Saturday, November 28, 2020

Book review: Because He's Jeff Goldblum

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

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.


Book Review: Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town

Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town

by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

Pub Date 20 Apr 2021 

read courtesy of http://www.netgalley.com

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Book Review: The Murder Game

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.

Saturday, November 21, 2020

Book Review: What Beauty There Is



What Beauty There Is
by Cory Anderson
Pub Date: 06 Apr 2021
read courtesy of http://www.netgalley.com

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I couldn't put this book down. The author told a unique tale with interesting details that I've never read anywhere else. It was refreshing to be surprised and engrossed in spite of the somber subjects. The multiple threads of the story are tightly and expertly wound together. The characters have distinct and believable personalities. The setting was described with chilling results (pun intended.) Even the style of writing, which was quite accessible, had layers of nuance depending on which character was speaking or being spoken about. [Not a spoiler alert, but... I finished the book a few hours ago, and it took me until I started writing this to realize why each chapter was written in two different fonts. So cool!]

An aside that I don't think too many YAs would perceive, but the characters of Doyle and Midge reminded me of the law enforcement characters from the movie "Fargo." It's a testament to the author's writing ability to get a regional accent and speech pattern so right in writing as opposed to an aural medium.  

You'll have to excuse me... I think I'm going to go re-read the story now.


Sunday, November 15, 2020

Book Review: Notes from a Young Black Chef (Adapted for Young Adults)

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/