Mar 5, 2018 - Uncategorized    Comments Off on Conflicted

Conflicted

I finished Jason Reynolds’ Long Way Down on the last day of February, just in time to count it for the Goodreads challenge my library system does; February’s challenge was to read a book by an African-American author, and since the Newberys were announced at the beginning of February, Long Way Down seemed like a perfect fit.  (I just had to finish my other book first.)  I was honestly impressed by it, especially the ending; I was expecting something a little more–fable-y?  Instead, well–let’s just say it packed a powerful punch, but in an unexpected way.

Still, I was conflicted (which is why I’ve been putting off this review).  The Newberys are awarded to the authors of the most distinguished contributions to American literature for children.  Not only is Long Way Down designated as YF at our library, it has a derivative of the f-word not 25 pages in.  (A lesser expletive shows up on page 65.)  And then there’s the plot–Will’s brother is shot, Will takes his brother’s gun to follow the neighborhood ‘rules’ and avenge his death, and then Will gets into his building’s elevator to head down towards his mission.  Only for each floor he passes, someone connected to him shows up.  Someone dead.

Someone killed by a gun.

It’s an impressive idea to begin with, and Reynolds executes it just about perfectly.  Will’s voice, his anguish, his turmoil–they all feel desperately real.  I was sucked in from the get-go and (metaphorically) holding my breath for the ending.  When I actually GOT there, I was in shock for a minute or two, but–how perfect!  The idealist in me wanted more resolution, but the writer in me recognized that Reynolds’ ending was better than anything I could have imagined.  All in all, it’s a pretty amazing book; it certainly deserves awards.

Those awards, however, are–again–why I’m conflicted.  Can a book truly be both a Printz Honor book AND a Newbery Honor book?  Or, since it appears that it can be, should it be?  I recognize that we live in a world where children have to deal with the realities of gun violence, where Long Way Down may feel more relevant than most of the books my own children read, but is that enough of a reason to consider it literature for children?  At least three different organizations honored it specifically as a YA title, and Amazon lists it as a book for teens.  Ultimately, I fail to see how anyone can argue that it was written for children, that children are its actual target audience.  Jason Reynolds wrote an amazing book, and I’m seriously glad it won most of the awards it did.  As for this past year’s Newbery Committee–really, folks?

Really?

Mar 3, 2018 - Uncategorized    Comments Off on Point to Ponder

Point to Ponder

If you were designing a 2,000 piece map-of-the-world jigsaw puzzle–complete with, you know, ALL THE OCEANS–wouldn’t you go with the ever-popular brownish-gray color for the back of the pieces, instead of an impressively watery shade of blue?

Just sayin’.

Mar 1, 2018 - Uncategorized    Comments Off on Light But Fun

Light But Fun

I just finished reading Zita the Spacegirl in order to see if my girls would like it; they both love graphic novels, but it remains to be seen whether it will be too easy for my oldest and too sci-fi for my 8-year-old.  It’s certainly simpler than anything by Raina Telgemeier or Victoria Jamieson, but it’s still a nice story;  Zita accidentally gets her friend kidnapped by aliens and follows him in order to find him and bring him home, attracting a motley group of friends on the way.  There are some very traditional plot points here–the con man who comes through at the end comes to mind most immediately–but it’s short, sweet, and solid in the ways that count the most.  (I would have preferred it to be longer with more character development, but then, I’m 38, not 8.)  If your elementary school-er likes sci-fi and/or graphic novels, give this one a try.

Feb 27, 2018 - Uncategorized    Comments Off on Six Batches of Jam

Six Batches of Jam

That’s what I spent the evening doing, and it’s a good thing, but my sciatic is now officially done for the day.  Which means no real post, because sitting on my bar stool for long enough to review anything is something I cannot face.  Signing off!

Feb 25, 2018 - Uncategorized    Comments Off on We Be Jammin’!

We Be Jammin’!

Okay, not any more, but my delightful niece, along with her boyfriend and his cousin/her good friend, came to dinner tonight and helped me turn the strawberries I bought at Ream’s on Saturday into freezer jam.  (Not that my freezer is currently working at the moment–I don’t want to talk about it.)  Which is why I didn’t get on the treadmill until after 10:30 and I’m only now sitting down to write this blog post.

At 11:39.

SO, here’s the Reader’s Digest condensed version of Sid Fleischman’s The 13th Floor:  A Ghost Story.  Imagine a mashup of the Goonies, Treasure Island, Back to the Future, and The Witch of Blackbird Pond.  Now imagine that the mashup is also first cousins with The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, and you’ve more or less got it; it’s a fast-moving, adventurous, and funny tale of pirates, time travel, and old New England.  If your elementary school-er likes any of those things, this ought to be a good fit; it should also be good for reluctant readers.  (I quite enjoyed it as well.)  Check it out!

Feb 23, 2018 - Uncategorized    Comments Off on It Only Took a Year

It Only Took a Year

Have I mentioned how badly I’ve slacked at reading last year’s Newberys?  I read the one that was basically a long picture book, but the other three were all close to (or over) 300 pages, and life just feels BUSY, you know?  I am, however, very pleased to report that I’ve managed to finish the second of last year’s four in the same month that–ahem–this year’s winners were announced.

No, I’m not being sarcastic.  I’m owning it.  Why not?

Anyway.

Adam Gidwitz’s The Inquisitor’s Tale:  Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog was not at all what I expected.  I wasn’t particularly looking forward to reading it when it won (I tend to avoid the Middle Ages in my fiction, overall), and I started it when I did because I was hoping that the illustrations would make it a shorter choice than some of the others I was considering.  (They didn’t, not really.)  But once I’d started it…wowsers.  Gidwitz sucked me in and started blowing me away.

How does one review a book that packs so MUCH into 337 pages?  (Not counting the author’s notes at the end, which were long AND fascinating.)  It’s at once hilarious and heartbreaking.  It has quite the contemporary feel–the people feel like regular people–and yet the medieval setting is magnificently created.  It occasionally flirts with crude humor, but how many books for kids in the 21st century debate religion and the motivations of God?  The very essence of the plot is based in faith.  Possibly Gidwitz has a bit of Kate DiCamillo’s gift for blending the mundane with the cosmic (I’m thinking The Tale of Despereaux here); the concept of martyrdom is one of the book’s major themes, while a peculiarly potent French cheese is an ongoing metaphor for life (and a key plot device).

Blech.  I sound like I’m writing a paper on it, when what I want to say is that Gidwitz’s book wowed me.  Humor, fear, suspense, love, the reality and nature of God–it’s like a cup full to the very brim, and yet so well written and focused that not a drop spills over.  It’s the kind of good that needs to be read, especially now.  It’s strange and sad and funny and awe-inspiring and kind of amazing, and why are you still reading my late-night ramblings when you could be reading The Inquisitor’s Tale?  Go get it and get started.

I’m going to bed.

Feb 21, 2018 - Uncategorized    Comments Off on Feeling the Loss

Feeling the Loss

My dishwasher died this morning, folks, and I’m feeling it already.  My hubby’s consulting Consumer Reports and investigating the possibility of leftover President’s Day sales, you understand, but at this moment, my dishwasher is dead.

Have I mentioned how much I hate washing dishes by hand?

Anyway.  That being the case, I’m going to do a barely there review–I read the second Franny K. Stein book tonight (Attack of the 50-Ft. Cupid), and it was entertaining, fabulously illustrated, and oddly successful in its occasional moments of poignancy.  (I don’t prefer the word “butt” myself, but it is what it is; it’s used only a couple of times, and never really gratuitously.)  I’m setting it out for my kiddos to read, and I’m sort of looking forward to the next one, so if you need a short, easy chapter book series, this is continuing to be worth it.

Feb 19, 2018 - Uncategorized    Comments Off on Delightfully Surprised

Delightfully Surprised

My oldest checked Svetlana Chmakova’s Awkward out of her school library a couple of weeks ago, and when she finished it she assured me that I just HAD to read it before she returned it.  It’s a graphic novel (and it was on my list anyway!), so I told her I could make that happen–and I’m so glad I did, even though I was apprehensive at first.  The book starts with the main character–under stress–lashing out at an innocent bystander, which is bad enough, and then suffering agonies of remorse for weeks rather than apologizing in person.  Yes, I know facing up to the injured party is hard, but how can it be worse than feeling guilty about it nonstop?  Spit it out already!

I’ve always struggled with that sort of plot; it would have killed The Kite Runner for me if that book hadn’t been so ridiculously beautiful.  But I digress.

Thankfully, it doesn’t take Peppi the entire book to make amends, and the way in which that scene plays out is an unexpected pleasure.  As for the rest of the book, well–it’s a pleasure, too.  The characters are (mostly) likable and feel alive in a way that has everything to do with the author’s skill, and the conflict and resolution between the Art Club and the Science Club make for a lovely and entertaining fable about growth through making the effort to find common ground and build unity.  (And if THAT sounds stuffy and moralistic, there’s fighting and pranks and punishments by the principal until the two groups figure out a way to live with each other–mostly.)  It’s a book about friendship and compromise, and NOT a book about middle school love–in other words, a winner on both counts!  Don’t miss this one.

Feb 17, 2018 - Uncategorized    Comments Off on A Love-Hate Reaction

A Love-Hate Reaction

I picked up The Whole World’s Crazy (Amelia Rules! #1) to see if it was appropriate for my graphic novel-loving 8-year-old, and I really am divided in my impressions.  On the one hand, I’m not planning on giving it to my girlie to read; the level of name-calling and rude remarks by most of the kids in the book is not something I feel the need to invite into my home.  (Getting called on it twice in 168 pages isn’t enough, at least not for me).  Honestly, it reminds me of the 80s movies I loved as a kid and my mother hated and avoided having me watch; Ferris Bueller’s sister talked the same way, and then there were the Goonies…yeah.  Ah, the perspective parenthood brings!

The objectionable conversational habits of the child characters, however, aren’t the whole story.  There is actual friendship here, albeit buried beneath the insults, and there are generosity and emotional honesty as well.  It also feels–authentic, perhaps?  Amelia is dealing with typical child-of-divorce problems, and she was completely believable for me.  AND hilarious, I have to say.  As a parent, I had real problems with this one despite the good I could see; as a person, I got rather a large kick out of it and kind of want to read the next one on the sly.  I’ll leave you to choose what you want to do for YOUR household!

Feb 15, 2018 - Uncategorized    Comments Off on Easy AND Flavorful

Easy AND Flavorful

That’s a win-win, right?  I seriously wasn’t expecting to like this Easy Mexican Chicken Soup as much as I did; it was more of a ‘I need an easy dinner plan and this can’t be terrible’ kind of recipe.  (I’m not the only one who tries the occasional recipe with that attitude, right?)  And while I did take the extra few minutes to saute the onion and garlic before putting it in the crockpot, because FLAVOR, it was still almost criminally easy.  I didn’t bother whisking the spices into the chicken broth–I just dumped them on the chicken together with some bouillon cubes and poured water over the top.  We topped the finished soup with cheese alone, since I’d forgotten to somehow obtain cilantro and we were out of sour cream as well, and that gave the fairly clear broth some body and an almost (but not quite) creamy look.  It was tasty!  The most impressive surprise was the flavor, because it managed to be more than just the sum of its ingredients.  (Although it was also blessedly flexible in the cook time department; I started with frozen chicken but realized an hour or two later that I’d forgotten to plug in the crockpot.  I NEVER do that!)  All in all, you should definitely give this a try on your next busy day.

Just remember to plug in your crockpot.

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