9
Dec
Mini Reviews of Recent Reads
I can’t believe my sweet baby girl was born four weeks ago and I’m wrapping up my first quarter as a grad-student today. I meant to write this post a couple of weeks ago, but it seemed to always get pushed down on the to-do list. Especially so, since sleep takes precedence when any free time became available. With so many exciting demands you’d think I’d have zero time to read, but I’ve actually been finishing more books lately than I have in quite awhile. How? Audiobooks! Hours and hours are devoted to nursing a baby each day and night, especially in the very beginning. I’ve been listening to audiobooks while I nurse and have finished three books in 10 days after returning home from the hospital. Time is hard to come by these days. As I type this, both kids are napping and I’m sipping a cup of joe. It feels good to be blogging again. I don’t write reviews of every book I read, but these were notable and I thought warranted a few words. Instead of full reviews, here are a few mini reviews of my recent reads.
Ghost Hawk
by Susan Cooper
Audiobook narrator: Jim Dale
Find it at: Your Library | Your Local Bookstore
Published: Margaret K. McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster (August 27, 2013)
Recommended reading age: 11 & up
In a nutshell: Where do I start with this book? I automatically checked out the audiobook because I saw Susan Cooper’s name without any prior knowledge about the story. Now that I think of it, I don’t think I even read the blurb on the back of the case before I started listening to it. For fear of saying too much, I’m going to keep this review vague and simple. I hope you take the time to read this story without much prior knowledge as I have. I will say this… In the beginning the book is a coming of age story about Little Hawk, a Wampanoag boy that is soon to become a man. It quickly evolves into a story about friendship, about survival, questioning authority, family, possession, and life and death. Ghost Hawk persuades the reading to think deeply about the relationship between American Indians and early settlers in North America long ago, and for me it also lead to reflection on current relationships and attitudes. My only complaint is three fourths of the way through the quick evolution and pacing of the story slowed down and never picked back up. The ending drove the theme home; it was poetic, but also slow. As a girl, I loved reading stories that featured American Indian characters. Walk Two Moons and The Sign of the Beaver first come to mind. Ghost Hawk’s twists and hint of fantasy will surely entertain readers who enjoy survival stories and historical tales of early colonial history, but I fear it might lose younger readers at the end. A bonus to listening to the audiobook version is Jim Dale does a bang up job with Susan Cooper’s haunting prose. Ghost Hawk stayed in my thoughts long after reading it. It may not have been perfect, but I loved reading it it all the same.
Source of book reviewed: My local library!
The Thing About Luck
by Cynthia Kadohata
Find it at: Your Library | Your Local Bookstore
Published: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, and imprint of Simon and Schuster (June 4, 2013)
Recommended reading age: 10 & up
In a nutshell: I read this title before baby Mira was born, and ended up finishing it in days. A few weeks later it won The National Book Award for the Young People’s Literature category. Summer’s family is having a streak of bad luck. Her parents urgently had to leave their home in Kansas to take care of sick elderly family members in Japan, leaving her and her brother in the care of their grandparents. Her brother, Jaz, can’t seem to make friends. Regardless of the absence of her parents, her grandmother Obaachan, her grandfather Jiichan, Jaz, and Summer travel to work the wheat harvest, but bad luck seems to follow. Although the story contains strong characters and is extremely well written, I have a hard time thinking of a young reader that I would recommend The Thing About Luck to. I enjoyed reading it, but it wasn’t close to being my favorite read of the year. Even though the story itself was so-so, I really enjoyed two of the characters; Obaachan (Summer’s grandmother) and Jaz (Summer’s brother). With Obaachan, it’s either her way or the highway. A stern, no nonsense woman would be tough to live with as a preteen, but from a reader’s standpoint looking in I thought she was both hilarious and genuine. I’m no expert when it comes to special needs children, but with Jaz it seemed as though he had symptoms of autism. His behavior was never identified in one way or another, other than being different. I found him to be dynamic and interesting, and I sympathized with his struggles.
Source of book reviewed: My local library!
The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp
by Kathi Appelt
Audiobook narrator: Lyle Lovett
Find it at: Your Library | Your Local Bookstore
Published: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster (July 23, 2013)
Recommended reading age: 7 & up
In a nutshell: I totally judged this book by its cover, and it came back and kicked me in the ass. In a good way. When it first arrived at my library I discarded it thinking, “It’s a book about raccoons. Cool.” And I didn’t give it a second thought as I placed it on the shelf. But then it was shortlisted for the National Book Awards, and then KC Mock Literary Awards added it to the Mock Newbery List, so I thought I’d give it a go. The Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp was wonderful in every way. Raccoons Bingo and J’miah are two honorable scouts on a mission to save Bayou Tourterelle from a gang of hogs. At the same time, Chap Brayburn is trying to devise a plan to save the same swamp (and his recently deceased Granfather’s pie restaurant) from a greedy landlord who also wants to turn Bayou Tourterelle into an alligator wrestling theme park. The story is unique. It has soul. It has charm. It has, in my opinion, the exceptional writing and voice to be at least a Newbery Honor book. However, I do NOT enjoy Lyle Lovett’s narration of the book. At one point, my husband walked into the room while I was listening to it and said, “Ugh. This sounds painful.” I feel like it didn’t do the book justice, and I was a little disappointed that he didn’t sing the few parts that were written as a song; though it’s only a minor hiccup in the grand scheme of things. I have to give Kathi Appelt a standing ovation for this zippy, fun read that has all the ingredients of a wonderful book. If you’re looking for an entertaining read-aloud — add this novel to the list.
Source of book reviewed: My local library!
Zebra Forest
by Adina Rishe Gerwirtz
Audiobook narrator: Kate Reinders
Find it at: Your Library | Your Local Bookstore
Published: Candlewick; Debut edition (April 9, 2013)
Recommended reading age: 10 & up
In a nutshell: After I was released from the hospital, I was still very weak and very busy with the new baby. There wasn’t time to run to the library to get new books, so I begrudgingly started an account with Audible. I am so glad I did. It was a good way to listen to books until we found our bearings and Will could go to the library to pick up a few books. Anywho, Zebra Forest was my first purchase. Eleven year old Annie and her little brother Rew live with their Gran on the outskirts of town. It’s the start of summer break and other than lying to the social worker that comes to visit their house about how Gran is a sufficient caregiver, Annie plans to grow tall, have an adventure, and meet her dad. The last is more of a wish than a goal, as her father has been dead for some time, but plans or no plans, a sudden and unexpected event takes place and snowballs into a full blown hostage situation. Secrets surface as a stranger enters their lives and Annie, Rew, and Gran are in for a summer they will never forget. Even though I thought this book was a bit bizarre, I think many kids would enjoy it and it would make for an great book club discussion.
Source of book reviewed: Purchased from Audible.
Counting by 7’s
by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Audiobook narrator: Robin Miles
Find it at: Your Library | Your Local Bookstore
Published: Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin (August 29, 2013)
Recommended reading age: 10 & up
In a nutshell: This is another book I adored. Talk about a well crafted book! Genius and a bit of an odd-ball, Willow Chance is starting at a new middle school and hopes it will give her a chance to make new friends (she hasn’t had much luck by the wiith friends other than her adoptive parents). But when those two people who mean the most to her in life end up dying in a car wreck, Willow is left alone in the world. Or so she thinks. This is a children’s book that many adults would find pleasure in reading. It’s quirky characters, it is dark as many times as it is heartwarming and uplifting, and it reminds me of the movie Little Miss Sunshine. While I was listening to it, which by the way- the narration by Robin Miles is fantastic, it was if I was watching scenes from a movie. The imagery was that good. It’s a feel-good story that will leave readers rooting for Willow until the very end.
Source of book reviewed: Purchased from Audible.
