Review: Jayhawk by Dorothy Keddington

genre: fiction/mystery

When Angela arrives in Wyoming, planning on spending the summer on her college roommate's family ranch, she has no idea of the adventure in store for her. The gorgeous mountains and flowering fields are one thing, her friend Janet's cousin Jay is another, and the dangerous and mysterious happenings, right off the bat, are another.

Jayhawk is part romance, part mystery, leaning heavily on the romantic part. It's never steamy (surprisingly clean, actually) and while the dialogue was often leaning towards hokey, I liked it well enough, it was a nice counterbalance to the mystery: what ever happened to Jay's father, that night when he disappeared from the ranch? Someone does not want Jay to know the answer to that question, and will stop at nothing to keep that information a secret.

It's an interesting mix of a book, while it was brain candy for the most part, I enjoyed it for what it was. I had a hard time believing the post-climax part, but in a strange way, I did like that she followed the story through farther than most authors would. If you can find a copy of this (it was published in 1978 by a small publishing company), you may want to give it a try if you are a fan of the romantic mystery genre.

Review: When Autumn Leaves by Amy S. Foster

genre: adult fiction

When we first meet Autumn, all we know is that her time in the tiny town of Avening is almost up. And not only does she have to leave this charmed village, where the solstices are celebrated with community-wide events, she also has to find someone to replace herself as the spiritual leader of the community. Not an easy task. And while we see Autumn and learn from her throughout this story, much of the novel is the stories of these other women, the candidates, all with powers of their own that may or may not be the right fit.

The spirit that hangs over the town of Avening is a lovely backdrop to this story of searching and self-examination. Like a blanket of magical realism, the abilities of the characters in this book create a framework that dares the reader to deny the power of the earth, its seasons, or that there are those among us who are able to harness that power.

I appreciated the depths of its themes: death and love, parenthood and self-doubt. One scenario, about falling love with someone who is not your spouse, was hard to read, but it was resolved in an intriguing way. The verdict? It was tightly written. It interested me. It made me cry once. It caught me off-guard more than once. I can't lay my finger on what didn't make it perfect for me, but I enjoyed it none the less. It's a clever premise with a timeless message: there is more inside us than we think, it's up to us to be willing to find it.

Review: Emily Ever After by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt

genre: Christian fiction

Growing up in sunny California, Emily always knew that she belonged somewhere else: New York City. She finally makes her way to the streets of Manhattan when she lands a job at a big publishing house. Rarely does life live up to our fantasies, though, and between being across the country from her family, her crazy boss and trying to be true to her faith without seeming too different, Emily's new world is a big adjustment. Emily has a lot of lessons to learn about who she is and what she really wants.

While this is a rather predictable coming-of-age story, I have to admit, I ended up pleased with it. Emily makes some mistakes, falls in and out of love, makes friends and, really, a few more mistakes. But she does know what's right and I appreciate the message that it's worth it to stick up for what you know is right. It's the kind of book I'd like my daughter to read in high school because in the end, Emily finds just the right kind of happily ever after.

Review: Nuture Shock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman

genre: non-fiction

I heard about this one over at Library Queue and I knew it was something that would interest me, so THANKS Tricia, for the tip :)

This is the book for people who are ready to look outside the box of common parenting advice. As far as "parenting books" go, I'm not really even sure this fits into that category - it's more of a round-up what actual empirical evidence is currently saying regarding the development of children and teens. Much of the text is describing studies that were done and the results - which is fascinating to me, but may be too "scientific" for some readers. This isn't to say, though, that it's all studies and science - the tone of the book is casual enough, with enough anecdotal information to be really accessible. Here are the chapters that were most interesting to me:

*The Lost Hour (the importance of sleep for children)
*The Inverse Power of Praise (which I've read some about, but this wrapped it up is a more concise package)
*Can Self-Control Be Taught (WOW, this made me have a lot to think about, I think I even want to read this section again)
*Why Hannah Talks and Alyssa Doesn't (of all the chapters, I think this one felt the most "parenting book"-like. It's about how to encourage language in your children, some really interesting info in that chapter)

And really, I guess I could just write down ALL the chapters, since there was so much information in this one! I kept having to talk to my husband about ideas (when he hadn't stolen the book from me to read it himself!). The most important idea I came away from was the fact that I need to be aware of what assumptions I'm making as a parent - that just because something seems logical doesn't necessarily mean it's a parenting best-practice. Specific ideas I am taking away from this book:

*I want to encourage my children to correct and fix their own work whenever possible
*Don't feel like sleep is something I can bargain with
*talk specifically about race whenever I can, not assume that my kids will "get" that the color of your skin does not your personality determine
*THE BIGGIE: when my kids are fighting about something, I am going to try NOT to just get fed up and say EACH OF YOU GO TO YOUR ROOMS, I will instead talk it out and work it out until a resolution is made (tried it this morning and it is more empowering, if more time consuming :) - and if Clint and I have arguments, I want to try harder to get to a resolution in front of the kids too, so they can see that we know how to make things right when we get upset.

In the end, I think it is a really interesting read, but in some ways, I came away from it feeling almost...too much. Like maybe there is just too much I don't know and that I'm doing too much wrong and that even science is constantly contradicting itself! I do, however, feel more informed and more aware, so that's a good thing. Plus, it really was a pleasure to read.

Review: Feed by M. T. Anderson

genre: ya dystopian
book 1 of 2 for the YA Dystopian Reading Challenge

Imagine a world where everything we see now on the Internet is fed directly into our heads. All the pop-up ads, instant messaging, it's all wi-fi spoon-fed right into our brain.

This is Feed.

The story is just a smallish snippet of time, we don't see more than a year and we don't learn too much about how the earth got to the state its in. I don't think that's the point, though. Through the eyes of the teen-aged Titus, we see a world consumed by consumerism. People speak a dumbed down language, as though we instant messaged ourselves into a state of vague exclamations, mediocre descriptions, colloquial expressions and swear words. Lots of swear words, but it's as though those words are no longer "swear words," they have just become a part of the common vernacular, the same as "like" and "ohmygosh."

The shining star in this book is Violet. As someone removed from the mainstream culture, she rips open assumptions and makes us think hard about what it is to live and be human.

This book scared the pants off me. It made me want to try and remember my life before the constant presence of the internet. Like all good dystopian literature, it was sometimes depressing, and sometimes confusing as I had to work through what I'm supposed to already know. Sometimes, it left me wanted to have things spelled out for me a little bit more, but maybe that's part of his point too. In a world of text messages and headline blips, we rarely get the whole picture.

Feed is for readers who can handle the language and are interested in "what if" kinds of stories that hit maybe too close to home for comfort.

review: Calamity Jack by Shannon and Dean Hale

genre: middle grade graphic novel
source: publisher

When Calamity Jack arrived at my house, I had to break up a fight between my two older children and put a timer on to keep the peace - everyone wanted a turn to look at it/read it. If you haven't already read Rapunzel's Revenge, you should just on principle. It's a fun read and you'll have more appreciation for the characters in this book if you do. That being said, though, it's great as a stand alone.

Jack's a sympathetic character - always the schemer, always messing up in one way or another. I love that he and Rapunzel fit the caricature of the fairy tale story characters enough to be familiar and give them a skeleton, but Hale does a fine job of fleshing them out and helping them fit into the world she created. There are giants, of course, and other hideous and deadly creatures that make graphic novels so exciting to read. The sprinkle of romance was just right and the political intrigue was sophisticated enough to keep older readers thinking. Some new sidekicks kept it lighthearted and, as in the first book, the drawings are fresh and stimulating, those braids are cr-azy!

One of those books that is a pleasure to enjoy in one sitting, great reading for 4rd graders and up, I'd say, although a certain 7 year old I know loved it too.

Review: Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong

genre: fiction/world literature
book 10 of 10 for the Orbis Terrarum Challenge 2009

Raised in the slums of postwar Vietnam, Hang has lived a simple and hard life with her mother, who runs a tiny stall at a street market. While they find comfort in each other while Hang is young, the past slowly encroaches on them and Hang ends up in the center of a fierce feud between her mother and the sister of her father. Jealousy, family strife and her mother's strange way of satisfying her own need to be needed create havoc for Hang.

When I was trying to tell my husband about this novel, I was struck by the despair, the constant struggle of the Vietnamese peasants, both in the slums and in tiny remote villages. Events between the Communists and the people of Huang's mother's village would change all their lives forever - and everyone is searching for someone to blame. Huong's writing is so haunting, so precise, and it's very clear that she is writing from the perspective of one who has suffered at the hands of the communist party in Vietnam. I can see why this book was banned there - I would imagine that her portrayal of local Communist leaders is not the sort that would bring a government much pleasure.

I enjoyed this book for the flavors and smells - the rich picture it painted of a culture I knew virtually nothing about. It's politically charged, to be sure, and old and new ways often struggled to coexist. The narrative style made it a slow read for me, though, it jumped back and forth in time a lot. I think it could have been put together in a way that was easier for the reader, but I wonder if part of that is just a cultural preference. Read this book for a true sense of life in a Vietnam of not-so-long-ago, and brace yourself for a bitter but beautiful road.

Review : The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama

genre: historical fiction

There are books that are so rich, so full of the essence of a place and its people, that they do not lend themselves to being merely "summarized" or "described." Books that do not follow merely one or two characters and their experiences, but truly try to examine a cross-section of humanity and how their lives intertwine. For me, this was such a book. And while the Japanese brothers Hiroshi and Kenji are at the crux of this amazing novel, we also come to know and love the people that surround them.

Hioschi and Kenji are orphaned very young and are raised just outside of Tokyo by their beloved grandparents. Their ojichan and obachan are such...exquisite people. Their values and patience, their love and strength seemed to epitomize all that is good in Japanese culture. And as these boys and their countrymen go through the hell that was World War II, we see a completely different side of that war's story than we usually read: the plight of the common Japanese citizen. The scars of the firestorms at the end of the war have far-reaching consequences and no characters escape being affected in one way or another.

What I think I really liked most about this book is that it completely immersed me in Japanese culture. The ancient theater customs, city life vs rural life, the traditional sport of sumo wrestling (which honestly, I never would've thought I'd be interested in), I found myself putting the book down sometimes to do more research. And all the Japanese language sprinkled throughout was easily understood in context and made the story an even richer experience. I think the only thing about this book that didn't thrill me is that it wasn't exactly a "happy" book. While good things happen to some of the characters, it's also a raw and realistic picture of life at the time, as well as of human nature and its most basic weaknesses. And while it jumped around from character to character a lot, I followed it with no problem, like finishing a conversation with one friend and then taking a call from another. A great piece of literature.

Review: James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

genre: children's literature

Poor James, stuck living with his two crabby aunts. One day a peculiar thing happens, which leads to another peculiar thing happening and before you know it, James is living on a giant peach with some huge bugs. Sounds bizarre, right? And to be honest, it IS rather bizarre. To be living amongst huge bugs would completely freak me out. But the reason Dahl 's stories are classics is that the bizarre-ness WORKS. We believe it! We believe in the musically gifted Old Grandfather Grasshopper and the mild and motherly Ladybug. Sure there are crazy cloud people up in the sky creating out weather. Dahl's stories are just so readable and kid-centric. He empowers his readers with a sense that even when you are a kid, horrible things can happen to you but that you are strong enough to stay kind and patient until it all works out. What a fantastic message.

I read this one aloud to my 7 year old son and we had a rollicking good time. He fell for it hook, line and sinker and he was at times literally chewing his nails and hiding his head, and other times laughing his guts out. I can't ask for more than that.

Review: Fifth Business by Robertson Davies

genre: adult fiction

In Fifth Business, we meet Dunstable Ramsay when he's already an old man. His long years as a schoolmaster and historian have prepared him well to write his own story, to record his own truth. A good portion of this story takes place in the tiny Canadian town of Deptford. Here, everyone has their religion - and piousness is a virtue. For the 10 year old Ramsay, a split second decision (coupled with a stringent guilt complex), creates a situation that changes not only the the course of his life, but that of Deptford as well.

Ah, Deptford. What an intimate portrait of a small town and its early century closed-mindedness. The characters of Ramsay's youth - the enemy/best friend, a pastor's wife and son - these Deptford relationships will serve as a backdrop to the rest of his Ramsay's life, even into the horrors of World War I, where he returns home as changed man.

I am having such a hard time even trying to summarize this novel - it takes you to the most random places - a bombed out church in France, a tiny Canadian town, a magic show in South America. Each location is mystically tied together in Ramsay's experience and his inability to discount things he knows he's seen will force him to decide if he's a believer in saints and miracles or not. I know that it's beautifully written - tied and woven together like the fabric of a life, and you can tell that Ramsay is going over that fabric with a magnifying glass, trying to figure out the real and inconsequential in order to determine what his life amounts to and where else it can go now. It's self-absorbed and honest - a tribute to finding a way to live the life you choose, accept your role as "fifth business" and then dealing with the consequences and moving on, trying to do better.