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Travels With Gannon and Wyatt: Botswana by Patti Wheeler and Keith Hemstreet

Nov27

Travels With Gannon and Wyatt is something different in the world of children’s books. At least, I’ve never seen a book or a series quite like it. Travels With Gannon and Wyatt: Botswana is the first book in a prospective series of fictional travel adventures featuring homeschooled twin brothers, Gannon and Wyatt Wheeler, sons of the co-author Patti Wheeler. The idea, as I understand it, is to take the adventures of real brothers, Gannon and Wyatt, and cast them into a story that will hold kids’ interest and at the same time teach them something about the world and its inhabitants, both animals and people. In this first book the brothers go to Botswana where they see and photograph all kinds of wildlife on safari and encounter the most dangerous animals of all, human poachers.

So how successful is this first book in the series? Well, great literature it’s not, but Ms. Wheeler and Mr. Hemstreet do tell an engrossing adventure story featuring a couple of intrepid young explorers. The story unfolds in the form of journal entries, alternating between Gannon’s voice and Wyatt’s. Each boy tells the story of their African adventure from his unique point of view: Gannon, the philosophical people person and Wyatt, the scientific fact gatherer. The boys have a LOT of adventures for one book: seeing all of the Big Five (lions, cafe buffalo, rhinos, leopards, and elephants) and also several more dangerous and fascinating animals, visiting a Bushmen village, rescuing a wounded lioness, and foiling poachers, among other events. Wyatt gets sick at one point in the story with an unknown African illness, and he almost dies. Gannon is charged by an aggressive lion, and then when they run out of food on safari, the boys get a taste of roasted black mamba.

By the way, mambas seem to be popular in kidlit this year. Trendspotter that I am, I’ve noticed the prominence of the nasty poisonous buggers in three of the books I’ve read so far for the Cybils Middle Grade Fiction: Mamba Point by Kurtis Scaletta, Belly Up by Sturart GIbbs, and now Travels With Gannon and Wyatt: Botswana. I also learned a lot about hippos from this book and from Belly Up!. Did you know that hippos are among the most dangerous animals in the African bush and that they have a penchant for overturning boats? Both books agreed on this fact, so it must be true.

I think boys in particular who have a yen for travel and adventure will get a kick out of these books. The first book comes with a DVD with video footage of the real Gannon and Wyatt on their trek through Botswana. And if kids are really into the whole travel/adventure/series thing, they can go the Travels With Gannon and Wyatt website where they can join the Youth Exploration Society, read the boys’ blog, or purchase Gannon and Wyatt merchandise. Future books in the series will feature Gannon and Wyatt in The Great Bear Rainforest, Egypt, and the Serengeti.

Other takes:
Carrie at 5 Minutes for Books: “I found Travels with Gannon and Wyatt: Botswana to be imaginative and engaging. It reads like a positive adventure story with lots of geographical facts thrown in so the reader is picking up information on the country or continent in focus.”

Roberta at Wrapped in Foil: “It becomes apparent the adventures in the book are fictionalized. The boys would have to be pretty unlucky to encounter all the things that befall them. Starting out with a close call with a mother white rhino that knocks their own mother out of the vehicle they are riding in, the boys run up against everything from frightening giant crocodiles to being held hostage by an angry poacher.”

Travels With Gannon and Wyatt: Botswana has been nominated for the 2010 Cybils Awards in the Middle Grade Fiction category.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go first? Civilized or wild? Culture and history or wildlife and roughing it? You probably already know I’m in the first category. I’d head straight for London and Oxford and Stratford-on-the-Avon if I could. But I did enjoy reading about Gannon’s and Wyatt’s exploits in the African bush.

The Healing Spell by Kimberley Griffiths Little

Nov24

The Healing Spell is set in Cajun country in the swamps and bayous of Louisiana, and it’s a book about repentance, confession, courage, forgiveness, and of course healing. Incorporating all of those themes is a tall order for one book, and Ms. Little almost pulls it off.

Livie’s mama is in a coma, victim of the sleeping sickness as Livie calls it, and no one knows whether Mama will ever awaken from her unnatural sleep. What’s even worse is that only Livie knows that Mama’s accident was Livie’s fault. And since Livie’s fairly sure that entire family, including Mama, hates her, Livie is not about to tell anyone what really happened the day that Mama fell and hit her head and went into a coma.

The book begins rather slowly, and I would have given up had I not been intrigued enough to want to know Livie’s secret. I loved the parts of the book about finding good memories and getting rid of the bad ones and the reconciliation between Livie and her older sister Faye. The descriptions of life in southern Louisiana were vivid and lovely. And the relationship between Livie and her mama was real and convincing. Livie is daddy’s girl, and she and her mama find it difficult to understand and tolerate each other’s differences, even though the love that underlies their relationship is as palpable as it is complicated.

Livie herself is a lot like Charlie Anne in The Wonder of Charlie Anne. Livie is convinced that her mama doesn’t like her because Livie prefers fishing and frogging and paddling her pirogue on the bayou to dressing up and parties and painting pictures like her mama does. Livie’s a bit sassy, often in trouble, and something of a loner. I liked her character and her determination to help her mama in spite of their mutual misunderstanding of one another.

Unfortunately, the ending of the story was not as satisfying as the first three-fourths of the book. I couldn’t figure out if the final scenes in the story were Livie’s imagination or premonitions or supposed reality. If it was the latter, I didn’t believe it. I’m not sure what would have made a better ending for this story in which the entire plot, and even the title, lead readers to hope for complete healing for Livie’s mama, but I didn’t like the ending I got. Just sayin’.

Other takes:
Sandra Stiles: “This story was wonderful and all about forgiveness. I believe it will touch your heart the way it touched mine.”

The Wonder of Charlie Anne by Kimberly Newton Fusco

Nov23

This novel takes place during the Great Depression, and Charlie Anne’s family is desperately poor. They’re so poor that Papa has to leave home to get work on the roads in one of President Roosevelt’s WPA projects. Charlie Anne’s mama is dead, and Cousin Mirabel has come to help Papa take care of Ivy, Chalrie Anne, Pete and Birdie. Mirabel is determined to teach Charlie Anne to work hard and to use good manners and to act like a lady. To teach Charlie Anne to behave properly, Mirabel reads aloud maxims from The Charm of Fine Manners by Helen Ekin Starrett. Charlie Anne, of course, hates the advice and the admonitions of The Charm of Fine Manners.

Charlie Anne’s favorite phrase and response to unwanted events in her life is, “Well, we’ll just see about that!” Ms. Fusco does a good job of telling the story from Charlie Anne’s point of view. As far as Charlie Anne is concerned, Cousin Mirabel is a cruel tyrant who makes Charlie Anne work too hard and do all of the nasty, strenuous, and horrid jobs. And Charlie Anne’s older sister, Ivy, is a lazy, vain, and deceitful teenager. The reader suspects that Charlie Anne may not be quite fair in her assessments of Mirabel and Ivy, but this story is Charlie Anne’s story, and it’s her voice we hear as we read.

And Charlie has a fine voice, feisty and determined and full of spitfire. When Rosalyn and her adopted daughter, Phoebe, move in next door, Charlie Anne is excited to have a new friend. But Phoebe is “colored,” and some people, including Mirabel, can’t get used to the idea of associating on equal terms with a colored girl. As the story continues, questions are raised and answered. Will Charlie Anne’s mama continue to give her advice and counsel from her grave down by the river? Will Mirabel break Charlie Anne’s spirit with her book of rules and her seemingly endless chores? Will Rosalyn and Phoebe be accepted in the small Massachusetts where Charlie Anne lives? Will there be a school where Charlie Anne can finally learn to read?

Well, we’ll just see about that!

Other takes:
Bookish Blather: “Charlie Anne has a wonderfully earnest voice. She’s young enough to still believe in magic in the world, but the rapid succession of her mother’s death, her father leaving to build roads, and the ugly face of racism in her family and community, are forcing her to grow up.”
The Fourth Musketeer: “Charlie Anne’s charismatic voice narrates not only scenes of every day drama, such as bee stings, falls off swings, peeling potatoes, harvesting tomatoes, Christmas pageants, and kittens born in the barn, but also more profound problems, such as broken families and racism.”

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Nov22

I’ve been trying to figure out why it’s so satisfying, even illuminating, to read about people who approach life and relationships from a place outside our normal expectations. In this book, Caitlin’s world is drawn in black and white, very literal, no shades of colors, no confusing faces, and no conflicting emotions. Caitlin can read quite well, even though she’s only ten years old, and she likes definitions, words pinned down in a dictionary with definite, specific meanings.

Caitlin’s brother, Devon, used to explain the messy stuff to her–the colors and the feelings and the rules for right behavior in different situations. But now Devon is gone, killed in a school shooting, and Caitlin has to Work At It all by herself and try to find Closure for not only herself but also her father and her classmates and maybe her entire community. That’s a big job for a girl with Asperger’s who has trouble even Looking At the Person who’s speaking to her.

Caitlin is an engaging character. Her brother’s nickname for Caitlin was “Scout” from the movie/book To Kill a Mockingbird. He likened Caitlin’s direct, no nonsense approach to life to Scout’s disingenuous approach to members of the lynch mob in this scene from To Kill a Mockingbird:

“I’m back in Devon’s room staring up at SCOUT carved into the wood and seeing my special name makes me feel good. Devon said his favorite part in To Kill a Mockingbird is where Scout talks to the crowd of angry men and makes them go away. All she says is hi and that she knows their kids from school. Then all the angry men leave. I don’t Get It. But Devon says that’s exactly what I’m like because I say stuff that’s obvious and people go, Oh, and it makes them think.”

Scout looks into the forest of men who have come to lynch Tom Robbins, and she sees individuals, men from her community with names and families and the ability to feel ashamed of themselves. Caitlin must Work At It, but she, too, has the ability to approach individual children in the mob scene that is her school’s playground and begin to make friends and bring healing to those around her.

I liked this book so much, just as I enjoyed reading Marcelo in the Real World and Anything But Typical and The Speed of Dark and other books featuring autistic and Aspergers children and young adults. Autistic people, at least in literature, have a way of cutting through the bull to the heart of the matter and showing me ideas and relationships between things that I am unable to see by myself. “Simplify, simplify,” said Henry David Thoreau. Through these books and others, I’m learning to simplify a complex world and still enjoy all the colors.

Ooooh, I just learned that Mockingbird won the 2010 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. I am delighted because I think the book deserves lots of praise and attention, although Ms. Betsy at Fuse #8 (and apparently others) holds a contrary opinion. To each his own, but I’ll take Mockingbird and books like it any day.

Fostering Understanding

Nov18

Two of the books nominated for the Cybils Middle Grade Fiction award focus on foster children and their adjustment to living in a family not their own.

In Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord, eleven year old Tess Brooks and her five year old sister Libby are excited about welcoming a foster brother into their family’s life on a small island off the coast of Maine. (Don’t you just love that cover with the Monopoly pieces against the blue Maine-ish background?) As her family prepares to welcome Aaron, their new foster child, Tess says,

“I’ve never met a foster child before. But I’ve read books about them. There’s Gilly in The Great Gilly Hopkins, Bud in Bud, Not Buddy, and Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables. I hope Aaron’s the most like Anne: full of stories and eager to meet us. Of course, he won’t be exactly like Anne, because he’s not eleven years old.
Or a girl.
Or Canadian.”

It turns out that Aaron isn’t much like any of those kids in the books. He’s a thirteen year old trumpet player who still misses the mom who deserted him and still hopes to be reunited with her. Tess must deal with her disappointment and with her inability to control events as she tries to find a way to help Aaron become part of the family and comfortable with island life.

Dream of Night by Heather Henson reads at first like just another horse book, and I’m not too fond of horse books. However, it’s really about abuse and adoption and learning to trust. Shiloh, a twelve year old foster child and Dream of Night, a retired Thoroughbred racehorse who’s been abused and neglected by his owner, both come to live with Jess DiLima, a middle aged rescuer of both horses and children who’s not sure she still has the strength and energy to foster yet another child and a nearly starved horse. Shiloh and Dream of Night, of course, have a lot in common; both have been abused and both have trust issues. And eventually the horse and the child bond, but the inevitable friendship that grows between is not forced or sentimental. I’m not sure how, but author Heather Henson takes a formula plot and makes it seem real and emotionally engaging.

“Shiloh looks up at the black horse. He’s so big. She doesn’t understand how he got his scars. How he would let anyone hurt him like that. With his hooves and his screaming and his legs kicking out. It makes her angry. She can’t explain it, but she’s angry at the black horse for letting himself get those scars. She turns abruptly away. She walks toward the house. Without looking back.
If she were big, like Night, if she were big and fierce and strong, she would never let anyone near. She would never let anyone touch her ever again.”

Told from three different points of view, that of Shiloh, of Jess, and of the horse, Dream of Night, the novel’s strength is it’s characterization. I felt the hardness and fear in Shiloh and in Dream, and I understood Jess’s apprehensiveness about her ability to get through and earn the trust of either the girl or the horse. In fact, as I compared the two books, Touch Blue and Dream of Night, I thought that maybe Touch Blue could have benefitted from a change in viewpoint. Tess talks a little too much and understands too little, and I could have used some more insight into what Aaron was thinking and feeling.

But that’s really a small complaint. Both books give insight into the experience of foster children and into the feelings and difficulties of those who do the fostering. Both certainly deserve to be placed on the list alongside The Great Gilly Hopkins, Bud, Not Buddy and Anne of Green Gables as books for children who want to understand foster children and foster families.

Other titles about foster children and adoption:
The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron. Semicolon review here.
The Road to Paris by Nikki Grimes. Semicolon review here.
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson. I read this book a l-o-n-g time ago. As I remember it, it’s about a wise-cracking foster kid and the foster mom who loves her anyway.
Homecoming and Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Voigt. These two books are about homelessness and being abandoned by a parent who can’t cope, and about four resilient children who bring as much to their new home with their grandmther as she gives them.
Heat by Mike Lupica. I read this baseball-themed book for the Cybil Awards, and I really liked it. It’s bout two boys, brothers, who’ve lost both parents, and are trying NOT to get caught up into the foster care system. Semicolon review here.
Alabama Moon by Watt Key. A boy raised in the wilderness by a survivalist father runs away from a foster care facility. Semicolon review here.
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. I’ve got to read this Newbery Award book soon. It’s about “Bud–“not Buddy”–Caldwell, an orphan on the run from abusive foster homes and Hoovervilles in 1930s Michigan,” according to Amazon.
The Pinballs by Betsy Byars. Three children in a foster home grow and learn to care about each other.
The Orphan Train series by Joan Lowery Nixon.
In The Face of Danger (Orphan Train Adventures)
A Place to Belong (Orphan Train Adventures)
A Dangerous Promise (Orphan Train Adventures)
A Family Apart (Orphan Train Adventures)
Keeping Secrets (Orphan Train Adventures)
Where the River Begins by Patricia St. John.
Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff.
Gossamer by Lois Lowry. Semicolon review here.
The Family Under the Bridge by Natalie Carlson Savage. This title is written for younger children, and it’s not as contemporary as the other books on this list, but definitely worthwhile. It’s the story of three children and their mother who must live under a bridge in Paris after they’re evicted from their apartment. It’s also about the old tramp who becomes their adoptive grandfather in spite of his determination not to get involved with any “little birds.” (children who steal your heart)

More book suggestions on this same topic at Fuse 8.

Can you suggest any other children’s titles that have to do with foster children and adoption?

Cybils in Brief

Nov17

Here’s a brief note on several of Cybils Middle Grade Fiction nominees that I’ve read this week:

The Fantastic Secret of Owen Jester by Barbara O’Connor. Owen and his friends Travis and Stumpy reminded me for some reason of the Little Rascals, and they even have a pesky girl next door named Viola. When Owen and company find something very special next to the train tracks, Viola is the only one who knows how to take advantage of the find. It’s sort of a slow, little story with no great thrills or emotional highs and lows, just some kids having a summer adventure.

The Archaeolojesters by Andreas Oertel. Cody, Eric, and Eric’s twin sister, Rachel try to save their town’s economy by perpetrating a hoax to bring in visitors. The ending is a bit unbelievable, but the the book is supposed to be the first in a series. So either the kids will reap what they sowed in the next installment, or the series will segue into a fantastical adventure that requires lots of suspension of disbelief.

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood is also the first in a series about three children who were raised by wolves. The story, which features governess Penelope Lumley, a fifteen year old graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, is rather cute and fun, but it ends practically in mid-sentence with most of its questions unanswered. The next book in the series, The Hidden Gallery, will be in stores Feb 22, 2011. You may want to wait for it and then sneak a peek at the ending to see if the words “to be continued” are again the (non)ending, if that sort of thing bothers you as it does me. These books look to be similar in tone and attitude to Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Mary Mae and the Gospel Truth by Sandra Dutton. This book attempts to reconcile a straw man version of creationism with the fossil record. Young earth creationists are presumed to be ignorant, abusive hillbillies with sort of good hearts but very, very little brain. Oh, and the “Christian” mother threatens Mary Mae with homeschooling her if Mary doesn’t forget about fossils and quit asking so many questions about the Bible. Then Mama slaps Mary Mae for being sassy. That was the last straw for me. Mary Mae’s mama believes that fossils are tricks that God put in the earth to test our faith. Blech. I’m not a believer in a young earth myself, but those who do hold that view deserve more respect than this piece of didactic stereotyping gives them.

It’s Raining Cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder

Nov15

Several of the Cybils books nominated in the Middle Grade Fiction category focus on entrepreneurship or family businesses. In Rocky Road by Rose Kent, already reviewed here, the Dobsons start an ice cream shop in Schenectady. In Crunch by Leslie Connor, also reviewed previously, three siblings run a thriving bicycle repair shop while their parents are stranded up north. Emma Freke’s mom in I, Emma Freke by Elizabeth Atkinson, leaves Emma to tend the bead shop while mom gallivants. In The Dancing Pancake by Ellen Spinelli, Bindi’s mom and aunt team up to open a restaurant called, what else, The Dancing Pancake.

And now I’ve just finished It’s Raining Cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder in which twelve year old Isabel’s family opens a cupcake shop. I don’t know who was channeling whom, but the experience of reading It’s Raining Cupcakes really reminded me of reading Rocky Road a couple of weeks ago:

Opening a food business. Check.
Twelve year old not totally on board. Check.
Mom with depression or borderline depression issues. Check.
Family pitches in to help. Check.
Neighbors and friends also pitch in. Check.
Competition threatens. Check.
Mompreneur despairs. Check.
Daughter saves the day. Check.
All’s well that ends well. The business is a success!

It’s Raining Cupcakes was a cute story, and the cupcake recipes included in the back of the book look like winners. However, I’m left to wonder what’s next? Beads, bicycles, ice cream, pancakes, cupcakes. . . Maybe a nice old-fashioned bookstore?

Other takes:
Brimful Curiosities: “I just finished a cute middle grade novel titled It’s Raining Cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder, a perfect girly diversion for a rainy summer day. From the scrumptious pink cupcake laden cover to a well-written plot with chapter titles named after different cupcakes, the book is a treat to read.”

Jama Rattigan’s Alphabet Soup: “Lisa used only the finest ingredients: a likeable, true-to-life main character, an appetizing premise, a cozy small town setting, and interesting secondary characters, all flavored with equal parts charm, humor, and suspense.”

Kim Bacciella at YA Books Central: “This is a sweet, fun tale of a young girl who wants nothing more than to travel outside her little town of Willow.”

It’s Raining Cupcakes has been nominated for the 2010 Cybils Awards in the Middle Grade Fiction category.

So, what’s your favorite cupcake or cupcake recipe?

Two Mysteries, Two Theme Parks, Two Winners

Nov11

Closed for the Season: A Mystery Story by Mary Downing Hahn.
Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs.

The mystery:
Who killed old Mrs. Donaldson?
Who murdered Henry Hippo?

The setting:
Magic Forest, Virginia’s defunct, kudzu-covered theme park.
FunJungle, America’s newest theme park/zoo located in the Texas Hill Country.

The detectives:
Logan Forbes, who just moved into the murdered woman’s house, and his sidekick, rude, bookish, misfit Arthur Jenkins, who lives next door.
Teddy Roosevelt Fitzroy, the son of a gorilla expert and a wildlife photographer, and his new friend, Samantha MacCracken, daughter of the millionaire owner of FunJungle, JJ MacCracken.

The suspects: Too many to count. In both books, I was kept guessing till the very end. Thrills and chills. Danger and creepiness. Recommended reading for mystery fans of all ages.

The authors:
Mary Dowling Hahn has been writing children’s books for over thirty years, and she’s published almost thirty books. Her books run the gamut from mysteries to ghost stories to historical fiction to fantasy. I know I’ve read her books before, but I don’t actually recognize any of the titles. Hahn’s 1991 book Stepping on the Cracks won the Scot O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction.
Stuart Gibbs has written screenplays, but Belly Up is his first published novel. He has another novel, The Last Musketeer, due out next fall.

I was quite absorbed by both of these mystery thrillers, but I would give the edge to Belly Up. I’m sure neither author expected anyone to compare the two books in the first place, but they do have a lot in common. Kudos to Stuart Gibbs for such a fast and funny debut novel, and the same to Ms. Hahn for the latest entry in a body of work that’s kept kids entertained for many years.

You can’t go wrong by picking up either of these, but if you have to choose which one to read first, check out Belly Up. After all, an exploding hippo trumps almost anything!

Other takes on Belly Up:
Jennifer at 5 Minutes for Books: “Animal lovers, and zoo or theme park afficianados will appreciate the insider info given about these industries. As a former Texan, I also enjoyed the accurate portrayal of that area.”

Debbie Winkler: “Because of the setting and the workers, I got to learn all kinds of things that I never knew about animals and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Due to Stuart Gibbs’ engaging writing style, I never felt like I was getting an info dump on animals that I didn’t care about.”

Mark Carstairs: ” It’s hard in a kids’ mystery to balance the need for the main character to investigate without making the adults seem like bad parents. That was handled here perfectly. And it changed as the book progressed, although keeping things realistic.”

Other takes on Closed for the Season:
Jen Robinson’s Book Page: “This combination of realistic interpersonal dynamics with atmospheric, suspenseful mystery is sure to please kids. Especially those kids who aren’t athletes, and have been known to spend an afternoon or two in the local library.”

ReadingJunky’s Reading Roost: “The murder, the possibility of the killer’s involvement in embezzlement, and the bulldozing of a local, historic amusement park all combine for some great adventure.”

Both Closed for the Season and Belly Up have been nominated for the 2010 Cybils Awards in the Middle Grade Fiction category.

Gaff by Shan Correa

Nov10

The combatants, aptly referred to as gamecocks, are specially bred birds, conditioned for increased stamina and strength. The comb and wattle are cut off in order to meet show standards of the American Gamefowl Society and the Old English Game Club and to prevent freezing in colder climates. Cocks possess congenital aggression toward all males of the same species. Cocks are given the best of care until near the age of two years old. They are conditioned, much like professional athletes prior to events or shows. Wagers are often made on the outcome of the match. While not all fights are to the death, the cocks do endure physical trauma that may result in death. Cockfighting was at one time considered to be an accepted, traditional sporting event in the United States. . . . In some regional variations, the birds are equipped with either metal spurs (called gaffs) or knives, tied to the leg in the area where the bird’s natural spur has been partially removed. ~Wikipedia, Cockfight

Yes, I’ve heard of cockfighting before. No, I’ve never seen a cockfight (thank goodness). I thought it was a mainly rural/Hispanic sort of thing. I had no idea cockfighting was big in Hawaii, where the book Gaff by Shan Correa is set. In the story, thirteen year old Paul Silva and his friend Sal Salvador are fascinated by the roosters their fathers raise for sale. Then, when the two boys actually attend their first cockfight, Paul is horrified by the violence to the beautiful birds, and he vows to find a way for his father to make a living that doesn’t involve training birds for fighting. Unfortunately, that way may involve moving the family away from their Hawaiian country home to a condominium. Is it worth it when someone else will take their place in the cockfighting and breeding business anyway?

The Wikipedia article goes on to say that cockfighting is illegal in all fifty states of the United States. In forty states and in D.C. it is illegal to be a spectator at a cockfight. However, it is not illegal to train birds for fighting or to raise them for the purpose of being fighting birds.

Correa’s book has descriptions just vivid enough to convey the nastiness of the “sport” but it remains appropriate for a middle grade audience. If the ending is a little bit too hopeful, it’s hard to find fault when I was rooting for Paul and his family to find the perfect way out of the cockfighting business and into a better way of making a living. The detailed descriptions of life in Hawaii and the occasional taste of pidgin English gave the book a regional flavor that was lots of fun. And the story does a good job of showing the different perspectives of the characters on cockfighting without either condoning the violence and cruelty or preaching against it.

I wasn’t sure going in that I would like this one, but I did. I liked the way the parents and family were involved in all aspects of the story. And I also liked the way the Catholic faith of the families in the story became a natural part of their lives and of the the plot of the the novel.

I would end this review with my “other takes” feature, but the only place I can find this book even mentioned is, appropriately enough, at the Hawaii Book Blog. And even there it hasn’t been reviewed yet. Hawaiians and others should love this island story of a boy growing up and learning to trust his own convictions.

Finally by Wendy Mass

Nov7

FInally twelve years old! Rory Swenson is finally twelve, and she can’t wait to do all the things her over-protective parents have been promising to let her do when she turns twelve. In fact, Rory’s been keeping a list of those promised privileges and experiences since she was seven years old.

“A pet is a huge responsibility. You can get one when you’re twelve.”

Rory’s heard promises like that one for years, and now that’s she’s finally twelve, she’s ready to grow up, put away childhood, and do and have everything on her “Finally” list.

Finally is a sort of, kind of follow-up to last year’s 11 Birthdays by the same author. Amanda and Leo from that book show up as minor characters in this one. 11 Birthdays was one of Besty-Bee’s favorites from earlier this year, so she’s now busily engaged in reading Finally. I’ll try to remember to let you know what she thinks.

I think Finally is a fantastic story of growing up and how it’s not always what it’s cracked up to be. Rory is a great character, equal parts spunk and immaturity, and she faces all of the trials and tribulations of getting what she thinks she wants but not always what she really wants with grace and spirit.

The things that go wrong with Rory’s wish fulfillment birthday sometimes read like a sitcom, perhaps I Love Lucy or some other such madcap adventure. By the end of the book, Rory’s been bumped, bruised, nearly smothered to death, and embarrassed numerous times and in numerous situations. But she learns that her real wishes have to do with encouraging others, and her real gift is that of seeing needs and ways to help that other people miss.

Twelve year old girls and almost-twelves will see themselves in the story and enjoy comparing their own mental list with Rory’s. I predict that my almost-twelve is going to like Finally.

Wendy Mass says in this interview there’s a 13 year old companion book to 11 Birthdays and Finally coming up maybe next year. Yeah!

Other takes:
Stacked: “Finally is a fast-paced, hilarious novel that will take readers back to one of the most exciting ages in their lives, and it will resonate with middle schoolers who are themselves struggling with the challenges of never being old enough or mature enough to do some of the things that their friends do.”

Peaceful Reader: “My favorite part was the ending, which was filled with warm feelings and great resolution but the middle made me a little overwhelmed. Kids will love it though-especially the murderous bunny!”

Reading Junky’s Reading Roost: “FINALLY will have readers laughing, nodding in agreement, and sighing in sympathy as they follow Rory’s tale of reaching 12.”

Finally has been nominated for the 2010 Cybils Awards in the Middle Grade Fiction category.