Book Review: Room Service
by Maren Stoffels
Pub Date: 29 Jun 2021
From NJ to AZ, from techbrarian to ioradical tutorial builder, and from living with my spouse to living with my spouse and my parents and a black poodle named Morty
Things I Learned from Falling
by Claire Nelson
Pub Date: 25 May 2021
read courtesy of http://netgalley.com
I love biographies. I really love well-written autobiographies. This is well-written, which is expected from someone who works as a writer in the field of journalism. Nelson's personal strength jumps off the page in stark contrast to the self-doubts so many of us feel, including Nelson. To confront face-to-face the "impostor syndrome" in such an extreme situation provides the lucky readers with an innocuous way to encounter their own feelings with having to drink their own urine.
There was only one section, midway through the story, that felt heavy and arduous to push through. The congruity is that this section described the depression that precipitated Nelson's self-exploration and eventual trek to the desert.
The part I personally related to the most was the thing that Nelson repeatedly said was the thing that made her the happiest, that was what she fought to live for - talking nonsense with friends. I cherish that, too, and can see why that was the thing worth holding onto hope for. It embodies belonging.
Violet & Daisy
by Sarah Miller
Pub Date: 27 Apr 2021
Read courtesy of http:///www.netgalley.com
I think Sarah Miller was successful in telling the story of Violet and Daisy Hilton because she got me to go to Amazon Prime and rent the movie "Freaks." I was interested in how Miller described Violet's and Daisy's participation and reaction to it and had to experience it for myself.
Miller made me interested in the Hilton sisters' world: their environment, their thoughts, their society. I felt like I was being told the truth about the psychology and sociology of the people and the times.
The exact thing that I appreciated about Miller's honesty with the facts is also the thing Miller could have achieved more honestly. Though she continuously announced the problems with the data and accounts that she used were subject to memory flaws and gaps in documentation, she also used the sensationalist prose like click bait. She pulled readers in by telling them the suppositions and misrepresentations and then revealed that some or all of what she just told you isn't true. If this is truly aimed at a young adult audience, then Miller's prose should help modern readers understand the sources of what they are about to read not provide what is titillating just to shoot it down.
rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Book Review:
Because He's Jeff Goldblum
by Travis M. Andrews
Pub Date: 04 May 2021
Read courtesy of http://netgalley.com
Jeff Goldblum is a nice guy. Jeff Goldblum is a nice guy. Jeff Goldblum is a nice guy. There, I've saved you the time from reading this book. Although.... the author did get me to watch a Jeff Goldblum movie of which I wasn't aware: 2008's "Adam Resurrected." The author did what he could with what he had to work with, which in essence is a self-proclaimed unauthorized biography of a really nice guy.
Book review:
Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance
by Nikki Grimes
Pub Date: 05 Jan 2021
Read Courtesy of http://netgalley.com
As an intriguing exercise in poetry, this volume hits the mark. I can't wait to show it to the teacher in my school who teaches poetry and runs the poetry club. Nikki's use of the "Golden Shovel" technique of writing poems using words from others' poems is something that will feel very accessible to our high school students. That being said, Nikki described the Golden Shovel technique as using each word chosen from one line of another's poem as the last word in a line of original poetry; it doesn't look like Nikki followed her own definition -- although it could be that by reading the book on a Kindle, I couldn't properly see the line breaks.
Regardless, introducing or reintroducing the poems of these women from the Harlem Renaissance is worth the publication in itself. Add Nikki's additions, and we benefit from time and perspective, culture and experience.
My intention of providing the next part of my review in a somewhat interpretive way is not to sway your own opinions of the poetry itself, but instead to provide the way I interpreted the collection as a teaching tool as much as a book of poetry. My favorite poem was Alice Dunbar-Nelson's "I Sit and Sew." It feels very "of a time." Nikki's corresponding poem, "Room for Dreams," makes for an interesting comparison of the culture of a time. I felt the same parallel of a universal theme moving across time with Clarissa Scott Delany's "Joy" and Nikki's Leah's "Reunion." On the other hand, I perceived the pairing of Gertrude Parthenia McBrown's "Jehovah's Gesture" as an opposite to Nikki's "Judgment." Nikki even says in the introduction that her challenge was to make sense of and not just be derivative of the original poet's words. There are a few poem pairs that are a bit too similar, but is that really a problem? A shared experience doesn't lessen the experience for any individual. Plus, it's as interesting to see the similarities of culture in spite of the passing of time as it is to experience the opposites that arise from the same words used in different ways.
One of the beautiful poems included in this collection is Effie Lee Newsome's "The Bronze Legacy (to a Brown Boy)." In this case, Nikki's corresponding poem did not augment or improve upon the original one. I felt the same about "Prelude" by Lucy Ariel Williams; Nikki's "Slow Burn" felt too derivative.
Given the modern push toward PC language, I found "Advice" by Gwendolyn Bennett and Nikki's "Brown Poems" to reveal the irony of either choosing pale words to write dark poems or using the brown way of saying what the pale one said. That, and the push for PC isn't so modern.
Structurally, I understand why this would first be a book of poetry and then a contextual history volume. However, for many of us, the poems out-of-context from the poet leave gaps in the ability to relate, interpret, or visualize the context of the poem. To that I'd suggest introducing each poem set with the biography of the poet rather than grouping the biographies at the end. Including the index is a real plus for making this book a useful teaching tool.
This is 4 ⭐ as a teaching tool, 3 ⭐ as a book of poetry.
Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town
by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
Pub Date 20 Apr 2021
read courtesy of http://www.netgalley.com
The Murder Game
by Carrie Doyle
Pub Date 06 Apr 2021
Read courtesy of http://netgalley.com
The cover pulled me in; bummer, it was misleading. There was neither a game nor were there thirteen murders. Although, there may have been thirteen suspects; I didn't count.
The story is a typical YA whodunit complete with teens who think they can solve a murder better and faster than law enforcement can. The adults were caricatures of stereotypical school-employed adults: the stern one, the buddy-buddy one, the crazy one, the immature one, the rule-follower, the rule-breaker, etc. Not only that, but the adults were way too free-spoken with the students in discussing an open murder investigation. Granted, it was a residential private school and not a public school, so teachers and students would have closer relationships there, but still, multiple teachers crossed the line on too many occasions to maintain a believable setting. Similarly, too often the adults accepted a teen character's brush-off answer to a direct question.
The author creates plenty of red herrings to keep the readers guessing. Unfortunately, the book's plot feels a little lopsided; the build-up was overbuilt and long, and the revelation was abrupt and short. I probably will get this book for my high school students because I don't know if they will be as critical as I was about the trite hero-teen-knows-more-than-lame-adults genre. It's a genre for a reason. ⭐⭐⭐
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A few things included in the story distracted me from just letting the story flow over me. These aren't spoiler alerts, but if you think you'll get them stuck in your head and interrupt your ability to read the story, too, then don't read this paragraph. Luke put both hands on a Pippa's face to kiss her after he just said his hands were most likely bleeding (ew); Luke was racing against time to catch the killer who was probably attacking his next victim, but Luke took the time to wait at a traffic light before crossing the street; and we never do find out what the motel clerk was going to tell Luke about the mysterious customer he was trying to identify.
Notes from a Young Black Chef (Adapted for Young Adults)
by Kwame Onwuachi
Pub Date: 13 Apr 2021
Read courtesy of http://netgalley.com
Kwame Onwuachi had an unusual amount of changes and chances in his life; some he could control, and others were beyond his control. But he used resilience and ambition to find his way from the streets to the sweets to the beets and meats, and his story is a wonderful example for young people to read about someone who chose not to be a victim of his circumstances.
As an easily accessible read for teens, this adapted version of Notes from a Young Black Chef is a well-told story. The book describes the racism Onwuachi endured with the same grace as he endured it. He was upfront about it and demonstrated a life that rose above the ignorance and didn't succumb to being a victim.
This memoir is being turned into a movie: https://dcist.com/story/19/07/16/kwame-onwuachis-memoir-is-being-made-into-a-movie/
He is also joining Bravo’s Top Chef as a judge to be aired in 2021: https://dcist.com/story/20/09/28/kwame-onwuachi-judge-top-chef/
Book Review:
Jelly
by Clare Rees
Pub Date: 18 May 2021
Read courtesy of http://netgalley.com
Mash up "Moby Dick," "Life of Pi," "Lord of the Flies," "The Phantom Tollbooth," and James Thurber's humor, and you'd have "Jelly." I was drawn to the story because of the ridiculousness of the characters' situation and wanted to know how it would all turn out (though, I wouldn't rule out a sequel).
The characters weren't fully-realized people; we're provided just enough description to keep them from being mixed up with each other, which was OK because the characters weren't 'the story.' Their predicament was 'the story.' Imagine being a survivor of a catastrophic event but finding yourself existing on a humongous jellyfish. Intriguing, right? Of course! The tale of their survival - how they lived, what they ate, what their shelter was, what they wore - all made for a great story.
The only thing I might caution to those who are squeamish about animal cruelty is the way the survivors treated their lifeboat jellyfish, which was rather cruelly. However, given that the jellyfish wouldn't allow them to leave its back, one could understand why the survivors reciprocated with torturous acts.
The reader is never told how the survivors initially ended up on the back of a jellyfish, and at the end of the story, we are left to imagine what the survivors next adventure might be. This tale requires two good imaginations, one from the author ✅ and one from the reader ✅.
SPOILER ALERT: The last paragraph here will list my thoughts regarding the ending, so you've been forewarned not to read the last paragraph if you don't want the Storys to be spoiled.
SPOILER ALERT: Next is the last paragraph where I will list my thoughts regarding the ending, so you've been forewarned not to read this next paragraph if you don't want the Storys to be spoiled.
by Sarah Crossan
Pub Date: 14 Jul 2020
Read courtesy of NetGalley.com
I didn't know what to expect; I didn't expect a verse novel. So because of the online format in which I began to read it, I didn't catch on the the verse novel's format at first, which added to the disconnected, choppy storytelling I thought I was experiencing. Once I caught on, it became a really fast, emotional read. However, I still don't know who Marla's Toffee is.
Although this wasn't meant to be fantasy, I had to suspend disbelief that Allison could be a squatter in an occupied house without someone calling her out. Although Marla had dementia, others coming and going didn't. In spite of this, I liked Allison, and I liked who she was when she was with Marla. Allison's past didn't ruin her; it made her empathetic.
I agree with other reviewers that the verse novel format served the story well; it reflected both broken characters' trying to understand the world and each other.
.... Hang on... I'm going to read the story again; no, seriously. I can't decide where on the scale of "stars" I'd place this book. Hum the Jeopardy tune a few times... I'll BRB.
OK, I'm back. Thanks for waiting. You can stop humming now.
The writing is lyrical, and I still love Allison/Toffee and Marla. It's the other characters that get in the way. Not so much the other teens, but the adults. Though I guess they are meant to get in the way. Like some movies, I guess this is a story one could read over-and-over and still find something new to discover and discuss. I like that about it. But I know better who Toffee is now, and this just confuses me more. I might have to go for a third read... You don't have to wait around this time. Oh, yeh, I forgot to tell you... I gave it 4 ****
Savannah would absolutely lose her shit if I told her that I'd slept over at some guy's place. That he was offering me coffee now. It seems like a very grown-up thing. To be offered coffee in the morning by a stranger.That resonated with me as something a 9th grader would absolutely feel.
There was an awkward silence, and then they laughed. They tried not to talk too much about the time after the plane crash - he parents told themselves a story abut it, that they'd been in a rush to get to civilization, but Emily could tell they only partially believed it, and that the best way for them to reconcile the events with the kind of people they understood themselves to be was to not think about it.To be fair, there were some positives. The author obviously took a great deal of thought into making Aidan's character's abilities consistent and plausible. That's a real plus, since the story wouldn't have worked at all without this being tight and dependable. I was also pleasantly surprised at how clever the author had Emily be at the end with the man in the gray suit, playing like she knew as much as her parents did about the events that occurred.