Book review - Chirp

Title: Chirp
Author: Kate Messner
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Boy Bites Bug by Rebecca Petruck
                      The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones by Wendelin Van Draanen
Rating:

an emotionally complex, layered book

Summary (provided by publisher): When Mia moves to Vermont the summer after seventh grade, she's recovering from the broken arm she got falling off a balance beam. And packed away in the moving boxes under her clothes and gymnastics trophies is a secret she'd rather forget.
Mia's change in scenery brings day camp, new friends, and time with her beloved grandmother. But Gram is convinced someone is trying to destroy her cricket farm. Is it sabotage or is Gram's thinking impaired from the stroke she suffered months ago? Mia and her friends set out to investigate, but can they uncover the truth in time to save Gram's farm? And will that discovery empower Mia to confront the secret she's been hiding--and find the courage she never knew she had?
In a compelling story rich with friendship, science, and summer fun, a girl finds her voice while navigating the joys and challenges of growing up.

My opinion: My access point for this book was entomophagy, an area of fascination for me. That interest was stronger than my hesitation to read a Messner novel. I've read a couple of her books in the past and haven't especially enjoyed them. Once I got a couple of chapters into this particular novel, I was hooked. There's a lot going on: making new friends, STEM, athletics, business skills, a mystery, and personal secrets that drive much of Mia's behavior. I appreciated that there were some very serious, complex issues presented in this novel and they were given appropriate weight. Dealing with bullies is often dismissed as a kid issue. In this book we see how that translates in the business world, especially as it applies to women in business. And the conclusion drawn is that there is no fix, that it's something we just have to deal with but that we can make it better by refusing to be quiet about it. Additionally, we see the path forward from a difficult situation. That when we lose a part of ourselves we have to let that loss go and learn from it to move forward. With an emotionally dark undercurrent, this is not what you'd call a gentle or innocent novel. But for a kid with some emotional maturity or even just one in need of some empowerment it could spark some great discussion.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Painting on canvas

I've done some drawing over the years but never did much  serious painting. I was gifted some small canvas boards and tubes of acrylic paint this Christmas so I've been trying it out. I'm surprisingly pleased with the result of this first experiment.

 

Book review - Red Menace

Title: Red Menace
Author: Lois Ruby
Genre: historical fiction
Similar books: The Wednesday Wars by Gary D Schmidt
                      How I Became a Spy by Deborah Hopkinson
Rating:

high concept, not especially complex

Summary (provided by publisher): If thirteen-year-old Marty Rafner had his way, he'd spend the summer of 1953 warming the bench for his baseball team, listening to Yankees games on the radio, and avoiding preparations for his bar mitzvah. Instead, he has to deal with FBI agents staking out his house because his parents—professors at the local college—are suspected communist sympathizers. Marty knows what happens to communists, or Reds, as his friends call them: They lose their jobs, get deported...or worse. Two people he's actually met, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, have been convicted of being communist spies, and they're slated to be executed in two months.
Marty just wants everything to go back to normal, but that's impossible thanks to the rumors that his parents are traitors. As his friends and teammates turn on him and federal agents track his every move, Marty isn't sure what to believe. Is his family really part of a Red Menace working against the United States? And even if they're simply patriotic Americans who refuse to be bullied by the government, what will it cost them?
As the countdown to the Rosenbergs' execution date continues, it may be up to Marty to make sure his family survives.

My opinion: This book is quite reminiscent of The Wednesday Wars. They share many elements: a protagonist on the cusp of his teen years, feeling out of place, and wishing for the simplicity of what life used to be. Circumstances force him to consider his own political opinions and the state of the world at large. Marty is dealing with stigmatization, the reality that once society suspects something about you it colors the rest of your life. Suspicion can't simply be erased. This plot takes right and wrong from a simple dichotomy to a sliding scale. These moral and societal issues are worth discussing with a middle grade reader, especially if you can tie it to issues in the modern world.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Listen with me

There are a couple of elements at play when it comes to evaluating an audio book: the story itself and the way it's narrated. 

As you might expect given the authors, Good Omens is a tight narrative with impeccable comedic timing. It's fairly tongue in cheek but isn't afraid to say something real at the same time. It also doesn't feel the need to beat the reader over the head with it's messaging. Characters are distinct, each with just enough complexity to be distinct without wasting words on unnecessary description.

Narration is almost more important in an audio book. I've experienced otherwise excellent books that were derailed by an awkward reading. The version I listened to was read by Martin Jarvis. As a Brit, Jarvis' accent is the right one for this story. And his timing was just about perfect. No awkward pauses between lines. He varies speed to keep us engaged. His voice is dynamic as well, conveying the right emotion for each moment. He does slightly different voices for each character, enough to be distinct without becoming a distraction.

All in all, I've got to say that this is one of the better audio books I've experienced. If you have any interest in the work of Pratchett or Gaiman, do yourself a favor and listen to Good Omens.

Non-fiction book review - 101 Awesome Women Who Transformed Science

101 Awesome Women Who Transformed Science by Claire Philip

I love learning even just a little bit about inspiring figures. This book consists of very brief profiles with the focus on the woman's contribution to her field. With just a page or two per person, you won't learn much. But if this book inspires a young person to learn more about even a single female scientist, especially one who has been previously overlooked, then it has served it's purpose.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Don't Read the Comments

Title: Don't Read the Comments
Author: Eric Smith
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee
                      Can't Look Away by Donna Cooner
Rating:

a solid reminder of our reality

Summary (provided by publisher):  Divya Sharma is a queen. Or she is when she’s playing Reclaim the Sun, the year’s hottest online game. Divya—better known as popular streaming gamer D1V—regularly leads her #AngstArmada on quests through the game’s vast and gorgeous virtual universe. But for Divya, this is more than just a game. Out in the real world, she’s trading her rising-star status for sponsorships to help her struggling single mom pay the rent.
Gaming is basically Aaron Jericho’s entire life. Much to his mother’s frustration, Aaron has zero interest in becoming a doctor like her, and spends his free time writing games for a local developer. At least he can escape into Reclaim the Sun—and with a trillion worlds to explore, disappearing should be easy. But to his surprise, he somehow ends up on the same remote planet as celebrity gamer D1V.
At home, Divya and Aaron grapple with their problems alone, but in the game, they have each other to face infinite new worlds…and the growing legion of trolls populating them. Soon the virtual harassment seeps into reality when a group called the Vox Populi begin launching real-world doxxing campaigns, threatening Aaron’s dreams and Divya’s actual life. The online trolls think they can drive her out of the game, but everything and everyone Divya cares about is on the line…
And she isn’t going down without a fight.

My opinion: Many of us want to be famous. Smith's book reminds us that fame isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Cruel comments are, any more, a standard part of reality. They're something we feel like we just have to deal with. Smith draws the line between bullying and criminal behavior. Bullying that leaves the cyber world behind and enters Divya's real world with physical attacks and threats. The reader is asked to consider at what point bullying crosses that line. That conversation alone makes this worth reading. So too is the conversation it prompts between characters about privilege. Wealth, race, gender, sexuality. We see the different kinds of privilege at platy and the ultimate conclusion that we can never fully understand another person's experience and challenges. While the plot is a bit predictable and Aaron's perspective sections felt unnecessary, its ultimately a solid read with a fair amount of heart.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Mandrake

When I saw this mandrake paperclip holder online, I was inspired to try making one myself. The original uses sculpey and a real plant pot. I decided to take a slightly different approach for my version. I found these items in my craft bin:

The first step was to put two holes in the doll: one in it's head to anchor the plant and one in the belly for the magnet. Once those pieces were secure, I painted the doll and the plastic cup. A circle of craft foam provided a top to hide the "mandrake" and paperclips.