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Results 1 - 14 of 14
1. CROSSED WIRES by Rosy Thornton

Crossed Wires
Crossed Wires
by Rosy Thornton


December 11th 2008 by Headline Review
Hardcover, 320 pages
0755345541 (isbn13: 9780755345540)
Fiction/Literature, Romance, British

4 of 5 stars



"Autocare Direct Motor Insurance."

Mina - Wilhemina - is a young, single mother who works at the Sheffield call center for car insurance. Peter is a Cambridge geography professor who's just crashed his car into a tree stump. They're both single, both parents. In America, this would be a definite One Fine Day type of hit. But they're not in America; they're in England. And the class difference between them is palpable, pronounced. Throw in Peter's colorful next door neighbors, Mina's deadbeat little sister, and three of the most fun children in literature, and you've got a full-on MIAM (Make It A Movie).

I almost hate to recommend Crossed Wires as a MIAM, so read it first before Thornton sells a screenplay. Thornton's writing is so cozy - the written equivalent of a roaring fire and the perfect pot of tea. She's speaks directly to those of us who grew up and/or raised children during Harry Potter. She makes Dr. Seuss references. She speaks directly to so many experiences - male couples who have lived together their whole lives but never clarified their relationship; parenting twins; scraping by on just enough money; reading in a university library. Your feeling is that she must have snuck into your brain and shared your experiences, so keen are her portrayals.


I waited to review this novel until the leaves started changing here in Colorado. Crossed Wires involves bonfires and New Year's and coats and boots, so it's not the best summertime read. As a fall read, it's excellent. Buy it if you're a romance (but not erotic romance) fan (think Sleepless in Seattle), or check it out if you're not - though you'll probably end up buying it anyway.

2 Comments on CROSSED WIRES by Rosy Thornton, last added: 9/24/2009
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2. THE WET NURSE'S TALE by Erica Eisdorfer

The Wet Nurse's Tale
The Wet Nurse's Tale
by Erica Eisdorfer


August 6th 2009 by Putnam Adult
Hardcover
0399155767 (isbn13: 9780399155765)
Historical Fiction

3 of 5 stars


"There was snow on the ground when my time came"

Susan Rose is a lower-class maid in Victorian England. When she becomes pregnant by the lord's son, she escapes to London where she finds work as a wet nurse, as her mother had done before her. She moves from job to job, as she's needed, all the while commenting to the reader in dry tones about the scandals of the higher classes. When tragedy strikes, Susan has to decide if she can continue the life she's chosen, or if she must return and do her duty by her family.

Erica Eisdorfer is a fellow Duke grad, yet she works for the trade bookstore on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill. Just as Eisdorfer's loyalties are a little mixed up (ahem, Blue Devils vs. Tar Heels), so Wet Nurse's Tale, her first novel, is a mixture of well done and poorly done. In fact, the well done is so well done - warm, accessible, witty writing -  it accentuates the poorly done piece all the more.

Susan is a lower class, illiterate character. She has to hire someone to write letters for her. And yet, the tone of this first person protagonist is that of an educated gentlewoman of poor means - a slightly randy Jane Eyre, if you will. To have Susan address us as "Dear Reader" - suggesting she is herself writing the book, and therefore not illiterate - completely throws us out of the comfortable rhythm of Eisdorfer's otherwise spot-on writing.


For any mom's group who's had the breast v. bottle debate, this is fun with an open perspective that won't invalidate either side; you'll want to buy it so you can underline the bits you like. For any mom who has breastfed, this is a humorous journey into nursing during another era. And for everyone else, it's a bouncy, well-researched piece of historical fiction that's neither sentimental nor hard-nosed. Check it out from the library, especially if you're a fan of Jane Eyre.

2 Comments on THE WET NURSE'S TALE by Erica Eisdorfer, last added: 9/21/2009
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3. FADE TO BLUE by Sean Beaudoin

Fade to Blue Fade to Blue
by Sean Beaudoin

August 1st 2009 by Little, Brown Young Readers
Hardcover, 208 pages
0316014176 (isbn13: 9780316014175)

4 of 5 stars

10 Comments on FADE TO BLUE by Sean Beaudoin, last added: 8/21/2009
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4. Book Bits #4: Middle Grade Classics


Book Bits are mini-mini-reviews of books 
that I either don't have the time or inclination to review fully.  
However, I have read in entirety the books mentioned.

Editor's Corner

"Even though my daughter Anna is entering the 6th grade, she still enjoys it when I read to her at bedtime.  We have been reading E.H.Gombrich's A Little History of the World,which is a delight to read aloud-the tone is conversational and easy, and historical figures are described in all their humanity, flaws and all. It opens up ample opportunities for us to marvel at how things used to be.

It's harder to make room for read-aloud time now, as much as Anna enjoys it, because she is also increasingly absorbed with her own reading.  Recently Anna enjoyed The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate and The Compound.  I'm watching her grow more and more passionate about books, but so far-knock on wood-that hasn't diminished her enthusiasm to be read to at night!"

-Sally Doherty, Executive Editor, Henry Holt BYR

A Royal Pain (Point) A Royal Pain
by Ellen Conford
September 1990 by Point
Paperback, 171 pages
0590438212 (isbn13: 9780590438216)
3 of 5 stars
what Meg Cabot read to get the inspiration for The Princess Diaries. Conford's novel is what would have happened if Mia had been mistaken.
Running Out of Time
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Running Out of Time (An ALA Best Book for Young Adults)2004 (first published 1995) by Scholastic
Paperback, 184 pages
0439632501 (isbn13: 9780439632508)
4 of 5 stars
hard to summarize without spoiling; you should read this especially if you grew up in the Midwest
Just in CaseJust in Case
by Meg Rosoff
February 29th 2008 (first published 2007) by Plume
Paperback, 246 pages
0452289378 (isbn13: 9780452289376)
3 of 5 stars
Rosoff's dark indie humor reminds me why I'm not really a fan, but not because she's not a skilled writer
Jinx
by Meg Cabot
August 1st 2007 by HarperTeen
JinxHardcover, 272 pages
0060837640 (isbn13: 9780060837648)
3 of 5 stars
speaking of Queen Meg, this is a fun Practical Magic-meets-Gossip Girl novel with teen romance that's appropriate for younger readers (middle grade)

8 Comments on Book Bits #4: Middle Grade Classics, last added: 8/21/2009
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5. ROSEY IN THE PRESENT TENSE by Louise Hawes

Rosey in the Present Tense Rosey in the Present Tense
by Louise Hawes

March 2001 (first published 1999)by Walker Books for Young Readers
Paperback, 144 pages
0802776035 (isbn13: 9780802776037)

4 of 5 stars

Rosey spreads her arms out like an airplane, then dive-bombs off the rock.


Franklin Sanders - lacrosse player, poet, teenage boy - loves Rosey Mishimi. When Rosey dies in a car accident, Franklin can't stop thinking of her in the present tense. When Rosey's spirit appears to Franklin six months later to help him move on, Franklin refuses to acknowledge any truth except that she is there with him. Is it better to be depressed or insane?

Let's be honest. I bought this book because Louise Hawes is Queen of Awesomeness. I knew I was predisposed to like it (especially since my nickname is Rosey). I probably would have reviewed it in a positive light no matter what.

Fortunately, this novel totally merits a positive review all on its own.

A quick little read (only 128 pages), Rosey in the Present Tense appealed to me in a variety of ways. Mostly, however, I loved the characterization of Franklin. It would be easy, I think, to show this adolescent boy and reduce him to a stereotype. Hawes, of course, doesn't take the easy route. Franklin is an honest human character, ageless in his experience of loss. Only a touch of teen angst infuses his actions. He's one of the best teen male characters I've read since Harry got his very first letter from Hogwarts.

I'd recommend this book for ages 12 and up (really up - all the way to adult), but probably not as a gift.  On one hand, this may be a book you want to get from the library. I'm not sure I'd read this book a second time: I know I will cry every time I read it, and I don't really need to cry that much. On the other hand, you might want a copy of your own. I find myself pulling it off the shelf to read snippets here and there, beautiful bits of Rosey's life and Franklin's devotion to her. 

3 Comments on ROSEY IN THE PRESENT TENSE by Louise Hawes, last added: 8/1/2009
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6. Children's Book Bits #1

The OK Book The OK Book 
by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

April 24th 2007 by HarperCollins
0061152552 (isbn13: 9780061152559)
3 of 5 stars
Turn "OK" on its side and you've got the stick figure of a kid! Rosenthal's character explores a lot of way that he/she is "okay." The book is better than okay, but not great - a little long, a little overly "precious." Still a great one to get from the library to read to your own kidlings.

Professor Wormbog in Search for the Zipperump-a-ZooProfessor Wormbog in Search for the Zipperump-a-Zoo
by Mercer Mayer
September 7th 2001 (first published 1976) by School Specialty Publishing
157768687X (isbn13: 9781577686873)
 4 of 5 stars
a more playful version of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, this book is the story of Professor Wormbog, who can't see things right under his nose.  I was a little sensitive to all the animals he kept in cages, but mostly this is a fun romp of a book.  Another one to get from the library.
Jamaica Louise JamesJamaica Louise James 
by Amy Hest
August 5th 1996 by Candlewick
Hardcover, 32 pages
1564023486 (isbn13: 9781564023483)
3 of 5 stars
sweet story about a budding NYC artist who lives with her mother and grandmother; too wordy for preschoolers, best for older kids, maybe ages 6 and up

Wombat WalkaboutWombat Walkabout
by Carol Diggory Shields
March 19th 2009 by Dutton Juvenile
Hardcover, 32 pages
0525478655 (isbn13: 9780525478652)
 4 of 5 stars
a counting poem chock-full of Australian terms and equally whimsical artwork; for preschoolers and older (there's a dingo who wants to eat the wombats)

Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters (Reading Rainbow Book) Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters
by John Steptoe

March 31st 1987 by Amistad
Hardcover, 32 pages
0688040454 (isbn13: 9780688040451)
4 of 5 stars
one of my favorite stories from around 5th grade or so when I fell in love with fairy tales; an excellent gift book for any little girl who's learning what it means to be a princess; unparalleled artwork

5 Comments on Children's Book Bits #1, last added: 8/1/2009
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7. SHADOWED SUMMER by Saundra Mitchell

Shadowed Summer Shadowed Summer
by Saundra Mitchell

February 10th 2009 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Hardcover, 192 pages 
0385735715    (isbn13: 9780385735711)

rating: 4 of 5 stars

 "Nothing ever happened in Ondine, Louisiana, not even the summer Elijah Landry disappeared."

Iris spends lazy summer days with her best friend, Collette, practicing spells and magic more to combat boredom than from any conviction in witchcraft. One afternoon Iris is contacted through these spells by the ghost of Elijah Landry. Elijah was born and died before Iris was born, and no one in Ondine knew what happened to him. Along with Ben, Collette's new "boyfriend," the girls work on solving the mystery Elijah's disappearance.

I'm hard-pressed to find anything lacking in this, Saundra Mitchell's debut novel. The pacing moves an original plot along nicely, the characterizations are deft and believable, and I assume that Mitchell's screenwriting background is what makes her dialogue so expertly natural. She writes small-town Southerners authentically, without stereotyping.

What I love most about SHADOWED SUMMER, though, is that that Mitchell doesn't sacrifice an absorbing story for anything inappropriate for her target age group. The 14-year-old girls are aware of boys and kissing, but Iris has reservations about being giggly and fake for them. Iris herself is a darling mix of preteen and teen, tomboy and girl, self-assured and self-doubting. In other words, her character reads just like that of a real kid.

This is definitely one I'll encourage my own kids to read (in ten years), and one I'd feel comfortable giving a girl in grades 6-9 as a gift, even if I didn't know her very well. While I'm not sure parent & grandparent aged folks (male and female) would like to own this volume, they would enjoy it as a quick read from the library.


 Reverie's review; Pub Story with Reviewer X; Juicilicioussss Reviews; and For the Love of Books

5 Comments on SHADOWED SUMMER by Saundra Mitchell, last added: 7/31/2009
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8. FLOWERS FOR ELVIS by Julia Schuster

Flowers For Elvis Flowers For Elvis
by Julia Schuster

April 1st 2009 by Bell Bridge Books
Paperback, 248 pages
0982175612 (isbn13: 9780982175613)

rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Elvis Aaron Presley was born to Vernon and Gladys Presley on January 8, 1935 in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi."

----------------------------------

"I came into this world and left it on the same day."

Set against the backdrop of the 1960s South, Flowers for Elvis tells the story of fraternal twin girls. One of the babies, Olivia, dies immediately after being born. Meanwhile, her sister continues to be raised as the twin sister of her cousin, born three days later. Olivia's spirit, however, lingers, observing with a wry fondness the twists and turns of her sister's turbulent life.

Though Schuster's Catholic tendencies (which tend to be traditional, somewhat conservative, but not fundamentalist) are obvious, she uses them honestly in her perception of Olivia's story, rather than a tool with which to preach to the audience. Because the first chapters are about Olivia's birth and death and encounter with the Mother Superior who buries her, I worried a little about getting through the rest of the book. I stumbled, a bit, over Olivia's brief encounters with God and the capitalized pronoun "He," since that doesn't reflect my own theology nor a common use in progressive churches. I'm not sure whether Schuster's trying to capture the time period of the modernist church or just mirroring her own beliefs (she's a religion teacher in Memphis, TN.)

The good news is, things markedly improve once the awkward introductions have been made. I marked the page in this book where my interest was finally captured. Page 38. It takes Schuster, a fellow former Louisville-ian, that long to get into an otherwise strange and charming tale. Willard and Genevieve, Anna Beth and Louisa evoke the Practical Magic sisters or the women from Fried Green Tomatoes. They are strong, flawed characters, loving and willful and impatient and wise.

By the end of Flowers for Elvis, I was captivated by this story. It helps that there's a twist I didn't expect - it's hard to surprise me - and an ending that might be one of the most perfect (in that same strange, charming way) endings I've ever read.

If you're an Elvis fan, you should just buy this book. Every chapter is headed with an Elvis reference, and while the King never makes an appearance, Genevieve does regard him as her patron saint and ultimate Love Interest. If you're not an Elvis fan, you should still pick up a copy of this book. It's an excellent summer read, and, trust me, once you finish, you're going to want to pass it on so you can discuss it with your sister or mum or friend or book group.



Similar to:



Fannie Flagg

Barbara Kingsolver

Billie Letts



Many thanks to Bell Bridge Books for a review copy of this title.


View all my reviews.

3 Comments on FLOWERS FOR ELVIS by Julia Schuster, last added: 6/23/2009
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9. The Plague by Joanne Dahme

The Plague The Plague
by Joanne Dahme

May 4th 2009 by Running Press Kids
Hardcover, 272 pages
0762433442 (isbn13: 9780762433445)

rating: 3 of 5 stars

"When I was George’s age, I had an unsettling dream about Princess Joan, and this was at a time when the princess was a stranger to me, known only through a flashing glimpse from a faraway vantage point.”

Nell and her younger brother George are escorting their parents’ bodies to the burial pit for plague victims when the King happens upon them.  He mistakes Nell for his own daughter, Princess Joan.  Without other future prospects, and determined to care for George, Nell agrees to become a companion to the princess, and, two years later, to escort Joan to Spain for her marriage to its prince.  The traveling party is unprepared, however, for the misfortunes they encounter when they land on the continent.  To save her little brother, Nell makes a dangerous agreement with the Black Prince, Edward Platagenet – an agreement which may put the entire country of England in jeopardy.

I found this to be a sweet little story.  It put me in mind of Karen Cushman’s The Midwife’s Apprentice or Catherine Called Birdy, though, frankly, The Plague lacks Cushman’s depth and finesse.  The Plague is supposed to be aimed at teens, but it seems more appropriate in a late-elementary or mid-grade marketing scheme.  The characters, while promising, don’t develop beyond a sort of idealized dualism (good vs. evil).  The plot is simple, but engrossing enough, and the vocabulary doesn’t quite reach SAT levels.

Having said that, it’s almost as though the lack of character development is intentional, because they show such potential.  Nell’s motivation is simple: she wants to protect her younger brother.  George, Nell’s brother, is slightly superstitious and actually has healing abilities (which he doesn’t discover until after his parents are dead.)  Together they’re protective and affectionate, which resonates with me because of the relationship I have with my own younger brothers.

 
A good summer read for just-graduated 5th or 6th graders.  A possible gift for a 5th, 6th, or 7th grader studying medieval Europe.  A super-fast, fun read for older fans of plague-fiction and people who hate rats.

4 Comments on The Plague by Joanne Dahme, last added: 6/1/2009
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10. Bad Mother by Ayelet Waldman

Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace Bad Mother: A Chronicle of Maternal Crimes, Minor Calamities, and Occasional Moments of Grace
by Ayelet Waldman

May 5th 2009 by Broadway
Hardcover, 224 pages
0385527934 (isbn13: 9780385527934)

  rating: 3 of 5 stars

 “The morning after my wedding, my husband, Michael, and I, were lying on a vast expense of white linen in the bridal suite of Berkeley’s oldest hotel; engaging in a romantic tradition of newlyweds the world over: counting our loot.”

(I didn’t realize until halfway through this book that the above-named Michael is Michael Chabon.  Don’t tell Moonie.  Waldman also went to law school with some guy named Barack Obama.)

Given the humorous quote on the front of the ARC I received, I expected Bad Mother to be equally humorous, possibly irreverent, and even somewhat flippant.  That’s not, however, how it begins.  Ayelet Waldman comes out swinging every ounce of intellectual muscle she’s got; she’s a formidable contender.  Bad Mother starts out less as a book of humor than as a feminist critique, almost scholarly and certainly political, of current expectations of women who are mothers.  With humor thrown in.  (A similar tactic is used by Jessica Valenti to soften the serious message in  Full Frontal Feminism.)

Waldman sets up her book with a chapter about “bad mothers,”  mothers like the the woman Waldman reprimanded on the bus who was yanking her daughter’s hair as she braided it.  Why do we obsess over “bad mothers”?  (Besides the fact that “worrying about egregious freak-show moms like Wendy Cook and Britney Spears distracts us from the fact that, for example, President George W. Bush cheerfully vetoed a law that would have provided health insurance to four million uninsured children.) By defining for us the kind of mothers we’re not, they make it easier for us to stomach what we are.

Waldman informally polled her friends to find definitions of Good Mothers and Good Fathers.  A definition of a Good Mother always involved self-abnegation: “she is able to figure out how to carve out time for herself without detriment to her children’s feelings of self-worth.”  The same people “had no trouble defining what it meant to be a Good Father.  A Good Father is characterized quite simply by his presence.”

She ends the first chapter with a question.  “Can’t we just try to give ourselves and each other a break?”  My good postmodern deconstructionist self cheered.  My brain and my heart were engaged.  I settled in for more discussion, re-thinking, and questions to spur us toward a new paradigm of expectations for motherhood.

After such an auspicious beginning, Bad Mother rolls into territory that is more memoir/social commentary, territory that is humorous, irreverent, and, at times, flippant.  Waldman spends the remaining seventeen chapters self-consciously bragging about what a fabulous partner and father Chabon is, enumerating what she perceives as her failures as a mother, and offering the mechanisms she used to cope with the fact of these "failures."

The underlying message from Waldman is: “Here are the terrible things I’ve done – just be glad you haven’t done anything this bad.”  After the conclusion to that first chapter, I’d hoped that Waldman would be proposing a different way of thinking; an entirely different way of analyzing motherhood. 

Granted, Waldman’s commentaries and anecdotes are both poignant and hilarious.  (“A Good Mother doesn’t resent looking up from her novel to examine a child’s drawing.”)  She's a hell of a writer.  From opinions about breast feeding and Attachment Parenting and sending snacks to preschool, to her own stories about terminating a pregnancy and about revelations concerning her own mother’s parenting style, Waldman's rich writing moves along smoothly, like a bottle pouring a nice merlot.  It’s certainly a book worth reading.


I wouldn’t buy this book for your own mother, but it would make a great gift between (or among) girlfriends, or for someone who considers Michael Chabon her secret boyfriend.  And, unless you live in Berkeley (as Waldman does, and reminds her reader…frequently) or Boulder, it would surely spark heated discussion in a book or moms’ club. And even if you’re not in love with Michael Chabon, I dare you to admit that there’s not some part of you that wants to be as wise and funny and erudite as Waldman when you grow up.

8 Comments on Bad Mother by Ayelet Waldman, last added: 6/15/2009
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11. If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay If I Stay by Gayle Forman

April 9th 2009 by Dutton Juvenile
Hardcover, 199 pages
0525421033 (isbn13: 9780525421030)

rating: 4 of 5 stars



"Everyone thinks it was because of the snow."

Because I try to maintain a no-spoiler policy in my reviews, I am using for a synopsis the wording provided by the publisher.

Choices.  Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love – music – even if it means losing her boy friend and leaving her family and friends behind?

The one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes.  Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one.  And it’s the only one that matters.


The words I’d use to describe this book have all been taken: “graceful,” “lovely,” “gentle.”  Also “page-turner,” “imaginative,” “haunting” and “stay-up-very-very-late-to-finish.”  Okay, maybe I’m the first to use that last phrase.

The plot is gripping, but it’s the characters in If I Stay that make it so unforgettable.  For example, when her little brother was born, Mia’s dad gave up his long hair and leather jacket, donned a bow tie and became a teacher.  And yet the transition was natural, and typical of the bonds that Forman so deftly creates in this close-knit and authentic family.  Adults are adults, teenagers are teenagers, and without preaching, Forman demonstrates how that dynamic grounds Mia.  Mia herself is the sort of protagonist you fall in love with, you root for, a narrator who easily steps into the ranks of Bella and Hermione.

I’ve thought and thought, but I don’t think this book will appeal to teen guys.  Otherwise, I’d recommend the book for anyone high school or older.  I would also highly recommend it as a library check-out for parents and grandparents of teens.

6 Comments on If I Stay by Gayle Forman, last added: 5/21/2009
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12. How I Got To Be Whoever It Is I Am by Charles Grodin

How I Got to Be Whoever It Is I Am How I Got to Be Whoever It Is I Am
by Charles Grodin

April 9th 2009 by Springboard Press
Hardcover, 240 pages
0446519405 (isbn13: 9780446519403)

 rating: 4 of 5 stars

“My first memory of something having a powerful, lasting effect on me came when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.”

I saw an interview once with Cameron Crowe in which he said that his movie “Almost Famous” was like blowing a kiss his early years as a roadie/music reporter and the people who’d been part of those experiences.  I think, in a similar way, How I Got to Be is Charles Grodin’s kiss-blowing to his own past, both his boyhood and his journey from theatre to film to journalism.  And it’s a sweet kiss.

Grodin’s newest book includes behind-the-scenes tales that feature actors, directors, writers, producers, journalists and politicians with whom he’s worked. It’s best to think of this book as a collection of essays.  Other than Grodin himself, there’s no cohesive thread throughout.  There’s a chapter about Dustin Hoffman and the movie The Graduate, a chapter about Grodin’s perspective on doctors and modern medicine, a chapter about Grodin’s work in Washington, D.C.

I had not known that Charles Grodin was such a political activist.  In fact, he’s received the William Kuntsler Award for Racial Justice and has been honored by Habitat for Humanity for his humanitarian efforts on behalf of the homeless.  One of my favorite anecdotes in How I Got to Be was the one in which Grodin describes his experience making a documentary with Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel.  The three created a primetime special with actual footage from Vietnam, to explain how and why Simon & Garfunkel were writing anti-war music.

Your Father’s Day shopping begins and ends here.  As I was reading this book, I made a mental note just about every other page that this would be a great gift for my dad or either of my grandfathers.  Despite the fact these three men wouldn’t agree with Grodin’s politics, I doubt they could resist the wry humor and honest appraisal of a life well-lived that Grodin offers in How I Got to Be Whoever It Is I Am. 

(also, all of Mr. Grodin's proceeds from this book go to Mentoring U.S.A.)

3 Comments on How I Got To Be Whoever It Is I Am by Charles Grodin, last added: 6/1/2009
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13. Exodus by Julie Bertagna

Exodus Exodus
by Julie Bertagna

April 1st 2008 (first published 2002)
by Walker Books for Young Readers
Hardcover, 352 pages
0802797458 (isbn13: 9780802797452)

 rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Once upon a time there was a world. . .a world full of miracles.”
 
Mara Bell is fifteen years old and the exact image of her grandmother Mary. She lives on Wing, an island in the northern part of an Earth nearly drowned by the melting of the polar ice caps.  The waters are continuing to rise, and Mara must trust the instincts she inherited from the strong women in her family.  She convinces her neighbors to flee the island for refuge in one of the sky cities, the tall feats of technology so high as to be safe from the storms and rising waters.  When they reach the nearest city, however, they are barred from entering and treated like so much refuse that is expelled from the white city itself.  Mara has to risk everything to save her people and the other refugees, and possibly fulfill a prophecy.  And the waters continue to rise.

The cover of the copy of Exodus that I got from the library there is a quote from The Guardian: “A miracle of a novel. . .a book you will remember for the rest of your life.”  I’m a theologian.  Floods and Exodus.  I remember another book with these phrases that have shaped my life.  I didn’t think another could.

I was wrong.  There is so much original, so much beautiful, so much of heartrending genius in this novel.  The plot moves quickly and effortlessly, there’s action and science-fiction and myth (Joseph Campbell style) and romance.  The best I can tell you is to run, run, run and read it yourself.

Read this book.  You’ll not be sorry.  Your heart and your head will reconnect with our own world of miracles.

10 Comments on Exodus by Julie Bertagna, last added: 6/1/2009
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14. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane 
by Katherine Howe

May 22nd 2009 by HarperCollins Canada / Hyperion Voice
Hardcover, 371 pages
1401340903 (isbn13: 9781401340902)

rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Peter Petford slipped a long wooden spoon into the simmering iron pot of lentils hanging over the fire and tried to push the worry from his stomach."

In 1692, amid the Salem witch trial frenzy, Livvy Dane stands among the women accused of practicing witchcraft.

Three hundred years later, PhD candidate Connie Goodwin spends her summer in a small town near Salem, cleaning up and clearing out the rustic house that belonged to her mother’s mother.  Along with overgrown belladonna and actual mandrake root, Connie discovers a key and a slip of paper bearing the name “Deliverance Dane.”

It’s coincidentally fortuitous that just as Connie needs a dissertation topic with a newly discovered primary source, her grandmother’s ancient belongings suggest that Deliverance passed down an original book of spells.  It’s also coincidentally fortuitous that the first and only man she meets in Marblehead is a hunky steeplejack with intellect to match Connie’s own.

There seem to be a lot of coincidentally fortuitous happenings in Physick Book.  I won’t go so far as to claim deus ex machina, but neither would I argue if someone else wanted to suggest it.  If there are coincidences, Howe weaves them deftly into the story so that they (almost) seem natural.  Other details are more forced, such as a reference to a huge cellular phone to emphasize the 1991 setting.

And while the plot machinations can be easily absorbed, less comfortable are the chapters in which, jumping back in time to the events of 1692, Howe writes in the  dialectical speech of Puritan New England.  Unlike, say, Jim’s speech in Huckleberry Finn, the Nor’easter dialect Howe depicts is confusing, gawky, and jars the reader out of the story.

Despite its foibles, I would call Physick Book a solid first novel.  Howe’s own academic proweress (and snobbery) is evident (there’s a recurring joke about Cornell not being an Ivy League school.)  And the thorough research is crafted into the fantastically accessible history lessons.  The pacing is remarkable – 400 pages, flipping periodically back to 17th century Salem, and there was never a time I felt as though I could skip ahead, nor did I want to.

What strikes me most about the book, however, beyond its technical merit, is that it’s got a lot of heart.  Not the mushy-gushy kind, but the subtle intimacies shared among women, between mothers and daughters, close friends, mentors and their students, and even women separated by centuries.  Howe’s female characters are empowered and conscious of their voices (or lack thereof).  This is feminism at its best, comfortable and in a natural, organically occurring state.
 

An intelligent gift book for a woman in your life – friend, colleague, wife, mother.  Pre-order this book for Mother’s Day, print a picture of its cover to slip in the card, and write “For making my childhood magical.”  It would also be a good beach read for someone not really into typical ice cream romances.

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