Publisher: Greenwillow (HarperCollins)
Edition: Hardcover, 2007 (ARC)
Very little works for me in this fairy-tale inspired fantasy. The logic seems largely faulty (such as the limited view on fairy-tale world and that only these 7 brothers – all named Jack – can take on these “quest” assignments.) The “message” is so blatant that the tale holds little depth. It simply did not work for me.
Filed under Uncategorized
Publisher: Viking
Edition: Hardcover, 2007 (ARC)
The imagined story of a group of nobles, slaves, and gladiators during the days leading to the eruption of Vesuvius is a great topic. I enjoyed the historical details but at the same time found that at certain points, the “history lesson” overshadows the momentum of the plotline and thus slows down the pacing of an otherwise very exciting tale.
Filed under Uncategorized
Publisher: Philomel
Edition: Hardcover, 2007 (ARC)
It is definitely Quirky, with that capital Q! The tall-tale tone and the magical and outlandish plotline are consistent and coherent in their own way. Very strong opening scene and concluding passages.
Filed under Book Notes
Pages:
Publisher: Dial
Edition: Hardcover, 2007 (ARC)
The tone, matter-of-fact, aloof, observatory, self-aware, emotionally detailed — is very interesting — at least at the beginning. It becomes a little boring after a while. The chapters from Colleen’s viewpoint are told pretty much in this same tone, which does not quite fit her timid personality. Even though the story is seen through Emma-Jean’s eyes and thus are all exaggerated (slightly or largely,) certain events (such as the Queen Been losing her hold on the 7th-grade populace) still need the real-life logic to convince this reader.
Filed under Book Notes
Pages: 442
Publisher: Greenwillow
Edition: Hardcover, 2007
Hallucinating. Mesmerizing. Tantallizing. Extraordinary.
(Charming, seductive and completely enthralling – as described by Eoin Colfer, which is apt, as well.)
I especially adore the fact that, instead of leaving the identity of The New Policeman subtly hinted and hidden for readers to puzzle over (although it got more and more obvious as the book goes — perfectly executed, those little hints throughout), there is a resounding confirmation. It makes this a most satisfyig children’s book: the readers are not left with a malencholy that hangs over our head — which it can EASILY go.
The short chapters match so well with the missing Time. As an Irish music fan, I can’t help but humming all the tunes after each chapter. How cleverly done those are — and Thompson even composed a couple herself.
This is a deserving award winner (of both the 2005 Guardian and Whitbread Awards) and should be relentlessly promoted to all worthy young readers!
Filed under Book Notes
Pages: 533
Publisher: Scholastic
Edition: Hardcover, 2007
The superb and impeccable design gives me such pleasure that I feel like hugging this big fact block of a book every time I see it! Selznick’s cinamatic illustrations that take up most of the 533 pages, blend seamlessly with the crisp text and enigmatic storyline.
I like how Hugo’s plans do not always pan out the same ways he imagined — often they go wrong, but in a very realistic way. The adults intervene just the right amount so the situation never becomes hopeless without reducing the excitement generated by Hugo’s desparation and urgency. Of course, there are a lot of coincidences, following the Dickensian storytelling tradition.
A most wonderful offer!
Filed under Book Notes
Pages: 217
Publisher: Delacorte
Edition: Hardcover, 2006
I agree with almost every notion Namioka presents in this book: that no singular experience (no matter one’s race or heritage) is truly shared by all and that one has to discover and rediscover one’s heritage and relationship with that heritage over and over again: a life long endeavor.
However, these “messages” are so heavy that I felt as if being sat on by a giant troll and had the air squeezed out of my lungs the entire time while reading this book. This is not an organic story, growing out of the young couple’s (Japanese and Chinese American teens) love for each other, but a plastic plant with the author’s hands manipulating the shapes of the branches and the color of the flowers and all the folds of the leaves. It seems such a shame that a potentially profound story can become so superficial and the “solutions” of the cultural and racial conflicts are unconvincingly simplistic. I cannot bring myself to believe that the grandmother (who is about my own mother’s age, with similar experience as a Chinese young girl in Japanese occupied China) would have accepted the Japanese family within a week of her discovery of this dating business. How can someone’s life-long bias against an entire orther race be altered overnight? Anyone who does not have this specific “Asian” experience should still know that racial biases do not get resolved like this. This story’s all happy endings render all the messages too lightweighted to matter at all.
Filed under Book Notes
Pages: 361
Publisher: Miramax/Disney
Edition: Hardcover, 2006
I have not that much good to say about this book. It annoys me to read the compulsive “listing of stuff” (yes, I realized that it was intended to represent how the Elf and the Dragon would think and organize their inner worlds) page after page: what kind of books there are in the library (many kinds and you’re sure to be told a FULL page of the various subjects or how readers should think of anyone or any event (it’s never just one descriptor, almost as if the author cannot make up her mind how to describe a character or an emotion, but a “list” of adjectives. I cannot imagine that it is the device of the translator, but a slight possibility remains.
If I hadn’t had to read it for a group discussion — I would have probably dropped the book midstream. Only one out of a few professional review sources agrees with me that this is a very message-heavy tale dressed in a fake fantasy clothing, and the humor is often crude and unfitting for the tragic tone of the underlying tale. Look for the VOYA review on this B&N page.
Filed under Uncategorized
Pages: 260
Publisher: Atheneum (S&S)
Edition: Hardcover, 2006
Kadohata’s strength lies in her quiet tone and close-up examination of the main characters’ thoughts and feelings. Weedflower is a perfect example. The readers are intimately familiar with every strand of emotion in Sumiko’s life but the full picture of the time in history is a bit foggy. The fate and experiences of Sumiko’s uncle and grandfather (in the prison camp) is also sketchy at the best. This is in keeping with Sumiko’s young girl perspective. There is no telling if Kadohata had opted to force other pieces of the historical puzzle into the telling, the result would have been a more diluted or intensified tale.
My personal issue with this book is my indifference to Sumiko. I don’t find her particularly inspiring or even likable. Her status as a social outcast seems more self-imposed than forced upon by others and her small triumphs did not stir much admiration in me. I felt impatience and displeasure, rather than empathy, for her. Maybe because she seems way too self-absorbed – which, once again, shows the author’s skill at portraying a realistic person without false glorification. But, I need that glorification. I need to see that she opens her eyes and understands more about what is affecting her people, and not just how miserable her own life is or what’s going in within her immediate environment.
Report from the field: Several people (of Japanese and general Asian descent are troubled by the cover. Their first reaction has been consistent: “No one at a Japanese-American Internment Camp would have worn a kimono! That is entirely inaccurate!” And besides, Sumiko never once wore a kimono throughout the entire story.
Filed under Book Notes
Pages: 280
Publisher: Dial (Penguin Putnam)
Edition: Hardcover, 2006
Every scene is necessary in this tightly written and thoroughly researched historical novel. The events unfold as the momentum gains and as Toyo’s self-understanding grows – subtly but with such forces that I could not put the book down. The opening scene of detailed Seppuku (suicide by cutting open one’s own stomach) ritual and some of the High School hazing methods are definitely not for the faint of heart. Yet this is not a book about violence, but about honor, loyalty, teamwork, inner strength, and physical strength, as well. All the necessary components of a successful baseball team.
To link the spirit of Bushido (Way of the Warriors) and baseball presents such a fresh look on the American’s National Pasttime that will inspire many young readers to think about the sport they love more deeply and meaningfully. This is an amazing and perfect book!
Note on Cultural Inaccuracies: My suspicion was confirmed by a Japanese friend that since Gratz is not Japanese, nor is he an expert in the Japanese language, some cultural inaccuracies occur in the book. The most glaring problem for me is the use of first names of anyone elder. It simply is not done — not then, and not even now in the 21st century. A son will never call his own father by the first name – no matter HOW much he detest his own father. When calling an upper classman, one will always use honorifics: -san and -sempai attached to either the first or last names; and when the younger students are addressed, the older ones might use -kun. These can be easily researched — even a simple google search or any entry level Japanese language text book can reveal the correct usage of these honorifics. Since it IS still an integral part of the Japanese culture, the ignoring of such practice shows a certain mentality from the author and the publisher. What a shame!
Filed under Book Notes
Pages:
Publisher: Hyperion
Edition: Hardcover Galley, 2007
Reading the 3rd installment in the Percy Jackson series is now like drinking a can of regular soda – there is the sugar rush and the addiction! It’s fun, it’s full of fast paced actions, it’s familiar, and it does leave you wanting more – especially with Percy having a new enemy and Luke might not be all that he seems! Although it will not be considered exactly the healthiest choice by “reading dieticians” (this term here refers to the literary purists who think reading only exists to improve one’s literary taste and heighten one’s intelligence or humanity).
Filed under Uncategorized
Pages: 250
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Edition: Hardcover, 2006
The concept is so intriguing: a shadow city 70 feet underground of Manhattan, with entrances from a cemetery, a bank vault, a Chinatown counterfeit factory, etc., and a group of super-girls who each possesses a singular special talent: a master disguiser, an expert researcher, a mad chemist, a skilled mechanics, a talented forger, and Kiki Striker, the enigmatic mastermind. Their goal to save New York City is lofty and Kiki Strike’s hidden agenda is not as sinister as one is led to believe. And, yet, and yet… I could not thoroughly enjoy this book. Actually, I felt a bad taste at the back of my throat throughout the reading of this otherwise ingenious novel.
Kiki Strike made me realize that I partially read for characters. I enjoy a good, intriguing plot with lots of twists and surprises the next eager reader. However, all the clever plot twists, the inventiveness, and the suspenseful mood could not make me forget, or forgive, the cattiness of each of the members of the Bank Street Irregulars (as the six-girl squad is so named.) Their relentless sarcasm and taunts toward each other, even when done in good humor, have the underlining nastiness that cannot be wiped clean from my mind; the author also opted to insert cynical commentaries and gratuitous violent scenes whenever possible (the walk-on characters of grade-school aged sisters seen in their home garden strangling each other until both turn blue over a petty matter, for example.) After a while, the initial sense of witticism gives way to depressing negativity.
Ah. I absolutely sound too harsh. After all, I did find the book charming in its quirky, outlandish, and even informative (lots of New York City historical oddities and other useful tips, such as how to put on a successful disguise and how to tell if someone is telling a lie) way. I guarantee its success with many young readers, especially somewhat brainy 5th and 6th graders who aspire to become spies or super-heroines!
Filed under Uncategorized
Pages: 392
Publisher: Delacorte
Edition: Hardcover, 2006
A book about the Book of All Books (All Stories) and set in the labyrinth of Oxford Libraries, highly atmospheric and not lacking in the action department… how could I resist! It was definitely an entertaining and gripping read. I wanted to find out what’s going on both in the 21st Century and in the 15th. All the highly imaginative magical elements are very enjoyable, as well. However — as the end of the book approached and finally arrived, my anticipation of an illuminating resolution which would have raised Endymioin Spring high above the other “fantasy outputs” now saturating the children’s book marketplace is sadly unrealized. With the singular villain out of the way, the parents’ happy reunion, and the easy explanation of everything else, Blake Winter’s story is a solid, although still just run-of-the-mill, fantasy read, no more.
Will Skelton write a sequel to this volume? The last pages seem to be testing the water. I imagine it all depends on the readers’ reaction and the market demand.
Filed under Uncategorized
Pages: 387
Publisher: Greenwillow
Edition: Hardcover, 2006
Such an intriguing, subtle, and exciting book! Since I did not read the first two in the trilogy (The Thief and Queen of Attolia,) the first chapters of this one are somewhat confusing because all the relationships between characters and the political complications are presented in the most ambiguous way. I know this is Turner’s style and became appreciative of this ambiguity as the tale unfolded in front of me. I learned to just sink into the story, follow the lead of the narrator and let go of my impulses to make sense of everything, trusting that all will make sense eventually. And it delivered: all the threads are gathered at the end and the knot is tied up neatly, very satisfying! And I couldn’t help but falling in love with the characters — all of them, but mostly, of course, with the King and the Queen, whose love for each other rises out of the page and grabs hold of me, almost physically. This read is quite an “experience.”
Filed under Book Notes
Pages: 166
Publisher: Philomel Books
Edition: Hardcover 2006
Ellen Potter really knows how to build upon the utterly unbelievable scenarios and make them seem oh-so-plausible. Her New York City apartment buildings (as in the Olivia Kidney books)expand into wonderlands that even the lovers for Carrollian twists and turns will find tantalizing. The mystery, the unique characters, (11-year-old Clara Francofile who owns nothing but simple black dresses and a keen sense of the social standings of each celebrity coming through her parents’ restaurant and her co-star Annabelle Arbutnot, pre-teen master burglar, for example) and the satisfying resolution all just WORK! A truly fun read.
Filed under Book Notes
Pages: 324
Publisher: HarperCollins
Edition: Hardcover, 2006
I’m so glad that this series did not end with either a completely depressing scenario or a sappy silly one. It felt emotionally profound and satisfying. But… did the series really end? How about that extra chapter? How about The Beatrice Letters (which was published not long ago and which somehow “predicts” the next adventures AFTER The End has ended.)
Filed under Book Notes
Pages: 374
Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks (Simon & Schuster)
Edition: Paperback, 2002 (2002)
Bobby Pendragon describes events as Bazzario, his friend and uncle as Coolio, something sad is always going to “break his heart” and when facing death, he cannot help himself but uttering “Whoa!” I can’t believe the kind of drivel that is kept in this published work. At least half of the description, statement, and revelation is redundant. MacHale is a master of stating, restating, and overstating the obvious. It’s as if there is no trust in the reader’s ability to make sense and emotional connection or interpretation of the events.
There are life-or-death situations throughout the story but if one thinks twice about it, it is apparent that a tighter, more powerful story can emerge from beneath the jumble and rambling of words. Show, Mr. MacHale, show, and don’t tell!
I also couldn’t suspend my disbelief to accept that Bobby could scratch with a crude pen-and-ink-set on FOUR sheets of parchment, almost 50-printed pages worth of “journal entry.” Ok, he has to write “everything down” but if he only had a few hours (as it is the case) and a limited supply of parchment, it just does not make sense for him to record every single last word in the dialog or for him to make side mental comments on the situations. It simply does not follow logic — and in works of the fantastic and the wonderous, logic is more important to keep the fabric of the tale together.
So, I am forced to finish this book because my students keep asking me to read it because it is “GREAT”! Now, I have to start questioning how and why this book is great…. I need help! But I’m just happy that I’ve finally finished the book (what a painful week it was!) and can now move on to the new Neil Gaiman short story collection, The Fragile Things
Filed under Uncategorized
Pages: 252
Publisher: Miramax/Hyperion
Edition: Hardcover, 2003 (2000)
Eoin Colfer has not quite redeemed himself in my view, via this book, either. I have to go back and re-enter the world of Artemis Fowl series to see if he is a brilliant writer, as so many of my young readers seem to believe. This book has a great premise, an explosive and grabbing beginning, some very witty commentary on the human nature, and many moments of cool actions. However, plenty of stylish flaws can be spotted. When the narrative is taken over by Meg Finn, the teenager who died and couldn’t enter Hell or Heaven, she does not sound anything like herself as a character — she sounds just like the 3rd person narrator that we presume as Eoin Colfer, the author. Page 200: “A semi-inebraited mind sinks all th emore readily into the mire of satellite stations”; “Franco saw himself in the tragic hero mold.”
I know Colfer probably didn’t set out to write a profound book, and he did not produce one, for sure. But it seems a bit of a waste when I sense so much potential based on what he has already achieved. This could have been both an action-packed, imaginative, humorous story AND a book that leaves the readers ponder about life, after-life, and the actions we take when we are living our lives. Instead, it’s just an amusing read.
Filed under Uncategorized
Pages: 190
Publisher: Hyperion
Edition: Hardcover, 2005
It’s a fun and quick read. Stacy Friedman’s voice is lively and funny. The story, although utterly unbelievable, is actually charming at moments. However, it is highly predictable and sugar-sweet: everything works out in the end so do not worry about having to feel sorry for anyone.
Filed under Book Notes
Pages: 279
Publisher: Miramax / Hyperion
Edition: Hardcover, 2006
Much like the first book of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians/The Lightning Thief, it is mildly amusing, light, full of cameo appearances from the Greek mythology: some work very well and others are a bit forced. The “guest stars” scenes work a little better in this one: they contribute to, rather than detract from, the momentum of the plot. The stake gets higher here and I presume, like many fantasy series, this one probably will progress from light to dark as the series progress. (Think Harry Potter.)
Riordan’s decision on using Percy’s first person narrative voice that is light, self-deprecating, and ironic has been effective but might make it more difficult to darken the mood. Of course, he (Percy, not Riodan) can grow up and mature a bit and hopefully we’ll see that his “voice” grows along with him. I was reminded of the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander, with Percy gaining companions of various talents along his quests. But the similarity stops there – Alexander’s style differs drastically from Riordan’s.
The explanations of some modern day phenomena are actually funny: Chain stores sprouting due to the new birth of each monster; Internet being invented by Hermes, the Messenger God, etc.
Filed under Uncategorized
