unpredictable

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok

Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction

Review: For some reason, I was surprised that I enjoyed this book so much. Perhaps my surprise came from the fact that I thought it would be very predictable, but it wasn't. Each time I thought I knew the directions in which Kwok was going to send her characters, I was wrong. Add to that the excellent writing, which pulls you into the story immediately, and I was really impressed by this book.

FTC disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

how to relate to your teenage daughter

Letter to My Daughter by George Bishop

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction, historical fiction

Review: It's not often that one wishes a book were longer than it is, but I almost wish there was just a little bit more to this one. After her teenage daughter storms out of the house, Laura sets about writing her a letter in which she hopes to explain that she really does understand what it's like to be a teenager. Bishop manages to pack a lot of emotional depth into this story, while keeping the prose very direct and free of frills.

But I do wish the story had been extended just a bit. It's evident that Laura manages to salvage some kind of relationship with her parents; how did that come about? What happened after Laura graduated high school? How did she meet the man we know only as "your father," who is clearly not the boyfriend of Laura's teenage years, but with whom she seems to have a good marriage? It is one thing to let your daughter in on the secret that you were once a teenager too and can understand what she’s going through, but this story might have benefited if Laura were also able to let her daughter see the light at the end of the teenager-tunnel.

FTC disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

making it personal

The Season of Second Chances by Diane Meier

Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction

Review: This is a sweet book, though it's not without some drama and darkness. At just the right time in her life, Joy Harkness gets an unexpected job offer that takes her from a prestigious but unsatisfying job at Columbia University to an equally prestigious job in the small college town of Amherst, Massachusetts. Leaving behind a life devoid of personal connections, she suddenly finds herself thrust into the social framework of her new home.

Joy’s lack of personal past seems at many points in the narrative to be little more than a plot device to set up the “second chance” that she suddenly has in her new home. After all, if we didn’t know that she was a social outsider at Columbia, it wouldn’t make sense for her to behave in such a socially awkward way at Amherst. Except it still doesn’t make sense, because although she initially rebuffs many social efforts from her colleagues, she seems to have no problem forming a relationship with the handyman who fixes up her new house. That inconsistency undercuts much of the tension that might otherwise be present as she is forced to reconsider her life in social terms.

Fortunately, for both Joy and the reader, her new colleagues are fairly insistent that she not hold herself apart any longer, and the story that unfolds is quite touching. If many of the secondary characters seem flat, it is because their purpose is really to shine a spotlight on Joy and the changes she is experiencing. Meier generally succeeds in giving us a readable and enjoyable story and avoids the saccharine by achieving an ending that is not happy in the usual sense, but is certainly satisfying and hopeful.

FTC disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

it's just too easy

Another Life Altogether by Elaine Beale

Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)

Genre: historical fiction

Review: I give this book 3 stars because the language itself is quite lovely. The story, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. Jesse is a fairly standard teenage-girl-who-finally-learns-to-stand-up-for-herself-and-for-what's-right. She's a sympathetic character, but not a very interesting one. She seems like a dynamic character only because all the others are flat as pancakes (her parents don't so much grow as characters as just randomly start acting differently toward the end). Ultimately, though, it's hard to feel too much for Jesse, because she doesn't respond to her predicament in a believable way.

The story is set in a small town in northern England in the mid-'70s (complete with some great descriptions of the clothes) and for that time and place, and what we know of her upbringing, Jesse takes her "predicament" far too easily in stride. We see very little internal struggle with her situation; the only real conflict in the story is how long she'll let things drag on. This does not make for very captivating reading.

FTC disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

great news!

The New York Times reports: the Baby-Sitters Club is back!

making preparations

Me, Myself and Ike by K.L. Denman

Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5)

Genre: fiction, YA

Review: At first, this book seems to be about two teenage boys embarking on one of the stupidest plans ever. Inspired by a documentary on the Ice Man, one has convinced the other to climb up into the Canadian Rockies and freeze himself, along with examples of modern technology and culture, as evidence for posterity. The book is largely taken up with Kit's preparations for doing so.

Fortunately, for both Kit and the reader, the book is really about much more than this moronic scheme. As we follow Kit through his preparations, we begin to see that perhaps all is not what it seems. Through his interactions with others, we learn that Kit used to be a good kid - he had friends, got along well with his family, did reasonably well in school. But a few months before the start of the action, everything changes. We get a sense of this only in the way that others react to Kit, but this is a startlingly effective method of portraying this change. Throughout the book, we also get a feel for what others noticed in Kit that caused them to change their perceptions, although, in a first-person narrative, the changes are only subtly observable to the reader. It isn't until almost the end of the book that we begin to understand what is really going on with Kit, and how dangerous it potentially is.

FTC disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.

among the Righteous

Victor Kugler: The Man Who Hid Anne Frank by Rick Kardonne and Eda Shapiro

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Genre: biography

Review: Almost everyone knows the story of Anne Frank. Far fewer people know the story of one of the men who hid her and her family from the Gestapo for 2 years. The mere fact of having his story of bravery be told makes this book worthwhile.

Victor Kugler's story shines brightest when told in his own voice. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen very often. Large portions of the book are taken from the notes of Eda Shapiro, who interviewed Kugler late in his life. This is fine, as far as it goes, but Shapiro's words are also used to give us historical background information on topics such as WWII and the history of Jews in Holland. Surely a more authoritative source could have been found for these subjects.

At least this historical background is interesting. Not so the rest of the book's padding, including descriptions of various dramatic and musical productions of Anne Frank's story that Kugler attended and his reaction to them, and descriptions awards and honors that Kugler was given, including his inclusion among the Righteous Gentiles at Yad Vashem, all well-deserved. I could have lived with a lot less of this extraneous material, especially since Kugler's story stands so well on its own.

FTC disclaimer: I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for this review.