Biography is NOT my genre: a review of three biographies

Metaxas, Eric. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer had integrity. Metaxes has written his biography to reflect that integrity.  As most critics have said, this is a definitive biography.  Here comes my personal prejudice.  I just don’t like biographies that detail the historical context and then afterward talk about the person.  I don’t want a 50-year history of Germany.  I just want to know about the major events in a person’s life.  Therefore, I skimmed through the first half of the book because I was interested in Bonhoeffer’s war activity. However, as I skimmed through the pages, I began to see a connection between Bonhoeffer as a theologian and his personal choices.  It was interesting to learn just how well-educated, well-connected and well-respected he was as an intellectual.  I was not aware of the extent of his personal struggles to encounter grace, to conquer depression, to live boldly and act boldly in an evil world.  I didn’t realize how much his spirituality had meant to him.  His decisions to first, support the Jewish people, and later to become involved in the German counter-intelligence movement ran deeply, and he acted with great conviction that what he was doing would further the kingdom of God here on this planet we’ve been given.  When I had this epiphany, the book and the events to which Metaxes lent narrative came together. My first thought was that this book is a must-read for anyone interested in theology and/or authentic Christian living. My second recommendation would be for historians who study Germany between the wars.  The lives of the upper-middle class and German aristocracy led by families such as the Bonhoeffers are not told often enough. The feelings of the German people as a whole are often overshadowed by Hitler’s evil deeds.  It is somehow comforting to know that many thousands of Germans were not satisfied and did not welcome him as the leader of their country. It’s comforting that many of them were pro-active from the inside in trying to stage a coup. The extent Bonhoeffer’s personal involvement in Valkyrie will never be known, but since he was implicated and killed for it, I’m sure there are many brave deeds and sacrifices the reader will never know.  I would not have come to this opinion had I not read this book. Knowing Bonhoeffer was ready to die for his convictions still doesn’t make up for the earthly contributions he could have made to Christianity had he lived. I don’t think he would like to be idolized or made a martyr by those he left behind.  I think his legacy would be for each of us to work out the gift of salvation on earth with genuine acts of devotion and compassion.

Awards and Reviews

ECPA Christian Book Award (2011)

John C. Pollock Award for Christian Biography (2011)

''In Hitler's Germany, a Lutheran pastor chooses resistance and pays with his life. . . Eric Metaxas tells Bonhoeffer's story with passion and theological sophistication, often challenging revisionist accounts that make Bonhoeffer out to be a 'humanist' or ethicist for whom religious doctrine was easily disposable. . . Metaxas reminds us that there are forms of religion -- respectable, domesticated, timid -- that may end up doing the devil's work for him.” --Wall Street Journal

''In this weighty, riveting analysis of the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Metaxas offers a comprehensive review of one of history's darkest eras, along with a fascinating exploration of the familial, cultural, and religious influences that formed one of the world's greatest contemporary theologians. . . . Abundant source documentation brings to life the personalities and experiences that shaped Bonhoeffer . . . Insightful and illuminating, this tome makes a powerful contribution to biography, history, and theology.'' --Publishers Weekly

''A welcome new biography of one of the twentieth century's leading lights. Metaxas magnificently captures the life of theologian and anti-Nazi activist Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), who 'thought it the plain duty of the Christian-and the privilege and honor-to suffer with those who suffered.'  Metaxas rightly focuses on his subject's life, not his theology, though readers will learn plenty about his theology as well. The author makes liberal use of primary sources, which bring Bonhoeffer and other characters to vivid life.” --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Wall Street Journal

Books & Culture

Sheinkin, Steve. Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War. New York: Roaring Book Press, 2015.

Of the historical biographies I've been reading lately, this one is the best.  The writing is direct and clear, and the focus is on the events of Ellsberg's life that specifically led up to his involvement in the leaking of the Pentagon papers. Of course, everyone has heard of Watergate, but I did not know exactly what had prompted that investigation.  I had no idea it was related to the Pentagon Papers.  It was a fascinating story, and it does read a bit like a spy novel because there was actually real spying going on (duh!) The story is told in a way that reminds the reader of the government's accountability to the people as well as the protection of First Amendment rights.  The book is biased toward the liberal side of the argument, but this is most probably because it is about Ellsberg who was, indeed, a liberal.  There was some thought put into representing the conservative viewpoint, as well, in the inclusion of direct quotes from Nixon, Kissinger, etc.; however, the government covert operations and the persons involved do not come across as "good guys" in this story. The addition of the story of a US POW, Alvarez, added to the intensity of the story.  By sharing a personal account, readers are able to feel the urgency of putting an end to the Vietnam War and its atrocities.  The idea of Civil Disobedience, the role of Journalism and First Amendment Rights, government checks and balances are all teachable concepts inherent in the book. It is thoroughly researched, containing 9 pages of Works Cited and 25 pages of source note.  The epilogue makes asks the question of Edward Snowden--is he a hero or a traitor?  Sheinkin notes that Snowden is not the original government whistle blower--Ellsberg was.

Awards and Reviews

Finalist for the 2015 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature
National Book Award Finalist 
Selected for the 2016 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People List

Winner: YALSA Award for Nonfiction for Young Adults

“Lively, detailed prose rooted in a tremendous amount of research, fully documented. . . Easily the best study of the Vietnam War available for teen readers.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Sheinkin has done again what he does so well: condense mountains of research into a concise, accessible, and riveting account of history. . . [This book] will keep readers racing forward.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Powerful and thought-provoking.” —Booklist, starred review

“Fast-paced and fascinating. . . backed up by meticulous research.” —VOYA, starred review

"Thoroughly researched, thoughtfully produced, and beautifully written . . . a timely and extraordinary addition to every library." —School & Library Journal, starred review

Teaching Resources

Teachers Guide for the Book

Documentary Home Page

PBS Documentary Page with links to Lesson Plans for Educators

Teaching the Vietnam War (Zinn Education Project)

Anderson, M.T. Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad. Somerville, MA: Candlewick, 2015.

I read until page 97, and then I had to stop.  I came back to the book this morning and spot-read a few more passages, to give it one last chance. This is a comprehensive book about Shostakovich, but there are long passages that deal with history, not mentioning Shostakovich at all.  Thank you for the detail and the hard work, but the biographies I find more appealing don't bother with the historical context.  Even though I am sure the point of including such information is to inform the reader of how closely-related historical events shaped the subject's life and work, too much is still too much.  I also find that when Shostakovich becomes the subject (after the historical background has been laid), the biography take the form of a daily, almost hourly account of his activities.  Again, I'm not interested in all of that.  As a reader, I just want major events in a person's life that contributed to his or her work.  I had the same experience when reading Jon Anderson's CHE GUEVARA: A REVOLUTIONARY LIFE. Exhaustive biographies are just...too...tedious for this reader.  If you happen to like biography as a genre or long books about history, this book is perfect.  There are only a small handful of students at my school to whom I would suggest this title.

Reviews and Awards

YALSA Nonfiction Award for Excellence, 2016

Horn Book Honor Book, 2016

“Gr 9 Up—The compelling, well-researched narrative relates what is known of Shostakovich's story, what is speculation, what is revisionist history, and what new sources have revealed. The chilling details of the Stalin regime and the plight of the Russian people even before the Germans arrived will be eye-opening to many teen readers. The book has all the intrigue of a spy thriller, recounts the horrors of living during the three year siege, and delineates the physical oppression and daunting foes within and outside of the city. This is also the story of survival against almost impossible odds. Through it all, Anderson weaves the thread of the composer's music and the role it played in this larger-than-life drama”—Luann Toth, School Library Journal

“The storytelling is captivating, describing how Shostakovich began composing the symphony under relentless bombardment in Leningrad and later finished it in Moscow, its triumphant performance in Leningrad during the siege, and how it rallied worldwide sympathy for Russia's plight. Music is at the heart of the story. As Anderson writes in the prologue, "it is a story about the power of music and its meanings," and he communicates them with seeming effortlessness in this brilliantly written, impeccably researched tour de force. A triumphant story of bravery and defiance that will shock and inspire.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“In a gripping narrative, helped along by ample photos and shockingly accurate historical details, Anderson offers readers a captivating account of a genius composer and the brutally stormy period in which he lived. Though easily accessible to teens, this fascinating, eye- opening, and arresting book will be just as appealing for adults.”—Booklist (starred review)

Teaching Resources

Teacher’s Guide from Candlewick Press

Teaching Disasters: a Review of DROWNED CITY: HURRICANE KATRINA AND NEW ORLEANS by Don Brown

This graphic novel is fantastic.  I enjoy graphic novels because the experience of "reading" pictures is sometimes much more powerful than reading words alone.  Such is the case with Brown's book.  He takes a story that students may not be interested in, but portrays it in a way that humanizes the after-math of Katrina, focusing on the plight of the people instead of the muddled politics.  It's very digestible for Grades 5 and up and is a great suggestion for students and teachers who are researching "natural disasters". A big bonus is that the font chosen (CC Tim Sale Brush) is consistent with the style of the art panels, giving unity to the graphic appeal of the story. Also included is a very thorough bibliography of sources and materials for further study.

Reviews and Awards:
Robert F. Sibert Honor Book, 2015
Kirkus’ Best of 2015 list
School Library Journal Best of 2015
Publishers Weekly’s Best of 2015 list
Horn Book Fanfare Book
Booklist Editor's Choice 

"An excellent chronicle of the tragedy for a broad audience; children, teens, and adults will all be moved."
—Kirkus, starred review
"Lively, dynamic sketching gives the artwork a sense of urgency and immediacy. It is as important to tell the story of a nation's failures as it is to record its triumphs, and this is a crucial contribution."
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Emotionally resonant, this outstanding title will appeal to graphic novel and nonfiction readers alike."
—Booklist, starred review


"This astonishingly powerful look at one of America's worst disasters is a masterful blend of story and art."
—School Library Journal, starred review

"If a book's power were measured like a storm's, this would be category five."
—Horn Book Magazine, starred review

"This book could almost make its point on the powerful illustrations alone, but Brown’s precise language secures the historical details in an unforgettable way...‘Drowned City’ delivers a brave treatment of important and uncomfortable details.”
—The New York Times Book Review

Ideas for Teaching:
The NEA has a website with lesson plans available about Hurricane Katrina, complete with images maps and graphs and unit plans.  Hurricane Katrina

Teaching the Levees is a site concerned with supporting democratic dialogue and civic engagement. The site includes a free, downloadable PDF Curriculum Book. 

The Times-Picayune (New Orleans) houses a "Katrina" archive that is still maintained and updated on a regular basis.  These are primary documents, including the newspapers, Pulitzer-prize winning coverage.  Brown's book is reviewed here.

Vital Stats:
Brown, Don. Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. Ills. Don Brown. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015. ISBN: 9780544157774

It's Not Always So Bright

Violet has been shrinking since, well, a tragedy occurred in her life about a year prior to the introduction of this story. Now, she is a confused and lonely HS Senior, drifting from clique to family, contemplating suicide. Enter Finch.

Niven, Jennifer. All the Bright Places. London: Penguin, 2015. 

The description of the book as "The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park" is completely misleading. The protagonist of this story is Violet, who has been shrinking since, well, a tragedy occurred in her life about a year prior to the introduction of this story. Now, Violet is a confused and lonely HS Senior, drifting from clique to family, contemplating suicide. Enter Finch who finds her while he's contemplating the same thing on the ledge of the school bell tower. Finch is the handsome antagonist who quite literally steals the plot. He has bipolar disorder--all the joys and euphoria associated with it, but also the despair and hollowness it leaves in its wake, not to mention the anxiety and neuropathy in between. 

The book has nothing to do with star-crossed lovers, nothing to do with fate. It's about the roller-coaster ride that is bipolar. I'm on the fence about recommending it because I believe teens who experience suicidal thoughts should read more about the effects on the victims left behind. Focusing on the euphoria of highs or the eccentricities of the lows of bipolar tends to depersonalize, stereotype or even glorify the disorder in a way that trivializes the disease as a moral lesson from which shrinking Violets must learn.

Heroines in Hejabs: THE GREEN BICYCLE by Haifaa Al Mansour

When you have a goal, you go for it.  Wadjda wants a bicycle. This wouldn't be that big a deal, except for the fact that she's a girl. And she lives in present-day Saudi Arabia.  Will she be able to make her dream come true?

The Green Bicycle by Haifaa Al Mansour

Wow! The Green Bicycle was published in September 2015, after the very successful 2012 feature film Wadjda garnered world-wide respect for Haifaa Al Mansour, the first female director to come from Saudi Arabia.  Sometimes I make the mistake of setting my expectations for a long-awaited book too high, but this book did not disappoint me.  In fact, Al Mansour captures every facet of a middle-class, working woman’s world in Saudi (reading this brought me right back to my eight years in Kuwait).  The tendency for Westerners to think of all Saudis as oil rich snobs or overflowing with new money has got to be stopped.  Increasing exposure to Western culture often sends middle-class Muslim girls mixed messages that a coming of age story is perfectly suited to deal with.  Wadjda’s struggles to remain independent are innocent, but also become more weighty as they begin to affect those around her—her family, her friends, her classmates, and mostly, her own sense of being.  The theme of Wadjda’s struggle to find herself is very much echoed in the subplot of her mother’s struggle to be a woman of independent means in a patriarchal society where both men and women suffer because of cultural and moral restrictions placed upon them.  For example, Wadjda’s mother is forced to teach at a school two hours from home because teaching in an all-girls school is one of the only acceptable professions for Saudi women and local positions are flooded. So she and 8 other completely-covered female teachers must endure a two-hour drive to and fro on a crazy-dangerous desert highway, in a van with no A/C, driven by a surly Pakistani man who is her social inferior due to his illegal immigration status but who  feels he can berate her because she is a woman. There is also the tense relationship between Wadjda’s mother and father.  What happens when a Saudi woman cannot bear a son?

What superstitions would keep a girl from riding a bicycle in the first place?  Everything about this book was so real—the streets, the empty lots, the dust, the political elections. The longing of Wadjda’s mother to break social norms, but her reluctance to do so because of social tradition. The principal of the school, Ms Hussa, with her designer clothes, high heels and sense of self-importance, the attitudes of the girls in Wadjda’s school.  Seriously, I felt like I was right back in the Gulf. 

I don’t think, as some critics have said, that Al Mansour seeks to cast Saudi in a bad light.  She is showing it with ethos and pathos. She completely honors Koran.  The plots are beautifully woven, and shine brightest in the moment that Wadjda and her mother recite Koran which brings them together, “And of His Signs is that He creates for you mates out of yourselves, so that you may find tranquility in them; and He has put love and mercy between you.” This is beautiful, and Al Mansour turns a traditional male-female dynamic on its head by reinterpreting it as an unbreakable and triumphant bond between a mother and a daughter. 

Vital Stats:

Al Mansour, Haifaa. The Green Bicycle. London: Puffin, 2015. ISBN: 978-0-141-35668-6 

Read the book or watch the movie.  Either one would be a positive experience.

Movie trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3koigluYOH0

Gier, Kersten. Ruby Red. Trans. Anthea Bell. New York: Henry Holt, 2011.

I am being really honest here. One of my students recommended this series. It's a Young Adult series about a contemporary 16-year-old who time travels in London. I find the protagonist uninteresting, the plot slow, the romance boring and slow, and the period detail when time travel does occur is stereotypical and shallow. It's probably because I've read many, many books. I've read YA that is better written. I've also read actual literature from the time period to which the heroine travels back. I'd much rather students just read actual Austen or Dickens or Shakespeare. However, if a student finds this series interesting--I would not hesitate to recommend it to him or her. Perhaps if I were in Grade 6 or 7, I would have loved this series, and my interest in reading Austen, Dickens and Shakespeare would have increased because of it.

The author's page is here and contains links to the book trailer and various interviews that are useful.  I should mention this is the first of "The Ruby Red" trilogy, which also includes the titles "Emerald Green" and "Sapphire Blue."  I must admit, the covers are very beautiful.  

Livin' in a Powder Keg and Givin' Off Sparks

Ashley Hope Pérez

OUT OF DARKNESS

Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Lab, 2015.

ARC provided by Carolrhoda Lab/Lerner Publishing

Henry, Naomi's step-father, and twins Cari and Beto's real dad, in a fit of newly found religious zeal to "make things right with God" takes them from their grandparents in San Antonio to live in the oil boom town of New London, East Texas, in 1937. This means more opportunity for the twins who are in Grade 3, smart, and white-skinned. But at 18 years old, Naomi is very self-aware of her dark skin, her poverty, and her ethnicity. At home, she struggles to overcome her hidden fears that the ugly monster Henry she remembers from her childhood will soon return, especially since she is older and looks like her mother once had. As  she endures ostracism at school and the burden of taking care of her family, Naomi finds herself attracted to Wash, an African-American from the New Egypt community who has befriended the twins and becomes smitten with her. The tension of their forbidden relationship is set against the historical backdrop of the horrific New London School explosion of March 18, 1937.

The story arc of Pérez's characters is well-suited for the setting. The story is tense, violent, and explodes, leaving few survivors to relate the tragic events that actually occurred. Racial tension and the race for money, oil, and souls in Depression Era East Texas was a powder keg waiting for a match, and Pérez found the fuse in this realistic narrative.

I would advise for mature students only, ages 16+, as there is intense and graphic violence of both sexual and physical nature.

Out of This World: a Review of ORBITING JUPITER by Gary D. Schmidt

Schmidt, Gary D. ORBITING JUPITER. New York: Clarion Books. Advanced Review Copy provided by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers.

A farm family in rural Maine fosters Joseph, a 14-year-old whose life is a series of unfortunate events. It's a rough start for Joseph and his new family, too, but he soon opens up to them after a bonding moment with foster brother, Jack. Joseph explains the truth behind the stories and shares his determination to reunite with his daughter, Jupiter. Just when life begins to look up, bad things go down.

Schmidt smartly establishes setting and character through a first-person narrator. Use of classical allusion, in this case, the Nativity, gives the novel its literary chops. Then there are the humorous potshots at English teachers, the nods to great literature, the ins and outs of middle school life one expects from Schmidt. But, somehow, in ORBITING JUPITER, Schmidt has managed to accomplish with fewer words what he fails to do in many of his other books--here, he makes every scene plausible. There are no zany subplots or misdirected steps. The most appealing of his novels, ORBITING JUPITER will stand out as classic Schmidt--crisp, clear, compelling.

Schmidt, Gary D. ORBITING JUPITER. New York: Clarion Books. Advanced Review Copy provided by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers.

Publication Date: November 3, 2015. 

ISBN: 9780544462229

Ages: 12 and up

Grades: 7 and up

A Great and (not too) Terrible Book

Bray, Libba (2003). A Great and Terrible Beauty. New York: Delacorte. 

This book and the author get tons of hype from Booklist and ALA. This book was fine, and some girls will get into the series, but it's not great. As far as historical fiction, the descriptions of England, India, gypsies--all a bit cliche. It's not a read alike for The Hunger Games or Divergent crowd. There was some mixing of occult and mythology. That was odd. Plus, what was the veiled lesbian stuff? And the repressed sex? Just a bit too much.

All that criticism aside, Bray is an enjoyable writer.  Anyone who suffered through the Twilight series will certainly enjoy this series more.  It is far better written and the female characters are much more nuanced and independent. For the literati, it might appeal for comparisons to The Crucible, as it does contain some similar themes--jealousy, adolescent friendship, first love, coming of age.  

The book is the first in the Gemma Doyle Trilogy.  Other titles are Rebel Angels (Gemma Doyle, #2) and The Sweet and Far Thing (Gemma Doyle, #3).   You can read more about the series on the author's homepage.  Fans of the author should check out her other books as well at http://libbabray.com/. 

Palestinian Childhoods

Tasting the Sky: a Palestinian Childhood by Ibtisam Barakat

Review:

This book was gut-wrenching. Talk about putting yourself in someone else's shoes and walking around in them. Unless you were 3-year-old Ibtisam Barakat.  Then you have to walk barefoot in her tracks.  She was too young to tie her own shoes, and it was too dark for her to find her other shoe when her family fled, leaving her behind when enemy tanks invaded Ramallah in 1967, soldiers shooting over her head. Barakat relates a heart-breaking story of a family's survival in the midst of cruel and unsettling (literally, unsettling) circumstances without villianizing any people group. What she tells is her story, but its more than just plot. She's artfully crafted a narrative that pays tribute to the gift of language, which was for her the gift of empowerment. She uses a language, based on a common mother-tongue, to pose questions of national boundaries versus common ancestry, and whether language can bring hope and refuge.

Awards & Honors for Tasting the Sky:

Arab-American National Museum Book Award for Children’s/YA Literature

“Careful choice of episodes and details brings to life a Palestinian world that may be unfamiliar to American readers, but which they will come to know and appreciate.”

--Kathleen Isaacs, School Library Journal Review

“Ibtisam’s reverence for language informs nearly everything she does, and it keeps her alive, whether corresponding with her pen pals or crafting this memoir: ‘a thread/of a story/stitches together/a wound.’”

--Publisher’s Weekly Review

“What makes the memoir so compelling is the immediacy of the child’s viewpoint, which depicts both conflict and daily life without exploitation or sentimentalilty.”

--Hazel Rochman, Booklist

Vital Stats:

Tasting the Sky: a Palestinian Childhood by Ibtisam Barakat

Harrisonburg, VA: RR Donnelley & Sons, 2007.

ISBN 9780374357337

A Little Piece of Ground by Elizabeth Laird with Sonia Nimr

Review:

An interesting story about life within the confines of occupied Palestine, in this young adult novel three boys from Ramallah unite to clear away a piece of land for a soccer field between curfews, only to realize that their dream may never hold. A Little Piece of Ground explores the human cost of the occupation of Palestinian lands through the eyes of 12-year-old boys Karim, Jony and Hopper. In response to a Palestinian suicide bombing, curfews are tightened again, and Karim who gets caught outside takes shelter in an abandoned car right under the nose of enemy soldiers, wondering if he will survive.

Rewards & Honors for A Little Piece of Ground:

“A Little Piece of Ground deserves serious attention and discussion.”

--Coop Renner, School Library Journal Review

“The heartbreaking personal drama visualizes the realistic challenges of wartime life at home, as well as the diversity of opinion about religion, class, and politics in the community.”

--Hazel Rochman, Booklist

Vital Stats:

A Little Piece of Ground by Elizabeth Laird with Sonia Nimr

Chicago: Haymarket, 2006.

ISBN 9781931859387  

Further Resources for Understanding (from the Appendix of Tasting the Sky):

Promises, a film by Justine Shapiro, B.Z. Goldbert and Carlos Bolado)

http://www.promisesproject.org

Seeds of Peace

http://www.seedsofpeace.org

New Collection: Lost in Translation

From Arabic to English: Lost in Translation

In speeches and conversations, American poet Robert Frost has often been quoted as saying, “Poetry is what gets lost in translation. It is also what is lost in interpretation.” A few months ago, the English Department asked me if the library had any books originally written in Arabic that had been translated into English that were written for Young Adults.” I had no idea.  Thus began my quest.  It has been delightful.  I’m proud to announce a new featured collection “From Arabic to English: Lost in Translation,” which examines the difficulty of translating traditional Arabic forms of literature—from Kalila wa Dimna to Hayy ibn Yaqzan—into English.  When I ask them about bits of Holy Koran or Arabic poetry, so many students say, “Miss, it’s just not the same in English.”  However, after studying authors like Ghassan Kanafani, Mourid Barghouti, Hoda Barakat, Tayyib Saleh and Mahmoud Darwish, I feel compelled to share their voices, even in broken English. These are works of profound significance, worthy of translation, no matter if some poetry may be lost, no matter the risk of misinterpretation.  Here is a list of available Arabic titlestranslated to English as well as our New Arrivals.  Please drop by to have a look or go online or to your local libraries to find some of these titles.  They are worth looking into. Reading translated literature imbues the reader with a sensitivity toward the outside world that people who don’t read can sometimes lack (John Connelly, The Book of Lost Things).

Winter Is for Reading

Winter gives us the perfect excuse to curl up with a good book, write in our journals or read with our children.  The poet William Carlos Williams challenges the howling North Wind in his poem, “January”:

Play louder.

You will not succeed. I am

bound more to my sentences

the more you batter at me

to follow you.

You can always take shelter from the winter winds in your library.

Over the break, I discovered a fantastic reading app that kept my children entertained on the iPads for longer than they should have been.  Reading Rainbow, a show that aired on the Public Broadcasting System in the US for over 20 years, has now put all their wonderful experience into creating a safe, online environment for kids.  If your kids are like mine, you can never have enough reading apps.  You can check Reading Rainbow out for free.

Snowstorm Huda blasted Amman, but I was prepared.  I finished Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih, I'd save this book for college students, or those familiar with Conrad or Achebe.  I don't know that very many high school readers would catch the nuances of the text, post-colonialism, deconstruction, some existentialism, some great feminist stuff.  You need a lot of lenses to unpack this text, which makes it really good reading for those of us who love to read, but probably a little too confusing and complex for those just starting out.  I really liked it though.  It would be great to teach in World Lit.  

I also read Jane Yolen's collection of short stories, Twelve Impossible Things Before Breakfast. It was interesting, but just that, a collection of fantasy short stories for Young Adults.  There were some "horror" stories, but they weren't very scary compared to what kids read today.  My favorites were "Mama Gone," a story set in Appalachia, wherein the young protagonist must face her vampire mother.  "Winter's King" sticks with me, not because of the plot, but because of its beautiful writing.  It reminded me of Game of Thrones.  I thought it was beautiful.  "The Babysitter," perhaps the most "horrorific" of them all had a nice twist at the end.  

My favorite was Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. My Goodreads reviews are now linked, but I'll repost it here.  I would give one caviat.  In a conservative culture, I would recommend this for 16 and up, no younger, just to be on the safe side with parents.

I wish John Hughes were still alive, because ELEANOR & PARK needs to be made into a John Hughes movie, circa 1986, the year in which it is set in the most unlikely of Midwestern towns, Omaha. Rainbow Rowell, did you make Eleanor into Molly Ringwald on purpose or was it typecasting? It took me two days to read this, and it felt like I was 16 again, hoping, praying, that some boy, any boy, would notice me, but not quite sure how to make it happen. And the bus rides, oh, the bus rides. Wondering what mean girl was stalking you, why you felt ostracized. The music, the Smiths, the Smithereens, U2, Foreigner, the soundtrack of my life. And the quiet, mysterious boy, the one who took martial arts, who probably kept a journal, who didn't talk about it, who melted your insides. Learning to drive. That first kiss. That promise of something more you know will never come true. The golden moment caught in time, like a picture, in your yearbook. Friends Forever, Eleanor & Park. 

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. London: Hachette/Orion. ISBN 9781409120544. Pbk.

Where Is the Love?--a review of MATCHED by Ally Condie

Life is perfect for Cassia.  Her government gives her everything she needs to be happy and healthy: meals, a job, recreational activities, and school.  Now, she’s 17 and ready to be matched.  Who will her future husband be?

Matched by Ally Condie

Cassia floats in light green silk, and her mood is as light. She has just been publicly matched to her best friend, Xander. But then, a blip, another boy’s face appears on her screen at home. She knows Ky, too, but has she ever really seen him? After the death of her grandfather, and a sudden realization that not everything is what it seems, Cassia begins to question what she has always believed was true.

There comes a time, toward the end of adolescence, when most young adults begin to realize that not everything is perfect. Condie does a great job of picking up on this angst through the protagonist Cassia. The minute she asks one question, hundreds more appear, and can’t be easily answered. A definite nod to Ray Bradbury appears when we discover that poetry and books are no longer allowed, besides the 100 that were deemed worthy. Cassia and Ky share a love of forbidden pleasures, writing and poems. But, Cassia has been matched. Ky is an aberration. They can never be together. Or can they fight the odds?

Reviews
“The stunning clarity and attention to detail in Condie’s Big Brother-like world is a feat. The author just as easily tears this world apart while deftly exploring the individual cost of societal perfection and the sacrifices inherent in freedom of choice.”
–Booklist

“In a story that is at once evocative of Lois Lowry’s The Giver, George Orwell’s 1984, and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, Condie introduces readers to the ‘perfect’ Society. Her awakening and developments are realistically portrayed, and supporting characters like Cassia’s parents and her grandfather add depth to the story. Fans of The Giver will devour this book and impatiently demand the next installment.”
–School Library Journal

Official Website

One Choice Can Transform You--a review of DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth

Would you be able to leave your home and all you knew behind to start a new life with strangers?  That’s what 16 year old Beatrice does.  After taking her aptitude test “Tris” leaves Abnegation for the Dauntless faction in future dystopian Chicago, to prove to herself that she is fearless.  During her brutal initiation, she discovers that the Dauntless, as well as her former faction, Abnegation, have enemies among the 5 factions, primarily Erudite.  Will Tris be able to survive her Dauntless initiation?  Can a 16 year old girl save the world as she knows it?

For all my young ladies who liked Twilight, this book is for you (Roth’s writing is a bit better than Meyer’s—less schmaltzy). For all my guys who liked the Hunger Games, this book is for you (Collins is a bit of a better writer, but Roth’s story is still interesting). I’m not going to give you any spoilers, but I will tell you that this book has just the right blend of action and romance to keep you reading. I got lost in the vaguely familiar world of the book , and I only put it down when I was so sleepy my eyes wouldn’t stay open. A few warnings, though. There is some pretty graphic violence involved, as the Dauntless must face fears of all kind—physical and psychological—so don’t read this if you’re squeamish or emotionally troubled.

The series itself is part of a genius marketing scheme. I scanned the QR code on the back of the book, and found book trailers and an interview with the author (who is, by the way, a new author). The Bonus Materials in the back of the book include a Divergent play list (nice!) and a Cosmo-like quiz on “What Faction Are You?” which was lots of fun.

This is another one I won’t be able to put in the library because it’s too hot to handle here in Kuwait (and that’s saying a lot because it’s very hot here), but I’m sure going to read the rest of them. Divergent was a great choice for my first summer read. The sequel, Insurgent, is definitely going on my summer list.

Awards and Reviews

Best Book of the Year—School Library Journal

Best Fiction for Young Adults—YALSA

Best Children’s Books—Publisher’s Weekly

Black Eyed Susan Book Award

“There is no doubt readers will respond to the gutsy action and romance of this umpteenth spin on Brave New World”—Daniel Kraus, Booklist, March 2011

“For those who loved The Hunger Games and are willing to brave the sometimes sadistic tests of strength and courage Tris must endure, the reward is a memorable, unpredictable journey from which it is nearly impossible to turn away.”—Publisher’s Weekly, February 2011

Vital Stats 

Roth, Veronica (2011). Divergent. New York: Katherine Tegen Books. ISBN 0062024027.