In the end, you will fail to save that which matters most.

My daughter is a Percy Jackson fangirl. (How big of a fangirl? She was practically inconsolable when the series ended, she won a trivia contest [and collector's edition of the first book] at our local Borders during their movie kick-off event, she began studying Greek mythology, she was thrilled to get a copy of The Odyssey for Easter, and she was PISSED about the movie version BEFORE IT EVEN CAME OUT. Et cetera. I mean, I could go on.) So after we listened to all of the Harry Potter books, I promised her we would listen to the Percy Jackson books. As always, we started with book one: The Lightning Thief as read by Jesse Bernstein.

What I Liked

- I think the book is a lot of fun. The characters are great, especially the main trio (Percy, Annabeth, and Grover). Percy and his imperfections make the perfect kind of protagonist for reluctant readers, and the fact that he is a reluctant reader himself would probably endear him even more to that particular demographic. Annabeth is smart, snarky, and fearless. And then there’s sweet sidekick Grover.

The best thing about the trio is that they all have their own reasons for going on the quest, and they all have something to prove. Unlike in the Harry Potter books where Ron and Hermione are mostly helping out because Harry is their friend (and for the good of wizard-kind), every member of this trio has his or her own separate, personal, and mostly selfish reasons for joining the quest.

- The reliance on Greek mythology is awesome. As I stated above, it definitely fueled my daughter’s interest in Greek mythology (as well as other mythologies). There’s lots of fun background info given to the readers, and it’s all easily woven into the narrative instead of an obvious attempt to school us about Greek mythology.

- I also love the way Riordan modernizes Olympus and ties the United States and its geography to the gods and goddesses. That the record company is the entrance to the underworld? Awesome. DOA Recording Studios? BRILLIANT. The depiction of the gods and goddesses is also cool. Ares as a motorcycle head, Poseidon as a retired beach dude, and Zeus as a CEO? Nicely done.

What I Didn’t Like

- This is a very male heavy narrative. Annabeth is smart, snarky, fearless, insecure, and has something to prove. Percy’s mom (who is in an abusive relationship) is interesting and nuanced. However, Percy’s mom is absent for most of the narrative and the other female characters that are present (besides Annabeth) are villains and bullies. I hope that changes in the rest of the books.

- As for the audiobookiness of it all, the narrator is really annoying. Percy sounds like a whiny sixteen-year-old rather than a smart alecky twelve-year-old. And Jesse Bernstein narrates THE WHOLE SERIES. Shoot me now. Also, I should point out that my daughter hates the narration as well. It’s a very, very, VERY good thing the story is so compelling because there is nothing remotely appealing about Bernstein’s narration.

Except Ares. I’ll give him Ares. His Ares is very good.

In conclusion: I recommend the book, but not the audiobook version–unless you like your smart alecky twelve-year-old boys to sound like whiny sixteen-year-olds. The story is superfun, and I can see how and why Percy’s story has become so popular.

See larger image The Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Book 1 (Audio CD) By (author) Rick Riordan List Price: $19.99 USD New From: $10.84 In Stock Used from: $10.79 In Stock Release date June 14, 2005.

“No, Meg. Don’t hope it was a dream. I don’t understand it any more than you do, but one thing I’ve learned is that you don’t have to understand things for them to be.”

I never read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle while growing up. I wasn’t big into fantasy so it completely slipped by me. I don’t think I ever properly heard of until I was an adult.

My point is that I am kind of sad I didn’t read it as a child because I kind of love it a lot. A LOT.

The basic story is that Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and a classmate named Calvin go on a search through time and space to bring Meg and Charles Wallace’s missing father home.

But it is so much more than that. So much more.

It’s hard to talk about what happens in the book because I don’t want to give anything away for anyone who hasn’t read it yet. Plus, I think it can be read in several different and unique ways depending on individual experience, so I’ll just say I loved the focus on strengths and faults of the characters, the use of mystical/alien beings, the way the story seems to be resolved when it isn’t yet the real resolution is heartbreaking and positively optimistic all at once. And that love conquers all, the end.

I was surprised by how overtly Christian the book is, especially because it still manages to be such an effective allegory.

I also love that the book is pro-individuality, Christian positive, and anti-censorship all at once. It manages to be realistic fiction, science fiction, fantasy, dystopic fiction. L’Engle just does so much and does it all so well. It’s kind of amazing.

This, THIS is the kind of book that makes me want to be a writer.

Two things I didn’t like:  I hate that the one brother’s name is Dennys, which is another spelling of Dennis, because I kept pronouncing it Denny’s in my head. Also, the main baddie is named IT (it), but because it’s 2010, I kept reading it as I.T. as in IT support.

But, really, those are nothing in the grand scheme of things.  Awesome book.  Absolutely awesome.

YA Reading Challenge: 22/75

See larger image A Wrinkle in Time (Paperback) By (author) Madeleine L'Engle List Price: $6.99 USD New From: $3.43 In Stock Used from: $1.37 In Stock Release date May 1, 2007.

Mama took the lead and went on about how I’m first in charm school and how “she’ll be the wickedest witch wherever the four winds blow.” Doesn’t Mama know it’s bad luck to brag?

Oh, and what bad luck it is. Diary of a Fairy Godmother by Esmé Raji Codell is about Hunky Dory, a witch who is studying wickedness but ends up wanting to go the other way and become a dreaded F. G. Fairy godmother, that is.

What I Liked

- The book is very clever. The idea of being a wicked witch as a family career path that is desired is great. The use of familiar fairytales to explore the other sides of the story–that of the bad guys–is well-handled.

- I loved the use of the textbook within the text, Be the One with the Wand. I especially loved the little life lessons it provides. Great info for any kid reading it. One of my favorites is “The first step to accomplishing amazing things is setting unrealistic goals.”

- The book is so female positive and independence positive. The focus is on the girls making life work for them and finding what they’re passionate about. They’re encouraged to be themselves, even if they go the absolute wrong way (like being a fairy godmother), but even then, there’s pride amongst the group that Hunky has the guts to do what she wants.

- Her Auntie is great. I don’t want to ruin the story, but…yeah. Great character.

- I like the way the romantic interest is handled.

What I Didn’t Like

- The book lacks some internal consistency. The rules of the world need more clarification. Otherwise, the book comes off as too clever for its own good. For example, rudeness and evilness are prized and despised at the same time.

- Nothing really happens. By which I mean, stuff happens, but it’s all mostly tell with no show so the story and characters feel flat.

- I would have liked to see the characters ad their relationships (especially the ones Hunky has with her mother and Rumpelstiltskin) developed further.

In conclusion: Very cute and clever premise with an unfortunately flat execution. It’s just okay when it could have been great.

The librarian suggested Nappy by Charisse Carney-Nunes after hearing a conversation I was having with another woman in line about finding a natural hairstylist.  Carney-Nunes intends the book to “affirm the beauty and strength of black hair” as per an interview at The Brown Bookshelf.

I mention how she sees the book because I absolutely did not like it, nor did I take get the intended message from the book.  I can see what it’s trying to do–link natural hair with the history of blackness in the U.S., specifically the triumphs of black women.

The problem is that black natural hair is presented as a burden.  It’s painful, it’s a nuisance, it’s a struggle to have.  The repeated line is that God doesn’t give you anything you can’t handle like having nappy hair is some great tragedy that has to be overcome.  It’s equated with the Civil Rights movement, slavery, etc.  Which is fine on paper because, yes, that is the history.

But the little girl that’s getting her hair combed is in pain. There is nothing enjoyable presented about having nappy hair. As a mother of a child whose hair isn’t chemically treated, I would not want her to read the book about how her hair is some great trial to overcome, that it’s SO HARD to wear her hair the way it is.

We enjoy hair time. We watch movies and talk. If I’m hurting her when I do her hair, it’s because I’m doing something wrong–like not moisturizing her hair enough. The only great struggle for me, as a woman who has stopped using chemicals in my hair, is not wanting to do my hair, which was an issue I had when my hair was relaxed.

So this gets a big thumbs down for me.

Although I did like the mini-biographies presented of the women featured in the book.

POC Reading Challenge:  13/15

The note said:  SOMEONE IN THIS CLASS IS A WITCH.

The librarian recommended the audiobook version of Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones (narrated by Gerard Doyle) to my daughter several months ago.  The book is part of DWJ’s Chrestomanci series, which we didn’t know until after we finished the book.  In Witch Week, witchcraft is a burnable offense, so when someone in Class 6B is declared a witch, it causes lots of complications for the class as well as the school.

What I Liked

- Gerard Doyle is an AWESOME narrator.  Oh my goodness.  His line readings are amazing.  AMAZING.

- Fantastic characters.  What I really like is that one of the protagonists actually becomes unlikeable near the end of the book.  It was an unexpected turn, but works really well and makes perfect sense.

- That is because the storytelling is so neato.  Her descriptions are so vivid, the setting is believable, and, though there are a lot of characters, it’s easy to keep track of them all because their voices and characteristics are so unique.

- Not only is the book about magic and witchcraft, it is also thoroughly about the injustices of adolescence.  Getting picked on mercilessly, not being able to do anything right, the desire to escape.  But also, finding unexpected friends and allies.

- I love the humor in the book.

- “It hurts to be burned.”

What I Didn’t Like

- As mentioned above, we didn’t know the book was part of a series, so when Chrestomanci shows up, it didn’t quite make sense to us because, though he is explained, there is the idea that we should know something about who he is and where he’s from.  Also, he affects the narrative in a big way, so knowing a little about him would have helped.

That said, it’s perfectly clear in the narrative what’s going on, and his appearance didn’t detract from the narrative aside from a small discussion we had after the book was over.

In conclusion:  This book was a lot of fun, and it is an AWESOME audiobook.  Did I mention that Gerard Doyle is amazing?  I kind of want to listen to other books he’s narrated now.  My daughter and I are also interested in more Diana Wynne Jones.  It seems weird to mention the author second since she provided the source material, but Doyle is really that good.

See larger image Witch Week (Chrestomanci Books) (Mass Market Paperback) By (author) Diana Wynne Jones List Price: $6.99 USD New From: $0.75 In Stock Used from: $0.01 In Stock Release date September 22, 1997.

The one thing he longed for more than anything else was…CHOCOLATE.

We went to see a high school production of Willy Wonka, which was such great fun and so much better than I remembered either of the movies being.  Then, when we got home, we watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory–the first movie adaptation–and I still didn’t like it that much.  So I went online to see what the differences between the book, the movies, and the play are and found out (via Wikipedia, of course) that Roald Dahl (allegedly) hated the burping scene in the first movie, so I immediately put Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl on hold at the library so I could investigate the differences for myself.

I LOVE THIS BOOK.

It is so much fun. I love Dahl’s storytelling style.  It’s so much like listening to someone tell you a story that they’re making up as they go along.  So conversational and fun.  I’m sure this would make an excellent audiobook.

I was surprised to learn that the Oompa Loompas really do sing throughout the book.

Also?  I totally understand why Dahl allegedly hated the burping scene.  The whole point of the book is that Charlie is not like the other kids and his parents are not like the other parents.  Even though he’s poor and hungry, he doesn’t break the rules.  What’s really hateful about the scene in the movie (original flavor–I can’t remember how it happens in the Johnny Depp version) is that Charlie’s grandpa says, “Let’s try it while no one’s looking.”  Which is a dick move and again disrupts the integrity of both of the characters.  I think there’s a way to show Charlie was tempted if that’s what the movie people wanted without having him drink it or his grandfather be the one to encourage it.  Not to mention, it makes the ending (of the movie) ring false because none of the other children get a chance to apologize.

ANYWAY.

The book is so amazingly fun.  Read it.  Screw the movies.

See larger image Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Paperback) By (author) Roald Dahl List Price: $6.99 USD New From: $3.27 In Stock Used from: $2.97 In Stock

I was supposed to play the piano. [...] I play the organ.

A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban can be summed up in the words of the Rolling Stones:  “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you get what you need.”  As the breakout quote shows, main character Zoe wants to play the piano.  Instead, she gets an organ.  So the whole book is about how she deals with what she gets versus what she really wants.  You know, like an organ instead of a piano or a dad who is too scared to drive her anywhere versus the freedom to go to parties with her friends.

What I Liked

- I loved the characters.  All of them.  They are awesome.  From her comptroller mother to her slightly autistic/socially anxious dad to her music teacher to the bully turned friend.  I was sad when the book was over because I wanted to spend more time with the characters.

- I liked that the dad was this complicated man who wanted the best and meant the best but didn’t know how to achieve that exactly.  Which could be said for all of the characters.

- I loved the emphasis on practicing your craft.  Zoe wants to be a prodigy.  She isn’t.  Zoe wants to play beautifully but thinks it should come naturally.  But her mom shows her in the best way possible (LOVE HER MOM) that it takes practice to make it sound effortless.

- “Just keep playing.”  (The musical equivalent of “Just keep swimming.”)

- I always feel funny shipping tweens but at the same time, OMG, I JUST WANTED THOSE TWO CRAZY KIDS TO WORK IT OUT.  Hand holding, burping contests, hanging out at each other’s houses, walking home from school together.  Cute, cute, cute, cute!  I wanted more middle school cutesy dating stuff even if it’s not really dating.

- I thought all of the relationships were really well handled and developed.

- I loved the resolution of all of the conflicts in the book.  All of them

What I Didn’t Like

- The book was too short.  It was the perfect length for what it was trying to accomplish, but, as I said earlier, I wanted it to be longer so I could spend more time with the characters.

In conclusion:  The title of the book is spot on.  It is a crooked kind of perfect–just a little slice of perfection, really.

A review I wrote of Robinn Gourley’s Bring Me Some Apples and I’ll Make You a Pie and Anita Silvey’s I’ll Pass for Your Comrade: Women Soldiers in the Civil War appears in Purdue University’s First Opinions, Second Reactions. [Direct link:  "First Opinion: Women of Distinction".]

I’ll tie back my hair, men’s clothing I’ll put on. / I’ll pass for your comrade as we march along. / I’ll pass for your comrade, no one will ever know– / Won’t you let me come with you?  No, my love, no.

I’ll Pass for Your Comrade:  Women Soldiers in the Civil War by Anita Silvey is the untold history of women who passed as men to fight in the Civil War.

What I Liked

- The subject matter.  I don’t know why it never occurred to me that women would do this, but it didn’t.  (Irony alert:  We were watching Mulan as I was reading this.)  I love the stories of women, especially when they’re underestimated and never seen coming.  So this book absolutely captures that type of underestimated woman.

- The format.  The book is set up so that there are excerpts of diaries, letters, newspaper articles, and memoirs along with posters, illustrations, and pictures.  Each chapter is named after a major question the reader would have (reasons for enlisting, how they enlisted, life in the military, after the war) and is chock full of information.  Silvey explains why women enlist, how they did/didn’t get caught, what happened if they did get caught, and why we never hear about these women. I also love that she frequently referred directly to the memoirs that have been published, which basically screams for the reader to check them out.

- What I learned.  There was lots to learn in the book!

Nurses were lauded because women who dressed as men offended Victorian sensibilities; just like Mulan, it was easy to pass because women and men dressed so differently that if you were dressed as a man, it was understood/assumed that you were a man; lots of men helped their women join and stay hidden; less men were offended than you might think; the women rarely, if ever, talked about their experiences in the military once they left; the money was a big draw in the later years of the war.

There’s more, of course, but that’s just some stuff off the top of my head.

What I Didn’t Like

- The length.  I wanted more.  I mean, yes, it’s the perfect length and amount of information for the intended audience, but I wanted more.  Of course, that’s where the fabulous bibliography comes into play.

All in all, an excellent way to get an overview of these fascinating women.

Of note:

1.  A friend linked me to this awesome article:  Hogwarts Is a Terrible School.  I’ve been trying to think up a response to it, but other than “NERDS!” (and I mean that in the most affectionate way possible), I got nothing.

2. I checked out The Book Lover’s Cookbook from the library.  Why?  Because the subtitle is “Recipes Inspired by Celebrated Works of Literature and the Passages that Feature Them.”  NERD NERD NERD.  Will I cook anything from it?  Probably not.  Will I read the whole thing?  Most definitely.