Title: Starting from Seneca Falls
Author: Karen Schwbach
Genre: historical fiction
Similar books: A Time for Courage by Katherine Lasky
Counting on Grace by Elizabeth Winthrop
Rating:
Summary (provided by publisher): Bridie's life has been a series of wrongs. The potato famine in Ireland. Being sent to the poorhouse when her mother's new job in America didn't turn out the way they'd hoped. Becoming an orphan.
And then there's the latest wrong--having to work for a family so abusive that Bridie is afraid she won't survive. So she runs away to Seneca Falls, New York, which in 1848 is a bustling town full of possibility. There, she makes friends with Rose, a girl with her own list of wrongs, but with big dreams, too.
Rose helps Bridie get a job with the strangest lady she's ever met, Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Mrs. Stanton is planning a convention to talk about the rights of women. For Bridie and Rose, it's a new idea, that women and girls could have a voice. But they sure are sick of all the wrongs. Maybe it's time to fight for their rights!
My opinion: The Seneca Falls Convention is a relatively well know event among history buffs, less so among the rest of us. Even if it's familiar, though, viewing it through teh eyes of children nearby is always an interesting premise. This particular book gives us two marginalized perspectives: a white domestic worker and a black school girl. Bridie comes from abject poverty and expects very little out of life. She figures all the future holds for her is hard work. She's never really seen any other possibility. It does not occur to her to consider what she might want out of life. Rose is filled with ambition. She wants to achieve great things but society tells her that her gender and her race will hold her back. The plot is pretty straightforward and not especially conflict driven. The ending is built on a lot of convenient coincidences and cuts off pretty short. Still an interesting exploration that could spark some decent conversations with young readers.
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Front Desk by Kelly Yang
Well, this wasn't quite as silly as I was expecting. What it was, instead, was utterly compelling. Mia is an immigrant from China. She and her parents are living below the poverty line, working for a cruel and opportunistic boss. They are confronted with the class divide and prejudice on a regular basis. Yang is not satisfied with showing us a simple conflict. She deftly integrates larger cultural issues, leading to a pleasantly complex plot that remains accessible for a young audience. The narration is well timed, a little slower paced so a child listener can absorb what is being said, without talking down to the listener.
Big Thinkers and Big Ideas by Sharon Kaye
There are some ideas that we tend to think are too big for kids: politics, physics, philosophy, etc. So when I encounter kid's books on one of these topics, curiosity drives me to read it. And they have yet to disappoint me. This particular book gives us the bare bones introduction to a variety of philosophical approaches, major figures in the field, and both supporters and detractors. Finally, we get an idea to reflect upon. Kaye helps the reader explore each approach and find the philosophy that makes the most sense to each individual. Given that most of us get little to no education in philosophy, this entry level introduction is invaluable.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.
Title: A Sky Painted Gold
Author: Laura Wood
Genre: historical fiction
Similar books: The Lost Girl of Astor Street by Stephanie Morrill
Snow White: a graphic novel by Matt Phelan
Rating:
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| an interesting approach |
Summary (provided by publisher): It is the summer of 1929. Lou Trevelyan is a small-town girl with big dreams of becoming a writer. Then she meets the Cardew siblings: the bubbly Caitlin and her handsome, enigmatic brother, Robert. Lou is swept into their glittering whirlwind of moonlit parties, unrivaled glamour, and whispered secrets. As she falls deeper into the world of high society, Lou must find a way to stay true to herself . . . and her heart.
My opinion: One need not be overly familiar with The Great Gatsby to recognize the parallels in this novel. We have a working class protagonist thrown into the complexities of privileged class neighbors, neighbors who seem to do nothing but have parties. This novel has less casual racism than Gatsby but takes a much harder look at classism. And the examples we see come both from the Cardews and their friends and from Lou's family. As Lou becomes more entrenched in life on the Cardew estate we see the emptiness and casual decadence of their lifestyle. And Lou's involvement creates distance with her own family. She also begins to see how the parties and fun are a cover for real pain and preventing them from going after things they actually want. One thing Gatsby has over this book is the ending. Fitzgerald's final chapters are fairly tragic, pointing out the futility of living for pleasure. This book instead suggests that a happy ending is possible for everyone involved. It might be interesting to read these two books side by side and compare ideas and images.
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I got a great deal on some slip on canvas shoes a while back. They're pretty comfortable but were a bit boring.
So, I gave them a quick face lift with some glow-in-the-dark fabric paint that I had lying around. Now they look as good as they feel.
Front Desk by Kelly Yang
The last couple of audio books I listened to were rather dense or serious, so I'm hopeful that this will be more of a lighthearted listen. I know it's fairly short, so expect to see the follow up post next week.
Inventors by Robert Winston
I've read a fair number of profile collections now and each one has it's own advantage. By focusing on a particular type of achievement, this book is able to feature a wide variety of people, from various places and time periods. They achieved a lot of different innovations, based on years of study or trial and error based on an immediate need. And because each profile is pretty short, focused entirely on the invention, it's a quick read, easily absorbed in a single sitting, even for young readers.
More information: Inventors releases July 7
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