Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices From A Medieval Village

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Well, what did you guys think?  I hope some of you read it - it was only 91 pages, including notes! I thought this was such a fun idea for a book, and love that it was written by a librarian for her students who were studying medieval times.  In her forward she explains that she wanted to write a play for them, but plays are tricky because there's only a few leading characters, so she devised the idea to create a monologue for each student (with a few dialogues thrown in there as well) so that they could all have a chance to shine.  As a teacher (well, at least potential teacher) and former "extra" in a play, I thought this was genius!  And very informative.  While some might read this book and think, "How depressing! What a terrible time to live!," I find the history fascinating.  And, being a children's book, the character's situations were not wholly desperate: a chance of love here, an opportunity for a new life there.  Ok, looking back, most of them didn't have much to call rosy about their circumstances, but the narratives felt real- maybe not optimistic, but not overly pessimistic either - it just kind of was what it was.  Overall, the novel was a fun read, a historical novel that kept me entertained due to its brevity, and I loved it's realness without the despair you might find in an adult novel set in that era.

The Graveyard Book

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What a fun book!  This book pulled me in from the start, with the creepy murder scene in the first pages, to setting up the unique and original plot.  After all, have you ever heard of a story where an orphan boy is raised by ghosts and Dracula in a ramshackle graveyard? Great potential there, if you ask me.  I liked the tension between Bod's life among the dead and his potential as a living, breathing human being, and how he must reconcile that throughout his childhood.  His parents, friends and mentors are all ghosts, and for his safety he can't leave the graveyard for now, yet he is undeniably different.  I liked best how the scene of dancing the Macabre illustrated his "otherness," his position as being part of the dead community while being quite alive.  It was so whimsical and magical for both parties, but Bod was the only one who could relish it from both perspectives.  When talking to Silas one day about death and after commenting on how death wouldn't be so bad because all of his best friends are dead, Silas says this: "Yes. They are.  And they are, for the most part, done with the world.  You are not. You're alive, Bod.  That means you have infinite potential. You can do anything, make anything, dream anything.  If you change the world, the world will change.  Potential.  Once you're dead, it's gone.  Over.  You've made what you've made, dreamed your dream, written your name.  You may be buried here, you may even walk. But that potential is finished." (pg 179) I loved this speech.  How often do we forget our potential?  Our potential to change, to create, to dream?  Do we sometimes figuratively find ourselves walking among the dead and losing sight of who we are and who we are meant to become?  Being in Young Women's the past few years I came to love the value Divine Nature and I gained a strong conviction that we must not forgot, as Sister Dalton put it, who we are and who's we are.

Back to the book - as much as I loved the premise, the resolution left me wanting.  Sure, the whole scene with Jack and Scarlett and the Sleer in the cave was exciting (I almost missed my flight while I was in the thick of reading it), but then Jack was gone and there was a bit of a let down.  Especially with Scarlett fading out of Bod's life just like that afterwards.  And then, just a year later, the graveyard kicks him out?  He had nothing to go to, nothing to look forward to, yet the author says he leaves excited for his adventures among the living?  All I felt was terror for this young man setting off on his own to face a world he had spent very little time in, with no one to guide him through it. 

So that's my review - a great book overall, really fun premise and subtle message about our potential, but a bit of a let down at the end.  What did you think?

When You Reach Me

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I think Mom put it best when she said this book turns you on your head!  As a lover of A Wrinkle in Time, I really enjoyed how the plot was rooted in the classic.  It didn't take long for me to guess that time travel might be involved, but I like to suspend my disbelief when I read and discover it when the author wants me to.  I do have to say that the resolution was a total surprise to me (I won't spoil it for those who haven't read it yet) and I was completed delighted by it.

More than the fun plot, I really liked Miranda's coming-of-age story and the theme of friendship.  We see easy friendships, friendships born of helping the picked-on girl, overcoming prejudice and befriending an old nemesis, and learning how to move on and let the "best" friend become one of many friends - not the only one.  I think I can relate to all of these types of friendships and cherish each one.  In the end, When You Reach Me wasn't really about time-travel, but the fantastical and nostalgic plot served as a facade to pull your attention away from the masterful relationships being subtly woven throughout the 197 pages.  This writing tactic leaves the reader so satisfied with the character and who she has become, more so than if the relationships where front and center and explicit.  Besides Miranda's relationships with her peers, the reader also sees how she grows in relationships with her mother, her mother's boyfriend, Sal's mother, and even the corner grocer.  All in all, this was definitely a Newbery-worthy book for me!  What did you think?

(P.S. - I apologize for not getting around to this review earlier in the month.  I got lazy with having guest reviewers for the last couple of months!  Love you all!)

Moon Over Manifest

This month's guest blogger is Aubrey!  Despite her insecurities, she did a beautiful job summarizing the book and exploring the beautiful themes and characters.  Here it is!

Sometimes you read a book and it draws you into its world and when it ends, you keep finding yourself wanting to go back to that world, you feel a lingering emotional connection to the place and to the people in the book. That’s how I felt about Moon Over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpool.  I thought it was a remarkable book, definitely deserving a distinction like the Newberry Award.  I liked the book so much that I volunteered to write the review this month, which is a lot for me because I feel much less literate than the rest of you.  

Moon Over Manifest is great because it draws you in from the beginning with wonderful descriptions and a great main character.  Abilene is a plucky young girl who is colorful and independent, yet vulnerable.  She finds herself sent away from the only parent she’s ever known, to live in a new place, the town of Manifest.   She has heard much about Manifest from her father, but the town she finds is a shadow of its former self.  Abilene sets out to discover the mysteries of the town, while also hoping to find out more about her father, knowing that he had spent some of his youth in the town. 

The book is neat because it can be appreciated on several different levels.  For the younger reader, it draws you in with a fun mystery.  Abilene and her friends set out to find a spy who they call the Rattler.  As Abilene and her friends search the town for clues about the Rattler, she is also searching for clues about her father.   She finds it hard to get a straight answer from anyone about him and his time in the town.  She is left to discover the history of the town and her father, bit by bit, from the stories of Miss Sadie, the town fortune teller.  The town and many of its members never recovered from events in 1918.  18 years later as the town confronts these memories through the eyes of an innocent, curious girl, old wounds are opened and healing begins.  

I really loved the idea/theme that sometimes to heal properly from a wound, it must be opened and cleansed.  Sometimes when we go through things, it’s easiest to just bury them deep and move on.   During this last pregnancy, especially near the end, I had to confront some issues left over from losing Cecily last year.  I needed to deal with the loss of a baby and try to find hope for the future with a new baby.  Then as I read this book, I was in the hospital with my new baby, as doctors tried to figure out why he had had some terrifying spells of not breathing.  I was forced to confront some of the same feelings again, trying to find hope instead of fear.  

I loved how the book ends, with hope.  Hope for the town, hope for Abilene, hope for Abilene’s father.  Hope for healing and happiness even after everything they had been through.  That’s where I’m at now- hope.  

So that’s my review.  I just highlighted one theme of the book in my review, but there were a lot of deep ideas in there touching on friendship, love, race, immigration, and war.  I loved the book and I would highly recommend it.  Honestly, I think it can only be fully appreciated by an older (young adult or adult) reader who understands some of the deeper themes and has felt real emotional wounds.  But younger readers will probably enjoy it also, especially the mystery aspect of the book. 

How the reading coming?

Have you all started Moon over Manifest yet?  I'm about 100 pages into it and it's sooo good!  I love the characters and the setting and the writing - you're going to love it!  I'll be posting my review towards the end of next week.  Love you all!

Breaking Stalin's Nose

June ended up being too crazy for me to read a second book, but I wanted to give anyone else a chance to comment about it if they read it.  Was it a good read?  Should I pick it up when I have some time?

Dead End in Norvelt

This month we are privileged to have our first guest reviewer - Mom!  Here's her analysis of the book:

romp

 noun \ˈrämp, ˈrȯmp\:   high-spirited, carefree, and boisterous play

farce

 noun+: a light dramatic composition marked by broadly satirical comedy and improbable plot

Dead End In Norvelt

noun+:  a synonym for "romp" and "farce"

You just gotta love it!  This is the kid's version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, or my favorite new author's Wyrd Sisters.  If you take it seriously, you'll be insulted.  If you look at it askance, you can be charmed.  This book takes a 1950's dying small town, mixes it with "duck and cover" paranoia and turns it on its head.  I loved everything but the nosebleeds - "please please NO MORE BLOOD!" 

And what really saved the ridiculousness of it was the humanity of the individuals - Jack's mom, dad and above all, Miss Volker.  I love Miss Volker and her obituaries; she loved those old people - her peers and friends.  And she took care of Jack, in her own way. Cautuerizing his nostrils with a vet's instrument??  Yup - those were the days.....  and NO - I don't think kids were driving around in cars at 10 - but most certainly at 14 - and wasn't that fun?!!

The horrible murdering?  Nah - it was just a kid's murder mystery - and the author gave plenty of foreshadowing so that it wasn't a surprise at the end that those old people didn't kick the bucket naturally.

Well dear family - there you have it - Mother is wyrd!

The One & Only Ivan

So, what did you guys think of the first book?  Did you like it?  I wasn't sure at first, but before I knew it I was halfway through and fully invested in Ivan, Bob, Stella and Ruby.  The animals' situation tugged at my heartstrings, but I was grateful that Max wasn't really that evil of a villain (he used the claw stick what, once? and got a lot more pain in return!) and you had hope that somehow they would end up in a better place.

I thought it was interesting for Ivan to explain that a good zoo is how humans make amends (pg 64).  Do you guys agree with that?  My first thought was, no, just leave them in the wild to begin with - then you don't need to make amends.  Also, I don't think we could ever completely make amends, but only merely try.  I guess if zoos were only places of refuge for rescue animals - like Ruby and Ivan - then Ivan has a point.  However, aren't plenty of animals brought straight from the wild into zoos?  I guess I don't know for sure, but I don't think there's enough circuses and deranged ex-wild-pet-owners to fill zoos.  Where would the hyenas come from if that were the case?  I guess babies born into captivity make up a decent percentage of zoo population too...I don't know, I'm not really that passionate about animal rights, and I definitely don't think zoos these days are cruel, particularly as an alternative to other forms of captivity, but I think that humans would best make amends by leaving wild animals be and letting them live in their natural habitat.  What do you guys think?

Another passage I marked as I read was this: "Human babies are an ugly lot.  But their eyes are like our babies' eyes.  Too big for their faces, and for the world." (pg 140).  This sounded profound when I read it, so I marked it, but now that I think about it I can't really make heads or tails of what the author is trying to get it.  Eyes too big for the world?  What do you think she means?

I loved how this story progressed - the development, climax and resolution.  I loved the scene where Julia is about to give up on Ivan's picture puzzle and he gives his mighty silverback roar.  Despite the simplistic writing style, I was right there with Ivan emotionally, willing Julia to figure it out, to find the "M" in "HOME," to see the message that he was desperate to convey.  I felt his despair turn to triumph as she pieced it together in the middle of the sawdust ring and again as she convinced her dad to hang it from the billboard.  I felt Ivan's angst and trepidation as he prepared to leave a lesser, but known and familiar existence, for a better but different and unknown place.  I felt Ivan's joy at seeing apes on a screen (without commercials or narrators!) and then in person, and an even greater joy at seeing Ruby on the screen in her new habitat, and again from the tree.  Maybe it was because of, not despite, the simplistic writing style, the seemingly simple characters, that the author was able to pull us in emotionally. Were you pulled in like I was?  I'm also glad that the author provided a means for Ivan (and therefore me through Ivan's eyes) to get closure at the end about all of his friends, from Ruby to Bob to Julia. 

Despite my doubt that good zoos are by any means adequate amends for pulling a creature from its wild habitat, I was thrilled to find Ivan and Ruby in a zoo by the end of the book, with animals of their own species to love and interact with.  Both simple and complex, depending on how you peel back the layers, I loved this book and wholly endorse its Newbery award.

Now tell us your thoughts!

First up!

First up for this adventure is the 2013 award winner, The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.  You have until the end of May to read it so get going!  Love you and happy reading!