The Hate U Give By Angie Thomas Another difficult read, given the current news of George Floyd's murder. Loved the voice/syntax/grammar. The code-switching required by the protagonist, for both Black-to-White culture, but also class-level expectations, is well-done, as are the sub-plots of navigating her friendships (in both worlds). Seemed very real and authentic. Also: really loooong? 444 pages! |
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne I am unclear if this is based on a true story and novelized, or simply made up. I know this is a frequent read in the middle grades, so I picked it up. It is certainly moving and upsetting in both the tale's ending as well as the inability of people to truly see/understand what was happening around them. Laugh-sobbed at "The Fury" and "Out-with." |
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell Two high school misfits support each other. Surprisingly dark and serious. I didn't really get the 1980s vibes that I thought I might (except for the mixed tape thing). I was upset enough with how the stalking was revealed that I re-read the final third of the book again. I am also aware of the complaints being made about this text given its problematic representation of Asian-Americans. |
Surrender by Sonya Hartnett Disturbing read. Right from the start you anticipate some terrible thing. Excellent mood/tone setting and so full of dread. That terrible thing never fully materializes in full present-time description, and perhaps that adds to the unsettling ambiguousness of this text. I have two different versions of how I understand the two (?) main characters: in one of those interpretations I wondered if Finnegan was the ghost of Gabriel's brother...a la Toni Morrison's Beloved.... Dark! Unsettling! |
Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder I read 8 of the 9 (didn't read #2 Farmer Boy, which introduces Almanzo Wilder, the eventual love interest/husband of Laura Ingalls Wilder). So these were interesting to read for the historical context of pioneer life They are largely factual, although a bit moderated/fictionalized. Clearly, some things were not selected (death of her 9mo old brother?). The flat-out racism against Native Americans (but I knew that in 2018 the American Library Association took her name off an award) and the mytholoigies of manifest destiny and the belief in meritocracy and the strengths of the rugged individual (seeds of LIW's later Libertaran politics) are evident throughout, especially the later books. Enjoyed the descriptions in the last 3 books of the one room schoolhouse, testing, and teaching. How different and yet how similar to today --especially 2020's hybrid in-person + remote concurrent setup! |
The White by Deborah Larsen So interesting. This is a lightly fictionalized re-telling of the real story of Mary Jemison, who was captured by Shawnee in 1758, age 16. She is given to 2 Seneca sisters as a replacement for their warrior brother, and eventually learns to accept and love her life. Some of the language in the text comes from Mary's own telling of her story to a historian, which he later published. Spare. Haunting. |
We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter This is another fictionalized account of a true story following the Kurc family. They were Polish Jews who were forced apart by the German Nazi regime as it rolled into and over Poland. It was difficult to keep picking up the threads, since each chapter followed one (or two+) members of the family as they flee across Europe, but eventually I could keep track. Some of the portions of the story were terrifying. The final hike across the Alps into Italy and safety was thrilling. |
.The Art Forger by B. A. Shapiro Since I love the Gardner Museum already, and long ago read at least one biography of "Mrs. Jack" (Isabella) Gardner, I loved this mash-up between truth (lots of details about the South End of Boston, the Museum, the great, still-unsolved art heist of 1990) and made-up artwork. I enjoyed how this novel operated on 3 different eras, and loved the historical stuff. I saw part of the ending coming, but got a pleasant jolt of surprise in its reveal. Didn't always sympathize with the protag, but definitely was shouting at her not to choose....oh, too late. Fun history-mystery. |
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng I see why everybody was talking about this book. I found it's hypocritical-suburb-thing delicious, and I think it really asks "what is a mothe?"r (or any parent, really). It asks it at so many layers: adoptive v. biological v., surrogacy, chosen, mother-mentors and left-behind mothers; damaged mothers and privileged ones. I enjoyed the final pages so much I went back and re-read them, but reading the final art gifts to the Richardson family....was like being suspended in time. Those amazing imaginative pieces, the descriptions unspooling almost in slow-mo for me...stunning. |
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens Okay, I was put off by the snatches of descriptions I had heard (really, another book about poverty in the South?), but somehow missed that this was a murder mystery and trial as well. This was a lovely read, despite the chronic harshness of hard knocks the protagonist is dealt. That many almost didn't seem real, nor her abilities to overcome them (with pure pluck and some luck in advisers), but once I was in, I was all in. I both knew and didn't believe the ending that confirms guilt/innocence. |
The Round House by Louise Erdrich Like Crawdads, this was a more literary novel. This was another ueasy mystery to be solved, but deeply intertwined with the coming-of-age story of a teen. Even when you know some of the truths and bad outcomes, you don't know how they all fit together until the end. This feels like a blend of Montana 1948 and We'll Fly Away (both of which I read last summer), but I know the timing is wrong (Montana 1993; We'll Fly 2018) so not true. But it's certainly about seeking justice and family and the realism of the magic of Native beliefs (ghosts who visit, the wendiigoo - the dark spirit). A lovely, complex read. |
Plus bunches of podcasts: Seeing White (episodes 1-14); Nice White Parents (episodes 1-5); This American Life #474 & #550 + others; NPR Code Switch "What's in a Karen?' "Between Friends" + others