Firebrand

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by Aaron Barnhart
First sentence: “The boy with the long black hair pushed his way through the shouting, jostling mass of students.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There’s some fighting and battle scenes, but the language is simple(ish) and the book itself is short. It’s in the middle grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

Fifteen-year-old August Bondi and his family are Jews who are getting by in early 19th-century in Vienna, Austria. Life is good until the law comes down against them, and the Vienna Uprising occurs in in 1848. August’s parents decide that life is too dangerous for their family, and so they flee to America where they hope to have a better life. After a harrowing journey, the family ends up in St. Louis, where August’s parents find work and a community. But August is still restless and settling down doesn’t suit him. So he heads out to the Kansas territory, where he discovers the fight between those who want Kansas to be a slave state and those who don’t. It’s a cause that August can get behind: he is more than willing to fight against slavery and for the freedom of all people. So, he joins up with John Brown and his sons, fighting back against those who would have Kansas be a slave state. It’s a dangerous business, but one that August is willing to sacrifice for. From there, he settles down with a wife and then joins the Greater Cause in the Civil War.

It’s not a bad book, overall, and August’s story (he’s a real person) is a good one to tell. My only problem is that this is really three books. The first book: August’s story back in Vienna. How did he become a part of the resistance? What was it that caught his eye? What was it like being a Jew in Vienna in the early 19th century? So many questions glossed over. The second book is August’s journey to America and perhaps his joining the Browns in their fight against slavery. And the third is August’s time in the Civil War. It’s not that Barnhart can’t write (he can, actually; there were parts of this that were quite interesting), it’s just that he tried to do too much in such a small book and I feel like it would have been better served spreading it out. (And I never think that!)

But it is a good story to tell; it’s always good to hear the lesser known stories of history. (Even if they are more white male stories.) And the fact that it’s set here in Kansas is good as well. But I feel like it could have been better.

State of the TBR Pile: November 2015

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It’s already the second Sunday in November, and I’m looking out my window at the leaves slowly falling from the trees. I’m near the end of a super busy two months at work (which included binge-reading Ally Carter’s first Embassy Row book — I haven’t gotten an ARC of the second to read yet– because of a special, exclusive deal we have to offer pre-signed books of hers at work), I’ve got Cybils reading I should be doing, and the girls are running in about 30 million different directions. What I want to be doing as the weather turns cooler is curl up in a chair with a cup of hot something, and read.

I did get the chance to hang out with Ally Condie, Jandy Nelson, and Meg Wolitzer last week. Three very delightful ladies, and I thoroughly enjoyed talking to each one. And they put on a fantastic event.

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As for the TBR pile, here’s what I’m currently working from:

IMG_4188Need, by Joelle Charbonneau
Bad Feminist, by Roxane Gay
Hunters of Chaos, by Crystal Velasquez
Jack, by Liesl Shurtliff
Lilliput, by Sam Gayton
Mars Evacuees, by Sophia McDougall
Castle Hangnail, by Ursula Vernon

What’s on your TBR pile?

Shadows of Sherwood

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by Kekla Magoon
First sentence: “The sign on the fence said BEWARE OF DOGS.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There’s some violence, but it’s mild, as well as some intense action. I would say the reading level is 5th grade and up, but I’d give it to a 4th grader who was interested. It’s in the middle grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

Robyn has had a good life, one of luxury living in Loxley mansion. She has loving parents — one white, one black — she has everything she needs, and she even manages to sneak out once in a while to go to the dump to look for old tech so she can fiddle around.

Then, in one night her life changes: when she goes to sneak back in from a tech run, she discovers that the MPs, under the direction of Crown who has declared himself dictator of Nott City, have taken her parents. She’s on her own.

Notice anything familiar there? Yes? Good. The re-imagining of the Robin Hood legend is one of the best things in the book. It’s basically Robyn’s origin story: she flees the house, ends up in jail, escapes, and becomes a fugitive. She meets a street girl, Laurel; a mysterious boy with a pretty sweet tree house; another tech wizard, Scarlett; and a student of religion, Tucker. She even has a friend from her days in the Crown District, Crown’s niece, Maryann. I loved seeing how it all fit in with the old legends.

But this one is so much more than that as well. While it could be contemporary, it feels vaguely futuristic and distopian, and there’s a bit of Moon Lore that deals with prophecies (but no magic yet). It’s very tech-savvy with portable pads and scanners and imbedded chips that allow the government to identify everyone.

It’s a very action-packed book, with chases and near escapes. Sure, there are moments of melancholy — it takes Robyn much too long to gather her team and figure out how to work with them — and the moon lore stuff seems kind of tacked on. But I didn’t mind it so much because I was so very tickled with the Robin Hood element of the story. It made me happy to see a bi-racial girl take center stage and have her identity mean more than just the color of her skin. It also made me happy to have a range of interests and both male and female kids playing multiple roles, none of which are tied to their gender.

It definitely sets itself up for a sequel, which I am eagerly anticipating.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I’ve been asked to make sure y’all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)

The Girl Who Could Not Dream

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by Sarah Beth Durst
First line: “Sophie had only ever stolen one dream.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy pilfered from the ARC shelves at my place of employment.
Content: There’s some mild scary moments, but the language and chapters are all short enough that a 3rd grader would enjoy this, even if it is a bit on the long side. It’s in the middle grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

Sophie’s parents run a bookstore, which she loves. But, underneath the bookstore is her parents’ secret business: distilling and selling dreams. The way it works is that they give out dream catchers which actually catch dreams and then distill them through their machine in the basement. They then bottle the dreams and sell them. But Sophie doesn’t have dreams. She’s not allowed because the one time she did she brought a monster out of her dreams into the real world. In fact, that monster (called, appropriately, Monster) is her best friend.

Then a creepy guy called Mr. Nightmare comes to down and turns Sophie’s life upside down. He kidnaps a couple of her “friends” (she doesn’t really have friends) and her parents go missing. So it’s up to her and Monster and a new friend, Ethan, to figure out where Mr. Nightmare is keeping everyone, what his Evil Plan is, and how to rescue them.

It’s a fun little adventure, one in which Sophie learns not only how to stand up on her own, but how to be a friend. And she figures out that her power of bringing dream things alive is not something to be feared (as her parents had taught her) but something to be respected and maybe even celebrated.

Delightful.

The Hollow Boy

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by Jonathan Stroud
First sentence: “I think it was only at the very end of the Lavender Lodge job, when we were fighting for our lives in that unholy guesthouse, that I glimpsed Lockwood & Co. working together perfectly for the first time.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Others in the series: The Screaming Staircase, The Whispering Skull
Content: It’s scary, and a bit more angsty than I like my middle grade fiction to be. It, much like the others in the series, are best for the 5th grade crowd, but I’d give it to a precocious 3rd or 4th grader. It’s in the middle grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

I really don’t know if there’s much more I can say about this series except this: why aren’t more people reading it? Seriously. It’s funny, it’s scary, it’s got some great storytelling.

The next step for Lockwood & Co is to grow. It’s inevitable really. They’ve gotten a bit more notoriety and the cases are coming in. No longer are they utilizing their talents as a team, they’re spreading out. And their house/office is a complete pig sty. So, Lockwood and George decide that what they really need is an assistant: Someone to take calls, organize their lives, and clean up after them. So, they hire Holly. Which ticks Lucy — our main character — off to no end. And this is where the book gets angsty. Granted, Stroud never goes into full-out love triangle angst mode (yes, there is such a thing) and he lets the talking skull that Lucy carries around in her backpack do most of the snarking on Lucy’s mood but there’s no getting around it: she like-likes Lockwood, and she resents the intrusion of another girl.

There’s more to the plot than that: There’s an outbreak of supernatural activity in Chelsea and lots of agents lives are being put on the line. Lockwood wants in on the action, but he’s not considered skilled enough. So the course of the book is spent getting into the action in Chelsea. Additionally, Lucy wants more free reign to use her talent of communicating directly with the spirits, something which has dire consequences.

It kept me on the edge of my seat, turning pages until the very last cliffhanger (sort-of). And yes, I am sad that I have to wait another year to read the next one, but I don’t think I would put this series off. It’s just that good.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I’ve been asked to make sure y’all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)

First Sunday Daughter Reviews: November 2015

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It’s finally (!) fall around here. And all I want to do is curl up with a book and read, mostly because I have a ton of books I’m supposed to be reading for the Cybils. But, I’m busy — at least for the next 2 weeks, and then I have jury duty (which I’ve never done before) — and so I can’t do that.

Thankfully, the girls are reading, so someone in the house is.

A begged for this book

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and has spent this month reading and rereading it. She’s SO very happy.

K and Hubby moved on and chose this as their next book:

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I’m not sure how much K understands (I had to translate the NacMacFeegle’s dialogue for her when I read while Hubby was out of town), but she’s enjoying it.

I threw this at C after I finished it:

scorpionrules

but I don’t think she’s liking it as much as I did. Not a problem.

And E pulled this off my shelf:

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I hope she likes it. (She likes the fact that Alsaid is Mexican, so there’s that.)

What are you reading at your house?

October 2015 Wrap Up

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It’s been another busy month here at my house; I’ve decided that fall is definitely a hopping time for children’s events. So many authors, so little time. As an aside, I did get to spend a delightful day with John Flanagan

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and got to meet Jacqueline Woodson.

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And I migrated my blog from Blogger to WordPress. There was a bit of a head-scratching moment when I thought it didn’t go right, but that cleared up (no idea what happened; I suppose I did something right?) and now I’m super happy with my new blog. If you’re reading this on a feed reader or email, stop by and check it out.

Oh! And we did manage to carve pumpkins as well.

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It really has been busy.

 

As for my favorite book this month? I liked a lot of them, but I think this is the one that I loved the hardest

martainThe Martain

It was SO good. I haven’t seen the movie yet. Need to though.

As for the rest…

Non-Fiction

Audio book: Big MagicBig Magic (audio)

e9abc-stevejobsSteve Jobs (audio)

Graphic NovelhonorgirlHonor Girl

YA:

annievansinderenThe Appearance of Annie Van Sinderen

hiredgirlThe Hired Girl

porcupineoftruthThe Porcupine of Truth

Middle Grade:

milospeckMilo Speck, Accidental Agent

oddsofgettingevenThe Odds of Getting Even

jinxsfireJinx’s Magic

fearsomecreaturesFearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods

 

Adult Fiction

prayersforsalePrayers for Sale

What was your favorite read this month?

Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods

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fearsomecreaturesby Hal Johnson, illustrated by Tom Mead
First sentence: “While he lived, Paul Bunyan served as the master of the Michigan lumberwoods; since his death, its only master has been the hodag.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: It’s purportedly scary, but it’s really not. Some of the illustrations might be disturbing for younger readers, however. It’s in the middle grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

There’s not really a plot to summarize in this one; it’s a collection of tall tales about mythical/made-up beasts designed to scare you. It’s not really that scary, at least for an adult. The tales are simple and sometimes spooky (I could see reading these aloud, after dark, by firelight). But what I really loved was the presentation of the book. It’s gorgeously illustrated with black-and-white line drawings of the creatures, with some bonus glow-in-the-dark pages. I spent a good while just looking at the illustrations.  Additionally, the some parts of the text were set apart in a different font, just adding to the overall look.

It is an impressive package, even if the stories didn’t affect me the way they were supposed to.

(Just for the record: because this is a Cybils nominee, I’ve been asked to make sure y’all know this is my opinion only, and not that of the panel.)

Audio book: Big Magic

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Creative Living Beyond Fear
by Elizabeth Gilbert
Read by the author.
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There are a few f-bombs (around fourish, if I remember right) and other mild swearing. It’s in the Creative Non-Fiction section of the bookstore.

Big Magic is what Elizabeth Gilbert calls the act of creation. Sure, she’s a writer, someone who makes their living off of creativity, and so this book — much like The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer — is nominally written toward those who want to live an artistic life. But, as Gilbert argues in the book, who wouldn’t want to do that?

It’s not a new message: find time to be creative. Make space in your life to be creative. Be open to creative inspiration and connection You will be a happier person for it. And you can just add Gilbert’s voice to that message. She has no patience for people who say they Can’t (that’s a very limiting word) do that. And she has no patience for people who want to Suffer for their Art. She believes — and I buy into this — that happy people are the most creative, and conversely, creative people are happiest.

(As a side note: I used to be more creative, both cross-stitching as well as decorating the house and other projects. They’ve all fallen by the wayside. I suppose that’s one of the reasons I like doing story time every Saturday: it allows me to have a creative outlet.)

It’s an interesting look at art and is incredibly practical about how it can be a part of your life. And while I enjoyed listening to Gilbert read her work, I think this is one I want to buy, to have on hand to read and to share with the children. For while I don’t think it’s an absolute Recipe for Happiness, it’s a good reminder that I enjoy being creative and that I can, in fact, make time for that sort of thing in my life.

Prayers for Sale

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by Sandra Dallas
First sentence: “The old woman peered past the red geraniums in her deep front window at the figure lingering in the moon-white snow at the gate.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There’s some harsh violence against women in the beginning, but other than that, it’s mostly just more mature themes. It’d be in the adult fiction section of the bookstore.

This is one of those moments when I am grateful for my book group, because they introduce me to books I wouldn’t otherwise pick up. I had previously read Sandra Dallas and thought she was okay, but I wasn’t prepared for the storm of emotions that this one brought on.

It’s the early 1900s and Hennie Comfort is a long time resident of Upper Swan, a gold mining camp in the mountains of Colorado. She’s 86 and she’s loved her long life up in the mountains. So much so that she doesn’t want to go down and live with her daughter. She’s determined to get the most out of these last few months she has. And then she meets Nit. The wife of a new worker on the drudge boat, Nit is suffering from lots of things: being new, obviously, but also from the stillborn death of her first baby. Hennie reaches out to her as a mother-figure and a friend, and they form a bond. It’s through that bond that we learn about Hennie’s past (and a bit of Nit’s as well) and her life.

It’s a glorious novel, one that celebrates all aspects of women-hood. It made me long for a connection like Hennie and Nit had (they bonded over quilting; it also made me wish I was into that). Hennie’s stories were so rich, her life so full, and yet she probably didn’t feel that way in the midst of it all. I loved that it was straight-forward, that Hennie was open and loving and accepting, and yet wasn’t entirely perfect either. She had her struggles and her faults and her doubts. It gave me hope that maybe I can pull off a decent life in the end.

A full, rich work of historical fiction.