Getting There Review

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Getting There ReviewIn the present, Luke Moore and his wife are driving their daughter to college for the first time. Along the way, they pick up a hitchhiker, and this reminds Luke of his youth some thirty years earlier. The story moves between past and present as Luke remembers both the events that turned his life upside down and his restless response as he struggled to find himself.
I was always searching for, and generally empty of, satisfaction.'
Hitchhiking between Florida and Michigan, Luke learned about himself, about the good and the bad in life more generally, and met some very interesting people each of who play some part in making him the man he becomes.
Driving his daughter to college, Luke reflects on the past and wonders how to prepare his daughter for the future. He is also just a little wary of the hitchhiker: something just isn't quite right.
Mr Boylan is an accomplished story teller, and I enjoyed his depiction of Luke's journeys both past and present. Luke meets some fascinating characters in his journey, and while he makes some questionable choices, he learns how to thrive in a world that has not always been kind to him and those he cares for. While both the journey and the destination matter in this novel, I found myself far more interested in the journey. There are a number of different messages in this novel for those who care to search for them but it is first and foremost an enjoyable read.
`Sometimes it is the little decisions that make all of the difference.'
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
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Host Family Review

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Host Family ReviewIn the early part of the 20th Century, Virginia Wolfe wrote in "A Room of One's Own" that women needed to kill the Angel in the house. She was referring to a woman's propensity to care for family members at the expense of herself--and in Wolfe's case--sacrifice her writing.
Although middle class women don't have a lock on being the "Angel" in the house, they are the audience Wolfe was speaking to -- educated women who might want to do something with their lives other than be the chief cook and bottle washer in charge of maintenance and repair.
Daisy Lewis eventually learns how to take care of herself, but she certainly takes her time getting there. When Daisy isn't handling complaints at the supermarket where she works as ombudsman ("Why not ombudswoman?" asks her friend), she's organizing food banks, washing her college son's dirty laundry, cleaning up her husband's vomit and other excrescences, or hosting foreign students for Harvard.
On one level, the book title refers the family that hosts foreign students, but on another level, it refers to the "hosts" that attract parasites and viruses--organic and manmade. Daisy's ex-husband Henri (nee Henry) is a computer virus expert and a bit of a parasite himself. Daisy's new beau is a parasitologist who isn't a parasite but he brings them home.
I found the book entertaining, and read it in two sittings. I laughed out loud once, but the text is amusing and others may laugh more. I love wordsmithing, and was most entertained by Medwed's command of English (English majors should love this book). Her wordplay is as graceful as a trapeze act. A familiarity with literature, world affairs, and internatinal cuisine will probably make many of the book's wry comments and asides more understandable.Host Family Overview

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Spinning Out Review

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Spinning Out ReviewFrenchy's had a hell of a year, and now he just wants to coast through his senior year. But Stewart wants to get involved and, as his best friend, Frenchy backs him up. Their relationship, mirrored in the master-servant/leader-follower relationship of Sancho and the Don, is the driving force of this book. And it's a serious and challenging relationship. Still, Spinning Out is mostly hilarious. It's not laugh-out-loud funny; it's more subtle than that. If this book were literary fiction instead of YA, it would be called "intelligent humor." The banter between Frenchy and Stewart is always snarky, and when you throw Ralph, their pot dealer/Frenchy's mom's boyfriend, into the mix, it's gets a little out of control. In a good way. That's why, when Stewart starts to act a bit...off, Frenchy doesn't think too much of it.
Stewart falls further and further into the role of Don Quixote; it's great for the play, but hard on Frenchy. It's also hard on his budding relationship with stage manager Kaela (who is awesome-sauce). So he steps away, just a little bit. Finally able to claim a little bit of his own limelight in the role of Sancho, Frenchy separates himself just the tiniest bit from Stewart. They're still best friends (and Frenchy is a Great Friend), they're just no longer practically surgically attached.
During all of this changing and growing and relationship stuff, there is still a show to put on! Long rehearsals, music practices, hot chicks with power tools building sets, it's all there. Theater geeks and show choir enthusiasts (and fans of books like My Invented Life) will love this aspect. All readers will be treated to a meaty story in the meantime.For more information, of the spoilery variety, about what's really going on with Stewart, see my full review:
[...]Book source: ARC provided by the publisher through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.Spinning Out Overview

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You Think You Hear: A Novel Review

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You Think You Hear: A Novel ReviewIn his debut novel Matt O'Keefe presents an engaging cast of characters - some likable, others not - but all of them real. The details of life on the road are funny and poignant and perfectly drawn - I read this book while driving across the U.S., and kept hoping to run into Matt O'Keefe's narrator along the way. "You Think You Hear" is a great book that deserves a big audience.You Think You Hear: A Novel Overview

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The Case Runner Review

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The Case Runner ReviewCarlos Cisneros has done a great job creating a real page turner. The Case Runner represents a rare, entertaining, and realistic insight from someone who has actually "walked the walk." The characters are richly drawn and resemble many lawyers, politicians, and judges I have personally known in my career. The story unwinds in a fashion that commands just one more chapter be finished before turning off the light for the night.
I highly recommend this book for Summer reading. I guarantee you will keep reading and finish it more quickly than you thought.The Case Runner Overview

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Bitter Melon Review

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Bitter Melon ReviewBitter Melon is an incredible, touching, and inspirational story of one girl's fight to become the person she wants to be rather then the one who mother wants her to become.
Bitter Melon tells the story of Frances, a Chinese-American high school student. All of her life, it's only been Frances and her mother depending on each other, and her mother making the decisions with Frances trailing behind. So, when it comes to Frances' future, her mother has the whole thing planned out: Frances will got to med school and get a life much better than the one her mother received. Though, everything changes the day Frances accidentally walks into a speech class with a teacher who's like no teacher she's ever had before. With Speech class, Frances finds a new talent, a talent of public speaking, and soon enough, Frances builds up the courage to tell her mother who she wants to be, but will she be able to rise to the task in the end? Will she be able to tell the women who's done as much as she possibly could for her daughter that she doesn't want med school? Only time will tell in this tale of mother and daughters and the space and secrets that lies between them.
I'm sure everyone here who reads my reviews has had that one big fight or fights with their mother before, thought I doubt it's ever been as the one between Frances and her mother. Frances and her mother are both interesting characters. Both are headstrong and want what the other one doesn't want, but the major difference between them is the vindictiveness France's mother contains, vindictiveness that not only made her one of the most compelling and perfect villains in the story, but someone who I wanted to yell at several times, because Frances is a lovely girl, as you'll realize if you read the book, but her mother doesn't consider Frances wants at all, instead she takes Frances for granted, even though I'm sure deep down she only means well in a twisted way. This all made the tension between them frightening yet strangely compelling, one of my favorite parts of the book. No doubt about it.
Another one of my favorite part's of Bitter Melon was Frances' speech class and speeches, because through them you got to see a vivid, honest portrayal of Frances. I also liked the way that through her speeches she begin to see people, such as Theressa, Derek, and her teacher, in ways that not only shaped her as a person but her life as well.
Adding to this, I simply loved Cara Chow's writing. At times, I could barley even tell this was her debut novel, because her writing was just that great. It was honest, raw, and addicting, making this one book that calls to be read in one sitting. I also loved the way she not only brought the late 1980s setting to life in this, but thought of so many unique ways to use symbolism in the story.
In all, Bitter Melon is one of the best contemporary books I've read so far this year (2010). It's brutal, honest, and touching; something I'm sure Courtney Summer fans will gobble right up! Lastly, Cara Chow is an author to watch because I feel she has many amazing books in future if Bitter Melon is any indication.
Grade: A+Bitter Melon Overview

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Illegal Review

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Illegal ReviewReleased in March 2011, Illegal is the story of a fourteen year old Mexican girl's struggle to hold on to her life, which is crumbling before her eyes. Her family's orchard is slowly being destroyed by drought and pests, and her town is drying up- everyone is moving on to find a better life. No people in the town means no customers to sell their fruit to, and Nora's father leaves for the United States to try to make enough money to save their home.
For awhile, things are okay, but when months go by without any word from her father, Nora's family is out of money and out of hope. She and her mother decide to illegally journey into Texas (made even more dangerous because they are two women traveling alone). After a frightening border crossing experience, Nora and her mother find themselves in Houston with little English, little money, and no idea where to start looking for her father.
This story chronicles Nora's desperate desire to survive, her perseverance, and her friendly nature. Although it deals with heartbreaking issues, the rich and well-developed characters bring light and a constant sense of hope into the story.
I give this book 4 stars, and I would recommend it primarily for middle/high school readers. It is an excellent piece of anti-oppression literature, very eye-opening but also purely enjoyable. The ending made me cry, but I was left with a sense of encouragement and an appreciation for Nora's indomitable spirit.Illegal Overview

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Room: A Novel Review

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Room: A Novel ReviewI was a fan of Emma Donoghue since reading Slammerkin many years ago.
I started this book this morning and just put it down. I was glad it was a holiday and I had nowhere to go! I just couldn't stop going back to it until it was finished.
I was hooked upon reading the first paragraph, 'Today I'm five. I was four last night going to sleep in Wardrobe, but when I wake up in Bed in the dark I'm changed to five, abracadabra. Before that I was three, then two, then one, then zero. "Was I minus numbers?"'
And the story of Jack and Ma begins. The entire story is told from the perspective of Jack, a just-turned five-year-old who is living in Room with his Ma. The only thing Jack has known is Ma and Room. His day is spent utilizing the few things they have, the songs and stories his Ma remembers and the five picture books he's had read to him over and over.
Imagine being a parent living in an 11 x 11 foot room for years, trying to survive while keeping your baby growing, safe and entertained. Imagine Jack, a child who has only ever known Ma (and the late night visits from 'Old Nick' who he only sees from his vantage point in a wardrobe). Life is good for him since he knows nothing else. Empty egg shells become a snake when threaded together, empty toilet rolls become a maze when taped together, Phys Ed is sometimes Track which goes around Bed from Wardrobe to Lamp.
For Jack, his days were filled with 'thousands of things to do'; for his mom, her days were filled with the knowledge of what was outside of Room before her captivity.
Two different perspectives, two ways of looking at life.
Donoghue has done an amazing job of letting us think like a isolated, innocent boy whose life is turned upside down when he learns that Outside of Room is a big world. Up until his 5th birthday, his world was balanced, controlled and he missed nothing since he didn't know of anything else. Everything beyond the room was Outer Space. Once he was told that the there was so much more out there, fear of the unknown crept into his world.
What a wonderful job of creating their little world, of letting us into how Ma's imagination taught Jack, kept him safe, and kept him entertained. If you have children and have ever had to wait in a doctor's office or somewhere else for a few hours, it is sometimes an exhausting job of coming up with games to play to pass the time. Imagine that feat everyday, all day for years.
I had such respect for Ma as she taught Jack about so many things in a world he didn't know. Her imagination for passing the time with games using so few resources was incredible. Her love of Jack so deep and primal it made me hug my kids many more times today than usual.
And just when you think that escaping is the best thing for them, imagine what it feels like to a boy who has only known Room.
This was a fantastic story, imaginative, creative, unique and beautifully written. I never tired of reading from Jack's perspective.
I was reminded of what the world could look like from the perspective of a small child. It makes a parent want to be more kind with their words, more respectful of what their child's needs are, and more understanding when things seem confusing.
And if you think this is really contrived and just not possible, just google the name Josef Fritzl - a real life horror far greater than Room.
A wonderful book from an already favorite author.
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Someplace Like America: Tales from the New Great Depression Review

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Someplace Like America: Tales from the New Great Depression ReviewDefinitely one of the most important books I've ever read and a sobering one at that. It is one I wish all Americans would read, because it reveals the faces of struggling fellow citizens, the likes of which we haven't seen in these numbers since the Great Depression. "Someplace Like America" is like a real-life, modern-day version of the torment Steinbeck laid out in "The Grapes of Wrath" all those years ago, albeit with numerous stories in various places across America.
As Maharidge himself states, this is a journalistic effort, not a wonky policy book, but he deftly weaves in how various political/policy decisions over the years have resulted in the suffering of Americans regardless of class, age race, sex or region of the country. We are all vulnerable, now more than ever.
My only complaint with the book is that due to the structure, it didn't feel like it really flowed and felt "all of a piece" for a while, and that's probably because it builds on previous books/articles and then moves into the present day, so there isn't necessarily a strong continuum in places. It starts in the 1980s, jumps to the 90s and 00s, revisits some of the individuals and families Maharidge and Williamson encountered previously, and then proceeds forward to document more current struggles throughout America.
Regardless of my quibbles, I found this to be a most enjoyable read, even though the subject matter is heavy and hard to take at times. It is a remarkable piece of work, and a true modern-day classic.Someplace Like America: Tales from the New Great Depression Overview

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