The Tequila Worm, Belpre winner 2005

I expected a book for a much older audience based on the title and cover, but wow...this was a squeaky clean read!

We enter into Sofia's life in the barrio of border town McAllen Texas. (I had actually heard of McAllen because the library there seems to be perpetually hiring!)We are taken through her youth with her mom, dad, sister Lucy and best friend cousin Berta. Clara starts off being the storyteller of the bunch, and letting each family member know who they resemble (inside and out) as well as where they came from.

Sofia feels a bit like an outsider in her own barrio. She is not content with the idea of a quinceanera, or comfortable with the whole idea of the day of the dead. She wants to be the best at school, and after a racist incident and on the advice of a teacher, she does just that. She studies and studies until she is the recipient of a scholarship to an elite boarding school (ah here's my theme again!) in Austin. But will Sofia's family let her go? Will Sofia want to go when the time comes. Will she ever learn what it means to be a comadre?

The non-Mexican or non Mexican American reader is in for quite a treat. Author Viola Canales has let us into Sofia's household to get a crash course in Mexican tradition, cuisine and culture. And not just the activities themselves, but also the meanings and reasons behind them. From the ritualistic cleaning of the beans with her father, to the making of Easter cascarones, the reader is fully immersed.

What I like as well, is the fact that unlike other books containing Spanish, there is no glossary. I like that I feel like I should know what these terms mean, and if I can't get it from the context, I can always look it up.

looking for alaska, john green

So of course, after ALA's lists came out, I had to get a pile of books to read. I do feel like I fell behind on my YA reading since I've had my last little one, and now I think is the time to catch up.

I had heard so much about this title, and kept almost buying it on overstock.com, but I finally got it from the library on Friday and finished it off this morning.

Miles "Pudge" Halter is off to boarding school in Alabama. Once there he hooks up with scholarship student and roomie Chip (the Colonel) and his friend Alaska. On his first night, Pudge is a victim of the traditional hazing activity of being thrown in the lake...but with a twist. Kevin and his boys duct tape Pudge before throwing him in as a piece of revenge for a prior "ratting out". This is what Pudge is about to learn. Loyalty. No matter the cost.

Alaska quickly becomes the unattainable object of Pudge's affections. Alaska is wild, smart and utterly self destructive. She is destined to burn out rather than fade away.

There are pieces of the plot that I won't reveal here, as I hate when reviewers and other mere mortals ruin a book for me. But I do have to say that there is a mystery within that is pretty easily figured out. That said, I don't think it takes too much away from the story if the reader figures it out.

I do think that the characters are uber aware for teenagers...that same criticism that my beloved Dawson's Creek used to get. Specifically a frank discussion about fellatio involving the 2 participants and a demonstrator seems incredibly unrealistic. But, hey....this is fiction, right? And Printz worthy fiction at that!(fyi Printz winner 2005)

I do love the boarding school setting. I would have LOVED to have been sent to boarding school and been released from my hometown prior to turning 18. Mind you, from the fiction (The Chocolate War, Rebel Angels, Catcher in the Rye, and Capt. Hook I should be a bit scared, but hey, there's always Hogwarts!

Dreamwalker's Child

This was a title that I read to review for VOYA. So you can read my review there! Ha.

I didn't like the title, or the cover, but the story itself was very fun. Creepy information about insects, parallel worlds and great lead characters. If you have a reader who likes adventure, I would definately recommend it!

Love, Ruby Lavender

Ruby Lavender is awfully tied to her grandma, Miss Eula, and is beside herself when Miss Eula announces that she is off to Hawaii to visit with her new grandbaby. Ruby doesn't know what she will do without Miss Eula's letters in the tree stump, and her faithful companionship. Miss Eula always knows what to say about that mean old Melba Jane, and has a way of providing quiet comfort when Ruby needs it most.

Bit by bit we find out about the tragic accident which forces Ruby to take the long way into town...the way that doesn't involve crossing the bridge.

Through letters to Miss Eula and a newly forged friendship with aspiring anthropologist Dove, Ruby reveals her heart and even allows it to soften a little.

This was a yummy read that was of course inspired by each little bird that sings. I tend to take away sayings from books and people. Lemony Snicket brought on "cake sniffer", my friend Jen brought on "Oh my stars and garters!", and now Ms. Wiles has added "Good garden of peas!" to my vocabulary. People around NYC think I'm a bit strange, but aren't conversations so much more colourful with good old fashioned expressions?

Newbery, Printz, etc.

So. I watched the webcast this morning of the ALA's Youth Media awards.

I had a feeling that Looking for Alaska would win for Printz, but alas...not even a Newbery Honour for Penderwicks! Was it too safe? Too like Alcott? Too clean? I am interested in seeing the Top 10 from BBYA and QP.

The Teacher's Funeral

I had been wanting to read this title for a while now, and I am glad that I did! Countrified, fun and old-fashioned-sweet.

Russell is 15 and STILL in the 8th grade. He is mighty pleased when he finds that old Miss Myrt has up and died, right before school is set to start. She is an old fashioned teacher who whups kids for the slightest infractions. Russell and brother Lloyd are hoping that without a teacher, the little one room school house of Hominy Ridge will be shut down.

Imagine his horror when big sister Tansy is groomed for the job of teacher. Russell now hopes that the 7 students will lead to the school being closed (there's a mandatory roster of 8). But then Glenn Tarbox, who is too old for school and from the trashy Tarbox family to boot, shows up for "larnin' ".

This is a sweet family story filled with turn of the century rural Indiana life. Part adventure, part coming of age, The Teacher's Funeral has one of the most satisfying endings I have read in a loooooong time.

Thank you Richard Peck!

Harry Sue

Ok. The yellow covered arc of this book sat on my bedside table for close to a year. I had no idea what the book was about. I hated the title. Jen had given it to me and told me it was more my age range. I didn't pick it up until some banter on yalsa-bk let on that a couple people favoured it for Newbery. While I still think that Penderwicks is going to run away with it, I am very glad to have read Harry Sue.

This is a book of characters. Wild characters, ripped from the headlines and then tossed together into a school, family and neighbourhood. Harry Sue is left to live with "Granny", after a fight at home caused her father to literally throw her out the window...from the seventh story. Mom got busted leaving her meth lab on the coffee table when police came to investigate. Granny runs the daycare "Granny's Lap", and in her mind Harry Sue is just a kid who is taking up space that someone would pay for. Granny is Roald Dahl-esque in her evilness, and as an adult reader I found myself appalled at her actions.

Harry Sue's best friend is Christopher...whom she calls Homer Price due to his inventing abilities. Homer took a swan dive off the bridge in town and managed to break his neck.

Harry Sue is doing her best to groom herself into a criminal. She figures that is the only way she will ever get to find her mom. Homer is doing his own time...up in his tree house, willing leaves to fall.

Enter substitute teacher Baba, physiotherapist J-Cat, Hammerhead and the other crumbsnatchers, and there is quite a story.

Harry Sue herself is quite taken with the story The Wizard of Oz, and although she has the author's name incorrect, she finds many bridges between the story and her own life. By making Baum's first name Louise, Harry Sue feels an affinity that allows her not to seem so lost, and indeed makes her seem much more wise than her years.

I think that this is a deceptively young story. Drugs, abuse, accidents, and racism all dealt with in this story. Author Sue Stauffacher thanks the kids of incarcerated parents at the end and I wonder how this story will touch them. What it's done for me is made me want to read The Wizard of Oz for the first time. It doesn't seem like the movie did it justice!

For Matrimonial Purposes

I always wonder if all women push the envelope on getting married. Is it a social construction? Is it our upbringing?

For Anju it's all she has been striving for. A Bombay girl and a first born at that, her mum and dad have been trying to get her married since her best friend was engaged at 17. But noone seemed quite right for her, and face it, not too many came calling either. Anju was nice enough...educated and sweet, but she had a fierce independent streak as well.

After some convincing, she is off to "Umerica" to stay in Fort Lee NJ with her Aunty and Uncle while attending NYU for further studies. We follow Anju's next decade in NYC with frequent trips back to Bombay during the wedding season "for matrimonial purposes". Once she hits her 30s, will Anju find her husband?

An interesting blend of chick lit meets Indian fiction. The story is peppered with culture and tradition as well as all of the trappings of contemporary chick lit. Anju works in fashion, attends fabulous parties (aside from those Bombay weddings), and is very Sex and the City minus the sex part.

It was a fun little read that sated my post Christmas read need along with a love story jones. Very Beachy, indeed.

Al Capone Does My Shirts

So, I have to admit...this is one of those books that I sort of, pretended to have read for about a year now. Whenever the kids at school would ask me about it, I'd say, "yeah...this one is great!" and leave it at that. I had heard Jen's booktalks about it a hundred times, but for some reason, I just didn't feel like reading it. I just picked it off the shelf at the public library last week.

Moose Flanagan is not living a typical life. It's the 1930s and he is living on Alcatraz Island where his dad does double duty as an electrician and a prison guard. Moose is not the only kid there. His sister Natalie, Piper (the warden's daughter), Annie, Theresa, Jimmy and baby Rocky are on the Island too. Everyday Moose takes the ferry into the city to go to school.

The warden has told all of the kids on the island that they are not supposed to talk about the cons. Especially not about notorious gangster Capone. Piper has other ideas... she talks about Alcatraz all the time. She is full of money making schemes that she needs Moose's help for, and they all involve breaking the warden't rules.

Getting in trouble is the LAST thing that Moose needs. He already is stuck taking care of his sister everyday. Natalie isn't a typical sister...she has special needs. Moose knows that the warden isn't too happy having her on the Island at all and he does his best to keep Natalie out of the warden's way. But his family is full of secrets...some of them involving his sister. Can Moose find a way to help his family, or will he forever follow the rules?

This is a fast read with some fascinating facts about prison life in Alcatraz in the 30s. Choldenko has also provided facts about autism in a unnamed and detailed way. While this is not the flashiest book out there, it is a solid read that will most likely open up the mind's of readers to questions of justice on many different levels.

Case Histories, by Kate Atkinson

Yay! Another great book! A friend recommended this to me and in turn, I am going to recommend it to my grown-up friends!

The seemingly unconnected lives of Olivia, Amelia, Julia, Victor, Jackson, Marlee, Laura, Mrs. Rain, Caroline, Michelle, and Theo (among others) are slowly drawn together in an amazing story about family, love, murder, abuse and self discovery. I know that probably sounds like a bit much, but at first the story is truly overwhelming. I was crying over my eggs benedict at a little cafe around the corner. Let me give you an example of the writing.

" "And anyway," he shouted after her, "maybe I don't want to eat bloody coriander!" She came to an abrupt halt, whiplashing the baby in the pushchair. She turned round and said, "Well maybe I do," and glared at him for the longest time, wishing she had the woodcutting ax with her, the ax that would split his skull like a melon or a pumpkin cleaved in two. No, not a melon, melons were sweet and exotic, not pedestrian enough for his head, and pumkins were vegetables that belonged in fairy tales. A turnip. Turnips were brutal, yokel vegetables. And he would drop like a headless scarecrow, right here in the field, and sink into the soil and never be seen again, and she could give the baby to her mother and ruin another life." (pp. 36-37)

There are so many subplots and characters that I am not sure how to even write about this title to give it any justice. The characters are compelling, they all have secrets and even the ones that I didn't like I still wanted to know.

I am definately going to pick up Atkinson's previous novels.

Indigo*s Star

I have to start off by saying that I have never read McKay's companion Saffy's Angel. I just picked Indigo up off the shelf of the library for something to read.

Indigo is headed back to school after a mono induced semester off. Indigo is not the type of kid who minds missing that much school. He is the target of the red-headed bully and his gang of minions. Upon arrival back, Indigo discovers the bullies are waiting, but there is a new target as well...American Tom. Slowly but surely Tom and Indigo forge a friendship of circumstance that develops further.

The story is as much about Indigo's family unit, as the boy himself. Artist parents living apart (label conscious dad's in London, mum paints in the back shed) and coloured named sibs all weave in and out of Indigo's days. A large part of the story belongs to little sis and art prodigy Rose, who is the most likable of the bunch.

I am really interested in what kid's think of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but saw my adult perspective interpreting every event. It was a nice under the covers and tea read!

each little bird that sings

Anyone who knows me knows that there are certain qualities that are favourites for me in books. The cover is important, and I love settings in India, the South, and Eastern Canada. I also love a book that will make me cry.

each little bird that sings gives me the South and a close cry.

Comfort Snowberger lives a life that some would consider a bit odd. She lives above the town funeral parlour with her brother Tidings, sister Merry, mother Joy, father Bunch, great uncle Edisto, great great Aunt Florentine. Her best friend is Declaration Johnson. (You HAVE to love these names!)

Soon, everything is changing. Uncle Edisto is the first in the house to die, followed soon by Aunt Florentine. Declaration has been acting real strange and stuck up since she came back from Mobile, and the only comfort that Comfort seems to get is from her dog Dismay.

The day of Aunt Florentine's funeral, Comfort, Dismay, Declaration and cousin Peach fatefully decide to walk to the cemetary instead of going in the car. A thunderstorm and flashflood will change their lives forever.

Now, I know folks who sobbed over these pages. I got a lump in my throat, but I know the reason why I wasn't overwraught. I won't put it here because it would spoil this book for the rest of you. Deborah Wiles has penned a sweet, sad, southern story....one of the best kind, I reckon!

Maya Running

Be careful what you wish for!

How many times has that statement turned out to be true? For Maya Mukherjee, they should have been words to live by.

It's the mid 1970s in Manitoba, and Maya is not a happy girl. Her friends call her lunchtime dal "barf", her parents are making her hang out with the Ghose boys, she has a huge crush on Jamie, and Brian just called her the "N" word. The only bright spot is that Maya has convinced her parents to let her beautiful cousin Pinky come over from India for 3 weeks.

Pinky is beautiful and actually seems exotic to Maya, with her saris, kohl lined eyes and her Kathak dancing. Pinky has also brought along a golden statue of Ganesh. When Jamie's affections turn from Maya to Pinky, Maya turns to Ganesh for help. Little does she know that this sweet loving trickster god will turn her life upside down.

Eventhough Maya starts to live the life she thought she wanted, she is not feeling very good about it. Her parents are shadows of their former selves, and her friends just aren't themselves. And Jamie ... his adoration is becoming downright scary.

This is a clean tween read that would be great for anyone who feels like the odd one out. The story obviously relies heavily on the author Anjali Banerjee's own life, and though it is dated in the 1970s, the journey for self discovery is a timeless one.

National Book Award

YAY!

Yay, yay, yay!

Birdsall just won the National Book Award for Penderwicks.

I know there was some talk in the circles about how this book was "young", but not all young people and teens want to read grit all the time. So yay!

I am predicting that this will also be a Newbery award winner at ALA in January. We shall see!

The Day Joanie Frankenhauser Became a Boy

I took this off my friend Karyn's pile at work. It was way too young for her highschool audience so I thought I would give it a go. This is a sweet book that I think tomboys in the range of 4-6th grade would enjoy.

Joanie's mom wants her to act more like a girl. Joanie doesn't understand why just because she is in 5th grade she is supposed to give up skateboarding, football and basketball. She simply can't identify with those girly girls at school. You know the ones. They giggle and talk about lipgloss all day?

Well...when the family moves from Boston to Yardville PA, Joannie gets the chance of a lifetime. The first day at her new school, a typo has the teacher introducing her as "John" instead of "Joan". Joannie doesn't correct the teacher and takes the opportunity to enter the secret world of boys.

She starts hanging out with Zane and his buddies, and soon finds herself over her head with dares to prove how macho she is. Zane wants to do crazy stuff like hang upside down from a tree over a ravine, and whip firecrackers at old man Corrolla's place. And she doesn't feel very comfortable making "boobie" jokes at Lucinda. Will she find a way to come clean...or stay a boy for as long as possible?

The writing is breezy and there are chapters written as stories about "Super Kid" that Joanie writes. I would recommend it to 4-6th graders. It's an interesting look at the gender divide without sexual overtones, and helps to show that the grass may not always be so green on the other side.

Lauren Child

Ok.

I just have to take a moment to say how much I LOVE Lauren Child. Especially the Charlie and Lola books.

As a librarian, I most likely would not have picked these books out for my 2.5 year old daughter if I hadn't seen the show. Seeing the stories performed gave me the cadence necessary for reading these aloud. The text is squirmy and swimmy, but all you have to do is put on a bad English accent, and read about pink milk, absolutely positively not going to bed, hippos and invisible friends.

Charming, charming. If you are parents you know that you will have to read certain books hundreds of times. These ones won't make you want to poke your eyes out.

So. Yay for Lauren Child.

The Myth of You and Me

Wow. I LOVED this book! I don't know if it's because I am 35 and at that point in my life where I feel like connecting with old friends and loved ones, or if Leah Stewart is just one heck of an author.

We take a journey through Cameron's eyes back and forth from past to present regarding her friendship with Sonia. Sonia and army brat Cameron became best friends after Cam witnessed Sonia's mother's cruelty. Mme Gray is like no other mother I have ever read.

Cameron was working for, and living with, famous historian Oliver Doucet when Sonia comes back into her life in the form of a letter. Cameron has no wish to contact Sonia because of an unnamed betrayal, but Oliver has different ideas.

The reader feels priviledged to witness this friendship between these girls/women. What they go through is so everyday, yet so poignant that it truly stirs the soul. Friendship between women tends to be dicey and Stewart has caught the very essence of this.

The teenagers looked nothing like Sonia and I had looked at their
age...These girls probably snuck into rock clubs. They did drugs
and went to poetry readings. They knew all about Zen Buddhism
and read articles in The New Yorker. What I recognized was the
way they kept looking at each other even though they were each
talking to a boy. Every so often they exchanged these quick,
knowing glances, each making sure the other one was still there,
still with her. I wondered how long their friendship would last,
and felt sorry for them, because they didn't know it wouldn't. "
(p.114)

Ouch. Yet most likely true. I have so many pages in this book turned down and could quote endlessly, but I won't. I think this is a book that every woman who ever walked away from a friendship or lover should read.

So good.

PEEPS

Ok. So I FINALLY got my copy of Peeps back, with a very nice inscription I must say (thanks Scott!) and got back down to the business of finishing it.

Very interesting take on the vampire novel.

The last vampire story I read was Twilight, by Meyer. A very traditional story. Westerfeld has explored a different angle involving parasites. Which when you think of it we all are in some form or another.

Cal has been working for the NightWatch pretty much since he turned. He has been hunting down the few that he has infected during his year as a peep (parasite positive). The only one he can't find is his progenitor, Morgan. Partly because her name is all he can remember about her, aside from her appearance. A drunken hook-up in Manhattan. It happens everyday. No last name. Can't remember exactly where she lives. Doesn't know where she works.

But she has left Cal with a legecy of enforced celibacy (parasite positivity is sexually transmitted), and a huge craving for protein.

While searching for Morgan, Cal comes across Lace. Lace is looking for her own answers. Like why is her rent so low, and why did someone write "He was so pretty I had to eat him" in what looks like blood on her wall.

What follows is a NYC centric adventure with Cal searching not only for Morgan, but also the deep menace that he feels is stalking the city.

Westerfeld has interwoven chapters about parasites between the plot. Real parasites. Yucky parasites. In exquisite detail. I know I won't be peeing in a tropical river anytime soon.

This is an interesting take on vampirism, and I really enjoyed Cal's character. Lace drove me a little nuts with her "dude"-ing at the beginning of every sentence. The ending was left open.

Is this going to be a series? Mindy...Jen....do you know?

Black Hole

I dreamt about highschool last night. I wonder if this gn had anything to do with it?

It's the 1970's in suburban Seattle and a new STD is making the rounds. It's not like the STDs that you can typically cover. This can manifest itself in giving you a tail, extra mouths, webbed hands, facial deformity etc. (Wow! Come to think of it the hardcore bible belters may use this to scare teens off sex before marriage!)

Our story concentrates mostly on Keith and Chris. Keith is a nice run of the mill guy, who hangs out with his friends smoking pot among other things. He pretty much hates his teenage existence. He is searching for something, but he's not sure what.

Chris is in his biology class and she is the object of his affections. She too, is a nice girl, if more popular than Keith.

One night at a party Chris finds herself attracted to Rob. They both drink heavily and head out to the cemetery for an intimate moment. Right before they have sex, Rob tries to warn Chris about something, but she shushes him and continues on. Soon after, Chris is showing symptoms.

I think this is more a story about what it is like to be in high school than it is a sexual warning. Burns has captured those manic highs and lows where every outcast feels like a leper, and falling in love happens fast. I'm not sure that I would have enjoyed this as a teen...it may have creeped me out. There are quite a few full frontal pictures, and the deformations are the kind of things that make my skin creepy crawly.

That said, the starkness of the black and white is stunning, and the bold style of the illustrations suit the story perfectly. Some of the art reminded my of the Bongwater album, Too Much Sleep. Upon checking, that artwork was done by Jim Shaw. It's got that same yearbook thing happening.

Overall, I really enjoyed this gn. I sat down and read it in a short period of time, and was very satisfied. I am glad I didn't read it in comic form, simply because the waiting would have been difficult!

The Last Book in the Universe

I had forgotten that I bought this book back with Golden and Grey earlier this summer. I picked it up off of my night table last night, and just finished it now. I feel like my old reading self when my 2 year old is at her Nana's!

Rodman Philbrick has written quite the "end of the world as we know it" story.

Imagine a world of extreme class difference. Eden is at the centre, where the "proovs" (or genetically improved) humans live. At least the normals have been told that Eden exists...they can't be sure since it means instant "cancellation" for a normal to try to enter.

Everyone lives in a "latch"...essentially a turf controlled by a latch boss. Spaz, thus named because of his epilepsy, lives under the rule of the Bangers, where Billy Bizmo reigns supreme. Spaz is told to go rip off the Ryter who lives in the stacks at the edge of town. Spaz does as he is told...afterall it's steal or die around here. Little does he know that the Ryter will end up effecting him deeply with his talk about the backtimes.

One night in his crib, a runner comes with a message for Spaz. His foster sister Bean is sick again with the blood sickness. The problem is that Bean lives in a whole other latch...3 latches over. Spaz is sure to be cancelled even trying to leave his own latch. Can Ryter help him find his way?

What follows is a fast paced adventure about priviledge, perfection and hope.

Less intense than Anderson's Feed, and less sophisticated than Westerfeld's Uglies (almost) triology, The Last Book in the Universe seems perfect for the sixth grade and up set. Fast paced and compelling, Philbrick makes the reader stop and consider what s/he might do given extreme circumstances.

Don't look for a happy ending.