And Now for Something Completely Different

How about a little non-fiction? I had the next book in my pile to read for eight months. And it was a library book. Luckily, it was from the school librarian, and they like me down there because I actually get kids to check out books. Go figure. So I am returning it tomorrow through the slot so I don't have to face them in person.

I know, I'm a biblio-wuss.

Anyhow, once I started reading The Boy who Harnessed the Wind by By William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, I pretty much couldn't put it down. This book is not necessarily intended for a teen audience, but there's no reason at all why you shouldn't read it. And I bet you'd find it to be a page-turner, too.

William is from Malawi. He details his life from early childhood through a crippling famine that struck his community. You know how your parents tell you not to waste your food and not to take all the things you have for granted? This book will explain why, once and for all. The fact that William and his family survived is a miracle. What he did next is beyond belief.

William self-taught himself physics, chemistry, and electrical and mechanical engineering from a couple of science textbooks in a community library. He created a windmill that supplied electrical power to his home. Hos goal was to use the power for irrigation of the family's crops year round so they would never go hungry again.

If this guy doesn't inspire you to be a better person, I just don't know who will.

And since I'm being random today, let's talk poetry. I LOVE poetry. Except for William Carlos Williams. I will never understand the red wheelbarrow, and you can't make me. So there. Sometimes a wheelbarrow is just a wheelbarrow and a chicken is just a chicken.

But reading poetry, in general, leaves me awed and inspired. I have the Poetry Foundation app on my phone, I sometimes I spin it (go and try it right now...it's free) just to read someone's concise and richly worded perspective on some random topic. Poetry rocks.

I'm currently digging into a pile of novels written in verse -- full-length narratives written in poetic form -- to use in a poetry unit with my students. There are many, many great examples, but The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle is the most recent one I've read. This book chronicles the history of Cuba from the late 1800s until present day through the eyes of dictators, refugees, revolutionaries, and survivors. This is one of the most powerful books I've read in a long time about a place that tends to keep its secrets very well. The poems are short, told from the point of view of a handful of recurring characters. You have to pay attention a bit to keep track of who is doing what, but it's well worth it.

This one will make you finish your dinner and take care of your stuff, too.

Triple Play!

The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch had all the initial trappings of an apocalyptic showdown. I really wanted this to be the adolescent version of The Stand…or something like that. The cover totally gave me the creeps.

And the book was fine, but it did not knock my socks off my any means. The climax  involves a completely unbelievable prank, one that would be incredibly dangerous and stupid even in a non-dystopian world. The two main characters are smart and savvy. I absolutely did not buy the choice they made even as cranky teens whose frontal lobes aren’t quite developed 100%. There’s impulsivity, then there’s just plain unlikely.

And the biggest conflict on the story hinges on a run-in with livestock. Really? It didn’t make sense to me at all. So I spent the second part of the book second-guessing everything the protagonist did. If he was so dumb, how did he turn into this sage and mature potential martyr at a chapter break. Nope, not authentic.

This is an easy read, and it is mildly engaging, but I did not find it suspenseful in the least. If the world as we know it is going to end, I want it to be with a bang, not a whimper.

The Last Summer of the Death Warriors reminded me a bit of the classic Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick. Stork creates a quirky and endearing relationship between two very different boys. I enjoyed this aspect of the book.

But the reason I chose to read this in the first place was because I was looking for titles that could qualify as mystery/suspense in a very loose interpretation of the genre. This book did not work in that sense, but ultimately, I don’t think that was Stork’s intent. It’s definitely a YA volume with some fairly juicy references to the desires of horny teenaged boys. There is also an underlying thread of violence to do with Pancho’s (the protagonist) sister. It’s actually a pretty dark book.

I was not awestruck by the Death Warrior idea; I wanted to be, but no. What I liked about this book the most was Pancho’s growth. Otherwise, I found the plot to be pretty flat.

But then I was reminded of another of Francisco X. Stork’s books, Marcelo in the Real World. I actually read this one last summer, so this is kind of a cheat. Nonetheless. Marcelo is a high school student with autism. The book is told very convincingly from his point of view, and it definitely gave me food for thought. Neither Stork nor I can really know what it’s like inside the mind of a genius on the spectrum, but I think this book gives it a really good shot.

The thing I probably liked best about Marcelo is that he spends the book fighting against being like everybody else instead of wanting and trying desperately to conform. I would totally hang out in his tree house with him. Again, YA; again some sexy-sexy references and some language, but I was not mortified at any point while reading this book.

Better Late?

I have been a slacker for the past couple of weeks. I got uber-organized and set up a posting schedule, then all of a sudden, NaNoWriMo was upon me. And my posts went out the window. I will proceed to catch up…

For those of you who enjoy historical diversions, you may want to give Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. However, this is not a book for the casual reader of historical fiction. This is the real deal. This is an incredibly detailed account of the French Revolution and a real historical character that definitely caught my attention. (There’s also a fictional character that I wanted to be real. He reminded me a lot of the Vampire Lestat in a sexy, 8^th century rockstar kind of way.)

Donnelly’s attention to detail is quite astounding, and I loved the descriptions of various settings I have visited in and around Paris. What I didn’t care for was the protagonist. How dumb is that? I found her musings to be drawn out and unnecessary. I wanted to get into the historical narrative and stay there without the interruptions of the present-day Andi. I got tired of her moping and self-loathing. Granted, the character was depressed, but that was evident early on. But the pages of angst became a turn-off early on. I’m afraid that only a teen slightly obsessed with history would wade through the murk to reach the end of the book. I did really enjoy Andi’s love interest, though.

If you like historical fiction with a touch of romance, give this one a chance. Stick with it. I think you might like it.

On a completely different note, Borderline by Alan Stratton is a contemporary fiction novel dealing with terrorists cells within the United States. The protagonist is a sixteen-year-old boy named Sami whose father is arrested in the middle of the night under suspicions of terrorist involvement. I loved the premise of this book, and I would really like to read a suspenseful, tight novel on the subject. Unfortunately, Borderline is not that book.

I like that the book has a Muslim protagonist, and I appreciate the discussion of bullying in a universal sense but also in the wake of 9-11. The book is worth reading in terms of adolescent exposure to these issues.

However, I did not find the conclusion to the story remotely believable. I wanted the ending to be edge-of-your-seat, nail-biting goodness. It ended up being very anticlimactic. The book is a quick read with a reasonable pace, so there’s not much of a time-investment. I imagine some of my middle school boys would enjoy the ride. But for me, the resolution matters, and I wasn’t feeling it with this book.