Written by: Jennifer L. Holm
Thursday, February 29, 2024
The Fourteenth Goldfish
Posted by Dragon at 12:40 AM 0 rave reviews
Labels: adolescents, aging, family, fiction, science, speculative
Monday, February 26, 2024
The Mysteries
Written by: Bill Watterson and John Kascht
First line: Long ago, the forest was dark and deep.
Why you should read this book: With its haunting illustrations and surreal text, it's an allegory about the fear of the unknown, and the respect this fear properly inspires, and the consequences of familiarity replacing that respect with contempt. I think. The main reason to read it is probably the fact that it was written by one of the most popular comic strip artists of the late eighties/early nineties.
Why you shouldn't read this book: Despite appearances, this isn't a kids' book; I'm not really sure what its intended audience is, except for "people who were sad that Bill Watterson stopped drawing Calvin and Hobbes.
The Whole Story of Half a Girl
Written by: Veera Hianandani
First line: I'm in school, sitting with my hair hanging long down the back of my chair, my arm around my best friend, Sam.
Why you should read this book: Sonia's father is Indian and her mother is Jewish, but until her dad lost his job and she had to transfer from her fun, hippie school to a public school, she never even thought about her ethnic identity, let alone questions of class and who to sit with at lunch. Now she's torn between the popular cheerleaders who don't understand her, and the kids who might understand her but aren't cool, while mourning the loss of her old relationships. And all this becomes meaningless when her father's mental health becomes the focus of her entire life.
Why you shouldn't read this book: For a middle grade novel, it tackles numerous difficult issues.
Posted by Dragon at 8:09 PM 0 rave reviews
Labels: education, fiction, health, identity, kids, novel, psychology, school
Monday, January 29, 2024
Ryokan: Zen Monk-Poet of Japan
Translated by: Burton Watson
First line: Though travels/take me to/a different stopping place each night/the dream I dream is always/that same one of home
Why you should read this book: It's a curated collection of the poetry of the late 18th/early 19th century Zen monk Ryokan, including the three Japanese forms of waka, sedoka, and choka, along with a selection of his Chinese kanshi, all beautifully rendered into English that evokes the complex simplicity of the subject matter. These poems tend toward observations of the natural world (often focused on seasonal changes or animla behaviors), musings on his own life as an ascetic who begs for his meals and also likes to play ball with the village boys, and his thoughts on the people and world he knows, including his memories of the past. Reading these poems may perhaps offer the reader an understanding of the unspoken ideals of Zen Buddhism, or at least Ryokan's particular take on his beliefs.
Why you shouldn't read this book: If you were next in line for a position of power, you'd take it.
Big Tree
Written by: Brian Selnick
First line: "Hello, stars."
Why you should read this book: It's the rare story told almost completely from the point of view of plants, and not just any plants: the main characters are two prehistoric sycamore seeds, desperate seeking a safe place to set down and grow roots before all their fluff falls off and they can't travel anymore. Merwin is the cautious realist who seeks to protect his impetuous dreamer sister Louise as they escape a forest fire, journey beneath the waves, and travel by butterfly, among other adventures. Is Louise communing with an ancient power, or does she just have a vivid imagination, and will her visions help them find a place to grow, and help fulfill a bigger destiny than any sycamore seed has ever imagined?
Why you shouldn't read this book: Other than the art style, it doesn't have much in common with Hugo Cabret.
The One and Only Ruby
Written by: Katherine Applegate
First line: Nobody ever listens to the littlest elephant.
Why you should read this book: The third in what appears to be a trilogy, this book tells the story of little Ruby's Tusk Day (a special elephant holiday for a young elephant coming of age) and her anxiety in the days leading up to it. Although Ruby lives a safe and comfortable life in the park with a herd of loving elephant matriarchs, her gorilla uncle, Ivan, and her dog uncle, Bob, she still suffers from the unresolved trauma of the things she saw in Africa in her earliest memories. Although she trusts all her family, it's difficult for her to put into words her complicated feelings about her tusks, and the plight of elephants, and the sorrow of her past, but until she can share her truth, she's always going to be scared.
Why you shouldn't read this book: It's not as good as the first one, although it's better than the second one.
Posted by Dragon at 4:44 PM 0 rave reviews
Labels: animals, fiction, novel, psychology
Jane Morris and Me: Learning to Listen
Written by: Jane Herlihy
First line: It is over. In the love of his friends -- not all, but some of his closest.
Why you should read this book: While recovering from a horrific case of Dengue fever, the author becomes fascinated with the Victorian artist's model Jane Morris, darling of the pre-Raphaelites, and the ways that women's stories are so often dictated by men who have no inkling of their rich inner lives, and begins to write a meticulously researched diary revealing a very different Janey than the one described by the artists who painted her. From there, the project blossoms into an examination of disability and illness, sitting quietly with information and waiting for understanding, opening oneself up to the freedom and possibility of the creative life, and grappling with permanent change, among other issues. This fascinating work of creative nonfiction is both biography and autobiography, nonfiction and historical fiction, traditional and feminist, and one hundred percent art.
Why you shouldn't read this book: You've happily devoted your life to the care of invalid relatives, despite being something of an invalid yourself.
Posted by Dragon at 4:38 PM 0 rave reviews
Labels: art, creativity, historical fiction, memoir, non-fiction, women
Sunday, December 31, 2023
Year in Review: 2023, the Year I Forgot to Read
Every year I vow to review 100 books, but this was the year I failed most abysmally. Part of it was my health: I was sick in bed for almost the entire month of February, and then again for almost an entire month between November and December. But there's no excuse for the summer, when I pretty much just fell into my phone. I'm even 3 weeks late writing this post, but I'm going to back date it so it looks like I wrote it on New Year's Eve.
Anyway, here's my sad little list.
Dragon's Reading Year in Review
Picture books: 16
Middle grade/YA: 2
Nonfiction: 3
Graphic novels: 13
Memoir: 1
Novels: 4
Poetry: 1
Short story collection: 1
Total books reviewed: 41
I'm going to do better this year!
Posted by Dragon at 6:47 PM 0 rave reviews
Labels: year in review
Thursday, November 23, 2023
Invisible
Written by: Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Gabriella Epstein
First line: I came as soon as I heard.
Why you should read this book: When the principal insists that Jorge "George" Rivera agree to community service hours "with students like you" so the school can win an award, he assumes that means working with the other gifted kids, not cleaning the cafeteria with the Spanish-speaking students who already think he's a gringo. Despite the principal's blithe categorization, the five members of this breakfast club seem to have nothing in common, until they bond over the common cause of helping a mother and daughter living in a car across the street from the school. Each child has their own secrets, fears, strengths, and weaknesses, but they all find that they're willing to risk punishment in order to do what they know is right.
Why you shouldn't read this book: You only talk to people who share you exact ethnic background and financial circumstances.
Posted by Dragon at 2:21 PM 0 rave reviews
Labels: children, fiction, friends, friendship, identity, language, morality
Squished
Written by: Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter
First line: Welcome to beautiful Hickory Valley, Maryland...home to my family, the Lees.
Why you should read this book: Avery Annie Lee already has a rough time being the second-oldest child (and oldest girl) of seven siblings, but when her parents inform her that they're moving her toddler brother into the room she already shares with her sister (who plays multiple instruments badly and practices constantly in their room) because her older brother is "having a hard time," it really throws a wrench into the gears of her carefully-thought out plan to finally have her own space. Her next plan, to earn enough money to transform the basement, seems doomed, and all the while, she still has to deal with the trials of taking care of five younger siblings and all the tribulations of moving from elementary school to middle school. As Avery considers the emotions of the people around her carefully, she starts to feel less squished, and to see more possibilities in the world.
Why you shouldn't read this book: You're morally opposed to large families.
Posted by Dragon at 2:11 PM 0 rave reviews
Labels: children, family, fiction, graphic novel