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Johnson, Varian. 2008. My Life As A Rhombus.

Rhonda the Rhombus. Perhaps not the most-appealing nickname a girl can have. But...Rhonda makes for quite a good heroine as one of the stars in Varian Johnson's My Life As A Rhombus.

Rhonda Lee is great at math. She excels so much that she tutors students of all ages at West Columbia Community Center. Which is how our heroine comes to meet Sarah Gamble. Sarah is one of the beautiful, popular people. Sarah needs help...and she needs it quickly if she's going to pull her grades up. But what starts as a rather reluctant relationship...becomes much much more through the course of the novel. As these two unlikely teens find they have much in common.

Their common bond? Unplanned pregnancies. Rhonda's is in the past--two years previous--and Sarah's is in the present. Sarah's secret is revealed to Rhonda alone. And the two come to discuss life and all its hardships in detail as Sarah puzzles out what to do with her life, her body. Rhonda's pregnancy ended in abortion--it's a choice that was out of her hands. Rhonda's father controlled the situation then, and this has put some strain into the relationship. It's not that Rhonda wanted to have her baby--not really. But she wanted to be the one to think it through, the one to decide. She wanted the choice to be hers. And the whole situation--sex, pregnancy, abortion--still haunts her in many, many ways. Her past keeps her from living in the present.

Sarah's friendship--and Sarah's brother, David--offer Rhonda a unique opportunity. A chance to offer comfort and support, yes, but a chance to heal as well. A chance to learn that your life need not be defined by past mistakes and regrets. A chance to accept life in all its fullness.

I enjoyed this one. I liked the transformation and development of the relationships between Rhonda and Sarah and Rhonda and David. For that matter, I liked the characterizations in general.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Schmatz, Pat. 2008. Mousetraps.

Mousetraps is a busy little book. In a way it reminds me of Sweethearts by Sara Zarr. And it feels like a cousin once or twice removed from a Barry Lyga novel*. At the heart of this novel, is the story of an almost-friendship. Once upon a time (back in elementary school) there was a girl, Maxie, who was quite good friends with a boy, Roddy Nash. After a violent (bullying) incident in middle school (seventh grade, I think), Roddy moves away...only to resurface several years later in high school. He is now calling himself Rick. Maxie is shocked to see him in her chemistry class. Not happy. Not upset. Just shocked. You see in the last year (or two) when she'd known him she had begun to distance herself from him. His nerdiness was becoming more apparent--or perhaps, she just began caring that he was a bit different from the other kids.

Now that he's back, Maxie is trying to decide what their relationship--if any--should be. Just lab partners? Just friends? Just friends outside of school? Boyfriend and girlfriend?

As I said, this is a busy book. There are many different complicating layers to the basic plot. Her cousin, Sean, and his biracial jock boyfriend, Dexter, who is still in the closet. Her best friend, Tay, who is becoming more and more distant as she experiments with drugs. And there are the assumptions and burdens of memory. How traumatized was Roddy from all those years before? Is Rick gay? Is Rick in denial? Does Rick have an anger problem? Now that it's written out, it doesn't seem like those additional story lines would cloud up the text...but it just felt like this was too much of a "problem" novel.

I think the book tried to do too much in a way. (Especially towards the end.) Yes, life is complicated. Yes, people often have more than one problem to deal with at a time. But the characters and the plot seemed to only have dimensions because of the problems. Take away the problems, and what you're left with are very flat characters. The problems define the characters. That isn't true of everyone. There are a few that are multi-dimensional.

Another review of Moustraps: Amanda,
*I'm thinking of The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Bowe, Julie. 2008. My New Best Friend.

As much as I enjoyed the first one, I do believe I loved this one just that much more. I loved it. It just felt right, felt natural, felt good. These books really capture what it feels like to be in fourth grade. Clubs. Fourth grade can be (and often is) all about the clubs. Including and excluding. Creating a hierarchy. Ida May is our narrator once again. And this time she is starting out the book with a best friend. A certain girl we first met in My Last Best Friend, a girl prone to lying at times: Stacey Merriweather. Jenna Drews is the "enemy" of sorts to our heroine. Though not so much as in the first book.

Here's the jacket description: "Ida May and her new best friend, Stacey Merriweather, are two peas in a pod. And when they discover a magical mermaid night-light that seems to grant wishes, they start a secret club--just the two of them. But before long, Ida suspects that Stacey is using the mermaid to tell some big lies...and to cause some big trouble at home. How will Ida set the record straight while still keeping her new best friend."

First paragraph:

"I'm Ida May and I have a lot to be thankful for.

• I have not dropped my lunch tray once since the start of fourth grade.
• I have only tripped twice in public.
• Dodgeball season is almost over.
• So is our science unit on dissecting worms.

I'm thankful for my teacher, Mr. Crow, even though he makes us slice open worms and pin back their skin. Because he doesn't make us touch their insides if we don't want to. And he always comes us with new ways to keep us from getting too bored with school. For example, he makes us learn how to spell big words like influenza, which is what you get if you breathe in too many bad germs, and catastrophe, which is what you get if things don't go the way you planned. Also, he reads to us every day. Not baby books, either. Lately, he's been reading us Greek stories about gods and goddesses and the creatures that work for them. Actually, they're Greek myths. Myth is a Greek word for made-up story. Like the one about the god Apollo driving a chariot across the sky when really it's just the sun. And other myths about pretty nymphs and singing muses who aren't as powerful as goddesses but, still, they can get you to do things that you don't exactly want to do. Mr. Crow says a myth is true if you believe it's true." (1-2)

I loved this one. I loved the mermaid night-light. Loved the secret club. Loved the story. It was funny in all the right places, yet it wasn't just a few pieced together laughs either. It had heart.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Ellwand, David and Ruth. 2008. The Mystery of the Fool & The Vanisher.

At just a little over a hundred pages, The Mystery of the Fool & The Vanisher is a perfect way to begin Carl's R.I.P. Challenge. The book evokes all these deliciously dark and creepy vibes. It's a mood piece, really, when I come to think of it. First, it's a work of fiction. I state this clearly because it is one of those works that presents itself like a journal. In this case, it would be a journal within a journal. On the one hand, it is the story of a man, a photographer, who happens to discover a mystery chest one day. On the other hand, it is the story of a man--a photographer--who is exploring and documenting these same woods, this same locale. Did I mention that this inner story is set within the 1880s? Both narrators--present and past--have a curiosity, a fascination, with all things faery, with these "superstitions" found in folklore. Both love cameras and photographs. Second, the book is illustrated. I would say the photographs do most of the work actually. And if the book succeeds in evoking the look and feel intended, it will be because the reader has a deep appreciation for the artistic merit of the illustrations, of the photographs.

I read this book and immediately thought of Carl. Not that I know him extremely well. But I just have this gut feeling that he'd really like this one. Maybe Chris as well. But definitely Carl.

Here's the book trailer:



© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Siegal, Aranka. 2008. Memories of Babi.

A collection of nine short stories--loosely connected much in the same way as A Long Way From Chicago works--about a young girl spending time with her grandmother. Set in pre-World War II Ukraine (near the Ukraine/Hungary border really), the stories feature a Jewish family living side by side with their gentile neighbors in this small mountain community. The stories are fictional but based on the author's childhood memories of her time with her grandmother. The stories have little life lessons packed into them, but not in a preachy way.

I read this book about a month ago. So the details are sketchy when it comes to individual stories. But I do remember liking the book in a general way.

The author is Aranka Siegal who won a Newbery Honor for her autobiography Upon the Head of The Goat in 1982.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Willard, Elizabeth Kimmel. 2008. Mary Ingalls On Her Own.

"Mary Ingalls stepped carefully from the train onto the bustling platform in Vinton, Iowa. She stood straight and quiet, her hands clasping the handle of her small suitcase. Her pale blue eyes shone with a mix of anxiety and excitement. Mary took a deep breath as the cool November breeze fanned her flushed cheeks and carried the hot smell of engine steam past her nose."

The novel, Mary Ingalls On Her Own, opens with Ma and Pa and Mary arriving in Vinton, Iowa. They have brought their daughter to blind school, a college for the blind. Everyone in the Ingalls family has worked so hard in order to provide this opportunity for Mary. And Mary know she is fortunate and blessed to be here. Her emotions on this day are mixed. Feeling sad to be leaving her family behind, to be leaving Laura behind. Laura has been her best friend, her confidante, her "eyes" for years now. Yet she feels the need to prove herself, to gain independence, to try her best at this new venture. The novel only spans two months, perhaps even a little less time. (From her arrival on that November day--we're not told when in November she arrives--to Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. During this time Mary has her moments.

Adjusting to life on her own in this new environment isn't quite as easy as Mary thought it would be. She does have two great roommates Hannah and Blanche. However, she also has one grumpy neighbor, Mattie, a girl who is only partially blind. And this young woman is going to try her patience something fierce. Mattie sees Mary as being a GOOD GIRL. Interpret that as being a goody-two-shoes or self-righteous or stereotypically perfect. Mary does have to wrestle with that image. She doesn't feel like a good girl. But she's aware that others have always had that image of her. She's not sure how she's projecting that image so much, just that it must stem from the fact that she doesn't speak without thinking. She's not prone to putting her foot in her mouth. Or giving way to anger. Or really letting people have it.

As for the plot, not much happens. That's not being rude. There are a few things now and then that "happen." But this one is about exploring the inner thoughts of one character. The emphasis is on character growth in other words.

The novel is fiction. While we know that Mary attended this college for the blind, we don't know much about her experiences there. We know she was a good student. We know she was known for being well-behaved and intelligent, but we don't know much about her personal life, her thoughts, her emotions, her hopes and dreams.

For those that can't get enough of Little House, this one might be for you. One of the things I enjoyed was seeing little facts or details from the other novels turn up. References to what Ma, Pa, Laura, Carrie, and Grace were doing. References to Mary's past and their present as well. For example, we hear by letter from the family occasionally giving updates. And if you've read the other books cover to cover, you know where that fits in here. So that was fun.

Another review: Sarah Miller,

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Lewis, C.S. 1955. The Magician's Nephew.

As long as folks don't erroneously place this one first in the series, I have no problems with this one at all. It's an interesting story of a young boy, Digory, and a young girl, Polly, and their adventures and misadventures in and out of this world, this reality.

"This is a story about something that happened long ago when your grandfather was a child. It is a very important story because it shows how all the comings and goings between our own world and the land of Narnia first began."

It assumes--presumes--a familiarity of sorts with Narnia, with Aslan, with the White Witch, with the Lamp Post, with the Wardrobe, with the Professor. (And it's just a bit silly to think this one should come first.)

Digory, the young boy, grows up to be the Professor from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. And this story is one of creation. How the world of Narnia came to be. How it was created. How evil was introduced into it. And how a promise of a savior was introduced as well. Hope. Promise. This one is rich in meaning.

The story for this one? Digory has a sick mother. Him and his mother are living with the Ketterleys. Mr. Ketterley is the boy's uncle. And he is mad, crazy, out-of-touch with reality, obsessed. He feels as the last person (in his reckoning at least) who had a godmother with a touch of real fairy blood in her that he is destined for great things, great discoveries. His dreams are of being a powerful and great magician. He loves power; he uses it as a front to his own weakness both physical and mental. He's really an overgrown baby. Very fearful. Very immature. He tricks Polly so he can use her in an experiment, and then using Polly as incentive, he has Digory as a human guinea pig as well.

Polly and Digory travel to another reality--several different realities--in fact. The book is full of their adventures and misadventures as they keep trying to set things right.

Aslan plays a big role in this one. And I love those scenes. I do.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Edwards, Julie. 1971. Mandy.

Mandy, I admit, was a childhood favorite of mine. There was just something so heartfelt, so vital, about this young orphan girl who was searching for something to make her feel complete and found it in having her own little secret garden and cottage. Her dreams, her determination, her stubbornness made Mandy work for me. It's not that you can't find those characteristics in other orphans--I can think of plenty and I'm sure you can as well. But I think the fact is that I personally "met" Mandy first. (I read it before Anne of Green Gables or The Secret Garden.) Mandy is very simply the story of a young girl, Mandy, growing up in an orphanage. A girl who is as happy as she can be--most of the time at least--but not as happy as she wants to be, needs to be in order to feel truly, deeply loved. She's a girl that longs for more, wants more. She discovers in part what she's looking for when she ventures over the wall surrounding the orphanage. She finds a forgotten little place--perhaps this place represents herself in her mind, I haven't really thought of it like that--that is crying out for love and attention. It's in sad shape. But Mandy is determined to "play" house quite properly. She wants to fix up the garden, fix up the yard, and fix up the house. And she'll stop at NOTHING to do it.

Mandy, unlike Anne in many ways, is a sad and lonely little girl. It's not that she couldn't make friends her own age at the orphanage, that she couldn't connect with others, it's that she doesn't want to. She's introspective, I suppose. Would prefer to be my herself in some ways, yet feels a terrible loneliness. A garden--of flowers and such--isn't going to take the place of a family, a friend no matter how much Mandy wishes it to.

I loved Mandy then, and I love Mandy now.

For those that aren't aware, Julie Edwards = Julie Andrews.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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Buckley, Michael. 2007. The Sisters Grimm: Magic and Other Misdemeanors.

Typically, I'm not a big fan of prologues. However, Michael Buckley's Sisters Grimm series always proves to be the exception to the rule. With just a page or two, he draws you into some rather intense and emotional scenes...whetting your appetite for more while never revealing too much. Even though I've seen the smallest glimpse of what is coming, I'm still on the edge of my seat. The books are always so action-packed, adventure-fulled, and suspensefully tantalizing that I've just got to read more.

Sabrina, Daphne, and Puck are back! It's always so interesting (to me) to see what trouble these three get in and out of in each novel. For those that may be new to the series, you should definitely read them in order. (This is the fifth novel.) But here's a brief refresher course. Sabrina and Daphne are sisters who have come to stay with their grandmother--Granny Relda--in the small town of Ferryport Landing. The three are descendants of the ever-famous Brothers Grimm. The town is a town where Everafters live--Prince Charming, Snow White, Three Little Pigs, Three Blind Mice, Rapunzel, etc.--and the Grimms are their keepers. They guard the town; they guard these fairy tale creatures from escaping the town's boundaries and preventing some of the darker ones from wreaking havoc on an unsuspecting world. This doesn't always make them popular. Some love them. Some hate them. Granny Relda is training her two granddaughters. And that gives you some idea of what these novels are about. They're intense-but-wacky treats for young readers. Action. Mystery. Humor.

Magic and Other Misdemeanors is about many things--their ongoing quest to save the girls' parents from their enchanted sleep, their ongoing quest to uncover the mysteries of the Scarlet Hand gang, about their adventures trying to save some burglaries of some local witches, and their troubles with the new city government and their new tax problem. The book is exciting. I'm not sure every reader will be as *thrilled* with the time elements. But they made my day. They really did.

http://www.sistersgrimm.com/books.html

The others in the series: The Fairy Tale Detectives, The Unusual Suspects, The Problem Child, and Once Upon A Crime. The sixth book Tales From the Hood came out May 1rst. My review will be coming soon, I promise!

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

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By Lindsay Kaplan- Associate Publicist

I was once an English major. I know. Hard to believe.

In the sweet days of my youth I foolishly decided I would waltz into New York upon graduation, diploma in hand, and land a career in Publishing. My naïveté was as common as my resumé, which is to say laughable and extremely unimpressive. Yet I thought that if I could manage to get a foot in the door, I would talk my way into a career at a prestigious house.

I did.

But most undergrads out there lack my charm, sass, and willingness to blackmail. After all, that was way back in 2006, back when an assistant like myself had to walk to Madison Avenue uphill both ways.

Times have changed. Nowadays, an impressive internship is more important than an ordinary sheepskin. Publishing is a hard industry to crack without the right connections. That’s why I’ve decided to organize a publicity internship program starting in January.

If you or someone you know is a student in New York and want to put Oxford University Press on your resume this spring, read on. If not, skip right down to the comments and tell us all about your internship horror stories! (more…)

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