YA Bender

Whoa. I just went on what I like to call a major YA bender. That is I read exclusively young adult selections for the past 2 weeks. And I powered through. Here's the list:

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Looking for Alaska by John Green

You’re likely to have heard of or read some of these more popular titles (i.e. The Perks of Being a Wallflower which is, by the way, to be made into a movie with Miss Emma Watson) so I’ll tell you a bit about one of the lesser known.

While a lovely young adult librarian from a local public library did a brief book talk to some of my students, she skimmed over Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. My interest was piqued when I heard this newly published book was set in Prague in the present day, an atypical locale for this genre. Most young adult books are either set in some place average to most YA readers (i.e. suburbia) or another world entirely. Also, being a fan of central Europe and having visited Prague once in a brief whirlwind of a weekend, I thought I’d give it a shot. So I elbowed my students out of the way to make sure I had my hands on it first. Kidding! None of them seemed interested so I pounced. 

Well, it turns out Prague isn’t the only stage of this highly imaginative novel though it does add an old world and cold feel with its snow-covered, cobblestone streets. Things seems fairly normal as the book opens. Karou is a 17 year old art student in Prague. She is a bit edgy with bright blue hair and numerous tattoos, but to all of her friends,  Karou just seems like an average student with a hint of mystery. In her sketchbook, she draws elaborate portrayals of beastly characters who seem half human and half animal. Her peers think she is just sketching an imaginary world. What they don’t know is these creatures really do exist (they’re called Chimera) and Karou sees them everyday when she steps through a door down one of Prague’s side alleys and into the chimera’s tiny shop. 

Brimstone, the leader of the chimera, has been sending Karou on errands across the world for as long as she can remember. He deals in teeth, human or animal, and Karou finds herself trading with seedy characters from Paris to Morocco. What Brimstone does with the teeth? Even Karou doesn’t know. And where the door in the back of the shop leads? Karou's life will change when she finally finds out.

I was truly impressed by Laini Taylor's creativity (I think this is her first YA book though she's written adult fiction...I wonder if it is fantasy as well). The first half of the book keeps you on the edge. You’re dying to find out what’s behind that darn door and what is this creepy, dark business with all of these teeth. The overall tone is dark, eerie, and mysterious as you try to put the puzzle pieces together along with Karou and figure out her forgotten past and secret identity.  If you’re like me, you’ll get halfway through the book and discover that more questions are arising without any answers. And when you do the math, you’ll find it hard to believe any resolve will come at this pace. So you’ll flip to the end of the book and see those three little words…to be continued. Ah ha! This is the start of a series! The other books haven’t come out, but this entire first book is setting the stage. So no resolve comes in the book. You only find out who Karou really is. And it gets a little slow in the second half of the book with a very passionate, teenage, forbidden romance drawing things out.

That being said, I absolutely recommend this book. Even if you're tired of teenage female protagonists in fantasy novels, give it a shot (at least the first half). You will be wowed by Taylor’s creativity. A quick read, Daughter of Smoke and Bone will stretch your imagination in dark ways.

*Image from Barnes and Noble.

Think Spring!

Today I "booktalked" some narrative nonfiction titles for a group of high school juniors. One book I pushed was Endurance by Alfred Lansing, the no nonsense, straight forward account of Ernest Shackleton's lost South Pole expedition. It is the ultimate survival and adventure story, and the bleak, cold setting is perfect for cold, February nights. 

Next up: Spring! What is a great read to get you in the mood for green and budding? How about Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle? That book is a true celebration of the fruits of the earth! It can get a little snobby at times, but overall, this record of one family's attempt to spend one year eating food they've harvested or food that has come from their community is an interesting and inspiring read. You may not be raising turkeys and harvesting turnips by the time you're finished reading, but you will certainly have a new respect for the food you eat. AND there are some great recipes as well. My favorite was the strawberry rhubarb crisp. Yum! I can't wait for Spring!

Know of any great Spring reads to celebrate the season?

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson, 2011

This summer I did finally get around to reading Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, a book I mentioned in an earlier post as having been on my radar. It was just as great as all the hype and had all the elements of a historical narrative nonfiction that appeal to me. So when I heard Mr. Larson had come out with a new book, I wanted to get my hands on it ASAP. Too bad it was still only in hardcover with no paperback edition in sight! But luck was on my side when I spied his book, In the Garden of Beasts, in a beachfront bookstore with a 25% off sticker slapped on the cover. I still hemmed and hawed but in the end, pounced on the purchase and am, after reading the book, happy with my decision.

Set in Berlin during the 1930s, the book chronicles the experience of the Dodd family while William, the father, serves as the U.S. ambassador to Germany. William's wife and two grown children accompany him on what they initially feel will be a great adventure. Leaving Chicago full of hope, the Dodds land in Berlin circa 1933. They are initially impressed with the culture and energy of the town. Martha, Dodd's 24 year old flirtatious daughter, is especially swept up in the show and embarks on affairs with some of Germany's most dangerous men. However, before long, the Dodd's begin to see holes in Germany's facade. Reports of violence against Americans in Germany, especially Jewish Americans, begin flowing into the embassy. Despite enormous pressure from the State Department to turn a blind eye to these and other flagrantly inhumane acts, Dodd tries to maintain his integrity and the integrity of his position. Discover how the Dodd's navigate one of the most tense settings of the 20th century in Erik Larson's new book In the Garden of Beasts.