I’m still digesting the many literary aspects, topsy-turvy events, exposition of emotions, and the author’s sly way of revealing the characters’ past histories in book 68. The book is surely a feat: highly inventive and richly layered. I did not, however, have a strong emotional attachment to the story. Mildly curious and expectant of horrific events (as how it is described on the jacket flap) were my most prominent feelings to the book. The story never got really scary which to me is somewhat disappointing. And as the story progressed, I started missing the strong sense of melancholy and darkness the story started with – since it became more of an adventure, survival, friendship, and redemption story than the potential tale I imagined in my head: out-of-the-box macabre with elevated philosophical revelations. Perhaps I expected too much.
This interesting historical event in book 67 were…
This interesting historical event in book 67 was somewhat familiar to me already — having read and seen movies about them — but the author manages to make the story about the people involved a truly fascinating one. Even though the author never hides the truth or makes it mysterious from page one, there is still a sense of suspense: readers wonder how and when the world would find out the real events behind the hyped up story. I sense the author’s deep compassion toward all who were involved: their motivation, their odd passions, and their actions were all clearly delineated without boring long exposition paragraphs… the text and structure of the chapters flow naturally and keep the readers engaged. I find this an outstanding nonfiction!
I had been waiting to read book 66…
I had been waiting to read book 66 for a while and it definitely did not disappoint!!! It’s short, powerful, suspenseful, witty, wise, sometimes painful, and so well crafted. I couldn’t put it down and can’t wait to re-read it! This, like book 65, is told from a first person middle school boy’s point of view — and like book 65, both boys sound authentic: even when they are being wise and observant, you don’t feel that the authors are speaking from their experiences accumulated through the years. These kids THINK and TALK like kids.
Book 65 is a solid realistic contemporary story…
Book 65 is a solid realistic contemporary story that feels genuine and earnest. Earnest is sometimes my code word for “trying too hard and I think the young readers might find it too preachy to appreciate it.” In this case, though, I feel that the young readers who liked 50 Cents’ Playground or Paul Volponi’s Black and White will definitely find both the characters and the events authentic. It is also gentle enough for pre- or early teens: especially because the main character/narrator does not get into the most serious situations as some of the others in the story. (Unlike Black & White, where the main characters are the ones accused and arrested for their crime.) However, since it is so gentle and so positive: I do feel that it lacks the punch toward the end. And it might not be a truly realistic solution for troubled youths…
Reading book 64 felt incredibly intimate there are…
Reading book 64 felt incredibly intimate: there are so many details (never boring, never detracting) that make the reader feel right there and then with the characters. And the characters! Fierce, honest, full of passion and so real — even though they’re from a much earlier time, and a very different place from the one the reader is in. The story transports and transcends. (I dislike the cover or the back cover copy that highlights ONE event in the story: although it being a crucial turning point, it gives the false impression of what the flavor of the book truly is.) This is a quietly powerful book — the adventures are as much with-out as with-in — but for that it is a lot more effective and makes a lasting impression. So glad to have followed some of my goodreads friends’ recommendations (and not my superficial first impressions!) Now, onward! Started two books tonight and put them both down… not in the right mood. Going to look for a 3rd option.
Dark humorous gruesome full of earnest intents child…
Dark, humorous, gruesome, full of earnest intents, child-pleasing, potentially controversial … book 63 made me ponder and wonder a LOT. As a reader, I devoured the book and its many twists and turns with a high level of delight and often marveled at the narrative voice: how it keeps a great balance of “teaching some wise lessons” and “presenting tales that will just sucker the young readers/listeners in” and how it has that leaping-out-of-the-pages, simply begging to be read aloud and shared quality. I cannot WAIT to read this to my students in the fall.
In my assessment book 62 which arrived as…
In my assessment, book 62 (which arrived as I was leaving New York and which both I and my 13-year-old daughter promptly were attracted to by the handsome design) is probably above what we consider “presentation for 14-and-under audience” level. However, it gave both of us great pleasure to read the selections and served as a great quick airplane read for her. She kept exclaiming: “This is so great! Oh, I love this one!” And I couldn’t agree with her more: the form and the content both work and of course, it is one of my favorite subgenres: fairy tale reworked (with a somewhat sinister twist.)
Atmospheric Books
When I hear an editor or a publicist use “atmospheric” when talking up a new book, my initial, gut reflex tends to be “cringe!” I am wary that the book might have nothing else going for it (not fresh and strong plot or great world building or wonderful and vivid characters) but beautiful words that create some sort of ethereal “atmosphere.” Of course, I’m often proven wrong and some of my favorite books have been quite successfully atmospheric AND complete in their full range of literary elements. (Laini Taylor’s and Susanna Clarke’s works came to mind, and of course, Neil Gaiman’s.)
Book 61 is definitely another example of a book that features most notably a distinct atmosphere of nightmarish darkness, danger, and confusion that is not so commonly found in most other books for children. That is not to say that the readers don’t care about its cast of characters or that the majorly off-kilter imagined world isn’t so vividly drawn that we can not only see but also hear, touch, and smell the place! I was thinking how reading this story is a lot like watching a Miyazaki movie: consciously you are not quite sure exactly what’s going on and who’s on who’s side since it’s told through the view (although 3rd person) of a somewhat clueless child, but you worry deeply for this child and his friends and want them all to come out on top and subconsciously you DO have a firm grasp on what the big question is and how people should treat each other and that serves as a solid theme beneath the shifting water and sand that are the scenes.
This book lingers, for me.
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It was effortless to read book 60 because…
It was effortless to read book 60 — because it did not demand any mental power or deep thoughts to get through it. The book reads like a made-for-TV movie featured on Friday nights in the summer on Disney Channel: very little that challenges my thoughts or expectations. I can see pre-teens gobbling it up and thinking that this must be what it’s like as a high school senior… Drama drama and pressure pressure. The individual first person present tense (yup, that again) voices also are not that distinct. The dialogs feel authentic, although all very clean and proper. And these teens can definitely hold focused conversations for long stretches of time… (unlike the real high school kids I know whose thoughts jump around every where and each conversation tangent is triggered quickly by random thread starters within the original conversation.) Being a slow reader, I spent a lot more time than the two hours usually demanded to watch a TV movie and I’d say that I felt my time was a bit wasted without deriving more (or even as much, depending on the actual movies) pleasure out of it. Now, on to 61: a completely different kind of book :)
The Starring Debate
I’m reading a few blog posts this Friday morning (wow, almost noon, now.. seeing a movie that lets out at 3:15 a.m. and home after 4:00 a.m. definitely warps one’s timeline…) regarding whether to give stars to individual book reviews and notes and how people might take the starring system and use to their advantages:
At School Library Journal – A Fire, A Fireplace & a Tea Cozy examines “To Star or Not to Star“;
At Educating Alice, my friend Monica Edinger talks about “The Thing About Stars“;
And The Goddess of YA Literature denounces the whole starring system in her “Seeing Stars and Seeing Red” — which also touching on another topic that keeps me on my toes (but has not prevented me from taking forward steps): namely, whether to write negative reviews or not. That will be another post for another day.
Here’s my own thoughts as posted in a comment to Tea Cozy’s query:
I agonize about starring a LOT on Goodreads — since you’re right about how so many books have both merits and flaws and how can one easily show that in the STARS system (especially when it’s only 5 stars.. I have so many books that I’d give 3.5 that wind up only getting 3.) There is also the differences between one reader and the next: I noticed that I give out a lot more 3 stars than 5s because to me FIVE is near perfect and there are just not that many near perfect books out there — but many readers freely bestow five stars to indicate that “This is a GOOD book! Really GOOD.” (but probably not near perfect.)
I do use the stars for myself — I sort them by my own preferences so when I compile a list for work or when I need to recommend something to someone and memory failed me, my own system really helps. I also semi-rely on the average star system to check on books I have not read or books I have but want to take a pulse of the general public. I like the rating distribution / percentage chart. It’s not a perfect reflection, but I think it is telling.
The biggest pet peeve I have is seeing a book that’s STILL TO BE PUBLISHED receiving stars based on the anticipation/expectation of the fans. Unless they are all conscientiously changing their reviews/stars after actually reading the books, this can throw off the average quite a bit.
Like Ed, I think if you do post your stars publicly so the others (including educators and authors/publishers/editors) can see — it is only fair that you give reasons to substantiate the rating.
(I will leave the reason why I stopped assigning low count stars on this blog for another day.)
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The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card Fantasy…
The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card, Fantasy
With really fresh (although 30-odd years in the making from the first kernel of the ideas for the book) takes on some old magic: elemental magic, beast magic, etc. and the inventive “Gate Magic” (no, not quite like Star Gate, more akin to Pullman’s Subtle Knife and the windows between worlds,) Card created yet another entertaining story. I was very happy for the whole ride — and didn’t find the ending forced (as some critics feel) or that the main character unlikable. Actually, I think Danny is definitely a convincing teen who is a modern day version of Loki the Trickster God. And the episodes of the “other world” politics, pure love, and cruel betrayal also are engrossing.
I did find myself wonder (this is because I know a bit too much about Card and his religious and social politics) why it seems that all Danny is every warned about of living on the street Danny is homosexual pedophiles — as if that is the ONLY danger he would be facing when leading a life of crime (not jails or violence.) I felt the slight clouding of my mood when those passages/messages came up once too often.
The Gate Thief, #2 of the Mithermages series, is to be published next spring. Looking forward!
Chatting about Rapunzel’s Revenge with a 9-year-old girl
I posted this in 2008 when my daughter was 9 on a now inactive blog site. It’s kind of fun to listen to her views on Rapunzel’s Revenge, a wonderful graphic novel retelling of the fairy tale by Shannon Hale. This is now a staple and student favorite for 4th and 5th graders at my school. Here’s the audio recording of our chat:
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Wishing I can actually name the titles here…
Wishing I can actually name the titles here, especially those I truly love and want to promote!
Book 59 reminded me along the whole way…
Book 59 reminded me along the whole way why I LOVE to read. It’s books like this — so gloriously dark and with so many amazing turns of phrase and such brilliant characterization! The sense of place and time is vividly palpable. Only potential issues: it might be deemed too sophisticated/old for the Newbery criteria, and the ending is a bit convenient and too “bright” in contrast with the mostly dark tone through the book.
Ask a reader: Are you the hero?
The discussion on first person vs. third person narrative POV brought to light for me something that I seldom (actually never) considered: that not all of us are bystanders when we read — some readers are definitely active participants and consider themselves the main or side characters (or all of them) in any story.
After a bit of soul searching and considering, I discovered that I almost never “play” the hero. I am NOT Lyra in The Golden Compass, definitely NOT Frodo from The Fellowship of the Ring, and was never and will never be any of the first person narrators from Wonder. (Even though I CAN relate to all of them on certain level.) To me, reading is to observe and watch and listen to other people’s lives. Whether the narrator tells the story from the “I” or the “They” perspective, I am always an outsider looking in. This, I suspect, might have contributed to my preferred type of book discussion: I want to concentrate on the craftsmanship of the author, on how he/she manages the various aspects of the tale, and feel impatient whenever someone else at the book club table starts relating personal stories that either validate or disqualify the characters’ experiences for them. (” ‘I’ would have never done it!!” “When ‘I’ was in 5th grade, someone in my neighborhood totally was like that.” “There is NO way that anyone growing up in the 70s, like ‘I’ did, would have felt this way.”)
However, now I started to see that perhaps, for others, reading IS about relating and becoming the main characters and putting oneself in the shoes of them and experiencing the make-believe world created within the covers as if all is REAL.
I really would love to hear from a host of readers in unpacking some of the following questions:
- Do you read and feel that you are the main character (or side characters) in stories?
- What kind of stories do you like most — totally fanciful? very realistic? uplifting? upsetting? dark? light? funny? serious? wise? irreverent? provocative? cozy? tender? harsh? (and so many more types)
- Does it matter to you if the narrator is a 3rd person who sees everything (or only seeing through one character’s view) or a 1st person? Which do you prefer? Do you know why?
- Have you changed as a reader regarding the above questions through the years? Do you find yourself a different kind of reader now than when you were in middle school or younger? How so?
Perhaps there are other questions and answers… but this is a beginning point… Please share!
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First Person Present Tense
For the past couple of years, as I read Children’s and YA novels, I have noticed an increase in First Person Present Tense narrative style. I know there are at least two factors here — First Person narrative voice and Present Tense narrative … um… tense.. but since there are so many of the combined two that I’ve read recently, I think of them as one “phenomenon.”
I asked on child_lit:
Has anyone done any research or written articles about this trend? Is it a trend or just a fluke? What are some of the reasons that this has become more prevalent? I am also curious about what people feel as readers of these books and how young readers’ relationships with books might change (or might not) due to this very young-character-centered and very living in the present (no past, no future) mode.
I was pointed to two recent articles that addressed this newish trend: Present Tensions, or It’s All Happening Now by Deirdre Baker for December 2011 Hornbook’s Opinion page and Philip Pullman calls time on the present tense by Philip Pullman for the September 18, 2010 Guardian.uk.
After reading these articles and also some wise observations and opinions from fellow child_lit scholars, I felt that I could grasp this phenomenon a little better and also have some half-formed opinions regarding the use of this particular POV + Tense.
I wrote yesterday on Child_lit:
I am not sure that I totally agree with Pullman’s almost categorical rejection of the actual POV/Tense itself — I think of it as another tool/device that is in the toolbox of any writer and all I am asking is for the authors to consider consciously and carefully of which voice and which tense to use that will help them deliver best the tale they are telling or the events they are reporting.
I don’t think there is any intrinsic worthiness or lack of such of any tense – or POV. I do reject the blindness that seems to happen in publishing world whenever a new “trend” starts or gets stronger: What I don’t like is sensing a potentially great story or character being handled carelessly and “wrongfully” by writers or editors just because some popular stories are told this way and thus their new story must also be told in this fashion. I also think authors need to understand their own writing styles and choose the one that fits themselves best, too.
For example, if the author’s biggest pleasure in writing is to craft beautifully metaphorical sentences that reveal some inner and deeper meanings of everyday life, it’s probably not gonna be very convincing if these sentences are coming from a first person narrator who is a 10-year-old city girl with no special background or personality traits to justify such expert use of literary language. If the tale would have been richer and more flavorful by allowing the readers to see the main character from more than one angle or to offer events that the main character could not have witnessed, then, a first person narrative voice would have “thinned” the story and reduced its impact. On the other hand, if the whole point of the tale is to show the consequences of lack of maturity or understanding of the big picture, then a constant close-ups that only allows the readers to see the story from a narrow mindset might enhance the final reveal.
No matter what the writers decided to tell their stories, I simply wish that young readers, with the guidance of great teachers and librarians, have the opportunities and skills to enjoy the “double pleasure” of not only “getting the stories” but also of “figuring out the author’s craft.” I find myself often in the position of begging young readers (or sometimes extremely practiced lifelong readers) to be hyper aware of the narrative devices and hone their literary eyesights and hearings acutely in order to heighten their own reading experiences.
I am still a firm believer that literary criticism can only enhance the richness of a reading exercise. (Yup, I used this word!) And to unpack and understand the strengths and limitations of First Person Present Tense has given me a lot of pleasure already! I’m sure more thoughts on this will surface as I read more 2012 Children’s books!
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Yay Book 59 is in THIRD PERSON PAST…
Yay! Book 59 is in THIRD PERSON, PAST TENSE — and it starts off beautifully with quite a bit of intriguing bits of information: plus, the cover is done with slightly coarse paper. It feels different and interesting to the touch. I think this will be a wonderful read but probably not for young/middle grade readers.
Book 58 is a fun read while you’re…
Book 58 is a fun read while you’re at it — because you DO, like the characters, want to find out what happens to each of the characters and the relationships in the neighborhood. And I appreciate that author’s letting the young protagonist grapple with some moral gray areas in the tale — although since EVERYTHING works out so perfectly and beautifully, and since all the morally questionable deeds the young child performed resulted in her being viewed as the true heroine of the town, the end of the story feels really black and white and the questionable becomes celebrated. I don’t know that I feel entirely comfortable with this outcome. A couple other potential problems: The action that offers the central conceit through out the book is just not plausible; and the first person narrator slips into super grown-up talk mode once in a while.
The Epilogue of 53 thoroughly changed how I…
The Epilogue of 53 thoroughly changed how I view the book (at this point — I know I’ll have to rethink and reread and reconsider many times — and change my minds over and over, too) — there is a great honesty and a passion for teaching — not just being didactic — young people how to evaluate and review evidences and how to care deeply for so many aspects of each issue.
I kept not finishing book 30 but eventually…
I kept not finishing book 30 but eventually did it today. My final impression of this well researched, handsomely designed and laid-out book of an important historical event is quite positive. Although I feel that along the way the main threads regularly got distracted by very detailed recounts of the background information and lost the momentum several times, the ending brings all the lines back to a strong crescendo. I applaud the clarity, the hard research work, the conscientious documentation, and the palpable sincerity and earnestness.
