Were You Team Jordan or Team Joey? Book Review of Pretending to Dance

 

Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain

Description

Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain brings us the story of Molly, a thirty-eight year old lawyer who has not been able to have a child. While Molly thinks of her marriage as loving and honest, she has some big secrets from her childhood that she hasn’t shared with her husband, including that her mother murdered her father. As the couple begins the process to adopt a baby, memories rush back to Molly, especially the summer she was fourteen, the summer when her father died. Her cousin’s emails pop up in her inbox, adding to the weight of the memories and the pain of the betrayal that made her leave her family behind.

Molly’s story unfolds in both the past and the present with chapter titles that signal where they take place, San Diego for the present and Morrison Ridge for the past. The transitions are clear and Chamberlain does a good job of making the voice feel authentic for both the Molly of the past and the Molly of the present.

Pretending to Dance focuses on Molly’s emotional journey, and not just facing her past, but facing her present, as well. She and her husband are seeking an open adoption, an arrangement that makes Molly anxious. When she and her husband adopt a baby, will the baby love the birth mother more than her? Will jealousy haunt her relationship with her child? When Molly communicates her fears with her husband, it seems that they are not in perfect harmony about how they want the adoption to go. Her concerns about the adoption feel realistic, as does her anxiety over the past.

Would I teach this book? 

Would I teach this book? Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain was a recent pick for the book club I just joined. More of the conversation focused on past Molly and her experiences as a teenager than adult Molly. It is easy to feel sympathy for little Molly and all the things she was helpless over or didn’t understand. Adult Molly seems a bit less mature for her age and her story is not quite as compelling. I wonder whether another structure may have served the story better, even though the telling is already clean and consistent.

It was a decent choice for a book club, but I don’t think that I would use it in my classroom. The story feels a bit bloated, like at least fifty pages could be pruned back in order to give it its full emotional blooming.

The nostalgia, though, was strong, and being brought back to the days of New Kids on the Block and the intense crushing on Joey McIntyre and listening to the album Step by Step ad nauseum. I was never a Johnny Depp kind of girl like Molly, but it was understandable, at the time.     

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My Body, My Choice: Book Review of Looking for Jane

 

Looking for Jane: A Novel by Heather Marshall

Description

In Looking for Jane, Heather Marshall takes on the history of reproductive rights in Canada. The book alternates between the stories of three women:

Evelyn did not choose to be in a home for pregnant, unwed women. When her fiancé died before they were married, neither of them knew that Evelyn was already pregnant. Without any discussion with her, Evelyn's parents abandon her at the maternity home, where she has no rights and no way to protect herself. Or her baby.

Angela wants a baby. She has been undergoing fertility treatments and recently miscarried, a devastating loss from which she is trying to come back from so that she can try again. With each cycle, she tells herself that this will be the one.

Nancy goes with her cousin to support her as she has a back alley abortion, an experience that will change the course of her life.

As their stories unfold, the complexities of women being prevented from making choices about their own bodies is illuminated. Marshall has clearly spent time researching the subject in order to discover the various ways in which people protested the previous ban on abortion in Canada.

 

A Relevant Story 

Of course, the subject in the United States feels especially relevant, as women in several states currently lack reproductive rights. How surreal it is to think about how many years backward we have traveled with the repealing of Roe V. Wade. Looking for Jane is the October read for my book club, and I look forward to discussing it. The issues involved set up the possibility of good conversation, as most women will identify with at least some part of the story.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach Looking for Jane? It would be a good pick for a contemporary fiction class, reading politics in literature, or a gender or queer studies literature course. It would fit right in with a Women’s Lit course I took in college that included books like The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler and Wit by Margaret Edson. I remember that course fondly, and the rousing discussions we had. One of the great values of a literature course or a book club is that to the readers, one book becomes a conversation with another. And you know what? Readers love that kind of talk.

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First Slowly, Then All at Once: Book Review of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

 

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

Description

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer is William’s story of how he not only built a windmill, but was able to bring power, in more ways than one, to his home country of Malawi.

William loved to go to school. School was a great privilege, as it was costly. His parents did everything they could to pay for his education—until they couldn’t. When a famine hit his home, there was no money, not even for food. As William describes it, the famine was as terrifying and deadly as a tornado or other natural disaster, but the famine took longer to kill people. Eventually, the famine ended, but the consequences lingered, including the economic impact. With no monetary reserves left, and the family only beginning to have enough food, there is not enough money for William to go to school.

He tries to sneak in, but it is eventually detected. He tries to learn from a friend who is still in school, but it is not enough. Eventually, with the hope that he will not fall too far behind his peers, William goes to the library. It is a small library, with only a few shelves, but William finds books that he can read. As he is reading, he gets the idea to build a windmill.

Most of the book focuses on William’s journey to build the windmill. There are many steps in building it, beginning with a dynamo, which allows William to create electricity from another form of energy. At first, it is through pedaling a bicycle. Over time, William gathers parts as he can find them--mostly discarded pieces, but there are times when he must scratch up the money for something that can only be bought. Through imagination, experimentation, and perseverance, he is able to create a working windmill.

Eventually, word of William’s windmill gets out. Journalists come to interview him and to take pictures of his windmill. A blogger hears about it, and writes an article, which spreads word of him further. William becomes a TED fellow. From there, people and groups help him so that he is able to gain more education and knowledge.

It is an incredible story, but also frustrating. Why can’t help come from within? Why does the money have to come from outside of Malawi, even outside of Africa? The disparity in wealth and resources is unconscionable.

Would I Teach This Book?

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is a choice book for a non-fiction unit I teach. Students chose it, but it was not nearly as popular as the sports choices.

Those who did choose the book did not seem nearly as inspired as the book is meant to be. To think that someone would work so hard to achieve such a goal is something I find amazing--but an American middle school student might find this further outside the bounds of their imagination. With such blessings as running water, electricity, and education, it is hard to fathom what life might be without these things. However, even if a book cannot bring the understanding entirely home when they are an adolescent, it may plant an idea that they will return to later and it might inspire them to do good things.


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Fir

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz--Will You Be My Honey?: Book Review of Bee Fearless

 

Bee Fearless: Dream Like a Kid by Mikaila Ulmer

Description

Bee Fearless by Mikaila Ulmer is the true story of how Ulmer founded a lemonade company at the age of four and over the years grew it from a lemonade stand in her front yard to bottling and distributing the drink across the country. She appeared on Shark Tank and gained an investor. She has also spoken to many groups and at many conferences, inspiring other kids to become entrepreneurs and to take care of the bees.

For Ulmer, her interest in bees began after she was stung twice within a short period of time. Her parents wisely encouraged her to learn more about bees in order to allay her fear. Ulmer’s research revealed to her that the bee population is not as healthy as it once was--which is scary, as bees pollinate many of the foods we eat, in addition to supplying honey. Their pollination helps with larger scale biodiversity, too. Along with selling her lemonade, Ulmer’s company runs a foundation to support education and research about bees and which also donates bee hives.

Business Tips for Kids

Bee Fearless combines tips to help a kid build a business with the story of how Ulmer built her own business. It ends with ten years of her company, presumably when she is in high school, but a quick visit to her website shows that she has since gone on to Emory University.

It is quite incredible that a kid could do all of the things that Ulmer did--marketing, researching, building a budget, giving presentations, and educating others. The assistance of her parents made everything possible, and her parents both had some prior knowledge of business and finances. It is still incredible that Ulmer was able to create such an impactful and successful business.

Her journey involved meeting many famous people, including President Obama. There are pictures included throughout the book, as well as subtitles and flowers to show section breaks. As the book tells Ulmer’s stories, there are lessons and tips pulled out from the stories, which are aimed to help the prospective entrepreneurs in her audience. The tips are printed on the side margins of the pages and are labeled “Buzziness Ideas.” It is clear that effort was put into the designing of the book to make it easily digestible and to be read in multiple sittings. It is attractive and interesting to flip through.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach this book? Bee Fearless by Mikaila Ulmer and Brin Stevens (I appreciate that the ghost writer is given credit on the title page of the book) is one of the choices in a nonfiction unit I teach. More students opted for choices that included athletes’ stories than Bee Fearless and I wonder if it would have as much appeal to kids who are not looking to be entrepreneurs, but it does a good job of not just showing that creating a company is possible, it also describes many of the steps that Ulmer and her parents went through as they made her lemonade stand into a profitable business. Perhaps the most valuable aspect of the book for kids is that it shows both that the business took time and effort and that it was possible.

Bee Fearless is a bit dry at times, and does not include the same level of drama and excitement as the rest of the choices in my nonfiction unit, but for youth who are looking to learn more about being an entrepreneur, it is a good choice.

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Let's Go Swimming, Let's Go Swimming--on the Bottom of the Ocean: Book Review of Fable

 

Fable by Adrienne Young

Gratitude

Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways and St. Martin’s Press for the review copy of Fable by Adrienne Young, which I received along with The Namesake and The Last Legacy, the second and third books in the series.

Description

I can understand why Fable would be a choice for Reese’s YA Book Club: the female main character is strong, brave, and resilient; there is lots of action, and the world building is clear and interesting--it reminds me a bit of The Seam from The Hunger Games, except set on the water.

Fable grew up with a beautiful and talented mother--Isolde, who could feel the vibration of gems--and a father, Saint, who owned a nautical empire. When Fable’s mother dies on Saint’s ship, he abandons Fable on an island, scarring her and telling her that when she makes her way back to him, he will give her what is hers.

After spending years on Jeval, an island notoriously filled with thieves and scammers, trying to earn enough for passage to her father, Fable must make a daring escape if she ever wishes to leave the island--alive.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach Adrienne Young’s Fable? I can see Fable fitting into a dystopian fiction unit or a YA class. Fable is a character we want to root for, and there is a strong plot. There are some moments at the beginning when the backstory is being revealed that feel a little inconsistent. Overall, though, the book is a suspenseful read.

Fable is also low spice, which might make it more appealing for high school classrooms and many middle schools would find it acceptable, as well. Certainly it would not be a problem for college courses. Instead of romance, Fable focuses more on Fable’s desire to find a place for herself. Having lost her mother and having a father who's not exactly the nurturing type, she is searching for people she can trust in a world in which her father taught her to trust no one.

It ends on a cliff-hanger, if that matters to you, but since book two is already out, no need to worry. The cliff-hanger would be good for teaching, as it would encourage students to pick up the next volume.

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Another Player on the DL: Book Review of Blockade Billy

 

Blockade Billy by Stephen King

Gratitude

Thank you to Bucks County Free Public Library, where I checked out Blockade Billy by Stephen King.

Description

In Blockade Billy, the novella is framed as Stephen King going to visit a retired baseball manager, who tells him the incredible story of Blockade Billy, a player who had a brief yet impressive career, but has been forgotten by the history books.

In general, I find books and stories that need the frame of one character conversing with another or writing in a letter or journal in order to explain the impetus for telling them to be a bit irritating. As with any rule, there are always exceptions. Blockade Billy uses the format of a retired baseball manager, now elderly, telling Stephen King the story of the mysterious baseball player, Blockade Billy, who has since been stricken from the records.

In the story, the retired manager describes how Blockade Billy came to play with the team as a result of several players being injured and leaving them without a catcher. They called up Billy from a farm league and it turned out that he played much better than expected—but he also seemed to bring bad luck, too.

 Commentary

Blockade Billy is a thin little novella that relies a good deal on the voice of the character telling the story. In that way, it is akin to The Colorado Kid, in which two hard boiled newspaper journalists tell a young journalist about a story that happened in their town many years prior. Without the characters telling the story, there wouldn’t be much of a story.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach Blockade Billy? Likely not. It’s a bit too precious. Stephen King has some great short works—like the novella If It Bleeds—which are much, much better. Who knew I would become such a connoisseur of King books? I am not sure my sixth grade self would approve.

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Designing Women, 1800s Style: Book Review of What Happens in the Ballroon

 

What Happens in the Ballroom by Sabrina Jeffries

Thank you to Goodreads Giveaways and Kensington Books for the review copy of What Happens in the Ballroom by Sabrina Jeffries.

Description

What Happens in the Ballroom is a period romance set in England in the time of the Napoleonic Wars. The premise of the book is that, with her sisters Diana and Verity, Eliza runs an event planning business, and one thing they do is arrange debuts for young women. It is for this reason that Nathaniel Stanton, Earl of Foxstead, approaches them to plan a debut for Jocelyn, a young war widow with a young son. But as Nathaniel and Eliza (a war widow herself) become closer, their attraction to each other and, much riskier, their feelings for each other, transcend a passing flirtation.

To complicate matters, Eliza’s late husband ruined her for marriage—between his drinking, gambling, and making all of his shenanigans into her fault, she lost her sense of self. It is only through her business that she has begun to gain it back, and she’s not ready to give it up to another playboy—like Nathaniel.

Nathaniel, also Eliza’s late husband’s good friend, spent his youth partying and has enjoyed the company of many women. Fighting in the war shook him to the core and burned away the need to spend his life seeking only amusement. He knows that he’s a different man now, but that doesn’t mean anyone else knows it yet.

Nathaniel also holds secrets that if they got out Eliza may never trust him again. And Jocelyn and her son’s lives could be damaged, too.

 

Low Misogyny, Some Spice

What Happens in the Ballroom includes characters with enlightened views, including the beliefs that women can have sexual desires and should have a say in things. Also, as the business shared by the sisters, Elegant Occasions, plays a major role in the plot, the book implies that women can and should earn money for themselves, including owning businesses—which would have been unusual for the time.

The book has some spicy scenes, but is not overly graphic—a little graphic, but not as graphic as many other romance novels. The dress and manners play a part in the plot but are more light decoration.

Would I Teach This Book?

Would I teach this book? I would probably not teach What Happens in the Ballroom, as I prefer a bit more surprise to the plot. That does not mean that a romance reader would not enjoy it, as most of the characters are reasonably likable, and it does include some romance. However, in my mythical romance literature or creative writing course, there would be better candidates.

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