Fairrosa Press

What a moving, inspiring, informative, and child-friendly book 81 is! I have been waiting to receive it and now I have enjoyed it and will use it with my students and recommend it widely to teachers and parents. The author manages to distill essential pieces of information and weave a cohesive and very focused tale of a remarkable person and the multi-facets this person embodies. Bravo!

Half way through book 80 — what a beautifully written, witty, imaginative, original, fresh, intelligent tale of deliberate pacing and intrigue. It demands attention and commands appreciation. I feel as if I’m “cheating” because reading this does not feel like work — it feels like a totally guilty pleasure, because it does not quite seem to fit the Newbery’s appropriate “presentation for a child audience” bill. Not that it has offensive language or scenarios too explicitly sexual for younger readers, but the elements that make me appreciate the book most are sophisticated and worldly and I have a hard time imagining many 14-and-under readers can truly garner pleasure out of those passages. So… with a sad heart, I put it aside for later enjoyment and embarked on another journey — so far, book 81 is Fantastic! Yay.

Original book 80 had to be abandoned when I found out that, even though the story was set in almost a thousand years ago, the narrative voice is, (you guessed it?) FIRST PERSON PRESENT TENSE. Oh, spare me! Anyway… I picked up a different book and am SO happy that it is NOT a realistic fiction and it is NOT in present tense — it IS first person — but the character is not very young and is unique and well educated — the simple fact that the book has a richness in language makes me happy! Will report later when I’m done with it!

I got mad in the middle of book 79! I never read book flap copies so often I go into reading without knowing what the story is really about and most of the time, I revel in the discovery process: “Ah, didn’t realize that this was going to be a story about a thief and her mentor!” OR “Totally cool that this book is actually a SciFi disguised as a vampire story!” (made-up scenarios here) BUT — I thought book 79 is about one thing, judged from the tone, the events, the “problems” presented in the first 1/3 or more of the book, when it suddenly shifted to about something completely different: darker and sadder (a LOT sadder) than I had anticipated. This displeasure followed me through the reading, although I think the author handles the emotions of all the characters very well and realistically, and I also appreciate that the “originally thought” big issue turned out to be a side-issue but still got dealt with fully. For a really sad book, I felt emotionally detached and never truly empathized with any of the characters. I tried to figure out why… and I think perhaps it is because I felt that the “story” is too much of a character study where the reader is “told” (too clearly and definitively) by a fairly young first person narrator why and how everyone feels and reacts to events so there’s little room for me to witness the characters’ actions and draw conclusions. This passivity makes me less involved with the book. (I am also just thirsty for better, tighter, more sparkling prose that often authors cannot use in first person young narrators.)

Book 78 has a wonderful first person narrator who is spunky and vulnerable and is convincing in both counts. The turns of events are tense with high drama (sometimes too high, perhaps?) and the resolution is a realistic and fair one: definitely not a “fairy tale happy ending.” I appreciate this very much — and yet, I also feel that the author’s setting up of this possible ending and the delay in reveal of a crucial piece of information is somewhat contrived and not as credible.

It’s probably not the most ideal situation to read two books similar in tone and presentation: 1st Person Present Tense, again… BOTH! back to back. I have to really pull back and think individually about the pluses and minuses of each book and try not to view the second one unfairly simply because it’s so similar to the previous one — although they don’t have the exact same themes or same characters. There are actually at least three books this year that I group in my mind as The Trio: all with realistic kids and situations; all of them feature the same gender kids; all are somewhat tear-jerkers; and all of them use first person, present tense; all are presented for the same age group readers. Each one is well told in its own way. Now, I have to decide which stands out more for me: and which speaks best to its intended audience, with the added value of tighter and better handled prose/dialog/arc.

The slim novel based on the author’s family history told in a special format came through as another solid, but not outstanding offer. I applaud the author’s dexterity in composition and can see some young readers interested in ethnic personal histories reflected in fiction find book 77 a satisfying read, but it definitely won’t have wide appeal. (Not that wide appeal matters when I evaluate this for Newbery.)

There are quite a bit of interesting pieces in book 76 that keep me engaged but also many not-so-great elements that make me think, “Is this one ‘distinguished’?” My answer would be: nope — it’s “nice” and I can see a younger reader who has not had a lot of experience with fantasy stories might find it quite intriguing. However, compared to complex and fully realized fantasy worlds found in some other books, this one is a bit light weight. My biggest issue with it is how conveniently the magical solutions are presented and reached at each turn. The author sets up an obstacle and offers a way for the protagonist to magically (and quite easily) jump over the hurdle without really laying the ground work for these solutions to work organically. And I even found myself missing rich language in the prose. (I’m usually not one to place significant weight on metaphorical or descriptive language in books but when you start comparing books for their literary values, every facet needs to be at least solid, if not outstanding. The prose is just too plain for me here.)

Book 75 is excellent!!! The young narrator’s voice is slightly mature for the age, but it is fitting because the life experience of the character makes the insights and resourcefulness believable. I am impressed at the depth, complexity, and realism of emotions the author manages to illustrate through a fairly short story. There are moments that I had to suspend my disbelief — willingly so because I cared too much about the welfare of the characters — and thought that this “realistic fiction” really borders on “a happy real life fairy tale.” But, hey, that’s why we read, right? The young readers will definitely find the happy ending satisfying (and not too forced) and be fascinated by the events showcasing the struggles (and the successes) of these fictional peers.

In the hands of a highly accomplished and skilled storyteller, book 74 definitely entertains! Following similar formula as the author’s previous, highly popular books, this title features lightly incompetent and immature adults, resourceful and compassionate young protagonists, exciting (and sometimes dangerous) events, and easy-to-grasp humor. Many young fans of the previous books will gobble this one up happily.

A change of pace for me to read a low middle grade (2nd and 3rd?) book that is fun and breezy. The author turns everyday school and family life into small drama full of crises and inventive resolutions. It feels authentic and I can see many children enjoying the protagonist’s adventures.

I thought there was some overwriting (too much figure of speech thrown into the passages) at the beginning of the story — and it did not quite draw me in right away, but for the majority of the tale (85% or so after the set-up), I was thoroughly engaged: both by the loving parent and the singular and sorrow-stricken child and the weird effects these two have on those on their weird road trip. This reminds me a bit of Because of Wynn-Dixie but less precious and seems more realistic. It also has an ending that is believable and uplifting without becoming sappy. I will say book 72 is outstanding!

Honest, haunting, depressing, thoughtful, intriguing, and brave: these are some adjectives that I could attribute to book 71. It definitely turned out to be highly unlike what I thought the book was about: instead of being a murder mystery with lots of tension and drama, it is contemplative, pleading, and it does not offer a crowd pleasingly easy ending. This is not a book that I can lure young readers into reading by telling them some tantalizing tidbits from the tale: I want them going into the story knowing that they will encounter something tough and might be emotionally hard to process. I also don’t see this as a book designed for “children” as much as for slightly older readers and for the author as a way to close a long lasting, achy wound. I am pleased to have read it, though, and will recommend it to my teen readers.

On a blog mostly about children’s books, may I use WTF? to describe my final reaction to book 70? I just did! Reading through the book, repulsed and confused for the most part, I was hoping that perhaps the final scenes/chapters/resolution would have wrap the story up and give me some worthwhile reason to have to wade through the entire book so my small “wtf’s” can combine and become a big “Oh, I GET it!! Wow… so brilliant… ” but… um… nope… it left me with a STRONGER sense of lament: of wasted time (which could have been spent on reading more enjoyable or revelatory books.) But, a nagging doubt is pulsing in my mind, too — perhaps this IS the most brilliant book of 2012: it surely is the most different book, with its surreal and totally repulsive settings and major events, its unapologetically non-scientifically sound explanations of WHY the beings exist, and its host of characters that perhaps are meant to be allegorically significant but my feeble mind simply cannot grasp all their meanings. I need time and discussion to make sense of the book and why some readers seem to think it highly worthy. (One possible worthiness comes from demanding readers to unpack the emotional and ethical turmoil of the main character and the other might be that it does not offer easy two-tone answers: nothing seems entirely black or entirely white. ) There are definitely gaping holes (both emotional and logical) in the telling and those are what, to me, eventually, bring down the worthiness of the book.

Delightful and fast-paced, book 69 definitely has strong child appeal — reminding me slightly of the Klise sisters work, especially the Regarding the … series. Outlandish setting and outrageously exaggerated characterization, balanced with a few normal, gentle, quiet kind of souls — and suddenly you have this interesting story with a gentle but important message of being true to oneself and what really matters in life, without ever being too didactic. The happy ending is well suited for a sunny kind of humorous story.