Alice
writes: I truly can’t keep up with
the volume of books pouring into the store
each day. Just when I think I’m beginning
to catch up, one of my favorite authors
decides it’s time to deliver another. Whew!
I love Jane Hamilton, author of The
Book of Ruth (0385265700) 
and
A Map of the World (0385720106),
and it has been a while since she’s written
anything. Her new novel, When Madeline
Was Young (0385516711),
is told through the eyes of Mac, a middle-aged
physician reflecting on his childhood. Raised
in suburban Chicago on the eve of the Vietnam
War, he grew up under unusual circumstances.
His father’s first wife, Madeline, lived
with them. Madeline was in a bike accident
shortly after marrying, and as a result,
lived out the rest of her days with the
mental capacity of a seven-year-old. Alternating
between past and present, Hamilton again
renders a portrait of familial relationships,
this time highlighting the cost of war to
different generations of relatives.
She analyzes memory, love, sacrifice and
guilt through a variety of lenses.
Lynne
Cox’s Grayson (0307264548)
takes place during one afternoon when the
author was training for a long distance
swim. When a baby gray whale begins to follow
her, she realizes that if she swims to shore,
the baby whale will surely die, so she begins
the risky search for “Grayson’s” mother.
Like a parable, this short memoir is an
ode to the natural world, the wonder around
us and the ways in which the earth can give
us valuable lessons each day.
John Grogan, the author of Marley and
Me (0060817089),
said that her book is a “moving and memorable
story, filled with dramatic tension and
loving descriptions of the sea and all the
wondrous creatures it holds. Grayson
is a celebration of the natural world in
all its glory, and the deep and lasting
effect it can have on us humans if only
we pause to notice.”
Bill
Bryson has written a riotous memoir
about growing up in Des Moines in the 1950s,
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt
Kid (076791936X).
I am fascinated by this era in history,
and Bryson brings the decade to life. This
is a personal story—about his working mother
who was a hazard in the kitchen and his
cheap father, the best baseball reporter
that ever lived; about his friends and community.
The book is more a wash of memories than
a cohesive narrative, but it is held together
by his humor. He convincingly and compellingly
describes a time in history that is marked
by optimism, hope and new discoveries but
is also stained by the dawn of nuclear arms,
flagrant racism and a rampant fear of communism.
Next
up for book group, on Tuesday, October
10th from 7-8 p.m., we will
discuss Azadeh Moaveni’s Lipstick
Jihad (1586483781).
Subtitled “Growing Up Iranian in America
and American in Iran,” it is a memoir of
a young woman who was raised in California
by an Iranian mother and, after graduating
from college, moved to Tehran to report
for Time. As a child, she was a typical
American girl who listened to Madonna and
was embarrassed by her mother. She grappled
with her ethnic identity, trying hard to
ignore the warring cultures of her upbringing.
Her tenure at the magazine starts with the
1999 pro-democracy student demonstrations
and ends with Bush’s famed speech about
the “Axis of Evil.” As a reporter, Moaveni
moves the readers well through the history
and political climate of Tehran, but she
also explores her experiences there on a
much more personal level. Her description
of feeling like a foreigner (in both Iran
and America) is both credible and compelling
as she describes the customs, taboos and
rules of a nation discussed frequently in
American news.
Dede
writes: The Right Attitude
to Rain (0375423001)
by Alexander McCall Smith is the
third novel in his Isabel Dalhousie series.
Right away, the reader is transported to
a rainy, misty summer in Edinburgh and the
ongoing philosophical musings of Isabel,
editor of the Review of Applied Ethics.
When she falls in love, Isabel overthinks
the situation. Her older American cousin
tells her, “Just for a moment remember that
first you are a woman, then, second, you’re
a philosopher. Can you do that, do you think?”
In answer to Isabel's question, “Novels
have nothing to do with real life?” Cousin
Mimi says another wise thing, “Very little.
And that’s what makes them such fun.”
Under
Orders (0339154000)
by Dick Francis is a treat. This
is his first thriller since his beloved
wife (who was his research assistant) died
in 2000, and he has not lost his touch!
Legendary steeplechase jockey Sid Halley
retired when he lost his hand in a racing
accident and now is much respected as a
private investigator for business and industry.
Evil still lurks in the halls of money and
power, and Sid is still tough and unafraid
until the villains go after the love of
his life. This look at internet gambling
will make you think twice about online poker!
Francis’ love of horses and racing has not
diminished and comes through with all the
color and excitement one could wish for.
FROM THE CHILDREN’S ROOM:
Pat
writes: Released just in time for
Halloween, Maurice Sendak fans—young
and old—will enjoy MOMMY?
(0439880505),
his first pop-up book. Reminiscent of Max
from Where the Wild Things Are (0064431789),
a pajama clad toddler wanders through a
spooky house encountering one monster after
another in search of his mommy. Each page
is filled with wonderful three-dimensional
pop-outs of scary creatures, characters
like Frankenstein, who don’t seem to frighten
the boy as he cries out for his mommy in
each scene. Perfect for Halloween, this
book is not for the very young.
Helping
a child learn about the seasons is wonderfully
done with the series Seasons, by
Barron’s publishers. In Fall
(0764127292),
Nuria Roca introduces readers to
autumn by explaining about the end of summer
vacations, the opening of school and cooler
days. Addressing birds flying south, wearing
warmer clothes and days becoming shorter,
it is a nice yet simple explanation of the
fall, ending with crafts and activities
for children to do.
Just
in time for apple picking season comes a
colorfully illustrated book about a class
trip to Farmer Sam’s apple orchard: Tucker’s
Apple-Dandy Day (0060546468)
by Susan Winget. Tucker is excited
to go apple picking so that his mom can
make an apple pie for the family dinner.
Arriving at the farm, Tucker finds that
there are many things to see, but after
lending a hand to his classmates, he has
no apples to take home. Because he was such
a good friend and helper, his friends all
share what they had, and Tucker is able
to take home his apples and make a pie with
mom. A nice read aloud story for preschoolers,
this picture book provides a good example
of helping and sharing with one another.
Marilyn
writes: Student reviewer Stephanie
S., aged 12, tells us that Notes from
the Midnight Driver (0439757797)
by Jordan Sonnenblick was “highly
amusing! Alan’s parents are divorced, and
his father started dating his 3rd
grade teacher. So when Alex’s mom goes on
her first date, he thinks the best thing
to do is get drunk and drive, without a
license, to his dad’s house. Unfortunately
he doesn’t get very far and crashes. So
not only does he wind up in the hospital,
but he has to do community service because
everything he did was illegal. He ends up
partnered with an unusual old man and, along
with his best friend Laurie, learns a lot
about life and yiddish. I really liked this
book.” Recommended for middle school readers.
Alexandra
H., aged 10, in her first review for us,
writes that Horns and Wrinkles
(0618616799)
by Joseph Helgerson “is a very interesting
book, full of surprising twists. I think
anyone between the ages of 9-12 would like
it. If you have read books like Hatching
Magic and The Dragon of Never-Was,
you would really like this book. I really
liked the ending, but you have to read the
book to find out why. I highly recommend
this book!” Set along a magical stretch
of the Mississippi River, the story involves
a brave girl, a bullying cousin, blue-winged
fairies and trolls. Recommended for ages
9 and up.
Julia
F., aged 12, and Thalia, aged 10, both enjoyed
Babymouse Rock Star (0375832327)
by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew
Holm. Julia writes, “The story is about
how Babymouse really wants to play the flute
well, but she just can’t. Last concert,
she was last chair and wasn’t seen. Will
Babymouse be able to bump herself up to
first chair? I really liked it because it
is about real life experiences.” The Babymouse
graphic novels are lots of fun, recommended
for ages 8 and up.
Writing
about The Looking Glass Wars
(0803731531)
by Frank Beddor, Alyssa, aged 13,
says, “When you read this book, don’t expect
another version of Alice in Wonderland.
Looking Glass Wars, which sets out
to tell the ‘truth’ of Alyss of Heart’s
story, seems like a cross between The
Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles
and Lord of the Rings. If
at first Alyss’ world seems too different,
keep reading because you’ll like the book.
After the original disorientation, you’ll
get used to card soldiers, Hatter Madigan,
and Checkerboard Deserts and become enchanted
with Alyss’ dangerous and adventurous quest.
The book is more adventure and fantasy than
a cute story, so boys and girls both find
it a cool read. I’d recommend it not as
a twist on a classic but a novel of its
own.” Recommended for ages 12 and up.
Judy
H. writes: I
highly recommend The Boy in the Striped
Pajamas (0385751060)
by John Boyne, a powerful novel about
the Holocaust for middle and high school
readers. The novel’s protagonist is
Bruno, an innocent and naive 9-year-old
German boy whose world is being turned upside
down by his family’s move from Berlin to
a place he calls Out-With. At Out-With,
his father’s boss, the Fury, visits his
family, and Bruno makes friends with a boy
his age, Schmuel, who is dressed in striped
pajamas and lives inside a fenced area with
other children and adults. Bruno visits
Schmuel at the fence often, and neither
child understands the horror and injustice
of the situation. The horror of the Holocaust
is powerfully staged in this novel as the
author infers the significance of the fence,
leaving the reader to consider other fences
that separate people in our lives.
Set in Milan during the height of the Renaissance,
Christopher Grey’s Leonardo’s
Shadow (141690543X)
is the fictionalized account of Giacomo,
the young servant and apprentice of Leonardo
DaVinci. The book explores the tension
and bickering between the Duke of Milan
and DaVinci over his most celebrated work,
“The Last Supper.” Grey creates a plausible
story about whom the models were for this
famous masterpiece and how they were chosen.
This is an entertaining read for a middle
school reader who enjoys historical fiction.
