As my final selection for this year's challenge, I have to admit my understanding of this particular novel is probably barely adequate. It's and interesting cast of characters and I'm particularly fond of Wendall/Sweetie as he's such a quirky little kid. He reminds me of the little sister in Tim Wynne-Jones's A Thief in the House of Memory. Now, even in my severely sleep deprived state I couldn't help but note the similarities between the group therapy scenes and the support group in The Fault in Our Stars (though clearly this is a far more productive group than the one John Green describes). And I liked that it wasn't all neat and tidy happy endings. Life is messy and change is necessary. Some things aren't meant to last.
I'm quite fond of Gownley's quirky Amelia Rules! series, so when this book arrived at my library just days before this challenge, I knew it needed to make it's way into my "to read" pile. At heart, it's actually a fairly simple story, this idea of some serious event changing the way you view your entire life. More importantly, it answers that perennial question posited to writers: where do you get your ideas? It is, perhaps, a niche graphic novel but worth reading if you enjoy memoirs.
The first time I saw this book I thought "How strange. Why would anyone want to read a book about roller derby?" But then (maybe because I wanted to prove it's weirdness) I found myself leafing through the pages. And it wasn't long before I knew I needed to read this book. It's a sports story. It's a story of making and losing friends. It's a story of redefining yourself and admitting your faults. Not too shabby for some weird book about roller derby. And it really shines as a graphic novel. Each page has great visual appeal with a slightly muted color palette to prevent it from becoming to garish and an excellent use of light. It's like to dance but for tough girls.
When I first read Because of Mr. Terupt a few years ago I was not overly impressed. There were too many narrating characters with not enough to properly distinguish their voices. Honestly, I found it mediocre at best. I hadn't intended to give it another thought. Then I began to notice how it was favored among some of our young patrons and I wondered if I'd judged it too harshly. I figured it was worth reading the sequel to see if I liked this one any better. While some of the narration feels somewhat stiff and unnatural for a sixth grader, this volume seems like a noticeable improvement on the previous one. I still find Alexia in particular annoying and more like an idea of a preteen than a real kid. Her use of awkward slang, in particular, bothered me. Buyea is perhaps a little heavy handed with the lessons he intends for his readers but I'm beginning to see why kids enjoy these books.
A good verse novel is a thing of beauty. To be able to tell a distinct, artful story while making each word count for maximum impact is not a skill that many possess. Over the years I've read a good number of verse novels, most of them mediocre at best. Seldom does one read a verse novel and thing "poetry really was the best format for this story." Much like my very favorite verse novel (Love That Dog by Sharon Creech) poetry really is the only format for this book, and not just because it's about poetry. The very sparse poetry Holt uses in this novel really captures Kevin's anger. He's constantly on edge and that is well reflected with journal entries that at times have just two words on a line. He's stretched thin, barely contained. And I love that the found poetry pages are pages from existing books, not something specially prepared to make his poems more polished.
When we learn about things like the Vietnam War in history classes, we tend to get very few details: the basis of the conflict, it's scope in years and international involvement, and the resolution. We learn that as American troops withdrew from South Vietnam, desperate people attempted to leave with them, sometimes pressing their small children onto trucks and into helicopters in hopes of a better life. This is essentially all we learn. Novels like this one open our eyes to the realities of life in a postwar region. Continued political turmoil left Vietnam a very dangerous place to be and thousands fled, preferring the dangers of over-packed, rickety ships to the threat of their own government. Even if one could reach a refuge camp, conditions there were not much better especially as some residents of the camps were little more than children with no parental supervision. This is a fascinating look at how circumstance can take a young person used to privilege and put her into a situation where her only thoughts are to survival. The writing is somewhat stilted at times but it's a solidly educational read.
When this book first came out, I had no intention of reading it. Not only was Will Grayson, will grayson not my favorite John Green novel, Tiny Cooper wasn't my favorite character within that novel. I found him overly exuberant to the point of irritation at times. But when I was building a reading list for this challenge, this seemed like a good bridging novel, a slight mental break for evening #2. For the most part, that's exactly what this book was. It doesn't exactly break new ground in storytelling. While the level of detail may be more than what we got in the original novel it doesn't really take any new turns. What it does do, which the original did not, is give Tiny a little more depth of character. We see a little more of his vulnerability and fear, his longing and doubts. It doesn't work as a stand-alone at all but fans of Will Grayson, will grayson will get a kick out of it.
