"We talked about other things, too. About how the town seemed to have come back to life. All the Remember When stories in the paper had folks talking about the way Manifest used to be. And all the fine memories they had. And how people used to take care of each other."
Reading this book made me yearn a bit for my childhood. In the very first chapter, Abilene jumps from the train that is taking her to her new town. She wants to see it 'before it sees her.' I've never jumped from a train, but back in the old days in the 70's there were only 4 TV channels and kids were made to play outside and find adventure on their own. I was blessed to have such a childhood, and Abilene's childhood summer made me remember that.
While Abilene's story is set in the 1930's, part of her adventure takes her into the past of 1917 and 1918 as well. Abilene is shipped off by train by her father to the town of Manifest, Kansas to live with Shady, one of the town's ministers. She attends the last day of school, makes a couple of friends, and discovers some letters and artifacts in her new home. She takes these discoveries to the town diviner, Miss Sadie, who tells her stories of the town's past, with two boys in particular being the stars.
This started out just to be an average read for me, but I liked it more and more as I read on. With old newspaper clippings from the 'Reporter About Town' interspersed throughout the book, and stories of drought, immigration, World War I, bootlegging, and the Spanish Flu, I could clearly imagine this book being turned into film. I can just see the dusty old town now. Recommended for MG and YA historical fiction fans.
Mistik Lake
by Martha Brooks is about a Canadian teenage girl who is trying to cope with a myriad of issues. One of Odella's parents struggles with alcoholism and abandons the family. Odella, the oldest of her siblings, tries to maintain order for the rest of her household while also dealing with the typical trials of the teenage years.
While I did enjoy certain aspects of the story, particularly the discussions on the characters' Icelandic heritage, I'm afraid this book suffers from what I call 'everything AND the kitchen sink' syndrome. With themes of guilt, identity, alcoholism, abandonment, and h*mos*xu*ality -- just to name a few, this book just had too much going on with the story in order for it not to feel a bit contrived. I just really believe that young adult novels, particularly short ones, are more effective when they deal with only one or two major issues. That is probably just a personal preference, though. Your mileage may vary.
The
Midwife's Apprentice
by Karen Cushman won the Newbery Medal in 1996. I listened to this one on audio, and the narrator did a fantastic job.
'Beetle' is an orphan girl who is a
midwife's apprentice
. All the difficult aspects of being poor in Medieval times are aptly described in the story. There is hard work with very little benefit for Beetle, but yet she knows she is lucky to have her job. She learns midwifery from the very difficult Jane but thankfully doesn't pick up Jane's more callous traits. There are some very graphic birth scenes. I didn't mind it as an adult who has had two children myself, but it may be a bit too much for very young kids. There are also some s*xual connotations in the book that were, to be fair, probably typical for the time period and setting.
One of the best things about this book is that Beetle (who later names herself more appropriately) finds her own inner strength and discovers what it is she wants out of life that is within her means. I really appreciated the book in that regard.
I guess there has been some controversy surrounding the book due to its more graphic content, but I think it is appropriate for 12 and up. I would encourage parents of younger children to read it first if unsure.
I refuse to apologize for completely loving this series. Pure, delightful, light-hearted fun. This one does have some serious subjects to it, but what I enjoy most about this series is that everything always turns out okay in the end. With all the heavy reading I do, it's nice to be able to 'take a breather' with the characters of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.
In
Morality for Beautiful Girls
, the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency faces a bit of a money crunch and considers relocating to J.L.B. Matekoni's garage. Meanwhile, some creative double duty assignments are also given to Mma Makutsi. Precious Ramotswe takes on a case of an important government official who believes his brother is being poisoned, and Mma Makutsi does an investigation for a beauty pageant official. I found this latter case to be absolutely hysterical. It actually bumped up the rating from a 4 to a 4.5.
I listened to this installment on audio CD and loved the narrator, Lisette Lecat, who was also the narrator for
Purple Hibiscus
. I plan on reading and/or listening to the entire series this year and am absolutely looking forward to it.
I'm sort of at a loss when it comes to writing about Toni Morrison's books. There's always that element of genius in her work -- I would say she's a very worthy Nobel laureate. Somehow, though, her books always make me very uncomfortable. I guess they're meant to do that. I always seem to absorb the emotions of the characters -- which normally is a good thing -- but oh, the depths of the emotions the characters experience! I probably did like
A Mercy
better than others I've read so far, though perhaps
Beloved
will still be considered her masterpiece.
This story takes place in the 1680's, in the wilds of a new America. Jacob is a man who disapproves of the slave trade yet makes concessions toward it. His wife Rebekka is a mail order bride from England, yet the two have a happy marriage. On their land they do have 'help' in the form of Lina, a Native-American, Sorrow, an orphan from the sea, and Florens, a slave girl given up by her mother whom Jacob takes as payment for a debt. Together they try to build a home for themselves, fighting against a harsh climate, disease, and inside and outside forces that seem bent on destruction.
With themes of racism, slavery, adventure, religion, and witchcraft,
A Mercy
is another brilliant work by a very brilliant author.
Hillary Jordan has written a very good debut novel that speaks on war, racism, marriage, and living off the land. The story is told by various narrators throughout the book. Henry and Laura are a white married couple who move to the Mississippi delta to raise cotton. Henry loves the land, but Laura misses city life and is deeply unhappy. She also has to live and deal with her racist father-in-law for the first time.
Hap and Florence are a black couple living on Henry's farm as renters. Hap is a preacher, while Florence is a midwife who also helps Laura with some of her housework. Their oldest child Ronsel is in the military and serving in Germany, and when he comes back, he has to adjust back to a way of life that he is no longer accustomed to. He does find a friend, however, in Jamie, Henry's younger brother. But, this doesn't sit well with Henry and Jamie's father, and trouble ensues.
This book all too painfully illustrates how much African-Americans have had to go through in this country. It does seem like the tide has changed with the historic election of our first black President, Barack Obama. I sincerely hope that this event will be the turning point in race relations in the United States.
(All along while reading this book, I was thinking it was going to receive a 4.5 rating, but then at the end something is stated by Jamie that I was deeply offended by, and I changed my rating to a 4. It didn't ruin the book for me, but I think a better choice of words should have been uilized to avoid offending some readers.)
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (
John 13:34-35
,
ESV
)
2011 Newbery Medal
Mistik Lake
The
Midwife's Apprentice
by Karen Cushman won the Newbery Medal in 1996. I listened to this one on audio, and the narrator did a fantastic job.
I'm sort of at a loss when it comes to writing about Toni Morrison's books. There's always that element of genius in her work -- I would say she's a very worthy Nobel laureate. Somehow, though, her books always make me very uncomfortable. I guess they're meant to do that. I always seem to absorb the emotions of the characters -- which normally is a good thing -- but oh, the depths of the emotions the characters experience! I probably did like
A Mercy
better than others I've read so far, though perhaps
Beloved
will still be considered her masterpiece.
Hillary Jordan has written a very good debut novel that speaks on war, racism, marriage, and living off the land. The story is told by various narrators throughout the book. Henry and Laura are a white married couple who move to the Mississippi delta to raise cotton. Henry loves the land, but Laura misses city life and is deeply unhappy. She also has to live and deal with her racist father-in-law for the first time.
