Book Review: Boy 21 by Matthew Quick

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Boy 21 cover imageFinley goes into his senior year in high school knowing three things: he loves his girlfriend Erin, he plans to have a stellar year as point guard of his basketball team, and then, somehow, he will get out of the rough Philadelphia neighborhood that has worn down his father and grandfather.

But when his basketball coach asks him to befriend a troubled boy whose parents have been murdered, Finley’s world is turned upside down. Russ, or Boy 21 as he wants to be called, is a basketball star who plays the same position as Finley. Also, Finley has never been friends with another boy; he’s not sure he will know how to help Russ.

As Finley discovers, senior year has even more surprises in store for him, and before it’s over he will revisit a troubling incident in his own childhood and question all the things he knows to be true.

Boy 21 by Matthew Quick is raw and gritty as it unflinchingly looks at life in inner-city Philadelphia, where competing mobs and drug dealers rule the streets and quiet boys need to be under someone’s protection to survive. Quick gets to the heart of Finley’s conflict: he is a part of the environment he grew up in, and while he longs to find a better life, he’s not sure how to make that happen. He’s been taught to respect authority, and he doesn’t question what his coach asks him to do. But is that truly in his best interest? Finley is a team player. The question is, can he stay one and still find a way to leave the street behind.

Great for both boys and girls, Boy 21 examines issues of family, resilience, survival, and tragedy. It will grip you right up until the unexpected conclusion.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book to review.

Book Review: Starters by Lissa Price

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Starters cover imageI always love to read author Christina Hamlett’s insightful reviews. Today she is stopping by  with her thoughts of the book Starters by Lissa Price.

Title: Starters
Author: Lissa Price
Genre: YA
Publisher: Delacorte Books (2012)

Despite this dystopian novel’s underlying political message that wealth is synonymous with evil and that the old guard can only retain its grip on power by physically “occupying” the youth movement, the author has crafted a gripping, plausible premise that could easily topple The Hunger Games in today’s YA market. It clearly has film potential written all over it, and the gutsy heroine at the core of the crisis is someone with whom readers will empathize from the get-go.

Although it borrows some of its futuristic themes from existing novels and movies, the YA emphasis gives it a fresh, page-turning spin that offers teeth-gritting danger at virtually every turn. In addition, it provides no shortage of food-for-thought for book clubs and discussion groups, specifically insofar as the lengths that desperate people will go to in order to ensure their survival in a hostile world. Dark parallels can be drawn to teen prostitution and the makeover of young innocents like Callie into appealing eye-candy that will subsequently be used by others in exchange for money. The body bank that controls these transactions is the functional equivalent of a pimp, complete with threat mechanisms if the parties in question start getting ideas of their own about flipping the status quo.

It’s also a clever device that a mysterious, air-borne plague has wiped out everyone who is middle-age (a proxy for the middle class?), leaving only the very young (who are poor) and the very old (who are rich). I’m reminded of how many times a new strain of flu surfaces and the public is advised that those with the weakest immune systems (children and seniors) are a priority for getting shots because they might not otherwise survive. In Starters, that possibility serves as the grim reality that kicks all of the danger into high-gear.

Obviously my own analysis of symbolism and political motifs may just be a product of the country’s current mindset which is repeatedly fueled by divisiveness and reinforced by have/have-not hatred geared to attract votes. Whether or not that was this wonderful author’s intention, the unsettling election-year climate that exists makes the intensity and sustainability of this plot that much easier to accept. My only cautionary note is that you clear the decks, turn off the phone, and tell your family they’ll have to find their own food when you plan to start reading; from the opening chapter you won’t be able to put it down until you’re finished.

Book Review: May B. by Caroline Starr Rose

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May B. cover imageMavis Elizabeth Betterly, or May B., has been hired to help at a neighbor’s farm. On the Kansas prairie that means the neighbor is 15 miles away and May will be there from August until Christmas. She doesn’t want to go, she’d rather stay in school, but her family needs the money her work will bring.

When the neighbor’s new bride decides she can’t handle life on the prairie any more, she leaves, and the neighbor goes after her. Neither returns. Left alone, May must fend for herself for months without any expectation that someone will come for her. As the days and weeks pass, she searches inside herself to discover who she is and what she will be when she rejoins her family.

May B. by Caroline Starr rose is a story about pioneer life and one girl’s determination to make more of herself than people expect. May struggles with dyslexia, and she can’t understand why words don’t always make sense to her. She knows she’s smart, and she wants to continue her education to be a teacher one day.

Through her reflections the reader finds that May had the advantage of an early teacher who encouraged her and helped her with her reading. But the teacher who replaced her wasn’t so kind. She looked for ways to humiliate May and make her feel that she is stupid.

Spending months alone, feeling that her family doesn’t believe she can achieve any more in school, May struggles with the question. Is she smart, or is there something wrong with her? Can she go on to achieve what she wishes for, or should she just give up trying to overcome the hardships all around her?

Told in verse, May B. will steal your heart and leave you happy you didn’t live in a sod house on the Kansas Prairie. I recommend it for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 8 to 12.

The author provided me with a copy of this book to review.

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Book Review: Baby’s in Black: Astrid Kirchherr, Stuart Sutcliffe, and The Beatles in Hamburg by Arne Bellstorf

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Baby's in Black cover imageBefore the Beatles became the sensation they are known as today, they were playing in dingy bars in Germany, trying to get by on cheap food and free places to stay. The people they met there, including photographer Astrid Kirchherr, would become significant influences on their look and their work.

Baby’s in Black: Astrid Kirchherr, Stuart Sutcliffe, and The Beatles in Hamburg, a graphic novel by Arne Bellstorf, tells the story of those weeks and months in Germany, and the challenges the band faced in breaking out of the places they were playing and moving into better known venues. At the time, Stuart Sutcliffe played bass for the band, and he and Astrid were interested in each other soon after they met.

Astrid and Stu’s story provides the backdrop for other events in The Beatles’ early days while shedding some light on how the band members got their signature hair styles and more. The black and white images are compelling; I could almost smell the cigarette smoke that was so prominent everywhere in those days.

While I was a bit confused at the end and had to reread several pages to make sure I understood, overall I thought Baby’s in Black was thoughtful, interesting and provided insight into The Beatles as well as Astrid and Stu, two young people driven by their art and their love for each other.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book for review.

MakeBeliefsComix Expands Writing Prompt Printables to Help Literacy Students

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Previously I have written about MakeBeliefsComix and its downloadable pages for children. The site has recently expanded its offerings, and I’m passing along a note from Bill Zimmerman, who created MakeBeliefsComix, about what you can find there.

“Dear reader,

In its goal to provide more literacy resources for educators, MakeBeliefsComix.com has significantly expanded its offering of writing prompt printables, organizing them by subject categories to help students write and express themselves.

The free online comic strip generator now features more than 250 printables in 50 subject categories, ranging from Bullying and Peer Pressure, to Elections and Political, to Environment and Ecology, to Writing Prompts. These are found at: http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Printables_Categories/

The 250 graphic writing prompts encourage writing and thinking in a quick and imaginative way and foster classroom discussion .  A student’s efforts to complete a printable can then become the first step in writing longer essays, poems or stories on the same subject.  The printables also can be used with students enrolled in literacy and English-As-Second Language programs, and provide an educational resource for teaching language arts.  They are taken from the many interactive books of the site’s creator,  Bill Zimmerman, who for many years edited the nationally syndicated Newsday Student Briefing Page, which was twice nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

More than 200,000 educators and students from more than 180 countries visit MakeBeliefsComix.com each month to build their own comic strips and practice language, writing and reading skills.  The site was selected by Google as UNESCO as among the world’s most innovative sites to encourage literacy and writing.  And the American Library Association chose it as a Great Web Site for Kids.

We hope that you will share MakeBeliefsComix.com with your colleagues, students, friends or readers of your publications and favorite listserv groups. 
As always, we welcome your suggestions and ideas to improve our site.

Sincerely,

Bill Zimmerman”

Book Review: Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen by Donna Gephart

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Donna Gephart, who previously penned the funny and thoughtful books as if being 12-3/4 isn’t bad enough my mother is running for president! and How to Survive Middle School, has another great book for middle-grade readers aged 9 to 12 coming out next week. It’s called Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen, and here’s my review.

Ever since she can remember, Olivia Bean has loved to watch Jeopardy! It used the be the thing she did with her dad, before he left the family in Philadelphia and went to California with Olivia’s best friend’s mom. Now she watches the game show every night on her own, and sometimes she knows the answers when the adult players don’t.

So when Olivia finds out that testing for Kids Week is coming up, she knows she has to try out. Not only that, she’s got to win a spot on the show. That way she’ll get to visit the studio where Jeopardy! is filmed, which is near where her dad lives. With only 15 kids from around the country chosen to compete, Olivia will have to be extra sharp to earn a spot of her own.

If you like trivia, you’ll love Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen by Donna Gephart, but even you if you don’t there’s a lot to fall for in this story of a 12-year-old who misses her dad, is worried about her mom, and is making other adjustments in her life too.

For one thing, there’s the boy next door, Tucker, who used to be her friend but now he seems mean. For another, she hasn’t really made any other close girl friends since Nikki left for California. Olivia’s dad, who is a gambler, seems more interested in his new life than in the family he left behind, and her mom has been laid off from her journalism job. Olivia’s younger brother likes spouting gross trivia, and she resents her mom’s boyfriend. It’s a lot for a pre-teen to deal with.

But Olivia is strong, and you’ll cheer her on as she tackles life’s triumphs and disappointments while learning a lot about herself and the people who love her. I highly recommend Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 9 to 13. For a study guide, visit Gephart’s website and click on the “For Educators and Librarians” tab.

Also, if your book club reads Olivia Bean, you can email the author and ask for the Free 9-page activity/reading guide created by a school media specialist. Just visit: http://www.donnagephart.com/free-readingactivity-guide.html and request it.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book for review
.

Celebrate Women’s History Month With These Books on Famous Women

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March is Women’s History Month, which makes it a great time to read about women who have made an impact on history. Here are a few of my suggestions:

For readers aged 10 to 14

  • Cleopatra Rules! The Amazing Life of the Original Teen Queen by Vicky Shecter-this book may be chock full of facts, but it’s anything but dry. The information it presents is interesting as well as informative.
  • Promise the Night by Michaela MacColl-a fictional tale with real life events woven into it about aviatrix Beryl Markham and her childhood in Africa.
  • Rebel in a Dress Series: Cowgirls and Adventurers by Sylvia Branzei, illustrated by Melissa Sweet-find out about women who pushed the boundaries of the times they lived in.
  • Women Making America by Heidi Hemming and Julie Hemming Savage-lots of interesting information about women throughout different periods of American history. Fun to read and to keep on hand for school assignments.
  • Zlata’s Diary by Zlata Filipovic-this recounting of the war in Sarajevo by an 11-year-old diarist provides a glimpse into her personal experience with recent history.

For adults and young readers aged 15 and over

  • A Girl from Yamhill by Beverly Cleary-a memoir from the beloved children’s author.
  • In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez-this is a gripping, fictional recounting of the Mirabel sisters during Trujillo’s iron-fisted rule in the Dominican Republic.
  • The Painter from Shanghai by Jennifer Cody Epstein-a fascinating tale about the painter Pan Yuliang, who defied conventions for women in China of her time.
  • The Queen’s Daughter by Susan Coventry-a story about Princess Joan, daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine and King Henry 11, and sister to Richard the Lionheart.
  • The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O’Connor McNees-a fictional account of a possible romance in the famous author’s life.

Book Review: Brother I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat

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Brother I'm Dying cover imageBrother, I’m Dying is Edwidge Danticat’s memoir of growing up in Haiti and the U.S. In Haiti, most of her years were spent with her aunt and uncle, who felt more like the mother and father she barely remembered until they came back from New York to get her and her brother, Bob. Once in New York, she adjusted to life with new siblings who were born there.

Danticat weaves a story of the rich culture of Haiti, and the easy-going way of life many of its people enjoy. A few folk tales illustrate this culture and give a glimpse of the Haitian spirit and way of thinking. She also talks about the political unrest that has punctuated so much of its history, and the devastating effect on its citizens.

In many ways, Brother, I’m Dying is as much a story of the two men who were central in Danticat’s life—her father and her Uncle Joseph—as it is a story of Danticat herself. Members of a large family with many siblings, these two men were at opposite ends of the age range, with Danticat’s father the younger of the two. Uncle Joseph cared for the children of other friends and siblings over the years, and as the pastor of a church in the Bel Air neighborhood, his generosity of spirit was a role model to many neighbors. Danticat’s father, Mira, sacrificed a lot for his children, and he instilled a love of family that comes through the narrative.

I’ve seen this book described both as autobiography and as memoir. In my opinion it has less the feel of memoir, which seems more like a conversation to me, and more the feel of autobiography, although it may be a bit of a hybrid. I kept hoping to learn more about Danticat’s emotional reaction to events in her life and her native country, but it was more a telling of the details. Those details are very interesting and well worth reading, but different than I’ve come to expect from memoir. More emotion does come through in the last chapters, which deal with the deaths of both Joseph and Mira.

Brother, I’m Dying is interesting to read to find out more about the complicated country of Haiti, which has recently suffered much misery after the devastating earthquake.

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