Review: Shelter
Mickey has grown up all over the world because of his parents’ work for a charitable organization. As he enters high school, they decide they need to settle down so he can attend high school in one place. Unfortunately tragedy strikes, and Mickey ends up in the care of his uncle Myron Bolitar.
When Mickey attends orientation at his new high school, he meets Ashley, another new student. When she goes missing a few weeks later, he and the friends he’s made search for her and find themselves in danger.
Shelter, by Harlan Coben, is the first book in a new young adult series featuring Mickey Bolitar, the nephew of Coben’s popular character Myron Bolitar, and it is great fun! Mickey was rather mature for his age but, for the most part, I bought it because of his nomadic and unusual childhood, so I was able to suspend disbelief when necessary.
I thought Mickey was a great character and I appreciated his loyalty and determination. I also liked the way he stuck up for the underdog and didn’t really worry about what other people thought. Most of his friends are misfits and he appreciates, rather than mocks, their uniqueness.
The mystery aspect of the story was solid and a lot of fun. The way the kids were able to solve it was a little far-fetched but that didn’t keep me from enjoying it. Things were definitely set up for another book and I hope Mickey’s friends are in the rest of the series as well. I think Shelter will appeal to both males and females – I would recommend it to ages 12 and up.
For more children’s books reviews, go to Booking Mama on Saturday for Kid Konnection. If you’d like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children’s books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, leave a comment as well as a link on her site.
Review copy provided by Penguin. I am an Indiebound Affiliate.
Review: The Orchard
After an unsettling childhood with a troubled mother and an absent father, Theresa Weir was living in Iowa, working at, and living in, her uncle’s bar. When Adrian Curtis, a young apple farmer, came in after a wedding, the two began an odd sort of courtship and married shortly thereafter, without really knowing each other. Weir didn’t realize that by marrying Adrian, she was marrying his family and their farm too.
Weir weaves stories from her past with stories of her life with Adrian in her beautifully written memoir, The Orchard. She slowly reveals her difficult childhood while she struggles to understand the intricacies of marriage and the family she’s married into. Weir finds hope and contentment in a life that would have left others bitter and I found her story uplifting and sorrowful at the same time. Reading this book was a very emotional experience for me – I literally sobbed at one point – and, days later, I still feel it’s impact.
Along with her life story, Weir writes the story of the farm and its struggles and triumphs. She reveals the lure of the land to farming families and the dangers and sacrifices involved in farming. Her poetic words will make you think about what it takes to grow the food you eat.
I highly recommend The Orchard to anyone who loves beautiful writing and especially to those who love memoirs. It’ll make you pause and reflect and may even change your attitudes about farming and pesticides. I’ll carry Weir’s story in my heart for quite a while.
Review copy provided by Hachette Books. I am an Indiebound Affiliate.
Wondrous Words Wednesday
Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading. If you want to play along, grab the button, write a post and come back and add your link to Mr. Linky! I really do need to read more challenging books because once again I had to rely on my Word-a-Day calendar.
1. maffick – “Fans mafficked for hours outside the stadium, celebrating the team’s dramatic victory.”
Maffick is a verb that means to celebrate with boisterous rejoicing and hilarious behavior. I’ll admit that I’ve been caught mafficking before.
_____________________________________________________
2. revanche – “Soon after losing the northern territory to the invading army, the general began drafting a plan of revanche to get it back.”
Revanche is a noun that means revenge; especially: a usually political policy designed to recover lost territory or status.
_____________________________________________________
3. flocculate– “During fermentation, yeast cells flocculate in the vat and either rise to the top or sink to the bottom.”
Flocculate is a verb that means to aggregate or coalesce into small lumps or loose clusters. It’s an interesting word, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to slip into a conversation.
_____________________________________________________
Have you come across any new words lately?
Author event and giveaway: Kim Edwards
Fiction Addiction recently hosted New York Times bestselling author Kim Edwards for a Book Your Lunch event and I was lucky enough to attend. I was especially thrilled since one of her books had been an answer on Jeopardy the week before.
Kim was born in Texas, but only lived there for two months. She grew up in upstate New York where she attended community college and Colgate University – she also attended the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. After getting married, she and her husband lived in Southeast Asia for several years, teaching English as a second language.
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter was released in 2005 with very little fanfare or publicity. The paperback came out in May of 2006, hit the bestseller list in July of that year, and stayed there for two years. Kim said she got the idea for the book after her pastor read one of her short stories and told her the true story of a Down Syndrome twin who was given away and institutionalized at birth. She had no input on the movie version of the book and felt disoriented the first time she saw it. When she watched the movie a second time, she felt they were true to the essence of the book
Kim writes daily while her children are in school and sets a goal of 1000 words a day. She is an intuitive writer and feels the story must take on it’s own life, especially in the beginning. She doesn’t work from an outline, but allows the characters to come to life and surprise her. She needs quiet, contemplative time to write so doesn’t write while she’s touring, but uses that time to allow her next book to percolate in her mind.
Kim started her latest book, The Lake of Dreams, before The Memory Keeper’s Daughter was published. It’s set in the Finger Lakes area, where she grew up, and is the story of a young woman who returns home because she’s still haunted by her father’s death. She discovers some old family heirlooms that reveal many of her family’s secret and change her life forever. When Kim read several passages from The Lake of Dreams, she moved many people in the audience. I’m really excited about the book after hearing her and got Kim to autograph a copy for one lucky reader.
To enter to win an autographed copy of THE LAKE OF DREAMS simply fill out the entry form. Contest is open worldwide – one entry per person, please. I will use random.org to determine the winner. Contest ends at midnight EST Thursday, February 2, 2012. Winner will be announced on Friday, February 3, 2012. Comments are welcome (and appreciated) but will not get you an entry in the contest.
Mailbox Monday
Welcome to Mailbox Monday, a meme started by Marcia of A Girl and Her Books and hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books for the month of January. Life has been crazy, so I was happy for a slow week. Even though I didn’t get much reading done last week, I was able to make the slightest dent in my book stacks. Here’s what I found in my mailbox:
Friday
- The Lost Daughter by Lucy Ferriss came from Penguin
What did you find in your mailbox last week?
Review: Triangles
Three women – two sisters and a friend – are unhappy with their lives as they face their forties. They each have their challenges and they each cope with them in different ways. Holly is a single mom searching for Mr. Right. Andrea is married to a man who she finds dull so she looks for fun in other places. Marissa has an ill daughter, a gay son, and she and her husband seem to have drifted apart.
Last year I discovered novels in verse and became a huge fan. I read one of Ellen Hopkins‘ young adult novels and loved it, so I was really excited to pick up her first adult book, Triangles, and I’m sad to say it didn’t live up to my expectations. At times, I felt like Hopkins tried to do too much with the book – some issues were brought up and barely explored. I didn’t like the way the characters handled their problems or the way they justified their actions. There was a lot of infidelity in the book and it made me uncomfortable. Maybe that was the point, but the old fuddy-duddy in me hopes it’s not an accurate portrayal of our society. As I finished the book, I wondered what the point of it was.
Even though I wasn’t a fan of the story, I appreciated Hopkins’ writing. Her free verse is outstanding and I love the way her poems flow into each other. Triangles is told from the points of view of the three main characters and it didn’t take long to get a feel for their individual voices.
I seem to be in the minority on GoodReads, so you might enjoy this book more than I did. It’s graphic and sexually explicit, so it’s not for everyone.
Review copy provided by Simon & Schuster. I am an Indiebound Affiliate.
Kid Konnection: Inside Out and Back Again
In 1975, ten-year old Hà lived in Saigon with her family. Her father, an officer in the Vietnamese Navy, was captured on a mission nine years before. Her mother does her best to take care of Hà and her three brothers. Things become more and more difficult and when it appears the fall of Saigon is imminent, Hà’s family flee their native country and settle in Alabama.
Adjusting to life in a new country with a new language and new customs is never easy, but for a confused ten year old, it’s down-right difficult. At one point Hà says:
No one would believe me
but at times
I would choose
wartime in Saigon
over
peacetime in Alabama.
Written in verse, Inside Out and Back Again, by Thanhha Lai, is Hà’s story, and what a story it is! Recommended for middle school age on up, this book deals with the Vietnam War, immigration, and family. It is tragic, touching, and triumphant. I found myself rooting for young Hà.
I’m a big fan of immigrant stories and I think this one is special since it’s told from the point of view of a young child. Can you imagine going to school when you don’t know the language or customs? You can’t come up with the answer because you don’t even understand the question.
Based on the author’s own life, Inside Out and Back Again captures the emotions, frustrations and hardships young immigrants must deal with. Hopefully reading Hà’s story will give young people a better understanding of and more empathy toward those who are different from them.
This book won the 2011 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature for good reason, but you don’t have to be young to enjoy it. I loved Inside Out and Back Again and hope it finds its way into many classrooms because it will encourage great discussions.
For more children’s books reviews, go to Booking Mama’s feature, Kid Konnection. If you’d like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children’s books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, leave a comment as well as a link on her site.
Review copy provided by Harper Collins. I am an Indiebound Affiliate.
Guest review: The Crown
I’m happy to say my sister’s back with a wonderful review! I didn’t think this book was for me, but after reading what she has to say, I may just have to give it a try.
The year is 1537 and England’s religious houses are under siege. The King has separated himself from the Catholic church and established the Church of England. King Henry VIII’s chief minister, the conniving Thomas Cromwell, has set about disbanding the monasteries. Joanna Stafford at the urging of the King’s first discarded wife, Katherine of Aragon, joins Dartford Priory. Joanna is of noble birth, well educated, fluent in several languages. The king has ordered her cousin and best friend, Margaret, be burned at the stake. Joanna is a novice at the priory, but risks everything by breaking the rules and sneaking out in the middle of the night. She makes her way to Smithfield to attend the execution. When her father shows up all mayhem breaks loose, and she finds herself on a barge on the Thames headed for the Tower of London. The Tower is a prison with a notorious reputation for torture and death. The only chance Joanna has of making it out of the Tower alive is a deal offered her by the conniving Bishop of Winchester.
The Crown is Nancy Bilyeau’s debut novel and it’s a good one. It’s not your usual historical novel; it combines history with a fast paced exciting plot. Most people are familiar with Henry VIII and his numerous wives, but I doubt many know much if anything about the Pilgrimage of Grace and Thomas Cromwell. I found it fascinating and I found myself digging a little deeper into this part of English history. I really enjoyed this book. It’s filled with secrets, murder, subterfuge and intrigue. Joanna Stafford, the strong female character who is so brave, determined, and resourceful is amazing. Can Joanna solve the mystery and save her beloved father and priory? You’ll just have to read this thriller of a tale to find out.
Review copy provided by Simon & Schuster. I am an Indiebound Affiliate.
Review: Little Princes
When Conor Grennan decided to spend a year taking a trip around the world his friends were critical, so he decided to spend three months of that year volunteering at an orphanage in Nepal, feeling sure that would impress people. Up until that point, he’d had very little exposure to children, so he was unprepared for just how much the children at the Little Princes Orphanage would affect him.
After his three month stint, Grennan couldn’t get the children out of his mind or his heart, so he returned to the orphanage a year later. He came to discover that many of the children were not, in fact, orphans – they had been taken from their parents under false pretenses by child traffickers. Grennan was so moved by the plight of these children, he has made it his life’s work to take care of them and reunite them with their families when possible.
Little Princes is Grennan’s story of his time with those children and tells how he came to start Next Generation Nepal. This memoir has something for everyone – it’s part travelogue, part love story, and part issues primer and I was just charmed with it. I really enjoyed and appreciated how candid Grennan was – he went in with an ulterior motive and found his purpose in life. He never sugarcoats the story or portrays himself as a savior – he’s honest and willingly shares his faults as well as his triumphs. The resiliency of those children changed him and caused him to reevaluate his life. I admire the way Grennan saw a need and did something about it.
Many people have raved over Little Princes – I enjoyed this book a great deal, but I’m not sure that I would say that I loved it. I loved the story and the message, but part of the book dragged for me. I found that I looked forward to reading about Grennan’s encounters with the children of Nepal and his budding romance, but felt that some of the travel parts went into a little too much detail for me. I still found the book to be a very emotional and satisfying read and I do recommend it to those who love a heartwarming memoir. Even this fabulous trailer makes me tear up:
Wondrous Words Wednesday
Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme where we share new (to us) words that we’ve encountered in our reading. If you want to play along, grab the button, write a post and come back and add your link to Mr. Linky! My words this week came from my Word-a-Day calendar. (I’m happy to report I got the 2012 version for Christmas.)
1. majuscule – “I can always recognize my brother’s handwriting at a quick glance based on how elaborately the majuscules are formed and how they dwarf the other other letters.”
Majuscule means a large letter (as a capital). I think I’ll be able to remember this one because it reminds me of miniscule.
_____________________________________________________
2. roorback – ““The attacks on my character are nothing but roorbacks drummed up by my opponent,” insisted the candidate.”
I should be able to use this word a lot this year. Roorback is a noun that means a defamatory falsehood published for political effect. I’m already tired of roorbacks this year.
_____________________________________________________
3. cineast – “The once modest film festival is now a huge commercial event that draws cineasts and industry insiders from around the world.”
A cineast is a devotee of motion pictures; also: a moviemaker.
Have you come across any new words lately?
