Book Review: The Wild Book by Margarita Engle

Title: The Wild Book

Author: Margarita Engle

# Of Pages: 144

Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books

Publication Date: March 20, 2012

Source: Library

Level: Middle Grade

Rating: 3 Hearts

Synopsis

(From Amazon.com)

Fefa struggles with words. She has word blindness, or dyslexia, and the doctor says she will never read or write. Every time she tries, the letters jumble and spill off the page, leaping and hopping away like bullfrogs. How will she ever understand them?

But her mother has an idea. She gives Fefa a blank book filled with clean white pages. "Think of it as a garden," she says. Soon Fefa starts to sprinkle words across the pages of her wild book. She lets her words sprout like seedlings, shaky at first, then growing stronger and surer with each new day. And when her family is threatened, it is what Fefa has learned from her wild book that saves them.

My Verdict

I just have to express my absolute LOVE of this cover! The illustrations are just so colorful and beautiful. Now for the actual story: this is the third book I’ve read by Margarita Engle and unfortunately none of them have lived up to the first.

The Wild Book is about eleven-year old Fefa, who at the beginning of the book finds out she has “word-blindness” or what we now know as common day dyslexia. The book is about Fefa’s struggle and how she works to overcome it. It’s set in the Cuban countryside of 1912, and is a work of historical fiction loosely based on stories the author’s grandmother used to tell her.

I found it unbelievable how cruel Fefa’s own brothers and sisters treated her, making fun or her reading and writing, calling her ugly. Maybe it’s because I had a great relationship with my sister growing up, but I just couldn’t fathom them being so downright nasty to her.

As always the authors beautiful writing had me jotting down quotes as I went along. Here is my favorite:

“Words seem to float

and drift, changing

their strange shapes,

like storms clouds,

always ready to explode.”

Overall it wasn’t a personal favorite, but I think it serves as a great example for kids of perseverance and never giving up, because while Fefa got frustrated a lot near the beginning, she kept working to overcome her dyslexia.

Book Review: Witness by Karen Hesse

Title: Witness

Author: Karen Hesse

# Of Pages: 161

Publisher: Scholastic

Publication Date: July 5, 2000

Source: Own

Level: Young Adult

Rating: 2 Hearts

Synopsis

(From Amazon.com)

Leanora Sutter. Esther Hirsh. Merlin Van Tornhout. Johnny Reeves . . .

These characters are among the unforgettable cast inhabiting a small Vermont town in 1924. A town that turns against its own when the Ku Klux Klan moves in. No one is safe, especially the two youngest, twelve-year-old Leanora, an African-American girl, and six-year-old Esther, who is Jewish.

In this story of a community on the brink of disaster, told through the haunting and impassioned voices of its inhabitants, Newbery Award winner Karen Hesse takes readers into the hearts and minds of those who bear witness.

My Verdict

It’s always disappointing when you read one book by an author and absolutely love it and then you read another by them and don’t like it. That is pretty much what happened here. I had just read Out of the Dust the night before and was expecting another great book but instead was very disappointed with what I found.

This is a work of historical fiction about a small town in 1924 and how it affects them when the Ku Klux Klan moves into town. Told in five “acts”, the story unfolds before us through the eyes of eleven different characters, each passage told from a different point-of-view. The cast of characters was just too large and hard to keep track of. There was a cast list in the front of the book with pictures of each character, which was nice but I got sick of flipping back and forth between pages every time I couldn’t remember who someone was.  Needless to say this really hindered me from connecting with any of them.

Another thing I didn’t like about switching between such a large number of characters was that their ages ranged from six to sixty-six so one minute your in the head of a six year old with her innocent thoughts and the next minute your in the head of an adult who’s plotting to poison someone.

I apologize for the really negative review but this book just wasn’t for me. I am still planning to read more of Hesse’s work in hopes they will be more like my first experience with her writing, which was the polar opposite of this one. 

Book Review: Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

Title: Out of the Dust

Author: Karen Hesse

# Of Pages: 256

Publisher: Scholastic

Publication Date: January 1, 1997

Source: Library

Level: Young Adult

Rating: 5 Hearts

Synopsis

(From Goodreads)

When Billie Jo is just fourteen she must endure heart-wrenching ordeals that no child should have to face. The quiet strength she displays while dealing with unspeakable loss is as surprising as it is inspiring.

Written in free verse, this award-winning story is set in the heart of the Great Depression. It chronicles Oklahoma's staggering dust storms, and the environmental--and emotional--turmoil they leave in their path. An unforgettable tribute to hope and inner strength.

My Verdict

I’ve never had any interest in reading this book. I remember my sister reading it when we were kids but the cover was dull and old looking and I didn’t think it could possibly hold anything in it that I would enjoy. In more recent years, since my love of verse novels, many other verse lovers and authors have talked about how much they love this book, still I hesitated.

I finally decided to look past the boring/ugly cover and read it anyway. Now I can understand what all the fuss was about. Out of the Dust is a well-written, honest look at a young girl’s life during the Great Depression. Broken down by season, the story unfolds over a two-year span and is told in first person narrative by fourteen-year-old Billie Jo.

I picked up this book late one night expecting to read a few pages before bed. Those few pages turned into the whole book. Although it is a rather slow progressing plotline about a family of farmers’ day-to-day life, somehow it kept me enraptured. I think a large part of this was the writing. Hesse writes with an honest, bluntness that is raw, powerful, and emotional.

“But now,

sorrow climbs up our front steps,

big as Texas, and we didn’t even see it coming,

even though it’d been making its way straight for us

all along.”

In conclusion, if there is still anyone out there who has been putting off reading this book, don’t wait any longer, read it!

Book Review: Sisters of Glass by Stephanie Hemphill

Title: Sisters of Glass

Author: Stephanie Hemphill

# Of Pages: 160

Publisher: Knopf

Publication Date: March 27^th 2012

Source: Library

Level: Young Adult

Rating: 4 Hearts

Synopsis

(From Amazon.com)

Maria is the younger daughter of an esteemed family on the island of Murano, the traditional home for Venetian glassmakers. Though she longs to be a glassblower herself, glassblowing is not for daughters—that is her brother's work. Maria has only one duty to perform for her family: before her father died, he insisted that she be married into the nobility, even though her older sister, Giovanna, should rightfully have that role. Not only is Giovanna older, she's prettier, more graceful, and everyone loves her.

Maria would like nothing more than to allow her beautiful sister, who is far more able and willing to attract a noble husband, to take over this role for her. But they cannot circumvent their father's wishes. And when a new young glassblower arrives to help the family business and Maria finds herself drawn to him, the web of conflicting emotions grows even more tangled.

My Verdict

Stephanie Hemphill writes a unique and captivating story about a family of glassblowers in 15^th Century Venice. The story focuses on sisters Giovanna and Maria and their strained relationship.

Maria and Giovanna live on the island of Murano, famous for it’s glassmaking. Maria grew up helping the family business by mixing batches of glass, helping out in the furnace, and dreaming of someday becoming a blower. Traditionally, it is the eldest daughter who marries into nobility but Maria’s father specifically ordered that she be the one to marry into nobility right before his death. This causes her elder sister Giovanna to become resentful of Maria.

“ Giovanna shoots me

only a sideways glance

as I lace into my new green dress.

I want to scream,

‘I will trade positions,’

that I Desire to polish glass

and stoke the fires

and see the creation of crystal,

like I was permitted to do

when I was a little girl.

But I promised Father

on his deathbed that I would

honor his first and greatest wish for me.

I just did not know I would

lose my sister even before

I lose my Murano.”

Now 15 years old, Maria is forbidden from working with the glass she loves so much to stay indoors brushing her hair, and wearing fancy dresses, while her family tries to find her the perfect suitor. But when a young man comes to work for the family Maria starts to fall in love, but not with her suitor. 

“ To follow the head,

or the heart,

this is the question

that rips me apart.”

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, the writing was great, the story interesting (I really enjoyed learning about the art of glassblowing!) and I liked the main character, Maria, but something was missing that kept me from loving it.

Defy the Stars Book Weekend: Author Interview

Welcome back to day two of Defy the Stars Book Weekend, thanks for coming back =)

Yesterday we started with a book review and today we have an interview with the lovely author herself, Stephanie Parent. 

Here's how things are gonna go: 

Yesterday: Book Review

Today: Author Interview

Tomorrow: Giveaway & Author Mad Lib

Born Bookish: Defy the Stars is a retelling of Romeo & Juliet, what made you want to reinvent this story? 

I had written a previous novel in verse and received feedback from editors that it wasn’t “edgy” or dramatic enough for today’s YA market, so I knew I needed to go further in my next novel. Someone in the publishing industry actually suggested the idea of a modern Romeo and Juliet story involving drug addiction. At first I wasn’t sure about it, but then I reread the play and was struck by how well the “poison” in the original play correlated with modern drug use. I was also frustrated with several recent YA books that I think portray Romeo and Juliet in an overly simple, one-sided way, and I wanted to explore Shakespeare’s work in a deeper way. 

Born Bookish: Did you read many novels in-verse to prepare yourself to write one of your own? 

I didn’t specifically read verse novels in preparation for this one, but I’ve been reading verse novels for many years before I attempted to write one. In fact, I would like to read every YA verse novel ever published if that were possible! 

Born Bookish: What is your favorite novel in-verse? 

It’s so hard to pick! One absolutely amazing, completely original verse novel I have to mention is Martine Leavitt’s My Book of Life by Angel. This is the gritty, uncompromising story of a teenage prostitute on the streets of Vancouver, and the author was inspired by the real-life disappearance of a number of prostitutes in the Vancouver area. The poetry format works perfectly to illustrate Angel’s broken psyche and her broken world, and Leavitt works in excerpts and themes from Paradise Lost to stunning effect. 

Another verse novel I really love, which I think definitely deserves more recognition, is Dead on Town Line by Leslie Connor. At less than 10000 words, this book is short even by verse standards, but the author manages to tell a complete, moving, satisfying story that somehow feels more like a novel than a short story or novella. Sort of a YA version of The Lovely Bones, this book is dark and sad, yet ultimately hopeful. 

On a lighter note, I absolutely love Sonya Sones’ companion verse novels, What My Mother Doesn’t Know and What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know. Sones is one of those authors who just makes it look so easy—her verse is deceptively simple but so clever, elegant and charming, it will definitely leave a smile on your face. 

Born Bookish: A lot of people are hesitant to try reading this format, why do you think that is? 

I think a lot of people develop a fear of poetry in high school and/or college English classes and never really outgrow it! I completely understand this, because there are plenty of poems I’ll NEVER understand no matter how much time I spend analyzing them. In addition, some people hear “verse” and assume a verse novel will be a series of poems, perhaps confusing and overly metaphorical, without a clear and overarching narrative. The truth is, many verse novels are quick and easy to read and perfect for reluctant readers, since they contain so few words per page and cut to the emotional core. 

Born Bookish: Can you tell us a little bit about your writing process? Do you make yourself write a certain number of words a day etc.? 

I really don’t enjoy—in fact, I pretty much dread—the actual writing process, so I usually don’t force myself to write a certain number of words a day, and I have a lot of weird little rituals to help me write. I actually like to write with a TV show on in the background of my computer! It has to be a show I’ve watched before so I’m not too distracted, but having that extra noise rather than the gaping silence really helps me. Oddly enough, though, I can’t listen to music while writing, especially music with lyrics—I find that too distracting. I also like to give myself permission to take frequent breaks and surf the net while writing. It means the process takes longer, but it preserves my sanity a bit! 

Born Bookish: Which character was easiest for you to write? Why? 

Julia, since in many ways she’s similar to who I was as a teenager—I was also a fairly serious piano player and a bit of a perfectionist and workaholic. 

Born Bookish: If you could be one of your characters, who would you be? 

Honestly, since Defy the Stars is a pretty depressing story, I’m not sure I’d want to be any of the characters! Probably Julia, because it might be worth the pain she goes through to experience that kind of love. 

Born Bookish: Piano plays a big part of Julia’s life, do you play piano yourself or was it just something that interested you? 

I actually do play the piano—although not nearly as well as Julia does! I went to a performing arts high school, The Baltimore School for the Arts, as a classical piano major, and I also took private lessons at the Peabody Preparatory, the pre-college branch of the Peabody music conservatory that Julia applies to in the novel. However, I was never too interested in or dedicated to the technical aspects of playing, and I knew I didn’t have the drive to pursue it as a career. I definitely couldn’t play the third movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata that Julia tackles in the novel! 

Born Bookish: Both of the main characters in your book are musicians, did you listen to music while writing? If so what was the main song that inspired you? 

I have a hard time writing to music, especially music with lyrics, but I did listen to a lot of classical piano music while writing the book. One piece I listened to over and over is Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata—you’ll see why if you read the book! A few more modern songs I was also inspired by are “1979” by The Smashing Pumpkins and “Your Decision” by Alice in Chains. 

Born Bookish: What was your favorite children’s book growing up? 

So many, but if I had to choose one, Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson. One of my most vivid childhood memories is sitting on the stairs and sobbing my heart out while reading the last few pages of that book. It really showed me just what an emotionally intense experience reading can be. 

Born Bookish: Do you have any new books in the works that you can tell us a little bit about? 

I have a shorter novel called Forty Days coming out in February—it’s actually the first installment in a two-part story, a YA retelling of Noah’s ark from the point of view of Noah’s sixteen-year-old granddaughter, Neima. Then in May I’m releasing a New Adult romance titled Precious Things, about a girl who has to switch from her chosen university to a community college at the last minute, and the intriguing people she meets there (including a hot guy, of course!). Then in late summer or early fall I’ll have Forty Nights, the second half of the Noah’s ark story. 

Born Bookish: Here at Born Bookish I have a segment called Breathtaking Book Covers where I post the cover image of a book that I think is stunning. Is there a book cover that has ever taken your breath away? If so, what book? 

I really love the covers of most of Francesca Lia Block’s books, which are designed by the amazing photographer and visual artist Suza Scalora. I think my favorite is the cover for I Was a Teenage Fairy.


Thanks so much for the interview Stephanie!!!

Book Review: Defy the Stars by Stephanie Parent

Welcome to day one of Defy the Stars Book Weekend! This book was SO good I wish I could personally tell each and every one of you all about it, but since that's pretty much impossible I settled on  shining a spotlight on it through my blog. 

Here's how things are gonna go: 

Today: Book Review

Tomorrow: Author Interview

Sunday: Giveaway

Title: Defy the Stars

Author: Stephanie Parent

# Of Pages: 596

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: July 30^th 2012

Source: A review copy by the author (THANK YOU STEPHANIE!!)

Level: Young Adult

Rating: 5 Hearts

Synopsis

(From Amazon.com)

Julia Cape: A dedicated classical piano student just trying to get through her last semester of high school while waiting to hear from music conservatories.

Reed MacAllister: A slacker more likely to be found by the stoners’ tree than in class.

Julia and Reed might have graduated high school without ever speaking to each other…until, during a class discussion of Romeo and Juliet, Julia scoffs at the play’s theme of love at first sight, and Reed responds by arguing that feelings don’t always have to make sense. Julia tries to shake off Reed’s comment and forget about this boy who hangs with the stoner crowd—and who happens to have breathtaking blue eyes—but fate seems to bring the two together again and again. After they share an impulsive, passionate kiss, neither one can deny the chemistry between them. Yet as Julia gets closer to Reed, she also finds herself drawn into his dark world of drugs and violence. Then a horrific tragedy forces Julia’s and Reed’s families even farther apart…and Julia must decide whether she’s willing to give up everything for love.

My Verdict

WOAH. I have to say this book completely blew me away! Defy the Stars is a brilliant reinvention of the classic Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare. Now, this is not a story I was familiar with beyond the general knowledge of two young lovers torn apart by their families and ending in tragedy. I’ve never actually read it or even seen the movie for that matter so I can’t really talk about if the author stuck closely to the original or strayed from the well-beaten path. What I can say is that she caused me to fall in love with a story I never had an interest in before.

I read this book in one sitting though it is much longer than the normal verse novel, weighing in at a lofty 596 pages. It took me a good 6 to 7 hours only leaving my chair to eat. I was captivated by the story before me, getting sucked into the world of Julia and Reed. All the characters were so well developed; from her parents, to her best friend Sara, to major creeper Perry, to Marc, Cary, Ms. Cheng, they were all so real.  

One of the things I thought was really unique and I really enjoyed about this book was how large a role music plays. The main character, Julia, is a brilliant piano player who practices day in and day out with dreams of attending one of the most prestigious music conservatories. I loved all the talk about piano and how it was such an essential part of who Julia was. Her thought process revolved around music, she would classify characters by their voice type: soprano, alto, bass.

I do want to mention that there is a pretty heavy amount of drug use in this book. I’ve never read anything like it before. I normally try to stay away from the subject, but the author handled it in such a way that it didn’t bother me. While the characters do use a lot of drugs, the book definitely doesn’t condone them.

Even though I knew the tragic ending that was in store, I found myself hoping it wouldn’t be so, wishing to re-write history. I won’t give anything away but there is a twist on the ending you won’t see coming. Defy the Stars has easily become on of my favorite verse novels and I can only hope Stephanie will continue to write more!!!

Book Weekend: Defy the Stars

It's time for another  Book Weekend! 

This coming weekend January 25th through the 27th stop by for a weekend dedicated to Defy the Stars by Stephanie Parent, a Young Adult novel in verse. 

Here's the schedule for the weekend:

Friday: Book Review

Saturday: Author Interview

Sunday: Giveaway & Author Mad Lib

I hope you stop by! =D

Book Review: All the Broken Pieces

Title: All The Broken Pieces

Author: Ann E. Burg

# Of Pages: 240

Publisher: Scholastic

Publication Date: April 1, 2009

Source: Library

Level: Middle Grade

Rating: 4 Hearts

Synopsis 

(From Amazon.com)

Two years after being airlifted out of war-torn Vietnam, Matt Pin is haunted: by bombs that fell like dead crows, by the family -- and the terrible secret -- he left behind. Now, inside a caring adoptive home in the United States, a series of profound events force him to choose between silence and candor, blame and forgiveness, fear and freedom.

My Verdict

All The Broken Pieces gives us a beautifully written look into the after effects of war, through the eyes of a seventh-grade boy named Matt Pin.

Matt was rescued from the Vietnam War and taken to America where he was adopted into a loving American family.

Now two years later, Matt is still carrying around the broken pieces of his past life. Knowing that Matt might need an outlet to talk about what he has been through, he and his father start attending group sessions for war veterans who served in the same war that Matt escaped. It is then that Matt must decide whether he is going to carry those broken pieces forever, or if he will open up and share his past with others.

While I enjoyed the issues addressed and the main story behind this book the one thing I was disappointed in was the character development. Besides his past, or the fact that he plays both baseball and piano we really don’t know anything about Matt. Who is he aside from these aspects of his life? What does he do when he’s not practicing baseball or piano? Who are his friends? What is he like when hanging out with friends? These are some of the questions I asked myself while reading.

To sum it up, All The Broken Pieces is a beautifully written, touching story that deals with heavy topics such as the after effects of war, survivor’s guilt, and adoption. The plot was deep, I just wish the characters were too.

Book Review: Reaching for Sun by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

Title: Reaching for Sun

Author: Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

# Of Pages: 144

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books

Publication Date: March 6, 2007

Level: Middle Grade

Rating: 5 Hearts

Synopsis

(From inside flap)

Josie Wyatt knows what it means to be different. Her family’s small farmhouse seems to shrink each time another new mansion goes up behind it. Her mom is demanding, her gran is opinionated, and her father- well, she’s never known him. Then there’s her cerebral palsy: even if Josie wants to forget that she was born with a disability, her mom can’t seem to let it go. Yet when a strange new boy- Jordan- moves into one of the houses nearby, he seems oblivious to all the things that make Josie different. And before long, Josie finds her herself reaching for something she’s never really known: a friend… and possibly more.

Interlinked free-verse poems tell the beautiful, heartfelt story of a girl, a proud family farm reduced to a garden, and a year of unforgettable growth.

My Verdict

Reaching for Sun was a great lazy-day read that took me only about an hour from start to finish. It is written in a series of free-verse poems, which I love.

I’ve come to find out that formatting is a big deal when it comes to novels in verse. All of my favorite books in verse share a common thread, the format, which is short and sweet. The lines are all short and to the point, each poem containing its own heading, kind off like a chapter title, that ties in with what is being said. This book was also broken into seasons, which I really liked. I thought it worked really well with the book because the story has so much to do with gardens and plants, which all change due to the season.

The author made it easy to get into Josie’s head. Her thoughts were so true, so pure, so real. This was an uplifting, heartfelt story of a young girl finding her place and her voice in life. 

Book Review: Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder

Title: Chasing Brooklyn

Author: Lisa Schroeder

# Of Pages: 432

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Publication Date: January 5, 2010

Rating: 5 Hearts

Synopsis

(From Amazon.com)

High school junior Brooklyn and senior Nico are trying to move past the death of Lucca, a pivotal figure in both of their lives. Lucca was Brooklyn’s boyfriend and Nico’s brother. Although it has been one year since Lucca’s death, the recent overdose death of Gabe, Lucca’s long-time best friend, shakes Nico and Brooklyn by reopening the wound of Lucca’s sudden passing. Soon after dying, Gabe begins haunting Brooklyn’s dreams. Gabe’s intent is not clear, but the dreams have a malicious overtone that unsettles Brooklyn. Meanwhile, Nico has his own supernatural communications with his dead brother, and the clear message from Luca to Nico is that Brooklyn needs help. Nico reaches out to Brooklyn, and their grief and love for Lucca bring them together. But soon Brooklyn and Nico’s newfound friendship leads to deeper feelings.

My Verdict

    

This book was amazing! Chasing Brooklyn is a book written in free verse, by one of my all time favorite authors!  Lisa Schroeder is such a powerful writer, she know just what to say to pull on those heartstrings. This is Lisa’s third YA book written in verse, and can I just say that they keep getting better and better!

  
Books written in multiple perspectives are a toss up. Most of the time I really like books written this way, but sometimes I really hate it. I guess it all depends on the execution by the author. In this book I loved it. The chapters alternate back and forth between Brooklyn and Nico throughout the whole book, diving into the heart and soul of two different characters, experiencing the same heartbreak, both of whom you will fall in love with as you read this book.

   
As you can imagine this book was very emotional. Brooklyn has lost her boyfriend Lucca, who was also Nico’s brother. Then they both loose a friend, Gabe, who was Lucca’s best friend. But through all this loss and heartbreak they find each other. So it was an emotional journey to say the least. One that brought me to tears more than just once, but I loved every minute of it.