Month: April 2016

Monthly Round-Up: April 2016

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It was a crazy month; lots of drama around the house, and I really don’t think I’m reading as much as I used to. Times and seasons, no? That said, I did read some, and my favorite (no surprise), was this one:

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Raven King

It was such a great ending to a fantastic series.

Oh, and a couple of pics from the event last night:

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And after:

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And what I ended up writing on the car cover:

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She was amazing. That’s really not overstating it.

As for the others…

Middle Grade:

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Raymie Nightingale
The Terrible Two Get Worse
It Ain’t So Awful, Falafel

Young Adult:

winnerskiss wolfhollow lovegelato

The Winner’s Kiss
Love & Gelato
Wolf Hollow

Non-Fiction:

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Furiously Happy (audio book)
Quiet Power

Graphic Novel:

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Phoebe and Her Unicorn
Lumberjanes: Beware the Kitten Holy

What were your favorites this month?

The Raven King

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ravenkingby Maggie Stiefvater
First sentence: “Richard Gansey III had forgotten how many times he had been told he was destined for greatness.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Others in the series: The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves, Blue Lilly, Lilly Blue
Content: Like the others, this is intense, heavy on the swearing and violence.

I’m always a little sad when a series I’ve loved for years comes to an end. I get so invested, waiting for each one, that it almost feels anticlimactic when it actually comes to an end. I feel let down that I no longer will get to look forward to visiting with characters I love, following their story through pages.

Sometimes, my expectations are too high and while I like the ending, I’m not wholly satisfied with it. However, this was not the case with the last in the Raven Cycle. (No, I didn’t read the others in anticipation. Maybe I should have.) Maggie Stiefvater has come up with an ending that is so perfect for the series, that captures everything, that ends it so wonderfully, that I am genuinely sad that I will not get to visit this world again. (Well, I mean, I can always re-read, but there will be nothing NEW.)

The plot is really immaterial: there’s something attacking Cabeswater, Blue and the boys are dealing with Great Things and small things. There’s a new character, Henry, who has showed up as a minor character before (or at least I got that impression, since, you know, I didn’t reread), but I fell in love with him as much as I do Blue and the boys. He melded perfectly into the Raven Boys, and played a pivotal role in the narrative; he wasn’t just window dressing. And while the psychics weren’t as much a part of this — it is a YA novel after all — I did love them and Mr. Gray when they showed up. The sum total? It really was everything I could have hoped for in the end.

Maggie’s going to be at Watermark Friday night. I’m going to be a basket case, gushing at her about this. It’s going to be wonderful as this ending.

It Ain’t So Awful, Falafel

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aintsoawfulby Firoozeh Dumas
First sentence: “Today’s Sunday and we’re moving, again.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There’s no swearing (well, maybe a mild one) but the subject matter — middle school and the Iran Revolution in 1978 — might be a little mature for the younger set. It will be in the middle grade (grades 3-5) section (or the YA — grades 6-8 — section, I haven’t decided) of the bookstore.

I was in third grade in 1981 when the American hostages in Iran were released and I have a vague memory of it. Nothing substantive, just some hazy images of me seeing the news on TV. I don’t know much else about that, and even though I’ve read a bit about the Iranian revolution, that’s one aspect that I didn’t know much about.

Zomorod Yousefzadeh is in America because her father has a job with an oil company in California. They’ve been here before, when Zomorod was younger, but now she’s going into 6th grade, and she wants to turn over a new leaf. Be more American. So, she changes her name to Cindy and sets out to make new friends. It’s not easy being Iranian in California in the late 1970s (most people either think she’s Mexican, or ask her if she owns a camel. The answer is no to both), but eventually, Cindy figures things out. And then the Iranian revolution happens, and suddenly the home she and her parents thought they could go back to is no longer there. Add to that, Americans were taken hostage, and suddenly Cindy and her parents find themselves subjected to anti-Iranian sentiment. Her father loses his job. Garbage is left on their doorstep. Kids at school tell her to “go home”. It’s not easy.

Loosely based on Dumas’ life, this novel not only captures a slice of history (fairly accurately, but without being kitschy) but also manages to be timely as well. I found myself thinking about how Americans reacted to Muslims after 9/11 (or now, really). Or how immigrants are treated in general. It’s a good thing to see American life from the perspective of an immigrant, and to find out that we’re equal parts good and bad. (Which really isn’t a surprise.) Dumas also manages to capture the awkwardness of middle school with grace and humor. There were some actual laugh-out-loud parts. She definitely understands middle school, with all its ups and downs. And it was delightful to read a book where the parents weren’t bad or sick or dead.

It’s definitely an excellent read.

Three Books for National Poetry Month

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This month’s list was obvious: it’s an easy grab to find a few poetry books for teachers. I did pull the Cybils poetry winner because it’s such a great book. For the other two, I picked a novel in verse (which I’ve read and liked) and a poetry collection that I read had good crossover appeal. How did I do? What else could I have picked?

Here’s the list:

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Flutter & Hum by Julie Paschkis

9780525428756

Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton

9780812982671

Aimless Love by Billy Collins

Quiet Power

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quietpowerby Susan Cain (with Gregory Mone and Erica Moroz)
First sentence: “Why are you being so quiet?”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: May 3, 2016
Review copy sent to me by the publisher because we’re having the illustrator, Grant Snider (who’s local) for an event.
Content: It’s geared more toward middle- and high-school students; most of the examples are from those age groups, and the settings are generally for older kids. Though it’s written at a level that I think a 5-th grader (or an advanced 4th-grader) could handle. It’ll probably be in the Teen Information (which is where all the upper level kids’ non-fiction goes) section of the bookstore.

I’ve been meaning to read Quiet for years, but haven’t ever gotten to it. As a self-described introvert, I figured there was stuff I needed to know about us, but life, and an expanding TBR list, got in the way. The comes along Quiet Power, the young readers version of Quiet,  and all of a sudden I need to read it because of an upcoming store event. Not having read Quiet, I don’t know how it compares.

That said, this is an excellent resource for introverted kids who are trying to figure out how to navigate life. Especially the ones who think there’s something “wrong” with them. Cain has done her research, highlighting the successes of a number of introverted kids (she specifically says that this edition was requested by kids and others who have read her other book and wanted one for themselves), and giving introverted kids coping mechanisms. It covers everything from defining what an “introvert” really is (and comparing it to being “shy”), to how to handle public speaking, to finding a space in your house to retreat (restoration niches! I love that. I have definitely found that those are important in my life.). It gives encouragement: introverts can be performers, can be public speakers, can use their strengths to enact change. It’s inspiring to read about people who actually can put their mind to things and do something great.

A bit about the illustrations, since Grant Snider is local: I love the webcomic style, and the handy one-page illustrations that not only sum-up several of the chapters, but add a bit of humor as well.

There’s also a couple of chapters at the end, one for teachers on how to better help more introverted students in the classroom and one for parents to help them understand their more introverted children. It’s a great resource for the adults as well, to help kids express themselves more fully.

Definitely a good read.

Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy

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lumberjanes1by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Brooke Allen
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There’s a bit of violence, but nothing super gory. And no language. I’ve moved this series back and forth between Middle Grade Graphic Novels and Teen Graphic Novels. It’s okay for fourth grade and up, but it’s doing better in Teen Graphic Novels, so I’ll leave it there.

The third collection in this series came out a couple weeks ago, and I was reminded that hey, I really ought to give this one a try. So I picked up the first volume (I suppose I could have sauntered down to the local comic book shop) at the library, just to see.

Oh my Holy Kitten, it’s SO much awesome. Five friends at Miss Quinzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types, who happen to solve supernatural mysteries using math, science, and strategy? How can this not be awesome? I’ve been trying to figure out a way to handsell it — SO MUCH AWESOME doesn’t cut it, really — because the appeal isn’t in the plot. It’s Ripley, who is a ball full of fury and cookies (and is my favorite). It’s in Mal with her “What the junk?” swears and attitude. It’s in the spoofing of the Girl Scouts, and the boys camp where they like things tidy and bake cookies. It’s in the subtle LGBTQ undertones. It’s in the silly camp badges and the Adventure Time-y art. It’s that I gave it to A and K, saying I needed someone to gush over this with, and they loved it.

It’s really just the best thing ever.

Wolf Hollow

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wolfhollowby Lauren Wolk
First sentence: “The year I turned twelve, I learned how to lie.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: May 3, 2016
Content: There’s some death and bullying and one pretty intense injury scene. Probably not for the younger set. It will probably go in the YA section (grades 6-8) of the bookstore.

It’s the fall of 1943, and Annabelle is living a happy, quiet life on her farm in Pennsylvania. Sure, the war in Germany is raging, seemingly without end, but it doesn’t really touch Annabelle’s life. What does touch her is Betty, the new girl who has moved in with her grandparents. Betty has decided that Annabelle is her target, and demands things from her. And when Annabelle refuses to give in, Betty turns her ire on bigger targets. Like Toby, the World War I veteran who Annabelle’s family has taken care of for the past few years. And so when Betty goes missing, it’s Toby who gets blamed.

On the one hand, this really grew on me. It took about 100 pages, but I finally got to where I was invested in Annabelle’s story, and curious about the direction it was taking. The writing is excellent; Wolk really does know how to spin a story. And I thought that, even though it’s a work of historical fiction, the themes of acceptance of others and defending the innocent were incredibly timely.

My problem with it? It’s not really a children’s book. Our narrator is reflecting back on her childhood, so everything is kind of infused with adult sensibilities. (At least: I thought so.) I appreciated that the parents were good parents, helping out when Annabelle confessed the bullying to them. But, it just doesn’t feel like a book I can give to a kid (maybe that special, precocious kid? The 9-year-old who likes Harper Lee, maybe.). Maybe I’m being too sensitive, dumbed down by Diary of a Wimpy Kid-like books. Maybe this is like Pax, which I had a viciously violently negative reaction to, but it turned out it was just me.

Though I didn’t have a negative reaction to this. I liked it, I thought it was well-written and the story incredibly powerful. I just don’t think it’s really a kids’ book.

The Terrible Two Get Worse

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terribletwogetworseby Mac Barnett and Jory John
First sentence: “Welcome back to Yawnee Valley, its green hills and cows, cows, cows.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Others in the series The Terrible Two
Review copy pilfered from the ARC shelves at my place of employment
Content: It’s silly, but (mostly) harmless. It’s in the middle grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

Niles and Miles are back, pranking the poor unsuspecting citizens — well, mostly one — of Yawnee Valley. They have gotten so bad, that the principal of their school gets fired — well, put on indefinite, unpaid leave — and his super-strict father takes over the school. He cancels everything, and effectively puts a stop to Niles and Miles’ pranks. (The best way to do that is to pretend the prank doesn’t happen. It’s the reaction that makes it a prank.) In essence, he makes Miles and Niles into “normal” students. But, because that would be a boring book, Miles and Niles team up with their former arch-enemy to kick the current principal out, and get their mojo back.

Huh. Writing that out, I sounds ridiculously stupid. (Maybe because it is…) But that’s the point, really. It lacks the cow facts of the first one that I really enjoyed, but other than that, the stupid, stupid humor of Barnett and John are back. I’m not sure it’s as funny as the first one (I liked the prank war that escalated, mostly), but it had it some moments that were pretty funny. It’s a good addition to this silly series, and I know it’ll appeal to those Wimpy Kid fans who are looking for something different.

Phoebe and Her Unicorn

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phoebeby Dana Simpson
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Others in the series: Unicorn on a Roll
Content: It’s super accessible to all ages, but I think it’s aimed at the 3rd-5th grade crowd. It’s in the Middle Grade Graphic Novel section of the bookstore.

I’ll freely admit I read these backwards, reading the sequel first. And, as a result, this one wasn’t as funny as I really wanted it to be. Still: it’s good to have Phoebe and Marigold Heavenly Nostril’s origin story (Phoebe hit Marigold with a rock which broke Marigold’s attention — she was stuck looking at her reflection — and Marigold offered a wish in return). There were some hilarious little moments (like when Phoebe brought Marigold home to meet her parents), and I loved that the line between reality and imagination (called the SHIELD OF BORINGNESS) was blurred. Is Marigold imaginary? Is she real? Does it really matter?

At any rate, both K and I really enjoyed this one, even if it’s not quite as hilarious as the sequel.

Audiobook: Furiously Happy

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furiouslyhappyby Jenny Lawson
Read by the author.
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: Lots of swearing. Lots. And lots. You’ve been warned. It’s in the adult biography section of the bookstore.

I’m late to this party. I knew who Jenny Lawson was (I do work in a bookstore, after all) and I was aware of her book. I’d just never picked it up. I have so much else to read, that I figured a small book about a weird upbringing as the daughter of a taxidermist never really appealed to me.

But, when I was looking for a new audiobook, this one jumped out at me. Ann Kingman talked about it on Books on the Nightstand a while back, and so I picked it up.

I had no idea I was missing THIS.

In a series of short, random, wandering essays, Lawson tackles her mental illnesses (ADHD, anxiety, and depression), her crazy life and marriage, therapy, the ways she copes, and her adventures in, well, everything. It’s really random  and often super hilarious. I laughed a TON. Possibly because she’s super deadpan in her reading of the book, which just helped make it that more often. But, I also appreciated her being so candid about things I struggle with. She’s right: it does help to know that there are other people out there talking about struggling with depression, who have ways of dealing with it (or not), to put in perspective your own struggles. It’s wonderful. And the fact she does it with a sense of humor is that much better, too.

I probably should backtrack and get her first book, just to be complete.