The Spellmans Strike Again Lisa Lutz

So I looked through my archives and figured out that it was WAY back in 2009 that I read the first three books in Lisa Lutz's Spellman family series.  I really enjoyed them at the time because they were so different that other stuff I was reading.

This weekend I read #4, there are still two more in the series, and I enjoyed it just as much.  That being said, it kind of felt like a TV series to me.  The characters kind of do the same stuff and say the same things.  The mysteries are new, and I can never quite figure them out, so that's good, but there isn't a lot of change.  Actually in this book, Izzy and Rae both make some choices and appear to mature a bit.  But for me, this was just sideline stuff, and almost felt forced.  I realize I'm not really selling it.  I like the Spellmans, the characters and their stories.

SO the bottom line is, this is a fun, light read.  If you've read the other Spellmans, this will follow suit.  If you haven't, I recommend you pick up The Spellman Files.  I think you'll like it.  Just beware of a few F-words that come out of left field.

Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan

My 6th grade son read this book for Battle of the Books at school.  I was intrigued that he enjoyed a book with not only a girl's name in the title, but a picture of her on the cover!  He told me I had to read it, and I loved it!

Naomi lives with her brother and Great-grandma.  They live in a trailer park, Gram makes all her clothes, and her brother has some physical challenges.  So you can imagine Naomi struggles a bit to fit in.  Luckily, she is surrounded by people who love her: her teacher, the librarian, and the neighbor lady, make up for the friends and parents she is missing.  Life is going OK until her mom comes back into town. 

Naomi explains, "One of her (Gram's) favorite sayings was that the good and the bad of any situation were sometimes the same.  When I was little I had trouble holding my brain on that thought, but now it was starting to make sense." Their mother has plans for the future that are scary and lead to Naomi, Owen and the grandma taking a road trip to Mexico.  I liked how the situations have enough conflict to feel real, but they are kept age appropriate, and nothing too horrible happens.

Naomi keeps a notebook full of lists.  I loved this habit of her character.  On the back cover of my copy of the book, it says: "Things I am Good At: 1) S
oap carving 2) Worrying 3) Making Lists.

I love the writing style and the way the words are pretty, but feel natural.  "Her fingers were nimble and gentle.  It felt as though she was playing the piano on my head." or "Gram said Fabiola's mission in life was to feed the world with a smile."  This book has won a few awards, and I think they are well deserved! 

I loved the story, the characters and the writing style!  I recommend it.

Where'd You Go Bernadette? by Maria Semple

My sister gave me this book for my birthday, and I LOVED it!  I recommend it for sure.

The story is told through a series of documents: e-mails, receipts, bills, letters, interspersed between first person accounts written by Bee.  Bee is an eighth grader at a prestigious middle school whose father works at Microsoft and whose mother has become kind of a recluse in their big crumbling home on Queen Anne.  If you're from this area, you'll love the Seattle references, if you're a mother who has ever been involved with PTA, volunteering, or over anxious moms, you will crack up knowingly. 

Here's an example of Bee's mom, Bernadette.  She's describing how her heart starts racing when she lays down to go to sleep.
"It sucks in any benign thoughts that might be scrolling across my brain and attaches visceral panic to them.  For instance, during the day I might have mused, Hey, I should pack more fresh fruit in Bee's lunch.  That night....it becomes, I'VE GOT TO PACK MORE FRESH FRUIT IN BEE'S LUNCH!!!  I can feel the irrationality and anxiety draining my store of energy."  Funny, right?  And sort of relate able?  Thats what I loved about this book.

And a quote from Bee, "We'd pass icebergs floating in the middle of the ocean.  They were gigantic, with strange formations carved into them.  They were so haunting and majestic you could feel your heart break, but really they're just chunks of ice and mean nothing." 
She's thoughtful, quirky and someone you want to be friends with.

As you read, you get to know both of these women, and the documents do a good job of piecing the story together.  You get to see both their perspectives, their Dad/husband's, and a nosy neighbor's.  It is written cleverly and I don't think the story is too predictable.  Some parts maybe, but she manages to develop even stereotypical characters into something more.

This is a story of a family who has been distracted and lost touch a bit with each other.  Through some funny and some tragic events they come back together.   I really enjoyed Maria Semple's writing style and the characters she created.  I laughed, I cried, I hope you'll like it too.

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

I really liked this book!  I don't know much about Ernest Hemingway and I knew nothing about Hadley, his first wife..  If you're an expert, you might not enjoy reading this fictional account of their romance and life together.  But, I believe Paula McLain really did the research, and sought to portray an accurate but fresh perspective.

The story is great.  Hadley meet Ernest on a trip to Chicago and there is magic.  She was living a dull life, and suddenly she has this connection and as they develop their relationship, I think she becomes the woman she wanted to be.  Or at least starts on that journey.  I liked her from the beginning and found her so relate able.  I like that she was an ordinary woman, and while she points out flashier girls in her circle, she isn't self-deprecating.  She has confidence and feels worthy of her surprise romance.  I hate reading stories of girls who constantly comment that they can't believe their boyfriend/lover/husband would fall in love with them.  Gag.  Hadley isn't that way at all.  She loves her husband and commits herself from the start.

I also like seeing and learning about people before they came into their own.  Hemingway was nothing, he was broke, he was struggling to make friends and get published.  I like seeing that more vulnerable side of someone you know is going to become so successful. 

This is the first book I've read by Paula McLain, and I really like her writing style.  I'm curious if this is how she always writes, or because it is written in first person, if this is the voice she gave Hadley.  Either way, it was great.  For example, "The nest of fish was crisp under a coarse snow of salt and smelled so simple and good I thought it might save my life.  Just a little.  Just for that moment."  Beautiful!

Or this conversation when Hadley was feeling a little lonely for Ernest and maybe sad.
     I sighed. "I think it's going to rain all day."
     "Don't kid yourself.  It's going to rain for a month."
     "Maybe it won't after all."
     He smiled at me.  "All right, Tiny. Maybe it won't."

It must be hard when telling a story that many of your readers have a pretty good idea of the ending, not to painfully foreshadow.  McLain is careful in her writing, so when she does, it's successful.  This is a good example.  "It was the end of Ernest's struggle with apprenticeship, and an end to other things as well.  He would never again be unknown.  We would never again be this happy."
    
In this story, Hadley does a lot of thinking and reflecting on their marriage.  I found the underlying thoughts (not the circumstances) very familiar, and thought provoking.  They meet up with one of Ernest's friends and she comments that he "saw and understood what was good in us." Just like those people who you feel the most yourself around, it's great to have friends that make you feel that way about your marriage.  There are a lot of thoughts she has and soul searching she does toward the end that I thought was really good.  But I can't discuss it without giving too much away.  I'll just tell you that I think she does a lot of things right.

Another thing I found really relate able was Hadley's need to feel connected and to feel successful.  I wish so bad she had worked or had something to fill up her days with when they first go to Paris.  Later she makes time to go out with friends even if she's not in the mood.  I think that is so important!  Simple get togethers and events have saved me so many times.When her friend suggests that she give a piano concert, she thinks  "It would take so much more time and effort..." but then "I began to wonder if a concert might be good for me after all."  And "My playing wouldn't change anything about his habits--I wasn't naive enough to think that--but I thought it might give me my own focus and outlet, beyond the details of Bumby's feeding schedule and exercise regimen." AMEN.  I would give this advice to any woman who stays at home with her kids, find something apart from them to work on and feel successful doing.

Right after they get married, Ernest who had been gravely injured in WWI, tells her:
     "After I was shot, when my head was still in pretty bad shape, a very wise Italian officer told me the only thing to really do for that kind of fear was to get married."
    "So your wife would take care of you?  That's an interesting way to think about marriage."
    "I actually took it to mean that if I could take care of her--you, that is--I'd worry less about myself.  But maybe it works both ways."
    "I'm counting on that," I said.
Maybe this is why things didn't last?  Ernest stopped trying to take care of Hadley and was consumed with taking care of himself.

Read this book.  Really, I think you'll like it.  It's the best thing I've read in a while and has put me back in the mood to devour some books!

P.S. When you're reading you'll probably want to look up photos of Hadley and Hemingway.  Here's a pretty one from her wedding day I found.

One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus

Every Christmas my husband picks out a book for me.  I love the tradition, and he often picks books that are perfect for me!  I really enjoyed this one, but only recommend it hesitantly.

One Thousand White Women is historical fiction, developed from an actual event that took place in 1854.  A Northern Cheyenne chief asked a U.S. authority for 1,000 white women to marry 1,000 men in his tribe.  His thought was that the children of these marriages would help his people assimilate into the white culture.  He wasn't taken seriously, and it wasn't long before all his people were either slaughtered or forced onto reservations.  BUT this story imagines what it might be like if the request had been granted.  What kind of women would have gone?  What would their experiences have been?  Would it have helped relations?

I like the idea.  I think it's interesting to look back at a moment in time and how different circumstances may have affected it.  The story is told through journals and letter of the fictional May Dodd.  She is a likeable character, and she is well-written.  Toward the beginning as the women are travelling west on a train, a less-experienced friend asks May for marriage advice.  She tells her "it is my limited experience that the best way to make them happy--if that is your true goal--is to wait on them hand and foot..."  I think this is a good example of the writing style.  While it is sometimes funny, I almost feel like it is too forced.  I'm not sure if I've felt this way before, but it bothered me that the author, a man, spoke so intimately of how it felt to be a woman: childbirth, marriage, motherhood.  It just wasn't believable.

But I did like May.  One great quote from her is, "I have found that the best, and certainly simplest defense of one's faith, or lack thereof, is the truth."  I've thought about this a lot.  I tend to sugar-coat things I'm afraid others don't agree with.  It is usually better to just stick with the facts.  There's another part where May is describing the dancing around a fire.  She's poetic with phrases like "frenzy of color," and "rhythmic heartbeat of the earth."  I love her summation of the event, "How the gods watching must have enjoyed their creation."  Beautiful isn't it?

The story sometimes feel a little cliche, but I do think the author is able to acurately address the enormous cultural gap between the Native Americans and the white settlers during the late 1800's.  For the white women, I think some of the happiness they discover living among the Native Americans seems realistic.  Working hard and not having time to sit around and worry about trivial things.  They intimacy of family and how the women help each other out.  But for me it just doesn't quite hit the mark for me.  I finished it, but I didn't think it was amazing.

Also, there is some horrible violence.  I skimmed it, but it is awful.  I also felt like the wedding night scenes would have been just as effetive if they had been edited way down.  Do you know what I mean?  You can create the scene without having to describe everything, seriously.

Smuggler's Island

I think this is the first book I've read by Avi, but I've always been interested in checking him out because he has recieved so many awards, and turned out so many successful books.  My 11-year-old son told me several times that I had to read this book, "it is really, really good."  He doesn't often get excited about books, so I was curious to see why he liked it.  He explained that it is "non-stop action."

And I agree, there is no waiting around for things to start. This book takes place on a tiny island during prohibition.  Shadrach decides to solve the mysteries of the men smuggling alcohol on to their island.  He is fueled by the control the head bad guy has over his parents and the other adults of the island.  From the start, he is daring and finds himself in dangerous situations.  They were a little too much for me, but apparantly that's what kept my son interested and reading.  I realize it's fiction, and that it's good for young people to stand up for what is right, but again, as a mom, I don't want kids to put themselves in these horrible situations!

Also, there's this awful scene where his dad is going to follow through with a punishment, and the whole thing is really uncomfortable for me to read.  He doesn't do anything, but then his son is more motivated to catch the bad guys because he knows his dad has given up.

I think the story is clever, and has enough twists and turns to be an exciting book.  I didn't love it, but because my son did, you or your kids might.

mennonite in a little black dress by Rhoda Janzen

The subtitle of this book is "A Memoir of Going Home."  Rhoda Janzen is an accomplished, smart, funny woman.  This memoir mostly takes place during a sabbatical she takes in her early forties when she has gone through a divorce and then is seriously injured in a car accident.  She has a dry sense of humor and has a unique story to tell.  Because she has chosen her parents' home for her sabbatical, she delves into several aspects of her childhood. I think reading stories about growing up in different sub-cultures of the US is interesting and I think her background growing up as a Mennonite qualifies.  

Janzen fits in a lot of funny stories from her childhood.  One part that was hilarious to me is when she lists "In order of least to most embarrassing, the top five Shame-Based Foods for Mennonite youth lunches."  What follows is a list and detailed description of leftovers and portable food that her mom would pack for her lunch.  This reminded me of Melissa in This Life is in Your Hands  describing how her mom would pack her homemade yogurt in a glass jar for her dessert, while her peers were eating Twinkies.  I like things that are widely universal, and I think wanting the foods other moms packed for your classmates is one of those things everyone relates too.

Because her marriage has ended, and it was rocky throughout, Janzen has found herself dating again.  I thought her commentary on this phenomenon was funny.  Her husband was brilliant, but mentally abusive.  I think her "sexiness" criterias might just as easily be "rules for attraction."  She says, "In my opinon, sexiness comes down to three things: chemistry, sense of humor, and treatment of waitstaff at restaurants.  If the sparks don't fly from the beginning, they never will.  If he doesn't get your sense of humor from the first conversation, you'll always secretly be looking for someone who does.  And if a guy can't see restaurant servers as real people, with needs and dreams and crappy jobs, then I don't want to be with him, even if he just won the Pulitzer Prize."

There are some great ideas as she reflects on her family's religion which she has moved away from.  She quotes her mother saying, "When you're young, faith is often a matter of rules.  What you should do and shouldn't do, that kind of thing.  But as you get older, you realize that faith is really a matter of relationship--with God, with people around you, with the members of your community."

I also liked Janzen's realizations about virtue.  She says, "I have come to believe that virtue isn't a condition of character.  It's an elected action.  It's a choice we keep making, over and over, hoping that someday we'll create a habit so strong it will carry us through our bouts of pettiness and meanness."  I love that.  We choose daily what we are going to do.  And we hope that by making good choices over and over, we will be come more resilient to making bad choices.  I can see this in so many areas of my life.  Gossiping, exercising, cleaning...when I choose the better way over and over, it becomes more of a habit.  Even if it doesn't get easier, I do believe that good habits prevent us from entertaining bad ones.

The main thing that bothered me about this book was that many times the funny, quirky even annoying stories felt forced.  I feel like maybe Janzen made a list of all the entertaining and interesting stories from her life, for example her sister-in-law, bad dates over the years, random weirdos from college, and then orchestrated how to fit them in to the time frame of this memoir.  Sometimes it was in the form of a conversation she had with someone during her sabbatical, and I wanted to say, really?  Did this happen or is it an easy way to squeeze in a story you know will be entertaining?  When she went back in time to explain different elements of her marriage and relationship with her ex-husband, I could follow along and understand the relevance.  But many other times I felt like it was too far of a digression, and the only reason for including the anecdote was to get a laugh.  While her philosophical discoveries were sometimes spot on, other times they felt more like a tirade, and kind of forced.  I know I can be critical, but for me it seems like she was trying to prove how funny she was.  I wanted her to quit trying so hard because I think her intended story was enough.

I enjoyed many parts of this story, but over all too many parts irritated me to give it a glowing recommendation.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

When I started this book, I thought it would be a fluffy teenage romance.  Although it's a bit cheesy, I could see that a younger me would have enjoyed the playful banter and the excitement the main character feels when she meets a boy that is interested in her.  As the book goes on, I thought it dealt with several layers of emotion that are realistic for teenagers.  I think the main characters are clever and interesting and I actually really enjoyed reading this book.

The two main characters are Hazel and Augustus.  They both have cancer.  Hazel was given a terminal diagnosis, but responded miraculously to one of her treatments.  So now she lives with her oxygen tank, her worried and caring parents, and attends community college.  Gus is in remission, and is immediately interested in Hazel when they meet.

The reason I think this story works is that it explores how having cancer has changed these kids' perspective on life and living.  They have some great insight to life, but are also burdened with forboding of the future.  I think it works.  Gus wants to be a hero, he wants the mark he leaves on the world to be important.  Hazel is worried about how many people she is going to hurt when she dies.  They bond over a book they've read that seems honest and insightful about living with cancer.  I liked them both.
There are times when I laughed and times when I cried, that's usually a good sign for a book, right?

My one complaint, which forces me to add a caveat is that *Spoiler* they have sex about 200 pages in. It doesn't add anything to the story, it doesn't change their relationship, it isn't addressed at any point later in the book. I can't figure out why John Green included this scene in his story unless he thought that it's what teenagers wanted to read. I think it is lame.

Since finishing this book, I keep seeing John Green books pop up on lists.  Apparently he's really popular right now.  This is the first book of his I've read, and I'm interested to see if I like his other ones.

small as an elephant by Jennifer Jacobson

I thought this was a well-written story, but I have struggled to review it.  I liked the writing style and I think young readers will enjoy all the excitement.  Jack is a logical protagonist who tries his best to help himself in difficult situations.

The premise of the story is that Jack's mom is bipolar, and she leaves him alone at their campsite a few states away from their home.  Jack is 11.  He knows that if the authorities find out what she has done, that there will be dire consequences.  He is fiercely loyal to his mom and understands that she is not herself when she is "spinning."  I think that Jack is a perceptive boy, and that his choices are age appropriate.  He is well-developed and interesting.

My struggle with the story is that he is ABANDONED, LEFT ALL ALONE!  As a mother this is terrifying to read and I just want him to trust the level-headed adults that he meets on his quest to find his mom and return home.  Also, I am concerned about young readers reading this and thinking that they too could survive in such circumstances.  Jack doesn't have it easy, but let's face it, in real life HORRIFIC things could have happened to him.

The title is clever and Jack has a poignant memory of touching an elephant at the circus as a young boy.  I liked how elephants brought him comfort and the powerful moment of enlightenment involving an elephant at the end.  The chapters begin with elephant quotes or facts, which string the story together well.

I gave it to my 13-year-old to read and he really liked it.  He read it in one night and we had some good discussion about it.

Sudden Flash Youth: 65 Short-Short Stories

Edited by: Christine Perkins-Hazuka, Tom Hazuka and Mark Budman

I really liked this collection.  In college I was introduced to the concept of "short-shorts" and I think they are a fantastic literary form!  For the sake of this collection, submissons were limited to 1000 words, and had "an exclusive focus on childhood and adolescent situations."  So of course I thought it was great.

With 65 stories, I obviously would rate some better than others.  There are a few that deal with dark subjects, but I can only think of two off the top of my head.  And they are short, and you can not finish one and still enjoy the rest of the book.

One of my favorites is "The Quinceanera Text," which of course deals with generational cultural differences and values.  But it is sweet and the young girl realizes the importance of her gift. "Will you teach me some of Juanita's recipes?  She smiled,her black eyes disappearinginto the wrinkles lining her face. "I teach you everything I know."  Love.

Another one I really liked was "The Burden of Agatha" which deals with an all too familiar adolescent emotion of guilt.  It is sad, but so relateable.  "Chalk" has a similiar theme.

"Friday Night" is good.  "Kaddish is a prayer that says how great and exalted God is.  You're supposed to recite it when someone dies, even thought that's probably when you don't believe in God the most....you think: eithert God doesn't care or He can't do anything about it."  I realize that adults are writing these adolescent thoughts, but they are powerful anyway.

"Dodgeball" totally captures what it feels like to think your actions can change what others think of you when really, it's still up to them.  I loved "History," when the girl recalls her teacher telling them, "we believe things are true because we've seen pictures, but then he said, someone had to make those pictures.  Someone had to decide which details were important enough to write down."  Which reminded me of a conversation I had years and years ago with my uncle who is a photojournalist.

Reading all these well-written concise stories really made me want to teach.  The conversations and writing assignments that could spring from them seems endless!  I loved that I could read one or two in the 5 minutes I gave my kids to brush their teeth and use the bathroom. 

They are inspiring and thought-provoking and for the most part very, very good. 
Check it out!