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librarybonanza
Another non-picture book writer thinks he can expand his resume. Fails on all fronts. Do not read.
Age: High School+
History: Harlem Renaissance, 1930s-1940s
First line: "Friends tell me trouble's coming."
A restless teen transforms into a man who changes history in this blend of fiction and nonfiction by Malcolm X's daughter. The unfolding of Malcom X's character is in-depth and organic without dragging, detailing the background story behind a great leader. I am fascinated by origin stories and I love the uniqueness this biography holds by being fictionalized. We experience his growth--and downfalls--as he does, with all the justifiable angst and uncertainty of a boy whose childhood is marked by the outspoken strength of his parents and marred by their demise at the hands of racism. Without his parents, Malcom is adrift as a teen, futilely trying to make his mark in a high-paced world of hustling, drugs, and fear.
The scene with the song Forgotten Fruit sung by Billie Holiday is absolutely breathtaking and re-hooked me back into the story. Do yourself a favor and listen to the song.
"Malcolm Little’s parents have always told him that he can achieve anything, but from what he can tell, that's nothing but a pack of lies—after all, his father's been murdered, his mother's been taken away, and his dreams of becoming a lawyer have gotten him laughed out of school. There’s no point in trying, he figures, and lured by the nightlife of Boston and New York, he escapes into a world of fancy suits, jazz, girls, and reefer.
But Malcolm’s efforts to leave the past behind lead him into increasingly dangerous territory when what starts as some small-time hustling quickly spins out of control. Deep down, he knows that the freedom he’s found is only an illusion—and that he can't run forever.
X follows Malcolm from his childhood to his imprisonment for theft at age twenty, when he found the faith that would lead him to forge a new path and command a voice that still resonates today" (Goodreads review)
History: Harlem Renaissance, 1930s-1940s
First line: "Friends tell me trouble's coming."
A restless teen transforms into a man who changes history in this blend of fiction and nonfiction by Malcolm X's daughter. The unfolding of Malcom X's character is in-depth and organic without dragging, detailing the background story behind a great leader. I am fascinated by origin stories and I love the uniqueness this biography holds by being fictionalized. We experience his growth--and downfalls--as he does, with all the justifiable angst and uncertainty of a boy whose childhood is marked by the outspoken strength of his parents and marred by their demise at the hands of racism. Without his parents, Malcom is adrift as a teen, futilely trying to make his mark in a high-paced world of hustling, drugs, and fear.
The scene with the song Forgotten Fruit sung by Billie Holiday is absolutely breathtaking and re-hooked me back into the story. Do yourself a favor and listen to the song.
"Malcolm Little’s parents have always told him that he can achieve anything, but from what he can tell, that's nothing but a pack of lies—after all, his father's been murdered, his mother's been taken away, and his dreams of becoming a lawyer have gotten him laughed out of school. There’s no point in trying, he figures, and lured by the nightlife of Boston and New York, he escapes into a world of fancy suits, jazz, girls, and reefer.
But Malcolm’s efforts to leave the past behind lead him into increasingly dangerous territory when what starts as some small-time hustling quickly spins out of control. Deep down, he knows that the freedom he’s found is only an illusion—and that he can't run forever.
X follows Malcolm from his childhood to his imprisonment for theft at age twenty, when he found the faith that would lead him to forge a new path and command a voice that still resonates today" (Goodreads review)
Age: 4th-middle school
Animals: Gorillas, chimpanzees
Nonfiction: Collective Biography
It was neat to see the stories intersect at various points in time and see three distinct personalities strive for the same goal in diverging ways. But with all three characters, it was hard to know who was narrating because the only distinguishing factor was the font. The illustrations were bold and appealing, along the line of Telgemeier. Although I enjoyed the story, the brevity of it with three distinct leads made most of the story feel like a timeline of dates and events, feeling rushed at times.
Animals: Gorillas, chimpanzees
Nonfiction: Collective Biography
It was neat to see the stories intersect at various points in time and see three distinct personalities strive for the same goal in diverging ways. But with all three characters, it was hard to know who was narrating because the only distinguishing factor was the font. The illustrations were bold and appealing, along the line of Telgemeier. Although I enjoyed the story, the brevity of it with three distinct leads made most of the story feel like a timeline of dates and events, feeling rushed at times.
Age: Preschool-Kindergarten
Things That Go: Bicycle
Miller describes the way roads change as a metaphor for the roads of life and following along as the present takes you through a variety of different experiences. The story felt rather bland throughout but the ending has a really endearing offer that you can always follow the roads back home again.
Things That Go: Bicycle
Miller describes the way roads change as a metaphor for the roads of life and following along as the present takes you through a variety of different experiences. The story felt rather bland throughout but the ending has a really endearing offer that you can always follow the roads back home again.
Age: Precshool
Not much substance and Annabelle only imagines herself to be "beautiful" things but the illustrations are gorgeous and frou-frou kids will adore Florabelle's various imaginings of herself as a ballerina, a fairy, a queen, a rodeo star, and, finally, a mermaid.
Not much substance and Annabelle only imagines herself to be "beautiful" things but the illustrations are gorgeous and frou-frou kids will adore Florabelle's various imaginings of herself as a ballerina, a fairy, a queen, a rodeo star, and, finally, a mermaid.
Age: High School
Fantasy: Magical Realism
First lines: "I wake up. Immediately I have to figure out who I am."
The premise for this book is so unique and well executed that I was intrigued until the very end. This is a great book to recommend to teens that like fast moving reads. As every day passes in this book, A inhabits a new body and has been living like this his whole life, until one day he wakes up in the body of Justin and falls in love with Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon. This can prove complicated when A switches bodies the next day, but holds onto his interest in Rhiannon. Because of the fantastical elements, the romance felt fresh and brought to light some interesting questions regarding attraction and love. If the body of your significant other were to change every day--changing ethnicity, sex, physical appearance--would you still love them? How do you fall in love with them?
As a speculative fiction reader, the rules that Leviathan applied were believable and I went along with the restrictions that kept the plot grounded. That being said, I would not recommend this to a realistic fiction devotee, even though there are definite elements of realistic fiction.
Fantasy: Magical Realism
First lines: "I wake up. Immediately I have to figure out who I am."
The premise for this book is so unique and well executed that I was intrigued until the very end. This is a great book to recommend to teens that like fast moving reads. As every day passes in this book, A inhabits a new body and has been living like this his whole life, until one day he wakes up in the body of Justin and falls in love with Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon. This can prove complicated when A switches bodies the next day, but holds onto his interest in Rhiannon. Because of the fantastical elements, the romance felt fresh and brought to light some interesting questions regarding attraction and love. If the body of your significant other were to change every day--changing ethnicity, sex, physical appearance--would you still love them? How do you fall in love with them?
As a speculative fiction reader, the rules that Leviathan applied were believable and I went along with the restrictions that kept the plot grounded. That being said, I would not recommend this to a realistic fiction devotee, even though there are definite elements of realistic fiction.
Although it took me almost two months to get through this, Pollan provides an excellent investigation into the food industry, specifically corn, CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations), and organic farming. Although he puts light upon these business driven enterprises, Pollan spends an equal amount of time looking at positive ventures in food production including one particularly admiral farm that focuses on farming by linking all produce and animals to create a mutually beneficial ecosystem. Pollan focuses almost exclusively on individual stories and takes an investigative journalistic approach as opposed to a researcher's analysis.
Age: Preschool
Beatrix has a hard time containing her excitement, especially when she loves everything around her. Luckily for Beatrix, Mouse is always around to help her out of sticky situations. The story was rather cute but the dialogue felt choppy and emotionless. Even with this downside, kids will probably like the antics of Beatrix.
Beatrix has a hard time containing her excitement, especially when she loves everything around her. Luckily for Beatrix, Mouse is always around to help her out of sticky situations. The story was rather cute but the dialogue felt choppy and emotionless. Even with this downside, kids will probably like the antics of Beatrix.
Age: Preschool-Kindergarten
Family: Youngest sibling (of 4)
Henry is smothered by his family. With the most sincerest of love, mama, papa, Mem, and Sven love doing things for Henry.
Family: Youngest sibling (of 4)
Henry is smothered by his family. With the most sincerest of love, mama, papa, Mem, and Sven love doing things for Henry.
"If he hadn't gotten so big, he might never have known the feeling of the earth under his feet, they had carried him about so."This book deals with independence in the most lovely way. The family is not demonized and Henry does not come off as snotty. In the end, Henry does not have to be completely independent, especially when it makes him feel alone.
Age: Preschool-1st grade
A cute story about two friends finding a solution to one big problem: creating a hangout. The writing felt fine for a one-on-one reading but the storyline was very fast paced, feeling unbelievable at times (they made their tree house bigger, passed out invitations, and made food all in one day?). In the end, Freddy and Frito's guests ruin the tree house because there are no rules. The last page shows the two friends writing up their only rule. The sign reads "Freddy + Frito Rule!" but that's not only confusing but a waste of a good punchline ending. Shouldn't it have been "Freddy + Frito only"? Leaving a bit confused.
A cute story about two friends finding a solution to one big problem: creating a hangout. The writing felt fine for a one-on-one reading but the storyline was very fast paced, feeling unbelievable at times (they made their tree house bigger, passed out invitations, and made food all in one day?). In the end, Freddy and Frito's guests ruin the tree house because there are no rules. The last page shows the two friends writing up their only rule. The sign reads "Freddy + Frito Rule!" but that's not only confusing but a waste of a good punchline ending. Shouldn't it have been "Freddy + Frito only"? Leaving a bit confused.