Book Review: The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

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My daughter wrote this review after we read The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer for our mother-daughter book club.

When I first found out that we were going to read this book, every instinct told me not to. I had heard that it was a very scary book about cloning. Once we had read it though, I loved it. It is a story about a kid named Matt who is a clone of a famous drug dealer. At first, everybody thinks that he is just a filthy, old clone, so they lock him into a cell. When the drug dealer finds out about this, he immediately lets Matt out. Everybody still tries to avoid him. He grows up and eventually finds out that the man he’s cloned from is becoming too old and needs a new heart. Matt escapes only to find himself in a harsh, uncaring world. In the end, he learns that the only difference between a regular person and a clone, is that there is no difference. This story is about love, and a future that is harsh. – Catherine H., Portland, Oregon

Book Review: The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

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The Adoration of Jenna Fox cover imageAfter our mother-daughter book club discussed The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson, one of the girls wrote this review.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox is an interesting book with a plot that makes you want to read to the end. It covers many difficult topics with a very real and human perspective, mainly how far would you go to save someone you love. It also addresses what could happen in the medical world if we continue on the path we’re on. Though the book had some rough writing style issues the plot is intriguing enough to make you go on and finish it. The Adoration of Jenna Fox is a good book that not only makes you think about what’s going on in our world today and how that will affect tomorrow, but also about finding your true identity. — Franny S., Portland, Oregon

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Book Review: Still Life with Chickens by Catherine Goldhammer

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Author Christina Hamlett sent in this review for one of her favorite books:

There are numerous self-help books on the market that enable people to cope with major life transitions—divorce, the death of a spouse, the move to a new neighborhood, the onset of empty-nest syndrome. Nothing attacks life changes better, though, than the wit and mirth of Catherine Goldhammer’s Still Life with Chickens: Starting Over in a House by the Sea. Her conversational style is hilarious and reads as if she is sitting across the table from you over coffee and talking about her move to a fixer-upper house by the sea with a daughter who is most defiantly her own person. My favorite paragraph is the mother’s observation about the simplicity of life as seen through the eyes of their brood of fluffy chicks: “The chickens went about their little chicken lives, eating and drinking and pecking. When I picked them up, they settled into the hammock I made of my shirt and went to sleep. Their beady little eyes drooped and they leaned their little heads against my thumb. Chickens are masters at living in the moment. I should stop worrying about them, I told myself. I should bow to their greater wisdom.”

It’s a wonderful lesson about resiliency (and comfort) from which we all can learn.  —  Christina H., Pasadena, California

Book Review: Songs for a Teenage Nomad by Kim Culbertson

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These reviews for Songs for a Teenage Nomad by Kim Culbertson were sent in by readers.

A Mother’s Review

Calle Smith never lives in one place long enough to call it home. While her mother runs from relationships, lonely Calle finds solace in music, creating a song journal as a way to cope with her uprooted life. Kim Culbertson’s intelligent writing provides insight into the longings of this fourteen-year old with heartrending emotion. Not only a must-read for teens, this book presents topics and ideas that make it essential for parents as well. The themes of growth, love and loss pave clear inroads to discussion topics for mothers and daughters. Keeping a song journal is something that can be shared by both generations as a way to more easily understand one another. A high school educator for over ten years and a parent herself, it is easy to see that Culbertson has an affinity for both young adults and parents. She lends encouragement for each of us to find our unique literary voice through the keeping of a song journal. I love her tag line: “What is the soundtrack of your life?” Songs for a Teenage Nomad introduces ideas to explore together through this inspirational story. – Ann F., Salem, Oregon

A Mother’s and Daughter’s Review

Both music and words flow beautifully throughout Songs for a Teenage Nomad, written by Kim Culbertson. The songs lead the reader into the story linking the past to the present and in so doing, build a fragile connection between a mother and a daughter. A secret creates a barrier between them, but as their stories unfold both mother and daughter experience their own rite of passage. Culbertson leans into the complexities of relationships in a brilliant way, and tackles the inner world of a teenage girl with a refreshing respect for the wisdom that lies there. I’m fourteen and my Mom is thirty-nine and we both loved it! We can’t wait for her next book! – Alice and Jaime Y., Nevada County, California

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Book Review: Screenwriting for Teens by Christina Hamlett

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Reader Marci W. from Maui, Hawaii sent in this review:

Screenwriting for Teens, The 100 Principles of Screenwriting Every Budding Writer Must Know, is an in-depth, yet easy to read book for writers of all ages. Author Christina Hamlett motivates any promising screenwriter, with her humorous writing style and detailed, informative understanding of the craft. To call the book a complete how-to manual would be a vast understatement. At the end of each chapter, a section called Brainstorming, provides writing exercises to reinforce the core concepts introduced in the chapter. Also included, is a Look and Learn section that references films, television shows, books and websites that highlight the focal points contained in the chapter.

Offering more than just helpful hints for those with the dreaded “writer’s block,” Screenwriting for Teens is a comprehensive guidebook that covers all genres. Whether writing a Drama, Comedy, Action Adventure or Sci-Fi Film, this is the book to begin or develop your skills. It will be first on my recommended reading list for the Screenwriting Program that I will be offering at my local community college. Thanks a million, Ms. Hamlett, for your brilliance and encouragement, supporting all those with the courage and vision to put their pens to paper, move forward and to not give up!

Book Review: Sarah: Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

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This review was sent in by a young girl who read Sarah: Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan for her mother-daughter book club:

This book was a story told by Anna about how she got her new mother Sarah. Her father put an ad in the paper looking for a new wife. Sarah was from Maine and she came for a visit to see if she wanted to get married. Anna and her brother were worried that she wouldn’t want to stay and be their mother. At the very end of the book, we found out.

This was the first book that we read for our mother-daughter book club. Everyone really liked the book. We talked about lots of things like how hard it is to move to a new place, and we discussed our favorite parts of the book. I especially liked that the book was funny and sad. Everyone agreed that they wanted to read more books in the Sarah: Plain and Tall series. – Hayley P., Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania –  8 years old

Book Review: Lips Touch, Three Times by Laini Taylor and Jim Di Bartolo

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The kisses in Lips Touch, Three Times are not the absent-minded pecks on the cheek, expressions of friendship kinds of kisses. The kisses in these stories are sometimes shy, but also passionate, desperate, and full of longing and expectation. They celebrate life, and they herald death. They are not for the weak of spirit.

Lips Touch, Three Times is written and illustrated by the husband and wife team, Laini Taylor and Jim Di Bartolo. Each of the three stories creates a rich fantasy world that pulls you in so completely you may have difficulty re-entering reality when you put it down.

The stories build in length and complexity. The first, “Goblin Fruit,” is a short piece about Kizzy, a girl who so longs to be kissed, she becomes prey for the goblins. Can the spirit of her grandmother and stories of girls lost before her save Kizzy from the goblin’s kiss?

“Spicy Little Curses Such as These” takes the reader to India, where Estella, an Englishwoman, enters the realm of the dead every day to bargain with a demon for the souls of dead children. The deals she strikes promises an exchange of one soul of a corrupted adult for each child’s soul returned to the land of the living. When an earthquake claims the lives of many children, Estella is able to strike a deal that brings them all back. The price she must pay is to put a curse on a newborn baby girl named Anamique, a curse that will keep her silent or condemn those around her to death. When Anamique grows up, the love of a soldier tests her ability to maintain her silence and protect the life of her love as well as that of her family.

“Hatchling” is the most elaborate and inventive tale of all, creating a world of immortals, the Druj, who long for something they can almost remember having in their now forgotten past. To while away their time they keep girls as pets, casting them off when they grow to be women. Esme and her mother Mab have escaped from Mab’s cage and lived in hiding for fourteen years when Esme’s brown eye turns blue and their entire world turns upside down. With the help of Mihai, a Druj outcast, they hope to rid themselves of the Druj queen forever.

In each story, Di Bartolo’s color illustrations beautifully enhance Taylor’s evocative words to help the tales come alive. Even non-fantasy lovers should find the stories compelling. Topics to discuss include the nature of longing, maintaining self-respect while falling in love, and having the courage to create the life you want to live. Lips Touch is a 2009 National Book Award Finalist for Young People’s Literature. I highly recommend it for mother-daughter book clubs with girls in high school and all readers over 14.

Book Review: Red Scarf Girl by Ji Li Jiang

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Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang is a compelling memoir from a girl growing up during the Chinese cultural revolution. Filled with patriotic fervor for the Chinese communist government, Ji-li is at first ashamed to be part of her family, which is persecuted because of her grandfather’s political beliefs. But as she sees injustices heaped onto the heads of many people around her, she gradually becomes disillusioned and no longer believes government propaganda. Ji-Li’s authentic voice inspires discussion about family loyalties, government betrayals, and China’s history.

This is a great book to read with children. I read it aloud to my daughter, who could not believe that this life happened to this girl and so many like her in China. It prompted lots of discussion about families and government. Even kids as young as 10 or 11 should be able to appreciate the story, and it’s fascinating for adults too.

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