tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7703310770897753012024-03-14T02:29:17.216-07:00Out ThereStacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.comBlogger203125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-28668623368638822372017-12-06T07:43:00.000-08:002017-12-06T07:43:03.517-08:00The Book Review Club - I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter</i><br />
Erika L. S<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "roboto" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">á</span>nchez<br />
YA<br />
<br />
Do not judge a book by its cover - this is a recurring theme in this story. Guiltily, I admit, the cover was part of its initial appeal for me. I grew up near Chicago so the lake to the right and Sears Tower there to the left--or whatever it's called these days--grabbed me. Even more so, the title. It entices with so much. Conflict, for one. Then, for some, a new culture. For others, resonance. And for others still, all, none, and/or something entirely different. Which all adds up to: I was hooked before I ever opened the book.<br />
<br />
Basic premise: Julia is the black sheep of her family. When her older sister, and perfect Mexican daughter to their parents, Olga, dies in an accident, this becomes even more apparent, and, ultimately, unbearable. Julia spirals down into a depression she has already long suffered from, until she attempts suicide. No spoilers. That's just the first half of the book. The second half is Julia's journey of self-discovery, while also discovering who her seemingly perfect older sister really was, and how that reshapes how she sees herself.<br />
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The story moves from Julia's home and school in Chicago, to a mental clinic, to Mexico, to, ultimately, New York. It is packed with new characters and new settings. I have rarely seen an author pack so many "sets" into a book. It works, but it's not one of those books you read slowly. The faster you get through, the easier it is to juggle the cast.<br />
<br />
Also, the easier it is to grapple with the first half of the book. Julia is depressed. Her sister is dead. Family expectations get heaped on her. It's too much, especially for a teenager. And while her character and the way she acts are very real, she is, ultimately, a hard character to like.<br />
<br />
One of the things I talk with kids about when I do author visits is what kinds of stories we want to read vs. how we want our lives to go. Arguably, we want to live "happy all the time". We want to have all the clocks in the world stop at night and everybody gets to accidentally sleep in but without any consequences, ace the math test, have pizza every day for lunch (almost anyway). BUT, we do not want to read "happy all of the time". It's, well, boring. We want bad things to happen to characters in stories.<br />
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After having read this piece, I'd add, but we still want to like those characters. We don't want them to be too much like us, or, for too long anyway. Julia is rough on the world. She spreads a lot of unhappiness and hate. She is biting, sarcastic, angry. She's very real. Her personality very much fits her circumstances. It would be nearly impossible not to be that way given her depression, environment, and the devastating loss of a sibling. At the same time, reading her experiences of the world is abrasive, it's hard, it put me off at times. I'm not proud to admit that, but it was my emotional reaction. This may be because the world right now feels too abrasive, harsh, and indifferent at best already. Literature tends to be where I go to take a break. This was no break. This was a harsh reality.<br />
<br />
Nevertheless, it's an important story, an important view into the world of depression that so many suffer from, a way to begin to understand by getting inside a fictional character's thoughts for just a little while and realize how overwhelming psychosis is. It's the kind of book that would do really well in a classroom, fostering discussion, being shared, rather than read alone and leaving the reader to process alone. But however read, one thing remains certain, this story will move a reader. It will stick with them. It may even change them. S<span style="background-color: white; font-family: roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">á</span>nchez has created a masterful story, from the very first word of the title itself.<br />
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For other story gems to light up these winter months, check out:<br />
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Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-45909203889875780192017-11-01T06:59:00.000-07:002017-11-01T06:59:52.224-07:00The Book Review Club - Six of Crows<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Six of Crows</i><br />
Leigh Bardugo<br />
YA<br />
<br />
It's not the classic horror that I can't seem to stay away from this time of year--little known fact: having the bejeezus scared out of you scares away the Halloween candy calories too--but it is classically, ruthlessly good fiction.<br />
<br />
<i>Six of Crows </i>is the story of a gang from the worst side of Ketterdam, a fictionalized Amsterdam replete with canals, ruthless trade and traffiking of every kind, and, of course, drugs. Come on, it's Amsterdam. Even in a fictionalized version, drugs are a must. My favorite quip from my then 12 year old as we were walking out of our vrbo apartment on the Leiedesplein, the last ring of canals around the city, toward Hotel American to catch the street car: "Ah, there's nothing like the smell of fresh pot in the morning!' Amsterdam is Amsterdam.<br />
<br />
And drugs drive this story. A gang from the Dregs (think: Redlight District) is hired to break a famous scientist, the creator of a drug called parem, out of a high security prison in Fjerda, a country known for its warrior-soldiers, and bring said scientist back to Ketterdam to the Merchant Council, specifically merchant, Jan Van Eck, who hires them. Supposedly, the Council has chosen a gang, rather than trained soldiers, because they feel a group of criminals has the right experience and deviousness to outsmart warrior-soldiers. Plus, this all must be done far below the political radar.<br />
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Gang leader, Kaz Brekker, pools his most-talented members--Inej, the Wraith; Nina, the Grisha (kind of witch); Matthias, a Fjerdan who's fallen out of grace with his command unit; Jesper, sharpshooter; Wylan, disgraced son of Jan Van Eck and bombs expert.<br />
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The story is told in close 3rd, moving chapter after chapter among the six characters POVs. It got a little confusing at times since it was close 3rd. I had to scroll back to determine from whose POV the chapter was being told. I'm not sure the always added to the storytelling, but at times, it is clear why Bardugo did it. She needed to get inside the head of a character, and instead of doing that piecemeal, she went Full Monty, and committed for the entire story. That said, Bardugo delivers a fast-paced, action-filled, plot intense tale.<br />
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The craft point I found most interesting is that, while Bardugo resolves the initial problem - breaking the scientist out of jail and getting him back to Ketterdam - at the same time, she creates a pressing, new problem that is not resolved at novel's end, So, strings loosened and cut at the beginning are reattached in new and interesting ways, but new strings are undone. This is book one of a duology and my guess is that Bardugo had sold both stories together and had the freedom to end the first book with unfinished business to lure readers into book two - <i>Crooked Kingdom </i>- which I am reading now. So yeah, it works, at least it did on me, and I am notorious for not reading anything but the first book in any sort of continuing saga. My reason: the author put all she had into book one. Those that follow are just staying in that universe. So far, that's my experience with book two, <i>Crooked Kingdom</i>. It isn't a bad thing. There are just so many other, new stories to read. I'm hopelessly behind.<br />
<br />
The question this leaves me with, however, is how much newly unfinished business can a writer leave at the end of a story? Readers like things tied up neatly if the story is going to be over, but what if we writers purposefully don't deliver? What then? Gabriel Garcia Marquez does something akin to this at the ending of <i>One Hundred Years of Solitude </i>but how far can we push it? And what is the result? It feels like fairly uncharted territory for the novel--varying the degree of satisfaction vs. wondering we leave the reader with at the end of a story. It's almost the very premise of a story -- dissatisfaction and its multitude of forms. Hmm...<br />
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For more great reads, click on the Book Review button below. Go on, no tricks, only treats!<br />
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Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-48208829508968429702017-10-04T06:01:00.001-07:002017-10-04T06:01:17.804-07:00The Book Review Club - The Other Einstein<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>The Other Einstein</i><br />
Marie Benedict<br />
Historical Fiction<br />
<br />
To review or not to review - <i>The Other Einstein</i>. I've got serious reservations about the story told in these pages. Reviewing it gives the work press (teeny tiny press, but press). I don't know if that's a good thing. At the same time, the reason I have such reservations is based in a dilemma all authors at one time or another face - ethical boundaries to truth stretching. Given the current climate in the United States, maybe it's a dilemma worth revisiting, if for no other reason than to foster healthy dialogue.<br />
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But we'll get there. First, the premise.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The Other Einstein </i>is an historical tale told around Albert Einstein's first, wife, Mileva Maric. Maric was a brilliant physicist who met Albert while they were both physics students at university in Zurich. Accounts vary as to whether she actually tutored him to help him get into the school, or was "just" his love interest. While Albert managed to pass the rigorous exams and earn his PhD, Mileva got pregnant with their first child, out of wedlock (early 1900s), flunked her exams, twice, thus never completing her degree. This fictional account begins when Mileva travels to Zurich to begin university, and ends with the couple's divorce. It is told in epistolary form.<br />
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Many of the facts about Mileva's life are lost to history. Historians aren't even sure what happened to their first child, a daughter, Lieserl. She disappears from Mileva's life within the first two years after her birth. They don't know for certain what role Mileva played in Albert's academic work. Some posit she was a collaborator and/or the mathematical brains behind his theories, including the theory of special relativity.<br />
<br />
And it is at exactly that juncture - Mileva's role in Albert's work - that Benedict begins to dance on the boundaries of ethics, especially for an academic. [Confession: My first career was as an academic. I have a PhD in poli sci.] There is truly nothing worse for someone who spends her life working on theory and discovering new aspects of the world to have recognition of said work stolen. Benedict writes into her story that, while they collaborated on a number of papers, Albert stole Mileva's ideas, that the theory of special relativity was hers. He had the academic title and thus took the work and all the credit, even the ensuing Nobel Prize.<br />
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Benedict states in the <i>Afterward</i> that there is no proof of any sort of role Mileva may have taken on in Albert's research, but why not take the supposition to its ultimate possibility - Albert stole her ideas. It's a hefty lie, and while fiction, even its lies require justification. Which brings up all sorts of questions:<br />
<br />
1. Is the lie really necessary to create a riveting tale? Mileva's story is already fraught with personal handicaps (both physical, and given the time period, gender-related), loss & grief (of a child & a second son with a mental illness), grief (of her marriage and failed career), disaster (see all of the above), heartbreak (divorce).<br />
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What does adding fictional fuel to the already massive bonfire that became the Einsteins' unhappy union do for the story? Why paint Albert Einstein as such a louse? He divorced his wife to marry his cousin. It's bona fide, juicy NONfiction scandal. He create a cruel list of demands if they were to stay married that turned Mileva into his servant. He was unfaithful. Some researchers have found evidence he beat Mileva (also a facet Benedict includes in her story). Isn't that enough? How does making him seem an unforgivable, unethical thief add to this tale? When does too much thrill begin to do harm?<br />
<br />
2. What effect does the lie have on fact? So little is known about Mileva Maric. This may be the only book many will read about her, and it skews the facts we do know. How many readers will scour the libraries, talk with academics, spend hours on the internet to learn the truth? And how many will simply write off Albert Einstein as a brute of the worst sort?<br />
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3. Which gets at my final and most soul-searching question: what responsibility do we writers have to the truth in our fiction, especially when that truth is so heavily laden with its own ghosts and trauma? When is weaving lies from truths to make story going too far? Sure, we do it all the time. Every good lie has an element of truth. Every damn fine story does too. But how far can we go? When have we gone too far?<br />
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Clearly, ethical boundaries are ever shifting, and dependent on more than one variable. And a writer's first responsibility is to the work. She is supposed to kill her darlings, write as if she has a knife to her throat, entertain her reader, hell, keep them on the edge of their seats, but sometimes, the truth is more than up to the task, and sometimes the lie, while entertaining, does harm that cannot be undone. And that leaves me wondering: when does the lie become intolerable, even for fiction?<br />
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For more fascinating Fall reads, head over to <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website</a>. She's got a bushel full.Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-8863624836990420192017-09-05T19:06:00.000-07:002017-09-05T19:06:00.172-07:00The Book Review Club - A Gentleman in Moscow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>A Gentleman In Moscow</i><br />
Amor Towles<br />
Adult<br />
<br />
Picasso had a blue phase (and a red one). As far as reading choices go, I've had a down under, a WW II, and now, mysteriously, a "communist" phase (is this what happens when your first leave the nest?).<br />
<br />
Without realizing it, I picked out both a book to read and listen to set during communist periods--one in Russia and one in China. The one in China is achingly well-written, but since I've had about all the ache I can handle (again, see: first one leaving the nest), I am writing about the more upbeat, <i>A Gentleman In Moscow.</i> However, should you feel a communist phase coming on and need reinforcements, check out: <i>Do Not Say We Have Nothing, </i>by Madeleine Thien. So, so good.<br />
<br />
Towles starts his tale with a verdict, a grim one. No, not firing squad (I did promise more upbeat). The year is 1922. The Bolshviks are firmly rooted in power. The old guard is slowly being weeded out, banished, "relieved of their duties" (okay, yes, there is some firing squad-ing going on, but it's off stage) to rid Russia of its entrenched aristocracy.<br />
<br />
Except for one Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov, who is, surprisingly, a Bolshevik sympathizer. His 1913 poem decrying the crushing of the 1905 revolt proves this beyond doubt. However, he seems to have since been poisoned by his royal blood, and while a firing squad truly seems the only way to deal with this "lost" sympathizer, there are those within the new regime that see he is spared, albeit banished within his own country, to the Hotel Metropole to be exact, to live out his days in a cramped former servant's quarters on the six floor.<br />
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And so begins an adventure that only twice leaves the confines of the hotel, and yet is ripe to bursting with love, loss, despair, parenthood, friendship, grace, espionage, so many things not even Count Rostov himself could ever have imagined, banished to a hotel in the middle of Moscow where he can only see the world he loves so dearly revolving around him, until he finally, for a love even deeper than country, risks it all.<br />
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Don't worry, I won't give away the ending. But it is REALLY good. What I loved so much about this book is Towles' mastery of phrase, unique manner of revealing the world through the eyes of his characters, and yes, all things Russian. It's a hidden world to me, one far more profound and complex and rich that Towles introduces with promise of so much more beneath, driving it all.<br />
<br />
Although Towles begins with Rostov's statement that all poetry is "a call to arms", this book isn't the call you might be expecting. It is a call to hope, to love, to love even the most wayward, decrepit, seemingly fiendish of all, the enemy who has condemned him. No matter when I stopped listening, I felt uplifted, refreshed, dare I say, hopeful. It's something I feel as if we have all had so precious little of of late, and yet that we need to reaffirm and embrace anew what binds us all.<br />
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So, if you're feeling like hope, like believing in the silver lining again, pick up Towles book, enjoy the layers of meaning and discovery as rich and surprising as that great Russian stew, borscht, itself.<br />
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And then daintily dab your lips and take a gander down the smorgasbord of Fall delights laid out in all their splendor on <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website</a>. <i>N<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">aslazhdat'sya!</span></i><span style="color: #878787; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span>Enjoy!Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-48815100356143654442017-05-10T12:20:00.000-07:002017-05-10T12:20:47.398-07:00The Book Review Club - Planet Jupiter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ56UROG0fr1TcPKhD20hVO6Swz3YQYauR6C61Z4Dd6RYCyKi6-WHGvvicfuxaqDnShanF58mc6HQ54gmbJr-EfgoOo_YE4HtFEbxvzFNo5Voblh037jzMkg8qSUQ2rwJ-f0WGsfPrIa4/s1600/a+jupiter_tour.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ56UROG0fr1TcPKhD20hVO6Swz3YQYauR6C61Z4Dd6RYCyKi6-WHGvvicfuxaqDnShanF58mc6HQ54gmbJr-EfgoOo_YE4HtFEbxvzFNo5Voblh037jzMkg8qSUQ2rwJ-f0WGsfPrIa4/s320/a+jupiter_tour.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<i>Planet Jupiter</i><br />
Jane Kurtz<br />
middle grade<br />
<br />
I have the unexpected, great pleasure to participate in the <i>Planet Jupiter </i>blog tour. I've been a fan of Jane's writing for years (since she lived Kansas, a lot closer to my home in Oklahoma, and we presented together). So, while I know the author, I asked for an ARC and to participate in the tour--like a crazed reader fan. Fortunately, "crazed" doesn't put Jane off, and here I am.<br />
<br />
Basic plot: Jupiter, a child busker whose nomadic family moves up and down the Pacific coast earning a living, is thrown out of orbit when her father leaves, her brother takes on a stationary job at a cafe to earn money to help Jupiter, her mom, and her adopted-cousin from Ethiopia, Edom, move into a house in Portland, while Edom's mom (Jupiter's aunt) undergoes treatment for cancer. Jupiter is thrust into the role of big sister, one she feels none too comfortable with, and wants to run away to the only life she knows and loves--busking. Edom wants to run away to find her mother. The two devise a plan to reach their goals.<br />
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Jupiter faces very relatable problems--welcoming a "new sibling", moving, the new and unexpected--that will awaken instant kinship in readers young and old. The novelty of her setting and family lifestyle/occupation, keep the reader engaged. This is a new take on moving house by actually moving into one. And while Jupiter doesn't have much trouble making friends thanks to her nomadic/performance drive life, Edom does. The disparity in their personalities and experiences speaks to more than one type of reader. <br />
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One aspect of the story that was harder for me to relate to was that Jupiter so readily forgave her father his many shortcomings, not least of which--leaving her. She displaces her anger on her mom's new love interest, which feels very true to life, but I would have expected more anger, more lashing out, more frustration at being abandoned. Jupiter does plan to run away, but back to the life she knows, and she never completely comes off the rails. She is fairly steady. Edom isn't. She is younger, and has already lost one parent. Maybe that is truer to life, and maybe that's why the emotional arc feels softer to me. Fictional plot trajectories have a tendency to cut years off what might happen in real life and/or combine a lot more subplots into one, or spike the climax more than what would happen in an actual setting. Still, dividing the climax across two characters, and having the supporting character feel the abject hopelessness of her situation more poignantly did soften the resolution for me.<br />
<br />
Nevertheless, there is a lot to love in this story. From a craft perspective, Kurtz makes use of the busking profession
in a creative way. She starts each chapter with verse from a folk song
that resonates throughout the chapter, subtly prepping the reader for the events about to unfold, and highlighting the emotional trajectory via song.<br />
<br />
The
subplot about urban foraging for food has me wracking my brains as to
whether my city is as edible as Portland, Oregon, which would be a
fantastic jumping off point for classroom exploration of the world
immediately surrounding any school. Or go out and see what part of your city you can eat. And somebody warn the crickets and ants. They are some of the tastiest delights in any neighborhood. <br />
<br />
For more great reads, whistle on over to <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's site</a>. She's belting them out, and in verse!<br />
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<br />Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-63697515399792913082017-04-05T07:35:00.000-07:002017-04-05T07:35:35.250-07:00The Book Review Club - The Hate U Give<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7RxG-hrtmtJ2Tjhltb6D9JJelXAowctUML-7FFlV6kXlyGj6mQGJKBH0tQaQcpdyYMy4G-HTpHNTjH2RbyZ9XAIVDdUWzZkRIW0t5u1mxv_j0h2hcmMumlF-rGM2aRpM7DM2vj2QCOh8/s1600/a+71VfOKSGUjL.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7RxG-hrtmtJ2Tjhltb6D9JJelXAowctUML-7FFlV6kXlyGj6mQGJKBH0tQaQcpdyYMy4G-HTpHNTjH2RbyZ9XAIVDdUWzZkRIW0t5u1mxv_j0h2hcmMumlF-rGM2aRpM7DM2vj2QCOh8/s320/a+71VfOKSGUjL.jpeg" width="211" /></a></div>
<i>The Hate U Give</i><br />
Angie Thomas<br />
YA<br />
<br />
While I was working on my Ph.D. at the University of Virginia, the chair of my department, Paula McClain, hired me to be one of her research assistants, caveat - I was the only white person. I had no idea what that meant when I started. I knew what it was like to be a minority. I'd lived in German during Desert Storm, when Germans protested the war, stoned the Kennedy Haus just meters from my apartment. It was the first time I tried to "pass" for someone I was not, namely German. I was afraid to be American.<br />
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In the years that followed, while I worked as Paula's research assistant, I had the rare opportunity to see the world from a different perspective. I began to understand how subtle racism can be, and how overt, but missed by somebody white because I only saw the world through white eyes. <br />
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I'm still learning. This book is seminal in that process of learning and understanding. Although it's been said a lot before, it's a timely story, one that fosters dialogue, that opens a window into what it means to be African American in the U.S. today. It's a book much-needed by our polarized culture.<br />
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Basic premise: Starr Carter, who is from a poor neighborhood and goes to school at a preppy suburban school, is the only witness when her friend, Khalil is shot and killed by a police officer one night. Starr is caught between her two worlds and deciding, basically, what kind of woman she wants to be. How will she handle the situation? Will she speak up? Will she keep quiet? Who are her real friends? Was she really Khalil's friends? This book is packed with so many existential and hard issues, decisions, and transforming situations. Every chapter is a discussion waiting to happen. It's challenged me to re-view the way I see the world, the way I interact with others, the way I perceive. <br />
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One of the most interesting craft aspects of this story is the use of language. Thomas moves between the way Starr talks when she's at home in her neighborhood (Garden Heights Starr), to the way she talks when she's at school (Williamson Starr). Khalil's death forces Starr's two worlds to collide, and Thomas cleverly uses linguistic variation and mixing to underscore and heighten the merging of those worlds.<br />
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While I worked for Paula, I collected data for updates to her book, <i>Can We All Get Along</i>. It's no easy feat. There are a lot of possible points for clashing. <i>The Hate U Give</i> addresses some of them, and what happens when we refuse to see beyond the easy answers, the stereotypes, when we don't see why those stereotypes may exist, or the role each of us plays in making our culture. Ultimately, Paula gave me hope. Thomas gives me hope. Because they challenge me to grow and engage in getting along.<br />
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For more thoughtful reads this Spring, visit <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website</a>. She's got a bundle!Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-49312792955016546472017-03-01T06:25:00.001-08:002017-03-01T06:25:17.599-08:00The Book Review Club - The Sun is Also a Star<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>The Sun is Also a Star</i><br />
Nicola Yoon<br />
<i>YA</i><br />
<br />
Whenever a book gets a lot of buzz I am, for mysterious reasons, wary and skeptical. However, with <i>The Sun is Also a Star</i> there is plenty of merit to the buzz.<br />
<i> </i><br />
Basic Premise: Natasha and Daniel meet one fated day in NYC. Daniel is supposed to be pursuing the next step from high school to becoming a doctor--an interview for Yale. Natasha is doing everything she can to avoid her family's deportation. Their paths cross and they discover a new kind of love, one held shortly but as brightly as a supernova.<br />
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From a craft perspective, there is a lot to take away and chew on. Yoon weaves in the concept of muliverses, i.e. multiple universes existing at the same time (the Trekkie in me was thrilled). She also uses multiple POVs, as well as storytelling formats, to underscore the multiplicity of life going on in, around and through us.<br />
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Her use of both has me thinking hard. Sometimes, ever so rarely, a new form of storytelling is born, such as script format, play format, epistolary novels, text format, email format, a combination of all of the above. I don't think this particular combination of multiple POV, as well as light play format to divulge backstory and concurrent stories, will become a new form of storytelling. Rather, Yoon's compilation of pieces of different forms of storytelling to underscore the multi-nature of her story is singular, perhaps unrepeatable, because of its singularity of purpose and style, but it works. And it has me wondering, what else one could combine to underscore a story's plot, character, etc. <br />
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The other significant issue going on in this novel is that of immigration. In this case, Natasha's family is clearly, unequivocally, illegally in the U.S. from Jamaica, whereas Daniel's family moved her legally from Korea (and, ironically, eventually goes back to live between the two countries). There are novels of material for discussion here. How are immigrants treated, especially in the current U.S. climate? What happens when we deport illegal immigrants--to them, our society, and their native society? These are questions painfully in need of discussion now, if for no other reason than they help us as individuals mine and discover, perhaps even expand, the boundaries of our own humanity. Embracing the difficult conversations is something that seems to be getting lost in the current climate, and yet it is so integral to fostering a healthy, ethical, evolving community and country.<br />
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Okay, okay, enough of the soapbox. Enjoy <i>The Sun is Also a Star</i>. Writers, there is plenty to steal. Readers, there is plenty to ponder. For more pilfering great finds, sneak over to <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website.</a> She's got a whole van full (down by the river :-).Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-68351631738143947002017-02-01T07:26:00.000-08:002017-02-01T07:26:47.764-08:00The Book Review Club - Spare and Found Parts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Spare and Found Parts</i><br />
Sarah Maria Griffin<br />
YA - Horror<br />
<br />
I cannot watch scary movies. Can't do it. I went to <i>Nightmare on Elm Street </i>for my 16th birthday. It was the first and last scary movie I saw in a theater. I still have nightmares. Which is why I love the literary horror genre so much. It's limited by the reaches of my imagination, which is scared (and satisfied) with a lot less fright than your apparent horror movie buff. I'm such a wimp. Still, I have found my horror outlet. Yay!<br />
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Add to that that <i>Spare and Found Parts </i>is a retelling of <i>Frankenstein </i>(I own the annotated version because what is horror without proper annotation, I ask you?) set in a future Ireland. Irish horror? I'm hooked already.<br />
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Basic premise: Society was brought down by the almighty machine, i.e. computers, and is now in a post-computer (read: computerless) age. Humankind has suffered a pandemic that killed millions. Still, people are born without certain body parts. Enter Nell Crane. She became sick with the pandemic as a child and needed a new heart. Her father, renowned prosthetics maker, Julian Crane, fashions one out of metal for her. It ticks (there are overtures of <i>The Wizard of Oz</i> here too). The ticking makes Nell feel separate from others, not like them, so as her contribution--her buy in into society as a grown up--she decides to fashion a partner completely out of metal, a "new/old" android. The only thing missing is a brain, which her father ultimately supplies in the form of a contraband computer memory slip. Thus, Nell awakens her own monster, one to parallel her feelings of monstrosity. Will they fall in love? Can they? Will Nell's contribution be accepted or cause her to be ostracized from society? One must read to find out!<br />
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There is a lot more going on in the story, of course--an unrequited love interest toward Nell on the part of the local undertaker's son, Oliver, his secret claims to her, Julian's attempts to reanimate his dead wife, hidden computer archives, a best friend, an enormous statue fashioned by Nell's late mother that is a surrogate sister to Nell, and a grandmother who is a naturalist and thus adamantly opposed to Nell's artificial life/monster--that add to the richness of this story.<br />
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There is one craft issue that has me puzzling. Griffin tells the story in omniscient third; however, she will, from time to time, in a separate chapter, use second person to hone in on Nell, but also step back from her. Nell is the focus of the soliloquy. It was unclear to me if the speaker is Nell reflecting on herself or an unknown narrator. Nor am I entirely sure what the change in POV is supposed to elicit. It does pause the storytelling and force the reader and Nell to focus more particularly on a particular event and/or moment in time. I don't dislike it. It isn't jarring. I just haven't quite puzzled out how I can take and make my own as a writer because I haven't discovered what it does for the piece for me. Again, always the sign of good writing for me--it makes me think.<br />
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For more good reads and things that go bump in the night, sneak over to <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website</a>. There's no telling what stories (dead or alive) lurk there. Bwahahahahaha!!!!<br />
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Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-31573367341593213612016-12-07T08:41:00.000-08:002016-12-07T08:41:16.048-08:00The Book Review Club - The Greenglass House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>The Greenglass House</i><br />
Kate Milford<br />
middle grade<br />
<br />
Looking for a story to drive away the long hours that pile together in huge drifts winter break? This is just the tale.<br />
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Milo Pine is settling in for the long winter break at his family's hotel, The Greenglass House, when not just one but six unexpected visitors arrive. Milo, who feels most comfortable when things are exactly as they are supposed to be, is thrown off-balance, especially when Meddy arrives. About his age, Meddy is all about adventure, and finding out why the visitors have all descended on the hotel at the same time. A mystery is afoot. As it turns out, the house--which mostly serves the area's smugglers--was the home of the greatest smuggler in Nagspeake, Doc Holystone, who died under mysterious circumstances. Cue--ghost and increased tension. Then things begin to disappear, or are they stolen? Meddy and Milo play Odd Trails, a role-playing game to discover the truth, and it's more than either bargains for. <br />
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Yep, this book version of Clue is sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats and far away from winter boredom as they track down thieves, smugglers, cat burglars, hidden trains, ghosts, lost smugglers, last cargoes, hidden treasures, famous stained glass artists, and the like. Throw in a snow storm and hot chocolate, and winter break is over before anyone realizes it's begun, both in the book and in real life.<br />
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Admittedly, there are a host of characters to keep track of, and it took some getting used to when both Meddy and Milo took on different names for their role-playing characters, and switch back and forth depending on whether their playing or not. And then there are the multiple stories within the story itself. It's a lot, but it works. I suppose some might say such complexity could challenge, even confuse, a young reader. Young readers are often grossly underestimated. They are far better at keeping track of characters and details with their spry little minds than almost any adult, and this one gives them so much to chew on.<br />
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So pull up a chair, get a cup of hot chocolate, and dive in. Just remember to get up and grab a cheese sandwich now and again.<br />
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For more great reads, stomp on over to <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website</a>. She's pouring them hot and tasty!Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-21457770601354804022016-11-02T07:40:00.000-07:002016-11-02T07:40:32.101-07:00The Book Review Club - The Adventurer's Guide to Successful Escapes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFq-TdlHiKQWOfWJ1Eq49sRW3QipgnG4RoOWoVKTYy6yEsd8t1xrsHNUWLH3OWFRslh7oMTXagAJty9NrbKOdBL-z-o42XdS0Z8ZwV9ffsCpR7_9uT4YnPtiutZHjE89eBKowmlk-sDA/s1600/A+26848831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtFq-TdlHiKQWOfWJ1Eq49sRW3QipgnG4RoOWoVKTYy6yEsd8t1xrsHNUWLH3OWFRslh7oMTXagAJty9NrbKOdBL-z-o42XdS0Z8ZwV9ffsCpR7_9uT4YnPtiutZHjE89eBKowmlk-sDA/s320/A+26848831.jpg" width="218" /></a></div>
<i>The Adventurer's Guide </i><br />
<i>to Successful Escapes</i><br />
<br />
Wade Albert White<i> </i><br />
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Of late, I have been deep in middle grade. What a wonderful place to be. If Adult is all about "letting go" and YA is all about "getting a grip", then I'd say MG is all about unbridled exploration. Gene Rodenberry was a middle grade writer at heart.<br />
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<i>The Adventurer's Guide to Successful Escapes </i>(<i>AGSE</i> for short) doesn't disappoint. There are some significant archetypes in this story: orphan, arch villain, a quest. Yet, Wade embraces them as archetypes and then delves below in novel and unexpected ways. Imagination abounds.<br />
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Basic premise: Anne escapes St. Lupin's orphanage with her friend Penelope via a gauntlet and unexpected quest she is now bound to complete or die trying (or get thrown in jail for life if she fails). Hiro, a magician whose spells have some dire kinks, joins them as they race to solve the Quest Riddle and find Anne's true home in a world akin to our own, but filled with magic, divided into tiers, and based on a computer system with an error, and the clock is ticking. Oh, and don't forget the registered villain, St. Lupin's Matron, who has sworn to stop Anne or die trying. <br />
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It's a fast-paced, fun adventure. What got me thinking is the use of omniscient third. The older I get, the more ambivalent I become about POV. Is there really only one voice that could fit a story? That seems like saying there is only one true soulmate for me in the whole world, which means if anything happens to him, I'm doomed to a life of lonely solitude (brightened only by middle grade reads). Given how we women tend to live A LOT longer than our male soulmates, I kind of hope that's not the case (no offense to the middle grade books out there). Or to POV. But come on, even Monet did his waterlilies from multiple angles.<br />
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So what does POV do for a story? In this case, omniscient third allows White to take both a bird's eye view and a soulful look into his characters, although that really only occurs for Anne, so this may be more of a case of close third. Nevertheless, I find that getting outside the character's skin makes a story feel more "told" ... in a good way. There is distance between the reader and what's happening, one that for young readers, creates a safety barrier. Coupled with simple past, they are in the story, but it's a story that already happened, that already had a resolution. Things are gonna be okay. Probably. It's truly ancient storytelling at it's best. "Sit back," the writer says, "And listen. I'm going to scare your socks off, but you'll get them back at the end. Probably."<br />
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Omniscient third also creates a bigger picture. We get to see more of the angles to the story. It gives it a more epic quality, perfect for a quest.<br />
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And finally, omniscient third allows us to take a break and look elsewhere, thus keeping the storytelling fresh as we move from one fast-paced turn to the next.<br />
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Or that's my take on it. For others, click on over to <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website</a>. She's got a stackful.Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-90568954714762764472016-10-05T06:49:00.000-07:002016-10-05T06:49:26.711-07:00The Book Review Club - The Girl Who Drank the Moon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>The Girl Who Drank the Moon</i><br />
Kelly Barnkhill<br />
Middle grade<br />
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You know those books that make you feel like a kid again and full to bursting with all that could be? That's <i>The Girl Who Drank the Moon</i>. Luck seems to be smiling on me because the last couple of months I've stumbled across some incredibly delicious middle grade novels, and this is yet another one.<br />
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Basic premise: Oh gees, where to start...there are a number of intertwined storylines in this book. One focuses on Luna, who is abandoned in the woods, found by a witch, and instead of being taken to a family, raised by said witch. Don't worry, she's a Glinda, not a Wicked, although Xan is over five hundred years old. She accidentally turns Luna into a new witch by letting the baby drink moonlight. And that's when the magic starts.<br />
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Luna's mother is locked up for defying the Elders, who would sacrifice her child. Antain, nephew of one of the Elders who started the child sacrifice tradition to keep the people of the Protectorate in line, breaks with the Elders and becomes a carpenter instead, then later a father, whose child is to be sacrificed. All the while, Xan, together with a friendly Swamp Monster, Glerk, and dragon, Fyrian, work to raise Luna, who leaks magic onto everything and changes it. All of the story lines wind tighter and tighter around each other until they knot and then literally explode with the volcano underneath the woods. Did I mention there are paper birds that are enmagicked?<br />
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It's so much imagination to keep a reader riveted, and yet, I drank this book slowly, to savor all there is to discover. The one part I found slightly confusing is that many chapters begin with an unknown narrator telling a child a part of a story. I never could quite figure out who the narrator was. At one point, I thought it was Luna, looking back, but it wasn't entirely clear to me. I'm not sure if it was meant to remain uncertain and a little confusing, but that was the lasting effect for me.<br />
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Otherwise, I found this to be a nearly flawless weave of imagination into story. While there may be other flaws that other reviewers would find, the end effect was deep satisfaction, as if I'd finally found the kind of chocolate cake that actually leaves you feeling pleasantly full.<br />
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For other great reads this pumpkin season, roll on over to <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website</a>. She's harvesting a bumper crop!Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-79890099103092719622016-09-07T07:28:00.000-07:002016-09-07T07:28:10.361-07:00The Book Review Club - Mark of the Dragonfly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>The Mark of the Dragonfly</i><br />
Jaleigh Johnson<br />
middle grade / fantasy<br />
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This was my best summer read. It's a great beach book, and since I can't quite let go of sand and sun, I'm reviewing it.<br />
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Basic Premise: Girl saves world <br />
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A little more detail, you say?<br />
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Happily!<br />
<br />
Piper is a scrapper from the Meteor Fields of the Merrow Kingdom in the northern reaches of Solace, a world in which things fall through a hole in the sky from one world to another. There are hints that the world losing objects is ours and Solace is a parallel universe, but that isn't spelled out in book 1.<br />
<br />
One of those objects turns out to be a girl, Anna, who is part human and part mechanical. She is sold to a ruthless politician/engineer (a new combination), Doloman, from the Dragonfly Kingdom. Merrow and Dragonfly are at war. Anna could be the key in turning that war, giving one side a weapons edge. Only problem - she seems irreparably broken. She won't wake up. Doloman journeys back to the north to find the scrapper who sold him Anna, hoping to learn more, but his caravan gets caught in a meteor storm. Enter Piper, who has a special (magical) gift with anything mechanical. She is a synergist. She discovers Anna in the caravan wreckage and takes her home to nurse her. In her presence, Anna reawakens, and they begin a journey of discovery that turns into one of flight as Anna's true identity as a machine becomes apparent, and her value.<br />
<br />
It would be hard to sum up the story in fewer words. There is so much to discover. And I haven't even gotten to the chamelin on the train, Gee, who is a boy and also a winged creature. Or the train! For those who are <i>Lord of the Rings </i>fans, this will give you the same cozy, curl up and disappear in a fantastical adventure feel. Granted, there is a lot of world-building, and yes, information dumps. Watch out for those. The beginning is pock-marked with them. And, homage to <i>Hunger Games</i>. Piper is from Scrap Town Number 16 in the Territories and they're dirt poor.<br />
<br />
Yet, the characters are interesting enough, the pacing fast enough, the mashing of steampunk and fantasy novel enough (and the sun and sand perfect enough) to forgive Johnson the dumps. In the end, I just had fun on this adventure, and I haven't said that in a good long time.<br />
<br />
So, if you've feeling up for a jaunt into a fantastical world in which anything is possible, pick up <i>The Mark of the Dragonfly</i>. And for more great Fall Fun, take a gander through more Book Review Club reviews on <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's site</a>. Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-88501320717133406972016-06-01T06:46:00.000-07:002016-06-01T06:47:54.698-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>How I Live Now</i><br />
Meg Rosoff<br />
<i>YA</i><br />
<br />
It's not your typical beach read<i>. </i>It's better. There's all sorts of taboo, broken rules, and heartbreak, not to mention great writing in <i>How I Live Now</i>.<br />
<i> </i><br />
I discovered the book after Meg Rosoff won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (which she received last night in Stockholm). She has written more recent work, but this is the one that catapulted her to recognition, and a host of awards. It does not disappoint.<br />
<br />
Basic Premise: Daisy (from NYC) is sent to live with her mother's sister and family in England. Her father is remarried and he and his new wife are awaiting their first child. Daisy and the stepmonster do not get along. She is also suffering from anorexia. I'm guessing the idea is that by sending her away she may get her life together (we had this very experience with an exchange student, but that's another, harrowing story). Instead, war breaks out and Daisy and her cousins are caught up in the middle of it, with all of war's tragedies, from starvation to random murders, death due to lack of medication, and slaughter.<br />
<br />
In the midst of the death and destruction, Daisy falls in love with her cousin, Edmond, and vice versa. Yet, they are separated by the war and spend the rest of the book finding their way back to each other. It's <i>Lolita </i>light, i.e. illicit, taboo love affair, in this case between blood relatives, that's however mutually consensual. I didn't want to root for the star-crossed lovers (but I did).<br />
<br />
The craft aspect of the book that has me mulling is one I've come across before but can't quite figure out. It's the inclusion of dialogue within the body of the text without separating out with quotations. Example: "...when I notice everyone's gone except this kid who comes up to me and says You must be Daisy. And when I look relieved he does too and says I'm Edmond."<br />
<br />
Is this tool used to make the text read more from the perspective of a teenager who ignores punctuation and "proper" grammar in informal writing/texting?<br />
<br />
The effect the tool has on me every time is to leave me feeling simultaneously more inside and apart from the story. I never can quite get my footing. I also stumble across the passages that are dialogue more often and have to re-read once I realize it is a conversation, not internal dialogue in the protagonist's head. Again, perhaps that emphasizes the way life feels to a normal teen, jumbled and coming at them every which way but straight on. <br />
<br />
I'm all for rewriting the rules of grammar. I honestly haven't figured out, though, how to use this rewrite to my advantage since I can't seem to read it properly, or decipher how it is supposed to alter the reading experience. This one has me baffled, and it's the third or fourth time I've come across the tool and been left wondering.<br />
<br />
So there you have it, a great read AND a craft riddle for your summer reading pleasure. Some of you may have already figured out the answer. If yes, please share! I'm eager to unravel and understand this writing conundrum/tool.<br />
<br />
For more great summer adventures, skip over to <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website</a> and snag a bundle. Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-13507572458405353472016-05-04T07:14:00.000-07:002016-05-04T07:14:26.182-07:00The Book Review Club - The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle</i><br />
Janet Fox<br />
Middle Grade<br />
<br />
Janet Fox is a writer-friend I met while in the debut novelist marketing group, Class of 2k8, and then again at Vermont College. This is the first novel of hers I've treated myself to.<br />
<br />
And what a treat! Part mystery, part paranormal, part thriller.<br />
<br />
<br />
Basic premise: It's WW II and the Blitz is full on in England. Kat, Rob, and Ame are sent to live at a castle-turned-school in the Scottish highlands, while their mother weathers out the war in London, and their father is deployed to spy for the British on the continent. The castle-turned-school is run by The Lady, who isn't all she appears. She has lived for hundreds of years, collecting magic via the souls she steals from children. She only needs a few more to be immortal. Hence, the school. Yet, for each child's soul she takes, she loses a part of herself, turning more and more into an automaton. One of the teachers she employs is a secret German spy. Kat and Peter, an American sent to the school too, discover the spy and work to stop him. Time, however, is short. A different child disappears each day. And soon, the core of children fighting the spies and the witch fall prey to her magic. Until only Kat is left with the seemingly insurmountable task of defeating them all. <br />
<br />
I can hear an editor saying, "This is a very ambitious project." And yet Fox pulls it off...I won't say effortlessly because anyone who has spilled a little ink knows just how hard writing is...marvelously. This is multiple character, genre mashing done well.<br />
<br />
You know how Scooby and Shaggy are always saying "It's a witch! It's a witch!" (Or, is that Monty Python...) And then Thelma, Daphne and Fred prove it isn't a witch. It's the cook! Secretly, I was always pulling for Scooby and Shaggy. Just once, I wanted the witch to be, well, a witch. <br />
<br />
I've finally gotten my comeuppance. This time magic is real and the witch is a witch. What's more, she's dangerous. So are the spies. And they are very real, too. Basically, there is something for camp Shaggy and Scooby and camp Thelma in this story.<br />
<br />
Fox chooses an omniscient third POV to relay her story, arguably the only voice that could work, unless the writer were to use first person going from character to character, which seems a lot more cumbersome than omniscient third, given the host of characters. Her deft use of the voice reminds me of Susan Cooper's use of the same POV in a similar story, <i>The Boggart</i>. They are both excellent examples of how to use third person POV well.<br />
<br />
I was charmed by <i>The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle</i>. It's an entertaining, solid read. It also got me thinking. There are many similar objects and storylines in the piece that suffuse middle grade at present - automatons (steampunk), World War II, magic, England, the lone girl heroine. It makes me wonder where the field will go next. These themes have been incorporated into some incredibly creative conceits. But conceits, plural. See: <i>Miss Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children</i>, <i>The Boggart</i>, <i>Code Name Verity</i>, <i>How I Live Now, The War that Saved my Life</i>. Is it time to go in a new direction? Are there stories buried in the deeper folds of history that aren't being told, or haven't been told in a while? Although I say that, indeed, all of the books listed above are on my Kindle. So perhaps it's me. Still, I may go a'diggin'...<br />
<br />
For a shower of May books, splash over to <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-9057724086439759572016-04-06T07:23:00.002-07:002016-04-06T07:42:34.168-07:00The Book Review Club - The Passenger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Passenger</i></span><br />
Alexandra Bracken<br />
YA<br />
<br />
I love the books I struggle with. It's all about the challenge. Alexandra Bracken challenged me with <i>The Passenger. </i>And she's still challenging me. So let's hit the ring!<br />
<br />
Basic premise: On the night of violinst extraordinaire and lifelong New Yorker, 17 year-old Etta Linden's premiere recital, her teacher is murdered, a hole opens up in time, and Etta is thrust into a centuries-old battle for control of basically all of humanity. Her only friend, Nicholas, is fellow time traveler, and secretly sent to keep Etta in line in her quest for the one object that can tilt the scales of power in favor of the least favorable hegemon, who now holds Etta's mother captive.<br />
<br />
Get ready for a ride. Bracken takes readers from 1776 New York to WII London, the jungles of Cambodia, late 1800s Paris, and the deserts surrounding Damascus. There is nary a dull moment. Add to that a fierce romance between Nicholas and Etta, and you've got yourself perhaps the first summer read of the Spring.<br />
<br />
What challenged me most about this piece was the balance of romance and action. Etta is no damsel in distress, but Nicholas, a former slave, comes from 1700s America and does have a bit of the hero to him, which is at once a fabulous twist on the hero and yet a hero nonetheless. Etta, however, coming from the present day, sees them as partners. Thus, there is a tension in expectations throughout the story - Nicholas trying to live up to an ideal no human can, and Etta not expecting it and working to redirect, to get him to see relationships in a different light. Again, kudos to Bracken. It's a struggle this generation of women, if not my own, faces with the cultural expectations through which the opposite gender has been raised to see itself.<br />
<br />
So, despite all of that, because of the strong male character, this piece does devolve into a somewhat more, seemingly predictable romance novel. Granted, it does not end that way exactly. However, you've got to stick with it to find that out, and that may be hard if you're looking for something that doesn't tiptoe into classic romance lit, complete with swooning and getting swept away. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. It's just a predictable one.<br />
<br />
Which makes me question where YA is headed these days. This is just one book of many coming out, but it seems to be that we're falling back into old patterns. There are the realistic YA novels, such as the <i>Fault in Our Stars</i>. They're nothing new to literature (see, <i>Catcher in the Rye</i>). And there are the <i>Twilight</i> sagas, such as <i>The Passenger. </i>The one book I have a hard time categorizing, honestly, is <i>The Hunger Games </i>or <i>Divergent.</i> Dystopian? Sci-Fi? But yet YA?<br />
<br />
Categorization is a fun hobby, like collecting stamps, but it doesn't change literature. Nonetheless, stepping back and looking at literature as a categorizer can give a writer an idea of where the tide may be headed. Perhaps Suzanne Collins great contribution has been - aside from a riveting read - genre mashing, pushing dystopian and YA together. It begs the question, what other unique mashes can we come up with? Writers of the world unite. Let's break some new boundaries! <br />
<br />
For more great reads, and less revolutionary calls to arms ;-), skip on over to <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's site</a>. She's serving them up fresh and tasty!<br />
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Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-52732750955363659342016-02-02T14:46:00.000-08:002016-02-02T14:46:11.555-08:00The Book Review Club - Illuminae<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Illuminae</i><br />
<i>The Illuminae Files</i><br />
By Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff<br />
YA<br />
<br />
"First, survive. Then, tell the truth." That's one of the better loglines I've read in a while. And this is one of the better novels I've had the good fortune to read in the YA category in a while.<br />
<br />Basic premise: The morning Kady breaks up with Ezra their colony on the outskirts of the populated section of the universe is attacked and destroyed by a corrupt company. The "marines" of the galaxy beat back the attackers and rescue a handful of survivors. Their main ship, however, takes heavy damage, and it's a race against time to make it to the next outpost before they're attacked and destroyed by the same company. What they don't realize, until it's too late, is that the bioweapon used by the company to attack the outpost goes viral, starting a plague on the fleeing ships. The Artificial Intelligence, which runs the battle cruiser, has also taken heavy damage--mentally--and can't be trusted.<br />
<br />
Basically, the odds of survival are stacked against not just Kady and Ezra, but everyone on the fleeing ships. Will anyone survive to tell the tale and bring the offenders to justice? Because, hey, we evil authors can and do kill of main characters all of the time.<br />
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Cue mad scientist evil laugh: Bwahahahaha.<br />
<br />
Tongue and cheek aside, I haven't enjoyed a read this much in a long time. I had begun to despair that the realistic fiction bandwagon had set up shop, and it was going to be a long time before YA fiction came around to be fun and entertaining again. While this is touted as dystopian, don't let the moniker fool you, or put you off. This is sci fi. Fun sci fi. Edge of your pants sci fi. Star wars YA style. In other words, a breath of fresh air within the angsty teen lit of late.<br />
<br />
The story is told mainly from Kady's POV, although using different formats for information sharing, i.e. texts, emails, reports, interviews, etc, does allow the authors to introduce different POVs. Again, breath of fresh air. Admittedly, I'm getting a wee bit tired of the female dominated genre.<br />
<br />
While studies may show that mostly women and female teens read YA, that doesn't mean we'd only like to read female POV. Yes, it's AMAZING to have a female heroine. Love it. Love it like chocolate cake. But, if that's all you get, after a while, even chocolate cake gets boring. Please, please, please, if the world of publishing is listening, can we have a few more male POV stories? By that, I don't mean heroes who rescue the damsel in distress, just male POV. That's all. Let's get inside the mind of the male teen. What I wouldn't have given at that age to understand this mysterious anomaly.<br />
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For more warm winter brain food, stomp on over to <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website</a>. She's serving them up with a healthy does of California sun!Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-8414432261093104792015-12-01T17:26:00.002-08:002015-12-01T17:26:26.388-08:00The Book Review Club - Husky<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Husky<br />
Justin Sayre<br />
Middle grade/YA?<br />
<br />
I had trouble with this book, and every time I have trouble with a book I know it's one I need to think about more, which usually ends up turning into a book I have to review. This month's trouble maker: <i>Husky</i> by Justin Sayre. This is listed as YA by the publisher, but the main character is 12, so it sort of feels more like that, dare I say it, uncategorizable book.<br />
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Pause for gasping.<br />
<br />
And kudos to Sayre. <br />
<br />
Basic plot line: Davis, twelve years old, lives with his mother and grandmother in a brownstone in Brooklyn. He loves opera and is incredibly sensitive, with serious self-esteem issues. He doesn't like his body. It's the summer before 8th grade, the last weeks before the start of a whole new school year, and we spend them in his life. Nothing earth-shattering happens. Rather, it's a compilation of small occurrences that nevertheless cause a major change in the main character. Davis's friends change, evolving as adolescents do, finding themselves, his mom starts dating someone new after a very very long time of not dating anyone at all, Davis isn't invited to his best girl friend's sort of birthday party (which is just for girls), and Davis, too, is, without really knowing it, trying to figure out who he is while also searching for the strength to voice his own hurts and feelings. <br />
<br />
According to the author, the main character is gay but Sayre said he wasn't himself if Davis knew. This isn't a coming out book, not in the sense of sexuality. It's more about finding one's self, a much larger concept of which sexual orientation is but one part. <br />
<br />
The story flows seamlessly. The events that happen, their very triviality, is exceptionally well-written. And the characters are all extremely well drawn. In some ways, I think that's where I began to get hung up on the storytelling. Davis would spiral down so deeply into self-doubt or loathing that I began to be turned off as a reader. That probably says more about me than about the writing. I strive as a writer to walk that the line between believability and writing that's too well done, too realistic, too hard to relate to.<br />
<br />
Reading those words, I think, again, it's me. It's not the story. But I didn't feel that way about <i>Wonder, </i>which is also a story about tough issues, finding one's way. However, Auggie didn't go so far down the rabbit hole that I couldn't or wouldn't follow him. Perhaps that is the difference between YA and middle grade? I'm positing. I'm not sure. And I'll probably spend another month chewing on the idea, trying to figure out what my personal takeaway is. Which is exactly why I had to review this book. One that makes me think, argue with myself aloud, while walking my dogs, and even puts me in a bad mood, that's a book that's causing me to grow.<br />
<br />
Kudos to Justin Sayre again.<br />
<br />
For more great December reads, visit <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website</a>. It's brimming with delectable December delights!Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-50104883165769488442015-11-03T17:52:00.001-08:002015-11-04T08:29:44.725-08:00The Book Review Club - Evil Librarian<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvyWjffxVYSzGu-XPcVSKYvB3Knau2owCgzbT39MgVWpYYU0ucu8KXaYUoz2zPUMmiRkTs-wHUQQ1l5SrZuSNi52wH1wYlXeS7LdVOZhctqv67ky6sMKq54zdInIN9Xe7fODvHn6iRx4/s1600/LIBRARIAN_front_back_spine-JPG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvyWjffxVYSzGu-XPcVSKYvB3Knau2owCgzbT39MgVWpYYU0ucu8KXaYUoz2zPUMmiRkTs-wHUQQ1l5SrZuSNi52wH1wYlXeS7LdVOZhctqv67ky6sMKq54zdInIN9Xe7fODvHn6iRx4/s1600/LIBRARIAN_front_back_spine-JPG.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Evil Librarian</i></div>
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Michelle Knudsen</div>
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YA</div>
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The jacket to <i>Evil Librarian </i>by Michelle Knudsen is just too cool. I had to share an image of front and back up, which, incidentally, will be educational for young audiences. Hey Kids, this is what a library book used to look like. It came with a card, and the card got stamped with a date. That's how libraries worked before computers took over.</div>
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Or demons. </div>
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In <i>Evil Librarian</i>, Cynthia Rotschild must save her high school, but most importantly, her best friend from the evil scheming of a demon who has come to our world to wreak havoc, but run a very efficient library, complete with informative lecture on the Dewey Decimal system. When said demon takes Annie back to the demon world to be his bride, Cyn sacrifices the love of her live, Ryan, to follow and fight for Annie, all while also heading up the crew for the school's musical, <i>Sweeney Todd</i>. </div>
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This is an action-packed story that nevertheless delves so adeptly into the emotional ups and downs of its main protagonist with a healthy and delightful dose of humor and self-awareness. And it's not so scary I couldn't sleep at night. I am horrible with horror. This is horror done in a way that doesn't scar me. Whew. </div>
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At times, Cyn gets a little carried away with emotional description and waxing on. I found myself spacing now and again, but these moments are short-lived and do not throw the otherwise exceptionally well-balanced piece off kilter. And perhaps, ultimately, are truer to teenage angst and drama than anything else. </div>
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From a craft perspective, I enjoyed how Knudsen both builds suspense and keeps the reader on the edge of her seat. I don't think I ever realized before how much heavy lifting the present continuous can do in that respect. A great example of just how the verb can work for you is on page 321 (if you are still reading those archaic printed books :-): "He's coming, coming closer, and I'm waiting, and everything else just falls away. I'm listening for the call in my headset, waiting for the conductor's baton to drop and I'm ready. And the moment comes." And here is where the text changes to present simple, as well as short, jabbing sentences, that accent the fight scene. It's really a paragraph worth studying for style and craft. Verbs are it!</div>
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For more great reads, mosey on over to <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website</a>. She's serving them up hot and tasty!Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-21968696591735861052015-10-14T06:18:00.000-07:002015-10-14T06:18:32.437-07:00The Book Review Club - The Gollywhopper Games, Friend or Foe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ELEABw8qqmAE-0LP7f4R-5S9g-_OxV_pOrcK90ccsltz2Kw0AnTltiIG4qmm3V9tfyxYZynVygwf4T8fK15LbYqaTxDkJJw8F9L_faRGtduNJabAh3OYrzMxX83scWwi2j-Z7WC3904/s1600/a+golly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ELEABw8qqmAE-0LP7f4R-5S9g-_OxV_pOrcK90ccsltz2Kw0AnTltiIG4qmm3V9tfyxYZynVygwf4T8fK15LbYqaTxDkJJw8F9L_faRGtduNJabAh3OYrzMxX83scWwi2j-Z7WC3904/s320/a+golly.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<i>The Gollywhopper Games - Friend or Foe</i><br />
Jody Feldman<br />
Middle Grade<br />
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This is my third romp through the Gollywhopper Games (3rd book in the series) and it was as fresh, fun and filled with as many unexpected twists as the first, which is saying something. These books are plot mixed with mystery (nod to Barrie) mixed with puzzles in a new spin on <i>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</i> with a realistic twist. Every single puzzle or conundrum Feldman creates is both real and solvable. The reader has "skin in the game" so to speak because she can outwit the winner, if she wants, and solve the puzzles before she reads to the end. It's the kind of rush a reader longs for in a book, while sneakily being, dare I say, math at the same time.<br />
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Basic plot: Zane plays football, but after two concussions, he has to sit out for a season. He feels lost, both within his circle of friends and identity-wise when the strangest of tests arrives at school. All students are required to take it, although nobody knows why. Zane's teacher says the test is pointless, but when Zane aces it, pointless turns into a chance to play in the third round of the Gollywhopper Games. And the rush begins.<br />
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There are a lot of things to like both in the style of prose and the puzzles Feldman creates. I am amazed at the number of games and problems she has created now over three books, with no exhaustion in sight. This time around, contestants can play in friend mode or foe mode when solving the larger than life games and math problems Golly creates. Foe mode brings more points and also more obstacles. At the same time, a saboteur is at work to ruin the games. This B-plot keeps things interesting when the reader may need a mental break from problem solving, or a different kind of mystery to tackle, as well as putting the reader on edge. Will one of the contestants get hurt?<br />
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Characters are well developed, all going through a metamorphosis as they solve puzzles and advance. Even Zane finds a way to have his football without endangering himself, and discovers that football players might not be the only people with whom he shares common interests.<br />
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The thing that struck me most about this book from a craft perspective is a subtlety. Feldman uses observations by other contestants to deepen the relationships between characters. The story is told in 3rd person close (Zane). It is through his lens that the reader experiences the action. However, when describing relationships, other characters chime in, analyzing and interpreting the closeness or distance between characters. Feldman, because she has to do use so much descriptive work with puzzles, uses this valuable tool to keep the story from getting bogged down in descriptives. It's clever.<br />
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For more great Fall feasts, crunch your way on over to <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website</a>. She's serving them with a piping mouthful of delectable dessert today! Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-64991234505730577352015-09-09T07:45:00.001-07:002015-09-09T07:45:37.800-07:00The Book Review Club - Everything I Never Told You<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Everything I Never Told You</i><br />
Celeste Ng<br />
Adult<br />
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Going back through the books I read this summer to choose one to review was a fun romp through my adventures over the last three months. I was torn as to what to highlight - lighthearted but meaningful (the series <i>Breakfast with</i>...<i>Lunch with</i>...and then <i>Dinner with Buddha</i>) or deeply deeply meaningful (<i>Everything I Never Told You</i>). I went for the latter because this piece not only walks the line between meat and potatoes and dessert (i.e. literary and fun reading) but also does things from a craft perspective that are really worth talking about and gets at issues currently in the collective conscious.<br />
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Basic premise: Teenage Lydia is missing. Later, she's found dead in the local lake. Was it suicide, or was it murder? The family unravels with Lydia's death, and in unraveling, reveals their own hopes and unfulfilled dreams, fears, heartaches, and regrets.<br />
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The great Tim Wynn-Jones once said that the focus of YA is learning to get a grip, whereas with adult lit, it's learning to let go. And there was talk amongst my author friends whether this is YA or Adult. I personally listed it as YA because teenage death is so very pertinent to the YA audience, but because Ng dips into the POV of every character from 8 year old sister to 45 year old father, I'm happy to list it as adult here. I have a feeling, much like, <i>The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime</i>, this will cross from initially adult literature to a younger audience. It's both that pertinent and that accessible, not to mention well written.<br />
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By telling the story from omniscient 3rd - first & second talking points - Ng enables us to see the effect Lydia's death has on each member of her family. Since the family is also Asian American in the 1970s, a time when multicultural families were rare, we get a glimpse into the effects of discrimination on all age groups, third talking point. Finally, the mom's, Marilyn, POV brings up a discussion that's been on my radar lately with teenage girls about to leave the house - can you really, as a woman, have it all? Fourth talking point. <br />
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Let's take omniscient 3rd, the much loved and hated POV. Arguably, it is the most fitting, especially given the title. We learn everything everyone didn't tell and might never share. Further, Ng sets it up so that only because of omniscient third can we, the reader, and only we, solve the mystery as to what really happened to Lydia (don't worry, no spoilers). That's making POV work for you.<br />
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The We Need Diverse Books campaign has a winner here. We get a glimpse into multicultural Asian families of the 1970s, and, with Ng's reader's guide, also of her childhood. Anyone who has lived in a foreign culture, understands what it means to stand out as different. This, of course, goes much further, because the Lee's are American, thus, not foreign to their setting or culture, and yet, because of prejudice, are treated as such. Add to that, that Lydia, because she could pass for white, suffers acutely and differently from every other member of her family.<br />
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I've already touched upon accessibility and pertinence to a widely diverse audience according to age, thanks to the multiple perspectives we get to experience, and that gets at the mother's POV. Marilyn is more than qualified and smart enough to be the doctor she wants to be, but she finds herself trapped in the role of stay-at-home mother once she gets pregnant and then married. To her, it's suffocating, only partially fulfilling, and ultimately drives her to put the crushing weight of all of her hopes and dreams on her daughter, Lydia's, shoulders. <br />
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Now here's the thing, women of the 1970s were breaking ground for my generation. When I got to college in the late 80s, classes were pretty evenly male/female. And yet, today, women still do not fill an equitable number of positions of leadership in business or government. Further, the pressing question for the generation of women just entering the workplace and about to enter college is: can I really have it all? Anne-Marie Slaughter, professor at Princeton, mother of 2, and someone I read extensively while working on my PhD because she's in my field, herself eventually left her position in the Obama administration for her family. She addresses the issue of work and family in a 2012 article - <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-women-still-cant-have-it-all/309020/" target="_blank">"Why Women Can't Have it All"</a>, in <i>The Atlantic</i>. This is great food for conversation and thought and really has me thinking about our perspectives as a society.<br />
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So, if you want a thriller that also leaves you hunched over like The Thinker deliberating all sorts of bigger issues, look no further. <i>Everything I Never Told You</i> is that book. And for other great Fall treats, skip over to <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's site</a>. She's dishing them out cool and crunchy. <br />
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<br />Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-41692808603056218602015-06-17T06:52:00.004-07:002015-06-17T06:52:44.977-07:00The Book Review Club - Always October<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Always October</i><br />
Bruce Coville<br />
Middle Grade<br />
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In breaking with my world tour of literature from Down Under to Italy, I decided on a good, ole-fashioned monster book that doesn't even take place in this world...much, <i>Always October</i> by Bruce Coville. <br />
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Admittedly, it would seem this has a Fall slant to it, but no!, Always October is another world, a world inhabited solely by monsters who arise from human nightmares. Ghoulish, right?<br />
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But no! not ghoulish, not entirely. The monsters are actually nice, some of them anyway.<br />
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Basic Plot: A baby is abandoned on Jacob's doorstep with a note asking that someone take care of it. Jacob and his mom take said baby in. He's sweet and adorable so they name him Little Dumpling. But alas, when the moon is full, Dumpling turns into a full-fledged monster.<br />
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Methinks Coville has spent many an hour with small children. <br />
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As it turns out, Little Dumpling isn't just your run of the mill abandoned on the doorstep monster-baby. He is actually the savior of the world of monsters and humans, and there are monsters out to get him. Jacob and his friend, Lily, must travel (are first chased, actually) to Always October, world of monsters, in an attempt to save Dumpling from the bad guys, only to discover they have to cross back into the world of humans and hide Dumpling to keep Always October and the human world from total annihilation. The journey there and back again is a monster-style Candy Land with a River of Doom and Bridge of Doom and Veil of Tears and Queen of Sorrow and CliffHouse.<br />
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The action and fast-moving plot aren't what made me choose this book for my review, though (or the need for a good horror read during the doldrums of summer!). It is Coville's use of alternating first person POV between Lily and Jacob. I was excited to find a middle grade with alternating POV. I'd tried the trick before myself, and I was eager to see what someone with Coville's writing chops had done comparatively. <br />
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To keep the characters and POV separate, each chapter is labeled (Jacob), (Lily), (Jacob), etc underneath the chapter title. Coville gives Lily a quirky metaphoric vocabulary with a decidedly B-horror movie bent, while Jacob has physical quirks, e.g. he has to tap the wall three times when going upstairs, or he taps his fingers against his thumb to calm down. It's a pretty ingenious approach, connecting with expressive trends within this middle grade age group.<br />
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Nevertheless, I found myself flipping back to the front of the chapter to remind myself who was narrating, and I began to wonder why. Why does alternating POV work seemingly so much more easily in YA vs. MG? I came up with a couple of possible reasons: 1) the dual characters in YA, as in this MG, tend to divide up along gender lines, but in the YA case, love enters into the dynamic, and so we readers get two different viewpoints on love. 2) It helps that in the dual YA I've read, somebody usually is turning into, say, a werewolf, or other monster. The human/monster dichotomy goes a long way in keeping characters separate. 3) I've also read adult lit with alternating POV when both characters are of the same gender. Usually, in that case, age tends to differentiate characters and their views of the world are thus seen through the lens of more or less life experience. <br />
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Despite these de facto differences that may make it easier to write more distinctly different <i>older</i> protagonists, I still believe alternating POV can work better in middle grade. I'd love to hear from anyone who has read <i>Always October</i> and whether they had the same experience, or if you've got a suggestion for a middle grade title in which the alternating POV worked well. I'm on the hunt!<br />
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For more great summer adventures, paddle (here in the midwest anyway) over to <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website</a>!<br />
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<br />Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-8383565814378273512015-05-05T14:40:00.001-07:002015-05-05T14:40:10.690-07:00The Book Review Club - My Brilliant Friend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My Brilliant Friend<br />
Elena Ferrante<br />
Adult<br />
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After a string of Australian books both adult and children's, I was beginning to feel like a serial Aussie reader and decided to get out from down under if only to vary my reading.<br />
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So, I went to Italy. I've been craving gelato and chianti ever since. <br />
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There is a significant difference between old-world writing and stories from the "colonies", penal and otherwise. The old-world has, not always, but very often, a very melancholy feel to it, whereas "newbies" from the colonies seem to have been able to free themselves somewhat from that melacholy. Their more upbeat feel may be what's so alluring to me. Or the accent. These have all been audio books. <br />
<br />Nevertheless, a little melancholia isn't a bad thing. What's more, <i>My Brilliant Friend</i> is jam-packed with writing tricks. But first, a synopsis:<br />
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<i>My Brilliant Friend</i> is the story of two young Neapolitan girls growing up in the harsh conditions of a very working class, poor neighborhood, their dreams, the diversions those dreams have to take due to economic hardship - one girl gets to go on to school, while her smarter friend is forced to quit school and try to marry up - and the successful, but flawed, women the girls become. <br />
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What is the absolute, most brilliant aspect of <i>My Brilliant Friend</i>, is its final line and how it ties the entire book together and then rips it apart, much like the last line of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's last sentence to <i>One Hundred Years of Solitude</i> deconstructs and erases the entire story that has gone before with one slash of the pen. Ferrante is brilliant in her alteration of this trick, to tie and deconstruct her story at the same time - all was for nothing - or so it seems since this is the first in a series of books called the Neapolitan Novels. However, I didn't know that as I listened to the last line and actually stopped my car from the force of that line. It made me think, reponder, rethink, re-reflect. It's that brilliant.<br />
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It's usually first lines that are so mesmerizing, pulling the reader in, hooking her, and making her want more. But if the last line snags in a reader's heart, it really never lets go. It haunts the reader, challenging her to think and think and think. It's an amazing writer tool I can't wait to use.<br />
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For more great reads, cinco de mayo your way over to <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website</a>!Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-33100498710972693042015-03-04T06:45:00.002-08:002015-03-04T06:45:48.477-08:00The Book Review Club - Like Water on Stone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Like Water on Stone</i><br />
Dana Walrath<br />
YA<br />
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I had the great pleasure of knowing Dana while I was a student at Vermont College. She is a woman of many talents and a thought-provoking speaker. Her novel, <i>Like Water on Stone</i>, was a labor of love that started, I think, while she was at Vermont College and continued on after she'd completed the program. I cheered when I heard it had been acquired, not simply because a fellow VCFA'er had placed a story but because this book brings a rich form of diversity to not only kidlit but literature overall.<br />
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Basic Premise: It's 1914. Shahen dreams of moving to New York where part of his family has already immigrated. His father, initially, stands in his son's way. He loves their life in Armenia. And then the Ottoman empire, in decline, goes to war. Religion suddenly matters, and not in a good way. Much of Shahen's family, Christians, including his parents and older brothers, are murdered by troops. Shahen and two of his sisters flee across the mountains to safety and, eventually, a new life in America.<br />
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The story was inspired by Walrath's own family story of immigration. <br />
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There are a variety of interesting elements to take away from this piece. The most hard-hitting is that this is a story of genocide. How does a kidlit writer tackle such hard stuff and not overwhelm her reader? Walrath chose to write her story in verse, her reasoning being, the material is so graphic, so emotionally full, by painting with thinner strokes, it is possible to share and yet not overwhelm a younger audience. Not once did I ever feel words were missing, nor did I feel as if I couldn't keep reading. It's a masterful use of a writer's tool. In so doing, Walrath exposes her audience to the concept that genocide is, very unfortunately, a recurring theme in human history, and opens the story of for debate by leaving the reader wondering: why? Why do we as humans tend toward annihilation of others? It's a contemporary topic. <br />
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Further, the novel is told from alternating POVs. It was truly fascinating to both read and see POV change by changing poetic structure. It's yet another tool to add to the toolbox.<br />
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For other great reads, you don't even need to get out your galoshes, just spring over to <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website</a>. Happy reading!Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-64677570893697557682015-02-04T07:42:00.002-08:002015-02-04T07:42:42.425-08:00The Narrow Road to the Deep North - The Book Review Club<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>The Narrow Road to the Deep North</i><br />
Richard Flanagan<br />
Adult<br />
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Until recently, I'd never cursed an author, definitely not for making me care. It's what I want as a reader.<br />
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And then I read Richard Flanagan's <i>The Narrow Road to the Deep North</i>. The deeper I got into the story, the more often I found myself making silent bargains with Flanagan to just lighten up, please. I'd still like his book.<br />
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But he didn't lighten up. He made me care and feel in ways I only ever have for my own characters.<br />
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And that's when the cursing began. I even shook my fist at one point. And yes, I cried. I'm not a book cryer. Movies, weddings, a particularly good episode of "Modern Family" and I'm shamelessly weeping, but not books. Not even <i>The Fault in Our Stars</i>. I think it's an occupational callous I've built up over the years. Or, I thought it was. Until Flanagan. <br />
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Basic plot: Dorrigo Evans is an Australian doctor who is taken prisoner during WW II by the Japanese and sent as a POW to help build the Death Railway through Siam and Burma. It's a story he recalls in his old age, unable to find love and remembering the one, forbidden love he gave up before leaving for war, his uncle's wife, Amy. In his own words, Evans says, "A happy man has no past, while an unhappy man has nothing else”.<br />
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Remorse is a powerful emotion. But if a whole story were solely about remorse and wallowing, I'd just as soon get up, make a cheese sandwich and abandon the story. Life is too short. While Flanagan's tale is full of remorse and regret, opportunities missed or not taken, it's also about those moments in life when a human being gets the chance to be more than they are, and - scared, unsure, but unwavering - takes it. It's the inseprarable interweaving of these and the connections they build that makes <i>The Narrow Road into Deep North</i> such an unforgettable read.<br />
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That and the amazing writing. Would that I could romance, cajole, sometimes even bully or beat words the way Flanagan does into sentences and thoughts with such pervasive effect. <br />
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For other great reads, saunter over to <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website</a>. Mudslides or blizzards, she delivers!<br />
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<br />Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-770331077089775301.post-87664291404261857292015-01-07T07:53:00.000-08:002015-01-07T07:53:19.027-08:00The Book Review Club - Don't Call Me Ishmael<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoy4FCl63xVHCjM158Th8GT95ZNsl3XT47CMwbKcMeizjjmsGluTp7zHBy_cWnyhTGLGd5bLB8lJUBWy8CA50ZLm-QXRT9HLF8c1pg8GDRjFBuuiPoVhpz2ddPKeVfsm8oZS0FEJqH63E/s1600/a+don-t-call-me-ishmael-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoy4FCl63xVHCjM158Th8GT95ZNsl3XT47CMwbKcMeizjjmsGluTp7zHBy_cWnyhTGLGd5bLB8lJUBWy8CA50ZLm-QXRT9HLF8c1pg8GDRjFBuuiPoVhpz2ddPKeVfsm8oZS0FEJqH63E/s1600/a+don-t-call-me-ishmael-.jpg" height="320" width="207" /></a></div>
<i>Don't Call Me Ishmael</i><br />
Michael Gerard Bauer<br />
MG/YA<br />
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If the cold, dreary, dark days of January have blanketed you, this is just the right read. <i>Don't Call Me Ishmael</i> is <i>Bud, not Buddy</i> hilarious and set in Australia, where, currently, it is summer! So pull up a chair and toast your toes on the warmth and humor of this story.<br />
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Basic plot: Ishmael Leseur, a Year Nine student (that's down under for ninth grader), suffers from ILS, Ishmael Leseur Syndrome, which is Ishmael's name for his particular brand of adolescent/early teeanage agony. It's made up of a "crawl in a hole" embarrassing story why he parents named him after one of literature's most renowned protagonists, a bully who teases him about said name, a girl whom he is crazy for but who doesn't know he exists, and a group of misfit friends who are constantly getting themselves into embarrassment squared messes.<br />
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I discovered this book in, of all things, German (although the author is from and story set in Australia, so no worries, you can easily get it in English). My husband comes from ye olde country and we've raised our daughters bi-lingually, which has meant a lot of audiobooks "auf Deutsch". I chose this title for its length. Shameful, I know, but it was six hours long instead of the meager two so many middle grade German audible books come in at. So there you have it, random parameters (barrage young ears with as much second language as possible) unearthed a humor goldmine.<br />
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I wish I could say I know how Bauer does it, but I don't, which is why I've gotten the other two books in this series to get behind his humor trick. He is spot on with adolescent funny. My daughters and I laugh out loud in the car on the way to school every morning. Me, maybe more. The agony of teenagerdom maybe hits a little too close to home for barrel laughs for them. Theirs is more the "somebody else is going through this?!?" ha-ha-whew.<br />
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So there you have it. Pick up a copy of <i>Don't Call Me Ishmael</i> and start 2015 off with a good laugh and an uproarious story. For more cheer in these bleak months, check out the reviews on <a href="http://barriesummy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barrie Summy's website</a> (and pray that groundhog doesn't see his shadow!)Stacy Nyikoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07830844058919457619noreply@blogger.com3