Book Review: Be Not Far from Me / Mindy McGinnis

What would you do if you became lost in the forest? Do you have the skills to save youself?

Ashley met up with a bunch of her friends for a night of drinking and partying deep in the Smokey Mountains. When she finds her boyfriend and his ex-girlfriend together, she gets angry punches him in the nose and runs blindly into the night. She runs into a boulder and badly damages her foot and, not being in a good place to deal with what she left behind - she falls asleep on the forest floor. 

When she awakes in the morning she realizes she is  alone, injured and in deep trouble. Her foot is badly broken, she has no shoes, and she doesn't know where she is. When she pulls herself together she discovers that all she has to help her survive is her underwear, bra, shirt and jeans. She also has knowledge from her father about hunting and lessons learned from an old camp counselor, Davey. Ashley is a doer - so she creates a crutch, uses her shirt to create a sling for her foot, and hobbles off on her journey through the woods. 

If survival stories are your thing, you might find this an intriguing read. It might also make you want to learn more about surviving in the wild. Who knows when you might make a wrong turn. 

This book is a Flume Nominee for the 2021/22 school year. You can find a copy on the shelves at South, or on the shelves of Nashua Public Library. You can also borrow an audio copy via NPL's Libby app. 
 

Book Review: Night by Elie Wiesel

I have read this book many times through my life, but this year I had the privilege of hearing Tom White, a historian (a guest of Jay Dufoe's) talk about the book. And what he had to say about this book made me read it with new eyes. 

In the preface of the book, Wiesel writes about why he wrote this book. It was originally written in Yiddish and was over 800 pages long. No one would publish it. I wonder if the holocaust was too raw, too new to read about right after WWII. But eventually it was published. And then republished and is now an important part of the curriculum in both high schools and colleges.

At one point Wiesel notes, 

"In retrospect I must confess that I do not know, or no longer know, what I wanted to achieve with my words. I only know that without this testimony, my life as a writer - or my life, period - would not have become what it is: That of a witness who believes he has a moral obligation to try to prevent the enemy from enjoying one last victory by allowing his crimes to be erased from human memory."

Night is a story told that breaks the heart, that calls out to that part in each of us that generates empathy. In the beginning of the book, Wiesel is a young person - an experience which each reader holds. He was young and idealistic and as time goes on he becomes less and less of himself and more and more a body just trying to get by. Humanity gets lost in this story because the Holocaust was so inhumane.

Words change meaning. Wiesel says (also in the preface) 

"How was one to rehabilitate and transform words betrayed and perverted by the enemy? Hunger - thirst - fear - transport - selection - fire - chimney: these words all have intrinsic meaning, but in those times, they meant something else." 

Tom White spoke about how Night is told in a series of short pieces - all strung together to tell the story. He shared that Wiesel had to share the story this way because living in a concentration camp is not something that you can truly understand unless you lived it. By providing the bits and pieces - paused by punctuation and glimpses of life in the concentration camps, Wiesel could give people a touch of the experience. White stated that there is a power in the silence, that the pauses and punctuation add the moments of silence that this story needs to get through to the reader. 

I hope that everyone who opens these pages leaves the book wanting to better the world and prevent things like this from happening again. I read this as Afghanistan was blowing up - both figuratively as one government steps down as the USA leaves Afghanistan behind and the Taliban steps in, and concretely as women there are stripped of their rights and bombs are blowing up in the airport. What are we to do for our fellow humans? How can we not turn a blind eye? Night is a story about witnessing and seeing - but it goes beyond the Holocaust  - it is a warning to pay attention and protect our fellow humans.

 

Book Review: Haatchi & Little B: The Inspiring True Story of One Boy and His Dog / Wendy Holden

I don't think that it will surprise anyone that I love dogs. Actually, I love many animals and observing the natural world. I also have a soft spot in my heart for people who struggle (and who among us doesn't struggle with something.) So when I entered into a Reading Challenge with Ms Currie's Beyond the Books book club, I knew that I wanted to add a book about dogs to my reading list. (We each selected 4 genres or topics to explore over the summer with an additional bonus book for those so inclined.) This seemed to be the perfect book.

Haatchi, a Anatolian Shepherd was left for dead on some railroad tracks when a train ran over him. The conductor saw something on the tracks and reached out for help resulting in Haatchi being rescued. Many people were involved in Haatchi's rescue.

Owen Hawkins was a little boy with Schwartz-Jampel syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes the muscles to contract. Due to this syndrome, Owen was constantly in pain and felt that everyone was always looking at him because he was different. (As of this writing he is 16 years old - Google him.)

A series of circumstances, along with the good will and help of many people, brought Owen and Haatchi together and they have become the best of friends. How they healed each other is this story.

In the documentary A Boy and His Dog you can meet both Haatchi and Owen. But this book fills in all of the details. 

You can find this book on the South library shelves. 

 

Book Review: You Should See Me in a Crown / Leah Johnson

This is one of the Flume nominees for the 2021/22 school year. The Flume award is a New Hampshire award in which teens in our state nominate books, a short list in created from those nominations, then teens vote for their favorite book. We have a display in the library of the nominees (though on August 25th many of the titles have yet to come in.)

I really liked this book a lot. Liz Lighty is black, poor, and awkward, but attends school in a mostly white, privileged community. She lives with her supportive grandparents and brother, her mother died when she was younger. Liz has a clear dream of her future - go to the college where her mother attended on a music scholarship, and study to become a doctor. She has an interest in hematology due to her brothers sickle cell anemia. And then she gets the letter from the school informing her that she didn't get the scholarship. Suddenly her life is thrown into disarray. How can she make her dreams happen without her grandparents selling their house to fund her education (which she knows that they will do if they learn about the missed scholarship and she does NOT want that to happen.)

Her friends rally behind her and they begin to scheme how she can become the Prom Queen which is attached to a $10,000 scholarship. However, this Prom Queen business is all about popularity and is a huge deal in her little town. There are petitions to get through, volunteer work to do, and she is one of those unpopular students on the edge of her school community. Toss into that mix that she has serious (vomit inducing) anxiety and she is learning that she is gay. 

This is a story about growth and learning, determination and grit, shedding one's skin to grow into a new person. 

Find You Should See Me in a Crown on the shelves at South. At Nashua public library you can find this book on the shelf, but also an audio version on Hoopla, and an ebook and audio book through Libby.

 

Book Review: Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte

 

Mary, an 11-year-old deaf girl, lives on Martha's Vineyard in the early 1800s. Many of the people in this community are deaf and most of the residents sign using Martha's Vineyard Sign Language (MVSL). Being deaf in her community of Chilmark is not a disability but rather a difference - like having green eyes, or red hair. One day a scientist, Andrew Noble, comes to the island to study the origin of the deafness among the residents. Strangers are not usually trusted by this community but he has been sponsored by the pastor. Andrew soon starts alienating the island residents by his entitlement and lack of respect. He has been encouraged by other scientists to bring back to live specimen to be studied and he abducts Mary and takes her to Boston. 

This story is written for middle grade students, but don't be surprised if you find yourself being pulled into this story. Mary is young but has such a maturity and is really questioning a lot of what she sees in the people around her, especially in their relationships and prejudices of Native people. 

If you want to learn more about the Deaf in Martha's Vineyard or MVSL and its impact on American sign language, check out this article Reviving Sign Language on Martha's Vineyard from the Martha Vineyard times. 

Also, you can hear Ann Clare LeZotte share a little bit about this book.

I borrowed this book at the Nashua Public Library through Hoopla, but it is also available through Libby and they have a print copy. (I listened to the audio version - I am NOT good at listening to stories, but it certainly made my chores go by faster.)

I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did. 

Book Review: Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

Let's start with the author's note at the end of the book:

"When I sat down to draft Cinderella I started with a few questions: What effect do the fairy tales we are told as children have on us? What happens to our view of the world when the characters in these stories don't look like us or love like us? When do we get to be the heroes of our own stories?"

The fun thing about fairy tales is that we can own them much in the way that Bayron owned this book. She put together a bunch of "what if" questions and then started playing her ideas in the context of Cinderella. Her story is a dark story filled with magic, evil intent, and greed. The society that she built in this book looks at the Cinderella story in a sacred way and uses it to strip women of their rights. Our main character, Sophia, just wants to love another woman instead of Prince Charming and this is where the story starts. Where it ends is with personal battles fought.

Just one more word - I found this an amazing story to read while Afghanistan's government fell and the Taliban is taking over the leadership of the country. Many are frightened that women will lose the rights that they have gained over the last 20 years. The Taliban is saying that they will honor the rights of women within the constraints of Islam Law.  I hope Afghanistan's story ends with - "and they lived happily ever after."

If you like fairy tales - try this book out. You can find it in SORA or in print at the Nashua Public Library.  

Book Review: Clap When You Land / Elizabeth Acevedo

I was able to visit the Dominican Republic this summer - at least within the pages of this book. It was a nice trip and I enjoyed it very much.

Camino lives in the Dominican Republic, her father spends every summer with her. 
Yahaira lives in New York City. Her father spends her school years with her.
Their dad dies in a plane crash.
The thing is, neither girl know about the others' existence. 

This novel in verse is about loss. But it is also about family, and love, opening one's heart to new truths.

You can borrow this book from the stacks in the Nashua South library, or from Nashua Public library - they have it in print, but also through the Libby app (both audio and ebook.)

 

Book Review: Black Flamingo by Dean Atta

"This book is a fairy tale in which I am the prince and the princess. I am the king and the queen. I am my own wicked witch and fairy godmother... I am the fairy finding my own magic."

These are a few of the words from the prologue of Black Flamingo, a novel in which a mix-raced, gender-nonconforming teen works to define his place in the world and find his people.

Michael makes it to college before he is able to find a world big enough to find his place. He feels loved as a child and supported by his mom. But he just doesn't quite fit anywhere. In college he finds among the clubs the Drag Society and his heart finds a home. 

I love that this story describes drag so beautifully - as a performance art. A place to speak your story or spread your message.

This is a fun novel in verse that can be found in the stacks at Nashua South and via Hoopla (audio) and Libby (E and Audio.)

 

Book Review: What Unbreakable Looks Like by Kate McLaughlin

The top of the fly leaf states:

        "Lex was taken - trafficked - and now she's Poppy."

And this is how it starts. Poppy lured by a predator then locked into a hotel room, being told to do unspeakable things with men. Surrounded by other teens who have also been renamed after flowers. Finding comforts in pills to numb her mind and disassociation to get out of there. And then the police raided the hotel.

Poppy ends up in a hospital and starts the healing process. Physically she must overcome the bruises and scars from abuse and the devastating impact of drugs and addiction. Mentally she needs to find herself again. She needs to reconnect to her former self, Alexa / Lex. She needs to redefine herself and learn that there are trustworthy people in this world, and that she isn't broken. 

Though I have read about trafficking before, this book starts where trafficking leaves off. And while the subject is a heavy one, there is hope woven into this story. 

Read this if you want to learn more about the toll of human trafficking and can handle the stark realities that are involved. 

You can find this book in print in the South library or through Libby at the Nashua Public Library.

 

Library News: New Carpeting and getting ready to roll!

The library is looking pretty empty right now. All of the furniture was moved out over the summer to install new carpeting. Our 2021/22 school year will start without any unraveling carpet. Here is hoping that our new school year stays woven rather than unraveling like the last two school years. I am looking forward so seeing old faces, and meeting new students. 

See you soon!

Book Review: Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

 

"Roses can bloom in the hardest conditions." This is a sentiment that Mr. Wyatt shares with Maverick in this novel. 

And yes, Maverick is both a rose and living in difficult conditions. His father is in jail, presumably for gang-related activity (he was the "crown".) His mom can barely pay the bills. He is in a gang and selling drugs. AND then one day he is asked to join a girl at the hospital where a DNA test is being run on her 3 month old son. That is the day he is thrown into the life of fatherhood when the girl leaves the hospital without the baby. Maverick is thrown into a life of sleepless nights, exploding diapers, and of forehead kisses. This new responsibility brings up all kinds of questions, such as how is a 17 year old boy supposed to support a son.

No, life for Maverick doesn't get easier from here. And this is not a novel that is tidy. Maverick struggles with decisions that will impact his family for years. Sometimes there are no easy answers. 

This is a story of fatherhood, of family, and of friendship. It is a story of responsibility, and consequences for actions, and struggling to figure out what the next steps in life. This is also the prequel to The Hate You Give.

As far as I am concerned, this is a five star novel.

Find it on the shelves at South or the Nashua Public Library. NPL also has both audio and ebook copies through Libby. 

Book Review: Clean: The New Science of Skin / James Hamblin

 

We all want to be healthy and we want to look our best. Advice on how to achieve these goals comes from every avenue. What do our hygiene practices have to do with health and beauty? That is what this book is all about.

James Hamblin, a doctor and journalists, helps us get answers (or mostly more questions) about how our hygiene practices impact us and our largest organ - our skin - which is impacted by the world around us. This book lets us consider questions such as:

Are we too clean?
Should we be using antibacterial soap?
What products should put on our skin? our hair? under our arms?
How does our skin microbiome impact our health?
Should we eat a pound of dirt before we turn one?
What kinds of regulations are in place in the beauty industry vs the health industry? Does it matter?
Why do some beauty products work on some of us and not on others?
What are the most important things to do to stay healthy?

So many questions, and so much food for thought in this book that begins with the sentence, 

"Five years ago, I stopped showering."

And ends with:

"From pharmaceuticals to soaps and other personal care products, Americans are clearly overpaying for - and overusing - products and services that are supposed to make us healthier. The pattern of consumption is unsustainable, and much of it may be doing more harm than good. The greatest advances were those basic gestures at exposing people to nature - letting us have space to move, clean air to breathe, people to socialize and build relationships with, and plants, animals, and soil that bring us the microbes we evolved to be covered and sustained by." (page 251)

 Finally, the last chapter shares a lot of information about the history of city planning and outdoor spaces including a mention of conditions in the tenements in New York City. For this reader, that included checking out the digital displays in the Tenement Museum. (Note that not all of the links were working but I found that I could skip around those links to read these historical stories.)

This book was found in print at the Nashua Public Library

Book Review: The House in the Cerulean Sea / TJ Klune

I must share that this fantasy story is one of my favorite reads of this year. Here you will find a story about kindness, about magical beings, about hope, personal growth and moving beyond. AND it is LOL funny.

The characters are beautifully drawn - Linus, basically an orphanage investigator / Department in Charge of Magical Youth caseworker who is rule centered and thorough. Arthur - the father figure. And then there are the kids - each a magical being. The really cool thing about this book is that each character is more than the sum of their parts. Both individually and as part of the story. For example, one of the children is Lucy, the Antichrist (but we do NOT use that word) who is six years old and speaks in dark words and thoughts. BUT he loves to help in the kitchen and go on adventures. Arthur truly believes that nurture can overcome nature and is working with Lucy to overcome his evils. Linus want to protect the children.

This book has met with some controversy. Klune had the threads of this story running through his mind but then learned of the Sixties Scoop, in which Canadian indigenous children were placed into government sponsored facilities with the goal of adopting them out to white families - and this story gelled for him. (You can read his interview here.) Some people are angry believing that Klune co-opted a story that was not his to tell. But I do not fell that to be the case.  Note that the sixties scoop is not that only time that children have been torn from their homes and placed in government facilities, this has happened in other times and places. Note The House in the Cerulean Sea is not about that experience. Note that it isn't even hinted at. And note that this book is about kindness and hope. Finally note the words of Mark Twain, 

“There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.”

This book gathers the threads of various ideas and weaves them into a new and different story that is fun, funny, and heart warming. AND a little bit Harry Potterish as it weaves realistic fiction and fantasy together. 

There are lessons in this book about how we treat each other and how we treat ourselves. Here is one of my favorite quotes, 

"Humanity is so weird. If we're not laughing, we're crying or running for our lives because monsters are trying to eat us. And they don't even have to be REAL monsters. They could be the one we make up in our heads."

If you want a treat, if you want a reality check steeped in fantasy, if you want to laugh - read this story.

(It is available through the Nashua Public Library in both print and as an ebook)