Review: Wondershow by Hannah Barnaby

Review: Wondershow by Hannah Barnaby
Published by: Houghten Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-547-59980-9
Reading Level: Grades 9 and up

Sometimes it's the little things about a book. Things which have nothing to do with the story. With this book, it was the dedication. It states:

For the lost and the lonely
For the different and the same

The longing and the beauty conveyed in these two lines made me realize I was in for a treat of a book. I was not disappointed.
To explain the plot of this story gets complicated and detailed. On the one hand, it's a story of a girl in search of her family who joins a circus, telling stories as a "normal" and finds her true family. On the other hand, this is the story of Portia, set in the United States during the 1930s. Portia is our main character - a young girl in search of her family. Portia has always had a way with stories. Her father was her constant audience; her mother was "lean and restless" and departed, leaving a space which was quickly closed and was never spoken of again. Her father and his moods controlled the stories Portia told and through that, as a young child she learned the art of storytelling, the difference between a lie and a tale and how a family can fly away. A visit to the circus was quickly followed by the disappearance of her father, leaving the two mixed in Portias mind: her father must have left to follow the circus. Portia is left with her Aunt, a no nonsense woman who taught Portia to cook and sew and who eventually decided that she was unable to care for Portia as she should be cared for. Portia is left in McGreavey's Home for Wayward Girls with the Mister, a man who uses the home as a front to get cheap labour - the girls are put to work sewing mail order uniforms or picking apples. Portia quickly becomes friends with Caroline, a girl who has caught the eye of Mister. She becomes one of the house girls, who, with Caroline and Delilah the cook, take care of the main home where Mister lives. It is there she finds the files and knows that Mister knows where her father is - she just has to earn his trust enough to be able to access it. When tragedy strikes, Portia leaves and finds the circus, hoping she can find her father, or, failing that, employment. Through the strength of her storytelling skills she finds a place as a "normal' in the Mosco's Traveling Wonder Show and it is there she discovers what family truly means.
So... big set up for a fairly pat plot - discovering family, discovering self, discovering what a freak means vs what a normal means, finding out who the true monsters are in the world. However, all of this is boiled into beautiful prose where the reader is able to watch Portia develop from a headstrong young girl into a woman who is secure in her family and her future. As well, it gives a glimpse into the world of the traveling 'freak' show - shows popular in the 1930s. Through this novel the reader gets a glimpse into part of the world of the 30s. Barnaby creates a set of characters that the reader wants to learn more about and of whom the reader will form definite opinions. Beautifully told, a little different and smart - a fantastic novel.
I give this book a 5/5
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Review: The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

Review: The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

Published by:Balzar + Bray, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, in 2012

ISBN: 978-0-06-202056-7

Reading Level: Grades 9 and up

I was a teen of the 90's. The grunge scruffiness, the bands trying to make a mark, the general questioning of the age. Who am I and why did I used to wear florescent shirts and all that jazz. Reading a book set in that era was nice, especially one that wasn't focused on the popular culture of the times but instead the living in the culture of those times. It felt familiar.
The subject matter was less personal but was still familiar. The story of a girl trying to find her place and her self during her teen years in the 90s sounds like the story of my life. Less like my life was the life of Cameron Post. Her parents die suddenly in a car crash and she's relieved - relieved they will never find out that she was kissing a girl at the time of their crash. Once she is orphaned, Cameron has to live with her well intentioned but old fashioned Grandmother and her very conservative and Christian aunt Ruth. She knows her home life will never be the same and knows that to fit in in her small town she's going to have to lay low and blend in, no matter what inner angst she is feeling. Then, SHE moves to town - beautiful cowgirl Coley Taylor with her perfect life and her perfect boyfriend. Cameron and Coley strike up an intense friendship, one which becomes intense in many ways. When the intensity turns to something physical, Cameron is sent away by her Aunt to be "fixed". Cam is forced to face the reality of what it will mean to deny her true self - and the reality of figuring out who her true self really is.
This book was visually quite beautiful - the descriptions of vistas, towns and places were striking and appealing to the reader. Cameron was a character I enjoyed meeting - and about whom I'd love to read more. Danforth scripted her characters beautifully and believably, and their joys and angst were quite visible and tangible as you navigated their lives. Character, setting, plot - all of these tenants of storytelling were beautifully developed and left the reader informed and wanting more.
This is one book I can't wait to share with my students.
I rate this book 5/5.
Goodreads page.

Review: Love and Other Perishable Items

Review: Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buza

Published by: Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books. Originally published in Australia by Allen and Unwin, Sydney (2010). American Publication 2012

ISBN: 978-0-373-87000-2

Reading Level: Grade 9+

Love, when you're a teenager, is almost always complicated. Love, when you're 15 and the person you're in love with is 21 is a little more problematic. 'Love and Other Perishable Items' addresses the question - what do when your first love is someone you shouldn't love?
Amelia and Chris both work in their local supermarket. Chris is a university student who is finding the motivation to finish his last year difficult to find. Amelia is finding high school to be not quite what she wants. Amelia, at first sight, fell head over heels with the sophicated Chris, but knows enough to not act on it. Instead she plays it cool and strikes up a friendship where they compare the injustices of growing up as well as bantering about books and b movies. On the surface they're perfect for each other - witty, funny and with similar interests. As time progresses, Amelia does not seem like the only person who longs for a romantic relationship. Yet those six years stand between them - inconsequential when they're in their sixties, miles apart when they're spanning their teens and twenties. Told in alternating sections of Amelia and Chris, the reader wonders if these two can find love - or is their relationship about to meet it's best before date?
This book details the firsts that Amelia is experiencing - her first love, her first real party, her first job, her first hangover. She's a very observant and mature fifteen, forming opinions on literature and feminism and practicing the ability to spout these opinions when she can. At the supermarket, she is not one of the girls who's 15-going-on-35 in terms of social maturity and sexuality. It is her opinions, not her actions, which makes her stand out to Chris. Chris is in search of something - badly burned by Michaela and finding solace at the Uni bar and in his crush on his coworker Kathy he goes from day to day unsure of where his life is leading. He is intrigued by Amelia and her mix of maturity and innocence and enjoys discussions with her, especially those where he can mentor her on books and popular culture. They are well suited and their friendship is one that develops organically, romantic feelings aside. The conclusion of their story is one which does not demean either character and which allows for the idea that the future is always wide open.

I found this book to be nicely written. It captured the angst of unrequited and inappropriate love without making it seem taudry and unrealistic. The issues presented are ones that the characters are quite aware of and it never becomes a 'he and I against the world' kind of Romeo and Juliet tale. Both Amelia and Chris grow and develop as characters, finding their places with each other but also in their own worlds. The alternating of voices, especially since they tell of the same times and events when appropriate, is done quite well, as is the conclusion where these voices are shared. At times, Amelia seems a little too perfect for Chris, Chris seems a little too aimless and the secondary characters seem a little too much like caricatures, however, overall they exist together in the world they inhabit, helping each other find what they want and begin to figure out how to get it.

I give this book a 4/5. Nicely written, draws on the simplistic at times, well concluded.

Goodreads page.

Review: After the Snow

Review: 'After the Snow by S. D. Crockett

Published by: Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-312-64169-6
Reading Levels: Grade 8+

When I give book talks to students, I don't only discuss books that I enjoyed. I bring out books that I didn't like as well, letting them know they weren't to my taste and why, including a plot review. One book like that is 'Blood Red Road' - I disliked the bleak dystopia and the plot that kept going and going and going. Unfortunately, while reading 'After the Snow' I was constantly reminded of 'Blood Red Road'. The bleakness, the journey, the family revelations, the violence and the times of inaction. It was 'Blood Red Road' all over again and I had to push to finish it.
'After the Snow' tells of a world that has suffered a brand new ice age. The oceans have stopped, America has become inconsequential and survival is of the utmost importance. Willo has only known the world in this state - ice and snow is his normal. He learns from the animals and spends time trapping them for food and for their fur, imitating them whenever he can and recognizing their power and their beauty. One day his family is taken away while Willo is out trapping. Unused to being the pack leader, Willo does what he can to survive, bringing as many supplies as he can to the top of the mountain so he can build a shelter and try to figure out how to find his family. On his way, he discovers a young girl and her brother who are starving and alone. Choices he makes from that point on will jeopardize his chances of survival and alter his destiny forever.
For me, when I read, I need to care about the characters. They could be doing something I've never done (to this point), such as fight cancer, participate in a battle to the death again other people their age, come to terms with the fact their father is a prolific serial killer, or go on a quest to kill the dark lord who-shall-not-be-named. The character of Willo was as bleak as the landscape and even his revelations about his family could not endear him to me. This character, when combined with the abysmal setting of snow and ice, could not make me care about him or his journey. Having not met his family, I had no connection of hope to his finding them, other than not wanting a young boy to be alone. I couldn't connect with the main character, thus, my connection to the book was one of suffering as I pushed to finish it.
I give this book a 2/5. It has merits, it's just not for me and I would not reread it.
Goodreads page.