The Storyteller by Evan TurkMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
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Saturday, November 21, 2020
Saturday, October 3, 2020
Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Monday, August 31, 2020
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Review: Orphan at My Door: The Home Child Diary of Victoria Cope
Orphan at My Door: The Home Child Diary of Victoria Cope by Jean LittleMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Although Victoria, the main character, was just a tad too mature about accepting the "home girl" into their home to be really believable, I enjoyed this book and its portrayal of prejudice. Maybe kids back then WERE more mature than I am used to. I am also a bit surprised that she didn't understand much about pregnancy, since her father was a doctor who delivered babies, too. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable read.
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Monday, August 10, 2020
Sunday, August 9, 2020
Saturday, August 1, 2020
Thursday, July 30, 2020
Friday, July 3, 2020
Thursday, June 25, 2020
Friday, June 19, 2020
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Saturday, April 11, 2020
Review: Amelia Westlake Was Never Here
Amelia Westlake Was Never Here by Erin GoughMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This isn't a review so much as a musing, as I am only about 1/3 of the way through the book.
I sometimes wonder why most of my friends look askance at YA or young teen books. There is a lot of depth and relevance to them, even if their target audience is younger than we are. In this case, I am thinking about the similarities between Will and Harriet and the warring factions of my own self. For most of my life, I tried to be Harriet - the good girl, the one who follows the rules, does well at playing the academic and professional game. But lately, I am much more tempted by my Will side - the one who sees injustice, complacency, and wrong, and refuses to shut up about it. There is a lot to think about, with the story mirroring some of my own problems. What does it mean to be a good friend? What does it mean to be a good person?
______
I have now finished the whole book and, while I still feel it has some very interesting insights for me, I will acknowledge that it is definitely more of a YA book than I thought at first. That isn't bad, as it is designed to appeal to the typical YA audience, but it does have a few characteristics that would make it less appealing for adults. The hijinks and tricks do get a bit much after a while. And the adults are a bit less nuanced than I might wish. Overall, I still really like the book and would recommend it. And, its primary appeal for me is still the same: the tension between doing what is right and following the rules. I am especially glad that the ideas of being a good friend and being a good person are addressed in several ways, for each of the characters.
And my antenna are always out to see how parents and other adults are treated in Australian YA literature, especially to notice what is different from how they are treated in American books for the same audience. This book seems to treat the adults at the school similarly to how American books would treat them, but the parents, especially Will's mother are treated as I see many Australian books do: the parent doesn't disappear, so that the child may solve her problems on her own, rather the parent is there and seen, but doesn't take a hand in the action until she is asked. Harriet's school friend's parents - though only shown briefly at the end - are similarly supportive.
Overall, interesting and a good read.
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Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Review: Amelia Westlake
Amelia Westlake by Erin GoughMy rating: 0 of 5 stars
This isn't a review so much as a musing, as I am only about 1/3 of the way through the book.
I sometimes wonder why most of my friends look askance at YA or young teen books. There is a lot of depth and relevance to them, even if their target audience is younger than we are. In this case, I am thinking about the similarities between Will and Harriet and the warring factions of my own self. For most of my life, I tried to be Harriet - the good girl, the one who follows the rules, does well at playing the academic and professional game. But lately, I am much more tempted by my Will side - the one who sees injustice, complacency, and wrong, and refuses to shut up about it. There is a lot to think about, with the story mirroring some of my own problems. What does it mean to be a good friend? What does it mean to be a good person?
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Friday, March 20, 2020
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Review: Wally the Wordworm
Wally the Wordworm by Clifton FadimanMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Another book I wanted to like more than I actually did. I love the idea that authors shouldn't shy away from using big words, because the big words help a child want to learn them. But I prefer the big words to be used in the service of the story, not just left dangling there as enticement to look them up in a dictionary or on the Internet. A few of the words are used correctly, a few more are explained with the text or the illustrations, but many are just thrown in there because they are weird or interesting. They are left hanging out there with no real purpose.
The other thing is that the words don't come in any particular order. They jump around all through the dictionary and it makes no story sense why one word appears where it does and the next one follows. They are neither linked in sequence or in a reasonable story line.
I like idea. I like the illustrations. I think the book could have been better.
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Saturday, February 15, 2020
Review: Almost American Girl
Almost American Girl by Robin HaMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am gradually finding graphic novels that I enjoy: ones with more content than fighting and magical happenings. This book is technically not a graphical NOVEL, but I am going to put it in my group for such, because that is where I would look to find it again. It is an "illustrated memoir".
I am almost always fascinated with the experience of going from one culture to another, probably because when I was 16, I went off to Germany, trading the American Vietnam War era culture for the German one. I spent a year in Germany and then returned to the US for more culture shock, trading German culture for East Coast American elite college, which was almost as foreign to me, an unsophisticated Mid-Westerner, as the German culture had been. Fortunately for me, I was, at that age, pretty good at learning languages and assimilating to different cultures, so I didn't suffer the same problems as Robin Ha did. But it is disorienting, still.
One thing I object to in the write-up of this book is that it implies that Robin discovered her love of the comic arts when she was in the US. She actually already had this interest, but her acceptance of American culture was aided by the discovery of people who shared her interests and, in some cases, shared her background.
Two other things I want to mention: in this book, the mother is front and center. In another recent review, I was comparing American writers to Aussie writers as far as the parents go. This book has another type of interaction: the occasionally contentious interaction with a parent alternating with support through eventual understanding of each other. Both daughter and mother have problems to address and much of the interesting content of the book has to do with how they each and together solve their problems.
Finally, the art work. I wouldn't say it is my absolute favorite style, but it does succeed in adding more emotional depth that some other books of this type lack.
The book was compelling enough for me that I stayed up much later than I should have to finish it. Recommended.
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Sunday, February 9, 2020
Review: Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the World
Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the World by Ian WrightMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I LOVE MAPS!!! And I would dearly love to give this book 5 stars or even more, if that were possible. But, there are two things that knock this down from a 5 star rating: First of all the center of the two page fold goes across Russia, the Middle East, and eastern Africa and, unless I crack the spine of the library book, I can't see the data for the countries on either side of the center for about 5 mm. And secondly, there are some maps where the color choices are ridiculous, e.g., pp. 98 and 99. There is no reason that two of the four colors used are so similar that you can't tell them apart. They do NOT represent similar things, they shouldn't be so similar in color. See p. 136 for an example of all of the various colors available. That said, I still love this book. I love to study maps and think about the implications of the differences. Maybe I will have to buy my own copy, so I can open it up fully. That won't remedy the color problem, but I could at least see the full layout better.
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Review: Crunch
Crunch by Leslie ConnorMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a good book, with an interesting premise: the gas shortage has turned into a complete unavailability of gasoline. So bicycles are now the chief mode of transportation and the bike repair business is booming. But the parents are stuck away from home, so the kids have to manage on their own - with the help of the community.
I am always struck by the ways especially American authors seem to find ways to get rid of the parents so that the kids have agency on their own. I would have bet that this was an American book, even before I looked it up and found out that I am right. Many of the Australian kids' books keep the parents in the books. In the Australian books, the kids are allowed to try to solve their problems as much as possible themselves, with the parents there for backup if needed. In the American books, most of the time, the kids are left to solve the problems on their own, often with help from others in the community, but not usually the parents. I am not sure what that says about the two mindsets. It makes me feel that the Australian kids are trusted to venture out on their own, as they are able. The American kids aren't necessarily trusted to do so - they are thrust into the necessity to do so by various circumstances. Americans seem to expect that the kids will make it through the problems largely on their own, because they have to. Aussie kids are allowed to make it on their own, but support is there and given, if it is needed.
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Friday, February 7, 2020
Review: Footrot Flats 10
Footrot Flats 10 by Murray BallMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is another cartoon book from a culture different from mine. It is interesting to see how humor from different countries has different characteristics. Since this is a book about farming and rural people, there is a lot of physical humor and a bit crude humor, but it isn't offensive, for the most part. It is sort of a backhanded stab at their own culture and ways. Self-deprecating.
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Sunday, February 2, 2020
Review: No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference
No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference by Greta ThunbergMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is an important book, but it is not an especially good book. It is way too repetitive and in need of a good editor. I am a strong advocate of climate science, but if you are looking for scientific information and not just political advocacy, look elsewhere.
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Review: Not from Brazil - Volume I
Not from Brazil - Volume I by Vanessa BetttencourtMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I like cartoons that address, gently, the differences between cultures, so this one was right up my alley. In this case, the author is from Portugal and falls in love with an American. Not a great amount of depth, but sweet and nuanced.
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Review: Shanyaak'utlaax: Salmon Boy
Shanyaak'utlaax: Salmon Boy by Johnny MarksMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book is absolutely gorgeously illustrated. For that alone, I would have given it 5 stars. The only reason I am giving it only 4 stars is that the story itself is a bit too short for me. It left me feeling that I still didn't understand the importance of the boy's original disrespectful action. And, even though the audience is very young children, I still feel they could understand more.
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Thursday, January 9, 2020
Review: Pearls Takes a Wrong Turn: A Pearls Before Swine Treasury
Pearls Takes a Wrong Turn: A Pearls Before Swine Treasury by Stephan PastisMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
For a long time, I ignored this cartoon, probably because I saw a couple of strips that I didn't like. But now, thanks to my younger daughter, it has become one of my favorites. The sarcasm saves what little sanity I have left.
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Sunday, January 5, 2020
Review: Orbital Resonance
Orbital Resonance by John BarnesMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The writing in this book is a bit dated and the time frames are no longer far in the future, but the central premise is still interesting: how can people raised in one culture raise children to manage a better culture? What happens if they cannot understand the changes they have wrought? Is the ending realistic? Problematic? Overly positive? This is not a great book, in terms of fascinating characters or riveting plot, but I do enjoy thinking about the above questions.
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