Shomeret's May Reads 4/4

[Shomeret]

I'm finally getting a chance to finish May Reads. This has been a busy first week of June.

13)The Firefly Lettersby Margarita Engle (historical narrative poem)Source: Library Started: 5/27
Finished: 5/27

Why Read: Two of my GR friends were thinking of reading it. So I looked into it and was amazed to find a book long narrative poem by a modern author. I didn't think anyone wrote those anymore. The most recent I can recall were by 19th century Romantic poets like Byron and Shelley. I did searches to check Margarita Engle's poetry style and decided I liked it. She's a Cuban author. The book is about the visit of a real Swedish sufragette to Cuba in 1851.

Comments: She expected paradise and found slavery. It's a lovely poetic meditation on freedom. She frees captured fireflies because she isn't legally allowed to free slaves. Rating B+

14)Bread and Roses, Tooby Katherine Patterson (YA historical fiction) Source: Amazon Started: 5/27 Finished: 5/29

Why Read: This turned up in an Amazon result as a book also searched for. I was delighted to find a YA book dealing with the Lawrence Massachusetts Mill Strike of 1912 which is associated with the song "Bread and Roses". I love that song. It's so exquisitely performed by Judy Collins. It surprised me that a YA novel had been written about this strike and the author is the same one who wrote the popular YA fantasy novel,Bridge to Terabithia. I haven't read Bridge to Terabithia, though it has been recommended to me.

Comments: The contrasting viewpoints are very believeable. One is a child mill worker. The other is a girl who is frightened by the strike and wants to focus on her education. The ending was sentimental but I liked it. I cried. Rating B+

15)Dinotopia: Windchaserby Scott Ciencin (YA fantasy) 148 pages. Source: Library sale section Started: 5/30 Finished: 5/30

Why Read: This is a novel based on Dinotopiaby author/artist James Gurney. It's about an isolated island where intelligent dinosaurs and humans live together in harmony. There was briefly a series based on it on TV, but I fell in love with the concept when I first saw Gurney's captivating illustrations. This is my idea of a fun read.

Comments: Two boys are thrown overboard from a ship probably by pirates. The pre-Dinotopia background isn't well developed and not at all credible to me. But I really like how the characters grew through their experiences in Dinotopia. It's inspiring and I liked the characters. But I had to give this book a B- for the poorly developed background.

16)The Lock Artist: A Novel by Steve Hamilton (crime novel) 304 pages. Source: Library Started: 5/30 Finished: 5/30

Why Read: I've read some very positive comments about it and it sounded interesting. It's about a mute boy with a talent for opening locks. Naturally, all the wrong people are interested in him.

Comments: Great story and great characters. I wouldn't say it's suspenseful. It's actually kind of predictable. It's like watching a scene on film in which two trains are about to collide. You know what will happen, but it's still riveting. Rating B

I am literally drowning in books, folks. I can only get to a small fraction of all the books I planned to read this summer. Let's hope for some really outstanding A reads this June.

[Ann]

Shomeret:
June has started out quite busy here too! The Firefly Letters sounds intriguing - and I am glad you liked The Lock Artist!

Shomeret wrote: "I'm finally getting a chance to finish May Reads. This has been a busy first week of June.
13)The Firefly Lettersby Margarita Engle (historical narrative poem)Source: Library Sta..."