Book Review: Yuri’s Brush with Magic by Maureen Crane Wartski

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Yuri's Brush with Magic cover imageTammy’s mother is in a coma after an accident, and Tammy and her brother Ken worry that she may never wake up. Life is difficult for the family as the children’s father spends a lot of time at the hospital when he’s not working, but the news that their Great Aunt Yuri is coming from Japan to help care for them during the summer is not welcome. Even though they’ve never met Yuri, they’ve heard stories about her, and they have nicknamed her Mean Yuri.

Tammy and Ken are determined to sabotage their time with Yuri so she will leave them, but as they spend more time with her and get to know her, they discover the story behind the family legend. There’s more to Yuri than they realized.

Yuri’s Brush with Magic by Maureen Crane Wartski charms with its Japanese legends and a paintbrush that seems to make its subjects come to life. Tammy is at the age where she still believes that fantasy tales may be real, but she’s old enough to know the consequences of real life tragedy. She desperately needs someone who can help her get through the dark times of her mother’s illness.

Yuri is a mystery who gradually reveals herself to the children, and the reader gets to see her unfold as Tammy and Ken do. While at first I was put off by the extremes of the supporting characters in the story, I began to see their personalities as parallel to some of the characters in the old legends. The nesting habits of sea turtles is also part of the storyline of Yuri’s Brush with Magic, and the author includes lots of sea turtle facts at the end of the book. They are great for discussion, and mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 9 to 12 can also talk about how miscommunication can lead to misunderstanding, the lessons taught in the old legends, friendship, and more.

Publisher Sleepy Hollow Books provided me with a copy of this book to review.

Book Review: Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

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I have to admit that one of my favorite parts of what I do with Mother Daughter Book Club. com is reading and reviewing books that may be interesting for clubs to choose. Still, I’m only one person with a limited amount of time. So I like it when authors and book club members send me reviews of books they have read. Today I’m featuring a guest book review by author Christina Hamlett (authorhamlett.com), who recently read Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin.

Title: Elsewhere
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Genre: Coming-of-age
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2005

One of the ongoing questions that humans have obsessed about since the dawn of their existence has been “Where do we go when we die?” Gabrielle Zevin’s YA title, Elsewhere, takes a sweet – although not unique – spin on the premise that departed souls spend time in a pleasant way-station before being recycled back to Earth with new identities. In the case of 15-year-old heroine Liz, her life was cut short by a hit-and-run driver who, despite his guilt, had what he believed were compelling reasons not to confess to his wrongdoing. Bewildered by her arrival in the Hereafter, Liz plausibly reacts as any teenager would when rules are changed against their will: she is determined to hate, hate, hate it and spend all of her time obsessing about everything that might have been.

The coin-operated telescopes that allow residents of Elsewhere to observe what’s going on amongst the living are an inspired parallel to the obsessions that teens – and quite a few adults – have with reality shows, celebrity tabloids and gaming. As is pointed out to Liz on more than one occasion, spending so much time being a spectator is holding her back from discovering the joys and possibilities of “living” in the now.

The introduction of a romantic interest is very much reminiscent of the 1987 film “Made in Heaven” starring Timothy Hutton and Kelly McGillis. In the movie storyline, Mike and Annie meet in the Hereafter, fall in love, and are then torn apart when one of them “dies.” Grief-stricken because he can’t live without his beloved Annie, Mike is offered a unique proposition – to be reborn himself and see if he can find her in the next 30 years. The complication? Neither he nor Annie will have any recollection of one another despite the number of times their paths cross. Elsewhere also flirts with elements from the 1990 Alan Rickman/Juliet Stevenson film “Truly, Madly, Deeply” in which a young woman’s idealizing her late boyfriend’s attributes gets puts to the test when he returns as a ghost and proves that he really wasn’t as perfect as her heart wants to remember.

Though marketed as a YA novel, the uplifting themes that underscore Elsewhere have a takeaway value for readers of all ages. The dialogue is crisp, the pacing is snappy, and the descriptions are breathtaking. I also have to add that it’s nice to see there are dogs in the storyline, too – all of which “speak” with honesty and sincerity about the things that matter most.

Christina Hamlett
www.authorhamlett.com

Book Review: Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol

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Anya's Ghost cover imageThere’s a lot to irritate Anya about her life. Her mother cooks fattening food, she’s associated with an unpopular boy in school just because they’re both Russian immigrants, her close friend is mad at her and she never expects to date the boy she has a crush on. Running away from her problems seems like the best thing to do until she falls down an abandoned well. There she discovers the skeleton of a young woman who died long ago, and her ghost talks to Anya and helps her get out.

Soon Emily’s spirit is following Anya to school and staying at her home, and she wants to help her succeed at whatever she tries. But Emily is hiding a secret about her past, and when Anya starts to suspect the truth, Emily’s “help” takes a sinister turn.

Anya’s Ghost is a graphic novel for young adults written and illustrated by Vera Brosgol. Anya, with all her worries about fitting in, is easy prey for Emily, who longs to have experiences again through a living human. And at first, Emily seems to help Anya get everything she wants: attention from her crush, acceptance from cool kids, and help on tests. Once Anya is part of the world she admires, she begins to see that it’s not what she dreamed it was. But getting rid of Emily and getting back to her old life proves to be more challenging than Anya thought it would be. Brosgol’s illustrations are stark, reflecting how Anya feels about her life throughout much of the novel.

Girls aged 14 and up will relate to the issues of wanting to fit in, being embarrassed by family members, and wanting easy solutions to complicated problems.

Publisher :01 First Second provided me with a copy of this book to review.

 

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Book Review: Walk the Wild Road by Nigel Hinton

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Walk the Wild Road cover imageAuthor Nigel Hinton grew up hearing how his grandfather left his large, poor family from Poland at the age of 11 to seek his way in the world. His book, Walk the Wild Road, fictionalizes the family legend and imagines what could have set a boy off into the world on his own.

Leo’s family is desperately poor, and when his mom becomes pregnant with a new baby, all the older children must look for work. But times are hard, and there is not much work to be found. Leo’s younger sister finds a place in a tavern, and Leo hears of a job at the manor. But when the landlord’s cruel son accuses Leo of a crime that will send him to jail with hardened criminals, he takes to the road instead, hoping to better his life and send money home to his family.

The country was preparing for war with France in 1870, and Leo meets with a suspicious population and hardship on the road. Then he meets Tomasz, who is making his way to America. The two boys journey together, buoying each other up through the hardships they encounter.

Walk the Wild Road is an adventure story with a heart. Leo always wants to do the right thing, but hunger and exposure sometimes compel him to steal food and sneak lodging. He meets people who are kind beyond his expectations, and others who are cruel without reason. He learns that hardship is easier to face in the company of a friend, and he never gives up hope for a better future. Hinton does a nice job transferring this story from family lore to a tale that will resonate with teen boys and girls.

Publisher Sourcebooks provided me with a copy of this book to review.

 

Book Review: The Crepe Makers’ Bond by Julie Crabtree

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The Crepe Makers' Bond cover imageAriel loves to cook. It helps her forget about the fact that she already has a huge chest that the eighth grade boys love to stare at, and that her family can really embarrass her sometimes. She especially loves to cook for her best friends, Nicki and M, and they can talk about anything that’s bothering them as they eat. But when M’s mom announces that they’re moving from Alameda to Crescent City, California, Ariel knows how important it is for her friend to finish middle school before she leaves. So she cooks up an idea to have Ariel stay at her house until school is over. But will this turn into one more of Ariel’s successful concoctions or a recipe for disaster?

The Crepe Makers’ Bond by Julie Crabtree is about friendship, cooking, and family dynamics. M thinks the most important things in her life are her friends and school. She’s sure that she’ll get along fine without her mom for a few months. But she finds that adjusting to life with another family, even if you’re very close to them, can be difficult. Ariel also finds that her family acts different with someone new around all the time. She’s not sure she appreciates the changes.

I did feel that the ending was a bit rushed, and that Nicki’s secret boyfriend and family issues weren’t fully explored. However, I also believe that there are so many family dynamics and friendship issues in The Crepe Makers’ Bond it will be a good book for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 9 to 12 to discuss. Issues covered include older parents, divorced parents, strict parents, body image, having boyfriends against your parents’ wishes and more. And since each chapter is followed by what seem to be great recipes, you’ll have no shortage of ideas about what food to serve at a meeting.

Publisher Milkweed provided me with a copy of this book to review.

Book Review: Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley

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Where I Belong cover imageCorrinne lives the perfect life in New York City. Her father makes a lot of money, she spends a lot of it, and she parties hard with her friends. But when the financial crisis tightens family finances, she and her younger brother find themselves adapting to the slow life in a small Texas town, staying with grandparents they barely know.

Tripp adjusts to his new surroundings well, but Corrinne is determined to hate everything about Broken Spoke. Yet when she makes a new friends and starts to integrate into country life, she begins to  reconsider her perfect life from before.

Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley explores all kinds of relationships: mother-daughter, grandmother-granddaughter, sister-brother, and best friends. Corrinne discovers things about her glamorous mother that she never would have guessed were in her past. She learns to respect her grandmother once she sees that the rules grandma lives by are important. Corrine also learns a lot about herself and the kinds of things she really values in life.

Corrinne’s conversion happened a little too quickly for me to believe it’s genuine, and maybe that’s why I also wasn’t convinced her change of heart would last. Also be aware that Corrinne and her friends in both New York and Broken Spoke drink heavily and often, even though they’re only 16. Even so there’s a lot for mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 14 and up to talk about, including forming values about what’s important in life, how money contributes or doesn’t to happiness, how we define friendship, and the interplay of family dynamics. There are plenty of funny moments, and Heasley gives us interesting glimpses into big city life as well as country living.

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

 

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Book Review: Just Add Magic by Cindy Callaghan

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Just Add Magic cover imageIt all starts when Kelly finds an old encyclopedia while she’s cleaning out her attic. Except it’s not an encyclopedia—it’s got handwritten recipes pasted over the pages of the printed book. Kelly loves to cook, and she enlists her two best friends to be part of a cooking club in her family’s kitchen. But when the trio decides to mix up recipes from the book, their concoctions lead to consequences both good and bad.

Cooking always has just a little bit of mystery, and Cindy Callaghan’s Just Add Magic ramps that mystery up a notch. The girls speculate on who wrote the recipes and how it got in Kelly’s attic, and they soon realize that when they use a magic recipe to cause an action, there’s an equal reaction in the opposite direction. They have to discover how to stop the process before it gets out of hand. The question is how are they going to do that?

While I felt as though there were a few loose ends that needed resolution at the end of the book, overall I thought it was fun to read. Girls aged 9 to 12 who have an interest in cooking should especially enjoy it. There are great recipes at the back of the book for book clubs (or anyone) to try, and it doesn’t seem as though these dishes will cause karmic trouble at all.

Visit www.cindycallaghan.com that features Cindy’s blog, recipes, a discussion guide, details about upcoming appearances, her bio, and more.

Book Review: The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson

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The Friendship Doll cover imageIn the 1920s, 58 dolls were sent as ambassadors of friendship from the children of Japan to the children of the United States. About three feet tall, these dolls had human hair and came dressed in kimonos and accompanied by accessories such as tea sets and parasols. The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson is the fictionalized story of one of them, Miss Kanagawa.

Miss Kanagawa takes her role as an ambassador seriously. Still, she is surprised to find a connection at times with the children she comes into contact with. Bunny feels neglected by her family and schoolmates, and her inclination is to lash out and steal glory for herself. Lois gets the chance of a lifetime when her great aunt offers to take her to the Chicago World’s Fair, and she must decide how to spend the precious quarter her dad has given her for the big day. Willie Mae is a mountain girl whose family struggles for food and survival. Yet books buoy her up, and she has a thirst for knowledge. Lucy’s father heads west from his ruined farm in Dust Bowl stricken Oklahoma. They face extreme hardship as they search for a new home. Mason is losing his beloved grandmother to Alzheimer’s, and he longs for the happier days they spent together.

Each child faces issues having to do with friendship and family struggles. In some way, each has to decide how to do the right thing. Times are hard during the Great Depression, and relationships are the one thing that can be counted on, even if those relationships are strained by outside pressures. Larson portrays the yearning that each character feels beautifully, and the places she chooses for the children to live helps paint a picture of what was happening across the country during the late 1920s, throughout the 1930s, and into the 1940s.

Passages that portray Miss Kanagawa’s thoughts didn’t work for me as well, but overall I think the The Friendship Doll is a memorable story that will give mother-daughter book clubs with girls aged 8 to 12 a lot to talk about.

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

 

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