Book Reviews

The Replacement

| Tasha

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Released September 16, 2010.

First, I have to say that I love the cover of this book.  You can’t see it in the image above, but it has a silver sheen in the sky, making it even more eerie.  The cover suits the book, marking it as something quite special.

Mackie has always been different from the other people in his town.  He tries to fit in, not be noticed, but it’s hard when you can’t be near iron or blood.  It makes it even harder when as a pastor’s son you can’t step onto consecrated ground near the church.  Of course, Mackie isn’t really the pastor’s son. He’s a replacement, left in the crib in exchange for a human baby and expected to die.  But Mackie didn’t die, yet.  He is failing though, he aches all the time and feels ill constantly.  The only ones who can save him are the creatures who live in the underground, in Mayhem.  When another child is stolen and replaced, Mackie finds himself trying to find the little girl and rescue her.  Finally being different is something that can be helpful.  But figuring out where he belongs will not be simple or easy.

Yovanoff’s writing carries this story along at a breathless pace, pausing only to occasionally catch your breath and then racing on again towards a dark end.  She has created a setting that is not only unique but enticingly close to our own.  The town of Gentry is the perfect setting for a horror novel, isolated and secretive.  When Mackie goes below the surface, Yovanoff creates a new setting that is amazing and foreign, magical and creepy.  Beautifully rendered, the setting makes the book very concrete and horribly tangible.

Mackie is a fascinating character who learns about himself throughout the novel.  Some things he learns are wondrous, others horrific.  Mackie makes an unlikely but great hero.  He is a loner with friends, who sees himself as isolated but who is actually surrounded by friends who would do anything for him.  Nicely, the friends he has are as well written as he is.  The relationships with his sister and parents is complexly drawn as well, offering no easy answers.

Yovanoff writes with such creativity that I can’t wait to see what she writes next!  Get this book into the hands of fans of Holly Black who will enjoy its darkness and riveting action.  It will also appeal to fans of Joseph Delaney’s The Last Apprentice series.  Appropriate for ages 13-16.

Reviewed from ARC received from Penguin.

Also reviewed by:

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Not That Kind of Girl

| Tasha

Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian

Natalie Sterling knows just what kind of girl she is.  She’s a girl who just won the election for Student Council President.  She’s a girl who doesn’t go out to the stupid parties on weekends.  She’s a girl who works hard to please her parents and her favorite teacher, Ms. Bee.  She’s a girl with big plans, lots of energy and plenty of intelligence to get what she wants.  But in her senior year, everything changes.  Her best friend doesn’t seem to appreciate her advice anymore.  A kid she used to babysit is now a freshman and seems determined to flaunt her sexuality for everyone even though Natalie is trying to stop her and show her what’s right.  And worst of all, Natalie may just have fallen for a boy.

Vivian’s newest book explores the complexities of being a teen girl with a lot of honesty.  The tension between the “good girls” and those who are sexually active is evident here.  It’s handled with a wonderful sense of humor, all seen through the lens of Natalie’s perspective.  The book delves into the experience of the teen girl and offers up the right of all girls to be exactly who they really are.

Natalie is a great character, who changes throughout the novel, becoming not only more self-aware but pleasantly less sure of herself.  Natalie is a tough girl (a moniker she herself enjoys) with a clear perspective on life, who excels and expects others around her to try too.  But at the heart of much of what she does is a mask that protects her from gossip, a shield she puts between herself and others, though she doesn’t realize it. 

Winningly written, the book reads as a light novel, but deals with issues that are serious and have depth.  This is a book with appeal to that kind of girl and many other kinds as well.  Highly recommended for ages 15-17.

Reviewed from ARC received from Push.

Hush – Chilling Story of Abuse and Cover Up

| Tasha

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Hush by Eishes Chayil

Gittel lives in the closed Chassidic community of Borough Park in New York City.  The rules of the Chassidic community are strict and clear.  Their lives are separate from modern technologies and a modern lifestyle.  Family is to be honored and respected.  Marriages are arranged by matchmakers and parents.  Children are treasured, but live with strict limitations.  When Gittel witnesses her friend being sexually molested by her older brother, the community shuts down any mention of the situation.  When the situation progresses to a horrible end, Gittel must decide what to do and whether to betray her family and community or her friend.  Painfully, it takes Gittel years to admit what she has seen and bring it to light.  This is a remarkable book that exposes shameful secrets in the Chassidic community while equally showing the positive side of their beliefs and lifestyle. 

This is Chayil’s own story, a Chassidic Jew who also witnessed a friend’s abuse.  Through her writing she has exposed her own pain and truth.  Chayil’s writing allows all readers to respect the beliefs of this community.  Gittel’s family is warm and wonderful, the ideal family to contrast against the strict beliefs and limitations.  They fairly glow with love, the perfect foil for the other family suffering the abuse.  Chayil’s writing is subtle and solid.  Firmly grounded in reality, it depicts the community with honesty, demonstrating how rules that protect can also become rules that restrict and bind.  What is most impressive is Chayil’s ability to show that the responses from various people change when they know the truth, have seen it before, and understand there is an issue.  The establishment is not the enemy here, ignorance is.

Gittel is a character that readers see grow from a young girl to a married teen.  Through it all, she struggles with the truth and her own guilt about the situation.  Her emotions are vivid and blazing, yet they ring with truth.  Other characters in the story are just as well written, such as Gittel’s parents and husband.

A brave and amazing book, this is a glimpse for readers into a closed society written by a woman who understands it well.  It is also a call for all of us to tell the truth to shout it out in order to save those who we love who are enduring the unimaginable.  Appropriate for ages 15-17.

Reviewed from ARC received from Walker Books.

Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters – Beauty and Depth

| Tasha

Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford

This is the second book from Standiford, who debuted with How to Say Goodbye in Robot.  It will be released this month.

When their grandmother, Almighty Lou, tells the family that she has been offended and will cut them out of the will unless a confession and apology is made, everyone knows that it must be one of the girls who offended her.  So the three teen Sullivan sisters write their confessions.  One girl confesses to being in love and not following expectations.  Another sister confesses to revealing family secrets online.  And the youngest sister admits to believing she was immortal with horrifying results.  The only question is whether it is the sisters who offended Almighty Lou and if so, which one was it?

Part of the pleasure of this book is discovering the secrets of the girls for yourself, which is why I made my summary so vague.  Each girl reveals inner thoughts, complicated emotions, and the struggles of not only adolescence but life.  Standiford has a smart, funny tone that imbues all of these girls and their thoughts.  It is a pleasure to read a fairly light novel that has depth and intelligence.  Even better, the girls are all bright and deep too.  Yet they act like teens, think like teens, and are teens completely. 

The characterization in the novel is nicely done for the three sisters in particular.  They speak with different voices, react to things in their own unique ways and are distinct and intriguing voices.  The parents are fascinating characters if a bit one-dimensional.  I kept hoping for a view of them beyond what we were seeing.  But that is a minor quibble.

A pleasure of a read, this book will do well with teens who enjoy general fiction.  The cover will draw in readers of books like the Gossip Girl series, who will discover a book with gorgeous girls AND depth.  Appropriate for ages 15-17.

Reviewed from ARC received from Scholastic.

Also reviewed by:

Flora’s Very Windy Day – Brilliant and Breezy

| Tasha

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Flora’s Very Windy Day by Jeanne Birdsall, illustrated by Matt Phelan

Flora has had enough of her little brother Crispin messing up her stuff.  But now her mother has asked her to take Crispin outside even though the wind is very strong.  Flora will be fine because of her “super-special heavy-duty red boots” but Crispin just might blow away.  If he does, it wouldn’t be Flora’s fault.  Outside Flora laughs at the wind and knows it won’t be able to lift her, but she does tell the wind that her brother is wearing regular boots.  Soon the wind blows harder still  and Crispin is lifted into the air.  Now Flora has to decide whether to just let him go, but she kicks off her super boots and flies off with him.  As they fly through the air, Flora is approached by several creatures to take her brother from her.  A sparrow wants him to sit on her nest, the rainbow wants him to guards its pot of gold, the man in the moon wants the company.  But each is turned down as Flora replies that she is taking her brother home.  But that’s if the wind will let her do that.

Birdsall has created a book that sings.  Her prose is filled with bounce and lovely small details.  Each encounter ends with a similar response from Flora and from the creature making the request, creating a book that has just enough repetition to feel complete and whole.  Her words read aloud with grace, the refrains tying a bow on each situation.

Phelan’s art has a wonderful breezy style that matches the subject perfectly.  The children and their mother are real people with frizzy hair, apple-red cheeks, and quirks of their own.  The illustrations nicely capture the motion of the wind and the blowing leaves with a welcome feeling of freedom.

A perfect autumn read, this book is sure to blow fresh air into any story time.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by A Patchwork of Books.

Soup Day

| Tasha

Soup Day by Melissa Iwai

Today is soup day, so a little girl and her mother head to the store through the snowy streets.  There they buy the ingredients for their soup, careful to choose the vegetables with the brightest colors.  They pick out green celery, yellow onions, orange carrots, white mushrooms and more.  Back at home, they wash the vegetables and cut them into little pieces.  The little girl gets to help with a plastic knife and the softer veggies.  After sautéing the vegetables, broth is added and the soup cooks.  The mother and child play together as the smell of soup fills the house.  Finally spices and pasta are added and then they sit down to dinner with Daddy. 

Iwai has captured cooking from a child’s point of view.  The selection of vegetables mentioning their colors is done with a gentle tone, and most children will not notice that colors are being reviewed in that part of the story.  The focus on what the little girl is able to do is charming and affirming for children.  Seeing her pride and involvement is a large part of the story. 

Iwai’s illustrations are done with acrylics and collage and Photoshop.  They mix the textures of textiles with the crispness of photos and the brushstrokes of painting.  The result is a rich blend that makes for engaging illustrations.  The book is printed on nice heavy pages, making it welcoming for toddler hands.

This book is as warm and welcoming as a big bowl of homemade soup.  Add it to your recipe for a great story time or a unit on soup or food.  It would be ideal paired with a version of Stone Soup.  Appropriate for ages 2-4.

Reviewed from copy received from Macmillan.

Cupcake

| Tasha

Cupcake by Charise Mericle Harper

Vanilla Cupcake is born after ingredients are mixed together and he is baked in a toasty warm oven.  He is decorated with plain vanilla frosting and then meets all of the other cupcakes that have been decorated in a much more fancy way.  By the end of the day, he is the only cupcake that remains and hasn’t sold.  He bursts into tears and a candle nearby hears him crying.  Cupcake explains what has happened and the plain green candle understands because he has very fancy siblings of his own.  Then Candle has a great idea and hops off to find exactly the right thing to decorate Cupcake.  They try all sorts of things from pickles to pancakes and even a squirrel!  But nothing is quite right.  Just when readers think that Candle and Cupcake will finally figure it all out, there is a delicious twist that will have everyone laughing out loud.

This book is a hoot!  I had worried with its sparkly cover and sweet subject that it might get a bit too syrupy, but just when you think that might happen the humor kicks in and takes the book in a different direction.  Harper’s writing is simple, adding to the humor by its straight-forward tone.  Her art is also simple and graphically strong with its black outlines and pastel colors. 

A book that captures the cupcake craze with a sweet tone and plenty of giggles, share this one at any sweet storytime you may be planning.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by:

Bones

| Tasha

Bones by Steve Jenkins

Really all any book needs is Steve Jenkins’ name on the front and his great illustrations inside.  Just those two things and you know it’s going to be great.  In this book, Jenkins turns his attention to bones and skeletons.  The size and shape of bones are explored as are skeletons of the human body and of various animals.  Information is given about bones and the illustrations of the bones are laid out on very colorful pages that highlight the bones but offer some vibrancy as well.  This book of bones should be in every school and public library.

Jenkin’s text here offers just enough detail to be informative but also never too much too be weighty.  It offers the same bright, freshness as the illustrations themselves.  His illustrations are studies in restraint as he works his paper magic using a very limited boney palette of colors.  The design of the book makes it rather like an archeological discovery, since you never know what bones you will find when you turn the page.  Several of the pages fold out to offer large scale illustrations, including a full human skeleton.  Along the way, readers are asked questions and get to think about the body, the bones and how they function.

A virtuoso book, pull this one out for Halloween and get some sweet science mixed in with the candy.  It is appropriate for ages 7-10.

Reviewed from library copy.

Yucky Worms

| Tasha

Yucky Worms by Vivian French, illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg

A young boy was in his grandmother’s garden when she found a worm.  He is disgusted by it, but his grandmother insists that he should be friends with worms.  She then returned the worm to the ground to demonstrate which end of the worm was which.  The book goes on to discuss in the grandmother’s voice different aspects of worms, what they eat, how they survive the winter, what worm castings are, and how they help the plants in the garden.  The illustrations are light-hearted but can quickly become scientific when called for.  This is a great blend of picture book and nonfiction facts presented in a winning way.

French’s use of a grandmother narrator works well here, framing the nonfiction in a story that makes it very approachable.  It also allows the narrator to explain misconceptions that the young boy has about worms, like the widely held belief that worms can be cut in two and still survive.  Not true!  Ahlberg’s illustrations offer asides by the worms themselves, a mole carrying a grocery list, and wonderful views of below the ground. 

A great book to share with children who want to know more about these wiggly creatures in the garden, this book reads like a picture book and offers facts for children who are looking for them.  Readers of the book will quickly learn that worms are far from yucky.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.