Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan

Title: Save Me a Seat

Authors: Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan

Pages: 216

Finished: January 31, 2018

First Sentence: Most people in America cannot pronounce my name.

Summary: Ravi, top of his class and most popular boy at school in his hometown in India, is starting school in America. Confident that he'll maintain that position here in America, he soon finds over the course of his first week that things are very different in American schools.

Meanwhile, Joe navigates the first week of school trying very hard to not get noticed by the class bullies and failing miserably.

Thoughts: I really liked the construct of the book being told over the course of a week. For elementary school, the course of a week is a very long time. Book itself wasn't anything super special. As usual, I found myself infuriated at the failure of the adults in the story. I get why kids books get the adults out of the way so fast, but it always bugs me.

Read for my Bluestem challenge.

I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka & Martin Ganda

Title: I Will Always Write Back

Author: Catlin Alifrenka and Martin Ganda

Pages: 396

Finished: January 29, 2018

First Sentence: I'd never heard of Zimbabwe.

Summary: Caitlin asks to be assigned to a student in Zimbabwe for a pen pal letter exercise in her middle school English class. Martin is the lucky student in Zimbabwe to receive said letter. The two continue corresponding and prove that sometimes one does reach the lucky jackpot in life.

Thoughts: Wow. I listened to this one, and I had a really tough time stopping! Like, almost late to work because I couldn't stop!

I loved watching how Caitlin recognized her privilege and how lucky she was to have the things she had in life. However, at times she still seemed (and seems) really naive. For example, she has a very utopian idea of how things should be, but doesn't seem to realize that the getting there will be rough.

Martin is just a really impressive person. It's amazing that he was able to do ALL of this with how little he had!

This definitely is a must read for pretty much every kid ever. Read for the Caudill Challenge.

This also is the LAST book on the Caudill challenge, so I'm officially done. And we've decided at work that next year, we're going to assign everyone only two or three, so I will not be doing this one again.

Beneath by Roland Smith

Title: Beneath

Author: Roland Smith

Pages: 264

Finished: January 29, 2018

First Sentence: Exactly one year to the day after my brother, Coop, ditched me, I got a package in the mail. 

Summary: Pat's brother, Coop, has always been fairly eccentric. Obsessed with the underground. He disappears without a trace until one day, Pat receives a recording from him. And then, even those stop. Pat follows what clues he can, only to find Pat has gone underground in New York City. Can Pat find Coop before the leader of a cult gets rid of him for good?

Thoughts: Well, it's definitely a thriller. This is one of the few books on the list that didn't fit with the theme of kindness, helping those less fortunate, or shedding light on the plight of people in other countries. It was fairly mindless. I read it in about two days because I had to see how it ended. The book continues in a sequel called, appropriately, Above. Though after reading a few reviews of that, I don't think I need to take the time to read it.

Something to recommend to 4th graders and up. Read for the Caudill Challenge.

The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall

Title: The Seventh Most Important Thing

Author: Shelley Pearsall

Pages: 278

Finished: January 27, 2017

First Sentence: On a bitter November day in Washington, D.C., when everything felt metallic--when the sky was gray and the wind stung and the dry leaves were making death-rattle sounds in the alleys--thirteen-year-old Arthur Owens picked up a brick from the corner of a crumbling building and threw it at an old man's head.

Summary: Arthur is very angry about his father's death. Especially teh fact that his mother has thrown out all his mother's thing. Which is why, when he sees the local junk man wearing his father's old hat, Arthur throws a brick at the old man's head. This lands him a trip to juvie, but the junk man requests his help as community service. Through community service, Arthur learns a lot about dealing with his own emotions and caring for other people.

Thoughts: This wasn't horrible. It was a fairly quick read. But I did almost throw it against the wall when the vice principal refused to believe anything Arthur said because he was a "bad kid." So many people are that way in the real world, refusing to look at the deeper meanings. (You see it often in disciplining kids. We discipline the act without even looking into why the act happened or trying to solve the root cause.) I also get that this happened in 1963, so things were even worse.

I liked how Arthur grew as a person too. I don't know who I'd recommend this for, but anyone who likes historical fiction set in the 60s would probably appreciate it.

Read for the Rebecca Caudill Challenge.

2018 Nonfiction Challenge

We've changed up how we're reading the Caudills and Bluestems at work which opens up more reading time for me! So I've added another challenge. I'm not technically signed up for this challenge because I missed the date, but I've decided to do the 2018 Nonfiction Challenge by Doing Dewey. I don't read much non-fiction, so this seems like a nice way to round out my reading. The challenge is fairly flexible, so I've decided to follow the read one book from each century checklist. Books read will be posted below. Wish me luck!

000s - Computer science, information, and general works
   028.9 OZM The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma  finished 2/15/18
             Pretentious and obnoxious.

100s - Philosophy and psychology
    158 RUB The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin finished 9/11/18
             Easy and nice read. Not earth-shattering

200s - Religion
300s - Social Sciences
400s - Language
500s - Pure Science
600s - Technology
   648.8 WHI Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana K. White  finished 4/23/18
              Super helpful and motivating

700s - Arts and Recreation
800s - Literature
900s - History and Geography

Ghostwritten by David Mitchell

Title: Ghostwritten

Author: David Mitchell

Pages: 488

Finished: January 25, 2018

First Sentence: Who was blowing on the nape of my neck?

Summary: Summarizing this is tricky. Nine seemingly unrelated people tell snapshots of their lives across the globe from Okinawa to New York. And yet, they're all related tangentially.

Thoughts: I've read both Cloud Atlas and Slade House by Mitchell before, and was looking forward to this one. I'll admit, it went a bit above my head. I read a couple summaries and other reviews and realized I missed a ton of themes. But I did make the inferences when they were there. I imagine I'll be revisiting this one in a few more years when I'm not carving out reading time between my kid's preschool and my work! I am interested in seeing what else comes from this.

Also! His books are clearly interconnected. Luisa Rey and the two Cavendishes are familiar figures from Cloud Atlas, and one of the characters in this book has a comet birthmark - a birthmark that also figures in the book Cloud Atlas. At the same time, this can't be the same book because that one has a future that goes past this one. Huh... I really need to look at this more.

The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Title: The Magic of Oz

Author: L Frank Baum

Pages: 288

Finished: January 24, 2017

First Sentence: On the east edge of the Land of Oz, in the Munchkin Country, is a big, tall hill called Mount Munch.

Summary: Two pairs of people go off in search of presents for Ozma on her birthday. Meanwhile everyone's favorite Nome King and a Hyup are working to sew discord in the Land of Oz. Also, the Glass Cat has pink brains. You can see 'em work!

Thoughts: I thought the cat had her vanity taken away in Patchwork Girl of Oz? General thoughts for this book are that it's a really quick read, though nothing really stupendous happens. Every time someone's in trouble, they're really not in all that much danger, and in the end, nothing horrible happens. One more book and then I'm done.

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden

Title: The Girl in the Tower

Author: Katherine Arden

Pages: 350

Finished: January 18, 2017

First Sentence: A girl rode a bay horse through a forest late at night.

Summary: Vasya has left her village, forced to flee when the villagers brand her a witch. She disguises herself as a boy and sets off to be a traveler. Of course, things have a funny way of going wrong, and she runs into her brother and sister while saving some girls from a troupe of bandits. Throughout it all, a strange boyer seems taken with her, and the Grand Prince is in danger of going to war with the Mongols.

Thoughts: This was a significantly quicker read than the last one. There wasn't as much set up, so I didn't have the slog I often find in many books. Vasya is brave and strong, if a bit rash and naive. There were times that I wanted to yell at her to think about what she was doing, but overall, I loved her. The priest, Konstantin, is still a horrible man. I disliked Olga quite a lot, though the poor woman was only following what was set forth for aristocratic women at the time. I don't think I'd survive well in medieval Russia.

These books make we want to learn more about Russian history as well as brush up on my Russian folktales. 

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Title: Murder on the Orient Express

Author: Agatha Christie

Pages: 212

Finished: January 14, 2018

First Sentence: It was five o'clock on a winter's morning in Syria.

Summary: Hercule Poirot, world famous private detective, finds himself investigating a murder while on a train ride back to London.

Thoughts: My only experience with this before reading the book was watching the Poirot episode that aired on Masterpiece Theatre in 2010ish. So I had a vague notion of what happened, but not much.

This was my first ever Agatha Christie read. It was... interesting. The mystery itself was fun, if a little farfetched. I was a little shocked at the broad stereotyping of both the sexes and the nationalities. I've noticed in most of the classics I've read that were written by women, women characters aren't so horribly treated as they are in male novels. This one was definitely an outlier in that respect. (The crime must have been committed by a woman because it was passionate?) And then they used the nature of the crime and people's nationality to accuse?

M. Bouc and the doctor were both rather ridiculous, but then they were there to be a foil, so I suppose it wasn't so horrible. I was totally misled by one character, but that's because the adaptation I fuzzily remembered had changed his character. In general, I appreciated the novel as an easy read for the start of my classics journey in 2018.

After I finished, I found the Poirot episode I remembered watching many years earlier and watched it. There were quite a few characterization differences, and plenty of changes to the story that explained my confusion while I was reading. It was an interesting enough adaptation, and I've already put the 2017 movie on hold for when it comes out at the library. I'll definitely be checking out more Christie works in the future.

Read for Back to the Classics 2018 Challenge.

Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai

Title: Listen, Slowly

Author: Thanhha Lai

Pages: 272

Finished: January 12, 2018

First Sentence:

Summary: Mai looks forward to spending her summer on the beach with her friend Montana while they flirt with a cute boy from her class. Instead she's spending it in Vietnam helping her grandmother find out what happened to her husband after The War. And she is unhappy. As is usual with these types of books though, she learns about her family and becomes a deeper, more thoughtful person. Yay.

Thoughts: I listened to this on audiobook, and it honestly ruined the experience for me. Mai is a sixth grade girl, so the narrator went with spoiled, whiny brat when she started. And boy was she spoiled and whiny. I had a really hard time sympathizing with her as a 30 year old adult. But I think some young teens would really enjoy this. Read for my Caudill Challenge.

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

Title: Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow

Author: Jessica Townsend

Pages: 480

Finished: January 11, 2018

First Sentence: The journalists arrived before the coffin did.

Summary: Born on Eventide eleven years ago, Morrigan Crow, along with all other Eventide born children, is cursed to die at midnight on the next Eventide. As her death nears, an eccentric named Jupiter Crow appears and offers her an escape. A way to bypass death and continue life with plenty of opportunities. An opportunity Morrigan takes.

Thoughts: Very Harry Potter. Also, it felt very steampunk even though it's not really. Great piece of middle grade fiction. I'm interested in reading the rest of the series when they come up. Glad to have another recommendation in my back pocket for our voracious 5th and 6th grade fantasy readers.

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Title: Life After Life

Author: Kate Atkinson

Pages: 531

Finished: January 9, 2017

First Sentence: A fug of tobacco smoke and damp clammy air hit her as she entered the cafe. 

Summary: Ursula Todd walks into a cafe in Germany and shoots Hitler. She dies. Years earlier, Ursula Todd is born, but dies due to strangulation from the umbilical cord. Ursula Todd is born and survives because the doctor arrived this time. Ursula Todd dies at the age of four from drowning in the ocean. Don't worry, she's reborn. In fact, she's born again and again, and dies again and again. Each life is different. Sometimes greatly so, other times not so much. And it seems she's doomed to live this life over and over.

Thoughts: Woah. I read this for part of a challenge at work. The adult winter reading theme was Expand Your Reading Comfort Zone. We filled out a form of our typical reading styles, and then the adult services librarians picked a book for us that was outside of our comfort zone.

I don't typically read a ton of historical fiction, and I tend to be a pretty linear person, but I found myself hooked on this book. I found it interesting how Ursula changed in each iteration. People have compared this to the movie Groundhog Day, but I find that a bit unfair. In Groundhog Day, Bill Murray's character knew exactly what was happening each day. Ursula was only vaguely aware that things were happening again. She fumbled through each life with plenty of trial and error.

Sylvie was the character who confused me the most. When we first met her, I actually quite liked her. She seemed very bright and vivacious. Intelligent and ready to give Hugh a run for his money. And then she just got worse and worse. I know I'm reading the book with 21st century sensibilities, but her way of handling Ursula's rape and subsequent abortion was very unfeeling and very... wrong.

The chapters regarding London during the Blitz were quite difficult to read. The detail of the bodies was quite gruesome. Don't read while eating. It reminded me a lot of Foyle's War, a television series set in WWII.

In the end, I'm really glad I read this. I feel like it needs a second read to be digested properly, though that will obviously have to wait for another time. 

World War Z by Max Brooks

Title: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

Author: Max Brooks

Pages: (342) Audiobook

Finished: January 9, 2017

First Sentence: I listened to this, so I don't know what the first line is

Summary: 10 years after China has declared victory against the undead, our unnamed narrator known as the Interviewer travels the world talking to survivors of the Zombie Apocalypse.

Thoughts: This book has been in my sites for a while now thanks to Chris Hardwick extolling it's amazingness on the Nerdist Podcast more than once. He mentioned the unabridged audiobook in a recent episode, so I decided to check it out. I was not disappointed!

I don't like horror. I've an active imagination, and I can give myself nightmares too easily. But this one worked for me. The documentary nature of the book made everything that happened something in the past, so even though scary things were happening, the reader listener already knows that the person talking survives. I liked that, though I understand that not everyone found it so interesting.

The book is divided into multiple parts - basically the set up and spread of the disease, the panic as people realized they couldn't escape, the failed fight against them, the turning of the tides, and the cleanup. The spread of the disease and the panic were really the most interesting parts to me. Latter chapters got long. Also, important to note, interviewees will reference something that will never be explained again. This can be frustrating sometimes when you decide you really want to know about that one small detail, but I got used to it as the book went on.

I listened to it primarily because some of my favorite actors were cast to voice characters in it, but I wish I had read it instead in hindsight. I listen to audiobooks while doing other things, so I'm never paying full attention to what I'm listening to. I mean, it's not too difficult when I'm folding laundry, but I can't put full attention while driving. I also don't retain information as well when listening as I do with reading. I missed references I should have caught, and I found myself forgetting things that happened. I found the Schmoop entry to be invaluable for keeping things straight.

I definitely plan on revisiting this in book form in a year or so. Might be a good October read.

Snow and Rose by Emily Winfield Martin

Title: Snow and Rose

Author: Emily Winfield Martin

Pages: 205

Finished: January 3, 2018

First Sentence: Once, there were two sisters

Summary: This is the story of Snow White and Rose Red, two sisters who live in the forest, save a gnome, and befriend a bear. Only it's not quite that story. There's a library with goats for one. And a mushroom farmer. And many other delightful little embellishments to make the story so lovely.

Thoughts: Martin clearly took the fairy tale and turned it into a middle grade piece of literature. There's no love interest in this story about a pair of sisters aged 9 and 11. But it doesn't need it. The sisters are perfect in themselves. Both strong in their own ways as they figure out the mysteries of the forest. I really liked this book and definitely would recommend it to readers 4th grade through 6th or 7th.

The book itself is also gorgeous. It has pictures. Such lovely pictures. The pages have a lovely weight to them. It's the right size. All in all a wonderful reading experience.

Once Upon a Summer Day by Dennis McKiernan

Title: Once Upon a Summer Day

Author: Dennis L. McKiernan

Pages: 267

Finished: January 1, 2018

First Sentence: There is a place in Faery where eternal summer lies upon the land; it is a region of forests and fields, of vales and clearings, of streams and rivers and other such 'scapes, where soft summer breezes flow across the weald, though occasionally towering thunderstorms fill the afternoon skies and rain sweeps o'er all.

Summary: Borel, Prince of the Winterwood dreams of a fair maid trapped in a tower. Soon, he realizes he's sharing a dream with an actual maiden trapped in a tower, and only he can save her! Thus, Borel sets out through the land of Faery to find the lovely Michelle and save her from an eternal sleep.

Thoughts: This is basically the exact same story as the one before, except instead of the girl saving the boy, it's flipped. I was a little disappointed as it's supposed to be a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but we really learn little of her.

I liked that Prince Borel is a man who believes in enthusiastic consent. Otherwise, the book is... formulaic and a little obnoxious. I don't really understand what McKiernan is trying to do with his writing style. I think it's supposed to be similar to that of a bard telling a story, but it just reads as stilted sometimes. There's a lot of repetition and unnecessary summary. Also, while I do like a strong woman character, there seems little difference between Chelle and Camille. And the main characters are all so smart in some ways and incredibly dumb in others. Lastly, I keep getting confused. They're in the land of Faery, but very few people are actually Fey. Apparently the season wood lords and ladies are human? I don't know. I haven't decided if I'll finish the series or not.

The Tin Woodman of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Title: The Tin Woodman of Oz

Author: L Frank Baum

Pages: 294

Finished: December 31, 2017

First Sentence: The Tin Woodman sat on his glittering tin throne in the handsome tin hall of his splendid tin castle in the Winkie Country of the Land of Oz.

Summary: When Woot the Wanderer wanders into the Tin Woodman's castle and tells the Woodman that he was wrong in never checking up on his sweetheart Nimmee Amee, the Tin Woodman, Scarecrow, and Woot all travel off to Munchkin Country to find her. As with any Oz book, they meet with many adventures.

Thoughts: Funny enough, I feel like his later books are better than his middle books. There's some weirdness where they talk about how Oz became a fairy country that seems contradictory to earlier information (particularly the bit about how no one ever dies, but then we know that Ozma is the latest in a long line of Oz rulers...). The bit with Ku Klip and the various body parts of the tin men was a bit dark, but perhaps a kid would enjoy it. Honestly, these book seem best suited as read alouds to first and second graders.