Search Results for: anything but typical

Books Read in 2009

January:

Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins. Semicolon review here.
I Choose To Be Happy: A School Shooting Survivor’s Triumph Over Tragedy by Missy Jenkins with WIlliam Croyle.
Washington: The Indispensable Man by James Thomas Flexner. Semicolon review of The Indispensable Man.
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale. Semicolon review here.
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart.2008 National Book Award FInalist. Cybils Young Adult Fiction FInalist. Semicolon review here.
A Curse Dark As Gold by Elizabeth Bunce. Cybils Fantasy and Science FIction Finalist. Recommended by Miss Erin. Semicolon review here.
The Explosionist by Jenny Davidson. Cybils Fantasy and Science FIction Finalist. Semicolon review here.
Sweethearts by Sara Zarr. Another Cybils finalist,
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Semicolon review here.
Prodigals and Those Who Love Them by Ruth Bell Graham.
Home by Marilynne Robinson.
Heaven: Your Real Home by Joni Eareckson Tada. January selection for Semicolon Book Club.
Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher. Semicolon review here.
Wake by Lisa McMann.
Schuyler’s Monster by Robert Rummel-Hudson. Semicolon review here.
Paper Towns by John Green.
The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper.
Have You Found Her by Janice Erlbaum. Memoir of a difficult experience in counseling and mentoring a troubled teen. Semicolon review here
Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris. Semicolon review here.
The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson.
Holes by Louis Sachar.

February:

The Boy in the Alamo by Margaret Cousins.
In the Shadow of the Alamo by Sherry Garland.
Search for the Shadowman by Joan Lowery Nixon.
Moonshiner’s Gold by John R. Erickson.
Buffalo Moon by G. Clifton Wisler.
More information here.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
After the Fire by Robin Gaby Fisher. Recommended by Melissa at 5 Minutes for Books.
The Resistance by Gemma Malley. Semicolon review of The Declaration.
The Patron Saint of Butterflies by Cecilia Galante. Semicolon review here.
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Semicolon review here.
The Deadliest Monster by Jeff Baldwin.
The Love Letters by Madeleine L’Engle. Semicolon review here.
Time and Chance by Sharon Kay Penman. Fictional treatment of Henry II and his tempestuous reign.
Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer.

March:

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister. Recommended by Megan at Leafing Through Life.
The End of the Alphabet by C.S. Richardson. Recommended by She Is Too Fond of Books.
Change of Heart by Jodi Piccoult. Recommended at the 3Rs.
The Amazing Potato by Milton Meltzer.
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank. I

The Compound –Bodeen. Recommended by Jen Robinson.
Star of Kazanâ€”Ibbotson Recommended by Jen Robinson.
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli.
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen. Recommended by Melanie at Deliciously Clean Reads.
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. Recommended at The Book Lady’s Blog.
Saving Juliet–Susan Selfors. Recommended by Melissa at Estella’s Revenge.

John Adams by David McCullough. The March Semicolon Book Club selection.
Book by Book: Notes on Reading and Life by Michael Dirda. Recommended by Krin at Enough to Read.
Life As We Knew It–Pfeiffer Recommended by SassyMonkey.
Doomsday Bookâ€”Willis Recommended by Lazy Cow.
Maisie Dobbs by Jaqueline Winspear.
Birds of a Feather by Jaqueline Winspear.
Pardonable Lies by Jaqueline WInspear.
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt.
Careless in Red by Elizabeth George.
In the Woods by Tana French. Recommended by Kelly at BigAlittlea. Also recommended at Whimpulsive.
So Brave, So Young and So Handsome by Leif Enger.

April:

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. Semicolon review here.
Eat Drink and Be from Mississippi by Nancy Kincaid.
Tender Grace by Jackina Stark. Semicolon review here.
Passage by Connie WIllis.
The Rule of Claw by John Brindley.
Winnie’s War by Jenny Moss.
I Remember the Alamo by D. Ann Love.
Just One Wish by Janette Rallison.
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Ã‡hernow.

May:

Every Secret Thing by Ann Tatlock.
The Blood of Lambs by Kamal Saleem (with Lynn Vincent).
The Trap by Joan Lowery Nixon.
Gringolandia by Lyn Miller-Lachmann. Semicolon review of this YA novel set in Chile and in the U.S. among Chilean refugees, here.
Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson.
Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey.
Lavinia by Ursula K. LeGuin.
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George. Semicolon review here plus a short list of favorite novelized fairy tales.
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson.
Tuck by Stephen Lawhead.
Ancient Highway by Bret Lott.
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje.
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.
The Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips. Semicolon review here.
Amazing Grace: The Story of America’s Most Beloved Song by Steve Turner.

June:

The Chosen by Chaim Potok.
The Promise by Chaim Potok.
Alligator Bayou by Donna Jo Napoli. Semicolon review here.
Confetti Girl by Diana Lopez. Semicolon review here.
The Arrow Over the Door by Joseph Bruchac. Semicolon review here.
Family Reminders by Julie Danneberg. Semicolon review here.
Escape Under the Forever Sky by Eve Yohalem. Semicolon review here.
Things Change by Patrick Jones. Semicolon review here.
The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones by Helen Hemphill. Semicolon review here.
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation:
Volume 1: The Pox Party
Volume 2: The Kingdom on the Waves
by M.T. Anderson. Semicolon review here.
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley. Semicolon review here.
Singin’ Texas by Edward Abernethy Francis.
Abide With Me: The World of VIctorian Hymns by Ian C. Bradley.
Lady of Milkweed Manor by Julie Klassen.
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula LeGuin. Semicolon review here.
Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean.
101 Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck.
101 More Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck.
Then Sings My Soul by Robert Morgan.

July:

The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico. Semicolon review here.
An Exact Replica of a Figment of my Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken. Semicolon review here.
Dough: A Memoir by Mort Zachter.
A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation by Catherine Allgor. Semicolon review here.
The Great Little Madison by Jean Fritz.
Adrift by Allan Baillie.
The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams.
Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity by Lauren Winner.
Your Jesus Is Too Safe by Jared Wilson.
When the War Was Over by Elizabeth Becker.
When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge by Chanrithy Him.
Hitchhiking Vietnam by Karin Muller.

August:

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome. Semicolon review here.
Fieldwork by Mischa Berlinski. Semicolon review here.
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis. Semicolon review here.
Graceling by Kristin Cashore. Semicolon review here.
Forgive Me by Amanda Eyre Ward.
Heart of a Shepherd by Roseanne Parry. Semicolon review here.
The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had by Kristin Levine. Semicolon review here.
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters.
Little Face by Sophie Hannah.
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller.
Buffalo Moon by G. Clifton Wisler.
Comanche Song by Janice Shefelman.
The Wolf’s Tooth by G. Clifton Wisler.
Wild Things by Clay Carmichael.

September:

The Associate by John Grisham.
Dying to Meet You (43 Old Cemetery Road) by Kate Klise. Illustrated by M. Sarah Klise.
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff. Semicolon review here.
The Roar by Emma Clayton. Semicolon review here.
Cold Springs by Rick Riordan.
The Log of a Cowboy by Andy Adams.
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa. Semicolon review here.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.
Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland by Sally M. Walker. Semicolon review here.
Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor. Semicolon review here.
Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George.
Daisy Chain by Mary DeMuth.
The Log of a Cowboy by Andy Adams. Semicolon Texas Tuesday review here.
The Texan Scouts by Joseph Altsheler.
A Murder for Her Majesty by Beth Hilgartner. Semicolon discussion here.
I reviewed these and a couple of others here for Texas Tuesday:
Comanche Song by Janice Shefelman.
Spirit of Iron by Janice Shefelman.
The Wolfâ€™s Tooth by G. Clifton Wisler.

October:

Children of God by Mary Doria Russell.
Gateway by Frederick Pohl.
A Thread of Grace by Mary Dorie Russell.
The Texan Scouts by Joseph Altsheler. Semicolon review here.
Unsigned Hype by Booker T. Mattison. Semicolon review here.
Luke and the Van Zandt County War by Judith MacBain Alter. Semicolon review here.
West Oversea by Lars Walker.
The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg. Semicolon review here.
Also Known as Harper by Ann Haywood Leal. Semicolon review here.
Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin. Semicolon review here.
The Year the Swallows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice. Semicolon review here.
The Beef Princess of Practical County by Michelle Houts. Semicolon review here.
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. Semicolon review here.
Any Which Wall by Laurel Snyder. Semicolon review here.
Mudville by Kurtis Scaletta. Semicolon review here.
The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane. Semicolon review here.
Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies by Erin Dionne. Semicolon review here.
Neil Armstrong is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino.
Sahwira: An African Friendship by Carolyn Marsden.
Carolina Harmony by Marilyn Taylor McDowell.
Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba by Margarita Engle. Semicolon review here.
My Life in Pink and Green by Lisa Greenwald. Semicolon review here.
The Kind of Friends We Used To Be by Frances O’Roark Dowell. Semicolon review here.
All the Broken Pieces by An E. Burg. Semicolon review here.
The Brooklyn Nine by Alan Gratz.
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick.
Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson.
The Dunderheads by Paul Fleischman. Semicolon review here.
The Problem With the Puddles by Kate Feiffer. Semicolon review here.
Dessert First by Hallie Durand. Semicolon review here.
Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur. Betsy-Bee and I discuss Love, Aubrey.
Anna’s World by Wim Coleman and Pat Perrin. Semicolon review here.
Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan. Semicolon review here.
Callie’s Rules by Naomi Zucker. Semicolon review here.
Leaving the Bellweathers by Kristin Clark Venuti.
Lincoln and His Boys by Rosemary Wells. Semicolon review here.

November:

After by Amy Efaw. Semicolon review here.
Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee.
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. Semicolon review here.
Make Way for Sam Houston by Jean Fritz. Semicolon review here.
The Last Invisible Boy by Evan Kuhlman. Semicolon review here.
Gone From These Woods by Donna Bailey Seagraves. Semicolon review here.
Extra Credit by Andrew Clements. Clements’ latest school story is about a tomboyish girl who becomes pen pals with an Afghan boy and his sister.
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. Semicolon review here.
Standing for Socks by Elissa Brent Weissman.
Angel Cake by Cathy Cassidy.
Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez. Semicolon review here.
A Recipe 4 Robbery by Marybeth Kelsey. Semicolon review here.
Take the Mummy and Run: The Riot Brothers Are on a Roll by Mary Amato.
Lucky Breaks by Susan Patron.
Scat by Carl Hiaassen.
The Beast of Backslope by Tracy Barrett.
Operation Yes by Sara Lewis Holmes.
Black Angels by Linda Beatrice Brown. Semicolon review here.
Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko. Semicolon review here.
Rescuing Seneca Crane by Susan Runholt. Semicolon review here.
Dani Noir by Nova Ben Suma. Semicolon review here.
Born to Fly by Michael Ferrari. Semicolon review here.
Newsgirl by Liza Ketchum. Semicolon review here.
William S. and the Great Escape by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. Semicolon review here.
Bull Rider by Suzanne Morgan Williams. Semicolon review here.

December:

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter.
Don’t Judge a Girl By Her Cover by Ally Carter.
The Homeschool Liberation League by Lucy Frank. Semicolon review here.
If the Witness Lied by Caroline B. Cooney. Semicolon review here.
Ice Shock (The Joshua Files) by M.G. Harris.
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork.
After the Moment by Garrett Freyman-Weyr. Semicolon review here.
Living on Impulse by Cara Haycak. Semicolon review here.
Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone by Dene Low. Semicolon review here.
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson. Semicolon review here.
Dear Pen Pal by Heather Vogel Frederick.
The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. by Kate Messner.
Positively by Courtney Sheinmel.
Dragon Wishes by Stacey Nyikos.
Paris Pan Takes the Dare by Cynthea Liu.
The Year of the Bomb by Ronald Kidd.
The Sisters Eight: Annie’s Adventures by Lauren Baratz-Logstead.
Brushing Mom’s Hair by Andrea Cheng.
Road to Tater Hill by Edith Hemingway. Semicolon review here.
When the Whistle Blows by Fran Cannon Slayton.
Walking Backward by Catherine Austen.

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko

Nov26

I read Al Capone Does My Shirts by the same author last February, and I thought it was a good premise, well-executed. A group of kids living on Alcatraz Island in the 1930’s learn to get along with each other and to co-exist with the convicts who share their island home. Moose is the protagonist, an easy-going kid who loves and protects his autistic sister Natalie even though her behavior is sometimes difficult to understand and to explain to others.

Al Capone Shines My Shoes continues the story of Moose, Natalie, their parents and Moose’s other friends on Alcatraz. Natalie has been accepted into The Esther Marinoff School, a special school for mentally handicapped children, and Moose think that his letter appealing to Al Capone for help in getting her admitted was the deciding factor. So he owes the infamous convict something. However, Moose’s dad tells him to treat the cons with respect but never to trust them and never to owe them anything. Moose finds out too late that his dad’s advice is good, and as he deals with Al Capone’s demands for recompense, Moose also has to figure out how he feels about the warden’s daughter, Piper, and what he’s going to do about it.

This second book about Moose and his mysterious relationship with Al Capone felt darker and more troubled than the first book. Moose is growing up, and he gets himself into some real trouble in this book. I would go so far as to use the term “moral ambiguity” to describe the atmosphere of the story. For Moose there is no clear right or wrong decision in most of the choices he must make over the course of the book. Moose must choose whether to help, and perhaps become indebted to, a convicted felon, or lose his sister’s last chance at getting an education and a more normal life. He has to lie and connive and deceive, all to protect Natalie and to keep his father’s job. And then it all backfires anyway.

Maybe the moral ambiguity in the book is a reflection of the ambiguity and mixed feelings inherent in dealing with a family member with autism. The word “autism” is never used in the story because, of course, it wasn’t an identified diagnosis back in the 1930’s. Author Gennifer Choldenko, in her author’s note at the end of the book, tell us a little bit about her own sister, Gina, who was identified as autistic. Then Ms. Choldenko writes this note about autism and its effects and prognosis:

“Though we still know surprisingly little about what causes autism, the treatment options have improved dramatically over the last fifteen years. The possibility of partial or even complete recovery from autism is greater now than it was when my sister was a kid. The chances of a life rich in its own rewards for children on the autism spectrum is much more likely today. For Gina, who died when she was eighteen, autism was a prison without a key. I like to think I’ve given my sister’s spirit a new life in the pages of these books.”

For a book about what it feels like to be autistic, I really prefer Anything But Typical, another Cybils nominee that I reviewed a few weeks ago. And for a book about what autistic children can do, despite or even because of their disability, check out last year’s London Eye Mystery. For siblings of children who are autistic, you can’t beat Cynthia Lord’s Rules, a Newbery Honor book in 2007.

Books about autism or featuring autistic characters
For children:
London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd.
Rules by Cynthia Lord.
Anything But Typical by Nora Leigh Baskin.
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork.
Emma Jean Lazurus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis. Semicolon review by Brown Bear Daughter here.
The Very Ordered Existence of Marilee Marvelous by Suzanne Crowley.

For adults:
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon. Semicolon review here.
the curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon. Semicolon review here.
Daniel Isn’t Talking by Marti Leimbach.
A Wild RIde Up the Cupboards by Ann Bauer.

Amazon Affiliate. If you click on a book cover here to go to Amazon and buy something, I receive a very small percentage of the purchase price.
One or more of these books is also nominated for a Cybil Award, but the views expressed here are strictly my own.

Sunday Salon: Books Read in October, 2009

Nov8

Children of God by Mary Doria Russell. In this sequel to Russell’s The Sparrow, ex-priest Emilio Sandoz continues to work out his salvation in fear and trembling as the fate of two cultures hangs in the balance.

Gateway by Frederick Pohl. Not recommended. Although both of Mary Russell’s sci/fi books (see above) have explicit sexual content that may make some readers uncomfortable, I thought it was both tastefully written and integral to the plot and theme of the novels. I can’t say the same for Gateway. The sexual content in this book was annoying and gratuitous, and the ending was forced and trying too hard to be philosophical and psychological at the same time. I was already nine-tenths of the way through the book when I realized that I didn’t like the story or the characters, but by then I did want to know what happened. I wish I had skipped the whole thing. For what it’s worth this one is supposed to be a classic in the genre.

A Thread of Grace by Mary Dorie Russell. Not science fiction. Not as good as The Sparrow or Children of God. However, this novel set in Northern Italy during the last year of World War II does have its moments. Either I was distracted or the changes in place and point of view are confusing. I had trouble keeping straight the various story lines and characters and events. The book did give me a perspective on World War II and The Holocaust that I hadn’t known before: I learned that many Jews and other fugitives fled Southern France and other places as it began to look as if the Germans would lose the war. Many of these fugitives came to Italy because Southern Italy had already surrendered to the Allies. Unfortunately the Fascists and their German allies remained in power in Northern Italy for another year while the Allies made their way slowly and painfully up the Italian peninsula. The Italians formed partisan resistance groups, hid many of the Jews and other on the German blacklist, and endured the German occupation as best they could —hanging on to a thread of grace.

The Texan Scouts by Joseph Altsheler. Semicolon review here.

Unsigned Hype by Booker T. Mattison. Semicolon review here.

Luke and the Van Zandt County War by Judith MacBain Alter. Semicolon review here.

West Oversea by Lars Walker.

The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg. Semicolon review here.

Cybils Reading:

Also Known as Harper by Ann Haywood Leal. Semicolon review here.

Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin. Semicolon review here.

The Year the Swallows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice. Semicolon review here.

The Beef Princess of Practical County by Michelle Houts. Semicolon review here.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. Semicolon review here.

Any Which Wall by Laurel Snyder. Semicolon review here.

Mudville by Kurtis Scaletta. Semicolon review here.

The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane. Semicolon review here.

Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies by Erin Dionne. Semicolon review here.

Neil Armstrong is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino. Bratty kid learns to say “thank you” but not much else. I didn’t care for this one much, but others may sympathize with the main character who is admittedly sort of a lost, neglected child in a dysfunctional family.

Sahwira: An African Friendship by Carolyn Marsden.

Carolina Harmony by Marilyn Taylor McDowell.

Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba by Margarita Engle. Semicolon review here.

My Life in Pink and Green by Lisa Greenwald. Semicolon review here.

The Kind of Friends We Used To Be by Frances O’Roark Dowell. Semicolon review here.

All the Broken Pieces by An E. Burg. Semicolon review here.

The Brooklyn Nine by Alan Gratz.

The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick.

Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson.

The Dunderheads by Paul Fleischman. Semicolon review here.

The Problem With the Puddles by Kate Feiffer. Semicolon review here.

Dessert First by Hallie Durand. Semicolon review here.

Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur. Betsy-Bee and I discuss Love, Aubrey.

Anna’s World by Wim Coleman and Pat Perrin. Semicolon review here.

Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan. Semicolon review here.

Callie’s Rules by Naomi Zucker. Semicolon review here.

Leaving the Bellweathers by Kristin Clark Venuti.

Lincoln and His Boys by Rosemary Wells. Semicolon review here.

Saturday Review of Books: October 17, 2009

Oct16

“A good book is the precious life-blood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life.”~John Milton

Welcome to this week’s Saturday Review of Books.

Hereâ€™s how it usually works. Find a review on your blog posted sometime this week of a book youâ€™re reading or a book youâ€™ve read. The review doesnâ€™t have to be a formal sort of thing. You can just write your thoughts on a particular book, a few ideas inspired by reading the book, your evaluation, quotations, whatever.

Now post a link here to the specific post where youâ€™ve written your book review. Donâ€™t link to your main blog page because this kind of link makes it hard to find the book review, especially when people drop in later after youâ€™ve added new content to your blog. In parentheses after your name, add the title of the book youâ€™re reviewing. This addition will help people to find the reviews theyâ€™re most interested in reading.

Thanks to everyone for participating.

1. SuziQoregon (Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince)
2. SuziQoregon (Still Life)
3. SuziQoregon (Club Dead)
4. Page Turner (Busman’s Honeymoon)
5. Florinda/The 3 R’s (Goldengrove)
6. Seth H. (Vanished)
7. Reading to Know (Night of Flames)
8. Reading to Know (The Boxcar Children)
9. 5M4B (Mennonite in a Little Black Dress)
10. 5M4B (Dawn’s Prelude)
11. 5M4B (Storm Chaser)
12. 5M4B (The Lost Books: Lunatic & Elyon)
13. 5M4B (K is for Kabuki)
14. Reading My Library (Billy & Blaze)
15. Mark @ Random Ramblings (Alice in Wonderland)
16. Mark @ Random Ramblings (7th Heaven)
17. Katy (American Cookery: A Novel)
18. Katy (Lady of Milkweed Manor)
19. Carrie K. (Deep End of the Ocean)
20. RAnn (When Everything Changed
21. FleurFisher (Among The Mad)
22. FleurFisher (On the Other Side: Letters to my Children from Germany 1940-46)
23. FleurFisher (Mugby Junction)
24. FleurFisher (Letters to Alice on First Reading Jane Austen)
25. FleurFisher (Puppet Master)
26. Fate (Vampire of the Mists)
27. Zee @ Notes from the North (Magician’s Gambit)
28. Janet @ Across the Page (84, Charing Cross Road)
29. Janet @ Across the Page (Their Eyes Were Watching God)

30. DebD (The Zookeeper’s Wife)
31. gautami tripathy (Tintin & The Broken Ear)
32. gautami tripathy (Just Say Yes)
33. Deanna/ibeeeg (An Echo In The Bone)
34. Dana(Education in America)
35. Nicola (A Pioneer Thanksgiving)
36. Nicola (The Bag of Bones)
37. Nicola (AD New Orlean After the Deluge)
38. Nicola (Alligator Stew)
39. Nicola (Little Bear’s Friend)
40. Nicola (Testimony)
41. Jolanthe {Farraday Road and Swope’s Ridge}
42. WordLily (The Sound of Sleigh Bells)
43. SmallWorld Reads (Day After Night–A. Diamant)
44. SmallWorld Reads (Skeletons at the Feast–Bohjalian)
45. SmallWorld Reads (The Outcast–S. Jones)
46. melydia (The Stranger)
47. S. Mehrens, Library Hospital (Betsy’s Wedding)
48. S. Mehrens, Library Hospital (One Stayed At Welcome)
49. Jennifer (Operation Redwood by S. French
50. Girl Detective (Beat the Reaper)
51. Girl Detective (Beat the Reaper)
52. Girl Detective (Dead Boy Detectives)
53. Girl Detective (Sandman Presents: Thessaly, Witch for Hire)
54. Semicolon (Anything But Typical)
55. Semicolon (The importance of LIving)
56. Semicolon (Unsigned Hype)
57. Katie (Silent to the Bone)
58. Savvy Verse & Wit (When You Went Away)

59. Savvy Verse & Wit (The Tudor Rose)
60. Jennifer, Snapshot (From MixedUp Files of Mrs. BEF. . )
61. 5M4Mom (Touched by Vampire–Twilight resource)
62. 5M4B (Monster Books for Kids)
63. Melanie (Under this Unbroken Sky)
64. Melanie (Holding my breath)
65. Melanie (Read for Your Life)
66. Nikki (Hooked for Life – Adventures of a Crochet Zealot))
67. Hope(Families Where Grace is in Place)
68. Alice@Supratentorial(Tin Lizzie)
69. Abiding (summer reading summary)
70. Veronika @ TrueHarbour (Firegirl)
71. Dani TOrres (We Were Young and at War)
72. Exurbanis book reviews (Chronicles of Fairacre by Miss Read)
73. Debbie Rodgers (The Lonesome Gods by Louis L’Amour)
74. Debbie Rodgers (The Chronicles of Fairacre by Miss Read)
75. Jen @ Happy Little Homemaker (Art of Disappearing)
76. Polly Castor (The gift of an Ordinary Day)
77. Lynn Bruce (Leisure: The Basis of Culture)
78. Diary of an Eccentric (Heaven to Betsy)
79. Diary of an Eccentric (Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown)
80. Diary of an Eccentric (Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill)
81. Diary of an Eccentric (Betsy-Tacy and Tib)
82. Diary of an Eccentric (Betsy-Tacy)
83. Violetcrush (Defenders of the Scroll by Shiraz)
84. Violetcrush (Meridian by Amber Kizer)
85. Michelle (Daughter of Time)
86. Yule Time Reading (The Blue Notebook)

Saturday Review of Books: June 13, 2009

Jun12

“Read properly, fewer books than a hundred would suffice for a liberal education. Read superficially, the British Museum Library might still leave the student a barbarian.”
~AR Orage

Welcome to this week’s Saturday Review of Books.

Thanks to everyone for participating.

1. Semicolon (WIfe of the Gods)
2. Semicolon (North of Beautiful)
3. Page Turner (Girl Meets God)
4. Amy @ Hope Is the Word (Mr. Popper’s Penguins)
5. Amy @ Hope Is the Word (In Search of Mockingbird)
6. Amy @ Hope Is the Word (The Chosen by Chaim Potok)
7. Amy @ Hope Is the Word (Read Aloud Thursday)
8. Moomin Light (Neverwhere)
9. SuziQregon (Miss Julia Paints the Town)
10. SuziQoregon (Haunted Ground)
11. SuziQoregon (Reunion in Death)
12. BOOKIE WOOGIE (Scribble)
13. gautami tripathy (Tea and Other Ayama Na Tales)
14. gautami tripathy (Guest post Eleanor Bluestein)
15. Amy Letinsky (Loving Frank)
16. Amy Letinsky (Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes)
17. gautami tripathy (In The Shadow Of The Glacier)
18. gautami tripathy (Curse of the Pogo Stick)
19. gautami tripathy (Interview with Eleanor Bluestein)
20. Reading to Know (Adopted for Life)
21. Reading to Know (101 Dalmations)
22. 5M4B (Outcasts United)
23. 5M4B (Living with Eeyore)
24. 5M4B (Stealing Home)
25. 5M4B (What if Your Prince Falls Off His Horse?)
26. 5M4B (Little Girls in Matching Dresses)
27. 5M4B (Scatter Joy)
28. 5M4B (Simply C.S. Lewis)
29. Fate (Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things)
30. gautami tripathy (The Merry Misogynist)
31. Terri B. (The Road from La Cueva)
32. Terri B. (Gil’s All Fright Diner)
33. At Home With Books (The Bad Beginning)
34. At Home With Books (The Secret)
35. At Home With Books (Speak)
36. Beth (The Book Thief)
37. pussreboots (South Sea Idyls)
38. pussreboots (A World I Never Made)
39. pussreboots (The Three Incestuous Sisters)
40. pussreboots (Heroes of Googley Woogley)
41. Homespun Light (Dearly Depotted)
42. FleurFisher (A Very Persistent Illusion)
43. FleurFisher (The Weather at Tregulla)
44. FleurFisher (Chez Moi)
45. Lazygal (Duchess of Death)
46. Lazygal (Horrid Henry)
47. Lazygal (Hold On to Your Dreams)

48. Lazygal (The Kill Call)
49. Lazygal (I Used to Know That)
50. Lazygal (The New Totally Awesome Money Book for Kids)
51. Lazygal (Exposure)
52. Lazygal (Milk)
53. Lazygal (Metamorposis: Junior Year)
54. Lazygal (The Candle Man)
55. Lazygal (Food, Girls and Other Things I Can’t Have)
56. Lazygal (Murder at Midnight)
57. Lazygal (Back Home)
58. Lazygal (Tombstone Tea)
59. Janet (The Man Who Listens to Horses)
60. Janet (A Circle of Quiet)
61. Belinda (Christ, My Companion)
62. Lynne (THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN)
63. Lynne (WORLD WITHOUT END)
64. Deanna (Scarlet)
65. Hope (The Virginian by Owen Wister)
66. Shonda (Hollywood Car Wash)
67. Shonda (This Is What I Want to Tell You)
68. Shonda (Best Intentions)
69. Nymeth (Reasonable Creatures)
70. Nymeth (Seimming in the Monsoon Sea)
71. Nicola (The House of Power)
72. Nymeth (Girlfriend in a Coma)
73. Nicola (Anything But Typical)
74. Nicola (Don’t Call Me a Crook)
75. Nicola (Rivers of Fire)
76. Nicola (Zamora’s Ultimate Challenge)
77. Nymeth (The 13 Clocks)
78. SmallWorld Reads (Dear Abraham Lincoln: Letters from a Slave Girl)
79. S. (The Penny Whistle)
80. S. Mehrens, Library Hospital (Smoky)
81. S. Mehrens, Library Hospital (A House to Let)
82. S. Mehrens, Library Hospital (The Shack)
83. ChristineMM (Healing and Preventing Autism)
84. ChristineMM (Can the World Afford Autistic Spectrum Disorder?”
85. ChristineMM (Word of Promise Next Generation New Testament dramatized)
86. ChristineMM (Healthy Heart Kit)
87. ChristineMM (An Undivided Life)
88. Phyllis (Dakota: A Spiritual Geography)
89. Word Lily (Night)
90. Mindy Withrow (Something Rising Light and Swift)
91. Word Lily (The Wish Maker)
92. Florinda – The 3 R’s (The Laws of Harmony)
93. Bonnie (Toujours Provence)
94. Book Chatter (Foreign Tongue)

95. Book Chatter (Sunnyside Blues)
96. melydia (Ender’s Game)
97. melydia (Speaker for the Dead)
98. Janie (Real Education)
99. Amber (The Way Home)
100. Amber (Secrets to Happiness)
101. Girl Detective (Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay)
102. Girl Detective (The Escapists)
103. Jen Robinson (Mare’s War)
104. Heather J (Wuthering Heights)
105. Heather J.(The Secret Keeper)
106. Memory (The Invisible Ring)
107. Memory (Dreams Made Flesh)
108. Lady Schrapnell
109. Lady Schrapnell (Twice a Prince)
110. Lady Schrapnell (Silver Phoenix)
111. Lady Schrapnell (Betwixt)
112. Lady Schrapnell (Fat Kid Rules the World)
113. Becky (Along for the Ride)
114. Becky (Body of Christopher Creed)
115. Becky (When the Whistle Blows)
116. Becky (Emily’s Quest)
117. Becky (Painter from Shangai)
118. Becky (Emily Climbs)
119. Becky (The Summoning)
120. Becky (The Dunderheads)
121. Becky (When Papa Comes Home Tonight)
122. Becky (My Dad and Me)
123. Becky (When I Grow Up)
124. Becky (Tonka Phonics Reading Program)
125. Sharon Hrycewicz (Evolution of Calpurnia Tate)
126. Sharon Hrycewicz (Beef Princess…)
127. Jessica @ Mountains of Books (The Land of Nod)
128. Jessica @ Mountains of Books (A Sister’s Test)
129. Phyllis (Hide My Eyes)
130. Jessica @ Mountains of Books (A Sister’s Hope)
131. Dana (The Help)
132. Sandra (Fresh Ink Books)
133. Gavin (Annals of the Western Shore)
134. Gavin (Slow Storm)
135. Teddy (The Brightest Moon of the Century)
136. Teddy (Mud Puddle)
137. Serena (Secrets to Happiness)
138. Serena (The Secret Keeper)
139. Diary of an Eccentric (The Hunger Games)

The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat

May5

Christina Soontornvat, author of Newbery Honor book A Wish in the Dark, has written another middle grade fiction novel with an imaginary world setting, and this one is also set in a place that feels southeast Asian or Asian Pacific but is in fact completely imaginary. Sai, our protagonist, is a girl from the slums who is pretending to be an educated, middle class girl with a chance at a future. However, in the Kingdom of Mangkon, future prospects depend on lineage, the number of respected and verified ancestors that one can claim, and Sai not only has no money, she also has no lineage, only a criminal for a father and a mother who disappeared when Sai was a child. Sai managed to finagle her way into becoming Assistant to Mangkon’s most celebrated mapmaker, Paiyoon Wongyai, but when she doesn’t get a “lineal” on her thirteenth birthday, everyone will know that Sai is an imposter and a usurper. Her only chance is to go with Master Paiyoon on an expedition to the south seas, discover the fabled Sunderlands where the dragons live, and come back a heroine.

Sai is a typical middle grade fantasy protagonist, a poor and challenged child with special talents, looking for a way to move up in the world. She is interesting insofar as she makes some bad choices but manages to come through in the end, and she never discovers that she is anything other than the poor child of criminal and often absent parents, although her father does have some saving character traits in the end as well. I like the idea that Sai doesn’t have to discover that she’s really a princess in disguise to become a worthy and productive member of society.

There’s also a touch of anti-colonialism in the story as Sai learns that discovering a new territory and annexing it to the kingdom of Mangkoon, sometimes means exploiting that new place and oppressing its people. And she finds a way to undermine that move toward colonial exploitation without having the story become didactic and heavy with messaging.

Christina Soontornvat is fast becoming one of my favorite contemporary authors of middle grade fantasy fiction, and I can’t wait to read more of her work. I’m especially interested in reading her other Newbery honor book, the nonfiction All Thirteen: the Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team.

Hope in the Holler by Lisa Lewis Tyre

Oct4

When Wavie’s mother dies of cancer, Wavie ends up in the Appalachian trailer home of her long-lost and unknown Aunt Samantha Rose. Wavie’s father is dead, to (or is he?), and Wavie has only her own wits and a couple of new friends in Conley Hollow, her new home, to get her out of the predicament of living with an aunt who feeds her ketchup and spaghetti for meals and only wants to spend the government check for Wavie’s support on stuff for Aunt Samantha Rose.

Can Wavie do anything that will prevent Aunt Samantha Rose from becoming her legal guardian? Can Wavie find her real father or did he really die in an accident long ago? Why did Wavie’s mother leave Conley Hollow and never tell her about Samantha Rose or anyone else in the family? What else did Wavie’s mother fail to tell her before she died?

Adult fans of Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance will find this story familiar and believable. Those who dissed Vance’s story of his own rise from Appalachian poverty will probably think this children’s version of that escape is just as offensive as Vance’s true life story. I thought some of the stereotypical elements of the story were overdone: Aunt Samantha Rose buys a big-screen TV with the child support money, of course. The family lives in a trailer home, of course. Wavie’s friend comes over to her house to bathe because there’s no water or soap at his house.

Still, this book had a lot of heart and a lot of pathos. Wavie is a spunky, persistent protagonist, and her two sidekicks are believably flawed and somewhat antagonistic toward each other, and yet they support Wavie well in attempt to break free of her vulgar and uncaring aunt. I would recommend this one to readers who like a good overcoming-the-obstacles kind of story. It’s similar in some ways, themes and setting, to Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo. I thought Louisiana was the better book, but Hope in the Holler wasn’t bad at all.

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This book may be nominated for a Cybils Award, but the views expressed here are strictly my own and do not reflect or determine the judging panel’s opinions.

Outlaws of Time: The Legend of Sam Miracle by N.D. Wilson

May24

I’m honestly not sure what I think about N.D. Wilson’s newest book, the beginning of a series called Outlaws of Time. The story is really dark and violent, and as with some of Wilson’s other books it moves too fast for me with too many layers of meaning. I feel as if I’m missing something when I read Wilson’s fantasy, in particular. Actually, I feel dumb. On the other hand, I loved Boys of Blur and Leepike Ridge, especially, and this one has some of the elements that I liked from those: a very American setting, brave kids, adventure, lots of good writing with good metaphors and similes. I just feel as if I have whiplash from trying to follow all the symbolism and hidden meanings and the time travel.

For example, Sam Miracle (his real name) begins the story as a resident (inmate?) of Saint Anthony of the Desert Destitute Youth Ranch, SADDYR. And it’s a sad place, governed by your typical fictional orphanage parents, Mr. and Mrs. Spalding. There are twelve boys at SADDYR, including Sam, and the others are Pete, Drew, Jude, Barto, brothers Jimmy Z and Johnny Z, Flip the Lip, Matt Cat and Sir T(homas), Tiago Lopez, and Simon Zeal. They’re all juvenile delinquents, but they have the names of the twelve apostles in the Bible, minus Judas Iscariot. Yes, I noticed that little naming trick immediately, and it’s kind of cool. But why? Why do Sam’s friends and cohorts have the same names as Jesus’ twelve disciples? What does it mean? Sam isn’t Jesus or a Christ figure, or is he? The priest, Father Tiempo, that Sam meets in the desert is kind of a Christ figure who gives up his life/lives to save Sam and the rest of the world through Sam, but then the priest turns out to be someone else, not Jesus at all. Sam is the one sent to save the world from the evil Vulture, El Buitre, but he’s a violent and at the same time, vulnerable, savior, sent to use his deadly snake arms to kill The Vulture. Even though he’s mangled and wounded by the bad guys in the story, and handicapped by his unreliable memory and his lack of confidence in his own abilities, Sam is a survivor, redeemed and resurrected multiple times. I suppose I’m trying to make the story too simplistic, the characters too allegorical. But allegory is implied in the names and actions of the characters. (I am reminded of C.S. Lewis’s professed hatred of allegory in all its forms while at least parts of his Narnia stories are clearly allegorical in nature.)

Then there’s the time travel, enough time travel to make Hurley’s head hurt a lot (LOST reference, there). This book reminded me of LOST–way too much to figure out, and maybe half of it doesn’t mean anything, just the author playing around. Sam and his friend Glory travel though time, around time, behind time, on the edges of time, and through the cracks between times. I’m a straight-forward, A-Z kind of gal, and although I can handle one time jump, or maybe two, the ramifications of all the time travel in this book make me feel as if I’ve lost my grip on reality. Sam Miracle certainly loses his mind and memory and his sense of what’s real and what’s a dream quite often throughout the course of the story. And since Sam is the main viewpoint character, so did I.

PC critics are going to hate all the guns and all the bullets flying. Even though one of Sam’s snake arms, Speck, is a little bit goofy and doesn’t want to hurt anyone, the other one, Cindy, is “a killer, a nightmare.” Speck shoots the weapons out of the bad guys’ hands, but Cindy shoots to kill. Again, I’m tempted to draw allegorical parallels or symbolical confusion from the contrast between Sam’s left arm, vicious sidewinder Cindy, and his right arm, distractible pet snake Speck, but I will refrain.

Do I think kids will like Outlaws of Time: The Legend of Sam Miracle? Yes, I think so, but I’m not sure what exactly they will get out of it. Maybe that’s good. Maybe that makes me a little uneasy as a parent who’s tempted to give them a neat little book in which I know the “moral of the story”. Maybe one moral of this particular story is that life isn’t neat or predictable, and neither should the stories that we share with each other and with our children be unsurprising and tidily understood. Or maybe, like the authors of LOST, Mr. Wilson is just playing around, having fun with the names and the nicknames and the numbers and the times and the snakes and the guns and all the things that make me want to read the next book in the series.

However, I would warn the author that playing with guns can be quite dangerous.

“You know,” Glory said, watching. “There’s a difference between real life and books. Don’t act like they’re the same.”

“Sure,” Sam said. “Getting life right is a lot harder.”

The Time It Never Rained by Elmer Kelton

May16

If there was ever a piece of fiction that should be adopted as a manifesto and banner for the conservative/libertarian movement in American politics, it’s not any of that nonsense by Ayn Rand. (I never could get through either of her most famous tomes although I tried . . once . . each.) Elmer Kelton’s The Time It Never Rained is a Western classic, a conservative classic, and a cracking good story. It should be recommended reading for all little conservatives-in-training.

So, in the 1950’s, about the time I was born, West Texas ranchers and farmers endured a seven year drouth. Seven years with little or no rain. Seven years. Charlie Flagg has lived through drought before, and he’s sure he can make through this one. But seven years is a long time, and no one, of course, knows that the drought will last so long or when or even if it will ever be over. Charlie, cantankerous and set in his ways even before the drought begins, only becomes more so as he faces the loss of his cattle, his sheep, his family and friends, and finally most of his land. Still, Charlie never gives up, never gives in to what he believes is wrong.

And one thing Charlie believes is wrong, at least for himself, is accepting government aid and price supports. As it turns out, the government aid offered to the ranchers to help them feed their animals and survive the drought comes with strings attached, and artificial prices confuse the free market so much that the ranchers can’t make a living even when the rains return. Charlie must change, accepting the idea of raising goats in addition to the sheep that have been his mainstay, but he never compromises his principles.

Charlie Flagg isn’t perfect, and the author shows us his faults as well as his strengths. Charlie and his wife have grown apart, mostly because Charlie is the strong, silent type, not much of a communicator (Charlie’s attitude: He told her he loved her when he married her, and he’d be sure to let her know if anything changed.) Charlie is an old-style patron to his Mexican American workers, and he sometimes patronizes them and treats them with the kind of “separate but equal” attitude that was the trademark of the fifties relationship between Anglos and Latin Americans, as we used to call them. Charlie doesn’t hire illegals, but he respects them for their work ethic and their willingness to cross the border to find work. He wishes the government would just leave everybody alone, including the Mexicans who come to work in the United States, and especially including the ranchers who are just trying to make a living raising cattle and sheep and goats.

That’s the typical attitude of the typical West Texan that I knew growing up. I grew up in San Angelo, Mr. Kelton’s hometown. And most people there, at least thirty years ago, would have told you they just wanted the government, state and federal, to leave them alone. Some older men and women I knew were “yellow dog Democrats” and others were newly-coined Republicans, but all of them shared the desire to be left alone to raise their families and do their work without interference or help from the government.

QOTD: How do you respond to adversity or failure? How do you want to see yourself respond to hard times?

Duck Dynasty and The Duck Commander Family

Mar18

Other than K-dramas, the other culture I’ve been exploring via television lately is that of redneck Louisiana and duck-hunting as portrayed in the A&E series Duck Dynasty. It’s just as fascinating, if not quite as foreign, as Korean drama culture.

Duck Dynasty is a “reality TV” series starring the Robertson clan, owners of a multi-million dollar business that creates products for duck hunters, including duck calls, hunting videos, and other hunting paraphernalia. The company is called Duck Commander, and there’s a companion company, Buck Commander, that sells stuff for deer hunters. The show, however, isn’t about hunting so much as it is about the Robertsons and their weird and wonderful family dynamic.

Meet the Robertsons:

Phil is the family patriarch, the man who founded Duck Commander, a fanatical and skilled duck hunter, designer of the double reed duck call that is Duck Commander’s featured product. Phil wants everyone to be “happy, happy, happy” without bothering him too much, and he doesn’t have much use for “yuppies” and modern technology.
Ms. Kay is Phil’s wife and mother to the four Robertson boys. Ms. Kay can cook anything and make it taste great; her speciality is fried squirrel and squirrel brains. She says the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and squirrel brains make you smart.
Three of the “boys” are featured in the TV show:
Willie is the CEO of Duck COmmander. He spends most of his time on the TV show trying to get the rest of the family to work and build duck calls instead of taking naps, going hunting, and generally goofing off.
Jase is Willie’s older brother, but he’s more interested in working in the duck call room, designing duck calls and testing them. Jase and Willie have different,complementary roles in the business, but outside of business hours they are highly competitive in everything from fishing to sports to cooking to outwitting one another.
Jep is the baby of the family, kind of quiet, but according to the book he does a lot of the filming for the hunting videos.
The other main character in the TV shows is Uncle Si, a Vietnam veteran who has the best and funniest lines in the show. Uncle Si makes the reeds for the duck calls. He also drinks sweet tea by the gallon from a plastic Tupperware glass that he carries with him everywhere. Uncle Si reminds me of a combination of Engineer Husband’s two brothers: the storytelling, the exaggerations, the beard, the eccentricity.

After I watched most of seasons one and two of Duck Dynasty, I wanted to know how much of the show was true and how much was put-on. So I read The Duck Commander Family: How Faith, Family, and Ducks Built a Dynasty by Willie and Korie (Willie’s wife) Robertson (with Mark Schlabach). The book isn’t a classic, but it serves the purpose of giving more information about the Robertson family background. Each TV episode closes with the entire clan gathered around the table, and Phil prays a blessing over the food and the family. The book tells how the family came to have such a strong heritage of faith in God. It wasn’t easy. Phil and Kay married young, and Phil became an alcoholic and deserted the family for a time. After God brought him to a realization of his need for Christ and his love of his family, Phil returned to Ms. Kay and his sons and became a strong man of God, still a little quirky but grounded in the Bible and faith in God’s provision.

I highly recommend the TV series, and then the book if you want more information about this wacky, unconventional, and inspirational family. Warning: the Robertsons are NOT your typical rich, sophisticated family. They like to blow things up, shoot animals and eat them, and generally run wild. It’s a great TV show to watch with the young men in your family, older men, too.