Welcome October!

READ LAST WEEK: Star in the Forest by Laura Resau, 2012

Nominated for the Young Hoosier Book Award this year, Star in the Forest is a quick read for the middle graders with a topic becoming increasingly relevant: deportation following minor traffic violations or petty crimes.

Zitlally's life gets thrown off course when her father, Papa, is deported to Mexico after being pulled over by police for speeding. Now, Zitlally's family must rent part of their trailer out to two strangers to help pay the bills. Her mother grows increasingly distant as she worries over her husband while Zitlally and her sisters sleep together in confusion to make room for the new renters.

Zitlally escapes to the junkyard behind her trailer where she befriends a dog she names Star. Star seems mysteriously connected to Papa, and when he goes missing one day, Zitlally and her friend Crystal know that finding him will determine whether or not Papa will make it home.

This short book broaches a controversial topic and makes the scary scenario relatable for readers whether or not they've had personal experience with deportation. I highly recommend. 

JUST FINISHED LISTENING TO: The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech, 2013

I spend a lot of time in the car. My morning commute is about 15 to 20 minutes, and my husband commute is 4 hours as he is working on his degree in a different state. I usually spend a lot of time listening to NPR which leaves me with good conversation points and a handle on current events, but 4 hours alone in the car through stretches of cell phone dead zone in flat Indiana and Michigan leads to repeated programming. Ain't much fun listening to the same radio shows twice.

So I've been digging inroads into the world of the audiobook, a land I only explored on short visits before.

The Great Unexpected is Sharon Creech's new middle grade fiction story about Naomi and her best friend Lizzie, two orphaned girls growing up in the teeny tiny town of Blackbird Tree. Mysteries begin to unfold from page one when a boy named Finn falls out of a tree and lands at the girls' feet. We simoultaneously hear the story of an older lady across the ocean in Ireland and soon discover how these distant stories are connected.

Sharon Creech has many a solid middle grade fiction chapter books. She is likely best known for Walk Two Moons, a well deserved Newbery Award winner. And there are many similarities between that book and The Great Unexpected: loss of parents, living with elders, discovering connections, personal journeys to discover the truth. I will say Walk Two Moons is, by far, my preferred story as the connections are more clear and the resolution more complete than Creech's new work. However, fans of the author will be satisfied with The Great Unexpected.

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO: Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos, 2011

Jack Gantos of Joey Pigza, Jack Henry, and Rotten Ralph fame won the Newbery for Dead End in Norvelt in 2012. Cheers!

*Side note: Remember Rotten Ralph, that terrifyingly red and poorly behaved cat? That character may be from where my cat apprehensions stem.

But back to the award-winning novel, this is the semi-autobiographical story of young Jack's summer in his small, dying town of Norvelt, named for EleaNOR RooseVELT as Norvelt is a New Deal town. Narrator Jack who suffers from uncontrollable nose bleeds is grounded for the summer after he accidentally fires his father's Japanese rifle at a drive in movie screen AND mows down his mother's rows of corn. He's only allowed out of his room to help Miss Volker write obituaries for the town paper. But Miss Volker ends up getting Jack in more trouble than he could find on his own.

So far, so good. Listening to Gantos read the story is also rewarding. You can feel his passion and humor. If you have the book in your hands to give to a kid, you may want to encourage them to read it with an adult. There's a lot of history in the book that they may miss without having a grownup there to help navigate.

This little nifty site has a quick video interview of Jack Gantos.

STARTING TO READ: Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver, 2012

Aaah. Kingsolver. Surely you've seen this tome out on bookstore displays all over the place. This lady is known as a literary force so fans everywhere were chomping at the bit for this new release.

Truth be told, the only fiction of her's I've read is The Poisonwood Bible, maybe her most famous work, years ago. But I was a fan from the start. And I really enjoyed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, her true account of a year living off the land in rural Virginia.

So I've checked out Flight Behavior from the library and have read the first 10 pages, and I can feel that beautiful heavy reminiscent of Poisonwood Bible. Also, Kingsolver has a way with using the female protagonist and uncovering all of the complexities of the individual showing that nothing is black and white. And I love that.

LOOKING FORWARD TO READING: Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick, 2013

Wouldn't you know the author can explain the premise of his book much more effectively than I can? Visit the link for the book trailer and watch a short interview of Mr. Philbrick.

I haven't purchased or borrowed this book so all I can say is I read In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick and LOVED it. Mayflower was pretty good, too. So I have high hopes for this Revolutinary War chronicle.
And having a soft spot in my heart for Boston, I think it will be interesting reading about the city's old geography and topography seeing as the Back Bay neighborhood sits on man made land and looks vastly different than it did circa 1776.

Also, why do I know much more about the Civil War than the Revolutionary War? I need to work on this history deficit.

*Thank you for the images BarnesandNoble.com!

The Four Immutable Laws of the Spirit

"I was reminded of the Four Immutable Laws of the Spirit:

Whoever is present are the right people.

Whenever it begins is the right time.

Whatever happens is the only thing that could have happened. 

And when it's over, it's over."

-Anne Lamott, Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son's First Son

Honeymoon

Over the past 6 months, Dave and I got engaged and tied the knot.

There is so much to say on that subject that I choose to say only that we are happy and thankful and overwhelmed by the generosity of our family and friends. Also, we are looking forward to returning to our selves, our selves who read and run and talk about interesting things, and not the wedding planning version of our selves.

We escaped to the upper peninsula of Michigan and honeymooned on Isle Royale, a secluded island National Park about 50 miles north of the Keewenaw Peninsula on the western U.P, and Mackinac Island, an undeniably quaint hamlet wedged between the great lakes of Superior, Michigan, and Huron. Between island hops, we found time to visit Painted Rocks National Lakeshore, eat the U.P.'s finest pasty (hand-held pot pie), and discover a gem of a bookstore in Marquette, Michigan (where we restocked on reading materials and I romanticized living just around the corner choosing to forget about the roaring winter months).

These happy, secluded weeks drew to a close yesterday as we wrapped up our time on Mackinac. But I can feel the beginning of a new reading cycle in my life taking hold as I've managed to acquire new books throughout our trip.

I'll spare you the whole list and just touch on some reading highlights as of recent.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris, 2008

My brother Matt and I drove from D.C. to Indiana a week before the wedding. We visited our cousin in Pittsburgh, stopped at a lighthouse in Ohio, and listened to a Father John Misty album the whole darn way. Additionally, whomever was riding passenger read aloud essays from this Sedaris classic. I had found it on a family bookshelf a few days before and smuggled it out of greater D.C. in my duffel. We laughed and laughed as one always does with any delicious Sedaris book. There's something about his brutal honesty that is appalling because you recognize those thoughts, those horrible cringe-worthy feelings are in your own self! You are just as terrible as Sedaris, and that is why you love him. Also, thank you Pittsburgh cousin for pointing out that our beloved Sedaris has a brand new book out now called Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls. I am behind the times.

A View From the Wolf's Eye by Candy Peterson, 2008

While visiting Isle Royale, we stopped in at the remote wolf study home, a tiny cottage accessible by boat, of Candy and Rolph Peterson who have spent their life's work researching the wolf and moose population on the island. Rolph was out doing something productive like setting up a bat testing site, but we were lucky enough to chat with Candy who, in the 20 minutes we had with her, bestowed on us all sorts of useful insight like,  "I like to believe every one of us is trying to do our best at every moment," and, "Instead of unfairly comparing two things or places (i.e. apples and oranges, the Boundary Waters and Isle Royale), we should celebrate the uniqueness and strengths of being distinct." As we stood there in the gray 55 degree afternoon, Dave could see my eyes cloud over as I fell in love with Candy Peterson. When she found out we were honeymooning, she went into the small cottage she has called home every summer for almost 40 years and came out with her book, A View From the Wolf's Eye, as a wedding gift. Candy told us she had fallen in love with Rolph on Isle Royale and was touched that we would choose to spend our honeymoon at such a quiet place. She then signed the inside cover of the book, found out I was a children's librarian, made my heart flutter again when she quoted the Wind in the Willows, and bid us farewell while she went back to chopping wood. After a desperate paddle in the canoe back to our campsite (a storm was blowing in), I burrowed deep in my sleeping bag, cracked the spine of A View From the Wolf's Eye, and lamented about what sort of adventure Dave and I could embark upon during our marriage. Wolf study?

Eragon by Christopher Paolini, 2001

Being a children's librarian, this book has haunted me for years. The first part of a fantasy series called the Inheritance Cycle, Eragon sits on my library's shelves begging me for attention every time I walk by. It's like that dragon's eye on the cover can see into my soul. Alright, alright! So when visiting Snowbound Books, I found an affordable used copy and dove in. I'm only about 180 pages along in this 500 page read, but so far, so good. Eragon is a teenager living in Alagaesia, a mythical land ruled over by King Galbatorix. While out hunting, he stumbles on a mysterious stone which turns out to be a dragon egg that launches Eragon into his destiny: dragon rider. That's about as far as I am. A few comments: I am slightly annoyed how there is sort of a wise elder who just explains all these mysteries and how magic works, etc to Eragon. I think really great fantasy fiction just kind of lets these mysteries explain themselves rather than providing a character whose sole purpose seems to be clearing things up for the reader.  It's too seasy! Additionally, be aware that there is, every so often, a violent scene or action sequence with pretty vivid descriptions. Keep this in mind when recommending to a young reader.

*One of the coolest things about Eragon is Christopher Paolini started writing it when he was 15 years old! And it was first self published when he was 18 or 19. AND he grew up and lives in Paradise Valley, Montana which is one of the most beautiful places you'll ever see and not far from my Montana family. What were you doing when you were 15, huh?!

Some Assembly Required: A Journal of my Son's First Son by Anne and Sam Lamott, 2012

Anne Lamott (of Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith and Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life fame) is a really calming force of a nonfiction memoir author (she also writes fiction but I've only read her nonfiction). When you just need to be reminded of forgiveness and the beauty of things, find yourself a good read by Ms. Anne Lamott, a recovering addict who has found God. I was feeling particularly vulnerable coming off of the wedding with my mind racing when I wandered into the Island Bookstore on Mackinac, saw Anne Lamott's name across the cover of this book, and purchased it without reading the back or flipping through its pages. The book tells the story of Anne's first year as a grandmother. Her son Sam and his girlfriend Amy have a child when they are 19 and 20 years old. And Anne writes a book about it with many insights from Sam. The book reads like a journal. And though this is a story about parenting and grandparenting, it is really about being a slightly screwed up being stumbling through the ups and downs and learning to forgive yourself for all of your imperfections just as Lamott's books always seem to be. It is both refreshingly candid and funny. I urge you to pick up one of Lamott's books soon. But I'd probably start with Traveling Mercies before moving on to Some Assembly Required.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, 1985

Okay. The truth is Ender's Game is being made into a movie coming out soon! So though I've read the first few chapters of this book several times, this time (I promise) I am committing. Written in 1985, some may consider Ender's Game a science fiction classic (it won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards in the 80's). Orson Scott Card tells the story of Ender, the third child in a family born in a society with a two child policy. From what I know so far, Ender's abilities and cunning get him selected to head to a battle school where he'll be trained to defend Earth against "buggers", some sort of alien species who've been battling humans off and on for many a year. More on Ender's Game to come!

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed, 2012

I will spare you my long review of Cheryl Strayed's memoir as you have likely seen it on every bookstore table and heard about it from the likes of Oprah. This book came in a wedding gift package in the mail right before the big day so I shoved it in a pack, and it entertained me for many a cold evenings on Isle Royale. While in the depths of despair following the death of her mother, the unspiraling of her marriage, and a new relationship with heroin, Cheryl Strayed decides she'll hike the grueling Pacific Crest Trail alone. Though I enjoyed reading the book, be prepared for a story of coming back from the edge and grief and the sadness that Strayed navigates more than many insights on the Pacific Crest Trail. Granted, I know more about this western backpacking path now than before I started, but the book is more about Cheryl and her internal struggles than the hike itself. Also, do not compare this to Bill Bryson's laugh-out-loud, tears-in-your-eyes classic A Walk in the Woods. Remember what Candy said back in A View from the Wolf's Eye? It is unfair to compare two unlike things, and these 2 trail books are unlike entirely.

Happy July to you from our honeymoon! We ate a lot, read a lot, and stared out across the water A LOT. I miss it.