Category: Reviews

Book Review: Holding Up the Universe

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews, Young Adult2 Comments

I don’t find very many books at random anymore—I’ve become a “request and pick up” reader rather than a library browser, mostly.  But…sometimes I’m short on books and that requesting does take time.  And sometimes I find a gem just by picking it up.  Such is how I found Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven, a troubled teen story with teens with unusual troubles.

Jack has face-blindness—he can’t recognize anyone, even his mother or two brothers.  He navigates through life by remembering key details (his brother is skinny with big ears, his girlfriend has a very helpful fake beauty mark), hiding his challenge from everyone.  Libby went viral in an online video in the worst possible way—as a morbidly obese teen who had to be cut out of her house.  Since then she’s lost weight but remains large (and feels comfortable at her current size), and is now facing a return to high school.  When the two end up thrown together, they each see the other in unique ways.

This was a fascinating book.  I don’t like troubled teen books as a rule, but this was not your run-of-the-mill troubles.  I’m so intrigued by Jack’s face-blindness.  His particular situation is extreme, but it’s a real thing that a surprising number of people have (and surprising people: Jane Goodall!  Brad Pitt!)  The book is in alternating POV, and I loved seeing the world through Jack’s eyes as he navigates a world that is always full of strangers.

Libby may be a contender in nine months for my favorite character of the year.  She’s done a lot of hard work in the last few years, losing weight of course but also (and more to the point) work on self-image and self-confidence.  Her over-eating was brought on by her mother’s death and bullying, so that’s hard issues right there.  As she returns to high school, she is simultaneously totally confident in herself, and totally afraid of trying to be that self out in the world. Continue reading “Book Review: Holding Up the Universe” →

Book Review: The Go-Between

On By cherylmahoneyIn Historical Fiction, Reviews2 Comments

Based on anecdotal evidence, you likely have never heard of The Go-Between by L.P. Hartley, but you might know its opening line: “The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there.”  I picked the book up recently because Michael Crawford (of Phantom of the Opera fame) starred in a musical play based on the book–which was why I went to England last September! (I’d have gone eventually…but that was why it happened then.)  The play was wonderful, Crawford was magnificent, and the book was pretty good too.

The Go-Between centers around Leo Colston, an older man remembering the summer he turned thirteen.  He spent it with a school friend’s family, at an estate much above his own social class.  There he had his first crush, on his friend’s older sister Marion, and became the go-between for Marion and Tom, a local farmer.  And while it all seems quite cheerful at first, we know something went horribly wrong.

This is one of those charming, terribly British books that manages to be incredibly discreet, while centering the entire plot around a scandal.  Marion and Tom are of course carrying on a torrid affair, despite the class difference, despite Marion’s coming engagement–but even though the affair is at the center of everything, I don’t think Hartley ever once says so!  But I like that–because we all know what’s going on, but Hartley is subtle and clever about conveying it.  And it also is a good mirror for Leo himself, who is (somewhat out of his own desire) in the dark for most of the book. Continue reading “Book Review: The Go-Between” →

Book Review(s): Rumi and Thich Nhat Hanh

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews1 Comment

One of my major reading goals this year is to read more spiritual books.  I’m practicing Catholic but I have a broad view on spirituality, so I began my reading with two writers I’ve long been intrigued by, both outside of Christianity.  (Author three was a Franciscan friar so back in the fold, but that’s for another day!)  I started with Rumi, who comes from Islamic tradition, and followed with Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk, both of whom I’d been hearing about for a long time.

I’ve frequently seen Rumi quoted, and almost always liked whatever I heard.  Despite that, I knew next to nothing about him!  So I hunted my library collection and picked an appealing title – Rumi: Bridge to the Soul: Journeys into the music and silence of the heart, translations by Coleman Barks.

I still don’t feel I know much about Rumi, as the book didn’t turn out to contain much context about the author (though there was a lot in the introduction about an ancient bridge, and the translator’s experiences…for me, it was maybe too much of the wrong kind of information).  But there were some eighty poems by Rumi, which was enough to give me a flavor of him.

I don’t understand Rumi.  But I liked him anyway.  And that’s an unusual stance for me to take!  Continue reading “Book Review(s): Rumi and Thich Nhat Hanh” →

Classic Review: Abel’s Island

On By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, Juvenile, ReviewsLeave a comment

Today a look back at a long-time, if quiet, favorite.  This isn’t a book that shows up on my favorite lists usually, but it stuck with me more than most…and it’s my go-to when discussing whether deep and complex subjects can be appropriately portrayed in children’s stories!

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It’s funny the books that stay with you.  I remember around about third grade (maybe, I don’t remember that part for sure) we had to do a certain number of book reports during the school year, maybe per month.  I don’t remember if I found that challenging, but I doubt it.  🙂  I also don’t remember any of the books I did for this, except one: Abel’s Island by William Steig.  For whatever reason, that one stuck.

Although I don’t think it was until I reread it recently that I made the connection–William Steig!  The one who did a bunch of picture books!  You know, Doctor De Soto and Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (and he also has the happy good fortune of being alphabetically near James Stevenson, my favorite picture book author).  Yet another advantage of revisiting childhood favorites. Continue reading “Classic Review: Abel’s Island” →

Book Reviews: Good Masters, Sweet Ladies and Crispin

On By cherylmahoneyIn Historical Fiction, ReviewsLeave a comment

I accidentally paired two Newberys lately, and found myself reading two books about small medieval villages in a row.  Which actually worked out well, as a lot of historical elements paralleled and supported each other.

First I read Good Masters, Sweet Ladies: Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz.  An unusual format, this is a collection of monologues (and two dialogues).  Each speaker is a different character from the same village, each speaking about his/her life.

Considering the presentation, I was impressed by how vividly the characters and world came to life.  Originally written for a school pageant (giving each child a good part), all the characters are children.  They’re a wide range of classes and life situations, from the Lord’s son to the beggar boy.  Altogether they depict the society, its rules and hierarchies throughout the village.

I liked best the monologues that built on each other, as when the Lord’s daughter spoke about having a clod of mud thrown at her and her confusion…followed by the monologue of the girl who threw it, and her hard home life, envy of the Lord’s daughter, and ultimate remorse. Continue reading “Book Reviews: Good Masters, Sweet Ladies and Crispin” →