The Girl in the Green Sweater by Krystyna Chiger

Genre: Memoir
Publisher, Year: Macmillan, 2009
Flags: Adult themes
Rating: A, or Great Read
Challenge:
Premise:  Kystyna Chiger was just a child when Nazi Germany occupied her home town. Through the courage of her parents, she and her family find a way to evade capture and endure until the end of the war in the city’s sewers. An incredible survival story.

There are so many good books that deal with World War II, that describe the unspeakable cruelty and then bring to light the unimaginable courage and will to live in the face of that cruelty. And there is an endless amount of these stories. It can be difficult to be reminded of what a devastating a time it was. And it takes me off guard--every time--that such things occurred, that it actually happened, that there was a time and a place where people, millions of people . . . so many people . . . were subjected to such inhumanity, where only a fraction of those people actually survived. To think about the collection of stories that would exist if all of them could tell us of the struggle to their last moments, if they could speak beyond the grave.

It’s that thought that haunts me when I read a memoir. I’m sorry to say it, but this makes me a reluctant reader. Thank goodness for book club, or I might never have had the stomach to read this book. I’m so glad I did. This story is such a testament to the human spirit and to the bond of a family’s love. I was so moved and inspired by the Chiger family.

Krystyna was just your average little girl. She loved to play with her friends, to be outside, to spend time with her family. And when her little brother, Pawel, was born, the two became inseparable. But it wasn’t long before trouble began to brew. War was on the way, and after a difficult Russian occupation, Nazi Germany made things worse. Krystyna watched, from a child’s perspective, as the life her parents and grandparents had built was slowly pilfered away. They took everything. Soon it became apparent that living conditions would become increasingly worse, until they were all gone--until there were no Jews left. But Ignacy Chiger would not accept defeat, so when the final liquidation came, he was ready, and he took his family into the sewer, with others who fled, to find a way to outlast the war.

I think there are few of us who can really imagine the horrors that so many suffered. To read all of those fears dictated by a child--it was excruciating. I could only keep imagining my own daughter, and what it would have been like to have her childhood taken from her in such a vicious way, and I as her mother unable to do anything about it but try to protect her. One thing I feel I did not understand fully about the Holocaust before this book was exactly how the Nazis would capture Jews and kill them or send them away. Krystyna recalls the paralyzing fear of the “actions,” which was the word that described when the Nazis would show up, unannounced, and just pick up Jews, willy nilly. You either evaded through right place, right time or you could sometimes bribe your way out. For this reason, Krystyna rarely ever left her family’s living quarters, and often her father would actually hide her and her brother in a small space all day, just in case one of these actions commenced while he was away. She describes one rare moment when she was outside with her cousin, and when they heard the familiar commotion, they ran. Krystyna was fast enough; her cousin was not. Later, she looked out the window to see her grandmother and cousin together on the back of a truck, headed for who knows where. And she never saw them again. This is just one of many experiences from her story that have stayed with me.

Along with Krystyna, I felt that boundless helplessness, and yet, her family could not lose hope. They kept fighting for each other and for their lives. They resisted and resisted. And surprisingly, even after the war, they resisted some more. The emotional stamina that must claim is unfathomable to me. And I found myself thinking that if I had been in their position, I don’t know if I could have had the same strength.

It was the love they shared, the family and the friends they came to consider family, that sustained them in the long hours, the impossible conditions, the vermin, the hunger and sickness, the constant fear of discovery. And yet, they continued on, with incredible resilience. They always looked forward to the future, undaunted. Even though the conditions were beyond inhuman, they found ways to entertain each other with little plays, to engage in meaningful conversation, to try to learn new things, even while living in a nightmare.

As I came to the end of each chapter, I found myself wondering how it could possibly get worse, and yet it continued. Each harrowing tale followed after another, which made this story quite engrossing. And even though I knew from the outset that Krystyna and her family would survive whole, I still found myself unable to put the book down before I knew what had happened to her, so that I could imagine her, warm in a clean bed, surrounded by loved ones, freed from her sewer prison.

Krystyna Chiger’s story is one of the most memorable I have ever read and perhaps ever will. (Dare I say it?) This book fulfilled its purpose in that it illustrated the war and its terrible consequences. But I would also say this story affected me further than that. It spoke to me in a way that is hard to describe. I learned something about Krystyna, but I also learned something about myself.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

Genre: Children’s/young adult fiction, historical
Publisher, Year: Avon Books, 1990
Other Works: The Fighting Ground, The Barn, also too many to list (70+)
Flags: Teen angst
Rating: A+, or Must Read Now!
Challenge: Library, Outdo Yourself, Historical Fiction
Premise: A young girl, Charlotte, sets sail to cross the Atlantic and join her family in America. Though the journey was planned as a convenient and speedy voyage, once on board, Charlotte realizes that nothing is as it should be.

Everything about this book is perfect. I am now left wondering why it took me so long to pick this book up. I remember hearing about it in elementary school when it first came out, and I seem to remember friends of mine reading this book as part of the curriculum, but for some reason, I never was required to. And since at that time, I was mainly focused on stories that involved “meet cutes” and simple romances that made my little tween heart go pitter-pat, what sounded to me like a pirate story just wasn’t appealing. Actually, I have memories of avoiding it. How I wish someone would have sat me down and force-fed me this book! I literally devoured it in one day.

Charlotte Doyle’s family moved from America to England when she was a little girl. Now that she’s thirteen, they are ready to make the trek back. However, the timing is not quite right, so to avoid Charlotte missing any of her schooling and carefully planning her arrangements--including chaperones--she is to meet her family at a later date. When she arrives at the dock, nothing is as it was promised. Yet, a young girl and used to being told what to do, Charlotte can hardly object when she is given no alternative but to sail anyway. Though she receives several warnings and herself feels the foreboding of impending doom, she cannot act, and therefore, seals her own fate. Mixed up in a game of cat and mouse between captain and crew, Charlotte finds herself smack in the middle of a war zone, faced with dilemmas that shake her to the core--her values, her trust, and her belief in herself. And the decisions she makes change everything.

What makes this book so perfect? In my opinion, the plot is beautifully paced. A perfect crescendo emerges as we meet the players and the tension builds. The foreshadow of dark catastrophe hovers like a mythical giant, face obscured. We don’t know what form exactly the tragedy will take, but it’s coming, of that we are certain. It not only makes the novel a page-turner, it provides the perfect environment in which Charlotte thrashes about, trying to understand her new atmosphere--the rules of this universe that is so different from her regimented girl’s school. And this produces the perfectly dynamic main character in Charlotte. She mirrors the pacing of the plot in that inside her, this same storm is raging, tension building, until she cannot sit idly by any longer.

Charlotte’s world is irreversibly turned upside down. She begins to question everything she’s ever known, she’s ever been taught. She is a product of the structured Victorian ideal, and she believes in it wholeheartedly as any impressionable girl of her age would. Her father is her master--and in his absence, the captain occupies his role as authority figure--and in her mind, a fair one, who judges the world in an absolutely flawless manner. Until suddenly, that authority starts to spiral into a crazed tailspin, leaving Charlotte dizzy and confused. And that’s when her childlike trust begins to crumble, when she must think for herself and develop a new ideal. And she takes to evaluating the world on her own terms like a fish to water.

Avi perfectly illustrates that terrible struggle when we are pushed from childhood by the realization that we are all fallible, adults alike. As children, we trust our elders implicitly, as Charlotte did. But there comes a time when the curtain is pulled back and the “wizard” is revealed as just a normal guy, pushing buttons to create an illusion of grandeur: we realize that our parents are just people, and those who we trust and love the most may not always be right. And Charlotte wisely begins to question every convention that she’s simply taken as fact for as long as she can remember. Some find that part of the story unbelievable, but I don’t agree. I’ve seen children who are thrown from childhood and grow up very quickly when faced with horrific realities of life. And that is exactly what happens in this story. I also enjoyed being thrust into this new world at sea, as Charlotte discovers it.

Avi does such an amazing (shall I say perfect?) job of describing this world with such incredible detail. I could see the ship pitching and rolling, feel the salty, wet wind on my face, experience the incredible isolation of life at sea. When I closed my eyes, I could truly imagine being aboard the Seahawk and feel the swell of the ocean.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle is a magical journey from beginning to end, replete with a cast of colorful characters, difficult decisions, and a strong, persistent female lead. Mix all these ingredients in the hands of a seasoned writer like Avi, and you can’t expect anything less than perfection, which is exactly what he gives you. This one will be given a revered spot on my shelf.

The School of Essential Ingredientsby Erica Bauermeister

Genre: General fiction
Publisher, Year: Putnam, 2009
Other Works: Debut
Flags: Teen angst, tenuous references
Rating: A+, or Must Read Now!
Challenge: Library, Outdo Yourself
Premise: A collection of stories about people and food, and how they go together.

Another book club pick, The School of Essential Ingredients is Bauermeister’s breakout novel. This is a book for foodies, but unlike some novels, I felt like the author paid equal attention to her storytelling as to her obvious love of food. And to top it off, she’s also a talented writer. A joy from beginning to end--if you are looking for the perfect summer read, this is your book.

The book begins with a little background of the teacher, Lillian, who runs a cooking school out of her restaurant. As a girl, she uses food to lure her mother out of a deep depression, and as a result, cultivates a deep tie to cooking and knows its power to change people. Then, we meet several strangers who come together at Lillian's restaurant to learn how to make good food. Each brings a fresh perspective, each with a unique life circumstance. And Lillian, acting as a sort of food therapist, finds a way to bring out the best in each of her students, simply by getting them to cook.

When I read (well, read some) of Julia Child’s My Life in Paris, I thought I had experienced that rare quality that foodies love: the description of cooking and eating that stirs something in the soul, meaning the words not only make you intensely hungry, but also make you appreciate food more, make you want to spend some quality time with a crab or some pasta or the perfect white cake. But this book really hit a chord with me because Bauermeister was not only able to make me appreciate good food, she made me realize that food affects every part of life. Yes, yes, we’ve all heard the term “comfort” food, but this goes so much further than something deep fried and dripping in grease. This is food that heals, gives courage, offers a fresh start, makes us better people. Food can do all that? Bauermeister thinks so, and I believe her.

She also made me understand that it’s not just the eating of food, but the creation of different flavors and textures that makes the difference. The act of cooking is a sort of balm--a natural, intuitive way to tap into our inner selves and to share those secrets with others, to connect with people. Okay, now this is really waxing philosophical.

This author knows her way around figurative language.  I’ve never read such beautiful and uniquely correct similes in my life. Her figurative language expressed the emotion of the characters as perfectly as could ever be hoped for. My ears were thanking me with the passage of each one--to the point where I had to laugh and actually go back and read them aloud to myself. And there are so many. You’d think with such a repetitious writing style that the descriptions would become stale--a parody of itself. Couldn’t be further from the truth. The richness of the language was almost good enough to eat.

And Bauermeister is able to accomplish all this AND have a little fun, too. This book is packed full of little anecdotes, sometimes tragic, sometimes whimsical, but always full of meaning. Each student’s chapter is narrated personally, and that’s sort of a pet peeve of mine. I have to say that it does get confusing, keeping so many voices straight. However, this book is so endearing, I can’t say that I minded it much--except that I wish I could have been privy to more of the storyline with some of the characters.  We get to know each one a little, but none a lot. And because of that, I didn’t really feel like I knew any of the characters well. But for all its charm, I just can’t see that as a fault. Instead, I think the construction reflects the main intent: that each student in the class is like unto an essential ingredient. There are so many ingredients to discover, we can’t spend too much time favoring just one or two because it’s the diversity of flavors that make a dish delicious.

An absolute delight. If you are looking for a vacation or beach book--this is it. And you’ll be happy to know that even though it’s a light and easy read, it’s not just fluff. This book will leave a lasting impression, too.

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

Genre: Young adult fiction
Publisher, Year: Knopf Books, 2005
Other Works: The Book Thief
Flags: Adult themes, tenuous references
Rating: A, or Great Read
Challenge: 100 Books, Library
Premise: A young man finds himself on a journey to complete certain tasks: protect the diamonds, survive the clubs, dig deep through the spades, and feel the hearts.

I really enjoyed The Book Thief, so when a friend mentioned that she liked this book, I figured I should give it a go. Took me awhile to get around to it, slowly but surely. This one wasn't an automatic for me, but in the end, I think I liked it. I'm still not totally certain. Of one thing I am certain however, and that's that Zusak is a very talented, very brave writer. And even though I didn't love, love, love this book, I still have strong feelings for him as an author. (In the most Platonic way, of course--hehe.)

Ed Kennedy is going nowhere. He's a nineteen-year-old cabbie, making ends meet and playing cards--that's about the extent of his life. Until one day, he and his friends stumble into a bank robbery, where Ed finds himself in the unlikely role of hero. That's when he receives his first card, and his life changes forever. He faces each challenge completely empty-handed, looking and searching for ways to help the people he has to help. This time, failure is not an option. And as he meets his challenges, each one more difficult than the last, Ed finds something in himself that he never knew was there.

I loved Ed--there's something about him that is truly endearing. He's hopeless, and he doesn't care about that. He lives in the most honest way he can muster and looks for a bit a joy where he can find it. But he learns through his challenges, that that is not enough. It's not enough to live small. I think what Zusak touches on here is borrowed from John Donne. The idea that each of us is lacking something that someone else can fill, thereby making an entagled web of connections between all of our human hearts.

And when that happens, when that intricate web is woven, you find love there--great love. A love that can only develop through great sacrifice. This was the part I felt I needed a few days to marinate with, after turning the last page. Because at times this story is violent, overly so. And that part confused me. For Ed, this journey was painful in every sense--emotionally and physically. And after all was said and done, the pain tied him to each person he met in such a deep way, as that pain slowly transformed into love. But why did it have to be so painful? Why were the consequences so great? And then I realized that it wasn't the pain that formed that unbreakable human bond--it was the act of sacrifice. And sacrifice is always painful. Without pain, there is no sacrifice. But without sacrifice, there is no love. And if you take away love, then you are left empty.

Zusak illuminates these sentiments with perfect clarity, without becoming sentimental. Every page is shot through with the most beautiful poetry and lasting images. But I have to say that I was disappointed in the ending, which I felt took away from the meaning of the story and made it feel arbitrary. However, I think this has very little to do with the quality of the writer, or even the book, but rather is a symptom of the process that is a writing career. Zusak is ever improving--he can't be thought at fault because of his success. These rungs on the ladder have to come from somewhere. And in that, I can pardon this terrible disappointment, and I didn't let it ruin the experience for me. And that's exactly the word I would use to describle this book--an experience. One that won't fade for some time, I'm sure. So yes, I think I liked I Am the Messenger--I'm pretty sure I did. =)

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Genre: Historical fiction
Publisher, Year: Random House, 2005
Other Works: Shanghai Girls, Dreams of Joy
Flags: Adult themes, tenuous references
Rating: A+, or Must Read Now!
Challenge: 100 Books, Historical Fiction
Premise: Two girls grow into women and confront the difficulties of life together in nineteenth century China.

I first heard of Lisa See when Shanghai Girls came out. The cover was beautiful, and I'd always planned on reading one of her books at some point but had yet to get around to it. My awesome book club struck again in that one of our members made me finally make good on my intentions with Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.

Lily and Snow Flower were born in the same month, have the same number of siblings, and had their feet bound on the same day. All of their characters match, and so they become laotong, or old sames. Together they learn many things that women need to know: how to sew and cook and clean, how to be a proper wife, and the importance of bearing sons to carry on the next generation. They pass messages back and forth and record important details about their lives on a fan in their secret women's language, nu shu. And eventually, as women, they will support one another through the most difficult of hardships. In other words, they are as close as two people can be. Until one day, a fatal mistake leaves them both heartsick and alone, cut off from each other.

I simply loved this book. I think the success of Lisa See's writing is equal parts history and narrative. That she is an expert researcher cannot be denied. It comes through on every page as the details and hardships of nineteenth century China unfold. She paints a picture in your mind, so vivid I was completely enveloped by it. In the morning, as I ate breakfast, I thought of congee. As I went through my day, I thought of the stifling confines of the women's chamber. When I did my laundry, I thought about making and intricately embroidering an entire wardrobe. And never far from my mind were the many freedoms that were withheld from women of that period.

But beyond that, See created faces to go with those truths--that way of life that so many knew. The foot binding scene was incredibly haunting, almost too horrible to read, not because of the torturous nature of the practice, although that comes through, but because it was happening to Lily--a girl who loved to run and be outside. A little girl, trying to please her mother and accept her future but still a child. When Snow Flower and Lily meet and begin sharing everything with each other, I allowed myself a sigh of relief because now they would each have love in their lives, a way to be lifted. But a terrible foreboding was always present, a black cloud over the small happinesses afforded Lily and Snowflower. For Lily tells us in the opening paragraphs of the novel that she did not value the greatest love in her life, that she pays the consequences of regret in her old age.

Really, I think this story is about the complexity of love. Love can be a great motivator for good, but can also cause the greatest of sorrows. In a culture where relationships were unduly strained, where feelings were suppressed, Snow Flower and Lily found a way to love each other as women, as equals. And yet, as that relationship endured and situations changed, that love was tested and did not always hold true. Jealousy and pride are as ugly as love is beautiful, and when they creep in, they can, in a short time, eat away at a lifetime of trust.

No matter what women of the period were subjected to, foot binding, a low marriage, an abusive husband, etc., it would definitely be a mistake to assume that those things meant that they had no power. Just because their power wasn't explicit doesn't mean it didn't exist. As much as men were considered to be superior, women's influence was felt everywhere, and they found ways to express it--through their secret writings, in the rearing of their children, in their acceptance of their fates.

I finished this book with the feeling of quiet resignation that becomes Lily as an old woman, sitting quietly, waiting to enter the next world. Hers is a life of abundance, yet some missteps haunt her year after year. We all make those mistakes in life, if we are lucky we can correct them. But often, we are unlucky, and instead we cringe and wring our hands at those memories, wishing we could go back for just a moment and act with greater thoughtfulness. In the end, this story sits in my mind like a Chinese proverb, a cautionary tale. A reminder to cherish, to be grateful, to live without regret.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Genre: Historical fiction, young adult
Publisher, Year: Houghton Mifflin, 1958
Other Works: The Bronze Bow
Flags: Teen angst
Rating: A+, or Must Read Now!
Premise: A young girl undertakes a long journey to live with her relatives in a Puritan town in newly settled Connecticut. As she struggles to fit in, she finds a true friend in an unlikely place--a friendship that may cost her dearly in ways she doesn't understand.

This is a childhood favorite of many, but I'd never had the opportunity to read it. Unfortunately, the books my teachers picked in 6th and 7th grade were forgettable, since I truly have little recollection of what we read in class. I wish I'd had the foresight to read Speare back then, but I was too busy with The Face on the Milk Carton.

I first encountered Speare in college. We read The Bronze Bow in my children's lit class. It was excellent, and there were many times that I passed by The Witch of Blackbird Pond in the Newberry winners section of the library and thought, I should read that, but then never got around to it. I'm so glad I finally pulled the trigger.

After the death of her grandfather, Kat braves a journey from Barbados, where she was brought up, to a faraway colony in Connecticut, where her mother's sister lives. Her aunt married a Puritan and adopted that lifestyle--one which Kat has had little exposure. Her fancy dresses and numerous belongings have no place in the austere simplicity of her new home. Kat has a hard time adjusting to life in Connecticut, but then she finds solace in an unlikely friendship with an old lady. However, this friendship, one that is supremely important to her, makes waves in her community, sparking a conflict that will rise to immense proportions.

I loved Kat--she's spunky, she's passionate, and although she often makes mistakes in her new home, she's intelligent and caring. She's not frivolous. She is a perfect foil to those with whom she must learn to live, and she grows up quickly as she faces each conflict. Speare shows a detailed and, from what I know, an accurate depictation of what life must have been like then--from the scarcity of resources to the tumultuous political atmosphere to the mob mentality that fear incites.

This book is full of lively characters, wending there way through the mire of life, through prejudice, through freedom of thought and speech, through the duty one has to family and friends and how that can sometimes lead to impossible situations and decisions that are often difficult. This is one I'll be saving on my shelf to read with my daughter one day. And maybe I'll get it down a time or two, just to revisit a wonderful story.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Genre: Young adult, contemp fiction
Publisher, Year: Dutton Books, 2005
Other Works: An Abundance of Kathrines
Flags: Strong language, Adult themes, Explicit references
Rating: A+, or Must Read Now!
Challenge: Countdown
Premise: A boy starts new at a boarding school. He makes new friends, all of whom love to work and play hard. A tragic event changes everything.

I've been meaning to post this review for awhile. I think I read this book almost two years ago and loved it immediately, along with it's quirky author, John Green. This book definitely made a lasting impression on me.

Miles Halter, nicknamed "Pudge," arrives at a new boarding school, full of expectation. He's looking for something, something big, and finds it in the embodiment of a girl, Alaska, and a group of friends who, like him, are just trying to get things figured out, and have a little fun besides. The whole story pivots around one event: one painful and troubled realization, one hasty decision that leaves lasting scars. Before this event, there is adventure, discovery, and the same mistakes teens have been making and learning from for centuries. After—nothing is the same, regrets abound, and, felt most deeply, nothing can be done to change it.

Miles meets with a group of intelligent, misfit teens who like to do those things that all kids that age do—drink life to the lees and damn the consequences. Up to this point, Miles has had little opportunity to be reckless, and with his new life, he’s also ready for new experiences, led by a high-spirited, slightly damaged, beautiful girl. Alaska represents to him every excitement that the world has to offer, and he can’t help himself around her. He’s entranced, with the innocence that envelops every first love.

Amidst all of these physical and emotional discoveries, Miles is also looking for something more, something intangible, what he call the Great Perhaps. Although it may seem like a lot of fun and games—kids being kids, goofing off, and all that—Miles and his ramshackle group are each finding their own paths, grasping for answers to life’s biggest mysteries, the unfairness of it all and what it all means. I can understand why some don’t like this book. I suppose on the surface it could seem like the chronicles of a bunch of over-enthusiastic, irreverent, and under-supervised kids wreaking havoc, but it really is so much more than that. It’s a heart-breaking tale of a heart-breaking time in life. For me, it put into words so much that makes sense about being a teenager, about big choices and even bigger questions, about accepting adulthood. About the frustration of realizing that some questions just don’t have good, solid, scientific method answers. About making sense of the senseless.

This is one I’m definitely putting on my list of what to read with my daughter when she reaches teenagehood. Not only was it brimming with meaning, but was also a joy (and a sorrow) to read. Green is an excellent writer, and the story was well-paced, creative, and compelling. I’m looking forward to reading his other books.

Ender's Game by Orson S. Card

Genre: Young Adult Sci-Fi
Publisher, Year: Tor Books, 1985
Other Works: Shadow series, Homecoming series
Flags: Moderate language, teen angst
Rating: A+, or Must Read Now!
Premise: Alien attack! A young boy is slated to save the world.

"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man stupid and blind in the eyes." Haha. I have to agree, Mazer. Just a little random quote for you. I don't read a whole lot of science fiction, but I've heard for years that I had to read this book. And, I have to say that it didn't disappoint.

In this book, we’re transported to a future where the earth is under an imminent attack of an alien species that threatens to wipe out humanity. To prepare for the coming war, the government trains special children, kids who exhibit the “right” qualities to be successful military commanders, to fight their enemy. Ender, at a tender age, is taken from his parents and sent to Battle School. He has a rough go of it. The adults deliberately prefer him, so most of the kids at the school hate him and he’s bullied from the beginning. As the adults at the school push him to the brink, they force him to learn (and learn fast) at an accelerated level. Ender also learns what he’s made of in his experiences, and it is punishing to him, mind and body. In the end, the fate of the human race lies squarely and heavily on his shoulders.

This book addresses a lot of heavy topics: ones that left me with a lot of questions. Ender is a full-on intricate character, and seeing the world from his view was an interesting ride. On a purely entertainment-value level, I was completely sucked in by Battle School. It took me a little while to catch on, but then I could hardly put the book down. When Ender became commander, I was riveted by his army's battles. I think Card did an excellent job of describing something so well that I could enjoy every aspect of the action even though I've never had any experience with the military. It had a sort of Lord of the Flies appeal in that Ender was more or less left to his own devices, especially in his social relationships, which was particularly unfair since the adults used tactics to make Ender's peers hate him. In growing up, there’s the moment when you realize that your parents may not actually know everything, that being an adult doesn’t automatically make you wise. Ender is forced to this realization much too early, so he has to develop resources to react to his environment—the ordeal he’s being put through—and also figure out who he is and what he wants at the same time. And even though the children in the book are so young, and seemingly too mature for their age, I don't actually think it's too far off considering what children go through during war time. Of course, perhaps in a different way, since we don't see armies being stocked with children much, but I think there are events that when children are forced to experience them, they grow up very quickly. (Notwithstanding the potty humor which was certainly true to form in my opinion!) Ender is a child in body, but what he’s experienced in his short life—what he’s forced to by his circumstances—outweigh his immaturity. As I've gotten older I've learned, that the hierarchical struggle for popularity/power doesn't end with junior high or high school. It's not a childish thing, it's a human phenomenon.

That Ender's social life should be used as a tool to mold him into a leader and a killer was very interesting to me and not one that I had considered. At first it didn't make a lot of sense to me, but in the end I understood. And it left me with questions. Is it really necessary? What if the adults had been kind to Ender? What if they hadn't isolated him or pushed him to the brink of his limits? Is such treatment really needed to order to glean talent? And yet, he was still able to make friends, but only in a way. What the adults also took from Ender was the ability to trust another human being. As a child, he innately trusted adults, who are supposed to be the people who look out for you, help you. But that trust his forever breached, and it has a devastating effect on Ender, who quickly turns from an impressionable child to a wary and careful one. And the result is that there wasn't one relationship in Ender's life that wasn't dysfunctional. So, they end up with the exact mix of what they need in a battle leader, but what of the personal expense?

With the stories final twist (it’s a goodie!), I was left feeling conflicted and empty. War is complicated, and in the end, it’s about people. Part of me wishes the book could have played out like your run of the mill alien action movie, because then the answers to hard questions would be straight forward and easy. The aliens are pure evil and want to annihilate humans, so you get ‘em where you want ‘em and bang!: big smiles, slaps on the back, cigars, fade to black. But you know, that's not real life. In a real war there are always two sides. There are families, cultures, languages, civilizations, on both sides. It's never so cut and dry: good guys vs. bad guys. Though that's the way it is often portrayed. Bad guy beats on good guy, good guy struggles, good guy kills bad guy, everyone is happy. With war comes responsibility and difficult burdens.

Final note: this book has zero love interests. Still loved it.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Genre: General Fiction
Publisher, Year: Little Brown, 2002
Other Works: Lucky
Flags: Adult themes, tenuous references
Rating: A+, or Must Read Now!
Challenge: Countdown, Library
Premise: A young girl is murdered. She narrates the story, looking down from heaven on her family and friends as they cope with her loss.

I’ve been meaning to read this book for some time now, but I’ve been almost scared to pick it up, given the premise. I was afraid it would disturb me, in a Law and Order SVU–sort of way. Really, you can’t broach the subjects of rape and murder without disturbance, but I was impressed with Sebold’s take. She definitely pushed the envelope, but in a way that made life just that much more meaningful and precious. I still can’t stop thinking about it.

The book starts out with an introduction: “My name is Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.” A sinking feeling of dread follows this proclamation, as we know when Mr. Harvey approaches Susie and asks her to follow him that she won’t be coming back. But, she knows it, too. As she relates the story, she tells us, in hindsight, what she should of done and how she should have acted, if only she’d known. It’s heartrending, it really is. And there’s nothing to be done to change it. Unfortunately, it won’t be the last time, as the reader, that you’ll feel the burn of regret. +/-

Susie finds herself in heaven after the tragic assault. She can’t help but look down on her family almost every moment, to see how they are coping and living their lives after her demise. They try to move on, to get past it, without forgetting Susie. But, Susie never gets any older, never says or does anything new--she’s simply a presence and lurks in the dark corners of their minds. It’s hard for Susie to watch and be able to do nothing--all while her killer runs free.

It’s a heart-pounding tale; one you will find yourself unable to put down or stop thinking about. Although this book centers around a terrible death, the story is really about life and family and loved ones. It’s about making connections with others. It’s about how sadness can break us, and then faith puts us back together. Those relationships are never quite the same, but they are significant because they were not easily formed--that’s what makes them lovely.

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

Genre: Fiction, mixed with fantasy
Publisher, Year: Doubleday, 2008
Other Works: Debut novel
Flags: Moderate language, adult themes, explicit references
Rating: A-, or Good w/ Minor Problems
Challenge: Countdown, Library
Premise: A young, handsome man drives off a cliff in a drug-induced hysteria. While in the hospital recovering from major burn wounds, he meets an charismatic and slightly off-kilter woman who claims she was his lover in another life.

I’m really at a loss as to what to say about this book. It’s vastly different from any other book I’ve read before. I picked it up on the recommendation of Ann of Books on the Nightstand, whose opinion I like to take when I’m in the mood for something different or edgy. This books satisfied both criteria.

The Gargoyle is narrated by a man who careens off the side of a cliff and finds himself in the middle of a horrendous car fire, which destroys much of his body. As he recovers, a mysterious young woman begins visiting him and telling him stories about 14th century Germany. The only catch is, she believes he is a character from her story, that they met and fell in love in a medieval monastery, and she’s been waiting for him to come back for seven hundred years. +/-

There is a stark contrast that comes to the forefront during the book, and I’m still contemplating its significance. Before the accident, the narrator was a pornographer, so his livelihood depended upon his sexuality. Not only as a profession, we learn, but for sport as well; meaning, his entire life revolved around sex—like someone with an all-consuming hobby, such as an unhealthy obsession with Star Wars or hobbits. Sex was his hobby, his profession, what he spent all his work and free time doing. However, after the accident, he is no longer capable of those things. Not only is his physical appearance considerably altered, but he has also suffered damage to essential organs for such a profession. Thus, his entire world has been taken away from him. Part of his discovery is thus tied up in how he is changed in the aftermath of the fire--how he is reborn. He has to find new things to live for, and it’s not an easy task. He feels the burning of intense desire without the physical ability to act on that feeling. In his struggle, he also feels a little seed of love take root in his heart.

The mysterious woman, Marianne Engel, becomes his self-appointed teacher. She reveals to him, in parts, a history he can’t remember. He finds out that his latest accident is not the first time he’s been burned, that his heart is ready to remember things he’s felt in past years, a past life. She teaches him through short parable-type stories: a girl in Japan, a Viking in Iceland, an Italian couple, and a husband lost at sea. Each of these stories are wildly creative and tragic, too. Marianne also has a close relationship with religion and God. She believes she has a calling from God to carve gargoyles--to release ugly monster from stone and give them a heart from her own chest. She takes it upon herself to rehabilitate the narrator from the prison he’s created of his heart. Marianne reads to him from Dante’s Inferno, which takes on special significance. The narrator believes his burns present a punishment for his way of life, but it seems also to take on the form of a type of cleansing, a healing power to the pain he ran away from.

I found the writing style to be rather scattered, and it was a slow read for me, not because it didn’t hold my interest, but because of the density of the plot and helter-skelter timeline. For me, it was a necessity to read the book in chunks, so I could toss each episode around in my brain and digest it fully before moving on. By the end, I couldn’t go back and pick out certain parts that made more sense because of the final revelations, but rather, it was like all the events felt like memories, and they converged to create an entirely unique experience. That’s not something you find often, and what was really brilliant about it was that it wasn’t hard. The text was nice and smoothly pressed. It rolled right off the tongue (in my mind’s inner “reading voice”).

Although it’s not one I would have ever picked up on my own, I really liked this book. And it can creep up on you the way some books do--a few chapters in, I wasn’t blown away. But somehow I found myself very involved without realizing it. It’s not for the faint of heart, I will say that. Our nameless narrator had a difficult and painful childhood. He’s also an ex-porn star and is hopped up on drugs when he takes that fateful tumble--not to mention the excruciating descriptions of his accident, injuries, and recovery. And the subject matter can be sometimes disturbing and graphic. Normally some of these things would have turned me off the book, but this time was different, and I can’t exactly put my finger on why. I don’t think this book is for everyone, but I’m glad it was for me.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Genre: General fiction (historical slant)
Publisher, Year: Riverhead, 2007
Other Works: The Kite Runner
Flags: Adult themes, tenuous references
Rating: A+ or Must Read Now!
Challenge: Countdown, Library
Premise: Two Afghan women a generation apart find their paths converge in war-torn Kabul. Together they find strength to face the cruelty of unjust government.

I loved The Kite Runner when I read it a few years ago, although I regret to say for which I have never written a review. I would have thought it difficult to follow up such a book with another of equal significanc--but it seems an easy task for Hosseini. This book usurped my attention for about a day and half. Yes, folks, that’s how long it took me to read A Thousand Splendid Suns simply because I could not, I did in fact lose my ability to, put this book down. Besides eating and sleeping, I could think of nothing else. Don’t start reading this beauty until you’ve got the time to devote your full attention, well, unless you are a masochist, because I promise you, once you start, it will take an enormous amount of self restraint to stop. (Indeed, I found it impossible.)

Mariam is the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy man. Because of the shame of her birth, she is hidden away with her mother, who had been a maid in his house, in a small shack in the hills. She dreams of living with a big family and of going to school with her brothers and sisters who she will never get to know. +/-

One day, she gets the nerve to visit her father at his rich estate. Mariam could not imagine how one simple act would change the course of her life forever. Laila is an unique girl, marked for beauty by her unusually light hair and her quick and clever intelligence. She has a bright future and people who love her, although her life is not without its sorrows. But, when war comes and the turbulence of a country in chaos takes its toll, Laila will find herself in an impossible situation, with only one choice ahea--one that will take everything she has to give, and more.

This story is one about courage. The courage of women at a desperate and hopeless time. This book has enlightened me with an entirely new understanding of the word oppression. Ruled over by tyrannical husbands and then by an even more strict Taliban, the courage and endurance of the women of Afghanistan are portrayed through Mariam and Laila, two of the strongest characters I believe I have ever read.

War--it seems there are so many books written based on that topic. It is infuriating to read how the power of a few can wreak the utter destruction of so many. It seems so petty, so juvenile--like a few kindergarteners fighting over the blue crayon or who gets to be first in line at the drinking fountain. But, I have to say, whatever gross crimes were inflicted--and they were just that, not to be marginalized--they paled in comparison with what the Taliban can do. The Taliban took that Little Rascals saying, “Boys rule and girls drool,” to whole new heights. Heights I didn’t even deem possible--that such things could happen, it’s just beyond me.

Incredible, incredible book and not one to be missed. What a beautiful tribute Hosseini has paid with this work. Every paragraph testifies of the author’s respect and devotion toward his chosen subject. In such a time, in the face of all that they were made to bear, these women survived. They found a way to weather the endless night, until the sunrise--until a thousand splendid suns could warm them and bring light to their lives again.

Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky

Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher, Year: Knopf, 2006
Other Works: David Golder
Flags: Adult themes
Rating: A+, or Must Read Now!
Premise: The book is written in parts and follows the stories of several people as they flee and cope with the German occupation in France. The author was captured and killed before she could complete it.

Honestly, this book took me quite by surprise. I had all kinds of ideas of how it would play out before I turned the first page, but it was so different than any other WW II book I've ever read. I really got lost in Némirovsky's language; I can hardly believe it was a translation.

At first, it was a little difficult for me to follow all of the characters and keep their stories straight, but once I was past the first few chapters, it started to come together for me. I hardly even know what to write, seriously this book has me sort of bewildered. All of the people she profiles in the novel are so different but at the same time so similar. Such a stark picture of humanity, showing the good and the bad, the pride and the humility, side by side and tumbled together. +/-

The thing I liked about Dolce was how confusing it was. How different people viewed the occupation and their motivations. That was one thing I think Némirovsky captured so perfectly in both parts of the novel: people's motivation and nature. The occupation was such an emotionally charged subject, I think the author expertly presented how muddled and complicated it was.

In a way, it seems right that this book was written during the war, and not altered (even though I still wish it could have been completed). It seems like reality tends to get distorted when it's reflected on from memory. It's human nature to want to think of yourself and your people as brave and strong. But this book reveals something more intrinsic to our core values, something more selfish and self serving, especially in such desperate times. Perhaps that's why heroism is so treasured in society—because truly there are few who, when faced with such dire tragedy, would act unselfishly. That's a strong bit of truth to swallow.

It was hard for me not to think about Némirovsky's untimely death as I was reading the novel. Really the most heartbreaking thing about this book is that it is unfinished. It makes me wonder how her book would have evolved had she been given the time to finish it. At one point in the book, Jean-Marie, during his rehabilitation, finds time to write:

He wrote with a chewed-up pencil stub, in a little notebook which he hid against his heart. He felt he had to hurry: something inside him was making him anxious, was knocking on an invisible door. By writing, he opened that door, he gave life to something that wished to be born. Then suddenly, he would become discouraged, feel disheartened, weary. He was mad. What was he doing writing these stupid stories, letting himself be pampered by the farmer's wife, while his friends were in prison, his despairing parents thought he was dead, when the future was so uncertain, the past so bleak?

When I read that I couldn't help but wonder if that was how Némirovsky felt about her own life, about this book she was working on. I think she must have worried that no one would read it. But, she had to give life to it anyway, because this story wished to be born. And, I'm so glad she did. If you haven’t visited this site yet, I strongly urge you to do so. =)

This is definitely one I think I will re-read in the future—there’s so much I think I missed in my whirlwind reading.

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

My first reaction to this book was confusion. Because the characters each live within separate worlds, it makes the story feel disjointed--eventhough they are all connected through a central character. I read that someone described the novel as several short stories strung together, and I definitely agree with that.

However, as the story moves forward, I felt like I was able to catch McCullers's vision. I realized that there's so much more going on than you can figure out at first glance. It definitley got my wheels turning . . . so much to think about. Here are just a couple things I picked out:

1. Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

It's ironic that each character is so isolated because they certainly have things in common. Each character felt the urgency of desperation: Mick and her music/youth, Copeland and racial relations, Jake and social justice, and Brannon and his search for meaning. Yet, when they all get together, friendships do not blossom, just the opposite--they feel disconnected and uncomfortable. +/-

Perhaps that was why Singer was so surprised that his four friends could find nothing in common when introduced together in a room. At the same time, I think for me it was significant that these people did have chances to reach out, but their differences prevented them from fully appreciating their similarities, or perhaps their inability to allow people into the "inside room," as Mick calls it. Their defenses were so well fortified, that no one could sneek past, except a few. I liked what Portia said to her father, explaining the reason that he could not get along with or love his children:

"You think out everything in your brain. While us rather talk from something in our hearts . . ."

But, is it too harsh to say that Mick, Jake, Dr. Copeland, and Biff were all lonely because they chose to be so? I think it is and isn't at the same time. That's what's so great about this book. It places before you a conundrum and dares you to solve it.

2. My Special Friend

I found Singer a very interesting character, and I still haven't quite figured out what meaning to draw from his role in the story. He was everything to everybody. He was the chameleon to their problems. He was a symbol of hope, understanding, and compassion. And yet, he had troubles that no one ever saw. To all, he was serene, the only one who could understand them, when in fact, he understood little but his own pain.

It's interesting, because it made me think of a friend I had once. I felt like she really understood me and I really understood her. I thought our friendship was something special. Like we had a meeting of the minds that rarely occurs. But of the time we spent together, we were rarely around other people, and as those situations arose, I realized that I wasn't her special friend, and she had never seen me that way. It was a bit of a barb, I have to admit. How interesting our assumptions can be, those alternate realities.

Overall, I loved the book. I think there are many things there that I have yet to uncover. I can understand why McCullers was so well received, because although I think her book is revolutionary for its time (even now), I think one can clearly see how she has taken our society and shown us its dirty secrets. I also enjoyed her writing style, once I got used to it.