The Reader by Traci Chee

What do I love about The Reader by Traci Chee? Let's see.
Hmm.
Could it be because it is about the magic of books and reading?
And...
There are a stories within the story where really magical stuff happens and then it really happens in real life?
And...
The stories are about really fun things like swashbuckling pirates, and journeys to the end of the world?
Or if one prefers...
There are assassins, and fighting rings, and super kick-ass librarians.
But wait, I get ahead of myself.

Traci Chee's debut novel is all those things I mentioned and more (and it is only the first book in a series.) I can hardy contain my glee at the thought of more adventures to come with Sefia and her mute friend, Captain Reed, and others.

Sefia's mother dies when she is very young so she and her father have a very strong bond and he is very protective of her. He trains her very carefully what to do if anyone comes looking for them. When she arrives home one day to find her father murdered, Sefia follows the plan they have practiced many times and is able to escape with Aunt Nin with just one reminder from home, a strange box which contains a large, pages item which she later learns is a book. No one in her land, Kelanna, reads except the elite few, and there are no books to be found anywhere. Sefia and Aunt Nin survive in the wilds for many years until one day assassins tracking the book kidnap Nin. Sefia is alone but determined to rescue her aunt. Along the way she teaches herself to read and saves a boy, who is rendered mute by the horrific circumstances of his life. With the help of her new friend Sefia continues the search for her aunt not knowing that she is also being hunted.

Sounds wild, doesn't it? If Sefia's story isn't exciting enough by itself, she spends the evenings reading out the stories in the book, and by the act of reading them out, makes them come true. Reading The Reader is a multilayered experience both a bit confusing and exciting in turn, "but the author avoids leading readers along too transparently, trusting them to puzzle together the pieces surrounding the mystery of Sefia's past. An exploration of self-determination and the magic of the written word, Sefia's story is an absorbing introduction to the Sea of Ink and Gold series" (Publisher's Weekly).

I don't know what else to tell you, except to ask, what are you waiting for? Get to it. Find a copy of this book and let yourself just fall into the middle of a wonderful book. And, by the way, pay close attention to the printed word. There is a mysterious code just waiting for you to find it.

And yes, this is one of our Mock Printz books. Sure hope it gets a nod this year come award season.

The Reader by Traci Chee
G.P. Putnam's Sons, c. 2016
Print edition checked out from my library.

Still Life with Tornado by A.S. King

Sarah, age 16, stopped going to school after her art teacher declared that nothing in life was original, just a repeat of things already created. After this pronouncement, Sarah, who had always been very artistic, found she couldn't even draw a pear so decided that going to school was futile. Instead, to keep up the ruse of attendance, she left the house each morning and roamed the streets of Philadelphia in search of art and originality. While on one of her wanderings Sarah meets up with her 10-year-old self and later with her 23-year-old incarnation. Both her younger and her older selves have important truths for sixteen-year-old Sarah. Young Sarah just home from a family vacation to Mexico reveals just how cruel and abusive her father really is, a truth Sarah has forgotten over the years. Older Sarah, by her mere presence, lets Sarah know she will be OK and the truth, no matter how painful, will set her free. With the help of her plucky, strong-willed mother, Sarah finds a way to reintegrate all the parts of herself and to confront the problems in her life.

I am a big fan of A.S. King and adore her writing style. She is the type of writer that causes me to stop mid-sentence and admire her wordsmithery (I know. That is not a word!) My first A.S. King book was a Printz Honor, Please Ignore Vera Dietz, and that book, about a young girl who is consumed by her grief and stuck in a life she doesn't know how to live fully, simply knocked my socks off. I've gone on to read several more books by King: Everyone Sees the Ants; Glory O'Brien's History of the World; Ask the Passengers; and I Crawl Through It. All of the books have a character who is experiencing some near mental breakdown until they are able to get the attention of an adult who is FINALLY willing/available to help them find a way to make sense of their circumstances and their world. As much as I admire Still Life with Tornado, the book doesn't seem all that different than the other books I've read my King. Every year in the past we have added A.S. King's book to our Mock Printz list because of the spectacular writing, and no year since Vera Dietz has her book earned another Printz award. This year we decided to leave Still Life with Tornado off our list. We'll see if we made the right call in January when awards are once more handed out.

That said, I really did like Still Life with Tornado and will recommend it to my students. It carries a very powerful message about the effects of abuse on marriages and on children and it, therefore, may speak to students who are also experiencing abuse at home.

Lucy and Linh by Alice Pung

When Lucy Lam, a Chinese Australian teen, wins a prestigious scholarship to Laurinda Ladies College, no one is more surprised than Lucy herself. As refugees from Vietnam, Lucy and her family settled in a lower/middle income suburb of Melbourne named Stanley and Lucy has attended the local Catholic school where is popular and active. When the offer for the Equal Access scholarship was awarded, Lucy's family rejoiced, seeing it as an opportunity for all of them to move up economically. What Lucy didn't anticipate was the isolation she would feel at Laurinda since so many of the girls had attended the same school since kindergarten and their families had so much money. She also didn't anticipate how she would be surrounded by such mean girls. Known at the school as The Cabinet, these girls not only bullied and belittled other students but also treated teachers with disdain and pulled pranks which were not funny. To keep herself somewhat grounded in her seemingly double life, Lucy writes letters to Linh, her best friend from Stanley. Linh represents all the qualities Lucy sees slipping away within herself. Linh is audacious and speaks up for herself whereas Lucy sees herself becoming more introverted unable to speak up against the injustices she sees and encounters in her new school. At the same time she starts to look critically at her home life, where both parents work very hard in menial jobs but have not fully integrated into Australian society. Near the end of the book there is a plot twist which provides a spotlight on Lucy's life as she tries to square all the parts that make up herself.

Though I am not Australian or Asian, I could relate to the messages in Lucy and Linh by Alice Pung. In fact, I think the book holds universal truths: we are, to some degree, bound by cultural expectations with which we have to grapple and make peace; schools can be very unsafe places for some students with adults often being the unwitting perpetrators of bullying behaviors; only when we come to embrace our whole self can we move forward in confidence. I don't think these truths belong only to Australians or Americans. As I read the book I recognized the brilliance of the message, one all teens should hear.

Here is what other reviewers have said about the book:

"Lyrical, enchanting prose from a narrator with perception so acute she cannot help but share it immerses readers into the very heart of every scene. This is highly recommended for classrooms and libraries [and] a superb choice for book discussion groups and world young adult literature survey courses."--VOYA, Starred review

"Part Mean Girls, part Lord of the Flies, and part Special Topics in Calamity Physics, this well-observed and unsentimental novel taps into what is primal within privileged adolescent girls."--The Bulletin, Starred review

"Lucy's narration pulls readers alongside her uncertain navigation of two worlds, and we can't help but cheer in solidarity as Lucy recognizes assimilation masquerading as inclusion, refuses to back down, and instead embraces who she is."--Horn Book Magazine

Needless to say I highly recommend this book and have recommended its inclusion in the BSD Mock Printz list, a late entrants but so be it!

24-Hour-Blog-n-Readathon

My very own 24-Hour Blog-n-Readathon

Over the course of the next three days I plan to cobble together 24-hours of reading and blogging. I am so behind on my reviews it is ridiculous and talk about a towering TBR pile of books.

Don is away for a few days, I have tomorrow off work for Veteran's Day, and a weekend with no plans.  With the events of this past week and the results of the election crippling me with anger and sorrow, I've put myself on a media restriction until my moods stabilize and I don't feel so fragile.  Immersing myself in books and their reviews sounds good to me. It will be therapeutic to knock a few things off my list, too. 

The list below looks ominous but even the act of typing it up has made my spirit soar a little bit. We'll see how I do. 

Books I hope to get to	Reviews I plan to tackle
In the Shadow of the Banyan/Ratner	Flannery/Moore
Little Women/Alcott	The Last Boy and Girl in the World/Vivian
March 3/Lewis	The Girl in the Blue Coat/Hesse
Girl at War/Novic	The Reader/Chee
Vassa in the Night/Porter	Railhead/Reeves
	Still Life With Tornado/King
	Lucy and Linh/Pung

I'm off to start reading. I promise to post my final progress report when I hit 24-hours. 

Sunday Salon, Nov. 6th

Weather: A passable day. Check out the photo above taken this morning from my front yard. I love the contrast of colors- the green grass, the red/gold colors of the leaves, and the blue sky with wispy, white clouds.

Let us Pray: I have felt sick about what is happening on our country concerning the election. Every day I worry and fret, asking "what if?" questions. Today I determined to pray about the outcome, for Hillary, and for all of us. Today’s prayer comes from the book Psalms for Praying by Nan C. Merrill and is a paraphrase of a portion of Psalm 68.

O Beloved, reach into the hearts of your people,

Enter into the darkness of their fears.

A new dawn is rising; great will be the understanding

of those who know love;

The darkness of ignorance will be overcome!

The nations will be united in their diversity,

Living in harmony and with integrity-—

Like the wings of a dove covered with silver,

its pinions with gold.

Then will fear be no more,

Love will reign in every heart.

Yes, the Beloved will empower us with love,

as we face the fears within.

Love ever whispers, “I will break down the walls of illusion,

I will shatter the fears that bind,

That you may walk in a new dawn, 

that you may dance with light hearts

and spread peace throughout the earth.”

Amen.

Tuesday: Thankfully the election is Tuesday. We all vote-by-mail in Washington State so Don and I voted two weeks ago. Now we wait. We will host a small gathering of friends, all Democrats and Hillary supporters to watch the results come in. Here is why I am supporting Hillary: 1. She is intellectual and willing to do her homework (a quality all teachers appreciate).  I want the President of the United States to be the most intellectual person in the room, possibly in the Nation; 2. She cares about all people---children, minorities, people of the variety of religions, people living with disabilities, LGBTQ individuals. 3. She wants everyone to have health care and she wants to make sure that health care decisions are made between doctors and patients, not dictated by the state. 4. I want peace among nations and I am afraid that Donald Trump with his jittery temperament would not be stable enough to be trusted to keep us out of war and able to negotiate peace. 5. It is time for a female President. I believe that Hillary has been judged by a double standard just because she is female. Now we wait for the election results.

Books read this week:

• Still Life With Tornado by A.S.King---I like King's writing a lot but I think she has gone to the well one too many times with similar themed books. In this book Sarah is having an existential crisis related to family secrets (abuse) and her inability to talk about her feelings. I like the book but it is pretty strange.
• Lucy and Linh by Alice Pung---a coming-of-age and multicultural story set in Australia. Lucy earns a full scholarship to an exclusive private school but as the only Chinese student she feels isolated but learns she must make her own way. I liked this book a lot.

Currently reading:

• March Three by John Lewis. The third graphic biography about the great Civil Rights Activist, John Lewis. I just started it.
• In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner. This is this month's book club selection, set in Cambodia during the reign of the Khmer Rouge. Progress 20%.

TTT: Great books for book club that enjoy reading books about other culltures

Top Ten Tuesday. 

Great books for book clubs that enjoy reading books from other cultures or sub-cultures.  

Keep in mind, good book club books need to generate a good discussion which means it is likely the book itself might be controversial or some of the members may not even like the book

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (2009 Knopf)...set in Ethiopia starting in the 1960s this book had me from page one. It looks daunting at over 500 pages but it was pure pleasure to both read and discuss. 

Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali by Kris Halloway (2006 Waveland Press)...a nonfiction account of Ms. Halloway's Peace Corp experience working with a midwife in a village in Mali. The story was both revealing and heart-breaking. Our club had much to discuss and digest as we learned about life in rural Africa and the hardships that most women face in their culture.

Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell (2008 Random House)---historical fiction set in the Middle East around the time of Lawrence of Arabia. I knew nothing about the events covered in this book prior to reading it. Very readable author. 

The Round House by Louise Erdrich (2012. HarperCollins)-  The Round House is set on a reservation in the Midwest. A young adolescent boy tries to solve the mystery of what happened to his mother one horrifying night and in the process is forced to grow up faster than expected. The reader is introduced to several Native American rituals and confronted with the unfairness of our laws. This book is clutch-your-chest-good.

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (2013, Viking Press)- I loved this book. The literary themes and symbolism abound. Set in both Japan and in British Columbia.

Day After Night by Anita Diamant (2009, Scribner)---set in Palestine right after WWII, this is the story of several women who are imprisoned by the British for illegally entering Palestine. I knew nothing about the Jewish experience in Palestine prior to the formation of Israel as a country. We had a powerful discussion about this book and the topic.

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (2009 Picadour)...he was a brilliant math professor with a head injury that allows for only 80 minutes of memory.  Set in Japan. She is his housekeeper who has a ten-year-old son. They forge a friendship within the limitations. Many gals in the club mentioned that they were surprised at how much they liked this little book and how charmed they were by the story, a few even felt they learned a little math along the way.

Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean (2007, Harper Perennial)...Set in both modern times and in Leningrad during the siege during WWII, Marina has a hard time living in the present as her brain slips back to her past life in Russia and the art she loved.  I read this book while I was in Europe looking at all the fabulous religious art, so this is a sentimental favorite.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay (2007, St. Martin's Press)...another WWII story set in both modern times and during WWII, this story is set in France and exposes the deplorable events of the Vel' d'Hiv roundup of Jews. None of us had ever heard of this event before reading the book. I've recommended this book more than any other book on this list.

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (2011, HarperCollins)... When Dr. Swenson doesn't send any updates on the research she is doing in the Amazon rain forest, Dr. Singh is sent to look for her. This has so many unexpected adventures and is so full of moral complexities that it makes a perfect book to discuss.

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (2015, Grove Press)---A Vietnam War story told from the point of view of Vietnamese double agent. The book is amazing and so well written but was a toughy to read. Nonetheless we did have a good discussion.

Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron (2012, Algonquin)---A Tutsi runner in Rwanda wants to be the first Olympic medal winner for his country, instead he has to run for his life during the Rwandan Genocide just to save his life. We all learned a lot about this despicable event in human history.

Circling the Sun by Paula McLain (2015 Ballantine Books)---a novelization of the life of Beryl Markham who was the first woman in Kenya to learn to fly an airplane and to be a horse trainer. She was also the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, east to west. This book was a fun book to read and to discuss.

Sunday Salon, October 30th

Weather: light rain and grey skies.

Every have one of those weeks...where the days all seem endless and full and exhausting, and mind-numbing, yet at the end of it you can't remember what you did or thought or accomplished? That was this past week for me. The only thing I do remember about the week was having half days at schools for conferences. Conferences at the secondary level are very different than those happy affairs I remember when I would conference with my daughter's elementary teachers. Since I don't have many students, I had some extra time to finish up tasks around the library which have been left undone since the beginning of the school year. Bonus.

Books read in October: 

• Winter by Marissa Meyer. The fourth book in the Lunar Chronicles. I got this book last November at the launch party in Tacoma. I finally got around to reading it and enjoyed it quite a lot. It is a satisfying ending to a wonderful series which is very popular with my readers. Finished on Oct 28th. YA. Audio and print. 4 stars
• Railhead by Philip Reeves. A futuristic Sci-Fi novel where travel between planets is possible on special trains. When Zen is hired by Raven to steal an artifact he has no idea he might just be causing the end of civilization. Finished Oct. 30th. YA. Print.  3.5 stars
• Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen. The memoir by Karent Blixon, made famous by the movie of the same name. I started this book in July and finally finished it last weekend during my readathon. Finished Oct. 23rd. Print. 3.5 stars
• Leading from Within: Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Lead by Intrator and Scribner. I love this type of poetry book which not only contains poems but also descriptions by others who are inspired by them, Finished Oct. 23rd. Print. 4.5 stars.
• The Reader by Traci Chee. The first book in a new series. It is very inventive and fun. What if our lives were changed every time someone read about us in THE Book? I look forward to seeing where this book goes in subsequent volumes. Finished Oct. 19th. YA. Print. 4 stars.
• On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis. Set in the Netherlands before and right after a huge meteor slams into Earth. Finished Oct. 16th. YA. Audio. 2 stars.
• The Crack in the Kingdom by Jaclyn Moriarty. The second book in the Colors of Madeleine series. A very inventive and surprising series about parallel worlds and the cracks that allow communication between the two. I'm a fan. Finished Oct. 10th. YA. Audio. 4 stars,
• Hondo by Louis L'Amour. My first by this famous Western author. When I told my mother-in-law I read it to honor my father-in-law on this his death, she laughed and said, "Oh! Harlequin romances for men." I agree. Finished Oct. 10th. Print. 2.5 stars.

Currently reading:

• Still Life With Tornado by A.S. King. Another book by King where the main character is really cracking up due to some trauma in her life. The writing, as usual, is impeccable. Print. Progress: 10%.
• Lucy and Linh by Alice Pung. Set in Australia. The book is about growing up and about the importance of friends. Audio. Progress: 20%.

On deck: (I have a lot of books screaming my name right now.)

• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. For the Classics Club Spin. Due date: December 1st.
• In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner. For book club #1. Due date: November 15th.
• Girl at War by Sara Novic. For Book Club #2. Due Date December 14th.

On TV: Seattle Seahawks game on DVR. Football. Football. Football. 

Song running through my head: "Stand in the Light" by Jordan Smith.

Happy week!

National Book Award Shortlist

The National Book Award organization has culled down their lists in preparation for November 15th when the winners will be announced.

YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE

FINALISTS:

• Kate DiCamillo, Raymie Nightingale (Candlewick Press)
• John Lewis, Andrew Aydin & Nate Powell (Artist), March: Book Three (Top Shelf Productions / IDW Publishing)
• Grace Lin, When the Sea Turned to Silver (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
• Jason Reynolds, Ghost (Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing)
• Nicola Yoon, The Sun Is Also a Star (Delacorte Press/Penguin Random House)

LONGLIST:

• Kwame Alexander, Booked (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• Anna-Marie McLemore, When the Moon Was Ours (Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press)
• Meg Medina, Burn Baby Burn (Candlewick Press)
• Sara Pennypacker & Jon Klassen (Illustrator), Pax (Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins)
• Caren Stelson, Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor’s Story (Carolrhoda Books/Lerner Publishing Group)

Unbelievably for me I have only read one of the books on the lists, Burn Baby Burn.  Many of the books are aimed at a younger population of readers or middle grade readers. Of all  the books on the list I really want to read March Three, the third book in a series about the life of John Lewis, a Civil Rights activist and American hero. There is usually very little crossover with National Book Award and the Printz Award so I am not too worried that I am missing some book I should be thinking about for the Printz. We'll see. Watch this space on November 15th for the announcement of the winner. As soon as I know something I will announce it.

Friday Quotes: Winter

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. Share the opening quote from the book.
The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice.  Find a quote from page 56.

Check out the links for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Participants don't select their favorite, coolest, or most intellectual books, they just use the one they are currently reading. This is the book I'm reading right now---


Book Title: Winter by Marissa Meyer

Book Beginnings:

Winter's toes had become ice cubes. They were as cold as space. As cold as the dark side of Luna.

Friday 56:

Wolf's shoulders hunched closer to his ears, and the guilty expression was all the answer she needed. She's heard rumors of his insatiable appetite and the high-octane metabolism that kept him always fidgeting, always moving.

Comment: Marissa Meyer, the author of Winter and the other books in the Lunar Chronicles, lives in my neck-of-the-woods. Last November I attended the launch party for Winter which was held in an old ballroom crammed full of girls dressed in their finest ball gowns. It was quite the affair. But after i got home I placed the book on the library shelves for others to read first. Finally it was my turn. It only took me a year to finally get around to reading the finale of this wonderful and inventive series which is a re-telling of several popular fairy tales: Cinderella (book 1-Cinder); Little Red Riding Hood (book 2 -Scarlet); Rapunzel (book 3 -Cress), and Snow White (book 4- Winter.)

Leading From Within: Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Lead

This past weekend, on my 24-hour Readathon, I finally cracked open and jumped into another poetry collection by the Center for Courage and Renewal, Leading From Within: Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Lead edited by Sam M. Intrator and Megan Scribner. I loved the first two volumes, Teaching with Fire and Teaching with Heart and I wasn't disappointed by this third volume of poetry and thoughts from various leaders in our society.

Since the first volumes focused on teaching and I am a teacher so  I found more within their pages that spoke to me but there were some real jewels that jumped off the pages. These I will share with you.

I am nearing the end of my working life. Retirement is looming on the horizon. Sometimes I find myself thinking about the future more than what is happening in my present life. In "Wild Geese" by Wendall Berry I am reminded I have what I need right now and it is worth paying attention to.

Geese appear high over us,
pass, and the sky closes. Abandon,
as in love or sleep, holds,
them to their way, clear
in the ancient faith: what we need
is here. And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be
quiet in heart, and in eye,
clear. What we need is here.

A lot of my focus these days is on American politics. It has been a horrifying and disturbing few months. One would think if one or the other of the candidates wins that the whole world will fall apart. Thank goodness for poetry like "The Irony of American History" by Reinhold Niebuhr, which reminds me "Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime therefore, we must be saved by hope." Well, I am hoping for good things to come!

This has been a hard start to a school year. Marge Piercy's poem "To Be Of Use" is cathartic for me. I cling to these words which reward me for my hard work,

The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows....
I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.

If I ever feel insecure and unsure of myself, I am in good company. Shakespeare himself confesses to feelings of inadequacy in Sonnet 29 when he compares himself to others, and wishes he had "this man's art, or that man's scope." 

I love many of the poets' works in this volume: Nami Shihad Nye, Denise Levertov, Billy Collins, Mary Oliver, Rumi, and Langston Hughes. It is like meeting old friends again when I read their poems. Billy Collins makes me laugh. Mary Oliver sends me out to pay attention to nature. Langston Hughes helps me understand the dignity of life of all people and races. Nye and Levertov speak to me and for me. And Rumi is so spiritual. His poem "Childhood Friends" addresses the issue that is worrying me right now, the health of family members. In the poem he talks about trusting the teacher or the surgeon and encourages his reader to be aware of the miracle of healing (light entering us). I am blown away by his words. 

Don't turn your head, Keep looking
at the bandaged place. That's where
the light enters you.
     And don't believe for a moment that you're healing yourself.

And finally I found poems within this volume that speaks to my grief over the recent death of my father-in-law. In fact, only poetry and psalms have reached in and addressed that grief where other books and readings have left me feeling flat.  Henry Nouwen's "Work Around Your Abyss" speaks to the need of working through the pain of my grief, 

There is a deep hole in your being, like an abyss. You
will never succeed in filling your hole, because your
needs are inexhaustible. You have to work around it
so that gradually the abyss closes.

Nouwen goes on to explain that the pain is so enormous the temptation is to flee from it but he warns that is not a good idea if you want the wound to heal.

Poetry has done it again. It has spoken to my soul and I am better for it. I loved this volume, Leading From Within.