Title: Wild Blues
Author: Beth Kephart
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Chasing Helicity by Ginger Zee
The Girl in the Well is Me by Karen Rivers
Rating:
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| not exactly thrilling |
Summary (provided by publisher): Thirteen-year-old Lizzie’s favorite place in the world is her uncle’s cabin. Uncle Davy’s renovated schoolhouse cabin, filled with antiques and on the edge of the Adirondacks, disconnected from the rest of the world, is like something out of a fairy tale. And an escape from reality is exactly what Lizzie needs. Life hasn’t been easy for Lizzie lately. Her father abandoned their family, leaving Lizzie with her oftentimes irresponsible mother. Now, her mom has cancer and being unable to care for Lizzie during her chemotherapy, Mom asks her where she’d like to spend the summer. The answer is simple: Uncle Davy’s cabin.
Lizzie loves her uncle’s home for many reasons, but the main one is Matias, Uncle Davy’s neighbor and Lizzie’s best friend. Matias has proportionate dwarfism, but that doesn’t stop him and Lizzie from wandering in the woods. Every day they go to their favorite nook where Matias paints with watercolors and Lizzie writes. Until one day when Matias never arrives.
When news breaks about two escaped convicts from the nearby prison, Lizzie fears the worst. And when Uncle Davy goes missing, too, Lizzie knows she’s the only one who knows this area of woods well enough to save them. Armed with her trusted Keppy survival book, Lizzie sets out into the wilds of the Adirondacks, proving just how far she’ll go to save the people she loves.
My opinion: This is not a traditional narrative. It's presented as the protagonist relaying a tale to some, initially unidentified, listener. Thus, she of ten speaks to the listener directly, telling the facts of events rather than putting the reader in the moment. The story unravels slowly, through somewhat dispassionately, and not in chronological order. We have escaped convicts and a child lost in the woods. It could be pulse pounding but instead its sort of quiet and contemplative.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
A while back a friend offered me a supply of empty Altoid tins. I knew they would be useful but never had a plan for them. Until this most recent craft fair when I turned them into some travel games.
I've signed up for a craft fair this coming weekend. As it's sort of last minute, I won't be posting this week. Expect to see me back on my normal posting schedule the first full week of June.
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| See you soon, friends |
While
I’m not a fan of most things athletic myself, I must admit sports have
great natural drama for stories. Competition reads well on the page and
can provide other natural lessons on teamwork and fair play. Here are
six sports themed books published in the last six months.
6 New Sports Stories
- Sadia by Colleen Nelson
- Love, Penelope by Joanne Rockling
- Gracie Laroo by Marsha Qualey
- Knockout by K.A. Holt
- Peasprout Chen by Henry Lien
- Boy Bites Bug by Rebecca Petruck
Title: Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe
Author: Preston Norton
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Grendel's Guide to Love and War by A.E. Kaplan
Losers Take All by David Klass
Rating:
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| So much to discuss |
Summary (provided by publisher): Cliff Hubbard is a huge loser. Literally. His nickname at Happy Valley High School is Neanderthal because he's so enormous-6'6" and 250 pounds to be exact. He has nobody at school, and life in his trailer-park home has gone from bad to worse ever since his older brother's suicide.
There's no one Cliff hates more than the nauseatingly cool quarterback, Aaron Zimmerman. Then Aaron returns to school after a near-death experience with a bizarre claim: while he was unconscious he saw God, who gave him a list of things to do to make Happy Valley High suck less. And God said there's only one person who can help: Neanderthal.
To his own surprise, Cliff says he's in. As he and Aaron make their way through the List, which involves a vindictive English teacher, a mysterious computer hacker, a decidedly unchristian cult of Jesus Teens, the local drug dealers, and the meanest bully at HVHS, Cliff feels like he's part of something for the first time since losing his brother. But fixing a broken school isn't as simple as it seems, and just when Cliff thinks they've completed the List, he realizes their mission hits closer to home than he ever imagined.
Razor sharp, moving, and outrageously funny, Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe is an unforgettable story of finding your place in an imperfect world.
My opinion: This is a book I'd love to discuss with a group. I want to talk about the mission, the goals and the vagueness of their language, the steps that Cliff and Aaron take. I want to discuss forms of awakening and dealing with grief, of brokenness , our portrayal and perception. THere's a great deal one can unpack from this relatively straightforward novel. While the plot is somewhat predictable and the characters are not terribly complex, it's very readable and has plenty one can consider.
More information: Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe releases June 5.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.
To my mind, wooden spoons are among the most perfect craft supplies. Low cost and a great canvas for customization. These beasts will be featured at my next craft fair.
Title: Anger is a Gift
Author: Mark Oshiro
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
The August 5 by Jenna Helland
Rating:
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| a lot to consider |
Summary (provided by publisher): Moss Jeffries is many things—considerate student, devoted son, loyal friend and affectionate boyfriend, enthusiastic nerd.
But sometimes Moss still wishes he could be someone else—someone without panic attacks, someone whose father was still alive, someone who hadn’t become a rallying point for a community because of one horrible night.
And most of all, he wishes he didn’t feel so stuck.
Moss can’t even escape at school—he and his friends are subject to the lack of funds and crumbling infrastructure at West Oakland High, as well as constant intimidation by the resource officer stationed in their halls. That was even before the new regulations—it seems sometimes that the students are treated more like criminals.
Something will have to change—but who will listen to a group of teens?
When tensions hit a fever pitch and tragedy strikes again, Moss must face a difficult choice: give in to fear and hate or realize that anger can actually be a gift.
My opinion: My first reaction to this book was that it was unrealistic. The range of events, and especially the quick escalation, didn't ring true to me. When reading this book it's really important to set aside your own experience, your privilege, and acknowledge that you can't really know another person's reality. This narrative shines a light on what life is like for teens of color, harassed by police and attending vastly underfunded schools. We see the growing realization that neighborhood affects your experience, that until you've lived a person's reality you can't speak to their protest. While the narrative is not without problems, not without that pervasive sense of unreality, the issues it raises make it worth reading and discussing.
More information: Anger is a Gift releases May 22.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
