Yet More Books

Sahara Special by Esmé Raji Codell

This book gets good reviews, but it just didn't seem to go anywhere for me. It is a typical school story - troubled kid gets turned around by a teacher with slightly unusual methods. It's nice, but I will forget it pretty quickly.

Tending to Grace by Kimberly Newton Fusco

Cornelia, who doesn't speak, gets left by her mother who goes off with a boyfriend. The person she is left with is her mother's aunt, a crotchety old country woman. It gradually becomes apparent that the reason Cornelia doesn't speak is because she stutters and has found it easier to keep all of her feelings suppressed and unexpressed, rather than talking them out. The aunt and Cornelia gradually come to terms with each other and Cornelia extends a few careful tendrils of herself into the community. Not great literature, but a worthwhile read anyway.

Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis

I don't know why I am so reluctant to read books that Curtis writes. I put off reading Bud, Not Buddy for a LONG time. It just sounded too much like a canned attempt at sympathy. It turns out I was wrong about that. It was a book that, to me, felt so REAL, I could hardly believe when I finished it that it just didn't go on, like real life. I didn't like the Watsons go to Birmingham as well, but still, it was good. But this book - WOW - another hit. Caveat: I listened to the audio version. I have had the book for a long time - and I just let it sit on the shelf - pulling others out ahead of it over and over again. So when I saw the audio version in the library, I thought that maybe that would help me get started on it. It sure did. I think the reader of the book, Michael Boatman, is perfect for the book. His voice is calm and even and sounds "philosophical" - just like the main character, Luther T. Farrell. His voice for Momma is smooth and cool. The whole reasonableness of the voices makes the critique of society even stronger and more devastating. Momma has really done a number on Flint, Michigan, and on Luther T. Farrell. The book is disturbing in many ways, but it will provide me with things to think about for a long time.