book review – Page 27 – The Dusty Jacket

The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars (J)

The Summer of the Swans

Betsy Byars (Juvenile Fiction)

Fourteen-year old Sara Godfrey is having the worst summer of her life. She hates her orange sneakers, she has the biggest feet in school, and don’t even mention her nose. “I just feel like nothing,” she tells her sister. But all that changes when her ten-year old brother, Charlie, goes missing. Suddenly, Sara realizes what is truly important and what really matters.

Sara not only struggles with her own adolescent issues, but is dealing with an absentee father, meddling aunt, and a brother suffering from a mental impairment. Byars accurately captures and conveys the angst, anger, and anxiety that most teens endure and provides readers with a realistic sense of Sara’s desperate desire to fit in, to be liked, and to be accepted. More than just a coming-of-age book, The Summer of the Swans also provides an insight into Charlie’s mind and reveals his own desire for stability and security. Byars shows us how love requires no words and perhaps is more accurately spoken not through the mouth, but by the heart.

Rating: 4/5

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Little Bee

Chris Cleave (Adult Fiction)

This review will be a deviation from my standard format in order to respect the wishes of the book’s author…and with good reason.

Little Bee is the ONLY book that I’ve ever seen that has a note on the back cover stating, “We don’t want to tell you what happens in this book.” Whether a brilliant marketing ploy or a genuine desire to thoroughly surprise its reader, it works. It’s an irresistible hook.

What I will share is that Little Bee tells the story of two very different women from two very different socioeconomic backgrounds whose worlds unexpectedly collide and an unimaginable (and truly shocking) choice is made. Two years later they meet again, and this is where the story begins.

Honestly, the less said about this book, the more you will savor it. It will evoke every possible emotion and will leave you breathless and spellbound. The storytelling is first rate and the characters will leave an indelible mark on your heart. I promise you will enjoy (perhaps even love) this book and if you do, I hope you will NOT tell your friends about it…only share the title.

Rating: 5/5

Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan (YA)

Tween & Teen Tuesday

Every Tuesday, we review either a juvenile (J) or young adult (YA) book

Homeless Bird

Homeless Bird (YA)

Gloria Whelan

Thirteen-year old Koly is arranged to be married and must leave everything and everyone she loves behind. When fate intervenes, she finds herself alone in a strange city. Her favorite poem tells about a flock of birds that fly day and night, except the homeless bird. It always flies to somewhere else. With no money and no hope for the future, where does this homeless bird fly now?

Written in the first-person narrative, Homeless Bird gives us a story of courage, hope, determination, and love. In Koly’s own words, the reader experiences and feels firsthand her sense of loss, betrayal, heartache, and despair. Whelan’s love for Koly shows through her compassionate writing and wonderful storytelling. In the end, she gives us a heroine that not only flies, she soars.

Rating: 5/5

The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright

The Wednesday Letters (Adult Fiction)

Jason F. Wright

Jack and Laurel have been married for 39 years and every Wednesday, Jack has written a letter to his beloved…starting on their wedding night and ending on the night of his death. When their children discover these letters, everything they thought they knew about their parents will be changed forever.

I found this to be two books in one. The first half is a love story told through weekly love letters, while the second half abruptly turns quite religious and spiritual—touching upon themes of redemption, faith, and forgiveness. While the story was laid out slowly and tenderly by Wright, I found the ending to be rushed and forced. The author’s desire to wrap up every loose end in a nice, pretty bow felt awkward and sloppy and didn’t provide the satisfying conclusion that the author perhaps intended.

Rating: 3/5

Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

Captains Courageous

Rudyard Kipling (Adult Fiction)

Harvey Cheyne is the spoiled, arrogant, and disrespectful son of a railway tycoon who, while on his way to Europe to complete his schooling, falls overboard into the Atlantic Ocean. He is rescued by a fisherman and taken aboard the schooner We’re Here, where he quickly realizes that money, power, and social status matter little on the high seas. Under the watchful eye of Captain Disko Troop, Harvey soon navigates his way not only through perilous oceans, but also through the turbulent lessons that come with life.

This is perhaps one of the finest stories about life on the sea ever written. Kipling’s narration is masterful and the storytelling is superb. The details of life on board a schooner are painstakingly described and detailed—right down to the last eye-bolt. Every word is carefully chosen and crafted and the result is nothing short of poetic: “The dories gathered in clusters, separated, reformed, and broke again, all heading one way; while men hailed and whistled and cat-called and sang, and the water was speckled with rubbish thrown overboard.”

This book is truly deserving of the word “classic”; however, Kipling’s passion for authenticity often makes reading dialogue difficult at times. His phonetic transcription of a New England dialect in the late 1800s is often tricky to decipher and comprehend (“furriner” for “foreigner”, “naow” for “now”, and “spile” for “spoil”), but it is this same commitment to genuineness that allows the reader to be wholly transported into a world dictated by the weather and ruled by the sea. A coming-of-age book about loyalty, friendship, and love that truly gets better with time.

Rating: 5/5

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr (JB)

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes

Eleanor Coerr (Juvenile Biography)

Sometimes it’s the shortest books that stay with you the longest.

Twelve-year old Sadako Sasaki was just a baby when the atom bomb—the Thunderbolt—was dropped on Hiroshima. Sadako was always in a hurry to be first and more than anything, she wanted to be on the junior high relay team. But then the dizzy spells began, and she would soon discover that she had the atom bomb disease…leukemia. Sadako’s friend told her an old story that if a sick person folds one thousand paper cranes, the gods would grant her wish and make her well. By folding one crane at a time, Sadako begins her dire quest for health.

Using a book published by Sadako’s classmates, Coerr lovingly shares the story of a young girl who faced death fearlessly. Sadako Sasaki showed more raw courage, determination, and hope in her 12 short years than many of us ever hope to achieve in a lifetime. Her story deserves to be learned, and her hope for peace should not be restricted between the covers of this book.

Rating: 5/5

The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin

The Pleasure of My Company

Steve Martin (Adult Fiction)

Daniel Pecan Cambridge is a man suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder who, on the surface, appears quite content with the cards that life has dealt him. However, by peering at the world outside his window, he sees hope, opportunity, and something that absolutely terrifies him…something different.

I adore Steve Martin as an actor and was anxious to see if I would enjoy him as a writer as well. I must admit that I almost didn’t give this book the chance it deserved. Daniel’s character was a little too self-absorbed (perhaps the title should have clued me in) and neurotic for my liking. It truly is a matter of sheer will at times to keep reading since Daniel is such an intolerable, infuriating, and exasperating person. But just as Martin can masterfully pull at his banjo strings, he enables Daniel to somehow pull at our heartstrings and we find ourselves cheering for the unlikeliest of heroes.

Rating: 3/5

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (J)

Tween & Teen Tuesday

Every Tuesday, we review either a juvenile (J) or young adult (YA) book

The Tale of Despereaux (J)

Kate DiCamillo

“This story begins within the walls of a castle, with the birth of a mouse. A small mouse. The last mouse born to his parents and the only one of his litter to be born alive.”

So begins DiCamillo’s beautiful and heartwarming tale of a mouse with a heart almost as big as his ears. Despereaux Tilling loves music and stories. He dreams of knights and princesses and faraway places. After an unfortunate accident plunges the kingdom of Dor into darkness and despair, it will be up to this one small, unlikely hero—with such very large ears—to save the day.

DiCamillo weaves a wondrous and captivating story that will enchant readers both young and old. With very short chapters, this book is ideal for younger readers or could be set on a nightstand for shared bedtime reading.

I hope that Despereaux not only finds a permanent place on your bookshelf, but in your heart as well.

Rating: 5/5

My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

My Name is Lucy Barton

Elizabeth Strout (Adult Fiction)

Lucy Barton is a woman recovering from what should have been a simple operation. During her convalescence, her mother sits by her hospital bed and the two begin to idly gossip about hometown neighbors while languishing in their own shortcomings.

This book received mostly positive reviews and appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, although it’s hard for me to understand why. The story was forgettable, uninspiring, and left me with little to no lasting impression. Lucy and her mother are unsympathetic, and their constant self-pitying and self-loathing become quite tedious and tiresome.

Rating: 1/5

The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen (YA)

Tween & Teen Tuesday

Every Tuesday, we review either a juvenile (J) or young adult (YA) book

The Devil’s Arithmetic

Jane Yolen (Young Adult Historical Fiction)

The goal is to stay alive. One day after the next after the next. One plus one plus one. The devil’s arithmetic.

Thirteen-year old Hannah Stern is not looking forward to celebrating the upcoming Passover Seder. She is bored with her family’s stories of the past. In fact, every Jewish holiday seems to be yet another occasion to relive those bad memories. But this year, Hannah will be transported into the past and it won’t be long before she desires the comfort and safety of what the future once held.

This period in history is horrific and harrowing, and the stories told by the Holocaust survivors still tear at our very soul and question our humanity. In the afterward, Yolen describes the heroism of the camp’s survivors: “To witness. To remember. These were the only victories of the camps.” This story and its characters will haunt you long after you’ve turned the last page. May we never forget.

Rating: 5/5