Why Don't You Write a Letter to the San Juan Star?: Book Review of The Correspondent

 

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Gratitude 

Thank you to the Montgomery County Public Libraries for making The Correspondent by Virginia Evans available as a lucky day book.

Description

Sybil Van Antwerp comes from another time, when there were few female judges, and to find a way to influence the court system, she spent her career clerking for a well-known judge. Sybil’s relationship with him was a working one only, but they were the closest of collaborators. She did not just advise him, they made decisions together, and to hear it told, on equal footing. Around the time the judge dies, Sybil also begins to experience deteriorating eye sight, and her already limited amount of travel shrinks even further.

Sybil communicates with the world largely through letters. She corresponds with her family and friends as well as some well-known authors, such as Joan Didion. Like Didion, she lost a child, though Sybil’s Gilbert died when he was only eight. Sybil still feels the loss with a terrible intensity that continues to impact her life in many ways. The letters include a lot of her backstory, and in an interesting way that does not slog down the plot.  

The Sybil we meet brokers no fools, as the saying goes, nor does she make departures from her quiet life, at least not easily. She can be hard and difficult, but she can also be thoughtful, caring, and willing to put up a good fight for anyone for whom she cares.

Would I teach this book? 

Would I teach The Correspondent? In a time when letters are way out of fashion, Virginia Evan’s The Correspondent may be one of the last modern-day epistolic books that is not fully emails. In fact, the author has Sybil defend her letter writing to other characters.

The book is not terribly long, which is helpful for teaching–the longer a book, the more difficult to include on the syllabus. It has a good story and great character development. It might not be as amazing as some might be claiming, but it is an enjoyable read. It is a possibility to be included in a creative writing or literature course, but it would not be in my top ten or even top twenty picks.


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Won't Anyone Think of the Children?: Book Review of Attack of the Black Rectangles

 

Attack of the Black Rectangles by Amy Sarig King

Gratitude

Thank you to Montgomery County Public Library and to my student who recommended that I read Attack of the Black Rectangles by Amy Sarig King.

Description

Mac is shocked and upset to find that his copy of The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen has been censored. His mom and grandfather raised him to stand up for what he believes in, so Mac decides to do just that–fight against the censorship of books in the classroom. It seems that perhaps some other things that have been going on in the town are similarly related–such as the banning of junk food in local stores. It also seems that his sixth grade teacher, Ms. Sett, is the source of many of these things. And Ms. Sett uses the local newspaper to make sure her voice is heard. Mac doesn’t think she should be the only voice heard.

Ms. Sett is not Mac’s only problem in sixth grade–Mac's parents are divorced, and his father is an alien anthropologist, on earth in order to observe and report back to his home planet. There's also the bully who’s been placed in his reading group. And, of course, all of the typical sixth grade things to contend with.

Would I Teach This Book? 

Would I teach Attack of the Black Rectangles? I enjoyed Attack of the Black Rectangles and especially appreciated the first-person point-of-view of Mac. He has some interesting things to say in a clever and funny way. King does a good job of creating Mac’s voice and keeping the narration crisp. Ms. Sett, as the adversary in the book, was not as nuanced as she could have been. In an era of people lacking real empathy, I would have liked to see some empathy for Ms. Sett. There is sympathy, and she is not made to be an evil villain, but people generally believe they are doing the right thing when they make decisions for others. Does Mac really understand why Ms. Sett pushes for the things she does? Ultimately, whatever the character’s motives are, she is wrong, and she should not be making rules for the rest of the community that encroach onto individual choice. 

The book is largely about young people taking a stand, and it champions their right to do so. This is a very important message, and something that the intended audience needs to hear. It’s also true that if you know what the opposition is thinking, you can be more convincing to them. Although Mac would probably have been unable to convince Ms. Sett, perhaps she may have heard him, too, something she seemed unable to do.

Being unable to reach mutual understanding aside, I wonder if the book offers enough challenges to a middle school reader. In choosing books to teach, I always look for what the books can teach students. Attack of the Black Rectangles offers a conversation about raising your voice, but I am not sure that is enough. It’s a good book, and a good book for middle schoolers to read. It would be good for a classroom library, though I am not sure that with the limited number of books that can be fit into the year if I would include Attack of the Black Rectangles.

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Here We Go Apprenticing: Book Review of The Blackthorn Key

 

The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands

Gratitude

Thank you to my student who recommended that I read Kevin Sands' The Blackthorn Key and lent me their copy. 

Description

In The Blackthorn Key, by Kevin Sands, Christopher counts himself as lucky–he is apprenticed to an apothecary who treats him kindly and even patiently when his antics cause a mess. His best friend, Tom, is not only as loyal as anyone could dream of, but he is also the baker’s son. Not that Tom’s father willingly gives away freebies, but still. Christopher also likes learning the work, and his master trains him in other fields, including codes.

As an orphan, the shop is the only home he has ever known and his master the only family. Christopher’s world is threatened, however, by a mysterious cult of apothecaries has been killing off other apothecaries. He is terrified when his master comes home badly injured. He fears that the cult will take away the safety and stability he has known for such a short time.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach The Blackthorn Key? The Blackthorn Key is both mystery and historical fiction. Set in the political turmoil of 1665 and full of riddles and codes to be broken, Christopher is clever and resourceful. He knows that without the protection of his master how dangerous the world can be for a boy like him. And yet he still has a sense of playfulness, mischief, and kindness. Tom is a good companion for Christopher, and the two of them are clever and funny. The book has some splashes of death, but it is not particularly scary or dark.

While I am not racing to find the sequel, I would be interested in reading it if it became available to me. I would consider offering it as a choice for a unit and would certainly stock it in my classroom library.

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Looking at the World Through Chlorophyl Tinted Glasses: Book Review of Greenglass House

Greenglass House by Kate Milford

Gratitude

Thank you to Montgomery County Public Libraries for making Greenglass House by Kate Milford free and readily available to the public.

Description

Milo and his parents live in Greenglass House, an island inn which caters to smugglers. Winter vacation has just started, and Milo is looking forward to some time off. His family is on most of the time, taking care of the inn and the guests–except for Christmas, when the inn is always empty, which leaves Milo with no responsibilities and his parents all to himself. The moment Milo finishes his winter break homework, the bell rings, signaling that a guest must be brought up. Then the bell rings again, and again. Soon, they have five guests when they generally have none, and his parents call in their usual help and her daughter to come up before the snow render the roads impossible to navigate, and with them, they bring Meddy, who introduces Milo to a role playing game. While reluctant at first, he settles into the idea of using his character to investigate a real mystery in his house.

Each guest seems to be harboring a secret, and their secrets seem to be attached to Milo’s house. With Meddy as his partner, he is determined to solve the mysteries.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach Greenglass House? Greenglass House is artfully written. Where it could easily have turned into a cheesy kiddie mystery, Milford makes Milo into a likable character with likable problems. As Milo is endeared to Meddy, we become endeared to Meddy.

Identity is a major theme of the book, which is also the theme of my sixth grade English classes. We discuss a lot about mirrors and windows, or the concept of recognizing your own experiences in a book as well as exposing yourself to lives that are quite different from yours. Milo is adopted, which, he tells us, anyone can tell simply by looking at his family–his parents are white, and he is of Chinese descent. He discusses both his love for his parents and his curiosity about his birth parents. Imagination is another big theme of the book, and middle school is a time of life where many start leaving imaginative play behind, which makes another element for middle school students to consider.

So, yes, I would consider teaching Greenglass House, or at least adding it to the classroom library.

 

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Turn Your Weaknesses into Strengths: Book Review of Powerless

 

Powerless by Lauren Roberts

Gratitude

A big thank you to Montgomery County Public Libraries for making Powerless by Lauren Roberts and many other books and resources free and readily available to the public.

Description

Powerless by Lauren Roberts is a YA dystopian romance about a young woman, Paedyn, who ends up in a series of Trials, or challenges in which participants are pitted against each other. Death is commonplace in the Trials, and there can only be one winner, who will receive fame and fortune. While Paedyn would never have nominated herself, after unwittingly saving the prince, the people nominate her for the Trials.

Paedyn is particularly at risk, as she is an orphan from a poor area, and an Ordinary, or person without the powers that the rest of the kingdom has. Ordinaries are hunted and killed by the king in order to keep the kingdom pure and powerful.

Also entered into the Trials is Kai, the younger of the kingdom’s two princes. Kai has been raised by the king to be his brother’s Enforcer--an assassin tasked with killing rebels and Ordinaries. The king has told Kai that he must win the Trials, at all costs.

Paedyn and Kai find themselves taken by surprise by the Trials--not just by the break from the traditional setting, but also by each other. Their hearts and minds will be challenged as much as their bodies.

Roberts tells the story from dual points-of-view, switching between Paedyn’s and Kai’s perspectives. One of the focal points of the book is the Beatrice and Benedick-like banter--but with more threats. Paedyn’s and Kai’s words for each other are sharper than the throwing stars used for battle. Add in violent fight scenes, vendettas, and lush descriptions of gowns and tuxes, and you have one intense novel.

Would I Teach This Book?

I had a hard time liking Powerless for at least three quarters of the book. I cannot condone a woman falling for an assassin, whether it is his fault that he became one or not. Further, Paedyn is well aware that he is the tool used to keep the kingdom “pure.” However, as things became more complicated in the book, I was able to appreciate the book a bit more.

Many of my students are currently reading Powerless and the other book in the trilogy, and I can understand why. A strong FMC, a wounded bird MMC, and clever, flirtatious dialogue--there is much to enjoy in this book. The spice rating is relatively low, if that’s a concern.

Ultimately, I don’t think that I would teach this book to a younger age group. I would be interested in including it as part of a gender studies course on romance novels--I think that could be a fruitful reading. Being able to compare Powerless to other YA or adult romances in a critical way could be quite meaningful.


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Rebellion, Thy Name Is Woman: Book Review of the Lion Women of Tehran

 

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

Description

In The Lion Women of Tehran by Marian Kamali, Ellie and her mother have to leave the affluent part of the city after her father dies. Her mother is miserable over the change, but Ellie finds a very special friend in Homa. Homa is bright, tough, charismatic, funny, and even as a young girl, she is quite driven. She is the one who tells Ellie that they will be lion women.

Kamali has written The Lion Women of Tehran with several sections, moving from story present where Ellie is living in the United States back to Ellie’s childhood in Tehran. Most of the book is from Ellie’s point of view, but there are also a few parts from Homa’s perspective.

As time moves forward, Ellie’s and Homa’s circumstances both change, and the political climate goes through upheavals. Being a woman in Iran becomes increasingly dangerous.

Because of the subject matter and some overlap in time period, The Lion Women of Tehran reminded me of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. There is a lot of historical information included in both books, and having read Persepolis gave me some historical context and helped me to understand The Lion Women of Tehran. The two books also cover some of the same themes, though they are tonally quite different. Plus one is a novel and the other is a graphic novel. So.

Would I teach this book? 

The Lion Women of Tehran is, surprise, a book club book. I read and can enjoy just about any kind of fiction, but I am drawn to certain types of books more than others. This book was okay, but not my idea of compulsively readable. Several other book club members loved it—they said it was their favorite of the year. For the crowd that generally loves historical fiction, it’s a go. For my taste, it was a bit melodramatic at a few points. Since there is plenty of drama from the plot, the writing could have taken a step back. That being said, the book club discussion was quite lively—there is plenty to discuss in the book.

In a literature course, The Lion Women of Tehran could make a good comparison with Persepolis. For a multicultural literature course or world literature, the pair would be a good way to discuss the portrayal of political change and the impact of politics on the characters and plot. It would be interesting, too, to hear students discuss which they preferred reading and why.

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An Inmate, an Adolescent Boy, a Nazi, and a Pregnant Woman All Walk into a Book: Book Review of Different Seasons

 

Different Seasons by Stephen King

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Montgomery County Public Libraries for continuing to fuel my Stephen King obsession. My husband thanks you on the behalf of our bank account. 

Description

Stephen King’s Different Seasons is composed of four novellas–each of which is longer than some books. However, as King explains in the afterword, novellas are an ambiguous place between short stories and novels, and are therefore difficult to sell. While King laments how novellas fall through the cracks, it is also significant to note that three of the four were made into movies. “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” is better known as The Shawshank Redemption, “The Body” by the title Stand by Me, and “Apt Pupil” as, well, Apt Pupil. The fourth novella, “The Breathing Method,” is the only that has yet to be made into a movie, but I see the potential for it.

Of the four, “Apt Pupil” was the scariest and most disturbing. Todd Bowden, who seems like a typical adolescent kid on the outside, becomes obsessed with the Holocaust. Not learning about the history of the Holocaust, but learning as much about the grisly details as possible. He gets off on thinking about torture, torment, and killing that went on. Todd recognizes an older man in the community as a Nazi war criminal and blackmails him into giving him detailed accounts of the horrendous things he did.

King takes pains to show how Todd looks “normal” to his parents and others and that any signs he shows of being unhinged are dismissed. Todd never considers the awful inhumanity of the actions–he never identifies or sympathizes with those who are harmed. Instead, he firmly associates himself with the oppressor and imagines the power. This great desire to know more about the worst of human cruelty and the desire to also practice such cruelty is the scariest part of the whole book. Might there be people like this out there? Who would like nothing more than to inflict pain on others and torture and torment? It’s a big world, and so it is hard to believe that there aren’t.

Overall, though “Apt Pupil” was difficult for me to get through, it poses some interesting questions. By the end of the story, Todd is as much of a monster as the Nazi. Also, the idea that parents can know their kids so little!

“The Breathing Method” was not terrible, but it did not have the same excitement of the other three stories, It had great potential, but did not quite reach it.

Would I Teach This Book?

Different Seasons is quite long. The edition I read is 588 pages. For this reason, if I were going to teach it I would be more likely to teach an excerpt, perhaps one of the novellas. “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” would most likely be my pick. The story offers a ripe discussion of human acts, the justice system, good versus evil, and innocence versus guilt. Plus, it would certainly be worth rewatching the movie and comparing the two. In my hypothetical Literature of Stephen King course, there would be room to watch a movie or two and discuss how the books are adapted for screen.  

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