This fall I installed a Little Free Library in my front yard.  For anyone who might not be familiar with Little Free Library, it is an organization that promotes and supports small "take one, give one" libraries in yard, parks, and other public places.  To be honest, my reasons for wanting on were not entirely altruistic.  I need somewhere for the "ink and paper" books I've read to go, and I can only give so many at a time to my public library.  But, of course, the universe has other plans for me than neat, orderly, not-stuffed-to-the-gills bookshelves.  It's that whole "give one" part of "take one, give one" that gets me.  Because while its true that the books I read go to good home (rather than my overstuffed bookcases), they are replaced with other books!  Clearly, my house is meant to be a permanent fire hazard.

There are, of course, upsides to this arrangement, like getting to know my neighbors as readers, and
watching the neighbor kids come running to see if there is anything new in the library for them.  But the biggest, without doubt, is that books appear before me that I would never have found on my own. Such was the case with The Honey Thief, by Elizabeth Graver.  It tells the story of eleven year old Eva, a city girl exiled to rural upstate New York after a brief crime spree as a shoplifter.  In desperation, her mother Miriam gives up her job, finds a subletter for their tiny Manhattan apartment, and hightails it out to the country.  Eva spends her days riding her bike down isolated roads, blacktop and dirt, while the babysitter her mother hired sleeps on the porch in the heat of the day.  One day while riding, Eva comes upon a table full of honey, glowing in the sunlight.  Her inner conflict (should she steal it or not) causes her to come back again and again to the small farm, where she gets to know the reclusive bee keeper, and where she learns about the importance of balance and harmony, in the life of the bees, and in the life of her family.

It can be a challenge for authors to write adult novels with child narrators, but Graver manages it pretty well.  There are also chapters told from the point of view of the bee keeper, and of her mother, but it is Eva's chapters where the real emotional pay off is for the reader.  I found myself rooting for Eva, even when she made choices that were not necessarily in anyone's best interest.  Graver also manages the fact that Eva is a girl child and the bee keeper an adult man in a way that is neither creepy nor inappropriate (though there is one scene that verges on ewwww).  All in all, I'd say The Honey Thief is a pretty good way to spend an afternoon.

Top Ten Tuesday-Characters I'd Name My Children After

Thank you, lovely bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish, for hosting this weekly meme that allows me to indulge in my love of all things listy!

This week's prompt is a chance to give some character love.  When my daughter was born in 1994, my then husband and I had a deal.  If the baby was a girl, could name her, but if it was a boy, he could name him.  We each, however, reserved veto power over the other's choices.  And that is the reason my daughter Briana does not have a literary name-I was overruled on Elizabeth (Pride and Prejudice), Morgaine (Mists of Avalon) or Guinevere (also Mists-I was a bit obsessed at the time).  It's probably a good thing in the last two cases that I was vetoed, but I was only 24, so I plead youth.  Now, at the more "mature" age of 41, I've read a lot more, and have many more character to choose from!

1.  Claire-This comes from both The Time Traveler's Wife and Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series.  Both women are  loyal, strong, and loving, which I think are good qualities to hope for in a child.

2.  Henry-From the Time Traveler's Wife.  Again, smart, loving, loyal...and we'll just leave the ultimately doomed thing behind.

3.  Hermione-Ah, if only I lived in Britain or was British myself, I could get away with this one.  Hermione is definitely the best of all of the Harry Potter characters.  Ron is sweet and Harry is noble, but Hermione was the one who ensured that things got done so Harry would still be around to fight Voldemort.

4. Lisbeth-Ok, this is mostly because I thought the name was pretty long before I read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  But let's face it, Lisbeth can kick some serious butt, which is not a bad trait to have, at least metaphorically speaking.

5.  Peter-The oldest brother of the Pevensie children from the Narnia series,  Peter was brave and steadfast, unlike Edmund, the moody younger brother.

6.  Lucy-Also from Narnia.  Small but mighty, Lucy was all heart and loyalty.  Susan may have been older, but I don't think she was wiser than little Lucy.

7.  Alex-The Alex Delaware novels was one of the first mystery/thriller series I read, and I have always loved Alex's intelligence and compassion.  Plus he was completely accepting of his gay friend and police officer Milo way back before most authors were comfortable having gay characters in their books.

8.  August-I loved August Boatwright's character from The Secret Life of Bees.  Comfort-everything about her brings comfort and strength.

9.  Sam-After Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings books.  Best.Friend.Ever.

10.  Stargirl-OK, I probably would never actually have the nerve to do such a thing, but the main character of Stargirl and Love, Stargirl is everything I want my daughter to be.  Loving, idealistic, quirky, and completely comfortable with herself.

Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card

What would you do to ensure the survival of the human race?  What would you sacrifice?  Your money?  Your freedom?  Your life?  Most of us probably would if we were up against it.  But what about the lives of our children?  What if the survival of the species meant giving up your children to violence, war, and possible death?

It is exactly this rather sticky ethical question that Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card, takes on.  Well, that and a few others, like the morality of xenocide and government manipulation.  That's a lot for what is essentially a young adult novel, but Card manages it by creating a version of Earth that is both alien and somehow familiar.

Ender's Game is the story of Ender Wiggins, a genius among geniuses.  Bred specifically for intelligence and cunning, Ender is the last, best hope for humanity in their war against the buggers, and alien race that attacked the Earth not once, but twice, in an attempt to colonize it.  Sounds like the basic plot of just about any  science fiction novel.  The twist?  Ender is only six years old.  He is taken from his family and sent to Battle School, where he learns to fight in mock battles with other cadets.  But the real plan for Ender involves him learning to be very good at the game that the military has devised to develop his skills as a strategist.  At the age of 10 he is sent to Command School, where he trains with the person who defeated the buggers during the last invasion.  As the games become more challenging and Ender begins to collapse under the weight of everyone's expectations, the military's manipulation of him leads to devastating consequences-for the fleet, for the buggers, and ultimately for Ender.

Card's writing in Ender's Game is almost clinical, but that just adds to the "otherness" feeling that you get from the characters.  Ender and his siblings-both of whom washed out of the Battle School program-are just as brilliant as he is.  Peter, his older brother, washed out for being a ruthless little sociopath whose tendency towards violence and power was not tempered by empathy.  Valentine, his sister, washed out for the opposite reason-too much empathy, not enough ruthlessness.  The military hopes it is Ender who will present the perfect blend of these two traits-calculating and violent enough to lead a war, but empathetic enough not to kill unnecessarily.  And while you feel sorry for Ender, he is certainly not perfect.  He is violent, and emotionally distant, and ruthless when provoked.  But how much can be blamed on a child, when from birth he was trained for war.  


Given the fact that there are children all over Africa and Asia being conscripted as soldiers and made to fight right now, the premise feels more possible than a science fiction novel often does.  Ender does his job, and he does it well-but there is a price.  I will admit to being surprised to find that the final "games" were real battles.  I guess since I knew there were sequels I assumed the war continued.  Despite being manipulated into xenocide, Ender feels crushing guilt.  While an argument can be made that it wasn't his "fault", it doesn't begin to assuage the remorse he feels for that and so many other things that were kept from him during his time at the school.  And after losing his family and never being allowed to have real friends, he loses his home.  Concerned that he will be used by the various governments to defeat the other governments, he is forbidden ever to return to Earth.  And so the rest of the world blithely goes on with their politics-and Ender pays the price.

Top Ten Tuesday: Children's Books I DID Read

Thanks to the women at The Broke and the Bookish for hosting Top Ten Tuesdays.  Being a list-lover as I am, I am always excited for a new topic.

Excited, that is, until this week.  This week's topic is "books I wish I had read as a child", and the happy fact is that I can't think of one.  I've read most of the children's classics, and plenty more besides.  I even tried looking at other people's list to see if maybe I was just blocking out titles that I felt ashamed to say I'd never read, but nope...I'm actually thrilled as can be with my childhood reading selections.

But I love lists!  What's a list-loving book blogger to do? Why, chan...er....modify the topic slightly, of course.  So here, rather than book I wish I had read as a kid, I will revisit a past topic I did not get to participate in-my favorite childhood books.  There were so many I'm going to have a hard time narrowing it down to just ten. 

Bridge to Terebithia, Katherine Paterson-I love this story of Jess and Leslie and their unlikely friendship.  This is also the first time I understood that children can die.  I can't read this aloud to my classes today because I sill cry every time.

Are You There, God?  It's Me, Margaret, Judy Blume-I'm pretty sure that there are women about my age all over the country who would choose this coming of age story as one of their favorites.  I was so disappointed to read Blume's adult works later in life.  They just didn't hold a candle to her young adult books.

Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O'Dell-This was my introduction to strong female characters.  I so admires Karana and her ability to keep herself alive, and never to lose hope.  Plus, I've sort of always wanted to live on an island, though preferably not alone in a hut.

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, Judith Kerr-This may have been the first book I read about the Holocaust, and it started a life-long interest in the subject.  The thought that your whole life could be stolen away from you in the blink of an eye was frightening, and as I got older I appreciated how Kerr used Anna's story to introduce young readers to the idea of oppression.

Jacob, Have I Loved, Katherine Paterson-I so identified with Louise in this book.  As a quiet kid who was pretty shy, I often felt misunderstood by my peers and I understood her jealousy of the ease with which her sister lived in the world.. Louise was another strong female character that I adored.

The Narnia series, C.S. Lewis-My first fantasy series, but certainly not my last.  I had the rare and intense pleasure of watching the first book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe turned into the story into a movie that was EXACTLY like I had imagined reading it all those years ago.

Across Five Aprils, Irene Hunt-I've always been a fan of historical fiction, and this is probably one of the first ones I read.  It was unusual for me to find strong connections with male characters when I was a girl, but I did with this one.

The Secret Garden, Francis Hodgson Burnett-Oh, how I cried when Colin stood up and walked to his father for the first time.  And as hateful as Mary can be, you can't help but feel sorry for the poor orphan living in that cold, looming house.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betsy Smith-Francie was one of my favorite characters growing up, and I still reread this one every few years.  Historical fiction meets coming of age story-two of my favorite things all rolled into one.

Rutabaga Stories, Carl Sandburg-I checked this book out of the school library so many times the librarian offered to get me my own copy.  A collection of humorous short stories, Sandberg's gift for language and down-home sort of humor was a hit with me.

 

The Cay, Theodore Taylor-When my teacher read this aloud to us in fifth grade, I was captivated.  Living in an all white suburb of Chicago in the 70s, I had never really had any exposure to issues of race or racism.  This book opened my eyes to the absurdity of separating ourselves from each other on the basis of the melanin content of our skin.

A Summer to Die, Lois Lowry-Like many a pre-teen, I was a bit of a tragedy junkie.  This book by Lois Lowry fit the bill.  The story of a young girl whose sister gets cancer and dies is still a tearjerker.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry,  Mildred Taylor-Taylor's writing is a masterpiece of historical fiction and character development.  While The Cay may have been my first exposure to racism, Taylor's works certainly helped me put what I learned into a historical perspective.

Sometimes the Hype is True!

I am not one of those people who is automatically turned off by something just because everyone else is talking about it.  So when the hype started about Room earlier this fall I was open-minded.  But when reviewer after reviewer gave it five stars and rhapsodized about how fabulous it is, I started to wonder if the publisher was passing out that special kool-aid along with the ARCs.  When my book club chose it for our January selection, I was excited to find out if all of the mayhem and foolishness was warranted.

And it was!  For anyone living under a literary rock for the past several months, Room is the story of Jack, a five year old boy who lives with his mother in Room, an 11x11 foot shed in the backyard of Old Nick, the man who kidnapped Jack's mother seven years before.  Room is the only home, and indeed the only world that Jack has ever known.  To protect him from wanting what he could not have, Jack's mother, Ma, told him that everything outside of room was "in the tv".  When he discovers the truth, he is forced to confront a world that is completely alien to everything he has ever known.

Room is a novel unlike any other I have ever read, and not just because of the five year old narrator.  Donaghue does an admirable job of taking a sensationalized headline and turning it into something multi-dimensional and very human.  As a society we were rather obsessed withe the myth of the rabid stranger collecting young girls-even before we found out that it is not always a myth.  Elizabeth Smart's ordeal seemed to put an exclamation point on all of our fears about the stranger in the parking lot, waiting to pounce.  While her experience is still much more rare than lightning strikes or shark attacks, the very fact that it happened at all lends credence to some of our darkest societal fears.  Donaghue could easily have taken this fictional kidnapping and told it from the mother's point of view, or the media's.  What she did instead makes it a much more human story.  And not just a story about violence against women.  Jack's short life and entry (I can't call it a re-entry) into the world outside of Room was a fascinating look at how children are socialized, and what makes a person part of the world. 

My First Top Ten Tuesday!

Since I have started participating in the Literary Book Hop hosted by The Blue Bookcase, I have found so many goo d, grown-up, literary blogs I can hardly contain myself.  Apparently that is exactly what I needed to get my own blogging back on track-I'm feeling inspired.  And since I, like many of us, enjoy lists, I was especially excited to find Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This weeks Top Ten Topic is favorite holiday books.  Sadly, I know very little about holiday themed books for adults, since I find most of them incredibly cheesy.  Sentimentality for the sake of sentimentality is not really my thing.  However, I'm also a teacher, which therefore gives me an out to focus my list on children's books! (With the exception of Dickens-I mean really, it's Scrooge!)

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas-do I really need to explain?

A Christmas Carol-again, pretty self-explanatory, no?

Herschel and the Hanukkah Goblins-This is one that I use with my students every year.  They love the story of the goblins, and how Herschel tricked them into lighting the menorah. 

The Polar Express-Chris Van Allsberg's trip to the North Pole is a delight! 

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe-OK, not technically a holiday book, but it has Father Christmas in it, and I got the entire set for Christmas in 1981 when I was in sixth grade, so it feels like Christmas to me.  I read all seven books before going back to school in January.  If I could go back to one time in my life and relive it, it might be that week, wrapped in my quilt reading about Narnia on my bed, safe and warm with my parents in the next room.

 Little House in the Big Woods-The Christmas chapter is one of my favorites.  I'm not sure anything brought home to me at 8 how different my world was from Laura's like reading about how excited she was to get an orange for Christmas.

Well, I guess my Top Ten turned into my Top Six, but I'm alright with that.  I've gotten a peek at next week's theme, and I'll be able to make up for it then!  Happy Thanksgiving!

The Weight of Silence

In her examination of love, friendship, and family, Heather Gudenkauf provides the reading with a decent mystery, some suspense, and a lot of strong characters.  The Weight of Silence is a mystery wrapped in a family story, with a side of unrequited love thrown in.

While there are many characters, each given their own chapters, the story starts with Calli, a seven year old elective mute.  Her alcoholic father drags her into the woods early one morning, saying he is taking her to her "real" father's house.  Her mother, Antonia, asleep in the house, has no idea that she is gone.  Enter Martin, father of Calli's  best friend Petra, who is also missing.  They soon contact Deputy Sheriff Louis, an old flame of Antonia's and the man that her husband Griff believes is Calli's "real" father.  As the frantic search for the girls begins, the story of these adults and how their lives intersect unfolds.

As mysteries go this one is OK-I figured out who took Petra pretty early on.  There were just too many references to a seemingly tangential character for it to be coincidence.  But what kept me hooked was the backstory of the adults.  Gudenkauf revealed just enough in each of her chapters, each told from a different point of view, to keep you wanting to know more.  While Calli's elective mutism doesn't seem entirely believable, it does provide the story with some suspense, as you wait to see if and when she will speak.  All in all this was an enjoyable way to spend a couple of days.