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I’ll Ask You Three Times, are you OK? Several years ago when I worked for an advertising firm, they made a big pitch to a cell phone company. The backbone of the pitch involved identifying snippets of time people wasted, when they could be talking on the phone. Waiting at the airport. In the back seat of a taxi. Riding the bus. Driving. Being driven. All those little transitions we erase that glue together the bigger scenes of our lives. Instead of forgetting these transitions, or filling them with blather, Nye focuses on them, as a kind of living poetry: short, succinct anecdotes, that are as much travel as the events they lead to. In a reverse sense, this is what you miss when you’re on the phone. Looking out the window, Chatting with cab drivers of all walks of life, red neck to Islam. Having unplanned adventures - sometimes getting lost with a cab driver trying to find a motel miles from an engagement results in bags of delicious Italian food. Nye’s observant eye often leads readers from her voyages into their own. For example, in
We know so much we wish we didn’t know. This is another reason I love children’s books. They restore us to the world before excess knowing, that keener, crisper world of filtered light and high hopes, that wide and beckoning field. I worried that my narrator was OK (she was), but I couldn’t help but pause and savor her observation, which lead to a consideration of how children’s writers tame excess knowing, and ponderings that had nothing to do with travel or Toronto. Many of the entries here are germs plucked straight from the writer’s notebook: What does it mean when you lift your arm, in school, to hail a taxi, to speak? Everything belongs to the one who passes, who sees it from the window”I am not really your driver. Your driver is another person. When will we meet our real drivers? Nye’s stories about going are the perfect thing to read in the tidbits of time they describe. Her poetic eye changes these small, common journeys from wasted moments into memorable life trips. |
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Circle the Truth What is love? What is God? What is truth? These are the typically weighty questions that most teens ponder in their daily lives. In this deftly woven novel, the author has created a cast of characters who find themselves drawn to the answers. Orithian Haley, who is living unhappily in his stepfather’s house, older brother to two new half-siblings, and forgotten teenage son of a mother whose sole attention he had for many years, does what is expected of him. He goes to school, goes to church and confirmation classes, goes fishing with his stepfather, plays with his toddler sister, but he doesn’t find any satisfaction in his life. Rith recognizes the mysteries of his life: his real father’s inspiration for his name; his unanswered questions about his father, who was murdered when Rith was four; his mother’s unresponsiveness to just about anything he says or does. Then big changes occur. Rith gains a friend, Toby, who is unfraid of asking the big questions. Toby’s parents encourage him to explore life and Rith gains confidence from this. The biggest mystery in Rith’s life is Bible Man, who only speaks in Bible verses. Does Bible Man exist only in Rith’s imagination? He can’t be sure. Rith has never read the Bible that closely and he surely couldn’t make up the exact verses that provide him with courage to stand up for himself. Bible Man is a fantasy element that will leave the reader wondering how far away the truth can be. There are mysteries aplenty in this novel, none of which have neat or tidy answers, providing the best kind of reading experience. This second novel from Pat Schmatz will satisfy readers on many levels, especially those who are seeking after truth. |
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Paradise: Inspired by a True Story of Survival In sixteenth century France, most young girls could look forward to marriage, motherhood and probably an early death. So when Marguerite De La Rocque learns that she is to sail on her uncle’s ship to the New World, she is delighted. Along with several other girls, Marguerite is expected to help establish the first colony in the French territory known as Canada. On a sunny spring day in April 1542, the Sainte-Anne and two other ships set sail for Saint-Jean, a fishing village on the coast of Terre-Neuve, the new land. Several days into the journey, Marguerite learns that her boyfriend, Pierre, has found a way to follow her aboard the ship. Since Pierre is Catholic and Marguerite is not, her family would never allow the two to be together. However, it is their hope that in the New World society will ignore their differences in religion and allow them to marry. Through weeks of rough seas, cramped quarters, sickness and death, Marguerite, Pierre and Marguerite’s maid Damienne dream of life in a new land. Fearing discovery and subsequent punishment if they are found together, the two young lovers seldom meet during the long voyage to the New World. Then one day, when their journey is nearing its end, they get careless and are discovered. Marguerite’s uncle is furious. He orders Pierre placed in chains and Marguerite, along with Damienne, abandoned on a deserted island. And here the story gets really good! The story of Marguerite De La Rocque’s harrowing adventure on an island paradise is made more fascinating and poignant when the reader knows in advance that its foundation is based in truth. Using the freedom given to any historical fiction writer, Goodman weaves a tale that grips the reader and holds them fast from the moment Marguerite realizes, “Good Lord, I [am] going to Canada!” to “Life might be hard in France, yet having lived in paradise, I fear nothing.” Paradise is a story gleaned from the archives of history. A little known tale that author Joan Goodman happened upon while conducting research for another project. Lucky for us she did. A great read for middle grade and teens. |
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The Name of the Wind A mysterious innkeeper and his servant guard deep secrets. They are sequestered in their public house in a town off the well-traveled roads. Then one of the inn’s regulars is late for dinner and, when he arrives, he has been attacked. He describes his attacker and the innkeeper is careful not to react—but he’s worried. These creatures don’t belong here and there’s seldom only one. Not long after, a scribe is robbed on the road. He stumbles across the innkeeper, who has chosen to fight the scraelings in the countryside, knowing there must be more. It’s a bad fight and the innkeeper, Kvothe, unhappily ends up taking the scribe back to the inn. The scribe is known to him: Chronicler, one who records the stories of the lands. Knowing that his privacy has been compromised, Kvothe decides he will tell the story of his life. The story within the mystery is rich in detail and plot. Born to a tribe of Edema Ruh, the wandering minstrels and storytellers, Kvothe is violently orphaned when he is barely a teenager. He learns to live on his own in a rough world, surviving by his wits and his talents. Eventually, he becomes one of the youngest to enter the University, which he does without tuition. Unable to hold his tongue, he makes enemies. He also makes friends, and soon Kvothe is seen to be one of the most talented students in this University that teaches its students to work with magic. It’s an engrossing story, well-written, with a richly developed world. It’s been a long time since I’ve read an original fantasy novel that kept me turning the pages as this one did. And it’s the first in a series and I can’t wait to read the next one. |
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Tasting the Sky In 1967 the start of the Six Day War tears Ibtisam Barakat from both her home and her family life. The fighting forces them to flee from their house in Palestine to become refugees in Jordan. They stay at a shelter for a while, but when a car hits a neighbor boy, Ibtisam’s mother demands that her children have a safe place to play. For a while, they stay at a school, and there Ibtisam encounters the letter that will become her friend, Alef, the first letter of both the Arab and Hebrew alphabet. Unlike the pet baby goat she was forced to leave behind, this friend can go anywhere she can draw it with chalk. Alef was a long line that stood vertically and ended with a round circle. It looked like a Popsicle, a dandelion, a sunflower, a streetlamp or a man with a hat on his head, like my dad in winter. I thought Alef lived inside chalk sticks. Because I wanted to be friends with Alef, I took a piece of chalk with me wherever I went. The family returns to their home in Ramallah, only to become prisoners in their own home when for three weeks Israeli soldiers practice combat training right outside their door. So the kids are sent to an orphanage. When that fails, Ibtisam is separated from her brothers and they are sent to boys’ school, as the parents search for a way to keep their children safe and fed. Finally they’re forced to leave their home for good, when Israeli soldiers harass her mom, and her mom declares, “Khalas! Khalas! This is the limit.” Like Hanna Jandsen’s book Over a Thousand Hills I Walk with You (Carolrhoda Books, 2006) about the Rwanda genocide, and Nadja Halilbegovich’s memoir My Childhood Under Fire: A Sarajevo Diary (Kids Can Press, 2006), Barakat’s tale is a powerful account of war’s effect on children. She captures both the fear of a child’s recognition of war as an evil power that overshadows her parents’ ability to protect her, and the poetry of a child’s eye, able to find magic in the smallest places. About her postal box she writes: Having this box is like having a country, the size of a tiny square, all to myself. I love to go there, dig the key out of my pocket, turn its neck around, open the door, then slowly let my hand nestle in and linger, even if the box is empty. I wish I could open my postbox every day. I feel that my hand, when deep inside it, reaches out to anyone on the other side of the world who wants to be my friend. By reading her book, young readers can make the first step towards understanding her world, extending their hands back towards her.; |
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Killing Miss Kitty and Other Sins I read this book several months ago. I've been thinking about the five stories ever since. It's a powerful book, satisfying this reader with its story, characters, and plot. Even stronger are the subjects of each story. If you're looking for a book to discuss with high school book clubs or adult book clubs, this would be my first pick. There are so many things to talk about that it's hard to know where to begin. Claire is a protagonist the author readily admits is part fiction, part autobiography. The stories resonate so strongly with truth that it would be difficult for the reader to tell where fiction is separated from memoir and that makes for even more interesting discussion. Whether the topic is uneducated racism, sexual uncertainty, cruelty to animals, parents' effect on their children, sin, peer pressure, or playing tricks on people we don't know, we highly recommend this book for the reader who ponders deeper meanings and our interactions with others. The stories are so well written that they read quickly, but the stories themselves will stay with the reader long after the book is stored on the shelf. |
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Whatcha Mean, What’s a Zine Zines are an art form that flourish because they’re an anachronism. Imagine, writing and putting together a little paper magazine that you distribute—all on your own! Still, who wouldn’t be charmed to receive a tiny hand-done magazine, mailed or traded directly to you, especially in this world of mass junk mail, banal blogging, and electronic messaging? This book touches on most of the essential topics of do-it-yourself-publishing, such as the history of zines, writing ideas, publishing tips, zine formats, distribution schemes and places to mail your publication. Some nice touches include Dave Kiersh’s comic strip tip o’ the hat to “Pioneers and Stamp Lickers,” people like Ray Johnson and Richard Green who forged the way in mail art and self publishing, and comments from professional zinesters like Laurie Henzel of Bust, Eric Nakamura of Giant Robot, and John Porcellino of King Cat Comics proving the popularity and longevity of the format. The do-it-yourself look, as if the book were typed and pasted together, will attract zine and mini-comics fans to take a look. Librarians and teachers are also a likely audience, readily adapting the information here to teach or accompany zine workshops with kids. Older educators put off by the book’s sloppy appearance will be charmed to find information about using ditto machines to replicate is included, and even a reminder to sniff the freshly printed lavender type. It’s doubtful true zinesters will read this volume cover to cover; having learned by doing, they’ll dip in and pluck a trick or two to enhance their work. The one downside of this book is there is little, if any mention of the edgier topics covered by zines, for example, the thriving world of queer zines. Anders Nilsen says here, “Zines have always been people saying what they think below the radar and flack guns of advertising dollars, political authority, and social convention.” As there are plenty of edgy zines written by teens themselves, it would have been nice to have a little more of that stuff represented. Still, kids who’ve never seen or heard of do-it-yourself publishing could potentially go hog-wild with this guide in hand. As the introduction encourages, “Go ahead. There is no wrong way.” |
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Operation Red Jericho This book reads like a movie. From its opening sequence to its final breathless page, Doug and Becca, brilliant but undisciplined, are off on a wild adventure worthy of a Saturday afternoon movie matinee. Their scientist parents are missing and, although nobody will talk about it, Doug and Becca, brother and sister, are afraid that they're dead. Kicked out of several schools, considered unruly by their Aunt Margaret, the pair are sent to live aboard the ship Expedient with their mysterious uncle, Captain Mackenzie. Although he continually finds fault with their ability to follow directions, and frequently tells them he's sending them back to Aunt Margaret, the siblings find themselves involved in one mystery after another, with feats of derring-do. The book is populated with good people and evil people, all with larger-than-life characters. The maps, cut-away diagrams of ships and planes, the slightly grainy photos, the sidebar tidbits that add to the detail, are all intended to involve many kinds of readers. And who am I to say that this book isn't actually the diary of Mr. Mowll's Great-Aunt Becca? With an author who spent his childhood in boarding schools and who says he is "not at all convinced by the scientific theory about how thunder and lightning are generated," it is difficult to tell whether his books and his biography are tongue-in-cheek or the real thing. Either way, he writes books that adventurous teens are sure to love. The sequel, Operation Typhoon Shore, was released in late October. Be sure to get both. They're as addictive as potato chips. |
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