The northern Michigan setting adds a sweeping feel to the building drama, strengthened further by a looming tornado. With this good mix of characters, setting and drama, Riggle has all the pieces in place for an enjoyable read.

My copy of Real Life & Liars included a reading group guide, but it missed the most pressing question: Are the Zielinski’s unhappy or are they just normal? And that, to me, was a central theme sent in motion by Riggle and her Anna Karenina epigraph.

Real Life & Liars drops in June, just in time for a good beach read or book club addition.

Extra Info:
*Read from an advanced copy. Available June 2009.

*For more info, you can visit the author's website: HERE

*A big Thank You to Harper Collins for allowing me to preview Real Life & Liars.

*Also posted on Library Thing

© 2007-2009

Something Like Beautiful by asha bandele - Book Review

2009-01-27T11:23:00.000-08:00

The thing that strikes me the most about Something Like Beautiful: One Single Mother's Story by asha bandele is the honesty in her writing. Situations that might seem shocking, disturbing even, situations that might make one jump to conclusions, to stereotypes, are told so candidly that one easily falls into the life of this young, single mother. If she were any other speaker, we might think her a fool; but this woman is smart.

Still, she makes the big mistakes. She falls in love with a prisoner, a man held for involvement in a gangland murder. She conceives a child with him during conjugal visits. She meets another man who abuses her and battles with the depression and addiction that comes from living the regrettable. Still, through all of her honest telling, we see ourselves in her. Our decisions might not mirror hers exactly, but we understand how smart women make such amazingly stupid decisions.

bandale writes from the heart in unique mix of reflection and narrative. This can become disconcerting at times, but lends to the honesty in the telling. She never shies away from the seedy parts, nor welcomes pity. It’s easy to hear a poets voice on the page, where her greatest sonnets are reserved for her daughter.

My qualm with Something Like Beautiful: One Single Mother's Story lies in the depth of the tale. Because her flowery style is suited to the grandiose nature of the story, the actual details get watered down. I wish this story had been told in three parts (and I suspect I’ll be looking for The Prisoner's Wife : A Memoir to fill in the first part). In the end, I wanted to know more about her battle with depression, her freeing from abuse and her divorce. However, I suspect she wanted this memoir to be one of feeling rather than detail, and in that she succeeded.

Something Like Beautiful: One Single Mother's Story is recommended for memoir readers, women who’ve lost their way or found their way back.

© 2007-2009

Soldier's Heart by Elizabeth D. Samet - Book Review

2009-01-24T05:16:00.000-08:00

I rarely want to read books about reading books. I’d rather be reading a book. And, as the wife of a retired military man, I shy away from books with a liberal slant toward the military. Yet something in Soldier's Heart: Reading Literature Through Peace and War at West Point made me decide to pick it up and once I observed the clear, yet poignant, writing style and respectful even-handed look at the soldiers themselves, I was hooked.

Any teacher hopes her students will walk away from literature with a greater vision of humanity, but a soldier will carry those lessons to a battlefield, to a foreign village, to a brother as he lay dying in their arms. It has always been one of my guiding educational principles that if a teacher loves her subject, she will impart that feeling to her students. And while they may never love her particular choices, they will certainly better understand the depth of feelings and will seek, for their better selves, subjects that empower and beautify their own lives. Elizabeth Samet LOVES literature. Read one chapter and you will know this. She would have been a fine Lit. teacher at any institution. But that she ended up at West Point is a wonderful thing for both her student soldiers and herself.

Samet inherits some standard liberal professor attitudes, but does a good job of balancing them with respect for the individual soldier. The prose wanders between mundane and profound in a manner only to lighten the subject. Her teaching choices represent wonderful examples of valor and sacrifice, something certain to be of importance in these student’s lives. And while this book adds credence to the importance and love of literature, it shines best when examined as a study of characters: men and women who make up an easily dismissed war machine, who are much, much more than the sum of its parts. In the end, I forgave Samet any liberal potshots because her respect for her students shined through her politics.

Soldier's Heart: Reading Literature Through Peace and War at West Point is especially recommended for teachers of young adults, readers who hold stereotypical views of the military, lovers of literature and those seeking insight into the training of those who represent them abroad.

with thanks to Library Thing.

© 2007-2009

Bone By Bone by Carol O'Connell - Book Review

2009-01-22T13:13:00.000-08:00

A general rule of mystery fiction is that the plot moves at a quickening pace. This causes difficulty for character driven readers like myself. And has been the main reason, for all of my forty years as a reader; I stay away from novels tagged mystery. I’m glad I broke my pattern for Bone by Bone by Carol O’Connell because I’d have missed a whole town of wonderfully developed characters.

Bone by Bone takes place in the small northern California town of Coventry. Like most small towns, it is filled with nuance and shared history. The novel opens with Oren Hobbs', a former Army criminal investigator, return to Coventry after an estranged twenty-year absence. It seems Oren’s father, Judge Hobbs, is a bit distraught. Bone by bone pieces of skeletal remains keep finding their way onto the Judge’s property. This in of itself would be disturbing, but the bones appear to be that of the Judge’s other son, Josh, who left one day with teenage Oren - never to return.

Bone by Bone is a mix of perfectly paced drama and familial situations rotating in a dance of calm against a brewing storm. Since I’m short on mystery novel knowledge I was unfamiliar with O’Connell’s work, but the Sun Sentinel’s mystery reviewer, Oline H. Cogdill, writes that O’Connell, “specializes in stories about damaged, complex and strong characters,” and it seems her specialty is on full display in Bone by Bone.

Oren has never recovered from his brother’s disappearance and a cloud of guilt hangs over each move he makes. Hannah, the Hobbs family housekeeper, is hiding a secret. The police are either a mix of Keystone Cops or sinister involvement. The wealthy neighbors might be a sad conflagration of times past or a bed of deceit. Moments of humor are infused in the character of Isabelle, whose anger at being overlooked by the dashing young Oren years before has now manifested itself in physical form.

Yet, all these shiny characters never complicate the quick paced narrative of the mystery surrounding what happened to Josh or how the bones are appearing. It is, after all, a mystery and though a character novel might have deeper characterizations these serve to not only advance the plot, but also manage to add depth.

Bone by Bone is recommended for mystery readers and those of us who like our characters a bit more rounded than the typical mystery.

© 2007-2009

Miles from Nowhere by Nami Mun - Book Review

2009-01-20T12:00:00.000-08:00

There have been many runaway, homeless, downtrodden teen novels. What makes Miles from Nowhere different is that it tells the story of a 13-year-old Korean-American, not the typical runway candidate. Joon’s immigrant family never made the transition to the American dream and one day she leaves her needy mother for the streets of New York City.

Also different is the episodic telling told with Joon’s pragmatic voice. Though she meets all the horrors of typical teen runaway tales, she never makes excuses nor glorifies the situations. The supporting cast is a hodgepodge of street characters both vibrant and wretched.

While this seems like an excellent set-up, there was something amiss in the telling. The episodic structure of the novel, while well-written individual chapters, keeps one from ever really relating to Joon or her vibrant comrades. The various street characters that Joon encounters are colorful enough, but lack a linear depth. One can’t help but wish that we had gotten to know them better. The setting, 1980’s, seems almost an afterthought, not strong enough to warrant notice.

In the end, Miles from Nowhere left me miles from caring. What could have been a final poignant scene was just an ok-it’s-over-now moment. There's a load of praise for this title across the web, the writer is certainly a talent, but Miles from Nowhere just didn't connect with this reader.

Final Thoughts: excellent writing, great premise, poor plot execution due to structuring of tale, lacking depth of character and/or setting

© 2007-2009

The Sinner's Guide to Confession by Phyllis Schieber - Book Review

2009-01-20T11:56:00.000-08:00

The Sinner's Guide to Confession would make a good Oprah pick, women’s book clubs would probably drool over it and those wandering the chick lit aisles should probably seek it out, but I forgive it all that. I am a chick lit snob. If Oprah plants her magic seal on a book, I avert my eyes. So it was with some reluctance that I agreed to read The Sinner's Guide to Confession about three female friends who’re each concealing a secret. And though the novel has garnered praise from the reigning queen of chick lit, Jodi Picoult, I have to honestly say that this was a decent read.

The Sinner's Guide to Confession is well written with strong characterization. Moments of intensity are tempered with wit and a supporting cast complementary to the three protagonists. I do wish further exploration had been afforded the reasons we hide our secrets from even those closest to us; and in this way, I felt the word guide in the title was ambiguous. The final scene makes an attempt at exploring redemption and secrets left untold, and made me happy that I’d completed the tale. And while an editor’s pen might have been a tad needed, the story moved at a fair pace with relatable scenes of everyday life.

© 2007-2009

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2009-01-06T01:18:00.001-08:00

In my typically late to the party fashion, I finally got around to reading The Hunger Games. All I can say is that right now author Suzanne Collins had better be holed up in her house writing frantically. Not since Pottermania have I so desperately hungered for a sequel. I was enthralled, totally possessed, by each passing page. What a way to begin my New Year in books!

I saw the stellar reviews across the book blogosphere and was excited when my copy arrived, but man, did it live up to the hype. Each new page held a teacher’s treasure trove of ideas. Themes, writing devices, elaborate plot structures, spot-on character investment... the list is innumerable....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

Give A Goat by Jan West Schrock with illustrations by Aileen Darragh - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2008-12-12T18:28:00.000-08:00

Give a Goat by Jan West Schrock relates the tale of a class of real fifth grade students who, after hearing a book on how one goat can change the lives of children in Africa, decide to hold a fundraiser to buy a goat for the organization Heifer International.

I was a bit reluctant to review Give a Goat as I tend to be leery of books that preach or sell to children. However, I was more than pleasantly drawn into the story and found no preachiness anywhere! I can guarantee you that if I were still in the classroom, we’d be collecting pennies to buy our own goat and I can easily see Give a Goat exploding to the same degree of popularity as the Flat Stanley phenomenon in schools....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

Under the Night Sky by Amy Lundebrek with illustrations by Anna Rich - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2008-12-10T16:26:00.000-08:00

Under the Night Sky by Amy Lundebrek with illustrations by Anna Rich is a first person narrative of a young boy who is surprisingly awakened by his mother and scuttled off to watch a remarkable nighttime vision. The whole neighborhood is gathered to witness the spectacle of the Northern Lights. When the boy awakens the next morning, he wonders if his night of wonder was a dream....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

Descartes' Bones by Russell Shorto - Book Review

2008-12-09T03:40:00.000-08:00

Descartes' Bones: A Skeletal History of the Conflict between Faith and Reason by Russell Shorto tells the tale of French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes, a man many consider to be the father of modern philosophy and the mathematician who connected geometry and algebra, from his death through the folio of history. The premise, that the exhumation and travels of Descartes Bones form a fulcrum on which much of history resides, follows the path of Descartes’ bones through eras of Enlightenment, Revolution and onward to our continuing challenge of faith vs. reason.

Shorto is a good writer; he quickly engages the reader and his revealing of history is a far cry from those dreary textbooks. He’s obviously a curious and probing writer as the tale includes not only fact, but also anecdote and insight. There were many passages where I was fully affianced with the text.

The setback, and the reason I picked this book up and down for over a month before completion, is that the premise is too skeletal to hold the load Shorto assigns. My thoughts kept running off on side notes and by the time I was half through I had lost sight of the meat of the tale. Perhaps I’ve read to many Da Vinci Code style fictional narratives, but Descartes' Bones left me unfulfilled at having learned anything of historical weight.

Perhaps those with an interest in philosophy, and especially Descartes, might find some new insight here, but for the average historical reader, the final page turns with a jumble of small thoughts and little connections.

© 2007-2009

Santa Responds - Mini Book Review

2008-12-04T18:59:00.000-08:00

Santa Responds is an imagining of what Santa might say to some less than perfect children who write him letters if he were a mean, Grinchy-type Santa. Now… this was difficult one for me because I don’t imagine Santa in that manner. I believe he’s a nice, jolly fellow who likes getting letters and has a forgiving heart. So… I guess I wasn’t the best person to examine this book.

Santa Responds might be enjoyable if you get a kick out of imagining Mr. Claus, with a stogie and a beer, kicked back and ready to fart his way through his naughty list. It might be a good gift book for someone with that sort of humor. But, really, the jokes get tiresome and I read most of the letters without even cracking a grin.

© 2007-2009

Occasional Therapy For Your Midlife Years by Dr. Ellyn Gamberg - Book Review

2008-12-03T18:27:00.000-08:00

Occasional Therapy for Your Midlife Years: 12 Sessions to Combat the Crisis by Dr. Ellyn Gamberg is for those of us who are too busy, too embarrassed or too tired to call up a therapist. A practical self-help guide for those who’ve reached the magical age where worries about health, looks, well-being and prospects for the future are bearing ever so swiftly down upon us, Occasional Therapy for Your Midlife Years is an easy to use guidebook of “exercises, strategies and techniques” to assist you through the storm of worries.

Occasional Therapy for Your Midlife Years’ format is simple and easy to follow with researched discussion of a particular topic followed by exercises and strategies to enhance your understanding of your concerns. The inclusion of various research-backed statements help us to see that we’re not alone in our gloom and provides a feeling of ‘so I’m not crazy.’ Especially helpful are each chapter’s “Try This” tips, which offer practical exercises to examine various issues one might be undertaking. The table of contents breaks each general topic into sub-topics, allowing for easy examination of specific interests. The topics cover a sizeable array of midlife issues: marriage and sex, an empty nest, beauty and health, as well as more severe forms of depression and disorders.

My only criticism comes with the Insights sections. I, personally, found these out of sync with the rest of the book and mildly off-putting. I felt as if I were thrown into a Hallmark moment with Stuart Smalley after digging into some really great tips and ideas. But, it’s just a small blemish on a first-rate means of observing some of the changes mid-lifers might be experiencing. Occasional Therapy for Your Midlife Years is an terrific self-help addition for midlife folks like me.

© 2007-2009

When Wanderers Cease To Roam: A Traveler’s Journal Of Staying Put by Vivian Swift - Book Review

2008-11-15T12:10:00.001-08:00

With a sensible East Coast mindset and an unaffected pen, Vivian Swift shares her personal journal on the joys of staying put after years of travel in When Wanderers Cease to Roam: A Traveler's Journal of Staying Put. It’s difficult to pigeonhole this book into a standard description: part artist’s scrapbook - part journal, it’s filled with cats, tea, travel recollections, architecture, fashion, history, anecdotes, advice and fond remembrances of a life well-lived. It tumbles forth in a month-by-month format of folksy charm. The watercolors are vivid and whimsical; the handwritten text is completely the author’s own.

One of my favorite sections illustrates the deeper than surface recollections of a woman coming to terms with the end of her traveling desires and, in a larger sense, accepting herself: In 1977, while visiting Paris on Bastille Day, she met a handsome boy. They laughed the night away, kissed a bit, and considered themselves oh-so cosmopolitan. They were certain they’d grow into nothing at all resembling their parents…. I won’t spoil page 27 for you, but you can imagine her, 20+ years later, recollecting on that youthful cliché.

When Wanderers Cease to Roam: A Traveler's Journal of Staying Put is a great gift book, especially with the holiday season approaching. Recommended for women of a certain age, wayward travelers seeking a new vision and memoir readers.

AUTHOR'S WEBSITE HERE

© 2007-2009

Two Brothers ~ One North, One South by David H. Jones - Book Review

2008-11-12T08:55:00.000-08:00

It is obvious when a writer has done his homework and it’s easy to see that David H. Jones has lived and breathed Civil War history while writing the novel Two Brothers - One North, One South. William Prentiss lies dying in a hospital bed while his brother, Clifton, lies a few feet down the hall in the officers’ ward. Walt Whitman, a frequent volunteer to wounded Civil War soldiers, cares for young William as William recounts his decision to fight for the south and the events leading to his mortal injury. Clifton has refused a reunion with his brother due to their divided loyalties. When William dies, Whitman seeks out the young man’s brother where he also encounters an additional two brothers eager to hear of their youngest brother’s last thoughts.

Most Civil War aficionados will find much accuracy in the tale and notice the author’s fair treatment of both sides of the conflict. The inclusion of Whitman works well and I suspect Jones has done additional research on the iconic writer as the sections with Whitman are some of the finer points in the novel.

But while we cannot fault Jones in his research of the events, the blemish resides in his historian’s pen. The action scenes are far too lackluster and the dialogue too wooden. There were also long passages of historical chronicling where an editor’s pen was sorely needed.

I adore historical fiction and am quite familiar with the Civil War, but Two Brothers - One North, One South is more for the war chronicle reader (and there are certainly those about!). The story itself is quite interesting and the appendix makes for added insight.

Recommended for Civil War aficionados & war story lovers.

Author's Website with nice book video: Here

© 2007-2009

Amadi's Snowman by Katia Novet Saint-Lot with illustrations by Dimitrea Tokunbo - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2008-11-11T08:15:00.000-08:00

Amadi, a confident Igbo boy who is good with numbers, has decided that he will be a businessman. He doesn’t understand his mother’s insistence that he learn to read. One day, while strolling the marketplace in his village, he spies a picture he cannot comprehend. If he could only read the words under the picture perhaps he could understand..... Thus is the tale of Amadi's Snowman by Katia Novet Saint-Lot with illustrations by Dimitrea Tokunbo.

Though the central message of Amadi's Snowman is one of the joys of reading, I was especially thoughtful of a personal experience as I read this colorful tale....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner - Book Review

2008-11-10T15:02:00.000-08:00

The Shape of Mercy tells the story of how three lives intermingle when Lauren, a wealthy college student seeking independence and validation, takes a job transcribing a Salem witch trials diary penned by a young woman named Mercy. As Lauren uncovers secrets held within the diaries pages, she also uncovers the secrets of the diary’s elderly owner, Abigail. The three form an unlikely multigenerational kinship.

The author does an excellent job meshing three diverse generations while illustrating the universality of love and its depths. Though each young woman walks a unique path, each will make choices that affect the whole of her life. The story is well written with insight into human emotions and relationships. The diary passages make up a large portion of the novel and create a story-within-a-story without a break in the narrative’s flow. The characters are a likeable bunch with Abigail being the most secretive and, therefore, the most intriguing. Her story is a lesson on the pains and regrets of love while Mercy’s is the story of supreme sacrifice. Lauren, like the reader, has much to learn from these two women.

Although I am an avid historical fiction devotee, I have not read anything billed as Christian fiction. After reading The Shape of Mercy, I was surprised to see that it had been labeled as such. I even reread to look for any overt religious tones. There are none. This is interesting for me as I would never have picked up a book that had been labeled "Christian Fiction.” And it would have been my loss.

Recommended for those who enjoy coming of age tales, female relationship stories or historical fiction.

Buy The Shape of Mercy HERE

© 2007-2009

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

2008-11-10T08:18:00.000-08:00

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld is an imagined account of Laura Bush’s life. The main facts are there: she killed someone as a teen driver, had a solid middle class upbringing and grew up to be a nice 60’s era librarian who married into a rowdy politically influential family. The author throws in a few zingers of fantasy and does little to hide her own political leanings.

If you like historical fiction, you will get very little history here. If you like political intrigue, nada. If you’re looking for some insight into the mind of Laura Bush, look elsewhere. If you think George Bush is a buffoon who married a nice accommodating gal, you might find a story here. That’s all she wrote.

If you want more info on this novel, you can find the NY Times review from Joyce Carol Oates HERE and one I agree with in the Telegraph HERE.

© 2007-2009

Arthur of Albion by John Matthews and illustrated by Pavel Tatarnikov - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2008-11-04T19:53:00.000-08:00

The back cover of Arthur of Albion says that the publisher, Barefoot Books, celebrates art & story. This couldn’t be truer. Arthur of Albion by John Matthews and illustrated by Pavel Tatarnikov is lavish and gilded, putting one in the perfect mood to travel back to Arthurian times. Though it is the size of a picture book, it’s really filled with stories of quests and magic, chivalry and wonder.

The author has condensed the traditional Arthurian legends into smaller snippets for a quick introduction to Arthur Pendragon. The stories are short enough to hold student interest, yet long enough to provide the essentials....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

Martyn Pig by Kevin Brooks

2008-10-14T11:16:00.000-07:00

Martyn Pig" is an engaging suspense story well suited to the 6th -8th grade crowd. Mr. Brooks does a fine job mixing typical adolescent topics, crushes and self-absorption, with more serious themes of death and the definition a ‘bad’ person. The suspenseful edge and twist ending will make for a pleasant read for most young adolescents........ Continue review on Reading Rumpus.

Do Not Open by John Farndon - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2008-10-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

DK Publishing, the king of vivid photography and tantalizing trivia, has done it once again with Do Not Open: An encyclopedia of the world's best kept secrets The large chrome safe houses a hardback book filled with brightly engaging graphics that pull the reader's eyes to the page. The text is just enough to quench a hungry investigator's thirst.

I own several DK Publishing books, both for children and adults, and I have NEVER been disappointed......... Continue reading the review on Reading Rumpus

© 2007-2009

Seeing Redd by Frank Beddor - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2008-10-12T11:11:00.000-07:00

The second book in Beddor’s Looking Glass Trilogy, Seeing Redd begins almost immediately where the first book ended. We find newly crowned Queen Alyss trying to juggle the demands of rebuilding a country largely destroyed during the reign of her aunt, Redd. And while Alyss is preoccupied, her banished aunt is plotting an uprising, drawing the purveyors of dark imagination to her side. It’s no stretch to recognize a confrontation with Alyss and the followers of white imagination is approaching...... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2008-10-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

In 1865, Reverend Charles Dodgson (aka: Lewis Carroll) published a little nonsense story for Alice Liddell. It was heralded a masterpiece and has never gone out of print since. But Rev. Dodgson was a thief. He stole and twisted the story from Alice herself, the story of the land from whence she came, from where she was meant to be queen….

This is the premise of Frank Beddor’s Looking Glass Wars. Alyss must return to Wonderland to reclaim her rightful throne, taken by her Aunt Redd during a bloody battle. It was this battle that began the story, sent Alyss into seclusion in our world, and killed Alyss’s mother as her Aunt Redd stormed the castle screaming, “Off with their stinking, boring heads!”....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2008-10-10T11:06:00.000-07:00

Danielle (aka: Helen, Sydney, Hortense, and any other name that might fit the need) is a thief, just like her mother and father. Her life consists of looking into other people’s windows and coveting their stuff. She hasn’t gone to school, nor had a friend or boyfriend.

Landing in the beach town of Heaven, Danielle and her mother begin to case out the rich beach homes filled with shiny silver (her mother’s specialty) and for the first time in Danielle’s life, things begin to change. Danielle starts to make friends and flirts dangerously with the one young man her mother would deny her. It’s her first chance to have an identity that includes friends and first love, to maybe have something she can call her own....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, at Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

Sea Queens by Jane Yolen - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2008-10-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

Sea Queens tells the stories of thirteen infamous female pirates in an enlightening manner with sidebar clarifications and added tidbits that are perfect for your pirate’s collection, something the kids are clamoring for since pirates went Disney.

Jane Yolen gives us girl villains and treachery that can stand up to their male counterparts. She does a good job separating what we know and what must be left to speculation with regard to the sketchy details of pirating....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2008-10-08T10:12:00.000-07:00

Is Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson a story of the American Revolution, a story of slavery's injustice, or a story of a young girl’s struggle to keep the remaining trace of her family together as she lingers at adulthood’s door?

As America seeks autonomy from monarchy’s rule, an orphaned slave girl, Isabel, is promised freedom upon her mistress’s death. But after the death, Isabel, and her younger sister Ruth, are sold into a vile and conflicting situation. Who does she trust? Who will help her find the lawyer that can substantiate her claim? Isabel has no allegiance to either the British or the Revolutionaries and consorting with either poses dangerous consequences. She seeks only what all men seek: freedom.......
Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

Anatomy Of A Boyfriend by Daria Snadowsky - Young adult book review from Reading Rumpus

2008-09-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

You will read many reviews warning you that Anatomy Of A Boyfriend is sexually explicit. They’ll mention masturbation and oral sex as well as doing it. But, Anatomy Of A Boyfriend is really just the story of a smart teenage girl who gets completely, blindly, struck dumb by love.

Dominique dreams of going to med school, reads Gray’s Anatomy the way most teens read Stephen King and doesn’t seem the sort of girl who would lose her virginity on prom night. That’s just too corny for a girl like Dom. But a guy named Wesley fits the bill of knight in shining armor all too well and soon Dom is living and breathing for Wes’s every wish. I enjoyed the portrayal of Dom as smart girl who gets suckered into the romantic stereotype all too easily and I suspect teen girls will recognize their own voice in hers.

Anatomy Of A Boyfriend's graphic depiction of the fumbling we all experience while wading into the pool of our sexuality is dead on....... Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

The Pages In Between by Erin Einhorn - Book Review

2008-09-12T14:08:00.000-07:00

The Pages In Between is a tale of mothers & daughters, nationality & family, love & war and the hazards of pulling forth memories long buried. It’s the author’s own legacy of Holocaust death and survival, a sweeping epic told in intimate terms.

Erin Einhorn’s mother was born in war torn Poland in 1942. Her survival and subsequent relocation to Detroit, Michigan is the stuff of Hollywood tear-jerkers and historical reverence. Yet… why, her daughter often wondered, did she refuse to discuss it? Orphaned, left behind, shuffled between caregivers, surely there must be more to the tale than just a hand wave dismissing it all.

But we have adages for a reason and be careful what you wish for holds no greater truth than in The Pages In Between. Life’s not always simply black and white; people aren’t simply good or evil. Prejudice and old wounds can be passed on through generations; anger simmers and infects the whole pot.

The Pages In Between is an excellent look at the legacy left to those who were born to Holocaust survivors. As the years pass and more survivors die of old age, I suspect this sort of story will be told again and again. I have long been extremely interested in my own genealogical tree because my ancestors came here and purged all traces of their European selves. I’m a solid mutt, a mix of German, English and Swiss. I’d never have known this had I not gone looking, as even my own American born parents had no desire and only sketchy memories of the stories they’d heard in childhood. Searching one’s genealogy is like a giant puzzle, a personal quest with each little sliver of parchment a treasure. Ms. Einhorn never sought to become a genealogist, had no interest in the little scraps of paper, wanted only to walk the land of her mother’s birth, to see the sights her mother might have seen as a child, to illicit some emotion from her mother’s stored memories. She found, as I did, that little scraps of paper hold gigantic knowledge.

The Pages In Between reads like a novel, only getting bogged down in facts a few times, as Einhorn uncovers truths and resentments that her mother had never questioned and had probably hoped to keep buried. One is left wondering if burying the past or digging it up is the more noble; if heroism can be defined, and if we are doomed to our ingrained prejudices.

Recommended for historical fiction lovers, genealogy aficionados, memoir enthusiasts and those interested in a not-so-clear-cut rendition in the saga of the Poles & the Jews during WWII.

Buy The Pages In Between Here

© 2007-2009

Gettysburg, The Graphic Novel by C.M. Butzer - Children's book review from Reading Rumpus

2008-09-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

They used to be called Comics, geeky connotation firmly attached, but now, Graphic Novels are the big deal. Yes, the comics name has been reinvented to a less geeky, more in the know, form. And sure, graphic novels might hold more storyline than a comic, but lets face it: Someone finally got smart and realized that all those years of hot comic sales should be repackaged for a new generation.

Smart, well, drawn and sweeping in its subject, Gettysburg, The Graphic Novel is exactly the right thing for today’s young reader........ Continue reading the review, along with teaching resources, on Reading Rumpus.

© 2007-2009

The Shiniest Jewel by Marian Henley - Book Review

2008-09-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

I picked up Marian Henley’s graphic-novel The Shiniest Jewel from my ever expanding review pile and thought, “I’ll get through this fast so I can move on to the more weighty stories that I’ve promised to review.” While The Shiniest Jewel is a fast read, it’s certainly not less weighty. Henley does an excellent job of involving the reader in her joy and despair, her fear and uncertainty. The graphic novel style fits well and her tone is a mixture of quirk and depth.

The Shiniest Jewel tells Marian Henley's tale of deciding she wants to adopt a child on the cusp of her 50th birthday. Along the middle-age highway are typical bumps (boyfriends and aging parents) and the reader quickly begins to hope for Henley's success.

I walked away from The Shiniest Jewel with dreams of adopting my own Russian baby and cheesy tears streaming down my face. Perhaps the thing that packs the most punch is not the death of Henley’s father or the difficult path to her son’s adoption, but the sense of beauty and depth in our everyday lives.

Recommended for those interested in adoption, those who like quick & uplifting tales of real life people making their way in the world, and those who enjoy graphic-novel nonfiction (a small genre indeed)

Buy The Shiniest Jewel Here

© 2007-2009

First Daughter by Eric Van Lustbader - Book Review

2008-09-11T07:30:00.000-07:00

First Daughter is as topical as you can get. It’s a political thriller set in the days before a Christian leaning, hard line foreign policy president leaves office. His predecessor promises change and moderate care. Sound familiar?

The president elect’s daughter, Alli, has been taken hostage and Jack McClure, a friend of the president-elect, is brought in to assist the various government agencies in the search. McClure also happens to be the father of a recently deceased daughter who just happened to be Alli’s dorm mate and friend. There are several sinister plots co-exiting in this twisting, turning who-done-it.

I’m probably the wrong sort of person to review First Daughter, as I never read thrillers, and have read only a handful of political leaning novels, period. If you include politics in the story, you can just about forget me reading your book. However, I did finish First Daughter without too mush offense. Lustbader does a fine job keeping all the plot and story lines moving and the ending has a little surprise thrown in for good measure. I only felt one continuity error in the political theme. I wasn’t sure exactly what Lustbader was trying to say or if he was even trying to make a statement.

For those who like political thrillers, I think First Daughter is probably your cup of tea.

Buy First Daughter Here

© 2007-2009