Good Books (Reviews by San Diego City Librarians)
I will be reviewing new books as much as possible, and we will also have guest reviews by my colleagues, other Librarians in San Diego.
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lmcnabb said,
January 26, 2008 at 10:06 pm
“The White Darkness”, by Geraldine McCaughrean
This book just won the 2008 Printz Award (excellence in literature written for young adults).
I loved this book! It totally sucked me into main character Sym’s bizarre travels in Antarctica. The story is mysterious, creepy, and very unique. You will feel yourself in the frozen landscape and Sym’s thoughts. Read this book if you are looking for something new. If you are not a fan of the bizarre and strange, look elsewhere.
lmcnabb said,
January 26, 2008 at 10:09 pm
“The Invention of Hugo Cabret”, by Brian Selznick
This book won the 2008 Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children. Usually the award goes to a “true picture book”, a book meant for preschool children. This book is best for Grades 4 and up. I would also include adults, since I loved this book. Fans of graphic novels and manga will also love this book for the incredible illustrations, which really tell the story. The story is a mystery, and you will be surprised with the ending. I recommend this book to all readers.
lmcnabb said,
February 5, 2008 at 2:52 am
“Repossessed”, by A.M. Jenkins
I was surprised to learn that A.M. stands for Amanda McRaney, since this seemed like such a “guy” book to me, I figured the author was a guy! This book is a 2008 Printz Honor winner, which I am not sure I agree with. It was a quick and amusing read, but not very memorable. The premise is that a fallen angel (one of Hell’s overseers) becomes bored with his job, and decides to take over a human’s body to experience life. He chooses a teenage boy, so of course he becomes obsessed with bodily functions. I would recommend this book to older readers looking for a short and funny read.
lmcnabb said,
February 5, 2008 at 2:58 am
“The Girl Who Stopped Swimming”, by Joshilyn Jackson
This book is due to be published in March 2008. This book is one of those “crossover” books originally written for adults, but popular with teens. It reminds me of Alice Sebold’s “The Lovely Bones”. Both stories are about murders of young girls, and both are for more mature readers. There is an intriguing mystery in this book that will have you guessing all the way until the last few pages. Full of suspense!
emagbanua said,
February 6, 2008 at 7:34 pm
”’We are the Ship”’ by Kadir Nelson
San Diego artist & author Kadir Nelson recently won a Caldecott Honor for ”Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom”. He wrote and illustrated this fantastic book about the Negro Leagues. The chapters are separated into innings 1 through 9, plus an extra innings chapter at the end. Nelson writes the chapters via a first-person fictional narrative that works so well that he gets you believing that an actual baseball player is writing it. But let’s not kid ourselves here: the heart of this book is in Mr. Nelson’s incredible paintings that richly adorn the pages. These unforgettable images of the great Negro League baseball players are both haunting & inspirational. They transport you to another era and immerse you in the world of baseball. If you love art or if you love baseball (or both!) check it out now. (Erwin, City Heights Library)
emagbanua said,
February 6, 2008 at 8:03 pm
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon
This book was published in 2004, but I thought I’d mention it here because I listened to the audiobook version recently and it won me over again. This is the story of 15 year-old Christopher, an extraordinarily gifted boy who is autistic, and the bizarre mystery he takes upon himself to solve. This a book that gets you laughing out loud one minute, contemplating some serious math & physics the next, starts breaking your heart another minute, then gets you laughing all over again. You will root for Christopher as he trudges forth through a bewildering world he’s determined to figure out and survive in. Mark Haddon worked closely with autistic children for years and it shows in his convincing portrayal of the intrepid Christopher. (Erwin, City Heights LIbrary)
lmcnabb said,
February 26, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Title : Atherton : the house of power / Patrick Carman.
Annotation : Edgar, an eleven-year-old orphan, finds a book that reveals significant secrets about Atherton, the strictly divided world on which he lives, even as geological changes threaten to shift the power structure that allows an elite few to live off the labor of others.
Review: This book is most appropriate for middle school, or reluctant high school readers. There are many interesting ideas brought up in this book, including morality in science, access to resources, and the class structure. However, the weak character development leaves us wanting more. Perhaps the sequel will deliver.
lmcnabb said,
February 26, 2008 at 6:22 pm
”’Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher”’
I listened to this book on CD, since we don’t have a copy of the book in the system yet. The story was so gripping, and since it is about a girl who makes audio tapes and distributes them, it was a perfect choice to listen to on CD. The story revolves around a high school boy named Clay, who receives the tapes, and a girl named Hannah, who committed suicide and made the tapes. The tapes are all about the thirteen reasons why she decided to kill herself. Each tape is dedicated to a particular person, and they have to be distributed to all thirteen people, or there will be repurcussions. I recommend this book to older high school readers.
lmcnabb said,
February 26, 2008 at 6:27 pm
”’Dreamquake, Book Two of the Dreamhunter Duet, by Elizabeth Knox”’
I read the first book in this duet, and I have been waiting anxiously for its sequel. The story is so unusual and interesting that there is really no comparison in other young adult literature. The story is set in the past, yet there are fantasy elements that did not exist in the past. In this book, the story comes back to the present time, and you can see the whole mystery revealed. In this fantasy past, there are “dreamhunters” that have the special ability to find dreams in “The Place”, and transmit them to others. The story follows the dreamhunter Laura and her family. This book won a Printz Honor this year, and I definitely concur.
lmcnabb said,
February 26, 2008 at 10:21 pm
”’Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal, by Mal Peet”’
This book won the Carnegie Medal in 2006, although it was just published in the United States in 2007. The story jumps back and forth between the present and 1945 wartime Holland. Tamar is the name of the main character in the present, and the code name for one of the characters in the past. Tamar’s grandfather, one of the spies for the Allied Forces in Holland, commits suicide, leaving her a curious box of items from 1945. Tamar has to figure out why. At the same time, we are reading about the events in Nazi-occupied Holland, and coming to the same conclusions, at the same time, as Tamar. I highly recommend this book to older high school readers.
lmcnabb said,
March 4, 2008 at 2:40 am
”’The Cobra King of Kathmandu,”’ by Philip Kerr
This is the 3rd book in the Children of the Lamp series, and there are more to come! Philip Kerr is also known as P.B. Kerr, the popular adult mystery author. I listened to the first two books in this series on CD, which was very entertaining. The story is fast-paced, the characters are well developed, and the premise is unique. The Children of the Lamp are Phillipa and John, twin djinn, who always find themselves in adventures with their Uncle Nimrod and his friend Rakshasas, also djinn. I highly recommend this series.
lmcnabb said,
March 4, 2008 at 2:54 am
”’Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath, by Stephanie Hemphill”’
This book won a Printz Honor this year, which I feel is highly deserved. The story of Sylvia Plath’s life is told in poems by the author Hemphill, from the point of view of different people in Sylvia’s life, as well as from Sylvia’s imagined point of view. Sylvia Plath is one of my favorite poets, so I was fascinated by this book, which really captures the essence of what I think Sylvia Plath is all about. I highly recommend this book.
emagbanua said,
March 19, 2008 at 10:23 pm
“American Son” by Brian Ascalon Roley
This is a short but powerful novel about two Filipino American brothers, their divorced mother, and the ways they cope as an immigrant family. One of the central themes here is the shame and repression of one’s own ethnicity & culture, and anyone who has ever had this experience will connect very strongly to this book. Not the most feel-good book you’ll read, but definitely thought-provoking.
lmcnabb said,
March 28, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Title: ”’A Thousand Splendid Suns”’ by Khaled Hosseini
A powerful story of two women in Afghanistan who endure great brutality and tragedy in their lives but who discover an extraordinary connection with each other. Despite the decades of political turmoil and social upheavals that span the time frame of the novel, Hosseini manages to keep the story simple. The story is simply about love and family. There is not much literature for teens set in Afghanistan, and there is even less with women as main characters. This book is as good or better than “Kite Runner”. I suggest reading this book in conjunction with “Three Cups of Tea”, by Greg Mortenson.
(This review was co-written with Erwin)
lmcnabb said,
March 28, 2008 at 9:55 pm
“Brave Story”, by Miyuke Miyabe
Whew! This 800+ page book is very heavy! It also won the 2008 Mildred L. Batchelder Award for the most outstanding children’s book translated from a foreign language. I enjoyed the story, and even though it was long, it was entertaining. It is basically a hero’s journey story, with the main character Wataru entering the magical world of Vision to change his destiny in the real world. This story was also told in graphic novel format by the same author, which I think I would prefer. Since the story is so complicated, and the creatures and places Wataru finds are so inventive, some pictures could really help. I also think this book would make a great addition to a unit on the hero’s journey, as it follows Joseph Campbell’s work closely.
emagbanua said,
April 8, 2008 at 1:47 am
‘”Woolvs in the Sitee” by Margaret Wild & Anne Spudvilas
A jarring, stunning picture book about a lonely and terrified young man living in what appears to be a post-apocalyptic urban world. He lives in constant fear of “woolvs” and this fear made truly palpable in this unforgettable narrative. The illustrations are just amazing. They manage to be both frightening and beautiful at the same time, perfeclty conveying the boy’s abject fear and the lost world around him. The final page is defiant, bold and thought-provoking. (Erwin)
lmcnabb said,
April 16, 2008 at 12:03 am
“The Arrival”, by Shaun Tan
This amazing story of immigration is told completely in pictures. In haunting shades of black, white, grey, and brown, Tan tells the tale of an immigrant’s arrival in a new world. The immigrant leaves his family behind, fleeing some terror, and arrives in a surreal place where he does not speak the language, and even the food is alien to him. During his journey he meets other immigrants who tell him their stories, and he gradually becomes accustomed to the strange place. Author Shaun Tan was influenced by immigration stories in Australia and New York, which really come across in the drawings. I highly recommend this book.