Sarah Jamila Stevenson's Blog: Blog - Sarah Jamila Stevenson, page 33

Thursday Review: THE FORGETTING by Sharon Cameron

Synopsis : The "every X years something life-changing/terrible/wonderful happens" trope always reminds me of that Ray Bradbury short story "All Summer in a Day," which I read for school in maybe 6th or 7th grade and found incredibly traumatic. In that story, people live on a rain-soaked Venus where the sun only comes out for something like an hour every seven years. In Sharon Cameron's The Forgetting, every 12 years the city of Canaan descends into chaos as people prepare to lose their memories—all of them. Who they are, who their families are, things they've done.

That's why everyone carries around a book—the book of their lives, so they can remember who they were and what happened before. Like everyone else in Canaan, Nadia the dyer's daughter writes in her book every day. But unlike everyone else, Nadia can remember. What she remembers is: some people have used the Forgetting in order to perpetrate lies. And so she's got somewhat of a secret life: sneaking out beyond Canaan's walls to explore and see what lies beyond. She knows she can't necessarily trust what they've always been told about their world, so she wants to see it for herself. One day, she gets caught by Gray, the glassblower's son, and from then on, they are both caught up in a web of secrets that becomes more and more entangled the deeper they delve…

Observations : Like other "we just live in this small, confined world and nobody questions it, ever" stories—Andre Norton's Outside, the Divergent series, Margaret Peterson Haddix's Running Out of Time—it is fairly apparent early on that Canaan was created with a purpose. That isn't really a spoiler. It's the who, why, and where that are the mystery here, and the more clues Nadia uncovers, the more interesting it gets. I won't give too much away here except to say that it's an intriguing bit of speculative fiction and definitely action-packed.

The suspense is helped along by the premise—the fact that, every 12 years, everyone forgets everything, and at the point where we join the story, the Forgetting is coming, and soon. Nadia, as the only one who has any memories (however vague) of the previous Forgetting, is an easy character to immediately identify with in that respect. One side effect, though, of the fact that nobody really remembers anything but the past 12 years, is a bit of confusion on the part of the reader. For me, it took several chapters of moving in and out of that confusion, that memory loss, before I really felt like I had a handle on the mechanics of the story universe. Ultimately, I thought it was worth the slight muddling through I had to do in earlier part of the book—once I was past that, and Nadia's discoveries started to point the way to more and more intriguing revelations, I was much more engaged, and ultimately thought it had an effective and interesting ending.

Conclusion : Despite the comparison above to Divergent, this is not really a dystopian world; rather, it's a sci-fi adventure with interesting philosophical implications and a very good "what-if" premise at its heart: what if, every 12 years, we forgot everything and were no longer accountable for who we are or what we did?

I received my copy of this book courtesy of my library's ebook collection. You can find THE FORGETTING by Sharon Cameron at an online e-tailer, or at a real life, independent bookstore near you!

This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless otherwise indicated. Please contact the weblog owner for further details.

Celebrating Banned Books Week!

How fantastic is it that the theme for this year's Banned Books Week (Sept. 25 - Oct. 1) is Frequently Challenged Books with Diverse Content? We are all about books with diverse content here (well, not ALL, but it's one of the themes we feature frequently), and books with difficult, important themes are often found among the banned and/or challenged book lists.

This year's list of Frequently Challenged Books with Diverse Content and more info can be found at this link, but I've also reprinted it below. How many have you read? I've only read 13! And parts of a couple others (y'know, lit class excerpts and such). It is an interesting list. Take a look, and let loose in the comments.

A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. GainesA Hero Ain't Nothin But a Sandwich by Alice ChildressA Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. GainesAbsolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by  Sherman AlexieAll American Boys by Jason ReynoldsAlways Running by Luis J RodriguezAm I Blue?:  Coming Out from the Silence by Marion Dane BaueAnd Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter ParnellAnne Frank: The Diary of a GirlAnnie on My Mind by Nancy GardenAutobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X; Alex HaleyBaby Be-Bop by Francesca Lia BlockBeloved by Toni MorrisonBeyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out  by Susan KuklinBlack Boy by Richard WrightBless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A AnayaColor of Earth by Kim Dong HwaDaddy's Roommate by Michael WillhoiteDrama by Raina TelgemeierFallen Angels by Walter Dean MyersFun Home, by Alison BechdelGeography Club by Brent HartingerGeorge by Alex GinoHabibi by Craig ThompsonHeather Has Two Mommies by Lesléa NewmanHoops by Walter Dean MyersI Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz JenningsI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya AngelouInvisible Man by Ralph EllisonKaffir Boy by Mark MathabaneKing & King by Linda de HaanLittle Black Sambo by Helen BannermanManiac Magee by Jerry SpinelliMorris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Christine BaldacchinoMy Princess Boy by Cheryl KilodavisNappy Hair by Carolivia HerronNasreen’s Secret School by Jeanette WinterPalestine: A Nation Occupied by Joe SaccoPersepolis by Marjane SatrapiRainbow Boys by Alex SanchezRoll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D TaylorRunning With Scissors by Augusten BurroughsSo Far From the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima WatkinsSong of Solomon by Toni MorrisonThe Bluest Eye, by Toni MorrisonThe Color Purple by Alice WalkerThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark HaddonThe House of the Spirits by Isabel AllendeThe House on Mango Street by Sandra CisnerosThe Kite Runner by Khaled HosseiniThe Librarian of Basra by Jeanette WinterThe Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. DanforthThe Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen ChboskyThe Slave Dancer by Paula FoxThis Book is Gay by James DawsonThis Day in June by Gayle PitmanTwo Boys Kissing, by David LevithanWhale Talk by Chris Crutcher

This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless otherwise indicated. Please contact the weblog owner for further details.

Cybils Judging Panels Announced!

Just like this entire year has been flying past at inconceivable speed, the Cybils season is revving up without delay, and Tanita and I are both incredibly excited to be judging again. Tanita is part of the Round 1 YASF panel (which brings back memories of early days when I had the time to do the vast amount of reading for Round 1...I'd really like to do that again before too long, but it was not in the cards this year) and I will be on Round 2 for Graphic Novels along with a few familiar faces and a couple of new ones--so fun, and always a wonderful opportunity to talk books when the time comes.

It's been such a busy year for me, and for Tanita, too, so I think the routine of Cybils is a welcome comfort in so many ways and is incredibly rewarding to boot. I'll be blog co-editor again with Melissa Fox of Book Nut, so I'll be in charge of cruising volunteers' blogs and posting reviews of nominees and finalists to the Cybils blog once the reading period kicks into gear. It's something I truly enjoy and value because I seem to have less and less time to visit blogs just for the heck of it, just to see what others are reading and doing.

This year should be really interesting with the addition of Board Books and Audiobooks as new pilot categories, so I hope you'll have fun exploring along with me!

This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless otherwise indicated. Please contact the weblog owner for further details.

Monday Review: THE QUEEN OF BLOOD by Sarah Beth Durst

Synopsis : The Queen of Blood, which comes out TOMORROW, is a foray into YA crossover fantasy by Sarah Beth Durst, author of numerous wonderful, whimsical, fantastical MG and YA fantasy titles such as (most recently) The Girl Who Could Not Dream (reviewed here). The author has such a facility for writing for all ages—her adult title The Lost (reviewed here) received acclaim as well—so I was not surprised at all that I enjoyed this one so much.

The Queen of Blood is Book 1 of the Queens of Renthia—Renthia being the world where the story takes place. In the nation of Aratay, as in the other lands in Renthia, there is an uneasy balance between the human denizens and the spirit world: spirits of earth, fire, ice, air, and water inhabit the natural world, and only the female humans might be born with the power to control and command spirits. The Queen of Aratay is the one who maintains this balance: selected from those with the innate ability and trained for years in the right skills to keep the human-hating spirits at bay.

Daleina grew up in the small village of Greytree on the forested fringes of Aratay, far from Queen and capital, training under the village headwitch to perhaps grow up and take her place. One fateful day, when Daleina is still a child, her village is attacked by spirits: something that isn't supposed to happen with the Queen in charge. But it sets events in motion, and Daleina finds herself a few years later just barely squeaking into the magical Academy at the capital, getting trained to use her rudimentary powers. Could someone as low in power as Daleina truly be in the running to be Queen? She doesn't know, but she's determined to learn as much as she can along the way…and help Aratay hold back the increasingly frequent spirit attacks. Of course, in a world that is increasingly subject to supposedly impossible incursions by malevolent spirits, one must expect the unexpected…and that pertains to Daleina's story, too.

Observations : There is an element of the magical school story in this one, like Harry Potter or (even more so) Princess Academy, and that is definitely a positive in my eyes. And like many school stories that revolve around the new kid, the smallest kid, etc., the protagonist goes from someone who is out of her element and seemingly lacks the same skill set as those around her, to realizing her own special and unique abilities and coming into her own power.

In fact, I think this is one of the areas where this book truly shines: Daleina is relatable because she is so very much someone who does not feel special at all, and yet she is. In compensating for the abilities she herself lacks, she is able to uniquely see and tap into the talents of those around her, and has the humility and pragmatism to actually do so. And this just might be the one skill that truly saves her life, and her world, as she grows into adulthood and is challenged in every way, physically, mentally, and magically.

Conclusion : I stayed away from specifics because this book was full of so many wonderful surprising elements in terms of world-building and the way the magic works, but here is one more teaser in case you need more reason to pick this one up: in Aratay, a forest world, everyone lives IN THE TREES, in magically grown houses that are an organic part of branches and tree trunks, getting around via bridges and zip lines from tree to tree and village to village, like Ewoks. If that isn't awesome enough for you, I don't know what is.

I received my copy of this book courtesy of the author/publisher via NetGalley. You can find THE QUEEN OF BLOOD by Sarah Beth Durst at an online e-tailer, or at a real life, independent bookstore near you TOMORROW!

This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless otherwise indicated. Please contact the weblog owner for further details.

Monday Review: PASADENA by Sherri L. Smith

Don't miss our interview with author Sherri Smith this Wednesday, as part of the Pasadena blog tour!

Synopsis : "The thing I'm finally learning is that someone can be your best friend in the world, but you're not necessarily theirs."

Pasadena. It's not L.A., but there is something quintessentially L.A. about it nevertheless: dusty brown hills, Santa Ana winds, that wish-we-were-Hollywood vibe. It resonates in stories and movies, and it resonated with me, as someone born in the town next door and brought up within an hour's drive. And the setting makes an appropriate title for this book, in which the city itself is almost a character in its constant presence.

It feels that way to seventeen-year-old Jude, too—only she is an outsider, having moved to SoCal from the East Coast a few years before, and Pasadena is not necessarily a benign character in her life. It brought her and her mother away from their painful past, but it also brought in Mom's creepy, sleazy boyfriend Roy. And it brought her a new best friend, Maggie Kim—but it took Maggie away. The novel opens with us finding out that Maggie was found dead, floating in the family swimming pool, an apparent suicide. The mysterious tragedy becomes more and more peculiar the more details emerge, and it forces Jude to examine her own life and how well she really knew her best friend. And, as it turns out, maybe nobody really knew Maggie Kim, not entirely.

Observations : This is a fascinating piece in its structure, because there is the obvious mystery of Maggie Kim and how and why she died, but then there's an inner mystery as well—the mystery of the narrator, which the author skillfully sneaks in around the edges, hinting at Jude's past through her present-day actions. Why is she so virulently repulsed by her mother's boyfriend Roy? Why does she keep pushing away her friend Joey, who obviously loves her and wants more than friendship? Why is she so convinced her friend's death wasn't a suicide—what's at stake for her in proving that it wasn't?

Appropriately, with the past and present mysteries both intertwining in this book, the author interweaves scenes of the past and present: Jude and Maggie's friendship in the past, as Jude tries to examine every detail of their friendship for clues to Maggie's actions, and Jude's determined and relentless quest in the present to unearth the real story of her friend's death. And of course, what she finds out along the way makes her question how well she really knew her friend at all—which is a feeling that anyone who has lost a loved one to suicide will recognize.

Like a tinted overlay in photography, the almost palpable presence of the setting informs the story on a constant basis, and grounds it in space—but not in time, because there is a timeless quality to it in the sense of it feeling frozen almost, a moment lived and relived again and again as Jude continues to search for something she might have missed. The varied and colorful cast of side characters—their sort of ancillary friends—are almost more a part of that setting rather than individuals in themselves; character archetypes that inhabit the social imaginary of youth in SoCal: Hank and Eppie the hippie surf bums, Luke the neurotic Chinese-American kid yearning to fit in, Dane and Tallulah the sickeningly picture-perfect perma-couple. There's a slight feeling of unreality to it all—which provides just the right amount of balance (or imbalance) to the all-too-real events of the plot.

Conclusion : This is an emotion-packed, suspenseful read, with a diverse cast of characters (diverse in a non-self-conscious, effortless way, and in a way that is very California). It's also got somewhat of a twist ending that will leave you questioning how easy it is for someone to hide their real selves in plain sight—I definitely felt very differently about the main characters at the end of the book than I did at the beginning. A very intriguing book that's a not-quite-thriller, not-quite-mystery, not-quite-issue-book, but something surprising and unusual all to itself in the way the story unfolds.

I received my copy of this book courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. You can find PASADENA by Sherri L. Smith at an online e-tailer, or at a real life, independent bookstore near you!

This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless otherwise indicated. Please contact the weblog owner for further details.

You Be the Judge!!

No, really. It's already time for another Cybils Awards season, and the application for judges is open until September 14th, so get cracking! There are TWO new pilot categories this year for you to explore--Board Books and Audiobooks--so if you write any kind of kidlit book reviews (even if you don't have an official blog and write them on Goodreads, you might be eligible), throw your hat in the ring. Check out the official call for judges here, and read more about the judging process here if you're not sure.

If you ask me and Tanita, though, you'll get nothing but rave reviews, since we've taken part just about every year since the beginning. And this year there's something more to celebrate: the Cybils Awards are officially a non-profit organization! It's another big step on the road to doing more and more good in the world of kids, teens, and books, so CHEERS TO CYBILS!

This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless otherwise indicated. Please contact the weblog owner for further details.

Thursday Review: THE CURIOUS WORLD OF CALPURNIA TATE by Jacqueline Kelly

I really like the cutout-look images on
the cover, with the hidden animals... Synopsis : We don't necessarily review a ton of realistic MG fiction here (not as much Wonderland in the real world, I suppose) but it doesn't mean we aren't reading or enjoying it. Quite some time back, I wrote up a quick review of The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, which was a Newbery Honor Book and historical fiction story that I ended up really liking. So I was pretty eager to pick up the sequel when I saw it at my library.

The first book introduced us to the intrepid Calpurnia Virginia Tate, aka Callie Vee, a budding naturalist and scientist and the only girl in her family—she has legions of brothers, older and younger, none of whom understand her desire to make more of herself and constantly LEARN. The only one in her family who really does understand is her grandfather, a fellow scientist, but that's not quite enough when you're a girl around the turn of the previous century. Her grandfather takes her seriously, but by the rest of her family she's mostly just…indulged. Or not, as the case may be.

In the first book, Callie Vee was eleven; this time, she's about to turn thirteen, which means there will be a bit of real confrontation between her desires for her life and what's expected of her by her family and society. As in the first book, these confrontations end in quite a bit of frustration and/or hilarity. Yep—I laughed, I cried, then I laughed again. But in this installment, Callie Vee has to deal with other people's secrets, too, not just her own. Specifically, there's her older cousin Aggie, nasty and nice by turns and hiding a whole host of teenage secrets, and her younger brother Travis, who insists on bringing home stray animals, even if it's a rather stinky and ornery armadillo. Through it all, Callie Vee somehow manages to mostly keep the peace, help her brother and cousin, and (to her continuing delight) learn more than she ever imagined, all while continuing her observations of the natural world…and, of course, the human world, too.

Observations : Callie Vee's joy in learning is infectious. She is constantly questioning the world around her—not just the hows and whys of animals and plants and weather, but also of the people around her and why THEY do the things they do. One of the big questions she has in this book has to do with finding her place in the world (and time period) she happens to inhabit. It isn't a society that even considers lady scientists to be a Thing, and Callie Vee is constantly running up against the very good question of WHY she, as a girl, is held to different standards, whether it's the allowance she earns (less than her brothers) or the career she might want.

Having the older female character of Aggie in her midst allows for a different but related set of questions to come up, because of course Aggie, while in many ways a typical girl of her time, is just as determined and has just as definite plans for her life as Callie Vee. And she is of an age that she not only can achieve her desires, she is desperate to achieve them. It makes for an interesting dynamic, a push-and-pull that Callie Vee—with all of her brothers—has nevertheless not had to contend with.

Back to the idea of learning, though…learning and knowledge are empowering, and Callie Vee empowers herself in a whole host of interesting new ways in this book. I love it that other characters often cannot resist her, once faced with her undeniable competence. She is determined, brave, and quite wily to boot. An all-around enjoyable character, set against a backdrop of intriguing historical events like Darwin's voyages and the Galveston hurricane.

Conclusion : Adventures and hijinks abound in Callie Vee's world, and if you enjoyed the first book you'll no doubt enjoy this sequel—and, like me, you might find yourself wanting more of her adventures in the future…

I received my copy of this book courtesy of the Stanislaus County Library. You can find THE CURIOUS WORLD OF CALPURNIA TATE by Jacqueline Kelly at an online e-tailer, or at a real life, independent bookstore near you!

This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless otherwise indicated. Please contact the weblog owner for further details.

TBR Monday: Diverse Reads and Long-Awaited Sequels

Yep, you guys. I went to the library again! Whee!

That one on the top left? It's by Mariko Tamaki, who has also written a number of wonderful graphic novels for kids and teens.

Top right: the final (I think) book in the Dream Thieves series, which is steeped in Welsh mythology and therefore somewhat mandatory reading for me. I've really enjoyed the other books in the set.

Bottom right: A book about conjoined twins! Wow. I'll admit being drawn in by the author's name, too, because there aren't THAT many South Asian author names in American YA lit. From visiting her website, I am not sure about the author's identity but I did find out two fun facts: A) she lives in my area, sorta and B) she has the same Secret Agent Man as Tanita.

Bottom left: the sequel/companion to MG novel The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, which was charming and wonderful and which I reviewed here way back in 2009 (!).

In other news, I'm still plowing through my own novel rewrite and hope to have it sent to my agent next month. Tanita and I are planning some upcoming Reviews in Tandem. I'm going to be at a local event in October, the Great Valley Bookfest, and I'm also planning to be at Kidlitcon (check out the newly released program here--it's going to be awesome!!). I am woefully behind on most things but slowly catching up.

What's on YOUR TBR pile, or on your kidlit radar? Go ahead and share...

This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless otherwise indicated. Please contact the weblog owner for further details.

Flashback Monday! (AKA I Didn't Have Time to Write a New Review)

Can I blame these Cybermen for my time famine?
Photo: (C) BBC.co.ukIt's been A Summer. I know many of you would agree with me on that. The year has flown by too quickly, and the time has been eaten up by, apparently, some sort of Doctor-Who-esque monster villains who consume time and crap out additional stuff to do.

I wanted to write up a new book review for today, but it just wasn't going to happen. I had to spend all of my writing energy on work-related emails about awkward and annoying topics. Now my brain is tired.

BUT! I do have SOMETHING for you. Periodically I like to do a flashback post and look back on words I already wrote, so I don't have to write new ones. So, in shameless imitation of the Book of the Face, I present you with:

FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY! - I reviewed Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan, a retelling of the fairy tale Snow White and Rose Red. You can read the review here.

TEN YEARS AGO TODAY! - Can you believe we've been blogging that long? Only about a year into our blogging adventure, I posted about Maureen Johnson's 13 Little Blue Envelopes. Interestingly, in our comment conversation in response to my post, Tanita claimed that, of the two of us, *I* was the analytical reviewer... You can read that, and the review, here.

This work is copyrighted material. All opinions are those of the writer, unless otherwise indicated. All book reviews are UNSOLICITED, and no money has exchanged hands, unless otherwise indicated. Please contact the weblog owner for further details.

Reading In Tandem: THE SEVENTH WISH, by KATE MESSNER

This has been the summer of the monkeybrain - too much going on, too much we wanted to do and we're not going to get it done, because it's nearing the end of August. ::sigh:: One thing we didn't want to miss was talking about Kate Messner's latest book, THE SEVENTH WISH. We became more aware of this book when Kate blogged mid-June about a librarian who loved it, but chose not to feature it in her school library.

Kirkus calls this book "Hopeful, empathetic, and unusually enlightening." Writer Anne Ursu's jacket blurb calls THE SEVENTH WISH "An empathetic, beautiful, magical fiercely necessary book that stares unflinchingly at the the very real challenges contemporary kids face and gently assures them they are not alone. Kate Messner gives her readers a story to cherish.” We read this book together, mainly out of curiosity, but found a deeper well than expected, and we're glad we did. Just be warned, there are a few slightly spoiler-y comments herein, nothing huge, and nothing that would detract from you actually reading the book, but just be warned.

Welcome to another edition of In Tandem, the read-and-review blog series where both A.F. and I give on-the-spot commentary as we read and blog a book together. (Feel free to guess which of us is the yellow owl and which of us is purple ...we're not telling!)

We are...

Two writers,

     & Two readers,            Exploring one book... In Tandem.

Charlie feels like she's always coming in last. From her Mom's new job to her sister's life at college, everything seems more important than Charlie. Then one day while ice fishing, Charlie makes a discovery that will change everything . . . in the form of a floppy fish offering to grant a wish in exchange for freedom. Charlie can't believe her luck but soon realizes that this fish has a very odd way of granting wishes as even her best intentions go awry. But when her family faces a challenge bigger than any they've ever experienced, Charlie wonders if some things might be too important to risk on a wish fish.

We received copies of this book courtesy of our local library and bookstore. You can find THE SEVENTH WISH by Kate Messner at an online e-tailer, or at a real life, independent bookstore near you!

tanita: So, we picked up this book out of basic curiosity. There's a hashtag on social media right now #MGGetsReal which is highlighting some really great middle grade fiction just now, and I'm happy to say I think we can add this to the list.

Were we to try and list seven things we liked about this book, for me, the first one would be -- outside of the adorable cover, which Kate Messner probably had no control over -- the first thing that stood out is that it's so normal. I remember ordering this awhile back, and then I forgot the plot, so I'm zipping along, reading, and this girl's an Irish dancer, this girl's an ice fisher, and then - boom! - page 22. I thought, "Oooh!" One of the hallmarks of good speculative fiction is that it sneaks up on you. It sneaks in the magical right in the midst of the -- equally awesome (because what else is clogging if not AMAZING -- but also humanly mundane. I must remember that as a writing skill.

sarah: Yes! I'd forgotten too, and I enjoyed the sudden surprise, in the middle of a normal-seeming story. Relatively normal, that is--to me, a dyed-in-the-wool California girl, all the ice fishing and snow stuff was completely foreign to me. "What is this frozen water you speak of?" So I enjoyed the glimpse into a more northerly lifestyle, and I loved it that Charlie went ice fishing with her friend/neighbor kid Drew--and I loved it that Drew, too, had his own sort of finding-himself struggles throughout the book that echoed a more traditional middle-grade plotline.

tanita: Hah, yeah - I'll not be ice fishing anytime soon. The second thing that stood out to me was that one of the characters wrote an app - just a junior high girl, writing apps and things. As one does when one is messing around with phones and things and is cool and smart. And I thought, "Yes, please; more girls like this!" Mind you, I agree with Charlie: that's a language I don't quite speak, but it was so cool to see it presented.

sarah:That was so fun! And she was in a coding CLUB! And it also wasn't a big deal. Dasha could be a dancer, and a coder, and a second-language student all at the same time--talk about a fleshed-out side character. :)

tanita: There was a quote in a recent New Yorker essay I loved - Kathryn Schulz writing about the Underground Railroad, and how we tend to insert ourselves into history and think we would have done better with issues like slavery. Schulz says, "Lived reality is always a muddle." I thought of that, when on page 84 I read Charlie's musings on a book: "Our class had a whole discussion about what we would have done differently if we were the characters, and we were all kinds of smug about it. We would have wished so much smarter than those dumb story-people." Oh, yeah. We're ALL better on paper.

sarah: YES. I thought this was a very relatable moment, and comes back to the sort of teaching (aka moralistic) element of fairy tales and stories with wishes where the wish comes back to bite you. And of course it's foreshadowing, too, which is always a thing we like.

tanita: HUGE foreshadowing, if only I'd known it.

So, now we come to the adult themes which caused this librarian some concern. The first mention is alcoholism, at the halfway point of the book. It's already established that the people to whom and with whom Charlie is conversing are normal, good people who the reader can trust, and so there is surprise, when we hear the name of the sickness -- and then, compassion. And then immediate talk of dealing with it: "I was still sad, and I made space for that sadness, but I didn't invite it in to take over the house, you know?" - p.96

sarah: I thought that was so well done. I loved Nana McNeill. She kind of fills the role of Wise Elder Dispensing Advice, but as often happens in real life, she is a Wise Elder Not of One's Own Immediate Family, which makes the advice easier to take. I am of the firm opinion that every kid needs at least one of those. And Nana offers WISDOM, but not necessarily easy solutions. In fact, at almost every turn she reminds Charlie that with some things, there is no easy way around--unless you want to fall through the ice.

tanita: Truly, there's "nothing to it, but to go through it." Nana McNeill kind of ...embodies that. And at times, the going through it thing is exquisitely rough. Another thing I loved about this book was the emotional resonance. I was just feeling with Charlie. p - 142 "Hi Carolyn," everyone says, as if they're meeting her at a bake sale and not in a room full of liars who ruin everything for their families. And that is about all of the fakeness I can take." The feels are REAL right here.

Having loved people with addictions for much of my life, I'm not always sure that the "once an addict, always an addict"/disease model of addiction thing is true for everyone - and it's kind of a tough concept to introduce to a tween, to think that this... thing will always be there, that it's something going on the permanent record, as it were - but in another way, it's merciful to present it in this way, especially because an addiction is an insidious boomerang that returns sometimes again and again and again. And as much as we'd like to say, "Yup, that was a bad time, but that's OVER, no more, good riddance," hello, nope. Nope. SO... yeah. This wasn't actually a question of being a bad thing to me, more of being a tough thing.

sarah: I... also have a lot of thoughts about addiction and treatment, and very mixed feelings about 12-step programs (controversy: this much-debated Atlantic article, and this not-quite-rebuttal from Scientific American - just a few recent examples of the discussion). I appreciated very much that this book did not pass overt judgment, but simply presented Abby's addiction treatment as is -- Charlie voices questions and doubts, and they are valuable ones that show the reader that these types of treatments aren't perfect but in many cases, this is what people have to work with. And maybe will inspire young readers, when they get older, to try to think about what WOULD work better and keep us all working towards better solutions. Because, like you said, addiction can and sometimes does return again and again, and it changes loved ones into these desperate strangers, people who can steal from their own relatives (as in this story) or beg their own grown children for drug money (happened to a friend of ours).

tanita: All good points -- no judgment, this just IS. If we can't get over the taboo, the talking and thinking about this that innovators and pioneering young folk need to do to make changes to a system they're going to have to live with won't happen - that's really true.

Another thing I liked about this book was that "I'm sorry" was not AN ANSWER - to anything. It was something said, repeatedly, but... it wasn't all roses and unicorns afterward, and All Was Solved, The End. That is so deeply, deeply important to kids -- for anybody, really -- to know it's okay for "sorry" to not be enough. It's a kind of simplistic belief we foist off on kids, "Say you're sorry!" as if that makes it all right. For a person to know that they don't have to forgive-and-forget in a no-breaths-in-between rush, that they can just... hear the words, sit with them, and know that's forgiveness might be one of the things that they're going to have to get serenity for, because another person's actions are one of the things you can't change - that's so valuable. It's good to allow a kid (or anyone) the freedom to let time do what it does, to give you perspective, etc.

sarah: Yes. It was just so awful to kind of KNOW that wallet theft, that abandonment at the feis, was going to occur, seeing it coming and not being able to stop it. And to be Charlie, wondering if you can find the strength to forgive yet again, or if this is the last straw, something unforgivable. For kids to know that it is OKAY to feel like you just can't forgive and forget, that those feelings are legitimate. That was a recurring theme in this book that I really appreciated -- the fact that so often, kids feel as if their own needs and wishes are less important than those around them -- and sometimes that feeling is TRUE; sometimes kids and their needs are forced to take a backseat, fairly or unfairly. Whether it's due to overwhelming factors like a sibling with an addiction problem, or something more commonplace like a divorce, most if not all kids will be able to relate to that sense of powerlessness.

tanita:(Oh, crud. I have totally lost track of numbers. I like more than seven things about this book - let's just leave it at that, yes? Yes.) I agree - there's another recurring theme that whatever actions don't always equal wanted results. Charlie realizes, remembering the DARE activity, where she signed a car, that "wishing doesn't make it so," in a really real way. "You know the thing about magic, Charlie? We can wish on clovers and shooting stars and ice flowers all we want. But in the end, the only real magic is what's inside us, and the people we love." p.210 And again -- "That's what you don't understand when you take the Sharpie in hand... that addiction is a real thing that can happen. That good people make awful mistakes, and the whole name-signing-on-the car is just some goofy gimmick that gets you out of math class for the afternoon. It doesn't keep terrible things from happening." - Oof.

Which brings me back to the blog post where Kate Messner wrote about the librarian feeling like this book was TOO MUCH for a school library -- I thought it was really thoughtful of her to go deeper and post ongoing discussions with other librarians about how they manage at their schools, and how they're finding solutions to difficult topics. I'll be honest - on the jacket flap this book says it's for ages 9 and up. I am the major book-buyer for my seven-and-nine year old nephews, and I look Elf, the older one, and say, "Nope. Even if he is nine." Because he's just SO young of a nine. THAT BEING SAID: I wouldn't object to having him read this in a classroom, as part of a guided experience. Honestly, if he picked this book up alone and read through it, I would be expecting him to talk about it with someone, and I would hope the adults in his life would be available for that... so though I'm going to hold onto my copy for him for another few months, maybe, I couldn't imagine not having it in a classroom as an option. Not being anyone's mother, and not being in charge of young hearts/minds anymore in a classroom setting, I guess I can be distanced from the issue, but... that's how I feel this minute: isn't it our job as an adult to bring before kids heavy issues to think and discuss about before they get IRL exposure to them?

sarah: I am glad we got to discuss this book. And, I agree with what you said: isn't the purpose of great kids/MG/YA books, in part, to help bring up difficult or painful themes in a safe space? (Of course, part of the problem is that people don't agree on what a "safe space" IS -- to me, it doesn't mean a space where you're safe FROM hearing difficult things or criticism; it's a space where it's safe TO air difficult subjects or criticism...

tanita: ...but, everyone's mileage may vary.

sarah: Right. < / end rant> So, for readers who dare, this is an excellent, amazing book, definitely deserving of the hashtag of #MGGetsReal, and I'm glad we read it.

tanita: Me, too. Until next time we read - happy Thursday, everyone. And remember: when you wish upon a fish your dreams come true. Thank you, Kate Messner, for fulfilling a wish we didn't know we had.

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