Crow

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by Barbara Wright
ages: 11+
First sentence: “The buzzard knew.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by my place of employment.

It’s 1898, and eleven-year-old Moses Thomas has a good life in Wilmington, North Carolina. He enjoys school, having a perfect attendance record, has friends he likes hanging out with, and a good relationship with both his parents and his grandmother, whom he calls Boo Nanny.

Then things start to change: Moses’s idyllic life falls apart when the white people in Wilmington decide — for what reason we’re not ever really, fully told — that having a black middle class is no longer something they want, and the Red Shirts, North Carolina’s answer to the Klu Klux Klan, performs a coup d’etat, rigging an election, and running the mayor, the chief of police, and most of the African American businessmen out of town, before massacring a number of blacks.

Unfortunately, that paragraph was true. The Wilmington Massacre really happened, and to see it through the eyes of Moses was heartbreaking. However important the massacre, it’s really only the last third of the book. Up until that point, we get glimpses of Moses’ life. His friendship with a white boy named Tommy. His attempt to win a bicycle thwarted because he’s not white. His pride in his father’s college education and involvement in the only black daily in the South. But most of all, his relationship with Boo Nanny, a former slave and the most important person in Moses’ life. It’s a book of little things, small moments, culminating in something horrible and sad.

It’s an interesting look at a time period in history not often explored.

Reread: Dealing with Dragons

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by Patricia C. Wrede
ages: 9+
First sentence: “Linderwall was a large kindgom, just east of the Mountains of Morning, where philosophers were highly respected and the number five was fashionable.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

I didn’t really give much of a review when I read this one seven (!) years ago, so I thought I’d do it up proper this time. Especially since I just finished reading it aloud to my current 8-year-old, A.

Princes Cimorene doesn’t like being a princess. She would much rather learn magic, Latin, fencing or *something* other than being proper and embroidery. So, when her parents drag her to a nearby kingdom in order to marry her off to an insipid prince, she does the only reasonable thing: she runs away and becomes a dragon’s princess. The dragon is Kazul, and she (the dragon is a she) is smart, reasonable, interesting, and makes Cimorene feel useful. So, aside from the stupid knights who keep trying to rescue her, Cimorene is perfectly happy in her new life. Then she gets wind of a plot the wizards are cooking: after the death of the king, they’re going to rig the trials in order to get Waroug, who happens to be sympathetic to the wizards, in as king. And it’s up to Cimorene (and her new friends) to stop them.

I do love these little books. Sure, they’re light and frothy fantasy, but they’re fun. And Cimorene is one of the great heroines out there: a strong, smart girl, who knows what she wants and is willing to work for it, is kind without being a pushover.  The books are funny, too: I was constantly cracking up while I read. Lest you think it goes over an 8-year-old’s head, some of it did, but I was always able to stop and catch her up. She adored Cimorene as much as I did, and is quite excited to see what adventure they go on next. And since I never did get around to reading the rest of the series, I am as well.

Caddy’s World

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by Hilary McKay
ages: 10+
First sentence: “There were the four girls who were best friends:”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy snagged from the galley shelves at my place of employment
Others in the series: Saffy’s Angel, Indigo’s Star, Permanent Rose, Caddy Ever After, Forever Rose

I adore the Cassons. (Seriously. Don’t want to live with them, though. But in a neighborhood with them on one side and the Penderwicks on the other? Sounds fabulous.)

It’s five years before Saffy’s Angel, and Caddy (whose real name is Cadmium Gold) is 12 years old and perfectly content with life. At home it’s her and mum and Saffy and Indigo (dad Bill is often in London, but he does come home sometimes). And at school it’s her, Alison (who hates everyone), Beth (who’s perfect), and Ruby (who’s clever) creating a perfect foursome:  AlisonRubyanBethanme. It was a charmed life.

Then the genie who controls everything (not really, but sometimes when you’re 12 it feels that way) shakes the bottle and turns Caddy’s world upside down. First, her mother gets pregnant, and before Caddy has a chance to really deal with that (she’s dealing mostly by pretending it doesn’t exist), the baby is born. Prematurely. On top of that, it doesn’t help that her friends are drifting apart: Alison is more surly than usual, Beth has gone on a “Norman Diet” (which means she’s trying to starve herself so she’ll get shorter, but didn’t tell anyone about it), and Ruby is dealing with the idea of having to leave her friends in public school for a private one that will better cater to her abilities. It’s perfect chaos.

Like the other Casson books, this one deals with heavy subjects — premature births, anorexia, boy troubles — with a light hand. Everything is delightfully chaotic and charming and mildly hilarious (Saffy and Indigo really do steal the show out from under Caddy). And even though it’s nominally about Caddy, it’s really Rose’s story; in the other books, you get hints about Rose’s birth, and how she didn’t quite know whether to stay or not stay, and finally, McKay saw fit to tell the the story of Rose’s birth. You can read this one first or last in the order; I think it would be a good introduction to the series, but it also works as a coda at the end.

Either way, it’s delightful.

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny — Detectives Extraordinaire

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by Polly Horvath
ages: 9+
First sentence: “By nighttime Hornby Island would be a blaze of lights.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

I have to admit that when I first saw this book, I kind of went, “Huh.” I don’t get it. There’s not much about the cover that says “READ ME!” and the idea of the story: girl’s parents get kidnapped by foxes, she hires two bunnies to find them. It just comes off as weird. But, Confessions of a Bibliovore and one other (I swear! I don’t know where, though) said the magic words: slapstick and hilarious.

And so, I picked it up.

Did you ever see those Thin Man movies? The ones that are just one implausible, silly situation right after the other? If so, then you have a good idea about the feel of this book. Yes, Madeline is a girl whose silly, hippy parents (aren’t all hippy parents silly?) (“Madeline lived there with her parents, Flo and Mildred, for so they asked to be called by everyone, including Madeline, even though their names were Harry and Denise.”), manage to get kidnapped (parent-napped?) by a group of foxes (including the Grand Poobah) in order to get the address of Uncle Runyon who happens to be the best (well, not the best, but the most available) decoder on the islands off of Vancouver. (Bonus points for being Canadian, here.). Except Flo and Mildred (being hippies, and not caring about reality) have no idea. They leave those things up to Madeline. So, parentless, responsible Madeline decides to go searching for her parents. And somehow she kind of stumbles into acquiring the help of one Mr. and Mrs. Bunny, who have lately decided (because the fedoras are so smashing) to become detectives.

Confused yet?

Because it just gets more zany (yes, that is the best word) from here: absurd neighbors, twelve-inch purple glitter platform shoes, The Marmot in disguise, being called before the Bunny Council, white shoes made of dental floss and the old rubber factory all come into play. Eventually, sure, Madeline’s parents do get found (much to the Bunnys’ disappointment; they were hoping to keep Madeline as a pet), and all is happily-ever-after.

Or maybe it should be ridiculously funny ever after. Great for those with an absurd sense of humor. I do hope that eventually kids will pick this up and love it for it’s oddness.

Sunday Salon: State of the TBR Pile 6

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As usual, it’s out of control. Though this time it seems a bit YA-heavy. There’s also one that got added to the pile after the picture was taken: Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman. I’ve got an ARC to read and report back to work about. So, really, after Grave Mercy, by Robin LeFevers (which I’m currently reading), it’s up next.

After that, though, which one should I tackle? Any suggestions?

Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys (by the way, I like the hardcover cover of this better.) (Because it did so well at the SLJ’s Battle of the Kids’ Books)
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, by Wendy Mass (Because I won it, and I should read it.)
Cold Cereal, by Adam Rex (Because I love the jacket flap copy)
Around the World, by Matt Phelan (Because I wanted a graphic novel, and I like his stuff)
I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov (for my book group)
Rules of Civility, by Amor Towles (Because it sounded interesting. Someone said “Gatsby-eqsue” in regards to it, and my interest was piqued.)
Huntress, by Malinda Lo (For the Once Upon a Time Challenge. I need to get moving on that.)
Matched, by Ally Condie (I’ve been avoiding it, but a good friend of mine who reads everything I recommend to her, recommended it to me and so I need to read it.)
The Girl of Fire and Thorns, by Rae Carson (Because everyone says it’s wicked awesome. Plus it’s due back at the library soon.)
The Sherlockian, by Graham Moore (It sounded interesting. Plus, I’m excited about Series 2 of Sherlock.)

Audiobook: Who’s Your Caddy?

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by Rick Reilly
read by Grover Gardner
ages: adult
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

Yes, this is a sports book. Not just a sports book, but a GOLF book. I don’t play golf. (Hubby does. Sort of. Well, he goes golfing about once a year with his dad.) I don’t follow golf. I do know you hit a little ball with a stick and the lowest score wins. But that’s about it.

So, why the heck did I decide to listen to a golf book?

Well…. because I was in the mood for something completely different (you don’t get much more different than golf in my world), and because I think sports writing, when it’s good, is a lot of fun to read/listen to.

And you know what? This is some seriously good sports writing.

I was told, however, that because this is a sports book that’s 10 years old, it’s hideously out of date, and I shouldn’t be reading it. I didn’t care. I loved every minute Grover Gardner was talking at me (lovely, lovely reading voice, that man; I think a good part of why I loved this was because his reading was so phenomenal).

The basic schtick: Reilly — who writes for Sports Illustrated — decided that the best way to get to know golf — to really know golf —  is to be a caddy. So, he managed to finagle (con?) some of the best (and worst, and well, in-between) golf players into letting him caddy (or “loop” as I learned) a tournament for each of them. It’s basically one story after another of all the people he looped for, from Deepak Chopra and Donald Trump to Jack Nicklaus and David Duval, not to mention Jill McGill on the LPGA tour. Lest you wonder: yes, he did caddy at the Masters, but no, not for one of the top players. Yes, he did ask Tiger Woods (this was back when Tiger was really hot stuff; I mean, I’ve heard of him and I don’t know squat about the sport), but he turned Reilly down. And no, Reillly wasn’t any good. Sucked at being a caddy. Though I got the impression that he’s a pretty good golfer.

So, what made this go great? I laughed. Seriously laughed. Reilly made me interested in and got me to care about a sport that I know nothing about and will probably never pick up. Sure he dropped terms and names like nobody’s business, but it didn’t matter, because he was telling a story, and he knows how to tell a story in a way that will get even the most clueless readers interested in his subject.

No, I probably won’t pick up golf clubs (though he did kind of make me think maybe I could give a go, just to see what the fuss is all about). But I am going to hunt down more of Reilly’s stuff. He is really that good.

Reread: The Color of Water

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by James McBride
ages: adult
First sentence: “As a boy, I never knew where my mother was from — where she was born, who were parents were.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

About 30 pages into this book, I thought to myself: “I think I’ve read this before.” I had: my review went up on November 29, 2007. Interestingly enough, even though I didn’t remember much about the book, my reaction is still pretty much the same: it’s an interesting book, possibly and important book, definitely an uncomfortable book, but I think I’ll add that I’m not sure it’s a memorable book.

This part of my original review I still agree with:

I do have to confess that my feelings of being an interloper, though, were real. I felt like I was prying into someone else’s personal business, a place where I had no right to go. I still can’t place why I felt that way. [I think part of it, this time around is that I loathed Ruth’s father. Seriously loathed him.] I felt like it was too personal, too emotional, too close for me to truly enjoy. These people were real people. These things really happened. I feel this way often when reading books on the Holocaust, too. I can’t believe these conditions, these atrocities are really out there. It pushes me out of my bubble, and I react by feeling like an interloper. Like I’m not supposed to be there.

I still appreciate the chance to see into the lives people lead, especially if they make me uncomfortable. I probably would never have remembered this story, and the obstacles and challenges these people faced in their lives. For that, I am grateful. Sometimes book groups are good, if only to get you to reread books you don’t remember.

Completely Gratuitous Post About My Girls

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Since K has basically grown up here on the blog, the only one of my four to be born after I started blogging, and since today is her 6th (!) birthday, I figured I’d celebrate by letting y’all know what the four of them are up to these days.

K is still our most active child, climbing on anything and everything, begging to be put into gymnastics or swimming classes. She is reading the Betsy-Tacy books with her dad these days, which has led to a desire to go on “adventures”. She constantly laments that she never has enough to do, and so she has developed a talent for inventing things. These mostly involve her older sisters; it’s quite nice to have a couple built-in playmates.

The latest “adventure” was digging a “raccoon trap/home” in the field behind our house with a couple of neighbor kids.

Which brings me to eight-year-old A.

She is our resident math-whiz (“I like math!”), Percy Jackson fan (well, not the only one, but definitely the most passionate), Harry Potter nut (ditto), and proud Nerd (“Nerds rule!”) She has a fear of boys and tuxes (especially boys in tuxes), and loves the band One Direction. Huh. She must have older sisters.

C is 12 now, and is growing into a lovely young woman.

She’s still into writing and drama, begging to be put into drama classes and constantly writing stories. She has recently discovered a passion for dystopian fiction, devouring the Hunger Games trilogy and obsessing over the movie. (Yes, we did. Opening night.) She also has discovered spy books: she adores Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girls series, and was thrilled when she came to town a couple weeks ago. She asked a couple questions during the Q&A, and was doubly thrilled when Ally commented that they were good questions when she signed our books.

And M, our resident high schooler?

 She’s obsessed with all things India (initiated by a post by favorite author Kristin Cashore) and is currently working towards graduating early so she can spend a year in New Delhi on a student exchange. I still have trouble keeping her in books (right now she’s devouring the Hex Hall series), and she’s still all over the map (though she prefers fantasy) when it comes to reading. She recently splurged and bought herself this:

(She loves her Nook.) Hopefully, that’ll help with the keeping her in books problem…

There you have it: my four beautiful, smart, amazing daughters. (No, I’m not biased.) Thanks for letting me gush like this. A mom has to, every once in a while.

Stupid Fast

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by Geoff Herbach
ages: 14+
First sentence: “This could be a dark tale!”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!

I will say this up front: in spite of what you might think judging from the title and the cover, this is not a football book. Sure, the main character, Felton Reinstein, gets drafted to play football (which he hasn’t the first clue about), football actually plays a real minor role.

It is, however, a guy book. In fact, that’s the best thing about this book. Herbach knows guys, and gets the voice down: his sweatyness, awkwardness, quirks, confusion, lusts, and cluelessness scream 15-year-old Guy. Additionally, it works because Felton is so dang likeable. Even in his guyness, you want to know this kid.

It’s the summer before Felton’s junior year. He’s about to turn 16, and his growth spurt (starting around Thanksgiving) has finally hit him: he can’t keep up with his body. That said, he’s, well, stupid fast. Which means he can actually do things in the sports arena, something which he never could do before. He almost beat the track star before nerves got to him. And so, he gets recruited to play for the football team. He has no idea what he’s doing, but it feels good to get out and work his body out. Especially since his home life has been falling apart at the seems.

See, his dad killed himself when Felton was five (Felton had the unfortunate experience of finding him), and his mother, Jerri, has been holding it together. Until this summer: now she’s slowly falling apart. Well, maybe not so slowly. She went from loving mom to calling Felton a jerk and a f-bomb-er, and spending her days in a dark room watching TV and sleeping. Felton has a way out, but his younger brother Andrew is suffering.

It sounds dark, but trust the first sentence: while it’s tackling some tough issues, it never becomes an issue book. It’s really just about Felton and his ability (or lack thereof) to deal with all the changes in his life. The ending does wrap things up a bit nicely, but instead of being happy, it’s more hopeful: that maybe Felton, in spite of all the crap around him — because, after all, he’s a nice guy — will will make everything work out for the best.

Clementine and the Family Meeting

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by Sarah Pennypacker
ages: 8+
First sentence: “
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Others in the series: Clementine, The Talented Clementine, Clementine’s Letter, Clementine, Friend of the Week

There is no one like Clementine. With her creativity and quirkiness (“Tattoos — YES! Babies — NO! I crossed off NO and wrote WELL, MAYBE.”), her genuine curiosity, and her ability to wreak havoc (but only in a good way), you can’t help but fall head-over-heels in love with her. (Promise.)

The thing Ms. Pennypacker throws at Clementine this time is change. Change, especially when you’re in eight and in third grade, is hard. Even if it’s good change. And Clementine resists change, in all its forms. Whether it’s her mom being pregnant, her best friend being obsessed with California and becoming a makeup artist, or losing her science experiment test subject (the rat Eighteen), she doesn’t want any of it.

But, somehow (because this is a book, after all, and because Change is Unstoppable), she figures out that maybe it’s not so bad.

I’m starting to sound like a broken record (really), but it’s another wonderful little Clementine book. If you haven’t met her yet, you really should.