12 Days of Bookmas

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Book-mas!

In honor of the 12 days before Christmas, I am going to post lightning fast reviews/suggestions for all those book lovers in your life. The reviews will be lightning fast because, let’s face it, I don’t have a ton of time to write in depth reviews, and you probably don’t have time to read in-depth reviews. I’ll still be doing my mock Caldecott reviews on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s, but on the other days I’ll post a little something extra.

Woo hoo!

Here’s the first recommendation:

Inside Out & Back Again

Inside Out & Back again
by Thanha Lai
Harper Collins
Ages: 8 & up
2011 

First of all, this is the National Book Award winner for young people’s fiction. Second of all, wow.

I hesitated to read this book because I am not drawn to novels written in verse, mainly because I don’t feel like I know how to read them correctly. How does the rhythm go?? But Forrest coached me on it, and once I got into the groove of the story I was completely captivated.

The story is about a little girl named Ha (there should be an accent over the ‘a’ but I do not have that kind of power in WordPress), who immigrates from Saigon to America during the Vietnam War with her mother and three older brothers. The transition is a painful one, especially as the family continues to wonder if their missing in action father/husband is alive or not.

I loved being inside the head and heart of someone who is just learning English and desperate to fit in, all while missing the familiarity of home. This novel is breathtaking and eye-opening.

Buy it for the age group suggested (8 & up), or buy it for yourself. You won’t be sorry.

By the way, the highlighted book info by the picture takes  you to the Amazon link for easy purchase; however, if you are going to buy it, won’t you consider buying it from your local independent book store?  Thanks!

Filed under: Coming of age, Middle Grade

Wonderstruck

Wonderstruck

Wonderstruck
by: Brian Selznick
Scholastic Press
Ages: 9 & up
2011 

Genre: Mystery, Coming-of-age

Keywords: Family, Friendship, Museums, Treasures

Summary: Ben just lost his mom and now, more than ever, he feels desperate to find and meet his dad. When he finds an old New York address belonging to his dad, Ben decides to make the journey to New York on his own; however, things do not go as smoothly as he expected.

Rose is obsessed with a glamorous actress and keeps a scrapbook containing newspaper clippings of her life. Determined to meet the actress, Rose sneaks out of her house and heads to New York; however, things do not go as expected.

The story of Ben and the story of Rose are separated by fifty years but are seamlessly told back and forth. Ben’s story is told by text, and Rose’s story by pictures. The author who created the magical, pictorial world of Hugo Cabret has followed up with a beautiful and intricate tale that highlights the bonds of family and friendship and the difficult journey we all have to take to find beauty in tragedy.

The good: For those of you that read Hugo Cabret (and are anticipating the upcoming Martin Scorsese film adaptation), you will love Wonderstruck. The pictures alone are extremely detailed and worth a look. Go here to see a preview. Where Wonderstruck exceeds expectation is in the complexity of the story. The story of Hugo Cabret was primarily told through pictures with pages of text interspersed. Wonderstruck tells two stories, and Selznick uses text for one and pictures for another. This creates a whole new reading experience that is exciting and magical. The way that Selznick develops Ben’s character is complex and fascinating, but even more so, the development of Rose’s character through pictures is vividly clear and absorbing. This is a beautiful book and a wonderful experience for any reader.

The verdict: I would definitely recommend this to a reluctant reader, boy or girl. This is great for middle grade readers, but I could see younger kids with advanced reading skills enjoying it as well as teens.

The rating: 8 (Fantastic)

Filed under: Coming of age, Mystery