The Red Blazer Girls: The Vanishing Violin by Michael Beil

I've been busy reading for our Mock Newbery and Mock Printz, but I had to take a break from the heavy reading (I'm looking at you Ship Breaker and Finnikin of the Rock) to have some fun.

I loved the debut Ring of Racamadour. Once again Sophie shines as our narrator and the friendship among the four 7th grade girls warms my heart.

This story contains not one, not two, but three mysteries! It begins right on the heels of the first book and there's a nice summary via a newspaper article to catch new readers up to speed.

A few convenient lucky breaks, but all in all a romp of a contemporary mystery. Sharpen your pencils and get ready for some puzzle solving fun with the girls. (Even the book design is fun!)

Read the first chapter and download the teacher's guide at Random House.

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

(Alison reviewed this one back in February).

The thing that impressed me most about this book was Delphine’s voice (what a voice!). Delphine had me on the very first page. I loved that we got all her inner dialogue that just told it like she saw it, because when she spoke aloud her thoughts were edited so that she could protect and guide her sisters. She’s a smart girl who is super observant of her environment and even when she didn’t fully understand all the undercurrents I was always confident that she would figure it out (along with a little help from Ms. Merriam Webster of course).

I really liked how race relations were handled in this book. You’ve got black/white, shown by interactions with the white people in the airport/the hippies/the shopkeeper in San Francisco. You’ve got black/asian shown by Mean Lady Ming and Hirohito and his mom. And you’ve got black/black shown by Big Ma’s/Papa’s perspective vs. the Black Panther’s views. It made for a really rich exploration that was both subtle and respectful. And it seemed as though it was very true to the time period that it was set in. That was a very turbulent and exciting time of change and it made for an excellent backdrop.

I loved how Williams-Garcia was able to weave the political into the story. Even though this is a historical fiction, I think it is completely relevant to modern-day kids. So many of the things that Delphine took away from her summer with the Black Panthers are still completely applicable today. Communities are stronger if they organize, the system doesn’t always have everyone’s best interests in mind, you can choose to support businesses that support the community, you should be proud of your heritage, and no one is a second class citizen.

The personal was also handled wonderfully. Delphine’s family is fractured. Her mom left shortly after the youngest of the three sisters was born and even though they are fairly happy well-adjusted girls there is definitely a hole in their lives. I found the way that Celine, their mother, was written to be incredibly interesting. This is no story of a heartwarming reunion where the mother regrets leaving them, which truthfully I was sort of expecting. Instead, when the moment of resolution comes, Delphine gets an understanding of her mother’s circumstances that is different and too much to handle. I liked that it made Delphine mad, that it was obvious to her that she deserved more, while it also helped her to accept her mother and her mother’s limitations. I thought it was powerful.

In short, I loved it. Great pick for our Mock Newbery.

=====================================

Book Source = Library Copy

House of Dolls by Francesca Lia Block and Barbara McClintock

When I heard Francesca Lia Block wrote a middle grade/juvenile book I immediately wanted to read it. Her magic-realism LA punk fairy contemporary fantasies don't have wide appeal, but those of us who get it sure do love it.

House of Dolls is an honest to goodness sweet little book. Barbara McClintock's fabulous illustrations are a welcome and wonderful bonus. There's a whimsical French feel to her drawings which adds to the fashion fabulousity of Block's living doll house tale. The book design is enough of a reason to pick the title up and give it a whirl and the page count barely reaches 61.

Madison Blackberry is a young girl who has everything but friends and affection from her parents. She inherited a fantastic doll house that belonged to her grandmother complete with a real bonsai tree, a lake (made from an old mirror), and trunkfulls of exquisite clothes for the 3 doll inhabitants. Madison is an unhappy girl and she reflects this unhappiness on her dolls. There's happiness in the end when the adults finally take notice of our Madison (with help from the dolls and grandma) and she in turn returns that happiness back to the dolls.

Block's usual themes of unconditional love and acceptance fill the story. Young girls who would rather take fashion advice from Tavi than what the Disney Channel churns out would make likely candidates for this book.

source: checked out from my library

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

This is how it is done people. This is how you write a dysptopia. Just the right amount of world building (what little he does goes a long way. It is remarkable), awesome characterization, tight writing with no padding, and the slang. I LOVE the slang. And I love the names. In fact I think it would be safe to say that I pretty much love everything about this book.

I thought I had written about this before, but I couldn't find my post so I must not have (edited to add: I wrote a lame haiku). I would've liked to compare my first impressions with my second read of the book. I know I really liked it the first time and I think I loved it even more when I finished it for the second time. I couldn't help but compare it to Finnikin which I just wrote about. In every way Ship Breaker put Finnikin to shame (and I say that while still liking Finnikin FYI). The writing in this is really spare and to the point and totally effective. We don't know much about the wider world where this story is set, but we don't need to. We know everything we need to know in order for this story to work, nothing extra. The violence is just as evident and in your face but somehow managed to avoid being graphic and over the top. The dialogue was totally believable and that dang slang...honestly, incredible. I think I'm going to tell people to crew up. We'll see how that goes over at the next staff meeting.

This is a future where people live on beaches making shacks out of anything they can scavenge. Category six hurricanes, or city killers, are common. People's work crews are everything. In Nailer's world you're either small enough for light crew or you better hope you're big enough to fight for a spot on heavy crew. Either way the window for work is small and you better be loyal and reliable and hard working. Trust is everything. Break a blood oath and you'll get a knife through your work tattoos marking you as an oath breaker.

There are environmental themes, this is very much a commentary on where our reliance on oil is going to lead us. Themes of class division, morals and humanity, family, loyalty, and some genetic engineering thrown in to round us out (I am dying to learn more about Tool).

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

First Impressions. I read this book again in anticipation of our Mock Printz.

Usually I write notes as I read, for some reason though, this time I guess I was feeling lazy because I waited until the end to write anything. I'm sure we'll all suffer because of that haha.

My first thoughts were basically about how dense this story is. To take a look at the book you might not think it was too long (it clocks in at around 400 pages which is nothing to snear at) but I swear by the time you're done you'll be convinced you read at least 800 pages. If not more. This sucker reads like a multi-volume epic. I mean there is just a lot of stuff going on in this book. I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way, but I did feel a bit like I had been put through the wringer.

This is probably the grittiest YA fantasy I have ever read. Think The Road for teens if The Road had a bit less baby eatin' and a bit more rape and pestilence with a sprinkle of hope mixed in (hey, both are journeys...hahaha..er). Honestly? The book is bleak. Now is this a bad thing? I don't think so. I thought it was a great strength of the novel. This is not a book to glorify violence, nor is it a book to shy away from showing the results of violence. At times that makes it a difficult read, but perhaps more worthy for that.

The dialogue was a bit meladramatic at times, a little flowery and the characters said things that I had a hard time believing would ever come out of anyone's mouth ever. But I'll tell you what, I knew what was going to happen this time and I still couldn't put it down.

Looking over my first review I still had a major "what the what?" moment when the narration cuts unexpectedly away from Finniken to Froi for one chapter. For 239 pages we've been clearly been following Finniken. Then for one single chapter we follow Froi. Talk about jarring. That part did not get better on the second read.

All in all though, this is a real good one.

========================================
Book Source: Personal Copy

Joanna and Patti Discuss...Mockingjay!

:::SPOILERIFIC CONVERSATION:::

:::SPOILERIFIC CONVERSATION:::

:::SPOILERIFIC CONVERSATION:::

:::SPOILERIFIC CONVERSATION:::

You've been warned! In red! That means it is a serious warning people.

Patti: Alright, so first impressions?

Joanna: First impressions! I thought there would be more fighting. Although I'm usually not an epilogue person, I liked this one.

Patti: oh really? I can't say I was expecting more fighting, but I wasn't not expecting that either. And really, I thought there was a good bit of it throughout the story

Joanna: There was a bit much Peeta/Gale inner-Katniss dialogue that irked me.I guess I thought we'd see more Katniss like we did in the games. It really only came out in the 3rd part. (fighting)

Patti: What I noticed first was how damaged Katniss was. She was a different Katniss. Darker, more skeptical. I found her to be completely believable. I liked her a lot.

Joanna: PTSD for sure. I liked how she was hiding out. She is still a kid.

Patti: Yes. And how all of the victors were suffering. It was intense.

Joanna: Right. Combat wounds. Other people just don't get it. Finnick really got me.

Patti: And how there is such a large distance between them (like they really know what is up) and between the districk 12/13 ians

Joanna: Elaborate.

Patti: The difference between how Gale and Katniss see Coin. How they react to every situation. The lack of empathy Gale shows compared to the incredible empathy that Katniss shows. One is willing to kill for a point and the other knows killing doesn't lead to much other than killing (even though she's willing to do it to survive)

Joanna: Right. I really liked seeing that about Gale. I liked how he balanced out Katniss's thoughts and made her really consider what was going on. I also started to realize that he isn't the match for her. He had very valid positions (knowing your enemy's weeknesses) but he was very "ends justify the means". Like a hunter?

Patti: Good point. But i think it was also just a forest for the trees thing. What kind of new world will you have if your leader is every bit as ruthless as the old one?

Joanna: Katniss has a great line when she and gale go to see Beetee and they talk about the hummingbirds - about how we're all acting in self-defense.

Patti: And if you buy into that mentality, if the ends justify the means then you're just going to be the world's new peacekeaper

Joanna: YES. YES. That is one of my favorite points of the series. They were becoming the thing they were rebelling against. When Coin mentioned putting Capitol kids in the Hunger Games I about lost it.

Patti: There were a lot of great lines in here. I really have been disheartened at some of the reactions to the book. I thought it was strong and well written. This is exactly where Collins has been heading. War is ugly and senseless and we lose ourselves.

Joanna: District 13 is so interesting.

Patti: Oh man the "new" hunger games was ruthless.

Joanna: And being careful with power. Having the Katnisses and Peetas of the world remind us what it costs.

Patti: District 13 was fascinating. So totalitarian. Every little thing balanced and weighed out. Which for survival is good, but to continue indefinitely? What does that do to free will? When does it stop being for your own good and for someone else's climb to power.

Joanna: Someone else's form of submission. Brilliant. They did what they needed to survive and to their credit they did. But then they got freaky!

Patti: Right! They took it too far. They could have entered the world and hunted again to supplement their diet. Why not? No more creativity.

Joanna: No privacy!

Patti: Everything driven and focused on revenge. Which to a point. Yeah, they needed to get Snow out of there. But they were losing their ability to be human.

Joanna: The design team in the dungeon being tortured! Hello! So do you think Plutarch knew?

Patti: And you know, anyone who will torture (like the prep team was tortured) not people you want to lead you. Great minds!

Joanna: :)

Patti: I think Plutarch knew. I'm sure it fit into his plan somehow. I don't think there wasn't much he missed and calibrated into what would make the best T.V. He was calculating. And I think he knew Katniss well. What motivation she needed. Plus, he has probably seen way worse, maybe it didn't seem to bad to him. Or maybe he didn't know! I don't know.

Joanna: It's something to think about. It's left open. And yeah, he is a weirdo. The traps in the city - sick sick man. There's another itchy creepy little plot - staging propaganda and televising everything. What is "news."

Patti: Yes. You know what really got me? Finnick talking about how he was basically a sex slave.

Joanna: Moving on!

Patti: That kicked me in the gut.

Joanna: Finnick. I love him. But again. Back to the horrors of war. And he was a kid.

Patti: How you're a slave to the capital before, you're a slave during, and a slave after, even when you're supposed to be "safe."

Joanna: Look at what is going on in Africa? Southeast Asia?

Patti: And safe in the only way you're allowed to be. Totally.

Joanna: Exactly. Winning isn't winning. So so creepy.

Patti: All ties back into her themes. Everything.

Joanna: It made me rethink every Tribute we've met. HAYMITCH.

Patti: Yes. It explains why they were all in the rebellion for sure.

Joanna: I wish there was more of him, but I guess his story is to be guessed at. Pieced together with stories from the other champions. Almost every character is not to be trusted at one point in the book.

Patti: Yeah, I could have done with more details. I could have done with more Haymitch period. He was fun and always added interesting perspectives.

Joanna: But the trick was to figure out who was still on your side.

Patti: I found it interesting that he went back to district 12 and then just lost himself in a bottle again. No moving on for Haymitch.

Joanna: I love that he never gave up on Katniss or Peeta.

Patti: True that. He did what he had to do, but tried to make up for it when he could.

Joanna: In my imagination... he was the grumpy old man next door to Peeta and Katniss.

Patti: Ha!

Joanna: Keeping some happy in there.

Patti: What did you think of Peeta's brain hijacking? There has been some discontent on that. I thought it was interesting.

Joanna: Oh, relay me the discontent. Not believable? I thought it was smart of her. I mean, Snow managed to put white roses out for Katniss. Evil knows no bounds.

Patti: I think some people thought it was convenient. Like she had to make up some sort of tension. I thought it was interesting. There is a quote on p. 232 that I loved. Basically they meet and talk and he dismisses her coldly and says, "you're a piece of work, aren't you." and she is PISSED. Angry and hatefull and she says. "It's almost too mortifying to admit. All those months of taking it for granted that Peeta thought I was wonderful are over. Finally, he can see me for who I really am. Violent. Distrustful. Manipulative. Deadly. And I hate him for it." Wowzer! Because she is all those things, she's been forced to become all those things. But in fact she has kept her humanity so that it isn't all that she is. I thought it was a real definative turning point in the story. She is going to EFF things up.

Joanna: I liked that it wasn't a hugs and kisses reunion. Peeta's been borderline cheesy when it comes to Katniss in the past. I liked that their reunion was violent and he had to relearn about her by remembering those things the capitol could not take from him. So much tension! When he went on the mission. Comedy when he went to eat dinner

Patti: Yes yes yes. He really is. And honestly, that gets old and pathetic. So I enjoyed him more in this one that I have before. Much more dynamic, more nuanced.

Joanna: And clearly effed up. He didn't seem as traumatized at Katniss after book 1 and 2. (He made Finnick and Annie's cake! Hilarious. And adorable.)

Patti: Totally. That was one of my favorite part. How damaged everyone is. So realistic. And like you said, how Collins manages to add in the humor. It was brilliant.

Joanna: There were an number of times that I had to remember that Katniss and Peeta are still teenagers.

Patti: So if we must touch on Team Peeta and Team Gale (and I think we must...lol), now seems like a good time to do it.

Joanna: Drum roll....

Patti: Ha! I think that portion also pissed off a lot of readers... you know the ones that were cracked in the head and thought this was some sort of Twilighty love story. It wasn't really a happy ending. It was an ending with moments, glimpses of happiness

Joanna: And total utter heartbreak. Epic heartbreak.

Patti: Epic. Unending.

Joanna: I was happy she was with Peeta because I realized that Gale is not her choice. Honestly, going in I really didn't have an opinion about either.

Patti: Me neither, and I really didn't think it was the point of the story. I think I agree with you that in this book we got more of it, and i wonder if it was just that Katniss had more downtime to think about it in her wanderings. I mean, she is like 16/17. Why does she need to have things figured out. How many people find their forever friend at that age?

Joanna: The saddest part about the ending for me was Katniss's mom (name?) distancing herself from her daughter. Broke. My. Heart.

Patti: You know, I didn't read it like that. I thought she just needed time. But I think you're right.

Joanna: Right, but it is a teen novel.

Patti: Oh! and that about Prim dying. Many people thought it was gratuitous.

Joanna: Everybody died.

Patti: I thought it was senseless and made sense. War = senseless.

Joanna: You can't like one character in her novels without the thought that he/she will get offed in some horrific way. Melting skin? Torn apart by zombie reptiles? Dart in the eye?

Patti: LOLOL

Joanna: Right.

Patti: Redunculous violence.

Joanna: Again. Finnick.

Patti: Poor Finnick.

Joanna: I do admit, and we have to discuss it, the parachute disaster was a lot for her to ask of us readers.

Patti: Parachute disaster?

Joanna: The children at the capitol.

Patti: OOOOHHHHHHH right.

Joanna: Plutarch and Gale and Beetee's involvement.

Patti: What did you think? That it was the rebels? I thought it was strongly implied.

Joanna: And that creepy encounter with Snow when it comes to us that holy crap everyone is insane. Doesn't Gale apologize to her in the epilogue?

Patti: (and that he laughed/choked himself to death on his blood...sick)

Joanna: Yeah, but he didn't get the end of Katniss's arrow!

Patti: Gale did apologize, but it was a "we'll never know for sure." bullstein type of apology.

Joanna: Keeps you thinking. Mark of a great story.

Patti: Honestly, I loved it. I thought it showed once again, that just because you're fighting against an evil, doesn't automatically give you the moral high ground. It is your actions and most importantly how you treat your enemies that does that. And I totally thought Coin did it inspired by Gale's weapon. And I don't think that is really why Gale and Katniss didn't stay "friends" or whatever. I thought it was Gale's lack of empathy. I think if he felt remorse it could have been different.

Joanna: Agreed. Gale and Katniss aren't the same people they were before. It's okay.

Patti: Totally ok. Did you think the parachute was over the top? too much?

Joanna: Honestly. Yes. And that it was children. Ugh.

Patti: Ha! And that might be why i was the opposite. I thought it was a fitting conclusion to Plutarch's last hunger games.

Joanna: Oh. Interesting.'

Patti: Why kill just 24 when you can kill a whole bunch more. And film it all for posterity.

Joanna: I was kind of sad Plutarch made it alive.

Patti: Yeah, his type should die. BOGGS!

Joanna: BOGGS!

Patti: Oh I loved Boggs. That was sadness tripled.

Joanna: Interesting guy. Made me think that knowing Katniss turned his thoughts. Or more likely got him to think about 13. And Coin.

Patti: A brand new District 13 ally. I think she did, but there was probably some seeds there before. Not everyone can drink the koolaid.

Joanna: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Patti: So what do you think? Where would you rate it between the three books? Best? Worst?

Joanna: Oh, I'm terrible at that. Er. I think it's hard to top 1.

Patti: The first is probably the best, or else none of us would have kept reading. But I thought it was probably one of the most powerful series closers that I have ever read.

Joanna: I was so grateful that it wasn't an 800 page ramble fest like Deathly Hallows. Cram it all in!

Patti: I thought it might have been even more breathless than the first. For one we get answers. Lots of tying up of plot points.

Joanna: But mysteries are what is great about the first one.

Patti: You know, I'm just going to say it I thought it was the strongest written of the three. The first was breathless and had me freaking out and I loved it, but this ending was so satisfying to me. She stayed totally true to the series, characters, everything. I loved it. Possibly even more than the Monsters of Men finale to the Chaos Walking Series.

Joanna: Oh! Strong words! It's very satisfying.

Patti: I know. My one complaint about Monsters of Men was the Mayor. He lived WAAAAYYYYY too long. It bored me a little. Just kill the MF already.

Joanna: As I read I always try to figure out what could happen and with these books it is almost impossible. She consistently pulls the rug out from under the reader.

Patti: Yes. Her plotting is impeccable. But I really do think her writing got stronger too.

Joanna: Agreed. You can't eff up this idea with lousy writing. Too important.

Patti: Maybe I could have dealt with a little less Katniss self reflection on her responsibility for so many people's deaths. Yes, Katniss I get it. But then I just remind myself that this entire series took place in like less than 2 years time. That is not a lot of time to process things. Not for an adult and especially not for a 16/17 year old kid.

Joanna: It also sets you up because there are way more deaths on the way. How is she going to handle that. When she was walking through District 12 at the beginning and saying "I killed you" to the bodies, that was brutal. But yeah, yeah she had a part in it.

===========================================

The part where the conversation turns to about other books....

Patti: Now for the finale to Skin Hunger... That is the only other series I'm anxiously awaiting a final book on. You?

Joanna: Interesting to make the connection between the two. And we will have to wait about 3 more years, right?

Patti: Probably. I hope not. But probably seeing as how she didn't seem to have the book plotted out. That was wild to find out.

Joanna: But she is good so one of those that will be worth the wait. Just hope that it doesn't become one of those "whoops, it's actually FOUR books!" and then that's a sign that it will stink.

Patti: lol

Joanna: Speaking of reading, I finally read Graceling. It was weird to read Katniss and Katsa next to each other. Both worried about being monsters.

Patti: Did you like?

Joanna: Yes. I'm curious about Fire. I'll have to get to that but my next book is Finnikin of the Rock. Went to get Ship Breaker but the librarian couldn't locate it in the library! Somebody stole it!

Patti: Alright, well it was lovely chatting with you!

Joanna: Yay! It was fun!