A Slave to Time Traveling

Kindred by Octavia Butler
Boston : Beacon Press, [2004], c1979.
287 p. ; 21 cm.

Kindred is a great novel.  I had to state that before saying anything else about Butler's novel, such as how it is  very creative science-fiction, well thought-out historical fiction, and an exciting read.  It really is a wonderful book.

The premise of the plot involves an African-American woman in the 1970s who is suddenly and involuntarily thrown back into the early 1800s where she has to navigate the incredibly dangerous world of antebellum slavery in Maryland.  She bounces back and forth several times, usually against her will, and the duration of time is very different in the past and present dimensions. I don't want to give away much more since many of the details of the time-travel are tightly woven into the plot of the novel.

It was serendipitous that I picked this book right after reading Twelve Years a Slave - they make perfect reading companions.  The book, though written in the 1970s, is very timely with it's deep exploration of US slavery - exploring its effects on society, family, the psyche, ethics, and relationships.

Butler's accomplishment is to create a thrilling, fascinating and deeply disturbing story that is hard to put down.  It's well-written, engaging, creative and...well, like I said, a great novel.

Better Than Fiction (and Worse)

Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northrup
New York, NY : Penguin Books, 2013.
xxxviii, 240 p. : ill ; 20 cm.

When the movie, Twelve Years a Slave, came out about 2 years ago, I knew I would want to read the book.  At the time, I bought a couple of new copies of the book for my library, and I've finally gotten around to reading it - stunning!  I can't say enough about what a fine book this is.

I thought that since this autobiography was written over a hundred and fifty years ago, it might be a bit formal or stiff, but it is wonderfully written.  There are several things that make the story of Northrup's ordeal such a tour de force.  First, the circumstances of his living thirty years a free man, only to be kidnapped and sold into slavery make the story immediate and chilling.  The reader can imagine the experience in a visceral way different from narratives of those born into slavery. Northrup's tale reads like a modern Kafkaesque story of one man's descent into a horrifying alternate universe.  As Fredrick Douglas said of Twelve Years a Slave, "It chills the blood."  

Also, since Northrup was so concerned that he not be accused of fabricating his narrative, he includes specific names and details that make the action of the book terribly real and give the book a cinematic effect.  Steve McQueen, the director of the Oscar winning film of the same name, writes in the Foreword, "The book read like a film script, ready to be shot."

I'm not sure I'll be able to get a lot of students to read Twelve Years a Slave, but I'm going to give it a try.  I'll feel certain telling them it's a book that will blow them away - more than any dystopian fiction novel could!

Sol Man

The Martian by Andy Weir
New York : Crown Publishers, [2014]
369 p. : maps ; 24 cm. 

There should be two genres - science fiction and scientific fiction, with scientific fiction being fiction that is so  steeped in science and so close to the near-future of actual science that it reads like contemporary fiction.  If so the The Martian would be an amazing example of scientific fiction.  At times while reading it, I found myself forgetting that humans have never actually set foot on Mars - only probes and rovers. 

This novel is a great bit of exciting story telling.  It follows the adventures of one astronaut stranded on Mars when his crew abandons  him, firmly convinced that he is lost and dead.  The novel unwinds a modern survival tale - how will he even survive long enough on such a hostile planet, and will earth based efforts to rescue him be successful. 

It is an amazing feat that the author takes what could be a very boring scenario and turns it into a wild adventure, a thrilling live or die race to the end. 

The details are so meticulous (and interesting) that I often felt like I was reading a fictionalized version of actual events.  Reviews compare it to Robinson Crusoe and Apollo 13 - not a bad analogy.  If you like a good, gritty, unpredictable survival/or almost survival tale with lots of fascinating details about living on a bitterly cold planet that has almost no atmosphere, then you'll love this novel.  I did!

BTW, a Sol is the term NASA uses to describe one Martian day.

Lush Life

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
New York : Penguin, 2005, c2004.
486 p. ; 22 cm.

I first read Shadow of the Wind about 8 or 9 years ago on the recommendation of an exchange student from Argentina.  He said it was his favorite book and had changed his life.  Well, how can a high school librarian not want to read a book with that kind of intro?  I really liked it - a lot - back then, and have since occasionally recommended it to students.  Recently a student who reads a lot was asking about a recommendation for a book with a lot of mystery and plot and good writing.  I almost forgot about Shadow of the Wind, but then recalled it and suggested it to him.

Well, it had been a long time since I had read it and I thought, maybe it hasn't aged so well, or maybe it's not as good as I remember - and so I decided to read it again.  I was not disappointed.

If you look on Goodreads, you will find a lot of extremely positive reviews and a few cranky dismissals of the book.  I'm going to have to weigh-in on the side of those who love the book.  Yes, the book is a bit melodramatic, yes it is almost overly-romantic, yes it is highly stylized, but (and this is crucial) the book is all those things because it is a passionate homage to the love of literature, the love of justice and compassion, and the love of romantic love.  It also is beautifully written.

It's not a perfect novel, but it is both a delightful and haunting read.  Set in the moral, social and physical wreckage of post Civil War Spain, Ruiz Zafon makes Barcelona a character itself, as the varied heroes of the novel reveal their passionate and complex ways of surviving and being humane in fascist Spain.

If you are someone who loves reading, or literary writing, or an exploration of the passion of love, then you will certainly love Shadow of the Wind.  Not every young adult will find it to be their favorite novel, or the one that changes their life, but some will and will thank you for recommending it.

Comic Wonders

The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore
New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2014.
xiv, 410 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 25 cm.

This is an amazing book of history, culture, and biography.  Jill Lepore has used her research into the origins of the Wonder Woman comic character to present a rich history of US feminism, bohemianism, pop culture and alternative lifestyles.

Lepore's history has at it's heart, the creator of Wonder Woman, William Marston - scholar, psychologist, pro-feminist, huckster, man of secrets and passions.  The book begins with the early US feminist struggles for suffrage and birth control and brings the story up to the present.  We find out in the course of the book that the people involved in Wonder Woman's origins include the famous feminist, Margaret Sanger - and that Marston has legitimate claims to the invention of the "lie detector."

The book is a personal history of Marston the two women who lived with him most of their lives and who had children with him, a history of the phenomenal rise of comic books in the US [and the "moral" backlash against them], a glimpse into the period of WWI, WWII, and - of course - a history of the the US feminist movement in the 20th century.  There is a lot in this well-researched book.

I'd recommend this book for any student interested in the history of comic books, interested in the women's rights movement in the US, or interested in 20th century US history and culture. The main drawback for this book is that it's kind of long for a high school history book - but with it's index, it would serve well for any research projects.

Get Real

Reality Boy by A. S. King
New York : Little, Brown and Co., 2014.
353 p. ; 21 cm.

I wasn't sure I'd like this book, but it is well-written, interesting and nicely plotted. The novel picks up with now 16 year old Gerald who achieved dubious fame as a 5 year old reality TV "star" - appearing in a Nanny 911 type show where he was supposedly "the troubled child" because he defecated around the house to express his anger and frustration.  Due to this unpleasant behavioral trait, Gerald, got nicknamed "The Crapper" and has never lived it down.

The novel follows Gerald as he deals with his anger, powerlessness, and developing romantic relationship.  We learn there were a lot of terrible truths that were papered over by the reality TV producers and that the troubled one wasn't really Gerald.

There is a lot of humor, heart, and depth to Reality Boy (it really is a fun read) and I'll recommend it to students asking about a good book to read.  My main complaint with this book is that in the interest of heightening conflict - the villains of the book (you'll have to read it to find out) are stunningly villainous (downright sociopathic/psychopathic).  It's not that such characters don't exist, it's just that I didn't quite believe it in this context.  That said, Reality Boy is a good book that should appeal to a wide variety of readers.

Wealth Gap Becomes Abyss

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming
New York : Schwartz & Wade Books, [2014]
292 p. : ill., geneal. table, map ; 25 cm.

With the current trend of the rapidly widening gaps between the very rich and everyone else in the US and globally, the sad tale of the Romanov family ought to serve as a cautionary tale.  But how to convey the complexity of the last Russian Tsar - a timid man who desperately did not want to be the ruler of Russia, but also a dictator who gleefully launched waves of repression against dissidents and Jews which killed thousands?  And how to do it for a high school audience?  In The Family Romanov, Candace Fleming has done a remarkable job on meeting the challenge.

Her book is an extremely well researched book, but reads a lot like a novel.  She also balances the "Dowton Abbey" gawking at the obscene opulence of the Russian elite with alternating sections that powerfully describe the horrible poverty and oppression of the Russian peasantry and workers.  

from the LOC (also on the books cover)

I love reading about Russian history and about this period just before and during WWI, and this book is a great addition to that list.  Fleming does a wonderful job of including enough illustrations and of explaining the basics of the Russian Revolution (no easy task).  She also manages to flesh out each of the members of the Tsarist family and conveying the both the historical and human sides of the story of their downfall and eventual murders.

This would be a great book to recommend to any student who is curious about the Russian Revolution, but doesn't want a dry history of the events.  It answers a lot of the basic questions, but also stokes the curiosity of any historically minded person who will definitely want to read more.